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This study aims to assess the association of Healthy Eating Index (HEI) with levels of fasting blood sugar (FBS) and lipid profile in normoglycemic and elevated FBS patients.

This case-control study was conducted on 144 participants, namely, 72 normoglycemic subjects (FBS < 100 mg/dl) and 72 high-glycemic patients (FBS ≥ 100 mg/dl) aged 20–60 years of age, who were selected from the nutrition and diet clinics in Tehran city. The dietary intake was collected by using a validated food frequency questionnaire to determine the HEI score.

The mean±SD age and body mass index of participants were 47.1 ± 12.7 years and 29.6 ± 6.0 kg/m², respectively. The median (interquartile range) of HEI scores in the normoglycemic group and the high-glycemia group were 19.34 (15.24–24.31) and 16.53 (13.35–24.07), respectively. In the overall population, the findings of the multi-variable linear regression model indicated a positive association between the HEI score and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) (ß = 0.34; 95%CI: 0.05–0.64, P = 0.01). However, there is no significant association between HEI and HDL-C in normoglycemic (ß = 0.19; 95%CI: −0.31, 0.69, P = 0.45) and hyperglycemic subjects (ß = 0.28; 95%CI: −0.10–0.66, P = 0.15). Furthermore, the association of HEI with levels of FBS, triglycerides (TGs) and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) was not significant in any of the analyzed groups, including the total population, normoglycemic individuals and hyperglycemic subjects.

This study was the first study to assess the role of HEI and its components with levels of FBS and lipid profile in normoglycemic and hyperglycemic individuals in Iran. The findings suggested that higher adherence to HEI may be associated with an increase in the HDL-C level. However, HEI could not predict FBS, TGs and LDL-C levels in the adult population.

Human perceptions, attitudes, and relationships are shaped by worldviews and values. The rich mosaic of worldviews in today's fast-changing global village, where cultures interact and information flows freely, challenge educators and students. Worldviews influence problem modeling and solutions. Worldviews give us psychological confidence that the world is as we see it, safe, secure, and belonging. Each worldview is consistent with the assumptions, ideals, and analytical processes. Values define behavior, attitudes and decision-making. The global higher education system's long history and recent developments in globalization, technological innovations, and internationalization make it even more complex. Globally, higher education is evolving rapidly. Global political, economic, social, technological, and environmental factors promote rapid change. Higher education institutions have struggled to adapt to these developments due to limited resources and capacity. Growing demand has created new business models and institutions. Access, equity, inclusion, and quality are new issues that emerged. To be relevant in a rapidly changing environment, higher education institutions must adapt to the knowledge society and growing need for access. This anthology contains 14 thought-provoking studies on worldviews and values in teaching-learning, curricula, assessment, and outcomes.

This study aims to stimulate scholarly attention and practical application pertaining to individuals recognized as “Docs.” Through conducting a comprehensive analysis and acquiring a profound understanding of its many connotations, the objective is to shift attitudes and approaches concerning those who are seen to possess knowledge and value within society.

For this study, culturally relevant pedagogies were used as theoretical frameworks in addition to Sankofa and concept explication being used as methodologies.

The authors identified three themes: (1) honorary cultural practice-community nomination of “professahs” and “docs,” (2) (Black) robinhoods – cultural signifiers of distinction and relatability and (3) docs as catalysts – elevating community via consciousness, trust and mentorship as significant understandings of this distinction.

The study emphasizes the importance of “Docs” in both academic and social contexts. The role of “Docs” serves to alleviate potential conflicts of being a Black intellectual. This study further reveals the ways in which Docs align with, promote or possibly undermine established frameworks of thought. Finally, this study provides institutions with opportunities to consider strategies for the utilization, recognition and integration of individuals who are frequently overlooked or undervalued.

In recent decades, higher education institutions (HEIs) have increasingly adopted marketing-oriented approaches. While the adoption of marketing was slower in Europe and Spain, it has become a vital tool for HEIs, both to stay competitive in a changing socio-economic context and to face the challenges posed by the transition to the University 2.0 model. This study aims to analyse the historical evolution of communication techniques used by universities, bringing into focus the relevance of social networks in the most recent decades.

This research methodology consists of two components. Firstly, a comprehensive analysis of the available data is conducted to investigate the earliest marketing and communication actions involving universities, as well as their evolution over time, contextualizing this within the significant shifts in the social, political and technological background. Secondly, a specific focus is placed on the contribution of social media, particularly Twitter, as a powerful tool in creating a university brand and effectively promoting educational institutions, especially during the last stage of this historical evolution. To identify and analyse these trends, Natural Language Processing is used, specifically by leveraging topic modelling techniques.

The results of this analysis offer insights into the evolution of marketing communication applied by Spanish universities and show the increasing importance of social networks and the use of specific topics and contents to enhance their impact on engagement.

This study contributes to the literature by using a novel methodological approach to the research on the historical development of communication in universities in Spain, providing guidance to manage their social media strategy to differentiate themselves, increase engagement and foster brand loyalty.

This chapter is focused on what we can learn from oppressive governance, in this case specifically relating to university governance in terms of vice chancellors and presidents, to the deputy vice chancellor and deputy president and down the ever-growing university hierarchy to deans and heads of schools and their deputies, from a Freirean perspective. Freire wrote at length about how leaders ‘controlled’ education and why they did so, but he also wrote at length about how governments control populations – himself being both a political prisoner and a person in exile to escape persecution. This chapter subsequently examines Freire's ideas around what techniques people employ to control populations and applies them to a higher education setting because the similarities are numerous and the tactics familiar.

Preservice teachers (n = 39) described their definitions of patriotism and to what extent they believed statements from The 1619 Project (2019) and The 1776 Commission Report (2021) were patriotic.

This study employed a mixed-method survey including open-ended prompts requesting participants’ descriptions of patriotism and Likert scale prompts asking participants to agree/disagree with deidentified statements from The 1619 Project and the 1776 Commission Report. In vivo words reflecting emotional responses to patriotism and the statements informed the categorization process in a second round of coding.

Four categories of patriotism definition were identified. Identified were relationships between groups’ conceptualizations of patriotism and whether statements from history narratives were viewed as patriotic.

This article contributes to the field by exploring the intersectionality of the concept of patriotism with competing narratives regarding the foundation and growth of the United States.

This paper seeks to illustrate how interventionist education reforms shape dis/trust-building processes and their impact on teacher professionalism in vocational education and training (VET) across national contexts. Using trust as the object of analysis, we discuss the affective mechanisms of becoming a professional in a standards-based neoliberal environment.

Through an analysis of VET teacher narratives in England and Austria, the paper draws attention to the ways in which policy instrumentalism has created a culture of distrust in VET. Drawing upon foundational work on system trust developed by Niklas Luhmann, we illustrate how conditions for trust sit at symbolic thresholds, which set the conditions for professional recognition within VET.

Our analysis revealed that attempts to standardise VET strategy are fuelled by the need for existential security and predictability, leading to tensions in the cultivation of system trust. Conditions for professional recognition across both contexts were based on practices of documentation and subordination, narrowly defining modes of legitimate self-expression in organisations. This constitutes a crisis of trust in VET teacher professionalism, which undermines pedagogical autonomy and integrity.

We seek to highlight the impact that reduced trust in the governance of VET can have on issues associated with teacher motivation, well-being and retention. The consideration of trust is therefore essential both for policy design and implementation in VET organisations.

The application of trust theory offers a distinctive lens through which to understand the impact of accountability, performativity and governance processes upon teacher subjectivity within VET across national contexts.