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Medical ageism in the United States affects senior citizens' activities of daily living (ADL) and the quality of their medical care. Medical ageism refers to discrimination against, abuse of, stereotyping of, contempt for, and avoidance of older people. Nurses who take care of the elderly are responsible for ensuring that older patients are treated fairly and in a timely manner, so it is important to know whether or not nurses have any bias regarding the elderly. The research questions addressed in this quantitative study explored whether or not there were differences in nurses' perceptions of ageism as moderated by the nurses' own gender, ethnicity, age, or years of experience. This study used a researcher-developed demographic survey and the Age Based Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (RSQ-Age). The theoretical framework for this study included the theory of emotional labor. A quantitative, causal-comparative design was used to test the hypotheses. Sixty one nurses were purposively sampled via snowballing sampling. Analysis of variance was used to determine mean differences in ageism between the specified independent variables. Findings from this study revealed that caregivers with less than, or equal to, 5 years of nursing experience had significantly lower ageism scores than nurses with more than 5 years of experience. Gender, ethnicity, or age did not significantly affect ageism scores. This study may contribute to social change by determining how nurses can recognize their own potential fallibilities in the field of gerontology, thereby having the potential to promote positive health outcomes for the elderly.

The definition of aide for this study was a non-certified person in the classroom who aids and assists the professional with non-related tasks. The present role of the teacher aide in Home Economics was described and suggested guidelines for future aide utilization were proposed. The study was conducted in three phases : 1) Personal Interviews were conducted of three teacher aides and two teachers presently employed in Utah. 2) Correspondence with fifty program directors or teachers using aides in other states. 3) Time-Activity analysis of 12 junior and senior high Home Economics teachers. Instruments used were: 1) A twelve item interview for teacher aides, and 2) A twenty-two item interview for teacher aides, 3) A fifty-two item questionnaire form was formulated by the writer. The findings of the thesis are: 1) It was found that teacher aides were not used extensively in Home Economics classes in Utah or throughout the United States. 2) No provision is made for educational training or a career ladder. 3) There is no role definition for the aide in the present program. 4) The aide program has received positive acceptance by the teachers, professional staff and students involved in the program. 5) Careful selection, open communication and role definition were suggested as determinents of successful programs.

The purposes of this paper are to provide a guid.e line for determining the budget for a Consumer and Homemaking foods program in the secondary schools of Utah, and to suggest some food buying procedures. In order to achieve these purposes, questionnaires were sent to the 167 ,junior and senior high schools in the state. Of the questionnaires returned, 99 were complete enough to be utilized for the study; 48 were from junior high schools and 51 from senior high schools. For analysis the schools were grouped according to whether they were a junior or senior high school and then into large, medium or small schools based on the total number of students in each school. From the information on the completed questionnaires, cost for one 36-weeks course in a foods program and the cost per student per hour for each school was determined. The averages were then found for each category. It was determined that except for the small junior high schools the cost per 36-weeks course appears to increase with a decrease in the size of the school. The figures indicate that there is an inverse relationship between the cost per student per hour and the population of the schools. Even though the larger schools have a greater total budget than the smaller schools, they offer more courses and serve more students which results in a lower cost per student per hour and fewer dollars involved in each 36-weeks course. It was also determined that the schools which purchased staple food supplies through the school district appeared to have lower costs per student per hour. The results indicated that it was not necessarily cheaper to purchase food at a large chain store as compared to a small local store. Allocating a budget on a total year basis seems to result in a lower total budget per year. The schools which operated on more money per student hour indicated a difference in their purchasing of food which included the higher priced meats and preparing more complete meals. It is suggested that teachers and administrators be aware of the quality of a foods program in relation to the costs of the program, and the budget allowed for the outcomes desired.

A distinct focus on female youth experiences in political contests has been lacking in the literature on youth and political violence despite many female youth’s involvement with armed groups. The first Palestinian Intifada (1987-1993) saw the participation of many female youth alongside both teenage boys and men. This is notable especially given the patriarchal culture of Palestinian society in that women and young girls are traditionally confined to the private sphere. Additionally, public interactions with men and young boys could be viewed as improper and threats to one’s honor and purity may ensue. In light of these facts, the purpose of this study is to investigate the experience of Palestinian female adolescents in zones of political conflict - specifically in the Gaza Strip during the First Intifada. More specifically, this study explores the relationship between socioeconomic status, religious, political and individual characteristics on differences in levels of female participation and activist behaviors. Data were collected via self-report survey in the Gaza Strip in 1998 from a sample of 960 youth, 375 of which were female. Models predicting political involvement are assessed through hierarchical linear regression analyses. Results indicated that socioeconomic status, age, efficacy, religiosity, and political affiliation predicted Palestinian female youth activism in the first Intifada. No interaction was found between religiosity, political affiliation, and activism. These findings are discussed in relation to the broader literature on civic and political engagement of youth as well as gender issues in orthodox Islamic societies.

A seemingly discrepant relationship between Chinese adolescents’ academic achievement, depression and gender was revealed from the literature. Chinese adolescent girls have higher academic achievement than Chinese boys (Duckworth & Seligman, 2006; Hunley et al., 2005; Liang & Sun, 2000; Nie, Zhang, & Zhang, 2001; Wan et al., 2003). Higher academic achievement was found to be inversely associated with depression among Chinese adolescents (Hesketh et al., 2002; Ji et al., 2001; Pritchard, 1996). It is then expected that Chinese girls have lower depression than Chinese boys. However, literature shows that Chinese girls have higher depression than Chinese boys (Hesketh et al., 2002; Lin, 2001; Unger et al., 2001; Wan et al., 2003). Five possible models for gender, achievement and depression are proposed through the technique of data simulation to explain the seemingly conflicting relationship among the three variables. Secondary data analysis of cross-sectional survey data from mainland Chinese adolescents was used to investigate which model represents the relationship among academic achievement, depression and gender. None of the models was confirmed because two initial hypotheses were not supported. Girls did not demonstrate higher academic achievement than boys; and girls did not demonstrate a higher depression level than boys either. It was only found that academic achievement was inversely related to adolescent depression, F (1, 985) = 41.769, p < .001. The limitations of the study and the implications for future studies and research were discussed.

Learning during infancy is dependent on many factors. One such factor is physiological self-regulation. This study investigated the relationship between physiological self-regulation abilities and evidence of learning based on Visual Expectation Paradigm (VExP) performance. Alterations in High Frequency Heart Period Variability (HFHPV) assessed physiological self-regulation and were hypothesized to correspond with VExP performance. Findings revealed patterns of HFHPV change during the VExP and that HFHPV change negatively corresponded with a resting measure of HFHPV and VExP performance. Results suggested that resting HFHPV was a better predictor of learning during the VExP than patterns of HFHPV change evidenced throughout the task.

The current study describes the directive behaviors of seven mothers with their toddlers ranging in age from 12 to 35 months throughout the day. This study explores the behaviors of a sample with lower socioeconomic status without the use of unnatural measures or artificial environments that may enhance the likelihood of observing atypical behaviors and perhaps perpetuate a deficit-based interpretation of the poverty context. Nine hours of observation for each dyad were collected as part of a larger study concerning the daily experiences of toddlers with the exception of one participant who dropped out of the study after three hours of observation. The current study analyzed maternal behaviors while the mother was present with her toddler and the toddler was awake. Observations used in the current analysis lasted between 90 to 450 minutes for each participant. The importance of the extended observational protocol used in the current study was specifically investigated by comparing parenting behaviors that occurred during the first 45 minutes of observation to those which occurred during subsequent observational segments. This study also explored a more complete conception of directiveness in a lower socioeconomic context by defining two separate variables for responsive and adultinitiated directiveness. The situational contexts that influence mothers’ directive behaviors were then examined. The results of the current study suggest that when mothers with lower socioeconomic status are observed for an extended amount of time they vary greatly in the amount of directiveness that they use with their children. These directive behaviors occurred at a much higher rate during the first segment of time mothers were observed. Directive behaviors did not cluster as either adult-initiated or responsive as expected. Rather, directive behaviors clustered according to the contexts of caregiving or play interactions. Only three toddlers engaged in any structured activities while in the care of their mothers. Results of the current study challenge the methodology used in previous research that has resulted in the wide spread stereotype of parents with lower socioeconomic status parenting in a harsh and deficient manner. Implications for family functioning assessment and intervention are also discussed.

A distinct focus on female youth experiences in political contests has been lacking in the literature on youth and political violence despite many female youth’s involvement with armed groups. The first Palestinian Intifada (1987-1993) saw the participation of many female youth alongside both teenage boys and men. This is notable especially given the patriarchal culture of Palestinian society in that women and young girls are traditionally confined to the private sphere. Additionally, public interactions with men and young boys could be viewed as improper and threats to one’s honor and purity may ensue. In light of these facts, the purpose of this study is to investigate the experience of Palestinian female adolescents in zones of political conflict - specifically in the Gaza Strip during the First Intifada. More specifically, this study explores the relationship between socioeconomic status, religious, political and individual characteristics on differences in levels of female participation and activist behaviors. Data were collected via self-report survey in the Gaza Strip in 1998 from a sample of 960 youth, 375 of which were female. Models predicting political involvement are assessed through hierarchical linear regression analyses. Results indicated that socioeconomic status, age, efficacy, religiosity, and political affiliation predicted Palestinian female youth activism in the first Intifada. No interaction was found between religiosity, political affiliation, and activism. These findings are discussed in relation to the broader literature on civic and political engagement of youth as well as gender issues in orthodox Islamic societies.

The current study describes the directive behaviors of seven mothers with their toddlers ranging in age from 12 to 35 months throughout the day. This study explores the behaviors of a sample with lower socioeconomic status without the use of unnatural measures or artificial environments that may enhance the likelihood of observing atypical behaviors and perhaps perpetuate a deficit-based interpretation of the poverty context. Nine hours of observation for each dyad were collected as part of a larger study concerning the daily experiences of toddlers with the exception of one participant who dropped out of the study after three hours of observation. The current study analyzed maternal behaviors while the mother was present with her toddler and the toddler was awake. Observations used in the current analysis lasted between 90 to 450 minutes for each participant. The importance of the extended observational protocol used in the current study was specifically investigated by comparing parenting behaviors that occurred during the first 45 minutes of observation to those which occurred during subsequent observational segments. This study also explored a more complete conception of directiveness in a lower socioeconomic context by defining two separate variables for responsive and adultinitiated directiveness. The situational contexts that influence mothers’ directive behaviors were then examined. The results of the current study suggest that when mothers with lower socioeconomic status are observed for an extended amount of time they vary greatly in the amount of directiveness that they use with their children. These directive behaviors occurred at a much higher rate during the first segment of time mothers were observed. Directive behaviors did not cluster as either adult-initiated or responsive as expected. Rather, directive behaviors clustered according to the contexts of caregiving or play interactions. Only three toddlers engaged in any structured activities while in the care of their mothers. Results of the current study challenge the methodology used in previous research that has resulted in the wide spread stereotype of parents with lower socioeconomic status parenting in a harsh and deficient manner. Implications for family functioning assessment and intervention are also discussed.