Practical experiences form a fundamental part of preparation for labour mobility and/or for practice within a multicultural environment. However, health-care practitioners need to be adequately prepared for such experiences and value the opportunity to learn about culture, to explore values and beliefs, and to practise intercultural skills within the safe environment of an educational establishment, facilitated by skilled teachers.

The recent increase in the notifications of tuberculosis infections has focused the attention of healthcare professionals on reasons for the disease's resurgence. This article describes how directly observed therapy and an enlightened approach to health promotion for groups of people perceived as being at risk, could prevent further increases in incidence.

In the research study reported here, West Virginia University Extension educators surveyed the public about their current canning knowledge and practices in 2010. The results showed that educational background and canning experience were the most important factors in understanding how clients seek canning information and the degree to which they preserve foods safely. Home canners primarily use family members as first sources of canning information and consider Extension one of the less important sources of information. Improved marketing efforts are needed to increase canners' understanding of the importance of formal canning sources, especially those offered by Extension programs.

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Studies document that low-income children lose academic skills over the summer. Six years of reading achievement data collected by Energy Express, a nationally recognized summer reading and nutrition program in West Virginia, has established the efficacy of the intervention. The purpose of this study was to examine characteristics of a voluntary summer program that foster participation. Interview data indicates that children attend because they perceive the program as fun; large creative art (for example, full-body portraits, appliance box castles, wall murals) seems particularly important. Energy Express gives children both the fun they want and the enrichment they need in the summer.