Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Gender Differences In The Effect Of Child Maltreatment On Criminal Activity Over The Life Course, Ryan E. Spohn

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

This paper adds to a growing body of knowledge regarding the criminal consequences of childhood victimization. A prospective research design is used to compare a group of maltreated youth to a matched control group in order to determine the extent to which child abuse and neglect influence both juvenile delinquency and adult crime. Controlling for race and sex, abused and neglected children are more likely to have a juvenile arrest record. In addition, controlling for involvement in juvenile crime, child maltreatment also influences adult criminality. Motivated by the findings of qualitative studies focusing on female offenders, I examine gender differences …

Service-Learning For Multicultural Teaching Competency: Insights From The Literature For Teacher Educators, Rahima C. Wade

Special Topics, General

The growing disparity between the largely White teacher population and the increasingly diverse student body in the United States (Hodgkinson, 1991;Jordan, 1995) has led to greater interest in how to en­hance pre-service teachers' multicultural competencies (e.g., knowledge of diverse cultures, ability to teach children of color successfully, positive attitudes toward chil­dren and families of color). Given the low expectations for achievement held by White teachers for children of color and White teachers' lack of interest in working with stu­dents (from cultures other than their own (Zeichner, 1993; Zeichner & Melnick, 1996a), it is imperative that teacher educators seek out successful …

Shumer's Self-Assessment For Service Learning, Robert D. Shumer, Pat Duttweiler, Andrew Furco, Madeleine S. Hengel, Gwen Willems

Service Learning, General

The Shumer Self-Assessment for Service-Learning (SSASL) is designed as a self-reflective system for professionals in the service-learning and experiential learning fields. What follows is a series of instruments and analysis worksheets arranged to help individuals evaluate their current service-learning initiatives to improve and strengthen them.

The Douglas County Drug Court: A Comparison Of Recidivism Rates Between Drug Court Participants And Traditionally Adjudicated Drug Offenders, Erika Davis Frenzel

Student Work

Over the years there have been large increases in the number of drug offenders arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced to prison. These increases have lead to an overload of the criminal justice system. This overload prompted states to develop new responses to substance use and drug-related crime. One such innovation is the drug treatment court, which combines accountability and treatment. The goal of these courts is to reduce recidivism and substance use among drug-involved criminal offenders. This study uses data from Douglas County (Nebraska) to compare recidivism rates for participants in the Douglas County Drug Court and traditionally adjudicated drug offenders. …

The Internet In Turkey And Pakistan: A Comparative Analysis, Peter Wolcott, Seymour E. Goodman

Information Systems and Quantitative Analysis Faculty Publications

The Global Diffusion of the Internet Project was initiated in 1997 to study the diffusion and absorption of the Internet to, and within, many diverse countries. This research has resulted in an ongoing series of reports and articles that have developed an analytic framework for evaluating the Internet within countries and applied it to more than 25 countries. (Seehttp://mosaic.unomaha.edu/gdi.html for links to some of these reports and articles.)

The current report applies the analytic framework to compare and contrast the Internet experiences of Turkey and Pakistan, through mid-2000. Although historically these countries have not been closely related, there are …

What Do Students Learn From Service-Learning And How Do We Know It?, Scott A. Chadwick

Special Topics, General

Service-learning presents a unique opportunity for those interested in the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). This opportunity exists because relatively little empirical research has been conducted on the efficacy of service-learning with respect to the intended learning outcomes designed into the course by the teacher.

Toward A "New Diversity" And The Revitalization Of Hte "Campus Spirit:" A "Bandung 2000" Conference For Students, Staff And Faculty, Michael C. Stelly, Harriet D. Washington, Carlos Talkington, Michael Payne

Public Administration Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

In this session, "New Diversity" programs are designed and proposed, aimed at enabling minority staff, students and faculty the kind of "cultural inoculation" needed to be able to address the concerns which plague most campuses.

Reading The Lives Of Others: The Winton Homes Library Project A Cultural Studies Analysis Of Critical Service Learning For Education, Matt Musucci, Adam Renner

Service Learning, General

This article examines the value and usefulness of expanding a particular approach to service learning in an educational setting. As a result of participating in a graduate seminar that combined cultural studies with service learning, reflecting on involvement in a service project, and a careful reading of relevant literature, the authors advocate for a more critical engagement with the reality of overwhelming social injustice. Moreover, the authors suggest a four-step framework (critical service learning), which is informed by both cultural studies and critical pedagogy. Finally, the authors argue for the adaptation of this framework into the school curriculum-thereby providing students …

The Community College Conscience: Service-Learning And Training Tomorrow's Teachers, Robert Franco

Service Learning, General

Across the landscape of American higher education, one senses the increasing intellectual colonization of higher education by advocates of accountability and gurus of management. Business and private-sector terms, such as "risk taking," "restructuring," "client focused" and "responsive to market demands" weave their way through what many call the "creeping vocationalism" of higher education.

At the same time, universities, colleges, nonprofit organizations and private business extol the virtues of thoughtful "mission statements" designed to focus energy and activities within the organization and represent the organization to its "clientele." Rarely, however, does one hear about or challenge the "conscience"1 of organizations in …

Strategic Directions For Service-Learning Research: A Presidential Perspective, Judith Ramaley

Higher Education

Service-learning can be viewed as a form of pedagogy designed to enhance learning and promote civic responsibility as well as one of a set of strategies to link the capacity of a college or university to the needs of society. A commitment to service-learning can become the avenue for a larger transformational change agenda by providing a focus and a reason to consider significant changes in campus priorities, faculty roles and rewards, resource utilization and university-community relationships. The case is made for the role of the scholar/practitioner president and the importance of a legitimate scholarly base to effect institutional change, …

Death And Disability In The Heartland: Corporate (Mis)Conduct, Regulatory Responses, And The Plight Of Latino Workers In The Meatpacking Industry, Anna-Maria Wahl, Steven E. Gunkel, Thomas W. Sanchez

Sociology and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Death and disability remain serious problems in the meatpacking industry, which increasingly depends on Latino workers. Here we examine these problems and the dynamics that heighten and minimize the hazards encountered in meatpacking plants. Drawing from published and unpublished sources, we provide statistical profiles and ethnographic accounts to capture the health and safety risks Latino workers face in the meatpacking plants of Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska. Guided by recent research in labor market segmentation and the politics of social regulation, we trace the increased risk of injury and illness for Latinos to three intersecting dynamics: corporate conduct and misconduct on …

Using Hypermedia And Multimedia To Promote Project-Based Learning Of At-Risk High School Students, Tracy Carr, Asha K. Jitendra

Special Topics, General

The term at-risk in this article refers to those students who are in danger of dropping out of school (Rodriguez, 199i). Often, these students have low self-esteem resulting from persistently low academic achievement. One possible reason for academic failure is a mismatch between the student's needs and the curricular expectations. Consequently, it is important to plan to meet individual student needs appropriately and minimize the rate of dropouts. Planning more appropriately requires individualization of goals and curricula.

Development Of Commitment In Young Children's Best Friendships, Andrea L. Kelp

Student Work

Although the amount of research conducted on children’s friendships is large, the specific characteristic of friendship commitment has received little attention to date. At what age and to what extent commitment is present in children’s friendships is the main focus of this study. Students in grades 2 through 7 completed a demographic questionnaire, the Commitment and Satisfaction Scale, the Children’s Self-Efficacy for Peer Interaction Scale, The Network of Relationships Inventory, and they also responded to hypothetical vignettes. Of particular interest were the effects of children’s age, gender, friendship reciprocity, self-efficacy and friendship satisfaction on their friendship commitment levels. Analyses of …

Community Service: Mandatory Or Voluntary?, Diane Loup

School K-12

School districts struggle to find the best approach for bringing a real-world aspect to learning.

After The Summit: Building Community Networks For America’S Youth, Sabrina Burke

Special Topics, General

The purpose of this research project is to provide a guide for local coordinators and organizers of America’s Promise and other national initiatives. It looks at the new paradigm of community youth development how it is changing the ways that social organizations are conducting business. It explores how to create community networks as a way for communities to better serve their young people. In this project, a community network is defined as an association of individuals representing different organizations and associations working together (collaborating) to achieve a common long term vision or goal. Although there is a rich diversity among …

The Effects Of Service Learning, Shelley H. Billig

Service Learning, General

Research, while limited, finds that students who help others help themselves academically and socially.

Costs And Benefits And Service Learning, Alan Melchior

Service Learning, General

A growing body of evidence points to school-based service learning as an effective means of achieving a variety of critical school and community goals. But what do we know about the costs of service learning?

Service Learning In An Age Of Standards, Terry L. Pickeral, Judy Bray

Service Learning, General

"The new standards have to do with application of basic learning. Students take things that at one time they simply memorized and instead take them into real-life settings. The graduation standards offer the opportunity for every student and teacher to bring learning to a higher level. Application, synthesis, analysis and integration of information are what real learning is all about."

Jim Grimmer, a teacher of philosophy at Richfield High School in Richfield, Minn., articulates one view of the connection between service learning and academic standards. At a time when academic standards, along with assessments and accountability, represent the big-dog reform …

Importation And Deprivation Explanations Of Juveniles’ Adjustment To Correctional Facilities, Angela Gover, Doris Layton Mackenzie, Gaylene Armstrong

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Two theoretical explanations, importation and deprivation, are commonly used to explain inmate adjustment to the correctional environment. This study examined the relation- ship of selected importation and deprivation factors on juveniles’ anxiety levels while they were confined to institutions. Self-reported data collected from 3,986 juveniles and aggregate level data collected from interviews with administrators at 48 U.S. correctional facilities were used in a probit regression analysis. Importation and deprivation factors were found to have a significant impact on juveniles’ anxiety levels. Youth who were younger, White, or had a history of exposure to family violence experienced more anxiety. Youth confined …

Sedimentologic And Paleogeomorphologic Character Of The Western Beteiha Plain, Israel, Laura Baker

Student Work

The geographical problem addressed in this study was to reconstruct the paleogeography of the western Beteiha Plain, located between Bethsaida and the Sea of Galilee and determine its sedimentologic and paleogeomorphologic character. Grain size analysis of sediments, along with sediment color was used to reconstruct the landscape and identify areas such as estuaries or lagoons.

Sediment samples were collected throughout the Beteiha Plain at selected locations. Excavation and collection was accomplished with hand-driven core equipment and backhoe trenches.

The multidisciplinary approach used in this project included fieldwork for sediment collection, laboratory analysis for the production of the data necessary to …

Change As A Scholarly Act: Higher Education Research Transfer To Practice, Judith Ramaley

Higher Education

Achieving transformational change is a scholarly challenge best dealt with by practicing public scholarship, which is modeled by the leader and encouraged in other members of the campus community. Like all good scholarly work, good decision making by campus leadership begins with a base of scholarly knowledge generated and validated by higher education researchers.

The University Of Nebraska At Omaha Center For Space Data Use In Teaching And Learning, Neal Grandgenett, Uno Aviation Institute

Faculty Books and Monographs

UNOAI Report 2000-4

Within the context of innovative coursework and other educational activities, we are proposing the establishment of a University of Nebraska at Omaha Center for the Use of Space Data in Teaching and Learning. This Center will provide an exciting and motivating process for educators at all levels to become involved in professional development and training which engages real life applications of mathematics, science, and technology. The Center will facilitate innovative courses (including online and distance education formats), systematic degree programs, classroom research initiatives, new instructional methods and tools, engaging curriculum materials, and various symposiums. It will involve …

Correlational Study Of Attachment And Self-Reported Levels Of Urges To Self-Harm And Frequency Of Self-Harming Behaviors In Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Clients, Nealy Anne Vicker

Student Work

This research examined the relationships between attachment style and frequency o f suicidal ideation, urges to self-harm, and action to self-harm in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy patients. The Attachment Style Questionnaire served as the attachment measure. The Diary Cards, used in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, served as the measure for suicide ideation, urges to self-harm and action to self-harm averages. Twenty women from the Omaha YWCA and Therapy Resource Associates participated in the study. Results o f the study suggest that there was no relationship between a high score on Avoidant and Anxious/Ambivalent attachment styles and frequency of suicide ideation, urges to …

Making An Impact On Out-Of-School Time: A Guide For Corporation For National Service Programs Engaged In After School, Summer, And Weekend Activities For Young People, National Institute On Out-Of-School Time

Guides

This resource contains: Exploring the Facts about Children’s Out-of-School Time; Understanding Basic Standards for a Quality Out-of-School Time Program; Training Members and Volunteers to Work in Out-of-School Time Programs; Understanding Service-Learning; Tip Sheets: Simple Ideas to Address Important Out-of-School Topics; Training Materials on Important Out-of-School Time Issues; Program Profiles; and Connecting to Additional Out-of-School Time and School-Age Child Care Resources.

Stone Soup Community Development: Sustainability And Americorp*Vista Projects, Amy Bonn

Curriculum

The Stone Soup Sustainability research project is an evaluation of how AmeriCorps*VISTA (VISTA) projects address continuity and viability. The research examines what elements are important to a project's sustainability and what resources are needed to improve efforts for stakeholders (Corporation for National Service staff, VISTA supervisors, VISTA Leaders and members). Using Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology, stakeholders were interviewed and asked how they defined a successful project, what strategies they used to develop such a project and what tools would be useful to them. From these findings, the Stone Soup Sustainability series was developed. The series includes a supervisor's guide …

The Impact Of Individual, Organizational, And Environmental Attributes On Voluntary Turnover Among Juvenile Correctional Staff Members, Ojmarrh Mitchell, Doris Layton Mackenzie, Gaylene Armstrong, Angela Gover

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

In this study we assessed the impact of individual employee characteristics, organizational attributes, and quality of the correctional environment on the turnover intentions of juvenile correctional staff members. Both individual characteristics and organizational attributes were significant predictors of turnover intentions. The individual characteristics were age, race, and education; the organizational variables were job satisfaction, stress, and staff support and communication. In general, the organizational attributes were stronger predictors of turnover. Only one variable pertaining to the quality of correctional environment, facility's amount of care toward juveniles, was significantly related to turnover. In contrast to findings of previous research, dangerousness, gender, …

A Comparative Investigation Of Service-Learning Models In Maryland: Student Outcomes In Relationship To Employability Skills, Ruth Brodsky

Thesis, Dissertations, Student Creative Activity, and Scholarship

The purpose of this descriptive study was to describe the relationship between structured service-learning outcomes, through Maryland's replication models, and the attainment of employability skills for adolescents. Participants included fifty-five out of ninety-two service-learning coordinators and a panel of experts comprised of five key informants. The site of the study was the state of Maryland, which is divided into twenty-three counties and Baltimore City. Three data gathering procedures were utilized: content analysis of the four most frequently used replication models, a key informant rubric, and a survey of nineteen counties in the state.

A criterion sample of four models was …

Viewing The Parent As A Person: An Individuation-Related Phenomenon, Brian Andersen

Student Work

When do adolescents start viewing the parent as a person, and what influence this process were the developmental research questions examined in this study. The participants were high school and college students, ranging in ages from 14 to 27 years, who completed three different scales: the Family Relationships Measure, the Psychological Separation Inventory, and the Emotional Autonomy Scale. Age differences were found for the Family Relationships Measure as well as the Psychological Separation Inventory. Individuation and viewing the parents as people were not related, but both measures appeared to tap separate processes that occur at similar times in development during …

Research On K-12 School-Based Service-Learning: The Evidence Builds, Shelley Billig

School K-12

Practitioners and policy makers are curious about service-learning and its effects. Ms. Billig details for Kappan readers what research tells us about service-learning today and suggests the kinds of questions that still need to be answered.

Service-Learning: An Administrator's Tool For Improving Schools And Connecting With The Community, Sheldon Berman, Sheila Bailey, Randall Collins, Dale Kinsley, Elizabeth Holman

School K-12

What should students know and be able to do by the time they graduate high school? This basic question is at the heart of most education reforms in recent years. Increasingly, the answer lies not just in strong academic skills but also in a sense of self and the individual’s role in supporting and building a vibrant community.