Gardens do not grow without human interest; however, human interest is not sufficient to support a garden if soil quality is unsatisfactory. This study asked two questions about gardening in Muncie, Indiana, USA: (1) how interested are residents in gardening? (2) how well can residents garden, based upon selected soil properties? Mailed surveys and telephone calls addressed the first question. Fifty-eight percent of respondents indicated they gardened. Compared to non-gardeners, gardeners rated their soil quality higher, modified soil more comprehensively, and were more interested in helping others garden. Survey response bias and non-response bias occurred. Soil analysis addressed the second question. Soil pH and soil organic matter were satisfactory for gardening. Soil Pb levels were above the federal threshold of 1,200 mg kg-1 in only three (5%) sampling locations. More than adequate, and at times excessive, levels of P and K were found. This thesis includes recommendations for future research. / Soil and gardening in urban environments -- Muncie residents are interested in gardening -- Muncie soil is suitable for gardening. / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only. / Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management

This qualitative study described and compared the cognitive apprehensions regarding drinking water quality (DW) in Muncie, Indiana, USA. The comparison was between two different, culturally elite groups using constructive-grounded theory. Eighteen semistructured interviews were conducted with both Arab (n=9) and American (n=9) participants. Five essential themes emerged from the interview data: the sensory properties of drinking water, pollutants, health concerns, information sources, and experience. The data from this study is grounded to the epistemologies regarding drinking water. The epistemologies differ between the Arab and American groups due to social factors, such as ethnicity, culture, and past experiences. The study showed that the two groups in the study perceived knowledge regarding drinking water in different ways. The study showed that the educated Arabs had different cognitive apprehensions regarding drinking water compared to educated Americans due to their previous experiences with drinking water quality in their home countries and their lack of interest in the local media. However, similar findings regarding beliefs about pollutants and diseases in drinking water were shared between the groups. The grounded study found that each group had different behaviors regarding drinking water, and it developed a theory that described how different epistemologies lead to different actions regarding drinking water among different ethnicities. Some recommendations based on the study findings endorse that the government agencies should provide a readily accessible publication about the drinking water quality to the community. It is recommended that the government agencies promote the dissemination of water quality studies’ findings through mass media, social media, and other means of communications with the public. In addition, recommendations should also be provided to enhance the local environmental awareness of international students at universities. / Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management

Community policing in Middletown (Muncie, Indiana) began in 1996 with the institution of Cop Shops. Cop Shops are small satellite stations that are equipped with a telephone and an officer that works in neighborhoods that have an above average amount of crime. The officer works with residents in these neighborhoods with the goal of reducing crime in these areas. Questions were put on the 1997 Middletown Area Survey that asked the citizens of Muncie what their attitudes were toward the Muncie Police Department. Interviews were also conducted with law enforcement officers in the Muncie/Delaware County area for information regarding the type of community policing system that is practiced in Muncie. Initial findings indicate that any type of contact citizens have with the Muncie Police Department, positive or negative, result in citizens viewing the police officers more negatively than those citizens who have not had any contact with the police. / Department of Sociology

The purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable scale to measure attitudes toward teenage parents. The instrument, called the Attitude Toward Teen Parent Scale (ATTPS), was based on Robinson's (1988a) suggested myths about teenage fathers. The ATTPS consisted of 20, Likerttype items and was administered to 133 volunteer undergraduate students attending Ball State University. A series of exploratory principal component factor analyses were conducted to identify independent factors represented by the ATTPS. A four-factor solution, accounting for 54% of the variance on the ATTPS was retained . The internal consistency reliability for the ATTPS was .67. Two factors were interpreted as "psychological deviance" (alpha = .77) and "supportive involvement" (alpha = .66). The other two factors were not interpretable. These findings suggested that the ATTPS measured two independent constructs. It was suggested that future research should further test the validity and reliability of the ATTPS by focusing on the two interpretable factors identified in this study, and by increasing the items on the scale as well as the number of subjects tested. Further studies should also examine attitudes among different populations (e.g., varying by race, sex, age, profession) toward teenage parents. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

The purpose of the study was to provide a descriptive data analysis for program planners on knowledge, attitudes, and behavior regarding organ donation among undergraduate students enrolled at Ball State University. An 84-item questionnaire was administered to undergraduate students. The subjects were obtained from a convenient sample.The data were analyzed using mean and Pearson's r to answer the research questions. The overall attitudes of the subjects were positive (M=20.88 out of a possible 26). The knowledge of the subjects toward organ donation was low (M=9.98 out of a possible 22). About one half of the subjects indicated that they are organ donors, by indicating on the survey that they have signed an organ donor card or a similar document. Attitude regarding organ donation (r =.232) was found to be a greater influence on willingness to become an organ donor than was knowledge about organ donation (r = .106). Recommendations are to submit results to program planners to help create more effective organ donation recruitment. / Department of Physiology and Health Science

This qualitative study investigated the attitudes and perceptions of the role of Residence Life Professionals in attending to the spiritual needs of undergraduate college students at Ball State University. This study examined how undergraduate college students view the role of Residence Life Professionals in attending to spiritual needs. The results of this study have particular significance for those who are responsible for the well being of college students on a daily basis and benefit the Residence Life system by allowing a better understanding of where Professionals and students stand on this issue. This in turn will help Residence Life Professionals and students establish realistic expectations of each other in the spiritual arena. The researcher conducted 12 interviews with undergraduate student at Ball State University and analyzed the data by coding themes. / Department of Secondary, Higher, and Foundations of Education