From Combat Zones To The Classroom: Transitional Adjustment In Oef/Oif Student Veterans, Lorrie Kato, Jeremy D. Jinkerson, Sarah C. Holland, Henry V. Soper

The Qualitative Report

With 600,000 veterans of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom enrolled in higher education with the Post-9/11 GI Bill, recognizing and responding to their predictable adjustment issues is imperative. Existing qualitative research has identified some transitional issues encountered by small groups of veterans. Because of qualitative research’s limited generalizability, however, themes may be viewed as more generalizable when corroborated by student veterans in different regions. In order to provide an in-depth description of the themes related to the post-deployment adjustment process, the first author conducted semi-structured interviews with 19 student veterans from a Southwestern community college who were returning to …

Black Women's Search For Meaning: An Existential Portraiture Study On How Black Women Experience The 4 Existential Givens, Tamiko Lemberger-Truelove

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

The purpose of the phenomenological, qualitative study was to explore how select Black women experience the four ultimate concerns of existence, including freedom, isolation, meaninglessness, and death. Existential psychology, from which the four existential givens emerge, is deeply grounded in existential philosophy, which rarely connects key principles and tenets of existentialism to the experiences of Black women. The existential givens have been posited as a universal framework and yet because Black women are faced with multiple forms of marginalization the current study operates from the assumption that universal experiences are filtered through patently Black experiences. To explore how the existential …

"He Told Me That My Waist And Private Parts Have Been Ravaged By Demons:" Sexual Exploitation Of Female Church Members By "Prophets" In Nigeria, Chima Agazue

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

In urban southern Nigeria there is a widespread spiritual revival pioneered by Pentecostal pastors who claim to deliver prophecies, miracles, and healings. In many places, multiple churches can be seen within a few hundred yards of each other, while in other places, different floors of multistory buildings are occupied by different church denominations. There is competition among the pastors to present themselves as spiritually powerful and financially favored by God. Some of the pastors, calling themselves “prophets,” engage in immoral and fraudulent activities. Women are the predominant followers of these male religious leaders, and sexual exploitation of vulnerable women by …

Cloud-Based Learning Tools: Supporting The Invisible Learner (Silent Sufferers) With Socioeconomic Challenges, Lynita A. Robinson Emba, Jimmy Johnson

Southwestern Business Administration Teaching Conference

Today's students are learning at unprecedented speeds. There are a pockets of learners who may be isolated/silent sufferers who face tremendous socioeconomic challenges while seeking higher education. Providing cloud-based technology solutions to strengthen support services and family learning engagement through a series of student family portals will provide the support needed to make student learning opportunities family-based projects or community-based projects successful in graduation completion rates and job placement opportunities.

A Moveable Beast: Subjective Influence Of Human-Animal Relationships On Risk Perception, And Risk Behaviour During Bushfire Threat, Joshua L. Trigg, Kirrilly Thompson, Bradley Smith, Pauleen Bennett

The Qualitative Report

This article examines how human-animal connections influence risk perception and behaviour in companion animal guardians exposed to bushfire threat in Australia. Although the objective role of psychological bonds with companion animals is well accepted by researchers, subjective interpretations of these bonds by animal guardians are relatively underexamined in this context. We argue that the ways in which connections with pets and other animals are represented influences different forms of safety-risk perception and behaviour when managing animals’ safety in the face of disaster threat. Thematic analysis of 21 semi-structured interviews with South Australian residents in bushfire-affected areas supported the role of …

Alleged Insanity: Frank Johnson Sr., Racial Injustice, And The Failure Of The Mental Health Care System In South Carolina, Jonathon P. Johnson

Senior Theses

This thesis is about Frank Johnson Sr. and the circumstances that led to his downfall as a farmer and father of six, to his tragic death in the isolation of a racially segregated mental institution 18 miles away from his home. Using his life and incarceration at the South Carolina State Park mental health facility, I argue that racial injustice contributed to his tragic death and the woefully inadequate treatment thousands of African Americans in South Carolina received during Jim Crow. Additionally, I argue that the tragic circumstances around my great grandfather’s institutionalization and death were part of an enduring …

An Analysis Of The Organizational Structures Of New Types Of Children's Associations In Relation To Changing Views Of Children's Capacities As Citizens, Bijan Kimiagar

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The goal of this study is to learn how new types of children’s associations around the world are organizing themselves and how their organizational structures reflect contemporary understandings of children’s capacities as citizens. The purpose is to identify different types and qualities of participatory children’s associations and how each affords opportunities for children to exercise their right to freedom of association, develop capacities for self-governance in groups, and promote the principles of inclusion (non-discrimination) and equity (fairness). To this end, I document and analyze diagrams of organizational structures that members of different children’s associations created during the Article 15 Project …

Restoring Ubuntu: Ecosystemic, Biopsychosocial, Afrocentric Networks For The Trauma-Healing Of Sexual Violence Survivors In Eastern Congo, Summer D. Downs

Honors Projects

The purpose of this paper is to propose that trauma healing in the Congo should be directed by the agency of Africans, characterized by an ubuntu-based systems epistemology, and facilitated throughcreative, multi-modal networks.

Engaging Individuals And Families Around Employment, John Kramer, Nancy Nickolaus, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

No abstract provided.

Understanding The Employment Barriers And Support Needs Of People Living With Psychosis, Margaret Hampson, Richard Hicks, Bruce Watt

The Qualitative Report

This study investigated the employment barriers and support needs of people living with psychosis. A purposive community sample of 137 volunteers drawn from six key stakeholder groups were invited to participate in focus groups and semi-structured individual interviews to elicit their perceptions on the employment barriers and support needs of people living with psychosis. The stakeholder groups included in this study were people with lived experience of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, carers, health professionals, employers, employment service providers, and community members. Data obtained from 14 focus groups and 31 semi-structured individual interviews were transcribed, imported into NVivo 10, and coded …

Ambivalent Sexism, Religiosity, And Perceptions Of College Majors As Masculine Or Feminine, Emily Boyles

Senior Honors Theses

This study sought to determine if college students view certain majors as masculine or feminine and if gender perceptions influence their choice of major and subsequent vocation. The methodology included analysis of predictive relationship between scores on the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI), the Ambivalence toward Men Inventory (AMI), the Revised Religious Fundamentalism Scale (RRFS), and a scale measuring perceptions of majors as masculine or feminine. A total of 492 college students from a large east coast Christian university participated in this study by completing an online survey. Based on the university’s degree offerings, 24 college majors were selected, and students …

Madness In The Media: Understanding How People With Lived Experience Interpret Newspaper Headlines, Da Qing Wang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

There is research on media representations of mental health that suggests there is a tendency to portray mental health as problematic and those who are affected by mental illness as dangerous. It is evident there has been an increase in anti-stigma media campaigns. However, the effects of these efforts on beliefs held by members of the public has been mixed. What is most surprising from the literature is a lack of research about how people who have personal experience with mental illness interpret media messages. Individuals with and without lived experience participated in a structured conceptualization process known as concept …

Moral Emotions And Social Activism: The Case Of Animal Rights, Harold A. Herzog, Lauren L. Golden

Harold Herzog, PhD

Why do some people and not others become involved in social movements? We examined the relationships between a moral emotion—disgust—and animal activism, attitudes toward animal welfare, and consumption of meat. Participants were recruited through two social networking websites and included animal activists, promoters of animal use, and participants not involved in animal-related causes. They took an online survey which included measures of sensitivity to visceral disgust, attitudes toward animal welfare, and frequency of meat eating. Animal activists were more sensitive to visceral disgust than were promoters of animal use or nonaligned participants. Disgust sensitivity was positively correlated with attitudes toward …

The Experiences Of Siblings Of Individuals With Disabilities: A Holistic View, Ashley Mc Adams

Educational Studies Dissertations

The research on siblings of individuals with disabilities has rarely addressed the perceived benefits of having a sibling with a disability. The existing research on the experience of siblings of persons with disabilities is also limited to European American families (Sage & Jegatheesan, 2010). With families from different cultures, I sought to capture the experiences of brothers and sisters who have siblings with disabilities. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationships of siblings with disabilities and typical developing siblings, and present a holistic picture from the perspective of the typical developing siblings. These gaps in the literature …

Transforming Impossible Into Possible (Tip): A Group Work Model In Workforce Development, Philip Young P. Hong

Philip Hong

This presentation introduces a newly developed social work group intervention model in workforce development. Transforming Impossible into Possible (TIP) program empowers participants to develop self-awareness, confidence, hope, goal-orientation, leadership, accountability, conscientiousness, and grit, it is anticipated that it improves both employment and retention outcomes.

Using Spiral Dynamic Theory For Adult Civic Engagement Research And Social Justice Education, Lisa R. Brown

Adult Education Research Conference

Empirical civic engagement research based in a South American context. Participants included adult learner populations engaged in revolutionary protests that opposed private for-profit education in Chile. Findings were higher order Spiral Dynamic Theory thinking at the for-profits and lower civic engagement.

The Effects Of Construal Level On Stigmatizing Attitudes Toward An Individual With Mental Illness, Jeremy Glenn Gay

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

People with mental illness often face stigmatization by society. However, little research has examined cognitive factors that may activate or dissipate stigmatizing attitudes toward those with mental illness. Construal level, or the extent that people focus on abstract generalizations versus concrete details of events, may be one such cognitive factor. Two contradictory hypotheses emerged concerning how construal may affect stigmatizing attitudes. One hypothesis suggests that abstract construals will decrease stigmatization because abstract construals tend to increase the activation of similar goals, thus leading to a similarity focus. In contrast, another hypothesis suggests that abstract construals will increase stigmatization because abstract …

Holding Canada Accountable: An Evaluation Of Canada's Compliance To The United Nations Declaration On The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples, Jackson A. Smith

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Compliance of human rights norms requires the application of pressure from a multitude of directions and levels. It takes individual advocacy, micro-system/organizational/community-level pressure, and macro-level pressure from other nation-states and international organizations and governance bodies. This MA study focuses on the mechanisms employed by the United Nations to monitor the compliance of signatory nation-states to the standards established in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), with particular focus on Canada. A crucial goal of this study is to translate the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNSRRIP), James Anaya’s, findings on the …

Experiences Of Victimization And Health Care Access Among Non-Metropolitan Lgbtq+ Individuals, Ashley-Ann Marcotte

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ+) individuals report substantial rates of violence, discrimination, and negative life events due to homophobia and transphobia and these experiences impact access to health care services and programs (Bauer et al, 2009; Grant, Mottet, Tanis, Harrison, & Keisling, 2010) These experiences result in LGBTQ+ communities needing services, programs, and social supports to provide safer spaces. Although it is well recognized that health care services are not a major determinant of health outcomes and yet use more than 60% of health spending (Canadian Institute for Health Information, 2014; Muzyka, Hodgson, & Prada, 2012). As such, …

Urban Congolese Refugees In Kenya: The Contingencies Of Coping And Resilience In A Context Marked By Structural Vulnerability, Julie A. Tippens

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

The global increase in refugee migration to urban areas creates challenges pertaining to the promotion of refugee health, broadly conceived. Despite considerable attention to trauma and forced migration, there is relatively little focus on how refugees cope with stressful situations, and on the determinants that facilitate and undermine resilience. This article examines how urban Congolese refugees in Kenya promote psychosocial well-being in the context of structural vulnerability. This article is based on interviews (N = 55) and ethnographic participant observation with Congolese refugees over a period of 8 months in Nairobi in 2014. Primary stressors related to scarcity of material …

Social Justice And Worker Cooperatives, Gurveer Shaan Dhillon

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Social Justice (SJ) is an organizing principle of contemporary community psychology (CP); however, the concept and understanding of social justice in community psychology is undertheorized and narrow. Specifically, the concept of distributive justice, which has been a popular notion of social justice in community psychology discourse, does not translate well into transformative action. In order to address this issue, the research uses a qualitative approach to explore the understanding of social justice from the perspectives of worker-members of 5 worker cooperatives in Ontario, with the aim to contribute to an understanding of SJ that has transformative implications. A worker cooperative …