The Town-Gown Relationship: Collaboration in University Communities

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Cotsones, Rena K.

2013-01-01

As communities and universities confront increasingly complex social and fiscal pressures, there is a growing need to align and maximize local resources, knowledge and efforts. Historic and current tensions between town and gown can challenge the ability of universities and communities to collaborate for mutual benefit. This dissertation explores…

Community-Based Science: A Response to UCSD's Ongoing Racism Crisis

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Werner, B.; Barraza, A.; Macgurn, R.

2010-12-01

In February, 2010, the University of California - San Diego's long simmering racism crisis erupted in response to a series of racist provocations, including a fraternity party titled "The Compton Cookout" and a noose discovered in the main library. Student groups led by the Black Student Union organized a series of protests, occupations and discussions highlighting the situation at UCSD (including the low fraction of African American students: 1.3%), and pressuring the university to take action. Extensive interviews (March-May, 2010) with participants in the protests indicate that most felt the UCSD senior administration's response was inadequate and failed to address the underlying causes of the crisis. In an attempt to contribute to a more welcoming university that connects to working class communities of color, we have developed an educational program directed towards students in the environmental- and geo-sciences that seeks to establish genuine, two-way links between students and working people, with a focus on City Heights, a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual diverse immigrant community 20 miles from UCSD. Elements of the program include: --critiquing research universities and their connection to working class communities --learning about and discussing issues affecting City Heights, including community, environmental racism, health and traditional knowledge; --interviewing organizers and activists to find out about the stories and struggles of the community; --working on joint projects affecting environmental quality in City Heights with high school students; --partnering with individual high school students to develop a proposal for a joint science project of mutual interest; --developing a proposal for how UCSD could change to better interface with City Heights. An assessment of the impact of the program on individual community members and UCSD students and on developing enduring links between City Heights and UCSD will be presented followed by a preliminary

University and community partnerships in South Sulawesi, Indonesia: Enhancing community capacity and promoting democratic governance

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Sri Mastuti

2014-06-01

Full Text Available South Sulawesi is a province in Indonesia where the majority of the population is Muslim, with many variant interpretations of Islam. Alauddin State Islamic University is not just a place for teaching and study but also plays a role in helping to unify the differences among these different Islamic groups. Its changing of status from institute to university in 2005, and later the support of the Canadian-assisted SILE Project beginning in 2010, have made this university an example of reform in the way it implements its functions. Since 2011, Alauddin State Islamic University has been developing a new approach in university-community outreach/engagement. What was formerly separated between teaching, research and community service is now linked under one institutional umbrella. The new university-community outreach approach has also adopted some new tools like Asset Based Community Development (ABCD and Results Based Management (RBM. It seeks to promote democratic governance, gender equality and a sustainable environment. The university also works in partnership with civil society organisations (CSOs in South Sulawesi, including Islamic-based organizsations, secular organisations and women’s organisations. The model for the partnership is a working group (abbreviated to pokja in Indonesian, which comprises lecturers from a faculty in the university and members of a CSO. We discuss the opportunities and challenges faced by these working groups. Opportunities include increased advantages from pooling their organisational capacities and experience in working with communities. Sharing their networks and resources makes them stronger and makes their work more sustainable. The challenge lies in changing the mindset from a needs-based, project-oriented approach to an asset-based facilitative approach, comprehending the tools, managing time to work together and building effective teamwork. Keywords: university-community outreach, democratic governance

The environmental self-management in the university community: a road to propitiate desirable changes in the environmental behaviors of the university youths, from their own cultural practices

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Rogelio García-Tejera

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The Cuban Education System power to the school as a promoter of development center, its social projection includes meeting the educational needs of the community, and community environmental education for sustainable development is inserted into the educational management of the school as cultural center of Higher Education. Consider the space as a community college gives the possibility of self-management actions, with the aim of improving environmental way the university community, using experiences that characterize the cultural practices of the university. For non-formal way contributes to environmental training, to stimulate responsibility for the planning and implementation of methods that characterize the management of their environment.

Are Universities Role Models for Communities? A Gender Perspective

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Felicia Cornelia MACARIE

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The present paper explores the degree in which universities could/should serve as role models for communities from the perspective of gender integration. Although the theoretical/ moral answer would be affirmative (universities should be in such a position that would allow local communities to regard them as role models of gender integration, the primary empirical analysis leads to another conclusion. A brief theoretical review (that connects gender discrimination, sustainable development, universities and local communities is followed by an empirical analysis that compares the management structures of 12 Romanian Universities of Advanced Research and Education (the best Romanian universities according to a national ranking with those of four local communities where they are located (as geographic proximity would lead to a better diffusion of best practices. Contrary to initial expectations, even in higher education institutions, women are underrepresented both in executive and legislative positions. Since universities are subject to the same major patterns of gender discrimination (such as role theory, glass ceiling and glass elevator as private and public organizations, they lose the moral high ground that theory would suggest. However, medicine and pharmacy universities that can be connected with the traditional roles attributed to women provide better gender integration, but glass escalator phenomena remain present even in these limited fields.

Model Youth Programs: A Key Strategy for Developing Community-University Partnerships Using a Community Youth Development Approach

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Yolanda Anyon

2008-06-01

Full Text Available Universities across the nation face the charge of enhancing their intellectual capital as a learning institution while also contributing to the greater social good. While there is great potential for university-community partnerships to generate lessons for youth workers and policy makers, create powerful new knowledge for the academic field, and provide transformative experiences for community members, partnerships often fail to produce such meaningful results. In the San Francisco Bay Area, community residents who have been involved in such unsuccessful initiatives frequently perceived that university partners spent insufficient time learning about the community context, prioritized research objectives over community needs and did not make long-term commitments. Despite these challenges, community-university partnerships can be useful strategies for advancing the field of youth development by strengthening research and practice in local contexts. This paper presents how the design and implementation of model youth programs served as an effective strategy in developing a partnership between a university-based center and two local communities over a 5-year period. It also describes essential lessons that other communities, research institutions or universities may use to launch, implement, expand and sustain their own successful partnerships to build local capacity to implement youth development practices, promote positive outcomes for young people, and generate knowledge about the impact of youth development approaches.

Universities as corporate entities: the role of social responsibility in their strategic management

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Ramos Monge, Elva Lizeth; Llinàs Audet, Francisco Javier; Barrena Martínez, Jesús

2017-01-01

Universities, as educational institutions, play a vital role in the development and improvement of the society, contributing to the welfare of citizens. Considering the social responsibility of universities with a large number of stakeholders (students, institutions, government, employees, companies, local community, etc.), this chapter aims to examine how these institutions establish the mission, objectives and strategic actions oriented at meeting these expectations. In this line, universit...

Universities' perspectives on community engagement

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Benneworth, Paul Stephen; Humphrey, L.; Benneworth, P.

2012-01-01

This chapter makes the argument that despite the fact that utility has always been important to why universities exist, engaging with communities has been framed in ways that reinforce its perception as a transient, peripheral and even undesirable activity. The chapter begins by noting the way that

Community Learning and University Policy: An Inner-City University Goes Back to School

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Lloyd Axworthy

2016-05-01

Full Text Available For at least a decade now, the University of Winnipeg (U of W, an urban institution on Treaty One land in the heart of the Métis Nation, has challenged existing academic models and practices, and has incorporated strategies that address the social divide between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in order to more effectively serve the learning needs of its surrounding community. This article demonstrates how an inner-city university has used internal policies and programs to help support the self-determination of Indigenous peoples. Six community learning initiatives were recently evaluated for impact. This article will provide an overview of the positive outcomes of these learning initiatives on a community of underrepresented learners.

Co-Constructing Community, School, University Partnerships for Urban School Transformation

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Gillenwaters, Jamila Najah

2009-01-01

University-school-community partnerships represent a collaborative model of urban educational reformation inclusive of all the organizations that impact urban education. Co-constructed relationships among communities, schools, and universities have the potential for redistributing hierarchical power, thereby enabling all partners to contribute to…

Exploring Engaged Spaces in Community-University Partnership

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Davies, Ceri; Gant, Nick; Millican, Juliet; Wolff, David; Prosser, Bethan; Laing, Stuart; Hart, Angie

2016-01-01

The Community University Partnership Programme (CUPP) has been operating at the University of Brighton for the past 10 years. This article explores the different types of space we think need to exist to support a variety of partnership and engaged work. We therefore explore our understandings of shared or "engaged" spaces as a physical,…

Rural Embedded Assistants for Community Health (REACH) network: first-person accounts in a community-university partnership.

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Brown, Louis D; Alter, Theodore R; Brown, Leigh Gordon; Corbin, Marilyn A; Flaherty-Craig, Claire; McPhail, Lindsay G; Nevel, Pauline; Shoop, Kimbra; Sterner, Glenn; Terndrup, Thomas E; Weaver, M Ellen

2013-03-01

Community research and action projects undertaken by community-university partnerships can lead to contextually appropriate and sustainable community improvements in rural and urban localities. However, effective implementation is challenging and prone to failure when poorly executed. The current paper seeks to inform rural community-university partnership practice through consideration of first-person accounts from five stakeholders in the Rural Embedded Assistants for Community Health (REACH) Network. The REACH Network is a unique community-university partnership aimed at improving rural health services by identifying, implementing, and evaluating innovative health interventions delivered by local caregivers. The first-person accounts provide an insider's perspective on the nature of collaboration. The unique perspectives identify three critical challenges facing the REACH Network: trust, coordination, and sustainability. Through consideration of the challenges, we identified several strategies for success. We hope readers can learn their own lessons when considering the details of our partnership's efforts to improve the delivery infrastructure for rural healthcare.

Unpacking University-Community Partnerships to Advance Scholarship of Practice.

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Suarez-Balcazar, Yolanda; Mirza, Mansha Parven; Hansen, Anne Marie Witchger

2015-01-01

Today, more than ever, occupational therapists are engaged in close partnerships with community organizations and community settings such as service agencies, refugee and immigrant enclaves, and faith-based organizations, to name a few, for the purpose of engaging in scholarship of practice. However, we know little about the views of community partners regarding the development and sustainability of university-community partnerships. The purpose of this article is twofold: First, we will describe a pilot study in which we gathered qualitative data from community partners engaged in scholarship of practice with faculty and students, regarding their views about benefits of partnerships, challenges, and characteristics of sustainable partnerships. Second, based on this pilot study and extensive experience of the authors, we propose a revised version of a partnerships model available in the literature. We illustrate the model through examples of the authors' collective experiences developing and sustaining successful university-community partnerships.

Are Universities Role Models for Communities? A Gender Perspective

OpenAIRE

Felicia Cornelia MACARIE; Octavian MOLDOVAN

2012-01-01

The present paper explores the degree in which universities could/should serve as role models for communities from the perspective of gender integration. Although the theoretical/ moral answer would be affirmative (universities should be in such a position that would allow local communities to regard them as role models of gender integration), the primary empirical analysis leads to another conclusion. A brief theoretical review (that connects gender discrimination, sustainable development, u...

Toward an Ideal Relational Ethic: Rethinking university-community engagement

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Steve Garlick

2008-09-01

Full Text Available This paper explores how an ideal relational ethic based on Zygmunt Bauman’s (1995 notion of forms of togetherness is needed to underpin university-community engagement processes and practices. We focus on the notion of being-for, and suggest that it can be used as an ‘engagement bridge’ between higher education institutions, the creation of human capital and communities, and can be a means to achieve ethical outcomes to local concerns. Much of Bauman’s (1995; 2001; 2007 theoretical development has focussed on the liquidity of modernity, to give the impression that community - in the spatially, physically located and fixed sense of the term - no longer exists. This paper proposes that spatial dimensions, particularly in the context of developing relational ethics, are important. This is particularly so for paying adequate attention to context-specific values, principles and issues in communities, for developing enterprising human capital via engagement, and for addressing matters of socio-political importance such as the environment. Contemporary neo-liberal times require ethical and moral leadership from universities. This paper suggests that such leadership can be developed from focussing attention on the forms of togetherness fostered by university-community engagement.

University Community Engagement and the Strategic Planning Process

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Laura Newton Miller

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract  Objectives – To understand how university libraries are engaging with the university community (students, faculty, campus partners, and administration when working through the strategic planning process.  Methods – Literature review and exploratory open-ended survey to members of CAUL (Council of Australian University Librarians, CARL (Canadian Association of Research Libraries, CONZUL (Council of New Zealand University Librarians, and RLUK (Research Libraries UK who are most directly involved in the strategic planning process at their library.  Results – Out of a potential 113 participants from 4 countries, 31 people (27% replied to the survey. Libraries most often mentioned the use of regularly-scheduled surveys to inform their strategic planning, which helps to truncate the process for some respondents, as opposed to conducting user feedback specifically for the strategic planning process. Other quantitative methods include customer intelligence and library-produced data. Qualitative methods include the use of focus groups, interviews, and user experience/design techniques to help inform the strategic plan. The focus of questions to users tended to fall towards user-focused (with or without library lens, library-focused, trends and vision, and feedback on plan.  Conclusions – Combining both quantitative and qualitative methods can help give a fuller picture for librarians working on a strategic plan. Having the university community join the conversation on how the library moves forward is an important but difficult endeavour.  Regardless, the university library needs to be adaptive to the rapidly changing environment around it. Having a sense of how other libraries engage with the university community benefits others who are tasked with strategic planning.

University-Community Partnerships: Bridging People and Cultures in an HIV/AIDS Health Intervention in an African American Community

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Thompson, Maxine Seaborn; Head, Rachel; Rikard, R. V.; McNeil, Carlotta; White, Caressa

2012-01-01

As universities become more involved in real-world problems that affect racial and ethnic communities, university members are identifying strategies to effectively work with culturally diverse community partners. The Communities and Health Disparities Project described in this article is an example of collaborative scholarship that engages the…

Creating University-Community Alliances to Build Internship Programs

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Perfect, Michelle M.; Schmitt, Ara J.; Hughes, Tammy L.; Herndon-Sobalvarro, Adrianna

2015-01-01

By bringing together a community of field-based practitioners, university faculty can help school districts develop accredited school psychology internships. This article describes the rationale for an increase in university involvement in the development of internships, offers considerations unique to schools when supporting the development of an…

The development of socially responsible life-sciences teachers through community service learning.

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J.J. Rian de Villiers

2012-03-01

Full Text Available In South Africa, polices in higher education are urging tertiary institutions to produce graduates who are socially responsible citizens. One method of achieving this is through service-learning initiatives. Zoos as community partners can provide exciting educational opportunities for students to do animal behaviour studies and to develop their social responsibility. A sample of 58 preservice life-sciences teachers from a South African university completed a questionnaire on their animal behaviour studies. This study sought to determine how animal behaviour studies could successfully be incorporated as a community service-learning project in a zoo setting, what the educational value of these studies was and what the benefits were of incorporating this community service-learning component in the life-sciences course. The incorporation of the service-learning component into the zoology course led to the students’ personal and professional development, knowledge about themselves, sensitivity to cultural diversity, civic responsibility and insights into the ways in which communities operate. For a successful service-learning project, lectures, students and community partners should all have a sense of engagement. A number of suggestions are made to improve the incorporation of this service-learning component into the existing zoology course.

Community-University Research Partnerships for Workers' and Environmental Health in Campinas Brazil

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Monteiro, Maria Ines; Siqueira, Carlos Eduardo; Filho, Heleno Rodrigues Correa

2011-01-01

Three partnerships between the University of Campinas, community, and public health care services are discussed in this article. A theoretical framework underpins the critical reviews of their accomplishments following criteria proposed by scholars of community-university partnerships and community-based participatory research. The article…

Research Notes ~ Combating HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Nigeria: Responses from National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN

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Terhemba Nom Ambe-Uva

2007-11-01

Full Text Available Universities have come under serious attack because of their lackluster response to HIV/AIDS. This article examines the response of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN and its strategic responses in combating HIV/AIDS epidemic. This is achieved by examining NOUN’s basic structures that position the University to respond to the epidemic; and second, by assessing HIV/AIDS strategies and policy framework the University has put in place. An interpretative epistemological stance was used for this study, and a qualitative research involving focus group discussion (FGD and analysis of secondary data was carried out. Results showed that NOUN has identified the impact the epidemic has on the university, although it has yet to institutionalize an HIV/AIDS policy. NOUN’s Draft Service Charter, however, has identified the fight against HIV/AIDS as a core mandate of the University, and the introduction of HIV/AIDS certification programs can be viewed as proactive policies in response to the epidemic. Results of this study are discussed in terms of their relevance to future research and the impact such policy frameworks may have on combating the epidemic, both within the University and the wider community.

Auditing and Evaluating University-Community Engagement: Lessons from a UK Case Study

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Hart, Angie; Northmore, Simon

2011-01-01

The growing importance of community and public engagement activities in universities has led to an increasing emphasis on auditing and evaluating university-community partnerships. However, the development of effective audit and evaluation tools is still at a formative stage. This article presents a case study of the University of Brighton's…

Assessing community perspectives of the community based education and service model at Makerere University, Uganda: a qualitative evaluation

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Okullo Isaac

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Community partnerships are defined as groups working together with shared goals, responsibilities, and power to improve the community. There is growing evidence that these partnerships contribute to the success and sustainability of community-based education and service programs (COBES, facilitating change in community actions and attitudes. Makerere University College of Health Sciences (MakCHS is forging itself as a transformational institution in Uganda and the region. The College is motivated to improve the health of Ugandans through innovative responsive teaching, provision of service, and community partnerships. Evaluating the COBES program from the community perspective can assist the College in refining an innovative and useful model that has potential to improve the health of Ugandans. Methods A stratified random sample of 11 COBES sites was selected to examine the community’s perception of the program. Key Informant Interviews of 11 site tutors and 33 community members were completed. The data was manually analyzed and themes developed. Results Communities stated the students consistently engaged with them with culturally appropriate behaviour. They rated the student’s communication as very good even though translators were frequently needed. Half the community stated they received some feedback from the students, but some communities interpreted any contact after the initial visit as feedback. Communities confirmed and appreciated that the students provided a number of interventions and saw positive changes in health and health seeking behaviours. The community reflected that some programs were more sustainable than others; the projects that needed money to implement were least sustainable. The major challenges from the community included community fatigue, and poor motivation of community leaders to continue to take students without compensation. Conclusions Communities hosting Makerere students valued the

University crisis and social responsibility

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José Camilo dos Santos Filho

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to investigate the repercussion of the recent crisis of the university on its mission and responsibility and, from this reflection, to propose ways for the consolidation of this responsibility. The three main crisis faced by the university  from the middle of the XXth century identified by Boaventura Souza Santos as crisis of hegemony, of legitimacy and institutional, constituted the framework of discussion of the problem of social responsibility of the university. Although true for the universities of the advanced countries, the loss of hegemony in the area of research still does not occur in Brazilian university. To overcome the crisis of legitimacy, the creation of advanced academic and professional training institutions for the cultivation of the intellectual and professional elite of the country, as well as of non university institutions of mass higher education for the cultural and technological formation of the youth is justified. To make possible the access to these institutions by discriminated socioeconomic segments of society, the adoption of the policy of affirmative action in the form of quotas is justified.  The overcoming of the institutional crisis will be achieved when the State respect the specificity of the universities and when the evaluation criteria of her functions be adequate to her specific nature and the titularity of the evaluation belong to the institutions themselves assuring the external evaluation by effective pairs and not by pairs coopted by the State.

Challenging the empowerment expectation: Learning, alienation and design possibilities in community-university research

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Joe Curnow

2017-06-01

Full Text Available As community-university partnerships have become mainstream, researchers have argued that these approaches have the potential to be transformative, supporting community learning and creating capacity for community development. While this remains the dominant narrative of community research, some researchers have questioned the impacts of community research on frontline community, or peer, researchers who represent partnerships in their communities. These studies complicate the narrative, suggesting that learning and capacity building are not straightforward processes. While on the whole community-university partnerships tend to be empowering for community researchers, research is needed to understand the experiences of community researchers for whom this is not the case. My research examines a Toronto-based community-university participatory action research partnership, asking what community researchers learnt through their participation. I argue that, while community researchers learnt a great deal from their participation, the overall impact was not empowerment, but alienation. They did have their knowledge of community validated, and they built research skills, developed grievances through their conversations with neighbours and interrogated the links between grievances, all of which were important aspects of their participation. However, through the process they developed, or entrenched, a sense of powerlessness and dependence on the university researchers to take up their cause politically. This contradicts the aspirations of community-university partnership models, especially participatory action research, and raises questions about the inevitability of empowering social action stemming from these research projects. I argue that the disempowerment that the community researchers reported points to the need for community research to be embedded within existing social action organisations and infrastructure to provide clearer pathways to

Finding Sustainability: University-community collaborations focused on arts in health

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Mike White

2011-11-01

Full Text Available This article describes a number of community-based arts in health projects in schools and disadvantaged communities in Northern England that connect with the interdisciplinary research interests of the Centre for Medical Humanities at Durham University (www.dur.ac.uk/cmh. It examines issues about what makes for sustainability in both practice and research of arts in health when operating from a university base and stresses the importance of relationship-based work in health promotion interventions in communities. It attempts to set arts development work in the policy context of how community health has been addressed over the last decade. It provides both practical and metaphorical illustrations of how community cohesion and emotional literacy can be developed and recognised in schools and communities when supported by ethnographic research that is underpinned by theories of social capital, resilience and participatory arts practice. The significance that the artwork can attain as a social gift, with a special meaning for its creators, is examined from an anthropological perspective. Looking historically and comparatively at some longitudinal projects in community-based arts in health, the article assesses what makes for both success and failure in practice, and looks particularly at the significance of the arts in helping to deliver strategies for improving child health and education. In a strategic development context, explanation is given of several strands of university-community collaboration in arts in health, with interlinked project examples drawn from Tyneside and West Yorkshire. Finally, the article looks at the prospects for sustaining arts in health within the coming transfer of the public health function to local government. Keywords Sustainability, arts in community health, resilience, child mental health, social capital

Engaging with communities, engaging with patients: amendment to the NAPCRG 1998 Policy Statement on Responsible Research With Communities.

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Allen, Michele L; Salsberg, Jon; Knot, Michaela; LeMaster, Joseph W; Felzien, Maret; Westfall, John M; Herbert, Carol P; Vickery, Katherine; Culhane-Pera, Kathleen A; Ramsden, Vivian R; Zittleman, Linda; Martin, Ruth Elwood; Macaulay, Ann C

2017-06-01

In 1998, the North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG) adopted a groundbreaking Policy Statement endorsing responsible participatory research (PR) with communities. Since that time, PR gained prominence in primary care research. To reconsider the original 1998 Policy Statement in light of increased uptake of PR, and suggest future directions and applications for PR in primary care. This work contributed to an updated Policy Statement endorsed by NAPCRG in 2015. 32 university and 30 community NAPCRG-affiliated research partners, convened a workshop to document lessons learned about implementing processes and principles of PR. This document emerged from that session and reflection and discussion regarding the original Policy Statement, the emerging PR literature, and our own experiences. The foundational principles articulated in the 1998 Policy Statement remain relevant to the current PR environment. Lessons learned since its publication include that the maturation of partnerships is facilitated by participatory processes that support increased community responsibility for research projects, and benefits generated through PR extend beyond research outcomes. Future directions that will move forward the field of PR in primary care include: (i) improve assessment of PR processes to better delineate the links between how PR teams work together and diverse PR outcomes, (ii) increase the number of models incorporating PR into translational research from project inception to dissemination, and (iii) increase application of PR approaches that support patient engagement in clinical settings to patient-provider relationship and practice change research. PR has markedly altered the manner in which primary care research is undertaken in partnership with communities and its principles and philosophies continue to offer means to assure that research results and processes improve the health of all communities. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All

Friendship Concept and Community Network Structure among Elementary School and University Students.

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Hernández-Hernández, Ana María; Viga-de Alva, Dolores; Huerta-Quintanilla, Rodrigo; Canto-Lugo, Efrain; Laviada-Molina, Hugo; Molina-Segui, Fernanda

2016-01-01

We use complex network theory to study the differences between the friendship concepts in elementary school and university students. Four friendship networks were identified from surveys. Three of these networks are from elementary schools; two are located in the rural area of Yucatán and the other is in the urban area of Mérida, Yucatán. We analyzed the structure and the communities of these friendship networks and found significant differences among those at the elementary schools compared with those at the university. In elementary schools, the students make friends mainly in the same classroom, but there are also links among different classrooms because of the presence of siblings and relatives in the schools. These kinds of links (sibling-friend or relative-friend) are called, in this work, "mixed links". The classification of the communities is based on their similarity with the classroom composition. If the community is composed principally of students in different classrooms, the community is classified as heterogeneous. These kinds of communities appear in the elementary school friendship networks mainly because of the presence of relatives and siblings. Once the links between siblings and relatives are removed, the communities resembled the classroom composition. On the other hand, the university students are more selective in choosing friends and therefore, even when they have friends in the same classroom, those communities are quite different to the classroom composition. Also, in the university network, we found heterogeneous communities even when the presence of sibling and relatives is negligible. These differences made up a topological structure quite different at different academic levels. We also found differences in the network characteristics. Once these differences are understood, the topological structure of the friendship network and the communities shaped in an elementary school could be predicted if we know the total number of students

Safe school task force: University-community partnership to promote student development and a safer school environment.

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Adler, Corey; Chung-Do, Jane; Ongalibang, Ophelia

2008-01-01

The Asian/Pacific Islander Youth Violence Prevention Center (APIYVPC) focuses its youth violence prevention efforts on community mobilization by partnering with Kailua High School and other local community groups. This paper describes the development and activities of the Safe School Task Force (SSTF) and the lessons learned. In response to concerns of school, community members, and students, the SSTF was organized to promote student leadership in raising awareness about problems related to violence. Collaboration among the school, community, and the university places students in leadership roles to reduce school violence and enhances their self-efficacy to improve their school environment. To increase SSTF effectiveness, more attention must be paid to student recruitment, consistent community partnerships, and gaining teacher buy-in. This partnership may be useful in multicultural communities to provide students the opportunities to learn about violence prevention strategies, community mobilization, and leadership skills.

Evaluation of noise pollution level based upon community exposure and response data

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Edmiston, R. D.

1972-01-01

The results and procedures are reported from an evaluation of noise pollution level as a predictor of annoyance, based on aircraft noise exposure and community response data. The measures of noise exposure presented include composite noise rating, noise exposure forecast, noise and number index. A proposed measure as a universal noise exposure measure for noise pollution level (L sub NP) is discussed.

Universal phase transition in community detectability under a stochastic block model.

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Chen, Pin-Yu; Hero, Alfred O

2015-03-01

We prove the existence of an asymptotic phase-transition threshold on community detectability for the spectral modularity method [M. E. J. Newman, Phys. Rev. E 74, 036104 (2006) and Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (USA) 103, 8577 (2006)] under a stochastic block model. The phase transition on community detectability occurs as the intercommunity edge connection probability p grows. This phase transition separates a subcritical regime of small p, where modularity-based community detection successfully identifies the communities, from a supercritical regime of large p where successful community detection is impossible. We show that, as the community sizes become large, the asymptotic phase-transition threshold p* is equal to √[p1p2], where pi(i=1,2) is the within-community edge connection probability. Thus the phase-transition threshold is universal in the sense that it does not depend on the ratio of community sizes. The universal phase-transition phenomenon is validated by simulations for moderately sized communities. Using the derived expression for the phase-transition threshold, we propose an empirical method for estimating this threshold from real-world data.

Health Promotion of University Students: contributions of community therapy.

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Cintia Poleto Buzeli

2012-01-01

Full Text Available With this experience report of a master’s degree and two teachers of graduate Nursing School of Nursing Federal University of Mato Grosso, we sought to reflect on the Community Therapy (TC as a practice of collective care offered to students university students. Our goal is to report the experience of performing TC wheels in an academic environment, offer theoretical and methodological principles for the structuring and implementation of this practice care to college students at other universities. Was used for data collection direct observation of the wheels of TC the professional experiences as nurses and therapists community and appreciation of documents of such as the registration form filled out by the TC meetings and therapist co-therapist after each wheel TC. The reported experience has demonstrated the effectiveness of TC for the promotion of health thin this group, showing its importance as a practice for the creation and strengthening of ties between the community, the establishment of solidarity networks among students, as being a space speech and listening to their sufferings, their appreciation of life and its potential for promoting self-esteem and to encourage the development of a democract and civic consciousness.

Social support and responsiveness in online patient communities: impact on service quality perceptions.

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Nambisan, Priya; Gustafson, David H; Hawkins, Robert; Pingree, Suzanne

2016-02-01

Hospitals frequently evaluate their service quality based on the care and services provided to patients by their clinical and non-clinical staff.(1,2) However, such evaluations do not take into consideration the many interactions that patients have in online patient communities with the health-care organization (HCO) as well as with peer patients. Patients' interactions in these online communities could impact their perceptions regarding the HCO's service quality. The objective of this pilot study was to evaluate the impact of social support and responsiveness that patients experience in an HCO's online community on patients' perceptions regarding the HCO's service quality. The study data are collected from CHESS, a health-care programme (Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System) run by the Centre for Health Enhancement System Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Findings show that the social support and the responsiveness received from peer patients in the online patient communities will impact patients' perceptions regarding the service quality of the HCO even when the organizational members themselves do not participate in the online discussions. The results indicate that interactions in such HCO-provided online patient communities should not be ignored as they could translate into patients' perceptions regarding HCOs' service quality. Ways to improve responsiveness and social support in an HCO's online patient community are discussed. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Engaging and Supporting a University Press Scholarly Community

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Megan Taylor

2018-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper we explore how the development of The University of Huddersfield Press, a publisher of open access scholarly journals and monographs, has enabled the sharing of research with a wider online audience. We situate the development of the Press within a wider research environment and growing community of New University Presses (NUPs where there is an increasing demand for demonstrating research impact, which drives the need for improved analysis and reporting of impact data, a task that often falls within the remit of library and academic support services. We detail the benefits of the University Press Manager role in terms of ensuring professional service that delivers consistency and sustainability. We go on to outline the experiences of engaging with different online spaces and detail the extensive support for student authors. We argue that in order for the Press to support building a strong and engaged scholarly community and provide new spaces for emerging research, continued investment in both platform development and infrastructure is required.

Drinking water quality in a Mexico city university community: perception and preferences.

Science.gov (United States)

Espinosa-García, Ana C; Díaz-Ávalos, Carlos; González-Villarreal, Fernando J; Val-Segura, Rafael; Malvaez-Orozco, Velvet; Mazari-Hiriart, Marisa

2015-03-01

A transversal study was conducted at the University City campus of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in Mexico City, with the goal of estimating the university community preference for drinking either tap water or bottled water and the reasons for their selection. A representative sample of three university community subpopulations (students, workers/administrative staff, and academic personnel) were interviewed with respect to their water consumption habits. The results showed that 75% of the university community drinks only bottled water and that the consumption of tap water is low. The interviewees responded that the main reason for this preference is the organoleptic features of tap water independent of quality. In general, the participants in this study do not trust the quality of the tap water, which could be caused by the facilities that distribute bottled water encouraging a general disinterest in learning about the origin and management of the tap water that is distributed on campus.

Community members' views on Addis Ababa University's rural ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... University's rural community health training program: A qualitative study. ... A total of five FGDs and six key informant interviews were conducted using a ... The audio-taped data was later transcribed verbatim and translated into English.

A Flight Research Overview of WSPR, a Pilot Project for Sonic Boom Community Response

Science.gov (United States)

Cliatt, Larry J., II; Haering, Edward A., Jr.; Jones, Thomas P.; Waggoner, Erin R.; Flattery, Ashley K.; Wiley, Scott L.

2014-01-01

In support of the ongoing effort by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to bring supersonic commercial travel to the public, the NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center and the NASA Langley Research Center, in cooperation with other industry organizations, conducted a flight research experiment to identify the methods, tools, and best practices for a large-scale quiet (or low) sonic boom community human response test. The name of the effort was Waveforms and Sonic boom Perception and Response (WSPR). Such tests will be applied to building a dataset that governing agencies such as the Federal Aviation Administration and the International Civil Aviation Organization will use to establish regulations for acceptable sound levels of overland sonic booms. The WSPR test was the first such effort that studied responses to non-traditional low sonic booms while the subject persons were in their own homes and performing daily activities.The WSPR test was a NASA collaborative effort with several industry partners, in response to a NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate Research Opportunities in Aeronautics. The primary contractor was Wyle (El Segundo, California). Other partners included Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation (Savannah, Georgia); Pennsylvania State University (University Park, Pennsylvania); Tetra Tech, Inc. (Pasadena, California); and Fidell Associates, Inc. (Woodland Hills, California).A major objective of the effort included exposing a community to the sonic boom magnitudes and occurrences that would be expected to occur in high-air traffic regions having a network of supersonic commercial aircraft in place. Low-level sonic booms designed to simulate those produced by the next generation of commercial supersonic aircraft were generated over a small residential community. The sonic boom footprint was recorded with an autonomous wireless microphone array that spanned the entire community. Human response data were collected using multiple

University psychiatry in Italy: organisation and integration of university clinics and the National Health Service

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Pier Maria Furlan

2013-09-01

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: In the Italian psychiatric system, community-based care has become increasingly important and widespread since the national reform of 1978. This report aims to provide an overview of the involvement of university medical schools in this process, considering their responsibility for teaching and training specialist practitioners and professionals. METHODS: The study was carried out between early 2010 and February 2011. An 18-items, self-administered, questionnaire was designed to investigate the number of faculty members that are responsible both for running a clinical ward and for providing community-based healthcare. RESULTS: Nine out of 53 faculty members (17% manage a Mental Health Department, 9 (17% manage a University Department, and 2 (3.8% manage both types of department. Less than half of the teachers have full responsibility (hospital and community; however the percentage reaches 73.2% if we include the hospital wards open to the community emergencies. The remaining 26.8% have no responsibility for community psychiatry. Moreover there were undoubtedly still too many universities with specialisation schools that are without an appropriate network of facilities enabling them to offer complex psychiatric training. DISCUSSION: As expected, there were several types of healthcare management that were not uniformly distributed throughout Italy and there were also marked differences between mental health care provision in the North, Centre, and South of Italy. The university involvement in clinical responsibility was great, but at the management level there was a lack of equality in terms of clinical care, which risks being reflected also on the institutional functions of teaching and research.

A University-Community Partnership in Teacher Education from the Perspectives of Community-Based Teacher Educators

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Guillen, Lorena; Zeichner, Ken

2018-01-01

This article examines the experiences of a group of nine community-based mentors of teacher candidates who partnered for several years through a local, community-based organization with the graduate elementary and secondary teacher education programs at a research university in the Pacific Northwest. Following a brief discussion of the history of…

Hazardous materials emergency response training program at Texas A ampersand M University

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stirling, A.G.

1989-01-01

The Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) as the engineering vocational training arm of the Texas A ampersand M University system has conducted oil-spill, hazardous-material, and related safety training for industry since 1976 and fire suppression training since 1931. In 1987 TEEX conducted training for some 66,000 persons, of which some 6000 were in hazardous-materials safety training and 22,000 in fire suppression or related fields. Various laws and regulations exist relative to employee training at an industrial facility, such as the Hazard Communication Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or more commonly Superfund), the Community Right to Know Law, and the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA), Titles I and III. The TEEX programs developed on the foundation emphasize the hands-on approach (60% field exercises) to provide a comprehensive training curriculum resulting in regulatory compliance, an effective emergency response capability, a prepared community, and a safe work environment

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Football: A Metaphorical, Symbolic and Ritualistic Community Event

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James W. Satterfield

2010-11-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of the social dynamics surrounding the University of Nebraska-Lincoln football program on the community at large. The following research questions helped guide the research study: 1. What are the sociological effects of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln football on the community? and 2. How is commitment displayed to University of Nebraska football by members of the community? Six focus group interviews were conducted, each with five to seven participants. Through phenomenological analysis, it became clear that the sociological nature of University of Nebraska-Lincoln football is steeped in tradition, and the ritualistic nature that surrounds this phenomenon extends well into communities. This study illuminates three themes that emerged through data collection and analysis: 1. Harvest, 2. United we stand, and 3. Farm values. The Harvest theme represents the similarities of the agricultural lifestyle to a football season and how the entire year is dedicated towards performance. United we stand emerged as a visual, social and emotional sense of pride for the state of Nebraska residents towards the University and Nebraska and its football team. The connection between the university and the state begins early in life and grows as the years pass to become a social symbol of pride and togetherness as small towns shut down to gather and watch football games. Farm values emerged as the final theme and represented the importance of the farming value structure on the many small communities and towns in the state of Nebraska. For many small towns, a great sense of pride was generated when a local athlete was able to play for the University of Nebraska. This pride served as a means of legitimacy and hope in many struggling families that create Nebraska's farming communities. URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs110134

Creating and Sustaining University-Community Partnerships in Science Education (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Finkelstein, N.

2009-12-01

Despite years of research and investment, we have yet to see the widespread implementation of a myriad research-proven instructional strategies in STEM education[1]. To address this challenge, we present and analyze one such strategy, a theoretically-grounded model of university-community partnership [2] that engages university students and children in a collective enterprise that has the potential to improve the participation and education of all. We document the impact of this effort on: university participants who learn about education, the community and science; children in the community who learn about science, the nature of science and develop their identities and attitudes towards science; and, shifts in institutional structures which may allow these programs to be part of standard practice. This project is designed to be sustained and scaled, and is analyzed through the application of a new framework [3] which brings together theories of STEM change that come from studies in higher education, faculty development and disciplinary-based education research in STEM. [1] National Research Council. (2003). Improving Undergraduate Instruction in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics: Report of A Workshop. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press. [2] Finkelstein, N. and Mayhew, L. (2008). Acting in Our Own Self-Interest: Blending University and Community. Proceedings of the 2008 Physics Education Research Conf, AIP Press. Melville NY, 1064, 19-22. [3] Henderson, C., Finkelstein, N. & Beach A. (to appear). Beyond Dissemination in College science teaching: An Introduction to Four Core Change Strategies. Accepted May 2009 in Journal of College Science Teaching.

University Social Responsibility and Brand Image of Private Universities in Bangkok

Science.gov (United States)

Plungpongpan, Jirawan; Tiangsoongnern, Leela; Speece, Mark

2016-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of university social responsibility (USR) on the brand image of private universities in Thailand. Brand image is important for entry into the consideration set as prospective students evaluate options for university study. USR activities may be implicit or explicit, i.e., actively…

Examining the Intersections between Undergraduates' Engagement in Community Service and Development of Socially Responsible Leadership

Science.gov (United States)

Soria, Krista; Nobbe, June; Fink, Alex

2013-01-01

This paper examined relationships between students' engagement in community service in different contexts through classes, student organizations, work study, and on their own as well as their development of socially responsible leadership at a large, public, research university in the Upper Midwest. Results from the Multi-Institutional Study of…

Shared Space, Liminal Space: Five Years into a Community-University Place-Based Experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Barajas, Heidi Lasley; Martin, Lauren

2016-01-01

This article explores shared space at the University of Minnesota's Robert J. Jones Urban Research and Outreach Engagement Center (UROC), located four miles off campus in a community strong in assets, but facing inequality, disinvestment and racism. UROC's mission promotes university-community collaboration to solve critical urban challenges. We…

Entrepreneurship Education in American Community Colleges and Universities.

Science.gov (United States)

Seymour, Nicole

This is an analysis of entrepreneurship-education opportunities at various American community colleges, universities, and business schools. Roughly 100 institutions offer formal educational programs that focus on entrepreneurship; however, approximately 1,500 colleges offer courses in entrepreneurship and small-business management. Community…

Evaluating the engagement of universities in capacity building for sustainable development in local communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Shiel, Chris; Leal Filho, Walter; do Paço, Arminda; Brandli, Luciana

2016-02-01

Universities have the potential to play a leading role in enabling communities to develop more sustainable ways of living and working however, sustainable communities may only emerge with facilitation, community learning and continual efforts to build their capacities. Elements of programme planning and evaluation on the one hand, and capacity building on the other, are needed. The latter entails approaches and processes that may contribute to community empowerment; universities may either lead such approaches, or be key partners in an endeavour to empower communities to address the challenges posed by the need for sustainable development. Although capacity building and the promotion of sustainable development locally, are on the agenda for universities who take seriously regional engagement, very little is published that illustrates or describes the various forms of activities that take place. Further, there is a paucity of studies that have evaluated the work performed by universities in building capacity for sustainable development at the local level. This paper is an attempt to address this need, and entails an empirical study based on a sample of universities in the United Kingdom, Germany, Portugal and Brazil. The paper examines the extent to which capacity building for sustainable development is being undertaken, suggests the forms that this might take and evaluates some of the benefits for local communities. The paper concludes by reinforcing that universities have a critical role to play in community development; that role has to prioritise the sustainability agenda. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

University student social media use and its influence on offline engagement in higher educational communities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karen Sutherland

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Previous research has emphasised social media adoption by students and the implementation of social media by educators, yet few studies have explored whether students are using it to facilitate engagement in offline environments with peers within university communities. Studies suggest engagement in educational communities and extra-curricular activities can reduce student attrition. This study surveyed 106 undergraduate students to investigate whether students using social media to interact online with their university felt: (i connected to the broader university community, and (ii social media helped them engage offline by meeting up with peers and attending university events. The results indicated that the majority (82% never or rarely used the technology to facilitate offline engagement within their academic communities. Fourth year students were most likely to use social media to engage offline (66.7%. However, more than half of students (52.8% felt that university social media profiles helped them to feel part of their academic community.

A Community-University Exchange Project Modeled after Europe's Science Shops

Science.gov (United States)

Tryon, Elizabeth; Ross, J. Ashleigh

2012-01-01

This article describes a pilot project of the Morgridge Center for Public Service at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for a new structure for community-based learning and research. It is based on the European-derived science shop model for democratizing campus-community partnerships using shared values of mutual respect and validation of…

Community response grids: using information technology to help communities respond to bioterror emergencies.

Science.gov (United States)

Jaeger, Paul T; Fleischmann, Kenneth R; Preece, Jennifer; Shneiderman, Ben; Wu, Philip Fei; Qu, Yan

2007-12-01

Access to accurate and trusted information is vital in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from an emergency. To facilitate response in large-scale emergency situations, Community Response Grids (CRGs) integrate Internet and mobile technologies to enable residents to report information, professional emergency responders to disseminate instructions, and residents to assist one another. CRGs use technology to help residents and professional emergency responders to work together in community response to emergencies, including bioterrorism events. In a time of increased danger from bioterrorist threats, the application of advanced information and communication technologies to community response is vital in confronting such threats. This article describes CRGs, their underlying concepts, development efforts, their relevance to biosecurity and bioterrorism, and future research issues in the use of technology to facilitate community response.

Exploring Sense of Community in a University Common Book Program

Science.gov (United States)

Ferguson, Kristen; Brown, Natalya; Piper, Linda

2015-01-01

Many post-secondary common book programs purport to increase a sense of community on campus. This study explored whether a common book program at a Canadian university was able to create a sense of community among students. Results indicate that in-class discussions about the book, liking the Facebook page, attending the author lecture, and…

Rhizomes and plateaus: A study of digital communities of practice in University College English Teaching

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjærgaard, Thomas

2017-01-01

Rhizomes and plateaus: A study of digital communities of practice in University College English Teaching......Rhizomes and plateaus: A study of digital communities of practice in University College English Teaching...

Community-University Partnerships: Achieving continuity in the face of change

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Linda Silka

2008-09-01

Full Text Available A challenge that community-university partnerships everywhere will face is how to maintain continuity in the face of change. The problems besetting communities continually shift and the goals of the university partners often fluctuate. This article describes a decade-long strategy one university has successfully used to address this problem. Over the past ten years, a community-university partnership at the University of Massachusetts Lowell has used summer content funding to respond creativity to shifting priorities. Each summer a research-action project is developed that targets a different content issue that has emerged with unexpected urgency. Teams of graduate students and high school students are charged with investigating this issue under the auspices of the partnership. These highly varied topics have included immigrant businesses, youth asset mapping, women owned businesses, the housing crisis, social program cutbacks, sustainability, and economic development and the arts. Despite their obvious differences, these topics share underlying features that further partnership commitment and continuity. Each has an urgency: the information is needed quickly, often because some immediate policy change is under consideration. Each topic has the advantage of drawing on multiple domains: the topics are inherently interdisciplinary and because they do not “belong” to any single field, they lend themselves to disciplines pooling their efforts to achieve greater understanding. Each also has high visibility: their salience has meant that people were often willing to devote scarce resources to the issues and also that media attention could easily be gained to highlight the advantages of students, partners, and the university working together. And the topics themselves are generative: they have the potential to contribute in many different ways to teaching, research, and outreach. This paper ends with a broader consideration of how partnerships can

Writing Programs as Distributed Networks: A Materialist Approach to University-Community Digital Media Literacy

Science.gov (United States)

Comstock, Michelle

2006-01-01

This article addresses how community-university digital media literacy projects are redefining literacy, literate practices, and institutions. Using Actor-Network Theory (ANT), which emphasizes the organizing process itself, I analyze the shifting definitions of literacy within one particular university-community collaboration. My analysis…

Linking University and Teacher Communities: A "Think Tank" Model of Professional Development.

Science.gov (United States)

Henry, Sarah K.; Scott, Judith A.; Wells, Jan; Skobel, Bonnie; Jones, Alan; Cross, Susie; Butler, Cynthia; Blackstone, Teresa

1999-01-01

Rather than informing the teaching community about good research, five experienced teachers and three university researchers developed a discourse community around vocabulary learning to reflect on practice, engage in shared critiques, and support professional choices. In doing so, they were able to inform the research community about good…

Quality Assurance of University Education: Whose Responsibility?

Science.gov (United States)

Ibijola, Elizabeth Yinka

2015-01-01

This study sought the opinion of stakeholders in university education, to know who should be responsible for quality assurance of university education in Nigeria. Descriptive research of survey design was employed in the study. The population consisted of all public university staff members, students and the employers of Nigerian university…

Root-associated fungal community response to drought-associated changes in vegetation community.

Science.gov (United States)

Dean, Sarah L; Warnock, Daniel D; Litvak, Marcy E; Porras-Alfaro, Andrea; Sinsabaugh, Robert

2015-01-01

Recent droughts in southwestern USA have led to large-scale mortality of piñon (Pinus edulis) in piñon-juniper woodlands. Piñon mortality alters soil moisture, nutrient and carbon availability, which could affect the root-associated fungal (RAF) communities and therefore the fitness of the remaining plants. We collected fine root samples at a piñon-juniper woodland and a juniper savannah site in central New Mexico. Roots were collected from piñon and juniper (Juniperus monosperma) trees whose nearest neighbors were live piñon, live juniper or dead piñon. RAF communities were analyzed by 454 pyrosequencing of the universal fungal ITS region. The most common taxa were Hypocreales and Chaetothyriales. More than 10% of ITS sequences could not be assigned taxonomy at the phylum level. Two of the unclassified OTUs significantly differed between savanna and woodland, had few like sequences in GenBank and formed new fungal clades with other unclassified RAF from arid plants, highlighting how little study has been done on the RAF of arid ecosystems. Plant host or neighbor did not affect RAF community composition. However, there was a significant difference between RAF communities from woodland vs. savanna, indicating that abiotic factors such as temperature and aridity might be more important in structuring these RAF communities than biotic factors such as plant host or neighbor identity. Ectomycorrhizal fungi (EM) were present in juniper as well as piñon in the woodland site, in contrast with previous research, but did not occur in juniper savanna, suggesting a potential shared EM network with juniper. RAF richness was lower in hosts that were neighbors of the opposite host. This may indicate competitive exclusion between fungi from different hosts. Characterizing these communities and their responses to environment and plant neighborhood is a step toward understanding the effects of drought on a biome that spans 19,000,000 ha of southwestern USA. © 2015 by The

Social Anxiety Experiences and Responses of University Students

Science.gov (United States)

Akacan, Behiye; Secim, Gurcan

2015-01-01

The aim of this study is to examine the responses of university students in social anxiety situations in order to create a psychological counselling program with a structured group based on Cognitive Behavioural and Existential Approaches. These responses involve the behaviour and thoughts of the university students in situations where they…

Project H.O.P.E.: Effective University Engagement with Community Afterschool Programs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barbara C. Jentleson

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Implemented in 2002 by the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership, Project H.O.P.E. has improved the quantity and quality of afterschool programs for the youth of Durham, NC. Project H.O.P.E. provides tutoring programs, enrichment resources, and evaluation support to non-profit community partner organizations located in the low income Durham neighborhoods surrounding Duke University. Duke University undergraduates who provide tutoring services to the Durham youth in the afterschool programs gain from valuable reciprocal service learning experiences. Project H.O.P.E. is an effective model of the mutual benefits that can be gained from effective university and community engagement in the service of at-risk students.

Comparing Ethical and Epistemic Standards for Investigative Journalists and Equity-Oriented Collaborative Community-Based Researchers: Why Working for a University Matters

Science.gov (United States)

Newman, Anne; Glass, Ronald David

2014-01-01

Criticisms of IRBs are proliferating. In response, we compare the ethical and epistemic standards of two closely related forms of inquiry, investigative journalism and equity-oriented collaborative community-based research (EOCCBR). We argue that a university affiliation justifies formal ethical review of research and suggest how institutionalized…

Community College Student Mental Health: A Comparative Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Katz, Daniel Seth; Davison, Karen

2014-01-01

This study explores community college student mental health by comparing the responses of California community college and traditional university students on the American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment II (ACHA-NCHA II). Using MANOVA, we compared community college and traditional university students, examining…

Ethical Competencies and the Organizational Competency ‘Responsible University Social Innovation’: looking at new ways of understanding universities and the competency-based education model in the context of significant social changes in Latin America

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Javier Villar Olaeta

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Ethical competencies are included in all competency-based education models and are considered essential for the professional preparation of students, especially in terms of their professional conduct and workplace preparedness. As such, the Tuning Academy, along with incorporating ethical competencies in its group of generic competencies, also considers the organizational competency Responsible University Social Innovation (RUSI as part of its Tuning ALFA II Latin América project. This competency, in the area of organizational character, addresses innovation in the context of social responsibility, which it assumes each university should have, in terms of ethical responsibility toward the members of a community. This concept incorporates the equal relationship between the university’s internal community and civil society. By means of interviews with experts in the areas of service-learning, social responsibility, and ethical civil and professional education from the University of Deusto and the Zerbikas Foundation, this article discusses the connection and implementation of both generic ethical competencies and the RUSI organizational competency in higher education in order to respond to the new challenges to professional training in today’s world, all of which ultimately assumes a change in universities’ understandings of themselves as institutions and the role of higher education in general.

Sustaining Community-University Partnerships: Lessons learned from a participatory research project with elderly Chinese

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

XinQi Dong

2011-11-01

Full Text Available The strength of community-engaged research has been well documented in public health literature. It is recognised as a useful approach for eliminating health disparities by linking research and practice. While the framework of community-engaged research encompasses a broad range of research collaborations, community-based participatory research (CBPR places most emphasis on involving the community as a full, equitable partner throughout the collaboration. Despite growing interest in and demand for community-university partnerships, less attention is given to the issue of partnership sustainability. The purpose of this article is to present the challenges faced in sustaining a community-university partnership when conducting a CBPR project with an elderly Chinese population in Chicago’s Chinatown. Lessons and strategies learned from the cultural and linguistic complexities of the Chinese community are also detailed. In addition, based on a well-accepted sustainability conceptual framework, we reflect on the initial stage, mid-term actions and long-term goals of developing partnership sustainability. Working with the Chinese community required trust and respect for its unique cultural values and diversity. The cultural, social and environmental contexts within which the partnership operated served as critical forces for long-term sustainability: a culturally sensitive approach is instrumental in sustaining community-university partnership. Also discussed are the significant implications for evidence-based, impact-driven partnerships to develop culturally appropriate strategies to meet the needs of diverse populations. Keywords Community-based participatory research, community health partnerships, health promotion, Chinese Americans, ageing

Bird community responses to the edge between suburbs and reserves.

Science.gov (United States)

Ikin, Karen; Barton, Philip S; Knight, Emma; Lindenmayer, David B; Fischer, Joern; Manning, Adrian D

2014-02-01

New insights into community-level responses at the urban fringe, and the mechanisms underlying them, are needed. In our study, we investigated the compositional distinctiveness and variability of a breeding bird community at both sides of established edges between suburban residential areas and woodland reserves in Canberra, Australia. Our goals were to determine if: (1) community-level responses were direct (differed with distance from the edge, independent of vegetation) or indirect (differed in response to edge-related changes in vegetation), and (2) if guild-level responses provided the mechanism underpinning community-level responses. We found that suburbs and reserves supported significantly distinct bird communities. The suburban bird community, characterised by urban-adapted native and exotic species, had a weak direct edge response, with decreasing compositional variability with distance from the edge. In comparison, the reserve bird community, characterised by woodland-dependent species, was related to local tree and shrub cover. This was not an indirect response, however, as tree and shrub cover was not related to edge distance. We found that the relative richness of nesting, foraging and body size guilds also displayed similar edge responses, indicating that they underpinned the observed community-level responses. Our study illustrates how community-level responses provide valuable insights into how communities respond to differences in resources between two contrasting habitats. Further, the effects of the suburban matrix penetrate into reserves for greater distances than previously thought. Suburbs and adjacent reserves, however, provided important habitat resources for many native species and the conservation of these areas should not be discounted from continued management strategies.

Corporate Social Responsibility Agreements Model for Community ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Corporate Social Responsibility Agreements Model for Community ... their host communities with concomitant adverse effect on mining operations. ... sustainable community development an integral part of the mining business. This paper presents the evolutionary strategic models, with differing principles and action plans, ...

Community and ecosystem responses to elevational gradients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sundqvist, Maja K.; Sanders, Nate; Wardle, David A.

2013-01-01

Community structure and ecosystem processes often vary along elevational gradients. Their responses to elevation are commonly driven by changes in temperature, and many community- and ecosystem-level variables therefore frequently respond similarly to elevation across contrasting gradients...... elevational gradients for understanding community and ecosystem responses to global climate change at much larger spatial and temporal scales than is possible through conventional ecological experiments. However, future studies that integrate elevational gradient approaches with experimental manipulations...... will provide powerful information that can improve predictions of climate change impacts within and across ecosystems....

Community Development and Divergent Forces in Philippine State Universities and Colleges: Developing a Protocol in Evaluating Extension Projects Towards Community Empowerment

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Dexter S. Ontoy

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Divergent paradigms operate in State Universities and Colleges SUCs, which influence the performance of extension projects towards attainment of full empowerment as the ultimate goal implied by the universally-accepted definition of community development. In particular, a livelihood and environment project of Cebu Normal University (CNU implemented in Caputatan Norte, Medillin, Cebu, Philippines was assessed based on five (5 primary parameters and two (2 secondary parameters. A novel protocol using Delphi Method shows was developed and used for this particular study, which could be adapted in evaluating the performance of community extension projects. In this particular case, the performance of CNU livelihood and environment project falls between ―demonstration‖ and ―community organizing‖. The evaluation shows that there is still a need to reinforce activities to the ultimate goal. However, it is also implied that the secondary parameters are more robust indicators in assessing the outcomes of the project implementation towards full community empowerment.

Wastewater characterization of the community 'Antonio Maceo' of the Oriente University

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crombet Grillet, Sandra; Perez Pompa, Norma; Abalos Rodriguez, Arelis; Rodriguez Perez, Suyen

2013-01-01

The main environmental problems of the Universidad de Oriente are associated with the emission of uncontrolled and untreated solid and liquid waste to the environment. In the university community 'Antonio Maceo' 1 360 people now living, of which 70 % are students of the institution. This community poured about 23 462,7 L/d of wastewater residual liquids composed of 15 buildings and the waters of the kitchen and cafeteria. In this paper we evaluate the physico-chemical and microbiological wastewater university community Antonio Maceo, determining environmental parameters of highest incidence. The waters are neutral and proper salinity. They have gray color, odor and cloudy appearance, without the presence of floating material. The organic matter content is above discharge limits and detected total and fecal coli forms. The greatest variability (46,5 %) of wastewater depends on the turbidity, COD, BOD 5 , sulfide, ammonium, oil and grease and total solids and fixe

Universities and Corporate Social Responsibility Performance: An ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Toshiba

CSR universities can pay attention to; these areas are: economic responsibility, ... The idea or thinking of corporate social ... commonly accepted that a good reputation can create a strong competitive advantage ...... Universalities also need to take into consideration philanthropic ..... Critical Perspectives on Accounting. Vol.

Integrity within the University Community. Its Ethical Values, Attitudes and Behaviours

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mirela Arsith

2010-06-01

Full Text Available The hypothesis, that our paper is based on, is that the university community plays an important role both in the process of shaping the students’ professional and transversal competences and in the shaping of their moral dimension. Ethical values, such as credibility, respect, equity, correctness, tolerance, might generate attitudes, such as participative interest, responsibility assumption, moral norms, dialogue willingness etc. The personal and professional development of the students from “Danubius” University of Galati, should be conditioned both by their solid knowledge, their competences of their specialization, and by their interiorethical behaviours. The future graduates should focus their future activity on a professional deontology and on the projection of the possible consequences of their actions and decisions within the individual, social and natural environment they are going to work in. The aim of our paper is to identify and analyze the strategiesof ethically shaping the students who will be specialists in communication and public relations. Our paper will demonstrate the importance of the ethical dimension within this specialization which will provide the competences of the social influence. This has multiple outcomes within the social field, having significantethical implications.

A University/Community Collaborative Model on Empowerment in Elementary Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Goeke, John C.; And Others

1995-01-01

Collaboration is growing among schools and community services for youth, their families, and now, university graduate programs. Proposes a structural model for collaboration which implements the concept of empowerment and designs sustainable working relationships over time. (DR)

Forging University-Community Collaboration: The Agency Perspective on National Service.

Science.gov (United States)

Tice, Carol H.

1994-01-01

With passage of the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993, national service volunteers will be joining forces with community-based organizations to work with underserved populations, creating many challenges. The community agency perspective on some anticipated challenges, possible responses, and application of principles of good…

University’s social responsibility at Spanish universities

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Marta RUIZ-CORBELLA

2016-06-01

Full Text Available A review of the University’s Social Responsibility is introduced, an implementation of corporate social responsibility to the specifics of the institutions of higher education. Once the advisability and content of this concept is defined, 4 key areas in higher education are reviewed: training, research, management and social participation, based on performance indicators. With a descriptive study, the inclusion of USR in the training offering of Spanish universities is analyzed, its scientific output in this field, and its integration to university management. The conclusion is that, despite the relevance and initial interest from the government teams of these institutions, this is yet a not consolidated topic, although a constant improvement maintained over the years is perceived, with significant differences between the areas of the USR. Implementing it in our universities, along with an evaluation model, will become a key factor for the universities, as a sign of its capacity to respond to society. 

In response to community violence: coping strategies and involuntary stress responses among Latino adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Epstein-Ngo, Quyen; Maurizi, Laura K; Bregman, Allyson; Ceballo, Rosario

2013-01-01

Among poor, urban adolescents, high rates of community violence are a pressing public health concern. This study relies on a contextual framework of stress and coping to investigate how coping strategies and involuntary stress responses may both mediate and moderate the relation between exposure to community violence and psychological well-being. Our sample consists of 223 ninth grade Latino adolescents from poor, urban families. In response to community violence, these adolescents reported using an array of coping strategies as well as experiencing a number of involuntary stress responses; the most frequent coping responses were turning to religion and seeking social support. Hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that involuntary stress responses mediated the relations between both witnessing or being victimized by violence and poorer psychological functioning, while coping strategies moderated these relations. These findings suggest that the negative psychological effects of exposure to community violence may, in part, be explained by involuntary stress responses, while religious-based coping may serve as a protective factor.

Sexual Harassment and the University Community.

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Hite, Molly

1990-01-01

Relates story of a college program director's coercive sexual harassment and the response of women faculty and peers outside the university. Focuses on the distinction between "having affairs" and "sexual coercion." Claims only when definitions of sexual harassment are articulated can men and women begin to talk to one another about the problem.…

Learning Communities for University Students At-Risk of School Failure: Can They Make a Difference?

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Tharp, Terri J.

2009-01-01

This study investigated the impact of learning communities on the academic success of university students at-risk of academic failure. The effects of learning communities (LC) at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) on cumulative GPAs, retention rates, and earned cumulative hours of students with ACT sub-scores of 17 or 18 in math who were…

A Flight Research Overview of WSPR, a Pilot Project for Sonic Boom Community Response

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Cliatt, Larry James; Haering, Ed; Jones, Thomas P.; Waggoner, Erin R.; Flattery, Ashley K.; Wiley, Scott L.

2014-01-01

In support of NASAs ongoing effort to bring supersonic commercial travel to the public, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center and NASA Langley Research Center, in cooperation with other industry organizations, conducted a flight research experiment to identify the methods, tools, and best practices for a large-scale quiet (or low) sonic boom community human response test. The name of the effort was Waveforms and Sonic boom Perception and Response. Such tests will go towards building a dataset that governing agencies like the Federal Aviation Administration and International Civil Aviation Organization will use to establish regulations for acceptable sound levels of overland sonic booms. Until WSPR, there had never been an effort that studied the response of people in their own homes and performing daily activities to non-traditional, low sonic booms.WSPR was a NASA collaborative effort with several industry partners, in response to a NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate Research Opportunities in Aeronautics. The primary contractor was Wyle. Other partners included Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, Pennsylvania State University, Tetra Tech, and Fidell Associates, Inc.A major objective of the effort included exposing a community with the sonic boom magnitudes and occurrences expected in high-air traffic regions with a network of supersonic commercial aircraft in place. Low-level sonic booms designed to simulate those produced by the next generation of commercial supersonic aircraft were generated over a small residential community. The sonic boom footprint was recorded with an autonomous wireless microphone array that spanned the entire community. Human response data was collected using multiple survey methods. The research focused on essential elements of community response testing including subject recruitment, survey methods, instrumentation systems, flight planning and operations, and data analysis methods.This paper focuses on NASAs role in the efforts

University implementing its community service role through curriculum development in a regional college

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Anne Keerberg

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The three roles of a higher education institution are teaching, research and community service. The objective of the article is to analyse how a university regional college can implement the task of community service via its curriculum development. The theoretical base lies on the positions of internationally recognised scientists of education policy as well as OECD definitions and clarifications that are compared to the cases of the regional colleges (in Narva and Kuressaare of two universities (respectively University of Tartu and Tallinn University of Technology. The set task enables to study as a whole such components as the content and design of curricula, teaching and assessment methods, extracurricular activities, topics and supervision of students’ research works, cooperation with partners. A comprehensive approach is a precondition of a well-functioning curriculum, with community service being the unifying aspect. The results of current study are applicable in case of the analysed curricula and colleges, they partly applicable in case of any other similar curricula and units. Prerequisites of the colleges' network evolvement, holistic impact and compliance with the region-specific needs is a significant topic the additional study of which has already begun.

Attitude of University of Nigeria Medical Students to Community ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Aims: A study was carried out among 136 final year medical students of University of Nigeria Enugu Campus, to verify their attitude to Community Medicine as well as selection of the course for future specialization. Methods: The study was a cross sectional descriptive one involving all final year medical students of the ...

Linking up with the community: a fertile strategy for a university hospital?

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Thomas Plochg

2006-02-01

Full Text Available Purpose: To systematically identify, describe and characterise the collaborative initiatives, which have been established between the Academic Medical Centre/University of Amsterdam and local health care providers in the adjacent community. Background: The viability of university hospitals is jeopardised. Their narrowed orientation on delivering the most advanced services to the sickest patients challenges their missions in patient care, science and education. By linking up with local health care providers, university hospitals create synergistic relationships that should secure these three academic missions for the future. Methods: We conducted a multiple case study in two stages. Initially, division leaders and the director of integrated care were consulted to identify all existing collaborative initiatives of the Academic Medical Centre. Successively, face-to-face interviews were held with the leaders of these initiatives. During these interviews data were primarily collected through a questionnaire. Notes of the interviewer, and documents (if available were also collected. The analysis focused on systematically describing and characterising the initiatives using the concept of ‘community-based integrated care’. Results: Twenty-seven heterogeneous initiatives were identified. Half of these initiatives are targeted to the adjacent community of the Academic Medical Centre, but only four of them are initiated on the basis of community information and involve the community and/or patients. Furthermore, the extent of integration differed per dimension. Functional integration within the initiatives has been relatively low, clinical integration mixed, and professional integration quite advanced. Conclusions: The results indicate that a considerable number of collaborative initiatives have emerged. Still, these initiatives are loosely ‘community-based’ and hardly focus on the full integration of care services. This suggests that the community

The Significance of Community to Business Social Responsibility.

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Besser, Terry L.

1998-01-01

Interviews with 1008 business owners and managers in 30 small Iowa communities found that the majority were committed to their community and provided support to youth programs, local schools, or community development activities. Business social responsibility was related to operator age, education, success, and perceptions of community collective…

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF UKRAINIAN UNIVERSITIES: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS AND MAIN DIRECTIONS OF DEVELOPMENT

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O. Grishnova

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The paper encapsulates the essence of university social responsibility. The study explores basic directions of universities social responsible activities in Ukraine and in western countries. A comparative assessment is conducted as to distribution of social responsibility in national universities activities. The paper specifies priority areas of social responsibility education.

Informal Learning in Online Knowledge Communities: Predicting Community Response to Visitor Inquiries

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nistor, Nicolae; Dascalu, Mihai; Stavarache, Lucia Larise; Serafin, Yvonne; Trausan-Matu, Stefan

2016-01-01

Nistor, N., Dascalu, M., Stavarache, L.L., Serafin, Y., & Trausan-Matu, S. (2015). Informal Learning in Online Knowledge Communities: Predicting Community Response to Visitor Inquiries. In G. Conole, T. Klobucar, C. Rensing, J. Konert & É. Lavoué (Eds.), 10th European Conf. on Technology Enhanced

Gender Responsive Community Based Planning and Budgeting ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

... Responsive Community Based Planning and Budgeting Tool for Local Governance ... in data collection, and another module that facilitates gender responsive and ... In partnership with UNESCO's Organization for Women in Science for the ...

Embrace, Embed and Enliven: Advancing Social Responsibilities at the University of Northampton, England

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Emel Thomas

2017-04-01

Full Text Available As the United Kingdom's (UK first Ashoka U Changemaker Campus, the University of Northampton (UoN has embarked on a strategy that embraces social enterprises. Social enterprise, innovation and entrepreneurship are key competences that have been used by the university to address social inequalities. This paper will account for the social engagement challenges that are influential in the UK's higher educational environment. International perspectives will be highlighted to demonstrate that significant advantages can be obtained by borrowing and adapting policies and practice strategies. Our primary aims are: to showcase the fundamental activities of social responsibility as demonstrated by UoN and provide examples of stakeholder demands during periods of significant change. We argue that it is essential for higher education institutions (HEI to develop a more nuanced and innovative examination of community based initiatives and networks in order to sustain engagement and access.

Jesuit universities and social responsibility: a proposal based on solidarity justice

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Cristina de la Cruz Ayuso

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The aim of this article is to analyze the concept of responsibility and its institutionalization processes promoted by the Jesuit universities, emphasizing their uniqueness and value compared to other models and strategies of university social responsibility. This responsibility approach is rooted in a notion of justice conceived in global terms and based on solidarity and that, without rejecting it, highlights the inadequacy of the approach to responsibility as an obligation. Its emphasis is directed towards a shared political responsibility that aspires to transform structural injustices. This is one of the distinctive features of the Identity and Mission of Jesuit universities that define their social status. The article outlines this proposal of responsibility embodied in the social field and examines its distinguishing character compared with other proposals promoted by the universities to define their commitment to the environment.

University Knowledge Transfer Offices and Social Responsibility

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Irene Martín-Rubio

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Numerous studies and reviews about University Knowledge Transfer Offices (UKTO have been written, but there are few that focus on Social Responsibility (SR. We present a systematic review of the research on both fields. We consider not only logics from agency theory and resource-based view, but also the dynamic approach from institutional theory, as they aim to generate sustainable economic and social value. The evolution of Knowledge Transfer Offices depends on their role as brokers of collaborations among different stakeholders, according to their mission and capacity to confront the innovation gap. We follow the line of SR viewed as a response to the specific demands of large stakeholders. Building upon recent conceptualizations of different theories, we develop an integrative model for understanding the institutional effects of the UKTO on university social responsibility.

Transforming Teaching and Learning at University of Ghana through Community Service-Learning: Listening to the Voices of Students

Science.gov (United States)

Tagoe, Michael A.

2014-01-01

Universities all over the world are undergoing change to improve teaching, learning and service. These changes have been motivated by call for universities to connect more to communities to address their problems. One of the means of ensuring that universities and communities engage mutually in a partnership where students, faculty and community…

Examining the Process of University-School-Community Collaboration in an Irish Sports Studies and Physical Education Context

Science.gov (United States)

Crawford, Susan

2015-01-01

University-school-community collaborations are little documented despite being advocated across third-level institutes. Researchers identify the need for quality university-school-community collaborations to tackle a host of social inequalities while also addressing innovative approaches to teaching and learning. This study involved the…

California Community College and California State University English Faculty Grading Practices: An Assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Bogart, Quentin J.; Kistler, Kathleen M.

1987-01-01

Discusses a study of the extent to which the use of 21 grading criteria was comparable among community college and university English faculty. Reports no differences in criteria selected for normal grading situations. Indicates that university faculty gave more importance to "adherence to due dates" in borderline situations. (DMM)

SVILUPPO LOCALE E COMMUNITY-UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIP UNA SPERIMENTAZIONE NELLA VALLE DEL SIMETO

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Alice Franchina

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The article tells about the CoPED Summer School (Community Planning and Ecological Design held in Sicily, in the Simeto Valley, in June 2015. The School is one of the steps of the building process of the Simeto River Agreement, which started in 2002 and has been conducted in a community-university partnership framework by Italian action researchers with local representatives. Furthermore, the Simeto Valley has been elected recently as one of the "pilot areas" in the National Strategy for Inner Areas promoted by the De- partment for Economic Development. The main aim of the school has been to determine the projects to be developed in the National Strategy for Inner Areas. The article outlines both the achieved results and the methodological aspects of this experience. It especially highlights the value of service learning as pedagogical method, and the potential of the U. S. engaged university model that could be implemented in the Italian university system.

The University of Maryland Medical System invests in its community's minorities.

Science.gov (United States)

Schimpff, S C; Rapoport, M I; O'Keefe, S L; Grote, D A; Snow, L K

1996-06-01

As a private, non-state-owned teaching hospital adjacent to a predominately low income African American community in Baltimore, the University of Maryland Medical System (hereafter called the Medical System) in partnership with the state's medical school has historically provided excellent medical care to the community's residents regardless of their ability to pay. Nevertheless, executive leadership recognized that the Medical System needed to be even more socially and economically responsible to the minority community by investing more of the system's resources in that community. Doing so would improve the economic strength of the community, and this strength would help the Medical System to continue to thrive and expand its business in Baltimore City. Therefore, in the late 1980s, the Medical System created a program that focuses on greater inclusion of minorities particularly African Americans, in personnel, construction, purchasing, and community outreach. In the area of personnel, recruitment efforts have focused on increasing the representation of minorities, particularly African Americans, in management and residency positions. The result has been the creation of a more supportive environment for minority personnel throughout the organization as well as for minority patients and vendors who have dealings with the medical system. In the area of construction, minority development efforts have included the establishment of a flexible bid-award policy and a partnership with the minority business community. As a result, total construction dollars spent with minority-owned firms increased from $2 million to $18 million over seven years, and the portion of these dollars spent with African American-owned firms increased sixfold. In the area of purchased goods and services, more creative approaches to improving minority participation have been necessary. These have included partnering minority distributors with major suppliers and literally assisting in the creation

Learning in later life: Universities, teaching, intergenerational learning and community cohesion

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Keith Percy

2013-07-01

Full Text Available There are no settled concepts in the field of learning in later life. The paper begins by suggesting that generalised statements about older people’s learning are suspect and that the way in which we talk about it shifts over time. In particular, there is a range of claims about methods of learning and teaching appropriate to older people but most have little support from empirical research. The paper then focuses on the evaluation of a small innovation project, funded by national government, at Lancaster University, 2009-10. The project sought to involve members of a local University of the Third age group in learning activity on the nearby university campus, partly using undergraduate teaching provision. It aimed to test ideological reservations within the U3A group about association with a public institution of higher education and about mixing the ‘purity’ of self-help learning for older adults, in the British U3A tradition, with more formal methods of learning. The outcomes of the project evaluation suggested that most older learners participating valued their opportunity to use university learning resources and that the British U3A ideology did not inhibit them from doing so. It also suggests that the University benefited from the presence of the older learners and that the surrounding community potentially might have done. A brief discussion of implications for intergenerational learning, community cohesion and marginalised older people follows. The paper concludes that British universities should and, perhaps, could relate more dynamically and emphatically with the provision of opportunities for learning in later life.

Rationality and the Role of the University: A Response to Philip Higgs.

Science.gov (United States)

Waghid, Y.

2002-01-01

Challenges Higgs'"ambivalent" position about the role of the university (presented in a previous article), contending that the university can still retain its character as "a community of reason" (Higgs' main argument) without abandoning its social role vis-a-vis nation building. (EV)

Identification of subjects for social responsibility education at universities and the present activity at the university of Tokyo.

Science.gov (United States)

Karima, Risuke; Oshima, Yoshito; Yamamoto, Kazuo

2006-01-01

The management of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has recently become a critical concern for companies in advanced countries. For universities, there is a requirement to contribute to the promotion of CSR, resulting in graduates who have sufficient cognition of and a good attitude towards CSR. In addition, universities have social responsibilities, which can be called "University Social Responsibility (USR)." On the basis of the concepts of the guidelines for CSR in the "Green Paper," which was presented by the European Committee (EC) in 2001, we provide a perspective here on what factors dictate the establishment of education programs for social responsibilities at universities. These factors include an outline of the concepts and the significance of CSR, social ethics and the morals of higher education and research, compliances, human resource management, human rights, safety and health in academic settings, and various concerns regarding environmental safety and preservation. Additionally, through the concept postulated here for social responsible education, in this paper, we introduce the present activity at the University of Tokyo (UT) in terms of the education program for CSR and USR, proposing that the future establishment of university-wide education programs based on the concept of CSR and the value of sustainability is required at UT.

Social Responsibility of the Lebanese Private Universities: A Qualitative Study of Notre Dame University Using Document Analysis of Publicly Available Data

Science.gov (United States)

Youness, Hasan Riad

2012-01-01

Universities' role is gaining more importance than ever before due to the challenges facing the stakeholders to whom such universities appeal. When the power structure of the community is highly respected and the approach of the universities becomes more stakeholders centered, the negative externalities and societal challenges can be lessened.…

Two steps forward, one step back: Achievements and limitations of university-community partnerships in addressing neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage

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Deborah Warr

2016-09-01

Full Text Available This article discusses a partnership initiative that involved a major Australian research university (University of Melbourne, a local government and a network of local community service organisations. The partnership projects aimed to promote public access to university infrastructure for poor and marginalised residents, enhance the local value of research and teaching activities, and create employment opportunities. The article draws on an evaluation of the partnership, which focused on four keynote projects. It found that the partnership appeared to achieve positive outcomes for residents but was limited by tensions associated with the university’s ambivalent commitment to the value of such partnerships. These tensions remained difficult to resolve because they signalled present contestation over the foundational values of contemporary public universities. Keywords: university-community partnerships, neoliberalism, neighbourhoods, community development

Sense of Community, Inclusion, and Religious Pluralism: A Comparison of Two Catholic Universities

Science.gov (United States)

Ferrari, Joseph R.; Bottom, Todd L.; Matteo, Elizabeth

2014-01-01

For decades researchers assessed sense of community (SOC), inclusion, and pluralism within academic settings. In the present study, 2,220 undergraduate students (1,442 women, 778 men; M age = 23.42 years; SD = 7.84) at two Catholic universities responded to perceived levels of school sense of community, inclusion, and religious pluralism. Analyses…

A community of scholars or scholars of the community? A note on the limits of relevance.

Science.gov (United States)

Cox, K R

1984-09-01

Universities are increasingly expected to be accountable for the large sums of public money they spend. Universities in Australia are currently under pressure to turn out graduates who are technically trained for immediate entry into the work force. Universities are expected to teach knowledge and skills which are relevant to what the community needs now. If the universities accept such obligations of accountability and relevance, what are the implications for the university enterprise? Over the past decade, medical schools have attempted to spell out their purposes, writing their overall goals and then specific objectives to guide teaching in all departments. These lists of goals and objectives usually incorporate a strong orientation to meeting current community needs. One expression of these community needs is the call for 'Health for all by the year 2000', supported by all governments through the World Health Organization. Turning out graduates to provide community health care would be a relevant goal which an accountable medical school could hardly deny. What evidence is available about university responses to such needs?

Moving university hydrology education forward with community-based geoinformatics, data and modeling resources

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V. Merwade

2012-08-01

Full Text Available In this opinion paper, we review recent literature related to data and modeling driven instruction in hydrology, and present our findings from surveying the hydrology education community in the United States. This paper presents an argument that that data and modeling driven geoscience cybereducation (DMDGC approaches are essential for teaching the conceptual and applied aspects of hydrology, as a part of the broader effort to improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM education at the university level. The authors have undertaken a series of surveys and a workshop involving university hydrology educators to determine the state of the practice of DMDGC approaches to hydrology. We identify the most common tools and approaches currently utilized, quantify the extent of the adoption of DMDGC approaches in the university hydrology classroom, and explain the community's views on the challenges and barriers preventing DMDGC approaches from wider use. DMDGC approaches are currently emphasized at the graduate level of the curriculum, and only the most basic modeling and visualization tools are in widespread use. The community identifies the greatest barriers to greater adoption as a lack of access to easily adoptable curriculum materials and a lack of time and training to learn constantly changing tools and methods. The community's current consensus is that DMDGC approaches should emphasize conceptual learning, and should be used to complement rather than replace lecture-based pedagogies. Inadequate online material publication and sharing systems, and a lack of incentives for faculty to develop and publish materials via such systems, is also identified as a challenge. Based on these findings, we suggest that a number of steps should be taken by the community to develop the potential of DMDGC in university hydrology education, including formal development and assessment of curriculum materials, integrating lecture-format and DMDGC

Innovation in Collaboration: The Summer Institute on Youth Mentoring as a university-community partnership

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Kevin R. Jones

2011-11-01

Full Text Available The Summer Institute on Youth Mentoring (SIYM at Portland State University is an intensive week-long seminar designed to offer a highly interactive educational opportunity for experienced professionals and leading researchers in the field of youth mentoring. The current study explores the extent to which SIYM represents an example of a successful university-community partnership and identifies ways in which SIYM innovates on established partnership models. Using grounded theory methods and typological analysis, the researchers analysed questionnaire responses from SIYM participants and research fellows to compare key characteristics of SIYM with the elements of effective partnerships described in the literature. Findings suggest that SIYM reflects many essential partnership qualities, including the presence of a shared vision; strong, mutually beneficial relationships; and a partnering process that includes communication and work for positive change. SIYM also introduces several innovations in format and structure that could inform the improvement or development of effective partnership efforts across disciplines. Implications for service providers, researchers and other stakeholders are discussed. Keywords communication, collaboration, mutually beneficial relationships, innovation

Penerapan Corporate Social Responsibility dengan Konsep Community Based Tourism

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Linda Suriany

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract: Business is not only economic institution, but social institution too. As social institution, business has responsibility to help society in solving social problem. This responsibility called Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR. CSR pays attention about social problem and environment, so CSR support continuous development to help government role. Nowadays, our government has national development’s agenda. One of them is tourism sector (Visit Indonesia Year 2008 programmed. But tourism sector has challenge in human resources. In this case, business role in practice CSR is needed to help tourism sector. With CSR activities, the quality of local community will increase to participate in tourism activities. CSR activities include training that based on research. When the quality of local community increase, local community can practice the concept of community based tourism (CBT. In the future, Indonesia has a power to compete with other countries.

Best Practices in University-Community Partnerships: Lessons Learned from a Physical-Activity-Based Program

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh, David

2006-01-01

Universities have the potential to make significant contributions to their neighboring schools and youth agencies through university-community partnerships and the programs they spawn. However, even with proven goals, trained staff, and eager students, collaborative physical-activity-based youth development programs can fail despite the best…

Revealing the Universe to Our Community: NMSU's Society of Astronomy Students' Dedication to Public Outreach

Science.gov (United States)

Maldonado, Mercedes; Rees, S.; Medina, A.; Beasley, D.; Campos, A.; Chanover, N. J.; Uckert, K.; McKeever, J.

2014-01-01

The New Mexico State University (NMSU) Society of Astronomy Students (SAS) is an undergraduate organization centered on students’ passions for learning and sharing knowledge about the field of astronomy. The SAS strives to become one of the most active clubs on the NMSU campus by their involvement in both astronomy and non-astronomy related public outreach and community service events. NMSU is located in Las Cruces, NM, where Clyde Tombaugh made great contributions both to the field of astronomy and to our local community. He was able to spark the community's interest in astronomy and science in general; this is an aspect of his career that the SAS strives to emulate. To do this, the SAS participates in community outreach events with the goal of stimulating curiosity and providing opportunities for the public to observe and understand exciting phenomenon occurring in our universe. With help from the NMSU Astronomy Department, the SAS is able to volunteer alongside the Astronomy Graduate Student Organization (AGSO) at events for people of all ages. Working jointly with the AGSO allows us to be mentored by the very students who were in our shoes not long ago; they educate us about the wonders of the universe, just as we wish to educate the community. This provides an enlightening and enriching environment for both club and community members. The NMSU Astronomy Department hosts events for the entire community, such as observing nights held at Tombaugh Observatory — which SAS members attend and help advertise — where community members learn about and view objects in the night sky through telescopes. SAS members assist with field trips where local middle and elementary school students attend presentations and participate in astronomy-related activities on the NMSU campus. These hands-on activities are presented in an understandable way, and are meant to increase appreciation for all of the exciting subjects our universe has to offer. Other outreach events include

Collaborative networks and patent production in Andean Community of Nations universities (UCANS, 2005-2015

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Carlos Enrique Agüero Aguilar

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The competitiveness and technological development of a region are measured by the degree of innovation supporting them. The quantity and quality of patents generated and applied in production dynamics serve as an element for evaluation. In this sense, universities play a role as generators and transmitters of knowledge. So it is important to identify the level of their collaboration and the trends in terms of technology application in order to establish future policies for development in this sector. This article identifies the degree of collaboration, types of patents, actors (primary and secondary and dynamics of patents produced at the Andean Community of Nations universities during the period 2005-2015 and present in the European Patent Office database. In conclusion, there is a great disparity between CAN universities regarding patent production, so it is necessary to strengthen the collaborative level among universities in this community. Nevertheless, an increase is seen in the production of patents.

Spiders, Firesouls, and Little Fingers: Necessary Magic in University-Community Collaboration

Science.gov (United States)

Nocon, Honorine; Nilsson, Monica; Cole, Michael

2004-01-01

On the basis of extensive research on university-community collaborative education projects in southern California and southern Sweden, this article proposes two roles and a research strategy and approach as elements essential to sustained collaboration. Recognition and fulfillment of the roles of "spider" and "firesoul," while…

Case Study in Designing a Research Fundamentals Curriculum for Community Health Workers: A University - Community Clinic Collaborative

Science.gov (United States)

Dumbauld, Jill; Kalichman, Michael; Bell, Yvonne; Dagnino, Cynthia; Taras, Howard

2014-01-01

Introduction Community health workers are increasingly incorporated into research teams. Training them in research methodology and ethics, while relating these themes to a community’s characteristics, may help to better integrate these health promotion personnel into research teams. Approach and Strategies This pilot project involved the design and implementation of an interactive training course on research fundamentals for community health workers from clinics in a rural, predominately Latino setting. Curriculum development was guided by collaborative activities arising from a university - clinic partnership, a community member focus group, and the advice of community-based researchers. The resulting curriculum was interactive and stimulated dialogue between trainees and academic researchers. Discussion and Conclusions Collaboration between researchers and health agency professionals proved to be a practical method to develop curriculum for clinic staff. An interactive curriculum allowed trainees to incorporate community-specific themes into the discussion. This interaction educated course instructors from academia about the community as much as it educated course participants about research. The bidirectional engagement that occurs during the development and teaching of this course can potentially lead to research partnerships between community agencies and academia, better-informed members of the public, and research protocols that accommodate community characteristics. PMID:24121537

The Building of a Responsible Research Community: The Role of Ethics

Science.gov (United States)

Lategan, Laetus O. K.

2012-01-01

This paper looks into the importance of a responsible research community and how ethics can contribute towards the building of such a community. The paper starts off by outlining the many challenges facing a responsible research community. These challenges range from doing research, transferring the research results, commercialising the…

Community-centered responses to Ebola in urban Liberia: the view from below.

Science.gov (United States)

Abramowitz, Sharon Alane; McLean, Kristen E; McKune, Sarah Lindley; Bardosh, Kevin Louis; Fallah, Mosoka; Monger, Josephine; Tehoungue, Kodjo; Omidian, Patricia A

2015-04-01

The West African Ebola epidemic has demonstrated that the existing range of medical and epidemiological responses to emerging disease outbreaks is insufficient, especially in post-conflict contexts with exceedingly poor healthcare infrastructures. In this context, community-based responses have proven vital for containing Ebola virus disease (EVD) and shifting the epidemic curve. Despite a surge in interest in local innovations that effectively contained the epidemic, the mechanisms for community-based response remain unclear. This study provides baseline information on community-based epidemic control priorities and identifies innovative local strategies for containing EVD in Liberia. This study was conducted in September 2014 in 15 communities in Monrovia and Montserrado County, Liberia--one of the epicenters of the Ebola outbreak. Findings from 15 focus group discussions with 386 community leaders identified strategies being undertaken and recommendations for what a community-based response to Ebola should look like under then-existing conditions. Data were collected on the following topics: prevention, surveillance, care-giving, community-based treatment and support, networks and hotlines, response teams, Ebola treatment units (ETUs) and hospitals, the management of corpses, quarantine and isolation, orphans, memorialization, and the need for community-based training and education. Findings have been presented as community-based strategies and recommendations for (1) prevention, (2) treatment and response, and (3) community sequelae and recovery. Several models for community-based management of the current Ebola outbreak were proposed. Additional findings indicate positive attitudes towards early Ebola survivors, and the need for community-based psychosocial support. Local communities' strategies and recommendations give insight into how urban Liberian communities contained the EVD outbreak while navigating the systemic failures of the initial state and

Community-centered responses to Ebola in urban Liberia: the view from below.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sharon Alane Abramowitz

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The West African Ebola epidemic has demonstrated that the existing range of medical and epidemiological responses to emerging disease outbreaks is insufficient, especially in post-conflict contexts with exceedingly poor healthcare infrastructures. In this context, community-based responses have proven vital for containing Ebola virus disease (EVD and shifting the epidemic curve. Despite a surge in interest in local innovations that effectively contained the epidemic, the mechanisms for community-based response remain unclear. This study provides baseline information on community-based epidemic control priorities and identifies innovative local strategies for containing EVD in Liberia.This study was conducted in September 2014 in 15 communities in Monrovia and Montserrado County, Liberia--one of the epicenters of the Ebola outbreak. Findings from 15 focus group discussions with 386 community leaders identified strategies being undertaken and recommendations for what a community-based response to Ebola should look like under then-existing conditions. Data were collected on the following topics: prevention, surveillance, care-giving, community-based treatment and support, networks and hotlines, response teams, Ebola treatment units (ETUs and hospitals, the management of corpses, quarantine and isolation, orphans, memorialization, and the need for community-based training and education. Findings have been presented as community-based strategies and recommendations for (1 prevention, (2 treatment and response, and (3 community sequelae and recovery. Several models for community-based management of the current Ebola outbreak were proposed. Additional findings indicate positive attitudes towards early Ebola survivors, and the need for community-based psychosocial support.Local communities' strategies and recommendations give insight into how urban Liberian communities contained the EVD outbreak while navigating the systemic failures of the initial

The pipeline of physiology courses in community colleges: to university, medical school, and beyond.

Science.gov (United States)

McFarland, Jenny; Pape-Lindstrom, Pamela

2016-12-01

Community colleges are significant in the landscape of undergraduate STEM (science technology, engineering, and mathematics) education (9), including biology, premedical, and other preprofessional education. Thirty percent of first-year medical school students in 2012 attended a community college. Students attend at different times in high school, their first 2 yr of college, and postbaccalaureate. The community college pathway is particularly important for traditionally underrepresented groups. Premedical students who first attend community college are more likely to practice in underserved communities (2). For many students, community colleges have significant advantages over 4-yr institutions. Pragmatically, they are local, affordable, and flexible, which accommodates students' work and family commitments. Academically, community colleges offer teaching faculty, smaller class sizes, and accessible learning support systems. Community colleges are fertile ground for universities and medical schools to recruit diverse students and support faculty. Community college students and faculty face several challenges (6, 8). There are limited interactions between 2- and 4-yr institutions, and the ease of transfer processes varies. In addition, faculty who study and work to improve the physiology education experience often encounter obstacles. Here, we describe barriers and detail existing resources and opportunities useful in navigating challenges. We invite physiology educators from 2- and 4-yr institutions to engage in sharing resources and facilitating physiology education improvement across institutions. Given the need for STEM majors and health care professionals, 4-yr colleges and universities will continue to benefit from students who take introductory biology, physiology, and anatomy and physiology courses at community colleges. Copyright © 2016 The American Physiological Society.

Socially Responsible or Just Plain Social?

Science.gov (United States)

Mills, Katie Elizabeth; Bruce, Jacklyn

2013-01-01

This study seeks to understand one facet of leadership development among the newest members of a Greek Letter community at a southern university. New Members (NMs) of the Greek Community at North Carolina State University were administered the Socially Responsible Leadership Survey (SRLS Guidebook, 2005) during the Fall, 2011. Results indicate…

The implications of community responses to intimate partner violence in Rwanda.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jenevieve Mannell

Full Text Available Intimate partner violence (IPV has significant impacts on mental health. Community-focused interventions have shown promising results for addressing IPV in low-income countries, however, little is known about the implications of these interventions for women's mental wellbeing. This paper analyses data from a community-focused policy intervention in Rwanda collected in 2013-14, including focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with community members (n = 59. Our findings point to three ways in which these community members responded to IPV: (1 reconciling couples experiencing violence, (2 engaging community support through raising cases of IPV during community discussions, (3 navigating resources for women experiencing IPV, including police, social services and legal support. These community responses support women experiencing violence by helping them access available resources and by engaging in community discussions. However, assistance is largely only offered to married women and responses tend to focus exclusively on physical rather than psychological or emotional forms of violence. Drawing on Campbell and Burgess's (2012 framework for 'community mental health competence', we interrogate the potential implications of these responses for the mental wellbeing of women affected by violence. We conclude by drawing attention to the gendered nature of community responses to IPV and the potential impacts this may have for the mental health of women experiencing IPV.

An Exploration of "Hyper-Local" Community-University Engagement in the Development of Smart Cities

Science.gov (United States)

Leigh, Elaine W.

2017-01-01

The use of big data in smart cities poses new questions about higher education and community-university engagement practices in addressing longstanding social and economic exclusion in urban communities. Drawing on transdisciplinary ideas in higher education, cultural theory, and science and technology studies, primary concerns in the era of big…

State and Community Responses to Drug-related Violence in Mexico

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Extrants. Études. State and community responses to drug-related violence in Mexico. Rapports. Respuestas estatales y comunitarias a la violencia asociada al narcotráfico en México : informe técnico. Rapports. State and community responses to drug-related violence in Mexico ...

Social Responsibility At The Academic Level. Study Case: The University Of Bucharest

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul Marinescu

2010-12-01

Full Text Available In the last decades the corporate social responsibility (CSR has been a major subject both for universities, civil society and businesses. Although the CSR concept is especially promoted by large multinational and transnational corporations, it has become also a prominent issue for universities. Social responsibility represents more than a challenge for universities. It has to be a purpose of the universities, taking into account that young people formation also means creating a high level of awareness about the need to involve members of society in solving social problems. Our paper contributes for better clarifying the CSR concept and presents as a study case some of initiatives of the University of Bucharest related to the social responsibility.

A robust University-NGO partnership: Analysing school efficiencies in Bolivia with community-based management techniques

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Joao Neiva de Figueiredo

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Community-based management research is a collaborative effort between management, academics and communities in need with the specific goal of achieving social change to foster social justice. Because it is designed to promote and validate joint methods of discovery and community-based sources of knowledge, community-based management research has several unique characteristics, which may affect its execution. This article describes the process of a community-based management research project which is descriptive in nature and uses quantitative techniques to examine school efficiencies in low-income communities in a developing country – Bolivia. The article describes the partnership between a US-based university and a Bolivian not-for-profit organisation, the research context and the history of the research project, including its various phases. It focuses on the (yet unpublished process of the community-based research as opposed to its content (which has been published elsewhere. The article also makes the case that the robust partnership between the US-based university and the Bolivian NGO has been a determining factor in achieving positive results. Strengths and limitations are examined in the hope that the experience may be helpful to others conducting descriptive quantitative management research using community-engaged frameworks in cross-cultural settings. Keywords: international partnership, community-engaged scholarship, education efficiency, multicultural low-income education.

A Model for Community-based Language Teaching to Young Learners: The Impact of University Outreach

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Martha Nyikos

2015-01-01

Full Text Available A primary challenge given to university foreign language departments and Title VI National Resource Centers is to increase interest and participation in foreign language learning, with particular emphasis on less commonly taught languages (LCTLs. Given that many LCTLs in high demand by the US government, including Arabic, Chinese, Persian and Turkish, rarely find their way into the school curricula, this article offers a successful ongoing community-based model of how one university-town partnership addresses advocacy with programming for pre-K-grade 9. Non-native and heritage undergraduate language students who volunteered as community language teachers found the experience invaluable to their pedagogical development. Teacher education programs or language departments can employ this approach to community-based teaching, by providing free, sustained language teaching in existing community centers. This article offers guidance for how to start and expand such a program.

Formal procedures of the exit from a community for a university social media agency

OpenAIRE

Peleschyshyn, Andriy; Peleschyshyn, Oksana; Korzh, Roman

2016-01-01

The aim of the paper is to consider the process of exiting of a university from an online community. The importance of performing the task of exiting in a proper way is proved. Preconditions and risks of the process are investigated. All the stages of the suggested algorithm for exiting from online community are scrutinized.

Impaired theory of mind in first-episode schizophrenia: comparison with community, university and depressed controls.

Science.gov (United States)

Kettle, Jonathan W L; O'Brien-Simpson, Laurie; Allen, Nicholas B

2008-02-01

First order theory of mind, as measured by the 'Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test' Revised, is impaired in schizophrenia. However, no study has investigated whether this occurs in first-episode schizophrenia. Also, it is unclear whether such a deficit is specific to schizophrenia, and whether convenience control samples, particularly undergraduate university students, represent valid comparison groups. This study investigated theory of mind ability, measured by the 'Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test' Revised, in a group of first-episode schizophrenia outpatients (n=13) and three control groups: outpatients with non-psychotic major depression (n=14), individuals from the general community (n=16) and from an undergraduate university course (n=27). The schizophrenia group exhibited significant theory of mind impairments compared to both non-psychiatric control groups but not the depression group. Unexpectedly, the depression group was not significantly impaired compared to the community control group, and the university control group exhibited superior theory of mind ability relative to all three groups. The findings indicate theory of mind deficits in first episode schizophrenia and support the implementation of theory of mind interventions in first-episode schizophrenia treatment programs. Results also indicate that community rather than university control groups represent more valid comparison groups in first-episode schizophrenia research.

Building community for health: lessons from a seven-year-old neighborhood/university partnership.

Science.gov (United States)

Flick, L H; Reese, C G; Rogers, G; Fletcher, P; Sonn, J

1994-01-01

This article presents two case studies highlighting the role of community conflict in the process of community empowerment. A graduate program for community health nurses (CHNs) in a large Midwestern city formed a partnership with a diverse, integrated neighborhood for the dual purposes of enhancing the community's capacity to improve its own health and teaching CHNs community organizing as a means to improve health. Central to the partnership are a broad definition of health, trust developed through long-term involvement, a commitment to reciprocity, social justice, and Freire's model of adult learning. Two initiatives that gave rise to major conflicts between community groups are analyzed. Conflicts, external and internal to the community, proved to be both powerful catalysts and potential barriers to the use of Freirian themes in community organization. Both university and community participants report needing better skills in the early recognition and management of conflict. We conclude that conflict management theory must be integrated with empowerment education theory, particularly when empowerment education is applied in a diverse community.

Leadership style in the deaf community: an exploratory case study of a university president.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamm-Larew, Deborah; Stanford, Jevetta; Greene, Robert; Heacox, Christopher; Hodge, Warren

2008-01-01

A qualitative mini-case study of I. King Jordan and his leadership style explores the influence of a transformational leader on Gallaudet University and the Deaf community. The study features a template-style semistructured interview with Jordan regarding his perceptions of leadership and his personal insights. The study highlights the attributes of transformational leadership and encourages further research into leadership as a tool for change in the Deaf community and the disability rights movement. This exploration of the leadership style of Gallaudet's first Deaf president is especially timely; the study was conducted between Jordan's retirement announcement and the Gallaudet Board of Trustees' decision to rescind an offer to his announced successor to become the university's next president. That tumultuous transition accentuated the disconnect between Jordan's transformational, charismatic leadership style, which affected generations of the Deaf community, and his followers' dissatisfaction with his management and successor planning.

The social responsibility commitment to the community and care environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martha Elena López Regalado

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The concept of csr has evolved in recent years, currently the main objective of the Company cannot lie only meet the monetary needs of the shareholders, but to seek the participation of all stakeholders in the company, with the different stakeholders that interact with the environment either customers, suppliers, employees and society at large, impacting the community with socially responsible actions. Because the concept has acquired new shades as social, economic and environmental responsibility among others, being on the great responsibility of the actions of companies to make social or common good acts to achieve their objectives without harming their economies community, the next job is presented focusing especially on two major indicators of social responsibility such as environmental care, and welfare of the community.

Case study in designing a research fundamentals curriculum for community health workers: a university-community clinic collaboration.

Science.gov (United States)

Dumbauld, Jill; Kalichman, Michael; Bell, Yvonne; Dagnino, Cynthia; Taras, Howard L

2014-01-01

Community health workers (CHWs) are increasingly incorporated into research teams. Training them in research methodology and ethics, while relating these themes to a community's characteristics, may help to better integrate these health promotion personnel into research teams. An interactive training course on research fundamentals for CHWs was designed and implemented jointly by a community agency serving a primarily Latino, rural population and an academic health center. A focus group of community members and input from community leaders comprised a community-based participatory research model to create three 3-hour interactive training sessions. The resulting curriculum was interactive and successfully stimulated dialogue between trainees and academic researchers. By choosing course activities that elicited community-specific responses into each session's discussion, researchers learned about the community as much as the training course educated CHWs about research. The approach is readily adaptable, making it useful to other communities where CHWs are part of the health system.

Utilizing Business, University, and Community Resources to Target Adolescent Prescription Drug Abuse

Science.gov (United States)

Wade-Mdivanian, R.; Anderson-Butcher, D.; Hale, K.; Kwiek, N.; Smock, J.; Radigan, D.; Lineberger, J.

2012-01-01

"Generation Rx" is a prescription drug abuse prevention strategy which includes a "toolkit" designed to be used with youth. Developed by Cardinal Health Foundation and the Ohio State University, it provides health care providers (especially pharmacists), parents, teachers, youth workers, and other community leaders with…

The Charlotte Action Research Project: A Model for Direct and Mutually Beneficial Community-University Engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Morrell, Elizabeth; Sorensen, Janni; Howarth, Joe

2015-01-01

This article describes the evolution of the Charlotte Action Research Project (CHARP), a community-university partnership founded in 2008 at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and focuses particularly on the program's unique organizational structure. Research findings of a project evaluation suggest that the CHARP model's unique…

COMMUNITY INTERVENTION IN THE UNIVERSITY CONTEXT TO RAISE THE CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT OF FAMILIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Norma Amalia Rodríguez-Barrera

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The modern university has the mission of training of competent professionals, able to preserve, develop and promote the strengthening of cultural development of students and the community through academic, research and social work practice processes. This paper aims to present the results of Community action in the university context Career Early Childhood Education, to raise the cultural development of families. The intervention was designed according to three basic processes: planning, implementation, evaluation and control, and to ensure, as previous steps, the study programs of disciplines and subjects of the race, for determining the didactic treatment of the required content Community intervention from academic, scientific and practical work; of the main needs of the community and preparing students for the fulfillment of the tasks. The research was conducted with the application of a quasi-experiment Teaching and the use of theoretical, empirical (interview, observation, document analysis and for the collection and statistical data processing methods. The comparison of results between the experimental and control groups before and after application of the Community intervention allowed to check their effectiveness from raising the cultural development of families in the experimental group, in the motivational-regulative dimensions, cognitive, attitudinal and communication. The essential differences in the results of each dimension not only differ significantly between the groups, but all of them is able to distinguish very well the cultural development of families applied after the intervention actions.

News Workshop: Getting the measure of space Conference: Respecting the evidence receives a great response Event: Communities meet to stimulate science in Wales Teachers: A day to polish up on A-level practicals Development: Exhilarating physics CPD day is a hit in London Lecture: The universe as a classroom

Science.gov (United States)

2013-07-01

Workshop: Getting the measure of space Conference: Respecting the evidence receives a great response Event: Communities meet to stimulate science in Wales Teachers: A day to polish up on A-level practicals Development: Exhilarating physics CPD day is a hit in London Lecture: The universe as a classroom

Universities and Corporate Social Responsibility Performance: An ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The paper examines the need for universities to carry out corporate social responsibility programmes. Two theories were used as theoretical framework for the study (stakeholder's theory and uncertainty reduction theory). The qualitative research method was used as the research method while personal interview was used ...

Corporate Social Responsibility Agreements Model for Community ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Michael

2016-06-01

Jun 1, 2016 ... aspect of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), to the extent that often .... intentions and implemented some community development projects, the .... Environmental Protection Agency, Police and civil society to solicit their ...

Community stakeholder responses to advocacy advertising

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miller, B.; Sinclair, J. [Elon University, Elon, NC (United States). School Community

2009-07-01

Focus group research was used to examine how community stakeholders, a group with local industry experience, responded to coal industry advocacy messages. The stakeholders expressed beliefs about both the advertiser and the coal industry, and while their knowledge led to critical consideration of the industry campaign, they also expressed a desire to identify with positive messages about their community. Applying a postpositivist research perspective, a new model is introduced to integrate these beliefs in terms of advertiser trust and industry accountability under the existing theoretical framework of persuasion knowledge. Agent and topic knowledge are combined in this model based on responses to the industry advocacy campaign. In doing so, this study integrates a priori theory within a new context, extending the current theoretical framework to include an understanding of how community stakeholders - a common target for marketplace advocacy - interpret industry messages.

Plant community mediation of ecosystem responses to global change factors

Science.gov (United States)

Churchill, A. C.

2017-12-01

Human alteration of the numerous environmental drivers affecting ecosystem processes is unprecedented in the last century, including changes in climate regimes and rapid increases in the availability of biologically active nitrogen (N). Plant communities may offer stabilizing or amplifying feedbacks mediating potential ecosystem responses to these alterations, and my research seeks to examine the conditions associated with when plant feedbacks are important for ecosystem change. My dissertation research focused on the unintended consequences of N deposition into natural landscapes, including alpine ecosystems which are particularly susceptible to adverse environmental impacts. In particular, I examined alpine plant and soil responses to N deposition 1) across multiple spatial scales throughout the Southern Rocky Mountains, 2) among diverse plant communities associated with unique environmental conditions common in the alpine of this region, and 3) among ecosystem pools of N contributing to stabilization of N inputs within those communities. I found that communities responded to inputs of N differently, often associated with traits of dominant plant species but these responses were intimately linked with the abiotic conditions of each independent community. Even so, statistical models predicting metrics of N processing in the alpine were improved by encompassing both abiotic and biotic components of the main community types.

Theoretical Communities of Praxis: The University Writing Center as Cultural Contact Zone

Science.gov (United States)

Monty, Randall William

2013-01-01

The fundamental purpose of "Theoretical Communities of Praxis: The University Writing Center as Cultural Contact Zone" is to investigate the situatedness of Writing Center Studies, defining it as an autonomous (sub)discipline and interdisciplinary contact zone within the larger discipline of Rhetoric and Composition. In order to meet…

Principal response curves: analysis of time-dependent multivariate responses of biological community to stress

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brink, van den P.J.; Braak, ter C.J.F.

1999-01-01

In this paper a novel multivariate method is proposed for the analysis of community response data from designed experiments repeatedly sampled in time. The long-term effects of the insecticide chlorpyrifos on the invertebrate community and the dissolved oxygen (DO)–pH–alkalinity–conductivity

International Students, Academic Publications and World University Rankings: The Impact of Globalisation and Responses of a Malaysian Public University

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Yao Sua; Goh, Soo Khoon

2014-01-01

This paper examines the responses of a Malaysian public university, namely Universiti Sains Malaysia, to the impact of globalisation vis-à-vis three key issues: international students, academic publications and world university rankings. There are concerted efforts put in place by the university to recruit more international students. But a global…

Responses of riparian reptile communities to damming and urbanization

Science.gov (United States)

Hunt, Stephanie D.; Guzy, Jacquelyn C.; Price, Steven J.; Halstead, Brian J.; Eskew, Evan A.; Dorcas, Michael E.

2013-01-01

Various anthropogenic pressures, including habitat loss, threaten reptile populations worldwide. Riparian zones are critical habitat for many reptile species, but these habitats are also frequently modified by anthropogenic activities. Our study investigated the effects of two riparian habitat modifications-damming and urbanization-on overall and species-specific reptile occupancy patterns. We used time-constrained search techniques to compile encounter histories for 28 reptile species at 21 different sites along the Broad and Pacolet Rivers of South Carolina. Using a hierarchical Bayesian analysis, we modeled reptile occupancy responses to a site's distance upstream from dam, distance downstream from dam, and percent urban land use. The mean occupancy response by the reptile community indicated that reptile occupancy and species richness were maximized when sites were farther upstream from dams. Species-specific occupancy estimates showed a similar trend of lower occupancy immediately upstream from dams. Although the mean occupancy response of the reptile community was positively related to distance downstream from dams, the occupancy response to distance downstream varied among species. Percent urban land use had little effect on the occupancy response of the reptile community or individual species. Our results indicate that the conditions of impoundments and subsequent degradation of the riparian zones upstream from dams may not provide suitable habitat for a number of reptile species.

Universal Health Coverage through Community Nursing Services: China vs. Hong Kong.

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Wai Yee; Fung, Ita M; Chan, Eric

2017-01-30

this article looks at how the development of community nursing services in China and Hong Kong can enhance universal health coverage. literature and data review have been utilized in this study. nursing services have evolved much since the beginning of the nursing profession. The development of community nursing services has expanded the scope of nursing services to those in need of, not just hospital-level nursing care, but more holistic care to improve health and quality of life. despite the one-country-two-systems governance and the difference in population and geography, Hong Kong and China both face the aging population and its complications. Community nursing services help to pave the road to Universal Health Coverage. este artigo analisa a forma como o desenvolvimento de serviços de enfermagem comunitários na China e Hong Kong pode melhorar a cobertura universal de saúde. literatura e revisão de dados foram utilizados neste estudo. serviços de enfermagem têm evoluído muito desde o início da profissão de enfermagem. O desenvolvimento dos serviços de enfermagem da comunidade ampliou o escopo dos serviços de enfermagem, para aqueles que precisam não apenas de cuidados de enfermagem de nível de hospital, mas cuidados mais holísticos para melhorar a saúde e qualidade de vida. apesar de ser "um-país-dois-sistemas" de governo, e as diferenças de população e geografia, Hong Kong e China enfrentam o envelhecimento da população e suas complicações. Os serviços de enfermagem da comunidade ajudam a pavimentar o caminho para a cobertura de saúde universal. este artículo analiza cómo el desarrollo de los servicios de enfermería comunitaria en China y Hong Kong pueden expandir la cobertura universal de salud. revisión de datos y literatura han sido utilizados en este estudio. los servicios de enfermería han evolucionado mucho desde el comienzo de la profesión. El desarrollo de los servicios de enfermería comunitaria han ampliado el alcance

How Social Communications Influence Advertising Perception and Response in Online Communities?

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Fue; Tao, Ran; Yang, Yanwu; Xie, Tingting

2017-01-01

This research aims to explore how social communications of online communities affect users' perception and responses toward social media advertising. We developed a conceptual model based on the SBT, encapsulating 9 constructs and 10 hypothesis extracted from the extant social media advertising literature. Our research outcome proves that social communications can effectively boost users' behaviors to be in accordance with an online social community, thus facilitate their acceptance and responses toward social media advertising, with users' group intention as an intervening factor. From an operational standpoint, it's an effective way to build and maintain social bonds between users and the community by boosting social communications, supporting fluent interpersonal communications. In addition, managers of an online community should elaborate on users' group intentions to increase users' advertising acceptance and response.

How Social Communications Influence Advertising Perception and Response in Online Communities?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fue Zeng

2017-08-01

Full Text Available This research aims to explore how social communications of online communities affect users’ perception and responses toward social media advertising. We developed a conceptual model based on the SBT, encapsulating 9 constructs and 10 hypothesis extracted from the extant social media advertising literature. Our research outcome proves that social communications can effectively boost users’ behaviors to be in accordance with an online social community, thus facilitate their acceptance and responses toward social media advertising, with users’ group intention as an intervening factor. From an operational standpoint, it’s an effective way to build and maintain social bonds between users and the community by boosting social communications, supporting fluent interpersonal communications. In addition, managers of an online community should elaborate on users’ group intentions to increase users’ advertising acceptance and response.

How Social Communications Influence Advertising Perception and Response in Online Communities?

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Fue; Tao, Ran; Yang, Yanwu; Xie, Tingting

2017-01-01

This research aims to explore how social communications of online communities affect users’ perception and responses toward social media advertising. We developed a conceptual model based on the SBT, encapsulating 9 constructs and 10 hypothesis extracted from the extant social media advertising literature. Our research outcome proves that social communications can effectively boost users’ behaviors to be in accordance with an online social community, thus facilitate their acceptance and responses toward social media advertising, with users’ group intention as an intervening factor. From an operational standpoint, it’s an effective way to build and maintain social bonds between users and the community by boosting social communications, supporting fluent interpersonal communications. In addition, managers of an online community should elaborate on users’ group intentions to increase users’ advertising acceptance and response. PMID:28855879

Gap Assessment in the Emergency Response Community

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barr, Jonathan L.; Burtner, Edwin R.; Pike, William A.; Peddicord, Annie M Boe; Minsk, Brian S.

2010-09-27

This report describes a gap analysis of the emergency response and management (EM) community, performed during the fall of 2009. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) undertook this effort to identify potential improvements to the functional domains in EM that could be provided by the application of current or future technology. To perform this domain-based gap analysis, PNNL personnel interviewed subject matter experts (SMEs) across the EM domain; to make certain that the analyses reflected a representative view of the community, the SMEs were from a variety of geographic areas and from various sized communities (urban, suburban, and rural). PNNL personnel also examined recent and relevant after-action reports and U.S. Government Accountability Office reports.

Assessing the Transition of Transfer Students from Community Colleges to a University.

Science.gov (United States)

Berger, Joseph B.; Malaney, Gary D.

2003-01-01

Examines how pretransfer experiences and preparation, along with posttransfer experiences, influence the adjustment of community college transfer students to life on a four-year university campus. Results indicate that students who are best informed and who have most actively prepared for transfer are most likely to achieve higher grades and be…

Linking above and belowground responses to global change at community and ecosystem scales.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Antoninka, Anita [Northern Arizona University; Wolf, Julie [Northern Arizona University; Bowker, Matt [Northern Arizona University; Classen, Aimee T [ORNL; JohnsonPhD, Dr Nancy C [Northern Arizona University

2009-01-01

Cryptic belowground organisms are difficult to observe and their responses to global changes are not well understood. Nevertheless, there is reason to believe that interactions among above- and belowground communities may mediate ecosystem responses to global change. We used grassland mesocosms to manipulate the abundance of one important group of soil organisms, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, and to study community and ecosystem responses to CO2 and N enrichment. After two growing seasons, biomass responses of plant communities were recorded, and soil community responses were measured using microscopy, phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) and community-level physiological profiles (CLPP). Ecosystem responses were examined by measuring net primary production (NPP), evapotranspiration, total soil organic matter (SOM), and extractable mineral N. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the causal relationships among treatments and response variables. We found that while CO2 and N tended to directly impact ecosystem functions (evapotranspiration and NPP, respectively), AM fungi indirectly impacted ecosystem functions by strongly influencing the composition of plant and soil communities. For example, the presence of AM fungi had a strong influence on other root and soil fungi and soil bacteria. We found that the mycotrophic status of the dominant plant species in the mesocosms determined whether the presence of AM fungi increased or decreased NPP. Mycotrophic grasses dominated the mesocosm communities during the first growing season, and thus, the mycorrhizal treatments had the highest NPP. In contrast, non-mycotrophic forbs were dominant during the second growing season and thus, the mycorrhizal treatments had the lowest NPP. The composition of the plant community strongly influenced soil N; and the composition of the soil organisms strongly influenced SOM accumulation in the mesocosms. These results show how linkages between above- and belowground communities

Implementing and managing community-based education and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background. A current challenge in the training of healthcare professionals is to produce socially responsive graduates who are prepared for work in community settings. Community-based education (CBE) and service learning (SL) are teaching approaches used in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free ...

Ecophysiological Responses of Invasive and Native Grass Communities with Simulated Warming

Science.gov (United States)

Quade, B.; Ravi, S.; Huxman, T. E.

2010-12-01

William Quade1, Sujith Ravi2, Ashley Weide2, Greg Barron-Gafford2, Katerina Dontsova2 and Travis E Huxman2 1Carthage College, WI 2 B2 Earthscience & UA Biosphere 2, University of Arizona, Tucson. Abstract Climate change, anthropogenic disturbances and lack of proper management practices have rendered many arid regions susceptible to invasions by exotic grasses with consequent ecohydrological, biogeochemical and socio economic implications. Thus, understanding the ecophysiological processes driving these large-scale vegetation shifts in drylands, in the context of rising temperatures and recurrent droughts is fundamental to global change research. Using the Biosphere 2 facility to maintain distinct temperature treatments of ambient and predicted warmer conditions (+ 4o C) inside, we compared the physiological (e.g. photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, biomass) responses of a native grass - Heteropogan contortus (Tanglehead) and an invasive grass - Pennisetum ciliare (Buffelgrass) growing in single and mixed communities. The results indicate that Buffelgrass can assimilate more CO2 per unit leaf area under current conditions, though warming seems to inhibit the performance when looking at biomass, photosynthesis and stomatal conductance. Under similar moisture regimes Buffelgrass performed better than Tangle head in mixed communities regardless of the temperature. Both grasses had decrease in stomatal conductance with warmer conditions, however the Buffel grass did not have the same decrease of conductance when planted in a mixed communities. Key words: Buffelgrass, Tanglehead, Biosphere 2, stomatal conductance, climate change

Transfer and Articulation Issues between California Community Colleges and California State University

Science.gov (United States)

Tucker, Linda

2013-01-01

Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to discover common transfer and articulation practices and to determine what practices aid in the implementation of the STAR Act between California Community Colleges and the California State University. The review of literature revealed a lack of research on the application of practices in transfer…

The Role of Microbial Community Composition in Controlling Soil Respiration Responses to Temperature.

Science.gov (United States)

Auffret, Marc D; Karhu, Kristiina; Khachane, Amit; Dungait, Jennifer A J; Fraser, Fiona; Hopkins, David W; Wookey, Philip A; Singh, Brajesh K; Freitag, Thomas E; Hartley, Iain P; Prosser, James I

2016-01-01

Rising global temperatures may increase the rates of soil organic matter decomposition by heterotrophic microorganisms, potentially accelerating climate change further by releasing additional carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere. However, the possibility that microbial community responses to prolonged warming may modify the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration creates large uncertainty in the strength of this positive feedback. Both compensatory responses (decreasing temperature sensitivity of soil respiration in the long-term) and enhancing responses (increasing temperature sensitivity) have been reported, but the mechanisms underlying these responses are poorly understood. In this study, microbial biomass, community structure and the activities of dehydrogenase and β-glucosidase enzymes were determined for 18 soils that had previously demonstrated either no response or varying magnitude of enhancing or compensatory responses of temperature sensitivity of heterotrophic microbial respiration to prolonged cooling. The soil cooling approach, in contrast to warming experiments, discriminates between microbial community responses and the consequences of substrate depletion, by minimising changes in substrate availability. The initial microbial community composition, determined by molecular analysis of soils showing contrasting respiration responses to cooling, provided evidence that the magnitude of enhancing responses was partly related to microbial community composition. There was also evidence that higher relative abundance of saprophytic Basidiomycota may explain the compensatory response observed in one soil, but neither microbial biomass nor enzymatic capacity were significantly affected by cooling. Our findings emphasise the key importance of soil microbial community responses for feedbacks to global change, but also highlight important areas where our understanding remains limited.

Perceived peer drinking norms and responsible drinking in UK university settings.

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Robinson, Eric; Jones, Andrew; Christiansen, Paul; Field, Matt

2014-09-01

Heavy drinking is common among students at UK universities. US students overestimate how much their peers drink and correcting this through the use of social norm messages may promote responsible drinking. We tested whether there is an association between perceived campus drinking norms and usual drinking behavior in UK university students and whether norm messages about responsible drinking correct normative misperceptions and increase students' intentions to drink responsibly. 1,020 UK university students took part in an online study. Participants were exposed to one of five message types: a descriptive norm, an injunctive norm, a descriptive and injunctive norm, or one of two control messages. Message credibility was assessed. Afterwards participants completed measures of intentions to drink responsibly and we measured usual drinking habits and perceptions of peer drinking. Perceptions of peer drinking were associated modestly with usual drinking behavior, whereby participants who believed other students drank responsibly also drank responsibly. Norm messages changed normative perceptions, but not in the target population of participants who underestimated responsible drinking in their peers at baseline. Norm messages did not increase intentions to drink responsibly and although based on accurate data, norm messages were not seen as credible. In this UK based study, although perceived social norms about peer drinking were associated with individual differences in drinking habits, campus wide norm messages about responsible drinking did not affect students' intentions to drink more responsibly. More research is required to determine if this approach can be applied to UK settings.

Tailoring a response to youth binge drinking in an Aboriginal Australian community: a grounded theory study.

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McCalman, Janya; Tsey, Komla; Bainbridge, Roxanne; Shakeshaft, Anthony; Singleton, Michele; Doran, Christopher

2013-08-07

While Aboriginal Australian health providers prioritise identification of local community health needs and strategies, they do not always have the opportunity to access or interpret evidence-based literature to inform health improvement innovations. Research partnerships are therefore important when designing or modifying Aboriginal Australian health improvement initiatives and their evaluation. However, there are few models that outline the pragmatic steps by which research partners negotiate to develop, implement and evaluate community-based initiatives. The objective of this paper is to provide a theoretical model of the tailoring of health improvement initiatives by Aboriginal community-based service providers and partner university researchers. It draws from the case of the Beat da Binge community-initiated youth binge drinking harm reduction project in Yarrabah. A theoretical model was developed using the constructivist grounded theory methods of concurrent sampling, data collection and analysis. Data was obtained from the recordings of reflective Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) processes with Aboriginal community partners and young people, and university researchers. CBPR data was supplemented with interviews with theoretically sampled project participants. The transcripts of CBPR recordings and interviews were imported into NVIVO and coded to identify categories and theoretical constructs. The identified categories were then developed into higher order concepts and the relationships between concepts identified until the central purpose of those involved in the project and the core process that facilitated that purpose were identified. The tailored alcohol harm reduction project resulted in clarification of the underlying local determinants of binge drinking, and a shift in the project design from a social marketing awareness campaign (based on short-term events) to a more robust advocacy for youth mentoring into education, employment and

Changing Lives: The Baltimore City Community College Life Sciences Partnership with the University of Maryland, Baltimore

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Carroll, Vanessa G.; Harris-Bondima, Michelle; Norris, Kathleen Kennedy; Williams, Carolane

2010-01-01

Baltimore City Community College (BCCC) leveraged heightened student interest and enrollment in the sciences and allied health with Maryland's world-leading biotechnology industry to build a community college life sciences learning and research center right on the University of Maryland, Baltimore's downtown BioPark campus. The BCCC Life Sciences…

Developing Civic Engagement in University Education: Predicting Current and Future Engagement in Community Services

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Li, Manyu; Frieze, Irene Hanson

2016-01-01

One of the important goals of education is for students to learn to be responsible civic participants. Thus, the time students spend in college is invaluable. It is important that students learn to participate and be responsible citizens of their community during their time in college (Giles and Eyler in "Mich J Community Serv Learn"…

Identification of the Bacterial Community Responsible for ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Identification of bacteria community responsible for decontaminating Eleme petrochemical industrial effluent using 16S PCR denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) was determined. Gene profiles were determined by extracting DNA from bacterial isolates and amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using ...

Transition Communities and the Glass Ceiling of Environmental Sustainability Policies at Three Universities

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Pardellas Santiago, Miguel; Meira Cartea, Pablo; Iglesias da Cunha, Lucía

2017-01-01

Purpose: This paper deals with the experiences of three European universities that have implemented transition initiatives, using the Transition Network's methodology to promote their sustainability plans. The Transition Communities' model for change is presented from a socio-educational perspective as an effective methodology for encouraging…

Learning in third spaces: community art studio as storefront university classroom.

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Timm-Bottos, Janis; Reilly, Rosemary C

2015-03-01

Third spaces are in-between places where teacher-student scripts intersect, creating the potential for authentic interaction and a shift in what counts as knowledge. This paper describes a unique community-university initiative: a third space storefront classroom for postsecondary students in professional education programs, which also functions as a community art studio for the surrounding neighborhood. This approach to professional education requires an innovative combination of theory, methods, and materials as enacted by the professionals involved and performed by the students. This storefront classroom utilizes collaborative and inclusive instructional practices that promote human and community development. It facilitates the use of innovative instructional strategies including art making and participatory dialogue to create a liminal learning space that reconfigures professional education. In researching the effectiveness of this storefront classroom, we share the voices of students who have participated in this third space as part of their coursework to underscore these principles and practices.

Google apps for virtual learning communities development: strengthening english language skills in an university environment

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Eder Intriago

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Introduction: This action research project aims to strengthen English language reading comprehension and speaking skills in college students through the use of Google Apps and Literature Circles (LCs in virtual communities for learning. Method: The study involved 70 students at a public university in Ecuador. The educational intervention lasted a semester, included the implementation of LCs virtually and in person with a phase of independent reading and another for the discussion. 14 learning communities were organized and students assumed specific roles in order to warranty equality participation. The “Google Apps” were chosen for their ease of access. To monitor the progress of learning English, a pretest and a posttest were applied using the Preliminary English Test (PET by Cambridge University, whose validity and reliability are amply recognized internationally. Results: It showed an improvement of the reading comprehension and speaking skills in English Language in the participants group, who went from A1 to B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL at the end of the process. Conclusion: it is confirmed that the use of “Google Apps” aided in the building of virtual learning communities to support the second language acquisition process (L2 in the university context.

Ethical concerns and contributions in response to climate change and the links to well-being: a study of university students in The Netherlands.

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El Zoghbi, Mona Betour; El Ansari, Walid

2014-06-01

This study explored the concerns and contributions of university students in response to the ethical dimensions of climate change, and the implications for their well-being. The study focused on university students as leaders of future society while facing complex environmental and socio-economic challenges. A total of 8 focus groups (FG) were conducted (66 participants from over 10 different universities across The Netherlands). In addition, 9 in-depth interviews with Dutch university students from different academic backgrounds, and 16 interviews with Dutch key informants in the environment, youth and public health fields were undertaken. The first author also attended (as participant-observer) three major events themed around youth and environmental issues across different regions in The Netherlands. University students in the Netherlands are mostly concerned about the increasing social and economic inequalities between the global North and South, and the implications for impoverished and uneducated communities. Participants raised concerns over the transfer of materialistic value systems and unsustainable practices from developed to developing countries. The participants' main contributions in response to climate change were largely driven by feelings of guilt and responsibility, an ecological worldview, and desire to play a positive role in society. Establishing formal youth platforms across academic, civic and political institutions could provide legitimate and empowering opportunities for university students to participate in consultations and debates of future environmental policies and development strategies. Such platforms could enhance the agency and well-being of university students for addressing their concerns over existing climate inequalities and other ethical dilemmas.

Permanence of Two Self-Managed Treatments of Overweight in University and Community Populations

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And Others; Hall, Robert G.

1974-01-01

Males and females from community and university samples were assigned to two self-management treatments, nonspecific, or no-treatment controls. At six month follow-up, differences were not significant. Results are discussed in terms of conceptualizations of self-management and the utility of treatments employed. (Author)

Researching the Professional-Development Needs of Community-Engaged Scholars in a New Zealand University

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Kerry Shephard

2017-07-01

Full Text Available We explored the processes adopted by university teachers who engage with communities with a focus on asking how and why they became community-engaged, and an interest in what promotes and limits their engagement and how limitations may be addressed. As part of year-long research project we interviewed 25 community-engaged colleagues and used a general inductive approach to identify recurring themes within interview transcripts. We found three coexisting and re-occurring themes within our interviews. Community-engaged scholars in our institution tended to emphasise the importance of building enduring relationships between our institution and the wider community; have personal ambitions to change aspects of our institution, our communities, or the interactions between them and identified community engagement as a fruitful process to achieve these changes; and identified the powerful nature of the learning that comes from community engagement in comparison with other more traditional means of teaching. Underlying these themes was a sense that community engagement requires those involved to take risks. Our three themes and this underlying sense of risk-taking suggest potential support processes for the professional development of community-engaged colleagues institutionally.

Delaware Technical & Community College's response to the critical shortage of Delaware secondary science teachers

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Campbell, Nancy S.

This executive position paper examines the critical shortage of Delaware high school science teachers and Delaware Technical & Community College's possible role in addressing this shortage. A concise analysis of economic and political implications of the science teacher shortage is presented. The following topics were researched and evaluated: the specific science teacher needs for Delaware school districts; the science teacher education program offerings at Delaware universities and colleges; the Alternative Route to Teacher Certification (ARTC); and the state of Delaware's scholarship response to the need. Recommendations for Delaware Tech's role include the development and implementation of two new Associate of Arts of Teaching programs in physics secondary science education and chemistry secondary science education.

Attitudes and Perceptions about Private Philanthropic Giving to Arizona Community Colleges and Universities: Implications for Practice

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Martinez, George Andrew

2009-01-01

Wide disparity exists in philanthropic giving to public, two-year community colleges as compared to public, four-year universities. Recent estimates indicate that 0.5 to 5% of all private philanthropic giving to U.S. higher education annually goes to public, two-year community colleges, with the remainder going to public and private four-year…

Design methodology for a community response questionnaire on sonic boom exposure

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Farbry, John E., Jr.; Fields, James M.; Molino, John A.; Demiranda, Gwendolyn A.

1991-01-01

A preliminary draft questionnaire concerning community response to sonic booms was developed. Interviews were conducted in two communities that had experienced supersonic overflights of the SR-71 airplane for several years. Even though the overflights had ceased about 6 months prior to the interviews, people clearly remembered hearing sonic booms. A total of 22 people living in central Utah and 23 people living along Idaho/Washington state border took part in these interviews. The draft questionnaire was constantly modified during the study in order to evaluate different versions. Questions were developed which related to annoyance, startle, sleep disturbance, building vibration, and building damage. Based on the data collected, a proposed community response survey response instrument was developed for application in a full-scale sonic boom study.

Inclusive Instruction: Perceptions of Community College Faculty and Students Pertaining to Universal Design

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Gawronski, Michael; Kuk, Linda; Lombardi, Allison R.

2016-01-01

This study examined community college faculty (n = 179) and student (n = 449) attitudes and actions toward inclusive teaching practices based on tenets of Universal Design. Two online surveys, the Inclusive Teaching Strategies Inventory (ITSI) and the Inclusive Teaching Strategies Inventory-Student (ITSI-S), were administered at a medium-sized…

Strengthening Community Land Rights and Responses to ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Strengthening Community Land Rights and Responses to Involuntary Displacement Caused by Development Projects in Zimbabwe ... The construction of hydro-electric dams and other large mining and agricultural projects, for example, have led to negative consequences due to weak land tenure rights and a more general ...

University-Community Partnership Models: Employing Organizational Management Theories of Paradox and Strategic Contradiction

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Bowers, Amanda M.

2017-01-01

University-Community (U-C) partnerships have the potential to respond to society's most pressing needs through engaged scholarship. Despite this promise, partnerships face paradoxical tensions and inherent contradictions that are often not fully addressed in U-C partnership models or frameworks, or in practice. This article seeks to explore the…

Quality partnerships: The community stakeholders' view

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Vhonani Netshandama

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Since 1997 universities in South Africa have been encouraged to be responsive to the needs of communities, to encourage broader participation and to address issues of access in higher education (Department of Education 1997. This transformative agenda was found to be especially compelling in the case of rural-based South African universities, which often serve historically disadvantaged black populations in areas that are both under-resourced and underdeveloped (Nkomo & Sehoole 2007, pp. 235–36. In 2006 the traditional leadership of a local community approached the University of Venda to propose a partnership. This prompted the researcher to conduct a qualitative study, which sought to explore and describe community members’ views of what they understood to be a quality partnership. Thirty-seven community representatives were engaged in individual as well as focus group interviews. These representatives were identified first through a stakeholder analysis procedure that sought to determine who in the community would have valuable input for the university-community partnership. As a point of departure, the following two questions were asked consecutively: What are your needs and expectations of a partnership with the university and what would you regard as a quality partnership between the HEI and the community? The sample selection was purposive, utilising the snowball technique. Data was transcribed and analysed using Tesch’s eight-step method (Tesch 1990, in Creswell 1994, p. 155. Interview data and field notes were co-coded, crosschecked and triangulated. Feedback workshops were conducted with the community to confirm the findings. A consensus was reached that four main requirements emerged from the data: —Balance the partnership objectives of both parties —Ensure an unexploitative partnership —Share power and control in the partnership —Maintain and monitor the partnership. This article provides a brief overview of the national

Volunteers' Experiences Delivering a Community-University Chronic Disease Health Awareness Program for South Asian Older Adults.

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Ford-Jones, Polly; Daly, Tamara

2017-12-01

Volunteers and voluntary organizations can connect preventative health care programs to communities and may play an important role in addressing the health needs of older adults. Despite this, tensions may exist in the structures that drive volunteers and voluntary organizations representing immigrant communities to provide unpaid labour to augment and supplement health care services. Furthermore, organizational challenges may exist for community agencies relying on volunteers to sustain a health screening and education program. The intervention program was led by one voluntary agency specifically for South Asian communities in partnership with the university and five local organizations. This paper draws on volunteer surveys (n = 22) and key informant interviews (n = 12) to detail volunteer experiences providing this intervention. Volunteers were university students and other community volunteers. A total of 810 adults participated in the intervention within the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada between October 2014 and June 2016. We found that volunteers often used their experience as a 'stepping stone' position to other education or work. They also gained from the knowledge and used it to educate themselves and their family members and friends. This paper provides a critical reflection on the role of volunteers in a preventative and educational healthcare intervention program for older adults from the South Asian community. Tensions exist when relying on volunteer labour for the implementation of preventative community health care programming and must be explored to ensure program sustainability as well as equity within the health care system.

Temperature sensitivity of soil respiration rates enhanced by microbial community response.

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Karhu, Kristiina; Auffret, Marc D; Dungait, Jennifer A J; Hopkins, David W; Prosser, James I; Singh, Brajesh K; Subke, Jens-Arne; Wookey, Philip A; Agren, Göran I; Sebastià, Maria-Teresa; Gouriveau, Fabrice; Bergkvist, Göran; Meir, Patrick; Nottingham, Andrew T; Salinas, Norma; Hartley, Iain P

2014-09-04

Soils store about four times as much carbon as plant biomass, and soil microbial respiration releases about 60 petagrams of carbon per year to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. Short-term experiments have shown that soil microbial respiration increases exponentially with temperature. This information has been incorporated into soil carbon and Earth-system models, which suggest that warming-induced increases in carbon dioxide release from soils represent an important positive feedback loop that could influence twenty-first-century climate change. The magnitude of this feedback remains uncertain, however, not least because the response of soil microbial communities to changing temperatures has the potential to either decrease or increase warming-induced carbon losses substantially. Here we collect soils from different ecosystems along a climate gradient from the Arctic to the Amazon and investigate how microbial community-level responses control the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration. We find that the microbial community-level response more often enhances than reduces the mid- to long-term (90 days) temperature sensitivity of respiration. Furthermore, the strongest enhancing responses were observed in soils with high carbon-to-nitrogen ratios and in soils from cold climatic regions. After 90 days, microbial community responses increased the temperature sensitivity of respiration in high-latitude soils by a factor of 1.4 compared to the instantaneous temperature response. This suggests that the substantial carbon stores in Arctic and boreal soils could be more vulnerable to climate warming than currently predicted.

Vision of Management in the Management of University Social Responsibility

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Juan Carlos Pernía

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The administrative and managerial sciences generate spaces for research on the contribution of universities in the training of socially responsible professionals. The purpose of this essay is to generate a reflection on the management view of the University Social Responsibility (RSU. The methodical process used to collect the information is supported by the documentary review of some theoretical sketches related to the constructs of the RSU, such as care, management, use of goods and services in pursuit of the benefit of the common good of all the citizens; which should be oriented towards new managerial alternatives that are more efficient to adapt to the complex dynamics of society's growth. Hence, higher education organizations have the responsibility to take measures to protect the environment, in addition to contributing to the welfare of society, as a whole that must respond to organizational interests but also the sustainable development of the country. It was concluded that university social responsibility should focus on promoting a critical and reflective approach by academic managers to go beyond their training jobs, without disciplinary barriers that assume an unstructured attitude of complexity, creating new spaces of present management and future of the academic organization aimed at graduating professionals with relevant knowledge to the demands of contemporary society, people committed to improving the quality of collective life from a planetary view.

Home and Community Language Proficiency in Spanish-English Early Bilingual University Students.

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Schmidtke, Jens

2017-10-17

This study assessed home and community language proficiency in Spanish-English bilingual university students to investigate whether the vocabulary gap reported in studies of bilingual children persists into adulthood. Sixty-five early bilinguals (mean age = 21 years) were assessed in English and Spanish vocabulary and verbal reasoning ability using subtests of the Woodcock-Muñoz Language Survey-Revised (Schrank & Woodcock, 2009). Their English scores were compared to 74 monolinguals matched in age and level of education. Participants also completed a background questionnaire. Bilinguals scored below the monolingual control group on both subtests, and the difference was larger for vocabulary compared to verbal reasoning. However, bilinguals were close to the population mean for verbal reasoning. Spanish scores were on average lower than English scores, but participants differed widely in their degree of balance. Participants with an earlier age of acquisition of English and more current exposure to English tended to be more dominant in English. Vocabulary tests in the home or community language may underestimate bilingual university students' true verbal ability and should be interpreted with caution in high-stakes situations. Verbal reasoning ability may be more indicative of a bilingual's verbal ability.

Community response to large-scale federal projects: the case of the MX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Albrecht, S.L.

1983-01-01

An analysis of community response to large-scale defense projects, such as the proposals to site MX missiles in Utah and Nevada, is one way to identify those factors likely to be important in determining community response to nuclear waste repository siting. This chapter gives a brief overview of the MX system's characteristics and the potential impacts it would have had on the rural areas, describes the patterns of community mobilization that occurred in Utah and Nevada, and suggests where this response may parallel community concerns about a repository siting. Three lessons from the MX experience are that local residents, asked to assume a disproportionate share of the negative impacts, should be involved in the siting process, that local residents should be treated as equal, and that compensation should be offered when local residents suffer from political expediency

Creating an infrastructure for training in the responsible conduct of research: the University of Pittsburgh's experience.

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Barnes, Barbara E; Friedman, Charles P; Rosenberg, Jerome L; Russell, Joanne; Beedle, Ari; Levine, Arthur S

2006-02-01

In response to public concerns about the consequences of research misconduct, academic institutions have become increasingly cognizant of the need to implement comprehensive, effective training in the responsible conduct of research (RCR) for faculty, staff, students, and external collaborators. The ability to meet this imperative is challenging as universities confront declining financial resources and increasing complexity of the research enterprise. The authors describe the University of Pittsburgh's design, implementation, and evaluation of a Web-based, institution-wide RCR training program called Research and Practice Fundamentals (RPF). This project, established in 2000, was embedded in the philosophy, organizational structure, and technology developed through the Integrated Advanced Information Management Systems grant from the National Library of Medicine. Utilizing a centralized, comprehensive approach, the RPF system provides an efficient mechanism for deploying content to a large, diverse cohort of learners and supports the needs of research administrators by providing access to information about who has successfully completed the training. During its first 3 years of operation, the RPF served over 17,000 users and issued more than 38,000 training certificates. The 18 modules that are currently available address issues required by regulatory mandates and other content areas important to the research community. RPF users report high levels of satisfaction with content and ease of using the system. Future efforts must explore methods to integrate non-RCR education and training into a centralized, cohesive structure. The University of Pittsburgh's experience with the RPF demonstrates the importance of developing an infrastructure for training that is comprehensive, scalable, reliable, centralized, affordable, and sustainable.

Managing forest disturbances and community responses: lessons from the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska.

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Courtney G. Flint; Richard. Haynes

2006-01-01

Managing forest disturbances can be complicated by diverse human community responses. Interview and quantitative analysis of mail surveys were used to assess risk perceptions and community actions in response to forest disturbance by spruce bark beetles. Despite high risk perception of immediate threats to personal safety and property, risk perceptions of broader...

A Canadian model for building university and community partnerships: centre for research & education on violence against women and children.

Science.gov (United States)

Jaffe, Peter G; Berman, Helene; MacQuarrie, Barb

2011-09-01

The importance of Canadian research on violence against women became a national focus after the 1989 murder of 14 women at École Polytechnique in Montreal. This tragedy led to several federal government studies that identified a need to develop centers for applied research and community-university alliances on violence against women. One such center is the Centre for Research & Education on Violence against Women and Children. The Centre was founded in London, Canada in 1992 out of a partnership of a university, a community college, and community services. The centre's history and current activities are summarized as a model for the development and sustainability of similar centers.

Organizational Responsibility for Age-Friendly Social Participation: Views of Australian Rural Community Stakeholders.

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Winterton, Rachel

2016-01-01

This qualitative study critically explores the barriers experienced by diverse rural community stakeholders in facilitating environments that enable age-friendly social participation. Twenty-six semi-structured interviews were conducted across two rural Australian communities with stakeholders from local government, health, social care, and community organizations. Findings identify that rural community stakeholders face significant difficulties in securing resources for groups and activities catering to older adults, which subsequently impacts their capacity to undertake outreach to older adults. However, in discussing these issues, questions were raised in relation to whose responsibility it is to provide resources for community groups and organizations providing social initiatives and whose responsibility it is to engage isolated seniors. These findings provide a much-needed critical perspective on current age-friendly research by acknowledging the responsibilities of various macro-level social structures-different community-level organizations, local government, and policy in fostering environments to enable participation of diverse rural older adults.

Why Teach Social Entrepreneurship: Enhance Learning and University-Community Relations through Service-Learning Outreach

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Wessel, Stacy; Godshalk, Veronica M.

2004-01-01

This article focuses on providing a convincing argument for incorporating social entrepreneurship into the business professor's classroom. The outreach provided by social entrepreneurship enhances learning and promotes university-community relations. Service-learning engagement activities, in the form of social entrepreneurship, create a three-way…

THE MANAGEMENT OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY PROJECTS: A HIGH-PRIORITY ETHICAL PROBLEM IN THE UNIVERSITY AGENDA

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Jorge Palencia

2007-11-01

Full Text Available This work paper points out that the management of social responsibility is a high-priority project in the agenda of university organizations. Social Responsibility is reasoned as a macro university ethical project; about how the projects in the university scope have been handled and finally about how the Intellectus Model is a successful option. By means of a documentary research, it was conclude that the university organizations come dragging a culture lack from ethics, which has taken it to assume the Social Responsibility with an extencionist approach. It is recommended to assume the Social Responsibility Project as a coexistence culture and to manage it by means of the Projects Management.

Students’ experiences of university social responsibility and perceptions of satisfaction and quality of service

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José Luis Vázquez

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The principal aim of this paper is to identify the factors that define students’ perceptions of university social responsibility (USR in a Spanish university, and analyse the impact of that view on their perceptions of satisfaction and quality of service. Particularly, it is hypothesized that the overall perception of university social responsibility has a positive effect on students’ experiences of satisfaction, partially mediated by the assessment regarding the quality of university services. In doing that, a self-report study was conducted with a total sample of 400 undergraduate students of the University of León, in Spain. Structural equation modeling with PLS was used to test the students’ overall perception of USR in order to achieve higher standards of quality of service and satisfaction. Results supported a structure of six factors explaining students’ views regarding university social responsibility, of which only internal management affects the overall perception. Likewise, quality of service and satisfaction are strongly correlated among them. Implications of these findings for marketing in university settings are discussed.

Politics, Programs, and Local Governments: The Case of Community Colleges.

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Bers, Trudy Haffron

1980-01-01

Focuses on two aspects of governance and policy: the electoral process by which community college trustees are selected and the responsiveness of colleges to their communities as manifested by their programs. Available from Journal of Politics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611. (Author/IRT)

URBAN COMMUNITY RESPONSES TO VISUAL APPROPRIATE THEMATIC DESIGN, SUPER HERO PARK BANDUNG

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Dian Duhita

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Parks is one of city public area that serves as a communal place for city community. On another perspective, parks is an architectural design that is designed with an aesthetic element to attract. Bandung, since a few years was to make improvements in various sectors, especially in the public space. Through the slogan Creative City, Bandung City Government revived communities part of the citizens by providing place for a activities, creation and production. Thematic Parks became one of the alternative approaches responsive design as part of creative cities development. Object of research study object is Super Hero park. The purpose of research is to analyzing the response of communities to design a thematic park. The study was conducted with a qualitative approach through participation observation method. The scope of the research includes visual appropriate and city community response. The conclussion obtain that visual appropriate are in accordance with the theme. Urban Community was able to respond well the identity of Super Hero park with visual appropriate design.

Coral community response to bleaching on a highly disturbed reef.

Science.gov (United States)

Guest, J R; Low, J; Tun, K; Wilson, B; Ng, C; Raingeard, D; Ulstrup, K E; Tanzil, J T I; Todd, P A; Toh, T C; McDougald, D; Chou, L M; Steinberg, P D

2016-02-15

While many studies of coral bleaching report on broad, regional scale responses, fewer examine variation in susceptibility among coral taxa and changes in community structure, before, during and after bleaching on individual reefs. Here we report in detail on the response to bleaching by a coral community on a highly disturbed reef site south of mainland Singapore before, during and after a major thermal anomaly in 2010. To estimate the capacity for resistance to thermal stress, we report on: a) overall bleaching severity during and after the event, b) differences in bleaching susceptibility among taxa during the event, and c) changes in coral community structure one year before and after bleaching. Approximately two thirds of colonies bleached, however, post-bleaching recovery was quite rapid and, importantly, coral taxa that are usually highly susceptible were relatively unaffected. Although total coral cover declined, there was no significant change in coral taxonomic community structure before and after bleaching. Several factors may have contributed to the overall high resistance of corals at this site including Symbiodinium affiliation, turbidity and heterotrophy. Our results suggest that, despite experiencing chronic anthropogenic disturbances, turbid shallow reef communities may be remarkably resilient to acute thermal stress.

Mupasi as cosmic s(Spirit: The universe as a community of life

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Kuzipa M.B. Nalwamba

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Mupasi recalls the belief that humans form part of the community of life within the realm of the cosmic spirit. The assertion seems like a truism that requires no further enunciation. However, belief in the Creator-Spirit, a pneuma-theological understanding of creation, is relatively young in the Christian tradition. In Colossians 1:15-20, Christ is presented as instrumental to creation. Christian tradition therefore tends to present creation in Christological terms. The foundational belief in Spirit-Creator-God has not historically undergirded Christian belief about creation. The Christian faith could therefore benefit from ‘companion’ views of creation in terms of the cosmic spirit. Mupasi is understood as cosmic spirit, the axis of the universe apprehended as an organic whole. The web of life was brought into being, is sustained by, and inhabited by Mupasi. This retrieval has continuities and discontinuities with Christian belief as Spirit-Creator-God. It is presented here as a notion that calls the Christian faith back to its originating intuitions about creation. Mupasi is appropriated within a pneuma-theological framework that addressed a pressing issue of our time, the global ecological crisis. Mupasi presents an ecological critique that is meaningful for a renewed appreciation of community beyond an anthropocentric focus. The cosmic relatedness brings a renewed vision of the universe as a cosmic community of the s(Spirit. The cultural and intellectual milieu of Mupasi is undergirded by a relational conception of reality. It provides a critical lens with implications for ecclesiology that challenges the church’s self-understanding and ways of being.

Assessing the integration of health center and community emergency preparedness and response planning.

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Wineman, Nicole V; Braun, Barbara I; Barbera, Joseph A; Loeb, Jerod M

2007-11-01

To assess the state of health center integration into community preparedness, we undertook a national study of linkages between health centers and the emergency preparedness and response planning initiatives in their communities. The key objectives of this project were to gain a better understanding of existing linkages in a nationally representative sample of health centers, and identify health center demographic and experience factors that were associated with strong linkages. The objectives of the study were to gain a baseline understanding of existing health center linkages to community emergency preparedness and response systems and to identify factors that were associated with strong linkages. A 60-item questionnaire was mailed to the population of health centers supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration's Bureau of Primary Health Care in February 2005. Results were aggregated and a chi square analysis identified factors associated with stronger linkages. Overall performance on study-defined indicators of strong linkages was low: 34% had completed a hazard vulnerability analysis in collaboration with the community emergency management agency, 30% had their role documented in the community plan, and 24% participated in community-wide exercises. Stronger linkages were associated with experience responding to a disaster and a perception of high risk for experiencing a disaster. The potential for health centers to participate in an integrated response is not fully realized, and their absence from community-based planning leaves an already vulnerable population at greater risk. Community planners should be encouraged to include health centers in planning and response and centers should receive more targeted resources for community integration.

Honours service-learning & civic responsibility

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Trae Stewart

2012-03-01

Full Text Available 800x600 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Universities have been urged to prepare graduates for successful professional lives and fulfilling lives as civically responsible citizens. Pedagogies of engagement, like service-learning, are touted as one means to achieve these goals. Connections between first-year experience and service-learning programs have been slow to develop. Further, empirical studies on service-learning in university honours education are similarly scarce. This article examines first-semester honours postsecondary students' sense of civic responsibility before and after completing a service-learning program linking a course on the Evolution of Community to direct volunteerism in struggling schools. Based on pre-post-responses (n=119 to the Level III-Civic Responsibility Survey, analysis of variance with repeated measures showed that participants' sense of civic responsibility was significantly increased over time on each of the dependent variables (i.e., community connectedness, civic attitudes, civic efficacy. Community connectedness scores increased significantly at the .005 level, F(1, 118 = 9.703, p = .002. The changes in civic attitudes and civic efficacy scores were extremely significant at the .0005 level, F(1, 118 = 14.498, p < .0005 and F(1, 118 = 23.56, p < .0005, respectively.

Lessons from Hurricane Sandy: a community response in Brooklyn, New York.

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Schmeltz, Michael T; González, Sonia K; Fuentes, Liza; Kwan, Amy; Ortega-Williams, Anna; Cowan, Lisa Pilar

2013-10-01

The frequency and intensity of extreme weather events have increased in recent decades; one example is Hurricane Sandy. If the frequency and severity continue or increase, adaptation and mitigation efforts are needed to protect vulnerable populations and improve daily life under changed weather conditions. This field report examines the devastation due to Hurricane Sandy experienced in Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York, a neighborhood consisting of geographically isolated low-lying commercial and residential units, with a concentration of low-income housing, and disproportionate rates of poverty and poor health outcomes largely experienced by Black and Latino residents. Multiple sources of data were reviewed, including street canvasses, governmental reports, community flyers, and meeting transcripts, as well as firsthand observations by a local nonprofit Red Hook Initiative (RHI) and community members, and social media accounts of the effects of Sandy and the response to daily needs. These data are considered within existing theory, evidence, and practice on protecting public health during extreme weather events. Firsthand observations show that a community-based organization in Red Hook, RHI, was at the center of the response to disaster relief, despite the lack of staff training in response to events such as Hurricane Sandy. Review of these data underscores that adaptation and response to climate change and likely resultant extreme weather is a dynamic process requiring an official coordinated governmental response along with on-the-ground volunteer community responders.

Telementoring Physics: University-Community After-school Collaborations and the Mediation of the Formal/Informal Divide

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Lecusay, Robert A.

For several decades improvement of science education has been a major concern of policy makers concerned that the U.S. is a "nation at risk" owing to the dearth of students pursing careers in science. Recent policy proposals have argued that provision of broadband digital connectivity to organizations in the informal sector would increase the reach of the formal, academic sector to raise the overall level of science literacy in the country. This dissertation reports on a longitudinal study of a physics telementoring activity jointly run by a university-community collaborative at a community learning center. The activity implemented a digital infrastructure that exceeds the technical and social-institutional arrangements promoted by policy makers. In addition to broadband internet access (for tele-conferencing between students at the community center and physicists at a university), supplemented by digital software designed to promote physics education, the activity included the presence of a collaborating researcher/tutor at the community learning center to coordinate and document the instructional activities. The current research revealed a fundamental contradiction between the logic, goals, and practices of the physics instructors, and the corresponding logic, goals, and practices of the participants at the community learning center. This contradiction revolves around a contrast between the physicists' formal, logocentric ways of understanding expressed in the ability to explain the scientific rules underlying physical phenomena and the informal, pragmatic orientation of the youth and adults at the learning center. The observations in this dissertation should remind techno-enthusiasts, especially in the arena of public education policy, that there are no turnkey solutions in "distance" science education. Technically "connecting" people is not equivalent to creating conditions that expand opportunities to learn and a functioning socio-technical system that

The Learning Exchange: A Shared Space for the University of British Columbia and Vancouver's Downtown Eastside Communities

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Towle, Angela; Leahy, Kathleen

2016-01-01

The Learning Exchange was established by the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 1999 in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside (DTES). The challenge has been to create a shared space for learning exchanges between two very different communities: a research-intensive university and an inner city area most commonly depicted as a place of hopelessness.…

Responsible geographies and geographies of response

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grindsted, Thomas Skou

This dissertation engages with Danish University geographers at work and their explication of the role of geography in shaping socio-environmental debates in an era of the anthropocene. Situating sustainability concepts in a historygeographical context the dissertation examines responses and resp......This dissertation engages with Danish University geographers at work and their explication of the role of geography in shaping socio-environmental debates in an era of the anthropocene. Situating sustainability concepts in a historygeographical context the dissertation examines responses...... in higher education literature. The methodological framework is based on the social nature approach that tangles these quite distinct epistemological communities by consulting the socio-natures produced. It is concluded that though geographers find sustainability themes important to geography......, sustainability is more often implicit than it is explicit. This produces a number of dilemmas and contradictions since geographers both seek to distance themselves from produced politics while at the same time elucidating them. Geographies of response and responsibilities address the battleground over...

Workforce diversity and community-responsive health-care institutions.

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Nivet, Marc A; Berlin, Anne

2014-01-01

While the levers for the social determinants of health reside largely outside institutional walls, this does not absolve health professional schools from exercising their influence to improve the communities in which they are located. Fulfilling this charge will require a departure from conventional thinking, particularly when it comes to educating future health professionals. We describe efforts within medical education to transform recruitment, admissions, and classroom environments to emphasize diversity and inclusion. The aim is to cultivate a workforce with the perspectives, aptitudes, and skills needed to fuel community-responsive health-care institutions.

Building a Community among Teachers, Researchers and University Students. A Blended Approach to Training

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Cesareni, Donatella; Martini, Francesca; Mancini, Ilaria

2011-01-01

In this paper we present a case study about a community of practice's foundation and development among Italian teachers, researchers and university students who participated in a European project aimed at developing and testing innovative pedagogical models and technologies for collaborative knowledge building. Forty-five people (34 teachers, five…

Role of Corporate Social Responsibility Practices in Saudi Universities

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Bandar Khalaf Alharthey

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, many researchers focus on the relocation of the government in the transformation of The purpose of this study is to examine the role of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR practices in higher education of Saudi Arabia. The growing importance of CSR has made it necessary for every university to use international benchmarks as standard to devise their CSR practices accordingly. This realization has shifted focus of CSR practices of Saudi universities towards every dimension of CSR. The study collected secondary data through 120 advertisements published from 2012 to 2015 and found out that CSR practices of universities of Saudi Arabia remain focused on social dimension of CSR because Saudi culture and religion had profound impact on business laws and eventually on CSR practices.

Geographic Response Information Network : a new tool to manage community information for oil spill contingency planning and response operations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Munger, M.; Bryant, T. [Cook Inlet Regional Citizen' s Advisory Council, Kenai, AK (United States); Haugstad, E.; Kwietniak, J. [Tesora Alaska Petroleum, Kenai, AK (United States); DeCola, E.; Robertson, T. [Nuka Research and Planning Group, Seldovia, AK (United States)

2006-07-01

This paper described the Geographic Response Information Network (GRIN) project which was launched to address some of the logistical challenges that often complicate oil spill and emergency response operations. The objective of the project was to develop a computer-based tool for incident logistics to organize maps and data related to oil spills, safety, public relations and basic community resources. In addition to its use for oil spill response planning, the data available can be useful for all-hazards emergency response planning. Early prototypes of the GRIN used PowerPoint slides to organize basic information about coastal communities in Alaska. With time, hyper text markup language (html) was used as the programming format because it can be more readily hyper-linked. Currently, GRIN is organized as a web page with the following 5 categories of information: general, liaison, public information, logistics and safety. There are several sub-headings under each category, such as location, people, economy, subsistence and transportation. This general information allows incident management personnel to obtain a community profile to better understand the cultural, social and economic basis of the community. The GRIN prototype was developed for the Kodiak urban area, but it may be expanded in the future to include other coastal communities in Alaska. 3 refs., 6 figs.

Geographic Response Information Network : a new tool to manage community information for oil spill contingency planning and response operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Munger, M.; Bryant, T.; Haugstad, E.; Kwietniak, J.; DeCola, E.; Robertson, T.

2006-01-01

This paper described the Geographic Response Information Network (GRIN) project which was launched to address some of the logistical challenges that often complicate oil spill and emergency response operations. The objective of the project was to develop a computer-based tool for incident logistics to organize maps and data related to oil spills, safety, public relations and basic community resources. In addition to its use for oil spill response planning, the data available can be useful for all-hazards emergency response planning. Early prototypes of the GRIN used PowerPoint slides to organize basic information about coastal communities in Alaska. With time, hyper text markup language (html) was used as the programming format because it can be more readily hyper-linked. Currently, GRIN is organized as a web page with the following 5 categories of information: general, liaison, public information, logistics and safety. There are several sub-headings under each category, such as location, people, economy, subsistence and transportation. This general information allows incident management personnel to obtain a community profile to better understand the cultural, social and economic basis of the community. The GRIN prototype was developed for the Kodiak urban area, but it may be expanded in the future to include other coastal communities in Alaska. 3 refs., 6 figs

Online Disclosure of University Social Responsibility: A Comparative Study of Public and Private US Universities

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Garde Sánchez, Raquel; Rodríguez Bolívar, Manuel Pedro; López-Hernández, Antonio M.

2013-01-01

Public and private universities tasked with incorporating principles of social responsibility (SR) into their activities face the multiple challenges of addressing expectations of diverse stakeholders, establishing mechanisms for dialogue, and achieving greater information transparency. This article has two goals: first, to analyze whether SR has…

Community Response and Engagement During Extreme Water Events in Saskatchewan, Canada and Queensland, Australia

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McMartin, Dena W.; Sammel, Alison J.; Arbuthnott, Katherine

2018-01-01

Technology alone cannot address the challenges of how societies, communities, and individuals understand water accessibility, water management, and water consumption, particularly under extreme conditions like floods and droughts. At the community level, people are increasingly aware challenges related to responses to and impacts of extreme water events. This research begins with an assessment of social and political capacities of communities in two Commonwealth jurisdictions, Queensland, Australia and Saskatchewan, Canada, in response to major flooding events. The research further reviews how such capacities impact community engagement to address and mitigate risks associated with extreme water events and provides evidence of key gaps in skills, understanding, and agency for addressing impacts at the community level. Secondary data were collected using template analysis to elucidate challenges associated with education (formal and informal), social and political capacity, community ability to respond appropriately, and formal government responses to extreme water events in these two jurisdictions. The results indicate that enhanced community engagement alongside elements of an empowerment model can provide avenues for identifying and addressing community vulnerability to negative impacts of flood and drought.

Out of the Universities, into the Fields: New Community Service for Medicine Students in the Autonomous University of Mexico (1934-1940

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Ivonne Meza Huacuja

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The creation of a community service for Medicine students can be understood as an important part of Cardenas' social policies seeking to expand basic services throughout the country. It also represents a struggle to strengthen the power of the president and of the National Revolutionary Party (PNR, specially regarding a group distinguished since the beginning of the Revolution for its conservatism: the University of Mexico students. This work goes through the history of how this medical community service was created and organized, including documents such as students' reports and results obtained by these young doctors in factories, mines, and rural areas.

Ethics in Community-University-Artist Partnered Research: Tensions, Contradictions and Gaps Identified in an 'Arts for Social Change' Project.

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Yassi, Annalee; Spiegel, Jennifer Beth; Lockhart, Karen; Fels, Lynn; Boydell, Katherine; Marcuse, Judith

Academics from diverse disciplines are recognizing not only the procedural ethical issues involved in research, but also the complexity of everyday "micro" ethical issues that arise. While ethical guidelines are being developed for research in aboriginal populations and low-and-middle-income countries, multi-partnered research initiatives examining arts-based interventions to promote social change pose a unique set of ethical dilemmas not yet fully explored. Our research team, comprising health, education, and social scientists, critical theorists, artists and community-activists launched a five-year research partnership on arts-for-social change. Funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council in Canada and based in six universities, including over 40 community-based collaborators, and informed by five main field projects (circus with street youth, theatre by people with disabilities, dance for people with Parkinson's disease, participatory theatre with refugees and artsinfused dialogue), we set out to synthesize existing knowledge and lessons we learned. We summarized these learnings into 12 key points for reflection, grouped into three categories: community-university partnership concerns ( n  = 3), dilemmas related to the arts ( n  = 5), and team issues ( n  = 4). In addition to addressing previous concerns outlined in the literature (e.g., related to consent, anonymity, dangerous emotional terrain, etc.), we identified power dynamics (visible and hidden) hindering meaningful participation of community partners and university-based teams that need to be addressed within a reflective critical framework of ethical practice. We present how our team has been addressing these issues, as examples of how such concerns could be approached in community-university partnerships in arts for social change.

Community functional responses to soil and climate at multiple spatial scales: when does intraspecific variation matter?

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Andrew Siefert

Full Text Available Despite increasing evidence of the importance of intraspecific trait variation in plant communities, its role in community trait responses to environmental variation, particularly along broad-scale climatic gradients, is poorly understood. We analyzed functional trait variation among early-successional herbaceous plant communities (old fields across a 1200-km latitudinal extent in eastern North America, focusing on four traits: vegetative height, leaf area, specific leaf area (SLA, and leaf dry matter content (LDMC. We determined the contributions of species turnover and intraspecific variation to between-site functional dissimilarity at multiple spatial scales and community trait responses to edaphic and climatic factors. Among-site variation in community mean trait values and community trait responses to the environment were generated by a combination of species turnover and intraspecific variation, with species turnover making a greater contribution for all traits. The relative importance of intraspecific variation decreased with increasing geographic and environmental distance between sites for SLA and leaf area. Intraspecific variation was most important for responses of vegetative height and responses to edaphic compared to climatic factors. Individual species displayed strong trait responses to environmental factors in many cases, but these responses were highly variable among species and did not usually scale up to the community level. These findings provide new insights into the role of intraspecific trait variation in plant communities and the factors controlling its relative importance. The contribution of intraspecific variation to community trait responses was greatest at fine spatial scales and along edaphic gradients, while species turnover dominated at broad spatial scales and along climatic gradients.

The J-School Debate: Is the Timing Finally Right for University Journalism Programs and the Rest of the University Community to Work Together?

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Camp, Michael

2012-01-01

Liberal arts universities are under mounting pressure to maintain their position of relevance in an increasingly technological and economically competitive world, while professional journalism is steadily losing ground to social media. This essay argues that a new partnership between journalism schools and the academic community would be…

Assessing Emergency Preparedness and Response Capacity Using Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response Methodology: Portsmouth, Virginia, 2013.

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Kurkjian, Katie M; Winz, Michelle; Yang, Jun; Corvese, Kate; Colón, Ana; Levine, Seth J; Mullen, Jessica; Ruth, Donna; Anson-Dwamena, Rexford; Bayleyegn, Tesfaye; Chang, David S

2016-04-01

For the past decade, emergency preparedness campaigns have encouraged households to meet preparedness metrics, such as having a household evacuation plan and emergency supplies of food, water, and medication. To estimate current household preparedness levels and to enhance disaster response planning, the Virginia Department of Health with remote technical assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a community health assessment in 2013 in Portsmouth, Virginia. Using the Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) methodology with 2-stage cluster sampling, we randomly selected 210 households for in-person interviews. Households were questioned about emergency planning and supplies, information sources during emergencies, and chronic health conditions. Interview teams completed 180 interviews (86%). Interviews revealed that 70% of households had an emergency evacuation plan, 67% had a 3-day supply of water for each member, and 77% had a first aid kit. Most households (65%) reported that the television was the primary source of information during an emergency. Heart disease (54%) and obesity (40%) were the most frequently reported chronic conditions. The Virginia Department of Health identified important gaps in local household preparedness. Data from the assessment have been used to inform community health partners, enhance disaster response planning, set community health priorities, and influence Portsmouth's Community Health Improvement Plan.

Universities' Responses to Globalisation: The Influence of Organisational Culture

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Burnett, Sally-Ann; Huisman, Jeroen

2010-01-01

This study sought to assess how and why some higher education institutions have responded to aspects of globalisation and, in particular how organisational culture influences universities' responses to globalisation. Using a predominantly qualitative, mixed-methods approach, empirical research was used to explore the impact of globalisation at…

Interdisciplinary Medication Adherence Program: The Example of a University Community Pharmacy in Switzerland.

Science.gov (United States)

Lelubre, Mélanie; Kamal, Susan; Genre, Noëllie; Celio, Jennifer; Gorgerat, Séverine; Hugentobler Hampai, Denise; Bourdin, Aline; Berger, Jerôme; Bugnon, Olivier; Schneider, Marie

2015-01-01

The Community Pharmacy of the Department of Ambulatory Care and Community Medicine (Policlinique Médicale Universitaire, PMU), University of Lausanne, developed and implemented an interdisciplinary medication adherence program. The program aims to support and reinforce medication adherence through a multifactorial and interdisciplinary intervention. Motivational interviewing is combined with medication adherence electronic monitors (MEMS, Aardex MWV) and a report to patient, physician, nurse, and other pharmacists. This program has become a routine activity and was extended for use with all chronic diseases. From 2004 to 2014, there were 819 patient inclusions, and 268 patients were in follow-up in 2014. This paper aims to present the organization and program's context, statistical data, published research, and future perspectives.

Democracy, Community, Responsibility, and Influence in Teacher Education.

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Chamberlin, C.; Sawada, Daiyo

1987-01-01

This paper examines a large undergraduate teacher education program which had as a major goal allaying students' feelings of depersonalization and alienation. Specifically looked at are: (1) processes leading to a sense of community, responsibility, and influence among students and staff and (2) processes countering such development. (Author/MT)

Engaging Institutional Review Boards in Developing a Brief, Community-Responsive Human Subjects Training for Community Partners.

Science.gov (United States)

Calzo, Jerel P; Bogart, Laura M; Francis, Evelyn; Kornetsky, Susan Z; Winkler, Sabune J; Kaberry, Julie

2016-01-01

Engaging community partners as co-investigators in community-based participatory research (CBPR) requires certification in the rules, ethics, and principles governing research. Despite developments in making human research protection trainings more convenient and standardized (eg, self-paced Internet modules), time constraints and the structure of the content (which may favor academic audiences) may hinder the training of community partners. This paper is motivated by a case example in which academic and community partners, and stakeholders of a community-based organization actively engaged the leadership of a pediatric hospital-based institutional review board (IRB) in implementing a brief, community-responsive human subjects training session. A 2-hour, discussion-based human subjects training was developed via collaborations between the IRB and the community and academic partners. Interviews with trainees and facilitators after the training were used to evaluate its acceptability and possible future applications. Local IRBs have the potential to assist community partners in building sufficient knowledge of human subjects research protections to engage in specific projects, thereby expediting the progress of vital research to address community needs. We propose the need for developing truncated human subjects education materials to train and certify community partners, and creating formally organized entities within academic and medical institutions that specialize in community-based research to guide the development and implementation of alternative human subjects training certification opportunities for community partners.

Answers to Health Questions: Internet Search Results Versus Online Health Community Responses.

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Kanthawala, Shaheen; Vermeesch, Amber; Given, Barbara; Huh, Jina

2016-04-28

About 6 million people search for health information on the Internet each day in the United States. Both patients and caregivers search for information about prescribed courses of treatments, unanswered questions after a visit to their providers, or diet and exercise regimens. Past literature has indicated potential challenges around quality in health information available on the Internet. However, diverse information exists on the Internet-ranging from government-initiated webpages to personal blog pages. Yet we do not fully understand the strengths and weaknesses of different types of information available on the Internet. The objective of this research was to investigate the strengths and challenges of various types of health information available online and to suggest what information sources best fit various question types. We collected questions posted to and the responses they received from an online diabetes community and classified them according to Rothwell's classification of question types (fact, policy, or value questions). We selected 60 questions (20 each of fact, policy, and value) and the replies the questions received from the community. We then searched for responses to the same questions using a search engine and recorded the Community responses answered more questions than did search results overall. Search results were most effective in answering value questions and least effective in answering policy questions. Community responses answered questions across question types at an equivalent rate, but most answered policy questions and the least answered fact questions. Value questions were most answered by community responses, but some of these answers provided by the community were incorrect. Fact question search results were the most clinically valid. The Internet is a prevalent source of health information for people. The information quality people encounter online can have a large impact on them. We present what kinds of questions people ask

Soil bacterial community responses to global changes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bergmark, Lasse

competing and very contrasting plant types (Calluna and Deschampsia) dominated the vegetation. This led to Manuscript 3 where the impact and responses of the climate change manipulations on the microbial community composition was investigated under the contrasting vegetation types. Our results show a high......Soil bacteria and archaea are essential for ecosystem functioning and plant growth through their degradation of organic matter and turnover of nutrients. But since the majority of soil bacteria and archaea are unclassified and “nonculturable” the functionality of the microbial community and its...... overall importance for ecosystem function in soil is poorly understood. Global change factors may affect the diversity and functioning of soil prokaryotes and thereby ecosystem functioning. To gain a better understanding of the effects of global changes it is of fundamental importance to classify...

Partnering with a Community College and Research University to attract Underrepresented Students to the Geosciences: The Student Experience

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Wickham, J. S.; Saunders, D.; Smith, G.

2015-12-01

A NSF sponsored partnership between the University of Texas at Arlington and the Tarrant County College District aimed to attract underrepresented lower-division students interested in STEM to the geosciences. The program recruited 32 students over 3 years, developed an innovative field course, provided tutoring and mentoring programs, and offered research assistantships for students to work with the research university faculty on funded projects. Under-represented students were 66% of the group. The data was gathered via a web-based survey from April 2nd to April 17th, 2015, using both open ended and item-level responses. Out of 32 participants, the response rate was a significant 50%. Some of the survey results include: 1) Most students heard about the program from faulty who recruited them in introductory level classes; 2) Almost all agreed that the geosciences were interesting, fun, important and a good career path; 3) 92% of the community college respondents found transferring to a research university somewhat or not too difficult; 4) The most helpful parts of the program included faculty mentors, the field course, research assistant experiences and relationships with faculty. The least helpful parts included the tutoring services, relationships with other students, and the semester kickoff meetings; 5) over 60% of the students felt very confident in research skills, formulating research questions, lab skills, quantitative skills, time management, collaborating and working independently. They were less confident in planning research, graphing results, writing papers and making oral presentations; 6) most found the faculty very helpful in advising and mentoring, and 86% said they were comfortable asking at least one faculty member for a reference letter; 7) 93% said they were likely to pursue a geoscience career and 86% were confident or somewhat confident they would be successful.

Motivation and Self-Regulation in Community College Transfer Students at a Four-Year Online University

Science.gov (United States)

List, Alexandra; Nadasen, Denise

2017-01-01

Motivation and self-regulation were examined in a sample of community college transfer students enrolled in a 4-year, online university. The relation between motivation and self-regulation and students' performance was examined, as was the association between these learner characteristics (i.e., motivation and self-regulation) and sociodemographic…

Community Service and University Roles: An Action Research Based on the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy

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Nuangchalerm, Prasart; Chansirisira, Pacharawit

2012-01-01

This study employs action research to develop community service through university roles by applying the philosophy of sufficiency economy of His Majesty the King Bhumibol Adulyadej to fulfill villagers' way of life. Participatory learning, seminar, field trip and supervision were employed for strategic plan. Data were collected by participatory…

Financing Public Higher Education: The Impact of Responsibility Center Management on a Public Research University

Science.gov (United States)

Pappone, David J.

2016-01-01

To explore the impacts on public universities of implementing an incentive-based budgeting system, this dissertation focuses on one university's extensive experience with Responsibility Center Management. The financial and non-financial impacts of Responsibility Center Management will be considered by examining the extent to which commonly held…

Interdisciplinary Medication Adherence Program: The Example of a University Community Pharmacy in Switzerland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mélanie Lelubre

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The Community Pharmacy of the Department of Ambulatory Care and Community Medicine (Policlinique Médicale Universitaire, PMU, University of Lausanne, developed and implemented an interdisciplinary medication adherence program. The program aims to support and reinforce medication adherence through a multifactorial and interdisciplinary intervention. Motivational interviewing is combined with medication adherence electronic monitors (MEMS, Aardex MWV and a report to patient, physician, nurse, and other pharmacists. This program has become a routine activity and was extended for use with all chronic diseases. From 2004 to 2014, there were 819 patient inclusions, and 268 patients were in follow-up in 2014. This paper aims to present the organization and program’s context, statistical data, published research, and future perspectives.

Aboriginal Business Capacity Building Programs in the Central Interior of British Columbia: A Collaborative Project between the University and Communities

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Kunkel, Titi; Schorcht, Blanca; Brazzoni, Randall

2011-01-01

Aboriginal communities in Canada are typically marginalized, have very low employment participation rates, and have limited economic infrastructure. The downturn in global economies further marginalized these communities. The University of Northern British Columbia's (UNBC) Continuing Studies department piloted an Aboriginal and Small Business…

Posttraumatic stress symptoms related to community violence and children's diurnal cortisol response in an urban community-dwelling sample.

Science.gov (United States)

Suglia, Shakira Franco; Staudenmayer, John; Cohen, Sheldon; Wright, Rosalind J

2010-03-01

While community violence has been linked to psychological morbidity in urban youth, data on the physiological correlates of violence and associated posttraumatic stress symptoms are sparse. We examined the influence of child posttraumatic stress symptoms reported in relationship to community violence exposure on diurnal salivary cortisol response in a population based sample of 28 girls and 15 boys ages 7-13, 54% self-identified as white and 46% as Hispanic. Mothers' reported on the child's exposure to community violence using the Survey of Children's Exposure to Community Violence and completed the Checklist of Children's Distress Symptoms (CCDS) which captures factors related to posttraumatic stress; children who were eight years of age or greater reported on their own community violence exposure. Saliva samples were obtained from the children four times a day (after awakening, lunch, dinner and bedtime) over three days. Mixed models were used to assess the influence of posttraumatic stress symptoms on cortisol expression, examined as diurnal slope and area under the curve (AUC), calculated across the day, adjusting for socio-demographics. In adjusted analyses, higher scores on total traumatic stress symptoms (CCDS) were associated with both greater cortisol AUC and with a flatter cortisol waking to bedtime rhythm. The associations were primarily attributable to differences on the intrusion, arousal and avoidance CCDS subscales. Posttraumatic stress symptomatology reported in response to community violence exposure was associated with diurnal cortisol disruption in these community-dwelling urban children.

From Performativity to Aporia: Taking "Tremendous Responsibility" towards Feminism and the University

Science.gov (United States)

Vrablikova, Lenka

2016-01-01

This paper seeks to contribute to the thinking on feminism's past and present entanglement with the university and strives to imagine its future. Through a close reading of the opening passage of Derrida's essay "Mochlos, or The Conflict of the Faculties," I trace "a university responsibility" which does not lead to a subject…

Engaging Institutional Review Boards in Developing a Brief, Community-Responsive Human Subjects Training for Community Partners

Science.gov (United States)

Calzo, Jerel P.; Bogart, Laura M.; Francis, Evelyn; Kornetsky, Susan Z.; Winkler, Sabune J.; Kaberry, Julie M.

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND Engaging community partners as co-investigators in community-based participatory research (CBPR) requires certification in the rules, ethics, and principles governing research. Despite developments in making human research protection trainings more convenient and standardized (e.g., self-paced Internet modules), time constraints and the structure of the content (which may favor academic audiences) may hinder the training of community partners. OBJECTIVES This paper is motivated by a case example in which academic and community partners, and stakeholders of a community-based organization actively engaged the leadership of a pediatric hospital-based Institutional Review Board (IRB) in implementing a brief, community-responsive human subjects training session. METHODS A two hour, discussion-based human subjects training was developed via collaborations between the IRB and the community and academic partners. Interviews with trainees and facilitators after the training were used to evaluate its acceptability and possible future applications. CONCLUSIONS Local Institutional Review Boards have the potential to assist community partners in building sufficient knowledge of human subjects research protections to engage in specific projects, thereby expediting the progress of vital research to address community needs. We propose the need for developing truncated human subjects education materials to train and certify community partners, and creating formally organized entities within academic and medical institutions that specialize in community-based research to guide the development and implementation of alternative human subjects training certification opportunities for community partners. PMID:28230554

Universities: Engaging with Local Communities

Science.gov (United States)

Universities UK, 2010

2010-01-01

This leaflet illustrates the many ways in which universities impact on the local area. Universities are a major contributor to the economy in their own right, both as employers and purchasers of goods. Their social and cultural influence is also felt through their provision of: (1) art galleries, museums and exhibitions; (2) cinemas and theatres;…

Cambio: a file format translation and analysis application for the nuclear response emergency community

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lasche, George P.

2009-01-01

Cambio is an application intended to automatically read and display any spectrum file of any format in the world that the nuclear emergency response community might encounter. Cambio also provides an analysis capability suitable for HPGe spectra when detector response and scattering environment are not well known. Why is Cambio needed: (1) Cambio solves the following problem - With over 50 types of formats from instruments used in the field and new format variations appearing frequently, it is impractical for every responder to have current versions of the manufacturer's software from every instrument used in the field; (2) Cambio converts field spectra to any one of several common formats that are used for analysis, saving valuable time in an emergency situation; (3) Cambio provides basic tools for comparing spectra, calibrating spectra, and isotope identification with analysis suited especially for HPGe spectra; and (4) Cambio has a batch processing capability to automatically translate a large number of archival spectral files of any format to one of several common formats, such as the IAEA SPE or the DHS N42. Currently over 540 analysts and members of the nuclear emergency response community worldwide are on the distribution list for updates to Cambio. Cambio users come from all levels of government, university, and commercial partners around the world that support efforts to counter terrorist nuclear activities. Cambio is Unclassified Unlimited Release (UUR) and distributed by internet downloads with email notifications whenever a new build of Cambio provides for new formats, bug fixes, or new or improved capabilities. Cambio is also provided as a DLL to the Karlsruhe Institute for Transuranium Elements so that Cambio's automatic file-reading capability can be included at the Nucleonica web site.

Soil nematode community under the non-native trees in the Botanic Garden of Petrozavodsk State University

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Sushchuk Anna

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The particularities of soil nematode communities of the rhizosphere of non-native trees were studied in the Botanic Garden of Petrozavodsk State University (Republic of Karelia. Taxonomic diversity, abundance, community structure and ecological indices derived from nematode fauna analysis were used as the evaluation parameters. Nematode fauna included 51 genera, 6 of them were plant parasitic. The dominant eco-trophic group in the nematode community structure of coniferous trees was bacterial feeders; fungal feeders in most cases were observed in the second numbers. The contribution of bacterial feeders was decreased and plant parasites were increased in eco-trophic structure of nematode communities of deciduous trees in compared with coniferous trees. Analysis of ecological indices showed that the state of soil nematode communities reflects complex, structured (stable soil food web in the biocenoses with deciduous trees, and degraded (basal food web – under coniferous trees.

Waveforms and Sonic Boom Perception and Response (WSPR): Low-Boom Community Response Program Pilot Test Design, Execution, and Analysis

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Page, Juliet A.; Hodgdon, Kathleen K.; Krecker, Peg; Cowart, Robbie; Hobbs, Chris; Wilmer, Clif; Koening, Carrie; Holmes, Theresa; Gaugler, Trent; Shumway, Durland L.;

Divergent ecosystem responses within a benthic marine community to ocean acidification.

Science.gov (United States)

Kroeker, Kristy J; Micheli, Fiorenza; Gambi, Maria Cristina; Martz, Todd R

2011-08-30

Ocean acidification is predicted to impact all areas of the oceans and affect a diversity of marine organisms. However, the diversity of responses among species prevents clear predictions about the impact of acidification at the ecosystem level. Here, we used shallow water CO(2) vents in the Mediterranean Sea as a model system to examine emergent ecosystem responses to ocean acidification in rocky reef communities. We assessed in situ benthic invertebrate communities in three distinct pH zones (ambient, low, and extreme low), which differed in both the mean and variability of seawater pH along a continuous gradient. We found fewer taxa, reduced taxonomic evenness, and lower biomass in the extreme low pH zones. However, the number of individuals did not differ among pH zones, suggesting that there is density compensation through population blooms of small acidification-tolerant taxa. Furthermore, the trophic structure of the invertebrate community shifted to fewer trophic groups and dominance by generalists in extreme low pH, suggesting that there may be a simplification of food webs with ocean acidification. Despite high variation in individual species' responses, our findings indicate that ocean acidification decreases the diversity, biomass, and trophic complexity of benthic marine communities. These results suggest that a loss of biodiversity and ecosystem function is expected under extreme acidification scenarios.

Corporate Universities and Corporation- University Partnerships in Thailand: Complimenting Education in Learning, Leadership and Change

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Oliver S. Crocco

2017-04-01

Full Text Available With an estimated workforce of 285 million and the establishment of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN Economic Community in 2015, ASEAN faces vast challenges in human resource development (HRD and higher education. These challenges in Thailand have resulted in the rise of corporate universities and corporation-university partnerships. Corporate partnerships in education adapt quickly to industry needs and are increasingly popular and complimentary to traditional higher education. This research looks at one corporate university and one corporation-university partnership to investigate how, if at all, corporate universities and partnerships address HRD issues such as adult learning, leadership development, organisational change, corporate social responsibility (CSR, as well as ethical and global issues. This research finds initial evidence that corporate educational strategies address a variety of HRD issues and have the potential to revolutionise and compliment higher education in Thailand in a way that drives the nation toward a more sustainable future.

Social anxiety experiences and responses of university students

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Behiye Akacan

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to examine the responses of university students in social anxiety situations in order to create a psychological counselling program with a structured group based on Cognitive Behavioural and Existential Approaches. These responses involve the behaviour and thoughts of the university students in situations where they experience or anticipate social anxiety. The semi-structured interview form developed by the researchers was used in the study during the face-to-face interviews with fifty-one 4th year students from the Guidance and Psychological Counselling (GPC and Pre-School Teaching (PST departments. The scope of the interview form includes the situations where 1 students experience social anxiety in the school setting and their thoughts and behaviours regarding these situations, 2 the situations where they anticipate social anxiety in their future profession, and 3 the situations where they experience social anxiety in their daily lives. Our aim was to collect data from these areas. The data collected were analysed through content analysis. The findings of the study revealed that the thoughts regarding the social anxiety situations of the final year students studying in Guidance and Psychological Counselling and Pre-School Teaching departments are generally negative and their behaviour usually presents as desertion or avoidance.

Comparing Perceptions of Campus Crime Severity among Community College and Public Four-Year University Students

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Lundstrom, Loren M.

2010-01-01

In recent years violent crimes on several university campuses have been highlighted by mass media, drawing national attention to the issue of campus crime. Not all college campuses, however, experience the same level of crime. While community colleges serve roughly half of all undergraduates in the U.S., statistically these public institutions…

Pleiades. The Journal of the University of Hawai'i Community Colleges. First Edition. February 1988.

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Pleiades: The Journal of the University of Hawai'i Community Colleges, 1988

1988-01-01

"Pleiades" is a new journal, intended to appear annually, with publication scheduled for February. This is the first edition; it is unnumbered. Designed as a staff development activity, "Pleiades" is intended to contain writings and art authored and edited by the faculty and staff of the University of Hawaii Community Colleges.…

Functional changes in littoral macroinvertebrate communities in response to watershed-level anthropogenic stress.

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Katya E Kovalenko

Full Text Available Watershed-scale anthropogenic stressors have profound effects on aquatic communities. Although several functional traits of stream macroinvertebrates change predictably in response to land development and urbanization, little is known about macroinvertebrate functional responses in lakes. We assessed functional community structure, functional diversity (Rao's quadratic entropy and voltinism in macroinvertebrate communities sampled across the full gradient of anthropogenic stress in Laurentian Great Lakes coastal wetlands. Functional diversity and voltinism significantly decreased with increasing development, whereas agriculture had smaller or non-significant effects. Functional community structure was affected by watershed-scale development, as demonstrated by an ordination analysis followed by regression. Because functional community structure affects energy flow and ecosystem function, and functional diversity is known to have important implications for ecosystem resilience to further environmental change, these results highlight the necessity of finding ways to remediate or at least ameliorate these effects.

Permafrost soil characteristics and microbial community structure across a boreal forest watershed vary over short spatial scales and dictate community responses to thaw.

Science.gov (United States)

Stegen, J.; Bottos, E. M.; Kennedy, D.; Romero, E. B.; Fansler, S.; Chu, R. K.; Tfaily, M.; Jansson, J.; Bernstein, H. C.; Brown, J. M.; Markillie, L. M.

2017-12-01

Understanding drivers of permafrost microbial community structure and function is critical for understanding permafrost microbiology and predicting ecosystem responses to thaw; however, studies describing ecological controls on these communities are lacking. We hypothesize that permafrost communities are uniquely shaped by constraints imposed by prolonged freezing, and decoupled from the selective factors that influence non-permafrost soil communities, but that pre-thaw environmental and community characteristics will be strong determinants of community structure and function post-thaw. We characterized patterns of environmental variation and microbial community composition in sixty permafrost samples spanning landscape gradients in a boreal forest watershed, and monitored community responses to thaw. Consistent with our hypothesis, we found that, proportionally, the strongest process influencing permafrost community composition was dispersal limitation (0.36), exceeding the influence of homogenous selection (0.21) and variable selection (0.16), and that deterministic selection arose primarily from energetic constraints of the permafrost environment. Our data supported a structural equation model in which organic carbon thermodynamics and organic acid content, influenced redox conditions and total selection. Post-thaw community composition was found to be driven primarily by pre-thaw community composition, indicating a strong influence of historical conditions. Together, these results suggest that community responses to thaw may be highly varied over short distances and that changes in community structure and function are likely to be drastic, as changes to system hydrology mobilize organisms and nutrients, thereby relieving the primary constraints on the system. These findings are being integrated with metabolomic and metatranscriptomic analyses to improve understanding of how pre-thaw conditions can be used to predict microbial activity post-thaw.

[Current state of measures to deal with natural disasters at public universities].

Science.gov (United States)

Hirouchi, Tomoko; Tanka, Mamoru; Shimada, Ikuko; Yoshimoto, Yoshinobu; Sato, Atsushi

2012-03-01

The responsibility of a university after a large-scale, natural disaster is to secure the safety of students' and local residents' lives. The present study investigated the current state of measures at public universities to deal with natural disasters in coordination with the local community. A survey was administered at 77 public universities in Japan from March 25 to May 10, 2011. The survey included questions on the existence of local disaster evacuation sites, a disaster manual, disaster equipment storage, emergency drinking water, and food storage. A total of 51% of universities had designated local evacuation sites. Based on responses for the remaining questions, universities with and without the designated disaster response solutions accounted for 42% and 57%, respectively, for disaster manuals; 55% and 33%, respectively, for disaster equipment; 32% and 13%, respectively, for disaster drinking water storage; and 26% and 7%, respectively, for emergency food storage. A majority of public universities have not created disaster manuals, regardless of whether they have a local evacuation site. The survey results also indicated that most universities have no storage of disaster equipment or emergency supplies.

Using community-based participatory research and organizational diagnosis to characterize relationships between community leaders and academic researchers.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Karen H; Ray, Natasha J; Berg, David N; Greene, Ann T; Lucas, Georgina; Harris, Kenn; Carroll-Scott, Amy; Tinney, Barbara; Rosenthal, Marjorie S

2017-09-01

Sustaining collaborations between community-based organization leaders and academic researchers in community-engaged research (CEnR) in the service of decreasing health inequities necessitates understanding the collaborations from an inter-organizational perspective. We assessed the perspectives of community leaders and university-based researchers conducting community-engaged research in a medium-sized city with a history of community-university tension. Our research team, included experts in CEnR and organizational theory, used qualitative methods and purposeful, snowball sampling to recruit local participants and performed key informant interviews from July 2011-May 2012. A community-based researcher interviewed 11 community leaders, a university-based researcher interviewed 12 university-based researchers. We interviewed participants until we reached thematic saturation and performed analyses using the constant comparative method. Unifying themes characterizing community leaders and university-based researchers' relationships on the inter-organizational level include: 1) Both groups described that community-engaged university-based researchers are exceptions to typical university culture; 2) Both groups described that the interpersonal skills university-based researchers need for CEnR require a change in organizational culture and training; 3) Both groups described skepticism about the sustainability of a meaningful institutional commitment to community-engaged research 4) Both groups described the historical impact on research relationships of race, power, and privilege, but only community leaders described its persistent role and relevance in research relationships. Challenges to community-academic research partnerships include researcher interpersonal skills and different perceptions of the importance of organizational history. Solutions to improve research partnerships may include transforming university culture and community-university discussions on race

Finding the community in sustainable online community engagement: Not-for-profit organisation websites, service-learning and research

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Alice Dodd

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This article explores the use of action research (2008–2014 based on a case study of the Sustainable Online Community Engagement (SOCE Project, a service-learning project in which University of South Australia students build websites for not-for-profit (NFP organisations, to demonstrate that effective teaching, public service and research are interdependent. A significant problem experienced in the SOCE project was that, despite some training and ongoing assistance, the community organisations reported that they found it difficult to make effective use of their websites. One of the proposed solutions was to develop an online community of the participating organisations that would be self-supporting, member-driven and collaborative, and enable the organisations to share information about web-based technology. The research reported here explored the usefulness of developing such an online community for the organisations involved and sought alternative ways to assist the organisations to maintain an effective and sustainable web presence. The research used a three-phase ethnographic action research approach. The first phase was a content analysis and review of the editing records of 135 organisational websites hosted by the SOCE project. The second phase was an online survey sent to 145 community organisation members responsible for the management of these websites, resulting in 48 responses. The third phase consisted of semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 18 of the website managers from 12 of these organisations. The research revealed the extent to which organisations were unable to manage their websites and found that the proposed solution of an online community would not be useful. More importantly, it suggested other useful strategies which have been implemented. In Furco’s (2010 model of the engaged campus, public engagement can be used to advance the public service, teaching and research components of higher education’s tripartite

Intraspecific variation shapes community-level behavioral responses to urbanization in spiders.

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Dahirel, Maxime; Dierick, Jasper; De Cock, Maarten; Bonte, Dries

2017-09-01

Urban areas are an extreme example of human-changed environments, exposing organisms to multiple and strong selection pressures. Adaptive behavioral responses are thought to play a major role in animals' success or failure in such new environments. Approaches based on functional traits have proven especially valuable to understand how species communities respond to environmental gradients. Until recently, they have, however, often ignored the potential consequences of intraspecific trait variation (ITV). When ITV is prevalent, it may highly impact ecological processes and resilience against stressors. This may be especially relevant in animals, in which behavioral traits can be altered very flexibly at the individual level to track environmental changes. We investigated how species turnover and ITV influenced community-level behavioral responses in a set of 62 sites of varying levels of urbanization, using orb web spiders and their webs as models of foraging behavior. ITV alone explained around one-third of the total trait variation observed among communities. Spider web structure changed according to urbanization, in ways that increase the capture efficiency of webs in a context of smaller urban prey. These trait shifts were partly mediated by species turnover, but ITV increased their magnitude, potentially helping to buffer the effects of environmental changes on communities. The importance of ITV varied depending on traits and on the spatial scale at which urbanization was considered. Despite being neglected from community-level analyses in animals, our results highlight the importance of accounting for intraspecific trait variation to fully understand trait responses to (human-induced) environmental changes and their impact on ecosystem functioning. © 2017 by the Ecological Society of America.

A "community as resource" strategy for disaster response.

OpenAIRE

Lichterman, J D

2000-01-01

Natural and technological disasters present significant threats to the public's health. The emergency response capabilities of government and private relief organizations are limited. With a strategy in which residents of urban areas are trained in search and rescue, first aid, fire suppression, care and shelter, emergency communications, and disaster mental health, the community becomes a "resource" rather than a "victim."

Community engagement in the CTSA program: stakeholder responses from a national Delphi process.

Science.gov (United States)

Freeman, Elmer; Seifer, Sarena D; Stupak, Matthew; Martinez, Linda Sprague

2014-06-01

In response to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee's December 2012 public request for stakeholder input on the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) program, two nonprofit organizations, the Center for Community Health Education Research and Service, Inc. (CCHERS) and Community-Campus Partnerships for Health (CCPH), solicited feedback from CTSA stakeholders using the Delphi method. Academic and community stakeholders were invited to participate in the Delphi, which is an exploratory method used for group consensus building. Six questions posed by the IOM Committee to an invited panel on community engagement were electronically sent to stakeholders. In Round 1 stakeholder responses were coded thematically and then tallied. Round 2 asked stakeholders to state their level of agreement with each of the themes using a Likert scale. Finally, in Round 3 the group was asked to rank the Round 2 based on potential impact for the CTSA program and implementation feasibility. The benefits of community engagement in clinical and translational research as well as the need to integrate community engagement across all components of the CTSA program were common themes. Respondents expressed skepticism as to the feasibility of strengthening CTSA community engagement. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Aerobic carbon-cycle related microbial communities in boreal peatlands: responses to water-level drawdown

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peltoniemi, K

2010-07-01

Boreal peatlands represent a considerable portion of the global carbon (C) pool. Water-level drawdown (WLD) causes peatland drying and induces a vegetation change, which affects the decomposition of soil organic matter and the release of greenhouse gases (CO{sub 2} and CH{sub 4}). The objective of this thesis was to study the microbial communities related to the C cycle and their response to WLD in two boreal peatlands. Both sampling depth and site type had a strong impact on all microbial communities. In general, bacteria dominated the deeper layers of the nutrient-rich fen and the wettest surfaces of the nutrient-poor bog sites, whereas fungi seemed more abundant in the drier surfaces of the bog. WLD clearly affected the microbial communities but the effect was dependent on site type. The fungal and methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB) community composition changed at all sites but the actinobacterial community response was apparent only in the fen after WLD. Microbial communities became more similar among sites after long-term WLD. Litter quality had a large impact on community composition, whereas the effects of site type and WLD were relatively minor. The decomposition rate of fresh organic matter was influenced slightly by actinobacteria, but not at all by fungi. Field respiration measurements in the northern fen indicated that WLD accelerates the decomposition of soil organic matter. In addition, a correlation between activity and certain fungal sequences indicated that community composition affects the decomposition of older organic matter in deeper peat layers. WLD had a negative impact on CH{sub 4} oxidation, especially in the oligotrophic fen. Fungal sequences were matched to taxa capable of utilizing a broad range of substrates. Most of the actinobacterial sequences could not be matched to characterized taxa in reference databases. This thesis represents the first investigation of microbial communities and their response to WLD among a variety of boreal

Macroinvertebrate community responses to a dewatering disturbance gradient in a restored stream

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J. D. Muehlbauer

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Dewatering disturbances are common in aquatic systems and represent a relatively untapped field of disturbance ecology, yet studying dewatering events along gradients in non-dichotomous (i.e. wet/dry terms is often difficult. Because many stream restorations can essentially be perceived as planned hydrologic manipulations, such systems can make ideal test-cases for understanding processes of hydrological disturbance. In this study we used an experimental drawdown in a 440 ha stream/wetland restoration site to assess aquatic macroinvertebrate community responses to dewatering and subsequent rewetting. The geomorphic nature of the site and the design of the restoration allowed dewatering to occur predictably along a gradient and decoupled the hydrologic response from any geomorphic (i.e. habitat heterogeneity effects. In the absence of such heterogeneous habitat refugia, reach-scale wetted perimeter and depth conditions exerted a strong control on community structure. The community exhibited an incremental response to dewatering severity over the course of this disturbance, which was made manifest not as a change in community means but as an increase in community variability, or dispersion, at each site. The dewatering also affected inter-species abundance and distributional patterns, as dewatering and rewetting promoted alternate species groups with divergent habitat tolerances. Finally, our results indicate that rapid rewetting – analogous to a hurricane breaking a summer drought – may represent a recovery process rather than an additional disturbance and that such processes, even in newly restored systems, may be rapid.

Using community-based participatory research and organizational diagnosis to characterize relationships between community leaders and academic researchers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karen H. Wang

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Sustaining collaborations between community-based organization leaders and academic researchers in community-engaged research (CEnR in the service of decreasing health inequities necessitates understanding the collaborations from an inter-organizational perspective. We assessed the perspectives of community leaders and university-based researchers conducting community-engaged research in a medium-sized city with a history of community-university tension. Our research team, included experts in CEnR and organizational theory, used qualitative methods and purposeful, snowball sampling to recruit local participants and performed key informant interviews from July 2011–May 2012. A community-based researcher interviewed 11 community leaders, a university-based researcher interviewed 12 university-based researchers. We interviewed participants until we reached thematic saturation and performed analyses using the constant comparative method. Unifying themes characterizing community leaders and university-based researchers' relationships on the inter-organizational level include: 1 Both groups described that community-engaged university-based researchers are exceptions to typical university culture; 2 Both groups described that the interpersonal skills university-based researchers need for CEnR require a change in organizational culture and training; 3 Both groups described skepticism about the sustainability of a meaningful institutional commitment to community-engaged research 4 Both groups described the historical impact on research relationships of race, power, and privilege, but only community leaders described its persistent role and relevance in research relationships. Challenges to community-academic research partnerships include researcher interpersonal skills and different perceptions of the importance of organizational history. Solutions to improve research partnerships may include transforming university culture and community-university

A Mutually Beneficial Relationship: University of the Third Age and a regional university campus

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Bronwyn Ellis

2011-11-01

Full Text Available A mutually beneficial relationship has developed over the past 15 years between a regional South Australian branch of the University of the Third Age (U3A and the local university campus. Arising from the initiative of a community member, the group sought assistance from the university, and has now become integrated into campus life. The university has provided a venue for meetings and access to other facilities, and university staff have contributed to the program of classes. The U3A has undoubtedly benefited from these inputs. However, the university has also benefited from these opportunities to engage with the wider community, the presence of willing volunteers to contribute in various ways to university classes and other activities, and favourable word-of-mouth marketing. Beginning with background information on U3A, the local branch and its setting, we reflect on the sustainability of this relationship with the university and the factors that have contributed to this. We draw on our U3A experience and on two qualitative research projects in which U3A members have taken part: projects which have investigated their motivation for participation in U3A classes and activities, and the contributions of U3A to the university and vice versa. Not only has the relationship itself been sustained thus far, it has also contributed to sustaining U3A members in their active involvement in learning and community activities, and has been a significant part of community engagement activities of the campus. Keywords University of the Third Age; university-community engagement; mutual benefit; lifelong learning; retirement; productive ageing

The role of responsiveness within the self in transitions to university

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Marsico, Giuseppina; Gomes, Ramon; Dazzani, Virginia

2018-01-01

Entering university is a complex psychosocial phenomenon that can create several new stressful situations that students need to face. The transition into university may be accompanied by some psychosocial problems such as reduced self-esteem and academic achievement, increased social anxiety......, and a critical rise in the probability of dropout. How does a person use cultural elements to cope with stress? Responding to this question requires an understanding of the multivocal and ambivalent self. The paper aims at introducing and discussing the concept of Educational Self and the role...... of the responsiveness for explaining the complexity of the transition to a new educational context in Cultural Psychology perspective. The notion of responsiveness plays a crucial role in the ‘‘reconfiguration’’ of the multivocal and ambivalent self in transition....

Facilitating Student Engagement: Social Responsibility and Freshmen Learning Communities

Science.gov (United States)

Kingston, Lindsey N.; MacCartney, Danielle; Miller, Andrea

2014-01-01

Human rights education is advanced as a method for promoting social responsibility, with an emphasis on promoting ideals of "global citizenship" among undergraduate students. At the same time, the practice of learning communities is widespread on college campuses for retaining freshmen and promoting student success. However, there is…

Development and evaluation of a community immersion program during preclinical medical studies: a 15-year experience at the University of Geneva Medical School

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Chastonay P

2013-04-01

Full Text Available P Chastonay,1,2 V Zesiger,1 A Klohn,1 L Soguel,3 E K Mpinga,1,4 NV Vu,2 L Bernheim5 1Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, 2Unit of Development and Research in Medical Education, University of Geneva, Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, 3Nutrition and Dietetics Department, University of Applied Sciences, Geneva, 4Swiss School of Public Health, Zurich, 5Department of Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland Background: Significant changes in medical education have occurred in recent decades because of new challenges in the health sector and new learning theories and practices. This might have contributed to the decision of medical schools throughout the world to adopt community-based learning activities. The community-based learning approach has been promoted and supported by the World Health Organization and has emerged as an efficient learning strategy. The aim of the present paper is to describe the characteristics of a community immersion clerkship for third-year undergraduate medical students, its evolution over 15 years, and an evaluation of its outcomes. Methods: A review of the literature and consensus meetings with a multidisciplinary group of health professionals were used to define learning objectives and an educational approach when developing the program. Evaluation of the program addressed students' perception, achievement of learning objectives, interactions between students and the community, and educational innovations over the years. Results: The program and the main learning objectives were defined by consensus meetings among teaching staff and community health workers, which strengthened the community immersion clerkship. Satisfaction, as monitored by a self-administered questionnaire in successive cohorts of students, showed a mean of 4.4 on a five-point scale. Students also mentioned community immersion clerkship as a unique community experience. The learning objectives were reached by a

False alarms, real challenges--one university's communication response to the 2001 anthrax crisis.

Science.gov (United States)

Clarke, Christopher E; Chess, Caron

2006-01-01

Considerable research exists on how government agencies at the federal, state, and local levels communicated during the fall 2001 anthrax attacks. However, there is little research on how other institutions handled this crisis, in terms of their response to potential anthrax contamination (aka "white powder scares") and their approach to disseminating important health and safety information. In this article, we investigate a major university's communication response to the anthrax crisis. First, we describe its communication experiences relating to a large white powder scare that occurred in October 2001. Second, we describe the university's broader communication efforts in terms of several important elements of risk communication research, including influence of source attributes, key messages, preferred channels, responses to information requests, and organizational influences. This study underlines that an institution does not have to be directly affected by a crisis to find itself on the communication "front lines." Moreover, other institutions may find it useful to learn from the experiences of this university, so that they may communicate more effectively during future crises.

Developing Learning Communities: Using Communities of Practice within Community Psychology

Science.gov (United States)

Lawthom, Rebecca

2011-01-01

The idea that communities need to be inclusive is almost axiomatic. The process, whereby, community members engage in inclusive practices is far less understood. Similarly, UK universities are being encouraged to include the wider community and extent campus boundaries. Here, I suggest a particular theoretical lens which sheds light on engagement…

University Start-up Companies as a Response to Changing Federal Funding

Science.gov (United States)

Dehn, J.; Webley, P.

2013-12-01

In challenging financial times, science funding is often one of the first casualties in a federal budget. In some cases the unfunded research has market potential and many universities are adopting policies to allow faculty and staff to form companies to support continuing research. Though this is clearly not a replacement for federal support for basic science, it can augment science funding and support the university missions of education, research and service. When federal support for volcano remote sensing at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute as part of the Alaska Volcano Observatory after 25 years, the PIs started a company called V-ADAPT (Volcanic-Ash Detection, Avoidance and Preparedness for Transportation). This presented a variety of challenges and changing relationships within the volcanic monitoring community. It also raised a series of important questions: (1) What is the role of a private company in providing something that was once publically available? (2) How will the marketplace influence the directions of the research at a university? (3) How can the restrictions placed on federal employees allow effective collaboration? (4) Can the Bayh-Dole and Stafford Acts exist in harmony in this environment? There are many successful examples of start-up companies working well within this environment, but much of this is dependent on the laws and regulations in each state, that vary widely. In addition, many universities have policies in place that are not always compatible with model. A flexible approach is needed to ensure that university missions are not compromised and that an effective business model can support research. Few scientists are not business-savvy, so utilizing the other expertise at a university in schools of business, finance, management and political science is recommended.

Leveraging 3D Technology for Students with Autism: An innovative university-community collaboration for skill development and vocational exploration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cheryl A Wright

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This article describes a university-community collaboration in which an inter-professional team partnered to provide students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD a paid job opportunity to apply 3D modelling skills for a local construction company. Providing meaningful vocational opportunities to improve the transition to adulthood for individuals with ASD is imperative, as individuals with ASD have unemployment rates that are some of the highest of all disabilities. This novel evidence-supported educational program was designed to develop 3D technology skills, explore vocational careers and promote social engagement through shared interests for transition-age youth with ASD. Both parents and students reported many successful outcomes, including increase in student self-confidence, social and technology skill development and the opportunity for vocational exploration by these young people. Implications of the case study are reported in relation to university-community partnerships and the critical role of community collaboration in addressing the high rates of unemployment in individuals with autism.

An environmental scan of emergency response systems and services in remote First Nations communities in Northern Ontario.

Science.gov (United States)

Mew, E J; Ritchie, S D; VanderBurgh, D; Beardy, J L; Gordon, J; Fortune, M; Mamakwa, S; Orkin, A M

2017-01-01

Approximately 24,000 Ontarians live in remote Indigenous communities with no road access. These communities are a subset of Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), a political grouping of 49 First Nations communities in Northern Ontario, Canada. Limited information is available regarding the status of emergency care in these communities. We aimed to understand emergency response systems, services, and training in remote NAN communities. We used an environmental scan approach to compile information from multiple sources including community-based participatory research. This included the analysis of data collected from key informant interviews (n=10) with First Nations community health leaders and a multi-stakeholder roundtable meeting (n=33) in October 2013. Qualitative analysis of the interview data revealed four issues related to emergency response systems and training: (1) inequity in response capacity and services, (2) lack of formalised dispatch systems, (3) turnover and burnout in volunteer emergency services, and (4) challenges related to first aid training. Roundtable stakeholders supported the development of a community-based emergency care system to address gaps. Existing first response, paramedical, and ambulance service models do not meet the unique geographical, epidemiological and cultural needs in most NAN communities. Sustainable, context-appropriate, and culturally relevant emergency care systems are needed.

Exhilarated Learning and the Scholarship of Engagement: From Here (the University) to the Horizon (the Community)

Science.gov (United States)

Strean, William Ben

2012-01-01

In this paper, I explain the components of "exhilarated learning," a model for effective classroom environments, and show how this model can be applied to the broader context of community-university engagement. I describe the following three dimensions: human connection, whole body engagement, and linking content to context; and I…

Affective and Cognitive Responses to Poetry in the University Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Rumbold, Kate; Simecek, Karen

2016-01-01

In universities, as in mainstream education more widely, cognitive approaches to poetry are often dominant. Far from being irrelevant to the serious study of literature, we argue that eliciting students' affective responses to poetry can deepen their cognitive understanding and analytical skills. Drawing on recent research in psychology on the…

University Reactor Instrumentation Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vernetson, W.G.

1992-11-01

Recognizing that the University Reactor Instrumentation Program was developed in response to widespread needs in the academic community for modernization and improvement of research and training reactors at institutions such as the University of Florida, the items proposed to be supported by this grant over its two year period have been selected as those most likely to reduce foreed outages, to meet regulatory concerns that had been expressed in recent years by Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspectors or to correct other facility problems and limitations. Department of Energy Grant Number DE-FG07-90ER129969 was provided to the University of Florida Training Reactor(UFTR) facility through the US Department of Energy's University Reactor Instrumentation Program. The original proposal submitted in February, 1990 requested support for UFTR facility instrumentation and equipment upgrades for seven items in the amount of $107,530 with $13,800 of this amount to be the subject of cost sharing by the University of Florida and $93,730 requested as support from the Department of Energy. A breakdown of the items requested and total cost for the proposed UFTR facility instrumentation and equipment improvements is presented

When Legitimacy Shapes Environmentally Responsible Behaviors: Considering Exposure to University Sustainability Initiatives

OpenAIRE

Lesley Watson; Karen A. Hegtvedt; Cathryn Johnson; Christie L. Parris; Shruthi Subramanyam

2017-01-01

This study examines how perceptions of the legitimacy of university sustainability efforts—support by the administration (authorization) or from students’ peers (endorsement)—as well as the physical context in which students live, matter in shaping students’ environmentally responsible behaviors (ERBs). Using survey data collected from fourth-year students at a university in the Southeastern US, we employ Seeming Unrelated Regression to analyze the impact of perceived legitimacy and context o...

Establishment of an Advanced Accelerator Applications University Participation Program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hechanova, A.E.; Cerefice, G.S.

2002-01-01

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) established an Advanced Accelerator Applications (AAA) University Participation Program in March 2001 to develop a world-class research program for accelerator-driven transmutation technology while building core competencies and facilities to promote the University's strategic growth goals. The goal of this program is to involve UNLV students in research on the cutting edge of science and engineering as an integrated part of the national program to develop this emerging technology. This program augments UNLV's research capabilities and infrastructure, while establishing national and international research collaborations with national laboratories, industrial partners, and other universities, increasing the UNL V research community's presence in the global scientific community. The UNL V Program is closely integrated into the national project led by Los Alamos and Argonne National Laboratories. The primary mechanism to insure this degree of integration is the teaming of national laboratory scientists with UNL V faculty and students on student research proposals. The Program was implemented under an aggressive schedule with faculty response that surpassed expectations. A total of 12 multi-tasked projects that involve 21 graduate students and 13 faculty members began under first year funding. Other major accomplishments include establishment of an administrative structure implementing all the components of the Program and establishment of a communications network between national laboratory project leaders and UNL V faculty. (authors)

Lags in the response of mountain plant communities to climate change

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Alexander, Jake M; Chalmandrier, Loïc; Lenoir, Jonathan

2018-01-01

Rapid climatic changes and increasing human influence at high elevations around the world will have profound impacts on mountain biodiversity. However, forecasts from statistical models (e.g. species distribution models) rarely consider that plant community changes could substantially lag behind...... plant species' spread along elevational gradients, "establishment lags" following their arrival in recipient communities, and "extinction lags" of resident species. Variation in lags is explained by variation among species in physiological and demographic responses, by effects of altered biotic...... turnover in future communities might lag behind simple expectations based on species' range shifts with unlimited dispersal. The model shows a combined contribution of altered biotic interactions and dispersal lags to plant community turnover along an elevational gradient following climate warming. Our...

Adaptive Response- A Universal Phenomenon for Radiological Protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Streffer, C.

2004-01-01

Predominantly with cells in vitro but also with whole animals in vivo it bas been shown that small radiation doses like other stress factors can render cells or organisms to a stage of higher radioresistance. This has been demonstrated with chromosomal aberrations gene mutation, cell transformation and survival. However, it is necessary to keep the appropriate conditions in a very stringent way. This implies radiation dose ranges, time factors and others. The adaptive response is transient and keeps for about three cell cycles or two to three days for mammalian cells. Most studies have been performed with low LET radiation. From the few data with high LET radiation it can be concluded that the adaptive response is much less or does not occur at all. Cellular and molecular studies indicate that the DNA repair is most important for the induction of adaptive response although the understanding of the mechanisms is certainly incomplete. In vivo other biological phenomena like the immune system also play a significant role. A high individual variability exists with respect to the extent of the adaptive response. No adaptive response apparently occurs with cells from individuals with repair-and immune-deficiencies. Several experiments during the prenatal development indicate that there is no or only little adaptive response during wide developmental stages in utero. Therefore it must be concluded that the adaptive response has limitations and is not a universal principle. Due to these restrictions of the validity and strength of adaptive response it is doubtful whether adaptive response can generally be applied in the practice of radiological protection. (Author) 42 refs

A critical examination of community-based responses to household food insecurity in Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Tarasuk, V

2001-08-01

Over the past two decades, household food insecurity has emerged as a significant social problem and serious public health concern in the "First World." In Canada, communities initially responded by establishing ad hoc charitable food assistance programs, but the programs have become institutionalized. In the quest for more appropriate and effective responses, a variety of community development programs have recently been initiated. Some are designed to foster personal empowerment through self-help and mutual support; others promote community-level strategies to strengthen local control over food production. The capacity of current initiatives to improve household food security appears limited by their inability to overcome or alter the poverty that under-pins this problem. This may relate to the continued focus on food-based responses, the ad hoc and community-based nature of the initiatives, and their origins in publicly funded health and social service sectors.

Blending Community Service and Teaching to Open Vision Care and Eye Health Awareness to University Students

Science.gov (United States)

Do, Chi-wai; Chan, Lily Y. L.; Wong, Horace H. Y.; Chu, Geoffrey; Yu, Wing Yan; Pang, Peter C. K.; Cheong, Allen M. Y.; Ting, Patrick Wai-ki; Lam, Thomas Chuen; Kee, Chea-su; Lam, Andrew; Chan, Henry H. L.

2016-01-01

A vision care-based community service subject is offered to general university students for fulfillment of a service-learning compulsory credit requirement. Here, a professional health subject is taught in a way that caters to generalist learners. Students gain basic skills they can apply to provide vision screenings for the needy population. All…

Implementation of Cooperative Learning in the Center for Community Service and Continuing Education at Kuwait University

Science.gov (United States)

Alansari, Eissa M.

2006-01-01

The purpose of this study is to review the success of implementation of cooperative learning in various courses delivered at the Center for Community Service and Continuing Education at Kuwait University. According to recent research in the field of social cognition, learning situations which make use of the social context often achieve superior…

Engaging Storm Spotters and Community College Students in Regional Responses to Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Mooney, M. E.; Ackerman, S. A.; Buhr, S. M.

2012-12-01

Resiliency to natural hazards includes climate literacy. With a record number of billion dollar weather disasters in 2011, each one enhanced by a warmer atmosphere, our nation needs new strategies to respond, mitigate, communicate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. We know that actions we take today matter, but finding ways to mobilize our citizenry remains largely elusive. One way to galvanize a meaningful response to climate change could involve National Weather Service (NWS) storm spotters and Community College students. Dedicated storm spotters represent decades of NOAA NWS efforts to engage and enlist public participation in community safety. Why not leverage this wealth of human capital to cultivate a similar mitigation and stewardship response? The Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison conducted a pilot project with NWS storm spotters in the spring of 2011 via a web seminar on climate change, climate mitigation and emerging applications to access weather and climate data with mobile devices. Nineteen storm spotters participated and eleven provided feedback via a follow-up survey. A third of the respondents indicated that they had taken actions to minimize their carbon footprint; a majority (90%) indicated their likelihood to take action in the near future and more than two-thirds said they wanted to learn more about climate mitigation and sustainability. One attendee commented "Thank-you for putting together this web seminar. As a weather spotter, I found the information helpful, even humbling, to know climate change is already happening." CIMSS is also collaborating with the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) and Madison Area Technical College (MATC) on a climate education project where community college students take an on-line climate change course followed by the opportunity to apply for a summer internship. Through this program, two students

Nurturing social responsibility through community service-learning: Lessons learned from a pilot project.

Science.gov (United States)

Dharamsi, Shafik; Espinoza, Nancy; Cramer, Carl; Amin, Maryam; Bainbridge, Lesley; Poole, Gary

2010-01-01

Community service-learning (CSL) has been proposed as one way to enrich medical and dental students' sense of social responsibility toward people who are marginalized in society. We developed and implemented a new CSL option in the integrated medical/dental curriculum and assessed its educational impact. Focus groups, individual open-ended interviews, and a survey were used to assess dental students', faculty tutors' and community partners' experiences with CSL. CSL enabled a deeper appreciation for the vulnerabilities that people who are marginalized experience; students gained a greater insight into the social determinants of health and the related importance of community engagement; and they developed useful skills in health promotion project planning, implementation and evaluation. Community partners and faculty tutors indicated that equal partnership, greater collaboration, and a participatory approach to course development are essential to sustainability in CSL. CSL can play an important role in nurturing a purposeful sense of social responsibility among future practitioners. Our study enabled the implementation of an innovative longitudinal course (professionalism and community service) in all 4 years of the dental curriculum.

A mesocosm approach for detecting stream invertebrate community responses to treated wastewater effluent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grantham, Theodore E.; Cañedo-Argüelles, Miguel; Perrée, Isabelle; Rieradevall, Maria; Prat, Narcís

2012-01-01

The discharge of wastewater from sewage treatment plants is one of the most common forms of pollution to river ecosystems, yet the effects on aquatic invertebrate assemblages have not been investigated in a controlled experimental setting. Here, we use a mesocosm approach to evaluate community responses to exposure to different concentrations of treated wastewater effluents over a two week period. Multivariate analysis using Principal Response Curves indicated a clear, dose-effect response to the treatments, with significant changes in macroinvertebrate assemblages after one week when exposed to 30% effluent, and after two weeks in the 15% and 30% effluent treatments. Treatments were associated with an increase in nutrient concentrations (ammonium, sulfate, and phosphate) and reduction of dissolved oxygen. These findings indicate that exposure to wastewater effluent cause significant changes in abundance and composition of macroinvertebrate taxa and that effluent concentration as low as 5% can have detectable ecological effects. - Highlights: ► Stream invertebrate communities are altered by exposure to wastewater effluent. ► Principal Response Curves indicate a dose-effect response to effluent treatment. ► Biotic quality indices decline with increasing effluent concentration and exposure time. ► Effluent concentrations as low as 5% have detectable ecological effects. - Exposure to treated effluent in a stream mesocosm caused a dose-dependent response in the aquatic invertebrate community and led to declines in biological quality indices.

Universidade comunitária e avaliação institucional: o caso das universidades comunitárias gaúchas The community university and its institutional evaluation: a case study of the community universities of the State of Rio Grande do Sul Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rafael Ângelo Bunhi Pinto

2009-03-01

(COMUNG was created. They also developed their own mechanism of evaluation, with concerns about (rethinking its teaching, research, extension and management methods. The purpose of this research is to achieve an understanding of the institutional evaluation system in community universities in southern Brazil and to verify how social responsibility is inserted in the evaluation process. It also studies the historical and cultural processes and the adaptations that were necessary when the National Higher Education Evaluation System (SINAES was created.

Multi-University Southeast INIE Consortium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hawari, Ayman; Hertel, Nolan; Al-Sheikhly, Mohamed; Miller, Laurence; Bayoumi, Abdel-Moeze; Haghighat, Ali; Lewis, Kenneth

2010-01-01

The Multi-University Southeast INIE Consortium (MUSIC) was established in response to the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Innovations in Nuclear Infrastructure and Education (INIE) program. MUSIC was established as a consortium composed of academic members and national laboratory partners. The members of MUSIC are the nuclear engineering programs and research reactors of Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT), North Carolina State University (NCSU), University of Maryland (UMD), University of South Carolina (USC), and University of Tennessee (UTK). The University of Florida (UF), and South Carolina State University (SCSU) were added to the MUSIC membership in the second year. In addition, to ensure proper coordination between the academic community and the nation's premier research and development centers in the fields of nuclear science and engineering, MUSIC created strategic partnerships with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) including the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) project and the Joint Institute for Neutron Scattering (JINS), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). A partnership was also created with the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (AFRRI) with the aim of utilizing their reactor in research if funding becomes available. Consequently, there are three university research reactors (URRs) within MUSIC, which are located at NCSU (1-MW PULSTAR), UMD (0.25-MW TRIGA) and UF (0.10-MW Argonaut), and the AFRRI reactor (1-MW TRIGA MARK F). The overall objectives of MUSIC are: (a) Demonstrate that University Research Reactors (URR) can be used as modern and innovative instruments of research in the basic and applied sciences, which include applications in fundamental physics, materials science and engineering, nondestructive examination, elemental analysis, and contributions to research in the health and medical sciences, (b) Establish a strong technical collaboration between the nuclear engineering faculty and the MUSIC URRs

THE RESPONSE OF THE PERIPHYTIC DIATOM COMMUNITY TO ACID MINE DRAINAGE POLLUTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreea Ciorba

2004-01-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes to relate the principal characteristics of diatom community (species richness, biodiversity, community biomass, diatom indices to the stress induced by acidification and high levels of metal. The study was done in a mine drainage affected area in Galicia (NW Spain by comparing periphytic diatom communities from polluted streams to ones in supposedly clean waters. The change in the dominant species was the clearest response to AMD pollution while species richness and diversity were sensitive only to high levels of pollution.

Water regime history drives responses of soil Namib Desert microbial communities to wetting events

Science.gov (United States)

Frossard, Aline; Ramond, Jean-Baptiste; Seely, Mary; Cowan, Don A.

2015-07-01

Despite the dominance of microorganisms in arid soils, the structures and functional dynamics of microbial communities in hot deserts remain largely unresolved. The effects of wetting event frequency and intensity on Namib Desert microbial communities from two soils with different water-regime histories were tested over 36 days. A total of 168 soil microcosms received wetting events mimicking fog, light rain and heavy rainfall, with a parallel “dry condition” control. T-RFLP data showed that the different wetting events affected desert microbial community structures, but these effects were attenuated by the effects related to the long-term adaptation of both fungal and bacterial communities to soil origins (i.e. soil water regime histories). The intensity of the water pulses (i.e. the amount of water added) rather than the frequency of wetting events had greatest effect in shaping bacterial and fungal community structures. In contrast to microbial diversity, microbial activities (enzyme activities) showed very little response to the wetting events and were mainly driven by soil origin. This experiment clearly demonstrates the complexity of microbial community responses to wetting events in hyperarid hot desert soil ecosystems and underlines the dynamism of their indigenous microbial communities.

[Knowledge and practices of the community health agent in the universe of mental disorder].

Science.gov (United States)

de Barros, Márcia Maria Mont'alverne; Chagas, Maristela Inês Osawa; Dias, Maria Socorro de Araújo

2009-01-01

This qualitative investigation aimed at collecting information about the knowledge and practices of the community health agents related to the universe of mental disorders. Fourteen agents working in the Family Health Program in Sobral, Ceará were interviewed. We deduced that the concepts of mental disorder are constructed in a process influenced by subjective and socio-cultural aspects and in connection with concrete experiences. The community health agents judge mentally disturbed persons on the basis of different criteria such as normal or abnormal behavior standards and the capacity to make judgments. Social isolation emerged as an important factor, considered by the different research subjects as the cause, the consequence and even as the mental disorder itself. Fear, as a consequence of the strange behavior of people with mental disorders, was identified as an important obstacle for the performance of the community health agents. The strategies adopted by these professionals, fundamentally based on dialogue, reveal concern with social inclusion and the need to involve the families in the care of people with mental disorders.

PENGAWASAN IMPELEMENTASI “GREEN ACCOUNTING” BERBASIS UNIVERSITY SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES (USR DI UNIVERSITAS NEGERI SEMARANG SERTA STUDI KOMPARASI UNIVERSITAS SE-KOTA SEMARANG

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maylia Pramono Sari

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Implementing Green Accounting based on the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR begins tobe rapidly implemented in Indonesia. The shift of paradigm and company’s orientation to paymore attention to all stakeholders gives impacts on the company’s social role and responsibilitieswhich is commonly called as the Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR. In higher education,the University’s responsibilities for society is called University Social Responsibility(USR, is basically an ethical policy which influences the quality of university’s communityperformance that consists of students, officers, lecturers and all the university’s staffs throughthe management that responsible toward education, cognitive, employment and environmentwhich are produced by university through some interactive dialogue with society aiming forproducing and developing sustainable human resources. So is Semarang State University as aconservation university which implements University Social Responsibility (USR to achieve theGood University Governance (GUG. Based on the above statement of problems, this researchaims to gain proofs and investigate, measure and examine the performance of Semarang StateUniversity’s management board whether or not they have conducted the USR well. Beside that,this research also aims to compare the performance and social responsibility between SemarangState University as a Conservation University and other University in Semarang. Has SemarangState University as a conservation university which indeed possesses more conservation valuescompare to the other universities been able to successfully carry out its social responsibilitybetter? In this research, the population used were all universities located in Semarang. In testingthe hypothesis the research used the Independent Sample T Test as confirmation, that is as atesting tool which is used to analyze the comparison by using T Test for two samples whichmatched because the data distributed

Growing health partnerships in rural and remote communities: what drives the joint efforts of primary schools and universities in maintaining service learning partnerships?

Science.gov (United States)

Kirby, Sue; Held, Fabian P; Jones, Debra; Lyle, David

2018-01-10

Aim This study explored the partnership between universities and local primary schools to deliver a classroom-based paediatric communication impairment service provided by undergraduate speech pathology students. It aimed to understand how partnerships work to facilitate programme replication. The partners included universities sending students on rural clinical placement, local host academic units and primary schools who worked together to provide paediatric speech and language services in primary schools in three sites in Australia. Rural and remote communities experience poorer health outcomes because of chronic workforce shortages, social disadvantage and high Aboriginality, poor access to services and underfunding. The study was in twofold: qualitative analysis of data from interviews/focus group with the partners in the university and education sectors, and quantitative social network analysis of data from an electronic survey of the partners. Findings Factors supporting partnerships were long-term, work and social relationships, commitment to community, trust and an appetite for risk-taking. We postulate that these characteristics are more likely to exist in rural communities.

Soil microbial community response to land use and various soil ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Soil microbial community response to land use and various soil elements in a city landscape of north China. ... African Journal of Biotechnology ... Legumes played an important role in stimulating the growth and reproduction of various soil microbial populations, accordingly promoting the microbial catabolic activity.

University EFL Learners' Perceptions of Their Autonomous Learning Responsibilities and Abilities

Science.gov (United States)

Abdel Razeq, Anwar Ahmad

2014-01-01

This study investigated the readiness of university students for autonomous learning of English as a foreign language. Data was collected using questionnaires and interviews. The study assessed learners' readiness for autonomous learning across three dimensions: a) learners' perceptions of their educational responsibilities; b) learners' abilities…

Responsive and Proactive Stakeholder Orientation in Public Universities: Antecedents and Consequences

Science.gov (United States)

Alarcón-del-Amo, María-del-Carmen; Casablancas-Segura, Carme; Llonch, Joan

2016-01-01

This study, based on institutional theory, dynamic capabilities, and stakeholder theory, investigates the relationships between the antecedents of responsive and proactive stakeholder orientation and their consequences in the public university context. The results obtained mainly stress that the mimetic effect of copying successful university…

Sustainability Assessment: Energy Efficiency in Buildings at a Community University

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephane Louise Bocasanta

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This research aims to analyze the degree of sustainability of a building in a community university (object of analysis, as regards its energy efficiency. Therefore, it seeks out to contribute to the literature, provide a basis for the application of SICOGEA system in other buildings and contribute to the consolidation of an effective and consistent environmental management system. The research can be classified, as to its technical procedures, as a case study. As to its objectives it is descriptive, with a qualitative approach. The literature on environmental management and sustainability assessment of buildings was used to support the research. As to the results found, the overall University sustainability rate was 48%, which can be classified as regular, that is, it aims to deal with the legislation only. Therefore, it is believed that the institution can make improvements to achieve a more efficient index. By taking into consideration the deficit items, the following is suggested: to introduce sustainable procurement; to strive for stamps and certifications; to avoid environmental fines and indemnity; and to implement environmental auditing. However, it is clarified that these are suggestions that should be taken into consideration along with financial matters and within the institution planning questions. The analysis of financial sustainability was considered good and, ideally, it will go on.

A Community-Based Social Marketing Campaign at Pacific University Oregon: Recycling, Paper Reduction, and Environmentally Preferable Purchasing

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, Elaine J.; Fieselman, Laura

2013-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to design a community-based social marketing (CBSM) campaign to foster sustainable behavior change in paper reduction, commingled recycling, and purchasing environmentally preferred products (EPP) with faculty and staff at Pacific University Oregon. Design/methodology/approach: A CBSM campaign was developed…

Integrating Community into the Classroom: Community Gardening, Community Involvement, and Project-Based Learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Langhout, Regina Day; Rappaport, Julian; Simmons, Doretha

2002-01-01

Culturally relevant, ongoing project-based learning was facilitated in a predominantly African American urban elementary school via a community garden project. The project involved teachers, students, university members, and community members. This article evaluates the project through two classroom-community collaboration models, noting common…

A Proposal for Marketing Applied Research in Science and Applied Colleges at the Yemeni Universities and Using it in Community Service and Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eftehan Abdu Frhan Saif Almikhlafi

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to propose a set of elements and mechanisms of marketing applied research in the Yemeni universities and ways of using such research to support community development. This can be done by assessing the extent of interest in the marketing of applied research and making use of them to serve and community development in the science and applied colleges at the Yemeni government universities, and determining the main obstacles in this regard from the point of view the study sample. The study sample included (287 individuals selected from teachers and researchers at the science and applied colleges in some Yemeni government universities, and research centers affiliated to them. The researchers adopted the descriptive and analytical approach, and designed a questionnaire to gather primary data from the study sample. The researchers used some appropriate statistical methods to analyze the study data and test hypotheses. The study results showed that g science and applied colleges in the Yemeni universities do not pay enough attention to marketing applied scientific research, and to using such research in community service and development. The participants of the study indicated the presence of many obstacles to marketing of applied scientific research in the Yemeni universities. The results also showed that there were no statistically significant differences in the assessments of the study sample regarding the lack of attention paid by scientific and applied colleges in the Yemeni public universities to marketing of their scientific and applied research due to these variables (type, academic degree, and applied colleges of the study sample individuals. The study concluded by providing a proposal covering some elements and mechanisms to be used for marketing applied researches of the science and applied colleges at the Yemeni Universities and to use them in community service and development. It also provided recommendations regarding the

Capturing community context of human response to forest disturbance by insects: a multi-method assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Hua Qin; Courtney G. Flint

2010-01-01

The socioeconomic and environmental features of local places (community context) influence the relationship between humans and their physical environment. In times of environmental disturbance, this community context is expected to influence human perceptual and behavioral responses. Residents from nine Colorado communities experiencing a large outbreak of mountain...

Community concepts.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeung, Thomas; Bates, Tony

2004-03-01

Since the publication of "Sustainable Communities--building for the future", Government attention has focused largely on high-density affordable housing in the four "growth areas": Thames Gateway; Ashford; Milton Keynes--South Midlands, and London--Stansted--Cambridge. In this article, Thomas Yeung and Tony Bates suggest that a greater and more sustainable impact would be achieved if architects, planners, and developers considered the potential for community-based water and waste management and on-site energy generation and distribution right from the start of the project. In particular, they consider that the communal nature of hospitals, universities, and public/community housing provides a great opportunity for on-site renewable CHP and/or distributed heating, which could combine global environmental benefits with improved local amenities. They describe a simple model for prioritising energy management in the built environment, and draw on lessons learnt at ETRCL in Dagenham and BedZED in Surrey to offer a few recommendations for Government and developers. Tony Bates is the business development manager for Scott Wilson in the South East and is responsible for the promotion of sustainable communities through relationships with architects, developers, land owners and local authorities. Thomas Yeung leads the Energy Infrastructure Technologies group in Scott Wilson. This team offers an integrated approach to clean community-based energy generation, energy management, waste and water management, sustainable transport, and sustainable buildings/communities.

The university as an encounter for deliberative communication - creating cultural citizenship and professional responsibility

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomas Englund

2008-01-01

Full Text Available How can higher and professional education contribute to the development of responsible citizenship and professional responsibility? In recent discussions on the role of the educational system, the idea of “deliberative communication” has been brought into focus and stands for communication in which different opinions and values can be set against each other in educational settings. It implies an endeavour by each individual to develop his or her view by listening, deliberating, seeking arguments and valuing, coupled to a collective and cooperative endeavour to find values and norms which everyone can accept, at the same time as pluralism is acknowledged. Within higher education deliberative communication might explicitly be used to develop professional responsibility and analysing consequences of different ways of solving problems. To what extent are and can universities become public spaces for encounters dealing with controversial questions of how to solve different problems and analyse different ways of professional acting? Can universities recreate their selective traditions, “institutionalize dissensus”, and “make the university a site of public debate” through deliberative communication?

Using Electronic Portfolio to Promote Professional Learning Community for Pre-Service Early Childhood Teachers at Alquds University

Science.gov (United States)

Khales, Buad

2016-01-01

The present study aims to explore whether the electronic portfolio can influence pre-service teachers' education and to examine how professional learning communities develop through electronic portfolios. To achieve this, twenty-four student-teachers taking a course in early childhood education at Al-Quds University participated in a study to…

The university and the responsible conduct of research: who is responsible for what?

Science.gov (United States)

Alfredo, Katherine; Hart, Hillary

2011-09-01

Research misconduct has been thoroughly discussed in the literature, but mainly in terms of definitions and prescriptions for proper conduct. Even when case studies are cited, they are generally used as a repository of "lessons learned." What has been lacking from this conversation is how the lessons of responsible conduct of research are imparted in the first place to graduate students, especially those in technical fields such as engineering. Nor has there been much conversation about who is responsible for what in training students in Responsible Conduct of Research or in allocating blame in cases of misconduct. This paper explores three seemingly disparate cases of misconduct-the 2004 plagiarism scandal at Ohio University; the famous Robert Millikan article of 1913, in which his reported data selection did not match his notebooks; and the 1990 fabrication scandal in Dr. Leroy Hood's research lab. Comparing these cases provides a way to look at the relationship between the graduate student (or trainee) and his/her advisor (a relationship that has been shown to be the most influential one for the student) as well as at possibly differential treatment for established researchers and researchers-in-training, in cases of misconduct. This paper reflects on the rights and responsibilities of research advisers and their students and offers suggestions for clarifying both those responsibilities and the particularly murky areas of research-conduct guidelines.

Climate responsive and safe earthquake construction: a community building a school

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Hari Darshan

2011-10-01

Full Text Available This article outlines environment friendly features, climate responsive features and construction features of a prototype school building constructed using green building technology. The school building has other additional features such as earthquake resistant construction, use of local materials and local technology. The construction process not only establishes community ownership, but also facilitates dissemination of the technology to the communities. Schools are effective media for raising awareness, disseminating technology and up-scaling the innovative approach. The approach is cost effective and sustainable for long-term application of green building technology. Furthermore, this paper emphasizes that such construction technology will be instrumental to build culture of safety in communities and reduce disaster risk.

Community care worker perceptions of their roles in tuberculosis ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Ida Okeyo

Objective: To explore perceptions of CCWs of their role in TB care and TB ... motivated them to become involved in offering patient care. ... ment and the education they provided to patients and to lay community members. ... Peer review under responsibility of Johannesburg University. ..... Some CCWs had family mem-.

Exploring mHealth Participation for Emergency Response Communities

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David G. Schwartz

2017-03-01

Full Text Available We explore the challenges of participation by members of emergency response communities who share a similar condition and treatment, and are called upon to participate in emergency events experienced by fellow members. Smartphones and location-based social networking technologies present an opportunity to re-engineer certain aspects of emergency medical response. Life-saving prescription medication extended in an emergency by one individual to another occurs on a micro level, anecdotally documented. We illustrate the issues and our approach through the example of an app to support patients prone to anaphylaxis and prescribed to carry epinephrine auto-injectors. We address unique participation challenges in an mHealth environment in which interventions are primarily short-term interactions which require clear and precise decision-making and constant tracking of potential participants in responding to an emergency medical event. The conflicting effects of diffused responsibility and shared identity are identified as key factors in modeling participation.

Responses of lichen communities to 18 years of natural and experimental warming.

Science.gov (United States)

Alatalo, Juha M; Jägerbrand, Annika K; Chen, Shengbin; Molau, Ulf

2017-07-01

Climate change is expected to have major impacts on high alpine and arctic ecosystems in the future, but empirical data on the impact of long-term warming on lichen diversity and richness are sparse. This study report the effects of 18 years of ambient and experimental warming on lichens and vascular plant cover in two alpine plant communities, a dry heath with sparse canopy cover (54 %) and a mesic meadow with a more developed (67 %) canopy cover, in sub-arctic Sweden. The effects of long-term passive experimental warming using open top chambers (OTCs) on lichens and total vascular plant cover, and the impact of plant cover on lichen community parameters, were analysed. Between 1993 and 2013, mean annual temperature increased about 2 °C. Both site and experimental warming had a significant effect on cover, species richness, effective number of species evenness of lichens, and total plant canopy cover. Lichen cover increased in the heath under ambient conditions, and remained more stable under experimental warming. The negative effect on species richness and effective number of species was driven by a decrease in lichens under experimental warming in the meadow. Lichen cover, species richness, effective number of species evenness were negatively correlated with plant canopy cover. There was a significant negative impact on one species and a non-significant tendency of lower abundance of the most common species in response to experimental warming. The results from the long-term warming study imply that arctic and high alpine lichen communities are likely to be negatively affected by climate change and an increase in plant canopy cover. Both biotic and abiotic factors are thus important for future impacts of climate change on lichens. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

Resilient Partners: The Development of a University-Community Collaboration to Promote Wellness for Head Start Children and Families

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Mendez, Julia L.; Lloyd, Blake Te'Neil

2005-01-01

This paper describes a theoretically driven approach uniquely suited for the development of research partnerships between university teams and local communities serving children enrolled in Head Start programs. A literature review on dimensions of successful research partnerships provides a backdrop for presenting the Resilience…

Plant community responses to simultaneous changes in temperature, nitrogen availability, and invasion.

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Elise S Gornish

Full Text Available Increasing rates of change in climate have been observed across the planet and have contributed to the ongoing range shifts observed for many species. Although ecologists are now using a variety of approaches to study how much and through what mechanisms increasing temperature and nutrient pollution may influence the invasions inherent in range shifts, accurate predictions are still lacking.In this study, we conducted a factorial experiment, simultaneously manipulating warming, nitrogen addition and introduction of Pityopsis aspera, to determine how range-shifting species affect a plant community. We quantified the resident community using ordination scores, then used structural equation modeling to examine hypotheses related to how plants respond to a network of experimental treatments and environmental variables. Variation in soil pH explained plant community response to nitrogen addition in the absence of invasion. However, in the presence of invasion, the direct effect of nitrogen on the community was negligible and soil moisture was important for explaining nitrogen effects. We did not find effects of warming on the native plant community in the absence of invasion. In the presence of invasion, however, warming had negative effects on functional richness directly and invasion and herbivory explained the overall positive effect of warming on the plant community.This work highlights the variation in the biotic and abiotic factors responsible for explaining independent and collective climate change effects over a short time scale. Future work should consider the complex and non-additive relationships among factors of climate change and invasion in order to capture more ecologically relevant features of our changing environment.

The Fundamental Lifestyle of a University Community: A Case Study of Higher Education in a Malaysian Institution

Science.gov (United States)

Abdullah, Melissa Ng Lee Yen; Mey, See Ching

2012-01-01

This study identified the fundamental lifestyles adopted by a university community in Malaysia. Rapid growth and expansion of higher education in Malaysia is inevitable as the country moves from a production-based economy to one that is innovative and knowledge-based, requiring the development of a highly skilled and knowledgeable workforce.…

Salsa dance and Zumba fitness: Acute responses during community-based classes

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Pablo A. Domene

2016-06-01

Conclusion: The acute responses to classes of partnered Latin dance and non-partnered Latin-themed aerobic dance suggest that in physically inactive women participation is indeed efficacious in terms of community-based physical activity and psychosocial health promotion.

Modified niche optima and breadths explain the historical contingency of bacterial community responses to eutrophication in coastal sediments

KAUST Repository

Fodelianakis, Stylianos

2016-09-23

Previous studies have shown that the response of bacterial communities to disturbances depends on their environmental history. Historically fluctuating habitats host communities that respond better to disturbance than communities of historically stable habitats. However, the exact ecological mechanism that drives this dependency remains unknown. Here, we experimentally demonstrate that modifications of niche optima and niche breadths of the community members are driving this dependency of bacterial responses to past environmental conditions. First, we develop a novel, simple method to calculate the niche optima and breadths of bacterial taxa regarding single environmental gradients. Then, we test this method on sediment bacterial communities of three habitats, one historically stable and less loaded and two historically more variable and more loaded habitats in terms of historical chlorophyll-α water concentration, that we subject to hypoxia via organic matter addition ex situ. We find that communities containing bacterial taxa differently adapted to hypoxia show different structural and functional responses, depending on the sediment\\'s environmental history. Specifically, in the historically less fluctuating and loaded sediments where we find more taxa poorly adapted to hypoxic conditions, communities change a lot over time and organic matter is not degraded efficiently. The opposite is true for the historically more fluctuating and loaded sediments where we find more taxa well adapted to hypoxia. Based on the community responses observed here, we also propose an alternative calculation of community resistance that takes into account how rapidly the communities respond to disturbances and not just the initial and final states of the community.

Psychiatric Epidemiology: The University Paradigm

Science.gov (United States)

Favazza, Armando R.

1976-01-01

In an effort to provide a meaningful didactic experience within the constraint of limited teaching hours, the author searched for a "community" which might be examined. A community fulfilling the established criteria for trainees in a university training program is the university itself. Its use is described. (LBH)

Touring responsibility: The trouble with ‘going local’ in community-based tourism in Thailand

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sin, H.L.; Minca, C.

2014-01-01

This paper discusses the question of responsibility with reference to community-based tourism. Local communities are often presented by the tourist industry as an inherent value to recognize and protect. Tourists visiting distant places are thus frequently exhorted to ‘go local’ through having a

Communities of Practice and the Mediation ofTeachers' Responses to Standards-based Reform

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Chrysan Gallucci

2003-09-01

Full Text Available This paper evaluates the usefulness of a sociocultural approach for analyzing teachers’ responses to the professional learning demands of standards-based reform policies. A policy-oriented case study of the practice of six elementary teachers who worked in two high poverty schools in a demographically changing district in the state of Washington is summarized. Key findings of that study conclude that communities of teaching practice are sites for teacher learning and are mediators of teachers’ responses to standards-based reform. Characteristics of the communities of practice, including their relative strength and openness (to learning, influence the degree to which teachers work out negotiated and thoughtful responses to policy demands. The present paper discusses the efficacy of Wenger’s (1998 theory of learning for the study of policy to practice connections.

Keeping the door open: Exploring experiences of, and responses to, university students who disclose mental illness

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Donna McAuliffe

2012-06-01

Full Text Available University educators increasingly manage situations where students disclose serious mental health issues. This is a significant issue, particularly for health and human service professions, as the importance of valuing the lived experience of mental illness lies alongside concerns for professional practice standards. Thus the responsibilities of students to disclose their mental health status and the responsibilities of Universities to provide appropriate support within established disability frameworks must be clear. However, students often do not know who they should disclose to, what will happen to disclosed information, and who has access to this information. Student's often fear embarrassment, stigma, and shame about disclosing mental illness, which is compounded by the diverse attitudes, experiences, and beliefs of educators. Consequently, this paper will review existing literature on university responses to, and students’ experiences of, mental illness in order to set a research agenda for this topic. The authors argue that such research must be undertaken urgently, in a context of inclusivity in higher education that gives voice to the experiences of students, their families and carers, university staff, and practitioners in the field.

Phytoplankton community response to carbon dioxide enrichment in winter incubation experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Coastal waters are experiencing changes in carbonate chemistry, including pH, in response to increases in atmospheric CO2 concentration and the microbial degradation of surplus organic matter associated with nutrient enrichment. The effects of this change on plankton communities ...

Universidade e a extensão universitária: a visão dos moradores das comunidades circunvizinhas University and university extension: the view of the residents from surrounding communities

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Marcelo Costa Fernandes

2012-12-01

Full Text Available A universidade é uma instituição criada para atender às necessidades do país. Uma das estratégias que a universidade utiliza para a formação de um profissional cidadão é baseada na extensão universitária. Objetivou-se no estudo investigar a relação atual existente entre uma universidade e as comunidades circunvizinhas a partir da visão dos seus moradores. A pesquisa é de natureza descritiva com abordagem qualitativa. Foi realizada no município de Fortaleza-CE. A população da pesquisa foi constituída por moradores da comunidade. O estudo teve início após a aprovação do projeto pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa. Os resultados foram divididos em cinco categorias para uma melhor organização da discussão dos resultados. Percebeu-se que a extensão universitária possui uma função essencial no ensino superior brasileiro principalmente para a formação de uma integração entre a comunidade e a universidade, objetivando, com isso, uma maior transformação de nossa realidade social.The university is an institution created to meet the needs of the country. One of the strategies that the university uses to train a professional citizen is based on the university extension. The purpose of this study was to investigate the existing relationship between a university and its surrounding communities from the perspective of its inhabitants. Descriptive qualitative methodology was used in the research. It was held in Fortaleza, State of Ceara. The research population consisted of community residents. The study began after the project was approved by the Research Ethics Committee. Results were divided into five categories to better organize the discussion. It was possible to observe that university extension plays a key role in the Brazilian higher education, mainly in the formation of integration between community and university, aiming at a major transformation of our social reality.

Making sense of climate change risks and responses at the community level: A cultural-political lens

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Ainka A. Granderson

2014-01-01

Full Text Available How to better assess, communicate and respond to risks from climate change at the community level have emerged as key questions within climate risk management. Recent research to address these questions centres largely on psychological factors, exploring how cognition and emotion lead to biases in risk assessment. Yet, making sense of climate change and its responses at the community level demands attention to the cultural and political processes that shape how risk is conceived, prioritized and managed. I review the emergent literature on risk perceptions and responses to climate change using a cultural-political lens. This lens highlights how knowledge, meaning and power are produced and negotiated across multiple stakeholders at the community level. It draws attention to the different ways of constructing climate change risks and suggests an array of responses at the community level. It further illustrates how different constructions of risk intersect with agency and power to shape the capacity for response and collective action. What matters are whose constructions of risk, and whose responses, count in decision-making. I argue for greater engagement with the interpretive social sciences in research, practice and policy. The interpretive social sciences offer theories and tools for capturing and problematising the ways of knowing, sense-making and mobilising around risks from climate change. I also highlight the importance of participatory approaches in incorporating the multiplicity of interests at the community level into climate risk management in fair, transparent and culturally appropriate ways.

Multi-University Southeast INIE Consortium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ayman Hawari; Nolan Hertel; Mohamed Al-Sheikhly; Laurence Miller; Abdel-Moeze Bayoumi; Ali Haghighat; Kenneth Lewis

2010-12-29

2 Project Summary: The Multi-University Southeast INIE Consortium (MUSIC) was established in response to the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Innovations in Nuclear Infrastructure and Education (INIE) program. MUSIC was established as a consortium composed of academic members and national laboratory partners. The members of MUSIC are the nuclear engineering programs and research reactors of Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT), North Carolina State University (NCSU), University of Maryland (UMD), University of South Carolina (USC), and University of Tennessee (UTK). The University of Florida (UF), and South Carolina State University (SCSU) were added to the MUSIC membership in the second year. In addition, to ensure proper coordination between the academic community and the nation’s premier research and development centers in the fields of nuclear science and engineering, MUSIC created strategic partnerships with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) including the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) project and the Joint Institute for Neutron Scattering (JINS), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). A partnership was also created with the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (AFRRI) with the aim of utilizing their reactor in research if funding becomes available. Consequently, there are three university research reactors (URRs) within MUSIC, which are located at NCSU (1-MW PULSTAR), UMD (0.25-MW TRIGA) and UF (0.10-MW Argonaut), and the AFRRI reactor (1-MW TRIGA MARK F). The overall objectives of MUSIC are: a) Demonstrate that University Research Reactors (URR) can be used as modern and innovative instruments of research in the basic and applied sciences, which include applications in fundamental physics, materials science and engineering, nondestructive examination, elemental analysis, and contributions to research in the health and medical sciences, b) Establish a strong technical collaboration between the nuclear engineering

The Code of Professional Responsibility and the College and University Lawyer

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Omer S. J.

1975-01-01

Background and history of the Canons of Ethics and Code of Professional Responsibility, adopted by the American Bar Association in 1969, are briefly outlined, and, as a case study, certain contexts in which ethical questions may arise for the college or university lawyer are discussed. Focus is on the lawyer as advisor. (JT)

The Usage of Social Areas in University Campus Systems

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Begüm ERÇEVİK

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Universities aim to help students gain occupational skills through academic training and practice; to produce knowledge by carrying out applications and investigations which have scientific, social and economic bases, to prepare young people for com munity life by giving them duties and responsibilities; and finally, to make contributions to the social and educational level of the community. Moreover social and cultural activity areas in uni versities in which, apart from lecture halls, students spend most of their time during their educational, lives, are of great impor tance for social interaction. Social spaces, whose educational and awareness-raising role of preparing the youth for community life, are taken into account and of these areas, about their use of student assessment analysis is aimed. During this analysis, student views were investigated and compared at different university campus locations. Bahçeşehir University Beşiktaş Campus as a town university, Yıldız Teknik University Yıldız Merkez Campus as an in-town campus, Koç University Sarıyer Campus as a out-oftown campus were chosen as locations for the study. Statistical analysis is applied to the data obtained from the questionaries completed by students in the chosen universities. Following such investigations, findings relating to the sufficiency of social and cultural activity areas in campuses, their occupancy and reachability; and the user profile of the activity areas and town usage as a cultural area are obtained and evaluated.

Assessing Response Bias in a Web Survey at a University Faculty

Science.gov (United States)

Menachemi, Nir

2011-01-01

Online surveys are increasingly common due to the myriad of benefits they offer over traditional survey methods. However, research has shown that response rates to web-based surveys are typically lower than to traditional surveys and can possibly yield biased results. University-based faculty members are a unique cohort that may be ideally suited…

Neither Here nor There: Transformational Leadership and Cultural Intelligence in Presidents of U.S. Accredited Universities in Foreign Countries

Science.gov (United States)

Bourgeois, Jeff

2017-01-01

The role of a university president combines the symbolism of an institutional ambassador with the leadership responsibilities of a private-sector executive. When considering the cultural context of the university and the culture of the surrounding community, the demands of the presidential position become far more complex. The Council for Higher…

Development cooperation as methodology for teaching social responsibility to engineers

Science.gov (United States)

Lappalainen, Pia

2011-12-01

The role of engineering in promoting global well-being has become accentuated, turning the engineering curriculum into a means of dividing well-being equally. The gradual fortifying calls for humanitarian engineering have resulted in the incorporation of social responsibility themes in the university curriculum. Cooperation, communication, teamwork, intercultural cooperation, sustainability, social and global responsibility represent the socio-cultural dimensions that are becoming increasingly important as globalisation intensifies the demands for socially and globally adept engineering communities. This article describes an experiment, the Development Cooperation Project, which was conducted at Aalto University in Finland to integrate social responsibility themes into higher engineering education.

Corporate Social Responsibility: Case Study of Community Expectations and the Administrative Systems, Niger Delta

Science.gov (United States)

Ogula, David

2012-01-01

Poor community-company relations in the Niger Delta have drawn attention to the practice of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the region. Since the 1960s, transnational oil corporations operating in the Niger Delta have adopted various CSR strategies, yet community-company relations remain adversarial. This article examines community…

On Line Disaster Response Community: People as Sensors of High Magnitude Disasters Using Internet GIS

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Kris Kodrich

2008-05-01

Full Text Available The Indian Ocean tsunami (2004 and Hurricane Katrina (2005 reveal the coming of age of the on-line disaster response community. Due to the integration of key geospatial technologies (remote sensing - RS, geographic information systems - GIS, global positioning systems – GPS and the Internet, on-line disaster response communities have grown. They include the traditional aspects of disaster preparedness, response, recovery, mitigation, and policy as facilitated by governmental agencies and relief response organizations. However, the contribution from the public via the Internet has changed significantly. The on-line disaster response community includes several key characteristics: the ability to donate money quickly and efficiently due to improved Internet security and reliable donation sites; a computer-savvy segment of the public that creates blogs, uploads pictures, and disseminates information – oftentimes faster than government agencies, and message boards to create interactive information exchange in seeking family members and identifying shelters. A critical and novel occurrence is the development of “people as sensors” - networks of government, NGOs, private companies, and the public - to build rapid response databases of the disaster area for various aspects of disaster relief and response using geospatial technologies. This paper examines these networks, their products, and their future potential.

Microbial Community Response to Simulated Petroleum Seepage in Caspian Sea Sediments

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Katrin Knittel

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Anaerobic microbial hydrocarbon degradation is a major biogeochemical process at marine seeps. Here we studied the response of the microbial community to petroleum seepage simulated for 190 days in a sediment core from the Caspian Sea using a sediment-oil-flow-through (SOFT system. Untreated (without simulated petroleum seepage and SOFT sediment microbial communities shared 43% bacterial genus-level 16S rRNA-based operational taxonomic units (OTU0.945 but shared only 23% archaeal OTU0.945. The community differed significantly between sediment layers. The detection of fourfold higher deltaproteobacterial cell numbers in SOFT than in untreated sediment at depths characterized by highest sulfate reduction rates and strongest decrease of gaseous and mid-chain alkane concentrations indicated a specific response of hydrocarbon-degrading Deltaproteobacteria. Based on an increase in specific CARD-FISH cell numbers, we suggest the following groups of sulfate-reducing bacteria to be likely responsible for the observed decrease in aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbon concentration in SOFT sediments: clade SCA1 for propane and butane degradation, clade LCA2 for mid- to long-chain alkane degradation, clade Cyhx for cycloalkanes, pentane and hexane degradation, and relatives of Desulfobacula for toluene degradation. Highest numbers of archaea of the genus Methanosarcina were found in the methanogenic zone of the SOFT core where we detected preferential degradation of long-chain hydrocarbons. Sequencing of masD, a marker gene for alkane degradation encoding (1-methylalkylsuccinate synthase, revealed a low diversity in SOFT sediment with two abundant species-level MasD OTU0.96.

UNM in the Community.

Science.gov (United States)

Quantum: Research & Scholarship, 1998

1998-01-01

Profiles 10 University of New Mexico community programs: University Art Museum, Rio Grande and Four Corners Writing Projects, Blacks in the Southwest (exhibit), New Mexico Engineering Research Institute's Environmental Finance Center, Adolescent Social Action Program, Minority Engineering Programs, Rural Community College Initiative, Valencia…

Compensation of Disadvantages in University Examination Procedures

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Ulrike Quapp

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Active social participation of disabled people is one of the major tasks of modern society. That also includes access to the academic community by higher education. Universities all over the world work hard to give handicapped students a chance to graduate. In this context, compensation of disadvantages in examination procedures is an important matter. But, also chronic illness may impair the student's examination performance. To ensure equal examination opportunities for all students, responsible university officials must be creative to find individual compensation solutions. The paper analyzes examination regulations at universities in different countries and offers solutions to compensate disabled and chronic ill students' disadvantages. It discusses the necessity of compensation for different types of disability and chronic illness. Finally, an overview of current German case law and solutions for compensation problems are provided.

When Legitimacy Shapes Environmentally Responsible Behaviors: Considering Exposure to University Sustainability Initiatives

Science.gov (United States)

Watson, Lesley; Hegtvedt, Karen A.; Johnson, Cathryn; Parris, Christie L.; Subramanyam, Shruthi

2017-01-01

This study examines how perceptions of the legitimacy of university sustainability efforts--support by the administration (authorization) or from students' peers (endorsement)--as well as the physical context in which students live, matter in shaping students' environmentally responsible behaviors (ERBs). Using survey data collected from…

The Pennsylvania State University Child Sexual Abuse Scandal: An Analysis of Institutional Factors Affecting Response

Science.gov (United States)

Holland, Alice R.

2015-01-01

The outcomes of The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) child sexual abuse scandal have left many scholars and individuals questioning the university's collective identity. The goal of this research was to uncover the dominant themes that describe a problematic institutional response to the child sexual abuse incidents in order to provide…

Role and Responsibility of Board of Governors [BOG] in Ensuring Educational Quality in Colleges & Universities

Science.gov (United States)

Naik, B. M.

2012-01-01

The paper presents in brief the need and importance of effective, imaginative and responsible governing boards in colleges and universities, so as to ensure educational quality. BOG should engage fruitfully with the principal and activities in college/ university. UGC, AICTE have now prescribed creation of effective boards for both government and…

Species- and community-level responses combine to drive phenology of lake phytoplankton

Science.gov (United States)

Walters, Annika; Sagrario, María de los Ángeles González; Schindler, Daniel E.

2013-01-01

Global change is leading to shifts in the seasonal timing of growth and maturation for primary producers. Remote sensing is increasingly used to measure the timing of primary production in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, but there is often a poor correlation between these results and direct observations of life-history responses of individual species. One explanation may be that in addition to phenological shifts, global change is also causing shifts in community composition among species with different seasonal timing of growth and maturation. We quantified how shifts in species phenology and in community composition translated into phenological change in a diverse phytoplankton community from 1962-2000. During this time the aggregate community spring-summer phytoplankton peak has shifted 63 days earlier. The mean taxon shift was only 3 days earlier and shifts in taxa phenology explained only 40% of the observed community phenological shift. The remaining community shift was attributed to dominant early season taxa increasing in abundance while a dominant late season taxon decreased in abundance. In diverse producer communities experiencing multiple stressors, changes in species composition must be considered to fully understand and predict shifts in the seasonal timing of primary production.

On Cleaning: Student Activism in the Corporate and Imperial University

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Kristi Carey

2016-11-01

Full Text Available In the past year, over 100 university campuses in the United States and elsewhere have witnessed student protest, specifically against institutionalized racism and in response to symptoms of the university’s neoliberal, capitalist and imperial culture. This article outlines the emergence and confluence of the corporate and imperial university, producing and reproducing the violence of consumer culture, academic containment, and institutional control. This case study of a small, elite, liberal arts college in the United States will unravel the messiness of the contact zone where university administration and student protest meet, and its meanings for those of us who find ourselves ever-contained within spaces of higher education. Through critical discourse analysis and participant observation, I provide some preliminary mapping of how the university sanitizes—how it keeps itself ‘clean’—and the different ways this is interpreted, confirmed, and resisted by its campus community. Queer and feminist readings of pollution, dirt, and bacteria contextualize the university’s response to student activism, and daily operation, in the politics of containment and cleanliness.

Prioritizing Approaches to Engage Community Members and Build Trust in Biobanks: A Survey of Attitudes and Opinions of Adults within Outpatient Practices at the University of Maryland

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Casey Lynnette Overby

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Background: Achieving high participation of communities representative of all sub-populations is needed in order to ensure broad applicability of biobank study findings. This study aimed to understand potentially mutable attitudes and opinions commonly correlated with biobank participation in order to inform approaches to promote participation in biobanks. Methods: Adults from two University of Maryland (UMD Faculty Physicians, Inc. outpatient practices were invited to watch a video and complete a survey about a new biobank initiative. We used: Chi-square to assess the relationship between willingness to join the biobank and participant characteristics, other potentially mutable attitudes and opinions, and trust in the UMD. We also used t-test to assess the relationship with trust in medical research. We also prioritize proposed actions to improve attitudes and opinions about joining biobanks according to perceived responsiveness. Results: 169 participants completed the study, 51% of whom indicated a willingness to join the biobank. Willingness to join the biobank was not associated with age, gender, race, or education but was associated with respondent comfort sharing samples and clinical information, concerns related to confidentiality, potential for misuse of information, trust in UMD, and perceived health benefit. In ranked order, potential actions we surveyed that might alleviate some of these concerns include: increase chances to learn more about the biobank, increase opportunities to be updated, striving to put community concerns first, including involving community members as leaders of biobank research, and involving community members in decision making. Conclusions: This study identified several attitudes and opinions that influence decisions to join a biobank, including many concerns that could potentially be addressed by engaging community members. We also demonstrate our method of prioritizing ways to improve attitudes and opinions

When Legitimacy Shapes Environmentally Responsible Behaviors: Considering Exposure to University Sustainability Initiatives

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Lesley Watson

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This study examines how perceptions of the legitimacy of university sustainability efforts—support by the administration (authorization or from students’ peers (endorsement—as well as the physical context in which students live, matter in shaping students’ environmentally responsible behaviors (ERBs. Using survey data collected from fourth-year students at a university in the Southeastern US, we employ Seeming Unrelated Regression to analyze the impact of perceived legitimacy and context on recycling and conservation behaviors, controlling for demographic characteristics, pro-environmental attitudes, and environmental identity. Our findings indicate that students’ perceptions of what university administrators support affect the likelihood of students to enact recycling and conservation behaviors, and peer support influences conservation behaviors. This research contributes to the literature on legitimacy by examining how legitimacy processes work in natural, rather than experimental, settings.

Dietary Supplement Intake and Associated Factors Among Gym Users in a University Community.

Science.gov (United States)

Attlee, Amita; Haider, Amina; Hassan, Asma; Alzamil, Noura; Hashim, Mona; Obaid, Reyad Shaker

2018-01-02

Dietary supplement intake and associated factors among gym users in a university community in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE), were assessed using a structured, self-administered questionnaire in this cross-sectional study. Adults (N = 320) from five gyms in the University City of Sharjah participated in this cross-sectional study. The prevalence of dietary supplement intake was 43.8%. Statistically significant associations were found between the use of dietary supplements and sex (47.7% males, 28.1% females; p = .006), as well as weight lifting (88.6% taking supplements vs. 11.4% not taking supplements; p power and to boost exercise recovery. Females mainly used dietary supplements to increase energy, maintain their health, and prevent nutrition deficiency. Overall, protein supplements (whey proteins [48.6%] and protein powder [45.7%]) were among the most-consumed dietary supplements, followed by multivitamins (38.6%), branched-chain amino acids (36.4%), caffeine (35.0%), and creatine (29.3%). A widespread use of Internet-driven, self-prescribed dietary supplement intake was reported among gym users (60.7%). Only 12.8% of dietary supplement users sought information from dietitians. Practical implications suggest that gym instructors and coaches should be sufficiently trained to be able to provide accurate and scientifically sound information on dietary supplements to the exercisers in gyms in the university environment.

Community responses to communication campaigns for influenza A (H1N1: a focus group study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gray Lesley

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background This research was a part of a contestable rapid response initiative launched by the Health Research Council of New Zealand and the Ministry of Health in response to the 2009 influenza A pandemic. The aim was to provide health authorities in New Zealand with evidence-based practical information to guide the development and delivery of effective health messages for H1N1 and other health campaigns. This study contributed to the initiative by providing qualitative data about community responses to key health messages in the 2009 and 2010 H1N1 campaigns, the impact of messages on behavioural change and the differential impact on vulnerable groups in New Zealand. Methods Qualitative data were collected on community responses to key health messages in the 2009 and 2010 Ministry of Health H1N1 campaigns, the impact of messages on behaviour and the differential impact on vulnerable groups. Eight focus groups were held in the winter of 2010 with 80 participants from groups identified by the Ministry of Health as vulnerable to the H1N1 virus, such as people with chronic health conditions, pregnant women, children, Pacific Peoples and Māori. Because this study was part of a rapid response initiative, focus groups were selected as the most efficient means of data collection in the time available. For Māori, focus group discussion (hui is a culturally appropriate methodology. Results Thematic analysis of data identified four major themes: personal and community risk, building community strategies, responsibility and information sources. People wanted messages about specific actions that they could take to protect themselves and their families and to mitigate any consequences. They wanted transparent and factual communication where both good and bad news is conveyed by people who they could trust. Conclusions The responses from all groups endorsed the need for community based risk management including information dissemination. Engaging

Age Friendly Universities and Engagement with Older Adults: Moving from Principles to Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Talmage, Craig A.; Mark, Rob; Slowey, Maria; Knopf, Richard C.

2016-01-01

The global society is facing a new burgeoning element: an ageing population. Response to the educational needs and interests of older adults requires innovative pedagogies and practices of teaching, research, and community engagement. While traditionally geared towards provision for younger adults, the case is presented that universities have the…

Development of ethical practices and social responsibility in dental education at the university of Chile: student and faculty perceptions.

Science.gov (United States)

Alcota, M; Ruiz de Gauna, P; González, F E

2013-02-01

The authors argue that dental curricula in Latin America are noted for providing highly technical and individualistic training that may fail to address society's problems or instil in the dentist the idea that he/she has a social responsibility to contribute to his/her community. This study's main objectives were to determine whether the curriculum and the faculty teaching practices of the School of Dentistry at the University of Chile contribute to its students' commitment to ethical and social responsibility. This was a qualitative study that investigated the perceptions of sixteen subjects (eight students and eight faculty members). Data were collected in thorough deep interviews. The interview process model conceptualised and organised the information into sets of dimensions and categories. The dimensions studied were ethical commitment and social responsibility. The categories assessed within ethical commitment were honesty, tolerance, responsibility and respect. In the social responsibility dimension, the categories were solidarity, teamwork and concern for and communication with the patient. Analysis of the textual data was performed using a method of content analysis based upon constructed qualitative matrices. Our results show that students and scholars alike realise that ethical commitment and a sense of social responsibility are not promoted in the curriculum. They do, however, recognise the importance of these qualities in dental practitioners. These results indicate that the current curriculum and teaching practices used in our School of Dentistry need to be reviewed and that programmes promoting professionals' commitment to their role in society need to be implemented. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Online University-Industry Collaboration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Søndergaard, Helle Alsted; Bergenholtz, Carsten; Juhl, Hans Jørn

Extant studies have shown how online communities can promote collaborative and innovative activities in general. Studies on university-industry collaborations have so far focused less on online activities. We therefore set out to examine the individual and organizational drivers and barriers...... for academics and industrial professionals to contribute to online community-based platforms. We use a mixed method approach using both survey data and in-depth interviews with respondents from the Danish food sector. Findings show that in line with known studies on online innovation communities in general......, the main drivers for engagement are organizational and individual learning, and establishing connections, rather than monetary incentives. In contrast to offline studies on university-industry interactions, well-connected academics are less interested in online communities of academics and industry...

Too risky to settle: avian community structure changes in response to perceived predation risk on adults and offspring

Science.gov (United States)

Hua, Fangyuan; Fletcher, Robert J.; Sieving, Kathryn E.; Dorazio, Robert M.

2013-01-01

Predation risk is widely hypothesized as an important force structuring communities, but this potential force is rarely tested experimentally, particularly in terrestrial vertebrate communities. How animals respond to predation risk is generally considered predictable from species life-history and natural-history traits, but rigorous tests of these predictions remain scarce. We report on a large-scale playback experiment with a forest bird community that addresses two questions: (i) does perceived predation risk shape the richness and composition of a breeding bird community? And (ii) can species life-history and natural-history traits predict prey community responses to different types of predation risk? On 9 ha plots, we manipulated cues of three avian predators that preferentially prey on either adult birds or offspring, or both, throughout the breeding season. We found that increased perception of predation risk led to generally negative responses in the abundance, occurrence and/or detection probability of most prey species, which in turn reduced the species richness and shifted the composition of the breeding bird community. Species-level responses were largely predicted from the key natural-history trait of body size, but we did not find support for the life-history theory prediction of the relationship between species' slow/fast life-history strategy and their response to predation risk.

Corporate social responsibility along pipelines: communities and corporations working together

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carvalho, Edison D.R.; Lopes, Luciano E.; Danciguer, Lucilene; Macarini, Samuel; Souza, Maira de [Grupo de Aplicacao Interdisciplinar a Aprendizagem (GAIA), Campinas, SP (Brazil)

2009-07-01

In this paper we present GAIA's findings in three corporate social responsibility projects along pipelines owned by three Brazilian companies in gas, oil and mining sectors. The projects had as the main goal to improve the relationship with communities in the companies' direct influence areas. Clearly, the relationship with communities along pipelines is essential to prevent and reduce industrial hazards. The damage in pipelines due to agriculture, buildings, intentional perforations and traffic of heavy vehicles may cause fatal accidents, environmental and material losses. Such accidents have negative consequences with regard to economy, image and relationship with communities and environmental agencies. From communities' perspective, pipelines deteriorate their life quality due to risk of industrial hazards nearby their houses. The lack of proper information about the pipelines remarkably increases insecurity feelings and discourses against the companies among community leaders. The methodology developed by GAIA comprises companies' and communities' interests and encompasses nine stages. 1. Socio-environmental appraisal or inventory, mapping main risks, communities' needs and their leaders. 2. Communication plan, defining strategies, languages and communication vehicles for each stakeholder group. 3. Inter-institutional meetings to include other institutions in the program. 4. Launching seminar in partnership with local authorities, divulging companies' actions in the cities with pipelines. 5. Multiplier agents formation, enabling teachers, local leaders and government representatives to disseminate correct information about the pipelines such as their functioning, hazard prevention, maintenance actions, and restrictions of activities over the pipelines. 6. Formation on project management, enabling teachers, local leaders and government representatives to elaborate, fund raise and manage socio environmental projects aimed at

The University of Florida College of Dentistry Response to the IOM Report on Dental Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Catalanotto, Frank A.; Heft, Marc W.

1996-01-01

This response of the University of Florida College of Dentistry to the Institute of Medicine's 1995 report concerning the present status and future needs of dental education stresses implications of eroding state funding for higher education. It notes use of the IOM report in the university's reorganization of the predoctoral curriculum as well as…

Modified niche optima and breadths explain the historical contingency of bacterial community responses to eutrophication in coastal sediments

KAUST Repository

Fodelianakis, Stylianos; Moustakas, A.; Papageorgiou, N.; Manoli, O.; Tsikopoulou, I.; Michoud, Gregoire; Daffonchio, Daniele; Karakassis, I.; Ladoukakis, E. D.

2016-01-01

Previous studies have shown that the response of bacterial communities to disturbances depends on their environmental history. Historically fluctuating habitats host communities that respond better to disturbance than communities of historically

Emotional Responsiveness and Emotional Stability in Three Religious Communities of India.

Science.gov (United States)

Prakash, Jai; Shukla, Anand Prakash

The present study investigated personality dispositions such as emotional responsiveness and emotional stability in religious communities of India. The religious ideology and particular system of religious practices of each individual may influence his personality structure. A review of the literature shows that studies available in this area have…

Social Support, Sense of Community, and Psychological Distress among College Students: Examining the Impact of University Housing Units

Science.gov (United States)

Suitor, Daniel Troy

2013-01-01

Attending college can be a rewarding but stressful time for students. Colleges and universities across the nation are becoming more and more concerned with the mental health of their students. Although past research has explored how social support and sense of community help students make a better transition to college life, less is known about…

Delegation of Authority Under the Community Environmental Response Facilitation Act (CERFA) - Decision Memorandum

Science.gov (United States)

This memorandum concerns how the Office of Enforcement (OE) proposed that two new authorities under the Community Environmental Response Facilitation Act (CERFA) be delegated to the Regional Administrators.

Practice in a dispersed professional community : a case study of associate lecturers at the Open University

OpenAIRE

Cox, Graham; Saunders, Murray

2006-01-01

This thesis examines in depth the work of four associate lecturers at the Open University. Given that they see colleagues infrequently, it explores how they resource their practice, in what has been termed a dispersed community that lacks the social interaction associated with more traditional lecturing. This research identifies what knowledge resources and professional practices are used, and what the relationships are between these and the process of occupational identity-building. It also ...

Biotechnology education as social and cultural production/reproduction of the biotechnology community

Science.gov (United States)

Andrée, Maria

2014-03-01

This paper is a commentary to a paper by Anne Solli, Frank Bach and Björn Åkerman on how students at a technical university learn to argue as biotechnologists. Solli and her colleagues report from an ethnographic study performed during the first semester of a 5-year program in biotechnology at a technical university in Sweden. Their study demonstrates how students begin to acquire `the right way' of approaching the controversial issue of producing and consuming genetically modified organisms. In my response I discuss the ethnographic account of this particular educational practice in terms of social and cultural production/reproduction of a biotechnology community and how the participants (students and teaching professors) deal with the dialectic of individual and collective transformation. In the perspective of the biotechnology community, the work done by the teaching professor becomes a way of ensuring the future of the biotechnology community in terms of what values and objectives are held highly in the community of practice.

Nematode community shifts in response to experimental warming and canopy conditions are associated with plant community changes in the temperate-boreal forest ecotone.

Science.gov (United States)

Thakur, Madhav Prakash; Reich, Peter B; Fisichelli, Nicholas A; Stefanski, Artur; Cesarz, Simone; Dobies, Tomasz; Rich, Roy L; Hobbie, Sarah E; Eisenhauer, Nico

2014-06-01

Global climate warming is one of the key forces driving plant community shifts, such as range shifts of temperate species into boreal forests. As plant community shifts are slow to observe, ecotones, boundaries between two ecosystems, are target areas for providing early evidence of ecological responses to warming. The role of soil fauna is poorly explored in ecotones, although their positive and negative effects on plant species can influence plant community structure. We studied nematode communities in response to experimental warming (ambient, +1.7, +3.4 °C) in soils of closed and open canopy forest in the temperate-boreal ecotone of Minnesota, USA and calculated various established nematode indices. We estimated species-specific coverage of understory herbaceous and shrub plant species from the same experimental plots and tested if changes in the nematode community are associated with plant cover and composition. Individual nematode trophic groups did not differ among warming treatments, but the ratio between microbial-feeding and plant-feeding nematodes increased significantly and consistently with warming in both closed and open canopy areas and at both experimental field sites. The increase in this ratio was positively correlated with total cover of understory plant species, perhaps due to increased predation pressure on soil microorganisms causing higher nutrient availability for plants. Multivariate analyses revealed that temperature treatment, canopy conditions and nematode density consistently shaped understory plant communities across experimental sites. Our findings suggest that warming-induced changes in nematode community structure are associated with shifts in plant community composition and productivity in the temperate-boreal forest ecotones.

Moving Past Assumptions: Recognizing Parents as Allies in Promoting the Sexual Literacies of Adolescents through a University-Community Collaboration

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Horn, Stacey S.; Peter, Christina R.; Tasker, Timothy B.; Sullivan, Shannon L.

2013-01-01

This article recounts how a university-community collaborative challenged prevailing assumptions about parents as barriers to the provision of gender and sexuality information to their children, allowing for the recognition of parents as critical stakeholders and partners in sexual literacy work with youth. We provide evidence that parents'…

Non communicable disease and risky behaviour in an urban university community Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Ige, O K; Owoaje, E T; Adebiyi, O A

2013-03-01

Most developing countries have only limited information on the burden of Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) even though rapid transitions in these NCDs have been predicted. To describe the burden of selected NCDs and associated risk behaviours in an urban university community in Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey of 525 representative staff of a University in a large city in Nigeria was conducted. In all, 27.6% were already diagnosed with at least one NCD (hypertension-21.5%, diabetes-11%, cancer 2.9%) while 67.4% reported at least one risk behaviour (unhealthy diet- 96%, sedentary living- 27.4% excessive alcohol use-5.1% and smoking- 1.9%). Multiple risk behaviours were observed in 29.9% with no significant variation by sex or age. Those 40 years and above had significantly higher prevalence of NCD, particularly for hypertension (p<0.05). Only 7%, considered themselves to be at risk of NCDs. Those whose parents had NCDs OR: 5.9 (2.4-14.5) and those who currently had NCDs OR: 3.9(1.8-8.1) perceived themselves at risk of one or more NCDs, but not those with multiple risk behaviours. The high burden of NCDs and risk behaviours in the face of limited self-perceived risk has been demonstrated and calls for urgent intervention.

Growing partners: building a community-academic partnership to address health disparities in rural North Carolina.

Science.gov (United States)

De Marco, Molly; Kearney, William; Smith, Tosha; Jones, Carson; Kearney-Powell, Arconstar; Ammerman, Alice

2014-01-01

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) holds tremendous promise for addressing public health disparities. As such, there is a need for academic institutions to build lasting partnerships with community organizations. Herein we have described the process of establishing a relationship between a research university and a Black church in rural North Carolina. We then discuss Harvest of Hope, the church-based pilot garden project that emerged from that partnership. The partnership began with a third-party effort to connect research universities with Black churches to address health disparities. Building this academic-community partnership included collaborating to determine research questions and programming priorities. Other aspects of the partnership included applying for funding together and building consensus on study budget and aims. The academic partners were responsible for administrative details and the community partners led programming and were largely responsible for participant recruitment. The community and academic partners collaborated to design and implement Harvest of Hope, a church-based pilot garden project involving 44 youth and adults. Community and academic partners shared responsibility for study design, recruitment, programming, and reporting of results. The successful operation of the Harvest of Hope project gave rise to a larger National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study, Faith, Farming and the Future (F3) involving 4 churches and 60 youth. Both projects were CBPR efforts to improve healthy food access and reducing chronic disease. This partnership continues to expand as we develop additional CBPR projects targeting physical activity, healthy eating, and environmental justice, among others. Benefits of the partnership include increased community ownership and cultural appropriateness of interventions. Challenges include managing expectations of diverse parties and adequate communication. Lessons learned and strategies for building

Community Connections. Time Warner Community Responsibility Report, 1998-2000.

Science.gov (United States)

Owens, Jane; Stein, Carol

This report highlights efforts by Time Warner personnel to strengthen community connections through various programs and services aimed at supporting: education, the arts, volunteerism, diversity, and business-community action. The report is divided into sections focusing on each of these areas. The first section, Education, describes programs…

Reclaiming food security in the Mohawk community of Kahnawà:ke through Haudenosaunee responsibilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Delormier, Treena; Horn-Miller, Kahente; McComber, Alex M; Marquis, Kaylia

2017-11-01

Indigenous Peoples are reclaiming their food security, nutrition, and well-being by revitalizing food systems, livelihoods, knowledge-systems, and governance. Our food security research is guided by sustainable self-determination that focuses on restoring Indigenous cultural responsibilities and relationships to land, each other, and the natural world (Corntassel, 2008). Our Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) research team from Kahnawà:ke, in Quebec, Canada, examines food insecurity experiences in our community to explore ways of upholding our Haudenosaunee responsibilities and enhancing local food security. We collaboratively designed the study and interviewed Kahnawakehró:non (people from the Kahnawake community) with traditional knowledge, extensive community experience, and interests in food and culture. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analysed by the team. Analysis characterized food insecurity experiences and conditions that challenge and enable food security with attention to traditional food systems, relationships to land, and gender-related responsibilities. Findings show that communal responsibilities generate resilient strategies that provide for all in times of crisis, and long-term food insecurity is managed through social programs, organized charities, and family support. Enhancing food security involves healing and protecting a limited land-base for food production, integrating food production with community priorities for education, training, health, economic development, and scientific innovation. Nurturing spiritual connections with tionhnhéhkwen (life sustaining foods), the natural world, and each other calls for accelerated teaching and practicing our original instructions. Challenges in developing food security leadership, balancing capitalism and subsistence economies, and strengthening social relationships are rooted in the historical colonial and current settler-colonial context that disrupts all aspects of Kanien'kehá:ka society

Avian community responses to variability in river hydrology.

Science.gov (United States)

Royan, Alexander; Hannah, David M; Reynolds, S James; Noble, David G; Sadler, Jonathan P

2013-01-01

River flow is a major driver of morphological structure and community dynamics in riverine-floodplain ecosystems. Flow influences in-stream communities through changes in water velocity, depth, temperature, turbidity and nutrient fluxes, and perturbations in the organisation of lower trophic levels are cascaded through the food web, resulting in shifts in food availability for consumer species. River birds are sensitive to spatial and phenological mismatches with aquatic prey following flow disturbances; however, the role of flow as a determinant of riparian ecological structure remains poorly known. This knowledge is crucial to help to predict if, and how, riparian communities will be influenced by climate-induced changes in river flow characterised by more extreme high (i.e. flood) and/or low (i.e. drought) flow events. Here, we combine national-scale datasets of river bird surveys and river flow archives to understand how hydrological disturbance has affected the distribution of riparian species at higher trophic levels. Data were analysed for 71 river locations using a Generalized Additive Model framework and a model averaging procedure. Species had complex but biologically interpretable associations with hydrological indices, with species' responses consistent with their ecology, indicating that hydrological-disturbance has implications for higher trophic levels in riparian food webs. Our quantitative analysis of river flow-bird relationships demonstrates the potential vulnerability of riparian species to the impacts of changing flow variability and represents an important contribution in helping to understand how bird communities might respond to a climate change-induced increase in the intensity of floods and droughts. Moreover, the success in relating parameters of river flow variability to species' distributions highlights the need to include river flow data in climate change impact models of species' distributions.

Comparison of Community Response to Road Traffic Noise in Japan and SWEDEN—PART i: Outline of Surveys and DOSE-RESPONSE Relationships

Science.gov (United States)

SATO, T.; YANO, T.; BJÖRKMAN, M.; RYLANDER, R.

2002-02-01

To investigate cross-cultural differences in the community response to road traffic noise, social surveys were conducted in Gothenburg, Sweden, and Kumamoto and Sapporo, Japan, using the same questionnaire and noise measurement method. Typical residential areas with detached houses and apartments were selected as the target areas in each city. The questionnaire comprised 40 questions relating to environmental, housing and personal factors. The key questions concerned annoyance caused by road traffic noise. The total numbers of respondents were 1142 in Gothenburg, 837 in Kumamoto and 780 in Sapporo. The response rates were 68·8, 69·3 and 57·5% respectively. After the questionnaires were completed, noise measurements were made in each area. Community responses were compared on the basis of the dose-response relationships. There were no systematic differences between community responses in Sapporo and Kumamoto, which have the same culture. People living in detached houses in Gothenburg were more annoyed by the same road traffic noise than the people living in Japanese cities. There were no systematic differences among the three cities with regard to activity disturbances indoors, but significant disturbance of activities and resting in gardens or on balconies was noted in Gothenburg. The difference in activity disturbance was due to the differences between lifestyles in the two countries. People living in detached houses were more annoyed by the house vibration caused by road traffic than those living in apartments and people were annoyed by the exhaust from road traffic to the same extent as noise.

Rapid Response of Eastern Mediterranean Deep Sea Microbial Communities to Oil

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Jiang; Techtmann, Stephen M.; Woo, Hannah L.; Ning, Daliang; Fortney, Julian L.; Hazen, Terry C.

2017-07-18

Deep marine oil spills like the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) in the Gulf of Mexico have the potential to drastically impact marine systems. Crude oil contamination in marine systems remains a concern, especially for countries around the Mediterranean Sea with off shore oil production. The goal of this study was to investigate the response of indigenous microbial communities to crude oil in the deep Eastern Mediterranean Sea (E. Med.) water column and to minimize potential bias associated with storage and shifts in microbial community structure from sample storage. 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing was combined with GeoChip metagenomic analysis to monitor the microbial community changes to the crude oil and dispersant in on-ship microcosms set up immediately after water collection. After 3 days of incubation at 14 °C, the microbial communities from two different water depths: 824 m and 1210 m became dominated by well-known oil degrading bacteria. The archaeal population and the overall microbial community diversity drastically decreased. Similarly, GeoChip metagenomic analysis revealed a tremendous enrichment of genes related to oil biodegradation, which was consistent with the results from the DWH oil spill. These results highlight a rapid microbial adaption to oil contamination in the deep E. Med., and indicate strong oil biodegradation potentia

Community Radiation Monitoring Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cooper, E.N.

1993-05-01

The Community Radiation Monitoring Program (CRMP) is a cooperative effort between the US Department of Energy (DOE); the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); the Desert Research Institute (DRI), a division of the University and Community College System of Nevada and the Nuclear Engineering Laboratory of the University of Utah (UNEL). The twelfth year of the program began in the fall of 1991, and the work continues as an integral part of the DOE-sponsored long-term offsite radiological monitoring effort that has been conducted by EPA and its predecessors since the inception of nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The program began as an outgrowth of activities that occurred during the Three Mile Island incident in 1979. The local interest and public participation that took place there were thought to be transferrable to the situation at the NTS, so, with adaptations, that methodology was implemented for this program. The CRMP began by enhancing and centralizing environmental monitoring and sampling equipment at 15 communities in the existing EPA monitoring network, and has since expanded to 19 locations in Nevada, Utah and California. The primary objectives of this program are still to increase the understanding by the people who live in the area surrounding the NTS of the activities for which DOE is responsible, to enhance the performance of radiological sampling and monitoring, and to inform all concerned of the results of these efforts. One of the primary methods used to improve the communication link with people in the potentially impacted area has been the hiring and training of local citizens as station managers and program representatives in those selected communities in the offsite area. These managers, active science teachers wherever possible, have succeeded, through their training, experience, community standing, and effort, in becoming a very visible, able and valuable asset in this link

Valuing and Evaluating Community-Engaged Scholarship

Science.gov (United States)

Shephard, Kerry; Brown, Kim; Guiney, Tess; Deaker, Lynley

2018-01-01

This article examines the nature of, and need for, evaluation of community-engaged university teaching and research. The research was conducted as part of a larger project aimed at improving institutional understanding of how to best support community-engaged university people. We interviewed 25 community-engaged colleagues, and used a general…

Grasshopper community response to climatic change: variation along an elevational gradient.

Science.gov (United States)

Nufio, César R; McGuire, Chris R; Bowers, M Deane; Guralnick, Robert P

2010-09-23

The impacts of climate change on phenological responses of species and communities are well-documented; however, many such studies are correlational and so less effective at assessing the causal links between changes in climate and changes in phenology. Using grasshopper communities found along an elevational gradient, we present an ideal system along the Front Range of Colorado USA that provides a mechanistic link between climate and phenology. This study utilizes past (1959-1960) and present (2006-2008) surveys of grasshopper communities and daily temperature records to quantify the relationship between amount and timing of warming across years and elevations, and grasshopper timing to adulthood. Grasshopper communities were surveyed at four sites, Chautauqua Mesa (1752 m), A1 (2195 m), B1 (2591 m), and C1 (3048 m), located in prairie, lower montane, upper montane, and subalpine life zones, respectively. Changes to earlier first appearance of adults depended on the degree to which a site warmed. The lowest site showed little warming and little phenological advancement. The next highest site (A1) warmed a small, but significant, amount and grasshopper species there showed inconsistent phenological advancements. The two highest sites warmed the most, and at these sites grasshoppers showed significant phenological advancements. At these sites, late-developing species showed the greatest advancements, a pattern that correlated with an increase in rate of late-season warming. The number of growing degree days (GDDs) associated with the time to adulthood for a species was unchanged across the past and present surveys, suggesting that phenological advancement depended on when a set number of GDDs is reached during a season. Our analyses provide clear evidence that variation in amount and timing of warming over the growing season explains the vast majority of phenological variation in this system. Our results move past simple correlation and provide a stronger process

Grasshopper community response to climatic change: variation along an elevational gradient.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

César R Nufio

2010-09-01

Full Text Available The impacts of climate change on phenological responses of species and communities are well-documented; however, many such studies are correlational and so less effective at assessing the causal links between changes in climate and changes in phenology. Using grasshopper communities found along an elevational gradient, we present an ideal system along the Front Range of Colorado USA that provides a mechanistic link between climate and phenology.This study utilizes past (1959-1960 and present (2006-2008 surveys of grasshopper communities and daily temperature records to quantify the relationship between amount and timing of warming across years and elevations, and grasshopper timing to adulthood. Grasshopper communities were surveyed at four sites, Chautauqua Mesa (1752 m, A1 (2195 m, B1 (2591 m, and C1 (3048 m, located in prairie, lower montane, upper montane, and subalpine life zones, respectively. Changes to earlier first appearance of adults depended on the degree to which a site warmed. The lowest site showed little warming and little phenological advancement. The next highest site (A1 warmed a small, but significant, amount and grasshopper species there showed inconsistent phenological advancements. The two highest sites warmed the most, and at these sites grasshoppers showed significant phenological advancements. At these sites, late-developing species showed the greatest advancements, a pattern that correlated with an increase in rate of late-season warming. The number of growing degree days (GDDs associated with the time to adulthood for a species was unchanged across the past and present surveys, suggesting that phenological advancement depended on when a set number of GDDs is reached during a season.Our analyses provide clear evidence that variation in amount and timing of warming over the growing season explains the vast majority of phenological variation in this system. Our results move past simple correlation and provide a stronger

Lineage-specific responses of microbial communities to environmental change.

Science.gov (United States)

Youngblut, Nicholas D; Shade, Ashley; Read, Jordan S; McMahon, Katherine D; Whitaker, Rachel J

2013-01-01

A great challenge facing microbial ecology is how to define ecologically relevant taxonomic units. To address this challenge, we investigated how changing the definition of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) influences the perception of ecological patterns in microbial communities as they respond to a dramatic environmental change. We used pyrosequenced tags of the bacterial V2 16S rRNA region, as well as clone libraries constructed from the cytochrome oxidase C gene ccoN, to provide additional taxonomic resolution for the common freshwater genus Polynucleobacter. At the most highly resolved taxonomic scale, we show that distinct genotypes associated with the abundant Polynucleobacter lineages exhibit divergent spatial patterns and dramatic changes over time, while the also abundant Actinobacteria OTUs are highly coherent. This clearly demonstrates that different bacterial lineages demand different taxonomic definitions to capture ecological patterns. Based on the temporal distribution of highly resolved taxa in the hypolimnion, we demonstrate that change in the population structure of a single genotype can provide additional insight into the mechanisms of community-level responses. These results highlight the importance and feasibility of examining ecological change in microbial communities across taxonomic scales while also providing valuable insight into the ecological characteristics of ecologically coherent groups in this system.

Community Assessment: A Current Essential Need

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Hassan Lotfi

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Health; as a basic right of the people and essential demand; should be considered as a joint responsibility of the government and people of a community. As much as the people of a community aware and involved in the individual health promotion and problem solving of their community in all dimensions, the probability of reaching to favorable health measurements is also increased. Community assessment is considered as a foundation for health improving and promoting the community members. The main objectives of community assessment are; to identify factors that affect the health of a population and determine the availability of resources within the community to adequately address these factors. In this Vera, community leaders, public health agencies, businesses, hospitals, private practitioners, and academic centers have each one a defined role. These groups can begin to answer key questions such as (a “What are the strengths in our community?” (b “What health concerns do community members have?” and (c “What resources are available and what do we need in the community to address these concerns? An important use of a community health assessment is to create Community Health Action to develop effective community health strategies. The health reform plan of Islamic Republic of Iran, started at the earlier months of the current year (2014, with establishing of the family physician program begun firstly at the level of rural regions, then will developed to cities with population 20000 to 500000 also borderlines of metropolitans cities and finally in the future, covering all urban eras of cities in the country aimed to executive the referral system with all its attributes. Being a full time physician along with a comprehensive teamwork including different prestigious health workers prepare a gold opportunity for implementation of community assessment in these regions. Although, some efforts have been accomplished in some parts of country by

Community Driven Universal Access Solutions in Cambodia : Pilots ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Two e-community pilot projects will be tested in the Kep fishing community ... Ministry of Commerce ... Eleven world-class research teams set to improve livestock vaccine development and production to benefit farmers across the Global South.

Peer-Allocated Instant Response (PAIR): Computional allocation of peer tutors in learning communities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Westera, Wim

2009-01-01

Westera, W. (2007). Peer-Allocated Instant Response (PAIR): Computational allocation of peer tutors in learning communities. Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, http://jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/10/2/5.html

The exclusion-inclusion spectrum in state and community response to sex offenders in Anglo-American and European jurisdictions.

Science.gov (United States)

Petrunik, Michael; Deutschmann, Linda

2008-10-01

Continental European and Anglo-American jurisdictions differ with regard to criminal justice and community responses to sex offenders on an exclusion-inclusion spectrum ranging from community protection measures on one end to therapeutic programs in the middle and restorative justice measures on the other end. In the United States, populist pressure has resulted in a community protection approach exemplified by sex offender registration, community notification, and civil commitment of violent sexual predators. Although the United Kingdom and Canada have followed, albeit more cautiously, the American trend to adopt exclusionist community protection measures, these countries have significant community-based restorative justice initiatives, such as Circles of Support and Accountability. Although sex offender crises have recently occurred in continental Europe, a long-standing tradition of the medicalization of deviance, along with the existence of social structural buffers against the influence of victim-driven populist penal movements, has thus far limited the spread of formal community protection responses.

Levelling the Playing Fields in PAR: The Intricacies of Power, Privilege, and Participation in a University-Community-School Partnership

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, Lesley; McAteer, Mary

2017-01-01

When academics, who occupy a traditional position of power and privilege, engage with community members whose thinking, attitudes, and responses have been shaped by ongoing sociohistorical oppression and disadvantage, democratic participation is not easy to attain. Yet, unless community members feel able to participate freely, the valuable local…

Evidence for universality and cultural variation of differential emotion response patterning.

Science.gov (United States)

Scherer, K R; Wallbott, H G

1994-02-01

The major controversy concerning psychobiological universality of differential emotion patterning versus cultural relativity of emotional experience is briefly reviewed. Data from a series of cross-cultural questionnaire studies in 37 countries on 5 continents are reported and used to evaluate the respective claims of the proponents in the debate. Results show highly significant main effects and strong effect sizes for the response differences across 7 major emotions (joy, fear, anger, sadness, disgust, shame, and guilt). Profiles of cross-culturally stable differences among the emotions with respect to subjective feeling, physiological symptoms, and expressive behavior are also reported. The empirical evidence is interpreted as supporting theories that postulate both a high degree of universality of differential emotion patterning and important cultural differences in emotion elicitation, regulation, symbolic representation, and social sharing.

Universal scattering response across the type-II Weyl semimetal phase diagram

Science.gov (United States)

Rüßmann, P.; Weber, A. P.; Glott, F.; Xu, N.; Fanciulli, M.; Muff, S.; Magrez, A.; Bugnon, P.; Berger, H.; Bode, M.; Dil, J. H.; Blügel, S.; Mavropoulos, P.; Sessi, P.

2018-02-01

The discovery of Weyl semimetals represents a significant advance in topological band theory. They paradigmatically enlarged the classification of topological materials to gapless systems while simultaneously providing experimental evidence for the long-sought Weyl fermions. Beyond fundamental relevance, their high mobility, strong magnetoresistance, and the possible existence of even more exotic effects, such as the chiral anomaly, make Weyl semimetals a promising platform to develop radically new technology. Fully exploiting their potential requires going beyond the mere identification of materials and calls for a detailed characterization of their functional response, which is severely complicated by the coexistence of surface- and bulk-derived topologically protected quasiparticles, i.e., Fermi arcs and Weyl points, respectively. Here, we focus on the type-II Weyl semimetal class in which we find a stoichiometry-dependent phase transition from a trivial to a nontrivial regime. By exploring the two extreme cases of the phase diagram, we demonstrate the existence of a universal response of both surface and bulk states to perturbations. We show that quasiparticle interference patterns originate from scattering events among surface arcs. Analysis reveals that topologically nontrivial contributions are strongly suppressed by spin texture. We also show that scattering at localized impurities can generate defect-induced quasiparticles sitting close to the Weyl point energy. These give rise to strong peaks in the local density of states, which lift the Weyl node, significantly altering the pristine low-energy spectrum. Remarkably, by comparing the WTe2 and the MoTe2 cases we found that scattering response and topological transition are not directly linked. Visualizing the existence of a universal microscopic response to scattering has important consequences for understanding the unusual transport properties of this class of materials. Overall, our observations provide

Can community care workers deliver a falls prevention exercise program? A feasibility study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Burton E

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Elissa Burton,1 Gill Lewin,2 Hilary O’Connell,3 Mark Petrich,4,5 Eileen Boyle,1 Keith D Hill1 1School of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; 2School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; 3Independent Living Centre Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; 4Western Australian Department of Health, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; 5School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia Background: Almost half of older people receiving community care fall each year and this rate has not improved in the last decade. Falls prevention programs targeted at this group are uncommon, and expensively delivered by university trained allied health professionals. Purpose: To investigate the feasibility of community care workers delivering a falls prevention exercise program to older clients, at low or medium risk of falling, as part of an existing service provision. Patients and methods: Community care workers from 10 community care organizations participated in the training for, and delivery to their clients of, an 8-week evidence-based falls prevention exercise program. Community care workers included assessment staff (responsible for identifying the need for community care services through completing an assessment and support workers (responsible for providing support in the home. Clients were surveyed anonymously at the completion of the intervention and workers participated in a semi-structured interview. Results: Twenty-five community care workers participated in the study. The falls prevention program was delivered to 29 clients, with an average age of 82.7 (SD: 8.72 years and consisting of 65.5% female. The intervention was delivered safely with no adverse events recorded, and the eligibility and assessment tools

The developmental stages of a community-university partnership: the experience of Padres Informados/Jovenes Preparados.

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, Michele L; Svetaz, A Veronica; Hurtado, G Ali; Linares, Roxana; Garcia-Huidobro, Diego; Hurtado, Monica

2013-01-01

Strong and sustained community-university partnerships are necessary for community-based participatory translational research. Little attention has been paid to understanding the trajectory of research partnerships from a developmental perspective. To propose a framework describing partnership development and maturation based on Erikson's eight stages of psychosocial development and describe how our collaboration is moving through those stages. Collaborators engaged in three rounds of iterative reflection regarding characteristics and contributors to the maturation of the Padres Informados/Jovenes Preparados (Informed Parents/Prepared Youth [PI/JP]) partnership. Each stage is characterized by broad developmental partnership tasks. Conflict or tension within the partnership is often a part of achieving the associated tasks. The strengths developed at each stage prepare the partnership for challenges associated with subsequent stages. This framework could provide a means for partnerships to reflect on their strengths and challenges at a given time point, and to help understand why some partnerships fail whereas others achieve maturity.

The community response to aircraft noise around six Spanish airports

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia, A.; Faus, L. J.; Garcia, A. M.

1993-06-01

The community response to aircraft noise has been studied through a social survey. A total of 1800 persons living in the vicinity of six major Spanish airports have been interviewed at their homes concerning the environmental quality of the area, dissatisfaction with road traffic noise and aircraft noise, activities interfered with by noise, most disturbing aircraft types, and subjective evaluation of airport impact. All the responses obtained in this survey have been compared with aircraft noise levels corresponding to the residence locations of the people interviewed (values of NEF levels were calculated with the INM model). The results obtained in this work allow one to evaluate the impact of aircraft noise under a wide range of different situations.

Listen Up! Be Responsible! What Graduate Students Hear about University Teaching, Graduate Education and Employment

Science.gov (United States)

Aspenlieder, Erin; Kloet, Marie Vander

2014-01-01

What we hear at universities and in public conversations is that there is a crisis in graduate student education and employment. We are interested here in the (re)circulation of the discourses of crisis and responsibility. What do graduate students hear about their education, their career prospects, and their responsibilities? How does work in…

Louisiana's Coastal Crisis: Characterizing Household and Community-Level Impacts and Responses

Science.gov (United States)

Austin, D. E.

2017-12-01

Rich in natural resources and critical ecosystems, the Mississippi delta also is the site of numerous human communities, from sparsely populated towns to dense urban neighborhoods. People who live and work within the delta face major challenges as they confront land loss, subsidence, and storms. This presentation outlines key household and community-level impacts of these environmental changes and both individual and collective responses to them. Based on two decades of applied ethnographic research in the region, as well as the author's participation as an advisor to federal, state, and local organizations, the presentation considers historical and contemporary processes and practices, social organization, and cultural dynamics to analyze proposed policies for addressing the impacts.

Ad Hoc Transient Communities to Enhance Social Interaction and Spread Tutor Responsibilities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sloep, Peter; Kester, Liesbeth; Brouns, Francis; Van Rosmalen, Peter; De Vries, Fred; De Croock, Marcel; Koper, Rob

2007-01-01

Sloep, P.B., Kester, L., Brouns, F., Van Rosmalen, P., De Vries, F., De Croock, M., Koper, R. (2007). Ad Hoc Transient Communities to Enhance Social Interaction and Spread Tutor Responsibilities. Presentation given at the Sixth IASTED International Conference on Web-based Education, 14-16 March,

An Effect of Interactive Media in a Social Awareness Ubiquitous Learning Community

Science.gov (United States)

Na-songkhla, Jaitip

2011-01-01

Chulalongkorn University collaboratively worked with the Office of Basic Education, and Department of Highways, with support from a Corporate Social Responsibility Unit (CSR) of Toyota motor Thailand in a Road Safety Project. The project was aimed at cultivating a social awareness, "from a school to a community", using a set of…

Microbial Community Response to Terrestrially Derived Dissolved Organic Matter in the Coastal Arctic

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Rachel E. Sipler

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Warming at nearly twice the global rate, higher than average air temperatures are the new ‘normal’ for Arctic ecosystems. This rise in temperature has triggered hydrological and geochemical changes that increasingly release carbon-rich water into the coastal ocean via increased riverine discharge, coastal erosion, and the thawing of the semi-permanent permafrost ubiquitous in the region. To determine the biogeochemical impacts of terrestrially derived dissolved organic matter (tDOM on marine ecosystems we compared the nutrient stocks and bacterial communities present under ice-covered and ice-free conditions, assessed the lability of Arctic tDOM to coastal microbial communities from the Chukchi Sea, and identified bacterial taxa that respond to rapid increases in tDOM. Once thought to be predominantly refractory, we found that ∼7% of dissolved organic carbon and ∼38% of dissolved organic nitrogen from tDOM was bioavailable to receiving marine microbial communities on short 4 – 6 day time scales. The addition of tDOM shifted bacterial community structure toward more copiotrophic taxa and away from more oligotrophic taxa. Although no single order was found to respond universally (positively or negatively to the tDOM addition, this study identified 20 indicator species as possible sentinels for increased tDOM. These data suggest the true ecological impact of tDOM will be widespread across many bacterial taxa and that shifts in coastal microbial community composition should be anticipated.

Ties That Bind: Creating and sustaining community-academic partnerships

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kynna N. Wright

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Growing interest among academics and health professionals in finding new ways to study and address complex health and social problems has manifested in recent years with increasing community demands for research and program implementation that is community-based, rather than merely community placed. In the United States, community-based participatory research (CBPR, with its emphasis on the creation and use of community-university or community-academic partnerships, is the prevailing paradigm to address these complex problems, especially those concerning racial/ethnic disparities in health and health care. While the need to strengthen the relationship between researchers and the community has been recognised, often from the viewpoint of the university partner, discussions on sustainability of partnerships have been few. The aim of this paper is to share reflections, through the eyes of the community members, on the core elements that tie community and academic members together and the challenges in understanding and nurturing those ties so that the community-academic partnership is sustained over time, and to offer possible recommendations for sustainability. This article speaks from the community’s perspective and reflects on the vital elements/components that tie together community-university partnerships and the challenges that may occur when trying to sustain and grow the partnership. It is based on a research CBPR study that was conducted to (1 evaluate the functioning and future sustainability of the community-university partnership of the Community Child Health Network Study Los Angeles (CCHN-LA community-university partnership, and (2 evaluate the experience and beliefs of the current CCHN-LA community-university partnership members in their understanding of current functioning. Keywords Community-academic partnerships; sustainability; challenges; solutions

The medical collections at the University of Glasgow.

Science.gov (United States)

Reilly, Maggie; McDonald, Stuart W

2009-01-01

The medical and other collections in the University of Glasgow have at their core the generous bequest of Dr William Hunter (1718 - 1783), a local man who rose to become an internationally renowned anatomist and obstetrician. The University does not have a Medical Museum as such but an Anatomy Museum, a Zoology Museum, a Pathology Collection, medical displays in the main halls of the Hunterian Museum in the Gilbert Scott Building and a rich collection of antiquarian medical books and archives as well as contemporary libraries. The Hunterian Collection, since its inauguration at the University of Glasgow in 1807, has engendered a spirit of diversity and scholarship that embraces many disciplines across the campus. The Hunterian Museum was the first public museum in Scotland and service to the local, national and international communities and response to their academic needs is very much at heart of its function today.

Promoting Environmental Citizenship and Corporate Social Responsibility through a School/Industry/University Partnership

Science.gov (United States)

Gebbels, Susan; Evans, Stewart M.; Delany, Jane E.

2011-01-01

A partnership was formed between King Edward VI School Morpeth (UK) and the pharmaceutical company Merck, Sharp and Dohme within the programme of "Joint Responsibility" operated by the Dove Marine Laboratory (Newcastle University, UK). Pupils surveyed an ecologically important coastal area in northeast England and made 15 recommendations…

Beyond Corporate Social Responsibility : The Scope for Corporate Investment in Community Driven Development

OpenAIRE

World Bank

2006-01-01

The last decade has witnessed expanded awareness among companies, especially multinational corporations, of their responsibilities toward the communities they impact, elaborated in the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and allied notions such as a Social License to Operate (SLTO). CSR is the realization of business contributions to sustainable development goals. It refers to how business takes account of its economic, social and environmental impacts in the way it operates -- m...

Ad Hoc Transient Communities to Enhance Social Interaction and Spread Tutor Responsibilities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sloep, Peter; Kester, Liesbeth; Brouns, Francis; Van Rosmalen, Peter; De Vries, Fred; De Croock, Marcel; Koper, Rob

2007-01-01

Sloep, P.B., Kester, L. Brouns, F., Van Rosmalen, P., De Vries, F., De Croock, M., Koper, R. (2007) Ad Hoc Transient Communities to Enhance Social Interaction and Spread Tutor Responsibilities. In V. Uskov (Ed.) The Sixth IASTED International Conference on Web-based Education WBE 2007, March 14-16,

Engagement and the Twenty-First Century University.

Science.gov (United States)

McGrath, C. Peter

1999-01-01

Argues for redefining the mission of the 21st-century university in order to focus on one overriding objective serving the public. Effective, expanding engagement with communities provides expertise and service to communities in ways in which universities are co-equal partners with other organizations and interests; it also provides rich…

Community responses to extreme climatic conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frédéric JIGUET, Lluis BROTONS, Vincent DEVICTOR

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Species assemblages and natural communities are increasingly impacted by changes in the frequency and severity of extreme climatic events. Here we propose a brief overview of expected and demonstrated direct and indirect impacts of extreme events on animal communities. We show that differential impacts on basic biological parameters of individual species can lead to strong changes in community composition and structure with the potential to considerably modify the functional traits of the community. Sudden disequilibria have even been shown to induce irreversible shifts in marine ecosystems, while cascade effects on various taxonomic groups have been highlighted in Mediterranean forests. Indirect effects of extreme climatic events are expected when event-induced habitat changes (e.g. soil stability, vegetation composition, water flows altered by droughts, floods or hurricanes have differential consequences on species assembled within the communities. Moreover, in increasing the amplitude of trophic mismatches, extreme events are likely to turn many systems into ecological traps under climate change. Finally, we propose a focus on the potential impacts of an extreme heat wave on local assemblages as an empirical case study, analysing monitoring data on breeding birds collected in France. In this example, we show that despite specific populations were differently affected by local temperature anomalies, communities seem to be unaffected by a sudden heat wave. These results suggest that communities are tracking climate change at the highest possible rate [Current Zoology 57 (3: 406–413, 2011].

Relations with local communities: 'a lot of happy faces and a lot of hard work'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Williams, B.

1995-01-01

The public relations programme of British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) is described. It includes: involvement in the economic regeneration of the regions in which its sites are located; providing resource materials to schools; funding of university posts, contract research and studentships; community involvement through such things as support of organisations/charities concerned with community and welfare, health issues, renewal and cultural activities, sponsorship. Branding and attribution in its community and sponsorship programmes is aimed at achieving recognition for BNFL as a quality, caring and responsible company. (UK)

Bacterial endophyte communities of three agricultural important grass species differ in their response towards management regimes

Science.gov (United States)

Wemheuer, Franziska; Kaiser, Kristin; Karlovsky, Petr; Daniel, Rolf; Vidal, Stefan; Wemheuer, Bernd

2017-01-01

Endophytic bacteria are critical for plant growth and health. However, compositional and functional responses of bacterial endophyte communities towards agricultural practices are still poorly understood. Hence, we analyzed the influence of fertilizer application and mowing frequency on bacterial endophytes in three agriculturally important grass species. For this purpose, we examined bacterial endophytic communities in aerial plant parts of Dactylis glomerata L., Festuca rubra L., and Lolium perenne L. by pyrotag sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes over two consecutive years. Although management regimes influenced endophyte communities, observed responses were grass species-specific. This might be attributed to several bacteria specifically associated with a single grass species. We further predicted functional profiles from obtained 16S rRNA data. These profiles revealed that predicted abundances of genes involved in plant growth promotion or nitrogen metabolism differed between grass species and between management regimes. Moreover, structural and functional community patterns showed no correlation to each other indicating that plant species-specific selection of endophytes is driven by functional rather than phylogenetic traits. The unique combination of 16S rRNA data and functional profiles provided a holistic picture of compositional and functional responses of bacterial endophytes in agricultural relevant grass species towards management practices.

Scale-dependency of macroinvertebrate communities: responses to contaminated sediments within run-of-river dams.

Science.gov (United States)

Colas, Fanny; Archaimbault, Virginie; Devin, Simon

2011-03-01

Due to their nutrient recycling function and their importance in food-webs, macroinvertebrates are essential for the functioning of aquatic ecosystems. These organisms also constitute an important component of biodiversity. Sediment evaluation and monitoring is an essential aspect of ecosystem monitoring since sediments represent an important component of aquatic habitats and are also a potential source of contamination. In this study, we focused on macroinvertebrate communities within run-of-river dams, that are prime areas for sediment and pollutant accumulation. Little is known about littoral macroinvertebrate communities within run-of-river dam or their response to sediment levels and pollution. We therefore aimed to evaluate the following aspects: the functional and structural composition of macroinvertebrate communities in run-of-river dams; the impact of pollutant accumulation on such communities, and the most efficient scales and tools needed for the biomonitoring of contaminated sediments in such environments. Two run-of-river dams located in the French alpine area were selected and three spatial scales were examined: transversal (banks and channel), transversal x longitudinal (banks/channel x tail/middle/dam) and patch scale (erosion, sedimentation and vegetation habitats). At the patch scale, we noted that the heterogeneity of littoral habitats provided many available niches that allow for the development of diversified macroinvertebrate communities. This implies highly variable responses to contamination. Once combined on a global 'banks' spatial scale, littoral habitats can highlight the effects of toxic disturbances. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Faculties of Education in Traditional Universities and Universities of the Third Age: A Partnership Model in Gerontagogy

Science.gov (United States)

Lemieux, Andre; Boutin, Gerald; Riendeau, Jean

2007-01-01

This article discusses "Universities of the Third Age", whose function is quite distinct from established universities' traditional role in teaching, research, and community services. Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop a model of partnership between traditional universities and Universities of the Third Age, ensuring better…

Community-based learning in a challenging context: the development and evaluation of an outreach dental public health programme in Damascus University, Syria.

Science.gov (United States)

Joury, E

2016-02-01

This study aimed to describe the development and evaluation of an outreach dental public health (DPH) programme in Damascus University, in terms of developing undergraduates' required knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSA), improving the quality aspects of training and assessment (T&A), and achieving the satisfaction of served children and their social network. The outreach DPH programme offered opportunities to undergraduates to carry out outreach health-promotion activities, conduct and communicate the results of applied DPH research, and build partnership with students in other higher education sectors. A cross-sectional evaluation collected mixed qualitative and quantitative data, by a means of a short-essay and a self-completed questionnaire, from 400 third-year dental undergraduates, on KSA gained from outreach activities and quality aspects of T&A. The latter were compared with corresponding figures of other traditional dental programmes (TDP). Satisfaction with the outreach activities were collected from 215 children with special needs and 130 parents and school staff, by questionnaires. The response rates were 74.8%, 100% and 100% for undergraduates, children and parents/school staff, respectively. The derived categories of students' gained KSA included the following: unique clinical skills, social responsibility, voluntarism, communication, team working, personal growth, reflection on career aspirations and self-satisfaction with the contribution to needy groups. Their satisfaction with quality aspects of T&A was significantly higher than TDP (P < 0.001). Children's and parents/school staff's satisfaction was high. The outreach DPH programme in Damascus University is a successful example of developing undergraduates' required KSA, improving the quality aspects of T&A, and achieving the satisfaction of served community. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Burn Severity Dominates Understory Plant Community Response to Fire in Xeric Jack Pine Forests

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bradley D. Pinno

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Fire is the most common disturbance in northern boreal forests, and large fires are often associated with highly variable burn severities across the burnt area. We studied the understory plant community response to a range of burn severities and pre-fire stand age four growing seasons after the 2011 Richardson Fire in xeric jack pine forests of northern Alberta, Canada. Burn severity had the greatest impact on post-fire plant communities, while pre-fire stand age did not have a significant impact. Total plant species richness and cover decreased with disturbance severity, such that the greatest richness was in low severity burns (average 28 species per 1-m2 quadrat and plant cover was lowest in the high severity burns (average 16%. However, the response of individual plant groups differed. Lichens and bryophytes were most common in low severity burns and were effectively eliminated from the regenerating plant community at higher burn severities. In contrast, graminoid cover and richness were positively related to burn severity, while forbs did not respond significantly to burn severity, but were impacted by changes in soil chemistry with increased cover at pH >4.9. Our results indicate the importance of non-vascular plants to the overall plant community in this harsh environment and that the plant community is environmentally limited rather than recruitment or competition limited, as is often the case in more mesic forest types. If fire frequency and severity increase as predicted, we may see a shift in plant communities from stress-tolerant species, such as lichens and ericaceous shrubs, to more colonizing species, such as certain graminoids.

Use of SMS-Based Surveys in the Rapid Response to the Ebola Outbreak in Liberia: Opening Community Dialogue.

Science.gov (United States)

Berman, Amanda; Figueroa, Maria Elena; Storey, J Douglas

2017-01-01

During an emerging health crisis like the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, communicating with communities to learn from them and to provide timely information can be a challenge. Insight into community thinking, however, is crucial for developing appropriate communication content and strategies and for monitoring the progress of the emergency response. In November 2014, the Health Communication Capacity Collaborative partnered with GeoPoll to implement a Short Message Service (SMS)-based survey that could create a link with affected communities and help guide the communication response to Ebola. The ideation metatheory of communication and behavior change guided the design of the survey questionnaire, which produced critical insights into trusted sources of information, knowledge of transmission modes, and perceived risks-all factors relevant to the design of an effective communication response that further catalyzed ongoing community actions. The use of GeoPoll's infrastructure for data collection proved a crucial source of almost-real-time data. It allowed for rapid data collection and processing under chaotic field conditions. Though not a replacement for standard survey methodologies, SMS surveys can provide quick answers within a larger research process to decide on immediate steps for communication strategies when the demand for speedy emergency response is high. They can also help frame additional research as the response evolves and overall monitor the pulse of the situation at any point in time.

RESEARCH INTO THE READING PROCESS OF OF THE ACADEMIC COMMUNITY OF THE OLD VILNIUS UNIVERSITY: ASPECTS OF HISTORIOGRAPHY

OpenAIRE

Krakyte, Asta

2006-01-01

The article provides a general overview of the research into the reading process of the academic community of Vilnius University in 1579–1832 derived from significant research in librarianship andbook science. It presents sources and strategies to reveal the multifaceted relations existing between literature, the reader, priorities, the environment, results, etc. This article also analyzes works in humanities and social sciences with significantly reliable data related to particular aspects o...

A systematic strategic planning process focused on improved community engagement by an academic health center: the University of Kansas Medical Center's story.

Science.gov (United States)

Cook, David C; Nelson, Eve-Lynn; Ast, Cori; Lillis, Teresa

2013-05-01

A growing number of academic health centers (AHCs) are considering approaches to expand collaboration with their communities in order to address complex and multisystem health concerns. In 2010, internal leaders at the University of Kansas Medical Center undertook a strategic planning process to enhance both community engagement activities and the scholarship resulting from these engagement activities. The authors describe the strategic planning process, recommendations, and actions associated with elevating community engagement within the AHC's mission and priorities. The strategic planning process included conducting an inventory of community engagement activities within the AHC; analyzing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for community engagement work; and identifying goals and strategies to improve future community engagement activities and scholarship. The resulting road map for enhancing community engagement at their institution through 2015 consists of four main strategies: emphasize scholarship in community engagement, revise organizational structures to better facilitate community engagement, prioritize current engagement activities to ensure appropriate use of resources, and enhance communication of engagement initiatives to further develop stakeholder relationships.The authors also discuss implementation of the plan to date and highlight lessons learned that may inform other AHCs as they enhance and expand similar endeavors.

Integrating Social Responsibility of University and Corporate Sector for Inclusive Growth in India

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Seema

2016-01-01

Globalization has made the market in India very competitive. The lower segment of the workforce is under tremendous pressure to improve their productivity to sustain in the market. Being one of the important stakeholders, universities can play a very significant role in transferring knowledge created by them under their social responsibility. The…

Evaluation of Northwest University, Kano Post-UTME Test Items Using Item Response Theory

Science.gov (United States)

Bichi, Ado Abdu; Hafiz, Hadiza; Bello, Samira Abdullahi

2016-01-01

High-stakes testing is used for the purposes of providing results that have important consequences. Validity is the cornerstone upon which all measurement systems are built. This study applied the Item Response Theory principles to analyse Northwest University Kano Post-UTME Economics test items. The developed fifty (50) economics test items was…

Macrophyte Community Response to Nitrogen Loading and ...

Science.gov (United States)

Empirical determination of nutrient loading thresholds that negatively impact seagrass communities have been elusive due to the multitude of factors involved. Using a mesocosm system that simulated Pacific Northwest estuaries, we evaluated macrophyte metrics across gradients of NO3 loading (0, 1.5, 3 and 6x ambient) and temperature (10 and 20 °C). Macroalgal growth, biomass, and C:N responded positively to increased NO3 load and floating algal mats developed at 20 ºC. Zostera japonica metrics, including C:N, responded more to temperature than to NO3 loading. Z. marina biomass exhibited a negative temperature effect and in some cases a negative NO3 effect, while growth rate increased with temperature. Shoot survival decreased at 20 ºC but was not influenced by NO3 loading. Wasting disease index exhibited a significant temperature by NO3 interaction consistent with increased disease susceptibility. Community shifts observed were consistent with the nutrient loading hypothesis at 20 ºC, but there was no evidence of other eutrophication symptoms due to the short residence time. The Nutrient Pollution Index tracked the NO3 gradient at 10 ºC but exhibited no response at 20 ºC. We suggest that systems characterized by cool temperatures, high NO3 loads, and short residence time may be resilient to many symptoms of eutrophication. Estuarine systems characterized by cool temperatures, high nutrient loads and rapid flushing may be resilient to some symptoms

Microbial community analysis of ambient temperature anaerobic digesters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ciotola, R. [Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States). Dept. of Food, Agriculture and Biological Engineering

2010-07-01

This paper reported on a study in which designs for Chinese and Indian fixed-dome anaerobic digesters were modified in an effort to produce smaller and more affordable digesters. While these types of systems are common in tropical regions of developing countries, they have not been used in colder climates because of the low biogas yield during the winter months. Although there is evidence that sufficient biogas production can be maintained in colder temperatures through design and operational changes, there is a lack of knowledge about the seasonal changes in the composition of the microbial communities in ambient temperature digesters. More knowledge is needed to design and operate systems for maximum biogas yield in temperate climates. The purpose of this study was to cultivate a microbial community that maximizes biogas production at psychrophilic temperatures. The study was conducted on a 300 gallon experimental anaerobic digester on the campus of Ohio State University. Culture-independent methods were used on weekly samples collected from the digester in order to examine microbial community response to changes in ambient temperature. Microbial community profiles were established using universal bacterial and archaeal primers that targeted the 16S rRNA gene. In addition to the methanogenic archaea, this analysis also targeted some of the other numerically and functionally important microbial taxa in anaerobic digesters, such as hydrolytic, fermentative, acetogenic and sulfate reducing bacteria. According to preliminary results, the composition of the microbial community shifts with changes in seasonal temperature.

Mothers' and fathers' attendance in a community-based universally offered parenting program in Sweden.

Science.gov (United States)

Wells, Michael B; Sarkadi, Anna; Salari, Raziye

2016-05-01

Using a public health perspective, this study examined the characteristics of mothers and fathers who attended, compared to those who did not attend, a community-based practitioner-led universally offered parenting program. Mothers (141) and fathers (96) of 4- to 5-year-olds completed a set of questionnaires, including their demographic characteristics, their child's behavioral and emotional problems, and their own parenting behavior. They were all then given the opportunity to attend level 2 of the Triple P--Positive Parenting Program. During the first six months of the study, 33 mothers and 11 fathers opted to attend the program. The relation between program attendance and parental characteristics was similar for mothers and fathers. In general, fathers, non-native and lower educated parents were less likely to attend the program. Mothers, but not fathers, were more likely to attend if they reported more child behavior problems, while fathers, but not mothers, were observed at a trend level to attend if they perceived their child as having more emotional problems. In addition, parents in general were more likely to attend if they used more harsh parenting strategies. Although the universal offer did not reach parents universally, generally those parents who needed it were more likely to attend. Furthermore, this study shows that different factors may impact mothers' and fathers' attendance; therefore, parental data should be analyzed separately and different recruitment strategies should be used for mothers and fathers. © 2015 the Nordic Societies of Public Health.

'The university should promote health, but not enforce it': opinions and attitudes about the regulation of sugar-sweetened beverages in a university setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Howse, Elly; Freeman, Becky; Wu, Jason H Y; Rooney, Kieron

2017-08-01

The study aimed to determine the opinions and attitudes of a university population regarding the regulation of sugar-sweetened beverages in a university setting, primarily looking at differences in opinion between younger adults (under 30 years of age) and older adults (30 years of age or older). An online survey was conducted at an Australian university in April-May 2016 using a convenience sample of students and staff between the ages of 16 and 84 years. The survey included questions about consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and level of agreement and support of proposed sugar-sweetened beverage interventions. Quantitative response data and qualitative open-ended response data were analysed. Nine hundred thirteen responses from students and staff were analysed. In this population, consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages was low and awareness of the health risks of sugar-sweetened beverages was high. Overall, the surveyed population indicated more support for interventions that require higher levels of personal responsibility. The population did support some environment-centred, population-based interventions, such as increasing access to drinking water and reducing the price of healthier beverage alternatives. However there was less support for more restrictive interventions such as removing sugar-sweetened beverages from sale. Young adults tended to be less supportive of most interventions than older adults. These findings indicate there is some support for environment-centred, population-based approaches to reduce the availability and appeal of sugar-sweetened beverages in an adult environment such as a university setting. However these results suggest that public health may need to focus less on educating populations about the harms associated with sugar-sweetened beverages. Instead, there should be greater emphasis on explaining to populations and communities why environment-centred approaches relating to the sale and promotion of sugar

Negotiation of pedagogical design patterns as a means to enhance communities of practice in university teaching

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

May, Michael

and learning, specifically in the context of technology enhanced learning (”e-learning patterns”). In a competence development project for teachers across our university, the negotiation of design patterns sketched by teachers themselves was used as a means to enhance communities of practice around the sharing...... of ideas and experiences with teaching and learning. Rather than a formal pattern language aimed at a database of design patterns, the real potency of the methodology arises from the very process of negotiating suggested patterns and the resulting elaboration of teachers’ conceptions about problems...

Women in Community College: Factors Related to Intentions to Pursue Computer Science

Science.gov (United States)

Denner, Jill; Werner, Linda; O'Connor, Lisa

2015-01-01

Community colleges (CC) are obvious places to recruit more women into computer science. Enrollment at CCs has grown in response to a struggling economy, and students are more likely to be from underrepresented groups than students enrolled in 4-year universities (National Center for Education Statistics, 2008). However, we know little about why so…

Community emergency response to nuclear power plant accidents: A selected and partially annotated bibliography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Youngen, G.

1988-10-01

The role of responding to emergencies at nuclear power plants is often considered the responsibility of the personnel onsite. This is true for most, if not all, of the incidents that may happen during the course of the plant's operating lifetime. There is however, the possibility of a major accident occurring at anytime. Major nuclear accidents at Chernobyl and Three Mile Island have taught their respective countries and communities a significant lesson in local emergency preparedness and response. Through these accidents, the rest of the world can also learn a great deal about planning, preparing and responding to the emergencies unique to nuclear power. This bibliography contains books, journal articles, conference papers and government reports on emergency response to nuclear power plant accidents. It does not contain citations for ''onsite'' response or planning, nor does it cover the areas of radiation releases from transportation accidents. The compiler has attempted to bring together a sampling of the world's collective written experience on dealing with nuclear reactor accidents on the sate, local and community levels. Since the accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, that written experience has grown enormously

Community emergency response to nuclear power plant accidents: A selected and partially annotated bibliography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Youngen, G.

1988-10-01

The role of responding to emergencies at nuclear power plants is often considered the responsibility of the personnel onsite. This is true for most, if not all, of the incidents that may happen during the course of the plant`s operating lifetime. There is however, the possibility of a major accident occurring at anytime. Major nuclear accidents at Chernobyl and Three Mile Island have taught their respective countries and communities a significant lesson in local emergency preparedness and response. Through these accidents, the rest of the world can also learn a great deal about planning, preparing and responding to the emergencies unique to nuclear power. This bibliography contains books, journal articles, conference papers and government reports on emergency response to nuclear power plant accidents. It does not contain citations for ``onsite`` response or planning, nor does it cover the areas of radiation releases from transportation accidents. The compiler has attempted to bring together a sampling of the world`s collective written experience on dealing with nuclear reactor accidents on the sate, local and community levels. Since the accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, that written experience has grown enormously.

HBCUs inform students and the community about cervical cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Green, Julian S; Williams, Deloris G; Scott, Dolores B; Madison, Shirley B; Comer, Kimberly D; Haynes, Joseph A

2009-12-01

, some HBCUs have already begun to promote and provide the vaccination, "South Carolina State University is one of the HBCUs which provides the HPV vaccination and promotes HPV prevention. There has been a great initiative by their health center to focus prevention efforts on incoming freshman". HBCU administrations must bear in mind that beyond the campus, students will undoubtedly carry the information learned during college into the communities in which they live after graduation and moreover, utilize this information as a basis for educating their children and families. Community activist and Columbia resident Linda "T'Zima" Brown, whose 16 year-old son is considering application to Delaware State University, believes that HBCUs bear a great responsibility to the well-being of the community, "We as residents should be able to take part in the events that our black colleges have. Black colleges used to operate from a more inclusive, family approach, and we need to get back to that; plus, many HBCUs are supported with our state dollars, so the community should be able to look to them for information aside from what our children relay to us".

Using community trait-distributions to assign microbial responses to pH changes and Cd in forest soils treated with wood ash

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cruz Paredes, Carla; Wallander, Håkan; Kjøller, Rasmus

2017-01-01

is the current land-use. In forestry, wood ash has been proposed as a liming agent and a fertilizer, but has been questioned due to the risk associated with its Cd content. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of wood ash on the structure and function of decomposer microbial communities in forest......The identification of causal links between microbial community structure and ecosystem functions are required for a mechanistic understanding of ecosystem responses to environmental change. One of the most influential factors affecting plants and microbial communities in soil in managed ecosystems...... soils and to assign them to causal mechanisms. To do this, we assessed the responses to wood ash application of (i) the microbial community size and structure, (ii) microbial community trait-distributions, including bacterial pH relationships and Cd-tolerance, to assign the microbial responses to p...

Macroinvertebrate community response to acid mine drainage in rivers of the High Andes (Bolivia)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Damme, Paul Andre; Hamel, Caroli; Ayala, Alfredo; Bervoets, Lieven

2008-01-01

Several High Andes Rivers are characterized by inorganic water pollution known as acid mine drainage (AMD). The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between metal concentrations in the sediments and the macroinvertebrate communities in two river basins affected by AMD. In general, the taxon diversity of the macroinvertebrate community at the family level was low. The concentrations of Cd, Cu, Zn, Pb and Ni at mining sites were higher than at unpolluted sites. The pH of the water was alkaline (7.0-8.5) in unpolluted sites, whereas it dropped to very low values (<3) at mining sites. Redundancy Analysis (RDA) showed that pH was the best predictor of macroinvertebrate community richness. The number of macroinvertebrate families decreased gradually with increasing acidity, both in pools and riffles, though it is suggested that riffle communities were more affected because they are in closer contact with the acid water. - Community response to AMD

Impact of School Sense of Community within a Faith-Based University: Administrative and Academic Staff Perceptions on Institutional Mission and Values

Science.gov (United States)

Ferrari, Joseph R.; Cowman, Shaun E.; Milner, Lauren A.; Gutierrez, Robert E.; Drake, Peter A.

2009-01-01

Academic staff (n = 305) and administrative staff (n = 595) at a large urban, Catholic, and religious order teaching university completed on-line school sense of community, social desirability, and mission-identity plus mission-driven activity measures. Partial correlates (controlling for social desirability) indicated that for both faculty and…

Building Sustainable Neighborhoods through Community Gardens: Enhancing Residents' Well-Being through University-Community Engagement Initiative

Science.gov (United States)

Siewell, Nicholas; Aguirre, Stephanie; Thomas, Madhavappallil

2015-01-01

Building communities through creative community garden projects is increasingly common and seems to create beneficial effects for participants. This study recognizes the need to understand the impact of gardens on low socioeconomic neighborhoods. By conducting a needs assessment study and establishing a community garden, we were able to study its…

A Case Study on Primary, Secondary and University Students' Environmentally Responsible Behaviors in Turkey

Science.gov (United States)

Kahyaoglu, Mustafa

2013-01-01

The purpose of the study is to prove the environmentally responsible behaviors of primary, secondary and university students in Turkey. The students', who attended the study as participants, environmentally political behaviors, consumer/economical behaviors, direct behaviors toward protecting the environment and individual and public persuasion…

Commentary on the Future of Community Psychology: Perspective of a Research Community Psychologist.

Science.gov (United States)

Milburn, Norweeta G

2016-12-01

Community psychology is commented upon from the perspective of a community psychologist who was trained in the Community Psychology Program at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Her background and training are reviewed. A brief survey of research on homelessness as a frame for community psychology research is presented. Concluding remarks are provided on the future of research in community psychology. © Society for Community Research and Action 2016.

The inventory of the Portuguese geological heritage: a good example of scientific cooperation between universities

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, P.; Brilha, J.; Pereira, D.

2012-04-01

Initiatives of identification, protection, and valuation of the Portuguese abiotic natural heritage have been carried out mainly by the scientific community, and particularly by the academic community. The official institutions responsible for nature conservation have focused their policies primarily on biodiversity issues and the relevance of geoconservation in the Portuguese geological survey was always minor, compared with homologous institutions from countries like Spain, for example. In this context, the academic community has led geoconservation research and activities in Portugal, especially since the late 1990s, following the development of this theme in the European continent. The first systematic inventory of the Portuguese geological heritage is a clear example of the academic collaboration that characterizes the geoconservation in Portugal. Three hundred and twenty six geosites with international or national relevance have been inventoried under the scope of the scientific research project "Identification, characterisation and conservation of geological heritage: a geoconservation strategy for Portugal", financed by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology between 2007 and 2010 (PTDC/CTE-GEX/64966/2006). The inventory (one of the project's outputs) was coordinated by the University of Minho team with the participation of the universities of Algarve, Aveiro, Azores, Coimbra, Évora, Lisboa, Madeira, Nova de Lisboa, Porto, and Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro. The inventory procedures were based on the ProGEO methodology, i.e., definition of geological frameworks followed by the identification of representative geosites with national and international relevance for each framework. The geosites were selected exclusively based on their scientific value and support twenty-seven frameworks. For each geological framework a leading geoscientist from a university was responsible for the scientific characterization of the framework, to invite

University engagement with socially excluded communities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Benneworth, Paul Stephen; Benneworth, P.

2012-01-01

There appears to be an almost overwhelming consensus that an increasingly important element of the role of universities in contemporary society is to provide useful knowledge and contribute to emerging societal problems. However, the scale of the academic analysis to date has been surprising in its

White House Unveils America's College Promise Proposal: Tuition-Free Community College for Responsible Students. Fact Sheet

Science.gov (United States)

The White House, 2015

2015-01-01

In January, 2015, the President unveiled the America's College Promise proposal, which would make two years of community college free for responsible students, letting students earn the first half of a bachelor's degree and earn skills needed in the workforce at no cost. This proposal will require everyone to do their part: community colleges must…

Response of Archaeal and Bacterial Soil Communities to Changes Associated with Outdoor Cattle Overwintering.

Science.gov (United States)

Chroňáková, Alica; Schloter-Hai, Brigitte; Radl, Viviane; Endesfelder, David; Quince, Christopher; Elhottová, Dana; Šimek, Miloslav; Schloter, Michael

2015-01-01

Archaea and bacteria are important drivers for nutrient transformations in soils and catalyse the production and consumption of important greenhouse gases. In this study, we investigate changes in archaeal and bacterial communities of four Czech grassland soils affected by outdoor cattle husbandry. Two show short-term (3 years; STI) and long-term impact (17 years; LTI), one is regenerating from cattle impact (REG) and a control is unaffected by cattle (CON). Cattle manure (CMN), the source of allochthonous microbes, was collected from the same area. We used pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes to assess the composition of archaeal and bacterial communities in each soil type and CMN. Both short- and long- term cattle impact negatively altered archaeal and bacterial diversity, leading to increase of homogenization of microbial communities in overwintering soils over time. Moreover, strong shifts in the prokaryotic communities were observed in response to cattle overwintering, with the greatest impact on archaea. Oligotrophic and acidophilic microorganisms (e.g. Thaumarchaeota, Acidobacteria, and α-Proteobacteria) dominated in CON and expressed strong negative response to increased pH, total C and N. Whereas copiotrophic and alkalophilic microbes (e.g. methanogenic Euryarchaeota, Firmicutes, Chloroflexi, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes) were common in LTI showing opposite trends. Crenarchaeota were also found in LTI, though their trophic interactions remain cryptic. Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Methanobacteriaceae, and Methanomicrobiaceae indicated the introduction and establishment of faecal microbes into the impacted soils, while Chloroflexi and Methanosarcinaceae suggested increased abundance of soil-borne microbes under altered environmental conditions. The observed changes in prokaryotic community composition may have driven corresponding changes in soil functioning.

How to Leverage Virtual Learning Communities for Teaching Agile Communication Skills? The eGroups Case at the University of Münster in Germany and Massey University in New Zealand

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christina vom Brocke

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Global business life nowadays is marked by quickly evolving forms of cooperation. These are often set in virtual space where various members from different countries are brought together in order to collaborate. This trend calls for specific abilities in communication that respond to the challenges evoked by the ever evolving and newly forming nature of international virtual project teams. In this paper, these abilities are called “agile communication skills”. The paper reports on the conceptualisation and implementation of a Virtual Learning Community (VLC in a longitude study designed to foster so-called “agile communication skills”. Our research presents an approach where VLCs are used in order to create authentic evolving cooperations between students. For this matter internet technology seemed to prove as a key enabler. However, the mere use of technology does not suffice on its own. We, thus, identified design principles of VLCs that appear to be critical factors for successfully implementing such communities. We applied design-oriented research by grounding our model in prior work and formatively evaluating it in multiple case studies over a period of two years. In this paper we present the matured model and show what features characterise an eLearning environment to teach agile communication skills in a university setting. In addition we report on evaluating this model in a real-life application scenarios by giving illustrating examples from the final case study between the players involved: the Massey University in New Zealand and the University of Münster in Germany.

An Outbreak of Measles in a University in Korea, 2014.

Science.gov (United States)

Choe, Young June; Park, Young Joon; Kim, Ju Whi; Eom, Hye Eun; Park, Ok; Oh, Myoung Don; Lee, Jong Koo

2017-11-01

Measles has been declared eliminated from the Korea since 2006. In April 2014, a measles outbreak occurred at a University in Seoul. A total of 85 measles cases were identified. In order to estimate vaccine effectiveness of measles vaccine, we reviewed the vaccination records of the university students. The vaccine effectiveness of two doses of measles containing vaccine was 60.0% (95% CI, 38.2-74.1; P < 0.05). Transmission was interrupted after the introduction of outbreak-response immunization. The outbreak shows that pockets of under-immunity among college students may have facilitated the disease transmission despite the high 2-dose vaccination coverage in the community. © 2017 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.

What Does "International University" Mean at a European Bilingual University? the Role of Languages and Culture

Science.gov (United States)

Doiz, Aintzane; Lasagabaster, David; Sierra, Juan Manuel

2014-01-01

Internationalisation has brought about remarkable changes at universities all over the world. In the case of the University of the Basque Country (Spain) this is reflected in the increasing presence of English-medium instruction. This paper examines two issues: the university community's perception of (1) the term "international…

The Vacuous Rhetoric of Diversity: Exploring How Institutional Responses to National Racial Incidences Effect Faculty of Color Perceptions of University Commitment to Diversity

Science.gov (United States)

Squire, Dian

2017-01-01

Recent news cycles have illuminated the disparate, racialized experiences of Black people in the United States but university leadership responses have been reactionary, or worse non-responsive. This study examines how university responses to national racial incidences such as the police brutality affect how faculty of color in one discipline…

Ad Hoc Transient Communities to Enhance Social Interaction and Spread Tutor Responsibilities

OpenAIRE

Sloep, Peter; Kester, Liesbeth; Brouns, Francis; Van Rosmalen, Peter; De Vries, Fred; De Croock, Marcel; Koper, Rob

2007-01-01

Sloep, P.B., Kester, L. Brouns, F., Van Rosmalen, P., De Vries, F., De Croock, M., Koper, R. (2007) Ad Hoc Transient Communities to Enhance Social Interaction and Spread Tutor Responsibilities. In V. Uskov (Ed.) The Sixth IASTED International Conference on Web-based Education WBE 2007, March 14-16, Chamonix, France (pp. 549-554). Calgary, Canada: Acta Press.

A Complex Story: Universal Preference vs. Individual Differences Shaping Aesthetic Response to Fractals Patterns

Science.gov (United States)

Street, Nichola; Forsythe, Alexandra M.; Reilly, Ronan; Taylor, Richard; Helmy, Mai S.

2016-01-01

Fractal patterns offer one way to represent the rough complexity of the natural world. Whilst they dominate many of our visual experiences in nature, little large-scale perceptual research has been done to explore how we respond aesthetically to these patterns. Previous research (Taylor et al., 2011) suggests that the fractal patterns with mid-range fractal dimensions (FDs) have universal aesthetic appeal. Perceptual and aesthetic responses to visual complexity have been more varied with findings suggesting both linear (Forsythe et al., 2011) and curvilinear (Berlyne, 1970) relationships. Individual differences have been found to account for many of the differences we see in aesthetic responses but some, such as culture, have received little attention within the fractal and complexity research fields. This two-study article aims to test preference responses to FD and visual complexity, using a large cohort (N = 443) of participants from around the world to allow universality claims to be tested. It explores the extent to which age, culture and gender can predict our preferences for fractally complex patterns. Following exploratory analysis that found strong correlations between FD and visual complexity, a series of linear mixed-effect models were implemented to explore if each of the individual variables could predict preference. The first tested a linear complexity model (likelihood of selecting the more complex image from the pair of images) and the second a mid-range FD model (likelihood of selecting an image within mid-range). Results show that individual differences can reliably predict preferences for complexity across culture, gender and age. However, in fitting with current findings the mid-range models show greater consistency in preference not mediated by gender, age or culture. This article supports the established theory that the mid-range fractal patterns appear to be a universal construct underlying preference but also highlights the fragility of

Attitude of Academic Community towards Physically Challenged Students in the University of Maiduguri: Implications for Financing Inclusive Education for Sustainable Development

Science.gov (United States)

Bamiteko, Racheal Modupe; Ibi, Mustapha Baba; Bukar, Ibrahim Bulama

2017-01-01

This study examined the attitude of academic community towards physically challenged students in the University of Maiduguri as it affect the financing of inclusive education for sustainable development in Nigeria. Four objectives, two research questions and two hypotheses were set and tested for the study. Descriptive survey was adopted as a…

Soil microbial community responses to acid exposure and neutralization treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Doyun; Lee, Yunho; Park, Jeonghyun; Moon, Hee Sun; Hyun, Sung Pil

2017-12-15

Changes in microbial community induced by acid shock were studied in the context of potential release of acids to the environment due to chemical accidents. The responses of microbial communities in three different soils to the exposure to sulfuric or hydrofluoric acid and to the subsequent neutralization treatment were investigated as functions of acid concentration and exposure time by using 16S-rRNA gene based pyrosequencing and DGGE (Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis). Measurements of soil pH and dissolved ion concentrations revealed that the added acids were neutralized to different degrees, depending on the mineral composition and soil texture. Hydrofluoric acid was more effectively neutralized by the soils, compared with sulfuric acid at the same normality. Gram-negative ß-Proteobacteria were shown to be the most acid-sensitive bacterial strains, while spore-forming Gram-positive Bacilli were the most acid-tolerant. The results of this study suggest that the Gram-positive to Gram-negative bacterial ratio may serve as an effective bio-indicator in assessing the impact of the acid shock on the microbial community. Neutralization treatments helped recover the ratio closer to their original values. The findings of this study show that microbial community changes as well as geochemical changes such as pH and dissolved ion concentrations need to be considered in estimating the impact of an acid spill, in selecting an optimal remediation strategy, and in deciding when to end remedial actions at the acid spill impacted site. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Socially responsible medical education: innovations and challenges in a minority setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Schofield, Aurel; Bourgeois, Daniel

2010-03-01

Distributed medical education sites help train, recruit and retain doctors, notably in rural and isolated areas, by providing education and training in these areas and adapting their curriculum to meet the host community's health needs. The Centre de Formation Médicale du Nouveau Brunswick (CFMNB; New Brunswick Medical Education Centre) was established by a partnership between two academic institutions, the Université de Sherbrooke (University of Sherbrooke), situated in the province of Quebec, and the Université de Moncton (University of Moncton), situated in the province of New Brunswick, in Canada. The CFMNB is specifically targeting a minority community (Acadians). Working to establish a high-quality medical education programme, the CFMNB has also set community objectives to meet not only the health needs of this population, but also its social and economic needs. This paper describes the overall objectives of this project, which are: to reduce the gap between community needs and academic institutional needs; to address ethno-cultural and language differences in a defined minority population, and to develop collaboration between the partners involved, including government and community entities which are often perceived as operating in isolation from one another. We also describe why and how the CFMNB developed community-focused objectives and the challenges that came with these innovations, and present lessons from the experience that may be relevant to other sites interested in the social responsibility of medical schools. The CFMNB has produced interesting work and innovations in the field of social responsibility and has encountered many challenges. Continuing interaction between medical education, health research and health services to better address the needs of the population has been established. The information obtained by this process has been used to build a strategic plan for the CFMNB in order to ensure that it is socially responsive and has

Lags in the response of mountain plant communities to climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

Alexander, Jake M; Chalmandrier, Loïc; Lenoir, Jonathan; Burgess, Treena I; Essl, Franz; Haider, Sylvia; Kueffer, Christoph; McDougall, Keith; Milbau, Ann; Nuñez, Martin A; Pauchard, Aníbal; Rabitsch, Wolfgang; Rew, Lisa J; Sanders, Nathan J; Pellissier, Loïc

2018-02-01

Rapid climatic changes and increasing human influence at high elevations around the world will have profound impacts on mountain biodiversity. However, forecasts from statistical models (e.g. species distribution models) rarely consider that plant community changes could substantially lag behind climatic changes, hindering our ability to make temporally realistic projections for the coming century. Indeed, the magnitudes of lags, and the relative importance of the different factors giving rise to them, remain poorly understood. We review evidence for three types of lag: "dispersal lags" affecting plant species' spread along elevational gradients, "establishment lags" following their arrival in recipient communities, and "extinction lags" of resident species. Variation in lags is explained by variation among species in physiological and demographic responses, by effects of altered biotic interactions, and by aspects of the physical environment. Of these, altered biotic interactions could contribute substantially to establishment and extinction lags, yet impacts of biotic interactions on range dynamics are poorly understood. We develop a mechanistic community model to illustrate how species turnover in future communities might lag behind simple expectations based on species' range shifts with unlimited dispersal. The model shows a combined contribution of altered biotic interactions and dispersal lags to plant community turnover along an elevational gradient following climate warming. Our review and simulation support the view that accounting for disequilibrium range dynamics will be essential for realistic forecasts of patterns of biodiversity under climate change, with implications for the conservation of mountain species and the ecosystem functions they provide. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Responses of Coral-Associated Bacterial Communities to Local and Global Stressors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jamie M. McDevitt-Irwin

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The microbial contribution to ecological resilience is still largely overlooked in coral reef ecology. Coral-associated bacteria serve a wide variety of functional roles with reference to the coral host, and thus, the composition of the overall microbiome community can strongly influence coral health and survival. Here, we synthesize the findings of recent studies (n = 45 that evaluated the impacts of the top three stressors facing coral reefs (climate change, water pollution and overfishing on coral microbiome community structure and diversity. Contrary to the species losses that are typical of many ecological communities under stress, here we show that microbial richness tends to be higher rather than lower for stressed corals (i.e., in ~60% of cases, regardless of the stressor. Microbial responses to stress were taxonomically consistent across stressors, with specific taxa typically increasing in abundance (e.g., Vibrionales, Flavobacteriales, Rhodobacterales, Alteromonadales, Rhizobiales, Rhodospirillales, and Desulfovibrionales and others declining (e.g., Oceanosprillales. Emerging evidence also suggests that stress may increase the microbial beta diversity amongst coral colonies, potentially reflecting a reduced ability of the coral host to regulate its microbiome. Moving forward, studies will need to discern the implications of stress-induced shifts in microbiome diversity for the coral hosts and may be able to use microbiome community structure to identify resilient corals. The evidence we present here supports the hypothesis that microbial communities play important roles in ecological resilience, and we encourage a focus on the microbial contributions to resilience for future research.