Digital Commons Network^™

The Experience Of Place, Rosemary Kehoe Peacher

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the human experience of place. A phenomenological approach was utilized employing an unstructured open-ended dialogical interview method. Twenty participants, including ten younger and older adults, were asked to describe places which were special to them.

Interpretation of the interview transcripts revealed five themes descriptive of one's experience of place: Identity, Connection, Security, Possibilities, and Beauty/Awe. The experience of time was interwoven with all five themes.

The theme of Identity comprises the way in which a place can strengthen one's sense of self, provide continuity across the developmental life span, and trigger poignant …

The Relationship Among Parenting Styles, Home Environments, And Children's Curiosity, Amy Baldwin Crockett

Doctoral Dissertations

In this research, the relationships of parenting styles, attitudes, and child-rearing environments with children's curiosity, the relationships of parenting styles and attitudes with child-rearing environments, and the indirect relationships of parenting styles and attitudes with children's curiosity through child-rearing environments were explored. Seventy-four parent-child dyads were recruited from area day care centers. Oldest children between 3 and 6 years old were studied. Parents were administered a demographic information questionnaire, the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment Inventory--Revised (HOME), and the Child-Rearing Practices Report (CRPR). Children were administered the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test--Revised (PPVT-R), the Complexity Task, the Preference for …