Social Work Commons^™

Student Loans, For-Profit Colleges, And Traditional Colleges: Some Things You Should Know Before Borrowing, Research And Training Center For Pathways To Positive Futures

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Many students complete programs at for-profit colleges and launch new careers. However, many other students do not have such successful experiences, ending up without the career they envisioned and/or with large debts they cannot repay. This FAQ is designed to help prospective college students become better informed about student loans, particularly those used to finance education at for-profit institutions.

Connecting Students And Professional Associations: A Curricular Approach, Shirley Simon

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

No abstract provided.

Planning And Designing A Sustainable Volunteer Based Organization: The Putney Food Shelf, Annik Yvette Paul

Capstone Collection

There are many reasons why issues of food insecurity and hunger exist. Individuals, families, and households have various barriers to food security, often facing more than one at a time. Barriers include limited fixed incomes, minimum wage not equaling a livable wage, unemployment and underemployment, poverty, lack of personal transportation and/or access to public transportation, limited access to shopping areas (food deserts), and health and medical issues.

Considering the current statistics listed below, combined with the ever-increasing cost of food, more households will be struggling to meet their basic nutritional needs. Food insecurity and hunger is a problem faced by …

Contributions Of Qualitative Research To Understanding Saving Theory For Children And Youth, Margaret Sherraden, Clark Peters, Kristen Wagner, Margaret Clancy, Baorong Guo

Center for Social Development Research

This paper explores contributions of qualitative research to saving theory for children, youth, and parents in Children’s Development Account (CDA) programs. It brings together findings from three studies: (1) elementary school age children saving for college, (2) youth transitioning from foster care saving for education and other purposes, and (3) mothers of toddlers saving for college. Findings suggest that children, youth, and parents find CDAs helpful in accumulating savings. CDAs interact with developmental stages to motivate and facilitate saving. Accumulating savings has positive meaning for participants in CDAs for economic and psychological reasons. However, although CDAs overcome some obstacles in …

Mixed-Income Developments And Low Rates Of Return Insights From Relocated Public Housing Residents In Chicago, Mark L. Joseph

Faculty Scholarship

In the largest poverty deconcentration effort in any city in the US, all high-rise public housing family developments in Chicago have been demolished and are being replaced by mixed-income developments. Advocates for public housing residents have worked hard to negotiate a "right to return" to the new mixed income developments. Yet, as in other cities across the country, the rates of return to the new developments have been very low. Little is understood about residents’ perceptions of their options or the factors that drive their relocation decisions. This article examines relocation decisions using data from in-depth interviews with a panel …

Social Workers In Rural Places: A Study Of Practitioners In The Upper Peninsula Of Michigan, Paul Force-Emery Mackie

Social Work Department Publications

No abstract provided.

Efficacy Of Self-Care And Traditional Mental Health Counseling In Treating Vicarious Traumatization Among Counselors Of Hurricane Katrina Survivors, Mary Alice Many

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The population consisted of 9,000 Gulf Coast Licensed Professional Counselors. Surveys were returned by 609 participants. In the researcher-developed demographic survey, 586 individuals responded to the questions regarding age, gender, ethnicity, and years of counseling experience; 585 individuals responded to questions about exposure to prior trauma, and personal Katrina-related losses; 578 individuals responded to the question about the percentage of their work week that was spent counseling victims, and 579 individuals responded to questions regarding the type of mental health care strategy they participated in. There were 439 usable surveys for the PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C) (Weathers, Litz, Huska, & …

The Impact Of Household Possessions On Youth's Academic Achievement In The Ghana Youthsave Experiment, Gina A. N. Chowa, Rainier D. Masa, Christopher J. Wretman, David Ansong

Center for Social Development Research

Households play an important role in youth’s academic achievement. Household assets as part of youth’s family background have been found to have a significant impact on youth’s academic achievement. In this study, the impact of household possessions on youth’s academic achievement in the Ghana YouthSave experiment is investigated. Findings support the hypothesized positive direction of the impact of household possessions on academic achievement of youth. Using propensity score optimal matching and matching estimators, results show youth from households that reported owning at least one of the five household items measured scored almost 1 unit higher on English than their peers …

San Antonio High School Food Justice Program: A Handbook And Evaluation Of Edible Education, Katherine B. Tenneson

Pitzer Senior Theses

This senior environmental studies thesis explains and analyzes edible education through a food and gardening program at a continuation high school in Claremont, California. The first chapter situates the program-specific analysis by providing background information of the edible education movement, a history of the Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley, California, and an explanation of why food is a powerful teaching tool. The second chapter delineates the program by describing all of its components and compiling essential resources and teaching documents. The third chapter is based on interviews with 9 of 12 involved students and 7 teachers, and thoroughly explains the outcomes …

Integrating Rural Livelihoods And Community Interaction Into Migration And Enviroment Research: A Conceptual Framework Of Rural Out-Migration And Environment In Developing Countries, Hua Qin, Courtney G. Flint

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

This article presents a conceptual framework linking perspectives from migration and environment with rural livelihoods and interactional community research in the context of rural out-migration and environmental changes in developing countries. Household livelihoods and community interaction comprise two core mediating factors between rural out-migration and rural environmental outcomes. Developing an interdisciplinary conceptual framework is an important way to advance migration and environment research that is built on knowledge from a variety of disciplines. By building linkages across different research fields, our conceptual framework provides an overall picture of the relevant mechanisms through which out-migration affects the rural environment. The framework …

Healthy Aging And Older Asian Indian Immigrants: A Key Informant Survey Of Seven Ethnic Community Centers In Santa Clara County, Sadhna Diwan, Sharvari Dixit

Faculty Publications

This study is an examination of the present status of healthy aging programs and services provided to older Asian Indian (AI) immigrants in Santa Clara County. The primary goals of the study were to develop a profile of programs being offered to AI seniors at various ethnic community organizations; and to determine the met and unmet needs for programs and services that promote healthy aging in the AI senior population. A key informant survey was conducted with leaders of seven different organizations in Santa Clara County known to currently provide some services to AI seniors. These seven organizations are estimated …

Mexican American Adolescents’ Perceptions Of Dating Violence Programs: Recommendations For Effective Program Design And Implementation, Lela Rankin Williams, Heidi Adams Rueda, Bianca N. Altamirano

Social Work Faculty Publications

Although promising dating violence programs have emerged, little is known about their effectiveness for Mexican American youth, a vulnerable and understudied population. The purpose of this study was: (1) to offer culturally-grounded recommendations towards the development of effective Teen Dating Violence (TDV) programs and/or the modification of existing programs, and (2) to identify potential barriers to Mexican American youth’s participation in TDV programs. Using the perspectives of Mexican American youth (15 to 17 years old) and a phenomenological study design, focus groups (N = 14) were conducted that were homogeneous by gender and level of acculturation (low/bicultural/high). Youth provided …

Sole Power: Pedal Phone Charger Final Report, Nicole Hensley, Anthony Ruh, Krista Schmidt, Joseph Garcia

Mechanical Engineering

The device design was conceived to meet the energy needs of rural populations in India. These communities have cell phones but lack access to reliable grid power, especially during monsoon season. The charger is designed to be affordable, durable, and easily repairable for each owner family. It uses off-the-shelf components and is intended to be replicated by backyard manufacturing startups in developing countries.

Its purpose is to efficiently transfer human foot motion via a treadle, four-bar-linkage, and sprocket-chain step-up to drive a rotor & stator generator from a common gas scooter. The single-phase alternating current from the generator is passed …

Social Work Students And Competent Practice With Lgbtq Clients, Drionne Arney

HIM 1990-2015

Research suggests that social work students' attitudes towards the LGBTQ populations fail to mirror the expectations of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), and its code of ethics. In this cross-sectional research study, a survey distributed to undergraduate and post-graduate part-time and full-time social work students conducted by two students of a post-graduate social work program, is an assessment of social work students' attitudes and knowledge of competent practice with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning clients. This researcher used the findings of the study used to analyze: the relationship between social work students' age and knowledge of competent …

Birth Order And The Academic And Social Success Of College Students, Jessica Nissenbaum

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The purpose of the study of Birth Order and the Academic and Social Success of College Students was to examine the relationship between birth order and the academic and social experiences that students have during their college years. An ideal college experience involves students being actively engaged in what they are learning and having positive social interactions and support networks. Unfortunately, the college experiences of many students fall short of these expectations and they struggle to continue their pursuit of higher education. Depression has become a serious concern on college campuses. Understanding the birth orders that may create challenges in …

Understanding The Gendered Patterns Of Substance Use Initiation Among Adolescents Living In Rural, Central Mexico, Stephanie Ayers, Flavio Marsiglia, Steven Hoffman, Zhyldyz Urbaeva

Faculty Publications

Background: Little is known about the age of initiation and gender differences in substance use among adolescents in rural, central Mexico.

Methods: The cross-sectional data were collected from students enrolled in the Videobachillerato (VIBA) (video high school) programme in Guanajuato, Mexico. Questionnaires asked students about the age at which they had used alcohol, cigarettes, or cannabis for the first time. Kaplan–Meier Survival Functions were used to estimate if males and females were significantly different in their cumulative probabilities of initiating substances over time.

Results: On average, alcohol is initiated at 14.7 years of age, cigarettes at 15.1 years of age, …

Cultivating An Opportunity: Access And Inclusion In Seattle's Community Gardens, Alice K. Opalka

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis explores the social dynamics of community gardens and their participation within them in the contemporary food justice movement in Seattle, Washington. Community gardens are seen as solutions to myriad urban and environmental problems, such as food deserts, community empowerment, urban greening, environmental education and sustainability of the food system. Three case studies of Seattle organizations, the P-Patch Program, Lettuce Link and Alleycat Acres, provide a basis for analysis of the purported benefit of community empowerment as a function of organizational structure, history and policies. City government support, flexibility, and a critical outlook towards the processes of inclusion and …

Social And Contextual Factors That Influence Hiv Risk Behaviors Among Indigenous Msm In The Peruvian Amazon, Isaac E. Alva, E. Roberto Orellana

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Men who have sex with men (MSM) face a significantly higher risk of HIV infection than the general population around the globe. In Peru, HIV prevalence among MSM range from 14% to 23%, with Lima, the capital, and port cities in the Amazonian region being the most affected. Recent studies found that indigenous MSM who leave their villages for cities along the Amazon River and its tributaries, engage in high risk behaviors such as high alcohol consumption and unprotected sex with mestizo (non- indigenous) MSM. This study examined social and contextual factors associated with risky behaviors among indigenous MSM in …

Motivating Men Who Have Sex With Men To Get Tested For Hiv, Magaly M. Blas, Luis A. Menacho, Isaac E. Alva, E. Roberto Orellana

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Although men who have sex with men (MSM) have the highest HIV prevalence in Peru, they are underserved by traditional preventive programs. Interestingly, in Peru the Internet and cell-phones have emerged as a convenient tool to reach this population.

Validation Of The Employment Hope Scale: Measuring Psychological Self-Sufficiency Among Low-Income Jobseekers, Philip Young P. Hong, Joshua R. Polanin, Terri D. Pigott

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

The Employment Hope scale (EHS) was designed to measure the empowerment-based self-sufficiency (SS) outcome among low-income job-seeking clients. This measure captures the psychological SS dimension as opposed to the more commonly used economic SS in workforce development and employment support practice. The study validates the EHS and reports its psychometric properties. Method: An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted using an agency data from the Cara Program in Chicago, United States. The principal axis factor extraction process was employed to identify the factor structure. Results: EFA resulted in a 13-item two-factor structure with Factor 1 representing “Psychological Empowerment” and Factor …