This research study includes examining and exploring the processes underlying faith, parent, and child relationships. The project is based on the premises that parents and children mutually influence each other and that faith is important, beneficial, and facilitative, particularly in an increasingly individualistic society. Qualitative methods were used to uncover a depth of information regarding the intersection of faith, parent, and child. Interview data were utilized from a purposive national sample of 30 highly religious families. Four major themes emerged from the analysis. These themes include Concerns about Contemporary Culture, Commitment to Family Life, Close and Connected Family Relationships, and Childrens Influences. Implications of this research study include informing professionals in the area of culturally competent practice and expanding theory regarding the nature of generative family relationships.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between caregiver level of education and their perception of aggression in preschool boys. Accurately perceiving aggression is important in that it affects how caregivers interact with children in their care. Research has demonstrated that caregivers have an important role in helping a child shape his identity; getting accurate feedback would be important for a childs self-perception. It was hypothesized that caregivers with less education may be more likely to misperceive preschool boys play and label them aggressive. The results indicated that caregivers with a high school or GED education were more likely to perceive more aggressive behaviors in preschool boys than caregivers with more education.

Introduction: Obesity levels in the United States have significantly increased in the last forty years. Lifestyle and pharmacological treatments have been largely ineffective in treating obesity for most people. Both Resistant Starch (RS) and Dietary Sodium Butyrate (SB) are bioactivties which have shown the ability to decrease body fat levels of rodents without increasing physical activity or decreasing energy intake. Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) and peptide YY (PYY) are gut hormones that may be involved in increased energy expenditure at a cellular level with dietary RS and SB. Objective: To discern if SB and RS both work through the increase of plasma GLP-1 and PYY. Also to see if a combination of RS and SB would lead to an increased or even an additive effect on the reduction of body fat levels in rodents. Methods: 60 Sprague Dawley rats were fed isocaloric diets of either control, SB, RS or a combination of RS and SB for 60 days. Measurements included food intake, body weight, abdominal fat, plasma PYY and GLP-1, and gastrointestinal tract weights. Results: There was no difference in caloric consumptions between any groups. According to factorial results, SB and RS both lowered abdominal fat. While the combination of RS and SB showed the lowest levels of abdominal body fat levels by t tests compared to control, there was not an additive effect of SB and RS. GLP-1 and PYY levels were not increased in the SB fed group. Conclusions: SB effects on body fat reduction are not associated with increased plasma GLP-1 and PYY levels as found in RS fed rodents. The combination of SB and RS have a greater effect on body fat than either alone, but the lack of an additive effect suggests a saturation level in a cellular mechanism by which both RS and SB may increase energy expenditure.

Treatment for maternal hyperglycemia is limited on account of safety concerns for fetus. Our previous work has shown that inclusion of resistant starch in the diet decreases body fat accumulation in rodents, increases GLP-1 at both the gene expression level and plasma levels, and improves glucose tolerance in STZ-induced diabetic mice. However, studies concerning dietary resistant starch and maternal hyperglycemia are scarce. In this project, we examined the effects of dietary resistant starch in pregnant Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rats to improve glycemic control. Animal experiments were conducted to test the hypotheses. In study 1, the female GK rats were randomly grouped to receive an energy control diet or resistant starch diet. The aged matched female Wistar rats were fed with energy control diet, serving as glycemia control. After 10 weeks on assigned diet, all the female rats were mated with male Wistar rats and became pregnant. Fasting glucose concentration and fasting insulin concentration were measured on 16th gestation day. In study 2, the offspring from different dams were fed on chow diet until they reached 8 weeks old. At the end of studies, body fat, food intake, and glucagon-like peptide -1 (GLP-1), pancreatic insulin content, cecum pH, cecal short chain fatty acids levels, cecal butyrate producing bacterial profiles and ß cell mass were measured. Resistant starch fed GK rats had decreased body fat, improved insulin sensitivity (HOMA-IR), increased cecal short chain fatty acids and butyrate producing bacterial levels, and elevated plasma GLP-1. Also, GK rats on RS diet showed higher beta cell mass compared with EC fed GK rats. Body weight and food intake were not changed by resistant starch. Offspring born to RS fed dams had lower fasting blood glucose and increased pancreatic insulin content. The feeding of RS to pregnant GK rats did not show negative impacts on pups growth and fetus survival rate. The conclusions are that dietary resistant starch was able to improve maternal hyperglycemia control in pregnant GK rats and decreased fasting glucose of their offspring without negative influences on growth and fetus survival rate.

Hayes, Ashley, B.S., Western Kentucky University, 2007. Master of Science, Fall Commencement, 2010. Major: Human Ecology Dress, Dialogue, and Gender in The Mary Tyler Moore Show from 1970-1977 Thesis directed by Jenna Tedrick Kuttruff, Professor Pages in thesis: 78 Words in abstract: 303 ABSTRACT The Mary Tyler Moore Show has been recognized as the first television program to feature a single career oriented female, the lead character Mary Richards. Many aspects of the show have been researched, including whether Mary Richards could be considered a true feminist role model. The show, which aired from 1970-1977, is important as it reflects both a change in television culture as well as a change in American culture. This purpose of this study is to examine how comments regarding Mary Richards dress depicted her gender role throughout the seven years the series aired. In addition, the study examines if gender roles on The Mary Tyler Moore Show reflected by changes in perceived gender roles in America at that time. A sample of 91 episodes, out of the 168 total episodes (54 percent of the total population), was used and data collection included questions on the type of comments made regarding Marys dress. Thirty-seven comments were recorded, the most frequent being made by Mary Richards herself. None of the comments made rejected traditional gender roles, although comments were less likely to support these roles in the later years of the show. An important example of Marys dress and gender role is when she first wore pants to the workplace in 1972. However, Mary wearing pants to work occurred years later than many women wearing pants in the corporate workplace in America. Based on this qualitative research, The Mary Tyler Moore Show was behind the changing cultural norms in society from 1970-1977. The biggest issues, as well as the biggest change in gender roles took place in the third and fourth season of the show (1972-1974). Marys gender role was identified as traditional at the beginning of the series but slowly evolved into less traditional, although it was never ahead of the curve.

In our previous studies, ingestion of prebiotics in low fat diets resulted in decreased cecal pH from 8 to about 6 and increases in short chain fatty acids indicating robust fermentation. However, in some preliminary studies this effect on fermentation was not seen when rodents were obese and/or fed a high-fat diet. This comprehensive high-fat diet study was conducted to determine which sources and combinations of prebiotics would enhance fermentation despite a high dietary fat content. The effects of prebiotics in a high-fat diet (44% energy) on pH, cecal weights, abdominal fat, and body weight were studied in mature male C57Bl/6 mice fed one of 9 diets of similar energy (4.0 ± 0.2 kcal/g) for 12 weeks. A control (C) diet was compared to 4 prebiotics: Hi-Maize® RS2 (R), Novelose® RS3 (N), Nutraflora® fructooligosaccharide (F), BENEO-Orafti HP gel® inulin (I), which were fed individually and combined (F+I, R+F, R+I, and R+N). Results were significant at p<0.05. Fermentation, indicated by lower pH values, occurred with all F and I diets and combination diets. However, none of the groups had reduced abdominal fat compared to control as has been observed in previous studies with consumption of RS in low fat diets. All prebiotic diets had larger empty ceca, but only F and I had greater full ceca than the RS groups. It is proposed that diets with high concentrations of fat affect monogastric fermentation and microbial populations in a manner similar to ruminants. It is possible that the beneficial health effects of prebiotic ingestion may be most effective if consumed with a low-fat diet.

Apparel shopping orientation studies usually focus on categorizing shoppers into different segments based on individuals characteristics. This study presents changes in college students apparel shopping orientation, which result from experienced and anticipated life events and lead to store and brand preference changes in retail patronage context. Graduation serves as a milestone of life event leading to role transition in a college students life. The experienced and anticipated life events around graduation create new consumption needs that demand readjustment. Graduating college students are likely to change their store and brand preferences since they attempt to change their apparel shopping orientation due to role transition from a student to an employee. A research framework was developed based on review of literature on life event and retail patronage followed by hypotheses development. An online survey was administered to graduating students identified from a major university in southern state the United States. Empirical studies provide evidence to support research hypotheses. The research findings showed that all identified six dimensions of apparel shopping orientations had significant influence on changes in patronage preferences, both in store and brand preferences. Theoretical and practical implications were provided. Recommendations for future research are also discussed.

Childrens food preferences play a major role in their food choices and consumption. The objectives of these studies were to examine the relationship between childrens preferences for fruits and vegetables (FV) and their weight status and to increase childrens liking of FV by offering repeated opportunities to taste less liked items. A representative sample of elementary school children (1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades) were recruited in the three interventions. In the first study, 341 fourth- and fifth-grade children (43% boys; 68% 4th graders) were measured for height and weight and completed a survey which sought their preferences for 38 different FV. Children who reported a very low preference for FV were 5.5 times more likely to be categorized as at risk for overweight or overweight than were those who reported a high preference for FV. A total of 360 fourth and fifth graders (45% boys; 62% 4th graders) participated in the second study and were offered a taste of carrots, peas, tomatoes, and bell peppers once a week for 10 weeks. For children who began the program disliking the vegetables, repeated tasting improved liking scores for carrots, peas, and tomatoes but not for bell peppers. The number of children who reported liking for previously disliked vegetables was greater after eight or nine taste exposures. In the third study, a total of 379 first-, third-, and fifth-grade students (51% boys; 32% 1st graders and 32% 3rd graders) were offered a taste of four vegetables (bell peppers, carrots, peas and tomatoes) or four fruits (apricots, cantaloupe, peaches and pears) twice a week on alternate weeks for eight weeks and asked to record their liking for each item. An average of five tastes of vegetables and two tastes of fruits were required to observe a change in liking scores. For children who began the program disliking these FV, liking scores for all eight items tasted improved at the end of the intervention and were maintained at the later two follow-up assessments. Repeated taste exposure to less liked FV is a promising strategy to promote liking of these items by elementary school-age children.

The study of home environments and their relationships to child outcomes has become common practice among researchers of child development. As such, having a reliable instrument for measuring home environments that is also cost and time efficient is of primary interest to researchers. The most widely used instrument for measuring home environments is the Home Observation Measurement of the Environment (HOME) developed by Caldwell and Bradley in 1984. Use of the HOME is prevalent among researchers, yet it is costly to implement both in time and in money. An alternative tool for home environment measurement is the Home and Family Questionnaire (HFQ) (Pierce, Alfonso, & Garrison, 1998) which is cost and time effective, and is in conceptual congruence with ecological theory. The purpose of the present study was to test the construct validity of scores obtained with the HFQ by comparing them with scores obtained with the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ) (Robinson, Mandleco, Olsen, & Hart, 1995). The criterion validity of the HFQ was also tested by comparing scores obtained with it to childrens scores obtained with the Dynamic Inventory of Basic Literacy Skills (DIBELS) (Good & Kaminski, 2003). Finally, the reliability of scores obtained with the HFQ was tested with scores obtained with the HOME Middle Childhood version (MC-HOME). Scores as collected with the HFQ subscales of Maturity Facilitation, Parent-Child Emotional Relationship, and Childs Use of Stimulating Materials were found to exhibit construct validity, criterion-related validity, and reliability with MC-HOME data.

Over the past few years, changes in technology, especially the emergence of virtual worlds, have impacted the landscape of doing business. Many industries, such as retailing and fashion industries have recognized the e-commerce potentials and have engaged in setting up strategic ventures in the virtual worlds to develop products and/or services that are geared towards meeting consumer needs. Previous research has examined consumers adoption of innovative products, but there is no known study that has examined consumers adoption of virtual fashion. Therefore, the purpose of the current study is to shed some light on understanding consumer adoption of virtual fashion. Specifically, assessed the effects of external variables, (i.e., fashion innovativeness and peer pressure), on need gratification, attitudes, and adoption of virtual fashion among teen girl consumers who have grown up with advanced technology and sophisticated fashion changes. Data was collected from a convenience sample of teen girls between the ages of 12 to 19 via an online survey. The final sample consisted of 177 teen girls. A series of multiple regressions were employed to test all hypotheses. Results revealed that adoption of virtual fashion is significantly impacted by teen girl consumers gratification of needs, attitude towards the virtual fashion world, and fashion innovativeness. However, adoption of virtual fashion was not significantly impacted by peer pressure. The results add to existing literature related to consumers adoption of an innovation by the integration of communications, sociological and innovation adoption theories. Future research may focus on the difference between urban and suburban teens.