Digital Commons Network^™

Public Access As Public Action : The Activism Of Berkeley Community Media's Btv, Terra Jae Lepper

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

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 …

Restoring The Light : Ministry To German Prisoners Of War In America During The Second World War, Melissa Weldon

Master's Theses

In 1942, the United States committed itself to the retention of German prisoners of war on American soil. Over 350,000 German soldiers lived and worked in several hundred camps throughout the contiguous United States. These prisoners required not only food and shelter, but spiritual care as well. The Geneva Convention of 1929 granted prisoners of war the right to worship according to their faith. The United States government not only permitted, but also encouraged, ministry to the prisoners in its care. Relying on the assistance of international relief organizations and national church bodies, the Office of the Provost Marshal General …

Acalypha Deamii : Distribution East Of The Appalachians And Comparative Studies Of Reproductive Anatomy, Patricia A. Truman

Master's Theses

Acalypha deamii (Euphorbiaceae), once thought restricted to flood plains of the Ohio and mid-Mississippi River systems, is now documented from similar habitats in Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia along the James, Potomac, Rappahannock, Roanoke (Staunton), and Shenandoah rivers. This species is recognized by two-carpellate gynoecia, large seeds, and the routine occurrence of allomorphic flowers and fruits, features sporadically found within this large genus. In addition to documenting the newly recognized range extension of Acalypha deamii, this thesis also investigates the nature of its allomorphic reproductive structures. Staminate, pistillate, fruiting, and allomorphic reproductive structures of Acalypha deamii and a closely related …

Media Use, Acculturation, And Support For The Death Penalty : A Study Of Mexican Americans, Judith Adele Bandermann

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

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 …

Regulating Media Technologies : A Historical Comparison Of Radio And The Internet, Jessica Schneider Davis

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Selling Of Asian Americans : Teen Perceptions Of Asian Americans In The Media, Maki Nagao

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Wisdom Of The Oppressed: Stirring The Voices Of Successful African-American Men, Lois Merriweather Moore

Master's Theses

Digitized thesis

The Effectiveness Of An Interactive Multimedia Learning Explanation On Baccalaureate Nursing Students' Mathematical Achievement And Self-Efficacy, Margaret Hansen Maag

Master's Theses

Digitized thesis

The Latina Voice In Special Education: Classroom Behaviors, School Attitudes, And Gender Identity Of Female Students In Single-Gender Secondary Level Special Education Classrooms, Jennifer Caroline Booker Madigan

Master's Theses

Digitized thesis

Poetry And The State: The Politics Of Nabat Tradition In Kuwait, Abdullah Alajmi

Master's Theses

This thesis analyzes the relationship between the practice of an old tribal Bedouin oral tradition (Nabat poetry) and the politics of the nation-state in Kuwait. The historical context of this tradition, its development within modern state boundaries, and its current role in the politico-cultural exchange are all examined. Anthropological, ethnohistorical, and Arabic local printed resources are used. In addition, Bedouin oral traditions and personal observation are employed for final analysis. Unlike the pre-state Nabat, the current practice is institutionalized to become an essential aspect of state modern processes. A connection is suggested between the emphasis (in the current practice of …

Leaving The Nest: Why Fiscally-Sponsored Projects Seek Independence, Wendy Strickland

Master's Theses

Leaving the Nest: Why Fiscally-sponsored Projects Seek Independence takes a descriptive approach to the question of why fiscally-sponsored nonprofit organizations seek independence from their sponsors. Sampling projects from California's largest umbrella fiscal sponsors, this study found six factors to be the most common and most important reasons given by the leadership of the sponsored organizations for deciding to leave the sponsor. These six factors were: an economic equation that favored independent provision of essential services; the presence of a previously established plan to separate; a desire to brand the project's name separate from the fiscal sponsor's; a wish to avoid …

Graduate Programs In Nonprofit Administration: A Review Of The Roots Of Program Variability, Rebecca Murphy Marton

Master's Theses

Nonprofit management (NPM) education is a relatively new and dynamic academic field with the first programs established in the early 1980s. These programs have developed and multiplied with very little research in the field providing guidance in designing curricula or focusing on what skills are needed to manage a nonprofit organization.

Because degrees in nonprofit management (NPM) are granted by a variety of different schools, this paper attempted to assess the variability in curricular design that might occur as a result of this variability. The hypothesis tested was that the school of origin for a NPM program determines the content …

From The Postal Medium To Electronic Media: A Historical Overview Of The Development Of Distance Learning In Higher Education With A Focus On Correspondence Study And Electronic Delivery Methods, Robson Marinho

Master's Theses

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study was to overview the development of distance learning in higher education both in the United States and around the world, stressing the relationship between correspondence study and electronic delivery methods as a basis for understanding and fostering different distance-learning methodologies.

Significance of the Study

The significance of this study resides in the fact that the current technological revolution is challenging all traditional forms of higher education and pointing to distance learning as the great phenomenon of today’s educational world. If distance education has played a secondary role in higher education so …

The Role Of Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 In Glioma Invasion, Nicole Danielle Sauers

Master's Theses

Overexpression of matrix metalloproteinase 2, MMP-2, is correlated with highgrade gliomas in vivo. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether MMP-2 overexpression in glioma cell lines leads to increased invasion of glioma cells in vitro. The entire MMP-2 gene was isolated from U87, a glioma cell line known to have high expression of wild-type MMP-2. This :tvIMP-2 gene was inserted in a sense and antisense orientation into pCR3 .1 vectors with a CMV promoter to ensure high levels of expression. Glioma cell lines were transfected with the sense and antisense constructs, as well as the pCR3.l vector alone …

A Rationale For Interscholastic Athletics In Jesuit High Schools In The United States, Ryan Jude Maher

Master's Theses

Digitized thesis

The De(Con)Struction Of Butch And Nelly: Participatory Research Regarding Gender Identity And Gender Self-Concept Of Gay Men, Rexton C. Lynn

Master's Theses

Digitized thesis

The Impact Of Sociocultural Attitudes Toward Appearance And Media-Body Images On Women's Concern About Weight, Julianna M. Lyell

Master's Theses

Digitized thesis

Teachers' Perceived Effectiveness Of Their Evaluation Process At Selected School Districts, Heather Mcdougall

Master's Theses

Digitized thesis

Case Study Of San Francisco's Juvenile Probation Department's Community Service Program, Adrienne L. Blum

Master's Theses

The following cost/benefit case study researches the San Francisco Juvenile Probation Department's alternative sentencing Community Service Program. The CSP offers nonviolent, criminally charged youth the opportunity to perform community service at various nonprofit organizations in lieu of incarceration in juvenile hall. This study highlights the benefits received as well as the associated costs incurred by juvenile offenders and nonprofit organizations as a result of their participation in the Community Service Program. Suggestions for further research and possible improvements to the program are discussed after the case study findings and results are presented.

For the case study, current participants or recent …

Government Contracting And The Unionization Of San Francisco's Social Service Nonprofits, Jeanne Bell Peters

Master's Theses

This study established baseline data about union activity among San Francisco's nonprofit social service agencies. It examined associations between agency staff size, annual budget size, reliance upon government funding, and the experience of union activity. It further sought to assess executive directors' opinions about factors motivating employees to organize, as well as their opinions about the viability of unionization in the nonprofit sector. The data demonstrate a strong, positive association between agency staff size, annual budget size, reliance upon government funding, and the experience of union activity. Executive directors of nonprofit social service agencies in this study believe that wages …

Education As A Tool For Social Change: Case Study Of An Arizona Inner-City Charter School, Heather Koger Devich

Master's Theses

Digitized thesis

Chief Executive Officers Of California Environmental Organizations: A Study Of Personal Values Congruence With Organizational Mission, Christine Marie Schmidt

Master's Theses

This study surveyed the Chief Executive Officers of 300 California environmental organizations to investigate whether these officers were personally committed to their organizations' missions as demonstrated by 1) past and present activities in their personal lives that indicated personal values similar to those espoused by the organization, and 2) their intent to stay with their organization. It was hypothesized that the level of activity in the personal lives of the CEOs demonstrating personal commitment to their organizations would be positively related to their intent to stay with their organizations. It was also expected that there would be a negative association …

A Multi-Families Support Group With Vietnamese Adolescents And Their Parent Measuring Parent-Child Interaction, Buu Thai

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Sexual Orientation On The Process Of Identity Formation In Adolescence As Measured Through Imaginary Audience And Personal Fable Ideation, William Wasko Macatee

Master's Theses

Digitized thesis

Pastors For Peace And The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center: A Case Study Of Cooperation Between Two Nonprofit Organizations From Two Countries Without Diplomatic Relations, And With An Economic Embargo Enforced By One Country Against The Other, Alicia Beatriz Jrapko

Master's Theses

This thesis is a case study about an American nonprofit organization, Pastors for Peace, working with a Cuban counterpart, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center. This study is about cooperation between nonprofit organizations in two countries without diplomatic relations. In addition, there is an economic embargo imposed by the United States against Cuba. The research demonstrates that when an American nonprofit organization working abroad aims to change U.S. policy, the work will be controversial and difficult, and there will be some legal implications for the organization as an entity as well as for staff members and volunteers individually.

Job Satisfaction Of Vietnamese Social Workers In The Santa Clara County Social Services Agency, Minh-Tram Nguyen

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Chondrocranial And Oral Morphology Of Pipoid Frogs, Charles Christopher Swart

Master's Theses

The Pipoidea are a diverse group of frogs. Their diversity is demonstrated in their morphology, ecology, and behavior. One pipoid species, Xenopus laevis, has been used as a model system of developmental, physiological, and molecular studies of vertebrates. My work has focused on the developmental morphology of the chondrocranium and oral morphology of four pipoid taxa: Hymenochirus boettgeri, Rhinophrynus dorsalis, Pipa carvalhoi, and Xenopus laevis. Previous studies have suggested that the Anura may be diphyletic based on the unique characteristics of the chondrocanial morphology of pipoids. The chondrocranial and internal oral morphology of the pipoids indicates that as a group …