Advice from the Field: Youth Employment Programs and Unintended Pregnancy

This report further explores the connection between the fields of pregnancy prevention and youth employment. It provides "advice from the field" from five youth employment providers about their efforts to combat unintended pregnancy and to provide family planning services. In addition, it includes interviews with two experts in the youth employment and teen pregnancy prevention fields, who provide advice and essential information for practitioners. This report is intended to provide "how-to's" for staff in the youth employment field who wish to more innovatively integrate reproductive health education and unintended pregnancy prevention services into their programs

Record-Keeping Technology Adoption in the Louisiana Dairy Industry

Louisiana farmers were surveyed to determine their adoption of information and record-keeping technologies, including the internet, DHIA, use of financial measures, and frequency of use of computerized records. Factors influencing adoption included having a family successor, overall technology adoption propensity, diversification, off-farm income, college degree, and others.Livestock Production/Industries, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

The Association of Racial Identity and Locus of Control With Eating Attitudes and Obesity in African American College Women

African-American women have been disproportionately affected by the obesity epidemic in the United States, and studies have suggested that sociocultural factors may have a negative influence on weight and weight loss efforts. Relatedly, other studies have found that African-American women have reported feeling less motivated to lose weight than other ethnic groups. Previous research has also indicated that locus of control plays a role in some health outcomes for African America women. The current study aimed to examine the impact of Black identity, external locus of control, and exercise motivation on obesity in African-American college women. Uncontrolled eating and exercise activity were proposed as mediators, and depression and age were included as covariates. Results indicated that racial identity, external locus of control, and exercise motivation did not predict obesity in this population. Depression and age were, however, significantly associated with obesity. Future studies should explore other aspects of culture for African-American women that may influence obesity and motivation to engage in healthier behaviors. Additionally, an examination of factors that contribute to depression and weight for this population would also prove beneficial for more culturally sensitive obesity interventions

Science education for girls: A partnership between Girl Scouts and Nasa

This study investigated the evolution of the relationship between NASA and the Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA). The stories of three groups of key players; NASA, Girl Scout National Staff, and Girl Scout volunteers explained the scope and depth of this unique partnership. Common goals between GSUSA and NASA of encouraging girls to seek careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) were studied to determine if the goals were met as a result of this collaboration. Outcomes such as the Memorandum of Understanding, numbers of attendees at workshops, and artifact reviews aided in the collection of data; The partnership between the Girl Scouts and NASA has not been without strife, and barriers such as funding and communication has delayed the goals of both organizations. Nevertheless, a partnership was forged and has grown since its inception in early 2001. Each of these national organizations has its own way of work and its own culture. How then can two such large organizations find the common ground to partner together and create a new culture shared between them with a common mindset?;The timeline of how and when the two organizations began their collaborations and the outcome of their partnership was evaluated. Examination of the Girl Scout culture and goals as they are related to science was compared to the NASA goals of introducing more girls to STEM careers. The impact effect of how many different workshops, events, camps with space themes was analyzed. Girl Scout adult volunteers\u27 attitudes and beliefs about science were explored to determine if changes in beliefs occurred as a result of the experiences with NASA. Ultimately, data were scrutinized to determine if the relationship is sustainable and what efforts each organization must take to maintain a high-leveled partnership

Record-keeping systems adoption by Louisiana dairy farmers

Fifty Louisiana dairy farmers were interviewed to gather production amounts, costs of production, management techniques, technologies adopted, and demographic information. These data were used to analyze what record-keeping systems the farmers were adopting and to what extent the systems were being used. Logit, ordered probit, negative binomial regression, OLS regression, and double hurdle models were used to determine adoption and intensity. In this study, age was found to decrease the probability that a farmer would believe their computer was not at all useful and also of limited usefulness, while increasing the probability that a farmer would believe the computer was very useful to the farm business. Older farmers were more likely to perceive the computer as more useful. Having a family successor to take over the dairy upon the operator’s retirement affected many things, including: decreasing experience with the internet; increasing the probability of a farmer perceiving the computer as of limited usefulness; decreasing the probability of a farmer perceiving the computer as very useful; increasing the hours spent per week reviewing DHIA output; increasing the number of financial measures tracked; increasing the intensity of use of DHIA after it has been adopted; and increasing the probability of adopting computerized record-keeping systems. If the operator himself kept the records for the farm, then fewer financial statements were generated and less time was spent updating computerized record-keeping systems. These farmers, however, devoted more time to reviewing DHIA output. When the farmer was a technology adopter he was more likely to have experience with the internet and to have adopted DHIA, but spend less time reviewing DHIA output. Also, technology adopters were more likely to view the computer as very useful and less likely to view the computer as not at all useful. The more statements a farmer generated for financial analysis, the more likely he was to adopt computerized record-keeping systems. Thus, farmers with a greater interest in record-keeping were likely to find the computer more useful because it can make financial analysis much easier compared to paper based records

Who Has a Voice: Issues of Free Speech at the University of Mississippi from 1955-1970

Amidst the upheaval of American society in the 1960s, the University of Mississippi’s administration found itself in a precarious position. A long-standing institution that prided itself on its ties to the Old South, the university was being challenged by integrationists and liberal notions of equality and social justice. The university was forced to decide between abetting the alumni that padded university pockets and the tides of change that were rippling through the university campus. Their main way of combatting this was through the surveilling of students and the vetting of potential guest speakers who may spread “controversial ideas.” While students tended to be in favor of allowing anyone on campus to speak, university officials and alumni saw this as a potential threat against the Mississippi “way of life.” As a means of appeasing overbearing alumni and state government officials, the university began taking measures to limit free speech on campus, thus lessening the spread of liberal ideas. This thesis provides an in-depth look into the actions the university took to limit free speech on campus between 1955 and 1970