Digital Commons Network^™

Negative Affectivity As A Predictor Of Coping Responses: A Meta-Analysis, John Gibson

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Composing The Scene: Coleridge And Picturesque Aesthetics, David W. Rogner

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Campus Alcohol And Drug Prevention Programs On The Behaviors Of University Students, Darrell D. Irwin

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Racial Identity And Racial Socialization Attitudes Of African-American Parents, Anita Jones Thomas

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Private And Public Dilemmas: A Feminist Defense Of Liberal Theory, Mary Barbara Walsh

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Toward An Epistemology Of The Poor: Conversations With People In The Margins, Robyn Dent Draper-Praetz

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Personality Patterns Of Male Psychiatric Inpatients: Cluster Analysis Of The Mcmi-Ii Guided By Blashfield's Recommendations, Kevin W. Miller

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Husserl's Part/Whole Theory And Its Influence On The Early Heidegger, Scott Brown

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Maintenance Of Statistical Process Control (Spc) With Organizational Behavior Management (Obm) Techniques, Pollis Robertson

Dissertations

Many organizations have implemented statistical process control (SPC) programs in response to demands in the marketplace for high-quality products that are efficiently built. Many of these organizations have been unhappy with the difficulty of getting their statistical process (SPC) control programs started and the long-term economic success of these programs.

This study systematically investigated for two years various components of statistical process control programs and attempted to enhance economic effectiveness by buttressing SPC methods with Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) techniques. This study was conducted in a Gray Ductile Iron Foundry that employed 87 employees.

Positive results were observed when OBM …

A Study Of The Thematic Integrated Curriculum (Tic) Of The Focus 2000 Program, Sherry Collins

Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to describe how a thematic integrated curriculum (TIC) enhances the quality of education by examining three outcomes of a TIC. These outcomes are: (1) the instruction of critical thinking skills, (2) the motivation of students to be self-directed and assume responsibility for their own learning, and (3) the empowerment of teachers to become educational leaders. The underlying assumption of the study was that the more the three outcomes are used in the learning process, the better will be the quality of education.

For this study, the process of "enhancing the quality of education" …

Adaptive Leadership Style And Sales Performance: A Test Of The Social Style Model, Frank M. Gambino

Dissertations

The Social Style Model served as the central theoretical framework of this study. The purpose of this study was twofold:

1. To assess whether performance evaluations of salespeople are related (a) to their social styles, (b) to the social styles of the sales managers who supervise their work, or (c) to the differences between their social styles and the styles of their sales supervisors.

2. To test the assumption that self-evaluations of social style are often significantly different from evaluations supplied by others who are familiar with a person’s behavior.

Two types of empirical data were collected: <1) measures of three social style variables—assertiveness, responsiveness, and versatility—for salespeople and sales supervisors, and (2) measures of salespeople’s overall job performance. Job performance was assessed using both self-ratings and supervisory ratings on five constructs of sales performance: (1) ability to meet sales objectives, (2) technical knowledge and application of that knowledge, (3) control of company expenses, (4) information processing, and (5) presentation skills. Social style was assessed using self-, peer and supervisory ratings.

Mail surveys were …

Comparative Effectiveness Of Therapeutic Strategies On Drug Knowledge And Drug Attitude In Inpatient Psychiatric Substance Abuse Population, Amber Haque

Dissertations

This study examined the effects of instructional strategies on the change of knowledge and attitude scores in mentally ill subjects with a history of substance abuse. Twenty subjects from a state psychiatric hospital were randomly divided into one control and three experimental groups. The study period was ten weeks with each session lasting forty five minutes, twice per week. Subjects studied issues relating to drug abuse outside scheduled sessions as they pleased. Pre- and post-test scores were measured by a drug abuse questionnaire developed at the Pennsylvania State University. Hypotheses formed were: (a) drug education improves knowledge and attitude in …

The Effects Of Disclosure Of Comprehensive Pretherapy Information On Clients' Behaviors And Perceptions Of Therapists And The Therapy Process, Patricia J. Dauser

Dissertations

An experimental study of the effects of comprehensive versus partial pretherapy disclosure was conducted. Sixty-three clients in a university counseling center participated. The control and treatment groups received information on four pretherapy issues. Those issues were services provided, confidentiality, length of sessions, and right to terminate therapy. The treatment group received additional information which included personalized data regarding therapists, what to expect in therapy, and risks and alternatives to therapy. The study examined the effects of the comprehensive information received by the treatment group versus the partial information received by the control group on (a) perceptions of therapists, (b) opinions …

A Comparative Study Of Primary Preventive Behaviors And Secondary Preventive Behaviors Among Michigan Adults, Jing Chang

Dissertations

Many researchers have documented the range and extent of the health preventive behaviors. However, previous studies have generally focused on either the contact with medical professionals (secondary preventive care) or compliance with their recommendations (primary preventive care). Some have treated the two types of behaviors as one and related them to social demographic characteristics and socio-structural conditions (e.g., access to medical service). There have been very few studies that have compared the two sets of preventive behaviors. This study takes a first step to explore the correlates of secondary preventive activities and compare them with the correlates of primary preventive …

Transformational Leadership: The Relationship Between Consciousness, Values, And Skills, John E . Schmidt

Dissertations

Leadership is one of the most important, yet least understood, phenomena on earth. Many researchers have investigated leadership traits, activities, behaviors, and processes; yet, until B u m s (1978), few researchers distinguished between leadership that is "transactional" and leadership that is "transformational." Transformational leadership, says Bums, occurs "when one or more persons engage with others in such a way that leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of motivation and morality" (p. 20) .

Since Bums, few studies of transformational leadership have examined leaders who appeal to higher values or leaders who challenge individuals, organizations, and societies …

The Efficacy Of Eye Movement Desensitization In The Treatment Of Trauma Related Imagery And Cognitions: A Partial Dismantling Procedure, George S. Renfrey

Dissertations

This study investigated the effects of eye movement desensitization (EMD) on post-traumatic sequelae, and attempted a partial dismantling of the procedure to determine the necessity of EMD's characteristic eye movements. Twenty-three persons participated in three groups: (1) those receiving standard EMD, (2) those receiving a variant of EMD in which eye movements were engendered through a light tracking task, and (3) those receiving a variant of EMD in which fixed visual attention replaced eye movements. All participants had experienced traumata as defined by the DSM-III-R and were having intrusive symptoms of PTSD at pre-treatment. All but two met full DSM-II-R …

The Relationship Between Dependency, Gender, And Personality Style As It Impacts Adolescent Inpatient Depression, Cathy L. Kubik

Dissertations

The role of dependent personality traits in increased vulnerability to depression has been studied extensively. However,this issue remains controversial, and limited research has been done involving adolescent inpatients. In addition, limited research has been done regarding the possible interaction effects of gender and level of dependency upon depression and specific depressive symptoms in an adolescent inpatient population.

symptoms in an adolescent inpatient population. In this study, 92 inpatient adolescents from a private, not-for-profit psychiatric hospital had completed both the Millon Adolescent Personality Inventory (Millon, 1976, 1982), and the Multiscore Depression Inventory (Berndt, 1986).

One group consisted of 46 adolescents who …

Symbol Sense And Its Development In Two Computer Algebra System Environments, Brian A. Keller

Dissertations

The purposes of this study were to: (a) explicate the nature of symbol sense, (b) determine the differential effects of two computer algebra system (CAS) environments on students' development of symbol sense, (c) explore differences in symbol sense among students using a CAS and students not using a CAS, and (d) examine students' achievement in calculus with and without the use of a CAS.

Six sections of first-semester calculus at Western Michigan University during the 1992-93 academic year were used in the study. The investigator taught two CAS sections both semesters (n = 41, 34 Fall and n = 35, …

Adolescent Substance Use Patterns: Testing A Multidimensional Sociogenic Model, Eric O. Johnson

Dissertations

This dissertation begins with the understanding that behavior is a product of a variegated and complex web of social factors. Bringing this approach to the subfield of adolescent substance use, both substance use itself (alcohol, cigarettes and a broad range of illicit drugs) and the factors that influence such use are viewed as existing within the complex of demographic/structural, social contextual, attitudinal, and behavioral layers of adolescents' social worlds.

The Patterns of Adolescent Substance Use Typology, developed by Stanley S. Robin and me (1992a), is used to categories the overall level and kind of substance use, over time, that adolescents …

The Efficacy Of Prepared Videoprograms And Personal Conferences In Parent Education For Language Intervention, Candis M. Warner

Dissertations

This study was undertaken to examine the effectiveness of using prepared videoprograms and personal conferences to educate parents in the use of indirect language stimulation techniques with children who have delays in speech and language development. The efficacy of three methods to teach mothers to use facilitative communicative behaviors with their children was assessed by analyzing tape recorded language samples of 6 0 mothers conversing with their preschool children before and after their participation in one of three treatm ent conditions. The three treatm ents in the study were: (1) viewing the 30-m inute videoprogram, Let's Talk: First Steps to …

The Effect Of A Transition Class (Developmental Kindergarten) On Academic Parity, Douglas S. Mccall

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not those students who had participated in a developmental kindergarten program. Young Fives, had attained academic parity with their age mates who had not participated in the program.

The target population of this study was 245 students who were kindergarten age in 1988 and attended school in a rural school district in southwestern Michigan. The accessible population was 141 of the original 245 students.

The total battery grade equivalent test scores achieved on the California Achievement Test by the 141 students were analyzed using an analysis of variance (ANOVA) and …

A Comparative Study Of The Coping Ability Of Mobile And Nonmobile Elementary Pupils, Solomon Mokone Lebese

Dissertations

Frequent moves by parents of elementary-aged children can cause these children a considerable amount of stress, thus creating adjustment problems and straining their coping abilities to the limits. How do these children cope with such problems compared to those who do not move frequently?

The above question was the focus of investigation to determine whether or not there was a difference between the mobile (children whose parents have moved at least once in the past 3 years) and nonmobile (children whose parents have not moved from a particular school district in the past 3 years) elementary children in the way …

Methodology For Modeling High Performance Distributed And Parallel Systems, Rakesh Kushwaha

Dissertations

Performance modeling of distributed and parallel systems is of considerable importance to the high performance computing community. To achieve high performance, proper task or process assignment and data or file allocation among processing sites is essential. This dissertation describes an elegant approach to model distributed and parallel systems, which combines the optimal static solutions for data allocation with dynamic policies for task assignment. A performance-efficient system model is developed using analytical tools and techniques.

The system model is accomplished in three steps. First, the basic client-server model which allows only data transfer is evaluated. A prediction and evaluation method is …

Pyrolysis And Oxidation Of Chloromethanes Experiment And Modeling, Wenpin Ho

Dissertations

An experimental study on pyrolysis and oxidation of CH₂Cl₂ and CH₃Cl in oxygen/hydrogen or oxygen/methane mixtures and argon bath gas was carried out at 1 atmosphere pressure in tubular flow reactors. Degradation of CH₂Cl₂, or CH₃CI, along with the formation and destruction of intermediate and final products was analyzed systematically over 873 to 1273°K, with average residence times of 0.2 to 2.0 seconds.

Thermochemical parameters: enthalpy, entropy, and heat capacities for many chloro-oxy-carbon products and intermediates are calculated using the techniques of group additivity and the THERM computer code. …

An Experimental Demonstration Of The Transitive Conditioned Establishing Operation With Pigeons, Rachel Nunes Da Cunha

Dissertations

Skinner (1938) dealt with motivation in terms of the operations of deprivation/satiation and aversive stimulation. Later, Keller and Schoenfeld (1950) introduced the term establishing operation to refer to such motivative variables, and Michael (1982, and in press) expanded the Keller and Schoenfeld (1950) concept to include a type of learned motivative variable not explicitly identified in the earlier treatments. The purpose of the present research is the laboratory demonstration of this form of motivation, that Michael referred to as a transitive conditioned establishing operation (CEO).

The present experiment used a treadle-key procedure similar to that of Ailing (1990), but with …

The Effects Of Arousal On Time Perception, J. Keith Cardwell

Dissertations

This study examined the effect of physiological arousal on subjects' time production skills. Time perception is a major element in clinical theories of demandingness and time urgency within the Type A behavior pattern.

Subjects were 94 graduate students, including 67 females and 27 males. They were assigned randomly to three groups: a control group and experimental Groups A and B. All subjects performed 15-, 30-, and 45-second pretest and posttest time production trials. The primary treatment for experimental groups was rapid breathing to increase subjects' heart beat at least 10% above their resting rate. Heart beat was measured by a …

Computer-Based Fluency Training With The Terminology Of Behavior Analysis, Guillermo E. Yaber-Oltra

Dissertations

This study examined the effects of computer-based fluency training on the learning of behavior-analysis terminology. Sixty-nine undergraduates studied the definitions of half a set of behavior-analysis terms using a computer program Think Fast (Parsons, 1989), and half using their regular methods. Think Fast training items consisted of typing the words missing from definitions. On seven out of nine post-training quizzes, students were better able to define terms previously studied with the computer program. In a related experiment, volunteers studied half a new set of terms using the computer, either typing or saying the answers. Students mastered the definitions better when …

The Effects Of A Monetary Incentive System On The Performance Of Rolloff Truck Drivers, Jeanne Marie Lameie

Dissertations

Studies have shown that individuals working under individual monetary incentive conditions perform at higher rates than those working under an hourly pay condition (Farr, 1976; Frisch & Dickinson, 1990; Gaetani, Hoxeng, & Austin, 1985; George & Hopkins, 1989; London & Oldham, 1977; Nebeker & Neuberger, 1985; Orphen, 1982; Terborg & Miller, 1978; Yukl, Wexley, & Seymore, 1972). Although these studies indicate that incentive pay improves productivity, the results of two laboratory studies suggest that the portion of pay that is tied to performance is not important (Frisch & Dickinson, 1990; Gillette, 1991). In other words, once pay is linked to …

Spanish Translation And Validation Of The Daily Stress Inventory, And A Comparison Of The Level Of Stress Experienced By Three Culturally Distinct Hispanic Groups, Senez Rodriguez-Charbonier

Dissertations

High levels of stress in the general population have been found to correlate both with psychological and physical illness. The fast growing Hispanic population in the U.S. is exposed to increased levels of stress associated with a number of situations (e.g., language barriers, and socioeconomic status). There are, however, no validated stress measures applicable to the Hispanic community as a whole.

The purpose of this study was twofold: First, to translate into Spanish the Daily Stress Inventory (DSI) (Brantley & Jones, 1989) and to validate the translation by conducting a correlation study between the the Spanish and the English versions. …

Preferred Motivators For Previously Incarcerated Criminals, Selma R. Massey

Dissertations

The issue of motivators has been studied by a number of researchers and practitioners in education, sociology, and psychology. Many of these studies have linked motivators to behavior (Coffey, 1987; Coleman, 1987; Gellerman, 1963; Gould & Sigall, 1977). Questions remain, however, as to which motivators are viewed by actors themselves as the most preferred influencers of behavior. The primary objective of the research was to compare the rank order of the most frequently cited motivators identified in research studies and the rank order of the most preferred motivators as perceived by previously incarcerated criminal respondents. A secondary objective was to …