Idaho State University

Abstract Across the United States, the high school mascot is a symbol of pride and tradition for students, alumni, and community members. However, efforts to change a traditional mascot, even one that is considered racially offensive, can create conflict and divide stakeholders. Superintendents are responsible for addressing conflict and helping districts manage change in complex systems in ways that both respect tradition and build a culture of care and fairness for all students. This problem of practice features the experiences of Monte Woolstenhulme, a 14-year veteran superintendent of Teton School District 401, a rural district of nearly 2,000 students. Early in his tenure, Superintendent Woolstenhulme unilaterally decided to change the name of Teton’s high school mascot: The Redskins. After a contentious community listening session, the school board indefinitely tabled the proposed mascot name change. Woolstenhulme continued his work in the district, and 6 years later, by vote of the students at Teton High School, the mascot was changed to the Timberwolves. This case study provides an example of ethics in educational leadership and offers a glimpse into how superintendents can manage district change and community conflict, build superintendent and board relations, and lead efforts to respect all cultures and communities.

An Adult Cochlear Implant Aural Rehabilitation Special Interest Group was formed in 2023. Members represent interdisciplinary collaborators, including audiologists, speech-language pathologists, surgeons, nonclinical administrators, manufacturer/industry representatives, and researchers. Current perspectives of adult cochlear implant (CI) recipients regarding aural rehabilitation (AR) remain unknown and understudied. The aim of this study is to survey adult CI recipients to determine their perspectives on the AR process. A web-based national survey was sent to adult CI recipients through multiple channels. The survey asked recipients about their demographics, state of residence, hearing loss history, and device configuration. Questions probed recipients' experiences of learning about AR options, services used, definitions of AR, and perceived value of services received. Questions were also asked about barriers to AR services, preoperative counseling, and satisfaction with their decision to pursue a CI. A total of 115 CI recipients responded to the survey. Results revealed a relative lack of information provided to many CI recipients regarding AR services. Many CI recipients reported wishing they had received additional resources in the areas of music training and equipment troubleshooting. Most participants reported that both one-on-one clinician-guided AR and independent listening practice were effective methods of AR. Findings shed light on current gaps in providing the most effective AR services, which will need to be addressed to optimize hearing health care and outcomes for adult CI recipients. Future work should include outreach to a broader representation of CI users to expand our understanding of AR resources, education, and limitations.

To demonstrate the utility of applying demographic and epidemiological models to assess the potential effects of sociopolitical status and childhood stress on survivorship, mortality, and morbidity to shed new light on life during the Maya Classic period. Elite and commoner burials (n = 63) from the Lower Dover polity, Belize dating to the Early (CE 250/300-600) and Late/Terminal Classic (CE 600-900/1000) periods were analyzed for lesions associated with developmental stress. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression hazards analyses were applied to assess survivorship and mortality trends across ages, sociopolitical statuses, and for individuals displaying macroscopic indicators of cribra orbitalia and linear enamel hypoplasia. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression showed that there are no significant differences in mortality and morbidity between sociopolitical status groups when nonadults (<15 years) are excluded. However, among commoners, those with cribra orbitalia had higher survival than those without it (p = 0.02). Findings show that despite small sample sizes, paleodemographic models have the potential to elucidate the effects of early life stressors and that despite inferred status differences in Maya archaeology, elites and commoners experienced similar survivorship rates at Classic period Lower Dover. This study exemplifies how integrating paleopathological data with demographic modeling provides insights even when sample sizes are limited, and it clarifies some of the complexities inherent in understanding ancient Maya. Poor preservation impacted the analysis of pathological conditions. Paleopathology-broadly and in Mesoamerica more regionally-needs to engage in more rigorous model approaches and reconsider long-held narratives to make substantial headway in understanding the societal and biological impact of childhood stressors.

The entoptic phenomena of Haidinger’s and Boehm’s brushes provide a noninvasive window into the structural and functional organization of the human retina. These percepts arise from polarization-dependent interactions within distinct retinal layers: radial diattenuation by macular pigments in the fovea produces Haidinger’s brushes, whereas polarization-sensitive scattering in the non-foveal retina gives rise to Boehm’s brushes. Recent advances in structured light have introduced spin–orbit beams with spatially varying polarization fields that conform to the intrinsic symmetry of retinal polarization interactions, enabling systematic expansion and enhancement of these entoptic patterns. By aligning the optical field topology with retinal architecture, such beams generalize the formation of Haidinger’s and Boehm’s brushes to complex multi-lobed geometries and provide a path toward quantitative mapping of perceptual structure across eccentricity. This review outlines the optical and biological foundations of polarization perception, summarizes recent results demonstrating its enhancement through spin–orbit structured illumination, and describes psychophysical methods for characterizing stimulus geometry, contrast sensitivity, and retinal dependence. Finally, it highlights how these techniques establish a framework for functional retinal mapping and potential future diagnostic applications capable of detecting disruptions associated with central or non-foveal retinal disease.

Chronic absenteeism has risen significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic, and while attempts to redress absenteeism can target drivers at multiple ecological levels, this study focuses on a within-school factor: student perceptions of school climate. Using statewide data from middle and high school students in Georgia, we examine how aggregated student-reported climate measures relate to absenteeism. We find that students’ perceptions of climate significantly predict school-level absenteeism rates, with the relationship most pronounced for Black and White students. The association between worsening climate perceptions and absenteeism is stronger than the association for improving ones, and connectedness and safety are the climate elements most related to absenteeism. Our results position school climate as a within-school lever that stakeholders can target to combat absenteeism.

This study examined asynchronous online courses that were pre‑designed with the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework to foster teaching presence (TP), cognitive presence (CP), and social presence (SP). It focused on how these CoI elements relate to student engagement and shared metacognition in activities such as case‑based discussions, peer reviews, role‑based tasks, Practical Inquiry Model‑based learning, and scenario‑based exercises. The findings revealed that students perceived shared metacognition more strongly than they did the individual CoI presences or engagement. All three presences were significantly and positively correlated; CP linked to both TP and SP, and TP also correlated with SP. Every presence was meaningfully associated with overall engagement, though TP and SP showed only weak to moderate but significant correlations with engagement, unlike performance measures. CP and TP correlated with shared metacognition in both self‑regulation and co‑regulation aspects; SP did not correlate significantly with self‑regulation. Overall engagement correlated with shared metacognition, and self‑regulation was strongly associated with both self- and co‑regulation. These results suggest that courses deliberately built around the CoI framework can enhance shared metacognition through their presences and, consequently, student engagement. The study offers practical insights for instructional designers, educators, and researchers who aim to strengthen undergraduate group work and support regulated, engaged learning.

ABSTRACT Concrete crack measurements are central to earthquake damage assessment procedures, yet few analysis models are equipped to handle crack data as direct inputs. To address this need, this work develops a non‐associative, multi‐surface plasticity model that describes the configuration‐dependent response of a reinforced‐concrete crack subjected to earthquake loading. The aggregate interlock configuration is controlled by a well‐established parabolic yield surface whereas frictional unloading follows a newly proposed hyperbolic yield surface. An extensive experimental review is undertaken to verify the form of the yield surfaces – which are completely parameterized by crack width – and to motivate the development of non‐associated flow rules that regulate crack dilation for cyclic loading. Furthermore, ranges for the model's elastic stiffness components and six plasticity parameters are identified from experimental data. Typical model outputs are demonstrated for a mixed‐mode, cyclically loaded crack from the experimental literature, for which the model simulates complicated hysteresis behavior accurately. This illustrates the model's potential for analyzing existing cracks under earthquake loads, subject, however, to future calibration and validation of the model's predictive power. A compact vector‐representation of the constitutive model is provided to aid implementation into any structural analysis software, for the eventual crack‐based assessment of full‐scale structures.

Limited high-quality evidence exists from controlled trials on the impact of avocado-containing diets on cardiometabolic risk factors. The purpose of this randomized, double-blind, free-living, controlled feeding, crossover study in adults with increased cardiometabolic risk was to assess the effects of replacing energy from solid fats and added sugars with equivalent energy from 1 avocado daily on cardiometabolic risk factors. For two 3-wk periods, separated by a 2-wk washout, healthy adults with elevated triglycerides (TG, 135-499 mg/dL) consumed an average American diet or a diet in which 1 avocado (∼180 g/d, ∼300 kcal/d) replaced energy from saturated fatty acids and added sugars. The same study products (muffins, granola bites, dressing, salsa, marinade, and pesto) delivered the avocado or control ingredients. Green food dye was added to the control study products to facilitate double blinding. Non-high-density lipoprotein (non-HDL) cholesterol (primary outcome), other lipoprotein lipids, fasting glucose and insulin, and fasting and postprandial blood pressures were measured at baseline and end of condition. Linear mixed models were used to generate estimates for percentage changes. Of 42 randomly assigned participants, 37 completed the avocado condition and 39 completed the control condition. An intention-to-treat analysis showed significantly larger percentage changes, 95% confidence intervals (CIs), from baseline after the avocado condition, compared with after the control condition, for non-HDL cholesterol (-4.65%; 95% CI: -9.01%, -0.08%; P = 0.047), very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (-9.30%; 95% CI: -15.3%, -2.82%; P = 0.007); TG (-17.4%; 95% CI: -25.0%, -8.99%; P < 0.001), small low-density lipoprotein subfraction cholesterol (-13.9%; 95% CI: -23.2%, -3.49%; P = 0.012), and total cholesterol:HDL cholesterol ratio (-6.56%; 95% CI: -12.0%, -0.79%; P = 0.028). Percentage changes for other lipoprotein lipids, glucose, insulin, and blood pressures did not significantly differ (P > 0.05) between conditions. Replacing solid fats and added sugars with avocado in a typical American diet improves the lipoprotein lipid profile in adults with elevated TG. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT04990817 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04990817).