Poetry from the Glass Closet: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Pk-12 Educators as They Manage Their Sexual Orientation Identity Within a Teaching Role

The purpose of this study was to portray the experiences of lesbian, gay, and bisexual educators in PK-12 schools in the State of Colorado. This aim emerged from my own personal experiences, previous research, and the current status of state and federal laws. This research focused on the experiences of 15 lesbian, gay, bisexual and allied identified teachers, including myself. This study focused on a primary research question: What are the experiences of lesbian, gay, and bisexual PK-12 educators as they manage their sexual orientation identities within a teaching role? Heuristics was the qualitative methodology best suited to address this question. Heuristics is a process, which combines personal passions and inquiry to illuminate larger universal significance. For this study, I used a three interview protocol, extensive journaling and member checking. There are six distinct phases of heuristics in order to maintain methodological integrity. The final phase was creative synthesis where I used poetic transcription to capture the experiences of my participants. In addition to making critical decisions around the heuristics methodology, my theoretical framework of Queer Theory, challenged me to explore varying dimensions of the research study, my personal journey, and those of the participants. Queer Theory is about de-centering, fluidity, and a wider view into identities, both marginalized and mainstream. This framework was central to grappling with the data and information that did not mirror my own experience or political stance regarding being out in the classroom. This study is a step in beginning to uncover the components of many lesbian, gay, and bisexual educators, as each poem further adds to the shallow body of existing literature. During the research process seven themes emerged: experience, personality, philosophy, isolation vs. support, non-negotiables, sense of self, and navigations. Using the seven themes as a guide, the reader can begin to appreciate the complexities and nuances of how one manages sexual orientation in a teaching role. This guide will be useful to various stakeholders, including state and federal policymakers, administrators, and teachers as they try to better inform their practices and create inclusive environments in schools

Slow gait speed and cardiac rehabilitation participation in older adults after acute myocardial infarction

Background Lack of participation in cardiac rehabilitation ( CR ) and slow gait speed have both been associated with poor long‐term outcomes in older adults after acute myocardial infarction ( AMI ). Whether the effect of CR participation on outcomes after AMI differs by gait speed is unknown. Methods and Results We examined the association between gait speed and CR participation at 1 month after discharge after AMI , and death and disability at 1 year, in 329 patients aged ≥65 years enrolled in the TRIUMPH (Translational Research Investigating Underlying Disparities in Recovery From Acute Myocardial Infarction: Patients' Health Status) registry. Among these patients, 177 (53.7%) had slow gait speed (&lt;0.8 m/s) and 109 (33.1%) participated in CR . Patients with slow gait speed were less likely to participate in CR compared with patients with normal gait speed (27.1% versus 40.1%; P =0.012). In unadjusted analysis, CR participants with normal gait speed had the lowest rate of death or disability at 1 year (9.3%), compared with those with slow gait speed and no CR participation (43.2%). After adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors and cognitive impairment, both slow gait speed (odds ratio, 2.30; 95% confidence interval, 1.30–4.06) and non‐ CR participation (odds ratio, 2.34; 95 confidence interval, 1.22–4.48) were independently associated with death or disability at 1 year. The effect of CR on the primary outcome did not differ by gait speed ( P =0.70). Conclusions CR participation is associated with reduced risk for death or disability after AMI . The beneficial effect of CR participation does not differ by gait speed, suggesting that slow gait speed alone should not preclude referral to CR for older adults after AMI . </jats:sec

Through the Looking Glass: Foundation Evaluation and Learning and the Quest for Strategic Learning

Strategic learning, a critical if relatively new lens for philanthropy, is neither simple nor efficient to institutionalize or practice yet — foundations are still figuring out how to do it well. In 2015, the Episcopal Health Foundation launched a project to distill lessons about how leading foundations configure evaluation and learning, and how they allocate related responsibilities in support of strategic learning. This article addresses different models that foundations use to establish and staff evaluation and learning functions, what other organizational considerations they should take into account in order to prioritize strategic-learning work, and what tools and approaches can be used to initiate strategic learning. Interviews with officers from more than a dozen foundations revealed that strategic learning does not require wholesale structural and cultural change; an incremental approach, instead, can phase in greater complexity as foundations expand staff capacity. The interviews also uncovered several areas where further exploration of system building and practice at foundations has potential for advancing the field

Comparative Study: The Impact of the SW3 Armband and Physical Activity Logbook in Promoting Physical Activity Adherence

The purpose of this study is to compare the impact of portable body sensing technology (SW3 Armband) to a traditional approach, a Physical Activity Logbook (PAL) in promoting physical activity adherence. Participant’s physical activity adherence levels were recorded over a six month period. The primary research involved a six month physical activity programme that commenced in October 2010 and finished in April 2011. Females (n=30) were recruited through a local newspaper and a radio advertisement. Participants were randomised to an Intervention Group (n=15) or a Control Group (n=15). To be eligible to participate in the study the following criteria applied: (1) age range: 30-50 years, (2) gender: female, (3) location: live in the Letterkenny or surrounding area, (4) physical activity levels: did not meet the World Health Organisations (WHO, 2011) recommendations for physical activity, (5) have access to windows XP. Participants were assessed at Baseline, Time 1 (week eight), Time 2 (week eighteen) and Time 3 (week twenty-six) regarding the amount of physical activity minutes accumulated. The results of this study specify that the Control Group (CG) performed a greater amount of moderate intensity minutes of physical activity compared to the Intervention Group (IG). At the end of Time 3, the CG was performing three times more moderate physical activity than that of the IG. Therefore, the traditional method of a PAL has proved to be an effective method of promoting physical activity adherence when compared to that of the SW3 Armband. The SW3 Armband is a wireless technological device consisting of an armband worn on the upper right arm and a wrist watch. The SW3 Armband and wrist watch displays real time, collective and significant data such as daily step count and minutes of moderate and vigorous physical activity

Assaults on belonging : how Dutch youth without ‘blue eyes, cheese, and clogs’ experience everyday racism in educational contexts

Minoritized students’ ethnic backgrounds and racial appearances influence their academic opportunities and belonging experiences, and limit their access to safe and equal learning environments. In the Netherlands, limited research has focused on minoritized students’ experiences. In this study, we drew upon a theoretical framework focused on Othering and belonging as well as macro-/micro- connections related to racism to investigate the contemporary educational experiences of students from nondominant backgrounds. Participants experienced everyday racism and Othering in the: continuous centering of Whiteness and marginalization of the non-White Other; persistent obstacles perpetuated by educators that prevented parental participation; and consistent underestimation of students’ abilities by teachers and peers. As a step toward more just schooling, participants suggest that educators become more aware of minoritized students’ backgrounds and create spaces of belonging

Building Principle-Based Strategic Learning: Insights From Practice

Strategic learning is a powerful tool for foundations to achieve greater impact, yet foundations have struggled to create practices and behaviors that effectively support them in learning about strategy. Given that many foundations are engaged in strategic philanthropy, where they have specific conditions in the world they are trying to change, it is critical that they have the capacity to effectively learn about and improve their strategies. This article offers three principles for strategic learning, informed by the field of strategic learning and insights from practice across three foundations. Each principle is explored in terms of what it means and why it is important, along with examples from how it could look in practice. By taking a principle-focused approach to strategic learning, this article offers a base from which to build a rigorous practice of strategic learning in any organization and to tailor the specifics of that practice to the organization’s unique context and culture

Mirror image serum lipid carrier protein profiles in pup and lactating mother Atlantic grey seals reflect contrasting resource mobilisation challenges

Funding: The work was funded from core support given to the Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, from the Natural Environmental Research Council (United Kingdom).True, phocid seals have the shortest known lactations relative to body mass, during which mass transfer of adipose stores from mother to offspring occurs at an unrivalled rate and extent. The mothers of most species of seal fast until weaning whilst their pups gorge on the most fat-rich milks known. This results in a dramatic reduction in maternal blubber mass while pups may triple their body weights before weaning. Mothers mobilise their blubber fat, transport it via blood to their mammary glands and into milk, whilst pups transfer fat in the opposite direction, from their intestines, via blood, to their blubber. Using proteomic analysis of mother and pup sera from Atlantic grey seals, we find that this mirror image flux of lipids between mothers and pups is reflected in an almost inverse relationship in the proteins in their blood specialised to transport fats, lipids, and fat-soluble vitamins. For instance, apolipoproteins ApoB-48/100, ApoA-II and ApoA-IV, which are structural components of the main lipid carrier complexes such as chylomicrons and HDL particles, occur at much higher levels in pups than mothers. Meanwhile, carriers of fat-soluble vitamins such as retinol- and vitamin D-binding proteins are lower in pups and gradually build towards weaning. In contrast, sex hormone-binding globulin occurs at remarkably high relative concentrations in pups. There are therefore dramatic differences between, and an unrealised complexity in, the balance of proteins involved in the rapid transfer of fats and other lipids from mother to pups in preparing their offspring for their post-weaning fasts on land and eventual survival at sea before they can feed again.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Decreased Pulmonary Function Measured in Children Exposed to High Environmental Relative Moldiness Index Homes

Background: Exposures to water-damaged homes/buildings has been linked to deficits in respiratory health. However, accurately quantifying this linkage has been difficult because of the methods used to assess water damage and respiratory health. Purpose: The goal of this analysis was to determine the correlation between the water-damage, as defined by the Environmental Relative Moldiness Index (ERMI) value in an asthmatic child’s home, and the child’s pulmonary function measured by spirometry, “forced expiratory volume in one second, percent predicted” or FEV1%. Methods: This analysis utilized data obtained from the “Heads-off Environmental Asthma in Louisiana” (HEAL) study. The children (n= 109), 6 to 12 years of age, who had completed at least one spirometry evaluation and a dust sample collected for ERMI analysis from the home at approximately the same time as the spirometry testing, were included in the analysis. Statistical evaluation of the correlation between ERMI values and FEV1% was performed using the Spearman’s Rank Correlation analysis. The relationship between ERMI values and FEV1% was performed using B-spline regression. Results: The average ERMI value in the HEAL study homes was 7.3. For homes with ERMI values between 2.5 and 15, there was a significant inverse correlation with the child’s lung function or FEV1% measurement (Spearman’s rho -0.23; p= 0.03), i.e. as the ERMI value increased, the FEV1% value decreased. Conclusions: Measures of water-damage (the ERMI) and clinical assessments of lung function (FEV1%) provided a quantitative assessment of the impact of water-damaged home exposures on children’s respiratory health