State Level Autonomy and Municipal Government Structure: Influence on Form of Government Outcomes.

A number of recent studies have argued that municipal governments have so significantly modified elements of their form of government that it is now difficult to distinguish form. However, none of these studies considers the influence of state government on these choices. This study uses a comprehensive data set of U.S. municipal governments with populations of at least 10,000 and a data set of state legislative provisions related to form of government to investigate the influence of state law on municipal form of government choices. The findings demonstrate that state law is associated with some choices of government form and that structures that hybridize the council-manager and mayor-council forms of government are still relatively uncommon

Art Therapy and the Person-Centered Approach: A Method for Breaking Down Creative Resistance with Dementia Patients

This Capstone explores the use of art therapy with a geriatric population on a psychiatric unit of a small, rural southern hospital. Most of the patients experience symptoms of dementia and are over the age of 55. Many patients presented with resistance to creative pursuits and this researcher utilized the person-centered approach to counter this “creative resistance”. In other words, the patients were met where they were at and accepted unconditionally, through empathy and congruence. The materials that were offered to this population were explored through the creative resistance as well, and a simple number two pencil produced successful results in breaking down the creative resistance. Utilizing the Kinetic House Tree Person art assessment also aided in seeing a drop in the resistance of the geriatric patient. The success of breaking down the creative resistance through a person-centered therapy approach, and careful, thoughtful selection of materials, suggests that these offerings would do well to be studied further for other populations in other areas of our United States

Synthesis of Mesoporous Carbon for Carbon Dioxide Capture and Sequestration

The growing evidence and concern over global climate change has presented the relevant nature and urgency for carbon dioxide CO2 emission regulations. With the economical gap between fossil fuel based energy and renewable energy sources’ slowly gradually closing with the technological innovations, the current need exists for a cost-effective solution to CO2 sequestration. This examination of synthesis techniques for activated porous carbon as CO2 adsorbents provides a non-contradictory approach, via “green” synthesis, for selective and energy efficient capture. In this work, the “green” synthesis is approached through the established techniques and activation of monolithic carbon, establishing a templating approach, and using biomass as a carbon precursor. A soft-templating synthesis is used where phenolic-formaldehyde (PF) resin is polymerized in the presences of an amphiphilic triblock copolymer where, upon calcination, the elimination of the triblock copolymer reveals an inverse carbon replica. For hierarchical mesomacroporous carbon monoliths, dual phase separation of the phloroglucinol-formaldehyde (PF) - triblock copolymer gel in glycolic solvent separates into macroporous domains to form a rod. The porosity of the porous carbon monoliths and the relationship to CO2 capture capacity was examined as a function of the calcination temperature and subsequent activation with potassium hydroxide and CO2. By using soft-templating, green reactants can be used to further pursue our means-end product. In lieu of the triblock copolymer, using linear poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) reduces the cost and increases the tunability of the synthesis. Polymerization induced phase separation of the PF-PEG blend occurs through spinodal decomposition and, upon calcination, results in mesoporous carbon. The mesoporosity can be tuned through both the ratio of precursors and the molecular weight of the linear PEG, and activated for microporosity for CO2 adsorption. Interchanging the phenolic moiety with biomass eliminates the need for further refinement of precursors and accessibility to large-scale synthesis. Chestnut tannin, a hydrolysable polyphenolic, was used and with a triblock copolymer, which resulted in the morphology tunability with weight ratio. Moreover, the tunable structures were only found without the addition of acid. Upon high temperature activation with ammonia, increased microporosity and the addition of nitrogen functionality attributed to increased CO2 uptake capacity

Enhanced performance and functionality of titanium dioxide papermaking pigments with controlled morphology and surface coating

Novel, tailored titanium dioxide pigments with controllable nanoscale morphological features were shown to significantly enhance the optical and strength properties of paper. The opacifying power of synthesized polycrystalline TiO2 particles in a cellulose matrix was found experimentally to be superior to that of a commercial rutile pigment, depending on the crystal structure of the synthesized particles. High aspect ratio polycrystalline rutile pigments composed of a linear linkage of several individual rutile crystals gave 6% more opacity than the commercial rutile pigment. Theoretical light scattering calculations using the T-Matrix Method showed the light scattering efficiency of linearly arranged polycrystalline rutile particles to depend on number and size of crystals composing the particle and confirmed the higher efficiency of the synthesized polycrystalline rutile pigments over commercial rutile. The opacifying power of hollow polycrystalline rutile particles was found experimentally to be superior to that of a commercial rutile pigment in a highly pressed bleached fiber matrix, depending on cavity size, while the opacifying power of silica-rutile titania core-shell particles was found comparable to commercial rutile at constant titania loading. The light scattering efficiency of titania core-shell particles was shown to be dependant on the light scattering efficiency of the core material. The overall particle shape and aspect ratio of titania core-shell and hollow nanoparticles were shown to be tunable by choosing an appropriate template and coating thickness in layer-by-layer or sol-gel templating synthesis. Inorganic-cellulose core-shell and hollow cellulose nanoparticles were prepared by self-encapsulation with regenerated cellulose via precipitation of cellulose in a polyacrylic acid hydrogel layer surrounding inorganic particle templates in 4-Methylmorpholine N-oxide (NMMO) monohydrate solution. This discrete encapsulation of inorganic pigments with a thin, uniform cellulose shell was found to increase the bondability improvement between the particles and a polysaccharide substrate. The crystallinity of several carbohydrate polymers was shown to significantly affect the bondability of encapsulated core-shell particles.Ph.D.Committee Chair: Yulin Deng; Committee Member: Arthur Ragauskas; Committee Member: Jeff Empie; Committee Member: Jeffery Hsieh; Committee Member: Preet Sing

A clear V.O.I.C.E. : a reflective essay

A leader can be defined in numerous ways and have endless synonyms: head honcho, boss, chief, master, etc. Critically, the leader has come to replace the hero, and leadership, heroism. (The Drucker Foundation [DF], 1996, p. 72) Similarly, a leader can affect people through a variety of methods and achieve immeasurable results. The evolution of a leader is an endless cycle, fulfilling the needs.of the situation or the fitting to developing relationships. The ability to reflect is a daily, sometimes hourly task in order for growth to take place. Three major themes emanate including, (1) personal values, beliefs and philosophies, (2) knowledge and skills, and finally, (3) a professional vision. Within the leadership mode, many action steps are necessary, spelled out with maintaining a Clear V.O.I.C.E

The Relationship Between School Counselor\u27s Perception of a Supportive School Climate and Reported Level of Job Satisfaction

The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between a school counselor\u27s perception of a supportive school climate and reported level of job satisfaction. School climate was determined using the School Climate Scale, while job satisfaction was determined using the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. Participants in this study were randomly selected from a list of all counselors employed in a school counseling position as of January 1998, obtained from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Analysis of the data was completed using the Pearson r to assess the correlation between school climate and job satisfaction

Community Violence, Protective Factors, and Resilience: Gender Differences in African American Youth

African American youth are exposed to community violence in varying degrees. Over the last few decades, much research has focused on the negative implications of such exposure. While it is helpful to explore the detrimental effects of community violence on this population, the factors that promote resilience, leading to favorable outcomes, should be explored with just as much fervency. The present study sought to explore the protective factors that contribute to resilience in African American youth exposed to community violence. While resilience is a multidimensional construct, this study focused on the participants’ psychological outlook, namely their sense of hopefulness and future orientation. The specific protective factors examined were internal attributes, racial socialization/identity, and social support. This study highlights the moderating effect that these protective factors have in forming resilience. The study also sought to explore gender differences in resilience levels among African American youth. However, due to the participants’ varying levels of exposure to community violence, which ultimately may also impact their resilience, I was not able to make a conclusive determination of whether one gender displays a higher level of resilience than the other

Conflict and Cooperation in Municipalities: Do Variations in Form of Government Have an Effect?

One measure of governance quality is the level of reported conflict and cooperation that is present between and among elected officials and administrators. High levels of conflict or low levels of cooperation can hinder the decision-making process. However, there are few attempts to assess the causes of conflict and cooperation in the existing literature. This study uses an expanded typology of local government form and additional independent variables to determine what factors are likely to lead to conditions conducive to cooperation and lower perceived conflict in the local governance process. Data on government performance and indicators of perceived conflict and cooperation were collected from a national survey of municipal mayors, council members, and chief administrators in cities with populations of 50,000 to 250,000. Our results suggest that form of government and proportion of council members elected by district are two factors that significantly influence governance at the local level

Destructive Anger Among Adolescents: Management Strategies for Principals and Teachers

This article will provide information to aid readers in understanding risk factors associated with adolescent anger. It will also recommend strategies to prevent and defuse anger, and discuss the role of spiritual nurture in promoting proper conduct and positive relationships among students