Social Work Commons^™

Underground Infrastructure: Planning, Development And Revitalization, Guoliang Meng

Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE)

The challenges facing Liuzhou’s underground infrastructure system today are unlike any it has ever faced before. Frequent underground gas pipeline leaks and explosions are impacting the safety and quality of citizens’ lives. To develop a safe, efficient and economical underground infrastructure system, Liuzhou City will have to do three things: (1) create a unified administrative department for underground pipeline administration, (2) conduct a citywide underground pipeline survey by stages and create an information platform to share the underground pipeline data, and (3) develop a public-private partnership to construct a utility tunnel. The poster outlines these critical steps in Liuzhou’s underground …

Racial Disparities In Student Debt: Evidence From The Refund To Savings Initiative, Samuel H. Taylor, Dana C. Perantie, Nava Kantor, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Shenyang Guo, Ramesh Raghavan

Center for Social Development Research

This brief provides evidence that low- and moderate-income (LMI) Black households accumulate significantly more debt in pursuit of a higher education than do LMI White students, even after using rigorous methods to account for race- and debt-related confounders. Using data from the Refund to Savings experiment, the authors find that LMI Black households accrued $7,721 more in student loan debt than their White counterparts did. This finding is crucial in light of the financial vulnerability of this population both before and after college. That vulnerability potentially contributes to diminished returns and exacerbates racial disparities in educational outcomes and wealth accumulation. …

Social Support And Intimate Partnerships In African American Women With Breast Cancer, Tess Thompson

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

This mixed methods study investigated social support in African American breast cancer patients in one Midwestern metropolitan area. The study includes a quantitative analysis of social support in 227 African American breast cancer patients participating in a quality of life study, as well as a qualitative component involving a subsample of 15 married participants. In the larger sample, growth curve models were used to assess factors contributing to initial levels of perceived social support and change in social support over time. Interviews with women in the qualitative study allowed an in-depth exploration of how breast cancer affected womens relationships with …

Can We Walk? Environmental Supports For Active Travel In India, Deepti Adlakha

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Background: Rapid rates of increase of obesity, diabetes, and associated chronic and co-morbid non-communicable diseases (e.g., cardiovascular diseases and some cancers) are being documented in India, yet in-country evidence-based research of associated risk factors is lacking. Physical activity has been identified as a preventative factor to counter the risk from obesity-related non-communicable diseases. Built environment supports for physical activity represent promising strategies to curb the rise in non-communicable diseases. Mounting research evidence suggests that the built environment can facilitate or constrain physical activity. However, a majority of this research has been conducted in developed nations. Built environment correlates of physical …

Exploring The Relationships Between Social Skills, Mental Health And Behavior In A Child Welfare Involved Population, Megan Anne Feely

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Promoting child well-being is one of the three primary goals of the child welfare system. In contrast to safety and permanency, the other two primary goals, that are precisely defined in the federal statute, well-being remains undefined and poorly understood. Recently, the Administration on Children Youth and Families (ACYF) highlighted one facet of child well-being -- social and emotional well-being -- as a particular focus of the agency. These categories, i.e. behavior, emotional development and social functioning collectively are referred to as social and emotional well-being. The relationship between these constructs is unknown although it is likely that they are …

A Social Network Analysis Of Active Transportation Policy Networks, Marissa Zwald

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Background: In an effort to increase physical activity, communities are recognizing the importance of policy and environmental changes to facilitate active transportation. However, evidence on the policy partnerships and processes to achieve such policy and environmental changes, particularly in non-health sectors, is lacking. Methods: An online social network survey was administered in Fall 2015 to organizations engaged in active transportation policies in six cities across the United States. In addition to individual and organizational characteristics, relationships between organizations were assessed, including: level of collaboration around active transportation policies, frequency of contact, resource sharing to support active transportation, and perceived decisional …

Suicide Attempts From Adolescence Into Young Adulthood: A System Dynamics Perspective For Intervention And Prevention, Saras Yu Chung

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Though the reduction of suicide-related deaths has been a national priority for over a decade (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2001) and over $22 million per year (National Institutes of Health, 2015) have been invested to prevent suicide, rates of suicide have not declined (CDC, 2012). In fact, for some groups of adolescents, these rates seem to be on the ride (Wasserman, Cheng, & Jiang, 2005). The ineffectiveness in reducing deaths by suicide despite increased funding and coordinated efforts suggests the need for a new perspective on examining why and how adolescents begin to desire and attempt suicide …

The Role Of Physical Activity Enjoyment In The Pathways From Social And Physical Environments To Physical Activity Of Early Adolescent Girls, Elizabeth Lauren Budd

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

In 2013, only 27.1 % of adolescents (age 10-19) met the daily physical activity (PA) recommendations of 60 minutes of PA a day. 1 Inactivity is highly prevalent among youth and especially prevalent among adolescents. This inactivity can have harmful and costly, immediate and long-term repercussions on physical, mental, and social health.28 Health behaviors throughout childhood, including PA, are predictive of health behaviors throughout adulthood.9 Girls experience the steepest decline in PA in early adolescence compared to boys and any other age group, which positions them on a lifelong trajectory of inactivity and increased risk for disease.2,4 Among early adolescent …

Immersions In Global Equality And Social Justice: A Model Of Change, Kevin Guerrieri, Sandra Sgoutas-Emch

Engaging Pedagogies in Catholic Higher Education (EPiCHE)

In the work for global equality and social justice, how should “change” be understood? Who determines what must change or be changed? In the efforts to carry out social change, what is the academy’s relationship with the community, society at large, and the broader world? This article parts from these and other key questions and then proposes a model of change that can be used as a lens for examining any project, program, or organization with the aim of creating positive change that is meaningful, sustainable, and holistic. The article provides both an explanation of the underlying interdisciplinary theoretical framework …

The Burden Of Student Debt: Findings From A Survey Of Low- And Moderate-Income Households, Mathieu R. Despard, Samuel H. Taylor, Dana C. Perantie, Michal Grinstein-Weiss

Center for Social Development Research

Completing a college degree continues to offer a pathway for enjoying greater earnings. Yet tuition has risen sharply and state higher-education funding has declined in recent years, shifting the burden of paying for college to students and their families. As a result, most students (70%) depend on loans to help pay for college and student debt is now greater than credit card debt in the United States. Student debt is increasingly difficult to manage, as debt-to-income ratios, loan default rates, and delinquency rates are on the rise. This brief utilizes data from the 2014 Refund to Savings study to examine …

Parental Substance Use And The Need For Family Dependency Treatment Court In Taylor County, Rebekah Rich

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The impact of parental substance use and the need for Family Dependency Treatment Court in Taylor County are qualitatively explored and described, analyzing interviews of identified key informants. The areas explored are the current practices and process in Taylor County when a substance use issue is identified in a parent during a child welfare case, the impact of parental substance use on the child welfare system, knowledge and opinions regarding treatment options, and knowledge and opinions of Family Dependency Treatment Court. The sample size was 8 professionals who worked as attorney ad litems, Department of Family and Protective Services workers, …

What Are The Barriers To Economic Self-Sufficiency Of Congolese Refugees In Abilene, Texas?, David M. Bayoh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Economic self-sufficiency of refugees is critical for refugees but also for the host country, given the potentially negative economic impact of refugees not attaining self-sufficiency. This study examined the predicting factors of economic self-sufficiency in a sample of 108 Congolese refugees who have lived in Abilene, Texas for over a year. This research used a quantitative method for data collection. A multiple logistic regression analysis showed that education (whether outside or inside the U.S.) and ESL attendance were the main predictors of economic self-sufficiency among the sample. This study suggests that the resettlement agencies should develop a mechanism to encourage …

Biopsychosocial Factors Of Resilience In The Medically Indigent Adult Population, Kaitlin E. Puckett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The medically indigent adult population continues to struggle with the effects of not having insurance coverage, despite the efforts of the Affordable Care Act to provide more affordable healthcare coverage to the population. Based on the United States Census Bureau’s reported population in 2015, an estimated 45 million Americans are without insurance. This study aims to identify and explore the impacts of the biopsychosocial factors of resilience that enable the population to face adversity, stress, and manage distress in the face of trauma (Masten, Best, & Garmezy, 1990; Rutter, 2006; Zimmerman, 2015). Four hypotheses follow a review of literature and …

Ageism: Abilene Christian University Students’ Perception Of Aging Adults, Taylor A. Nix

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The world is aging at a rapid pace. This creates a need for society to focus attention toward issues that are affecting the elderly population. This shift in focus regarding the elderly population also calls for the need of additional geriatric education as well as training while working with this vulnerable population. Research targeting college students’ shows that there is a lack of desire among students for working with the aging adult population. This lack of desire to work with the elderly population is associated with ageism; or, biased perceptions about age. The purpose of this study was to determine …

A Pilot Project Of Art And Eating Disorders: A Self-Advocacy Campaign Through Video Narratives, Sarah Pray

Art Therapy Counseling Final Research Projects

This pilot project of Art and Eating Disorders was approved by The Emily Program Foundation (TEPF) (Emily Program Foundation, n.d.), a 501(c) (3) nonprofit working to eliminate eating disorders through advocacy, social outreach, and collaboration with community partners. TEPF recruited five artists. Artists were interviewed by Sarah Pray and artwork digitally recorded at various locations, filmed and edited by videographer, Eve Daniels. Artists brought artwork and other creative work related to their recovery. The resulting videos were uploaded to the TEPF website (www.theemilyprogramfoundation.org) weekly. The goal of the pilot project was to measure the project's ability to document …

College-Going Experiences Of Male Foster Youth Alumni Who Have Stopped-Out Of College, Felipe D. Longoria

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This qualitative research study examined how foster care experiences and masculinities influenced male foster youth alumni’s decision to go to college. The study also sought to understand the in-and-out-of-college factors that led participants to exit college prematurely. Five participants were each interviewed twice for data collection purposes. Findings from data analysis indicated that establishing and maintaining relationships in college were challenging and affected an already vulnerable population in their help-seeking behavior. Recommendations are offered for higher education professionals and areas for future research are noted.

Advisor: Corey Rumann

Analysis Of African American And White American Cognitive Profiles For Language And Cultural Influences, Nicole Jones

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

Abstract

One of the most concerning aspects of special education is the overrepresentation of African American minority youth receiving special education services. Samuel Ortiz and colleagues considered the issue of the representation of the Latino, English Language Learner (ELL) population in special education services based on cognitive performance in relation to the mainstream population. To target this concern they determined an estimated level of expected cognitive performance of ELL’s and impact of language and cultural differences to help eligibility teams more appropriately interpret and place students with the aid of the Culture-Language Interpretive Matrix (C-LIM) model they developed. The current …

Prevalence And Factors Associated With Teen Pregnancy In Vietnam: Results From Two National Surveys, Huong Nguyen, Chengshi Shiu, Naomi Farber

Faculty and Staff Publications

This study asked two broad questions: (1) what is the prevalence of teen pregnancy in contemporary Vietnam; and (2) what selected social, family, and individual factors are associated with teen pregnancy in Vietnam? The study utilized Vietnam Survey Assessment of Vietnamese Youth surveys conducted in 2003 and 2008 to answer the two research questions within the context of fast political, economic, and social change in Vietnam in the last two decades. Results of this study show that the prevalence of pregnancy among Vietnamese teenagers in the surveys was stable at 4%, or 40 pregnancies per 1000 adolescent girls aged 14 …

Quality Of Life Among Young Adults With Spina Bifida, Leah B. Colsch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Approximately 1,500 infants born in the United States each year are diagnosed with Spina Bifida. Spina Bifida is a congenital disorder that affects the spinal cord and neurological function. Improved medical treatment has allowed a longer life expectancy for patients with Spina Bifida, and an increasing rate of these patients are surviving through pediatric clinics and preparing for the transition into adult care. Although the number of patients preparing for the transition into adult care continues to increase, there continues to be a scarcity of literature relevant to this population. Furthermore, there is currently no systematic, evidence-based method that reliably …

Most Effective Intervention For Adolescent Substance Use Disorder, Nichole Anderson

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Substance use disorder affects numerous adolescents and researching the most effective intervention is crucial to the rehabilitation of these individuals. This purpose of this study is to offer information about the prevalence of substance use in adolescents as well as the interventions that are available to them and to outline the most effective methods of these interventions. This paper includes a review of evidence based interventions of multiple interventions that are currently used to treat adolescents with substance use disorder and a qualitative study of five individuals who work in social service agencies that offer treatment and interventions to adolescents …

Examining The Term Transgender In Attitude Studies, Amanda Constant

Honors Program Theses and Projects

The purpose of this study is to review the consistency of definitions used for the term transgender in instruments for studies measuring attitudes towards transgender individuals. Scales and measurements used to examine attitudes towards individuals that identify as transgender often do not include a clear definition of the term. There is a lack of consensus on the definition of the term transgender if a definition is presented at all. This is a threat to the validity of attitude studies and perpetuates confusion through misinformation, or lack of information. The rate of discrimination and violence this population faces is distressing. In …

Exploring The Unique Experiences Of Biological Children In A Foster Family, Alana Marsh

Honors Projects

:The purpose of the following research was to identify the experiences and needs of biological children in a foster family. An online survey was sent to licensed foster families from a private agency. The survey included questions about the experiences, both positive and negative, of biological children before foster youth enter the home, during their stay, and after they exit the home. Analysis of 21 survey answers and thorough review of literature indicated significant lack of available resources for foster parents to utilize when preparing their biological children for this family change. Results also showed that children held damaging misconceptions …

The Effects Of Continuing Education On Nurse Knowledge Of Safe Haven Laws In Illinois, Lindsay Thiemkey Gordon

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

Illegal and often fatal infant abandonment is a pervasive public health crisis. Safe Haven Laws (SHLs) help to prevent illegal infant abandonment by allowing specific professionals, including nurses, to accept unharmed newborns within statutorily defined parameters. SHLs have existed for nearly two decades, yet many healthcare workers are not knowledgeable about these laws: this implies that initial efforts to educate healthcare workers about SHLs have been ineffective. Continuing education supports lifelong learning which is a basic tenet of nursing practice. The purpose of this evidence-based practice (EBP) project was to teach nurses about SHLs through evidence-based continuing education. Literature firmly …

Food Insecurity And Educational Attainment At The University Of Arkansas, Abigail Macdonald

School of Social Work Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study explores the relationship between food insecurity and educational attainment among Fulbright College of Arts and Science graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Arkansas. A quantitative descriptive survey design was used to collect data on this subject. Arkansas is one the most food insecure states in the country. Existing data suggests a strong correlation between food insecurity and low educational attainment among students in community college settings. However, little empirical research has been conducted to test the relationship between food insecurity and educational attainment among four­-year college students. This study investigates that relationship at the University of …

"Refugee Industrial Complex," Neoliberal Governance Within The Resettlement Industry And Its Effects: Is An Alternative Structure Possible?, Amira F. Al-Dasouqi

Sustainability and Social Justice

Within the current political climate and discussions surrounding displacement, refugee resettlement is a ‘hot-button’ issue. While working at one of the largest resettlement agencies in New England, the author began to analyze how power itself is structured within the Refugee Resettlement Industry (RRI) nationally. This paper argues that the RRI is embedded within neoliberal governance and can be better understood and improved with this understanding. The author argues for the term “Refugee [Resettlement] Industrial Complex,” to more adequately understand the ways that power is enacted through the current structure, and how it inhibits social justice work rooted in advocating for …

Determining Diesel Education In Urban Middle Schools In Eastern Massachusetts, Julianne Hooper

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Previously conducted studies have illuminated evidence that diesel exhaust emission rates are rising in the United States. Rising diesel exhaust emission rates bring more than a higher concentration of particulate matter in the air. Health complications from breathing in the particles of diesel exhaust place all citizens at risk. However, not everyone is equally at risk. Evidence has suggested children are particularly vulnerable to encountering health obstacles that can be caused by inhaling, these particles. This is due to a smaller lung capacity which requires children to breathe more frequently, their cardiovascular and respiratory systems still being in the developmental …

Student's Assistance And Contribution To Their Community After Participating In An Emergency Prepardeness Inter-Professional Collaborative Practice Simulation, Elizabeth Scott, Ronda Chrstman, Sonia Wrate, Rebecca Retzer, Laura Racovita-Szilagyi, Cynthia Gettys, Brooks Kirschmann

Faculty Works

Poster presented at Teaching to Transform for the New Reality of Nursing Practice. The 12th Annual Nursing Faculty Development Workshop at University of Kentucky. Lexington, KY in May 2016.

Women’S Adoption Of Egalitarian Attitudes Through Employment In Mexico, Jeyle Ortiz Rodriguez

Social Work Dissertations - Archive

This dissertation examines the impact of female employment on Mexican women’s attitudes toward gender equality. Specifically, the objective was to analyze different mechanisms and moderating variables through which female employment affects married and cohabiting women’s adoption of egalitarian attitudes in Mexico. The focus of the analysis was to identify the direct and indirect effects of women’s participation in the labor market through social interactions and housework. Despite the importance of women’s attitudes toward gender equality in their advancement and egalitarian gender relationships, there is a lack of studies that examine this topic in Mexico. The objectives of this dissertation were …

Testing The Mediating Effects Of Resilience And Mental Health On The Relationship Between Acculturative Stress And Binge Drinking Among International Students, Youn Kim

Social Work Dissertations - Archive

The purpose of this study was to test the mediating effects of resilience and mental health (depression and anxiety) on the relationship between acculturative stress and binge drinking among international students in the United States. International students constitute approximately 4% of the total U.S. higher education population. Between 2014 and 2015, nearly 974,926 international students studied at U.S. colleges and universities. This rapidly increasing population faces multiple stressors such as cultural adjustment, academic pressure, financial concerns, language difficulties, and perceived discrimination. According to Hahn (2010), 22.6% of international students were clinically depressed, which is two times higher than domestic undergraduate …

The Impact Of Intimate Partner Violence On Mental Health Well-Being Among Women Seeking Help From A Police Station, Cecilia Mengo

Social Work Dissertations - Archive

Studies have examined the relationship between IPV and mental health. However, there is limited knowledge on women who seek help from police stations because many studies have used samples of women residing in domestic violence shelters and medical clinics. The purpose of this dissertation is to understand self-reported mental health symptoms among women seeking help from a police station. Evidence shows that there are many variables that affect the link between IPV and mental health. This dissertation specifically explores the impact of demographic risk factors, type and number of IPV incidents, victim referral needs, and protective factors (social support, coping …