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This research analyzed themes relating to the concepts of risk, risk taking, and pleasure by completing a secondary analysis of participant transcripts collected from the PrEP-RN study conducted by Dr. O'Byrne at the University of Ottawa in collaboration with Ottawa Public Health. Analysis was completed to relate risk, risk taking and pleasure in the context of PrEP-RN, but also identify areas for educational improvement in relation to the selected concepts. The research question sought explanation on the relationship that risk has with risk reduction and risk taking, including analysis of condom usage, risk conversation with partners and general sexual health practices while on PrEP. Additionally, the research sought to answer if PrEP-RN participation had any impact on sexual pleasure, analyzing subthemes of stereotyping, security and desire relating to pleasure. Transcript analysis identified that a reduction in condom usage, improved frequency of sexually transmitted infection testing, promotion of conversations with partners surrounding PrEP and sexual health, and a reduction in sexual fear and anxiety with partners were major themes stemming from PrEP-RN participation. A need to increase education surrounding continued condom usage while on PrEP and identify ways to reduce stigmatization of PrEP were identified as ways to improve the PrEP-RN program.

High levels of adherence have been identified as a key factor for effective pre-exposure prophylaxis medication (PrEP). Because PrEP is a new concept in HIV prevention, there are limited data on predictors of adherence, though initial findings indicate that sexual behavior could be an influencing factor. This study examines different aspects of sexual behavior and their associations with monthly rates and patterns of adherence. We enrolled 1147 HIV-negative individuals living in long-term serodiscordant relationships at three sites in Uganda. Sexual behavior was assessed via monthly in-person interviews and adherence was measured through electronic monitoring of pill bottle openings. We used generalized estimation equations to adjust for risk factors of low adherence to PrEP medication. Fifty-three percent of participants were male, 51% were aged between 18 and 34 years, the median number of years they had lived with the HIV-positive partner was 8.5 years and 24.2% were in polygamous relationships. Participants who had sex with other partners and also had less than 100% use of condoms were more than twice as likely to have less than 80% adherence (OR=2.48, 95%CI=1.70-3.62). Per electronic monitoring, 54.7% of cohort participants had at least one 72-hour consecutive gap in adherence. Participants who had sex with other partners and were also had also reported less than 100% use of condoms had a 50% increase in odds of having a 72-hour gap in adherence (OR=1.50, 95%CI=1.19-31.91). Low overall adherence and extended gaps in adherence were more common in participants that abstained from sex and those that reported sex outside their primary partnership. Despite high monthly adherence rates, many study participants had long periods of non-adherence during which they engaged in risky sexual behavior with potential for HIV acquisition.

Each year, thousands of novice teachers are hired, and within a few years, many of these teachers decide to leave the profession. Job-embedded practitioners, teachers who have yet to fulfill their academic requirements at their universities to become fully licensed teachers and are taking an alternative route to obtain their teaching licenses, comprise a large proportion of those novice teachers. Local and state school districts spend thousands of dollars trying to recruit new teachers to balance high attrition rates. With current teacher shortages nationwide, schools must find novel mechanisms to combat teacher attrition, rather than constantly hiring new teachers to fill vacancies. Increasing teachers’ sense of self-efficacy is vital to reducing the high rate of turnover. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the perceptions of novice teachers who are job-embedded practitioners on how prepared they were for employment and how well they believe they are currently doing. Understanding and increasing new teacher efficacy are essential for school districts nationwide. To address this purpose, individual interviews with 10 novice job-embedded practitioners were conducted. These interviews were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. The novice job-embedded practitioners interviewed in this study described their teaching self-efficacy as a work in progress and highlighted key barriers and facilitators to their self-efficacy. They also described benefits and drawbacks of their teacher preparation programs, highlighting curriculum changes that would significantly enhance their self-efficacy.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of Tech Prep to student enrollment and retention in a California community college. Tech Prep was conceived by Dale Parnell as an articulated high school/community college program focusing on the neglected majority or the middle-quartile of high school students. This study included a review of high school Tech Prep student data for 1997–1998 and 1998–1999. These students were tracked from the high school program through the community college program. The data generated from this review indicated that 1,947 high school students enrolled in the Tech Prep program during this time period, with 1,437 completing the high school requirements, 420 of these students enrolled in the community college within a two year timeframe, and 51 completed the community college Tech Prep course, thereby receiving community college credit for the high school Tech Prep course(s). Student perceptions and self reported attitudes were obtained through surveys of a random sample of those high school Tech Prep students who continued their education at community college. Findings indicated that lack of information about program opportunities is the key to loss of student continuity. Interviews were conducted of fifteen of the surveyed students, resulting in validation of this contention. An evaluation of the student data, surveys and interviews revealed that there was no definitive relationship of enrollment and retention of high school Tech Prep student through the community college Tech Prep program. The resulting findings revealed that the community college Tech Prep programs require significant and appropriate changes in communicating program information in order to positively impact enrollment and retention of the target population. Recommendations were also made for future studies.

HIV infection is a significant public health concern, particularly among young men who have sex with men (YMSM). Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is highly effective in preventing HIV infection among YMSM when taken as prescribed. However, there may be unintended behavioral consequences associated with PrEP initiation, with previous studies finding associations between PrEP use and increased sexual risk behaviors such as condomless anal sex (CAS). Further, problematic alcohol use, to which YMSM are particularly vulnerable, may also play a role in increasing sexual risk as engaging in sexual behaviors while under the influence of alcohol has been associated with CAS and other sexual risk behaviors. Previous literature has proposed risk compensation theory as a basis for this change in sexual risk behaviors following PrEP initiation. However, results have been mixed, and fewer studies have examined risk compensation specifically among YMSM or explored the role of alcohol-related sexual behaviors in this relationship. The present study aims to examine risk compensation theory as a mechanism for the relationship between PrEP initiation and alcohol-related sexual behaviors among YMSM. We hypothesized that the trajectory of PrEP initiation would be positively associated with alcohol-related sexual behaviors across 18 months. Consistent with hypothesis, a combined latent difference score and latent trajectory model revealed a positive association between PrEP initiation and alcohol-related sexual behaviors between baseline and 18-month follow-up in a sample of YMSM. These results are consistent with previous research identifying a high-risk period following PrEP initiation among an already vulnerable group (YMSM), with implications for risk assessment and interventions targeting alcohol-related sexual behaviors among YMSM. This study also highlights the role of alcohol use in increasing sexual risk following PrEP initiation. Findings may aid in reducing adverse sexual outcomes among YMSM who initiate PrEP and ultimately contribute to the minimization of sexual health disparities among YMSM.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an effective tool for preventing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) acquisition in sexually active at-risk individuals such as men who have sex with men (MSM). The purpose of this study is to examine factors associated with intent to engage in risky sexual behavior among HIV-negative college aged (18-24) MSM who are currently adherent to PrEP or who have expressed interest in the future adoption of PrEP. A multiracial/ethnic sample of 31 men expressing interest in the adoption of PrEP and 6 men currently taking PrEP completed a quantitative survey identifying key themes regarding attitudes towards PrEP and potential behaviors associated with adherence. Themes associated with current adherence to PrEP included protection from HIV infection, the opportunity to engage in sexual activities with a non-condom HIV prevention method, and perceived protection from sexually transmitted infections. Themes associated with potential adoption of PrEP included protection from HIV infection, opportunity to engage in sexual activity with known HIV-positive partners, opportunity to engage in sexual activities with a non-condom HIV prevention method, and perceived protection from sexually transmitted infections. Review found that decreased condom use and increased sexual partners are key themes related to initiation of PrEP, and a decrease in frequency of condom use was indicated among the adherent sample. Other key themes identified include barriers to PrEP implementation and misinformation regarding sexually transmitted infections among the population.

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The aim of this thesis is to investigate the discourse function of connectives in Chinese narratives. It is found that connectives , being a kind of cohesive ties , operate at different levels of discourse as boundary markers. The present study also points out that the occurrences of Chinese connectives are governed by semantic relatedness and discourse structure of the connected discourse units. Chinese connectives are classified on the basis of their meanings into four categories. In describing the positions of the four types of connectives in discourse , the author asserts that Chinese discourse is hierarchically composed of recursive micro-structures and macro-structures , with units occuring at a lower level exhibiting tighter connection. The four categories of connectives occur in discourse to link units at different levels. Additives , with the meaning of “in addition” , generally occur within topic chain to link micro-structures. Causals, which serve to connect expressions bearing causal relations , are mostly used at the connections of micro-structures and less frequently to link macro-structures. Adversatives, which mean "contrast" or "contrariness" , occur at the connections of macrostructures where discourse usually shifts to a different view point. Temporals , indicating temporal sequence , may be used either to link micro-structural expressions of events or actions or to mark shifts of the temporal settings at macro-structural level. The above findings are verified with a quantitive analysis of topic continuity which is proposed to be the indicator of semantic relatedness. The quantative analysis reveals that additives are associated with high topic continuity , and causals , adversatives and temporals are related to low continuity. The thesis also includes an experiment on empirical validity of the findings. The results of the test show that the conclusion proposed in this study adequately describes the native speakers ' competence in using Chinese connectives to organize discourse.