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Defining Effective Programs: How To Navigate Through The Diverse Definitions, Brian Brandt

Journal of Youth Development

There are many organizations that use shared terms to describe effective programs but don’t agree on the definition of these terms. Terms such as evidence based, research-based, proven practices, and promising practices have multiple definitions amongst practitioners. Exploring the different definitions of these shared terms, by yourself or with your peers, is one way to discover how programs are defined by others. This article and links will lead you through a process to understand the variety of youth development definitions used by practitioners and challenge you to create common definitions that will lead to better discussions with others regarding the …

The Initial Development Of Child-Focused Interventions In The Treatment Of Maternal Substance Abuse And Child Neglect, Kendra Tracy

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This single case study focuses on the development and evaluation of child focused interventions for the treatment of child neglect and concurrent maternal substance abuse that were incorporated into Family Behavior Therapy (FBT). The participants were a mother referred by the Department of Family Services and her child. The child participated in three child focused interventions that were developed to decrease child behavior problems, increase support and communication, and prevent future neglect by strengthening the mother & child relationship. Although not a focus in this study, the mother participated in traditional FBT adult focused intervention components. The chief aim of …

Identity And Intersectionality For Big City Mayors: A Phenomenological Analysis Of Black Women, Constance J. Brooks

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The role of a mayor is integral within local governance. Their leadership and influence directly effectuates outcomes for the cities over which they preside. For big city mayors, their impact extends beyond local government and into the national policy arena. The way an individual demonstrates the role of mayor can be influenced by his/her perception of their own identity. However, within the realm of academic research dedicated to mayoral leadership and African Americans in politics, Black female mayors have largely been ignored. In particular, there are no known attempts at investigating the intersection of race and gender in understanding Black …

Closing Up Shop: Meditations On The Departmental/Programmatic Elimination Experience, Susan Beth Donoff

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Departmental and programmatic eliminations represent a new paradigm in the history of American higher education. Hastened by a national economic recession and competing state funding priorities, public post-secondary institutions have turned to academic attrition as a solution to continuous budgetary shortfalls. As a means of addressing the lived experience of faculty members and department chairs, the following qualitative case study explores perceptions of implementing departmental and/or programmatic eliminations.

Utilizing uncertainty reduction theory as a conceptual framework, interviewed faculty in saved units experienced considerable strategic uncertainty, failing to understand why they had been selected for elimination. Guided by a college-wide strategic …

The Retention And Success Of Alternatively Admitted Student Athletes: A Case Study Of The Unlv Athletic Department, Adrienne Ekas-Mueting

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The aim of this exploratory study is to determine why student athletes admitted under University of Nevada, Las Vegas's (UNLV) alterative-admissions policy are successful, specifically by looking at the UNLV Athletic Department's institutional practices. Alternatively admitted athletes are the recipients of these practices. Although there is some research on the predictors of success for college-student athletes, the literature on alternatively admitted student-athlete success is negligible. This appears to be a specialty subgroup of students, and the institutional practices that contribute to their success should be identified and explored.

The purpose of this study was to qualitatively investigate and analyze whether …

Index Of Volume Xxxix, 2012

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare Contents of Volume XXXIX-2012

The Voices, Views, And Experiences Of 13 Nonresident African American Fathers, David Asbery

Education Doctoral

This qualitative study focused on how nonresident African American fathers maintain their role as fathers while dealing with the stereotypes, myths, and ambiguities associated with nonresident fatherhood. In addition, this study explored some of the cultural challenges specific to the experience of the nonresident African American father. The qualitative inquiry research explored the nonresident African American father’s experience through interviews with 13 nonresident African American fathers to gain insight about their perspectives on being a nonresident African American father. For this study, six open-ended questions were selected from the research literature. The aim of this study was to fill a …

Individual And Social Network Sexual Behavior Norms Of Homeless Youth At High Risk For Hiv Infection, Kimberly A. Tyler, Lisa A. Melander

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Although previous research shows that homeless youth engage in numerous risky sexual behaviors, little is known about whether or not specific rules govern this conduct within their social networks and how group norms influence subsequent sexual actions. The current study utilizes 19 in-depth interviews with homeless youth to investigate different elements of their sexual behavior. Findings reveal that their decision to have sex generally depends on chemistry and physical appearance whereas a potential partner’s risky sexual history and heavy substance use discourages youth from engaging in sex. Both males and females discuss condom usage as it relates to unknown sexual …

From The Reference Desk-Reviews Of Reference Titles, Tom Gilson

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

The Health Of Rural Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, Kimberly Y. Robitaille

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Introduction: Grandparents are becoming increasingly responsible for raising their grandchildren. Previous studies have noted physical and mental health limitations for custodial grandparents. Grandparents face numerous challenges in raising grandchildren and consequently, experience high stress levels. However, coping and social support have been found to mediate grandparent stress. Rural custodial grandparents have been an understudied population. Using the Stress Process Model, this study extends the knowledge of rural grandparents raising grandchildren by describing the relationships among physical and mental health, stressors, coping, and social supports for custodial grandparents living in Western Kentucky.

Methods: A mixed methods approach was used to examine …

First Choice For A Second Chance: Factors Supporting Temporary Dropouts Who Re-Enroll In High School, Ralph Costen

Dissertations

The purpose was to identify what factors supported students reengaging in high school by correcting patterns of chronic absenteeism or re-enrolling in order to achieve the status of high school graduate. To identify these factors, the researcher relied on the qualitative approach of Grounded Theory as a guide to evaluate the results of the study. Nineteen students attending a traditional high school, a digital academy, or an adult education program were randomly selected from a pool of selected students who met the criteria for participation in the study. The selected students were interviewed by the researcher with questions focusing on …

Salud Y Saludos: The E-News Of The College Of Health Sciences, College Of Health Sciences

College of Health Sciences

Monthly e-newsletter of the University of Texas at El Paso.

Practices In Interpersonal Communication To Help Integrate Foster Children Into, Adrielle L. Devora

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explored the question: What effect do familial communication practices and activities have on positive integration of a foster child into their adoptive family? The focus was on foster children adopted between the approximate ages of 3 and 17, as it has been shown they can have more difficulties than children adopted as infants (Barth & Miller, 2000). This research brings practical wisdom and empirically researched data to families, social workers, psychologists, teachers, and anyone who works with families in this challenging category. The research was based in the “I-Thou” interpersonal communication philosophy (Buber, 1923/1984) and utilized recommendations from …

Using Interpersonal Communication And Social Penetration As A Means Of Strengthening Mentorships In High Schools, Jonathan Max Dashner

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Mentoring is an educational process wherein a more experienced person takes time and invests it in a less experienced person in guiding that person in areas of professional life, academic life, and personal life. In today’s high schools, students need teachers to guide them through both their academic lives and also their tumultuous personal lives. Through the Phenomenological Tradition, teachers can mentor students by sharing their stories and listening to the stories of their mentee students. By utilizing social penetration, teacher mentors, through the use of interpersonal communication skills, learn more about their students’ personal lives while divulging more of …

The Relationship Between Turning Points And Travel Styles: A Study Of First Generation Older Korean Americans, Young-Joo Ahn

All Dissertations

People experience various significant events across their life course. The purpose of this study was to explore what turning point events occur and how these events influence travel style among first generation older Korean immigrants. To accomplish this, 33 interviewees were recruited by using theoretical sampling and a semi-structured interview with the retrospective interview technique.
Following the grounded theory approach (Strauss & Corbin, 1990, 1998; Corbin 2008), several themes emerged that created turning point events and travel styles among first generation older Korean immigrants. Turning point events divided into eleven categories. In the findings, however, the participants seemed to experience …

December 2012 Commencement Program, Bowling Green State University

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Explicating The Social Mechanisms Linking Alcohol Use Behaviors And Ecology To Child Maltreatment, Bridget Freisthler, Megan R. Holmes

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper begins to describe and explicate the specific mechanisms by which alcohol use and the alcohol use environment contribute to specific types of child maltreatment. These mechanisms relating alcohol outlet densities to child maltreatment described here include effects on social disorganization, parent's drinking behaviors, and parental supervision. By investigating potential mechanisms, new information could be obtained on the importance and role of alcohol and its availability in the etiology of child maltreatment. This knowledge can be used to further tailor interventions to those conditions most likely to prevent and reduce maltreatment.

Private Pension Protections Since Erisa: The Expanded Role Of The Individual, Karen A. Zurlo

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Designed to provide security and equity to defined benefit (DB) pension plans, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) became law in 1974. Since that time, the economy has shifted to a more globalized, non-unionized, service-based environment, where defined contribution (DC) plans replaced DB plans as the dominant type of private pension plan. Today workers and retirees bear the burden of managing their pension plans and the associated risks. To protect Americans against the financial risks they face in retirement and ensure greater economic security in old age, targeted financial education, research, and fundamental pension policy reform are required.

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 39, No. 4 (December 2012)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• DATING VIOLENCE POLICY: MAKING THE GRADE - Richard Hoefer, Beverly Black, and Mashooq Salehin
• EXPLICATING THE SOCIAL MECHANISMS LINKING ALCOHOL USE BEHAVIORS AND ECOLOGY TO CHILD MALTREATMENT - Bridget Freisthler and Megan R. Holmes PRIVATE PENSION PROTECTIONS SINCE ERISA: THE EXPANDED ROLE OF THE INDIVIDUAL - Karen A. Zurlo
• RECONCILIATION IN A COMMUNITY-BASED RESTORATIVE JUSTICE INTERVENTION - David K. Androff
• "WHERE ARE MY RIGHTS?" COMPROMISED CITIZENSHIP IN MIXED-STATUS MARRIAGE: A RESEARCH NOTE - April M. Schueths
• FEAR VS. FACTS: EXAMINING THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS IN THE U.S. - David Becerra, David K. Androff, Cecilia Ayón, …

Reconciliation In A Community-Based Restorative Justice Intervention, David K. Androff

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (TRCs) are among the primary means for promoting reconciliation in communities recovering from violent conflict. However, there is a lack of consensus about what reconciliation means or how it is best achieved. In a qualitative study of the first TRC in the U.S., this research interviewed victims of racial violence who participated in the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission (GTRC), a community-based restorative justice intervention. Findings reveal that participants conceptualized reconciliation as a multileveled process, that different concepts of reconciliation influenced assessments of the success and limitations of the GTRC, and indicate how community-based restorative interventions …

Fear Vs. Facts: Examining The Economic Impact Of Undocumented Immigrants In The U.S., David Becerra, David K. Androff, Cecilia Ayón, Jason T. Castillo

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Undocumented immigration has become a contentious issue in the U.S. over the past decade. Opponents of undocumented immigration have argued that undocumented immigrants are a social and financial burden to the U.S. which has led to the passage of drastic and costly policies. This paper examined existing state and national data and found that undocumented immigrants do contribute to the economies of federal, state, and local governments through taxes and can stimulate job growth, but the cost of providing law enforcement, health care, and education impacts federal, state, and local governments differently. At the federal level, undocumented immigrants tend to …

Perceived Neighborhood Safety And Psychological Distress: Exploring Protective Factors, Jaime Booth, Stephanie L. Ayers, Flavio F. Marsiglia

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

While a growing body of literature has established a relationship between "disordered" neighborhoods and psychological distress, less is known about the specific mechanisms at work. Using data collected in the 2008 Arizona Health Survey (N = 4,196), hierarchal linear regression was conducted to assess both the independent effect of perception of neighborhood safety on psychological distress, as well as the mediating effects of powerlessness, social isolation and mistrust. The findings suggest that the more safe individuals feel in their neighborhood, the less psychological distress they experience (b = 1.07, SE = .17, p < .001). This relationship appears to be partially mediated by feelings of powerlessness, social isolation and mistrust, indicating potential risk and protective factors.

"Where Are My Rights?" Compromised Citizenship In Mixed-Status Marriage A Research Note, April M. Schueths

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Immigration policy has shifted its focus from family reunification to strict enforcement of "illegal" immigration. It has become much more difficult for U.S. citizens to adjust their non-citizen spouses' legal status, especially spouses who are undocumented. This paper examines the vulnerabilities of female U.S. citizens married or partnered with undocumented Mexican men. Findings challenge the simplistic notion that marriage with a U.S. citizen creates automatic legalization for undocumented individuals and highlights the creation of a second class citizenry for native-born partners. This study argues that punitive immigration law and policies have profound negative implications for the lives of U.S. citizens.

Social Ties, Social Support, And Collective Efficacy Among Families From Public Housing In Chicago And Baltimore, Rebecca Joyce Kissane, Susan Clampet-Lundquist

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper explores the social ties and capital of women relocating to low-poverty neighborhoods through the Moving to Opportunity program and a "regular mover" group who did not. Findings suggest the low-poverty movers seldom made close ties in their new neighborhoods; they also had fewer childhood friends and exchanged less support than the regular movers. Many, however, welcomed escaping the constant exchange that characterized their former neighborhoods and moved to areas higher in collective efficacy--experiencing neighborhoods rated high in child supervision, facing less conflictual relations with neighbors, and exhibiting greater trust in others-relative to the regular movers.

Review Of Public Mental Health. William W. Eaton, Ed. Reviewed By David Mechanic., David Mechanic

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of William W. Eaton, Ed., Public Mental Health (2012). Oxford, Oxford University Press. $89.99 (hardcover).

Review Of Racial Beachhead: Diversity And Democracy In A Military Town. Carol Lynn Mckibben. Reviewed By Laura S. Abrams., Laura S. Abrams

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Carol Lynn McKibben, Racial Beachhead: Diversity and Democracy in a Military Town (2012). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. $24.95 (paperback).

Review Of Great American City: Chicago And The Enduring Neighborhood Effect. Robert Sampson. Reviewed By Gwendolyn Y. Purifoye., Gwendolyn Y. Purifoye

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Robert Sampson, Great American City: Chicago and the Enduring Neighborhood Effect (2012). Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press. $27.50 (hardcover).

Living In Harmony: Health Perspectives Of Hispanics In Rural East Tennessee., Erin E. Bailey

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose is to promote culturally competent care among healthcare providers by identifying and describing how Hispanics in East Tennessee view health and what they do to prevent illness. A focus group of six to ten Hispanics of mixed genders over age eighteen moderated by a native Spanish-speaking interpreter. Questions explored how Hispanics define health and sickness, health maintenance practices, and alternative medicines and practices. Results were interpreted from Spanish to English to be analyzed. The Circle in Which You Live was described by members as consisting of relationships, physical health, and peace of the mind and soul. In Shutting …

An Exploration Into The Perceived Effects Of International Volunteering And Service On Host Communities In The Global South, Katelyn Kerrigan

Master's Theses

Presently, we are witnessing an unprecedented expansion of Western youth participating in short-term (1 to 2 week) international volunteering and service (IVS) programs in developing countries located predominantly in the Global South (Lough, 2012; Sherraden et al., 2008). Current academic literature around the impacts IVS has on receiving host communities in developing countries is highly controversial. This study utilizes ethnographic research, involving a combination of participant -observation and semi-structured interviews, to gain the perspectives of the Fijian Highland villagers from the IVS host community, on the positive and negative effects of hosting American (aged 14-18) participating in short-term (one-week) international …

The Leadership Orientations And Effectiveness Of College And University Career Services Directors, Jacob A. Livengood

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Career service directors lead the third most common division within student affairs departments, but the leadership of a collegiate career services office has not been represented in higher education research. Obtaining a "good job" has consistently been noted as a main reason to attend college (Pryor, Hurtado, Saenz, Santos & Korn, 2007). The rising costs of higher education have also yielded the question, "What can college do for me?" financially and with future career opportunities (Baum & Payea, 2005; Moretti, 2004; Pryor, Hurtado, Saenz, Santos & Korn, 2007; Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, 2009). The functions of career services …