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An Examination Of Hiv/Aids Complacency, Attitudes And Sexual Risk Behavior Among Men Who Have Sex With Men: Implications For Community Based Prevention Efforts, Practitioners And Social Work Education, Michael Richard Lloyd

Dissertations

The following study examines the role of HIV/AIDS complacency and substance use on sexual risk behavior among men who have sex with men. The study analyzes data collected at a bathhouse over a seven day period beginning on June 9, 2014 and ending on June 15, 2014. The independent variables of HIV/AIDS complacency and substance use, along with the dependent variable of sexual risk behavior are examined through the lens of protection motivation theory. Protection motivation theory posits that response efficacy and threat appraisal influence how a person makes decisions. The implications and findings of the study related to direct …

Uncertainty Before And After Faith: The Dynamics Of Belief In Theology And Literature, Brent Little

Dissertations

Although there has been much interdisciplinary scholarship surrounding the influence of various novelists' Catholic beliefs upon their work, there has been relatively little discussion about the nature of faith that emerges in their novels. For instance, is faith portrayed primarily as assent to conceptual statements of belief?

This dissertation will argue that faith, as portrayed by various Catholic novelists, is fundamentally a person's imaginative orientation to trust and hope in the presence of God's grace in creation and human life. I will approach this issue through the category of uncertainty, specifically uncertainty's relationship to faith, as this relationship emerges in …

Sexual Assault And Academic Achievement: Creating More Ideal College Campuses For Sexual Assault Survivors By Taking Into Account Intersectionality And Multiracial Feminism, Kelly Pinter

Dissertations

In this dissertation, the reader will learn about 28 sexual assault survivors' perceptions about educational and criminal justice responses to them after a sexual assault and how these sexual assault survivors perceived how race and ethnicity, income, and gender affect cases differently. Additionally, I explore sexual assault policies that survivors think are working, and those they feel need improvement. I also assess in depth recommendations concerning what education administrators, staff, and advocates can do to assist sexual assault survivors.

Who Cares? The Role Of Nursing Assistants In The Labor Process Of Hospital Nursing, Grace Eileen Scrimgeour

Dissertations

This research, using the feminist methodology of "reading up the power structure," is the first study of hospital-based Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs). Through interviews with 21 CNAs in a large, independent, urban hospital in the Midwest, the study examines how two major institutions have impacted the labor process of CNAs and the division of labor between CNAs and RNs. These include historical changes in nurses' priorities in pursuing professional status, and the reconfiguration of healthcare provision in the United States. The removal of LPNs from hospital nursing creates a clear division of labor between RNs and auxiliaries since, unlike LPNs, …

Pedagogical Content Knowledge In Early Mathematics: What Teachers Know And How It Associates With Teaching And Learning, Yinna Zhang

Dissertations

The study was designed to examine the profile of early childhood teachers' content-specific knowledge, also referred to as pedagogical content knowledge, in early mathematics (PCK-EM) and investigate how PCK-EM relates to the quality of their mathematics teaching quality and students' mathematical learning outcomes. A total of 182 teachers working with high need students from Pre-K through Grade 3 in an urban public school system participated in the study and analyzed a video of mathematics teaching through an online survey. The results painted a bleak picture regarding the profile of early childhood teachers' PCK-EM: as a whole, teachers' survey responses lacked …

Somos Familia: Family As An Organizing Trope In 20th-21st Century Latina/O Literature, Victoria Anne Bolf

Dissertations

This dissertation examines various ways that family has been employed as a model of both oppression and liberation in Latina/o literature. Working from an interdisciplinary standpoint at the crossroads of literary and cultural studies, women’s, gender, and sexuality studies, Chicano/a studies, and Latino/a studies, this project seeks to uncover how representations of familia in U.S. Latino/a literary texts accomplish their discursive work, as well as complicating conventional formulations of kinship and family.

I examine Down These Mean Streets by Piri Thomas, in Chapter One, in terms of queer family and the counter-domestic logic of “the streets.” In Chapter Two, I …

Being And Becoming: A Grounded Theory Study Of The Racial And Ethnic Socialization Processes Of Fifteen Haitian Immigrants Living In The United States, Lud Abigail Duchatelier-Jeudy

Dissertations

This study examined and described the racial and ethnic socialization processes of 15 Haitian immigrant mothers, eight of whom were born and raised in Haiti and migrated to the United States after the age of 21 (Group A) and seven of whom were born and raised in the United States or born in Haiti and migrated on or before the age of the five and raised of the United States (Group B). The two groups of Haitian immigrant mothers were recruited from cities throughout the Northeast region of the United States.

Using Harkness and Super’s Developmental Niche as a theoretical …

Predictors And Profiles Of Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence Among African-American Adolescents And Young Adult Males Behaviorally-Infected With Hiv: A Classification Tree Analysis Approach, Israel Moses Gross

Dissertations

Adherence to antiretroviral therapy is crucial for thwarting disease progression and reducing secondary transmission, yet HIV+ youth struggle with adherence. The highest rates of new HIV infections occur in young African American men (YAAM), thus understanding reasons for non-adherence in this group is critical. Reasons for non-adherence can be complex and multifactorial, and innovative methods of exploration are needed for advancing prevention and treatment efforts. A sample of 387 HIV+ YAAM who reported currently taking HIV medications were selected from a cross-sectional assessment of 2,226 HIV+ youth from sites within the Adolescent Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Interventions (ATN) from 2009-2012 …

Latino Students In Suburban High Schools: An Examination Of School Malleable Predictors Of High School Graduation, Kira Jean Hicks

Dissertations

Despite recent gains, Latino students drop out of high schools in the United States at a higher rate than their peers and at a significant cost. As more Latino students move to the suburbs, it is important for suburban high schools to meet their needs and solidify their path to graduation. Practices that appear to be promising in keeping students on track to graduate have been developed and studied in urban education settings and need to be validated with other populations and settings. The purpose of this study was to investigate the indicators that are predictive of on time graduation …

Mother-Infant Relationships In The Nicu: A Multiple Case Study Approach, Ilona Helin

Dissertations

Parent-child relationships consist of both external and internal components. The external component is the behavioral interaction between mother and child, while the internal components are expectations each member of the dyad has for the both the relationship and of the other partner. These expectations are called internal working models (IWMs) and are blueprints that have been developed from an individual’s childhood experience of sensitive or insensitive parenting. A mother’s IWMs influence how she perceives her child, her relationship with her child and herself as a mother, the sensitivity of her caregiving, and ultimately her child’s IWM of him or her …

Study Of Escherichia Coli Adp-Glucose Pyrophosphorylase Catalysis: Investigating Critical Roles Of Conserved Arg32 And Lys42 Residues, Angela Lynn Mahaffey

Dissertations

Carbohydrates have been most notable as energy sources for mammals, bacteria (glycogen) and plants (starch) – and in many other species. As such the biosynthesis of carbohydrates is essential to the sustainability of many forms of life, on earth. Adenosine-‘5-diphosphate glucose pyrophosphate (ADP-Glc pyrophosphorylase; ADP-Glc PPase) is the allosterically controlled “first committed step” in both the biosynthetic pathways of starch (~25% amylose and ~75% amylopectin, in plants and algae) and glycogen (in bacteria), preceding the starch/glycogen synthase reaction. By catalyzing the following reaction, ATP + α –D-Glc-1P ADP-Glc + PPi , ADP-Glc PPase functions as the primary enzyme in the …

“He Has Given Us Of His Spirit”: A Search For Pneumatological Precedents To 1 John, Lauren O'Connell

Dissertations

The history of scholarship that addresses the theological viewpoint of 1Jn has

largely focused on the Christological, ethical, and soteriological aspects of the letter.

While specific attention has been paid to the polemical nature of the text, commentators

have commonly overlooked the importance of the pneumatology espoused by the author

as it contributes to that polemic. Upon exploration of the passages relating the conception

of the Spirit in 1Jn, it becomes evident that the understanding of the eschatological

bestowal of God’s Spirit in 1Jn is unique when compared to other New Testament

conceptions of Spirit bestowal. In an effort to …

Speculation: The Future(S) Of A Global Education Market, Kaine Osburn

Dissertations

This dissertation establishes a structural understanding of what is necessary to imagine in material terms the future of how education will be financed and how education knowledge will be circulated on a global scale. Making explicit a governmentality perspective for examining neoliberal constructions of education policy and practice first, this dissertation applies that perspective to understanding the trajectory of World Bank policies on financing and governing education over the last twenty years. While the first three chapters draw on existing conceptual and policy work, the chapters combine aspects of them in new ways which reveal a clear understanding of an …

The Role Of Cultural Climate, Racial Identity, And Mentoring Relationships On African American College Success, Kia-Rai Michelle Prewitt

Dissertations

African American undergraduate students face numerous challenges in higher education including adjusting to college-level work, a new environment, increased responsibilities, building new relationships, and experiences with discrimination. The dissertation study examined whether cultural climate, racial identity, and mentoring relationships predicted academic success for African American undergraduate sophomores attending four-year colleges and universities. The researcher analyzed these constructs using data from the 2012 national data set of the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership (MSL) survey, an instrument containing over 400 items and scales measuring student demographic information, pre-college knowledge and experiences, college experiences, and educational outcomes. Results of a hierarchical multiple regression …

Theology And Ideology Critique, Silas M. Morgan

Dissertations

In modern philosophy, the concept of ideology has been a problem for the relationship of theology to politics. Especially in its Marxist usage, “ideology” refers to a specific effect that theology has in modern society so as to conceal or hide the material facticity that shapes human life and practical activity. This is one of the many reasons why theology, even in its political form, has not taken up “ideology” as a matter inherent to its critical form. The absence of theoretical attention to ideology in theology itself has led to the deficit of immanent critique, especially in political theology. …

Shifting Narratives In Doctoral Admissions: Faculty Of Color Understandings Of Diversity, Equity, And Justice In A Neoliberal Context, Dian Drew Squire

Dissertations

Little is known about how faculty make decisions in the doctoral admissions process or how they conceptualize diversity, equity, and justice in those same processes. As the United States continues to diversify, understanding how students are selected into graduate programs and how faculty understand diversity, equity, and justice is increasingly important to supporting diverse leadership bodies and shaping an inclusive campus cultural context. This qualitative study utilized semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and critical discourse analysis to explore how faculty of color understand diversity, equity, and justice norms, values, and behaviors in the doctoral admissions process in Higher Education and Student …

Synthesis And Testing Of Photosensitizer-Folate Conjugates And Potential Photosensitizers For Photodynamic Therapy, Jeffrey A. Trautmann

Dissertations

Dissertation Proposal for Jeffrey Trautmann

Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) is a technique that destroys oncogenic (cancerous) cells. It has been used in several countries since the 1980’s. Molecules that contain chromophores can function as photosensitizers, and will absorb light at various wavelengths (that being dependent upon the extent of their conjugation). Certain functional groups, upon absorption of light, can be used to convert O2 to singlet oxygens which are destructive to the cellular environment. Once an in-vitro cell contains a high enough concentration of photosensitizer material and light is able to reach the photosensitizer material, PDT can be used effectively to …

Brushing It Off? Applying The Theory Of Planned Behavior To Dental Visit Behavior, Rebecca Starkel

Dissertations

During the last decade, utilization of dental care services has decreased among working age adults. Given the importance of dental visits in the maintenance oral health, and the link between oral and overall health, this trend is disturbing. In order to better understand the reasons behind this downward trend, the current study uses the Theory of Planned Behavior to identify the most influential factors in one’s decision to visit the dentist, modified to include three additional components: affect, habit, and oral health knowledge. Two surveys were conducted to measure the following components as they relate to the dental visit: attitudes, …

The Trauma Thesis: Medical And Literary Representations Of Psychological Trauma In The Twentieth Century, Sarah Louise Eilefson

Dissertations

The historian Samuel Hynes has observed that World War I was not only the greatest military and political event of its time but also the greatest imaginative event. Soldiers and civilians struggled to comprehend the war’s devastation and the changes it produced while medical practitioners and artists examined the war as a site of extraordinary trauma. My project explores two of the many archives of trauma: the medical discourse through which trauma was defined; and representations of trauma in a variety of English language novels from the early and mid-twentieth century. I begin with a historical survey of the medical …

Competing Voices: Negotiating Power And Place In Mixed-Income Housing Development, Kimberlee S. Guenther

Dissertations

Public housing internationally is undergoing a transformation due to the implementation of mixed-income policies. Based on two years of research in Chicago and Sydney, this project aimed to understand how resident leaders experience this transformation and the strategies they used to contribute to placemaking in new communities. The research also investigated new methods of conducting community-based, participatory research that emphasized resident perspectives and inquiry. Findings show that resident leaders utilize negative narratives about public housing to make claims to new neighborhoods. The research also revealed that highly stigmatized, but demolished places continue to function in people’s lives through the process …

Factors Impacting Student Outcomes In Multicultural Counseling Courses, Kathleen Kordesh

Dissertations

This study explored how complex factors related to student characteristics (e.g., demographics, levels of racism) and instructor characteristics (e.g., demographics, level of multicultural competence, teaching strategies) are related to student outcomes in multicultural counseling courses (e.g., levels of racism and levels of multicultural competence at the end of the semester). Data collection yielded a sample of 21 students and six instructors. Findings suggest that instructors are a significant factor in how much students develop with regards to gaining multicultural knowledge, but not in how much students develop with regards to gaining multicultural awareness. Multivariate analysis of student responses suggest that …

The Role Of Vocational Hope In The Social Cognitive Career Theory: A Test Of Three Models, Andrea Lynn Carr

Dissertations

This study is the first to empirically explore the potential role that vocational hope serves in the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT; Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994). Vocational hope was proposed as a mechanism through which at-risk youth could develop a positive future orientation, an essential component of the career development process (Brown, Lamp, Telander, & Hacker, 2012). Measures assessing vocational hope, hope related self-efficacy beliefs, hope related outcome expectations, and educational and occupational goals were completed by 147 diverse adolescents. Structural equation modeling partially supported vocational hope serving as a partial mediator of the relationships between self-efficacy beliefs and …

Daddy Is Involved: How Do African American Fathers Participate In The Education Experiences Of Their High School Children?, Gregory Pierre Baker

Dissertations

Parents have tremendous influence in the lives of their children. As a result, it is valuable to investigate how high school parents participate in their children's high school education experiences. African American fathers in particular, have been placed under scrutiny by the media and general population for not being involved in the education experiences of their children, while the research literature dispels this generalization.

This study investigates how African American fathers, in a suburban community, participate in the education experiences of their high school children. This research study took place at a Du Page County, Illinois, high school under the …

Public Relations: Diaspora, Media, And The State(S) Of American Literature, Nathan Allen Jung

Dissertations

Like any good public relations campaign, this dissertation aims to offer a persuasive interpretation of certain key facts. The facts, as I see them, are as follows: first, a great number of contemporary novels and poems explore the personal and social consequences of diasporic migration. Second, these texts, along with their print and electronic paratexts, share a pervasive interest in media. And third, these works are rarely read in conversation with one another, despite their mutual concern for migration and media. Owing to this last point in particular, scholarship has failed to fully address the broader media theories developed in …

Dbt And Bereavement: A Multiple Baseline Design, Marissa Marshak

Dissertations

This is an interpretive, single-subject design study, which followed a non-concurrent multiple baseline design to understand the processes of bereavement treatment. The study comprised six groups (n=29) enrolled in the General Adult Loss Groups after the loss of a family member. The researcher used mixed methodologies to understand the bereavement process, group work process, and DBT process. The objective was to evaluate whether the timing of implementing DBT, or DBT at all, improved coping outcomes. Two groups served as control groups, and the remaining four groups received a 5-weeklong 45-minute voluntary modified intervention of DBT at staggered intervention start points. …

Social Justice And Ecological Responsibility: A Moral Case For International Collaborative Action On Environmental Degradation And Climate-Induced Displacement, James Stephen Mastaler

Dissertations

The contemporary ecological crisis, manifest in human-induced climate change, is a powerful form of structural violence against the poorest communities on the planet. As such, my research resides at the nexus of structural poverty, gender disparity, ecological degradation, and climate-induced displacement. The social justice implications emerging from this nexus require responsible moral deliberation and discernment over the international community's role in minimizing the human tragedies accompanying forced displacement and migration. While asserting the interconnectedness and dependency of all life upon mutual flourishing, responsible decision-making expands the range of felt moral concern to include ecological flourishing. Social justice is only possible …

Easing My Burden: A Grounded Theory Study Of Kidney Transplant Recipients' Experience With Their Transplant Coordinators, Gwen E. Mcnatt

Dissertations

Organ transplantation holds the promise of new life or better life for thousands of Americans every year. Transplantation involves a process that stretches over time beginning at referral, moving to transplantation and long term care. The transplant coordinator is considered an integral part of this care. Transplant coordinators are considered so important to the care of these patients that transplant centers are required to have at least one transplant coordinator by federal regulations.

The role of the transplant coordinator, however, is not well defined. Although many of the role dimensions attributed to transplant coordinators are consistent with nursing practice, the …

Censorship And Intolerance In Medieval England, Richard Obenauf

Dissertations

Censorship is difficult to prove conclusively in the Middle Ages because manuscript culture is susceptible to the destruction of evidence, namely by burning works deemed unacceptable. Moreover, medieval authors were subject to many forms of intolerance which shaped their literary decisions. This dissertation proposes that the roots of formal print censorship in England are to be found in earlier forms of intolerance which sought to enforce conformity and that censorship is not distinct from intolerance, but rather is another form of intolerance. I draw on political writings by Peter Abelard, John of Salisbury, and William of Ockham to establish a …

Emergent Literacy Skills In Print And Electronic Contexts: The Influence Of Book Type, Narration Style, And Attention, Kathryn Joyce O'Toole

Dissertations

Preschoolers can learn words and story content from traditional print books, but there has been no direct comparison of their learning from print and e-books while controlling for narration style. Additionally, very little empirical work has utilized a tablet e-book as the majority of research has examined learning from computer e-books. The current project examined how 4-year-olds (N = 100) learned words and story content from four different book reading contexts: a print book read aloud by a live adult, a print book narrated by an audio device, a tablet e-book read aloud by a live adult, or a tablet …

The Role Of Neighborhood And Parenting In The Development Of Effortful Control And Subsequent Social Competence During Early Childhood, Edna Y. Romero

Dissertations

The current study examined ecological predictors of the trajectory of effortful control (EC) across ages 4, 5, and 6 in a community sample of young children (N = 796). The specific goals of the study were to examine poor neighborhood quality as a predictor of EC development, to evaluate the moderating role of supportive and hostile parenting in relation to poor neighborhood quality and EC development, and to determine if the interaction between poor neighborhood quality and parenting predicted change in children’s social competence through the mediating role of EC. Data were analyzed using latent growth curve modeling (LGM). Results …