The purpose of this study was to conduct a descriptive survey to determine the status of health promotion activities in religious organizations in Delaware County, Indiana. After 223 surveys were distributed and reminder postcards mailed, 77 (35%) usable responses were received. Follow-up telephone calls on 30 non-respondents yielded similar results to those who did respond.The health knowledge level of the respondent, religious affiliation of the religious organization, and racial composition of the congregation appear to be associated with the health promotion activities offered by a religious organization, though the strength of the associations are not clear. However, such associations indicate a need to provide Delaware County religious leaders with connections to secular agencies to provide the social support necessary for health promotion within the congregations.Information from this study could lead to the development of an ecumenical module and/or an oral presentation script addressing health, wellness, and prevention issues that could be utilized by a health educator to inform congregations. This may in turn close the disparity gap in health status for those who may be poorly-served, under-served, or never-served. / Department of Physiology and Health Science

Access to abstract permanently restricted to Ball State community only / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only / Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management

The purpose of this correlational study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Healthy Athlete® Health Promotion questionnaire as an instrument to assess the true dietary habits of Delaware County, Indiana, Special Olympics Athletes. A total of 35 Delaware County Special Olympics athletes completed this study. The athletes’ true dietary habits were estimated using a three-day food record and the Caregiver Questionnaire (CQ). Results indicated the Healthy Athletes Software (HAS) nutrition questions lacked statistical strength in both reliability and validity. The test-retest indicated only one-third of the questions were identified as reliable (Kappa ranged from 0.347 to 0.773; r ranged from 0.356 to 0.794). When compared to the standard, only three of the 15 food items on the HAS questionnaire had a significant relationship to the standard (r coefficients ranged from 0.458 to .777). In contrast, 11 of the 15 food items on the CQ were highly correlated with the three-day food record. The results of this study indicate the need for improvement to make to the HAS nutrition questions more reliable and valid in the assessment of Special Olympics athletes’ dietary habits / Department of Family and Consumer Sciences

The purpose of the study was to investigate the perceived occupational stress levels and coping mechanisms among Emergency Medical Technicians and paramedics in Delaware County. It was proposed that EMTs and paramedics perceive environmental and job stress for which they have developed specific coping mechanisms. It was further proposed that an association exists between levels of occupational stress and coping mechanisms used by Emergency Medical Technicians and paramedics.The population of prospective subjects for the study consisted of all part-time, full-time, and volunteer EMTs and paramedics of Delaware County, Indiana. The EMTs and paramedics were surveyed by an Occupational Stress Inventory-Revised, which they completed during mandatory training sessions. Delaware County and Yorktown EMS received the questionnaire packets by the researcher one half hour before the start of the subject's shift.The design of the study was nonexperimental, descriptive, and correlational. Pearson's product moment correlation, t-test, and multivariate analysis of variance were used to analyze the data.The results indicated that there were significant differences between the coping mechanisms used by EMTs and paramedics. There were also significant differences between occupational stress levels of paid and volunteer EMTs and paramedics and rural and urban area Emergency Medical Services. There were significant relationships between four of the six stress subscales, and average number of hours worked per week in the past year among EMTs and paramedics. No significant difference was found between EMTs and paramedics and levels of occupational stress. / Department of Physiology and Health Science

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Delaware, 2007. / Principal faculty advisor: Douglas A. Archbald, School of Education. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Delaware, 2006. / Principal faculty advisor: Christopher M. Clark, School of Education. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Delaware, 2006. / Principal faculty advisor: Barbara Curry, School of Education. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Delaware, 2007. / Principal faculty advisor: Dennis L. Loftus, School of Education. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Delaware, 2006. / Principal faculty advisor: Carol Vukelich, School of Education. Includes bibliographical references.

This research determined the soil erodibility factor for Morley, Blount, and Pewamo soils in Delaware County, Indiana, using simulated rainfall mathods. Five test runs were made on each site and the runoff (water and sediment) from each site was collected. Three sites were used for the research and data were collected from five test plots on each site. The T-test was used to determine if significant differences occur between the erodibiltiy factors of the same soil series. One-way analysis of variance was used to determine if significant. differences occur between Morley, Blount, and Pewamo soils in relation to their erodibility factors.The results indicate there are no significant differences between the erodibiltiy factors of the same soil series for Blount and Pewamo soils to the .05 level of confidence. A significant difference was found within the two Morley soils, but the difference could have been due to experimental error and natural soil variation. While there is no significant difference between erodibility values for the Morley and Blount soils, there is significant difference between the Pewamo soil series and the Morley and Blount soil series.This study demonstrates that the use of the rainulator may be a valid method for deriving erodibility factors, especially on higher slopes. The rainulator, however, may not be appropriate for determining erodibility factors on flat or shallow slopes such as found with the Pewamo soil. More erodibility data need to be collected from the same soil series to determine their soil erodibility factors and to verify the effectiveness of using the rainulator for data collection on flat and shallow soils.Ball State UniversityMuncie, IN 47306