Digital Commons Network^™

Surviving As A Runaway: Services For This Population, Noelia Sanchez

Theses Digitization Project

There are thousands of children who run away from their homes each year for a variety of reasons. These children involved themselves in risky behaviors to survive while on the streets. This has been an ongoing problem that many have tried to alleviate by providing- different types of resources throughout the United States. However, there is more that could be done to help our youth stay safe. This population should be of great concern to society because they are part of the future.

This study looked into what runaways have to do to survive while on the streets by interviewing …

Born Criminal: The Criminalization Of African Americans, Debra Carolyn Wasserman

Theses Digitization Project

This study examined the factors that have contributed to the overrepresentation of Black Americans in the criminal justice system.

Assessing Human Immunodeficiency Virus Testing Attitudes Among African Immigrants, Hazel Namona Nachembe

Theses Digitization Project

This study attempted to assess and explore the attitudes of African immigrants towards HIV testing and seeking HIV services in the U.S. The pool of HIV/AIDS cases among blacks at risk in the United States does not clearly distinguish between African Americans and Black African immigrants in regard to attitudes on HIV testing. A closer exploration of African immigrants as specific black sub-groups within the larger group of blacks or African Americans infected with HIV may help distinguish and explain the increase in incidents and high risk behaviors among blacks.

Blackness As A Weapon: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of The 2009 Henry Louis Gates Arrest In National Mainstream Media, Ashley Ann Jones

Theses Digitization Project

This study analyzed the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and USA Today's contributions to portraying the 2009 Henry L. Gates arrest. This study is interested in finding out how nationally circulated mainstream dailies and weeklies framed the indident and Gates' image within their news coverage. This study also seeks to find out how the media constructed race. Most importantly, this study seeks to uncover racial stereotypes as they relate to race and social status.

Placement Stability Of Legal Guardianship With Relative And Non-Relative Caregivers, Erin Renee Hebert

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study is to measure the stability of relative and non-relative legal guardianship placements.

Social Workers Attitudes Toward Providing Social Services To Undocumented Immigrants, Michael Ryan Chavez

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to examine social workers' and social work students' attitudes toward providing publicly funded social services to undocumented workers.

The Relationship Between Sexual Assault Disclosure Reactions And Psychological Symptoms, Danielle Renee Buckland

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to investigate sexual assault disclosure reactions and psychological symptoms. It was predicted that negative disclosure reactions would be positively correlated with psychological symptoms and positive disclosure reactions would be negatively correlated with psychological symptoms. Participants include twenty-nine females who had previously experienced a sexual assault. Each participant filled out several on-line questionnaires.

Evaluation Of Services For Adults With A Dual Diagnosis In The Criminal Justice System, Cheryl Anne Stebbings

Theses Digitization Project

San Bernardino Forensic Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) is a community-based program created to serve San Bernardino County adults with serious mental illness, who have also had repeated contacts with the criminal justice system as a result of their mental illness. Finding a balance of how mental health providers and the criminal justice system can work together to design effective treatment plans for these clients is essential in helping them accomplish this. This research evaluated the effectiveness of services from the FACT program.

Quality Or Quantity?: Refining The Definition Of The Means Efficacy Construct And Its Relationship To Task Specific Self-Efficacy, Jennifer Renee Rice

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to expand on the definition of the means efficacy construct and its relationship to task-specific self-efficacy. The current research has three studies: assesssing quality means efficacy from a self-report method, study two assessing quality means efficacy from a self-report method, and study three comparing quality and quantity means efficacy to determine which would be a better predictor of confidence in various tasks.

Descriptive Analysis Of Authorized Psychotropic Medication Trends In Foster Care Youth In California, Jamila Amber Russ, Amy Lynn Mallit

Theses Digitization Project

Knowledge of the trends of authorized psychotropic medication among foster care youth in California is of great importance. With the understanding of these trends, child welfare agencies are able to improve their policies pertaining to consent and oversight.

An Evolutionary Psychology Perspective On Responsibility Attributions For Infidelity And Relationship Dissolution, Kindra Lynn Edmonson

Theses Digitization Project

This study investigated responsibility attributions for a partner's emotional infidelity and for a partner's sexual infidelity, and the likelyhood that the victim or partner would end the relationship. This study found a significant relationship between responsibility attributions for a romantic partner's unfaithfulness and the likelihood the relationship would end: the stronger the attributions of personal responsibility the more likely the relationship would dissolve.

Can Social Workers Recognize Depression In The Elderly?, Teresa Ramon, Monica Maria Wettengel

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study is to explore whether social workers can recognize depression in the elderly. The elderly who are experiencing depression usually do not seek treatment from mental health professionals. Instead they go to primary care personnel in medical settings. Yet, social workers are employed in medical settings and are part of the primary care personnel. But, often the medical and/or mental health communities' lack of recognition of late life depression results from the attitude that old age is innately a downward spiral into limitations, weakness, helplessness, and burdensome existence.

Court Mandated Treatments: Participation In Alcoholics Anonymous, Ruth Sophia Guerrero

Theses Digitization Project

This study provides a building block for future studies to further explore the meanings of Alcholics Anonymous (A.A.) and what makes it work. It specfically focused on the effects of A.A. on court mandated substance abuse treatment programs. Social workers may not always understand A.A.'s impact because there are no 'experts' providing services, yet it works because of the peer support system within the group and Social Workers need to encourage clients to participate in the court mandated treatment as part of their recovery.

Brazil Under Change, Roberta Alves Costa Melo

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this case study is to identify the policies and programs that President Lula's administration has instituted to alleviate poverty in Brazil. This study will seek to determine if the economic condition of the poor has been improved as a result of Lula's ascent to the Presidency. The methodology applied to this study is a qualitative strategy of inquiry. This is a case study on the outcome of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The research design is based on a philospohical advocacy/participatory worldview.

Early Maladaptive Schemas And Negative Eating Attitudes: The Moderating Role Of Acculturation In Latina College Students, Stacey Cardoz Lopez

Theses Digitization Project

The current study focused on the prevalence of negative eating attitudes in one hundred and forty-five Latina college students and delineated the cognitive and cultural factors that may be responsible for the increase in negative eating attitudes (NEAT) in Latinas. Questionnaires were distributed to college students enrolled in various social science classes in undergraduate psychology courses at Cal State University, San Bernardino for extra course credit.

What Children Should Know About Cancer: Parent's Perception, Kristyn Gina Sutton

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project will focus on how and for what reasons parents inform their children of their cancer. Through the use of focus groups and the participation of parents, sick and healthy, this study will bring to light the truth of what parents feel their children should know about their cancer and why they may feel it necessary to tell them about their cancer.

The Creation Of Self-Directed Nutrition Education Modules In The Women, Infants, And Children (Wic) Program, Veronica Huff

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project was to design a series of self-directed learning modules for enrollees in the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program in Riverside County, California. The WIC Program is a supplemental nutrition program that, among other things, provides participants with nutrition education to help them understand the health benefits of choosing more nutritious food. This project features information concerning the problem of food insecurity, the nutrition education of low-income women and children in the WIC program, and the characteristics of adult learners. The objective was to examine the WIC participants' comprehension and willingness to use self-directed learning …

The North Shore Public Transportation Dilemma: How Local Sociopolitical Ideologies, Ethnic Discrimination And Class Oppression Create Marginalization, And A Community's Quest For Social Justice, Katrina Renea Millet, Lisa Renee Otero

Theses Digitization Project

This research attempted to uncover the sociopolitical ideologies, ethnic discrimination, and class oppression that create sustained social dominance through resource control in the unicorporated community of the Salton Sea located in Eastern Riverside County, California in regard to public transportation issues.

Comparing Conscientiousness And Neuroticism In Predicting Task Performance And Contextual Performance, Lu Qin

Theses Digitization Project

The primary aim of this proposal is to address the relationship of effort intensity to neuroticism in predicting task performance and compare conscientiousness and neuroticism in predicting task performance and contextual performance. Building on previous studies' results, Big Five personality factors were examined as correlates of job performance. A pilot survey was distributed to a total of 251 participants who were working at least 20 hours a week collected from five organizations in the Los Angeles area.

Gratitude Intervention And Its Effect On Substance Abusers, Patricia Kelleen Mcclanahan

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of an intervention seen to increase life satisfaction in substance abuse treatment. While treatment models have improved, results remain low for long-term abstinence. The study participants were substance-abuse treatment clients at Mental Health Systems (MHS). This study will measure, in terms of increased life satisfaction, the effectiveness of a daily gratitude list on the negative mindset of substance abusers in treatment. The focus of this study will be the use of intervention that has been seen as beneficial in enhancing personal well-being.

The Stigmatization Of Methadone Maintenance Treatment And Its Effect On Social Support, Kenia Gabriela Rivas, Franceen Mary Rosales

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to explore the correlation between perceived stigmatization from family as well as friends and its probable effects on social support from the same. Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) is a treatment modality that has been proven to help achieve abstinence. However, due to controversy over MMT, this has brought stigmatization, social injustice and powerlessness to those who seek out treatment.

The Calm In The Midst Of A Chaotic Life: Learning Personal Social Communication In A Media-Saturated World, Lavonne Michelle Renno

Theses Digitization Project

This project takes Theatre of the Oppressed and Theater Games to elementary age students in the High Desert, helping them work through emotional issues and developing responses that would enable them to resist the allure of gangs, which offer the pretense of security and a sense of belonging. The objective of the project is to help teach students to have positive interactions with each other and adults. A group of fifth and sixth grade under privileged low income students from the High Desert region was selected to participate in this after school program. The program was based on psychodrama and …

The Art Of Nursing: An Evaluation Of Congruence Of Nurse-Patient Perceptions Of The Healing Interaction, Gillian Yvonne Dargan-Doxzon

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study is to pilot a new tool that encompasses both patients' and nurses' perceptions of the nurse-patient interaction. This pairing of surveys will measure congruence of the perceptions between the nurse and the patient.

Motivation For Paticipation In The Senior Peer Counseling Program, Stephanie Auld Kleppe

Theses Digitization Project

This study looked at the Senior Peer Counseling Program to see what motivated these seniors to volunteer. Much research has been done on voluteering and the older adult population, much of it showing the benefits of volunteering on the health and well-being of the seniors that volunteer. The San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health's Agewise program has has a Senior Peer Counseling Program in effect since 1987 and increased it through MHSA (Mental Health Services Act) funding in 2007.

Participants' Perceptions On The Effectiveness Of The "Parents In Partnership" Program Of Los Angeles County, Shaniece Anejo Hunter-Moffett

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to examine participants' perceptions on the effectiveness of the "Parents in Partnership" program (PIP) of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. Parents in Partnership (PIP) is a collaborative effort between the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and parent partner paraprofessionals toward facilitation of safe reunification and permanency through education, support and mentoring of birth parents. The program's sole goal is the timely and safe reunification of children and their families. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with fourteen participants in the PIP program. Both mentors and mentees were interviewed.

Foster Parents' Perspectives On Foster Children With Autistic Spectrum Disorder In The Child Welfare System And How They Impact The Lives Of The Foster Parents, Uchechukwu Adaure Alozie

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to examine how foster parents contributed to the wellness and permanency of an autistic foster child and to know if foster caregivers were adequately equipped to care for a child with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Foster parents of children with ASD were interviewed to gather their opinions and perceptions about whether their autistic foster children were receiving adequate services and if these services increased the child's safety and quality of life. The study used a qualitative design, with in-depth face-to-face and telephone interviews with nine foster parents of children diagnosed with ASD in child …

Face-To-Face Communication Versus Memo Communication To Announce Mergers And Acquisitions The Importance Of Media Richness, Janell Marie Hopeck

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to examine the current research on mergers and acquisitions which includes organizational factors, such as communication processes, and their impact on employee reactions. The current study addresses this issue through a simulated M&A announcement laboratory experiment with 156 CSUSB undergraduate students.

African-Americans' Perceptions Of Hospice Care, Gina Elizabeth Wagner

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to reveal how African Americans view hospice care and how cultural values, economic factors and the amount of knowledge about hospice further impact the experiences African Americans have with hospice.

Evaluation Of The Effectiveneess Of Social Work Intervention In The "Making Attendance A Priority Program", Justine Beatriz Rangel

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to address the problem of truancy by looking at what types of effective interventions helped to decrease truancy within the preadolescent population. This study looks at the correlation between a social work intervention and attendence with 27 fifth grade students who were in the MAPP program (Making Attendance a Priority Program). An evaluation of the effectiveness of a social work intervention on truancy rates for students in the MAPP program.

International Graffiti And The Israeli Separation Barrier, Veronica Evangelina Miranda

Theses Digitization Project

This purpose of this study is to show that graffiti can be more than mere vandalism and can be a powerful way of communicating resistance to injustice when used as protest. Graffiti on the Israeli Separation Barrier is one way people can speak against an oppressive force that alters their physical environment, which can be a site of continuous argument.