A complex mix of community and government activities and policies address social welfare needs, and the balance of roles varies from country to country and sometimes community to community. Economic changes and other factors have led to the development of comprehensive welfare states in many countries, making national/federal governments significant players in social welfare planning and provision. Even with these structural changes, communities are still active in assessing and providing for their own members' needs, though in widely variable forms. Religious organizations are key players in providing for community social welfare needs, both congregations and faith-based organizations, as well as contributing to the national level policy discourse. To understand the role of congregations in social welfare provision, this project presents a case study of congregations in a small U.S. city (using qualitative interviews and other contextual data), a review of federal faith-based social welfare policy (from three administrations), and a discussion of the U.S. case in comparison to similarly constructed European case studies. The federal policy documents reflect an emphasis on communities as best placed to serve their own needs. The community interview data yielded themes focused on collaboration and structural ways congregations contributed to social welfare. Respondents generally voiced a similar position that community organizations have intimate knowledge of the community's needs and how to meet these. However, respondents (with a few exceptions) saw the work of community organizations as only possible within a larger government structure of regulation and funding. The constraints of program and funding guidelines that created a need for congregations to fill gaps, discussed by respondents, refers to the complex system of benefits designed to identify the deserving portion of those in need. The results of this project fit in a larger, international comparative analysis of social welfare and religion in western liberal democracies. Examining religion's participation in social welfare provision contributes to the understanding of religion's role in the public sphere as possible moral commentator, contributor to the common good, and identity legitimation.

Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS) / In a country like South Africa, with a history of racial discrimination and man-made social inequalities, many NGOs and FBOs play a crucial and important role in socio-economic development and in narrowing the gap between the haves and the have-nots. As one of the nongovernmental organisations, The South African National Zakah Fund (SANZAF) development projects/programmes have played an important role in the areas of poverty alleviation, skills development, education and disaster relief. In line with the participatory/people-centred theory of community development and conceptual arguments, this study was used to examine the nature of participatory community development at the South African National Zakah Fund (SANZAF) in Cape Town, South Africa. Qualitative research methodology was applied and measurement of the level of community participation was done using a variety of instruments. This study is focused on the SANZAF's community development project in the Manenberg area in the Cape Flats. The analysis involved examining the nature and level of community participation in the project needs, planning, implementation and decision-making phases. Thereafter, the results of the research prompted general observation and provided some recommendations to SANZAF and other FBOs involved. The research findings show that the SANZAF's development projects/programmes have played an important role in terms of community development. They have been developed in response to the needs of local communities and are implemented to mobilise local resources to support the poor and needy. The study also indicated that SANZAF enjoys a strong linkage with local mosques and other development actors at the community level. However, the results of the study also indicated that the level of community participation in planning, decision making and implementation is low in the case study area. Meanwhile, the beneficiaries did not show a clear understanding of aspects such as participation, empowerment and ownership. Finally, a recommendation is made for genuine community participation at the grassroots level as this will contribute to beneficiary's empowerment, capacity building and the core ingredients for selfreliance and project sustainability in community development activities.

This study explored challenges related to issues of diversity for faculty members teaching in nontraditional adult degree completion programs. The problem addressed was an increasing expectation that faculty members facilitate learning to help increase the cultural proficiency of their students without having prior training or needed experience. A critical appreciative inquiry (CAI) case study methodology with a transformative conceptual framework was used to explore the intersection of effective adult learning paradigms and multicultural competence. The primary research question addressed the cultural competence challenges that faculty members confront when teaching in the adult classroom. A purposeful sample of 188 faculty members was selected to take a self-reflective survey. Ten participants then self-selected to participate in follow-up focus groups and interviews. Qualitative data analysis was conducted through line-by-line analysis resulting in emergent themes, both in the self-reflective survey and in the focus groups and interviews, and then filtered through the change process phases of CAI. Findings revealed a need for further knowledge about diversity scholarship and identity formation, particularly related to sociocultural power differentials that may impact student learning engagement. The resulting project was a training module with opportunities for follow-up faculty learning communities to deepen learning about inclusive practice. Positive implications for social change included, but were not limited to, increased critical consciousness for faculty members and the successful use of CAI as a methodology for facilitating nondefensive dialogue in faith-based institutions of higher learning.

Over the last several decades, school choice – in the context of educational systems that are available to choose from as well as the reasons why parents choose what they do for their child – has become a topic of interest to both educational researchers and the public at large. The Seventh-day Adventist school system, like other faith-based institutions, is uniquely positioned in this subject, as it is an educational organization framed by a religious denomination. In addition to the typical factors such as academic standards, curricular offerings and peer influence, the issue of school choice within this context also involves complex layers of culture and religiosity and spirituality. Are parents able to disengage themselves from the trappings of those expectations and beliefs and objectively choose a school system for their child? Or are religious background and experience simply too embedded into one’s psyche – and, as an extension – one’s choices to ever fully disentangle that subtext from the decision-making process? This mixed-methods study sought to better understand the relationship between parental religiosity and school choice, specifically within the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. In order to assess the influence of Adventist culture, doctrinal commitment and general religiosity, a cultural domain had to first be established. Following the methodology as laid out in cultural consensus theory, free-listing and rank-ordering tasks were given to two separate, geographically representative samples from across the continental United States. Derived from those conversations, statements were then developed that captured characteristics and behavior of a member who adhered to traditional Seventh-day Adventist culture. Those statements were written into the survey instrument, alongside validated scales for general religiosity and Adventist doctrinal commitment. The population for this study targeted any Seventh-day Adventist member in America who had K-12 school-aged children. The survey was developed in SurveyMonkey and distributed through church communiqué (websites, bulletins, announcements, etc.), official administrative channels such as ministerial department newsletters and video announcements, and social media. Over 1,000 responses came in and the data was analyzed through SPSS, specifically examining patterns of school choice among those with high or low general religiosity, doctrinal commitment and Adventist culture. The results of the data analysis demonstrated clear and significant associations between several key variables and the dependent variable of school choice. Several variables, such as Adventist culture, doctrinal commitment and a parent’s own educational background, emerged as predictors for school choice when binary logistic regressions were conducted. Adventist culture proved to be a multi-factorial construct, interacting with other variables in different ways. The conclusions from this study point to several implications for K-12 Adventist education, particularly in the area of marketing to Adventist families and further research could certainly explore that more fully.

The African American population has persistently suffered a greater disease burden from uncontrolled high blood pressure than any other ethnic/racial group. There have been many attempts to reduce the health disparity but with little changes in adverse outcomes over the years. As African Americans are very religious and incorporate spirituality into their everyday lives, this research followed a faith-based approach and was conducted in the church setting. The study was guided by the Illness Representation Model (IRM) and the Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality (TCCDU). One hundred male and female participants were recruited from five African American churches in Southeast Florida. Each participant met the inclusion criteria of being 35-80 years old, diagnosed with high blood pressure, members/attendees of a Judeo Christian church, and able to read and write English. A researcher-developed, five-day faith based health devotional which included high blood pressure education infused with Bible messages was used as the intervention. A quasi-experimental design of pre and posttesting was employed to evaluate high blood pressure knowledge and illness representation. High blood pressure knowledge was tested using the High Blood Pressure Prevention IQ Quiz (HBPP-IQ) and illness representation tested with the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R). The results demonstrated statistically significant improvements in four out of the five hypotheses tested, with a caveat for the timeline representation (presented as two separate outcomes). The findings indicated: High blood pressure knowledge (HBPP-IQ): p < .000; Illness Representation (IPQ-R); timeline acute/chronic: p = .003; timeline cyclical: p = .20; consequences: p = .024; personal control: p = .0005; treatment control: p = .002. These results support the use of the faith-based teaching method in educating African Americans about high blood pressure as an effort that might improve illness representation in this population. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2019. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

The prevalence and incidence of breast cancer is an important issue that is affecting all women, but African American women have the lowest survival rates after breast cancer diagnosis. Historically, the Black church and faith leaders have been essential in promoting health in the African American community. Moreover, faith-based interventions have become more common within the African American community in addressing factors that affect survival rates such as early detection, cultural barriers, and education. Currently, there is not clear information on the perspectives faith leaders have on their experiences with implementing breast health interventions in their places of worship. This phenomenological study used interpretivism as the conceptual framework to understand the experiences of the faith leaders of African American congregations who participated in Worship in Pink, a faith-based breast health program implemented among congregations in metropolitan Atlanta. The research questions sought to answer what faith leaders' experiences were with participating in this intervention and what situations or contexts may have influenced their experiences. In depth, semistructured interviews were administered to a sample of 5 faith leaders who participated in Worship in Pink. There were 3 themes and 1 subtheme that emerged because of the study. The themes included partnership with Komen Atlanta, increased awareness, impact on the community, and resources. The positive social change implications include knowledge useful for faith leaders, program developers, health policy makers, health educators, and other researchers who are seeking to understand experiences of faith leaders in order to improve breast health and awareness of African American women.

Researchers have revealed that rural African American communities, which have been adversely impacted by disasters, could minimize personal injuries and property damage by being prepared before a disaster strikes. Data from past studies have shown that social networks, such as faith-based organizations (FBOs), have been instrumental in assisting rural African American communities recover from disasters such as floods and fires. This exploratory qualitative case study addressed the research question: How a rural, FBO organized resources to build a community based, all-volunteer fire department. The conceptual framework for this study incorporated concepts from social network theory and social capital theory. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit 11 participants. Data were collected through interviews, newspapers articles, and church documents. Data were analyzed using inductive analysis and Colaizzi's method for determining emergent themes. Results revealed that community members lacked the knowledge and resources needed to build the fire department. Findings further revealed that the FBO was the hub of activities where social networks organized the social capital needed to engage, recruit, and unite members in building the fire station. The themes of determination, dedication, resilience, and persistence further revealed that community members used social networks and social capital to overcome obstacles to building the fire station. Findings from this study contributes to positive social change by providing information to human services professionals, government agencies, policy makers, and community members on how FBOs can be utilized as social networks that can leverage the social capital needed to prepare isolated, rural communities for disasters.

The lack of research regarding the potential relationship between the reduction of bullying through participation in faith-based organizations may have failed to expand available bullying intervention methods. Faith-based organizations could assist in reducing bullying via moral instruction, boundary-setting guidance, social engagement techniques, and understanding social engagement with the bully's parents. This study explored the relationship between bullying and involvement in faith-based activities through (a) discovering the association between the reduction of bullying incidence or inclinations and faith-based activities, and (b) identifying the mechanisms responsible for the suppression of bullying orientations and behaviors through faith-based activities. The theoretical construct of the study was Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory and its 5 level classification of diverse social contexts (i.e. microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem). This theory was utilized in the creation of the central research questions of the study. The data for the questions was gathered through one-on-one interviews with (a) 11 adolescents, (b) 6 parents, and (c) 3 church officials. The interviews were transcribed, and codes and themes identified. The sample group for the research was ninth grade students enrolled at a school in the Midwest. The study found that parents felt more responsible for their influence on their child's attitude toward violence over faith-based activity. However, the organizations were also shown to be effective in contributing to strengthened social relationships and decreased bullying incidences. This study may contribute to social change by providing insight into bullying prevention and mitigation.

This dissertation research is a study of the anthropology of policy with welfare reform in general and charitable choice in particular as its focus. The study begins with the notion that policies work as instruments of governance and consequently have social and political implications. These policies are examined by exploring the manner in which Catholic Charities and policy makers in Florida are responding to the charitable choice mandate and how their views are shaping local policies. The study is framed within anthropological principles pertaining to economic, humanistic and philosophical tenets. The study provides a historical background of poverty, the development of the welfare state in the United States as well as some of the social, economic, and political factors that shape social policies. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews conducted with representatives from Catholic Charities, government agencies, legislative committees, and faith-based organizations, and through document reviews. Data were analyzed qualitatively and were managed using the software Atlas.ti. Analysis of the data show that while there is increased convergence between the state and faith-based organizations (FBOs), there is some hesitancy on the part of religious organizations to assume full responsibility for the poor, particularly without having any funding guarantees. The data also suggests that through the implementation of charitable choice religious organizations face the risk of becoming highly dependent on the state and therefore loose their voice and the possibility of lobbying for the poor. Furthermore, the data suggests that there are some aspects of the implementation of charitable choice that have not received congressional approval and may eventually jeopardize the entire faith-based initiative.

The Methodist Mission Northern has provided social services to the community since 1851. The underpinning philosophy of Methodist Mission Northern’s service provision is that of being a Good Neighbour. The concept of Good Neighbour derives from the Old and the New Testaments of the Holy Bible, the Hebrew Scriptures and also public policy. A defining moment in the emergence of Christian universalism comes when the neighbour is asserted to include everyone, … while the Levite and the Cohen pass by the injured man… the Good Samaritan comes to his aid and proves himself the true neighbour of his (injured) neighbour [Zizek, Santner, & Reinhard, 2005, p. 6]. What does Good Neighbour entail in the context of so many people suffering owing to poverty, injustice and social exclusion? This study set out to examine how the concept of Good Neighbour has been put into practice and how that is relevant in contemporary public policy setting. This research was undertaken using phenomenological enquiry approach which explored the experiences of the key stakeholders namely the Board of Governors, the staff and the clients or service recipients of the Methodist Mission Northern to understand the impact of service delivery on clients. This was done through a review of the Minutes of the Board Meetings and Annual Reports over a twenty year period from 1986 to 2006. The study found that for the greater part of the history the operation of the concept of Good Neighbour by Methodist Mission Northern tended to focus on the charity model which provides for the day to day needs of the clients such as providing food, clothing and shelter and other immediate needs. For Methodist Mission Northern’s concept of Good Neighbour to reflect its underpinning philosophy more effectively the practice needs to move beyond the charity model into a community development model focussed on social change and transformation. This means meeting the needs of clients in ways that empower them to move towards independence and interdependent self sustainability.