Dissertation (Ph. D.)--University of Akron, Dept. of Sociology, 2005. / "December, 2005." Title from electronic dissertation title page (viewed 10/16/2006) Advisor, Kathryn M. Feltey; Committee members, Nancy B. Miller, Cheryl Elman, Gay C. Kitson, Jan Yoder, Sarah Wilcox; Department Chair, John Zipp; Dean of the College, Charles B. Monroe; Dean of the Graduate School, George R. Newkome. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2005. / Title from title screen (viewed 19 May 2008). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the School of Behavioural and Community Health Sciences. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print form.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-111).

Elections are critical to the functioning of democracy, and many states have enacted various reforms designed to increase voter turnout. The reforms are referred to as ‘convenience voting’ methods and are designed to lower the perceived costs of voting. In 2006, Ohio adopted reforms that allowed no-excuse absentee voting and a period where voters could register and vote the same day. However, research still is unclear if these reforms have any effect on turnout. By comparing turnout in Ohio in presidential elections both before and after the reform to the same elections in Pennsylvania, a state that has not enacted similar reform, the effect of convenience voting can be seen. Looking at turnout in each county within the states reveals that the reform enacted in Ohio has had no positive impact on turnout. / Department of Political Science

In our society today the progress of many courtships and engagements is interrupted by separations of varying periods of time and for various reasons. Hill (1949) found that wartime family separations cause a two-dimensional crisis constituting a hazard to the continuance of the relations hip both at the time of separation and at the time of r e union. The assumption is made that a courtship would be affected in a similar way. Blood (1963, p. 161) says, Both partners change somewhat while they are apart. This is not due to the separation alone, however, for personality changes go on constantly. When people are together, changes are adjusted to as they occur. New interests and behavior patterns emerge so gradually that people who see each other regularly hardly realize what is happening. If the same people had been apart, the cumulative effect of the same changes would be conspicuous.. Note how parents are never so startled by their children's growth as relatives who haven't seen them for a whole year . Personality changes not only pile up during separation but also are accentuated by it. When people are together, they are exposed to similar influences . Separation inevitably involves a different environment. In the case of military service, this change is especially marked.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Mass., 2007 / Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree of Master of Social Work. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 55-58).

Thesis (M.S.)--Brigham Young University. Dept of Recreation Management and Youth Leadership, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the motivation of absentee landowners located around a military installation in Texas to maintain their land in agriculture. Urban encroachment around military installations has become problematic, primarily as a result of many years of incompatible development due to the transfer of lands from agricultural use to urban use. Maintaining the land in agriculture increases military training capabilities, thus increasing military readiness both stateside and abroad. Absentee landowners are of particular interest, since their detachment from the land could be perceived as a disinterest in what occurs there. The determination of landowner motivations may allow programs to be developed which can appeal to the landowners’ motivations and allow the landowners to maintain their land in agriculture. Four research questions sought to identify landowner motivation. The research questions targeted current land use, the phenomena motivating absentee landowners to maintain their land in agriculture, change in land use over time, and whether a landowner’s emotional tie to the land affects land management decisions. Both the intrinsic motivation of family and the extrinsic motivation of money were identified as general motivating factors, and 15 specific motivating factors were identified within the four overarching themes. Recommendations were made based on applicability of the research to the Army, cooperative extension, legislators and government agencies, financial planners, tax appraisal offices, and estate planners.

published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

M.A. (Clinical Social Work) / This research involves exploring how middle childhood boys at a primary school experience the phenomenon of growing up with an absent father both functionally and psychosocially. The absent father being defined as a living father who does not live with his son and has chosen to be uninvolved in a financial, physical, emotional or spiritual way and has little contact with his son. The goal of the study was to investigate the effect of absent fathers on middle childhood boys and to gain an understanding of how they view the absence of a father in their lives. The objectives included exploring the experience of the boys in growing up with an absent father, to determine the boy’s perception of how their father’s absence has impacted on their lives, as well as to make recommendations for social work and other social service practitioners. A qualitative approach was selected for this study with a view to allowing participants to give rich descriptions of their individual experiences of growing up with an absent father. It is an exploratory study, informed by phenomenology. Exploratory, as it necessitated gaining insight into a situation and phenomenological as it entailed describing the participants experience of their life story. The research population for this study was defined as all boys in Grade Seven at the primary school. The boys were aged between twelve and thirteen. Purposive sampling was used as it allowed the researcher to select the participants based on necessary and relevant criteria. Five participants were selected as the researcher believed that it would give a sufficient overview of the phenomenon being researched and would reach data saturation. The interviews were all started with the same request namely, “Tell me about your relationship with your father?” Thereafter a semi-structured interview schedule was used as a backup tool when relevant questions needed to be asked. Participants were prepared for the interviews prior to the commencement of the study. Data was analysed according to a phenomenological method namely, Familiarisation; Immersion/Bracketing; Inducing Themes; Coding; Elaboration and Interpretation. These procedures were followed until a full description of the participants’ experience of absent fathers was disclosed. Four themes namely, emotions, loss, self-esteem and the single mother were identified ...