Publication Type: School Poster
Abstract: Objectives: to describe continuous quality improvement initiatives of the experiential programs.

Description of the experiential programs: the experiential team consists of the Director, Assistant Director, four Regional Directors, the shared-faculty, a Quality Assurance Supervisor, an Experiential Specialist, and the Experiential Liaison. The experiential team collaborates on designing and up-dating students, preceptors, and sites evaluation forms; longitudinal outcome measures; and developing on-line standardized student assessment examinations. The Regional Directors host several ONU dinners for seniors to obtain their inputs on the quality of rotations and to provide them with information on residencies, graduate schools, and career options. An on-line quality assurance survey for seniors was designed and implemented, a form was designed to assess students’ professionalism on campus, and electronic portfolios were implemented to document students’ experiential activities. Also, a phone survey was conducted to assess the quality of Advanced Practice Rotations (APRs). Furthermore, an electronic survey was developed and distributed to preceptors to identify the ideal preceptor-student(s) ratio. Also, grand rounds video conferences are scheduled on a monthly basis to facilitate discussions on case presentations among Regional Directors, shared faculty, residents, and students. Finally, to ensure the quality of experiential education, preceptors, faculty, and representatives from professional organizations were invited to participate in rotations “Boot Camp.” Topics included: professionalism, problem-solving skills, professional organizations, conflict management, rounding with health care professionals, experiential portfolios, and OSHA/HIPPA requirements.

Conclusions: Faculty at the experiential program at Ohio Northern continue to implement new initiatives to improve the quality of experiential education.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The paper offers three viewpoints of Northern Ireland elections. Each conceptual framework spells out a significant impact on the political culture. Using the divided society concept in conjunction with the engineered smoothing of party votes, the holistic understanding of the province's electorate permits tentative five-year forecasts.

Publication Type: Proceeding

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The recent literature on war and collective violence has stressed the importance of using a relational approach toward studying armed conflict (Kestnbaum 2005, Tilly 2003, Gould 1995). This relational approach captures the complex patterns of social interactions between the various actors involved in armed conflict, particularly how violence “transforms relations among persons and groups” (Tilly 2003:5). A relational approach also helps one to understand war as “ a complex social process and an extraordinary series of events in the lives and histories of peoples and states” (Kestnbaum 2005:254). According to Kestnbaum (2005:254), the processual quality of war permits insights into the linkages and alignments of social relations while the eventful quality of war highlights the distinctiveness of a conflict, including its temporal patterns as well as how it is experienced by the people. Using this relational approach, we plan to discuss a preliminary inventory of processes of war-making, e.g. brutalization, escalation, de-escalation, spirals of retaliation, mobilization, etc. and the events of war in the case of Northern Ireland. Field research in Northern Ireland from summer 2005 and summer 2006 will used to inform this discussion.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Drawing from a qualitative pilot study on Northern Virginia immigrant Latinos, this paper will address an important aspect of the immigrant experience that has unfortunately received little emphasis: the entrepreneurial capacity of skilled Latino and Latina workers in both manual and professional occupations. The question that drives our research is straightforward: What social factors help explain why rates of Latino business formation and self-employment –the traditional routes to immigrant integration and empowerment— have lagged behind those of other immigrant groups? Through in-depth interviews (N=75) with Latino and Latina immigrants from both working- and middle-class backgrounds, we will examine the degree to which social, organizational and cultural factors impinge on their economic activities. We expect preliminary findings of this study will draw attention to the multiple contributions the Latino community stands to make through the establishment of business ventures that can provide levels of economic integration and growth that have not yet been fully tapped. Further, we anticipate that such findings will be of use to social policies adopted by decision makers in the region, including human service organizations, business groups, and non-governmental organizations as well.