<p> This study investigated principals' perceptions in the hiring process of classroom teachers in high minority (Latino) schools. Nine secondary principals in five school districts in Washington state were interviewed regarding their perceptions of characteristics of high quality teachers in their school. Data gathered via personal interviews indicated that principals identified teachers who "fit" their schools and their current staff by focusing on state and federal highly qualified mandates and their own subjective criteria for desirable teacher characteristics. Participating administrators promoted what was described as a "colorblind" hiring process that would allow them to remain "ethnically neutral" when hiring teachers. Despite principals' professed desire to provide their students with same-race mentors, the process described had the effect of ensuring that the high percentages of white staff at high minority schools would persist in high minority schools, thus leaving little hope for a change in the ethnic or racial demographics of the teaching staff in these schools.</p>

<p> This study presents the specific problem surrounding the lack of empirical research for improving engagement and ongoing supervision between criminal justice practitioners and offenders. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive single-case study dissertation aimed to investigate job roles and social contact for improvement of engagement with special needs federal offenders in community corrections. This study used a descriptive framework comprised of, education, training, and leadership and management as a special interest. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews used a purposeful and snowball approach. The participants were 10 criminal justice practitioners, five Case Managers and five United States Probation Officers that provide transitional services to the federal offenders with special needs. Three themes emerged based on the participant&rsquo;s perceptions and experiences regarding job roles and social contacts with offenders. The themes were as follows: (a) managing offenders and professionalism, (b) influence of education and training, and (c) setting the tone and culture of the organization. The research discovered that a professional rapport is essential for engaging offenders. This study discovered the ramifications of communicating expectations of transitioning into society and its impact on recidivism. Further implications for leadership to consider based on this study is a need for a comprehensive approach for how to properly mange offenders with special needs. Recommendations for seeking appropriate means for offering professional development opportunities for all practitioners in community corrections is proposed to correctional leaders.</p>

<p> Among the multitude of interventions to address the worst forms of child labor (WFCL), one of the responses to the presence of WFCL has been the institution of child labor monitoring (CLM). While systems to systematically monitor children with respect to their exposure and risks have been implemented, the degree of their efficacy and ultimately their effect on the targeted populations begs academic scrutiny. This dissertation seeks to provide an empirical view of the community-level dynamics that emerge in response to a community-based CLM program and their effects, in turn, on the CLM itself. </p><p> An embedded multiple case study methodology, surveying longitudinally at two points in time using a mix of purposive and probability sampling techniques, was employed for this study. Two communities, Ahokwa in the Western Region, and Dwease in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, were selected as cases. </p><p> The study finds that between the two points of observation &ndash; before and after the introduction of CLM &ndash; a profound reduction of WFCL is observed in Dwease, whereas much less reduction was observed in Ahokwa. A point-by-point analysis within and between the two villages reveals that individual, social and institutional factors worked together to transform behavior in Dwease. The principal change catalysts in Dwease were (a) a heightened awareness of child work hazards and a deepened parental investment in child education working at the individual level, coupled with (b) new norms created by the town's opinion leaders and the emergence of peer accountability at the social level, and (c) monitoring carried out by the Community Data Collection (CDC) and enforcement carried out by the Community Child Protection Committee (CCPC) &ndash; the two new institutions constituting CLM at the community-level. The underlying social dynamic proved to be decisive: a tipping point was crossed in Dwease whereby progressive opinion leaders in the community, who, once sensitized to recognize the pejorative effects of CL/WFCL, created new social norms and spurred a critical mass of community members to rid their community of CL/WFCL. </p><p> This study shows that with sufficient local ownership, and if properly instituted, the tandem operation of child protection committees and child labor monitoring enables a community to effectively detect, police and mitigate the practice of child labor and WFCL.</p>

<p> This qualitative study investigated the information culture and beliefs within two United Church of Christ congregations in Northeast Ohio. One congregation was Open and Affirming (ONA), and one congregation was not. ONA refers to a congregation's decision to be listed as a place where LGBT individuals&mdash;in particular&mdash;are welcomed and accepted. Using a purposive sampling technique, 8 focus groups of 4-8 participants each were asked to discuss content derived from three research question areas: participant beliefs, information that participants used to inform these beliefs, and how this information was used.</p><p> Analysis found that both congregations espoused the superiority of their beliefs about inclusivity, thus creating a paradox whereby their inclusivity involved excluding beliefs of exclusion. Because the ONA congregation preferred a personal expression of belief, they were more comfortable with the potential divisions caused by this paradox than the non-ONA congregation, which preferred a communal expression of belief. </p><p> Analysis also found that most participants relied heavily and placed great authority in information from internal sources, e.g., prayer, meditation, and emotion. The ONA congregation reflected the presence of more unique information, indicating that they approached the Bible and other common religious information critically and with more freedom to come to different conclusions than fundamentalists and biblical literalists. </p><p> Despite these differences in belief expression and information type, the analysis found that both groups showed evidence of Chatman's Small Worlds theory. First, participants showed evidence of unmet information needs. Many lacked confidence in the ability to articulate personal beliefs. Second, participants noted the presence of long-term attendees who determined the relevancy of incoming information. Finally, participants tended to guard against disclosing information about personal problems to other congregants, preferring to anonymously seek out answers. </p><p> The research highlights the social nature of belief formation and the impact of religious tradition, pastoral sermons, and external information on these beliefs. It contains important implications for pluralistic communication and the social nature of organizational legitimization. It extends the literature on belief formation and information science by developing mid-range theories about the processes by which individuals in religious communities use information to form beliefs.</p>

<p> Asthma is the most prevalent chronic illness in the United States. Disparities in asthma treatment in the emergency department prognosticate asthma outcomes in children and adult asthma patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between socio-economic/demographic factors (i.e., ethnicity, income level, insurance type, and location) of asthma patients and receipt of asthma treatment, evaluation, and management in emergency departments in Maryland. Methods: This study was a non-experimental research design. The representative population consisted of 146 adults and children with asthma in Maryland. One-hundred-forty-six cases with codes for management, evaluation, and treatment of mild, moderate, and severe persistent asthma symptoms were extracted from the 2009 State Emergency Department Databases (SEDD). Frequency distribution of the population by marital status, length of stay, gender, ethnicity, admission source, and admission type was displayed. The significance of ethnicity, income level, location, insurance type and management, evaluation, and treatment of mild, moderate, and severe persistent asthma was tested. Results: The number of African Americans presenting themselves to the emergency department for evaluation and management for mild persistent asthma was significantly higher than expected, X&sup2; (6, n = 107) = 17.213, p = .009. This was inconsistent with the literature which stated that African Americans and Hispanics used the emergency department more than any other ethnicity. No significance was found between location and asthma treatment, management, and evaluation; health insurance status and asthma treatment, management, and evaluation; income and asthma treatment, management, and evaluation. Gender was independent from age at admission, length of stay, number of procedures, and total charges. Conclusion: Inconsistent with the literature review the results of this study did not show significance the study variables except for relationship for ethnicity and asthma treatment, evaluation, and management.</p>

<p> <b>Purpose.</b> The investigation sought to determine the significance and or the effects of an ex post facto staffing intervention involving the addition of a Regional (mid-tier) team of instructional leaders as a viable and sustainable solution for increased operational effectiveness year over year, and, if there could be implications on employment outcomes. Furthermore, to determine whether this staffing intervention of adding a Regional (mid-tier) team of instructional leaders affected the primary Andragogical factors used for instructional effectiveness and did the change create a conducive condition for learning for Career Services Leaders from the perspective of Andragogy. </p><p> <b>Design/Methodology/Approach.</b> Mixed-method research utilizing the Modified Instructional Perspectives Inventory (MIPI) originally designed by Henschke (1989), modified appropriately. This study will compare the gap between the Regional Director (RD) and the Director (D) scores on the MIPI to measure possible contributions to employment placement outcomes and determine primary Andragogical factors used for instructional effectiveness for Career Services Leaders. </p><p> <b>Findings.</b> Regarding the influence of Andragogy on placement outcomes for 2011 compared to 2012, the conclusions were as follows: There was no significant relationship of note, however, observably, the wider the gap, the lower the placement rate for 2011. However, the 2012 Employment Rate (ER) indicated that there was a moderate, negative relationship between the gap in Andragogical instructional perspectives and employment rates. The leader learners were operationally effective as a result of the instruction they received from the instructional leaders. The research results support this point, since 2012 employment rates related to the Andragogical gap indicating trust, and both 2011 and 2012 employment rates were dependent upon the region from which they were generated. </p><p> <b>Practical Implications.</b> In higher education for-profit environments involving leadership development, instructional leadership staffing paradigms form the rationale for increased performance and operational effectiveness. </p><p> <b>Originality/Value.</b> The results of this study provided empirical validation for the decision to restructure the Career Services leadership model for continued implementation and sustainability in higher education leadership settings. </p><p> <b>Keywords.</b> Andragogy, Leadership, Career Services, Instructional Leadership, Adult Learning, Trust in Leadership, Regional Directors, Middle Management.</p>

<p>This study explored the opinions and feelings of urban African American young adults and sought to investigate their perception of discrimination and negative labeling by agency professionals and the impact it had on their attitude and behavior. Furthermore, it sought to discover how personal and vicarious experiences with discrimination shape youth identity, community help seeking patterns and generate a mistrust of service providers. </p><p> Results found that majority of the subjects reported that they felt mistrust and disconnect from agency professionals based on their personal experiences and those communicated to them by friends and family members. In addition, subjects described a reluctance to get involved or voluntarily engage with law enforcement based on acquired knowledge or past experiences or treatment. </p>

<p> The purpose of the current study was to address the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) status and psychological distress within the adolescent population. Data was acquired from the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) 2011-2012, a state-wide phone survey which addresses health issues among the resident population. The present study used data from 2,1 04 California adolescents, utilizing variables relating to demographics, general health condition, and mental health.</p><p> Results indicated a statistically significant relationship between BMI and psychological distress, with overweight adolescents experiencing more distress and depression than their underweight/healthy weight counterparts. Gender and perceived general health condition were both significantly related to distress, with females and those of poor perceived general health condition experiencing greater psychological distress, regardless of weight status. This study has implications for social work policy and practice, especially in work with youth and families.</p>

<p> The purpose of this project was to develop a grant that, if funded, would guide aged-out foster youth to become independent and self-sustaining young adults who make a positive contribution to our society. The grant proposal contains a literature review of the plight of foster youth; they encounter a plethora of issues during the course of their lives. They are disproportionately represented in areas such as crime, homelessness, mental illness, lack of educational achievement, unemployment and substance abuse. The proposed program would guide the youth concerning these issues.</p><p> The chosen funder was the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The group home would serve 12 multiethnic male aged-out foster youth over a 3-year period. Services provided would include weekly mentoring, weekly support groups, education and career planning, health and mental health, substance abuse prevention and treatment, and skills development needed for transitioning to independent living. The actual submission of the grant application was not a requirement of the thesis project.</p>

<p> Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest rates of electrification and some of the worst education statistics worldwide. In the absence of strong infrastructure for a reliable grid system and quality universal primary schooling, the poor suffer significantly. Though substantial research has been done on both issues separately, the relationship between the two has yet to be explored. This thesis uses social justice theories to introduce the connections between energy poverty and an individual&rsquo;s education capabilities through a case study in Zambia. Case study research was carried out in the urban low-resource settlements of Lusaka, Zambia over a period of two months with Lifeline Energy, using methods of participant observation.</p><p> Drawing on trends discovered in survey responses, interviews and feedback from a distribution of renewable technologies, this study demonstrates that a lack of modern forms of energy detracts from education. By synthesizing the data with Martha Nussbaum's capabilities approach and Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir&rsquo;s scarcity theory, the research reveals that energy poverty hinders an individual&rsquo;s ability to study and gain a quality education and diminishes their available cognitive capacity to learn by tunneling attention to the resource deficit. Furthermore, it supports the claim that energy poverty is not gender neutral. The research concludes that the scarcity caused by energy poverty can be lessened by the investment in and use of small-scale renewable technologies which alleviates some of the daily stress and grind of poverty. This thesis lays the groundwork to recognize energy poverty as an injustice.</p><p> <b>Keywords: Energy Poverty, Education, Gender, Sub-Saharan Africa, Scarcity, Capabilities Approach.</b></p>