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<p>Socioeconomic inequalities in health research comprises the investigation of the pathways through which differential access to resources affects the distribution of morbidity and mortality in the population. Because many of the factors that influence health are cumulative, researchers have incorporated a life course approach into their work by linking socioeconomic conditions in one stage of the life course to health at a later stage. The childhood period has acquired particular significance due to conflicting theories about the relative importance of early life events for health inequalities during adulthood.</p> <p>Using seven waves of the child component of the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (1986-98), I employ generalized linear mixed models to examine the effect of household income on child physical and mental health over the entire childhood period. The results of this dissertation support the hypothesis that household income influences the physical and mental health of children, both concurrently and over time. In generalized linear mixed models, the stable component of household income, that is, the average household income for a given child over the period in which he or she is observed, exerts a strong influence on risk for child chronic health limitation, child anxiety/depression and antisocial behaviour, and to a lesser extent, child medically attended accident or injury. However, the dynamic component of household income, defined as deviations in household income over time from the observed average of that household, is mostly unrelated to child health.</p> <p>These findings have broader implications for life course theory and for the discipline of sociology as health inequalities researchers track the impact of socially significant events over time and reveal the long term processes underlying the social distribution of health.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This research aims to explore and identify essential elements of community engagement in the public sector, including library services. Previous research has highlighted public libraries objectives in undertaking community engagement, in terms of tackling social exclusion, promoting democracy and contributing to social/cultural/human capital. However, it is also apparent that there is a lack of shared vision and strategy for community engagement in public libraries. Furthermore, little systematic research has examined the community engagement process in practice. Hence there is a need for a systematic, comparative and empirical investigation into essential elements of community engagement in public libraries. The study was qualitative, involving three case studies in England. Research methods employed to gather data included semi-structured interviews, direct observation and document analysis. Both the viewpoints of service providers and service users were captured. Essential elements of community engagement were initially identified in case specific contexts. The discussion of the relationships between elements then identified two key underlying variable drivers (i.e. influence of authority and willingness to learn ) that had a fundamental impact on community engagement. Influence of authority was defined as the extent that the initiative was led by the service or the community. Willingness to learn was defined as the extent that the service was willing to embrace a community-driven approach or a library-based approach for implementing community engagement. The empirical investigative results identified the essential elements of community engagement as comprising of: accountability , belonging , commitment , communication , a flexible approach , genuineness , relevance and sustainability . The significance of this research is the identification, based on empirical data, of arguably the essential elements of community engagement in the public library context. However, it is likely that these elements are key to forms of community engagement both within and outside the public sector. Recommendations are made in conclusion for the promotion of genuine community engagement, where the community-driven approach and the organic nature of the community engagement process are seen as being paramount to engagement.

This thesis presents a reflection on directing There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom by examining the relationship between the production and community engagement developed for it. It details the process of connecting theatre for young audiences (TYA) and community engagement and discusses how the project that resulted inspired a dialogue concerning bullying. This document addresses these questions: What is the relationship between TYA and community engagement and how can they be closely connected? How can community engagement inform the production of a play for young audiences? This document explores how collaborative partnerships with student audiences and teachers inspired dialogue and influenced production choices. It discusses how participation in multiple community engagement activities resulted in a rich experience for both actors and audience. It includes a discussion about how the work might be translated outside of the university and concludes with reflective practices for connecting TYA and community engagement. / text

This thesis looks at the ways in which performance can integrate participants and local context into the development of new devised work. This practice-led research is based on a methodology that grew out of three performance case studies completed in diverse international settings with a varied range of participants. The case studies are: Napoli Scorticata completed in 2007 in Naples, Italy; Youth Visions, completed in 2008 in Northeastern Ghana, West Africa; Triangulated City, completed in 2009 in Beirut, Lebanon. Within these diverse contexts the research questions the role of authorship when working in socially engaged practice, focusing on how practitioners can shift the focus from the artist to the body politic. Merging social engagement with a site-responsive approach, the research proposes that the artistic medium is the social system and as such argues that the modes of employment require a focus of appreciation on the generative process, context and product combined. The research is presented in two parts. Part I is an interactive DVD with images of the development process and final presentations as well as a video of each performance work. Part II is a written thesis that explores the modes of engagement, outlines the methods of development and structures a general working methodology that can be referenced by other performance practitioners. The thesis proposes Applied Live Art as a term to describe practices that include a hybrid of time-based media options, which include a social component as their primary focus. The research outcomes conclude with an analysis of place making and its importance when working with both site and society.

Magister Curationis - MCur / Service-learning (SL) is regarded as a teaching and learning method combining community participation with content-based class discussion and reflection. It involves a teaching and learning assessment process with community members. It therefore combines theory-based knowledge learnt at a Higher Education Institution (HEI) and the learning experiences produced through community engagement. National guidelines developed by the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) are available for higher education to institutionalise service-learning (SL) in South African HEIs, but widespread inconsistencies with the implementation of these guidelines have been reported. This thesis is informed by a previous study conducted at an HEI in Western Cape that identified constraining factors required to institutionalisation SL within an academic programme. The aim of this study was to determine the institutional support needed for embedding service-learning in nursing at a Higher Education Institution in the Western Cape. A quantitative, descriptive, cross sectional survey design was used. The study population consisted of 60 nurse educators (lecturers and clinical supervisors). All-inclusive sampling was used because of the small number in the population. All questions were statistically analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS 24) to provide descriptive statistics. The data was summarized, and the descriptive statistics were presented as frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviation.

Historically, institutions of higher education have been perceived to be isolated from the real concerns of the world. They have appeared to be ivory towers and bastions of knowledge to which mere mortals can only aspire. There is currently still a call in the South Africa for education that is relevant and applicable to the development of South Africa. Through emphasizing community engagement and implementing service learning various dynamic approaches are now being considered to link “traditional domains of foundational knowledge and professional knowledge with a new emphasis on socially responsive knowledge” (Altman in Kenny & Gallagher, 2000:1). Altman suggests that service learning links the knowledge, skills and experiences of learners in a way that enables them to act and respond to social problems and engage with communities. The aim of the research was to through an appreciative inquiry framework determine what is being done in respect to and how best to support and encourage the continued implementation of community engagement and service learning in South Africa. The research focuses on how service learning and community engagement can be made sustainable in South Africa. It identifies what service learning practices are being established by higher education institutions in South Africa following the period typified as the era of the Community Higher Education Service Partnership programme. Over a period of nine years, higher education institutions received external support from the Community Higher Education Service Partnership programme. In 2008, the Community Higher Education Service Partnership programme was transferred to the Higher Education Quality Committee and the support and funding, previously supplied by the Community Higher Education Service Partnership programme, was terminated. The research investigates how service learning and community engagement has since continued to be sustained and implemented in higher education institutions. Service learning and community engagement, as an entity, is positioned to “produce powerful transformative effects for learners, teachers, schools, universities, communities and policy-makers” (Le Grange, 2007:8). These developments in higher education serve as a backdrop for the need for transformation and change in South Africa. In response to the fundamental changes occurring in South Africa, there is an imminent need to transform the function, role and purpose of higher education institutions. The findings of the research should generate a greater understanding of the current status of service learning and community engagement in South Africa.

Over several decades, USU’s Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning (LAEP) Department and Extension specialists have engaged Utah’s rural communities through several design-based outreach activities. These activities are intended to benefit both community partners interested in learning how design can positively impact the community in tangible ways, and students, who are given the opportunity to engage with real-world projects. This study documents, evaluates, and assesses outcomes of community engagement projects undertaken by LAEP Extension to better understand the program’s impact over time and come up with approaches that will enhance the impact of future community engagement projects. This research develops a framework of indicators for assessing the impact of the selected LAEP Extension projects. Selection criteria ensures representation of an extensive array of project typologies and settings undertaken by LAEP Extension. Selected projects’ impact will be thoroughly assessed through detailed physical site examination of selected projects, administration of surveys/questionnaires/interviews with knowledgeable individuals for each project, evaluation of relevant economic data, and analysis of projects’ relationships to other local factors. Expected results include the assessment of issues related to preserving records of Extension projects, recommendations for establishing a model framework for assessing future projects’ impact, and structuring processes of documentation and evaluation for advancing research in landscape architecture, community engagement, and service-learning. It is also expected that this project will illuminate the way each project connects with Extension design engagement, subsequent project funding, and practitioner involvement. Targeted outcomes include a greater understanding of the impact of design on communities’ physical, economic, and social conditions; an increased capacity among community partners to apply design to issues that they identify in their communities; and greater collaboration between USU LAEP and Extension. Outcomes also include developing a model framework that can be used to assess, evaluate, and document the various impacts of university design engagement activities at both USU and other land grant-based design programs by evaluating past design Extension projects and future design engagement activities.

This dissertation is a presentation and defense of the idea that public philosophy is a valuable activity, and that public philosophy should be generally supported because it provides benefits to the people who engage in it, and it raises esteem for philosophy generally. Historically philosophy was, in some measure, geared more toward the general public than it is today. Examining the history of philosophy in the most general terms reveals a trend for philosophy, over time, to become less accessible to the public and more of a specialized and professional practice. Philosophy is an activity that can and should provide benefits to people other than professional academic philosophers. In particular, applied philosophy is useful to other disciplines and professions. Applied philosophy is more well-known than public philosophy. Public philosophy may take two forms. There is public philosophy created for the public by public intellectuals. There is also a less well-known variant, philosophy by the public, which allows non-philosophers to participate in philosophical reflection and discussion in public philosophy programs. Public philosophy programs are an innovative way to revive the practice of philosophy as a way for ordinary people to improve their everyday lives. Public philosophy programs benefit individuals as well as their communities. / acase@tulane.edu

A growing body of research demonstrates the links between parental involvement and students' outcomes. Some benefits of this involvement include improved academic achievement, higher grades, increased attendance, and better social skills (Henderson & Mapp, 2002; Sui-Chu & Willms, 1996; Dryfoos & Knauer, 2004; Coalition for Community Schools, 2003). Despite these benefits, many educators report challenges in engaging parents and community members within the school. The purpose of the research was to explore the processes two school staffs used to facilitate community engagement by utilizing community education practices and, within each individual site, compare to any increase in community engagement at the school. <p>Over the 2006-2007 school year, the researcher spent time connecting with staff members and parents at two schools a suburban elementary school, and an inner-city community school. Through observation, interviews with administrators, focus groups with parents, and focus groups with staff members, the researcher obtained information regarding staff members growth in community engagement, development of community education practices, and the impact of those practices on community engagement in the school. Through analysis of the data, the researcher identified themes, conditions for community engagement, and promising community education practices. <p>Data from observation, focus groups, and interviews demonstrated the importance of leadership, developing relationships with parents, creating a welcoming school environment, focusing staff development on community education, and creating opportunities for staff members and community members to come together, for community engagement to be successful. The research captured the importance of making beliefs and assumptions explicit, and identified how these beliefs can be helpful or harmful in engaging youth, families, and community members. The research study demonstrated that as staff members at Eagle Point School and Sunrise Community School increased their level of understanding of community education and created community education practices, they experienced greater community engagement in their respective schools.