MA

thesisIn the antebellum South, race defined work, family, recreation, and interaction with others. Rules and expectations structuring racial identity were not innate; children were socialized to them. Early on black and white children were indoctrinated to understand race in certain ways; in school, church, and their homes, children learned to classify themselves and others in the antebellum social structure. This thesis focuses on transmission of racial identity. How race was taught and learned; how peers, parents, teachers, and others instilled racial identity; how children were introduced to their racial identity in relation to the "other"; and how, when, and where children learned to perform their own racial identities are discussed. I explore how children of both races became aware of racial patterns and implemented racial behavior in their lives. I examine how interracial relationships shaped childrens' attitudes about slavery. Recollections by former slaves and free whites form the foundation of my research. Several of these sources were written long after childhood, but they are no less valuable. Memory is crucial in understanding race relations. How planters and slaves interpreted childhood encounters with racial difference, how individuals coped with and justified master/slave relationships, and how adults romanticized childhood memories of slavery to validate a society structured on race are all examined in this work. Scholars examining children in slavery often stress hardship and vulnerability; but none focus specifically on how young slaves understood race and slavery, or how childhood memories instilled racial identity later in life. Nor do these works address attitudes of white children toward black peers or the slave system. Most historians do not incorporate experiences of black and white children into a single interpretive frame. However, it is crucial to study children of both races relationally. Other historians have used similar source material, but none focus on perceptions and memories of children toward doctrines of race. My work conceptualizes memories of children and roots their identities in experience. Children who witnessed slavery often followed examples taught and instructions instilled in them. I explore how children learned authority and subordination, superiority and inferiority, and white versus black

Literature review on the impact of public access to information and communication technologies

This document summarizes preliminary findings of a literature review of research on the impacts of public access to information and communication technologies. The report was prepared by Araba Sey and Michelle Fellows for the Global Impact Study

Combining Community Engagement and Scientific Approaches in Next-Generation Monitor Siting: The Case of the Imperial County Community Air Network.

Air pollution continues to be a global public health threat, and the expanding availability of small, low-cost air sensors has led to increased interest in both personal and crowd-sourced air monitoring. However, to date, few low-cost air monitoring networks have been developed with the scientific rigor or continuity needed to conduct public health surveillance and inform policy. In Imperial County, California, near the U.S./Mexico border, we used a collaborative, community-engaged process to develop a community air monitoring network that attains the scientific rigor required for research, while also achieving community priorities. By engaging community residents in the project design, monitor siting processes, data dissemination, and other key activities, the resulting air monitoring network data are relevant, trusted, understandable, and used by community residents. Integration of spatial analysis and air monitoring best practices into the network development process ensures that the data are reliable and appropriate for use in research activities. This combined approach results in a community air monitoring network that is better able to inform community residents, support research activities, guide public policy, and improve public health. Here we detail the monitor siting process and outline the advantages and challenges of this approach

Adjunctive rifampicin for Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (ARREST): a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia is a common cause of severe community-acquired and hospital-acquired infection worldwide. We tested the hypothesis that adjunctive rifampicin would reduce bacteriologically confirmed treatment failure or disease recurrence, or death, by enhancing early S aureus killing, sterilising infected foci and blood faster, and reducing risks of dissemination and metastatic infection. METHODS: In this multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, adults (≥18 years) with S aureus bacteraemia who had received ≤96 h of active antibiotic therapy were recruited from 29 UK hospitals. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) via a computer-generated sequential randomisation list to receive 2 weeks of adjunctive rifampicin (600 mg or 900 mg per day according to weight, oral or intravenous) versus identical placebo, together with standard antibiotic therapy. Randomisation was stratified by centre. Patients, investigators, and those caring for the patients were masked to group allocation. The primary outcome was time to bacteriologically confirmed treatment failure or disease recurrence, or death (all-cause), from randomisation to 12 weeks, adjudicated by an independent review committee masked to the treatment. Analysis was intention to treat. This trial was registered, number ISRCTN37666216, and is closed to new participants. FINDINGS: Between Dec 10, 2012, and Oct 25, 2016, 758 eligible participants were randomly assigned: 370 to rifampicin and 388 to placebo. 485 (64%) participants had community-acquired S aureus infections, and 132 (17%) had nosocomial S aureus infections. 47 (6%) had meticillin-resistant infections. 301 (40%) participants had an initial deep infection focus. Standard antibiotics were given for 29 (IQR 18-45) days; 619 (82%) participants received flucloxacillin. By week 12, 62 (17%) of participants who received rifampicin versus 71 (18%) who received placebo experienced treatment failure or disease recurrence, or died (absolute risk difference -1·4%, 95% CI -7·0 to 4·3; hazard ratio 0·96, 0·68-1·35, p=0·81). From randomisation to 12 weeks, no evidence of differences in serious (p=0·17) or grade 3-4 (p=0·36) adverse events were observed; however, 63 (17%) participants in the rifampicin group versus 39 (10%) in the placebo group had antibiotic or trial drug-modifying adverse events (p=0·004), and 24 (6%) versus six (2%) had drug interactions (p=0·0005). INTERPRETATION: Adjunctive rifampicin provided no overall benefit over standard antibiotic therapy in adults with S aureus bacteraemia. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment

The learning circle experience: Findings from the P2PU participant survey

P2PU learning circles are free study groups organized for people to take online classes together and in-person. Participants gather in public spaces, like public libraries and community centers to work through a massive open online course (MOOC) with guidance from a facilitator. This report summarizes a selection of data gathered from P2PU’s online learner survey to help inform P2PU’s work promoting learning circles in libraries and building a community of skilled facilitators. The learner survey was completed by 144 individuals in the United States and Kenya who signed up for a learning circle using P2PU’s website. The results show that at least three-quarters of respondents were able to achieve the goals they set out to achieve in the learning circles and that the public library played an important role in learners’ success. Findings highlight the importance of social and emotional support, group discussion, and facilitator interpersonal skills in non-formal peer learning environments

An exploration of emotion language use by preschool-aged children and their parents : naturalistic and lab settings

textEmotion language use provides insight into a person's emotional landscape. However, little is known about how preschool aged children and their parents use emotion language in their real world interactions. To address the shortcomings of the current body of empirical work on naturally occurring emotion language, this dissertation asks the following four research questions: 1) How do children and parents use emotion words in their daily lives?; 2) How is children's emotion language related to parents' emotion language?; 3) How is emotion language use related to emotional functioning?; and 4) How does emotion language in a lab setting compare to a natural setting? This dissertation implements a naturalistic methodology tool to answer the above questions. Thirty-five preschool aged children and their parents were recruited to participate in a two-wave longitudinal study in which the children wore a digital recording device for one day at each of the time points to capture acoustic information about the emotion language and behaviors they and their parents use in their daily lives. Additionally, participants completed a traditional laboratory based paradigm used to study emotion language within families. Parents also completed self-report measures related to emotion functioning for themselves and their child. Results indicate that children and their parents use high rates of positive emotion but very low rates of negative emotion in their naturally occurring interactions. This is different from lab based paradigms that elicit high rates of both positive and negative emotion language from children and parents. Next, children's use of emotion words tends to match the emotion language of their mothers more than their fathers but gender of the child also plays an important role. Very little support emerged for the emotion regulation model, as evidenced by children who cry and whine the most and who have the most behavioral problems tending to use negative emotions the most. The preponderance of the evidence suggests that emotion language reflects emotional state rather than regulates it. And, finally, the ecological validity of laboratory studies of emotion word usage is called into question by the independence of emotion language elicited in the lab and the natural expression of emotion words in a natural setting. Implications for researchers conducting work in the area of emotion language and emotional development are discussed.Psycholog

Namibia Regional Library performance evaluation: Component 1 report

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) contracted the Technology & Social Change group (TASCHA) at the University of Washington to conduct a performance evaluation of the Namibia regional libraries, officially the “Regional Study and Resource Centers (RSRC) Activity.” This evaluation has been designed to serve the needs of two major stakeholders, MCC and the Namibia Library and Archives Service (NLAS). The evaluation comprises a set of quantitative and qualitative data collection efforts divided into two categories: Component 1 and Component 2. This report presents the findings for Component 1 only, focusing on evaluating the regional library planning and implementation activities leading up to the end of the MCA-Namibia Compact in September 2014

Examining the role of public library as access venues for information and communication technologies (ICTs) in developing countries: A case in Namibia

The role of public libraries in the Global South as information and communication technology (ICT) access provider has been highlighted among scholars—in terms of its potential to stimulate human capital development of broad populations and overcome the limitations of telecentres with libraries' expertise in managing information, providing tailored services, and interacting with communities. However, major stakeholders in the development field have been largely skeptical about the significance of libraries as ICT public access venues. To resolve the gap, we address the question, "how are public libraries in the Global South meeting the needs of patrons through the provision of ICT access?" We analyze and present the case of Namibia regional libraries through a combined approach of examining both patron and library service provider perspectives. We present how the combined approach helps us: (1) understand how the regional libraries are addressing the needs of surrounding communities, and (2) identify and suggest long term strategies to be taken at the organizational level to better serve the needs

Namibia RSRC Activity: Evaluation Design Report

This evaluation design report documents the evaluation questions and methodology that will guide the evaluation of Namibia’s Regional Study and Resource Centers (RSRCs). This report provides an overview of the RSRCs and the project, describes the literature review undertaken, details the research questions, and describes the research methods and activities that will take place in this evaluation project. Research methods include surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, and a relatively new evaluation approach built on storytelling, Most Significant Change (MSC). The report also incorporates feedback from key stakeholders of the project, including the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), MCA-Nambia, and the Namibia Library and Archives Service (NLAS)

Beyond Access: Perceptions of libraries as development partners

What is the potential of public libraries to serve a more prominent role in development initiatives? Perceptions of decision makers.Libraries are typically overlooked as partners in development. This despite the existence of 230,000 public libraries around the world, 73% located in the developing world, and despite the widespread recognition that access to information plays an essential role in development. This report examines the question: what are the perceptions of key decision makers around the world regarding public libraries and their potential to serve a more prominent role in development initiatives? This report looks at participants’ impressions of libraries, views towards forming partnerships with libraries, and provides examples of successful projects.Beyond Access is an initiative of IREX, EIFL, IFLA, Makaia, Civic Regeneration, TASCHA, the Riecken Foundation, and READ Global, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundatio