Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Slight Schooling On Deaf Education, Kathryn L. Hayden

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

By comparing a residential school for the deaf and hard of hearing with a mainstream inclusion educational setting, the performance of school-aged children who are deaf is presented. Previous research within the area of education for individuals who are deaf was gathered and used as a historical basis for the subsequent investigation. With the study of Erik Erikson's psychosocial stages of development and Lev Vygotsky's zone of proximal development, an analysis of education for individuals who are deaf was conducted and re-synthesized to provide a new understanding of education. Erik Erikson's psychosocial stages of development and Lev Vygotsky's Zone of …

Examining Our Worst Fears, Jennifer Elmassian Leszkiewicz

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

Fifty five graduate students in the 2008 class of Smith College School for Social Work, on average, seek symbolic immortality through existential themes, excluding religion. Additionally, the more students identify with themes that define meaning in their lives, the greater their fear of encountering threats to that meaning. Further, students reported that they daydream about existential fears that threaten symbolic immortality more frequently than they dream, or have memories of them; and that they dream about primal fears more frequently than they daydream, or have memories of them. This study tested the hypotheses that people fear what they imagine might …

The Subjective Experience Of Attachment For Children With Mothers Who Have Been Formally Diagnosed As Schizophrenic : An Exploratory Study Based On The Practice Wisdom Of Clinical Practioners, Richard Cabada

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This qualitative study explored what could be learned from the practice wisdom of clinical practitioners about the subjective experience of attachment for children that have been raised in a family where the primary caretaker was a mother formally diagnosed as schizophrenic. Most of the literature on this subject has addressed this mother-child dyad by focusing on the subjective experience of the mother. The sample was comprised of eight licensed clinical practitioners that generated nine cases with ten children for discussion. The mothers in all cases experienced multiple hospitalizations and most were single parents. The children in all cases experienced physical …

Difference In Perception Of Campus Climate Between White Students And Black And Latino Students At One New England Independent School, Nola-Rae Cronan

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This study examined the perception of campus climate between White students and Black and Latino students at one independent school in New England. It was hypothesized that there would be differences in the perception of campus climate between the two groups, specifically as it relates to campus climate as defined by; students feeling safe, listened to, valued, and treated fairly and with respect. The study utilized previously collected data gathered with a survey addressing diversity. There were150 students surveyed, with 21 of those students self identified as Black or Latino. The responses of identified Black and Latino students were examined …

Implications Of Frequent Online Social Network Use For Adolescent And Emerging Adult Social Experiences, Nora Anne Heins

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This study explores the impact of frequent use of Online Social Network (OSN) sites on late adolescent and emerging adult social experiences. Information for this study was gathered using 12 in-person, semi-structured interviews with late adolescents/emerging adults about their OSN experiences. This study looks at the overall experience of socializing using OSNs and what this is like for youth in their late teens and early twenties. The study results support that OSN use can provide a sense of connectedness, as well as create difficulties, in relationship termination and provide opportunities for boundary violations by acquaintances and ex-partners. The data show …

Using Art Making In Cross-Cultural Clinical Therapy, Sara Ruth Schieffelin

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

Literature in the field of multicultural counseling and therapy supports the need to develop effective theories and practical models for working cross-culturally. Literature in the field of art therapy provides strong evidence that art-making can be a successful tool for therapeutic use with a wide range of clients. Yet there is little research linking these two fields. This theoretical study aims to extend the limited research on this topic by looking at the literature from these two fields, and examining how art-making in therapy can be used as a tool to alleviate some of the problems that can occur when …

The Right To Party, En Masse, Haiyan Lee

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The most clichéd way of referring to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in English-language media has been “China’s coming-out party.” The slightly condescending undertone is nonetheless mingled with well-wishing that the debutante will give the world a heck of a party, the glitches and disappointments in the run-up notwithstanding. For this precious moment, China chose Zhang Yimou, arguably its most talented film director, to chaperone itself onto the world stage.

By all indications, it was a good choice. The 50-minute multi-million-dollar extravaganza was so spectacular that the only appropriate response, it would seem, was a WOW! Or to wonder, like …

Finding Money For Municipal Water, Wastewater And Solid Waste Projects In Tennessee (2008), Sharon Rollins

MTAS Publications: Full Publications

This guide provides an overview of various financing programs available to Tennessee's local governments for water, wastewater, solid waste, and other project needs.

Alcoholic Beverage Sales To Underage Buyers In The Commonwealth Of Virginia: Deterrence And Equality, William L. Goodman

Theses & Honors Papers

The Commonwealth of Virginia relies on the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) to enforce laws designed to deter alcohol and cigarette sales to underage persons. ABC employs underage buyers (UAB) who attempt to make controlled purchases of alcoholic beverages and cigarettes.

The primary purpose of this research project is to determine if compliance checks deter alcohol sales to underage persons. Second, this study attempts to find if underage buyer demographics align with state demographics. Finally, this research attempts to determine if businesses are more likely to sell alcohol to underage buyers based on their race, ethnicity, and gender. This …

Uninsured And Medicaid Patients' Access To Preventive Care: Comparison Of Health Centers And Other Primary Care Providers, Avi Dor, Yuriy Pylypchuck, Peter Shin, Sara J. Rosenbaum

Geiger Gibson/RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative

This issue of Research Briefs examines health centers' role in reducing disparities in preventive health care access by medically vulnerable and high risk populations. The analysis uses information from several national data sources to examine differences in the provision of preventive health care to Medicaid and uninsured patients between health centers and other primary care providers.

Key Findings:

• Compared to those treated by other primary care providers, Medicaid and uninsured patients treated by health centers are significantly poorer, in significantly worse health, and in the case of uninsured patients, more likely to be members of racial and ethnic minority groups. …

E-Journal Usage Statistics In Collection Management Decisions: A Literature Review, Andrée J. Rathemacher

Technical Services Faculty Publications

This is the author's manuscript of chapter 6 in the book Library Data: Empowering Practice and Persuasion, ed. Darby Orcutt, Libraries Unlimited, 2010. It is posted here with publisher permission.

Development And Pilot Testing Of A Low Literacy Handout For Hispanic/Latino Caregivers To Promote Breastfeeding And Introduce Age Appropriate Foods For Infants, Judith C. Rodriguez, Nancy Correa-Matos

Florida Public Health Review

Based on input from four focus groups the authors developed a culturally and linguistically appropriate material (CLAM) that used a pictorial format to promote breast feeding and age-appropriate introduction of solids for Hispanics/Latinos that attended a public health clinic in the northeast region of Florida. The handout focused on five key, but simple educational messages. Clients were randomly assigned to receive 1) the physician's usual oral instruction or 2) instruction that incorporated the use, and provision of, the handout. Among the group (n=12) that received the handout the mean month for introduction of solids was 5 months compared to 4.07 …

Urban And Rural Children Experience Similar Rates Of Low-Income And Poverty, Allison Churilla

Carsey School of Public Policy

Data in this brief shows that the percentages of children living in low-income areas and poverty over the past fifteen years in rural and urban America are converging.

A Republican River Water Bailout?, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

Nebraska is in violation of the Republican River Compact Settlement for 2006 by an estimated 41,430 acre-feet (AF) of water. Kansas has claimed damages of $72 million for Nebraska’s settlement violations, has demanded irrigation cutbacks of nearly 50 percent and has initiated formal arbitration proceedings under the settlement for resolving compliance disagreements. The July 9, 2008 Cornhusker Economics newsletter suggested that Kansas was entitled to only half the water and money it claimed. Kansas has proposed that Nebraska ultimately needs to shut down all wells within 2.5 miles of the Republican River and tributaries with all irrigation wells installed after …

Investment Banker's Little Bond Fund Goes Nationwide For Immigrants, Patricia Zapor

Postville Project Documents

Catholic News Service article from Aug. 13, 2008: Massachusetts investment banker and philanthropist Robert Hildreth's success in business means Luis Delgado, a Mexican immigrant arrested in an immigration crackdown on a Maryland roofing company June 30, will get to be with his wife and children for the months it will take his legal case to be adjudicated.

Letter To The Editor [K. Weston], K. Weston

Postville Project Documents

A letter to the Postville Herald-Leader stating that those in charge of the Agriprocessors plant in Postville should be held accountable for the conditions in the plant. The letter also commends those involved in organizing the interfaith prayer service held on July 27, 2008.

Negative And Positive Peer Influence: Relations To Positive And Negative Behaviors For African American, European American, And Hispanic Adolescents, Laura M. Padilla-Walker, Roy A. Bean

Faculty Publications

The purpose of the current study was to examine adolescents’ perceptions of negative and positive peer influence (i.e., indirect peer association and direct peer pressure) as they related to adolescent behavior. Regression analyses were conducted using a sample of African American, European American, and Hispanic adolescents (N ¼ 1659, M age ¼ 16.06, SD ¼ 1.10). The study found differences and similarities in relation to respondents’ ethnicity vis-a`-vis indirect peer association and adolescent behavior. Although few ethnic-based differences occurred as a function of indirect negative peer association, indirect positive peer association was not as consistently or as strongly related to …

Social Work Practice With Latino Pentecostals : Applying Femininst Family Theory And Object Relations Theory, Angela Marie Baczewski Hakkila

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This study was undertaken to provide a framework for understanding the identity formation and experience of Latino Pentecostals. The exploration of Feminist Family Theory accompanied by Object Relations Theory provided two opportunities to appreciate the Latino Pentecostal experience. This study focuses on documenting the evolution of the Latino Pentecostal community in the United States and a description of the traditional aspects of this faith group in terms of practice of Spirit Baptism and traits as religious fundamentalists, collectivistic, and social activists. The application of a Feminist Family Theory lens provides a perspective on opening the conversation to dismantle the dominant …

"Do I Pull The Race Card?" : Middle-Class African American Parental Perceptions Of Racism In Their Children's Public Schools, Tamika M. Brock

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This qualitative study explored middle-class African American parental perceptions of racism in their children's public schools. Twelve African American parents with either a bachelor's degree or a total median household income of $48, 451(U.S. Census Bureau, 2007) were asked a series of open-ended questions regarding their personal experiences with individual, cultural, and institutional forms of racism, as well as their children's experiences. Participants were also given Phinney's (1992) Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure to assess their sense of ethnic group membership, one of many variables found to influence perceptions of racism. The major findings revealed an achieved ethnic identity status for …

How To Talk To Strangers: Beijing’S Advice, Mary S. Erbaugh

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

US parents warn their children, “Don’t talk to strangers!” But Chinese adults traditionally avoid even superficial greetings to strangers. This preserves a distinction between insiders and outsiders (nei wai you bie) which honors insiders but deflects con artists and unwelcome requests. People remain wary until they know someone’s title, surname, and background through networks of connections (guanxi) with kin, classmates, and colleagues. People do not say “hello” even to neighbors on the street. In stores, restaurants, train stations, taxis, post offices or clinics, customers request service without pleasantries: “Pork chop noodles!,” “To the east bus station!” Good service focuses on …

Painting Over Mao: Notes On The Inauguration Of The Beijing Olympic Games, Geremie R. Barme

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The ancient city of Beijing was literally turned on its head to help achieve the effects of the Olympic opening ceremony on Friday August 8, 2008. Six hundred years ago the city was designed around a north-south axis that runs from the south of the old city through the Forbidden City and on north. Along this axis the spectacles of imperial times would unfold (including the imperial “Tours of the South” or nanxun that were a major feature of the reigns of the Kangxi and Qianlong emperors in the Qing dynasty). Since the 1910s, however, Chang’an Avenue, now a multi-laned …

Defining A Fire Year For Reporting And Analysis Of Global Interannual Fire Variablility, Luigi Boschetti, David P. Roy

GSCE Faculty Publications

The interannual variability of fire activity has been studied without an explicit investigation of a suitable starting month for yearly calculations. Sensitivity analysis of 37 months of global MODIS active fire detections indicates that a 1-month change in the start of the fire year definition can lead, in the worst case, to a difference of over 6% and over 45% in global and subcontinental scale annual fire totals, respectively. Optimal starting months for analyses of global and subcontinental fire interannual variability are described. The research indicates that a fire year starting in March provides an optimal definition for annual global …

Travel Behaviour Of The Park And Ride Users And The Factors Influencing The Demand For Theuse Of The Park And Ride Facility, Jamilah Mohammad

Jamilah Mohammad

Park and ride scheme acts as an important component of the parking management strategies of a city. Exploring the significant attributes that influence the utilization of such scheme can provide a better understanding of its application among the urban users. The three main areas of concern towards understanding the characteristics of the park and ride users are the socioeconomic, trip and the parking-related characteristics. Through linear regression, this study identified that the significant attributes that were found to significantly influence the utilization of the facility in the Kuala Lumpur conurbation are total travel time by rail (via the park-and-ride), income, …

Comorbidities Of Patients With Hypertension Admitted To Emergency Departments In Florida Hospitals

Florida Public Health Review

Although essential hypertension (EHT) tends to coexist with other conditions, few studies have focused on comorbidities and symptoms among patients admitted to emergency departments (ED). The objective was to compare the characteristics, comorbidities and symptoms among patients with three types (unspecified, benign, or malignant) of EHT in Florida. A public use data set of ED patients from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) from 2005 was used. Records included those with primary diagnosis of three types of EHT based on the International Classification of Diseases, 9th edition (ICD-9) code. Group comparisons were made using Chi square tests and …

Exploring Expression-Based Apprehension In Online And Traditional Sections Of A General Education, Introductory Communication Course., Tabitha Leah Bailey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Apprehension negatively impacts student learning. As online and hybrid communication courses continue to be offered it is important to expand and update research regarding the following constructs: communication apprehension, receiver apprehension, writing apprehension, and computer apprehension. This study examines correlations between and among these constructs, differences by gender and course format, and changes between pre- and posttest results. Students enrolled in traditional and online sections of a basic communication course completed pre- and posttests consisting of a demographic survey, the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension, the Receiver Apprehension Test, the Writing Apprehension Test, and the Computer and Web Attitude Scale. …

Family Structure And The Criminal Behavior Of Juveniles In Tennessee., Ronald D. Pickard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between family type and criminal behavior of juveniles in Tennessee who were referred to Juvenile Court in 2006. The population used in the study comprised the juveniles who were referred to the Tennessee Juvenile Courts as reported by the Tennessee Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges in 2006.

This investigation focused on the criminal behavior as indicated by number and type of referrals to the Juvenile and Family Court system in Tennessee. The data were analyzed by family-of-origin type, age group, and geographic region in Tennessee.

The findings of …

Using Spatial Visualization Software To Influence Cancer Control Policy: A Case Study Of Prostate Cancer In South Carolina., Shannon Amelia Shropshire

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Prostate cancer in the United States shows great disparities among race and socioeconomic status. Disparities in cancer rates in South Carolina are severe. Cancer control policies are lacking in ways to identify reasons for high risk populations and cost-effective ways to do so. An innovative spatial visualization program called the GeoViz Toolkit was used to determine areas of high Prostate Cancer incidence and mortality in South Carolina (rates obtained from the South Carolina Central Cancer Registry) compared with socioeconomic variables (education, income, lack of health insurance, and living in rural areas) and race. From there, recommendations were made using the …

Self-Esteem In Relation To Casual Sex Behavior, Attitudes, And Affect., Kathryn Bieda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Casual sex is common on college campuses and is potentially relevant to a person's self-esteem. Unfortunately, data are mixed regarding how self-esteem is influenced by casual sex. This thesis is an attempt to understand how casual sex influences women's self-esteem through a series of questionnaires. Three hypotheses were of interest. The first predicted that sociosexuality and desire would explain casual sex engagement. Second, that casual sex behaviors and attitudes would predict self-esteem. Third, looking only at those who engaged in casual sex; casual sex attitudes and affect would predict self-esteem. Using hierarchical regression, results indicated that there was a curvilinear …

Teachers' Perceptions Of Empowerment In Their Work Environments As Measured By The Psychological Empowerment Instrument., Corey Ray Gardenhour

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate teacher perceptions of their empowerment. Six school systems in the Northeast Tennessee region were used in the study. Of the 600 teachers who were surveyed, 312 responded (52%). The Psychological Empowerment Instrument was used to survey the sample.

Research supported the notion that teacher empowerment could be influenced by organizational structure, relationships, communication, conflict resolution, emotional intelligence, motivation, job satisfaction, and transformational leadership. Teacher empowerment also involved servant leadership.

One research question guided the study. From this question, 12 null hypotheses were generated. Means were compared for the 4 dimensions of the …

Differences In The Opinions And Attitudes Of Student Athletes Relative To Expenditures For Intercollegiate Athletic Support Services (Social, Athletic, And Academic)., Patricia Hieronimus Dillman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Athletic programs within Division I-A universities and colleges have maintained a unique relationship with both the NCAA and their governing academic institutions. Resources in support of academic, social, and athletic services for student athletes vary across the country for Division-I collegiate athletes. The purpose of this study was to assess the attitudes and opinions of student athletes concerning academic, athletic, and social services provided to them at numerous Division-I athletic programs. Student athletes have not been assessed through a questionnaire concerning their own perceptions and opinions of the specific services (athletic, academic, and social) provided to them at their designated …