This study seeks to determine the reasons for the departure of New Zealand-born Samoans from a South Auckland traditional Samoan Seventh-day Adventist church. The concept of SURVIVAL: Exposure, Exit, and Reinvestment Model is used to explain the two factors instrumental in these young people's decisions to depart from the church. The first factor, which is a push factor, is the atmosphere at church, or what I refer to in this study as exposure. The second factor, which is a pull factor, involves the benefits of reinvesting their time and talents in other churches or in other non-church related activities. The results of this study strongly indicate that the church atmosphere was neither conducive nor promising, but very antagonistic to developing New Zealand-born Samoan young people's spiritual and social journeys. Consequently, the situation at church made these young people look elsewhere for social and spiritual survival. An analysis of the data suggests that the church can reverse the problem of departure by putting in place an active and effective system whereby the concerns and ideas of New Zealand-born Samoans as well as other youths are shared, heard, and rightly understood by the elders and the leadership of the church.

This thesis explores the reasons for religious change to Pentecostal Christianity in urban Java during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. It investigates the conversion trend to Pentecostal forms of Christianity that has taken place in recent decades in the cities of Java. Why some of Java’s Muslim urbanites, particularly young traditionalist Javanese Muslims of lower and middle class status, have converted to this ecstatic expression of Christianity since 1980 is the focus of this study. The thesis considers the utility of current social science theories that emphasise social, cultural, political and selected religious factors, to understanding this conversion trend in urban Muslim Java. Socio-political factors, particularly political and social crises, rapid urbanisation, and state support for monotheistic religions; and selected religious factors, mainly delimited religious pluralism and reaction to Islamic extremism, produced a climate in urban Java conducive to conversion to this indigenous, moderately strict, this-worldly focussed and modern Christian movement. While this thesis demonstrates the utility of current social science explanations, it argues that these explanations, which rely solely on socio-political and some religious factors external to the converts, do not fully explain why some of the Muslim inhabitants of the cities of Java have converted to Pentecostal Christianity over other religions, and over other forms of Christianity. I argue that existing social science theory be extended to be more inclusive of specialised aspects of the Pentecostal movement. These specific characteristics are considered under the schema of ‘religious experiences and movement specificities’ (REMS), and are particularly concerned with the role of Pentecostal worldview, religious experiences, community and institutional aspects in conversion. This thesis demonstrates the value of an integrated approach to the scientific study of the reasons for religious conversion, one that considers the contribution of external socio-political forces and inner subjective religious experiences, personal faith aspects and specificities of movements.

The aim of this thesis is to find out how users and libraries are constructed at public library websites in Sweden from a Web 2.0 perspective. We discuss the development of public libraries in Swedish history and the change from an system oriented perspective to a individual oriented perspective and how these perspectives correspond to needs of the library user. We also discuss the concept of web 2.0 and library 2.0. These concepts are open for different interpretations. Some writers believe that web 2.0 and library 2.0 is something radically new and that it will change the public libraries, while other writers claim that these concepts is just a marketing plan. Library 2.0 can roughly be explained as Web 2.0 functions and concepts translated into the library field. The method we use for this study is discourse analysis and a case study on two public library websites. The result shows us that users are constructed at the library website to be active, committed and interested. The library is constructed to be a meeting point for the community and to the citizen. We also conclude that the argument of web 2.0 and the democratic aspect is questionable. The libraries dictate rules for their websites which frames and limits the user interaction.

The Canadian Incidence Study on Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (Trocme, 2001) found that structural factors such as poverty, poor housing and substance misuse contribute to the over-representation of First Nations children in child welfare care and yet there is very little information on the experiences of First Nations and Non-Aboriginal children after they are placed in care. The When Everything Matters study tracks First Nations and Non-Aboriginal chlidren removed from their families between 2003-2005 in Nova Scotia to the time of reunification or to the time of data collection if the child remained in care. The characteristics of children and their families are compared to the primary aims of child welfare services provided to children and their families. Results indicate that poor families living in poor housing are graphically over-represented among all families who have their children removed. Poverty-related services were not provided to families in proportion to its occurrence. Caregiver incapacity related to substance misuse was most often cited as the primary reason for removal and although substance misuse services were provided there is a need for further child welfare training, policy and services in this area given the scope of the problem presenting in both First Nations and Non-Aboriginal families. Study findings are nested in a new bi-cultural theoretical framework founded in First Nations ontology and physic's theory of everything called the breath of life theory. Implications for theoretical development as well as child welfare research, policy and practice are discussed.

Middle School represents a period of transition for the students. This transition is present not only in physical change, intellectual change, and emotional change, but also in terms of the type of reading instruction these students receive. One approach to reading instruction moves from a direct approach focusing on specific skills, to a functional approach of how to apply those skills in the content area classroom. The latter approach is process oriented, and focuses on learning the content by reading and participating in relevant learning activities. The focus of this study was to examine the interaction which takes place among textbooks, instructors, and students in the area of Social Studies within selected middle schools. Three phases were involved in this study. Phase one: Grade six Social Studies textbooks were evaluated using the Singer Reading Inventory, which evaluates the areas of organization, explication, conceptual density, metadiscourse, and instructional devices within a given textbook. Phase two: Visitations to five middle school Social Studies classrooms were conducted over an eight week period in an effort to determine the types of instructional strategies employed by teachers. Phase three: Academic achievement was measured by publisher provided examinations, teacher prepared examinations, or an aggregate of daily scores. Hypothesis one: Social Studies textbooks which are more considerate will result in greater student achievement. This hypothesis was rejected. The achievement of students was inversely related to the results of the evaluation of the textbooks as determined by the Singer Reading Inventory. The rejection of this hypothesis must be qualified in terms of the content the subareas of the Singer Reading Inventory measured, and the type of information the student had to acquire in order to perform well academically. Hypothesis two: Teachers who employ more strategies which are of a functional process approach will enhance student achievement in the content areas. This hypothesis was retained. The preceeding findings may be partially explained by considering the possibility that some classroom instructors compensate for the inadequacies of textbooks by providing more effective strategies and activities which enhance the interaction of information exchange within the classroom. / Graduation date: 1990

The Canadian Incidence Study on Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (Trocme, 2001) found that structural factors such as poverty, poor housing and substance misuse contribute to the over-representation of First Nations children in child welfare care and yet there is very little information on the experiences of First Nations and Non-Aboriginal children after they are placed in care. The When Everything Matters study tracks First Nations and Non-Aboriginal chlidren removed from their families between 2003-2005 in Nova Scotia to the time of reunification or to the time of data collection if the child remained in care. The characteristics of children and their families are compared to the primary aims of child welfare services provided to children and their families. Results indicate that poor families living in poor housing are graphically over-represented among all families who have their children removed. Poverty-related services were not provided to families in proportion to its occurrence. Caregiver incapacity related to substance misuse was most often cited as the primary reason for removal and although substance misuse services were provided there is a need for further child welfare training, policy and services in this area given the scope of the problem presenting in both First Nations and Non-Aboriginal families. Study findings are nested in a new bi-cultural theoretical framework founded in First Nations ontology and physic's theory of everything called the breath of life theory. Implications for theoretical development as well as child welfare research, policy and practice are discussed.

Landfills in British Columbia are reaching capacity; this has sparked renewed efforts to curb the output of household waste. Extending previous quantitative studies, I use a qualitative grounded theory approach to explore what influences the perception of waste and activates the intention to recycle and compost. Participants from Ucluelet, British Columbia, accumulated their refuse, recyclables, and compost during a four week period; simultaneously, I interviewed them about the meanings and feelings they associated with the process. My results suggest that participants attitudes about waste are strongly influenced by what they see. Because garbage is regularly hauled away and dumped out of sight, participants were relatively unaware of how much they produce and its environmental impact. Increasing awareness appears to be a key factor in changing waste diversion intentions; incorporating small pro-environmental changes may lead to further changes. This reaffirms previous findings that adopting one environmental behaviour can empower further change.

Landfills in British Columbia are reaching capacity; this has sparked renewed efforts to curb the output of household waste. Extending previous quantitative studies, I use a qualitative grounded theory approach to explore what influences the perception of waste and activates the intention to recycle and compost. Participants from Ucluelet, British Columbia, accumulated their refuse, recyclables, and compost during a four week period; simultaneously, I interviewed them about the meanings and feelings they associated with the process. My results suggest that participants attitudes about waste are strongly influenced by what they see. Because garbage is regularly hauled away and dumped out of sight, participants were relatively unaware of how much they produce and its environmental impact. Increasing awareness appears to be a key factor in changing waste diversion intentions; incorporating small pro-environmental changes may lead to further changes. This reaffirms previous findings that adopting one environmental behaviour can empower further change.

This research investigated the teaching materials of elementary school social science, including lessons and exercises in textbooks, to understand the status represented in the teaching materials of social science of sex awareness that is covered in sex role, sex bias, sex discrimination, and the role of two sexes in modern life. The research was designed to accomplish the following purposes: (I) Analysis of sex roles in the teaching materials of social science; (II) Analysis of sex discrimination in the teaching materials; (III) Analysis of sex bias in the teaching materials; Content analysis and inductive approach were used as the primary methods, and the content analysis method of this research was mainly based on qualitative analysis as well as on quantitative analysis. The findings are presented in tables. The framework of this research: Chapter 1 This chapter mainly describes the background, motive and purpose of this research. Chapter 2 The doctoral and master¡¦s dissertations, journals and literature, domestic and foreign, on gender consciousness in the textbooks of primary schools are reviewed in this chapter. This research also studies the five analytical indexes, define check classifications, and submit the findings of the study. Chapter 3 The theories of social science as well as the information collected from literature were used to analyze the teaching materials. This research was conducted only based on literature and theories. As far as the research approaches are concerned, the methods employed for this research were a little different from the quantified approach. This is the restriction on methods for this research. Chapter 4 The issues such as sex role, sex discrimination, sex bias, etc. are focuses of this research in analysis of the gender consciousness in teaching materials. The researcher also used theories of social science to explain those issues. Chapter 5 In this research, the teaching units were analyzed in the content analysis approach and the check classification tables were also developed for analysis of the teaching materials. Based on the criterion for check classification tables, the subjects of this research, their occupation and activities were discussed. This Chapter also submitted criterion and methods for checking the contents of teaching materials. Chapter 6 In this chapter, a conclusion was drawn from the results of analysis and study of this research as well as the main findings of each chapter, literature and some theories. The researcher also provided suggestions from the viewpoints of this research. The researcher used the literature review done by scholars as the reliability index of this research, and developed the criteria for checking sex awareness patterns studied by scholars into check classification tables and operational definitions of the sex awareness patterns of this research. These tables and definitions were used as the basis for content analysis of the teaching materials of social science. The criteria for check classification tables of this research are divided into six types that are as follows: (¢¹) The condition of sex stereotype in occupational activities and people; (¢º) The condition of deviation imbalance in occupational hierarchy, position ratio, and types of activities; (¢») The condition of gender relationships in activity role play, types of the positions of men and women, and types of activities; (¢¼) Omission in activities and game content, types of occupational contributions by men and women, activities of adults and children; (¢½) Comparisons of superficial work in occupational types and division of labor of modern men and women, occupational types of female positions, and types of roles and positions of men and women, and sex social hierarchy of men and women. (¢¾) Detachment from reality in emphasizing occupational types and occupational hierarchy of modern women, types of contributory people and roles of two sexes, and activities of contributions of two sexes. The major findings concerning the lessons are as follows: 1. Division of household chores between adults and children: a few household, labor and caring roles present in the teaching materials. 2. Most accomplished people in illustrations, such as emperors, religious leaders, revolutionary heroes, and great scholars, are male, while only a few eminent heroes are female. Results of checking deviation imbalance: 1.A few male children are oriented towards structural and household games. 2.A few female children are towards dominating, autonomous, scientific, and technical games. 3.Males occupy 8 types of high-level positions, while females occupy only 5 types of high-level positions. Gender relationships: 1. Males engage in dominating, leadership, economic, religious, and art activities, for example, (1) They have high social status ¡V emperors, leaders with revolution power. (2) Great artists and priests in illustrations all are male. (3) Male contributions are primarily in commerce, service industries, and education. 2. Activities of males only appear in a few groups of females; as far as contributions of males and females are concerned, there is a bias against female minority groups. 3. Male and female children are to some degree balanced in terms of their contributory role, but female children have less opportunity to participate in leadership, for example, chairman of class meetings. 4. With regard to contributions of males and females in occupational hierarchy, males are generally higher than their female counterparts in terms of social class, social status, and reputation, and low-level types are more likely female. 5. Male children prefer religious, traditional and competitive activities. 6. Male accomplishments are related with religion, academic, medicine, culture, and education. 7. Male children are more likely than their female counterparts to take up dominating roles, for example, in public affairs; only a few male children participate in household games. 8. Only a few female children take up dominating games; most of them participate in activity games. Omissions: 1. Males prefer affective, venturous, experimental, and competitive activities, which are usually active and dominating; only a few of them are dominated, participants, or observers. 2. Both female adults and children prefer caring activities. Results of checking omissions: 1. With regard to character, most social contributors are males. 2. Male children are dominating characters. 3. Female children are auxiliary characters. 4. Traditional females take up low-level positions. 5. Modern females are more likely to take up occupations suitable for females. Superficial work: 1. Female and male social status in traditional and modern society: in traditional society, most characters of high social status are males; they are superior to females in both types and numbers. 2. In modern society, the gap between males and females in terms of social status has narrowed, but males are still more likely to take up high-level positions. 3. Most contributions presented in the teaching materials are made by males, while social contributions made by females are rarely mentioned. With regard to sex equality, the teaching materials obviously suppress females. 4. Among political occupations held by females, only a few are high-level occupations. 5. Division of labor between males and females in modern society includes household, tool, labor, economic, caring, and females primarily take up household, caring roles, only a few take up economic roles. Results of checking detachment from realities: 1. With regard to occupational types, females are more likely to take up science and economics fields. 2. With regard to occupational types, males are more likely to be high-tech personnel, bank shareholders, medical doctors, teachers. They are more likely to hold high-level positions in 13 occupations, while females hold only positions in six types. 3. In modern occupational types, males and females are getting close, but males are still superior to their female counterparts in terms of occupational positions. The major findings concerning the exercises are as follows: With regard to exercises, only the question texts with relation to sex awareness appearing in questions after lessons were checked. In most cases, there appear language bias and cultural bias. In question texts, single gender was used to cover both sexes, and single topics were used as perspectives. The exercises ignore the problem of females being discriminated, and the social contributions, social development and status of females are omitted. Keywords: gender consciousness ideology, social science material in the Elementary school

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-124). Also available on the Internet.