Digital Commons Network^™

The Revolutions In Knowledge And Literary Theory: Their Impact On English Classrooms, Nancy Topping Bazin

English Faculty Publications

Since teachers, scholars, and scientists began in recent decades to study people who were previously marginalized or totally ignored, revolutions have occurred in knowledge and in literary theories and criticism. An increasing number of literature teachers acknowledge that they cannot ignore these significant changes. Indeed, they recognize that because of multicultural and global awareness, new questions are constantly being asked, new kinds of research are being done, and new approaches are being t:iken to subject matter.

Diffusion Of Total Quality Management: An Organizational Self-Production Perspective, Baizhong Zhao

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

American industries are in the process of a quality revolution. Most companies are busy implementing Total Quality Management (TQM) programs. However, the experience of both Japanese and American companies indicates that successful TQM implementation depends on an understanding of implementation processes, which itself relies on an understanding of organizational self-organizing, for it is through this process that TQM gets diffused and becomes a core component of an organization's culture. Self-organizing is a so-called process-oriented approach, based on theory from cybernetics (Ashby, 1962; Steier & Smith, 1985; von Foerster, 1960), dissipative structure theory (Prigogine & Stengers, 1984), and chaos theory (Gleick, …

Factors Influencing Dental Hygiene Job Retention In The Private Practice Setting, Kristin A. Hamman

Dental Hygiene Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine what role the following factors have in influencing dental hygienists to remain in a private practice employment setting for five or more years: (1) working conditions, (2) the employer and the organizational structure of the employment setting, (3) scope of practice, and (4) personal factors. A random sample of 1200 licensed dental hygienists in 12 states was surveyed (100/state). Only dental hygienists working in one private practice setting for a minimum of five years completed the questionnaire; nonpracticing dental hygienists returned the questionnaire unanswered. A 69.9 percent response rate was established. Of …

A Comparison Of Minority And Non-Minority Engineering Students On Selected Personality And Program Variables, Thomas Mercer Collier Jr.

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there are common characteristics associated with 226 Hispanic, African American, and White engineering students who persist at predominantly White colleges and universities. A personality profile of minority and non-minority engineering students was developed. Information regarding factors influencing choice of major, university, study, work and extracurricular involvement, possible reasons for withdrawal from college, awareness and satisfaction with student support services and selected academic courses was also compiled. Components of Minority Engineering Programs (MEPs) which are most used or valued by minority engineering students were identified.

Analysis of Variance identified four of the …

The Influence Of Cohesive Groups On The Ethical Behavior Of Public Employees: An Analysis Of An Urban University, Patricia Bellin Strait

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Management

Ethics problems permeate all aspects of public agencies. This is especially true in urban areas where public workers have frequent interactions with large numbers of civilians. The results of unethical behavior often have very tangible effects with perhaps the most serious consequences being the deterioration of public services and the destruction of public trust.

This dissertation explores Milton Fisk's Group Ethics Theory which states that ethical behavior varies according to cohesive group membership. In order to investigate Fisk's theory, an ex post facto study was performed within a single urban university. The primary independent variable was group membership. Data was …

The Relationship Of Locus-Of-Control And Altruism To Prehospital Emergency Medical Care Providers Universal Precaution Practices, Joanne L. Wakeham

Health Services Research Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between locus of control, altruism, occupational risk, and personal factors to the frequency of universal precautions practices of prehospital emergency medical care providers. The effects of OSHA's Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens; Final Rule on reducing prehospital emergency medical care providers occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens were also examined. Prehospital emergency medical care providers from municipal and private EMS agencies in the Tidewater Emergency Medical Services region participated in this study. Prehospital emergency medical care providers self-reported perceptions of locus of control, altruism, occupational risk, and universal precautions practices were …

The Influence Of Touch And Gender On Subjects' Perceived Social Support And Emotional State, Edmond R. Cochard

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine how males and females react to touch. It was hypothesized that females who were touched, compared to females who were not touched, would report higher levels of perceived social support, increases in positive affect, decreases in negative affect and higher evaluations of the confederate that touched them. In contrast, it was hypothesized that males who were touched, compared to males who were not touched, would report less perceived social support, decreases in positive affect, increases in negative affect and lower evaluations of the confederate. Eighty subjects, 40 male and 40 female, participated …

Optimal Greedy Algorithms For Indifference Graphs, Peter J. Looges, Stephan Olariu

Computer Science Faculty Publications

A fundamental problem in social sciences and management is understanding and predicting decisions made by individuals, various groups, or the society as a whole. In this context, one important concept is the notion of indifference. We characterize the class of indifference graphs, that is, graphs which arise in the process of quantifying indifference relations. In particular, we show that these graphs are characterized by the existence of a special ordering of their vertices. As it turns out, this ordering leads naturally to optimal greedy algorithms for a number of computational problems, including coloring, finding a shortest path between two vertices, …

A Study Of The Relative Effectiveness Of Alternative Instructional Delivery Schedules For Adult Achievement, Wendy A. Gee

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to investigate what effect altering the instructional delivery schedule would have on student achievement and knowledge retention. The independent variable was the training week schedule which was comprised of two treatment conditions. The first level consisted of the conventional five-day training week and the second level was the compressed four-day training week. The dependent variables of the study were student achievement and student descriptive/demographic collateral data.

A quasi-experimental study was employed to compare the two delivery schedules. Two treatment groups were established. Both groups received instruction from the same instructors. Student subjects (N = …

A Study To Determine The Effectiveness Of Manipulative Mathematics On Student Learning Outcomes As Compared To Textbook Practices, Cheryl F. Robinson

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

The hypothesis of this study was: 1. There would be no significant difference in the learning outcomes of the students who were exposed to the manipulative mathematics curriculum as compared to those who were exposed only to textbook practices.

A Study To Determine If Ged Classes Helped Students To Gain Employment And Build Self-Esteem, Diane J. Calhoun

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

The objectives of this study were to determine: 1. If GED classes were adequately preparing students to compete in the high-tech, competitive job market; 2. If GED classes are building student self-esteem.

A Study To Determine If Telecommunications Can Be Used As A Medium To Teach Basic Literacy Skills To Illiterate Adults In Virginia, Joan Hairston Jones

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

The following goals were selected to guide this study: 1. Determine which methods have been used and how successful they have been in the past to teach basic literacy skills to illiterate adults; 2. Determine the methods currently being used to supplement classroom instruction; 3. Determine how receptive adults are to self-paced, self-directed methods; 4. Determine the type of problems experienced using telecommunications to teach literacy skills.

Improving Team Performance By Identifying And Targeting Back-Up Behaviors: A Training Strategy, Rosalynn M. Peron

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to determine if training workshops of short duration (one-to-three hours) could contribute to enhanced teamwork and hence improved team performance for teams at the primary level (first production level) of a natural gas service and installation organization.

The teamwork characteristic of back-up behaviors (i.e., actions to help other team members that require adaption or anticipation and improve team performance by contributing to successful task completion) was the focus of workshop activities. Other strategies were employed to enhance the process such as team-building, goal setting and feedback. Feedback consisted of posting back-up behavior scores (i.e., …

The Complexities Of Learning Prepositions: Spanish To English, Denise J. Simon Chiavarini

English Theses & Dissertations

This study explores reasons for the improper use of English pronouns by Spanish speaking ESL students, as evidenced in the Free Writing Placement Tests given at The Adult Learning Center in Virginia Beach and Old Dominion University.

The database includes 84 examples of prepositional errors (Appendix B) that were translated into Spanish for comparison and analysis. Some errors can be attributed to first language interference (Chapter 2, Contrastive Analysis). Some can be attributed to interlanguage (Chapter 3, Error Analysis). Other chapters show additional complications such as variation in native speaker preposition use and the effects of some prepositional contexts. Although …

The Development Of Return On Investment (Roi) Analysis For Training Programs In The United States, George Y. Bryson

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

This paper's goals are to support the intuitive feeling that training and education of employees is financially sound business procedure and may be empirically substantiated by citing studies that show: 1. Organizations that provide employees opportunities for training, education, and development are able to generate savings that significantly add to the profitability of the organization; 2. Education increases employee productivity; 3. Education of employees helps the company compete with changes in the economic world; 4. Education of employees produces a better quality product.

A Phenomenology Of Textuality, Alessandro Tomasi

Institute for the Humanities Theses

This thesis introduces a new meaning of the word "textuality" based on its etymology, as a "woven thing. I reject the notion of isolatable entities that we call "words" and argue that language presents itself, in our experience, as "textual." In this sense, "textuality" is not limited to written texts, but it applies to every linguistic media: thinking, writing, and speaking.

I attempt a distinction between "textuality" and "contextuality" which allows me to isolate this phenomenon, "textuality," and to proceed with a phenomenological description of its features and structures. Among these, I describe to some length what I call "diesis," …

Choice Reaction Time As A Function Of Set Size And Signal Frequency, Barbara M. Herzing

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This research was conducted in two experiments. The first experiment assessed whether set size for the negative and positive sets affected reaction time during a visual scanning task. The effects of signal frequency on these relationships were assessed in the second experiment. It was hypothesized that as set size increased, reaction time would increase. In addition, as signal frequency increased, it was hypothesized that reaction time would decrease. In the first experiment, 12 groups of 10 subjects each were tested varying the number of stimuli for the positive and negative sets. The second experiment tested 18 groups by varying the …

The Effects Of Post-Event Massage Therapy On Multistage Ultraendurance Cycling, Tracey Hodges Drews

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

Post-event massage therapy has been proposed to hasten muscle recovery and improve ensuing performance in multistage ultraendurance cycling events. Six elite male cyclists competed in two 4·d stage races of 161 kmd^·1 on a computerized race simulator over challenging terrain in a controlled laboratory environment with an average completion time of 275 ± 28 min. In a crossover experimental design, subjects received either 30 min post-event massage therapy or a 30 min inactivated diathermy treatment serving as a blind placebo after each 161 km race. The subjects repeated the 4·d, 161 km·d^·1 event 18d later receiving alternate post-event …

The Effects Of Automation And Task Difficulty On Crew Coordination, Workload, And Performance, Ruth Coleen Thornton

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purposes of this research were two-fold: (1) to assess the reliability and utility of the Aircrew Coordination Observation and Evaluation scales in describing crew coordination behaviors exhibited during flight and (2) to investigate the effects of automation on crew coordination, workload, and performance. Two levels of automation (i.e., presence or absence of an autopilot) and two levels of task difficulty (i.e., presence or absence of wind and turbulence) were combined to yield a 2 x 2 design. Twenty-four two-person crews performed in both levels of automation and one of two levels of task difficulty. The results of the reliability …

Causal Analysis Of A National Study Of Sales Personnel Turnover Functionality, Eric J. Vanetti

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

A causal model of the antecedents of turnover functionality was developed and tested in a national field study of sales representatives from a Fortune 50 company. Turnover functionality was defined in terms of the difference between the performance levels of leavers and stayers in the host organization. Questionnaire data were collected from 1,732 salespeople, and it was predicted that the hypothesized model would be confirmed by the obtained data. Several forms of supporting evidence for the model were obtained. First, the hypothesized model provided a better, more parsimonious fit to the obtained data than did two plausible alternative models. Second, …

Individual Differences In The Career Decision-Making Process, Laura S. Hamill

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

A total of 98 seniors from Old Dominion University participated in an experiment designed to determine the nature of the relationships between the ability to cope with complexity as measured by the Career Path Appreciation interview, career decision-making as measured by the Career Development Inventory, intelligence as measured by grade point average and the Wonderlic Personnel Test, and preferred occupational complexity (as well as relationships among exploratory hypotheses). Regression analysis results indicated that ability to cope with complexity predicted career planning skills(as measured by the Career Planning subscale of the CDI), and grade point average (GPA) significantly predicted career decision-making …

Gender, Reason, And Argument In Composition, Lee Ellen Knight

English Theses & Dissertations

Given that virtually all college and university students are required to complete courses in college composition, courses designed to prepare them to think and write in approved academic language, the field is a fertile one for feminist inquiry. Recent work on feminist epistemology and writing theory, combined with Richard Fulkerson's proposed four-part construct of any composition theory, can be used to examine the conventions of argumentative writing. Such writing typically uses adversarial metaphors, often privileges abstract conceptions of knowledge and, furthermore, may be based on metaphors for reason which denigrate emotion and exclude women. New techniques for writing about conflict, …

The Description And Prediction Of Self-Percepts And Ideal-Percepts Of Body Image For Multiple Physical Attributes, Lora L. Jacobi

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present study examined the self-perceived body state, ideal body state, perceived other-sex ideal state, and actual other-sex ideal state for a number of body characteristics in white, heterosexual, undergraduate males and females. The relative strength of the ideal choices were also indicated by the sexes. The characteristics examined were: body size, weight, muscularity, height, hair color, hair length, eye color, and female breast size. Discrepancies between the self-perceived body state, the ideal body state, and perceived other-sex ideal body state were examined for the sexes. Also investigated were the differences between the perceived other-sex ideals and the actual other-sex …

The Failure Of United States Foreign Policy In Egypt 1953-1956, Patrick Bruce Lowrey

History Theses & Dissertations

In 1953 the incoming Eisenhower administration deemed the Middle East region to be of strategic value. Egypt was viewed as an integral part of the administration's containment policy in the region directed at the Soviet Union. A major effort was made by Eisenhower and Dulles to court. the newly emerging leadership of Egypt with economic inducements and military equipment. By the fall of 1956 this policy had failed in its primary objective of keeping Soviet influence out of the region. Eisenhower and Dulles feared Egypt was in danger of becoming a client state of the Soviet Union; and, their policy …

The Effects Of Stroke On The Comprehension Of Affective And Nonaffective Prosody, Mona Matheney Tiernan

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of stroke on the comprehension of prosody. Thirty two inpatient volunteers (16 with right hemisphere and 16 with left hemisphere stroke) and 16 controls participated in the study. A 3(Group) x 2(Gender) x 2(Task) mixed design was used. The independent variables were the subject group, gender and the prosody task (affective or nonaffective). The dependent variables were the percentage of correct responses to the affective and nonaffective prosody tasks. A 3(Group) x 2(Gender) x 2(Task) AN0VA revealed a significant main effect for group, E

A Responsive Evaluation In Two Hampton Roads Museums: The Development Of A Performance Assessment System For Museum Volunteers, Joan Fishman Hecht

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study is to evaluate volunteer performance in two Hampton Roads museums. The research question was: How can managers of museum volunteer services evaluate volunteer performance? The research design was a naturalistic, responsive, utilization-focused evaluation in response to the research question. The data was collected with a systematic examination of volunteer performance activities using techniques of in-depth interviews, participant observations, a questionnaire, documents and records. The data was analyzed by categorizing, sorting and characterizing the categories, conducting member checks, and prioritizing the data. Triangulation was used to verify the collected information. This study determined important traits, performance …

The Effects Of Exposure To The Modeling Of Normative Discontent Versus Rational Coping On Women's Body-Image Affect, Lyse Guttau

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to examine the nature and effects of appearance-focused conversations among women. One hundred-twenty female college students listened to one of three types of scripted audiotapes. The three conditions were a negative modeling condition, a rational coping condition, and a neutral condition in which appearance was not discussed. The three components under investigation were: (a) perceptions about the conversation, (b) the impact of the conversation on body image, and (c) the impact of the conversation on emotional affect. The influence of appearance orientation on reactions to the conversations in each of the three areas …

Penguins Can't Fly And Women Don't Count: Language And Thought, Janet M. Bing

English Faculty Publications

Many people object to sexist and racist language partly because they assume that language not only reflects, but somehow affects attitudes. A one-to-one relationship between language and thought seems obvious to those who never question it, but the issue of whether language influences thought and behavior has been a matter of debate in philosophy even before Berkeley and Wittgenstein. Literary critics, particularly those who call themselves deconstructionists, are still debating to what extent language constructs reality.

Russophobia And Judophobia Backlash In Extremist Russian Nationalism, 1987-1990, Connie Moray

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

In the late 1980s the former Soviet Union witnessed an increase in Russian nationalist extremist activity. Russian nationalist extremism was a backlash against a perceived decline in Russian status and a re-evaluation of such basic concepts as what it means to be Russian. Two manifestations of this backlash were russophobia and judophobia.

This thesis employs concepts used by American sociologists Seymour Martin Lipset and Earl Raab in their study of right-wing extremist groups in the United States to gain new insight into the nature of Russian nationalist extremism. Primary sources used include the writings of important Russian nationalists including Igor …

Teaching Rhetorical Delivery In Freshman Composition, Clayann Gilliam Panetta

English Theses & Dissertations

In recent decades the discipline of English has undergone a complete reexamination from a number of angles. Important pedagogical issues have been raised because of the growth of composition programs, and English departments have even witnessed the birth of several subspecialities within composition studies. Two of these subspeciality areas, rhetorical theory and computer-assisted writing, have received special attention. In this paper, I suggest. that, these two can powerfully coexist and can help students gain insights about writing.