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Human Development In Populorum Progressio: Challenging Uganda's Development Claims, Peter Debo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates and questions Uganda's development claims and choice between confrontation and mutual respect among the people, using Paul VI's notion of integral human development in Populorum Progressio and the requisite development principles, virtues and conditions or factors presented therein. In the study I have argued that the development claims of Uganda do not, to a significant degree, meet the standards of human development advocated by Paul VI in Populorum Progressio. The study shows that human dignity and its universality precipitate the significance of the question of integral human development, and consequently necessitate a relevant anthropology.

The structure of …

From Communicative Silencer To Responsive Listener: Participation And Public Dialogue In Benin, André Quenum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The interpretation explores the issue of participatory communication within the particular Beninese context of public dialogue by focusing on the communicative praxis of intellectual elite and by taking the public dialogue of the 1990 National Conference of Benin as a case study. The interpretive listening of such a situated participatory public dialogue results in the framing of two major metaphors: communicative silencer and responsive listener. First, the interpretation unveils that the possibility of broad participation in the democratization of Benin is compromised by a culture of silence in which intellectual elite become communicative silencers of the silenced communities including the …

Culture Care Meanings, Beliefs And Practices Of Rural Dominicans In A Rural Village Of The Dominican Republic: An Ethnonursing Study Conceptualized Within The Culture Care Theory, Gretchen Schumacher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this ethnonursing study was to discover, describe and analyze the meanings, beliefs and practices of care for Dominican people living in a rural village of the Dominican Republic. Leininger's Culture Care Diversity and Universality Theory and ethnonursing method was utilized as an organizing framework for studying the domain of inquiry. Interviews were conducted with nineteen general informants and ten key informants, all of whom were rural Dominicans living in the village of Villegas 60 miles northwest of Santo Domingo. Exhaustive analysis of audio-taped interviews revealed eighteen categories and nine patterns from which three main themes emerged. The …

Authentic Dasein As Pathway To Heideggerianism As A Political Philosophy - A Political Vibration Of Being And Time, Thomas Akpen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the history of Western philosophy, Martin Heidegger is the only philosopher after Plato and Aristotle to have seriously investigated the question of being. Instead of dwelling on particulars as previous philosophers did, Heidegger probes the question of being by investigating the being of the investigator of being. This being is Dasein, understood as human existence. Dasein is not just a thinking thing (res cogitans) or a political animal (politicus animalus), but essentially a being-in-the-world. Dasein has two modes of existence in its being-in-the-world -- inauthentic existence and authentic existence.

To exist inauthentically is to reject the clarion call of …

On The Day You Were Born: A Phenomenological Study Of Fathers' Experience Of Being Present At Their Children's Birth, Nick Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a qualitative investigation into the lived experience of becoming a father through witnessing the event of childbirth. I analyze transcripts of conversations between five fathers and myself using a phenomenological method to distinguish meaningful and psychologically significant statements. I then weave these statements into a series of thematically and structurally consistent narratives that reflect the fathers' attitudes and experiences concerning becoming and being a father. From these narratives, I draw together themes that appeared across multiple fathers' stories. These themes consist of the father's relationship with the social world, including fathers in relation to other fathers and …

Growing Old On The Farm: An Ethnonursing Examination Of Aging And Health Within The Agrarian Rural Subculture, Diane Witt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this Ethnonursing study was to discover and explore the elder agrarian rural subculture in regard to well-being, health beliefs, values and practices. In depth interviews utilizing a semi-structured interview guide were carried out with eleven key and 23 general informants in a rural county in south-central Minnesota. A snowball method was utilized to recruit informants. Concurrent analysis was carried out utilizing Leininger's phases of Ethnonursing analysis for qualitative data.

Data management and analysis was facilitated through the use of QSR NVivo software for qualitative data analysis version 6. Sixteen categories, ten patterns and three themes emerged from …

Does Culture Matter? : Exploring The Relationships Among Parenting A Child With Disabilities, Cultural Identification, And Stress In A Group Of European American And Immigrant Latino Families, Ximena P. Suarez-Sousa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this correlational exploratory study was to delve into the experience of raising a child with disabilities by investigating the parents' level of stress and the role played by culture, acculturation, and various demographic variables suggested by the literature to influence stress were included. A purposive sample composed of 38 primarily undocumented immigrant Latino parents and 32 European American parents of children with disabilities was recruited from community agencies in a Midwest state. The most frequent disabilities were orthopedic impairments, pervasive developmental disorders, and mental retardation.

Data were collected with the Parent Survey, comprised of the Questionnaire on …

The Effect Of School Culture On Science Education At An Elementary School: An Ethnographic Case Study, Lori Meier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This ethnographic case study investigated one elementary school to understand how the school's culture influenced its science curriculum design and instruction. The main data was formal and informal semi-structured interviews with key teachers to understand their values, beliefs, practices, materials, and problems with science instruction. To triangulate these data, the researcher observed classroom practice, school-wide activities, and collected artifacts and documents. Data were analyzed using a theoretical framework that emphasizes that culture cannot be reduced to beliefs, values, practices, materials or problems, but rather each aspect of culture is interdependent and mutually reinforcing. The main finding suggests that the school's …

Opinions On Government Spending On Social Security: A Year And Cohort Analysis, Melissa Castora

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper is an analysis of American's opinions on government spending on Social Security. The main objectives were to analyze the effect of year and cohort membership on the likelihood for American's to say that they think the government is spending too little on Social Security. The data was obtained from the General Social Survey. Results of the analysis conclude that year is statistically significant in predicting the likelihood of those who say the government is spending too little on Social Security. When comparing every year to 1994, 1996 is the only year that year that respondents were less likely …

Catching Satisfaction: Personal And Political Framing In The Homebirth Movement, Nasima Pfaffl

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis illuminates the experiences, motives, and framing process of a cohort of homebirthing women in Tucson, Arizona who embody the collective action frames of the national homebirth movement. A model of birth frame construction, alignment and adoption is presented that expands current theory on social movement framing processes, cognitive liberation, and life politics in health and self-help related movements. The study explores the evolution of homebirth midwifery nationally and locally. It articulates the main collective action frames that argue against standard maternity care and presents the alternatives proffered by the homebirth movement. It presents micro-level experiences of movement pioneers, …

A Focus Group Of Adolescent Haitian Immigrants: Factors Affecting Their Perceptions Of Academic Success In A Florida Public High School, Mercedes Pichard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this ethnographic research was to examine the perceptions of academic success of adolescent Haitian immigrant students who have arrived in the United States within the last five years and attend a public high school in Florida. The Haitian students were asked to explain the tensions they perceive between Haitian societal and educational norms and beliefs and American ones, and explain their perceptions and concerns regarding success. The importance of their perceptions as influences on their behavior was related to Bandura's Social Cognitive Learning Theory. The relevance of certain questions concerning academic success for Haitian students was investigated …

Public Religious Participation: A Comparison Of Three Distinct Birth Cohorts, Diane Prather

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research has demonstrated that many factors affect levels of religiosity in American religion. This study extends the research on the relationship between cohort membership and public religious participation and individual personal involvement. Most of the research pertaining to the effects of cohort on religiosity has been devoted to comparisons between the Depression Era and Baby Boom Cohorts. This study extends research in this area by including Generation X to the extent possible. Using the General Social Surveys, this analysis employs an age/period/cohort analytical framework to examine religious involvement. Sociodemographic variables that are associated with religiosity are included in the analysis. …

Leadership Orientations Of Senior Administrators At American Metropolitan Universities, Diane Trees

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Universities in the United States continue to evolve far beyond traditional concepts. While problems of an academic, economic, governmental, and educational nature beset any university, the metropolitan institution must grapple with these issues not as an individual entity but as a partner in a group of many players. Educational leadership for the American metropolitan university necessitates distinct and unique skills. This study sought to explore leadership behaviors of senior administrators at American metropolitan universities as conceptualized by Bolman and Deal's Four-Frame Model of Leadership (1991). Using Bolman and Deal's (1990) Leadership Orientations Survey (Self) instrument with an additional Respondent Information …

A New Theory And Measure Of Ethical Work Climate: The Psychological Process Model (Ppm) And The Ethical Climate Index (Eci), Anke Arnaud

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With this dissertation I developed a new theory and measure of ethical work climate (EWC). Currently, there exists one dominant theory and measure of EWC developed by Victor and Cullen (1988, 1987). Even though researchers have identified problems with this theory, such as inconsistencies with regard to its limited theoretical scope and troubling psychometric properties, it is the most widely utilized framework for conceptualizing and testing EWC. Therefore, I propose to develop an improved theory and measure of EWC, one capable of addressing some of the principle shortcomings of earlier efforts. Building on Rest's (1986, 1979) "Four-Component" model of individual-level …

The Real Deal : Experiencing Authenticity In The Music Of R.L. Burnside, Matthieu Dessier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Making Of A Monument : Investigating Mound Stratigraphy In The Yazoo Basin / By Erin L. Stevens, Erin L. Stevens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Relationship Violence Among College Students: The Predictive Power Of Sociodemographic Characteristicsand Domestic Violence Beli, Erin Nabors

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines relationship violence among college students, focusing on the predictive roles of their sociodemographic characteristics and domestic violence beliefs. College students experience an extremely high level of abuse among intimate partners, with prevalence rates ranging between 20 and 50%. Since relationship violence among college students is such a widespread problem, it is important to understand what lies at the foundation of this type of abuse. Findings from previous studies demonstrate correlations between sociodemographic characteristics and perpetration of relationship violence as well as correlations between beliefs supportive of abuse among intimate partners and perpetration of relationship violence. However, research …

The Relationship Of Student Achievement To Prinicpals' Self-Reported Use Of The Four Frame Theory, Donna Poniatowski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was developed to provide information about the relationship of principals' use of Bolman and Deal's (1991) four frame model of leadership to student achievement. The collection and analysis of student Florida Comprehensive Assessment Testing (FCAT) data over a 2 year period served as a measure to indicate whether or not an increase in reading mean scale score occurred from 2004 to 2005. Comparative analysis of both sets of data using multiple regressions was used to determine if there was a relationship between the self-reported leadership orientations of the principals and student achievement. In addition, the study was intended …

Memory-Craft: The Role Of Domestic Technology In Women's Journals, Tammy Powley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The term "memory-craft" refers to arts and crafts media where personal memorabilia and journaling are combined and assembled into book form. Examples of memory-crafts include scrapbooks, art journals, and altered books. Traditionally, women have been the primary assemblers of memory-crafts, using this form as a method of autobiography and genealogical archiving. Memory-crafting is often associated with the amateur home-crafter, and while historians have long understood its cultural significance, academia has not properly considered memory-craft as a type of alternative discourse. The purpose of this study is to examine the use of memory-crafting as a non-traditional method of writing, especially among …

Does Hope Vi Deep-Six The Poor? Analyzing The Effects Of Displacement Former Residents Of Distressed Public Housing In A Mid-Sized Southern City, David Zeller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Do downtown revitalization efforts detrimentally affect people who are displaced? HUD's HOPE VI grant program provides local housing authorities with funds to leverage private investment to demolish blighted, severely distressed public housing units and replace them with mixed-use, mixed-income units. In 2002, the OHA secured an $18 million grant to redevelop a public housing project then known as Carver Court. 212 units of public housing were razed and former public housing residents were displaced to make way for redevelopment. Interviews with 55 former residents of Carver Court are analyzed to determine the self-reported effects of the local implementation of federal …

The Relationship Among Wellness, Severity Of Disturbance, And Social Desirability Of Entering Master's-Level Counseling Students, Heather Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A wellness paradigm may hold promise for unifying and strengthening the identity of the counseling profession. The construct of wellness may also hold implications for assessment of entering master's-level counseling students, as a tool for continuous evaluation of students, or for overall program evaluation. In this study, the only counseling-based wellness assessment measure, the Five Factor Wellness Evaluation of Lifestyle, was tested for its relationship to two other constructs: psychological disturbance and social desirability. In order to test the research hypotheses, a total of nine programs (in five states) and 204 entering master's-level counseling students completed instrumentation packets comprised of …

Between Humanity And Divinity: Christ Consciousness In Jacques Maritain's On The Grace And Humanity Of Jesus And The Epistemology Of Michael Polanyi, Stephen Doering

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This work investigates the consciousness of Christ in Maritain's On the Grace and Humanity of Jesus in light of his theory of consciousness in Poetic Intuition in Art and Poetry. At issue is the epistemological question of non-thematic, non-explicit knowledge bearing upon the conscious awareness of Jesus. Michael Polanyi's contribution is his theory of tacit knowledge. In utilizing Polanyi we are able to substantiate Maritain's belief that non-thematic knowledge does, nonetheless, bear upon our explicit conscious awareness. The final chapter brings these points together by investigating Jesus' knowledge and consciousness of himself and his divine status.

Human Performance In Agile Production Systems : A Longitudinal Study In System Outcomes, Human Cognition, And Quality Of Work Life., John K. Layer 1963-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines a research objective associated with human performance in agile production systems, with specific attention towards the hypothesis that system outcomes are the causal result of worker human cognition and quality of work life attributes experienced in an agile production system. The development and adoption of world class agile production systems has been an immediate economic answer to the world-wide competitive call for more efficient, more cost-effective, and more quality laden production processes, but has the human element of these processes been fully understood and optimized? Outstanding current literature suggests that the recent movements toward higher standards in …

An Ontological View Of The Kingdom Of God In Gutierrez, Segundo, Boff, And Sobrino, Hugo Monroy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The great majority of the four hundred and fifty million people in Latin America are poor and oppressed. Presenting the gospel to them as good news is a challenge for any theologian. Theologians' lives are at risk in most places regardless of the ideology they endorse. Jon Sobrino escaped death because he was lecturing out of the country when a military squad came into his home and killed his six companions and the two women who helped them. To serve in a context of poverty and death, theologians need more than church doctrines, creeds, and traditions to sustain them in …

Teachers Or "Real" Police Officers?: A Study Of Dare Officers In Northeast Tennessee., Jennifer Lynne Commons

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Most studies of the Drug Awareness Resistance Education (DARE) program evaluate the program’s effectiveness; this thesis instead examines the police officers who implement the program. Based on interviews with 12 DARE officers in the Northeast region of Tennessee, the thesis explores how members of this special category of police officers identify themselves. The DARE officer interviews were compared with published literature on conventional police officers. All DARE officers interviewed defined themselves as police officers but did little to no actual police work, nor were they viewed by patrol officers as “real” police officers. Instead, DARE officers functioned primarily as educators. …

Historical Study Of The Highlander Method: Honing Leadership For Social Justice., Joyce Denise Duncan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Waging war against economic, political and social inequity, Highlander, founded in 1932 in Monteagle, Tennessee, near Chattanooga, served as a community-training center for southern industrial labor and farmers’ unions and as a major gathering place for black and white civil rights activists, even in those days when such activity was illegal. Teachers at Highlander believed in the capacity of people to educate and to govern themselves. Humanitarians or communitarians, those working at Highlander were concerned with the interrelated systems of class and race, which, they felt, consistently enabled a small segment of the population to exploit, dominate and oppress others. …

Two From The Underworld: Short Fiction., Stephen Glass

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The following thesis contains two works of short fiction. The first, “Afterlife,” is narrated by Jeff Carlton, whose unenthusiastic passage into fatherhood is complicated by his girlfriend Charlene’s obsession with mummification. The second, “Jolly,” is the story of Calvin Edwards, a young bus station attendant haunted by his father’s ghost and visited by a cadaverous stranger, Jolly, who also sees the dead. The stories are preceded by an introduction in which the author discusses his views on implied motivation in character development.

Communicating Culture Through Capoeira, Desislava Georgieva

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The popularity of capoeira, a dance based in the martial arts and originating among slaves in Sixteenth-Century Brazil, has increased greatly in recent decades as it has spread worldwide as a performance representative of Brazilian history and culture. In 1974, capoeira was declared the national sport of Brazil. Today capoeira academies and competitions may be found wherever Brazilian culture is celebrated and communicated in many major foreign cities. My thesis, through the participant/observer method and the use of long interviews, examines capoeira as it is practiced in one particular academy far from the art form's place of origin. In the …

Gender Differences In Characteristics Of Intimate Partner Homicide Offenders, Heather Lynn Wilson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study addresses whether or not male and female intimate partner homicide offenders differ in a variety of characteristics using data from the Chicago Women's Health Risk Study, 1995-1998. Frequencies of male and female intimate partner homicide offender's risk factors were compared to look at how they differ. The areas that were explored were demographics, prior abuse, and the criminal justices response. A number of gender differences were found. Directions for future research pertaining to intimate partner homicide offenders are discussed.

Media Literacy And Critical Thinking: Is There A Connection?, Edward Arke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the relationship between media literacy and critical thinking skills. To date media literacy advocates have not developed a quantitative means of measuring media literacy. While numerous claims that media literacy and critical thinking are related, a review of the existing literature has not revealed any academic support for the assertion. As a result, a demographic survey and test to measure each skill set respectfully was administered to a sample of undergraduate college students. For this study, a new media literacy measure was developed. Statistical analysis of the test results did show a statistically significant correlation between the …