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A Sociotechnical Systems Analysis Of The Approval Process For A Complex Public Works Proposal, James C. Pyne

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This research applied sociotechnical systems theory to explore the process used by two elected bodies to decide upon adoption of a complex technical engineering proposal. The research used a modified sociotechnical systems conceptual framework that was developed by Pava (1983) for application to non-traditional work settings. Pava applied the conceptual framework to what he termed non-routine office work which is characterized by non-linear conversion flow, multiple, concurrent conversion processes and vocational separatism (Pava, 1983).

The research was designed as a multiple case study of two town councils each undertaking a decision process to approve or reject a public works proposal …

A Model Of Paternal Involvement In Child Care And Household Labor, Jennifer Fancher Bonney

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The current study was designed to test a model predicting fathers' involvement in child care and household labor. Participants were 120 couples of 1-to-4 year old children. The participants were recruited from 12 local daycares. Mothers and fathers independently completed a measure assessing participation in child care and household labor; the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale (Schumm et al., 1986); the Male Role. Norms Inventory (Levant et al., 1992); a measure assessing beliefs about the parental role (Bonney & Kelley, 1996); and a demographic questionnaire. The LISREL approach to data analysis was employed. The findings indicate that the following constructs work …

Structural Equation Modeling Of Attitudes Toward Employment Testing, Laura Susan Hamil

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This research investigated the relationships among past testing experiences, testing attitudes, perceptions of test performance, race, and gender. In addition, the effects of testing information on testing attitudes were studied. Two hundred and twelve applicants to a variety of positions in a large telecommunications company were asked to complete a series of questionnaires before and after employment testing. The questionnaires included measures of testing experience, general and specific testing attitudes, and perceptions of test performance. Scores on the employment test were also obtained as a measure of cognitive ability. Of the 212 participants, half were given a brochure to read …

Virginia's Eastern Shore High School Students: Factors That May Impact Their Educational Aspirations, Valdimir Demont Handy

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Using 1995 Survey data collected from high school students on Virginia's Eastern Shore, this thesis investigated whether or not self-esteem and perceived parental expectations play a role in the educational aspirations of rural high school students. Results demonstrated that self-esteem and perceived parental expectations are both positively related to students' educational aspirations. Caucasians and females were found to have higher educational aspirations than their counterparts. Results also indicated that the relationship between self-esteem, perceived parental expectations, and students' educational aspirations does not vary significantly across ethnicity or gender in this rural population. The information from this study, coupled with previous …

The Measurement Of Mood Variation Over Time And Its Relation To Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy In Young Adolescents, William Thomas Pinkston

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

Variation in mood states over time and the relationship between mood states and career decision making self-efficacy in young adolescents were investigated using the Profile of Mood States (POMS), the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List - Revised (MAACL-R), the Rotter's IE locus of control test, and the Career Planning Confidence Scale (CPCS). These tests were administered twice a week for six weeks. A correlational analysis was performed. The results showed a higher correlation between mood state measures as the subjects' moods varied over time than between either mood measure and locus of control which did not covary with either of …

The Effects Of A Maternal Childhood Lead-Poisoning Education Program On Knowledge, Health Beliefs, And Compliance, Sylvia Elaine Johnson

Health Services Research Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of two educational intervention methods on participant's knowledge, health beliefs and prevention behavior as they relate to childhood lead poisoning. The two educational methods being used in the study are personal instruction by the investigator and a 12-minute video developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics on childhood lead poisoning. Information contained in both educational tools is identical. In particular, this study seeks to determine if one educational intervention was more effective than the other. The final purpose of the study is to test the Health Belief Model by examining …

Conditioned Response To Ethanol As Indicated By Spontaneous Motor Activity, Tevfik Alici

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

A group of rats were given 1.6 g/kg intraperitoneal (IP) injections of either saline or ethanol on 16 successive conditioning days (CD's). During each two-day period of the 16-day sequence, the rats received saline on one day in a specifically "saline-paired" environment and ethanol on the next day in an "ethanol-paired" environment. Visual, olfactory, auditory, and tactile manipulations were utilized to create these two different environments. In order to determine the conditioned response to ethanol, rats were given saline in "ethanol-paired" environments at the end of the 16-day sequence. SMA on this day was compared to that of the previous …

African-American Fathers: Their Role In Children's Social And Cognitive Development, Tammy Sue Smith

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Low-income, African-American fathers were examined regarding their involvement, job satisfaction, sensitivity, parenting attitudes, and gender role attitudes in relation to their children's social and cognitive development. Fathers completed the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (Weiss, Dawis, England, & Lofquist, 1969); the Parental Attitudes Toward Childrearing Questionnaire (Easterbrooks & Goldberg, 1984); the Parent Attitude Research Scale (Bartz & Levine, 1978); and the Bern Inventory (Bern, 1974). Sensitivity was measured by videotaping fathers and children in a free play session. Videotaped interactions were scored according to the CARE-Index procedure (Crittenden, 1988). The children were administered the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (Bayley, 1969) or …

A Case Study Of The Perceptions Of Character Education In A Large Urban Community, Suzanne G. Houff

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

This case study seeks to provide insight into the community perception of character education in a large urban area that does not currently implement an explicit program in moral values. The community is established through adolescents in middle school, parents of the adolescents, school counselors and community members. Informants are selected in an attempt to ensure a diverse cross section of the middle school communities.

Perceptions of character education are established through the process of interviews and a card sort involving a total N of 72 stakeholders. Each respondent is asked to provide definitions, synonyms and/or examples of a given …

Towards Understanding Why Assessment Centers Work: An Evaluation Of The Subtle Criterion Contamination Hypothesis, Christopher T. Rotolo

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The success of the assessment center method in predicting job performance has been one of the most researched efforts in personnel psychology (Thornton, 1992). However, there is little reported evidence showing that assessment center procedures produce scores that serve as valid representations of separate constructs (Klimoski & Brickner, 1987). It is perhaps ironic, then, that despite the success stories, we still do not understand why assessment centers "work," (i.e., predict performance).

This study examined the subtle criterion contamination hypothesis as an explanation to assessment center validity. The subtle criterion contamination hypothesis states that assessment centers predict managerial performance because assessors …

Self-Concept Of Eating-Restrained Women: A Study Of Personal Constructs, Adelia Atkinson Furr

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

A modified version of Kelly's Repertory Test was administered to 15 women identified as eating-restrained, 21 women identified as non-eating-restrained and matched on neuroticism, and 15 women identified as non-eating restrained and low on neuroticism in order to elicit personal constructs related to being overweight, average weight, and underweight. The personal constructs were used in measures of components of self-concept: real self, ideal self, social self, and ideal social self. It was hypothesized that in comparison to the other two groups, the eating-restrained women would exhibit a distinct pattern among the components of self-concept: Real and ideal selves would be …

Classical Montessori: A Study Of The Classical Rhetorical Canons In Early Montessori Writing Instruction, Deborah E. O'Neil

English Theses & Dissertations

This thesis begins by proposing that all five classical canons are an ideal theory for guiding any writing pedagogy. The majority of the thesis, then, details how Montessori writing instruction synergistically exploits these canons to create a powerful pedagogy. Devised by Maria Montessori in the late 1800s, her instruction displays standard and nonstandard applications of invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery. Because Montessori writing instruction begins in preschool, this thesis concludes with an exploration of the potential benefits of introducing a classical curriculum before college.

The Effects Of Procedural Explanation In Lessening Anxiety During Dental Hygiene Care, Michelle Leigh Sensat

Dental Hygiene Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this investigation was to determine if procedural explanation, given during dental hygiene care, significantly reduces client anxiety. The sample consisted of 62 subjects selected randomly from the population of all current clients, with records dating from 1994 to the present, of a private general dental practice in Virginia Beach, Virginia. A randomized subjects, pretest-posttest design was used to determine ii if procedural explanation yields a significant reduction in client anxiety as opposed to no such explanation during treatment procedures, measured by the Mann-Whitney U test and Wilcoxon matched-pairs tests. The Dental Hygiene Fear Survey served as the …

English Sound Stucture [Book Review], Janet Mueller Bing

English Faculty Publications

Review of English Sound Structure, by John Harris. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1994.

Art In The Library, Ann Pettingill

Libraries Faculty & Staff Publications

The building project currently underway at Old Dominion University Library unexpectedly afforded the library a chance to sponsor a public artwork.

Freud's Jewish Science And Lacan's Sinthome, David Metzger

English Faculty Publications

In chapter nine of Seminar XVII, Lacan writes that the position of the analyst cannot be separated from Jewish history (158). More particularly, the invention of analytic discourse is part and parcel of a Hebraic tradition--represented by the Book of Hosea--in which one's god underscores the fact that even if everyone is speaking (let's say about sexual knowledge) this does not mean everyone is saying something. One of the defining moves of a Jewish Science, in this specific frame of reference, would be to situate the knowledge, "There is no Other," precisely where other intellectual and religious traditions establish their …

The Effects Of Human-Computer Communication Mode, Task Complexity, And Desire For Control On Performance And Discourse Organization In An Adaptive Task, Cristina Bubb-Lewis

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present study examined how different communication patterns affected task performance with an adaptive interface. A Wizard-of-Oz simulation (Gould, Conti, & Hovanyecz, 1983) was used to create the impression of a talking and listening computer that acted as a teammate to help participants interact with a computer application.

Four levels of communication mode were used which differed in the level of restriction placed on human-computer communication. In addition, participants completed two sets of tasks (simple and complex). Further, a personality trait, Desire for Control (DC), was measured and participants were split into high and low groups for analysis. Dependent measures …

Prejudice Toward Fat People: The Development And Validation Of The Antifat Attitudes Test, Robin J. Lewis, Thomas F. Cash, Lora Jacobi, Cristina Bubb-Lewis

Psychology Faculty Publications

Although the stigma of obesity in our society is well documented, the measurement of antifat attitudes has been a difficult undertaking, Two studies were conducted to construct and validate the Antifat Attitudes Test (AFAT), In study 1, college students (110 men and 175 women) completed the preliminary 54-item AFAT and specific indices of body image and weight-related concerns, Psychometric and factor analysis revealed a 47-item composite scale and three internally consistent factors that were uncorrelated with social desirability: Social/Character Disparagement, Physical/Romantic Unattractiveness, and Weight Control/Blame. Several body image correlates of antifat prejudice were identified, and men expressed more negative attitudes …

Coping Processes Used By Mothers Of Triplets, Susan Mullen Kaplan

Health Services Research Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to identify and describe the coping processes used by mothers of triplets. Using a descriptive design, interpersonal comparisons of 92 mothers of triplets attending a national meeting of families of higher order multiples were made. Variables, in addition to sociodemographic characteristics, included coping processes, levels of depression, perceived availability of social support, and current stress levels. Coping processes were measured using the Ways of Coping Questionnaire (Folkman & Lazarus, 1988), derived from their cognitive-phenomenological theory of stress and coping. Level of depression was measured using the Zung Self-rating Depression Scale (Zung, 1965). Perceived availability …

The Effects Of Applied Technology Instruction On Mathematics Achievement And Career Interests Of Urban Seventh-Grade Students, Eric M. Fischer

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The present study has been implemented to provide insight as to how, given limited resources, Technology Education curricula might be developed to best support the unique goals of an urban middle school aerospace magnet program. It was hypothesized that applied academic strategies, including interdisciplinary hands-on aerospace and computer-assisted instructional activities, would affect larger gains in mathematics achievement and would enhance career-interest development of urban seventh-grade students to a greater degree than would non-participation in such instruction. A randomized subjects, pretest-posttest control group design was used to assess treatment effects upon 71 urban seventh-grade students. Dependent variables were measured using the …

Persuasive Effects Of Story And Statistical Evidence, E. James Baesler

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

The persuasive effects of story and statistical evidence were examined for three different message topics. Students (N = 100) read three story or statistical messages and completed post-test measures, including ones involving beliefs and cognitive responses. A two-way interaction between message topic and evidence indicated that the persuasiveness of evidence varied by message topic. Exploratory analyses revealed that statistics were rated as more scientific and less personal than stories, but these characteristics of evidence were not related to persuasiveness.

Laureate, 1997, Old Dominion University

University Yearbooks

1997 yearbook of Old Dominion University

Lyceum: A Multi-Protocol Digital Library Gateway, Ming-Hokng Maa, Michael L. Nelson, Sandra L. Esler

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Lyceum is a prototype scalable query gateway that provides a logically central interface to multi-protocol and physically distributed, digital libraries of scientific and technical information. Lyceum processes queries to multiple syntactically distinct search engines used by various distributed information servers from a single logically central interface without modification of the remote search engines. A working prototype (http://www.larc.nasa.gov/lyceum/) demonstrates the capabilities, potentials, and advantages of this type of meta-search engine by providing access to over 50 servers covering over 20 disciplines.

A Survey Of Health Care Personnel's Perceptions Toward Diversity In The Workplace, Jacqueline Elaine Sharpe

Health Services Research Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the diversity climate in a large teaching military hospital by assessing the perceptions of employees regarding the organizational climate, including aspects of the climate related to ethnicity, gender, age, physical ability, sexual orientation, and job level. All 3,176 eligible employees based in the medical center were invited to participate, 1,252 did so (RR = 40%). Participants were 37% minority, 57% females, 25% officer, 30% enlisted, and 45% civilian. Twenty-four percent were at the managerial level. Perceptions of the diversity climate were measured using the Diversity Survey Instrument (the reliability and validity of …

A Study To Examine Patterns And Performance Trends Among Black And White School Students On A National Level From The 1970s To The 1990s, Otis L. Miller

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

This study will attempt to accomplish the following research goals: 1. Explore some of the characteristics of low self-esteem or image and motivation among black school children; 2. Examine the academic performance trends between black and white school children by making a comparison between dropout rates, science scores, mathematics scores, and reading scores; 3. Analyze the overall effectiveness of public school desegregation.

Teacher's Attitudes Of Block Scheduling And Lesson Preparation Quality/Time In Two Virginia Beach City Public High Schools, Christin G. Browning

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

The problem of the study was to compare teacher's lesson preparation time and utilization of alternative teaching methods during block scheduling as compared to the traditional seven-bell schedule at Kempsville and Princess Anne High Schools in Virginia Beach, Virginia

Patterns Of Safety Issues Found At Western Branch High School, Chesapeake, Virginia, Bruce Lytle

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

The following questions need to be answered to solve the research problem: 1. What were the most prevalent crimes that have occurred at the school? 2. Which crimes pose the greatest threat to students and staff? 3. What procedures can be implemented to reduce threatening crimes?

Drug Prevention Programs Used By Hampton And Newport News School Districts, Charles E. Casey

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

Although each school district's drug prevention program operates as a separate entity from the next one, managers might operate their programs more efficiently if information is discovered that could improve them During this study, the researcher would: 1. Identify major differences between the Newport News and the Hampton City Schools Drug Prevention Programs; 2. Determine by comparison if the two drug prevention programs are effective as used or can be improved; 3. Determine if there is a direct correlation between drug usage and a drop in grades; 4. Assess whether each drug prevention program is designed to prevent drug usage …

A Follow-Up Study Of Technology Education Graduates Of Old Dominion University 1986-1996, Mark D. Siciliano

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

Through the follow-up study, data was collected toward fulfilling the following objectives: 1) to determine if graduates of Old Dominion University's Technology Education Undergraduate Program were adequately prepared to assume teaching positions; 2) to determine whether the goals established in the college's conceptual framework were being attained; 3) to determine if these graduates are teaching traditional vocational programs or technology education; 4) to determine what improvements can be made to the undergraduate curriculum at Old Dominion University based upon graduate's feedback.

The Influence Of Reading Comprehension And Other Selected Factors On Student Dropouts In An Urban Southeastern School District In Virginia, Viola Garris Morgan

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this research was to examine the influence of reading achievement on the dropout status. The major research question was to determine to what extent does reading comprehension influence the dropout rate after controlling for demographic and performance characteristics?

The target population consisted of 677 urban twelfth-grade students attending schools in an urban southeastern school district in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Of the 677 students, 142 were dropouts, and 535 were nondropouts. Simple and partial correlations were used to determine the relationship between variables after partialing out performance and demographic variables. In addition, the discriminant analyses were used …