This study explored multiple predictors of sexual well-being in a sample of 253 single, sexually active undergraduate females at a public Mid-Atlantic university. Several factors were identified from past research that might impact sexual well-being: casual sex, sexual agency, sexual attitudes, and sexual desire. Of the four factors, only sexual agency and sexual attitudes were found as significant predictors of sexual well-being. The results suggest that -- of single, sexually active undergraduate females -- those with a greater sense of agency and choice in their sexual interactions and those who maintain more open attitudes toward casual sex have a higher level of sexual well-being. Agency and openness may be important factors in the development of sexual well-being for young women. Limitations of the study, as well as implications for future research and psychoeducational and therapeutic interventions, are addressed. / Master of Science

Rural Haiti provides an excellent case to study the human security crisis threatening women. Haitian women are often single mothers, leading average households of 4-6. In elected positions, female leadership is seldom recognized. With only 3.5% of parliament comprised of female leaders, policies decided at the state level seldom address the challenges women face in the countryside (HDI, 2017). Haiti has the highest mortality rate for children below the age of 5 and expectant mothers in the Western Hemisphere (WHO, 2017). This crisis is a significant one. When a mother struggles, both her life and her child's are threatened. Yet the human security crisis is not all we can learn from rural Haiti. We can also examine the unique ways women have chosen to respond to this crisis and the potential for female democratic agency. There is a significant lack of elected female officials in Haiti. This fact invites us to consider the impact rural Haitian females, such as the famn chay, are potentially making in Haiti. Famn chay are traditional birth attendants who assist mothers in their home deliveries. They are also first responders in times of crisis, providing meals to hungry families and using their collective resources to benefit children in need. Some famn chay, I suggest, are promoting an innovative form of democratic agency through their local community council, konsey kominote. Such form of agency does not focus on formal mechanisms of representation. Instead, threatened by growing social and income inequalities, this particular group has chosen to organize to address the human security crisis currently threatening women in rural Haiti. / MA / The human security crisis threatening women and children in rural Haiti has motivated Haitian traditional birth attendants known as the famn chay, to generate a response relative to the crisis and generate social change. This crisis is a significant one. When a mother struggles in childbirth, both the life of her and her child’s are threatened. Women in rural Haiti also face gender and economic inequalities. Despite these realities, the famn chay have chosen to mobilize and create what is known as a konsey kominote. Konsey kominote are community groups found throughout rural Haiti and are a key entry points for citizen engagement for many rural Haitians. This study seeks to examine the unique ways the famn chay have chosen to respond to the crisis through their konsey kominote and the potential for female democratic agency. There is a significant lack of elected female officials in Haiti. The historical roots of female gender discrimination stretch as far back as Haiti’s independence. By researching the impact rural Haitian females, such as the famn chay, are making in Haiti, we can begin to discover the potential for female democratic agency existing in rural Haiti.

This qualitative study identified school environment practices in designated school districts in a selected region in the state of Texas based on an accreditation visit from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) in the school year 1988-1989 and identified specific elements of positive school environment that were valued by the TEA.

This thesis examines the relationship between a cohousing community and a related ministry center in a mid-Atlantic state that seek to encourage an environment for people—with and without disabilities—to live together while fostering the individuality and autonomy among members of both groups. This thesis explores how these two organizations attempt to create space for individuals with disabilities to exercise personal agency and independence, as well as encourage mutual relationship building between persons with and without disabilities. The implications of their partnership were the central focus of this inquiry. The analysis investigates how the physical structures, locations, and accessibility of formal and informal spaces for people with and without disabilities residing in the cohousing community create opportunities for their visibility and exercise of agency. It also outlines the structure and aims of the nonprofit that collaborates with the cohousing community, as those relate to agential possibility, including the role of personal development through a faith-based identity. Overall, the thesis employs Iris Marion Young's framework for inclusive democracy to explore the effects of the combined efforts of these two entities for the perceived agency and autonomy of a sample of residents with disabilities participating in both (Young 1990, 2000). In particular, this analysis explores the central tenets of the two nonprofits' organizational cultures as those relate to political agency, by sharing the findings of semi-structured interviews with residents, staff, and board members about their experiences as a part of each institution. The analysis also details the primary features of the physical environments each FBO has created and their implications for the perceived agency of a sample of those residents with disabilities involved with both nonprofit organizations. It offers insight into the importance of identity, equal inclusivity, and opportunities for expression in formal and informal settings for the encouragement of agential possibility. The results of this study indicate that the relationship between the nonprofit and cohousing community has allowed individuals with and without disabilities the opportunity to take ownership of their friendships and relationships, including their relationship with God. This suggests that the role of faith in this community provides individuals with disabilities a chance to express agency over their personal faith life as well as their goals and ambitions. Individuals without disabilities in this community encourage this personal agency because of their own definition of personhood as understood through Christian faith. This inquiry was based on 12 semi-structured interviews with staff, governing board members and participants involved with each entity investigated as well as review of their websites and relevant documents concerning their visions, missions and goals. / Master of Urban and Regional Planning / The purpose of the research was to explore the relationship between a faith based day programming center for persons with disabilities and a related cohousing community, and how these two entities provided individuals with varying degrees of disabilities with opportunities to express personal agency and personal development. This inquiry was based on 12 semi-structured interviews with staff, participants, and governing board members as well as a review of these organizations’ documents concerning visions, missions, and goals. The results of this research indicate that these communities provide individuals with disabilities a chance to see themselves as important to society and ultimately to God. Opportunities for these experiences, according to participants in this study, stem from a place of Christian faith.

Yes / This article investigates the process of moving on from redundancy in the Welsh steel industry among individuals seeking new careers. It identifies a spectrum of career change experience, ranging from those who had actively planned their career change, prior to the redundancies, to those ‘at a career crossroads’, for whom there were tensions between future projects, present contingencies and past identities. It suggests that the process of moving on from redundancy can be better understood if we are able to identify, not just structural and cultural enablers and constraints but also the temporal dimensions of agency that facilitate or limit transformative action in the context of critical life events. Where individuals are located on the spectrum of career change experience will depend on the balance of enabling and constraining factors across the four aspects considered, namely temporal dimensions of agency, individuals’ biographical experience, structural and cultural contexts.

This study underscores the importance of press discourse as means of production and circulation of representations regarding land and people. Considering the press has a strong influence on the construction of social imaginaries, this study explores how textual images in The (London) Times and The New York Times shaped public opinion about Patagonia and Patagonians and how those images relate to the United States and British national and international political agendas and to the historical/cultural context. In other words, this study proposes to analyze the relationship between media and agency. The time period under study is the second half of the nineteenth century the era during which Argentina focused on the need for exercising sovereignty over Patagonia as a way of expanding the state's frontier, incorporating new commercially productive lands to respond to the demands of the international market, contesting in this way the Chilean interests in the area, and responding to the demands of the aspirations of a ruling class "landed aristocrats" who wanted to attract Europeans. The analysis of this research draws on a total number of 669 articles which have been coded with the purpose of assessing the differences between the United States and British imaging of Patagonia and Patagonians, taking into consideration that England was directly linked through financial investment to Argentina while the United States had chosen a military policy to expand its control of western lands (1865-1890), similar to the Argentine policy for controlling northern and southern lands. / Master of Arts

Advances in technology are creating decreases in the number of premature deaths from cardiovascular disease, resulting in an increase in life expectancy. This decrease in mortality and increase in life expectancy has created an annual increase in the incidence of Congestive Heart Failure (CHF). Positive outcomes of adherence to recommendations for the treatment of CHF are documented in the literature. Recommendations focus on the reduction of symptoms, prevention of the progression of CHF, improved quality of life and the prevention of sudden death. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the degree of adherence and the differences in the adherence to Agency for Health Care Policy and Research practice guidelines between physicians caring for patients in the acute care setting and in the primary care setting as well as by specialty. This study identified significant differences in the assessment, diagnostic testing and medication regimen based on physician specialty as well as level of care. Education provided to patients diagnosed with CHF was found to be lacking in both the inpatient and outpatient setting and by physician specialties. Reinforcing and educating health care provides through evidence based practices will assist in the overall care of patients with CHF, decrease cost and improve the quality of life of those diagnosed with CHF.

The thesis is a quantitative study examining the correlation between IPO underpricing andinside ownership and whether subgroups' significance has a greater effect on underpricing.The methodology of this study involved employing OLS regression analysis. Literature on IPO underpricing and ownership is primarily focused on the relationship between institutionalinvestors. Furthermore, previous literature on IPOs and ownership have been conducted onthe dilution of inside ownership post-introduction and retention rate concerning the firm's quality. The contribution of the study is to the literature on IPO underpricing and asymmetricinformation due to inside ownership. In addition to previous literature, regarding underpricingof IPOs and the asymmetric information between inside and outside ownership. The resultsindicate that inside ownership increases underpricing of IPOs and that the subgroups CEO andBoard of Directors significantly influence underpricing in the Swedish stock market. Thestudy also investigated whether underpricing was affected by insider holding during uncertainperiods such as the COVID-19 pandemic, but no evidence supporting this hypothesis wasfound.

The purpose of this qualitative, case study research project is to explore international student-athletes’ experiences at U.S. higher education institutions, probing how well nonimmigrant visa holders are prepared for postgraduate success through their college experiences. Six collaborators engaged in photo elicitation interviews to provide insight into how they have navigated their international student identity and student-athlete identity. Collaborators each shared 10-15 media files representative of their experiences, and then they engaged in 90-minute interviews to talk about what their selections meant to them and why they were significant. The frameworks of agency, self-authorship, and voice were used to gauge how the international student-athlete experience fostered collaborators’ journeys from external influence to internal meaning-making and equipped them to become leaders in their global societies. This project offers considerations and strategies for college athletics staff and international services staff to better support the international student-athletes on their campuses.

Today, the temporary agency work is a well-established industry in the Swedish labour market. The industry has grown every year since the start 1992 and seemingly, the legislation has not kept up with its’ pace. The reason behind the growth of temporary agency work is their clients impulsion for flexibility as well as making their organisation more efficient. Employers organizations argue that the ability to be flexible is a tool to increase economic growth in the society while the unions argue that the temporary agency workers are paying the price with insecure employment-contracts. The line between cancelation of employment due to redundancy and dismissal due to personal reasons is unclear, with disadvantages to the employment protection, through this triangular relationship between the temporary agency work, user company and the employee. The question is if the goal justifies the means. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how the temporary agency work-industry is affecting the temporary agency workers employment protection, in addition, the thesis will investigate which legal impacts the legislation is creating in a diversity perspective. In order to answer the research questions properly, a traditional legal dogmatic method has been used as well as legal sociological perspective.