Physical inactivity is a leading cause of death worldwide and contributes significantly to the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Physical inactivity has become a global pandemic with the highest prevalence in the region of the Americas. There is strong evidence on the effectiveness of community-based PA interventions, including behavioral and social interventions, campaigns and informational approaches, and policy and environmental modifications to increase physical activity at the population level. The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the impact of two types of community-based interventions to promote leisure-time physical activity using public spaces and their applicability and transferability from the Latin American to the US context. Specifically, three programs were examined: (1) Atlanta Streets Alive (ASA) (the Open Streets initiative inspired by the Bogota Ciclovia, hosted in the city of Atlanta, Georgia, US); (2) the Bogota Recreovia (free PA classes in community settings in the city of Bogota, Colombia); and, (3) Academia Fit (the PA-classes in community settings program adapted from the Brazilian ACP for Latino Communities in San Diego, California, US). This dissertation shows different assessment approaches including a descriptive study, a pre-post natural experiment with multiple control groups, and a translation and implementation study using an evidence-based approach such as the RE-AIM framework. Some of the overall findings include: community-based interventions implemented in public spaces such as Open Streets and PA-classes are promising for increasing moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) on leisure-time within the communities where they are implemented. Besides, these interventions are effective to reach vulnerable populations including low income, women and ethnic minorities such as Hispanics in the US. Finally, the implementation of an Open Streets initiative and a free PA-classes program was feasible (applicable) in Atlanta, GA, in the US and San Diego, CA, respectively.

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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.

Community-based conservation includes natural resource or biodiversity protection by, for and with the local community. However, surprisingly little is known about what enables community-based conservation. The aim of this research was to explore and identify potential motivations of a community-based organization in choosing, in this case, conservation of endangered olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) as their flagship project. Samudram Women’s Federation, a State-level organization working with small-scale fishing communities in Odisha, India, was used as a case to explore questions around collective action for communitybased conservation. Using qualitative methodologies, the study analyzed how the interactions and interests of multiple actors shaped the goals and activities for the conservation initiative. Government prohibition of killing turtles, or any other single factor, could not explain conservation behavior. Rather, many complementary factors (economic, political, environmental, social cultural and spiritual) enabled and/or motivated community conservation and environment / February 2016

As the U.S. population ages, there is a significant increase in functional impairment, chronic conditions and other age related health concerns. In later life, functional limitations and poor quality of health often lead to the utilization of skilled nursing care in institutional settings. However, older adults often report the desire to age in place even when experiencing health challenges. Therefore, identifying ways to promote aging in place at home as a long-term care option could enhance quality of life. The objective of the study is to examine the impact of home modification and other home and community-based services on the ability of Black older adults to age in place in comparison to Whites. The study utilizes administrative data from the Georgia Money Follows the Person program. The results indicate that race, the use of financial support and the utilization of many services were significant in attaining success in the MFP program.

Domestic violence (DV) affects communities across a variety of nations and cultures, at significant physical, psychological, and economic costs to families. In the United States Latino families affected by DV often face unique challenges influenced by changing ecologies and personal as well as political histories. Peer-led workshops are one way for communities to disseminate information about social issues like DV in a culturally relevant manner, and they have the potential to promote capacity for addressing DV within communities. The impact of peer-led DV was examined using an embedded mixed-method design, where participant feedback collected throughout the study served to enhance the nonequivalent control group survey portion of the study. It was hypothesized that sense of community would moderate the relationship between workshop participation and capacity measures of knowledge, communication, and identification with Latina community leaders. Data screening and linear regression found no effects of workshop participation for knowledge and communication. A linear regression supported the hypothesized workshop by sense of community interaction effect, where individuals with higher sense of community were more likely to connect with workshop leaders in the workshop condition. Themes that emerged from the analysis of qualitative data from individual questionnaires, researcher notes, and a group interview were: (1) connection to the larger community organization, (2) family communication about domestic violence, (3) interest in support for Latino youth and (4) community leader’s testimonies of their own experiences of violence. Together, quantitative and qualitative findings lend weight to the notion that peer interventionists can establish meaningful connections and trust with community members based on their own lived experiences. Further research is needed to link this strength in a peer-led DV program to gains in capacity domains like knowledge. Overall, the results of this study extend research on cultural specific DV community programs and provide recommendations for community organizations seeking to evaluate community-based programs.

This thesis discusses how the restructuring of the UK television industry in the 1980s and 1990s has affected learning and skills development in the sector. It is based on 71 semi-structured interviews with television freelancers and key informants in the industry, and a case study of a small regional independent company developed through semi-structured interviews and three months of participant observation. To investigate the current learning and skills development mechanisms, this thesis engages with community-based learning theories. These are discussed in relation to industry characteristics such as commissioning and independent production and labour market realities related to freelance work and educational provision. The findings reveal that the traditional on the job learning mechanisms within communities of practice are challenged under the new structural context characterised by unrestricted entry and progression and short-term projects within an uncertain employment context. Commercial pressures affect both the access to learning opportunities and the learning experience, mainly because of the lack of legitimate and gradual experiential learning possibilities, short-term involvement in the industry under pressures to perform. The thesis also discusses the realities of the work in a small regional independent production company as well as its benefits and limitations as a venue for community-based learning. This thesis concludes with several policy recommendations which address some of the main challenges to the sustainable skills development in UK television. These recommendations subscribe to the need for introducing legitimate traineeships, entry rules and detaching learning from the commercial pressures in the sector.

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

The research and analysis of Capitalism, The Reproduction of Racial Difference in American Education, and Black Student Resistance comes from my experiences working for a dropout prevention nonprofit organization in Title 1 public schools with Black middle school and high school students. I observed many conflicts between Black students and school staff that were resolved by convincing students that the cultural norms and rules of the school system were objective and morally right, and therefore Black students needed to accept and obey them. From these interactions, I could see that more than academic skills were being taught in schools. The messages of success being proposed were exerting violence on the mind, body, and spirit of Black youth. I could also see that many of the ways that Black students expressed themselves in schools was not rooted in defiance or an inability to obey but in protest to the socialization that was being imposed on them. My observations of Black students reactions to school culture and the insistence on achievement has fueled my work.