PROLONGED EXPOSURE TO CONGREGATE CARE AND FOSTER YOUTH OUTCOMES

Long-term exposure to congregate care settings can place foster children at greater risk for negative life outcomes in adulthood such as homelessness, incarceration, and substance use. The significance of this quantitative study is found in the benefits to both the micro and macro fields of social work as well as the practical applications to child welfare practices regarding placing children in congregate care settings. These findings are essential for guiding and improving the already existing child welfare policies and practices regarding the length of stay in congregate care settings as well as providing supportive services to children who are already placed or at risk of being placed in this type of residential setting. This quantitative study uses a descriptive-correlational approach to explore relationship between long-term exposure to congregate care and negative psychosocial outcomes for foster youth such as homelessness, incarceration, and substance use disorders. The hypothesis guiding this study is that long-term exposure to congregate care places foster children at greater risk for certain adverse life outcomes. Secondary data was obtained from national databases which includes the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) as well as the Mental Health Service Use of Youth Leaving Foster Care (Voyages), 2001-2003

New Englanders Bake Beans for 10 Hours

Yes, the large restaurants and hotels serve almost the same food all over the country. But what do the ordinary people (the butchers, bakers and candlestick makers) eat in Maine, Utah, or Mississippi

A Study of the Potential Need, Location, and Cost of an Addition to St. Joseph-Ogden High School

This study was conducted to address the problem of the growing student population and potential overcrowding of St. Joseph-Ogden High School. It examined the extent of need, best location, and estimated cost of an addition to the high school. The extent of need was established by determining the assignable space percentage, the functional capacity, and the future enrollment of the high school. The best location was established by determining educational, classroom, and square footage needs and then determining what available property would satisfy those needs. The construction cost was established by multiplying the total square footage of the proposed addition by $100 per square foot. Since the construction cost represents only 75Based on the enrollment projection of 530 students by the 2001-02 school year, the St. Joseph-Ogden High School board and administration strongly need to consider building an addition to the high school. Further, strong consideration should be given to building an addition with six classrooms, each measuring 1,000 square feet in size. Of the three locations that would accommodate an addition of six classrooms, the site to the south of the 1976 addition was determined to be the best choice. Although the construction of an addition with six classrooms could cost as much as$973,600, delaying a decision on building an addition could prove to be cost prohibitive as construction costs continue to rise. The employment of a professional architect and careful planning should help to control costs. Although this study was limited to St. Joseph-Ogden High School, it is hoped that other school districts facing similar situations of overcrowding would find this study useful. The formulae and procedures used to establish the extent of need, best location, and estimated cost of an addition to the high school should be applicable to personnel in other districts considering building additions to their schools. School boards and administrators of other districts should be able to make decisions concerning their own building projects using the information presented in this study

The Effect of Tolerance of Ambiguity and the Familial Role of an Offender on Criminal Decision Making

The effect of the gender, personality traits, attitudes towards violence, and tolerance of ambiguity of an individual, as well as the offender\u27s familial role on the punishment, sentencing, and parole of an offender was examined. College students were asked to read one of two criminal scenarios: with the offender being the sole caretaker for her family, or with another caretaker present, and then punish, sentence, and determine parole of the offender in the scenarios based on the crime presented. Offenders who were the sole caretakers of their family received less harsh punishments and sentences that offenders who had other caretakers present. They were also more likely to receive parole. Attitude towards violence and tolerance of ambiguity were not significant indicators of sentencing. Females and males differed in attitudes toward violence of war with males being more favorable to violence in war. However, males and females did not differ in sentencing. These findings suggest that being a sole caretaker decreases an offender\u27s sentence. However, future research needs to be conducted on a more diverse sample to determine the effects of gender, authoritarian views, and one\u27s attitude towards violence

Cognitive bias and learning from experience: Reflective processes for reducing bias

While heuristic processing is often useful for quickly ascertaining information in everyday situations, it can lead to inaccuracies when task demands become complex and more systematic processing is required. These inaccuracies are often the result of confirmation bias, in which information that is consistent with our beliefs is noted at the expense of disconfirming evidence. The current decision making literature suggests that highlighting disconfirming evidence – termed negative feedback - might work to engage deliberate, systematic cognitive processes that lead to more accurate information acquisition. Using a probabilistic learning task where feedback is not consistently accurate (Matchmaker), the first experiment in this study will attempt to overcome confirmation bias by encouraging initial hypotheses to be considered from confirming and disconfirming vantages. It is proposed that errors resulting from bias will thus be made more salient and the testing of alternative solutions will be encouraged, resulting in greater accuracy. A second experiment will explore the cognitive processes involved in bias strengthening and determine if warnings of feedback error alter the way in which information is interpreted

Terahertz Imaging Platform to Characterize the Growth of In-Vitro Breast Tumors

This study aimed at evaluating the ideal plating method and density for imaging with the terahertz (THz) spectrometer. In this study, different methods were used to grow in-vitro tumors using the 4T1 cell line. Here, attempts to grow breast tumors in-vitro were conducted. Results were produced in two environments, flat-bottomed plates and round-bottomed multiwell plates. The second method allowed for faster clumping and increased cell aggregation, producing tumors up to 7mm. Terahertz spectroscopy produced images that correlated well to photomicrographs taken of the in-vitro tumors. This methodology shows great promise for providing a reliable, parameter-controlled source of in-vitro breast tumors for research needs on breast tumor margins

A study and interpretation of child nature in pre-Elizabethan literature

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University PLEASE NOTE: author has misnumbered pages. Two different pages are numbered 16. Page 72 appears to be missing, but we believe this is a case of misnumbering and no actual content is missing

A Study of the Potential Need, Location, and Cost of an Addition to St. Joseph-Ogden High School

This study was conducted to address the problem of the growing student population and potential overcrowding of St. Joseph-Ogden High School. It examined the extent of need, best location, and estimated cost of an addition to the high school. The extent of need was established by determining the assignable space percentage, the functional capacity, and the future enrollment of the high school. The best location was established by determining educational, classroom, and square footage needs and then determining what available property would satisfy those needs. The construction cost was established by multiplying the total square footage of the proposed addition by $100 per square foot. Since the construction cost represents only 75Based on the enrollment projection of 530 students by the 2001-02 school year, the St. Joseph-Ogden High School board and administration strongly need to consider building an addition to the high school. Further, strong consideration should be given to building an addition with six classrooms, each measuring 1,000 square feet in size. Of the three locations that would accommodate an addition of six classrooms, the site to the south of the 1976 addition was determined to be the best choice. Although the construction of an addition with six classrooms could cost as much as$973,600, delaying a decision on building an addition could prove to be cost prohibitive as construction costs continue to rise. The employment of a professional architect and careful planning should help to control costs. Although this study was limited to St. Joseph-Ogden High School, it is hoped that other school districts facing similar situations of overcrowding would find this study useful. The formulae and procedures used to establish the extent of need, best location, and estimated cost of an addition to the high school should be applicable to personnel in other districts considering building additions to their schools. School boards and administrators of other districts should be able to make decisions concerning their own building projects using the information presented in this study