Research on religion and family in the United States has increased in the last two decades. With the increasing immigrant population, studies on minorities including Chinese immigrant families are also important. Religious faith has significant influences on some Chinese immigrant families. The purpose of the study is to examine the relationship between Christianity and Chinese immigrant families. Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with twenty-two highly religious Chinese Christian couples in the Southern United States. Twenty-two open-ended questions were asked to understand their conversion processes and how the Christian faith influenced the participants marriage and family life. Most of the participants held advanced graduate degrees. Their ages ranged from 28 to 66, and the number of children ranged from one to four. Grounded theory methods including open coding and axial coding were applied to analyze the data. Three major themes emerged and were identified in the interview data: 1) Conversion to Christianity, 2) Faith practice: to learn and to change, and 3) Faith and parenting. Several subthemes are also addressed, and supporting qualitative data is presented in connection with each theme. Implications for theory, practice, and research related to Chinese immigrant families in the United States are discussed.

As technology continues to grow, new marketing opportunities arise. Facebook is an online social network that allows companies to understand their consumer base (Shih, 2011). Little research has been conducted to understand how Facebook is used as a marketing tool. Word of mouth advertising is created on Facebook fan-pages, business pages that allow consumers to interact with each other with User-Generated Content (UGC). Identifying opinion leaders on these fan-pages can help businesses understand their customers and help them build relationships with them on Facebook. The current research presents a qualitative approach to profiling users of a Facebook fan-page wall, identifying opinion leaders, and analyzing the documented messages on the wall. The Facebook fan-page used was from Tru Colors Apparel a local apparel business targeting college football fans in the South East region of the United States. The profile identified thirty-three opinion leaders, whose comments were analyzed for themes. Eighteen themes were identified from the fan comments and opinion leader comments. The themes identified were brand/line, styles, excitement, purchase intention, purchase, team spirit, suggestions, pricing, sizing, photos, store/location, website, gratitude, emails, blog referral, recommendations, winners, and articles. The comments were analyzed over a three season period. The three seasons are defined based on the football season from June to February. Each comment from all the fans and from the opinion leaders were compared to identify relationships between themes and to support the identification process of opinion leaders. Purchase intention, Team Spirit, and the Brand/Line were consistently more prevalent when comparing the opinion leader comments to the other fans comments. Implications are presented for small apparel companies with narrow niche markets.

The fashion system has historically looked to art for inspiration. For the greater part of history, this inspiration has been purely visual. However, with the advent of Modern Art, the formal qualities of art are often merely visual representations of some underlying theoretical position. As the fashion system seeks inspiration from this new art, an examination of what aspects, if any, of these underlying theoretical positions are carried into fashion becomes necessary. To not do so, is to forego a complete reading of the fashion objects being currently produced. The purpose of this study was to examine the use of preexisting clothing in current high fashion. This examination entailed a comparison of this act to the readymades of Marcel Duchamp, the combine paintings of Robert Rauschenberg, and the appropriations of Sherry Levine. This comparison was followed by a symbolic interactionist interpretation of the act. The ready-to-wear collections appearing on Style.com from Spring 2000 to Spring 2002 served as the dataset. A complete reading of the verbal descriptions that accompanied each collection within the dataset served as the primary indicator of a use of preexisting clothing. A supporting visual analysis of each collection within the dataset was also conducted. Among this dataset of 161 fashion labels, four were found to have engaged in the use of preexisting clothing. Those labels were: Miguel Adrover, John Galliano, Imitation of Christ, and Russel Sage. Interpretations of the found instances of clothing were based upon comparisons with the selected artworks. Symbolic interactionist theory allowed for a perspective in which the use of preexisting clothing by a fashion designer served as a mediation of his/her identity amongst peers. The theory also allowed limited inferences to be made about the eventual adopters of such clothing.

The accelerated rate of bone loss that occurs after menopause may be reduced by consuming rice bran oil (RBO), which contains natural oryzanol. Three different forms of oryzanol (natural oryzanol, NO; crystalline oryzanol, CO; and solubilized oryzanol, SO) were evaluated in a rat model of postmenopausal women. Retired Sprague-Dawley breeder rats were stratified by weight and assigned randomly to one of five groups for a thirteen week study. Rats were either variectomized (O, n=37) or sham-operated (ShC, n=10) and assigned to control (C) diets (OC, n=10 or ShC, n=10) or one of three forms of oryzanol (NO, n=9; CO, n=9; or SO, n=9). Bone mineral density of the vertebrae, humerus, femur, and tibia were measured by pDEXA. Results demonstrated that the diet consisting of natural oryzanol (RBO) was slightly protective in preventing bone loss at several bone sites including the elbow, total femur, hip, knee, and femoral mid-shaft. Also, the NO-containing diet was effective in preventing loss of bone mineral density of the tibia. Although the NO-containing diet seemed to have a positive effect on long bones, it did not demonstrate similar effects in the vertebrae. This suggests that NO primarily affects cortical bone. The benefits seen with the natural oryzanol were not seen with the crystalline or solubilized oryzanol. One explanation might be that the natural oryzanol was absorbed more effectively than the crystalline and solubilized oryzanol. Another reason could be that the benefits of the NO diet are due to other components of the unsaponifiable fraction of rice bran oil. Rice bran oil, fed as a sole source of dietary fat reduced bone loss in long bones of ovariectomized rats suggesting there may be beneficial effects in humans.

Growing interest in nutrition and health and the increase in the number of people eating away from home gives power and responsibility to retail foodservice operators. Employees of hotels, restaurants, and other food service establishments are in an important position to influence and impact the diet of the general public since they cook, recommend, and serve customers who visit their institutions. Healthful foods are available, and chefs would benefit from nutritional guidance. The escalating importance of foodservice establishments as the main distribution sites for Americans meals highlights the importance of the chefs role in preparing and providing healthful food consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs). Review of current literature indicates that there is very little research on the meals served to employees in the food and hospitality industry while on the job and whether these employees who prepare and serve the public meals are aware of the elements of a healthy meal. The goals of this study were dual in nature. The first goal was to assess the nutrition quality of the meals served in a hotel employee cafeteria. The second goal was to determine the nutritional knowledge, attitudes, and behavior of employees of the Sheraton New Orleans hotel (SNO), and their perception of the quality of the meals they are served in the employee dining room (EDR), as well as an interview with the chef to determine his menu planning strategies, food preparation practices, attitude toward nutrition and his perception of the healthful quality of the SNO hotel meals. Results from this study suggest that the meals served in the SNO employee cafeteria generally met the recommendations of the DGA. The meals were varied, met the recommendations on proportions of the major nutrients, but were relatively high in fat content. The results also suggested that employees in the SNO were aware of the components of healthy nutritious meals but generally chose their meals based on taste rather than nutritional quality. Many participants perceived healthy nutritional practices as expensive and time consuming.

Exotic skins and leathers have enjoyed a recent resurgence, as current fashion magazines illustrate. Louisiana would like to increase its niche in the exotic skins market by increasing alligator, ostrich and emu skin usage, mainly by inspiring designers to incorporate them into their repertoire. The possibilities are endless from apparel and trim to upholstery and other home furnishings to accessories; Louisiana exotic skins have significant market potential. In order to assist in these traditional textile applications, characterization of the various skin properties needs to be completed. The research was carried out in three stages. For the preliminary research, one emu skin was thoroughly tested by standard and modified methods to characterize the physical properties of the skins. In the second phase, testing techniques determined effective for emu skin were used to measure properties of alligator skins. As a result, a database of physical properties was created that permitted comparisons of the exotic skins to their more traditional leather counterparts. The final stage of the research was to test ostrich and traditional leathers by the established methods and perform statistical comparisons of the skins, to compare exotic to traditional leather. There were very few significant differences between the exotic and traditional leathers. Finish had an impact on the performance of the skins. Garment finished skins were more extensible than skins with classic finishes, had a softer hand and less stiffness. Deer, pig and cowhide had higher tensile extensilbilities than the alligator skins, which were stiffer. In colorfastness testing, alligator and ostrich samples were similar to cowhide, goat and buffalo, and superior to suede, deer, lamb and pig in staining fibers with which the skin was in contact during dry-cleaning. Based on their similar physical properties, the exotic skins can successfully be substituted for their more traditional counterparts. If destruction of a hide is not an option, preliminary research indicates that NIR can predict Youngs modulus as measured by the tensile test, which can be correlated to other physical properties.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between classroom motivation and academic achievement in first and third graders. The subjects included 122 first grade children and 129 third grade children from a mid-sized, southern city. The total sample was comprised of 251 children, 59% non-white and 57% female. The findings from the current study were consistent with the literature reviewed in that higher levels of mastery motivation and judgment motivation were found to be related to higher grades in third graders. It is important to note, however, that only higher levels of mastery motivation, not judgment motivation, were found to be related to higher grades in first graders.

Using a rat model, this study compared the bioavailability of three forms of oryzanol, a compound extracted from rice bran oil that has been associated with improved cholesterol levels. Various methods of extracting lipids from serum and liver were explored to determine oryzanol absorption. Cholesterol levels were obtained via enzymatic colorimetric assay and GCMS. Sprague Dawley retired female breeder rats were sustained for 11 weeks on a cholesterol-free diet to which either no oryzanol was added (n = 19) or 2.8 g/kg of oryzanol was added as: 7% oryzanol rice bran oil (RO, n = 8), crystalline oryzanol (CO, n = 8), or crystalline oryzanol dissolved in tocopherol-stripped corn oil (DO, n = 9). The percentage of dietary oryzanol recovered in the feces of rats fed the CO diet (41.9 ± 2.21, mean ± SEM) was significantly higher compared to the RO (28.3 ± 3.54) and DO (27.8 ± 2.63) groups (P < 0.05), suggesting that bioavailability of crystalline oryzanol is lower relative to the oil forms. Oryzanol was not detected during GCMS analysis of serum following hexane extraction. Similarly, hexane extractions of liver analyzed via HPLC and GCMS did not reveal oryzanol. Hexane may not be an appropriate solvent for extracting oryzanol, or perhaps the compound is metabolized prior to its entry into the liver or bloodstream. Although serum cholesterol levels determined by colorimetric enzymatic assay did not differ significantly among the groups, levels were highest in the RO group, followed in sequence by the DO, CO, and oryzanol-free controls. It is likely that a cholesterol-enriched diet is required for the hypolipidemic effect of oryzanol to be realized. Additionally, it is plausible that the cholesterol values from the oryzanol-fed animals were inflated by phytosterols in the serum. Hexane extractions of serum analyzed via GCMS resulted in unintelligible data, suggesting that hexane is not a suitable solvent for the extraction of cholesterol from serum. Although a 2:1 chloroform:methanol mixture (Folch et al., 1956) resulted in more uniform values, it appeared that the extraction of total cholesterol from lipoproteins was incomplete. (Supported by USDA IFAFS 2000-04222)

The purpose of the study was to provide descriptive information about barriers that directors encounter when they attempt to implement the continuity-of-care organizational structure in child care centers. The study focused on four research issues: 1) child care directors definitions of continuity of care, 2) directors implementations of continuity of care, 3) if the directors practices violate their definitions what is the directors perceptions of the reason(s), and 4) if the directors practices violate their definition what is the reasons for the violations as perceived by an outside observer. The sample consisted of 4 child care directors who direct highquality, state-licensed child care centers. The participating centers care for children ranging from birth to 12-years-old. The present study used a set of interview questions whose purpose was to guide the four participating directors through an interview about continuity of care. The interview questions consisted of two parts: 1) several open-ended questions, and 2) a movement chart for each child in the study (n=52), on which the researcher recorded information about the specific movements of each child from one caregiver to another. The study found that caregivers and the business of child care are not the dominant barriers to implementing continuity of care that the directors perceive them to be. The empirical data indicated that even though the directors have professed themselves dedicated to the continuity-of-care practices, they are still attached to many traditional child care practices.

The current study evaluated the effect of frozen storage and hydration under vacuum on density and breaking strength of the rat femoral neck. Femurs were frozen in saline for periods of 15, 34, 122, or 831 days. No significant effect on bone density was detected for freezing periods of 15, 34, and 122 days, indicating that frozen storage of specimens in saline is moisture-preserving for periods up to four months. Freezing periods of 34 and 122 days were used to examine the effect of frozen storage on bone biomechanical bahavior. Plastic strain increased for the 34-day storage period (p=0.0453) and decreased for the 122-day storage period (p<0.0001). Strain to failure (p<0.0001) and yield strain (p<0.0001) decreased and Youngs modulus (p=0.0018) increased after 122 days of frozen storage. Hydration for one hour after the 15-day storage period significantly decreased density compared to fresh (p=0.0407) and frozen-stored (p=0.0008) specimens. In the 122-day storage experiment, hydration for three hours significantly decreased density compared to the frozen- stored bones, both between (p=0.0059) and within samples (p=0.0270). Hydration did not significantly alter the density of bones frozen for 831 days. Hydration of bones frozen for 122-days decreased yield strain (p=0.0100) and strain at failure (p=0.0214) compared to fresh bones. Plastic strain (p=0.0474) and strain at failure (p=0.00116) both increased and Youngs modulus decreased for hydrated bones compared to frozen-stored bones. Bones frozen for 831 days and hydrated for either one hour or three hours showed an increase in plastic strain (p=0.0469) with the longer hydration time. These results indicate frozen storage for up to 122 days does not affect bone density, but does alter the biomechanical behavior of the rat femoral neck for storage periods as short as 34 days. Hydration decreases density in bones frozen for up to 122 days, but extending the frozen storage period to 831 days prevents additional dehydration of stored bones. The biomechanical bahavior of the rat femoral neck is affected by hydration for bones frozen for both 122 and 831 days.