The purpose of this study was to analyze the development of preservice teachers' beliefs in regard to diversity concepts and issues. The current study finds a positive development in preservice teacher candidates' professional beliefs about diversity as shown through observations, interviews, and document analysis at the beginning and end of upper division coursework in an elementary education degree program that infuses diversity throughout the program. Reflection is at the core of the goals of the college of education in which this program resides. Findings from this study revealed that through reflection and discourse, a majority of the senior students did show development in their professional beliefs about diversity concepts and issues. These findings may add to literature on program evaluation in the study of diversity concepts and infusion throughout upper division coursework. This study was limited due to an extremely low response rate and other spurious factors. / by Cynthia R. Schaub. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

As few studies focus explicitly on social support for residents by residents in retirement communities which have staff, this thesis is designed to explore the nature of informal social support among residents at planned, non-subsidized retirement care facilities: the types, the amount, the impact, the limitation and the appropriateness of such support. Our focus is to explore whether different organization of a retirement community affects social support among residents, so we compare two retirement care facilities. One provides single-level care for its residents and the other provides multiple-level care. We chose our two sites from retirement care facilities in the City of Portland, Oregon. We generated our data by interviewing residents who live independently in the two retirement communities.

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Sociology / Master / Master of Philosophy

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 305-313). / Also available by subscription via World Wide Web / xiii, 313 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm

During New Zealand’s comparatively short history as a nation, its cuisine has undergone great development. The culinary traditions brought by the early settlers, from both Eastern Polynesia and then Britain, offered a relatively limited variety, however, since the late 20th century New Zealand’s foodways have undergone a revolution; today a smorgasbord of international cuisines awaits our selection. This gastronomic range is the result of a number of factors which include the influx of diverse immigrants, increased air travel by New Zealanders, the return of military personnel from overseas and globalisation. To conduct this investigation of the relationships between people, identity, food and place I approach the topic from three perspectives. Firstly, I examine how exotic foods are used to link immigrants to New Zealand with loved ones in their homelands, and also how the same foods act as a bridge between those immigrants and other New Zealanders. Secondly, I look at how exotic foods serve to connect New Zealanders with, generally, far-away places, as through its evocative powers food has the ability to transport ordinary people to places where they may rather be. Lastly, I explore how some New Zealanders are making exotic foods ‘ours’ by combining them with the abundance of fresh local produce. Appropriating the exotic and combining it with the indigenous to make it ours is the story of New Zealand; our society has developed through the arrival of many people and cultures, and food is a lens through which to observe this process today. This work differs from many ethnographic accounts in that it does not focus on a coherent group of people, but rather is based around the theme of food and eating in the New Zealand context. The thesis is the culmination of approximately twelve months of data gathering for which a multi-method approach was used. This process included: a review of both academic and popular literature; visits to food-related places such as cultural festivals, wine and food festivals, Agricultural and Pastoral Shows, Home Shows, community markets, farmers’ markets, various Auckland supermarkets, ethnic food stores, specialty food shops; mainstream and ethnic cafés and restaurants, shopping centre food courts and various other miscellaneous places; attending different ethnic cooking courses and a series of semi-structured interviews. The interview process used different interviewee configurations: individuals, married couples and pairs, in an attempt to generate various perspectives and so enhance the data. The thesis concludes that, firstly, exotic foods represent a means by which immigrants are able to connect with both loved ones remaining in the old home, and also to form new relationships with other New Zealanders in their new home. Secondly, exotic foods, through either their consumption or through people’s memories of consumption, provide a bridge between New Zealanders and other places. Lastly, New Zealanders are increasingly taking exotic foods, combining them with the nation’s abundant local and unique indigenous foodstuffs and making it ours

This study originates from experiences which led me to question the way pharmacists are equipped to advise and support the medicine-taking practice of patients using chronic medication. The study offers a critical theoretical consideration of underlying perspectives informing pharmacy education. I propose following a critical realist ontological perspective, a social realist understanding of social structure and human agency, and a sociocultural epistemology. Based on these perspectives, I consider a sociological critique of ‘health’, ‘disease’, ‘illness’ and ‘sickness’ perspectives on medicine-taking, and of pharmacy as a profession. I then propose an experiential learning approach, with an emphasis on developing reflexivity through affective learning. I follow this with an illustrative case study. Following a critical discourse analysis of student texts from the case study, I conclude that there is evidence that experiential learning may prove useful in developing pharmacy students’ reflexive competency to support the provision of pharmaceutical care to patients using chronic medications.

Inequalities in levels of development between regions within a country are frequently regarded as a problem. The magnitude of the problem is more severe in developing countries than in developed countries. Zimbabwe, as a developing country, is no exception and the country is characterized by severe regional inequalities. This research is concerned with the spatial patterns of socio-economic development in Zimbabwe. The composite index method was used to rank administrative districts of Zimbabwe according to level of development. The composite indices together with socio-economic characteristics were used to demarcate the administrative districts into development regions according to Friedmann's (1966) model. Attention was given to the spatial development policies applied in Zimbabwe. Friedmann's (1966) guidelines, for the development of the different regional types in his model, were applied to the Zimbabwean spatial economy. Suggestions were made regarding possible adjustments to previous strategies used in Zimbabwe, for spatial development planning. / Anthropology and Archaeology / M.A.

This thesis conceptualises Islamist radicalisation in Europe as a process of occupational choice. It follows the approach to individual radicalisation as incremental development (process) with the consideration of multi-level factors and dynamics. The analysis leading to this multi-phase process is grounded in data, comparative and comprehensive since it adopts a perspective of individual life-stories. It conceptualises radicalisation phases and the whole process not as something specific but as a concrete variation of a more general process. It further accounts for gradual change in time instead of sudden and radical points of change from ‘normality’ to radicalism, at the same time clearly defining the phases of involvement and the main categories and conditions impacting on the Islamist occupational choice. The theoretical framework integrates rational choice and framing theory elements within a general approach to the phenomenon of interest as social process. The methodology used is grounded theory and the data sources are in the majority primary data from fieldwork in Austria, France and Germany, along with secondary data and literature as directed by theoretical sampling. The structure of the thesis develops as follows: a discussion and clarification of the radicalism and ‘radicalisation’ concepts; a review and critique of the main contributions in the literature on Islamist radicalisation in Europe; the outline, rationale and application of the methodology; the emergence and dynamics of the Islamist radical occupational choice process; the analysis of occupational choice categories; and the emergence and impact of interpretative frameworks in shaping occupational choice categories.

This thesis explores a network of participants, dance students and teachers, who travel between New York City and Dakar, Senegal, around the practice of West African dance forms. Focusing on the Senegalese dance-rhythms Sabar, I joined this movement and my fieldwork methodology included apprenticeship as a student. I explored different learning environments of Sabar in New York and Dakar: the understandings involved, how this movement is maintained and how it affects dance forms. The methodological move enabled a comparative approach to research questions of learning and performing, local aesthetics and notions of being. This thesis discusses the role of the imagination in mobilizing students and teachers to travel within this network. I explore how participants navigate through the political geography of this movement, sustain the network, and how in turn the cultural flow of Sabar is ‘punctuated’ by socio-economic relationships. Secondly, I explore the understandings involved in each learning context, how these are negotiated and contested on the dance floor and how they relate to broader socio-cultural discourses and relationships that they reinforce or subvert. I argue that while different Sabar settings cannot be understood as ‘bounded’ in as much as people and ideas circulate through them, they are also distinct in that they produce different forms of Sabar. The learning contexts provide the meeting grounds for alternative conceptions of ‘dance’ and pedagogy. I explore how these notions are negotiated in relation to the specific socio-cultural and economic environments in which they are located. Specifically I analyse some common problems New York students face in learning and performing Sabar and explore the reasons behind them: the complex connection between movement and rhythm and the achievement of a specific kinaesthetic in movement. I delineate the relationship between movement and rhythm in Sabar and the importance of the aesthetic of improvisation. I argue that the prevalence of certain paradigms of learning and ‘dance’ over others is related to the specific socio-economic relationships of the participants. Specifically, an over-emphasis on movement distracts from other important aspects in the performance of Sabar and I argue that skills need to be understood as environed processes, malleable and shifting in relation to the broader socio-economic settings that link the participants together.

The intent of this investigation was to examine age and gender differences in neuromuscular adaptations following 12 wks of progressive resistance training(PRT). 39 healthy, untrained individuals were divided into four groups: older men((OM); 70±1.67; n=9), older women((OW); 73.75±1.76;n=8), young men((YM); 25.9±2; n=6) and young women((YW);22.2±1.2; n=6). Subjects participated in a bi-lateral knee extensor PRT consisting of 2 sets of 10 repetitions and 1 set to volitional failure at 80% of their onerepetition maximum(1RM), 3 days per week. Prior to and after completion of the PRT, subjects' right thigh muscles were evaluated for cross-sectional area (CSA) via computed tomography, maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVC), specific tension((ST);MVC/CSA), maximal neuromuscular drive(IEMG), and 1RM. Subcutaneous needle biopsies were also taken from the subjects' right vastus lateralis pre and post PRT. CSA increased (time, P<0.05) in all four groups following the PRT (4.35%+0.94 to 7.31%+3.87). Excluding OW, each group displayed an improvement (time, P<0.05) in MVC (OM 28.7%+5.06, YM 17.4%+5.8, and YW 17.8%±10.3). OM and YM demonstrated increases (time, P<0.05) in ST after completion of the PRT, 21.67%+4.88 and 12.5%+5.1, respectively. These two groups also improved (timeXgender, P<0.05) over their gender counterparts for this variable. IEMG increased (time, P<0.05) in OM and YM (37.8%+12.3 and 43.26+12.54, respectively) and both groups also showed improvements (timeXgender, P<0.05) over their gender counterparts. 1RM increased (time, P<0.05) in all groups (34.9%+7.9 to 57.3%+8). OW showed an increase (time, P<0.05) in the CSA of the MHC type Ha fibers. No other changes in single fiber CSA occurred. While all groups displayed increases in CSA and strength, ST and IEMG data indicate that neuromuscular drive may influence strength increases seen with resistance training to a greater extent in males than females, regardless of age. / School of Physical Education