Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Fielding faculty member Chiyoko Frank presents research poster at the 20th European Congress of Psychiatry

Poster titled "Sex Difference in Neural Correlates of Theory of Mind" presented at the 20th European Congress of Psychiatry (a Division of European Psychiatric Association [EPA]) in Pargue, Czech Republic on 3-6 March, 2012. This poster was also orally presented at the ePoster session. 

Theory of mind (ToM) is the ability to predict behaviors of others in terms of their underlying mental states.  Impairments in ToM have been found in many psychiatric/neurological disorders including schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders.  Previous research has indicated that females score higher on standard tests of ToM, social sensitivity, and empathy than males do.  To examine possible sex differences in the neural mechanisms associated with ToM, 16 female and 16 male adults were examined with fMRI while performing a story-based false-belief task. During the ToM condition, female participants showed significantly greater activity in the left superior frontal gyrus/medial prefrontal cortex. In contrast, males showed greater activation in the right posterior cingulate cortex and the ventral anterior cingulate cortex during the ToM relative to the non-ToM condition. These results suggest that males and females employ different brain regions for ToM. They also suggest that there are some gender-related differences in HOW ToM is understood.

http://www2.kenes.com/epa/scientific/Pages/E-Posters.aspx

Monday, March 26, 2012

Marc P. Weniger completes dissertation in the School of Human and Organizational Development



Work Values and Economic Growth -- Marc P. Weniger

Abstract:
This dissertation investigated the relationship between work values and economic growth. Do work values change with economic growth? Specifically, do the World Values Survey items for work have a relationship with gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and gross national income (GNI) per capita? Second, do work values predict economic growth? Work values items were chosen from the World Values Surveys from the past four waves available, the 1990, 1995, 2000, and 2005 waves. Work values were categorized into three groups, work authority, work ethic, and work priorities.
These questions were answered in three questions sets. First, Question Set A, Questions 1-4, test for differences in the 1990, 1995, 2000, and 2005 World Values Survey waves between work ethic, work and authority, and work priorities when compared by World Bank income categories of low, lower-middle, upper-middle, and high levels. Second, Question Set B, Questions 5-7, test whether there are differences between the 1990, 1995, 2000, and 2005 World Values Survey waves. Third, Question Set C, Questions 8-11, ask if work ethics, work and authority, and work priorities serve as substantively significant predictors of GNI per capita and GDP per capita in the 1990, 1995, 2000, and 2005 World Values Survey waves.

The findings indicated substantively significant results for Question Set A were found between World Bank income categories for work ethics, and work priorities for all waves, however not for work authority in all waves. These results indicated that for work ethic, wealthier work grows as countries’ priorities change from having higher motivation to work in poorer economies, to having lower motivation to work in wealthier economies. Work priorities shifted from working for material security/necessity in poorer economies to working for intrinsic needs in wealthier countries. The second finding indicated that work ethic and work priorities are substantive contributors of GNI per capita and GDP per capita.

This study supported aspects of modernization theory, cultural determinism (primacy), and that culture, specifically work values, do have a substantively significant effect on GNI per capita and GDP per capita. The ideas of achievement motivation theory and that cultural values only change generationally were challenged.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Luann Fortune completes dissertation in the School of Human and Organizational Development

How Do Seasoned Massage Therapists Accomplish a Whole Session with Established Clients? -- Luann Drolc Fortune, PhD (Spring 2012)

Luann Fortune, PhD is a licensed massage therapist and bodywork instructor. She also has an extensive management background in the private sector. Her professional private practice delivers wellness consultation, educational services, and massage therapy to businesses and the community in the greater Washington, DC area. Dr. Fortune’s research focuses on the holistic aspects of massage and alternative wellness practices, as well as somatic awareness and embodiment techniques for scholarship, research, and practice. Her writings and publications span multiple disciplines, and promote translational value in scholarship and practice. Some of her papers can be viewed online at http://lufortune.wordpress.com/about-luan/

Abstract:
Consumers and medical professionals increasingly use massage therapy as a complementary or alternative medical (CAM) treatment. Concurrently, the literature focuses on evaluating massage’s clinical efficacy through randomized clinical trials (RCTs). This scientific research is likely to affect practice standards. Yet despite recent scholarship, there is scarce knowledge about how the massage therapists (MT) actually execute their work. My research addresses both the need for foundational qualitative research and a desire to involve massage practitioners in scholarship. In this qualitative study, I examined how MTs accomplish a whole treatment session. I situated this study in the context of massage therapy research and related literature from multiple disciplines including neuroscience, psychology, and philosophical somatics. Since the majority of MTs work as independent practitioners, I selected MTs in private practice paired to work with an established client. My data collection involved a series of steps geared to capture real time experience with minimum disruption. Ten MTs completed a whole massage session that I collected on video record. Immediately afterwards, the MTs and their clients described what occurred during the sessions as they viewed the video recording. Their recorded descriptions and my field notes constitute the primary data.

In this research, my interpretation is hermeneutically embedded in my perspective as a massage practitioner and teacher. As a researcher, I am aligned with phenomenology. I used principles from ethnomethodology to frame this study, and also to identify foundational commonalities present in the MTs’ work. My analysis also revealed complex individual differences in the MTs’ work experiences. Based on my findings, I propose a theory of intersecting dimensions to describe how the MTs experienced their work in its totality. My conclusions offer insights to guide future research and policy making, as well as inform training, practice, and regulation of massage practitioners. Although future study is indicated, I recommend that MTs work towards healthcare integration without sacrificing the diversities and richness inherent in their work.

KEY WORDS: Bodywork, complementary alternative medicine (CAM), clinical reasoning, client-centered, ethnomethodology, holism, manual therapy, phenomenology, professionalization, qualitative, somatic, therapeutic relationship

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Fielding graduate Susan E. Mazer presents research poster at Fielding's Winter Session 2012

Lived-Privacy: Understanding the Variations in the Ways Patients Make Meaning of Their Privacy During a Hospitalization -- Susan E. Mazer, Student, School of Human & Organizational Development

Patient privacy is a pressing issue among patients and providers. Since the onset of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the focus in the United States has been on tangible threats to confidential health information, mainly relating to informational privacy and electronic health records (EHR). However, the ways in which patients themselves make meaning of their privacy during a hospitalization has been ignored. Considering privacy’s elusive nature, this study uses phenomenography to capture and analyze the variations in tways patients make meaning of their privacy while hospitalized in facilities controlled and regulated by current statutes and historical ethics. Fourteen individuals over the age of 65 who had been hospitalized within the past 36 months participated in private, open-structured interviews. Themes were identified through multiple iterations of phenomenographic analysis and a hierarchy of understanding was developed into an outcome space. Results pointed to six themes: (1) Self-interest, core; (2) Protection of self from being subjected to others; (3) Defense of self in relationship to the other; (4) Safe-guarding of self from invasion by the other; (5) Self in relationship to perception of others’ judgment; (6) Self about self-perception of circumstances. Privacy is enmeshed with identity, security, self, and context. Its relevance was evidenced only in relationship to the Self in the presence of others, when the individual’s awareness of self to and by the other was threatened.

The study’s outcome space indicates that the privacy needs related to level of acuity of the patient. The higher the acuity, the lower the privacy need; the lower the acuity, the higher the privacy need. The results mandate that health care pofessionals recognize that patients and families might not trust the healthcare team due to privacy insecurities and consider these insecurities when assessing and treating patients.

How patients make meaning of their experiences regarding their privacy is inseparable from their total experience. Additional studies are needed to understand how privacy experiences impact their relationship to future clinical events, their levels of disclosure and non-disclosure, and their sense of security and insecurity. Other participant groups would yield additional insights or define data saturation

Monday, March 19, 2012

Yabome Gilpin-Jackson completes dissertation in the School of Human and Organizational Development

Becoming Gold: Understanding the Post-war Narratives of Transformation of African Immigrants and Refugees -- Yabome Gilpin-Jackson

Abstract:
Wars and armed conflicts on the African continent since the latter half of the 20th century have resulted in the displacement of millions of people. Many are internally displaced; others have become refugees and immigrants on and off the continent. Post-war development research has centered on the macro, socio-economic, and political aspects of the humanitarian crisis, leaving a gap in research on the psychosocial needs of post-war African peoples. Moreover, available research is based on exploring trauma and posttraumatic stress outcomes, with little attention being given to post-war growth and development potentials. As such, my research question was: How do African war survivors describe their growth and development experiences?

Narrative inquiry was used to explore this question. Narratives were drawn from 12 interviews of African war survivors in Canada, and 6 published autobiographical texts of survivors living in Canada, United States, and England. The narratives represented post-war accounts from Burundi, Congo-Brazzaville, Ethiopia, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan (South Sudan and Darfur), and Uganda. Narrative analysis was conducted using the zoom model to understand themes that emerged from the interviews as well as themes based on the narrative construction approach to posttraumatic growth (PTG).

The findings showed that participants construct their post-war narratives within dominant sociocultural discourses of holistic knowing, social norms of family, community, and taboos, utilising the narrative form of storytelling. Six themes of a post-war narrative of transformation emerged from the study: (1) Resonance as transformative learning moment, (2) Realizing purpose in the post-war narrative, (3) Social consciousness as an outcome of post-war learning, (4) Determination as the will to achieve post-war goals, (5) Spiritual and moral development, and (6) Value of life.

The study confirmed that PTG applied cross-culturally to the African participants of diverse backgrounds and showed that affective resonance experiences, which opens space for transformative learning, is the pivotal core of the PTG process. I propose a model to guide post-war psychosocial development that conceptualises the cognitive PTG and affective resonance processes as parallel streams of the experience. The model accounts for important socioculturally specific and contextual influences on the growth of African war survivors.

KEYWORDS: Transformation, transformative/transformational learning, Posttraumatic Growth (PTG), psychosocial development, war survivors, African human development, African immigrants and refugees

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Janelle L. Mason completes dissertation in the School of Psychology

Schemas, Empathy, and Intimate Partner Violence -- Janelle L. Mason

Janelle is a Research Associate at Eastern Virginia Medical School in the Neuropsychology Center, a division of the Department of Psychiatry in Norfolk, VA. She is training as a Clinical Neuropsychologist, both Adult and Pediatric Neuropsychology. 

Abstract
In this study, it is proposed that increasingly unstable self-esteem (a construct conceptually highly similar to self-view schemas) will moderate the relationship between extreme schemas and IPV. Furthermore, it is postulated that empathy will serve as a mediator of the relationship between extreme schemas and IPV. In contrast, moderate schemas will predict mild or no violence and high levels of empathy will mediate this relationship. The results of the current study did not fully support the hypotheses, in that empathy did not mediate the relationship between extreme schemas and violence or between moderate schemas and no or mild violence. However, the results indicated that extreme negative schemas predicted severe violence and that this relationship was strengthened when empathy was low. Further, superior self-views predicted severe violence only when empathy was low but not by itself. Unstable self-esteem did not moderate the relationship between extreme positive schemas and violence but did predict violence by itself. Further, unstable self-esteem moderated the relationship between extreme negative schemas and severe violence by decreasing the likelihood that negative schemas predicted severe violence, rather than increasing it, as had been originally hypothesized. Implications for future research are discussed.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Fielding student Margret Humphreys presents research poster at Fielding's Winter Session 2012

Succession in Family Businesses: Experiences of Daughter CEOs -- Margaret M.C. Humphreys, Student, School of Human & Organizational Development

This qualitative research explores succession in family businesses by studying the succession experiences of women at the helm: all daughter successors. It provides a comprehensive insider view of the succession process and a glimpse into the lives of the successors. The findings show the succession process unfolds gradually and is heavily influenced by the dynamic interactions of incumbent, successor, and business. This triad is central, although several contextual layers impact succession. There is a continuous interchange between family and business systems. Family influence is strongest on succession when family culture is well established, whether harmonious or acrimonious. A close mentoring relationship between successor and incumbent appeared as the preferred vehicle to transfer leadership. The successors are dedicated, hold high intrinsic value for their work, and have relevant educational and business credentials. They make changes in their organizations and have a propensity to apply their superior interpersonal skills in family and business situations. The successions involved managing the diametrically opposed demands of membership in family and business systems. The literature review traces the pattern and trajectory of scholarly activity in the field of family business studies and specifically addresses the research related to women in family business. It identifies key researchers of the day and analyzes the content of their discourse. Succession is found to be the most-researched topic in family business, whereas daughter successors are among the least-researched. Areas indicated for further research include systems level inquiry to succession, the role of mentoring during succession, and the influence of emotional competence as a successor quality. This study suggests those helping family business would be well advised to gain an understanding of the family’s architecture and ought be wary of applying standard business models to family firms.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Fielding student Mary Harrison publishes paper on Be the Evidence Project website

A promising practice: True Grit: A structured living program for older adults in prison -- Harrison, M. T., Kopera-Frye, K., & Harrison, W. O. (2012)

This article was a portion of a White Paper published online as a culmination of The Aging Prisoners Forum. On October 8, 2011, Fordham University's Graduate School of Social Services Be the Evidence Project hosted an academic-activist-practitioner forum entitled Aging Prisoners: A Crisis in Need of Intervention. As a host for this forum, the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service is distinguished by its mission to promote human rights and social justice globally through the advancement of economic, political, social, physical, mental, spiritual, and educational well-being. The Be the Evidence Project, which fosters public awareness through educational programs and campaigns, is designed to help achieve this mission.

Consistent with the mission of the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service, the purpose of the forum was to: Promote human rights and social justice and well-being for aging prisoners; Increase public awareness of the aging prisoner crisis; Help foster an international and interdisciplinary response to aging prisoners; Unveil an interdisciplinary model for describing and responding to public health-social problems such as aging prisoners for use in interdisciplinary prevention and intervention.

Harrison, M. T., Kopera-Frye, K., & Harrison, W. O. (2012). A promising practice: True Grit: A structured living program for older adults in prison. In Maschi, T., Morrissey, M. B., Immarigeon, R., & Sutfin, S. L. (Eds.), Aging prisoners: A crisis in need of intervention (pp. 57-69). Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/site/betheevidenceproject/white-paper-aging-prisoner-forum

Friday, March 9, 2012

Fielding student Pamela P. Hopkins presents research poster at Fielding's Winter Session 2012

Women's Experiences of Micro Aggressions: Meaning Making and Coping Strategies -- Pamela P. Hopkins, Student, School of Human & Organizational Development

The existing literature on micro aggressions indicates that very little research has been conducted on specific experiences of women. Similar to racial prejudice and discrimination, blatant gender prejudice and discrimination have subsided. Nonetheless, the subtle, small, daily events that occur so frequently have become embedded in the fabric of women’s lives. Women are subjected regularly to micro aggressive acts across not only gender but also others such as class, age, sexual orientation, ethnicity, race, and so on. The emotional toll of these micro aggressions can be significant and women often minimize and deny their existence. These indignities can be intentional or unintentional and often perpetrators are unaware that their actions insult and otherwise harm women.

This study explored how women of different ages, races, and sexual orientations, describe their experiences with micro aggressions and how they make sense of them in their lives. Once all the data were thoroughly analyzed, I concluded that the experiences expressed by the study participants serve to extend the current literature on micro aggression in three significant ways: 1. Everyday experiences occur across the intersections of identity; 2. Coping strategies are common and accessed regularly; 3. Existential meanings are derived and have a long-term effect from these experiences.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Fielding student Luann Drolc Fortune presents research poster at Fielding's Winter Session 2012

How Do Seasoned Massage Therapists Accomplish a Whole Session with Established Clients? -- Luann Drolc Fortune, Student, School of Human & Organizational Development

Consumers and medical professionals increasingly use massage therapy as a complementary or alternative medical (CAM) treatment. Concurrently, scientific research that evaluates massage’s clinical efficacy will affect practice standards. Yet despite recent scholarship, there is scarce knowledge about how the massage therapist (MT) actually executes their work. My research addresses both the need for foundational research and a desire to involve massage practitioners in scholarship. In this qualitative study, I examined how MTs accomplish a whole treatment session. I situated this inquiry in the context of massage therapy research and related literature from multiple disciplines including neuroscience, psychology, and philosophical somatics. Since the majority of MTs work as independent practitioners, I selected MTs in private practice working with an established client. My data collection involved steps geared to capture real time experience with minimum disruption. Ten MTs completed a whole massage session that I captured on video record. Immediately afterwards, the MT and their client viewed the video and described what occurred during the sessions. Their descriptions and my researcher’s observations constitute the primary data.

As a researcher, I am aligned with phenomenology. My interpretation is hermeneutically embedded in my perspective as a massage practitioner and teacher. I used principles from ethnomethodology to frame this study, and also to identify foundational commonalities present in the MTs’ work. My analysis also revealed complex individual differences in the MTs’ work. Based on my findings, I propose a theory of intersecting dimensions to describe how the MTs experienced their work in its totality. My conclusions offer insights to guide future research and policy making, as well as inform training, practice, and regulation of massage practitioners. Although future study is indicated, I recommend that MTs work towards healthcare integration without sacrificing the diversities and richness inherent in their work.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Fielding students Salvatore P. Carbonaro, Jr. and Heidi Mattila present research poster at Fielding's Winter Session 2012

Self-Reported Alcohol Consumption and Religiosity among Clinicians Affects Severity Ratings of Clients' Alcohol Consumption -- Salvatore P. Carbonaro, Jr., Student, School of Psychology and Heidi Mattila, Student, School of Psychology

This study examines the relationship between religiosity and self-reported drinking habits among clinicians and the severity ratings they assigned to their clients for alcohol consumption. Past research has found bias among clinicians in their severity rating of alcohol consumption when clients' socioeconomic status is known (Dawes et al., 1993), for gender (Arfken, 2001), and race (Schmidt et al., 2006). Among lay people, religiosity and one's own drinking habits has been found to affect perceptions of severity of alcoholism (Cochran et al., 1993). An alcohol questionnaire was utilized to record the drinking habits of 105 counselors and their perceptions regarding the severity of alcohol consumption of 2 random clients from a selection of 6 total vignettes. It was found that an inverse relationship exists between counselors' own drinking habits and their severity ratings for clients' alcohol consumption. Twelve counselors identified as "Christian" counselors had the lowest self-reported drinking habits and among the highest severity ratings for their clients' alcohol consumption.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Fielding graduate Kate Cummings presents at the New Jersey Prevention Network Conference 2012

Coming to Grips with Loss: Normalizing the Grief Process -- Kate Cummings

Presentation at the 12th Annual New Jersey Prevention Network conference in Atlantic City, Friday, March 2nd, 2012. The NJPN conference is a gathering of all the addictions treatment providers from New Jersey and the surrounding area.

http://www.njpn.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Kate-Cummings.pdf

Friday, March 2, 2012

Fielding student Jackie Eder-Van Hook presents research poster at Fielding's Winter Session 2012

Student and Alumni Experience on Comprehensive Examinations in Doctoral Education at Fielding’s School Of Human And Organization Development -- Jackie Eder-Van Hook, Student, School of Human & Organization Development

In a perfect world, Comprehensive Examinations or “Comps” in doctoral programs would provide evidence of student achievement and programmatic performance. This study, an Internet-based survey of 46 students and alumni in a distance education doctoral program followed informal and unstructured individual interviews with seven faculty members in the School of HOD. The study highlights the experience of those 46 individuals.

Five key themes emerged from the data: (1) knowledge (e.g., demonstration, filling gaps, and reinforcement), (2) integration (e.g., deep thinking, synthesis), (3) reflection (e.g., student’s journey, developmental process), (4) skill building (e.g. writing, personal voice, critical thinking), and (5) feedback (e.g., nuance, presentation) in which respondents explained whether Comps prepared them for future doctoral work.

Feedback from students, alumni, and faculty made it clear that there is a great deal of confusion about purpose, process, and expectations of Comps. Except in some limited cases, the process does not seem to positively contribute to the student experience or enhance student outcomes. The findings included:

- Student and alumni participants alike indicated that the primary purpose of Comps was developmental (i.e. readiness for the dissertation) (39.1%), and secondly the integration of writing and thinking (39.1%).

- Of the participants who began or finished Comps, 38.3% indicated that Comps had prepared them for other doctoral work, while 61.7% said it did not prepare them for future work or they were uncertain as to whether it had any effect.

- Among the many suggestions from participants, critical ones included, clarify the purpose, analyze the administration of Comps vis-à-vis time to completion and/or graduation rates, clarify what Comps measures, and clarify how Comps integrates with the curriculum.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Fielding graduate Kathie L. Court presents research poster at Fielding's Winter Session 2012

Mapping the Economic Contribution of Women Entrepreneurs -- Kathie L. Court, Ph.D., Alumna, School of Human & Organization Development (2011)

The purpose of this research was to discover and describe aspects of one group of women entrepreneurs, their economic contribution, and how their social networks may have influenced that contribution. The research participants were women who had graduated from a Microenterprise Assistance Program (MEP). There was no differentiation among women by age, race, or ethnicity.

This study was designed using an interdisciplinary approach. The theoretical landscape that underpins this research includes economic geography, women entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurship. This exploratory data analysis generated questions for future research. This research provided a geographic representation of the dispersion and volume of the self-reported business expenses of women entrepreneurs located in one geographic area.

These investigations revealed that this group of women entrepreneurs had a high business survival rate. Those women entrepreneurs whose businesses were in the second through seventh years of operation engaged in additional employment. Of those who initially established their businesses as nonemployer, many had expanded to employer businesses at the time of the research. These women were not influenced by their social networks when they selected suppliers for their businesses. In addition, this research developed and examined the viability of an assessment tool that maps the business payments made by entrepreneurs.