Youth Alcohol Access, Consumption, and Consequences in Anchorage, Alaska: Identification of Indicators

See also the 2012 update, "Youth Alcohol Access, Consumption, and Consequences in Anchorage, Alaska: 2012 Update" by Marny Rivera, Khristy Parker, and Jennifer McMullen. Anchorage, AK: Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage, 10 Dec 2012. (JC 1010.04). (https://scholarworks.alaska.edu/handle/11122/7031).This report identifies indicators of underage drinking in Anchorage, Alaska, which can be used in assessing changes brought about by strategies designed to reduce underage access to alcohol and consequences associated with underage drinking. Indicators are addressed under the categories of underage access to alcohol, social norms and perceptions associated with underage drinking, alcohol consumption patterns, and consequences of underage drinking. Consequences examined include school-related consequences, risky behavior, and legal consequences of underage drinking. Alcohol abuse by people under 21 years of age requiring substance abuse treatment, health and safety consequences of underage drinking, and economic consequences of underage drinking are also discussed.Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Grant No. 1U79SP013910-01Table of Contents / List of Tables and Figures / Acknowledgements / Executive Summary / Introduction / Youth Access to Alcohol / Social Norms and Perceptions / Consumption / Consequences / Data Gap Analysis / References / Appendix - Annotated Bibliography of Survey Source

Alaska Meth Education Project: Process and Outcome Evaluation, 2009

The Alaska Meth Education (AME) Project is a statewide effort to reduce meth use and availability in Alaska by educating Alaskans about, and preventing youth from trying, meth. The AME Project provides free community education presentations, an anti-meth media campaign. anti-meth summits, and a website and Facebook page which provide information, local resources, and links to their campaign ads. This report evaluates AME Project efforts and is the first to provide information regarding Alaskans’ perceptions of meth, including effects and risks associated with meth use and perceptions regarding the availability and use of meth by young adults in Alaska. Evaluation methods included a survey to evaluate community education presentations; a survey conducted with UAA Justice students exposed to the anti-meth radio advertisements generated by the AME Project; a survey of 10,000 randomly sampled Alaskans; and a process evaluation involving interviews conducted with AME Project statewide advisory committee members.Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Congressional Earmark Grant No. 1H79SP014832-01Index of Tables and Figures / Acknowledgements / Executive Summary / Alaska Meth Education Project: Process and Outcome Evaluation, 2009 / Brief Overview of the Alaska Meth Education Project / Brief Overview of the Meth Problem in Alaska / Methods / Community Education Presentations / Student Survey / Mail Survey / Process Evaluation / References / Appendix A – Community Education Evaluation Survey / Appendix B – Coding Framework for Community Education Presentation Evaluation Survey Openended Item / Appendix C – Student Survey / Appendix D – Mail Survey / Appendix E – Process Evaluation Interview Schedul

2010 Anchorage Underage Drinking Survey: A Look at Adult Attitudes, Perceptions, and Norms

The Anchorage Underage Drinking Survey (AUDS) was conducted to assess adults’ recent exposure to Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol media campaign about underage drinking, as well as adult attitudes, norms, and perceptions regarding the underage drinking problem in Anchorage. Our interest was in understanding community perceptions regarding the extent of the underage drinking problem, underage access to alcohol through social and retail outlets, consequences of underage drinking, and laws and policies designed to reduce underage drinking and the consequences stemming from it. The survey contained six major sections: (1) underage drinking problem, (2) adult influences on underage drinking, (3) alcohol consumption, (4) responses to underage drinking, (5) public service advertisements, and (6) respondent background information.Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Grant No. 1U79SP013910-01Index of Tables and Figures / Acknowledgments / Section I: Executive Summary / Section II: Methods / Section III: Community Demographic Data / Section IV: Underage Drinking Problem / Section V: Adult Influences on Underage Drinking / Section VI: Alcohol Consumption / Section VII: Responses to Underage Drinking / Section VIII: Public Service Advertisements / References / Appendix: Community Resident Survey Instrumen

Youth Alcohol Access, Consumption, and Consequences in Anchorage, Alaska: 2012 Update

Updates prior report, Youth Alcohol Access, Consumption, and Consequences in Anchorage, Alaska: Identification of Indicators by Marny Rivera and Jennifer McMullen. Report prepared for the Volunteers of America CMCA Project. Anchorage, AK: Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage, 15 Dec 2010. (JC 1010.01). (https://scholarworks.alaska.edu/handle/11122/3760).This report identifies indicators of underage drinking in Anchorage, Alaska, which can be used in assessing changes brought about by strategies designed to reduce underage access to alcohol and consequences associated with underage drinking. Indicators are addressed under the categories of underage access to alcohol, social norms and perceptions associated with underage drinking, alcohol consumption patterns, and consequences of underage drinking. Consequences examined include school-related consequences, risky behavior, and legal consequences of underage drinking. Alcohol abuse by people under 21 years of age requiring substance abuse treatment, health and safety consequences of underage drinking, and economic consequences of underage drinking are also discussed.Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Grant No. 1U79SP013910-01Acknowledgements / Executive Summary / Introduction / Youth Access to Alcohol / Compliance Checks / Social Norms and Perceptions / Consequences (School-Related Consequences; Risky Behavior and Underage Drinking; Underage Drinking and Driving: Traffic Tickets, Crashes, Injuries and Fatalities; Legal Consequences of Underage Drinking; Alcohol Abuse Requiring Treatment; Health and Safety Consequences of Underage Drinking; Economic Consequences of Underage Drinking) / Data Gap Analysis / References / Appendix - Annotated Bibliography of Survey Source

The Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of a Campus-Based Culinary Nutrition Program for College Students

College students, on average, do not consume enough fruits and vegetables. Contributing to poor eating habits is an overall decline in young adults’ cooking skills as compared to previous decades, with today’s college students often relying on ubiquitous convenience food options. The detriments associated with these food choices are linked to a number of chronic diseases, including obesity. Though programming for college students which incorporates both nutrition education and hands-on cooking opportunities is rare, programs which have been implemented have had positive outcomes associated with increased self-efficacy with cooking and eating healthfully, and improved eating behaviors. This research utilized a mixed methods approach driven by the social cognitive theory to develop, implement, and assess the impact of a culinary nutrition education program, The College CHEF. The first phase of the research included conducting a PRECEDE-PROCEED model-driven primary and secondary needs assessment to develop programming. The second phase consisted of program implementation and evaluation. The program was evaluated through a Qualtrics survey to determine participants’ changes pre- to –post- with cooking and eating attitudes, behaviors, self-efficacy and knowledge. Pre- and –post- measures consisted primarily of Likert-type scales, in addition to demographic questions. Research participants were students living on University of Kentucky’s campus who were part of particular Living Learning Programs (LLPs), through which they lived, socialized, and often took classes together. Participants from two intervention groups (N = 15) attended four weekly 2-hour sessions, completing the measures online before and after the program. An inclusion criteria to be included in the study was that participants must have attended at least three of the four sessions. Control group participants (N = 17) did not partake in programming, but completed both pre- and -post- surveys at the same time as the intervention groups. The study\u27s results indicated that campus-based, hands-on culinary nutrition education programming was impactful in improving college students\u27: 1) self-efficacy for using fruits, vegetables, and seasonings (p = .015); 2) fruit and vegetable consumption (p = 0.03); and 3) knowledge of cooking terms and techniques (p = .000). Given the limited research studying the impact of culinary nutrition education programming on college students, especially as it applies to those living in the same environment and reciprocally influencing one another, this study provides a unique perspective to the field of health promotion. Its findings can support campus-based, culinary nutrition programming for the college population in an effort to improve eating and cooking attitudes, behaviors, self-efficacy, and knowledge, and subsequently, overall health

Stop the Burnout: Enhancing Support Practices for Principals

Principals are essential for ensuring student success. Effective principals have a significant positive impact on student achievement, teacher effectiveness, a positive school culture and inclusive school climate. Increased demands of the role which include mounting managerial tasks and a lack of systems and centralized support for principals, is decreasing the focus on effective school improvement. Current research reveals an alarming trend regarding the absence of positive principal well-being and support structures. The River District School Board (RDSB; a pseudonym) requires a detailed change process and plan to improve this issue. This Problem of Practice (PoP) and Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) seek to improve centralized supports for principals in order to improve the overall wellness of principals, reduce burnout and mitigate work intensification. A new Principal Well-being Model is proposed that frames the PoP with precision and will act as an overarching theoretical lens. Solutions to this issue are explored utilizing distributive and ethical leadership approaches. The Organizational Congruence Model of Nadler and Tushman (1989) is used to evaluate the change process in order to collaboratively guide principals, central office staff and senior administration in this change for improved principal support practices

A retrospective study on the effect of implementing an ergonomics program in an industrial setting

In this retrospective study, the safety record of an industrial equipment manufacturing facility is analyzed between two years (1999 and 2000) to determine the positive effect of an ergonomics program implementation. Ergonomics-related musculoskeletal disorders are the most prevalent type of illness reported in industry today. In 1998, MSDs affected nearly 1 million employees nationwide and cost an estimated $45-$55 billion per year in workers\u27 compensation. Due to these alarming statistics, many companies are moving toward implementing controls and programs in the workplace to reduce worker exposure to ergonomics hazards. The facility in this study implemented an ergonomics program in January of 2000 and as a result, noticed a significant reduction in ergonomics incidents that year as compared to the previous year. Using the equations established by OSHA, the incident, frequency, and severity rates are compared from one year (pre- ergonomics program implementation) to the next (post-ergonomics program) in order to determine significant difference between the means utilizing paired comparison statistical t-tests. Also, safety incidents directly attributable to ergonomics hazards and workers\u27 compensation costs are compared between the two years for a significant difference determination. Based on the results of these metrics, the effect of the ergonomics program can be validated. Statistical t-tests were completed on 13 data sets from each year. Of these, the OSHA incident rate, OSHA ergo-related incident rate, workers\u27 compensation costs, total number of ergo-related incidents, total number of OSHA recordable incidents, and total number of illnesses were considered to have a significant difference between 1999 and 2000 (2000\u3c1999 data). The hours worked and number of employees per month for each year also demonstrated a significant difference (2000\u3e1999). The Wilcoxon Signed- Rank test was also performed on nonparametric data such as total number of strains, sprains, and tendonitis cases per year. From this study however, the only data demonstrating a significant difference between years was the total number of sprain illnesses. Therefore, using these overall positive results it can be assumed that the ergonomics program did contribute significantly to the reduction of ergonomics and safety related illnesses in the manufacturing facility used in this study

Fairbanks Gang Assessment

The Justice Center at University of Alaska Anchorage partnered with the Fairbanks Gang Reduction and Intervention Network (GRAIN) to perform a thorough assessment of the gang problem in Fairbanks following the protocol outlined by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)’s Comprehensive Gang Model. Law enforcement data show that there are at least 12 active gangs in the Fairbanks North Star Borough, with the percentage of crime reported to law enforcement attributable to gangs (2007-2009) varying from a low of 4.3% in 2007 to a high of 7.2% in 2008. The complete assessment, contained in this report, includes a review of community demographic data, law enforcement data, student and school data, and community perceptions data.Fairbanks Gang Reduction and Intervention Network Grant No. 2007-JV-FX-0331Index of Tables and Figures / Acknowledgements / Section I Fairbanks Gang Assessment: Executive Summary / Section II Fairbanks Gang Assessment: Community Demographic Data / Section III Fairbanks Gang Assessment: Law Enforcement Data / Section IV Fairbanks Gang Assessment: Student and School Data / Section V Fairbanks Gang Assessment: Community Perceptions Data / Section VI Fairbanks Gang Assessment: Community Resources Data / Section VII Fairbanks Gang Assessment Methods / References / Appendix A Community Resident Survey / Appendix B Student Survey / Appendix C Youth Serving and Law Enforcement Agency Survey / Appendix D Gang Member Interview For

Assessing Student Learning Outcomes in Physical Education K-12 Teaching: A Whole-Program Revision to Meet New Standards and Institutional Learning Outcomes

The purpose of this project was to evaluate, revise, and align program-level assessments for the Physical Education K-12 Teaching program. Major goals for the project included (a) construction of a program-wide course matrix with SLOs, state and national educator standards, UNC Institutional Learning Outcomes, and course assessments; (b) construction/revision of assessment methods and criteria; and (c) integration of a tagging system within Canvas/LiveText to monitor outcome achievements. This presentation will describe an overview of the process, major updates and changes to the program, and future steps for implementation

Global School-Based Childhood Obesity Interventions: A Review

Background: The issue of childhood overweight and obesity has become a global public health crisis. School-based interventions have been developed and implemented to combat this growing concern. The purpose of this review is to compare and contrast U.S. and international school-based obesity prevention interventions and highlight efficacious strategies. Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted utilizing five relevant databases. Inclusion criteria were: (1) primary research; (2) overweight or obesity prevention interventions; (3) school-based; (4) studies published between 1 January 2002 through 31 December 2013; (5) published in the English language; (6) child-based interventions, which could include parents; and (7) studies that reported outcome data. Results: A total of 20 interventions met the inclusion criteria. Ten interventions each were implemented in the U.S. and internationally. International interventions only targeted elementary-aged students, were less likely to target low-income populations, and were less likely to be implemented for two or more years in duration. However, they were more likely to integrate an environmental component when compared to U.S. interventions. Discussion: Interventions implemented in the U.S. and internationally resulted in successful outcomes, including positive changes in student BMI. Yet, varying approaches were used to achieve success, reinforcing the fact that a one-size-fits-all approach is not necessary to impact childhood obesity. However, building on successful interventions, future school-based obesity prevention interventions should integrate culturally specific intervention strategies, aim to incorporate an environmental component, and include parents whenever possible. Consideration should be given to the potential impact of long-term, frequent dosage interventions, and subsequent follow-up should be given attention to determine long-term efficacy