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The Down Home is an eclectic music venue in Johnson City, Tennessee. Established in 1976, it has since become a noteworthy club and the center of a mutually supportive community of people who keep the venue going while it in turn holds the community members together. Through the use of community theory, oral history theory, memorabilia, and oral history interviews, this thesis examines the way the Down Home community formed, and how it has continued to grow, develop traditions, and engage people both local and from afar. It also explores what the venue’s future may look like. While several influential figures in the club’s history have passed away, it is important to acknowledge the memories of those still living. This project documents some of the Down Home’s story as told by the venue’s community members, and it begins to fill the void where literature about the Down Home is scarce.

To insure academic success for students with learning disabilities, it is critical that educators are able to make timely and effective instructional decisions. The focus of this study was to evaluate the relationship and effectiveness of two different progress monitoring tools, a measure of oral reading fluency and the Wilson Reading System's level documentation against measures of reading achievement. Reading achievement was specifically, examined using cluster scores from the Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement - Third Edition (WJ-III) Broad and Brief Reading domains. The current study investigated archival data of 51 students, grades four through eight, enrolled in a small, private school for students with learning disabilities during the 2008-2009 school year. Oral reading fluency benchmark and regular progress monitoring scores were collected from students and the progress monitoring scores were converted into an overall rate of improvement. Data from students receiving instruction in the Wilson Reading System were also collected as levels mastered throughout the school year. All students received pre- and post-testing on the WJ-III Reading domain. No significant relationships were found between oral reading fluency rate of improvement and Wilson level. Additionally, only the oral reading fluency spring benchmark significantly predicted end of year WJ-III performance after pre-test scores were taken into account. Supplemental analyses did find that students who completed levels seven and eight in the 2008 - 2009 school year consistently performed better than peers who completed levels two through six at all oral reading fluency benchmark periods. Limitations to the study and implications for future research and practice are discussed. / School Psychology

This dissertation examines the academic debate that surrounds the new field called "Evolutionary Psychology." Evolutionary psychology has emerged as the most popular successor theory to human sociobiology. Its proponents search for evolved psychological mechanisms and emphasize universal features of the human mind. My thesis is that in order to flourish evolutionary psychologists must engage other researchers on equal terms -- something they have not been doing. To show this, I examine the stances of practitioners from three other social science fields whose claims have been shortchanged by evolutionary psychology: Barbara King in biological anthropology, George Lakoff and Mark Johnson in empirical linguistics and Annette Karmiloff-Smith in developmental psychology. These researchers are also involved in cognitive science investigations that bear on evolutionary psychology's key claims about the mind and how it works. Evolutionary psychologists make three key claims about the mind. The first (1) is that the mind is massively modular; the second (2) is that this massively modular mind has been shaped by the processes of natural selection over evolutionary time; and the third (3) is that it is adapted to the Pleistocene conditions of our past. Evolutionary psychologists seek to elevate these three claims to the status of meta-theoretical assumptions making them the starting place from which our deliberations about human cognition ought proceed. These claims would constitute the framework for a new paradigm in the ultimate sense. I argue that elevating these claims to such a status is not only premature, but also unwarranted on the available evidence. This result is justified by evidence produced outside evolutionary psychology by those disciplines from which evolutionary psychologists explicitly seek to distance themselves. / Ph. D.

The preservation needs and historical significance located within West Lawn Cemetery in Johnson City, Tennessee, a historically African American Cemetery, show the potential cemeteries have as an impactful public history site. Similar to sites like historic houses, museums, and battlefields; cemeteries offer another insight into the past through interpretation and preservation. A cemetery's ethical and practical uses as a public history site can pose complex challenges. This thesis aims to provide a compelling argument for cemeteries as repositories of irreplaceable history, providing a space for their spot in the field of public history. Although little scholarly literature is given on this concept, this research provides information on the unique landscape and window into history cemeteries hold. Furthermore, this thesis aims to provide a practical guide to navigating the complexities of historical discourse and interpretation within cemeteries.

The problem is to study the aims of the University Interscholastic League of Texas and evaluate them in the light of the aims of education as set up by authorities in the fields of education and to study the present method of conducting the League activities in Johnson County and evaluate the activities in the light of the aims of education and the data obtained from superintendents in the Conference B schools of Johnson County.

No / This research is an attempt to identify the kind of culture which is needed for a major transnational company to become a circular economy based organization based on the guidelines of Ellen McArthur Foundation. It aims to identify and learn from organizations with the relevant culture on the particular traits which may assist other organizations foster the culture required to implement a circular economy strategy. The information gathered is expected to contribute empirical information on culture management for circular economy strategy and an attempt to fill in the literature gap on strategy, mind-set shift and culture change, especially in transitioning towards sustainable business practices. The thesis mind-map and outline of chapters have been provided. Literature pointed out that alignment between organizational culture and strategy ensures successful implementation. The development of a more sustainable economic model, the circular economy, has triggered organizations to look into their business strategies and adjust accordingly. This research is an attempt to identify and learn from organizations with relevant culture on the particular traits which may assist other organizations foster the culture required to implement a circular economy strategy. The researchers applied Johnson’s (2001) cultural web and other relevant literatures on organizational culture, leadership, collaboration, and form constructs for an exploratory case study. Several management qualities have been mentioned namely the development of cross-functional teams, establishment of relationships beyond transactional partnerships, a risk oriented learning environment, entrepreneurial organization culture and structure, and empathetic leadership.

The problem constituting the basis of this study is one having to do with an investigation of educational objectives. Specifically, it relates to an examination of teachers' objectives in a strictly limited area of Texas and a comparison of these objectives with those advanced by professional educators and published in literature dealing with educational practices and principles.