Digital Commons Network^™

An Investigation Of Volunteer-Student Relationship Trajectories Within School-Based Youth Mentoring Programs, Thomas Keller, Julia Pryce

Julia Pryce

This prospective, mixed-method study investigates the development of school-based mentoring relationships using direct observations, in-depth interviews, and questionnaires from the perspective of mentors and students. A pattern-oriented analysis of qualitative data explores the diversity observed in the life-course of mentor-student relationships. Systematic variation in developmental trends across relationships revealed four distinctive groupings. Some relationships showed progressive improvement in strength and quality. Others started well but reached a plateau and did not become particularly close. A third group struggled throughout to make a connection. Finally, some relationships succeeded after a breakthrough to overcome their challenges. These inductively derived categories are corroborated …

Design Considerations For Legalizing Marijuana, Jonathan Caulkins, Beau Kilmer, Robert Maccoun, Rosalie Pacula, Peter Reuter

Robert MacCoun

No abstract provided.

Worldcat Local: A Transformative Solution, Angi Faiks, Johan Oberg, Katy Gabrio

Angi Faiks

No abstract provided.

Reason, Tradition, And The Good: Alasdair Macintyre's Reason Of Tradition And Frankfurt School Critical Theory, Jeffery Nicholas

Jeffery Nicholas

In Reason, Tradition, and the Good, Jeffery L. Nicholas addresses the failure of reason in modernity to bring about a just society, a society in which people can attain fulfillment. Developing the critical theory of the Frankfurt School, Nicholas argues that we rely too heavily on a conception of rationality that is divorced from tradition and, therefore, incapable of judging ends. Without the ability to judge ends, we cannot engage in debate about the good life or the proper goods that we as individuals and as a society should pursue. Nicholas claims that the project of enlightenment—defined as the promotion …

Endogenous R&D And Intellectual Property Laws In Developed And Emerging Economies, Aniruddha Bagchi, Abhra Roy

Abhra Roy

The incentive of providing protection of intellectual property has been analyzed, both for an emerging economy as well as for a developed economy. The optimal patent length and the optimal patent breadth within a country are found to be positively related to each other for a fixed structure of laws abroad. Moreover, a country can respond to stronger patent protection abroad by weakening its patent protection under certain circumstances and by strengthening its patent protection under other circumstances. These results depend upon the curvature of the R&D production function. Finally, we investigate the impact of an increase in the willingness-to-pay …

Students Of The Great Recession: Learning From An Intensive Undergraduate Research Training Project, Arthur Scarritt, Sergio Romero

Sergio Romero

This year marks the maiden voyage of the Inter-Mountain Social Research Lab (IMSRL) of the Department of Sociology.

In a yearlong intensive research training program, faculty guide a small group of undergraduate students through developing and executing all aspects of an original research project, from inception to dissemination.

This presentation discusses the general contours of this program, and the challenges we have encountered in attempting to integrate teaching into a rigorous research project.

Catching The Wave: Using A Milestone To Reach New Audiences, Katie Richardson, Melissa Nykanen, Jamie Henricks, Kevin Miller

Kevin C. Miller

No abstract provided.

Assessing Higher Education Learning Outcomes In Civil Engineering: The Oecd Ahelo Feasibility Study, Roger Hadgraft, Jacob Pearce, Daniel Edwards, Julian Fraillon, Hamish Coates

Julian Fraillon

BACKGROUND

Higher education is increasingly a global business. At present, university ranking schemes are heavily reliant on research indicators, while students are likely looking for an excellent teaching and learning environment. Aware of this discrepancy, the OECD has funded the AHELO project.

PURPOSE

AHELO was designed to test the feasibility of an international assessment of higher education learning outcomes. The two test disciplines are civil engineering and economics, together with an assessment of generic skills. The civil engineering test will be reported in this paper.

More than a ranking, AHELO is a direct evaluation of student performance. It is intended …

Maternal Mental Health And Child Health And Nutrition, Karen Mccurdy, Kathleen Gorman, Tiffani Kisler, Elizabeth Metallinos-Katsaras

Karen McCurdy

No abstract provided.

Family Food Environment And Child Overweight In Low-Income Families, Karen Mccurdy, Tiffani Kisler, Kathleen Gorman, Elizabeth Metallinos-Katsaras

Karen McCurdy

No abstract provided.

Pillar Ii In Focus--The Responsibility To Assist: Police Capacity-Building In Timor-Leste And The 2012 Parliamentary Elections, Charles Hawksley, Nichole Georgeou

Charles M Hawksley

This briefing paper provides a short background to the 2012 elections in Timor-Leste, and explores the UNPOL mandate to support and build the capacity of the Polícia Nacional de Timor-Leste (PNTL – the Timor-Leste National Police), so that Timor-Leste will be able to manage security for its citizens without international assistance. Based on fieldwork conducted during June 2012, including interviews with human rights-focused NGOs, and with international police implementing bilateral and multilateral capacity building, we argue that the 3,200-3,400 strong PNTL is theoretically ready to go it alone when the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste departs, and explore questions as …

Ethnic And Gender Differences In Psychosocial Factors In Native Hawaiian, Other Pacific Islanders, And Asian American Adults With Type 2 Diabetes, Jillian Inouye, Dongmei Li, James Davis, Richard Arakaki

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

This study examined the differences between 207 Asians and Native Hawaiian, other Pacific Islanders (NHOPI) with type 2 diabetes among various psychosocial measures. Responses to five multivariable regression models including the Diabetes Quality of Life Questionnaire (DQOL) and Short Form -36® Health Survey (SF-36) were analyzed. Differences were determined by linear contrasts in the multivariate linear regression models after adjusted for multiple demographic and socioeconomic variables. Compared to Asians, NHOPIs perceived a lower impact of diabetes on their quality of life; highlighting differences in perceptions of self-efficacy and self-care activities. Females did better on their diet while males perceived better …

Housing, The Neighborhood Environment, And Physical Activity Among Older African Americans, Lonnie Hannon Iii, Patricia Sawyer, Richard M. Allman

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Abstract

This study examines the association of neighborhood environment, as measured by housing factors, with physical activity among older African Americans. Context is provided on the effects of structural inequality as an inhibitor of health enhancing neighborhood environments. The study population included African Americans participating in the UAB Study of Aging (n=433). Participants demonstrated the ability to walk during a baseline in-home assessment. The strength and independence of housing factors were assessed using neighborhood walking for exercise as the outcome variable. Sociodemographic data, co-morbid medical conditions, and rural/urban residence were included as independent control factors. Homeownership, occupancy, and length of …

Racial Disparities In Pain Management In Primary Care, Miriam Ezenwa

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

This descriptive, cross-sectional, secondary data analysis was conducted to examine racial disparities in pain management of primary care patients with chronic nonmalignant pain using chronic opioid therapy. Data from 891 patients, including 201 African Americans and 691 Caucasians were used to test an explanatory model for these disparities. We predicted that: (1) African American patients would report worse pain management and poor quality of life (QOL) than Caucasians; (2) the association between race and pain management would be mediated by perceived discrimination relating to hopelessness; and (3) poor pain management would negatively affect QOL. Results revealed significant differences between African …

Nevada Interagency Volunteer Program: Helping Hands Across Public Lands—Phase Ii: Final Project Report, December 31, 2012, Margaret N. Rees

Get Outdoors Nevada

• Maintained a central clearinghouse created for Southern Nevada public lands volunteers, including: ─ an online volunteer data-management application (Volgistics) adopted and customized for the program and populated with 8,500 active and 961 mailing list volunteer records ─ a community outreach Web site that currently averages 8,230 pages viewed per month since July 2007 and has aided in the recruitment of 11,943 volunteers ─ updated website to word press for sustainability ─ branding development and marketing and outreach tool creation
• Updated Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all areas of Interagency Volunteer Program Management—recruitment, training, recognition, retention of volunteers, event planning, and …

Sndo Hector's Helpers Youth Engaging The Community Through Social Media: Annual Progress Report, Period Covering June 1, 2012 - December 31, 2012, Margaret N. Rees

Anti-littering Programs

The Hector’s Helpers Youth Engaging the Community through Social Media project was designed to develop civic and environmental stewardship skills as students receive training in administering social media accounts (e.g., Facebook, twitter, Youtube). The project is an extension of the Hector’s Helpers program developed through a cooperative agreement and run under the branding of Don’t Trash Nevada. Participants in the project are known as the Social Media Squad (SMS). The following activities were completed:

• Supervision of youth completing the pilot program initiated in an earlier cooperative agreement
• Recruitment of youth to apply for the Social Media Squad
• Training of Social …

A Demographic Analysis Of Metro/Nonmetro Differences In Adult Normal Weight, Overweight, And Obesity, P. Johnelle Sparks, Susanne Schmidt

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Overweight and obesity prevalence is increasing throughout the United States, and these two health conditions seem to disproportionately affect certain segments of the adult population. To date little research has examined adult differences in normal weight, overweight, and obesity by metropolitan or nonmetropolitan residential status while controlling for important demographic, socioeconomic, behavioral, and health status characteristics. This research helps to fill this gap. We used data from the 2008 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to empirically assess predictors of overweight and obesity risk for all adults and then by residential location. Multinomial logistic regression techniques were used to estimate …

Earth Is (Mostly) Flat: Apportionment Of The Flux Of Continental Sediment Over Millennial Time Scales, Jane K. Willenbring, Alexandru T. Codilean, Brandon Mcelroy

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

We use a new compilation of global denudation estimates from cosmogenic nuclides to calculate the apportionment and the sum of all sediment produced on Earth by extrapolation of a statistically significant correlation between denudation rates and basin slopes to watersheds without denudation rate data. This robust relationship can explain approximately half of the variance in denudation from quartz-bearing topography drained by rivers using only mean slopes as the predictive tool and matches a similar fit for large river basins. At slopes >200 m/km, topography controls denudation rates. Controls on denudation in landscapes where average slopes are 10 mm/k.y. We use …

Synthesis Of Mn3o4-Encapsulated Graphene Sheet Nanocomposites Via A Facile, Fast Microwave Hydrothermal Method And Their Supercapacitive Behaviour, Li Li, Kuok Hau Seng, Zhixin Chen, Hua-Kun Liu, Ivan P. Nevirkovets, Zaiping Guo

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Well-crystallized Mn3O4-anchored reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposites have been successfully synthesized via a facile, effective, energy-saving, and scalable microwave hydrothermal technique for potential application as supercapacitor material. Integrating these nanostructures resulted in a strong synergistic effect between the two materials, consequently leading to a hybrid composite with higher specific capacitance compared to the bare Mn3O4 nanoparticles. The results from different sorts of characterization indicate that the Mn3O4 particles were deposited and anchored on graphene sheets. The capacitance value of the rGO(31.6%)–Mn3O4 nanocomposite reached 153 F/g, much higher than that of the bare Mn3O4 (87 F/g) at a scan rate of …

Bowl Survey, Richard C. Crepeau

On Sport and Society

Over the next two days and nights ten bowl games will be played across the expanse of our great nation. At the end of the bowl season, culminating with the BCS Championship Game on January 7, thirty-five bowl games will have been played. The first, the Gildan New Mexico Bowl, took place on December 15.

Using Hermeneutics To Understand Burnout And Coping Strategies Utilized By Occupational Therapists, Sangeeta Gupta, Margo Paterson, Claudia Von Zweck, Rosemary Lysaght

The Qualitative Report

This research article explores the use of the hermeneutic approach in understanding practice challenges for occupational therapists in the contemporary health care arena. It provides insights into factors that lead to therapist burnout and the strategies they utilize to maintain competent practice. In this mixed methods study, hermeneutics was chosen as the qualitative approach to help understand the meanings occupational therapists ascribe to stressful situations at work and how they cope with those situations. Data was collected by conducting focus groups and semi-structured interviews with seven participants. Demands on time, conflict, lack of respect and autonomy emerged as the main …

A Portrait Of Rural Health In America, Jin Young Choi

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

introduction to special issue

Assessing Barriers To Health Care Services For Hispanic Residents In Rural Georgia, Michele Vitale, Conner Bailey

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Since the 1990s, many Hispanics have been relocating to the rural South and their permanency (although beneficial to the economy) poses new challenges at the institutional level. One area of major concern is the adequate provision of health care. Our article evaluates the socioeconomic, cultural, and geographic/transportation barriers that Hispanic residents face when seeking primary health care services in Toombs County, Georgia. Data were acquired through personal interviews with Hispanic residents, local health professionals, and key community informants by using a combination of opportunity sampling and a snowball approach. Results indicate that the local health system and the county as …

Ruptured Identity Of Male Farmers: Subjective Crisis And The Risk Of Suicide, Anthony Hogan, Edward Scarr, Stewart Lockie, Brett Chant, Sylvia Alston

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Suicide among male farmers is frequently discussed in the literature. While a wide range of factors are associated, a coherent theoretical framework that incorporates the various factors associated with male farmer suicide has not been developed. Moreover, the insights offered to date have not opened a more systemic approach to prevention. Drawing on substantive contributions from sociological theory, this paper proposes a framework for progressing understanding of the causes of this phenomenon and offers insights for prevention. The paper argues that ontological security is central to identity and social competence, and that loss of the coherency of identity and the …

Partnering To Enable Active Rural Living: Pearl Project, Deborah H. John, Barbara Mccahan, Suzanne Gaulocher

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Rural residents in communities face opportunities and obstaclesfor physical activity (PA), health, and wellbeing that differ from those experienced in non-rural settings. Yet, rural people’s interpretations of PA and experience of the PA environment are understudied. This study utilized a descriptive case study approach in three rural New Hampshire communities and engaged rural residents in community participatory action research of the experiential factors that enable or prevent PA for adults and youth in their communities. Qualitative data were collected using photo mapping surveys, participant observations, interviews, and focus groups, analyzed using a constant comparative method, and triangulated across multiple sources. …

The School Neighborhood Environment For Childhood Obesity In A Rural Texas Community, Jin Young Choi, David Pate

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

This paper examines the school neighborhood environments related to childhood obesity in a rural community in Texas, focusing on the assessment of three aspects: socioeconomic characteristics, food environment, and physical activity environment. Different methodological approaches were employed to characterize the aspects of the school neighborhood environments. Most public schools in the community were located in low-income neighborhoods. There were disproportionately high concentrations of fast food restaurants and convenience stores within the active travel-to-school zone. Most of the students who lived in the active travel-to-school zone did not walk or bike to school, and student safety was identified as the predominant …

Gulliver, Travel, And Empire, Claude Rawson

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In his article "Gulliver, Travel, and Empire" Claude Rawson analyzes Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels as a central document of European intellectual history. Rawson focuses on the relationship between ethnicity and human identity and asks what constitutes humanity and how individual groups qualify (or not) for human status. Posing teasingly as a "parody" of travel books, it is both a series of voyages and an ethnically widening arc of moral exploration as Book Four at once expresses an ambivalent perception of the Irish under English rule and extends to what Swift/Gulliver calls "all Savage Nations" and ultimately takes in what Swift …

Negra D'America Remond And Her Journeys, Sirpa A. Salenius

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In her article "negra d'America Remond and Her Journeys" Sirpa A. Salenius analyzes Sarah P. Remond's travels to Europe. Remond, an African American born free in Salem, Massachusetts in 1826 into an abolitionist family, was a successful lecturer on abolitionism in the United States before traveling to England in 1859. During her anti-slavery lecture tour there, she also became involved in promoting women's rights thus enlarging the scope of her social and political agenda to embrace both racial and gender oppression. Subsequently, she studied in London, graduating as a nurse from London University College before moving to Italy where …

Metropolitan (Im)Migrants In The "Lettered City", Stacey Balkan

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In her article "Metropolitan (Im)migrants in the 'Lettered City'" Stacey Balkan employs Ángel Rama's discussion of audience as a means of analyzing a Latin American diaspora that exists beyond the "rational periphery" of the state. Herein, the term diaspora is redefined as a translocal phenomenon wherein the metropolitan (im)migrant moves from rural margin to urban center. Normative definitions of exile — persons displaced from autonomous nation-states — are likewise scrutinized in the context of what the Rama terms a post-contemporary "city of letters." This post-contemporary city is the subject of what Mabel Moraña refers to as a "subaltern boom" — …

China As The Other In Odoric's Itinerarium, Dinu Luca

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In his article "China as the Other in Odoric's Itinerarium" Dinu Luca discusses the various ways in which the otherness of China is approached and integrated in the fourteenth-century travel text associated with Franciscan friar Odoric of Pordenone. Luca explores the multiple ways in which the text can be examined in relation to Odoric, his travels, and his text. Luca takes vision as a unifying trope and explores the meanings it acquires (sight, concept, projection) as Odoric abandons the familiar space of wonder and confronts the otherness of China. Several well-known episodes are discussed and one particular exchange (known …