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Salve Regina Oral History Project: Daniel P. Titus \u2794, \u2799 (M) [audio]
Get PDFOral history interview with Daniel P. Titus \u2794, \u2799 (M), an alumnus of Salve Regina and Associate Director of User Support Services at the university. The interview was conducted on June 14, 2020
Coming Back to Ourselves: Teacher Identity in a Digital Age
No full textThis dissertation argues that digital technology has profoundly and irrevocably shaped teacher identity in contemporary American culture. It is postulated that the narrative which educators tell about themselves plays a critical role in the art and science of current teaching praxis, in preparing students to be responsible digital citizens of a democratic society, as well as in the preservation of the value held for human dignity. Educators, as beings in time, experience a modernity that is a dynamic interplay of both the past and the future. Teacher identity is relayed through language and a telling of story, both to oneself and to the world at large. Stories are not told in isolation. A sense of identity is also held in the stories that others tell about who we are. Through such narratives, one creates a sense of understanding, allowing for the creation of meaning and purpose. It is argued that a world that is saturated with digital technology significantly shapes individual and cultural stories, and the meaning of one’s personal and professional identity. This dissertation seeks to answer the question: In what ways are digital technology and the digital culture which surrounds the educational process, reshaping teacher identity in twenty-first century American culture and forcing a profound reshaping of the traditional paradigm of praxis? Through both research and interviews the influence of consumer culture and postmodern values are found critical. A wider picture is drawn of the stakeholders in American education, to include the military, business interests, politicians, and policy makers. The benefits and drawbacks of screen technology and their impact on classroom praxis are considered, as are structures for best practices. The human need for metaphor and human flourishing in a culture saturated with informational and digital technology is emphasized. Visions for the future of teacher identity are advanced
Improving Pre-Diabetes Knowledge and Management Among Adults in Primary Care Using Text Messaging
No full textProblem Statement: Pre-diabetes may lead to the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus and its complications, such as cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular accidents, and death. The need for pre-diabetes identification, education, and lifestyle modification is essential. Integrating text messaging with lifestyle modifications can provide an effective and feasible way to improve pre-diabetes and diabetes management. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a nurse-practitioner-led pre-diabetes education and text message reminder program to determine the effect on knowledge and management of pre-diabetes during twelve weeks. Design and Methodology: In this quasi-experimental pre-test-post-test, delayed post-test design, 27 pre-diabetic adults were recruited via convenience sampling from a primary care office in Cranston, RI. Participants took the standardized Revised Diabetes Knowledge test (DKT2) immediately before and after pre-diabetes education. Participants then received text message reminders to reinforce education bi-weekly for 12 weeks. Outcomes measures included blood pressure (BP), body mass index (BMI), knowledge scores, and a post-study survey. Results: Knowledge scores improved between pre-education and post-education, although not statistically significant (z= -1.55, p=0.12). Knowledge scores between pre-education and post-intervention improved significantly (z= -1.95, p=0.05). Among the participants that completed the study, 75% reported the intervention helped improve their health management. Conclusion: Results from this study indicate the effectiveness of pre-diabetes education and text messaging in the knowledge and management of pre-diabetes. Findings support further investigation into the use of text messaging to support primary care patients with chronic diseases. Key words: pre-diabetes in primary care, pre-diabetes and diabetes management using text messaging, chronic disease management using telehealt
Concerning Water as the Archai: Acheloios, Thales, and the Origin of Philosophy: A Dissertation Providing Philosophical, Mythological, and Archaeological Responses to the Neo-Marxians
No full textThis dissertation presents a new account of Thales based on the idea that Acheloios—a deity equated with water in the ancient Greek world and found in Miletos during Thales’ life—was the most important cultic deity influencing the thinker, profoundly shaping his philosophical worldview. In doing so, it also weighs in on the metaphysical and epistemological dichotomy that seemingly underlies all academia—the antithesis of the methodological postulate of Marxian dialectical materialism vis-à-vis the Platonic idea of fundamentally real transcendental forms. Unbeknownst to many philosophers, there are various Neo-Marxian scholars that position the origin of coinage as the pivotal technological development giving rise to impersonal “metaphysical cosmology,” suggesting that the value of money was more-or-less projected back onto the cosmos in the form of “ideal substances.” While the arguments are incredibly sophisticated and persuasive, their conclusions (either stated or implied) are rather difficult to swallow: the self is merely an illusion, abstract ideas of an ultimate source of value, like God or the Good, are totally delusional (as is the soul), and essentially everything is reducible to mankind’s enslavement to commodities and the notion of our own objectified labor (the true source of all value according to Marx). Not only is this a dangerous belief that many philosophers (consciously or unconsciously) have adopted, since essentially any action could be “justified,” it is also demonstrably false, since it rests on a thorough misunderstanding of Thales and misconception of philosophy as such. My work rectifies that misunderstanding. In an important sense, it is an attempt at redefining philosophy as a “love of wisdom,” which I argue was accurate even in its Presocratic setting, and it uses the influence of Acheloios on Thales to do so. Throughout its pages I explore the etymology and historical uses of the word ὔδωρ, examine the archaeological context of 7th to 6th century Miletos, consider various aquatic myths Thales encountered, and highlight a hitherto overlooked tradition stemming from Thales and influencing such thinkers as Pythagoras, Empedokles, and Hippo, which culminates in a completely new reading of Plato’s Phaedrus. It is there that we find Socrates and Phaedrus engaging in dialogue while surrounded by the iconography of Acheloios and the nymphs, all while they lie reclined like river gods (the sinews of Acheloios) on the banks of the Ilisos. And it is in that dialogue that Plato defines philosophy as a love of wisdom—the beholding of a multiplicity of hermeneutical frameworks—and alludes to the fact that it began with the sacrifice of Acheloios, the initial philosophical maneuver which he attributes to Thales. I end with a threefold rejoinder to the Neo-Marxian school, corresponding to the λόγος, μῦθος, and ἔργον of Acheloios. It turns out that, (1) the λόγος of Acheloios contained the ideal preconditions conducive to an abstraction to a more refined philosophical worldview in which water operated as the One among the Many; (2) the μῦθος of Acheloios actually encouraged the application of the notion of sacrifice to Acheloios himself (thus revealing his essence as divine water); and, (3), the ἔργον of Acheloios, in which he kneels in assent to sacrifice, is found on a coin that was probably designed by Thales himself. In the final analysis, I suggested we have recourse to Acheloios yet again, and reorient ourselves toward the οὐσια ὄντως οὖσα
Transgender: Science, Nature, and Virtue
No full textThis dissertation proposes a Thomistic heuristic for transgender individuals based on medical science and Sacra Doctrina. Throughout the previous century, medical professionals aimed to ease the inner tensions found within transgender individuals by conforming their outer appearances to their gender identities. Although well-intentioned, these efforts were on their own insufficient for relieving the underlying distress caused by gender dysphoria. Repeated studies have found a reduction of gender dysphoria through sex reassignment surgeries and hormone therapies; yet, transgender individuals, even after sex reassignment procedures, have higher risks for mortality, neoplasms, suicidal behavior, and psychiatric morbidity than the general population. Faith-based conversion therapies double the morbidity rates of transgender individuals, making it clear that a religious approach not based on medical science pro-duces worse outcomes than providing no support at all. A lack of family and communal support of transgender youth leads to increased homelessness, prostitution, and substance abuse. The uncompromising “tough love” approach does not lead to positive outcomes for many transgender youths. Medical evidence from the previous decade suggests a neurodevelopmental cause for transgender identities; however, studies on Rapid-Onset Gender Dysphoria point to social causes for the spike of adolescents identifying as transgender. While high rates of pre-adolescent children who are diagnosed as transgender desist in their dysphoria, some studies have shown that adolescents who take hormone blockers do not desist into their early twenties. Longer-term follow-up studies are needed to know the effects hormone blockers have on desisting when prescribed at an early age. Non-cognitivist gender theorists have integrated transgender identities into their ideology whereby the body, mind, and spirit are not essentially united. Although these ideologies attempt to liberate individuals from restrictions of biological realism, this ideology has not offered transgender people an inner sense of peace. According to a 2018 Hu-man Rights Campaign study, individuals who identify as non-binary and other newly named gender identities suffer from the highest levels of depression, anxiety, and suicide attempts. Thomistic realism offers additional resources for transgender individuals, which secular science cannot offer on its own. Thomism embraces all disciplines of science and the humanities to present a holistic expression of the truth. The Thomistic heuristic utilizes medical science and then seeks to restore nature by the least invasive means while depending on virtues and grace to provide wisdom and character to over-come obstacles. This dissertation argues that using a Thomistic heuristic in line with church teaching is a better approach than medical therapies alone, a faith-based conversion therapy, or adopting non-cognitivist-based gender theory ideology
Fagus sylvatica (European Beech) ID #1053
Get PDFLocation: Between and behind McKillop Library and Gerety Hall
Diameter at breast height: 75 in.
Age Class: Maturehttps://digitalcommons.salve.edu/bio140_arboretum/1011/thumbnail.jp
Salve Regina Oral History Project: Jeanne Knox \u2770 [audio]
Get PDFOral history interview with Jeanne Knox, an alumna of Salve Regina, class of 1970. The interview was conducted via Zoom on July 22, 2020
Three Perspectives on Happiness, from Ancient to Modern: Aristotle, Adam Smith, and Martin E.P. Seligman
No full textThis dissertation employed Ernest L. Boyer’s scholarship of integration by synthesizing Seligman, Aristotle, and Smith’s literature to discuss what constitutes happiness, a good life, and how to apply Martin Seligman’s framework to achieve these objectives. The dissertation will also discuss how happiness was defined during the Aristotle era and how happiness is measured in contemporary society and societal perspective toward individual economics and happiness. This integration is especially necessary for studying humanities, which I used to understand the past and its influence on the present. Understanding our past encourages us to appreciate the present and work with others to establish productive and positive future systems. Thus, increasing our understanding of what it means to be human in the age of technology
