Differential parent and teacher reports of school readiness in a disadvantaged community

Differential ratings by multiple informants are an important issue in survey design. Although much research has focused on differential reports of child behaviour, discrepancies between parent and teacher reports of children’s school readiness are less explored.

Report on Children's Profile at School Entry 2008-2009: Evaluation of the 'Preparing For Life' Early Childhood Intervention Programme

The Children's Profile at School Entry (CPSE) was conducted by the UCD Geary Institute who have been commissioned by the Northside Partnership to assess the levels of school readiness in a designated disadvantaged community of Ireland, as part of an overall evaluation of the Preparing for Life (PFL) early childhood intervention programme.

From Picket Lines to Picket Fences: Latinas and the Remaking of the Jim Crow South, 1930-1964

“From Picket Lines to Picket Fences: Latinas and the Remaking of the Jim Crow South, 1930-1964,” traces the transformation of Latina/o politics and culture in Ybor City and Tampa, Florida. This case study examines and compares the actions of two generations of Latinas as they fought for economic equality, social dignity, and political representation in the early battles for labor, women’s, and civil rights in the United States and abroad. I argue that Latinas were effective as political strategists and public figures because their gender facilitated their activism and protected them from the threats of racial and nativist violence experienced by men of color. In turn, these women’s actions and choices became part of a series of changes that would redefine the meaning and power of latinidad in Florida’s political culture. More than a story of regional activism, this project investigates the relationship between the nation and immigration. It considers the impact of global cultures on American identity to ask crucial questions about how race, ethnicity, and political affiliation influence who has access to American citizenship and why this matters. On the micro-level, this dissertation examines how Latinas and Latinos in Florida negotiated the racial and nativist political policies and social mores that governed their everyday lives. It is an untold story of Latina/os in the southeast—one that encourages scholars to consider Jim Crow’s reach as intersectional rather than black and white and highlights the interplay between different racial and ethnic groups as each sought representation. The broader implications of this case study illustrate how these histories of local and regional conflict underline present-day political battles. Historic precedents define and drive national debates surrounding immigration reform and social justice. Understanding the politics of the past brings visibility to unacknowledged histories and challenges resistance to a diverse and inclusive American identity.Doctor of Philosoph

24th National Timber Bridge Design Competition

For the 2016 Senior Design project, our team elected to design and construct a short-span pedestrian bridge for the 24th National Timber Bridge Design Competition. The competition was sponsored by the Southwest Mississippi RC&D council (SMRCD) of the Forest Products Society in association with the American Society of Civil Engineers. There were a number of different design and testing requirements to abide by, including both competition regulations as well as AASHTO guidelines pertaining to the construction of pedestrian bridges. [1] A great deal of diligence was taken to assure that our team performed well in the competition; every rule and regulation was carefully considered and designed to. [5] Throughout the course of this project our team was exposed to many aspects of a structural engineering project: an iterative design process, procurement coordination, and construction. The bridge performed really well during testing, deflecting a mere 7.58m, which was only about 73% of the allowed deflection of 0.42”. This performance, along with other bridge characteristics, lead to the team placing 1st nationally in the competition. Furthermore, in order to contribute to the development of our surrounding community, we worked extensively with the Santa Clara County Parks to arrange a donation. Our hopes are to one-day encounter our finished product in a local park

Practices of climate change adaptation in the Pacific: survey of implementing agencies (phase II)

Various and diverse socio-economic, political and environmental challenges face the countries of the Pacific region. Over the last few decades, climate change has risen to increasing prominence as a key challenge and focal point for both national governments and communities to address. This has largely been a result of the ongoing climate change projections for the Pacific region, coupled with various observations by locals of changes to the climate, seasons and their local environment. Together, these observed and projected impacts of climate change can have profound social, economic and environmental implications for all Pacific Island Countries (PICs). To date, a series of broad-brush climate change related impacts have been reported in the literature; the impacts of which include a significant strain on crucial community sectors such as agriculture and fisheries, freshwater resources, human health, economic security, physical infrastructure and coastal resources

Temperature but not nutrient addition affects abundance and assemblage structure of colonizing aquatic insects

Abiotic conditions are important considerations in the species sorting process, which ultimately determines the distribution and abundance of species. Freshwater ecosystems will be impacted by ongoing temperature rise and other anthropogenically induced changes, such as nutrient enrichment and eutrophication. Changing characteristics of freshwater habitats will likely impact organisms in numerous ways, including through effects on colonization dynamics. Species are expected to colonize habitat patches where fitness will be the highest for themselves and their offspring, and how habitat selection interacts with changing environments remains an important question. We conducted a warming experiment to test the habitat selection preferences of aquatic beetles and hemipterans between habitat patches (mesocosms) of varying temperatures (via heaters), nutrient addition, and their interaction. Overall, insect abundance and richness were higher in unheated patches, with taxon-specific variation in response to heating. Although nutrients had limited effects on environmental conditions in mesocosms, their addition had no significant effects on insects. Insect assemblages had unique structures across heating treatments, with lower beta diversity and higher effective numbers of species in the warmest mesocosms. Our data support the importance of spatial variation in abiotic factors during the habitat selection process, and in determining species distributions and abundances as shallow lentic ecosystems are impacted by rising global temperatures

Foundations in Wisconsin: A Directory [35th ed. 2016]

The 2016 release of Foundations in Wisconsin marks the 35th edition of the print directory and the 16th edition of the online version. The directory is designed as a research tool for grantseekers interested in locating information on private, corporate, and community foundations registered in Wisconsin. Each entry in this new edition has been updated or reviewed to provide the most current information available. Most of the data was drawn from IRS 990-PF tax returns filed by the foundations. Additional information was obtained from surveys, foundation websites, and annual reports. This edition paints a very positive picture of financial growth for Wisconsin foundations. Both grant and asset totals have risen to all-time highs. Of particular note, total grants broke the $600 million barrier, increasing by 8$623 million. Additionally, 58 new foundations have been identified this year. (See page 269 for the complete list.) The following table illustrates the 10-year financial pattern as documented in Foundations in Wisconsin.https://epublications.marquette.edu/lib_fiw/1014/thumbnail.jp

Community Ideas Factory

The Community Ideas Factory is a community-college partnership exploring social innovations within the charitable sector of the Halton Region. It is a collaborative research project between Sheridan College and the Oakville Community Foundation. The goal of the project is to change the philanthropic granting process in Oakville so that it is more bottom-up, participatory, and evidenced-based. The principle community partner on the project is The Foundation (OCF). A community organization tasked with managing and disbursing donor contributions for philanthropic projects in the Town of Oakville. The Community Ideas Factory is made possible by the College-Community Social Innovation Fund of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)