Digital Commons Network^™

Feminism And The Evolutionary Sciences: A Reexamination Of Human Nature, Laurette T. Liesen

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Na+-H+ Exchange And Na+-Li+ Exchange In Human Erythrocytes: An Nmr Investigation, Yuling Chi

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Study To Determine The Relationship Between Perceived Communication Practices Of Leaders And Subordinate Response To Change, Catherine L. Chevalier

Dissertations

Organizational change continues to challenge leaders as they are charged with transforming their followers from a present state to a future state. This research examined the relationship between perceived communication practices of leaders and employee response to change in a natural setting. Randomly selected employees from the research and development division of a mid-size Fortune 500 company located in the Midwest comprised the sample (N. = 110). The study was executed upon completion of a large-scale change in policy which was formally communicated according to a protocol established by senior management. The participants completed three survey instruments: (1) Communication Environment …

A Study Of Active Participation Instructional Strategies Increasing Student's Higher Order Thinking Skills, Scottie J. Griffin

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Background Music On Initial Counseling Sessions, Stella Elaine Dial

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Professional Disclosure Statements On Counselors-In-Training Perceptions Of Supervision, John Richard Howie

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Facilitative Characteristics Of Supervisors, Elizabeth A. Olson

Dissertations

The relationship between supervisors’ facilitative characteristics and students’ willingness to learn and receptivity in supervision was the focus of this study. Forty Master’s level students, enrolled in a clinical practicum, rated their supervisors’ Empathetic Understanding, Regard, Congruence, Unconditionality, and Willingness to be Known on the Revised Relational Inventory (RRI) (Barrett-Lennard, 1962; Schacht, Howe, & Berman, 1988) and evaluated themselves on their willingness to learn in supervision and receptivity to supervisors’ feedback using the Supervision Perception Form (SPF) (Heppner & Roehike, 1984). Supervisors also participated by rating themselves with each student on these five relational characteristics and evaluating each student on …

Toward A Comprehensive Model Of Parent-Teen Socialization: The Antecedents And Consequents Of Parent-Teen Interaction, Gregory L. Sanders

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Adult Male Assaultive Behavior And Correlates With The Mmpi-2, Tom G. Lanning

Dissertations

This study was descriptive in nature and examined the relationship between demographic variables, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) variables, and levels of violence as measured by the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) (Straus, 1979). The research sample consisted of 44 males entering a treatment program for male batterers. All participants completed a research protocol during a required assessment consisting of: (a) a General Information Sheet, (b) the MMPI-2, and (c) the CTS. The CTS was the only instrument administered solely for research purposes.

The MMPI-2 data were used to construct a sample composite mean profile. MMPI-2 data were also divided into …

Multiple Personality Disorder And Major Depression: A Comparative Study, Mary L. Wassink

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

State Terrorism In The Arab-Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Social Constructionism And The Question Of Power, Amani Michael Awwad

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Special Service Needs Of Adult Students Attending Weekend College At Western Michigan University, Patricia A. Dolly

Dissertations

This dissertation examines the needs of the adult learner and how or if these needs are being met in the Campus Ill/Weekend College program at Western Michigan University. Specifically, factors that explain the rise of adult learners on college campuses and demographic information on this rising student population are presented. In addition, the reasons for returning to school and differences between traditional and nontraditional students are examined. Institutional, situational, and dispositional barriers confronting adult students are discussed; a model is put forth along with strategies to overcome barriers offered.

Current services for adult learners attending Weekend College at Western Michigan …

Intrinsic Motivation For Learning Of The Adult Graduate Student At Western Michigan University, Phyllis Crandall

Dissertations

The perceptions of adult graduate students concerning barriers to the educational process and their levels of motivation for pursuing a graduate degree were investigated. The established motivational theory first expressed by Abram Maslow in 1954 was used in defining the first variable of motivation to learning when pertaining to the healthy self-actualized individual. The second variable chosen was a listing of student perceived barriers to the educational process as defined by H. G. Schulze in 1987. It was hypothesized that the higher the level of the barriers overcome per Schutze's scale, the higher the level of intrinsic motivation in the …

Effect Of Participation In Design On Trainee Satisfaction, Abdullatif S. Al-Abdullatif

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of Saudi Arabian Employee Performance In Selected Public Sector Service Organizations, Yousif Mohamad Saad Al-Hendy

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Attitudes Of Black Secondary School Teachers Toward School Guidance In The Potchefstroom Area, South Africa, Elias H. Masibi

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of A Computer Simulation To Assess Subject Preference For Different Types Of Incentive Pay: Part Two, Stephen Mark Sundby

Dissertations

This study further investigated the use of a computer simulation to assess subject preference for different types of pay systems. Subjects were eight undergraduates recruited from psychology classes at Western Michigan University. The dependent variable was the subjects’ choice of pay system, either simulated hourly pay or base pay plus incentive. Simulated work performance was determined by the computer with 0.50 probability of low or high performance. For Experiment 1, the independent variable was the maximum amount of simulated pay that subjects could earn under each pay type. For Experiments 2 and 3, the independent variable was the percentage of …

The Effects Of Intensive, Structured Study On Gre Verbal And Quantitative Scores, Jan Marie Miller

Dissertations

This research served as a follow-up to previous research (Goodyear-Orwat and Malott, 1994) in which students engaged in self-study utilizing various study materials. Three courses (spring, summer, and fall) were offered to further examine the effects of intensive, structured study on Graduate Record Examination verbal and quantitative scores.

Twenty undergraduates enrolled in Graduate Record Examination preparatory courses studied from 66 to 105 hours. An attendance and participation contingency was established to encourage adequate study time. The courses were structured to allow students to assess and manage their own performance, utilizing standard, self-instructional texts and computerized drill programs. Students worked at …

Autocorrelation In Single-Subject Data: A Meta-Analytic View, Laura L. Methot

Dissertations

Recent work by Huitema and McKean (1991, 1994a, 1994b, 1994c, in press) has shown that the most frequently used statistical methods for performing conventional time-series analyses lead to gross distortions of results when these approaches are applied in the context of the typical behavioral research study. Most of these problems could be avoided if researchers were aware that the time-series methods recommended in many areas are not generally needed. The appropriate evidence regarding the need for complex time-series methods requires a meta-analysis of the autocorrelation present in behavioral studies. The project involved: (a) sampling several hundred research articles published in …

An Exploration Of The Relationship Between Critical Thinking Skills And Preferred Learning Styles Of First Year Nursing Students, Gloria J. Clocklin

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship existed between the manner in which nursing students preferred to learn and their ability to think critically. First year nursing students (N = 197) from four colleges in a rural Midwestern geographic region were the subjects for the study. Students represented practical nursing, associate degree nursing, and baccalaureate degree nursing programs and were all in their first nursing course. Entire cohort groups from each college were included in the study.

The Kolb (1985) Learning Style Inventory and the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA, Watson & Glaser, 1980) were administered …

Assessing Pediatricians' Diagnostic Practices: An Analogue Study Of Responses To Adhd-Like Presentations In Preschoolers, Helle Augustesen

Dissertations

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has been considered one of the most chronic behavior disorders observed in the preadolescent population and is one of the most frequently diagnosed childhood disorders in North America. Currently, however, there is little consistency in terms of identifying specific criteria which need to be present in a child's behavior to make a diagnosis of ADHD. This difficulty is even more pronounced in very young children of preschool age. This study utilized a three year old male child shown to 80 subjects on a videotape engaging in either a high or a low level of activity. …

Women And The Public School Superintendency: An Integrative Review Of The Dissertation Research, Carol A. Swingle

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to prepare a comprehensive summary, evaluation, and synthesis of the dissertation research conducted from 1970 to 1994 regarding women public school superintendents.

The units of study for this research synthesis were the 79 criterion-selected doctoral dissertations completed at colleges and universities in the United States between 1 970 and 1994 that utilized women public school superintendents as their sole, or primary, data set.

Data were collected relative to both the content and the quality of the selected dissertations. Data analysis was completed using the integrative research review techniques of listing factors, taking a vote, …

The Level Of Management Support Behaviors And The Effect On Participation Rates In Corporate Fitness Programs, Diane Braatz

Dissertations

Survey methods were used to evaluate the relationship between the nature and degree of management support provided to corporate fitness programs and employees' participation rates in those programs. A questionnaire requesting information about demographics, participation rates, and supportive management practices in the areas of coaching, modeling, and reinforcing, was sent to representatives of 400 companies. Completed questionnaires representing 157 organizations were returned. Across all respondents, the mean reported level of employee participation in fitness programs was 20.7%; the range was 2 to 67%. The level of employee participation was positively related to the total level of management support (i.e., combined …

Classroom Personalities Of Effective Teachers Within A Technical College Setting, Fred Manley

Dissertations

This study used student ratings to examine relationships between instructor personality and teaching effectiveness for technical college faculty. Research was specifically conducted to address three questions: (1) what personality traits are associated with effective teaching, (2) do the personality profiles of effective teachers differ by academic area, and (3) are there personality dimensions that distinguish above average from below-average instructors.

Students enrolled in classes taught by instructors randomly selected from the accounting, computer information systems, marketing, and office occupations departments at five Wisconsin technical colleges rated their instructors on 29 personality traits and 18 teaching behaviors. Pearson product-moment correlations were …

Parallel Process In Psychotherapy Supervision And Its Relationship To Empathy, Gary E. Beyer

Dissertations

How clinical supervisors manage empathy and empathy failure and its relationship to parallel process was explored by interviewing highly experienced doctoral level supervisors. Supervisor responses regarding their experiences in supervision with empathy and parallel process phenomena was examined in this study. This approach was grounded in psychodynamic theory regarding constructs of identification (countertransference, projective identification, introjective identification, parallel process and empathy).

A qualitative research design using the constant comparative method was employed. The sample of supervisors consisted of 10 male and 5 female, Caucasian psychologists, ranging in age from 40 to 70 years. Supervisors had a mean of 19 years …

Differentiated Drug Use And Its Relationship To Locus Of Control And Personality Factors Among Women Of Low Socioeconomic Status, Aubrie Catheryn Gordon

Dissertations

This research is a descriptive study assessing the psychological profiles of female substance abusers, both current abusers and recovering abusers, and female nonusers. The sample for this study consisted of 90 women of low socioeconomic status (SES) between the ages of 18 and 50 from a mid-size city in the north central United States. Thirty women from each of the following groups are used in this study: (a) women who are nonusers, (b) women who are currently abusing drugs and other chemical substances, and (c) women who are recovering from drug use and abuse. This study is important because such …

Interdisciplinary Collaboration In The Elementary School A Case Study, Kathryn Kinnucan-Welsch

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to contribute to the descriptive and interpretive knowledge base about collaboration based on two interdisciplinary teams of elementary school educators representing disciplines of general education, special education, speech-language, reading, and counseling. Using an educational ethnographic design, data were collected through open interviews, team meetings and classroom observations. These data supported the construction of two distinct case studies as well as working hypotheses concerning interdisciplinary collaboration among professionals from specialized disciplines.

One case study was characterized as caseload collaboration. The team originated out of the desire among teachers from specialized disciplines to effect a more …

Lesbian Identity Development And Career Experiences, Mary Jo Thiel

Dissertations

This study used a qualitative research design to explore the experiences of lesbian women with respect to identity development and career issues.

Using the Stage Allocation Measure (SAM) (Cass, 1984), twenty lesbian women who were in the Synthesis Stage (Stage 6) of identity development were identified. In face-to-face, one and a half to two hour interviews, using a semi-structured interview guide developed by the researcher, respondents were asked open-ended questions about their coming out process and their career development .

Interviews were tape recorded and transcribed and the transcripts were analyzed using grounded theory coding techniques. Themes and patterns were …

Visual Pattern Recognition Using Neural Networks, Jenlong Moh

Dissertations

Neural networks have been widely studied in a number of fields, such as neural architectures, neurobiology, statistics of neural network and pattern classification. In the field of pattern classification, neural network models are applied on numerous applications, for instance, character recognition, speech recognition, and object recognition. Among these, character recognition is commonly used to illustrate the feature and classification characteristics of neural networks.

In this dissertation, the theoretical foundations of artificial neural networks are first reviewed and existing neural models are studied. The Adaptive Resonance Theory (ART) model is improved to achieve more reasonable classification results. Experiments in applying the …

Care Of Aging Parents: The Experiences Of Middle-Aged Filipino Women, Carmen B. Toledo Galang Dnsc, Msn, Rn

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine and analyze parent care as experienced by middle-aged Filipino women, particularly those who have resided in the United States for over 20 years. There is little information known about this topic; therefore, a grounded theory study design was utilized. Open-ended, semi-structured interviews of 29 Filipino women were conducted in English and/or Tagalog, and at times a combination of both languages. Data were transcribed verbatim from the audio-recorded interviews and analyzed using a constant comparative method of analytic induction. Field notes were kept and patterns of observation were analyzed according to their significance. …