The Decision, Implementation and Assessment of a Credit-Bearing Activity Class by Faculty in Residence: A Case Study

This case study reports on a programmatic decision to require a credit-bearing course that was made by Faculty in Residence (FIR), including its implementation and results over a two-year period from 2010-2012. The focus is on FIR and on the impact of their decision upon the students enrolled in their Living Learning Communities (LLCs). The credit-bearing course was a Kinesiology Activities class taken by all seven LLCs at Boise State University. Anonymous feedback from students was obtained via end of semester surveys; results were used to improve the course. Survey feedback was analyzed to assess the value students perceived to have gained from the course. The majority of students reported gaining value from the class. Students noted that it positively affected their time management/personal accountability, that it decreased their stress level and that it increased their awareness of the Recreational Center offerings. Some students were critical of the course, reporting little to no value or even resentment about the course requirement. The decision, implementation and improvements of the course required faculty leadership and full participation of all LLCs; perceptions of the FIR in terms of the effects of adding the required course on their LLC are reported

The Music Relationships of Children Experiencing Homelessness

abstract: Over a million children who attend American public schools experience homelessness every year. This study investigates the musical lives of children experiencing homelessness through the lens of the ecological systems theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). Children encounter music in a variety of ways and develop their own lexicon of meaning that depicts the relationships they have in, through, and around music. Relationship connections in this study were depicted through a system of relationship networks (Neal & Neal, 2013). In this study I present and analyze the cases of nine participants who attended an after-school care program at a homeless shelter for families in the southwestern United States. Participants were 8 to 12 years old and represented diverse ethnicities and genders. Data were gathered over a period of two to eight months, depending on participant, via interviews, music and art making, and observations. Research questions in this study included: What are the relationships, as experienced in, through, and around music, in the lives of children experiencing homelessness; and, What do music experiences tell us about the lives of children experiencing homelessness? Some children experienced fractured music relationships and could not continue to engage with music in comparison to their lives before homelessness. Some children continued to make music regularly before and during their shelter stay. A few children discovered new connections through music interactions at the shelter and hoped to engage with music in new ways in their new homes. Multiple children faced barriers to music making in their respective school music programs. Children preferred to engage in music consistent with current popular culture, accessed through the radio, smart phone, and computer. Use of hands-on activities that fostered active engagement engendered the most participation and connection to music. Recommendations include examination of current procedures and practices to ensure alignment with the McKinney-Vento Homeless Act federal mandate, development of a supportive environment to foster social and emotional growth, facilitating communication with parents, and the inclusion of music from the child’s background in the classroom repertoire. Performance and interactive music opportunities can mitigate the effects of homelessness and restore a sense of dignity, relationship, and autonomy. All stakeholders in the wellbeing of children should include conversations about student experience of homelessness in current dialogue on educational policy and practice.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Music Education 201

Intersectional stigma for Autistic people at work: a compound adverse impact effect on labor force participation and experiences of belonging

Background: Little research addresses the experiences of autistic people at work, yet employment prospects remain bleak. The extant literature takes a largely remedial perspective and does not focus on harnessing this population's considerable talents. In global organizational practice, several programs purposefully target autistic people for their abilities. However, preliminary evidence suggests that such programs are inadvertently attracting mainly White males, to the exclusion of other demographics. Therefore, stigma surrounding autism at work remains, creating potential compound adverse impacts by marginalizing identities, including gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, and socioeconomic status. We explored the intersection of autism with other marginalizing identities in the context of work. The research focused on labor force participation for autistic people and, for those in employment, perceptions of exclusion and inclusion. We compared the aforementioned variables by gender identity, racial identity, sexuality, socioeconomic background, and geographic origin. Methods: We undertook a global cross-sectional survey, advertised through various social media platforms and promoted directly to relevant organizations. The survey included a range of validated measures as well as demographic information. We analyzed the data with frequencies, cross tabulations, chi-square tests, and non-parametric, group-wise comparisons. Results: We found preliminary evidence of reduced rates of employment participation by race and geographic location. Females and non-binary people had lower perceptions of inclusion and belonging at work. The perception of accommodation provision had a strong association with inclusion and belonging; more so than incidental provision of flexibility in environment and scheduling not framed as a specific accommodation. Conclusions: The findings highlight the relational aspects of accommodation and a more universal inclusion perspective. We urge practitioners and researchers to monitor employment participation and levels of inclusion/exclusion using intersectional demographic identification. We appeal for cross-cultural collaboration with academic institutions outside the anglosphere to improve our knowledge of global programs and their impact

Working Hard or Hardly Working?: A Multi-site Evaluation of Worksite Wellness Committees At a Large Multi-national Corporation

Background: In 2005, 63% of the US population was employed, representing over 142 million people over the age of 16 in the United States. Because so many Americans spend so much time at work, the workplace has become a natural setting for public health interventions. The field of worksite health promotion (WHP) offers many opportunities to improve the health of the US population and achieve Healthy People 2010 objectives.WHP programs often contain a participatory component in the form of worksite wellness committees (WWC). Despite their popularity, little is known about how wellness committees organize, assess, plan, implement and evaluate programs. This project sought to understand how WWCs functioned at PPG Industries, a Fortune 500 manufacturing company,Methods: To evaluate the WWCs, two survey tools were developed. The first gathered information about WHP program offerings; the second assessed the organizational processes by which the committees operated. The tools were deployed by email to approximately 100 worksites. The data were analyzed, along with pre-existing HRA data, to see if worksite demographics or organizational functioning were significantly related to the health of employees and if there was a relationship between the processes by which the WWCs operated and the quality of the WHP offered.Results: Larger, US-based, and older worksites did have significantly more resources and activities in the areas of blood pressure, lipid, and overweight/obesity control, and cancer and depression screenings. In general, worksites in the US had slightly more mature organizational processes than those internationally. However, there were no significant differences were found in the location, size, or age of employees on organizational maturity. Higher functioning worksites did also have significantly higher scores on the Program Inventory in all areas except nutrition and physical activity categories. HRA data revealed that many preventative health behaviors were significantly associated. However, few significant relationships were found between organizational functioning and employee health.Public Health Significance: WWC need increased attention from researchers and evaluators. Organizational maturity is related to program outcomes, but not necessarily to employee health. Improving organizational functioning may lead to improved WHP programming