Field Guides for Leaving: A poetic exploration of the hyperlocal in Burlington, Vermont

In times of instability, we look to the land and our community for comfort. Field Guides for Leaving is a collection of seventeen (17) poems written through a hyperlocal lens that focuses on minute details about the poet’s natural and cultural landscape in Burlington, Vermont. The poems use poignant and succinct observations of the hyperlocal to both represent a longing for stability and create an antidote to instability. To cultivate a sense of place, the poems draw parallels between culture and nature to relate emotional landscapes with physical ones. This thesis contributes to the fields of ecopoetry and green studies in its study of the hyperlocal, intentional place-making, and interest in the relationships that we form with place and nature. The poems grapple with personal, communal, and climatic instability such as graduating from college, the COVID-19 pandemic, and climate change

Improving mathematics in key stages two and three:evidence review

This document presents a review of evidence commissioned by the Education Endowment Foundation to inform the guidance document Improving Mathematics in Key Stages Two and Three (Education Endowment Foundation, 2017). There have been a number of recent narrative and systematic reviews of mathematics education examining how students learn and the implications for teaching (e.g., Anthony & Walshaw, 2009; Conway, 2005; Kilpatrick et al., 2001; Nunes et al., 2010). Although this review builds on these studies, this review has a different purpose and takes a different methodological approach to reviewing and synthesising the literature. The purpose of the review is to synthesise the best available international evidence regarding teaching mathematics to children between the ages of 9 and 14 and to address the question: what is the evidence regarding the effectiveness of different strategies for teaching mathematics? In addition to this broad research question, we were asked to address a set of more detailed topics developed by a group of teachers and related to aspects of pupil learning, pedagogy, the use of resources, the teaching of specific mathematical content, and pupil attitudes and motivation. Using these topics, we derived the 24 research questions that we address in this review. Our aim was to focus primarily on robust, causal evidence of impact, using experimental and quasi-experimental designs. However, there are a very large number of experimental studies relevant to this research question. Hence, rather than identifying and synthesising all these primary studies, we focused instead on working with existing meta-analyses and systematic reviews. This approach has the advantage that we can draw on the findings of a very extensive set of original studies that have already been screened for research quality and undergone some synthesis. Using a systematic literature search strategy, we identified 66 relevant meta-analyses, which synthesise the findings of more than 3000 original studies. However, whilst this corpus of literature is very extensive, there were nevertheless significant gaps. For example, the evidence concerning the teaching of specific mathematical content and topics was limited. In order to address gaps in the meta-analytic literature, we supplemented our main dataset with 22 systematic reviews identified through the same systematic search strategy

The Use of Blended Data to Improve Public Assistance Programs: Results from a Partnership between the U.S. Census Bureau, USDA, and State Program Agencies

The Census Bureau is partnering with state public assistance agencies to acquire program participation data and estimate new statistics that deepen a state’s understanding of program participants and improve outreach efforts to those who are eligible but do not participate. In collaboration with the Economic Research Service and the Food and Nutrition Service within the United States Department of Agriculture, the Census Bureau obtains individual-level program participation administrative records (AR) data for three state programs, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Aid for Needy Families (TANF), and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). The Census Bureau constructs a unique data set for each state program by linking the AR data to survey response data for the same individuals. These linked data enable the Census Bureau to model which survey respondents are eligible for program participation and also to observe which eligible individuals participate in the program. The Census Bureau then estimates eligibility and participation rates by a variety of demographic and economic characteristics and by county. The individual-level data also enable the Census Bureau to construct a statistical profile of eligible individuals and families that do not participate to assist state agencies with their outreach programs. All statistical results provided back to state agencies in table reports and data visualizations are reviewed to insure that individual identities are protected and not disclosed. This paper will present results for several state programs that have partnered the Census Bureau

Retention and adherence: global challenges for the long-term care of adolescents and young adults living with HIV

Purpose of review Adolescents living with HIV are the only age group with increasing HIV mortality at a time of global scale-up of access to antiretroviral therapy (ART). As a ‘treat all’ strategy is implemented worldwide, it is critically important to optimize retention and adherence for this vulnerable group. Recent findings Adolescents and young adults living with HIV have poorer outcomes when compared with adults at each stage of the HIV care cascade, irrespective of income setting. Rates of viral suppression are lowest for adolescents living with HIV, and adherence to ART remains an enormous challenge. High-quality studies of interventions to improve linkage to, and retention in, care on suppressive ART are starkly lacking for adolescents and young adults living with HIV across the globe. However, examples of good practice are beginning to emerge but require large-scale implementation studies with outcome data disaggregated by age, route of infection, and income setting, and include young pregnant women and key populations groups. Summary There is an urgent need for evidence-based interventions addressing gaps in the adolescent HIV care cascade, including supporting retention in care and adherence to ART

A Typology for Families At Risk For Child Maltreatment

Extensive research has considered the risk factors that predict child maltreatment outcomes, but little, if any, research has examined risk using methods other than those related to the summation of those risk factors. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate common predictors of child maltreatment from a mixture modeling perspective. This quantitative study uses eight risk factors for child maltreatment and associates them with two outcomes: parent perpetration of child maltreatment and parental attitudes toward sensitivity. The study sample consists of 604 biological mothers from four sites of the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN). Risk factor data was used to create latent classes that represent a risk typology. Individual sites from Baltimore (n = 163), Chicago (n = 176), North Carolina (n = 132), and Seattle (n = 133) were compared to see if a similar risk typology was found for the individual sites when compared to the entire sample. A three latent class risk typology emerged from the entire sample and three of the four LONGSCAN sites. The latent class with the most risk emerged as having the highest percentage of child maltreatment outcomes. With these types of outcomes, multiple risk factors coming together should be the strongest hallmark in the assessment of child maltreatment. Maternal history of victimization was also determined to be an important factor in child maltreatment outcomes, therefore, highlighting the importance of the individual nature of risk as it relates to child maltreatment. In addition, mothers who are younger in age and have low income have lower sensitivity scores. These scores are predictive of less than ideal parenting attitudes. The research presented in this study has been dedicated to taking the popular approach of summing risk factors to a new level of understanding through the use of latent class analysis. These latent classes challenge current thinking on potential risk for children and families. Specifically, mothers with multiple risk factors demonstrate the strongest predictor of child maltreatment outcomes. Also, multiple risk factors need not be present to result in rates of child maltreatment that are higher than what might be expected

A ‘self-production approach for charities’: Supporting And Developing In-House Video Production In Small UK Charities

This study entails the development and exploration of an approach to in-house video production for small UK charities. Contextual literature indicates that it is becoming increasingly important for charities to digitally communicate their core work and demonstrate impact, and video offers significant benefits in terms of engaging a variety of audiences and telling powerful and persuasive stories of lives transformed. Charities that develop the capacity to produce their own video could therefore harness the power of video to their advantage. The study is methodologically divided into three stages. Firstly, the study explores the current landscape of video production in small charities by examining the content and quality of videos posted on YouTube. It also explores barriers to video production through interviews with charity managers. Findings from these explorations indicate that video is little used by small charities, it is perceived within the sector as difficult, expensive and time-consuming to produce, and when it is produced often fails to reach a satisfactory standard. Secondly the study develops ‘A Self-Production Approach for Charities’, or ‘ASPAC’, that consists of a series of eight simple rules, materials or procedures, each summarised in one or two sentences. ASPAC can be used by charities wanting to self-produce video content; to guide their production process with the aim of minimising resource use and maximising the utility of their video output. The development of ASPAC responds to the core challenges identified in the first stage of this study, from the literature review, and through the tacit knowledge of the researcher. It takes as a key premise that video production can be approached as a design process that involves flexibility, collaboration, iteration and creative exploration. Finally, ASPAC is explored through a number of video production case studies facilitated by the researcher, thereby indicating strengths and weaknesses. ASPAC is shown to be effective in empowering most organisations to produce their own useful content, but cannot be implemented effectively under certain conditions, for example, when there is little support from higher management. It is also shown that a video champion: a staff member, service user or volunteer, adds to the likelihood of success. In conclusion, any future iteration of the approach needs to focus on improving ease of use whilst maintaining ASPAC’s effectiveness

The Faculty Landing Page: Easy Access to Both Faculty Administrators Schedules

Despite the obvious successes that the Frederik Meijer Honors College has enjoyed in recent years, there are noticeable ways in which it can grow, the most visible of which, is the current agency that the students claim in the Honors College. Lack of student agency, or governance, is likely the manifestation of a deeper problem, however. We seek to solve the inability for the Honors College students and faculty/administration to develop rich and meaningful relationships, through which the students will be able to voice their concerns and thus help govern the Honors College. We believe that effective governance is built on authentic relationships. Our aim is to foster an environment in which these relationships can flourish, with an emphasis on creating barrier-free opportunity for faculty/administration and students to openly communicate. Through an empathetic approach, we will gain better knowledge and understanding of what past, present, and future FMHS students want and need to participate in improved communication. We aim to amplify student issues and ensure faculty and administrative involvement in dialogue, eliminating communication barriers that leave both students and faculty in the dark