This project study addressed the problem of bullying, victimization, and the awareness of these activities at a public suburban middle school in Northwest Georgia. The study school implemented the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP) in 2009, yet had not evaluated the program to identify whether or not it met its goals after 1 year of implementation. Using a quasiexperimental, goal-free program evaluation, the research questions explored whether or not the OBPP succeeded in reducing the student reported rates of bullying and victimization while also increasing awareness of such activities. A Mann Whitney U test was utilized for analysis due to violations of normality and homoscedasticity in the data. The quantitative sequence consisted of descriptive analyses of archived student data from the pre- and postimplementation (N = 346 and 137, respectively) Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (OBVQ) administration. Results indicated an increase, though not statistically significant, in student reporting of victimization and awareness and a statistically significant increase in rates of bullying. Results in the evaluation report supported continued OBPP implementation with anticipation that implementing more than 1 year should yield a decrease in student reported rates of bullying and victimization and increase in awareness of what constitutes these activities. The project study could lead to positive social change by increasing awareness of bullying in the learning community and reducing the number of reported incidents of bullying and victimization.

Restorative justice (RJ) is an emerging concept of justice in the American penal system that seeks equality for all stakeholders involved. While RJ is vastly under researched--especially concerning RJ and violent offenses--current studies have only focused on determining victims' motivations for participating in RJ. Determining and evaluating offender motivations for participating in RJ remains unexplored. The purpose of this study was to explore the possible motivations of criminal offenders and their willingness to participate in RJ. The social construction framework and the narrative policy framework were employed to understand the social context. A mixed-method approach was used that began with a semistructured interview of 12 ex-offenders and concluded with all the participants completing a brief questionnaire capturing their demographical information. Participants were previously convicted criminal offenders (i.e., 7 nonviolent and 5 violent) who were no longer under the authority of the judiciary system. The semistructured interviews were analyzed qualitatively and identified six motivations: (a) concern for their reputation, (b) understanding the impact of their crime, (c) explanation of actions, (d) making the victim whole, (e) apologizing to the victim, and (f) apathy towards the victim. MANOVA analysis revealed no significance difference between the groups, except with Motive 3 (explanation of actions) and whether the participant had siblings. However, observed power for this analysis varied at low intervals where only 12 participants were involved. Regardless, the results of this study could have a significant impact on positive social change in RJ because the data informs practitioners how to facilitate RJ interventions better, bringing about efficacy with offenders.

Existing literature indicates that education is vital to overcoming poverty, yet educational prospects for those in persistent, generational poverty (GP) are often limited. This qualitative phenomenological study centered on the emergence from GP of individuals without formal education beyond 12th grade or a high school equivalency certificate, and explored how those who have done it perceived their experiences. Rutter's resilience theory was the conceptual framework for examining this phenomenon and its challenges and processes. A sample of five adult participants from the United States were recruited using a snowball method, completed a screening survey, and then participated in in-depth interviews. The multiple case study structure provided biographical narratives for each participant that thoroughly described the phenomenon. Analysis was done via interpretive phenomenological analysis which relied on careful scrutiny of the data and a full grasp of how the phenomenon was understood and experienced by participants in their unique contexts. Results indicated many parallels among the narratives. All participants reported GP-related anxiety during childhood and/or adolescence; each recalled the positive presence of at least one influential non-family member as critical to personal growth; and all reported positivity, work ethic, and personal agency as keys to emergence from GP. This conclusion of this study indicated the need for a model for the emergence from GP of individuals without formal secondary education. The social change implications are the potential development of mentoring programs based on the participants' perceived replicability of their accomplishments and their willingness to share their experiences in order to foster self-agency and self-advocacy among children and adolescents in GP.

In the United States, homelessness is often connected to traumatic events such as domestic violence, job loss, or post incarceration experiences, frequently resulting in substance use disorders, medical issues, and related mental illnesses. Although researchers have considered how homelessness and social service interventions affect sexual and gender minority youth, they have not adequately studied the causes and effects of homelessness among transgender women. The purpose of this interpretive phenomenological study was to bridge this gap in knowledge by exploring the experiences of chronically homeless transgender women. The research question focused on the lived experiences of chronically homeless transgender women who try to obtain social services from outreach workers. A purposive sample of 8 chronically homeless transgender women from the southeastern United States completed individual face-to-face interviews. Using phenomenological strategies, the narratives were analyzed and interpreted into codes, categories, and themes. Four central themes were identified, including reasons for homelessness, the lived experience of chronic homelessness, experiences related to transgender identity, and involvement with social services. Participants faced barriers with social services agencies and outreach workers, including administrative demand for binary gender classification, blatant ignorance and discrimination, and a lack of trans-positive treatment facilities and shelters. The findings and recommendations from this study may advance positive social change by guiding the efforts of social service agencies and outreach workers to improve the quality of social services for transgender women.

Several psychological processes motivate the use of Facebook. The correlation between subclinical narcissistic traits and Facebook use has been examined, but the results have been inconsistent. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between Facebook use and the exhibition of subclinical narcissistic traits. The method for this study was meant to improve upon previous studies that used self-reported data by providing researchers with a technique to collect Facebook data from the personal pages of participants, with informed consent. Social learning theory provided the theoretical foundation for this study. This theory posits that new patterns of behavior can be acquired through direct experience or by observing the behavior of others. This theory could explain why a billion people choose to post pictures, share news articles, add friends, and engage in other Facebook activities. Using a quantitative approach, approximately 3 months of Facebook activity from 93 participants were analyzed and correlated with Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) scores. A multiple regression analysis was then used to examine the data in relation to the research questions and hypotheses. There were no statistically significant findings for Facebook activity and NPI scores. These findings may challenge the popular notion that Facebook and other social media represent a platform for narcissistic self-promotion. This study has potential to promote social change, in that the negative connotation may be removed from social media use, allowing more people to communicate openly without the fear of being perceived as narcissistic.

This ethnographic and phenomenological study examined the relationship between the benefits and compensation afforded to emergency responders; their perceptions of work equity, equality, justice, and risk management; and the effect of perceived equity, equality, justice, and risk management on the execution of an emergency responder's duties. The data was collected through interviews with members of the culture group, including law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency medical responder's (n = 24). The interviews were audio recorded, then manually transcribed by the researcher. The raw data was coded for reoccurring themes and commonalities. The reoccurring themes were organized and displayed in tables based on subcategory of the culture group. The results of the study indicate that the benefits and compensation afforded to professionals working in this field have an impact on their perception of work equity, justice, and risk management. It was further found that these benefits do not have an impact on the perception of work equality among members of this culture group. Understanding how to effectively motivate these professionals can have many positive effects regarding social change. These effects could be seen at the local and individual level for these responder's, at the community level for those that they serve, and at the policy level.

According to the Corporation for National and Community Service (2007), 33% of workers who volunteer in one year do not volunteer the next year. Retention of disaster and emergency services volunteers is a problem because permanent disaster volunteers save governments and society millions of dollars each year. The purpose of this quantitative, cross-sectional study was to address the problem of retention of American Red Cross disaster and emergency services volunteers. The primary research question for this study examined the predictive strength of positive emotions, resiliency, coping, and post-traumatic growth, in the retention of disaster and emergency services volunteers. The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions combined with the organismic valuing theory of growth through adversity created the optimal research foundation for driving the hypotheses for the research question. This study used a self-report survey to collect data from a nonprobability convenience sample of 120 American Red Cross Disaster and Emergency Services volunteers. Standard multiple linear regression analyses revealed that none of the independent variables statistically predicted retention. Independent-groups t-tests revealed that, a debriefing at the disaster location showed significant mean differences when examining retention. The American Red Cross and other disaster relief organizations can use the results of this study to develop strategies to address organizational factors that enhance the experiences of their disaster and emergency services volunteers and thus strive to improve retention.

Approximately 70% of change initiatives fail to achieve the anticipated outcomes, and resistance to change is continuously cited in the literature as 1 of the most common reasons for change failure. Researchers know that emotions play a role in change but do not know how emotional intelligence affects the relationship between leader-member exchange and reactions to change. Grounded in Oreg's multidimensional resistance-to-change model, leader-member exchange theory, and emotional intelligence theory, the purpose of this study was to narrow the gap in knowledge of how emotional intelligence influences the relationship between leader-member exchange and resistance to change. A correlational, cross-sectional design was employed with a nonpurposeful sample of 349 research administrators, and data analysis was completed through hierarchical multiple regression and the Hayes PROCESS macro. Significant negative correlations were found between (a) leader-member exchange and resistance to change and (b) emotional intelligence and resistance to change. Emotional intelligence was not found to have an expected moderating effect on the relationship between leader-member exchange and resistance to change. The findings indicated that employees are less likely to resist change when they perceive a higher quality relationship with their supervisor and have a higher level of emotional intelligence. The results of this study can be used to inform organizational leaders of the need to incorporate training on building high-quality relationships and emotional intelligence in change management programs, thereby increasing the likelihood of achieving the organizational goals intended by the change.

Bullying and toxic leadership in the U. S. Army disrupt bonding processes between leaders and subordinates, which may jeopardize military operations, threaten resiliency initiatives, inhibit leader development, and stifle innovation. Little research, however, has looked at the role of informal leaders who operate outside the formal power structure in military environments. Using social exchange theory as the foundation, the purpose of this case study was to explore the activities of informal leaders who mediated the normal and disrupted leadership bonding processes in an Illinois Army National Guard Infantry Brigade. The research questions explored the informal leaders' influence and behaviors to gain a greater understanding of the bonding processes. A maximum variation purposeful sampling was used to select 25 informal leaders from 8 company size units in an Illinois Army National Guard Infantry Brigade. Publicly available archival data were also considered. All data were coded inductively and then subjected to Braun and Clark's thematic analysis procedure, revealing the perception that informal leaders improved bonding between soldiers and leaders and reduced stress associated with military service. The implications for positive social change include recommendations to the Illinois National Guard to provide support for using informal leaders as a mechanism to promote more cohesive relationships between leaders and subordinates and to explore the use of informal leadership to reduce stress.

Private probation companies were formed to provide supervision to low-risk offenders who committed misdemeanor charges by allowing offenders to reside in the community instead of being incarcerated. However, research has revealed that private probation agencies have become problematic because state and local governments have benefited financially by collecting court costs and probation supervision fees from indigent probationers who are unable to pay. Other researchers have revealed that gender, race, and attorney representation r impact whether a warrant would be issued for failure to pay court costs and supervisions fees. This study examined the predictive relationships between race, gender, attorney representation, and warrants being issued. The theoretical framework for this study was the prison-industrial complex that emphasizes how government and private companies' financial interests are linked to the expansion of the penal system. This study addressed the question of whether gender, race, and attorney representation predicted the likelihood of private probation warrants being issued. A quantitative, correlational, cross-sectional design based upon secondary data analysis was used to address the research question. Results from a logistic regression showed that only race predicted the likelihood of private probation warrants being issued. Results also showed that Black males were more likely to have a warrant issued for their arrest. The findings can be used to advocate fair treatment of Black males who are disproportionately affected by unconstitutional practices of private probation companies. Findings can be used to promote social change by advocating that indigent offenders by offered alternative sentences other than jail when they cannot pay court costs and probation fees.