This dissertation concerns itself with the task of creating a pastoral model in order to offer care for the young ladies who experience the trauma of rejection and shame when they have fallen pregnant out of wedlock within the church, resulting from the painful suspension. It was motivated from the author’s personal experience of being suspended while pregnant out of wedlock and her understanding that suspension is not meant to shame or hurt anyone. Through Group Therapy, the author used her understanding of Christian hope, and by creating a positive conversation among these young ladies. The focus and hope of this dissertation is to research the problem of suspension, in order to help the clergy and lay leaders in their role as pastoral caregivers. However, this dissertation would have been of no use, if it did not attempt to create a model for caring which will empower lay leaders and the clergy to become pastoral caregivers towards young ladies who fall pregnant out of wedlock. <ul> <li> Firstly, the author will try to clarify the problem faced by the young ladies.</li> <li> Secondly, the author will seek to bring an awareness of this problem to the church through its prophetic voice.</li> <li> Thirdly, the author hopes to create a model of pastoral care that will not only care spiritually for young ladies, but will also meet their emotional needs.</li> </ul> / Dissertation (MA(Theol))--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Practical Theology / unrestricted

Thesis advisor: Larry H. Ludlow / Interaction with faculty is one of the most important aspects of completing an undergraduate degree (Chambliss & Takacs, 2014). At traditional colleges and universities, much of this interaction takes place within the classroom. However, out-of-class communication (OCC) is also an important part of the college-going experience. Participation in OCC has been associated with many positive undergraduate outcomes, such as motivation (Komarraju et al., 2010) and course grades (Micari & Pazos, 2012). Prior measurement instruments related to OCC suffered from limitations with respect to construct definition and methodological procedures that limit the interpretability and utility of the scores they yield. My dissertation ameliorates these issues in constructing a new instrument that measures students’ perceptions of faculty availability outside of class. This instrument is built using Rasch/Guttman Scenario (RGS) scale methodology, which brings together the frameworks of Rasch measurement (Rasch, 1960/80) and Guttman facet theory design (Guttman, 1954; Guttman 1959). Two scales, each containing seven short scenarios that function as items, were constructed: the Physical Accessibility Scale (PAS) and the Social Engagement Scale (SES). Together, these two scales comprise the Out-of-Class Availability Scales (OCAS). Three facets of physical accessibility and social engagement are identified and represented within the items: arranged meetings, chance encounters, and email. The OCAS development process and analysis results presented within my dissertation suggest that the RGS methodology is useful for capturing students’ perceptions of faculty availability outside of class. The OCAS can also be used by others to conduct future research on the topic of OCC. Because they measure students’ perceptions of availability and not frequency of OCC, the OCAS have value as a potential faculty evaluation tool. Even if students choose not to interact with a particular faculty member outside of class, they would still ideally find that faculty member available for such interaction should the need arise. Finally, the RGS scale development process ensures that OCAS scores are accompanied by qualitative descriptions, which enhances their utility and measurement value. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Research, Measurement and Evaluation.

Currently, there is a large body of research examining Out-of-School Time (OST) programs, the goals of these programs, and their reported impact on the youth they serve. However, there is little evidence of research on how organizations determine which goals best fit the needs of the communities they serve. Concurrently, studies of how organizations put these goals into action are virtually non-existent in the literature. This study examines how organizations in Massachusetts receiving federal 21st Century Community Learning Center funding make decisions about Out-of-School Time programming. Although the federal grant requirements and the Massachusetts Department of Education impose some uniformity on these programs, they still vary considerably in their design and the target audiences they serve. Through an online survey, document review and semi-structured interviews, the research identified several themes about the decision making used in these organizations. Cohen, March & Olson's Garbage Can Model of Organizational Choice was used as a framework to better understand the data and to organize the discussion. A stakeholder analysis was also used to evaluate the influence of participants on the decision making within the Out-of-School Time programs. The research identified a loose connection between the decisions made about the types of activities selected and the prescriptive goals of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers programs. There were several factors that contributed to this loose connection, including the influence of stakeholders, the learning outcomes identified by the assessment tools, and the evaluation of programs by the state. The research also leads to several recommendations about the evaluation of these programs in Massachusetts, including a review of the assessment tools designed by the state and a study of whether the mission shift evidenced in these communities is a tacit decision made by the Department of Education and grant recipients. Further research on the alignment of federal and state programming goals is also recommended.

No description available.

No description available.

Theoretical You is a collection of autobiographical queer love poems told from the perspective of a single speaker. These love poems speak not only to lovers and exes, but also to lust and sex and desire, to the speaker's father (they do not reciprocate the cruelty he has shown her--they are neither malicious nor vindictive), and perhaps most importantly, to the speaker herself--she recognizes herself as a lesbian, as a human, who deserves to love and be loved. While love is the crux of these poems, the collection is just as much about heartbreak (which is, of course, inevitably tied to love, is the consequence of love), heartbreak others have inflicted on the speaker and heartbreak she has inflicted on herself, having walked out on many of the women she addresses in the collection. The poems work to navigate the challenges of heartbreak by confronting homophobia, familial rejection, gender binaries and the appearance norms tied to them, as well as the grief that comes with simply being unable to stop missing someone. Here is a young woman who still loves every woman she has ever been with, who has so much love to give, who has a father who refuses to accept her, in a world that is often cruel. All of this together creates the complicated situation of being perpetually heartbroken, even when the speaker is happily in a relationship, even though she has learned to love herself. / Master of Fine Arts

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka elevers och studie- och yrkesvägledares upplevelser av studieavbrott i Komvux vuxenutbildning. Studien tar upp vad som har orsakat studieavbrotten och om vuxenutbildningen hade kunnat göra något för att hjälpa eleverna att undvika dessa. En kvalitativ forskningsansats användes för studien med inspiration från fenomenografisk metodansats. Kvalitativa halvstrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes. Datainsamlingen skedde dels med stöd av en chatt-dialog med de elever som hade avbrutit sina studier och ansikte mot ansikte i intervjuer med studie- och yrkesvägledare. Datainsamlingen omfattar tio intervjuer med studie- och yrkesvägledare och med nio elever. Alla elever har deltagit i gymnasial teoretisk Komvux, men valt att avbryta sina studier. Ett teoretiskt ramverk användes för att analysera och kategorisera orsakerna till studieavbrotten. Kategorierna omfattade begreppen "pull out", "push out" och "fall out". Teorin hämtades från tidigare studier som har haft avsikten att titta närmare på just orsaker bakom studieavbrott. Resultatet visade att de tre kategorierna fanns representerade även i resultatet i den här studien orsaker bakom studieavbrott inom Komvux verksamhet. Ett tema som framkom under analysen av data som kan ses väsentligt att följa upp var enskilda studieplaneringar och lokala insatser. Det var något som i hög grad efterfrågades av de studerande för att klara studierna och även lyftes fram av studie- och yrkesvägledarna i samtalen. Anpassningar för att svara upp mot enskilda studerandes behov av stöd för sina studier saknades. Uppdraget och behovet behöver tydliggöras i organisationen. Studien har därmed synliggjort och lyft fram ny kvalitativ information

Habilitationsschrift--Gesellschaftswissenschaften--Kassel--Gesamthochschule-Universität Kassel, 1992.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1938 M53