This research study was designed to investigate good readers' perceptions of what it means to read and the processes by which they became good readers. The theory informing this study comes from work across several disciplines: reading research, psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, and developmental and cognitive psychology. The researcher became a participant observer in two fifth-grade classrooms over a period of five months. During this time, the researcher engaged in ethnographic interviewing with the six good readers and their parents. The researcher employed a number of qualitative methods designed to gather information pertinent to the research questions proposed: participant observation, interviewing, audio-recording, triangulation procedures and general qualitative case study methods. The six good readers were studied in-depth from a social and academic context of school and from the context of home and family interactions. All of these observations and interviews contributed to the analysis of the qualitative data and consequent emerging themes. / The emerging themes derived from the qualitative data were: Learning About Reading, Learning to Read and Engaging in Reading. / The following conclusions were generated from the analysis of data collected during the observation and interviews with the teachers, parents and students: (1) early social interactions with parents in storyreading nurtured a love of reading, confidence in learning to read, encouragement and acceptance in the process of becoming a reader and establishing a positive attitude toward reading, (2) exposure to books with parents enhanced the good readers' understanding of language conventions, concepts of print and the language used to talk about reading, (3) the school context and the teacher's language and behaviors influenced the good reader's perceptions of reading and learning to read, (4) interest, self-confidence and motivation appeared to be of primary importance in becoming a good reader, (5) good readers perceived themselves to be good readers when they were free to self-select books and actively pursue knowledge on their own, (6) the good readers shared common understandings and beliefs about learning to read and the reading process. From the good readers' perspectives reading empowered them to become active learners. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-03, Section: A, page: 0860. / Major Professor: Diana Scott. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.

The purposes of the study were to investigate perceived level of work satisfaction, family satisfaction, effect of work on work performance, and effect of home and family on work performance of faculty members at a university in Mindanao, Philippines. Data were also examined to determine whether selected independent variables influenced perceived effect of home and family on work performance. / The sample included 152 faculty members who were actively serving higher education at the university. The data were collected at regular faculty meetings using self-administered, Likert-type questionnaires. / Analysis of data was performed through the use of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSSX), Release 2.0 at the Florida State University (Nov. 1986). Basic statistics were obtained for all the variables. Factor analysis with principal component analysis and varimax rotation was used to generate subscales from the four home and family measures. One-way analysis of variance and Pearson product moment correlation were used to test the hypotheses at the.05 significance level. / Results reinforced previous findings of the strong positive correlation between the work and family domains. Respondents had a higher mean level of family satisfaction than work satisfaction. The mean level of faculty work and family satisfaction were not significantly different across discipline areas or college affiliation of faculty. Number of children was found to influence perceived effect of family on work performance, unlike age, sex, marital status, age of youngest child, employment of spouse, family income, perceived level of stress, rank, professional discipline area and years of service at the university. Faculty respondents having two or three children living at home perceived the effect of family on work as most positive, whereas respondents with four or five children at home perceived the effect of home and family as most negative. This study contributes to the cross-cultural literature in work and family and should be of interest to researchers, policy makers, academic leaders, and educators. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-03, Section: A, page: 0747. / Major Professor: Bonnie B. Greenwood. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.

<p> Offering the first sustained critical analysis of the cultural interaction between melodramas of the nurturing fatherhood and the emergent ideology of neoliberalism, my dissertation explores the representation of white middle-class fathers in late-twentieth-century American literature and movies. </p><p> The nurturing father is a poster child of neoliberalism: he is represented as an entrepreneur who individually manages his time and skills; taking care of kids is represented not as a tiresome drudgery but as a part of a white middle-class father&rsquo;s self-investment which enhances his (children&rsquo;s) human capital. The nurturing father&rsquo;s pain and suffering are instrumental in understanding the cultural interaction between neoliberalism and melodrama. Echoing the anxiety that special rights given to groups are violating white middle-class men&rsquo;s rights as individuals, the melodrama of the nurturing father implicitly contests the law&rsquo;s protection of mothers as a gendered group and its intervention into private issues. Furthermore, the nurturing father is almost always represented as white middle-class with African American and/or working-class deadbeat fathers serving as counterpoints. By critically examining the significance of the freedom and self-government the white middle-class nurturing father embodies, this dissertation discusses how the melodrama of the nurturing father evokes and eases anxiety about a fatherless society. </p><p> While traditionally the American family&rsquo;s morality was predicated on the mother&rsquo;s sentimental and religious power to secure home as the place of comfort, an oasis from the ravages of capitalism, morality and innocence in the age of neoliberalism are marked by the father&rsquo;s choice to nurture human capital and become an independent subject in the market economy. Untangling the intertwined relationship between home and the world, this dissertation analyzes the significance of nurturing fatherhood as a lifestyle choice and traces the contested negotiation between production and reproduction in the age of neoliberalism.</p><p>

<p> Acute and/or complex trauma exposure during the vulnerable, critical developmental period of childhood places children at greater risks for developing emotional, psychological, behavioral difficulties. Currently, 60 % of children experience between one to four traumatic events and 25% of these children develop trauma symptoms consistent within full or partial PTSD diagnostic criteria. The greater the number of multiple and/or chronic traumatic experiences, especially within the caregiver system, the greater the risks for significant impairment, trauma symptoms and developmental difficulties. Utilizing Attachment Theory and Trauma Theory, this quantitative study explored the relationship between parent self-reported, child trauma (PTSD) symptoms, child trauma exposure, parental trauma exposure in childhood, parent burnout, parental attachment to their child, parent spirituality and parent PTSD trauma symptoms. Secondary, archival data was collected from a convenience sample including thirty-three parents/caregivers from a clinic population in the southeastern United States. The exploratory, quantitative research study focused on identifying potential systemic risks and resiliency factors that may serve to mediate child trauma (PTSD) symptoms. The results indicated potential risks factors of child trauma (PTSD) symptoms included both the number and specific types of parental adverse childhood experiences. In addition, the number of child trauma experiences predicted child trauma (PTSD) symptomology, while high parental attachment, low parent burnout and high spirituality served as potential systemic resiliency factors. Parent trauma (PTSD) symptoms and parent spirituality were not found to predict child trauma (PTSD) symptomology following child trauma exposure. This exploratory research study does not imply causality but highlights additional systemic, family assessment avenues for further research for decreasing the negative impact of child trauma (PTSD) exposure.</p><p>

<p> Asian family businesses comprise the vast majority of economic activity in the Asian region. Therefore, their smooth functioning is of both economic and societal importance. However, little research has been done on how to assess, let alone therapeutically treat, Asian business families. Due to the overlap of family systems and business systems, Asian business families face complex and unique challenges. Family members play multiple roles in both the family and business. Value systems and decision processes between the two systems may vary significantly. Boundaries between the family system and business system are often blurred. Using a hermeneutic methodological approach to research and synthesizing across the limited Asian family systems and business family systems research, the thesis develops an assessment methodology and instrument that allow practitioners to identify issues specific to Asian business families that may arise in therapy.</p><p>

<p> This study focused on the perceptions of K-12 school counselors on learned helplessness in children and families in rural areas. There has been research on learned helplessness, children in rural areas, and studies on school counselors; however, there is a lack of research on the counselor's perceptions of learned helplessness in children and families in rural areas. Therefore, this study was different than previous studies on learned helplessness, and it fills a gap in the literature. This study used the interpretive-constructivist approach. The experiences and perceptions of participants provided answers to the central research question, by providing their subjective observations of learned helplessness in the children and families in their rural areas. Data was collected for this study through face-to-face interviews with volunteer participants privately to ensure protection and confidentiality of participants. Bracketing was used to reduce the impact of research bias in this study, along with note-taking techniques and audio tapes, transcribed by the researcher using NVIVO software. Transcripts were reviewed, patterns were identified, and themes were categorized using codes as the researcher looked for connections among the themes. Themes that emerged included parental involvement, generational cycles and patterns, grandparents raising grandkids, poverty, helping agencies, cultural and community norms and lifestyles, beliefs and value systems, and drugs and substance abuse. The theme most discussed by the eight participants was in relation to parental involvement in the child's life, both positive and negative. Parental involvement was discussed by participants 70 times during the eight hours of face-to-face interviews. According to participants of this study, both the positive and the negative involvement by the parent is the number one influence of learned helplessness in the child's life.</p><p>

<p> The advocacy of parent involvement, specifically by k-8 (elementary and middle school) administrators will be examined through the use of qualitative research method which will entail a thorough and immense review of the body of literature on this subject matter. The body of literature will cover the significance of parent involvement in various settings, such as in the home and in the classroom, and the significance to teachers, administrators, and students. The political components of parent involvement advocacy will be introduced and discussed in detail and additionally, the relationships between administrators, teachers, parents, and students will be examined and discussed. The data collection for this study will be conducted through the lens of a phenomenological approach. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect and impact that k-8 school administrators have on the implementation of parent engagement programs. Therefore, this will determine the success of parent involvement initiatives to promote parents as leaders in children&rsquo;s academic careers. explained. It will be explained through the examination of administrators who are or are not advocating for the implementation of parent engagement programs that will essentially allow parents to be involved in their children&rsquo;s academic careers in and outside of the classroom environment. The study will seek to discover the strategies used by administrators, challenges they face, and how success is measured. Administrators will also be asked for anecdotal recommendations for others in the field looking to implement similar programs.</p><p>

<p> Little published research exists about individuals who decide to start their families while enrolled in graduate school. The purpose of this study was to explore with a qualitative methodology the experiences of first time parents in graduate study programs. Graduate student parents were defined as women or men either currently enrolled in a Master&rsquo;s or doctoral level graduate program, or recent alumni who graduated within the past five years. Participants had to have had their first child while in graduate school, either through childbirth (self or spouse), surrogacy, or infant adoption, and that child must be listed as a dependent. All graduate programs were located in the greater Boston area. Through semi-structured interviews, twelve participants detailed their experiences as student parents with newborn children. Interview data were categorized and coded, which led to the identification of five meta-themes, each of which was then divided into several sub-themes. </p><p> Meta-themes included the decision-making process to have a child while a student, which was broken down to age, fertility risk factors, and the academic timeline. The theme of logistical challenges included compounding financial costs, childcare issues, and scheduling conflicts. Physical and psychosocial challenges was another meta-theme regarding the experience of extreme sleep deprivation, cognitive changes, challenges with breastfeeding or pumping, the guilt associated with trying to balance school and family, negative experiences with faculty or the administration, and the social isolation of not knowing other student parents in their programs. Additional meta-themes revolved around the availability of social supports, and adaptations and classroom accommodations they developed in order to complete their degrees. Lastly, student parents outlined suggestions for changes in institutional policies and procedures to ensure basic educational rights, and to prevent future marginalization and discrimination for this largely invisible population.</p><p>

In the research regarding family and fertility, little attention has been paid to the couple unit. The majority of fertility studies have focused upon the wife only. Where data are available for both husband and wife, it is often clustered under the headings 'males' and 'females;' again ignoring the specific husband and wife dyad. In addition, the attitudes of husbands and wives are often assumed to be essentially the same This study investigates couple agreement on desired family size. The following hypotheses are examined. (1) Agreement on desired family size is related to similarity of background; the more homogeneous the couple in their background characteristics, the more they are likely to agree on their family size desires. (2) Agreement on desired family size will be greater among those who have discussed their family size desires and goals than among those who have not. (3) The longer the duration of the family of procreation, the greater will be the agreement concerning family size preference between husbands and wives The study is based on the secondary analysis of data from the New Orleans Family Survey of 1965. The data are from a subsample of 357 couples. Separate interviews were held with husband and wife; their responses to the survey questions were subsequently compared The data concerning demographic homogeneity are inconsistent. Sometimes those similar in characteristics agree more highly on family size preferences than those dissimilar in characteristics; sometimes they do not. The zero order relationships are weak, rarely manifesting chi squares large enough to reject chance. Multiple regression of the twenty-six explanatory variables indicates homogeneity on these variables explains only fourteen percent of the variance in agreement on desired family size Discussion of family size also yields inconclusive data. Couples who have discussed family size preferences indicated a slightly higher percent agreement than did those who had not discussed preferences. The highest percent agreement was shown, however, among couples who disagreed concerning whether they had ever discussed family size preferences Length of marriage was found to have no relationship to agreement on desired family size In all, the data show a high percent of disagreement concerning family size preferences among the couples; slightly over sixty percent of the couples disagree. This indicates that researchers should be cautious in interpreting information from one spouse as indicative of the opinions of the other. In addition, spouses who are homogeneous in characteristics should not be assumed to be homogeneous in outlook / acase@tulane.edu

The reason why violence takes different forms in different families is not clearly understood in terms of predictive individual and family features. This study attempted to identify significant clinical variables that distinguished father-daughter incest families from child physical abuse families in an United States Air Force sample. Air Force Family Advocacy Officers performed a retrospective review of 135 substantiated military child maltreatment cases by answering a questionnaire adapted for this study to reflect the point-of-view of the clinician from five well known self-report inventories. The most pronounced difference between the two maltreatment groups was the higher level of overt conflict demonstrated by the child physical abuse families compared to the father-daughter incest families. Child physical abuse families were also found to be more controlling than their counterparts. On the other hand, fathers who sexually molested their daughters were rated as significantly more paranoid-like and socially introverted plus were involved in less satisfying marriages when compared to physically abusive fathers. No significant differences between maltreatment groups were discovered in terms of expressiveness in the family, alcohol abuse by the father, or self-esteem of the wives. Implications for treatment and prevention programs as well as further research are discussed / acase@tulane.edu