Community-Based Research Commons^™

Fear Of Crime In Rural America: Fear Along Virginia's Eastern Shore, David Steven Simon

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Using 1996 Survey data collected from residents along Virginia's Eastern Shore, this study addresses fear of crime in rural communities. Most prior research has focused on fear of crime in urban communities or has reported a relatively low fear of crime in rural communities. However, some recent analyses have indicated unusually high fear in small towns experiencing rapid population growth and economic changes. Heightened fear of crime has been observed even where there has been no apparent increase in criminal victimization experiences. This study addresses fear of crime and its relation to perceived risk of victimization, density of acquaintanceship, community …

Saving Our Homes: The Lessons Of Community Struggles To Preserve Affordable Housing In Chicago's Uptown, Center For Urban Research And Learning, Philip Nyden, Joanne Adams

Center for Urban Research and Learning: Publications and Other Works

Over the past 25 years we have witnessed declining federal investment in affordable housing at the same time as there has been growth in low-income households. During this same quarter of a century we have seen a shift from a national "War on Poverty" to federal policies that treat poor adults and children as hopeless, undeserving citizens. In this new era of fiscal constraints there is no talk about meeting basic nutritional, housing, health care, and educational needs. A chorus of new conservative leaders claims to be speaking for the suffering middle class. The media increasingly talk of the "haves" …

Adolescent Attitudes Toward Violent Behavior, Scott J. Gaugler

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

In this study, a sample of 126 high school students in a large Appalachian high school were surveyed about their use of alcohol and other illegal drugs, involvement in delinquent and violent acts, association with peers who committed delinquent and violent acts, and attitudes toward violence. Attitudes toward violence were conceptualized according to Techniques of Neutralization (Sykes & Matza, 1957).

Clinic-Based Investigation Of The Typology And Self-Reporting Of Fgm In Egypt, Population Council

Reproductive Health

This clinic-based study of female genital mutilation (FGM) was designed and carried out by the Egypt Fertility Care Society to gather detailed information on the types of FGM practiced in Egypt. The study involved interviews with clinic clients to elicit information about their experience and attitudes concerning FGM, and gynecological examinations by specially trained OB/GYN physicians. In all, 93% of the women in this study were found to have some type of FGM. The study's findings were incorporated in the final report of the 1995 Egyptian Demographic and Health Survey, with the aim of contributing to the scientific understanding of …

Development Of Approaches To Community Based Family Planning Outreach In Egypt: Assessment Of Raidats Rifiats Program [Arabic], Population Council

Reproductive Health

Egypt’s family planning program officially began in 1965. Impressive gains in contraceptive use have been made since 1980, and the contraceptive prevalence rate increased from 24 percent in 1980 to 47 percent in 1992. Egypt’s National Population Policy addresses the nation’s population growth through multiple interventions designed to reduce fertility, including family planning (FP) services. FP accessibility is promoted through a network of public and NG0 FP clinics. A number of years ago, the Egyptian Family Planning Program began using the Raidats Rifiats program to extend services into rural communities. There is concern regarding the program’s ability to recruit women …

An Evaluation Of The Norfolk Interagency Consortium's Community-Based System Of Care For At-Risk Youth, Melody Bingman Wilt

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The primary purpose of this research was to design and to implement an evaluation model for the Norfolk Interagency Consortium (NIC). The research design employed in this study focused on four areas of investigation: program clarification, processes and activities, outcomes, and cost. The study utilized qualitative and quantitative methods and procedures.

The program clarification stage of the research served as a pre-evaluative phase. An evaluability assessment was incorporated to define and clarify the NIC'S program components and goals, and determine which goals were evaluable. Data regarding the target population also were collected.

The processes and activities investigation used a survey …

Community Economic Development And The Latino Experience, Edwin Melendez, Michael A. Stoll

Gastón Institute Publications

Just as people had high expectations for the Great Society programs instituted to address poverty after the Watts riots of 1965 so, too, did people have high hopes for a turning point in federal initiatives to address the plight of the urban poor after the Los Angeles rebellion of 1992. Indeed, both analysts and community activists were hopeful that a more sympathetic administration would be able to capitalize on the political momentum that resulted from their electoral victory and implement somewhat unpopular programs in Congress. This could not have come at a better time for blacks and Latinos in the …

Student Satisfaction With The Counseling Education Program At The University Of Texas Of The Permian Basin, Christy Hamilton

Graduate Theses

A survey was conducted to assess student satisfaction of the Counseling Education program at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. The survey was given to currently enrolled counseling education students. Fifty-seven out of 68 students completed the survey. Several recommendations were made based on the results. Overall, the program is perceived as adequately meeting the satisfaction of the students.

Amerasian Refugees: Social Characteristics, Service Needs, And Mental Health, Hisashi Hirayama, Muammer Cetingok

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Since 1983, more than 34,000 Amerasians and their 48,000 accompanying family members from Vietnam have been resettled in the United States of America. Having American fathers whose race and ethnicity are very differentfrom traditional Vietnamese, these children were considered outcasts by members of their own culture and,for the most part, led marginal lives in Vietnam. This article presents findings of a study conducted on a sample of 80 Amerasian refugees who have resettled in a large Southern city within the last two years. The study's intent was to identify the current social characteristics, service needs, and mental health status of …

Toward A Comprehensive Model Of Parent-Teen Socialization: The Antecedents And Consequents Of Parent-Teen Interaction, Gregory L. Sanders

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Empowering Communities Of Color Through Computer Technology, Michael Roberts

Trotter Review

As we hurtle towards the 21st century, an increasing number of individuals start to realize that the ability to use computers and information technology resources effectively will determine how well individuals, organizations, and communities function in a rapidly changing technological society. Numerous studies, including one conducted in the Summer 1995 of Boston's Black community by Freedom House and The Trotter Institute, and highlighted in this issue, have documented the need of Americans—students, workers, unemployed, youth, adults and senior citizens, to become knowledgeable and proficient in the use of computers and information technology. There are several questions that do face communities …

Computer Utilization And Attitudinal Patterns In A Black Community, James Jennings

Trotter Review

During the Spring and Summer of 1995 The William Monroe Trotter Institute conducted a survey of resident utilization patterns and attitudes towards various facets of computer technology. This survey was commissioned by Freedom House, Inc. and supported with a grant from the AT&T Foundation in Boston, Massachusetts. The goal of this survey, composed of adult residents who have been served by Freedom House, and agency representatives of a small number of selected community-based organizations, is to inform planners at this agency about the computer technical needs, interests, and utilization patterns of its clients.

Collection And Utilization Of Child Abuse Statistics In American Indian Communities, Michelle Chino

School of Public Health Faculty Research

Public health research in American Indian communities involves many complex issues that may both help and hinder the development of an effective research methodology and the collection, analysis, and utilization of data. These issues include: 1) the unique strengths and diversity of Indian cultures; 2) the complicated relationships that exist between federal, state, and tribal agencies; 3) the vast distances between communities and services that exist in rural areas; 4) extremely limited human and financial resources; 5) overlapping and often conflicting legal and jurisdictional authorities; and 6) an array of social issues including poverty, substance abuse, modernization, and assimilation. Defining …

Can The Health Needs Of African American Men Be Met Through Public Health Empowerment Strategies?, Deborah Prothrow-Stith, Eric Whitaker

Trotter Review

Health promotion and disease prevention efforts, which use empowerment strategies and emphasize community control, are essential to overcoming the legacy of medical malfeasance and successfully improving the health status of black males. This discussion depicts the legacy of harm and presents the case for empowerment strategies; it also describes one Boston community-based program example of utilizing an empowerment strategy and concludes with a challenge to all health professionals to become enablers of empowerment rather than obstructions to it.

A National Minority Organ/Tissue Transplant Education Program: The First Step In The Evolution Of A National Minority Strategy And Minority Transplant Equity In The Usa, Clive O. Callender, Alvina S. Bey, Patrice V. Miles, Curtis L. Yeager

Trotter Review

In 1978, members of the Southeastern Organ Procurement Foundation approached us concerning the disparity between the large number of African American patients, 50% to 70% of all patients on dialysis (artificial kidney machines), and the small number of African American donors (3%), and asked us why and what could be done about it? From my perspective as an African American transplant surgeon at Howard University, these observations piqued my curiosity and I agreed to investigate them. Our investigation took us into three areas: 1. An evaluation of the data regarding transplantation in patients at the Howard University Hospital Transplant Center …

Development And Community Organization, Elena Volpi

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Philanthropic Partnerships: The Theory Of The Commons, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

In Anglo-American traditions, the concept of a commons has historically been most frequently attached to shared land in joint use by a village or community. The common theory of voluntary action presents organized collective action as consisting of shared purposes, shared resources and voluntary participation resulting in an evolving sense of mutuality, and moral order, consisting of shared norms of fairness and participation.

Communitarianism In Memorium: A Review Essay, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This review essay examines several recent books on the general topic of communitarianism. The essay is constructed as an obituary and memorial statement on the premise that communitarianism has proved to be a failed political movement that has not impacted American politics or public life in any important way.

Review: 'High Risk And High Stakes: Health Professionals, Politics And Policy', Patrick G. Donnelly

Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work Faculty Publications

Many studies of the law and policy creation process examine the efforts of particular interest groups and coalitions to influence the views and votes of legislators. Wysong focuses on the role of professional associations, specifically associations of health care professionals, in the legislative debate over the High Risk Occupational Disease Notification and Prevention Act, an example of what is most commonly known as "right-to-know" legislation.

The ethical codes and service-oriented goals of professions suggest that associations of professionals might act differently than interest groups. Wysong shows that the core groups in debates over health and safety legislation recognize that their …

The Effects Of Educational Kinesiology On The Self-Esteem Of At-Risk Students, Julian W. Thrasher Iii

Graduate Theses

A study was performed on at-risk students in the Midland Independent School District, Midland, Texas utilizing Educational Kinesthetics as an alternative counseling technique for improving the self-esteem of the students. Students were divided into control and experimental groups and pretested and posttested with the School Attitude Measure. The experimental group was given twelve sessions of treatment utilizing Educational Kinesthetics. Results of the study showed a trend toward improved self-esteem at the conclusion of the study.

"Economic Development" Is Not "Community" Development: Lessons For A Mayor, Eugene "Gus" Newport

Trotter Review

Economic development is one of the most important elements of an effective community development plan. Economic development can mean jobs for the community, as well as the development of new businesses and the enhancement of a city's tax base, which provides the funds to operate the government. I had campaigned on the need for responsible alternative economic development. But, one of the first things I learned is that community development often gets misinterpreted as economic development. That is an unfortunate mistake, since the term community development has a much broader meaning, both conceptually and practically. Community development means development of …

The Role Of Black Political Leadership In Economic Development, Curtis Stokes

Trotter Review

One of the most striking things about the United States is the degree to which racial inequality remains a pervasive fact of life. Indeed, since the end of the 1960s the black-white gap in life chances (for example, jobs and income) has worsened for large segments of the black community. To persistently face high unemployment and declining income is especially troublesome in a capitalist economy like that in the United States, where goods and services are rationed by a harsh market and where there is, at best, a very modest social safety net. The United Nation's Human Development Report 1993, …

Theoretical Explanations Of Persistent Black Youth Unemployment, Rhonda M. Williams

Trotter Review

This essay reviews and briefly summarizes three theoretical models used most often to explain two decades of persistently high unemployment among black youth and declining rates of male labor-force participation: neoclassical, Keynesian/neo-Keynesian, and radical perspectives. Based on a review of these models, it offers an alternative approach to explaining and analyzing black youth unemployment.

Myths And Realities Of Puerto Rican Poverty, Edwin Melendez

Trotter Review

The following remarks were made as the closing keynote address at the conference, "Mainland Puerto Ricans: Myths and Realities on Poverty," held at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, on October 22 and 23, 1993.

There are two "stories" frequently cited to explain the causes of the poverty among Puerto Ricans: the first suggests that Puerto Ricans are poor because they are going through a transition as they move toward full assimilation; the second proposes that Puerto Ricans are becoming part of an urban "underclass." Neither of these explanations stands the test of reality.

A Study Of Participants' Experience Of Yirra : An Adolescent Treatment Program, Bethany F. Byatt

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Yirra is a residential treatment program for young people who are experiencing problems associated with their substance use. The design of this program was influenced both by consultation with other youth services, and by current literature and theories regarding the most effective approaches to delivery of youth substance use services. Yirra has been in operation since February, 1992, and to date has not been formally evaluated. This research represents the first stage of evaluation of Yirra. The Phenomenological approach to enquiry was aimed at gaining some understanding of the experience of being at Yirra, from the perspective of the young …

The Bible, Congregational Leaders, And Moral Conversation, Patrick R. Keifert

Faculty Publications

No matter how old an observation, it remains nonetheless true: We tend to remember the preacher more than the sermon, the teacher more than the lecture. Perhaps that is all we have recently learned in a preliminary study of twelve congregations in the Southwestern Minnesota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (SW Synod). However, there are some nuances that raise very important questions for theological education in seminaries and congregations—and, even more important, insights for the role of leaders and their use of Scripture in the moral conversations within congregations. In short, we have found from dozens of …

Education And Community Development Among Nineteenth-Century Irish And Contemporary Cambodians In Lowell, Massachusetts, Peter N. Kiang

New England Journal of Public Policy

As cities undergo dramatic demographic changes, schools become important sites of conflict between the interests of established and emerging communities. This article presents a case study of Lowell, Massachusetts, where the second largest Irish community in the country resided during the 1850s, and which is now home to the second largest Cambodian community in the United States. Analysis of nineteenth-century Irish community dynamics, particularly in relation to issues of public education in Lowell, reveals the significance of religious institutions and middle-class entrepreneurs in the process of immigrant community development and highlights important relationships to ethnicity, electoral politics, and economic development. …

Patronage Bibliography (1993), Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Patronage is one of the basic concepts in the commons theory of voluntary action; it refers to the giving or donating of resources – money, objects for collection, or repertories of knowledge, skills or ‘know-how’. Patrons – those who give – are one of the three fundamental roles in philanthropods, along with intermediaries or agents, and beneficiaries. Patronage is also a heavily studied subject, extensively written about in the humanities as the items in this bibliography attest.

Attribution Of Stigma As A Function Of Disease And Mode Of Transmission, Alfred Maxdee Decker

Graduate Theses

The knowledge and attitudes of Odessa College health care students (N=114) towards hypothetical patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or hepatitis B virus (HBV) were measured via questionnaires. Transmission variables for infection were: anal sex with another man, injecting drug use, or blood transfusion. An Attribution Theory model was used to explain differences in knowledge and attitudes. Results suggest that students tend correctly to identify HBV as being more infectious than HIV and also to recognize that as future health care workers they are much more likely to die from HBV than HIV infection. In spite of this knowledge, …

Alaskan Native Suicide, Karl T. Pfeiffer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.