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Majority And Minority Supervisees' Perceptions Of Clinical Supervision, Vivian Barnette

Dissertations

Perceptions of clinical supervision of 175 majority and minority counseling psychology doctoral students selected from a national pool was the study’s focal point. Instruments used were the Revised Relational Inventory (RRI; Barrett- Lennard, 1962; Schacht, Howe, & Berman, 1988) and the Supervision Perception Form-Trainee (SPF-T) developed by Heppner and Roehlke (1984). Participants were instructed to based their ratings on their last supervision experience. Data were collected and scored on the five subscales o f the RRI (Congruence, Empathetic Understanding, Regard, Unconditionality, and Willingness to be Known) and the two subscales of the SPF-T (Willingness to Learn and Supervisory Impact).

A …

Site-Based Management And Student Achievement, Roxana Marie Hopkins

Dissertations

The question that this study seeks to answer is. Does site-based management increase student achievement? Researchers believe that when a school can function more like a closed system, involved in site-based decision making, the culture of the organization may be more conducive to higher student achievement. This study has attempted to determine if there is a basis for this belief.

Supporting the study are three organization theories. Bureaucracy Theory, Systems Theory, and Human Resource Development Theory. These three theories run like threads in a tapestry throughout the research and legislation upon which this research is developed.

Researchers, up to this …

A Comparison Of The Effects Of Temporal Requirement And Response Form On Retention, Equivalence, And Endurance, Amy Lorraine Mccarty

Dissertations

Many researchers and practitioners have reported dramatic learning gains that they attribute to the fluency procedure, often citing rate of response as a critical feature. Others have been unsuccessful at demonstrating these claims empirically. A variety of differences between methods and procedures that may account for the different outcomes are discussed in this paper. In particular is the difference in outcomes when topography-based as opposed to selection-based responses were targeted for training. Fluency practitioners, and the researchers who have obtained similar positive outcomes, have for the most part used topography-based forms of response during the drill and practice sessions, or …

The Validity Of The Adhd Section Of The Diagnostic Interview Schedule For Children, Ann M. Mcgrath

Dissertations

The purpose o f this study was to learn more about the validity o f the ADHD portion of the NIMH-DISCIV. In order to accomplish this goal, 58 youth participants were divided into three groups: (1) subjects who met criteria for ADHD based upon both the youth and the caretaker versions of the DISC; (2) subjects who met criteria for ADHD based upon the caretaker DISC, but not according to the youth DISC; and (3) subjects who did not meet criteria for ADHD according to either the youth or the caretaker DISC. Subjects in these groups were compared across parent …

Evaluating The Effects Of Postive Peer Reporting On Social Acceptance, Mary Short

Dissertations

The effects of a positive peer reporting procedure on social status and social interactions were assessed. Children who are socially rejected seem to be disliked by their peers due to their high frequency of negative behaviors and low frequency of positive behaviors. Therefore, to decrease the negative behaviors and increase the positive behaviors, rejected children were asked to make positive comments about their peers. Participants included 4 children, ages 10-15 years. A multiple baseline across subjects design was utilized. Collection of baseline data began immediately following the confirmation of consent and eligibility for the child to participate. Initial baseline data …

Students’ Conceptions Of Mathematics And The Transition From A Standards-Based Reform Curriculum To College Mathematics, Rebecca K. Walker

Dissertations

Students’ conceptions of mathematics are shaped by the environment within which they learn mathematics and in turn they affect the manner in which students engage in mathematics.

This study examined students’ conceptions about learning, knowing, and doing mathematics after studying four years of a Standards-based reform high school mathematics curriculum developed by the Core-Plus Mathematics Project (CPMP). Student conceptions were examined at the end of high school (n = 2S6) and after one semester of college mathematics (n = 92). The study also provides case studies of six students as they navigated from the CPMP curriculum through college Precalculus or …

Case Studies Of Organizational Evaluation In Community Foundations, Joyce Box Brown

Dissertations

Community foundations are classified as public charities (501(c) 3). They derive their funds from many donors rather than a single donor, and the board is made up of representatives from the community served. They are most often established to serve a specific geographic area. This study investigated and described how three different community foundations approach organizational evaluation— choosing proposals to fund, monitoring programs, improving programs, and assessing program impact.

The three community foundations approach evaluation not as a formal system of grant accountabilities, but as a way of systematically gathering information from various constituents for purposes of guiding important decisions. …

Comparing Outcome O F Residential And Intensive Outpatient Treatment Services For Substance Dependence, Shawn E. Channell

Dissertations

The past 20 years have witnessed a significant increase in the number of published studies comparing inpatient with outpatient substance dependence treatment The majority of these studies have reported no benefit for those recipients receiving more intensive treatment However, the outpatient treatment investigated in these studies has typically been day treatment often involving 27 hours a week of participation, and not intensive outpatient treatment (IOP), which involves 12 or fewer hours of participation per week. Additionally, few published studies have compared alcohol and cocaine dependent populations. This study was designed to compare effectiveness of the residential and intensive outpatient levels …

Implementing Organizational Change In A Public Agency, David E. Freed

Dissertations

A major challenge that faces most institutions is that of adapting to and managing change. The leadership of an organization is a key focal point for analyzing how change is accomplished.

This study examines both a theoretical and practical approach to the study of organizational and cultural change. The focus is a public agency and the actions and decision processes of the top leadership relating to organizational and cultural change during the period 1992 to 1995.

From the theoretical perspective, Karl Weick’s approach called sensemaking is examined and a model is created. Sensemaking is an activity that is an explanatory …

Diagnostic Issues With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Conditional Probabilities And A Measure Of Symptom Ratings, Margo Adams Larsen

Dissertations

Current assessment taxonomy, including the DSM -IV and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) (World Health Organization, 1990) editions, have provided semistructured criteria sets to aid professionals in making a diagnosis of ADHD or ADD. The diagnostic taxonomy criteria, however, have resulted in a very heterogeneous population of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disordered (ADHD) individuals. Several studies have attempted to assess the behavioral syndromes— Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)/Conduct Disorder (CD)/ Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)—in terms of test or symptom sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive power, and negative predictive power (Landau, Milich, & Widiger, 1991; Milich, Widiger, & Landau, 1987; Waldman & …

Cognitive Components Of Social Anxiety: A Comparison Of Elderly And Young Adults, Jeffery Alan Mcneil

Dissertations

The present study investigated the underlying cognitive elements of social anxiety in elderly and young adult samples. The young adult participants in this study were 99 undergraduate students from a Midwestern university, recruited through scheduled undergraduate classes from both the Communication and Education Departments. Fifty elderly participants from two independent living senior residence centers were recruited through organizational meetings and contacts coordinated through the housing director or the wellness director. One senior residential center was located in the Midwest, while the other was in the Southeast. The study employed well recognized self-report cognitive measures to assess social anxiety: the Fear …

Japanese Students' Perceived Need For Communicative English And Their Perceived Proficiency Levels, Takanori Mita

Dissertations

Japanese students of English need to develop their proficiencies not only in oral aspects but in overall practical language aspects. English programs from junior high school to college levels need to be improved in consideration of current needs of students.

This study was conducted to assess college students’ perceived need for changes in the English curricula enhancing communicative competence and to seek their perceived levels of proficiency at graduation in the four skill areas (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) in relationship with students’ majors, academic experience in English-speaking countries, and lengths of such experience.

The research was conducted in Tokyo …

Foundations Of Board Development: Theory And Practice In Community Service Organizations, David P. Moxley

Dissertations

As community service agencies become increasingly responsible for the provision of numerous social benefits relevant to the advancement of the social welfare of communities, the effective performance of their governance boards becomes an important aspect of a policy of privatization. This dissertation examines the role of these boards in contemporary human services and community development, and the important functions they serve in the effective transfer of social products, goods, and services from the public to nonprofit sector.

The author introduces the idea of board development as an imperative for community service boards to embrace in order to strengthen their service …

The Relationship Between Multicultural Counseling Competencies And Attitudes Toward African Americans Among White Female Graduate Students, Dianne T. Robinson

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between multicultural counseling competencies and attitudes toward African Americans among White female graduate students in counseling psychology. Participants were 67 White female students enrolled in either the master’s or doctoral level counseling psychology programs in a large Midwestern university. Subjects were administered four instruments. Participants’ self-perceived competencies in multicultural counseling were measured by the Multicultural Counseling Inventory (MCI, Sodowsky, Taffe, Gutkin, & Wise, 1994) and racial attitudes were measured by the Attitudes Toward Blacks Scale (ATB, Brigham, 1993). Demographic information as well as subjects’ level of participation in several activities …

Perceptions Of The Division Of Labor Roles In Dual-Career Households Of Married African American Couples, Karolyn H. Thompson

Dissertations

Perceptions and experiences among married African American couples residing in the Southeastern United States were examined in terms of the performance of tasks and childcare giving in dual-career households. A qualitative approach was used in this study and was guided by conceptual frameworks of cultural variations that include behaviors, attitudes, values, and beliefs. In-depth interviews conducted in the couples’ homes were used for data collection. The research population included 15 married African American couples affiliated with a Greek fraternal organization located in the Southeast. The couples were selected using purposeful sampling.

Participant perceptions of the division of labor roles in …

Students' Mental Models Of Electricity In Simple Dc Circuits, Andrew C. Isola Iii

Dissertations

This study presents the results of research into middle school students' knowledge about the nature and mechanisms of action of electricity in simple DC circuits. Sixth, seventh, and eighth graders (n=99) were asked a series of questions about the roles of bulbs, batteries, wires, and electricity in circuits. Almost half the number of students (n=42) were found to have used detailed, well-defined, and logically consistent mental models based on their responses. A total of 15 different detailed mental models were documented in these students that belonged to one of four different general model types: (1) round trip flow using both …

Symbolic Politics: Government's War Against The Working Class, Warren Charles Gregory

Dissertations

Symbolism and substance are essential parts of any political system. In our system of government, we typically think of symbolism as serving substantive ends. Using a triangulation of _methods (Participant Observation, Archival Data, and Documentary Evidence), the paper examines two cases (Social Security and criminal justice) and concludes that the mix between substance and symbolism has changed dramatically in recent years with symbolism now assuming the central role.

The current debates over Social Security funding and criminal justice sanctions, for example, are less about the concerns of old-age security or making the public safer as much as they reflect a …

A Comparison Of International And U.S. Students In Apa-Accredited Programs: Acculturation, Counseling Self-Efficacy And Role Difficulties In Supervision, Johanna E. Nilsson

Dissertations

There has been a call in the multicultural supervision literature to enhance the understanding of minority students’ unique training needs and develop appropriate theories and models of training for these students (Leong & Wagner, 1994; McNeill, Horn, & Perez, 1995). Although a few researchers have empirically examined differences between U.S. majority and minority students in multicultural supervision (Cook & Helms, 1988; Vander Kolk, 1974), virtually no empirical studies have been published on international students’ training experiences.

The main purpose of the present study was to advance knowledge regarding the training needs of international students in APA-accredited programs in psychology. It …

Detection And Robustness Of Digital Image Watermarking Signals : A Communication Theory Approach, George F. Elmasry

Dissertations

The detection and robustness of the watermark signal is studied from a communications point of view. The contributions of this dissertation are presented in two parts. The first part, which covers the detection aspect, introduces a new digital image watermarking approach that embeds meaningful information in a copyright protection watermark signal; demonstrates the need to approach the watermark signal as a power-constrained signal; studies the relationship between the watermark signal dimension and the image capacity to the signal; explains the similarities and differences between detecting the watermark signal and detecting a signal over a spread-spectrum communication channel; and analyzes the …

Protein And Endotoxin Interactions And Endotoxin Removal From Protein Solutions, Liping Li

Dissertations

The investigation objectives of this study include: endotoxin disaggregation by proteins; protein concentration effect on protein-endotoxin binding and endotoxin removal; size exclusion high performance liquid chromatography (SE-HPLC) studies on endotoxin dissociation by bovin serum albumin (BSA); use of Ca⁺² to re-aggregate endotoxin in hemoglobin solutions and the subsequent removal of endotoxin by ultrafiltration; quantitative determination of Ca⁺² effects on endotoxin removal and protein yield in a two-stage ultrafiltration.

It is known that some proteins can disaggregate endotoxins and form complexes with lipopolysaccharides (LPS). It is also known that Ca can act as "bridges" to aggregate LPS in aqueous …

The Role Of Race In The Perpetuation Of Inadequate Housing, William H. Dozier

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of race as a factor in the perpetuation of inadequate housing in the United States. The idea is not that race causes poor housing conditions, but rather, that housing units occupied by Black households are less likely to be repaired than those occupied by white households. Literature suggests that several institutionalized factors may place unit repair beyond the ability of the renting or owning household. Using data collected through the American Housing Survey (AHS), perpetuation of inadequate housing was measured from 1987 to 1991. The research investigated 2,139 units that …

Coping Strategy And Social Support Differences Among Copd Patients: Effects On Psychological Well Being, Functional Status, And Health Care Utilization, Terri Belville-Robertson

Dissertations

This descriptive study examined coping strategies and social support among thirty-three patients with moderate to severe Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) to assess relationships to psychological and functional status, and health care utilization. More specifically, the qualitative and quantitative differences in coping strategies and social support were examined in relation to anxiety, depression, activity level, and use of emergency and inpatient medical services. Subjects participated in a one-session screening that included a brief clinical interview, battery of questionnaires and exercise tolerance test. Health care utilization data were obtained from subjects’ medical records. Subjects' primary support persons also provided collateral data …

Active Local Volume Displacement Cancellation Of A Vibrating Baffled Beam, Marcellin Zahui

Dissertations

An active noise control apparatus is developed. The device reduces the sound radiated from a vibrating clamped beam. The attenuation of the sound field is obtained through minimization of local volume displacements of the vibrating beam. Two single-input/single-output cancellation devices are used. Each device employs a motion sensor and an acoustic actuator. The actuator is a loudspeaker equipped with a pressure sensor to detect its volume displacement. The motion sensor signal is related to the local volume displacement of the structure which is then reduced by a loudspeaker driven with an equal but opposing volume displacement. The volume displacement sensors …

Skin: A Work Of Fiction, Kellie Wells

Dissertations

In Skin, a polyphonous novel, a community of characters similarly metaphysically vexed and similarly grappling with issues of selfhood and identity intersect and catalyze in one another moments of recognition. These brief self-reckonings suggest to the characters that though the quest to discern their place in the universe is a plagued one, it is not without value as it at least results in faint glimmers of enlightenment. Ultimately, how ever, these flickerings of understanding inch the characters no closer to the big certainties they seek, and they therefore must determine that the process itself, or, more to the point, …

Evaluating The Social Acceptability Of Persons With Habit Disorders: The Effects Of Topography, Frequency, And Gender Manipulation, Douglas W. Woods

Dissertations

Literature suggests that children who exhibit habit disorders are less socially acceptable than children who do not exhibit such disorders. This series of studies investigated the social acceptability of adults who exhibit habit disorders. In Studies 1 and 2, undergraduate students rated the social acceptability of individuals who exhibited motor tics, vocal tics, hairpulling, and no habit. Results showed that the individuals with no habit were more socially acceptable than the individuals who exhibited either motor tics, vocal tics, or hairpulling.

In Study 3, videotapes were created in which actors simulated motor tics, vocal tics, Tourette’s Syndrome, and Trichotillomania. The …

Another Person's Skin: Imagining Race In The Works Of Crane, Dunbar, Cather And Stevens, Lisa M. Durose

Dissertations

This study is interested in the motivations behind certain authors' attempts to, in the words of Willa Cather, "enter into another person's skin"~in the desires compelling writers to cross, transgress, or perhaps transcend those barriers that have historically divided people in the world: barriers of color, class, and gender. In particular it seeks to examine the works of four early twentieth century writers who undertake what these days is considered risky: transracial and transethnic crossings. By relying on biographical, cultural, and historical sources, I explore the strategies American writers Stephen Crane (1871-1900), Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872- 1906), Willa Cather (1873-1947), …

Evaluation Of Raman Spectroscopy And Ruby Piezospectroscopy As Tools For Investigating The Corrosion Of Metallic Alloys, Daniel P. Renusch

Dissertations

Stainless steel system components that operate in high temperature oxidizing environments obtain protection from corrosion by means of thermally grown chromia and alumina scales. Ongoing investigations of protective scales utilize a battery of experimental and theoretical techniques. A technique which has received little attention is Raman scattering. The reason for its limited use has been long data acquisition times required to obtain suitable spectra from thin surface oxides. Because advances in detection systems, namely the multichannel CCD (charge coupled devices), have recently provided dramatic improvement in the sensitivity of Raman scattering experiments, we decided to reevaluate the technique as a …

Nonmigrainous Pediatric Headache Management: Thermal Biofeedback And Parent Guidelines, Richard E. Amdorfer

Dissertations

This study explored the utility of the combination of thermal biofeedback and parent-mediated pain behavior management guidelines as a treatment for children experiencing nonmigrainous headache. Five children, ages 8 to 14, were assigned to baselines of varying lengths prior to receiving treatment. Four of the five children demonstrated significant reductions in one or more headache parameters (frequency, duration, average peak intensity) following treatment. The utility of thermal biofeedback and parent-mediated guidelines are supported as a treatment for children suffering from nonmigrainous headache.

A Bare Unpainted Table: A Manuscript Of Poems, Gladys Cardiff

Dissertations

The poems in this collection reflect Cardiff's bi-cultural Native American and Euro-American inheritance. The book title comes from a sixteenth century chronicle in which the native peoples of the Americas are seen as "simple gentiles" living under the "lawe of nature " . These narrative poems refute the Eurocentric notion that American Indians can be likened to a "bare table" or "a blank sheet of paper to be written upon ". The poem s celebrate her Indian heritage and also engage allusively with Western and Asian tradition s and conventions. Sometimes edgy, sometimes honorific, the juxtaposition of traditions in these …

Improving Special Education Teachers' Use Of Data-Based Instruction, Steven D. Goodman

Dissertations

The data-based decision model involves frequent measures of student performance (i.e., 2 - 5 times per week), frequent analysis of performance data (weekly or bi-weekly), and the application of decision rules. In the first study, we surveyed 406 special education teachers state-wide. Results of the survey suggest that the databased decision model is not generally practiced by special educators in the field. Just over one quarter of the respondents report to assessing student performance frequently enough to qualify as using the model. Only 10% of respondents indicate that they generally graph student performance. Additionally, less than 23% of respondents who …