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Adult Performance On Piaget's Water Level Task And Its Relation Of Spatial Orientation And Visualization, Pul Ashby Foltz

Master's Theses

Recent studies have indicated that performance on Piaget's water level task is related to spatial ability. The present study examined the relationship of adult performance on the water level task to spatial orienta­ tion ability, visualization ability and verbal ability. A sample of college stud ents, thirty males and thirty females, were classified as either sophisticated or naive in water level task performance. The students were then given two tests of spatial ability; in addition, a measure of verbal ability was obtained. Spatial orientation ability was measured by the Guilford-Zimmerman Spatial Orientation Test, visualization by the Re­vised Minnesota Paper Form …

Person Perception In The Job Interview : The Effect Of Congruent & Incongruent Information Between The Job Interview And Letter Of Reference, Sharen Dale Enscore

Master's Theses

The following research examined the differences in two modes of presentation within the employee interview situation; the letter of reference and the job interview. Past research has failed to examine these two modes presented in succession to the same subjects to ascertain the more salient mode. In the present research this was detennined by pairing a letter of reference with an incongruent job interview to see which mode has the greater influence on the decision to hire. Information on a woman applicant was presented to 40 male and 40 female college business students via these two modes. Main effects were …

The United States Military Pension System : Toward A Rational Reform With Commentary On The Report Of The President's Commission On Military Compensation, L. Shelton Clarke

Master's Theses

In August of 1974, I wrote U. S. Senator Harry F. Byrd, Jr., the senior Virginia senator and T. Edward Braswell, Chief Counsel for the Senate Armed Services Committee for a good deal of material concerning the United States military pension system.

The system had intrigued me as a pension planner for many years for several reasons. First, the plan itself possessed grave design defects, which if allowed to exist in private plans would lead the employer corporation excessive cost and possibly fiscal insolvency. Second, with the quadrupling of the price of oil in 1974 and the creation of a …

Richmond And The Sturdy Beggar : A Local Study Of Unemployment Relief 1929-1935, Dorothy Herin Brinkley

Master's Theses

While studying the Great Depression's impact on the United States in a graduate se.minar, the period of 1933 and Roosevelt 's New Deal programs for the unemployed appeared to mark a major dividing point in attitude toward public treatment of the unemployed. Searching for a way to investigate this idea, I began a study of Richmond, Virginia, to determine whether Richmond's experience with unemployment during the depression had resulted in any lasting changes in its view of unemployment relief. The method chosen was a chronological study of unemployment relief in Richmond from 1929 to 1935 to accomplish the following purposes: …

An Ultrastructural Study Of Intramuscular Melanocytes In Pet/Wmr Mice, Charles August Gomer

Master's Theses

An examination of the lateral head of the gastrocnemius of the PET/Wn!.r mouse was made with an electron microscope. Cells of the perimysium and endomysium were described and the relationship of these cells to muscle cells was characterized. The relationship between melanocytes and muscle cells found in this strain was the major focus. Melanocytes were seen to be present in the perimysium and endomysium with the greatest concentration in the endomysium. Melanocytes of the perimysium appeared segregated from the adjacent tissue by fibroblasts,which surround ed the melanocytes with their cytoplasmic processes, a well as by collagen fibers. Melanocytes of the …

The Quality Of Storm Runoff From Different Kinds Of Land Surfaces In The Drainage Basin Of Westhampton Lake, Richmond, Virginia, Margaret Emil Coppedge

Master's Theses

Samples of runoff were collected during storms from four different areas within the drainage basin of Westhampton Lake, Richmond, Virginia, between October, 1977, and January, 1978. The areas were a residential area, concrete street gutter, asphalt parking lot, and broadleaf forest.

The samples were analyzed for pH, levels of reactive phosphate, nitrate, and turbidity, and their effects on the growth of algae from Westhampton Lake.

The pH of runoff from the residential area, gutter, and forest usually ranged between 6-7 and the parking lot usually ranged between 4-5. Levels of turbidity varied considerably between storms and areas. Runoff from the …

Lactate Dehydrogenase Isozyme Patterns From Five Species Of Snakes : Comparison Of Rattlesnake Vibratory Muscle With Body Epaxial Muscle, Cecil Bernard Cross

Master's Theses

Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) isozyme patterns of seven tissues in each of five species of snakes are described from their polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic characteristics. The tissues examined included vibratory tail muscle, non­ vibratory tail muscle, body epaxial muscle, heart muscle, whole blood, liver and kidney. The species of snakes included Crotalus adamanteus, C. h. horridus, Agkistrodon piscivorus and Sistrurus miliarius barbouri from the family Crotalidae and Natrix taxispilota from the family Colubridae. These snakes show a decreasing continuum of tail vibratory activity, respectively, to N. taxispilota, which has a non­vibratory tail muscle.

Crotalus adamanteus, C. h. horridus and A. piscivorus have …

The Diplomatic Mission Of Alexander Wilbourne Weddell At The Inter-American Conference For The Maintenance Of Peace December 1-23, 1936, Peter Nicholas Pross

Master's Theses

This thesis evaluates the diplomatic activities of Ambassador Weddell at the Inter-American Conference for the Maintenance of Peace. Weddell's accomplishments are analyzed against the background of the Conference and the objectives of the State Department. The approach is both chronological and topical, and new or different interpretations of the Conference are not offered. However, the author utilizes heretofore overlooked primary materials and presents a different point of view on the Inter~American Conference for the Maintenance of Peace-- the perspective of Ambassador Weddell.

Reading Ability And Visual And Auditory Incidental Learning In Learning Disabled Adolescents, Brenda G. Miller

Master's Theses

The present study attempted to examine the relationship between reading level and central and incidental learning in the visual and auditory modalities. The central-incidental tasks were modifications of Hagen's (1967) visual central-incidental tasks. Twenty male and female adolescents who had identified learning problems were subjects. An equal number of good and poor readers were assigned to the visual and auditory tasks. The results of the research indicated that reading level was not related to incidental learning nor to central auditory performance. However, the research findings showed significant differences between reading level and visual central task performance. The simplicity of the …

A Study Of The Self Report And Behavioral Differences Between High And Low Frequency Daters, Scott Daner

Master's Theses

Minimal dating, identified as a significant and relevant target problem, generally has been thought to result from either conditioned anxiety, negative self-evaluations, or social skills deficits. One hundred and thirty-eight subjects were screened and selected on the basis of high and low dating frequency and satisfaction with dating. Twenty-seven males and twenty-seven females who met the criteria participated in a "natural" social interaction. Subjects were paired in three groups: 11 high dating males and 16 high dating females, ten low dating males and ten low dating females, and 5 low dating men and 5 high dating women. Before and after …

The Dynamics Of Self-Definition : An Approach To The Torquemada Tetrology, Vanessa Valldejuli Allen

Master's Theses

Benito Pérez Galdós has been classified generally as a traditional writer of the nineteenth century. Recent reevaluation ry critics such as Sánchez-Barbudo, Angel de los Ríos and Ricardo Gullón maintains that Galdós' concerns remove him from the frame- work of the nineteenth century traditional Spanish novel and rank him as a precursor of modern thought. This thesis will analyze the Torquemada tetrology which is an expression of these concerns and as such links Galdós to the novel of the twentieth century.

Job Opportunities In Virginia For Foreign Language Students, Patricia Lightfoot Brown

Master's Theses

A New York City taxi driver loses a fare because he does not know Spanish. A corporate president waits in silence while an interpreter closes a deal with important Japanese investors. A nurse in Maine cannot diagnose a complaint because the patient is French-Canadian. A government scientist learns about the latest breakthrough in solar energy a full year after it happened, because the news first came out in Russian. All of these people could do their work better if they knew a foreign language, yet none of their jobs would seem to require a language.

The connection between foreign languages …

Self-Knowledge : A True Tragedy?, Mary Louise O. Cariens

Master's Theses

This paper is intended to associate several characters who exhibit various degrees of self-knowledge in the following tragedies: La Thébaide Ou Les Frères Ennemis , Alexandre Le Grand, Andromaque, Britannicus, and Bérénice. These plays were written at various stages of Racine 's literary career, and there is in them a reflection of his life and the mood of his creative endeavors.

Also included is an analysis intended to assimilate certain factors which can be used to gauge the presence or lack of self­ knowledge gained only through awareness and a great deal of struggle.

From The Natural To The Civil State : The Evolutionary Process As Viewed By Thomas Hobbes, John Locke And Jean Jacques Rousseau, Sue Slate Donaldson

Master's Theses

The social contract theory was used extensively in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries by political philosophers to popularize the belief that governments were obligated to the people . This theory maintained that the people had originally formed governments, had set their limits and were allowing them to continue to operate. Governments owed their existence not to God and not to kings, but to the people. The social contract theorists tried to explain how political obligations were formed by men in a pre-political state. In order to do this, they first had to describe this pre-political state and demonstrate …

The Contribution Of An Educational Phase To The Stress Inoculation Of Anxiety, Robert Steven Hadfield

Master's Theses

All subjects were selected from introductory speech classes at the University of Richmond. A public speaking fear survey was given to all students at the beg inning of the semester. Construct validity of this survey has been established by discriminating anxious from non- anxious people. Students scoring above the median were invited to participate in a workshop on dealing with the stress of public speaking. Subjects who accepted the invitation were assigned to one of four groups: stress inoculation with education (Combination) , stress inoculation without education (Skills only), education without stress inoculation (Education only), or a no treatment control …

The Tredegar Iron Works : 1865-1876, Dennis Maher Hallerman

Master's Theses

The Tredegar Iron Works rose to prominence dur- ing the Civil War as the chief armorer of the Confederacy. That four-year period represents the focal point of the company's existence, however, the Civil War experience of the Tredegar should not be regarded as a singular industrial monument to the Confederacy but as a maturation process for the company itself. The focus of this thesis is the rebirth and subsequent growth and contraction of the Tredegar in the ten years following the Civil War.

Antipredative Function Of The Gelatinous Coating Of The Eggs Of The Frog, Rana Pipiens, Walter Stanley Jennings

Master's Theses

The eggs of Rana pipiens, the southern leopard frog, were offered in several forms to Lepomis macro­ chirus, the bluegill. The fish were offered random trial discrimination tests while in groups of one or five in 40 1 aquaria. L. macrochirus learned to make distinct discriminations and rejected fertilized and unfertilized egg masses, boiled egg masses, dried frog eggs and gelatin made with homogenated frog eggs. In contrast, Shrimp-el-etts, Shrimp-el-etts dyed black, gelatin made with peptone, and ovarian eggs were accept­ ed readily. The results suggest a protective function for the gelatinous coat: both physical and chemical . The chemical …

A Thing Doubly Inscrutable : A Woman And A Queen : Elizabethan Foreign Policy: 1558-1584, Virginia Lesley Mathewson

Master's Theses

On November 17, 1558 it appeared that the argosy of England had in fact been shipwrecked and the "rocks and shoals" surrounding her greatly reduced the possibility that she would ever spread her sails again. At war with France, she was both militarily weak and financially exhausted. Ravaged by recent years of religious persecution she faced the prospect of a rejuvenated Catholic church on the continent and Calvinist impatience at home. She was threatened by France in Scotland and by the impending loss of her only ally in Europe, as France and Spain negotiated a marriage agreement. Finally, to captain …

Distribution Of Etheostoma Nigrum Rafinesque, Etheostoma Olmstedi Storer, And Their Introgressive Hybrid Populations In The James River Drainage, John Edward Clark

Master's Theses

An analysis of proportional measurements and meristic characters of Etheostoma nigrum and E. olmstedi identified five populations within the James River drainage. Etheostoma nigrum inhabited the montane and piedmont areas through the Fall Line; E. o. atromaculatum was distributed throughout the tidal river and its lower tributaries; and E. o. olmstedi was restricted to creeks on the upper coastal plain. Appomattox River and Falling Creek contained introgressive hybrid populations with character frequency distributions intermediate to those of E. nigrum and E. o. olmstedi. It is proposed that E. nigrum probably entered these drainages through stream piracy on piedmont tributaries of …

The Investigation Of 3,4- Dipheny1-3- Cyclobutene-1, 2-Dione As A Precursor To A Bis-Ketene, John Dana Myers

Master's Theses

The purpose of this research is to investigate the use of 3, 4-diphenyl-3-cyclobutene-1, 2-dione as a synthetic precursor to bis-ketenes and ultimately examine the chemical behavior of this relatively unknown system. We intend to investigate some of the chemical behavior of bis-phenylketene produced by the well-documented photochemical ring opening of 3, 4-diphenyl-3-cyclobutene-1, 2-dione. Specifically the use of alkenes a chemical traps for the bis-ketene will be investigated. These reactions will be compared and contrasted to the behavior of the ketenes and vinyl ketenes.

The Use Of Covert Reinforcement In The Modification Of External Locus Of Control, Vincent Rose

Master's Theses

An analogue study was conducted to test the clinical efficacy of covert reinforcement (Cautela, 1970) and to assess the role of behavioral .rehearsal in covert reinforcement. A secondary purpose was to determine the effects of image clarity, subject anxiety level and rate of extra session imagery on the therapeutic effect of covert reinforcement. Forty introductory psychology students who scored above 8 on Rotter's (1966) I-E scale were seen for four, fifteen minute sessions over a two week period. Subjects were divided into five groups: a covert reinforcement group, an overt reinforcement group, a behavioral rehearsal group, an activity control group …

Meaning And Method : A Comparative Study Of Edmund Husserl And Ezra Pound, Jesse N. Mayo Jr

Master's Theses

In his essay entitled "Phenomenology of Heading" Georges Poulet explains how a "reading" is possible"

The universe of fiction is infinitely more elastic than the world of objective reality. It lends itself to any use; it yields with little resistance to the importunities of the mind. Moreover - and of all the benefits I find this the most appealing - this interior universe constituted by language does not seem radically opposed to the me who thinks it.... In short, since everything has become part of my mind, thanks to the intervention of language, the opposition between the subject and its …

A Cognitive Behavioral Treatment For Impulsive Aggressive Behavior In Emotionally Disturbed Children, Laurence Kelly Furgurson

Master's Theses

Twenty subjects were selected from a clinic population of emotionally disturbed children. The subjects were matched on the basis of classroom impulsivity (Impulsive Classroom Behavior Scale Scores) and age and assigned to either a treatment or control group. Both groups were further assessed by the Matching Familiar Figures Test and frequency counts of impulsive aggressive behaviors in several settings. The treatment group received six sessions of verbal self-instructions via modeling with a response cost contingent upon errors during training and three sessions of training in social problem solving. The control group received no specific treatment. Positive effects from treatment were …

Coping Abilities Of High And Low Jealous Individuals In A Stressful Situation, Elizabeth Roxanne Lindsey

Master's Theses

The major purpose of this study was to examine the coping abilities of high and low jealous individuals in a stressful laboratory situation involving self-dis­ closure. The hypothesis that high jealous individuals would not cope with the threat of self disclosure as well as low jealous individuals was not confirmed.

Eighty college students were given a battery of personality questionnaires to complete which measured jealousy., anxiety, locus of control, self esteem, self preoccupation and social desirability. The correlations revealed certain differences in characteristics of high and low jealous subjects including the fact that high jealous subjects had a significantly lower …

Analysis Of The Use Of Video Tape In The Assessment Center Method, David Carrington Purdy

Master's Theses

This study examined the feasibility of employing video-taping procedures in the operation of assessment centers. Six trained assessors observed 23 participants in four separate assessment centers. While one group of three assessors observed the assessment proceedings in person, the other group of three saw only the video-tape playbacks of the performances. A high degree of reliability was found between the ratings given by the two teams of assessors. The Pearson Product Moment Correlation computed on the total scores of all 23 participants yielded a reliability of r = . 86. The Spearman rank-order correlation coefficient was r = . 85. …

The Females Within The Design/Debris Motif In Three Novels By John Hawkes, Evelyn Carol Sweet

Master's Theses

John Hawkes, according to Tony Tanner, is perhaps the most "disturbing" contemporary American writer. Many people would agree with this commentary on Hawkes, a man whose work has moved from the surreal in The Cannibal (1949) toward the more realistic, a movement predicted by Albert Guerard in his introduction to The Cannibal. As this movement away from the surreal has occurred, then why does Tanner find Hawkes' "disturbing" in a review of his most recent novel, Travesty? Perhaps because this movement was not from the surreal to the realistic as we generally use the term, but rather a movement from …

Leader, Follower, And Nonleader Patterns In Emergent Leadership, Catherine Mae Holmes

Master's Theses

In the present research 82 freshmen at the University of Richmond who had previously been administered the Omnibus Personality Inventory (OPI) volunteered for a short discussion session after which each student completed a 9 item leadership scale on each of the other group members. A multiple regression analysis revealed a significant correlation between the Social Extroversion scale of the UPI and ratings of group participation (r=.38, <.01). A post hoc multiple discriminant analysis identified 7 OPI scales which discriminated 64.4% of the cases into correct leadership groups. These findings support a leader-follower-nonleader paradigm for small croup participation, identifying unique personality configurations for each group -- leaders who participate actively and who organize the group process, followers who offer suggestions congeniality and nonreaders who either refuse to interact or become antagonistic to group goals. Suggestions for future research include a need for observer ratings of group interactions as well as more extensive personality measures of social variables such as dominance and social desirability.

Responses To Hypovolaemic Thirst In Gerbils, Patrick Carl Hauenstein

Master's Theses

In the present study, a series of experiments were conducted to examine how the gerbil responds to an extracellular challenge. Adult female gerbils, weighing from 50 gm. to 70 gm., were either exposed to a 10% (vol x wt) polyethelene glycol injection, or a vehicle control injection. Within each injection level, half of the animals had access· to water after injection, while the other half had access to a .9% saline solution. There was a significant increase in fluid intake associated with injection dosages and animals drank significantly more when exposed to saline than when exposed to water. It was …

The "City On A Hill" : Tom Johnson And Cleveland 1901-1909, Keith Dean Dickson

Master's Theses

Tom Loftin Johnson, mayor of Cleveland, Ohio from 1901 to 1909, was once hailed by a contemporary as "The outstanding municipal executive so far produced in United States history." Indeed, this judgment probably holds true even to the present day. Johnson's drive, combined with his uncompromising dedication to justice, dominated Cleveland politics and invigorated a city which had lost all sense of civic pride and responsibility. Johnson also brought a new vitality to American reform in the cities. His battles for three cent fares on the municipal street railway system, municipal ownership of public utilities, home rule, equal taxation and …

Benjamin Compson : Consciousness, Rhetoric, And The 'Fictive Art', Ann Brooke Lewis

Master's Theses

A study of consciousness in the first section of The Sound and the Fury clarifies both the novel's technique and its rendering of human truth. My reading of this monologue is based on the premise that the way Benjamin Compson views the world and the way in which his mind arranges those views enhances our understanding of the novel's other brother-narrators, Quentin and Jason. As limited and distorted as Benjy's perceptions may be, they provide a model by which the perceptions of Quentin and Jason gain clarity and meaning. Benjy's monologue begins the novel and provides the reader's entrance into …