published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

This qualitative inquiry built on a relational and dynamic epistemology, distinguishes between four psychologies of unemployment, agency-deprivation, social perception, self-perception and finally dialectical. Within a dialectical psychology of unemployment a dialogical analysis is developed which takes the locus of intervention in unemployment as the interaction between unemployed people, those that work with them and the social knowledge that surrounds the phenomenon. The inquiry uses a longitudinal participatory action approach with two training and guidance centres in Central Scotland, 'Strategic Delivery' and the 'Young Person's Centre' between 1999 and 2001. This involved participant observation on the New Deal and Skillseekers; training programmes, meetings and interviews with managers, unemployed clients and front-line staff. 14 young people were followed through their pre-vocational training between January 2ooo and April 2ooo and follow up interviews were carried out in February and March 2ool. The study also involved social consultancy on measuring soft skills at SD and developing a person-centred approach at the YPC, where the YPC became understood as a multi-voiced organization[Bakhtin (1986)]. The inquiry produced actions, recommendations to the organizations and interpretative findings around the use of a dialogical analysis. Three co-created 'actions' on self-assessment measures for unemployed people are described. The study recommends that two key foundational concepts in the area of unemployment 'social inclusion' and 'employability' need to be reconsidered for this cohort of young people where 42.9% remain unemployed at the end of the research. Finally in making sense of organizational change the study explores the extent to which managers within the YPC were in a dialogue with the socio-political discourse and the movement in meaning of the term 'person-centred'. The study points to the importance of organizations developing an authentic dialogue with their client group. It assesses the role that psychology is playing in the current dominance of a self-perception psychology of unemployment.

by Leung Tat-Kwong. / Thesis (M.S.W.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1984. / Bibliography: leaves 208-212

International students at our institutions of higher education have educational and personal needs which extend beyond the classroom. These needs are supposedly provided for by student personnel services, but little data has been collected which examines how international students use student services, and if their use differs significantly from use by American students. If their perceptions of students services and use of these resources does differ, what does that signify? This study measures the use and perceptions of student services by international and American students at Southern Oregon State College. Twenty-one philosophical objectives were examined for levels of importance, effectiveness, and resultant need. A list of twenty resources at the College were compiled and respondents were asked to rate the helpfulness of each resource. Demographic data on students included residence, length of time on campus, involvement in extracurricular activities, and other characteristics and was compared to knowledge of student services resources. International students were asked to identify their English language proficiency and this was compared with their need for student services objectives. All three hypotheses that there would be no differences between American and international students; in their perceptions cf the;:, importance, effectiveness, and helpfulness of student services were rejected at the . 05 level of significance. International students found three objectives to be ineffective, and the focus of these objectives suggested that cultural differences may contribute to student problems. A correlation between self-reported English language proficiency and satisfaction of needs for student services objectives was noted, while no relationship between TOEFL score and satisfaction of needs was found. Southern Oregon State College may want to reconsider its orientation procedures in light of the number of "don't know'' responses from students when asked about a variety of student services. Awareness of student services and the effectiveness of those services for both American and international students are issues which this study aims to help the college address.

This study examined the support services offered to kinship providers through the Kinship Family Center and find ways to increase and/or improve these support services for kinship care providers who are caring for children that are dependents of San Bernardino County.

This research portrays a paradigm for the assessment of aging services to support populations aging in place. The dissertation was designed to establish a model to identify and evaluate senior ready communities. Area specific social programs and services are identified. In order to meet the growing needs of aging populations, the dynamic representation of existing services and the need for services that could be developed in certain communities require reevaluation in current planning, restructuring, and/or community development.

M. Tech. Entrepreneurship / The purpose of this study was to assess the structures, systems and processes employed by departments, colleges and divisions in open distance learning (ODL) institutions used for the management of student enquiries on a day-to-day basis. The study also aims to provide ODL institutions with recommendations that will improve their management of student enquiries and service delivery.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Social Service Management / Master / Master of Social Sciences

The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the nature of local school-community human service agency collaboration undertaken to address the needs of at-risk youth. The study focused on the experience of four youth services teams in two Oregon counties. A qualitative, multiple-case study approach was used as the research design. Inquiry was guided by four questions: 1) Why and how was the collaboration initiated?, 2) What is the structure of the collaboration?, 3) What are the characteristics of the process?, and 4) What are the outcomes of the process? Data were collected through interviewing, observation, and document review. The analysis of the data proceeded inductively using a content analysis strategy. Based on a preponderance of evidence, conclusions were drawn. They included: 1. Collaboration became a viable response strategy when organizations realized that unilateral solutions were ineffective. 2. Organizational support for collaboration at. both the administrative and staff level was important. 3. The conveners of the collaboration exercised informal rather than formal authority. 4. In-kind contributions of a limited nature constituted the resource base of the collaboration. 5. Attention was paid to facilitating the process of collaboration itself. 6. Leadership of the collaboration rested primarily with the education sector. 7. While the broad vision of the collaboration was embraced by all members, at a more personal level the vision was translated into differing objectives. 8. Both direct and indirect benefits sustained members' commitment to the collaboration. 9. Generally, parent involvement was felt to be integral to the success of the collaborative effort. 10. The issue of confidentiality was addressed. 11. Collaboration resulted in improved communication among schools and agencies, but the increased understanding was largely confined to team members. 12. Collaboration appeared to facilitate access to services and service delivery for some at-risk students; however, limited documentation made it difficult to assess the team's impact on student outcomes. / Graduation date: 1993