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A Cost-Benefit Analysis Of The Expanded Food And Nutrition Education Program, Janie L. Burney

Doctoral Dissertations

Data on the economic value of nutrition education programs, such as the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), can help decision makers choose between alternative programs based on costs and benefits. A cost-benefit analysis of EFNEP was conducted to determine if savings in food expenditures exceeded implementation costs. Costs were collected over a 6-months using expenditure reports and other records. Benefits were determined using prospective data from 371 females enrolled in EFNEP who completed a 24-hour food recall, behavior survey, and recorded the amount of money spent on food monthly at program entry and exit. Two treatment groups received …

Mothers' Perceptions Of Family-Centered Early Intervention Service Coordination, Elsa Macmillan Nownes

Doctoral Dissertations

Profound changes have taken place in the way professionals work with families who have young children with disabilities. These changes have taken place because of revisions in what professionals believe is best practice and changes in laws that govern early intervention. Although previous researchers have addressed many questions pertaining to how best to serve young children and their families in early intervention, no previous researchers have used qualitative methods to explore parental perceptions of early intervention service coordination.

Mothers with children with special needs who resided in all nine districts served by Tennessee's Early Intervention System were interviewed. The sample …

A Life Of Paradox: The Experience Of Eating Disorders In Five University Women Athletes, Deeanne K. Pearson

Doctoral Dissertations

A qualitative research investigation using the phenomenological interview was conducted to describe the experience of eating disorders in five university women athletes, aged 19-23 years, who had been clinically-diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa and/or Bulimia Nervosa. At the time of the interview, one athlete was a current competitor while the other four had retired from their sport prior to their senior year. Three athletes retired due to complications from their respective eating disorders; one retired because of a sport-related injury. The thematic analysis suggested that the eating disorder experience of these women was one of paradox and was invariably bivalent, i.e., …

The Effect Of Modifying Eicosanoid Biosynthesis On Tumor Load In The Min/+ Mouse, Chun-Hung Chiu

Doctoral Dissertations

Several lines of evidence strongly link prostaglandins (PGs) and leukotrienes (LTs) to cancers of the intestine. Epidemiological studies showed aspirin and aspirin-like compounds reduced the relative risk of intestinal cancer in humans by 40-50%. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can cause regression of intestinal tumors in humans and laboratory animals as well. The precise mechanism of antitumor effect of these NSAIDs is uncertain, but it has been presumed the effect is due to their ability to inhibit prostaglandin biosynthesis. This dissertation is designed to investigate the effect of modifying eicosanoid biosynthesis by NSAIDs and dietary manipulation on tumor load in a …

Experiencing Abortion: A Phenomenological Investigation, Kathryn Rea Smith

Doctoral Dissertations

This project provided a description of women's experience of abortion. In-depth, non-directive interviews were conducted with ten adult women in which they were asked to describe what stood out for them about their experience of abortion. Transcribed interviews constituted the raw data, and a method informed by hermeneutic analysis was used for purposes of describing the thematic structure of the experience. Findings indicated that this structure was defined by four themes: (1) Wrong and Right Aspects; (2) Issues of Life and Death; (3) Absence or Presence of Support; and (4) A Hard Thing to Go Through. These themes were always …