This is a phenomenological research study of the lived experience of women student mentors at one community college located in an urban setting on the West Coast. The study participants were women students who served as mentors to other women at the community college who are participants in a returning women's program. The researcher interacted with the study participants over a nine-month time period. Interviews were held with the six mentor participants prior to their mentoring experience, during the time of the mentoring experience, and at the end of the mentoring experience. The data for this study consist of interviews, observation, and field notes. The mentoring program coordinator was also interviewed to provide for triangulation of data. Six themes emerged from the interviews with the participants and subsequent analysis of the data: Reflecting on past experience, wanting to help, setting and maintaining boundaries, experiencing strong emotions, relational support from other women, and mentoring as a reciprocal relationship. The resulting implication for practice recommendations from this study for community college administrators and student service professionals designing or implementing mentoring programs are: provide training for mentors, provide ongoing support for mentors, offer an orientation for the mentees on responsibilities and expectations, design the mentoring program to provide a full academic year for the mentor-mentee pair to meet, provide benefit and rewards for serving as a mentor, and ensure adequate staffing of the program. Recommendations for further research on student mentoring are provided. They include additional research in the areas of women as student mentors, men as student mentors, comparison of the experiences of male and female mentors, retention studies on students who serve as mentors, college credit and training for mentors, mentoring programs across individual college campuses, and a statewide view of mentoring programs on college campuses. / Graduation date: 2006

An individual's struggle with "self," which consists of personal identity and social identity, can create both intra- and interpersonal conflict. In this study, I explored how such struggles inform identity-based conflict and how such conflicts are addressed by intergroup dialogue. A dialogue was conducted with University students, consisting of discussions about participants' struggles with "self" and social identity. These conversations were analyzed using a mixed methods and content analysis approach. The study revealed that identities such as gender play significant roles in creating conflict within "self" and with others. National origin, race, and ethnicity also affect personal identity; however, these identities have greater influence on participants' relationships with others. Four different stages of dialogue were crucial in determining changes in the perceptions of participants. It was learned that dialogue helped participants to give new meaning to their identities. Individual "self"--personal identity--defines each person's ability to understand others, not the social identity. Participants reported their level of trust, openness, and willingness to engage with people not from their own identity group increased and improved because of their participation in the dialogue. Therefore, dialogue can be a valuable tool to understand and transform identity-based conflicts.

Chinese international students in American colleges and universities report low levels of physical activity involvement, which may limit them in terms of realizing their full human potential (i.e., cognitively, physically, socially). The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the psychosocial mechanisms as well as the sociocultural influences to understand physical activity behavior among Chinese international students in American higher education. The first manuscript reviewed the background of physical activity participation among Chinese students. It also reviewed empirical findings related to the Youth Physical Activity Promotion (YPAP) model (Welk, 1999). The second manuscript tested a model of meeting physical activity recommendation (MPAR), using the YPAP model as the guiding framework in an effort to identify theoretical predictors of physical activity participation among Chinese international students. Results revealed that the predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing factors predicted MPAR among Chinese international students. Different from Welk's (1999) model, however, we found that the enabling and reinforcing factors influenced physical activity indirectly through the predisposing factors, able(i.e., Am I able?) and worth (i.e., Is it worth it?), instead of directly. The results clarify how the YPAP model might be used to understand the physical activity behavior of Chinese international students studying in American colleges and universities. The third manuscript qualitatively explored the physical activity experiences of Chinese female international graduate students in terms of meanings, facilitators, and barriers to participation. It revealed that physical activity provided the participants with a break from their academic work, allowed them some alone time, gave them feelings of accomplishment, and taught them a process for accomplishing other things in their lives. Major facilitators included social influences, the availability of ample resources, their changing perceptions of femininity, and the need to improve or maintain their health. The most frequent barriers included a lack of time, self-efficacy, social support, "how to" information, and cultural barriers. This study adds to our understanding of the physical activity experiences of Chinese international graduate students, as well offers some direction to colleges and universities in the U.S. regarding how they might facilitate the physical activity behavior of Chinese international graduate students in the future. Based on the two empirical studies, colleges and universities ought to provide physical activity resources, as well as social resources, to increase the perceived competence, self-efficacy, positive attitude, and enjoyment of physical activity among Chinese international students. University curriculums and fitness training programs should include cross-cultural course content to increase awareness of the unique needs of international students, as well as to help them to remove barriers to their physical activity participation. / Graduation date: 2012

For many people music is an important aspect of their daily life. Music preference is a complex subject tied to social identity, personality, leisure activities, religion, family and friends, and so forth. Music is also a form of expression, which is communicated to the public over various mediums and formats. The themes depicted in music media (music in the form of television, radio, and internet sources, both auditory and visually presented) are vast owing to the array of different artists and their individual worldviews that they put on offer for the public. The lyrical content and/or imagery put forward by musicians depicts an array of different themes, which are contextualised by individuals in their personal conception of their favourite music. The meaning that listeners/viewers attach to their music is equally related to their own background and life experience, including their belief system (religion). There has been a controversial increase in the sexualisation and explicitness of music media; however, there is a gap in the intersection between music, sex, and religiosity as a field of study. Understanding the influence of music media requires an understanding of the people who are experiencing this content. Taking a cybernetic approach and the position of the listener who determines the meaning of an utterance, as put forward by cyberneticist Heinz von Foerster, this study is a reflexive contextual enquiry into how people are experiencing and interpreting their music media and whether this media challenges their view on religion (if they consider themselves aligned to a religion). To address this broad research question, a two-part study was conducted. The first part consisted of a quantitative study of 459 students from the University of Johannesburg to obtain a snapshot of a young adult demographic in terms of their music media, sexuality, and religiosity choices. Thereafter, using the results from this first part of the study, a qualitative interview-based study was conducted. Together the quantitative and qualitative studies provide a basis for answering the main research question. The results show that the young adults in the study are thinking beings, not just manipulated by mainstream music media; rather, they decide what is right for them often motivated by their views on religion. Methodologies used in religious studies have been subject to criticism. One specific aspect is the lack of acknowledgment of epistemology within research designs. In addressing this critique, a second- order cybernetic study was conducted. By introducing a cybernetic approach to qualitative religious study, a new approach is thus also presented which is called A Reflexive Recursive Learning Approach to Religious Studies. / Religious Studies and Arabic / D. Litt. et Phil. (Religious Studies)

A Constituição Federal prevê a igualdade de condições para o acesso e permanência na escola. A história da educação superior brasileira é marcada pela desigualdade social. A cultura de avaliação de programas vem se institucionalizando no Brasil. A presente pesquisa apresenta uma avaliação da eficácia do Programa de Auxílio Estudantil da Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná – Câmpus Curitiba, por meio de estudos comparativos do coeficiente acadêmico e da permanência entre os estudantes beneficiados pelo Programa e os não-beneficiados. Expõe um breve histórico do Ensino Superior e da Assistência Estudantil no Brasil. A questão social apresentada é a permanência dos estudantes em situação de vulnerabilidade socioeconômica no ensino superior. E para o seu enfrentamento, normas foram editadas e ações desenvolvidas, inclusive o Programa de Auxílio Estudantil da UTFPR. Discute conceitos da avaliação de Programas Sociais e da Governança Pública. Trata-se de um estudo de caso, no qual foram coletados dados do sistema acadêmico da instituição e do Programa de Auxílio, complementados por um questionário aplicado aos ex-alunos bolsistas graduados e desistentes. Construiu-se um sistema de indicadores, concluindo-se pela eficácia do Programa de Auxílio Estudantil. Traz como resultado, a superioridade dos coeficientes acadêmicos dos estudantes bolsistas em relação aos não bolsistas, bem como uma taxa de evasão inferior dos bolsistas em relação aos demais estudantes do Câmpus. / The Federal Constitution predicates equal conditions to the access and permanency in the school. The Higher Education History in Brazil is spotted for social inequality. The programs evaluation growth has becoming systematized in Brazil. This study presents an evaluation of the efficiency of the Student Scholarship Program of the Federal Technological University of Paraná—Curitiba, through comparative studies between Scholarship Program students and the rest of the student body focusing on grades and student retention. The study offers a brief overview of Brazilian Higher Education and Student Scholarship Programs. The social issue examined is the retention of students in positions of socioeconomic vulnerability in higher education. In order to confront these issues, standards were edited and actions were developed, including the Student Scholarship Program of UTFPR (Federal Technological University of Paraná). The study discusses evaluation procedures of Social Programs and Public Governance. This is a case study in which the university’s academic and the Scholarship Program databases are used as a corpus, and in which a questionnaire for former students, both graduated and withdrawn from the program, serves as compliment. A system of indicators was constructed, and its conclusion is presented through the efficiency of the Student Scholarship Program. The case study results demonstrate higher academic grades from scholarship students in relation to non-scholarship students, as well as higher retention rates for scholarship students in relation to the rest of the student body on campus

A Constituição Federal prevê a igualdade de condições para o acesso e permanência na escola. A história da educação superior brasileira é marcada pela desigualdade social. A cultura de avaliação de programas vem se institucionalizando no Brasil. A presente pesquisa apresenta uma avaliação da eficácia do Programa de Auxílio Estudantil da Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná – Câmpus Curitiba, por meio de estudos comparativos do coeficiente acadêmico e da permanência entre os estudantes beneficiados pelo Programa e os não-beneficiados. Expõe um breve histórico do Ensino Superior e da Assistência Estudantil no Brasil. A questão social apresentada é a permanência dos estudantes em situação de vulnerabilidade socioeconômica no ensino superior. E para o seu enfrentamento, normas foram editadas e ações desenvolvidas, inclusive o Programa de Auxílio Estudantil da UTFPR. Discute conceitos da avaliação de Programas Sociais e da Governança Pública. Trata-se de um estudo de caso, no qual foram coletados dados do sistema acadêmico da instituição e do Programa de Auxílio, complementados por um questionário aplicado aos ex-alunos bolsistas graduados e desistentes. Construiu-se um sistema de indicadores, concluindo-se pela eficácia do Programa de Auxílio Estudantil. Traz como resultado, a superioridade dos coeficientes acadêmicos dos estudantes bolsistas em relação aos não bolsistas, bem como uma taxa de evasão inferior dos bolsistas em relação aos demais estudantes do Câmpus. / The Federal Constitution predicates equal conditions to the access and permanency in the school. The Higher Education History in Brazil is spotted for social inequality. The programs evaluation growth has becoming systematized in Brazil. This study presents an evaluation of the efficiency of the Student Scholarship Program of the Federal Technological University of Paraná—Curitiba, through comparative studies between Scholarship Program students and the rest of the student body focusing on grades and student retention. The study offers a brief overview of Brazilian Higher Education and Student Scholarship Programs. The social issue examined is the retention of students in positions of socioeconomic vulnerability in higher education. In order to confront these issues, standards were edited and actions were developed, including the Student Scholarship Program of UTFPR (Federal Technological University of Paraná). The study discusses evaluation procedures of Social Programs and Public Governance. This is a case study in which the university’s academic and the Scholarship Program databases are used as a corpus, and in which a questionnaire for former students, both graduated and withdrawn from the program, serves as compliment. A system of indicators was constructed, and its conclusion is presented through the efficiency of the Student Scholarship Program. The case study results demonstrate higher academic grades from scholarship students in relation to non-scholarship students, as well as higher retention rates for scholarship students in relation to the rest of the student body on campus