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As the face of aging in our society changes, there is an increasing need for healthy interventions for the elderly. Spirituality and religion are powerful cultural influences for many African Americans and are used as resources to overcome personal, physical and health crises. Churches and other faith-based organizations have become increasingly popular settings to conduct health promotion and research studies, particularly in the African American community. The proposed study is to contextualize the spiritual life and eating behaviors of older adults (63 years and older) using the H.E.A.L. Congregation study. This survey was developed by the research team and utilized a mixed methods approach to assess the role of the church on their health and well-being and administered via Qualtrics to over 300 African Americans across the US. Preliminary analyses identified nearly 75% of participants recognized the church having a role in their spiritual and physical growth.

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The purpose of this study was to examine the value relevance of goodwill impairments in regard to market value. A quantitative methodological approach was used to determine if the relation between goodwill impairments was influenced by different institutional settings, which was the first research question. The second research question was to see if there was a learning effect associated with the use of goodwill impairments that has appeared in the post- implementation period of the mandatory IFRS standards, that were enforced in the European Union in 2005. This was done by statistically comparing data from Swedish firms with data from British firms. The findings show that there are indeed institutional differences, but the evidence also suggests a learning effect to some extent. These findings add to the literature that there are important institutional differences and learning effects associated with the implementation of accounting standards, as well as offering some insight to standard setters on the value relevance of goodwill impairments.

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Student discipline and subsequent placements are a common problem in education. This qualitative phenomenological study addressed a gap in the literature by discovering the experiences of middle school teachers and administrators regarding student discipline, classroom removal, and assignment of students to alternative education. This research describes the development of an interview protocol based on critical incident theory and demonstrates its usage in drawing out thick, rich descriptions which help increase the trustworthiness of qualitative research. Initial interview data are presented to highlight the utilization of critical incident theory to elicit specific information about how participants experienced various critical interactions that influenced academic decisions about the student removal process, the kinds of situations and safety issues they encountered, and training they received for managing student removal. Data were collected using audio recorded and transcribed in-depth interviews using open ended questions with participants. Six teachers and 2 administrators from 3 middle schools in the southern U.S. responded to 15 questions in semistructured interviews that were audio recorded and transcribed. Qualitative analysis of the interviews revealed an overarching theme of managing disruptive classroom behavior. Participants described classroom management difficulties, their methods of dealing with disruptive students, and their emotional reactions to disruptions. Some teachers shared that at times, they reconsidered their decision to teach due to classroom management problems, and some revealed that their classroom management training had been deficient. Recommendations include further research on the degree and kinds of stress resulting from teachers having to deal with student discipline problems. Implications for positive social change include motivating schools to evaluate their programs of continuing teacher education for dealing with classroom discipline and to provide opportunities for teachers to discuss, with their peers, their behavioral and emotional reactions to difficult student encounters, thereby contributing to teacher well-being and retention.

Home-based psychotherapy has expanded in the mental health community; however, little was known about the therapists' comfort level in a home-based venue. The purpose of this quantitative study was to assess therapists' comfort level (TCL) in providing psychotherapy in a home-based setting and how therapeutic competency (TC), therapeutic relationship (TR), and advanced therapeutic training (ATT) related to the comfort level. The social-ecological systems theory and the theory of comfort served as the theoretical frameworks. The present study used the Therapist Comfort Scale, Counseling Competencies Scale-Revised, the Scale to Assess Therapeutic Relationship in Community Mental Health Care-Clinician, and a demographic questionnaire. A multiple linear regression and correlational analysis were conducted to assess the predictive relationships among the variables. The participants were 76 therapists who provided psychotherapy in a home-based setting. The results revealed a statistically significant positive relationship between TCL and TR. This finding indicated that as the TR score increased, TCL also increased. There was a statistically significant positive relationship between TCL and TC, which indicated that as the TC score increased, TCL also increased. There was a statistically significant positive relationship between TCL and ATT, which indicated that as the ATT score increased, TCL also increased. It was hoped that this study's findings can serve to inform and guide the home-based psychotherapists to improve their therapeutic relationship. Once the therapeutic relationship is formed, the therapists will obtain a high level of comfort in discussing concerns openly with the patients, and parents/caregivers. In addition, when therapists reach a high level of comfort, it could make a positive difference in the patients' treatment outcomes. Thus, the findings of this study initiated positive social change at the level of the individual home-based therapist as well as to the vulnerable population that they serve.

A factor analysis was performed using 609 subjects, each of whom completed the 265 Hem self-report problem inventory. Factor analysis was used in this context as the logical first step in the development of the problem inventory. For the purpose of analysis, 240 of the Hems were used. Results suggest that there may be utility in further research involving the problem inventory. A literature review of current diagnostic issues, se 1 f-report inventory issues, diagnostic interviewing issues, and finally, self-report inventory development is included.

The number of culturally diverse project teams has increased significantly over the years, as internationalization within organizations become more common. Individuals are more interconnected than ever, due to increased cultural exchange. The increased globalization also has created many challenges, such as streamlining multinational organizations, management and communication in multicultural settings. Furthermore, there has been studies showing that culturally diverse project teams have both a positive and negative impact on projects. The purpose of this study is to contribute to a deeper understanding of perceived challenges in multicultural project settings. In order to get a deeper understanding of the challenges, the study will address the perceived impacts of cultural differences in regard to the project member, as well as the challenges project members encounters and how these are managed. The author found that the cultural differences were noticeable when adapting to a new culture but faded as the respondents adjusted and became more like the individuals in the new culture. The challenges most of the respondents faced not speaking the language, not being used to the language and surrounded by different accents, which originated from language barriers. There was no universal solution to these challenges, instead, respondents dealt with it their own way or with the help of guidance from organizations. The study was done by conducting semi-structured interviews with a qualitive method to ensure extensive data. There were ten interviews in total, with individuals from different backgrounds and cultures around the world.

No description available.