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Conditioned Motor Activity And Place-Preference Responses As A Function Of D-Amphetamine Dose Level, Dwight D. Hart

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Spontaneous motor activity (SMA) responses to stimuli predicting d-amphetamine injection were investigated in a Pavlovian conditioning paradigm. Three groups (saline, 1.0mg/kg and 4.0mg/kg doses) of rats underwent a 12-day period during which Injection-Conditioning and Non-Injection Conditioning treatments were alternated. This sequence was then followed by two Test/Extinction Days on which all three groups received saline injections. Subjects in the 4.0mg/kg, but not the 1.0mg/kg group were more active during the 30 minute pre-injection period on the second Conditioning Day than were Saline Group subjects. Test Day post-injection SMA levels of the two Drugged Groups were not significantly different, but the …

The Effects Of Person-Job Environment Congruency On Individual And Organizational Outcomes, Eileen J. Mcdonald

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to ascertain the effects of person-job environment congruency on outcomes important to individuals and organizations, so that new personnel decision making strategies can be developed. To accomplish these aims, the research had two objectives: (1) to develop an operational model of person-job environment congruency based on an integration of available research evidence and (2) to investigate the effectiveness of the concepts and methods proposed by the model on individual and organizational criteria of success.

Within a person-job environment congruency model framework, there are essentially two matching systems. In the first, the work experiences of …

Facilitating And Hindering Factors In Implementing Managerial Technology: A Socio-Technical System Process, Eduardo Alejandro Salas Garcia

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

In recent years scientists, researchers and practitioners have focused on the application and theory of managerial technologies in developing countries. Evidence suggests that the implementation of these technologies is widely sought in these countries, but that they suffer from several limitations. Among these are: (a) lack of environmental compatibility in the societies and cultures in which attempts are made to apply such organizational theories and practices; (b) differences between economic systems of developing nations and industrialized nations (c) differences in political history, values and practices and (d) differences in organizational functioning and behavior as a result of these three conditions. …

Research To Develop A Consensus Self-Evaluation Model Of National Norms Of Excellence For Alternating Cooperative Education Programs At Four-Year Colleges And Universities, Constance F. Brothers

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The research described in this dissertation was conducted in response to an expressed need for the development of national norms of excellence for cooperative education programs in the United States in 1980. In academic year 1981-1982 a Delphi technique was used with 12 cooperative education experts, who identified 155 cooperative education program norms of excellence specifically for four-year alternating cooperative education programs.

In academic year 1982-1983, the 155 norms identified were transposed into a 90-item self-evaluation questionnaire which was field tested and sampled at 14 colleges and universities with alternating cooperative education programs in the United States. Of 900 college …

Effects Of Encoding Variety And Concurrent-Task Practice On The Transfer And Retention Of Complex Skill, Peter S. Winne

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present study investigated the effects of dual-task practice and the variety of problems solved during practice on (a) the acquisition of procedural and declarative skills and the development of concurrent-task skills, and (b) the utilization and maintenance of two types of strategies. Strategies were defined as the use of different mixes of skills pertaining to procedures and specific declarative solutions. Two tasks--mental arithmetic and trigrams--were used to examine problem-solving skills and strategies both immediately following practice and again under delayed conditions. Eighty subjects were randomly assigned to one of four practice conditions by factorially combining practice mode (single- or …

Predictors Of Appointment-Keeping Behaviors Among Users Of Adult Medical Clinics, Ruth L. Campau

Ellmer School of Nursing Theses & Dissertations

In a descriptive correlational study, three predictors of appointment keeping behaviors of adults who attend general medical clinics in a primary health care setting were explored. The three selected predictors from the Health Belief Model, a preventive health behavior model, were: (a) perceived barriers to health care, (b) health locus of control (HLC), and (c) satisfaction with health care. The purpose of this study was to identify the predictive value of multiple variables for a specific health-related behavior. Data on the study were collected on a non-probability, purposive sample of 52 users of the adult general medical clinics. The tool …

Trait Anxiety In Female Heads Of Household, Bonnie Martinette Wheeler

Ellmer School of Nursing Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this investigation was to determine if being the female head of a single-parent household was associated with increased trait anxiety. Ninety-four female nurses completed the Trait portion of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory developed by Spielberger, Gorsuch, and Lushene (1964) and a demographic inventory. The demographic inventory provided the information regarding marital status and presence or absence of children needed to delineate the sample into four groups: Group I (n=31) married females with dependent children in the home; Group II (n=10) married females with no dependent children in the home; Group III (n=26) single, separated or divorced females …

Admissions Criteria As Predictors Of Students' Successful Completion Of A Dental Hygiene Program, M. Linda Brown

Dental Hygiene Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the criteria used to select dental hygiene students and to determine the ability of these criteria to predict students' successful completion of a dental hygiene program. One hundred sixteen graduates of the certificate level dental hygiene program at Old Dominion University between 1971- 1981, inclusive, comprised the sample. The majority of the subjects were Caucasian females, ages 20 to 24. The admissions criteria examined were (1) Dental Hygiene Aptitude Test scores, (2) Scholastic Aptitude Test scores, (3) preadmission quality point average, (4) college chemistry quality point average, and (S) percentile rank in …

An Analysis Of The Reasons And Influences Causing Students To Enroll In Industrial Arts Education Programs At Virginia Universities, Robert Beauter

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

The problem of this study was to conduct a survey of industrial arts education majors at Virginia universities to identify and analyze their reasons for enrolling in a university industrial arts education program and who had the most influence on their decision. This data would be used as an aid in recruiting students for the Industrial Arts Education Program at Old Dominion University.

A Study Of The Robustness Of The Three-Parameter Item Response Model, James B. Flynn

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Simulation techniques were employed to investigate the use of the three-parameter item response model on psychological test data which violated the model's assumptions of large sample sizes, long tests and test unidimensionality. The accuracy of the person ability and item characteristic curve parameter estimates derived by the three-parameter item response model was evaluated. Data sets and distributions of person ability and item characteristic curve parameters were generated using a computer-based algorithm, AVRAM (Ree, 1980), which employs the three-parameter logistic probability equation described by Birnbaum (1968). A computer software package, LOGIST5 (Wingersky, Burton & Lord, 1982), which utilizes the three-parameter logistic …

Staff Nurses' Self-Esteem As It Relates To Working In Specialty Areas, Donna Lynn Evans

Ellmer School of Nursing Theses & Dissertations

This study compared the levels of self-esteem of hospital staff nurses working in specialty areas versus those working in general medical-surgical areas. Fifty registered nurses employed full-time in staff positions at a large, acute-care hospital participated in the study. After indicating the area of the hospital in which they worked, the type of education they had, and the number of years of experience as a registered nurse, they then completed the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale. Scores were then compared using independent t-tests applied to the area in which the subject worked, the type of education, and the years of experience. Results …

Employee Perceptions Of Performance Appraisal Systems: Causal Determinants Of Fairness, Accuracy, And Acceptability, Michael Dale Secunda

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to develop an initial model of employee perceptions of performance appraisal systems which would integrate available literature and provide a point of departure for future research endeavors. To accomplish these goals, this study had three objectives: (1) integrate the large body of literature to develop constructs that adequately describe employee perceptions of appraisal processes and systems, (2) integrate these constructs into a causal model that is consistent with current literature, and (3) test the model using linear structural modeling.

Seven constructs hypothesized as representing various aspects of employee perceptions were conceptualized and operationalized, and …

The Effects Of Goal And Feedback Specificity Of Task Performance, Emily Johnson Hawes

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

A three (goal type and level) by three (type and level of knowledge of results) factorial design was implemented with nine subjects per cell. Goal factor levels were: Numeric goal, percentage increase goal, and do best goal. Knowledge of results (KR) factor levels were: Numeric KR, percentage increase/decrease KR and no KR. KR manipulations affected perceived knowledge of performance standing„ but there were no significant effects on performance. Goal effects on performance were significant (p

Oculometric Indices Of Simulator And Aircraft Motion, James Raymond Comstock Jr.

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

In a series of three experiments on the effects on eye-scan behavior of both simulator and aircraft motion, the sensitivity of an oculometric measure to motion effects was demonstrated. "Fixation Time", defined as the time the eyes spend at a particular location before moving on (saccade) to another fixation point, was found to be sensitive to motion effects in each of the experiments conducted. The first experiment studied differences between simulator motion and no-motion conditions during a series of simulated Instrument Landing System (ILS) approaches. The mean fixation time for the no-motion condition was found to be significantly longer than …

Adaptations Of Dolphin Vision To The Oceanic Environment, Andre Rivamonte

OES Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study has been to develop an hypothesis explaining comparable aerial and underwater visual acuity of the bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus. This objective was accomplished by integrating the findings of other dolphin researchers working in the fields of comparative psychology, histology and ophthalmology. Their combined results enabled the formulation of a schematic dolphin eye. It is proposed that a dolphin lens, similar to the spherical lens of teleost fish with a rigid core of uniformly high refractive index and a margin of radially decreasing refractive index, could function as a bifocal lens and compensate for the eye's …

In Favor Of Capital Punishment: A Blending Of Philosophical Perspectives, James Charles Donnelly

Institute for the Humanities Theses

There has been little intellectual support for the average American's view of the proper relationship between L' crime and punishment. This text is an effort to philosophically define and defend this view. Chapters one and two deal with teleological theories and justification for systems and rules of practices. I first discuss the historical relationship of man to the state, showing the necessity of and providing a basis for civil authority and law and showing both to be based on social utility. This accomplished, a teleological justification of a system of punishment is presented. Chapter three discusses retribution as the deontological …

Valuing In The Arts, Nonna B. Runner

Institute for the Humanities Theses

The topic of this thesis, valuing in the arts, involves the fine and performing arts, cultural values, kinds of education, and the quality of life. The purpose in talking about the value of the arts is to show how and why they have been valued throughout recorded history, to present an approach to art which fosters personal growth and enjoyment in the interaction with the arts, and to present arguments for the continued support by the present society for their encouragement and preservation. I will discuss false impressions about art which have limited the general public's enjoyment of arts, then …

Social Sensitivity In Adolescents And Adults With Learning Disabilities, Patricia Anne Jarvis

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to investigate social sensitivity and self-concept in students with learning disabilities and their non-disabled peers. Thirty students each from Junior and Senior public high schools and a community college in Tidewater, Virginia participated in the study with 15 learning disabled and 15 non-disabled students from each of the three grade levels (N-90). Students were individually assessed in 50 minute interviews for their accuracy in interpreting the thoughts and feelings of actors in tape-recorded stories depicting two adults in happy, angry, anxious, and sad interactions. A questionnaire measuring self-concept in learning situations as a …

Locus Of Control As A Function Membership In Alcoholics Anonymous, Christine B. Philput

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study was undertaken to examine locus of control in recovering members of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Variables that might affect locus of control, such as sex, age, job, previous psychiatric treatment, and length of membership in AA were examined. One hundred and fifty-three members of AA took the 24-item Levenson IPC (L-IPC) Scale, and a one-page questionnaire covering the variables of interest. A control group of 212 also took the L-IPC along with the Rotter, Nowicki-Strickland, and Marlowe-Crowne scales. Results reveal that AA members were more external than controls on the I subscale, more internal on the P subscale, and …

The Development Of Learned Helplessness In Retarded And Non-Retarded Children, Jennifer Miller Schwartz

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Studies have suggested that, when mental ages are equal, mentally retarded children exhibit more symptoms of learned helplessness following experience with failure than do non-retarded children, i.e., low IQ, leads to helplessness. The present study hypothesized that IQ alone did not lead to helplessness, but that chronological age played an important role in its development. It was thought that perhaps the different levels of helplessness present in the two populations was due to the age difference necessary to make their mental ages equivalent. To test this possibility, l05 retarded, average and bright children (MA= 5.25 - 17.33 years; CA= 6.25 …

A Comparative Study Between A Readiness Measure And An Achievement Test As Measured By The Metropolitan Readiness Test And The Science Research Associates Achievement Series, Linda L. Ditchburn

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The objective of this research was to complete an experimental study which would investigate the nature of the relationship between readiness and achievement. Data collection included two components: scores from the Metropolitan Readiness Test (MRT), administered at the kindergarten level; and scores from the Science Research Associates (SRA) Achievement Series, administered to the same 284 subjects at the fourth grade level. Correlation coefficients between these two tests were determined for all subtests, total tests, composites, and the Educational Ability Series. Since correlation coefficients between the MRT and the SRA evidenced significantly positive relation­ ships, the implication is clear that performance …

The Effects Of Amphetamine And Ethanol On Habituation Of Exploratory Responses Of Rats In Novel And Familiar Environments, Kuen-Teng Kao

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

To study the relationship between level of arousal and rate of habituation in rats, the current research manipulated arousal level using sedatives (ethanol 200 and 600 mg/kg) and stimulants(d-amphetamine 0.6 and 2.4 mg/kg). Furthermore, in order to investigate the possible contributions of differences in familiarity of the subjects with the test environment in producing discrepant reports about arousal-habituation relationships, half of the rats were tested in a completely novel cage without saline- pre-injection, while the other half were repeatedly given salinepreinjections and exposures to the test cage. Habituation was measured mainly as rate of change of responding level; i.e. slope …

Stress Appraisals And Performance In An Academic Setting, Michele Terranova

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Stressful appraisals and performance were measured in an achievement-oriented setting. The coping disposition of sensitization, locus of control, and specific attribution for control were expected to influence both the stress appraisal process and the outcome of performance. Assessment of students' subjective stress levels, personality variables, and attributions for control were obtained at the beginning of a difficult class required for a major in psychology. Those students perceiving that the outcome of the course would depend on their ability and effort displayed significantly less subjective stress. Performance measures, as indicated by a grade on a paper with the students' grade point …

A Comparative Study Of Teacher Burnout In Regular And Special Elementary And Secondary Teachers, Carolyn Yvonne Wells Simmons

Communication Disorders & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent, if any, does stress resulting in burnout differ among regular and special educators. Three hundred regular and special education teachers in the public school systems of Chesapeake and Portsmouth, Virginia participated in the study, The regular teachers represented a range of educational levels from kindergarten to twelfth grade, The special education teachers represented a range of educational levels from pre-school to the senior high level and from self-contained classes to resource rooms. A 2x2 analysis of variance was used to analyze the data. Rank ordering of the mean scores …

The Effect Of Crowding On Growth Of The Cichlid Fish, Oreochromis Mossambicus, Bonnie A. Barrows

OES Theses and Dissertations

It has been reported that the Java tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus, displays hypersensitivity to a substance it produces when biomass levels in a flow-through culture system exceed 20 g/1, resulting in reduced growth and high mortality. Experiments on the growth of this species in small tanks were conducted in order to determine whether O. mossambicus produces a growth-inhibiting compound under crowded conditions. This species was successfully maintained at biomass levels of 38 g/1 and 57 g/1 with a total mortality of only 4.5%.

The Java tilapia can grow rapidly in small aquaria, as indicated by the data taken during Experiment …

The Effect Of Therapeutic Touch On Anxiety And Physiological Measures, Marie Nicholas Bremner

Ellmer School of Nursing Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of therapeutic touch to anxiety, blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate of 30 hospitalized women between the ages of 30 and 65 with the medical diagnosis of cancer. Subjects were matched into three intervention groups; three consecutive days subjects received a five minute intervention by therapeutic touch, casual touch, or no touch. A-trait and A-state anxiety were measured by the Self-Evaluation Questionnaires developed by Spielberger, Gorsuch, and Lushene. A factorial two-way analysis of variance revealed that subjects who received intervention by therapeutio touch experienced a significant reduction in A-state …

Registered Nurses' Ability To Discriminate Similar Human Need Fulfillment Alterations Specific To Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease And To Diabetes Mellitus, Kathleen Bowen Waite

Ellmer School of Nursing Theses & Dissertations

The problem for this research study was to ascertain if registered nurses of varying educational backgrounds and experience discriminated similar human needs as being altered by specific pathologic states. The two pathologic states studied were chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes mellitus, chosen for their high prevalence in the population. A population sample of 55 registered nurses practicing on medical units in five hospital settings were surveyed. Data for this study were collected using the Human Needs Assessment Scales developed for this study. It was determined that registered nurses in this study did discriminate similar human need fulfillment alterations specific …

An Analysis Of The Correlation Between Nurses' Attitudes Toward Death And Their Presence With The Dying Patient, Uvonna Weeks Daniels

Ellmer School of Nursing Theses & Dissertations

The correlation between the nurses' attitudes toward death, as determined by the Questionnaire for Understanding the Dying Person and His Family, and the nurses' presence with a dying patient at the time of death was analyzed. The subjects were 31 registered nurses employed by eight acute care hospitals in Southeastern Virginia. The nurses were grouped into categories of flexible, moderate, and rigid attitudes toward death, relative to their scores on the questionnaire. Other variables of the nurses' age, sex, religion, strength of religious beliefs, entry level education, highest education level, years of experience, death of family members or friends, attitudes …

The Effect Of A Cardiac Education Program On The Knowledge, Stress, And State Anxiety Levels Of First Time Post Myocardial Infarction Patients In A Post Coronary Care Unit, Jeanine L. Johns

Ellmer School of Nursing Theses & Dissertations

The effect of a cardiac education program in terms of changes in knowledge, state anxiety and stress were examined for persons suffering a myocardial infarction for the first time. In addition, the relationship between stress and trait anxiety and changes in knowledge and state anxiety were examined. A sample of 20 patients were selected from two medium sized hospitals in Southeastern Virginia. Statistically significant differences at the .01 level were found between the means of the pretest and posttest scores of the experimental group for knowledge and state anxiety using the t test for dependent groups. The same test showed …

Effects Of The Rater's Sex And Sex-Role Orientation And The Applicant's Physical Attractiveness Sex And Qualifications On Resume Evaluation, Robert N. Kilcullen

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Androgynous college students (16 males and 16 females) and sex-typed college students (16 males and 16 females) rated the resumes of fictitious applicants for a managerial position. The applicant's physical attractiveness, qualifications, and sex were systematically varied in the resumes. Five-way analyses of variance were performed on the hiring rankings of the applicants and the perceived attractiveness, masculinity, femininity, and social desirability of the applicants. The sex and attractiveness of the applicants significantly affected the hiring decisions, but not as strongly as did the applicant's qualifications. For hiring decisions, the subjects' sex-role orientation moderated the effect of the applicant's attractiveness …