Digital Commons Network^™

The Perceived Benefits Of Exposure To Nature Through Birds, Venieca Kusek

Social Work Theses - Archive

Abstract Objectives: The objective of this research was to pilot Feathered Friends, a multi-sensory based bird intervention program and examine perceived benefits of the program among older adults at an assisted living facility. Feathered Friends adapted from Bird tales was a program for engaging people with cognitive impairments through the natural world of birds. The intervention was intended to increase social participation in a learning environment while reaping the emotional benefits of exposure to nature, specifically birds. Methods: This was an exploratory research project. We conducted individual, in-person interviews with the participants and analyzed data using a thematic analysis to …

Predictors Of School Functioning And Problem Behaviors In Siblings Of Children With Autism, Sarah Elizabeth Jones

Social Work Theses - Archive

When a child has a sibling with a disability, siblings must learn to adapt to additional challenges and demands and may often be overlooked by their parents, teachers, and service providers. While research has demonstrated that the social and emotional development of siblings of children with ASD is impacted in the context of their homes and families, the impact on siblings in the school setting has been minimally examined. Using the Sibling Embedded Systems Framework, this study assesses the relationship between micro and mesosystem factors in relation to school behavioral and academic outcomes for siblings of children with ASD using …

Reducing Stereotype Threat In The Classroom, Todd K. Platts, Kim Hoosier

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

This brief pedagogical essay, focusing on social science classrooms, provides fellow instructors with practical strategies and advice in reducing the presence of stereotype threat in their classrooms. Techniques of task reframing, practices of positive affirmation, the providing of constructive criticism, the incorporation of marginalized groups into course content, and suggestions for meeting stereotype threat head-on are discussed as are some strategies students can adopt themselves. While the methods of stereotype threat reduction addressed in this essay can help curtail some of the negative impacts of racism’s micro-level forces, stereotype threat must also be considered a structural problem that requires structural …

School Psychologists And School Counselors’ Perceptions Of Preparation Received For The Provision Of School-Based Mental Health Services, Sherika Mckenzie

Education (PhD) Dissertations

School psychologists and school counselors are increasingly playing an essential role in the provision of school-based mental health services (SBMHS). This is especially true in California. Unfortunately, there are a few studies that have examined how California school psychologists and school counselors perceive their training to provide SBMHS, how they perceive their role in providing these services, and what they regard as their needs for professional development. The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which California school psychologists and school counselors believe that their formal pre-service education and later in-service professional experiences have prepared them to …

Examining Health And Mental Health Disparities Between Sexual Minority Youth And Heterosexual Youth In The United States, Savarra K. Tadeo

Social Work Theses - Archive

Although various studies and systematic reviews have found an association between sexual orientation and health and mental health outcomes, few studies have examined a specific sample of adolescents aged 14 to 18 years of age that is generalizable to the entire United States population, while applying minority stress theory and general strain theory to a host of negative mental health outcomes and health risk behaviors in one study. The objective of this thesis is to examine a host of health and mental health outcomes among youth aged 14 to 18 years from a study generalizable to the entire United States …

On Exiting From Commercial Sexual Exploitation: Insights From Sex Trade Experienced Persons, Andrea Heinz

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

As a woman who exited after seven years in licensed commercial sexual exploitation in Canada, I share my reflections on my experience, which led to the development of the Insights from Sex Trade Experienced Persons (InSTEP) Model. The model was constructed based on interviews with “service providers” in the sex trade. Twelve exited women share their experiences inclusively. InSTEP is geared toward a population of quasi-autonomous providers who have alternate economic options. Three levels are introduced in the InSTEP model to describe the continuum of agency among service providers; Level 1: trafficked/controlled; Level 2: quasi-autonomous; Level 3: autonomous. The InSTEP …

The Economics Of Love, Débora Silva Viana

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis I argue that the obligation to love based on the Christian tradition requires Christians to disperse their resources in a way that significantly evens out wealth distribution and increases social justice. Christians disagree on the terminology and some tenets of the goal of the Christian life (e.g., deification, beatific vision, communion with God, salvation). However, the requirement to practice love is common to all of these concepts, thus making love normative for Christians. I argue that when love takes such a prominent role in one’s life, then it naturally influences how one manages one’s resources. If love …

Fifth Year Persisters: High School, College, And Early Career Outcomes For Persisting Non-Graduates, Mathew C. Uretsky, Angela K. Henneberger

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

There is limited extant knowledge regarding academic and workforce experiences of students who remain engaged in high school, but do not graduate in the traditional four years. The current study used Multilevel modeling and descriptive statistics with statewide linked longitudinal administrative data (N = 2917) to (1) examine the student- and school-level factors related to earning a diploma during the fifth year of high school and (2) describe proximate academic and career outcomes for non-graduates and fifth year graduates. Multiple student-level factors were associated with increased likelihood of earning a diploma in the fifth year (e.g. special education eligibility, passing …

Thriving On A Faith-Based Campus: An Exploratory Study On Sense Of Belonging, Spirituality, And The Student Experience For Students Of Color, Hannah Felice

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While enrollment for students of color has increased by nearly 15% over the past 20 years, universities have struggled to retain and graduate students of color in comparison to their White peers, including Christian universities. Looking to foster success for all students, higher education has sought to better understand the factors that impact student retention and graduation, particularly for students of color. Thriving has been shown as an effective metric for understanding the student experience through a more holistic framework as it pertains to the student success. The purpose of this study is to explore the concept of thriving as …

Does Your Agency Embrace Evidence -Based Management Practices?, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

Child welfare agencies are encouraged to use evidencebased practices in all aspects of their work to try to improve outcomes for children and families. The child welfare field has made improvements in using data, research, and evaluation to inform practice and decision-making, but still has a ways to go. The primary goal of the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) is to build the evidence base regarding strategies to strengthen the child welfare workforce. One means of practicing evidence-based management for improving workforce outcomes is using workforce analytics. As part of the Child Welfare Workforce Analytics Institute, the QIC-WD …

Seal, Social Experiences In Assisted Living: Social Network Analysis Data, Rebecca Mauldin

Social Networks for Social Good Collection-Archive

This dataset is from a longitudinal social network analysis research project that collected survey data on three separate occasions over a 6-month period from residents in a single assisted living facility. It includes psychosocial survey data and social network survey data on acquaintance, companionship, social support, and negative interaction ties among residents of the assisted living facility. === We recommend reading the README.txt and Data Overview - SEAL.pdf files for an orientation to the dataset. ===

Louisiana Progress Update- Redesigning The Child Welfare Worker Position, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

When there is a high workload, there is often a lot of turnover and when there is a lot of turnover the remaining workforce has an even greater workload. The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) was all too familiar with this negative cycle and the impact it was having on its child welfare workforce. When DCFS became a Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) site, they were ready to make a significant change to their workforce operations. After a thorough needs assessment, DCFS decided to work with the QIC-WD on a job redesign project to strengthen …

Informal Learning Behaviors, Megan Paul, Robert Blagg

Umbrella Summaries

What are informal learning behaviors?

Informal learning behaviors (ILBs) are self-directed, intentional activities to acquire knowledge and skill outside of formal learning environments (Cerasoli, Alliger, Donsbach, Mathieu, Tannenbaum, & Orvis, 2017). Informal learning is distinct from learning that is externally imposed or required, involves structured content or processes, or occurs accidentally (Cerasoli et al., 2017). It is the day-to-day, on-the-job learning that occurs in the workplace. ILBs include things like observing, asking questions, seeking information, and practicing (Cerasoli et al., 2017). A highly related behavior is seeking feedback, which is sometimes described as a form of informal learning but has …

Promote Healing And Restore Lives: Clinicians’ Reflections On Their Experiences In Working With Survivors Of Trafficking, Brittany Burch

McNair Scholars Research

Humans are shaped by their personal beliefs, values, and individual philosophies of life. Personal ideologies of humanitarian aid can root a deep desire to provide help and assistance to the vulnerable within our community. This desire often manifests itself specifically in clinicians seeking to provide healing, hope, and restoration in the lives of women and men. (Thullesen, 2019). Human trafficking is a prominent human rights and social justice issue that is embedded within our society. This study focused on clinicians’ experiences and perspectives in working with victims of human trafficking.

The data was collected through interviews of clinicians working directly …

A Mother's Touch: The Comprehensive Addiction And Recovery Act And Its Impact On Prenatally Substance-Exposed Newborns And Their Families As Observed By Family Service Workers, Raissa Ames

McNair Scholars Research

No abstract provided.

Virginia Progress Update - The Timely Implementation Of A Technology Solution, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

The pandemic is pushing the U.S. workforce to adapt and seek mobile solutions to carry out key tasks. Virginia’s child welfare workforce strengthening effort, supported by the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD), includes a transcription service and a mobile solution (an application or app) on iPads to help the workforce manage their administrative and family engagement tasks out of the office. The effort began in 2017 but demand has been heightened by the pandemic. This post summarizes what the Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) has accomplished and learned as they roll out new technology to thousands of …

Workplace Supports For Lgbt Employees, Toby Burnham, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What are workplace supports for LGBT employees?

Workplace supports for LGBT employees are organizational policies and practices that are thought to improve the work experiences of LGBT employees and foster diversity within an organization. Although there isn’t one set of specific workplace supports for LGBT employees, one way of summarizing the contextual supports in the workplace is to categorize them as (a) formal LGBT-supportive policies and practices, (b) LGBT-supportive climates, and (c) supportive workplace relationships (Webster, Adams, Maranto, Sawyer, & Thoroughgood, 2017). Formal policies and practices that are supportive of LGBT employees include things like same-sex benefits coverage, LGBT resource …

Perspectives From A Prevention Team, Jaqueta Taylor, Rynika Polk, Jackie Gooch

Other QIC-WD Products

Louisiana’s redesign includes the creation of prevention teams. The prevention teams include one supervisor, three child protective services (CPS) workers, two family services (FS) workers, and one child welfare team specialist. Over the course of the past year each team was established, trained, and worked together to build a cohesive unit. Team members expressed a mix of excitement and concern about their new roles. The redesign meant the supervisor was managing new team members, workers were delegating tasks they were previously responsible for, and team specialists were new to the team and had to establish trust with their coworkers. The …

Planning, Participation, And Power In A Shrinking City: The Detroit Works Project, Gregory B. Markus, Amy Krings

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

Scholars and practitioners have argued that authentic public participation is crucial in developing strategic plans for so-called shrinking cities, not only for informing the content of the resulting plans but also for fostering public support, civic capacity, and equitable outcomes. The Detroit Works Project, launched in 2010, provided an opportunity to examine the crafting of a high-profile strategic plan for a major U.S. city challenged by decades of population loss and disinvestment. We find that the project was yet another instance of urban planning that began with an assurance that public involvement would play a central role but then failed …

My Experience With Cfs Strong, Lana Sayre

Other QIC-WD Products

I am a child and family services specialist supervisor with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. A few years ago, I volunteered to take over for another member of the workforce retention team that was working with the QIC-WD to develop/select an intervention that Nebraska could implement to reduce employee turnover among child and family services specialists (CFSS), our frontline worker position. Employee retention is a constant, ongoing challenge. Our work is challenging and very stressful. You have to be an expert in child safety and have a broad understanding of all of the issues which affect the …

Presenteeism, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is presenteeism?

Presenteeism is not simply a matter of attending, or being physically present, at work. Rather, it refers to going to work while ill and, in some cases, also includes the concept of lost productivity as a result (Johns, 2010; McGregor, Sharma, Magee, Caputi, & Iverson, 2017). Unlike absenteeism, which can be measured through personnel records, presenteeism is measured by employee self-report via surveys or interviews. For the more limited definition (going to work ill), employees are asked whether or how often in the past they showed up to work when they were sick and should have taken …

Can Playwork Have A Key Working Role?, Pete King

International Journal of Playwork Practice

This study interviewed 23 people currently involved in playwork which included face-to-face playwork practitioners, playworkers who are more involved in the development and management of specific projects or settings, playwork traininers and those working more at strategic director-level. All participants were asked to consider if playwork can have a key working role and how it will operate once the lockdown from COVID-19 has been relaxed. Analysing the 23 interviews through thematic analysis, the understanding of key working fell into three groups: 1) UK Government Response to the current COVID-19 pandemic; 2) health and well-being of people; and 3) supporting individual …

Racial And Ethnic Comparison Of Ecological Risk Factors And Youth Outcomes: A Test Of The Desensitization Hypothesis, Dexter R. Voisin

Faculty Scholarship

Minority youth, because of structural, ecological, and societal inequalities, are at heightened risk of reporting depression and experiencing negative sanctions associated with delinquency. Sociological theories suggest that greater exposure to ecological risk factors at the peer, family, school and community levels are associated with elevated rates of youth depression and delinquency. Desensitization theory posits that repeated exposures to ongoing stressors result in a numbing of psychological and behavioral responses. Thus, it remains unclear whether racial/ethnic differences exist with regards to how contextual stressors correlate with depression and delinquency. Using a sample of 616 Black, 687 Latinx, and 1,318 White youth, …

Grit, Maggie Thompson, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is grit?

Grit is a personality trait that is defined as “perseverance and passion for long-term goals” (Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, & Kelly, 2007, p. 1087) and as “… not just resilience in the face of failure, but also having deep commitments that you remain loyal to over many years” (Perkins-Gough, 2013, p. 14). It has been conceptualized as a higher-order trait comprised of two lower order facets: perseverance of effort (the tendency to work hard even in the face of setbacks) and consistency of interest (the tendency to not frequently change goals and interests). The two primary self-report measures …

Is There A Relationship Between The Number Of Female Students Who Were Cyberbullied And The Number Of Female Students Who Seriously Considered Attempting Suicide?, Wayne L. Davis

Lincoln Memorial University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

In the United States, cyberbullying has become a major public health concern. Indeed, many people who are victims of cyberbullying consider harming themselves. Because criminal justice practitioners are concerned with public safety, this is an area worthy of study. The general purpose of this study is to investigate whether there is a correlation between the percentage of female students who were electronically bullied and the percentage of female students who seriously considered suicide. Data were collected in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017 using a three-stage cluster sample design, which produced a nationally representative sample of students in grades 9–12 who …

Contested Dam Development In Iran: A Case Study Of The Exercise Of State Power Over Local People, Elham Hoominfar, Claudia Radel

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Student Research

In this article, we address the interaction of the Iranian State, an agent of power, with affected village residents, as four dam projects are planned and implemented. Dams, recently positioned as a green energy source, are a central component to Iran’s national development strategies; yet historically their construction has been a source of significant conflict and resistance around the world. We focus on ten villages facing displacement or partial loss of lands at the time of the research, and we answer the question: During dam building and resettlement processes, how have residents experienced their role in decision making and the …

Teachers’ Perspectives On Year Two Implementation Of A Kindergarten Readiness Assessment, Rachel E. Schachter, Erin E. Flynn, Amy R. Napoli, Shayne B. Piasta

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this study we examined teachers’ perspectives regarding the second year of implementing a Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA). Using a mixed-methods approach, we focused on the administration process, the perceived benefits of the assessment, and how teachers used the assessment to inform instruction. We also investigated whether these differed by teacher and district characteristics and how KRA experiences were different in the second year of implementation. Research Findings: Teachers generally did not view the KRA as beneficial for instruction or for students, reporting administration difficulties, inadequate KRA content, and limited utility of KRA data for supporting instruction as ongoing …

Diversity Training, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is diversity training?

Diversity training refers to a “distinct set of instructional programs aimed at facilitating positive intergroup interactions, reducing prejudice and discrimination, and enhancing the skills, knowledge, and motivation of participants to interact with diverse others” (Bezrukova, Spell, Perry, & Jehn, 2016, p. 1,228). In the absence of a standard approach, there has been significant variation in the design and context of diversity training.

The following characteristics have been identified as differing across trainings reported in the research literature (Bezrukova et al., 2016):

► Content Focus: Group-specific training focuses on learning about one or more specific groups (e.g., …

State License Renewal Information For Licensed Professional Counselors And Addiction Counselors, Kelley Mccall, Lindsey Manshack

Buder Center for American Indian Studies Research

The purpose of this document is to provide an analysis of continuing education requirements for professional counselors and addiction counselors by state. The chart below shows 1) Profession Title(s), 2) Allowable CE sources, 3) CE Hours/Topic Requirements, 4) Training Type/Delivery Methods, and 5) Renewal Fees.

Please carefully read your state licensure renewal requirements. State laws often change, so please remember it is your responsibility for interpreting your state’s laws, licensure requirements, course relevancy, and all requirements for your state. Note: The CE Allowable Sources section listings are not an exhaustive list. Please consult the state’s licensing board for a complete …

Book Review: Playing Practices In School-Age Childcare By Eva Kane, Gillian Vickers

International Journal of Playwork Practice

No abstract provided.