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Beholding The Beauty Of Self: The Psychological Integration Of The Afrocentric-Self Among African-American Females Socialized In A Eurocentric Aesthetic, Donna Lynn Cook Phd

Dissertations

Self-esteem and body image disturbances prominently figure into many physical and psychological health disorders such as depression, eating disorders, anxiety disorders, and chemical dependency. In Euro-American culture, media images of femininity and physical attractiveness reinforce generally held perceptions of the idealized female beauty as tall, white, slender, and often blond and blue eyed. The physical morphology of African-American women does not genetically "fit" this westernized standard of beauty with implications for their mental health. The socialization of African-American women in a culture that embraces a different ethnic standard of beauty influences their perceptions of how physically attractive they see themselves. …

Critical Praxis: Using My Own Whiteness And Experiences To Challenge Issues Of Racism And White Privilege, Linda Selway

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Autoethnography is a genre of research that alternately focuses its attention outwardly on the social and cultural, and inwardly on the personal life experiences of the researcher in an attempt to raise one’s consciousness and prompt action about the issue under study. This autoethnography explores the transformation I have undergone as I have grappled with the issues of race and academic achievement, and sought to find my place and voice in the struggle for social justice. Along the way, I have had to take a hard, sometimes painful look at myself, peeling away layers of defense to get at …

A Study On Perceptions Of Civil Engineers Regarding Mandatory Continuing Education, Alee A. Sleymann

Dissertations

This study explored the perceptions of civil engineers regarding continuing professional competency requirements for license renewal. In this study,continuing professional competency is assumed to have a direct relationship to public welfare and safety. The policy of mandatory continuing education was adopted primarily for this reason. Currently, mandatory continuing education is adopted by 29 states as the method of assuring continued professional competency.

Many professionals, however, have not welcomed this mandatory continuing education (MCE) policy. The reason for this opposition is the claimed ineffectiveness of this policy in fostering continued competency. In addition, the regulatory boards and policy advocates have not …

Changes In Functional Status Of Home Health Cardiac Patients From Admission To Discharge, Mary Rita Mcgoldrick Phd, Mph, Msn, Rn, Anp-Bc

Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to examine the functional status (ADLs and IADLs) in patients with a primary/secondary diagnosis of cardiac disease in the home health setting. The independent variables of dyspnea and service were examined for the effect on discharge functional status while controlling for the effects of age, gender, race, admission functional status, primary and secondary diagnosis. A descriptive correlational, non-experimental study of cardiac patients in an urban home health agency from January 2003 to December 2004 was conducted using data collected through a retrospective chart review. Seventeen areas of OASIS (ADL and IADL) were assessed for …

Homeless Mothers' Perceptions Of Parenting In Shelters, Sarah E. Young Whitaker Dnsc, Msn, Rn

Dissertations

Descriptions of parenting in a homeless shelter were obtained from nine single mothers housed in one of two shelters in a major southwestern border metroplex. Case study methodology was used to obtain their perspectives on parenting in this unique context. Content analysis was used to organize and analyze emerging themes. Major themes that emerged from the study were (a) a lack of autonomy, (b) gaining access to material resources, (c) lack of privacy, (d) constant change and insecurity in the environment, (e) differing values, and (e) psychosocial support.

The Persistence Of Adult Undergraduates On A Traditionally Oriented University Campus, Wendy Samuels

Dissertations

This phenomenological study describes the social and academic experiences of successful non-traditional students on the main campus of a traditionally oriented residential university and how these experiences promote or impede their persistence to graduation. The study determined what role family support, faculty support, institutional policy and services, and the classroom environment have in persistence of adult undergraduates. The methodology employed open ended individual interviews based on an interview outline. Participants in the study were all students within two traditional semesters of graduation, andthe sampling procedures were purposeful, yielding a fairly diverse pool of 15 participants. Trustworthiness of the data was …

The Effects Of The Michigan Transition Outcomes Project, Jane E. Finn

Dissertations

This study investigated whether the Transition Outcomes Project used in Michigan resulted in improved compliance with the transition components required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997 (IDEA 1997) and interviewed staff who have implemented this model to identify their perceptions ofhow it affected the transition planning process for students with disabilities. The study used qualitative and quantitative measures. The quantitative measures studied the effectiveness of the model, while the qualitative measures investigated the perceptions of the school personnel who implemented the model in their district.

Findings showed that the Michigan Transition Outcomes Project is an effective model …

Factors Affecting Treatment Program Development In A Mental Health Facility Serving Prisoners, Ruby Miranda Meriweather

Dissertations

There is a paucity of literature on how treatment programs for mentally ill prisoners are developed. Federal mandates require that services to mentally ill prisoners be comparable to what is offered in the community. Planners, therefore, must find ways to provide treatment programs that produce that outcome.

This research identified the most important factors that affect treatment program development and implementation to aid planners in designing treatment programs for mentally ill prisoners. This qualitative study, based on grounded theory, used a structured interview with 61 mental health staff (psychiatrists, nurses, psychologists, social workers, and activity therapists) across three categories (Administrative, …

Perceptions Of Physical Therapy Faculty On The Inclusion Of Spirituality In Physical Therapy Education, Janice C. Pitts

Dissertations

Problem

The physical therapy profession currently does not require the integration of spirituality in patient care in the physical therapy curriculum, and it is unclear how physical therapy faculty and practitioners view its inclusion. There is limited research literature on the integration of spirituality in the field of physical therapy or within its academic environment.

Method

The study utilized standard survey research methodology to gather data relating to spirituality and its inclusion in a physical therapy curriculum. Five participants from each of 101 sampled programs received a survey instrument along with instructions and consent form disseminated through electronic mailing. Data …

Representation Of The Elderly In Counselor Education Textbooks, Alicia V. Fahr

Dissertations

The counseling profession requires multicultural competence in meeting the needs of diverse groups. The responsibility for training counseling students to work effectively with the elderly falls upon counselor educators. Textbooks convey cultural values and contribute to what is learned by students. Specifically,textbooks may contribute to how counseling students think about older adults and aging issues. This study was designed to determine how older adults and aging issues are represented in counselor education texts.

The textbooks used most frequently by 11 randomly selected master's degree programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (2001) were identified …

Avid Program Graduates: Negotiating The First Year Of College, Leslie J. Hays Edd

Dissertations

Although the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program has been operating in San Diego County for more than twenty years, there was a lack of research investigating how AVID program graduates experienced the transition to college. A well-established positive correlation between acceptances to four-year universities by AVID program graduates exists, but research on AVID lacked individual student narrative needed to give more depth to the data. The purpose of this case study was to investigate the transition experiences of AVID program graduates who were beginning their second year of college at competitive four-year public universities. All eight participants, in the …

Recipes For Reform: Americanization And Foodways In Chicago Settlement Houses, 1890-1920, Stephanie J. Jass

Dissertations

During the late nineteenth century as tens of thousands of immigrants flooded American cities, public debate among reformers--who tended to be middle-class, white, Anglo-Saxon Protestants--began to center on the best ways to assimilate these foreigners into American society. Although some Americanization groups stressed language and citizenship training, two major reform movements focused on foodways as an important tool of assimilation.

This dissertation examines how both the home economics and settlement house movements attempted to Americanize ethnic food practices. It describes why reformers saw foodways as a viable and meaningful avenue for reform, as well as the varied responses that reformers …

Child Welfare And Devolving Federalism: An Analysis Of The Effects Of Federal Funding Schemes On Selected Child Welfare Outcomes In Michigan, Timothy J. Kangas

Dissertations

Child abuse and neglect has become a pervasive problem across the United States. Between 1985 and 1995 the foster care population in the United States grew by 79%, with costs soaring into the billions. During the mid-1990s, in an effort to address this issue, the federal government shifted from using a funding scheme identified with a traditional model of federalism to one identified with devolving federalism. In Michigan, the focus of this research, this shift in approaches occurred through the issuance of block grant funding for child welfare programming. The intent of this shift was to decentralize elements of the …

Faculty Perceptions Of Institutional Commitment To The Scholarship Of Engagement, Mackenzi Anne Huyser

Dissertations

Problem. Institutions of higher education are in an important position in relation to fulfillment of their institutional mission. Boyer (1996) introduced to the higher education community an alternative approach to scholarship to address this shift from original mission. While Boyer (1990) examined institutions of higher education as a whole, the distinctive worldview, mission, and philosophy of reformed Christian institutions have not been examined to determine to what extent they are fulfilling their calling to transform creation and redeem culture. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine social perceptions that full-time faculty, serving in reformed institutions, hold about their …

A Comprehensive Guidance Counseling Program For Jamaican Schools: A Needs Assessment, Grace Altia Kelly

Dissertations

Purpose of the Study. This study sought: (a) to identify stakeholders' perceptions of the existing guidance program in Jamaican schools and (b) to identify aspects of the Comprehensive Guidance Counseling Program (CGCP) that are desired by stakeholders in order to observe if there were any significant gaps between the perceived current and desired status of guidance in Jamaican schools.

Method. This was a self-report, descriptive survey study that involved 420 subjects (151 students, 130 teachers, 44 counselors, 37 principals, and 58 parents) from 54 schools (18 primary, 18 All-Age/Junior High, and 18 Secondary) across the three counties of …

A Comparative Study Of Giving And Volunteering Patterns Among Adults With Seventh-Day Adventist And Other Christian Religious Identities, Karen E. Stockton-Chilson

Dissertations

Problem. In an environment that challenges the non-profit sector, including church-based organizations, to do more with less, it is important to understand the mechanisms that build and sustain two key resources-individual giving and volunteering. Research indicates that there is a great deal of variation in the extent to which individuals provide help. An integrative theoretical model is utilized to examine and compare the giving and volunteering behaviors, socialization, attitudes, reasons, and motivations of adults with Seventh-day Adventist and other Christian religious identities, with secondary consideration given to the effect of potential ethnic variations.

Method. The sample (N = 1359) …

Specifying The Psychomotor Domain Of The Construct Of Nursing Competence, Joni L. Jones

Dissertations

The measurement of an individual's predicted performance in his/her field is a requirement of many professions. The NCLEX-RN® is the measurement tool used to determine whether or not new graduates of registered nursing programs are competent to enter the profession. Although there are three domains of learning in nursing (cognitive, affective, and psychomotor) the only domain tested for licensure is the cognitive. Many factors contribute to the lack of testing in the psychomotor area. One of the major impediments is that the entry-level psychomotor domain for registered nursing has yet to be defined. The purpose of this study was to …

The Effectiveness Of Behavioral Activation Group Therapy: Treating Comorbid Depression On A Specialized Inpatient Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Unit For Combat Veterans, Theodore P. Wright

Dissertations

The comorbidity of depression and PTSD has been shown to be relatively prevalent. Researchers have found a 70% lifetime prevalence o f comorbid PTSD and depression among combat veterans. This study examined the effectiveness of a behavioral activation (BA) group treatment when administered to combat veterans with comorbid depression and PTSD in the residential treatment program at the Battle Creek Veteran Affairs Medical Center. Forty-five veterans participated in the study. Twenty-four veterans participated in a BA treatment group while in the treatment program. Twenty-one veterans attended the treatment program, but did not participate in the BA treatment group and served …

Social Responsiblity And Types Of Service Learning: A Comparison Of Curricular Service Learning, Co-Curricular Service Learning, And Traditional Community Service, Jay Richardson Cooper

Dissertations

This study investigated social responsibility among college students involved in three different types of service learning. Social responsibility, the dependent variable, was analyzed using scores on the Social Responsibility Inventory. Three institutions, representative of Masters I Colleges and Universities, were involved in the study and 198 students completed the questionnaire. A one-way analysis of variance was run, which demonstrated that there was a significant difference among the mean scores on the Social Responsibility Inventory in the three types of service learning. Type of service learning, the independent variable, included traditional community service, co-curricular service learning, and curricular service learning. Traditional …

A Theoretical Proposal For Reaching Irreligious Czech People Through A Mission Revitalization Movement, Petr Činčala

Dissertations

The main goal of this study was to develop a theory of missionary outreach to unchurched Czech people which is biblically informed and culturally relevant. The theoretical proposal for a plausible model of churching in the Czech Republic builds on basic theological, philosophical, and conceptual assumptions (chapter 2), a societal analysis of the problem of Czech churching (chapter 3), and a review of the issues relating to the situation of existing churches and religious movements.

Based on Wallace’s theory of revitalization movements a model is developed for starting a missionary movement that aims at reaching today’s unchurched and seemingly irreligious …

A Descriptive Multiple Case Study Of Caucasian Female Suicide Attempters: Risk And Protective Factors, Janice Johnson Browne

Dissertations

Problem

Suicide is a problem globally and in the United States. Suicide rates for youth have remained particularly high. Caucasian men complete more suicidal acts than women, but women are more frequent suicide attempters. To gain information about the phenomenon of female suicide attempting, it is important to study the attempter. Awareness of risk and protective factors is necessary to intervene and prevent future incidences of suicide and suicide attempting.

Methodology

For this research a descriptive case study design was utilized. Three suicide attempters who had attempted suicide one or more times in the past was the sample population for …

The Grandparent-Raising-Grandchildren Phenomenon In Michigan, Linda Gail Kimball

Dissertations

Role theory, specifically the incongruous and time-disordered role fit confronted by grandparent caregivers, provides the theoretical basis for this inductive qualitative research study.

A cohort of thirty-five grandparent caregivers, predominantly White, middle-income, older and married, participated in this study. Also included were seven leaders of support groups for grandparents responsible for raising their grandchildren.

Instrumentation included 23 questions to elicit demographic information from the grandparent caregiver. Additionally, the grandparents and the support group leaders responded to a set of focused questions designed to identify (a) the issues facing grandparents who are primary caregivers for their grandchildren, (b) the implications for …

The Impact Of The College Experience On The Lives Of Female Single-Parent Students, Elizabeth Darby Watson

Dissertations

Problem. Poverty affects all people groups, but women are systematically poorer than men are. The feminization of poverty aptly defines the plight and consequence of women's poverty. In the United States the current federal mandate requires all able-bodied adults to be gainfully employed. Minimum-wage jobs, for unskilled and untrained workers, do not move poor women and their families out of poverty.

Method. This study used quantitative and qualitative data to explore the impact of the college experience on 56 single parents who had attended a tuition-driven, faith-based college during the 10-year period of 1987-1997. Responses from a mailed questionnaire and …

Venture Behavioral Health Southwestern Michigan Treatment Of Depression Collaborative Study: The Effectiveness Of Behavioral Activation Group Therapy: An Initial Investigation, Jeffrey F. Porter

Dissertations

A recent empirical study (Jacobson et al., 1996) suggested that the Behavioral Activation (BA) component of Beck’s Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CT) for depression (Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979) may be as effective a treatment for clinical depression as the full CT treatment. BA involves intervention choices that are fewer in number and more straightforward than those contained in CT, making BA a more efficient treatment than CT. The purpose of this study was to extend the research on BA by administering it as a group therapy and to evaluate this treatment in a natural setting. This was achieved by classifying …

The Effects Of Prereferral Intervention Through The Connecticut Early Intervention Project On Special Education Prevalence Rates In Connecticut Schools, Marianne Eike Kirner

Dissertations

Problem. Prereferral intervention has been implemented in many schools across the country as one systemic solution to concerns about special education prevalence rates. This study analyzed change in special education prevalence rates in Connecticut schools participating in the Early Intervention Project (EIP) as compared to Connecticut schools not participating in the project. The project incorporates a building-based team using a problem-solving approach to provide prompt and sustained support to classroom teachers who request assistance in working with students who are at risk of referral for special education.

Method. The research design consisted of a comparison of special education prevalence change …

An Analysis Of Parental And Peer Attachment And Its Determinant Factors: A Test Of Attachment Theory On Malaysian Students At American Universities, Noriah Mohd. Ishak

Dissertations

This study examined the quality of parental and peer attachments among Malaysian students studying at universities in the midwestern region of the United States. The study was conducted in two phases. Two hundred and two students (106 male, 96 female) participated in the first phase of the study, and 8 students (4 male, and 4 female) participated in the second phase of the study. Phase One employed a cross-sectional quantitative design using a self-administered questionnaire [the Inventory of Parental and Peer Attachment (IPPA) developed by Armsden and Greenberg (1987)] and revised by the researcher. This instrument has 53 items that …

Lifting The Veil Off Widowhood: Portraits Of Transformation, Louise A. Stanger Edd

Dissertations

This qualitative research study has explored the lives of 13 women who were widowed before the age of 55, who are professionals, educators, businesswomen, and community activists, to learn how their lives have been transformed since the death of their spouse. For this study, the death of a spouse was seen as a transforming event in the life of a married woman. The nature of this transformation varied with each respondent. Portraiture was the primary biographical methodology used. Purposive sampling provided the opportunity to interview women from diverse backgrounds. Five global, open-ended interview questions were used and demographic data were …

Pastoral Effectiveness : A Study Of Differences Among Comparison Groups Of Seventh-Day Adventist Clergy, Peter Swanson

Dissertations

Problem. Methods of comparison are required to evaluate pastoral effectiveness. This study was an examination of statistically significant differences among contrasted groups of clergy to identify characteristics and performance patterns associated with productivity and effectiveness.

Method. Pastors from Anglo Seventh-day Adventist churches in North America and Canada were assigned to five groups that were evaluated using the Adventist Pastor Inventory, Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, Pastoral Tasks Survey, and Pastoral Tasks Questionnaire. Ministers who baptized 50 or more persons within 3 years were compared with those who baptized 10 or fewer in the same period and clergy rated most effective …

Critical Thinking In Associate Degree Nursing Education, Nancy Tucker

Dissertations

Problem. This study sought to investigate the level of critical thinking (CT) of the associate degree in nursing (ADN) students and the relationship of CT and clinical judgment (CJ) with selected pre-admission and exit variables.

Method. A convenience sample of 112 ADN students (79 generic, 33 non-traditional) at a small, private liberal arts college on the West Coast participated in this exploratory study. The California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) was used to measure the level of CT, and CJ was measured using the Clinical Decision Making in Nursing Scale (CDMNS). Differences between the generic and non-traditional groups were explored …

Temporary Employment: The Spanish Experience, Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes

Dissertations

In an effort to promote employment flexibility and reduce the unemployment rate, Spanish authorities deregulated temporary employment in the early 1980s. Nonetheless, the deregulation of temporary employment took place at the margin, favoring the development of a dual labor market in which temporary workers constituted a second class of workers involuntarily employed and enduring limited advancement opportunities.

Using data from the Spanish labor force survey, Spanish temporary employment and job transitions into and out of temporary employment are examined. The study first evaluates the incidence of Spanish temporary employment and its involuntary and demand-led character. Secondly, the analysis reveals temporary …