Literacy Access through Storytime: An Ethnographic Study of Public Library Storytellers in a Low-Income Neighborhood

While early literacy achievement continues to be stratified by social class in the United States, public libraries often offer programs such as “storytime” in order to bolster the literacy development of youth in their communities. The purpose of the present ethnographic study was to explore how storytellers recruited and maintained participation in this free literacy program in a lower-income neighborhood. Via participant observations, semi-structured interviews, and artifact collection, storytellers recruited new patrons to storytime by (1) appealing to community members to enter the physical space of the library and (2) appealing to library patrons to attend storytime. Once patrons attended storytime, storytellers acted in order to maintain storytime attendance by (1) facilitating meaningful learning experiences, (2) fostering enjoyment through participation, (3) developing nurturing relationships, and (4) offering flexibility in storytime expectations. By exploring a contextualized account of the work of storytellers, the findings suggest important avenues through which public programs may contribute to more equitable access to literacy learning

Cultural Ecosystem Services of Agroecosystems Along the Wasatch Front, Utah

Agroecosystems, including peri-urban systems, are important providers of a range of services. However, management of these systems has generally been based on the market value of crops, neglecting to capture the broader public goods that ecosystem services provide to stakeholders. While the ecosystem service framework (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment [MEA], 2005) has been adopted to measure the market and non-market values associated with these services, knowledge gaps persist, particularly with respect to the quantification and valuation of cultural ecosystem services (CES). In this paper, the determination of CES values assigned to agroecosystems by residents of two communities along the Wasatch Front, Utah are explored through a randomly administrated survey designed to characterize and quantify CES. Descriptive statistics indicate that participants are motivated to visit farmland or rangeland because of their associated CES values. A principal component analysis is used to categorize specific CES values into factors representing ‘multifunctional’ cultural amenities and ‘traditional’ rural amenities. The clustering of CES values corroborates findings from other studies concerning multifunctional and traditional agricultural land-use preferences. OLS regression models subsequently reveal statistically significant relationships between multifunctional cultural amenities and religious affiliation and farming history. The regression models also uncover statistically significant relationships between traditional rural amenities and household income and community classification. Finally, our survey instrument demonstrates that while we are able to evaluate the range of commonly recognized CES categories, additional research is needed on lesser-studied CES (e.g. spiritual and inspirational values) and synergies among different CES (e.g. interconnected relationship between aesthetics and recreation) before their quantification can be standardized. However, this research demonstrates that CES values are ever-present in agroecosystems and can be integrated in peri-urban and agricultural land management and planning with existing CES knowledge

Strengthening Grantee Effectiveness: The Hyde Family Foundations

The Hyde Family Foundations strategies for improving educational performance in the Memphis, TN schools are detailed in this case study. The multi-faceted approach included funding groups that were advocating for charter schools, supporting grassroots groups and community organizations involved with parents, and establishing a program to recruit and train strong school leaders

Dredging Land Reclamation Causing Mucus Development in Massive Spherical Corals in the Spratly Islands, South China Sea: The Effects on China’s Fishing Industry

Images from Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative depicted huge masses of white coral mucus secreted from coral reefs in the Spratly Islands of the South China Sea, an area where several land reclamation projects are occurring. The purpose of this research was to understand how increased sedimentation levels from the dredging land reclamation method affects mucus development in massive corals, such as Acropora, located in these reefs. Journal articles that focused on the biology of coral mucus, bacterial communities associated with coral tissue, mucus, and seawater, coral mortality from different environment impacts, coral coverage of reefs in Spratly Islands, and symbiotic relationships between reef fishes and corals were studied. The results showed that massive corals produce excess mucus to counteract the high sedimentation levels in the water column caused by dredging activity. Highly active heterotopic microbial communities are then attracted to the mucus’s dissolved organic carbon and perform respiration that rapidly consumes the oxygen and causes the coral to become stressed. Corals are important in the reef ecosystem, so the death of corals would affect fish higher up in the food chain. The South China Sea mainly supports the fishing industry in China. However, recent studies have shown that number of fish species has declined within the past eight years. The findings suggested that despite China’s two-month annual ban on fishery in the South China Sea, populations of fish will continue to decline as more land reclamation projects are implemented in the Spratly Islands, which would significantly impact the fishing economy.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/uresposters/1266/thumbnail.jp

A Study to Determine the Differences Between On-Campus Degree Seeking Students and TELETECHNET Degree Seeking Students in Academic Performance

To find the solution to this problem, the following hypothesis was established: There will be no difference in academic success between on-campus degree seeking students and TELETECHNET distance learning degree seeking students in the undergraduate Occupational and Technical Studies program at Old Dominion University, in Norfolk, Virginia

Social Determinants of Smoke Exposure During Pregnancy: Findings From Waves 1 & 2 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study

Maternal smoking during pregnancy (MSDP) and secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure are associated with a myriad of negative health effects for both mother and child. However, less is known regarding social determinants for SHS exposure, which may differ from those of maternal smoking during pregnancy (MSDP). To identify social determinants for SHS exposure only, MSDP only, and MSDP and SHS exposure, data were obtained from all pregnant women (18–54 years; N = 726) in waves 1 and 2 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study (2014–2015). Multiple logistic regressions were conducted using SAS 9.4. Smoke exposure during pregnancy was common; 23.0% reported SHS exposure only, 6.1% reported MSDP only, and 11.8% reported both SHS exposure and MSDP. Results demonstrate that relationships between smoke exposure during pregnancy and social determinants vary by type of exposure. Women at risk for any smoke exposure during pregnancy include those who are unmarried and allow the use of combustible tobacco products within the home. Those who are at higher risk for SHS exposure include those who are younger in age, and those who are earlier in their pregnancy. Those who are at higher risk for maternal smoking include those with fair/poor mental health status and those who believe that others\u27 view tobacco use more positively. These results suggest the need for implementing more comprehensive policies that promote smoke-free environments. Implementing these strategies have the potential to improve maternal and fetal health outcomes associated with tobacco smoke exposure

Risk Factors Associated with First-Year College Dropout

Previous research has shown that a variety of factors can impact college student’s academic performance, including healthy nutrition, physical activity, substance use, smoking, early sexual activity, bullying, excessive television watching, internet use, and playing video games. The purpose of the current study was to explore possible predictors of dropout in students after their first year of college. Data came from the Spit for Science sample and were limited to individuals in the first three cohorts that answered the survey during the fall of their freshmen year (N=6105). Logistic regression was used to test a variety of risk factors, including mental/behavior risk factors, familial risk factors, stress/trauma exposure, and personality factors, in order to see whether or not there was a correlation between risk factors and dropout rates. Initially, multiple risk factors were found to be significantly associated with dropout. However, depression (OR = 1.04, p \u3c 0.05) was the only factor associated with dropout after we included GPA (OR = 0.395, p \u3c 0.001) as a covariate. Supplementary analyses revealed that many of the factors that were found to be significantly associated with dropout rates were significantly related to GPA, suggesting that these risk factors may influence dropout through their effect on GPA.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/uresposters/1203/thumbnail.jp

The Need for Research in Broadening Participation

Underrepresentation in computing is a global problem, marked by a disturbing lack of access to computing resources and education among people underrepresented by race, ethnicity, gender, income, disability, and sexual-orientation status. It is urgent that we address this divide between those with and without the knowledge to create computational artifacts or even basic functional literacy. Important alliances for broadening participation (BP) are catalyzing efforts to engage more people in computing, but they are not enough. We need solid research as well