Climate Policy 2015: Reports from the Congressional Trenches

The bipartisan commentary by Peter Mills and Sharon Tisher urges action in Congress to address the problem of climate change, and stems from interviews with Senator Susan Collins, Senator Angus King, and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree regarding their climate-related initiatives in 2015

Using Ethnographic Interviewing to Learn About Your Faculty

We were part of a nineteen institution ethnographic study on the research practices and support needs of agriculture faculty, under the auspices of Ithaka S+R in 2016. We will use our work to illustrate how ethnographic interviewing works. We will discuss: Training and preparation The process of recruiting and interviewing, and interview transcription. Coding & analysis of results, mapping findings from the interview transcriptions Our findings and conclusions which, though drawn from agriculture, are potentially applicable to a broader range of science researchers Our message to attendees is that anyone can do this research with the right preparation and support. We hope to initiate a conversation about the process and outcome of ethnographic research, what participants can learn from it, and ideas on how to use that knowledge going forward.The project was funded by the University of Connecticut Libraries, Ithaka S+R , and the US Agricultural Information Network

Research Support Study: Agriculture; University of Connecticut Local Report

The local University of Connecticut report of a 19 institution ethnographic agriculture research support study done with Ithaka S+R

Experiencing Homelessness in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois: Resources and Needs for Shelter and Supportive Services

In August 2002, The Salvation Army commissioned the Applied Social Research Unit (ASRU) of Illinois State University to conduct research about homelessness, housing needs and availability, and resources and needs for supportive services. The Salvation Army of Bloomington, Illinois, plans to rebuild its current homeless shelter, Safe Harbor. The primary goal of ASRU’s research and this report is to inform The Salvation Army’s plans for shelter design, utilization, and associated programming. (A separate addendum to this report released to The Salvation Army contains information specific to the Bloomington Corps’s and Safe Harbor Shelter’s operations and facilities.) A potential outcome of this report—one called for by study participants—is increased community awareness about homelessness issues. Increased awareness can strengthen connections among people experiencing homelessness, community organizations and services (e.g., health and human services, government, faith-based), and McLean County residents to address homelessness and related issues

The Role of Family Support in the Relationship Between Childhood Obesity and the Number of Days Bullied in Trinidad

There is limited data on childhood obesity and the number of days bullied in Trinidad and Tobago. This study examined the association between childhood obesity and the number of days an obese child has been bullied in Trinidad in the past 30 days, with family support as a moderator. The theoretical framework for this study was Bronfenbrenner’s social-ecological model, which posits that a child’s microsystems are instrumental in influencing their behaviors. A self-administered low-cost 2017 Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) was used for this cross-sectional study. The sample comprised 2,229 school adolescents 13 to 17 years of age. Childhood obesity was measured using the World Health Organization’s criteria to define obesity for the 2017 GSHS. A moderated regression analysis was used for the study. Findings indicate that underweight, overweight, obese, age, and gender did not predict (p = .523) the number of days a child is bullied in Trinidad and Tobago. Adding the interaction term did not yield significant results (p = .306). However, when family support was added to the model, the findings were significant p \u3c .001. Family support directly affects bullying but does not moderate the relationship between childhood obesity and bullying. The social change implications are that findings can be used to educate educators and school administrators in Trinidad and Tobago and alleviate bullying incidents

Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation (tVNS) applications in cognitive aging: a review and commentary

Differentiating healthy from pathological aging trajectories is extremely timely, as the global population faces an inversion where older adults will soon outnumber younger 5:1. Many cognitive functions (e.g., memory, executive functions, and processing speed) decline with age, a process that can begin as early as midlife, and which predicts subsequent diagnosis with dementia. Although dementia is a devastating and costly diagnosis, there remains limited evidence for medications, therapies, and devices that improve cognition or attenuate the transition into dementia. There is an urgent need to intervene early in neurodegenerative processes leading to dementia (e.g., depression and mild cognitive impairment). In this targeted review and commentary, we highlight transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation (tVNS) as a neurostimulation method with unique opportunities for applications in diseases of aging, reviewing recent literature, feasibility of use with remote data collection methods/telehealth, as well as limitations and conflicts in the literature. In particular, small sample sizes, uneven age distributions of participants, lack of standardized protocols, and oversampling of non-representative groups (e.g., older adults with no comorbid diagnoses) limit our understanding of the potential of this method. We offer recommendations for how to improve representativeness, statistical power, and generalizability of tVNS research by integrating remote data collection techniques

The prevalence of hepatitis C virus among people of South Asian origin in Glasgow: results from a community based survey and laboratory surveillance

Background South Asians often present late with HCV or HBV related liver disease which could have been avoided with early diagnosis and subsequent treatment; however the prevalence of HCV/HBV among South Asians in Glasgow is not known. Accordingly, to inform the need for case finding among this group we aimed to examine the prevalence of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) among South Asians living in Glasgow. Methods A community-based survey recruited individuals at six mosques and four community centres serving the South Asian community during 2009-2010; participants had predominantly never been HCV tested. Laboratory surveillance data involving all individuals tested for HCV during 1993-2009 were examined and South Asians were identified using Nam Pehchan software. Results In the community-based survey, 2.6% of 1288 participants tested HCV-antibody positive; the prevalence ranged from 0.6% among those born in the UK to 3.1% among those born in Pakistan. The odds of testing HCV-antibody positive were significantly raised among those who had surgery in South Asia (aOR: 5.0, 95% CI: 2.0-12.3) and had either medical/dental treatment or an injection in South Asia (aOR: 2.2, 95% CI: 1.0-5.0). Of 6404 South Asians identified from laboratory surveillance data, 9.3% tested HCV positive. An estimated 38% (330/870) of HCV-infected South Asians living in Glasgow remain undiagnosed. Conclusions South Asians living in Glasgow, particularly those born outside the UK are at greater risk of HCV infection than the general population. Efforts to increase awareness and testing in this population are warranted.</p