DigitalCommons@Liberty University

A State's Obligation to Fund Hormonal Therapy and Sex-reassignment Surgery for Prisoners Diagnosed with Gender Identity Disorder

Rena M. Lindevaldsen — Wed, 15 May 2013 07:29:31 PDT

This article explores whether a state law imposing a flat ban on the use of funds to provide cross-gender hormones or sex-reassignment surgery for prisoners diagnosed with GID satisfies the Eighth Amendment standard of deliberately indifferent to serious medical needs. In other words, the issue is whether it constitutes cruel and unusual punishment for a state to refuse to provide hormones or sex-reassignment surgery to GID prisoners. The district court in Kosilek v. Spencer1 held that it does: the state violated the Eighth Amendment in providing feminizing hormones to Kosilek but refusing to provide him sex-reassignment surgery. Part I of this article lays out a state’s obligation to provide medical treatment to its prisoners consistent with the Supreme Court’s current Eighth Amendment precedent. Part II discusses issues unique to a state’s determination of proper treatment for GID prisoners. Those issues primarily focus on the conflicting views in the medical community on the proper treatment of GID patients. Part III highlights several recent court decisions that exemplify the conflicts discussed in Part II, including whether a state’s obligation differs with respect to GID prisoners who commenced hormonal treatment before entering the prison system and those who were diagnosed with GID while in prison. Part IV asserts that a state acts consistently with its Eighth Amendment obligations when it prohibits the use of any funds for hormonal therapy or sex-reassignment surgery of GID prisoners. The proper course of treatment for GID should be to treat the underlying causes of the psychological distress, not to alter the prisoner’s physical characteristics to match the gender the prisoner believes he should be.

Inclusive Business: Using For-Profit Business Models to Address Global Poverty

Samuel James Conner — Wed, 15 May 2013 05:34:14 PDT

Due to the rise of globalization, modernization, and the Internet revolution, awareness of global poverty has expanded, making its eradication a chief goal of the global development community for the twenty-first century. Though corporations are often expected to participate in social and community development initiatives without regard for profits, this paper presents inclusive business as a way for businesses to profitably engage impoverished segments of society. Inclusive businesses seek to expand their consumer bases or strengthen their supply chains by moving into new markets among the poor that have limited access to global markets and remain largely untapped. The research that follows herein delves into the inadequacies of corporate social responsibility and social business to achieve business sustainability and scalability in addressing poverty. This is followed by an overview of the business potential of low-income populations and some of the general requirements and challenges to doing business among these people. Finally, a number of business models will be examined along with several case studies, which provide real world insight into the implementation of those models, concluding with a brief discussion of the keys to achieving scale with inclusive business ventures. Scalable inclusive models allow businesses to expand their reach, whether to consumers or suppliers, beyond a limited community, enabling them to retain the motivation of profit while allowing millions of the world’s poor to participate in global markets and improve their standards of living.

Removing The Classical Landmark: Assessing an Epistemology Governed by Methodological Naturalism

Kegan Shaw — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:23:15 PDT

This paper proposes to assess the naturalist project in epistemology with an eye towards exposing the project as deficient for serving as a robust epistemological project. Epistemologists treasure a certain family of questions and burden themselves with a number of specific concerns the most important of which, I think, cannot be answered by the epistemological naturalist. Ignoring these questions, I will argue, essentially amounts to a dismissal of the principle tension that primarily motivates and properly guides epistemological theorizing. This tension is the familiar appearance vs. reality distinction and characterizes what I am calling the classical landmark or boundary-stone for epistemological theorizing. I will defend the claim that a full replacement of the traditional/classical epistemological project by a naturalized epistemology closes epistemology off from making important claims needed in a theory of human knowledge and, for that reason, a full replacement should be resisted. These claims that an epistemology should be expected to make issue from what I call the classical landmark for epistemological inquiry. Naturalist's effectively ignore this landmark and I caution them in the spirit of the proverb to not "remove the ancient landmark which your fathers have set (Proverbs 22:28).

21st Century Evangelism and Church Growth Approach to Reach Urban Professionals in North America Metropolises

Ralph Baeza — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:14:55 PDT

The call of Christ, as He stated in Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:7-9, John 20:21 and Acts 1:8, is to be a continuous command to follow, in order to reach the different peoples group of the world including the urban professionals in North America metropolises. Based on surveys sent to Christian leaders in church congregations and professionals in the secular workplace along with the associated research in the subject, this thesis project reviews the Great Commission call to pursue urban professionals in metropolises, examining their lifestyle environment, past and current trends to reach them, biblical principles that can turn into methods to be used in their outreach and the practical implication analysis. The South Florida metropolises of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach are the pilot project location for this thesis work intended to be spread to other metropolises in North America and beyond.

Survey of College Entrance Exam Preparation Methods

Robin Donaldson — Fri, 10 May 2013 07:05:07 PDT

This study surveyed college freshman to determine which types of preparation if any they had before taking either the SAT and/or ACT to decide if a certain type of preparation increased their scores. Students indicated whether they used online resources, self-help resources, school workshops and/or private tutoring before taking either test. The ACT scores were converted to SAT scores so that the data would be uniform. The mean SAT score was computed for those who used preparation and those who did not and comparisons were made. Each individual type of preparation was compared to no preparation. Finally, a correlation was computed between SAT scores and high school grade point averages. The research did not show that students who used preparation performed better than those who did not.

Preserving Dance Forms in India Through Education and Performance: A Curriculum for Bollywood Dance

Kimberly Martin — Fri, 10 May 2013 07:00:03 PDT

This project is a practical curriculum of Bollywood dance that can be used to assist in the preservation of dance forms in India through education and performance. The goal of this curriculum is to systematically equip dancers of all ages with the basic knowledge and experiences needed to excel as dancers and choreographers of Bollywood dance. This will be achieved through practical experience that is built from the basics of Bollywood dance and founded in classical tradition and theory as presented in Bharat Natyam. This curriculum is broken up into four sixteen-week semesters and covers a series of steps, basics in theory and application as it relates to rhythm and synchronization, mudras, expression and style, and choreography. The steps included in this curriculum are commonly found in many Bollywood dances. This curriculum also includes a series of Bharat Natyam steps borrowed from the curriculum taught by Rachna Chauhan through the Art Society of Mumbai, which are included to ensure students are able to correctly perform certain classical elements found in Bollywood dance. The data that has been gathered for this project has provided the basis for each aspect included in this curriculum and has been applied in the principle investigator's own life as she has studied Bharat Natyam and Bollywood dance. The constant evolution of Bollywood poses a challenge when attempting to form a curriculum for Bollywood dance, and as the demand changes and grows new steps will be added and older ones dropped as upcoming performances prepare to hit the big screens. However, the fundamentals offered in this curriculum are beneficial to anyone who is interested in learning the basics of Bollywood dance.

Spice Sisters: Religion, Freedom and Escape of Women in African American and Indian Literatures

Lovely Koshy — Tue, 07 May 2013 05:32:56 PDT

This thesis focuses on women in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun and Rabindranath Tagore's three short stories. Hansberry writes during a period in America when racism, segregation, and black migration to the North weighed heavy upon the psyche of black women. Tagore writes during a time when British control, sati system, caste system, and dharma leave Indian women voiceless. Both express their disagreement with entrenched norms and institutions that have been in place for hundreds of years, a task that initially may seem to be an impossible undertaking, and unlikely to bring about expected change. This work reveals that a woman of low-caste Indian society can fight against dharma and subjugation and win, that an old, retired black woman equipped with her Christian faith can fight against segregation and racism and win.

Perception, Expression and Management of the Pain of Childbirth

Mary H. Christenson — Mon, 06 May 2013 07:07:55 PDT

In order to be a competent nurse on an American labor and delivery unit it is important to have an understanding of the pain of childbirth. This includes a thorough understanding of pain as a sensation and its manifestation during the birthing experience. An understanding of pain is useless, however, unless standardized pain assessment practices are used. The most accurate pain assessment is associated with a general understanding of cultural trends in pain perception and expression. Along with culture, other factors also influence how a woman senses and copes with the pain of labor. Anxiety is one of these influential elements and has a profound impact on the childbirth experience, which is why a well-rounded labor and delivery nurse has a diverse database of interventions for the stresses and discomforts of childbirth. This would include many of the increasingly popular alternative pain management methods. However, since pharmacological analgesics are the most frequently requested pain interventions in American labor and delivery units, nurses must thoroughly understand the method of action and potential complications of each of these medications as well.

Oral Contraceptives

Stephenie G. Fortier — Mon, 06 May 2013 07:07:54 PDT

Cyclic oral contraceptive and continuous oral contraceptives have many similarities yet a few distinct differences. One of the major differences between cyclic and continuous oral contraceptives is that cyclic oral contraceptive pills have twenty one active pills and seven inactive pills versus the new continuous oral contraceptive pills which have 28 active pills and no inactive pills. However, though cyclic and continuous oral contraceptives do have a few differences, both types of oral contraceptives affect a woman’s body in similar ways. When choosing between cyclic and continuous oral contraceptives, it is important for women to be informed about the advantages and disadvantages of both continuous and cyclic oral contraceptive pills.

Also, over the years, there have been debates between religious groups regarding oral contraceptives. The two religions that have prominent views on this topic are Catholic and Protestant. A few followers from each religion will be chosen to represent the religious group as a whole regarding the topic of oral contraceptives. The Bible will also be used as a source and cited for its writing related to oral contraceptives, marriage, sex, and children.

A Grounded Theory Study Investigating How Parents' Adolescent Experiences Influence Their Attitudes and Behaviors Toward Their Children's Middle School Education

Brenda Williams — Mon, 06 May 2013 06:44:56 PDT

The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory study was to explore ways in which parents' past school experiences as adolescents influence their attitudes and behaviors toward their children's education. Three research questions related to parents' past experiences, current attitudes, and participation guided the study. Hope County School system (pseudonym), a suburban school system in the southeastern United States, was the setting for the study. Participants included 12 middle school parents. Three instruments were used for data collection: interviews, surveys, and reflective booklets. Data analysis was conducted using the grounded theory process of open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. From the results of data analysis, I generated a theoretical model of Identifying Influences. Stabilizing and Destabilizing influences, as well as Communicating influences, were identified as causal conditions that impact adolescents and their attitudes as adults. Findings related to strategies parents employ on a continuum of continuity and discontinuity were addressed. Results from this study contribute to the body of knowledge regarding school-family relationships. Implications for practice include using information from this study to more effectively communicate with parents and provide solid programs for students. The use of strategies such as peer review, pseudonyms, member checking, memoing, and an audit trail contributed to the trustworthiness of the study.

Putting Down Roots: A Tolkienian Conception of Place

Kayla Snow — Fri, 03 May 2013 07:23:08 PDT

This thesis explores the way in which J.R.R. Tolkien's develops and expresses his nuanced sense of place through his major literary works--namely, The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Tolkien's sense of place, as expressed through his fiction, encompasses both metaphysical and geographical relational structures that are operative at both the local and global levels. As Tolkien develops his sense of place in his fiction, he draws from the Distributist principles--largely informed by Catholic social policy of the late nineteenth century and popularized by G.K. Chesterton--to build the economy in Middle-earth. The resulting economy resists industrialization and centralization of power and prioritizes diverse local communities as a means for promoting healthy global economies. While developing a thorough sense of local placed-ness among the diverse races in Middle-earth, Tolkien also suggests these local communities depend upon one another for health, thereby showing the inherent and complex interconnectedness of the human experience. Boundaries, limits, private property, and individual ownership--Tolkien establishes an economy in Middle-earth that esteems each of these things as necessary for health within any economy; yet, he simultaneously suggests that these estimable aspects of the economy do not exist in individualistic isolation, but rather depend upon community. Thus, Tolkien suggests that, in a healthy economy, individuals belong to a local community--agrarian or otherwise--where they might take pleasure in seeing the place where their own garden meets their neighbors'. Likewise, in a healthy economy, those local communities invest themselves in maintaining the health of that community, but not at the expense of a neighboring community or at the expense of the global community. Rather, each community stewards what has been placed under its stewardship, and thereby contributes to the health of the whole.

Secrets of Their Success: A Multiple Case Study of Mathematically Proficient Homeschool Graduates

Betty Cardinale — Fri, 03 May 2013 07:17:40 PDT

The purpose of this multiple case study was to explain how mathematically proficient homeschool graduates acquired their proficiency. Bronfenbrenner's (1979, 1999) ecological and Process-Person-Context-Time (PPCT) models were used as theoretical frameworks to analyze the development of the graduates in the homeschool environment. The National Research Council's (NRC) Five Strands of Mathematical Proficiency (Kilpatrick, Swafford, & Findell, 2001) was used as a conceptual framework. I collected four types of data: (a) surveys; (b) National Assessment of Educational Progress; (c) Mathematical Self-Efficacy Scale scores; and (d) interviews. These data items were analyzed with explanation building, a special case of pattern-matching logic. Many themes emerged from this research: strong nuclear families, direct teaching, self-study or self-directed education, mastery learning, purposive conversations, and challenging curriculum (Saxon). As they matured, these graduates built upon the foundation set by their parent educators and took ownership of their studies.

The Software Life Cycle Applied to the Development of the Avnul RPG Character Creation Program

James C. Rogers III — Fri, 03 May 2013 06:31:15 PDT

This project will endeavor to replicate the "cradle-to-grave" software engineering life cycle development process. This process takes a software project through many stages of existence, from requirements gathering to software design, coding, testing, and maintenance. In this thesis we apply this process to a character creation program, which will be constructed for a client to facilitate the design of his tabletop roleplaying game.

Over the course of developing this software, contact was maintained with the client, but difficulties were encountered in the form of shifting requirements as he refined and modified his as-yet unfinished game rules. Without regular communication, these changes would not have been adequately reflected in the final work. It was also observed that while testing is often an afterthought tacked onto the end of the development process, keeping it in mind during early stages of development makes its final implementation much easier. Due to technical difficulties in combination with the aforementioned shifting requirements, the software itself remains in development.

Active Religion: James Ireland, the Separate Baptists, and the Great Awakening in Virginia, 1760-1775

Cooper Pasque — Thu, 02 May 2013 06:30:19 PDT

In the mid-eighteenth century, the religious fervor of the Great Awakening entered Virginia. Evangelical Baptists soon threatened to undermine the authority of the Anglican Church and its planter patrons. Despite their efforts to quiet the Baptists, evangelical religion took root in Virginia by the end of the American Revolution. Historical works on these events offer valid but incomplete explanations. Puzzling dynamics in the Virginian context require a more complex interpretation. The life of James Ireland provides a unique window into possible answers. His autobiography provides evidence for what appears to be the most fundamental reason for evangelicalism's successes in Virginia. The radical changes in his life when he converted to evangelical Christianity, combined with the transformations of a number of his contemporaries, demonstrate that religious ideas were actively shaping and directing colonial Virginians. Ireland's memoirs confirm that the perseverance and eventual success of the Baptists despite severe persecution resulted largely from the intellectual and emotional potency of specific ideas within the evangelical message. That message imbued Baptist ministers such as Ireland with remarkable endurance as well as transformed large numbers of Virginians who heard it preached.

Life Inside the Spectacle: David Foster Wallace, George Saunders, and Storytelling in the Age of Entertainment

John Hawkins — Thu, 02 May 2013 06:30:17 PDT

This project explores George Saunders's In Persuasion Nation and David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest as interventionary literature. The thesis asserts that the two works confront the problems of isolation and dehumanization created by entertainment-based consumerism; they do so by depicting satirically exaggerated consumer societies and placing well-developed, sympathetic characters in those settings. The thesis includes a consideration of Jameson and deBord's theories of spectacle and Wallace's stated concerns with postmodern irony as an ineffective form of critique.

Conforming to Conventions in Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, Pride and Prejudice, and Emma

Veronica Olson — Thu, 02 May 2013 06:30:14 PDT

A major part of Jane Austen's novels consists of a critique of the societal conventions that were prevalent in Regency England. Through a study of Northanger Abbey, Pride and Prejudice, and Emma, it can be seen that Austen marginalizes those characters who chose conformity to social conventions. Contrariwise, the characters who exhibit a greater degree of autonomy within their patriarchal culture become the focus of the narrative. In looking at societal conventions concerning money, gender roles, and class status in conjunction with Austen's portrayal of various characters in the three novels, Austen's own views about conformity to societal conventions are revealed. Like the three female character who emerge as heroines of the novels--Catherine Morland, Elizabeth Bennet, and Emma--Austen navigated through societal conventions of her time with self-awareness and a sense of humor. Thus, although not overtly subversive, Austen's novels contain undertones of Feminist sympathies. Through the often seemingly trivial behaviors of her characters in the class-conscious, gender-defined society of Regency England, Austen draws a subtle line of distinction between those who exhibit social conformity and those who rise above society's mandates and expectations.

Can Preservice Teachers be Taught to Become Reflective Thinkers During Their First Internship Experience?

Stephanie Weber — Thu, 02 May 2013 06:19:07 PDT

Reflective thinking is a developmental process that progresses over time from a technical, routine level to a critical, self-evaluating level. Preservice teachers, who tend to stay in the technical, routine level of critical thinking without guidance, need to be taught how to become reflective thinkers so that they are able to identify and analyze their own personal teaching practices, connect theory with practice, and understand why they are teaching. By learning to be more critically reflective in their thinking, preservice teachers will become more effective teachers, thus having a positive impact on student achievement. This dissertation research study quantitatively evaluated the written reflections of first semester preservice teachers during their first semester internship experience to determine if, after receiving explicit instruction about reflective practices, their reflective thinking abilities improved over the course of the semester. The findings in this study determined that after receiving explicit instruction on reflective thinking over the semester, 66% of the preservice teachers showed an increase in their total score suggesting that reflective thinking skills can, in fact, be taught. Although this study wasexplored through one specific teacher preparation program, the findings and suggestions are relevant to other programs and other state education standards.

Social Mathworking: The Effects of Online Reflection on Algebra I Students' Sense of Community and Perceived Learning

Patricia Allanson — Thu, 02 May 2013 06:19:05 PDT

The purpose of this study was to determine if online reflections through social networking affect students' sense of community and levels of perceived conceptual learning in Algebra I courses. Social constructivism, connectivism, and computer-mediated communication in relation to reflective practices form the theoretical and practical framework for the use of Web 2.0 technologies in this investigation. A quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group design was used to examine Algebra I students' sense of community as measured by the Sense of Classroom Community Index, and perceived learning as measured by Perceived Learning Instrument. The sample consisted of 27 Algebra I students at a Central Florida middle school. There were 14 participants in the experimental group and 13 students in the control group. Both groups completed pre and posttest survey instruments for the independent variables of sense of community and perceived learning. The tests were separated by four weeks of instruction on Algebra 1 course content and participation in discourse through face-to-face and discussion board formats. Independent t-tests were employed in data analysis. The results of the study revealed no significant differences between experimental and control groups in relation to students' sense of community and perceived learning. However, the findings support curriculum design targeted to those concepts Algebra I students have the most difficulty with, and advance the understanding of students' cognitive development and feelings regarding comfort when communicating their mathematical thinking through Web 2.0 technologies.

Education: An Opportunity to Reshape the Third World

Dottie Rhoads — Thu, 02 May 2013 05:57:35 PDT

The concept that education equips and enlightens people towards a brighter future is not revolutionary or unusual; applying this ideology to the Third World, however, is a more recent endeavor. Decades of study examining the effects of education on the lives of women in the Third World reveal that it has positive effects socially, culturally, politically and economically, as the single most determining factor improving the lives of women and children. This thesis researches the multi-faceted obstacles, stemming from longstanding norms, that prevent the education of women in the Third World, and it reveals the way in which overcoming those obstacles would usher in an age of progress and freedom into the lives of women in the Third World.

Simulating Inflation

Ryan M. Heathcote — Thu, 02 May 2013 05:57:34 PDT

Inflation is a common problem in modern economics, and it seems to persist, requiring government financial policy intervention on a regular basis in order to properly manage. The mechanics of inflation are difficult to understand, since the best metric modern society has for inflation involves taking samples of prices across the country. A simulation can give deeper insight into more than the mere fact that prices rise over time: a simulation can help to answer the “why” question. The problem with this statement is that developing a simulation is not as simple as writing some code. A simulation is developed according to a paradigm, and paradigms are not created equal. Research reveals that traditional paradigms that impose order from the outside do not mimic reality and thus do not give a good degree of accuracy. By contrast, Agent Based Modelling models reality very closely and is consequently able to simulate economic systems much more accurately.