Stop Texting and Emailing and Try Talking for a Change

by Daniel B. Griffith, J.D., SPHR, SHRM-SCP

As a workplace mediator, I am astounded by the many times I've helped employees work through their conflicts simply by having them reassess their methods of communicating. Conflict often escalates because individuals rely on technology -- texts and emails -- to communicate rather than honestly talk face to face. For example:

• A department chair and office manager rarely meet in person. The chair exercises his faculty privilege to work from home and the manager feels blamed for not addressing student and faculty needs, mostly because she can't get clarity through email from the chair about how to respond.
• Initial emails in a long email stream between two faculty are seemingly innocuous but escalate over many weeks to barbed comments, sarcasm, innuendo, accusations, half-truths, and SHOUTING. They have never spoken directly with one another about their concerns.
• Two students pull out their phones and trace the series of text exchanges between them, quickly realizing their frequent use of abbreviations, emojis, and curt replies, and overlooked texts within the stream led to significant misunderstandings and unfounded judgments and assumptions each made of the other.

My job as mediator is to help individuals unpack the causes of their conflict and see for themselves where their differences lie, but it is tempting in cases like these simply to say, "stop it!" The answer seems obvious but is evidently more difficult for many who have come to rely on their devices to communicate to the point they avoid, fear, or forget to communicate in person or have lost or never developed the skills for doing so.

If this is you, or fear it may be, consider these suggestions for evaluating your technology use and extricating yourself from the confusion to improve your relationships and conflict resolution skills:

Get clear on your reasons for relying on e-communication when dealing with conflict. Conflict resolution starts with identifying root causes. With respect to technology misuse, causes for users' misdeeds and misunderstandings that foment conflict include:

• Cowardice. Hiding behind the keypad to send out missives, barbs, strident comments, and other conflict-enhancing messages due to a lack of courage, fortitude, or integrity to face others in person.
• Fear. Avoiding face-to-face interaction due to either genuine or unfounded fear of confrontation, thereby finding safety in perpetuating the conflict behind the keypad.
• Laziness or busyness. While we know we could talk over the cubicle or knock on a colleague's door (or do so virtually through a video meeting), we don't do so, either from inertia or by blaming our busy schedule. It is simply easier to stay behind the keypad.
• Ignorance. Some individuals lack awareness of how their written exchange may come across as curt, dismissive, unclear, or harsh. Others may simply not know, or were never taught, that in-person exchange is the best option for addressing conflicts and more serious conversations.
• Lack of skills. Some may recognize the need for face-to-face interaction but feel awkward, tongue-tied, and unskilled, feeling more comfortable behind the keypad. They will continue in this mode if they lack the means to develop skills or to ask for help.
• Norms. When e-communication is the default within your organization, or among your community, age group, or friends, the thought of a different means for more important conversation never crosses your mind.

Change your mindset and manner of communicating. As conflict escalates, we experience diminishing returns in our ability to meaningfully communicate and resolve issues with colleagues. As this occurs and you get an inkling that your electronic foibles may be a contributing cause, it's time to wake up to the need for a different approach to your communication exchange.

These inklings may arise, among other means, if you sense your common use of abbreviations and emojis are being misinterpreted or causing offense, your written explanations become lengthier in response to a colleague's baseless accusations, you've lost track of the stream and wonder where the misunderstanding first arose, or you discontinue communication altogether -- electronic or otherwise -- because it has become exhausting and demoralizing to attempt further communication.

The first response to this dilemma is simple (physically, if not emotionally): take your fingers off the keypad. The next step is perhaps more challenging, particularly if you are accustomed to hiding behind the keypad: find a way to initiate face-to-face communication to address your conflict. This probably means walking down the hall to talk with your colleague (or to do the virtual equivalent by requesting a video meeting).

If this is too difficult to initiate cold, or your colleague is as or more skilled as you in hiding behind electronic walls, begin with a polite email, such as, "I think it would be best at this point to talk this through than to continue through email. Could we meet soon?" If your colleague continues to attempt electronic "conversation," you may need to be more direct: "I've requested previously that we meet to discuss this. I will not continue to respond to this concern through email. Would Tuesday at 3:00 or Wednesday at 9:00 be a better time to meet?"

The point is to back away from e-communication, minimize or discontinue e-responses until you can meet in person, and transition discussion on issues causing conflict to in-person exchange.

Don't get pulled into others' misuse of technology. Truly recalcitrant colleagues relying on electronic forms may disregard your message and continue their methods. In any conflict, someone must be the first to break the cycle. Don't give in and return to your old ways simply because the other person hasn't responded as requested. To the extent business must continue through electronic means, keep it to business, provide information only as pertinent to move forward with business decisions, and remind the person of your standing request to meet in person on the matter of concern.

While your awkward radio silence may further jeopardize your relationship momentarily, leave an information void, and generate further misunderstandings and frustration (perhaps even escalating the other person's e-responses), realize the cost in time, energy, and loss of goodwill to continue or return to an unhealthy cycle, tempting as it may be to respond in kind.

Establish clear expectations about how you will communicate and the methods you will use. Whether correcting a dysfunctional relationship precipitated by poor e-communication or establishing a new relationship to avoid such problems, establish an understanding of how you will address the natural miscommunications and conflicts that arise and how e- vs. in-person communication will play a role. Consider informal norms or grounds rules covering situations where e-communication is appropriate and when transition to in-person is needed. Hint: e-communication for general business and information exchange; in-person when a deeper conversation is needed, or when matters initiated through e-communication require transition to in-person to ensure clarity. So armed, you now have a basis for disrupting e-communication to transition to in-person without surprising your colleague and begin a fluid, productive process for addressing concerns through face-to-face interaction.

This article is republished from HigherEdJobs^® under a Creative Commons license. 

How meth became an epidemic in America, and what’s happening now that it’s faded from the headlines

Police detectives sort through evidence after raiding a suspected meth lab. AP Photo/Jeff Roberson

William Garriott, Drake University

Rural America has long suffered from an epidemic of methamphetamine use, which accounts for thousands of drug overdoses and deaths every year.

William Garriott, an anthropologist at Drake University, explored meth’s impact on communities and everyday life in the U.S. in his 2011 book “Policing Methamphetamine: Narcopolitics in Rural America.” Since then, the problem has only gotten worse.

The rural news site the Daily Yonder spoke with Garriott about what has been driving the surge in meth use in recent decades and what prompted him to focus on meth in his work. The Conversation has collaborated with The Daily Yonder to share the interview with you.

How’d you get interested in methamphetamine as an academic subject?

When I started my Ph.D in anthropology in 2003, I knew I wanted to focus on the Appalachian region of the United States. At the time, I was curious about religious life in the region and its contribution to the growth of Pentecostalism and evangelicalism around the world.

But I had also just taken a course with medical anthropologist Arthur Kleinman. He says that we should seek to understand “what’s at stake” or “what really matters” for people in their everyday lives.

And what really mattered to people in places like eastern Kentucky at the time was drugs. We now know we were at the beginning of the opioid epidemic. OxyContin was already taking a toll on local communities, and there was little national concern because it was seen as an isolated regional problem (the derogatory term “hillbilly heroin” was getting thrown around a lot at the time).

When I started my dissertation research, methamphetamine had become the primary concern, both regionally and nationally. When the Patriot Act was reauthorized in 2005, the only significant addition was anti-meth legislation called the Combat Meth Epidemic Act.

In what sense was the meth surge of the ’90s and early 2000s a rural phenomenon?

Lots of ways. The internet gave people access to meth recipes, and meth cooks tended to be located in rural areas. It was easier to hide and access key ingredients like anhydrous ammonia. In fact, the number of meth labs grew so quickly that huge swaths of the rural U.S. were labeled High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas – something that had only been applied to cities like New York and Los Angeles before.

The rural economy was also changing. Jobs weren’t paying as well or were going away altogether. Meth found a niche as a kind of performance enhancement drug for people working long hours at physically demanding jobs – something I saw in the poultry industry in West Virginia, journalist Nick Reding found in the pork industry in Iowa, and anthropologist Jason Pine found in general in Missouri. Eventually some folks just left these jobs to work in the meth economy full time.

I think it’s also important to mention how meth was being portrayed in national media as the drug of choice for poor white people. From there, it doesn’t take much to connect it to rural communities, given how those communities are often thought of as predominantly white and poor in the public imagination.

Anti-meth programs like the Montana Meth Project and Faces of Meth played a big part in this. They were very visual campaigns that focused on the damage meth does to the body. All of the people they pictured appeared to be white. They had sores, scars and sunken eyes. They also were often missing teeth. All of that invokes a lot of stereotypes. Sociologists Travis Linnemann and Tyler Wall have a great journal article on this.

With all of that said, it is important to keep in mind that meth is just as much an urban and suburban problem as a rural one, particularly now. Sociologist Miriam Boeri has made this point really clearly. Also, something to keep in mind about Faces of Meth: It was created by a jail deputy in Oregon who used mugshots of people booked into the county jail. The jail is in Portland, so the folks featured probably weren’t living in rural communities at the time.

Your book was called “Policing Methamphetamine.” I’m curious – what made you zero in on that element of meth culture, its policing?

When I began my research, I thought my focus would be on the treatment experiences of people who use methamphetamine. But what I quickly found was that those experiences couldn’t be understood outside of the criminal justice system. Many people only got treatment after an arrest, and often as a condition of probation. One officer told me that people came up to him on the street and asked to be taken to jail so they could stop using drugs. Community members also often channeled their concerns into calls for increased enforcement.

In retrospect, none of this should have been surprising. U.S. drug policy has long focused on enforcement. This puts police and the criminal justice system on the front lines whenever and wherever a new drug problem emerges. There is no exception to this dynamic for rural communities. What’s more, the justice system is likely to be the most visible and well-resourced state institution in the community (which is not to say it is sufficiently resourced).

What are the questions you still have about meth in American life?

Today, the most pressing question from my perspective is how meth and opioids are converging. One of the more unfortunate developments is that people have started injecting meth. There is also the broad contamination of the drug supply with fentanyl.

All of this creates additional public health challenges, particularly in rural communities.

Something else I’m thinking about a lot is what happens when drugs like meth stop making headlines and get replaced by the next drug scourge. Today, people are much more likely to talk about fentanyl than meth. This is understandable given the overdose risks, as well as the way news media works. But what are the consequences of this for the communities where meth is still a major concern?

Bigger picture, I’m thinking about meth in the broader context of U.S. drug policy. My next book is about marijuana legalization and justice reform. It’s been interesting because the conversation around cannabis is so different from the conversation around meth. One of the big questions I have is if the kinds of reforms that are following cannabis legalization will do anything to change the conversation around the broader punitive approach to drugs. The debate happening right now in Oregon over Measure 110 is something I’m watching very closely. It’s a major test case for whether or not a different, less punitive approach to drugs is possible.

The Daily Yonder provides news, commentary and analysis about and for rural America. The interview accompanies a five-part series on its Rural Remix podcast.

William Garriott, Professor of Law, Politics, and Society, Drake University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. 

Learn CPR as a Life-Saving Skill

While many Americans agree Conventional CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) or Hands-Only CPR (HOCPR) significantly improve a person’s chance of survival from cardiac arrest, less than half are confident they can perform either Conventional CPR or HOCPR in an emergency.

Black or Hispanic adults who experience cardiac arrest outside a hospital setting are substantially less likely to receive lifesaving care from a bystander. In spite of these survey results, the American Heart Association is working to change this by empowering members of these communities to learn lifesaving CPR, and a growing segment of respondents are willing to act in an emergency.
The American Heart Association’s 2023 survey also revealed that as a result of the organization’s efforts to change attitudes about performing CPR, which can lead to lifesaving results, more than half of African Americans said they would be willing to perform CPR in an emergency compared to 37% two years ago. Additionally, Hispanic and Latino respondents are more confident in their abilities to perform CPR.

Committed to turning a nation of bystanders into lifesavers, the American Heart Association’s multiyear initiative, Nation of Lifesavers, helps teens and adults learn how to perform CPR and use an automated external defibrillator (AED); share that knowledge with friends and family; and engage employers, policymakers, philanthropists and others to create support for a nation of lifesavers.

“Each of us has the power in our own hands to respond to a sudden cardiac arrest,” said Anezi Uzendu, M.D., American Heart Association expert volunteer. “We simply need to know what to do and have the confidence to act.”

The long-term goal: to ensure that in the face of a cardiac emergency, anyone, anywhere is prepared and empowered to perform CPR and become a vital link in the chain of survival, aiming to double the survival rate of cardiac arrest victims by 2030. It takes just 90 seconds to learn how to save a life using HOCPR, which can be equally as effective as traditional CPR in the first few minutes of cardiac arrest.

Nationally supported by the Elevance Health Foundation, the American Heart Association’s HOCPR campaign is focused on chest compression-only CPR. If a teen or adult suddenly collapses due to a cardiac event, you can take two steps to save a life: immediately call emergency services and use these tips to begin performing HOCPR.

1. Position yourself directly over the victim.
2. Put the heel of one hand in the center of the chest and put your other hand on top of the first.
3. Push hard and fast in the center of the chest at a rate of 100-120 beats per minute, which is about the same tempo as the song “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees, and at a depth of approximately 2 inches.
4. Continue compressions and use an AED, if available, until emergency help arrives.

To learn more about how you could be the difference between life and death for someone experiencing a cardiac event, visit Heart.org/nation.

SOURCE:
American Heart Association

Asthma meds have become shockingly unaffordable − but relief may be on the way

Its price will take your breath away. Brian Jackson/Getty Images

Ana Santos Rutschman, Villanova School of Law

The price of asthma medication has soared in the U.S. over the past decade and a half.

The jump – in some cases from around a little over US$10 to almost $100 for an inhaler – has meant that patients in need of asthma-related products often struggle to buy them. Others simply can’t afford them.

To make matters worse, asthma disproportionately affects lower-income patients. Black, Hispanic and Indigenous communities have the highest asthma rates. They also shoulder the heaviest burden of asthma-related deaths and hospitalizations. Climate change will likely worsen asthma rates and, consequently, these disparities.

I’m a health law professor at Villanova University, where I study whether patients can get the medicines they need. And I’ve been watching this affordability crisis closely.

In many ways, it shows what happens when law and policy decisions aren’t aligned with public health needs. The good news, however, is that there finally seems to be some political will to rein in the price of asthma meds.

Why inhaler prices are skyrocketing

In 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned inhalers that use chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs – which were once widely used as propellants – because they can damage the ozone layer. The FDA was following a timeline set by an environmental treaty, the Montreal Protocol, which the U.S. ratified in the late 1980s.

From 2009 onward, CFC inhalers were phased out and replaced with hydrofluoroalkane, or HFA, ones, which are more environmentally friendly. They’re also a lot pricier. For patients with insurance, the average out-of-pocket cost of an inhaler rose from $13.60 per prescription in 2004 to $25 immediately after the 2008 ban, a 2015 study found.

Today, the average retail price of an albuterol inhaler is $98. Unlike CFC inhalers, which have generic versions, HFA inhalers are covered by patents. While the drug itself hasn’t changed, the switch to a different device allowed companies to increase their prices.

In 2020, the FDA finally approved the first generic version of an albuterol inhaler. But generic competition still isn’t robust enough to lower prices meaningfully.

Patients with good insurance may pay very little or even nothing. But uninsured patients face steep market prices, and as of 2023, there were over 25 million uninsured Americans. Even insured patients may have trouble affording their asthma meds, the CDC has found.

The same asthma medication for which U.S. patients pay top dollar is available elsewhere at much cheaper prices. Consider the following case for inhalers. The pharmaceutical company Teva sells QVAR RediHaler, a corticosteroid inhaler, for $286 in the U.S.

In Germany, Teva sells that same inhaler for $9.

Seeking meds from Mexico and Canada

Some U.S. patients have traveled abroad to obtain cheaper asthma medication. After the 2008 ban on CFCs, it became common for patients to visit border towns in Mexico to purchase albuterol inhalers. They were sold for as little as $3 to $5.

A study of inhalers available to U.S. patients in Nogales, Mexico – about an hour south of Tucson, Arizona – found that Mexican products were generally comparable to U.S. inhalers. But researchers found some differences in performance, suggesting that American patients who use them could be getting a slightly different dose than their usual.

Asthma meds are considerably more affordable south of the border. Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

There have also been reports of Americans turning to Canadian pharmacies to purchase asthma inhalers at much cheaper prices. In one case, a U.S. pharmacy would have charged $857 for a three-month supply. A patient obtained it for $134 from a pharmacy in Canada.

One potential fix: Importing cheaper meds

U.S. law has long prohibited personal importation of pharmaceutical drugs. However, a recent development could pave the way for states to import cheaper asthma drugs.

In January 2024, the FDA authorized the importation of certain prescription drugs from Canada for the first time. For now, this authorization is limited to Florida, and it covers only drugs for HIV/AIDS, prostate cancer and certain mental health conditions.

Should it prove successful, the program could serve as a blueprint for other states.

Another possible solution: Price-capping

Policymakers could also try borrowing a page from the insulin playbook. Insulin prices climbed for almost two decades before Congress acted, capping the cost of insulin for Medicare patients. The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act established an out-of-pocket ceiling of $35 per month for prescription-covered insulin products.

If this cap had been in effect two years earlier, it would have saved 1.5 million Medicare patients about $500 annually, a recent study estimated. It also would have saved Medicare $761 million.

A similar approach could be taken for asthma meds.

Congress could create an asthma-specific rule similar to the insulin case. Or it could place provisions for asthma-med prices into a larger piece of legislation.

While this approach depends on the political environment, there are signs the government is becoming more willing to act. In January 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services hosted a meeting to discuss the problem with manufacturers and other stakeholders.

It’s a start. And – together with other measures – it brings some hope that asthma meds might soon become more affordable to those in need.

Ana Santos Rutschman, Professor of Law, Villanova School of Law

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. 

Total solar eclipses, while stunning, can damage your eyes if viewed without the right protection

Solar eclipses don’t come around often, but make sure to view these rare events with eclipse glasses to protect your vision. AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

Geoffrey Bradford, West Virginia University

On April 8, 2024, and for the second time in the past decade, people in the U.S. will have an opportunity to view a total solar eclipse. But to do so safely, you’ll need to wear proper protection, or risk eye damage.

Earth is the only planet in our solar system where solar eclipses can occur. During these celestial events, the Moon passes between our planet and the Sun, blocking the Sun and casting a shadow over the Earth. Total eclipses rarely happen multiple times in the same region of a country during one’s lifetime.

The path of totality for this spring’s eclipse, where you can view the total eclipse, will extend over a 100-mile path that crosses through Mexico, Texas, New England and eastern Canada.

Those in the path of totality will have the opportunity to see a total solar eclipse this April.

As excitement for the celestial show grows across the country, hotels in the path of totality have been booked up by eclipse enthusiasts. Museums and schools have planned viewing events, and researchers have developed technology for the visually impaired and those with hearing loss so more people have the opportunity to experience the eclipse.

Seeing an eclipse is a rare and special opportunity, but as an ophthalmologist, I know that looking directly at the Sun, even for a few moments, can severely damage your eyes. With a few easy precautions, eclipse viewers can protect themselves from severe and irreparable eye damage and vision loss.

Safe eclipse viewing

This year’s eclipse will unfold over a 75-minute period, from the moment the Moon starts to partially block the Sun until it completely moves away from it again.

During the partial eclipse period, when the Moon is partly blocking the Sun, you should never look directly at the Sun nor through binoculars, cameras or cellphones. Sunglasses, photographic filters, exposed color film and welding glasses will dim the sunlight, but these items do not prevent eye damage from the Sun’s very intense light rays.

Only solar eclipse glasses with filters designed specifically for observing the partial eclipse are safe to use. They are easily available from a variety of sources, and you can wear them by themselves or over your glasses or contact lenses.

Keep in mind that these safety filters will permit you to view only the eclipse, as they blacken out everything around you but the Sun itself. Before purchasing a pair, make sure your eclipse glasses are approved by the ISO 12312-2 international standard.

Only during its period of totality, the time when the Sun is fully behind the Moon, is it safe to remove your filtered glasses – and then only with caution.

This year, totality will last an unusually long four and a half minutes. If you leave your eclipse glasses on, you will miss seeing the Sun’s bright ring, or corona, behind the Moon. But then, as the Moon moves on, the sky will brighten and you’ll need to put the eclipse glasses back on.

Eyes and light

While the pupils of our eyes naturally constrict to limit bright light, and our eyes have pigments to absorb light, direct sunlight overwhelms these functions. Even viewing the Sun for a few brief moments can cause permanent vision loss.

The Sun emits intense ultraviolet and infrared light, which, while not visible to the human eye, can burn sensitive ocular tissues, such as the cornea and retina.

The cornea is the clear front surface of the eye, which lets light in. The retina is the inner lining of the back part of the eye, which sends signals to your brain, allowing you to see. American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus

Corneal damage from sunlight, called solar keratosis, can blur vision and be quite painful. While the cornea can heal itself, it may require several days to get better and lead to lost time at work or school.

Retinal damage, called solar retinopathy, occurs inside the eye. While it isn’t painful, it can be more severe than corneal damage and can dramatically impair vision. Solar retinopathy symptoms include a blind spot in one’s central vision, visual distortions and altered color vision.

In mild cases, these symptoms may go away, but in more severe cases, and even with treatment, they may become permanent.

To both enjoy the eclipse and prevent eye damage, make sure you and your loved ones all view the event with strict proper precautions.

Geoffrey Bradford, Professor of Pediatrics and Ophthalmology, West Virginia University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. 

Empower Yourself with Nutrition Know-How

Eating a balanced diet with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, dairy and proteins is a crucial first step toward a healthy life.

Even with hectic schedules and convenience foods readily available, it’s important to incorporate habits like regular family meals and meal planning so you have a variety of better-for-you snacks and recipes on hand. Also important is leading by example and modeling healthy eating habits to help improve overall nutrition for you and your family members, especially children.

If you are looking for ways to make nutrition fun, the experts at Healthy Family Project, along with its fruit and vegetable partners, are offering an online nutrition resource center as part of Mission for Nutrition 2024.

Geared toward dietitians, nutrition professionals and anyone involved in nutrition education, the resource center is a one-stop shop to make nutrition education fun and inspiring, featuring more than 600 dietitian-approved recipes; tips to pick, prepare and store more than 50 fruits and vegetables during every season; a podcast, e-cookbook and monthly newsletter; and free downloadables, infographics, activities for kids and more.

Dietitians and nutrition professionals can sign up to receive this year’s Mission for Nutrition kit, which is full of resources to use in classrooms, in-store with customers or wherever they’re supporting nutrition education. Available by request only, the kit includes a roll of “I’m a Healthy Eater” stickers, seasonal counter cards, mini magazines, demo ideas, a Healthy Family Project spatula and additional resources and information from produce partners.

As part of the mission, the partner brands are making a donation to improve access to fresh produce in schools through the Foundation for Fresh Produce.

To find more resources, tips and recipes to encourage proper nutrition, visit HealthyFamilyProject.com. 

SOURCE:
Healthy Family Project

Entertaining on Easter: 5 tips to make holiday hosting simple

Easter signals springtime and provides an opportunity to gather with loved ones to celebrate. However, hosting the get-together – whether brunch, lunch or dinner – requires planning and preparation to ensure the event is enjoyable.

From the guest list and menu to the decor and activities for the kiddos, consider these steps to get ready for Easter hosting duties.

Make a Guest List
When planning your gathering, first think about how many people your space can accommodate. Ensure there’s a place for everyone to sit and eat, even if that means bringing in extra tables and chairs or designating a “kids table” so all the adults can sit together. Once you know how many people you can invite – and have a plan for seating – send out festive invitations or create a group on social media with your preferred guests to gather RSVPs.

Take Inventory of Necessities
Once you have your guest list set, take inventory of serving dishes, utensils, linens and glassware. Depending on the number of guests, you may need to invest in extra supplies or borrow from a friend or relative to ensure you have everything you need. If you don’t have enough of one set of plates and flatware, mixing and matching is a trendy move and can serve as an additional aspect of your decor.

Plan the Menu
When setting your menu, traditional favorites like ham or lamb are almost always a hit but remember to consider any diet accommodations that may need to be made for any vegan or vegetarian guests. Dishes featuring eggs, carrots, ginger and other ingredients that call spring to mind like quiches, soups, galette and more can be a perfect complement to the traditional main course. Serving the meal family-style with platters and bowls for everyone to share or hosting a potluck with guests bringing assigned dishes can help reduce the stress of trying to prepare the entire meal yourself.

Decorate in Advance
From a seasonal wreath on the front door to a well-dressed table complete with place settings and a festive centerpiece, getting your decorating done early can not only reduce stress on the day of your event but also get you into the proper mindset for the celebration. A pastel or light-colored hue can add to the springtime vibes, and flowers, seasonal fruits in bowls and decorated eggs can all add to the tablescape.

Keep the Kids in Mind
While the meal is likely a highlight of the event for many, the younger guests often look forward to the activities, such as decorating eggs or an Easter egg hunt. You can hard-boil eggs in advance and set up a decorating station, complete with dyes, markers, stickers and more. Or while you’re finishing up inside, designate another adult or older children to hide pre-filled plastic eggs around the yard (weather permitting) and manage the hunt.

Find more ideas for hosting Easter festivities at eLivingtoday.com.

 

SOURCE:
eLivingtoday.com.

Combat Learner Burnout with These 3 Human-Centered Design Approaches

by Kenyada J. McLeod

Roman Samborskyi/ Shutterstock

Because teaching is a practice, educators often update or enhance courses so that they are better received or more effective. How might the learner experience be improved upon if we were to consider more compassionate and human-centered design choices?

According to HelpGuide.org, burnout can be described as "... feeling empty and mentally exhausted, devoid of motivation, and beyond caring." In the classroom environment, this may be presented as disengagement, fewer assignment submissions, or even a decrease in submission quality. The following three strategies can be used to tap into the humanity of the learning experience and potentially prevent burnout.

Revisit the Late Work Policy

While we may all remember the days of strict deadlines and policies that severely penalized learners for not submitting assignments by the due date, there are more compassionate approaches that center around learner choice and opportunity while still respecting instructors' needs and boundaries.

Setting deadlines helps students learn accountability, but providing flexibility (within reason) can support student success, particularly for non-traditional students with complex lifestyles and responsibilities. The New York Institute of Technology describes the act of accepting late work as an opportunity to "...add to the equitable classroom environment faculty seek to build." Late work policies that offer limited grace may be deflating as learners navigate the feelings of lack that come with burnout.

Examples of more compassionate late work policies may include one or more of the following:

• Incorporating a standard deduction based upon the number of days beyond the due date
• Allowing a small number of late submissions with no penalty
• Dropping a specific number of the lowest-scoring assignments

While not an all-inclusive list, options like these inform learners of our commitment to their success in spite of unexpected circumstances such as illness, life events, workload fluctuations, and more.

Honor College Closures

Colleges typically close for one or more week-long breaks in an academic year as well as many national holidays. Because the classroom -- physical or online -- is an extension of the college, it should also be closed. Through careful course planning or assignment due date adjustments, we can prevent learners from having to work during a break.

Time away from coursework, enjoying one's family, or simply relaxing can be very beneficial to learners' overall success. Often referred to as 'brain breaks,' these breaks provide learners with the opportunity "...to feel happy and relieved from everyday classroom stress, making them more attentive."

As we prepare learners for the workforce, it is important to demonstrate the value of work-life balance. Honoring institutional closures may help encourage learners to cultivate a more balanced way of being while pursuing their education and beyond.

Leverage Informal Polling and Surveys

Educators may often get the feeling that something isn't quite right. Learners may be scoring lower on particular assessments than usual or there could be an increase in unsubmitted assignments or noticeable dissatisfaction. This is a prime opportunity to identify the challenges and take immediate action.

Concerned by a noticeable decline in student engagement, both in class and with assignments, Josh Watson, assistant professor at Brightpoint Community College, opted to create a survey as a more empathetic communication channel. "Emphasizing shared responsibility, the survey conveyed a commitment to collective success," he said. "Overall, it served as a tool not just for data collection but to build trust, encourage communication, and reinforce a sense of community within the classroom."

Consider this roadmap if you want to try surveying your students:

1. Develop and Present the Survey

Consider developing a brief survey or poll as a temperature check for the learning environment. It may also be a good idea to add at least one open-ended question. The survey or poll should be anonymous to increase the chances of honest feedback.

The tone and way in which the survey is presented to learners is also of great importance. The survey is a tool to measure learner satisfaction and make noticeable changes to improve the experience for all. Expressing the value of learner input and the desire to collaboratively improve the learning experience may help yield a stronger response rate.

2. Consider the Results

The next step is to review the results with an open mind. Teaching is a practice. Design is iterative. This means that we are in a constant cycle of testing, evaluating, reworking, and applying. Consider being open to feedback from the learner community as this feedback has the potential to yield a positive shift in the learning environment.

3. Take Action

Lastly, identify the changes that can be implemented immediately and those that may have to be postponed for a future semester. It is also important to communicate the findings from the survey results as well as the actions that will be taken as a result.

Watson continues by sharing, "Acting on their feedback, I acknowledged the students' role in shaping the course dynamics. Their expressed appreciation indicated that this approach resonated with them, emphasizing the importance of actively listening to their perspectives and involving them in decisions -- a consideration they may not have previously recognized or contemplated in such detail."

The act of offering a survey communicates to learners that their feedback and input matter. Taking action assures them that not only do their voices matter, but their voices have the power to shift the learning experience.

The Bottom Line

Revisiting late work policies, honoring college closures, and seeking learner input are three strategies that may lead to a more fulfilling and balanced learner experience. These strategies may also reassure learners of the genuine care and respect extended to them as individuals and, therefore, potentially reduce burnout as we pour into -- rather than take away from -- those that we serve.

Disclaimer: HigherEdJobs encourages free discourse and expression of issues while striving for accurate presentation to our audience. A guest opinion serves as an avenue to address and explore important topics, for authors to impart their expertise to our higher education audience and to challenge readers to consider points of view that could be outside of their comfort zone. The viewpoints, beliefs, or opinions expressed in the above piece are those of the author(s) and don't imply endorsement by HigherEdJobs.

This article is republished from HigherEdJobs^® under a Creative Commons license. 

What families need to know about how to safely store firearms at home

Guns are the leading cause of death of children in the U.S. Laurent Hamels via Getty Images

Kerri Raissian, University of Connecticut and Jennifer Necci Dineen, University of Connecticut

For the past few years, guns have been identified as the leading cause of death for children in the United States.

There were 2,571 children age 1 to 17 who died in shootings in the U.S. in 2021, 68% more than the 1,531 that occurred in 2000.

To help reduce the number of firearm-related deaths and injuries among children, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona in January 2024 called upon school and district administrators to talk with parents and guardians about safe firearm storage practices.

As experts on the safe storage of firearms – and as leaders of the University of Connecticut’s ARMS Center for Gun Injury Prevention – we often get questions about the best ways to keep guns out of the hands of children. We offer the following tips:

1: Safely store all of your firearms

Nearly half of the households in the U.S. have at least one firearm, but only about 40% of firearm owners store all of their guns when not in use, according to data in a survey we recently fielded. Unsecured firearms have been linked to suicides, domestic homicides and accidental shootings. They also heighten the risk of unauthorized use, which includes theft.

2. Don’t assume you can hide your guns

Kids generally know the hiding spots for the things their parents or caretakers do not want them to find, such as holiday gifts or Halloween candy. The same is true with firearms.

In 40% of gun-owning households with children, adults said their children did not know where firearms were stored, a 2017 study found. However, many of the children reported knowing and being able to access the firearms.

Researchers estimate that 75% of children who live in homes with guns know where they are stored.

Adults may think they can instruct children to leave firearms alone, but the 2017 study also found that 22% of parents wrongly believed that their children had never handled their gun.

3. Store ammunition separately

Research shows that locking ammunition separately from firearms further reduces the risk of firearm injuries in homes with children and teenagers.

Storing ammunition separately from firearms can help reduce the risk of injury. Olena Domanytska via Getty Images

While storing an unreadied weapon locked away may feel counterintuitive to those who own guns for personal protection, research shows that keeping firearms locked or unloaded, or both, can also reduce risk of injury.

4. Learn to talk about firearm safety

While some families may not have firearms in their home, eventually children go to other homes and, as they get older, go unsupervised.

Keeping children safe from gun violence requires normalizing conversations on firearm storage, even for people in households where no gun is present.

Approximately 45% of all unintentional shooting deaths of children under 17 occurred outside of their own homes. When children visit friends, we believe it’s important for their parents to know if guns are present in the home they are visiting and, if present, whether those firearms are being safely stored.

For more information about how to discuss firearm safety, parents can visit websites such as BeSMART, End Family Fire and Secure Storage of Lethal Means.

5. Know the law

Twenty-seven states have some version of secure storage laws.

Based on our calculations using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, states with child access prevention laws – known as CAP laws – have a gun death rate that is 65% lower than states that do not have CAP laws (12.33 vs. 20.38 per 100,000). Of course, states with and without CAP laws have many differences; therefore, the lower rates cannot be attributed to CAP laws alone. However, the presence of CAP laws is protective and reduces gun death.

In the absence of a federal secure storage law, the legal requirements around firearm storage and preventing unauthorized children from accessing weapons vary by state or municipality.

For example, Connecticut requires firearms be in a locked device when not in use.

Iowa prohibits the storing or leaving a loaded firearm around children 14 and younger if it is not secured by a trigger lock or a securely locked container or some other secure location.

Further, while Michigan only recently added a safe storage law, Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of a boy who committed a mass school shooting with his parents’ unsecured firearm, was recently convicted of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the case. Her husband’s trial in the matter began on March 5, 2024.

6. Invest in a quality safe and/or locking device

There are various levels of locked gun storage, including trigger locks, metal cable locks, locked gun cases and gun safes. While storing a firearm and the ammunition in a locked combination or biometric device is safest, all of these methods can reduce the risk of gun injury and death. These locking devices can be purchased online, through some gun sellers or at sporting goods stores.

A biometric safe for a handgun is about US$65, a gun lock runs $55 to $75 dollars, and combination safes for long guns range widely from a couple of hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars.

Family-school-community partnerships allow America’s children to grow and thrive. By asking schools to share resources for secure firearm storage and communicate evidence-based safety practices, the Department of Education is helping schools address the leading cause of death among American children.

But families have to do their part, too. It begins by normalizing firearm safety conversations and storing firearms properly to keep children safe.

Kerri Raissian, Associate Professor of Public Policy, University of Connecticut and Jennifer Necci Dineen, Associate Director of the ARMS Center for Gun Injury Prevention, University of Connecticut

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. 

Celebrating Women in Academia During Women’s History Month

by Leah Jackson

PeopleImages.com - Yuri A/ Shutterstock

Women's History Month is a time to celebrate the incredible achievements that women all over the world have made (and continue to make).

Particularly in academia, it's a reminder to reflect on the evolution of women's access to (and role in) higher education -- and to initiate conversations about how to maintain progress.

Today, women outnumber men in the U.S. college-educated labor force, according to Pew Research, but this is a product of centuries' worth of work to gain access. Before the 19^th century, women were largely deterred from pursuing higher education.

Many early women's colleges started as seminaries for the sole purpose of educating women to become teachers. According to the Women's College Coalition, the earliest women's colleges were founded in the mid-19th century.

Taking it a step further, what about women working in higher education? Cornell professor of German and history Harriette J. Cooke is believed to be the first female professor given pay equal to her male colleagues (in 1871). Today, according to research from the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR), women maintain a majority presence in administrative positions, but they are over-represented among the lowest-paying and lowest-ranking faculty positions.

While there is still much work to be done, women advocates abound on college campuses across the country and continue to spark important conversations about how to achieve equity. We are proud to continue the conversation here on HigherEdJobs. This Women's History Month, please enjoy this roundup of some of our favorite articles published on HigherEdJobs over the years about women in the workplace and the academy.

Are Women's Colleges Still Important Today?

Empowering Women in Higher Education: Lessons Learned

The Truth about Women's History from a Women's Studies Pioneer

Can You Really Have It All? Women Today Say Yes

Leveling the Playing Field for Women in Negotiations

Five Practices to Support Mothers in the Workplace

Creating Equity in the Workplace

This article is republished from HigherEdJobs^® under a Creative Commons license. 

Combatting Loneliness in Older Adults

The bonds found in friendships and other relationships are an important factor in health and wellness – even science says so.

According to the American Psychological Association, forming and maintaining social connections at any age is one of the most reliable predictors of a healthy, happy and long life. Studies show having strong and supportive friendships can fend off depression and anxiety, lower blood pressure and heart rates in stressful situations and change the way people perceive daunting tasks.

However, statistics show approximately half of U.S. adults lack companionship and feel socially disconnected, according to the U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community. In fact, 12% don’t have anyone they consider a close friend, per the Survey Center on American Life. This “epidemic of loneliness,” as coined by U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, can take a severe toll on mental and physical health.

As people age, the risks of isolation increase. With America’s older population growing rapidly – the 65 and older population reached more than 55 million in 2020 – discussing how older adults can combat loneliness is relevant to public health and individual well-being.

Consider volunteering, which is one of the best and most rewarding ways to combat loneliness.

Volunteering Combats Loneliness
People often volunteer to find a sense of purpose, learn new skills, improve their communities or establish new routines after retiring or becoming empty nesters. For many, making friends through volunteer work is a welcome bonus. The act of volunteering provides proven benefits for older adults.

Forming connections can make all the difference in a person’s volunteer experience and sense of well-being. People who meet through volunteer work inherently share a common interest and something to bond over. These friendships can carry over outside of volunteer work and lead to bonding over other hobbies and interests.

Connection-Focused Volunteer Opportunities
In addition to making friends with fellow volunteers, many older adults also form relationships with the people they’re serving, especially if those recipients are their peers.

For example, AmeriCorps Seniors is the national service and volunteerism program in the federal agency of AmeriCorps that connects adults aged 55 and up to local service opportunities that match their interests. Its Senior Companion Program pairs volunteers with other older adults or those with disabilities who need companionship or assistance. Volunteers may help with tasks such as paying bills, shopping or getting companions to appointments. In some cases, volunteers may also provide support and respite for family members caring for loved ones with chronic illnesses.

“We often think of volunteering as ‘giving back,’ but we’ve seen firsthand that it often becomes so much more than that,” said Atalaya Sergi, director of AmeriCorps Seniors. “By spending a few hours each week with another older adult in need of support, our volunteers are not only giving back to others, but they’re adding meaning to their own lives and establishing new connections. They’re helping to fight the loneliness epidemic one visit at a time.”

Growing older can come with challenges, but some of those can be minimized with a positive mindset and commitment to remaining connected and engaged – whether with friends, relatives or fellow community members. Fostering relationships is a key ingredient to a healthier and more fulfilling life.

For more information and to find volunteer opportunities near you, visit AmeriCorps.gov/YourMoment.

Meet Friends Who Connected Through Service

Ray Maestas felt unfulfilled post-retirement and began volunteering with the AmeriCorps Seniors Senior Companion Program. He was connected with Bob Finnerty, a man with blindness looking for assistance a few days each week. They quickly struck up a routine of errands, reading and conversation that’s since become a friendship they both cherish.

“The Senior Companion Program has provided an avenue to enrich the lives of not only the participants but the people who are volunteering,” Maestas said. “Bob and I have gotten to the point where he’s a very important part of my life.”

Finnerty echoed those sentiments and shared his own appreciation for Maestas’ friendship.

“I’ve always relished my independence and I feel Ray is not just a person who reads for me – he’s a friend,” Finnerty said.

In the last few years, Maestas moved and now serves with a different chapter of the Senior Companion Program. He and Finnerty keep in touch. Maestas said they talk about every third day.

SOURCE:
AmeriCorps Seniors

4 Dynamics Undermining American Higher Education

by Robert A. Scott

Novikov Aleksey/ Shutterstock

Recent news stories criticize colleges and universities for being more concerned about money and profits than about serving students and the public. High student and campus debt as well as low graduation rates are cited. Survey results suggest that many are questioning the value as well as the cost of higher education.

Higher education's serious fault lines were evident even before COVID-19 interrupted the spring 2020 semester and beyond. Consequently, the disruptions since have been more severe than expected and the recovery has taken longer.

Much has been said about the heavy reliance on student tuition supported by ever more student debt, increasing levels of tuition discounting, rising levels of campus debt for facilities, expanded commitments to marketing and branding that seem to exceed attention given to academic quality, and generally poor student success metrics, among others.

However, much less has been said about four other dynamics in contemporary higher education. These dynamics, which have disrupted relations between and among boards of trustees, presidents, campus faculty, and the broader community, have undermined the foundations of American higher education.

1. Board Composition

The first dynamic concerns the way boards of trustees are composed. Under 15% of American college and university trustees have professional experience in higher education. One cannot imagine a corporation like Google or Amazon declaring that 85% of its directors knew little, if anything, about the characteristics, economics, and competitive landscape of their enterprise. Yet college and university trustees, whether nominated or elected through a political process as at public institutions or approved by a self-perpetuating board at private institutions, are not selected for their knowledge of higher education or their governance acumen.

Universities should advance board education through periodic training sessions, publications, and conferences sponsored by groups such as AGB (Association of Governing Boards) for all members and not just those newly elected. In these sessions, trustees can learn about the duties of care, loyalty, and obedience, the role of the faculty in governance, and how to support the president as the executive responsible for the fulfillment of the institution's mission.

2. The Evolution of the President's Role

The second dynamic is the evolution of the college and university president's role. Campus presidents have variously been described as cheerleaders, budget masters, lobbyists, sales reps, high-stakes panhandlers, promoters, and entrepreneurs. Too seldom are they thought of as educators, the keepers of an institution's mission and legacy for transformational teaching and learning.

Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) focus on size and scale, organization and delegation, short-term goals, the efficiency of means, money and markets, customers, personnel, and labor. By contrast, Chief Purpose Officers (CPOs) focus on mission and meaning, the long-term, the integrity of ends and means, student success, and faculty as partners in a moral and noble enterprise. This change in the president's perspective is due in large part to the composition of boards and the focus on money, whether state appropriations, fundraising, debt service, or state and federal compliance requirements.

Boards should support the professional development of presidents for their roles as chief mission officers as well as chief executive officers. A coach can be useful guide for presidents, especially those new to their role or facing an aggressive board.

3. Poor Preparation of Faculty for Shared Governance

A third dynamic in the current campus environment is the failure of boards and presidents to prepare faculty members for their roles in governance and leadership. After all, faculty are closest to the students whom institutions are chartered to serve, and they are integral to the fulfillment of institutional missions. Higher education leaders cannot fulfill their commitment to shared governance if the parties to it are unprepared for their roles in it.

4. Viewing Students as Consumers

Finally, a fourth dynamic is the consideration of students as consumers engaged in a transaction, a degree for money, instead of being engaged in a transformational experience involving the advancement of knowledge, skills, abilities, and values.

All four dynamics exacerbate the increasingly corporate style of higher education institutions. To change course, board members must be selected and educated for their role; presidents must be encouraged and rewarded for service as chief purpose officer as well as chief executive officer; faculty must be prepared for their involvement in governance and leadership; and students need to be thought of as partners in learning, not consumers in a transaction.

Finally, trustees, presidents, and faculty must monitor the alignment between mission and goals on the one hand and the use of resources and results on the other. By monitoring alignments, the parties to university governance can ensure that the goals for student learning and graduation are supported by both allocations and rewards. As it is, only 50% of those who enter four-year college graduate in four years.

Disclaimer: HigherEdJobs encourages free discourse and expression of issues while striving for accurate presentation to our audience. A guest opinion serves as an avenue to address and explore important topics, for authors to impart their expertise to our higher education audience and to challenge readers to consider points of view that could be outside of their comfort zone. The viewpoints, beliefs, or opinions expressed in the above piece are those of the author(s) and don't imply endorsement by HigherEdJobs.

This article is republished from HigherEdJobs^® under a Creative Commons license.

Easy Ideas to Stretch Your Retirement Budget: Ways seniors can save on enjoyable activities

Retirement may mean you have unlimited time to enjoy each day, but it doesn’t mean you have a budget to match.

You probably already know staying active is essential for aging with grace, so instead of letting limited funds keep you at home, explore some ways you can enjoy your leisure time without breaking the bank.

Hit the Gym
Many fitness centers offer special rates and programs for older adults. Hitting the track or joining a group fitness class are easy ways to socialize while getting some exercise. The discounted membership is also an investment since staying fit is important for physical and mental health.

Enjoy Early Dinner Deals
You can still enjoy dining out occasionally, especially if you take advantage of lower-cost meals designed with older adults in mind. Many specials are for meals earlier in the day, which is consistent with a growing trend toward earlier dining. According to Yelp, the number of people eating from 4-6 p.m. has grown 9% (up to 26% from 17% in 2019). Eating earlier promotes better digestion, and earlier meals are often lighter portions for smaller appetites. For example, Cracker Barrel’s Early Dinner Deals feature smaller portions served from 4-6 p.m. on weekdays. Menu items include a variety of homestyle favorites like chicken n’ dumplins, meatloaf, catfish and more.

Check Out the Library
Your local library is filled with hours of free entertainment, but it’s not just the kind you’ll find from getting a library card. You can undoubtedly find a book that covers any genre or interest you can name, but most local libraries also offer programming tailored to special interests and the sessions are typically offered for free or at a low cost. It’s an easy, affordable way to pick up a new skill, meet a favorite author, learn about a topic that intrigues you and more. Other resources to explore include your library’s DVD collection and internet access if you don’t have a computer at home.

Nurture a Garden
Tending a garden may seem like a seasonal activity, but you can make it a year-round hobby. Researching and planning is a good way to carry your gardening enthusiasm into the cooler months and you can start seedlings indoors to extend your growing season. While you’re digging into this low-cost pastime, remember the results of your efforts, such as fresh fruits and veggies, can help cut your grocery costs, too.

Mind Your Money with DIY
Saving money at the grocery store is just one way you can make DIY projects work for you. There are dozens of other examples of ways you can put your skills and interests to use by passing time doing something you enjoy while benefiting your bank account. If you like to tinker with cars, figure out what repairs you can handle yourself and avoid hefty service fees. Crafting and sewing might mean you have ready-made gifts for special occasions and a way to repair or repurpose damaged clothing instead of discarding it.

Ask About Discounts
You may be surprised by how many places offer discounts for older adults that they don’t readily advertise. In some cases, you’ll find the information on their website or signage, but other times, you may find it easier to just ask. When you’re booking an appointment or checking out, inquire about discounts for older adults, including any restrictions, age requirements, the amount of the discount and other pertinent details. Sometimes the discounts are offered on certain days or for specific services, or they may require you to join a loyalty club to access the discounts. When dining out, many restaurants offer a variety of loyalty perks. Rewards members at Cracker Barrel can earn points, or “Pegs,” on qualifying restaurant and retail purchases. Members can also take advantage of bonus birthday, anniversary and surprise rewards throughout the year.

To find a location near you, visit crackerbarrel.com/locations.

 

SOURCE:
Cracker Barrel