The Role of Framing and Strategic Communication in Policy Publications on Family Poverty and Economic Security

Little, Olivia M The University of Wisconsin - Madison 2015 해외박사(DDOD)

Family poverty and economic security are long-standing, elusive social policy issues. Volumes of academic research have been devoted to understanding the causes and consequences of poverty. Comparatively little research is dedicated to understanding how this information could be more effectively communicated to policy audiences. For researchers who strive to affect social policy, more attention to how research findings are communicated and framed may be crucial. This qualitative study used publication content analysis and interviews with experienced research disseminators from influential policy organizations to examine: (1) how family poverty and economic security issues were framed in their writing; (2) what individual, institutional, and societal factors shaped their writing; and (3) which communication strategies they employed to be effective with policy audiences. Content analysis revealed that the values of work ethic, opportunity, and care/compassion were consistently raised across ideological perspectives. Fairness, personal responsibility, and public responsibility were also prevalent, but more implicit and raised in different ways depending on ideology. In interviews, an emergent theme was the extent that policy organization authors emphasized their primary roles as researchers and analysts. With a few exceptions, authors strived to ground their work in research, bring more complexity to policy debate, and maintain intellectual autonomy and credibility with policy audiences. Responses illustrated the careful balance that policy organization authors must strike between their roles as trustworthy research brokers and strategic policy communicators. In communicating effectively about poverty issues, authors suggested raising poverty in the context of related issues such as economic security, income inequality, and mobility; framing poverty in aspirational terms (e.g., opportunity, prosperity); and focusing on solutions, not problems. To address misperceptions and stereotypes about poverty, authors discussed presenting data strategically to debunk myths and contextualizing poverty trends and disparities. Authors also offered general communication strategies such as writing clearly and accessibly; attending to timeliness, relevance, and politically feasibility; and building visibility in the policy sphere. Overall, results suggest that policy-minded researchers be intentional about establishing credibility with policy audiences; utilize communication strategies appropriate to their preferred policy role; and remain cognizant of the socio-political context surrounding family poverty and economic security issues.

Interconnected Systems: An Examination of the Relationship between Charter Schools, School Discipline, and Neighborhoods

Little, Shafiqua Jamilah ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Geor 2019 해외박사(DDOD)

Disproportionalities in school discipline raise serious questions about educational equity. The disparities are systematic and permeate both traditional and charter schools in the U.S. Although prior research highlights the centrality of schools’ policies and practices in explaining the rates of and disproportionality in school discipline, the significance of the variation in discipline policies and practices across schools remains a relatively overlooked issue, especially among charter schools. While the existing evidence has largely established that school-level variables influence discipline disparities, very little is known about the role of the neighborhood in informing school discipline. Charter schools are fitting for exploration into whether and how neighborhood shape school discipline policies because charter schools are granted autonomy in crafting school discipline policies and their placement in neighborhoods is not random. This study aimed to close the gap in the discipline literature by examining whether and how beyond school-level variables, particularly the level of concentrated disadvantage within a neighborhood, may contribute to variance in charter school discipline policies. The findings from this study indicate that regardless of schooling level or concentrated disadvantage level, the vast majority of charter schools in the sample relied on traditional punitive consequences to address student misbehavior. Major differences between advantaged and disadvantaged schools were in the: (a) fundamental purpose of education, (b) number of behavior infractions listed in discipline policies, and (c) most commonly cited behavior infractions in discipline policies. While cognitive/academic development and emotional development were identified as the major purposes of education across all schooling levels, the findings were inconsistent across advantaged and disadvantaged schools. Advantaged schools stressed the importance of academic rigor while disadvantaged schools prioritized emotional development. Advantaged schools' discipline policies cited more behavior infractions and linked more behavior infractions to exclusionary discipline. Class/school disruption and cheating/plagiarism were the most common behavior infractions cited in advantaged schools' discipline policies whereas general staff disrespect and inappropriate language were the most common behavior infractions cited in disadvantaged schools' discipline policies.

Glaciological control of ice shelf basal melting, and implications for the coupled response

Little, Christopher M Princeton University 2010 해외박사(DDOD)

Observations and model simulations underscore the importance of ice shelf basal melting to the century-timescale response of ice sheets to climate. In this dissertation, I examine ocean dynamics under ice shelves, interpret the circulation's impact on the localization of ice-ocean thermodynamic fluxes, test the sensitivity of these processes to changed thermal forcing and ice shelf shape, and investigate the glaciological response to localized melting. These studies employ idealized numerical models, with the aim of isolating key physical controls and developing broadly applicable results. In conjunction with rotation and stratification, ice shelf morphology exerts control on both deep and shallow (near-ice shelf) circulation and thus the localization of ice-ocean thermodynamic fluxes. If ice shelf thickness is uniform transverse to ice flow, four distinct mechanisms focus melting near grounding lines: the pressure-dependent seawater freezing point, the large-scale vertical distribution of heat in the water column, slope-dependent entrainment into thin near-ice mixed layers, and a reinforcing glaciological response. The role of rotation in governing the melting distribution depends on the availability of heat: if heat is sequestered at depth, a deep cyclonic circulation controls ice-ocean heat flux; if heat is present near the ice shelf, strong along-slope flow near the ice shelf base drives melting. With more complex ice shelf morphology, these focusing mechanisms manifest at smaller scales. In general, melt rates exhibit an approximately linear dependence on local ice shelf basal slope that varies depending on advective heat fluxes and stratification. Incorporating a slope-dependent parameterization of basal melting into an ice shelf/stream model indicates that steady glaciological configurations are possible across a wide range of slope-dependent melt rates. Rapid, localized, melt-driven changes in ice shelf shape exert an impact on grounded ice at longer timescales. The importance of localized basal melting may add an additional burden on large and small-scale models and observations, yet it may also focus these efforts, which are required to interpret recent ice sheet changes and make future projections of sea level.

Assessing teacher and parent support as moderators in the relationship between black high school students' academic achievement and socioeconomic status

Little-Harrison, Natasha N State University of New York at Albany 2011 해외박사(DDOD)

Black students growing up in the United States are faced with multiple risk factors that threaten their academic careers. Many of these students disproportionately grow up living in poverty, putting them at additional risk for attending inadequate schools, living in unsafe neighborhoods, being in dysfunctional families, and having poor physical health. Despite these risk factors, many Black students do go on to lead academically successful lives. The present study examined the relationships between Black high school students' academic achievement, parent and teacher support, and socioeconomic status via a secondary analysis of the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 archival data set. This study also explored the role of gender in these relationships. Results indicated a significant positive relationship existed between Black students' socioeconomic status and academic achievement. In addition, results indicated that parent and teacher support moderated the strength of the relationship between academic achievement and socioeconomic status for Black high school students. These associations did not significantly change across gender groups, suggesting gender did not moderate the effects. These results suggest that parent and teacher support may serve as buffers between socioeconomic status and academic achievement. These findings add to the literature that social support may help change the negative trajectory found between poverty and academic achievement. Based on these findings, schools and other community organizations should consider providing parent trainings in at risk communities on the types of behaviors that parents can engage in to promote their children's educational achievement. As for teachers, school districts should consider providing trainings on effective ways to develop the student and teacher relationship and expand their own cultural awareness of others (Flowers & Flowers, 2008).

The critical composer: Political music during and after "The Revolution"

Little, David T Princeton University 2011 해외박사(DDOD)

This dissertation explores the history, theory and practice of political classical music, from the 1917 to the present, through the lens revolutionary ideology. Exploring repertoire from two periods of revolutionary tumult in America---the 1930s and the 1970s---it seeks to understand what, if anything, is inherently political about music and what, of music's political elements, are merely ideological additions. Holding that today may be considered something of a post-revolutionary period in America, it seeks to determine what effective political music might look like in the twenty-first century. Chapter One lays the philosophical groundwork for the thesis and presents the assumptions held by the author. It discusses theories of the political in music by Lydia Goehr, Neil Nehring, Michael Denning, Theodor Adorno and Friedrich Nietzsche, and challenges the idea that art must be kept separate from politics; that political engagement and artistic quality cannot co-exist. Chapter Two looks to early Communism for the practical and ideological roots of revolutionary classical music, including a brief history of the Communist Party. It offers some analysis of the earliest interpretations of radical music within the communist context, including works in both modernist and "proletarian grotesque" styles by Blitzstein, Siegmeister, Copland and Eisler. It concludes with an introduction to the theory and history of the Popular Front, exploring the history of the Composers' Collective and discussing the impact that Communist Party policy changes had upon its members and their work. Chapter Three offers an in-depth analysis of Blitzstein's The Cradle Will Rock, specifically exploring issues of historiography, style, influence, and musical interpretation of political ideology and policy. It posits that, rather than experiencing a complete musical rebirth, as is often claimed, Blitzstein's Cradle channeled his personal musical language---as exhibited in his early works---into a stylistic frame consistent with, and acceptable to, the political trends of the Popular Front period. Chapter Four explores the political and aesthetic fractures that occurred during the Cold War, and the various manifestations of political music that resulted. It discusses the music of Cornelius Cardew, Frederic Rzewski, Aaron Copland, Luigi Nono, Christian Wolff and Louis Andriessen in relation to their guiding ideologies: Maoism, Anarchism, Democratic Socialism, Humanist Realism and Communism. It also discusses the role of the U.S. Government---through its use of funding---to control the ideological content and political use of American art during the Cold War. The final Chapter explores trends in political music since 1989. Looking at the writings of Naomi Klein, Michael Walzer, Thomas Frank, Hakim Bey and Bob Ostertag, it proposes a new model for musico-political engagement. I call this model "critical music," and define it as that which doesn't try to win a political battle, but rather to observe, illuminate and/or critique aspects of society, thereby enabling a potential transformative process. I conclude with a personal note, and a reaffirmation that above all, the quality of the music must never suffer.

Negroes in Britain : a study of racial relations in English society

Little, Kenneth Lindsay Routledge and K. Paul 1972 국내박사

Statistical Fictions: Nineteenth-Century Narrative and the Probability of Change

Little, Jean University of California, Irvine ProQuest Disserta 2023 해외박사(DDOD)

"Statistical Fictions: Nineteenth-Century Narrative and the Probability of Reform" explores the rise of statistically inflected narratives in the period spanning from 1826 to 1876. It interweaves nineteenth-century writings on mathematics and logic with novels and other works that rely on narrative to argue that mid-century statistical and probabilistic reasoning developed in dialogue with experiments in narrative form and projects of social reform. In statistical narratives, a range of literary forms such as science fiction, dialogue, detective fiction, and the realist novel provide the structures through which both authors and readers think through social problems involving populations. These narratives employ a particular version of statistical thinking that conceives of the world typologically rather than in temporal terms, and challenges the way that people were typically categorized into groups. By doing so, they expose how moralizing certain kinds of social forms, such as theories of character, allows prejudice to become incorporated into social structures and institutions.This project focuses primarily on the work of four women-Mary Shelley, Florence Nightingale, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, and George Eliot-all of whom found in their literary writing a way of both disseminating and criticizing the claims of contemporary science while reaching a broad and inclusive audience. At the same time, all four were interested in using that science to think through the possibilities and limits of self-determination and the power of literature to effect practical social change. They all sought limits to the power of such forces as evolution, heredity, and contagion to determine the lives of individuals, and they designed their innovative literary versions of statistical modeling to reduce suffering in what they regarded as a society in need of healing.

Synthetic studies toward aziridinomitosenes and their derivatives

Little, Jeremy David The University of Wisconsin - Madison 2001 해외박사(DDOD)

A convergent synthetic approach to the 1,2-aziridino-2,3-dihydro-1<italic> H</italic>-pyrrolo [1,2-<italic>a</italic>] indole ring system present in the aziridinomitosenes and related antitumor antibiotics was investigated using an intramolecular Michael addition strategy to construct the tetracyclic core. Early studies involved cyclization attempts with configurationally stable C-lithioaziridines formed via tin-lithium exchange from the corresponding chiral stannylaziridines, but were unsuccessful due to a competing deprotonation reaction within the systems. Treatment of the stannylaziridine cyclization precursors with phenyllithium favored the deprotonation over the tin-lithium exchange and allowed for selective incorporation of deuterium at the problematic site. Subsequent treatment of the deuterated cyclization precursors with methyllithium yielded the desired Michael addition products in up to 80% yield, completing the tetracyclic core of the aziridinomitosenes. Further elaboration of the tetracyclic core was investigated next. Use of <italic>N</italic>-trityl protected aziridines in the cyclization step provided access to both the <italic>N</italic>-methyl and <italic>N-H</italic> series via late-stage cleavage of the trityl group using reductive deprotection conditions (triethylsilane-methanesulfonic acid). In addition, the successful use of lithium aluminum hydride to effect the reduction of 1,2-(<italic>N </italic>-methylaziridino)-2,3-dihydro-1<italic>H</italic>-pyrrolo[1,2-<italic> a</italic>]indole-9-carboxylic acid ethyl ester yielded 9-hydroxymethyl-1,2-(<italic> N</italic>-methylaziridino)-2,3,dihydro-1<italic>H</italic>-pyrrolo[1,2-<italic> a</italic>] indole. Although this compound proved to be unstable to purification by silica gel, access to 1,2-aziridino-2,3-dihydro-1<italic>H</italic>-pyrrolo[1,2-<italic> a</italic>] indole derivatives containing the aziridine moiety and the C-9 sidechain oxidation state found in the parent aziridinomitosenes was demonstrated.

The influence of contextual factors on the processes of adoption and implementation of evidence-based substance use prevention and tobacco cessation programs in schools

Little, Melissa A University of Southern California 2012 해외박사(DDOD)

Although considerable resources have been spent developing and disseminating effective school-based substance use prevention programs, many school districts in the United States fail to use prevention programs with proven effectiveness. Moreover, there is a dearth of research understanding the factors that promote adoption, implementation fidelity, and sustained use of these programs in schools. Consequently, a significant gap remains in what we know about how to effectively "translate" evidence-based programs from research to practice (L. A. Rohrbach, Grana, Sussman, & Valente, 2006). Research grounded in the diffusion of innovations theory (Rogers, 1983), theory driven evaluations (Chen, 1998), systems models (Estabrooks & Glasgow, 2006) and recent reviews of the literature (Durlak & DuPre, 2008) have identified some community-, organizational-, and individual-level factors that are correlated with the translation of evidence-based programs in schools. The studies presented here explore the relationships between factors at several levels of the ecological framework and program adoption, implementation fidelity and sustained use of evidence-based substance use prevention and tobacco cessation programs in schools. The findings presented in these studies suggest that school-based substance use prevention programming is influenced by a variety of contextual factors occurring at multiple ecological levels. Characteristics of the community and organization, beliefs of key decision makers, and funding were important factors in promoting adoption, implementation fidelity and sustained use of evidence-based substance use prevention programs in schools. In order to move the field ahead, researchers need to account for the multiple systems at play in schools when designing research trials and school-based programs. Ultimately, translational research can be used to increase the use of evidence-based prevention programs in schools, which should lead to reductions in substance use and other problem behaviors among adolescents.

A fiber-based lidar system for atmospheric water vapor measurement

Little, Liesl Marie University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 2000 해외박사(DDOD)

The design and evaluation of a prototype fiber-based lidar system are presented. This novel system has the potential to provide autonomous water vapor measurements with high resolution and accuracy. In addition, relatively low-cost mass-production and operation of the system is feasible. This dissertation first describes the design decisions and trade-offs made in the initial design of the prototype. It then presents the initial atmospheric measurements made and compares the results to expected values based on models. A second-stage prototype system is then presented. Atmospheric measurements with the enhanced prototype are compared to modeled values, and a detailed error analysis for the enhanced version of the system prototype is given. Recommendations for further improvements are then made. After these additional enhancements, the system should meet the requirements for making global water vapor profile measurements to enhance current global climate models.