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The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand how students and parents perceive vaping. The study consisted of in-depth interviews with students that vape, do not vape,and parents of students that vape. The qualitative data from this study found that students perceive that vaping has a negative impact on their lives. Students perceived that vaping impacted them negatively academically, socially, and caused addiction. Students perceived that vaping impacted the classrooms and the restrooms at the high school.

Individuals diagnosed with conditions such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and depressive disorders tend to display levels of variable behavior disparate from their peers. Previous research has shown that variable behavior can be enhanced or reduced through reinforcement; however, the factors contributing to behavioral variability are poorly understood. Screen time has been hypothesized as a factor that may influence behavioral variability. The present study aimed to explore the possible relationship between smartphone screen time, behavioralvariability, and self-reported ADHD, ASD, and depressive symptoms

What exactly is addiction? Lawmakers, psychiatrists, and addicts themselves have contested the definition of addiction for centuries, and they consistently arrive at a fork in the road: Is addiction a willful crime or a congenital disease? Some argue thataddictive behaviors are an individual's free choice, and thus they have justified punishing addicts for their bad decisions (think the Reagans' "Just Say No"campaign). Others insist that addiction is not a willful crime to be punished, but a medical condition to be treated (think Alcoholics Anonymous' 12-step program).Despite these many inquiries and debates, one significant aspect of the concept of addiction remains unexamined-its deep theological history.

The dissertation examines Saudi oil policy, focusing mainly on the first half of the 1980s. In this period, Saudi Arabia played a "swing producer" role to control oil prices in the world oil market. This behavior of Saudi decision-makers can be understood within the economic framework of the "dominanproducer" model. After interdisciplinary research on previous political and economic studies of Saudi oil policy, the dissertation concludes that the basic notion of Saudi oil policy as a "swing producer" was intended to meet Saudi Arabia's long-term political and economic interests. It wastherefore logical for Saudi officials to implement the oil policy of "swing producer" to maximize the long-term economic value of Saudi oil, since this would also contribute tothe political consolidation of the Saudi regime.

The purpose of this explanatory case study is to understand the sense that community members made of how and why environmental conflict manifested in the wake of the Piney Point cascading disaster. It found that intentional avoidance of local news caused community members to be unaware of the risks beforehand, of the responses in the aftermath, and of the threats that remain. The study leverages a unique opportunity to fill a gap in the research by examining a contemporary cascading disaster as it generated environmental conflict. This dissertation centers on the perceptions of directly affected community members in the Tampa Bay area a year after the onset of the disaster and incorporates semi-structured interviews, document and mediaanalysis, conflict mapping, and social network analysis. Cascading disaster is defined as an extreme event in which a nonlinear sequence of physical, social, or economic disruptions occurs over time and generates secondary events of strong impact

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore successful strategies some leaders in the oil and gas industry used to implement advanced digitalization. The target population was a minimum of four leaders in at least two companies, preferably one oil service company and one oil company in North America, who successfully created and utilized advanced digitalization in the oil and gas industry.This study may lead to a positive social change by encouraging advanced digitalization in the oil and gas industry, resulting in the creation of more job opportunities for the local workers and companies, reducing job stress, and improving the domestic economy and level of prosperity.

Through their membership in scientific societies, eighteenth-centuryAmerican gentlemen served as gatekeepers of participation in scientific inquriy. Early American scientific societies excluded poor to middling white men, Indians,blacks and women, yet these outsiders continued topractice science outside of formal organizations. These excluded groups also participated in the societies assources ofknowledge and subjects of inquiry, making them vital to the work of organizations like the American PhilosophcialSociety and the American Academy of Artsand Science.s1n their discourses on these outsider groups, the societies used scientific reasoning to mark blacks, Indians, the lower classes and women as inferiors. Although cognitively-dissonant, the scientific elite were desirous of the knowledge of those they felt beneath them, particularly when it originated from black and Indian communities, who were depicted as"primitive" or "savage." These gentleman scientists often took knowledge from outsider groups without giving them credit for their ideas. By being the first to publish, the white men of the societies gained authorship and authority over the knowledge developed by women, Indians, blacks and the lower sorts. Throughtheir efforts to colonize knowledge on the American continent, elite men created

The presence of web tracking technology has grown to a near-ubiquitous state as web pages contain a growing number of trackers, representing progressively more and more third parties, that employ an increasingly diverse set of tracking techniques. The current discourse surrounding web tracking has focused on the collection of browsing data and its use in the estimated $566B online advertising industry in the United States. As a result, existing privacy protections, both through tools like ad blockers and policy mechanisms like cookie consent banners, have been designed to provide a binary choice to users: either opt-in or optout of web tracking. To the user, this frames the issue of web tracking, and all derived use of data collected therein, as either inherently good or bad. However, this thesis demonstrates browsing data collected through web tracking can be used to both inflict privacy harm and to provide security benefits to users-providing evidence that the emphasis of our current privacy framework should be placed on data use, not data collection.

Intimate relationships are seen as one of the foundations of basic human needs, necessary to form and maintain long-lasting bonds. Despite this emphasis on intimacy in everyday life, the experience of the disabled population does not inherently share similar expectations and practicalities of intimacy compared to nondisabled people. Previous research suggests that disabled individuals are more likely to remain single despite their reported desire for intimate, romantic relations. The current study seeks to understand this discrepancy between desire and outcome of romantic relationships by analyzing views and opinions on relationships and intimacy through looking into expectations, barriers, and supports for long-term intimaterelationship formation between two separate, yet related perspectives

Many Middle English romances are concerned with issues of identity on the macro level of culture and religion and/or the micro level of the individual and their place in society. Against the uncertainties of shifting politics, war, and plague, these romances question what it means to be English, to be Christian, to be a man or woman, to be a king, or to be a knight. Few things help define an identity better than encountering the Other, and popular Middle English romances often incorporate anxieties and confusions of identity by using Saracens. Interestingly, Saracens can be found all over Middle English canon, from the crusade romances that send Christian knights abroad to conquer the Holy Land, to the more insular Arthurian romances.

A growing body of research on asexuality - defined as the quality or characteristic of not experiencing sexual attraction - has recently emerged in the psychological and sociological literature. This literature has focused largely on understanding asexuality as both a phenomenological and an individual experience. However, less attention has been given to the ways that asexual individuals experience, navigate, and negotiate relationships, romance, and intimacy. The existing research on this topic suggests that asexual individuals who do pursue romantic relationships tend to do so with non-asexual partners and often struggle to navigate and negotiate intimacy in these relationships.

Ever more voters are changing their voting decisions from one election to the next. With increasing volatility, election campaigns are gaining in importance and the interest in the underlying decision-making strategies of voters is growing. While swing voters have traditionally been highly significant for the outcome of presidential elections in the U.S. context, traditional party affiliations have long been central in German elections. For decades, a three-party system stabilized, swinging to the left and right of the center and generating stable coalition majorities with two parties.

In this dissertation, current approaches to the study of Gender1 as a social science construct are assessed. Specifically, data is collected through a content analysis of peer reviewed journals in three social science disciplines. This content analysis focuses on the conceptual and operational definitions of Gender currently being used in the social sciences. Data from this content analysis are then used to develop a more inclusivestrategy for studying Gender, as well as its relationship to important criminological constructs such as crime and delinquency. Gender is one of the most fundamental constructs in human existence (Williams, 1999). Gender has influenced every culture, at every level of social organization,throughout history. It is nearly impossible for any individual to navigate their waymthrough any modern society without taking Gender into consideration. Most of us experience the pervasiveness of Gender throughout our lives.

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how innovation, organization, and environmental factors influence executive management to adopt big data for strategic decision-making in an electric utility in the southwestern United States. This study was guided by the intention to adopt big data conceptual framework, which considered big data as a foundational concept instead of technology. Three research questions were explored to uncover the influencing factors of big data adoption: How do executive managers describe the influence of ( I) innovation factors, (2) organization factors, and (3) environmental factors on adopting big data forstrategic decision-making? The sample included 14 executive management in the electric utility industry. Data collection included individual semi-structured interviews and two focus groups. Thematic analysis and descriptive coding were used to analyzethe collected data. Five significant themes were found to influence the adoption of big data: cost factors, business strategy, organizational culture, uncertainty/risk, and customers/relationshi

Quantum computing is a paradigm of computing using physical systems, which operate according to quantum mechanical principles. Since 2017, functioning quantum processing units with limited capabilities are available on the cloud. There aretwo models of quantum computing in the literature: discrete variable and continuous variable models. The discrete variable model is an extension of the binary logic of digital computing with quantum bits |0¿ and |1¿ . In the continuous variable model,the quantum state space is infinite-dimensional and the quantum state is expressed with an infinite number of basis elements.

Jesus demonstrated a very different approach to leadership in comparison to the religious leaders of His day. The way He served His disciples, the way He communicated with them, and the way He sacrificed on their behalf exhibited the way He expected Christian leaders to emulate. However, many leaders in ministry continue to practice a hierarchical approach that leaves people feeling unseen, unheard, and ultimately, unloved. This project proposes empathy as the key to unlocking the servant leadership approach Jesus demonstrated. The four-week leadership seminar focuses on the power of empathetic leadership offering an array of teaching and practices specifically for the ministry leader. Incorporating both intrapersonal and interpersonal skill development, the seminar unwraps strategic methodologies for self-empathy, one-on-one empathy, team empathy, and organizational empathy

The problem addressed in this study is how the dimensions of servant leadership have impacted the performance of non-profit organizations (NPOs) during a pandemic. The purpose of this quantitative correlational design study was to determine the extent to which management teams' principles of servant leadership effect the performance of NPOs during a pandemic. The research question guiding this study was "to what extent do the seven dimensions of servant leadership effect how NPOs perform during a pandemic?" Multiple hypotheses were derived from the research question to be evaluated during the study. A quantitative methodology was chosen because it allowed large volumes of quantified numerical data to be compared to verify or reject these hypotheses.

Small businesses are significant contributors to a nation's job creation and employment.These enterprises face many challenges that often lead to failure within 5 years. Some small business owners fail because they lack the necessary strategies for maintaining a sustainable business operation. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive phenomenological study was to analyze how to overcome the high failure rate of small businesses in Accra, Ghana. The conceptual framework for this study was institutional and planned behavior theories. The research questions sought participant's experiences with small business survival that may have led to sustainable businesses.

Small business owners face challenges associated with leading change, and many times lack the necessary resources to manage it properly. The purpose of this mdescriptive qualitative study was to determine what challenges leaders of smallbusinesses face in managing change, what strategies and practices those leaders employ, and how the leaders of small businesses measure success in managing change. This study also determined what advice leaders of small businesses wouldsuggest for managing change. Four research questions were created to assist with this process, and 13 semi-structured interviews were conducted in various cities throughout mthe state of Michigan. The participants were small business owners of privately held American companies that had been in business for a minimum of 5 years.

The central question addressed was what motivates small business leaders to incorporate social responsibility in their companies¿ mission, vision, and culture. In particular, there is a knowledge gap about what motivates small business leaders to take both financial and non-financial actions to support their employees, their local economies, and their communities. Interviews with three small business owners in Michigan were coded to identify key emergent themes explaining whysmall business leaders contributed to their local communities. Theoretical or conceptual support for the study included Carroll¿s social performance model, Vroom¿s expectancy theory, and CCI strategies. The literature review included that of motivation and social responsibility.

Small retail business owners who lack an understanding of proper financial sustainability strategies often struggle with business success. Grounded in resource-based based view theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore the financial sustainability strategies some small retail business owners used to sustain their businesses for the first 5 years or longer. The participants consisted of five small retail business owners in New York. The data were collected using six semi structured interview questions and cash flow statements.