abstract: Child abuse and neglect is a devastating yet preventable social problem. Currently, early childhood home visitation services are the primary approach to preventing maltreatment and improving child well-being in the United States. However, existing literature suggests that improvement is needed regarding how home visitation professionals identify and respond to risk factors for child abuse and neglect. Although there is substantial multidisciplinary literature that investigates the utility of standardized measures to determine future risk for maltreatment, there has been minimal inquiry into the validity of early childhood home visitation assessment instruments to accurately identify and classify children and their families by their risk for future maltreatment. In response to the dearth in the literature, the purpose of this dissertation was to examine the utility of the Healthy Families Parenting Inventory (HFPI) to predict a family’s risk for future maltreatment. Families enrolled in Healthy Families Arizona, a child abuse and neglect prevention program, were followed for 12 months after the completion of the baseline HFPI to measure if the family had received an investigation of maltreatment from the public child welfare system. Bivariate results indicated that the generated risk classifications of the HFPI and the overall total composite score were related to the occurrence of a future maltreatment investigation. Specifically, the results from the binary logistic regression models provided evidence that as a family’s score increased on the inventory, the likelihood of receiving an investigation of maltreatment decreased. Further, significant relationships were found between a family’s score on several individual items of the HFPI and the occurrence of a maltreatment investigation. This dissertation concludes with a discussion of potential avenues of research on the topic of risk assessment in prevention programs serving at-risk families. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Social Work 2018

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of San Bernardino County’s Family Visitation Centers (FVC) and their effect on improving rates of reunification in families that use the visit centers, as opposed to those families who do not use the visit centers. The FVC were developed out of the Department Human Services Redesign to enhance the visitation experience for families, staff and others involved in the process. The FVC centers are a place to provide safe visits, in a non-sterile environment, for children to maintain the bonds with their parents that they have been removed from by child welfare while in a reunification process. The County of San Bernardino has invested approximately 1.9 million dollars annually into the FVC’s, and to date, there has not been a clear evaluation as to the effectiveness in reunifying families faster with usage of the FVC. The researchers used a descriptive statistical approach to examine the effect FVC’s has on the reunification process. The research methods used were quantitative in design and included comparative research, looking both at the results of clients use and non-use of the FVC’s. Data was collected February 2017. The size of our sample was ninety cases that used the FVC, and ninety families that did not use the center in the same regions, but were participating in visits and in reunification services, 180 families in total. To ensure that a random sample was used, a third-party person collected statistical information from Case Management System/Child Welfare System (CMS/CWS). The list was composed from preselected data included in the San Bernardino County Visitation Center Instrument. The variables used included families that were in the reunification process and having visits either at a CFS office or at the FVC, primary and secondary reason for removal, age of youngest child, age of parent, race/ethnicity, if a visit occurred and number of months in placement. Data was collected using every fifth family was selected, the researchers received a list, with only the above pertinent information for each of the families. The researchers did not need any Protected Identifying Information (PII) and no human subjects were used. All items related to the research was maintained in electronic form on password protected computers and was only calculated and read in a protected area. The hope of this research project was to find out if the money being invested in the FVC was working toward returning children in shorter time frames, than the traditional way of handling visits within the county at the CFS offices. Results from this study could change things dramatically within CFS. Positive outcomes could allow for more outside contracted agencies to be used to promote faster reunification, while lightening the duties of the social worker. Negative results could result in the FVC losing funding, the department would go back to supervising the visits within the offices, many social worker hours would be used supervising visits, the visit could be affected by the presence of the social worker. The outcomes could change business on a daily basis for the department or FVC in that, adjustments may need to be made, and provide a different standard of ideology of what visitation should be for families that are trying to work through their case plans to reunify with their children. This study found families who used visitation centers had longer placement episodes lengths than non-visitation center users. This outcome is contrary to our assumption, use of visitation centers help families reunify in less time

Time has changed. The police can no longer take it for granted that they can conduct ¡§household investigation¡¨ simply on the basis of the 9th article of Police Law. After lifting of the martial law in July 15, 1987, Taiwan government observed its constitution and instituted a new system, Police House Visitation Practice, by the Interior Ministry to continue the practice of monitoring its citizenry. However, the 5th and 6th articles of this law which stipulated the citizens¡¦ obligations and penalties were apparently in violation of a higher law, Administrative Procedure Law. In particular they are against the 150th and the 158th articles of Administrative Procedure Law which maintains that acts or regulations should have their bases on law and should not against the spirit of this law (150th article) and these acts and regulation should be nullified if they have no basis of law and they infringe the rights and freedom of movement of its citizenry (158th article). Based on these principles, the 9th article of Police Act was therefore abolished by the Interior Ministry in October 31, 2000. In July of 2007, the 1st item of the 11th article of Police Operation Practice was amended and specifies that: ¡§The Interior Ministry should stipulate the policies for police officers in their beats to visit households, to provide service, to investigate and to maintain the social order.¡¨ The 60-year practice of police ¡§household investigation¡¨ becomes a history. Household investigation is no long the main theme of police activities, instead other major functions such as crime prevention, service and social security survey are the main focuses of police operations. This study examines and evaluates the soundness of police beat investigation from the perspectives of the basic theories of administrative law including five (5) major frameworks of administration: principles, organizations, authorities, remedies and supervision. This study also seeks to identify the potential problems and discuss the feasible remedies for any deficiency of this act. And finally policymakers can make good use of the findings and recommendations of this study to enact sound police polices to promote and protect the well-being of their constituents.

The purpose of this study was to identify Canadian critical care nurses’ attitudes about the importance of families in nursing care in adult intensive care units (ICUs), explore their perceptions of family-centered care (FCC), and examine policies and practices in place that promote FCC in adult ICUs. A web-based survey was used with a sample of members (N = 207) of the Canadian Association of Critical Care Nurses. Using the Families Importance in Nursing Care: Nurses’ Attitudes (FINC-NA) instrument, it was found that age and years of ICU experience were positively related to more positive attitudes (n = 193), while direct care providers had lower scores than nurses in other roles. Nurses identified benefits for patients, families, and staff associated with FCC, but also outlined challenges in implementing FCC, including comfort of nurses and a lack of support from team members. Nurses’ responses to questions about FCC policies and practices illustrated concerns with the implementation of FCC in the units the nurses worked in. The results of this study have implications for practice, education, and research.

Inaug.-Diss.--Kunstgeschichte--München, 1971. / Bibliogr. p. 254-268.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2015-12-09T14:08:40Z No. of bitstreams: 1 marcelleleandrodias.pdf: 1744229 bytes, checksum: ebdd44aa0c6ad443f4b47401fc2106ae (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2015-12-09T14:55:36Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 marcelleleandrodias.pdf: 1744229 bytes, checksum: ebdd44aa0c6ad443f4b47401fc2106ae (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-12-09T14:55:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 marcelleleandrodias.pdf: 1744229 bytes, checksum: ebdd44aa0c6ad443f4b47401fc2106ae (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-25 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Dentre os grupos de insetos associados às bromélias, encontram-se as vespas sociais. Estudos que verificam se plantas são um substrato adequado para nidificação destas vespas e quais espécies de vespas as utilizam ainda são escassos. Trabalhos dessa natureza ajudam a compreender a escolha do local de nidificação, que é um elemento muito importante na defesa por ocultamento, a fim de proteger a prole contra predação. Além disso, apresentam um crescente interesse como agentes polinizadores e atuam como visitantes florais sobrepondo-se às abelhas na exploração dos recursos em áreas tropicais. Apesar da elevada importância ecológica, ainda existe pouco conhecimento sobre muitos aspectos que envolvam a associação entre vespas e bromélias. Neste contexto, a presente dissertação está estruturada em dois tópicos, onde os estudos foram conduzidos em um fragmento urbano de Floresta Atlântica no município de Juiz de Fora (MG), Sudeste do Brasil. O primeiro tópico teve como objetivos identificar as espécies de vespas que nidificam nas espécies Billbergia horrida Regel e Portea petropolitana (Wawra) Mez e verificar se elas são um bom substrato para esses ninhos. Foi encontrado um total de 34 ninhos de vespas sob as folhagens das bromélias P. petropolitana e B. horrida. As espécies mais frequentes foram Mischocyttarus drewseni com 7 ninhos e indivíduos não identificados da subfamília Eumeninae com 7 ninhos. Entre as duas espécies de bromélia, P. petropolitana foi considerada um bom substrato de nidificação para as vespas levando em consideração a análise do sucesso dos ninhos. O segundo tópico trata da identificação das espécies de vespas que compõem a parcela de visitantes da bromélia P. petropolitana e descreve os comportamentos exibidos durante a visitação. Duas espécies de vespas foram registradas utilizando recurso floral de P. petropolitana: Polybia platycephala (Richards) e Agelaia vicina (De Sausurre) em meio à presença de formigas e abelhas. Cinco atos comportamentais foram observados durante a visitação das vespas: pouso em flor, procura pela fonte de néctar, retirada do recurso, autolimpeza e saída da flor. Em suma, este trabalho pode servir de base para novos estudos que abordam um número maior de registros para ampliar o conhecimento sobre aspectos da biologia das bromélias e principalmente do comportamento das vespas, sugerindo assim, a conservação das mesmas que são peças importantes para a manutenção do ambiente onde se encontram. / Social wasps are among the insect groups associated to the bromeliads. Studies dealing with the potential of plants be a suitable substrate to nesting of social wasps are scarce. Such studies contribute to the comprehension of the choice of nesting site, which is a very important element in defense by hiddenness, in order to protect the offspring against predation. Besides, these insects present a growing interest as pollinating agents, acting as floral visitors and overlapping the bees in the exploitation of resources in tropical areas. Despite the high ecological importance, little is know about the aspects involving the association between wasps and bromeliads. So, the present dissertation is structured in two topics, and the studies were conducted in an urban fragment of Atlantic Forest of the municipality of Juiz de Fora (MG), Southeastern Region of Brazil. The first topic aimed to identify the species of wasps that nest in the bromeliads Billbergia horrida Regel and Portea petropolitana (Wawra) Mez and verify if these plants represent a good substrate to the nests. A total of 34 nests of wasps were found below the leaves of P. petropolitana and B. horrida. The most frequent species were Mischocyttarus drewseni (De Sausurre) and unidentified specimens of the subfamily Eumeninae with seven nests, each. Among the bromeliad species, P. petropolitana was considered a good nesting substrate to the wasps, taking in account the analysis of success of the nests. The second topic deals with the identification of the species of wasps that visit the bromeliad P. petropolitana and describes the exhibited behavior during the visitation. Two species of wasps were recorded using floral resources of P. petropolitana: Polybia platycephala (Richards) and Agelaia vicina (De Sausurre), besides ants and bees. Five behavioral acts were observed during the visitation of the wasps: landing on flower, searching for the nectar source, removal of the resource, self cleaning and leave the flower. In summary, this study can be a base to new studies that approach a larger number of records in order to enhance the knowledge about aspects of the biology of bromeliads and mainly about the behavior of the wasps, suggesting its conservation, which are important part for the maintenance of the environment where live.

Due to the rise of monoculture in agricultural production, insect biodiversity has sharply declined in agroecosystems due to the reduction in host plant biodiversity. This includes declines in populations of native pollinators, which reduces the ambient pollination services received by crops and increases the reliance on managed pollinators like European honeybees (Apis mellifera). One way to combat this decline in pollination services is to develop crop varieties that have high attraction to pollinators, this can have a dual effect of inducing native pollinators to move deep into agricultural fields from adjacent habitats like woodland or meadow strips, as well as retaining managed honeybees within crop fields and improving their efficacy. Attraction can be determined by many traits including floral morphology, pigmentation, and chemical cues like fragrance. Under higher ambient temperature the floral temperature rises, resulting in several potential effects. A warmer flower is likely to emit a larger volume of volatile compounds, as well as to be an attractive resting place for ectothermic pollinators, and yet high floral temperature may reduce pollen viability. The goal of this study is to first assess the effects of floral traits, particularly morphology and pigmentation, on floral temperature relative to ambient conditions, and secondarily, how flower temperature differentials alongside floral traits may affect pollinator foraging preferences. Our findings indicate that floral morphology and pigmentation both influence floral temperature differentials, and that floral morphology, pigmentation, and temperature differentials influence visitation by native pollinators (bumblebees and sweat bees). Floral traits and their influence on temperature are potentially important targets for the improvement of pollinator visitation to sunflower cultivars and the improvement of yields.

No description available.

National parks have famously been called "America's best idea" and preserve the nation's natural and cultural resources for the enjoyment of all. One of the current working priorities of the National Park Service (NPS) is enhancing the relevancy and engagement of the national parks with diverse audiences, especially for underserved groups. To address this priority, transportation is needed to provide access to national parks, but transportation may not be equally accessible to all groups in society. Understanding the effects of transportation on visitation to the national parks by racial/ethnic groups is essential for the NPS to improve the accessibility of transportation systems and encourage greater visitation by racial/ethnic minority groups. Moreover, transportation can be more than a means of access, it can also be a form of recreation itself, providing opportunities for visitors to experience and appreciate parks and related areas. But, differences in desirability of transportation recreation opportunities across recreation settings and among racial/ethnic groups are rarely addressed. The intent of this dissertation is three-fold: 1) identify transportation related barriers impacting visitation to national parks by racial/ethnic groups, and the effects of transportation on the visiting national parks, 2) identify the differences in indicators of the transportation recreation opportunity spectrum among racial/ethnic visitors and across recreation settings, 3) measure spatial accessibility of national parks and the effects of spatial accessibility and other factors on visitation to national parks among racial/ethnic groups. The first phase of research is designed to identify barriers to visiting national parks that are related to marginality, subculture, and discrimination hypotheses, and examine the effects of transportation incentives on visitation among racial/ethnic groups. Study results found that racial/ethnic minority groups visited national parks less frequently than Whites. Hispanics were more likely to perceive transportation-related barriers to visiting national parks than Whites. Moreover, providing transportation incentives can increase visitation by Hispanics significantly. The second phase of research developed indicators for a transportation recreation opportunity spectrum (T-ROS), and examined the differences in desirability for T-ROS indicators among alternative transportation modes, different types of recreation settings, and different racial/ethnic groups. Study results identified the important indicators for transportation service in different types of recreation areas, which can help inform transportation planning and management for the NPS. The final phase of research examined the spatial accessibility of national parks from different geographic locations by incorporating geospatial analytics, assessed the spatial accessibility of different types of national parks among racial/ethnic groups, and estimated the effects of spatial accessibility on visitation to national parks. Results showed that Hispanics and Blacks had higher accessibility to national parks than Whites within short distance radii, however, Blacks and Hispanics were more likely to perceive distance as a barrier to visiting national parks than Whites. Study results can help the NPS understand the spatial structure of national parks, provide visual information for visitors about proximate national parks and recreation opportunities, and identified effective management strategies for enhancing visitation of racial/ethnic minority groups from different geographic areas.

The thesis deals with travel and tourism in the state of Arizona, USA. The first, theoretical part, defines basic tourism related terms used in this thesis; i.e. definition of tourism, tourism typology, types of tourism participants, tourism destination and prerequisites for a tourism development. The second, analytical part, introduces the state of Arizona from the point of its geography, climate, demography, economy and political situation. Next chapters are devoted to the prerequisites of tourism development in the state of Arizona, tourism organizations operating in the USA, analysis of visitation of the state of Arizona, and to the impact of travel and tourism on the Arizonian economy. The thesis is completed with the SWOT analysis evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the destination Arizona, as well as its opportunities and threats for the future.