scholarly journals Building Evaluation Capacity in Youth-Serving Organizations Through Evaluation Advisory Boards

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 52-69
Author(s):  
Barry A. Garst ◽  
James Pann ◽  
Tiffany Berry ◽  
Gretchen Biesecker ◽  
Jason Spector ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Youth Development ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Efficient Solutions ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
After School ◽  
Data Systems ◽  
Evaluation Capacity ◽  
Organizational Evaluation ◽  
Advisory Boards ◽  
Internal Evaluators

Youth-serving organizations seek effective and cost-efficient solutions to build evidence and advance their impact. Some common challenges include choosing data systems or assessments, budgeting and planning for 3rd-party studies, and refining measurement and outcomes when programs expand or change. Evaluation advisory boards (EABs) are a low-cost solution to add evaluation capacity and can be mutually beneficial to both youth-serving organizations and evaluation experts. Previous research suggests that EABs may encourage meaningful use of data, support internal evaluators, and/or facilitate difficult conversations among stakeholders. However, there are very few examples of successful EABs in practice. This paper shares the perspectives of EAB members and organizational evaluation leaders from a large national after-school program, After-School All-Stars (ASAS), including (a) a description of the benefits of EABs, (b) how EABs may be especially helpful with the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and (c) examples of youth-serving organizations’ EABs. The experiences and lessons learned by ASAS and its EAB are generalizable to other non-profit youth development programs. Recommendations for structuring EABs based on organizational goals are provided.

Implementing the REACH after-school programme for youth in urban communities: Challenges and lessons learned

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 410-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Risto Marttinen ◽  
Ray N Fredrick ◽  
Kelly Johnston ◽  
Sharon Phillips ◽  
Debra Patterson
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Community Involvement ◽  
Community Dynamics ◽  
Comparison Method ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
After School ◽  
Educational Approach ◽  
Study Approach

This research sought to uncover challenges that arose in the implementation of the Reflective Educational Approach to Character and Health (REACH) after-school programme in a low-income public school in New York City. Additionally, we wanted to find and share some of the lessons learned, to help others avoid our pitfalls when implementing quality after-school programming. At the conclusion of the year-long REACH programme that was preceded by a year-long pilot, the lead researcher interviewed six key stakeholders: (a) the coach; (b) an academic tutor; (c) the director of REACH; (d) two after-school teachers/leaders within the school; and (e) the assistant principal of P.S. 780 (pseudonym). We employed a qualitative case study approach. Field notes from observations, researcher journals, emails, and multiple interviews were used to triangulate data. Two coders first independently coded and analyzed the data using the constant comparison method, followed by a peer reviewer to further establish credibility and trustworthiness. Three themes are presented from the data analysis: (a) bridging community dynamics and REACH; (b) needing community involvement; and (c) role modeling through cultural competence. These three themes are analyzed through a lens of culturally responsive pedagogy and a new theory of positive youth development through sport. These data present a detailed account of the implementation of a sport-based after-school programme in an urban environment. The paper presents the challenges faced in the implementation of such programmes as well as lessons learned in the process.

scholarly journals Lessons Learned from an After-School Program: Building Personal and Social Responsibility

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 162-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Nicole Ivy ◽  
K. Andrew R. Richards ◽  
Michael A. Lawson ◽  
Tania Alameda-Lawson
Keyword(s):  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Skill Development ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
After School ◽  
Life Skill ◽  
Life Skill Development ◽  
Personal And Social Responsibility ◽  
Development Outcomes

Drawing from the physical activity and positive youth development literatures, this paper describes a novel after-school effort designed to enhance youths’ life skill development outcomes across school, family, and community settings. This program, which is derived from the Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR) model, is a university-assisted effort serving 1st through 5th graders attending a low-income elementary school. As a part of this model’s approach, pre-service physical education teachers engage in a yearlong course sequence and practicum that enables them to deliver the program. University graduate students and faculty then provide ongoing support, facilitation, and training to the pre-service teachers at the same time they conduct field-based research on the effort. The preliminary data indicate that the program can successfully impact several teaching and life skill development outcomes. However, additional interventions appear to be needed to extend youths’ outcomes to settings outside of the program.

scholarly journals Design and Adoption of Low-Cost Point-of-Care Diagnostic Devices: Syrian Case

Micromachines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 882
Author(s):  
M. Munzer Alseed ◽  
Hamzah Syed ◽  
Mehmet Cengiz Onbasli ◽  
Ali K. Yetisen ◽  
Savas Tasoglu
Keyword(s):  
Civil Wars ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Efficient Solutions ◽  
Humanitarian Crises ◽  
Technology Experience ◽  
The Cost

Civil wars produce immense humanitarian crises, causing millions of individuals to seek refuge in other countries. The rate of disease prevalence has inclined among the refugees, increasing the cost of healthcare. Complex medical conditions and high numbers of patients at healthcare centers overwhelm the healthcare system and delay diagnosis and treatment. Point-of-care (PoC) testing can provide efficient solutions to high equipment cost, late diagnosis, and low accessibility of healthcare services. However, the development of PoC devices in developing countries is challenged by several barriers. Such PoC devices may not be adopted due to prejudices about new technologies and the need for special training to use some of these devices. Here, we investigated the concerns of end users regarding PoC devices by surveying healthcare workers and doctors. The tendency to adopt PoC device changes is based on demographic factors such as work sector, education, and technology experience. The most apparent concern about PoC devices was issues regarding low accuracy, according to the surveyed clinicians.

Youth Development in After-School Leisure Activities

2009 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 668-690 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise M. Wilson ◽  
Denise C. Gottfredson ◽  
Amanda B. Cross ◽  
Melissa Rorie ◽  
Nadine Connell
Keyword(s):  
Youth Development ◽  
Leisure Activities ◽  
After School

Development of a Low-Cost Insulin Infusion Pump: Lessons Learned from an Industry Case

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luiz Eduardo G. Martins ◽  
Hanniere de Faria ◽  
Lucas Vecchete ◽  
Tatiana Cunha ◽  
Tiago de Oliveira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Insulin Infusion ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Infusion Pump ◽  
Lessons Learned

scholarly journals Using Commercial Physical Activity Trackers for Health Promotion Research: Four Case Studies

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 381-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabrielle Turner-McGrievy ◽  
Danielle E. Jake-Schoffman ◽  
Camelia Singletary ◽  
Marquivieus Wright ◽  
Anthony Crimarco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Sensewear Armband ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Activity Trackers ◽  
Tracking Devices

Background. Wearable physical activity (PA) trackers are becoming increasingly popular for intervention and assessment in health promotion research and practice. The purpose of this article is to present lessons learned from four studies that used commercial PA tracking devices for PA intervention or assessment, present issues encountered with their use, and provide guidelines for determining which tools to use. Method. Four case studies are presented that used PA tracking devices (iBitz, Zamzee, FitBit Flex and Zip, Omron Digital Pedometer, Sensewear Armband, and MisFit Flash) in the field—two used the tools for intervention and two used the tools as assessment methods. Results. The four studies presented had varying levels of success with using PA devices and experienced several issues that impacted their studies, such as companies that went out of business, missing data, and lost devices. Percentage ranges for devices that were lost were 0% to 29% and was 0% to 87% for those devices that malfunctioned or lost data. Conclusions. There is a need for low-cost, easy-to-use, accurate PA tracking devices to use as both intervention and assessment tools in health promotion research related to PA.

They #Woke: How Black Students in an After-School Community-Based Program Manifest Critical Consciousness

2021 ◽  
Vol 123 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-38
Author(s):  
V. Thandi Sulé ◽  
Michelle Nelson ◽  
Tiffany Williams
Keyword(s):  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Black Students ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Critical Consciousness ◽  
Black People ◽  
Black Youth ◽  
Black Americans ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
After School ◽  
Community Based

Background/Context Though Black Americans have long suffered under racial tyranny, they have made valiant efforts to subvert policies and practices that encroach on their humanity. Nevertheless, systemic racism has been virtually unyielding—creating both racial hierarchies and disparities in access to resources and wellness. Programs designed to address the condition of Black people, particularly Black youth, often employ deficit or dysfunctional logic, thereby ignoring the sociohistorical context in which Black youth navigate. Furthermore, not enough attention is given to the ways that culturally centered approaches ignite critical consciousness among Black youth in ways that are aligned with the tradition of the Black American abolitionist mindset. Purpose We build on the discourse on community-based youth programs and critical consciousness development by using frameworks that elevate race and culture in analyzing how Black youth make sense of their racialized experiences. Additionally, our explication challenges the overriding deficit focus of Black youth experiences within and outside school contexts by providing a nuanced view of Black youth agency. Research Design With critical race theory as the epistemic foundation, this study sought to foreground counternarratives among youth participants of a culturally centered, community-based program. Thus, we used semistructured interviews as our primary data source. Using a three-stage analytical process, we sought to understand if and how critical consciousness manifests within this youth community. Conclusions/Recommendations The study demonstrates the value of foregrounding African American culture and history to fortify the values of collectivism, self-determination, purpose, responsibility, empowerment, creativity, and faith among Black youth. The authors propose that educators collaborate with community-based Black culture and youth development experts to support dialogical, student-centered spaces that impart culturally centered knowledge about Black Americans. Furthermore, the authors advocate for professional development in asset-based pedagogies as a means to enhance belongingness among Black students.

scholarly journals Hobbit: Providing Fall Detection and Prevention for the Elderly in the Real World

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Bajones ◽  
David Fischinger ◽  
Astrid Weiss ◽  
Daniel Wolf ◽  
Markus Vincze ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Independent Living ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Fall Detection ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Service Robot ◽  
Emergency Situations

We present the robot developed within the Hobbit project, a socially assistive service robot aiming at the challenge of enabling prolonged independent living of elderly people in their own homes. We present the second prototype (Hobbit PT2) in terms of hardware and functionality improvements following first user studies. Our main contribution lies within the description of all components developed within the Hobbit project, leading to autonomous operation of 371 days during field trials in Austria, Greece, and Sweden. In these field trials, we studied how 18 elderly users (aged 75 years and older) lived with the autonomously interacting service robot over multiple weeks. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time a multifunctional, low-cost service robot equipped with a manipulator was studied and evaluated for several weeks under real-world conditions. We show that Hobbit’s adaptive approach towards the user increasingly eased the interaction between the users and Hobbit. We provide lessons learned regarding the need for adaptive behavior coordination, support during emergency situations, and clear communication of robotic actions and their consequences for fellow researchers who are developing an autonomous, low-cost service robot designed to interact with their users in domestic contexts. Our trials show the necessity to move out into actual user homes, as only there can we encounter issues such as misinterpretation of actions during unscripted human-robot interaction.

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