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Improving the MQ for Pastoral Counseling at Hesed Counseling Ministries to Benefit Pro-Life Victims of Pro-Abortionist Violence
Get PDFBiblical Christianity has ubiquitously denounced abortion. Unfortunately, an unprecedented number of physical attacks on the pro-ministry’s volunteers and properties have resulted in traumatic experiences. Counseling services are the natural recommendation for these volunteers thereafter. However, secular counselors are often incongruent with the values of the pro-life ministry. Hesed Counseling Ministries offers counseling services for pro-life volunteers. As a group of solution-focused practitioners, they utilize the miracle-question (MQ). To create a counseling milieu congruent to the unique subculture of the pro-life ministry, they created their own MQ. It was bereft of the voices and verbiage of the pro-life ministry. Therefore, the goal of this project was to create a research-based MQ (RMQ) derived from their voices. Three qualified participants were recruited to create the RMQ. Their qualifications were as follows: they experienced the trauma; they questioned their safety in the ministry, yet they remained in the ministry, growing spiritually through the experience. Their voices were derived from their own created MQ written as they would have liked it posed to them after their trauma. Then, through retrospective journaling, they listed the important elements of their spiritual growth from that time. Afterward, through in-depth interviews, they articulated the connection between their retrospective journaling elements and their MQs. After triangulating the data, their experiences provided data whereby six themes emerged that were included in RMQ. Post-test data indicates that the RMQ was 30 percent more helpful than Hesed’s MQ and 60 percent more helpful than de Shazer’s MQ
College Student Experiences in a Creative Writing Extracurricular: A Phenomenological Study
Get PDFThe purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the lived experience of students at Western Pennsylvania community colleges with creative writing extracurricular involvement and its impact on academic success and personal development. The theory guiding this study was Astin’s theory of student involvement, as it provided a framework for exploring involvement in creative writing extracurriculars within the community college. The central research question of the study was: What are the lived experiences of community college students actively involved in a creative writing extracurricular? Two sub-questions follow, dissecting the student\u27s academic success and personal development. The research study design was phenomenology, which focused on the study of participants\u27 lived experiences to understand the essence of the experience or phenomenon. The study utilized the hermeneutic phenomenology approach due to personal experience with community college students and advising of an extracurricular organization on campus. The participant population included 12 enrolled students at four community colleges in Western Pennsylvania who actively participated in creative writing extracurriculars on campus. Data collection consisted of questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups. Data analysis included text transcript creation, coding, and thematic development. There were four themes that emerged during data analysis: community college experience, creative writing, academics, and personal development. Emerging themes were analyzed using MAXQDA data analysis software. Overall, community college students perceived that involvement in a creative writing extracurricular would play a crucial role in academic success and personal development
Early-Stage Major Neurocognitive Disorder: A Case Study of the Experiences of Elder Men Who Attended a Peer-Led Support Group
Get PDFThe purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to understand how elder men ages 65 and older with a diagnosis of early-stage major neurocognitive disorder experienced their participation in a peer-led support group series held at a neurology clinic in Barnstable, Massachusetts. The theory guiding this study asserts elder individuals contending with a chronic and debilitating illness like major neurocognitive disorder need to experience a sense of belonging and psycho-emotional support to attain resilience and quality of life and is found in the works of Hassani, Izadi-Avanji, Rakhshan, & Majd (2017) as it relates to the experience of elder men with major neurocognitive disorder and their engagement in a peer-led support group. The central research question in this study asked, “How did participating in an eight-week peer-led support group for elder men with early-stage major neurocognitive disorder in Barnstable, Massachusetts impact participants’ perceptions of self, quality of life, resilience, and the ability to thrive?” Data collection was achieved through individual interviews with support group members, their care partners, their neurology providers, and the support group facilitator. Journal notes, observations, memos and artifacts were utilized to enhance data collection and ensure triangulation. An analytic approach to data analysis that included pattern matching was employed to organize and categorize results to identify themes congruent or incongruent with research suppositions
California Native Ethnocide: California Indigenous Peoples and Cultural Extermination
Get PDFFrom the founding of the United States to the establishment of the state of California, the culture of ethnocentrism of European settlers and colonizers has been a defining force, manifesting in policies, violence, and the attempted systematic ethnocide of Indigenous peoples. From the time of first contact by the Spanish, to Mexican rule, to the conquest of California by the United States, Native peoples have been viewed as savages, as peoples who needed to be civilized, to be assimilated into White settler society. Policies of ethnocide have been present since this first contact to “Kill the Indian and save the man.” These ethnocidal polices were put forth by both the state of California as well as by the federal government. The Spanish brought the mission era to California with the aim of Christianizing the Native population, forcing them to live and labor at the missions so they could adopt the “civilized” ways of the European man. The Mexicans continued this policy under their rule starting in 1821. Once the Americans conquered the land in 1846, they began policies of genocide, outright murder, to eradicate the Native population. When genocide failed, the US turned to ethnocidal policies such as reservations and Indian Boarding Schools as tools of assimilation. The White man saw reservations as places where Native peoples could learn the ways of civilization, such as farming and agriculture. Schools were ways to assimilate Native children, while they were young, to make them into White, settler society. As a result of Euro-American contact and settlement in California, from the first European contact by the Spanish to 1900, under US rule, Indigenous peoples of California experienced ethnocide through federal and state policies, boarding schools, dispossession of their lands, and cultural dislocation, leading to the attempted loss of their culture, languages, laws, governance, traditional dietary intake, and spiritual traditions, all designed to force assimilation into White society
The Effects of Reading Comprehension Intervention for Dyslexia
Get PDFA quantitative study was performed to determine if Lindamood-Bell Reading Intervention had an effect on the self-concept, anxiety levels, and depression levels of individuals diagnosed with dyslexia. This quantitative study was also conducted to determine if a person’s age had an effect on the ability to learn coping mechanisms for dyslexia. Thirty-three participants, ranging in age from 7 to17 years-old were selected to participate in the study. All participants had a formal diagnosis of dyslexia and had not obtained the Lindamood-Bell Reading Intervention prior to participating in the study. The participants were divided into three age groups. Each participant completed questions from the Beck Youth Inventory to determine their levels of anxiety, depression, and self-concept. This was completed before intervention began and again after the six weeks of intervention. The Lindamood-Bell Visualizing and Verbalizing Progress Chart was used to determine each participant’s reading comprehension level before and after the intervention. Once the intervention was complete, a Repeated Measures ANOVA was computed to examine whether a person’s age had an effect on learning the reading intervention. The results demonstrated a significant difference between Group 1 (7-10) and Group 3 (15-17). Group 1 responded better to the intervention than Group 3. Additionally, an ANOVA test was performed to determine if coping mechanisms had an effect on the self-concept, anxiety levels, and/or depression levels in individuals with a diagnosis of dyslexia. The findings failed to reject the hypothesis. Overall, this study indicates that individuals diagnosed with dyslexia are able to learn coping mechanisms better when they are younger, suggesting the need for early intervention for individuals with dyslexia
Challenges Leadership Faces When Trying to Expand Mobile Healthcare Utilization within Texas Nursing Home Rehabilitation Centers, Resulting in a Potential Decline of Physician Workflows and Probability
Get PDFThe expansion of mobile healthcare utilization within Texas Nursing Home Rehabilitation Centers (TNHRC) includes numerous challenges, primarily influenced by leadership\u27s ability to adapt to technological innovations. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between leadership practices at TNHRC and the implementation of mobile healthcare solutions by analyzing the critical impact of leadership on the activation of physician workflow and emergent patient outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine how leadership traits, behaviors, and decision-making play a role in the adoption of mobile technology (and resistance to change) in nursing homes, where a limitation in resources occurs, and people resist change. A study helps to understand the barriers to the expansion of mobile healthcare and what effect these barriers have on the efficiency of healthcare delivery. This research included a qualitative case study to explore healthcare professionals\u27 and leaders\u27 experiences in TNHRC for the integration of mobile technology into professional practice. Interviews, observations, and document reviews as triangulated data that to validation and reliability. This process suggested that mobile technology may facilitate workflow efficiency and communication and improve patient care. Furthermore, this study confirms that the expansion of mobile health care within TNHRC is not an issue of technology but a leadership challenge that needs an understanding of change management
The Renal Social Workers\u27 Perspective: Attitude, Behaviors, and Barriers to Sexual Health Inclusion
Get PDFSexual health, an important factor of perceived wellness and quality of life, is adversely impacted by renal disease and treatment. The social worker is uniquely positioned on the renal clinical care team to address sexual health. There is a dearth of literature on renal care and sexual health, and no national study on whether or how sexual health is being addressed in renal care planning by the social worker. This qualitative case study was aimed at exploring the attitudes, behaviors, and perceived barriers based on the lived experiences of renal social workers in incorporating sexual health assessments into routine renal care planning. First, a renal qualifier questionnaire, powered by Qualtrics, was sent to all nationally affiliated Council of Nephrology Social Worker email lists. Next, strategic sampling from the questionnaire volunteer pool was used to host a virtual focus group with four social workers and five individual interviews. Finally, a rigorous thematic analysis of the focus group and interview transcripts, and the researcher field notes conducted using NVivo 15. All the questionnaire respondents (N=14) expressed value to sexual health inclusion and favorability to adding it into routine care planning. Six Themes Emerged. The frequency of routine sexual health assessments varied based on the social worker’s comfort level with the topic, the interdisciplinary team involvement in sexual health acknowledgement, the consulting environment, and whether the social worker was knowledgeable of or if there were available avenues for intervention for sexual health education and services
An Intrinsic Case Study Examining Strategies Used by Stakeholders to Handle Inappropriate Behaviors and Teach Self-Regulation to Elementary Students with Moderate to Profound Exceptionalities
Get PDFThe purpose of this intrinsic case study was to discover strategies stakeholders use to handle inappropriate behaviors and teach self-regulation to elementary students with moderate to profound exceptionalities. The theory guiding this study was Bandura’s social cognitive theory, which emphasizes self-regulation. The social cognitive theory applies to this study because teaching students how to overcome behavioral impulses facilitates learning. The relationship between self-regulation and the focus of this study was to expose the different techniques for handling inappropriate behaviors and instilling self-discipline and coping skills in elementary-aged children with moderate to profound exceptionalities. This study included 13 stakeholders: three parents and two grandmothers; one parent and the grandmothers also served as special education staff; four others were special education staff, and the remaining four provided support services. Data collection methods included interviews, focus groups, and letter writing. The settings were the home or other convenient locations or a school environment where the stakeholders worked with elementary-aged students with moderate to profound exceptionalities. The data were analyzed through pre-coding, coding, and re-coding of themes and patterns found in the data. This analysis yielded seven major themes, each comprising three or four subthemes. The major themes included behavior as communication, relationships, boundaries and expectations, environmental challenges, teaching to cope, self-inspection, and influencing behavior. By using strategies tailored to the student, along with patience, understanding, and love, children with moderate to profound exceptionalities can learn self-regulation and coping skills, although this may occur at a slower pace than those without exceptionalities
The Relationship Between Parental Engagement and Student Hope in Adolescent Students: A Multiple Linear Regression Analysis
Get PDFThis quantitative, predictive, correlational study aims to determine the influence of parental engagement, comprised of its multiple individual factors, on psychological hope in adolescent students. The importance of this study is grounded in the development of national programs such as the Parent Teacher Association (PTA), which seeks to support the family-school relationship as a critical component in student success and in the research literature that strongly links parental engagement to student academic achievement and social outcomes essential to children’s educational attainment. In this study, 112 students were randomly selected from two schools. Parents completed an anonymous, digital version of the Parents and School Survey (PASS) and the Children’s Hope Scale (CHS). The researcher analyzed the data using a multiple linear regression to investigate the relationships between the multiple predictor variables of parental engagement and the outcome variable of psychological hope in adolescent students. The findings revealed a low predictive power of parental engagement factors on CHS scores. The study’s negative adjusted R2 value of –0.0297 suggested potential limitations with the measurement tools or the appropriateness of the chosen variables. Discussion of these results highlights the need for a deeper understanding of parental engagement that encompasses qualitative aspects such as emotional support and considers cultural influences and peer dynamics. This study underscores the complexity of the relationship between parental engagement and psychological hope, opening the door for future research to explore this relationship more deeply
Teacher Learning Communities: A Qualitative Case Study of Professional Development in Special Education
Get PDFThe purpose of this qualitative case study was to discover the collaboration in teacher learning communities (TLCs) to support the growth of students with disabilities for special education teachers at a middle school in South Georgia. The theory guiding this study was Vygotsky’s social constructivism theory as it strongly emphasizes the social nature of learning and the influence of cultural context. Individuals construct knowledge through interactions with others, and the cultural environment within TLCs significantly influences professional development. This study employed a single case study design to explore how 10 special education professionals collaborate within TLCs to promote inclusive learning environments to support the growth of students with disabilities. The study utilized individual interviews, observations, and document analysis to gather data. The findings revealed several key themes that exemplified the essential components of supportive learning environments in TLCs. Participants consistently emphasized the significance of trust and respect, knowledge sharing, and an inclusive culture as foundational components that enhance collaborative efforts. In addition, establishing clear objectives and visions, promoting a positive learning environment, and facilitating professional development were critical components of effective leadership practices