Digital Commons Network^™

A Survey Of Teaching Strategies Used In California Community College Nursing Programs To Foster Critical Thinking, Nicki Harrington Edd

Dissertations

This study explicated critical thinking teaching strategies being utilized by California Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) faculty, and their perceived effectiveness, to serve as a model for faculties in nursing and other disciplines. Questions addressed by the study included not only teaching strategies in use and their perceived effectiveness, but also exploration of common threads among nursing educators in their definitions of critical thinking, and common themes of "especially effective" techniques. The study involved a pilot of the survey instrument, utilizing one sample school's nursing faculty, with subsequent distribution to all 69 other ADN program senior nursing course lead faculty. The …

Entrepreneurial Leadership: A Delphi Study Of New Venture Success Factors, Alan J. Grant Edd

Dissertations

Over a million new U.S. enterprises are formed each year. Virtually all the country's net new jobs come from these and other new ventures. Yet 60% of new ventures still fail within two years. The purpose of this study was to isolate the most dominant leadership success characteristics of a typical early stage, high-growth potential venture. Thus discovered, these factors could properly focus the enterprise's tactics on improving its probability of fulfilling its original success related objectives as well as enhancing new job creation and in turn, economic wealth. A Delphi Technique research methodology was employed. The advice and counsel …

Principals In Saskatchewan Rural Schools: Their Leadership Behaviors And School Effectiveness, Ronald W. Brice Edd

Dissertations

Recognizing the important role of the principal in Saskatchewan Rural school effectiveness, the study addressed the following four questions: 1. Are there significant differences in the behaviors of principals in schools that have been identified as effective compared to those principals in schools that have been identified as noneffective? 2. Are the leadership behaviors as identified by the Leadership Practices Inventory Self and Other (LPI-self and LPI-other) found in a set of Saskatchewan schools? 3. Are there differences in the principals' perceptions of their leadership behaviors as identified by the LPI-self and those perceptions of other staff members as indicated …

The Impact Of The Accountability Movement On Principals In A Large Southern California School District, Dianette T. Mitchell Edd

Dissertations

Organizations achieve uniqueness in their functions despite similarities in their structure. This uniqueness is true of school districts as well. Though there are specific similarities which have been found in effective schools and districts who have joined the accountability movement, each has its own systematic method of modifying and controlling desired behavior and possible achievement. This research focuses on one unique group of people, the site administrators in a large school district, and seeks to ascertain the effects of the effective schools' accountability movement as seen from the perspective of school principals. The three major objectives of this study were …

Stressors That Affect Psychotherapists' Therapeutic Functioning, Donald E. Wallace

Dissertations

Problem. The purpose of this study was to look at the stressors psychotherapists experience in their work to determine those that are positive and those that are negative. In addition, this study looked at stressors viewed as positive and negative by several subgroups of psychotherapists based on personality characteristics, gender, age, educational training, level of experience, preferred therapeutic school, and marital status.

Method. The Stressors Check List. Mvers-Briaas Type Indicator. and a demographic sheet were given to a sample of 244 psychotherapists employed at 12 comprehensive mental health centers in the State of Indiana. Statistical analyses included t-tests, one-way …

The Student, The Teacher, And The Text : An Ethnography Of The Literary Acculturation Process In Three Undergraduate Literature Classrooms, Matthew Justice Quartey

Dissertations

In this study I describe the context and environment in which students in three undergraduate literature classrooms in a mid-western parochial university "acquired a sense of literature," as well as the role played by their teachers in the process. As qualitative research, the study seeks to provide additional insight and understanding of the process of acquiring literary competence. While participant observation and interview were the principal methods used in gathering data, the data also included the use of documents. I examined course syllabi, students' journals, students' written work, and school documents. I also observed each of the three classes at …

A Comparative Study Of The Effects Of Learning Style Prescriptions And/Or Modality-Based Instruction On The Spelling Achievement Of Fifth-Grade Students, Nancy D'Isa Turner

Dissertations

Problem

Learning style has been studied extensively across the United States since the early 1970s. Much research has involved Rita and Kenneth Dunns' model and associated Learning Style Inventory. In 1991, Robert Zenhausern developed the Homework Disc software program which correlates with the Dunns' work and yields learning style prescriptions for students. The use of these study strategies at the elementary level has not been broadly examined. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of prescriptions on spelling achievement of fifth-grade students.

Method

A total of 65 students (33 males, 32 females) in three intact groups participated in this study. The …

Factors Influencing A Battered Woman's Perception Of Controllability In Violent Intimate Relationships, Patricia Ann Chin Dnsc, Msn, Rn

Dissertations

Despite the fact that domestic violence has been the focus of empirical investigation for more than twenty years, little is known about the phenomenon. While the available body of knowledge provides a sketchy picture of the abused woman and her abuser, and helps to dispel many of the myths surrounding spousal abuse, it provides very little insight into the dynamics of wife abuse. This study, based upon a foundation of the Reformulated Learned Helplessness Theory, was designed to explore the nature of the relationships among concepts that have been identified within the context of battering, and that were thought to …

Valuing A Culturally Diverse Work Force: An Examination Of Intended Changes And Successes As Perceived By Upper And Middle Management, Supervisors, And Line Staff In A Health Care Organization, Cynthia L. Camberg Edd

Dissertations

The growing diversity of the work force is having and will continue to have a significant impact on organizations. The diversity of cultures, lifestyles, and household compositions compels managers and organizational leaders to make a variety of organizational changes. Additionally, the globalization of business, the integration of the world economy, and the rapid changes in corporate life require a reexamination of how organizations are thought of, and how employees are managed (Copeland, 1988; Betters-Reed & Moore, 1988-89; Goldstein, 1988). Since in the past organizations have been based on white male European traditions, a revolutionary response is needed from organizational leaders …

Leadership In A Different Voice: An Ethnographic Study Of A Latina Chief Executive Officer In A California Community College, Lois Margaret Knowlton Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this ethnographic research was to discover the influence of President Judith Valles' gender and ethnicity on her leadership behavior at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, California, and to determine if similar influences existed among the other eight Hispanic women presidents of community colleges in the U.S. A composite profile of the nine presidents was developed. More than 100 interviews were conducted from a broad spectrum of participants, including seven of the nine Hispanic women presidents. The researcher became a participant observer at Golden West College for the fall of 1991. All the presidents were strongly influenced …

Constructing And Testing Practical Procedures For Describing A Corporate Culture: The Electric Troublemen, Timothy S. Vonder Edd

Dissertations

During the 1980s much attention was focused on trying to understand and apply the concept of corporate culture. Scholars and practitioners worked on clarifying the definition of culture as it applies to workplace settings. Scholars adapted the anthropological concepts of culture to fit within the framework of a business organization. Both scholars and practitioners attempted to investigate the cultures of many organizations throughout the business world. Scholars conducted lengthy case studies and used a mixture of qualitative and quantitative techniques. Business world practitioners conducted short studies and used mostly quantitative survey techniques. What was found was that the scholarly approach …

Guidelines For Campus Beautification With Special Reference To Seventh-Day Adventist Academies And Colleges In North America, Larry W. Boughman

Dissertations

Problem. Few recognize the potential between campus beautification and the enrichment of the institutional programs or the responsibility role of stewardship for school lands. Often, campus beautification has not been considered an important item in capital outlay.

Method. The study utilized the descriptive method. Literature was reviewed to gather concepts related to campus beautification that could be applied to SDA academies and colleges. Ideas were gathered from personal contacts with chairs of other institutions in the area of landscape architecture and from the fifty states that had published guidelines for campus beautification. On the basis of the ideas and information …

Effects Of Adventist Engaged Encounter On Role Expectations And Growth In Premarital Relations, Jeffrey O. Brown

Dissertations

Problem. There is a growing concern in present society over what have come to be known as 'family values.' At the heart of these values lies marriage, and the erosion of this ancient institution has caused practitioners and researchers alike to focus on possible opportunities afforded by premarital intervention. With the proliferation of enrichment programs, there is a need in the church for an evaluation of Adventist Engaged Encounter (AEE), the largest group premarital intervention program in the Seventh-day Adventist denomination, especially as it relates to two of its primary foci: role expectations and growth.

Method. Demographic details were obtained …

Kinetic Family Drawings Of Chinese-American Children, Verna Nga-Fun Chuah

Dissertations

Problem. America is a country enriched with a diversity of cultural backgrounds. Information on Chinese-American children and their families is limited even though the Chinese are one of the main minority groups in America and increasingly more Chinese are migrating here. This study sought to use the Kinetic Family Drawing (KFD) as a tool to gain information about how Chinese-American children perceive themselves and their family relationships.

Method. The KFD was administered to 146 Chinese-Americans from three schools in Northern California: one in Oakland Chinatown, one in San Francisco Chinatown, and one private suburban San Francisco school. The 71 Caucasian-American …

A Cross-Cultural Study Of The Collectivism-Individualism Paradigm: The Influence Of Confucian Values On The Conflict-Handling Behavior Of Male Graduate Business Students In Hong Kong And The United States, Randy Ki-Kwan Chiu

Dissertations

Problem. The Collectivism-Individualism literature argues that there is a difference in the way that Americans and the Chinese handle conflict based on differences in culture. It is also speculated that these differences have been influenced by Confucian values. However, these positions have not been conclusively supported by empirical findings.

Method. Both the Chinese Value Survey and Thomas and Kilmann's Management-of-Differences Exercise were administered to 124 U.S. White American graduate business students and 142 Hong Kong Chinese graduate business students. Three null hypotheses were formulated. These hypotheses stated that there is no linear combination of Integration, Human-heartedness, Confucian work dynamism, and …

The Relationship Between Attitudes Toward Women, Rape Myth Acceptance, And Sexual Coercive Experiences Of Male And Female Students At Religious And Public Colleges, Lennard Allan Jorgensen

Dissertations

Problem. The purpose of this study was to find the prevalence of sexual coercion and to explore relationships between sexual coercion, attitudes toward women, and rape myth acceptance of men and women on Seventh-day Adventist and public college campuses.

Method. Three scales furnished scores for sexual coercive experiences, attitudes toward women, and rape myth acceptance. Multiple- and step-wise regression analyses were used to discover relationships between attitudes toward women, rape myth acceptance, and religious affiliation, college affiliation and sexual coercion. One-way analysis of variance was used to analyze the influence of age, religious affiliation, college affiliation, religion, type of coercion, …

A Proposed Paradigm Of Personality As Explored Through The Relationship Between Moral Reasoning And Cognitive Flexibility, Karen I. Madgwick

Dissertations

Problem. Personality, a construct representing the dynamic integration of the individual, remains complicated, both in theory and in research. The purpose of this study was to explore a conceptual paradigm of personality through the relationship between cognitive flexibility and moral reasoning. Researchers had not looked at the relationship between cognitive flexibility, as measured by the Stroop Color and Word Test, and moral reasoning, as measured by the Defining Issues Test (DIT). This study focused on the relationship between cognitive flexibility and moral reasoning. It looked for more than an understanding of the relationship, however, thus affording beginning research in the …

A Correlational-Developmental Study Of Sexual Symbols, Actions, And Themes In Children's Kinetic Family And Human Figure Drawings, Peggy Joan Rodgers

Dissertations

Problem. Sexual characteristics normally included in children's drawings need to be identified. This study sought to gain definitive information regarding the relationship between (1) child's age, (2) child's sex, (3) media exposure, and (4) sexual characteristics included in Human Figure Drawings (HFD) and Kinetic Family Drawings (KFD).

Method. The HFD, the KFD, and an interview schedule concerning exposure to various media were administered to 560 non-clinic and 81 clinic children, ages 6-18. Sexual characteristics in children's drawings and the amount and type of media the children had experienced were analyzed qualitatively and by Chi-square and Discriminant Analysis. Significance was set …

Inclusion Of Gregorc's Mind Styles Concepts In Physical Therapy Curriculum And Instruction In Selected Baccalaureate And Post-Baccalaureate Programs, Keith R. Gaden

Dissertations

Topic

The topic under study in this paper was the application of Gregorc's mind styles concepts in two baccalaureate and two post-baccalaureate physical therapy programs.

Purpose

The purpose was to determine how these concepts were used while addressing the teaching and learning theory competency of the accreditation standards.

Sources

I examined intra- and extra-classroom activities, noting how information on styles was given and/or modeled to the students. Gregorc's Energic Model of Styles formed the basis for style determination. The research design was multiple-case study (embedded). Accreditation documents, curriculum file materials, handout materials, and videotaped classroom sessions were interpreted to determine …

A Validation And Comparative Study Of Kinetic Family Drawings Of Native American Children, Sheryl A. Gregory

Dissertations

Problem. Research on how Native American (NA) children draw their families and how perceptions of their families are reflected in their family drawings is lacking. The purpose of the study was (1) to validate the Kinetic Family Drawing (KFD) as an appropriate instrument for use with this population, and (2) to compare Native American and Caucasian children's KFDs.

Method. The KFD and Semantic Differential Scales were administered to 52 Native American children from the Potawatomi and Iroquois tribes, ages 6-14. A matched sample of 104 KFDs of Caucasian children from Southern Michigan was used for comparison. The data were analyzed …

The Eschatological Judgment In Job 19:21-29 : An Exegetical Study, Gordon E. Christo

Dissertations

Practically all scholars today acknowledge the juridical features of the book of Job. The purpose of this study is to identify the legal event that Job is understood to believe would take place in the eschaton.

Chapter 1 first analyzes the significance of the place of our passage in the structure of the book. Job 19 is found to be the center of a structurally balanced composition. Further study of structure reveals that v s s . 25-27b can be viewed as: (1) the heart of the chiasm in 19:21-29, (2) the node of that speech, and (3) a pivot …