Community-Based Research Commons^™

Advancing The Microbiome Research Community, Curtis Huttenhower, Rob Knight, C. Titus Brown, J. Gregory Caporaso, Jose C. Clemente, Dirk Gevers, Eric A. Franzosa, Scott T. Kelley, Dan Knights, Ruth E. Ley, Anup Mahurkar, Jacques Ravel, Scientists For Advancement Of Microbiome Research, Owen White, Jacques Izard

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

The human microbiome has become a recognized factor in promoting and maintaining health. We outline opportunities in interdisciplinary research, analytical rigor, standardization, and policy development for this relatively new and rapidly developing field. Advances in these aspects of the research community may in turn advance our understanding of human microbiome biology.

It is now widely recognized that disturbances in our normal microbial populations may be linked to acute infections such as Clostridium difficile and to chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, obesity, and autoimmune disorders. This has prompted substantial interest in the microbiome from both basic and clinical perspectives. …

Cracks In The Pavement: The Street Boys Of Kathmandu !, Mike Greenwald

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The following report is the result of an internship with the WEGAIN Zone in Boudha, Kathmandu, interviews with a dozen NGO affiliates, and interactions with a number of males who either have or currently reside on the streets of Kathmandu. Focused upon breaking the cyclical nature of street life and inherent stigma facing the hundreds of street children living within the Kathmandu Valley, both organizations and individuals have sought out a multitude of techniques and philosophies to address the “sub-society” that is Kathmandu’s street population. The first section of this report highlights the reasons why hundreds of boys land on …

Results From The Perception And Attitudes Towards Ageing And Seniors Survey (2013/2014), Mathew Mathews, Paulin Tay Straughan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

While discussions on ageing previously centred on dependency ratios and healthcare infrastructure, there has been a growing attention to the other aspects of growing old, such as its social and emotional dimensions. There has also been a move in recent years to rethink the construct of ageing an frame it in a more positive way.In this paper we document some of the results derived from the Perception and Attitudes towards Ageing and Seniors (PATAS) survey completed in early 2014. These results delve into respondents’ beliefs about achieving successful ageing — what it constitutes how it can be achieved and respondents’ …

Housing With Services: Year 1 Evaluation, October 2014, Paula C. Carder

Institute on Aging Publications

This report describes the initial findings of an on-going evaluation of the Housing with Services project based in Portland, OR. Housing with Services was supported, in part, with funding from Oregon’s State Innovation Model (SIM) project grant from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovations to Cedar Sinai Park.

Housing with Services, LLC is a collaborative model of supportive services delivered or made available to low-income residents of affordable housing. The SIM grant helped to establish the project and funded the evaluation of the program implementation and resident- and system-level outcomes.

The collaborative model includes partnerships between health plans, coordinated …

A Federal Commission For The Black Belt South, Ronald C. Wimberley, Libby V. Morris, Rosalind Harris

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

Recent legislation by the U.S. Congress authorized a federal regional commission for the Black Belt South. Three southern social scientists first proposed the commission at Tuskegee University’s Professional Agricultural Workers Conference in 1990. Following congressional seminars on the Black Belt by Ronald Wimberley and Libby Morris, the first legislation for the commission was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994. After a succession of 12 U.S. House and Senate Bills, Congress finally authorized “the Southeast Crescent Regional Commission” in 2008 with support by various, and sometimes competing, groups. This paper traces and updates the chronology of sociological research, …

Organic Growers Of Alabama Cooperative, A Loosely Fitted Cooperative: Nurturing The Community And Growing Together, Wylin D. Wilson, Jose Gbadamosi, Decetti Taylor, Susan Barnes, Jan Garrett, Asabi Hunter, Cheryl Parker, Wendy Williams, Henry Williams

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

The age-old connection between the people and the land is something that seven women, who have organized themselves into a loosely fitted cooperative, are reviving. In the process of growing together as members of a cooperative, these women in Macon County, Alabama, are not only promoting healthy living and nurturing community, but are also addressing the issue of food security by making nutritious affordable produce and other agricultural products available to their community. Additionally, they are illustrating alternative strategies of community and economic development. This article examines why they chose the structure of a loosely fitted cooperative over a traditional …

Perceptions Of Crime And Safety In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: 2014 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben

Nebraska Rural Poll

Most rural Nebraskans are not worried or not very worried about either crime in their community or about personally being a victim of crime. However, persons living in or near larger communities are more likely than persons living in or near smaller communities to be worried or very worried about crime. Furthermore, most persons living in or near communities with populations less than 10,000 are not worried or not very worried about crime in their community.

Trust also remains high in the rural areas. Most rural Nebraskans say they count on their neighbors to watch their property while they are …

A Demographic Portrait Of The Mexican-Origin Population In Nebraska, Lissette Aliaga-Linares

Latino/Latin American Studies Reports

A study released from the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) Office of Latino and Latin American Studies (OLLAS) chronicles the current state of Mexican-origin residents of Nebraska, finding that while the numbers of immigrants moving into Nebraska has slowed in recent years, the population continues to grow and become more a part of the state’s demographic makeup.

The study, which was also funded in part by the Sherwood Foundation, examined more than a century of census data from the United States, finding that the more than 140,000 Mexican-origin residents in Nebraska as of 2012 has rapidly increased since …

Resisting Pressure From Peers To Engage In Sexual Behavior: What Communication Strategies Do Early Adolescent Latino Girls Use?, Anne E. Norris, Jonathan Pettigrew, Michelle Miller-Day, Michael L. Hecht, Janet Hutchison, Kristi Campoe

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

A content analysis of early adolescent = 12.02 years) Latino girls’ (n = 44) responses to open-ended questions embedded in an electronic survey was conducted to explore strategies girls may use to resist peer pressure with respect to sexual behavior. Analysis yielded 341 codable response units, 74% of which were consistent with the REAL typology (i.e., refuse, explain, avoid, leave) previously identified in adolescent substance use research. However, strategies reflecting a lack of resistance (11%) and inconsistency with communication competence (e.g., aggression) were also noted (15%). Frequency of particular strategies varied depending on the situation described in the open-ended …

Senior Mental Health Specialist Investment, Diana L. White, Linda Dreyer, Julie Reynolds, Alice Updike Scannell, Serena Worthington

Institute on Aging Publications

Participants: Thirty-five informants were interviewed or completed a survey for this report. They represented the Budget Note Workgroup and others identified by workgroup members. Informants represented aging services, mental health, advocacy, and other sectors such as long-term care, quality improvement, and health/medical care. Both those with a statewide focus and those with a local agency or community focus participated, including people from rural areas of the state.

The Problem: According to informants, mental health needs of older adults are not being met because:

• Systems are fragmented. The organizations that could address these needs work in silos with different funding priorities, …

Life In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: Perceptions Of Well-Being, 2014 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben

Nebraska Rural Poll

By many different measures, rural Nebraskans are positive about their community. Many rural Nebraskans rate their community as friendly, trusting and supportive. Most rural Nebraskans also say it would be difficult to leave their community. In addition, most rural Nebraskans disagree that their community is powerless to control its future.

Differences of opinion exist by the size of their community. Residents of smaller communities are more likely than residents of larger communities to rate their community favorably on its social dimensions. However, residents of larger communities are more likely than residents of smaller communities to say their community has changed …

2014 Life In Hampton Roads Survey, Part 5: Sea Level Rise And Environmental Risks, Public Affairs & News Bureau, Old Dominion University

News Items

[Introductory paragraphs]

The 2014 Life in Hampton Roads survey, conducted by the Old Dominion University Social Science Research Center (SSRC), contained an extensive battery of questions to determine how people in Hampton Roads felt about several environmental issues, with a major focus on sea level rise and flooding.

In all, 853 residents of Hampton Roads were interviewed over landline and cellular telephones for the fifth annual Life in Hampton Roads survey that was released this week in five parts.

The survey is designed to peer into social and economic indicators of quality of life in the region, with particular focus …

Hope, Ethnic Pride, And Academic Achievement: Positive Psychology And Latino Youth, Derik K. Yager-Elorriaga, Kathy R. Berenson, Paula Mcwhirter

Psychology Faculty Publications

Previous studies have found that hope has beneficial effects in athletics, academics, physical health, and mental well being in majority populations. Given the challenges Latino youth face in the United States, ethnic identity and hope may be a powerful buffer from these negative stressors. The current study aimed to identify whether chronic levels of hope related to academic performance, whether an ethnic pride manipulation altered state hope levels, and whether there was a link between ethnic identity and chronic hope among a sample of Latino youth. Results indicated that GPA and chronic hope levels were not related, a manipulation to …

Community At The Courts: Social And Community Interactions At Public Basketball Courts, Elizabeth Arnaud Fogle

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Based on over 60 informal interviews conducted at two public basketball courts, this study utilizes grounded theory to trace class- and race-based differences in the social interactions occurring at both parks. By comparing social interactions between a white, middle class basketball court, and a black, lower class basketball court, I argue that social engagement is not be declining for all segments of society as some theorists suggest. Moreover, I argue that the relationships forged at the basketball court in a predominantly black, working-class neighborhood prove to be more meaningful and have deeper benefits than those forged at a basketball court …

Male Privilege, Sexual Double Standard, And Sexual Scripts: College Students' Perceptions And Influences Of Hooking Up, Mary Ellen Hunt

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Approximately three-fourths of young adults in college hook up at least once by their senior year (i.e., engage in a casual sexual encounter outside the context of a committed relationship). There are important gender differences which may inform how men and women conceptualize hooking up. Men and women may have different predictors of interest, expectations of sex, or attitudes toward sex. These gender differences are likely culturally constructed by the sexual double standard and traditional sexual scripts which project men to be the aggressive sexual initiators who want sex all the time, and women to be passive gatekeepers who desire …

6 Myths About The Future Of Small Towns, Heartland Center For Leadership Development

Heartland Center for Leadership Development Materials

Covered myths about the future of small towns.

Featured:

Nenzel, Nebraska • Located in the Sandhills • Population 13 (2014) • Competed for a grant to build a new community center and heritage museum • Public buildings are supposed to last 50 years

Wray, Colorado • Located on Highway 34 across the Nebraska border • Once a major thoroughfare but today only local traffic • New hospital, modern K 12 school, raised money for a recreation center • Won a National Civic League All America City Award, the first rural community to be honored

Creative Economies: Using Arts To Revitalize Post-Industrial Cities And Towns In Massachusetts, Anna Price

Honors College Theses

During my senior year in the Honors College at UMass Boston, I became involved in the yearlong Creative and Social Entrepreneurship Fellowship program. During this program, I interned alongside other UMass Boston students at a local creative non-profit organization, providing the staff with assistance as they worked towards achieving their goals. This internship was funded by the Creative Economy Fund (CE Fund) from the University of Massachusetts President’s Office. My involvement in this program sparked an interest in pursuing an Honors thesis investigating the CE Fund and how the awarded projects are benefitted by that fund.

After looking through all …

Statement Of Concern, Heartland Workers Union, Office Of Latino/Latin American Studies (Ollas)

Latino/Latin American Studies Other Publications

The Heartland Workers Center (HWC) and the Office of Latino/Latin American Studies (OLLAS) have issued a statement of concern about the humanitarian crisis confronting refugee children from Central America. We support our local partner organizations in their work to address this crisis. Please feel free to distribute widely.

El Centro Laboral y OLLAS han publicado un documento sobre la crisis humanitaria afectando a miles de niños centroamericanos. Adáptela para sus tareas educativas y de incidencia política y distribuyan ampliamente.

Considering Sport Participation As A Source For Physical Activity Among Adolescents, Jennifer Pharr, Nancy L. Lough

Environmental & Global Health Faculty Research

BACKGROUND:

Studies have shown participation in sport is lower among girls than boys, decreases as students matriculate through high school, is lowest among Black and Hispanic girls and has a positive relationship with SES. With sport recognized as a contributor to physical activity and health in adolescents, consideration of diminishing rates of participation appears warranted. The purpose of this study was to identify patterns related to differences in self-reported sport participation between genders, ethnic groups, grades and SES.

METHODS:

This study was a cross-sectional, secondary analysis of data collected for a sport interest survey. All students in grades 8-11 attending …

Key Findings And Recommendations From The Coös Youth Study: Research From The First Half Of The Study, Michael S. Staunton, Eleanor M. Jaffee

Carsey Publications

In this brief, authors Michael Staunton and Eleanor Jaffee review the key findings and recommendations from research conducted in the first half of the Coös Youth Study, which began in 2008 and is planned to continue through 2018. The study explores young people’s decisions about their educational and job opportunities in rural northern New Hampshire and their plans to stay in their home region or move away. The authors discuss the highlights of these topics: youth aspirations and perceptions of regional opportunities, substance use and mental health, participation in extracurricular and out-of-school activities, youth retention and out-migration, and community attachment …