Digital Commons Network^™

Low-Income Urban High School Students’ Use Of The Internet To Access Financial Aid, Kristan M. Vengas

Journal of Student Financial Aid

This article focuses on the Web-based resources available to low-income students as they build their perceptions, make their decisions, and engage in financial aid activities. Data are gathered from the results of six focus groups with low-income high school students attending urban high schools. Findings suggest that low-income students do have access to computers but lack the knowledge and support needed to navigate the financial aid resources available on-line.

The Perils Of Self-Censorship, Robert D. Leighninger Jr.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Earlier this year, Jim Midgley, until recently Dean of the School of Social Welfare at the University of California, Berkeley, was asked to write a guest editorial for the National Association of Social Work's (NASW) premier journal Social Work by its new editor Jorge Delva. The topic was international social work and the challenges of globalization. After presenting some of the pros and cons of globalization, Jim chose to focus on "unipolarism," a foreign policy articulated by neoconservatives like Charles Krauthammer, Paul Wolfowitz, and William Kristol and embraced by officials of the George W. Bush administration, particularly Secretary of Defense …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 33, No. 4 (December 2006)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SPECIAL FEATURE: CENSORSHIP IN NASW JOURNALS?

• THE PERILS OF SELF-CENSORSHIP - Robert D. Leighninger, Jr
• INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL WORK, GLOBALIZATION AND THE CHALLENGE OF A UNIPOLAR WORLD - James Midgley
• LETTERS TO THE EDITOR REGARDING NASW PRESS CENSORSHIP
• Marcia B. Cohen, Co-editor, Journal of Progressive Human Services
• Richard Hoefer, Editor, Journal of Policy Practice
• Tony Tripodi, Former Editor of Social Work Research, Former Co-editor of Journal of Social Work Research and Evaluation
• Stanley L. Witkin, Former Editor-in-Chief, Social Work
• Elizabeth J. Clark, Executive Director, National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
• NINETEENTH CENTURY REVIEW OF MENTAL HEALTH CARE …

Fairness Issues In Law And Mental Health: Directions For Future Social Work Research, Jose B. Ashford, Jane Holschuh

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Concepts from the procedural justice literature in social psychology are examined that offer useful guidance for social work researchers with interests in investigating informal adjudications, speciality treatment courts, and other areas of the administrative process previously neglected in mental health services research. These theoretical concepts are offered as an alternative to the therapeutic jurisprudence framework being adopted by some social workers in the field of law and mental health. The issues outlined in this paper also draw on the health services and psychotherapy literature to highlight issues involving process and procedure as social justice and their significance for advancing a …

Preface To The Psychiatric Clinics Of North American, 2006, Karl Doghramji

Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Faculty Papers

Introducton to the special issue on the sleep-psychiatry interface.

Refocusing On Adult Probation: Theory Versus Practice, Paul David Gregory

Dissertations

This dissertation is a case study of an adult probation department in a southern state. Adult probation is an important part of the criminal justice system, as it provides a reduced program cost compared with incarceration. Current literature proposes that adult probation is in crisis due to poor to sub-standard performance by probationers, a collapse in supervision, and decline in probation funding. This dissertation attempts to answer the question of possible causes for problems in the adult probation system. To accomplish this, this work focuses on how probation officers and clients are affected by contradictions occurring between the theory and …

Problem-Based Learning: An Attitudinal Study Of Police Academy Students, Gregory P. Vander Kooi

Dissertations

Policing strategies have gravitated toward a consensus paradigm model, commonly referred to as "community policing." This is a significant paradigm shift, yet most police academies continue to use traditional lecture-based pedagogical methods to train police officers. One possible alternative to passive lecture-based teaching is a more active problem-based learning. Problem-based methodologies consist of presenting ill-structured problems whereby an instructor facilitates and directs the students in active inquiry toward possible solutions for a specific problem.

State-Corporate Crime In Kalamazoo Department Of Public Safety: A Case Study Of Deviant Activity Between The Police And Computer Vendors, Steven Edward Reifert

Dissertations

This study focuses on the state corporate crime that occurred when Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety implemented two computer systems that never functioned as promised. Failure of these systems resulted in death, injury, and substantial waste of taxpayer money. A case study method is used to describe and explain how this social harm occurred. An integrated theory of state-corporate crime developed by Kauzlarich and Kramer (1998) is used to examine theintersection of deviance between corporate vendors, the public safety department, and the federal government. More specifically, this study explores this intersection on three levels---the political economic setting before, during, and …

Religion And Semiosphere: From Religious To The Secular And Beyond, Rajka Rush

Dissertations

Religion is a system of structural ideas that involve the natural ability of the mind to engage itself into the process of unlimited semiosis which can be defined as an existential openness of one's consciousness to the universe as a system. This primary religious consciousness becomes limited by language, symbolic, and cultural constraints. The religious semiotic space is a sub-cultural system open to culturally and cross-culturally encoded idioms and concepts. These cultural potentials are interpreted and settled by the religious exegesis expressed in the behavioral patterns of the symbolic actions that reflect a specific worldview of the closed community controlled …

Determinants And Consequences Of Workers’ Remittances, Carlos Ivan Vargas-Silva

Dissertations

In this dissertation we study the determinants and consequences of workers' remittances. It is important for developing countries to have a clear understanding of the motivations that migrants have to remit money home, in order to increase remittances inflows. It is also important to understand the impact of remittances in the receiving countries in order to develop policies that can maximize the benefits of remittances, while minimizing any possible detrimental effects. In this dissertation we concentrate on the relationship between remittances and macroeconomic variables in the receiving countries. To this end we use both individual and aggregate level data.

In …

Continuing Education Interests Of Master Gardener Volunteers: Beyond Basic Training, Catherine Moravec

Journal of Extension

Knowledge of client preferences is important when designing continuing education programs. Extension professionals surveyed 131 Master Gardener volunteers in El Paso County, Colorado to guide future programs. Results showed they are highly interested in continuing education events, especially in improving diagnostic skills. Master Gardeners are also interested in learning about local ecology, home gardening skills, and home landscapes through lectures, field trips, and hands-on activities. One-time or regular monthly events held on weekday mornings and afternoons are most popular, especially October through May. When these guidelines were used to design continuing education classes, actual attendance was similar to predicted attendance.

Relationship Of Dairy Producer Management Styles To Overall Return On Assets, Emily K. Zimmerman, Lisa A. Holden, John E. Park, Jeffrey Hyde

Journal of Extension

Management ability is likely one factor influencing both the day-to-day operation as well as the potential for improved profitability in dairy farm businesses. For Extension educators developing farm management educational programs, understanding more about management style of dairy producers could be beneficial in program development. The goal of the study reported here was to assess the linkage between management style and farm profitability. Data was collected on-farms using am interpersonal style survey instrument. No correlation was found between management style of the producer and profitability of the dairy business.

The Center For Tmdl And Watershed Studies: Creating Resources And Tools For Watershed Management, Bl Benham

Journal of Extension

The Center for TMDL and Watershed Studies (the Center) is committed to improving the quality and effectiveness of watershed planning processes, including total maximum daily loads (TMDLs). The Center conducts basic and applied research, and provides educational programming tailored to the specific needs of stakeholders, government personnel, and technical professionals. Personnel associated with the Center provide expertise on scientific, engineering, sociological, economic, and policy issues related to watershed management and the TMDL process. The Center is actively involved in developing TMDLs and TMDL implementation plans in situations where the methodology and guidance to develop such deliverables are not well defined.

Factors Of Effectiveness In Kentucky Nonprofit Social Welfare Organizations., Peggy Proudfoot-Mcguire

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an exploratory, mixed methods study using grounded perspective to examine how stakeholders (including consumers, administrators, and practitioners) in social welfare organizations perceive effectiveness in the nonprofit social welfare sector. Focus groups were held in eight regions constituting the Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) in Kentucky. A total of 25 people participated in the study. A theoretical framework of nonprofit social welfare organizational effectiveness emerged from the data indicating that the five most significant factors identified by stakeholders as constituting effectiveness in the nonprofit social welfare sector in Kentucky were (a) client services, (b) organizational structure © workplace …

Latino Students' Prejudice And Stereotypes Toward African Americans, Amite Milner

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This study examined generational status and acculturation in relation to stereotyping and prejudice towards African Americans among Anglo and Latino American, high school students. A sample of 597 Anglo and Latino high school juniors and seniors from the Fontana and Redlands School Districts participated in this study. Participants completed a questionnaire that included demographic, acculturation, prejudice, and stereotype measures. A series of analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were conducted to test hypotheses predicting ethnic differences among Anglo and Latino Americans in prejudice and stereotype endorsement. Results showed that Latinos endorsed more stereotypes stereotype than Anglos. No ethnic difference was found on …

Funny Ha-Ha Or Funny Strange: The Structure And Meaning Of Laughter In Conversation, Linda Houts-Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Although laughter has been studied for centuries, the work has occurred in several different fields, and the lack of an interdisciplinary approach has hindered the integration of results. Work in philosophy has focused on why we laugh but has lacked a basis in empirical data, resulting in ungrounded theories. Studies in neuroscience and linguistics rest on empirical data, but stop short of a full description of the phenomenon of laughter, focusing on when and how we laugh, but not why. This study seeks to describe the phenomenon of laughter more fully, to describe both the nature of the laughable and …

Health -Related Quality Of Life In Multiple Sclerosis: Measurement, Predictors And Utilization In Routine Clinical Practice, Vivek S. Pawar

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

There are a large number of patient-reported questionnaires to assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). In order to make a recommendation for use in clinical practice, a comparison of their psychometric properties is necessary. In addition to accurate assessment, it is also necessary to identify factors that have a significant impact on HRQoL. Further, lack of use of HRQoL information in clinical practice warrants examination of attitudes and behavior of neurologists about HRQoL assessment and their intention to consider incorporating HRQoL information in their decision making. This study collected data from patients with MS …

Que Ondee Sola - December 2006-January 2007, Xavier Luis Burgos

Que Ondee Sola

Student publication founded in 1972, articles include: Plantando Semillas Reflections, The Importance of the LLAS Program, Spanish or Latina/o?, ChiMexLa's Altar, Puerto Rican & Latina/o Film Series, QOS Profile: Prof. Jaime Mendoza, Mexican Activist Visits NEIU, Flashback: Albizu-Zapata Center, The Secure Fence Act, Letter to Cook County, The Oaxaca Uprising, Ecuador Goes Left, The Sandinistas Return, Haunted Paseo Boricua, Gov. Blagojevich Rally, Poetry

Elder Economic Security Initiative: The Elder Economic Security Standard For Massachusetts, Laura Henze Russell, Ellen A. Bruce, Judith M. Conahan

Gerontology Institute Publications

What is an adequate income for older adults in Massachusetts to age in place? How does it vary according to where they live, and their life circumstances: whether they are living alone or with a spouse, rent or own their home, drive a car or use other transportation? How do elders’ living costs change as their health status and life circumstances change? What happens if they need long-term care to keep living at home?

This report will address these questions through the development of a measure of income adequacy for older adults using the WOW-GI National Elder Economic Security Standard …

On The Edge: Facing A Challenging And Uncertain Future. Elder Economic Security Standard™ For The Boston Area, Laura Henze Russell, Ellen A. Bruce, Judith M. Conahan

Gerontology Institute Publications

What is an adequate income for older adults in the Boston area to age in place? How does it vary according to their life circumstances: whether they are living alone or with a spouse, rent or own their home, drive a car or use other transportation? How do Boston area elders’ living costs change as their health status and life circumstances change? What happens if they need long-term care to keep living at home?

This report will address these questions through the development of a measure of income adequacy for older adults, the Elder Economic Security Standard (Elder Standard). The …

Locating Social Justice Issues In Middle Years Classes: Not All Pumpkins Are Orange, Lee Anne Block

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study utilizes narrative inquiry to consider how difference and equity are experienced and represented in middle years classes and to link teachers’ concepts of curriculum to that experience and representation. The inquiry is grounded in a case study of interactions among students and between students and teacher in a grade six classroom in a Canadian city. Additionally, interviews with the grade six teacher and with four other teachers, who had a commitment to including social justice issues in the curriculum, develop the relationship of teachers’ curriculum concepts to teaching for social justice. The implications of that relationship for …

Social Capital-Related Co-Production In A Marketplace, Lynne Ann Pryor

College of Business: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study employs a social capital perspective and critical ethnographic methods to investigate the operation of co-production in a socially-rich marketplace. The phenomenon of interest is a form of co-production between and among marketers and consumers that is related to social capital (referred to herein as social capital-related coproduction or SCRC). By examining a more complex form of co-production than typically depicted in the marketing literature, this research extends knowledge about the nature, boundaries, and effects of co-production.

Moreover, the concept of SCRC is useful to gain insights about how social and commercial elements may interact in marketplaces. It contributes …

University Reporter - Volume 11, Number 04 - December 2006

1996-2009, University Reporter

This issue of the University Reporter includes articles about the establishment of the University of Massachusetts Confucius Institute, the use of geographic information systems to map businesses in Dorchester, a campus gerontologist's research into aging minorities and healthcare access, a reunion for Boston State College alumni, a College of Liberal Arts professor's role in monitoring elections in Nicaragua for the Carter Center, and other news from UMass Boston.

Medicinal Plant Use And Knowledge For Monteverde Residents Based On Age And Education, December 2006, Cassandra Gurgiolo

Monteverde Institute: Tropical Ecology and Conservation

Approximately 80% of the world population relies on medicinal plants from the forest, home gardens, or market as a primary form of healthcare (Alcorn 1995). However, increased development and deforestation in recent years may be compromising the practice of natural medicine among the inhabitants of many developing countries. Interviews with 33 residents of Monteverde, Cost Rica examine both the current level of knowledge concerning natural medicine and its practice based upon age and educational level. Statistically significant positive linear relationships were found between both utilization and knowledge of medicinal plants and age. Knowledge and utilization of medicinal plants decreased weakly …

Sexual Interactions: Why We Should Talk About Sex In Hci, Johanna Brewer, Joseph Jofish Kaye, Amanda Williams, Susan Wyche

Computer Science: Faculty Publications

Within the CHI community there is growing interest in moving beyond cognition and expanding into the social, emotional, and bodily aspects of the human-computer experience. Sex lies at the intersection of these concerns, and indeed outside of HCI, has become a central topic for anthropology, behavioral sciences, and other areas of intellectual inquiry. Examining sex and themes related to it has benefited these disciplines and we intend to understand how it can contribute to HCI. There is a tendency to desexualize technology, despite the presence of sex and sexuality in a variety of interactions, including the use of the internet …

Analysis Of The West Virginia Child Abuse And Neglect 2005 Court Improvement Program's Re-Evaluation, Kathryn Alexandra Rood

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This is a secondary Analysis of the West Virginia Child Abuse and Neglect Circuit Courtroom system based on the 1995 and 2005 Court Improvement Programs State Evaluations. This article focuses on the West Virginia child abuse and neglect court in relation to Reasonable Efforts Policy. The Evaluations gathered responses from the Judges, Prosecutors and Caseworkers. We reviewed the responses using Jacob and Eisenstein's courtroom workgroup model. Our analysis reveals that policy as an ideal and in practice enacts power over the courtroom workgroups ability to comply with federal standards. These standards and policy requirements create tension and precedence for an …

The Effects Of Social Bond And Neutralization On Juvenile Drug Usage, Adam Shields

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of social bond and neutralization on juvenile drug usage. Part I of the Evaluation of the Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) Program in the United States (1995-1999) was used for the data analysis. When controlling for other variables, the data revealed that juveniles who accept neutralization of stealing and juveniles who are involved with other delinquent peers are more likely to use illegal drugs. In addition, the data revealed that an adolescent's gender was significant in determining drug usage. The results generally support Hirschi's (1969) Social Bond Theory, and …

Tribute, Peter Goodrich

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Genocide And Atrocity Crimes, David Scheffer

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

The term ‘‘genocide’’ has been commonly used, particularly in political dialogue, to describe atrocities of great diversity, magnitude, and character. Yet the prospect of the term’s arising in policy making too often imposes an intimidating brake on effective responses. The political use of the term should be separated from its legal definition as a crime of individual responsibility. Governments and international organizations should be liberated to apply the term ‘‘genocide’’ more readily within a political context so as to publicly describe precursors of genocide and react rapidly either to prevent or to stop mass killings or other seeming acts of …

Editor's Intorduction, Herb Hirsch

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This is the third issue of Volume 1 of Genocide Studies and Prevention. It is the first non-topical or general issue and, therefore, contains articles covering a wide variety of topics. The lead article by Professor David Scheffer, formerly US ambassador at large for war crimes issues (1997–2001) and currently the Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw/Robert A. Helman Professor of Law and director of the Center for International Human Rights at Northwestern University, is an exciting and interesting call for a new genre of human-rights law. Arguing that the term ‘‘genocide’’ has imposed limitations on action to protect human rights, …