Embedded Foundations: Advancing Community Change and Empowerment

· Embedded funders are foundations that have made long-term commitments to the communities in which they are located or work. · Foundations have a long history in funding community development, often with few concrete results. · Political conditions, the increasing divide between rich and poor, inaccessibility of education, lack of housing, and continued segregation and racial discrimination are issues that need be addressed concurrently and resources need to be drawn from a variety of sources, particularly the neighborhoods themselves. This complexity has created an impetus for embedded philanthropy. · Embedded funders work participatively with the community and frame evaluations in less theoretical, more actionable ways. · While the future of embedded philanthropy remains to be seen, there is now a group of funders committed to this way of working

Community Policing (2)

To suggest approaches linking various approaches to community safety and security, community policing and block club creation and support. The overall goal is to provide guidance to residents associated with the Good Neighborhoods Initiative in resources for creating and sustaining comprehensive, locally based safe neighborhoods strategies.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/108536/1/communitypolicing2.pd

“The Boulevard House”: A SETTLEMENT HOUSE APPROACH TO PROJECT BASED LEARNING IN URBAN COMMUNITIES

The Boulevard House is a theoretically framed project-based learning initiative in Southwest (SW) Detroit, the location of multiple projects by faculty in the three UM schools of social work (SSW), music, theater and dance (SMTD) and the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design (PSSA&D). We implement and evaluate the Settlement House approach to enact and measure the effects of this form of project coordination, shared learning opportunities, scholarly and professional contributions and community-university change making. The findings and outcomes can situate discussions of replication of the Settlement House approach to other venues in Detroit and Michigan. The shared learning experiences for students and faculty in these three professional schools can create a space and agenda to develop a more enhanced collaborative program between the SSW, PSSA&D and SMTD for pedagogy of community engagement and social change.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/102739/1/concept paper about the boulevard house and community practice winter 2014 feb 17.pd

“The Boulevard House”: A 21st CENTURY CAMPUS-COMMUNITY SETTLEMENT HOUSE IN DETROIT: Interim Guidelines

Summarizes purpose and principles of practice for the Boulevard Househttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/102741/1/initial guidelines and principles 2012.pd

Co-Designing A Settlement House for El Museo del Norte: Latina/o Museum and Cultural Center Settlement House Conceptual Study

Outlines the initial concept of a School of Social Work settlement house based on community arts in southwest Detroit, Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/102740/1/Settlement house concept paper 2012a.pd

Effects of Cow Mature Size on Intake Calf Weight and Milk Yield in a Spring-calving Commercial Cow/Calf Operation

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of mature BW and cow efficiency on DMI, milk yield, and calf weaning BW on spring calving Angus sired commercial cows. Cows one SD above and one SD below the mean were selected to high (HBW) and low (LBW) BW treatment groups, respectively. Cows were individually fed ad libitum low quality prairie hay. Cows were adapted to pens and diets for 5 days followed by a 5 day collection period. Dry matter intake tended to be higher (P = 0.15) at 10.26 kg/d for HBW cows compared with LBW 9.86 kg/d during late gestation. Intakes only tended to be different (P = 0.06) during early lactation between HBW and LBW, consuming 13.33 and 12.54 kg/d, respectively. Heavy cows consumed more than LBW during late lactation (11.49 vs. 10.26; P = 0.01). No difference in calf weaning BW was found. Annual DMI was 267 kg lower (P = 0.01) for LBW as compared with HBW. Efficiency index was calculated by annual intake divided by adjusted calf weaning BW. No difference was seen in efficiency index between HBW and LBW. Using the efficiency index, 9 cows from experiment 1 were selected; one SD above the mean for low efficiency (LE) treatment group and 9 cows one SD below the mean for a high efficiency (HE) cow treatment group. High efficiency cows had lower DMI than low efficiency cows (8.25 vs. 9.04 kg/d; P = 0.01) during late gestation. During late lactation, HE cows consumed 14.6 % less forage (P = 0.02) than LE. Dry matter intake was 3997 kg/yr for HE as compared with LE cows at 4354 kg/ yr (P = 0.01). Weaning BW was higher (P < 0.01) for HE than LE (222 vs. 178 kg). Heavy BW cows consumed more forage and weaned the same size calf as LBW, while at the same time having similar efficiency index numbers. High efficiency cows consume less forage and wean more calf.Department of Animal Scienc

Using the Miracle Question in Community Engagement and Planning

Actively engaging community members in the revitalization of their neighborhoods is a goal of numerous planning initiatives. In this article, we provide a case example of how the solution-focused brief therapy's "miracle question" was used to engage members of a major metropolitan community in visualizing their dreams and planning strategies for change. Similar to outcomes with therapy clients, community members participated actively and were enthusiastic in communicating their outcomes. Dreams were realistic and important to participants, and suggested strategies were oriented toward first steps and recognized as involving effort by the community. Engagement and retention were sufficient to move forwward with immediate actions and longer-term preparation. Benefits and suggested modifications are offered for community practitioners and researchers employing this method.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/108577/1/UsingtheMiracleQuestion.pd

Take a Second Look at Detroit

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/108568/1/TakeaSecondLookatDetroit-Final.pd

In Defense of the Internet: The Relationship between Internet Communication and Depression, Loneliness, Self-Esteem, and Perceived Social Support

As more people connect to the Internet, researchers are beginning to examine the effects of Internet use on users' psychological health. Due in part to a study released by Kraut and colleagues in 1998, which concluded that Internet use is positively correlated with depression, loneliness, and stress, public opinion about the Internet has been decidedly negative. In contrast, the present study was designed to test the hypothesis that Internet usage can affect users beneficially. Participants engaged in five chat sessions with an anonymous partner. At three different intervals they were administered scales measuring depression, loneliness, self-esteem, and social support. Changes in their scores were tracked over time. Internet use was found to decrease loneliness and depression significantly, while perceived social support and self-esteem increased significantly.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/63277/1/109493102753770552.pd

Helping and Coping Styles as Moderators of Psychological and Somatic Strains (Burnout, Social Workers, Stress).

The purposes of this study were to (a) empirically investigate the presence of four models of helping and coping in a sample of professional helpers, and (b) to examine the relationship between the presence of the models of helping and coping and indices of reported worker burnout and strain. 160 foster care workers at a State Department of Social Services completed a questionnaire with items measuring helping orientation, and psychological and somatic strains. Contrary to expectations, workers could not be classified into categories based solely upon their orientation scores. Median splits of held orientation test scores were employed to classify respondents into analytic categories. Three identifiable response patterns emerged: Undifferentiated Endorsement (high scores across all orientations), Differentiated Endorsement (high scores on one orientation), and Non Endorsement (low scores across all orientations). Analyses of variance and zero-order correlations provided very limited support for associations consistent with the study's hypotheses. A post hoc investigation of the effects of differential model endorsement revealed few significant differences in the dependent measures between Differentiated and Undifferentiated Endorsement. The findings between either Differentiated or Undifferentiated and Non Endorsement groups were mixed. The findings call several key assumptions of the model into question. It was argued that the model must be revised considerably if it is to be a viable framework for comprehending the phenomenon of human coping in stressful situations.Ph.D.Social workUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/160955/1/8612521.pd