Perceptions of College and University Presidents Regarding Tobacco-Free Campus Policies

Abstract

Objective: To identify college presidents’ support for tobacco-free campus policies (TFCP), perceived barriers and benefits to implementing such policies, and activities that might initiate policy adoption. Participants: Participants were 405 presidents (51% of 796 delivered surveys) from a national sample of eligible 4-year institutions in summer 2012. Methods: A 4-page, 24-item cross-sectional questionnaire was mailed to potential participants in 4 waves to maximize the response rate. Results: The vast majority of presidents support TFCP (84%) and believed they should play a key role in establishing TFCP (80%). A majority agreed advocacy by campus groups was necessary to establishing TFCP. Presidents with an existing policy were twice as likely to believe advocacy was necessary for policy establishment. Presidents most commonly selected creating policy drafts and designating a committee as important to initiating TFCP. Conclusion: Advocates would benefit from focusing on presidential involvement and solutions to personnel barriers in establishing TFCP.     

An Assessment of America's Tobacco-Free Colleges and Universities

Abstract

Objective: This study examined the extent to which US campuses identified as “100% tobacco-free” by the American Lung Association of Oregon adhered to the American College Health Association's the most recent guidelines and recommendations promoting tobacco-free environments in colleges and universities. Participants: A key informant from 162 of 175 institutions (92.6% response rate) completed an online survey between January 2010 and February 2010. Methods: The variables under study were assessed via a cross-sectional research design. Participants completed a 35-item survey regarding their school's tobacco policies, procedures, and enforcement practices. Results: Although the vast majority of schools had written policies and procedures in place, schools with current policies were the most compliant. Numerous opportunities for improved adherence were identified in the results. Conclusions: Findings from this study may help institutions in the development and implementation of a new tobacco policy, as well as strengthen policies among existing tobacco-free schools.     

Enforcing a Tobacco-Free Campus Through an Ambassador-Based Program: A Phenomenology

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether student awareness and attitudes about organic foods would predict their behaviors with regard to organic food consumption and other healthy lifestyle practices. A secondary purpose was to determine whether attitudes about similar eco-friendly practices would result in socially conscious behaviors. Participants: The sample was students (N = 443) enrolled in 1 of 2 core courses in a mid-sized Southern university. Method Summary: Students completed an anonymous 28-item survey about their awareness, attitudes, and behaviors. Linear regression and path analysis were used to test whether attitudes were related to purchase of organic foods and eco-friendly behaviors. Results: Many students (49%) possessed factual knowledge about organic foods. More (64%) felt positively about having organic food options available to them both on campus and elsewhere. Taste and price most influenced the purchase of such foods. Attitudes were significant predictors of consumption behaviors and healthy practices. Conclusions: Positive attitudes toward organic foods and other environmentally friendly practices significantly predicted similar behaviors. Student consumers seem to act upon their beliefs.     

Improving Tobacco-Free Advocacy on College Campuses: A Novel Strategy to Aid in the Understanding of Student Perceptions About Policy Proposals

Abstract

Objective: Tobacco-control policy proposals are usually met with opposition on college campuses. Research to understand students’ viewpoints about health-related policy proposals and messaging strategies, however, does not exist. This study investigated students’ perceptions about a smoke-free policy proposal to help understand their positions of support and opposition and to inform the development of effective messaging strategies. Participants: In January 2012, 1,266 undergraduate students from a midwestern university completed an online questionnaire about smoke-free campus policies. Methods: Responses were coded and analyzed using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count software and chi-square, independent-samples t tests, and binary logistic models. Results: Most students who supported a smoke-free policy considered environmental or aesthetic conditions, whereas most opponents used personal freedom frames of thought. Supporters viewed smoking policies in personal terms, and opponents suggested means-ends policy reasoning. Conclusions: Taken together, points of reference and emotions about proposed policies provided insight about participants’ perspectives to help inform effective policy advocacy efforts.     

Recruitment Strategies and Motivations for Sexually Transmitted Disease Testing Among College Students

Objective The authors evaluated procedures for recruiting college students for sexually transmitted disease (STD) testing as part of a research study examining the impact of HSV serologic testing. Participants A convenience sample of 100 students was drawn from students aged 18 to 35 years enrolled at one university in a mid- Atlantic state between September 2004 and March 2006. Methods: Six strategies were used to recruit students for participation in the study. Upon enrollment, participants were asked where they heard about the study. Students were also asked about their motivations for participation. Results: Findings show that a significant recruitment strategy involves targeting places where students seek health care. Other effective strategies include those where information is directly provided to individuals. Most students were motivated to participate because of a possible past exposure to herpes simplex virus 2. Conclusions: Targeting places where students seek health care and educating students about STDs are important strategies for recruiting students for STD testing.     

Addition and Subtraction

ABSTRACT

This paper introduces the use of cost-benefit analysis as a teaching tool for addressing diversity content within social policy courses and advocacy work. Two case examples, the Rockefeller drug laws and the Permanent Partners Immigration Act, are provided to illustrate the methodology. Teaching strategies that utilize cost-benefit analysis to develop student understanding of current policies affecting diverse populations and its usefulness as an advocacy strategy are introduced. In addition, the potential for cost-benefit analysis to foster greater understanding of whose voices seem to be heard in social policy development and whose appear to be silent is discussed.     

Sexual Violence on the College Campus: A Template for Compliance With Federal Policy

Objective: The author introduces a template, the Model Policy for the Prevention and Response to Sexual Assault, to assist institutions of higher education to benchmark campus policy compliance with federal laws directed at sexual assault. The author presents a detailed review of policy criteria recommended by the National Institute of Justice. The author proposes 2 unique criteria not found in the National Institute of Justice report for consideration for a comprehensive campus sexual assault policy. Conclusion: The template provides an inclusive system to benchmark campus sexual assault policies. Conforming to the template provides compliance with federal laws and demonstrates that the campus fosters a climate that does not tolerate sexual violence.     

培养学生自主学习能力的衔接性策略研究——以大学英语课堂教学为例

本文以大学英语课程教学要求为依据,指出培养学生自主学习意识、提高学生自主学习能力的必要性和可行性,并结合大学英语教学实践,探讨在课堂教学过程中培养学生自主学习能力的衔接性策略.     

Adoption of electronic-cigarette-free,hookah-free and American College Health Association recommended tobacco-free policies among a national sample of postsecondary educational institutions

Abstract

Objective: To examine the prevalence of various types of tobacco-free policies among a US national sample of postsecondary educational institutions (PEIs). Participants: A national sample of US PEIs (N?=?605) attended by the participants of the NEXT Generation Health Study. Methods: Tobacco policies of these PEIs were reviewed to determine if they were e-cigarette-free (yes/no), hookah-free (yes/no), and ACHA-recommended tobacco-free (yes/no) in June–December 2017. Logistic regression models were used to examine the relationships between institutional characteristics and tobacco policies. Results: Overall, 39.2, 26.0, and 20.0% of the sample adopted e-cigarette-free, hookah-free, and ACHA-recommended tobacco-free policies, respectively. Proprietary PEIs (vs. public) were less likely to have ACHA-recommended tobacco-free policies, while PEIs in the South and Midwest (vs. West) were more likely to have ACHA-recommended tobacco-free policies (p?<?0.05). Conclusions: Most sampled PEIs did not have ACHA-recommended tobacco-free polices. Subsequent research needs to investigate how ACHA-recommended tobacco policies influence tobacco use.     

Developing the Fearless School Counselor Ally and Advocate for LGBTQIQ Youth: Strategies for Preparation Programs

To better serve the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and questioning (LGBTQIQ) youth population, counselor educators can assist school counselors-in-training in developing advocacy competencies within their training programs. A focus on advocacy competencies outlined by the American Counseling Association (ACA) and the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) standards, and infusion of techniques throughout the education process, may increase levels of comfort for neophyte school counselors-in-training when working with LGBTQIQ youth. To increase efficacy in this multicultural population, myriad environments representative of the systemic nature of the school environment and culture must be examined and explored through training processes. These authors discuss intervention strategies for counselor educators to develop future school counselor advocacy, which align with the ACA advocacy competency domain areas.     

Identifying Attributes of Relationship Management in Nonprofit Policy Advocacy

Relationship management has been identified as an important activity for policy advocacy, but little is known about the strategies that human service administrators use to develop and maintain relationships with policymakers. This exploratory study aimed at identifying attributes of relationship management strategies that are associated with policy advocacy outcomes. Data were gathered from a sample of 333 nonprofit human service providers in Florida. Controlling for organizational size, the findings indicated that several established dimensions of relationship management were associated with policy advocacy success: networking, sharing of tasks, and assurances. Post hoc analyses found that the relationship between policy advocacy success and the domains of access and openness were respectively mediated by networking and sharing of tasks. Implications for nonprofit administrators and researchers are discussed.     

Using evidence-based research to redirect a conversation: Newspapers’ coverage of strategies to address college binge drinking

This study examines selected newspapers’ coverage of college binge drinking while also serving as an example of evidence-based practices that can be of use to public relations practitioners and health care professionals working to draw attention to important factors that are not being addressed in either public or policy conversations related to this issue. We examine newspaper coverage in 32 newspapers from 1997 to 2006 to determine which strategies to address college binge drinking are being covered and which of those are evidence-based and implemented by colleges. The mix of individual versus environmental strategies was examined based on Social Cognitive Theory. In the 255 articles analyzed, the majority of strategies covered were environmental. The most frequently covered strategy, increasing student knowledge, is individual and not evidence-based. Strategies classified as effective were not frequently covered. Media advocacy is offered as an evidence-based practice that public relations and health care professionals can use to affect change.     

Constructing and Implementing a Web-Based Graduate Social Policy Course

Abstract

This article reports on the construction and implementation of a Web-based graduate social policy course. In developing the online teaching strategy, the framework of a constructivist model of computer-mediated instruction was used to conceptualize the design of the course. The author used formative and summative approaches in pilot testing this course in cyberspace, with the intent of teaching it online later as a regularly scheduled semester course. The author contends that careful planning and critical thinking are paramount in computer-mediated instruction, if this method of delivering courses in higher education is to be successful and meaningful.     

NGO Strategies for Hungarian and Roma Minorities in Central Europe

NGOs sponsor a variety of innovative projects relating to the Hungarian and Roma minorities in Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine, as well as for the Roma in Hungary. However, a study of 33 NGOs in this region reveals that the strategies behind these projects tend to vary according to the particular group being addressed. NGO projects emphasizing Hungarian minorities tend to utilize network strategies to increase contact between Hungarians and titulars (Romanians, Slovaks, and Ukrainians), while projects for Roma tend to avoid network strategies, focusing exclusively on status-raising strategies. This paper presents the promises and shortcomings of both approaches, and concludes with an analysis addressing why NGOs should be less hesitant to apply network strategies to Roma projects as well as to Hungarian projects.     

城市文化产业发展的特征分析及对策

本文总结了广州文化产业发展的现状特点,分析了当前广州文化产业发展中存在的问题,在此基础上提出了广州文化产业发展的的规划布局及相应的对策与措施。     

Coping Strategies and Depression Among College Students Following Child Sexual Abuse in Turkey

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between type of coping style and depression in college students with child sexual abuse experience. A total of 1,055 college students completed self-report measures to assess depressive symptoms, coping strategies, and child sexual abuse history. This study was conducted with a subset of 125 college students who reported that they had been sexually abused in childhood. They were divided into depressive and nondepressive groups according to their depressive symptoms. Data was collected with the Childhood Sexual Abuse Measurement, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Coping Styles of Stress Scale. Family characteristics were measured with a demographic questionnaire. Analyses involved multiple regression to test for predictive effects. Among college students with child sexual abuse histories, parental education level and both problem-focused and emotion-focused strategies significantly explained depression scores.     

Organizational Policy Advocacy for a Quality Improvement Innovation in a Maternal and Child Health Network: Lessons Learned in Early Implementation

This article analyzes and reports lessons learned in early implementation of a large quality improvement innovation for a maternal and child health network working in a large Midwestern metropolitan area. It uses a case study method to focus on how internal advocacy and policy practice helped network partners accept and adapt to the initial rollout of a mandated quality improvement system that required careful data tracking for a universal screening and referral process for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. Three key findings emerged. Network participants endorsed new outreach to the executives of network partners to confirm their support of and compliance with the new quality improvement system. Participants also strategized ways to maintain program autonomy and disperse concerns about heavy-handed implementation of the quality improvement program. Finally, they identified ways to adapt the quality improvement program in response to concerns raised.     

Computer-Facilitated Instructional Strategies for Education: Designing WebQuests

SUMMARY

This article describes the use of WebQuests, a computer-facilitated instructional strategy for social work education. Pedagogical constructs relevant to the use of WebQuests as a computer-facilitated instructional strategy are identified and discussed. Examples of the application and integration of WebQuest activities in an undergraduate social work curriculum are presented.     

Empowering Students for Community Organization Practice

Abstract

Community organization courses often focus on discussions of collaboration and campaign strategies. Seldom are students taught how to carry out the tactics needed to enact these strategies. In addition, community organization courses typically minimize the importance of the confrontation tactics that are often necessary to achieve social change. The author describes methods used for classroom instruction in power analysis and confrontation politics.     

Cognitive Coping Strategies of Newlyweds Adjusting to Marriage

The current study focused on the cognitive strategies newlyweds used to cope with distress due to adjustments during the transition to marriage. Forty-two recently married husbands and wives (21 couples) were interviewed, and a qualitative thematic analysis was used in the investigation. Several themes emerged regarding the types of cognitive coping strategies that have potential to add nuanced understanding of some formerly identified cognitive processes, which may have helped maintain satisfying relationships in the midst of unexpected adjustments. The implications for explaining the paradoxical nature of the transition to marriage and for further research and application toward premarital education are discussed.