Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Western Michigan University Teaching Style Survey: A Nonevaluative Scale Of Teaching Style As Reported By Students, Christopher A. Lewis

Honors Theses

Students know little about the differences between professors that they may at some point come in contact. Students rely heavily on hearsay of others to learn about the teaching style of professors. This hearsay is non-scientific, relying on mainly opinions instead of fact. The Teaching Style Survey (TSS) looks at a professors' teaching style and how it relates to the students' learning style. With this information, students will be able to find professors that complement their learning style, not blindly picking the professor just to fill a time slot. This becomes particularly important when looking at multiple sections and elective …

Drug Use Among Female High School Senior Students In Michigan: An Application Of Social Bond Theory, Halime Unal

Masters Theses

Drug use is a serious problem affecting the American adolescents today. The focus of this study was the relationship between the elements of social bond and drug use among female high school senior students. The elements of social bond were peer pressure, commitment to school, and the importance of religious belief. Drugs investigated in this study were cigarette, alcohol and marijuana. This study included the total population of female senior students during the 1994-95 academic year in Michigan who participated in the Michigan Alcohol and'Other Drugs School Survey (MAOD).

In order to test the relationship between the elements of social …

Differences In Perceptual And Subjective Body Image Between Weight Cycling And Noncycling Graduate Students, Karen Casebeer

Dissertations

This research began as an exploratory investigation into body image differences between individuals who were weight cyclers and those who were noncyclers. Participants were fem ale and m ale graduate students (n= 444) who completed the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (Cash, 1990a), the Contour Drawing Rating Scale (M.A. Thompson & Gray, 1995), and the Weight History Questionnaire (W H Q ), a researcher developed self-report survey of weight, dieting, and demographic information. Data gathered from the WHQ were used to identify pairs of individuals who were matched on cycling status, gender, age, and body mass index. Fifteen such pairs were …

Latvians In Southwest Michigan: A Transnational Perspective, Andrew K. Dove

Masters Theses

The focus of this study was to look at the Latvian population in Southwest Michigan utilizing the transnational theoretical framework. Transnationalism examines the three-way relationship between the migrant, home community (Latvia), and host community (United States). First and second generation Latvian-Americans were interviewed to assess the nature of their transnational activities with regard to economics, politics, family ties, communication, and organizational membership.

The data were collected through the use of in-depth interviewing. Both an interview protocol and demographic survey were utilized. A total of 16 adult Latvian-Americans (N = 16) were interviewed. Eight were first generation Latvian-Americans (N = 8), …

An Analysis Of Police Perceptions Of Community Policing And Female Officers, Rhonda Kaye Delong

Dissertations

Traditional and community policing differ in their approach to crime and other social concerns. Traditional policing emphasizes reactive response and enforcement while community policing emphasizes proactive response and community partnership. Often, these two types of departments select officers with specific characteristics which fit well with the philosophy of the department. Characteristics such as age, education, years of military experience, rank, years of police experience, type of department, and family members in the military and the police are examined in this study to determine perceptual differences among officers regarding the community policing philosophy and the role of women in policing. A …

An Assessment Of Generalization Across Settings Of A Parenting Strategies Program For Adhd Children, Barbara M. Todd-Nelson

Dissertations

When collapsed across gender and subject pools, Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects three to five percent of school-aged children (DSMIV, 1994). Intervening upon environmental contingencies for ADHD-diagnosed children is one of the least intrusive forms of treatment and is often very effective (Atkeson & Forehand, 1978; Forehand & King, 1977; Barkley, 1986; Webster-Stratton, 1993). As noted by many researchers (Allen, Tamowski, Simonian, Elliott & Drabman, 1991; Drabman, Hammer, & Rosenbaum,1979; Stokes & Osnes, 1989), it is necessary to assess generalization of treatment effects across the behavior therapy literature. Few have examined generalization from the home setting to the classroom. Since …

Programmed Instruction: Within-Subject Analysis Of Four Types Of Instructional Material, Matthew L. Miller

Dissertations

Skinner (1958) expressed the need for an increase in the effectiveness and efficiency of education. In particular, he suggested that programmed instruction could provide such efficiency. The present study used a within-subject design to compare the effects of four types of instructional materials: those requiring overt construction responses, overt discrimination responses, covert reading of text with highlighted key words, and covert reading of standard text. The material requiring overt responding produced greater learning than did the covert reading materials, with or without highlighting. There was no difference found between the two types of overt responding; nor were there differences between …

Theoretical And Conceptual Lacunae In Sociological Theories Of Development: The Puerto Rican Anomaly, Dennis Malaret

Dissertations

Puerto Rico is presently facing serious economic and social problems which are characteristic of a neocolony. Many of these problems are associated with Puerto Rico's historical path of industrial development adopted in 1940s. This study, therefore, focuses on economic and development policies implemented in Puerto Rico since the early 1900s and the political and economic role the U.S. has played in such policies.

To understand Puerto Rico's structural problems, a theoretical framework has been developed. This framework combines developmentalist theories such as modernization, dependency, capitalist world economy and indigenous Puerto Rican theorizing. These theories have been critically assessed for their …

Affective Orientation, Alexithymia, And Multidimensional Empathy In Counselors-In-Training, Terrilyn J. Krueger

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the predictive relationship between two affective measures, affective orientation and alexithymia, and five empathy measures in 67 master’s degree level counselor trainees. It was hypothesized that affective orientation would be predictive and alexithymia inversely predictive of five distinct dimensions of empathy: communicated, observed, emotional, cognitive, and relational. Communicated empathy was measured by trainees’ audio-taped responses to a client stimulus which were assessed by “blind” raters. Observed empathy was measured by practicum supervisors based on their observations of trainees with clients. Emotional, cognitive, and relational empathy were assessed by trainees’ self-reported responses about …

Civil Society In Palestine: A Palestine Profile, Shadia Kanaan

Masters Theses

One definition of civil society dominated all theoretical and historical perspectives when it comes to the special case of civil society in Palestine. "Civil society is concerned with a society's total self re-producing ability through its inner strength in a manner that is distinct from the state" (Bishara 1995, 143). The hypothesis of this work is that civil society in Palestine existed and flourished in spite the absence of a national state and had played a fundamental role in the social and economic development of Palestinian society throughout its history. Civil society in Palestine poses an exception to the theory …

A Study Of Ideological Change In Reggae Music From 1971 To 1993, William H. Stanley

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to see if the reggae music that became popular in the United States was ideologically different from the reggae that originated in Jamaica. The hypothesized change was derived from a model developed by Humphrey Regis (1994, 1988) labeled “cultural domination by re-exportation”. It was determined that early reggae music and the Rastafarian religion had very similar ideologies. The change within reggae music was measured against the Rastafarian belief system.

A content analysis of twenty-five songs was undertaken. The method of doing ideological analysis of the reggae lyrics was derived from Cormack (1992). The sample …

Defining American Dreams: An Ideological Analysis Of The Michigan Militia, Pamela Labelle

Masters Theses

The primary goal of this thesis is to explicate the system of beliefs underlying the militia movement in order to better understand how their particular ideology helps them make sense of the complexities and contradictions in the world in which we live. By delineating and analyzing their ideology, I demonstrate how it is rooted in the Constitution and the Bible, as well as how that rootedness can alternately support and work against their system of beliefs. I then examine the ideology of the mainstream American Dream to understand how militia ideology works in tandem with some of the principal tenets …

A Comparative Analysis Of The Harm That Russian And Chinese Organized Crime Groups Can Inflict On American Society, Bryce L. Hoekenga

Masters Theses

Determining which of the two main ethnic organized crime groups emerging in America poses a greater threat to society was the focus of this study. One group is from or is closely linked to Russia and the other group is from or is closely linked to China.

The aspects of each group that were discussed include their origins, their spread to America, how they structured, their membership sizes, the types of crimes they commit, and how law enforcement has responded to each group. The aspects that were compared between the two groups include their levels of sophistication, the seriousness and …

Analysis Of The Skeletal Remains From The Knobloch Site, 20ae633, Allegan County, Michigan, Alexandra D. Bybee

Masters Theses

The skeletal remains of at least thirty individuals were recovered from the Knobloch site, 20AE633, Allegan County, Michigan. The site is from the Late Woodland period, a time which saw a variety of strategies for food procurement, including hunting, gathering, fishing, and agriculture. It is not known to what extent these strategies were practiced. The results of trace element analysis of skeletal samples from the Knobloch site assemblage indicate a diet reliant on hunting and gathering.

Differential Effects Of Individual And Group Pay Contingencies On Individual Performance, Judith A. Honeywell-Johnson

Dissertations

Individual productivity of high performers was compared under an individual monetary incentive system and a 10-member group monetary incentive system. Subjects were 4 college students, each assigned to a simulated 10-person group. Subjects individually performed four computerized work tasks (SYNWORK) simultaneously, and the total number of points earned on the tasks was the main dependent variable. A within-subject reversal design was used, with hourly pay (A), individual (B) and group (C) monetary incentives implemented in an ABCB pattern. Subjects, when working under the group incentive pay condition, were told that the number of points they earned during each session would …

Professional Football Players Attitudes Toward Women And Violence, Shannon Marie O'Toole

Masters Theses

This study examined whether or not professional football players, because of the violence and aggression associated with their sport, tended to have attitudes that condoned or were conducive to violence against women. The forty-six subjects in this study were active members on teams in the National Football League and/or the National Football League sponsored World League. Information was gathered through the sue of self-reporting, non-random, questionnaires and interviews.

The study also explored the dynamics of domestic violence, the linking of aggression with professional sports and the characteristics of sport in United States society, especially as it relates to masculinity and …

Community In Liberal Thought, Richard C. Brill

Masters Theses

The aim of this thesis is to research the role of community in liberal thought. The problem that has initiated this research is the erosion of traditional communal bonds in contemporary liberal society. This problem has been the focus of the debate between communitarians and liberals for the past two decades. The research problem will be to discover workable definitions of community and liberalism which have been plagued with multiple interpretations throughout the debate.

The method of this thesis will be to first frame in the environment of the original problem. The second chapter will address the precedents set by …

The Impact Of Sex And Gender-Role Orientation On Student Evaluations Of Professor Competence In Counselor Education And Counseling Psychology, Suzanne M. Hobson

Dissertations

The focus of this study was on the potential impact of sex and gender-role orientation on one form of evaluation within higher education. Specifically, this study investigated sex and gender-role orientation as they relate to graduate student end-of-course evaluations of professors in the Counselor Education and the Counseling Psychology fields.

Students enrolled in graduate courses in counselor education or counseling psychology at a large university in the Midwest completed the Instructional Development and Effectiveness Assessment (IDEA) end-of-course rating form, a modified version the Bern Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) short form, and a student questionnaire. Professors also participated by completing the IDEA …

Underdevelopment As Meta-Axiological Dilemma: The Socioeconomic Implications Of African Axiology For Rational Choice Determinants Of Microeconomic Agency, Sundiata Keita Ibn-Hyman

Dissertations

The intergenerational problems of indigence, poverty and social dysfunction that plague African societies are inextricably grounded in the broader issue of ethnocentrism in neoclassical microeconomics. Economic anthropology provides a methodological critique of the conceptual limitations of neoclassical micro-behavioral assumptions narrowly imposed on non-westem economic organization. While recognizing non-westem economic praxes, the sociological implications of strict neoclassical microeconomic agency for non-westem socioeconomic development is conspicuously ignored. The critique fails to specifically consider the impact of neoclassical ethnocentrism to non-westem sociocultural organization and improvement.

This research utilizes an African-centered, social psychological approach to examine the paradigmatic implications of rational choice criteria for …

Discrimination Against Female Graduate Teaching Assistants, Joanne Ardovini-Brooker

Dissertations

Many studies have been done concerning the classroom climate, particularly in the university setting. It has been found that the classroom climate for women is one that is cold, unreceptive, unwelcoming, and even hostile to women. This chilly reception is endured by female undergraduate students, graduate students, and professors. This researcher believes that the chilly classroom climate also extends to female graduate teaching assistants/instructors. I also believe that this chilly climate may be chillier and more hostile for them, since graduate teaching assistants/instructors do not have the status associated with a doctoral degree. This concept is the basis for what …

The Development And Validation Of A Multicomponent Scale Measuring Aids Phobia, Jessica Purtan Harrell

Masters Theses

The development, reliability, and validity of a new instrument, the Multicomponent AIDS Phobia Scale (MAPS), is described. The results indicate that the MAPS has strong internal consistency and moderate test-retest reliability. In addition, an assessment of concurrent and discriminant validity indicates statistically significant correlations with other self-report measures of anxiety, hypochondriasis, obsessive compulsive disorder, and fear of AIDS. The results of a factor analysis indicate that the scale consists of 2 factors: fear of infection and fear of others/avoidance. The instrument appears to be a reliable and valid measure of AIDS Phobia and may prove useful for improving clinical assessment …

Interpreting Diet By Age, Status, And Gender And Establishing Weaning Patterns Using Trace Element Analysis On Human Remains From Umm El-Jimal, Jordan, Monica Shah

Masters Theses

The intent of this study is to learn about the dietary patterns of early fourth century occupants of a Late Antique site in northern Jordan. Bone samples of 107 individuals from two distinct cemetery· types, assumed to be status differentiated, were chemically examined for their trace element composition. Trace element analysis can potentially investigate groups of individuals to attempt to determine if gender, age, or status influenced access to food resources.

Statistical tests found that significant differences of trace element concentrations were evident in an inter-burial area study for all adults and subadults, and when examining intra-burial area males and …

Geographic Information Systems In High School Geography Education: A Feasibility Study, C. Sonia Wardley

Masters Theses

This research focused on three aspects of the integration of GIS into the high school curriculum. Firstly, the investigation strove to demonstrate how GIS could enrich the high school geography curriculum in Michigan. Secondly, GIS software programs were evaluated for suitability using three techniques, and thirdly, the study area high schools were assessed for their technological capabilities relative to GIS.

The pedagogical and cognitive benefits of using GIS as a tool were established _ from the pertinent literature and the feasibility of incorporating GIS into the curriculum was examined with the reference to the Michigan geography content standards and benchmarks. …

Flying Universities: Educational Movements In Poland 1882-1905 And 1977-1981, A Socio-Historical Analysis, Gregory A. Lukasik

Masters Theses

In Poland in 1977, a group of intellectuals formed an independent educational enterprise under the name "Flying University." Interestingly, the original "Flying University" was organized by a group of radical professors nearly a century earlier, at a time when the Polish state disappeared from the political map of Europe. I was interested in seeing whether the two were the same, as their common name would suggest, or if they differed in any respect. I attempted to answer this question by focusing on the so-called universities' memberships, ideologies, and objectives.

I have followed the method of interpretive historical sociology (Skocpol, 1979) …

Eye Movement Desensitization And Reprocessing (Emdr) In The Treatment Of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Dismantling The Cognitive Component, Karen Cusack

Masters Theses

Twenty-three individuals meeting diagnostic criteria for post traumatic stress disorder were randomly assigned to either a standard EMDR treatment group or a modified treatment group that omitted the cognitive reprocessing component of EMDR. All subjects were assessed on a variety of pretest posttest measures including the SCL-90- R, the Impact of Events, the Structured Interview for PTSD, SUDS, and Validity of Cognitions (VoC). Results of repeated measures ANOVAs indicate a significant decrease across all pre to post measures, with these results being maintained at a 1 month followup. With the exception of SUDs and SCL-90-R anxiety scores, there were no …

Diversity And Spatial Structure Of Revitalization In The Vine Neighborhood In Kalamazoo, Michigan: 1980-1990, Lotta M. Jarnefelt-Burns

Masters Theses

Neighborhood revitalization, a process of turning an old, often run-down urban neighborhood into a fashionable and attractive place to live, has been studied in major cities in Europe, Australia and the United States. This process is a controversial combination of various social and economic changes since the late 1960s, and its magnitude and parameters have been disputed. This thesis zeroes in on one neighborhood that appears to be revitalizing, the Vine neighborhood in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The census data from 1980 and 1990 generally conflict with the revitalizing image of the area. In order to address this conflict, this research analyses …

Effects Of Linear And Non-Linear Incentive Pay Systems With Individual And Group Payouts On The Social Psychology Phenomenon Of Social Loafing, Delores A. Tinley Smoot

Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was twofold. First, the experiment investigated the occurrence of social loafing behavior when individuals are engaged in a production task. Social loafing is defined as a decrement in individual performance when working co-actively with a group. Second, the experiment compared the effectiveness of three incentive pay systems (linear, positively and negatively accelerating) in eliminating social loafing behavior and in generating performance levels higher than those generated by a flat or hourly pay system.

Sixteen undergraduate students, all female, participated in twenty-five 15- minute work sessions in which they made widgets from pop beads. Subjects …

What’S Good For Gm… : Deindustrialization, And Crime In Four Michigan Cities, 1975-1993, Rick Matthews

Dissertations

This study examines the effects of deteriorated economic conditions caused by General Motor's deindustrialization efforts between 1975 and 1993 on crime rates in four Michigan cities. The Michigan cities ofFlint and Saginaw are used as examples of cities that were highly dependent on General Motors for their economic well-being, and are compared with Lansing and Grand Rapids which had more diversified economies and experienced less social disorganization. It is hypothesized that General Motor's deindustrialization efforts in Flint and Saginaw caused social disorganization to increase, which, in turn, caused crime rates to increase. Lansing and Grand Rapids, on the other hand, …

Human Impulsivity: Effects Of Reinforcement Procedure, Catherine A. Karas

Dissertations

In this study, positive and negative reinforcement procedures were directly compared across subjects to determine whether more impulsive responding would occur with one reinforcement procedure when compared to the other, under a discrete-trial choice procedure. For both reinforcement procedures, taped music served as the reinforcer. For the positive reinforcer, subjects brought in their own music, from which tapes were made for use in the study. Subjects then ranked the tapes according to their preferences. For the negative reinforcers, the investigators made tapes of various types of music, and all subjects ranked their preferences for these tapes. Subjects were then presented …

Definition And Evaluation Of The Mississippian Lithic Assemblage From The Wymer-West Knoll (20 Be 132), Berrien County, Michigan, Sean R. Brown

Masters Theses

Analysis of the lithic assemblage from the Wymer-West knoll site was undertaken with the following objectives: (1) to define the lithic technology of the Mississippian occupational component of the site, (2) to compare length, width and width/length ratios of triangular projectile points from the Wymer-West knoll with other Mississippian sites to clarify the cultural affiliation of the Wymer-West knoll, and (3) to use site function, from the perspective of the overall Wymer-West knoll material culture in general and the Mississippian lithic technology in particular, as a framework to better understand the Wymer-West knoll's place in the regional culture history.

A …