Teaching with the Genius in Mind: Enacting Literacy as a Civil Right

Because literacy is a civil right, educators are responsible for designing and implementing literacy education that is designed with the excellence of all students in mind. In order to learn about ways to ensure that literary practices are equitable for all students, the authors joined an educators’ book club to read Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy by Gholdy Muhammad. Muhammad describes the Black literary societies of the past and challenges educators of today to enhance classrooms by upholding equity and excellence through a five-layered framework: Identity, Skills, Intellect, Criticality, and Joy. We studied Muhammad’s theories and practices and then examined our own K-16 curricula. The results were a combination of celebrating the way we were already implementing culturally and historically responsive literacy practices and creating more opportunities for their students to have equitable access to their literacy. At the elementary level, Literacy Kits invite children to pursue the layers of Muhammad’s framework. In middle school, independent reading and mindfulness practices build literary societies. At the high school level, literacy and civic education are blended by inviting students to access Muhammad’s framework by exploring the problem of pollution in Lake Erie. Finally, the HRL framework was used to scaffold research projects for first-year college students in which students used the pursuits as lenses through which they described their discoveries and made connections. Three experienced teachers show how Muhammad\u27s HRL framework applies to each educational level from kindergarten to college and across subject areas. Readers who aren\u27t familiar with Cultivating Genius will get a basic overview of the concepts along with recent examples of their implementation in Michigan classrooms

The Acquisition of Popular Music in Popular Culture Archives

This study explores the attitudes and approaches of three different popular music archivists to acquire popular music recordings for their collection. Each of these archivists is employed at a major established academic popular culture archives in the United States. A survey was conducted to understand how these archivists characterize popular music and in what ways their collections are evolving. The study found that all archivists' notions of popular music is generally broad, one that encompasses nearly every genre that appeals to the general population, and one that will inevitably change over time. Donations are the primary method of collection. Archivists then refine the collection based on institutional philosophy and scope, academic curricula, and the collections of their colleagues

A bitter pill to swallow: registered nurses and medicines regulation in remote Australia

Introduction: Access to essential medicines is a human right and an objective of the National Medicines Policy in Australia. Health workforce distribution characteristics in remote Australia implies registered nurses (RNs) may find themselves responsible for a broader range of activities in the medication management cycle than they would be elsewhere in the nation. The regulation of health professionals and their training requirements provides essential but complex protections for the public. These protections include the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme for health practitioners and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. Other levels of control or regulation are also exerted over health professionals via mechanisms such as salaries and funding arrangements, insurance requirements, admitting rights to healthcare facilities, and legislation controlling the use of medicines and therapeutic devices. This study aimed to examine national legislation and regulations concerning the use of medications from a nursing perspective, focusing on the context of health service delivery in remote areas. Methods: Australian state and territory medicines legislation and regulations was interrogated for answers to the questions 'Can an RN prescribe a medication?', 'Can an RN dispense a medication?', 'Can an RN supply or issue a medication?' and 'Can an RN administer a medication?' Results: Inconsistencies were identified nationally in the names and general structure of the legislation, the location of information relating to authorised roles with regards to medications and key terms used to describe medicines and the elements of the medication management cycle. Administrations of Schedule 4 and 8 medicine according to an order from an authorised prescriber are the only nationally consistent roles RNs are authorised to undertake with regards to medicines. Twenty-eight variations were identified with regards to additional authorisations for RNs. Conclusion: RNs make up more than half of the registered Australian health professional workforce and are the most consistently distributed across the nation, yet their legislated responsibilities in relation to working with medicines are inconsistent. Given the inconsistencies, RNs providing health care in remote Australia may be unable to undertake aspects of the medication management cycle that their work environment demands in the best interest of their patients and absence of other healthcare providers. The lack of legislative consistency nationally for medicines in Australia is likely to impede timely access to medications for patients. Regulatory inconsistencies may also result in RNs working well below or beyond their legal scope of practice, thereby creating clinical and workforce risks. Such risks are a significant matter for remote health service provision. Resolving these issues will require a collaborative national approach with consideration given to how the health workforce is distributed, current nursing responsibilities and relevant service delivery models for remote Australia

A bitter pill to swallow: Registered nurses and medicines regulation in remote Australia

INTRODUCTION: Access to essential medicines is a human right and an objective of the National Medicines Policy in Australia. Health workforce distribution characteristics in remote Australia implies registered nurses (RNs) may find themselves responsible for a broader range of activities in the medication management cycle than they would be elsewhere in the nation. The regulation of health professionals and their training requirements provides essential but complex protections for the public. These protections include the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme for health practitioners and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. Other levels of control or regulation are also exerted over health professionals via mechanisms such as salaries and funding arrangements, insurance requirements, admitting rights to healthcare facilities, and legislation controlling the use of medicines and therapeutic devices. This study aimed to examine national legislation and regulations concerning the use of medications from a nursing perspective, focusing on the context of health service delivery in remote areas. METHODS: Australian state and territory medicines legislation and regulations was interrogated for answers to the questions \u27Can an RN prescribe a medication?\u27, \u27Can an RN dispense a medication?\u27, \u27Can an RN supply or issue a medication?\u27 and \u27Can an RN administer a medication?\u27 RESULTS: Inconsistencies were identified nationally in the names and general structure of the legislation, the location of information relating to authorised roles with regards to medications and key terms used to describe medicines and the elements of the medication management cycle. Administrations of Schedule 4 and 8 medicine according to an order from an authorised prescriber are the only nationally consistent roles RNs are authorised to undertake with regards to medicines. Twenty-eight variations were identified with regards to additional authorisations for RNs. CONCLUSION: RNs make up more than half of the registered Australian health professional workforce and are the most consistently distributed across the nation, yet their legislated responsibilities in relation to working with medicines are inconsistent. Given the inconsistencies, RNs providing health care in remote Australia may be unable to undertake aspects of the medication management cycle that their work environment demands in the best interest of their patients and absence of other healthcare providers. The lack of legislative consistency nationally for medicines in Australia is likely to impede timely access to medications for patients. Regulatory inconsistencies may also result in RNs working well below or beyond their legal scope of practice, thereby creating clinical and workforce risks. Such risks are a significant matter for remote health service provision. Resolving these issues will require a collaborative national approach with consideration given to how the health workforce is distributed, current nursing responsibilities and relevant service delivery models for remote Australia

Greater sexual reproduction contributes to differences in demography of invasive plants and their noninvasive relatives

An understanding of the demographic processes contributing to invasions would improve our mechanistic understanding of the invasion process and improve the efficiency of prevention and control efforts. However, field comparisons of the demography of invasive and noninvasive species have not previously been conducted. We compared the in situ demography of 17 introduced plant species in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, to contrast the demographic patterns of invasive species with their less invasive relatives across a broad sample of angiosperms. Using herbarium records to estimate spread rates, we found higher maximum spread rates in the landscape for species classified a priori as invasive than for noninvasive introduced species, suggesting that expert classifications are an accurate reflection of invasion rate. Across 17 species, projected population growth was not significantly greater in invasive than in noninvasive introduced species. Among five taxonomic pairs of close relatives, however, four of the invasive species had higher projected population growth rates compared with their noninvasive relative. A Life Table Response Experiment suggested that the greater projected population growth rate of some invasive species relative to their noninvasive relatives was primarily a result of sexual reproduction. The greater sexual reproduction of invasive species is consistent with invaders having a life history strategy more reliant on fecundity than survival and is consistent with a large role of propagule pressure in invasion. Sexual reproduction is a key demographic correlate of invasiveness, suggesting that local processes influencing sexual reproduction, such as enemy escape, might be of general importance. However, the weak correlation of projected population growth with spread rates in the landscape suggests that regional processes, such as dispersal, may be equally important in determining invasion rate

Perinatal mortality associated with induction of labour versus expectant management in nulliparous women aged 35 years or over: An English national cohort study.

BACKGROUND: A recent randomised controlled trial (RCT) demonstrated that induction of labour at 39 weeks of gestational age has no short-term adverse effect on the mother or infant among nulliparous women aged ≥35 years. However, the trial was underpowered to address the effect of routine induction of labour on the risk of perinatal death. We aimed to determine the association between induction of labour at ≥39 weeks and the risk of perinatal mortality among nulliparous women aged ≥35 years. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We used English Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data collected between April 2009 and March 2014 to compare perinatal mortality between induction of labour at 39, 40, and 41 weeks of gestation and expectant management (continuation of pregnancy to either spontaneous labour, induction of labour, or caesarean section at a later gestation). Analysis was by multivariable Poisson regression with adjustment for maternal characteristics and pregnancy-related conditions. Among the cohort of 77,327 nulliparous women aged 35 to 50 years delivering a singleton infant, 33.1% had labour induced: these women tended to be older and more likely to have medical complications of pregnancy, and the infants were more likely to be small for gestational age. Induction of labour at 40 weeks (compared with expectant management) was associated with a lower risk of in-hospital perinatal death (0.08% versus 0.26%; adjusted risk ratio [adjRR] 0.33; 95% CI 0.13-0.80, P = 0.015) and meconium aspiration syndrome (0.44% versus 0.86%; adjRR 0.52; 95% CI 0.35-0.78, P = 0.002). Induction at 40 weeks was also associated with a slightly increased risk of instrumental vaginal delivery (adjRR 1.06; 95% CI 1.01-1.11, P = 0.020) and emergency caesarean section (adjRR 1.05; 95% CI 1.01-1.09, P = 0.019). The number needed to treat (NNT) analysis indicated that 562 (95% CI 366-1,210) inductions of labour at 40 weeks would be required to prevent 1 perinatal death. Limitations of the study include the reliance on observational data in which gestational age is recorded in weeks rather than days. There is also the potential for unmeasured confounders and under-recording of induction of labour or perinatal death in the dataset. CONCLUSIONS: Bringing forward the routine offer of induction of labour from the current recommendation of 41-42 weeks to 40 weeks of gestation in nulliparous women aged ≥35 years may reduce overall rates of perinatal death

New Kansas Roots for Students: building cultural competency through the Nicodemus Project

Five-member panel (two faculty members representing two supporting professional disciplines; Nicodemus resident and on campus resource; a MLA graduate student; and a graduate planner) recapping how the Parks for the People/Nicodemus project transformed students and community members. Short segments of video demonstrating student learning outcomes associated with diversity and collaboration will be introduced. This project won the CECD Engagement Award from Kansas State University in 2013. (270-word abstract uploaded

A guide to evaluating linkage quality for the analysis of linked data.

Linked datasets are an important resource for epidemiological and clinical studies, but linkage error can lead to biased results. For data security reasons, linkage of personal identifiers is often performed by a third party, making it difficult for researchers to assess the quality of the linked dataset in the context of specific research questions. This is compounded by a lack of guidance on how to determine the potential impact of linkage error. We describe how linkage quality can be evaluated and provide widely applicable guidance for both data providers and researchers. Using an illustrative example of a linked dataset of maternal and baby hospital records, we demonstrate three approaches for evaluating linkage quality: applying the linkage algorithm to a subset of gold standard data to quantify linkage error; comparing characteristics of linked and unlinked data to identify potential sources of bias; and evaluating the sensitivity of results to changes in the linkage procedure. These approaches can inform our understanding of the potential impact of linkage error and provide an opportunity to select the most appropriate linkage procedure for a specific analysis. Evaluating linkage quality in this way will improve the quality and transparency of epidemiological and clinical research using linked data

HOUSE: Homeless Opioid User Service Engagement Program. Year 1 Report

Homelessness and lack of stable housing is often a barrier to achieving stability for individuals who are experiencing homelessness (IWAEH) with an OUD. In order to meet the complex needs of IWAEH with OUD, the Department of Health and Human Services funded a pilot program in 2021, the Homeless Opioid Users Service Engagement (HOUSE) Program; clinicians at Greater Portland Health provide clients with low-barrier Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), while staff at Preble Street provide casework support and rapid housing assistance to individuals who have been identified as being at high risk of overdose, are experiencing homelessness, and are diagnosed with an OUD. . The services resulting from this pilot are intended to provide comprehensive treatment, case management, housing services and peer support in an effort to support long-term recovery and reduced opioid related morbidity and mortality among IWAEH with OUD. The primary goals of the HOUSE Program evaluation are to: (1) document implementation strategies and identify barriers and facilitators to implementation; (2) evaluate the efficacy of the intervention strategies at increasing access to prevention, treatment and recovery supports for IWAEH with OUD; (3) examine the impact of housing liaison services and Assistance Funds on housing stability among IWAEH with OUD; (4) assess the cost effectiveness and return on investment of the intervention strategies and (5) examine the impact of the intervention strategies on participant engagement and outcomes. Early learnings from the mixed methods approach indicate that the first year of the initiative demonstrate that while there remain challenges to engaging this population, the use of evidence-based treatments in combination with intensive case management and peer supports can be an effective way to maintain stabilize patients and address both their medical and housing needs