In recent years there has been a growing interest regarding the integration of evidence-based practice into social work curricula and practice (Howard, McMillen, & Pollio, 2003; Thyer, 2004). However, there has also been a growing concern about the proliferation of novel interventions that lack empirical support and yet make claims of efficacy in the absence of evidence (Thyer, 2007) as well as conventional social work interventions that lack empirical support and yet remain unquestioned (Gambrill, 2006). Although studies have been conducted that have examined the theoretical orientations and other practice patterns of clinical social workers, to date, with the exception of the pilot study (Pignotti & Thyer, 2009) that preceded this dissertation, no study has systematically examined the intervention choices of licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs) including the use of novel unsupported therapies. The present dissertation examined the reported usage of novel and conventional unsupported and empirically supported therapies by 400 LCSWs from 39 different states who responded to an Internet survey. The purpose of the study was to determine what interventions were reported currently being used by LCSWs, reasons for choosing interventions, and their attitudes towards evidence-based practice. Prior to data analysis, the list of the therapies reported being used by LCSWs was presented to a panel of expert reviewers and therapies were classified as empirically supported therapies (ESTs), novel unsupported therapies (NUTs) or conventional unsupported therapies (CUTs). The study hypotheses were that: 1) females would be more likely than males to use CUTs and NUTs; 2) respondents who report an affiliation with eastern/new age or nondenominational/spiritual religions would be more likely to use NUTs; 3) clinical experience would be more highly rated than empirical evidence as a reason for selecting a therapy; 4) LCSWs with a theoretical orientation of cognitive-behavioral would value evidence from research more highly than LCSWs of other orientations and 5) LCSWs who use NUTs and/or CUTs will score higher on the Divergence subscale of the Evidence-Based Practice Attitudes Scale (EBPAS; Aarons, 2004) than those who did not use such therapies. The results showed that although an overwhelming majority of the sample reported using ESTs (98%), three-quarters of participants also reported using at least one NUT and 86% used at least one CUT. The hypothesis that females were more likely to use NUTs and CUTs was supported and females also used a higher number of NUTs. The hypothesis that participants reporting eastern/new age and nondenominational/spiritual religious beliefs use a higher number of NUTs was also supported, although they were not more likely to use any NUT. It was found that participants, as hypothesized, valued clinical experience over research evidence and LCSWs with a theoretical orientation of cognitive-behavioral were found to value research evidence more highly than those of other theoretical orientations. The hypothesis that LCSWs who use NUTs and/or CUTs will score higher on the Divergence subscale of the EBPAS was not supported. This study offers preliminary evidence that the use of NUTs is widespread among LCSWs, although the limitation is noted that the present sample may not necessarily be representative of all LCSWs. It also appears that given the fact that actuarial judgment has been shown to be more accurate than clinical judgment (Dawes, Faust & Meehl, 1989) LCSWs may be under-valuing research evidence. It is also evident that the use of ESTs and NUTs are not necessarily mutually exclusive and although the EBPAS indicates that overall our sample had a positive attitude towards EBP, future research needs to examine a fuller definition of the term that includes their understanding of the term and specific practices. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Social Work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2009. / Date of Defense: June 18, 2009. / Empirically Supported Treatments, Evidence Based Practice, Social Work Interventions, Pseudoscience, Novel Therapies / Includes bibliographical references. / Bruce A. Thyer, Professor Directing Dissertation; Kenneth Brummel-Smith, University Representative; Martell Teasley, Committee Member.

Hispanics are one of the fastest growing ethnic minority populations in the United States with Mexicans and Mexican Americans representing the largest portion of this population. Concerns about cultural competence thrust acculturation and acculturative stress into the discussion of unique cultural experiences that may affect the functioning of Mexican and Mexican American families. However, the differences in family role expectations and the social capital of family members have not been discussed despite their potential relationship to acculturative stress. Prior to examining bivariate and multivariate relationships regarding these variables, the English version of the Personal Social Capital Scale was validated. The 9-item Personal Social Capital Scale (α=.85) and bonding (α=.83) and bridging subscales (α=.85) demonstrated acceptable levels of reliability. This version of the Personal Social Capital Scale also demonstrated appropriate model fit after allowing several error terms to correlate producing the following fit indices: χ2/df=2.18 (χ2=50.1, df=23), RMSEA=.06, CFI=.98, IFI=.98, RFI=.94, TLI=.97, and NFI=.96. The construct validity of the scale produced mixed results. The Pearson's correlation coefficient (r=-.441, pr=.17, pr=.20, p The bivariate relationships tested did not reveal any significant findings, as acculturation was not a significantly significant predictor of parental (β=-.02, p=.71) or marital reward value (β=-.03, p=.61) or parental (β=-.04, p=.48) and marital commitment (β=-.05, p=.35). Additionally, acculturation was not a statistically significant predictor of social capital for either the linear (β=-.03, p=.61) or the curvilinear model (β=-.03, p=.61), and all bivariate tests indicated that acculturation accounted for a minute portion of variance for all dependent variables. The final part of this study tested several multivariate relationships to identify predictors of acculturative stress. Acculturation, family role expectations, and social capital were entered into a six-step hierarchical regression model to identify predictors of acculturative stress. The final step of the hierarchical regression model accounted for 16% (R2=.16). An alternative step of the final model entering bonding and bridging social capital as separate variables increased the amount of variance explained (R2=.20). In the alternative model, the demographic variables age (β=.13, p=.04), lower income status (β=.20, pp=.03) were statistically significant predictors of acculturative stress with all demographic variables accounting for approximately 8% of the variable's variances. Of the primary variables of interest, only marital commitment (β=.13, p=.06), bonding social capital (β=-.22, pp=.23) met criteria for entry into the model, but only bonding social capital was a statistically significant predictor of acculturative stress. The creation and entry of the interaction term between acculturation and marital reward value (β=.84, pp=.02; marital reward value β=-.64, p=.02), which became statistically significant predictors of acculturative stress as conditional effects. The results from this study indicate that the Personal Social Capital Scale demonstrates acceptable reliability supported by a well-fitting model. However, interpretations of the Personal Social Capital Scores may be limited given the validity results. Additionally, different aspects of acculturation should be examined to identify components that may better predict parental and marital reward value and commitment among people of Mexican descent. Major tests in this study did reveal promising results. It appears bonding aspects of social capital may assist in mitigating acculturative stress, while certain conditional circumstance involving acculturation and marital reward may relate to lower levels of acculturative stress as well. Considering acculturation and marital reward value together (i.e., interaction effects) may also be important in predicting acculturative stress as increases in acculturation and identification with one's marital role may prove to be a difficult balance for people of Mexican descent. However, researchers and social work practitioners should exercise caution when utilizing these results given the emergence of unique effects (i.e., suppression effects), the small effect sizes for individual predictors and limited slope difference for high and low levels of the interaction term. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Social Work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2010. / Date of Defense: March 4, 2010. / Social Capital, Family Roles, Acculturative Stress, Acculturation, Cultural Change, Hispanics, Latinos / Includes bibliographical references. / Martell Teasley, Professor Directing Dissertation; Joseph Hellweg, University Representative; Neil Abell, Committee Member.

A critical review exploring "at-risk" ethical practice of marriage and family therapy determined that there existed no empirical literature focusing upon the antecedent, correlative, or causal factors of unethical behaviors among LMFTs. Responding to this gap, this study was designed to test the hypothesis that a significant relationship would be found between caregiver stress and at-risk ethical practice among a sample of LMFTs of Florida. Two research questions were developed to help guide an exploratory component of this study with the hope of identifying factors contributing to the understanding of at-risk practice. Surveys containing a demographic collection tool, an instrument to measure the dependent variable (at risk ethical practice), and three instruments to measure five independent variables (caregiver stress, compassion fatigue, burnout, and satisfaction with life) were sent to a randomly selected sample of one-half (n=549) of the LMFTs in the state of Florida. After a 90-day data collection window, 82 useable surveys were returned (15%). The data were found to be significantly non-normal. Upon analyses, no significant relationship between caregiver stress and at risk practice emerged; therefore the null hypothesis was not rejected. In the exploratory portion of the study, only compassion fatigue emerged with a significant predictive relationship (R2=.140; p=.002) for at-risk practice among all the independent variables and demographic data. Nearly all respondents (86.4%) identified at least one area for which they were at-risk for practicing outside the boundaries of the AAMFT Code of Ethics. The sample for this study was remarkably healthy with positively non-normal scores for caregiver stress, compassion fatigue, burnout, and satisfaction with life. The validity of this study was challenged by a very low response rate, a non-normal and very healthy sample, and unacceptably poor psychometric performance of the Ethics At-Risk Test for Marriage and Family Therapists (Brock, 1997)—the instrument utilized to measure the dependent variable. Recommendations for future research resulting from the findings of this study primarily advocate studies designed to resolve the psychometric problems of measuring at-risk ethical practice. Following the resolution of the scaling problems, a program of research that recruits larger and more representative samples of cross-discipline professionals and compares this sample with professionals who have been adjudicated for ethical violations is suggested to begin to determine the antecedent, correlative, and causal factors related to professional caregivers' practice outside the boundaries of ethical and legal constraints. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Family & Child Sciences in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for a degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2007. / Date of Defense: June 10, 2005. / Ethics-At-Risk, Ethics, Caregiver Stress, Compassion Fatigue, Boundary Violations / Includes bibliographical references. / Charles R. Figley, Professor Directing Dissertation; Leo Sandon, Outside Committee Member; Ronald L. Mullis, Committee Member; Christine A. Readdick, Committee Member.

Criminological and sociological theories suggest that peers play a significant role in reinforcing delinquent behavior. Numerous studies discuss the negative impact of peer influence variables. Unfortunately, little attention is provided to the protective factors of positive peers. One program that utilizes positive peer influence to redirect delinquent behavior so that participants will not reenter the juvenile justice system is the teen court model. To date, teen court research has not evaluated the impact of positive peer influence or determined whether positive peer influence even exists within these courts. This research not only addresses gaps in criminological, sociological, and teen court theory, it fills a research void concerning the operations of teen courts and their potential impacts. The results of this study also establish a foundation for examining how a neglected but potentially critical dimension of youth's relationships, positive peers, may both reduce and deter delinquency. This research reports the development and validation of the Teen Court Peer Influence Scale (TCPIS). The TCPIS was disseminated to 404 participants in six teen courts in the state of Florida. The sample was systematically split to form two groups. The first group was used for the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and the second for the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results from these analyses support that positive peer influence is operationalized by three latent constructs, three correlations between factors, and fourteen observed variables. The domains focus on developing positive cognitions, positive identity development, and modeling. The theoretical model derived by the EFA and CFA was a good fit to the data with all fit indices meeting appropriate standards. The reliability for the TCPIS was .88 and the scale showed promising construct, concurrent, and predictive validity using delinquency measures. The results from this study fill conceptual and empirical gaps in teen court research by identifying theoretical mechanisms of positive peer influence. The TCPIS can now be utilized in future teen court research to determine whether specific strategies used by these courts are effective. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Social Work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2007. / Date of Defense: May 23, 2007. / Exploratory factor analysis, Teen courts, Positive peer influence, Measurement development, Psychometrics, Confirmatory factor analysis / Includes bibliographical references. / Darcy C. Siebert, Professor Directing Dissertation; Daniel P. Mears, Outside Committee Member; C. Aaron McNeece, Committee Member.

This thesis describes, interprets and 'imagines' grand and constituent metaphors for an organisational culture of a state wide ambulance service and addresses the paucity of research relating to the ambulance industry in Australia.

Thesis (M. P. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 1973. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 321-327). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center.

Det senaste århundradet har konsumtionen växt och det handlas mer än vad människan behöver för sina grundläggande behov. Då det finns fler företag som erbjuder samma sorts varor och tjänster leder detta till att det är många som konkurrerar om samma kunder. Det är då viktigt att som butik kunna erbjuda något utöver det vanliga för att bli mer konkurrenskraftig. Ett sätt kan vara att erbjuda kunden en god personlig service som enligt många marknadsförare kommer att bli ett mer betydelsefullt konkurrensmedel i framtiden. Grunden till bra personlig service är att säljaren sätter kunden i fokus och utgår ifrån dennes önskemål och behov.   Syftet med uppsatsen var att finna svar på vår problemformulering som är hur stor påverkan den personliga servicen har på kunden, vidare om det leder till en långvarig kundrelation.  Med denna uppsats vill vi att butikspersonal ska få en ökad förståelse för vad kunden efterfrågar gällande personlig service, vilket även kan stärka butikens ställning gentemot konkurrenter. Undersökningen är baserad på den kvalitativa undersökningsmetoden då vi ville få nyanserad information och sätta få begränsningar på de svar som respondenterna skulle ge oss. Undersökningen gjordes i tre möbelvaruhus där vi intervjuade respondenter. Vi intervjuade även en säljare i respektive butik som hade ett stort intresse för personlig service.   Slutligen med denna uppsats har vi kunnat konstatera att personlig service påverkar kunden i stor utsträckning och säljarna i en butik har stor inverkan på om kunden återkommer till butiken. En kund vill känna sig välkommen och bli trevligt bemött. Då säljaren är butikens ansikte utåt är det av största betydelse att denne då kan erbjuda kunden en bra personlig service. Uppfylls detta leder det till fler långvariga kundrelationer för butiken.

At the conclusion of a three-year grant cycle (2003-2006), educators and administrators as well as the general public in the state of Texas are questioning whether or not service-learning is indeed a powerful means of preparing students to become more caring and responsible parents and citizens. This study was designed to measure teachers’ perceived effectiveness of service-learning. The Texas Center for Service- Learning provided a list of districts participating in the K-12 School-Community Partnership Grant Project and contact information for district grant coordinators. Coordinators in participating districts were then contacted by phone and e-mail to submit names and contact information for teachers participating in the service-learning program. Teachers whose districts are located in central and southeast Texas were interviewed during the spring 2006 on their campuses, and teachers from more remote parts of Texas were interviewed in Austin during the Summer 2006 Institute. The sample that was used in this study includes six elementary, four middle, and two high school teachers who have been involved in the development and implementation of service-learning programs in their districts. In addition to targeting teachers at the elementary and middle school level, both male and female service-learning teachers were interviewed as well as teachers who also assumed the role as campus and/or district service-learning coordinator. Data collected from the service-learning teachers interviewed was analyzed to generate a composite picture of teachers’ perceptions and attitudes toward servicelearning. Once interviews were completed, data were transcribed, coded for audit trail purposes, printed onto separate sheets, and those sheets that apparently related to the same content were categorized into provisional categories. Five important salient themes emerged as conclusions of the study. The first conclusion relates to service-learning work and competing priorities. The second conclusion illustrates service-learning as having a higher purpose for the teachers who have chosen to become involved in it. The third conclusion was reached by examining the role of grant funding. The fourth conclusion was drawn from situations where teachers and communities are promoting a culture of service, and the fifth and final conclusion stresses the importance of teacher leadership in the success of servicelearning programs.

In this paper, we design an integrated mobile service environment (MSE) for the handheld devices (e.g., PDAs). The integral MSE is a coherent and intact service architecture built on the front-end (handheld devices), which allow the mobile users to choose and subscribe their request services provided by the Service Provider. The architectures of MSE consist of desktop agent (DA) and service agent (SA) at the top layer, communication layer at the bottom layer and a virtual machine (VM) layer between them. Desktop agent is used as the user interface and responsible for the local process management; service agent is downloaded from the back-end server to the client. The communication layer adopts XML-RPC as the communication protocol between the client and back-end server. The XML-RPC data size is reduced by our compression mechanism to shorten the transmission time. The virtual machine supports cross-platform operation for the top layer. Besides, we devise a cache mechanism to automatically store recently used and reused SAs in the limited space of handheld devices. This cache mechanism can let the mobile users get the SA they want efficiently. Finally, we implement a real-time stock transaction system to experiment the performance and the applicability of our MSE architecture.