University of Rhode Island

About: University of Rhode Island is a education organization based out in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Bay. The organization has 11464 authors who have published 22770 publications receiving 841066 citations. The organization is also known as: URI & Rhode Island College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts.

Parent Involvement in Family Support Programs: An Integrated Theory*

Abstract: FEATURE ARTICLE Parent Involvement in Family Support Programs: An Integrated Theory* This article outlines a conceptual model of parental involvement in family support programs, anchored in ecological and family systems frameworks. After summarizing the current attrition literature, the article proposes that parental decisions to enroll and remain in support programs are shaped by a variety of factors at different "levels" of influence: individual characteristics of the parent and family, provider attributes, program characteristics, and neighborhood characteristics. The conclusion discusses the implications of this line of study for research, practice, and policy. Key Words: attrition theory, family support programs, parent involvement. Many can agree on the need to cast a broad net in examining how a vulnerable infant becomes a responsible adult. Few can agree on the most salient factors, however, and, most important for our purpose, how to manipulate these factors so as to increase the likelihood that parents will seek out and effectively utilize the supports they need to better care for their children. Family support programs now abound to help parents with their daily struggles, yet providers often cannot fill all program slots nor keep parents consistently involved for any length of time. Because the dual issues of low enrollment and retention in voluntary, family support programs are endemic to the family support field (Clinton, 1992; Lyons-Ruth, Connell, Grunebaum, & Botein, 1990, Marcenko & Spence, 1994; McCurdy & Jones, 2000; Olds & Kitzman, 1993; Ramey et al., 1992; Seigel, Bauman, Schaefer, Saunders, & Ingram, 1980; Seitz, Rosenbaum, & Apfel, 1985), the need to establish a strong, theoretically driven research base to explain these outcomes is urgent. Attrition, broadly defined here as premature departure from services, has been examined across a variety of family-related contexts, including the home, school, and community. Most studies examine correlates of attrition (i.e., factors observed to have some type of relationship to dropping out; Bean, 1982; Harris, 1998). This approach produces a laundry list of factors that may influence parent involvement but relatively little direction about the individual determinants or cluster of factors that play the most prominent role. In the family support field, literature reviews note several attrition correlates at both the provider and parent level (Clark & Winje, 1998; McCurdy, Hurvis, & Clark, 1996). To date, these studies have failed to integrate these factors into a coherent and testable theory. Although the absence of a theory to explain attrition is not specific to the family support field (cf., Harris), it has hindered the ability of voluntary support programs to develop the types of programmatic and policy reforms necessary for enhancing their enrollment and retention rates. If we know why and how individuals make decisions to use voluntary services, we can begin to form new approaches to service delivery that increase retention rates and the effectiveness of parenting programs. This article addresses the need for a conceptual framework by proposing a theory of parent involvement in family support programs. We begin by reviewing the current attrition literature to identify the multiple influences on enrollment and retention. Borrowing from the work of health behavior theorists, we next develop an ecological theory that integrates relevant factors within four distinct domains--individual, program, provider, and neighborhood. The conclusion discusses the implications of this line of study for research, practice, and policy. The Empirical Context Despite growing interest in understanding the wide range of domains that influence human behavior, current efforts to investigate attrition have suffered from a restricted conceptual framework both in terms of the areas explored and in the definition of the engagement process. …

Effects of stream restoration on denitrification in an urbanizing watershed.

Abstract: Increased delivery of nitrogen due to urbanization and stream ecosystem degradation is contributing to eutrophication in coastal regions of the eastern United States. We tested whether geomorphic restoration involving hydrologic "reconnection" of a stream to its floodplain could increase rates of denitrification at the riparian-zone-stream interface of an urban stream in Baltimore, Maryland. Rates of denitrification measured using in situ 15N tracer additions were spatially variable across sites and years and ranged from undetectable to >200 microg N x (kg sediment)(-1) x d(-1). Mean rates of denitrification were significantly greater in the restored reach of the stream at 77.4 +/- 12.6 microg N x kg(-1) x d(-1) (mean +/- SE) as compared to the unrestored reach at 34.8 +/- 8.0 microg N x kg(-1) x d(-1). Concentrations of nitrate-N in groundwater and stream water in the restored reach were also significantly lower than in the unrestored reach, but this may have also been associated with differences in sources and hydrologic flow paths. Riparian areas with low, hydrologically "connected" streambanks designed to promote flooding and dissipation of erosive force for storm water management had substantially higher rates of denitrification than restored high "nonconnected" banks and both unrestored low and high banks. Coupled measurements of hyporheic groundwater flow and in situ denitrification rates indicated that up to 1.16 mg NO3(-)-N could be removed per liter of groundwater flow through one cubic meter of sediment at the riparian-zone-stream interface over a mean residence time of 4.97 d in the unrestored reach, and estimates of mass removal of nitrate-N in the restored reach were also considerable. Mass removal of nitrate-N appeared to be strongly influenced by hydrologic residence time in unrestored and restored reaches. Our results suggest that stream restoration designed to "reconnect" stream channels with floodplains can increase denitrification rates, that there can be substantial variability in the efficacy of stream restoration designs, and that more work is necessary to elucidate which designs can be effective in conjunction with watershed strategies to reduce nitrate-N sources to streams.

Critical Review of Low-Density Polyethylene’s Partitioning and Diffusion Coefficients for Trace Organic Contaminants and Implications for Its Use As a Passive Sampler

Abstract: Polyethylene (PE)-water equilibrium partitioning constants, KPEw, were reviewed for trace hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs). Relative standard deviations were <30% for phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, and pyrene implying excellent reproducibility of KPEw across laboratories and PE sources. Averaged KPEw values of various HOCs were best correlated with aqueous solubility, logCwsat(L): logKPEw = −0.99(±0.029)logCwsat(L) + 2.39(±0.096) (r2 = 0.92, SE = 0.35, n = 100). For 80% of analytes, this equation predicted logKPEw within a factor of 2. A first-order estimation of KPEw can be obtained assuming constant solubility of the compounds in the PE, such that the variation in Cwsat(L) determines the differences in KPEw. For PE samplers, KPEw values do not change with the thickness of the PE sampler. The influence of temperature on KPEw seems dominated by solubility-changes of the compound in water, not in PE. The effect of salt is rather well understood, using a Schetschenow-style approach. The air-...