Social Welfare Commons^™

The Reimagine Campus Safety Committee Final Report To President Stephen Percy And The Greater Psu Community, Jose Coll, Vicki Reitenauer, Ed Washington, Zachary Mettler, Charlie Evans, Crystal Renee Tenty, Deborah Mayo Kelley, Kimberly Barsamian Kahn, Marcy Hunt, Molly Gunderson, Roberto Valentin, Scott Merriman, Stéphanie Wahab, Yves Labissiere

Office of the President Publications and Presentations

On August 13, 2020, Portland State University President Stephen Percy announced two key changes in the University’s approach to campus public safety: first, Campus Public Safety officers would begin to patrol the campus without firearms and, second, a new Reimagine Campus Safety Committee (RCSC) would convene during the 2020-21 academic year to make a comprehensive set of recommendations for additional changes to the University’s approach to campus safety, security, welcoming, and belonging. In that announcement, President Percy introduced a four-person Steering Committee for the RCSC (Jose Coll, dean of the School of Social Work; Vicki Reitenauer, faculty member in Women, …

Preferences For Paid Paternity Leave Availability, Lengths Of Leave Offerings, And Government Funding Of Paternity Leaves In The United States, Chris Knoester, Qi Li

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This study analyzes 2012 General Social Survey data (N = 1,089) about preferences for paid paternity leave availability, lengths of leave offerings, and government funding of leaves. It highlights gender and gendered parenting role attitudes as predictors of leave preferences. Descriptive results revealed sizable (i.e., 53 percent) support for leave availability and moderate (i.e., 33 percent) support for some government funding; still, only modest (i.e., five weeks) lengths of leave offerings were desired. Regression results indicated that women were typically more likely than men to support more generous leave offerings. Consistently, dual-earner expectations were positively associated with preferences for more …

An Analysis Of Georgia Mothers Who Gave Birth In 2015 And 2016 Without Receiving Prenatal Care, Joncel Stephens, Shanta R. Dube, Merrilee Gober

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Background: The present study characterizes the population of women residing in the state of Georgia who did not receive prenatal care before giving birth to a live infant. The association between mother’s place of residence (rural/non-rural) and preterm delivery was also examined.

Methods: This study examined data obtained from the Georgia Department of Public Health which includes data for 7,062 mothers who did not receive prenatal care before giving birth to a live infant in Georgia in the years 2015 and 2016. Data on the resulting births was also studied. Descriptive analyses of the following variables were used …

Theory Of Prioritarianism, Matthew D. Adler

Faculty Scholarship

This chapter provides theoretical foundations for the Prioritarianism in Practice volume, by clarifying the features of prioritarian social welfare functions (SWFs). A prioritarian SWF sums up individuals’ well-being numbers plugged into a strictly increasing and strictly increasing transformation function. Prioritarian SWFs, like the utilitarian SWF, fall within the “generalized-utilitarian” class of SWFs.Generalized-utilitarian SWFs are additive and, hence, especially tractable for purposes of policy analysis. The chapter reviews the axiomatic properties of generalized-utilitarian SWFs and, specifically, of prioritarian SWFs. Prioritarianism satisfies the Pigou-Dalton axiom (a pure, gap-diminishing transfer of well-being from a better-off to a worse-off person is an ethical improvement), …

Well-Being Measurement, Matthew D. Adler, Koen Decancq

Faculty Scholarship

The social welfare function (SWF) framework includes a well-being measure w(∙), for converting outcomes into vectors (lists) of well-being numbers. These well-being numbers are interpersonally comparable. This chapter discusses the construction of the well-being measure. It supposes that w(∙) operates on individual “histories,” a history being a combination of an attribute bundle a and a preference R. That is w(∙) = w(a, R). This setup is quite general. It encompasses preference-based well-being measures (namely those that assign well-being numbers to histories containing different bundles but the same preference in deference to that preference), as well as non-preference based measures. The …

The Economic Efficiency Of Aid Targeting, Ariel Benyishay, Matthew Dilorenzo, Carrie Dolan

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

How efficient is the targeting of foreign aid to populations in need? A long literature has focused on the impacts of foreign aid, but much rarer are studies that examine how such aid is allocated within countries. We examine the extent to which donors efficiently respond to exogenous budget shocks by shifting resources toward needier districts within a given country, as predicted by theory. We use recently geocoded data on the World Bank’s aid in 23 countries that crossed the lower-middle income threshold between 1995 and 2010 and thus experienced sharp aid reductions. We measure locations’ need along a number …

Invited Perspective - Engaging Aspirations To Nurture Communities, Kentaro Toyama

Subsistence Marketplaces

For subsistence communities, the question is whether aspirations can be applied to motivate behavior that is, on the one hand consistent with people’s aspirations, but which might otherwise be difficult to elicit. Could poorer households be encouraged to save, to spend more on their children’s education, or to act against unhealthy social norms? A couple of examples suggest this is not only possible, but highly successful in contexts where other appeals fail.

Creating Oases Throughout America’S Food Deserts, Hannah M. Dahle

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Sons Of Disobedience And Their Machines: How Sin And Anthropology Can Inform Evangelical Thought About Ai, Gregory S. Mckenzie

Liberty Theological Review

The purpose of this paper is to further discussion about artificial intelligence by examining AI from the perspective of the doctrine of sin. As such, philosophy of mind and theological anthropology, specifically, what it means to be human, the effects of sin, and the consequent social ramifications of AI drive the analysis of this paper. Accordingly, the conclusions of the analysis are that the depravity of fallen humanity is cause for concern in the very programming of AI and serves as a corrupted foundation for artificial machine cognition. Given the fallen nature of human thought, and therefore, fallen AI thought, …

Evaluating Job Redesign: Strategies And Preliminary Findings From Louisiana, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services, Child Welfare Division (CWD), in partnership with the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) conducted a needs assessment of their child welfare system. The needs assessment indicated high caseloads and administrative tasks were barriers to caseworkers’ ability to support families, engage clients, determine root causes of maltreatment, and implement timely services. Furthermore, surveys conducted with caseworkers revealed that they perceived their jobs as highly complex - requiring a wide range of tasks, a variety of specialized skills, and a high degree of information processing. These findings resulted in CWD and the …

Reducing Opioid Related Deaths And Improving Rehabilitation Access Through The Elk Grove Village Cares Program: A Program Evaluation, Rebecca Barron

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Manuscripts

Abstract The goal of the Elk Grove Village Cares program is to decrease the deaths and overdoses of those who abuse opioids through harm reduction strategies and provide access to treatment. The article is a program evaluation of the Elk Grove Village Cares program. Surveys, interviews and the synthesis of program data is used to evaluate the efficacy of program activities. Results: The rate of death from opioid use has decreased an average of 1.7 deaths since program implementation in 2018. Law enforcement officers (LEO) and the community responded similarly to many survey questions regarding attitudes surrounding addiction. Within the …

Workplace Incivility, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is workplace incivility?

Workplace incivility refers to “low-intensity deviant behavior with ambiguous intent to harm the target, in violation of workplace norms for mutual respect. Uncivil behaviors are characteristically rude and discourteous, displaying a lack of regard for others” (Anderson & Pearson, 1999, p. 457). Though there is some conceptual and empirical overlap between incivility and ostracism, bullying, and abusive supervision, incivility is considered distinct (Yao et al., 2021). Incivility has been examined from the perspective of both the victim and the instigator, exploring factors related to being the target of incivility and factors related to engaging in uncivil …

Reproductive Freedom For All: A Policy Brief, Noa J. Cook

The Downtown Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal Written and Peer-Reviewed by Mandel Honors College Students at Cleveland State University

Reproductive freedom in the United States has been a source of controversy throughout history and current legislation places these rights under attack. Divided into three parts, this policy brief seeks to address the lack of accessible reproductive healthcare for women, with special attention to economic, racial, and ethnic disparities. Part 1 includes a historical overview of abortion access and significant legislation in the U.S., describes the present status of the problem, and the populations affected. In Part 2, the pros and cons of current policies such as the federal contraceptive guarantee of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Hyde Amendment, and …

Frontline Job Redesign Louisiana - Implementation Overview, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

The Implementation Team

The QIC-WD worked with the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), Child Welfare Division (CWD) to establish an Implementation Team to lead the development and implementation of their intervention. The Implementation Team included the Site Implementation Manager (SIM); the project Training and Coaching Specialist; the Data Coordinator; representatives from Human Resources (HR), Civil Service and the Department’s training unit; representatives from the intervention parishes (from administrators to frontline workers); and three members of the QIC-WD (representing expertise in workforce, implementation, and evaluation). Members were selected for their leadership abilities, knowledge, experience, and their willingness …

A Case For The Decriminalization Of Simple Possession Of Narcotics In Mississippi, Stroud Tolleson

Honors Theses

Through its incarceration of simple possession offenders, Mississippi is failing to acknowledge the severity of addiction and importance of mental health. In this paper, I will examine Mississippi’s history of opinion and policy on drug use. In order to gain a better understanding of addiction and Mississippi’s criminal justice system, I interview several individuals with experience in varying aspects of these issues. Mississippi has one of the highest rates of incarceration in the United States, with stringent laws regarding the possession of narcotics. Mississippi’s mental health resources have been deemed unconstitutionally deficient on more than one occasion, and addicts are …

Collateral Damage: How Expanding Public Charge Policy Influences Adult Esl Enrollment, Allison M. Eckert

Master's Theses

This study used statistical analysis of enrollment records for ESL programs at community colleges throughout California from 2015-2019 to determine whether adult immigrants’ participation in public ESL programs was reduced under President Donald Trump. Immigrant families’ lesser use of public education services and means-tested federal benefits has been widely documented in the wake of Trump’s expansion of the public charge rule, which counted immigrants’ use of a wider array of public benefits against their case for residency in the United States than had any previous iteration of the rule. Failing the public charge test can block an immigrant’s entry into …

Livelihood And Happiness In A Resource (Natural And Cultural)-Rich Rural Municipality In The Philippines, Rosalina Palanca-Tan, Sheila Bayog

Economics Department Faculty Publications

This paper looks at the economic and welfare conditions of residents in Lake Sebu, a largely rural but natural and cultural resource-rich municipality in Southern Mindanao in the Philippines. Two notions of welfare are used in the study: economic welfare, measured in terms of household income and vulnerability to hunger; and social welfare, measured in terms of self-reported happiness. The study uses primary data collected through a household survey and analyzed with statistical and econometric procedures (tests of difference between sub-populations; and ordinary least squares, binary probit, and ordered logistic regressions). The results suggest mixed implications of abundant natural and …

Behavior Modeling Training, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is behavior modeling training?

Behavior modeling training (BMT) involves the following five steps: “(a) describing to trainees a set of well-defined behaviors (skills) to be learned, (b) providing a model or models displaying the effective use of those behaviors, (c) providing opportunities for trainees to practice using those behaviors, (d) providing feedback and social reinforcement to trainees following practice, and (e) taking steps to maximize the transfer of those behaviors to the job” (Taylor et al., 2005, p. 692). BMT can be used to train a variety of skills, from interpersonal skills like conflict management, interviewing, assertive communication, and …

Signaling In Training, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is signaling?

In a learning environment, signaling refers to cues that direct learners’ attention to specific instructional content or that emphasize how the content is organized (van Gog, 2014). Signals can be verbal (oral or written) or visual (static or dynamic images or graphics). More commonly studied examples include:

signals in written materials: underlining, italics, bold, highlighting, outlines, headings, overviews, and summaries

signals in visual materials: arrows, circles, flashing, color coding, spotlighting (graying out some content), zooming in on key content, and gestures of pedagogical agents

When signals are used only in written text (i.e., without accompanying visuals), they …

Secondary Traumatic Stress (Sts) – Its Impact On The Child Welfare Workforce And Strategies For Agencies To Address It, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

Secondary traumatic stress (STS) can mimic symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Bride, 2007). These symptoms include having dreams and flashbacks of the traumatic event, avoiding activities or places that might remind someone of the traumatic event, having sleep issues, being irritable, difficulty concentrating, or being hypervigilant. In this video, child welfare staff share how the trauma they experience as part of their job affects them, including physical and emotional reactions and the desire to leave the field. Unfortunately, experiencing STS is very common among the child welfare workforce. Although child welfare is not the only profession that is exposed …