The Transformative Social Impact Journal Podcast

In response to shifting higher education landscapes and increasing calls for civic engagement, a 'Service & Research Projects Hub' was scoped at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, a faculty of King’s College London, to evaluate the feasibility of connecting postgraduate students with local community organisations for collaborative dissertation research. Through mixed-methods evaluation involving 96 stak...

The purpose of this study was to understand what health related activities of residents living in transitional housing for the homeless increases their self-determination in managing their own health, what barriers exist, and what could nursing students do to increase their self-determination in managing their health. Methods: A qualitative approach using interviews, PhotoVoice, and observations was used. Twelve semi-structured int...

As the global population ages, the design field faces an urgent imperative to confront ageism and foster more inclusive practices. Yet age-inclusive design remains underrepresented in both education and professional settings—often treated as a niche concern rather than a universal human experience. This case study presents a two-part intervention that seeks to reframe aging as a creative, joyful, and necessary focus of design pract...

National homelessness rates are steadily rising, posing challenges in health care. Homelessness exacerbates health conditions, increasing chronic mental and medical diagnoses, while reducing traditional treatment efficacy Research highlights medical respite care as an effective intervention, improving post-hospitalization outcomes and reducing Emergency Department utilization, hospital stays, and readmissions. This literature revie...

The field of community-engaged learning continues to evolve, particularly as we focus on learning from the community partners involved in course-based partnerships. Traditional measures, such as surveys and interviews, are often used to gather insights from community partners; yet many argue that these partners remain the ‘unheard voices’ within the field. This study highlights the critical reflections of a community partner engage...

Families need support so that communities remain strong. The Stronger Families Project (SFP) at Utah Valley University is a unique and powerful resource in the communities surrounding the university. Families attend a free, eight-week, evidence-based family life education program aimed at teaching skills to parents, teens, and children that are necessary for healthy family life. The program is rooted in Family Systems Theory, offer...

Utah Valley University's Academic Service-Learning program represents a highly effective high-impact educational practice that delivers significant benefits to students, faculty, and the community. During 2023-2024, the program engaged over 9,000 students across 450 course sections, involving 375 faculty members and 1,000 community partners. Research demonstrates that service-learning participants experience enhanced learning outco...

In this episode, we delve into the groundbreaking findings of the "Service-Learning Community Partner Collaboration Prediction Model & Tool." Discover how student competencies and project outcomes influence future collaborations with community organizations. With insights gathered from 183 partners of a large public university, we examine 13 essential professional skills and their impact on project effectiveness. You'll learn a...

Discover how Dr. Jonathan H. Westover and Dr. Jacque P. Westover are transforming education through their innovative cross-course collaboration model at Utah Valley University. In this 10-minute video, we delve into their unique multidisciplinary approach, where upper-division students from organizational development, business statistics, and integrated studies join forces to tackle real-world consulting projects for the Women in B...

Title: Cultivating Cross-Course Collaboration: A Model for Student Consulting Projects

Authors/Presenters: By Jonathan H. Westover and Jacque P. Westover

Abstract: This discusses a unique cross-course collaborative model implemented at Utah Valley University between organizational development and change, advanced business statistics, and integrated studies courses. This fall semester, upper-division undergraduate students formed mu...

From the article: "Why should organizations develop corporate social impact initiatives? First, we need to openly acknowledge that companies have a social contract with their surrounding communities. As companies directly benefit from the shared community infrastructure, organizations have a responsibility to give back to and directly benefit their communities, and not just through providing jobs. Simply put, a social, impact-drive...