Digital Commons Network^™

Reflections On The Implementation Of Improved Outcomes For Children And Its Impact On The Capacity Of Child Welfare Workers To Deliver Services, Rita Sanchez-Torres

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The emergence of the New Public Management with its emphasis on performance measurements and managerial strategies such as accountability, efficiency, and cost effectiveness have encouraged nonprofit child welfare agencies in New York City to pursue the practice of the private sector. In the current environment, service delivery has become more entrepreneurial, strategic and outcome minded on the assumption that the market-oriented approach is more effective (Watson-Bishop, 2007). This study examines the relationship between policy and service delivery. Specifically, it investigates the impact of the initiative known as Improved Outcomes for Children on child welfare supervisors in a managerial environment.

The …

Mapping The Alignment Of Programmatic Mission, Functions And Outcomes With The Attainment Of Health Equity: An Overview Of The Approach And Initial Outcomes Through The Lens Of The Usda’S Cyfar Scp Program, Onyemaechi Nweke, Kara Ryan, Mpp, Bonita Williams, Phd

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Eliminating health disparities is a priority across national agenda and initiatives such as the National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities (NPA), the National Prevention Strategy, and Healthy People 2020. To advance this priority under the NPA, the Federal Interagency Health Equity Team (FIHET), which is an NPA federal cross-sector and collaborative platform, initiated a voluntary pilot “health equity mapping” exercise in 2014. This exercise served as a strategy to clarify the strategic alignment between participant federal partner program missions, goals, and activities, and the goal to end health disparities and promote health equity. The mapping process included an …

Toward An Integral Catholic Peacebuilding, Gerard Powers

The Journal of Social Encounters

Among the many under-examined aspects of Catholic approaches to peacebuilding are its ecclesiological and practical dimensions. This article suggests that an Integral Catholic Peacebuilding calls for deepening the Catholic community’s commitment to peacebuilding as a vocation, especially by reinvigorating the lay vocation; cultivating distinctively Catholic approaches to peacebuilding while engaging inclusively, especially through strategic approaches to ecumenical and inter-religious engagement; and promoting greater integration by examining the interconnections among disparate factors and issues, and giving priority to effective collaboration among vertical and horizontal levels, and different sectors of the Catholic community

Ua41 University College Connection, University College

UC Publications

Newsletter created by and about WKU University College.

• George, Dennis. Message from the Dean
• Jennifer Brinkley Travels to Bosnia-Herzegovina
• Sara McCaslin Provides Workshop
• School of Professional Studies BIS
• Diversity & Community Studies
• New DCS Assistant Professor - Dana Cuomo
• African American Studies
• Gender & Women's Studies
• Center for Citizenship & Social Justice
• School of University Studies - Embedded English Tutors
• LAC Tutors - Alice Rowe Learning Assistance Center
• WKU 2017 Part Time Faculty Award Recipient - Diana McQuady
• University Experience Research Awards
• Student Support Programs Summer Early Entry

Finding Common Ground: Learning From Leaders Who Have Utilized Conflict Transformation Behaviors In The Mental Health Field In The United States, Tamarah E. Tilos

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to discover and describe how exemplary leaders establish common ground and produce breakthrough results in the mental health field by utilizing the 6 domains of conflict transformation: collaboration, communication, problem solving, process, emotional intelligence, and ethics.

Methodology: This thematic, phenomenological study was accomplished through examination of the lived experiences of exemplary leaders with firsthand experience transforming conflict and finding common ground. The target population for this study included executive-level leaders of nonprofit organizations, governmental institutions, state and national associations, and private businesses serving adults and children with mental illness, developmental or behavioral disabilities, …

Sustainability Assessment On Community Park Revitalization, Ova Candra Dewi, Lathiyfah Purnama Shanti, Teguh Utomo Atmoko, Andry Andreas Napitupulu, Meri Anggraeni

ASEAN Journal of Community Engagement

Nowadays the green open spaces are becoming more difficult to find,especially in urban areas. Malls and other physical buildings tend to dominatepublic options for recreation. Thispaper describes the community engagement program in developing community parkin Bogor Regency that has been done within July-December 2016, which wasinitiated by American Red Cross in Indonesia. Implemented together withIndonesian Red Cross and Universitas Indonesia, the program highlighted thenecessity of community park revitalization as nature-based infrastructure thatalso functioned as refugee point when disaster occurs. The “Charrette” was usedas the method to collect information from the community and to make surebottom-up approach was applied. This way, …

Supporting And Retaining Village Health Teams: An Assessment Of A Community Health Worker Program In Two Ugandan Districts., Daniel C Mays, Edward J O'Neil, Edison A Mworozi, Benjamin J Lough, Zachary J Tabb, Ashlyn E Whitlock, Edward M Mutimba, Zohray M Talib

Health Policy and Management Faculty Publications

Background

Uganda’s national community health worker program involves volunteer Village Health Teams (VHTs) delivering basic health services and education. Evidence demonstrates their positive impact on health outcomes, particularly for Ugandans who would otherwise lack access to health services. Despite their impact, VHTs are not optimally supported and attrition is a growing problem. In this study, we examined the support needs and existing challenges of VHTs in two Ugandan districts and evaluated specific factors associated with long-term retention. We report on findings from a standardized survey of VHTs and exploratory interviews with key stakeholders and draw conclusions that inform efforts to …

Working With Latinos In Rural Communities: “Nuts And Bolts”, Wilma Cordova, Aparecida De Fátima Cordeiro Dutra

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Latinos currently compromise 16% of the entire U.S. population and 9.3% live in rural areas ((U.S. Census, 2010). These current percentages indicate that most social workers will work with this population at least once during their careers. Therefore, it is important that social workers develop skills and knowledge to work effectively with Latinos. Working with Latinos in our current sociopolitical climate poses many challenges for social workers working in rural areas. However, if social workers adhere to the guidelines and standards initially established by the profession and implement best practices many of their efforts will be successful. This chapter aims …

Social Workers’ Evidence-Based Practice Use And Challenges In Rural Environments: A Systematic Review, Mingun Lee

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Over the past decade, the demand for Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) in the social work field has increased. Previous studies indicate that EBP promotes clinical decision making based on current best evidence and decreases the use of ineffective interventions. However, social workers still face a variety of barriers to become evidence-based practitioners. Particularly, social workers practicing in rural areas face increased barriers to make use of evidence in practice. This study conducted a systematic review of current literature to find evidence related to social workers’ use of EBP and their barriers in rural settings. Reviews were limited to social work studies …

Enhancing Ontario’S Rural Infrastructure Preparedness: Inter-Community Service Sharing In A Changing Climate — Assessment Of Ten Rural Municipal Case Studies, Brenda Murphy, Annette Chrétien, Bryce Gunson

Social and Environmental Justice Faculty Publications

This assessment of ten municipal case studies is a sub-project of a larger three-year Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (2016-2019) study. The purpose of the assessment was to i) evaluate the role of inter-community service cooperation (ICSC) in relation to climate change preparedness and asset management planning (AMP) through the presentation of ten case studies, and ii) draw together cross-cutting themes and best practices that have the potential to maximize the climate change (CC) preparedness of rural municipal infrastructure. All project documents are available online from http://www.resilientresearch.ca/research-publications/.

Ua42/1/5 Online Learning At Wku, Wku Online

WKU Administration Documents

Newsletter created by and about WKU Online / Online Program Services.

• Faculty Spotlight: Creating a Sense of Community in an Online Program with Dr. Jane Olmsted
• Student Spotlight Meet Jessie Key
• Supporting Student Success Through Coaching
• Recent Changes
• Resources for Working with Online Students
• Guaranteed Online Pathway for Completion of Colonnade
• Ideas for Expanding Communication to Increase Recruitment & Support
• WKU Online Learning / Tuition Cheat Sheet
• Addressing Financial Barriers
• 6 Areas of Impact
• Our Team

Ua77/1 Wku Spirit, Wku Alumni Relations

WKU Administration Documents

WKU alumni magazine. Contents:

• Ransdell, Gary. Letter from the President
• 20 Things You Didn’t Know About Gary Ransdell
• Scholarship Celebration
• U.S. News & World Report Ranks WKU Online Programs Among Best in Nation
• Gary Ransdell to Become President & CEO of Semester at Sea
• Six WKU Students Awarded Gilman International Scholarships for Summer 2017
• WKU Tied for 2^nd in 2016-2017 List of Top Fulbright Producers
• Six WKU Faculty & Alumni Named 2017 Trailblazer Honorees
• University Distinguished Professor Gifts Proceeds from IRA to WKU
• Honors College at WKU Named for Dixie & Pete Mahurin
• Gabbi Doolin Memorial Scholarship
• Vic Richey …

A New Vision For Timber City Usa, Kerry Politzer

Metroscape

A look at the city of Willamina, Oregon, as it attempts to transition from a timber-reliant town to a sustainable future. Provides a brief history of the community and its economic struggles, and its attempts to foster economic development though tourism, arts and winemaking.

What Do We Know About Location Affordability In U.S. Shrinking Cities?, Joanna Ganning, Jenna Rosie Tighe

TREC Final Reports

In late 2013, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) launched the Location Affordability Index (LAI) portal. Their dataset uses models to estimate typical amount households spend on housing and transportation at the block group level, and calculates “H + T Affordability,” the percent of household income spent on these items. In our previous research, we analyzed 81 shrinking cities to determine how location affordability differs across various neighborhoods. Our results suggest that households in declining neighborhoods, as compared to stable or redeveloping neighborhoods, face the greatest H + T affordability challenges in shrinking cities. Furthermore, in declining neighborhoods, …

Planning Ahead For Livable Communities Along The Powell-Division Brt: Neighborhood Conditions And Change, Lisa K. Bates, Aaron Golub, Devin Macarthur, Seyoung Sung

TREC Final Reports

New transit investments can be a double-edged sword for disadvantaged communities (e.g., those included in environmental justice and Title VI protected classes). Transit investments improve communities’ mobility and access, and may improve health with reduced driving. However, there is also the potential for transit-oriented development (TOD) to spur gentrification and displacement if affordable housing is lost. Understanding transit corridor conditions and change with new infrastructure is important for learning how to mitigate negative effects and support inclusive communities with access to transit for lower-income households. The planning of a new bus rapid transit line along the Powell-Division corridor in Portland-Gresham …

On Your Mark, Get Set, Go! Learn More About Using Games In Library Instruction, Rebecca Engsberg

Georgia Library Quarterly

Whether you’re just getting started with using games in library instruction, or you want to enhance how you already use games to instruct, the following selective, annotated bibliography of online resources as well as the selective bibliography of additional print resources could be helpful tools for you. Every kind of library—including academic, public, and school libraries—may benefit from librarians using games in library instruction. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel, either. You can draw inspiration from what other librarians have done by exploring the resources listed in this article for ideas.

Exploring The Strengths And Challenges Of Co-Creation Of Impact Assessments/ Analysis In Rural Communities: Focus: Hotel Con Corazón In Granada, Nicaragua, Johanna Q. Ulseth

Capstone Collection

Hotel con Corazón, a boutique hotel and social enterprise located in Granada, Nicaragua, through its Foundation, invests 100 percent of its profits in local education programs to empower students, their families and the community to build brighter futures. The Foundation works within a rural locality 20 minutes outside of the city, where the majority of the 3,900 inhabitants live in moderate to severe economic poverty. Completing its eighth year of working in the Las Lagunas community, the Foundation was motivated to carry out an impact assessment in order to learn more about the experiences of the different groups of stakeholders …

Summer 2017, Gla Glq

Georgia Library Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Innovation Through Large-Scale Integration Of Legacy Records: Assessing The “Value Added” In Cultural Heritage Resources, Carrie Heitman, Worthy Martin, Stephen Plog

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Using the Chaco Research Archive (CRA) as a case study, in this article, we discuss the spectrum of intellectual decisions: conceptualization, design, and development, required to make legacy records (accumulated over many years through numerous archaeological expeditions) publicly accessible. Intellectual and operational choices permeated the design and implementation of the digital architecture to provide internet access to the vast information structures inherent in legacy records for the cultural heritage of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. We explore how an expansive but focused repository can enable opportunities for research and foster communities of co-creation. We also use the CRA as a case …

Sdrc Talking Points, Connie Jan Maraan

SDRC Publications

This second issue of SDRC's Talking Points is all about the journey to the research life, from the points of view of different researchers at different stages of their journey through the labyrinth. Some have just started, some are in the middle of the journey, some are almost completing the journey, but definitely all of them are enjoying and learning from the maze of this socalled research life.

Creating And Storing A Toolkit For Pilgrimage And Religious Tourism Sites, Peter Wiltshier

International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences

This paper reflects our abiding interest in our origins and of those religious and pilgrimage spaces that we attest to actively being part of our cultural inheritance. It explores options for, and barriers, to the creation of a repository of information to support practitioners and the clergy to maintain and develop these religious and pilgrimage sites. A model toolkit for storing collected knowledge is presented with illustrative examples from a range of sources. The examples used are largely drawn from a North/West perspective.

Potential Impacts Of Accelerated Sea-Level Rise And Hurricane-Induced Storm Surge In Western Pasco County, Florida, Kittiya Harris

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sea levels have risen approximately 20 cm since the beginning of the 20th century and more than 3 cm in the past 20 years, suggesting that global sea level rise is accelerating. As sea levels continue to rise and storms become more intense, coastal property and populations become more susceptible to damage. Florida is especially vulnerable to hurricane-induced storm surge (HSS) and the onset of accelerated sea-level rise (ASLR) due to its extensive coastline and high population density along the coast. The main purpose of this research is to assess the potential economic impacts of ASLR and HSS for two …

Community Civic Engagement As An Enabler Of Student Flourishing, Edel Randles, Bernie Quillinan

The ITB Journal

Civic Engagement is a process where people join together to conduct public work, it may be for political activism, advocating for social justice, consciousness raising, challenging and changing societal systems. It usually incorporates levels of social connectedness, coherence, shared philosophies, comradeship, social responsibility, compassion, courage and transcendence. Familiar civic engagement terms across Higher Education include, volunteering, service learning, community based learning/research, community engaged research and capacity building.

The Social Pillar Of Sustainable Development A Literature Review And Framework For Policy Analysis, Kevin Murphy

The ITB Journal

There is a need to develop a clearer understanding of what the social pillar of sustainable development means and how it relates to the environmental pillar. This article contributes to this process by presenting a conceptual framework that identifies four overarching social concepts and links them to environmental imperatives. These concepts are: public awareness, equity, participation, and social cohesion. The framework builds on concepts and policy objectives outlined in research on international sustainable development indicators and the social sustainability literature. The social pillar can be expanded to include environmental, international, and intergenerational dimensions. This framework can then be used to …

Arctic Economics Workshop, Dr. Judith T. Kildow, Michael Goldstein

Working Papers

About this Report

This report serves as the official Summary final report to participants and the public, from the Arctic Economics Workshop, sponsored by the National Science Foundation grant issued July 2017. It is a summary of participant remarks, ideas, and suggestions from the workshop. It will also be included as an addendum to our official reports to the National Science Foundation to be issued Spring, 2018. After the initial section on background and introduction, the remaining report highlights the three keynote presentations and the introductory presentation by the hosts who presented the research undertaken for the Workshop. The discussions …

Cpaf Updates Vol. 18 Special Issue 2017, Virginia R. Cardenas, Stoix Nebin S. Pascua

CPAf Updates

In this issue:

• All the best to our new ‘glocal’ leaders, 1
• 2017 Awardees: Academic Excellence Awardees, 2
• CPAf Class of 2017, 4
• 2017 Awardees: Best Field Study, 6
• 2017 Awardees: Best thesis, 7
• 2017 Awardees: Best Dissertation, 8

Towards Soulful And Sustainable Service: The Role Of Ethics In Global Service-Learning Programs Within Faith-Based Tertiary Institutions, Corrie Johnson

Capstone Collection

This research evaluates the practices of specified faith-based institutions within the field of undergraduate global service learning through the lens of each of the major themes in the Fair Trade Learning framework. These themes include equal partnership, mutual learning, cooperative and positive social change, economic equity, transparency, and sustainability. Initial survey outcomes present an overall picture of where these particular universities are at in regards to balancing student and community outcomes. Interview outcomes provide a more in-depth perspective of how mutual benefit for student participants and host communities is being considered within the global service-learning programs these programs facilitate. Some …

Community Engagement Institute 2017, Vedette Gavin, Lynn E. Pelco, Katie Elliott, Valerie Holton, Jennifer Early, Erin B. Brown

Community Engagement Institute

Agenda documenting time and dates of speaker presentations. Presentations varied from topics surrounding higher education, community-engaged research, service learning, collaboration between education and communities, and community-academic partner spotlights.

Urban Extension: Aligning With The Needs Of Urban Audiences Through Subject-Matter Centers, Brad Gaolach, Michael Kern, Christina Sanders

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

The educational program model is the principle approach Extension uses to deliver on its mission of “taking knowledge to the people.” However, with county-based faculty fully engaged in long-term program delivery, they may have little or no capacity to address emerging issues faced by urban communities. Urban governments often seek the research capacity of a university in addition to, or instead of, the traditional Extension programming model but sometimes turn first to other urban-serving universities. Washington State University Extension has addressed these challenges by establishing subject-matter centers. This article examines how subject-matter centers can add capacity to traditional Extension offices …

Seeds As Artifacts Of Communities Of Practice: The Domestication Of Erect Knotweed In Eastern North America, Natalie Graham Mueller

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Humans are the ultimate ecosystem engineers, and in transforming ecosystems we also change the selective environment for the plants and animals that live among us. The bodies and behaviors of domesticated plants and animals are thus rich artifacts of traditional ecological knowledge and practice. I study the morphology and behavior of domesticated plants as a proxy for ancient agricultural communities of practice. The transition from food procurement to food production is one of the most significant shifts in human history. I consider this process as the evolution and spread of a knowledge system. Domestication studies are usually focused on differentiating …