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In Service Of Mission: Assessing Catholic School Guidance Counselors, Robert J. Murray, Kristy S. Kane

Journal of Catholic Education

Catholic schools are set apart from public schools in that Catholic schools aim to create for the school community an atmosphere enlivened by the Gospel spirit of freedom and charity. Those who serve in Catholic schools, therefore, need to understand their role as unique, that is, faith driven. The purpose of this study was to assess this uniqueness as understood and practiced by Catholic school counselors. The findings of this study note positive trends among Catholic school counselors, particularly in terms of academic preparation and training as well as some incorporation of Catholic identity and mission into their ministry with …

Spiritual Vs. Religious: Perspectives From Today's Undergraduate Catholics, Dawn V. Overstreet

Journal of Catholic Education

Contemporary American college students simultaneously express both increased interest in spirituality and declining interest in traditional religion. Recent research recognizes the trend of young adults separating spirituality from religion, but utilizes varied definitions of each term developed by the researchers. This study asks students directly whether and how they differentiate spirituality from religion. The purpose of this article is to examine how undergraduate Catholics attending a Catholic university conceive of themselves as spiritual or religious and the differences, if any, between the two descriptors. The perspectives of 20 young adults of various programs of study and self-described degrees of spirituality …

Introduction To The Special Issue: Homelessness In Canada, John R. Graham, Jeannette Waegemakers Schiff

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In February 2009, over 700 people gathered for more than three-days at 'Growing Home,' Canada's second national conference on housing and homelessness (www.nhc2009. ca) to explore causes and solutions to this urgent problem. Conference delegates included those who are experiencing or have experienced homelessness, their families, policy analysts, political activists, politicians, professionals, scholars, those in the affordable housing community, and concerned citizens generally. Over 140 academic papers and workshops were delivered by the country's leading researchers and homelessness- serving practitioners.

Perspectives Of Employed People Experiencing Homelessness Of Self And Being Homeless: Challenging Socially Constructed Perceptions And Stereotypes, Micheal L. Shier, Marion E. Jones, John R. Graham

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In a study that sought to identify the multiple factors resulting in homelessness from the perspective of 65 individuals in Calgary, Alberta, Canada who were both employed and homeless, we found that participants' perceptions of being homeless emerged as a major theme which impacts their entry to and exit from homelessness. Four sub-themes related to these perceptions were identified: (1) perceptions of self and situation; (2) impact of being homeless on self-reflection; (3) aspects of hope to consider; and (4) perspectives on having a permanent residence. Analytically, these findings help challenge present stereotypes about homelessness and usefully inform social service …

The Limits Of Social Capital: An Examination Of Immigrants' Housing Challenges In Calgary, Alina Tanasescu, Alan Smart

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A common explanation of immigrants' under-representation among the homeless population in Canada is that kinship and community networks act as a buffer to absolute homelessness. There are indications that immigrant homelessness is, however, increasing, suggesting that the buffering capacity of social networks reaches a limit. Further, evidence of precarious housing situations indicates that we should approach this form of housing provision with some caution. This paper draws on a larger study of housing difficulties among immigrants in Calgary to address the ways in which social capital serves a buffering role, and under what conditions it loses its ability to prevent …

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 37, No. 4 (December 2010)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

SPECIAL ISSUE ON HOMELESSNESS IN CANADA

• INTRODUCTION TO THE SPECIAL ISSUE: HOMELESSNESS IN CANADA - John R. Graham and Jeannette Waegemakers Schiff, Special Editors
• PERSPECTIVES OF EMPLOYED PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS OF SELF AND BEING HOMELESS: CHALLENGING SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED PERCEPTIONS AND STEREOTYPES - Micheal L. Shier, Marion E. Jones, and John R. Graham
• THE ECONOMICS OF BEING YOUNG AND POOR: HOW HOMELESS YOUTH SURVIVE IN NEOLIBERAL TIMES - Jeff Karabanow, Jean Hughes, Jann Ticknor, Sean Kidd, and Dorothy Patterson
• OUT OF THE FRYING PAN, INTO THE FIRE: TRAUMA IN THE LIVES OF HOMELESS YOUTH PRIOR TO AND DURING HOMELESSNESS - John …

Review Of Doing Time Together: Love And Family In The Shadow Of The Prison. Megan Comfort. Reviewed By Jonah A. Siegel., Jonah A. Siegel

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Megan Comfort, Doing Time Together: Love and Family in the Shadow of the Prison. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2009. $55.00 hardcover, $22.00 paperback.

Power Allocations And Professional Hierarchy In The Illinois Health Care System, Patrick M. Callahan

DePaul Journal of Health Care Law

No abstract provided.

The School-Based Do-Not-Resuscitate-Order, Jessica Adelman

DePaul Journal of Health Care Law

No abstract provided.

Mother And Daughter Communication About Sexual Health In Rural Kenya, Jessica Velcoff

College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Theses and Dissertations

The present study focused on young women, and the manner in which communication with their mothers may facilitate decreased sexual risk behaviors in rural Kenya. With regard to sexual behaviors, Hutchinson and Wood (2007) developed the parent-based expansion of the theory of planned behavior (PETPB). The PETPB is a theoretical framework that builds upon the theory of planned behavior, to include the influence of parents in understanding adolescent sexual risk behavior. The present study was guided by the PETPB and explored communication, knowledge of sexuality and sexual health, and preventative behaviors among rural secondary school aged Kenyan young women (15 …

"For Such Is A Friend Now": Reflection And Revision In Shakespeare's Comic Friendships, Leah Rainell Boudreaux

Master's Theses

In early modem England, "friendship" was a term both flexible and deeply fraught. It could apply to a wide range of relationships, including, for example, those between family members, lords and tenants, or male members of the aristocracy. The ideals associated with friendship at that time had a profound impact on the way that the relationship was represented both in a historical and literary sense. During that time, William Shakespeare crafted remarkable and resonating depictions of friendship which have endured the through the ages. The distinction between Shakespeare's work and the work of other early modem writers lies in the …

Application Of Check In-Check Out As A Targeted Intervention To Increase Appropriate Behavior In At-Risk High School Students, Lauren Lestremau Harpole

Master's Theses

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Check In-Check Out (CICO) in increasing appropriate behavior and decreasing disruptive behavior of three students in south Mississippi who were referred for behavioral problems, a multiple baseline across students design was employed. Target students' levels of appropriate behavior and frequency of disruptive behavior over time were compared through evaluation of daily behavior report card (DBRC) point data and rates of office discipline referrals (ODRs). Treatment integrity was assessed. The current study serves as one of the few studies in the CICO literature to (a) implement ClCO in a …

Explaining The Variability Of Free-Living And Attached Bacterioplankton Abundances In The Bay Of St. Louis, Mississippi, Allison K. Mojzis

Master's Theses

The Bay of St. Louis (BSL) is a shallow and vertically well-mixed estuary on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi and supports the recreational and commercial activities of the surrounding towns of Bay St. Louis, Diamondhead, DeLisle, and Pass Christian. In addition to residential communities, various industrial and commercial sites inhabit the watershed and coastline. The Hollywood casino, DuPont titanium dioxide plant, and multiple sew_age treatment plants, as well as nonpoint sources of pollution, contribute to poor water quality. To evaluate spatial and temporal changes in BSL water quality, freeliving and attached bacterioplankton concentrations were enumerated by epifluorescence microscopy. Nine stations …

The Effect Of Father Involvement On Marital Satisfaction, Tasha Dawn Falslev

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The effect of father involvement in childrearing on parental stress and marital satisfaction of wives in newlywed couples was assessed in a sample of couples married five years. Results showed that marital satisfaction is positively correlated with the wife's perception of husband's involvement in activities of childcare and negatively correlated with the wife's stress. The association between husband 's perception of involvement and wife's marital satisfaction was less strong.

The implications for these findings on family life education for couples in the early years of marriage are discussed. Suggestions for interventions to promote father involvement are presented.

Evaluating Student Perceptions Of Value And Preferences For Online Programs In Skill-Based Learning: An Applied Exercise, Darcy Lynn Stewart

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

In an age where training and knowledge are easily accessible online, textbooks, lecture slides and other class materials have migrated to online programs. Online programs are becoming easier to maintain for professors and administrators and offer some convenience and efficiency that traditional classroom lectures do not. It is widely assumed that students who have grown up with cell phones, email accounts, social media, iPods, Google and laptops easily identify with internet based applications. This research studies a group of over 30 university students seeking to develop skill-­‐sets to prepare them for entering the workforce through participation in an online and …

Visual Literacy: How Do They Do It?, Shantelle Marie Ford

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Due to the dramatic increase of technology in our world today, in addition to being textually literate, students must learn to be visually literate as well. Visual literacy essentially consists of the ability to read images. As students become more visually adept at reading images, teachers must become aware of their visual literacy strategies in order to adjust their instructional practices to support the new visual and verbal learner. This research consisted of interviewing elementary age students about wordless comic strips in order to answer the fundamental question: How do they do it? How do students in a modern age …

Identifying Motivations To Encourage Women To Adopt Positive Financial Behaviors, Megan E. Rowley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Seventeen women between the ages of 25 and 54 who self-identified as having made a positive financial change within the past two years were interviewed in four focus groups. Participants were asked to identify their motivations for financial behavior change.

The analysis of this research data indicated the participants in this study progressed through the stages of change in Prochaska's Transtheoretical Model while making personal financial changes. Factors such as emotion, family influence, and life transition helped many women move from earlier stages (Precontemplation, Contemplation) to later stages (Preparation, Action) of change. Although participants utilized a wide variety of first …

Complexity And Power Consumption In Stochastic Iterative Decoders, Keyur M. Payak

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Stochastic iterative decoding is a novel method to decode the bits received at the end of a communication channel and to control the rate of error happening in the message bits due to noise being injected into the channel. This decoder uses stochastic computation that is based on manipulation of probabilities from a random sequence of digital bits. Hardware needed for implementing this arithmetic is very simple and can be completely implemented using simple digital complementary metal oxide gates. This helps the decoder to be technology independent, which is a major advantage over its digital and analog counterparts, which are …

Using Formative Student Feedback: A Continuous Quality Improvement Approach For Online Course Development, Kristy T. Bloxham

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The objective of this study was to examine the use of frequent, anonymous student course surveys as a tool in supporting continuous quality improvement (CQI) principles in online instruction. The study used a qualitative, multiple-case design involving four separate online courses. Analysis methods included pattern matching/explanation building, time series analysis, and thematic analysis. Findings suggested that instructors used student feedback to make course changes that alleviated technical difficulties, added and clarified content, and contributed to future course changes. Students and instructors responded positively to the opportunity to give and receive anonymous feedback and felt that it helped improve the course. …

Labyrinth Weirs, Brian Mark Crookston

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Labyrinth weirs are often a favorable design option to regulate upstream water elevations and increase flow capacity; nevertheless, it can be difficult to engineer an optimal design due to the complex flow characteristics and the many geometric design variables of labyrinth weirs. This study was conducted to improve labyrinth weir design and analyses techniques using physical-model-based data sets from this and previous studies and by compiling published design methodologies and labyrinth weir information.

A method for the hydraulic design and analyses of labyrinth weirs is presented. Discharge coefficient data for quarter-round and half-round labyrinth weirs are offered for sidewall angles …

Architecture, Modeling, And Analysis Of A Plasma Impedance Probe, Magathi Jayaram

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Variations in ionospheric plasma density can cause large amplitude and phase changes in the radio waves passing through this region. Ionospheric weather can have detrimental effects on several communication systems, including radars, navigation systems such as the Global Positioning Sytem (GPS), and high-frequency communications. As a result, creating models of the ionospheric density is of paramount interest to scientists working in the field of satellite communication.

Numerous empirical and theoretical models have been developed to study the upper atmosphere climatology and weather. Multiple measurements of plasma density over a region are of marked importance while creating these models. The lack …

Design Of An Adaptable Run-Time Reconfigurable Software-Defined Radio Processing Architecture, Joshua R. Templin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Processing power is a key technical challenge holding back the development of a high-performance software defined radio (SDR). Traditionally, SDR has utilized digital signal processors (DSPs), but increasingly complex algorithms, higher data rates, and multi-tasking needs have exceed the processing capabilities of modern DSPs. Reconfigurable computers, such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), are popular alternatives because of their performance gains over software for streaming data applications like SDR. However, FPGAs have not yet realized the ideal SDR because architectures have not fully utilized their partial reconfiguration (PR) capabilities to bring needed flexibility. A reconfigurable processor architecture is proposed that utilizes …

Assessment Of College Students' Understanding Of The Equals Relation: Development And Validation Of An Instrument, Gregory D. Wheeler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research indicates that many elementary students do not comprehend that the equal sign is an indication that an equality relation exists between two structures. Instead, they perceive the equal sign as an indication that a particular procedure is to be performed. As students mature, and as their exposure to the equal sign and equality relations in multiple contexts increases, most obtain the ability to interpret the equal sign as an indicator of an equivalence relation. Incorrect usages of the equal sign, however, by post-algebra students indicate a tendency for students to regress back to a comprehension of the equal sign …

An Evolutionary Approach To Optimization Of Compound Stock Trading Indicators Used To Confirm Buy Signals, Allan W. Teeples

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis examines the application of genetic algorithms to the optimization of a composite set of technical indicator filters to confirm or reject buy signals in stock trading, based on probabilistic values derived from historical data. The simplicity of the design, which gives each filter within the composite filter the ability to act independently of the other filters, is outlined, and the cumulative indirect effect each filter has on all the others is discussed. This system is contrasted with the complexity of systems from previous research that attempt to merge several indicator filters together by giving each one a weight …

The Effects Of Pedagogical Agents On Listening Anxiety And Listening Comprehension In An English As A Foreign Language Context, Young-Ah Ko

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study aimed to explore the impact of pedagogical agents in computer-based listening instruction on EFL students' listening anxiety levels and listening comprehension skills. A total of 66 Korean college students received computer-based listening instruction. Students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: American agent condition, Korean agent condition, or no-agent condition. Additional data sources were included in the experimental design in order to investigate students' learning experience more thoroughly.

Results indicated that there were no statistical differences in listening anxiety levels and listening comprehension skills between students who worked with the agent and students who worked without the …

A Multi-Component School-Based Intervention Aimed At Increasing Vegetable Preference And Intake Among Elementary-Aged Children, Elizabeth Strasser

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study aimed to implement and assess a school-based multi-component intervention aimed at increasing elementary school-aged children's knowledge of, preference for, and intake of vegetables. The multi-component intervention included lunchroom exposure, nutrition curriculum in the classroom, after school program vegetable curriculum, family friendly nutrition newsletter, vegetable fair and parent cooking class. Lunchtime vegetable consumption was assessed by direct observation. Changes in preference, attitude, and knowledge were assessed using a pre- and post-intervention survey.

The multi-component intervention was implemented at Canyon Elementary during the 2008-2009 school year. Classroom teachers provided 20 minutes of nutrition education to students in grades one through …

Toward The Validation Of Depth-Averaged, Steady-State Simulations Of Fluvial Flows Using Three-Dimensional, Steady-State, Rans Turbulence Models, Pedro Abdiel Mateo Villanueva

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Calculations of fluvial flows are strongly influenced by geometry complexity and large overall uncertainty on every single measurable property, such as velocity and shear. Moreover, a considerable portion of the data obtained from computational simulations arose from two-dimensional, steady-state models. The present work states a different approach to perform computer-based simulations and analyze fluvial flows. For the first part, the suitability of OpenFOAM to be used as the main CFD solver to analyze fluvial flows is studied. Initially, two well documented channel configurations are computationally studied using OpenFOAM. Finally, these results are compared to the output obtained from one of …

Factors Affecting Gunnison Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus Minimus) Conservation In San Juan County, Utah, Phoebe R. Prather

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Due to loss of habitat, Gunnison sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus) currently occupy 8.5% of their presumed historical range. One population survives in Utah, occurring in San Juan County. The Gunnison Sage-grouse Rangewide Conservation Plan and the San Juan County Gunnison Sage-grouse Conservation Plan recommended management strategies to address identified conservation threats to the Utah population. I addressed three conservation strategies identified in the plans: 1) creation and enhancement of brood-rearing areas; 2) assessment of habitat conditions within the Gunnison Sage-grouse Conservation Area; and 3) prevention or reduction of perching events by avian predators on distribution line power poles.

From 2007-2009, I …

Fat Taste Transduction In Mouse Taste Cells: The Role Of Transient Receptor Potential Channel Type M5, Pin Liu

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A number of studies have demonstrated the ability of free fatty acids to activate taste cells and elicit behavioral responses consistent with there being a taste of fat. Here I show for the first time that long chain unsaturated free fatty acid, linoleic acid, depolarizes taste cells and elicits a robust intracellular calcium rise via the activation of transient receptor potential channel type M5. The linoleic acid-induced responses depend on G protein-phospholipase C pathway indicative of the involvement of G protein-coupled receptors in the transduction of fatty acids. Mice lacking transient receptor potential channel type M5 exhibit no preference for …

A Social Norms Approach To College Alcohol Use: Drinking In A Low-Use Environment, Jared M. Cox

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Social norms interventions have been shown to be effective in reducing problematic alcohol use on college campuses. However, not all interventions have been successful, and the campus environment may be responsible for the variable reactions that students have to these interventions. The following three articles investigate the nature and utility of social norms interventions in an environment where alcohol use is relatively low. The first article details an online social norms intervention implemented on a low-use campus. Results suggest that if adapted to the campus culture, a social norms approach to reducing alcohol use could be successful in this unique …