University Scholar Series: Laurie Drabble

Alcohol and Drug Addiction Among Marginalized Populations of Women On September 29, 2010 Laurie Drabble spoke in the University Scholar Series hosted by Provost Gerry Selter at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. Laurie Drabble is an associate professor in Social Work with her research focusing on understanding alcohol and drug-related problems among marginalized populations of women and she has conducted a number of studies exploring collaboration between addiction treatment and child welfare fields. She has worked as Executive Director of the California Women\u27s Commission on Alcohol and Drug Dependencies and a consultant in prevention strategies, strategic planning, and non-profit management.https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/uss/1003/thumbnail.jp

Balancing Financial Viability and User Affordability: An Assessment of Six WASH Service Delivery Models

This Topic Brief presents assessments of the financial performance of six WSUP-supported WASH service delivery models in Bangladesh, Madagascar, Mozambique and Zambia. Each model has been developed in partnership with locally mandated service providers to facilitate sustainable, at-scale improvements to low-income urban populations

A Ward-by-Ward Approach to Eliminating Open Defecation: Experience from Visakhapatnam, India

The Government of India launched the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) in 2014 with the ambitious aim to ensure hygiene, waste management and sanitation across the nation by the 150th anniversary of Gandhi's birth in October 2019. This document aims to build on existing knowledge by detailing how the challenge of achieving universal sanitation and Open Defecation Free (ODF) status has been approached by Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, presenting nine stepping stones which together constitute a pathway towards citywide ODF status

Alcohol in the life narratives of women: Commonalities and differences by sexual orientation

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore social representations of alcohol use among women, with a focus on possible differences between sexual minority and heterosexual women. Methods: This qualitative study was part of a larger study examining mediators of heavier drinking among sexual minority women (lesbian identified, bisexual identified, and heterosexual identified with same sex partners) compared to heterosexual women based on the National Alcohol Survey. Qualitative in-depth life history interviews were conducted over the telephone with 48 women who had participated in the 2009–2010 National Alcohol Survey, including respondents representing different sexual orientation groups. Questions explored the lives and experiences of women, and how use of alcohol may connect to those experiences. Findings: Representations about normative and risky use included social use, use in relation to community connection, addictive use and self-medication. Other representations common across groups included articulation of boundaries that were defined by negative exemplars, marked by indicators of loss of control, and maintained through selective engagement of social networks. Although representations across groups were similar, some representations, such as alcohol use in fostering community connection, appeared to be more salient for sexual minority women. The findings of the study underscore the importance of considering both commonalities and potential differences among women by sexual orientation in meanings and perceived risks associated with alcohol use in future research and intervention efforts

Progress and opportunities in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender health communications

This article describes elements of effective health communication and highlights strategies that may best be adopted or adapted in relation to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) populations. Studies have documented the utility of multidimensional approaches to health communication from the macro level of interventions targeting entire populations to the micro level of communication between health care provider and consumer. Although evidence of health disparities in LGBT communities underscores the importance of population-specific interventions, health promotion campaigns rarely target these populations and health communication activities seldom account for the diversity of LGBT communities. Advances in health communication suggest promising direction for LGBT-specific risk prevention and health promotion strategies on community, group, and provider/consumer levels. Opportunities for future health communication efforts include involving LGBT communities in the development of appropriate health communication campaigns and materials, enhancing media literacy among LGBT individuals, supporting LGBT-focused research and evaluation of health communication activities, and ensuring that health care providers possess the knowledge, skills, and competency to communicate effectively with LGBT consumers

Process Evaluation of the Realising Ambition Programme

Launched in May 2012 by the Big Lottery Fund (hereafter 'the Fund'), the Realising Ambition programme aims to help more young people aged 8-14 fulfil their potential and avoid pathways into offending. It does this by supporting 25 organisations to replicate proven youth interventions at new sites across the UK. The Realising Ambition process evaluation covered the first three, of five, years of the programme (2012-2015). The process evaluation had two key objectives:* To gain an understanding of the practical issues associated with replication, including issues emerging for organisations involved in replication themselves.* To explore what does and doesn't work when supporting organisations to replicate proven models, and the resources required to support different approaches to replication

An examination of socially constructed whole group storybook reading in three pre primary classrooms

This study examines the socially constructed context of whole group storybook reading in pre primary classrooms. The study is centred in the shared communications that occur between pre primary teachers and students before, during and after the storybook reading. In particular, insights are sought on the nature and extent of the pre primary teachers\u27 and the pre primary students\u27 communicative contributions and the opportunity provided for the inclusion of personal knowledge and personal experience in the communication. Whether there is a change in the nature of the contributions over time is also examined. The study seeks to extend current understanding of the situated nature of socially constructed classroom communicative repertoires beyond the descriptions of teacher dominated communicative strategies in order to develop an appreciation of the potential that whole group storybook reading has for student communicative constructions. Moreover, the capacity of whole group storybook reading for encouraging reciprocal communicative opportunities between the pre primary teacher and students in the classroom is examined, The study has been carried out in three phases. The initial phase involved the completion of an open-ended questionnaire by forty three pre primary teachers. The aim of the questionnaire was to establish an understanding of the importance pre primary teachers placed on the whole group storybook reading activity. Phase two was the pilot study containing a field of five pre primary classrooms where teachers were invited to share their whole group storybook reading sessions. The storybook reading sessions were videotaped and analysed and a coding structure was developed from the communications that occurred between the teacher and students. The coding structure provided a framework which was used in organizing and analyzing the classroom communication that occurred during the final case studies. Phase three involved year long case studies of teacher-student communication during whole group storybook reading in three pre primary classrooms. The three pre primary classrooms were drawn from high, middle, and low socio-economic suburbs in the Perth metropolitan area. The case studies involved videotaping a storybook reading session every fortnight in each of the classrooms totalling twenty. The whole year period was considered necessary to map changes that occurred to the context and communication exchange during storybook reading. A case study approach facilitated understanding of how teachers organize their whole group storybook reading and an appreciation of the repertoire of personal knowledge and experience pre primary teachers and pre primary students brought to the storybook reading context. The case study research found the physical organization of whole group storybook reading in each of the pre primary classrooms to be similar. The main differences between the storybook reading activity were derived from the different goals the pre primary teachers had for storybook reading and the individual differences the students brought to the storybook reading context. The teachers\u27 contributions to the whole group storybook reading activity were based on communications with the students that contained directives, questions, statements and responses. All three teachers used the categories of communication but with differences in emphasis and use. One teacher adopted an approach that was interactive and encouraged learning through shared communication. Another teacher concentrated on shared communication to promote confidence with speaking and competency in language and literacy development. The students\u27 contributions to the whole group storybook reading activity were based on requests, questions, statements, and responses. Students were not major initiators of the communication in any of the three pre primary classrooms, but contributed to collaborative communication when opportunities were presented to them. Differences noted in the students\u27 contributions could be attributed to the approach taken by the pre primary teachers, the students\u27 background knowledge and experience and the choice of book being read to the students. The strategies adopted by the teachers to create opportunities for the students to develop communications around experience and knowledge were based on teacher questions, statements and responses, and student statements and responses that referred to background experience and knowledge. All three teachers occasionally presented some of their personal experiences to enrich storybook events, whereas students were enthusiastic and spontaneous about sharing personal and family events that related to the storybook. Differences were noted in the teachers\u27 overall approach to the level of shared communication which occurred during whole group storybook reading. Teachers provided additional opportunities for student participation and shared communicative contributions. The differences in teachers\u27 and students\u27 contributions throughout the year could be related to changes in the teachers\u27 goals for the students and how that impacted on the communication and the increased skill level of the students. The students\u27 communication increased as the year progressed in each of the three pre primary classrooms

Use of Computer Facilities to Develop Students English in Petaling and Hulu Langat Secondary Schools

Malaysian schools are encouraged to acquire computers, and use then to teach English. However, most teachers have not been trained to do this, so computer-assisted instruction may not be taking place. The interview and questionnaire techniques were used to survey the computer hardware and software available in computer clubs in government secondary school sin the Petaling and Hulu Langat districts of Selangor Daru Ehsan, and investigate how these facilities were used to develop students' English. Frequency counts were made, and the median was used to measure central tendency. Ninety percent of the target schools had computer clubs, with a median of 9.5 computers per club. Most computers were Apple or IBM compatible. Few schools used software specifically written to teach English. However,several programs with language-teaching potential, such as content-free packages,and packages using English on the screen, were used