Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Secular Change And Allometry In The Long Limb Bones Of Americans From The Mid 1700s Through The 1970s, Lee Meadows Jantz

Doctoral Dissertations

Secular change has long been of interest to researchers in fields ranging from human growth to human identification. In addition to changes in size, changes in limb bone proportions may also have occurred.

Secular change in size and limb bone length proportion was investigated in five U.S. skeletal samples (Total N =2700) with dates of birth ranging from mid 1700 to 1970s. The six long bones are measured for maximum lengths, and stature is known for a approximately 2000 individuals. The goals of this study include 1) examining any changes in the long bones and stature of white and black …

The Nature Of Hope Among Men And Women Living With Hiv-Aids, Jeannie Vaughn Gillian

Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this qualitative study was to discover how individuals living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) experience hope. Still considered a life-threatening illness, the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) continues to challenge those who are affected by it. In an attempt to enhance understanding of the nature and role of hope in HIV-related illness, repeated in-depth conversational interviews were conducted over 24 months in naturalistic settings.

Participants in this longitudinal study originally included 5 women and 30 men; 15 deaths have occurred since the onset of the study. Of the 28 participants who completed the study, all but …

Mentorship As An Intervention Strategy In Relapse Reduction Among Native American Youth, Lisa Jane Lefler

Doctoral Dissertations

The primary objective of this project was to develop and test a mentorship program for a regional Native American youth treatment center. Many Native American adolescents who are discharged from treatment return to their peers and families who may still be using alcohol, thus greatly increasing the probability of relapse. This project was designed to provide these youth with sober, positive role models who would aid in providing the support needed to maintain client sobriety.

As a tool for this project, an epidemiological data base was developed at the Indian Health Service facility. A retrospective inventory of 165 client files …

Toxins! Tocsin: The North Hollywood Dump In Memphis, Tennessee: A Community's Struggle Against Environmental Racism, Glenn Steve Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations

This research describes the "voices" of Hollywood residents who are impacted by a toxic landfill in their backyard. These residents were not included in the decision-making process to get the Hollywood Dump cleaned up. The residents were not allowed to be equal political participants in the Hollywood Dump issue. The residents lacked a strong collective resistance to influence local, state and federal officials to respond to this community problem. The "voices" of the Hollywood residents provided a natural history of a social problem which represents the political, cultural, and religious concerns of grassroots individuals who agreed that the local dump …

The Use Of Prior Knowledge In Learning From Examples, Stephen B. Blessing '89

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the way people acquire procedures from examples, and provides a computational model of the results. In four experiments, people learned an analog of algebra. For each experiment, the initial know ledge that people had of the task was varied. In two experiments (Experiments 1 and 3), the syntactic know ledge that people had concerning the task w as manipulated. The knowledge of syntax that participants had, particularly the ability to correctly parse the character string, was found to be a major determiner in the way participants acquired the rules. Experiment 2 explicitly manipulated participant's awareness as to …

Transitions To U.S. Private Schools: Perceptions Of Six Immigrant Elementary School Boys, Philip Manwell

Doctoral Dissertations

"The United States is faced with the privilege and challenge of educating immigrant children, not only in a second language and other skills, but also in the many and varied dimensions of life in this country" (London, 1990; p. 287).

Whether these children have fled rigid dictatorial regimes or wars, whether they came to the U.S. directly or spent time in refugee camps or detention centers, whether they have little more than what they are wearing at the time, or their families have planned the migration carefully, leaving their countries of origin legally and peacefully, bringing currency and the promise …