Digital Commons Network^™

Domesticity And The Modernist Aesthetic: F.T. Marinetti, Djuna Barnes, And Gertrude Stein, Allison Elise Carey

Doctoral Dissertations

Literary modernism has been presented, in scholarship and critical histories, as a masculinized movement: a literature largely by men and concerned with issues of literary form rather than with everyday life. This critical tunnel vision has inevitably prevented a full accounting of many key aspects of modernist literature. One issue of modernism that has been persistently overlooked by scholars is the central role of domesticity in many modernist texts and the importance to modernists of reclaiming the domestic as a subject of high art. As this study demonstrates, modernist texts often focused on everyday life, and these modernist treatments of …

Predicting Academic Success: A Re-Examination Of Broad Versus Narrow Personality Traits, Susan D. Ridgell

Doctoral Dissertations

Personality and cognitive variables were examined to determine relative validity in predicting academic performance. This study investigated whether broad personality variables (in this case, the Big Five: Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, and Openness to Experience) predicted academic success better than narrow personality variables (the construct Work Drive); it also explored the utility of operationalizing academic performance via cumulative grade point average (GPA) versus a single course grade. The highest significant correlates of GPA and course grade were Work Drive (r=.42, p<.01; r=.29, p<.01) and general intelligence, the cognitive variable (r=.40, p<.01; r=.35, p<.01). Regression analysis revealed that Work Drive was the stronger predictor of GPA (17.9% unique variance as step 1, compared to general intelligence’s 15.7% unique variance as step 1); while general intelligence was found to be the stronger predictor of course grade (11.8% unique variance as step 1, compared to Work Drive’s 8.6% unique variance as step 1). Two Big Five variables, Conscientiousness and Emotional Stability, correlated significantly with GPA (r=.15, p<.05; and r=.14, p<.05; respectively). Therefore, this study found that the narrow personality trait predicted better than the broader traits. Conflicting evidence was provided concerning whether GPA and course grade might be used interchangeably as valid criteria.

The Social Construction Of Tourism In Cuba: A Geographic Analysis Of The Representations Of Gender And Race During The Special Period 1995-1997, Michael W. Cornebise

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to critically examine race and gender as they intersect with tourism development in Cuba during the Special Period in a Time of Peace (Special Period), a government imposed austerity program that followed the loss of important Soviet subsidies in 1989.

I hypothesize that tourism development in Cuba during the Special Period betrays the Revolution in that it reconstitutes discriminatory practices along lines of race and gender and hence does not deliver benefits to average Cubans. Indeed, I argue that tourism as presently constructed may subvert the well being of ordinary Cubans.

I draw from …

The Development And Utilization Of A Survey Instrument To Determine The Acceptance Of National Standards For Technological Literacy, Robert Malcolm Donan

Doctoral Dissertations

Over the past six years, practitioners in the field of technology education within the State of Tennessee have been mandated with nearly constant curricular change with the latest being the implementation of a revised set of content standards for technology education, a major change in programs within the curriculum framework, and most recently a new name for the state-wide program. These programmatic changes, other than the name change, although they addressed the majority of the national content standards for technological literacy, were not correlated with either the programs or grade level content explicit in the national standards developed and published …

Dating Violence And Psychosocial Problems: Exploratory Findings From A Sample Of Adolescents Facing Unwanted Pregnancy, Gretchen E. Ely

Doctoral Dissertations

Empirical studies of adolescent dating violence have mainly focused on changing attitudes and knowledge levels. These studies are mostly conducted in mixed gender classroom settings. Results from these studies do not provide knowledge of which psychological/social (psychosocial) problems co-occur with dating violence in at-risk adolescent populations. The current study provides exploratory information related to dating violence in adolescent pregnancy termination patients, a subset of the population virtually ignored by the adolescent literature. In this study, 120 adolescent pregnancy termination patients ages 14 through 21 completed the Conflict in Adolescent Relationships Inventory (CADRI) and the Multi-dimensional Adolescent Assessment Scale (MAAS). Linear …

Critical Thinking As A Predictor Of Test Performance And As An Outcome Measure In A Large Undergraduate Human Development Course, Carrie Sara Booher

Doctoral Dissertations

Either generic or subject-specific measures (a total of three measures) of critical thinking were given to students in nine sections of an undergraduate educational psychology course. Generic measures were the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) developed by Facione and Facione (1994) and the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Forms (WGCTA) by Watson and Glaser (1994). The subject-specific measure was the Psychological Critical Thinking instrument developed by Lawson (1999). The critical thinking measures were used to address questions relating to the predictive potential of critical thinking and to assess changes in critical thinking during the course. Specific questions included the following: …

The Role Of Marital Quality And Social Support In Pregnancy Adaptation In An Internet Sample Of Pregnant Women, Alicia R. Baird-Fassardi

Doctoral Dissertations

There is growing evidence that women who experience depression, anxiety, and obstetric complications during pregnancy have significantly higher rates of adverse birth outcomes and postpartum depression. The present study examined hypotheses about the possible roles of marital quality and social support in measures of pregnancy adaptation. Marital quality was measured using the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (Spanier, 1976), and social support using the Social Provisions Scale (Cutrona & Russell, 1987). Pregnancy adaptation was measured in terms of self-reported levels of depressive symptomatolgy, state anxiety, pregnancy-specific anxiety and number of pregnancy complications. The participants were 808 pregnant women in the third trimester …

Caregivers' Perceptions About Their Children Identified As Having Atypical Behavior, Catherine Swanson Cain

Doctoral Dissertations

Past research on atypical behavior in young children has primarily forused on the caregiver and/or child, isolating characteristics such as the caregiver's parenting or the child's temperament (Deater-Deckard & O'Connor, 2000; Thomas & Clark, 1998). Current research has moved toward trying to build a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of caregiver-child relationships (Bugental, 2000). One way of trying to understand caregiver-child relationships is to look at perceptions the caregiver has of the relationship (Stem & Smith, 1999). Caregiver perceptions include conscious reflections, what the caregiver knows and thinks about, and what the caregiver chooses to talk about (Bugental, 2000). Differences …

Domesticity And The Modernist Aesthetic : F.T. Marinetti, Djuna Barnes, And Gertrude Stein, Allison Elise Carey

Doctoral Dissertations

Literary modernism has been presented, in scholarship and critical histories, as a masculinized movement: a literature largely by men and concerned with issues of literary form rather than with everyday life. This critical tunnel vision has inevitably prevented a full accounting of many key aspects of modernist literature. One issue of modernism that has been persistently overlooked by scholars is the central role of domesticity in many modernist texts and the importance to modernists of reclaiming the domestic as a subject of high art. As this study demonstrates, modernist texts often focused on everyday life, and these modernist treatments of …

The Impact Of U.S. News & World Report Rankings On Mba Programs At Eight Public Institutions, Nissa Dahlin-Brown

Doctoral Dissertations

U.S. News & World Report has published a ranking of the top 50 MBA programs since 1990. Today, the rankings are so popular and powerful, that prospective students, alumni, legislators, college presidents, deans, and admissions officers wait with bated breath to see where their school will be ranked. The purpose of this qualitative study was to look behind the numbers of the rankings to discover the impact of the U.S. News & World Report rankings on eight differentially ranked, public MBA schools, as perceived by 45 faculty and administrators. Three schools from the top 25, three from the bottom 25, …

The Career Satisfaction, Future Plans, And Personal Characteristics Of Tennessee Public School Science And Mathematics Teachers In 2001, Delisa K. Dismukes

Doctoral Dissertations

The effect of state mandates on the supply and demand of science and mathematics teachers in Tennessee is dependent upon the composition of the population of science and mathematics teachers. The purpose of this study was to replicate a study conducted in 1985 by Smith which determined the demographic profile of the general population of secondary school science and mathematics teachers in Tennessee; their general level of job satisfaction; their future plans; and their perceptions of the extent to which they possess job-related skills and abilities, the extent to which they value job-related variables, and the extent to which they …

Determinant Attributes Used By The Elderly For Making Grocery Store Choices, Angela Lewis

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the determinant attributes used by the rapidly increasing elderly (aged 65 and older) consumer segment when choosing among the various retailers for grocery purchases. This study also sought to examine the importance of these determinant attributes and how these determinant attributes affect grocery store patronage decisions. Finally, this study explored the impact that primary store choice, age, self-reported healthiness, activity and mobility have on the importance placed on grocery store attributes. Data were gathered via a mail questionnaire. A determinant attribute . model based on the basic multi-attribute model formed the theoretical …

Leadership Behavior Of East Tennessee Directors Of Public Schools And The Job Satisfaction Of Principals, Gerald Garrison Miller

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the school district directors' leadership behavior and the principals' job satisfaction. In particular, the problem addressed by this study was which, if any, of the five leadership practices of school directors that were measured by the "Leadership Practices Inventory" (LPI) by Kouzesand Posner ( 1997), had a relationship to the job satisfaction of principals, as measured by the "Job Satisfaction Survey" (JSS) by Spector (I 985). The population included 526 eligible, K-12, East Tennessee public schools principals. The entire population was surveyed with 329 (63%) principals responding period. The questionnaire consisted of …

The Structuration Of Brain Dominance On Organizational Communication : A Correlational Study, Astrid Sheil

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine if the influence of brain dominance as defined by Herrmann (1982, 1995), which includes left-brain/right-brain dominance and cerebral/ limbic dominance, offers predictive capabilities in determining preferences for communication channel selection, feedback frequency, and job satisfaction in organizations. The study also examined whether sex has a determining role in predicting preferences for communication channels, feedback, and job satisfaction. Raw scores from the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI) were correlated with responses to a validated survey instrument, which combined items from the International Communication Association (ICA) Audit (Downs, 1988), and the Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire …

Ethnic Differences Using Behavior Rating Scales To Assess The Mental Health Of Children : A Measurement Equivalence Study, Edgar H. Tyson

Doctoral Dissertations

Cultural competence in measurement has become increasingly important in child welfare and juvenile justice systems where disproportionate numbers of children and families from diverse ethnic groups are served. However, there is a present gap in the literature regarding the assessment of children from different ethnic groups using behavior-rating scales. This study examined the cross-ethnic measurement equivalence of the SAC (Glisson et al, 2001) using a sample that included 562 African American (AA) and 692 Caucasian-American (CA) children. These data were part of a three panel longitudinal survey of families referred to juvenile court in one state. Specifically, baseline and first …

The Relationship Between Self-Directed Learning Readiness And Resilience Among Graduate Students, Mary Glenette Robinson

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between self-directed learning readiness and resilience among graduate students. A convenience sample of 148 graduate students was selected from three departments in the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Participants were administered the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS) developed by Guglielmino (1977), the Resilience Scale (RS) developed by Wagnild and Young (1987), and a demographic questionnaire to describe the sample. A significant positive correlation was found between SDLRS and RS mean scores (r = .61; p < .001). Other findings inc1ude positive correlation's with self-directed learning readiness and the resilience factors: personal competence and acceptance of self and life. Another positive correlation was found between self-directed learning readiness and age, that is, as age increases, SDLRS scores tend to increase. Significant regressions were found using the total RS scores and age. Tota] RS scores and age tend to explain 39.2% of the variability in the SDLRS. However, the personal competence factor of the RS explained 43.4% of the variability in the SDLRS. Recommendations for future research inc1ude replicating this study with diverse populations of graduate students in terms of racial identity. Research is also needed in self-directed learning readiness and resilience with other adult populations from community groups. Research is needed with different instruments that measure selfdirected learning readiness and resilience because most research on resilience has focused on children and there is a need to develop more research on resilience among adults. Finally, qualitative research is needed to provide a different perspective from the population through interviews.

An Investigation Of Personality Correlates Of Small Business Success, Kimberly Sue Owens

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of the current study is to empirically examine the relationship between personality characteristics and small business success. A cluster of 14 personality variables were examined using a work-based measure of personality, the Personal Style Inventory (PSI), adapted for small business owners. Small business success was operationally defined in terms of financial and personal dimensions of success. The two criterion variables assessed were business performance and work satisfaction. It was hypothesized that business performance and work satisfaction are positively related.

One hundred forty-seven small business owners completed the web survey. Correlational analyses revealed personality characteristics were significantly related to …

The Effects Of The Facts Workshop On Faculty Attitudes Toward Community College Students With Learning Disabilities, Rob Stewart

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of the FACTS workshop on faculty attitudes toward community college students with learning disabilities. The Attitudes Toward Students with Leaming Disabilities Survey was used to measure faculty attitudes toward LD students before and after the FACTS workshop, a researcherdesigned training intervention. The study examined responses from 264 faculty members from 7 different community colleges in western North Carolina using an experimental group (n = 214) and a control group (n = 50). The study was guided by two hypotheses. Hypothesis 1 (HO1) was that there would be no significant differences …

Battered Women's Experiences With Pet Abuse : A Survey Of Women In Two Domestic Violence Shelters, Elizabeth Bramel Strand

Doctoral Dissertations

Since the beginning of empirical exploration about woman battering over twenty years ago, the bond some battered women have with companion animals has been app-arent. However, it is only within the last 5 years that any empirical attention has been directed toward specifically exploring the link between animal abuse and interpersonal violence in the lives of battered women. The purpose of this non-experimental survey design study was to replicate the findings of previous studies on animal abuse in the lives of battered women, as well as to freshly explore the proportion of battered women who are prompted to leave abusive …

The Effects Of Dietary Additives On The Growth Performance And Occurrance Of Resistant Bacteria In Weanling Pigs, January Beth Pulliam

Doctoral Dissertations

Three replicate trials, with a total of 36 ileal cannulated pigs, were conducted to determine the effects of including carbadox or mannanoligosaccharides in weanling pig diets. Individual crossbred (Yorkshire X Landrace X Duroc) pigs were used as the experimental units and were weaned at approximately 21 days of age, balanced by gender, genetics and weight, and allotted to pens in groups of three. Pens were randomly assigned to one of four treatments including: AB) 55 mg carbadox/kg, BM) 0.2% phosphorylated mannanoligosaccharide, RT) a rotation of the above two treatments, or CT) NRC based control treatment with no additives. Pigs were …

Assessing Environmental Concern, Health, And Justice In Claksville, Tennessee, Shirley Ann Rainey

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines public concern for the environment, public perceptions of environmental health problems and environmental injustice among residents living in Clarksville, Tennessee. Eleven hypotheses pertaining to environmental concern, health and justice between blacks and whites and among blacks are discussed and tested. Support for each hypothesis was judged by analyzing data from in-depth interviews and a mail survey of a random sample of residents living in and around the Red River community of Clarksville, Tennessee. Independent Sample T tests, bivariate correlations, and stepwise regression analyses were used to test these hypotheses. Results showed that blacks are more concerned about …

Vocabulary Instruction And Its Effects On Writing Quality, Denise Soileau Moseley

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the quality of writing, specifically in terms of vocabulary use, of students in the 8th grade whose teacher used intensive vocabulary instruction only or intensive vocabulary instruction together with explicit writing instruction. The investigation sought to determine if a deep knowledge of pretaught words would have an effect on those words used in student writing. All students in the study had the same intensive vocabulary instruction, but one group had the added component of explicit instruction on how to use pretaught words in their writing.

Intact groups, consisting of 87 students in …

Big Five Personality Traits And Work Drive As Predictors Of Adolescent Academic Performance., Susan Rae Perry

Doctoral Dissertations

The Five Factors of Agreeableness, Emotional Stability, Extraversion, Openness, and Conscientiousness, or some combination thereof, are increasingly used as predictors of job performance in business settings. Personality factors are also related to academic performance in college. Further extending this research into academic realms would provide useful information about early individual attributes that not only affect performance in school, but may also predict future issues in later job performance. Additionally, the use of more work or school specific constructs and related instruments may provide more information about performance than the broader five- factor structure. The contribution of Work Drive to the …

Swat Team Composition And Effectiveness, Deanna Marie Putney

Doctoral Dissertations

A field study examined team effectiveness in relation to group composition in thirty-four (34) Specialized Weapons and Tactical (SWAT) Teams. Data collection during a five-day, work-focused, SWAT team competition and included judges’ ratings of team performance, a questionnaire among team members and leaders to assess individual personality traits conscientiousness and agreeableness, and perceptions of team performance, norms, and conflict. Hypotheses derived from current research and theory. Results showed that the team maximum conscientiousness score correlated positively with member-rated team performance, as predicted. Team average and minimum conscientiousness correlated with leader-rated team viability; whereas, only the maximum conscientiousness team score correlated …

Population Genetics And Effective Population Size Of The Brazilian Free-Tailed Bat, Tadarida Brasiliensis (Chiroptera: Molossidae), Amy Louise Russell

Doctoral Dissertations

The Mexican free-tailed bat, Tadarida brasiliensis mexicana, exhibits variation in migratory behavior over its range. Some populations undergo seasonal long-distance migrations to warmer climates in winter, whereas others are resident through the winter in more northern regions and hibernate. Variation is also exhibited among populations in their migratory routes, and long-term banding studies document that populations are largely faithful to a single migratory route. These observations have led to the prediction that behaviorally defined migratory groups make up structured gene pools. Tests of this prediction using allozyme markers have documented high levels of gene flow among migratory groups, with …

Effectiveness Of An Anger Management Training Program Based On Rational Emotive Behavior Theory (Rebt) For Middle School Students With Behavior Problems, Shannon Rae Sharp

Doctoral Dissertations

Sixteen seventh and eighth graders from a rural East Tennessee middle school participated in an anger management group training program based on Rational Emotive Behavior Theory (REBT). The participants were identified as having behavior problems in the school setting, characterized by the number of office referrals acquired in the previous school year.

When tested on knowledge of REBT concepts directly following treatment (post-test), the participants earned significantly higher scores compared to baseline (pre-test). This knowledge gain remained significant after an 8-week follow-up period. Effect sizes for these comparisons were large. Additionally, the 7^th graders’ post-test scores were significantly higher …

Returning Home And Leaving Again: A Phenomenological Investigation Of A Sojourner’S Experience, Victoria Christofi

Doctoral Dissertations

Two studies were conducted for this project. The goal of the first study was to describe the structure of the experience of individuals who have returned home after their stay abroad. The goal of the second study was to describe the structure of the experience of individuals who have returned to the country in which they studied, after having returned home. To accomplish these goals, phenomenological interviews were conducted with seventeen participants. In the first study, nine participants were interviewed in their own country after they had been abroad for their studies. In the second study, eight participants were interviewed; …

Group Discussion Of Power Among College Women, Tiffany Elizabeth Kelsey

Doctoral Dissertations

The present study addresses power in a discussion group format. The purpose of the study is to examine the experience of group discussion of power by college women and to test for an effect of that experience on measures of self-efficacy, attitudes about women, and depression. The study uses Foucault’s definition of power and a postmodern feminist approach to therapy and research. Sixteen participants joined one of three discussion groups about power. Each group met three times to discuss their understanding and experiences of power. Pre-, post-, and delayed post-test measures of depression, self-efficacy, and attitude towards women were administered …

Do Increased Opportunities To Respond Enhance Generalization From Multiplication To Division, Joshua David Booher

Doctoral Dissertations

Haring and Eaton (1978) proposed four levels of skill development; acquisition, fluency, generalization, and adaptation. Many researchers and educators have focused on improving skill acquisition and fluency. This study was designed to investigate whether increasing a student's opportunities to respond (practice) would increase generalization of learning from multiplication to division. The participants were 31 students from two third-grade magnet classes in an inner-city school. The research design was a within-participants repeated measures ANOV A. Three levels of the independent variable, practice, were investigated (high, low, no). Outcomes were measured at three different times (Days 1, 8, and 10). Multiplication and …

Life Satisfaction And Self-Concept Of Elderly Living In Congregate And Non-Congregate Housing In Knox County, Tennessee, Barbara Joyce Canada

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the life satisfaction and self-concept of the elderly living in congregate housing versus those living in non-congregate housing in Knox County, Tennessee. Two instruments (Life Satisfaction Index-Z and The Tennessee Self-Concept Scale) were used to measure life satisfaction and self-concept of elderly living in the two different settings. A demographic data form was also used to capture information regarding the study participants. A stratified random sample of elderly was obtained from the 65 census tracts in Knox County. The study groups consisted of 235 elderly men and women living in congregate (N=208) …