Digital Commons Network^™

An Exploration Of Service Needs And Preferences Of Dementia Caregivers In Kentucky, Heehyul Moon, Sunshine Rote, Allison Kacmar, Amy Kostelic, Bari Lewis

Family Sciences Faculty Publications

As Americans live longer, the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias will increase. Caregivers are critical to the care and life quality of people with dementia. Yet, dementia caregivers are at increased risk for health issues, social isolation, and financial challenges. To help educators with the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service work with their local Alzheimer’s Association and the University of Louisville to better support dementia families, we explored caregiver needs and service utilization using an online survey. Our findings highlighted the need for counseling/support, care management skills, resource education, self-care strategies, and legal services. Extension Service Educators …

Positioning Community-Based Girl Group Programs For Success: Lessons Learned From The Population Council's Technical Assistance Partnership With Unfpa-Mozambique's Rapariga Biz, Miriam Temin, Arune Estavela, Craig Heck, Natalie Jackson, Joana Mendes

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Population Council provided technical assistance and strengthened capacity for Rapariga Biz, a large-scale UN program in 20 districts across Nampula and Zambezia provinces in Mozambique. The program was established to reduce child marriage and early pregnancy through a set of multisectoral interventions. The partnership between the Council and UNFPA-Mozambique generated useful lessons regarding the opportunities and challenges of using the community-based girl groups (CBGG) model in low-resource settings, especially when implemented at scale. In CBGG programs, girls and young women meet regularly with a leader (e.g., a mentor) who uses a variety of pedagogical methods to address sexual and …

“Greening” Worcester: Municipal Best Practices For Sustainability, Erin Mckeon, Charline Kirongozi, Jared Duval, Antannia Greene, Qianshu Sun, Zewei Yao

School of Professional Studies

In response to the urgent threat posed by climate change, more and more cities, including Worcester, are attempting to become more environmentally responsible and sustainable. Worcester is attempting to develop ways to become more sustainable; both to strengthen their communities and to protect the planet. The Green Worcester Working Group (GWWG) tasked the Clark Capstone Team with researching best practices for municipal sustainability. The GWWG has set the following priorities: climate change mitigation, resilience, open spaces, sustainable resource management, education and awareness. Taking these into account, the Clark Capstone Team researched the sustainability practices of cities in New England, across …

For One Child, Zion Bereket, Xin Huang, Yitong Lin, Ruobing Pei, Rachel White, Ziyuan Li

School of Professional Studies

The entirety of this project was completed on the foundation of the three focus areas, which were identified by our client as areas of high need. The client wanted to prioritize these three areas as they believed that these three areas were the most integral to the successful achievement of their mission, as well as to the overall health and longevity of the organization.

Supporting Strong Families And Capable Communities Through Cross-National Research, Nathan C. Taylor, Deborah K. Hartman, Richard Bischoff, Alan Hayes, Paul R. Springer, David Perkins

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Background Mental and behavioral ill-health are growing global problems and while there are promising evidence-based approaches aimed at reducing their impact, availability of services varies greatly, not only across nations, but also between urban, regional, and remote locations. Rural areas face accessibility and acceptability challenges related to mental health services that are similar to barriers experienced in developing countries. Initiatives to address mental health challenges in under-served rural areas can inform global mental health strategies.

Methods Using a public health approach, we illustrate how innovations in rural communities build community capacity and capability in areas that are currently, and are …

When Bad Genes Ruin A Perfectly Good Outlook: Psychological Implications Of Hereditary Breast And Ovarian Cancer Via Narrative Inquiry Methodology, Cammi Clark

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Scientists debunked the belief that breast cancer is always viral with the mid-90s discovery of the first hereditary genetic mutation linked to a significantly higher-than average chance of breast and ovarian cancer. This genetic condition, called Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer (HBOC), passes the mutation from generation to generation in a family. Thousands of variations of such mutations exist, and carriers account for 10 to 15% of all breast cancer, and up to 20% of ovarian (Childers et al., 2017). In addition, genetic testing uncovered a rapidly rising number of healthy people (never had breast/ovarian cancer) who are also carriers, …

Cultural Capital: An Investigation In Community Sustainability, Harrison Luft

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study analyzed the place and role of cultural capital within the existing community sustainability framework. The purpose of the study was to look at the organization Graos de Luz e Grio and analyze their strategies in education, dialogue, culture, empowerment, and sustainability with young people and with the community. It was built upon a review of the literature, which found that although culture is included in the current sustainability framework, it is not given the necessary credit it deserves in shaping populations. The study was conducted over four weeks in the city of Lençóis, located in the interior of …

Intercountry Adoption And Child Sponsorship In Vietnam: A Practicum-Based Exploration Of A Complex Relationship, Rainah Umlauf

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

For over a decade, Vietnam ranked in the top ten countries providing the most children for intercountry adoption (ICA), sending almost 11,000 children abroad since 2003 (U.S. State Department, 2015). It is likely that many of these children, however, were not orphans; evidence reveals that a lucrative baby-buying industry falsified information and trafficked children for years in order to meet the high international demand for healthy infants.

In this paper, I relate this history of ICA fraud to contemporary child sponsorship in Vietnam. I find that ICA and child sponsorship are intertwined in two contradictory ways. First, child sponsorship programs …

Facilitators Of Empowerment Lead In Sustainable Rural Development: A Case Study Of Thanda, Emma Milford

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In a world searching for more innovative models of development, it is important to highlight successful programs that offer insight into effective, impactful interventions. In this study, I investigate Thanda as a case study for rural sustainable development where investment in individual empowerment results in community empowerment. Thanda was founded in 2008 with the original intent of addressing the orphan crisis due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in rural communities near Hibberdene, South Africa. Since then, Thanda has implemented afterschool education programs, feeding programs, agricultural development programs, early childhood development programs, and a 100% green community center. Their curriculum emphasizes critical …

Casa De Los Ningunos: Un Estudio De Caso Sobre La Re-Imaginando De “Sumak Qamaña” En Un Contexto Urbano Y Contemporáneo, Vanessa Voller

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Una simple búsqueda en Google de "crisis globales del siglo XXI" dará una larga lista de crisis políticas, sociales, económicas y ambientales que enfrenta el siglo XXI. Teniendo en cuenta estas crisis, se ha hecho evidente que la gente del siglo XXI tendrá que encontrar formas alternativas de vivir, que pondrá a prueba el paradigma occidental dominante de la sociedad; un paradigma plagado por el consumismo, el individualismo, la destrucción del medio ambiente, la mentalidad extractivista y las fuerzas homogeneizadoras de la globalización (Choquehuanca 2010; Huanacuni Mamani-2010). En todo el mundo muchos diversos proyectos e iniciativas están surgiendo para desafiar …

Behind At The Starting Line: Poverty Among Hispanic Infants, Daniel T. Lichter, Scott R. Sanders, Kenneth M. Johnson

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In this brief, authors Daniel Lichter, Scott Sanders, and Kenneth Johnson examine the economic circumstances of Hispanic infants using the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey annual microdata files from 2006 through 2010. They report that a disproportionate share of Hispanic infants start life’s race behind the starting line, poor and disadvantaged—an important finding because the proportion of all U.S. births that are Hispanic is growing rapidly. The poverty risk is especially high among rural Hispanic infants and those in new destinations. Despite higher poverty risks, Hispanic infants receive less governmental assistance. High Hispanic infant poverty has immediate and long-term consequences …

“Architects Of Their Own Solutions:” A Comparative Study Of Gender In Environmental Justice Work, Ellen Olack

Honors Theses

Backgrounds, identities and beliefs of the people within a group can dictate the direction a movement takes and whether or not that movement will be able to endure. Using a series of interviews, I aim to determine how gender plays a part in shaping a person’s role within the environmental justice movement by studying if and how gender constructions influence the mindsets of not only the people working to end environmental injustice, but also of the community members living in zones affected by environmental injustice.

Delivering Contraceptive Vaginal Rings—Task Shifting And Task Sharing In The Delivery Of Family Planning Services: Experiences From Kenya, Wilson Liambila, Saumya Ramarao, Heather Clark

Reproductive Health

This report describes the task-shifting and task-sharing policies and experiences relevant to the provision of family planning (FP) services in Kenya and the potential place for contraceptive vaginal rings. The feasibility, effectiveness, and acceptability of mid- and lower-level providers in the provision of FP services is documented. The report highlights how the provision of integrated RH/FP/HIV services could be delivered by various levels in the national health care system through task-sharing. Opportunities for facilitating delivery of the Population Council’s Progesterone Contraceptive Vaginal Ring (PCVR) within the national health care system in Kenya are also described. Kenya has in place policies …

The Significance Of Comunidade Sabiaguaba Within The Developing City Of Fortaleza, Ce, Katherine Davis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The city of Fortaleza, Ceará has experienced rapid population growth and development over the last century, especially concentrated in the last fifty years. Today, this growth results in the creation of a beautiful tourist destination that many wish to visit, but also a dangerous and unequal city in which many have to live. Many state planners view this growth in infrastructure and tourism as the solution for the economic hardships of Fortaleza. However, many residents are unsatisfied with this development plan, and feel that there is a disconnect between the needs of the people and the plans of the state. …

Planning Sustainable Food Hubs: Thinking Beyond Economic Viability To Democratize Local Food Access, Ashley Bahlkow

Capstone Collection

In light of an increasing awareness of the detrimental public health impacts of conventional food systems, the New Hampshire Endowment for Health (NHEH) funded a food hub feasibility study to develop a local food hub in the southeastern region of New Hampshire. The study centered on conceptualizing a food hub that would be both viable from a small business standpoint as well one that would increase access to local food, especially for marginalized communities in the city of Manchester--the major population center in the region.

The project work plan contained several activities for determining feasibility, which were completed over the …

Pro-And-Anti Immigration Activities In Iowa's 4th Congressional Districts: A Community Capitals Framework Perspective, Anne Junod

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The foreign-born immigrant population in Iowa is increasing. Across Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, communities that have never had statistically significant populations of non-Anglos have in recent decades experienced dramatic influxes of predominantly Latino immigrants. Today, Latinos comprise upwards of 25 percent of the population of some counties and well over 35 percent of the population of many towns. At the same time, many other communities in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District remain almost exclusively white. How are communities responding? This research centers on the statements and activities of individual and group actors representing various market, state, and civil society sectors, examining …

New Hampshire Children In Need Of Services: Impacts Of 2011 Legislative Changes To Chins, Lisa Speropolous, Barbara Wauchope

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

Using administrative data from state and local agencies and data from interviews with CHINS professionals, this brief provides an overview of participation in the Children in Need of Services (CHINS) program before and after the change in the law in September 2011 but before funding returned in 2013. Specifically, it examines changes in CHINS petitions filed, children served, and services provided to children and their families in the state. Authors Lisa Speropolous and Barbara Wauchope present the study as an example of the impact that state fiscal policy can have on the most vulnerable of New Hampshire’s populations.

Snap Use Increased Slightly In 2012, Jessica A. Carson

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

This brief uses data from the American Community Survey to examine rates of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) receipt in 2012, track changes since the onset of the recession, and monitor receipt by region and place type. It also explores changes in SNAP receipt among households that may be at particular risk for food insecurity and considers rates among some less traditionally at-risk populations, exploring changes in their rates of receipt over time.

Author Jessica Carson writes that reports of SNAP receipt in 2012 increased among populations at particular risk for food insecurity, including households with children, seniors, the poor, …

Beyond Ramaluk: Towards A More Inclusive View Of Identity In The Tibetan Diaspora, Shani Shih

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper is an investigation of identity in the Tibetan diaspora in India, informed by the oral histories and narratives of Tibetan diasporic youth living in the capital city of Delhi. By documenting, comparing, and analyzing the experiences of Tibetan youth growing up in India (both Indian-born and Tibetan-born), and attempting to understand their varying notions of Tibetan identity, as well as perspectives on its role in their community, it seeks to answer the following: Why and how do dominant notions of Tibetan identity and/or “Tibetanness” become dominant? What are the unintended consequences of affirming these notions of Tibetan identity …

Wanting More But Working Less: Involuntary Part-Time Employment And Economic Vulnerability, Rebecca K. Glauber

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

Using data from the Current Population Survey, a national survey of U.S. households, this brief outlines a strong association between involuntary part-time employment and economic vulnerability. Author Rebecca Glauber reports that the involuntary part-time employment rate more than doubled between 2007 and 2012. For women, it rose from 3.6 percent to 7.8 percent and, for men, the rate increased from 2.4 percent in 2007 to 5.9 percent in 2012. Involuntary part-time employment is a key factor in poverty. In 2012, one in four involuntary part-time workers lived in poverty, whereas just one in twenty full-time workers lived in poverty. In …

Middle-Skill Jobs Remain More Common Among Rural Workers, Justin R. Young

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

This issue brief uses data from the Current Population Survey collected from 2003 to 2012 to assess trends in employment in middle-skill jobs and the Great Recession’s impact on middle-skill workers, with particular attention paid to differences between those in rural and urban places. Author Justin Young reports that roughly half (51 percent) of American workers living in rural areas held middle-skill jobs in 2012—positions requiring at least some on-the-job training, an apprenticeship-type experience, or postsecondary education but no more than a two-year degree. This figure is well above the national average of 43 percent and the urban average of …

Child Care Subsidies Critical For Low-Income Families Amid Rising Child Care Expenses, Kristin Smith, Nicholas Adams

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

The high cost of child care is a barrier to employment among low-income families with young children. Child care subsidies are designed to support both parental employment and child development by lowering the cost of child care and making high-quality child care affordable to low-income families. This policy brief compares the shares of income spent on child care in 2005 and 2011 using data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. Authors Kristin Smith and Nicholas Adams report that child care expenditures were higher on average in 2011 than in 2005 (in constant 2011 dollars) and that employed, poor mothers with …

Psychotropic Medication Use Among Children In The Child Welfare System, Wendy A. Walsh, Marybeth J. Mattingly

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

Prior research demonstrates that children in the child welfare system are given psychotropic medication at rates approximately three times higher than children and adolescents in the general population. Using data from the second National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, authors Wendy Walsh and Marybeth Mattingly report that among children age 4 and older with a report of maltreatment, rates of psychotropic medication use are significantly higher in rural (20 percent) than urban areas (13 percent). Children age 4 and older with a maltreatment report in rural areas were significantly more likely to take more than one medication than children …

Recent Data Show Continued Growth In Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Use, Jessica A. Carson, William W. Meub

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

This brief uses data from the American Community Survey to examine rates of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) receipt in 2011, with particular attention to changes since the onset of the recession, and to receipt by family composition, region, and place type (rural, suburban, and central city locations). It also explores SNAP receipt among households at particular risk for food insecurity. Authors Jessica Carson and William Meub report that 13 percent of all households reported receiving benefits in 2011. This represents an increase from 7.7 percent in 2007, reflecting both changes in need and policy. SNAP is increasingly the target …

Recessions Accelerate Trend Of Wives As Breadwinners, Kristin Smith

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

This brief investigates the increased role employed wives played in family economic stability prior to, during, and in the two years after the Great Recession, and makes comparisons to the 1990-1991 and 2001 recessions. Author Kristin Smith reports that employed wives’ contribution to total family earnings jumped to 47 percent in 2009 from 45 percent in 2008—the largest single-year increase during the past twenty-three years—and has held steady at 47 percent in 2010 and 2011. Recessions substantially accelerate the trend of increased reliance on wives’ earnings. In all three recessions since 1988, annual increases in wives’ share of total family …

Developing A Space For Children: An Internship With The Mullumbimby Community Garden, Eden Olsen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper aims to demonstrate my independent study project internship at the Mullumbimby Community Garden (MCG), an interactive learning site for the citizens of Byron Shire. As an intern I spent 152.5 hours from October 29^th to November 23^rd planting, planning projects, attending meetings, and helping to educate about the importance of sustainable food production. More specifically, I focused on the development of the Children’s Garden, building vertical garden beds, planting the sensory garden, attending meetings, and helping to design and analyze costs for new structures to be implemented in the near future.

This study reaches further than …

Perform + Function: A Proposal For A Healthy Public Housing Community, Brandon M. Harvey

Masters Theses

PERFORM+FUNCTION: Proposal for A Healthy Public Housing Community

Architecture exists in Place, the integrated context of both the built and natural environments, including socio-economic, cultural, and political climates that influence our growth, development, and survival. As architecture necessitates around human purposes, it is important that architecture is built for and sited in an environment compatible for human well-being. My thesis focuses on human habitation and its immediate relationship with human health, assessing the performance and functionality of Place that have an impact on human health. Using public housing as the vehicle of my investigation, I will seek the appropriate application …

Coös County’S Class Of 2009: Where Are They Now?, Eleanor M. Jaffee

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

This brief reports on the first follow-up survey of the Coös Youth Study participants beyond high school. The focus of the Coös Youth Study, a ten-year panel study following the lives of youth in Coös County, New Hampshire, is the transition of Coös youth into adulthood. Author Eleanor Jaffee reports that approximately half of the Coös County Class of 2009’s follow-up survey participants (49 percent) are living in Coös County the majority of the time. Of those living outside Coös County, 81 percent are attending school full time. The most frequently reported combinations of school and work situations were in …

Land Is Life: A Policy Advocacy Case Study Of The Northern Thailand Land Reform Movement, Jason Lubanski

Capstone Collection

This case study provides an in-depth examination of the work of the Thailand Northern Land Reform Movement using the framework of Jeff Unsicker's "Policy Advocacy Circles". Due to increasing population pressures, the liberalization of land markets, and agribusiness pressures, Thailand has experienced an increase in land ownership inequality and a growing number of landless and nearly landless small-scale farmers. In order to address this situation, agricultural communities have joined together at local and national levels to fight for the legislation of land reform policies, including Community Land Titles, progressive land taxes, and a National Land Bank to assist with land …

Understanding Child Abuse In Rural And Urban America: Risk Factors And Maltreatment Substantiation, Wendy A. Walsh, Marybeth J. Mattingly

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

Using a large national sample of child maltreatment reports, this brief compares the outcomes of child maltreatment cases in rural versus urban places and identifies the characteristics associated with substantiation. Child abuse cases substantiated in rural and urban areas share many caregiver risk factors, such as drug and alcohol abuse, and many family stressors. Substantiation is equally likely across income levels; approximately one-fourth of cases in each income level are substantiated. However, when place is taken into account, a greater share (36 percent) of higher-income families (that is, families with incomes greater than 200 percent of the federal poverty level) …