Disease Surveillance Networks Initiative Global: Final Evaluation

In August 2009, the Rockefeller Foundation commissioned an independent external evaluation of the Disease Surveillance Networks (DSN) Initiative in Asia, Africa, and globally. This report covers the results of the global component of the summative and prospective1 evaluation, which had the following objectives:[1] Assessment of performance of the DSN Initiative, focused on its relevance, effectiveness/impact, and efficiency within the context of the Foundation's initiative support.[2] Assessment of the DSN Initiative's underlying hypothesis: robust trans-boundary, multi-sectoral/cross-disciplinary collaborative networks lead to improved disease surveillance and response.[3] Assessment of the quality of Foundation management (value for money) for the DSN Initiative.[4] Contribute to the field of philanthropy by:a. Demonstrating the use of evaluations in grantmaking, learning and knowledge management; andb. Informing the field of development evaluation about methods and models to measure complex networks

Evaluation of stories children like or dislike in the first grade basal reader 'Down our street'.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Migration and Cultural Change: A Role for Gender and Social Networks?

From the Introduction: To incorporate the insights from the literature on gender and migration, we focus upon three key concepts that have emerged regarding the role of social networks, households, and communities for affecting migration processes. The three key concepts we interrogate are: “social embeddedness” (Portes and Sensenbrenner 1993), “circular and cumulative causation” (Massey 1990), and “relative deprivation” (Stark 1991). We propose considering these three concepts through the lens of a third area of research, the sociology of culture, and we draw upon ideas about identity formation, trust, and normative expectations. Our empirical examples come primarily from Thailand where we draw upon both secondary and primary data but also from secondary data from Latin America and the Caribbean migrant experiences. In our effort to demonstrate that social networks and gender are essential elements for understanding migration and cultural change, our discussion refers to international, internal, permanent, and temporary migration

Climate Variability, Land Ownership and Migration: Evidence from Thailand about Gender Impacts

Scholars point to climate change, often in the form of more frequent and severe drought, as a potential driver of migration in the developing world, particularly for places where populations rely on agriculture for their livelihoods. To date, however, there have been few large-scale, longitudinal studies that explore the relationship between climate change and migration. This study significantly extends current scholarship by evaluating distinctive effects of climatic variation and models these effects on men’s and women’s responsiveness to drought and rainfall. Our study also investigates how land ownership moderates these effects. We find small, but significant, increases in migration above existing migratory levels during periods of prolonged climatic stress, and that these patterns differ both by gender and land tenure

'Why aren't we doing more with music?' An exploration of two integrative mainstream - special school music projects

Secondary school music curricula often alienate young people because of the disjuncture between their experiences of music outside and inside school (Spruce and Matthews, 2012). Music also continues having to justify its place in many secondary schools (Philpott, 2012). Offering ideas to expand music educational thinking and increase its social relevance, this research explores two secondary mainstream-special school integrative musical projects using the theoretical framework of ‘musicking’ (Small, 1998), which asserts the centrality of relationships in any form of musical performance. Using two case studies, the relationships between teacher and pupil participants are explored. Small makes no mention of musicking in the context of children with special educational needs, and this study extends his ideas by developing the notion of an inclusive form of musicking in secondary music education, achieved through the musical integration of mainstream pupils with their special school peers whose verbal communication is severely limited. The self-efficacy of participating teachers is considered an important contributing factor to the projects’ perceived success, enhancing or limiting the likelihood of their application in other secondary educational contexts. Possible ways of augmenting the self-efficacy of teachers from both settings are offered, together with suggestions for future research in this field

New Perspectives on Immigrant Contexts of Reception

We argue that important, overlooked differences in what we call the ‘cultural armature’ of Portland, Maine, and Danbury, Connecticut help explain the variation in how each city received new immigrants in recent years. Portland has a long history of contact with the outside world and used its cosmopolitan character to promote urban redevelopment and welcome immigrants from a range of countries of origin. Danbury's small-town, insular outlook, and the fact that most of its newcomers came from a single country of origin - some without legal documents - made immigrants' welcome more fragmented. While leaders in both cities speak of multiculturalism and tolerance, the ‘cultural armature’ of each led city leaders to put that talk into action differently. We describe how we see this ‘cultural armature’ at work and argue that it - in combination with demographic realities - led immigrants to be more warmly welcomed in Portland than in Danbury.We argue that important, overlooked differences in what we call the ‘cultural armature’ of Portland, Maine, and Danbury, Connecticut help explain the variation in how each city received new immigrants in recent years. Portland has a long history of contact with the outside world and used its cosmopolitan character to promote urban redevelopment and welcome immigrants from a range of countries of origin. Danbury's small-town, insular outlook, and the fact that most of its newcomers came from a single country of origin - some without legal documents - made immigrants' welcome more fragmented. While leaders in both cities speak of multiculturalism and tolerance, the ‘cultural armature’ of each led city leaders to put that talk into action differently. We describe how we see this ‘cultural armature’ at work and argue that it - in combination with demographic realities - led immigrants to be more warmly welcomed in Portland than in Danbury

Climate Variability and Local Environmental Stressors Influencing Migration in Nang Rong, Thailand

Scholars point to climate change, often in the form of more frequent and severe drought, as a potential driver of migration in the developing world, particularly in populations that rely on agriculture for their livelihoods. To date, however, there have been few large-scale, longitudinal studies that explore the relationship between climate change and migration. This study significantly extends current scholarship by evaluating distinctive effects of slow onset climate change and short-term extreme events upon different migration outcomes. Our analysis models the effect of the environment--as measured by Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the occurrence of El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events—on migration out of Nang Rong. Our preliminary findings indicate that predominantly dry El Niño periods of 24 months duration lead to outmigration, while predominantly wetter La Niña periods of 12-month duration reduce outmigration. Clustered monthly patterns of annual NDVI fluctuation indicate that villagers living in pixels that exhibit early, consistently higher, and steep rising green-up are less likely to migrate out in the subsequent year