Digital Commons Network^™

Employment Discrimination On The Basis Of Sexual Orientation In Institutions Of Higher Education: A Survey Of Faculty Opinions, Catherine Ann Christie

Theses and Dissertations

Federal law does not prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. As is the case for other professionals, an educator who is a gay male or lesbian has had no protection from this form of discrimination unless it is specifically prohibited by a state or local law, or an institutional policy. Because they have been legally prohibited from marrying, domestic partners of gay and lesbian educators have not been entitled to share the employment benefits of their partners. This study examined opinions of faculty in four-year colleges and universities in Arkansas regarding employment discrimination based on sexual orientation in institutions …

A Decade Of Indecision: The Effects Of Federal Student Financial Aid Policy From 1987 To 1996 On Within-Year Persistence Of Four-Year Undergraduate Students, James Erwin Cofer, Sr.

Theses and Dissertations

Almost from the inception of the student loan program in the 1960's, there has been speculation about the impact of debtload on student decisions about attending college, persisting in college, and life decisions after graduation. However, little research has been done on this area. As Congress debates funding higher education, the question arises once more of the impact of loans on college student attendance. This study examines the influence of student debtload on college persistence, for the time periods 1986-87 and 1995-96, almost an entire decade. Using the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) of 1986-87 and the National Postsecondary …

Characteristics Of Students Who Seek Admission And Registration After The Beginning Of The Academic Term, Janet Vaughan Danley

Theses and Dissertations

Colleges and universities which permit students to apply for admission and/or register for classes after the beginning of the academic term may be adhering to an institutional policy which encourages unrestricted access to all qualified applicants. However, by permitting such students late entry, the late enrolling students, the students who were admitted and registered in a timely manner, the faculty, and the institution may suffer as a result. This study explored one institution's experience with late enrolling students. The students themselves were the primary focus of the study. Faculty and academic advisors who came into contact with the late enrolling …

Utopian Marriage In Nineteenth-Century America: Public And Private Discourse, Brenda Olsen Andrus

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a rhetorical analysis of utopian discourse about marriage in mid-nineteenth-century America. Although utopian communities are usually approached within the fields of history and sociology, a rhetorical analysis adds to the discussion by uncovering the discursive complexity of marriage beliefs within a rapidly changing culture. Discursive features of the Shaker, Oneida Community and Latter-day Saint texts are outlined and compared according to the following format:

Chapter One examines the textures of conflict within the dominant culture's views of marriage and gender roles in nineteenth-century America, with a brief overview of reform efforts of the day. This chapter provides …

Patterns Of Continuing Professional Development (Cpd) Activities Of Social Workers In Local Departments Of Social Services Or Welfare In Virginia, Anita H. Prince

Theses and Dissertations

Individuals employed as social workers in local public welfare agencies in Virginia are not required to have a social work degree or mandated to participate in continuing professional development activities as a condition of their employment. The study employed survey research to investigate Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities of Social Workers employed in local Departments of Social Services or Welfare in Virginia. Two social work-related focus groups and an expert panel of adult educators helped identify CPD activities used to construct the survey. The resulting twenty (20) CPD activities, used as the dependent variables for the study, were: formal education, …

The Relation Between The Nutritional Status And The Acute Respiratory Infections In Children Younger Than Five Years Of Age In The Indigenous, Black, And Mestizo Ethnic Groups Of The Rural Area In The Imbabura Province, 1998-1999, Sandra Chiles

Theses and Dissertations

The problems of social-economics, culture, politics, and health, among those, are factors that influence both directly and indirectly the style of life of hundreds of thousands of people, due to the lack of economic resources, unemployment, poverty, their own culture can lead to a more serious state of health, consequently causing problems of their nutritional state, such as obesity in its varying degrees of malnutrition, in addition to the presence of preventable illnesses such as acute respiratory disease (IRA), that seriously affect the infant population. Factors, consequences, everything becomes one vicious circle that can be broken thereby preventing more deaths …

The Structural Response And Performance Of General Hospitals In A Managed Care Environment, Denise M. Mccollum

Theses and Dissertations

The study purpose is to link hospital structure, represented by each hospital’s professional contingent, service mix, and inpatient capacity; and its environment, characterized by the penetration of managed care enrollees. The secondary purpose is to test the relationship between hospital structural change and subsequent hospital performance.

The study employs a non-experimental panel design, with a sample of 1882 community hospitals (service type: general medical and surgical). Environmental variables are measured for the base year 1989. Hospital structural variables are measured for 1989 and 1994, with change variables computed. Performance variables are measured for 1989 and 1995, with change computed for …

Variations In Health Promotion Practices Among Adult Hutterites, Ladean Morford

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Gangs : Myth Or Reality : An Examination Of The Gang Phenomenon In A Metropolitan City In A Rural State As Presented By The Regional News Print Media, Gerard Kottenbrock

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Baseline Data Collection On Anxiety And/Or Depression In Female Open Heart Surgery Patients 55 Years And Older, Cathy D. Devincenzi

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Bill Clinton's First Inaugural Speech : An Evaluation Using The Burkeian Pentad, Keri Indvik

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Towards A Pragmatics Of Poetic Metaphor, Catherine C. Kidwell

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Levels Of Cultural Competence Among Rural And Urban Nursing Graduate Students, Beth S. Sanford

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Quality Of Life, Self-Care, And Knowledge Of Women Suffering From Urinary Tract Infections, Tracy L. Wright

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Fatal Reaction : Generation X'S Expectations Of Violent Films, Keith B. Severson

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Visitor Evaluation: An Exploratory Study For The Usaf Museum, William J. Wosilius

Theses and Dissertations

Research was conducted to determine a viable museum visitor evaluation method for use at the USAF Museum, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH. A 44 item questionnaire was developed, tested, and administered to 288 visitors to measure attitudes and collect information regarding the USAF Museum visitor base. Constructs in the questionnaire included: motivation for visiting, evaluation of the museum experience, transportation issues, general awareness of museum services, and demographic information. Analysis of the data indicated that enthusiasm for aviation and aviation history were the primary motivating factors and that advertising had little or no effect on visitation. In addition, the USAF Museum was …

Jewels Of Promise, Carolyn L. Smitley

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Political Culture On The Northern Plains : North Dakota And The Nonpartisan Experience, Thomas P. Shilts

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the history of North Dakota during the era of the Nonpartisan League (roughly 1915 through 1921). A significant body of research on the League exists, but no study has yet specifically addressed itself to exploring the political culture of the League and of its opponents in such a way that the full nature of the Nonpartisan "revolt" is made clear. The League was indeed the result of farmers’ perception of economic exploitation at the hands of big business, yet it was more basically a proactive struggle for inclusion. While employing elements of agrarian ideology, the League was …

Four Girls Respond To Young Adult Horror Fiction, Betty Silliman

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study provides insight into the separate reading experience of four adolescent girls as each engaged in the reading and discussion of a popular, self-selected young adult horror novel. The analysis and interpretation of data focused on the appeal of texts and the sociological implications of the reading experience. While questions regarding the appeal of young adult horror fiction grew from work with adolescent female horror readers, the social dimension of the inquiry stemmed from concerns of critical literacy theorists with regard to the ideological content of texts and its potential to shape readers into accepting dominant views.

Data …

Guide To Web Site Promotion: How Companies Can Draw More Qualified Traffic To Their World Wide Web Sites, Donald L. Dunnington

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compile techniques available to public relations practitioners to promote World Wide Web sites to a targeted business-to-business audience, Without an active promotion program, using a variety of online and offline media, companies are unlikely to draw sufficient qualified traffic to their web sites to justify the cost of a site. Web technology is changing so fast, and content and usage are growing so quickly, that the only way to keep up is through use of online resources. Finding the resources specifically focused on web site promotion can be daunting, however, without guidance as …

Divorce, Family, And The Effects Upon Children In Educational Settings, Michael W. Stuber

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Interdisciplinary Public Relations: A Curriculum For Undergraduate Study At Oakwood College, Patrice Thomas Conwell

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to create a public relations curriculum for undergraduate study to prepare students as effective practitioners and communicators in the 21st century.

Public relations education has changed over the years to meet the needs and trends of the industry, and today is no exception. The continued rise of Integrated Marketing Communications, and the desire to strengthen the counseling and management functions of public relations make it necessary to evaluate undergraduate curricula to ensure students are being properly prepared to enter the workforce.

The undergraduate curricula of 11 schools were analyzed and compared for subject matter …

Abroad Again: Explorations Within The Genre Of Travel Writing., Marielle Risse

Theses and Dissertations

Travel writing is a critical subject of study as it is a place where so many fields overlap, including autobiography, fiction, historical records, geography, political science, sociology, and anthropology. From early writers, including the European pilgrim Etheria c. 385 C.E. and the Muslim contemporary of Marco Polo, Abdallah ibn Battuta, to present day authors, travelers have written interesting and important books about areas new to them.As the starting points to my discussion of the genre of travel writing, I use two of the most important studies within the field: Paul Fussell's Abroad: British Literary Travel Writing between the Wars (1980) …

An Investigation Of The Technology-Related Courses And Experiences In Five University Undergraduate Teacher Education Programs, Julie R. Mandes

Theses and Dissertations

One of the most relevant issues facing schools today is the incorporation of technology into classroom instruction. The literature reveals that knowledge is the most critical factor which determines the degree to which teachers integrate technology into their instruction. Teachers with high levels of anxiety are less likely to integrate technology into their curricula. Elementary school teachers are not generally comfortable and skilled in the use of instructional technology and are therefore unable to exploit its potential. It was the purpose of this study to define whether or not there is a need for undergraduate teacher education programs to further …

The Effect Of Radio Distance Education On Rowan University's Image, Gregory C. Potter Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

This study determined the effects a distance education course on Rowan University's campus radio station has on the image of the institution. The study also examined how a distance education program could enable Rowan to reach the goals of its strategic plan.

Four focus groups of Rowan University students revealed their attitudes about the university's image, distance education, radio as a medium for distance education and what effects distance education has on collegiate image. The focus groups included traditional and non-traditional students, students enrolled in the radio distance education course at Rowan University and students not enrolled in the course. …

Comparison Of Academic Success Between Students Who Live In Single Parent Households And Students Who Live In Two-Parent Households, Susan A. Ficco

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of thus study was to compare the impact household composition has on the academic achievement of elementary school students. The sample contained 83 third and fourth grade students from a small Southern New Jersey school district, 22 from single parent households, and 61 from two parent households. The grade point averages for reading, language and mathematics were recorded for two consecutive marking periods and the measuring device used was a paired sample t-test. The results of the study show a high correlation between household composition and academic achievement. The grade point averages of the students in two parent …

An Annotated Bibliography For The Jewish Holocaust Curriculum For Aura School, Elk Township, N.J., Eileen May Goodman

Theses and Dissertations

With the adoption of the New Jersey State Mandate for teaching Jewish Holocaust Education and other genocides, a curriculum was written for Aura School. To complete the project and make the literature easily accessible, an annotated bibliography of books related to Holocaust studies was constructed for the school to assist the student as well as the teaching staff.

After reviewing the curriculum from the State of New Jersey as well as the one written for Aura School, a compiling of recommended books from the school library was formulated. Subjects other than the Holocaust were referenced, such as: World War II, …

A Study Of The Perceptions Among Counselors And High School Students Regarding The Need For A Community College In Cape May County, New Jersey, Michelle D. Myles

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare high school guidance counselors' perceptions in general regarding college attendance with those of their graduating students. It was posited, as well, that guidance counselor rankings and the student rankings of five college-choice aspects would be related; namely, that the guidance counselors' choices would be ranked in the same order that the high school students' choices were ranked, and that the students' choices would be significantly related to those aspects relevant to community college attendance. A pilot study was conducted first over phone interviews of the guidance counselors from the four public high …

Effectiveness Of Conflict Resolution Programs In The Schools: A Study Of Students’ Coping Skills Before And After Participation In A Conflict Resolution/Peer Mediation Program, Tammy Hobbs

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to evaluate students' coping styles before and after a conflict resolution program intervention. The 6th grade middle school class was administered the Coping Response Inventory (CRI) prior to receiving the conflict resolution training. The conflict resolution/peer mediation program was designed to empower students by giving them the tools to challenge and solve problems. The program focuses on the following areas: affirmation, communication, conflict resolution, cooperation, and bias awareness/appreciation of differences.

The demographics include the following: The sample group consisted of 6th grade suburban middle school students. There were 21 subjects. 57% were male and …

The Recruitment Of Partners In Dual-Career Couples As Faculty In Higher Education, Heidi L. Newell

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.