2 research outputs found
An Analysis of the Nonprofit and Volunteer Capacity-Building Industries in Central Texas
Based on a Collaboration of
The LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin
&
The Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M
UniversityRecent research has identified explosive growth in the nonprofit sector and an increased
interest in evaluating and improving nonprofit performance through organizational capacity
building. The growing emphasis on capacity-building services for nonprofits nationwide has
resulted in the need for better information about support services for the sector. Considering the
burgeoning role of capacity building in nonprofit operations, it is important to understand more
about the industry that provides support and resources to nonprofits, including in the growing
communities located in Central Texas. This report represents the first comprehensive study of
nonprofit and volunteer capacity-building activities in Central Texas.
The result of a unique collaboration between graduate students at the Bush School of
Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University and the Lyndon B. Johnson School of
Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin, this study was conducted under the
supervision of Dr. Angela Bies at the Bush School and Dr. Sarah Jane Rehnborg at the LBJ
School. Twenty-three graduate students in both programs conducted the research and analysis for
this report from September 2005 through April 2006. The Bush School and the RGK Center for
Philanthropy and Community Service at the LBJ School provided funding for the study. The
project also partnered on a pro bono basis with two client organizations, the United Way Capital
Area and the Texas Nonprofit Management Assistance Network.
The primary research objective was to replicate two recent studies. The first was Millesen
and Bies 2004 report for the Forbes Funds, An Analysis of the Pittsburgh Region s Capacity-
Building Industry. The second was an examination of volunteer management capacity
modeled on a nationwide volunteer management study (Hager, 2004) conducted by the Urban
Institute in collaboration with the Corporation for National and Community Service. Because our
research took place in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, we also explored
nonprofit capacity issues related to emergency interventions, particularly how crises affect
organizations needs for and uses of capacity building.United Way Capital Area; Texas Nonprofit Management Assistance Networ
Resting-state neural signatures of depressive symptoms in acute HIV
Depressive symptoms are often elevated in acute and chronic HIV. Previous neuroimaging research identifies abnormalities in emotion-related brain regions in depression without HIV, including the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and amygdala. However, no studies have examined the neural signatures of depressive symptoms in acute HIV infection (AHI). Seed-based voxelwise resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) for affective seed regions of interest (pregenual ACC, subgenual ACC [sgACC], bilateral amygdala) was computed for 74 Thai males with AHI and 30 Thai HIV-uninfected controls. Group analyses compared rsFC of ACC and amygdala seed regions between AHI and uninfected control groups. Within the AHI group, voxelwise regression analyses investigated the relationship between depressive symptoms and rsFC for these affective seed regions. Group analyses revealed alterations in rsFC of the amygdala in AHI versus uninfected controls. Depressive symptoms associated with decreased rsFC between ACC regions and posterior cingulate/precuneus, medial temporal, and lateral parietal regions in AHI. Symptoms of depression also correlated to increased rsFC between ACC regions and lateral prefrontal cortex, sgACC, and cerebellum in AHI. Similar to the ACC, depressive symptoms associated with decreased rsFC between amygdala and precuneus. Of blood biomarkers, only HIV RNA inversely correlated with rsFC between posterior sgACC and left uncus. We found that depressive symptoms in AHI associate with altered rsFC of ACC and amygdala regions previously implicated in depression. Longitudinal research in this cohort will be necessary to determine whether these early alterations in rsFC of affective network regions are related to persistent depressive symptoms after combination antiretroviral therapy