Wellness Lessons From Transportation Companies, Research Report WP 11-01

The purpose of this report is to describe wellness programs and offer two suggestions for improving how they are delivered to commercial drivers and operators. It is not a large sample empirical study from which generalizations can be made. Rather, the Mineta Transportation Institute commissioned brief case studies of transportation companies to show what several organizations have done. Stress, nicotine use, sleep apnea, obesity and lack of information are significant barriers to wellness in commercial drivers/operators. Many wellness programs ask the individual driver/operator to lose weight; exercise more; and monitor blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol and other such indicators of health. However, little is done to change the environment or adopt structural interventions such as forbidding nicotine use, as is possible in 20 states. Other structural interventions include those possible at the levels of the company and community, including access to healthy food rather than the junk food drivers often can find on the road. At the societal level, more public transit that gets people walking and out of their cars, cities designed for people to walk and cycle in rather than drive from work to a sprawling suburb, and encouraging food manufacturers to make healthy food (rather than a toxic mix of sodium, fat and sugar to boost one’s craving for a particular food) are just a few measures that could improve the health and well being of the public. The Union Pacific Corporation (rail transportation), and Con-way Freight (trucking) are included because they were willing to share information and are large publicly traded companies. The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) is included because other transit authorities recommended it to the authors, as it has a long history in wellness as part of local government and it too chose to participate. Two issues are discussed: the first is the importance of using the mitigation of erectile dysfunction in the promotion of wellness programs to commercial drivers/operators and the second issue is to urge employers to consider banning tobacco use, both on and off the job, where legal

How to Parlay Your Phone Interview to an on Campus Interview

This presentation was given during the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Annual Conference

Educator Experiences in the Reshaping of Schools During Challenging Times: The New normal or Is It?

The purpose of this photovoice study was to better understand how the recent COVID-19 global health pandemic has professionally and emotionally impacted current school leadership. Educators faced varied challenges during this unprecedented time with a rapid shift from in-class to online or hybrid learning and often back and forth between both. The findings identified three overarching themes as major challenges faced by school leaders and professional school counselors during this pandemic: problem solving, emotional brutality, and exhaustion. The findings inform education stakeholders and policymakers about the experiences of educators in times of crisis, specifically during the recent global health pandemic. Implications for the practice led to the need for educators to identify their own opportunities and challenges to further adapt to these new expectations amid a disruptive time that has become the “new norm.” Educators are charged with reshaping education by providing the necessary resources to ensure effective teaching and learning (academic factors) and physical and emotional well-being (non-academic factors). Adapting to this new norm requires sound leadership support systems to be in place. Further research is encouraged to engage in additional interviews and focus groups, including photovoice methodology to continue examining the experiences of educators currently charged with keeping both academic and non-academic factors initiatives accountable during challenging times

TEACHER PROFESSIONALISM AND TEAM PERFORMANCE PAY: A MIXED METHODS STUDY

The purpose of this mixed methods research study was to explore teachers’ perceptions of their professional behaviors when they worked in schools that awarded team performance pay. Teachers’ archival responses from two questionnaires were analyzed using mixed methods data analysis techniques (Year 1, n = 368; Year 2, n = 649). Most teachers had positive views of the team performance pay system. Lack of collaboration has been a criticism of some individual performance pay systems; however, teachers in this study believed that the team performance pay encouraged collaboration and attendance at staff development. Findings were interpreted using the framework of collective teacher efficacy. Additional studies are needed to explore the potential impact of various performance pay systems on professional behaviors of teachers

The influence of early handling on the temporal sequence of activity and exploratory behaviour in the rat

The long and short term effects of brief handling of laboratory rats between birth and weaning have so far been shown to be mainly physiological in nature. Recent evidence indicates, however, that investigatory behaviour in adult animals may also be affected. The area of exploratory behaviour is receiving increasing attention, but there have been comparatively few studies relating this to early experience. Following a brief review of each topic, a series of studies is therefore reported in which the behaviour of handled and non-handled rats is compared in a variety of experimental situations. These range from situations giving considerable opportunity for locomotor investigation to others in which responses to specific aspects of the environment can be observed. In addition, the behaviour of males and females is compared and responses to each situation recorded over a number of trials. Results from these experiments indicate that a variety of tests can distinguish behaviourally between handled and non-handled animals, but that the locomotor measures were least satisfactory in this respect and also revealed fewer interactions between the variables of Handling, Sex and Trials, although females had higher locomotor scores than males. However, handledanimals tended to approach novel objects more rapidly and to spend more time investigating them than did non-handled; they also scored higher on tests of home cage emergence. Statistical interactions in these situations were frequently found, indicating the complexity of the effects of early handling. In addition, differences between the groups tended to persist over repeated trials. It is concluded that early handling is capable of producing effects upon subsequent investigatory behaviour, either in addition to or in place of the lower-level processes of emotionality and locomotor activity. <p

An Oral Health Survey of the Lumbee Tribe in Southeastern North Carolina

The purpose of this study was to assess the oral health knowledge, oral health-related quality of life (QOL) and access to dental care issues of the Lumbee tribe in Robeson County, North Carolina (NC). Lumbee Indians attending the Lumbee Homecoming Festival volunteered to complete a self-administered survey. This study revealed that there was low knowledge regarding the link between oral and systemic health. Many believed that it is natural to loose your teeth as you get older. Oral health-related QOL was affected by oral pain, altered taste, and feeling self-conscious because of oral problems. Barriers to accessing dental care included being unable to find a dentist, not being able to miss work to go to the dentist, dental fear, and cost of dental services

Perceived Gains of Peer Educators in Campus Learning Centers: Academic Performance and Learning, Non-Academic Skillsets, and Self-Confidence and Fulfillment

This study explored the peer tutor and Supplemental Instruction (SI) Leader experiences in campus learning centers as seen through the perceived gains in three subcategories: 1) academic performance and learning, 2) non-academic skillsets, and 3) self-confidence and fulfillment. The peer tutors and SI Leaders surveyed in this study had experience in one or both of these roles and came from institutions across the nation and from several international institutions. In this quantitative study, participants completed a researcher-created survey. The major findings showed a significant difference in the peer educators’ perceived gains based on their roles, with tutors reporting greater perceived gains. Additionally, the study found that these peer educators perceived the most gains in non-academic skillsets, specifically related to increases in their communication and listening skills as well as skills for future careers. When examining the perceived gains in relation to the role and the length of time in that role, the peer tutor role was found to be significant in all three subcategories, whereas the length of time in that role did not present significant differences. Implications for practice support the need for increased resource allocation, showing that learning centers impact more than the students the peer educators serve

“If I don\u27t laugh, I\u27m going to cry”: Meaning Making in the Promotion, Tenure, and Retention Process: A Collaborative Autoethnography

Utilizing Chang, Ngunjiri, and Hernandez’s (2013) collaborative autoethnographic research approach, we investigated our experiences as pre-tenured junior faculty progressing through the tenure and promotion process within a college of education at one public university in the southeastern United States. The review of the data (transcripts and photographs) revealed challenges and stressors common to junior faculty. Data analysis yielded four emergent themes centered around demonstrations of self-care and resiliency including community, balance, coping strategies, and process. Through data analysis, these major themes and their sub-themes were explored in depth. Recommendations and implications for personnel navigating the academic tenure process (i.e., new faculty, tenured faculty, and administrators) are presented