Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Kalamazoo County Juvenile Home's Foster Shelter Care Unit: Toward An Evaluation, Michael John Underwood

Masters Theses

A formative evaluation of the Foster Shelter Care Unit was conducted in order to analyze the success/failure of the program during its firs t year of operation. Data on 77 cases were analyzed, and nine Independent variables and one dependent variable were bivariately tested 1n order to provide a theoretical explanation of the success/failure rate.

The evaluation was conducted 1n order to supply the Foster Shelter Care Unit with recommendations to enhance its success/ failure rate and to modify its existing policies.

The success rate for the unit was 48.1%, and it was found that the only significant association with …

Effects Of Seating Arrangement On Affective Meanings And Group Interaction In Healthy Senior Citizens, Judith Ann Boughton

Masters Theses

Occupational therapists state that environmental factors (seating arrangements) influence behavior. This ex post facto study examined the effect of peripheral versus central seating arrangement on interaction (verbalizing and looking), affect, and group climate in 41 healthy senior citizens. Nine men and 32 women aged 62 to 83 participated in two collage activities (creative and imitative) in either a parallel/nonsharing group or a project/ sharing group. Seating arrangement was added to an earlier study's independent variables (creative and imitative activities, and sharing and nonsharing groups). Dependent variables consisted of three factors of affective meaning from the Osgood Semantic Differential, evaluation, power, …

Successful Women: A Racial Comparison Of Variables Contributing To Socialization And Leadership Development, J. Baraka Love

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify variables that have contributed to the growth and development of successful women and to explore whether those variables were the same for Black and White women by comparing the perceptions and backgrounds of women who have reached top level positions in the fields of education, business, human services, and government.

Data were collected by questionnaires from 547 women respondents out of a sample of 1,500 identified in Who's Who in America (43rd ed., 1985) and Who's Who Among Black Americans (4th ed., 1985). The response rate was 38.4%; 298 (19.9%) were Black …

The Relationship Between Learning Disabilities And Juvenile Delinquency In Macomb County Juvenile Court (1983-84), Rita M. Bologna

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the link between learning disabilities and juvenile delinquency in the Macomb County Juvenile Court System. Because of the presence of several key variables, it was believed that learning disabilities was a unique trait of the detained population.

The population consisted of 517 male and female detained and adjudicated delinquents that were admitted to the facility during the 1983-84 school year. Biographical and crime related data were gathered by hand searches of the legal file. The learning disabled or non-learning-disabled classification resulted from interpretation of the scores on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test …

Perceptions Of American College Students About Arabs: The Role Of Mass Media And Personal Contact In The Formation Of Stereotypes, Mansour Owaid Aljeaid

Dissertations

American students, as well as people of other nations, form perceptions of others who differ from their own cultural, racial, and social groups. These mental pictures are "stereotypes."

The purpose of this study was to identify stereotypes that American students enrolled at Western Michigan University (WMU) had about Arabs and to determine if there were differences in these stereotypes when students were classified by race, sex, level of education, age, and sources of stereotypes. Twenty-five bipolar adjectives were organized as semantic differential scales to assess students' perceptions. The instrument was either mailed or hand delivered to a sample of 400 …

Attributions For Violence In Relationships: Do Battered Women Blame Themselves?, Debra Down

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The central purpose of this research was to compare attributions of blame for spousal violence made by women who were in violent relationships with those of abused women who had sought shelter and those of women who had never been abused. Both clinicians and researchers (e.g., Frieze, 1979; Walker, 1979) have included victims of marital abuse among victims who self-blame, and have contended that self-blame contributes to remaining in an abusive relationship. Previous work, however, has not considered the repetitive nature of spouse abuse, and has routinely confounded self-causality with self-blame.

Nonabused women and abused women who remained in relationships …

Energy Attitudes, Beliefs And Behavior: A Specification Of Situational And Personal Determinants Of Residential Conservation Behavior, Carl Michael Hand

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the nature and extent of residential energy conservation behavior as well as consumers' view of the energy problem. The primary policy question raised by this research has been to clarify the link between energy attitudes, beliefs and conservation actions performed in the home context as a basis for furthering energy policies directed at encouraging residential energy conservation. Despite a plethora of such studies, research findings have failed to provide an unequivocal understanding of the role of consumer energy attitudes and beliefs in guiding behavior.

Theoretical basis for this research is drawn from attitude theory, particularly recent discussions …

Attitudes Of Otolaryngologists Towards Speech Pathologists Working With Voice Disordered Clients, Judith Patricia-Bader Cross

Dissertations and Theses

This study was designed to collect information about the working relationship of otolaryngologists with speech pathologists who provide service to voice disordered clients.

Person-Environment Interaction Psychological Strain And Delinquency: A Longitudinal Test Of The Theory, Mahmood Gazi-Tabatabaie

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Utilizing longitudinal panel data from Youth In Transition Project, the Person-Environment fit (P-E Fit) theory and its specific application to the area of delinquency and aggression was investigated longitudinally. Analysis of Covariance Structure Technique (LISREL) was used to address the issues of multi-dimensionality, stability, measurement of total P-E fit and to test the proposed delinquency model. The relationships between P-E fit, psychological strain, and delinquency were tested both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. The student sub-group (those respondents who stayed in school after high school) and the working sub-group (those who went to work after high school) were tested separately. P-E fit …

Perceptions Of Menstruation As An Indicator Of Stereotypic Beliefs Within Marriage, Debra L. Caswell-Madsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This research examined husband and wife attitudes toward menstruation and how these attitudes related to certain behaviors within marriage. The sample consisted of 48 Married couples, some living in Davis, California and some living in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Specifically, four objectives were pursued:

1. Assess husbands' and wives' perceptions of how behaviors within marriage vary over the wives' menstrual cycles.
2. Assess husbands' and wives' attitudes toward menstruation.
3. Examine how husband's and wives' attitudes toward menstruation might be associated with perceptions of how behaviors within marriage vary over the wives' menstrual cycles.
4. Examine how wives' perceptions of differences in behavior over …

Parental And Teacher Expectations For Kindergarten Preparation And Priorities For Kindergarten Curricula, Kimberly Harris

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Participants for this investigation were 146 kindergarten teachers and 436 parents of kindergarteners in Davis and Weber School Districts. Self-administered questionnaires were utilized, 1) to determine if teachers, mothers and fathers believe that parents could do more to prepare children for kindergarten, 2) to delineate what each group believes parents can do, 3) to investigate what mothers and fathers have done in preparing their children for kindergarten, 4) to explore what skills teachers, mothers and fathers credit as most important for children to possess upon kindergarten entry, and 5) to examine what skills these three groups feel should be emphasized …

The Effects Of A Social Skills Training Program On Interpersonal Communications In Parent Adolescent Dyads, Patrick Sean Noble

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this thesis was two fold. First, there was an experiment in which the independent variable was the behavioral skill levels of parents and their adolescents on a social skills training program and the dependent variable was the parent and adolescent perceptions of their interpersonal relationship regarding communication and problem solving. Second, there was an experiment comparing instructional styles wherein the independent variable was the length of time used to present the social skills training program and the dependent variable was the resulting scores on the behavioral measures of the program. A modified pretest -post-test control group design …

A Descriptive Study Of The Elements Which Affect Mexican-American Children's Educational Opportunities For Social And Economic Advancement, Linda Flores Quiroz

Graduate Theses

No abstract was provided.

Dual-Purpose Activity Versus Single-Purpose Activity In An Institutionalized Geriatric Population, Rita M. Yoder

Masters Theses

The use of purposeful, goal-directed activity has traditionally been a central theme for occupational therapy. In dual-purpose activity the participant has two goals: successful task completion and the making of adaptive responses in the activity process. This study compares the extent to which a dual-purpose activity (stirring for the purpose of exercise and baking cookies) enhances performance in contrast to a single-purpose activity (stirring for the purpose of exercise alone) in an institutionalized geriatric population.

Thirty women between 70 and 92 years of age were randomly assigned to either the single- or dual-purpose activity. Duration, exertion, and discontinuities were measured …

Becoming A Nurse: A Study Of Aspects Of Professional Socialization, Arlene Christian

Masters Theses

This study examined aspects of the professional socialization of student nurses into the role of the professional nurse. Comparisons were made between senior and freshmen nursing students, between those 25 years of age and over with those under 25, between those who had two or more years of college with those who had less than two, and between those who were nursing externs with those who were not.

The results of the data analysis offered mixed support for the hypotheses proposed. Senior nursing students exhibited higher levels of professionalism in two aspects, while the older students, those with more college, …

Social Role Importance: The Interplay Of Experience And Expectation In The Lives Of Chicago Area Women, Debra Barnewolt

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of Multiple Work Roles And Identities Of Adjunct Faculty In American Two-Year Colleges, Michael E. Kuchera

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Grammars Of The Old Age Problem: From Activity Theory To Alzheimer's Disease, Robert Joseph Lynott

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of The Nazi Holocaust: Sociological Treatment Of Intergenerational Effects, Michael S. Fleischer

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Extra-Legal Factors In The American Legal System, Peter W. Mayer

Honors Papers

The laws of the United States have been written over time with the intention of providing a framework for fair, legitimate, and uniform legal decisions to be made. Laws attempt to provide national tranquility by providing channels of punishment for those who disobey them. At the same time laws in the United States attempt to avoid any conflict with differing cultural values present in our nation. The laws of the United States are intended to function without regard to the race, sex, or religion of the defendant, complainant, or attorneys involved. Laws themselves cannot help but embody the cultural values …

A Cross-Cultural Comparative Analysis Of Levels Of Social Development And Gender Stratification, Helen Elisabeth Wells

Honors Papers

There is a current debate in social science literature, in Marxist theory, and in Feminist theory on the role of gender in affecting the form of inequality. Particular emphasis is placed on the controversy over whether or not women suffer universal exploitation and oppression. The debate over the role of gender in the stratification process is further complicated by a division in orientation: some consider gender inequality to be conditioned by relations of production or distribution that arise historically, and therefore are not universal (Engles 1968; Friedl 1978; Sacks 1974; Sanday 1974); while others trace it ultimately to fundamental biological …

Shift Rotation Among Correctional Officers As A Source Of Perceived Job Related Stress, Phyllis Ingram

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

My formal hypothesis for this study is that shift rotation among correctional officers has an effect on correctional officer stress. Although there are many definitions of stress, for the purpose of this study stress is defined as conscious nervous tension. Many authors believe that stress develops from a person's reactions to certain situations that are threatening or exert pressure on them. It is felt that whatever the cause, stress depends not on the outside event but on how one reacts to it. For the purpose of this study, stress was not formally defined to the correctional officers because I was …

Adolescent And Parental Perceptions Of Adolescent Self-Disclosure Communication And Relational Satisfaction, Diane S. Lund

Dissertations and Theses

As children approach adolescence, their communication relation&hip with their mothers and fathers undergoes significant transformation. Research has hitherto been conducted on family communication as an isolated variable. This study analyzed adolescent and parental perceptions of adolescent self-disclosure and relational satisfaction by adolescents and parents.

The Arabs In Israel: A National Minority And Cheap Labor Force, A Split Labor Market Analysis, Samir M. Miari

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Cluster Analytic Study In Intercultural Communication Of Rokeach's Intrumental Values Among Lds Returned Missionaries, Lisa Bradford

Theses and Dissertations

Although much has been done in the study of values several important questions relative to the study of values remain. This thesis discusses the questions of what happens to the value systems of those who leave their culture for extended periods of time, do the perceptions of value systems become more accurate after exposure, and how does religiosity affect value systems.

The study was based on the idea that each of the cultures being tested (Latin and United States) had a distinct, general value system which differentiated it from the other and yet unified the individuals within it. In this …

Strategy For Achieving Maximum Contextualization Of The Church In Contemporary Missions, Jonathan Berry

Honors Theses

"Never in history has there been so much evangelical activity seeking to make Jesus Christ known loved and served throughout the world. Yet the church has never been so harassed and troubled by voices calling for the reduction or elimination of these activities and for the reconceptualization of its message and mission in term of social justice, peace, racial integration and the elimination of poverty. Since there is validity to all of these activities perhaps it can be said that the Spirit is struggling within the church that they might rise to the complex challenge of world-wide mission."

This paper …

The Mobilization Of The Gay Liberation Movement, Ramom De Souza Torrecilha

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines the development and evolution of the gay movement. It raises the questions as to why the gay movement was not organized prior to the 1960's. The study starts in the 1940's and ends in 1970. It employs qualitative research methods for the collection and analysis of primary and secondary data sources. Blumer's description of general and specific social movements and Resource Mobilization Theory were used as theoretical frames of reference. The former explained the developmental stages in the career of the movement and the latter focused on the behavior of movement organizations.

The Reinforcing Functions Of Androgyny Partial Reinforcement, Patricia A. Bartell

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

A Psychological Study Of Male And Female Recreational Soccer Players, Deborah Kay Rosa-Stoffel

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

The Development Of A Program For Minority Dropout Prevention In The Decatur, Illinois Public School District #61, Priscilla Marjorie Palmer

Masters Theses

The purpose of this field study was to identify the need and present a workable model designed to address minority dropout prevention for the Decatur, Illinois, Public School District #61. The overall district dropout rate at the time this field study commenced was 26.6 percent. However, the dropout rate for minority (Black) males was 43.1 percent and 24.9 percent for minority (Black) females. The data shows that a problem of minority dropouts did exist in Decatur School District #61 and that a preventive program was needed to address this problem.The Program to Improve Student Attendance (PISA), was designed for use …