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Deliberation, Dialogue And Deliberative Democracy In Social Work Education And Practice, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Ideas of public talk were central in various aspects of the history of social work and professional education. Social work has never just been a consumer of deliberative ideas. Several fundamental ideas associated with deliberative democracy theory arose directly out of social work education and practice and continue to function in different forms within contemporary social work theory and practice.

Food Justice As Crime Prevention, Avi Brisman

Journal of Food Law & Policy

In December 2008, Governor David Paterson (D-NY) proposed an 18 percent tax on nondiet sodas and fruit drinks containing less than 70 percent natural fruit juice. While the tax was part of a broader budget proposal designed to address New York State's fiscal crisis - a plan that that included new taxes and tax hikes on 137 items and services' - state officials promoted the "obesity tax," as the soft drink levy came to be called, as a public health measure.

Are Adolescent Attitudes Toward Calcium-Rich Foods And Intake Of Dietary Calcium Related To The Presence Of Grandparent(S) Living In The Household?, Leslie Cradler

CFS Honors Program Undergraduate Theses

Introduction. Early adolescents are a group at risk for reducing calcium intakes during a time of maximal bone accretion. Sociological research suggests that grandparents can positively influence their grandchildren’s self esteem. Therefore, this study hypothesized that early adolescents from households with a grandparent(s) would have a more positive attitude toward calcium-rich foods and a higher consumption of total calcium than their counterparts in households without a grandparent(s).

Methods. This study used a cross-sectional design involving the administration of a questionnaire to a child (10 - 13 y) and a questionnaire to the adult responsible for food acquisition and preparation in …

The Sweet Air, Ann Braley Smith

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

1. April

1986: Wind melds sky turns to rain turns to snow turns to white closes in.

A South Dakota blizzard is a shape-shifter, undulating, hiding, revealing little of what lies beneath. In its aftermath, fallen snow is delicate, ephemeral. It quells noise, erases the line between earth and sky. It envelops sound: footsteps, passing vehicle, a runaway dog, cannot shatter this silence. The tired scraping of a metal shovel against idewalk is the only thing penetrating the quiet, quiet hush, as I wade through snow in my Sorels, clearing the walk. Breathing in, I feel my nostrils sting. I …

Confronting Environmental And Social Crises: Octavia E. Butler’S Critique Of The Spiritual Roots Of Environmental Injustice In Her Parable Novels, Melissa Vargas

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

We are living in the midst of environmental and social crises. This fact was not lost on late African-American science fiction writer Octavia E. Butler, whose 1993 Parable of the Sower and 1998 Nebula Award-winning Parable of the Talents depict and critique the current environmental and social crises in the United States. Speaking of Sower in an interview with Essence magazine, Butler says that all she “did was look around at the problems we’re neglecting now and give them about 30 years to grow into full-fledged disasters” (“Brave New Worlds” 164). In another interview with Randall Kenan, Butler describes environmental …

Quest For Quotidian: A National Survey Of Non-Heterosexual Attitudes Toward Marriage, Troy A. Mcginnis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Marriage equality remains a legal impossibility for same-sex couples in most states, and opponents are concerned that expansion of marriage to include gays and lesbians would radically redefine the institution. Findings from an online survey of lesbians, gays and bisexuals— a non-random sample of 466 adult men and women age 18 to 74 in 37 states— strongly suggest that many non-heterosexuals' attitudes reflect neither a radical departure from core definitions of marriage, nor a rejection of traditional "family values," but instead signal an assimilationist position favorable to traditional marriage norms rather than a liberationist position critical of the institution.

Gender And Friendship Norms Among Older Adults, Diane Felmlee, Anna M. Muraco

Sociology Faculty Works

The authors examined same- and cross-gender friendship norms in a sample of 135 adults (average age 73 years). Participants evaluated a friend’s behavior, quantitatively and qualitatively, in vignettes in which the friend’s gender was experimentally manipulated. Gender often significantly, though modestly, influenced normative evaluations. Women frequently had higher expectations of friends than men and placed a greater emphasis on intimacy. Women were more disapproving of violations of friendship rules, such as betraying a confidence, paying a surprise visit, and failing to stand up for a friend in public. However, both men and women were less approving of a man than …

Health Care Accessibility Among A Hispanic Community In South Texas, Juan F. Lopez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Historically, residents who live along the southern Texas and northern Mexican border live below the poverty threshold. This study examines the likelihood, of the independent variables of age, sex, education, marital status, income, number of children, and residency status, in contributing to a community's accessibility to health care along the Texas-Mexican border. During the second half of the month of March 2009, a sample of 517 residents completed a health-care survey at four different branches of a community-based non-profit organization. The results suggest that age, education, income, and residency status had a significant effect on a respondent's likelihood of having …

Cultural Dimensions Of Strategy And Policy, Jiyul Kim Colonel

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

There has been a growing recognition in the post-Cold War era that culture has increasingly become a factor in determining the course of today’s complex and interconnected world. The U.S. experience in Afghanistan and Iraq extended this trend to national security and military operations. There is also a growing recognition by the national security community that culture is an important factor at the policy and strategy levels. Cultural proficiency at the policy and strategic levels means the ability to consider history, values, ideology, politics, religion, and other cultural dimensions and assess their potential effect on policy and strategy. The Analytical …

Humboldt Bay Initiative: Adaptive Management In A Changing World, Susan Schlosser, Becky Price-Hall, Annie Eicher, Aaron Hohl, Darren Mierau, Greg Crawford

Local Reports & Presentations

The Humboldt Bay Initiative seeks to bring people together to help envision the desired future state of the Humboldt Bay ecosystems, to help understand past, current and future conditions, and to move forward in the spirit of collaboration towards a sustainable and dynamic future. In order to address priority stresses to the ecosystems due to human activities, climate change, excessive sediment, and invasive species, the Humboldt Bay Initiative proposes a set of strategies that help create the conditions necessary for a shared vision of the future. Through an ecosystem-based management approach, the Humboldt Bay Initiative enhances integrated management to address …

The University Of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study: Population Survey Results And Serum Concentrations For Polychlorinated Dioxins, Furans, And Biphenyls, Elizabeth Hedgeman, Qixuan Chen, Biling Hong, Chiung-Wen Chang, Kristen Olson, Kathleen Ladronka, Barbara Ward, Peter Adriaens, Avery Demond, Brenda W. Gillespie, James Lepkowski, Alfred Franzblau, David H. Garabrant

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Background: The University of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study was undertaken to address concerns that the discharge of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) from the Dow Chemical Company in the Midland, Michigan, area had resulted in contamination of soils in the Tittabawassee River floodplain and the city of Midland, leading to an increase in residents’ body burdens of these compounds.

Objective: In this article we present descriptive statistics from the resident survey and sampling of human serum, household dust, and soil and compare them with other published values.

Methods: From a multistage random sample of populations in …

Alternative Futures 2030: Ogden Valley, Louis Alan Hurst

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Ogden Valley is a high mountain community located in the northern Wasatch Mountain Range (Figure 1), and is located entirely within Weber County, Utah. Three communities sit within the valley: Huntsville, Eden, and Liberty. Early Mormon settlers established these communities in the mid-1800s; however, only the town of Huntsville is incorporated. The rural valley is in close proximity to the densely populated Wasatch Front, in particular, Ogden City. Ogden Valley is approximately 331 square miles and has an elevation that ranges between 4400 and 9700 feet. This wide range in elevation provides a diverse environment for humans, wildlife , and …

The Effectiveness Of Institutional Intervention At Minimizing Demographic Inertia And Improving The Representation Of Women Faculty In Higher Education, Amanda V. Bakian

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Across all science and engineering disciplines, women currently receive 46% of the doctoral degrees granted annually. Despite gains in doctoral degrees earned by women over the past 30 years, they remain under-represented among full time tenured /tenure-track science and engineering faculty compared to their presence among degree recipients. The inequality gap is widest among full professors at 4 year research universities where women account for a mere 16% of all S&E full time full professors. Multiple hypothesis have been proposed to account for women's under-representation relative to men including those based on human capital/economic theory, feminist theory, innate biological gender …

Women's Perceptions Of Leadership Roles Within A Southern Baptist Congregation, Tina Colvin Hook

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Particular biblical scriptures are used to justify the Southern Baptist Convention's position on leadership, including female ordination. The author uses interviews to examine how women within a Southern Baptist congregation in Southeast Georgia assign meaning to leadership roles and understand particular biblical scripture. The interviews revealed (1) knowledge gaps between the women's stated beliefs and their basic knowledge of their faith, and (2) contradictions between their views and their practices. The interviewees rationalized these gaps and contradictions using explanations of cultural memes and religious male hegemony. The respondents defined leadership in various ways, yet few recognized the power and authority …

Growing Up Biracial In A Southern Elementary School, Julie M. Kight

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation explored the relationship between racial identity of biracial children (defined as fifty percent Black and fifty percent White) and their academic experiences in a southern elementary school setting. This dissertation ventured further to explore the curriculum in a southern elementary school setting and whether it meets the academic needs of the biracial child and includes the biracial child. This dissertation reflected on artifacts collected and analyzed narratives from the participants involved. These participants included six biracial female students in grades three through five. The current research employed Critical Race Theory as its theoretical framework. Critical Race Theory is …

Child Tax Credit Expansion Increases Number Of Families Eligible For A Refund, Marybeth J. Mattingly

Carsey Publications

The analysis shows that more than 500,000 rural families, or almost 9 percent of rural families, will become newly eligible for the Child Tax Credit under the expansion included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Within these families are an estimated 900,000 rural children. The proportion of urban families benefiting from the expanded Child Tax Credit is slightly lower than in rural areas, but only 5 percent of suburban families are newly eligible for the credit.

The Animated Work Environment: A Vision For Working Life In A Digital Society, Henrique Houayek

All Dissertations

Dramatic transformations in the nature, place and organization of working life due to increasing sophistication and access of information technologies in the United States suggest a redesign of the work environment as a socially and technologically responsive system occupying both home and office.
This thesis examines the process of creation of an 'Animated Work Environment' [AWE]. A space in the scale of a cubicle envisioned as an environment-as-responsive-robot; an articulated, programmable interior accommodating a range of digital technologies across fluid assemblages of people working with both printed and digital materials in a variety of locations and settings, searching for a …

Measuring And Detecting Political Forces, Ann Zerkle

All Dissertations

The essays in my dissertation explore the impact of political action on everyday life by utilizing the modern theory of political economy and investigating the 'unintended' consequences of political behavior. Specifically, the first essay studies the impact on communities when the Army activates reservists and guardsmen. The second essay challenges traditional ways of measuring electoral data, helping in the understanding of election campaigns. The third essay demonstrates the new electoral measure to ask and answer, 'Did Bush bring home troops to bolster campaign support in 2004?'

Corruption Of Religion And The Establishment Clause, Andrew Koppelman

William & Mary Law Review

Government neutrality toward religion is based on familiar considerations: the importance of avoiding religious conflict, alienation of religious minorities, and the danger that religious considerations will introduce a dangerous irrational dogmatism into politics and make democratic compromise more difficult. This Article explores one consideration, prominent at the time of the framing, that is often overlooked: the idea that religion can be corrupted by state involvement with it. This idea is friendly to religion but, precisely for that reason, is determined to keep the state away from religion. If the religion-protective argument for disestablishment is to be useful today, it cannot …

An Evaluation Of The Allocation Of Funding For Assistive Technology: A Case Study, Cindy L. Ollis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Although benefits of assistive technology (AT) to people with disabilities are widely apparent, barriers, primarily funding, still inhibit access to needed AT. All agencies receiving federal funding are required to show no discrimination with regard to age, race, disability, and gender. This case study of a state run agency providing funding for AT to enable independent living among people with disabilities involved analyzing spending data from 2003 2008 to determine who used the fund, what was purchased, and whether it was equitably distributed according to age, ethnicity, gender, and population density. Additionally variables predictive of amount spent per person were …

The Pelikan Movement - An Immigrant Story, Richard Blythe

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Blythe, Richard J. “The Pelikan Movement: An Immigrant Story.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2008. 306 pp.

The Pelikan Movement, led initially by Jan Pelikan, the grandfather of the Yale historian Jaroslav Pelikan, was a pivotal event in a Slovak Lutheran immigrant community that desired to provide a confessional Lutheran witness to their mother country. Shortly after the First World War, this immigrant community was resolute to return to Slovakia to share their confessional Lutheran understanding of the Christian faith, in the Hurban tradition, as well as their new church polity and practices that they adopted in America during the previous …

Analyzing The Effectiveness Of Rehabilitation Programs, Victoria Miceli

Senior Honors Projects

Rehabilitating criminals has become a highly debated topic throughout the U.S. With the majority of criminals being repeat offenders, the correctional institution has made rehabilitation a top priority. Research over the last twenty five years has shown that some programs are more effective than others. After reviewing the body of research, I developed a modification of a widely used assessment instrument, the Correctional Program Assessment Inventory, to make it more suitable for use in Rhode Island. I used this modification together with the State of Michigan’s Program Assessment Tool to assess the degree of which four of the over 100 …

Parasocial Relationships With Celebrities: An Illusion Of Intimacy With Mediated Friends, Amanda R. Laken

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This research looked at parasocial interactions among college students. The study looked at the differences in gender and parasocial interaction, ethnicity/race and parasocial interaction, and the type of entertainment the celebrity was in and parasocial interaction. The research looked at celebrities as themselves and not as the characters they play as previous studies have. The research consisted of a revised parasocial interaction scale along with basic demographic questions. Although there have been studies examining levels of worship among different celebrities, they have been no correlations or differences stated concerning parasocial interactions. In addition, there has been no previous research stating …

Pusztai's "Region And Education Iii: Education And Church In Central-And Eastern-Europe At First Glance" And "Region And Education Iv: Religion And Values In Education In Central And Eastern Europe" - Book Review, Nóra Veronika Németh, Tímea Ceglédi

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Grandparents As Adult Mentors On Reported Adolescent Risk-Taking Behaviors, Thane R. Goodrich

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Adolescent risk-taking behaviors, both negative and positive, continue to be a point of interest for researchers and of concern for society. Negative risk-taking behaviors threaten healthy adolescent development and may have deleterious effects on the remainder of the adolescent's life. Positive risk-taking behaviors promote healthy development and can aid in pro-social outcomes. Mentoring has been an established means of assisting adolescents through this sometimes difficult stage of life. Researchers have identified those elements which tend to make the greatest impact in mentoring programs. Among those known elements are adults who are found in "naturally" occurring settings. Teachers in schools, religious …

Examining The Relationship Between Antecedents Of Sexuality And Women's Reported Level Of Sexual Satisfaction During The First Five Years Of Marriage, Rachel R. Rudd

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between antecedents of sexuality and the level of sexual satisfaction in females who had been married no more than five years. Past research has examined communication, presence of orgasm, sexual desire, and frequency of sexual activity and various other antecedents of sexual satisfaction. One relationship that was an addition to those already found in the literature was sexual knowledge as an antecedent to sexual satisfaction. Six questions were formulated for the study:

1. How do females perceive their global sexual functioning?

2. How do females perceive their level of sexual …

Individual Endorsement Of Remarriage Beliefs, Consistency Of Cognitions Between Spouses, And Outcomes In Remarriage, Lyndy Sue Agee

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Despite the increasing prevalence of remarriages over the last several decades, little work has been done in establishing theories and models specific to remarried couples and stepfamilies. To address this gap, the multidimensional cognitive development model for individuals in stepfamilies was utilized. To evaluate the model, this study tested the consistency tenet, which is central to the model. Consistency of cognitions is assumed to be of primary importance in stepfamily relationships and a balanced system is one that is defined by consistency of cognitions. Data were analyzed from the "Relationship Quality and Stability in Utah Newlywed Remarriages" study. With a …

Seasonal Outlook: An Examination Of How The Foundations Of Attachment To Community Differ Between Seasonal And Year-Round Residents In High Amenity Areas, Brain M. Jennings

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Utah is a popular second-home destination due to its unique landscapes that offer numerous natural amenities. Therefore, this research utilizes a mail survey of residents in six Utah counties to examine if seasonal residents become attached to their local communities in the same way as year-round residents. The objective of this research was two-fold: 1) to determine if the commonly cited dimensions of community attachment are an accurate representation of the concept itself; and 2) to determine if the foundations of community attachment, based on those conceptual dimensions, are different for year-round and seasonal homeowners.

Prior research has shown that …

Attachment To The Physical Age Of Urban Residential Neighborhoods: A Comparative Case Study Of Historic Charleston And I'On, Jeremy Wells

All Dissertations

Purpose:
To counter the over-reliance of historic preservation research and practice on objective, expert values by understanding how people subjectively value and are attached to the age and design of traditionally-designed urban residential neighborhoods.
Research question:
How does the age of traditionally designed, urban residential environments affect the degree and character of place attachment for residents?
Cases:
1) historic Charleston, south of Broad Street, 2) I'On new urbanist development in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina.
Unit of analysis:
Residents of 1) historic Charleston and 2) I'On.
Methodology (methods):
Sequential mixed-method: phenomenology (interviews) followed by a survey methodology (on-line survey instrument); both …

Essays In Public Choice: The Settings That Foster Increased Educational Quality, Interest Group Activity And Economic Development, Leslee Conaway

All Dissertations

ABSTRACT
The following essays in public choice are concerned with two main subjects: changes in public educational quality due to competition from surrounding private schools and the settings that foster increased interest group activity and what impact that activity has on the relative economic development of US states. While these subjects may seem varied, they are both important in understanding differences in economic development.
Education has long been associated with economic expansion, so it is important to understand the impacts that private markets for education have on its public provision. In Chapter II, I look at whether there are competitive …