Digital Commons Network^™

Just Jocking? An Exploration Of How 10-12 Year Old Children Experience An Equine Assisted Learning Programme, In A Deis School, In Limerick City., Kate Bronwyn Jones

Dissertations

Throughout Irish history, the horse has had many uses. In modern Ireland, some communities have harnessed the power of the horse to deliver a range of social interventions. However, at present, there is little published research about equine assisted programmes in Ireland. The main intention of this research project is to explore how 10-12 year old children, from a DEIS primary school in Limerick city, experience an Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) programme facilitated by the local Garda Youth Diversion Project (GYDP). The project aims to be child centred, emergent and participatory, in keeping with the United Nations Convention on the …

Evaluation Of The Demographics, Socioeconomics, And Satisfaction Levels Of Recipients At A Rural Food Bank, Michael J. Lyman Msw, Ph.D., Jeongah Seo Bsw

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

The present study assesses the demographics, socioeconomics, behaviors, environment, and satisfaction of food bank clients as a way to inform food bank administrators about where their services could be more efficiently focused. Unfortunately, very little has been published in the research literature about levels of recipient satisfaction at food banks in any settings, but especially in rural settings. This descriptive study used existing demographic and socioeconomic data from intake forms at a rural food bank, in addition to the responses of a convenience sample of 44 foodbank recipients to the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8). The data were used to assess …

Impacts Of Financial Inclusion On Youth Development: Findings From The Ghana Youthsave Experiment, Gina Chowa, Rainier Masa, David Ansong, Mat Despard, Shiyou Wu, Deborah Hughes, Isaac Osei-Akoto, Stephanie Afranie, Naa Adjorkor Mark-Sowah, Charles Ofori-Acquah, Yungsoo Lee, Lissa Johnson, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

The Ghana YouthSave Experiment investigated whether and how youth savings accounts affect financial capability; psychosocial, education, and health outcomes; and economic well-being of Ghanaian youth and their households. The research rigor in the Ghana experiment is unprecedented in resource-limited countries; therefore, it offers an opportunity to posit causal relationships between savings and youth development. This endline report, which comes three years after the baseline report, describes the Ghana experiment and presents experimental findings of YouthSave. The key research questions this report aims to answer is whether the Ghana experiment improved (1) savings patterns and performance for low-income youth; (2) low-income …

A Cognitive Theory-Based Approach For The Evaluation And Enhancement Of Internet Security Awareness Among Children Aged 3-12 Years, Asma Eidhah M. Aloufi

Theses

In the age of technology, the Internet has spread widely and used for multiple purposes by users of all ages, especially children who start using it frequently to play in their spare time. With the use of the Internet, children must have a sufficient security awareness to avoid security risks found online. This study takes us through the journey of evaluating and enhancing the level of the Internet security awareness among a group of Saudi children aged 3-12 years. The developed evaluation survey shows that there is some awareness among the Saudi Children; however, they still need more concrete ways …

Deadly Girls' Voices, Suspense, And The "Aesthetics Of Fear" In Joyce Carol Oates's "The Banshee" And "Doll: A Romance Of The Mississippi", Pascale Antolin

Bearing Witness: Joyce Carol Oates Studies

Abstract: this article focuses on deadly girls’ voices in "The Banshee" and "Doll: A Romance of the Mississippi," two short stories taken from Joyce Carol Oates’s collection The Female of the Species, subtitled Tales of Mystery and Suspense. It shows that children are used as leading and focal characters not only to increase suspense but also to manipulate the readers’ traditional sets of ethical, semantic and literary references. Oates resorts to her favourite “aesthetics of fear” for it is a powerful means of putting horror and abjection at a distance, and it is associated with the question of meaning—"meaning is …

Developing An Informed Clinical Practice Through The Embodied Discovery Of Somatic Countertransference: An Artistic Inquiry, Nell Mccarty

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

This thesis is an arts-based research project exploring how a new clinician developed an informed clinical practice through gaining embodied awareness of somatic countertransference when working with children who had experienced sexual abuse. Through embodied movement sessions, choreography, and public performance, a dance was created presenting a collection of movement qualities that reflected this author’s somatic countertransference experiences that were had during her time at her internship. A review of literature was conducted on the development of an informed clinical practice for dance/movement therapists, somatic countertransference, 95 pages. embodiment, and artistic inquiry used in research. A description of this project’s …

Developmental Changes In Analytic And Holistic Processes In Face Perception, Jane E. Joseph, Michelle D. Dibartolo, Ramesh S. Bhatt

Psychology Faculty Publications

Although infants demonstrate sensitivity to some kinds of perceptual information in faces, many face capacities continue to develop throughout childhood. One debate is the degree to which children perceive faces analytically versus holistically and how these processes undergo developmental change. In the present study, school-aged children and adults performed a perceptual matching task with upright and inverted face and house pairs that varied in similarity of featural or 2^nd order configural information. Holistic processing was operationalized as the degree of serial processing when discriminating faces and houses [i.e., increased reaction time (RT), as more features or spacing relations were …

The Mental Health Of Children And Adolescents : Report On The Second Australian Child And Adolescent Survey Of Mental Health And Wellbeing, David Lawrence, Sarah Johnson, Jennifer Hafekost, Katrina Boterhoven De Haan, Michael Sawyer, John Ainley, Stephen R. Zubrick

Wellbeing

Based on a survey conducted in the homes of over 6,300 families with children and/or adolescents aged 4 to 17 years, this report presents a comprehensive picture of the mental health of young Australians. It documents the prevalence and type of mental health problems, the impact of those problems on families and young people themselves and the role of health and education services in providing assistance. While the primary sources of information were parents and carers, the survey also engaged directly with young people 11 years and older who completed their own survey. This information provides unique insights about aspects …

Food Sharing Among Hadza Hunter-Gatherer Children, Alyssa N. Crittenden, David A. Zes

Anthropology Faculty Research

Human prosociality is one of the defining characteristics of our species, yet the ontogeny of altruistic behavior remains poorly understood. The evolution of widespread food sharing in humans helped shape cooperation, family formation, life history, language, and the development of economies of scale. While the behavioral and ecological correlates of food sharing among adults are widely studied, very little is known about food sharing among children. Here, in the first study to analyze the food sharing patterns of hunter-gatherer children, we show that while sharing may be biased towards kin, reciprocity characterizes the majority of all sharing dyads, both related …

Participation In Sports And The Development Of Resilience In Adolescents, Jason Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Adolescents today are faced with an array of risk factors including sexual activity and drug and alcohol use, as well as environmental factors that are beyond their control, such as parental divorce and poverty. The attribute of resilience is an extremely desirable quality that, if developed, has the capacity to reduce the effect of many of these risk factors that many adolescents are exposed to. Sport participation is a potential intervention that a large portion of adolescents can have access to through school and community programs that could potentially foster resilience. The current causal-comparative, non-experimental study sought to add to …

Exploring Diverse Perspectives On The Mental Health And Community Support Systems For Immigrant And Refugee Children, Taylor Marlow

Sociology Major Research Papers

Despite an extensive history with immigration, structural barriers and health inequities for immigrant and refugee populations continue to be widely documented within Canada. As a result, attention to particularly vulnerable subgroups such as newcomer children has become increasingly paramount. However, large gaps concerning newcomer children’s wellbeing persist within previous literature. In response, this study examines newcomer children’s issues, the roles of family and community support systems, and the impact of sociopolitical factors from the perspective of key stakeholders. A total of 15 newcomer parents and community professionals were interviewed in order to illuminate the current context of support for immigrant …

Homophily, Close Friendship, And Life Satisfaction Among Gay, Lesbian, Heterosexual, And Bisexual Men And Women, Brian Joseph Gillespie, David Frederick, Lexi Harari, Christian Grov

Publications and Research

Friends play important roles throughout our lives by providing expressive, instrumental, and companionate support. We examined sexual orientation, gender, and age differences in the number of friends people can rely on for expressive, instrumental, and companionate support. Additionally, we examined the extent to which people relied on same-gender versus cross-gender friends for these types of support. Participants (N = 25,185) completed a survey via a popular news website. Sexual orientation differences in number of same-gender and cross-gender friends were generally small or non-existent, and satisfaction with friends was equally important to overall life satisfaction for all groups. However, the extent …

Homophily, Close Friendship, And Life Satisfaction Among Gay, Lesbian, Heterosexual, And Bisexual Men And Women, Brian Joseph Gillespie, David Frederick, Lexi Harari, Christian Grov

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Friends play important roles throughout our lives by providing expressive, instrumental, and companionate support. We examined sexual orientation, gender, and age differences in the number of friends people can rely on for expressive, instrumental, and companionate support. Additionally, we examined the extent to which people relied on same-gender versus cross-gender friends for these types of support. Participants (N = 25,185) completed a survey via a popular news website. Sexual orientation differences in number of same-gender and cross-gender friends were generally small or non-existent, and satisfaction with friends was equally important to overall life satisfaction for all groups. However, the extent …

Something To Fear: Perception Of Defining Characteristics Of Animals, Evaluation Of Animals, And The Moderating Role Of Speciesism, Allison Elaine Waters

Theses and Dissertations

Speciesism, a form of prejudice wherein a person gives or takes value away from an organism based upon how he or she categorizes living things, is most likely a form of flexible evolutionary adaptation. However, with increasing awareness of humanity's impact on the environment and growing morality, speciesism is increasingly becoming a disadvantage. Speciesism can be reflected in actions from unethical breeding habits to outright attacks on certain animals. The purpose of this study was to examine if altering the physical appearance of animals affects the person's attitudes towards those animals. It was hypothesized that altering physical characteristics of some …

Sibling Abuse: A Study Of School Counselors' Shared Attitudes And Beliefs, Diane Stutey

Publications

The impact of sibling abuse on children and adolescents is rarely contemplated. Counselors are in a position to advocate for all children and protect them from harm; yet one source of harm that counseling practitioners and educators might be unaware of stems from violence between siblings, which can become abusive. In this article, findings are presented from a phenomenological study examining eight practicing school counselors’ attitudes and beliefs about sibling abuse and the contexts or situations that have influenced them. Seven themes emerged supporting school counselors’ perceptions of their role in responding to sibling abuse and their beliefs about factors …

Impact Of Self Regulation Skills On Students Academic Grades, Abeer Kathawala, Shelina Bhamani

Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology

This research aimed to explore if self-regulation skills had any effect on the academic outcomes of young children in private schools of Karachi, Pakistan. Quantitative research method was used to determine the impact of self-regulation upon the academic outcome of young children by utilizing Early School Self-Regulation Scale-Care Giver Version (Bhamani, 2012).The sample size consisted of randomly chosen 210 children, studying in grades 1 and 2 from seven different private schools in Karachi. The results of the research show that selfregulation skills had a significant impact on the academic outcome of young children in private schools of Karachi, b = …

Reducing Stress And Increasing Hope Among Typhoon Yolanda Survivors, Maria Victoria Del Fierro, Mary Elizabeth Huxster

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Hundreds of thousands of people are affected by natural disasters every year. Many of these people face mental and emotional consequences from the traumatic experience. Research indicates that the aftereffects of such experiences can result in social, familial, and educational impairments in children. The current study tested the efficacy of a brief cognitive behavioral intervention on elementary school aged children intended to alleviate the mental and emotional consequences following a natural disaster. The study applied quantitative methods through pre and post intervention assessments measuring stress and hope. The participants assessed included 18 Filipino children between the ages of 10-12 years, …

Custodial Grandmothers Raising Children With Disabilities And The Stressors They Face, Kanika Oni Kisero

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Stressors that custodial grandmothers face while raising children with disabilities can be more overwhelming compared to stressors experienced by grandmothers of non-disabled children. Strategies and various supports were looked into in order to determine how custodial grandmothers practice self-care so they may experience positive mental health outcomes. A purposive sample of custodial grandmothers was surveyed and the results obtained provided some support on how self-care is and is not practiced in order to manage stress. This study resulted in non-significant findings, which did not support the hypotheses. Additional analysis was used to gauge levels of stress, but could not …

Beliefs About The Effects Of Children Witnessing Domestic Violence Among Title Iv-E Students, Lawanda Robinson, Ramon Enrique Suarez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study analyzed the beliefs about the effects of children witnessing domestic violence among Title IV-E students at California State University San Bernardino. The study sample consists of eight Title IV-E students with at least one year of experience working in child welfare. Utilizing knowledge gained from various studies an instrument was developed to interview participants. In analyzing the responses, six core themes emerged as dominant beliefs about the effects of children witnessing domestic violence. Respondents indicated that mental illness, parental attachment, improving treatment, negative effects, external behaviors, and coping mechanisms are issues to consider when discussing the effects of …

No Child Is An Island: The Predicament Of Statelessness For Children In The Caribbean, Catherine A. Tobin

International Human Rights Law Journal

In a region characterized by human mobility, many children in the Caribbean are born in a different country than their parents. In fact, the Caribbean is considered one of the regions with the highest percentage of people migrating. This article will analyze the root causes of statelessness for children in the Caribbean, focusing primarily on the dangerous interplay between ineffective birth registration systems and lack of safeguards for children who would be otherwise stateless. The article will also address recent shifts in migration and nationality policies in countries such as The Bahamas and the Dominican Republic that have exacerbated existing …

Social Influences On Children's Option Valuations, Laura Pape Hennefield

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Children use a variety of strategies to determine the relative value of the objects they encounter, ranging from simple heuristics to the integration of information from multiple sources. Do children also incorporate social information - specifically, information pertaining to others' preferences - into their object valuations? Valuation is an important component of economic exchange, and is key to assessing how resources are fairly distributed or favors reciprocated. As humans often need to make critical decisions with limited information, garnering information about value via social sources might be an adaptive strategy. This dissertation has two primary goals: (1) to develop methodology …

Moving Thru: Dance/Movement Therapy Based Program For Direct Caregivers Of Childhood Survivors Of Human Trafficking And Commercial Sexual Exploitation In Belize, Amy Vanbecelaere

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

The purpose of this project was to; identify the biopsychosocial needs of child survivors of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation in Belize and to develop a dance/movement therapy based program that Belizean caregivers can utilize to better serve the children they work with. The Moving THRU (Trauma Healing, Recovery + Understanding) program was developed based on current literature regarding post-trafficking mental health care and information provided in interviews by Belizean direct caregivers currently working with youth who have been trafficked and exploited in the Cayo District of central Belize. The curriculum is designed to help direct caregivers utilize techniques …

Public Relations Promotion To Advance Child Reading And Literacy, Rosemarie Mcginty

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

A literacy event was held on JMU's campus in order to increase literacy in Harrisonburg children. This article goes through the campaign process, from planning the event to the evaluation. Third grade children were able to benefit from this event and the learning experience is documented here.

Effects Of Auditory And Visual Variability On Word Learning In Children: A Pilot Study, Kelly A. Casey

Master's Theses

For infants, acquiring vocabulary for nouns is a dynamic, complex process that involves pairing an auditory token with a visual referent. This process is computationally complex because the acoustic information produced for a verbal production of any given noun varies considerably due to factors including the person who is speaking, speaking rate, and linguistic context. Likewise, visual referents are also variable in characteristics such as size, shape, material, and color. Research suggests that variability in either the auditory or visual domains can facilitate early word learning. However, the role of simultaneous variability in these domains on noun learning remains unexplored. …

Thrown Away For Being Gay: The Abandonment Of Lgbt Youth And Their Lack Of Legal Recourse, Caitlin "Casey" Judge

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

One of the most pervasive risks LGBT youth face today is the threat of being thrown out of their homes because of their sexual orientation. According to a Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey, one in four teens that identify as lesbian or gay are homeless. Of the estimated 575,000 to 2.8 million youth that are homeless each year, between 20 percent and 40 percent identify as LGBT. While youth homelessness is most often attributed to neglect, family tragedy, poverty, and addiction, most LGBT youth populations attribute their homelessness directly to their sexual orientation. This suggests that these parents and families …

Suicidal Behavior Among Elementary School Students And Current Needs In Prevention Practices: A Survey Of Virginia School Counselors, Maranda K. D. Vandyke

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

Most of the research on suicidal behavior has focused on the middle and high school level, and an extensive review of the literature shows that more information is needed on the current needs and prevention practices at the elementary school level. In Virginia, school psychologists rated school counselors the top professional in elementary schools to lead suicide intervention and prevention efforts. Due to this, the current study examined 161 Virginia school counselors’ responses to an online survey to further explore intervention and prevention efforts among school professionals. Both school counselors and school psychologists noted that receiving additional training and having …

The Physiological Response On Immersion In Cold Water And The Cooling Rates On Swimming In A Group Of Children Aged 10 – 11 Years, Flora Bird, Jim House, Michael J. Tipton

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Swimming is a popular sport in the United Kingdom (UK); however, cold water immersion often found in open waters in the UK is not without increased risk. Drowning is among the leading cause of accidental death in 1-14 year-olds in most countries. We examined whether children and adults exhibit similar cold shock responses; their rate of cooling while swimming; and subjective recognition of cooling. Nineteen children aged 10-11 years voluntarily undertook a 5 min static immersion in 15 °C (59 °F) water. Ten of them then completed a swim of up to 40 min. Resting heart rate, respiratory frequency and …

Examining The Prevalence Of Bullying Among Biracial Children In Comparison To Single-Race Children, Kristina Gamble

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Bullying is an issue that has a presence felt by individuals residing all across the United States. There is not one universal accepted definition of this problem, but the types of bullying are as diverse as the individuals who are affected. This study looks at an under researched demographic of Biracial children in comparison to single-race children and the prevalence of bullying. The study uses data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study. The original study took place in 20 urban cities across America with mothers and fathers of newborns (N=4,898). This study looks at the prevalence of bullying …

Effects Of Childhood Trauma On Students: The Role Of School Counselors, Emily R. Dierling

Counselor Education Capstones

The literature review discusses effects of childhood trauma, short term and long-term effects as well as three evidence based interventions that are currently being used to help treat symptoms of childhood trauma. The research indicates that childhood trauma is complex, and effects children in differing ways depending on many different factors. Research also indicates that with the correct treatment and support, children who have experienced trauma can reduce signs of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). School counselors play a large role in treatment, as there are often barriers for children to receive mental health support outside of the …

What Do Prisoners And Zoo Animals Have In Common? They Have More Protection From Physical Violence Than School Children In Nineteen States, Heddy Muransky, Linda J. Fresneda

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

No abstract provided.