Building Quality in Summer Learning Programs: Approaches and Recommendations

Examines settings for summer programs for low-income youth -- schools, parks and recreation departments, community- and faith-based organizations, and childcare programs -- and their limitations and opportunities in building better programming

More Than Just Puck Bunnies: Female Hockey Fans

The sporting world continues to expand, as evidenced by growing legions of fans (Van Schaik, 2012). Those who follow professional hockey and attend its games tend to have a higher annual income than fans of other professional sports (Thompson, 2014), and are typically thought of as primarily male (Esmonde et al., 2015). The stereotype of the male hockey fan and its proliferation by the media create struggles for women as they become or remain fans (Crawford et al, 2004; MacDonald, 2014). Yet women are showing up for professional hockey games more than ever. The current study investigated the nature of the female hockey fan. Areas studied include motivation for being a fan, inclusion/exclusion, marketing, merchandising and the idea of “fan first.” Evidence supporting the importance of focusing on all fans--not just men--is clear, and professional hockey has an opportunity to both reverse the male-dominant profile of its fans and capitalize on the burgeoning female hockey fan market. Interview research--both formal and informal--was conducted at local professional hockey games during the 2015-16 season. Results point to how female hockey fans consider themselves, how they prefer to be treated by the sport industry as well as the media, and what it will take for their numbers and satisfaction to increase

Association of vancomycin-induced acute kidney injury with trough versus AUC monitoring in patients receiving extended durations of therapy

Abstract Objective: Vancomycin therapy is associated with an increased risk of acute kidney injury (AKI). Previous studies suggest that area under the curve (AUC) monitoring reduces the risk of AKI, but literature is lacking to support this in patients receiving longer durations of vancomycin therapy. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Method: Patients ≥18 years old, admitted between August 2015 and July 2017 or October 2017 and September 2019, and received at least 14 days of intravenous (IV) vancomycin therapy were included in the study. Our primary outcome was the incidence of AKI between trough monitoring and AUC monitoring groups using Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes criteria. Secondary outcomes included inpatient mortality, median inpatient length of stay, and median intensive care unit length of stay. Results: Overall, 582 patients were included in the study, with 318 patients included in the trough monitoring group and 264 included in the AUC monitoring group. The median duration of vancomycin therapy was 23 days (interquartile range, 16–39). Patients within the trough monitoring group had a higher incidence of AKI compared to the AUC monitoring group (45.6% vs 28.4%, p < 0.001). Furthermore, logistic regression analysis showed that AUC monitoring was associated with a 54% lower incidence of AKI (OR 0.46, 95% CI [0.31–0.69]). All-cause inpatient mortality was numerically higher in the trough monitoring group (12.9% vs 8.3%, p = 0.078). Conclusions: In patients who received at least 14 days of IV vancomycin therapy, AUC monitoring was associated with a lower incidence of AKI

More Than Just a Football Town: Professional Sports and University Students Collaborating on Research-driven Revenue Enhancement

Both college and professional sports are big business. While a sport like college football serves as a vital part of a university’s identity, many college towns are also home to one or more professional sport teams that may be less well known. The current study focused on two professional sports—hockey and basketball—in a city commonly known as a football town. Both professional hockey and basketball have the infrastructure to pull in far greater dollar amounts than an NCAA Division I football team. When those sports are considered “minor league,” such as in this study, revenue becomes an organizational survival issue and the teams’ owners have to look harder for money flow. That search for revenue must occur locally because 80% of minor league teams’ revenue is drawn from local sources such as tickets, luxury suites, television and advertising (Ozanian, 2015). Owners know they depend on the degree to which local fans are engaged with the team and its brand. Twenty students and a faculty sponsor extended their research classroom to the downtown playing court, and in doing so experienced meaningful engagement with the community, real-world analysis, and problem-solving in a collaborative structure with professional clients who valued the research-driven approach to a revenue-enhancement plan. Students further gained valuable experience working with real consequences, learned how to design and conduct research, came out of their comfort zones in order to engage numerous community members in research interviews, and simultaneously learned the value of doing all of this while serving as unofficially-appointed ambassadors for the local university. Further, the students and faculty member served as exemplars of the university’s statement of shared values: Academic excellence, caring, citizenship, respect, fairness, trustworthiness and responsibility. The resulting value to all involved? Priceless