Digital Commons Network^™

Towards Non-Tendentious Humor And Non-Violent Rebellion, Gayatri Devi

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an investigation into the relation between humor and authority based on the distinction first articulated theoretically by Freud between tendentious and non-tendentious cases of humor. The first chapter is a fairly detailed introduction to the historical and theoretical issues that have preoccupied studies of humor. Though my study makes occasional use of linguistic insights on humor, my critical thrust is not on a linguistic analysis of humor, but to demonstrate how humor may be used successfully or unsuccessfully as an alternate idiom to aggression. The second chapter discusses the relationship of aggression to authority fundamental to the …

Writing To Learn College Algebra, Patricia A. Mower

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study of writing to lcam college algebra was to explore how writing in a college algebra course affected the learning experiences of a group of undergraduate students. The study included an analysis of the existing literature on the writing to learn process. Several writing to team techniques suggested by the literature were used in the teaching of the course. The students' perceptions of these processes were recorded and analyzed for the study. This research was important because it allowed students' voices to be heard regarding writing to learn mathematics as a form of pedagogical and curricular …

Follow-Up Study Of The Graduates Of An American Indian Tribally Controlled Community College, Gerald "Carty" Monette

Theses and Dissertations

This study obtained demographic data and information concerning the academic experiences, transfer experiences, and employment experiences of Turtle Mountain Community College (TMCC) students who graduated from 1980 to 1990, as determined by responses to a questionnaire which was developed for this specific purpose. There were 278 respondents to the survey, and they represented 55.2% of the total number of student graduates.

The data were analyzed utilizing the t test and Chi-square techniques to determine significant differences of variables between graduates on the basis of gender and by year of graduation. The testable hypotheses were stated in the null form, and …

Matthew Lyon, The Sedition Act, And Freedom Of Speech In Federalist America, Chris Allen Ingvalson

Theses and Dissertations

Very little has been written about the political career of Matthew Lyon, who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1796 to 1800. Only a few biographies of his life have been written, which has contributed to the general lack of knowledge concerning his political affairs. The purpose of this thesis, then, is to identify Matthew Lyon the man, as well as his time in history, the Federalist Era. Special attention will be dedicated to Lyon’s controversial presence in the U.S. House, his violation of the Sedition Act of 1798, and the status of freedom of speech during …

Inter-Campus Relations As Percieved By Branch Campus And Main Campus Administrators, Dean Rodney Hermanson

Theses and Dissertations

Little research has been conducted of two-year branch campuses of higher education institutions. In particular, the relationship between the branch campus administrator and the main campus administrator has not been studied. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare perceptions of branch campus administrators with perceptions of their main campus administrators regarding the quantity and quality of their communication and interaction. The second purpose was to identify the elements which contribute to a positive or a negative relationship between branch and main campus administrators.

Specific research questions were the following: (1) What are the perceptions of branch campus administrators …

Changing Attitudes Toward Lesbian Women And Gay Men Through Self-Confrontation, Sally A. Kennedy

Theses and Dissertations

Prejudice against lesbian women and gay men is widespread. Intolerance ranges from negative beliefs to exclusion from mainstream society, denial of civil rights and legal protection, as well as harassment and physical violence. Furthermore, it is socially acceptable to hold negative attitudes toward this group. There is no condemnation for doing so, unlike the case with racism. Given the extent of oppression faced by lesbians and gay men, research on attitude change is critical.

This study explored the characteristics of college students that contribute to negative attitudes toward lesbians and gay men, and investigated whether Rokeach’s method of self-confrontation is …

Reading The Cultural Landscape Through Necrogeography: A Study Of Graveyards And Ethnicity In Polk County, Minnesota, Verna Mae Kentner

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a necrogeographical account of the effort to ascertain, through studies of historical geography, settlement patterns, government census records, and church and cemetery records, the ethnicity of the population of Queen Township in Polk County, Minnesota. The total census population was compared to the total cemetery population to determine the percentages of Norwegians, Swedish, and other ethnic groups for the years 1900-1940. The problem was to find numerical affirmation that the percentage of ethnicity of the deceased should reflect the living population of this period.

The literature review focuses on the ethnicity, cultural landscapes, social values, visual symbolism, …

The Interactive Effects Of Caffeine And Phase Of Menstrual Cycle On The Recall Of Prose Passages, Jacqueline Marie Mcpherson

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has yielded inconsistent results regarding the effects of caffeine on memory. Such inconsistency is likely to a large extent a function of the complex interaction effects of caffeine and other variables such as estrogen. The purpose of the present study was to discern possible variation in the effects of caffeine on the recall of prose for females tested during days 1-5 or 9-13 of their menstrual cycle. One hundred and seven subjects received either O mg/kg, 2 mg/kg, or 4 mg/kg of caffeine. Following an absorption period, subjects read six passages from a computer terminal and immediately afterwards, …

Verbal Learning And Memory In Adults With Mild, Moderate And Severe Closed Head Injury, Paula J. Bergloff

Theses and Dissertations

One of the most prevalent of cognitive dysfunctions associated with closed head injury is impaired_memory function. The current study examined qualitative and quantitative aspects of learning and memory to define the effects of mild head injury in comparison to moderate and severe head injury and a sample of normal controls.

Forty five survivors of severe (n=15), moderate (n=15) and mild (n=15) closed head injury were compared with age and education matched controls (n=15) on the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) and the Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS). On CVLT learning trials, head injured groups recalled less than controls, with the severely …

Implementation Of Effective Schools Correlates By Bureau Of Indian Affairs Elementary Pilot Schools: Staff Perceptions And Achievement Scores, Viola Theresa Champagne Lafontaine

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined whether or not the effective schools efforts initiated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs affected student academic achievement in the pilot schools used for the BIA's effective schools improvement efforts. Data were obtained about ten effective schools correlates from ten BIA elementary schools in the BIA's first-year efforts to implement the effective schools improvement process.

An effective schools questionnaire was developed and used to obtain the perceptions of the professional staff regarding the implementation of the effective schools correlates in the ten schools located throughout the United States. Standardized test scores from 1988 and 1992 were collected …

Amazing Grains: A Study Of The Grand Forks Food Cooperative, Lisa Wikenheiser

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Cross-Sectional And Longitudinal Examination Of Adjustment And Coping In Female Undergraduates In Response To Sexual Coercion, Ronald K. Hougen

Theses and Dissertations

The present study is a cross-sectional and longitudinal examination of psychological adjustment and coping in female undergraduates in response to unwanted sexual intercourse before and during their first year of college. This study represents an important contribution because of its longitudinal and prospective design. It also is one of the first studies to examine the Sense of Coherence (SOC) construct in women reporting unwanted sexual intercourse.

Questionnaires were mailed to the entire class of incoming women at a Northern Plains state university at the beginning of the 1993-94 academic year (N = 778). Over half of these women responded (n …

Rahq: The Evolution Of A Script Through A Rehearsal Process, Nita K. Ritzke

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Gender Specific Rhetoric: A Look At Today, Mary Helen Richer

Theses and Dissertations

Gender impacts every part of life. From the moment a baby is bom, that child is placed in a gender categoiy. As one grows, these categories define how the person should act as well as how they should speak. These stereotypes become such a part o f an individual that often they are seen as an innate or biological part o f women and men, but this is not the case. These stereotypes can be broken and many are, particularly by women who feel it necessaiy to conform to the male standard to get ahead in business. Therefore, it is …

Money And Politics: An Examination Of Federal Campaign Finance Reform Legislation And Continuing Reform Proposals, George A. Waller

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the development of modem campaign finance reform legislation and analyzes some of the major proposals for continued reform. Arguments both for and against various proposals for campaign finance reform have been advanced in the continuing debate. This study examines key elements of the major reform proposals which have continuously resurfaced in that debate.

Out of the campaign finance discussion certain central issues emerge, each of which is empirically examined in this study. Those issues are: (1) Whether or not to impose expenditure ceilings on all congressional campaigns, (2) Whether or not further restrictions, or an outright ban, …

Are There Cultural Differences In The Self-Report Of Symptoms Of Pms In Adolescents?: A Comparison Study Of Chippewa Native Americans And Caucasian Americans, Shelly M. Peltier

Theses and Dissertations

Subjects completed a series of questionnaires as a means to obtain symptoms experienced across three phases of the cycle (menstrual, premenstrual, and intermenstrual). The questionnaires completed included the Demographic Data Questionnaire, the Moos' Menstrual Distress Questionnaire, the Depression Adjective Check List (Forms A and D), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Forms Y-1 and Y-2), and Index Cards for two consecutive months. There were nintey-nine (99) subjects: forty-seven (47) Caucasian American adolescents and fifty-two (52) Chippewa Native American adolescents. Two subjects were dropped from this study, one from each group, due to the exclusion criteria established prior to data collection, leaving forty-six …

Screening In Classrooms For Nonverbal Learning Disabilities: Validation Of An Instrument, Robert Stewart Scott

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to determine the validity and reliability of a nonverbal learning disability evaluation (NLDE) scale using an instrument intended to screen for nonverbal learning disabilities in classroom settings. Scholars believe that there are at least four distinct subtypes of learning disabilities, each with its own characteristics and interventions. Validity was examined via an ANOVA, discriminant functions analysis, and factor analysis. Reliability was examined via use of Cronbach's alpha ( a = .93).

The sampled populations were special education and regular education teachers in North Dakota and 61 of the students they served. The 43 LD …

A Resource Guide For Interdisciplinary Teams In Middle Schools, Claudia Albrecht Tomanek

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation documents the development of a resource guide to offer members of interdisciplinary middle school teams assistance in performing teaching and group process functions. The guide addressed critical issues in implementing interdisciplinary teaming, team practices, and benefits of teaching teams for students and colleagues. Group process techniques included communication, decision making, and conflict resolution skills. Day-to-day function sections included job descriptions/teaming roles, parent involvement, student motivation, cooperative learning, curriculum integration, professional staff development, and evaluation.

Materials for this guide were drawn from current sources in the middle school field and assembled in a format that might be used for …

Entrepreneurship Education: Beliefs And Experiences Of North Dakota Vocational Secondary School Teachers, Dianne Potter Wood

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate North Dakota secondary school teachers’ beliefs about and experiences with teaching entrepreneurship education to secondary students. The study attempted to describe teachers’ perceptions of their experiences teaching entrepreneurship education to secondary school students.

This study included North Dakota secondary school teachers who had taught at least one stand-alone course in entrepreneurship education during the 1994-95 school year. Data were collected through a mail survey instrument and through personal interviews. The data from the 22 usable survey instruments were analyzed using descriptive statistics. A card-sort technique and open-ended questions were used during ten …

An Introduction To The Verbal System Of Central Dangaleat, Lawrence R. Burke

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an analysis of the verbal system of Central Dangaleat, an Eastern Chadic language spoken in central Chad. Following the general introduction in chapter 1, the second chapter provides a basic introduction to the phonological system of the Central Dangaleat verbal system, focusing especially on syllable structure and epenthesis, vowel harmony and the tone system. Special attention is given to the relationship between consonant quality and tone in the language. Chapters 3 through 7 attempt to relate the Central Dangaleat tense, aspect and mood system to the proposals concerning the development of aspectual categories in Chadic as a …

Improving Aspen/Sp Computer Model Of Great Plains Coal Gasifiers, Md. Moazzem Hossain

Theses and Dissertations

The Great Plains Gasification Plant located in Beulah, North Dakota, operated by the Dakota Gasification Company (DGC) is the only commercial production plant in the United States making synthetic natural gas (SNG) from coal. DGC operates 14 Lurgi gasifiers to produce 158 million ft3/day of SNG from 17,000 tons of North Dakota lignite coal. As the first step in constructing a model of the entire plant to control its operation and optimize the economic performance, an ASPEN/SP computer model (called RGAS) of a Lurgi gasifier was developed with the combined effort of several researchers. RGAS will predict the impact of …

Behaviors, Attitudes, And Knowledge Related To Drug And Alcohol Prevention Curricula In North Dakota Seventh Through Twelfth Grade Students, Loretta Jean Heuer

Theses and Dissertations

Schools seem the natural place for the implementation of prevention programs because most children spend the majority of their youth in the educational system. The Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1986 made funds available to State Departments of Education to implement alcohol and drug programming in the public schools.

The primary purpose of this study was to compare prevention curricula on their levels of effectiveness in increasing knowledge about substance use and in preventing certain behaviors and attitudes. The sample population consisted of 36,693 participants (19,739 junior high and 16,954 senior high) in 1990 and 30,616 participants (16,581 junior …

Fact, Fiction, Film: Rex Beach And The Spoilers, James R. Belpedio

Theses and Dissertations

Alexander McKenzie and Rex Beach both traveled to Nome, Alaska, in the summer of 1900 to get rich. McKenzie attempted to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from the region's gold mines in one of the most outlandish schemes in the history of the American legal system. His plan failed and McKenzie xvas found guilty of contempt and sentenced to one year in jail. The incident began a twenty year slide in political power until his death in 1922. Rex Beach intended to discover gold, but like McKenzie, he also failed in his attempt. But he found a gold mine …

Dreams: A Translation Of Günter Eich's Träume, Ursula Meyknecht Hovet

Theses and Dissertations

This is the translation of Gunter Eich's Traume (Dreams), five radio plays, a series of fictive dreams. The individual dreams are framed and linked by narrative poems. I tried to keep Eich's style, including any proper names of the characters.

The Introduction provides a brief biography of Gunter Eich and an overview of the dreams. A short interpretation of Eich's theme(s) in the individual dreams follows the translation.

Visual And Auditory Information-Processing In Migraineurs: Beyond The Neuropsychological Quagmire, Jeffrey M. Kearney

Theses and Dissertations

It is estimated that 20 to 25 percent of the population suffers with migraine headaches. Despite the high prevalence rate, the exact mechanism(s) for producing migraine headache pain is(are) poorly understood at best. Some researchers have proposed that these headaches are entirely vascular in origin, while others have asserted that they are the result of an intricate transaction between genetic, biochemical, physiological, psychological, personality, and environmental factors.

In the past, migraine has been considered a benign syndrome. However, researchers using a variety of neurological measures and an even wider assortment of neuropsychological instruments have reported abnormalities in individuals with migraine …

Design And Implementation Of A Fuzzy Logic Speed Controller For An Internal Combustion Engine, Craig Jensen

Theses and Dissertations

Internal combustion engines are challenging to model and control. Uncertainties and nonlinearities pose operating problems for classical controllers. Delays inherent to the engine combustion cycle tend to introduce overshoot and oscillations in most control schemes. Most work that has been done in dealing with delays requires the designer to have extensive knowledge of the system to be controlled. Engines are very difficult to model accurately, thereby ruling out most of these techniques. Fuzzy logic is well suited to this problem, since an accurate model is not needed for design, and it is known to be robust to nonlinearities and parameter …

The Effects Of Laboratory Stress On Appraisal Of Control In Bulimia, Maria L. Kearney

Theses and Dissertations

Recent work pertaining to bulimia has shown that bulimics tend to perceive themselves as having a decreased ability to control their environments, particularly when faced with a stressful situation. Results from studies examining the type or amount of stress experienced by bulimics have been inconsistent. The transactional model of stress, which calls for the examination of an individual's appraisal of a situation, provides a more advanced method of measuring stress than has generally been used in past studies.

The present study sought to examine bulimics' perceptions of control in stressful and nonstressful situations using an in vivo behavioral task, Thirty …

Teacher Attitude And Curricular Change: The Journey Of Three Elementary Teachers, Marla Mastin

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative* study focuses on the influence of three elementary teachers' attitudes on a mathematics curricular change. The study takes place in a small school district in southeastern New York. A collection of data was facilitated by observations, interviews, and journal entries for a period of nine months.

The analysis of the data resulted in six themes: (a) The three participants saw the rationale for the curricular change as suspect; (b) they also saw selected components of the new program as problematic; (c) two of the pai'ticipants felt that as they became more involved in the new mathematics curriculum their …

Minority Social Work Educators' Perspective On Minority Issues In Higher Education, Ranae Dummermuth Bickett

Theses and Dissertations

The data set utilized for this exploratory research was the result of a survey sent by the Commission on Minority Group Concerns to minority members of the Council on Social Work Education. Members who identified minority status on their Council on Social work membership form were mailed a survey in January of 1994.

The intent of this qualitative inquiry was to offer the respondents the opportunity to express their concerns regarding minority issues in social work education and provide suggestions to improve services to the Council on Social Work Education. In response to the surveys, the commission will be able …

Noun Classification Or Spatial Categorization: Damana Orientation Verbs, Larry P. Williams

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis argues against a nominal classification analysis of orientation verbs in Damana, A Chibchan language of northern Colombia. As shown through a careful analysis of eleven verbs, the verbal system of Damana primarily encodes spatial relations and does not classify objects by shape.

The evidence for this conclusion proceeds from several areas. First, I show that Damana does not meet the requirement for a noun class system. Secondly, I show that the same object can be freely associated with various verb stems depending on the object's orientation. Thirdly, in metaphorical extensions involving these 'noun class' verbs, it is a …