1,720,981 research outputs found
Evaluating and Strengthening Peer Learning Programs for New Farmers
No full textSSHRC PEG awarded 2019: This research project, a partnership between Young Agrarians Alberta (YA AB) and researchers from the University of Alberta, will bring together academic and practitioner knowledge and skills to build evaluation capacity and identify opportunities to strengthen and expand network-based peer learning programs that YA AB offers for new and aspiring ecological farmers in Alberta. More specifically, their research objectives are to: 1) examine network-based peer learning programs for new famers offered in Alberta and internationally; 2) build organizational evaluation capacity within YA AB, including building an organizational evaluation framework and building and testing an evaluation survey tool; 3) mobilize the research findings to both academic and general audiences, including the development of an organizational evaluation capacity building guide which will be made publicly accessible on the YA AB website. The research will also contribute more broadly to much needed understanding of the learning and social support needs of new entrants into farming, particularly those focused on ecological farming practices, and the role of network-based peer learning programs
Enhancing Child and Youth Resilience Through School-Based, Wraparound Supports
Full text linkPoverty is a critical issue in Canada that needs to be researched and addressed. Many children and youth in Canada are impacted by poverty, this is defined by both low income and social hardships. Within the school environment, children, youth, and families experiencing poverty are more likely to have different needs and may require extra support to be able to fully participate in the educational journey and experience both physical and mental well-being (Basu, 2019; Brooks-Gunn & Duncan, 1997). One way to positively influence students and their families is by providing them with collaborative support between service agencies and schools to build resilience. Resilience is a person ability to overcome and thrive from impoverished and stressful life circumstances, which is associated with the amount number of supportive individuals and social supports in their life. One example of this collaborative support model is the All in For Youth Initiative (AIFY) in Edmonton, which is providing wraparound support in schools in order to foster resilience in children and youth and to bolster their life outcomes. The AIFY initiative has been active within Edmonton schools for the last five years and has been providing support and resources to five school communities. This support is provided in order to meet families’ basic needs, increase resilience, improve educational outcomes, and for students to ultimately graduate high school. Consequently, this thesis research examined two research questions: (1) Have any changes occurred in overall resilience and academic engagement from year 3 to 4 in the three cohorts of students who have participated in AIFY? (2) What are student perceptions of the AIFY supports, resources, and personnel? In order to address these two research questions, a multiple method secondary data analysis was utilized (Creswell, 1999; Vannoy & Robins, 2011). For this multiple method approach, the first research question was addressed by the quantitative data, including the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-28) and Engagement Survey adapted from the Maryland Safe and Supportive Schools Climate Survey over the past two-years. Qualitative interview data was used to understand students’ perspectives surrounding the AIFY initiative. This study found that over the last two years both resilience and academic engagement levels remained stable. Also, this research found that the AIFY supports, resources, and personnel are positively impacting students and families lives by meeting their basic needs, improving mental health, enhancing social relations, and increasing academic focus. The insights from this study show that collaborative school partnerships that provide wraparound support are helping students and families within their daily lives and they are being positively impacted by this support model
Shaping the care they deserve: Needs, expectations and recommendations of healthcare provision at the New Canadians Health Centre for Afghan refugee women in Edmonton
Full text linkThis qualitative inquiry delved into the healthcare needs and experiences of Afghan refugee women resettled in Canada, addressing three primary research questions. Employing a community-based participatory research approach alongside qualitative narrative inquiry, the study explored the lived experiences of Afghan women refugees accessing healthcare services, at the New Canadians Health Centre (NCHC). Through focus groups with six NCHC staff and semi-structured interviews with three Afghan women clients, a nuanced understanding of their healthcare journeys emerged. The findings underscored the multifaceted nature of their experiences, tracing back to pre-migration challenges in Afghanistan, including societal constraints and disparities in healthcare access. Post-resettlement, the women navigated identity shifts, daily life adjustments, and interactions with the Canadian healthcare system, encountering both positive and challenging experiences. Access to medication and mental health support emerged as crucial post-resettlement needs, while reliance on community networks for health information persisted. Despite obstacles, Afghan refugee women demonstrated resilience and agency, advocating for their health equity. Their insights offered valuable recommendations for culturally sensitive service provision. Ultimately, this study highlighted the imperative of culturally safe healthcare practices and underscored the transformative role of community and empowerment in shaping the healthcare experiences of Afghan refugee women in Canada
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Perspectives on capacity strengthening and co-learning in communities: Experiences of an Aboriginal community-based research steering committee
Full text linkCommunity-university partnerships have become more prevalent to support community-based research, especially as a collaborative approach to research with Aboriginal Peoples in Canada. One practice is the activation of a community-based research steering committee to initiate, govern, and review research pertaining to their local community. Within literature related to community-based research, perspectives on capacity strengthening and co-learning from the members of a community-based research steering committee are under-represented. A qualitative case study approach was used to explore the research question: What are the experiences of the Alexander Research Committee (ARC) members in defining and operationalizing capacity strengthening and co-learning across multi-sectoral research projects? Nine current and past members of the ARC participated in individual semi-structured interviews and five of these ARC members also participated in a subsequent focus-group discussion. Analysis of these qualitative data indicated that foundational relationships and a conducive learning environment are key factors for a community-based research committee to experience co-constructed knowledge and learning. The findings of this study highlight the importance of an operational foundation of trusting relationships in order to establish and sustain a working environment where a community-based research committee can learn together and from each other. This study also yielded insights about how this community-based research committee predicated capacity strengthening from the understanding that ‘we are all learners’, with each member bringing forward unique strengths, questions and growth to the research processes.Graduat
Defining Post-Release Success: Perspectives of Formerly Incarcerated Women
Full text linkThe number of incarcerated women continues to rise at alarming rates, increasing the pressure on an already overcrowded prison system. Although re-integrating women back into the community post-release should be of utmost importance, literature continues to document the many needs of women exiting prison and the difficulties faced in securing support while attending to competing priorities and demands. While understanding the realities women face post-release are essential to supporting women’s transition into the community, literature seeking to understand how formerly incarcerated women define success in life after prison is limited. In its absence, recidivism remains the primary if not only measure of post-release success. Although not returning to prison is an aspect of success, it is a limited measure that does not consider definitions of success that have importance to those with lived experiences nor take into account the complex and challenging process that is community re-integration. Therefore, this thesis explores how formerly incarcerated women define success in life after prison and describes the factors that support and inhibit women from realizing their goals. In partnership with a local not-for-profit organization, a community-based participatory research approach was utilized and engaged women throughout different stages of the research. A qualitative description methodology grounded in feminist standpoint theory and intersectionality was employed. When considering community re-integration as a journey, 16 interviews were conducted with formerly incarcerated women that explored their definitions of success. While achieving post-release goals were successes described by participants, this study points to the significance of personal transformation as a key definition of success critical to leading a life characterized by new values and priorities. Success was described in the day to day as women continued to engage in life in ways that moved them forward and attended to their health holistically. The importance of robust support networks, being engaged in the community, and receiving mental and emotional health support, among others, are identified as crucial supporting factors. The barriers, the lack of available mental health support, limiting parole conditions and staff, and the lifetime impacts of incarceration are described. While women continue to define their lives outside of prison walls that reflect their current conceptualizations of success, their understandings have yet to be adopted as true indicators of success by authorities mandated with facilitating their transition post-release. Therefore, implications to practice, programming, and policies are examined that take into account women’s experiences and perspectives. In particular, the provision of mental health support, recognizing measures of success beyond outcomes, removing systemic barriers, and mobilizing the community are outlined
Psychosocial Adaptation and Integration of Syrian Refugee Communities Using Community Learning Empowerment Groups
No full textSSHRC Awarded IG 2018. The study builds on two exploratory community-based, participatory research (CBPR) projects with Syrian refugees. Guided by CBPR, and using ethnographic data collection and analysis methods, we examine the psychosocial adaption and integration of 8 diverse Syrian refugee groups using Community Learning Empowerment Groups (CLEGs) facilitated by 8 trained Syrian community leaders and 4 bi-cultural community brokers. Objectives are to (1) examine the psychosocial adaptation needs, challenges and processes of different Syrian refugee groups (e.g., women, men, youth, and seniors of diverse ethnicities and religions); (2) understand the processes involved in developing and implementing community learning empowerment groups; (3) understand how identifying and creating community-based solutions affect these groups' integration pathways; and (4) mobilize knowledge generated through the development of a resource manual to be used by Syrians and other refugee groups
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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