Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Effects Of Implementing Restorative Justice In An In-School Suspension Program, Nikki Brown-Kersey

Dissertations

The purpose of the proposed study was to assess the effects of implementing an in-school suspension program with a Restorative Justice component on office referrals, suspensions and grade point averages. The combination of Restorative Justice and inschool suspension as an alternative to out-of-school suspension warrants empirical evaluation. According to recent research, neither Restorative Justice nor in-school suspension alone have enough empirical evidence to support their success and continued use in schools in isolation. The positive aspects of each combined may produce a more successful alternative to suspension. A group design procedure was used to assess if significant changes in the …

Comparing First Generation And Non-First Generation African-American Students At Predominately White Institutions, Leatrice Renee Brooks

Dissertations

The comparative experiences of first generation and non-first generation Black students at predominately White institutions were examined to gain information about the predictors and relationships between adjustment (including academic and personal-emotional) coping (4 styles), race-related stress, and racial identity development (6 levels). Results from a simultaneous multiple regression revealed a significant positive adjustment profile that included being non-first generation, low disengagement coping, problem-oriented coping, and low pre-encounter self-hatred racial identity development. The standardized coefficients for the first canonical analyses indicated significant relationships between pre-encounter self-hatred and low personal-emotional adjustment; and for the second, low disengagement coping and personal-emotional adjustment. For …

Systematic Sexual Violence By U.S. State Agencies: A Victimology Approach, Sarah Brightman

Dissertations

Women experience sexual violence at the hands of the United States military, police, corrections officers and border patrol agents. The study of state crime has been expanding rapidly in criminological research, however there has been little attention paid to its victims, particularly women, and especially to women's sexual victimization. The purpose of this research is to expand current research to develop a gendered analysis of state crimes in the context of sexual violence against women. This research applies Kauzlarich, Matthews and Miller's (2001) six propositions of a Victimology of State Crime to four cases of sexual victimization by U.S. agencies. …

Bayesian Item Response Theory: Statistical Inference And Power Analysis, Jason W. Bodnar

Dissertations

The regulatory pharmaceutical approval process is flawed in that industry clinical trials (ICTs) are always powered for efficacy and rarely powered for safety. The key safety parameter is the adverse event (AE). This practice may result in efficacious products with confounded safety. An ICT’s ability to be powered for detecting AE trends may improve patient safety. Therefore, this dissertation’s purpose was to determine if power analysis resulted in feasible sample sizes for substantiating AE hypotheses. AEs were modeled with three Bayesian 2PL IRT models. The unidimensional latent trait, transfusion-related AE, was modeled as a patient predisposition for experiencing an AE. …

Understanding The Dimensions Of Spirituality In Caucasian Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual College Students, Michele L. Mcgrady

Dissertations

Spiritual development is a critical task for college students, but there is a paucity of information about how college students understand the construct of spirituality. Historically, organized religion has been oppressive to the lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) community. Furthermore, little is known about the spiritual understandings and spiritual experiences of lesbian, gay, and bisexual college students. This quantitative investigation sought to understand the underlying dimensions of spirituality for Caucasian LGB college students through the use of multidimensional scaling. Sixty Caucasian LGB college students were recruited through purposeful and snowball sampling. Findings indicate three dimensions of spirituality for this sample: …

Citizen-Informed Performance Measurement And Reporting In Local Government: Key Factors For Effective Democratic Governance, Eileen L. Pierce

Dissertations

Citizen engagement and performance measurement are concepts inherently in conflict with each other. Local government values citizen input and good governance. Simultaneously, the pressure of local government to be efficient and effective utilizing managerial techniques common in the private sector is intense. Due to challenges associated with the integration of performance measurement and active citizen involvement, initiatives in this area are sparse.

This study, using a mixed methods analysis, explored the research questions through examination of thirty-six units of local government that participated in the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation‘s Government Trailblazer Program. This program provided a unique opportunity for exploratory …

Evaluation Of The Impact Of A Large Corporate Leadership Development Course, Anna A. Rice

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a leadership development course for the top 100 leaders of a Fortune 500™ company using Kirkpatrick's four levels of evaluation and the Success Case Method. Participants' satisfaction with the training was measured through a survey given upon completion of the course and it was determined that participants were satisfied with the training. Knowledge gains as a result of training were also measured and participants' knowledge significantly increased after training. Participant behavior change due to training was discovered using the Success Case Method. Participants' top four changes in behavior that …

Becoming Formal Or Informal Entrepreneurs: How Institutions Matter, Joël Luc Raveloharimisy

Dissertations

This research explains the factors behind the variation of enterprise creation across countries by looking at the roles of formal and informal institutions and their interactions in the distribution of start-up enterprises in the formal and informal sectors. It tests two competing hypotheses about the individual versus mixed effects of formal institutions (measured by entry regulations) and informal institutions (measured by social capital) on entrepreneurship. The research uses quantitative analysis of data from 48 countries and a qualitative case study of Madagascar.

The findings from the quantitative and qualitative analyses are consistent regarding the independent effects of each set of …

Soviet Holocaust Survivors: An Ethnographic Study, Marina Shafran

Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to help understand the lives, worldview, and meaning making of Soviet Holocaust survivors currently residing in the United States. Ethnographic interviews were conducted to explore survivor's childhood, family life, religion, political views, work, and social life. These areas were examined during the following time periods: pre-WWII, during WWII, and post-WWII.

From the collected and analyzed data I was able to offer an insight into the experiences of five Soviet Holocaust survivors under the Soviet regime. I described the struggles that the survivors experienced during the Holocaust, the losses they had suffered, and the …

Dosed Versus Prolonged Exposures: A Direct Comparison Of One-Session Treatments For Animal Phobias, Richard William Seim

Dissertations

It is widely accepted that for exposure-based therapies to be effective feareliciting stimuli must be presented continuously until there is a marked decrease in the client's anxiety (e.g., Eysenck, 1979; Foa & Kozak, 1986). However, an emerging body of research (cf. Seim, Waller, & Spates, 2010) suggests that a massed series of very brief exposures (< 150 sec) may be effective in the extinction of fear responses. The present study was designed to compare the efficacy and acceptability of two one-session treatments for animal phobias: one that utilized continuous, uninterrupted periods of exposure to a feared animal (Prolonged Exposures) and the other that utilized a massed series of brief (5-120 sec) exposure trials (Dosed Exposures). 24 adults (7 males, 17 females) between the ages of 18 and 57 years (M = 23.6) participated in this study. Each individual met DSM-IV criteria for a diagnosis of snake phobia or spider phobia. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two the two interventions. Both treatments required participants to gradually enter a room, approach, and eventually hold a live ball python or tarantula. Results from mixed model (between x within subjects) analyses of variance showed that the Dosed Exposure treatment performed equally well to Prolonged Exposures at decreasing behavioral avoidance, feelings of anxiety, perceptions of threat, and phobiaspecific cognitions from pre-treatment to post-treatment, and these gains were maintained at one-week follow-up. Although participants receiving Prolonged Exposures reported lower ratings of within-session anxiety, participants in the Dosed Exposure group had lower rates of treatment dropout, better compliance with procedures, and fewer safety-seeking behaviors during the treatment. These findings suggest that, contrary to popular belief, brief exposure trials can be effective in the extinction of phobic responses under certain conditions.

Assessing The Effects Of A Rectangular Rapid-Flashing Beacon On Vehicle Speeds Along A Four-Lane Divided Highway, Michelle Van Wagner

Dissertations

In 2008, nearly 31% of vehicle fatalities were related to failure to adhere to safe vehicle speeds (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 2009). Two studies were conducted to evaluate the effects of a Rectangular Rapid-Flashing Beacon (RRFB) triggered by excessive speed on vehicle speed using a combined alternating treatments and reversal design. Experiment 1 assessed the RRFB's impact on speeds as compared to baseline conditions only. Experiment 2 compared the RRFB to two standard beacon configurations. Both experiments were conducted at the same site during approximately the same time period and both employed the same data collection methodology. The …

The Role Of Evaluations In Community Foundations, Brad R. Watts

Dissertations

Each year, U.S. community foundations are responsible for billions of dollars in philanthropy, yet the outcomes associated with these efforts often remain unknown. Previous research supports the importance of evaluating philanthropic activities and shows that community foundations express a strong interest in evaluation; however, the limited available evidence suggests that evaluation practice is still not widespread.

This study reports the findings from a national survey of community foundations on evaluation practice. The findings indicate that a substantial share of community foundations do not formally evaluate the outcomes of their philanthropic work. Additionally, although previous research has suggested that community foundation …

Exploring Collaborative Governance: Case Studies Of Disruptions In Coastal Zone Management Collaborations And Resulting Effects Upon The Collaborations And Outcomes, Roselyn Zator

Dissertations

This study examined disruptions in collaborative governance in four state coastal zone management commissions or councils in California, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and South Carolina. The comparative case study used qualitative analysis of pre- and post- disruption conditions. The disruption was defined as a chain of events that started with a loss or diminished level of public trust in the decision-making of the commission or council. The loss of public trust led to changes in the external environment meta-variable (political action) that affected (disrupted) the institutional design and relationship dynamics meta-variables of the commissions or councils.

To better understand the …

An Examination Of Post-Secondary Education Access, Retentionand Success Of Foster Care Youth, Angelique Day

Dissertations

Changes in the U.S. economy have made the attainment of a higher education credential more important than ever to ensure self-sufficiency. Therefore, it is critical that the child welfare, K-12, and higher education systems encourage and support the postsecondary educational aspirations of court wards. When the state makes the decision to remove a child from his/her biological home, it bears the responsibility to provide the educational guidance as well as assistance otherwise provided by families during the transition from high school to college.

This dissertation explores the educational outcomes of older youth in care by first looking at the perceptions …

Evaluating The Impact Of A Performance Based Methodology On Transfer Of Training, Richard Rashid Kazbour

Dissertations

Transfer of training is the degree to which trainees can apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes gained in training, to the job (Brinkerhoff & Apking, 2001; Wexley & Latham, 1981). Currently only between 5% and 20% of what is learned in training is ever applied on the job (Brinkerhoff, 2006; Broad, 2000; Fitzpatrick, 2001; Mooney & Brinkerhoff, 2008; Tannenbaum & Yulk, 1992). Until recently, most transfer research has focused on what happens in the formal training environment (Brinkerhoff & Montesino, 1995; Holton, Bates, Seyler, & Carvalho, 2003; Noe, 1986; Saks & Belcourt, 2006). At this time, little is known about …

Evaluating The Impact Of Small-Group Discussion On Learning In Anorganizational Psychology Class Utilizing A Classroom Response System, Thorhallur Orn Flosason

Dissertations

A classroom response system is a technology that allows individual students to clickers favorably. The second study showed that clicker use during lecture was associated with higher exam scores, but that relationship can be interpreted in several different ways, some of which are not tied to active responding. The implications of these findings with respect to previous research are discussed. provide answers to questions posed by the instructor during lecture using hand held remotes (clickers) that transmit a signal to the instructor's computer via a receiver and computer software (Judson & Sawada, 2002). This instructional technology is widely used in …

Living With Bipolar Disorder: A Qualitative Investigation, Richard P. Freedberg

Dissertations

The specific aims of this study were to gain a broader understanding of the lived experience of adults with bipolar disorder and to explore how people diagnosed with bipolar disorder used cognitively, affectively, and spiritually oriented strategies to cope with life stressors and circumstances. The cognitive domain in this investigation was defined as those activities related to how one knows, thinks, or perceives phenomena in a way distinct from emotion. The affective domain referred to the feelings and emotions associated with phenomena that are distinct from cognitive reasoning or knowledge. The spiritual domain was defined as values, attitudes, and beliefs …

Sense Of Coherence: The Relationship To Personal Growth And Distressafter A Breakup, Kristin R. Gillen

Dissertations

Romantic relationship issues are among the most common presenting concerns in university counseling center settings (Benton, Robertson, Tseng, Newton, & Benton, 2003; McCarthy, Lambert, & Brack, 1997). Specifically, romantic relationship breakups have received attention in the literature, as these particular losses tend to generate a myriad of emotions for college students. While numerous studies have explored distress reported after a breakup, few studies have focused on the personal growth individuals could potentially gain after experiencing a breakup (Tashiro & Frazier, 2003). The current study explores both the distress as well as personal growth individuals endorsed subsequent to a breakup.

Since …

The Influence Of A Personal Practice Of Meditation On One’S Therapeutic Practice, William W. Fitzgerald

Dissertations

The focus of this study was to examine counseling professionals’ personal experience with meditation and how it influences their clinical work, including the formation of a therapeutic relationship. Using phenomenological methods, data were gathered from 10 psychotherapists and then analyzed.

There has been a great deal of effort devoted to investigating what contributes to positive counseling outcome for clients. One constant in the therapeutic process is the person of the therapist. While the person of the therapist is frequently mentioned in the literature, much less attention has been given to the examination of personal development paths of the therapist. Little …

Society In Crisis: A Critical Perspective On Health Care And Distribution Ofhealth Status In The United States, Curtis D. Hosier

Dissertations

This research examines U. S. health status both internationally and domestically utilizing indicators infant mortality, life expectancy at birth, and maternal mortality data as comparison. This research compares U.S. health status data with OECD country data to ascertain U.S. rankings internationally. Also, this research examines the distribution of health status within and between sex, class, and racial groups in the U.S. to further the discussion that health status is unequally distributed in the United States. This research found the U.S. ranked in the lowest quartile in each of the health status variables examined internationally. This research found inequalities exist in …

Testing The Effectiveness Of An Interactive Multimedia System To Train Clinicians In Behavioral Activation, Suzanne E. Decker

Dissertations

Although many treatments for mental health disorders have been found to be effective in research, community clinicians may not receive training in such empirically supported treatments, and therefore, individuals suffering from disorders may not have access to empirically supported treatment in the community. This study examined the use of an interactive multi-media computerized therapy program, Building a Meaningful Life through Behavioral Activation, as a training tool for mental health clinicians (N=21) using a pre-post study design. Participating clinicians were invited to complete this computer program over the course of several weeks, and to complete knowledge quizzes and written responses …

Psychometric Properties Of Diagnostic Assessment Instrumentsfor Autism Spectrum Disorders In A Community Sample Aged 2 Through 17 Years, Sheryl Lozowski-Sullivan

Dissertations

Recent estimates of the incidence and prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) indicate substantial increases over the past 20 years (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2009; Fombonne, 2009; Matson & Kozlowski, 2011; Schreibman & Koegel, 2005; Wing & Porter, 2002), in part because of the availability of significantly improved diagnostic assessment instruments (Lord & Corsello, 2005; Schreibman, 2005). In highly structured research settings, some of these diagnostic instruments correlate well with each other; however, few studies have examined the relation between these diagnostic tools in traditional clinical practice (Mazefsky & Oswald, 2006; South et al, 2002). This study examined …

Jamaican American Child Disciplinary Practices, Stephaney Carter

Dissertations

Little is known about child disciplinary practices in Jamaican American families. Literature on child discipline in Jamaica and other Caribbean nations has mainly focused on physical discipline, and no empirical studies have investigated the types of discipline used in the Jamaican American community. The purpose of this study was to describe current child disciplinary practices in Jamaican American families. A total of 311 primarily first-generation Jamaican American parents from New York City completed the 54-item Jamaican Child Discipline Survey, designed for this study, either online or in paper-pencil format. The main foci of the study included the use of child …

Evaluating The Effects Of Camera Perspective In Video Modelingfor Children With Autism: Point Of View Versus Scene Modeling, Courtney Cotter

Dissertations

Video modeling has been used effectively to teach a variety of skills to children with autism. This body of literature is characterized by a variety of procedural variations including the characteristics of the video model (e.g., self vs. other, adult vs. peer). Traditionally, most video models have been filmed using third person perspective (i.e., scene models), where the viewer is watching the actor perform in a scene. Recently, studies have successfully incorporated the use of first person perspective into video models (i.e., point of view models), where the view is directly from the actor's point of view. Currently, no studies …

Memory And Language: Evidence Of Relationships From Three Studies Of School-Age Children, Michele A. Anderson

Dissertations

The purpose of this three-paper dissertation was to explore the relationship between performance on verbal memory and language assessment tasks in school-age children. Study one used data from whole-class administration of three language assessment tasks to 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 9th graders (N= 187). Studies two and three used data from individualized administration of language assessment and verbal memory tasks to comparable samples of children between the ages of 6 and 18 years with typical language (TL) and language impairment (LI) (n = 37 per group).

The first study addressed practical and theoretical questions regarding memory and language demands of …

African Water: An Experience With Project Management In Bulima, Tanzania, Robert Sharp

Honors Theses

Details the author's experiences researching, designing, and implementing a water system for a boarding school in Africa.

Representations Of Homelessness In Four Canadian Newspapers: Regulation, Control, And Social Order, Barbara Schneider, Kerry Chamberlain, Darrin Hodgetts

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article reports on a content analysis of homelessness representations in four Canadian newspapers: two city broadsheets, one city tabloid, and one national newspaper. Clear differences between the papers emerged showing that in general coverage of homelessness in Calgary was much more positive than coverage in Vancouver. It conveyed a stronger sense of crisis or urgency and a stronger sense of optimism that the problem should and can be solved. Experts dominate public discourse about homelessness, with people who experience homelessness themselves marginalized as speakers. Despite these differences, the four papers present a unified narrative of homelessness in which readers …

Review Of The Idea Of Justice. Amartia Sen. Reviewed By David G. Gil, David G. Gil

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Amartia Sen, The Idea of Justice. Harvard University Press, 2009. 468 pages, $29.95 hardcover.

The Economics Of Being Young And Poor: How Homeless Youth Survive In Neo-Liberal Times, Jeff Karabanow, Jean Hughes, Jann Ticknor, Sean Kidd, Dorothy Patterson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Based upon in-depth interviews with 34 youth in Halifax and seven service providers in St. John's, Montreal, Hamilton, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Calgary, the findings of this study suggest that labor occurs within a particular street context and street culture. Formal and informal work can be inter-related, and despite the hardships they experience, young people who are homeless or who are at-risk of homelessness can respond to their circumstances with ingenuity, resilience and hope. Often street-involved and homeless young people are straddling formal and informal work economies while mediating layers of external and internal motivations and tensions. The reality is that …

Housing For People With Serious Mental Illness: Approaches, Evidence, And Transformative Change, Geoffrey Nelson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The evolution of housing approaches for people with serious mental illness is described and analyzed. A distinction is made between three different approaches to housing: (a) custodial, (b) supportive, and (c) supported. Research evidence is reviewed that suggests the promise of supported housing, but more research is needed that compares supported housing with different supportive housing approaches. It is argued that the current move to a supported housing approach represents a fundamental shift or transformative change in mental health policy and practice. Strategies to facilitate this shift are discussed.