Service learning is a pedagogy designed to teach democratic skills to prepare students to become civically engaged members of society. One of the challenges in the field of service learning is to demonstrate the effectiveness of this pedagogy. Common methodological problems include small sample sizes, difficulty differentiating correlation from causation, self-selection bias, and use of primarily qualitative and experiential outcome measures. The literature review failed to reveal any quantitative scales designed for the health professions. The purpose of this study was to develop and test a quantitative scale to measure service learning outcomes among health professions students, before and after an academic service learning activity. Phase 1 of the study, the development phase, involved an extensive review of the literature to develop the conceptual framework and identify the operational indicators to be measured. Items were adapted from existing scales that were consistent with the personal and social responsibility dimensions and found to possess at least minimally acceptable reliability and validity. Items were adapted to add the health professions perspective which resulted in the preliminary twenty-two item scale, divided into four subscales: Civic Responsibility, Self-Efficacy Toward Service, Civic Participation, and Social Justice Attitudes. Psychometric testing of this preliminary PSR Scale was done in 3 studies. Study 1 involved evaluation of content validity with subject matter experts utilizing a Content Validity Index. The scale was modified based on the results of the CVI and recommendations of the subject matter experts. The S-CVI/Ave for the entire scale was .84 suggesting content validity of the PSR Scale. Study 2 utilized principal components analysis of the subscales to validate the dimensions and operational indicators. Data was constrained to four factors which accounted for 60.56% of the total variance. Items with factor loadings less than 0.4 were deleted. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was calculated for internal consistency. Based on these results, the scale was further revised by deleting items that decreased the Cronbach’s alpha. This resulted in a 16 item scale, containing four subscales, each with four items. The Cronbach’s alpha for the entire revised scale PSR Scale was .94. Study 3 involved testing the final 16 item version for sensitivity. Wilcoxon signed rank analysis revealed statistically significant changes pre and post service learning activity in the Civic Participation Subscale. Civic Participation Subscale items that were significant included “volunteering time to support my community”, “being involved in programs and activities that improve my community”, and “being involved in activities that improve the health of my community”. These findings suggest that participation in a service learning activity can increase civic participation. Psychometric testing of the Personal and Social Responsibility Scale (PSR) support preliminary validity, reliability and sensitivity of the instrument and the premise, consistent with prior research that changes in civic participation can occur as a result of service learning. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

The focus of this study is the American military family. The primary purpose is to examine the family from the paradigm of a distinct occupational subculture and, substantiating that existence, to understand the implications of work-family role conflict of the military family. The objectives are to substantiate the military as an occupational subculture and explore military work and family conflict through participative observation techniques and, to a lesser extent, thematic analysis. The research questions are "Is the military an occupational subculture?", and "How does the work-role of the service member affect the family?" A pilot survey instrument based on the seven tenets of an occupational subculture (Trice, 1993) was developed to ascertain the level of subcultural affiliation of the respondents. In total, 78 members of the military (Army) were interviewed using the instrument. Examination of thematic responses from spousal surveys complement the overall analysis. The findings indicate a strong affiliation within the Army that would support the supposition that the Army is an occupational subculture. Respondents exhibited affiliation with all seven tenets above the 75% level that had been established as a benchmark. Taken together, thematic analysis of spouse perceptions viewed through a subcultural paradigm, and service members interviews, converged to demonstrate the probability of the military as a distinct occupational subculture. As such, the military has the capability to influence members and their families through infrastructure (both formal and informal), social, and perceptive requirements. Subcultural forces may provide powerful conformance tools for the membership. Obvious implications for acknowledging the uniqueness of the military family as a distinct subculture within American society are important. To retain a viable fighting force, Army family policy must be responsive and understanding of the military family entity. Preliminary results indicate that further exploration of the military with a subcultural perspective could enhance soldier readiness. Further studies should focus on the military family as the primary support mechanism for soldiers serving in the modern military. Additional study on families leaving the military to a civilian environment would provide insight into the mechanics of subcultural transitions. / Graduation date: 1997

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No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The purpose of this study is to determine women's perceptions and choices of different categories of occupations and the reasons for such choices. Since the installation of the first democratic post apartheid government in South Africa, national policy has advanced women's rights. Affirmative action has opened up opportunities previously closed to women, but there is little research documenting changes in career trends. The influence of race, gender, social and political changes on perceptions and choices of occupations of women in the country is not known. This study has focused on African and Indian females in the 15 to 60 age range in the greater Durban area. Women born between 1940 and 1985 have experience of the pre- and post apartheid era, and therefore changes in perceptions and choices could be investigated. A survey questionnaire was administered to 390 female learners in seven former Indian schools. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 African and Indian women; six daughters in non - traditional occupations and six mothers in traditional occupations. The results from the survey and interviews suggest that women have a strong sense of empowerment and do not regard gender as a barrier to occupational choices. A limited number of occupations were categorized as suitable for men only, while the majority were deemed suitable for both men and women. Survey data indicated that African learners were more conservative in their choices than Indian learners. Interviews with the older women however, revealed that African women were more positive about opportunities open to them in the new South Africa. Detailed family profiles suggest that socio - economic factors rather than parental influence, impacted on decision-making patterns. The unique experiences of women in this country, who have been subject to political and social pressures of the apartheid policy and the rapid change of the post apartheid era, must be documented before any theoretical positions can be articulated about the career development of South African women. This study has contributed to research on the career development of women by providing some insight into how a sector of African and Indian women perceive and categorize occupations. / Thesis (Ph.D)-University of Durban-Westville, 2000.

There is no abstract available for this thesis.

There is no abstract available for this dissertation.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Mass., 2007 / Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree of Master of Social Work. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-96).