ETD@CUA collection: 2010 / 2011

The Cultural Beliefs and Mental Health Help-Seeking Behaviors of People with Schizophrenia in Taiwan

2012-09-11T00:00:00Z

The Cultural Beliefs and Mental Health Help-Seeking Behaviors of People with Schizophrenia in Taiwan Wang, Min-Ling The purpose of this study was to explore the help-seeking behaviors of persons with schizophrenia in Taiwan. As the literature indicates, this illness has both biological and social cuases and is one of the most misunderstood, stigmatized, and untreated diseases. Cheng (2003) estimated that of the 64,908 individuals with chronic mental illness in Taiwan, 60% were dysfunctional and required long-term continuous and rehabilitative care. Wynaden (2005) found that religion was an important factor influencing individual and family health beliefs and that in the Taiwanese culture, many people turned to Buddhism and Taoism for folk healing. He recommended that mental health professionals need to develop stronger linkages with religious groups in the community. This study utilized the Behavioral Model of Health Service Use (Andersen, 1968) to test the combined influence of Predisposing Factors (family composition, social structure, and health beliefs), Enabling Factors (family and community resources), and Need Factors (including the severity of illness and the patient/family response). It was hypothesized that: 1) each of these characteristics would have a direct impact on the utilization of mental health services; and 2) cultural factors would have a moderating effect on the interrelationship of these Factors. The study included a radom stratified sample of 125 persons diagnosed with schizophrenia from the four major geographic regions of Taiwan, including urban, suburban, and rural regions. The study hypotheses were partially supported in that Predisposing Factors had a direct influence on informal service utilization, and Enabling Factors had a direct influence on utilization of formal services. Further, one Need Factor, level of distress, showed a direct influence on informal service utilization. As predicted, cultural factors, insight and stigmatization, had an indirect effect on the inter-relationships among the study factors. These findings support the usefulness of the Anersen Behavioral Health Model as a tool for understanding mental health service utilization. They also highlight the importance of cultural sensitivity, particularly sensitivity to religious factors in mental health service planning and delivery in Taiwan. Degree awarded: Ph.D. Social Work. The Catholic University of America

Literary Themes of the Poetry of Mu ammad ibn Dawud al-I fahani in Kitab al-Zahra

2012-09-11T00:00:00Z

Literary Themes of the Poetry of Mu ammad ibn Dawud al-I fahani in Kitab al-Zahra Tobkin, Jennifer Mu ammad ibn Dawud al-I fahani (d. 297/909) was a judge of the ahirite madhhab of Islamic law, but his only surviving work is Kitab al-Zahra (The Book of the Flower), an anthology of poetry, including some of Ibn Dawud’s own poems. The biographical tradition names Ibn Dawud’s motivation for writing Kitab al-Zahra and his poetry therein as his unrequited love for a male friend, and this love story became much more famous than the poetry Ibn Dawud actually wrote. This dissertation argues that the subject of Ibn Dawud’s poetry was not erotic love as is typically described in love poetry, but brotherhood (ikha’), friendship among males of similar age and social status, which was frequently a topic of discussion in `Abbasid literature, although Ibn Dawud may be the only poet of the Arabic language to make it the central theme of his work. A survey of other early Arabic works that deal with brotherhood, including pre-Islamic poetry, treatises on courtly etiquette, and philosophical writings influenced by the Aristotelian tradition, will provide insight into the cultural construct of brotherhood to which Ibn Dawud’s poetry constantly returns. Close readings of Ibn Dawud’s poetry show how he employed various conventions of Arabic poetry, such as intertextuality and a level of diction more appropriate to the entertainments and debates of the majlis than to the ceremonial ode (qa ida), in order to convey his ideas about brotherhood. Degree awarded: Ph.D. Semitic and Egyptian Languages and Literatures. The Catholic University of America; This dissertation can be viewed by CUA users only.

The Eucharist and Salvation in the Thought of Saint Thomas Aquinas: The Meaning and Significance of Reception in voto

2012-09-11T00:00:00Z

The Eucharist and Salvation in the Thought of Saint Thomas Aquinas: The Meaning and Significance of Reception in voto Sienkiewicz, Jeremy Paul The dissertation analyzes St. Thomas Aquinas' understanding of the reception of the Eucharist as necessary for salvation by elucidating his understanding of the reception of the sacrament ,in voto. This analysis will serve as the basis for elaborating principles that may shed light on topics being discussed in the current ecumenical treatment of the Eucharist.To meet this purpose, it undertakes the following tasks: First, it presents, in a chronological manner, the texts in which Aquinas directly answers questions pertaining to the necessity of the Eucharist for salvation. Second, it considers Aquinas' definition and explanation of votum in the human person, particularly in the context of the sacraments. Third, it explores Aquinas' understanding of votum sacramenti, particularly in relation to Baptism, and, by analogy, establishes the meaning of what Thomas calls a votum seu desiderium for receiving the Eucharist. Fourth, it analyzes the relationship between the Sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist in Aquinas' writings, particularly the ordination of Baptism to the Eucharist and the way in which Baptism itself may supply a votum Eucharistiae. Fifth, it critiques in light of the above the existing literature on Eucharist and salvation in St. Thomas' theology. Sixth, it elucidates general theological principles from Aquinas that address ecumenical standpoints that speak to the salvation of Christians in separated churches with different practices and realities of the Eucharist.Ultimately for Aquinas, one's salvation rests on being incorporated into the Mystical Body of Christ, which is the Church. The unity of the Body of Christ, he says, is the very res sacramenti of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Thus, in order to be a part of this unity, one must be in real contact with the Body of Christ, which is the instrument of our salvation. Indeed, one must eat this Body, whether sacramentally or spiritually. Given the complexity of current ecumenism, the issues regarding the relationship of Eucharist and salvation today cannot be considered to be the same as in the thirteenth century. On the other hand, the specific link made by Aquinas between Baptism and Eucharist may suggest some general principles that could illuminate an ecumenical path. Thus, an elucidation of certain principles drawn from Thomas' Eucharistic theology could promote a better understanding of Eucharist and salvation throughout distinct parts of the Christian world today. Degree awarded: Ph.D. Systematic Theology. The Catholic University of America; This dissertation can be viewed by CUA users only.

The Neoconservative Catholic Thought of Richard John Neuhaus, Michael Novak and George Weigel as a Form of Public Catholicism during the Reagan Era, 1980-1988

2012-09-11T00:00:00Z

The Neoconservative Catholic Thought of Richard John Neuhaus, Michael Novak and George Weigel as a Form of Public Catholicism during the Reagan Era, 1980-1988 Scribner, Todd Disruption and disagreement within the American Catholic Church followed in the wake of Vatican II and the political and social upheavals of the 1960s. In the following decades a diversity of opinions on a variety of political and religious questions found expression in the Church, leading to the emergence of different forms of public Catholicism. This study examines the state of public Catholicism in post Vatican II America by focusing on one group of Catholic intellectuals in particular: the neoconservative Catholics. Discussions about the neoconservative Catholics often focus on the level of policy, particularly in light of debates that raged over such issues as the U.S. bishops' pastoral letters, the Soviet Union and communism more generally, and the political struggles taking place in parts of Latin America. While this is an important element in their thought, the neoconservative Catholics also provided a critique of the bishops and church leadership that extended beyond the purely political. Their criticism of post-Vatican II American Catholicism is multilayered, with the political level being the most visible stratum for critique and discussion, albeit not the only one and perhaps not even the most important. A more fundamental disagreement was reflected in the neoconservative Catholic concern that large swaths of Catholic leadership had, during this period, embraced a flawed Catholic theology and, in particular, a deficient and misguided ecclesiology. Understanding how their political and theological perspectives interconnect is a crucial, and often overlooked, approach to understanding their distinctive form of public Catholicism.This study relies on the insights of David O'Brien's writings on public Catholicism as a framework to understand neoconservative Catholicism. It will also focus on an array of primary and secondary sources. The writings of Richard John Neuhaus, Michael Novak, and George Weigel are examined by way of a textual analysis from a historical critical perspective, focusing on publications up through George Weigel's Catholicism and the Renewal of American Democracy (1989). Throughout the dissertation we amplify and examine the dominant themes and motifs germane to neoconservative Catholic thought and analyze their relevance to American political thought and the American Catholic Church. Degree awarded: Ph.D. Religion and Culture. The Catholic University of America; This dissertation can be viewed by CUA users only. [24 months embargo]

Suscipe Munera Nostra: A Liturgical Theology From The Prayers Over the Gifts for Sunday in Ordinary Time

2012-09-11T00:00:00Z

Suscipe Munera Nostra: A Liturgical Theology From The Prayers Over the Gifts for Sunday in Ordinary Time Nursey, George Adolph Many liturgical theologians understand the Church's euchology as a primary source for theological reflection. This dissertation examines the Prayers Over the Gifts (super oblata) for Sundays in Ordinary Time in their liturgical context in the current Order of Mass as such a theological source. The study begins by examining the presentation of bread and wine and other gifts at the altar in early Eucharistic liturgies. It shows how a practical activity took on cultic and sacrificial connotations. This led to the increasing elaboration of the ritual actions and prayers associated with the presentation, with the super oblata appearing in the seventh century as the sole prayer of preparation for the Eucharistic prayer in the earliest sacramentaries of the western Church. The development of the preparation rite into the highly sacrificial Offertory in the Missale Romanum 1570 is followed. Here, the numerous offering prayers obscured the liturgical and theological import of the super oblata, which were now said silently. Next, in the revision of the Order of Mass following Vatican II the Offertory became the Presentation of the Gifts, in which the sacrificial elements were lessened and the super oblata recovered an approximation of their original significance. A study of some of the critiques of the current preparation rite and the role of the super oblata within it follows. The dissertation then proceeds to a detailed analysis of the thirty-four super oblata for Ordinary Time. It shows how the orations elucidate the role of the liturgical act of offering in the whole sacramental economy of the Eucharistic sacrifice and give particular expression to theological themes including grace, providence, Christology, soteriology, ecclesiology, sacramentality and eschatology. These liturgically founded notions can be applied in the construction of a comprehensive Eucharistic theology, which in turn can contribute to the ongoing development of systematic theology. Moreover, the theological content of the super oblata prayers can be employed in Eucharistic catecheses, mystagogy and homiletics. The prayers also provide language and imagery for further prayer and meditation, which can assist in the development of a spirituality and ethics of self-offering at both the ecclesial and personal level. Degree awarded: Ph.D. Liturgical Studies/Sacramental Theology. The Catholic University of America; This dissertation can be viewed by CUA users only. [24 months embargo]

The Use of Vocative and Imperative Combination in the Opening Lines of Selected Poems in the Hebrew Psalter.

2012-09-11T00:00:00Z

The Use of Vocative and Imperative Combination in the Opening Lines of Selected Poems in the Hebrew Psalter. HOANG, DAN In the past few decades, studies of the biblical Hebrew verse have made invaluable contributions in the understanding of the complex literary and theological traditions of the Psalter. The fundamental question of what makes the text poetry has generated many different literary approaches and linguistic models. It has been long suggested that the hallmark of biblical Hebrew verse is the sense of rhythmic balance that takes place within and between the adjacent lines upon which the structure of the poem unites. While this sense of rhythmic structural balance might be explained by certain descriptive linguistic correspondences and parallelistic phenomena, the regularities of these linguistic markers across the biblical Hebrew verse have yet to be ascertained. As helpful as recent studies have been, none indicates what constitutes a line of biblical Hebrew verse other than the lineation indicated by the MT accents or that arranged by the editors of the BHS. With the latter one finds that in many instances the proposed textual emendations are metrically motivated, and the former is not always free of errors. Michael P. O'Connor was the first to advance significantly the definition of a poetic line in his Syntactic Description model. The vocative and imperative combine in the opening lines of 37 psalms in the Psalter. Using the Syntactic Description model, the dissertation investigates how such vocative-imperative pattern operates in a poem, especially as a way of opening a poem and the effects it might have on the overall articulation, structure, and theological significance of the poem as a whole. The dissertation analyzes the syntactical structures of twenty classic Individual Laments and identifies commonalities beyond the opening lines such as content, mode of speech, and syntactical structure of the lines. Based on these findings, the dissertation suggests a different genre classification for the psalms studied. Degree awarded: Ph.D. Biblical Studies. The Catholic University of America

The Spiritual Practice of Ritually Enacted Narrative: Expanding Pilgram Marpeck's Understanding of Action in the Lord's Supper

2012-09-11T00:00:00Z

The Spiritual Practice of Ritually Enacted Narrative: Expanding Pilgram Marpeck's Understanding of Action in the Lord's Supper Miller, Heidi Anne Anabaptists have argued for the importance of community expressed in the social dimensions of the Eucharist while neglecting its liturgical and sacramental rooting. Thus, a jump from text to social action ensues.This study expands upon the early Anabaptist Pilgram Marpeck's (c. 1495-1556) understanding of action in the Lord's Supper. His theology finds expression in mitzeugnus, God's action of co-witness with the church in which an inseparable whole is formed with the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. For Marpeck, the Eucharist "makes" the church. It is an action in which no separation exists between the inner and outer reality represented. His work provides a solid place to begin a deeper engagement with the Eucharist, and also helps Anabaptists reconsider the notion of action, which they hold so dear in their ethical emphasis.To assist in this reconsideration of action, this interdisciplinary study will attend to significant sections of Paul Ricoeur's work, which provide further development of the intricacies of action. His philosophical hermeneutic of meaningful human action shows how action can be considered as text. Thus the Eucharist is seen as an "hyper-ethical" act" which re-orients human action. This understanding leads to a consideration of ritually enacted narrative, an innovative window into what helps change us. Talal Asad's work with ritual, along with other scholars, will help further amplify some of the insights drawn from Marpeck and Ricoeur.This study shows how the overarching narrative of God coming among us in the birth, life, death, and rising of Jesus Christ is encountered in the Eucharist and can serve as an awakening critique for the church. The expansion of action in the Eucharist continues with a "turn towards the body," leading to a hermeneutic of gesture, performative embodiment, a spiritual deepening of ritual practices, and an appreciation of the Eucharist as God's gesture.In sum, this study commends the centrality of the Eucharist as the gesture of God that we are to enact. Here we discover the potential of transformation within ritually enacted narrative. We become the gesture of God to the world. Degree awarded: Ph.D. Spirituality. The Catholic University of America

A Paradigm Shift in Catholic Health Care: An Evaluation of a Community-Based Program for Homeless People

2012-09-11T00:00:00Z

A Paradigm Shift in Catholic Health Care: An Evaluation of a Community-Based Program for Homeless People Godfrey, Timothy Sean Rising costs in the U.S. health care industry have prompted a "paradigm shift" among health care systems from acute, diseased-focused care to community-based, population-focused care. Central to this shift is the formation of integrated systems of care that redefine the traditional boundaries that delineate agencies. Community health partnerships of various community agencies reflect this move towards integrated systems as they strategically restructure their respective organizations to collaborate more effectively in providing community-based, population-focused care. Catholic health systems are similarly engaged in shifting to community-based, population-focused care. By forming partnerships with other agencies, Catholic health systems are attempting to fulfill their mission of addressing the health needs of the community, especially those who are most vulnerable. They are also attempting to contain health costs that can be driven by community health issues. This project was an evaluation of the first six months of a collaborative venture between a Catholic health system and other community partners to address the health concerns of the homeless population in Tucson, Arizona. The collaborative purchased a mobile van to provide primary care to homeless individuals and to facilitate a continuum of care for them. The project used descriptive statistics to evaluate two short-term outcomes--the van's outreach to vulnerable homeless adults and the integration of services it provided for them. Due to gaps in data collection, results showing the effectiveness of the van for the two outcomes were inconclusive. The difficulties encountered in the initial months of the van's operation, however, confirmed the experience of other collaborative ventures found in the literature. The van's experience also affirmed the need for establishing strong processes within the partnership that promote the integration of agency resources. The available data revealed the characteristics of those whom the van did serve and the possibilities for expanding the van's outreach. The implication for Catholic health care is that creating healthy communities is a way of re-imagining its future. The project also points toward the need for nursing leaders who can effectively lead community partnerships, collaborating with Catholic health systems to develop new models for promoting population health. Degree awarded: D.N.P. Nursing. The Catholic University of America