Democracy in action: A case study of InternetforEveryone.org

In this research, I investigated the process by which a media reform organization involves the public in informing media policy. Through a case study I examined the InternetforEveryone.org initiative of the media reform organization Free Press, and the democratic development of media policy, specifically the framework for a national broadband plan. I performed my research within the larger framework of the United States democracy. For that reason, I investigate the democratic values and practices of the initiative. To inform my research, I engaged in multiple forms of ethnographic methods, including participant observations, open-ended in-depth interviews, and examination of internal and external documents. I analyzed my findings according to the initiative’s goals, strategies, and tactics and framed them within resource mobilization theory (RMT). My findings reveal the initiative’s operations support the basic tenets of RMT. I also found that the initiative was operating in a democratic manner on three levels. Their primary goal and the manner in which they engaged the public and their coalition members were all democratically significant. In addition, I call attention to the role of public sociology in civil society. As an intern at Free Press, I had the opportunity to engage in public sociology with policy implications. I reflect on this experience and the tension between being a public sociologist and working in the field. Lastly, I recommend further research into the successful adoption rates of policy recommendations developed through deliberative town hall models such as InternetforEveryone.org’s. I also recommend further research into the effect the Internet in general, and the use of social networking sites specifically, is having on modern organizing

Bernardino of Sienna and the Valois

The French sermon Les Douze Périls d’enfer highlights the fifteenth-century interest in the art of dying well and confession. Drawing upon visual and textual evidence, this poster focuses on the origin of the sermon, specifically its connections with the Observant Franciscans and the Valois monarchy. The French text is demonstrated to be an augmented translation of a Latin sermon by Bernardino of Sienna, whose canonization in 1450 may have served as impetus for the translation. Commissioned by a Valois queen, the sermon exemplifies the Valois support of the Franciscans, which at times was contentious

Keeping the keys: mentoring and support for aspiring principals

The purpose of this research is to determine a comprehensive support system for assistant principals that would assist them in transitioning to a principalship. The life stories shared by the practitioners will give the reader insights into the world of school administration. Through hearing about the joys, the struggles, the responsibilities, the preparation, the multitasking nature of the job, and the stress that has resulted in many new principals' desire to return the keys to the school and exit the profession, the reader will see the critical need to develop a network of support systems prior to the first year in the principalship to ensure success and sustainability. A phenomenological approach was taken approach in conducting this research as lived experiences of the participants were captured through the interview process. Inasmuch as phenomenological researchers seek to understand essential truths about lived experiences, this qualitative approach best met the needs of the problem statement: What are the supports, as perceived by principals, assistant principals, and principal coaches that are needed for assistant principals that will provide a smooth transition to the principalship? The interview data was coded to search for the themes that emerged and lead to the summarization and recommendations that will ultimately envelope school administrators with layers of support that are critical for their success. The power of mentors and coaches, the role of the university, the supports that school districts can provide, the need for meaningful professional development, the challenges of school leadership, the critical role of instructional leadership, and the power of trusting relationships are all explored and examined in the context of ensuring the types of support that keep the keys to the school on the keychain of the new principal

A motor creativity test for college women

The purpose of this study was to develop a tool for measuring the motor creativity of college women. The theoretical construct of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking, Figural Form, was used as the model to develop twelve movement tasks for exploratory purposes. The tasks consisted of three types of activities: a warm-up activity with one stimulator, an activity with several stimulators, and an activity with one repeated, traditional stimulator. To determine the construct validity of the motor creativity test, the researcher examined the movement performances which subjects performed in the twelve movement tasks of the exploratory and pilot studies and rated each task on a scale of seven criteria. On the basis of these ratings, three tasks were selected as valid for the motor creativity test. A scoring system was devised to enable judges to describe, analyze and evaluate the movement performances of subjects on five variables - fluency, originality, flexibility, elaboration and motor creativity

The Deianeiran heroine in six English tragedies, 1603-1703

This text comprises a synchronic study of seven plays: Sophocles' Trachiniae, Thomas Heywood's A Woman Killed with Kindness, Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher's The Maid's Tragedy, John Ford's The Broken Heart, Thomas Otway's Venice Preserved, Thomas Southerne's The Fatal Marriage, and Nicholas Rowe's The Fair Penitent. The primary aim of this study is to define the female protagonist in each as a Deianeiran heroine, a counterpoint to the familiar Herculean hero. The secondary aim of this study is to enhance the critical reputations of these plays, which have suffered because the female protagonists have been misunderstood. Much of the critical undervaluation of these plays is ascribable to the pha1locentric tendency of liberal humanist scholars to consider masculine values as superior to feminine values, at least in the world of dramatic tragedy. Because the heroines in these plays remain true to feminine value systems, they have often been classified as passive victims who wallow in self-indulgent grief. The Deianeiran heroine possesses traditional female virtues--love of home and family and a belief in the sacredness of the vows of love. Coupled with these virtues is an inherited belief in obedience to patriarchal authority, in itself a traditional female virtue

A comparison of PTSD and subthreshold PTSD symptom network structures

A categorical framework is used in most research and clinical settings to diagnose individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), leaving a subset of individuals who do not endorse the full criteria for PTSD, but who do express functional impairment and distress, under-researched and without therapeutic direction. These individuals are thought to have subthreshold PTSD (subPTSD). Researchers have demonstrated that people with subPTSD experience functional impairment to a similar degree as those with PTSD. However, researchers have not yet investigated how symptom-level associations vary between these diagnostic levels, which is important to understand how the experiences of subPTSD and PTSD are similar and different. The current study uses a statistical tool called network analysis to compare the symptom network structures of subPTSD to the symptom networks of the two diagnostic extremes (i.e., PTSD and trauma-exposed controls), as well as to model a network using the full sample. Centrality indices of strength, closeness, and betweenness were measured to determine which symptoms were most influential in the networks; the Network Comparison Test was used to statistically compare the networks; and tests were run to determine the stability and reliability of the networks. The strength index was reliably estimated for the full sample, and the most central nodes were difficulty concentrating, flashbacks, and physiological reactivity. Of these, physiological reactivity has been found to be a central symptom in the literature most often. All indices of centrality for the PTSD and trauma-exposed control groups were unreliable; even though the strength index of centrality was reliable for subPTSD, the results of this network could not be compared to the others. Although the results of this study did not produce reliable results for the networks of the subsamples, conceptualizing mental illness using the network model has the potential to inspire new hypotheses and lead to advances in our understanding of mental illness

Legal aspects of teacher dismissal on grounds of incompetence

Teacher incompetency has been a major issue in American public education. In dealing with the incompetent teacher, school administrators and school boards face the dilemma of balancing their responsibility of providing quality education to public school students against the legal procedures and requirements which must be observed both prior to and during dismissal proceedings brought against the teacher. Key questions were raised in this study and answers were provided. The questions addressed major educational issues regarding teacher dismissal for incompetence, the historical basis for due process rights of teachers, statutory differences in how states treat teacher dismissal on grounds of incompetency, the relevant areas for determining whether a teacher is incompetent, legal principles established by important cases and particular trends deduced from an analysis of court decisions regarding teacher dismissal for incompetence, the role of due process in the dismissal of incompetent tenured teachers, and steps which should be taken by school administrators to insure that the dismissal of a teacher for incompetency will be upheld by the courts if litigated

Classical Galois theory

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the correspondence between groups of automorphsims and fields and to prove the Fundamental Theorem of Galois Theory. The fields under consideration are infinite. Chapter I is devoted to the basic definitions and theorems needed throughout the paper. It has been assumed that the reader has a knowledge of the basic properties of groups, rings, integral domains, fields, and isomorphisms. Standard theorems have been stated without proofs but with a reference to a proof. In Chapter II, the basic properties of field extensions, considered as vector spaces, are investigated. Several theorems which characterize splitting fields, simple extensions, and separable extensions are proved. It is then shown that a finite, separable extension is a simple extension. The concepts of automorphism groups and fixed fields are introduced in Chapter III. This discussion concludes by showing that there is a one-to-one correspondence between closed subfields and closed subgroups of the group of automorphisms of a field. Chapter IV is devoted to a discussion which characterizes normal extensions. The chapter concludes by establishing an important relationship between normal extensions and splitting fields. The results of the preceding chapters are then used in Chapter V to prove the Fundamental Theorem

Exterior and interior design of two mobile homes

Two mobile home designs were created for efficient and spacious solutions for livability in limited spaces. This was achieved by the planning and coordination of space, exterior and interior materials, furnishings, and lighting. Spaces were planned for the anticipated living activities and storage requirements of a typical family in one phase of the family life cycle. Mobile Home I was designed for a typical family with two small children. The exterior had fir siding and vertical windows. The interior included an L-shaped kitchen with dining area, living room, three bedrooms, and one bathroom. Open planning, light colored wall materials, and furnishings of simple design were used. Mobile home II was designed for a beginning family. The exterior had cedar siding, vertical windows, aggregate panels, and an asphalt shingled roof with an overhang. The interior included a U-shaped kitchen, living-dining area, two bedrooms, and one bathroom. Light colored wall materials, windows, and furnishings of simple design enhanced the spaciousness

Physical fitness test items for boys and girls in the first, second, and third grades

The history of nineteen of the twenty-one great civilizations is "the story of people trudging up a hill in wooden shoes and coming down in silk stockings. "(76) These civilizations existed in the same pattern of birth, growth, breakdowns, and decline. The decline of these civilizations was not by external means, but through internal decay initiated by man, "master of his own destiny. "(28:30) Will America follow the same pattern of other civilizations? If so, what position does America hold on the "hill" today