The impact of green businesses on the building of sustainable communities

Instilling a sense of community within businesses, the basis of our society, may strengthen community building and therefore our path towards sustainable communities. Thus, through a literature review, buyer behavior, green businesses, sustainable communities, and community building have been defined in order to further research regarding whether green businesses have a more significant impact on the well-being of a community. Additionally, six case studies of local Ypsilanti businesses were conducted through applying the Green America Green Business five-part criteria, sustainable community building criteria, and analogical reasoning to analyze whether a business could be classified as a green company and whether it contributed to extraordinary practices in community building

Tracing ‘21st Century Literacies’ in College and Career Ready State Standards: A Multi-State Scalar Analysis

This paper brings together resources of sociocultural literacy studies (Heath, 1983; Street, 1984; Barton, Hamilton, & Ivanic, 1999) and policy attribute analysis (Porter, Floden, Freeman, Schmidt, & Schwille, 1988) to examine how the meaning of “21st century skills/literacies” - as emphasized in recent college and career-readiness (CCR) standards - is framed and negotiated across state and district scales

Creating Culturally Relevant Instructional Materials: A Swaziland Case Study

In the field of English language learning, research proves that culturally relevant reading materials improve students’ language acquisition, learning motivation, self-esteem, and identity formation. Since English is the language of instruction in many distant countries, such as Swaziland, even when English is not the native language of those countries, how can native English speakers most easily produce and expand the reach of culturally relevant materials for foreign settings that require English materials? In a study involving undergraduate university students, the researchers investigate the extent to which individuals recognize and demonstrate the importance of cultural context and relevance when creating their own books for Swaziland students. From the study, it is clear that the focus must shift from simple book production and donation to first gaining a deeper understanding of the relationship between the learners’ lived realities and the cultural content depicted in the materials. The researchers conclude that five distinct characteristics should be present in instructional material in order to increase the engagement, language acquisition, and self-worth of the English Language Learner

Occupational Therapists’ Perspectives During the COVID-19 Pandemic

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a global pandemic. Hospitals, nursing homes, and communities worldwide were flooded with patients diagnosed with COVID-19, resulting in the increased need for medical care and treatment by health care professionals, such as occupational therapists. This study analyzes output from a quantitative online survey design, which was created on SurveyMonkey and included 43 questions. Data from the survey were collected, categorized, and measured through the SurveyMonkey computer system and included information gathered from 204 occupational therapists from October 2020 to February 2020. Based on the survey results, occupational therapists believe that their profession has an ethical duty to provide skilled interventions to patients diagnosed with COVID-19. The majority of the occupational therapists were worried about their health and their family’s health as a result of COVID-19. In addition, many of the. therapists reported a close contact and subsequent positive test for COVID-19. Health care administrators and leaders should use the common perspectives among health care workers to guide them as they provide additional support and implement changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Interventions that could be implemented by health care administrators include self-care training, psychological support, and safe opportunities to engage in meaningful activities

Year 1 State Report: Kentucky

This report examines how the state of Kentucky approached college- and career-ready standards implementation during a time of transition. As their state legislature mandates a review of the standards and accountability system every six years, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is in the midst of drafting potential revisions for public review and official implementation by summer 2017. For the purposes of this report and in keeping with C-SAIL’s focus, the authors concentrate on implementation of Kentucky’s English language arts (ELA) and math standards

Year 1 State Report: Massachusetts

This report examines how the state of Massachusetts approached college- and career-ready standards implementation during a time of transition, as it develops the Next-Generation Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, or the “Next-Gen MCAS,” in 2015–2016. The transition will take place in 2016–2017, with full implementation of the next-generation assessment by the spring of 2017. For the purposes of this report and in keeping with C-SAIL’s focus, the authors concentrate on implementation of Massachusetts’ English language arts (ELA) and math standards

Year 1 State Report: Ohio

This report examines how the state of Ohio approached college- and career-ready standards implementation during a time of transition, as they revised the Ohio Learning Standards in 2015–2016. The approval process will take place in 2016–2017, with new materials and revised standards ready for the 2017–2018 school year. For the purposes of this report and in keeping with C-SAIL’s focus, the authors concentrate on implementation of Ohio’s English language arts (ELA) and math standards

Year 1 State Report: Texas

This report examines how the state of Texas approached college- and career-ready standards implementation during a time of transition. The state has recently implemented revisions to the math standards and is currently revising the English language arts (ELA) standards. The revised ELA standards are expected to be ready for full implementation in the 2018–2019 school year. For the purposes of this report and in keeping with C-SAIL’s focus, the authors concentrate on implementation of Texas’s ELA and math standards

Journalism And Activism Anew: Participatory Movements With Adolescents Writing For Change

This study followed 15 secondary students as they moved across multiple spaces of an unfolding writing program: a journalism summer writing camp; an educational online community for youth centered on social justice; and school year, drop-in writing workshop sessions. Aiming to understand how adolescent writers shifted participation and writing across these spaces, their perspectives are centered, in line with methodological and epistemological framing in YPAR and theoretical framings focused on movement in relation to power asymmetries: transliteracies and critical literacies. Program spaces were liminal and framed as “Third Spaces.” Data collection was both individual and collaborative with youth and included field notes, surveys, discussions, multimodal artifacts, and interviews. Data analysis involved early collaboration with youth and open, in-vivo coding and narrative analysis. One findings set unpacks liminality as intentional aspects of writing space construction and co-construction characterized by multiplicities in genres, modes, and adult-youth relationships. A second findings set attends to tensions between youth and adult participants (including me) within our spaces, positioning tensions as generative sources of transformation when directly discussed with youth. A third findings set examines interplays between journalism as a shifting genre and our liminal spaces, describing convergences between “citizen journalism” and youth journalistic engagement as personal and social, specifically as creative, narrative, and activist. Collective implications point to the importance of surfacing metacommunicative awareness in writing teaching, learning, and research and suggest participatory ethnography and participatory narrative analysis as future directions for engaging in participatory work with youth that allows choices and practices to emerge

Multi-site Programming Offered to Promote Resilience in Military Veterans: A Process Evaluation of the Just Roll With It Bootcamps

Background and Purpose: Military and veteran suicide rates exceed those found in the general population. Veterans often reject patient identities, creating barriers to care for mental health within the clinical sector and a mandate for prevention programs. The purpose of this study was to offer a postintervention process evaluation of one peer-led resilience program offered to military veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan at three sites in 2013. Methods: Secondary analysis of survey data collected involved mixed-methods analysis of open and closed-ended questions. In total, the research team reviewed 52 electronic survey responses; participant response rate was 48.1%. Results: Descriptive data analysis found that all participants rated Just Roll With It Bootcamp content as “somewhat useful” (17.9%) or “very useful” (82.1%). Qualitative analysis of open-ended questions found that content was perceived as valuable by participants. Emergent themes included: health practices, social support, and participant quality of life or satisfaction. Comments also informed four subthemes which included: meditation/mindfulness, nutrition, physical practice, and the seminars’ physical environment. Conclusion: Culturally-informed prevention programs that emphasize social support, physical movement, and peer-leadership have a vital role to play in working to prevent suicide by promoting quality of life for veterans