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Through The Eyes Of Greek Cypriots And Turkish Cypriots: The Perception Of Cyprus, Mary N. Olin

Dissertations and Theses

It is important to consider the effects of past conflicts on the current perceptions of the people of Cyprus and of the future generations. This thesis contends that the ongoing division of Cyprus along with the many unresolved issues regarding past conflicts have had a profound effect on how the people of Cyprus perceive new information in regard to their future. The inquiry will explore the historical background of Cyprus and the affects of nationalism. The need for enemies, large group identity, divided societies and the need for dialogue will also be examined in relation to perception and new information. …

The Romani Place In Kosovar Space: Nationalism And Kosovo’S Roma, Melissa Hughes

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

On February 17, 2008,Kosovo declared its independence. The path to independence and the claim to Kosovo was a long process that developed in three primary phases: A) the fostering of territorial solidarity under direct rule and an emphasis on historical ties to the territory; B) the foundation of the national idea within the realms of proto-nationalism; and C) the emergence of peripheral and mass nationalism. This research seeks to define the development of nationalist ideologies in Kosovo and to explore where Roma fit within those ideologies. An historical and sociological approach to nationalism in Kosovo is critical in understanding the …

Racism Recognized And The Reformation Of The South In Ernest Gaines‘, La Toya Session

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

According to Ernest Gaines‘ personal experiences as a Southerner, without addressing the history of slavery, the quest for human dignity becomes meaningless. The discourses and the ideologies of the characters in AGathering of Old Men represent a call for social change. A Gathering of Old Men is however, more than just a novel about whites dominating blacks; it is a novel about the fight for humanity in spite of the threat of a new social order. The social repercussions of slavery and the denial of black manhood are central issues in A Gathering of Old Men, but Gaines also exhibits …

Entry Age And Reading Level By The End Of Third Grade., Tony Lynn Dalton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted to see if a difference exists in the mean Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills: Oral Reading Fluency scores of students who entered kindergarten as 4 year olds, 5 year olds, and 6 year olds inclusively. Specifically, this dissertation considered the possibility that holding children out of kindergarten an extra year increased their reading level, while sending children to school too young delayed their ability to read and comprehend.

A quantitative study was used to find differences between the mean reading levels at the end of 3rd grade for students who entered kindergarten on or …

Expectations And Experiences Of Black Students At Two Predominantlywhite High Schools In Southern Appalachia., Lori J. Price

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study addressed the academic, cultural, and social expectations and experiences of 20 Black students at 2 predominantly White high schools in the Southern Appalachian region of the United States. The participants' experiences revealed how institutional practices promoted or obstructed their successful experiences at high school.

Qualitative ethnographic methodology guided the study. The data collected included the stories of the Black students based on individual interviews, focus groups, and document reviews. The data showed the positive and negative experiences of the Black students in predominantly White high schools and the negative impacts of racism and racist behaviors on Black students' …

Free Clinics And The Uninsured: The Need For Remote Area Medical In Central Appalachia After Health Reform., James W. Watson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 2008, the election of President Barack Obama brought health care to the forefront of national discussions and led to the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). The legislation changed the rules of health care delivery in the United States, but the ACA did not do one fundamental thing: It did not end the need for many of the nation's most needy patients to seek free medical care from groups such as Remote Area Medical (RAM).

A mobile clinic, RAM brings together volunteer dentists, physicians, nurses, and other professionals as well as support staff for multi-day …

Does Ses Moderate The Relationship Between Temperament And Emotional And Behavioral Disorders?., Jessica L. Scott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored whether the relationship between temperament and emotional and behavioral disorders (EBDs) is moderated by socioeconomic status (SES) in a sample of 73 children ages 5 through 15 years. Caregivers completed the Rothbart temperament surveys and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Indicators of SES included total household income and occupational status, while indicators of EBDs included the Internalizing Problems, Externalizing Problems, and Total Problems scales of the CBCL. Temperament variables included Fear, Frustration, Sadness, and Shyness. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed 4 regressions significant for moderation. A conclusion gleaned from these results is that the relationship between particular temperament …

Territoriality, Sovereignty And The Nation-State System In Israel-Palestine: The Creation Of The Palestinian Bantustan “State” And Shifting Palestinian Resistance Tactics, Sara Nichole Hughes

Master's Theses

The conflict in Israel-Palestine is over the sovereign control of territory and takes place within a global framework made up of clearly defined nation-states. It is within this framework that Israeli colonial expansion and construction of the separation barrier in the West Bank attempt to maximize Israeli annexation of the oPt while creating a Palestinian Bantustan “state” to contain and isolate the Palestinian people in non-sovereign territorial enclaves through the use of territoriality as a strategy for exercising sovereignty. In response to this obvious process of cantonization, Palestinians are resisting by supporting Israeli annexation – of the West Bank and …

Coming Out Narratives: Realities Of Intersectionality, Marni A. Brown

Sociology Dissertations

Coming out of the closet and sharing a disclosure narrative is considered an essential act to becoming gay (Jagose 1996; Meeks 2006). Although coming out experiences vary by time and place, sexuality scholars note the assumed difficulties when claiming a non-heteronormative identity, including stress, isolation, and rejection (Chauncey 1994; Faderman 1991; Herdt 1993; 1996; Savin-Williams and Ream 2003). In the late 1990s, a post-closet framework emerged arguing that coming out of the closet has become more common and less difficult; “American homosexuals have normalized and routinized their homosexuality to a degree where the closet plays a lesser role in their …

Motherhood And Childbirth Experiences Among Newcomer Women In Canada: A Critical Ethnographic Study, Fatmeh Ahmad Alzoubi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Statement of the Problem: Motherhood and childbirth are very sensitive experiences and have a strong impact on family functioning, social identity, and cohesiveness. Although motherhood and childbirth have been discussed extensively in the scholarly and popular literature, much of this work has been conducted from a North American perspective, with little attention to how motherhood and childbirth are experienced by newcomer women from diverse racial and cultural backgrounds.

Methodology and Theoretical Orientation: A critical ethnographic study using in-depth interviews with 16 newcomer women was utilized to explore newcomer women’s experiences and understandings of motherhood and childbirth in the aftermath of …

Using Pen Source Data Inputs To Map Food Insecurity In Cumberland County, Maine, Daniel Wallace

Muskie School Capstones and Dissertations

In 2010, Mapping Food Insecurity’s Project Director (PD) participated in “The Campaign to Promote Food Security in Cumberland County, Maine.” The Campaign drew together a 60 member coalition to address rapidly increasing food insecurity challenges in the county. It produced a report with a series of recommendations grouped under six strategic community goals. One of the recommendations called for the use of ‘mapping and connectivity software to determine location of vulnerable populations and services in order to plan best future delivery and use of food access services in Cumberland County

The Relationship Between Stress, Cortisol Reactivity And Memory Performance In Younger And Older Adults, Jessica L. Pruitt

Gerontology Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine age differences in cortisol reactivity and memory performance in younger and older adults exposed to cognitive stressors. The current study utilized data from the Anxiety, Memory, and Control study (ACME) conducted at Brandeis University. Stress was measured using a subjective assessment of anxiety and cortisol was measured using a saliva sample. Memory performance was measured using both declarative and working memory tasks. The final sample consisted of 28 younger adults (M = 19.8 years, SD = 1.5) and 29 older adults (M = 71.2 years, SD = 6.6). There were …

The Infant Orienting Response As It Relates To Mother-Infant Co-Regulation And Attachment, Sarah Ann Ahlander Stone

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between 6-month old infants' orienting response to maternal arm-restraint (as measured by bradycardia), the quality of mother-infant communication at 6 and 9 months (as measured by the Relational Coding System) and attachment at 12 months (as measured by the Strange Situation Procedure). As positive mother-infant communication increases, the chances the infant will experience bradycardia increases. As negative mother-infant communication increases, the chances that the infant will experience bradycardia decreases. For mothers and infants who have more positive communication patterns, orienting response to the maternal arm-restraint suggests that maternal disruption of infant activity was a novel …

Inside Nfl Marriages: A Seven Year Ethnographic Study Of Love And Marriage In Professional Football, Rachel Anne Binns Terrill

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

When women marry NFL players and subsequently become NFL wives, they are thrust out of the lives they have known and into a form of secondary socialization among other NFL wives. In this dissertation, I use ethnography and narrative inquiry, the first- person narratives of four NFL wives, interactive interviews with dozens of NFL wives, friendship as method, and my personal autoethnographic experiences to describe the social interactions between NFL wives, the themes of their marriages, and the trajectories of their identity formation and transformation of NFL wives during their time in the league.

I also use autoethnography and writing …

The Relationship Of Adult Attachment Dimensions And Neuroticism To Relationship Self-Regulation, Garret Tyler Roundy

Theses and Dissertations

Self-regulation in the context of a relationship, described as relationship "work," is a powerful predictor of relationship satisfaction. Identifying individual characteristics that predict the practice of relationship self-regulation (RSR) can inform clinical and couple relationship education interventions. Anxious and avoidant attachment have been linked to shortcomings in self-regulation in various contexts, and were hypothesized to be negatively associated to individual practice of RSR; neuroticism, a personality trait characterized by negative emotionality, was also hypothesized to be negatively related to RSR. Neuroticism was also tested as a moderator of the relationship between attachment and RSR. Data from first-married men (589) and …

Types Of Religiousness And Marital Relationships, Toshi Shichida

Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between two types of religiousness (progressive and orthodox) and marital relationships was investigated using qualitative data from a sample of 26 Christian couples (13 progressive and 39 orthodox individuals) from California and New England. The focus of the study was individuals' frameworks of values and goals (moral order) and the ontological views behind them. Text analysis, t-tests for between-group differences of coded results, and phenomenological analysis were used. Results indicated that couples in the progressive group had Non-transcendent Selfhood as a basic moral order and engaged in mutual loving-kindness to respect and care for each other …

Paths To Peacebuilding: Amnesty And The Niger Delta Violence, Benjamin A. Okonofua

Sociology Dissertations

This mixed-method analysis of three Nigerian states explores the ways in which a major policy shift has produced short-term peace outcomes in a vastly contested terrain entailing conflicting interests. The central argument of "Paths to Peacebuilding," is that disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration can create peace in resource-conflicted societies when there is governmental will and community and citizen involvement in both the design and implementation of the program. The overriding concern was whether the DDR process was capable of contributing to tangible improvements in real and perceived safety on the ground as well as destroying the structures that both contributed to …

A Spatial Analysis Of Offender Residence And Neighborhood Crime Rate: An Exploratory Study Of Gang Membership, Matthew Ryan Laurin

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the Caudill College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by Matthew Ryan Laurin in December of 2011.

A Comparitive Sic] Study On Community-Based After-School Programs To Faith-Based After-School Programs, Angiemil Perez

HIM 1990-2015

After-school programs play an increasing role in providing developmental and social skills through extra-curricular activities. Adolescents are most likely to engage in delinquent behavior during unsupervised after-school hours. Different after-school programs are available, both community-based and faith-based programs have risen in number in response to the need of children to have a safe environment with adult supervision. This study is interested in comparing after-school programs that are faith-based to community-based and see if any similarities or differences exist within each other. The purpose of this thesis was to contribute to the existing literature on after-school programs in two ways. First, …

Social Learning And General Strain Theories' Relationship With Prescription Stimulant Misuse For Academic Purposes Among College Students, Julianne Ong

HIM 1990-2015

The instrumental misuse of prescription stimulants as "study drugs", particularly by college students, is a serious issue that needs to be further investigated. Using data from a sample of 549 University of Central Florida Orlando students, the current study tested the relationship between prescription stimulant misuse and social learning theory, as well as general strain theory. Approximately 17% of participants reported misusing prescription stimulants for academic purposes at least once in the past year. Findings show support for social learning theory; the number of friends who use prescription stimulants and the individual's attitudes about the effectiveness of the drugs are …

What Is Appealing? Sex And Racial Differences In Perceptions Of The Physical Attractiveness Of Women, Rachel Sewell

HIM 1990-2015

In today's society a beauty ideal exists in America, which attempts to define female beauty as fitting into a certain mold. Certain characteristics have been deemed the most attractive when it comes to female physical attractiveness, and an ideal image of beauty has been presented by the media. This research focuses on whether or not everyone buys into that beauty ideal, and examines the impact that a person's sex and race has on the physical characteristics which that individual defines as the most appealing. Surveys were administered to 300 UCF students age 18-35. Participants were asked about ten different physical …

Does Faith Matter? A Comparison Of Faith-Based And Secular International Nongovernmental Organizations Engaged In Humanitarian Assistance, Jill Mcleigh

All Dissertations

Over the past three decades, there has been a significant increase in international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) participating in humanitarian assistance, and thus, an increase in the study of these organizations. In part because of former President George W. Bush's faith-based initiative, interest in a particular subset of INGOs - religious INGOs (ROs) - has been on the rise. Among the gaps in this literature is a quantitative approach to understanding the types of activities and funding opportunities INGOs pursue based on whether they are religious and what makes an organization religious. To address these omissions, this dissertation examines the religious …

Under What Conditions Do Community Demographics Influence Aggregate Recycling?, Edward Kotter

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Tons of household waste go to landfills throughout the western United States each year. Recycling has been a popular way for cities to extend the life of landfills by decreasing the amount of waste entering them. The development and implementation of recycling programs has not come without challenges. People recycle or do not recycle for different reasons. Much research has been done to understand who recycles, who does not recycle, and what recycling program characteristics elicit greater participation. This study adds to the existing body of literature by focusing on determinants of community-level recycling in the western United States. This …

Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Disparities Between U.S. Non-Hispanic Whites And Hispanics, 2000-2009, Andrew E. Burger

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Seasonal influenza produces substantial disease within the United States every year. Despite the availability of safe and effective vaccines for influenza, millions of individuals go unvaccinated each flu season, with notable differences across racial/ethnic groups. Using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), I examine vaccination rates among non-Hispanic whites and Hispanics during the 2000-2009 influenza seasons. After developing a new method that addresses shortcomings of BRFSS vaccination measures, I find that non-Hispanic whites exhibit higher vaccination rates than Hispanics. Through a series of logistic regression models I show that the disparities between non-Hispanic whites and Hispanics narrow after controlling …

Gangs And Race: A Look At New Jersey Police Perspectives On African American And Hispanic Gangs, Jeanette Medina

All Theses

In the United States the presence of gangs and gang activity is a common occurrence in lower socio-economic communities; however, local law enforcement agencies often have little information about the racial and ethnic composition of gang activity in their areas. As a result, gangs are often categorized without respect to important demographic differences between them. The purpose of this paper is to examine the New Jersey State Police Gang Survey 2007, which is a statewide assessment of gang composition and activity. I use the data from this survey along with conflict theory to analyze differences between African American and Hispanic …

Driving Down The Virtual Broadway: Testing The Feasibility Of Educating Young Drivers In Virtual Worlds, Christopher Ball

All Theses

The Clemson University Automotive Safety Research Institute funded the creation of a three-dimensional virtual representation of an established teen driver education program. This virtual safe driving program was created within the public virtual world of Second Life. The overall objective of this project was to explore the use of virtual worlds as potential mediums for teen driver education. The specific objectives of this study were: (1) to adapt and translate the Petty Safe Driving Program curriculum into a virtual world; (2) to create a virtual learning environment that can exist as an engaging, entertaining, and educational program addition; (3) to …

Spirituality And Transformational Learning: How Urban Residents Abandoned A Life Of Violence, Sylvia N. Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

Community violence has been a perpetual issue among disenfranchised, African American, urban youth around the world. Many authors argue that high rates of violence among these youth are due to macro-structural characteristics such as inequality, segregation, racial discrimination, and poverty. These macro-structural issues place stressors (social disorganization, joblessness, alienation, mistrust of police, etc.) upon inner-city neighborhoods. Previous research also infers that African American men lack the ability to non-violently cope with these stressors and strains. Thus, this qualitative narrative study investigated the role of spirituality in the transformational process of nine urban, African American men, who had abandoned a life …

The Role Of Home Environments In Residential Adjustment Decision Making In Later Life, Kimberly Joy Stoeckel

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Using the nationally representative Health and Retirement Study, this research explored the multi-faceted influence of the accessibility of housing environments on the occurrence and characteristics of residential adjustments made by older adults aged 70 or older. A range of housing adjustment outcomes were examined, including home modifications and relocation into age-segregated senior housing. Analysis of the accessibility gains following relocation was also included in the empirical analyses.

The Ecological Theory of Aging (Lawton & Nahemow, 1973) provided the conceptual framework for the research. The longitudinal design of the HRS empirically advanced understanding of the key theoretical constructs by sensitizing the …

Health Beliefs And Socio-Cultural Factors That Predict Cervical Cancer Screening Behaviors Among Hispanic Women In Seven Cities In The Upstate Of South Carolina, Arelis Moore De Peralta

All Dissertations

Cervical cancer is one of the most common reproductive cancers among women in the United States. The incidence and mortality rates of cervical cancer among Hispanic women in the U.S. are almost two times higher than non-Hispanic Whites. Cervical cancer screening is associated with early cervical cancer detection and, thus, with reductions in cancer morbidity and mortality. In Hispanic populations, where cancer rates are disproportionately high, it is important to conduct research that accounts for the influence of culture in health-seeking behaviors. The purpose of this study was to use the Health Belief Model (HBM) as a theoretical framework to …

Expanding A Model Of Female Heterosexual Coercion: Are Sexually Coercive Women Hyperfeminine?, Elizabeth Anne Schatzel-Murphy

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The present study aimed to replicate a preliminary model of female heterosexual coercion and subsequently expand the model with gender- and race-related variables. The preliminary model, which specified sexual compulsivity, sexual dominance, sociosexuality, and prior sexual abuse, as predictors of female heterosexual coercion, was sufficiently replicated with a racially diverse sample of college women. The model was then successfully expanded by adding rape myth acceptance and hyperfemininity to the model. Hyperfemininity was found to be a core predictor of female heterosexual coercion, challenging the notion that sexual coercion is an inherently "masculine" behavior. Actual minority status, perceived minority status, and …