Understanding how social/cultural difference and systematic factors inhibit the formation of partnership between elementary school teachers and families

The purpose of this senior capstone project is to examine the factors that inhibit the formation of relationships between teachers’ and their students’ families. In this study, both social and cultural factors are examined as well as the support given by teacher preparation programs to promote these relationships. This information was gathered through literature review as well as interviews done with pre-service and in-service teachers, parents, previous educators who are both remaining in the education field, as well as those who have retired. The results concluded that both parties have past experiences that play a big role in the inhibition of forming successful teacher-family relationships. In addition, understanding their past experience is important in taking the next steps towards building and promoting the formation of collaborative relationships between parents and teachers followed by some suggestions on how to remedy some of these inhibitions. It is important to continue finding ways to promote and support the formation of these relationships to ensure the success of our students through collaborative relationships and family engagement in each student’s academics

The Black Plumb Line: Re-evaluating Race and Africanist Images in Non-Black Authored American Texts

This study evaluates Africanisms (representations of racialized or ethnicized blackness) within three contemporary non-black authors’ texts: Jewish American Saul Bellow’s novel Henderson the Rain King, white southerner Melinda Haynes’ novel Mother of Pearl, and Nyurican poet Victor Hernández Cruz’s works “Mesa Blanca” and “White Table.” Though not entirely unproblematic, each selection somehow redefines black identity and agency to challenge denigrated representations of Africanist people and culture. In the process, each author subverts faulty components of American myths of racial purity, particularly stratifying black-white dualisms that promote whiteness, racial supremacy, and resulting undue privilege. This study also traces how Bellow, Haynes and Cruz adopt and/or adapt rhetorical strategies, mutual investments in history and shared identity cues that align these writers and their works with aspects of the African American literary tradition as well as kindred authors of African descent. Racial performance and the social construction of identity factor heavily into this project as the chosen writers also challenge critical tendencies to equate authors’ identities with authors’ aims, particularly when writers cross identity boundaries to dismantle traditional patterns of racial supremacy and racism. The ambiguously raced author Jean Toomer and fellow writer Carl Van Vechten also serve as key introductory comparative figures within this study. Ultimately, this project underscores the continued responsibility American writers have to address the cultural artifact American imaginations have made of racialized blackness within our national literature and corresponding social spaces and institutions

Building Engineering Feasibility Study: Herreshoff Marine Museum

Our design team was supplied with a dozen architectural designs from the students of the Roger Williams University Architectural School. After discussing the strengths and weaknesses of each our team was able to narrow our choices down to one base design to conduct our feasibility and structural integrity analysis. Currently, the structural integrity of the proposed building addition has been examined by determining the wind and the snow loads, the green roof requirements, and the column and beam loads. The feasibility of the chosen design was assessed by researching Bristol zoning regulations and developing a path through the required zoning variances, which will help in the construction phase

Perceptions of Collaboration and Service Integration as Strategic Alternatives: An Examination of Social Service Nonprofit Organizations in the Late 1990s

Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) have historically dealt with the problem of trying to build organizational capacity while simultaneously dealing with scarce resources. Consequently, practitioners and scholars continue to offer assistance to nonprofits in the development of techniques aimed at addressing these situations. Recent literature shows a push towards innovation, the use of new organizational tax structures, and/or the use of commercial revenue generating activities as plausible strategic alternatives for dealing with declining resources. While these techniques show promise, they typically are reserved for larger nonprofits (as measured by their funding base) and those nonprofits with missions that lend themselves for such activities (e.g., health care, arts and culture). But what about other NPOs that may not be willing to undertake such risk, or who do not have missions that can embrace commercial activity? This article examines two strategies, collaboration and service integration, techniques that are perceived by practitioners to show promise for organizations needing to build capacity, and/or generate new or maintain resources. Based upon data yielded from a national mail survey of social service nonprofit organizations, this article provides an empirical analysis that highlights the extent to which nonprofit social service organizations were engaged in these techniques; and from the perspective of nonprofit upper managers, the impacts their respective nonprofit organizations experienced. Using these data and perspectives, a set of recommendations are derived for today’s organizations to consider. Finding mechanisms to building capacity while increasing organizational resources, including income stream, has never been an easy endeavor for many social service nonprofit organizations. As the number of nonprofit organizations continues to rise, the nonprofit sector faces ever-increasing pressure to become more self-sufficient and resilient, while becoming less reliant upon government funding and charity (Arnold & Edwards, 1998). As nonprofit administrators and academicians probe new and innovative ways for assisting nonprofit organizations in the development of new revenue streams and resources (e.g., innovation, the emergence of new organizational tax structures, the use of commercial activity); the call for collaboration and service integration are still being touted as a plausible means for generating and/or saving resources. This article examines these techniques as a means to develop and enhance organizational resources and strengthen capacity from the perspective of nonprofit practitioners

Exploring “Home” at an Assisted Living Facility: Looking through Residents’ Lenses with Photovoice

An increasing number of older adults are moving into assisted living facilities when living independently becomes difficult. These facilities afford older adults a home-like environment with opportunities for social activity and a minimal level of professional care, although relocation can negatively impact well-being. Because it is important to study home environments of aging adults, 10 residents of an assisted living facility were engaged in Photovoice to explore perceptions of the facility as home. Through photographic expression, residents identified environment enhancements for home at an assisted living facility. Findings of this study have implications for program planning at long-term care facilities

Oral health beliefs and oral hygiene behaviours among parents of urban Alaska Native children

American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) children have a prevalence rate of early childhood caries 5 times that of the overall US population. Oral hygiene and oral health beliefs have not been described among AI/AN parents. This study explored constructs of the health belief model informing oral health beliefs and oral hygiene behaviours of parents of AI/AN children ages 0-6 years. The study aimed to determine the toothbrushing behaviour in parents of AI/AN childrenand the relationship between parent oral health beliefs and toothbrushing frequency. A cross-sectional survey which included the Oral Hygiene Scale, Oral Health Belief Questionnaire and the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale was administered to a convenience sample of parents of AI/AN children 71 months or younger attending outpatient paediatric primary care appointments (N=100). Analyses were conducted to determine parent toothbrushing and the relationship between parent health beliefs and child toothbrushing. The odds of regular child toothbrushing were 49.10 times higher when the parent brushed their own teeth regularly (confidence interval (CI)=11.46–188.14; p\u3c0.001). Parental toothbrushing had a strong positive association with the belief that oral health is as important as physical health. This research endorses parent-focused toothbrushing interventions to reduce AI/AN early childhood caries rates

Efficacy of chronic disease self-management among low-income Black males with behavioral health disorders: Pilot study

Background: This study examined the effectiveness of Stanford University’s Chronic Disease Self-management Program (CDSMP) among men living with co-morbidities of chronic physical health disease and behavioral health disorders. Methods: The study was conducted at a community-based, non-profit organization in partnership with a large suburban university. Two pilot studies were completed with the population of interest. Low-income adult males with behavioral health disorders were recruited to participate in the program provided by a local behavioral health agency. Facilitators trained in the CDSMP program administered it at the agency site, and participants attended weekly meetings. Descriptive data collected included health history, demographic information, and assessments of knowledge with the Chronic Disease Self-Efficacy Scale and the Chronic Disease Self-Management Questionnaire created by the Stanford Patient Education Research Center. Due to the small sample size, n=12, the Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to evaluate before and after differences in the sample. Results: For the participants, there were increases in overall activity, stretching activities, and equipment activities. Additionally, participants experienced a decrease in the number of days affected by poor physical or mental health. However, there was no significant increase in perceived self-efficacy, a factor in patient confidence and possibly compliance. Limitations included the small sample size, lack of a control group, and convenience sampling. Conclusions: Various aspects of the program were helpful to some participants, but cultural factors made other areas less compatible for this population. A larger study, utilizing a comparison group, could generate data relevant to hypotheses based on these observations. By collecting qualitative data, focus groups could contribute to understanding the experiences and needs of the participants. Development of a curriculum for self-management of chronic disease with a focus on intercultural competence is presently of interest

Oral health beliefs and oral hygiene behaviours among parents of urban Alaska Native children

American Indialaska Native (AI/AN) children have a prevalence rate of early childhood caries 5 times that of the overall US population. Oral hygiene and oral health beliefs have not been described among AI/AN parents. This study explored constructs of the health belief model informing oral health beliefs and oral hygiene behaviours of parents of AI/AN children ages 0-6 years. The study aimed to determine the toothbrushing behaviour in parents of AI/AN childrenand the relationship between parent oral health beliefs and toothbrushing frequency. A cross-sectional survey which included the Oral Hygiene Scale, Oral Health Belief Questionnaire and the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale was administered to a convenience sample of parents of AI/AN children 71 months or younger attending outpatient paediatric primary care appointments (N=100). Analyses were conducted to determine parent toothbrushing and the relationship between parent health beliefs and child toothbrushing. The odds of regular child toothbrushing were 49.10 times higher when the parent brushed their own teeth regularly (confidence interval (CI)=11.46–188.14; p\u3c0.001). Parental toothbrushing had a strong positive association with the belief that oral health is as important as physical health. This research endorses parent-focused toothbrushing interventions to reduce AI/AN early childhood caries rates