Valued occupational roles and life satisfaction among south Florida HIV-infected and non-infected homosexual males: An exploratory study

A study was conducted in order to describe and understand the occupational role behavior of gay men with particular interest on understanding the impact of an HIV diagnosis on their roles and life satisfaction. A 137-item questionnaire was developed for this study and distributed through various gay community groups in south Florida. The process resulted in ranked description of 24 valued occupational roles of gay men (n = 80) along with a general understanding of potential shifts that may occur in those roles as a result of becoming infected with HIV. The study concludes that a diagnosis of HIV infection impacts gay men both by altering their value for particular roles and by darkening the images they hold of their future. The study also identified key factors which may contribute to the greater life satisfaction of gay men including greater confidence in personal knowledge of HIV, a more optimistic outlook an life, the use of stronger coping styles, and perceiving stronger social support and lower stress. ^

Life, Social Studies, and the Pursuit of Happiness: Using Classroom-based Multicultural Democratic Education to Challenge Conservative Notions of Civic Education

Bok (2010) argues civic understanding could improve student happiness by improving perceptions of politics and government, but the state of civic education in public schools keeps this from happening. This study argues that this notion of civic education is conservative by exploring Bok’s premises, social studies, and civic education.

The men behind the market: Merchants, the Atlantic slave trade, and the shaping of South Carolina plantation society, 1700–1756

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the role played by merchants in the shaping of South Carolina plantation society in its early stages of development. In 1700 South Carolina was on the fringes of the British Empire. By mid-century the colony had become an integral part of the British Atlantic system. This dissertation addresses merchants' activity in the shaping of plantation society through their involvement in the Atlantic slave trade. Records of the British and South Carolina governments, and petitions from merchants on both sides of the Atlantic have been extremely valuable in understanding the complex and rapidly changing political affiliations of merchants on both sides of the Atlantic. These sources are valuable to this study since they illustrate the merchants' strategy of utilizing government policies to acquire the absolute best terms of trade. Records such as wills and inventories yielded valuable information on merchants' economic portfolios and provided valuable insight into their personal lives. The data shows that the integration of Colonial South Carolina into the global economy can be attributed to its merchant class, who actively sought out business opportunities in the global economy while working within the framework of British mercantilism.

An evaluation of depression, self-efficacy, satisfaction with life and perceived access to medical care across stages of HIV infection

This survey was designed to identify the incidence and scope of depression, satisfaction with life, self-efficacy and perceived access to medical care for those who are infected with the HIV virus. It also determined whether or not factors such as sexual orientation, ethnicity and socioeconomic status are intervening variables with respect to mental health issues. Subjects were recruited through a purposive sample from South Florida. A total of 871 surveys were used in the analysis. The overall response rate was nearly 90%. The incidence of depression was found to be higher than 75% across all stages of HIV infection. Furthermore, the incidence of depression increased as HIV disease progressed. Satisfaction with life and for the most part, self efficacy were found to decrease slightly as HIV disease progressed. Significant variance in depression, life satisfaction and self efficacy were found across stages of HIV infection. No significant differences between groups that were HIV infected were found for depression, life satisfaction and self efficacy. The severity of depression was found to vary significantly with self efficacy, life satisfaction and access to medical care but not with socioeconomic status. Life satisfaction was found to vary significantly with socioeconomic status, depression and self efficacy but not with access to medical care. Self-efficacy was found to vary significantly with socioeconomic status, depression and life satisfaction but not with access to medical care. Gender and ethnicity were not found to be significant precedent variables in depression for HIV infected individuals. Sexual orientation was found to be a significant precedent variable for depression, life satisfaction and self efficacy.

Life and death in the forest: Landscape agency during the Holocaust

To escape certain death during the Nazi regime, approximately eighty thousand terrorized and persecuted Eastern European Jews sought refuge in the forests surrounding their communities. Most often, their forest deaths were the result of Nazi-sponsored activities such as ghetto deportations and hunts for Jewish escapees. However, anti-Semitic partisans, partisan combat, hostile peasants, and environmental elements were also factors contributing to an estimated ninety percent fatality rate. This dissertation explored the role and meaning of forests to these Jewish fugitives. It investigated the bodily and social practices they developed to enhance their odds of survival in the forest landscape. I develop the concept of landscape agency as a response to my research question: What was it like to live and survive (or die) in the forest during the Holocaust? Moreover, it is an approach to theorizing about the humanity of space. Landscape agency builds upon a phenomenological approach to space and place that links landscape and action through bodily practices. This dissertation analyzed the fugitives' actions as functions of various forms of capital, namely economic, cultural and social. The sample included thirteen individuals who were themselves forest fugitives during the Holocaust. Face-face qualitative interviews were conducted from 2004 to 2006. Primary data from these interviews was used extensively to demonstrate the practices utilized in the fugitives' experiences with life and death in the forest. This study concluded that the odds of survival for forest fugitives were enhanced by use of landscape agency.

The response to an ESL population boom in the Beaufort County, South Carolina school system: A case study

The purpose of this case study was to examine the why the English language learners (ELLs) in the Beaufort County, South Carolina school system have been so successful. This school system has recently experienced a boom in its ESL student population, and this population has performed very well on standardized tests. This study used critical theory as its theoretical framework and examined why the students have been successful rather than marginalized in Beaufort County schools. This phenomenon was investigated using semi-structured interviews with the ESOL Coordinator for Beaufort County, 4 ESL-lead teachers, and 6 mainstream teachers.^ Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with Sarah Owen, the Beaufort County ESOL, Gifted and Talented, and World Languages coordinator. Based on the results of her interview, 4 themes emerged that were used for the semi-structured interviews with ESOL and mainstream teachers. The interviews centered on the themes of ESL policy, ESL leadership, and teacher training. The ESL and mainstream teacher interviews also revealed several subthemes that included teacher attitude, why Beaufort County has been successful with the ELLs, and the teachers' recommendations for other schools systems trying to successfully accommodate a large ESL student population in mainstream classrooms. ^ The findings from the teachers' interviews revealed that additional training for the teachers without ESL experience helped them become comfortable instructing ELLs. This training should be conducted by the ESOL teachers for those without ESOL certification or endorsement. As the teachers had more training, they had better attitudes about teaching ESOL students in their classes. Finally, those who utilized the additional ESOL training and ESOL accommodations saw better student achievement in their classes.^ Based on the finding of this study, the researcher proposed a model for other school systems to follow in order to replicate the success of Beaufort County's ELLs. The implications of this study focus on other schools systems and why ELLs are not obtaining the same level of success as those in Beaufort County's schools. Finally, recommendations for further research are provided.^

From Wovoka to Wounded Knee: deprivation of Sioux traditional life and the massacre of Wounded Knee in 1890

The purpose of this thesis is to explore deprivation experienced by the nineteenth century Sioux who suffered the loss of traditional lands, economic independence, buffalo, tribal customs, and religion. After years of reservation life, starvation, and deprivation at the hands of the U.S. government, white settlers, and reservation agents, the Sioux anxiously sought out a Paiute Indian Messiah named Wovoka whose message of a new Indian world spread rapidly throughout the Dakotas. The use of extensive historical and religious documents, as well as primary sources, will argue that the extent of desperation experienced by the Sioux drove them to accept the Ghost Dance as a substitute for the Sun Dance, the center of their traditional religious complex. With its hope of the resurrection of dead Indians, return of the buffalo, and renewal of the earth, it was immediately adopted leading ultimately to the massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890 and the passing of Wovoka's religion into history.

The Response to an ESL Population Boom in the Beaufort County, South Carolina School System: A Case Study

The purpose of this case study was to examine the why the English language learners (ELLs) in the Beaufort County, South Carolina school system have been so successful. This school system has recently experienced a boom in its ESL student population, and this population has performed very well on standardized tests. This study used critical theory as its theoretical framework and examined why the students have been successful rather than marginalized in Beaufort County schools. This phenomenon was investigated using semi-structured interviews with the ESOL Coordinator for Beaufort County, 4 ESL-lead teachers, and 6 mainstream teachers. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with Sarah Owen, the Beaufort County ESOL, Gifted and Talented, and World Languages coordinator. Based on the results of her interview, 4 themes emerged that were used for the semi-structured interviews with ESOL and mainstream teachers. The interviews centered on the themes of ESL policy, ESL leadership, and teacher training. The ESL and mainstream teacher interviews also revealed several subthemes that included teacher attitude, why Beaufort County has been successful with the ELLs, and the teachers’ recommendations for other schools systems trying to successfully accommodate a large ESL student population in mainstream classrooms. The findings from the teachers’ interviews revealed that additional training for the teachers without ESL experience helped them become comfortable instructing ELLs. This training should be conducted by the ESOL teachers for those without ESOL certification or endorsement. As the teachers had more training, they had better attitudes about teaching ESOL students in their classes. Finally, those who utilized the additional ESOL training and ESOL accommodations saw better student achievement in their classes. Based on the finding of this study, the researcher proposed a model for other school systems to follow in order to replicate the success of Beaufort County’s ELLs. The implications of this study focus on other schools systems and why ELLs are not obtaining the same level of success as those in Beaufort County’s schools. Finally, recommendations for further research are provided.