Gardner-Webb Recruiting Class Reaches 20 On National Signing Day

Gardner-Webb football signed 20 student-athletes on National Signing Day, signaling a strong first class for new head coach Tre Lamb. The class features 16 high school recruits and four transfers. Ten of the signees are from the Carolinas (six from North Carolina, four from South Carolina).https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/gardner-webb-newscenter-archive/1106/thumbnail.jp

Changes in undergraduate student alcohol consumption as they progress through university

BACKGROUND: Unhealthy alcohol use amongst university students is a major public health concern. Although previous studies suggest a raised level of consumption amongst the UK student population there is little consistent information available about the pattern of alcohol consumption as they progress through university. The aim of the current research was to describe drinking patterns of UK full-time undergraduate students as they progress through their degree course. METHOD: Data were collected over three years from 5895 undergraduate students who began their studies in either 2000 or 2001. Longitudinal data (i.e. Years 1–3) were available from 225 students. The remaining 5670 students all responded to at least one of the three surveys (Year 1 n = 2843; Year 2 n = 2219; Year 3 n = 1805). Results: Students reported consuming significantly more units of alcohol per week at Year 1 than at Years 2 or 3 of their degree. Male students reported a higher consumption of units of alcohol than their female peers. When alcohol intake was classified using the Royal College of Physicians guidelines [1] there was no difference between male and females students in terms of the percentage exceeding recommended limits. Compared to those who were low level consumers students who reported drinking above low levels at Year 1 had at least 10 times the odds of continuing to consume above low levels at year 3. Students who reported higher levels of drinking were more likely to report that alcohol had a negative impact on their studies, finances and physical health. Consistent with the reduction in units over time students reported lower levels of negative impact during Year 3 when compared to Year 1. CONCLUSION: The current findings suggest that student alcohol consumption declines over their undergraduate studies; however weekly levels of consumption at Year 3 remain high for a substantial number of students. The persistence of high levels of consumption in a large population of students suggests the need for effective preventative and treatment interventions for all year groups

On the shoulders of the bear

This thesis is a collection of poems written over the past two years

Re-conceptualising the link between research and practice in social work: a literature review on knowledge utilisation

Despite the recent movement towards greater research use in many areas of social work, criticisms persist that decision making in practice is seldom informed by sound research evidence. Discourse about the research-to-practice gap in social work has tended to focus on the feasibility of evidence-based practice for the profession, but has rarely drawn from the broader knowledge utilisation literature. There are important understandings to be gained from the knowledge utilisation field, which spans more than six decades of interdisciplinary research.This article introduces the wider knowledge utilisation literature to a social work audience. It considers the potential of this body of literature to facilitate research use in social work, as well as conceptual issues that may be hindering it from informing improvements to research utilisation in practice

Reframing the plantation house: preservation critique in Southern literature

This dissertation contextualizes southern narrative critiques of plantation house preservation through the historic preservation movement, from its precursory development in the 1930s through today. Examining literary representations of plantation houses as historic relics in the contemporary moment, I demonstrate how a range of twentieth- and twenty-first century southern writers critique or challenge its architectural preservation. The southern plantation house has been coded in American popular culture as an exemplar of architectural heritage and a symbol of southern history, both of which beckon its preservation. Various modes of preservation, from nineteenth-century plantation fiction’s reminiscence of family homes and heroes to twenty-first century’s thriving tourism industry, figure the plantation owner’s house in romanticized ways that celebrate its architectural aesthetics, present its history through a narrow register of racial relations, and promote its nostalgic embrace. I argue that against prevailing tendencies toward various uncritical ethos of preservation, William Faulkner, Walker Percy, Alice Randall, Attica Locke, Allan Gurganus, and Godfrey Cheshire reframe the plantation house within complex historical and cultural contexts that counter the developing historic preservation movement’s popular following by illuminating the mythologies undergirding the iconic white-columned architecture and their perpetuation through its preservation. Through an interdisciplinary approach, Reframing the Plantation House combines architectural history, historic preservation, and a significant level of textual literary analysis to reveal counter-narratives that unsettle an assumed historical integrity and cultural significance associated with extant plantation houses. Beginning in the 1930s with the first federal initiatives to preserve architectural heritage as a precursor to the preservation movement, I argue that Faulkner’s narratives reframe ruined plantation mansions within historical and cultural contexts that substantiate their ruination and abandonment. The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 heralded piquing restoration sentiments and popular historicism. Against this cultural drive, I argue that Walker Percy aligned plantation house restoration and the desire for historical authenticity with parodic fantasy. Slave histories have been predominantly silenced in plantation mythology and tourism. Contemporary writers Alice Randall and Attica Locke each address this selective history as I argue that they reinscribe symbols of slave history within plantation architectures and narratives. An enduring desire to preserve the plantation house without also preserving the traumas of slavery remains today, which Allan Gurganus and Godfrey Cheshire illustrate and attempt to remedy through narrative

Home economics teachers' knowledge and attitudes toward the integration of special needs students in the classroom

The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge and attitudes of secondary home economics teachers in North Carolina toward the integration of special needs students in home economics programs. Teachers selected for the study were home economics teachers who attended the 1984 Vocational Summer Workshop. Subjects included home economics teachers from each of the eight educational regions of the public schools in North Carolina. Questionnaires were distributed to and collected from home economics teachers at the conference site. Data for the study were obtained from 279 teachers. There was a significant difference in teachers knowledge when compared by race. Caucasian teachers appeared to be the most knowledgeable concerning special needs students. There was a significant difference in teachers attitudes when compared by race. Black teachers had a more positive attitude toward special needs students than did teachers of other races

Skid resistance of waxed and unwaxed smooth floor surfaces

For many years it has been recognized that slippery floors are a safety hazard. Researchers have been attempting to measure the antislip properties of smooth surface floors since 1926. In no instance has evidence been presented which rates the available flooring material according to safety values. There is very little information, which is readily available to the consumer, that may be used as a criterion in selecting a safe smooth floor covering. It would be desirable to have available for the consumer a ranking of the flooring materials according to safety values

Perceived nonfinancial barriers to maternity services in Guilford County by African American pregnant women

The purpose of this study was to identify perceived barriers which prevented African American pregnant women from accessing and utilizing maternity services in Guilford County. Fifteen African American postpartum women who received four or less prenatal visits and WIC services were recruited to participate in a two part study. Part one of the study included a face-to-face interview to complete a standardized questionnaire and was conducted within 24 to 72 hours after delivery. A food frequency was completed to determine the nutritional habits of the subjects. Focused ethnographic interviewing was used to conduct the second part of the project. Part two included in-depth interviews using a standardized questionnaire guide. The in-depth interviews were conducted with ten of the subjects in their homes. Several nonfinancial barriers were found to prevent these women from accessing and utilizing services including lack of services in their communities; poor or absent transportation and/or childcare; and experiences, attitudes, and beliefs about health and nutrition. Two additional underlying themes that emerged from the qualitative data were not found with the standardized questionnaire. They were high levels of stress and lack of social support. Racist treatment was also cited as a nonfinancial barrier to maternity services. The diets of the subjects were marginally inadequate in all food groups except for protein, and each could have benefited from WIC Services. Future research should focus on improved strategies to recruit hard-to-reach women into care

A study of wall color and its effects on the classroom social behavior of nursery school children

The purpose of this study was to investigate the stimulus characteristics of wall colors in a nursery school setting utilizing a structured group period. Behavioral indexes were calculated on orienting behavior, noise level, relevant behavior, and disruptive acts within the group in order to find out if these were influenced by changes in wall color. The possibility of an interrelationship between the behavior of the child and the color of the walls was determined with the use of a direct observation schedule and time card, sound-level meter, tape recorder, and teacher's comments. Basic information about the subjects was secured by means of a color blindness and color preference test. Behavior Profile, and a questionnaire to parents for general identification of the background colors in the child's home. Within the experimental setting the wall structure was constructed by taping polyurethane panels 2' x 8' x 2' into 6' high panels. These panels were taped and braced in four corners in a rectangular shape, leaving a 5' passageway in one side and a 3' x 7' window opening along the top of another side. The floor of this enclosure of 168 square feet was covered with two strips of white paper 6' x 14'. Natural and artificial lighting varied from 30 to 50 foot-candled according to the daylight conditions and specific wall color being tested. The subjects were seated in a semi-circle facing the teacher and the investigator, who recorded their behavior on the direct observation schedule and time cards. An observer with the sound level meter sat behind the children