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Empowering Homeless Youth In Transitional Living Programs: A Transformative Mixed Methods Approach To Understanding Their Transition To Adulthood, Ashley Etzel Ausikaitis

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to gain insight into the journeys of homeless youth residing in transitional living programs in the Chicago area. There are multiple factors that can lead youth to homelessness as well as various risks made greater by living on the street that can lead to negative life outcomes. There is a dearth of research on outcomes of youth in transitional living programs, particularly research that includes the perspectives of those receiving services. This researcher partnered with three transitional living sites that serve homeless youth ages 18 to 24. Utilizing both qualitative and quantitative methods, the …

Reporting Methods And Analyses In Higher Education Research: Hierarchical Linear And Ols Regression Models, Kimberly Quandt Fath

Dissertations

This study examined the reporting practices used by higher education scholars to communicate the methods and analyses of studies using hierarchical linear and OLS regression models. The study consisted of three parts: (a) a citation analysis of sources associated with methods of hierarchical linear models, (b) a content analysis of reporting practices associated with studies that used hierarchical linear models, and (c) a content analysis of the arguments and corrections used by scholars who have used OLS regression techniques on nested data. When possible, results were compared to similar research. The data for this research was drawn from Journal of …

Urban Agriculture And Sustainability In Chicago, Matthew Hoffmann

Dissertations

Sustainability is increasingly informing the organization of urban life. In the past 15 years, cities have sought to alleviate the dual effects of environmental degradation and a changing economy by introducing sustainable development initiatives. Policy makers and environmental activists have often praised these efforts, pointing to the enhancement of quality of life, the mitigation of industrial pollution, and these initiatives' capacity to address poverty in a post-welfare state. Most popular depictions of the experiences of sustainability come from the perspective of white, middle class, college-educated volunteers and, increasingly, social entrepreneurs such as artisans, farmers, and other producers connected to "local" …

Practitioners' Evaluations Of Theraplay As An Effective Tool In Serving Foster And Adopted Children And Their Families, Rana Hong

Dissertations

Several studies have shown that foster and adopted children have high risk of developing severe mental health problems (Blome & Steib, 2004; Golden, 2009; Leslie, Hurlburt, Landsverk, Barth, & Slyman, 2004; McMillen. Scott, Zima, Ollie, Munson, & Spitznagel, 2004). On the other hand, evidence-based models are limited and less accessible for practitioners working with foster and adopted children (Dorsey, Kerns, Trupin, Conover, & Berliner, 2012). The goal for this study is to explore the practitioners' evaluations of Theraplay®, which is a relationship based model for meeting the pervasive clinical needs of foster and adopted children and their families. Exploring Theraplay …

The Symptom Experience Of Patients Receiving Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Inhibitors, Josephine Ann Howard-Ruben

Dissertations

This study explored the symptom experience of patients receiving epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors (EGFRIs) for breast, colon, head and neck, and colon cancer. EGFRIs are targeted therapies used at various points along the treatment continuum for these solid tumors, and may be first, second or third-line agents which can be used as single agents or in combination with other therapies. The most common side effect of these agents include dermatologic effects, such as rashes, hair, and nail changes, but they can also contribute to other side effects such as fatigue, anxiety and diarrhea. Most previous work has addressed the …

The Impact Of Insulin Management On Quality Of Life In Type 2 Diabetes, Sandra Ellen Mccormick

Dissertations

Complications of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) are severe but can be minimized through excellent glycemic control, optimally achieved by using intensive, or basal-bolus, insulin management. The quality of life (QOL) effects of basal-bolus insulin management are not fully known. This cross-sectional, observational study was based on the Revised Wilson and Cleary Model for Health Related Quality of Life, which measures five QOL domains (biological function, symptoms, functional status, general health perceptions, and overall QOL). The study aims were to describe, compare, and predict QOL in persons with T2DM based on type of insulin management (oral meds only, basal insulin only, …

Moderating Variables In The Treatment Effects Of Second Step, Gregory Eugene Moy

Dissertations

Youth violence is a problem which has been studied through theoretical frameworks based on social ecological models of development. This has coincided with the development of programs intended to prevent and reduce the occurrence of youth violence and its negative effects. One approach to preventing youth violence has been to deliver social emotional learning programs to children and adolescents in school settings. Social emotional learning programs are designed to provide children with skills and strategies for increasing self awareness, social awareness, emotion management, problem solving, and thoughtful decision making. Increasing students' familiarity and use of these prosocial strategies are thought …

Social Media And Reflective Thinking: A Case Study Of Generation Y Business Students, Stacy Neier

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Peripubertal Binge Ethanol, Age And Sex Modulate Microrna Expression In The Ventral And Dorsal Hippocampus Of The Adolescent Rat, Sarah Arianne Prins

Dissertations

Adolescent binge ethanol (EtOH) abuse induces long-term changes in gene expression, resulting in an increased risk for the development of adult mood disorders. microRNAs (microRNAs) are small, noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression by translational repression. microRNA altered in response to EtOH and puberty in the developing brain. The biogenesis of mature 22-24 nucleotide (nt), single-stranded microRNAs involves Drosha and Dicer enzymatic processing of microRNA precursors. A mature microRNA imperfectly base pairs with messenger RNA (mRNA) target genes,which leads to mRNA cleavage or translational repression. Our lab has found that repeated binge EtOH exposure alters gene expression in the hypothalamus …

The Hidden Costs Of Success: A Mixed Methods Approach To Examining Achievement Pressures In Affluent Youth, Lea Ventura Travers

Dissertations

Within the last ten years, researchers have begun to recognize that youth from affluent backgrounds report elevated adjustment problems (Csikszentmihalyi & Schneider 2001; Luthar & Lantendresse 2005a), yet contributing factors have rarely been investigated. The present study explored various parenting variables and their influence on adolescents from affluent communities, including two parent-focused parenting variables (i.e., parental perfectionism and parent life satisfaction) and three adolescent-focused parenting variables (i.e., perceived parental pressure, parents' future goals for their children, and parental involvement in their children's lives). Using a mixed methods approach (i.e., quantitative and qualitative data), both linear and curvilinear relations between parenting …

English Cottage Style Homes In America: Expressions Of Architectural, Technological And Social Innovation, Audra Bellmore

Dissertations

This dissertation examines contemporary English Cottage Style dwellings in America. First developed in Britain by English domestic architect Charles Voysey in the late 19th century, this house style was characterized by a simplification of design, a rationalism of plan, and a structural integrity reminiscent of rural medieval buildings. English Cottage Style homes gained popularity in Britain and later in America as a middle-class house type, promoted by Progressive Era housing reformers, including Gustave Stickley. Sheathed in concrete, to mimic the naturally occurring stuccos used in the 13th and 14th centuries, English Cottage Style dwellings utilized the latest in concrete reinforcement …

Speaking Of Right And Wrong: Black Girls And Moral Development, Tonya Bibbs

Dissertations

Our current approaches to moral development were generalized from the experiences of white males and females. This study draws upon existing theory in order to consider its relevance to Black girls' everyday lives. The study draws upon the moral reasoning gathered from ethnographic dilemma interviews with 8-11 year old girls and their mothers to develop a grounded theory of moral development. The contents of the resulting theory suggest that, while there are aspects of existing moral development theory that appear to be consistent across contexts, the particularity of Black community and middle childhood culminate in a theory of moral development …

Predicting Emotion Regulation In Early Childhood: The Impact Of Maternal Well-Being, Infant Crying, And Dyadic Mutuality, Tiffany Burkhardt

Dissertations

Learning adaptive emotion regulation skills in early childhood has been identified as fundamental to social competence, academic success, and psychological well-being. Because children learn to regulate their emotions through interactions with their caregivers, dyadic mutuality between the mother and infant may influence child emotion regulation capacity more than maternal behavior alone. To better understand the impact of maternal well-being and infant crying on the development of emotion regulation, parenting stress, maternal self-efficacy, maternal depression, and infant crying were examined with dyadic mutuality in the parent-child interaction to predict emotion regulation capacity.

A racially and socioeconomically diverse community sample of 149 …

Relating Preschool Class Size To Classroom Life And Student Achievement, Jessica Francis

Dissertations

There is an ongoing debate regarding the importance of smaller classes in elementary school, and a lack of solid research to support class size policies in preschool. State spending on preschool has nearly doubled in the last five years and currently more than 80 percent of American 4-year olds go to some kind of preschool. Increasing enrollments in preschool coupled with the high costs of reducing the size of classes creates the need to decide how many children should be placed in a preschool classroom.

The majority of states require that programs implement class sizes of 20 and teacher-child ratios …

Remember The Good Times: Does Savoring A Previous Intergroup Interaction Increase Whites' Positive Intergroup Emotions And Willingness To Develop Future Intergroup Friendships?, Patrick R. Harrison

Dissertations

Although racial prejudice remains a prevalent social phenomenon, research has demonstrated that positive contact - most notably intergroup friendship - predicts decreased prejudice. Whites, however, may be hesitant to develop intergroup friendships because they experience negative emotions like anxiety when faced with the prospect of interacting with outgroup members (i.e., Blacks). Past research has countered this obstacle by relying on manipulations that reframe how individuals feel about intergroup interactions to increase willingness to engage with outgroup members. Building on this framework, I tested whether savoring a previous intergroup interaction could increase friendship willingness by increasing positive intergroup emotions (Study 1) …

Psychometric Evaluation Of The Neonatal Pain, Agitation, And Sedation Scale (N-Pass) Tool In Infants And Children Age One To Thirty-Six Months In The Post-Anesthesia Care Unit, Patricia A. Hummel

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the Neonatal Pain, Agitation, and Sedation Scale (N-PASS) tool for evidence of validity and reliability in infants and children aged one to thirty-six months in the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU). This study design was a prospective, non-experimental psychometric evaluation of the N-PASS tool.

The research was conducted at a Midwestern Medical Center. The sample analyzed comprised forty subjects aged one to thirty-six months.

Data collection involved the evaluation of participants every five minutes, utilizing the N-PASS sedation subscale along with the University of Michigan Sedation Scale (UMSS) and the N-PASS pain/agitation subscale …

Perceptions Of Value And Perceived Strengths Of Arts Education During An Age Of Accountability: Conditions And Qualities That Shape A Citizenry - Implications For Leadership, Stephen Tyler Plank

Dissertations

This research examines the perceptions of arts education during periods of educational efficiency and accountability focusing specifically on the arguments made by advocates for the value of arts education within the Chicago area. It is intended to help leaders understand how we can learn from our past through revealing cyclical behaviors that can guide future decisions about how best to lead a school.

This study utilized a mixed methodology of historical documentary with oral history to compare two distinct time periods in education focusing on schools that operated in opposition to the norms of the time. Historical documentary was used …

The Fashionable Life: Fashion Imagery And The Construction Of Masculinity In America, 1960-2000, Kelly Ann O'Connor

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Expertise, Democratic Values, And Tolerance, Erika D. Price

Dissertations

Political tolerance (the willingness to extend civil liberties to disliked groups) has been disturbingly low among the American public since measurement of tolerance began in the 1950's. The few voters who do exhibit tolerant attitudes tend to be people who know a great deal about politics (i.e. people high in "political expertise"). Researchers have theorized many explanations for why political experts are more tolerant on average; for example, experts may place more value on the legal and normative `rules' of democracy (i.e. "democratic norms"), which guarantee free speech, or they may consider democratic norms to be more important than non-experts …

The Affective Consequences Of Expressing Moral Convictions, Lisa Diana Sandberg

Dissertations

This project examined the affective consequences of expressing moral convictions to an opposing majority. It was predicted that moral conviction would function as a buffer to the common negative emotions that occur when speaking out against majority opinion (e.g., fear; Asch, 1956; Berns, et al., 2005). It was also hypothesized that moral conviction would enhance positive feelings among those who speak out (e.g., pride). Two studies were conducting using two different research paradigms. Study 1 used a normative influence paradigm modeled after Hornsey, Smith, and Begg (2007). Participants' opinions and strength of moral conviction about the target issue (torture of …

Fitting Things Together: A Grounded Theory Study Of Clinical Judgment In Nursing, Mary Elizabeth Wilber

Dissertations

Safe and appropriate patient care hinges on the nurse's skill in assessment and interpretation of data to support accurate clinical judgments; however, a review of nursing literature reveals the lack of an empirically derived theory of clinical judgment or methods to teach the skill. Progress has been limited because of the difficulties inherent in measuring cognitive work in complex practice environments, as well as the tendency of nursing authors and researchers to substitute a wide variety of terms for clinical judgment. Knowledge development in any discipline is hampered when terms are not clearly defined and the distinction between related concepts …

An Ethnographic Study Of Psychiatric Assistants: The Social Processes Involved In The Subordination Of Workers In A Psychiatric Hospital, Terrence Allison

Dissertations

This research examined how the structure of a modern day psychiatric institution shapes the work experiences of subordinated, non-licensed-workers. I found that that the work experiences of PAs are shaped by their institutional positions. The PA position by default is one of subjugation and servitude, and these carry meanings. PAs are positioned on the ward to service and control patients. In spite of their absolute importance to the day-to-day running of the hospital, frontline PA work is devalued institutionally. This devaluation is internalized rationally (what bureaucracies do) by PAs, who often work understaffed and underappreciated. I found that PAs lack …

Anxiety In Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorders: Current Research And Implications For Practice, Rebecca Harkema, Gina Coffee

Education: School of Education Faculty Publications and Other Works

No abstract provided.

Infant/Toddler Professional Preparation And Development Using Blended Practices And Tiered Supports, Adam S. Kennedy, Anna T. Lees

Education: School of Education Faculty Publications and Other Works

No abstract provided.

Religious Identity, Religious Attendance, And Parental Control, Young-Il Kim, W. Bradford Wilcox

Faculty Publications - Department of Sociology

Using a national sample of adolescents aged 10–18 years and their parents (N = 5,117), this article examines whether parental religious identity and religious participation are associated with the ways in which parents control their children. We hypothesize that both religious orthodoxy and weekly religious attendance are related to heightened levels of three elements of parental control: monitoring activities, normative regulations, and network closure. Results indicate that an orthodox religious identity for Catholic and Protestant parents and higher levels of religious attendance for parents as a whole are associated with increases in monitoring activities and normative regulations of American adolescents.

Structured Voluntary Youth Activities And Positive Outcomes In Adulthood: An Exploratory Study Of Involvement In Scouting And Subjective Well-Being, Sung Joon Jang, Byron R. Johnson, Young-Il Kim, Edward C. Polson, Buster G. Smith

Faculty Publications - Department of Sociology

This study explores whether youth involvement in Scouting has positive consequences later in life. We examine whether the number of years of participation in Scouting is positively associated with human and social capital and recreational lifestyles in adulthood, and whether these are linked to subjective well-being: relational, emotional, and physical health. To explore this potential relationship, we estimated a structural equation model, analyzing data from a national sample of adult males. We found that youth involvement in Scouting is positively related to subjective well-being indirectly via the positive adult outcomes.

The Profanation Of Revelation: On Language And Immanence In The Work Of Giorgio Agamben, Colby Dickinson

Theology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This essay seeks to articulate the many implications which Giorgio Agamben's work holds for theology. It aims, therefore, to examine his (re)conceptualizations of language in light of particular historical glosses on the “name of God” and the nature of the “mystical,” as well as to highlight the political task of profanation, one of his most central concepts, in relation to the logos said to embody humanity's “religious” quest to find its Voice. As such, we see how he challenges those standard (ontotheological) notions of transcendence which have been consistently aligned with various historical forms of sovereignty. In addition, I intend …

Response: “Unsafe Politics And Risky Connections”, Suzanne Bost

English: Faculty Publications and Other Works

No abstract provided.

Developing An E-Learning Training Package For Academic Staff In One University In Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Al Mulhem

Plymouth Institute of Education Theses

The focus of this study is the development of an e-learning training package for the academic staff in King Faisal University (KFU) in Saudi Arabia. Evidence suggests that there is a lack of training for academic staff in Saudi Higher Education on how to integrate e-learning in their teaching. Despite this, very little attention is paid in the research literature to the design and evaluation of e-learning training. There is no clarity therefore about what constitutes effective e-learning training in higher education. This study aimed to design, implement and evaluate a training package for the academic staff. The study was …

Sustainability In Secondary Education In England: An Ethnographic Study, Ciaran Francis O'Sullivan

Plymouth Institute of Education Theses

This research sets out to establish both the extent to which and the ways in which English Secondary schools have a school culture focusing upon sustainability. I visited three case study schools for six weeks each: these were carefully selected to represent a range of progress towards becoming sustainable schools. I visited two other ‘benchmark’ schools for two days each: these were chosen on the recommendations of school sustainability experts, and visiting them helped me judge the progress my case-study schools had made. I took an ethnographic approach to the research, conducting about 80 interviews with various members of my …