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"Clothes Make The (One Like A Son Of) Man": Dress Imagery In Revelation 1 As An Indicator Of High Priestly Status, Ross E. Winkle

Dissertations

Problem . The Epistle to the Hebrews is the only document in the New Testament that explicitly describes Jesus as a high priest. The purpose of this dissertation is to ascertain whether or not the book of Revelation, in particular, in John's description of the "one like a son of man" in his inaugural vision (1:12-16), implicitly presents Jesus as having a high priestly status.

Method . This study focuses on Revelation since it is the work closest to Hebrews in terms of its rich cultic imagery, and it analyzes Revelation's first chapter since that is the part of Revelation …

A Structuralist Controversy: Althusser And Lacan On Ideology, Won Choi

Dissertations

Slavoj Zizek argues that, if Althusser was an adamant structuralist who reduced subject to a mere function of ideology, Lacan was a genuine critic of such a position, who showed how the subject can separate itself from the symbolic structure of ideology. Zizek's portrayal of the debate, however, is not only based on a misapprehension of Lacan's own theory but also fails to notice that, when the two theorists collided on the question of structuralism in the late 1960s, the issue was not the separation, but how ideology as a social practice is to be situated in relation to other …

The Crew / Of Common Playwrights: Collaboration And Authorial Community In The Early Modern Theater, Lacey Ann Conley

Dissertations

As a consequence of the development of playwriting into an established profession in early modern London, a central paradox emerged: in order to secure a place within this authorial community, and also a place for the profession itself, playwrights needed to work toward the often contradictory goals of self-promotion and of validation of the profession at large. I confront this paradox by examining details about the backgrounds and careers of the twenty-nine professional playwrights working in the years 1580-1625. I use this information to categorize each author's interest and investment in the development of the profession of dramatist by defining …

On Eros In Plotinus: Attempt At A Systematic Reconstruction (With A Preliminary Chapter On Plato), Alberto Bertozzi

Dissertations

This study is an attempt at a systematic reconstruction of Plotinus’ understanding of eros or love in two basic steps, corresponding to Chapters One−Two and Three−Four respectively.

The first step highlights Plotinus’ connection to Plato. In Chapter One, first I argue that Plotinus’ way of reading the dialogues is faithful to Plato’s intention insofar as it is an active engagement in the practice of philosophy advocated in the dialogues; I then try to show that some important elements of Plotinus’ understanding of eros, most notably the differentiation of levels of reality in the soul’s ascent to Beauty and the view …

Parental Involvement In The Lives Of College Students: Impact On Student Independence, Self-Direction, And Critical Thinking, Patrick Thomas Spence

Dissertations

Recent studies have noted the increasing communication between parents and students while students are in college (College Parent, 2007; Hofer & Moore, 2010). The most recent study noted that the interaction between parent and student during the last year of college averages over 13 times a week (Hofer & Moore, 2010). While many articles in the popular press have offered conjecture as to the developmental impact of this new data, very little has been done to understand the nature of the contact between parents and students as it relates to developmental outcomes (Carroll, 2005; Hoover, 2008). This study provides insight …

Intimate Partner Violence As A Risk Factor For Ptsd In Female Survivors Of Domestic Violence: A Meta-Analysis, Selena Tramayne

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to conduct two meta-analyses investigating the relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptomatology in female survivors of domestic violence. The first meta-analysis investigated the relationship between physical violence and PTSD symptomatology while the second meta-analysis investigated the relationship between psychological abuse and PTSD symptomatology. A moderator variable, recruitment setting, was investigated to see whether recruitment setting changed the relationship between physical violence and PTSD symptomatology and/or the relationship between psychological abuse and PTSD symptomatology. For both meta-analyses, a medium to large effect size was found. Recruitment setting was not …

Perceptions, Attitudes And Acceptability Of Hiv Testing Among Sub-Saharan African Immigrants In Chicago, Rita Ndidi Amadi

Dissertations

HIV testing is a primary strategy in HIV prevention and is associated with a myriad of benefits including positive behavior changes and enhanced access to HIV care services and support. However, African immigrants delay testing and are often diagnosed with late stage HIV infection and symptoms suggestive of AIDS. Little attention has been devoted to understanding the barriers to testing among sub Saharan African immigrants in the United States.

This cross sectional survey, conducted in partnership with African community organizations in Chicago, used multistage sampling techniques to reach this hard to reach population. It attempted to elucidate the HIV testing …

The Lord Opened Her Heart: Women, Work, And Leadership In Acts Of The Apostles, Teresa Jeanne Calpino

Dissertations

This dissertation will explore two women in The Acts of the Apostles, Tabitha (Acts 9:36-42) and Lydia (Acts 16:11-15) who have been routinely ignored by scholars, or mentioned only in praising the apostle associated with their story. As a result, stereotypical categorization has swept these important characters from their rightful place into relative obscurity. In fact, an examination of their stories set against the expectations of women in Greco-Roman antiquity reveals their unconventional situations. In particular, this dissertation takes special notice of the ways in which representations of the `ideal woman' in the Greco Roman world are at variance with …

The Systemic Impact Of The Implementation Of The Response To Intervention Model In Elementary Schools, Annette Robin Cronin

Dissertations

The intention of this study was to examine three factors regarding the implementation of the Response to Intervention (RtI) model. First, the study discovered what professional development opportunities were afforded to administrators and certified faculty to support the implementation of the RtI model within schools that make AYP and those that did not make AYP. Second, the study investigated the awareness and utilization of Early Intervening funds within schools that make AYP and those that did not make AYP. Lastly, this study examined how schools monitor student progress within the RtI model for schools that made AYP and those that …

The Effects Of Curriculum And Social Capital On Post-Secondary Educational Attainment Among Public High School Students: A Multi-Level Analysis, Elisabeth Davis

Dissertations

Using a social capital framework, the current study examined the effect of curriculum and cohort size in addition to parental and teacher social capital factors on public high school students' likelihood of college attendance. Using Hierarchical Generalized Linear Modeling with the ELS (2002), student and school level factors were examined on the likelihood of postsecondary educational attainment among public high school students. At the student level, girls, students with higher SES, more intergenerational closure and higher parent and teacher educational expectations were significantly more likely to pursue postsecondary enrollment. At the school level, lower percentages of girls in the cohort, …

Yo Hablo Ingles: The Influence Of Motivation And Group Cohesion On Learning English In A Workplace Setting, Adam Henry Dehoek

Dissertations

Immigration reform is a current and controversial issue in the United States and around the globe. Although it is unlikely that comprehensive immigration reform is immediately forthcoming in the United States, plans proposed by both liberal and conservative law-makers require those applying for long-term residency to hold employment and demonstrate a working knowledge of the English language. Given that these goals are often difficult to achieve in tandem, enacted immigration reform may suggest that businesses offer English language courses on the job in order to facilitate the legalization process. Answering important questions regarding the process of successful language acquisition, particularly …

The Direct And Indirect Impact Of Pain Intensity, Weight Status, And Activity Involvement On Social Competence Outcomes In Children And Adolescents With Spina Bifida, Bonnie S. Essner

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to test a mediated effects model in which youth with spina bifida who have greater pain, are more overweight, or have worse motor control were expected to have fewer friends and to display worse social performance in part because their higher degree of condition severity interferes with their involvement in developmentally-appropriate activities.

Data for the current study were drawn from the first wave of a larger, longitudinal study of psychosocial adjustment of children and adolescents with spina bifida. The sample was comprised of 108 children and adolescents with spina bifida and shunted hydrocephalus, ages …

Perceptions Of Middle School Teachers On The Quality Of Professional Development, Safurat Anike Giwa

Dissertations

Professional learning and professional development are the essential tools employed in schools, districts, and universities in order to increase teachers' knowledge and skills. To gain the most from professional development in middle schools, the experiences and activities must be based on standards. Few researchers explore how teachers think about the context, process, and content of current professional development at the middle school level. This dissertation examines how teacher learning is demonstrated in professional development activities and experience and assesses whether middle school teachers' perceptions of their professional development experiences is aligned to the standards of Learning Forward (2001) (formerly the …

Culturally Responsive Teaching: An Investigation Of Effective Practices For African American Learners, Antonia L. Hill

Dissertations

Diversity increasingly characterizes the population of the United States. As the number of African Americans, Latina/os, and Asian populations increase, there will be drastic implications for teaching and learning in classrooms where students of color dominate. The purpose of this mixed methodological study was to examine the characteristics, practices and frequency of use of fifty -two strategies employed by two teachers in a predominately African American urban public school to determine their impact on student learning and engagement. The fifty-two effective and culturally responsive strategies used in this study were created by Dr. Johnnie McKinley, Professor in Educational Psychology at …

Preschool Educators' Perceptions Of Practice In Facilitating/Modeling Oral Language Acquisition And Development, Nicole Alissa Jones

Dissertations

Preschool educators are linguistic models for their students. They prompt students to speak. Educators who are able to understand the critical nature of their role in the students' oracy development and to deliberately encourage conversation may have a profound impact on preschoolers who may be at risk. Oracy is self-expression prompted by discourse activities such as questioning, labeling, turn-taking in conversation, and it is stimulated by a variety of speech events, such as playing or otherwise interacting with peers and adults.

This study explored how preschool educators behaved as models in facilitating oral language acquisition and development. The goals of …

Superintendent Leadership And Student Achievement In Suburban High Schools: A Sequential Explanatory Mixed Methods Analysis, Steven Reese Kellner

Dissertations

This research study explored the critical nature of the connection between student achievement and superintendent leadership. A great deal of scholarship has addressed either student achievement or leadership and previous evidence has suggested the impact of both parental education and racioethnicity on student achievement, but few studies have investigated the relationship between the superintendent's leadership authority and the achievement of his or her students.

The central research questions of this study are:

1) To what degree does parental education predict high school student achievement in suburban Chicagoland?

2) To what degree does racioethnicity predict high school student achievement in suburban …

Educational Leaders Serving Language Minority Students (1965-2001), Jenny Maria Neal

Dissertations

This study analyzes three legislations that affected education for language

minority students. The research starts with a historical overview of the foundation of the

United States and the education of the non-English speaking population. It examines the

conditions that led to the first Bilingual Education Act of 1968, the changes that appeared

in the Bilingual Education Act of 1974, and the development of Title III of the No Child

Left Behind Act of 2001. The country's response to English language learners and their

individual learning needs is looked at throughout each listed time period, as well as the

implications for …

Transnationalism, Immigration Stress And Subjective Well-Being Among Ecuadorian Immigrants In London, Lucia E. Orellana-Damacela

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore antecedents to transnational practices among Ecuadorian immigrants in London, and to determine the connection between these practices and their subjective well-being. The study examined the extent to which Ecuadorians stay linked to their home country via various transnational practices, and the association with relevant demographic, immigration and integration factors. This research also aimed at examining the relations that immigration stress and transnational practices had with subjective well-being, as measured by perceived transnational social support, self-esteem, and psychological well-being. Overall, the findings from this study indicate that gender, socio-economic status, having family in …

Cruel Sorority, Or, Feminizing Enjoyment In American Romance, Carina Dionne Pasquesi

Dissertations

"Cruel Sorority, or, Feminizing Enjoyment in American Romance" analyzes the often-overlooked anti-social figures and affects found on the margins of American Romanticism. Symptomatically registering dissatisfaction and rage at the foreclosure of democratic possibility and public life, these feminized figures represent violent reactions against the dominant disciplinary institutions (e.g. marriage, motherhood, domesticity, slavery) that impoverish their lives. In keeping with the rich imaginative possibilities within the romance genre but often exceeding and redefining these conventions, these figures break with the reformist/inclusive logic that pervades works of the period. This project participates in recent critical discussions in American studies that deal with …

The Computer Integration Into The Efl Instruction In Indonesia: An Analysis Of Two University Instructors In Integrating Computer Technology Into Elf Instruction To Encourage Students' Language Learning Engagement, Pius Nurwidasa Prihatin

Dissertations

Computer technology has been popular for teaching English as a foreign language in non-English speaking countries. This case study explored the way language instructors designed and implemented computer-based instruction so that students are engaged in English language learning. This study explored the beliefs, practices and perceptions of university faculty in integrating computer technology into English instruction. This research was conducted in English education program in Sanata Dharma University, Indonesia. Communicative language teaching, Engagement Theory, and learner-centered principles were used as the pillars for developing the theoretical framework. The researcher conducted interviews, observed the classroom situation, and reviewed teaching instruments. This …

Teachers' Concerns Regarding The Implementation Of Integrated Thematic Instruction: A Study Of Primary Grade Teachers In Kanisius Catholic Schools In Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Catur Rismiati

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore primary grade teachers' stages of concern and their implementation of an educational reform initiative called Integrated Thematic Instruction (ITI) in Indonesia. The Indonesian minister of education mandated primary grade teachers to implement ITI in 2006. Using a convenience sampling method, 150 Kanisius primary grade teachers participated in the study. The data collection method used was a questionnaire that consisted of three parts: The Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoCQ), the Integrated Curriculum Implementation Scale, and demographic questions. The data analysis employed in this research were descriptive, a one way ANOVA test and multiple …

Examining The Transition Experience Of Students From Multiage Elementary Programs To Single-Grade Classrooms At The Middle School, Cindy Lynn Ruesch

Dissertations

Multiage programming is a school reform option used throughout the United States. Much of the current literature focuses on the short-term benefits of multiage programs, particularly at the elementary level, with little consideration for long-term effects or for what might happen to students once they leave the multiage classroom and enter middle school. While there has been significant research that generalizes the transition experience of the general population of students, there has been limited research conducted on this transition experience for this specific population, the multiage elementary student.

The purpose of this simultaneous, mixed methods study was to provide an …

Liturgical Celebrations With Emotional Expectations In Auxerre, 840-908, Thomas A. Greene

Dissertations

Scholars traditionally date the origin of "affective piety" to the late-eleventh century. The place of emotions in early medieval devotional activity, therefore, has yet to be properly acknowledged. Based on exegetical and homiletic material written at the monastery of Saint-Germain (Auxerre) between 840 and 908, I argue that liturgical celebrations were to take place in a context suffused with both the experience and expression of emotions.

Professional Learning Communities In Improved Illinois Elementary Schools: The Value Of Professional Learning Communities For Leaders Of Illinois Elementary Schools Formerly In "No Child Left Behind" Status, Steven James Thomas

Dissertations

The "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 has created a system, which potentially labeled 82% of US school as "failing" in 2011. Consequences for failing schools go beyond public ostracism to the release of numerous staff and school leaders or the closing of the school. Reforms to prevent these consequences come in two forms, structural and cultural. Structural reforms in schools are often include hiring staff or implementing new programs. Often structural reforms only focus on non-proficient or nearly proficient students. Cultural reforms change the way staff educate all students. One …

Development Of Student Centred Knowledge Management System Based In A Higher Education Institution, Chong Liu

Dissertations

With the emergence of a knowledge society and of information technology, knowledge has become a key resource to develop a sustained economy. It is a vital word in the Knowledge Management area (Awad & Ghaziri, 2004). Knowledge Management has also become vital to help knowledge organizations seek a competitive advantage. It also encourages members of organization to share knowledge and improve the organization‘s efficiency, performance, and competitiveness (Shin, 2004). Therefore, an increasing number of organizations have realized the necessity of knowledge management. Especially, the Higher Education Institute (HEI) as the extraordinary ―business‖ will be suitable for implementing knowledge management approaches …

An Investigation Into Obstacles Effecting The Use Of Support Technology For Accommodation Facilitation In Third Level Education, Conor Brennan

Dissertations

The profile of students attending third level education in Ireland has changed over the past number of years. More non-traditional students have entered mainstream education. These non-traditional students may be mature students, students whose first language is not English and students with disabilities. In the 2010-2011 academic session 6,932 students with disabilities were enrolled in third level education. This represent 3.9%(AHEAD 2011) of all students enrolled in third level education, which constitutes a 10% increase on 2009-2010. This increase is putting pressure on an already strained system. Efforts have been made to educate and inform lecturers and teaching staff on …

Stepping Stone Community Education – A Stepping Stone To Third Level Education., Lorraine Perkins

Dissertations

The focus of this research is to explore supports that facilitated participation and retention of learners on a community education course and additional supports needed to progress to third level education. This research was in partnership with Irish National Association of Adult Education (AONTAS) and supported by Community Links, Technological University Dublin. (DIT)

This research is qualitative in nature. For this purpose, a focus group of community learners and semi-structured interviews with community education professionals was conducted. The research gives in-depth insight into learners experiences of what supports facilitated participation in community education and additional supports needed to progress to …

How Do Secondary Science Teachers Understand And Implement Technological Design In Their Classrooms?, Kathryn H. Heroux

Dissertations

This qualitative, phenomenological study examined how ten secondary science teachers from a variety of different schools around the country understand and implement technological design in their classrooms. The results of this study indicate that these teachers were drawn to the tenets of technological design because of its inherent challenge to their own pedagogical strategies, and its ability to stimulate and motivate their students. The future of science education with respect to technological design is examined, and compared with the standards that will emerge in the new science standards soon to be finalized and circulated.

Modernism En Vogue: Popular Periodicals And Their Engagement With Modernist Culture, Natalie Kalich

Dissertations

My project investigates commercial magazines from the 1920s, including, The Saturday Evening Post, Ladies' Home Journal, Vogue, and Vanity Fair to reveal the frequency with which modernist writers contributed to these periodicals and the extent to which editors of these magazines found modernist discourse marketable to larger audiences, thereby undermining the assumption that modernists only spoke to a coterie audience. Furthermore, by investigating the similarities present in discourse on modernism and developments in popular culture such as jazz and film in a commercial context, I expand and complicate constructions of modernist and popular culture from both sides of the cultural …

Superintendent's Perceptions Of Adequacy In Illinois School Finance, Mark Alan Cohen

Dissertations

This qualitative research study investigated superintendents' perceptions of school finance in the State of Illinois. An online survey instrument, distributed via email, was used to collect the results. Superintendents that chose to participate answered questions about themselves as well as the demographic variables of the district they represent. The participants then went on to answer the finance survey questions. Responses to the finance survey were triangulated with the particular demographic information, much of which was separated into quartiles. The study sought to determine the answers to the following questions: (1) Do public school K-12 superintendents believe that they have sufficient …