Digital Commons Network^™

Baltimore And The Cherry Hill Urban Garden: Tearing Down And Building Up The Physical And Imaginative Spaces Of Post-Industrial Urban Food Systems, Rebecca L. Croog

Student Publications

The tide is changing in food research and food movements. Both academic thought and grassroots mobilization have demonstrated a shift beyond merely the problems of industrial food, and toward an emphasis on issues of justice and equity within food systems (Sloccum, 2006; Alkon & Agyeman, 2011; Sbicca, 2012; Agyeman & McEntee, 2013). In examining the contemporary case of the Farm Alliance of Baltimore City, which is “a network of producers working to increase the viability of urban farming and improve access to urban grown foods, united by practices and principles that are socially, economically, and environmentally just” (Farm Alliance website, …

Advancing Community Engaged Scholarship And Community Engagement At The University Of Massachusetts Boston: A Report Of The Working Group For An Urban Research-Based Action Initiative, Mark Warren, John Saltmarsh, Patricia Krueger-Henney, Lorna Rivera, Miren Uriarte, Donna Friedman, Richard Fleming, Diana Yadira-Salas, Luciano Ramos

Public Policy and Public Affairs Faculty Publication Series

The University of Massachusetts Boston has a rich history of mission-driven commitments that engage the campus with local, state, regional, national, and global communities. In the context of a public urban research university, a mission of community engagement is most clearly expressed through community-engaged scholarship. The University is positioned to build upon its strengths in community engagement and strengthen its community-engaged scholarship to become an international model for community engagement.

Intimate Partner Violence Among Lgbtq+ College Students, Katie Edwards, Kateryna Sylaska

Carsey Publications

Drawing from a survey of 391 college students in same-sex relationships, this brief documents the rates and patterns of intimate partner violence, and responses to it among LGBTQ+ youth. Authors Katie Edwards and Kateryna Sylaska report that four in ten LGBTQ+ college students in the sample reported intimate partner violence victimization or perpetration within a current relationship and that more than one-third of the victims told no one about the abuse, a rate that is higher than what is generally found among heterosexual college students. Victims most frequently turned to friends when revealing the abuse, followed by family members. Only …

Walking Builds Community Cohesion: Survey Of Two New Hampshire Communities Looks At Social Capital And Walkability, Shannon H. Rogers, Kevin H. Gardner, Cynthia H. Carlson

Carsey Publications

This brief reports the results of a survey conducted in 2009 of approximately 2,000 households in Portsmouth and Manchester, New Hampshire, to examine the connection between walkability and social capital. Authors Shannon Rogers, Kevin Gardner, and Cynthia Carlson report that higher levels of social capital are found in areas that are perceived to be more walkable, as measured by the number of places people can walk to in their community. In addition, walkability is influenced by concerns of safety, access, time, and health and by physical characteristics such as proximity, scale, and aesthetics. Given the link between walkability and greater …

The Importance Of Outdoor Activity And Place Attachment To Adolescent Development In Coös County, New Hampshire, Jayson Seaman, Sean R. Mclaughlin

Carsey Publications

This brief discusses the rates of participation in structured and unstructured outdoor activities as Coös County youth age, along with the relationship between outdoor activity involvement and indicators of place attachment throughout this period. The analysis is based on data collected between 2008 and 2013 as part of the Carsey Institute’s Panel Study of Coös County youth. Authors Jayson Seaman and Sean McLaughlin, who concentrate on a subsample of 222 youth who completed surveys in both eighth and twelfth grade, report that Coös County youth participated in outdoor activities at a rate 20 percent higher than national averages for youth …

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 …

The Long-Term Unemployed In The Wake Of The Great Recession, Andrew P. Schaefer

Carsey Publications

Using the Annual Social and Economic Supplement of the Current Population Survey, this brief outlines the demographic and economic characteristics of the long-term unemployed and compares them with their short-term unemployed counterparts. It also describes changes in the composition of the long-term unemployed since the start of the Great Recession. Author Andrew Schaefer reports that the percentage of unemployed workers who were seeking employment for more than six months more than doubled between 2007 and 2013 from 18.4 percent to 39.3 percent and that the long-term unemployed are more likely than the short-term unemployed to live in urban areas. In …

Ua41 University College Connection, Dennis K. George, Dean, Wendi Kelley, University College, Western Kentucky University

UC Publications

No abstract provided.

Pro-And-Anti Immigration Activities In Iowa's 4th Congressional District: 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 …

Tracking Onslow: A Community In Transition. Edition 5, October 2014, Jess Allia, Taylor Brett, Karma Barndon, Kayt Davies, Aubin Hay, Amber Johnston, Kaylah Lloyd, Amber Montgomery, Tiffany Nash, Drew Norrish, Claire Ottaviano, Tanya Phillips, Kat Powell, Briana Shepherd

Tracking Onslow: a community in transition

This is the fifth edition of Tracking Onslow and the first that is not the result of a visit to the town. In June 2014 we were told that the Shire would not be funding the flights, accommodation or printing for the edition and so the ECU crew looked for other ways to continue documenting the impact of Wheatstone and Macedon on Onslow.

Fortunately, our previous visits in July 2012, February 2013, July 2013 and February 2014 had filled our contact books with names and numbers and clued us in to issues that needed to be followed up.

After a …

Talking Food: Motivations Of Home Food Preservation Practitioners In Kentucky, Lisa Conley

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

Recent reports detail a rise in the practice of home food preservation in the United States due to economic woes, nutritional concerns, and increasing devotion to local food production.Home food preservation is the processing of foods in order to extend its shelf-life. Current common approaches to preserving foods at home include pressure canning, freezing, drying, water bath canning, and cellaring/storing. Local food production in four Kentucky counties were examined through in-depth qualitative interviews with home food preservation practitioners to yield a rural/urban comparison. Forty home food preservation practitioners were interviewed between Fall 2009 and Fall 2013. The primary question driving …

The Impact Of Race And Ethnicity On Sexual Violence: A Case Study On Underserved Populations In Minnesota, Lindsay Bolstad

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Sexual violence in Minnesota impacts hundreds of thousands of lives and costs billions of dollars each year. This qualitative case study describes how victims that are people of color experience sexual violence at disproportionately high rates and face additional barriers when seeking legal, medical, and mental health and crisis advocacy services in Minnesota. The methodology employed includes secondary data collection using books, scholarly articles, and archival data. Individual interviews and a focus group interview were used to collect primary research. The voluntary interview participants were advocates that provide services for victims of sexual violence in Minnesota. The interviews were audio-recorded …

Urban Agriculture And Sustainability In Chicago, Matthew Hoffmann

Dissertations

Sustainability is increasingly informing the organization of urban life. In the past 15 years, cities have sought to alleviate the dual effects of environmental degradation and a changing economy by introducing sustainable development initiatives. Policy makers and environmental activists have often praised these efforts, pointing to the enhancement of quality of life, the mitigation of industrial pollution, and these initiatives' capacity to address poverty in a post-welfare state. Most popular depictions of the experiences of sustainability come from the perspective of white, middle class, college-educated volunteers and, increasingly, social entrepreneurs such as artisans, farmers, and other producers connected to "local" …

Putting "Community" In Community Schools: Organizational And Cultural Contention In A Public-Private Partnership, Kathleen D. Pacyna

Dissertations

Public-private partnerships as a new organizational form for delivering health and human services to those who require them remains an under-studied but important topic of research in an era significantly influenced by the weakening of the traditional civic welfare infrastructure. Based on two years of ethnographic research including in-depth interviews and participant observation, this research aimed to understand better how the concept of community held by members of the public-private partnership influenced their collective attempts to create a full-service community school program in the Brighton Park neighborhood of Chicago. Research revealed that members of the partnership negotiated and contested the …

Just Farming: An Environmental Justice Perspective On The Capacity Of Grassroots Organizations To Support The Rights Of Organic Farmers And Laborers, Rebecca Elaine Berkey

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This mixed methods study builds upon literature and research in environmental justice, public participation, and community development to examine how justice-related issues impact farmers and workers on organic farms in the Northeastern United States. It also examines how involvement in a grassroots organization helps farmers and workers address these issues. At the core of the study is an exploration of environmental justice and its applications at a broad, systemic level; an examination of the current context of laborers in organic agriculture in the Northeast; and finally an investigation of the effects of grassroots organizing within the Northeast Organic Farming Association …

Variation Found In Rates Of Restraint And Seclusion Among Students With A Disability, Douglas J. Gagnon, Marybeth J. Mattingly, Vincent J. Connelly

Carsey Publications

The restraint and seclusion of individuals—practices usually associated with highly restrictive environments—are extreme responses to student behavior used in some public schools. In this brief, authors Douglas Gagnon, Marybeth Mattingly, and Vincent Connelly report that restraint and seclusion are used much more frequently on students with a disability than on students without a disability. In addition, the majority of U.S. school districts does not restrain or seclude students with a disability; 59.3 percent of districts report no instances of restraint, while 82.5 percent do not report a single instance of seclusion. However, a small proportion of districts report exceedingly high …

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

Carsey Publications

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.

Mental Health Among Northern New Hampshire Young Adults: Depression And Substance Problems Higher Than Nationwide, Karen T. Van Gundy

Carsey Publications

This brief uses data on depressive and substance abuse symptoms from two surveys administered in 2011—the Coös Youth Study and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health—to compare mental health patterns among young adults in Coös County, New Hampshire, to patterns among rural young adults nationwide. The analyses focus on 214 Coös young adults and 1,477 young adult respondents, ages 18 to 21, who were living in non-metropolitan areas in 2011 and who provided usable data on depressive and substance abuse symptoms. Author Karen Van Gundy reports that Coös County young adults are more likely than rural young adults …

Snap Use Increased Slightly In 2012, Jess Carson

Carsey Publications

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, …

Fearless: Adrienne Ellis, Adrienne M. Ellis

SURGE

Taking the initiative to change college policies related to LGBTQ issues, restructuring a sustainable community garden in Gettysburg over the summer, and continually being motivated to change and challenge the powers that be through her love of people, Adrienne Ellis ’14 fearlessly fights for what she believes to help the people she loves— everybody. [excerpt]

Ua41 University College Connection, Dennis K. George, Dean, Wendi Kelley, Editor, University College, Western Kentucky University

UC Publications

No abstract provided.

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 …

2012 National Child Poverty Rate Stagnates At 22.6 Percent, Marybeth J. Mattingly, Jess Carson, Andrew P. Schaefer

Carsey Publications

No abstract provided.

The Social Architecture Of Local Food Tourism: Challenges And Opportunities For Community Economic Development, Michael L. Dougherty, Laura E. Brown, Gary Paul Green

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Local food tourism—culinary tourism with an explicit emphasis on local food systems—is emerging as a “green” model for community economic development. However, do local food tourism networks constitute a net gain to community economies in all contexts? This article explores that question through surveys and interviews with farmers, restaurateurs, and food tourists in three Wisconsin counties. Framing our discussion using the community capitals framework, we argue that economic benefits do accrue to communities from participation in these networks, but the net gains are ambiguous. Specifically, involvement in local food tourism networks increases stocks of social and human capital, deepens marketing …

Project Ngage: Network Supported Hiv Care Engagement For Younger Black Men Who Have Sex With Men And Transgender Persons, Dexter R. Voisin

Faculty Scholarship

Background: Young Black men who have sex with men and transgender persons (YBMSMT) aged 13-29 carry the nation's highest burden of new HIV infections. Studies indicate that YBMSMT have poor retention in care, which is associated with reduced medication adherence and increased virologic failure. Objective: Project nGage is a randomized controlled (RCT) trial evaluating the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a brief, dyadic intervention designed to promote adherence to HIV primary care in safety-net clinics. Network visualization is used to identify and engage a support confidant (SC) from participants' social networks. A social work interventionist then meets with the SC …

Spatial Health Indicator Analysis Data Collection Unlv Study, Amelia Gulling, Jeff Greer, Tom Stewart

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Southern Nevada Strong (SNS) is a collaborative regional planning project between local public agencies and NGOs throughout the Las Vegas Valley. This project is headed by City of Henderson on behalf of the Southern Nevada Regional Planning Committee. SNS received a $3.5 million Sustainable Community (SC) grant from HUD which is set to expire in 2015. SNS member agencies receive preference for future HUD grants by participating in successful SC grant, which could be considered a motivating factor for participation for outside agencies.

The Assessment Of Nigerian Diaspora In The Usa And Exploring Its Potential Contribution To Sustainable Development, Binyam Shimelis Aseffa

Capstone Collection

Increased migration is inevitable in an integrating world economy; Nigeria is one of these developing countries with a high migrant or diaspora population. This research is conducted to assess Nigerian Diaspora in the USA and explore its potential contribution to sustainable development. The research used secondary data collection and analysis to come up with the findings. The major findings of the research include; Nigeria is one of the developing countries with the highest migrant population all over the world. Nigerians have left their home in the last few years in droves and today can be found in every part of …

Overcoming Barriers To Local Food Access: A Case Study, Brittany Ryan

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis focuses on the idea that food insecurity and access are real issues in the lives of many Americans. Simply stated, food insecurity is when a person does not have enough food to eat or does now know where his/her next meal is coming from. More importantly when looking at food insecurity is the realization that healthy, local food access is even more prevalent an issue – with increasingly more under-resourced individuals and families being food insecure and unhealthy at the same time. This thesis includes a literature review on diet and nutrition in the United States, a chapter …

Understanding Research Fatigue In The Context Of Community-University Relations, Elora Way

Local Knowledge: Worcester Area Community-Based Research

Community research fatigue has been understudied within the context of community-university relationships and knowledge production. Community-based research (CBR), often occurring within a limited geography and population, increases the possibility that community members feel exhausted or over-whelmed by university research —particularly when they do not see tangible results from research activities. Prompted by informal stories of research fatigue from community members, a small graduate student team sought to understand the extent to which community members experienced research fatigue, and what factors contributed to or relieved feelings of research fatigue. In order to explore these dimensions of research fatigue, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews …

A Plan For Developing An Effective Community Outreach Strategy For Churches In The Northeast, Roscoe Lilly

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Community outreach is an essential part of a church's mission to be "salt and light" to those around them. Community outreach creates the crucial platform for a church's evangelistic efforts. While many churches want to reach out to their community, few have a clear understanding of how or where to begin. The purpose of this project is to help churches in the Northeast better understand how to increase their community's receptivity to the gospel through a strategic community outreach plan. The project will use NorthStar Church as a case study. It is the aim of this project to demonstrate how …