This dissertation presents the design, development and short-term evaluation of an embodied conversational agent designed to mentor human users. An embodied conversational agent (ECA) was created and programmed to mentor African American computer science majors on their decision to pursue graduate study in computing. Before constructing the ECA,…

More and more engineering programs have become concerned with retention and persistence in their degrees, because about half of their students either change majors or do not graduate at all (Center for Institutional Data Exchange and Analysis, 2000). Male students were chosen for this study because they make up 92.9% of all civil engineers, 90.6%…

The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between the developmental assets and academic achievement of urban underrepresented minority male and female students in a specialized science, technology, engineering, and math program, and the developmental assets and academic achievement of urban underrepresented minority male and…

The purpose of this study was to research the dropout crisis in America, determine reasons for students dropping out of school, effects of dropping out of high school for students and the community, and research based intervention and tiered implementation strategies. The researchers then applied their findings to the specific needs of the…

This study was focused on the identification of selected risk factors seemingly present among African American male adolescents 13 to 18 years old who were participants in special education programs at their schools. Many of these male adolescents were also found to participate in the juvenile justice system under what was characterized as…

A qualitative study design was used to describe the perceptions and beliefs about higher education of seven first generation college Latino male students enrolled in higher education in the Southeastern part of the U.S. The purpose of this investigation was to explore the students' experiences regarding the various factors, which they perceive may…

Purpose: Of all Canadian and American men who live to age 75 years, about half can expect to live to age 85. Our objective is to examine how clinical diagnoses made before age 75 relate to a man's survival to age 85 years. Design and Methods: Since 1948, a cohort of 3,983 young men (mean age of 31 years at entry) has been followed with routine…

This article describes a study that explored the use of mixed-gender co-facilitation in intimate partner violence groups, especially regarding its potential for gender role socialization. Using an interpretive approach, interviews with men from different mixed-gender co-facilitated groups in Canada were analyzed, with a focus on the men's…

Background: Providing preschoolers at-risk for reading difficulties with additional support is of increasing interest in early childhood education. However, the research on programming in preschool for this additional support is limited and yields inconclusive findings. Objective: The current studies explore different grouping configurations in a…

Males who are members of American college fraternal organizations remain one of the heaviest drinking populations among college students (Wall, 2006). Within fraternities, alcohol use is ceded to social status (Larimer et al., 1997). This culturally ingrained alcohol misuse has confounded interventions and programming to address this phenomenon…

In recent years, the educational crisis facing Latino males has garnered the attention of numerous stakeholders within higher education. While researchers offer numerous explanations regarding the underrepresentation and underachievement of Latina/o collegians, this study offers a different response to this emergent crisis by focusing on factors…

In this study, we compared hamstring (H) and quadriceps (Q) strength changes in men and women, as well as changes in conventional and functional H:Q ratios following an identical 12-week resistance training program. An isokinetic dynamometer was used to assess 14 male and 14 female participants before and after the intervention, and conventional…

This study contributes to the emerging demographic literature on same-sex couples by comparing the level and correlates of union stability among 4 types of couples: (a) male same-sex cohabitation, (b) female same-sex cohabitation, (c) different-sex cohabitation, and (d) different-sex marriage. The author analyzed data from 2 British birth cohort…

This study explored the effects of fraternity and sorority membership on first-year college students' development of socially responsible leadership at 24 colleges and universities. The institutions varied in terms of public versus private, size, region, and student residential patterns. Results showed that fraternity members demonstrated…

Boys & Girls Clubs of America count 4,000 community-based clubs serving more than 4 million young people through membership and community outreach. They provide a safe place to spend time during non-school hours and the summer as an alternative to the streets or being home alone--a place to play, have fun and learn. Boys & Girls Clubs…