The post title IX portrayal of female athletes in the media

This thesis looks to elaborate on recent studies done by Michael Messner, Cheryl Cooky, Robin H. Hextrum and other scholars regarding the exclusion and misrepresentation of female athletes and women’s sport in the media since the enactment of Title IX in 1972. This thesis provides an overview of the history of Title IX, a detailed analysis of the ways which female athletes are portrayed in the media and trends that have occurred based on the coverage women’s sports have received since 1972. The research included and data collected for this thesis are based on ESPN’s SportsCenter and the headlines on the NY Times sports website. This thesis uses the method of coding to properly evaluate qualitative and quantitative data collected from both mediums, to allow for further discussion and possible suggestions, regarding the hope for an increase in airtime and a more accurate portrayal of women’s sports in the future of the media

Partnership rhetoric and risk realities : the implications of risk in government/non-government family services partnerships

"This empirical study examined risk transfer from the government to the non-government sector within a public/non-profit child and family services delivery partnership. The focus of the investigation was to determine if risk had been transferred from the government to the non-government partner, and how this had impacted on welfare practice, service provision and outcomes for service users. A case study of a 2007 government/non-government child protection and child and family services partnership in the state of Victoria, Australia provided the context for the study. The research framework involved a predominantly qualitative methodology, with the researcher embedded at two Victorian Community Service Organisations (CSOs) for a 12-month period." -- Taken from Abstract.Doctorate of Philosop

LSU Libraries Diversity Residency Program: Planning, Launching, and Assessing

The ACRL Diversity Alliance “unites academic libraries committed to increasing the hiring pipeline of qualified and talented individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups.” As a member of the Alliance, LSU made the commitment to: establish a residency program for at least one individual, lasting a minimum of two years; design experiences at the local level to expand the residents’ interests and skills; serve as a resource to those institutions participating in the ACRL Diversity Alliance; provide at a minimum the same level of professional development support provided other library faculty/staff/employees; and provide a salary for the resident commensurate with the salaries of equivalent entry-level library professionals. In this breakout session, Sigrid Kelsey, who led the implementation of the residency program at LSU Libraries, will talk about what went into laying the groundwork for a successful residency, achieving buy-in, providing professional development for library staff, conducting a search, building a framework for the residency program, and establishing a set of productive rotations and support for the resident. She will reference best practices from other libraries and describe how they might be scaled and adapted to work at any library. Ebony McDonald, who was hired in January 2019 at LSU Libraries’ first Diversity Resident, will discuss her motivations for applying for the residency, the opportunities and challenges presented by her participation in the program, and the impact that it has had thus far on her development as professional

Unlocking aspiration, outcomes and equity by unpacking childcare issues in the Wimmera Southern Mallee

The Unlocking Aspiration, Outcomes and Equity by unpacking childcare issues in the Wimmera Southern Mallee Project (the project) explored issues in childcare provision and access across four rural local government areas (Hindmarsh, West Wimmera, Yarriambiack and Northern Grampians) within the Wimmera Southern Mallee. The intent of this work was to inform the ByFive Wimmera Southern Mallee (WSM) Early Years initiative (ByFive), a place-based community collaboration. ByFive was initiated by the WSM regional partnership in 2018, after the community nominated early childhood as their highest priority. The Victorian Government provides funding to ByFive to work together to redesign and improve early years’ service delivery within the WSM. Through this work the ByFive collaboration seeks to overcome disadvantage and inform whole of government system change to address a range of issues impacting the social, health and developmental outcomes of children by the age of five in the Wimmera Southern Mallee Region

Understanding and addressing digital disadvantage in Wimmera Southern Mallee :Research report

The Understanding and addressing digital disadvantage in Wimmera Southern Mallee Project (the project) explored the challenges Wimmera Southern Mallee residents, focusing on low-income individuals and families, small/micro businesses and migrant groups have in accessing and effectively engaging with digital technology to help guide future regional actions. The project team interviewed 31 people from across five Local Government areas in the Wimmera Southern Mallee (Hindmarsh, West Wimmera, Northern Grampians, Horsham Rural City and Yarriambiack) who have low engagement with digital technology and/or limited internet access, as well as a representative sample of those who work to support those with low digital literacy. Ethnographic research was undertaken to understand the factors that impact on digital engagement and accessibility across the three key demographic groups in the study area. The research investigated people’s access to hardware (e.g. computers, phones and tablets) as well as networks (internet plans and connections – broadband, satellite, mobile etc.). Understanding the challenges in engaging with and interpreting digital technology will help inform future advocacy and policy responses for this region. The research will also facilitate better targeting of information and support to Wimmera Mallee residents to actively improve uptake, access, and engagement. This is important, as the region has been identified as having the lowest digital literacy of any area in Victoria (Australian Digital Inclusion Index 2020)

Social Epidemiology and Spatial Epidemiology: An Empirical Comparison of Perspectives

University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. May 2013. Major: Epidemiology. Advisor: Michael Oakes. 1 computer file (PDF); x, 100 pages.Social and spatial epidemiologists each bring a unique perspective to how they examine contextual or neighborhood-level determinants of health. Although both perspectives draw from epidemiology, social epidemiology is additionally grounded in sociology and causal counterfactual frameworks while spatial epidemiology is heavily influenced by medical geography and predictive models. No study to date has compared these two distinct perspectives, along with their corresponding analytical approaches and model results. Yet this comparison may advance contextual effects research in epidemiology by suggesting methodological enhancements, providing insights into the robustness of our conclusions to the perspective taken, and suggesting whether we can truly identify contextual effects from observational data. To facilitate this comparison we used both perspectives to examine a research question: What is the estimated effect of increasing neighborhood education or income on overweight/obesity, type 2 diabetes, and current smoking, independent of individual-level differences? The social epidemiology approach employed propensity score matching while the spatial approach used approximated spatial multilevel models. Data for this study came from the California Health Interview Survey (2005, 2007, 2009) and the American Community Survey (2006-2010). Results revealed minimal to no effect of neighborhood education and income on overweight/obesity, type 2 diabetes, or current smoking, but estimated effects did vary somewhat by approach. This comparison highlighted fundamentally different goals in social and spatial epidemiology: identifying causal factors to intervene compared to predicting potential causal factors to describe reality. Attempts to improve causal inference in observational studies by integrating analytical techniques across subfields will likely be hampered by different objectives and model requirements. This incompatibility for integration, lack of strong evidence of effects, and the overall identification problem cast further doubt on our ability to identify causal contextual effects using observational data. However, this work may help in the design of experiments, which is where we should now focus

Co-constructing Simulations with Learners: Roles, Responsibilities, and Impact

Co-constructed simulations were designed and piloted with senior occupational therapy master’s students in a neurorehabilitation practice module. The instructor served as the guide for the students through all phases of the case creation, simulation development, delivery, and debrief. The instructor facilitation promoted self-regulated learning (SRL) of knowledge and skill development through independent discovery and peer learning. This paper provides an evidence-informed co-construction simulation design with outlined stages, roles, and responsibilities for the instructor and learner. Thematic qualitative analysis of student feedback highlighted enhanced insight and SRL as a result of multiple role preparation, observation and interaction with peers, close interaction with the instructor, and the multi-stage debrief process. Recommended key features and critical interactions for a successful co-constructed design are also identified for the learner, instructor, and simulation. The co-construction simulation process and design elements are suitable for learners in any health-related field of study

Improving Photoelectron Counting and Particle Identification in Scintillation Detectors with Bayesian Techniques

Many current and future dark matter and neutrino detectors are designed to measure scintillation light with a large array of photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). The energy resolution and particle identification capabilities of these detectors depend in part on the ability to accurately identify individual photoelectrons in PMT waveforms despite large variability in pulse amplitudes and pulse pileup. We describe a Bayesian technique that can identify the times of individual photoelectrons in a sampled PMT waveform without deconvolution, even when pileup is present. To demonstrate the technique, we apply it to the general problem of particle identification in single-phase liquid argon dark matter detectors. Using the output of the Bayesian photoelectron counting algorithm described in this paper, we construct several test statistics for rejection of backgrounds for dark matter searches in argon. Compared to simpler methods based on either observed charge or peak finding, the photoelectron counting technique improves both energy resolution and particle identification of low energy events in calibration data from the DEAP-1 detector and simulation of the larger MiniCLEAN dark matter detector.Comment: 16 pages, 16 figure