Integrating Policies, Systems, and Environments (PSE) Work into FCS Extension Programming: Lessons Learned from a Multi-State Training

Public health efforts have emphasized changes to policies, systems and environments (PSEs) to improve health behaviors for individuals and communities. Extension has increasingly emphasized these approaches, particularly for work of Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) agents. In part, this emphasis on PSEs in Extension has been driven by SNAP-Ed and other federally funded initiatives, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) High Obesity Programs (HOP). However, broader adoption and implementation of PSEs at the local level has lagged in some states for various reasons. These include limited understanding about PSE interventions and how this work fits with a traditional Extension emphasis on direct education. To address these issues, faculty and specialists from two states receiving funding in the CDC’s first HOP round planned, designed, and implemented a face-to-face, multi-state, multi-institution PSE training for FCS agents. This paper describes the multi-state training effort, barriers to PSE work in Extension, and offers best practices and implications for others seeking to provide similar training

Policy, Systems, and Environmental Change: A Planning Tool for Community Health Implementation

Extension educators across the United States are being asked to expand their direct education efforts to include policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) changes. However, professional development opportunities and tools are needed to familiarize Extension professionals with PSE change approaches, build their capacity to implement PSE change, and make the process relevant to their work. We describe a planning tool developed for a unique multistate PSE change intervention training and designed to facilitate the process of PSE change implementation at the local level. An example of the tool and recommendations for others wishing to use it are included

Two States, One Mission: Building Policy, Systems, and Environmental Change Capacity of County Extension Educators

Policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) change interventions are a key part of comprehensive nutrition and health education. Although Extension educators find value in PSE approaches and report being involved in PSE work, many still indicate a lack of understanding regarding PSE approaches. We describe a unique multistate training designed to increase Extension educators\u27 understanding, skills, and capacity related to implementing PSE change interventions. Data demonstrating success of the training are presented. Additionally, best practices for others wishing to create similar multistate programs conclude the article

Two States, One Mission: Building Policy, Systems, and Environmental Change Capacity of County Extension Educators

Policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) change interventions are a key part of comprehensive nutrition and health education. Although Extension educators find value in PSE approaches and report being involved in PSE work, many still indicate a lack of understanding regarding PSE approaches. We describe a unique multistate training designed to increase Extension educators\u27 understanding, skills, and capacity related to implementing PSE change interventions. Data demonstrating success of the training are presented. Additionally, best practices for others wishing to create similar multistate programs conclude the article

Policy, Systems, and Environmental Change: A Planning Tool for Community Health Implementation

Extension educators across the United States are being asked to expand their direct education efforts to include policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) changes. However, professional development opportunities and tools are needed to familiarize Extension professionals with PSE change approaches, build their capacity to implement PSE change, and make the process relevant to their work. We describe a planning tool developed for a unique multistate PSE change intervention training and designed to facilitate the process of PSE change implementation at the local level. An example of the tool and recommendations for others wishing to use it are included

The state of the Martian climate

60°N was +2.0°C, relative to the 1981–2010 average value (Fig. 5.1). This marks a new high for the record. The average annual surface air temperature (SAT) anomaly for 2016 for land stations north of starting in 1900, and is a significant increase over the previous highest value of +1.2°C, which was observed in 2007, 2011, and 2015. Average global annual temperatures also showed record values in 2015 and 2016. Currently, the Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of lower latitudes

Towards richer descriptions of our collection of genomes andmetagenomes

In this commentary, we advocate building a richer set of descriptions about our invaluable and exponentially growing collection of genomes and metagenomic datasets through the construction of consensus-driven data capture and exchange mechanisms. Standardization activities must proceed within the auspices of open-access and international working bodies, and to tackle the issues surrounding the development of better descriptions of genomic investigations we have formed the Genomic Standards Consortium (GSC). Here, we introduce the 'Minimum Information about a Genome Sequence' specification in the hopes of gaining wider participation in its development and discuss the resources that will be required to support it (standardization of annotations through the use of ontologies and mechanisms of metadata capture, exchange). As part of its wider goals, the GSC also strongly supports improving the 'transparency' of the information contained in existing genomic databases that contain calculated analyses and genomic annotations

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Unconscious bias in the suppressive policing of Black and Latino men and boys: neuroscience, Borderlands theory, and the policymaking quest for just policing

his article applies neuroscience and Borderlands theory to reveal how unconscious bias currently stabilizes suppressive policing practices in America despite new efforts at reform. Illustrative cases are offered from Oakland and Santa Barbara, California, with a focus on civil gang injunctions (CGIs) and youth gang suppression. Theoretical analysis of these cases reveals how the unconscious biases of validity illusions and framing effects operate despite the best intentions of law enforcement personnel. Such unconscious or implicit biases create contradictions between the stated beliefs and actions of law enforcement. In turn, these unintended self-contradictions then work to the detriment of Latino and Black boys. The analysis here also extends to how unconscious biases and unintended self-contradictions can influence municipal policymaking in favor of suppressive police tactics such as CGIs, thereby displacing evidence-based policies that are proven to be far more effective. The article concludes with brief discussion of some of the means by which the unconscious biases – effects to which everyone is involuntarily prone – can be disrupted