Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2005. / Supervisors: James P. Duncan and Joseph H. Stafford. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin -- La Crosse, 1986. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 41-42).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

The study described in this thesis represents one of the first attempts to explore belongingness as a practice among aid workers, and to contribute to our understanding of how people account for belonging in situ. In psychology, belongingness has predominantly been studied in laboratory settings, or among those who report not belonging in some way. This has led to concerns about ecological validity, and a neglect of ‘real world’ contexts in the development of belongingness theory. Through semi‐structured interviews with 25 international aid workers, using web‐based calling software (Skype), a discursive psychological approach was employed to rework belongingness as a discursive practice. Belonging was found to be an activity for which participants made themselves accountable, and in so doing worked to manage issues of blame and justification in their interactions. Aid workers constructed fitting in as necessary, but ultimately futile, formulating accounts around inherent and immutable differences with local people. The analysis also explored the ways in which participants constructed efforts to achieve belonging; much of which involved the manipulation of appearance, particularly the use of strategic dressing. Through analysis of participants’ treatment of belonging in interaction it was found that, in practice, belonging was formulated as a continuum rather than a dichotomy.

Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / David C. Thompson / The present study, Funding public school infrastructure: an overview of selected impacts and reconceptualization of state aid, with insights from three representative Kansas school districts sought to provide insights and new possibilities regarding public school infrastructure in the state of Kansas. The study was conducted in three separate, yet interconnected phases. Phase One provided for an in-depth literature review of past school finance formulae, litigation, and other important historical contexts at both a national level and more specifically within Kansas. Phase Two then sought to provide for an in-depth statistical analysis using common exploratory statistics of the three proposed funding alternatives to the bond and interest state aid formula. Finally, Phase Three provided for a practical application and lived experienced of the proposed alternatives through interviews with three selected school district representatives. Collectively, these three phases provided for a wealth of applicable and otherwise highly considerable solutions to the current funding mechanisms for capital infrastructure in the state of Kansas. The population for this study included all 286 school districts in the state of Kansas. The data used for the three proposed alternatives was provided by the Kansas State Department of Education and is from the 2015 audited fiscal year reports. The three selected school districts that were chosen for deeper discussion and analysis were USD 446-Independence, USD 490-El Dorado, and USD 491-Eudora. Results from the study revealed a wealth of insights that are both plausible and considerable for policymakers and legislators. Alternative one, which proposed applying general fund principles to the bond and interest fund would provide for the most assistance to school districts, but represented a straight cost increase to the state. Alternative two, which replaced property value measures (assessed valuation) with income-based measures (median household income) was cost neutral to the state, with both winners and losers. The final alternative provided for a complete policy shift away from mill levies tied only to districts that had incurred debt and moved towards a mandatory and uniform mill rate across all districts, while also creating a surplus pool from which districts could draw for capital infrastructure spending. The final alternative was again cost neutral to the state with a number of winners and losers, but provided for a means to an end that neither of the other two alternatives provided – an avenue for school districts to obtain capital infrastructure funding that would not require a majority vote by district patrons. The present study provided both an analysis of the current state of affairs, as well as a challenge to abandon current policy structures and begin to rethink how bricks and mortar within the state of Kansas are funded. The growing backlog of deferred maintenance, as well as the conclusion that the accident of residence will affect a child’s educational experience served as the necessary precursors and motivation for the recommendations and conclusions that were provided as a result of this study.

No description available.

A rectal cancer patient decision aid (PtDA) was developed to help patients consider the benefits and risks associated with two surgical treatment options. The current thesis evaluated the effect of the PtDA on patients and explored surgeons’ perceived factors influencing the implementation of the PtDA in clinical practice. Using a before and after study design, the PtDA was given to patients with rectal cancer at a cancer assessment center. Based on 28 patients recruited, the PtDA improved their knowledge, lowered decisional conflict, and patients rated it acceptable. A cross-sectional survey was mailed to 105 Canadian colorectal surgeons and 49 responded (46.7% response rate). Commonly perceived barriers were time constraint, need for multiple visits, and additional personnel and facilitators were simplifying the decision aid, adding to content, and translating to other languages. The PtDA improved patient decision making outcomes but requires interventions to overcome surgeon-identified barriers to use in clinical practice.

Poverty remains, despite efforts by the advanced economies to address it, a constant challenge in the world, particularly in Africa. The African continent has been riddled with poverty for decades. The factors that lead to and sustain poverty in African countries are varied and differ from country to country. However, historical factors, political instability, poor economic policies, a lack of education, disease, population growth, as well as climatic and environmental factors are key examples of some of these contributing factors. Today, Uganda is considered to be one of the poorer countries on the African continent, and for decades, despite large amounts of foreign aid inflow, there has been no significant improvement in relation to poverty reduction. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether foreign aid contributed to economic growth in Africa, with Uganda serving as a case study. Using data from 1987 to 2011, the Autoregressive Distributed Lag was employed to test for the existence of the long-run Augmented Dickey-Fuller test for stationarity and the Ordinary Least Square regression analysis was used to test for the relationship between the variables. The results show that foreign aid has a significant negative effect on economic growth in the long run. The lesson for policymakers is that aid can improve economic growth in the long run, if and when facilitated by quality institutions. Other policy recommendations are included

Thomas Goodnight’s definition of controversy offers an initial examination of Reverend Donald Wildmon and Reverend Pat Robertson’s attack of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), initiating the Culture Wars of 1989. Using their most reliable communication tactics, Wildmon and Robertson attempted to garner support for their values by manufacturing controversy related to government funding of the National Endowment for the Arts. Together, they manufacture social controversy around two inter-related themes, one of morality, in which they argued Christians were being persecuted by the art community, and the other against federal funding of objectionable art, using Andres Serrano and Robert Mapplethorpe as symbols of corruption. In addition to the initial attacks on Serrano and Mapplethorpe, my rhetorical analysis illustrates how Wildmon’s and Robertson’s rhetoric seemingly sanctioned the manufacturing of a social controversy regarding the Federal funding for objectionable art as a way to promote their pro-family and anti-homosexual agenda.