Digital Commons Network^™

Childhood Fire-Setting: A Contextual Understanding, Andrew Ward

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Previous research on fire-setting has been either totally theoretical or has been based on limited contact with individuals who set the fires. This dissertation accessed fire-setting through interviews with three male adults who set fires as children. Background information was acquired from the participants to construct the context in which each instance of fire-setting occurred. The purpose of this project was to understand each individual's life as a child in relation to his fire-setting behavior.

The initial goal of this project was to gain access to the actual experience of setting a fire; however, this proved to be an elusive …

Migrant Mobilization: Factors Contributing To The Success Of The Coalition Of Immokaleee Workers, Jane Walsh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

What factors have facilitated the success of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW)? This is the key question that this study attempts to answer. The answer to this question can provide valuable lessons for other farmworker organizations and unions. Social movement literature emphasizes 1) effective leadership; 2) collective identity; 3) the strategic use of various sources of power; 4) conscience constituency involvement; and 5) political opportunities as factors necessary for mobilization. I have used these five factors to analyze the success of the CIW.

The design of this research study includes both participant-observation and in-depth interviews. Subjects for in-person interviews …

Envisioning Second-Order Change In America's Responses To Troubled And Troublesome Youth, Lois A. Weithorn

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Hiv/Aids Education In The Public High Schools Of Three Counties In Southwestern Pennsylvania, Timothy Sheets

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Infection by HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, continues to grow worldwide. The only way to stop infection is to educate the population on prevention by identifying methods of transmission and behaviors that put a person most at risk. Schools are an effective place to teach young people about HIV. The Pennsylvania School Code requires that HIV/AIDS education be provided to all public school students while details of the instruction are locally determined. This study investigated HIV/AIDS education in three counties of southwestern Pennsylvania: what was included in the curricula, what was taught to the students, and how the content …

‘Þæt Is Yrre': The Construction And Use Of Anger In Anglo-Saxon Literature, Hilary E. Fox

Masters Theses

An examination of the linguistic background and literary conceptions of anger in Old English. The first point of analysis will be the vocabulary of used to discuss anger and its manifestations in Old English prose didactic texts, particularly homilies and translations from Latin materials. Subsequent chapters will discuss anger as a literary phenomenon, first with respect to its use in the Old English hagiographic poem The Passion of St. Juliana and then Beowulf. The goal of these two chapters collectively is to outline the social use ( or misuse) of anger, and Christian understandings of how anger must be …

Whither Color-Blind Love? A Foucauldian Discourse Analysis Of Love In Black And White, Brian A. Mcelwain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Interracial marriage remains one of the most emotionally charged issues in the troubled racial history of the United States. Love in Black and White: The Triumph of Love over Prejudice and Taboo is Mark and Gail Mathabane's relatively popular memoir of their interracial marriage. Using this text as a means of access to the discourses surrounding interracial marriage in the post-Civil Rights era, this study applies the key Foucauldian concepts of discourse, power, subjectivity, and critique to an interpretation of this text in relation to its sociohistorical context. Color-Blind Love emerges as the dominant discourse of the memoir and this …

A Study Of The Effect Of An Integrated Continuum Of Intensive Crisis Intervention Services (Icicis), Including Assertive Community Treatment (Act), On Civil Commitments In North Central West Virginia., Robert D. Williams

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The mental health service delivery system in West Virginia is ineffective at resolving psychiatric emergencies, as evidenced by a high civil commitment rate, leading to an annual {dollar}4 million non-budgeted expense to the state. West Virginia's two State hospitals are regularly at capacity, causing civil committed patients to be diverted to community psychiatric units, often at the state's expense. At one of the state's 13 Comprehensive Community Mental Health Centers (CCMHC), United Summit Center, two evidence based treatment modalities, ICICIS and ACT, are examined for their effectiveness at lowering the civil commitment rate per 100,000 and civil commitment hospitalization days. …

A Home To Run To: Ywca Shelter Complex For Fargo, North Dakota, Reggi Helling

Architecture Theses

The purpose of this thesis project is to create a place for the Young Women’s Christian Association to provide assistance to troubled women and children in the Fargo area and surrounding communities. This project will combine the needs of the YWCA with the design solutions used by the Modern Movement era to create a facility that is both functional and comfortable. The new YWCA complex will focus on the healing needs of the environment by incorporating natural ventilation and sunlight in all spaces.

Look Before You Leap And Keep On Looking: Lessons From The Institutionalization Of Court-Connected Mediation, Bobbi Mcadoo, Nancy A. Welsh

Faculty Scholarship

This article will use the institutionalization of general civil mediation into the courts as a case study, with both hopeful and cautionary lessons for policy makers. This article will (1) examine the goals created for court-connected ADR; (2) assess to what extent court-connected mediation has achieved these goals, from the perspective of judges, lawyers, and parties; and (3) and propose reforms of court-connected mediation to better ensure the achievement of justice.

An Assisted Living Development For People With Traumatic Brain Injuries, Jill Bernhagen

Architecture Theses

My thesis project focuses on an assisted living facility for people with traumatic brain injuries. It incorporates a vocational area where residents can work and learn skills that will help them to live more independently. On site staff will provide direct care and supervision for those requiring it. There will also be recreational accommodations. The residents will be encouraged to live as independently as possible. They will be able to use public transportation to get to a shopping center, supermarket, and work. The facility will emphasize progress in their recovery and aim for the best possible living conditions.

North Dakota Youth Correctional Center: An Exploration Of A Multi-Faceted Campus, Lisa K. Jerke

Architecture Theses

The campus of the North Dakota Youth Correctional Center (NDYCC) lies nestled between the Heart River to the east and the scenic buttes to the south. Just outside the city center of Mandan, North Dakota. Due to a disconnected campus, NDYCC is presently struggling to implement a new treatment entitled, Educating for Quality by Understanding Interpersonal Potential (EQUIP), which is a treatment approach focusing on cognitive restructuring, anger management, social skills, and social decision-making. My project will address this problem through the re-design of the campus masterplan and the design of a new cottage prototype. To further enable NDYCC’s treatment …

Movie House: Fantasizing The Ideal, Saint Paul, Minnesota, Travis Sheridan Bean

Architecture Theses

The focus for this thesis project is the need to represent the real or fantasize the ideal in an urban environment with the design of a multi screen movie house. Designing a structure which involves a transition from the real world into one where space and time have been temporarily suspended. Through research, digital technology has advanced sound and projection equipment. Current cinemas throughout St. Paul, lack the guest amenities and visual intensity of the movies shown there. The design of a revolutionary multi screen Movie House would expand cinematic entertainment to the wonderfully energetic St. Paul seven corners area. …

Native Architecture: Sustainable Design Theory Applied To Affordable Housing In A Rural Setting, David Witham

Architecture Theses

This project will seek a holistic and sustainable solution to rural housing and community design. The community of Cannonball will be the subject of this design study. Implementation of principles of sustainability will be essential to the final design solution. Quality, meaningful design must be more than functional and beautiful, it must also be a solution native to its context. To achieve this end an in depth analysis of the cultural, economic, and environmental systems is essential. This project will seek to define a notion of progress specific for the community of Cannonball and achieve that notion through effective design.

A New American High School, Rachel M. Riopel

Architecture Theses

This project is about the design of a secondary school for the community of Farmington, Minnesota and Independent School District 192. The site chosen for this project is near the current school placement so as to share existing amenities reducing impact on the site. As the population of Farmington is on the rise, the need for a secondary school is imminent. This thesis is a response to the challenge of meeting high standards of education with a building that successfully responds to the need for a healthy and supportive environment for its students and staff. The intention is to design …

Lift Every Voice: African American Students' Beliefs Of Their School Climate., Constinia Charbonnette

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The general purposes of this study were three-fold. The first purpose was to gain an in-depth understanding of West Virginia African American students’ beliefs of their overall school climate. The second purpose of this study was to examine African American students’ beliefs of factors that may positively and negatively affect their academic achievement. Last, the third purpose was to examine participants’ beliefs of high and low achieving African American students. A purposeful sample of 151 secondary students (grades 9-12); in eight West Virginia counties were surveyed and interviewed, using the Generalized Belief Measurement instrument and focus group interviews. Findings from …

Paradise Negotiated: Early Modern Women Writing Utopia, 1640--1760, Lisa K. Brewer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Utopian writing by early modern women traditionally has been left out of the canon of utopian literature because it has been overlooked, undervalued, and often does not conform to the genre characteristics set forth by the example of Thomas More and other male writers of "classic utopias." The works recognized by scholars as fitting into this genre have all been written by men, and the few agreed upon works considered as "utopia proper" describe an imaginary, perfect, political state. However, because class and gender greatly influence the form and content of utopia, I argue for the expansion of the definition …

A Study On The Impact Of Visual Stimuli On Initial Saccades., Sruti Ramnath

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The ballistic movement of the human eye to comprehend a scene is known as saccades. Saccadic eye movements have been studied by researchers to understand their role in visual cognition. These eye movements are key to providing the brain with visual information that aids in the interpretation and perception of the scene being viewed. Though saccades are primarily task driven, it has been theorized that the first few saccades are triggered by low-level image properties that are inherent in a scene. Determining and evaluating these properties would enhance the understanding of visual cognition and, thus, benefit the development of “eye-friendly” …

Community Factors And Educational Attainment In A North Appalachian Area., Olena L. Welling

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Regression analysis suggests that district-to-district differences in high school completion rates are positively related to post-high school economic and educational opportunities. High school completion rates are negatively related to the costs of schools. Dropping out of high school is the students’ attempt to rationally respond to their environment and social circumstances. Thus, dropping out can be interpreted as a rational phenomenon. Students are calculating, often unself-consciously, the costs of staying in school versus the returns to education. Students are acting rational in responding to the constraints and opportunities of their social circumstances. District-level high school completion rates were regressed on …

Treaties, Custom, Iteration, And Public Choice, John K. Setear

Chicago Journal of International Law

The basic question asked in this paper can be simply stated. Assume that, in attempting to effect international legal cooperation, a national government consciously chooses between using treaties and using customary law as the form in which to embody its cooperative efforts. Which form of international law should we expect it to choose? I analyze this question using two approaches that may be termed "rational choice" methodologies since they assume that the relevant decisionmakers rationally pursue known goals. The first approach, which I call the "iterative perspective," focuses on the efforts of a rational, public-minded government to minimize the transaction …

La Depresión En El Ministro Adventista Del Séptimo Día, De Las Uniones Interoceánica Y Sur De México: Una Aproximación De Sus Causas, Incidencia Y Posibles Soluciones, David Manuel Pacheco Cocom

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Today depression affects millions. Its causes include social and psychosocial factors, as well as physical problems. The adverse atmosphere of the large cities, together with the speed of change and the stress of modem life, foster depression It has been recognized that persons in helping professions, ministers among them, are more prone to depression than others. Much is expected of pastors, both by their parishioners and their superiors. Often they work long hours and thus forego the support of their families. With these factors in mind, I studied depression among Seventh-day Adventist pastors in southern Mexico, looking for its frequency …

A Survey And Analysis Of Marital And Religious Perspectives Among First-Generation Chinese Seventh-Day Adventists In North America, John Kam-Hong Lee

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

Most Chinese immigrants have experienced a great cultural shock in North America, and have been influenced by Western materialism and secularism. Their marriages and families are also affected by the environment and the secular society. Since Chinese Adventists in North America are exposed to secular influences, the traditional perception of marriage is undermined.

Method

Surveys were mailed to approximately a thousand individuals in Chinese Seventh-day Adventist Churches and Companies in North America. Additional surveys were hand-delivered to Church members. There was no attempt made to select a sample from the population in a random fashion. Consequently, the findings should …

The Hospitalized Adolescent: Fears, Stressors, And Coping Skills., Lora L. Garlitz

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This paper presents the findings of an investigation to determine whether of not there is a difference in hospitalized adolescents and non-hospitalized adolescents. The participants were 60 adolescents between the ages of 12 to 18 years. Their fears, stressors, and coping skills were evaluated by using three instruments: a 35-item self-report test on coping; a 108-item self-report test on fears; and a 15-item self-report test on stress. The results revealed that on specific measures hospitalized adolescents exhibited a statistically significantly less degree of emotional upset during hospitalization than did the community sample. Implications of these results in determining procedures to …

Social Anxiety In College Students: The Interaction Of Parental Control And Proximity., Jennifer A. Chrystan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the relationship between parental control and parental proximity as they influence social anxiety in young adults. Previous research has consistently demonstrated the positive relationship between parental control and social anxiety. However, studies that have examined the desirability of continued parental attachment (proximity) have resulted in a contradictory body of literature. It was hypothesized that two interaction terms, mother protection by mother proximity and father protection by father proximity, would significantly predict participants’ self-reported level of social anxiety after controlling for mother and father parenting variables. Specifically, it was hypothesized that among …

Coach And Athlete Burnout: The Role Of Coaches' Decision-Making Style., Brandonn S. Harris

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Recent burnout research has examined coaches and athletes collectively to determine the influence of coach behaviors on coach and athlete burnout. Results revealed a potential incongruity between decision-making behaviors and their influence on coach and athlete burnout. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between decision-making styles of coaches and burnout among coaches and athletes; gender influence on burnout was also examined. Collegiate swimmers and coaches completed questionnaires assessing burnout and decision-making behaviors. Results revealed a significant relationship between athlete burnout and autocratic coaching behaviors. A significant inverse relationship emerged between athlete burnout and democratic behaviors. …

The Role Of Cognitive Factors In The Development Of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder., Lisa B. Greene

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The present study examined the relation between the development of PTSD and coping, posttraumatic cognitions, resilience, spirituality, and religiosity. A total of 91 participants (out of 304 screened) were divided into three groups—Control, Trauma Exposed, and PTSD. Participants completed the Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale (PDS), Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WOCQ), Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory (PTCI), ConnorDavidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale (SIBS), and Religiosity Measures Questionnaire (RMQ). Results indicated that the Trauma Exposed group scored the lowest on the Self-Controlling, Accepting Responsibility, and Escape-Avoidance subscales of the WOCQ while the PTSD group scored the highest. Additionally, the Trauma …

The Instructional Control Of Problem Solving: Emergent Relations And Blending Of Repertoires., Harold E. Lobo

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study investigated the effects of strategic and tactical instructions on emergent stimulus relations. Sixteen female college students completed a linear-series baseline training with three potential equivalence classes of five members each. After successfully completing baseline training, participants completed repeated blocks of testing with probes for all possible emerging relations. Six participants performed below 70% correct on these probes. Three of these participants received subsequent training with a strategic instruction, whereas the remaining three participants were trained with tactical instructions. Afterwards, these six participants resumed repeated testing. Performance of participants who received the strategic instruction improved significantly, with correct responding …

Empathic Adolescents: Associations With Religiosity And Spirituality., Bethanie Renee Morris

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study evaluated religiosity, spirituality, and empathy to provide further clarification on their relations. As shown in the research, religiosity, spirituality, and empathy are generally related to favorable effects in adolescents when examined alone. Therefore, it is important to recognize how these constructs interact together. Four hundred twenty-eight adolescents completed self-report questionnaires that assessed levels of religiosity, spirituality, and empathy. Participants’ religiosity and spirituality were assessed using a scale devised by the researchers and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI; Davis, 1980, 1995) was used to measure empathy. Adolescents who reported greater levels of involvement in religious services had greater levels …

The Effects Of Wrist Proprioception On Joint Stability For Forward Falls., Patricia L. Hatches

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Inherent feedforward and feedback reactions to falls diminish with age and changes in daily acitivity making injuries more likely with falling. Research on the wrist and proprioceptive exercises for stability during falls is lacking. The purpose of this study was to determine if wrist proprioceptive training could enhance neuromuscular control aiding in wrist stability when falling. This was a 2 x 3 factorial design. Thirty healthy subjects free of upper extremity injuries were randomly assigned to one of three groups. The groups were tested on a Biodex Stability System over four levels as a pre and posttest. Between testing subjects …

The Relationships Of Trait Learning Relevance With Teacher Communication Behaviors And Learning Outcomes., Vicki E. Bennett

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This investigation explored the relationship of trait learning relevance to teacher communication behaviors and student outcomes. The operationalized student outcomes were student affect for teacher, student affect for course content, and student motivation. The operationalized teacher communication behaviors were teacher clarity, teacher immediacy, and teacher socio-communicative style (assertiveness and responsiveness). Learning relevance was operationalized through use of questions based on Herzberg’s Motivator-Hygiene Theory, five educational relevance questions scaled using the generalized belief scale, and a modified organizational orientation scale. Previous research has yielded inconsistent results in relation to the nature of students’ perceptions of state learning relevance and learning outcomes. …

An Analysis Of The Shifts In Cultural Flows Between The United States And Germany, 1890-1929., Misty D. Rodeheaver

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis examines the period from the last decade of the nineteenth century to the start of the Great Depression to explore the dynamics of popular cultural flow from the United States and Germany. World War I serves as the medium for the emergence of drastic changes in the popular cultural structures of both states. This paper underscores the influence of the war as a seminal event transforming the cultural exchange between America and Germany, as well as provides an analysis of several cultural modes of expression such as music, film, architecture, and the press. Prior to World War I, …