A Divine Round Trip: the Literary and Christological Function of the Descent/Ascent Leitmotif in the Gospel of John

The thesis of this dissertation is that the Descent/Ascent Leitmotif, which includes the language of not only descending and ascending, but also going, coming, and being sent, performs a significant literary and christological function in the Gospel of John. The Evangelist's Descent/Ascent Leitmotif becomes the Gospel's organizing principal, drawing together a constellation of verbs and a number of themes, including Jesus-Son's origin, identity, relationship to God, authority, signs and works, life, and glory. In the introductory chapter, after providing a layout of the dissertation, the discussion turns to the spacial dimensions and christological importance of the vertical and horizontal depictions of the descending, ascending, coming, going, and being sent verbs. The focus of chapter two is to explain and illustrate, using a version of the Cinderella story, a method that serves to identify the Leitmotif and the verbs, motifs, and themes the Leitmotif draws within its constellation. This approach, titled a thematic structural method, integrates works from thematic scholars Horst Daemmrich and Eugene Falk with works from literary structural scholars A. J Greimas and Roland Barthes, and is a tool to analyze the influence of the Leitmotif as the Gospel's organizing principal on the relationships between the Leitmotif and numerous themes from which John's Christology emerges. The task of chapter three is to explain the rationale for the selection of the Leitmotif's verbs of descending, ascending, coming, going, and being sent. Chapters four and five investigate how the Evangelist, with the repetition of the Leitmotif, constructs his narrative to tell the story of the historical Jesus and shape the Evangelist's Christology. Additionally, the focus is to analyze the transforming influences of the Descent/Ascent Leitmotif on the themes of Jesus-Son's origin, identity, relationship to the Father, and authority, through his signs and works, life, and glory. The Descent/Ascent Leitmotif depicts a divine round trip, and the emphasis of chapter six is to examine the role of the Leitmotif in Jesus-Son's departure from the world and return to God. The Evangelist's use of the Leitmotif in Jesus' prayer to the Father (John 17) and the promise of the Paraclete are included in this chapter. Due to the Descent/Ascent Leitmotif's inherent spatial overtones, elements related to Jesus' return, including heaven, world, the hour, and his form after his resurrection, are explored from a cosmological and ontological perspective.

Evidence-Based Practice in the Juvenile Justice System: Balancing Clinical Expertise with Best Available Research and Client Variables

Each year, thousands of adolescents are processed through the juvenile justice system -- a system that is complicated, expensive, and inadequately addressing the needs of the youth in its care. While there is extensive literature available in support of interventions for youthful offenders that are clinically superior to current care and more cost-effective than the existing structure, there is a gap between research and practice that is preventing their implementation. The use of Evidence-Based Practice in Psychology (EBPP) as defined by the American Psychological Association is presented as one method to bridge this gap. This paper identifies and discusses each of five barriers to effective use of EBPP: cost, fragmentation of the mental health system, historical and systemic variables, research methodology, and clinician variables. These barriers are first defined and then illustrated using examples from the author's experience working in the juvenile justice field. Finally, recommendations for the field are presented.

Correlates of Program Completion in Juvenile Diversion

The current study evaluated the State Juvenile Diversion Program, managed by the District Attorney’s (DA) office in Denver Colorado. The purpose of this study was to review factors, which potentially contribute to success or failure in diversion. Research in diversion programing typically focuses on recidivism rates, but fails to examine which factors contribute to program completion. The analysis was conducted using data from 57 juveniles who entered the DA diversion program in 2015. This represents the majority of juveniles in the diversion program rather than a sample. The current study confirmed prior research findings that those juveniles who do not successfully complete a diversion program are more likely to reoffend. Additionally, the factors which were significantly correlated with successful completion of the diversion program were grade point average (GPA) and number of municipal tickets. The number of behavior reports in school before and after the Diversion program was significantly lower for both groups. Non-significant findings are also discussed as they may help guide future research.