Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Characteristics Of Complex Problems, Allie Farrell, Min Hu, Ebuwa I. Evbuoma, William Liem, Ellis Ballard

Social System Design Lab

Many of the social challenges we care about feel like messy, wicked knots (or a pile of tangled headphones). When we pull on a thread in one place, we create new, tighter knots elsewhere. The messy nature of these challenges is due to, among other things, their complexity. Understanding key features of complex problems helps us understand why problems in education can be especially resistant to change. The purpose of this brief is to share (some) characteristics of complex problems, and introduce system dynamics as a set of tools for managing this complexity.

Mental Models, Lucy Chin, Allie Farrell, Min Hu, William Liem, Ellis Ballard

Social System Design Lab

A central principle of the systems thinking perspective is that system structures are supported and held in place by our underlying beliefs, mindsets, and goals (See Brief 1.01 - Systems Thinking Iceberg). Therefore, in order to transform and redesign systems we must also transform our mindsets. The purpose of this brief is to introduce the concept of mental models, and to discuss how system dynamics tools can be used to elicit, negotiate, and transform them.

Workforce Scorecards, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Workforce Analytics Resources

What Is a Child Welfare Workforce Scorecard?

A Workforce Scorecard is a tool that can be used to track key performance indicators (KPIs) related to workforce outcomes of interest. This approach is derived from the balanced scorecard (Kaplan & Norton, 1992) and HR scorecard (Becker, Huselid, & Ulrich, 2001) strategic planning tools. The process involves linking key strategic goals to workforce-related initiatives and KPIs to demonstrate the alignment between the outcomes being measured and overarching child welfare strategic goals. The scorecard allows agency leaders to monitor progress towards key HR and workforce objectives. The scope of the scorecard can be …

Understanding Systems From A Feedback Perspective, Allie Farrell, Min Hu, Lucy Chin, Ebuwa I. Evbuoma, William Liem, Ellis Ballard

Social System Design Lab

Systems perspectives encourage us to see the world as an interconnected system of causal relationships. A fundamental idea of system dynamics perspective the focus on feedback thinking – looking at cause and effect as not just moving in one direction. The purpose of this brief is to introduce the concept of feedback thinking through the lens of challenges in K-12 education, and present Causal Loop Diagrams as tools to describe feedback relationships between components of a system

Accumulations, Mikayla Branz, Allie Farrell, Min Hu, William Liem, Ellis Ballard

Social System Design Lab

There are several features of complex systems that make creating change in K-12 education difficult, including: delays between the intervention and outcome, unexpected or confusing responses to interventions, and differences in how individuals and groups experience the same systems. The concept of “accumulation” provides important insight into how misperceptions, delays, and counter-intuitive system responses occur in education change efforts. Stock [BE1] and Flow Diagrams are visual tools to identify and visually describe key accumulations in the systems and facilitate conversations to understand systems better.

The purpose of this brief is to describe how the concept of accumulation can help us …

Common Presenting Problems Among Youth Exposed To Substance Abuse In Their Household, Amalia Gamboa

Evidence-Based Social Work Practice Guide Series

This is an Evidence-Based guide for practitioners who are looking for ways to understand common presenting problems among youth exposed to substance abuse in their household

Pedagogical Agents, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What are pedagogical agents?

Pedagogical agents are “lifelike characters presented on a computer screen that guide users through multimedia learning environments” (Clarebout & Heidig, 2012, p. 2568). Pedagogical agents can vary in multiple ways. The following characteristics have been most studied: appearance (two-dimensional [2D] vs. three-dimensional [3D]), eye gaze, facial expression, gesturing, motion, and gender. The simplest pedagogical agent would be a static, 2D image with just text, and a complex agent would be a dynamic, 3D person or character that talks, gestures, and has eye movements and facial expressions.

Why are pedagogical agents valuable?

Pedagogical agents are valuable because …

Borderline Personality Disorder: Interventions For Adolescents And Caregivers, Addison Odum

Evidence-Based Social Work Practice Guide Series

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) encompasses a wide range of symptoms characterized by emotional dysregulation, including challenging interpersonal relationships, impulsivity, disturbances in cognition and identity, and is often accompanied by intentional self-injury and suicidal behaviors. In this guide, emphasis is placed on three aspects of intervention: (1) clinical interventions for adolescents who meet the criteria for BPD; (2) interventions clinicians can teach to parents/caretakers so they can better work with their child’s diagnosis; and (3) due to the negative impact this can have on adolescents, clinical interventions for parents/caregivers diagnosed with or exhibiting common symptoms of BPD is also provided.

Corazonar Y Escuchar Para Construir Memoria Desde La Interculturalidad Y El Territorio: Voces De Maestras En Escuelas Rurales., Valentina Dalmau Corredor, Laura Valentina Arévalo Lozano

Trabajo Social

La presente investigación da cuenta de la relación que se teje entre memoria colectiva y territorial desde la perspectiva de la interculturalidad decolonial en las Escuelas Normales Superiores (ENS) de Sibundoy-Putumayo y Pupiales-Nariño. Este documento fue escrito involucrando las voces de las maestras rurales, quienes, desde su trayectoria de vida, resignifican la labor docente en un país marcado por la desigualdad social, política y cultural como lo es Colombia. En estos territorios del sur del país, las maestras rurales hacen escuela desde sus resistencias y luchas cotidianas contra la estandarización y uniformidad que propone el sistema educativo. Por ello, busca …

Five Love Languages: Assessment Of Marital Satisfaction In African American Couples, Freddricka C. Lee

LSU Master's Theses

This mixed-methods study examined marital satisfaction among five (n = 10) heterosexual, African American married couples. In particular, this study examined how acknowledging a partner’s love language (Chapman, 1995) can affect these couples’ level of marital satisfaction. The participants were native to the South and ranged from 26-55 years of age. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data revealed couples were satisfied with their marriages. Although only marginally significant, the findings also revealed acknowledging a spouse’s love language was positively related to higher levels of marital satisfaction. Seven themes emerged throughout the interviews, namely communication; financial stability; understand a spouse’s …

Preventing Teen Dating Violence And Promoting Healthy Dating Relationships Among Adolescents Ages 12-18: An Evidence-Based Practice Guide For School Social Workers, Rachel N. Waddell

Evidence-Based Social Work Practice Guide Series

This EBP guide is to help school social workers become familiar with the prevalence of teen dating violence, and learn some of the elements of unhealthy teen relationships. It also provides some guidance in promoting healthy relationship skills for adolescents ages 12-18, while promoting bystander intervention in teen dating violence. It can also be used as a resource for community members, families, and teens.

Innovative Social Work Field Placements In Public Libraries, Sarah C. Johnson

Publications and Research

While the collaborative trend among professional social workers and librarians has accumulated much-deserved attention for several years, literature about social work students partnering with public libraries is only beginning to emerge. In fact, there are at least 100 branches that host social work students, yet academic literature examining the scope of these collaborations is sparse. Student placements do exist at Canadian and Australian libraries, yet the current research focuses on the bulk of known partnerships based in the United States. This paper includes information on the prevalence, nature, and fit of social work education and public library partnerships, garnered from …

Front End Justice: Diverting People Affected By Mental Illness From The Criminal Justice System, Ariel Esqueda, Kelliann Kutschke, Matthew Miller, Kayleigh Wendland

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Many of the people caught up in the criminal justice system are non-violent offenders struggling with mental illness, which cannot and should not be addressed through incarceration. Our jails and prisons are ill-equipped to provide effective mental health services. Incarceration compounds the problem by contributing to increased psychological distress. We are relying on the criminal justice system to respond to mental illness, rather than investing fully in the spectrum of mental health care from prevention to recovery. Minnesota must invest in diverting people affected by mental illness away from the criminal justice system and into community-based treatment, services, and supports …

Public Speaking As Advocacy: Formulating Your Group Advocacy Presentation, Dawn Daniels

Open Educational Resources

The slide presentation guides the students in presenting their final assignment to their classmates. The purpose of this lecture and assignment is to prepare them for advocacy work on behalf of marginalized and oppressed populations.

Evaluating Services For New Mainers Community, Hibo Omer

Student and Trainee Scholarship

Mission: Sandcastle Clinical & Education Services: we decided that children with special needs would no longer be separated and that our classrooms would be composed of a mixture of children. Sandcastle’s goal was and still is to this day that children graduating from our program at age five, who had special needs, would transition directly into a regular classroom and not be segregated from their peers. We are proud to have been on the cutting edge of inclusion, and proud to be educating children to be open minded, with open hearts.

Vision: Sandcastle was the first early childhood education program …

Supported Decision Making And Healthy Decisions, Jaci Peterson

Student and Trainee Scholarship

Supported Decision Making (SDM) is not a legal document or contract; it is a series of relationships, practices, arrangements and agreements designed to assist an individual with a disability to make and communicate with others, decisions about their life.

Eliminating Planned Adult Restraints: Providing Alternatives, Monique Stairs

Student and Trainee Scholarship

Assisting advocates to present their thoughts on the use of restraints as it relates to 14-197 C.M.R. Chapter 5, Regulations Governing Behavioral Support, Modification and Management for People with Intellectual Disabilities or Autism in Maine.

Ccids - Research On The Use Of Seclusion, Restraint And Isolation, Shane Da Silva-Novotny

Student and Trainee Scholarship

Data has shown that within Maine and on a national scale, children who have disabilities or special health care needs are more often restrained, secluded, and isolated. This is unfortunate as research demonstrates that these incidents are often quite ineffective, harmful, and potentially fatal.

There has been a number of intervention methods used to reduce restraint, isolation, and seclusion. Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI) has been deemed promising in reducing these incidents, reducing staff injuries, and as legitimate crisis management approach.

Love On The Brain: The Science Of Relationships And Trauma, Josephine M. Arens

2021 Academic Exhibition

This project draws together research from multiple sources to create an educational presentation on the impact our positive and negative experiences can have on our brains, bodies, thought processes, and social interactions. Additional focus is given to the applicability of this information across various professions and in improving our personal wellbeing.

The Benefits And Barriers To Receiving Medication-Assisted Treatment Inside And Outside Of Prison And Its Implications For Louisiana, Jennifer Johnson

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

I Am Ready For College. Are You Ready For Me?: Investing In Inclusive Higher Education For Young Adults With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities In Minnesota, Travis Bowen, Lindsey Morrison, Janessa Jandt, Claire Ziegler

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Minnesota has made a nominal investment in the education of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) beyond high school. Young adults with IDD face many barriers to access and enrollment in Minnesota inclusive postsecondary education (PSE). Barriers include a lack of postsecondary education options, a limited capacity in Minnesota's three existing Comprehensive Transition and Postsecondary programs (CTPs), and unclear available funding options. Young adults with IDD deserve the same opportunity to pursue postsecondary education in Minnesota as their peers, particularly in our public higher education institutions. The Minnesota State system must include adults with IDD in their 2020-2023 Equity …

Supportive Supervision And Resiliency Ohio - Intervention Background, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

What is the intervention and why was it selected? The Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD) conducted a comprehensive needs assessment with nine participating Ohio counties in partnership with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS). The assessment revealed that organizational culture and climate across counties was above average in rigidity and resistance, and below average in engagement. In addition, over half of staff had recently experienced elevated levels of secondary traumatic stress (STS) symptoms. Supervision was also identified as a challenge at every level of the agencies (i.e., from directors to managers, managers to frontline supervisors, …

An In-Depth Look Into A Career As A Social Worker With The Massachusetts Department Of Children And Families, Ryleigh Barrucci

Criminology Student Work

No abstract provided.

Swk 600: Research Methods I, Barbra Teater

Open Educational Resources

This course syllabus is for a Master level social work course on research methods. This course is the first in a two-part series where the end product is a research proposal in this course that is then carried out in the subsequent course. This course could also serve as a stand-alone course ending with the research proposal. The course uses an OER textbook resulting in a zero-textbook-cost (ZTC) for the students.

Compassion Fatigue In Students Completing Fieldwork, Darcy Walker

Honors Projects

This project was completed for students who are entering or actively completing fieldwork in the helping professions. It includes a pamphlet, annotated bibliography, and reflective essay. The pamphlet includes information on the signs of secondary traumatic stress, burnout, and compassion fatigue, as well as ways to prevent and combat them. The annotated bibliography summarizes and analyzes the importance of the sources used to complete the pamphlet. The reflective essay is an honest account of the author's own struggles with secondary traumatic stress and burnout, and the process of combating them while simultaneously completing this project.

Investing In A Culturally Diverse Mental Health Workforce In Minnesota, Emma Fuhrman, Teia Kopari, Cody Reinke, Josie Schultz

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

Minnesota’s mental health workforce lacks in both cultural diversity and cultural responsiveness. Each is critical for providing equitable mental health care to Minnesota's increasingly diverse population. Without ensuring that Minnesota’s mental health workforce is culturally diverse, culturally responsive mental health care for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) will not be attainable. Minnesota must broaden, strengthen, and create structures to support a racially and ethnically diverse mental health workforce.

Fostering Resilience In Adolescents: An Evidence-Based Practice Guide For Therapists And Practitioners Of Adolescents In Foster Care, Jordyn Jacobson

Evidence-Based Social Work Practice Guide Series

This guide shares 5 evidence-based suggestions to aid practitioners in helping their clients in foster care increase in resilience.

Financial Outcomes In A Child Development Account Experiment: Full Inclusion, Success Regardless Of Race Or Income, And Investment Growth For All, Margaret Clancy

Center for Social Development Research

This research summary presents SEED for Oklahoma Kids (SEED OK) experiment financial outcomes—Oklahoma College Savings Plan 529 (OK 529) account holding and savings—as of December 31, 2019. Wave 3 of SEED OK occurred when children were about 12 years old, nearing the age when they and their families make decisions about high school curricula and, not long after, postsecondary education.

This summary shows that all children can have an asset-building account with resources that grow over time. In particular, the CDA greatly increases the likelihood that disadvantaged children have assets accumulating for their future education. In addition, the CDA in …

Awareness Of And Value Placed On School Social Work: A Study Of Pennsylvania’S Public School Administrators, Jen Marshall

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

Social workers have been a part of the school community for over 100 years and, although they have proven integral in the lives of students and families, their roles and functions are not clearly understood by their chief school administrators. Administrators’ awareness of the role and function of school social workers holds implications for the delivery of these services. This study explored administrators’ level of awareness and the level of value placed on the role and function of school social workers based on the three components of the School Social Work Practice Model developed by the School Social Workers Association …

"Queer Even In Safe Spaces: Homeless, Shelter Failures, And The Queer Community", Kara West

Audre Lorde Writing Prize

Privileged groups consistently expect marginalized group identities to provide comfort, be it in the way the members actually showcase their identities, the work they do for society, or their general respect for the status quo. The queer community, specifically, has long been subject to prejudice and violence, and while tolerance is slowly increasing in the United States, the present day is no exception. Queer folks in the US are even much more likely to be homeless or in domestic violence situations than their heterosexual counterparts. Furthermore, once in vulnerable housing situations, queer folks are dangerously less likely to receive the …