Digital Commons Network^™

A Study To Determine The Effect Of Technology Education On The Career Choices Of Middle School Students, Charles N. Schirra

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

The goals of this research paper are to: 1) determine if students take technology education courses as an elective or whether they are genuinely interested in technology education; 2) determine if technology education classes influence the students in their career choices; 3) determine the ratio of females to males taking the technology education classes irrespective of their future educational plans; 4) determine the percentage of technology education students who plan on attending college.

A Study To Determine The Influence African-American Male Teachers Have On Improving Academic Success Among African-American Male 4th And 5th Grade Students At Jacox Elementary School, J. Frederick Braswell

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

In order to guide this study to determine the influence African-American male teachers have on improving academic success among African-American 4th and 5th grade students at Jacox Elementary School the following questions considered: 1. Do students at Jacox Elementary School perceive that there is a significant difference between African-American male students who have African-American male teachers? 2. Do African-American male students prefer teachers of the same ethnic group and gender? 3. Is there a significant difference between the number of African-American males suspended and placed in detention compared to the overall student body? 4. Does the number of African-American male …

A Study To Determine How Old Dominion University's Student Teachers Of Technology Education Appraised The Effectiveness Of Their Cooperating Teachers, Mark V. Crenshaw

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

The objectives of this study were to explore the following questions: 1. What effect did the cooperating teacher have on the Technology Education teachers' success in their preparation for employment in the middle school and/or high school Technology Education program? 2. How did the Technology Education teachers perceive the student teacher/cooperating teacher relationship? 3. How did the cooperating teacher assist the student teacher to: apply technical content, select appropriate pedagogical practices, integrate technical content with instructional methods for delivery of satisfactory instruction.

The Relationship Between Ethnic Identity, Self-Esteem, Emotional Well-Being And Depression Among Lakota/Dakota Sioux Adolescents, Susan M. Pittenger

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Despite conceptual support linking ethnic identity and psychological adjustment among Native Americans, empirical research examining this relationship remains limited. In light of recent developments in the area of ethnic identity research, including alternative conceptual models, improved methodologies, and more sophisticated measures, this study examined the relationship between ethnic identity, self-esteem, emotional well-being, and depression among Native American reservation youth.

The relationship between the predictor variables of American Indian ethnic identity, White-American identity and bicultural identity, and the criterion measures of self-esteem, emotional well-being, and depression were examined for 137 Lakota/Dakota Sioux reservation youth. Participants completed surveys including the Multigroup Ethnic …

Effectiveness Of Prevention Interventions With Youth At High Risk Of Drug Abuse, Richard F. Catalano, Kevin P. Haggerty, Randy R. Gainey, Marilyn J. Hoppe, Devon D. Brewer

Sociology & Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

A recent report describes three types of prevention programs: universal, selected, and indicated (Institute of Medicine 1994). Universal prevention approaches are those that serve the entire population who share a general risk to the disorder without regard to specific risk status. Selected prevention approaches serve those whose precursors of problem behaviors are elevated but who have not yet manifested the problem behavior to be prevented. Indicated prevention approaches serve those who have initiated the problem behavior to be prevented but have not yet developed a serious or chronic behavior problem and do not warrant at that time a clinical diagnosis …

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 …

Municipal Involvement In International Relations, John Jack William Hilgers

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Management

The purpose of this study is to examine municipal involvement in international relations in the United States. This municipal phenomenon is occurring concurrently with both a shift away from the traditional nation-centric structure of international relations under the influence of globalism as well as a sharp decline in intergovernmental aid. The research questions were: (1) What are the indicators that define municipal involvement in international relations? and (2) What is the extent of that involvement?

Extensive qualitative and research was conducted in the form of an exploratory literature survey which was set forth in narrative analysis to overcome the paucity …

Creating A Canonical Scientific And Technical Information Classification System For Ncstrl+, Melissa E. Tiffany, Michael L. Nelson

Computer Science Faculty Publications

The purpose of this paper is to describe the new subject classification system for the NCSTRL+ project. NCSTRL+ is a canonical digital library (DL) based on the Networked Computer Science Technical Report Library (NCSTRL). The current NCSTRL+ classification system uses the NASA Scientific and Technical (STI) subject classifications, which has a bias towards the aerospace, aeronautics, and engineering disciplines. Examination of other scientific and technical information classification systems showed similar discipline-centric weaknesses. Traditional, library-oriented classification systems represented all disciplines, but were too generalized to serve the needs of a scientific and technically oriented digital library. Lack of a suitable existing …

A Discovery-Oriented Process Study Of Enactment In Family Therapy: Development Of The Family Therapy Enactment Rating Scale, Elizabeth Ong-Mythuan Fong

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

With the effectiveness of psychotherapy now well-supported in both the individual and family literatures (Garfield & Bergin, 1994), we are entering an era where questions of how and why therapy works are of interest. More specifically, there has been support and encouragement by some researchers (Rice & Greenberg, 1984; Mahrer, 1988) for the use of discovery-oriented methodologies to explore clinical phenomena that have yet to be empirically validated. The following is a discovery-oriented study of enactment, a structural family therapy intervention. The theoretical goals of enactments, their relevance to clinical practice, as well as how they are actually implemented in …

Subsystem Variables Associated With Positive Foster Mother-Foster Child Relationships, Meg Sandow

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Many researchers have explored variables that appear to influence a foster child's placement, and both researchers and theorists have noted the need for an overarching understanding of the variables that may affect a foster child's care and progress. This study examined four interlinking subsystems of foster care: the foster child, the family of origin, the foster parent, and the social worker. Data regarding relevant variables for each of these subsystems were analyzed by means of canonical correlations, factor analyses, a multiple regression, and zero-order correlations. Participants in the study were 42 foster children from the Chesapeake and Suffolk Departments of …

Eisenhower And Khrushchev At The Paris Summit: Anatomy Of A Failure, Vincent Michael Kapral

History Theses & Dissertations

Although it seemed at the time that the destruction of a U-2 reconnaissance aircraft over Soviet territory, slightly over two weeks prior to the Four-Power May 1960 Paris Conference had ended the summit, more deeply rooted historical differences ensured the meeting's failure. While President Dwight Eisenhower sought to ensure a national policy of defense sufficiency via his New Look strategy, he faced many internal and external critics who over-stepped or underutilized their positions. These included Allen Dulles, Christian Herter, Richard Bissell and Charles De Gaulle. Nikita Khrushchev faced internal division over his desires to achieve a new peaceful coexistence as …

Death Anxiety As A Moderation Factor On Sexual Behavior Related To The Risk Of Hiv Infection In Young Adults, John Hawes Jones

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study was conducted to determine whether there is a relationship between level of death anxiety and risky sexual behavior that may lead to HIV/AIDS. It was hypothesized that the higher one's death anxiety level the less an individual would engage in high risk behavior. A sample of 151 young adult college students with a mean age of 22.6 years completed the Revised Death Anxiety Scale (RDAS). The survey also asked the participants to list the extent that they have engaged in six sexual behaviors known to increase one's risk of HIV infection. The participants also completed a 12 question …

Effects Of A Circuit Weight Training Program On The Body Images Of College Students, Pamela Ann Williams

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present study was conducted to determine the extent to which participation in a circuit weight training program would lead to improvements in body image and physical self-efficacy, as compared to a matched control group. Thirty-nine experimental subjects participated in a 6-week circuit weight training class, while 39 subjects in a matched comparison group did not engage in any weight training. All subjects completed the Multidimensional Body Self-Relations Questionnaire, the Social Physique Anxiety Scale, and the Physical Self-Efficacy Scale at pre- and posttest points. Experimental subjects also completed tests of muscular strength and the Reasons for Exercise Inventory. The results …

Differences In Married Versus Maritally Disrupted Children's Frequency Of Contact With Their Mothers, Sonya Dee Thompson

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

This study explores the effects of children's marital status on the frequency of contact they have with their mothers. As American society ages and marital disruption remains high, it is important to determine if there are differences in the relationships adult children have with their aging parents. A secondary analysis was conducted on data collected in 1986 for the General Social Survey. Two hypotheses were created from theory:

(1) From dependency and obligation theories, it was predicted that maritally disrupted adult children would report having greater contact with their mothers than married adult children.

(2) From status and resource adjustment …

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 …

Windlass Taping Technique For Symptomatic Relief Of Plantar Fasciitis, Beth Anne Ernst

Rehabilitation Sciences Theses & Dissertations

This study investigated the biomechanical and symptomatic effects of a newly described taping technique to support the longitudinal arch in symptomatic plantar fasciitis patients. The subjects were 20 individuals all diagnosed by a physician with unilateral plantar fasciitis, ambulating full weight-bearing without an assistive device.

Measurements were taken pre and post-taping for calcaneal position, tibial position and navicular height, with the subjects serving as their own control. The subjects also reported pain level pre and post tape using a visual analog scale. The statistical analysis performed on the biomechanical data was the t-test, and Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed ranks test was …

A Comparison Of Coping Styles And Body Image Of Abused And Non-Abused Women, Laura Elizabeth Brown

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study compared body image, patterns of coping, and the relationship between these factors in subjects with and without a reported background of childhood incest. Self-report measures of personal experience (Relevant Variable Questionnaire and the Assessment of Coping Interview), body image (the Human Figure Drawing Test (HFDT) and the Body Image Assessment (BIA)), and coping (the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES), the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECOM) Coping Scale, and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R)) were administered individually to twenty-two women with reported incest histories and an equal number of women with no reported history of sexual or physical abuse. Significant …

Fostering The Development Of Domain-General, Nonlinear Mental Models: A Foundation For Systemic Thinking, Jeffrey S. Sinn

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Two experiments examined whether people can develop a domain-general, nonlinear mental model when provided with an appropriate conceptual model. Both experiments presented causal loop models (i.e., variables connected in a circle by arrows representing causal relationships) as a conceptual model for positive feedback. Study 1 found that participants trained in causal loop modeling could accurately represent scenarios of low but not high complexity. Study 2 expanded on the design of Study 1 by varying the type of training and type of aid presented during testing. Participants received training with modeling instruction, training with cue-utilization instruction (i.e., participants were trained to …

To Lead A Team: Construct Validity Evidence For Team Leadership In The High-Tech Industry, Johanna M. Merritt

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Two studies were conducted to gather evidence of construct validity for functions of team leadership. The research built on a continuing line of background research. Three hundred and thirty-seven team leaders from sixty-three companies in the manufacturing electronics industry participated in the studies and completed surveys.

Four types of validity evidence were examined: content, criterion-related, convergent, and discriminant. Content validity evidence was demonstrated in Study 1. The overwhelming majority of team leaders perFormed the proposed functions and rated them as important. A confirmatory analysis did not indicate a parsimonious fit among the seven functions that were generated from background research …

A Synthesized Methodology For Eliciting Expert Judgment For Addressing Uncertainty In Decision Analysis, Richard W. Monroe

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation describes the development, refinement, and demonstration of an expert judgment elicitation methodology. The methodology has been developed by synthesizing the literature across several social science and scientific fields. The foremost consideration in the methodology development has been to incorporate elements that are based on reasonable expectations for the human capabilities of the user, the expert in this case.

Many methodologies exist for eliciting assessments for uncertain events. These are frequently elicited in probability form. This methodology differs by incorporating a qualitative element as a beginning step for the elicitation process. The qualitative assessment is a more reasonable way …

The Relationship Between Job Satisfaction And Collegial Support To Retention Of Nurse Educators In Baccalaureate And Higher Degree Nursing Programs In Virginia, Estella Mary Henry Reynolds

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This descriptive correlational study was designed to explore job satisfaction and collegial support in relation to the retention of nurse educators.

A survey questionnaire adapted from Batiste-Beaty (1990/1991) was used to collect data on nurse educators' retention rates and their perceptions of job satisfaction and collegial support in their present institutions. The survey was distributed to the 350 faculty members in the 12 baccalaureate and higher degree nursing programs in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The survey had a 51% return rate, with a total of 178 respondents. The two primary statistical procedures used in analyzing the data were Pearson's product-moment …

A Study Of The "Pride" Program: A Residential, Summer-School Program For At-Risk Middle-School Students In An Urban Community, Maria Teresa Amillategui Grimm

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This research examined the Pride Program (1991 and 1992)--a residential, summer-school program for at-risk middle-school students. It was conducted with subjects from two large, urban middle schools for the purpose of determining if, after five school years, differences existed among three selected groups (treatment, control and comparison) of at-risk students in the areas of academic achievement, attendance and conduct. Treatment-group self-esteem was examined over a three-year period. Furthermore, this study provided a qualitative program evaluation of the Pride Program for the first two years of its existence.

The results are as follows: The qualitative evaluation indicated that all participants were …

Searching For Zarathustra: A Nietzschean Critique Of Post-Traditional Ethical Theory, Joshua Knutsen

Institute for the Humanities Theses

Following Friedrich Nietzsche's critique of ethics, twentieth century philosophical investigations into ethics have attempted to abandon the universalist principles which guided the endeavors of Christianity, Kant and Bentham. The purpose of this work was to examine exactly how successful that endeavor has been. In order to represent the field of ethics as a whole given the limited space of the work I chose three distinct ethics, which in their formulations are representative of the current ethical clime. Jean-Paul Sartre's existentialism serves as a model for radical individualism and solipsism. Alasdair MacIntyre' s virtue based ethic demonstrates communitarian trends. And the …

Gender, Race, And Court Location Effects On Exceptional Sentencing In The State Of Washington, Catherine L. Drezak

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Policy statements by the Sentencing Commission for the State of Washington emphasize that gender, race, and community ties are irrelevant to sentencing decisions. Based on prior sentencing practices, these policies carry the potential to incorporate unrecognized sentencing disparity practices into the proposed sentencing equality solution. Using Washington's sentencing data under current sentencing guideline structures, this research examined the sentencing outcomes with respect to sentences given outside the guidelines. This study was designed to address the research questions: What effect, if any, does gender have on exceptional sentence outcome? To what extent, if any, is race a factor in determining gender …

The Men Behind The Oath: A Profile Of The German Officer Corps In The Interwar Period, 1919-1939, Brian E. Crim

History Theses & Dissertations

The predominance of technocrats within the Reichswehr, the inability of the officer corps to reassert its elite status in the Weimar era, and the extensive interaction between the Reichswehr and a militaristic German society contributed to Hitler's successful absorption of military authority in the 1930s. The social and political upheaval resulting in part from the First World War diffused military authority and diminished the role of the officer corps in German society. The corps struggled to maintain its historic level of corporateness and consistently failed to fulfill its responsibility to the Weimar Republic. The Reichswehr's top officers worked to revitalize …

The Marine Corps In Vietnam: An Examination Of Cohesion And Effectiveness At Khe Sanh, Gregory L. Davenport

History Theses & Dissertations

The Marine defense of the Khe Sanh Combat Base in 1968 provides an isolated model to study combat cohesion and effectiveness. Focusing on Companies K and L of the 3d Battalion, 26th Regiment, reveals that cohesion and effectiveness were composed of four interlocking components: universal, cultural, institutional, and situational. Universal sources include the primary group, ideology, esprit de corps, small unit leadership, and social systems. Culturally, Marine recruitment images and pop-culture literature and cinema, which highlighted the Corps and combat as epitomizing manhood, influenced the Khe Sanh marines. Institutionally, the Corps used Marine history and gender manipulation during boot …

Emotional And Sexual Dating Infidelity As A Function Of Gender Relationship Quality And Parental Influence, Melinda Jeanene Swager

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study addressed dating infidelity attitudes and behaviors among college students involved in romantic relationships. Both emotional and sexual components of infidelity were analyzed. A gender difference emerged, with men being more accepting of dating infidelity and engaging in dating infidelity more often than women. Among both genders, however, attitudes were positively associated with behaviors. It was hypothesized that the following variables would predict dating infidelity: relationship satisfaction, relationship commitment, family structure, interparental conflict, parent-child relationship quality, and a young adult's knowledge of his or her parent's infidelity. Attitudes were found to predict behaviors. Relationship satisfaction and commitment were also …

Impact Of Attachment Style On Disclosure Of Traumatic Events, Jo-Anne Leslie Mcdonald

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Researchers have suggested that differences occur among attachment styles in willingness to self-disclose to a relationship partner. The present study investigated relationships between a four-category model of attachment, the actual disclosure of a traumatic event, and the reasons for and against disclosure. Participants in the survey were 268 female college student volunteers. In this self-report study, attachment group members were compared on 15 subscales, focusing on categories of reasons for and against disclosure. Differences in actual disclosure among attachment groups were not found. However, significant differences were observed between groups in reasons for and against disclosure on the following subscales: …

A Comparison Of Self-Generated Task Strategies And Explicitly-Provided Task Strategies In The Context Of Goal Setting, Jonathan Edward Turner

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

By using a complex, managerial, decision-making simulation, the longitudinal effects of self-generated task strategies as compared to explicitly-provided strategies and no strategies were investigated in the context of goal setting. The simulation placed participants in the role of a hypothetical manager for a furniture manufacturing organization. The task of the participants was to assign several employees to different jobs dealing with weekly work orders for the manufacturing of specific pieces of furniture. Participants were also asked to make decisions regarding the setting of performance goals for these employees, providing feedback, and allocating rewards. A sample of 120 college students was …

Groundcrew Coordination Training: An Application Of Team Training To Aviation Ramp Activities, I. Benjamin Sian

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Crew Resource Management (CRM) training has been used effectively in civilian and military aviation to improve flight safety and reduce mishaps. Aircrew Coordination Training (ACT), the Navy's version of CRM, has had similar effects. An examination of aviation ground mishaps by the Naval Safety Center revealed that the same team coordination breakdowns affecting aircrews were impacting groundcrews. In order to explore the viability of team training for aviation ground personnel, two studies were conducted to test the generalizability of the existing ACT program in a maintenance context. Specifically, "Groundcrew Coordination" Training (GCT) was tailored for training flight line personnel who …