Digital Commons Network^™

Have You Heard? Predictors Of Hpv Awareness Among A Random Sample Of College Students, Meagan Arrastia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

College students have been identified as at high risk for contracting Human Papillomavirus (HPV) due to engaging in risky behaviors, such as binge drinking and unprotected sex. Before preventative measures like vaccination and condom usage can be promoted, awareness must be evaluated. A random sample of 438 college students was surveyed on their awareness of HPV using both paper and online surveying methods. Using binary logistic regression, HPV awareness was predicted using demographic measures. The majority of the sample reported having heard of HPV before. Sexually active respondents and females were significantly more likely to report awareness. Non-whites and first-generation …

Education And Spiritual Internalization, Donavan Bowers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A growing body of research has addressed the relationship between religiousness and spirituality. In addition, recent research focuses on the variations in definition and operationalization of the two concepts. Most of this literature examines spirituality as a construct under religion. Conceptualizing those who are spiritual but non-religious has received far less attention. This study uses recent data from the General Social Surveys to assess the relationship of those who are spiritual but not religious with education and a number of socio-demographic variables. The analysis shows that there is a positive relationship between one identifying as someone who is spiritual but …

Hurricane Katrina And The Perception Of Risk: Incorporating The Local Context, Nnenia Campbell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper identifies social conditions that shape perceptions of risk to environmental toxins among residents in the Gulf Coasts of Louisiana and Mississippi following Hurricane Katrina. Demographic information from a randomly selected sample of 2,548 residents was used to explore the concept of the "White male effect" as discussed in previous literature, which has found that white males are particularly risk accepting compared to all other race and gender groups. This analysis also evaluated the influence of trust in government and beliefs about environmental justice on perceived exposure and compared responses from residents within and outside the City of New …

The Effects Of Religious Affiliation And Participation On Racial Discrimination, Jason Levine

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between religious affiliation and racially discriminatory attitudes. Several investigations have been conducted on the topic, yet they did not choose national representative samples. My research examines four decades of NORC General Social Surveys to analyze how religious affiliation and attendance affect the outcome of a survey question which tests the level of discriminatory attitudes among respondents.

A Study Of Regional Language And Identities In A Small Occitan Village, Patrick Sacleux

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This exploratory study utilized qualitative methods to approach regional language abilities of local respondents and how it affects their regional identity. The theoretical framework of this study explored some of the tenets of symbolic interaction emphasizing on identity theory and how the flexible aspect of face-to-face interaction can define the self and someone's regional identity as it relates to their regional language use. Data for this study were collected in a small Occitan village in Southern France. In particular, the study explored the link between an individual residential setting, his/her age and his/her ability to speak the regional language. The …

Science Inquiry Kits And Teacher Preparedness To Teach Science As Inquiry In Elementary Classrooms, Angela Clayton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The National Science Education Standards (1996) indicate that science education should include inquiry instruction. Many teachers still struggle with how to implement inquiry in their classrooms and a lack of high quality inquiry-based instructional materials has been posited as a hindrance. The purpose of this qualitative study was to observe the instructional practices of three elementary teachers when using an inquiry-based science kit program in their fourth grade classrooms. Teacher practices and their attitudes towards their preparedness to teach science with the support of the curricular program were examined. Data were collected through pre/post survey comparisons, observations, and a focus …

Claims Of Mistaken Identity: An Examination Of U.S. Television Food Commercials And The Adult Obesity Issue, Cristina Delgado

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Obesity is one of the major public health issues in the United States, often regarded as part of a global crisis. Companies invest billions of dollars each year towards television advertising campaigns aimed at convincing audiences how their ground-breaking discovery 'battles the bulge' or somehow offers an increased health benefit. This study examined how advertisers presented health-related claims, including health and nutrient-content claims, in U.S. adult-targeted television food commercials. The claims were compared to FTC, FDA, and USDA laws, regulations, and recommendations. A content analysis of food advertising was conducted of commercials from major and cable network programs broadcast during …

Effects Of Instructor Immediacy And Student Need For Cognition On Student Motivation And Perceptions Of Learning, Sabrina Kalish

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study built on previous literature linking instructor immediacy, student motivation, and student learning. The purpose of this research was to examine main and interaction effects of instructor immediacy and student trait motivation on student state motivation and cognitive learning. A main effect of instructor nonverbal immediacy on student state motivation and cognitive learning was found to be statistically significant. Further exploratory research did not yield statistical significance for a main effect of trait motivation, as measured by need for cognition, on student state motivation and cognitive learning, nor an interaction effect of immediacy and trait motivation on both state …

The Richness Of Experience, Empathy, And The Role Of A Judge: The Senate Confirmation Hearings For Judge Sonia Sotomayor, Arrie W. Davis

University of Baltimore Law Forum

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Blomberg, Doug. (2007). Wisdom And Curriculum: Christian Schooling After Postmodernity, Dirk Windhorst

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

This essay reviews Doug Blomberg’s Wisdom and Curriculum and responds to various issues raised there. It highlights the value of wisdom in terms of its relationship to embodied practical knowledge and the norms embedded in God’s creation. The concluding comments take issue with Blomberg’s interpretation of Plato.

Supportive Communication, Sense Of Virtual Community And Health Outcomes In Online Infertility Groups, Jennifer L. Welbourne, Anita L. Blanchard, Marla D. Boughton

Management Faculty Publications

Women are turning to online health groups to deal with the stresses and complications of infertility. Online groups may provide a resource that is potentially absent in their face-to-face communities. This study examines how the sense of virtual community (SOVC) that develops in these groups serves as a buffer between perceived stress and physical health symptoms. A sample of 122 women from two virtual communities completed an online survey. Results show that observing the exchange of emotional support was positively related to SOVC while observing informational support was negatively related to SOVC. Further, SOVC was negatively related to physical health …

Education And Crime, Gordon A. Crews

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the topic of education and crime. While at first glance this appears to be a simple task, there is an inherent complexity in examining such a broad subject. There are many different perspectives from which a discussion of education and crime could develop. Criminologists might assume this would be an overview of the impact that an individual’s education level may have upon their criminal or anti-social behavior. On the other hand, parents might assume this is a discussion of the impact of school violence and crime upon the safety …

St. Augustine's Learning For The Glory Of God: Adapting "Faith-Learning Integration" Terminology For The Modern World, Marie Valance, Jaliene Hollabaugh, Thu Truong

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

The scholastic debate about use and interpretation of the phrase “faith-learning integration” has spanned over fifty years. Glanzer (2008) proposed that this phrase be discarded and that scholars adopt the terminology “the creation and redemption of scholarship.” This concept is not new to Christian dialogue: it can be found in the writings of St. Augustine. However, there needs to be further clarification of Glanzer’s language in order to make it accessible to people of all faiths, backgrounds, and education levels. This paper will attempt to support both Glanzer’s proposal and a new direction for the discussion and encourage educators to …

Coercion And Consent: Helping Pre-Service Teachers Understand Classroom Authority, Kenneth Badley

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

What should pre-service teachers know about the teacher’s authority? Teacher educators recognize that all teachers will face challenges to their authority to teach. As do professors, teachers will face these challenges throughout their careers, almost certainly beginning during their practice teaching. To that end, most pre-service teachers study classroom management, either in a free-standing class on the topic or as part of other curriculum and instruction courses.

An Examination Of Professional Development Activities Available To Teachers In The Mid-America Region Of The Association Of Christian Schools International, Linda M. Neuzil, Marsha Vaughn

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

The spotlight in education in recent years has been focused on the areas of professional development activities for teachers and the development of professional learning communities. However, the majority of research has omitted the Christian school community which requires its own body of research examining the unique conditions in which both private school students and educators learn and work. While the need for student achievement remains constant in both public and private schools, the social, philosophical, political, financial, and emotional contexts are quite dissimilar. The purpose of this study is to examine the availability and utilization of professional development activities …

The Customer Is King : Mutual Fund Relationships And Analyst Recommendations, Ping Liu

Lingnan Theses

I investigate whether the business relations between mutual funds and brokerage firms influence sell-side analyst coverage and recommendations. Using a comprehensive sample of analyst recommendations in China over the 2004-2008 period, I find that the likelihood of analyst coverage and analysts’ relative recommendations, benchmarked against consensus recommendations, are positively associated with the mutual fund business relationship. I measure the business relation by the weight of a stock in the mutual fund client’s portfolio and the commission revenue generated from the mutual fund clients. My results show that mutual funds take advantage of these optimistic recommendations by selling the stocks. I …

The Security Dilemma In Sino-Japanese Relations, Yu Pan Lee

Lingnan Theses

Even though economic relations between China and Japan have improved in recent decades, their security relations raise the prospect of clashes due to the perceived incompatibility of their interests, as manifested for example in territorial claims and rivalry for energy resources. This thesis analyzes the two states’ security relations using the “security-dilemma” and “constructivist theories” of international relations.

The security dilemma is a condition in which states’ attempts to increase their own security, out of the mutual fear and suspicion, results a decrease in security for all. The constructivist theories suggest that the identities of actors, social norms, states’ interests …

Anger-Expression Avoidance In Organizations In China : The Role Of Social Face, Xu Han

Lingnan Theses

Chinese people have been theorized to be particularly sensitive to social face and avoid direct discussion in conflict to promote interpersonal harmony. This study uses the theory of social face to predict Chinese employees’ strategies to avoid expressing anger with their supervisors in the organizations. Inspired by previous research, this study proposes that anger-expression avoidance is a complex behavior with different motivations and actions, leading to diverse outcomes. It identifies four strategies for the employees to avoid expressing anger with their boss; they are named outflanking (turn to the third party to resolve the anger), withdrawal (staying cool, ignoring, giving …

Relationship Conflict In Chinese State-Owned Enterprises : The Role Of Goal Interdependence, Yi Liao

Lingnan Theses

This study empirically examines the dynamics and conditions of relationship conflict between supervisors and employees in Chinese State-Owned Enterprises. It proposes that relationship conflict has significant effects on leadership in Chinese SOEs, specifically, it threatens leader-member relationships, lowers the possibility of open-minded discussion, influences leadership effectiveness and prevents future collaboration. This study uses Deutsch’s (1973) theory of goal interdependence to understand relationship conflict between supervisors and employees. Specifically, it proposes that three types of goal interdependence affect the experience of relationship conflict and its outcomes. Cooperative goals compare to competitive and independent goals can help reduce relationship conflict between supervisors …

"Seeing Is Believing?" : A Persuasion Knowledge Model On Attitudinal Evaluations In Advertisements, Yan Wu

Lingnan Theses

This study examines the effects of individuals' beliefs about persuasion tactics (i.e., persuasion knowledge) evoked in an advertisement on their attitudes toward the advertisement and the advertised brand. Drawing on persuasion knowledge theory, this thesis develops a conceptual model that argues how ad image incongruence, defined as an inappropriate match-up between model type (western versus local) and advertised product category (western product category versus local product category) featured in advertisements, leads to the use of persuasion knowledge, which in turn affects attitudinal evaluations. A series of experimental studies were conducted. The results suggest that individual’s use of persuasion knowledge mediates …

Perinatal Risk Factors For Developmental Coordination Disorder, Beth P. Hands, Garth Kendall, Dawne Larkin, Elizabeth Rose, Helen Parker

Health Sciences Papers and Journal Articles

The aetiology of mild motor disability (MMD) is a complex issue and as yet is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of perinatal risk factors in a cohort of 10-year-old boys and girls with (n = 362) and without (n = 1193) MMD. Among the males with MMD there was a higher prevalence of postpartum haemorrhage, caesarean section, low birth weight and stressful first year of life. Among the females with MMD, there was a higher prevalence of essential hypertension, anaemia, and threatened pre-term. Multivariable logistic regression revealed gender (male), anaemia, threatened pre-term birth …

Ucanfnsh: A Virtual Learning Environment Created To Engage And Inspire Self-Determination In Middle School Students With Learnin, Kara Rosenblatt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the efficacy of using a virtual college campus to teach self-determination skills to middle school students with learning disabilities. Teaching self-determination skills is considered best practice for students with disabilities as they transition into adulthood. Three measures, a self-determination knowledge measurement scale, a behavior rubric, and 15 multiple choice questions measured self-determination knowledge and skill application ability with 71 middle school students with learning disabilities. The measures were used to determine whether the students who learned about self-determination skills in the virtual college setting during one training session displayed more knowledge and application of these skills than …

The Effects Of A Modified Learning Strategy On The Multiple Step Mathematical Word Problem Solving Ability Of Middle School Students With High-Functioning Autism Or Asperger's Syndrome, Peggy Schaefer Whitby

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Students with HFA/AS present with a unique set of cognitive deficits that may prevent achievement in the mathematics curriculum, even though they present with average mathematical skills. The purpose of the study was to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of the use of a modified learning strategy to increase the mathematical word problem solving ability of children with high functioning autism or Asperger's syndrome; determine if the use of Solve It! increases the self-perceptions of mathematical ability, attitudes towards mathematics and attitudes towards solving mathematical word problems; and, determine if Solve It! cue cards or a Solve It! multimedia academic …

The Relationship Between Research Self-Efficacy, Perceptions Of The Research Training Environment And Interest In Research In Co, Nicole Vaccaro

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between research self-efficacy (as measured by the Research Self-Efficacy Scale [Greeley et al., 1989]), perceptions of the research training environment (as measured by the Research Training Environment Scale --Revised [Gelso et al., 1996]), and interest in research (as measured by the Interest in Research Questionnaire [Bieschke & Bishop, 1994]) within a national sample of doctoral counselor education students (N = 89). Additionally, the study investigated whether there were differences between levels of research self-efficacy, perceptions of the research training environment, and interest in research in relation to the demographic characteristics …

Supervision Experience And Ego Development Of Counseling Interns' Site Supervisors And Supervisees' Level Of Ego Develop, Sara Walter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The primary purposes of this study were (a) to investigate the relationship between counseling interns' site supervisors' experience and training in supervision and their own levels of ego development and (b) to investigate the relationship between supervisors' levels of ego development and the ego functioning and occupational stress of their intern-supervisees. The theoretical framework for this investigation included cognitive developmental models of supervision (e.g., Blocher, 1983; Stoltenberg, 1981), ego development (Loevinger, 1976, 1997) and the Person-Environment Fit theory of occupational stress (French, Rogers, & Cobb, 1974). The findings of this study contribute to an understanding of (a) the levels of …

Hedonic Property Value Modeling Of Water Quality, Lake Proximity, And Spatial Dependence In Central Florida, Patrick Walsh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hedonic property value analysis is one of the leading methods of environmental valuation. This non-market technique uses variation in home sales to infer the values of amenities or disamenities. While there have been numerous studies about air quality and hazardous waste, the number of papers focusing on water quality is much smaller. Consequently, there are still many unanswered questions about the proper handling of water quality through hedonic methods. Furthermore, estimates from hedonic property price analyses are rarely used in government cost benefit analyses. This dissertation investigates several important hedonic issues in a large analysis of water quality in central …

Mystery Shopper Motivations And The Presence Of Motivation Crowding, Pamela Allison

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mystery shopping is used in a variety of service industries to measure service performance, as a training tool for employees, and to ensure the safety and security of the product offered. The persons performing this activity, mystery shoppers, experience various motivations, some of which are similar to employees and/or volunteers. These motivations can be intrinsic, where the performance of the activity is a reward itself, or extrinsic, meaning performance of the activity is a method for attaining a reward. The dominance of intrinsic or extrinsic motivation can shift within the individual, which is termed motivation crowding. Individuals can crowd in …

Examining Factors Taht Affect Knowledge Sharing And Students' Attitude Toward Their Learning Experience Within Virtual Teams, Jinxia He

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined factors that might impact student knowledge sharing within virtual teams through online discussion boards. These factors included: trust, mutual influence, conflict, leadership, and cohesion. A path model was developed to determine whether relationships exist among knowledge sharing from asynchronous group discussion and the above five factors. In addition, this study examined if there are any relationships between quality and quantity of knowledge sharing and students' grades. A correlation design was conducted to discover if there are any relationships among these five factors and knowledge sharing within virtual teams. Participants in this study were 148 undergraduate students from …

Extending The Technology Acceptance Model Using Perceived User Resources In Higher Education Web-Based Online Learning Courses, Cheng-Hsin Ku

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to examine students' acceptance of the World Wide Web Course Tools (WebCT) online learning system. The Perceived Resources and Technology Acceptance Model (PRATAM) was created based on previous research to address the factors of perceived resources, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude toward using, behavioral intention to use and actual system use. The aim for this research was to investigate the critical determinants and provide the causal relationships regarding students' acceptance behaviors when using WebCT. While institutions are expecting to adopt online learning to reach more students, there are still many challenges for …

Self-Efficacy Beliefs Of Florida School Principals Regarding Federal And State Accountability Measures, John Mccullers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined how self-efficacy beliefs, a central construct of social cognitive theory, might be used to inform educational leadership and policy decisions related to school accountability measures. A survey of 112 principals in Florida was used to investigate the degree to which principals believed the goals of federal and state school accountability measures (the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the Florida School Grades Plan) were actually attainable, and to what degree they believed their leadership actually helped achieve these goals. A large majority (83.8%) of respondents believed the state goals to be attainable, whereas only a …