This study examined the effects of teaching students with moderate intellectual disabilities to use sight words embedded in an order form to prepare bagged lunches. The intervention package consisted of decontextualized sight word instruction and bagged lunch preparation via peer modeling by other students with intellectual disabilities. A multiple probe design across word sets was employed to evaluate the effects of sight word instruction on four measures: decontextualized flashcard reading, contextualized order from reading, accurate item selection, and bagged lunch preparation task steps. The bagged lunch task analysis was used to measure the participants' comprehension of the target words and their ability to demonstrate stimulus and response generalization. Results indicate that the intervention package was effective in teaching two of the four students to use sight words embedded in order forms to make bagged lunches. They also generalized their ability to making novel bagged lunches when the sight words were recombined on order forms. The advantages of using students with intellectual disabilities as peer-models to promote functional literacy skills are discussed, as well as intervention procedures that promote success when peer modeling is not appropriate. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Communication Science and Disorders in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2010. / December 7, 2009. / Peer Modeling, Intellectual Disabilities, Sight Word Intervention, Sight Word, Sight Word Vocabulary / Includes bibliographical references. / Howard Goldstein, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Bruce M. Menchetti, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Barbara J. Edwards, University Representative; Carla Wood Jackson, Committee Member.

Domingo Faustino Sarmiento has forever held the revered position as the Father of Civilization in Argentina's history. Fascinated by Benjamin Franklin's ideas that proclaimed that civilization came from a society of "self-made men," Sarmiento thought it possible to apply such a concept in Argentina to make it the most civilized nation in Latin America. Thus, throughout his presidency, Sarmiento aimed to foster this social change by implementing the ideas of Benjamin Franklin into his nation's young government. Although this explanation is widely accepted in Argentine history, very little research has been done in understanding Sarmiento's methods in adopting and applying Franklin's views to Argentine life. Such research is important as a different implementation of Franklin's ideas could explain Argentina's current societal structure and development, and why it varies from what Franklin had initially envisioned for his own society. This study investigates this topic by analyzing Franklin's contribution to American liberalism, and consequently the formation of the concept of the "American spirit," and the influence that these ideas had on Sarmiento and his vision for Argentina. As part of this investigation, the personal and private documents and publications of Sarmiento are explored to understand what led him to become the "Benjamin Franklin of Latin America". Once these points are established, the presentation focuses on Sarmiento's modification and implementation of Franklin's ideas. Through this research, it becomes evident that Sarmiento manipulated Franklin's methods of civilizing society and applied these teachings only to the places and people he deemed fit. This adulterated application of Franklin's principles eventually influenced the dichotomous nature of Argentina's urban and rural lifestyles that continues to plague the nation's progress. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of International Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. / Spring Semester, 2012. / January 20, 2012. / Argentina, Barbarism, Civilization, Franklin, Sarmiento, self-made man / Includes bibliographical references. / Edward Gray, Professor Directing Thesis; Robinson Herrera, Committee Member; Juan Carlos Galeano, Committee Member.

The first decade after Tajikistan became independent was characterized by a 5 year long civil war and a difficult peace process. Just as Tajikistan was beginning to recover, the US began the invasion of Afghanistan on Tajikistan's southern border. Periodically, insurgents from Afghanistan moved into Tajikistan upsetting security. At the same time Tajikistan became the number one transit country in Central Asia for drug trafficking from Afghanistan. The war and the narcotics trafficking brought international competition from Russia, China, Iran and the US into Tajikistan. In 2014 coalition forces are scheduled to withdraw from Afghanistan. This will change the balance of power in Tajikistan and could lead to conditions that could cause Tajikistan to experience increased internal conflict or war. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Russian and East European Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. / Spring Semester, 2013. / April 1, 2013. / China, Civil war, International Relations, Iran, Russia, Tajikistan / Includes bibliographical references. / Audrey Heffron-Casserleigh, Professor Directing Thesis; Mark Souva, Committee Member; Michael Creswell, Committee Member.

The effects of precipitation, substrate age, and fragmentation on species composition, endangerment, and reproductive live history traits of Hawaiian dry forest tree species were examined in order to characterized patterns of diversity unique to this endangered forest. It was found that community composition changes along precipitation, substrate age, and fragment size gradients. Only precipitation was associated with changing proportions of life history traits. The proportion of endangered species was not associated with fragmentation. Additionally, endangerment was associated with changing proportions of autochorous dispersers, which is primarily explained by the presence of Colubrina oppositifolia at one site. This provides conservation managers with information on how to maximize species and functional (reproductive traits) diversity, for example by capturing precipitation and substrate gradients within as large a reserve as possible. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Geography in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Spring Semester, 2014. / April 18, 2014. / Includes bibliographical references. / Stephanie Pau, Professor Directing Thesis; James Elsner, Committee Member; Victor Mesev, Committee Member.

The relationship between violence in family of origin and violence in current couple relations was investigated in an effort to simultaneously examine the effect of experiencing parent-to-child violence and witnessing interparental violence in adolescence on current enacted and experienced violence between partners. Hypotheses were tested on a nationally representative data set (1985 National Family Violence Survey), using a sample of 4,910 married participants. This study used gender-specific social learning and postmodernist perspectives within an overall feminist framework in examining the impact of experiences of violence in adolescence on couple relationships. In understanding violence, feminist theory was utilized to focus on the purpose violence serves, as a tool granted social legitimacy in the maintenance of status quo hierarchical rankings of superiors versus inferiors. A historical and cultural understanding of the evolution of gender was also utilized, and regarded as essential in holistically organizing present day experiences of family violence. The findings were significant across groups in the hypothesized order. The lowest level of violence in current intimate relations occurred for partners reporting no violence in adolescence in family of origin, while those who experienced parent-to-child violence or witnessed interparental violence in adolescence were more likely to report current partner violence. The highest levels of enacted and experienced violence in current couple relations occurred for married partners reporting both forms of violence in family of origin. The relationships between current physical and current verbal violence were the most dramatic in the study. The risk for enacted violence in current relations was overall higher than the risk for experienced violence for men, while for women the risk was higher for experienced violence. The discussion of results expound upon the assumptions of this study, arguing that spanking of children, violence against women, violence in general and other forms of domination are, overall, institutionalized phenomena in our society as they are endorsed by powerful groups and political institutions that justify them as necessary in the maintenance of an androcentric social order, one which, contrary to American ideals for democratic governance and inalienable rights for all, idealizes hierarchical rankings in the distribution of power and wealth. / A Dissertation Submitted to the Interdivisional Program in Marriage and Family Therapy in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2004. / October 28, 2003. / Corporal punishment, Power, Gender, Couple violence, Family violence, Spanking / Includes bibliographical references. / Charles R. Figley, Professor Directing Dissertation; Joyce L. Carbonell, Outside Committee Member; Nicholas Mazza, Committee Member; Christine A. Readdick, Committee Member.

Community Marriage Initiatives (CMIs) are a relatively new endeavor that emerged from the marriage education movement. Their goal is to strengthen marriages and reduce divorce rates by increasing access to marriage education and relationship skills-based programs within a local geographic area. Whereas CMIs consist of a collaboration of numerous community stakeholders, church institutions and their clergy are the primary partners. The purpose of this study was to discover the extent to which a national sample of practicing clergy were aware of CMIs' supportive efforts, their subsequent participation in CMI-sponsored training, and the perceived influence of that training on their premarital education practices. Generally, clergy were aware of the Community Marriage Initiative (CMI), and the resources offered, and reported being somewhat involved, particularly in reading emails, letters, and newsletters, and answering or returning phone calls from the CMI. These clergy also were aware of trainings offered by the CMI. However, almost half did not attend due to the lack of time and other unspecified reasons. The clergy reported generally covering the same content in their relationship education practices, and, on average, use a similar format (number of sessions, minutes per session). Further, although clergy with training report using efficacious programs more than those without training, upon further examination, there is little difference regarding the frequency of implementation compared to their non-trained counterparts. Overall, many clergy never or rarely used programs following training. These findings question the potential contribution of CMIs in improving clergy's premarital education practices, particularly in regards to programs. / A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Family and Child Sciences in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2007. / June 11, 2007. / Clergy, Premarital education, Marriage education, Community marriage initiatives, Premarital, Marriage, Minister / Includes bibliographical references. / Robert E. Lee, III, Professor Directing Dissertation; David Gussak, Outside Committee Member; B. Kay Pasley, Committee Member; Christine Readdick, Committee Member.

Investigating the possible complex role of paternal stress in life satisfaction is essential because of the increasing importance of the role of fathers in our society. There are many difficulties and demands that face not only fathers of typically developing children, but also disabled children in particular. That fathers of children with disabilities encounter possible unique challenges profoundly affecting levels of stress and family adaptation is a phenomenon which has warranted further study. To date little is known concerning the effects of fathers having a child with a disability since previous research has focused predominantly on mothers or siblings. Therefore, in this study, fathers with non-disabled children and fathers with disabled children were compared with regard to their stresses, coping, and life satisfaction. In utilizing predominantly Family Stress Theory and Family Resiliency Theory, the purpose of this study was to examine the influence of family life changes (major and minor life events), level of family and individual coping, and parenting and health stress upon life satisfaction for fathers having children with educational disabilities and fathers having children without educational disabilities over the last twelve months. A survey research design was employed that utilized a total sample of 212 fathers from a county school system in Western Kentucky. Of the 212 fathers, 127 reported having a child without educational disabilities and 85 reported having a child with educational disabilities. Research instruments included the Family Inventory of Life Events and Changes, Parenting Daily Hassles scale, Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scales, Coping Scales for Adults, Parenting Stress Index, Family Health Status Inventory, and Satisfaction With Life Scale. Various statistical analyses were utilized to examine the data. Analysis of variance was conducted to test differences between the two father groups. In addition, a confirmatory factor analysis was utilized to determine if the proposed indicators in the study were valid measures of the latent constructs. A path analysis was also employed to examine the relationships among the variables. The findings indicated that there were differences between the two groups. Fathers of disabled children experienced greater levels of family stress, more occurrences of parenting daily hassles, greater degree of difficulty related to parenting daily hassles, less variety and number of family resources, less individual sharing of problems, more emotional and physical health symptoms, greater parenting stress, and less overall satisfaction with life. There were no differences found between the two groups of fathers on level of individual coping pertaining to dealing with problems, non-productive coping, and optimism. Results of the confirmatory factor analysis determined that the variables parenting stress, non-productive coping, and sharing did not adequately measure the latent constructs in the restricted model for both father groups and were therefore subsequently removed. For the saturated model, the variable family events had the greatest total effects for the fathers with disabled children group whereas level of stress had the greatest total effects in the fathers with non-disabled children group. Moreover, saturated path analysis indicated that for fathers with non-disabled children, level of stress and level of coping were predictive of life satisfaction. However, for the fathers with disabled children, level of stress alone was predictive of life satisfaction. The percentage of variance explained in the model for fathers with disabled children was higher (74%) than in the fathers with non-disabled children (52%). The findings confirmed the appropriateness of using Family Stress Theory when examining stress and coping dimensions in fathers with disabled school-age children. Implications for theory, future research, and professional practice were discussed based on the results of this study. Continued research should focus on developing programs specifically designed to assist fathers with the unique challenges of parenting children with disabilities. Community professionals and educators should be aware of how different cultures and value systems may influence coping for fathers of school-age children. For fathers of disabled children, the findings highlighted the notion of chronic loss and sorrow, as well as grief-related reactions pertaining to their children. Another contribution that surfaced from this study was the idea of emotional turmoil experienced by fathers in the rearing of their disabled children. / A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Family and Child Sciences in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2005. / June 21, 2005. / Special needs Disabilities Stress Life satisfaction Fatherhood Father / Includes bibliographical references. / Carol Anderson Darling, Professor Directing Dissertation; Gary Peterson, Outside Committee Member; Nick Mazza, Committee Member; Marsha Rehm, Committee Member.

For the Turkish foreign policy, the years between 1945 and 1960 constitute a period in which certain political policies that had long-term effects were followed and relations with other countries underwent fundamental changes. In this time period, despite limited means and hard conditions, Turkey joined the Western Bloc and became one of the active participants of the Cold War because of its importance and the threat perception it felt from the Soviet Union based on its geopolitical situation. In this study, the real affect of the Soviet threat as posed to Turkish sovereignty and territorial integrity during the 15-year period is analyzed. To this effect, the research is divided into two periods. The first period consists of the years between 1945 and 1952, where Soviet effects on Turkish foreign policy were at their zenith, although official Soviet-Turkish relations were rare in contrast to other periods explored in this study. The key characteristics of this period are that Turkish foreign policy was extremely affected by the phoniness of Soviet-Turkish relations in the interwar period and the Soviet threat that took place between 1939 and 1947. Because of these conditions, in spite of the fact that the Soviet threat to Turkey diminished after 1947, Turkish foreign policy diversified and the main objective of Turkish policy-makers transitioned into a goal to join all economic, political and military organizations founded by the Western Bloc. This endeavor swung a punch at the economic, social and political evolution that had took place from the founding of the country and laid substantial groundwork for Turkish foreign policy after 1952, in spite of American economic, political and military provisions. The second period lasts from the point of Turkey's entrance into NATO and Soviet renunciation of their demands on Turkish territory and Straits to the Turkish military coup of 1960. These years represent the period in which official Turkish-Soviet relations intensified while the Soviet effect on Turkish foreign policy was nadir. Characteristics of this period include the shift to national interests of the Republic of Turkey as the top priority, replacing the search for security against the Soviet threat that had been prevalent in the previous period. These national interests amounted to the need to be a regional power in the Balkans and the Middle East – which had been ruled by the Ottoman Empire for centuries – as well as recognizing the economic development in Turkey. To reach these aims, Turkish politicians wanted to create in the populace the notion that the Soviet threat had not disappeared for Turkey or the Middle East. This planting of information heralded the second break in the Turkish evolution process through the Turks alteration from their traditional behavior pattern which was returning to the balance of power policy as soon as the threat vanished. However, the new Turkish policies did not result in economic development and their goal to be a regional power and so, decision-makers implemented policies inconsistent with the Turkish past and created more breaks in the evolution process. Another argument presented in the study is that during this early post-war period Turkish-Soviet relations were lived in the shadows of Turkish-American relations and more importantly, American-Soviet relations; because of this, the Soviet effect on Turkish foreign policy grew weaker with each passing year. The subject of this study in not Soviet-Turkish relations but Soviet effects on Turkish foreign policy between 1945 and 1960 because this study incorporated and benefited largely from Turkish and American sources . To simply title this study Soviet-Turkish relations it would lack Soviet point of view and its historical validity would by doubted. This is not to discredit Turkish-American relations that are highly important in order to decipher the underlying effects of the relations clearly. / A Thesis Submitted to the Interdisciplinary Program in Russian and East European Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts. / Spring Semester, 2010. / March 16, 2010. / Foreign Policy, Cold War, Turkey, Soviet Union / Includes bibliographical references. / Jonathan Grant, Professor Directing Thesis; Michael H. Creswell, Committee Member; Dala L. Smith, Committee Member.

Conflict is a normal occurrence in marriage, but when poorly managed can lead to divorce. The purpose of this research was to understand marital conflict as it changes over time. The researcher examined marital conflict from an Ecosystemic/ Person-Process-Context-Time (PPCT) theoretical perspective and longitudinal design. Using three waves of data from the National Survey of Families and Households, the researcher used a sample of 289 couples to examine conflict resolution techniques and the effect of depression, having children, couple's difference in age, income, and race on marital conflict. Through multiple regression analysis, the researcher found arguing heatedly had a negative effect and discussing conflict calmly a positive effect on conflict over time. Overall, arguing heated had the greatest effect on marital conflict over time. These findings have significant implications for marriage and family therapists working with couples who are dealing with conflict. The implications and recommendations regarding conflict with married couples are discussed. / A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Family and Child Sciences in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2008. / October 20, 2008. / National Survey of Families and Households, PPCT Model, Marriage, Conflict Resolution Techniques / Includes bibliographical references. / Ann Mullis, Professor Directing Dissertation; Maxine Jones, Outside Committee Member; Robert E. Lee, Committee Member; Lenore McWey, Committee Member.

This study is an examination of country level factors associated with governmental violation of the integrity of the body and security of the person, which includes arbitrary detention, torture, and extrajudicial killing. Two instruments, the U.S. State Department Scale and the Amnesty International Scale, were used to measure governmental violations. All data were collected from secondary sources. The final samples consisted of 46 countries for the State Department Scale analysis and 32 countries for the Amnesty International Scale analysis. Contextual analyses yielded inconsistent results for the ethnic diversity and democratic structure coefficients. The results provided little to no support for a relationship between religious diversity, linguistic diversity, scarcity, casualties from war, and governmental violations / A Dissertation Submitted to the School of Social Work in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2003. / August 22, 2003. / Human rights, Stress, Privacy, Amnesty / Includes bibliographical references. / Dianne F. Harrison, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Jorge Delva, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; M. Sharon Maxwell, Committee Member; Akihito Kamata, Outside Committee Member; Terence S. Coonan, Outside Committee Member.