Shelley, Mack

The current study assessed improvement in healthy lifestyles of third-grade children from Iowa schools who participated in nutrition education lessons provided by the Iowa Department of Public Health’s Building and Strengthening Iowa Community Support for Nutrition and Physical Activity (BASICS) program in 2009. The program encourages children to eat more fruits and vegetables as snacks and to be active every day. Autoregressive models and logistic regression analysis results showed that the BASICS program improved awareness of the “Pick a better snack™ & Act” campaign among children and their parents. The program also led to children’s increased preferences toward fruits, vegetables, and low-fat milk products, and to parents’ increased willingness to offer healthy foods to their children. The program stimulated children’s desires to be physically active and parents’ attentiveness toward children’s physical activity. These results indicated that the children influenced their parents’ recognition of campaign materials and how often their parents provided them with fruits and vegetables. Increasing parent age negatively influenced the probability of children receiving free and reduced-price lunch, reflecting the better economic situation of families with older parents.

This study incorporated institutional characteristics (e.g., Carnegie type, selectivity) and resource allocations (e.g., instructional expenditures, student affairs expenditures) into a statistical model to predict undergraduate graduation rates. Instructional expenditures, library expenditures, and a number of institutional classification variables were significant predictors of graduation rates. Based on these results, recommendations as well as warranted cautions are included about allocating academic financial resources to optimize graduation rates

This study examined college and university dining services administrators’ (CUDSAs) intention to adopt sustainable practices. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) including constructs of subjective norm, attitude, perceived behavior control, and personal norm, formed the theoretical framework. A web-based questionnaire was developed, pretested, and distributed to 535 CUDSAs in the U.S.A. Results indicated that subjective norm (pressure from others) had the most influence on CUDSAs’ intention to adopt sustainable practices, followed by attitude and personal norm. Including the personal norm construct in the TPB model reduced unexplained variance by 33.48%. Limitations of this research are generalizability of results due to use of a sample of U.S.A. members of a professional organization (National Association of College and University Food Services) and low response rate. Results suggest that pressure from college administrators and students has the greatest impact on CUDSAs’ decisions to adopt sustainable practices. The question of why some university dining operations are models for sustainability and others have few sustainable practices has not been explored. The dining services director plays a key role in determining sustainability efforts for that operation. This research explored factors influencing a director’s intention to adopt sustainable practices.

With the aim of summarizing years of research comparing pedagogies for second/foreign language teaching supported with computer technology and pedagogy not-supported by computer technology, a meta-analysis was conducted of empirical research investigating language outcomes. Thirty-seven studies yielding 52 effect sizes were included, following a search of literature from 1970 to 2006 and screening of studies based on stated criteria. The differences in research designs required subdivision of studies, but overall results favored the technology-supported pedagogy, with a small, but positive and statistically significant effect size. Second/foreign language instruction supported by computer technology was found to be at least as effective as instruction without technology, and in studies using rigorous research designs the CALL groups outperformed the non-CALL groups. The analyses of instructional conditions, characteristics of participants, and conditions of the research design did not provide reliable results because of the small number of effect sizes representing each group. The meta-analysis results provide an empirically-based response to the questions of whether or not technology-supported pedagogies enhance language learning, and the process of conducting the meta-analysis pointed to areas in research methodology that would benefit from attention in future research.

This study examines longitudinal funding for 513 public institutions over the time period 1995-1999 using the !PEDS database. A comparison across institutional types is presented, and student affairs funding also is compared with other major campus units.

Community coalitions can help national organizations meet their objectives. Farm Safety 4 Just Kids depends on coalitions of local people to deliver farm safety and health educational programs to children and their families. These coalitions are called chapters. An evaluation was developed to identify individual coalition's strengths and weaknesses. Ten FS4JK chapter locations conducted a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) and community focus groups to identify what strategies could be incorporated to improve each coalition's functionality. The findings will help strengthen program delivery, which will guide the national organization toward a more effective support system.

Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) intakes in the United States (US) lag behind dietary recommendations despite their positive nutrition profile, health benefits for reducing chronic disease risk, and inclusion in nutrition assistance programs. Low-income groups, including Hispanics, have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and some cancers. Hispanic dietary quality and bean consumption may decline with increasing acculturation. Intakes at recommended levels could improve health in all vulnerable low-income populations. The study objectives were to describe dry and canned bean preferences, consumption frequency, and attitudes among low-income Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women, and to assess if these characteristics differed by ethnicity and acculturation level among the Latinas. A convenience sample of 158 women, aged 18–65 years, completed a written survey in English or Spanish at two healthcare clinics, one Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children office, and five County Extension nutrition education and outreach programs in Iowa. Less acculturated Latinas consumed beans more often, preferred dry to canned, bought in bulk, valued color and shape in dry bean selection, and held less positive attitudes toward canned beans in contrast to bicultural/more acculturated and non-Hispanic white women. Ethnicity and acculturation level have a role in varying purchase patterns and attitudes regarding dry and canned beans. Culturally-held differences should be considered in nutrition programs and leveraged to increase consumption and improve health.

Residence hall students' (N = 1,186, 52% male, 90% White, 66% freshmen) involvement in their living community is influenced significantly by precollege student characteristics (gender, ethnicity), classification, attitudes (toward hall director, house cabinet, academic comfort, social environment, group study), and environmental variables (noise, time spent in the house, residence assistant interaction, peer academic conversations, employment).

Early in this century, scholars across the humanities, social sciences, and biophysical sciences sought ways to bring citizens and scientists together to make better science, technology, and environmental policy. Critics such as Harry Collins and Robert Evans articulate a theory of experience-based expertise to better manage citizen participation in science and technology policy. Latour calls for a materialist project that moves away from critique and brings people and things together to compose a better world in the face of impending ecocide. Herbert Simons calls for a “reconstructive rhetoric” that moves beyond critique toward a rhetorical practice of judgment and collective action.¹ Meanwhile, in science studies, planning, medicine, and sustainable development, participatory risk assessment and technology development that brings diverse people together to develop policy are well-established practices.²