Digital Commons Network^™

Student-Led Conferences: Perceptions Held By Parents Of Children Attending A Christian Elementary School, Angele’ Foster-King

Theses and Dissertations

This concurrent multiple methods study was to inform the work at Ontario Christian School (OCS) related to student-led conferences in grades K-3rd during the 2009-2010 school year. OCS elementary parent perceptions were explored regarding the benefits, if any, of student-led conferences in addition to how, if at all, student-led conferences have influenced parent awareness of K-3rd student academic performance, communication between parents and students in regards to school, parental expectations and parenting style, as well as their influence on student motivation and accountability. Participating parents completed a quantitative survey and a qualitative questionnaire. Five main findings resulted. First, the parents …

Muslim Female Leadership, Maliha Marri

Theses and Dissertations

Leadership by women is by no means a new concept in the Islamic world. In fact, Islamic history is replete with female Muslim leaders. Researcher Badawi (1995) has extrapolated that the obstacles in the path of Muslim female leadership are “cultural practices”, not Islam. Even though it may be hard to do so in an Islamic way, there is actually no proof in the Quran that prohibits Muslim women from assuming leadership roles. Remnant androcentrism continues to be an impediment in the way of Muslim female leadership. Abugideriri has explained that traditionally, Islamic leadership has been gendered, with the males …

Successful Change Strategies For A Major Research And Consulting Company, Islam Ahmad Azzam

Theses and Dissertations

This case study describes a major change initiative undertaken by a major consulting-contracting agency, 3 Tier Research and Development, Inc., engaged in market branding, research, and development in the United States. Focusing on one client account, Go-Green Auto Corp, the study scrutinizes relevant organizational theories as they apply to real-time organizational leadership and change-management strategy scenarios. Members of the studied organization from one office in Southern California, predisposed by their own mind-sets and training in the organization's mission statement and policies and procedures of operation, voluntarily participated in field research that included questionnaires and interviews by the researcher. The goal …

Childhood Physical Abuse And Adulthood Mortality In Treatment-Seeking Male Veterans With Combat-Related Ptsd, Anna F. Leshner

Theses and Dissertations

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been associated with increased overall risk for mortality as well as deaths death due to behavioral causes in combat veterans. In addition, adverse childhood experiences, including childhood physical abuse, have been associated with many of the leading causes of death in adults. The present study investigated childhood physical punishment experiences in 1,866 U.S. military male combat veterans who had been in residential PTSD treatment in order to explore whether such experiences were related to increased risk for mortality or cause of death in this population. It was hypothesized that more physical punishment would be related …

The Role Of Digitally Native, Nonprofit News Media In The Future Of American Journalism: An Exploratory Study, Rebecca Coates Nee

Theses and Dissertations

Unprecedented changes in journalism practices have been occurring since the 21st century ushered in the digital age. News gathering methods, means of information delivery, and consumer habits have altered dramatically because of technological advances, causing a disruption in the traditional business model. Newspapers, historically the key instrument for investigative and public affairs reporting in the United States, have been the media sector facing the biggest decline in revenue and circulation. While the audience is migrating to traditional news outlets online, the advertisers are not. Free services such as eBay and Craig's List have contributed to a nearly 50% drop in …

How Husbands Can Support Their Wives In Achieving Weight Management Goals: The Development Of A Self-Help Resource, Christi Lynn Kush

Theses and Dissertations

The nationwide prevalence of obesity calls for more effective strategies for weight loss and maintenance of desired weight. The majority of weight loss programs focus on behavior change (diet and exercise) with some success, although lost weight is often regained. Interventions that boost the long-term effects of weight loss achievements are greatly needed. Marriage provides an ideal context for the lifestyle changes required for effective weight maintenance. Although well-intentioned, spouses may not know how to support their partner's weight loss efforts. Because women are more likely than men to attend to their spouses' health needs and women struggle more than …

Religious And Spiritual Beliefs, Practices, Professional Attitudes And Behaviors Of Clinical And Counseling Psychology Interns, Jeanette Francis

Theses and Dissertations

It is important for clinicians to address religious and spiritual matters in their psychological treatment. Personal religious and spiritual beliefs can have a significant impact on the consideration of religious and spiritual issues in psychotherapy. The religious and spiritual views of clinicians form as a function of general development and may be influenced by graduate education and training. The current study sought to determine the religious and spiritual attitudes, beliefs, and practices of doctoral students in clinical and counseling psychology, their views on religious and spiritual clinical interventions, and the effect of graduate education and training on both of these …

Influence Of Social Support And Intimate Partner Abuse In African American Mothers' Substance Use, Shaquita Tillman

Theses and Dissertations

African American women are at increased risk for severe forms of partner abuse. Moreover, women abused while pregnant have reported higher frequencies of severe intimate partner abuse compared with women who have been abused only before and/or after pregnancy. Literature suggests that social support is a critical resource for abused women who are seeking safety. Specifically, African American women, both those who report experiences of abuse and those who do not, endorse social support as a healthy coping strategy. The current study is a secondary analysis of the multisite Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study dataset looking at the relationship …

Significant Traits, Characteristics, And Qualities Of High Effective United Methodist Church Clergy, Grant John Hagiya

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation attempts to identify the key traits, characteristics, and qualities of high effective United Methodist Church clergy. The experimental study employed a mixed methods design, with a quantitative component that compared high effective and low effective clergy on the dimensions of their Emotional Intelligence using the BarOn Assessment, leadership qualities using the Leadership Practices Inventory, church size and vitality, and finally, self identification as to leadership abilities and ministry effectiveness. It also included a qualitative component in the form of in-depth interviews with high effective United Methodist Church clergy on their leadership traits, characteristics, and qualities. The dissertation's quantitative …

Cultivating 21st Century Competencies In A Virtual Worlds Learning Environment, Terry K. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Education reforms in recent years have pressured schools to show achievement results through testing and conformity to standards. Problems of low student engagement in the current test-heavy environment have been a serious barrier to learning in schools across the United States, especially in low socioeconomic areas. After years of unsuccessful testing programs, educators and researchers are calling for approaches that enhance student engagement and foster the 21st century competencies that students need to succeed. Researchers have found that engagement, 21st century competencies, and learning can be enhanced using virtual worlds approaches (Arici, 2008; Barab, Dodge, & Ingram-Goble, 2006; Dede, Nelson, …

Uncovering And Analyzing Potential Gaps In Teaching Graduate Programs In Leadership By Way Of Online Education, Joseph E. Craig

Theses and Dissertations

With online education becoming a more viable option to students around the globe, the ongoing problem of optimal ways of teaching leadership in this format has become an issue to be investigated. The design of teaching leadership at a graduate level in which the format is conducted at least 60% online has been the focus of this study. In investigating this, the research has centered on a quantitative and qualitative study, which came about as the result of responses from 27 professors out of 78 across the nation whom were sent requests from schools that met the aforementioned criteria. In …

A Study To Determine Differences In The Level Of Perceived Preparedness In Teaching Algebra To Eighth Graders Between Teachers In The United States And Teachers In Lebanon, Seta Khajarian

Theses and Dissertations

Algebra is a branch in mathematics and taking Algebra in middle school is often a gateway to advanced courses in high school. The problem is that the United States and Lebanon had low scores in Algebra in the 2007 Trends in Mathematics and Sciences Study (TIMSS), an international assessment administered to 4th and 8th graders every 4 years. On the 2007 TIMSS, Lebanon's average score in Algebra was 465, a lower score than the United States' average of 501. This paper attempted to determine if there were differences in the level of perceived preparedness between teachers in Lebanon and teachers …

Identifying The Challenges And Support Needs Of Baby Boom Mothers Middle Managers, Audrey Sloofman

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify the challenges, development needs, and support needs of Baby Boomer middle manager women who have children and plan to continue working for the next 10 years. Baby Boomer women have played the role of groundbreakers for other women in the workplace and must continue to do so, as many organizations are still male-dominated at the uppermost levels. As mothers and managers, they have developed a holistic view of the world, which can add insight at C-suite levels. This study involved in-depth interviews with 12 Baby Boom generation women (born between 1946 and …

The Role Of Process Consultation And Appreciative Inquiry In The Coaching Model At Los Angeles Universal Preschool, Karel Kreshek

Theses and Dissertations

Enabling American students to race to the top through the education reform launched by the Obama Administration begins with attention to its youngest citizens. Studies have shown that high-quality early childhood education is associated with improved school achievement in later years. However, limitations in the reach and effectiveness of federal and state preschool programs have prompted the creation of nonprofit organizations dedicated to improving access to preschool for underserved children. One such organization is Los Angeles Universal Preschool (LAUP), whose design includes coaching for childcare providers to heighten the quality of their preschool programs. This study examined the use and …

Interception In Open-Grown Douglas-Fir (Pseudotsuga Menziesii) Urban Canopy, Mitchell Bixby

Dissertations and Theses

I hypothesized that Douglas-fir trees (Pseudotsuga menziesii) standing apart from other trees ('open-grown') will intercept more rainfall than Douglas-fir trees standing near other trees ('closed-canopy'). Open-grown trees differ structurally and are more common in urban settings, yet have been infrequently studied. Existing literature, based primarily on closed-canopy trees, suggests Douglas-fir trees in Pacific Northwest forests intercept approximately 25% of rainfall annually. Because open-grown trees have more vertical leaf area than individual trees in closed-canopy forests, I expected to find higher interception by open-grown trees.

I collected throughfall under four open-grown Douglas-firs using six static collectors ('buckets') per tree, …

Romans 12:17-13:10 & Quakers' Relation To The State, Cherice Bock

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

The (Com)Motion Of Love: Theological Formation In John Woolman's Itinerant Ministry, Jon Kershner

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

Who Took The Christ Out Of Quakerism, Guy Aiken

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

The 1955 Union And The Future Of Friends, Ruth M. Pitman

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

Some Reflections On "Theapostasy" And Ecumenism , John Punshon

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

A Letter To The Editor 2/12/2011, John Edminster

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

Contributors -- Quaker Religious Thought, Nos. 116-117, Paul Anderson

Quaker Religious Thought

No abstract provided.

Risk Assessment And Prevention Of Pressure Ulcers, Registered Nurses' Association Of Ontario

General Submissions: Community and Population-based Materials

This best practice guideline assists nurses who work in diverse practice settings to identify adults who are at risk of pressure ulcers. This guideline further provides direction to nurses in defining early interventions for pressure ulcer prevention, and to manage Stage I pressure ulcers.

The Spectropoetics Of Trauma: Ghosts, Language, And The Wound In Nightwood, Brad Baumgartner

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

Engaging the language of psychoanalysis through a “spectropoetics” while attempting to interpret the ghosts operating both inside and outside characters in Djuna Barnes’ novel Nightwood, this essay addresses issues of modernity, queerness, and autobiography which act in a sort of spectral dialogism between text and reader, author and autobiographical impetus, trauma and well being. The influence of ghosts residing both within and without these characters evokes an ontological inquiry into the alternating dialectic of psychic and bodily haunting, and thereby sheds new light on Barnes’ marginal modernism. The novel suggests that rather than merely acting as agents of trauma, …

Impossible Returns Through Joy Kogawa’S Novel Obasan, Catalina Florina Florescu

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

This essay uses Joy Kogawa’s novel Obasan as a means to reflect upon the relationship between cultural assimilation and return. The novel dramatizes how we carry within ourselves remnants of the past, as inherited through family history and memories. It appears that for those who leave their place of birth, a constant nostalgia without cure creates a new geography that has little to do with concrete landscapes, and more to do with affective reconstructions.

The Google Book Settlement And The Trips Agreement, Daniel J. Gervais

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

The proposed amended settlement in the Google Book case has been the focus of numerous comments and critiques. This "perspective" reviews the compatibility of the proposed settlement with the TRIPS Agreement and relevant provisions of the Berne Convention that were incorporated into TRIPS, in particular the no-formality rule, the most-favored nation (MFN) clause, national treatment obligations, and the so-called three-step test.

Golan V. Holder: A Look At The Constraints Imposed By The Berne Convention, Daniel J. Gervais

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

One of the central issues in the Golan v. Holder litigation is the extent to which the United States had flexibility to tailor the protection of existing works that had fallen in the public domain when it joined the Berne Convention. This Essay argues that the Berne Convention obligates the United States as a Berne Union member to provide some degree of protection, but otherwise leaves wide latitude to set the conditions under which works in the public domain receive retroactive copyright protection. The Convention itself does not mandate that any particular level of protection be granted to such works …

A Former Treasury Adviser On How To Really Fix Wall Street, Morgan Ricks

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Any serious program for Wall Street reform should start with two words: “term out.” “Terming out” is a financial term of art, but its meaning is easily grasped. It simply means funding your business with long-term financing instead of short-term IOUs. To a far greater extent than is commonly understood, our financial sector funds its operations with extremely short-term borrowings. These IOUs must be paid back in a day, a week, or a month. By contrast, termed-out financial firms shun borrowings that come due in less than a year. A terming-out requirement would be costly for Wall Street, but the …

Unforgiving Of Those Who Trespass Against U.S.: State Laws Criminalizing Immigration, Karla M. Mckanders

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Since around 2005, states and localities have been using criminal trespass laws to target undocumented immigrants for unlawful presence. Specifically, in April 2010, Arizona passed SB 1070: Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act. SB 1070 creates crimes involving trespassing by “illegal aliens” and harboring or concealing unlawful aliens. This paper argues that state trespass laws that criminalize unlawful presence of immigrants are unconstitutional regulations of immigration and are a preempted exercise of state power. In evaluating the constitutionality of state trespass laws that criminalize immigration status, this paper proceeds in three parts. The first part of the paper …

The Four Pillars Of Constitutional Doctrine, Suzanna Sherry

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Constitutional interpretation, and thus constitutional doctrine, is inevitably controversial. Judges, scholars, lawyers, politicians, and the American public all disagree among themselves, not only about the correct constitutional outcome but even about the right approach to constitutional interpretation. We are unlikely to reach consensus on whether we should read the Constitution as a living and evolving document or instead read it in accordance with a fixed original meaning, much less on whether it does or does not protect campaign contributions, reproductive rights, affirmative action policies, gun ownership, or any of the other contested issues that have recently come before the Supreme …