Digital Commons Network^™

An Exploration Into Factors Contributing To Patient-Initiated Termination From Addiction Treatment Programs By Opioid-Dependent Persons, Neil Gregory

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Patient-initiated termination, a significant and long-standing problem in the field of addiction treatment, is linked to the effectiveness of addiction treatment. The literature revealed several important points. First, treatment outcomes are positively correlated with the length of time spent in treatment. Second, many patients terminate addiction treatment before completing the program. Third, many patients attending addiction treatment facilities develop a treatment career in which they attend several treatment programs and receive a variety of services. Fourth, such factors as the patients' physical health, mental health, legal status, employment status and the patients' relationships with others are consistently related to the …

Genetic Population Structure And Breeding Parameters Of Three Pennsylvania State Threatened Darter Species: Etheostoma Camurum, E. Maculatum And E. Tippecanoe, Laura Howell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Little is known about the breeding parameters and population structure of three Pennsylvania darters, the bluebreast darter, Etheostoma camurum, the spotted darter, E. maculatum, and the Tippecanoe darter, E. tippecanoe. All are Pennsylvania state threatened species, and they are considered threatened or endangered in several other states throughout their range. Although some limited breeding information is available from populations in other states, the timing and duration of spawning has not been documented for Pennsylvania populations of E. camurum and E. tippecanoe. Both species occupy disjunct riffle habitats in the Allegheny River system, with stable populations in French Creek. We have …

Project Camelot And Military Sponsorship Of Social Science Research: A Critical Discourse Analysis, Ryan Hunt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

"Project Camelot" was an ambitious social science research project conceived and funded by the Army, one whose scope and level of funding was unprecedented as of its inception in 1964. It was created in order to examine the potential for "internal war" and insurgency in the "developing countries" of the world, and to identify actions that the U.S. and its allies could take to prevent or suppress such insurgencies. Historians have described the Project as an event of particular importance in the history of American social science, and have argued that it is related to significant changes in their structure …

Examining Factors That Affect Graduation Rates For Pennsylvania Students With Disabilities In Three Intermediate Unit Areas, Linda Jukes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine graduation rates of students with disabilities and factors that may have affected those rates. More specifically, this study compared intermediate unit and county-level data for students with disabilities in districts in 10 counties of Pennsylvania. Correlations were examined between the graduation rates of the students with disabilities in these counties and socioeconomic factors of poverty rate, median household income, and the percentage of students in the counties who were economically disadvantaged. In addition, graduation rates of students with disabilities for these same counties were examined in comparison to the results of their …

Lived Experiences: An Examination Of Older Adults' Late-Stage, Life-Span Ecological Transition From A Home Residence To An Assisted Living Facility, Christin Jungers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The population of older adults in the United States is growing rapidly, and in response to demographic changes, a new housing market for elders known as assisted living is emerging as the fastest growing segment of the senior housing arena. While the impact of the transition to institutional facilities has been examined thoroughly in settings such as nursing homes, little is known about the influences of a late-life transition to assisted living (AL) on American elders. Using a phenomenologically oriented approach, this qualitative investigation examined the lived experiences of assisted living residents as a means of adding to the literature …

John And Charles Wesleys' "Hymns On The Lord's Supper" (1745): Their Meaning For Methodist Ecclesial Identity And Ecumenical Dialogue, Aaron Kerr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the historical context, theological relevance and ecumenical potential of a body of theological poetry, hymn lyrics about the central Christian ritual, the Eucharist. The research is undertaken in the interest of the Roman Catholic-Methodist dialogue, a decades long conversation in which these 166 hymns have gained mutual recognition. There are three inter-connected areas explored: history, textual formation and the theological shape of lyrical poetry about the Lord's Supper. These three dimensions are brought to bear on the question of Methodist ecclesial identity and ecumenical dialogue. The study explores the significance of the relationships derived from the synthesis …

Positioning For Acceptance: How Women With Hiv Infection Manage Their Relationships, Mary Kozy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Even though the number of women with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) grows annually, medical treatment has rendered this illness a chronic but manageable disease. Nurses must expand their knowledge beyond issues of survival and end of life care and focus on ways to maintain health and well being in this population. The works of Miller (1986) and Gilligan (1993) underscore the significance of relationships in the emotional well being of women. Issues of stigma, sexual transmission and ill health render HIV infection a threat to social relationships. Published literature exists that explores aspects of relationship such as social support, motherhood …

Releasing Our Technological Imaginations: A Translation Of Maxine Greene's Aesthetic Educational Theory Into The Language Of Instructional Technology, Mara Linaberger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study is a journey--an attempt to translate personal experience and theory into a practical philosophical guide for teachers who desire to utilize the rich palette of technology in broad, meaningful ways. It begins with a reflection upon the impact that aesthetic educational theory has had on my teaching practices with technology. The project then moves on to identify and define the philosophical and theoretical underpinnings of both Instructional Technology and aesthetic education, seeking to locate common elements which will assist in merging the two disciplines. Through examining the demands of various qualitative methods to the purpose of this …

Molecular Dynamics Simulation Studies Of Dna And Proteins: Force Field Parameter Development Of Small Ligands And Convergence Analysis For Simulations Of Biomolecules, Anne Loccisano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the first part of this dissertation, CHARMM force field parameters for DNA minor groove-binding polyamides were developed. The parameterization involved the subdivision of the polyamides into model compounds, which were calibrated against MP2/6-31G(d) data. To test the new parameters, fourteen 10 ns molecular dynamics crystal simulations have been carried out on a DNA/polyamide complex at low (113K) and high (300K) temperatures. Of the 18 helical parameters examined, only one (stagger) is found to be statistically significant from the crystal structure with a t-test at the 95% confidence level. For the high temperature, stagger is non-significant at the 97% confidence …

The Turn To The Neighbor: Emmanuel Levinas's Conceptual Affinities With Liberation Theology, Alain Mayama

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My dissertation establishes some conceptual affinities between the philosophical project of Emmanuel Levinas and liberation theology. I analyze Levinas's work by comparing it to two important liberation theologians, Gustavo Gutiérrez and Jon Sobrino, whose work, like his, needs to be brought into greater contemporary debate about the subject's encounter with the other. I argue that fundamental to Levinas, Gutiérrez, and Sobrino is the fact that they all bring forth one major characteristic: the dimension of the divine opens forth in the human face. For Levinas, Gutiérrez and Sobrino, commitment to the neighbor is the necessary context for "understanding" God. They …

Smoke And Mirrors: A Cultural-Psychological Analysis Of Tobacco Use, Michael Melczak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This theoretical dissertation explores tobacco use from the perspectives of social constructivism and phenomenological depth psychology. In Part I, tobacco use is described as a cultural artifact, and transformations in tobacco use are traced through three different cultural contexts or "worlds": the indigenous or aboriginal worldview, the European and American worldview of the 17th through mid-19th centuries, and the modern American worldview (or "modernity"). In each of these worldviews, the cultural context informed and influenced (or reflected and reproduced) understandings of tobacco use. One notices the transformation of tobacco use, for example, from a god to a commodity and from …

A Comparison Between Habitual Pitch And Optimum Pitch In Preschool-Aged Children, Katie Micco

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine if the habitual pitch (HP) produced by normally developing preschool-aged children was different across structured speech tasks and free play and to determine if the HP across the same tasks differed from optimum pitch (OP) produced by these children. HP measurements were performed on ten normally developing preschool-aged children (2.6 to 6 years), without a history of speech, language, or hearing impairments, during both structured speech tasks and free play. In addition, pitch glide tasks were used to determine each participant's modal F0 range from which OP was derived using a modified …

The Politics Of Medical Syncretism In The Ghanaian National Healthcare System, Mark Morrison

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Efforts to create public policy integrating traditional/indigenous medical practices and practitioners into national healthcare strategies are currently being pursued in a variety of nations in the Africa region. The purpose of this research is to present a historical case study of the social and political factors associated with the passage of the Traditional Medicine Practice Act of 2000 in the West African nation of Ghana. Research methodology included conducting a thorough examination of available archival and secondary data as well as an abbreviated interview series (N=5). Research findings suggest that significant factors associated with Ghanaian medical revivalism were the role …

Demystifying A Sexual Perversion: An Existential Reading Of Sadomasochism And Erich Fromm's Call To Love, Salvatore Palazzolo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the lack of clinical evidence suggesting that sex is the primary passion behind sadomasochism and critiques which have debunked the idea of gendered polarities as intrinsic to its nature, the popular imagination of sadomasochism remains as a gendered sexual perversion. This dissertation explores how theories of sadomasochism became "dominated" by sexual themes along with some of the problems that interfere with a full understanding of sadomasochism as a psychological disorder.

In part one, starting with the theories of Krafft-Ebing, Ellis, and Freud, various theories of sadomasochism are examined guided by four principles that are explicitly and implicitly addressed. These …

From The Bottom Up: Isaac Craig And The Process Of Social And Economic Mobility During The Revolutionary Era, Melissah Pawlikowski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An examination of the life of Isaac Craig, a Scots-Irish migrant catapulted from lower-class Philadelphian carpenter to entrepreneur and land speculator on the western frontier, illustrates the paradox presented in upward mobility during the Revolutionary era. The era was an exceptional time for social and economic mobility yet few men were able to accomplish it. Thus the period allowed for many men to gain more economically, while the inability to increase one's social standing continued to limit one's economic standing as well as overall success in upward mobility. Difficulties were due to the process of both social and economic mobility, …

African American Perceptions Of Childhood Behavioral Disorders And Mental Health Services, Chant Wellington

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigated African American parents/caregivers perceptions of childhood psychopathology and psychological services. The four participants of this study were African American parents/caregivers of children who were suspected by their respective schools of having symptoms of emotional, cognitive and or behavioral disorders. The researcher of this study asked these participants to describe their lived experiences of their children's functioning that school based evaluators consider atypical.

Data were obtained in the form of an initial phone interview. At a later date a face to face follow-up interview was audio taped and transcribed in order to obtain situated and general narratives.

Findings …

Action Research: An Investigation Of Teacher Perceptions Of A Job-Embedded Professional Development Program In A Suburban High School, Kenneth Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Accountability in education is perhaps the most significant issue faced by school leaders and teachers today. With the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in the form of No Child Left Behind (NCLB, 2001), school districts have been concentrating efforts directed at student achievement as related to state standardized testing.

School districts have subsequently focused attention more intensely on existing curricula and effective instructional practice to increase student learning. Action research has been used, and is gaining more momentum as a staff development tool, to impact student achievement in classrooms.

Fox Chapel Area School District in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania …

Advertising As Epideictic Rhetoric And Its Implications For Ethical Communication, Cem Zeytinoglu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the ancient sense, epideictic rhetoric was considered as a simple opposition to pragmatic discourse, which predominantly was involved with public business. Public business refers to the matters of the polis and the political setting. On the other hand, epideictic does not address to the political or deliberative situations. It addresses the celebrative situations of a community or a society in which values are created and commemorated.

Epideictic is also different from deliberative public discourse in means of approach toward to audience. Deliberative rhetoric asks audience to decide to take a course of action in a public/political business, whereas epideictic …

Mp3 And Culturally Free, Michelle Zuckerman-Parker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This ethnographic inquiry investigated the interaction of shyness, a cultural trait and technology within the Chinese higher education system. It was from this adventure a new approach to help Chinese students improve their oral English was developed while stumbling upon a global phenomenon. Technology does more than provide logistical assistance; it creates opportunities. One such opportunity is a culture free learning environment.

The purpose of this study was to explore whether different combinations of technologies help to overcome cultural barriers when teaching Chinese students to speak English in the People's Republic of China. There were three different forms of technology …

Structural Indicators Of Index Crime Rates In Metropolitan Counties For 1990 And 2000, Jacob Becker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between structural features common to research within social disorganization and strain theory frameworks of metropolitan counties in 1990 and 2000 and their crime rates. It hypothesizes that economic inequality, a measure of relative deprivation, will be a more consistent structural indicator of crime than poverty, a measure of absolute deprivation. Twelve independent structural variables based on 1990 and 2000 Census data are placed in ordinary least-squares regression models to predict crime rates for 10 different Uniform Crime Report types. Results support this hypothesis, as well as identify a number of other structural indicators that are …

Self-Forgiveness: A Narrative Phenomenological Study, John Beiter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation critically explored both theoretical and research findings pertaining to self-forgiveness, especially as it related to psychology. An important, though rather apparent finding or conclusion derived from this literature review was that there is an astounding paucity of both theoretical and research work about self-forgiveness within psychology. This lack or shortcoming holds, surprisingly, even in those disciplines perhaps associated more intuitively with self-forgiveness, for example theological and religious studies, and philosophy. Moreover, a contamination, conflation, or supplementarity characterized the relationship between forgiveness and self-forgiveness, such that no clear consensus exists with respect to the distinctions or similarities between those …

Neural Network Prediction Of Math And Reading Proficiency As Reported In The Educational Longitudinal Study 2002 Based On Non-Curricular Variables, Jason Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Predicting student achievement is often the goal of many studies, and a frequently employed tool for constructing predictive models is multiple linear regression. This research sought to compare the performance of a three-layer back propagation neural network to that of traditional multiple linear regression in predicting math and reading proficiency from 103 non-curricular variables collected in the National Center for Educational Statistics' 2002 Educational Longitudinal Study. The neural network model was implemented using the Java programming language and the coefficients for the regression equations were produced by SPSS. The results showed that, for this data set, neither model provided an …

Civic-Ness In The Caribbean: Civic Society And Governance In Barbados And Jamaica, Liam Carstens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study tests the hypothesis of Robert Putnam (Making Democracy Work) which posits that 'civic-ness' explains why democracy works better in some cases than in others. This paper seeks to determine whether this variable explains "good governance" in the Caribbean as well as it does for the Mediterranean.

In order to establish whether or not 'civic-ness' determines 'good governance,' two extreme cases in the Caribbean are examined. Barbados and Jamaica are case studies of variance in economic performance, government, and the social situation. The two are compared in terms of their levels of 'civic-ness,' an independent variable resembling Putnam's but …

Pediatric Physical Therapists And Evidence Based Practice: A Participatory Action Research Project, Joseph Schreiber

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: The purpose of this project was to describe in detail the attitudes, beliefs, and practices of a group of pediatric physical therapists regarding evidence-based practice. In addition, utilizing a collaborative, participatory action research approach, several strategies and outcomes were identified as a means to aid these individuals in improving their ability to use research evidence for clinical decision making.

Methods: The primary investigator and a group of five pediatric physical therapists collaborated to develop and implement strategies and outcomes that were best suited for each individual. During phase I, information was gathered to describe the participants' current beliefs, attitudes, …

Meeting The Absurd: Camus And The Communication Ethics Of The Everyday, Brent Sleasman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The metaphor of the absurd, as well as the work and thought of Albert Camus, has primarily served as a secondary resource within the communication discipline. This project contributes to the conversation about the absurd in an effort to further the study of communication ethics by placing Camus in the foreground. The metaphor of the absurd provides an opportunity to examine philosophical hermeneutics in relation to Camus's insights. The work of Paul Ricoeur and Hans-Georg Gadamer, emphasizing the role of metaphor and how it connects the absurd as used by Camus to our current postmodern moment, provides the methodological framework …

Looping: The Impact Of A Multi-Year Program On The Academic Progress, Retention, And Special Education Placements Of Students In Two South Central Pennsylvania Schools, Joseph Snoke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine if there are increased benefits in a looping instructional delivery system, as it pertains to academic progress, retention rates, and special education placements. Specifically, the study determined if there was a significant difference between students involved in a looping instructional model as compared to those not participating in a looping model. The target population of this study consisted of students looping and non-looping in third, fifth, and eighth grades, who attended rural elementary schools located in central Pennsylvania. The students would have attended the districts between the years of 1999-2005. PSSA scaled …

Utilizing Environmental Factors And Basic Principles Of Pragmaticism To Establish A Theoretical Framework For Integrating Learning Object Based Instruction (Lobi) Into K-12 Instructional Practice, Alex Stone

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study is a critical theoretical analysis. Its basic premise is that several seemingly intractable issues exist that interfere with the implementation of learning object based instruction (LOBI) in the K-12 online learning environment. The purpose of this study is to identify these issues, and then critique each one individually in order to initiate a discourse that will ultimately facilitate the implementation of LOBI into K-12 public schools. Twelve issues are identified and then individually critiqued. The overriding philosophical influence that drives this study is pragmaticism as presented by C.S. Peirce and basic principles of that particular philosophy are utilized …

School Success Among African American Male Adolescents: An Existential Examination Of Protective Factors, Carol Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For many adolescents who live in a high-risk neighborhood, harsh and sometimes dangerous circumstances often interfere with the ability to enjoy school success. While quantitative methods have been employed to reveal protective factors among African American male adolescents, few qualitative studies exist that analyze the lived experiences of this population of youth and their ability to flourish despite environmental disadvantages. This study is a phenomenologically-oriented narrative case study of five African American male adolescents who attend high school in a small, rural community and who are on track to graduate. The primary philosophies that framed this study were Ryan and …

The Impact Of Teaching Explicit Listening Strategies To Adult Intermediate- And Advanced-Level Esl University Students, Jeanette Clement

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated beliefs about strategy use for the improvement of second language listening comprehension. The study compared participants' self-reports of their strategy use prior to and after four electronically-delivered interventions consisting of explicit instruction and illustration of strategies that can assist in listening comprehension. Participants were 64 international students at intermediate to advanced level of language proficiency (as determined by the Michigan Listening Comprehension Exam (Upshur, Koba, Spaan, and Strowe, 1972) studying English as a Second Language (ESL) at two universities in the Eastern United States. Data were collected using three instruments, the Strategies Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) …

Oncology Nurses' Attitudes Toward Cancer Clinical Trials And Their Perceptions Of Patients' Understanding, Paul D'Amico

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Clinical trials in oncology that evaluate new cancer treatments are essential. However, in the United States only 2%-4% of eligible adult cancer patients participate in the National Cancer Institute's clinical trials annually. Oncology nurses have a major role in the care of patients contemplating enrollment into cancer clinical trials, yet little is known about their attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions.

The Modified Nursing Attitude Survey and a demographic form were used to collect data. This study discovered significant predictors to attitudes and perceptions; however, all R² (coefficient of determination) values were very low, which indicates that some other unknown variables could …