Digital Commons Network^™

Cost-Effectiveness In Individual Development Accounts, Mark Schreiner, Guat Tin Ng, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

Because resources are limited, the benefits and costs of social-work interventions—like all interventions—must be compared with the benefits and costs of alternatives. Evidence-basedpractice should ask not only “What works?” but also “How well does it work?” and “What does it cost?” Unfortunately, evaluations of social-work practice—like evaluations in any field—rarely can measure all the relevant variables. In particular, benefits are extremely difficult to measure. Costs are simpler to measure, but even so, few evaluations measure costs. In the end, all evaluations are inevitably incomplete and so must make subjective judgments aboutunmeasured factors. The key to evaluation, then, is not certainty …

Family Saving And Community Assets: Designing And Implementing Family-Centered, Place-Based Individual Development Account Programs, Stephanie C. Boddie, Michael Sherraden, Lorlene Hoyt, Prema Thirupathy, Trina Shanks, Solana Rice, Margaret Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

Family Saving and Community Assets: Designing and Implementing Family-Centered, Place-Based Individual Development Account Programs

Proceedings Of The National Workshop On Footrot, Perth 19-21 August 2003, R K. Mitchell, A R B Higgs, A R. Mercy

Agriculture reports

The financial support of Australian Wool Innovation Ltd (AWI) made it possible for representatives of a range of organisations from across Australia to meet and review ovine footrot. This national workshop held in Perth in August 2003, was the first of its kind for several years and brought together senior researchers, policy makers and producers from all States. The workshop provided an opportunity for the varied approach to footrot control across Australia to be considered in terms of a national approach to footrot control and also for individual States to review their current strategies in the light of experiences in …

The Impacts Of Household Wealth On Child Development, Trina Williams Shanks

Center for Social Development Research

Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, this study examines the influence of wealth relative to income across several child development outcomes. The wealth measures include net worth and whether the household has certain specific asset holdings. The child development measures cover two domains: academic achievement and socio-emotional behavior. The intent is to examine which measures of wealth have the most explanatory value with respect to child development outcomes and test whether these are distinct from income. Results show that wealth is a significant predictor of two out of three dependent variables and that these predictors have different …

Racial Differences In Performance In A Matched Savings Program, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

This study examines the saving performance of low income African Americans and Caucasian participants in an Individual Development Accounts (IDA) program. IDAs are matched saving for home ownership, education, and small business capitalization. Using data from the American Dream Demonstration (N = 2,364), this study compares the savings performance of Black and White participants in IDAs. The results indicate that low-income African Americans on average save successfully in IDAs, though in smaller amounts than Caucasians. Results of separateregressions for Blacks and Whites indicate that mostly individual characteristics are associatedwith saving performance among Caucasians. In contrast, mostly institutional characteristics areassociated with …

Saving For Microenterprise In Individual Development Accounts: Lessons From The American Dream Demonstration, Fred M. Ssewamala, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

Saving for Microenterprise in Individual Development Accounts: Lessons From the American Dream Demonstration

Saving Performance In Individual Development Accounts: Does Marital Status Matter?, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Min Zhan, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

Research indicates that marriage has a large effect on reducing the risk of poverty and is associated with a higher probability of attaining affluence over the life course when comparedwith nonmarriage. Using data from the American Dream Demonstration (N = 2,364), this studycompares savings performances of married and unmarried low income participants in a matched savings program – Individual Development Accounts (IDAs). The results indicate that both married and unmarried low income participants can save in IDA programs; however, unmarried participants are saving less than married participants. We further examine possible factors that are associated with savings performance for these …

Seed Account Monitoring Report 2003, Margaret Clancy

Center for Social Development Research

SEED Account Monitoring Report 2003

Support For Microenterprise As Asset-Building: Concepts, Good Practices, And Measurement, Mark Schreiner

Center for Social Development Research

This paper proposes that building assets—be they human, financial, or social—plays a fundamental role on the development of microenterprise, that is, very small businesses owned by people of modest means. This new view expands beyond the current focus on training and loans to include savings services and networks of social capital. This is useful because most new ventures depend more on savings than on loans and because social networks are key—if invisible—business assets that people of modest means often lack. The outputs of microenterprise-support programs and the intermediate and final outcomes of self-employment can also be seen (and measured) in …

Defining Accelerometer Thresholds For Activity Intensities In Adolescent Girls, Margarita S. Treuth, Kathryn H. Schmitz, Diane J. Catellier, Robert G. Mcmurray, David M. Murray, Maria João C. A. Almeida, Scott Going, James E. Norman, Russell R. Pate

Faculty Publications

Purpose - To derive a regression equation that estimates metabolic equivalent (MET) from accelerometer counts, and to define thresholds of accelerometer counts that can be used to delineate sedentary, light, moderate, and vigorous activity.

Methods - Seventy-four healthy 8th grade girls, age 13-14 yr, were recruited from urban areas of Baltimore, MD, Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, and Columbia, SC, to participate in the study. Accelerometer and oxygen consumption (VO₂) data for 10 activities that varied in intensity from sedentary (e.g., TV watching) to vigorous (e.g., running) were collected. While performing these activities, the girls wore two accelerometers, a heart …

Informing Discharge Plans. Assessments Of Elderly Patients In Australian Public Hospitals: A Field Study, Karen Grimmer, Esther May, Anna Dawson, Claudia Peoples

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

This paper describes assessment practices related to discharging elderly patients from Australian acute public hospitals. Common assessments were of cognition, continence, wound care, hygiene needs, nutrition, mobility and self-care. Nurses and social workers commonly took non-standardised assessment approaches, whilst therapists were more likely to use published assessment instruments. Patients’ perspectives were rarely incorporated into assessments. The relationship between many common assessment items and patients’ ability to manage safely after discharge from hospital was unclear. The validity of assessment items, the reliability with which assessments were taken, ‘normal’ variability in responses, and interpretation of instrument ‘scores’ with respect to post-discharge independence …

Bilateral Internuclear Ophthalmoplegia As A Presenting Sign Of Multiple Sclerosis: An Interdisciplinary Approach To Diagnosis And Management, Sherrol A. Reynolds, Joseph Pizzimenti, Albert D. Woods

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system with various neurological and ocular manifestations. Ocular involvement occurs in approximately 80% of patients sometime during the course of the illness, and may be the presenting sign in about 50% of the patients with this disease. Bilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia (BINO) is a common ocular complication of MS, occurring in up to one third of all MS patients. BINO is an ocular motility impairment characterized by a total or partial inability to adduct each eye accompanied by a concomitant nystagmus of the abducting eye on lateral gaze and …

An Introduction To Telemedicine And Email Consultations, Janet C. Struber

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

E-health, telehealth and telemedicine all describe the use of telecommunication and electronic information technology for the provision of health care at a distance. Interest in telemedicine has been heightened recently due to technological advances making equipment more effective and accessible, and increasing healthcare costs and client expectations creating pressures to find alternative modes of healthcare delivery. Although telemedicine suffers from a lack of conclusive evidence regarding its clinical effectiveness, primarily because it has not been adequately evaluated, its popularity and acceptance, particularly amongst lay persons, continues to increase. With the rapid increase in internet use, email, an electronic communication medium, …

Changing Attitudes - Health Sciences Students Working Together., Elizabeth A. Taylor, David Cook, Rosemarie Cunnigham, Sharla King, Jan Pimlott

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Is it possible to alter limiting stereotypic attitudes of health professionals toward each other? Perhaps a first step might be an undergraduate interdisciplinary course that brings students from different faculties together to work on scenarios of common interest? The Inter-professional Health Development, Education & Activities Group (IHDEA) at the University of Alberta believe that their innovative INTD 410 course addresses the goal of changing attitudes. Over a five-week period, more than 700 students attend this required course. They are supported by some fifty facilitators who are drawn from the community and from six different university faculties. Students interact in small …

Catholic Foundations For Environmental Ethics: A Critical-Creative Approach To Patristic And Medieval Notions, Jame Schaefer

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Judicial Dialogue For Legal Multiculturalism, Charles H. Koch Jr.

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Constitutionality Of The Filibuster, Michael J. Gerhardt

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Southeast Florida Coral Reef Evaluation And Monitoring Project 2003 Year 1 Final Report, Jennifer Wheaton, Carl Beaver, Walter Jaap, Michael Callahan, Selena Kupfner, Shannon Wade, Jim Kidney, Stopher Slade, Erin Mcdevitt, Eric Ault, Fred Voss, David S. Gilliam, B. D. Ettinger, Daniel P. Fahy, Elizabeth Glynn Fahy, Shaun M. Gill, Jamie A. Monty, Lauren F. Shuman, Brian K. Walker, Richard E. Dodge, Tim Mcintosh, Steven Blair, Kenneth Banks, Louis E. Fisher, David Stout, Joe Ligas, Janet Phipps

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

No abstract provided.

2003 Annual Report, Various Authors

Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

Socioeconomic Perspectives On Infant Mortality In Alabama, James O. Bukenya

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Socioeconomic and demographic variables are examined in a maximum likelihood spatial lag framework to determine conditions influencing infant survival in Alabama using county-level data. The analysis is motivated by the basic premise that economic development and unidimensional health interventions such as immunization programs are not enough to ensure constant mortality decline in low-income regions. The results suggest that differences in socioeconomic factors can explain a large portion of the variation in child mortality rates among counties and across races in Alabama. The results also concur with prior conclusions that maternal and infant health remains an important reflection of the social …

Underemployment And Workforce Development In The Mississippi Delta: Community-Based Action Research For Program Planning To Increase Livelihood Security, John J. Green, Antoinette Jones, Christopher Pope

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Underemployment and poverty are important social problems, and they have received attention from researchers and policymakers with interest directed toward workforce development programs. Building from the knowledge obtained through regional and national quantitative studies, this project assessed what employers and underemployed adults living in Mississippi Delta communities had to say about these problems and how to address them for the purpose of informing a community-based organization. Following a review of Census data, qualitative telephone interviews and focus groups were utilized in this community-based action research effort aimed at informing workforce development program planning to increase livelihood security. Results from asset …

Zucker V. Westinghouse Elec

2004 Decisions

USDC for the Western District of Pennsylvania

Flemming V. Comm Social Security

2004 Decisions

USDC for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Double Dissociation Between The Effects Of Peri-Postrhinal Cortex And Hippocampal Lesions On Tests Of Object Recognition And Spatial Memory: Heterogeneity Of Function Within The Temporal Lobe., Boyer D Winters, Suzanna E Forwood, Rosemary A Cowell, Lisa M Saksida, Timothy J Bussey

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

It is widely believed that declarative memory is mediated by a medial temporal lobe memory system consisting of several distinct structures, including the hippocampus and perirhinal cortex. The strong version of this view assumes a high degree of functional homogeneity and serial organization within the medial temporal lobe, such that double dissociations between individual structures should not be possible. In the present study, we tested for a functional double dissociation between the hippocampus and peri-postrhinal cortex in a single experiment. Rats with bilateral excitotoxic lesions of either the hippocampus or peri-postrhinal cortex were assessed in tests of spatial memory (radial …

Enhancing The Rural South's Quality Of Life: Leveraging Development Through Educational Institutions, Glenn D. Israel

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

2004 SRSA Presidential address presented February 16, 2004, at the annual meeting of the Southern Rural Sociological Association, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Custer V. Penn State Geisinger

2004 Decisions

USDC for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

Graying Population Employment: Attraction And Retention Of Future Older Knowledge Workers, Roseann Becker

Theses and Graduate Projects

In the next ten years, the so-called Baby Boomer generation will be entering traditional retirement age and could potentially leave the work force in large numbers. Implications are clear that by 2010, many Boomers will need to be replaced by middle-aged and younger workers. Indications point to a significant projected labor shortage.

Previous research reveals that few CEO's recognize future labor issues as a pending management challenge. The objective of this research was to survey the human resources personnel at some of the best companies to work for and see if they are ramping up for potential labor shortages and …

Voter Apathy: Why Does It Exist And What Can Be Done To Overcome It?, Margaret F. Meehan

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to ascertain why the stakeholders in the educational process do not participate in the annual school election and to identify and implement techniques that would motivate these stakeholders to go to the polls.

The population of this study consisted of the direct stakeholders in the annual school elections of the Washington Township School District. A disc containing a listing of the individuals who voted in the April 15, 2003, school election was obtained from the Gloucester County Board of Elections. A disc containing a listing of employees who share one of the six zip …

2004 Gender Study Of The New Jersey Public Relations Society Of America, Megan A. York

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to determine the climate of New Jersey Public Relations Society of America, 2004. The researcher sought to find logical alternatives to the much-touted theory of the "glass ceiling," that many researchers blame for salary differential between the genders. E-mail surveys were distributed to research salary, title, industry, experience, etc.

Although NJPRSA men and women have much in common, not everything is mutual. The average male is older and more experienced. Overall female dominance continues in the trade, including in two of the three highest-paying industries. Most respondents were in management positions; however, men occupy …

Central Florida Future, Vol. 36 No. 68, June 30, 2004

Central Florida Future

Whistleblower fired from Wellness Center; Is Bigger safe? Most experts agree dangers should be weighed when deciding to go busty; Future reporter made up sources; Vending-machine bandit caught by UCF police.