Civic and Community Engagement Commons^™

La Educación Y El Lucro No Se Mezclan: Un Examen De Las Políticas Y Las Consecuencias De Los Colegios Particulares Subvencionados En Chile / Education And Profits Don't Mix : A Review Of Policies And The Consequences Of Subsidized Private Schools In Chile, Sophie Sharps

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

With the arrival of the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in Chile (lasting from 1973-1990) came the implementation of a neoliberal economic model based on tenants such as privatization, deregulation, growth of a free market economy, and a passive government to uphold the private sector. This economic model manifested itself through structural reforms that distinctly changed the function of all institutions, including the educational system. Due to a series of changes in laws and ideology, a new educational sector (referred to as “particular subvencionado”) arose, and has only strengthened and augmented since the end of the dictatorship. In this sector, individuals, …

We Are Not The Future, We Are The Present: Cantera, Young People, And Community Development, Emily Rapport

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

CANTERA, a community organization in Ciudad Sandino with a popular education methodology, has a mission that emphasizes both personal development of its participants and social change in its community as outcomes of its work. The author of this paper looks at the connection between personal and community development in the youth programs at CANTERA, which include a variety of sociocultural and advocacy groups. The author spent three and a half weeks conducting participant observation of CANTERA's youth programs and interviewing its young people and staff members. The author presents her findings in three distinct sections. First, two case studies of …

¿Cómo Amigos Comparten La Salud? Las Redes Sociales Y Factores De Riesgo. / How Do Friends Share Health? Social Networks And Risk Factors., Joanna Emerson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Research question: How are health risk factors shared between people by means of their social networks? Objectives: The main objective of the study is to determine the correlation between a person's social network and which health risk factors are most prevalent in network members. The first specific objective is to evaluate the rates of the most common risk factors in social networks and how these disperse throughout the network. The second is to analyze whether people with similar health risk factors have similar social tendencies. The final objective is to identify the risk factors most transmittable through social networks. Background: …

La Psiquiatría Comunitaria En La Corporación Bresky / Community Psychiatry In The Bresky Corporation, Connery O’Brien

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this paper is to provide insight on the community model of rehabilitation for individuals with mental health disorders in Chile with a specific focus on schizophrenia. Stigmas surrounding mental health are still very prevalent in this society. These stigmas make it difficult for patients to integrate themselves into society, and in turn, add stress to the patients’ families, who must support and care for them. The community model of mental health rehabilitation is important to consider in the efforts to re-integrate these patients into society. La Corporación Bresky, a rehabilitation center in Peñablanca, will be used as …

Accessing Canal Pride: The Intersection Of Identities For Lgbt People With Physical Disabilities At A Global Event, Margaret Webb

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research is the study of the intersection between queerness and disability within the context of Amsterdam Gay Pride, specifically the Canal Parade. The study examines the intersection between LGBT identity and physical disability at the event and in surrounding organization and events within the Amsterdam LGBT community. The primary research question was: how does Amsterdam Canal Pride’s accessibility affect both the positioning of the LGBT and disabled identifying community in Amsterdam and the relevance of the event as a place of activism and celebration? Five interviewees identifying as lesbian or gay, possessing a physical disability, participating in activism within …

A Community Conversation On Adolescent Pregnancy And Parenting Services: Networks Of Support, Gatekeepers To Care, And Non-Compulsory Fathering In A Black Urban Community, Tamara G.J. Leech, Elizabeth A. Adams, Marci Bounds Littlefield

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

This study employed Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) methods to document needs and capacity around adolescent pregnancy and parenting in one predominately Black, low-income urban community. Using an iterative focus group method, we engaged 60 participants in a two-day community conversation. Quantitative data from an enrollment questionnaire and qualitative transcripts of the discussions are analyzed. Our results indicate that the community’s greatest capacity lies in a network of women. Men tend to participate in parenting more holistically once formal paternity is established. Neighborhood women typically introduce adolescents to prenatal care, so delays in revealing the pregnancy to them serves as a …

Integrating Community Service Into Scholarship: Youth Engagement By Active Participation Case Study Of Ruwwad, Eunjee Anna Koh

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research project applies Asset-Based Community Development theory to Ruwwad, a community-based organization in Al-Natheef. As a marginalized community, the approach to community development must be investigated to ensure that it does not worsen the community dependency. Through the Myoub Khorma Youth Education and Empowerment Fund, Ruwwad provides scholarships for youth from the neighborhood and surrounding areas. The impact of the scholarship on youth was investigated through conducting student interviews and collected material culture published by the organization. Ruwwad exemplifies an example of asset-based community development in the Middle East and youth have shown that they feel empowered through an …

Fearless Friday: Erin O'Connor, Christina L. Bassler

SURGE

For fearless Friday, Surge would like to commend Silent Leader Award recipient, Erin O’Connor. The Silent Leader Award was given this year in memory of Emily Silverstein ’11, a passionate member of the campus community and a fervent advocate for peace at yesterday’s Fall Convocation. [excerpt]

Big Brothers Big Sisters Of Central Ohio Evaluation, Karen Miner-Romanoff, Kelly M. Swope

Learning Showcase 2014

This evaluation reviewed the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio (BBBSCO) Project Mentor program, specifically the program’s incorporation of AmeriCorps members as Project Coordinators during the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 school years. The evaluation was focused on answering the following questions:

1. Did the AmeriCorps members serve the target audience identified in the original grant application? If not, why not?
2. Were the AmeriCorps members utilized in the manner described in the original grant application? If not, how did the utilization of the members change from the original plan? Did these changes have a positive or negative impact on the program?
3. What …

Cultivating Communities Of Practice To Develop Local Preparedness For Climate Change, Konda Reddy Chavva

Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this research was to study the effectiveness of field facilitators’ (FFs) community of practice in improving ways in which FFs and farmers communicate and work together to strengthen farmers’ climate change preparedness through identifying locally suitable adaptation strategies in drought-prone districts of Andhra Pradesh State in India. In development initiatives like the one studied, FFs are often the key liaison person with each community—farmers in this case. FFs interact regularly with farmers, with whom they establish and sustain critical relationships over time. Further, they take the lead in building farmers’ capacities by contextualizing technical information that professionals …

Social Connections, Safety, And Local Environment In Three Manchester, New Hampshire, Neighborhoods Survey Of Residents’ Perceptions, Justin R. Young

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

This fact sheet uses data from a survey of Bakersville, Beech Street, and Gossler Park residents in Manchester, New Hampshire, to draw attention to the current state of connectedness, trust, and perceptions of the local environment in these three neighborhoods. Author Justin Young finds that residents of these neighborhoods report that they generally feel safe during the day, that they are comfortable reporting crimes to the police, and that they are hopeful that if a child was hurt or scared, there would be a trustworthy adult nearby to help. Only about half of respondents in these neighborhoods felt there was …

Opinion: Too Many Veterans With Children Are Still Homeless, Christopher R. Fee, Joshua L. Stewart

English Faculty Publications

Don’t ignore homeless veterans.

As we pause this Veterans Day to reflect on those who have sacrificed in the service of our country, let us not neglect to address the plight of those who have returned to a civilian life with far less promise than they have every right to expect. [excerpt]

Successful Communities: What Is Desired And What Is Present In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska, 2014 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben

Nebraska Rural Poll

Rural Nebraskans are looking for many things in a community. The characteristics of a community that most believe are absolutely essential include social dimensions (sense of personal safety), economic dimensions (jobs/economic opportunities), some basic services (a quality school system, available medical services, affordable housing, quality housing and well maintained infrastructure) and environmental dimensions (a clean and attractive natural environment).

Unfortunately, when asked if these characteristics are present in their current community, some of these areas are lacking. One of the more extreme cases involves jobs/economic opportunities. Seventy-seven percent of the respondents say these are absolutely essential in order for them …

Voces Del Canal: Building Safe Communities Through Strong Partnerships In The Canal, Julia Van Der Ryn, Jennifer Lucko, Tom Wilson, Omar Carrera, Miho Kim, Reem Assil, Saba Waheed, Jennifer Lee, Diego Garcia, Bill Hogan

Julia van der Ryn

The Canal, a vibrant community of Latino immigrant families, is rich in diversity and cultural traditions, strong family networks, and a determination towards economic selfsufficiency. Latino immigrants in Marin County are heavily concentrated in the Canal and have the highest labor force participation rates in the County.i Despite being a vital part of Marin’s social, economic, and cultural society, Canal residents continue to struggle to meet basic necessities for their families. To this end, a coalition of resident leaders from the community came together to form Voces del Canal to lead an unprecedented community-driven research project. Residents wanted to affirm …

Voces Del Canal: Building Safe Communities Through Strong Partnerships In The Canal, Julia Van Der Ryn, Jennifer Lucko, Tom Wilson, Omar Carrera, Miho Kim, Reem Assil, Saba Waheed, Jennifer Lee, Diego Garcia, Bill Hogan

Julia van der Ryn

The Canal, a vibrant community of Latino immigrant families, is rich in diversity and cultural traditions, strong family networks, and a determination towards economic selfsufficiency. Latino immigrants in Marin County are heavily concentrated in the Canal and have the highest labor force participation rates in the County.i Despite being a vital part of Marin’s social, economic, and cultural society, Canal residents continue to struggle to meet basic necessities for their families. To this end, a coalition of resident leaders from the community came together to form Voces del Canal to lead an unprecedented community-driven research project. Residents wanted to affirm …

Progression Through Partnership, Aurelia Spaulding Editor, Leah Ashwill Director

ALIVE Center Publications

No abstract provided.

The Streets Are Cold, The Gangs Are Warm: An Interrogation Of Why People Join Gangs, Sanna Strand

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project is looking to examine and understand the reasons why some people join gangs while others avoid involvement with gangsterism. Gangsterism in Cape Town today is an extremely current topic due to the large numbers of gangs and gang members in the region and the violence that is connected to it. The study sought to look into the multiple and possible reasons why a life of gangsterism seem to be so attractive to many young people. To understand the other side of the issue, a second objective was to understand why other people stay away from gangsterism, which include …

Exploring Barriers: An Analysis Of Access To Effective Tuberculosis Care In Cape Town, Yvonne Okaka

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

My independent study project (ISP) examines factors that hinder access to tuberculosis (TB) healthcare and its effective implementation in Cape Town. In order to expand research on the topic, important barriers will be examined and explained. This project is relevant due to the high prevalence and mortality rates of tuberculosis in South Africa, as well as the fact that an overwhelming emphasis on HIV can lead to overlooking the serious nature of TB as a public healthcare issue. It is hoped that this study will provide more insight into improving access to TB care, and be a resource for those …

On Air With The Community An Exploration Of Five Community Radio Stations In The Western Cape, Kelsey Warren

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The closing of apartheid in South Africa was brought by new measures for democracy in 1994. Community radio stations were seen as measures for local communication and involvement in giving different communities voices that has formerly been lost. This paper attempts to discover the relevance of community radio stations twenty years after democracy and just how citizens are participating.

The paper begins with a review of history of community radio on different levels around the world through the use of literature. The arguments made centralize around the necessity of specialized community stations, the effect of community engagement, the lack of …

Organic Growers Of Alabama Cooperative, A Loosely Fitted Cooperative: Nurturing The Community And Growing Together, Wylin D. Wilson, Jose Gbadamosi, Decetti Taylor, Susan Barnes, Jan Garrett, Asabi Hunter, Cheryl Parker, Wendy Williams, Henry Williams

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

The age-old connection between the people and the land is something that seven women, who have organized themselves into a loosely fitted cooperative, are reviving. In the process of growing together as members of a cooperative, these women in Macon County, Alabama, are not only promoting healthy living and nurturing community, but are also addressing the issue of food security by making nutritious affordable produce and other agricultural products available to their community. Additionally, they are illustrating alternative strategies of community and economic development. This article examines why they chose the structure of a loosely fitted cooperative over a traditional …

Perceptions Of Crime And Safety In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: 2014 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben

Nebraska Rural Poll

Most rural Nebraskans are not worried or not very worried about either crime in their community or about personally being a victim of crime. However, persons living in or near larger communities are more likely than persons living in or near smaller communities to be worried or very worried about crime. Furthermore, most persons living in or near communities with populations less than 10,000 are not worried or not very worried about crime in their community.

Trust also remains high in the rural areas. Most rural Nebraskans say they count on their neighbors to watch their property while they are …

Conversations With The Community: An Ethnography Of Two Case Studies Highlighting Community-Research Partnerships In Springfield, Ma, Vanessa Martinez

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is both qualitative and collaborative. It emphasizes the participant observation and ethnographic documentation of two community-researcher partnerships on community-level health interventions in Springfield, MA. Drawing upon critical theories and reflexive methods, I explore and analyze the process of building and sustaining researcher-community partnerships in an era of limited funding. Two Springfield, MA-based projects – one on healthy cooking/eating, and the other on contingency management – serve as case studies to provide a concrete picture of the complex relationships of researcher-community collaborations. I use ethnographic storytelling to provide a multi-dimensional look at two different community-research partnerships on health disparities …

Life In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: Perceptions Of Well-Being, 2014 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben

Nebraska Rural Poll

By many different measures, rural Nebraskans are positive about their community. Many rural Nebraskans rate their community as friendly, trusting and supportive. Most rural Nebraskans also say it would be difficult to leave their community. In addition, most rural Nebraskans disagree that their community is powerless to control its future.

Differences of opinion exist by the size of their community. Residents of smaller communities are more likely than residents of larger communities to rate their community favorably on its social dimensions. However, residents of larger communities are more likely than residents of smaller communities to say their community has changed …

6 Myths About The Future Of Small Towns, Heartland Center For Leadership Development

Heartland Center for Leadership Development Materials

Covered myths about the future of small towns.

Featured:

Nenzel, Nebraska • Located in the Sandhills • Population 13 (2014) • Competed for a grant to build a new community center and heritage museum • Public buildings are supposed to last 50 years

Wray, Colorado • Located on Highway 34 across the Nebraska border • Once a major thoroughfare but today only local traffic • New hospital, modern K 12 school, raised money for a recreation center • Won a National Civic League All America City Award, the first rural community to be honored

Creative Economies: Using Arts To Revitalize Post-Industrial Cities And Towns In Massachusetts, Anna Price

Honors College Theses

During my senior year in the Honors College at UMass Boston, I became involved in the yearlong Creative and Social Entrepreneurship Fellowship program. During this program, I interned alongside other UMass Boston students at a local creative non-profit organization, providing the staff with assistance as they worked towards achieving their goals. This internship was funded by the Creative Economy Fund (CE Fund) from the University of Massachusetts President’s Office. My involvement in this program sparked an interest in pursuing an Honors thesis investigating the CE Fund and how the awarded projects are benefitted by that fund.

After looking through all …

Adaptation Preferences And Responses To Sea Level Rise And Land Loss Risk In Southern Louisiana: A Survey-Based Analysis, Sandra Maina

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Currently, southern Louisiana faces extreme land loss that could reach an alarming rate of about one football sized swath of land every hour. The combined effect of land subsidence and predicted sea level rise threaten the culture and livelihood of the residents living in this region. As the most vulnerable coastal population in Louisiana, the communities of south Terrebonne Parish are called to adapt by accommodating, protecting, or retreating from the impacts of climate change. For effective preparation planning, the state of Louisiana needs to 1) understand the adaptation preferences and responses of these residents and 2) involve these vulnerable …

Apologies Of The Rich And Famous: Cultural, Cognitive, And Social Explanations Of Why We Care And Why We Forgive, Janet M. Ruane, Karen Cerulo

Department of Sociology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

In recent years, U.S. and other Western media have inundated the public with celebrity apologies. The public (measured via representative opinion polls) then expresses clear ideas about who deserves forgiveness. Is forgiveness highly individualized or tied to broader social, cultural, and cognitive factors? To answer this question, we analyzed 183 celebrity apologies offered between October 1, 2000, and October 1, 2012. Results are twofold and based in both cultural and social psychological perspectives. First, we found that public forgiveness is systematically tied to discursive characteristics of apologies—particularly sequential structures. Certain sequences appear to cognitively prime the public, creating associative links …

The Sustained Impact Of An Engaging Diversity Program On College Seniors’ Color-Blind Racial Attitudes, Josefina Banales

Honors Projects

This study utilizes a mixed-methods (quantitative and qualitative) approach to evaluate the long-term impact of Illinois Wesleyan University’s Engaging Diversity Program on white students’ color-blind racial attitudes. Survey data reveals that white students who participated in the program not only endorse fewer color-blind racial attitudes than they did immediately after completing the program, but that they also have a more critical awareness of race than the control sample of non-Engaging Diversity students. Individual interviews with Engaging Diversity participants also reveal a link between these students’ learned racial consciousness and their involvement as social justice leaders and advocates on campus. These …

Communication Partnerships That Work: Translating Evidence-Based Health Research Into Practice, Angela Carman, Gretchen Holmes, Anna G. Hoover, Margaret Mcgladrey, Ernie Scott, Mary Tucker-Mclaughlin, Nancy Winterbauer

Anna G. Hoover

Healthcare and public health research ultimately seek to improve patient and population health. Unfortunately, more than a decade often passes before research findings become routinized in practice. Improving translational speed, reach, and efficacy requires partnerships among researchers, practitioners, community stakeholders, and communication scholars. This panel will be presenting two partnership models that work.

The University of Kentucky (UK) Center of Excellence in Rural Health (CERH) seeks to improve the health of rural Kentuckians through education, research, service, and community engagement. They do this by partnering with hospitals and clinics, health professionals, community service agencies, non-profits and other organizations. Panelists will …

Historians In The Community: Public History Practicum Projects, History 625 - The Art And Craft Of Interpretation, Jane Becker

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Public historians work among and for the public—they put their skills as historians to work in our communities. Using historical materials, public historians help people understand personal and community histories and their relationships to broader historical contexts.

The Public History Track at UMass Boston serves and supports community endeavors to document, preserve, curate, interpret, and make accessible their various histories, and to connect their pasts with the present. Our partnerships provide graduate students with opportunities to apply theory to practice, and to build their professional networks and portfolios.