Previous studies indicated that parents raising children with autism (CWA) experience higher rates of stress; however, no qualitative studies have addressed low-income parents' lived experiences of raising CWA. The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand the challenges that low-income parents of CWA face daily within the framework of family systems theory and biopsychosocial theory. Research questions focused on the impact of income and the core symptoms of autism (social deficits, communication deficits, and repetitive behaviors) on marital and interpersonal relationships. Semistructured interviews with 13 parents were conducted, and transcripts were analyzed for themes using a 4-step process. Results indicated some negative impacts on parents' marital, social, and professional relationships. Themes included higher levels of stress and depression, decreased social interaction, less personal and professional satisfaction, and lower levels of marital satisfaction. Findings may be used to increase empathy and understanding of parents' challenges and improve access to resources and services required for CWA and their parents to enhance their quality of life.

Researchers have found that low-income students have greatly suffered academically, yet there have been no advancements causing the academic achievement gap to close for any length of time. Using Bandura's social cognitive, self-efficacy, and academic self-efficacy theories as the foundation, this study explored the mediating effect of academic self-efficacy in the relationship between perceived teacher attitudes and perceived academic achievement in low-income high school students. Data were collected from 145 low-income high school students via an online survey geared towards their parents to ensure full parental consent. The survey included demographic questions, a perceived academic achievement question, the Classroom Teacher-Student Relationship subscale, and the Academic Self-Efficacy subscale. Multiple regression analysis revealed significant findings in that academic self-efficacy mediated the relationship between perceived teacher's attitudes and perceived academic achievement. However, due to cross-over suppression, gender differences were found to be a confounding variable. Further, it was found that girls were predicted to have higher perceived academic achievements than boys. This research is significant as the implications for social change include using the results as the foundation for future programs to improve teachers' attitudes towards low-income students to increase academic self-efficacy in low-income high school students. If these improvements are made, low-income high school students' academic achievement levels may also increase. This, in turn, could cause the academic achievement gap to close between low and high-income high school students.

There is little diversity among earned doctorates in the United States. First-generation college students are especially at-risk for not matriculating to a doctoral degree. This applied dissertation provided an understanding of the obstacles faced by first-generation college students in doctoral programs by studying alumni of the McNair Scholars Program. The study examined the components of the McNair Scholars Program that can help ameliorate obstacles faced by first-generation college students as they enroll and persist into graduate school. This study utilized a sequential exploratory mixed methods approach to evaluate the components of the McNair Scholars Program that prepared students for successful persistence into graduate school and subsequent completion of an earned doctorate.

Children from low-income families often begin kindergarten at an academic disadvantage. This research consisted of a causal comparative study of the short-term and longer term academic effects of voluntary prekindergarten (VPK) participation with a population of students who qualified for free or reduced-price lunch in a large southern public school district. Reading and math achievement of low-income students who attended VPK in 2008-09 were compared with a matched sample of students who did not attend. Incremental changes following the 2008-09 prekindergarten year to the cohort’s and matched sample’s 2012-13 third-grade academic performance were compared via archived kindergarten, first-, second-, and third-grade test scores, ratings, and promotion status at the end of third grade. Additional analyses were made to test for any differences between program length for the VPK and non-VPK attenders. Analyses were also conducted to see if the effects of VPK persisted through the early school years as measured by school type (Title I or non-Title I). Short-term and longer term effects in favor of VPK participation were found for kindergarten, first, and third graders who attended summer or full-year programs and a Title I school for 1 to 3 years of their academic career during the 4-year period examined. However, those students who attended VPK but who did not attend any Title I school from kindergarten to third grade did not perform better statistically than matched students who did not attend VPK. It is recommended that full-year prekindergarten programs be considered for students likely to attend high-poverty schools. Reading readiness and achievement were significantly higher for the students attending high-poverty schools if they previously attended full-year prekindergarten programs.

College preparation for low-income, urban, minority students is the subject of this ethnographic case study. Previous research indicates that for these students the notion that college is the next step after high school graduation may be considered unrealistic, especially if parents or other family members lack postsecondary education experiences. This was a qualitative case study of one comprehensive urban high school located in a predominantly middle to upper class White neighborhood. People residing in this neighborhood were older and the majority no longer had children of high school age. Therefore, over half the student body (70%) were African-American teenagers bused from surrounding low-income, urban areas. The purpose of the study was to look for evidence of indicators believed necessary to create and foster a college-going culture in a low-income, urban, public high school. The findings suggested that students from lower socioeconomic groups, those with high aspirations, and even those who qualify for college acceptance, often lack the information and support necessary to negotiate the postsecondary application and enrollment processes. Adopting a college-going mission is as much a mentality as it is an objective, and requires active awareness and participation by all stakeholders including students, families, schools, and the community.

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No description available.

Rooms’ and ‘spaces’ are two closely linked forms of accommodation where the unit of occupation and exchange is a portion of a larger building or property, within which services and facilities are shared. ‘Rooms’ and ‘spaces’ in the inner city represented two of very few typologies research participants were aware of that allowed them access to the livelihood opportunities Johannesburg had to offer. Through participant observation and qualitative interviews this study explores two buildings featuring informal rooms and spaces and one building featuring formal rooms and spaces in Johannesburg’s inner city. While formal rooms represented the most stable support to those specific occupants, there were several ‘barriers to entry’ including the prerequisite of a stable income. There was much to be learnt from the flexibility and diversity of rooms and spaces on the informal market, which enabled occupants to cope with insecure livelihood opportunities. The research demonstrated the incredible resilience of occupants in the face of an extreme shortage of affordable accommodation in Johannesburg’s inner city (Tissington, 2013). However, the findings suggested an adverse relationship between accommodation and livelihoods demonstrated by the three ‘forms’ of rooms and spaces, where the only form available to people with the least secure livelihoods is that which, in turn, subjects them to the greatest insecurity.

Thesis is submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2016 / Keywords/key concepts: Dolomite, Dolomitic ground, Disaster Risk Management, Physical Vulnerability, Low-income settlements, Housing Policy, Services delivery, Responsibility, Living with risk, Human Behaviour, Basic Human Rights Ground underlain by dolomite may be hazardous to development due to the potential occurrence of subsidence and sinkholes. These potentially disastrous occurrences are in many instances caused by human interaction with the soil through the ponding of water or leaking of wet infrastructure such as water and sanitation services. Construction materials and techniques, as well as effective maintenance of waterborne services have traditionally been acknowledged as having a significant bearing on the level of risk that communities face when living on such potentially dangerous land. The spatial distribution of settlements on dolomite in the Gauteng City Region (GCR) is already widespread and expected to increase as urbanisation intensifies. Similarly, the challenge of considering the physical vulnerability of low-income settlements is expected to intensify. Welldefined procedures and guidelines govern the development of human settlements on dolomitic ground. However, the classification and characterisation of low-income and informal settlements are not as advanced as that of formal residential developments. In addition, the guidelines regarding management of settlements on dolomite focus significantly on geotechnical interventions, leaving a gap in the influence that human behaviour can play in possible disaster risk reduction on such ground. The thesis considers the significance of different low-income settlement types on dolomite, relative to perceived human behaviour in association with principles of disaster risk reduction. It hypothesizes that an understanding of settlement type in relation to human behaviour and a stronger emphasis on monitoring via official channels could address some of the conflicts in the development-on-dolomite debate and thereby reduces settlement vulnerability. The research methods included quantitative and qualitative components, commencing with a literature review that spanned multiple disciplines and sectors. Fieldwork included spatial investigation and consideration of low-income settlement types with regard to, for example building material use, dwelling size and dwelling layout, and wet services infrastructure provision and location. The thesis subsequently identify and explore low-income settlement types in the study area. The research explores a number of sample settlements to consider the physical vulnerability and potential key areas of intervention and risk reduction, outside of the traditional geotechnical arena. The evaluation then applies the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), a form of Multi Criteria Analysis (MCA), to identify important variables and indicators related to human behaviour and the physical vulnerability of settlements on dolomite that can be harnessed to intervene in the debate, and possible improve the safety of communities living with this risk. Although not affecting the research outcome directly, a specific observation during the course of engagement with specialists across disciplines was that experts in even closely related practice areas view low-income settlement development and upgrading on dolomite differently. The differences in viewpoints result in contradictions in approaches between housing officials, disaster managers, socio-environmental practitioners, engineers and geologists. Even small differences in approach have been shown to have significant effects on the practicalities surrounding decision making related to low-income settlements and especially informal settlement relocation or upgrading. The outcome is a set of prioritised indicators that could enable specialists, officials and the public to consider different elements of low-income settlements based on its physical vulnerability. By focussing on the indicators most likely to result in reduced vulnerability, actions that drive settlement development, upgrade and resettlement could be prioritised. Interestingly, one of the findings of the research is that it is not so much the settlement type based on informality that makes a difference in the exposure to risk – physical vulnerability is deemed to be significantly affected by official (municipal-sphere) actions, monitoring and awareness. Finally, the research enables the integration of technical knowledge with behavioural considerations when living on dolomite, thus highlighting opportunities to bring technical and non-technically skilled stakeholders in the debate closer together. / MT2017

Extensive literature has documented The United Methodist Church’s’ (UMC) commitment to social justice. A current focus in the church is working with economically marginalized populations, including the 231,170 Black children and youth in Mississippi. To better understand adults that serve this population, I conducted an exploratory study to gather baseline data about UMC adults’ contemporary attitudes and beliefs about race, racism, and discrimination. A cross-sectional survey was administered at the 2017 Mississippi Annual Conference of The UMC. Using a critical race lens, I found that most of the attendees espoused moderate color-blind racial attitudes and beliefs about the frequency that low-income, Black youth experience racial discrimination. I suggest that espousal of these attitudes and beliefs may promote notions of white privilege or internalized oppression and may lead to increased acts of racial prejudice and discrimination when these adults interact with low-income, Black youth.