Southwest Extension Internship

I can honestly say this internship experience has been the most interesting three months of my college career. During those three months, aside from taking part in a focus group study on Latinos where helping Latinos succeed happens to be my passion, but additionally I was married in June to a wonderful man, I traveled to Texas in July to meet my father for the first time, then began getting ready for the new baby girl to arrive and was also able to knock off two more classes during that time to get me steps closer to my Master's degree. Wow, what a wonderful feeling!

Now to evaluate on my experience as the summer Intern for U of M Extension will be exciting. I will describe the moments of frustration, where I could have used some more support, how this experience was valuable, and how I have grown as a person. This was a positive learning experience for me and I have no regrets accepting the position. I was able to work with a wonderful team that was very supportive throughout the whole process.

I would say there were very few moments where I became frustrated during the project. I think the most frustrating time for me was transcribing and translating the data. Some of the groups were difficult to hear and understand, therefore I had to spend hours rewinding and pausing, rewinding and pausing...but eventually I got through it. I was so happy when I had finished that step and was able to move onto analyzing the data. Another frustrating moment came when the participants did not show up. I spent days and many phone calls contacting participants and when they did not show up, I was disappointed. I can recall one more incident that caused me to become frustrated and that was after reading the comments on the article in the Worthington newspaper that was written about our project. There are many people around the Worthington area that obviously don't have a clue what Latinos go through in order to survive and raise their families in America. Their comments were disturbing yet motivating. There is a lot of work that needs to be done in order for Latinos to be more accepted into our society and I look forward to hopefully making a difference.

Overall, I had a very supportive team and staff to work with. The only time I felt a little lost and was not sure if I was doing things the way they were supposed to be done was when I was to analyze the data. This was something new for me and I would've liked a little more guidance although it was a good learning experience for me to navigate the different possibilities of putting the information together.

This experience was extremely valuable to me in so many ways. First of all, I was able to learn more about my own culture and background. I now have a better understanding of why Latinos are the way they are and why they do what they do. This will help me as I get more into my own research project as well as for future reference when I will be working with Latinos in the community and in the schools. Some other valuable lessons learned were the benefits of working on a team, the effort and work it takes to conduct a research study, the benefits of recording and transcribing focus groups, and also the different recruiting and data collection methods.

Throughout this project, I have grown and I think it is recognizable if you go back and read through my blogs. The most important thing I have learned is to never give up; no matter how hard or difficult the task may be but to keep my head up with a positive attitude and that is what I did. I was able to improve my writing and communication skills along with effectively working on a team and collaborating with them. I also see myself as an improved researcher and presenter which are two skills that will help me attain my Master's degree. I am very thankful for this experience and for the feedback I was given throughout the project. I have been inspired and motivated to continue working with Latinos and become a positive change agent in whatever community needs me most.
It has been a great pleasure working for the U of M Extension office in Marshall, MN!

Posted by arivera at 3:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have spent a lot of time this week analyzing the data we collected. My goal was to provide the team with as many different ways possible to examine the data and find their own conclusions. I highlighted the themes and/or statements that stood out to me, but in reality there is going to be other more significant points that stood out more to someone else. In order to help the team analyze the data, I highlighted themes from the transcriptions, I constructed a table in a Word document to visually see the comparisons among the four groups, I compiled my notes in an outline format, and I put all of the data from the completed surveys into a spreadsheet. I am hoping the data laid out in these formats will all be helpful when putting the final project together.

After I was done transcribing and translating the data, I began to read through each session and look for the themes. I made myself a little key coding where each theme would fit into the literature review. Each color represented the different topics addressed in the review. If the participants discussed anything about their culture, it was highlighted red. Their perceptions of living in Worthington were highlighted yellow, the factors affecting them from participating were highlighted light blue, their involvement in the community was pink, anything addressing service issues was highlighted green and community enhancement suggestions were highlighted purple. All other issues were highlighted dark blue. The themes found throughout the transcriptions were then copied and pasted into the review. I found a lot of similar themes from the literature review and the focus group data. However, there were some contrasting statements that revealed new information to us.

At one point during the study, I was asked to compare the data from all four groups and find the similarities and differences among the groups. The easiest way I could think of doing this was to construct a table visually noting the different group responses to each question. I then highlighted the common responses and left the uncommon responses with no color. The colors in this table did not represent any particular theme, they just represented that there were similarities found among the four groups. For example, three out of the four groups liked that Worthington is a tranquil place to live and raise a family, therefore the word tranquil was highlighted purple under each group that had that response. I thought it would be a quick and easy way to compare the different groups' responses.

The participants were asked to fill out two surveys, a demographic survey and a community involvement survey. With Neil's assistance, all questions were coded with a number representing their responses. The data was then compiled into tables and codebooks were attached in a separate spreadsheet to refer to.

I learned a lot about the different methods and styles of analyzing data this week. I'm sure every researcher has their own preference of how the data should be put together but I myself liked referring to comparison table when analyzing the data. It was also helpful to look at the review after I had transferred some of the significant quotes from the sessions to help compare and contrast the data. These different methods will all be of great use to me as I continue to do my own research in the future.

Posted by arivera at 5:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's amazing to see how far this project has come along in just a couple of months. It comes down to just a few more tasks for me to complete before my time is up. Thus far I have created a bibliography of the materials reviewed, drafted a literature review, recruited participants for the focus groups, assisted in collecting the data, transcribed and translated the data, organized and analyzed the data, and have completed weekly journal entries reflecting what I had been working on each week. It's been a step by step process and it is such a wonderful feeling to successfully complete each task.

I reviewed numerous articles that would help the team address how to meet the customer and public participation needs of Latino audiences. I was then able to draft a literature review to inform the team of the important findings from the literature. I have been working on the review for a couple of months; however fortunately enough, I had a rough draft completed before the focus groups were conducted. This provided the team and I with some awareness of what we could expect to learn or hear from the participants that were involved in the study.

Recruiting the participants went a lot better than I had expected, however the outcome of them actually showing up was a big surprise. There averaged to be 1-3 people who eventually did show up. There were feelings of disappointment and frustration as we patiently waited for the 8-10 participants that were supposed to show up for their scheduled session. That was a learning experience to never be forgotten.

I also learned that I would never want to have a permanent job of transcribing and translating data. I think that step would classify as the most dreadful of the process. I did not mind listening to the female groups and translating their data, but the males made it very difficult for me to understand what they were talking about. Too much pitter patter going on throughout and I also noticed that the males would totally get off the subject and not even answer the question that was being asked. On the other hand, I am glad that they were comfortable enough with us and the other participants to share their stories, their rather interesting stories.

Now as I attempt to analyze the data, I notice the trends between the groups and the findings from the literature. I now have a better understanding of what the customer service and civic life needs and expectations of Latinos residing in Worthington are. Some literature states they have low expectations while other literature states they expect good quality and good service in the United States because they are used to poorer quality goods and service in their native country. I learned that Latinos residing in Worthington want to be treated kind with friendly service and expect to be helped, preferably with someone who speaks Spanish, when they need to be helped. They also expect to be trusted in order for themselves to give trust back. As the literature states that language is the number one challenge preventing many Latinos from becoming more involved in their community, this stands true for this group of participants as well. Those that could speak the English language were more apt to get involved in the community to help make a difference. However, a majority of them mentioned they were interested in helping other Latinos achieve and be successful in the community rather than the community as a whole. That would tie into their culture as being collectivists, loyalty to one another from the same group.

It comes down to the last couple of tasks...comparing and contrasting the data some more, developing a report to share, and presenting the final results to those interested in learning more about how to meet the needs and expectations of Latinos. We have a lot of interested individuals who are excited to learn more about our findings. 

Posted by arivera at 8:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As the time rapidly passes by, I am beginning to faintly see the finish line to this project. That is exciting yet a bit frightening when I come to think about it. It seems like there is so much to be done in such little time. I guess because I have no experience with analyzing data in such a format, I worry I am not doing things right. It's a definite learning experience. I did have the opportunity to present a short overview on the project to the staff here in the office on Monday. It was a good opportunity to practice for the final presentation and to also receive feedback from my coworkers.

To be honest, I was a little nervous to share our findings with the group...silly, I know! It's everything I already know, right. What I worry the most about when I have to present to a group is that I will choke and forget what I want to say. I think I worry too much about it and that is why it does happen occasionally. I have had to present more often, being in graduate classes, so I am getting better. I am always prepared for this to happen by having my handy dandy note cards on hand.

The goals of the presentation were to inform the group about what the team attempted to find out, how we went about the process, and what the results/findings were. I put together a short power point for my audience to follow. As I began to describe the goals of our study and the methodology we used to gather our data, I found it to be relaxing and fun to share the information with the group. My feelings and interest in the project were expressed through my tone of voice. According to some of the feedback I received, they could tell my heart was in this project. It really was! As I have said over and over, this is my passion, to help Latinos achieve in all aspects of life.

At times I did refer to my note cards to help myself get back on track, but then it did not sound as interesting and real. They all seemed to like it better when I just went with it and did not read from the cards. I even forgot to mention some information I had written on the cards. I have learned to always provide time for questions to make sure the group or audience understands what is being said and this really helped clear things up. Some of the questions that were asked were some of the key points I had wanted to bring up, but forgot about. It was good though. I received good and honest feedback to help myself improve for the upcoming presentation. They had nice comments to share and everyone thought this was a very interesting project we are working on. Many of them even mentioned how the information could benefit them and/or their coworkers for future reference.

Posted by arivera at 8:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This week in the office has been rather interesting...

I did not realize how difficult it would be to transcribe and translate the data from the focus groups. It definitely requires a lot more time and focused attention than I had imagined. I find myself struggling to hear and understand the men conversing; therefore there is a lot of rewinding and replaying taking place during those times of transcribing. There are a couple of factors that come into mind as this happens repeatedly. One, there are some participants with more education than others, therefore their vocabulary is different from what I am used to and two, there is more slang and heavier accents among the male participants than the female participants. I had no problem understanding the females from either one of the groups. Needless to say, after four days of organizing my notes and transcribing and translating the focus group data, the mission is not yet completed.

To be honest, I did not understand at first why we were to transcribe the data word for word after we had already taken notes on their responses. After reviewing the recordings, I then understood the benefits. There was some valuable information shared that I had missed and also some of the quotes from certain people will be a great piece to add into the analysis. Even though it has been difficult to get through this step, it is absolutely beneficial.

I am hoping that after today, I will be well underway into the next step of the process which is to analyze the data. Scott had some great suggestions as to how this would work. I will be taking themes from the literature and from the transcriptions and I will then compare what was found to be true and what was different. Picking out the themes will be part of the coding process. After I find the themes, I will analyze whether or not the same themes occurred across all four of the groups with the long term residents and the short term residents. It will be interesting to see the results.

During the call meeting yesterday, I was able to share with the team, some things that were recognized after conducting the focus groups. The majority of the literature review findings were also apparent in the focus groups. The Latinos that are more likely to participate are 2nd generation, have a good education, and can speak the English language. The majority that is involved in their community are involved in organizations specifically targeting Latinos. Many want to step up when they know they can help other Latinos succeed. They value friendliness over good products. The biggest challenge for many is the language barrier, however 99% of our participants were attempting to learn or have learned the English language. Aside from the language barrier preventing many Latinos from getting involved, there appears to be fear and mistrust among many Latinos. It was also mentioned that their survival needs, supporting their family is their number one priority and many do not have the time or the energy to become involved in the community.

It will be rather interesting to put all of the results together and come up with a conclusion and some recommendations for further research. The team has been a wonderful asset in this project and I am learning so much from everyone. This has been a valuable learning experience for me, not only to learn more about my culture, but also to help guide my own research project taking place in the fall.

Posted by arivera at 3:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I had no idea...

Going into a project, one never knows what to quite expect. There may be some surprises that come along the way and those surprises can be joyful and exciting or sad and disappointing. I have experienced a little bit of both throughout the project we are currently working on. After being given the description of my responsibilities, I was eager to get started and even more eager to assist in the data collection process. I wanted to hear stories about the Latinos' lives while living in Worthington, MN. Little did I know, the project could get a bit frustrating at times...?

As you may recall, things did not go as planned or expected for the focus groups. After spending days over in Worthington to recruit participants and getting more than enough to volunteer their time and share their opinions with us at a scheduled time, the turnout was not so great. One or two of the original participants showed up, however a majority of them were not on time. Luckily, Toby and I were able to alter the situation a bit in order to successfully conduct the focus groups to get the information we were looking for. Thankfully, we had some wonderful feedback from those that did participate in all groups.

Some of the stories that were shared were stimulating, while others shared were heartrending. It was exciting to hear how many people do try and get involved in their community and the ways they want to make a difference, while at the same time it was depressing to learn about the startling circumstances holding many of them back. For many, there is that fear, fear of rejection and/or fear of deportation back to their home countries where they do not feel safe. There are no laws to protect them from crime and violence over there, but here many of them reported feelings of safety and tranquility while living in Worthington.

I find it rather frustrating when non Latinos sit there and criticize Latinos for coming over to the States to steal our jobs and take advantage of the free services offered. The true reasons for their migration here are unknown to many, many people. Yes, they do come here for job security and financial stability because in their sending countries they are most often not able to make enough money to support their families. After visiting with my family in Mexico while we were there, I learned that a full night of work (12 hours) as a cook, my brother makes about 200 pesos, which would average out to be about $20 dollars in America. $20 for 12 hours of work... imagine trying to live off that... That is about the average pay for most workers there and I would assume it be the same for the surrounding countries. If only more people were aware of what they go through in their countries.

As I sit and listen to the recordings from the sessions last week, I can remember seeing each one of their faces sitting around the tables, telling their stories, and sharing their experiences with us. It was nice because I felt like a lot of the participants opened up to us and trusted us. I felt as though they were thrilled that someone wanted to listen and try to make the community a better place to live for Latinos even though it already appears to be a nice, welcoming community for those of differing ethnicities. You may have already heard me say this, but I will say it again. Every time I left Worthington, I left with a smile knowing that there are many caring people in that community that would go out of their way to help an individual, even one of color. You don't see this in many communities so when you do, smile and appreciate what they have to offer and hope that one day, each and every community will also offer services willingly to minorities in America.

Posted by arivera at 2:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After reviewing several different articles on Latinos in rural communities and some of their expectations, we are able to compare previous data to more recent data given by Latinos living in the Worthington community. I have provided a brief description of some things we can already expect to learn or hear during the focus groups.

• Based on Martinez' article "Yes we can: Latino participation in unconventional politics," Latinos are less likely to protest than non -Latinos. Based on the information provided, factors that may or may not affect participation among Latinos include: age, education, having children, income, generational status, church attendance, organizational affiliation, and citizenship. In the focus groups, I expect to see more second generation and beyond, educated, parents, and financially stable Latinos that hold citizenship status that will be more likely to express their opinions.

• Based on Dalla and Christensen's article "Latino immigrants describe residence in rural Midwestern meatpacking communities: A longitudinal assessment of social and economic change," language barriers prevents many Latinos from attaining adequate job training, employment opportunities, housing, recreational activities, and more Latino leaders in the community. In the focus groups, I expect that many underserved Latinos do not become civically engaged in their communities because they cannot speak the English language.

• Based on Chavez' article, "Community, ethnicity, and class in a changing rural California town," Mexicans are perceived as "irresponsible" and "uncaring" because of their absence from community events. In the focus groups, I expect to see the participants referring to their marginalized experiences and also different ways they do get involved in the community i.e., through the church and other organizations that offer resources to Latinos.
• Based on Dalla, Ellis, and Cramer's article, "Immigration and rural America. Latino's perceptions of work and residence in three meatpacking communities," Latinos often migrate and settle in rural meatpacking communities where little training and/or English language skills are required. I expect to see two main reasons for migration to the U.S., job security and increased financial security. Although they are often discriminated against, they do express feelings of safety here compared to their native country.

• Based on Espinoza's article, "Assessing the cross-cultural applicability of a service quality measure. A comparative study between Quebec and Peru," Latin American societies are known to honor collectivism and are polychromic individuals. In the focus groups, I expect to hear Latinos refer to building relationships as being more important than the products they are buying. Also, they may be late for the focus groups because time is not that important. They will do whatever is more appropriate for the moment according to Espinoza.

• Based on Culver's article, "The impact of new immigration patterns on the provision of police services in Midwestern communities," major challenges arose within these communities including: 1) police-Hispanic community relationship, 2) fear of police, 3) immigration issues, and 4) the nature of contacts between police and Latino residents. I expect to learn that some of the same challenges are arising in Worthington.

• Based on Behnke and Falk's article, " Health and safety events for Latino families: Collaborating to create El Dia de los Niño's Celebration," I expect to hear participants requesting the need for businesses to start producing more bilingual materials and posters in order for them to become more involved and/or utilize their services.

• Based on Curiel's article, "Strengthening Oregon's Communities: Latino community leadership training," there are factors that hinder or support Latino participation in the community. These include: no steady employment, no transportation, do not plan on being permanent members of the community, and there lacks invitation to the Latino community from the society at large. I expect to see some of these factors affecting our participation numbers. Also Latinos definition of leadership is quite different from Anglos. For Latinos, leadership is a personal attitude in which they are determined to help other Latinos succeed. They will help find them employment, buy a house, share resources, etc... Those willing to help others are seen as the community leaders to Latinos.

• Based on Garver's article, "Serving Latino population brings opportunity, issues," there are challenges investment industries come across when reaching out to the Hispanic community. This group is not accustomed to saving. Many come from a cash only society. Due to distrust with bankers, half of Hispanics in this country has no relationship with a depository institution. I expect to see distrust as being a major problem or challenge stopping many Latinos from becoming publically and civically engaged.

• Based on Emery and Flora's article, "Spiraling-up: Mapping community transformation with community capitals framework," social capital is important, especially when trying to enhance public participation and civic engagement within a community. I expect to see fewer participants reporting they are involved in their community if they lack social capital.

• Based on Pfeffer and Parra's article, "Strong ties, weak ties, and human capital: Latino immigrant employment outside the enclave," social ties and human capital play important roles in the integration of Latino immigrants into the local economy. I expect to see those Latinos with more years of education, the ability to speak English, having friendships with white residents, and having documentation, as becoming more integrated into the community and are more likely to find better employment. In addition, if they live in more 'open' economies rather than ethnic enclave economies, they are more likely to receive higher returns to human capital.

• Based on Donthu and Yoo's article, "Cultural Influences on Service Quality Expectations," service quality expectations differ among cultures. Latinos are known as collectivists and collectivistic customers look at the whole organization and would not expect everything from the provider alone. Latin American countries such as Guatemala, Mexico, and Venezuela are high in power distance, low in uncertainty avoidance, and high in long-term orientation. Therefore, these consumers have low overall service quality expectations and do not expect much empathy or assurance from the provider. I expect to hear that Latinos in general have low service quality expectations.

Posted by arivera at 5:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"At the end of the day, participation is about being given the space to have a say in the world we live in, to learn to understand this world, but on the other side, to want to do so, and to know how. Not an easy thing to learn!" (Lucinia) With the University of Minnesota Extension's project, "Bridging the Gap: Understanding the Customer Service and Civic Life Needs and Expectations of Latinos in Southwest Minnesota, over 40 Latinos from Worthington had the opportunity to have a say in their community.

I was sent out to recruit participants, both male and female, having two years or less in the community or five years or more in the community. I successfully found enough individuals willing to take part and share their experiences with us. Phone calls were made to each willing participant to remind them of the date, time, and location. There were a few who decided they could not make it, nonetheless we were still sitting with some good numbers of those that would still attend.

Toby and I were fully prepared to conduct the focus groups. Refreshments were available along with a $20 gift card to Wal-Mart for each participant. For the first group, we were expecting anywhere from 10-15 female participants. We learned that Latinos do not value time, therefore we were expecting for some to show up late. Little did we know, only one out of the total number of 15 who made a commitment to come, had showed up. She spoke English, had a full-time job, and wanted to share her voice. We were thankful for her arrival, however in awe that the other 14 women had decided not to come.

With motivation to succeed, we set off to the Integration Collaborative School to find more participants to conduct the study. We were fortunate to run into a teacher who was willing to let us borrow some of her students from class to help us with our study. An hour and a half later than scheduled, the study was finally underway with a total of four participants. They had valuable information to share with us to help us learn more about their needs and expectations.

All of the following three sessions had the same pattern. Only one or two people showed up, those that did show up had full-time jobs, spoke the English language, and I am assuming they are residents or citizens with proper documentation. We then had to recruit more participants which caused the session to start later than planned, however in conclusion, their insights were valuable as we will begin to analyze the findings.

As each focus group session came to an end, I had a chance to reflect with Toby on some of the things we learned from each session. The literature reviewed provided us with valuable insights as to what we could expect to learn from the groups. Almost every point from the literature was brought out at some point during the study.

The most shocking thing that I learned from the study was the participation rate among the Latinos who had originally signed up to participate. "Why did so many Latinos confirm they would be there, and then just not show up?" We decided that next time there is a study done involving Latinos, it would be best to recruit them the day of the study instead of getting them to commit to something that would happen at a later date. Neil mentioned that maybe the incentive was not enough. How much would be enough? There are many different factors we could examine to determine why so many Latinos decided they did not want to participate. ¡MUY INTERESANTE!

Posted by arivera at 5:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to miss a few days of work for an exciting moment of my life to occur.

I have always been told that exciting things happen to those who are patient. Amazingly enough, after twenty-seven years of patiently waiting to find my father, my dreams have come true. About three months ago, I was given a hint as to where he might be and after some extensive research on the internet, I located one of his siblings right here in Minnesota. He then contacted my long lost father in Mexico and told him he may have a daughter back in Minnesota...

Thanks to our Lord, the DNA results came back positive. I do not remember the last time I had feelings of such joy and excitement. Arrangements were then made for my daughter and I to go to El Paso, TX and Juarex, MX and meet the family we had been missing for so long. Meanwhile, phone calls were coming in from different family members from all over the United States. They too, were anxiously awaiting the day to meet their new niece/s, granddaughter/s, cousin/s, and step-daughter. That day would be July 1st, 2009.

The trip to El Paso did not go as smooth as I had anticipated, however we made it there safely. We were greeted by my father and an aunt and uncle. Keep in mind, I had no idea of how these people were going to look. From a distance, I saw this lady waving and all of a sudden this strange man, who appears to be my father, comes up to me and hugs me. I cannot explain the feelings that were going through me at the moment. One can only imagine, if meeting their father for the first time in 27 years.

We spent most of our time meeting family, visiting with them, and trying to catch up for all of the long lost years that had gone by. We only met about half of the family and I would say we met about 30-40 people while we were there. Again thanks to our Lord, my grandparents are still alive and doing well. We spent the majority of our time with them. We even snuck away and went to Juarez, MX for a couple of days. My daughter and I were a bit afraid, but my Dad kept us safe with him as we shacked out at his place and hung out with my two brothers and step-mom.

The hardest moment was saying our good-byes to everyone. Believe it or not, my daughter wanted to stay down there, even in Juarez. She had such a great time meeting new cousins and hanging out with her grandpa, she did not want to come back to MN. After four days of being in the heat, I was ready to come home, knowing that I have a wonderful, huge family that is so loving and accepting whom we will never lose contact with.

Posted by arivera at 5:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After successfully completing the NIH Web-based training course "Protecting Human Research Participants," I was able to start the recruitment process for the project, Bridging the Gap. A snowball recruitment method was used to identify and recruit participants from individuals in the community who have had previous interaction with the University of Minnesota Extension. Jose, Leti, and Sharon were excellent contacts to help identify possible participants. I was able to contact these individuals directly to invite participation. The second strategy used was to contact community partners and kindly ask for their assistance in contacting potential participants on our behalf and make the information available to individuals who would be potentially interested in participating. The staff from the Integration Collaborative were more than willing to help out with this. This was the perfect opportunity to gather participants for the reason that the Collaborative provides services to a majority of the Latinos living in Worthington.

I spoke with a variety of teachers at the Integration Collaborative and they allowed me to come into their classrooms and introduce myself and the study we are focusing on. I provided interested individuals with a bilingual flyer giving more detailed information about the study along with my contact information. Several individuals were interested and wanted to put their name on the list right away. It was astounding to hear the different conversations going around the room among those that wanted to be involved and express their opinions. I feel as though it made a big difference having me there to inform them of our goals and objectives for the study rather than just posting flyers and leaving them with community partners in hopes that someone will be interested and pick up their phones, eager to participate.

After spending two days in Worthington, talking with local business owners and other community partners, I was able to come across over 40 participants for the focus groups. A majority of those participants have been well established in Worthington for quite some time, many having ten years or more residing there. However, I am running into some difficulties in finding residents with two years or less in Worthington. As of now, I have about ten participants for that group. I did come across a few more Latinos that were newer to the community, but were not interested in participating. I left a flyer with them just in case they were to change their mind.

The idea of a $20 gift certificate for those that participated appeared to be the incentive to get involved. Nonetheless, many were still eager to voice their opinions in order for their needs and expectations to be met. We did run into some problems with transportation for some of the participants so I made a note of who needed transportation and told them we would get back to them if we were able to provide transportation for them.

All in all, it was excellent turnout. I enjoyed my time spent in Worthington, MN. As I had mentioned before, everyone was friendly and eager to help out. With the help of the residents, community partners, and the Community Leadership Development Program, Worthington will only continue to evolve along with the relationships among the community members.

Posted by arivera at 2:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end" (Seneca). I have had this thought it my mind all week and Seneca, a Roman philosopher, did a fabulous job of summing up my thoughts. The process of getting to the end is not always as exciting as the accomplishments in the end, although well worth the effort.

The beginning for me began with reviewing literature addressing how to meet the customer and public participation needs of Latino audiences. I have been able to start a draft of the literature review to share with the Latino research team. Good feedback from them provided me with some more guidance as to the direction I am taking with the review. I have a good start however there is always room for improvement. As I continue to review more literature, I will be able to make the necessary changes and hopefully provide the team with sufficient information to strengthen their understanding of Latinos and their expectations.

While learning more on how to address their needs and expectations, Toby and I have had an opportunity to prepare for the focus group sessions which will strengthen our understanding of Latino audiences in SW MN as customers of products and services and participants in their community. We have made some wonderful contacts with helpful community members allowing us to locate participants for the focus groups. We were also able to identify two different locations where we will be able to conduct those sessions. The locations are both central and familiar to Latinos, one being the Catholic Church and the other being the Integration Collaborative School building. Along with centrality and familiarity, both sites are neutral in a racially diverse rural area where we hope the participants will feel comfortable at.

With that said, we were able to finalize the times and dates of when we will be conducting the focus group sessions. We decided to go with the two years or less groups at the Integration Collaborative. The staff had suggested they had more Latinos that were newer to the community
and would probably feel more comfortable going there, while the residents with more familiarity in the community would know the church and were possibly members of that particular church. The end to that beginning process now leads us into the beginning of recruiting participants.

We are looking for Latino residents with two years or less in the community and/or five years or more in the community. The contacts we have made have been more than helpful in providing us with possible participants. Fortunately, many Latinos are concerned about making a difference within their community, therefore are more than willing to participate. We have a nice list of contacts thus far and hopefully the list will continue to develop as the weeks go on.

The end of contacting our participants will bring us to the beginning of conducting the focus group sessions. Once the data is gathered and analyzed, the beginning to the Worthington Community Leadership Development Program 2009 shall commence. As stated by Seneca, "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."

Posted by arivera at 6:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have learned that writing and attempting to draft a literature review is a process of discovery. We often tend to discover new “tricks” along the way that help us smooth out a process. After reading the literature, I discovered that it was best for me to summarize each article to help myself remember the key concepts from each one and then began to categorize those articles. Before no time, I realized I had a great start to a literature review. The beginning of the process had me feeling blank and confused. I did not know where to begin or where to go however, with time and patience, the process of discovery soon approached. I would like to share the process I discovered and I hope it may be beneficial to future literature reviewers/writers.

After the topic is chosen and defined, begin to search for materials related to the topic. The goal is to be able to analyze the materials/information to help you better understand the topic you have chosen. I found that books and journal articles are beneficial to help obtain the information you are looking for. It is good to evaluate your findings for credibility. After I read and evaluated my findings, I was able to analyze and interpret what the author/s were saying. Neil provided me with reference worksheets to fill in which were an awesome tool. I was able to identify the variables, methodology, findings, etc., as I read each article. I then wrote up a short discussion or story on what each article concluded and/or proved.

Once I had a summary written for each article, I reread the summaries and highlighted the important concepts I wanted to include in the review. I then categorized each concept from every article and numbered them. For example, I found information pertaining to the Latino culture (1), perceptions of Latinos in rural communities (2), ideas and suggestions for services (3), and so forth within the different articles. This helped me be able to put together an outline for the first draft of the literature review.

When writing the literature review, you want to include: a background on your topic, what literature was used, the findings (data), a conclusion, and further research needed to be done. It is critical to always paraphrase and cite the information you will be using throughout the review. Give credit to the authors, not yourself. A reference list should be attached including all literature reviewed. I was able to copy and paste from the summaries I produced after each article was read. This will save a lot of time for you.

It is always nice to have several people read and reread your literature review and offer suggestions for improvement. This gives you a chance to fix mistakes and/or add some more information. I am fortunate and grateful to have a wonderful, helpful team provide me with constructive criticism in order to improve the literature review I am working on. The literature review is a work in progress and could always use improvements. I have discovered many new ideas and thoughts that will be beneficial throughout the remainder of the project. I love the fact that I am able to share these ideas with the team and also expand on my knowledge through their ideas. It is a process of discovery all of the way through.

Posted by arivera at 8:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In order to help the team better understand the actual and perceived service and civic life needs and expectations in Southwest Minnesota, I have been reading several related articles to help myself and the team become more aware of those needs and expectations. The articles I have been reading provide us with valuable information on the Latino culture, factors affecting their participation, their perceptions of living in rural communities, ideas for services, and suggestions for community enhancement.

Many Latinos have decided to migrate to the United States to find better opportunities here for themselves and their families. The Midwestern states have experienced a surge of Latinos settling there. This has been termed the ‘browning of the Midwest’ (Dalla, Ellis & Cramer, 2005). Meatpacking is the primary magnet attracting immigrants to the Midwest for the reasons that it requires little training or job skills and there is no requirement to speak English.

Latinos are known to honor collectivism and are polychromic individuals. They value group orientation and loyalty to the extended family or group of which one is part. They focus more on promoting the interests of the group over individual interests. As for being polychromic individuals, Latinos do whatever is more appropriate for the moment and tend to think about and attempt to do a number of things simultaneously. As a result, it was found that Latinos emphasize the interpersonal relationships over breakthrough service. (Ellis & Cramer, 2005; Espinoza, 1999)

Latinos are overall less likely to take a stand and voice their opinion than non-Latinos. Some factors that may have an impact on this include: age, education, full-time employment, language barriers, citizenship, and fear of deportation. These variables will either affect them from becoming involved in their communities or not. Language barriers appear to be the biggest reason for the lack of participation among Latinos. (Martinez, 2005; Culver, 2004; & Dalla, Ellis, & Cramer, 2005).

Unfortunately to many white residents in small communities, Latinos are perceived as “irresponsible” and “uncaring.” Many non-Latinos are unaware of the underlying reasons of how and why Latinos contribute to their communities. Because of the language barrier, it is difficult for them to become leaders in the community or they do, but within the Latino community only. Language barriers also prevents them from sufficient job training, recreational activities, and other employment opportunities. Latinos often refer to their marginalized experiences of living in small towns; however, many have positive experiences as well. Many expressed feeling of safety here compared to their native country and they were happy with the education their children are able to receive. They were also satisfied with the affordable living costs. Some were experiencing racial discrimination, but are confident that the surge of more Latinos will ease that. (Chavez, 2005; Dalla & Christensen, 2005; Dalla, Ellis & Cramer, 2005)

Some ideas and suggestions for community enhancement varied from education to equal opportunities for all. There were implications made for all communities to develop a culturally inclusive community where all residents can integrate and share their cultural strengths and attachments, values, and social support. There is a dire need for translators/interpreters to be available at all community events in order to keep everyone from the community involved and informed. Some other implications authors suggested were: preparation of the communities to prepare for the population influx through establishing planning committees and offering town hall meetings to inform all residents of change, schools embracing and preparing for ethnically diverse student populations, offering ESL classes on site, immediately following work, and to establish community networks. (Dalla & Christensen, 2005; Dalla, Ellis & Cramer, 2005; Culver, 2004).

This information gives us a background of some things to expect while also providing us with some suggestions on how to improve community involvement with Latinos. With this in mind, we are provided with cues for additional probes, recruiting ideas, and additional services to offer for improvement.

References

Chavez, S. (2005). Community, ethnicity, and class in a changing rural California town. Rural Sociology, 70(3), pp. 314-335.

Culver, L. (2004). The impact of new immigration patterns on the provision of police services in Midwestern communities. Journal of Criminal Justice, 32, 329-344.

Dalla, R., & Christensen, A. (2005). Latino immigrants describe residence in rural Midwestern meatpacking communities: A longitudinal assessment of social and economic change. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 27(1), pp. 23-42.

Dalla, R., Ellis, A., & Cramer, S. ( 2005). Immigration and rural America. Latino’s perceptions of work and residence in three meatpacking communities. Community, Work and Family, 8(2), pp. 163-185.

Espinoza, M.M. (1999). Assessing the cross-cultural applicability of a service quality measure. A comparative study between Quebec and Peru. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 10(5), 449-468.

Martinez, L. (2005). Yes we can: Latino participation in unconventional politics. Social Forces, 84(1), pp. 136-145.

Posted by arivera at 5:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It is always exciting to meet new people and learn new things that may have an impact on who we are. A wise man once told me, “It’s not about who you know, it’s about who knows you.” I never realized how true this is until he had told me. It is the lasting impressions we make that will take us on our journeys in life. Fortunately, I have made those impressions and that is how I ended up in the position I am in today. I am grateful to have guidance from our Lord to be able to help other Latinos reach their potential, just as I have done. I have found my passion in life and with this opportunity of working with the University of Minnesota Extension, I will be able to expand on my knowledge of how to improve and become a better leader.

I have already learned so much during my first week at Extension and I am eager to keep on learning. I have also met some wonderful people who have been so helpful in helping me achieve the goals I was assigned to. I have been learning more about what the University of Minnesota Extension has to offer, while also reading up on some background information pertaining to the research project I will be assisting with. The project’s title is, Bridging the Gap: Understanding the Customer Service and Civic Life Needs and Expectations of Latinos in Southwest Minnesota. I am eagerly excited to start collecting the data and putting the results together.

I was unaware of the many different resources, programs, and services Extension has to offer to all members of communities throughout Minnesota. There were many helpful links I found to be advantageous for myself and my family. It is a user friendly site providing access for Spanish speaking individuals as well. I liked learning about what the Answerline has to offer. I can call the 800 number and household experts would be available to answer any household issues I would have, i.e., cooking, cleaning, removing stains, etc… I was amazed to learn about the extent to which the U of M deals with agriculture, food, and the environment. It is exciting to know how much Extension is committed to helping communities grow and succeed. I can now start spreading the word as to how beneficial the programs and services are to everyone.

That is where our project would fit in. The research team will be strengthening their understanding of how to meet the customer service needs and expectations of Latinos in Minnesota, and how to strengthen their public participation in the communities they reside in. The data collected will be critical in helping us better understand of how to meet their needs. I have been reading some related articles to provide insight to the team on background information of the Latino culture while also addressing how to meet the customer and public participation needs of Latino audiences.

The first article I read was by Lisa Martinez, "Yes We Can: Latino Participation in Unconventional Politics." This article examined the determinants of unconventional participation among Latinos. It was looking at the factors that would determine whether or not Latinos would participate in protesting, signing a petition, attending a public meeting or a rally, or anything else to stand up for their rights and let their voice be heard. The data was gathered from the 1989/90 Latino National Political Survey (LPNS). The LPNS examined the motivations and underpinnings of Latino political involvement. Some of the variables included were age, gender, parent, church attendance, education, income, full-time employment, organizational affiliation, citizenship, and generation status. Contrary to theoretical predictions, Latinos are less likely to protest compared to non-Latinos. However, some factors that had a positive effect on the likelihood of participating were education, presence of children in the household, income, church attendance, citizenship, and generation status. This information could be helpful to the team when recruiting for the focus groups. We now know the groups that would be more or less likely to participate.

The second article I read was by Sergio Chavez, "Community, Ethnicity, and Class in a Changing Rural California Town." It dealt with the extent to which Mexicans are involved within the community and how white residents perceive them. I would have to say I was a little disappointed after reading the article. It saddens me to read about the perceptions of white residents towards Mexicans. In this particular rural town in California, Mexicans are perceived as “irresponsible” and “uncaring” mainly because of the absence of them from the community events, which were held in English only. Formal and informal interviews were conducted with a variety of residents from the community. There were also several observations made and noted dealing with the participation rate of Mexicans. Mexicans were involved in the community, however, they were involved in other ways that were not traditional to the white residents. They were involved with their church, maintenance of the local park where they played soccer, a volunteer organization offering resources to the Latinos called Comite, etc… Many Latinos referred to their marginalized experiences living in this town, while the white residents often referred to their lack of participation in the community. This article could be beneficial for probing more questions along with the original focus group questions.

I look forward to learning more about the needs and expectations of Latinos and especially getting started with the focus groups.

Posted by arivera at 9:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My name is Alena Rivera. I am a graduate student at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, MN. I was recently offered an internship opportunity with the University of Minnesota Extension office in Marshall and happily accepted the offer. I will be working with a team to research the Latino community in Worthington, MN. With my background being Mexican American, I am thrilled about the opportunity to help make a difference for Latinos in this community.

I will be examining various Latino audiences in the Worthington community and their experiences regarding success and/or lack of success. I will be focusing on the following questions in order to help better serve the Latino population in Worthington.
1. What does success mean for Latinos of this particular rural community?
2. What experiences have Latinos had regarding civic life in rural Minnesota?
3. What are the customer service expectations Latinos have in this particular community?
4. How is the Latinos' motivation to succeed affected by the experiences they encounter?
5. What can be done to help Latinos strive for success?
The exact methodology is yet to be determined.
Please keep in mind that these are just ideas and there may be revisions made.

We have great hopes that the results from this research will bring about positive changes for all Latinos.

Posted by arivera at 4:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)