Community-Based Research Commons^™

Addiction And Sociality: Perspectives From Methamphetamine Users In Suburban Usa, Paul Boshears, Miriam W. Boeri, Liam Harbry

Faculty Articles

This article contributes to a growing body of literature that emphasizes the social nature of drug use, abuse and addiction. Current discourses of addiction tend to focus on the individual while limiting attention on the social environment and the role of sociality. We seek to contribute a more intuitive, insiders'' perspective of the drug trajectory and a broader conceptualization of addiction. Drawing from our qualitative study on 100 current and former methamphetamine users in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia (USA), we examined the trajectories of methamphetamine use to provide greater insight on what influences drug initiation, progression, cessation and relapse …

Police Community Partnerships: A Review Of The Literature, Portland State University. Criminology And Criminal Justice Senior Capstone

Criminology and Criminal Justice Senior Capstone Project

To better understand community/police collaborations, this study researched several different types of successful partnerships. Our objective was to learn why the partnerships were formed and who was involved. Our research also sought to determine the goals of the partnerships, and the methods used to achieve those goals. The study also highlights several practices used by police agencies successfully to solve community problems.

Development Of A National Survey To Assess Student Learning Outcomes Of Community-Based Research, Gary Lichtenstein, Trisha Thorme, Nicholas J. Cutforth, Martin L. Tombari

Research Methods and Statistics: Faculty Scholarship

With the goal of codifying student learning outcomes of commu- nity-based research (CBR), the authors created a conceptually valid and statistically reliable CBR Student Learning Outcomes Survey. The project began with individual interviews and focus groups with 70 undergraduates and faculty at six colleges and universities nationwide discussing perceived benefits of CBR. Based on analyses of these interviews, five CBR outcome con- structs were derived: academic skills, educational experience, civic engagement, professional skills, and personal growth. The survey was piloted online in spring 2009 to students who had experienced CBR from 15 colleges and universities (N = 166). Factor analyses …

The Undefined Middle: Exploring The Role Of The Union Representative In The Modern Teachers Union Structure, Amanda Erin Lee

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

As an integral part of the teachers union, the union representative works to serve the needs of the union on a local level while also maintaining employment as a teacher within the school system. The continuously evolving political climate that surrounds this organization including shifting educational laws and leadership on the federal and state levels, has left the role of the union representative largely undefined in the current teachers union structure. As a necessary aspect of both the school and the union, the union representative must fulfill role requirements in two structures that are frequently at odds with each other, …

Community Perceptions Of Prescription Drug Abuse In Eastern Kentucky., Ashley Marie Browning

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Personal interviews exploring attitudes toward prescription drug abuse were completed by 17 residents over 18 years of age from Kentucky's Pike and Letcher counties. In respect to prescription drug abuse research nationwide, much research has been conducted in eastern Kentucky; however, there are seemingly few studies measuring the thoughts and feelings of community members toward the issue. Data gathered during these interviews were coded and themed for emergent content that revealed the prevalence of drug abuse in communities, the role of medical professionals in prescription drug abuse, and a lack of preventative measures to control the cyclic pattern of prescription …

Self-Preparation: From New England To The Mississippi Delta, Emily C. Wojtusik

Senior Honors Projects

Self-Preparation: From New England to the Mississippi Delta

Emily Wojtusik

Faculty Sponsor: Gail Faris, Women’s Center

I have been accepted into the Teach for America (TFA) 2011 Corp, in the Mississippi Delta teaching elementary education. I was born and raised in Connecticut, and have attended the University of Rhode Island for the past 4 years. I have studied sociology with a concentration in criminology. This Senior Honors Project is both related to my areas of study and represents a slight departure that will prepare me for my teaching responsibilities in the Delta.

This project is a comprehensive study involving social …

Drug Use Trajectory Patterns Among Older Drug Users, Miriam W. Boeri, Thor Whalen, Benjamin Tyndall, Ellen Ballard

Faculty Articles

To better understand patterns of drug use trajectories over time, it is essential to have standard measures of change. Our goal here is to introduce measures we developed to quantify change in drug use behaviors. A secondary goal is to provide effective visualizations of these trajectories for applied use. We analyzed data from a sample of 92 older drug users (ages 45 to 65) to identify transition patterns in drug use trajectories across the life course. Data were collected for every year since birth using a mixed methods design. The community-drawn sample of active and former users were 40% female, …

21rst Century Educational Farmstead, Trevis Carmichael

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

When Europeans began settling in the United States, farmsteads were built across the Great Plains. Out of necessity, these had to function in a self-sufficient manner; meaning the people had to produce their own food, use local materials, and be energy efficient for their transportation. Parents had to teach their children how to do all of the practical work it took to maintain their lives. This was the foundation that America was built upon. Having completed the first decade of the 21st century, the time seems right for a mental re-settlement that follows some of those same principles. Teaching our …

Parks And Obesity In Rural And Urban Nebraska, Michaela S. Wolf

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

In order to better understand the role community design plays in obesity rates, this project studies a potential relationship between distance of parks from homes and obesity rates in four Nebraska counties. Park use may contribute to important health benefits, such as reducing risk of obesity by increasing physical activity levels. There are limitations to park use, such as crime rates and facility upkeep that are important to understand so that they might be managed and communities can reap greater benefits from their parks, including better fitness. This study examines park distance from homes as a potential limiting factor to …

Fighting For Fairness: The History Of Kentucky’S Local Movements To Enact Fairness Ordinances In 1999, Micah Bennett

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This CE/T project explores the histories of the local movements for fairness ordinances which transpired in Kentucky in the year 1999. Fairness ordinances expand local civil rights protections on the basis of ‘sexual orientation’ and sometimes ‘gender identity’ to include lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) peoples and usually protect in the areas of employment, housing, and public accommodations. Four communities in the state considered such laws in 1999: Greater Louisville, Lexington-Fayette, the City of Henderson, and the City of Bowling Green. This thesis takes a holistic approach towards the history of these movements, exploring the procession of chronological events, …

The Symbolic Creation Of Cultural Performance At The Walnut Valley Festival, Maggie Colleen Cobb

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Through two years of ethnographic fieldwork and 19 interviews, I synthesize symbolic interaction and a sociological framework of culture to examine the ways in which the Walnut Valley Festival is created and experienced as a unique form of cultural performance, one that is always shifting in response to the emergent cultural creation and reception of attendees. No work to date combines the dimensions of both production and reception of music festivals as a unique form of cultural performance. In bringing back the oftentimes ignored affective dimension in cultural studies, I use Griswold's (2004) metaphor of a cultural diamond, examining the …

Modern Day Utopia: An Examination Of Internal Social Control Among "Rainbow Family", Ashleigh Elain Mckinzie

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis employs ethnographic fieldwork and interviews to examine internal Social control, ideological embeddedness, and resistance to mainstream culture and ideology in a utopian, counter-cultural group called The Rainbow Family of Living Light. Combining theoretical perspectives on emotions and re-integrative and dis-integrative shaming with symbolic interaction, I examine the experiences of Rainbow during a national Gathering in the summer of 2010. Through interviews and observations, I illustrate the rituals, organization of camp, stratification based on work, and solidarity building activities, that Rainbow Gatherers create to resist mainstream ideology and culture. Further, I show that they Rainbow Gatherers redefine deviance in …

Rural Centres And Immigration: Policy, People, And Applied Research, William Ashton

Western Migration Conference Series

Roles of immigrants in rural centres is not well understood. Research is needed to define a welcoming community, yet Steinbach and Brandon, Mantioba serve as examples of welcoming immigrants. From interviews, immigrant priorities are housing and employment. Recent research described rural housing strategies and pathways for hiring immigrants. Rural policy implications are also noted.

Acculturation And Crisis Of Identity: A Case Study Of Karen Refugees, Secil Erdogan

Western Migration Conference Series

Abstract: This study examines acculturation attitudes of Karen refugees who are resettled in London, Ontario. Deriving on the data collected from 50 Karen refugees, various orientations of acculturation are discussed and the correlations between psychological health, identity, and acculturation are analyzed in order to identify certain patterns that are predictive of integration.

Toward A Conceptual Model Linking Community Violence Exposure To Hiv-Related Risk Behaviors Among Adolescents: Directions For Research, Dexter R. Voisin

Faculty Scholarship

Purpose: To present a conceptual framework which accounts for the relationship between community violence exposures (CVEs) and youth HIV risk behaviors. Methods: This article provides an overview of existing research on the links between CVE and HIV risk for youth and offers a conceptual framework for clarifying how CVE might contribute to HIV sexual risk behaviors. Results: Increasing empirical findings substantiate that the links between CVE and HIV risk behaviors among youth are mediated by psychological problem behaviors, low school success rates, and negative peer influences. Conclusions: Researchers have identified the behaviors that place teens at risk for becoming infected …

A Web Of Connections: The Role Of Social Capital And Trust In The Formation Of Virtual Organizations, Paige Erin E. Maynard

Honors Projects

Many community based agencies engage in collaboration in order to solve community problems no one organization can accomplish on its own. One such form of collaboration is the virtual organization. A virtual organization is an organization that relies on multi-party, co-operative agreements between structural, temporal, and sometimes geographic boundaries. Looking narrowly at virtual organizations on the community level is one approach which allows for better understanding of why and how community based collaboration takes place. The objective of this research is to examine the extent to which virtual organizations are utilized by community agencies while simultaneously understanding the role both …

Exploring Student Perceptions To Explain The Relationship Between Physical Activity And Academic Achievement In Adolescents: A Mixed Methods Study, Megan J. Hylok

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A nationwide survey conducted by the Center for Disease Control in 2007 reported 65% of high school students did not meet the recommendation that youth participate in at least 60 minutes of physical activity most days of the week (CDC, 2008). While research has focused its attention primarily on bodily health, growing evidence supports the benefits of physical activity on brain health (Ratey & Hagerman, 2008). Physical activity is important and many adolescents are not meeting the recommendation, therefore, it is important to explore the adolescent perceptions to understand which factors influence physical activity participation. The significance of this study …

Keynote Address: Community Health In Las Vegas, Camila H. Alvarez

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

New Urbanists present both a theory for strong community development and an architectural planning program for moving towards sustainable urban environments. They argue neighborhoods should be compact, pedestrian-friendly, with mixed-usage of housing and activities, and available public spaces. These design elements foster and encourage social interaction among residents which creates and enforces neighborhood community. I tested New Urbanism Theory by performing ethnographic fieldwork to assess the quality of neighborhoods in Las Vegas. Then I compared neighborhood qualities to residents’ responses to their neighborhood, neighbors, and quality of life from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area Social Survey. My results confirmed New …

Process Evaluation Of The Chicago Juvenile Intervention And Support Center, Jeffrey A. Butts

Publications and Research

Researchers investigated the operations of a pre-court diversion program that provides services and supports to station adjusted youth offenders after contacting the Chicago Police Department but before they have been formally arrested and referred to the Cook County Juvenile Probation Department. The purpose of the study was to determine the suitability of the program for evaluation and to work with staff to enact any procedural modifications that may be needed to facilitate future evaluation activities.

Nebraska Immigration And Latino Issues Related Legislative Bills, Office Of Latino/Latin American Studies (Ollas)

Latino/Latin American Studies Other Publications

The year 2011 saw many Latino and Immigration-related bills in the Nebraska State Unicameral. View the OLLAS-created chart to read a summary.