The purpose of this study is to ascertain whether participation in the buddy program at a large public research university in the Southeastern United States by international students and students who have studied abroad is perceived to contribute to a keener sense of belonging, elimination of loneliness, and formation of social networks (Cheng 2004). Cheng describes these three aspects as “directly associated with his or her [student’s] sense of community” (p. 221). Through in-depth interviews, the researcher explores perceptions of community between the two populations of students.

One of the most difficult set of behaviors for individuals to engage in is weight management. The United States boasts an astonishing 35% obesity rate in adults while children show almost a 20% obesity rate. These statistics identify the importance of developing effective methods to help change an individual's eating habits. There are many eating habits that may contribute to an individual gaining or losing weight over a period of time. Simplified habit reversal (SHR) has an impressive history in shaping desirable responses to compete with many different types of habitual behaviors. The present study extended the SHR procedure to eating habits in an attempt to affect change in types of foods and timing of eating for the purpose of weight reduction. Additionally, contingency contracting was added to increase the potential for adherence to eating habit goals. The three targeted behaviors were late night eating (LNE), consuming high sugar content beverages (HSCB), and unhealthy snacking (UHS). It was found that utilizing a treatment package utilizing a contingency contract plus SHR with typically developing adults could aide in reducing specific and well defined eating habits. A reduction in weight by all participants was also observed.

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Education Reform in the New American Republic: Bancroft, Cogswell, and the German Model in 1815, the first American students to seek advanced degrees at Europe's famed University of Göttingen arrived in Germany. This trickle of American intellectuals into German universities continued through the 1840s, and included some of the foremost American minds – George Ticknor, Edward Everett, William Emerson, Joseph Cogswell, and George Bancroft. Through networks of correspondence with family and friends at home and abroad, and above all, with one another, Bancroft and Cogswell developed ideas about the importance of American education. Upon their return home, they chose to found the Round Hill School in 1823. Employing principles of the German gymnasium and the experimental educational institutions they visited on their travels through Europe, Bancroft and Cogswell sought to marry American values with European ideas in an attempt to educate the next generation of intellectuals. While wide-reaching reform attempts did not begin until the 1840s with Horace Mann, the correspondence and writings of these two men indicate that Americans were formulating ideas about education, democracy, and identity long before education reform became mainstream in America. Education and The Charity of Edward Hopkins: The Institutionalization of Charity in Pre-Revolutionary New England When former Connecticut Governor and merchant Edward Hopkins died in 1657, his estate devolved not upon his children, for he had none, but largely upon the charitable causes he had supported so well in his lifetime. Hopkins' legacy for the purpose of education at the grammar and university levels in New England came to support multiple grammar schools as well as Harvard College. Although previous scholars have argued that charity in pre-Revolutionary New England was a largely individualized, often unrealized ideal, the creation of a strong administrative body to administer the Hopkins bequest in the early eighteenth century is indicative of an existing tradition of institutionalization of charity in pre-Revolutionary New England, if not voluntary association. The increasing involvement of Massachusetts' most prominent citizens in interlocking charitable and public service responsibilities, including the Hopkins Trust, in the early eighteenth century, reveals a societal expectation of civic service that paralleled larger cultural and religious trends, including ministerial rhetoric about wealth and the responsibilities of well-to-do individuals.

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In this study, I focused on the history of Ave Maria University during its formative years in Florida from 2003 to 2011 to answer the research question: How did a new, conservative Catholic university emerge in the United States at the beginning of the 21st century? Understanding the history and culture of Ave Maria informs how the institution came about and is still operational today, even when other small institutions are closing their doors. The study utilized a historical narrative approach to uncover and document Ave Maria’s early history, the physical transition of moving campus locations twice, the accreditation process, and the university’s organizational culture. The study applied Edgar Schein’s model of organizational culture to discover institutional insights from artifacts, espoused values, and basic underlying assumptions. The results yielded recommendations on the importance of long-term financial stability, the significance of a values-based mission, the importance of faculty and staff fit, and alignment of the curriculum with the mission.

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