With the increasing role played by the females in Chinese economic development, females draw attention from the public promptly. Since Chinese female achieved legally equal rights with male recently, female are still underrepresented at higher organizational levels. The previous researches on female leadership are plentiful and covered various dimensions. In Chinese context, the female leadership is embodied with the empowerment of female entrepreneurs.  Hence, this research is concentrate the challenges facing Chinese female in their work, to meet the attention of why there are less top female leaders and why it is more difficult for female to approach higher leadership levels. The main research question of this thesis is: Why Chinese female facing more challenges/difficulties to move up in their leadership ladders compared to male? Following the qualitative research method, this thesis applies the theory of leadership, gender perspectives in leadership, and female leadership as the theoretical framework. Then, six Chinese female were interviewed for the investigation as the primary data collection. From the dedicated perspectives of the interviewees, the answers are concluded about the research question: ◆  Transformational leadership style makes female fit into male-dominant context. ◆  The gender bias and stereotypes of female still exist and played negative effects. ◆  Balancing the needs between their families and their work is a challenge for female to overcome.

Previous research into the psychological impact of miscarriage has taken a pathogenic approach, with limited research examining the factors that relate to enhanced psychological wellbeing. As a result, it is difficult to understand what predicts lower anxiety, depression and higher wellbeing. In order to address such gaps this study employed mixed methods, using a salutogenic perspective to investigate the effects of miscarriage on women's psychological wellbeing and to identify factors related to enhanced psychological wellbeing over time.

Introduction Patients with intestinal failure (IF) develop problems of malabsorption and malnutrition associated with short bowel syndrome (SBS). Home parenteral nutrition (HPN) became available to treat these patients since the 1970s. There is a paucity of qualitative research on patients’ experiences in the UK. The study aim was to generate theory that explains the experiences of adults living with HPN and complex medication regimens. Method The grounded theory methodology was used to explore the experiences and to generate theory about this health intervention. Twelve participants were interviewed. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The joint process of data collection and analysis followed the principles of constant comparative approach. Results The core categories of stoma care and HPN treatment were supported by the subcategories of maintaining stoma output, access to toilets, maintaining HPN infusion routine, access to technical help to set up HPN infusion, and general health changes. Strategy used to manage living with loss was demonstrated by the subcategory of maintaining daily activities and social interactions. Discussion The theory of living with loss suggests that patients with a stoma receiving HPN experience the sense of loss at home and in social situations. Opportunities for professional practice development are detailed along with implications for future research. Conclusions The findings resonate with the Kubler-Ross Model of the five stages of grief (Kubler-Ross, 1970). The theory of living with loss was generated by the use of the grounded theory methodology. This study identified opportunities for changes and improvement in clinical practice.

The main and most critical function of the immune system is to distinguish between self and non-self and react accordingly. Differentiating self-reactive immune cells as soon as they develop is the phenomenon of tolerance against self-antigens and is a highly regulated process. The development of autoantibodies is a sign of the breakdown of tolerance and may be the harbinger of the onset of an autoimmune disease. It is well-known fact that many systemic autoimmune diseases (AUIDs) first manifest in the oral cavity. If proven that oral infections trigger AUIDs, then improving oral health may be a potential therapeutic strategy to reduce autoimmune disease incidence. Although etiology and pathogenesis of specific AUIDs may vary, presentation in the oral cavity often involves oral lesions manifested at early stages of systemic inflammatory and autoimmune disease. Therefore regular dental and medical checkups may provide an opportunity for clinicians, in particular dentists, to contribute to earlier detection of AUIDs thereby improving long-term treatment options and overall patient prognosis. Mechanisms leading to the onset of autoimmune disease are still being considered. Epidemiological inquires and the increasing numbers of genome-wide association studies have analyzed the breakdown of tolerance and the causes behind autoimmunity. The role of the environment is crucial in the onset of autoimmunity via the breakdown of tolerance; through toll-like receptors that mediate innate immunity which in turn triggers the adaptive autoimmune response, T regulatory cells and Th17 differentiation, through changes in the spleen autoantibody production due to a change in the B cell count, and through self antigen and epigenetic deviations induced by environmental spurs. In spite of many research efforts and the accumulation of innovative data, there are still multiple gaps in knowledge pertaining to this subject matter. The autoimmune process begins with the activation of Tcells by antigen presenting cells (APC) and progresses to CD4+ CD25+ Tcells and forkhead box P3 (Foxp3), which stimulate Th1 and Th2 responses and finally B cell activation, which plays a role in autoimmune development. This paper will review the etiopathogenesis of autoimmune diseases and different cell players as well as transcription factors such as TGF–β, IL–6, IL–10, IL–17, Th–17, T reg cells, B reg cells, Th–1, Th–2, and INF–γ. This paper aims to review published evidence and further explore the etiopathology of individual autoimmune diseases such as Behcet's, Crohn's disease, Sjögren syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, and rheumatoid arthritis and the subsequent dental implications and therapeutic management. This review also aims to study the most relevant autoimmune, auto-inflammatory, and systemic chronic inflammatory diseases, as well as mechanisms of autoimmune manifestation with respect to oral health.

abstract: Educational Leadership is inherent of many qualities. Individuals who possess leadership stand apart from the mainstream population in general society and in any organization, thus they are change agents who influence others by their uniqueness and dynamism. The art of leadership is challenging, but meaningful, and purposeful as the focus is implementation of consistent affective and effective practices at all levels to assure achievable outcomes no matter the organization type. A leader's calling is rewarding and the journey is that of making and sustaining change through influence. The purpose of this study centered on the relationship factor of educational leadership especially the dynamics between the principal and the teacher and what constructs affect this relationship to affect principal effectiveness. The methodology employed a quantitative format and consisted of a 20 question survey sent to one school district's teachers (N=465) over a 3 month window. The summaries of results were presented in two formats: Raw (exactly how teachers answered) and a Cross-tabulation (Age & Licensure). The findings of the study yielded attitudes and perspectives of teachers regarding valuable information on leadership behaviors, styles, and practices that teachers believe were relevant to principal effectiveness. The most noteworthy aspect gleaned from this study was the people factor wherein relationships are a key factor to a leader's success in any realm that one leads. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Educational Administration and Supervision 2012

This work drafts some ideas in relation to new perspectives on the notion of human rights. It underlines two fields that show its widening: the sources where rights are born and the extension of its meaning. / Este trabajo esboza algunas ideas en relación a nuevas perspectivas de la noción derechos humanos y destaca, particularmente, dos ámbitos que demuestran su ampliación: las fuentes a través de las cuales estos derechos nacen y la extensión de su significado.

The thesis explores the plausibility of grounding citizenship education in a plural moral philosophical perspective without the danger of relativism. This is meant to enrich and allow citizenship education to reach its full potential of developing responsible and participatory citizens. Most societies require education to develop responsible citizens who have a questioning attitude as well as willing to contribute to the general welfare of society and the environment. However, citizenship education often fails to reach its full potential because it is theorised on a single moral philosophical perspective such as deontic rights. To date there has been little intellectual engagement in the research literature on citizenship education with the question of whether it might be possible, let alone valuable to have a citizenship education underpinned by a plural moral philosophical perspective. Drawing from literature in moral philosophy and education, the study follows a philosophical approach to analyse a conceptual framework which includes deontological ethics, virtue ethics, care ethics, utilitarian ethics and the capabilities approach. It is argued that teachers may draw from a plural moral philosophical perspective on citizenship education so that we do not only develop citizens with rights, who participate in making and obeying laws, but citizens who are motivated to participate for the right reasons, at the right time and for the right motive, and, at the same time are sympathetic to the plight of others and willing to facilitate the capabilities of others. In particular, virtue ethics and care ethics are essential for personal (moral) and social dimension of citizenship education while deontological ethics and the capabilities approach contribute towards the political dimension. It is also proposed that teacher education should include moral philosophy as well as the reading of literature in order to promote a broad conception of education which enables teachers to draw from a plural moral philosophical perspective in teaching citizenship education as a theme across the curriculum.

AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF CHRISTINE E. WIGGS, for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in EDUCATION, presented on October 19, 2012, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: UNDERSTANDING READING THROUGH THE EYES OF THIRD-GRADE STRUGGLING READERS MAJOR PROFESSORS: Dr. Marla H. Mallette / Dr. Lynn C. Smith Within the vast research base on struggling readers, very few studies address the nature of struggling readers from their own perspectives; that is, how struggling readers experience reading instruction. The purpose of this qualitative case study research was to gain a deeper understanding of how three third-grade struggling readers viewed themselves as readers and how they experienced reading instruction in their classroom setting. In turn, this study captured their realities of being a struggling reader from their own perspectives. Data sources included measures of reading affect (i.e., attitude, motivation, and self-perception), interviews, classroom observations, work samples, records, and drawings. Data for each of the three cases were first analyzed separately using Boeije's (2010) Spiral of Analysis model, and then through a cross case analysis. In looking across the three cases, the unique and complex perceptions of each student were situated in three broad similarities: (a) their perceptions of reading centered on the idea that reading is about hard words, (b) their perceptions of themselves as struggling readers revealed their internal struggles, and (c) their sensitivity to the social in their perceptions of others' perceptions of them. The findings capture the important and often missing voice of the students, a major stakeholder in their own education, which leads to educational implications for reading instruction.

The purpose of this dissertation research was to ascertain information from ninth-grade students about their perspective in reference to Response to Intervention (RTI) in their school and how it is impacting them as well as their perceived future implications on their education. In order to accomplish this overall objective, the following three research questions framed this study: 1. What are the perceptions of ninth-grade students concerning RTI? 2. What elements of RTI do they see as beneficial for them to progress to their sophomore year? 3. What are the RTI teachers doing to assist ninth-grade students to progress successfully to their sophomore year? A rural school in the Midwest was selected for this qualitative case study research. Document analysis of two websites, six papers, and student grades and test scores were used. Forty, ninth-grade students were surveyed, four students from this population were interviewed, and two core/RTI teachers were interviewed along with the building principal. Participants in the study self-selected pseudonyms for research anonymity purposes. The surveys were conducted in the ninth-grade English classes on one day, and interviews were conducted on separate days, face-to-face, and later transcribed for accuracy. There are three themes which emerged from the data: (1) students’ sense of accomplishment, (2) students’ sense of belonging, and (3) students’ sense of maturity. These findings describe students’ self-pronounced perceptions of their 8th hour RTI class and RTI’s effects on their learning. Based on this study’s findings, it is recommended that additional investigation into elements of RTI and student perceptions be conducted. Data collection and assimilation from one school year to the next and progress monitoring using norm-referenced tests need to be increasingly used in high schools. The schools should monitor RTI and student achievements and keep a record to improve their instruction. One way to screen the effects of RTI is to access students’ RTI perceptions and conduct longitudinal data collection and analysis from many school districts and populations.

This study explores faculty theories of service-learning as a teaching methodology in higher education. While there has been considerable increase in the understanding of how service-learning positively impacts students, there is a shortage of research on faculty experiences utilizing service-learning pedagogy. Because it is known that faculty involvement and commitment is essential to implementing groundbreaking forms of curricula and pedagogy, this research seeks to better understand faculty perspectives of campus community collaboration in service-learning partnerships. The study investigated faculty engaged in service-learning and used a multiple case study design involving descriptive qualitative methods rooted in faculty perspectives utilizing constant comparative analysis and coding in the tradition of grounded theory. Data consisted of interviews, course materials, and documents related to community placement protocol at one large Pacific-Northwest university. Findings across five research questions, which supported previous studies, established that faculty utilizing service-learning pedagogy are motivated by their adherence to values of social justice, individual awareness of positive student outcomes, and dedication to civic responsibility by meeting community defined needs through educational practices. Two new findings, which can augment the research literature, are (a) the perceived role that institutionally supported outreach to the community could play in restoring public trust, exhibiting genuine awareness of community need, and benefiting the overall credibility of the institutional mission and (b) the identification of faculty tacit theories of why community partners fade away during the student placement and perceived best practices for addressing the problem. Faculty’s identification of perceived barriers to implementing and sustaining service-learning pedagogy supported previous research and suggested a new finding that while excellence in pedagogical practices existed within the institution, lack of a centrally supported mechanism for collaboration may have thwarted growth of innovative and beneficial strategies. Research-to-practice suggestions include prospective policy implications for faculty who utilize service-learning in courses or would like to cultivate the professional potential to include a scholarship of engagement into their teaching strategies. Faculty theories of best practices and policy improvements for service-learning pedagogy delineated in the study have potential utility for entities who develop, initiate, organize, and support innovative campus community collaboration.