This study investigated the effects of music styles on number of lost calls (premature disconnections) to a busy State Abuse Hot Line. / The music that callers listened to when put on hold while waiting for an available counselor, was controlled for a period of ten weeks. The five musical styles used were: classical, popular, music arranged for relaxation, country and jazz. The music was changed every week for five weeks, allowing each musical style to play for one week. / The Newman-Keuls Multiple Comparison Procedure revealed significance between most lost calls during relaxation and jazz music and between relaxation and country music. The results indicated that the average of lost calls was greatest when the relaxation music was on. The lowest number of lost calls occurred when the jazz music played, followed by country, then classical, popular and finally relaxation music. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.) / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 31-01, page: 0024. / Major Professor: Jayne M. Standley. / Thesis (M.M.)--The Florida State University, 1992.

The present study examined the effects of structured music activities versus contingent music listening with verbal prompt for decreasing wandering behavior or off-task body movement while, improving or maintaining cognitive functioning in individuals with probable Alzheimer's disease. Twelve residents of a Nursing Home diagnosed with senile dementia with the possibility of Alzheimer's disease participated in the study. An ABACAB experimental design was implemented. Analyses of variances revealed significant differences in the frequency and total percent of wandering, and the length of stay in sessions for music and nonmusic conditions. An analysis of variance also indicated no significant differences on the pre, mid, and post-test scores of the Mini-Mental State Examination. A statistical analysis of the Scheffe's Test revealed no significant differences between the two music conditions concerning frequency and total percent of wandering, and length of stay in sessions. The results of this study indicate that both structured music activities and contingent music listening with verbal prompt are effective means for reducing wandering with the geriatric population. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 29-04, page: 0571. / Director: Jayne M. Standley. / Thesis (M.M.)--The Florida State University, 1991.

This study examined the relationship among social workers who were engaged in traditional social work practice and non-traditional social work practice. One hundred and forty two (142) survey participants were selected for the study utilizing non­ probability convenience sampling. The survey participants were composed of members of the Georgia Chapter of National Association of Social Workers who were either currently working or retired from the field of social work. The survey questionnaire was developed for the purpose of exclusive use of this study and employed the four point Likert Scale. The findings of the study revealed that regardless of the practice settings social workers showed little distinction in their adherence to social work mission, values, foundational knowledge and use of social work skill sets. The findings also indicated that social workers were accepting (85.8%) of non-traditional social work settings despite 65.7% of participants identifying themselves as traditional social workers in the study

The major focus of my dissertation will be the use of benchmarking and best practices as a guide for program and curriculum development in social work. The case study method of research, with an emphasis on the development of the Addiction Studies Program at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, provided the focal point for this research. A critical part of this problem; Program development is an ongoing necessity in social work. In order to meet the ever changing needs of our society, effective programs need to be developed. Yet, social workers often do not have the expertise or time to research even the nuts and bolts of each program they wish to develop. Hence, a method is needed to help them develop reliable and effective programs without requiring them to undergo extensive research and experimentation to determine the most effective programs to implement. One method to guide development of new programs is benchmarking which can be briefly defined as a continuous learning process that can lead to a discovery of best practices, which can be used to improve quality within an organization (Hafner, 2004; Kristensen, 2003). It was hypothesized that benchmarking best practices can result in effective social work program development and implementation

The objective of this study was to establish the presence of a relationship between stress factors and the incidence of child abuse. The study was secondary analysis of descriptive statistics provided by the Georgia Department of Human Resources and the u.s. Department of Commerce. The sample consisted of seven-hundred, fifty identified Black perpetrators of child abuse and it was drawn from Fulton and DeKalb counties, State of Georgia. The null hypothesis presented in this study was that poverty was the best predictor of child abuse in Black families. The null hypothesis was rejected based on the fact that over 50% of the sample population was identified as being poor according to the national poverty line, which made poverty a negligible factor . The factors that are significant predictors of child abuse in Fulton and DeKalb counties, State of Georgia, in ranked order, are: l) marital status and 2) education. The study was designed to determine if there was a relationship between the incidence of child abuse in Black families and stress factors.

The purpose of this comparative/descriptive study was to examine the level of stress and degree of life satisfaction among women with HIV/AIDS and non HIV – positive women of African American descent. The dependent variables were measured through the use of two scales: Index of Clinical Stress (ICS) and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). A sample of thirty (30) African American women agreed to participate in the study. Fifteen of the women were HIV-positive. Simple descriptive statistics and t-tests were used to analyze the data. The results indicate that although there was no statistical difference found in the level of stress between women with HIV/AIDS and non HIV-positive women, the non HIV-positive group showed a higher stress score than the HIV-positive group. There was, however, a statistical significant difference in the degree of life satisfaction between the two groups indicating that the HIV-positive women were more satisfied with their lives than the non HIV-positive women.

This quantitative cross-sectional research study examined the relationship between anxiety and sleeping habits among African American undergraduate college students living on campus at a private southeastern university in the U.S, The study also determined if there are statistically significant differences between undergraduate freshmen and sophomores as it pertains to levels of anxiety and sleeping habits. Participants consisted of fifty-five freshmen and sophomore males and females at a private southeastern university, who currently live on campus. Results of the Pearson's correlations determined that the there is a statistically significant correlation between levels of anxiety and sleeping habits among African American college students living on campus. Results of the independent-! test determined that there is no statistically significant difference between freshmen and sophomores in regard to levels of anxiety and sleeping habits.

This study examined the impact incarceration poses on the family's mental health status. The study was conducted using cross-sectional design. The sample, which was selected using convenience sampling method, included 30 participants who are over 18 years old and identified as having an incarcerated family member. The current study sought to determine two things: (1) if family members had higher levels of discontentment or mental distress due to their loved one's incarceration and (2) the impact of the loved one's sentence length on the family member's mental health status. Results indicated that levels of mental distress were higher in nieces and/or nephews than their levels of discontentment. Results also revealed the longer the sentence length, the higher the levels of discontentment and mental distress of their family member. Furthermore, limitations and implication will be presented.

This quantitative study examined the impact of father absenteeism on the socio­ emotional development of 71 African-American female students at two undergraduate colleges in the Southeastern region of the U.S. All participants were administered a 28 item anonymous, online survey comprised of various questions from the following scales: Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (SES) and Ryffs Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWB). In addition, participants were asked socio-demographic questions in regards to their age, ethnicity, current year of college, and whether their father was present. Participants whose father was absent also specified the reason for father absenteeism (Death, Prison, Divorce, Unknown, or Other). The independent t-Test (p=.104) and One-Way ANOVA (p=.796) revealed that there was no statistically significant differences between the groups with regard to levels of socio-emotional development. The results starkly contrast previous research and holds implications for social work that the information gained can help explain why some females are less affected by father absenteeism.

This study examines the effects that economic instability and asset poverty can have on a woman's risk for feminine motivated violence. Specifically, the study investigated factors that predict a woman's likelihood of experiencing feminine motivated violence: income, asset ownership, age, marital status, education status, and number of children. The sample size of this study was 49 participants, collected from a subject pool consisting of Black/African American women, ages of 18 years and older. The procedure consisted of answering a survey composed of demographic questions and questions related to the variables under study. The results indicated that age is one of the variables that predict a woman's likelihood of experiencing feminine motivated violence (p< .0405). The results also showed no statistically significant difference in the risk of feminine motivated violence, based on income (p< .412) or assets (p<.384).