Shades of Green: A Comparative Analysis of U.S. Green Economies

Recent attention from scholars, policymakers, and practitioners has focused on the importance of green economy development in achieving sustainability. Efforts, however, have been complicated by the lack of agreement on what a green economy is or how to transition to one. Drawing insights from environmental sociology, new state theory, and science and technology studies, I conduct a comparative analysis of select U.S. cities with recognized green economies. Findings indicate that in each economy, the strength and role of institutions and actors is unique, forming distinct networks that vary in their pursuit of socio-environmental goals

Noise Induced Hearing Loss Accountability on Jobsites within the Construction Industry

Noise induced hearing loss is a major issue on jobsites within the construction industry. Every day workers are exposed to hazardous levels of noise, but they are not being properly managed to mitigate this issue. Workers have misconceptions about the topic, but more surprisingly are sometimes indifferent to the effects; believing hearing loss is inevitable, or it can be cured with a hearing aide. Construction has inherent dangers that workers have to deal with every day. Hearing loss might not be on the top of their lists, but the effects are permanent, and they cannot be cured with a hearing aide. This paper will discuss the research on noise induced hearing loss and its consequences, how this information is being received by construction industry members, and a solution for this issue. It will be evident that construction industry members are not taking hearing protection seriously, and the solution industry members being held accountable

Extraction and Analysis of Data for Fragility Fracture Patients to Help Determine the Likelihood of Follow-Up With a West Michigan Fragility Fracture Service

Fragility fractures and secondary fractures are a large physical, financial, and emotional drain on the individuals and families affected. Improving post fragility fracture care and increasing follow-up rates with specialty services, such as a fracture liaison service, may promote post-fracture recovery and help prevent future fractures. The purpose of this doctoral project was to increase and improve post osteoporotic fracture care by increasing appropriate referrals and follow-up care. Patient data was retrieved and analyzed on 60 fragility fracture patients referred to a local fracture liaison service. The analysis found that patient gender, fracture site, and history of a previous fracture all played a significant role as to whether the patient would follow-up with a fracture liaison service. The Health Belief Model and the Donabedian model were used to help drive this project and provide structure to the next steps in the project. To make the results relevant to primary care providers, local outcome data was used to provider a presentation to the group. The primary care providers then completed a survey answering questions based on their impression of the patient data presentation. The provider survey response data was then analyzed for trends. Most notably, the vast majority of providers agreed that after the presentation, they had a greater understanding of the patients that were most likely to receive inadequate fragility fracture care or refuse follow-up with a fracture liaison service. This implies that the providers now have a raised awareness about these patients and fewer patients will fall through the cracks when it comes to fragility fracture care and fracture liaison service follow-up. This project format could be applied to other populations to assist in revealing each unique population’s characteristics that impact fragility fracture care and fracture liaison service follow-up. Those results could then be presented to local primary care providers to raise awareness and improve their local outcomes

Challenging Deficit Discourses: Human Services and Trauma-Informed Practice

The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study by Kaiser-Permanente has significantly influenced trauma practice in many contexts. As a medicalized model, ACEs was intended to collect population information about traumatic experiences. However, many of its current applications are harmful in practice and in need of critique. More specifically, school systems must reconsider how ACEs is used in curriculum since providing screenings or “trauma-informed” models off of this study often portrays trauma as a deficit. By carefully examining my own education on ACEs and trauma theories at Western Washington University, alongside the experiences of other students and several professors, this deficit discourse remains consistent in their responses. It is time for trauma studies to shift to an “asset” approach, which sees trauma as a part of one’s identity instead of something needing to be fixed

Narratives of Black Single Mothers Pursuing School Counseling Field Experience amid COVID-19

Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) graduate students, particularly those who are single mothers, have historically navigated systemic barriers such as lack of equal education, financial resources, academic experiences, or administrative support in pursuit of academic success. School closures due to the health and safety protocols during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic presented additional complications for BIPOC single mother graduate students attempting to complete their master’s degree, especially in school counseling. The purpose of this hermeneutic, phenomenological qualitative study was to understand the experiences of BIPOC single mother online graduate students, who were in the field experience stage of their programs. Six Black single mother graduate students who attended online, CACREP, school counseling programs participated in interviews. Data were analyzed through the lens of Womanist Theory and intersectionality by engaging in the hermeneutic circle; reading, reflective writing, and interpretation. The results of this study revealed barriers these women experienced to completing field experience, the resources utilized to mitigate these barriers, and recommendations for BIPOC single mother school counseling graduate students to successfully complete field experience and ultimately their programs. Implications of these findings can assist school counselor educators to promote systemic change by creating and implementing appropriate program initiatives to directly support this population in the successful completion of field experience to ensure eligibility for licensure or certification in K-12 school counseling after graduation

Testing a Sociocultural Model of Body Image in Women Athletes with Disabilities

Evidence suggests that athletes and people with disabilities (PWD) experience multiple body images that change relative to their social context (e.g., Petrie & Greenleaf, 2012). The powerful influence of social factors on body image and disordered eating in women athletes is well-documented (e.g., Schaefer, et al., 2015; Fitzsimmons-Craft et al., 2014), as is the centrality of the body in the lived experience of athletes and PWD (Behel & Rybarczyk, 2012; Galli et al., 2016); yet, limited research has explored the effects of social factors on body image in athletes with disabilities (i.e., AWD; e.g., Galli et al., 2016; Sousa et al., 2009). This project examined the effects of social pressures about body and appearance, in and outside of sport, on body dissatisfaction and body appreciation in women AWD, in light of evidence identifying sport as a source of body acceptance, pride, and competence for AWD (Galli et al., 2016). Further, internalization of body ideals and social comparison were evaluated as mediating mechanisms underlying relationships between sport appearance pressures and body image in AWD. Results demonstrated that both social and sport pressures had significant direct effects on body image outcomes. Additionally, the direct effect of sport pressures on body dissatisfaction was partially mediated by internalization and social comparison, while the direct effect of sport pressures on body appreciation was partially mediated by social comparison. Results provided a foundation for future explorations of the effects of social factors on body image in AWD, including initial support for sociocultural frameworks of body image in this context. Results, limitations, and implications for clinical practice and research are discussed