Assessing the Relationship Between Parenting Styles and Dietary Behaviors Among Young Adults

Food continues to be the focus of lifelong dietary and social habits. Past studies have shown the importance of creating healthy habits in childhood to increase the probability of healthy dietary behaviors as adults. A concern nationwide is that unhealthy dietary habits formed as a child translates to habits practiced as an adult, resulting in obesity (CDC, 2016). Past studies have shown that parenting styles are one of the contributing factors that influence how young adults view and interact with food. Branen & Fletcher\u27s study concluded that there are significant correlations between habits formed in childhood that are still happening in adulthood (Branen & Fletcher, 1999). Authoritative parenting has been proven to be the most healthful form of parenting for both the child in the present and in the future. Permissive/neglectful or authoritarian parenting styles have been known as the two extremes that result in unhealthy dietary behaviors for both the child in the present and in the future (Mgbemere and Telles, 2013). This study has proven that authoritative parenting styles has a healthy affect on dietary behaviors among young adults. Neglectful and authoritarian parenting styles have a negative affect on dietary behaviors among young adults. This study revealed that dietary behaviors have worsened among undergraduate students at Minnesota State University, Mankato after enrolling into college when compared to dietary behaviors in high school. There was a statistically significant difference between past and present dietary behaviors (+(327)=-3.694,

Developing digital literacies: Engaging technical communication at an urban community technology center

University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. May 2017. Major: Rhetoric and Scientific and Technical Communication. Advisor: John Logie. 1 computer file (PDF); v, 192 pages.This study provides needed insights for technical communication scholars regarding underrepresented users and how they are engaging with technical communication texts and practices as they develop their digital literacies at an urban community technology center (CTC) in the Southeastern United States. By taking an ethnographic and community-based approach to data collection and utilizing grounded theory for analysis, I found that learners engage in all three dimensions of networked learning (e.g., learners connecting to other learners, tutors, and other available resources), tutors serve as local technical communication experts who help learners develop crucial cultural knowledge about using ICTs and how to physically operate them, and learners utilize multimodal resources as they work at computers. These findings highlight barriers impacting inexperienced users and illustrate that ICT tutorial materials often fail users who have little to no experience using ICTs. Technical communication scholars should work to make instructions more meaningful, and future research should investigate the rhetorical features of novice-focused instructions and engage in community-based scholarship to reach more underrepresented users in order to combat digital divides