An Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Approach to Understanding Researchers’ Data Management Practices at UVM: Findings from the Qualitative Phase

The objective of this article is to report on the first qualitative phase of an exploratory sequential mixed methods research design focused on researcher data management practices and related institutional research data services. The aim of this study is to understand data management behaviors of faculty at the University of Vermont (UVM), a higher-research activity Research University, in order to guide the development of campus research data management services. The population of study was all faculty who received National Science Foundation (NSF) grants between 2011 and 2014 who were required to submit a data management plan (DMP); qualitative data was collected in two forms: (1) semi-structured interviews and (2) document analysis of data management plans. From a population of 47 researchers, six were included in the interview sample, representing a broad range of disciplines and NSF Directorates, and 35 data management plans were analyzed. Three major themes were identified through triangulation of qualitative data sources: data management activities, including data dissemination and data sharing; institutional research support and infrastructure barriers; and perceptions of data management plans and attitudes towards data management planning. The themes articulated in this article will be used to design a survey for the second quantitative phase of the study, which will aim to more broadly generalize data management activities at UVM across all disciplines

An Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Approach to Understanding Researchers’ Data Management Practices at UVM: Findings from the Quantitative Phase

This article reports on the second quantitative phase of an exploratory sequential mixed methods research design focused on researcher data management practices and related institutional support and services. The study aims to understand data management activities and challenges of faculty at the University of Vermont (UVM), a higher research activity Research University, in order to develop appropriate research data services (RDS). Data was collected via a survey, built on themes from the initial qualitative data analysis from the first phase of this study. The survey was distributed to a nonrandom census sample of full-time UVM faculty and researchers (P=1,190); from this population, a total of 319 participants completed the survey for a 26.8% response rate. The survey collected information on five dimensions of data management: data management activities; data management plans; data management challenges; data management support; and attitudes and behaviors towards data management planning. Frequencies, cross tabulations, and chi-square tests of independence were calculated using demographic variables including gender, rank, college, and discipline. Results from the analysis provide a snapshot of research data management activities at UVM, including types of data collected, use of metadata, short- and long-term storage of data, and data sharing practices. The survey identified key challenges to data management, including data description (metadata) and sharing data with others; this latter challenge is particular impacted by confidentiality issues and lack of time, personnel, and infrastructure to make data available. Faculty also provided insight to RDS that they think UVM should support, as well as RDS they were personally interested in. Data from this study will be integrated with data from the first qualitative phase of the research project and analyzed for meta-inferences to help determine future research data services at UVM

Call The Question: Will the Greater Washington Region Collaborate and Invest to Solve Its Affordable Housing Shortage?

A group of public and private sector stakeholders concerned about housing affordability in the Greater Washington region began to meet in June 2014 to discuss how to solve the shortage of affordable housing. These stakeholders, the Greater Washington Housing Leaders Group (GWHLG), seek to elevate and broaden the housing affordability conversation among public-sector, business and civic leaders, as well as residents around the region, so that everyone understands the need to address this crisis before it has negative impacts on both the local economy and our quality of life. This conversation must address the need for housing affordable to residents at all income levels in communities across the region in order for employers to have access to employees and for workers to be able to work in close proximity to their jobs. Low-income housing needs data as referenced in this publication refers to households making less than 80 percent of the area median income (area median income for the Greater Washington region is approximately $109,000 in 2015). These families include people working as teachers, police, fire personnel, local government, secretarial, construction, retail, health, hospitality, and entry level employees

United Nations Development Assistance Framework for Kenya

The United Nations Development Assistance Framework (2014-2018) for Kenya is an expression of the UN's commitment to support the Kenyan people in their self-articulated development aspirations. This UNDAF has been developed according to the principles of UN Delivering as One (DaO), aimed at ensuring Government ownership, demonstrated through UNDAF's full alignment to Government priorities and planning cycles, as well as internal coherence among UN agencies and programmes operating in Kenya. The UNDAF narrative includes five recommended sections: Introduction and Country Context, UNDAF Results, Resource Estimates, Implementation Arrangements, and Monitoring and Evaluation as well as a Results and Resources Annex. Developed under the leadership of the Government, the UNDAF reflects the efforts of all UN agencies working in Kenya and is shaped by the five UNDG programming principles: Human Rights-based approach, gender equality, environmental sustainability, capacity development, and results based management. The UNDAF working groups have developed a truly broad-based Results Framework, in collaboration with Civil Society, donors and other partners. The UNDAF has four Strategic Results Areas: 1) Transformational Governance encompassing Policy and Institutional Frameworks; Democratic Participation and Human Rights; Devolution and Accountability; and Evidence-based Decision-making, 2) Human Capital Development comprised of Education and Learning; Health, including Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Environmental Preservation, Food Availability and Nutrition; Multi-sectoral HIV and AIDS Response; and Social Protection, 3) Inclusive and Sustainable Economic Growth, with Improving the Business Environment; Strengthening Productive Sectors and Trade; and Promoting Job Creation, Skills Development and Improved Working Conditions, and 4) Environmental Sustainability, Land Management and Human Security including Policy and Legal Framework Development; and Peace, Community Security and Resilience. The UNDAF Results Areas are aligned with the three Pillars (Political, Social and Economic) of the Government's Vision 2030 transformational agenda

HELIN Consortium LORI Grant Final Report HELIN

Final report to the RI Office of Library and Information Services on the work accomplished with the LORI grant received from that agency

A case study investigation of academic library support for open educational resources in Scottish universities

The aim of the research was to investigate why and how Scottish university libraries support open educational resources and to assess their ability to provide support services for their development and use within higher education institutions. There has been little research on the role of academic libraries in supporting open educational resources in Scotland and previous research found that there is a lack of awareness of them in Scottish higher education institutions and few have open educational resources policies. The case study methodology therefore involved two Scottish academic libraries providing open educational resources services. The libraries’ motivation includes supporting teaching and learning and the development of educator digital skills and copyright knowledge. However, there are a number of barriers limiting the services the libraries are able to provide, particularly lack of human resources. The research confirmed the findings of previous research on the importance of institutional commitment, incentives for educator engagement, and understanding of copyright and licensing issues by educators and library staff

Daylighting equity : evaluating efforts to daylight lower-income and minority areas in El Cerrito, California

In recent years there has been a push to bring nature and its benefits back into the built environment. Urbanized areas are seeing the revitalization and restoration of once buried urban waterways. This growing trend is known as daylighting and has become an increasingly popular method of bringing nature back to the city. Although nature is making its way back into the built environment, the benefits of nature have been excluded from low-income and minority communities. Park space for the lower income residents has been an issue in the environmental justice arena for years, and in these low-income areas, the lack of green space for the city’s most vulnerable is a problem that has yet to be solved. This report examines urban green planning, daylighting specifically in the City of El Cerrito, California to explore whether daylighting projects present EJ concerns in a California community and the use of analysis tools under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to explore social justice issues. The PR draws on the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) desk guide for EJ analysis under NEPA and CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act). That adopts the same definition and criteria of evaluation as NEPA. Smaller regional planning organizations also use this method. Using this evaluation process, I located communities of concern at the census tract and block group level in areas that were not located near daylighting projects in the City of El Cerrito. Although NEPA is primarily used for highway and transportation projects, this report demonstrates the potential of NEPA EJ tools to examine social justice issues for green amenity planning.Community and Regional Plannin

Open Space Acquisitions and Management Opportunities in the City of Atlanta and Adjacent Jurisdictions

The great cities of the world are distinguished by their public parks. The urban fabric of New York, Barcelona, Berlin, Moscow, Paris, Rome, Sydney, and Shanghai are all woven around great parks. Yet, with all of Atlanta's outstanding achievements, the City and the region have a notably undistinguished park system. In a study conducted by the Trust for Public Land and the Urban Land Institute, Atlanta ranks near the bottom of the nation's largest 25 cities in acreage of parkland per capita with 7.3 acres for every 1,000 residents. Compare that to Austin, Texas' 39 acres per 1,000 residents or Oklahoma City's 43 acres per 1,000 residents and it becomes clear that something is amiss in metro Atlanta.This study identifies the obstacles to acquiring and maintaining open and green spaces in the metro Atlanta region. Addressing open space shortages in metro Atlanta is a sizable task. This study could be considered the first step in a larger process. Time spent researching the various obstacles and opportunities regarding open space acquisition raised many questions that are beyond the scope of this project. A second phase might test the recommendations made in this phase by working with local officials on a few select projects, and begin to identify critical pieces of property in metro Atlanta that must be protected from development. A detailed inventory of significant open space and natural resources in the metro area that includes the existing inventory of land inside of Interstate 285 should be considered either as a separate study or included in this recommended second phase

2016 Annual Impact Investor Survey

The sixth edition of the Annual Impact Investor Survey is based on an analysis of the activities of 158 of the world's leading impact investing organizations, including fund managers, foundations, banks, development finance institutions, family offices, pension funds, and insurance companies. The survey provides detailed insight into investor perceptions and a number of key market variables such as types of investors, the number and size of investments made, target returns, attitudes towards liquidity and responsible exits, and impact measurement practices. This "State of the Market" analysis explores how investments continue to be made across different geographies, a range of sectors, and multiple asset classes, signaling continued market growth and an increasing interest in impact investing opportunities. J.P. Morgan is an anchor sponsor of the 2016 survey. The study was also produced with support from the U.K. Government through the Department for International Development's Impact Programme