BACKGROUND Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are the largest source of added sugar in the US diet. In adolescents aged 12–19, these drinks account for 13% to 28% of total daily calories. Compared to other adolescents, those residing in Appalachia have the highest consumption rates of SSBs. METHODS Using a Teen Advisory Council, a student-designed and student-led intervention was conducted at 2 high schools in a rural Appalachian county. Using repeated-measures models design with Bonferroni correction, data were collected on daily and weekly consumption of SSBs and of water at baseline, immediately post intervention, and 30 days post intervention. Vending machine surveys were completed. RESULTS The 186 participants reported purchasing SSBs from school vending machines (41.4%), cafeteria (36.5%), and school stores (7.7%). Daily SSB servings decreased from an average of 2.32 (SD = 2.14) to 1.32 (SD = 1.29) (p < .001). Weekly consumption decreased from an average of 4.30 (SD = 2.40) days per week to 2.64 (SD = 1.91) (p < .001). Water consumption increased 19% from baseline to immediately post intervention. CONCLUSIONS Student-directed efforts to support behavioral change are feasible and effective at affecting individual lifestyle behaviors. Small and manageable changes may lead to net improvements in lifestyle behaviors.

Family-Centered Care provides a forum for sharing information about basic components of caring for children and families, including respect, information sharing, collaboration, family-to-family support, and confidence building.

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A general understanding among colleagues working at private higher education institutions in Malaysia is that homegrown programmes are led differently from Transnational Education (TNE) programmes. It is generally accepted that TNE programmes have a more vibrant culture of distributed leadership, as the leadership style mirrors the practice in the home universities. The mixed method study investigated the phenomenon by comparing the prevalence of distributed leadership in four private universities offering homegrown and TNE business programmes using the Edvantia Shared Leadership Continuum. The finding showed that distributed leadership practice was considerably lower in the TNE than in the homegrown programmes in all four universities. Leaders in all four universities were less inclined to practice distributed leadership as there were greater reputational and financial risks in TNE programmes. As a result, a higher level of oversight is required to maintain good relationships, successful partnerships, and profitability.

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