Institutionally related foundations at public colleges and universities

Institutionally related foundations have grown in size and number in public colleges and universities since their inception in the late nineteenth century as a way to protect private gifts from confiscation by the state to meet budgetary shortfalls in funding. These foundations stand legally apart from their institutions but exist exclusively to enhance their programs. They have proven to be an excellent way to attract potential donors and involve them in the activities of the institution. However, there is little empirical data about how they are formed and operate in relationship to their institution. This study was undertaken in order to describe the structure and functions of institutionally related foundations at public, four-year colleges and universities in the United States. The investigation involved a survey of 409 foundations of record at the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education of which 151 responses (36.91%) were received. Major findings of the study revealed that structurally, almost all institutionally related foundations have a CEO they call an \u27\u27executive director, but most directors do not have voting privileges on the foundation board, nor do they serve in leadership positions on its committees. However, even if they do have voting privileges, there is no relationship between that factor and whether or not the foundation considers itself independent or dependent. It was found that even though the executive director may have a significant role within the structure of the foundation, he or she also holds dual job responsibilities within the institution and often reports both to the foundation board and to the head of the institution. It was confirmed that the foundation board is made up heavily of self-perpetuating volunteer members, who are often also alumni. Since foundation boards were seen in the literature as a way to significantly involve community leaders who were non-alumni, it was surprising how many foundations reported heavy alumni representation as required on their boards. These volunteers, unlike the foundation\u27s CEO and other institutional members, have voting privileges and are the people who head the board\u27s committees. Functions of institutionally related foundations were found to involve mostly financial concerns. The sources of revenue for operating the foundation almost always included at least some portion of state funds from the institution, although more independent foundations raised a greater portion of their operating funds from some form of fees-for-services or charges levied on the gifts themselves. Foundations boards were charged almost exclusively with the investing of gift funds, but indicated a high degree of cooperation with the institution, particularly its head, in setting priorities for which the foundation staff conducted fundraising and in the distribution of unrestricted earnings. Virtually all foundations reported they were subject to some form of accountability, both to the institution and to the public, for the funds held in their trust

EFFECTS OF A SUICIDE ASSESSMENT AND INTERVENTION TRAINING ON PARTICIPANT PREPAREDNESS, COMFORT, AND COMPETENCE

This study evaluated the effects of a six-hour strength-based suicide assessment and treatment workshop on participants knowledge, feelings of comfort and preparedness, skills and confidence, and self-reported suicide competence. Participants included school and mental health counselors, as well as other professions in related fields who completed one of the three workshops in Billings, Bozeman, or Victor, Montana. Participants completed a pretest before engaging in the six-hour workshop, and then completed a posttest packet immediately following the workshop. Participants were assessed using the SCAF (Cramer et al., 2013), and three unpublished measures: Suicide Knowledge Quiz (SKQ), Suicide Skills Survey (SF-SSS), and workshop reflection tool. This study focused on whether previous training in graduate school or post graduate school predicted higher pretest scores on all measures. This study also evaluated treatment effects by analyzing pretest and posttest scores on all measures. Generally, significance was found across all measures. Conclusions and recommendations for research are provided

An evaluation of exercises for the development of word recognition and word meaning in grade five

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

An evaluation of exercises for the development of word recognition and word meaning in grade five

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Weight Stigma & Communication Skills: Experiential Learning to Reduce Bias

Background: Weight-based bias contributes to disparate health outcomes. Implicit bias of healthcare professionals is a driver in these disparities. The purpose of this study was to evaluate weight bias in baccalaureate nursing students and to determine if interacting with a person who is obese in simulation decreased their weight bias. Design: A single group pretest-posttest parallel convergent mixed-methods design was used. Setting: All participants were baccalaureate nursing students enrolled in their first semester of nursing courses in one university in the western United States. Methods: Participants\u27 attitudes were measured using a survey comprised of the Fat-Phobia Scale, the Beliefs About Obese Persons scale, and open ended questions before and after introduction of a communication tool and simulation experience. Quantitative (t-test and Mann-Whitney U) and qualitative (content analysis) findings were triangulated under the Theory of Cultural Humility. Results: Students’ attitudes trended towards positive attributes, individualized patient-centered care, and cultural humility

Moving like a kid again : an analysis of Parkour as free-form adult play

Parkour is a sport that developed in France in the late 1980s that is described as the art of movement. The objective of the participant is to choose a route of their own making, from an arbitrary Point A to Point B, and move through that route as efficiently as possible, overcoming any obstacles that are along the way. As of 2011, Parkour has become an international pastime, with practitioners, called traceurs, participating all over the world. This thesis proposes that Parkour is a form of play, specifically locomotor play. The movements that make up this type of play are universal as to be identifiable cross-species in all primates. Several researchers are beginning to discuss an evolutionary or innate set of play behaviors, particularly movements seen in locomotor play. Qualitative ethnographic data was collected on traceurs and compared with previous studies of play performed on children and primates. The qualitative data indicates that Parkour fits well into the descriptions and definitions of play as discussed in previous studies. No quantitative analysis or analysis of movement has previously been performed on Parkour to analyze the behavior of traceurs and to see if it fits in with play research. Using publicly available videos, new quantitative data is introduced that demonstrates that traceurs are using the same locomotor movements seen in all other primates, and it is proposed that Parkour is a good fit with innate free-form locomotor play. Findings are discussed, as well as what other applications this research may have

A Case Study of the Development of an eCoach

Internship is a critical feature of teacher preparation programs and can be one of the most influential experiences for teacher candidates. New technologies, such as eCoaching, demonstrate promising results in providing richer experiences to teacher candidates during internship. eCoaching allows university supervisors to provide real-time feedback on instruction and has proven effective at improving teacher change. However, eCoaching is different from traditional university supervision. In this case study, we describe the evolution of a traditional university supervisor using eCoaching for the first time and the support she needs to be effective. Implications are discussed

Utilizing Activity-Based Costing To Manage The Maintenance Function In A Manufacturing Company

Maintenance is the term used by many industries and businesses to describe the broad functions associated with preserving assets.  Of course, preserving assets requires the expenditure of funds.  In many industries, the amount of monetary funds dedicated to maintenance functions can exceed 40% of a typical operating budget.  However, even at this level of spending, management decision-making in the maintenance area is generally accomplished without the necessary information or strategy other business areas demand

Religiosity, Delinquency, and the Deterrent Effects of Informal Sanctions

Past research in deterrence theory suggests that informal social sanctions intervene in the effect of religiosity on criminal and delinquent behavior, such that more religious individuals tend to perceive stronger informal sanctions (Grasmick, Bursik and Cochran 1991a; Grasmick, Kinsey and Cochran 1991b). This study examines the influence of religiosity and social deterrence on college students\u27 delinquent behavior, as measured by anticipated violation of a university\u27s alcohol policy. Data were collected through a survey of undergraduate students (n = 484) at a large South-Midwestern public university that instituted a campus alcohol ban. The survey took place three months after the ban was implemented and asked students about religiosity, perceptions of informal deterrence, and expectations of violating the policy. Results partially support the hypothesis that religiosity predicts conformity primarily through the deterrent threat of informal sanctions. Religiosity increased perceived threats of shame and embarrassment, which in turn reduced the likelihood of anticipated policy violation. When controlling for demographics, college lifestyle, attitudes, and past drinking behavior, shame remained a significant predictor of expected policy violation, but embarrassment did not. Also, contrary to expectations, one measure of fundamentalist religiosity (biblical literalness) retained a direct main effect on intended compliance, even when taking informal sanctions into account. Theoretical, methodological, and policy implications are discussed

Experimenting with Cigarettes and Physical Activity Among Mexican Origin Youth: A Cross Sectional Analysis of the Interdependent Associations Among Sensation Seeking, Acculturation, and Gender

Sensation seeking tendencies tend to manifest during adolescence and are associated with both health-compromising behaviors and health-enhancing behaviors. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between sensation seeking and physical activity, a health-enhancing behavior, and between sensation seeking and experimenting with cigarettes, a health compromising-behavior, among a cohort of Mexican origin adolescents residing in the United States with different levels of acculturation. Methods: In 2009, 1,154 Mexican origin youth (50.5% girls, mean age 14.3 years (SD = 1.04)) provided data on smoking behavior, physical activity, linguistic acculturation, and sensation seeking. We conducted Pearson's chi(2) tests to examine the associations between categorical demographic characteristics (i.e. gender, age, country of birth and parental educational attainment) and both cigarette experimentation and physical activity and Student's t-tests to examine mean differences on the continuous variables (i.e. sensation seeking subscale) by the behaviors. We examined mean differences in the demographic characteristics, acculturation, and both behaviors for each of the sensation seeking subscales using analysis of variance (ANOVA). To examine relationships between the sensation seeking subscales, gender, and both behaviors, at different levels of acculturation we completed unconditional logistic regression analyses stratified by level of acculturation. Results: Overall, 23.3% had experimented with cigarettes and 29.0% reported being physically active for at least 60 minutes/day on at least 5 days/week. Experimenting with cigarettes and being physically active were more prevalent among boys than girls. Among girls, higher levels of sensation seeking tendencies were associated with higher levels of acculturation and experimentation with cigarettes, but not with physical activity. Among boys, higher levels of sensation seeking tendencies were associated with higher levels of acculturation, experimenting with cigarettes and being physically active. Conclusions: Our results suggest that interventions designed to prevent smoking among Mexican origin youth may need to address social aspects associated with acculturation, paying close attention to gendered manifestations of sensation seeking.National Cancer Institute CA105203, CA126988Caroline W. Law Fund for Cancer PreventionDan Duncan Family Institute for Cancer Prevention and Risk AssessmentCenter for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research in Underserved Population