Civic and Community Engagement Commons^™

Community Engaged Research At The Regional Research Institute For Human Services, Diane Yatchmenoff, Laurie E. Powers

Regional Research Institute for Human Services

Participatory models of research, in which communities are actively engaged in the research process through partnerships with academic institutions, are restructuring how scientific knowledge is being created. Community engaged research, also known as, community based participatory research (CBPR), and participatory action research (PAR) is increasingly recognized as a framework for high quality scientific inquiry. In community engaged research, researchers and evaluators work side‐by‐side with community members in all phases of the research process, from defining social problems and research questions, conceptualizing research design, carrying out research, and interpreting and disseminating findings. It requires partnership development, collaboration and cooperation, and commitment …

Torch (September 2010), Brandon Baldwin, Civil Rights Team Project

Torch: The Civil Rights Team Project Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Ua23 Newsletter, September 2010: Progression Through Partnerships, Alive Center, Western Kentucky University, Aurelia Spaulding

ALIVE Center Publications

No abstract provided.

"Everything Has Changed": Narratives Of The Vietnamese American Community In Post-Katrina Mississippi, Yoosun Park, Joshua Miller, Bao Chau Van

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In this qualitative study of the Vietnamese American community of Biloxi, Mississippi, conducted three years after Katrina, we attended not only to individual experiences but to the relationship of individuals to their collective and social worlds. The interlocked relationship of individual and collective loss and recovery are clearly demonstrated in respondents' narratives. The neighborhood and community of Little Saigon was significant not only as a symbolic source of identity but as a protected and familiar space of residence, livelihood, and social connections. The post-Katrina changes in the neighborhood are, in multiple ways, changing participants' experience of and relationship to their …

Social Work And Civic Engagement: The Political Participation Of Professional Social Workers, Sunny Harris Rome, Susan Hoechstetter

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article examines the involvement of practicing social workers in one type of civic engagement: the use of political processes to promote the public good. Based on a survey of 1,274 randomly selected members of NASW, this is the largest study to date examining the involvement of social workers in political action and policy advocacy. Findings suggest that approximately half of social workers demonstrate high levels of participation in the policy process. The authors analyze the frequency with which respondents engage in specific political and policy-related activities, and compare these results to those of other studies. They also examine respondents'attitudes …

Professor Emeritus Speech, August 26, 2010, Grady Johnson

Saffy Collection - All Textual Materials

Dr. Grady Johnson's speech accepting professor emeritus on behalf of the Late Dr. Edna Saffy.

Knowing Your Community: Fostering Biodiversity Awareness In Our Students’ Daily Existence, Tony Cummings Bs, Academic Director

Fostering Multicultural Competence and Global Justice: an SIT Symposium

There are strong arguments suggesting that developing students’ sensitivity to local biodiversity and conservation issues is as important as emphasizing an understanding of global conservation issues happening in faraway lands (Ehrenfeld, 2009). Many students arrive at a Study Abroad destination, with a good understanding of theory, but with little field experience at home. Environmental educators in Study Abroad are able to use the novelty and grandeur of our exotic destinations to systematically teach students the patterns and processes of ecological and human communities at our sites, while inspiring a sense of place in our students. By immersing students in the …

Giving Voice To Our Students And Partners: From Principles To Actions, Ana Rita Diaz-Munoz Ma, Academic Director

Fostering Multicultural Competence and Global Justice: an SIT Symposium

The principle of reciprocity guides our daily work: the idea that we are giving something back to the community in order to make a difference. We try not only to implement it, but pass it on to our students.

The core of our work as educators is possible thanks to the relationship with the host communities and organizations with which we work. This is the reason why it is crucial to find ways to give back to those organizations that work to improve the community.

Based on a dialog with students, colleagues and partners, we intend to answer a few …

Business Community Outreach: Exploration Of A New Service Role, Patrick Griffis, Sidney Lowe

Library Faculty Presentations

Benefits of Business Outreach:

- Promotes value of library in a community
- Increases awareness of library services in a community
- Provides opportunities for external fundraising
- Connects library to other community agencies
- Increases library awareness of community services
- Provides opportunities for programming activities

'The Edge Of The Island': Neighborhood Identity And Evolving Community In 'Liminal Places', Gordon Douglas

Faculty Publications, Urban and Regional Planning

This paper examines the contemporary processes at work in urban areas without clear spatial identities that are simultaneously facing the challenges of cultural change and gentrification. I do so through the close analysis of one such ‘liminal place’ on Chicago’s West Side. I use the phrase ‘a community on the edge of the island’ to describe the area, inspired by an interview subject who referred to the tenuous search for a sort of ideal bohemian hipness as the need to stay as “close to the edge of the island” as possible without actually leaving it. Making use of ethnographic and …

End Of Program Evaluation On Catchment Demonstration Initiative (Cdi), Urs

Natural resources commissioned reports

In 2003 the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia, developed a Catchment Demonstration Initiative (CDI) Project as a contribution to the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality. Joint Commonwealth and State funding allocated $6 million towards a project aimed at demonstrating viable salinity management systems in the agricultural area of Western Australia. The CDI sought to deliver its outcomes in partnership with NRM Regions by co-investment in targeted, large-scaled, catchment-based demonstrations of integrated salinity management practices.

Submissions were invited from interested groups to provide proposals, and following an assessment process at the local, state/Commonwealth level against predetermined …

Toward Innovative, Liveable, And Prosperous Asian Megacities Gawad Kalinga: Innovation In The City (And Beyond), Raymund B. Habaradas, Martin Lorenzo Aquino

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

Gawad Kalinga (GK) is an innovative approach that could be the key to solving poverty and homelessness in the Philippines. It is potentially an effective, sustainable, and replicable model that could address the problem of urban housing in the developing world. Its most important innovation is a shift in paradigm of what community development ought to be. Instead of looking at members of the poor communities as passive actors (i.e. as mere recipients of donations or as beneficiaries of support programs), GK considers them as active participants in the development process. Through the help of the caretaker team and the …

Take Pride In America In Southern Nevada: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Covering April 5, 2010 – July 4, 2010, Margaret N. Rees

Anti-littering Programs

• With Board approval, the next phase of the Don’t Trash Nevada marketing campaign began.
• The Hector’s Helpers program with the Clark County School District began curriculum development.
• The team participated in the strategic planning process for Keep Las Vegas Beautiful.
• The team met with the Education Director of Keep America Beautiful to begin the process of developing a statewide program.
• The team continued to develop the GIS database.
• A total of 15 clean-up events were conducted this quarter.

Explaining Differences In Civic Knowledge Across 38 Countries, Wolfram Schulz, Julian Fraillon, John Ainley, Eva Van De Gaer

Civics and Citizenship Assessment

The IEA International Civic and Citizenship Education Study studied the ways in which young people in lower secondary schools are prepared to undertake their roles as citizens in a wide range of countries in Europe, Latin America, and the Asian-Pacific region. A central aspect of the study was the assessment of student knowledge about a wide range of civic and citizenship-related issues. This paper includes analyses that use a multi-level model to explain differences in civic knowledge on the basis of student characteristics, home background and school contexts. In addition, the analyses in this paper include a consideration of factors …

Preparedness For Active Citizenship Among Lower Secondary Students In International Comparison, Wolfram Schulz, John Ainley, Eva Van De Gaer

Civics and Citizenship Assessment

The IEA International Civic and Citizenship Education Study investigates the ways in which young people in lower secondary schools are prepared to undertake their roles as citizens in a wide range of countries from Europe, Latin America, and the Asian-Pacific region. A central aspect of students' preparedness to become citizens in a democracy is their disposition to actively participate in society. This paper contains an analysis of measures of students' intentions to participate as citizens in civic life and students' current participation in civic activities in their eighth year of schooling. It is based on data from approximately 140,000 students …

Volunteer Management Analysis For The City Of Las Vegas, Robert Fash, Jose Rodriguez, Bertral Washington, Heather Whitesides

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The City of Las Vegas current volunteer management program is unable to provide effective administration of its volunteers. We will discuss what type of volunteer management program would work best for the City of Las Vegas? Volunteer management models were examined to determine what best practices can be adopted by the City of Las Vegas. Research shows a correlation between citizen engagement, volunteerism in the community, and a better quality of life for citizens in communities that have active volunteer programs. Thirty-six jurisdictions were surveyed, most of which are in the Western United States, with four jurisdictions being highlighted. The …

Southern Nevada Agency Partnership Cultural Site Stewardship Program – Program Expansion And Steward Retention: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending June 30, 2010, Margaret N. Rees

Cultural Site Stewardship Program

• Preserve America Steward awarded to Public Lands Institute and ICSST
• CSSP awarded Las Vegas annual “Historical Preservation Award”

Twenty new volunteers participated in site survey training and rock art recording classes. Additional classes are being prepared for early July 2010 in gps navigation and map and compass training for site steward coordinators who will assist with training to general stewards.

All newly accrued stewards have been introduced to sites in Clark County. Locations in the Gold Butte area have been successfully reinforced after a decrease of eight volunteers due to difficult economic conditions in Mesquite. Regional Coordinators have been instrumental …

Nevada Interagency Volunteer Program: Helping Hands Across Public Lands – Phase Ii: Annual Progress Report, Period Covering July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2010, Margaret N. Rees

Get Outdoors Nevada

• From July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010 the Volgistics database has increased the number of records from 6,226 to a total of 6,536 records at the end of this period.
• Website activity this year averaged 109,216 hits per month, with an average of 10,443 pages viewed per month.
• The team attended 14 community outreach events resulting in 2,588 direct contacts and 300 new mailing list records.
• The Interagency Volunteer Program (IVP) completed a total of 67 volunteer events contributing a total of 15,195 volunteer hours.
• A total of 131 volunteers completed orientations and trainings with the IVP.
• A total …

Nevada Interagency Volunteer Program: Helping Hands Across Public Lands – Phase Ii: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Covering April 1, 2010 – June 30, 2010, Margaret N. Rees

Get Outdoors Nevada

• The number of records in the volunteer database increased by 6% over the last quarter. The database now contains 7,250 records.
• A new tracking method was implemented to provide a more comprehensive analysis of website activity. Results show an average of 1397 visits per month, and with an average of 3,400 pages viewed per month.
• Spring volunteer training has been completed.
• Initial planning for Fall events has begun.
• Preparations and initial planning for the 2,010 volunteer recognition banquet began.
• The Interagency Volunteer Standard Operations Manual has been updated and revised.
• Get Outdoors Nevada supported 17 volunteer events in a variety …

A Celebration Of The Life Of Dr. Edna Louise Saffy. March 8, 1935-June 20, 2010, St. John's Cathedral

Saffy Collection - All Textual Materials

A program for Dr. Edna Saffy's funeral. Commended to God: June 28, 2010. Officiant: The Reverend Kenneth L. Fields. Assisting Clergy: The Reverend Dr. Robert D. Askren. Canon for Music--Timothy Tuller.