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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

A Phenomenological Investigation Of Client Perceptions Of Their Relationships To Co-Leaders In Process Groups, Benjamin Wood May 2010

A Phenomenological Investigation Of Client Perceptions Of Their Relationships To Co-Leaders In Process Groups, Benjamin Wood

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the question how do group therapy members perceive the therapeutic relationship in process group therapy? The study fits within the interpretivist paradigm and employs a phenomenological qualitative research approach (Moustakas, 1994). The theoretical framework used to orient the study drew on process group theory according to Rutan, Stone, and Shay’s (2007) psychodynamic group psychotherapy approach and Yalom and Leszcz’s (2005) interpersonal process model of group psychotherapy. Participants were 10 university counseling center clients who were members of process therapy groups at a large urban university. Data collection consisted of in-depth interviews and demographic questionnaires. Phenomenological data analysis …

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Effectiveness, Types, And Usage Of Behavior Modification At The Elementary Level, Ashley Hanscom May 2010

Effectiveness, Types, And Usage Of Behavior Modification At The Elementary Level, Ashley Hanscom

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined if 60% or more of the participants use Behavior Modification, if four or more different types are being used, and if Behavior Modification in effective in less than 2 months. A survey was distributed to an elementary school in Southern New Jersey (n = 25). Two out of the three hypotheses were proven; 100% of participants use Behavior Modification and more than four types are being used. Limitations, future research, and conclusions are discussed.

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The Influence Of Ethnicity And Gender On The Relationship Between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Status And Cardiovascular Responding, Alison Eonta May 2010

The Influence Of Ethnicity And Gender On The Relationship Between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Status And Cardiovascular Responding, Alison Eonta

Theses and Dissertations

Past research has found inconsistent effects of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) status on cardiovascular responding. Inconsistencies may be explained by demographic differences in study samples. In this study, the influence of gender and ethnicity on the relationship between PTSD status and cardiovascular responding was explored. Participants’ (N = 245) heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) readings were taken throughout baseline and anger recall periods. For all gender by ethnicity groups, baseline HR was higher in participants with PTSD than without PTSD, except for Black men. Whites with PTSD had lower baseline SBP than Whites …

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A Case Study Of The Unaccompanied Refugee Minor Program With Commonwealth Catholic Charities In Richmond, Virginia, Shawn Greene May 2010

A Case Study Of The Unaccompanied Refugee Minor Program With Commonwealth Catholic Charities In Richmond, Virginia, Shawn Greene

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates how administrators and staff at a community service agency in Richmond Virginia perceive the needs of unaccompanied refugee children as they transition into the American way of life and the challenges associated with the relocation of these children into foster care setting, and how service delivery to meet these children’s needs might be improved. A common theme that emerged from interviews conducted with these administrators is that successful integration of unaccompanied refugee minors into American society requires from the very start culturally competent approaches to placement, language assistance, and mental health therapy. Options for improving resettlement of …

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The Transgressor's Response To A Rejected Request For Forgiveness, David Jennings May 2010

The Transgressor's Response To A Rejected Request For Forgiveness, David Jennings

Theses and Dissertations

Although the scientific study of forgiveness has flourished in recent years, little is known about transgressors when seeking forgiveness, particularly regarding how they respond when their request for forgiveness is denied. The present thesis reviews the literature related to how transgressors might react to a denied request for forgiveness and factors that likely influence their response. In two studies, interactions between sex and responses to requested forgiveness, and interactions between two personality variables (agreeableness and neuroticism) and responses to requested forgiveness were examined. Generally, when people refuse or even partially refuse a bid for forgiveness, it is considered by the …

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A Behavioral Comparison Of Four Inbred Strains Of Mice, Erin Wood May 2010

A Behavioral Comparison Of Four Inbred Strains Of Mice, Erin Wood

Theses and Dissertations

Isogenic, or inbred, mouse strains are currently the experimental subjects of choice in laboratory studies focused on genetics, pharmacology, and psychological issues. Understanding phenotypic differences in isogenic strains is important in order to interpret experimental results obtained from inbred mouse strains. Four commonly used inbred strains, C57BL/6NHsd (C57), DBA/2NHsd (DBA), 129S2/SvHsd (129), and Balb/cAnHsd (Balb/c), are investigated in this study using four different behavioral tasks that measure locomotor activity and cognitive behavior (Morris Water Maze (MWM), T-maze, and operant autoshaping procedures). In the locomotor activity task 129 mice showed significantly less horizontal ambulation than any other strain, while differences in …

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The Impact Of The State-Federal Vocational Rehabilitation Program On Quality Of Life, Vanessa Rakestraw May 2010

The Impact Of The State-Federal Vocational Rehabilitation Program On Quality Of Life, Vanessa Rakestraw

Theses and Dissertations

This study utilizes the Longitudinal Study of the Vocational Rehabilitation Program to examine the impact of state-federal vocational rehabilitation services on the quality of life of consumers. The theory that guides this study is an amalgam of theories of Allardt, Halpern, Campbell, and Cummins which indicate that quality of life is made up of various domains which parallel Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The study followed the theory that improvement in the individual domains of life would improve its overall quality. The domains of physical functioning, self-esteem, community integration and productivity were assessed prior to and after the receipt of vocational …

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Neuroprotective Effects Of Postinjury Lithium Treatment: Determining The Optimal Dosing Paradigm And Assessing Potential Mechanisms Of Action, Katharine Eakin May 2010

Neuroprotective Effects Of Postinjury Lithium Treatment: Determining The Optimal Dosing Paradigm And Assessing Potential Mechanisms Of Action, Katharine Eakin

Theses and Dissertations

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has a dramatic impact on our society in terms of mortality, morbidity, and inherently high financial costs. Formidable research efforts are being addressed to the identification of neuroprotective agents capable of ameliorating the neurological outcome after TBI. Preclinical studies have recently demonstrated lithium to be a promising neuroprotective agent for both acute ischemic brain injury and chronic neurodegenerative disease. In light of these encouraging data, we designed a lateral fluid-percussion injury (FPI) study aimed at investigating the role of early post-traumatic administration of lithium as a strategy for reducing TBI-induced motor and cognitive deficits. The optimal …

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A Case Study On Sibling Rivalry And The Use Of A Social Skills Training Model, Michelle Maiorano May 2010

A Case Study On Sibling Rivalry And The Use Of A Social Skills Training Model, Michelle Maiorano

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to use social skills training on an individual child to enhance the relationship with her siblings. The social skills sessions focused on factors such warmth, rivalry, conflict and status/power between the two siblings. These were measured by the Sibling Rivalry Questionnaire which the mother filled out before the sessions began and after they were completed. The results did not find a major difference between the pre and post tests. Warmth increased slightly, rivalry decreased slightly, there was no difference in the amount of conflict, and there was a slight decrease in relative status/power from …

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African American Children Living In Urban Environments: An Investigation Of Early Literacy And The Influence Of Psychological Strengths And Family Support, Pia Stanard May 2010

African American Children Living In Urban Environments: An Investigation Of Early Literacy And The Influence Of Psychological Strengths And Family Support, Pia Stanard

Theses and Dissertations

Literacy is a basic fundamental skill for academic, professional, and social success in our culture. Children with low exposure to reading can experience reading difficulties, diminished cognitive development, and poor academic outcomes. Inconsistency in the conceptualization of early literacy has hampered research and development of successful, translational early literacy interventions, particularly for children from low-income households. Preschoolers from low-income, urban backgrounds (n = 426), including 221 females and 205 males aged 35 - 60 months (M = 47.46, SD = 6.44) participated in an investigation of the latent factorial structure of early literacy. The study also explored whether children’s psychological …

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The Effect Of Racial Socialization On Parental Stress In A Sample Of African American Parents, Thompson Remy Jones May 2010

The Effect Of Racial Socialization On Parental Stress In A Sample Of African American Parents, Thompson Remy Jones

Theses and Dissertations

The typical duties of parenting may be multiplied when they must be performed within very demanding situations and with limited personal and physical resources. African American families may also be subject to race-related challenges that further complicate child rearing. In an effort to combat the effect of imminent racism, some African American parents have sought to racially socialize their children. Within the racial socialization literature, it has been determined that racially socializing one’s children has positive effects for those children, however, there is some ambiguity regarding the way it is best done. Although racist acts cannot be predicted nor avoided, …

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Biobehavioral Mechanisms Of Emotion And Hiv Disease: Exploring Potential Mediators Of The Relation Between Trait Positive And Negative Affect And Hiv Health Status, Karen Stewart May 2010

Biobehavioral Mechanisms Of Emotion And Hiv Disease: Exploring Potential Mediators Of The Relation Between Trait Positive And Negative Affect And Hiv Health Status, Karen Stewart

Theses and Dissertations

Considerable research supports an association between negative psychosocial functioning and adverse health outcomes. The biobehavioral model is well supported and posits that these effects occur via alterations in physiological response and health damaging behaviors. Evidence is accumulating about potential benefits of positive psychosocial functioning; however, less is known about the mechanisms of these effects. The broaden-and-build model of positive emotions holds that positive emotions can undo the physiological and behavioral restrictions associated with negative emotions and promote resource development. The present correlational study sought to explore whether cortisol, medication adherence, and health behaviors (smoking, alcohol use, physical activity, and nutrition) …

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A Qualitative Analysis Of Messages Conveyed In Parent-Adolescent Communication About Substance Use: Variations Along Dimensions Of Maternal And Familial History Of Substance Abuse, Nikola Zaharakis May 2010

A Qualitative Analysis Of Messages Conveyed In Parent-Adolescent Communication About Substance Use: Variations Along Dimensions Of Maternal And Familial History Of Substance Abuse, Nikola Zaharakis

Theses and Dissertations

Little research has examined the content of parent-adolescent communication about substance use and variables that may influence it. Using a grounded theory approach for secondary data analysis, qualitative data were drawn from a longitudinal study of coping and substance use in a sample of urban African American adolescents (N=132; M= 13.77 years) and their mothers in Richmond, VA. Transcripts of interviews with participants’ mothers regarding their conversations with their adolescent about alcohol, tobacco or other drugs were microanalyzed by two coders in three sets according to the youth participant’s maternal and familial history of substance abuse. Findings revealed considerable similarity …

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The Application Of Collaborative Planning Principles With A Content Management System And Web 2.0 Technologies, Craig Macivor May 2010

The Application Of Collaborative Planning Principles With A Content Management System And Web 2.0 Technologies, Craig Macivor

Theses and Dissertations

As urban planners have sought to move away from the rationalist approach that has been employed for decades, and to encourage more public participation than has traditionally existed in the planning process, they have consistently encountered obstacles in successfully communicating with other stakeholders. Likewise, many citizens do not feel they have enough access to planning-related information or adequate means of participation. These systemic problems are due in large part to the limitations of the media on which planning documents have always been printed; the structure and content of the paper-based comprehensive plan has meant that the rationalist process has, at …

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The Effects Of Two Different Post-Exercise Stretching Modalities On Delayed Onset Muscular Soreness In Adults, Ryan P. Mcgrath May 2010

The Effects Of Two Different Post-Exercise Stretching Modalities On Delayed Onset Muscular Soreness In Adults, Ryan P. Mcgrath

Theses and Dissertations

Until recently, research suggested that post-exercise stretching may reduce delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) in those who exercise; however, newer research indicates that stretching has no effect on DOMS. However, it appears that the effect of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching on preventing DOMS has not been adequately studied. The primary purpose of the study was to research the effect of PNF stretching on DOMS. The secondary purpose was to evaluate if one’s level of flexibility had a correlation with high levels of DOMS. The study was a posttest-only control group design. Participants were randomly assigned into a stretching group …

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Family Preservation In Families’ Ecological Systems: Factors That Predict Out-Of-Home Placement And Maltreatment For Service Recipients In Richmond City, Jody Hearn Apr 2010

Family Preservation In Families’ Ecological Systems: Factors That Predict Out-Of-Home Placement And Maltreatment For Service Recipients In Richmond City, Jody Hearn

Theses and Dissertations

Family preservation services are intended to prevent the out-of-home placement (into foster care or some other alternative arrangement) of children and youth in families at risk of maltreating them. An Ecological Systems perspective of these families might suggest that a family’s context (represented by the variables of poverty, agency services, family history, and individual/caretaker characteristics) must be considered as an over-arching influence in families’ risk and outcomes. The purpose of this cross-sectional secondary data analysis study was to identify layered factors that distinguish family preservation cases in Richmond, VA that experience removal or subsequent abuse or neglect from those that …

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The Neural Systems Of Working Memory: The Sternberg Working Memory Task In A Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury Sample, Jon Leroy Pertab Apr 2010

The Neural Systems Of Working Memory: The Sternberg Working Memory Task In A Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury Sample, Jon Leroy Pertab

Theses and Dissertations

Working memory tasks are associated with the activation of widely distributed neural networks. The Sternberg working memory task has been used to explore the neural correlates associated with changes in memory load and the resolution of interference. Preliminary research suggests that the integrity of the anterior cingulate is correlated with resolving load adjustments but not in resolving interference demands; the opposite pattern of associations have been observed with the right middle frontal gyrus.Participants in the present study were 28 children who had sustained moderate to severe traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and 28 children who had sustained orthopedic injuries (OI). Participants …

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Toward Determining Best Items For Identifying Therapeutic Problem Areas, Kevin Larry Kimball Apr 2010

Toward Determining Best Items For Identifying Therapeutic Problem Areas, Kevin Larry Kimball

Theses and Dissertations

While most clients show improvement in therapy, anomalously, 5% to 10% actually worsen, and a significant minority of clients shows little or no response to therapy. Earlier studies developed clinical support tools (CSTs) designed to provide feedback to therapists about potential problem areas and to improve the likelihood of a positive outcome for clients identified as at-risk for a negative outcome in therapy (Harmon et. al. 2007; Slade, Lambert, Harmon, Smart, & Bailey, 2008; Whipple et al., 2003). While varying from study to study, the CSTs looked at five domains: therapeutic alliance, motivation to change, social support, life events, and …

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Understanding Posttraumatic Growth Among Individuals With Cancer: The Role Of Social Support And Unsupportive Interactions, Wendy Balliet Apr 2010

Understanding Posttraumatic Growth Among Individuals With Cancer: The Role Of Social Support And Unsupportive Interactions, Wendy Balliet

Theses and Dissertations

The experience of being diagnosed with and treated for cancer is an extremely stressful experience for most individuals. Historically, the literature on stress and coping has focused on negative outcomes, such as depression and anxiety, in relation to one‘s experience with cancer. Under-represented in the literature has been a theoretical framework that examines positive and transformative experiences that may occur throughout the cancer experience. The current study assessed interpersonal variables that rarely have been investigated in relation to one‘s experience with cancer (i.e., received social support and unsupportive interactions) and their association with depressive symptoms, positive emotion, and posttraumatic growth …

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The Roles Of Religious Coping, World Assumptions, And Personal Growth In College Student Bereavement, Benjamin Lord Apr 2010

The Roles Of Religious Coping, World Assumptions, And Personal Growth In College Student Bereavement, Benjamin Lord

Theses and Dissertations

The field of bereavement research is currently lacking empirical studies examining grief in adolescent and young adult populations. Furthermore, the roles of religion (Hays, & Hendrix, 2008), meaning-making (Park, 2005) and post-bereavement personal growth (Davis, 2008), all of which are critical to understanding the loss experiences of people in these age groups (Balk, & Corr, 1996), have yet to be enumerated in a reliable way in the literature. Stroebe (2004) has emphasized the need to improve methods and measurement tools by including more thorough measures of religious coping and bereavement experience. The current study aimed to clarify the process of …

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Job And Personal Resources And Demands: The Effects On Job Satisfaction And Job Search Behavior Of Certified Nursing Assistants (Cnas) Working In Nursing Homes, Natsuko Ryosho Apr 2010

Job And Personal Resources And Demands: The Effects On Job Satisfaction And Job Search Behavior Of Certified Nursing Assistants (Cnas) Working In Nursing Homes, Natsuko Ryosho

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to examine how job resources, job demands, personal resource, personal demands, and demographic characteristics predict job satisfaction and job search behavior of certified nursing assistants (CNAs) working in nursing homes. The study used data from the 2004 National Nursing Assistant Survey (NNAS). The job demands-resources (JD-R) model (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli, 2001) provided the basis for the conceptual framework of the study. First, a series of multinomial logistic regression analyses were performed to determine how the five categories of predictor variables predicted the levels of job satisfaction among CNAs. Next, a series …

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The Effect Of Power On Exploratory Behavior, William Clay Apr 2010

The Effect Of Power On Exploratory Behavior, William Clay

Theses and Dissertations

The relations between power, exploratory behavior, and willingness to take risks were investigated. It was hypothesized that high power would be associated with increases in exploratory behavior, and that this relationship would be mediated by participants’ willingness to take risks. In Study One, one-hundred forty-one undergraduates (66% female) completed questionnaires to assess trait power and willingness to take risk, as well as a computer-based research paradigm, BeanFest, to assess exploration. Willingness to take risks correlated positively with exploration. However, the predicted relations involving power were not observed. In Study Two, power was experimentally manipulated. One-hundred thirty-three undergraduates (61% female) were …

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Self-Forgiveness Interventions For Women Experiencing A Breakup, Kathryn Campana Apr 2010

Self-Forgiveness Interventions For Women Experiencing A Breakup, Kathryn Campana

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effectiveness of an intervention designed to increase self forgiveness for women who have recently experienced a romantic relationship breakup. Of particular interest were the interactions between adult attachment style, treatment condition, and time. The current study examined how the following variables differ between attachment style groups and how they change over time with respect to treatment condition: aspects of the former relationship, emotional responses to personal transgressions within the relationship, general negative and positive affect, dispositional forgivingness, positive and negative attitudes toward self, feelings of unforgiveness toward self and ex-partner, and feelings of forgiveness of self …

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Epicene Pronoun Use In Modern American English, Robin Montgomery Watson Apr 2010

Epicene Pronoun Use In Modern American English, Robin Montgomery Watson

Theses and Dissertations

Traditional prescriptive grammar for English states that the epicene or gender neutral pronoun for third person singular use is he. Research into speaker perceptions has clearly demonstrated that he is not perceived as neutral. Research has also shown traditionally proscribed epicene pronouns such as he or she and singular they to be commonly used, despite the long-standing proscriptions against them. The author examines the endurance of such proscribed options through the lens of markedness theory, considering the impact of cultural values on speakers' epicene pronoun choices. Gender in language is also considered, as well as Kuryłowicz‘s 4th Law of …

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An Exploration Of The Influences Of Race, Class And Gender Identity On The Help-Seeking Behavior Of Lgbtq Survivors Of Violence, Xavier Guadalupe Apr 2010

An Exploration Of The Influences Of Race, Class And Gender Identity On The Help-Seeking Behavior Of Lgbtq Survivors Of Violence, Xavier Guadalupe

Theses and Dissertations

Without a doubt, violence continues to be a brutal reality in our society. It reaches and affects millions across our nation and around the world. For centuries, scholars, researchers and academics have studied and analyzed the existence of violence in many capacities. While violence affects every individual, group, and community the dynamics and the realties that are carried out vary tremendously across race, income levels, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation and national origin to name a few. The existence, impact and repercussions of violence in different communities carry varying meanings, perceptions and significance. This paper explores the influences …

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Turn It Up To Eleven: A Study Of Guitar Hero And Rockband: Why People Play Them And How Marketers Can Use This Information, Timothy J. Hemingway Apr 2010

Turn It Up To Eleven: A Study Of Guitar Hero And Rockband: Why People Play Them And How Marketers Can Use This Information, Timothy J. Hemingway

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis seeks to first understand why individuals play Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Several motivational factors are looked at including fantasy, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and the desire to play a real instrument. In addition to the motivation factors, the communication theories of uses and gratifications and deficient self-regulation are used to define the gamers who play Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Once the paper defines a theoretical framework, a survey is used to test the variables. The significant findings are then discussed and suggestions are made as to how these games can more effectively be used as marketing …

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Historical Geocollaboration: The Implementation Of A Scoring System To Account For Uncertainty In Geographic Data Created In A Collaborative Environment, Anthony D. Contreras Apr 2010

Historical Geocollaboration: The Implementation Of A Scoring System To Account For Uncertainty In Geographic Data Created In A Collaborative Environment, Anthony D. Contreras

Theses and Dissertations

A Geographic Information System (GIS) is an existing tool to create, manage, analyze and visualize data with a spatial component, and is used by many types of organizations in many fields. For most of the tasks and projects within these fields, a GIS provides highly accurate results. Under certain circumstances (Massive Scope, Widespread Expertise and Multivalency), a GIS fails to provide adequate results in the field of historical geography, for example. Crowdsourcing tools like Wikipedia and Open Street Map (OSM) address some of these issues, but not all, and introduce new problems. This project focuses on geographic data dealing with …

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Implication Of Gender Stereotypes For Public Policy, Sharon Smith Apr 2010

Implication Of Gender Stereotypes For Public Policy, Sharon Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Stereotypes continue to be present and impact the assessment of women’s leadership effectiveness. Using a data set of senior executives in the public sector from The Leadership Circle multi-rater assessment tool, research supports the theory that gender influences how bosses rate their direct reports on leadership effectiveness. Survey data identifying leadership characteristics in the assessment as communal or agentic substantiate role congruence theory that women are still penalized for behaving contrary to the feminine stereotype. Role congruence theory seeks to explain the barriers that prevent women from rising into leadership positions. Representative bureaucracy explains the consequence in public policy when …

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The Relationship Of Three L2 Learning Factors With Pronunciation Proficiency: Language Aptitude, Strategy Use, And Learning Context, Naomi Ofeina Haslam Apr 2010

The Relationship Of Three L2 Learning Factors With Pronunciation Proficiency: Language Aptitude, Strategy Use, And Learning Context, Naomi Ofeina Haslam

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether language aptitude and the use of language strategies predict pronunciation gains in second language (L2) acquisition. A second goal was to determine whether these factors differed depending on whether learning occurred in an English as a second language (ESL) or English as a foreign language (EFL) learning context. Eighty-six ESL students in the United States and one hundred EFL students in China were asked to take the Pimsleur language aptitude test. The top 15 or 16 and lowest 15 or 16 scorers on this test from each group were asked to …

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More Than A Prayer: Pastors' Perception And Practice Of Mental Health Services, Jessica Young Apr 2010

More Than A Prayer: Pastors' Perception And Practice Of Mental Health Services, Jessica Young

Theses and Dissertations

While African Americans show similar rates of mental health concerns, they seek and obtain significantly fewer traditional mental health services (MHS) as compared to other groups. One alternative to traditional forms of MHS is the use of church-based resources, such as pastoral counseling. Pastors frequently report counseling as a large part of their duties. Therefore, their perceptions about mental health have a major impact on services that parishioners receive. This online survey assessed 40 pastors' perceptions about mental health services, as well as perceived needs for information or training. Attitudes about mental health were significantly related to variety of counseling …

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