Chisum's Pilgrimage II: Melvin Jackson Chisum, Sr., Louis Harlan's "Spy" Unravelled in Biography 1873-1945

No man's life and work should be based on the ethics and morality of his employer, especially when the employer was the controversial leader of American Blacks in the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Booker T. Washington (BTW). In the groundbreaking biographies written by Louis Harlan about BTW, that is what happened to Melvin Chisum's life. While black historians and journalists wrote about Chisum as charismatic and idiosyncratic during his lifetime; in the 1970s historian Harlan used Chisum's life story in juxtaposition to BTW's, in order to highlight the work ethic he thought BTW portrayed. Calling Chisum no more than a villainous "spy" and "provocateur" of the era, Harlan left historians and their students with a void in Progressive Era history because Chisum represented so much more in social and political endeavors during his lifetime. This dissertation uses Harlan's own achieved records, the insight of Chisum's family members, and personal letters between Chisum and colleagues. While this dissertation does not describe all of Chisum's deeds during his lifetime, it does give an overview of Harlan's perceptions, a background of Chisum's early life, corrects myths, offers a black social gospel perspective of Chisum, and fills gaps in historiography. This dissertation describes and enhances both black history and American history. Unknown inter and intra race alliances are revealed that were once thought of as unheard of in American history. Chisum's Pilgrimage II places the end of BTW's administration of accommodation, which Harlan believed ended in 1916, squarely in President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal Administration. Groundbreaking research shows that Chisum, once a spy for the American black leader BTW, became an investigator for the Public Works Administration for two consecutive terms of the New Deal. From there the dissertation briefly indicates of how Bookerites like Chisum supported the Civil Rights movement by backing the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).Histor

An evaluation of a model multiple site distance learning program for non-traditional students

The purpose of the evaluation was to determine student’s perception of the effectiveness of a multiple site distance education program. Part 1 evaluated the distance education process. Students reported a positive experience with distance education. Many were apprehensive at first but after a class or 2, most began to like the process and preferred it to raditional classes. Part 2 evaluated program incentives & barriers, class structure and application of course content. Students responded that evening and weekend scheduling was the greatest incentive to participation in the program while lack of access to the advisor/instructor was the greatest barrier

Food Insecurity at the University of Denver: A Qualitative Exploratory Study to Identify Challenges and Opportunities for Improvements Around Food Insecurity on DU’s Campus

The purpose of this course-based research project was to understand students’ perceptions and opinions about student food insecurity on the University of Denver campus, identifying challenges and opportunities for improvement, with the hope that the results will support the DU community’s efforts to prevent and address food insecurity on DU’s campus

Does a school-based intervention increase girls' sexual and reproductive health attitudes and intentions? Results from a mixed-methods cluster-randomized trial in Burkina Faso.

Adolescent girls in Burkina Faso face unintended pregnancy risk due to a lack of contraceptive use. The (re)solve project was designed to address contraceptive misperceptions and increase girls' perceptions of their pregnancy risk, primarily through a participatory game and a health passport aimed at easing health facility access. The intervention components were implemented for girls in private and public school in grades 4ème and 3ème (grades 9 and 10) in Ouagadougou and Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. We conducted an impact evaluation using a mixed-methods cluster randomized control trial design to evaluate (re)solve's impact on girls' intentions to use contraception, among other outcomes. Thirty-two schools were randomly allocated intervention or control. The evaluation included quantitative longitudinal surveys at baseline (N = 2,372) and endline (N = 2,072), qualitative in-depth interviews with girls in the intervention group at baseline (N = 41) and endline (N = 48) and with implementation staff (N = 35) and experts (N = 14) at endline. We used generalized estimating equations (GEE) analysis for the main analysis. Girls receiving the intervention had more positive attitudes related to contraception at endline compared to girls at control schools. (re)solve had a positive effect on girls' intention to use contraception (aOR = 1.59, 95% CI 0.97-2.61), though this did not reach statistical significance. The impact was particularly large among girls who had never had sex, girls who attended public schools, and girls in 3ème. Qualitative findings suggest the intervention was well received and positively shifted attitudes and facility-seeking behaviors for many girls, but that myths and misconceptions related to contraceptive use persist in this mostly young, sexually naïve population. That the (re)solve intervention appears to have shifted adolescent girls' attitudes toward using contraception, coupled with positive trends in intention to use contraception, indicates that interventions like (re)solve may 'prime the pump' for behavior change and increasing girls' use of contraception. Trial registration number and date: https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN15387847 Registered on June 15th 2021

Reaching those left behind: Knowledge gaps, challenges, and approaches to achieving SDG 6 in high-income countries

Even as progress has been made in extending access to safe water and sanitation under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), substantial disparities in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services persist in high-income countries around the world. These gaps in service occur disproportionately among historically marginalized, rural, informal, and Indigenous communities. This paper synthesizes results from a side session convened at the 2020 University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Water and Health conference focused on knowledge gaps, challenges, and approaches to achieve SDG 6 among marginalized communities in high-income countries. We provide approaches and next steps to advance sustainable WASH services in communities that have often been overlooked