Remember the Fillmore: The Lingering History of Urban Renewal in Black San Francisco

In the summer of 2008, I moved to San Francisco, California. I lived in the city for three months. As a researcher, my objective was to learn more about Mayor Gavin Newsome’s African-American Out-Migration Task Force. The Task Force convened in 2007 and met eight times from August to December. In 2009, the Mayor\u27s office released a final report on the Redevelopment Agency\u27s website that summarized the history of blacks in the city and outlined several recommendations for reversing their flight. The final report found that the political, economic, and social conditions of African-Americans are disproportionately more dire than any other group in San Francisco. During our conversations, some task force members suggested that this dire condition could be due to the lack of a black middle-class, which could act as a “connective tissue” between San Francisco’s poor black community and the city’s decision makers. The Task Force reported that although blacks had been in San Francisco for decades, many African-Americans, especially poor blacks, often felt disconnected from much of the city life. That finding resonated with what I heard during my interviews with the middle- to upper-middle class African-American members of the Task Force and with my observations of how residents and visitors shared public space in the Fillmore neighborhood, one of the city’s historically black neighborhoods. [excerpt

Leaving the Armed Forces and Living as a Civilian: An Exploratory Study of Everyday Decision-Making

Glyndwr University was funded by Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) to conduct this exploratory study of identity and transition from the Armed Forces to civilian life. Using the premise of a link between identity and perspective this research reveals influences of a collective military identity/perspective on everyday accounts of decision-making. An enduring frame of r eference is identified that offers a rich context for understanding tensions and challenges experienced by those leaving the Armed Forces. The findings focus on five significant ar eas of decision-making: Moving forward, Putting down roots, Changing pace, Living the moment and Being a veteran. The report outlines the methods used which include in-depth interview to form a context of understanding some of the challenges experienced and online concept-mapping to provide a prioritised view of recommendations. A model of transition is proposed that requires a cultural shift within the civilian community to become more aware of and sensitive to tensions experienced by veterans in their approach to everyday decision-making. The report will have relevance to Local Authority policymakers, the NHS, Public Sector Service educators and Third Sector Support organisations. It will be of interest to civilians working in the field of veteran research and it will have r elevance to community workers supporting the delivery of the Armed Forces Covenant. Glyndwr University is a Higher Education Institute in North East Wales that aims to improve education for access to employment, as part of a widening participation agenda. It has made a commitment to review and implement recommendations made in this report as part of a curricula development initiative for preparing Nurses, Social Workers, Prison and Police, Teachers and Housing Officers. The research draws on the wide demography acr oss six Local Authorities of North Wales. It recruited participants using a range of strategies that were intended to raise the profile of the Local Authorities’ inter est in wanting to understand the needs of veterans in both rural and urban areas

A rapid review of evidence relating to service use, experiences, and support needs of adults from minority ethnic communities along the eyecare pathway in the United Kingdom

Background: There is growing awareness of the health inequalities experienced by minority ethnic communities, who make up an increasing proportion of the United Kingdom (UK) population and have been found to be at increased risk of visual impairment (V.I.). V.I. impacts on a wide range of life domains including employment, social functioning and activities of daily living. Considering existing health inequalities, the increased risk of V.I. and its wide-ranging impact, it is important to understand the experiences of adults from minority ethnic communities living with V.I. in the UK. / Methods: A rapid evidence review of academic and gray literature published since 2005 and in English was performed. A search of AMED, CINAHL Plus and MEDLINE via EBSCOhost identified 969 articles. Articles were included in the review if they reported findings relating to the UK-context, to adults from minority ethnic communities living with V.I., and to experiences of V.I. and the eyecare pathway. / Results: A total of 11 academic articles and 4 charity reports presented findings relating to perceptions of V.I. and eye disease (n = 3), access to services and service use (n = 5), impact of interventions (n = 7), the wider impact of V.I. (n = 2), and registration status (n = 1). Much of the literature focused on primary eyecare resulting in a comprehensive list of barriers and recommendations to increase eye tests. Less research addressed experiences and use of services further along the eyecare pathway although use of services may be low. Overall, the research on the experiences of adults with V.I. from minority ethnic communities in the UK remains anecdotal, outdated or unavailable. There are substantial gaps in the evidence relating to the wider impact of V.I., the impact of perceptions of V.I., and the use of services beyond primary eyecare. / Conclusions: This review summarizes our current knowledge of the experiences of adults from minority ethnic communities living with V.I. in the UK and highlights substantial gaps in the evidence. The findings provide practical implications for practitioners and researchers committed to addressing health inequalities in the field of eyecare in the UK

Assessing and addressing domestic abuse by Ex-armed service personnel

In the context that separate peer-led services are increasingly being developed to meet the needs of Ex-armed service personnel (Ex-asp) in the criminal justice system, we explore whether such services should also be developed to address any tendencies towards domestic abuse. Based on interviews with 12 imprisoned Ex-asp and 10 service affiliated informants working with them, we found domestic abuse is not always recognised as a potential problem for Ex-asp. Nonetheless, respondents suggested that interventions to address the potential for domestic abuse by some Ex-asp would be useful and legitimate if they are provided by those with service affiliations. Considering our findings, however, we strike a note of caution about separate and peer-led approaches becoming the default option for working with Ex-asp in the criminal justice system. We suggest the gendered nature of military culture may be associated with concerns about the implications of re-engaging Ex-asp with their military identities. Moreover, being steeped in military culture, we suggest that without training some service affiliated staff may be unsighted on important aspects that the role gender expectancies play in domestic abuse and poorly placed to respond appropriately to this type of offending

A Participatory Exercise in Developing Syllabi with Adult Learners

Access the online Pressbooks version of this article here. Transformative participatory approaches in education are positioned to challenge traditional models where instructors bear all responsibility for knowledge creation and learners are passive recipients of knowledge. The promotion of participatory learning and critical pedagogy is essential to helping professionals seeking to understand oppressive structural barriers and employing strategies to dismantle these structures. This article describes a participatory approach undertaken to guide learners through an exercise to co-create syllabus content in a graduate social work course. Learners identified three themes, concerns, fears, and problems, related to the course material. Learners were also asked to think about how they could address the three themes to apply new information to problem solve. Through the syllabus cloud activity, learners shaped course content, decided on the format to deliver content, and applied their status as adult learners in an intentional way. As educators prepare to critically and intentionally dismantle aspects of the learning milieu that may perpetuate systems of oppression, collaborative learning and teaching can help to reduce oppressive practices. Reflections for formative and summative evaluation and future research are discussed

Alice Bird Letter to Minnie Bird

This edition is created from the manuscript of Alice Bird’s letter to her Sister-in-Law, Minnie Bird, on April 1, 1909. Within this letter, Alice corresponds with Minnie, answering a previous letter and relaying events of the past several weeks, including typical day-to-day news of her husband, Terrell (Minnie’s younger brother). Alice also details a shopping trip to buy a new dress, describes an evening out with Terrell, and asks of more news from “home.” This is a very personal letter, and it is apparent that Alice and Minnie have a close relationship, even though Alice and Terrell moved from Cullowhee, NC to Los Angeles, CA shortly after their marriage in January of 1909. Alice was born August 22, 1890, and her maiden name was Alice McGuire. Her husband, Terrell Bird (listed in varying documents as JT Bird, James T Bird, and J Terrell Bird) was born May 25, 1885 in Cullowhee, NC, and along with Minnie, is the child of Charlie A. and Sarah E. Bird

Social and health outcomes following upgrades to a national housing standard: a multilevel analysis of a five-wave repeated cross-sectional survey

Background: While existing research indicates that housing improvements are associated with health improvements, less is known about the wider social and health benefits of meeting national housing standards, as well as those of their specific constituent measures. This study evaluates the impacts of a managed housing upgrade programme through a repeated cross-sectional survey design. Methods: A five-wave repeated cross-sectional survey was conducted over a seven-year period from 2009 to 2016 (n = 2075; n = 2219; n = 2015; n = 1991; and n = 1709, respectively). The study followed a managed upgrade programme designed to meet a national social housing standard over an extended period. The data were analysed from a multilevel perspective to take account of the time-dependent nature of the observations and differences in socio-demographic composition. Results: The installation of the majority of individual housing measures (new windows and doors; boilers; kitchens; bathrooms; electrics; loft insulation; and cavity/external wall insulation) were associated with improvements in several social (housing suitability, satisfaction, and quality; thermal comfort and household finances) and health (mental, respiratory and general health) outcomes; and analyses showed relationships between the number of measures installed and the total amount invested on the one hand and the social and health outcomes on the other. There were however a few exceptions. Most notably, the installation of cavity wall insulation was associated with poorer health outcomes, and did not lead to better social outcomes. Also, no association was found between the number of measures installed and respiratory health. Conclusions: The study suggests that substantial housing investments through a managed upgrade programme may result in better social and health outcomes, and that the size of the improvements are proportionate to the number of measures installed and amount invested. However, there may be risks associated with specific measures; and more attention is needed for mechanical ventilation when upgrading energy efficiency of houses through fabric work. In addition to providing new evidence regarding the wider social and health outcomes, the study provides an analytical approach to evaluate upgrade programmes that are delivered over multiple years

Progressive early-years approaches and the disadvantaged learner – the case of the Welsh Foundation Phase

Research increasingly shows early-years education can have positive impacts on longer-term outcomes, especially for children from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. However, the impact of large-scale curriculum reforms is not well understood. Embedded within international debates on educational approaches, this study addresses a gap in empirical knowledge by investigating the impact of a progressive, statutory, curriculum reform - the Foundation Phase (FP) - introduced across Wales with an aim of improving children’s life chances, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. It both examines the extent to which the FP has impacted attainment in the early-years and mitigated the impact of poverty on pupil outcomes, and how it is enacted and perceived by practitioners, particularly in relation to these learners. A three-phased sequential mixed methods approach was adopted. Phase One drew on a statistical analysis of administrative attainment data for all Year 2 pupils over a six-year period; Phase Two on a national survey of FP Lead Practitioners; and Phase Three on an analysis of data derived from semi-structured case study teacher interviews. Data from an earlier evaluation of the FP was also used to make comparisons over time. The findings exposed an important contradiction: despite improvements in overall attainment and reduced poverty-based gaps at lower levels, progress towards mitigating poverty’s impact on higher levels of attainment was limited. However, an increasing proportion of teachers felt that learners from disadvantaged backgrounds especially benefited from the programme. This needed elucidation. Subsequently, the research raised concerns about how attainment in the early-years is understood and measured, how this impacts practice, and that under current funding arrangements, tensions particularly unique to schools in disadvantaged areas, may limit teacher and pupil capacity to engage with the curriculum’s design. Important implications for equity and social justice are identified for consideration in the implementation of similar curricula in schools in disadvantaged areas and the new national curriculum in Wales