Introduction
In recent years, multiculturalism has become a recognized aspect of the counseling profession. Nevertheless, despite the increase in recognition, academic publications are yet to address the demand for reliable data on the matter. The following paper provides a report of a journal article that highlights the said issue and outlines the viable directions for further research in the field.
Journal Information
The selected article was published in the Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, a publication aimed at promoting critical thinking, social justice, and multicultural competencies in the field of counseling. The journal’s general editor is Cirecie A. West-Olatunji, the president of the American Counseling Association, who also serves as Director of the Center for Traumatic Stress Research and Associate Professor and Academic Program Director of the Counseling Program at the University of Cincinnati (Center for Traumatic Stress Research, n.d.).
According to the organization’s vision, the journal aims at bridging the historical aspects of knowledge of counseling profession with the recent findings and changes in the field, serving as a platform for an innovative theoretical and methodological scholarship, bringing cultural relevance to the discourse, and highlighting evidence-based interventions suitable for highly diversified populations (West-Olatunji, n.d.). A journal like this is important in the field of psychology for a number of reasons. First, contemporary Western society has become increasingly diversified in recent decades, requiring a significant update of the available cultural competencies in order to maintain the necessary level of proficiency in a counseling profession. Second, the complexity of the contemporary cultural landscape leads to the emergence of new issues on a regular basis and necessitates the existence of a reliable, timely, updated source of scholarly knowledge that acknowledges and incorporates recent trends and findings in the field. In this regard, the selected publication serves as a destination for both responsible researchers and professional counseling entities.
Article Report
The title of the selected article is “A content analysis of research on disability: American Counseling Association journals between 2003 and 2013.” The article was published in October of 2016, in volume 44 of the journal. The authors of the article aimed at providing a comprehensive overview of the content of the American Counseling Association in regard to disability issues. The authors do not formulate either a hypothesis or a research question – instead, their goal is to provide a systematic review that would characterize the current state of disability studies in the academic literature. Therefore, it would be reasonable to characterize the article as an exploratory study that broadly outlines the possible issues without specifying the expected results. The data for analysis was obtained from multiple online databases of scholarly publications. For this reason, the location of the study is not specified.
The process of data collection was conducted using the predefined selection criteria. The resulting dataset was scanned for specific keywords in the titles and abstracts, with disputed entries resolved through discussion. The content analysis was organized in accordance with the content areas identified in the review process. The results were coded and refined until a consensus was reached between all research team members. After this, the results were allocated to six categories, quantified, and organized into tables for additional clarity and accessibility. The focus of the study was on the academic publications from the field of counseling that deal with disability. This area of inquiry was selected to address the insufficient responsiveness of counseling practice to the needs of people with disabilities and develop new models that would be more relevant for the increasing cultural diversity of modern society. According to the authors’ summary, the results indicate the scarcity of research on disability issues in the studied sources.
Specifically, only 1.1% of the articles within the ten-year time span contained the information on the topic (Woo, Goo, Lee, 2016). In addition, the majority of the articles use samples that are not representative of the current highly diversified population. According to the article, these results fail to fully address the growing need for knowledge of diversity, multiculturalism, and advocacy (Woo et al., 2016). Since the article in question is an exploratory study, it is not possible to identify the author’s expectations with certainty. However, it is possible to extrapolate from the views expressed in the background section of the paper that the author did expect inconsistencies and gaps in coverage in the area dealing with disabilities, as the alleged inability to address the growing relevance of multiculturalism is mentioned on multiple occasions throughout the text. It is also important to point out that the results align well with my intuitive persona assessment of the situation since I often find it difficult to locate research on disability that would acknowledge the importance of cultural variables with sufficient scientific rigor.
Conclusion
In my opinion, the study is important as a starting point for identifying specific issues in the field of counseling. While the cultural aspects of the well-being of the population have increased in relevance over the recent years, many of the conclusions made by the professionals in the field are not well-evidenced. Such a situation is unacceptable as it compromises the quality and validity of suggested approaches to address the existing issues and requires adjustment of priorities in both theoretical and practice settings. Thus, the article is significant for counseling professionals and a number of related social disciplines.
References
Center for Traumatic Stress Research. (n.d.). Cirecie A. West-Olatunji, Ph. D. Web.
West-Olatunji, J. (n.d.). Vision for the Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development (JMCD).
Woo, H., Goo, M., & Lee, M. (2016). A content analysis of research on disability: American Counseling Association journals between 2003 and 2013. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 44(4), 228-244.
Nola J. Pender’s Health Promotion Model In Nursing
Introduction
Nola Pender is a nursing theorist who is famous for the Health Promotion Model. Pender does not describe health as the absence of different illnesses and diseases. Her model considers health as a positive dynamic condition. Pender’s model is the promotion of healthy lifestyle in order to increase a patient’s health and prosperity. This paper is aimed at the investigation of Nola J. Pender’s Health Promotion Model.
The essence of the Health Promotion Model
To understand how the Health Promotion Model has influenced the practice of the advanced practice nurse, firstly, it is important to describe the essence of this model. Health promotion is the aim of the Health Promotion Model. According to Butts and Rich (2013), the Health Promotion Model is based on three areas: individual characteristics and experiences, behavior-specific cognitions and affect, and behavioral outcomes. Pender states that every person has his or her own personal qualities, characteristics, and practices. She underlines that subsequent events and actions directly depend on them. In other words, unique personal experiences have a significant impact on patients’ health and well-being.
Pender’s model and nursing practice
It is worth mentioning that nurses can modify or even change three areas on which the model is focused. Due to Pender’s model and view of health, nursing actions become even more important and influential. Communication between nurses and patients is considered to be one of the most important factors that influence patients’ health. Nurses play a significant role in the so-called patient education. Nurses are to help patients to find out about healthy choices and behavior as much as possible because these factors are the key to healthy future. Besides, if patients know how to care for themselves, it helps to prevent illnesses and diseases to a great extent. Thus, the understanding of the fact that nurses greatly contribute to patients’ healthy behavior has influenced the practice of the advanced practice nurse and formed nursing knowledge in a new way.
Pender’s model and the AACN Essential VIII
As it is defined by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2011), there are nine essentials of master’s education in nursing. One of them is clinical prevention and population health for improving health. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2011) states that “it recognizes that the master’s-prepared nurse applies and integrates broad, organizational, client-centered, and culturally appropriate concepts in the planning, delivery, management, and evaluation of evidence-based clinical prevention and population care and services to individuals, families, and aggregates/identified populations” (p. 5). Some connections can be noticed between this essential and Pender’s Health Promotion Model. The introduction of clinical prevention and population health activities is aimed at improving the overall health of the United States of America. Nurses will utilize prevention interventions in their daily practice more effectively if they are guided by Pender’s model and pay enough attention to patients’ personal biological, psychological, and socio-cultural factors.
Conclusion
To sum up, there are a lot of theories related to health and health promotion in particular. Pender’s Health Promotion Model is an example of such theories. The Model is simple to understand, and it is different from other theories because it is mainly focused on disease prevention. A new approach to the definition of health was implemented in Pender’s model. The Health Promotion Model underlines the importance of the independent nursing practice and underlines that nursing practice and activities are the most important source of health promoting and education.
References
Butts, J. B., & Rich, K. L. (2013). Philosophies and theories for advanced nursing practice. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2011). The essentials of master’s education in nursing. Web.
Inductive And Deductive Theory In Case Studies
David Takeuchi’s Survey at the University of Hawaii
Summary
The case study describes a survey performed by David Takeuchi and his team in 1974 which aimed at explaining the reasons for different treatment of marijuana by the students of the University of Hawaii (Babbie, 2016). Various explanations for this issue were offered. Some said that marijuana smokers had problems with the studies; others considered that the students were looking for original values (Babbie, 2016). However, data analysis performed by Takeuchi showed that both opinions were wrong.
Takeuchi discovered that men were more likely to smoke than women; non-Asians were more likely to smoke than Asians; and students living in apartments were more inclined to smoke than those who stayed at home (Babbie, 2016).
The researchers investigated that each of the variables impacted the probability of the student’s being a marijuana smoker. For instance, eighty percent of non-Asian males staying in apartments smoked; while so did only ten percent of Asian females who stayed at home (Babbie, 2016). In this case, the analysis led to an interesting result. Rather than investigating why some students smoked, the researchers investigated why others did not. Having supposed that every student had an impulse to try marijuana, the scholars assumed that the students had various social restraints. These restrictions averted the students from being influenced by those impulses (Babbie, 2016).
As a result of the social constraint theory, Takeuchi made three reasons. According to the first one, women had more restrictions on smoking than men. According to the second, students staying at home had more restraints than those living in rented apartments. The third reasoning was concerned with the subculture: Asian students had more restrictions than non-Asian ones (Babbie, 2016.
In this case, the researchers managed to find a crucial pattern of drug use earlier than they found an explanation for that pattern. Therefore, instead of analyzing the reasons why some students were smokers, the scholars examined the reasons why others weren’t (Babbie, 2016).
Definition of Inductive Theory
The inductive theory presupposes the analysis from the investigation of knowledge to the general development of theory: “data to theory” (Cargan, 2007, p. 31). For instance, the theoretical principles of some issues are only possible after the compilation of the statistical evidence. The collected data is called “grounded theory” (Cargan, 2007, p. 31). Several common mistakes are possible when applying inductive logic: oversimplification, overgeneralization, and tautological reasoning (Cargan, 2007).
Specific Aspects of the Study that Make It Inductive
The inductiveness of the study indicated that the theory appeared as a result of data analysis. At the beginning of the research, the researchers did not think of such a theory (Babbie, 2016).
Guillermina Jasso’s Theory of Distributive Justice
Summary
The case study analyzes Guillermina Jasso’s theory of distributive justice. According to Jasso, the theory presents a mathematical explanation of the process in which people examine themselves in contrast with others based on their values (Babbie, 2016). Thus, the participants are evaluating whether they are being treated justly or unjustly.
To support the mathematical inclination of her theory, Jasso marks her key variable – the justice evaluation – as J. One of the assumptions of Jasso’s theory defines the basic axiom of comparison delineating the theory’s substantive issue of departure (Babbie, 2016). Jasso remarks that the people’s sense of receiving fair treatment results from their comparison of themselves to the others. Jasso suggests that people’s impression of distributive justice is the function of comparison holdings (C) and actual holding (A). Hence, the sense of justice is the comparison of one’s possessions to the possessions of other people. These two components are used as variables in Jasso’s study (Babbie, 2016).
The further stage where Jasso proposes a rule of measurement is necessary as some of the investigated goods are concrete and others are abstract (Babbie, 2016). The concrete goods are analyzed conventionally and the abstract ones – relatively. Therefore, the theory shall present a formula for carrying out that measurement (Babbie, 2016).
Jasso’s theorizing allows her to conclude that a person will likely steal from his/her group member than from a stranger. Here, Jasso points out that A will increase in both cases (stealing from a group member or an outsider), while C will be different.
Definition of Deductive Theory
The deductive theory is based on the “theory to data” approach (Cargan, 2007, p. 31). The theory involves reasoning from collective theoretical explanations established separately to the collected data. As a rule, deductive theories are evolved via literature research. They often begin with the reconsideration of other analyses that have examined the analogous issues. Such an approach allows combining previous achievements in the field with the current study’s outcomes. Thus, the major function of deductive theory is to present a possibility of making predictions based on past observations (Cargan, 2007).
Specific Aspects of the Study that Make It Deductive
Jasso’s derivations prove that the theory is deductive. She has tested the predictions to see whether her reasonable assumptions happen in practice.
References
Babbie, E. (2016). The basics of social research (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage.
Cargan, L. (2007). Doing social research. Plymouth, UK: Rowman & Littlefield.