Other Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Juvenile Court Officers’ Perceptions Of Innovation Adoption; What Personal And Contextual Factors Make A Difference In Levels Of Adoption? An Exploratory Mixed-Method Study., Brenda Jean Moran

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This exploratory research examined levels of innovation adoption among Juvenile Court Officers (JCOs) in a Midwestern state. The researcher applied Everett M. Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovation model as the study’s framework. According to Rogers (2003), innovation is “an idea, practice or object that is perceived as new by an individual or other unit of adoption” (p. 475). The study sought to determine the extent that demographic and work-life variables such as gender, office location, caseload, years of service, personality/temperament and employee engagement contributed to levels of innovation adoption by JCOs. This study examined the characteristics of individuals and contexts in …

How (And Why) Nclb Failed To Close The Achievement Gap:Evidence From North Carolina, 1998-2004, Roslyn Mickelson, Jason Giersch, Elizabeth Stearns, Stephanie Moller

The Bridge: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Legal & Social Policy

Recent state and national policy changes for public education are premised upon the idea that high-stakes tests can improve student outcomes and close achievement gaps. Opponents maintain that such policies fail on both counts. Using a unique longitudinal dataset from North Carolina, we find that high-stakes tests have failed to close achievement gaps associated with social class and race, and that the persistence of these gaps is related, at least in part, to academic tracking. Such findings add to the questions being raised about such policies as No Child Left Behind.

Challenges With Online Research For Couples And Families: Evaluating Nonrespondents And The Differential Impact Of Incentives, Dean M. Busby, Keitaro Yoshida

Faculty Publications

In this study some of the challenges of conducting online research with couples and families were considered. Of particular concern with internet samples are the high percentages of individuals who have invalid email addresses and the low response rates to research requests. Using a sample of 2,049 individuals from whom we had extensive information, we invited them to participant in a short survey on their couple relationship. We explored whether participants who had invalid email addresses were different from those who had valid addresses and we compared those who completed the survey with those who did not. Also we explored …

Strengths And Limitations Of The Design Of Helen Keller International’S Childsight® Program Based On Lessons Learned Through The Implementation In Vietnam, 2011-2013, Bradley J. Owen

Capstone Collection

The ophthalmology sector in Vietnam currently faces many challenges. The Asia- Pacific Region, including Vietnam, is reported to have the most cases of uncorrected refractive error in the world at approximately 62 million people. A 2009 study implemented by the World Health Organization also concluded that the Western Pacific region, including Southeast Asia, has 3.98% of the population suffering from uncorrected refractive error, with an estimated cost to the region’s GDP of 111 billion dollars, or .86% of regional GDP (Smith, et al. 2009). In Vietnam alone it is estimated that one in five children suffer from some form of …

Improving Deaf Accessibility To Web-Based Multimedia, Brent N. Shiver

College of Computing and Digital Media Dissertations

Internet technologies have expanded rapidly over the past two decades, making information of all sorts more readily available. Not only are they more cost-effective than traditional media, these new media have contributed to quality and convenience. However, proliferation of video and audio media on the internet creates an inadvertent disadvantage for deaf Internet users. Despite technological and legislative milestones in recent decades in making television and movies more accessible, there has been little progress with online access. A major obstacle to providing captions for internet media is the high cost of captioning and transcribing services.

To respond to this problem, …

Student Debt And Declining Retirement Savings, William Elliott, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Ilsung Nam

Center for Social Development Research

In this study, the authors use the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) to determine whether student loan debt is associated with retirement savings. They find that the median 2009 retirement savings amount for households with no outstanding student loan debt ($55,000) is nearly twice as high as it is for households with outstanding student loan debt ($25,000). Further, multivariate statistics indicate that a household with a four-year college graduate, outstanding student loan debt, and median retirement savings ($80,983) in 2007 incurred a loss of 52% of those retirement savings in 2009 contrasted with household with a similar household with no …

Is Student Debt Compromising Homeownership As A Wealth-Building Tool?, William Elliott, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Ilsung Nam

Center for Social Development Research

In this study, the authors use 2007–2009 Survey of Consumer Finance longitudinal data to examine if having student loans affected home equity during the Great Recession. We find that median 2009 home equity ($90,000) for households with no outstanding student loan debt is twice as high as that of households with outstanding student loan debt ($45,000). Further, multivariate statistics reveal that a household with a college graduate, median 2007 home equity, and student loan debt had $54,334 (40%) less home equity in 2009 than a household with a college graduate, median home equity, and no college debt. The main policy …

Taking Charge 2013 A Study Of The Strategic Budgeting Priorities Of The Residents Of Lincoln, Nebraska, Lisa M. Pytlikzillig, Ryan Anderson, Alan J. Tomkins

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

This report presents the results of the 2013 Taking Charge initiative sponsored by the City of Lincoln. This was the sixth year of Taking Charge activities, and included an online survey and a half-day, face-to-face, Community Conversation. Unlike previous Taking Charge activities, which focused narrowly on the immediate concerns of an impending budget proposal (e.g. which specific programs should be funded or discontinued to maintain a balanced budget), this year’s efforts focused more broadly on strategic planning for the City’s future budget policy priorities.

A number of important findings were identified from an examination of more than 1,100 completed online …

Performing And Interpreting Identity, Lee Farquhar

Scholarship and Professional Work - Communication

This one-year cyber-ethnography examines  identity presentations and interpretations  of 346 Facebook users. The social–psychological theoretical framework used drew specifically from symbolic interaction, Goffman’s performance of self, and schema theory. Generally, Facebookers sought social acceptance with their presentations. Primary findings indicate that the Facebookers present over-simplified imagery to reduce ambiguity and align with specific social groups. This study asked Facebookers to respond to strangers’ Facebook profiles, and the responses showed that due to the glut of identity-related information on the site, interpretations are heavily reliant on schemas. Online interview participants indicated several basic categories of identity performance that were used to …

Forum Magazine, November 2013

Forum Magazine

No abstract provided.

Child Development Accounts And College Success: Accounts, Assets, Expectations, And Achievements, Sondra G. Beverly, William Elliott, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

Child Development Accounts (CDAs) can contribute to financial preparation for college and the development of a college-bound identity in multiple ways and so increase the likelihood of college success. The pathways from CDAs to college success proposed in this paper are grounded in theory and evidence, but more research on the impact of CDAs is needed.

The Impact Of Family Assets And Debt On College Graduation, Min Zhan, Deidre Lanesskog

Center for Social Development Research

This study examines the influence of family financial assets and debt, both measured during the time of youth’s college enrollment, on the chances of college graduation. Data come from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Results from analyses controlling for a number of student, parental, and institutional characteristics indicate that family assets are positively related to the chances of college graduation among White and Black students; family debt is negatively associated with the odds of college graduation among Black students, but neither family assets nor family debt is related to the chances of college graduation among Hispanic students. Overall, results …

Youth Savings Patterns And Performance In Colombia, Ghana, Kenya, And Nepal, Lissa Johnson, Yungsoo Lee, Michael Sherraden, Gina A. N. Chowa, David Ansong, Fred Ssewamala, Margaret S. Sherraden, Li Zhou, Moses Njenga, Joseph Kieyah, Isaac Osei-Akoto, Sharad Sharma, Jyoti Manandhar, Catherine Orgales Rodriguez, Frederico Merchán, Juan Saavedra

Center for Social Development Research

Youth Savings Patterns and Performance in Colombia, Ghana, Kenya, and Nepal

The Impact Of Family Assets And Debt On College Graduation, Min Zhan, Deidre Lanesskog

Center for Social Development Research

The Impact of Family Assets and Debt on College Graduation

Who's To Blame? Client Problems And The Causal Attributions Made By Counselors-In- Training, Joseph M. Williams, Arie T. Greenleaf, David K. Duys

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

The researchers examined the relationship between cognitive complexity, attribution styles, and demographic variables of 86 counselors-in-training concerning the cause of and solution to clients’ problems. A significant relationship was found between counselors’ moral attribution styles and cognitive complexity levels. Differences were found in general preferences for specific attribution styles for the counselors studied as well as by training level. Implications of the findings for counselor preparation and training are discussed.

Self-Efficacy Of Beginning Counselors To Counsel Clients In Crisis, Cheryl Sawyer, Michelle L. Peters, Jana Willis

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Crisis situations are becoming more and more prevalent in our society today, and as a result, counselors should be aware of the overarching effects of various crisis situations and how they can affect their clients. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of preparedness on beginning counselors’ levels of self-efficacy and their perceived abilities to handle crisis interventions. A purposeful sample of master’s-level counseling students, enrolled in a Crises Intervention Preparation course for Mental Health Responders, were administered the Counselor’s Self-Efficacy Scale to assess their levels of self-efficacy. Findings indicated that counseling students who studied theoretical strategies …

Journal Of Counselor Preparation And Supervision Volume 5, Number 2, Edina Renfro-Michel

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Multicultural Competence Of School Counselors, Fallon K. Dodson

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

The purpose of this study was to explore the self-perceived multicultural competence of school counselors. Forty-one school counselors out of the 510 school counselors who were current members of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) completed both survey instruments: a demographic survey and the Multicultural Counseling Knowledge and Awareness Scale (MCKAS). The results of the study indicated that one of eight demographic variables demonstrated significance in relation to multicultural competence. Recommendations for future research included using a larger, ethnically diverse sample; including all school counselors in the state of Virginia; developing a survey instrument that included more aspects of multiculturalism …

School Counseling Supervision In Challenging Times: The Cafe Supervisor Model, Melissa S. Ockerman, Erin C. M. Mason, Stuart F. Chen-Hayes

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Given the increased need for school counselors to proactively address the pervasive achievement, opportunity, and attainment gaps, school counselor preparation should move from traditional supervision models to one with an equitable K-12 student outcomes focus. The Change Agent for Equity (CAFE) model presented can help school counselors-in-training foster a change agent identity, aimed at helping all K-12 students succeed and reach their postsecondary dreams. The CAFE model and the supervisor’s identity and supervision practices within the model are described. Additionally, internship assignments and rubrics are outlined and supervisory recommendations and implications are discussed.

Violent Youth Crime In U.S. Falls To New 32-Year Low, Jeffrey A. Butts

Publications and Research

FBI crime data shows a decline in violent youth crimes between 2011 and 2012, reaching a new 32-year-low. Violent youth crimes reached a new low every year between 2009 and 2012. This databit shows the rate of violent youth crimes based on crime offense between 1980 and 2012.