Digital Commons Network^™

Osteopathic Medical Student Knowledge Of And Attitudes Toward Chronic Pain, Amelia Grace Gradwell

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Chronic pain is a prevalent presenting problem for patients in medical settings, yet how physician knowledge and attitudes about those with chronic pain may influence the treatment of this condition is not fully understood. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of osteopathic medical students about pain management, with particular emphasis on chronic pain, in an effort to address the lack of chronic pain research currently available. A review of current literature, including an overview of chronic pain, is included. This study used original data, collected from first and fourth year D.O. students at a …

Women’S Intrasexual Variability In Sexual Psychology And Pain Functioning, Charlotte M. Lutz

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between sexual orientation, self-described gender expression and preferred levels of gender expression in romantic partners with ischemic pain performance in healthy young women. It was hypothesized that lesbian and bisexual women would be less sensitive to pain than heterosexual women. It was also hypothesized that regardless of sexual orientation, women who endorse a preference for more feminine romantic partners and who describe themselves as more masculine would report higher pain thresholds, higher pain tolerance, and lower pain intensity levels than women who report attraction to more masculine romantic partners and …

Effects Of Oxygen Deprivation On Pilot Performance And Cognitive Processing Skills: A Pilot Study, David Francis Shideler

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations, pilots flying above 14,000 ft. are required to use supplemental oxygen. The purpose of this study was to examine how oxygen deprivation below 14,000 ft. affects pilot performance using the Frasca Mentor Advanced Aviation Training Device (AATD), and cognitive processing skills using the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics (ANAM(TM)) cognitive test. The study was conducted in a Normobaric High Altitude Laboratory at simulated altitudes of 5,000 ft. and 14,000 ft. In this pilot study, only five participants were tested; non-significant results of the analysis were anticipated; however, as oxygen levels decreased and time of …

Quality And Quantity Of Sleep Study And Its Relationship To The Performance Of Lpga Tour Players, Maria Elena Lopez

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The relationship between sleep efficiency and elite level athletic performance that has a definitive and individual measure of performance (like golf, track, & swimming) has never been systematically studied. The extreme and rigorous travel schedules of professional golfers prevent consistent and necessary sleep schedules. The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) permitted Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) to ask for volunteers at two tournaments during October of 2010 to complete subjective sleep fatigue logs. Analysis of the sleep fatigue logs revealed a relationship between sleep quality and performance (golf score). Subsequent relationships were also found between subjective fatigue and sleep quality, and …

Assessing Color Discrimination, Joshua R. Maxwell

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to evaluate human color vision discriminability within individuals that have color normal vision and those that have color deficient vision. Combinations of 15 colors were used from a list of colors recommended for computer displays in Air Traffic Control settings, a population with some mildly color vision deficient individuals. After a match to sample test was designed to assess the limits of human color vision discrimination based on color saturation and hue, standard color diagnostic tests were used to categorize college students as having normal or deficient color vision. The results argue that color …

The Crossover Effects Of Supervisor Work-Family Positive Spillover On Employee Sleep Deficiency: Moderating Effects Of Family Supportive Supervisor Behaviors (Fssb), Tori Laurelle Crain

Dissertations and Theses

The majority of literature on the work-family interface has focused on, and provided evidence of, the conflict associated with engagement in both work and family roles (Eby, Casper, Lockwood, Bordeaux, & Brinley, 2005). Research examining the positive aspects of work and family participation remains limited. The current study investigated how work-family positive spillover is transferred between members of the supervisor-employee dyad and subsequently how this affects employee sleep outcomes. It was hypothesized that work-to-family affective positive spillover experienced by supervisors would crossover to employees and increase their experiences of work-to-family affective positive spillover. In turn, this would allow for better …

Physiology Of Yawning : Proximate Mechanisms Supporting An Ultimate Function, Melanie Lee Shoup-Knox

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Recent research suggests that yawning functions to cool the brain during periods of mild hyperthermia. Evidence for this hypothesis is largely behavioral, and includes reports of increased yawning during increases in ambient temperature and times of stress as well as an amelioration of yawning upon nasal breathing and forehead cooling. Little research has been published on the physiological mechanisms supporting a brain cooling function, however. The current set of studies explores human and animal physiological parameters in search of evidence of brain cooling during yawning. In humans, heart rate, skin temperature, and skin conductance findings suggest that yawning involves an …

Walter Miles And His 1920 Grand Tour Of European Physiology And Psychology Laboratories: A Reproduction Of The Original Typescript, Walter R. Miles, C. James Goodwin, Lizette Royer Barton

University of Akron Press Publications

Walter R. Miles (1885-1978) was an American experimental psychologist very much interested in laboratory apparatus and procedures and their applications to human behavior. Early in his career, Miles received an appointment as a research scientist at the Carnegie Nutrition Laboratory in Boston, Massachusetts. When Miles arrived at the Carnegie Nutrition Laboratory in 1914, work was well underway on the physiological effects of various nutrients on the human body. Miles began studies on the effects of alcohol on physiological and psychological functioning.

The First World War severed many of the relationships that the Carnegie Laboratory had with research counterparts in Europe. …

The Use Of Horticulture And Gardening As A Special Education Tool At The High School Level, Krysta Marie Johnson

Horticulture and Crop Science

THIS REPORT CONTAINS PLANNING METHODS AND INSTALLATION PROCEDURE FOR A RAISED VEGETABLE GARDEN FOR WILSONVILLE HIGH SCHOOL, IN WILSONVILLE, OREGON. THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF THE GARDEN WAS TO USE IT AS A LEARNING TOOL FOR THE SPECIAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT AT WILSONVILLE HIGH SCHOOL. UPON DOING MORE RESEARCH IT BECAME EVIDENT THAT THE GARDEN CAN ALSO BE USED AS A HEALING TOOL FOR STUDENTS WHO SUFFER FROM ATTENTION DISORDERS AND WHO HAVE EMOTIONAL AND LEARNING DISABILITIES. THE STUDENTS HAVE BECOME INVESTED IN THE GARDEN PROJECT AND LOOK FORWARD TO DOING MORE PROJECTS WITH THEIR CLASS.

A Phenomenological Study Of Clinicians Treating Traumagenic Compulsions Resulting From Childhood Sexual Abuse, Albert Sarno

Faculty Dissertations

Various types of traumatic compulsive behaviors have been observed by practicing mental health clinicians and yet there is a lack of consensus among such clinicians for treating people in such a problematic state when there is also a history of childhood sexual abuse. Ten seasoned clinicians, each with over 15 years experience in treating patients with traumagenic compulsions and childhood sexual abuse were interviewed to explore their lived experience treating people with traumagenic compulsions due to childhood sexual abuse. A phenomenological design was used to asses the data collected in the study. The data were analyzed to determine the best …

Insights From Past Experience With Human Dynamics In Military Operations, Randy Borum

Mental Health Law & Policy Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Glossolalia Influences On Stress Response Among Apostolic Pentecostals, Christopher Dana Lynn

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study tests the hypothesis that long–term experience of Apostolic Pentecostal glossolalia or “speaking in tongues” reduces the reactivity of biological stress response to normal or "daily" stressors. Glossolalia is a form of religious dissociation. Dissociation is a universal capacity often conflated with “trance.” It refers to the partitioning of awareness associated with a variety of cross–cultural forms, from daydreaming and denial to possession trance, shamanic spirit journeys, and dissociative identity disorder. Dissociation is believed to reduce or filter stress by mediating evaluation of potential stressors and reactivity of the mechanisms of biological stress response. Previous studies have examined these …

Preventing Weight Gain In First Year College Students: An Internet-Based Intervention, Rachel Gow

Theses and Dissertations

The transition to college has been identified as a critical period for increases in overweight status. Overweight college students are at-risk of becoming obese adults, thus prevention efforts targeting college age individuals might be one key to reducing adult obesity rates. The current study developed and implemented an intensive, 6-session, internet intervention. This intervention was evaluated with first year college students assigned randomly to one of four treatment conditions: 1) no treatment, 2) 6-week weight and caloric feedback only, 3) 6-week internet intervention, and 4) 6-week combined feedback and internet intervention. As expected, the combined intervention group had lower BMI …

Energy-Flow – A New Perspective On James Macgregor Burns’ Transforming Leadership: A New Pursuit Of Happiness, Pi-Jern Caroline Fu

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This theoretical dissertation documents a personal transforming leadership experience; during which, I explored my Leadership as Energy-Flow model by having a virtual dialogue with the polymathic works of theorists and thinkers to corroborate and refine it. The model consists of a theory and a conceptual scheme. The energy-flow theory, based on the laws of physics and Chinese philosophy and cosmological science, fashions the energy-flow conceptual scheme. Using the conceptual scheme, I delve into the Premise of the Dialogue, “In what ways and to what extent would using the energy-flow frame of reference describe and stimulate new meanings in Transforming Leadership: …

Molecular Characterization Of Dopamine Transporter Phosphorylation And Regulation, Balachandra Kumar Gorentla

Theses and Dissertations

The dopamine transporter (DAT) is a presynaptic membrane phosphoprotein that terminates dopaminergic synaptic transmission by clearing dopamine (DA) back into presynaptic neuron by a reuptake process. DAT is also a molecular target for psychostimulants such as cocaine, amphetamine (AMPH) and methamphetamine (METH) that increase DA synaptic levels either by blocking reuptake or by inducing DA efflux. DAT phosphorylation and transport down regulation are best demonstrated with the treatment of Protein kinase C (PKC) activators such as (phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate) PMA. Serine(s) and threonine(s) are known to be involved in DAT phosphorylation.

Pretreatment with psychostimulant substrates such as AMPH and METH …

Identification Of Psychological Stressors For Long Duration Space Missions: Psychological Stressors Among Five Astronauts And Cosmonauts, Melinda S. Marsh

Theses and Dissertations

As humans continue to experience space missions of longer and longer duration, more and more high intensity stressors are going to be experienced. Although physiological stressors have been studied, there have been few studies on the psychological stressors. Those that are present primarily focused on the polar environment as a space analogue. In order to answer the question of how stressors may affect future astronauts and cosmonauts, the evolutoinary reasons behind stress must be considered not only the type and intensity of the stressors.

Five astronauts and cosmonauts representing three space agencies were surveyed regarding their experiences with ten types …

Exploring The Ligand Binding Site On The Dopamine Transporter By Photoaffinity Labeling And Site-Directed Mutagenesis, Maria Laura Parnas

Theses and Dissertations

The dopamine transporter (DAT) is a neuronal presynaptic transmembrane protein that clears released dopamine (DA) from the synaptic space, regulating the neurotransmitter concentration and availability, DAT and the related serotonin (SERT) and norepinephrine (NET) transporters belong to the SLC6 family of Na+ and CI- dependent symporters, and are major targets for the action of several drugs, including the psychostimulant cocaine. DAT is predicted to possess 12 transmembrane spanning domains (TMs), with both N- and C-termini located intracellularly. Extensive research efforts to gain insight on the molecular aspects of DAT have been attempted, but the three-dimensional arrangement of the protein as …

An Exploratory Investigation Into The Association Of Neuroticization, Cognitive Style, And Spirituality To Reported Altered States Of Consciousness In Women Experiencing Childbirth, Nikolai Gruzdev, Dimitri Spivak

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This study examined the relation of altered states of consciousness to neuroticization, spiritual experience,

and divergent thinking in a sample of women (N= 102) at late pregnancy and post-delivery. The results

suggest that stress associated with imminent childbirth is linked to higher levels of ASCs and that neuroticization

and spirituality seem to be implicated in the induction of ASCs.

State-Specific Effects Of Withdrawal In Smokers, Carla J. Rash

LSU Master's Theses

Comparisons of responses to a free-recall task were made in withdrawal and non-withdrawal states of 41 smokers. A 2 x 2 design was used to investigate state-specific learning effects in smokers during nicotine withdrawal using a list of 20 common words. Nicotine withdrawal was defined as a minimum of 12 hours abstinence from smoking. Physiological measures of heart rate and blood pressure were examined for drug-compensatory responses. No significant decreases in physiological responding were found. Additionally, no interaction was found between reported urge and withdrawal. The primary hypothesis regarding state-specific effects on recall was not supported. These findings are to …

Comparative Analysis Of Depression In Homeless Populations, Tsudoi Suzuki

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project was to find out whether or not there were specific factors that made homeless people depressed. Finding depression factors will help to establish strategies and programs that would prevent homeless people from being depressed. The current study tested the hypothesis that basic needs and education are needed to help in factoring depression.

Increasing Attendance At Voluntary Academic Tutoring Sessions On A Large University, Meghan Sadler

Honors Theses

High attrition rates have become an impetus for colleges and universities to develop programs to help students during the first years of their education. Various services such as supplemental instruction, tutoring, testing, counseling, college success seminars, and remedial help are offered to help students be successful in their university studies. While these services may be offered, encouraging students to voluntarily attend these sessions is a problem. This study was conducted to analyze the effect of prompts on improving the attendance at voluntary content tutoring sessions at a large Midwestern University. The participants were college students enrolled in any course that …

A Study Of The Relationship Between Police Stress And Moral Reasoning, Coping Mechanisms, And Selected Demographic Variables, Harvey J. Burnett

Dissertations

Problem. Past research provides information on stress and its relationship to the law enforcement officer's coping mechanisms. However, there is no research on how the element of moral reasoning relates within the conceptual framework of Police stress and coping. This present study investigated the relationship between police stress and moral reasoning, coping mechanisms, and selected demographic variables among police officers.

Method. The subjects for this study were 71 full-time certified law enforcement officers in Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren counties of Michigan. A brief demographic questionnaire was utilized, followed by the Police Stress Survey (PSS), the Defining Issues Test …

Thermodynamic Modeling And Analysis Of Human Stress Responses, Satish C. Boregowda

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A novel approach based on the second law of thermodynamics is developed to investigate the psychophysiology and quantify human stress level. Two types of stresses (thermal and mental) are examined. A Unified Stress Response Theory (USRT) is developed under the new proposed field of study called Engineering Psychophysiology. The USRT is used to investigate both thermal and mental stresses from a holistic (human body as a whole) and thermodynamic viewpoint. The original concepts and definitions are established as postulates which form the basis for thermodynamic approach to quantify human stress level. An Objective Thermal Stress Index (OTSI) is developed by …

The Effects Of Task Partitioning And Computer Skill Level On Operator Engagement And Performance In An Adaptive Biocybernetic Environment, Todd Michael Eischeid

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present study examined task partitioning in an adaptive environment, utilizing the cybernetic closed-loop system of Pope et al. (1995). In that study, participants either performed a tracking task (manual condition) or monitored the tracking task (automatic condition). Changes in task mode were driven by an engagement index derived from the participant's EEG and operated under either positive or negative feedback conditions. One goal of the present study was to examine participant performance under a wider range of tracking conditions. Specifically, the task was partitioned into 3 modes: a manual mode, a partitioned mode, and an automatic mode. A second …

African-American Males' Perception Of Law Enforcement: A Psychophysiological Perspective, Adolph Brown Iii

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study compared the psychophysiological reactivity of African American and European American males to authority. Nineteen African American males and 23 European American males were randomly assigned to either be interrogated by a police officer, or see a police officer interrogate that experimenter or view a videotape of police activity. Participants' physiological reactivity, acceptance of authority, fear of negative evaluation or social anxiety, and apprehension and anxiety in stressful situations as well as EMG, SCR, heart rate, respiration, and blood pressure were measured. African American males were hypothesized to show greater physiological response than European American males and participants who …

The Efficacy Of Guided Imagery For Recovery From Anterior Cruciate Ligament (Acl) Replacement, Deborah D. Durso-Cupal

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As an exploratory, developmental injury intervention study, this research investigated the efficacy of providing psychological intervention in the form of relaxation and guided imagery to a group of orthopedic patients recovering from major knee surgery. Utilizing a prospective, experimental research design with 30 subjects randomly assigned to either an intervention, placebo, or control group, this study employed physiological as well as psychological outcome measures. Intervention consisted of 10 individual mental practice sessions for intervention group members as an adjunct to physical therapy. Content of these sessions was intentionally designed to facilitate physiotherapy goals. Imagery protocols with which to deliver these …

Shamanic Wisdom, Parapsychological Research And A Transpersonal View: A Cross-Cultural Perspective, Larissa Vilenskaya

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

No abstract provided.

An Overview Of Parallel Distributed Processing, Jonathan P. Heyl

Modern Psychological Studies

Parallel Distributed Processing (PDP), or Connectionism, is a frontier cognitive theory that is currently garnering considerable attention from a variety of fields. Briefly summarized herein are the theoretical foundations of the theory, the key elements observed in creating simulation computer programs, examples of its applications, and some comparisons with other models of cognition. A majority of the information is culled from Rumelhart and McClelland's (1986) two volume introduction to the theory, while some concerns from the field and the theorists' accompanying responses are taken from a 1990 article by Hanson and Burr.

A Preliminary Study In The Design Of A Stress Inventory For Gifted Students: A Factor Analysis Of Potential Items, David Kinkade

Masters Theses

Items were designed for potential utilization in a stress inventory for gifted students. Two types of items were written; the first assessing stressful life events and situations, the second assessing coping ability. Both sets of items were administered to gifted students (N = 162) currently enrolled in the seventh and eighth grades. A principle components factor analysis with a varimax rotation was performed on both sets of items separately. The first set produced a four factor solution. The factors which emerged were identified as self-concept of giftedness, positive gifted programming, negative aspects of the gifted label, and performance pressure. The …

College Students' Beliefs In Sexual Myths, Gloria Ramona Meltzer

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.