Digital Commons Network^™

Sa/Fe Program: A Rural Health Care Response To Sexual Assault, Sheri Arnett

Theses and Graduate Projects

Governor Arnie Carlson's Minnesota Task Force on Violence found that health care providers lack consistent health promotion for victims of sexual assault, especially in rural settings. Research has shown that efforts to help victims of sexual assault during the initial crisis, and in follow-up care, reducing harmful and expensive residual effects. This study describes the design and implementation of a sexual assault forensic examiner program for rural settings that reduces risks to the victim. A model of health addresses the psycho-social and forensic needs of victims and barriers to expert care, as well as demonstrates ways to reduce costs for …

Adolescent Females As Participants In Service Learning And Their Moral, Social, And Political Ideologies: A Case Study, Allison R. Erickson

Theses and Graduate Projects

Service learning programs have been increasingly more popular among social service agencies and academic institutions. Service learning curriculum are being adopted through efforts to provide for adolescents the opportunities to foster responsible character traits and to also prevent anti-social or health-compromising behavior. There has been considerable research regarding service learning and adolescence, however, little research is available on how the adolescents themselves perceive the effect their service learning experience has on themselves. I conducted a qualitative study exploring adolescent girls' understanding of the effect their community service experience had on their moral, social and political values. My research consisted of …

Development Of A Workshop Exploring Physical Disability And Film Media, Debra J. Peterson

Theses and Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to develop a one day workshop for human service professionals which would help them to explore commonly held attitudes and values towards citizens with disabilities and heighten awareness of the impact of popular media, particularly film, in the shaping of such values. The framework is founded in symbolic interactionism with an emphasis on the following concepts: disability, handicap, mass media and the formation of culture. Th rough individual and group activities, lecture, analysis of film segments and overhead transparencies, workshop participants would expand their awareness and skills associated with citizens with disabilities and obtain …

Historical Case Study Of Stella L. Wood, Bonnie G. Ostlund

Theses and Graduate Projects

The focus of this historical case study is to examine the life of Stella Louise Wood, an educator recognized for her leadership in public kindergarten and teacher training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She spearheaded the campaign for free public kindergartens in the city in 1896, and was the leader of its teacher training school for the following fifty-two years. In that time, Stella Wood shared her strong commitment to the youngest students and her dynamic spirit with over 2,500 teacher trainees, known as Miss Wood's girls. She lived to approve a merger of her school with Macalester College in St. Paul, …

An Investigation Of The Augsburg Leadership Development Model And Its Gender Role Association, Jackie Holien

Theses and Graduate Projects

Traditional models of leadership have been associated with either masculine or feminine traits, as illustrated by the transactional and transformational styles, respectively. A new model of leadership has emerged that requires that both feminine and masculine traits be incorporated into a leader's style. The Augsburg Leadership Development Model supports this new style of leadership by maintaining a neutral gender role association.

Critical Incident Stress And The Effectiveness Of Debriefing For Hospital Personnel, Brenda S. Verbick

Theses and Graduate Projects

A model of intervention called Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) has been developed for the hospital setting to mitigate the impact of a critical incident and to assist workers in recovering as quickly as possible from the stress associated with the event.

This quantitative cross-sectional survey expands the knowledge of the impact of critical incidents on hospital workers and the effectiveness of the CISD model of intervention in reducing stress reactions. Through a self-administered survey, participants were asked to complete a subjective stress measurement tool, the revised Impact of Event (IES-R), as well as a ‘helpfulness’ questionnaire developed to obtain …

Protecting Children With Nonorganic Failure To Thrive, Deirdra Hoolahan

Theses and Graduate Projects

Nonorganic failure to thrive (NOFTT) children are at risk. Their physical, cognitive and social development are threatened. They need more than hospitalized medical treatment, but also long-term intervention that will protect them from further neglect and damage. Through a method of policy analysis this research explores the definition of nonorganic failure to thrive in the context of child neglect, and how social policies protect children with NOFTT from further damaging neglect. This research found strengths in Child Protective Service's ability to receive reports of child neglect and weakness in that many children who are neglected do not receive the needed …

Twin Cities Homeless Youth: Assessment Of Problems And Needs, Carolyn P. Holmes

Theses and Graduate Projects

This study sought to gather data from key informants, who are professional staff members of agencies and community resources that serve homeless youths. Youth homelessness is on the rise and this study sought to gather the opinions. ideas, and recommendations of key informants that have or are working directly with this population to better understand their needs, in hopes to lessen or eliminate its growth in numbers around the Twin Cities area. Ninety surveys were sent to key informants and forty-six (51%) of the surveys were returned, which showed that there is great interest in and concern about the homeless …

Evaluating A Grief Support Group's Effectiveness In Alleviating A Person's Grief Experience, Kristin Lea Anderson

Theses and Graduate Projects

Grieving over the death of a loved one is an incredibly painful experience for anyone to endure. Moving through this grief in isolation can make the experience even more devastating. Fortunately, grief support groups have been developed as a way for people to receive the necessary emotional and social support during this difficult time. This study is a direct practice evaluation examining the effectiveness of a grief support group's ability to alleviate a person's level of anger, despair, and social isolation. Those participating in the study included 7 new members of a grief support group who had experienced the death …

Observing Attachment Disorder In Adults, Aileen G. Ockwig

Theses and Graduate Projects

Mental health professionals who work with adults typically encounter clients who have issues left over from childhood. This paper discusses the Attachment Theory first conceptualized by John Bowlby and the therapeutic implications with adults concerning attachment theory based on psychoanalytic-object relations theory. Understanding and emphasizing the importance of affectional bonds with caring others is an essential part of treating adult clients with attachment issues. The purpose of this study is to define the nature of the therapeutic relationship between client and clinician to identify therapeutic strategies that create a safe place for adult clients to explore issues of attachment, separation …

Grieving The Loss Of A Partner: The Ways Of Isolation A Hermeneutic Experience, Nichole M. Yager

Theses and Graduate Projects

This hermeneutic, qualitative study was undertaken to find out what the lived experience has been for one woman who lost her partner. Hermeneutics is an interpretive approach to looking at everyday experiences and uncovering what is usually hidden from us. Theorists have developed many frameworks to apply to the bereaved person. They try to explain how the loss will affect those who suffer a loss. This study attempted to capture what this experience was like for one bereaved person, what her thoughts and feelings were while living the experience and how this experience has changed her life. The participant lost …

Jane Addams, Mary Richmond And Liberal Feminism: An Historical Analysis, Elizabeth Reum

Theses and Graduate Projects

This historical thesis analyzed records and archival information regarding feminism in American social work by contrasting two key historical figures, Mary Richmond and Jane Addams who were considered the matriarchs of the social work movement in the earliest part of the 20th century. The study examined the accomplishments of Ms. Addams and Ms. Richmond, their backgrounds and philosophies that helped shape their feminism, beliefs, and political work and the impact it had on social work as a profession. The research gathered attempted to answer the question of whether the work done by these two women meets the current criteria of …

Out For Equity, A Case Study, Erin Beaudry

Theses and Graduate Projects

The purpose of the study is to explore the effectiveness of such a program and if found useful, to put forth information that can assist social workers in starting such a program in their school systems. Homosexuality has been a controversial subject in our society for many years. Society has reacted to the topic in many different ways including ignoring, condemning, or accepting gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals for who they are. The framework for this study is based on Systems Theory and focuses on the power the education system has in affecting the lives of gay, lesbian, and bisexual …

Nurturant And Provider Role Saliency Of Fathers In Traditional And Non-Traditional Families, Michael R. Hacker

Theses and Graduate Projects

Although identity theory, out of symbolic interactionism, has been suggested to be the most useful framework for understanding the changing roles of fathers, little systematic research has been done to apply this framework to fathering roles, and especially the specific roles of provider and nurturer. In this study, seven fathers, four in economically traditional families and three in economically non-traditional families, were interviewed using a structured interview schedule. This interview focused on the saliency of the roles of provider and nurturer for fathers and the strain in fulfilling aspects of both as predicted by identity theory. The content analysis revealed …

A Secondary Data Analysis Of The Womankind/Centers For Disease Control Evaluation A Study Of Hospital Staff S Ability To Engage, Assess And Refer Victims Of Domestic Abuse, Victoria M. Hanson

Theses and Graduate Projects

This is a secondary data analysis of an evaluation of a domestic violence program in a hospital setting in the Midwest. Hospital staffs in five hospitals who work in either the Emergency Department, Intensive Care, or Perinatal/Ob/Gyn were surveyed to evaluate their knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors regarding domestic abuse. This secondary data analysis looked at the results of the 320 completed baseline surveys to examine if hospital staff who have a high concordance with feminist principles perceive themselves as having a high ability to engage, assess, and refer victims of domestic abuse. Multiple regression was used to compare practitioner …

Service Usage As A Measure Of Program Effectiveness: One Agency's Experience, Lisa M. Powers

Theses and Graduate Projects

This is a program evaluation of a community support program for adults with a serious and persistent mental illness. Since the deinstitutionalization of persons with a serious and persistent mental illness, many programs have been developed with the aim of keeping this population as independent in their communities as possible. Existing research shows the effectiveness of community-based programs in reducing acute care hospitalizations for this population yet fails to determine which components of these programs are most necessary and for whom. A simple random sample of currently active files (N=38) was conducted, and data was collected on type and frequency …

Outcome Based Data Analysis Of A Therapeutic Foster Care Program, Lisa M. Silvestri Adamich

Theses and Graduate Projects

Therapeutic foster care (TFC) is quickly becoming a favored placement option by case managers for children and adolescents. As the number of agencies that provide therapeutic foster care programs increase, case managers question what constitutes successful and failed placements of adolescents in the TFC system. This exploratory, quantitative study focuses on data analysis of a therapeutic foster care program. Data analysis will consist of evaluating matched intake and discharge information of approximately 32 adolescents (32 intake/discharge records) from January l, 1998 through December 31, 1998 as well as evaluating discharge records of those youth admitted prior to 1998 and discharged …

Nonprofit Board Composition And Organizational Effectiveness: A Case Study, Terence Edward Hildebrandt

Theses and Graduate Projects

No abstract provided.

An Assessment Of Decision-Making By Adolescents In A Community-Based Youth Program, Mary Beran Skjold

Theses and Graduate Projects

This exploratory research compares the decision-making skills between youth board members and youth non-board members within the context of a community-based youth group. The goal was to determine whether youth board members were more advanced in their decision-making skills than youth non-board members and were these skills utilized in other area of life.

The research design is both quantitative and qualitative: the survey had twelve questions and the interview had six open-ended questions. Twenty adolescents answered the written survey and, of these twenty, there were ten adolescents who were interviewed. The survey questions covered the areas of future work, ideology, …

An Exploratory Study Of Violence Intervention Program, Laura Turgeon

Theses and Graduate Projects

Teen violence has become increasingly prevalent. There have been several incidents over the last few years of violence in schools that have received national attention. Shootings by teens in Paducah, Kentucky and Springfeld, Oregon, for example are incidents in which the culmination of many factors comes in to play. There is a concern about dealing with troubleed youth and how to help them deal effectively with anger and violence.

This study evaluated one program that directly addresses the issue of youth violence. The school is located in a metropolitan area and works in collaboration with the county to provide a …

Self-Esteem In Adolescence Females: The Athletic Connection, Debra Smith Wagner

Theses and Graduate Projects

This study investigated the self-esteem, feelings, and experiences of five exceptional skill level and five average skill level female adolescent athletes. Although mainly a qualitative study, with emphasis given to in-depth interviews, this research design also used a quantitative instrument in order to record the self-esteem of each subject. Both methods were used to generate themes and analyze concepts relating to the self-esteem and experience of female adolescent athletes. The quantitative instrument revealed that all athletes had self-esteem scores in the average to very high categories. Exceptional skill athletes did have higher mean scores than the regular skill athletes and …

Lesbian Mothers' Interaction With The Lesbian Community, Victoria L. Grimm

Theses and Graduate Projects

Empirical evidence dating back almost 30 years shows no significant differences between children raised by homosexual and heterosexual parents. Now concentration must shift to how lesbian and gay parenting cope and fulfill their parental roles ln the face of multiple discriminations from both the heterosexual and homosexual communities. A format of focus group discussions is a non-threatening method to determine the level of social changes that lesbian mothers experience after children are added to their families. This study concentrates solely on three lesbian mothers. The participants were solicited through newspaper and bulletin board ads and "snowball" sampling. Major themes that …

Influences On Sales Practices As Perceived By Individuals In A Sales Position, Kim M. Mcwilliams

Theses and Graduate Projects

There is no doubt that in today's business environment, organizations face stiff competition. Survival of the organization turns toward measurement of success by means of quantitative as compared to qualitative approaches. In other words, the raw sales numbers are often used as a measurement of success, not necessarily the quality of the sales transaction. The integral link between the organization's product and service to the customer resides with the sales associate. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of what influences personal ethics and attitudes regarding sales practices from the perspective or experience of the sales associate. …

Effects Of Foster Care On The Family System, Rochelle Del Greco

Theses and Graduate Projects

Despite volumes of studies and research on foster care as an intervention, there has been very limited research conducted on the effects foster care has on the family system as perceived by the foster parents. This study attempted to find some preliminary information about how the foster family is affected by foster children living in their home. Surveys were sent to 50 foster families in a rural county in Minnesota. The survey looked for correlations and frequencies in variables that had both positive and negative impact on the family system. As identified by the learning theorists, children learn from the …

Perceptions Of Intimacy By Men Who Choose Violence: An Exploratory Study, Sigrid Finke

Theses and Graduate Projects

This exploratory study examined the perceptions about intimate relationships of 21 heterosexual men who had been court-ordered to domestic abuse groups at an urban social service agency. Within four separate focus groups, six open-ended questions were asked about intimacy, gender role beliefs, and perceptions of relating to partners, other adult males, and children. Findings indicated that the men with traditional outlooks (i.e. those w'ho had a strong belief in male headed households), expressed a more difficult time with intimate situations. Those men who held liberal views (i.e. that both men and women share both provider and care taking roles), tended …

Beyond Diversity: Multiculturalism In The Workplace, Jerry A. Fenner

Theses and Graduate Projects

Although traditional diversity training programs have increased awareness and sensitivity to issues such as race, gender and sexual orientation, the success of these programs may be enhanced by reframing them in terms of multiculturalism. This will allow the programs to be more accepted by everyone, since everyone can identify with several different cultures.

In this paper different facets of culture are first, identified and explored. The importance of culture as a screen or filter with which we face the world is discussed.

The second section of the paper makes a case as to why it is in the economic best …

Preadolescents With Attachment Disorders: An Explanatory Study In A Residential Treatment Center, Teresina J. Schellinger

Theses and Graduate Projects

An increasing number of children are failing to develop secure attachments to caregivers. Many are involved with the child welfare system and display an overwhelming number of problems--emotional, cognitive, developmental, physical, moral, behavioral, and social. This exploratory study using qualitative and quantitative methods addresses how one residential treatment center has worked with this population. Case records, selected through a purposive sampling, of 14 discharged preadolescents and information from key informants support findings of this research. Themes discovered assist this treatment center, and possibly others, in understanding the relationship between the behavioral and therapeutic needs of these children and the practice …

Medication And Conduct Disorder: Professional's Perceptions Of Its Helpfulness, Deann L. Reese

Theses and Graduate Projects

This study explores the use of medication to treat children diagnosed with conduct disorder. The use of medication to treat this disorder is a controversial issue, and one that has been well researched in inpatient settings by psychiatrists. However, parents of these children and social workers serving these families need to be informed of its usefulness on a basis that can be applied to other settings, since many of these children are discharged from inpatient settings back into their families and original communities. This study surveyed 7 staff of a behavioral health unit where children diagnosed with conduct disorder were …

An Assessment Of The Augsburg College Teachers Of Color Program, Eloisa Echavez

Theses and Graduate Projects

This thesis evaluates the Augsburg College Teachers of Color Program in several crucial areas (based on "The Seven Essential Elements of a Successful Urban [Alternative] Licensure Program" model). These areas include the selection and screening of candidates, the combination of theory and practice, collaborative partnerships, information sharing (communication among all parties), professional and pedagogical studies (curriculum), attitudes and perception of new teachers, and supervision and mentoring (school and college mentoring). The purpose of this assessment is to evaluate to what extent the Augsburg College Teachers of Color Program (ACTOCP) approaches the seven essential characteristics of a successful urban teacher licensure …

A Leadership Case Study: Application Of Burns' Transformational Leadership Theory, Ann Paulsen Cahill

Theses and Graduate Projects

James McGregor Burns defines transformational leadership as leaders seeking power to implement an agendn to help others lead better lives, and to enhsnce their ability to positively influence the world around them. The two essentials of power are mative and resource, Burns contends that transformational leaders will use them both to elevate the moral standing of society. The following research was conducted using James McGregor Burns' Transformational Leadership lheory as a foundntion for studying a leader in the business world. By understanding this leadership theory, the resesrcher was able to apply these characterisffcs to the leader and make conclusions regarding …