Sociology Commons^™

Service For Learning, Service For Life: Depaul's Vincentian Mission In Action

DePaul Magazine

Through the thousands of alumni and students who are putting their education to work in service to others through service learning, volunteerism, and social welfare careers, DePaul University's Vincentian mission is being realized. In addition, the university is creating research partnerships to help service organizations develop effective strategies to combat such stubborn problems as poverty and homelessness.

Efficacy Of Cultural-Based Psychoeducational Group Therapy For Increasing Marital Satisfaction Among Latino Couples, Maria Jesus Ampuero

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous research has indicated the importance of providing marriage education to ethnic minority couples who are struggling with their marital relationships. Despite this known importance, significantly fewer resources are available for Latino couples, who have a high rate of divorce. The purpose of this quantitative, randomized, wait-list control group trial design was to determine whether Couples in Contact, a culturally-based, psychoeducational intervention group program for Latino couples, increases marital satisfaction, as measured by the Marital Satisfaction Inventory, Revised (MSI-R). This study drew on cognitive behavioral therapy applied to couples, and the supportive theories underlying family systems theory and Gottman's theory. …

Symbolic Imprisonment, Grief, And Coping Theory: African American Women With Incarcerated Mates, Avon Marie Hart-Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American men have been incarcerated at unprecedented rates in the United States over the past 30 years. This study explored how African American females experience adverse psychosocial responses to separation from an incarcerated mate. The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory (GT) study was to construct a theory to explain their responses to separation and loss. Given the paucity of literature on this topic, helping professionals may not understand this problem or know how to support these women. Disenfranchised grief and the dual process model of bereavement were used as a theoretical lens for this study. Data were collected …

Role Conflict And Nonsexual Boundary Violations Among Correctional Officers, Ronald M. Ruggiero

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Role Conflict and Nonsexual Boundary Violations Among Correctional Officers

by

Ronald Ruggiero

Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

Human Service--Criminal Justice

Walden University

May 2014

Abstract

Despite the growing presence of prisons in American society, little is known about challenges experienced in the job performed by correctional officers (COs); specifically, no research has investigated how their intermediary status between inmates and prison management can result in role conflict. This descriptive case study explored role conflict among 10 retired CO's and the presence of inmates who enter prison with a high public …

An Empirical Study Of Appointed Counsel Effectiveness In Jury Trials, James Patrick Hall

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Anecdotal evidence supports the belief among indigent individuals who are assigned defense counsel that they would be better represented by privately retained counsel. This perspective jeopardizes attorney effectiveness by reducing communication and trust between the attorney and client. Research on the effectiveness of counsel is sparse. The purpose of this quantitative study was to bridge this gap in knowledge by comparing the effectiveness of privately retained and publicly appointed counsel between 2008 and 2013, both before and after the imposition of state-wide compensation limitations on publicly appointed defense counsel. The theoretical framework was Stuntz's theory, which stresses that one part …

Academically Resilient Minority Doctoral Students Who Experienced Poverty And Parental Substance Abuse, Marcia Boatman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a lack of research on the academic resilience of minority, first-generation, online doctoral students (MFOD) who experienced poverty and parental substance abuse (PSA). The purpose of this study was to explore how MFOD who overcame poverty and PSA developed academic resilience. Resilience theory and Kember's model of attrition in online programs provided a conceptual framework for this study. The research questions guiding this qualitative study concerned how MFOD perceive and interpret their academic resilience and protective factors. A purposeful sample of 6 students participated in semistructured interviews. An interpretative phenomenological analysis was conducted, which included a case by …

Local Nonprofit Welfare Provision: The United States And Russia, Maria V. Wathen, Scott W. Allard

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

Provision of antipoverty and other social services by nonstate organizations is growing in importance in both the United States and the Russian Federation. The history of such provision in the United States may offer insights for the emerging system of nonstate provision in Russia. To illuminate these points, we provide historical overviews of both contexts and then we examine data from two surveys of social service organizations in the United States: the Multi-City Survey of Social Service Providers and the Rural Survey of Social Service Providers.

We find that nonstate actors strengthen social capital in poor neighborhoods and often link …

Saturation Foot-Patrol In A High-Violence Area: A Quasi-Experimental Evaluation, Eric L. Piza, Brian A. O'Hara

Publications and Research

This study incorporates a quasi-experimental design to evaluate a saturation foot-patrol initiative in Newark, NJ. Violent crime was measured for one year prior and during the initiative within the target area, a surrounding catchment area, and two separate control areas. The overall findings provide further sup- port for foot-patrol as a crime prevention tactic. Total street violence as well as the disaggregate categories of murder, shootings, and nondomestic aggravated assault decreased within the target area absent of any displacement effects. However, robbery suffered from substantial levels of both temporal and spatial displacement, showing saturation foot-patrol to have varying impact on …

Analyzing The Influence Of Micro-Level Factors On Cctv Camera Effect., Eric L. Piza, Joel M. Caplan, Leslie W. Kennedy

Publications and Research

Objectives Despite the popularity of closed circuit television (CCTV), evidence of its crime prevention capabilities is inconclusive. Research has largely reported CCTV effect as ‘‘mixed’’ without explaining this variance. The current study contributes to the literature by testing the influence of several micro-level factors on changes in crime levels within CCTV areas of Newark, NJ.

Methods Viewsheds, denoting the line-of-sight of CCTV cameras, were units of analysis (N = 117). Location quotients, controlling for viewshed size and control-area crime incidence, measured changes in the levels of six crime categories, from the pre-installation period to the post-installation period. Ordinary least squares …

A Plague On Both Your Houses? Risks, Repeats, And Reconsiderations Of Urban Residential Burglary, William D. Moreto, Eric L. Piza, Joel M. Caplan

Publications and Research

Research has shown that mapping techniques are useful in forecasting future crime events. However, the majority of prospective mapping techniques has focused on the event-dependent influence of instigator incidents on subsequent incidents and does not explicitly incorporate the risk heterogeneity of the setting. The study here discussed is a modest attempt to address this issue by using a two-step process: first, using risk terrain modeling, we operationalized the “environmental backcloth,” (the risk heterogeneity of an area) to forecast locations of residential burglaries in the urban city of Newark, New Jersey. Second, using the near repeat calculator, we assessed the variability …

Spatial Risk Factors Of Felonious Battery To Police Officers, Joel M. Caplan, Philip L. Marotta, Eric L. Piza, Leslie W. Kennedy

Publications and Research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the spatial influence of features of the physical environment on the risk of aggression toward law enforcement.

Design/methodology/approach – The spatial analytic technique, risk terrain modeling was performed on felonious battery data provided by the Chicago Police Department.

Findings – Out of the 991 batteries against law enforcement officers (LEOs) in Chicago, 11 features of the physical environment were identified as presenting a statistically significant spatial risk of battery to LEOs. Calls for service within three blocks of foreclosures and/or within a dense area of problem buildings pose as much …

Medication Management Services Offered In U.S. Residential Care Communities, Lisa L. Dwyer, Paula C. Carder, Lauren D. Harris-Kojetin

Institute on Aging Publications

Using data from the 2010 National Survey of Residential Care Facilities, this study estimated the percentage of U.S. residential care communities (RCCs) offering selected medication management services (MMS) and examined differences in prevalence by community characteristics. The most common services were central storage for medications and cueing residents, while the least common were administering injections and intravenous medications. Medication reminders, helping residents take medications, and administering drops/topical ointments and injections varied by RCC characteristics. Characteristics most commonly associated with these differences are size, purposefully built status, nursing hours, and availability of a physician or pharmacist to review medication appropriateness. Understanding …

Characteristics Of Medicaid Clients In Assisted Living, Residential Care, Memory Care, And Adult Foster Homes 2013-2014, Paula C. Carder, Jacklyn Nicole Kohon, Sheryl Dejoy Elliott, Maximilian West, Amanuel Zimam, Margaret B. Neal

Institute on Aging Publications

In collaboration with the Aging and People with Disabilities (APD) program of Oregon’s Department of Human Services (DHS), Portland State University’s Institute on Aging generated this report of Medicaid clients living in community-based care (CBC) settings in the state of Oregon. The Oregon legislature appropriated funds for DHS to collect information about these community-based care providers which will allow DHS, providers, and the public to better understand characteristics of Medicaid clients living in different CBC settings.

This report is based on an analysis of Medicaid data provided by DHS. The study goals were to:

• describe Medicaid clients’ health-related needs, service …

Resident And Home Characteristics Report 2014: Adult Foster Homes, Paula C. Carder, Sheryl Dejoy Elliott, Aubrey Limburg, Jacklyn Nicole Kohon, Amanuel Zimam, Maximilian West, Margaret B. Neal

Institute on Aging Publications

In collaboration with the Aging and People with Disabilities program of Oregon’s Department of Human Services (DHS), Portland State University’s Institute on Aging conducted this research study of adult foster homes (AFH) throughout the state of Oregon. The Oregon legislature appropriated funds for DHS to collect information from these community-based care providers that will allow DHS, providers, and the public to better understand resident characteristics and adult foster home services.

This report summarizes findings from the first state-wide survey of licensed adult foster homes in Oregon. The survey goals were to:

• describe resident health-related needs, service use, and demographic characteristics; …

Resident And Community Characteristics Report 2014: Assisted Living, Residential Care, Memory Care, Paula C. Carder, Jacklyn Nicole Kohon, Aubrey Limburg, Maximilian West, Amanuel Zimam, Kenneth Gordon Neal

Institute on Aging Publications

This report provides an overview of community-based care settings in Oregon. The results presented here are derived from surveys completed by 243 facilities serving 9,485 residents. Key changes between the 2008 OOHPR survey and 2014 include:

• Compared to 2008, the number of facilities increased by 13%, with the largest growth in MCCs (41%).
• The proportion of for-profit facilities and facilities managed by a third party increased from 2008 by 8%.
• The acuity level of residents increased on most measures compared to 2008.
• Compared to 2008, residents across all three community types required more assistance with ADLs and used more health …

Feeling The Fleshed Body: The Aftermath Of Childhood Rape [Thesis], Brenda Downing

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The point of propulsion for this research is my raped and censured body with its somatic aftermath narrative. This doctoral research project is a feminist and creative investigation that sought to uncover and articulate the long term somatic impacts of childhood rape as they manifest in the adult female body. I employed a multi-modal, complementary, and embodied methodology using a combination of autoethnography, somatic inquiry, writing-as-inquiry, and performance-making-as inquiry. In addition to my autoethnographic explorations, I gathered information from other women raped in childhood, as well as information from women’s healthcare professionals. Drawing on the autoethnographic and participant information gathered, …

Religion, Heritage, And Power： Everyday Life In Contemporary China, Asan Xue

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Based on an ethnographic study of the religious life of ordinary people in the town of Dongpu, this research explores the relationships between: religion and state power; Chinese ritual (li, 礼/禮) tradition and Christian culture; and religion and intangible cultural heritage in contemporary China.

This research found that both the practitioners of Chinese rituals and the Christian community deploy tactics to resist and negotiate with the hegemonic official culture through spatial and religious practices in their everyday life. Chinese ritual practices dedicated to deities and ancestors are defined as idol worship in the doctrine of Christianity and denigrated …

Global Efforts To Engage Men In Preventing Violence Against Women: An International Survey, Ericka Kimball, Jeffrey L. Edleson, Richard M. Tolman, Tova Neugut, Juliana Carlson

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This research note expands on the limited body of knowledge about men’s engagement in preventing violence against women. One hundred and sixty-five individuals representing organizations from around the world participated in a brief online survey about their efforts to engage men in violence prevention. This study reveals a large and diverse global community working to engage men in preventing violence against women. The level of involvement is broad, from locally contained organizations to global collaborations. This study is a first step toward building a comparative knowledge base to inform program design and implementation.

Editor's Note, Janie M. H. Fritz

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This is the Editor’s Note to Volume 33, Issue 1 of the Journal of the Association for Communication Administration.

Strategies For Easing Faculty-Management At Institutions Of Higher Education, Sarah H. Vanslette, Zachary A. Schaefer, Kathy Hagedorn

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

With calls across the discipline of communication to use our research to enhance the lived experience of organizational members and employees of all industries, this essay focuses on the often tense communication between university faculty and university leaders. Using communication and business scholarship as our foundation, we recommend communication strategies that should facilitate better communication between university faculty and management. These strategies will not only help faculty and staff overcome disagreements and avoid uncivil discourse, but the strategies can also be applied to uncivil non-academic workplace environments. The authors will also outline how these incivilities and recommended communication strategies play …

Review Of Wheeler, D. (2012). Servant Leadership For Higher Education: Principles And Practices. San Francisco, Ca: John Wiley & Sons., John Howard Iii

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

Review of Wheeler, D. (2012). Servant leadership for higher education: Principles and practices. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.

Right-Skilling: Rabbis And The Rabbinic Role For A New Century, Barak D. Richman, Daniel Libenson

Faculty Scholarship

This chapter applies Clayton Christensen's model of organizational innovation to Jewish contexts. It observes a parallel between the many challenges that currently confront U.S. healthcare and American Jewry: a mismatch in the skills acquired by professionals and the needs expressed by the broader public; expensive institutions with high fixed costs that are struggling to provide value and maintain sustainable revenues; a failure to respect individual autonomy and cultural mores; and a disenfranchised public that suffers from high costs and unmet demand for meaningful services. It then applies Christensen's adapted model for the healthcare sector to American Jewish institutions, suggesting reforms …

Immigration's Family Values, Kerry Abrams, R. Kent Piacenti

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Federalism As A Way Station: Windsor As Exemplar Of Doctrine In Motion, Neil S. Siegel

Faculty Scholarship

This Article asks what the Supreme Court’s opinion in United States v. Windsor stands for. It first shows that the opinion leans in the direction of marriage equality but ultimately resists any dispositive “equality” or “federalism” interpretation. The Article next examines why the opinion seems intended to preserve for itself a Delphic obscurity. The Article reads Windsor as an exemplar of what judicial opinions may look like in transition periods, when a Bickelian Court seeks to invite, not end, a national conversation, and to nudge it in a certain direction. In such times, federalism rhetoric—like manipulating the tiers of scrutiny …

Tearing Out The Income Tax By The (Grass)Roots, Lawrence A. Zelenak

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

“Robbing Peter To Pay Paul”: Economic And Cultural Explanations For How Lower-Income Families Manage Debt, Laura M. Tach, Sara Sternberg Greene

Faculty Scholarship

This article builds upon classic economic perspectives of financial behavior by applying the narrative identity perspective of cultural sociology to explain how lower-income families respond to indebtedness. Drawing on in-depth qualitative interviews with 194 lower-income household heads, we show that debt management strategies are influenced by a desire to promote a financially responsible, self-sufficient social identity. Families are reluctant to ask for assistance when faced with economic hardship because it undermines this identity. Because the need to pay on debts is less acute than the need to pay for regular monthly expenses like rent or groceries, debts receive a lower …

Single And Childfree! Reassessing Parental And Marital Status Discrimination, Trina Jones

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Social Consequence, Stakeholder Influence, And Resource Needs For Marcellus Shale Communities, Mary Kathleen Gorman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The process of natural gas recovery by horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, is a major scientific advance in unconventional energy development. Attention has largely been focused on its economic advantages and potential negative environmental repercussions, while less consideration given to its social dimensions. The purpose of this study was to explore the social consequences of fracking for communities in the Appalachian Basin's Marcellus shale. Research questions focused on the role of stakeholders and the resource needs of localities in shaping public policy. This study was guided by the tenets of the Boomtown theory along with key issues …

Life Course Narratives From U.S. Expatriates: Continuity Work, Victoria L. Russo

Dissertations

This qualitative, exploratory research examined the American life course through narrative accounts of twenty, former expatriates. All participants had lived and worked in another country for a minimum of at least one year before returning to the US. In-depth, face-to-face interviews were conducted between April 2011 and June 2012. Interviews were unstructured and lasted between 1-2 hours.

Participants in this study were well-educated, middle class professionals with highly desirable skills. Yet, despite the flexibility that privileged status bestowed, participants maintained normative life course patterns. Families were instrumental in monitoring the life course and distributed sanctions and benefits to family members …

Motivations For Volunteering In A Faith-Based Mentoring Program, Trudy Weatherspoon Willis-Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Adolescent males are being suspended or expelled at high rates. Faith-based organizations have developed programs to address these problems by using adult male volunteers to mentor high-risk youth; however, recruiting sufficient mentors is a problem because organizers lack an understanding of the factors that motivate men to volunteer. If this problem can be alleviated, then faith-based organizations will be better able to recruit volunteers to serve students. Guided by the functionalist theory, the purpose of this study was to determine what demographic characteristics and motivating factors discriminated between volunteers and non-volunteers. A causal comparative design was employed and the …