Digital Commons Network^™

The Ones Left Behind: Making The Connection Between Poverty And The Achievement Gap, Audrey Davis

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The achievement gap has been a major issue plaguing the education system in the United States for decades. There has been much research conducted with the goal of identifying the reasons for the achievement gap. One of the main reasons for the achievement gap is poverty. In fact, I argue that there is a direct correlation between academic achievement and poverty, in other words school and society are inextricably connected. The focus of this paper will be the elementary school level as there is an abundance of information on elementary schools in New York City. To further demonstrate the fact …

Testing The Global Ratings Of Environments [Groe] In South Africa, Melissa Aives

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The author retested an observational tool called the Global Ratings of Environments. The tool was used in nearly six early childhood development (ECD) centers across two provinces. A detailed report of observations and findings are included in this paper. Also included are recommendations and revisions of the GROE for future use.

Challenges, Experiences, And Future Directions Of Senior Centers Serving The Portland Metropolitan Area, Melissa Lynn Cannon

Dissertations and Theses

A growing body of research emphasizes the development of an understanding of the relationship between older adults and their physical and social environments (Wahl & Weisman, 2003). Researchers, planners, policymakers, and community residents have been increasingly interested in shaping urban environments as places that foster active aging and independence among older adults. Senior centers have served a critical role in their communities as focal points for older adults, as individuals or in groups, to participate in services and activities that support their independence and encourage their involvement in and with the community (NCOA, 1979). The aging of the population and …

Quality Of Early Childhood Development Services Across Contexts : Experience With The Sithuthukile Trust, South Africa, Rachel Warren

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The purpose of this paper is to understand how the quality of early childhood development (ECD) programs is determined within two different contexts: western and South African.

Fishing For A Sustainable Future: Aquaponics As A Method Of Food Production, Richard Ramsundar

Student Theses 2015-Present

This thesis compares and explains the advantages aquaponics farming has over modern industrial intensive farming. Through a comparison natural capital usage, conservation, recycling and cost, the thesis advocates for the expansion of aquaponics usage in urban settings. The thesis also explains the history of intensive farming and aquaponics in America, the science of how aquaponics operates, the economic and environmental costs of modern intensive farming versus aquaponics farming, and the social implications of aquaponics. Lastly, I propose a policy that reallocates farm subsidies by modifying the Farm Bill. Then I propose policies that support creating a new standard of farm …

A Mixed-Methods Study Of Head Start Family Service Worker Qualifications And Family Services Utilization: Implications For Policy And Leadership, Laura H. Trull

Dissertations, 2014-2019

This mixed-methods research study utilized Shared Leadership and Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) design and looked at the relationship between qualities of Family Service Workers (FSWs) in Head Start and family outcomes. Head Start is a federally funded comprehensive early child development program serving families of low income children ages birth to five. Fifty Head Start FSW participants from a convenience sample in Virginia provided complete responses to a survey instrument distributed at the Virginia Head Start Association Health and Family Conference in November 2014. FSWs from Culpeper Head Start served as CBPR participants and contributed to the selection of variables, …

Reducing Waste With Reusable Bag Ordinances And Plastic Bag Bans In The Bay Area: An Impact Analysis, Michael Thomas

Master's Projects

No abstract provided.

Swords Into Stethoscopes: How The U.S. Military Could Conduct Medical Diplomacy, Oliver Kendall

Political Science Honors Projects

Since the early 1960’s, Cuba and China have won international appreciation by sending doctors abroad to help where they are needed. While there was surprise in some quarters when U.S. military personnel were deployed to combat Ebola in the last months of 2014, the Department of Defense actually has a long history of medical activity. In its current form, DoD medical outreach cannot likely garner soft power in the way that the Chinese and Cuban programs can, but with a few modifications, the U.S. military could be a serious conductor of medical diplomacy that would save countless lives and benefit …

Evaluating Peace Support Operations To Enhance International Policy, Noreen Towle

Peace and Conflict Studies

The United Nations (UN) is an international organization created from the express consent of states and established upon a multilateral international treaty between those states in order to perform the functions of promoting international peace and security, aid in the development of international relations, promote human rights, and aid in “harmonizing actions” between nations. The most ardent of these functions falls to the UN Security Council due to its responsibility for maintaining peace and security. UN peacekeeping missions were originally an alternative to collective security but they have evolved into Peace Support Operations (PSO) and are deployed with a strategy …

Rush To Judgment: The Sti-Treatment Trials And Hiv In Sub-Saharan Africa, Eileen Stillwaggon, Larry Sawers

Economics Faculty Publications

Introduction: The extraordinarily high incidence of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa led to the search for cofactor infections that could explain the high rates of transmission in the region. Genital inflammation and lesions caused by sexually transmitted infections (STIs) were a probable mechanism, and numerous observational studies indicated several STI cofactors. Nine out of the ten randomized controlled trials (RCTs), however, failed to demonstrate that treating STIs could lower HIV incidence. We evaluate all 10 trials to determine if their design permits the conclusion, widely believed, that STI treatment is ineffective in reducing HIV incidence.

Discussion: Examination of the …

Thriving, Not Just Surviving, On Food Stamps, Sam L. Mccaughey

Senior Honors Projects

Food insecurity has been a persistent element in the history of the United States. Efforts to address the problem - and the larger issue of poverty - have been wide-ranging, but the debate about how best to respond to hunger has often centered on the relative roles of government and charity. Often that debate has led to hybrid solutions that combine government sponsored welfare such as food stamps and community-based food relief programs such as food banks. Yet, even such complementary approaches leave many people’s needs unmet, and there remains a significant population, both across the country and in Rhode …

Identifying The Importance And Performance Perceptions Of Positive Youth Development Features In Camps Worldwide, Chelsea Marie Schwabe

All Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine international camp professionals' perceptions of the importance and performance of Eccles and Gootman's (2002) Eight Features that Maximize Positive Youth Development. Members of the International Camping Fellowship, ages 18 and older and of different demographic backgrounds, were asked for their perceived importance and performance ratings of the eight features on a five point Likert scale. The data were used to create importance-performance matrices using Martilla and James' (1977) Importance-Performance Analysis technique in order to create visual depictions of the recorded perceptions. This cross-cultural, cross-sectional study utilized Importance-Performance Analysis to create a snapshot …

A Study Of Life Skills From Traditional And Afterschool 4-H Participants, Julia M. Kreikemeier

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Cooperative Extension has been serving youth and their families for over one hundred years. The total impact of this service has been measured on several occasions by many researchers, most notably in the research of youth development by Richard Learner; however, his research only took into account those who participated in traditional 4-H clubs. The purpose of this quantitative study was designed to examine which life skills youth participants in traditional and afterschool 4-H programs reported. Quantitative methodology was used to collect post-program survey data of youth participants. Qualitative informal interviews were conducted of Extension Educators and afterschool 4-H program …

Negative Impacts Of Teacher Evaluation Reform: The Role Of Federal Policy In Student Achievement And Teacher Quality, Allison Smith

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this sequential transformative study was to elucidate the negative experiences of teachers with performance evaluations and to juxtapose the intended use of current popular teacher evaluation reform movements to the evident implementation. One may quickly assume that negative experiences with evaluation are a result of unsatisfactory teaching practices. However, this may not accurately explain the negative experiences. This study focused on the negative experience of teacher evaluation to provide a broader understanding of the impact of new evaluation policy reform on student achievement and teacher quality. Five data sources were analyzed: PAR policy, a teacher survey, district …

Tribal Food Sovereignty In The American Southwest, Julia Guarino

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Food is an issue that implicates tribal sovereignty for historical, cultural, and public health reasons. This article undertakes a policy analysis of the importance of food to tribal sovereignty, and suggests that tribes, many of which have begun to do so already, make robust use of the concept of "food sovereignty" as part of their overarching project of protecting and promoting tribal sovereignty in general. This article sets the stage for understanding the importance of food sovereignty to tribes by exploring the history of food and culture in the American Southwest, where the public health consequences of changes in diet …

Towards An Expansion Of The Salt City Harvest Farm: Exploring A Community Farm’S Impact, Challenges, And The Agricultural Ways And Aspirations Of Its New American Farmers, Rose Tardiff

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The Salt City Harvest Farm (SCHF) is a community farm located in Kirkville, NY cultivated by and for New Americans living in Syracuse who wish to expand gardening beyond their backyards and community gardens. While the farm has been operational for two growing seasons, it is an all-volunteer project with limited capacity, and concerns about long-term sustainability. This research was designed to be pragmatic; it seeks to inform the future structure and programming of the SCHF by identifying its projectspecific challenges, drawing on the agricultural aspirations of its New American participants, and investigating how other refugee farming projects in the …

Microconsignment As Magic Or Sleight-Of-Hand: How Social Entrepreneurship Affects Women's Political And Economic Participation In Guatemala, Briana Bardos

Honors Scholar Theses

Much research has been done on increasing the amount of female participation in both the formal economy and political sphere across the globe. This project seeks to go beyond this idea and analyze whether economic empowerment leads to increased political participation. By analyzing a specific type of empowerment, social entrepreneurship, through the specific lens of Soluciones Comunitarias’ MicroConsignment Model, my paper looks to explore if and how women in Guatemala are affected by this model politically and economically. Existing work in the field of women’s social movements makes clear the linkage between social mobilization and positive outcomes, such as increased …

Increasing The Calfresh Participation Rate In The County Of Santa Cruz, Juan C. Magaña

Master's Projects

No abstract provided.

The Financial Lives Of Low-Income Rhode Islanders: Challenges And Opportunities, Keegan Glennon

Senior Honors Projects

Less fortunate Americans have historically been urged to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps,” implying that prosperity was essentially just a matter of willpower. Over time, however, it has become clear that there are more than a few problems with this conception of American society. If hard work and willpower aren’t all that lower class Americans need to reach prosperity, then what do they need? This has been an issue of much debate ever since the question was first posed. The truth is that that poor Americans face many obstacles in managing their financial lives, and many of these obstacles …

Cultivating Dreams: Examining Community Involvement And Satisfaction In Fayetteville Farms, Donna J. Freeman

Landscape Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

Agriculture has a great, often untapped potential to be integrated in to the urban landscape as part of a green infrastructure and food production network. Urban agriculture is often piecemeal and opportunistic, rarely part of a city-wide master plan or with a comprehensive site plan. Because of this, farms are less likely to be considered as public space like parks and plazas or be studied as part of the human environment. This study utilizes data triangulation from site analysis, policy analysis and surveys to attempt to determine how urban farms might be improved in specific categories such as visibility and …

2015 May, Office Of Communications & Marketing, Morehead State University.

Morehead State Press Release Archive, 1961 to the Present

Press releases for May of 2015.

Considering Shared Power And Responsibility: Diabetic Patients’ Experience With The Pcmh Care Model, Olena Mazurenko Md, Phd, Sheila Bock Phd, Catherine Prato, Margarita Bondarenko

Patient Experience Journal

The patient-centered medical home (PCMH), an innovative primary care model that fosters a stronger, more personal patient-doctor relationship than traditional health care models, should be particularly well suited for the treatment of chronic conditions such as diabetes that require ongoing management by both patients and providers. Despite growing research on the effectiveness of PCMHs in diabetes care, relatively little attention has been given to diabetic patients’ experiences. This qualitative study examines diabetic patients’ experiences at one PCMH setting, using in-depth interviews to understand patients’ perspectives of the shared power and responsibility between patient and provider in their diabetes care. Our …

The Children’S Hospital Of Philadelphia Family Partners Program: Promoting Child And Family-Centered Care In Pediatrics, Amy Kratchman, Ba, Darlene Barkman, Ma, Kathy Conaboy, Ba, Anna De La Motte, Msed, Rachel Biblow, Msw, Katherine Bevans, Phd

Patient Experience Journal

Involving Family Advisory Councils in decisions that impact pediatric healthcare demonstrates hospitals’ commitment to child- and family-centered care. Yet, reliance on advisors as the sole source of family input has several limitations: infrequent meetings impedes the council’s capacity to address emerging concerns in a timely manner; feedback obtained from a small number of highly-engaged family members may not represent the perspectives of “typical” patients and families; advisors provide feedback in a reactive manner and are generally not equitably involved in problem identification or the initial development of solutions. In recognition of the need to strengthen and advance family partnerships, the …

An Outcome Analysis Of The Achievement Of The Five Objectives By The Housing 1000 Care Coordination Project: Ending Homelessness In Santa Clara County Through Affordable Housing, Darren K. Bader

Master's Projects

No abstract provided.

Franklinton Healthcare Committee, Devyn Hempy, Logan Peterman, Nicole Kostiuk, Ethan Wojciechowski, Matt Mccollister

Senior Year Experience Student Projects

Franklinton HealthCare Committee proposes to reinvent Mt. Carmel West by creating a new rehabilitation center to fight drug and alcohol addiction, a wellness center to educate Franklinton residents about nutrition and health issues, and a residence hall to support the expansion of the nursing school.

Food Insecurity And Nutrition In Franklinton, Hannah Baker, Tanner Graham, Ashley Mullins, Kelsey Seltzer, Ryan P. Thombs

Senior Year Experience Student Projects

In this report, Fit For Franklinton documents the problem of food insecurity in Franklinton, suggests ways to alleviate the problem, and calls for people to get involved in implementing those solutions.

Chronic Physical Health Conditions Among Homeless, Nooshin Nikoo, Marjan Motamed, Mohammad Ali Nikoo, Verena Strehlau, Erika Neilson, Sahoo Saddicha, Michael Krausz

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

ABSTRACT

Objective: Morbidity and mortality among homeless individuals is higher than the general population. This study aims to determine the prevalence of current self-reported, chronic physical health conditions in a large sample of homeless people with sub-samples from shelters and street in British Columbia, Canada. Methods: Cross-sectional survey applying modified version of the ‘National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients (NSHAPC)’ questionnaire in multiple sites in Vancouver, Victoria and Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. Sample: Five hundred homeless individuals were surveyed between May and September of 2009. A person was defined as homeless if he/she had a …

Do No Harm In Mine Action: Why The Environment Matters, Ursin Hoffman, Pascal Rapillard

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Explosive remnants of war negatively impact the environment and some clearance methods used by mine action organizations can potentially lead to environmental degradation. Mine action organizations need to consider the negative impact potential of their operations and adopt mitigation measures to ensure they do no harm.

Kenya’S Konza Techno City: Utopian Vision Meets Social Reality, Amina Johari

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper explores Kenya’s ambitious Konza Technology City. In 2008 the Kenyan government unveiled its plan to construct a city from scratch 60 kilometers outside of the nation’s capital, Nairobi. Konza Technology City is a flagship project for Kenya Vision 2030, the country’s development program covering the period 2008 to 2030. The new city is expected to relieve Nairobi of some of its traffic and overcrowding issues, and also support the country’s growing technology sector. Konza City is just one of many proposed city plans all over sub-Saharan Africa reflecting a growing phenomenon. Due to the challenges many African cities …

Improving Access To Food Systems Among Communities Of Color: A Food Justice Issue, Alma M. O. Trinidad, Helen Camden, Anne Coleman

Center to Advance Racial Equity Publications and Reports

Food insecurity and access among communities of color is a major social and health issue. Limited studies rooted in Oregon exist to assist practitioners, policy makers, and scholars in understanding food insecurity and access among recent immigrants and refugees. Using a multiple qualitative methods approach, this study has three major aims: 1) to understand the food access issues, particularly barriers and opportunities, among refugees and immigrants; 2) to investigate the challenges and opportunities of immigrants and refugees in accessing systems that are culturally responsive to their needs and; and 3) to address the gaps of service delivery targeted for communities …