Digital Commons Network^™

Taking Facebook Seriously : A 21st Century Writing Space For Collaboration And Learning, Anastasia Rubis

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

No abstract provided.

Assessing Stakeholder Opinions Of Medical Review Of Impaired Drivers And Fitness To Drive: Recommendations For Massachusetts, Nina M. Silverstein, Kelli Barton

Gerontology Institute Publications

Driving is the main mode of travel for Americans age 65 and older, and although older adults are generally found to be safe drivers, aging often brings about functional limitations and an increase in medications that can impede safe driving and fitness to drive (Rosenbloom, 2003; Kissinger, 2008; Adler & Silverstein, 2008). Effective licensing policies and Medical Advisory Board practices are critical components in identifying medically at-risk drivers and may even have a role in the transition to alternative transportation options; yet, states vary greatly in their approach to licensing and renewal practices and in the utilization, composition, and function …

Doing Gender, Doing Heteronormativity: 'Gender Normals,' Transgender People, And The Social Maintenance Of Heterosexuality, Kristen Schilt, Laurel Westbrook

Peer Reviewed Articles

This article brings together two case studies that examine how non-transgender people, “gender normals,” interact with transgender people to highlight the connections between doing gender and heteronormativity. By contrasting public and private interactions that range from nonsexual to sexualized to sexual, the authors show how gender and sexuality are inextricably tied together. The authors demonstrate that the criteria for membership in a gender category are significantly different in social versus (hetero)sexual circumstances. While gender is presumed to reflect biological sex in all social interactions, the importance of doing gender in a way that represents the shape of one’s genitals is …

Talking Us Into War: Problem Definition By Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson And George W. Bush, Barbara Ellen May Warner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

How presidents talk us into war merges the study of problem definition in public policy with the study of rhetoric in communications. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, this research analyzes the key words used by two presidents, Lyndon B. Johnson and George W. Bush, to persuade us into escalating a war in Vietnam and engaging in a pre-emptive war in Iraq, respectively. The findings indicate that presidents repeat words that are patriotic, emotive, metaphorical, symbolic and religious, tapping into American themes of Manifest Destiny and even predicting dire outcomes if we do not accept their definitions of the dangers …

The Added Value And Prerogatives Of Law Schools With A Faith Mission, Bradley J.B. Toben

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Social Networks, Social Identities, And Mindset Of At-Risk College Students, Troy A. Romero

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Success in higher education is typically measured by retention and graduation, and traditionally the students who are least likely to succeed are at-risk students. At-risk students are characterized by one or more of the following: being from underrepresented ethnicities and cultures, having low socioeconomic status, being educated in poorly funded primary and secondary education systems, being first-generation college students, or being otherwise marginalized in society. This study was designed to test how at-risk students differ from other students in terms of the size of their academic social networks, the strength of their academic identities, and their mindset, and to what …

Who Drowns? Encoding The Second Component Of The 4w Model, Stathis Avramidis, Ronald Butterly, David Llewellyn

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

The aim of the current study was to identify the casualty characteristics that contribute to drowning according to the 4W model (Avramidis, Butterly & Llewellyn, 2007, 2009). Qualitative content analysis was utilized to analyze drowning incident videos (n = 41), and semistructured interviews of those involved in drowning incidents (n = 34). Results confirm that human activity in, on, and around an aquatic environment can lead to drowning, regardless of the casualty’s type, gender, age, ethnicity, and area of residence. Males far outnumber females as drowning victims. Younger persons were more likely to drown than were adults. Due to socioeconomic …

Grieving Together And Apart: Bereaved Parents’ Contradictions Of Marital Interaction, Paige W. Toller, Dawn O. Braithwaite

Communication Faculty Publications

The researchers adopted relational dialectics theory (Baxter & Montgomery, 1996) to examine the discourse of 37 bereaved parents. Research questions guiding the study were what dialectical contradictions do bereaved parents experience when communicating with their marital partner after their child’s death and how do bereaved parents and their marital partners communicatively negotiate the dialectical contradictions they experience? Our analysis revealed that bereaved parents experienced a dialectical contradiction between trying to grieve their child’s death together as a couple and apart as individuals. Likewise, parents experienced a contradiction between being both open and closed when talking with one another about their …

Using Communication To Cope With Loss, Paige W. Toller

Communication Faculty Publications

The death of a child is a devastating and life changing event. A child's death leaves parents struggling to somehow pick up the pieces of their shattered life and continue living. In the aftermath of their loss, parents are often surprised and disappointed to discover how difficult it is to talk to one another about their child's death. Likewise, parents may be frustrated to learn that they grieve very differently from their spouse. In many cases, one parent wants to talk a great deal about the child's death while the other does not. In addition, one parent may be more …

Unemployed Steelworkers, Social Class, And The Construction Of Morality, Paul Andrew Carruth

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the dynamics of economic relations and distributive outcomes according to displaced steelworkers' own accountings of deindustrialization and job loss. Whereas class analyses tend to investigate consciousness according to “true” versus “false” preferences and “post-class” scholars assert that “post-materialism” is replacing “materialist” social concerns, the author abandons these dualisms to demonstrate that workers use cultural codes of “purity” and “pollution” to represent and evaluate individuals, interests, and relations. The findings buttress the continuing relevance of social class for explaining social identity, consciousness, and antagonism.

The Relationship Between Multiple Indicators Of Wellness And Parental Stress In Foster Parents, Sarah Gillingham

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Conceptual Integration Analysis Of Multiple Instructional Metaphors, Robert Johnson

Dissertations

The present study was conducted to investigate some of the practical implications of conceptual integration theory for educators. This research was a mixed-methods study exploring how improvements in understanding—learning—(as measured by a selectedresponse assessment) are reflected in changes in learner language (described in terms of conceptual integration patterns). After a pretest with open-response and selected-response prompts, two groups of young adult participants viewed different videos of a slightly different review lesson in genes, genetics, and heredity, the difference lying in two different metaphor conditions: the experimental group was shown a more “metaphorrich” version of the lesson using two classic metaphors …

August 2009 Commencement Program, Bowling Green State University

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Analytical Jurisprudence And The Concept Of Commercial Law, John Linarelli

Penn State Law Review (2003 - Present)

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Relationship Between Religious Faith, Mental Health Help Seeking Attitudes, And Preferences For Counselor Characteristics Among Black American Churchgoers, Darryl P. Plunkett

Dissertations

Empirical data has shown that Black American churchgoers have generally higher baseline rates of religious involvement than the general U.S. population, as well as higher rates of religious involvement than most Black Americans (Chatters, Taylor & Lincoln. 1999). Researchers have noted the influence of religion on the help seeking attitudes of Black Americans (Abernethy, Houston, Mimms, & Boyd-Franklin, 2006) and have also identified counselor characteristics preferred by Black Americans when seeking help for mental health problems (Atkinson, Furlong, & Poston, 1986). However, Black American churchgoers are rarely identified as the target population in empirical studies and little is known about …

Computing For Knowledge Management: From Nonaka To Visualisation And Knowledge Maps, Helmut Huber

Dissertations

Management itself is not always clearly understood, however, the confusion can be sorted if the underlying theory is clearly distinguished from its implementations. There also may be a specific role for computing in Knowledge Management. It is suggested that Knowledge Management technologists seek a unique strategic position for Computing in Knowledge Management, for reasons of clarity and differentiation from Information Systems. The effective transfer of knowledge is one of the main themes or core competency in Knowledge Management. This is also one of the areas where Knowledge Management technologists may find the niche for a distinct and unique contribution the …

Exploring The Relationships Between White Racial Consciousness, Feminist Identity Development And Family Environment For White Undergraduate Women, Kara E. Wolff

Dissertations

Although the literature has emphasized the importance of understanding between White racial consciousness, feminist identity development and family environment. Based on the relationships described by the canonical functions considered noteworthy in the analyses three main findings appeared to emerge. First, family environments that were perceived by White undergraduate women to promote engagement with a variety of outside perspectives were related to more actively antiracist worldviews and well-developed feminist identities; while family environments perceived to reflect a more insular focus (i.e. less exposure to divergent opinions) were related to more prejudicial racial attitudes and less feminist identity development. Second, the more …

Examining Alumni Perceptions Of Care From High School Teachers As A Source Of Student Social Capital, Ryan P. Pacatte

Education Doctoral

This study combined the literatures of social capital and care. Specifically, the study surveyed alumni perceptions of care from their high school teachers as a measure of teacher-based social capital. In contrast with previous literature that examined care as teacher-based social capital measuring from the teacher perspective, this is the first study to measure care as teacher-based social capital from the perspective of the former student. The study used an established instrument, Teven and McCroskey's (1999) Source Credibility Instrument, in an on-line format to measure perceptions of care from former teachers as the independent variable. The research survey collected data …

Book Reviews, Parameters Editors

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Differences In Evaluation Of Post-Communist Worldview Shift Model By Parachurch Ministries Leaders Of Ukraine, Sergei Golovin

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Maintaining Adult Student-Parent Distal Relationships: An Explorartion Of Mediated Communication Among Thai Students In The U.S., Thammaphong Isarabhakdi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although a growing amount of research in relational maintenance has began to focus intensively on long-distance relationships (LDRs), especially marital, dating, and friendship relationships, little attention has focus on the process of maintaining LDRs in non-Western families. The objective of this study was, first, to explore the experience of Thai adult students who maintain LDRs with their parents. Second, this study identified Thai students’ specific relational maintenance behaviors and examined the channels of mediated communication used among Thai adult students and their family members.

This study utilized a qualitative method framed by a grounded theory approach to uncover the experience …

Front Matter, Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

Volume 16, Number 1 (Summer 2009), Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

Justice And Adaptation To Climate Change In The Asia Pacific Region : Designing International Institutions, Paul G. Harris, Jonathan Symons

CAPS Working Paper Series

Many developing states argue that they should be compensated for the costs of adapting to climate change. They point out that industrialised states are responsible for the bulk of historical greenhouse gas emissions and per capita first world emissions continue to dwarf developing world emissions. Yet, given the substantial internal inequality and rapidly rising emissions within developing states such as China and India, the same arguments that justify international adaptation compensation might equally justify internal redistributive measures. This paper addresses the question of how international institutions that fund adaptation to anthropogenic climate change should be designed. After reviewing both communitarian …

Phenomenological Study Of Resilience In The Lives Of White, Midlife Lesbian Psychologists In Clinical Practice, Melissa A. Lidderdale

Dissertations

The unique experiences and adversities encountered by midlife lesbian therapists have not been directly investigated. How the midlife lesbian women in this study were influenced by their individual experiences and cultural changes, both in general society and within the mental health profession, are paramount to more fully understanding the adversities, support, and resilience that they experienced while becoming psychologists. Due to the scarcity of empirical literature pertaining to the therapist's experience of resilience and the paucity of empirical literature related to resilience in lesbians, phenomenological research methods were chosen for this study. The goal of this study was to provide …

Toward An Understanding Of The Effect Of Relational Demographics On Buyer Trust And Distrust In Technical Market Relationships: Grounded Theory Approach, David G. Long

Education Doctoral

Trust is at the heart of most human relationships, and for certain, at the heart of most long-term business relationships. The subject of hundreds of studies, books and papers , there is a universal yearning for the knowledge of how trust is gained, nurtured and protected. This study focuses on how trust in buyer-seller relationships may be affected by relational demographics – that is, how people appear to each other in terms of race, age and gender. In the United States, over $16 billion is spent annually on goods and services in the wastewater treatment market. How relational demographics influence …

Youth Empowerment And High School Gay-Straight Alliances, Stephen T. Russell, Anna M. Muraco, Aarti Subramaniam, Carolyn Laub

Sociology Faculty Works

In the field of positive youth development programs, “empowerment” is used interchangeably with youth activism, leadership, civic participation and self-efficacy. However, few studies have captured what empowerment means to young people in diverse contexts. This article explores how youth define and experience empowerment in youth-led organizations characterized by social justice goals: high school Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs). Through focus group interviews, fifteen youth leaders of GSAs from different regions of California explain what they think empowerment means and how they became empowered through their involvement with the GSA. Youth describe three inter-related dimensions of empowerment: personal empowerment, relational empowerment, and strategic …

Sport As A Vehicle For Socialization And Maintenance Of Cultural Identity: International Students Attending American Universities, James Taylor Allen

Dissertations

Sport can be utilized by immigrants as a vehicle for maintaining cultural identity. Conversely, sport participation provides immigrants with opportunities for adopting an entirely new culture. Previous research also suggests that sport provides individuals with opportunities for attaining social capital. While this can be a beneficial situation for some, sport is also promoting elitism and serving as a powerful mechanism for exclusion. Globalization has led large numbers of foreign nationals to seek educational opportunities in the United States. Due to the increase in the number of international students and the lack of empirical studies, the need to study their participation …

Latino Farmers In Missouri: Risks, Services, And Implications For Extension, Jose L. Garcia-Pabón, Jill R. Lucht

Journal of Extension

Latinos are the fastest growing ethnic group of farm owner/operators in Missouri and the United States. Their lives as farmers demonstrate a familiar and inspiring story: the pursuit of the American dream. We examine the growing reality of Latino-owned farms in Missouri through four in-depth personal interviews with Latino dairy and cattle producers to assess their situation and the challenges they face when entering and operating a farm. The interviews covered their farming operations, risk tolerance, access to financial services, and use of other services. Based on our findings, we offer recommendations for Extension on working with them.

The Undertraining Of Lawyers And Its Effect On The Advancement Of Women And Minorities In The Legal Profession, Irene Segal Ayers

Duke Forum for Law & Social Change

No abstract provided.