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2007

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Learning Video Preferences Using Visual Features And Closed Captions, Darin Brezeale Dec 2007

Learning Video Preferences Using Visual Features And Closed Captions, Darin Brezeale

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Viewers of video now have more choices than ever. As the number of choices increases, the task of searching through these choices to locate video of interest is becoming more difficult. Current methods for learning a viewer's preferences in order to automate the search process rely either on video having content descriptions or on having been rated by other viewers identified as being similar. However, much video exists that does not meet these requirements. To address this need, we use hidden Markov models to learn the preferences of a viewer by combining visual features and closed captions. We validate our …

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The Race Gap: Education Of Black Youth In Boston, Alix Cantave Ph.D., Cheryl Holmes Ph.D., Barbara Lewis Ph.D. Dec 2007

The Race Gap: Education Of Black Youth In Boston, Alix Cantave Ph.D., Cheryl Holmes Ph.D., Barbara Lewis Ph.D.

William Monroe Trotter Institute Publications

On April 23, 2007, The William Monroe Trotter Institute held a Roundtable convening more than fifty individuals at UMass Boston for a two-hour conversation on the education of black children in Boston. Roundtable attendees represented a balanced mix of professional and lay persons, including educators, advocates, academics, elected officials and policymakers, and donors. Attendees included the Suffolk County Sheriff, the Acting Superintendent of Boston Public Schools (BPS), and the president of the Boston Teacher’s Union.

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Beetles For Breakfast: What The Fda Should Be Telling You, Kaycee L. Wolf Dec 2007

Beetles For Breakfast: What The Fda Should Be Telling You, Kaycee L. Wolf

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Imagine sitting down to breakfast and eating strawberry yogurt with a glass of grapefruit juice. You think you are eating a healthy meal, but along with vitamins, calcium, and nutrients, you are getting a side of crushed beetles. Cochineal extract and carmine, two color additives derived from the cochineal beetle, color many foods such as strawberry yogurt. When people consume products with color additives, most do not realize that they could be ingesting insects, which can also be potentially dangerous, not to mention possibly unappetizing or upsetting. Imagine that one minute you are sitting down to eat a healthy cup …

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Impact Of Georgia's Leadership School For School Improvement Training On The Change Leadership Behaviors Of Selected Principals, Scharbrenia Marshelle Lockhart Dec 2007

Impact Of Georgia's Leadership School For School Improvement Training On The Change Leadership Behaviors Of Selected Principals, Scharbrenia Marshelle Lockhart

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This mixed research study explored the perceived change leader behaviors of 18 GLISI-trained principals and 71 observers. This study also determined whether differences existed between the perceptions of 18 GLISI-trained principals and 5 non- GLISI-trained principals regarding their change leader behaviors on five domains of Kouzes and Posners (2003) LPI survey. Two 30-item surveys were used in this study: LPI-Self and LPI-Observer. These surveys were completed by 23 principals and 71 observers. In addition, seven open-ended questions were answered by GLISI-trained principals. Qualitative analysis involved indepth interviews with five GLISI-trained principals. Research Question One revealed significant differences between GLISI-trained principals …

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Phenomenology, Film And Curriculum Theory: An Inquiry Into The Intellectual Persona Of Teachers, Tara Danielle Britt Dec 2007

Phenomenology, Film And Curriculum Theory: An Inquiry Into The Intellectual Persona Of Teachers, Tara Danielle Britt

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Teachers have lost autonomy due to the restraints placed on them by local and state standards and standardized testing. I am concerned that teachers have lost sight of their purpose as intellectuals who guide students in the development of critical thinking skills. In this dissertation, I used film to examine teachers' abilities to think critically. I used the phenomenological perspective of Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Vivian Sobchack to examine how teachers physically and mentally react to representations of teachers and teaching as selected films depict them. I considered how the teachers' embodiment of film played a part in guiding them to …

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Modeling An Information Literacy Programme For Undergraduates: A Soft Systems Methodology Approach / Nor Edzan Che Nasir, Che Nasir Nor Edzan Dec 2007

Modeling An Information Literacy Programme For Undergraduates: A Soft Systems Methodology Approach / Nor Edzan Che Nasir, Che Nasir Nor Edzan

Student Works (2000-2009)

In its simplest form, information literacy is defined as the ability to recognise a need for information and from there on, one is able to locate, retrieve, evaluate and use the procured information effectively. The acquisition of information literacy skills is deemed by many as a necessity for the Information Age and it is termed by many as a life long learning skill. Set against such a background, this study is centred on the issue of information literacy competencies of Malaysian final year ICT undergraduates. The focus is on final year undergraduates at the Faculty of Computer Science and Information …

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School Counselor Perceptions And Competencies For Closing The Achievement Gap : Implications For Counselor And Higher Education Programs For All Educators., Susan Rardon Rose Dec 2007

School Counselor Perceptions And Competencies For Closing The Achievement Gap : Implications For Counselor And Higher Education Programs For All Educators., Susan Rardon Rose

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

"If this generation of youth is lost, much of the hope for an economically, socially and technologically strong nation will also be lost." - Kuykendall, 1992 When youths become convinced that they will not be able to make it in mainstream America, they tend to take the skills they have and use them to take the low roads of life. Even though all citizens will ultimately be affected by the success or failure of these youths, it is a challenge for educators to provide ways to prepare them to choose the high road as the path for their lives. The …

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Perturbations In Protein Dynamics Associated With Ligand Binding To The Blood Coagulation Enzymes Thrombin And Factor Xiii., Thomas Michael Sabo Dec 2007

Perturbations In Protein Dynamics Associated With Ligand Binding To The Blood Coagulation Enzymes Thrombin And Factor Xiii., Thomas Michael Sabo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In blood coagulation, the serine protease thrombin is a multifaceted enzyme that interacts with multiple proteins. Thrombin utilizes two anion binding exosites (ABE-I and II) to supplement binding to fibrinogen and to the platelet receptor GpIba, two proteins instrumental in clot formation. Approximately 7% to 15% of the fibrinogen ? chain exists as the highly anionic ?' variant ( 410 PEHPAETEY S DSLY S PEDDL 427) , which has been shown to bind ABE-II. GpIba possesses a similar anionic stretch of residues ( 269 DEGDTDLY S DY S Y S PEEDTEG 286 ); however, the exact destination of thrombin binding …

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Finite Element Modeling Of Soft Tissue Deformation., Hongjian Shi Dec 2007

Finite Element Modeling Of Soft Tissue Deformation., Hongjian Shi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Computer-aided minimally invasive surgery (MIS) has progressed significantly in the last decade and it has great potential in surgical planning and operations. To limit the damage to nearby healthy tissue, accurate modeling is required of the mechanical behavior of a target soft tissue subject to surgical manipulations. Therefore, the study of soft tissue deformations is important for computer-aided (MIS) in surgical planning and operation, or in developing surgical simulation tools or systems. The image acquisition facilities are also important for prediction accuracy. This dissertation addresses partial differential and integral equations (PDIE) based biomechanical modeling of soft tissue deformations incorporating the …

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The Changes Of Fructos-2,6-Bisphosphate Level In Transgenic Mice Causing Cardiomyopathy., Jianxun Wang 1969- Dec 2007

The Changes Of Fructos-2,6-Bisphosphate Level In Transgenic Mice Causing Cardiomyopathy., Jianxun Wang 1969-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Heart failure is recognized as a major cause of death among diabetics. In type I and II diabetes, glucose uptake, glycolysis and pyruvate oxidation are impaired, and fatty acid utilization increases. These alterations in metabolism contribute toward cardiac contractile function. There is a gap in our understanding on how alterations in glycolytic metabolite fructose-2,6-bisphosphate (F-2,6-P 2 ) affects cardiac dysfunction. Two cardiac-specific overexpression of PFK-2 (phosphofructose kinase-2) transgenic models were used to investigate the role of altered metabolism by F-2,6-P 2 in provoking cardiomyopathy. One model is with the PFK-2 kinase active and phosphatase inactive enzyme called MK and another …

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Therapeutic Targeting Of Tumor Associated Macrophages., Stephanie Kaye Watkins 1981- Dec 2007

Therapeutic Targeting Of Tumor Associated Macrophages., Stephanie Kaye Watkins 1981-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Previous studies on the mechanistic induction of anti-tumor responses by IL-12 cytokine therapy have focused on the adaptive immune response, specifically the activation NK cells and T cells as the primary targets of IL-12 treatment. In contrast, little attention has been given to the potential role of macrophages in the initiation of anti-tumor responses by IL-12 therapy despite reports that macrophages play a major role in promoting tumor growth and metastasis and in suppressing anti-tumor immune responses. Based on the functional adaptivity hypothesis, which is the concept that macrophages functionally adapt, rather than differentiate into specific mature subsets, in response …

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New Teacher Job Satisfaction : Effects Of General Job Facets And Teacher Job Specific Facets., Aimee G. Webb Dec 2007

New Teacher Job Satisfaction : Effects Of General Job Facets And Teacher Job Specific Facets., Aimee G. Webb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study addressed the job satisfaction of new teachers in Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS). in Jefferson County, Kentucky. The JCPS district is the 29th largest in the United Sates and serves over 98,000 students. Understanding what contributes to the satisfaction and retention of new teachers in a large urban school district has implications for cost effective human resource management and student achievement. The researcher mailed a district-wide survey questionnaire about new teacher job satisfaction using procedures developed by Dillman (2000). The survey mailing yielded a sample of 630 participants. The researcher computed: (a) descriptive statistics, (b) principal components factor …

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Globalization And Social Work Education : An Initial International Inquiry., Elaine Rushmore Wright Dec 2007

Globalization And Social Work Education : An Initial International Inquiry., Elaine Rushmore Wright

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With an increasing awareness of a global-local reality, social work research and theorizing on globalization is limited but growing. From a multinational perspective, the purpose of this dissertation was to contribute to the emerging professional discourse through (a) an examination of definitions and dimensions of globalization and (b) and an exploration of the impact of globalization on social work education. Perspectives on globalization were collected on a newly designed and translated survey from 46 social work educators from schools and social work in China, Germany, Russia, and the United States of America. Descriptive analysis and the coding of themes were …

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Optimal Allocation Of Trucking Workload At Ge Consumer And Industrial., Xu Yang 1983- Dec 2007

Optimal Allocation Of Trucking Workload At Ge Consumer And Industrial., Xu Yang 1983-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Consumer and Industrial group of the General Electric Company (GE) allocates its shipping truckload to seventeen different trucking companies over 701 different routes from each of its nine terminals to 48 contiguous states. One of the seventeen trucking companies is its wholly owned subsidiary, which is PDCO. All of the others are contract-based trucking companies. GE Consumer and Industrial managers realized that they were not allocating the entire trucking capacity in an optimal fashion to the seventeen trucking companies, and the spreadsheet-based analytical tool used on a daily basis could not generate an optimal or near optimal solution. They …

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Eigenvector-Based Multidimensional Frequency Estimation : Identifiability, Performance, And Applications., Jun Liu Dec 2007

Eigenvector-Based Multidimensional Frequency Estimation : Identifiability, Performance, And Applications., Jun Liu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Multidimensional frequency estimation is a classic signal processing problem that has versatile applications in sensor array processing and wireless communications. Eigenvalue-based two-dimensional (2-D) and N -dimensional ( N -D) frequency estimation algorithms have been well documented, however, these algorithms suffer from limited identifiability and demanding computations. This dissertation develops a framework on eigenvector-based N -D frequency estimation, which contains several novel algorithms that estimate a structural matrix from eigenvectors and then resolve the N -D frequencies by dividing the elements of the structural matrix. Compared to the existing eigenvalue-based algorithms, these eigenvector-based algorithms can achieve automatic pairing without an extra …

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Constructing The Robert Kingsley Papers., Heidi Caudill Dec 2007

Constructing The Robert Kingsley Papers., Heidi Caudill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a documentation of my efforts to organize the Robert Kingsley Papers held in the Margaret M. Bridwell Art Library at the University of Louisville. Motivated by the desire to preserve a record of his life's work, Louisville architect Robert K. Kingsley donated the collection of personal papers in 1993, shortly before his death from brain cancer. The Kingsley papers remained in its original state of disorder from 1993 to 2007, when I took on the role of archivist with the intention of making the collection available to researchers and scholars. I organized the five boxes of records …

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Molecular Interactions Between The Wilms' Tumor Transcription Factor And The Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor During Nephrogenesis And Its Impact On Fetal Programming Of Renal Disease., Adrian Nanez Dec 2007

Molecular Interactions Between The Wilms' Tumor Transcription Factor And The Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor During Nephrogenesis And Its Impact On Fetal Programming Of Renal Disease., Adrian Nanez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Embryonic development requires the orchestration of temporally precise genetic events that culminate in the formation of a complete organism. The molecular mechanisms responsible for ontogenesis are regulated by environmental and somatic factors in utero that activate or repress the expression of numerous genetic elements resulting in fetal programming of adult diseases. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is an important nuclear transcription factor both during embryogenesis and throughout maturity in multiple organisms. Building upon interesting studies establishing a direct, novel link between AHR and post-transcriptional regulation of the Wilms' tumor suppressor ( WT1 ) gene, the overall goal of the project …

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The Effects Of Transition Intervention On Students With Mild Disabilities., Yvonne Anton Kelley Niemann 1939- Dec 2007

The Effects Of Transition Intervention On Students With Mild Disabilities., Yvonne Anton Kelley Niemann 1939-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The process of transition from high school to adult life is particularly important for students with mild disabilities because these students show a pattern of overwhelmingly low expectations and progress. Transition services, self-determination, and focus on outcomes are essential to improve success. Curriculum designed around the interests and abilities of the student, with assistance to meet goals through a coordinated set of activities, academics, work experiences, and personal insight is essential. The STEP Grant supported students with mild disabilities in collaboration with the University of Louisville and a metropolitan school district in Kentucky. Helping students obtain their high school diplomas …

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Gene Therapy And Cellular Transplantation : Towards A Combination Strategy For Spinal Cord Injury Repair., Ahmed Abdelzaher Abdellatif Dec 2007

Gene Therapy And Cellular Transplantation : Towards A Combination Strategy For Spinal Cord Injury Repair., Ahmed Abdelzaher Abdellatif

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The combination of viral mediated gene delivery, tissue engineering, and Schwann cell (SC) transplantation offer a promising strategy to enhance axonal regeneration and functional recovery following spinal cord injury (SCI). The rationale and feasibility of using such combination has been extensively reviewed in Chapter 1. The study presented in Chapter 2 showed that lentiviral vectors are most suitable in situations where stable long term transgene expression is needed, while adenovirus and retrovirus are more suited for transient gene delivery. Tissue engineering combined with Schwann cell (SC) transplantation is a promising method to enhance regeneration and remyelination of axons following a …

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The Mausoleum Of Augustus : Expanding Meaning From Its Inception To Present Day., Susan L. Fugate Brangers 1970- Dec 2007

The Mausoleum Of Augustus : Expanding Meaning From Its Inception To Present Day., Susan L. Fugate Brangers 1970-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation I examine the meaning of the Mausoleum of Augustus and how this meaning has evolved and expanded over its two thousand years of existence. The discussion of the meaning of the tomb has often been neglected in previous scholarship due to the continuing debates over possible reconstructions of its appearance, probable antecedents for its design and questions concerning its date of construction. I propose the Mausoleum was constructed primarily as a victory monument. This message is conveyed through the use of architectural elements typical of victory monuments that can be found in and around the city of …

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A Cross National Validation Of Child Sexual Abuse Predictors., Juanita E. Briceno-Perriott Dec 2007

A Cross National Validation Of Child Sexual Abuse Predictors., Juanita E. Briceno-Perriott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An exploratory cross national study was conducted to determine if factors identified in the existing literature predictive for CSA in developed countries were also valid and predictive CSA factors for females in Belize, a developing country. The conceptual framework adapted from current CSA literature included the choice of CSA definition, the number and specificity of questions used to elicit CSA response and the questionnaire response rate. Variables investigated were adopted from CSA literature and included: the presence of a stepfather in the family, parent figure (mother figure, father figure) alcohol use, parent figure (mother figure, father figure) child care, family …

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Young Children's Use Of Causal Connections During Storytelling : The Role Of Context And Individual Differences In Attention., Danielle D. Brown Dec 2007

Young Children's Use Of Causal Connections During Storytelling : The Role Of Context And Individual Differences In Attention., Danielle D. Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Narrative causal understanding is related to a variety of school-related skills such as reading comprehension, and memory. Previous research shows a developmental trend in the ability to use and understand causal connections that begins at age 4 and continually improves up through ages 10 and 11. Researchers posit that this developmental trend in one aspect of narrative ability is explained by an increase in narrative knowledge; children learn more about what is required in narratives they get older. There is a dearth of research on other possible influences on narrative ability. In two experiments, the current study uses a storytelling …

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Analytical Modeling Of An Autonomous Vehicle Storage/Retrieval System., Xiao Cai Dec 2007

Analytical Modeling Of An Autonomous Vehicle Storage/Retrieval System., Xiao Cai

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Automated vehicle storage/retrieval system (AVS/RS) technology is relatively new. It has been applied successfully in several European facilities in 1990s. AVS/RS is a flexible system that is a viable alternative to automated storage/retrieval systems (AS/RS), a traditional material handling technology that has been in existence for more than fifty years. There are very few papers in the literature that focus on the use of analytical models for estimating performance measures of AVS/RS. In this thesis, queuing network theory is used to model an AVS/BS system to analyze its performance. The manufacturing system performance analyzer (MPA) is an open queuing network …

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The Effects Of Psychological And Biological Gender On Gender Role Conflict And Mental Health Of Gay And Lesbian Individuals., Kevin James Herdman 1969- Dec 2007

The Effects Of Psychological And Biological Gender On Gender Role Conflict And Mental Health Of Gay And Lesbian Individuals., Kevin James Herdman 1969-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation represented an examination of the interrelationships between psychological gender (i.e., masculinity, femininity, androgyny, and undifferentiated), biological gender (i.e., male and female), gender role conflict, self-esteem, and loneliness in a sample of gay men and lesbian women. Psychological gender and biological gender served as the independent variables in the study while gender role conflict, self-esteem, and loneliness served as the dependent variables. A two-way factorial MANOVA was used as the statistical model of choice in addition to correlational analyses. A confirmatory factor analysis was also completed on the instrument used to measure gender role conflict, the Gender Role Conflict …

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The Learner In The Learning Environment : A Multiple-Case Study Of Nursing Students In The Hospital Clinical Setting., Rhonda Stuart Helm 1951- Dec 2007

The Learner In The Learning Environment : A Multiple-Case Study Of Nursing Students In The Hospital Clinical Setting., Rhonda Stuart Helm 1951-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The clinical experience represents a critical component in nursing education. During the clinical, students apply classroom theory to nursing practice and become socialized into the nursing profession. Because of the current nursing shortage, understanding clinical education is vital and may help in retaining and graduating increased numbers from nursing programs (Vollman, 1989). This multiple-case study is grounded in the literature on the history of clinical education and the perspectives of students, faculty teachers, and clinical staff nurses of nursing clinical education. Narratives of the three students clinical experiences were constructed from data from interviews, observations, and document analysis. Data from …

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Using Schlossberg's Transition Theory To Identify Coping Strategies Of Welfare Recipients Attending Postsecondary Institutions., Kathy J. Pendleton 1949- Dec 2007

Using Schlossberg's Transition Theory To Identify Coping Strategies Of Welfare Recipients Attending Postsecondary Institutions., Kathy J. Pendleton 1949-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Using Schlossberg's transition theory as the conceptual framework, this case study explored and identified the coping strategies used by seven welfare recipients attending postsecondary institutions. Three participants were enrolled in the local community college, three in a local 4-year research intuition and one attended four-year private institution. The case study used semi-structured interviews and each participant were interviewed three times over a three-month period. The findings identified multiple personal and psychological barriers to persistence. The participants had histories of childhood sexual abuse, rape, and domestic violence. Friends and community agencies, rather than family, provided the primary sources of emotional and …

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The Research Practices And Needs Of Non-Profit Organizations In An Urban Center, Randy Stoecker Dec 2007

The Research Practices And Needs Of Non-Profit Organizations In An Urban Center, Randy Stoecker

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

How do nonprofit organizations use data and research? What challenges do they face in conducting research and managing data? In spring of 2004, 80 nonprofit organizations in Toledo, Ohio returned a survey on their research and data needs and practices. The survey found that nonprofits collect data on a wide variety of topics, but do not use much of the data that they collect, and do not collect much data that could be useful for other groups, particularly neighborhood organizations. The average nonprofit in the survey has five employees and four volunteers who, together, spend 56 hours per week collecting, …

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Public And Private Sources Of Assistance For Low-Income Households, Chi-Fang Wu, Mary Keegan Eamon Dec 2007

Public And Private Sources Of Assistance For Low-Income Households, Chi-Fang Wu, Mary Keegan Eamon

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study examined the types and combinations of public and private assistance received by three types of low-income households, including those with children, without children, and elderly without children. Using data from the 1996 and 2001 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), the results indicate that a large percentage of low-income households rely on public assistance, and receipt of private assistance is much less common. Approximately 7% of the sample use both types of assistance. The findings highlight differences in combinations of public and private assistance used by different household types. Wealsofound some significant differences in …

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Review Of Strategic Giving: The Art And Science' Of Philanthropy. Peter Frumkin. Reviewed By Ram Cnaan., Ram Cnaan Dec 2007

Review Of Strategic Giving: The Art And Science' Of Philanthropy. Peter Frumkin. Reviewed By Ram Cnaan., Ram Cnaan

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Peter Frumkin, Strategic Giving: The Art and Science of Philanthropy. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2006. $ 39.00 hardcover.

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Review Of The Future Of Europe: Reform Or Decline. Alberto Alesina And Francesco Gianvassi. Reviewed By James Midgley., James Midgley Dec 2007

Review Of The Future Of Europe: Reform Or Decline. Alberto Alesina And Francesco Gianvassi. Reviewed By James Midgley., James Midgley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Alberto Alesina and Francesco Gianvassi, The Future of Europe: Reform or Decline. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2006. $ 24.95 hardcover.

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