Post-it Notes: Social Workers and Research Participants Sticking Together

This autoethnography reflects the author\u27s perceptions of a collaborative social work process called qualitative inquiry. Using a quiltmaking metaphor, the author creates a recipe for collaborative learning between qualitative researchers and study participants. The metaphors associated with quiltmaking reflect a participatory action research model, and encourage qualitative researchers to stretch their creativity and collaboration skills

High Friction Surfacing Systems Using Blends of Natural Aggregate and Calcined Bauxite

High friction surfacing (HFS), bonded to a road surface at high risk locations, has beenshown to significantly reduce road fatalities and serious injuries, i.e., HFS saves lives. Calcinedbauxite is the preferred aggregate for use in HFS systems due to its unique ability to resistpolishing and abrasion by vehicle tires. Calcined bauxite is expensive, negatively impacts theenvironment due to mining, production and transporting processes and has come under supplypressures in recent years. This paper investigates the potential for blending natural aggregates withcalcined bauxite for use in HFS systems. The experiments involved subjecting HFS specimens tolaboratory simulated trafficking and testing for skid resistance, texture depth and mass loss. Thetesting was carried out in laboratories in Spain and Northern Ireland. The findings suggest thatthere is the potential to reduce the amount of calcined bauxite used in HFS systems by replacing apercentage of the calcined bauxite with high PSV natural sandstone or volcanic tuff aggregate. Theimpact of this research could reduce the risks associated with supply issues to the HFS industry,reduce environmental impact by using less calcined bauxite in HFS systems and reduce costsassociated with the aggregate component of HFS systems—enabling road authorities to installmore systems at high risk locations to further reduce fatalities and serious injuries on their road

Klipsun Magazine, 1974, Volume 04, Issue 02 - January

https://cedar.wwu.edu/klipsun_magazine/1016/thumbnail.jp

Klipsun Magazine, 1973, Volume 04, Issue 01 - November

https://cedar.wwu.edu/klipsun_magazine/1015/thumbnail.jp

La nueva pluralidad de convenios colectivos en el Derecho alemán del trabajo

[Resumen] El Tribunal Federal alemán de Trabajo ha abandonado el principio previo de unidad de los convenios colectivos. Por eso, los convenios colectivos de sindicatos oponentes pueden aplicarse unos juntos a otros en la empresa. Las propuestas legales de restaurar la unidad de los convenios colectivos están en contradicción con la Constitución alemana.[Abstract] The German Federal Labor Court has abandoned the previous principle of unity of collective agreements. Therefore, collective bargaining agreements of competing unions can be applied side by side within one company. Legal proposals to restore the unity of collective agreements are in contradiction to the German constitution

Survival songs : how refugee and immigrant women experienced violence.

An interest in privileging the voices of women who are marginalized in many parts of the world coupled with knowledge of the restorative properties of music cultivated this qualitative study. Seven women, ages 20-49 years of age, from three continents were asked the following grand tour questions: What was your experience of violence? What were the residual grief and loss issues that you faced? What, if any, role did music play in helping you cope with the stress of surviving violence? Participants were required to (a) be over 18 years old, (b) currently reside in the United States, (c) have left their native country because of violence, and (d) have arrived in the United States since 1992 with refugee or immigrant status. Individual interviews of approximately 2-1/2 hours were held with each participant. Data were collected via audiotape and then transcribed. Using a grounded theory method, ATLAS-ti was used to create open and axial codes, leading to themes and a theory of these women\u27s experiences. A composite metaphoric story was written and punctuated with quotations from the raw data

Choice, transition, engagement, and persistence : the experiences of female student veterans at the University of Texas at Austin

As the numbers of veterans on campus increase as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the reauthorization of the GI Bill, higher education is called to more keenly understand and support this population (Baechtold & De Sawal, 2009). Moreover, in light of the growing population of female student veterans, this timely study adds to the inappropriately small body of knowledge of female military veterans’ experiences in higher education and to conceptualize this population’s experiences with regard to college choice, transition to campus, institutional engagement, and overall persistence to degree. By utilizing a transitional theory framework, this study advances research on the particularly complex educational trajectories of female student veterans (Hamrick & Rumann, 2011). By employing a phenomenological approach, this study brings a close examination of the experiences as described by participants, providing for a distillation of respondents’ experiences into a composite description of their experiences, which can be used to inform faculty, staff, and administration about this growing population. Lastly, by examining the experiences of female student veterans at a four-year, flagship, public research university, this study augments our understanding about a worrisome trend: female student veterans select four-year, research institutions less frequently than their male peers and nonveteran women, despite the presence of educational benefits provided by military service and the GI Bill, the robust veteran student services more often found at four-year institutions, and the long-term personal economic benefits that come from completing a four-year degree. Female student veteran experiences served as a major source of data and research was gathered in the form of a demographic survey, individual interviews, and small focus groups consisting of undergraduate female student veterans at The University of Texas at Austin. Outcomes are manifold and include the conceptualization of the unique experiences of female student veterans at the university as well as support for future policy relating to female student veterans’ educational success.Educational Administratio

Variables influencing the successful passage of school bond referenda as identified by selected stakeholders in Texas

School districts that successfully pass a school bond election after a failed bond election offer a unique opportunity to investigate variables involved in both the failure and subsequent successful passage of a bond referenda (Hickey, 2006). This in-depth qualitative case study of a representative school district that experienced success after a prior failure was used to develop a greater understanding of the variables associated with overcoming negative sentiment toward school bond passage, as well as update, enhance, elaborate, and clarify previous quantitative and qualitative work in the field. This study examined the participants’ views to establish what the variables were that affected the outcome of bond elections that “statistical analysis alone cannot capture” (Bowers et al., 2010, p. 417). This qualitative study answered three questions: (a) What variables contributed to the failure of a school bond election? (b) What variables contributed to the success of a school bond election? (c) What relationships existed among these variables with regard to selected characteristics of a school district? The overarching research paradigm was a qualitative single-case study in which artifacts and interviews were the primary data analyzed. This study investigated one representative district in Texas that had a successful bond election after prior failure, using a purposive, theoretical sampling technique from the subset of districts who failed and then passed a subsequent bond referenda between May 2013 and May 2017 in Texas using bond data from the Texas Comptroller’s Office. The findings revealed that the school district leaders and the school bond referendum election process must be responsive to changing community environments and voter preferences. Key strategies that were used in successfully passing a school bond referendum included: an extensive pre-bond needs assessment process; securing strong consulting expertise to support a comprehensive school bond election planning process; mapping the political environment and involving key community influencers; a focus on effective leadership recruitment and development of parent and community leaders; substantive input and involvement from a representative group of stakeholders throughout the process, especially parents and campus staff; a clear, appealing bond proposal; and acknowledgement and recognition of losses caused by the change process. The study contributed new knowledge to the body of research on successful school bond referenda. This study also offered new insights into key strategies that enable leaders in public school districts and communities to be able to succeed in school bond referendum elections in the future.Educational Administratio

Effect of Individual Height and Testing Methods on Outcome of the Forward Functional Reach Test

Background: With falls a leading cause of injuries among those over age 65, early recognition of risk is imperative to reduce rising rates. The Forward Functional Reach test (FFRT) (Duncan et al., 1990) is frequently used to identify fall risk, however, the variability in cut values found in the research may be related to height and reach strategies. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if FFRT is affected by an individual’s height and if bilateral reach to height ratio could more accurately identify fall risk. Methods: Sixty-six participants (60 and older) were recruited from a senior center in Alabama. Inclusion criteria required: ability to stand for two minutes, walk independently with or without an assistive device for 20’, no restrictive neurological/orthopedic injury or vital signs. Participants were classified into height groups; short \u3c 65”, medium 65” to 69”, or tall \u3e 69” and as fall risk (1) or non-fall risk (0) based on health/fall history, Activities-Specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC), Timed Up and Go (TUG), and handgrip strength; summative as fall risk composite score (FRCS). Distance using the FFRT for unilateral forward functional reach (UFFR) and bilateral forward functional reach (BFFR) was found then unilateral reach to height ratio (URHR) and bilateral reach to height ratio (BRHF) were calculated. Research Analysis/Discussion: A Pearson Correlation showed UFFR, BFFR, URHR, and BRHR negatively correlated to FRCS (-0.51 to -0.54) however height correlated greater with UFFR (0.59) and BFFR (0.63) than URHR (0.42) and BRHR (0.47). An ANOVA between height group comparison showed statistical differences; UFFR (p=3.03x10-6), BFFR (p=7.8x10-7), URHR (p=0.00123), BRHR (p=0.00052); greater difference for BFFR than UFFR. A multilinear regression showed both BFFR and BRHR more influential to FRCS. Using a scatterplot between UFFR and BFFR, BFFR cut point values specific to height groups reduced false negatives by \u3e60% in all height groups. Conclusion: Height is a factor in FFRT. The extra calculation for reach to height ratio does not add improve fall risk identification. BFFR with cut points by height group, 10” for short, 11” for medium and 12” for tall, improves fall risk identification