8224 research outputs found
Sort by
Huggins High School: Dreaming of Black Educational Futures
Get PDFTwo parallel arcs tell the story of Ericka Huggins High School’s present and history. In present-day 2030, the reader follows a day in the life of Daisia, an 11th grader at Huggins, as she negotiates themes around love and community. The story flashes back to 2026, when six Gen-Zers start a coalition. They dream up a high school for the Black youth in their midsize city, Lafayette. Over the course of eight months, they collaborate to apply for a new seed grant, funded by the Harris administration, that supports educators of color to create innovative high school equivalency programs in their communities
Data Rap Research: Using Hip Hop for Critical Inquiry
Get PDFThis track introduces a culturally relevant methodology that can aid qualitative researchers in analyzing hip-hop data while maintaining cultural integrity. The author employs a self-designed hip-hop methodology called Blackout Rap Transcription (BRT) to critically examine rap songs written by 300 middle school student participants. This methodology was designed by employing the hip-hop aesthetic of sampling and draws from: Poetic Transcription, Critical Hermeneutic Phenomenology, Grounded Theory, and Blackout Poetic Transcription. The track details how Blackout Rap Transcription is a culturally relevant way to conduct hip-hop-based research
Why Would an Employee Quiet Quit?
Get PDFAs an African American woman with a career in a white-male-dominated environment, I experience quiet quitting daily. I am forced to feel as if I were hired to satisfy diversity, equity, and inclusion needs. To study organizational culture, work–life balance, and employee happiness, I synthesized, critically appraised, and examined 15 scholarly articles through the lens of Maslow’s 1943 hierarchy of needs, a psychology-based motivational theory. This study’s results may persuade leadership to self-examine leadership style, which can influence organizational culture, communication with project teams, prioritizing time and tasks, employee health, and ultimately, turnover rate. In addition, I interviewed an African American nutritionist who works with African American women and stresses the importance of work–life balance and the power we hold in managing our own well-being
Categories Are Made to Be Broken: Uncovering Strategies and Pedagogies of BlaQueer Resistance
Get PDFThis article explores the liberatory praxis and spaces of BlaQueer (Black & Queer) and Trans communities, focusing on educational settings that promote the rights and well-being of Black LGBTQ+ people and how these BlaQueer/Trans educational projects disrupt asymmetrical citizenship and violence. The analysis of BlaQueer/Trans educational projects, ranging from ballroom houses to community-based education programs, reveals core competencies that align with human rights education (HRE) and principles of ballroom culture. These include critical thinking and analysis of power structures and embodied resistance pedagogies that interrogate identity and unequal citizenship while building power to dismantle interlocking oppressive systems. The article contends that these BlaQueer/Trans educational projects exemplify quintessential forms of transformative human rights education, linking intersectional analysis to personal and societal transformative action
Healthy Bytes: Enhancing Health Literacy in Older Adults Through Technology Services
Get PDFThis quality improvement project aimed to enhance health literacy among senior residents through interactive technology workshops. Aim During a twelve-week period from January 22, 2025, to March 31, 2025, this project aimed to increase technology proficiency among senior residents from 0% to 75%. Methods A 5P Microsystem assessment and preliminary survey revealed residents\u27 interest in technology workshops. Based on this feedback technology workshops were implemented once a week for a twelve-week period. Each session provided one on one support to help residents navigate online health portals, communicate with providers, and interpret health information. A SWOT analysis and Fishbone analysis were completed to identify success and areas of growth through the duration of the project. Success was also measured with pre and post surveys assessing participants confidence using technology. Data from these surveys were analyzed to track progress and identify improvement areas while ongoing feedback was used to adjust the program to meet the residents needs. Lastly, a PDSA was implemented to assess the change through the technology workshops. Results At the end of the twelve-week program 66.7% of the participants felt more comfortable accessing health information after the workshops while 100% of participants felt more confident using technology after the workshops. Conclusion The workshops at Facility A were successful, with 100% of participants reporting increased comfort and confidence after attending. However, a significant challenge was the lack of consistent resident participation, despite the demonstrated need for technology workshops
A Roadmap for Greywater Reuse at the University of San Francisco Hilltop Campus: A Financial, Regulatory, and Technical Feasibility Study
Get PDFAbstract
Water scarcity is increasing in California, so we need strategies to reduce potable water demand. Decentralized greywater systems offer promising solutions to this problem. This study provides a roadmap for successfully implementing greywater reuse at the University of San Francisco (USF) by addressing financial, technical, and regulatory considerations. By deploying a mixed-methods approach that combines qualitative expert interviews and quantitative water usage analysis, policy review, cost analysis, and case studies, this study established USF’s annual recycled water demand as 8 million gallons, with two primary uses: irrigation, which accounts for 67% of the demand, and toilet-urinal flushing, which represents 33% of the remaining. A cost analysis of three greywater technologies (i.e., Constructed Wetlands, Membrane Bioreactors, and Living Machines) revealed that the constructed wetland project alternative CW2 was the most economically feasible option, offering a unit cost of 5,100/AF. SFPUC’s Onsite Water Reuse Grant Program and CSWRCB’s Water Recycling Funding Program can minimize the economic burden, while clear documentation and early engagement with permitting agencies can help reduce permitting delays. Technical feasibility is achieved through a phased approach beginning with a pilot irrigation project before expanding to toilet-urinal flushing. Advanced filtration & disinfection will minimize clogging, microbial regrowth & fouling as automating disinfection helps to avoid over and under chlorination further making the project more technically feasible. Adopting these strategies provides the roadmap for advancing USF’s sustainable water management goals while contributing to California’s ambitious water recycling goals
RISK ALLOCATION IN POWER PURCHASING AGREEMENTS (PPAs): IMPLICATION FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT IN EMERGING MARKETS
No full textEnergy poverty persists as a critical challenge in Emerging Market and Developing Economies (EMDEs). Despite the urgent imperative to electrify these nations, investment in the deployment of renewable energy projects remains comparatively low, a phenomenon reflected in risk allocation within Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). The prevailing explanations for this trend often cite a scarcity of bankable projects, inconsistent political commitment, and regulatory frameworks in power markets that fail to adequately address the fundamental factors hindering investor confidence. To gain deeper insights, we utilized data from surveys and interviews conducted with industry stakeholders to identify the primary risk factors encountered within EMDEs. Complementarily, data from the World Bank\u27s UPBEAT (Interactive utility data platform) database was employed to analyze the correlation between these identified risks and the specific contexts of EMDEs. Our research findings indicate that currency mismatch and off-taker payment risk constitute the major risk components embedded within Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), significantly contributing to reduced financial commitments for clean energy projects in EMDEs. Alarmingly, over 50 utilities within these countries were found to be operating at negative net profit margins, struggling to service debts denominated in hard currencies. This precarious financial situation is often attributable to challenges in revenue collection, substantial transmission and distribution (T&D) losses, and the economic impacts of energy curtailment. Several solutions and opportunities are emerging to mitigate these challenges. The strategic deployment of financial instruments such as partial risk guarantees and blended finance, alongside the trend towards market decentralization, is enabling growth in the renewable energy sector within EMDEs. Notwithstanding these positive developments, utilities in these countries, acting as principal off-takers, will need to implement more robust operational, commercial, and technical innovations to effectively reduce existing losses. Concurrently, the wider adoption of hedging solutions and the expansion of local currency financing options are crucial to diminishing financial risks. The synergistic implementation of these actions promises to yield significant economic, social, and technological benefits for all stakeholders involved in the energy transition within EMDEs
From Surviving to Thriving: The Oxygen Mask Approach for Middle Management
No full textProblem: Middle managers in healthcare experience high levels of stress, heavy workloads, and burnout. At a large medical center in Northern California, middle managers reported low perceptions of organizational support for well-being despite an abundance of available resources.
Context: Baseline data indicated a perceived support score of 6.5 out of 10 on the Employee Interest Survey and a People Pulse Culture of Health score of 60 for assistant nurse managers (ANMs), both below regional benchmarks. These findings suggested inadequate engagement with organizational well-being resources.
Interventions: A six-month performance improvement initiative, guided by the ADKAR change model and Lean principles, implemented two key interventions: (1) the Digital Oxygen Mask Toolkit, a centralized SharePoint site housing well-being resources, and (2) a cross-department leadership well-being committee. After two PDSA cycles, focus shifted from a broad middle-manager (macrosystem) approach to a single ANM microsystem. One-on-one engagement and rounding with ANMs supported adoption and cultural integration.
Measures: Outcomes included pre- and post-intervention Employee Interest Survey and People Pulse Culture of Health scores. Process measures evaluated toolkit usage and committee participation. Balancing measures assessed perceptions of added stress. The target outcome was to increase the Employee Interest Survey score for perceived organizational well-being support to 7.5.
Results: Perceived organizational support for well-being rose from 6.5 to 8.5 on the Employee Interest Survey, and the ANM Culture of Health score improved from 60 to 70. The well-being toolkit received 278 views from 34 users. Although initial committee participation was strong, time constraints limited sustainability. Qualitative feedback indicated that leader-to-leader conversations at the microsystem level were more effective, prompting a strategic shift toward microsystem-focused engagement.
Conclusion: Digital tools improved awareness, but relational, localized strategies proved more effective in fostering engagement and supporting leadership well-being
Mothers Who Homeschool: Experiences In Rural California
No full textThe purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of mothers who homeschool
their children in the rural location of Shasta County, California (CA). This research was
guided by three research questions: 1) In what ways is the act of homeschooling a form
of resistance to existing power structures for mothers in a rural region in CA? 2) How
does the process of providing a homeschooling education for their children influence
mothers’ perceptions of themselves as confident and capable? 3) In what ways does
homeschooling allow mothers to offer their children an educational experience which
meets their unique needs and abilities?
The findings of this study included insight as to the ways in which homeschooling
informs mothers’ sense of self, the dimensions of community in relation to schooling and
family, and how homeschooling is situated within the broader context of education in the
US. This research revealed that the process of engaging with schooling alongside
children provides a unique and empowering experience for mothers, while beliefs and
values around motherhood are largely related to the amount and quality of time spent
with children as well as the ability to nurture their interests and experiences. Discussion
of these findings is interpreted through the lens of Critical Feminist Theory, which
suggested that not all forms of feminism are necessarily liberating. The issue of parental
rights is also explored through the relationships with homeschooling mothers and a
community which has experienced significant conservative activism in recent years
