Area Agencies on Aging Provide Crucial Support for Older New Yorkers During COVID-19

This research brief discusses how Area Agencies on Aging are providing crucial support for older NewYorkers during COVID-19

The impact of market perception on sovereign default risk in the European Union

The recent debt crisis in the European Union has resulted in the differential treatment of Greece’s debt due in large part to market perception. This is evident in the large differences in credit default swap spreads between Greece and other periphery countries in Europe. The goal of this thesis is to explore the differential treatment, and determine the magnitude of this difference. In order to do this, a fixed effect regression is implemented to first determine that a difference exists. Then, a perception index is created in order to determine the magnitude of the market perception. Using these methods we find that Greek debt was treated differently even when compared to other periphery countries

Aging-in-Place Organizations are Key to Building Disaster Resilience for Older Adults

COVID-19 has tragically demonstrated the serious threat that pandemics and other disasters pose to older adults’ health, safety, and well-being. What role can senior centers and senior villages play in protecting older adults’ health and building their resilience during COVID-19 and other disasters

Tips for Communicating with Older Adults about COVID-19

Given the severe health risks coronavirus presents for older adults, it is critical to effectively communicate the risk. This brief describes strategies on how to effectively communicate with this population while keeping their comfort and safety in mind

Health is Political: Public Health Practitioners and Researchers Should be Trained Accordingly

Policy has long been considered a core element of public health practice. The COVID-19 pandemic has made clear that public health practice and research exist within a political context that cannot be ignored

New York State’s Population is Aging: Will Communities Be Ready?

The population is aging nation-wide, and New York State is no exception. 3.2 million New Yorkers (nearly one in six), are aged 65 and older, and the older adult population is growing faster than any other group in the state. This issue brief explains what it means to “age in place” and how New York State is responding to the large increase in older adults state wide

A Thumb on the Scale: Chinese Investment and Influence in Ecuador and Colombia

Over the past two decades, Chinese involvement in the developing world has increased dramatically, raising concerns over the intentions behind the provision of development packages. Critics have accused China of a practice known as debt-trap diplomacy, a method of ensnaring less developed nations by providing more loans than those nations have the ability to feasibly pay back. While China denies that their loan and investment packages are provided with any ulterior motive, the influence held by an investor like China has the potential to impact these partner countries for decades to come. In light of the scope of China’s role in the developing world, this project focuses on two case studies in order to dive deeper into the potential influence generated by Chinese investment. The case studies are Colombia and Ecuador, each of which allows a glimpse into Chinese involvement in developing economies in Latin America. Further, each proves an example as to how such intense investment, such as large infrastructure loans in Ecuador or newly heavy involvement in the Colombian oil sector, affects the nations that receive it. Within each country, this paper delves into projects and development driven by Chinese investment, showcases the level of investment in each country, and analyzes the influence China stands to gain through its investments. To understand this influence, this paper draws inspiration from the CIA’s Conceptual Framework for Analysis of Influence, which looks at the domain, scope, and cost of influencing another state. This general framework is used to analyze both present outcomes and future potentials. Overall, this paper finds that Chinese investment in the case studies does act as a tool by which China can further its policy goals in the region, but each case presents limitations of that tool

Evaluating interpretive programs

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1998In the face of budgetary shortfalls there needs to be more, not less interpretive program evaluation. Direct evaluation includes the visitor in the evaluation process. Focus groups were tested to achieve direct evaluation for three types of evaluation: front-end, formative, and summative. These tests led to a simplified focus group technique that combines the evaluation objectives, questioning schedule, data recording, analysis, and reporting into one working document resulting in a more efficient and effective method. The Synthesized Model for integrating evaluation and the program development process is presented. The model links the three types of evaluation to appropriate program development stages. It is suggested that direct evaluation with focus groups would fit the model well

Academic Work Ethic in Middle School Students: Extending Scale Research and Investigating Construct Validity

This three-study dissertation was designed to: 1) extend the research on Parkhurst’s (2013) Academic Work Ethic-Student (AWE-S) scale, 2) develop and analyze reliability of the Academic Work Ethic-Teacher (AWE-T) scale, and 3) expound on the construct validity of academic work ethic by comparing AWE-S and AWE-T scores to external factors (i.e., grades, perceived support, and parental work ethic) and Grit (Duckworth, 2007), a similar construct. Research was conducted in both rural and urban middle schools in Tennessee and included student, teacher, and parent participants. Both scales were found to have high reliability coefficients and stable factor structures. Student scale (AWE-S) means were moderately, significantly correlated with a variety of variables, including persistence in a math task, classroom grades in math and an elective course, teacher scale (AWE-T) means, and students’ perceived support in pursuing postsecondary education. The AWE-S was also found to be significantly related to the Grit Scale for Children. The AWE-T, completed by teachers regarding students’ academic work ethic, was found to be highly, significantly correlated between teachers and predictive of classroom grades. In fact, up to 87% of variance in classroom grades was accounted for by the scales combined. The ability to accurately and consistently measure academic work ethic, as well as the construct’s predictive relationship to student behavior and grades, gives rise to a variety of practical applications for these scales. Future researchers and administrators should consider using the AWE-S and AWE-T to measure academic work ethic in middle school students, screen for students at academic risk or with a lack of support in academic achievement, and inform programs designed to teach positive work ethic skills and behaviors, in order to promote success in school and beyond