Social Work Commons^™

The Bald Truth: Determining The Need For A Canadian Alopecia Association, Bonnie Lipton

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The main objective of this research was to determine if Canadians with alopecia areata and their families perceive there is a need for the creation of an organization providing support and services to them in Canada. Previous research has documented the psychological devastation resulting from hair loss in children and adults of both sexes. Alopecia areata is present in approximately 1-2% of the Canadian population (Canadian Dermatology Association, 2002) yet this disorder remains relatively unknown and misunderstood by the medical community and the general population. Services for Canadians with alopecia areata are limited to interactions with family physicians, dermatologists and …

Insights: An Exploration Of Experiences With Schizophrenia And Schizoaffective Disorder, Leslie D. St. Jacques

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This qualitative study explores the experiences of nine people with diagnoses of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, living in the area of Guelph, Ontario. The stigma and poor prognosis traditionally attached to schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder rage on. The profound disruption caused by the symptoms of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder and the social repercussions of receiving these diagnoses, contribute to the individual's disconnection from family and community. Major alterations in the person's social roles and sense of self follow. Stigma and discrimination compound the injury to self-esteem to the extent that a person internalizes them. Yet, however grim the situation appears, …

Presidents, Profits, Productivity, & Poverty: A Great Divide Between The Pre- & Post-Reagan U.S. Economy?, Richard K. Caputo

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper examined profits, productivity, and poverty in the United States from 1961 through 2002. Results indicated that the "great divide" thesis regarding the U.S. economy before and after the Reagan administration depends on which measure of the economy is the focus of attention. In addition, on some measures where before and after differences were detected, the nature of those differences was paradoxical. Corporate profits as a share of national income, for example, were highest in Democratic rather than Republican administrations and despite the increased income inequality of the post-Reagan years, individual and family poverty rates remained relatively constant after …

Utilizing A Structuration Perspective To Examine Perceptions Of Labor Market Opportunities & Constraints In A Distressed Urban Neighborhood, Sharon M. Mcdonald

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to understand how members of an urban extreme poverty neighborhood experience the labor market and how they perceive the role of social policies and institutions that attempt to facilitate or mediate employment opportunities.

Residents of extreme poverty neighborhoods have been the subject of numerous public policy efforts designed to ameliorate the geographic concentration of poverty as well as strategies to promote work participation based on existing theoretical models of how work participation can be induced. It is argued that the predominant theoretical models that shape inquiry and the development of policy recommendations are incomplete …

Evaluating A Day Treatment Program For Children With Serious Emotional Disorders, Nicole Lynn Lee

Theses and Dissertations

The current study used a longitudinal design to evaluate a day treatment program for children with serious emotional disorder located in Richmond, Virginia (N = 101). Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (Hodges, 1984, 1999) results were analyzed from children who had attended the program for at least six months. Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance tests indicated that children attending YDT for nine months improved their overall functioning F(2, 217) = 26.23, p = .01 as well as their functioning at school F(3,279)= 10.822, p =.01, home F(3, 244) = 6.120, p = .01, and in the community F(3, 238) …

Interorganizational Collaboration: An Examination Of Factors That Influence The Motivation For Participation In A Collaborative Partnership Of Homeless Service Providers, Jan Marva Ivery

Theses and Dissertations

This project was a mixed methods study that examined the collaboration dimensions of Homeward's planning process and the factors that motivate organizations to participate. The study examined the collaborative strategy used by an organization called Homeward located in Richmond, Virginia. Homeward is a broker organization (Chaskin, Brown, Venkatesh, & Vidal, 2001) that was created in 1998 to mediate and nurture relationships among partnering organizations in order to facilitate the collaborative process required by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to receive Continuum of Care funding. During the quantitative component of the study, a survey was sent …

A Qualitative Study Of The Lived Experience Of Single, Gay Adoptive Fathers, John Daryl Matthews

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study expands the existing literature on fatherhood, single parents, and gay and lesbian adoption to include the unique experiences of single, gay men who became adoptive parents after "coming out", or establishing a gay identity. To illustrate these unique and common experiences, individual ethnographic interviews were conducted with 16 fathers residing throughout the United States, as well as internationally. Specifically, this study explored the participants' experiences through their reflections of the adoption process, and through their experiences after the family was established. The participants had experiences to those found in previous studies on gay and lesbian adoption and …

Is The Ecomap A Valid And Reliable Social Work Tool To Measure Social Support?, Alexandra R. Calix

LSU Master's Theses

The ecomap, developed in 1975, is a tool used in social work practice to measure social support (Hartman, 1995). Although the ecomap is widely utilized, due in part to its ease of administration, it has not been validated in the literature as a reliable and valid tool in the measure of social support. This study aims to quantify the ecomap, explore its psychometric soundness, and begin the process of validation using two empirically validated social support measurement tools, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) (Zimet, Dahlem, Zimet, & Farley, 1988) and the Young Adult Social Support Inventory (YA-SSI) …

Housing The Low-Income Elderly In Geneva. A Case Study (Switzerland), Martine Freedman

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In Geneva (Switzerland), some of the elderly live in housing built especially for this category of the population. Most of this housing is located in the city centre, is close to all services, and has good access to public transportation. However, we observe spatial and social segregation between the elderly who live in retirement housing and the population of their neighbourhood. The aims of this research are to examine the barriers and meeting-points between the elderly who live in these apartments and the population of their neighbourhood, to identify the factors that lead these elderly to be segregated, and to …

Self Appraisal In Later Life: Comparison Orientation And Well-Being, Angela Marie Pye

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study explores the relation between different comparison orientations, use of coping strategies and well-being in later life (N = 95; M = 76 years). Past research has identified individual differences in people's preference for comparison standards: some rely on social comparisons (to other individuals or groups), others use temporal comparisons (to the self at various points in time), a variety of both comparison types, or none at all. Mixed method analysis revealed that, although older participants generally preferred temporal comparisons to social comparisons, many people reported relying heavily on both standards and a considerable number relied on neither standard. …

An Assessment Of The Capacity Of The Red Cross National Societies To Address The Psychological And Social Needs Of Survivors Of Disasters And Complex Emergencies In Central And South America, William C. Walters

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This qualitative evaluation examines the capacity of the Red Cross National Societies in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, Peru and Argentina to address the psychological and social needs of the survivors of disasters and complex emergencies. Specifically, the study explored how individuals working with the Red Cross perceive the services that are currently being offered, what are the strengths and limitations of these services, and what they believe the Red Cross can do to enhance its capacity to effectively assist vulnerable populations to deal with the traumatic effects of disasters and complex emergencies? Field research was carried out over a …

Client Satisfaction And Goal Achievement: From A Client's View At Cambridge Interfaith Family Counselling Centre, Dawn Diane Yarker

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Qualitative interviews were conducted with eleven clients, former and active, at CIFCC (Cambridge Interfaith Family Counseling Centre) to understand how client satisfaction and goal achievement in therapy were related. Content analysis of the interviews revealed that satisfaction with the counsellor, especially rapport building, is the greatest contributory to client satisfaction. This observation is discussed for counselling practice.

Learning, Earning And Parenting (Leap) Directive 39.0 Of Ontario Works: A Policy Analysis, Tracy Anne Smith-Carrier

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Learning, Earning and Parenting (LEAP) is a policy directive under Ontario Works that outlines three specific components to ‘assist’ teenage parents complete their high school education and garner important employment and parenting skills while receiving social assistance. According to the Government of Ontario, the three components addressed in the directive include: first, Learning—involves offering particular benefits to teenage parents to facilitate their completion of high school. Financial supports are purportedly allocated to LEAP recipients to ‘enable’ them to attain their Ontario Secondary School Diploma. Second, Earning—focuses on the acquisition of employment skills through training courses and employment opportunities. Third, Parenting—requires …

Social Policy And Social Work Education: A Historical Comparative Study, Thomas E. Brenner

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This is a historical comparative study (Babbie, 1999) in which legislative policy developments and social work curriculum were paralleled to determine the relationship of one to the other. This study explores whether social work education led or lagged the legislative policy process. More specifically, legislative policy developments were considered in terms of dominant paradigms in accordance with the ideas of writers such as George and Wilding (1985), Mullaly (1997), and Wharf and McKenzie (1998). Ontario, Manitoba and the federal governments were selected to provide a multi-jurisdictional vantage-point to consider the uneven and combined effects of development and reform in Canada. …

Humour And Marital Quality: Is Humour Style Associated With Marital Success?, Melissa Johari

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Humour has been postulated to be an important variable contributing to success in romantic relationships. Most past research has tended to view humour as a unitary construct with invariably beneficial relationship effects (e.g., Hampes, 1992). However, if used maladaptively, humour may be a detriment to relationship success (Cohan and Bradbury, 1997). The purpose of the current study was to determine the relationship between adaptive/positive and maladaptive/negative styles of humour and quality of marriage. It was expected that positive humour is associated with higher marital quality, while negative humour is associated with lower marital quality. A secondary goal was to examine …

Welcoming The Stranger: An Exploration Of The Nature Of The Work Of Mennonite Christians In The Work Of Refugee Assistance In The Region Of Waterloo, Paul Millar

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Mennonite Christians in the Kitchener Waterloo region have been involved in the work of refugee assistance for the past 25 years as an expression of their Christian faith. Their involvement is primarily in two forms. One form of refugee assistance is through providing sponsorship to refugees from overseas to Canada. Sponsorship is done through the Mennonite Central Committee of Ontario and Federal Private Sponsorship Program. In this program, Church congregations commit themselves to the financial and settlement support of the sponsored refugee(s) for a minimum of one year. The other form of assistance is through the funding and staffing of …

A Qualitative Study Examining The Experiences Of Children Living In A Residential Treatment Program, Elisabeth Robson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of this research project was to gain an understanding of the child's experience living in residential treatment and to explore the child's understanding of treatment and the therapeutic process. Limited information on this topic has been found in the research literature, therefore this study was also an attempt to add qualitatively to the body of knowledge on residential treatment, incorporating the child's perspective. Six children living in a residential treatment centre in Southwestern Ontario were interviewed. Their interviews were audio-taped, transcribed and analyzed using the grounded theory techniques of Strauss and Corbin (1998). Demographic information and treatment goals …