Digital Commons Network^™

A Cognitive Intervention To Increase The Salience Of Intrinsic Thoughts Associated With Exercise, Katie S. Moran

Master's Theses

A four-week cognitive intervention was created to increase the salience of intrinsic thoughts associated with exercise in moderately extrinsic exercisers. Participants were assigned to either an intervention or control condition. Those in the intervention condition were asked to respond to questions concerning the pleasure, enjoyment and/or satisfaction experienced during or after their exercise regimen each week. Results showed a marginally significant two-way interaction (p = .059) between the control and intervention condition over time. Those in the intervention condition showed a greater increase in intrinsic motivation than those in the control condition. These results. while only marginally significant, were in …

Nonprofit Human Services Agencies And Reliance Upon Government Funding: Implications For Organizational Development, Leon D. Winston

Master's Theses

Based on interviews with the executive directors of twenty human service agencies from San Francisco, CA, which received 60% or more of their funding from government sources, this study explores what organizational and operational benefits and challenges these executives attribute to reliance on government for funding support.

The theoretical framework for the study relies on resource dependency theory within a natural or open systems model of organizational development. This illuminates the relationships between nonprofit human services agencies and the government agencies that fund them. The dependency relationship is seen as being of mutual benefit, although power distribution within these relationships …

A Study On Donor Preferences And Charitable Giving, Stephanie Roderick Williams

Master's Theses

This study entailed the administration of a mail survey of 2,000 donors to determine if baby boomers (aged 40 to 58) would be more inclined than mature donors (aged 59 and older) to value efficiency, organizational outcomes, and information when making a charitable gift. There were no statistically significant differences between donors of the baby boomer generation and mature donors concerning the variables efficiency and outcomes, but there were statistically significant differences between baby boomers and mature donors regarding the variable information: baby boomers valued information more than mature donors did.

Moreover, significant differences were found between young donors (aged …

Cytokine Expression By T. Helper Cells Responding To Stress, Dina Zanetti

Master's Theses

Stress causes alterations to the immune system. These alterations have lead to increased susceptibility to antigens. The present study explores shifts in T helper (TH) cell balance (TH1 and TH2), through their cytokine expression. This study was performed in three phases, and focused mainly on animals subjected to a 10 day a chronic unpredictable stress paradigm. Phase one used ELISAs to confirm the cytokine profile produced from TH 1 and TH2 murine cell-lines. Phase two used SDS PAGE and Western Immunoblotting to show that splenocytes from Long Evan's Hooded rats subjected to the stress paradigm, had decreased in intercellular in …

Beyond Battering : The Long-Term Effects Of Domestic Violence, Christine Hagion-Rzepka

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Buddhas & Bratwurst: Ethical Identity In Global Contexts, Patrick Mcdonnell

Master's Theses

Digitized thesis

Transition From Advanced Beginner To Competent Nurse In The Labor And Delivery Unit, Janice Mcmillin

Master's Theses

Digitized thesis

Ngo Narratives Of Human Rights And Rehabilitation In Cambodia: A Transnational Advocacy And Policy Framework For Appropriating Identity Amidst A Quest For Transitional Justice, Henrik J. Mann

Master's Theses

Digitized thesis

Hospital Volunteers: A Study Of Motivation, Judith Blanchard

Master's Theses

This study was conducted using in-depth interviews of 21 hospital volunteers to determine what motivations were operative in their choice to volunteer in a hospital and to determine whether any significant differences with regard to their motivation could be ascertained on the basis of age or gender. The study further probed the satisfaction and needs of these volunteers relative to their choice and motivation.

The study found that a combination of altruistic concerns, personal interests, and needs were fundamental to the study participants' volunteer choices. No clear differences in motivation were found on the basis of gender. Retirement from employment …

The Life-Long Diminution Of Anxiety Response As A Consequence Of Reproductive Experience, Ilan M. Mcnamara

Master's Theses

Reproductive experience (RE), associated with hormonal fluctuations and enriching environmental stimuli, enhances spatial memory and blunts responses to stress/anxiety. Whereas stress reductions occur during lactation, the persistence of the RE-anxiolytic effects is unclear; and little research has focused on the HP A axis, amygdala, and other anxietyrelated areas. Using an elevated plus maze (EPM), we examined anxiety in nulliparous (NP), primiparous (PP), and multiparous (MP) females (zero, one, or two litters, respectively) at 6, 10, 14, 18, and 22 months of age. Brains were subsequently analyzed for neurodegeneration in dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN). RE significantly dampened anxiety (defined by time …

The Relationship Between Age And Depression : A Self-Efficacy Model, Brandyn M. Street

Master's Theses

From an applied perspective, it is useful for clinicians and researchers to know what variables are more likely to be related to depressive symptoms for some groups than for others. From the social-cognitive perspective, symptoms of depression are linked to people's beliefs that they are unable to regulate or control their own functioning. The purpose of the present study was to test social cognitive theory and its claims about self efficacy by examining whether age and sex differences in depression are a function of emotion regulation, emotional self-efficacy and response styles to depression. The results indicated that females had a …

Heeding The Call To Action: Public Policy Engagement For Children, Kevin Hickey

Master's Theses

What do individual motives and organizational factors have to do with individuals from public charities joining and participating in child-focused advocacy coalitions? A mail survey of members of child-focused advocacy coalitions in California was conducted in order to investigate the correlation between incentives for joining advocacy coalitions and level of advocacy activity. The study also examined the relationships among incentives and level of advocacy activity and other factors, including role in the coalition, job function, official duty, and organizational size. Four hundred surveys were mailed, yielding a final valid response rate of 36.8%.

The study found that strategic incentives, such …

A Study Of The Relationship Between Unionization And Nonprofit Social Workers, Nancy Dow Moody

Master's Theses

This study examined the relationship, for nonprofit employees of the Regional Center system of the state of California, between unionization, on the one hand, and morale, salary, and relationship with management, on the other. It was conducted by means of a survey of twenty questions. Responses from one hundred seventy-two nonprofit social workers from three representative centers in the California system were received.

The results of the study supported a causal link between unionization and most of the hypothesized associations. The study found that unionization did have a positive impact on morale, salary, and relationship with management. Those working in …

Making The Connection: Art And Community, Daliah Khoury Massehian

Master's Theses

This study examines the role of the community arts in addressing social issues in communities. Using data gathered from community arts organizations in two San Francisco neighborhoods, this study examines the histories, missions, methods for measuring results and ideologies of San Francisco community arts organizations for the purpose of uncovering the development of the community arts movement in San Francisco, prevalent perceptions among practitioners about community art's ability to impact civil society and theories around why the community arts are an effective agent for effecting social change.

This study uncovers that the community arts grew out of a grassroots movement …

Old Lesbians' Experiences With The Health Care System : Ten Case Studies, Nancy G. Hugman

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

An Exploration Of Being And Having Allies In The Independent Living Movement, Anji Buckner

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Barriers To International Giving By U.S.-Based Private Foundations: Perceptions Of Stakeholders, Rachel Humphrey

Master's Theses

This study described perceptions of 26 stakeholders in the field of international philanthropy regarding barriers to international giving. It further investigated the role of private foundations in international assistance and the types of organizations promoting international philanthropy and helping foundations overcome these barriers.

The study found that there were psychosocial barriers facing foundations not engaged in international philanthropy, practical barriers that inhibit international grantmaking, and strategic and psychosocial barriers to effective international philanthropy by foundations already engaged in it. Of those, the psychosocial barriers were most significant in hampering the growth of international philanthropy. There was no significant difference in …

The Expanding Use Of Information Technology In The Social Services: A Study Of Small Nonprofit Social Service Organizations In The Bay Area, Jenifer Fay

Master's Theses

A survey was sent to 243 nonprofit social service organizations in six Bay Area counties on August 6, 2002. There were 72.surveys completed and returned by the stop of data collection on September 30, 2002. This survey was distributed as part of a research study identifying the access and use of e-mail and the Internet by nonprofit social service organizations in the Bay Area. The study also investigated perceptions held by nonprofit organizational leaders regarding the usefulness and impact of technology on the social service field.

Survey results identified that proximity to the Silicon Valley increases the likelihood of IT …

A Study Of The Perceptions Of Bay Area Planned Giving Professionals As To The Value And Effectiveness Of Various Techniques Used To Market Planned Gifts, Suzanne Levi

Master's Theses

This study entailed a mail survey of the entire membership of the Northern California chapter of the Planned Giving Council to ascertain the ways in which Bay Area planned giving professionals perceived the effectiveness of certain marketing techniques in raising planned gifts for Bay Area nonprofit organizations. It further explored any differences in preference for various marketing techniques based on the professional experience of the planned giving professional, the annual budget of their organization, or the type of agency where they worked.

The study found that, broadly speaking, respondents favored the relationship marketing techniques, those requiring more personal interaction with …

The American Association Of Museums' Accreditation Program: An Analysis Of Benefits Perceived By Museums, Sara Wendt

Master's Theses

This study conducted a mail survey of 210 museum directors whose institutions had undergone accreditation through a program sponsored by the American Association of Museums. The study sought to ascertain directors' perceptions ofthe overall benefit and cost of the program, as well as their perceptions of the degree to which their museums both expected to receive and actually received 16 individually specified benefits. It further sought to determine the extent to which museum size and accreditation history may have impacted their perceptions.

The study found that while the time burden associated with the accreditation process was considered fairly high, most …

How Mediation Is Used By Alternative Dispute Resolution Organizations To Resolve Racial Conflict, Pam Hogan

Master's Theses

This study reports findings of interviews with volunteer mediators for Community Boards, a dispute resolution organization in the city of San Francisco, California, describing their approach to participating as panel members in multiethnic mediations.

The study demonstrates a notable difference in the approaches taken by mediators when race is identified as a point of contention in a mediation. The data show experience and ethnicity as variables in these responses. The findings further suggest that most mediators believe they require further training to feel equipped and comfortable in their handling of such mediations.

"What Was I Created For, I Wonder?" : Occupation For Women In Shirley And Cranford, Julie Anne Tignor

Master's Theses

Charlotte Brontë's Shirley and Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford unite in asking and answering the question of what unmarried women were supposed to do with their time and talents in Victorian England, considering the constraints of both gentility and economic conditions. In writing these novels, Brontë and Gaskell joined mid-nineteenth century feminists such as Francis Power Cobbe and Florence Nightingale in discussing women's occupation. Cranford, rather than presenting the typical young unmarried woman as its heroine, features a community of old maids as its "heroines," revealing their story through the narration of Mary Smith. Shirley's Caroline Helstone examines the socially accepted …

An Exploration Of Quality Of Life Among Residents Of Berlin, Germany, Kris Freiwald

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

A Study Of Factors That Deter Jews From Affiliating With Organizations In The Jewish Community, Janice Sands-Weinstein

Master's Theses

Digitized thesis

Ombudsman As Translator: A Critical Hermeneutic Interpretation Of Alternative Dispute Resolution, Elaine M. Lutkitz

Master's Theses

Digitized thesis

The Salvation Army And Government Funding - Blessing Or Bane?, Noreen Scott

Master's Theses

This study was conducted to explore the issues surrounding government funding of faithbased nonprofit organizations. The main question addressed was what, if any, are the positives and negatives for a religious nonprofit faith-based organization accepting government funding. This study examined the Salvation Army, a faith-based 50l(c)(3) charitable organization with a long history of accepting government funding for its social service programs. Seven Salvation Army administrators were interviewed to determine whether government funding for this organization's social services had any impact on the organization in four specific areas:

1. Finances

2. Staffing

3. Administrative reporting

4. Mission

Three noteworthy issues were …

A Case Study In Volunteer Management: Volunteer Stress At A Northern California Rape Crisis Center, Holly Tedford

Master's Theses

This research project is a case study of a rape crisis center's volunteer program. Because the volunteers respond to recent victims of sexual assault in hospital emergency rooms, the study was designed to examine the stressors arising from their confrontation of such emotionally volatile situations. The study focused on the stressors volunteers experienced, how they coped, how the rape crisis center's training program prepared volunteers for job stress, what rape crisis center employees did to mitigate volunteers' job-related stress, and how effective volunteers perceived these efforts to be. The research project also compared the stress experienced by rape crisis volunteers …

A Study Of Native American Philanthropy: Charitable Giving Patterns, Concepcion Guerrero

Master's Theses

This study examines the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of 22 Native Americans (11 women and 11 men) living off the reservation in the Austin and San Antonio, Texas, areas in regard to their philanthropy. Giving among Native American cultures has been greatly overshadowed by negative stereotypes and cultural misunderstandings. Often members of the Native American community are seen as recipients rather than givers. Although Native Americans are people of considerable variety, there are some commonalities shared among their communities that can be helpful in understanding their philanthropy.

Two issues were outside the scope of this research: (1) this study did …

Working Memory In Schizophrenics And Older Adults : A Mediator For Episodic Memory Deficits?, Matthew W. Webster

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the role of working memory on episodic memory in older adults and adults with schizophrenia. This study included 15 adults with schizophrenia, 20 young adults without psychopathology, and 21 older adults without psychopathology. Storage working memory scores were greater than processing working memory scores in all groups. Young adults had the fewest problems with episodic and working memory, compared to older adults and adults with schizophrenia, who had similar deficits in both memory types. Speed of processing was found to be the greatest predictor of working memory capacity.

The Impact Of The 1918-1919 Influenza Epidemic On Virginia, Stephanie Forrest Barker

Master's Theses

In the fall of 1918 an unparalleled influenza pandemic spread throughout the world. More than a quarter of Americans became ill, and at least 600,000 died. For many Virginians, this was a time of acute crisis that only could be compared to the days of the Civil War. This thesis describes Spanish influenza's impact on Virginia, primarily focusing on the cities of Newport News, Richmond, and Roanoke. It details influenza's emergence in Virginia and explores how state and city officials dealt with this unprecedented epidemic. This study examines how the epidemic disrupted daily routines of life and overwhelmed the state's …