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Issues Of Factorial Invariance Inherent In Conceptual Change: Teachers’ Evolving Perceptions Of Classroom Practice, Cynthia C. Phillips

Dissertations

This study explored the extent to which confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) can be used to address the measurement challenges faced by evaluators engaged in the assessment of change; in particular, the interpretation of self-report survey data collected under quasi-experimental conditions. The psychometric principles behind the instruments used to measure change are built on the assumptions that the constructs of interest remain stable and that error and score magnitude alone may vary. This study examined the complications that arise, with respect to the valid use of change scores, when the constructs of interest reflect conceptual change.

CFA techniques are available enabling …

Parental Involvement: Quantifying Parent Behavior And Its Influence On A Child's Readiness To Learn, V. Yvonne Conner

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to assist with developing resources that encourage parental involvement. The overall research question for this study is: "What types of parent behaviors have significant influence on literacy development among children enrolled in a local Head Start Program?" Parent behaviors are presented as a resource by quantifying their impact on a child's language development and personal-social development. This is a nonexperimental study, designed to analyze childhood readiness to learn among children enrolled in a local Head Start Program. Multiple regression was used to assess parent behaviors as predictors of language development and personal-social development of …

The Supplemental Effects Of Feedback On Productivity Under Individual Incentives, Barbara R. Bucklin

Dissertations

This study examined the effects of an individual incentive system with and without feedback in order to determine if feedback supplements the effects of incentives. Participants were seven college students who performed a computerized work task called SYNWORK. SYNWORK presented four sub-tasks concurrently: memory, arithmetic, visual monitoring and auditory monitoring. Participants earned points for correct responses. Dependent variables were the total number of points earned, percent correct, and time-on-task. An ABAC within-subject reversal design was used with A = individual monetary incentives without feedback, B = individual monetary incentives with end-of-session feedback, and C = hourly pay with end-of session …

The Victim Rights Movement: A Social Constructionist Examination, Angela Renee Evans

Dissertations

What has been termed the victim rights movement has made great progress in promoting legislative changes regarding victim rights in the United States. This research examines the victim rights movement from a social constructionist perspective by focusing on two pieces of federal legislation passed in the 1980s: the Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982 and the Victims of Crime Act of 1984. Using the social constructionist perspective, the research examines who was involved in the claims-making activities and which claims were most likely to be heard and acted upon. Rather than seeing social movements as the result of some …

The Organizational Culture In Community Foundations, Nanette Marie Keiser

Dissertations

Because of the current and future critical roles community foundations play in their geographical areas, the limited research to inform the community foundation field, and the importance o f studying organizational culture, there was a need to study the organizational culture of community foundations. A questionnaire was sent to 179 community foundation staff members in one state in the Midwest. Responses were received from 98 of the 179 staff members.

It was found that the actual organizational culture of the community foundation “industry” was differentiated across all variables (staff overall, paid staff size, asset size, and age of foundation). Organizations …

Coping With Chronic Fatigue, Susan Lynne Jensen

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine sense of coherence in those individuals diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), and to explore its relationship to age, gender, work status, duration of illness, fatigue and functional ability/ disability in this population.

This study used a combined methods approach, using both qualitative and quantitative methods. A sample of thirty individuals diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome was surveyed by means of a self-administered questionnaire, including Antonovsky’s 13-item shortened Sense of Coherence (SOC) scale. A subset of 12 participants participated in the qualitative portion of the study, and answered specific questions regarding their …

Counselor-Client Value Similarity And Dissimilarity, The Working Alliance, And Counseling Outcome, Lynn Nylund Lupini

Dissertations

Previous research in client-counselor value similarity and outcome studies has produced contradictory results. In the present study, an expanded model of Vervaeke, Vertommen, and Storms’ (1997) value similarity construct was used to measure the degree of similarity and dissimilarity of values within the counseling dyad. The first purpose of the present study was to investigate the interrelationships among the client-counselor value similarity and dissimilarity, the working alliance and counseling outcome. The second purpose was to determine if the working alliance was a mediating factor between value (dis)similarity and counseling outcome, thus, providing insight into the previous contradictory results within the …

An Examination Of Voir Dire From An Interactionist Perspective, Peter R. Stevenson

Dissertations

Trial attorneys, historically, have used both scientific and unscientific selection techniques to empanel a jury, and these methods continue to be used in contemporary courtrooms. The ability of these techniques to pick a 'good” jury has been shown to have limited utility. This ineffectiveness may be due, in part, to a false assumption about the passivity of prospective jurors during questioning. An interactionist perspective sees individuals as much more active in that they control the information given out. Most potential jurors offer genuine presentations of self during jury selection in that they truthfully respond to the questions posed by courtroom …

Capital Punishment: A New Perspective On Race And Ethnic Differences In Punishment And Death Sentence Outcomes, Martin G. Urbina

Dissertations

A review of the existing literature on death sentence outcomes (i.e., executions, commutations) shows evidence of discrimination against minority defendants (e.g., African Americans). Prior studies, however, have followed a Caucasian/African American and/or execution/commutation approach. Latino defendants have either been excluded or treated as a monolithic group. Thus, little is known about death sentence outcomes for Latinos, whose experiences differ from those of African Americans and Caucasians. Additionally, little is known about the treatment of the various ethnic groups (e.g., Cubans, Mexicans) that constitute the Latino community. And, since the focus has been on executions and/or commutations, little is known about …

A Preliminary Investigation Of The Acceptability And Effectiveness Of Computer-Based Adjunctive Parent Training For Child Noncompliance, Dwayne M. Munneke

Dissertations

Noncompliance with parent requests is a commonly reported behavior problem for clinic-based child referrals. Parent skills training has been empirically demonstrated as an effective treatment for helping parents increase positive child behaviors and decrease negative behaviors. Unfortunately, many therapists and agencies are unable to implement parent-training programs due to limited therapist training, limited economic resources, or long waiting lists.

Adjunctive, computer-based, treatment programs have become increasingly popular in both research and clinical settings for facilitating psychological assessment and intervention. This project involved the development and preliminary investigation of the effectiveness and acceptability of a computer-based program designed to supplement therapist-delivered …

The Gothic Wanderer: From Transgression To Redemption, Tyler R. Tichelaar

Dissertations

The Gothic wanderer of British fiction originated during the French Revolution. During the nineteenth century, the figure evolved from one of transgression into a symbol of redemption. While Romantic poets created wanderer figures to celebrate rebellion, Gothic novelists utilized the wanderer figure to explore the psychology of transgression. The Gothic interpreted the French Revolution as a transgression against God and His ordained institutions. The wanderer figure expressed the anxieties of the revolutionary period and the attempt to imagine a political world not based upon monarchy. Gothic novelists also questioned what effects the French Revolution might have upon England. The overthrow …

Whatever Shines: Poems, Kathleen Mcgookey

Dissertations

The poems in my manuscript can be divided into two groups: poems in verse and prose poems. The majority are prose poems. Though I did not set out to write in the prose poem form, I’ve become more and more attracted to it, eventually seeking what Baudelaire sought when he wrote the poems in Le Spleen de Paris, a poetic prose "musical without rhythm or rhyme, supple enough and shocking enough to adapt itself to lyrical movements of the soul, undulations of the reverie, sudden leaps of conscience." Charles Simic believes prose poems contain a tension between the lyric impulse …

Attitudes And Perceptions Of Michigan School Administrators Toward Female Administrators, Dorothy J. Vanderjagt

Dissertations

There is a shortage of females in educational administration. Women represent a majority of teachers, yet men occupy most administrative positions. The purpose of this study was to determine attitudes of selected Michigan school administrators toward women as managers. This study was intended to create an awareness of the perceptions administrators hold toward women as leaders and investigate attitudes that may be accountable for the disparity of women leaders in education.

Two research questions were studied: (1) Do the attitudes of male administrators toward women as school managers differ from the attitudes of female administrators toward women as school managers? …

An Investigation Into Relationships Between Alternative Assessment And Pre-Service Elementary Teachers’ Beliefs About Mathematics, David Charles Coffey

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine how including alternative assessments in a reform-based mathematics course affects pre-service teachers’ mathematical beliefs. A single section of a mathematics course designed for elementary education majors that employed three different alternative assessments was the setting for the study.

A pre- and post-belief survey completed by students enrolled in the section under study represented the first level of data collection and analysis. The results of the pre-belief survey guided the selection of seven informants from the section and provided belief statements for the informants to verify during subsequent interviews. Based on the data …

Affective Responses To Television Newscasts: Have You Heard The News?, Jessica Purtan Harrell

Dissertations

This study examined the impact o f television news viewing on affective responses in viewers. Participants watched a 10-minute newscast that contained only negative, only positive, or both negative and positive news stories at either 8:00 a.m. or 6:00 p.m. Negative news viewers showed elevations in anxiety and negative affect, while positive news viewers showed decreases in anxiety and negative affect. Watching a combined newscast resulted in no mood changes. Affective changes caused by watching the news were not maintained 3 hours after viewing, and morning versus evening viewing had no impact on mood responses to that news. While news …

A Comparison Of Beginning And Advanced Counselor Education Students On The Health Locus Of Control Scale, Christina Minger

Dissertations

Traditional counselor training incorporates a combination of didactic and experiential learning. Through this process of learning, counseling students have the opportunity to develop principles of self-learning and self-awareness leading them to counseling self-efficacy. Through this self-development, students may make choices pertaining to their health. By examining the health locus of control in beginning counselors, not only were the student counselors’ historical view of health-related issues examined, but their current perceptions of external and internal coping devices were also investigated. The Health Locus of Control Scale (HLCS) was developed to provide more sensitive predictions of the relationship between internality and health …

Genetically Evolved Dynamic Control For Quadruped Walking, Giorgio Grasso

Dissertations

The aim of this dissertation is to show that dynamic control of quadruped locomotion is achievable through the use of genetically evolved central pattern generators. This strategy is tested both in simulation and on a walking robot. The design of the walker has been chosen to be statically unstable, so that during motion less than three supporting feet may be in contact with the ground.

The control strategy adopted is capable of propelling the artificial walker at a forward locomotion speed of ~1.5 Km/h on rugged terrain and provides for stability of motion. The learning of walking, based on simulated …

Applications Of Agent Architectures To Decision Support In Distributed Simulation And Training Systems, Plamen V. Petrov

Dissertations

This work develops the approach and presents the results of a new model for applying intelligent agents to complex distributed interactive simulation for command and control. In the framework of tactical command, control communications, computers and intelligence (C₄I), software agents provide a novel approach for efficient decision support and distributed interactive mission training. An agent-based architecture for decision support is designed, implemented and is applied in a distributed interactive simulation to significantly enhance the command and control training during simulated exercises. The architecture is based on monitoring, evaluation, and advice agents, which cooperate to provide alternatives to the …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Low Pressure Chemically Vapor Deposited Boron Nitride And Titanium Nitride Films, Narahari Ramanuja

Dissertations

This study has investigated the interrelationships governing the growth kinetics, resulting compositions, and properties of boron nitride (B-C-N-H) and titanium nitride (Ti-N-Cl) films synthesized by low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) using ammonia (NH₃)/triethylamine-borane and NH₃/titanium tetrachloride as reactants, respectively.Several analytical methods such as the FTIR, UVNisible spectroscopy, XPS, AES, RBS, SEM, and XRD were used to study the stoichiometry and structure of the deposited films.

The B-N-C-H films were synthesized over a temperature range of 300 to 8500C at various flow rate ratios of the reactants and total pressure range of 50 to 150 mTorr. …

The Role Of Education In The Treatment Of Chronic Pain Patients: A Quantitative Study Of Factors That Influence The Self -Management Of Chronic Pain, Donna L. Agan Edd

Dissertations

The factors involved in the successful self-management of chronic pain are not well understood. Many issues complicate addressing these factors. Individual suffering, exhaustion of family resources, and the costs to society for medical care, lost wages, welfare and disability benefits demand increasingly more resources each year. At the micro level, patients who live the daily rigors of chronic pain want medical science to solve their malady. At the macro level, health plan administrators want their patients to successfully self-manage pain with the least medical intervention and cost, because they know a cure is not probable. In the middle, the medical …

African-American And White Female Homicide Offenders: Women Who Kill Intimate Partners Versus Non-Intimate Partners In Chicago Between 1980-1995, Shauntey James

Dissertations

The research that examines female homicide offenders goes little further than investigating whether or not offenders were previously victimized by those whom they kill. This research project is designed to contribute to this extant body of literature and theory in two ways. The first is to add and provide a comprehensive picture of African-American and white female homicide offenders in intimate versus non-intimate relationships in homicidal events. The second manner of contribution lies in the testing of a creative and integrative theoretical model. This model addresses race, underclass context, alcohol use, social disorganization and prior arrest record of female homicide …

A Case Study Of The Effects Of The Strategic Planning Process On The Trust Level Of Administrative Staff In A K - 12 School District, Michael F. Paskewicz

Dissertations

Strategic planning is a process that has been used in the business world since the 1960s as a tool to build employee trust through the development of a shared vision and goals. Public education and other government agencies began to use the strategic planning process in the mid 1970s (Herman, 1994).

The study used data collected by a K-12 school district, two years into the strategic planning process. This study sought to determine if the trust level of administrators would be impacted by the level of participation in the strategic planning process. Trust level was defined by self rating by …

Adolescent Perceptions Of Parent-Adolescent Communication And Adolescent Pregnancy, Susan L. Tohm Lloyd Phd, Ms, Rn

Dissertations

Identification of adolescent perceptions of parent-adolescent communication, a significant factor in family functioning and connectedness, is important if effective interventions are to be provided by health care professionals related to decreasing the number as well as the adverse effects of adolescent pregnancy in the United States. The purpose of this descriptive, non-experimental, triangulated study was to examine the relationship between the perceived quality and effectiveness of parent-adolescent communication and pregnancy from the perspective of pregnant adolescent women in the Banning/Beaumont area of southern California. The theoretical framework for this study was based on adolescent and family developmental theories, family communication …

A Comparison Of Cognitive Restructuring And Systematic Desensitization Techniques For Anger Reduction With An Inmate Population, Lori Ann Diaz

Dissertations

This was a dismantling study comparing the effectiveness of the Cognitive Restructuring (CR) and the Systematic Desensitization (SD) components of Deffenbacher et al.’s (1987, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994) treatment of anger. This study utilized an inmate population in a rural county jail. Each group completed a battery of measures (State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory [Spielberger, 1996]; Anger Symptom, and Anger Situation [Hazaleus & Deffenbacher, 1986]) at baseline (5 weeks prior to treatment), pretreatment, and posttreatment. Subjects completed an Anger Log weekly and a Satisfaction measure following treatment. The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV: Patient Questionnaire was completed during the baseline period …

A Socio-Cultural Comparative Study Of Freshmen Of Mexican Descent Attending Western Michigan University, Diane M. Ariza

Dissertations

Institutional racism, encouraged assimilation, and ignorance of Latino/a values are current barriers to the academic success and leadership development of students of Mexican descent in higher education. This study examined the lives and personal stories of 22 college freshmen of Mexican descent from Texas and Michigan and how they transitioned and adapted their first year at Western Michigan University. This study used interviews and participant observation to examine the individuals in each cohort in order to construct their life stories.

An additional purpose was to critically examine the role of the researcher who was highly involved in the recruitment and …

A Comparison Of African American Elderly Women Abstainers And Light To Moderate Consumers Of Alcohol, Treva L. Bostic

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the differences that may exist between two identified groups of older African American women: (1) light to moderate consumers of alcohol, and (2) abstainers from alcohol. Within these two groups are four subgroups of women that were studied: (1) abstainers with high social support, (2) abstainers with low social support, (3) light to moderate consumers of alcohol with high social support, and (4) light to moderate consumers of alcohol with low social support.

Through a contact-and-referral technique, a purposive sample of 97 African American women who were 65 years and over living …

A Study Of The Relationship Between Epistemic Style And Evaluation Practice, Deanna Draze

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the differences between personal epistemic styles of professional evaluators, the influence those styles have on evaluation practice, and to determine whether a typology of evaluation practice can be extrapolated from a study of epistemic style. Epistemic style was defined as how one determines what is true (or what constitutes knowledge). The intent was to provide empirical evidence of the relationship between theory and practice in the hope that it will contribute to an increased awareness of the evaluator “as an instrument’' through which data is filtered.

The Psycho-Epistemological Profile (Royce, Mos, and …

Research Into The Relationships Among Multicultural Training, Racial And Gender Identity Attitudes And Multicultural Competencies For Counselors, Debbie Koeltzow

Dissertations

This study explored the relationships among multicultural training, racial identity attitudes, gender identity attitudes, and multicultural competencies in counseling trainees. Two principal research hypotheses were generated. The first generally stated hypothesis was that racial identity and gender identity represent parallel processes for those whose racial and gender identities share a cultural status (minority-minority or majority-majority) and are independent processes for those whose identities do not share a cultural status (minority-majority). The second generally stated hypothesis was that multicultural training predicts racial identity attitudes, gender identity attitudes, and multicultural competencies, and that both racial and gender identity attitudes predict multicultural competencies. …

The Experience Of Interpersonal Forgiveness: An Empirical-Phenomenological Investigation, Halimatun Halaliah Mokhtar

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the lived experience of interpersonal forgiveness of individuals (known as co-researchers) by employing the empirical-phenomenological method. This study aimed at identifying, understanding, and describing the general psychological meaning (Tesch, 1990) or the essences/structures (Moustakas, 1994) of the experience of the phenomenon through the protocols of these individuals. It was also a goal of this study to develop a psychological theory of interpersonal forgiveness.

A two-interview structure was conducted with eight individuals (three males and five females) who had forgiven their significant offending others. The first interview focused on the meaning and …

Social Factors Related To Recovery After Hip Fracture, Debra Lindstrom Hazel

Dissertations

Objectives. The relationship between social variables and performance of instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) was examined in participants three to nine months after they experienced a hip fracture. All participants were over the age of 60 and living in their own homes before and after their hip fractures.

Method. This study employed both qualitative and quantitative methods. There were 19 participants in the quantitative portion of the study that compared three subjectively rated questionnaires with an objectively rated IADL scale. The independent variable, subjective scales were: (1) Antonovsky’s “Orientation to Life” Scale, which measures the sense of coherence, (2) …