Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring The Nature Of Collaboration Between Organizations Assisting Persons Experiencing Poverty In The Region Of Waterloo, Ontario, Morgan E. Braganza

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The current study was designed to examine the experiences of organizations assisting individuals who are economically vulnerable in Waterloo Region through interorganizational collaboration. Several questions were explored in order to gain a deeper understanding of the definition of collaboration, for whom collaboration is useful, how often and with whom organizations collaborate, techniques used during collaboration, and whether collaboration should be increased and improved. Twenty Executive Directors from organizations most strongly involved in the assistance of those experiencing poverty were asked to participate in face-to-face interviews where they were asked questions based on the above mentioned questions. Qualitative analysis of the …

Including Spirituality: A Means To Cope With Cancer And Recommendations For Health Care Professionals, Lisa Green

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Although psychosocial oncology is gaining in popularity as more research is conducted to support its inclusion in health care, there is still a lack of incorporation of spirituality in health care. The purpose of this study is to answer the following research questions: 1) How do participants use spirituality to aid in their healing? 2) How would participants like their health care professionals, specifically social workers, to incorporate spirituality into their formal care?

A qualitative, phenomenological methodology was selected for this investigation in an effort to gain an understanding of the lived experiences of people with cancer. Semi-structured interviews were …

Exploring The Experience Of University Students Coping With Acquired Or Traumatic Brain Injury, Halina Kay Lin Haag

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Mild to moderate brain injury (MBI) can be a complex condition resulting in diffuse impairments that require flexible and creative supportive interventions for university students living with MBI. This study sought to increase awareness and understanding of MBI, enrich the body of lived experience research, amplify the voices of the participants and create a catalyst for change. The participants’ lived experience of the role of the negative social perception of impairment within an organizational context and the individual’s internalization of this social construct into chronic shame are critically examined. The study utilizes a multimethod approach that is influenced by the …

Exploring The Reintegration Process For Child Soldiers: A Case Study Of Young Women And Their Children In Northern Uganda, Allison N. Martin

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Child soldiering has occurred throughout history in the never-ending battle over land, resources and human rights. The earliest mention of minors in war comes from antiquity however it was not until the 1970s that the first international convention came into effect in an attempt to limit the participation of children in armed conflict (Wikipedia, 2009b). Unfortunately, children remain active in armed conflicts around the world as combatants, porters, spies, messengers, sex slaves and human shields. Human Rights Watch (2007) estimates that 200,000 to 300,000 children are currently serving in rebel and government forces in over 20 countries around the world. …

Personal Growth In Couples Caring For A Child With A Life-Threatening Illness, Kimberly Kennedy

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Little is known about the potential for positive outcomes in couples who have a child with a life-threatening illness. The current study was a secondary analysis of demographics and personal growth data of 34 couples actively caring for children with various life-threatening conditions. There were three overarching goals in this research: (a) to examine differences in Posttraumatic Growth Inventory scores (PTGI) of mothers and fathers, (b) to examine the relationship between demographic variables and PTGI scores of mothers and fathers, and (c) to measure level of congruency in couple-dyad scores and test if partners’ growth scores are predictive of one …

Mothers’ Experiences Of The Care Provided To Their Child With A Life-Limiting Illness, Carolyn Miguelle Ouellet

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of this study was to examine mothers’ experiences of the care provided to their child with a life-limiting illness. This study explored mothers’ experiences in finding, accessing, and providing care for their children and their perceptions of gaps, barriers, and strengths in care for their children. As a secondary focus, this study looked at how these mothers understand pediatric palliative care. A qualitative descriptive design was used to explore the experiences of six mothers caring for children with life-limiting illnesses in urban areas of Ontario and Quebec. Mothers shared their experiences through in-person interviews.

Findings revealed that the …

How Do Adolescent Students Experience Teacher-Student Interactions In A Seventh Grade Classroom And How Do Those Experiences Affect Their Self-Efficacy Beliefs?, Katherine Sanjiyan Barg

Doctoral Dissertations

unavailable

Unkept Promises : A Critical Analysis Of Hope Disclosed In Narratives Of African American Male Youth Living In Group Homes, Shadrach Linscomb

Doctoral Dissertations

unavailable

African American Children In An Urban Foster Care System : Perceptions Of Disproportionality And Demographics, Jeffrey W. Timms

Doctoral Dissertations

unavailable

An Action Research Study Of The Supporting The University-Ready Through Environment (Sure) Program, Natalie Brown

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The current research documented the processes and outcomes of an educational access program for women living in poverty at the individual and organizational level of analysis. The purpose of this study was to understand barriers, strategies to reduce barriers and outcomes achieved by a grassroots program: Supporting the University-Ready through Empowerment (SURE). The 12 participants consisted of three women learners of the SURE program, three SURE co-directors (including myself), three university partners and three community partners. Life narrative interviews were conducted with the learners with structured interviews conducted with all other informants. Additionally, focus groups were run with the SURE …

The Paradox Of Exclusion Within Equity: Interrogating Discourse At The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, Delores V. Mullings

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Employment discrimination has been a challenge in Canada for many groups and for government agencies who propose to adhere to a human rights agenda. To address this concern, the federal government initiated various anti-discriminatory policies and programs to counteract employment discrimination for four designated groups: Aboriginal people, “visible minorities,” women, and people with disabilities. The Employment Equity Act and the Canadian Human Rights Act were the legislation, and the Canadian Human Rights Commission and the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal the institutions designed to deal with employment discrimination for federal employees. When employees file a claim, it is initially processed at …

Constructed Identity, Subjective Identity And Inter-Subjective Transformation: An Exploration By Way Of Motherhood And Canadian Maternity Benefits, Patricia Van Katwyk

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

When identity is conceptualized as a fluid and ongoing process that is mutually influenced by subjective and constructed experience, an interplay can occur that engenders and signifies collective life. With an acknowledgement of motherhood as a politically and emotionally charged identity experience, and asserting the capacity of social policy to sustain a constructed ideology, this paper explores a conversation that occurred between 28 mothers in Canada. The site of this conversation was an on-line journal (blog). Using a participatory narrative action method of research, the mothers participated as co-researchers, conducting a narrative analysis of one another’s narratives and a policy …

Institutional Analysis Of Integrated Treatment For Co-Occurring Mental Health, Substance Use And Gambling Problems In Ontario: A Case Study, Gabriela Novotná

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation explores the institutionalized response of the mental health and addiction sectors in Ontario to the pervasive demand for integrated services for people with concurrent disorders. Building on neo-institutional theory, I argue that despite the fact that different stakeholders on multiple levels—provincial governments, service providers, and clients—have called for the integration of treatment for concurrent disorders, this integrated treatment is implemented as a rationalized myth and adopted only ceremonially.

This is demonstrated through a case study of two treatment programs that provide services to populations with concurrent mental health and substance use problems and gambling problems. Both programs are …

Harding University Graduate And Professional Catalog 2009-2010, Harding University

Harding Academic Catalogs

Academic catalog for the graduate programs at Harding University.

Depressive Symptoms In Elderly Women With Chronic Conditions: Measurement Issues, Jaclene A. Zauszniewski, Abir K. Bekhet

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Objective: Depression is highly prevalent in elderly women with chronic conditions and measuring depressive symptoms is complicated by co-occurring chronic illnesses. The 20-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale is commonly used with elders, but its length may result in missing data. Twelve short four to 16 item CES-D forms exist, but their psychometric properties have not been systematically evaluated.

Method: This study of 250 elderly women compared reliability and validity estimates for the 20-item CES-D and its 12 short forms; all scales used four response alternatives. The study also investigated whether women with varying numbers of chronic conditions …

Common Data Set, 2008-2009, Planning, Research, And Policy Analysis

Common Data Set (2001-present)

Common Data Set 2008-2009 for Illinois State University

An Evaluation Of The Influence Of Case Method Instruction On The Reflective Thinking Of Msw Students, Marleen Milner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Social work practice requires that graduates be prepared to deal with complex, multifaceted problems which cannot be defined completely, do not have absolute, correct answers and can be approached from multiple perspectives. This study evaluated the influence of case-based instruction on MSW students' reflective judgment, an aspect of critical thinking associated with the ability to reason through ill-structured problems. (King, Wood, & Mines, 1990). The Reflective Judgment Model, which describes a developmental continuum based upon epistemic assumptions regarding the source and justification of knowledge claims, served as the theoretical framework for the assessment of reflective thinking in this mixed methods …

Assessing The Needs Of Sage-Grouse Local Working Groups Final Technical Report, Lorien Belton, Douglas Jackson-Smith, Terry Messmer

All Current Publications

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Grandparents In Childcare In Ireland: Towards A Research Agenda, Michelle Share, Liz Kerrins

Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies

This paper discusses the role of grandparents in informal childcare in Ireland. It considers how recent demographic change and government policy on childcare have the potential to place greater pressures on the provision of grandparent childcare. It illustrates research literature that has examined the prevalence and intensity of grandparent care, factors influencing such care, and the role and needs of grandparents in childcare. We argue that there are significant gaps in Irish research evidence about the extent of, role and needs of grandparents as childcarers and outline a data and research agenda that builds on previous research in this area.

A Brief Feedback Intervention For Diagnostic Overshadowing, David Wood, Terence J.G. Tracey

Faculty Publications

Clinical decision-making errors are well-documented among both experienced clinicians and students. One robust clinical decision-making error is called diagnostic overshadowing (DO), which occurs when the presence of one diagnosis interferes with the detection of other diagnoses. This study tested whether two types of instruction and brief feedback interventions reduced the likelihood of DO. Specifically, content-based feedback and principle-based feedback significantly reduced the likelihood of DO among doctoral students in clinical and counseling psychology. An intervention effect was found when the training task and the target task were highly similar. Recommendations for improving diagnostic decision-making among trainees in professional psychology are …

Learning Through Life: A Study Of Older People With Literacy Difficulties In Ireland: Executive Summary, Tanya Lalor, Gerard Doyle, Adele Mckenna, Aoife Fitzsimons

Reports

There has been limited research conducted with older people with literacy difficulties in the past. Hence, there is little known about the factors that could affect older people’s decisions about learning in later life, about what and how they choose to learn, and about what role learning plays in their life as they grow older. NALA sought to address this gap in the literature when it undertook a study in 2008 entitled ‘It’s never too late to learn’.1 The primary objective of the research was the systematic investigation of the coping strategies that older literacy learners identify as most effective …

Assessing The Needs Of Sage-Grouse Local Working Groups. Final Technical Report, Terry Messmer

All Current Publications

Over the last several decades, biologists have grown increasingly concerned about declines in populations of two species of sage-grouse (Centrocercus spp.), a bird whose range covers a vast portion of eleven western U.S. states and two Canadian provinces (Stiver et al. 2006).

Trauma Practitioners' Lived Experience Of The Impact Of Therapy On Trauma Recovery Outcomes, Francess M. Day

Theses : Honours

Much has been written about evidence-based treatments for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). A number of treatment guides have been written (e.g. AMCPH, 2007; Briere 2006; Foa Keane, & Friedman, 2000;). Medicare criteria based on empirical research and outcome measures stipulate which treatments and practitioner qualifications will be funded. However, little is known about the relationship between these guidelines and what clinicians actually utilize in trauma treatment and use as indicators of good outcomes. The research studies compromise external validity by excluding the majority of typical PTSD clientele, necessitating exploration of treatment effectiveness in diverse real-life populations (Spinazzola, Blaustein, & van …

Evaluating Mental Health Services To Promote Recovery-Oriented Practice: A Literature Review ; And, Resident Perceptions On Recovery-Orientation At A Supported Residential Unit For People With Severe Mental Illness, Lydia Forbes

Theses : Honours

Topic: A literature review was conducted to describe and critically examine the research evidence for evaluating the recovery-orientation of mental health services. Purpose: Evaluating recovery-orientation within mental health services is a critical part of quality improvement, and the eventual widespread adoption of recovery-oriented practice. This review aimed to recommend future directions for research, highlight positive changes resulting from recovery-focussed evaluation, and facilitate more effective, consumer-driven evaluation in the future. Sources Used: Electronic databases CINAHL, Psycinfo, Medline and Meditext were searched. Articles were restricted to the English language, and included if they discussed the evaluation or exploration of recovery-oriented practices within …

Law School And The Making Of The Student Into A Lawyer: Transformation Of First Year Law Students In The National University Of Singapore, Seow Hon Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This paper examines the impact of legal education and law school on the student's moral development and conception of professional identity, through an empirical study of first year law students of the Class of 2010 at the National University of Singapore. The project aims to increase consciousness of how law school remakes students and develops the moral and professional identity of future lawyers, and to facilitate a dialogue that reshapes legal education to achieve its aims. Given that legal education in Singapore is similar to that in other law schools in common law jurisdictions, the analysis is, with allowances for …

A Model Of Employment Literacy: Young People In Western Australia, Katherine F. Britton

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This exploratory study aimed to examine the meanings of employment literacy among young people undertaking vocational education or training (VET), trainers, funding representatives and employers in Western Australia. A further objective was to develop a model of employment literacy that would inform training or educational organisations. Employment literacy incorporates the personal and social dimensions that young disadvantaged people require to secure and maintain employment. It also includes the understandings and capacity to access infonnation from a variety of sources and negotiate with a range of people in employment related settings. In-depth interviewing was the main method used so that different …

Supporting Attorney’S Personal Skills, Marjorie A. Silver

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Depression: The Role Of Cultural Factors And Perception Of Treatment., Cynthia Chacon

Master's Theses

Depression is a prevalent mental disorder. Various factors influence people's attitudes toward help seeking, perceptions, and beliefs about psychotherapy, including ethnicity (language), distress level, social support, treatment modality, and subpopulation. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and psychodynamic therapy (PT) have been used to treat depression. This study explored the relationship between the aforementioned variables. Participants (N = 264) were White and Mexican-American from a college and the community. Results indicated that ethnicity and subpopulation were not significantly related to seeking help; people who reported higher distress levels and higher social support expressed greater likelihood to seek help. All groups rated CBT …

Possibilities And Prospects: The Debate Over A Guaranteed Income, Margot Young, James P. Mulvale

All Faculty Publications

The idea of a guaranteed income has a long and respectable history in Canadian political and economic thought. Recently, in the face of both wide criticism of the Canadian income security system and growing recognition of the unacceptability of current poverty rates, there has been a resurgence in calls for implementation of a Canadian guaranteed income. But the idea is a controversial one; progressive activists, academics, and politicians disagree about the desirability and the practicality of a guaranteed income. This report: Traces the history of guaranteed income proposals in Canada; Catalogues both the most common reasons supporting advocacy of a …

When Reading Between The Lines Is Not Enough: Lessons From Media Coverage Of A Domestic Violence Homicide-Suicide, Elizabeth L. Macdowell

Scholarly Works

In October 2008, Karthik Rajaram murdered his wife, mother-in-law, sons and, ultimately, himself, in a wealthy Los Angeles suburb. This Article analyzes media reports about the deaths to illustrate the resilience of patriarchy and significant gaps in research and scholarship about domestic violence, and suggests a strategic approach to building counter-narratives about violence against women.

The Article is composed of five parts. Part I is the Introduction. Part II draws on narrative theory and critical media scholarship to lay the groundwork for analysis, and to show why media coverage of homicide-suicide is implicated in the production of dominant ideology.

Part …