Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Often, one of the first areas to cave under the pressures of graduate school is a graduate student’s writing. Sometimes this is because a writer feels unprepared for the amount or types of writing or it is simply due to the fact that writing is a layered process that has not been fully explained to graduate students before. In any of these situations, there remains a need for graduate writing support that accounts for these varied experiences and the larger graduate school environment. In order to better understand these needs on the IUPUI campus and begin to address them, this study collected data from current IUPUI graduate students and a pilot Graduate Writing Group program through the University Writing Center. Through this research, two key themes arose as vital to addressing graduate writer needs and student success in graduate school: community and feedback. By encouraging consideration of these topics within graduate writing programming, support offered can encourage these areas for graduate writers. Community provides space for students not only to learn from each other but also share common experiences and struggles. Through these spaces, graduate students can gain insight into their writing, program, field, and themselves by recognizing what is a natural part of the graduate school process, what needs to change, and how they develop as a result. Quality and diverse feedback leads to deeper understanding of a student’s field, their voice, and their writing process. Without an understanding of these two elements of graduate writing, students remain more likely to struggle with the graduate school process and with the liminal space of being students and professionals.

Spirituality is a multifaceted construct, and often studied as a one- or two-dimensional variable. Recent work has resulted in the development of the RiTE model of spirituality. While preliminarily supported as a useful approach to measuring spirituality, little is known regarding its associations with other outcomes. Past studies have shown inverse associations between spirituality and psychological distress, which appears to be partially a function of social support derived from spiritual beliefs or practices. As such, the present study tested the relationship between the RiTE dimensions and psychache as mediated by multiple types of social support. Parallel mediation results from an undergraduate sample (N = 1994) showed that all three RiTE dimensions were indirectly associated with psychache via multiple forms of social support. Ritualistic and existential spirituality also displayed direct associations with psychache. Implications of these findings are discussed in the context of past literature, applicable theoretical constructs, and treatment considerations.

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree Masters of Arts in Community Work in the Department of Social Work at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2009. / This study seeks to investigate the challenges facing the recipients of child support grant with special reference to uMhlathuze District Municipality. The government in its efforts to alleviate poverty, to the previously disadvantaged and vulnerable segments of our communities introduced several poverty alleviation strategies like the Child Support Grant which replaced the Maintanance grant. The Child Support Grant has proven to be successful as it was able, according to the then Minister of Social Development, Mr Zola Skweyiya, to put about 8 million orphans and poor children in the safety net in 2008. However as successful as it may be the Child Support Grant as a strategy is fraught with administrative problems and fraudulent activities committed by the recipients of the grant themselves. The writer's findings upon conducting empirical research discovered that, recipients forge more children's birth certificates and even boast about having more babies because they command considerable cash from the grant and unemployed parents become excited when their children drop-out of school as a result of the grant benefits. Their reason was that they find it hard to cope with the cost of living as a result of the unforeseen challenges that escalate with each baby. The main aim of this study was to outline these challenges and make recommendations towards their solutions. The study also sought to answer the question of whether there were any exit programmes designed to assist the beneficiaries to support their children and cater for their needs as they grow until they reach tertiary education. The study was exploratory and purposive in nature. Both qualitative and quantitative methods of research were used. Interview schedules that were used were the questionnaires and interviews. The sample was divided into two phases. Phase one consisted of the Child support grant recipients and Phase two consisted of social workers and community development workers and two interview schedules were used respectively. The findings of this study revealed that the majority of the respondents experienced hardships in terms of property ownership, employment, education, training and skills development, emotional and financial support. Lack of basic amenities such as health care and early child development programmes and social development programmes designed to supplement the grant are all social imperatives that they have rights to, according to the Bill of rights enshrined in the Constitution. This is a challenge for government and the community at large, if the situation is not changed the situation will cost government to loose huge amounts which could be used for other projects.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty Arts in partial fulfillment of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Community Psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Zululand, 2017 / The aim of this study was to evaluate the support services provision in schools. The study is based on inclusive education which advocates the importance of collaborative work by all stakeholders for effective implementation. System’s theory was considered since the schools are part of the community. Both qualitative and quantitative methods, combined with appreciative inquiry were employed. The sample consisted of 100 educators, 5 psychologists and 6 parents. Positive outcomes are visible from the respondents’ responses. The majority indicated an overwhelming support by the stakeholders. These findings indicated that educators are enthusiastic and dedicated to implementing inclusive education, despite some shortfalls. It is noted that the respondents’ biographical characteristics have positive influence on the perceived support services.

Timely and appropriate clinical decisions can be lifesaving, and decision support systems could help facilitate this. However, user adoption of clinical decision support systems (CDSS) and their impact on patient care have been disappointing. Contemporary theories in information systems and several evaluation studies have failed to explain or predict the adoption of CDSS. To find out why I conducted a qualitative inquiry using the constructivist grounded theory method. Guided by the theory of planned behaviour, I designed a functional clinical decision support system called DermML. Then, I used it as a stimulus to elicit responses through semi-structured interviews with doctors, a community to which I also belong. Besides the interview data, I also collected demographic data from the participants and anonymous clickstream data from DermML. I found that the clinical community is diverse, and their knowledge needs are varied yet predictable. Using theoretical sampling, constant comparison and iterative conceptualization, I scaled my findings to a substantive theory that explains the difference in practitioners' knowledge needs and predicts adoption based on CDSS type and use context. Having designed DermML myself, the data provided me with design insights that I have articulated as prescriptive design theory. I posit that GT can generate explanatory and predictive theories and prescriptive design theories to guide action. This study eliminates the boundaries between the developers of CDSS, study participants, future users and knowledge mobilization partners. I hope the rich data I collected and the insights I derived help improve the adoption of CDSS and save lives. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Those high in rejection sensitivity (RS) have expectations of being rejected by others, and often construe vague interpersonal cues as rejection, and react to rejection whether it is true or perceived (Downy & Feldman, 1996). Williams and Mickelson (2008) suggest fear of rejection may guide individuals to seek support through indirect (rather than direct) behaviors, which are associated with low social support. Indeed, Brookings, Zembar and Hochstetler explored personalities of high-RS individuals and found individuals with high-RS likely avoid situations where rejection is possible and remain detached from others rather than attempting close relationships (2001). This study examines RS and the choice to disclose or not to disclose personally negative (i.e., stigmatizing) information to a potentially close individual (friend, family). While previous research has explored this relation using a crude measure of fear of rejection, we expanded that prior work by assessing RS with a well established scale. In addition, the current study explores specific characteristics of a stigmatizing identity (saliency, visibility, secrecy, and thinking about) and their relation with both RS and help seeking. Our hypotheses are that as RS increases direct help seeking will decrease and indirect help seeking will increase. In addition, we believe that the characteristics of a stigmatizing identity would be related to high levels of RS, as well as increased indirect seeking and decreased direct seeking. We collected data from 659 (69% female) students at a southeastern university through participation in an online survey. We tested our hypothesis with bivariate correlations and found that direct help seeking behaviors were negatively correlated with RS (r= -.166; p =.01) and indirect help seeking behaviors were positively correlated with RS (r=.183; p=.01). Secrecy was positively correlated with RS and indirect help seeking (r=.190 and r=.199 respectively; p =.01) and negatively correlated with direct help seeking (r= -.191; p =.01).

This qualitative, phenomenological study examined community support and caring for oneself as Latter-day Saint (LDS) women navigated the stages of divorce. Six divorced LDS women participated in semi-structured interviews. Data was analyzed through Creswell's modified version of Moustakas' phenomenology and themes were established through meaning units. The following themes emerged: perceptions of failure, where do I belong, support and a lack of support from the overall community. Participants offered additional forms of support needed in this process, and how others can take care of themselves during this time. Participants reported feeling varying levels of support. Implications for divorced LDS women, the LDS church, and clinicians were addressed. / Master of Science

Positive social support, realistic job demand, and appropriate levels of control over their responsibilities can mitigate empathy fatigue and burnout among nurses, increase quality care for patients, and lay the foundation for teams to embrace challenges during crises. The COVID-19 pandemic stretched nurses in all these areas, leading many nurses to contemplate changing fields. Failure to address and embrace the difficulties that nurses face during such crises can result in loss of nurses and impact the entire healthcare industry. The present study used one-to-one interviews to glean insider perspectives of changes in job demand, control, and support nurses experienced as they showed up to work in COVID-19 units. Results showed that the bridge to overcoming daily battles and stresses came primarily through supportive education and skill building, emotional support from peers, and venting after a challenging event. Keywords: social support, emotional support, informational support, moral injury, Demand-Control-Support Model

No description available.

No description available.