Browsing by Subject "Social cognitive theory"
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Item Breast is best but bottle is next: Mothers’ perception of the portrayals of breastfeeding in the media(2012-01-10) Leigh, Jemine; Olson, Beth; Yamasaki, Jill; Shulsky, DebraThe ideology that breastfeeding is a recommended form of nutrition for babies has become widely popular in the United States. However, some social norms like the baring of the breasts make it difficult for the mother to feel comfortable in her nursing practices. The media are often argued to be an influencing factor in public perceptions, and this study considers the media as well as interpersonal sources as influential factors in a woman’s choice to breastfeed. The importance of this study lies in the need to hear from the mothers and their experiences. Concepts and ideas from social cognitive theory, and two-step flow theory were applied in the discussions and findings. This study included eleven face-to-face interviews of women with children and women who are pregnant. This qualitative approach was designed so individual women’s voices could be heard.Item Exploring the individual and organizational effects of formerly homeless employee inclusion within North Carolina shelters(2011-12) Barnes, Suzanne Mallard; Streeter, Calvin L.; Ferguson, MiguelThis exploratory study examined the individual and organizational effects of formerly homeless employee inclusion on members of the homeless shelter community, including shelter directors, formerly homeless employees, professional employees, and shelter residents. The effects of formerly homeless employee inclusion on shelter residents' vicarious self-efficacy were specifically examined. A qualitative case study design was used to gather interview data from six homeless shelters in North Carolina. The interviewees included five shelter directors, three formerly homeless employees, and seven shelter residents. Professional boundary development was correlated with the impact of formerly homeless employee inclusion within the shelter community. There are more benefits than challenges to formerly homeless employee inclusion in homeless shelters. The challenges generally affected the formerly homeless employees themselves, sometimes to the point of addiction relapse. Formerly homeless employee inclusion provides the benefits of self-efficacy, tough love, and understanding and helping for shelter residents. Additional benefits were found for the formerly homeless employees. Benefits and challenges for professional employees were anecdotal and therefore not trustworthy. There are several major implications for professional practice resulting from this study. Shelter residents in the present study consistently viewed formerly homeless employee inclusion as positive. This positive experience may contribute to improved client engagement, retention, and outcomes. The challenges presented were infrequent, and considered manageable by the shelter directors. These findings may encourage other shelter directors to employ formerly homeless individuals, thereby benefitting others who are either experiencing or working to alleviate homelessness. Formerly homeless employee inclusion is also consistent with strengths-based practice and the social justice principle of the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics, as it provides meaningful opportunities for indigenous participation. Future research should focus on further understanding the correlation between formerly homeless employee inclusion and shelter resident outcomes and the effects of formerly homeless employee inclusion on professional shelter employees.Item Implementing quality physical education in a southern school district(2016-12) Carrasco, Javier A.; Castelli, Darla M., 1967-; Harrison, Louis; Holahan, Carole K; Keating, XiaofenPhysical inactivity and the consumption of a high-calorie diet are largely responsible for an increased obesity in children across the United States (US). Specifically, physical inactivity has been associated with the development of numerous diseases (high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes) as well as psychological distress. Additionally, there are ethnic disparities, as 43% of Hispanic children are obese or overweight (Ogden, Carroll, Curtin, Lamb, & Flegal, 2010). The region where the study takes place is made up of primarily low-income families and is dominated by the Mexican culture. The economic situation in the region contributes to an absence of health insurance and children in the area are unlikely to receive needed medical care including preventive care (Condon, Pauli, Price, Fry, Kaigh, & Daugh, 1997; Hoffman, 2008). This region of the country has not necessarily been ignored, instead the situation is one where costly interventions were largely ineffective and have thus been replaced with mitigation as the best means for managing health (Blair & Connelly, 1996; Hatziandreu, Koplan, Weinstein, Caspersen, & Warner, 1988). Therefore, this dissertation was comprised of a series of three research studies that begins by examining the curriculum development process utilizing the ontological foundations of constructive realism (Cupchik, 2001). Study two investigated physical education teacher attitudes and the feasibility of using e-Learning modules as a professional development tool. The series of studies concludes with an examination of the reformed curricular effects on pre-adolescent learning outcomes grounded in social cognitive theory; knowledge, self-efficacy, and physical activity (Bandura, 1977; Bandura, 1986). Taken together the results of this research series suggest there are key steps when implementing physical education curriculum in schools. It is anticipated that findings will make substantive contributions to the empirical literature concerning the beneficial effects of physical education implementation. Given the magnitude of physical inactivity and the epidemic proportions of childhood obesity, this research is timely and warranted.Item Reliability and validity of the Graduate Student Behaviors Inventory (GSBI)(Texas Tech University, 2007-12) Boroda, Allison D.; Olivarez, Arturo; Stevens, Tara; Fedler, Clifford B.; Hamman, DouglasThe purpose of the current study was the generation of an instrument to measure graduate degree-seeking behaviors. Goals included the establishment of strong psychometric properties through evidence of face validity, construct validity, discriminant and convergent validity, and predictive validity. Additionally, a goal of the study was to establish an instrument with good internal consistency reliability of the subscales. Analysis of the data with 247 graduate students at a large MidWestern University and a response rate of approximately 16% indicated stong validity of the Graduate Student Behaviors Inventory (GSBI). Cronbach's alphas for the subscales ranged from 0.58 to 0.95 indicating moderate to high reliability for the instrument. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated strong construct, discriminant and convergent validity evidence. Further, Structural Equation Modeling suggested predictive validity of Psychological factor indicators for students' satisfaction with their graduate program experiences. Suggestions include providing interim measures of students' emotional attributes of the graduate degree program each semester in order to gauge their intent to persist with the degree.