Digital Commons Network^™

The Effects Of Pornography On Gay, Bisexual, And Queer Men's Body Image: An Experimental Study, Neil Gleason

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Because gay male pornography often depicts idealized images of male bodies and is widely consumed by gay men, recent studies have investigated the relationship between gay men's pornography consumption and body image. However, the limited research on the subject has reported conflicting results and has only utilized correlational and qualitative methodologies. This is this first known experimental study to investigate the impact of pornography on gay, bisexual, and queer men's body image. Eighty-seven gay, bisexual, and queer men were assigned to watch either an "amateur" pornographic video, "professional" pornographic video, or a nature video, and then completed several body image …

A Comparison Of Physical Nursing Home Environment For Older Adults And Their Families, Phatt Thaitrong

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Globally, aging populations and increases in chronic diseases mean that more people will need long-term care in the next decade. Providing appropriate care to meet the needs of older adults and their families is a key consideration. This move to create a home-like environment in nursing homes has become extensive this past decade. Having an appropriate atmosphere where residents feel like they belong can help elderly people to age healthfully. This systematic literature analysis will address older adult residents' and their families' needs for nursing home physical environments and identify key elements of the physical nursing home environment for older …

The Relationship Between Religiosity And Depression Among Sampled Kenyans In The Twin Cities Metro Area, Dorcas Waite

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study was to assess whether there is a relationship between the self-reported level of religiosity and the self-reported level of depression among sampled Kenyans in the Twin Cities Metro Area, in Minnesota. The sample consisted of 63 individuals who were members or visitors at Destiny Faith Ministries and United Seventh-Day Adventist Church.

Results showed that 98.4% (n=60) of participants identified themselves with a specific religion, 90.4% (n=57) scored 40 and above on the religiosity scale, which indicated strong religiosity. Majority of participants (66.8%, n=42) indicated that they had been bothered for several days by at least …

Measures Of Alienation From Work Process In Academic Libraries In The Information Age, Zorian M. Sasyk

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This thesis examines how alienation from work process, or work alienation, varies among work area specializations in academic libraries. Rooted in Marxist theory, the study utilizes the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire mapped to specific measures of alienation as a survey tool to measure the relative alienation of library workers at Master’s level universities in the United States. Data collected is analyzed utilizing descriptive statistics, including cross-tabulations. Findings of the study indicate that there is some variation in work alienation among library work classifications and work areas, with higher alienation found for paraprofessionals, administrators, and library workers in multiple areas or roles. …

A Labor Of Love: Women's Perspectives On Gender And Identity In Informal Caregiving, Kirby O'Hara Hurd

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The elderly population (adults 65 and over) is larger than at any time in history, thanks to improved access to healthcare, advances in medical technology, and health services focused on addressing the needs of aging adults. However, support for this growing population remains insufficient; the costs of in-home and residential care are high, and consequently, family members often become providers of informal, unpaid care. Presently, there is inadequate literature regarding the academic study of family members providing informal caregiving, especially from a perspective that emphasizes sociological principles and theories. Existing studies of the family caregiver phenomenon show that middle-aged adult …

Impact Of Caregiver Depression On Health Of Family Caregivers Of Individuals With Alzheimer's Disease, Poonam Aryal

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This study examines the health consequences of being a caretaker of someone with Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia and is a significant public health problem that will intensify as the population ages. Caring for an individual with Alzheimer’s disease is more stressful than caring for a person with a physical disability; they need increased levels of supervision and personal care as the disease progress. The majority of care is provided at home by family caregivers. Caregivers often help people with Alzheimer’s to manage various issues from activities of daily living to financial management …

A Content Analysis On Two Different Immigrants’ Stories In California From Two Novels: A Step From Heaven: A Korean Girl And Esperanza Rising: A Mexican Farm Worker, Claudia Guerrero Barrera

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This study intends to compare and analyze two stories of young immigrants coming to California from Korea and Mexico. The themes through thematic analysis on migration motives, ethnic customs, family interactions, and assimilation process are identified and analyzed. The two novels also pointed out the importance of using young adult narratives as a means that libraries, schools, and cultural centers could use to promote cultural understandings.

The Typology Of Community: A Case Study Analysis Of Three Intentional Communities, Caleb Kalinowski

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Typological schemes like those produced by Emile Durkheim and Ferdinand Tönnies have been used to classify human groups in an evolutionary spectrum ranging from the simple to the complex. Though the typological approach was foundational to further development of the western social sciences it is seldom used to examine what might be termed "simple" societies in the modern day. This study aims to apply the contributions of the two theorists listed above to the concept of the modern intentional community. Although these communities comprise an eclectic and diverse social phenomenon, their characteristic small populations and other features make them intriguing …