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This research examines a group of UK Catholic charities working in the field of homelessness and social exclusion in order to understand how their Catholicity is constituted and how this impacts on their practice. I argue that their Catholicity is primarily found in how their practices enact, test and extend Catholic social vision rather than in institutional alignment. I demonstrate that the charities have an ecclesiological specificity which official Catholic texts fail to recognise. They operate across the porous boundaries of the visible Church, drawing into their work people who share elements of the social vision articulated in Catholic thought and tradition. Theologically, they enact the Catholic intuition about the meaning of social bonds and reciprocal human flourishing by working to counter social exclusion and vulnerability and point social realities towards the Kingdom. Their location on ecclesial boundaries, their inclusiveness, and their embeddedness in secular structures of social welfare and politics, are necessary conditions of social mission. I use the concept of the common good as a hermeneutic in order to read the charities as a case study testing how Catholic social teaching's methodological strategies propose shared moral horizons. Using Thomas Bushlack's concept of civic virtue in conversation with normative Catholic social teaching about the common good enables fresh insights into the practices which enact this principle. The charities discover the meaning of the common good by recognising and wrestling with the absence of the conditions that enable people to seek fulfilment. Their asymmetrical relational work, shaped by their narratives, renders an abstract and elusive concept as a real and practical task. Their communally held and inclusively enacted intuitions disclose pragmatic coherence with Conciliar ecclesiology and validate its orientations. The charities act as agents and inventors of mediated social mission, illuminating an expansive Catholicity.

This practicum project evaluated the effectiveness of a peer counseling, mentoring, and tutoring program to enhance the transition of students from elementary to middle school by reducing behavior problems and absenteeism, and by enhancing students' ability to deal with academic or peer difficulties. The problem of adjustment to the transition from elementary to middle school was documented through school and teacher records, especially the number of teacher referrals for behavioral, emotional, and social problems and the number of student-generated help forms asking for assistance in resolving academic and social problems. The 8-month intervention consisted of a peer counseling, mentoring, and tutoring program. The tutors were seventh and eighth graders in the same school. The Pause, Prompt, and Praise tutoring method was taught to student mentors and tutors. Sixth graders were matched to a mentor/tutor and they met twice weekly to become acquainted and to work on academic and other concerns. Both tutors and tutees maintained journals detailing the problems, discussions, and possible solutions for each session. The process was monitored to identify potential serious student problems. Evaluation findings indicated that there was a reduction in student-generated help forms requesting assistance with an academic problem, teacher-generated referrals for problem behaviors, and absenteeism. In addition, students were able to write transition problem statements with resolution strategies and achieve a passing 1.0 or better report card grade. (Seven appendices include forms used in the intervention. Contains 60 references.)

This practicum was designed to increase the use of study skills of sixth-grade students in the social studies. Study skills pretests were administered to students with results showing student difficulties in acquiring the concepts of social studies and achieving passing scores on tests. A unit on study skills was integrated within each chapter with emphasis on using resource materials, interpreting data, and creating outlines for use as study guides. Individual projects, group activities, and games were used to reinforce each skill. Posttests at the end of the study skills unit indicated the majority of students learned how to effectively use resource materials, interpret data, and write outlines. Chapter test mean scores during implementation showed improvement of students' abilities in acquiring social studies concepts and in achieving higher test scores. (EH)

This thesis was based on five multi-agency, urban Partnerships at the heart of the Accommodate Project: An initiative that set out to stimulate grassroots resolution to the problem of refugee housing, settlement and integration, at a time when large numbers of people were arriving seeking asylum in the UK. Refugee Community Organisations (RCOs) were engaged by the Housing Associations’ Charitable Trust (hact) to work alongside housing providers, local authority partners and others, for three years in five cities where refugees were struggling to find permanent housing. My original contribution to knowledge concerned study of the Partnerships from the perspective of organisations working with the most socially excluded, the RCOs. The Partnerships created a structure where power could be brokered. Research was conducted in a critical realist tradition in order to discover the relationship between emerging themes. Connections made between structural barriers and local interaction meant this approach presented a bigger picture view that other methodologies might have overlooked. A longitudinal methodology tracked progression from the marginalised position that was the starting point for many RCOs, struggling to survive and fill the gaps in service provision for community members. By the end of the Project, RCO partners had changed attitudes, improved access to housing services and transformed institutional relations between social housing providers and refugees. Hact’s support for RCO capacity building was fundamental to their being able to influence the agenda, define the solutions and participate in policy decision-making. The Accommodate Project created a learning space that countered marginalisation by actively involving community groups in cross-sector partnerships. This study demonstrates that community empowerment is an accumulative yet uneven process. A participatory approach allows less engaged groups to learn quickly from those that are better established. If the intention of community empowerment is to lead to fundamental change, the role of active management strategies by a catalyst such as hact is paramount. The thesis deploys and develops theories of community empowerment and network management to conceptualise the social inclusion of marginalised groups.

Water resources located in more than one country are complex systems governed by customary international law embodied in a rule known as equitable and reasonable utilisation, a recent development in international law not yet been applied by an international tribunal to resolve a dispute or to allocate transboundary water resources between countries. Water scarcity on a global scale has reached critical proportions with 1.1 billion people without access to sufficient safe water for personal and domestic use; over half that number depend on transboundary watercourses that will disappear over the next century. Conflicts of use over shared water resource have the potential to escalate into armed conflict; certainty in the peaceful means to avoid and resolve disputes is needed. The thesis examines international procedural practice and jurisprudence applying equitable principles in a case study to illustrate how equitable and reasonable utilisation may be applied by an international tribunal. The survey of international practice will inform States about procedural options for dispute avoidance and resolution in disputes over the use of transboundary water resources.

Using a causal-comparative design, this quantitative study investigated whether or not the curriculum integration of academic subjects with career and technical education classes affected secondary students' academic performance as assessed by scores on standardized tests. The purposive sample was drawn from students in Trade and Industry classes at the cooperating institution during the 2007-2012 school years. The experimental sample consisted of 58 students who had been in a career academy and the control group consisted of 58 students who were matched with the experimental group on gender, home school, and year of graduation. The independent variable was the students' enrollment in a career academy where academic and CTE teachers work together to integrate the curriculum. The dependent variables were the students' scores earned on the Tennessee English II and Algebra II End of Course exams, the TCAP 11th Grade Writing Assessment, and ACT reading, English, math, and composite scores. Also, the mean predicted ACT composite scores were compared to mean actual ACT composite scores. The students' PLAN test scores were used as baseline data. Seven null hypotheses were tested at alpha = 0.05 using independent sample t-tests, and five null hypotheses were tested at alpha = 0.05 using Mann-Whitney "U"-tests. All 12 null hypotheses were retained; there were no significant differences in test scores of the experimental group compared to the control group. Recommendations for practice include continued professional development for teachers who are participating in academic integration, the consistent use of research-based strategies which have been shown to have a positive effect on integration, and that teachers should have sufficient time to collaborate on integrated lessons. Further research into the effect of the integration of academic and CTE curricula on students' ACT scores is recommended, as well as research to investigate the effects of extraneous variables such as gender and students with disabilities. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

This study’s goal is to give voice to the experiences of one individual: Dr. Ruth Simmons, the first woman president of Brown University and the first African American president of an Ivy League institution. Simmons’ HerStory is a narrative of her becoming rather than being. It is a story of her moving forward. In this study Simmons is permitted to take back her narrative by telling HerStory, in her own words and along with sharing her ethos. HerStory provides insight into and a deep understanding of how Simmons became the president and what shaped her development spanning from her childhood to her presidency at Brown. Simmons’ multiple firsts place her in a unique category and demonstrates the need for more opportunities to be created for African American women to be presidents of four-year PWIs such as Ivy League and doctorate granting institutions.Simmons is an activist, change agent, and transformational leader. Black feminism was used as a lens to examine Simmons’ HerStory while applying Few, Stephens and Rouse-Arnett’s (2003) three dimensions of power that empower women, personal, interpersonal and institutional. These themes describe ways in which others empowered Simmons, and how Simmons empowered herself and others, as well as society on her journey to the presidency.

Animals forage in complex environments in which they must constantly make decisions about which resources to approach and which to avoid. Many factors can influence these foraging decisions including perception and cognition. Predators that locate prey by eavesdropping on prey mating calls face a challenging foraging task because they must be able to identify which species-specific prey signals indicate palatable prey. My thesis investigates such foraging decisions in eavesdropping bats. The Neotropical fringe-lipped bat, Trachops cirrhosus, locates its frog and katydid prey by eavesdropping on the prey's calls. One of the prey of T. cirrhosus in Panamá is the túngara frog, Physalaemus pustulosus, that can make simple calls consisting of a "whine" alone, or complex calls which are a whine followed by 1-7 "chucks". In my first chapter I examine what components of frog calls bats use to identify and localize them. I assess how bats respond to the two components of the complex calls of P. pustulosus, and report that, unlike female frogs, bats respond to the chuck component alone but preferentially approach the whine. Next, I examine how response to prey cues is affected by prey availability by assessing the response of T. cirrhosus to geographically and seasonally variable prey. I find population and seasonal differences in response to some prey cues but not to other cues. Trachops cirrhosus can also learn novel prey cues from exposure to a conspecific tutor (social learning). My third chapter examines the conditions that influence when bats socially learn novel prey cues. I discover that bats are more likely to use social information to learn novel prey cues when the cue they are currently using to find food is unreliable. In my fourth and final chapter I address how eavesdropping can contribute to the evolution and diversification of bats by investigating the potential of eavesdropping on katydid calls for niche partitioning in two closely related bat species, the European greater and lesser mouse-eared bats, Myotis myotis and Myotis blythii oxygnathus. Together these studies highlight the role of cognition in foraging decisions and consider the consequences of eavesdropping for niche partitioning.

The activated sludge wastewater treatment process is the most common technology used today and solids separation is a critical and often problematic component of this technology. This leads to requirements for larger clarifiers, increased pumping costs of the diluted settled solids stream, and increased costs for solids treatment. For the past thirty years, the majority of the research in secondary settling problems has focused on the role of filamentous bacteria, and also factors such as floc size and shape. The effects of variable biomass density on settleability of biosolids produced in full scale activated sludge wastewater treatment systems has been recently been demonstrated, and seasonal variability in biomass settleability is known to occur at many wastewater treatment plants. The role of density in such temporal variations has not been previously studied. Research evaluating temporal variation in biomass density and filamentous bacteria content and the roles these parameters play in solids separation was performed. Three different filamentous bacteria quantification methods were employed and comparison of these methods was evaluated. Additionally, the effects of metal coagulant addition for phosphorus removal on biomass density and settleability were evaluated. The objectives of this research were to (1) evaluate whether biomass density varies on a seasonal basis in full scale wastewater treatment systems, and if this contributes to seasonal variations in settleability, (2) evaluate if biomass density varies on a shorter timescale (weekly), and whether this is correlated with changes in settleability, (3) compare various methods of filamentous bacteria quantification, (4) investigate how precipitant addition effects biomass density and settleability. Seasonal variation in biomass density was observed in four activated sludge plants, with high density occurring during warm weather and low density occurring during cold weather. Biomass density and filament content were both determined to influence settleability, and non-volatile solids content was strongly correlated with biomass density. Weekly variations in biomass density were not observed in selector equipped wastewater plants under stable operating conditions; however, significant variation in biomass density, settleability, and polyphosphate content were observed during process start-up and process upset events at a single full scale wastewater plant designed to perform nitrification, denitrification, and enhanced biological phosphorus removal. Methods of quantifying filament content based on microscopic imaging were compared, including the Filament Index ranking, automated image analysis, and manual tracing methods. The filament length/floc area ratio determined by automated and manual methods is a measure that is reliant only on information in microscope images. Filament length/dry solids were determined using a hemacytometer slide and manual tracing, which allows quantification of filaments within a known volume. The relationships between these three methods of measurements were determined, which may aid in comparisons of filament content presented in other studies, both past and future. Precipitant addition using aluminum and iron salts was positively correlated with biomass density; however, counter to the study hypothesis, settleability degraded rather than improved. This result may be due to the development of large precipitate structures that, although of relatively high density, inhibited compaction of the biomass.

The purpose of this study was to examine African-American Division I football players’ perceptions of their ability to balance their roles as “students” and “athletes”. Three major questions were addressed: Can student-athletes balance both the roles of “student” and “athlete”? If so, how are they able to do so? And, are they truly successful at it? Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with eight African-American football players at a Division I university. Six themes emerged which included: (a) parental emphasis on education and sport; (b) “childhood dreams” versus sport realities; (c) reality check; (d) perceptions of student-athletes; (e) pressure to become a “man”; and (f) being a student-athlete. Future directions for research, sport psychology consultants and athletic department staff are also given.

The importance of instructional software design stems primarily from the teaching and learning activities it enables. While features can support students in making appropriate connections in their own developing knowledge structures, research has shown that even when software is designed for particular activities, the activities may not occur, and learning may be impeded. It is therefore important to examine students' actual patterns of use during software interaction. Previous research suggested some learners benefit from a hypermedia environment Seeing Through Chemistry, but more information was needed about the impact of various design features on student use and the relationship between use and learning outcomes. In this study, I quantify student use through base and revision patterns, examine impact of patterns on explanation quality, and describe how features may influence usage. Participants were 180 volunteers in their first college chemistry course where Seeing Through Chemistry was required. The study focused on two modules. Primary data sources were patterns of use extracted from computer-captured log files, and quality scores assigned (post-hoc) to student initial and final explanations for the 16 questions of interest. Consistent with expectations, results indicate that patterns of use were related to performance. Reading content sometimes led to a higher quality initial explanation, and in no situation did ignoring the content result in a better explanation. Revisers significantly improved, and had higher quality final explanations than students who did not revise. Referring to cards sometimes led to higher gain scores. Most students established a fairly consistent base pattern that they used throughout these two modules. However, their application of revision patterns was more variable. This suggests that the tendency to start with cards or questions (base pattern) was perhaps more a characteristic of the student, while the tendency to revise and refer (revision pattern) was more a reflection on the question itself or design features of the software. Students revised more often with harder questions and better model responses. Instructional designers should encourage revision of both right and wrong responses, provide clear feedback, and track student use. Furthermore, designers should encourage learning through moderately hard questions that require students to synthesize.

The purposes of this study were to characterize MANAGE program participants by their personal characteristics, characteristics of their farm, how they benefitted from the program, what changes they made in their farming operation, how satisfied they were with those changes, and how they rated the usefulness of the information and assistance they received, and to determine the interrelationship among these variables. As of October 1987, 681 farm families received intensive farm and financial planning assistance from farm Extension management specialists and plan implementation assistance from the County Extension staff. Four hundred fifteen participants later completed a Participation Evaluation survey which was administered by area farm management specialists. Data obtained included the participant's personal characteristics, farm operation characteristics, changes participants made in their farm operation, what the participants gained from the information, and the participant's rating of the information and assistance received as a participant in the Tennessee Agricultural Extension MANAGE program. The data were processed for computer analysis and computations were made by the University of Tennessee Computing Center. The chi square test was used to determine the significance and strength of relationships between the dependent and independent variables. The .05 level of probability was chosen for determining significance. Major findings included the following: 1. The MANAGE program participants' age ranged from 19 to 74 with the average being 42. Nearly 40 percent had completed high school, while about 30 percent attended college and another 30 percent graduated from college. 2. The majority of the participants either owned, rented or operated more than 200 acres. 3. About 35 percent of the participants indicated a need for a major change in their organizational plans. As a whole, the participants made an average of two changes each in their operation; the majority either improved crop and livestock production rates and/or reduced costs and/or they changed the quantity of certain enterprises. 4. About 80 percent of the participants were pleased with the results of the changes they made in their farm/family operation. Only in the case of those who left farming (8 participants) was the percentage of dissatisfied (approximately 50 percent) and satisfied (approximately 50 percent) participants equal. 5. The benefits which more than 60 percent of the participants reported to have received from the program were answers to their questions, increased planning capabilities, and a greater understanding of their financial situation. The average number of benefits each participant received was three. 6. There was a significant difference between the participants' age and whether or not they increased certain enterprises or sold real estate. Those who were age 35 or younger were more likely to increase their enterprises than those 46 or older; those who were 46 or older were more likely to have sold real estate than those who were 35 or younger. 7. There also was a significant relationship between the participants' educational level and whether or not they received a greater understanding of how debt affected farm business and whether they increased their planning capabilities. The college graduates were more likely to have increased their planning capabilities than the high school graduates, but the high school graduates were more likely to have received a greater understanding of how debt affected their farm business than were the college graduates. 8. More than 80 percent of the participants rated the program to be useful and more than 95 percent stated they would use the program again if needed. Neither the participants age, education, or farm size was found to be significantly related to how they rated the program. Implications and recommendations also were included in the study.