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Despite the decline in homicide rates over the last twenty years, youth violence remains a significant public health issue which disproportionately affects young people of color and is often found at higher rates in urban, disadvantaged neighborhoods. To advance prevention efforts it is important to consider factors beyond the individual such as neighborhood and societal factors that influence youth development. Furthermore, input on neighborhood level factors from members of communities that experience high rates of youth violence can provide unique insight into community life and culture as well as engage communities in prevention efforts. The purpose of this project was to demonstrate a measurement development process that includes community participation and through that process, establish a measure that captures neighborhood social processes that may influence youth behavior as a local urban, disadvantaged community has described them. Previous community based participatory research (CBPR) efforts have identified a concept "neighborhood youth support" as important to youth violence prevention. Guided by principles of CBPR, the current study employed a mixed methods design to develop a measure of this concept. Results of a comprehensive review of social support concepts were used to identify constructs, measures and quality of the measures for the purpose of operationalizing "neighborhood youth support". Next a draft instrument and instructions for the instrument were created. This instrument was then assessed for content validity using a participatory research approach that engaged a community expert panel to review, revise and approve the final instrument for testing in the community. The measure was piloted with a convenience sample of community residents (N=65) and subsequently analyzed for internal consistency reliability and construct validity. Eleven community members and three academic researchers participated on the panel. The final measure consisted of 25 questions in five sub-scales: leadership, respect, intervening in negative behavior, adult presence, and active engagement in positive behavior. Results showed the individual scales to be internally consistent (alpha .626-.783). Principal axis factoring concluded that three of the five scales were measuring one domain while two others were not as clear. Spearman correlations showed moderate to strong positive correlations between these scales and already established scales thought to work similarly as the new scales. Results showed that the measure had good internal consistency and behaved as predicted in comparison to previously validated measures. Moreover, it was established that partnering with community members in measurement development is feasible. This study will help to inform future participatory projects by providing community and academic partnerships with a process for including community voice in measurement development. Finally, the results of this study could help future prevention efforts by providing academic and community researchers with a more nuanced measurement tool and a better understanding of community social processes. / Public Health

There is a call for occupational therapists to extend their practice from correctional institutions to community settings with people who have been incarcerated; an emerging area of occupational therapy (OT) practice. However, with no published studies from the perspective of therapists in emerging settings, understanding the nature of emerging OT practice with people who have been incarcerated becomes problematic. Limited information about community integration makes it difficult to fill practice gaps and adhere to principles of evidence-based practice (EBP). Simultaneously, men with a criminal record experience stigma and exclusion from participation in everyday life extending well-beyond the completion of their sentence. Often denied a voice by people who control the media, correctional policies or political discussion about crime in the community, overcoming stereotypes of deviant, violent or aggressive criminals is difficult. The results of a participatory action research (PAR) project completed by men with a criminal record and a critical, first-person account about emerging OT practice from the perspective of a registered occupational therapist are presented. Through Photovoice, co-researchers collected and analyzed photographs during group sessions that were audio recorded, transcribed, analyzed and summarized by the primary author. Summaries contributed to critical dialogue with the co-researchers throughout the collection, analysis and, writing stages. ‘The cards you are dealt’ emerged as a metaphor depicting everyday life as a strategic game played with cards specific to a person’s social location. Co-researchers shared their individual and collective narratives through various knowledge dissemination methods. Documenting narratives from the perspective of men with a criminal record counteracts status quo understandings of community re-entry, creating space for marginalized populations to share stories that might otherwise be lost. Autoethnography, a post-modern, interpretive approach to research explores the meaning of emerging OT practice with criminalized men. Data were collected through reflective journaling and clinical process notes that upon review, guided systematic reflections required to write and re-write an analytical narrative of key experiences. Role-emerging placements were found to influence the chosen emerging setting. Preliminary insights about the role of evidence-based practice and advocacy work in supporting emerging OT practice is presented. Where occupation-focused research and regulatory body support remains limited, autoethnography contributes to professional development and the identification of knowledge gaps. Together, this thesis contributes to knowledge about: (1) emerging OT practice with men transitioning to the community post-incarceration; (2) daily life/community integration from the perspective of criminalized men in the community; (3) tensions in emerging OT practice; and (4) insights about the nature of anti-oppressive OT practice. / Thesis / Master of Science Rehabilitation Science (MSc) / This master’s thesis focuses on role-emerging occupational therapy (OT) practice with men with a criminal record. As a registered occupational therapist working with co-researchers with lived experience of incarceration, we completed a research project using photography to create and share narratives about community reintegration. The men generated a research question, collected data (photographs), completed data analysis as a group, disseminated knowledge and contributed to the publishing process as co-authors. A shared metaphor increased understanding about socio-political factors that impact community integration for men with a criminal record. Because emerging settings have been primarily explored as an educational tool for OT students, the role of evidence-based practice, advocacy and the potential of emerging OT practice with criminalized men adds a critical narrative from the perspective of a registered occupational therapist. Autoethnography is used as a method of research and professional development. Therefore, this thesis adds to the limited information about emerging OT practice with men transitioning to the community post-incarceration, tensions in emerging practice, community integration from the perspective of men with lived experience of incarceration and provides preliminary insights into the concepts of anti-oppressive OT practice.

Geodiversity describes the abiotic features and processes on Earth. Understanding an area's geodiversity is essential for a complete conservation management plan. To better evaluate geodiversity for conservation purposes, understanding an individual's perception of place and environmental values gives land managers the ability to assess the significance of local abiotic resources. Here, I present a novel approach to understanding geodiversity values through public participatory mapping in Grayson County, Virginia. Objectives of this research were to: 1) map and model geodiversity using lithology, topography, hydrology, and microclimatic data; 2) design and implement a survey on geodiversity values and the perception of geodiversity using public-participatory mapping and Likert style surveys; and 3) use the survey results to integrate geodiversity values with a geodiversity index value to create a geodiversity-geosystem services hotspot map. Results from the geodiversity map show that there is higher geodiversity along the ridges in elevated mountainous areas, especially in the Buck Mountain region. A total of n=30 participants were surveyed, and 318 geodiversity value markers were collected from 10 different geoservices categories. Top three values identified were aesthetic (32%), artistic (22%), and educational (15%). Major findings of this study were 1) Aesthetic values are most commonly identified by respondents 2.) Geodiversity values were clustered around population centers and currently protected areas 3.) Geodiversity scores contrast the survey values. This research supports the need for a more holistic conservation plan that considers abiotic features, place values, and sense of place, to better understand the relationship people have to the abiotic environment. / Master of Science / All of earth's materials (rocks, fossils, minerals, soils), landforms, and processes make up the planet's geodiversity. Various landscapes have different geodiversity elements, and it is possible to quantify them as to compare their importance. One way to compare geodiversity's importance is to calculate the value of the resources we use, and the feelings or knowledge we obtain from them. These generated values are called geosystem services. Knowing where high geodiversity exists on the landscape, and places people value for its geosystem services, it is possible to create a conservation plan that will help protect places that are meaningful. Grayson County, Virginia is an excellent place to study these relationships due to its varying topography of large mountains, rolling hills, and rivers along with its unique land-use history. To identify geodiversity, I created a geodiversity map using geomorphic, geologic, hydrogeologic, soil, and climate data. To understand places where Grayson County locals value geodiversity, I surveyed 30 people using online public participatory mapping and descriptive surveys to map data points for 10 distinct geosystem services. I then compared both maps to generate values that allowed me to understand which marked locations had high geodiversity and were significant culturally and generated a geodiversity-geosystem services hotspot map. Results show that aesthetic, artistic, educational values were most selected by participants. Geodiversity values were clustered around population centers and currently protected areas. Finally, the geodiversity-geosystem services hotspot map showed that potential conservation areas should take place around Grayson Highlands State Park, and Fries, Virginia, and lesser priority near Mouth of Wilson, and Independence, Virginia.

This research is an evaluation of the addition of a citizen involvement process that has come to be known as "visioning" or "community visioning" to the traditional process of developing a state's transportation plan, a process which has typically been very much an in-government and esoteric province of professionals in transportation planning. The research specifically focuses on the Commonwealth of Virginia and its addition of three citizen participation components the Commonwealth labeled "community visioning" to the traditional transportation planning process. The research examines the three components of "community visioning" with regard to: (1) their impact on the state's transportation plan (VTrans2025); (2) the degree to which they met the expectations of the regulations and best practices requirements of federal oversight; (3) the degree to which they met the expectations of the advocates of visioning and of more "democratic participation" in pubic administrative and policy processes; and (4) the degree to which they could affect the final outcome of transportation policy. Visioning is a relatively new approach to citizen involvement in the planning process. It places the citizen involvement at the beginning of the process instead of the end. Visioning asks citizens key questions about what they envision as a positive future for their community. The purpose or goal of this new visioning is to have the final plans reflect the vision drawn from the citizens and public officials and reached through consensus. This dissertation determined that Virginia put forth a good faith effort to involve citizens of the Commonwealth. Collectively, the citizen involvement activities in VA’s visioning process were reasonable and meaningful. Additionally, Virginia’s vision statement was heavily influenced by the citizen participation activities. However, there are three aspects of Virginia’s vision that are troubling from an implementation standpoint. In short, this dissertation found that the vision is what the people want, but the comprehensive plan does not tell the citizens how the Commonwealth intends on achieving that vision. / Ph. D.

International development has been a central aspect of foreign policy from the "developed" to the "less-developed" world for more than fifty years. Despite several trillions of dollars being spent for the ambiguous purpose that is "development," poverty and suffering have yet to be eliminated. With this being the case, existing institutions and processes that are part of "development" need to be analyzed, and the voices of those who are supposedly being helped, heretofore marginalized, need to be accessed in order to find where the fault lies so that it may be addressed. The present study assessed the opinions of a rural community in Nicaragua being served by a small US-based NGO on issues of development, participation, and healthcare. This was done through interviewing members of the organization and, mainly, through both surveying and interviewing members of the recipient community. Findings show that most of the people in this community very much want to be "developed," and that they are appreciative of any help that they receive. / Master of Science

Participatory ergonomics (PE) is a macroergonomics approach in which the end-users actively participate in developing and implementing the technology. PE can be an effective method for involving front-line workers in analyzing and redesigning their own jobs. PE can be used at the macro-level, the micro-level, or somewhere in between. At the macro-level, the focus of the PE program is across an entire organization or work system. At the micro-level, the focus of a PE approach is on a particular task, workstation, or product. A major benefit for using PE is that workers are more likely to accept changes to their job if they participate in the redesign. Furthermore, workers' motivation, job satisfaction, and knowledge are enhanced through the participatory process. There are many case studies that describe successful PE approaches. These studies, however, lack a control group or comparison group and so changes in the workplace (e.g., a reduction of musculoskeletal injury) cannot be attributed directly to the interventions resulting from the PE program with certainty. Quantifying the effects of PE is difficult because of problems in trying to isolate variables. Confounding variables are often difficult to contain. This study quantified some of the effects of PE by utilizing a controlled experimental design in the laboratory in which participants analyzed and redesigned a manual material handling job. The effects of this PE approach were quantified by measuring a reduction of risk factors associated with the job and by measuring a lift index of the lifting task that indicates a risk for injury. Many authors state or infer that some degree of ergonomics training should be given to the participants in a PE approach. However, the effects of providing ergonomics training to participants in these types of participatory approaches are unclear. This research evaluates the effects of providing the participants with basic ergonomics instruction relevant to the job being evaluated and redesigned. Also, this research suggests if the NIOSH lifting equation can be an effective tool in a participatory ergonomics approach in the redesign of a manual material handling job that involves lifting tasks. A 2-factor, between-subjects design was used. Participants consisted of 32 volunteers (16 males and 16 females). Only individuals that have had no prior ergonomics knowledge were considered for the subject pool. Participants performed a simulated manual material handling job in the laboratory. After performing the job, some subjects were given ergonomics training and/or instructed on how to use the NIOSH lifting equation for manual lifting tasks. The participants were then asked to redesign the original job. The participants' redesigns were compared to the redesigns of the control subjects (who received no ergonomics instruction and did not use the NIOSH lifting equation). The subjects who received the ergonomics instruction identified significantly more risk factors in the original job and eliminated significantly more risk factors in the redesign than the control subjects. The subjects who learned and used the NIOSH lifting equation also identified significantly more risk factors in the original job but did not eliminate significantly more risk factors in the redesign. The subjects who received the ergonomics instruction and who used the NIOSH lifting equation were not shown to have an advantage over the subjects who received the ergonomics instruction alone. The group that received the ergonomics training performed optimally with respect to the other experimental groups. Implications for participatory ergonomics approaches are discussed. / Master of Science

Yes / This chapter considers the adaptations which may need to be made to participatory video in order for it to be accessible to people whose marginalized status stems from a label of 'disability', whether this is physical, sensory or cognitive. To date there has been an ill fit between the emancipatory principles of participatory video, and the technical rationality (Schön, 1996) and hypercognitivity (Post, 2000) of its methods. Because participatory video is intended to enable marginalized, socially excluded and unheard groups of people to make films which reflect their own interests and concerns (Robertson & Shaw, 1997), adaptations to allow people with disabilities to take part would appear vital from an ethical point of view. Yet ethical issues in general do not appear to have been given sufficient consideration in the participatory video literature to date, and there is little evidence of engagement with emergent areas of debate such as the ethics of visual research (Prosser, 2008) and the importance of working in solidarity with people with reduced or fluctuating mental capacity (Nuffield Council for Bioethics, 2009).

This paper discusses the exploratory process of making a short digital film with two women with early-onset dementia in a day care setting. The film was produced as part of a larger participatory video (PV) pilot project within the day centre. My main subject here is the adaptations to the standard PV process which I made in order for the two women, Pam and Carol*, to be able to take active part. These adjustments took account of their individual abilities related to cognition, physical mobility and social confidence. I discuss the development of an asynchronous approach, which involved my going out into the local community to capture images of Leeds City Market using a mini-camcorder (Flipcam) and the subsequent addition, at the day centre, of voice-over commentary by the two women in response to the visual images they saw on screen. Extracts from their film narrative presented here suggest that participation in the film-making process helped to reconstruct their sense of cultural identity and social engagement. The resulting short film is now being disseminated to Dementia Studies degree students by way of their social networking site.

Environmental justice communities, those disproportionately affected by pollutants, are simultaneously exposed to multiple environmental stressors and also experience social and cultural factors that may heighten their health risks in comparison to other communities. In addition to being more susceptible to toxic exposures and being exposed to more toxins, such communities may have weakened abilities to combat or rebound from such exposures. Many communities that are overburdened by environmental exposures reject traditional risk assessment approaches that solely consider the effects of single chemicals or mixtures of like chemicals and instead have advocated for the use of place-based approaches and collaborative problem solving models that consider cumulative exposures and impacts. Cumulative risks are the combined risks from aggregate exposures to multiple agents or stressors, including chemical, biological or physical agents and psychosocial stressors. This dissertation adapts three research approaches that each use either publicly available data (“expert” data) or community-generated data about environmental and social factors in Northwest Atlanta’s Proctor Creek Watershed. Through this work, we were able to define cumulative environmental and social impacts experienced by watershed residents and to prioritize geographic areas and environmental challenges for investments in environmental monitoring and further research, community capacity-building, and policy change. A principal finding of the study is that local community knowledge is helpful to fill critical gaps about local conditions and pollution sources than a reliance on expert data alone.