Challenging Behaviors in Young Children: The Father\u27s Role

In this study, the authors examined the parenting practices, developmental expectations, and stress levels of 136 fathers and the challenging and prosocial behaviors of their 1- to 5-year-old children. In addition, the authors systematically addressed fathers\u27 qualitative concerns about their parenting. The authors divided the participants into 4 groups and controlled for family socioeconomic status (SES) and the focus child\u27s gender. Results showed a significantly higher use of corporal and verbal punishment and parenting stress among lower income fathers. Secondary analyses demonstrated a significant effect of paternal disciplinary practices that emphasized the frequent use of corporal and verbal punishment on child behavior problems, regardless of SES level. On a positive note, fathers from both lower and higher SES groups had reasonable developmental expectations for their boys and girls, and they reported similar frequencies of their children\u27s prosocial behavior. The authors discuss the need for early parent education programs that include fathers and that teach specific strategies to address child behavior problems

Voluntary Simplicity and its effects on personal identity, family life, and relationships

With the seemingly endless advance of technology and the resulting cheaper material goods, consumption levels have risen to record highs. Over-consumption is having devastating effects on the environment, as well as on families and societies. We are encouraged by the advertising industry to consume at every turn, and buying things has become a substitute source of self-worth for many people. But an abundance of material items has not brought personal fulfillment for most Americans. A growing number of people have begun to question the hollow promises of consumerism, searching instead for alternative ways to find contentment, meaning, and purpose in their lives. One current incarnation of this search comes in the form of Voluntary Simplicity (VS). VS is a lifestyle choice, and is a relative term, depending on the climate, customs, and culture in which an individual lives. VS does not refer to a concrete set of rules that one must obey in order to practice simple living. Instead, the individual, within the context of his or her own life, culture, and desires, must decide upon particular VS strategies. VS involves both an inner and an outer condition. Internally, VS includes sincerity and honesty within and a deliberate organization of one\u27s life for a purpose. It also includes guiding one\u27s energy and desires, with partial restraint in some directions in order to secure greater abundance of life in other directions. Outwardly, VS often includes an avoidance of material clutter, and a freeing of one\u27s self from the complexities of modern life, in order to focus on one\u27s own purpose. VS is an understanding that our lives are enriched by the simple and elementary things in life, and not the complexities. Currently, people who practice voluntary simplicity are often called VSers. These people are frequently going against the pressure from the advertising industry and mainstream society, and are creating a life that is meaningful to them, and environmentally friendly. Guided by symbolic interactionism (SI), I administered questionnaires to 22 VSers and then conducted 13 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with respondents to explore the effects this lifestyle has on family life and relationships. Does it affect the relationship between married couples, especially when one partner chooses VS and the other does not? Does a VS lifestyle of one partner influence the other partner to make the same choices? Does simple living affect the way VS parents raise their children? Does a VS lifestyle affect the type and depth of relationships between family members? These are some of the questions I sought to answer with this research. I also sought to understand how participating in VS affects how one\u27s personal identity is continually shaped and reshaped by this lifestyle choice. Using symbolic interactionism, a perspective where people are seen as actors who are constantly defining and redefining themselves, does a VS lifestyle contribute to the way one sees one\u27s self? Does it affect the way one presents one\u27s self to society? This research was conducted, in part, to understand how simple living affects personal identity

Drones, Signals, and the Techno-Colonisation of Landscape

This research project is a cross-disciplinary, creative practice-led investigation that interrogates increasing military interest in the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS). The project’s central argument is that painted visualisations of normally invisible aspects of contemporary EMS-enabled warfare can reveal useful, novel, and speculative but informed perspectives that contribute to debates about war and technology. It pays particular attention to how visualising normally invisible signals reveals an insidious techno-colonisation of our extended environment from Earth to orbiting satellites

St. Mary's College, Durham, and the Development of Women's Higher Education in England.1895-1952

This thesis focuses on the women students of St. Mary's College, Durham, from the granting of the Supplementary Charter in 1895 admitting women to the university degrees and the subsequent foundation of St. Mary's as a hostel in 1899, through to the move into the new college buildings in 1952. The background to the growth of higher education for women is discussed, as are the general patterns of growth of St. Mary's College, in terms of student numbers. However, a thematic approach rather than a chronological one has been taken. The personal details of every student, as contained in the College register, were entered on a database, and, as a result, comprehensive information about the age, social class, and regional and educational background of the student body is presented. Other themes, such as the financial aid available, the courses studied and the degrees achieved, are also examined, in order to gauge the development of the market for women's higher education. A comparative element has been introduced by the inclusion of information from the contemporary St. Hilda's College, Oxford, founded in 1893. By breaking down the information on both colleges into smaller time periods it is possible to see how the recruitment pattern changed and the effect of national events such as World War and economic depression. The continued constraints upon women students, the numerous rules and regulations governing their lives at college and the male reaction to their presence, are also considered. Finally, investigation into the student's "after-lives", in terms of marital status and career after graduation, demonstrates how higher education affected the employment prospects and social class of the women involved, and allows an assessment to be made of the impact of collegiate based higher education upon the individual

WORKING AT THE WATER\u27S EDGE: Reconnecting the people of Charleston with the Water

Water is a chemical compound fundamental to life. When many people first think of water, it is the water used for everyday activities and drinking that may come to mind. What is frequently overlooked is the fact that 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered with water and 96.5% of Earth’s water is found in oceans and seas (U.S. Geological Survey). What may not be as clear is the importance of these bodies of water to the surrounding towns and cities. Since it’s founding in 1670, Charleston, South Carolina has always had a strong relationship with the water. One could call Charleston an aquatic project. The city is located in southeastern South Carolina, on a peninsula between the Cooper River and the Ashley River. You cannot find yourself getting far in or around Charleston without crossing over a body of water. Although the proximity of water has not always been a pleasant situation for Charleston with the Civil War, hurricanes, and ever changing water levels, it has helped shape the city to what it is today. This project is focused on bringing back Charleston’s connection with the water. With modern technology and innovations, locals and tourists have seemed to lose touch with the water on an everyday basis. The design of a multi-use ferryboat terminal and maritime center located at the end of one of the most popular streets in the downtown area is going to reconnect both the locals and tourists of Charleston back with the water both visually and spatially. The city has acknowledged the problems with the end of Market Street and is looking to Cooper, Robinson & Partners to work with the South Carolina State Ports Authority to redevelop this area. The major aspect of Cooper, Robinson & Partners proposal is the newly designed cruise ship terminal and it’s new location. I have chosen to take some aspects of this proposal into consideration and to take advantage of the newly created view corridor down Market Street. With details such as “eco-parks”, restoration of the natural shoreline, interactive pedestrian bridges, viewing towers, and ferry boat routes, my design will bring back the industrial, historic character of Union Pier Terminal while creating opportunities for locals and visitors to experience something not yet found in Charleston, South Carolina

An Integrated Approach for Predicting Nitrogen Status in Early Cotton and Corn

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) and corn (Zea mays L.) spectral reflectance holds promise for deriving variable rate N (VRN) treatments calibrated with red-edge inflection (REI) type vegetation indices (VIs). The objectives of this study were to define the relationships between two commercially available sensors and the suitable VIs used to predict N status. Field trials were conducted during the 2012-2013 growing seasons using fixed and variable N rates in cotton ranging from 33.6-134.4 kg N ha-1 and fixed N rates in corn ranging from 0.0 to 268.8 kg N ha-1. Leaf N concentration, SPAD chlorophyll and crop yield were analyzed for their relation to fertilizer N treatment. Sensor effects were significant and red-edge VIs most strongly correlated to N status. A theoretical ENDVI index was derived from the research dataset as an improvement and alternative to the Guyot’s Red Edge Inflection and Simplified Canopy Chlorophyll Content Index (SI)

A Mental Health Clinic for Toddlers with Developmental Delays and Behavior Problems

A mental health clinic was developed for toddlers with developmental disabilities and significant behavior problems from families living in poverty. The clinic was a collaborative effort between a community-based Birth-to-Three agency and a university. The purpose of this clinic was threefold: to provide direct mental health services for these young children, to train graduate students to work with this population, and to begin to contribute to the limited research available in this area. This paper describes the clinical intake procedures and outcomes for the 81 children served by the clinic over a 2-year period. Referral concerns included tantrums, aggression, oppositional behaviors, hyperactivity, and self-injury. The children came from a diverse group of families living in poverty; single mothers with less than a high school education headed most of the households. The clinical intake included direct observations of parent–child interactions, child behavior assessments, and parental interviews and self-report measures. For the present sample, 77% of the children met the criteria for a developmental disability and nearly 70% also met the criteria for a psychiatric disorder. The most common diagnosis was oppositional defiant disorder. Discussion regarding the challenges inherent in working with families of toddlers with developmental delays and psychiatric disorders living in low-income circumstances is included