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Growing A Healthy Future, Fall 2013

Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources: Institute Publications

What's new at IANR; Who's new at IANR; Globe-trotting beans; Science in the know; Gilt puberty; Soybean agreement; Firing down wildfires; Energy interest; The vet is in; By the Numbers

Increasing Access To Post-Secondary Education: A Mixed Methods Study Of The Charleston Clemente Program, Mariane A. Doyle

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

There is an economic gap that favors adults who have higher levels of educational attainment (United States Department of Labor, 2010). With more than 9.3 million Americans over the age of 25 facing unemployment as of June 2012 and over 79% or 7.4 million of those unemployed Americans having attained less than a Bachelor’s degree (U.S. Department of Labor, 2012), the current need for college access measures and programs that address the adult population is an imperative one.

The Charleston Clemente Program provides a tuition-free course in the Humanities to economically-disadvantaged adult students for a total of two-semesters. Along with …

Creating Interdisciplinary Collaborations To Support And Understand Mathematics Teaching And Learning, Ruth Heaton, Wendy M. Smith, Traci Kutaka

Discipline-Based Education Research Group Speaker Series

Teaching mathematics is a complex endeavor and requires a deep understanding of content and pedagogy. Helping teachers learn what they need to know requires the expertise of disciplinary area faculty as well as those with pedagogical expertise. Similarly, understanding the learning of teachers or their students requires complex analyses of messy data by teams of researchers representing differing but complementary perspectives. Cases describing the nature and process of interdisciplinary teaching and research collaborations in mathematics education will be presented and analyzed for lessons learned.

The Role Of The Parent In Fostering Cultural Awareness, Kimberly A. Blitch

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

Past research indicates that the cultural constructs of race and ethnicity are socialized and that that socialization process begins in early childhood. This qualitative case study sought to learn more about the parental role in fostering children’s cultural awareness as well as parents’ collaboration experiences with childcare providers with regard to the fostering process.

Five parents of children (ages two-to-five years) from an ethnically and racially diverse preschool were participants. Participant interviews were conducted and The Scale of Ethnocultural Empathy (SEE) and The Parent-Teacher Relationship Scale (PTRS) measure were administered. A three-tiered coding system was used to analyze text data. …

A Pilot Mixed Methods Evaluation Study Of The Effectiveness Of An After-School Cooking Club Curriculum For Middle School Students, Elisha M. Hall

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Introduction: Obesity has exponentially increased each decade, with approximately one third of the adult American population obese and another one third overweight. More startling is that these trends are rising in children as well. With economic, health, social, mental, and emotional consequences, childhood obesity has quickly risen as a significant issue to tackle. Increases in fast food consumption have been linked with overweight status, and home cooked meals are slowly becoming part of the past. The adolescent time period, in which children are slowly gaining more autonomy and conducting their activities independent from their parents, is an optimal time …

Marital Quality And Health Over 20 Years: A Growth Curve Analysis, Richard B. Miller, Cody S. Hollist, Joseph Olsen, David Law

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Although there is substantial evidence linking marital quality to physical health, few studies have been longitudinal. This study examined data from the Marital Instability Over the Life Course Study; 1,681 married individuals followed for 20 years were included in these analyses. In order to control for life course effects, participants were divided into 2 cohorts: early life and midlife. On the basis of latent growth curve analysis, the results indicated that initial values of marital happiness and marital problems were significantly associated with the initial value of physical health among both cohorts. In addition, the slope of marital happiness was …

Stress, Coping, And Depression In Adolescents： A Longitudinal Analysis Of Data From National Longitudinal Study Of Adolescent Health, Xiaoyun Zhang

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

The study examined the relationships among stress, coping and depression using the public-use data from the first three waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Harris & Udry, 1994-2008). The total sample of 3844 participants aged from 11 to 27 was included in the analysis. Latent growth curve modeling was used to identify the developmental trajectories of depressive symptoms and stressful life events from age 12 to age 24, respectively; Latent growth curve modeling with two-construct parallel processes was used to examine the associations between stressful life events and depressive symptoms over time. Path analysis was used to …

Effect Of Racial Socialization And Racial Identity In Adolescent African American Males On Academic Achievement, Rasheema Pitt

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

This study examined possible influences of racial socialization and racial identity in minority’s academic achievement. Qualitative data sources (in-depth, personal interviews, focus groups, and a survey) were collected from 10 minority students and 8 administrators. In addition, a quantitative survey was used to supplement qualitative data. The researcher established her own set of questions for the interviews and focus groups. The pre-established measures used were the Does Your School Have High Expectations for All Students survey and the School Climate survey.

Thematic and theoretical analyses procedures were used to identify emerging themes and patterns, with particular attention to what minority …

Growing A Healthy Future, Spring 2013

Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources: Institute Publications

Nebraska Innovation Campus; Growing with the grain; Water center stage; Grassing up; Successful formula; Diverse research; Up on the rooftop; The future of rural; reining in business sense; By the Numbers

Books, Stories, And The Imagination At Filastrocca: Case Study Of A Preschool Learning Environment In Pistoia, Italy., Carolyn P. Edwards, Keely D. Cline, Lella Gandini, Alga Giacomelli, Donatella Giovannini, Annalia Galardini

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

The progressive educational systems of some regions of Italyare becoming increasingly recognized by educators and researchers, including those from North America, seeking insight into diverse educational approaches from the international community. This paper represents a case study of Filastrocca (“Nursery Rhyme”), a preschool in the Tuscan city of Pistoia. Filastrocca proclaims a special mission related to books, storytelling, and the imagination, and appears to offer a unique environment that supports children’s active and enthusiastic engagement in complex literacy discussions and activities. The purpose of this paper is to provide a detailed description of the learning environment for language and literacy …

Research At The University Of Nebraska–Lincoln: 2012 - 2013 Report, Vicki Miller , Editor

Office of Research and Economic Development: Publications

Contents

Innovative Collaborations Drive Success ... 1

Unraveling Secrets of Brain, Biology and Behavior ... 2

Research, Athletics Partnership ... 4

Understanding Impact of Toddler Sleep Habits ... 5

For Nonparticipants, Voting May Just Be Too Stressful ... 6

Collaborating on Nanoelectronics ... 8

Aftercare Critical for At-risk Teens ... 9

Defense-related Research Expanding ... 10

Reporting Key to Preventing Violence ... 11

Book Opens Cather Letters ... 12

Pioneering New Era for Literary Scholarship ... 14

Lizard Fossil Reveals Climate Clues ... 15

Innovation Campus Emerging ... 16

Research Leading to Water-wise Sensor ... 17

Bolstering Plants’ Defenses ... …

Major Sponsored Programs And Faculty Awards For Research And Creative Activity: July 1, 2012 – June 30, 2013, Vicki Miller , Editor

Office of Research and Economic Development: Publications

This twelfth annual “Major Sponsored Programs and Faculty Awards for Research and Creative Activity” booklet highlights the successes of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln faculty during the fiscal year July 1, 2012-June 30, 2013. It lists the funding sources, projects and investigators on major grants and sponsored program awards received during the year; published books and scholarship; fellowships and other recognitions; intellectual property licenses; and performances and exhibitions in the fine and performing arts.

This impressive list grows each year and I am pleased to present evidence of our faculty’s accomplishments. Grants and contracts in a diverse range of fields—from education …

The Adjustment Of Asian American Families To The U.S. Context: The Ecology Of Strengths And Stress, Yan Ruth Xia, Kieu Anh Do, Xiaolin Xie

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

The number of Asian American families is on the rise, making it 4.6% of the total US population. Asian American families are also a diverse group, comprising many different ancestries, cultural variations, and countries of origin. However, there remains a paucity of research focusing on Asian American Families. The media’s depiction of them as a Model Minority is doing a disservice to this population group. Because of this stereotype, many issues and challenges that this group encounters may not gain adequate attention. Some of these issues include acculturative stress, intimate partner violence, lack of a social support network, and intergenerational …

An Introduction To Latent Variable Mixture Modeling (Part 2): Longitudinal Latent Class Growth Analysis And Growth Mixture Models, Kristoffer S. Berlin, Gilbert R. Parra, Natalie A. Williams

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Objective — Pediatric psychologists are often interested in finding patterns in heterogeneous longitudinal data. Latent Variable Mixture Modeling is an emerging statistical approach that models such heterogeneity by classifying individuals into unobserved groupings (latent classes) with similar (more homogenous) patterns. The purpose of the second of a two article set is to offer a nontechnical introduction to longitudinal latent variable mixture modeling.

Methods — 3 latent variable approaches to modeling longitudinal data are reviewed and distinguished.

Results — Step-by-step pediatric psychology examples of latent growth curve modeling, latent class growth analysis, and growth mixture modeling are provided using the Early …

“I’Ve Devoted My Entire Life To My Daughter—And She Knows It”: Exploration Of Identity Development Among Now-Adult Navajo Native American Adolescent Mothers, Rochelle L. Dalla, Kathryne Bailey, Ashley Cunningham, Nicolette Green, Jenna L. Vyhlidal

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

n 1992 (n = 21) and 1995 (n = 8), the principal investigator collected data from 29 reservation-residing Navajo Native American teenage mothers. A primary goal of the 1992 and 1995 investigations (Time 1) was to examine the identity status of the young women in relation to commitment to the maternal role using Marcia’s (1980) framework. Results revealed that an approximately equal number of participants could be classified as achieved, moratorium, foreclosed, and diffused (see Dalla, 2000). In 2007 (Time 2), the principal investigator returned to collect follow-up data at the Navajo Reservation, where she interviewed 21 (72%) of the …

Supportive Supervision And Resiliency Ohio - Accwic Coaching Curriculum, Atlantic Coast Child Welfare Implementation Center

Other QIC-WD Products

Purpose The International Federation of Coaches (ICF) defines coaching as: “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.” “Coaching is highly focused on individuals designing their future – and that of their organization – and achieving excellence through setting personally and professionally challenging goals and committing to taking the actions necessary to achieve them” (Byrne, 2007). In the field of child welfare, coaching is being utilized in work situations, at all levels of the system, to focus on specific skills and abilities to reach specific outcomes, enhance performance and …

A One-Hour Sleep Restriction Impacts Brain Processing In Young Children Across Tasks: Evidence From Event-Related Potentials, Dennis Molfese, Anna Ivanenko, Alexandra P.F. Key, Adrienne Roman, Victoria J. Molfese, Louise M. O'Brien, David Gozal, Srinivas Kota, Caitlin M. Hudac

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

The effect of mild sleep restriction on cognitive functioning in young children is unclear, yet sleep loss may impact children's abilities to attend to tasks with high processing demands. In a preliminary investigation, six children (6.6 - 8.3 years of age) with normal sleep patterns performed three tasks: attention (“Oddball”), speech perception (conconant-vowel syllables) and executive function (Directional Stroop). Event-related potentials (ERP) responses were recorded before (Control) and following one-week of 1-hour per day of sleep restriction. Brain activity across all tasks following Sleep Restriction differed from activity during Control Sleep, indicating that minor sleep restriction impacts children's neurocognitive functioning.

Parent Beliefs And Children’S Social-Behavioral Functioning: The Mediating Role Of Parent-Teacher Relationships, Elizabeth Moorman Kim, Susan M. Sheridan Dr., Kyongboon Kwon, Natalie A. Koziol

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

This research investigated whether parent-teacher relationship quality mediated the relation between parents’ motivational beliefs and children’s adaptive functioning and externalizing behaviors. The sample consisted of kindergarten through third-grade children with behavioral concerns (N = 206). Parents reported on their motivational beliefs (i.e., role construction and efficacy), and teachers reported on the quality of their relationships with parents and children’s adaptive functioning (i.e., social and adaptive skills) and externalizing behaviors. Results indicated that parents’ motivational beliefs were related significantly and positively to children’s adaptive functioning and negatively to children’s externalizing behaviors. Parents’ motivational beliefs were also significantly associated with enhanced …

The Adjustment Of Asian American Families To The U.S. Context: The Ecology Of Strengths And Stress, Yan Ruth Xia

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

The number of Asian American families is on the rise. Asian American families are a diverse group. This chapter focuses on Asian American families that migrated to the United States in the last three decades. This chapter challenges the media’s depiction of them as a Model Minority. Because of this stereotype, many challenges that this group encounters may not gain adequate attention. The chapter examines their strengths and resiliency, along with the ecology of stress that influences family dynamics.

Embracing Messy Play: Using Documentation To Illustrate A Partnership Of Community, Teachers, And Nature Education., Jennifer Leeper Miller, Erin Hamel

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

The perfect companion to nature is messy play. Allowing children (and pre-service teachers) the opportunity to touch, prod, splash, toss, and experience the natural world through their senses is a must. Teachers created opportunities for children to wonder, engage and marvel in the natural world through hands on experiences; using mud day to spark interactions and inquiry among children, families, teachers and mud.

Extension's Capacity To Deliver Quality Early Childhood Professional Development, Tonia Durden, Claudia C. Mincemoyer, Jennifer Gerdes, Kathleen Lodl

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

In recent years much attention has focused on the role of enhancing a teacher's professional knowledge and skills in helping to improve the quality of early care experiences for young children birth–5. In the study reported here, an environmental scan of the early childhood professional development programs offered within the Extension system was conducted to identify the programs' content, delivery, scope, evaluation, and partners. Results indicate that Extension has been a player in providing professional development opportunities for early childhood professionals and with a focused effort in streamlining the current resources has the capacity to become a leader in this …

Critical Reflectivity And The Development Of New Culturally Relevant Teachers ., Tonia Renee Durden, Diane M. Truscott

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

Three case studies present how preservice teachers use reflections while learning to teach. Interviews and document analysis reveal that critical reflections evidence greater understanding of culturally relevant pedagogy and offer a platform for critical consciousness. Using critical reflectivity to develop teachers’ understandings of culturally relevant pedagogy is discussed.

Fish & Wildlife News: Winter 2013

Fish and Wildlife News

Winter 2013 Fish & Wildlife News looks at 40 years of CITES.

Deliberation Models Featuring Youth Participation, Denise Bulling, Lyn Carson, Mark Dekraai, Alexis Garcia, Harri Raisio

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

There is a growing trend among developed countries to increase the participation of youth in societal and institutional decision-making. The challenge is to move away from an illusion of participation (tokenism) to genuine youth influence. This article transfers knowledge of a relatively new theory to the fields of youth engagement and community development. We pose deliberative democracy as a model to build bridges between youth and decision-makers. This concrete approach offers a platform for youth and adults to engage in a learning process as equal citizens and proactive leaders. Deliberative democracy can be understood as an umbrella term for different …

Therapeutic Alliance Between Youth And Staff In Residential Group Care: Psychometrics Of The Therapeutic Alliance Quality Scale, Kristin Duppong-Hurley, Matthew C. Lambert, Mark Van Ryzin, Justin Sullivan, Amy Stevens

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Therapeutic alliance has been frequently studied in individual counseling sessions; however, research on therapeutic alliance in residential settings for youth with mental health diagnoses has been limited. This may be due, in part, to the presence of multiple service providers often in caregiving roles. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric quality of a widely utilized measure of therapeutic alliance used in psychotherapy with youth in residential care where the treatment is provided by a trained married couple. We also compared the relationship between youth ratings of their male and female service provider, as well as examined …

An Introduction To Latent Variable Mixture Modeling (Part 1): Overview And Cross-Sectional Latent Class And Latent Profile Analyses, Kristoffer S. Berlin, Natalie A. Williams, Gilbert R. Parra

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Objective — Pediatric psychologists are often interested in finding patterns in heterogeneous cross-sectional data. Latent variable mixture modeling is an emerging person-centered statistical approach that models heterogeneity by classifying individuals into unobserved groupings (latent classes) with similar (more homogenous) patterns. The purpose of this article is to offer a nontechnical introduction to cross-sectional mixture modeling.

Method — An overview of latent variable mixture modeling is provided and 2 cross-sectional examples are reviewed and distinguished.

Results — Step-by-step pediatric psychology examples of latent class and latent profile analyses are provided using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Kindergarten Class of 1998–1999 data file. …

The Instructional And Emotional Quality Of Parent–Child Book Reading And Early Head Start Children's Learning Outcomes, Keely Cline, Carolyn P. Edwards

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Research Findings: The objective of this study was to understand how instructional book-reading style and emotional quality of reading interact and relate to cognitive skills in a sample of at-risk infants and toddlers. Participants were 81 parents and their children participating in Early Head Start programs in the rural Midwest. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were used to test the hypothesis that parental book-reading instructional style and emotional quality interact and relate to changes in children’s cognitive scores for culturally and linguistically diverse families. Results included that there were variations in how book-reading qualities interacted and related to changes in …

Assessing Connections Between Young Children’S Affinity For Nature And Their Experiences In Natural Outdoor Settings In Preschools, Camilla S. Rice, Julia C. Torquati

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

The purposes of this research were to: develop a reliable measure of children’s affinity for nature or “biophilia”; determine whether young children’s biophilia was related to the “green-ness” of the outdoor play area of the preschool they attend; examine whether demographic variables are associated with children’s biophilia; and determine whether demographic variables predict children’s enrollment in nature-oriented programs. We recruited children from ten early childhood education programs—six that had outdoor play spaces with many natural elements and four that had few or none of these elements. One hundred fourteen preschool-aged children completed an 11-item measure of biophilia that included preferences …

Beyond The Walls: Conceptualizing Natural Environments As “Third Educators”, Julia C. Torquati, Julie A. Ernst

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

This research examined preservice early childhood educators’ perceptions of outdoor settings and their intentions to use outdoor settings in their teaching practice. Students enrolled in an early childhood education program (n = 110) at a university in the Great Lakes region completed surveys that assessed perceptions of natural settings, intentions to use natural settings in future teaching, knowledge of the benefits of nature for children, and personal nature relatedness. Participants reported relatively high intentions to use natural settings in future teaching, as well as knowledge of the benefits of nature for children, but moderate levels of personal nature relatedness. Participants …

Family Teacher And Parent Perceptions Of Youth Needs And Preparedness For Transition Upon Discharge From Residential Care, Alexandra L. Trout, Steven Hoffman, Michael Epstein, Ronald W. Thompson

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Summary: The purpose of this study was to compare parent (N = 51) and family teacher (N = 102) ratings of perceptions of aftercare for youth reintegrating into the home and community settings following a stay in residential care.

Findings: The results show large differences between treatment providers and parents as to the level of youth preparedness for transition.

Applications: Youth leaving residential care facilities struggle to maintain the gains they make during their time in treatment. Understanding what residential care providers and parents of youth perceive to be most important for youth during this transition period is essential to …