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Archive for: Ian Holloway

UCLA Luskin Scholars Receive Fulbright Awards

March 8, 2022/0 Comments/in Luskin's Latest Blog Ian Holloway, Mark S. Kaplan /by Stan Paul

Two UCLA Luskin Social Welfare faculty members have been named Fulbright awardees by the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Professor of Social Welfare Mark S. Kaplan received a Fulbright Specialist Award, which will allow him to complete a project at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid in Spain in the Department of Social Sciences. Professor of Social Welfare Ian Holloway received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award, which enables American scholars, artists, faculty and professionals to lecture and conduct research abroad for up to a year. Kaplan, now a four-time Fulbright awardee, said the main focus of his project with the Spanish university is to help “design and plan internationalization strategies for their research that maximize the impact of their work.” The Fulbright Specialist Program sends U.S. faculty and professionals to serve as expert consultants on curriculum, faculty development, institutional planning and related subjects at academic institutions abroad for two to six weeks. Holloway will spend four months as a visiting scholar at Universidad de Los Andes and work in partnership with a community-based organization in Bogotá, Colombia, that serves transgender people engaged in human rights organizing. The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to build connections between the United States and other countries. The program, which operates in over 160 countries, was established in 1946 and has provided more than 400,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists and scientists the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.


 

Holloway Calls for Safety Precautions on LGBTQ Dating Apps

November 29, 2021/0 Comments/in Luskin in the News Ian Holloway /by Zoe Day

Professor of Social Welfare Ian Holloway spoke to Insider about the importance of safety precautions to protect users of LGBTQ dating apps such as Grindr. These apps have proven to be useful platforms for people to connect with one another, especially during the pandemic, but some have safety risks. Holloway noted that apps like Grindr “could be taking further steps to protect users.” For example, he suggested stronger staffing to help review profiles and monitor reports of improper behavior. “There’s often very little vetting because of the sheer volume of guys using these apps,” Holloway explained. At the start of 2021, Grindr reported having over 13 million active users worldwide, with only 100 customer support and content moderation staffers. “There is not enough content moderation on these platforms,” Holloway said. “And there’s really nothing that I’ve seen that allows users to escalate a case where they can get to an actual person.”

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A Milestone Year for the Public Affairs Major First undergraduate commencement marks a growing program filled with energetic students already making an impact

July 15, 2021/0 Comments/in Luskin Forum Online Ian Holloway /by Les Dunseith

By Mary Braswell

People across the country are speaking out against educational inequities in their communities, but how can they get the tools they need to turn that passion into action?

 Answering that question has guided Valeria Moedano this year as she became one of the first UCLA Luskin undergraduates to put their public affairs training to the test in a real-world setting.

Moedano’s work with a national nonprofit committed to expanding opportunities for children fulfilled her experiential learning capstone, the signature feature of a major that integrates civic engagement with social science research.

The capstone was the last step before Moedano’s early graduation at the end of winter quarter, making her one of the first students to earn UCLA’s bachelor of arts in public affairs. In June, about 70 other Trailblazers, as this cohort is known, joined her, taking part in the Luskin School’s inaugural undergraduate commencement.

Moedano’s capstone project provided her internship host, Leadership for Educational Equity, with a toolkit to measure its members’ strengths and weaknesses as they enter the community organizing arena.

“We created an assessment that works like a quiz or rubric that our members can take to identify skills they need to develop,” Moedano said.

“A lot of these members are classroom teachers, so they don’t necessarily have skills like writing a policy memo or doing research or using data to tell a story,” she said. “But that’s what they have to do to get wins within their school districts or their states.”

As part of her research, Moedano interviewed organizers from campaigns in Louisiana, Texas and South Dakota that scored big legislative or policy victories in the fight for educational equity. Her aim was to identify strategies that could be shared with the nonprofit’s nationwide network of advocates.

Moedano presented these case studies and unveiled the skills assessment at a virtual gathering of more than 30 of the nonprofit organization’s leaders
in March. The audience included Mollie Stephens MPP MSW ’16, who served as both capstone advisor and career coach. After graduation, Moedano stayed on at the organization as a research and data associate.

Each member of the Class of 2021 completed the rigorous capstone requirement, which includes a seminar series, at least 220 hours of field work and creation of a plan or project designed to bring tangible benefits to the internship host.

Interest in the major has soared as more students have become aware of its multidisciplinary curriculum firmly rooted in public service. Next year’s graduating class is expected to number about 115; the year after that, about 140 and then 165 in 2023-24.

And of the record-shattering 139,463 students who applied to UCLA for freshman admission in fall 2021, 748 selected public affairs as a pre-major.
These numbers put the program on track to meet its enrollment capacity of 600 by the 2022-2023 academic year, which would allow the major to expand its selection of courses. 

Among the classes now offered is an examination of the roots of democracy and the forces that threaten to undermine it, taught by UCLA Luskin’s Gary Segura — the rare dean to embrace the opportunity to teach a lower-division foundational course.

“I love teaching undergraduates,” Segura said. “This course gives me the opportunity to open their minds to the core concepts of American democracy and the core cleavages in American society.

“Our major is attracting amazingly talented and committed students who want to be a force for positive change!”

Launching the capstone program amid a pandemic had one silver lining: Internship hosts need not be located within commuting distance of Westwood. The 40-plus capstone sponsors included sites in San Diego, Sacramento, Washington state and Washington, D.C.

Trailblazer Juliette Frank landed a spot in the San Francisco mayor’s office, where she helped craft communications in the department of housing and community development. Hearing the city’s top official use talking points she wrote was a thrill, Frank said.

For her capstone project, Frank and other UCLA interns developed strategies to better inform vulnerable communities about services offered by the city.

“I realized after starting this internship that communication is so key to everything,” she said.

The internship’s location appealed to the New Jersey native, who was considering relocating to the Bay Area as graduation approached. And working remotely helped her manage a hectic schedule.

Frank’s typical day started at 5:45 a.m. on the waters of Marina Del Rey, where she joined her UCLA women’s rowing teammates to prepare for competition. She completed a second internship with the regenerative farming nonprofit Kiss the Ground for her food studies minor. And she’s pursuing her interest in health, digestion and the body’s microbiome as an undergraduate researcher at the university’s G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience.

“Food touches every aspect of everything in our world, but our food system is so broken,” said Frank, who aspires to use her UCLA training to help build sustainable food systems.

“I am now fully connecting the dots in terms of my major and minor, and it made me realize my interest in improving our food systems through a policy lens specifically.”

The Luskin undergraduate program has marked one milestone after another since the first public affairs class was taught at UCLA in fall 2018.

 Social Welfare Associate Professor Ian Holloway taught the course — PA 80: “How Environments Shape Human Development” — and memorialized the moment by taking a selfie with his students.

“They’re bright and they’re engaged and they come from such a diverse set of life experiences that they’re just a pleasure to teach,” Holloway said of the undergraduates.

Holloway taught PA 80 again this year, this time via Zoom. He looks forward to the resumption of in-person classes, which better suits his teaching style of encouraging dialogue and letting the interplay of ideas guide instruction.

Because the pandemic was tough on students, academically, financially and emotionally, he expanded his office hours to open up time to speak with them one-on-one. “That’s what’s required of this moment,” Holloway said during winter quarter, when the coronavirus was at its peak in Los Angeles.

Ever since the major debuted, Holloway has served as a sounding board for students mulling over whether public affairs is a good fit.

“I try to emphasize the point that our major is a great balance of critical analysis and exposure to theories used to formulate arguments, but also practical skills that equip them to go out and actually do the work of changing the world.”

Marcos Magana’s capstone experience took him back to rural eastern Coachella Valley, where he grew up.

Magana connected with the Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability, a nonprofit that partners with local residents to fight for equitable housing, transportation and environmental policies — and, this year, to educate the community about COVID-19 resources. 

For his capstone project, Magana developed a catalog of the area’s scattered clusters of mobile homes, noting who owns the property and the conditions of the surrounding land.

“When our organization does any type of work out here, this will be a resource,” he said. “When you need to communicate with this population, you’ll know who they are, where they are and what their circumstances are.”

As one of a handful of Trailblazers completing an honors thesis in the major, Magana also researched the unintended impacts of Indio’s transformation into a tourist destination since the surrounding Coachella Valley became a mecca for music lovers.

Redevelopment catering to short-term visitors and an increased police presence year-round can have a negative effect on the city’s long-established residents, said Magana, whose honors advisor was Michael Lens, associate professor of urban planning and public policy.

Concerned about protecting the health of the population, Magana has also measured the effects of contaminated dust storms from the shrinking Salton Sea for his minor in geospatial information systems and technologies. He’ll continue to hone these data-mining skills in the fall when he enters UCLA’s master’s program in GIS.

Magana was already thinking of minoring in public affairs when the new major was announced, and he is glad he made the switch.

“The public affairs major just opened my mind to different ways of thinking,” he said. “They force you to look at issues, problems and life, and just a multitude of things, through different lenses and to understand how other people see the world.”

Holloway on Pandemic’s Impact on Gay Social Life

April 8, 2021/0 Comments/in Luskin in the News Ian Holloway /by Zoe Day

A Daily Beast article about the impact of the pandemic on gay communities cited research by Ian Holloway, director of the Hub for Health Intervention, Policy and Practice at UCLA Luskin. Stay-at-home orders resulted in the closing of many gay bars and other social spaces for LGBTQ individuals. Holloway was the lead author of a study that surveyed 10,000 gay men in 20 countries about their mental health and use of social networking during the pandemic lockdown. The study found that those who only left their homes for essentials during the first COVID lockdowns were 37% more likely to feel anxious than those who didn’t, and 36% more likely to feel lonely. It’s important to remember that gay men “come to this pandemic with disproportionate rates of mental health issues,” said Holloway, an associate professor of social welfare. Distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine is allowing some businesses to reopen, but no one knows when bars and nightclubs will return to normal.

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Holloway on Fostering Connection Among Gay Men During Pandemic

March 4, 2021/0 Comments/in Luskin in the News Ian Holloway /by Zoe Day

Associate Professor of Social Welfare Ian Holloway joined Channel Q’s “Let’s Go There” podcast to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on gay and bisexual men. In a recent study of over 10,000 gay and bisexual men in 20 countries, Holloway found that boredom, loneliness and isolation are driving some men to seek sex with others outside of their households, while others are turning to technology to fulfill a need for connection. While gay and bisexual men have been targeted as culprits of breaking lockdown orders, nearly two-thirds of the males in the study were following stay-at-home orders in their local jurisdictions, Holloway said. “It’s natural for gay men to want to foster sexual connection during a pandemic,” he said. “This isn’t our first rodeo.” Holloway said he believes there can be good public health messaging around how to maintain sexuality even while taking precautions against COVID. The podcast segment featuring Holloway begins at minute 29.

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Luskin Summit Looks at Sexual Health in the COVID-19 Era

February 26, 2021/0 Comments/in Luskin's Latest Blog Ayako Miyashita Ochoa, Ian Holloway /by Zoe Day

The sixth Luskin Summit webinar, “Sexual Health: Hooking Up With Home-Based Testing and Telemedicine,” featured a panel of experts in health care, medicine, research and policy. Moderator Ayako Miyashita Ochoa, adjunct assistant professor of social welfare, explained that while the COVID-19 pandemic has presented new challenges for health care delivery, it has also served as an opportunity to integrate remote practices into sexual health care services. Associate Professor of Social Welfare Ian Holloway highlighted the resilience of sexual health care providers in their ability to pivot to remote care during the pandemic. “Telehealth is here to stay,” he said. Leah Millheiser, senior vice president of medical affairs for the telemedicine company Hims & Hers, noted that many patients who avoided physician offices out of fear of judgment or embarrassment are now taking advantage of telehealth services. Sonali Kulkarni, medical director of the Division of HIV/STD Programs for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, said that testing is an essential part of the strategy to address rising rates of sexually transmitted diseases. According to Holloway, physical distancing measures in place around the world have had a significant impact on the mental health of gay and bisexual men. Alex Garner of the Gay Sexuality and Social Policy Initiative at UCLA Luskin has been working on ways to promote and provide public health information on gay social networking apps while still respecting them as unique, cultivated spaces for men to connect with one another and to mitigate experiences of loneliness and isolation during the pandemic. — Zoe Day

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Study Focuses on Mental Health of Gay Men Amid Pandemic Feelings of anxiety and loneliness are widespread amid the global isolation caused by COVID-19, UCLA Luskin-led survey shows

February 8, 2021/0 Comments/in Diversity, For Faculty, For Policymakers, For Students, For Undergraduates, Global Public Affairs, Health Care, Public Policy News, Research Projects, School of Public Affairs, Social Welfare, Social Welfare News, Social Welfare PhD, Urban Planning Ian Holloway /by Les Dunseith
Sixty-three percent of men who participated in a new UCLA-led study reported only leaving their home for essentials amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The research suggests being in isolation has contributed to feelings of anxiety and loneliness, and dissatisfaction with their sex life.

The study, by the Gay Sexuality and Social Policy Initiative at UCLA Luskin, was published in the Journal of Homosexuality. It focuses on a group that historically has been disproportionately affected by poor health outcomes. The results are based on responses from more than 10,000 men in 20 countries via a survey conducted in April and May 2020 on Hornet, a social networking app, which also participated in the research.

The paper’s lead author, Ian Holloway, is faculty director of UCLA’s Gay Sexuality and Social Policy Initiative, which is dedicated to understanding the complexities of gay male sexuality. Other authors are from UC San Francisco and the LGBT Foundation in San Francisco.

Participants were asked 58 questions about the impact of stay-at-home orders on their lives. Those who reported not going out or only going out for essentials were categorized as staying in. Everyone else, including essential workers and those who said they continued to go out socially amid the pandemic, were categorized as not staying in.

The study found that those who have stayed in during the pandemic were:

  • 37% more likely to feel anxious than those who haven’t stayed in.
  • 36% more likely to feel lonely.
  • 28% more likely to use text messaging to stay connected with others.
  • 54% more likely to use video calls to connect with others.

“We know that all people are affected by the isolation that can result from physical distancing,” said Holloway, a UCLA associate professor of social welfare. “Our concern is that the harm may be more severe among gay and bisexual men, who face disproportionate rates of poor mental health and sexual health outcomes. COVID-19 has exacerbated stress, anxiety and social isolation within our communities.”

Most of the survey participants were between the ages of 18 and 34 (55.5%), identified as gay (78.6%), were currently employed (67.7%) and had health care coverage (85.4%). In addition, most lived in a large urban center (69.8%) and were not in a relationship at the time of the survey (67.4%).

Social networking apps like Hornet provide an opportunity for people around the world “to connect with one another and cultivate a sense of community,” said Alex Garner, one of the study’s co-authors and senior health innovation strategist at Hornet. “We must invest in interventions that include harm reduction approaches and leverage technology where possible to increase access to necessary health services and strengthen community connections.”

Sean Howell, a co-author of the study and CEO of the LGBT Foundation, noted that many in the LGBTQ community lack the resources to effectively combat COVID-19, and it is especially critical to understand the challenges facing younger gay people.

“They face greater economic jeopardy or have increased exposure to the virus,” Howell said.

Holloway said there will be significant challenges in tracking mental health outcomes for gay men and other vulnerable communities in the coming months and years. “Our study shows us that technology can help us meet the moment.”

Holloway also directs the UCLA Hub for Health Intervention, Policy and Practice, the umbrella organization for the Gay Sexuality and Social Policy Initiative. In addition to producing research, the initiative will conduct policy analysis and participate in community mobilization seeking to empower global gay communities.

Holloway on Slow Uptake of HIV Prevention Medication

January 22, 2021/0 Comments/in Luskin in the News, Social Welfare PhD Ian Holloway /by Zoe Day

Associate Professor of Social Welfare Ian Holloway was featured in an Instinct Magazine piece about a multi-year study of PrEP familiarity and use among gay and bisexual men. PrEP, a preventative medicine for people at risk for HIV, can be highly effective when taken as prescribed. Holloway’s study found that while gay and bisexual men are more familiar with PrEP than in the past, many are still not using the medicine. “We are heartened to see an increase in PrEP familiarity in this relatively short period of time,” said Holloway, faculty director of the Gay Sexuality and Social Policy Initiative at UCLA Luskin. “But growth in favorable attitudes was modest, as was the increase in PrEP use among sexually active gay and bisexual men.” Looking forward, Holloway hopes to learn more about why PrEP use is still not very popular among at-risk men. The research was also featured in media outlets including Out and Edge.

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Holloway Wins Grant to Study Cannabis Marketing to LGBTQ Youth

December 9, 2020/0 Comments/in Luskin's Latest Blog Ian Holloway /by Mary Braswell

Ian Holloway, associate professor of social welfare, has received a grant of more than $400,000 from the California Bureau of Cannabis Control to advance his research into the impact of cannabis marketing targeting sexual and gender minority youth. The growing cannabis industry is aggressively pitching its products to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth through online and print media, Holloway said. His research will seek to measure the reach of that messaging and determine whether it leads to greater cannabis use among this group of young people. Filling these knowledge gaps could help explain cannabis-related health disparities among LGBTQ youth and identify targets for regulation of cannabis marketing, he said. Holloway is director of the Hub for Health Intervention, Policy and Practice at UCLA Luskin and a member of the Cannabis Research Initiative at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. He and Evan Krueger, a post-doctoral scholar at USC’s Health, Emotion & Addiction Laboratory, are principal investigators of the study. Their grant from the Bureau of Cannabis Control is a portion of nearly $30 million recently awarded to California universities to study the impact of Proposition 64, which legalized the recreational use of cannabis for people 21 or older. Across UCLA, faculty and research centers have been awarded $6.4 million from the bureau to study topics including the toxicity of inhaled and second-hand cannabis smoke and employment conditions in California’s cannabis industry. UCLA’s extended track record for cutting-edge cannabis research dates as far back as the 1970s.


 

UCLA Luskin Social Welfare PhD Virtual Information Session

September 11, 2020/0 Comments/in Admissions, Diversity, For Students, Mental Health, Resources, Social Welfare, Social Welfare PhD, Workshop Ian Holloway /by Oliver Ike

Come join Professor Ian Holloway, Doctoral Program Chair, for an information session regarding the Social Welfare PhD program at UCLA. He will provide an overview of the doctoral program, as well as the combined MSW/PhD program, and introduce Social Welfare faculty, current doctoral students and staff.

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