Do Enrollment in Special Education and Having a Learning Disability Influence Symptoms of Depression in Young Adulthood?

M.A.M.A. Thesis. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa 201

Thematic, Interdisciplinary Curricular Unit Developed For Fourth Grade On ‘The Science And Engineering Of Slime

Teaching literacy units based on language arts standards alone can leave some students lacking background knowledge and vocabulary that is necessary to deeply comprehend what they read. This reality led to the asking of the research question What is the impact of thematic, interdisciplinary teaching on students’ reading engagement and achievement in a language immersion setting? A review of pertinent literature was conducted regarding thematic, interdisciplinary instructional methodology, content area literacy, research-based practices for multilingual learners, and student engagement. In response, a thematic, interdisciplinary curricular unit capstone project was developed to provide students a learning context for literacy tasks. The four week unit created centers on the common theme of The Science and Engineering of Slime and incorporates language arts and content area objectives in a reader’s and writer’s workshop model for instruction

Consumer Behavior in Social Mediums: a Study of the Impact of Social Networking Sites and Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Games on College Students\u27 Academic and Social Lives

Consumer Behavior is an interdisciplinary field that marketers use to understand the wants and behavior of consumers. It focuses on how people decide to spend their available resources, such as time or money, on a product or service and examines issues such as why, how often, and the impact of making such a decision. This study will incorporate the Social Cognitive Theory\u27s assessment of expected outcomes based on consumers\u27 own direct experiences that incite continued participation with the Use and Gratification Theory\u27s idea of social need that may result in need gratification, leading to unintended results. Users of SNSs and MMORPGs participate in social mediums because they expect positive outcomes, such as being able to satisfy their social needs online. However, this may result in unintended consequences, such as lower grades or diminished faceto- face social interaction. My project examines the impact of social mediums on college students\u27 academic and social lives by looking at academic performance, the presence of a significant other, and social interaction, in search of any unintended consequences. The analyses show that SNS users who spend much time on SNSs have lower grades if they have at least one very strong pressure to study. Students without very strong pressure do not have lower grades if they spend much time on SNSs; in fact, moderate SNS users had slightly higher grades. I also found that females with who spend much time on SNSs are more likely to have a significant other than those who spend little time on SNSs. Males who spend much time on SNSs are less likely to have a significant other than males who spend little time on SNSs. Finally, the analyses show that students who spend more time on MMORPGs have lower grades than those who spend little time on them

Unf@cking People’s Problems: A Theory of Policing

One of the problems that has plagued policing researchers over the past few decades – ourselves included -- is the interminable question of ‘what do police do?’ Some ideas, tasks, roles, institutions and other social creations are easy to define. Policing has not been one of those. In part, it’s because it’s not only a descriptive problem, it’s also a normative one. Once you start to address the question of what do police do, then you also have to wrestle with the much meatier issue of ‘what do we want police to do’? In this paper, we exercise our theory chops in order to advance a new conceptualization of who police are, what they do and what do we, citizens, want them to do. Drawing on the relevant literature, and on our own individual and combined experiences, we argue these questions can be answered in one simple over-arching concept: the modern police institution exists to un@ck people’s problems

Lasting legacies : a framing analysis of religion news online and in legacy media

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on June 6, 2012).The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file.Thesis advisor: Dr. Debra MasonIncludes bibliographical references.M.A. University of Missouri--Columbia 2011."December 2011"This work examined 514 stories published at religion news niche websites, and the websites of legacy media in the U.S. to determine how stories about religion were framed online. Ten websites, chosen for their history of news coverage, geographic location and religion vertical, were analyzed for the study. Using the categories, or topoi, created by Mark Silk in his 1995 work "Unsecular Media," this research examined how religion news stories were framed online, which expands earlier research that explored frames as they appear in print. This work also built on the research of additional frames, or topoi as Silk writes, created to examine news framing at Catholic blogs and found that religion news niche websites made more use of these new categories than did legacy news outlets. Results showed that during the study period the frame or topos of tolerance was the most widely used in religion reporting, regardless of news outlet. This study concludes by discussing how the continuation of journalistic norms, particularly the use of conflict as a frame, perpetuates the criticisms of how religion news is reported

The proximate determinants of insect size

One of the least understood aspects of animal development – the determination of body size – is currently the subject of intense scrutiny. A new study employs a modeling approach to expose the factors that matter in the control of insect size

Arp2/3 complex activity in filopodia of spreading cells

Background Cells use filopodia to explore their environment and to form new adhesion contacts for motility and spreading. The Arp2/3 complex has been implicated in lamellipodial actin assembly as a major nucleator of new actin filaments in branched networks. The interplay between filopodial and lamellipodial protrusions is an area of much interest as it is thought to be a key determinant of how cells make motility choices. Results We find that Arp2/3 complex localises to dynamic puncta in filopodia as well as lamellipodia of spreading cells. Arp2/3 complex spots do not appear to depend on local adhesion or on microtubules for their localisation but their inclusion in filopodia or lamellipodia depends on the activity of the small GTPase Rac1. Arp2/3 complex spots in filopodia are capable of incorporating monomeric actin, suggesting the presence of available filament barbed ends for polymerisation. Arp2/3 complex in filopodia co-localises with lamellipodial proteins such as capping protein and cortactin. The dynamics of Arp2/3 complex puncta suggests that they are moving bi-directionally along the length of filopodia and that they may be regions of lamellipodial activity within the filopodia. Conclusion We suggest that filopodia of spreading cells have regions of lamellipodial activity and that this activity affects the morphology and movement of filopodia. Our work has implications for how we understand the interplay between lamellipodia and filopodia and for how actin networks are generated spatially in cells

Dogs as medicine: shedding light on the use of psychiatric assistance dogs

A psychiatric assistance dog (PAD) is a service dog that is trained to assist its handler (owner) who has been diagnosed with a mental health condition such as PTSD, depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder. Little is known about the population of people who own PADs, the type of dogs used or the functions they provide. One third (n = 199) of PAD owners registered with the charity 'mindDog' (that assists people procure, train and certify PADs) participated in an online survey to explore these matters. Results show that owners have differing mental health diagnoses, and their dogs performed different tasks to support them in daily life. PAD usage decreased (46%), increased (30%) or did not change (24%) participants' use of psychiatric or other healthcare services. Decrease in service use was mainly due to reduced suicide attempts, and less requirement for hospitalisation and medication; increased use was mainly due to enhanced ability to attend appointments. Results also suggest that successfulperson-dog teams do not require the dog to have been bred, raised and trained for the role by assistance/service dog provider organisations. These findings will inform clients and medical professionals, who play a pivotal role regarding their patients' application for a mindDog, about how dogs may be of assistance

The psychiatric assistance dog team: who uses the dogs and why?

Introduction: Psychiatric assistance dogs are a specific type of service dog trained to assist their handler with psychiatric disabilities. Little is known about the population who own psychiatric assistance dogs, the dogs or the functions they provide. Methods: Psychiatric assistance dog owners in Australia registered with the charity mindDog were invited to participate in an online survey created using cloud-based software from SurveyMonkey to gain a better understanding of the psychiatric assistance dog team. Results: 199 people completed the survey. Participants learned about psychiatric assistance dogs through a health care practitioner (32%), friends/family (30%) or the internet (37%). The dogs in the sample were of varying age, gender and breed. The most common reasons for choosing the dogs were size, weight and temperament. Just over half had been acquired specifically to train as an assistance dog. Participants median age was 47 years [10-75] and 77% identified as female. Depression (84%), anxiety (generalised 60% and social 60%), PTSD (62%) and panic attacks (57%) were the most common mental health diagnoses of this population. The most common tasks the dogs performed were: reduction of anxiety through tactile stimulation (94%); nudging or pawing to bring back to the present (71%); interrupting unwanted behaviour (51%); constant body contact (50%); deep pressure stimulation (45%) and blocking contact from other people (42%). Owning a service dog had decreased (46%), increased (30%) or not changed (24%) participants use of psychiatric or other health care services. Conclusions and relevance: Psychiatric assistance dog owners have a variety of mental health conditions and their dogs fulfil different tasks to help in daily life. Understanding this population and the relationship between the owners and their dogs may help inform the appropriate choice, training and use of assistance dogs for people with mental health issues

Psychiatric assistance dog use for people living with mental health disorders

A psychiatric assistance dog (PAD) is a service dog that is trained to assist its handler (owner) who has been diagnosed with a mental health condition such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder. Literature searches reveal that little is known about the population of people who own PADs, the types of dogs used or the functions they provide. One third (n = 199) of PAD owners in Australia registered with the charity "mindDog" participated in an online survey designed to better understand the person and dog team. Participants learned about PADs through the internet (37%), health care practitioners (32%), or family/friends (30%). The dogs in the sample were of varying age, gender and breed. The most common reasons for people to choose a dog to be a PAD were temperament (60%) and size/weight (48%). Just under half (48%) of the dogs had been acquired by the owner specifically to be trained as a PAD, and the rest were existing pets. All the dogs were trained by the owner or a combination of the owner and a qualified trainer; none were trained exclusively by assistance/service dog provider organizations. The median age of the participants at the time of data collection was 47 years, ranging from 10 to 75 years. Most (77%) identified as female. Depression (84%), anxiety (social 61%; generalized 60%), PTSD (62%), and panic attacks (57%) were the most reported mental health diagnoses. Tasks the dogs performed for their owners included: reduction of anxiety through tactile stimulation (94%); nudging/pawing to bring back to the present (71%); interrupting undesirable behavior (51%); constant body contact (50%); deep pressure stimulation (45%) and blocking contact from other people (42%). PAD usage decreased (46%), increased (30%) or did not change (24%) participants' use of psychiatric or other health care services. Decrease in service use was mainly due to reduced suicide attempts, and less requirement for hospitalization and medication; increased use was mainly due to enhanced ability to attend appointments. Results of this study show that PAD owners have differing mental health diagnoses, and their dogs perform different tasks to support them in daily life. Every participant described the relationship with his/her PAD as positive, suggesting that a successful working partnership does not require the dog to have been bred or raised specifically for the role. A better understanding of this population and the person-dog relationship will inform the appropriate choice, training and use of PADs for people living with mental health problems