Community-Based Research Commons^™

Right! From The Start: Improving Maternal-Child Health In The Mississippi Delta, John J. Green, Elizabeth Young Sweeney

Delta Directions: Publications

Right! From the Start (R!FTS) was created nearly ten years ago as a collaborative effort between Women and Children Health Initiatives, Inc. and the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF). The immediate goal of the initiative was to raise breastfeeding rates for mothers and babies in vulnerable families, especially those with preterm and low weight births. A long-term goal was improvement of maternal and child health outcomes in a region plagued by socioeconomic and racial disparities, the Mississippi Delta. R!FTS has gone through three distinct phases of development, which are detailed in this …

Introducing The Principles And Practice Of Restorative Justice: Reactions From A Generalist Audience, Grace Michels

Undergraduate Theses

Legislative activity and public opinion polling, among other indicators, suggests there is growing support for change in how our justice system functions. As the country begins to look for other tools and more knowledge of different practices, a key challenge will be bridging the gap between the public’s general support for a new path moving forward and a clear picture of what that path could look like. The goal of this project was to help propel this movement toward exploring justice alternatives forward by making this knowledge accessible and persuasive. As such, this project involved the creation of a material …

Reimagining Student Engagement In The Remote Classroom Environment, Christopher B. Denning, Serra Acar, Carol Sharicz, Ellen Foust

Pedagogy and the Human Sciences

As higher education institutions struggled with switching to remote teaching due to the COVID19 pandemic, perhaps one of the most important lessons learned is that instructors need additional support to successfully engage students in remote classrooms. Moving courses from the classroom to online delivery radically alters all aspects of teaching and learning, making it easy for interactions to be lost in the transition. It is, therefore, imperative that instructors use elements of effective online teaching and synchronous classroom pedagogy to maintain student engagement. This paper uses the constructivist learning theory as a framework, especially as this theory is applied in …

County-Level Factors That Influenced The Trajectory Of Covid-19 Incidence In The New York City Area, Ashley Wendell Kranjac, Dinko Kranjac

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

More than a century of research has shown that sociodemographic conditions affect infectious disease transmission. In the late spring and early summer of 2020, reports of the effects of sociodemographic variables on the spread of COVID- 19 were used in the media with minimal scientific proof attached. With new cases of COVID-19 surging in the United States at that time, it became essential to better understand how the spread of COVID-19 was varying across all segments of the population. We used hierarchical exponential growth curve modeling techniques to examine whether community socioeconomic characteristics uniquely influence the incidence of reported COVID-19 …

The Relationship Between Perceived Neighborhood Disorder And Type 2 Diabetes Risk Across Different Racial/Ethnic Groups, Min Yu, Jennifer N. Robinette

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Approximately 32 million Americans have Type 2 Diabetes and that number is growing rapidly. Type 2 Diabetes is sensitive to environmental factors, and higher prevalence rates are often observed in disordered neighborhoods (i.e., those with more trash and vandalism). Through discriminatory practices such as redlining, racially restrictive covenants, urban renewal, and gentrification, marginalized racial/ethnic groups are more likely to live in disordered neighborhoods compared to non-Hispanic Whites. These disparities may also contribute to similar disparities in Type 2 Diabetes rates. Yet, research indicates that there may be racial/ethnic differences in the interpretation of neighborhood disorder as a threat to health …

Racial/Ethnic Differences In The Benefit Of Social Networks On Anxiety Symptoms, Melissa Vargas Calderon, Jennifer Robinette

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Anxiety is a pressing health concern, affecting 40 million adults in the United States every year. Interestingly, communities of color have lower rates of anxiety disorders relative to Non-Hispanic Whites, despite on average experiencing more lifetime adversity characteristic of members of marginalized groups, such as low socioeconomic status and discrimination. Research indicates that contact with one’s social network, particularly large, closely knit ones among Hispanics, are protective factors against anxiety. However, empirical investigations of racial/ethnic differences in the benefits of social networks on anxiety are lacking. Data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative sample of adults …

Using Immersive Data Visualization To Highlight Changing Travel Patterns In Maine Due To Covid 19, Colleen Metcalf, Charlotte Aucoin

Thinking Matters Symposium

The impacts of COVID 19 are of top concern to tourism policy makers and stakeholders across Maine, as tourism plays a vital role in the state’s economy. This project shows the value of the Storymap to present, in an accessible and visually appealing way, the continuing research on how volunteered geographic information from social media can track changes in tourist’s movement and spending in Maine. The metadata from Flickr photos was used to examine where visitors spent time in the summer of 2020, revealing new patterns of tourism activity due to Covid-19 travel restrictions. In addition, we incorporate the results …

Reflecting On Our Terrain: How People And Places Create A Spirit Of Home, Meagan E. Harkins

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the nature of home. It situates the idea of home, both as a physical place and a spiritual state, where the subjects of these stories find belonging. Fourteen interviews were conducted, from December 2020 through February 2021, resulting in a series of longform stories. Eight interviews were recorded with immediate family and childhood friends in my hometown, the suburbs of Orlando, Fla. The balance of the stories derived from Zoom interviews, culminating in a 1,200-mile road journey to South Carolina, for the remaining ones.

What emerged from these oral history interviews and ensuing longform pieces are three …

Socastee Interview, Participant #16, April 29, 2021, Jennifer Mokos, Jaime Mccauley

Flood Survivor Interviews

A community member of the Rosewood neighborhood in Socastee is interviewed by a CCU student.

Mapping Renewal: How An Unexpected Interdisciplinary Collaboration Transformed A Digital Humanities Project, Elise Tanner, Geoffrey Joseph

Digital Initiatives Symposium

Funded by a National Endowment for Humanities (NEH) Humanities Collections and Reference Resources Foundations Grant, the UA Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture’s “Mapping Renewal” pilot project focused on creating access to and providing spatial context to archival materials related to racial segregation and urban renewal in the city of Little Rock, Arkansas, from 1954-1989. An unplanned interdisciplinary collaboration with the UA Little Rock Arkansas Economic Development Institute (AEDI) has proven to be an invaluable partnership. One team member from each department will demonstrate the Mapping Renewal website and discuss how the collaborative process has changed and shaped …

Measuring Food Consumption Within A Foodrx Program, Katie Howell

Honors Theses

This pilot study set out to assess food consumption measures within the Charleston FoodRx program. Assessments made through this investigation aim to improve the Charleston program as well as provide suggestions for future programs. Charleston FoodRx provides enrolled households with fruits and vegetables in a supply intended to last for two weeks. These goals combine social and pharmaceutical science, by addressing barriers in food environment and insecurity, nutritional health, and preventative treatment. Though the idea behind FoodRx has existed prior to recent pilot programs, research behind FoodRx and its possible integration within the healthcare system lack published and replicable research …

Testimonio And Counterstorytelling By Immigrant-Origin Children And Youth: Insights That Amplify Immigrant Subjectivities, Ariana Mangual Figueroa, Wendy Barrales

Publications and Research

This article seeks to amplify our scholarly view of immigrant identity by centering the first-person narratives of immigrant-origin children and youth. Our theoretical and methodological framework centers on testimonio—a narrative practice popularized in Latin American social movements in which an individual recounts a lived experience that is intended to be representative of a collective struggle. Our goal is to foreground first-person narratives of childhood as told by immigrant-origin children and youth in order to gain insight into what they believe we should know about them. We argue for the power of testimonio to communicate both extraordinary hardship and everyday experiences …

Health Policy Institute Of Ohio Practicum Experience, Farhiya Hirsi

Masters Theses/Capstone Projects

My practicum was completed at the Health Policy Institute of Ohio. I was given a wide range of projects to work on. Some of these projects needed to be completed as quickly as possible while others had a longer due date. These projects included updating HPIO’s online resource pages for the addiction resource page ( AEP) and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). I conducted literature review and other research on ACEs that was part of the ACEs Impact Project. I also analyzed COVID-19 data on race and ethnicity and learned new skills as a result. I did quality control on the …

Socastee Interview, Participant #12, April 15, 2021, Jennifer Mokos, Jaime Mccauley

Flood Survivor Interviews

A community member of the Rosewood neighborhood in Socastee is interviewed by a CCU student.

Socastee Interview, Participant #13, April 14, 2021, Jennifer Mokos, Jaime Mccauley

Flood Survivor Interviews

A community member of the Rosewood neighborhood in Socastee is interviewed by a CCU student.

Socastee Interview, Participant #07, April 12, 2021, Jennifer Mokos, Jaime Mccauley

Flood Survivor Interviews

A community member of the Rosewood neighborhood in Socastee is interviewed by CCU students.

Socastee Interview, Participant #11, April 8, 2021, Jennifer Mokos, Jaime Mccauley

Flood Survivor Interviews

A community member of the Rosewood neighborhood in Socastee is interviewed by a CCU student.

Socastee Interview, Participant #02, April 2, 2021, Jennifer Mokos, Jaime Mccauley

Flood Survivor Interviews

A community member of the Rosewood neighborhood in Socastee is interviewed by a CCU student.

Kesejahteraan Dan Ekologi Anak Angkat Warga Negara Indonesia Dalam Pengangkatan Anak Antarnegara (Intercountry Adoption) Menghadapi Negara Baru, Monica Sundawati Susanto, Johanna Debora Imelda

Jurnal Ilmu Kesejahteraan Sosial

Adoption is currently one of the efforts chosen by several couples to have children. Adoption of children currently being processed in Indonesia is not only for prospective adoptive parents who are Indonesian citizens, but can also be processed for foreign citizens who wish to adopt Indonesian citizens (intercountry adoption) which has been regulated in the Government through Government Regulation Number 54 of 2007 concerning the Implementation of Child Adoption. In these regulations, children who can be adopted are neglected or neglected children. Therefore, adoption is carried out with the aim of protecting and improving the welfare of the child. The …

Indigenous Peoples' Trust In Police: Multi-Jurisdictional Issues And The Effect On Reporting, Anna R. Doering

Honors Thesis

The crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples (MMIP) has occurred for centuries. The current structure of the criminal justice system relies on trust and cooperation between law enforcement agencies and citizens to combat such crises. The purpose of this research project is to assess how, if at all, Indigenous peoples’ trust in police and willingness to report at the tribal, state, and federal levels impact MMIP. These two dependent variables were assessed using survey results from Indigenous peoples 18 and older. Discussion will focus on how these variables impact MMIP moving forward.

Examining Natural Resource Conservation: In The Classroom, Through Collaborative Conservation, And Across Public Communication Platforms, Shauni Seccombe

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Socastee Interview, Participant #08, March 31, 2021, Jennifer Mokos, Jaime Mccauley

Flood Survivor Interviews

A community member of the Rosewood neighborhood in Socastee is interviewed by a CCU student.

Socastee Interview, Participant #04, March 30, 2021, Jennifer Mokos, Jaime Mccauley

Flood Survivor Interviews

A community member of the Rosewood neighborhood in Socastee is interviewed by a CCU student.

Barriers To Post-Secondary Success, Douglas Swanson, Najeana Henderson, Maritza Sloan

Dissertations

This study reviews factors that prior studies have identified or failed to consider as barriers to post-secondary success. The three main areas include academic success for Latinx students after high school, organizational systems and their impact on African-American students’ postsecondary readiness, and what workers think of their high school education with regards to career preparedness.

Five factors are identified as major barriers for Latinx students to continue in a higher education system. A survey of former students from Saint Louis, Missouri, and Dallas, Texas, metroplex area identified 56 Latinx students that participated in an initial survey. This led to a …

Socastee Interview, Participant #03, March 26, 2021, Jennifer Mokos, Jaime Mccauley

Flood Survivor Interviews

A community member of the Rosewood neighborhood in Socastee is interviewed by a CCU student.

Socastee Interview, Participant #01, March 26, 2021, Jennifer Mokos, Jaime Mccauley

Flood Survivor Interviews

A community member of the Rosewood neighborhood in Socastee is interviewed by CCU students.

Person-Centered Practice As Anchor And Beacon: Pandemic Wisdom From The Ncapps Community, Connor Bailey, Martha Barbone, Lydia X.Z. Brown, Alixe Bonardi, Bevin Croft, Marian Frattarola-Saulino, Karyn Harvey, Miso Kwak, Kelly Lang, Nicole Leblanc, Michelle C. Reynolds, Carole Starr

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

Objective: This article summarizes the individual, systemic, and collective challenges and opportunities presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, based on 16 videos solicited by the National Center on Advancing Person-Centered Practices and Systems (NCAPPS) and submitted by NCAPPS collaborators during the first six months of the pandemic.

Method: Informed by participatory action approaches and content analysis, we describe common themes in a series of 16 videos solicited by NCAPPS from subject matter experts with professional and lived experience of disability and human services systems.

Results: The team organized the findings to identify both specific factors within each of the levels and …

Adapting Participatory Action Research To Include Individuals With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities During The Covid-19 Global Pandemic, Kaitlyn P. Ahlers, Kara B. Ayers, Suzannah Iadarola, Rosemary B. Hughes, Hyon Soo Lee, Heather J. Williamson

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

Participatory action research (PAR), or the inclusion of those affected by the issues being studied, is a growing area of emphasis in disability research. The principles of PAR align with those of the disability rights movement, such that full inclusion and “nothing about us without us” extends as much to research as it does to any other area of life. Moreover, PAR allows for meaningful input from people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), which enhances the likelihood that research results are relevant and important to the disability community. As research activity resumes and is adapted to the context of …

External Disruptions To Qualitative Data Collection: Addressing Risks Relating To Brexit And Researcher-Participant Rapport, Shukru Esmene, Nick Kirsop-Taylor

The Qualitative Report

In this paper we present the importance of detailing the contextual conditions of a qualitative study to highlight any potential participant-researcher tensions. We emphasize the importance of understanding context in rich detail to expose societal complexities while maintaining positive participant-research rapport. Through two cases, this paper considers that bracketing, reflexivity, and transparency can be applied to form appropriate strategies to deal with external disruptions to qualitative fieldwork. The cases draw on Brexit’s impact on two studies conducted in the United Kingdom. In so doing, we argue that time, relevance, and the individuals involved can coalesce to express varied influences on …

Pornography, Its Harms, And A New Legal Strategy: Research And Experience In Japan, Seiya Morita, Caroline Norma

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

In this article we describe pornography’s harms in Japan, which are known about from surveys and research, and from the outreach and consulting activities of Japanese feminist-abolitionist groups. Among these are the Anti-Pornography and Prostitution Research Group (APP) and People Against Pornography and Sexual Violence (PAPS). We then propose a renewed classification scheme for pornography’s harms that centrally considers the experiences of victims in Japan. Lastly, we consider various legal approaches to addressing the myriad harms we describe and suggest possibilities for a new legal strategy. The article’s research comes from Japanese-language materials produced by the above-mentioned activist groups, as …