WRLC Digital Repository

The Bankruptcy of Liberalism and Conservatism

Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

The Bankruptcy of Liberalism and Conservatism Etzioni, Amitai

Perceptions of Advice Interactions and their Relationships with Ethnicity and Type of Problem

Thu, 09 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Perceptions of Advice Interactions and their Relationships with Ethnicity and Type of Problem Sotomayor, Jason How social support manifests itself varies by cultural context, most notably between members of individualist and collectivist cultures. Perceptions of social support interactions have also been thought to differ. We looked at a sample of Asian Americans (n = 33) to see how their perceptions of social support varied by cultural context, as well as by the type of problem being discussed, gender, and receiver-giver status (whether one gives the support or receives it). We found that advice for practical problems was perceived as more helpful than non-practical problems. Advice for emotional problems is perceived as less helpful, less satisfying, and less liked compared to advice for problems that were not emotional. Advice for relational problems is perceived as less helpful compared to support for problems that were not relational in nature. The ethnicity of the advice partner, that is, whether the partner was Asian American or European American, and whether or not the participant was the receiver or giver of the advice in the interaction has no relationship with the perceptions of the interactions. Asian Americans interacting with European Americans find advice less helpful and less liked if the problem at hand is emotional, whereas interactions with other Asian Americans do not differ that much in perceived helpfulness or liking when dealing with an emotional problem. Males find the advice of a given problem to be less helpful than females do when the problem is emotional or relational, relative to advice for non-emotional or non-relational problems. Taken together, these findings suggest that cultural and gender differences and the type of problem may play a significant role in the efficacy of advice. This study lays the groundwork for further investigation into how the type of problem at hand and other demographic differences between individuals in an interaction may affect perceptions of a social support exchange.

Psychology at Georgetown University: An Institutional History

Thu, 09 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Psychology at Georgetown University: An Institutional History Sandberg, Laura In this paper I will explore the institutional history of the Georgetown University Department of Psychology. First, I will provide an historical background of Georgetown University, and illustrate what the early program of study looked like as prescribed by the Jesuit tradition of Ratio Studiorum. I will then arrive at my discussion of the steps leading up to the establishment of the Psychology Department in 1967, where I will shed light on the reasons behind the Department’s formation, as well as the key players during this time period. Using correspondences between faculty members and administration, as well as undergraduate bulletins that track course offerings, I will explain the history of the Department up until the present day. Then, using material from interviews with current faculty members, I will discuss the present identity of the Department and the direction of the broader field of psychology. My paper will conclude with a prediction, gleaned from faculty interviews, of where the Department is headed in the future.

Fostering the Patrimony of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin: a Study in the Mutual Responsibility of the Order and the Apostolic See (Canons 576 and 631)

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Fostering the Patrimony of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin: a Study in the Mutual Responsibility of the Order and the Apostolic See (Canons 576 and 631) Rosen, Cyprian Robert The 1983 Code of Canon Law describes the patrimony of a religious institute as constituted by the "mind and designs of the founders regarding the nature, purpose, spirit and character of an institute, which have been sanctioned by competent ecclesiastical authority, and its sound tradition" (c. 578). Further, the code declares that both the institute and the competent authority of the Church have the responsibility to foster this patrimony and to promote renewal in accordance with it (cc. 631 and 576). This dissertation studies these responsibilities in relation to the Apostolic See and the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin focusing especially on four elements: fraternity, equality, itinerancy and pluriformity. Chapter one studies the Order of Friars Minor founded by St. Francis of Assisi (1209), tracing the development of the Franciscan patrimony up to the Constitutions of Narbonne (1260). It also examines the roles of Pope Innocent III, Honorius III, and Gregory IX. It concludes with the breakdown of equality when lay friars were relegated to second class status. Chapter two traces the founding (1529) and development of the Capuchin Order as a separate branch of the Franciscan Order and the renewal of its patrimony, particularly the recovery of the element of equality of all friars. It considers the role of Pope Clement VII and the Council of Trent's impact on the Order. The chapter examines Pius X's revocation of passive voice from the lay friars and the classification of the Order as a clerical institute by the 1917 Code of Canon Law. Chapter three studies the Order's renewaL after Vatican II, particularly of the four elements of its patrimony. The chapter focuses on the attempts of the Order to restore full equality to the lay friars and the exchanges between the Order and the Holy See regarding the description of the Order as a "clerical institute." Pope John Paul II's reference to the Order as a "mixed institute" is scrutinized. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of the canonical status of the Order and its ongoing attempts to have full equality for lay friars. Degree awarded: J.C.D. Canon Law. The Catholic University of America; This dissertation can be viewed by CUA users only.

Differentiating and Investigating Acute and Chronic Typologies of Suicidal Patients Using Quantitative and Qualitative Suicide Status Form (SSF) Responses

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Differentiating and Investigating Acute and Chronic Typologies of Suicidal Patients Using Quantitative and Qualitative Suicide Status Form (SSF) Responses Grohmann, Kyle Anthony The Suicide Status Form (SSF) was developed by Jobes and colleagues (1997) to provide a standardized, clinically useful multipurpose assessment, treatment, and tracking clinical tool for suicidal patients. Research conducted using the SSF to date has pursued a larger effort within suicidology to study and potentially identify specific typologies of suicidal patents (e.g., chronic vs. acute), who may have uniquely different clinical presentations and responses to treatment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the utility of the two quantitatively derived factor loadings of the "Core SSF Assessment" recently identified by Conrad et al (2009) that differentiated chronic (Factor 1) and acute (Factor 2) styles of responding to the SSF. Following this work, the current study attempted to explore the phenomenological differences between these two different suicidal presentations using qualitative data from three sections from the SSF: (a) the Core SSF Assessment, (b) the qualitative "Reasons for Living vs. Reasons for Dying Assessment," and (c) the qualitative "One Thing" Assessment. In this study, two experts in clinical suicidology classified 97 suicidal inpatients as chronically or acutely suicidal based on demographic, diagnostic, and suicidal attempt history data. This expert sort yielded n=39 individuals classified as chronically suicidal, with n=58 classified as acutely suicidal. Based on this sort, logistic regression analyses were performed using the quantitative rating responses from the Core SSF Assessment to determine if the previously identified two factors from Conrad et al (2009) study were indeed significant predictors of expert rated chronic vs. acute suicidality, respectively. High SSF rating scores on the empirically derived Factor 1 loading were found to significantly predict the expert sorted chronic cases; however SSF rating scores pertaining to the Factor 2 loading did not predict expert sorted acute cases. Additional chi-square statistics demonstrated that interpersonal concerns appeared to be particularly meaningful for both chronically and acutely suicidal individuals, and were observed to contribute to both suicidal states and life-sustaining beliefs. These seemingly contradictory findings raise a paradox for the suicidal individual, where the very relationships that can give an individual reason to live, can also seem to motivate a person towards suicide. Degree awarded: Ph.D. Psychology. The Catholic University of America; This dissertation can be viewed by CUA users only.

Do Spirits Have a Place at the Negotiating Table?

Thu, 09 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Do Spirits Have a Place at the Negotiating Table? Wolgamuth, Erin In recent decades the field of conflict resolution has increasingly acknowledged culture, worldview, and localized peace-building mechanisms, as integral components of conflict analysis and practice techniques. Nonmaterial beings, like spirits, comprise a significant component of many global worldviews but have not yet been analyzed as a phenomenon by the conflict resolution field. The research question explored in this paper is whether spirits could contribute to conflict resolution as actors in their own right. Content analysis is used to explore cases from Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Mozambique, the United States, and Sri Lanka. I will demonstrate ultimately that spirits should be regarded as actors, much as humans are, in conflict contexts where they have relevant influence. Degree awarded: M.A. School of International Service. American University

Such Is The Heart Circling Home

Thu, 09 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Such Is The Heart Circling Home Yearwood, Stacia Cyrene Like Aeschylus, the first Greek tragedian to expand the number of characters in a play to allow for conflict, Such is the Heart Circling Home charts the lives of those who both run headlong into conflict or observe it quietly from the sidelines. Within these pages, survival is surveyed as an art and the survivors set into two groups: those who stay vigilantly tethered to safety and don't die and those who understand vulnerability as the antidote to death and come back to life. Such is the Heart Circling Home pairs the erotic draw and unfathomable violence of the world, conflates faith with submission, maps the scope of loss and explores the struggle to come to terms with identity after one has been disquieted or uprooted. Such is the Heart Circling Home paints the miracle of darkness -- affirming that that is the way. Degree awarded: M.F.A. Literature. American University

DAS FREIE WORT? THE STRUCTURING OF EAST AND WEST GERMAN PRESS CULTURE DURING THE AMERICAN AND SOVIET OCCUPATIONS

Thu, 09 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

DAS FREIE WORT? THE STRUCTURING OF EAST AND WEST GERMAN PRESS CULTURE DURING THE AMERICAN AND SOVIET OCCUPATIONS Williams, Robert John This dissertation charts a course that begins with U.S. and Soviet wartime propaganda programs and ends with the establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Its focus rests on the interplay between the newspaper policies of the occupation powers, the coverage of news in each zone of occupation, the personalities that coordinated and created newspaper contents, and popular German responses to the postwar press by considering four publications born of the occupation era: the Red Army's Tägliche Rundschau, the U.S.-run Die Neue Zeitung, the American-licensed Frankfurter Rundschau, and the Socialist Unity Party's (SED) Neues Deutschland. It assesses the participation of Germans in the reconstruction of their media by considering both those who were active in the postwar press and those who read and interacted with the press. It argues that popular German participation was an inherently political act, one that eventually led to the creation of a shared political life in the West that came not just from above, but also through interaction with the printed word. In addition, this study analyzes the imposition of structures on the development press cultures in the two German republics, including the SED-led sovietization of the press and the reactive and defensive use of information media by the United States during the early cold war. Degree awarded: Ph.D. History. American University