Fall 2014, Clean Water and Deep Learning in Gambia

For UNH students who have an opportunity to engage in overseas development projects, the experience can be life-changing. Andrew Obston ‘14 shares this account of his summer internship in Gambia, working with the global development group Agua Inc

A Petition Written by Ricardus Franciscus

This article identifies Ricardus Franciscus as the scribe of Kew, The National Archives, C 49/30/19, a petition seeking the exoneration of the late Duke Humphrey of Gloucester. (d. 1447). The authors provide a palaeographical analysis of the "flamboyant, spiky script" of the well-known scribe Franciscus in this document, which support the identification, as well as the linguistic features. The authors situate the petition within what is known about this scribe's life, patrons, and his written output. The article sheds more light on the scribes of medieval petitions which had hitherto been lacking

An exploration of close relatives' experience of help-seeking for dementia

A qualitative investigation was conducted to explore close relatives’ experiences of symptom recognition and help-seeking for dementia. Nine participants took part in a one-to-one interview. The interviews were semi-structured and aimed to address the following topics: symptom recognition and the process of seeking information and support. Interview transcripts were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Three superordinate themes emerged from the analysis: ‘Developing the courage to act’, ‘Naming the elephant in the room’ and ‘Repositioning’. Findings highlighted how participants shifted from a position of having unspoken fears about their relatives’ symptoms to a point where they were able to address these fears and help their family member to seek help. Participants were engaged in developing representations of dementia, in line with research on the common sense model of illness representations (CSM). The findings highlighted potential areas of improvement for dementia services in the UK, including the provision of greater support for close relatives (e.g. psychological assessment and intervention). Further research, on a larger scale, is needed to determine whether the CSM provides a useful framework for understanding help-seeking for dementia

Carsey Perspectives: Local Owners Driving Lasting Solutions, An Innovative Model for International Development and Poverty Alleviation

In this perspectives brief, authors Ilona Drew, Fiona Wilson, Bill Maddocks discuss a case study that was examined as part of the Social Sector Franchise Initiative (SSFI), a project of the Center for Social Innovation and Enterprise at the University of New Hampshire. This case study describes Jibu, a social sector franchise seeking to simultaneously provide lasting access to affordable clean drinking water and to contribute to economic development through a network of locally-owned franchise businesses in East Africa and beyond. First-time social entrepreneurs are equipped with Jibu’s water purification and other equipment, branding, training, and the capital required to launch franchise locations selling drinking water at prices lower than the charcoal it would cost to boil it