The development of an ever-growing number of private health and welfare agencies is one of the distinctive characteristics of urban communities. The need for coordination and guidance in orderly development was met in the past by Charity Organization Societies, in more recent decades, by Community Chest and Council organizations. Community Chest and Community Council--the "Chest as a fund-raising coordinator, and the "Council" as a policy coordinator—appear to be particularly North American institutions, especially in the larger cities of the Eastern seaboard, because of the greater dependence on private philanthrophy and late development of social welfare legislation. With the strengthening of their planning and standard-setting functions and closer integration between "chest" and "council" functions, these organizations, today, are engaged in mobilizing the communities for improved Social Welfare. Chest and Council offices are now widely regarded as an essential part of the social work structure in nearly all major urban centres on the North American Continent. They remain important in spite of increased social legislation, because new agencies continue to be established, because volunteer and experimental work is valuable, and because community education and welfare research functions have come to the fore in modern community development programs. The present study has endeavoured to sift out the essential principles demonstrated by Community Chest and Council history; then to focus specially on the administrative requirements of the modern Chest and Council organization, drawing on some thirty years of Vancouver experience for this purpose. This latter task is followed out in two parts—(a) existing Organization and Administration of the Chest and Council, and (b) the development of its main Sections. In the light of this, the question is examined how far and in what way a Chest and Council as a coordinating welfare organization might be applied to the Capital City of Pakistan (Karachi). The conclusion is that the principles of Community Chest and Council are distinctly adaptable to the city of Karachi and perhaps to other selected metropolitan areas of this country. The present isolated efforts of social welfare agencies can hardly ensure balanced development of health, welfare and recreational services in a fast developing community like Karachi. This is also the best avenue for leadership and an integrated approach toward common problems, through budgeting and social planning. Modifications which may be of special concern in Pakistan are indicated. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

Current studies of social work education have stimulated interest in the analysis and description of what social workers actually do. What activities and services do social workers perform? By whom are these activities usually performed, i.e., worker, supervisor or administrator? What skills are required to perform these activities adequately? What extent or degree of responsibility is involved in each activity at the various job levels of worker, supervisor, administrator. The present study is designed to test the applicability of industrial Job evaluation techniques to professional social work in an attempt to answer the questions posed, A survey of the current literature in social work and of current methods of job evaluation suggests that the "classification" method of job evaluation is most appropriate to the field of social work. Social work literature indicates nine broad areas of function or activities of professional social workers. While each of these areas is traditionally assumed to be assigned to specific job levels, further study of a specific agency (Vancouver, Child Guidance Clinic, Social Service Department) indicates that all workers have some degree of responsibility for each area of activity. Analysis of each worker's activities in units of five minutes: of time for a two week period provides a measure of the degree of skill and responsibility required of staff at various levels. Findings of this time study are then used to sort out job classes, to describe these classes, and to suggest a classification scheme applicable to any setting employing social workers. The findings suggest that all professional social workers require some measure of skill in each of the following areas of activity: Administrative, Consultative, Supervisory, Direct Service, Professional Education, Community Relations, Staff Development, Programme Development, Research, Major determinants of class appear to be the extent of work which is subject to review by others and the degree of knowledge and ability required in fields other than the major area of function. The process of job analysis, description and classification as illustrated in this study is an essential step for all agencies to take in measuring, delegating and interpreting the work of the agency. The classification scheme proposed should enable comparison of social work positions in a variety of settings. At the same time, it offers a partial solution to the dilemma of a profession which seeks to achieve professional practitioner status but offers very limited possibilities, for the direct service practitioner to enhance his earnings without assuming a traditionally higher rank of supervisor or administrator. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

There are several important reasons for considering the use of case-aides in welfare programs. One is the shortage of professional personnel and the need for trained workers. Further, citizen participation is essential in order to gain the understanding and feel the responsibility to support the agencies which are dependent upon the lay public for their life-blood. Moreover, modern social work emphasizes the value of personal relationships in the helping process. Experience in the use of case-aides, paid or volunteer, is studied from a review of existing manuals and agency programs which are either currently or recently in practice In the welfare field in the United States and Canada. A canvass of the directors of selected casework agencies in Vancouver provides viewpoints and information for comparative use in the study. Current practices are summarized to suggest standards and opportunities for further development of this trend in social work. Both problems and values are outlined. It is the conclusion of the study that a well-formulated case-aide program can utilize the helpfulness of the volunteer without risk to the profession of social work. The success of the endeavor, however, is dependent upon careful selection, training and supervision of the case-aide, with detailed care in planning. Case-aides can not only supplement the work of the professional caseworker, but can extend the services of the agency, performing many tasks needed by the client but not appropriate for the professional. The crux of the situation is "job analysis” which will lead to systematic sharing of responsibilities with case-aides, paid or volunteer. In Vancouver, paid case-aides are being used to a limited extent. Volunteer case-aides are not being used as a part of a formulated program by agencies, singly or co-operatively. The need of the services is recognized by several directors and staff members but no programs have yet been inaugurated. Areas which might utilize such services include the aged, the handicapped, needy children, immigrants, chronically ill, mental patients, and clients and families of medical social service departments. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

"Relationship" is the term commonly but loosely used in social casework, to refer to the inter-action of personalities which occurs between the caseworker and the client in need of help. The exact constituents of "relationship", and the part which it plays in treatment, and in an improved adjustment, are as yet far from having been precisely determined. The present study examines a carefully chosen set of cases with the object of exploring the way to a more definitive analysis. To take account of the range of the problems encountered, the cases are grouped according to three degrees of difficulty. The assessment of the client's level of ability in relationship is approached through a series of six criteria: his concept of himself, his ability to see his own real feelings, his ways of coping with reality, his ability to endure frustration, the quality of his affect tone, and the pattern of his ways of responding to people. The essential background of each case is summarized. Each group of cases is then reviewed with special attention to differences in the clients' ways of responding to persons and situations, the attitudes and performance of the caseworker, the development of the case, and the elements in the client which either facilitate or retard growth in maturity and adaptation. The study reveals the emergence of patterns where the promise of relationship was good or limited or poor according to the extent that the basic needs of the individual had been met. It shows that the understanding and acceptance of the client by the caseworker enables the client to modify restricting attitudes, and to develop more constructive responses to situations. Where these attitudes do not prevail the caseworker cannot contribute to the growth process of the client. The study shows the need for greater precision in recording, in diagnosis, in the selection of treatment methods, and the ways in which the criteria can be used to help in these processes until measurement techniques become possible. Careful selection of applicants for social work, improved training for supervisors, smaller and more selective case loads, and a greater awareness on the part of agencies of the importance of relationship, are seen as the means of improving the effective use of relationship in treatment. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

The accompanying thesis, written as part of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Social Work, and entitled "THE SOCIAL WORKER IN THE SCHOOL - An Experimental Study of the Liaison and Service Functions of the Social Worker in a Vancouver Elementary School", is primarily concerned to establish a case for the integration of the Social fork and Education professions through the appointment of School Social Workers. Based, for its practical aspects, on a ten-week experiment in a Vancouver Elementary School, it discusses the child problems encountered and the problems of relationship with other school personnel, with, parents, and with the other professions and community agencies involved. The theoretical aspects include an analysis of educational trends to indicate the extent to which the inclusion of social work principles and techniques are a logical, as well as a socially desirable, next step. It is also pointed out that the school occupies an unrivalled, strategic position for the early detection of emotional disturbances and social maladjustments. The role of the School Social Worker is described in its historical development and some attention given to the training and personal qualifications desirable for the efficient performance of this function. The administrative problem is also discussed, some practical proposals, applicable to the Vancouver situation, being offered. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

This study is the initiating phase of a long-range attempt to examine social work intervention in community life. It raises the question "Is it possible to identify both the theoretical concepts which accurately describe community interactions set up by social work intervention, and the variables which are operative in those interactions?" A good deal of attention has been given in recent years to social work attempts to enhance community life. Sociological and other material has been utilized to build social work theory and practice specifics related to community social change and development, but little precision has been achieved. There has been a preoccupation with theory-building itself, particularly in the area of conceptual models, and with social problems in community life, so that systematic observations of what happens when social workers intervene in communities are virtually non-existent. This study has a theory base which seeks to take account of the work that has been done in this area while bearing upon the concrete operations undertaken by actors in community interactions. The major concepts identified as useful for this purpose are: interactional field, action system, intervention, change agent, task and maintenance processes, horizontal and vertical linkages, social process, social structure, social change, and stimuli for social processes. The design of the study lends itself to a field study which can explore variables in observed interactions while making no specific attempt to explore the interactions between variables. An interview schedule is the data-collection instrument utilized. The study reached completion of the pre-test stage, where in two community action episodes involving social workers were studies. No effort was made to analyze data with reference to the variables themselves; the analysis was confined to the implications of the data for the utility and potential utility of the study formulation, design, and instrument. The conclusion drawn at this stage is that the study has potential for the discovery of the variables in interactional fields in community life, if it is modified and applied to an appropriate sample of action episodes. A series of recommendations for the revision of weak elements in the study are submitted for the use of persons interested in continuing the study. These recommendations embrace such issues as the sample size, data-collection revisions (language, explicitness, reliability), number of respondents in each action episode, continuity of data collection from study formulation, specific instructions for data-collection procedures, and the nature of general hypotheses that might be attempted. The study team are optimistic about the promise held out by this line of inquiry for the achievement of a better understanding of the genericity and specificity of social work operations which result from the interaction of method and field in community-oriented social work practice. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

A comparative study of teacher and parent perceptions of first grade children's multiple intelligences was conducted. In addition, race/ethnic origin and gender differences were examined. The sample consisted of three classrooms, each from different public charter schools in Tallahassee, Florida. Three teachers and 40 parents were asked to complete the Multiple Intelligences Developmental Assessment Scale (MIDAS)-KIDS, "My Young Child" (MYC) to assess their children's multiple intelligences. Twenty-eight of the children's were female, 12 were male. Twenty-six children were Caucasian, 6 African American, 4 East Indian, 2 Hispanic, and 2 Asian. Children's ages ranged from 6 to 7 years old. Parent perceptions of children's mathematical and natural intelligences were significantly higher than teacher perceptions. Gender contributed significantly to teacher and parent perceptions of girls' greater spatial, interpersonal, and intrapersonal intelligences. Race also contributed significantly to teacher and parent perceptions of children of color's greater mathematical and linguistic intelligences. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Family and Child Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Spring Semester, 2005. / December 9, 2004. / Multiple Intelligence, Teacher, Parent, Perceptions / Includes bibliographical references. / Christine Readdick, Professor Directing Thesis; Victoria Maria-MacDonald, Outside Committee Member; Ronald Mullis, Committee Member.

Negative and depressive outcomes of caregivers in the United States has dominated academic domains in the social, behavioral, and gerontological literature. However, more recently, there has been an attempt to assess the more positive outcomes of caregivers who provide care to family members, relatives, and friends. This dissertation enhances the literature on caregiver well-being by focusing particularly on the more positive outcomes and on the differences between White and African American caregivers in the United States. The ABC-X model of family stress was used as a framework, along with family systems theory, to determine whether within the context of race, levels of caregiving stress and strain, levels of formal and informal coping resources, and manageability/mastery could be integrated to predict well-being for caregivers. Predictor variables such as, intensity of care demands (stress), formal and informal coping support use, and manageability/mastery of unmet needs were used to determine if there were differences between Whites and African Americans. To examine the research question, a secondary analysis was performed using data from the National Alliance for Caregiving and the American Association of Retired Persons (NAC & AARP, 2003). The final dataset which focused on White and African American caregivers consisted of 828 individuals and key questions from the original survey that addressed the hypothesis and research question. Variables of interest were constructed, using items measuring the constructs: intensity of care demands (stress), formal coping resources use, informal coping resource use, manageability/mastery, and well-being. Race was also included in the model as a control variable. The analysis was conducted using structural equation modeling (SEM) with AMOS 7.0 software. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed no mean difference on scores between White and African American caregivers on well-being or on informal coping resource use. However, significant mean differences existed for intensity of care demands (stress), formal coping resource use, and manageability/mastery. Results from this analysis showed that African American caregivers had higher mean scores on intensity of care demands (stress), used more formal coping resources, and experienced lowered manageability/mastery as indicated by more unmet needs in the care situation. Separate path analyses were performed to test for the influences of predictor variables in the model on the outcome variable as well as a comparison model of the critical ratio differences between White and African Americans. The variables predicting well-being were intensity of care demands (stress), formal coping resource use, informal coping resources use, and manageability/mastery. The findings revealed that intensity of care demands (stress) was significantly related to well-being, along with manageability/mastery and informal coping resource use. Only formal coping resource use had no direct relationship to well-being. Additionally, there were some indirect relationships to well-being as mediated through formal coping resource use, informal coping resources use, and manageability/mastery. Race was a moderating variable in the model and revealed no significant relationship with well-being. However, African Americans were more likely to use formal coping resources and had a sense of manageability/mastery in the caregiving role. There also existed a significant correlation between formal and informal coping resources use in the model. Overall, this model fit well with the observed data and thus supported the research question for this study that levels of caregiving stress and strain, levels of formal and informal coping resources, and manageability/mastery can be integrated to predict well-being for caregivers. Further, this model explained 34% of the variance in well-being. Finally a comparison model of White and African American caregivers indicated only one significant predictor on well-being which consisted of the direct effect of intensity of care demands (stress) on well-being, indicating that White caregivers experienced more stress in the care role when compared to African Americans. Several implications were identified regarding methodology, research, and practice. First, the ABC-X model was a useful tool for studying the stress process and predicting the relationships of certain causal factors on well-being but had limitations when it came to the diverse challenges often faced by caregivers in the care role especially racial/ethnic minorities. Second, more research is needed that focus on difference and similarities among White and African American caregivers that are done on larger samples and are longitudinal in nature. Third, an effort must be made to move from theory to practice in the field with caregiving families, as well as with public policy that address the changing demands required in caregiving considering our aging and increasingly chronically ill/disabled population. Although this study had limitations relative to the use of cross-sectional secondary data, it indicated positive and negative well-being can co-occur and that the degree to which people appraise caregiving as positive or negative may require specific measures or a variety of measures to determine the true impact of stressors, coping resources, and appraisals/perceptions on the well-being of caregiving families in general and racially diverse caregiving families in specific. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Family and Child Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2009. / December 11, 2008. / Well-being, Stress, Race, Caregiving / Includes bibliographical references. / Carol A. Darling, Professor Directing Dissertation; Sande Milton, Outside Committee Member; Maxine D. Jones, Committee Member; Ann K. Mullis, Committee Member.

Extending the human life span has long been a desire of human beings. It seems the wish has been actualized. However, simply living a long life does not always seem to be a blessing. Older adults report a lower level of psychological well-being and quality of life and even have a higher rate of suicide, compared to the general population. Furthermore, as older adults are likely to experience the death of a loved one, deteriorating health, retirement, and changing relationships with others, older adults have a high risk of depression. Social work has a long history of providing social services to older adults. In particular, social work has provided older adults with a variety of services to enhance their quality of life and mental health status. Because ageism is one form of discrimination that social work has long been concerned with, this study focuses on the relationship between perceived ageism and depressive symptoms among older adults. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between perceived ageism and depressive symptoms among older adults and to investigate the mechanism linking perceived ageism to late-life depression. Three primary effects were examined: the direct effect of perceived ageism on depressive symptoms in later life, the mediating effects of self-perception of aging and purpose in life on the relationship between perceived ageism and late-life depression, and the moderating effect of perceived ageism on the association between religiosity and depression among older adults. The stress process model was used to provide an overall idea to explain the three types of the effects related to the mechanism of ageism. Cooley's looking-glass self, Beck's cognitive theory of depression, and Levy's stress embodiment theory were used to explain the mediating effect of self-perception of aging, and Beck's cognitive theory of depression was applied again to clarify the mediating effect of purpose in life. The stress buffer theory and the life-span theory of control indicated the moderating effect of perceived ageism on the relationship between religiosity and depression. Secondary analysis of existing data was conducted using the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) datasets, a longitudinal panel study of the U.S. population ages 50 and over. The sample of this study was 3,991 participants, who were older adults ages 65 and over and whose answers were available for the study analyses. Descriptive and preliminary analyses were performed to roughly examine the relationships between variables. With regard to the direct effect of perceived ageism on depressive symptoms, multiple regression analyses were performed controlling for significant variables. With regard to the mediating effects of self-perception of aging and purpose in life, structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses using structural regression models were conducted. In respect to the moderating effect of perceived ageism on the relationship between religiosity and depression, SEM analyses with multiple groups were performed. Based on the results of the several different analyses, a direct relationship between perceived ageism and late-life depression was found. That is, older adults who perceive ageism are likely to have a higher level of depressive symptoms than their counterparts. This direct relationship between perceived ageism and late depressive symptoms among older adults, however, was not detected after controlling for self-perception of aging and purpose in life, indicating the full mediation effects of self-perception of aging and purpose in life. That is, older adults who perceive ageism are likely to have negative self-perception of aging, and this negative view of their own aging is likely to increase depressive symptoms. Additionally, older adults who have a negative view of their aging are likely to have a negative view of their future, and this lower purpose in life also increases depressive symptoms. The strength of the effect of religiosity on depression did not differ between the perceived ageism and the not-perceived ageism groups, indicating no moderating effect of perceived ageism on the relationship between religiosity and depression. This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by providing the information about the relationship between perceived ageism and depression and the mechanism of this relationship. Also, this study re-examined and supported established theories in the context of perceived ageism. Additionally, the current study suggests the necessity of anti-ageism policies and social work services and describes possible ways of providing such social policies and social work services at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. The results of this study imply that more efforts and resources are necessary to reduce ageism and its negative effect on depression among older adults, and these efforts will eventually contribute to making a more just, better society. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Social Work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2015. / May 1, 2015. / Includes bibliographical references. / Bruce A. Thyer, Professor Directing Dissertation; Penny A. Ralston, University Representative; Jean C. Munn, Committee Member; Melissa Radey, Committee Member.

The overwhelming majority of research in family studies and psychology journals has been devoted to mental health dysfunctions and relationship problems. Positive relationship processes and positive emotions are victims of severe neglect. The current study examines how sharing positive experiences or positively re framing negative ones can impact mental health (gratitude and depression) as well as relationship outcomes (relationship satisfaction and relationship maintenance). The current study has three primary objectives and hypotheses, to 1) compare the effects of writing about or sharing a positive experience or re frame versus a neutral control on mental health and relationship well-being outcomes, 2) compare the effects of writing about or sharing positive experiences versus re framing or sharing re frames of negative experiences on mental health and relationship well-being outcomes; 3) compare and contrast the effect of sharing versus not sharing on mental health and relationship well-being outcomes. Participants that shared their positive experiences or positive re frames increased in gratitude relative to those who simply wrote about these topics. Possible explanations for these findings and their implications for future research are then discussed. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Family and Child Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2010. / June 24, 2010. / Positive Reframing, Sharing, Gratitude / Includes bibliographical references. / Frank Fincham, Professor Directing Dissertation; Ming Cui, Committee Member.