Final Section of Action Research Paper (due January 12, 2018)
Action Plan/Conclusion (1 page)
Address the following questions:
- Based on the conclusions you have drawn, what recommendations would you make to your internship site (or to your audience if it is different than your internship)?
- Who could this research apply to? Could it benefit an outside audience in addition to your internship?
- What are the questions that still remain for you around this topic and explain what it would take to find out their answers (don't answer them)?
The results I found and conclusions I came to are very applicable not only to other youth groups, but to churches as a whole and other organizations. Any organization can take the idea of people valuing community and relationships above all else and use it to benefit them. Other youth groups, and churches, can take this data and structure their services, programs and foundation around that. Organizations can replicate and implement this mindset of community as well, each for their own purposes and goals. This finding of relationships determining people’s actions can be applied to any individual or group of people.
A few questions I still have are, “How do these results compare to other local youth groups? How do other youth groups, church and other organizations draw people in more knowing that people are drawn in because of the community and relationships?” To find the answer to these questions, I can give my survey of a similar one to other local youth groups and ministries and gather data from those surveys. I can also interview leaders of youth groups, church and organizations to understand and gain more knowledge about the structure of their program. Another option is to interview the students themselves about how they feel connected to the church or organization. I can also find more research done on this topic such as case studies done on churches or organizations and how they build a strong sense of community.
Thinking in terms of my own youth group and the site of my internship, we could emphasize the importance of and encourage students to invite their friends, specifically ones who don’t often attend church, to their youth group. This can and should be done at all youth groups and churches. It’s also important to raise and build up students and leaders who are passionate about Christ, the ministry they’re involved in and community for them to help ignite this action and passion in others. It is the job, then, of the pastors and other leaders to encourage, support and equip their students and leaders to take these actions. Students and leaders need to first feel poured into anc cared for before they can do that for others. Planning events to incorporate a diverse group of people to have them feel welcomed and a part of the community is a key element. Having leaders being involved in the students and other leaders lives, as well as encouraging others to do the same is very important as well. In order to take in action to build up the community, one must know their community first.
Action Plan
The results from my observational experiment helped to prove the difficulties an organization like Wild Wonders faces when keeping animals in captivity. Availability to resources that could make an obvious difference in stimulation is limited, yet is not impossible. Of the six enrichment categories detailed earlier, food enrichment, EEDs, and sensory enrichment were the only three utilized throughout the experiment. My overall recommendation to Wild Wonders specifically is to explore other areas of enrichment, most specifically habitat and more sensory. The birds could develop the skills of their wild opposites through intricate foraging devices. The arctic foxes love food enrichment, although it has become more of a daily treat and drifted away from the original enriching intention. Thus the arctic foxes should have B.E. that involves their natural hunting instincts; digging or clawing opportunities, foraging devices. The owl monkeys are a little different because of their unfortunate personal backgrounds. Changing up their habitat every once and awhile that gives them new climbing areas could be beneficial. Lou, who has possession issues, scent marks everything. Providing random items that are rotated could give both Lou and Olivia the opportunity to continue their natural scent marking behavior. To implement more detailed enrichment, Wild Wonders should consider a committee consisting of volunteers and staff members that plans enrichment in advance. A schedule that is followed everyday could make a difference not only in the stimulation of the animals but the overall function of an average day at Wild Wonders. Something as simple as, “Mondays are reserved for sensory enrichment,” could make it easier for staff members to structure B.E.
This study was extremely difficult to conduct, since each day was unpredictable. A newspaper may have been given for B.E. simply because of the lack of other resources. Some animals may have received double the amount of B.E. on a given day, while others would only receive a single amount. There are so many external factors that should also be considered when reviewing both the experiment and the overall conclusion drawn on B.E. Regardless, it can still be assumed that each species focused on preferred certain B.E. items. Captive animals are able to hold onto their wild roots because their natural habitats and behaviors are highly considered during the creation of enrichment. Sadly, nearly all of the animals at Wild Wonders would not survive if released back into the wild, which is why it important to imitate what their life would be like if they could live where they naturally come from. Obviously I couldn’t come to the conclusion that one form of B.E. works perfectly. This is because I was comparing species from different backgrounds against one another. It’s like comparing apples and oranges. The arctic's liked boxes, and the birds liked bags. Had they both liked boxes, I still could not go around telling zookeepers that all their animals are going to benefit from B.E. made from boxes. Imagine giving an elephant a cereal box. It’s not going to do much. All of these successful institutions are able to keep these captive animals in a healthy mind set by relying on their wild backgrounds. There is no one form of enrichment that is perfect for every species, and even so for every individual animal. Enrichment shouldn’t be the same across all animals of a facility; it should be species specific. Rescued animals can continue to perform their natural behaviors with enrichment that is tailored to their own natural histories.