“You Can’t Pour From An Empty Cup”: Self-Care and Spiritual Activism in Queen Afua’s Sacred Woman

Queen Afua created the Sacred Woman as a text and program that seeks to heal women of common disorders that particularly affect the African American community. This thesis project is a conversation about the self-care methods embedded within the text that moves away from the ideology of the strongblackwoman. I position both theories and methods of self-care by using a womanist theoretical framework, as well as textual analysis and interviews as methods that examine the womanist concept of spiritual activism, which expands what is thought of as radical and liberatory activist actions

A Comparative Analysis of Retail Store Image: Wal-Mart and Dillards

The research in this manuscript reports on analyses of retail image which compares the images of two well- known U.S. retailers. The scale used is the research is one that has been specifically designed to evaluate consumers\u27 perceptions of retailers. The results indicate that differential scale items are required to meaningfully assess different varieties of retail establishments. Specifically, the findings indicate that consumers assess retailers in a manner which seems consistent for retail store type. The study offers conclusions and insights based upon the differential items used to assess discount retailers and traditional department stores

Understanding Trends in Poverty in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area

In 2010, about one in eight residents (12.1 percent, or 280,000 people) in the Pittsburgh region had incomes below the poverty level, an increase of 8.5 percent since the Great Recession started in 2007. Although demographic factors such as the arrival of new immigrants and more single-parent households contributed to the growing number of people living at or near poverty, the economy was the driving force in changing poverty rates. What does this mean for our region and for the future of our nonprofit sector

A⁴⁰/K⁴⁰ Ages of Micas and Feldspars from the Glenarm Series near Baltimore, Maryland

The inner zone of the central Appalachian Mountains is a belt of metamorphic and plutonic rocks which crop out in the Blue Ridge province and underlie most of the Piedmont province. In southeastern Pennsylvania and adjacent parts of Maryland, the oldest rock is the Baltimore gneiss, which forms domical uplifts surrounded and overlain by the Glenarm series. This series consists of a basal quartzite (Setters) overlain by a marble (Cockeysville) and a thick series of mica schists (Wissahickon and Peters Creek) of sedimentary origin but including in some places altered volcanics (1). The Glenarm group is locally cut by pegmatite, granite, and other plutonic rocks

An investigation of the relationship between narcissism and forgiveness of imagined relationship identity in college students

In this study, participants = 74) read a scenario about an imaginary romantic partner cheating on him/her by having sex with someone else and responded to a short survey concerned with infidelity forgiveness and a measure of narcissism. The method of how the infidelity was revealed to the victim was manipulated between participants. A high narcissism score was predicted to be indicative of a low forgiveness score regardless of the method of infidelity discovery. A significant main effect was predicted in the infidelity discovery method; specifically that unsolicited partner discovery will be more likely to be forgiven than redhanded discovery. A significant main effect was predicted for participant sex, with males showing lower scores overall on the forgiveness scale. A significant interaction effect for sex and forgiveness was predicted, with males in the red-handed discovery condition being the least likely to forgive their partners. Results indicated that forgiveness was most likely when the imaginary partner openly confessed to the infidelity as opposed to the participant catching the partner in the act of cheating. Male participants were more likely to forgive partners who were caught red-handed in the act of cheating, as opposed to having their partners admit to the infidelity. The findings suggest that more research should be conducted with an adequate range of narcissism scores to determine the relationship that specific personality traits, such as narcissism, play in the role of predicting the likelihood of forgiveness

Effect of Exercise and Sham Exercise Trackers on Perceived Workout Intensity and Mood in College Students

Exercise is an essential contributor to both physical and mental health and is a significant part of a person’s overall lifestyle. With the increasing popularity of exercise trackers, researchers were interested in the effects of sham exercise trackers on perceptions of workouts and affect. Researchers predicted participants wearing a sham Fitbit band would report greater perceptions of workout intensity, challenge, and satisfaction compared to those without sham Fitbit bands. In addition, those wearing sham Fitbit bands were predicted to report greater positive affect and lower negative affect than those without bands. One hundred twenty student participants (60 in each group; one group with a sham Fitbit and one group with no Fitbit) were recruited from campus workout classes of Zumba, spinning, and body sculpting. Participants worked out and completed a PANAS survey, plus other workout perception questions. When using a sham Fitbit, participants believed the workout was more intense, physically challenging, and they were more satisfied with their workout. However, presence of a sham Fitbit band did not significantly affect mood. Results suggest that knowledge of wearing an exercise tracker, even without any workout data feedback, has an effect on workout perceptions, but has little effect on mood