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A History Of The Concept Of Creativity In Western Nursing: A Cultural Feminist Perspective, Karen K. Fritz Dnsc, Ms, Ba, Rn

Dissertations

Using historical methodology, this study examined the concept of creativity in Western nursing from a cultural feminist perspective. An exploration of the concept was accomplished by means of a review emanating from the English literature of Western nursing and its allied disciplines of education and psychology. Two distinct views of creativity were delineated--the classical and the contemporary. The classical understanding required the completion of a major product or attainment in order for creativity to be ascribed. In contrast, the contemporary view was that of a novel, unrestrained thought process. It required no creative work or attainment for its ascription. The …

The Role Of Transformational Leadership In The Collaborative Development Of A Full Inclusion Program: An Action Research Study, Paul R. Hain

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This dissertation is a critical action research study on full inclusion for students with learning disabilities. The study describes how full inclusion for 16 students with learning disabilities in three regular classes was implemented in an Illinois elementary school over a one year period. The purpose of this study is to describe how transformational leadership, collaborative decision-making and action research helped in the development of full inclusion.

Action research was the method used to 1) observe and collect data about the project, 2) to analyze what was happening, and 3) help guide the inclusion teaching team in taking actions …

A Study Of The Effect Of Developmental Kindergarten Placement On Student Achievement: Issues And Other Alternatives For The "Unready" Child, Sandra F. Earley

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of developmental kindergarten placement beyond third grade and whether differences exist in levels of academic achievement between students who participated in developmental kindergarten and those who were recommended to attend but did not.

The target population of this study spanned 3 years and included 203 kindergarten eligible students in a suburban school district in mid- Michigan who were recommended to attend developmental kindergarten. The accessible population was 105 of the original 203 students.

The Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) reading and mathematics test mean scores were analyzed for both groups …

The Treatment Utility Of The Therapeutic Reactance Scale In Relation To Single Session Hypnosis For Smoking Cessation, Gregory N. Vaughan

Dissertations

This study examined the efficacy of three different hypnotic suggestion scripts each delivered in a single session of hypnosis for smoking cessation as mediated by reactance scores on the Therapeutic Reactance Scale (TRS) (Dowd, Milne, & Wise, 1991). Consecutive clinical trials were used to assign 48 subjects to treatment groups such that an equal number of subjects received: (1) direct suggestions, (2) suggestions that refrained the problem, (3) suggestions not specifically related to smoking cessation, and (4) a delayed treatment waiting list. Each subject rated the believability of treatment efficacy on a Likert type scale.

Four categories of the dependent …

The Relationship Of Teacher Attitudes Toward Evaluation And School Building Climate, Timothy James Lowe

Dissertations

Present management theory divides teacher evaluation into two categories, summative evaluation and formative evaluation. Summative evaluation is used for administrative decision making. Formative evaluation is used for shaping the performance of teachers. Traditionally, the evaluation process has been more summative than formative. Therefore, teachers have regarded evaluation with some apprehension.

In the 1960s, Halpin and Croft suggested that the climate of a school is analogous to its personality. School climate can be defined as the perception incumbents have of the organization. Degrees of climate can be organized along a continuum ranging from closed to open. A closed climate is characterized …

Sisters In The Hood, Deborah Burris-Kitchen

Dissertations

This research assembles and organizes the literature in the areas of African-American women, the political economy of racism, the Black feminization of poverty, drug use and distribution, and gang violence. This dissertation explores extant theoretical approaches with a special emphasis on their relationship to the underground economy. The researcher uses ethnographic methods to examine the role that female gang members play in the underclass drug infested community of south central Fort Wayne, Indiana. Of the Black females interviewed, some were drug dealers, others were using illegal drugs, and still others were females who just found themselves in the inner-city, in …

The Role Of Elites In The Quality Of Life In Kalamazoo And Calhoun Counties, Sam S. King

Dissertations

My research examined the role of elites in the quality of life from 1890 to 1990 in two southwestern Michigan communities: Kalamazoo and Calhoun counties. This research is grounded in three research literatures: community power, elites and quality of life. My approach combined a quantitative analysis of six dimensions of quality of life and an historical analysis using case methods to look at the two communities over a 100 year time span.

My assumption at the beginning of this study was that elites play a major role in the quality of life. My data showed that some elites did have …

Use Of A Structured Interview To Evaluate The Validity Of The Alcohol And Drug Dependence Scales Of The Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory Ii, Bert Van Hoek

Dissertations

This is an external validation study of the Alcohol and Drug dependence scales of the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory II ([MCMI-II], Millon, 1987). The Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-III-R ([SCID], Spitzer, Williams, Gibbon, & First, 1990) was administered to a sample of 73 adults who presented for treatment at a substance abuse facility to establish all possible substance abuse diagnoses based on the nosology of the revised Diagnostic Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (3rd ed. [DSM-III], American Psychiatric Association, 1980). Subsequently, scores on the Alcohol and Drug Dependence scales of the MCMI-II for the present sample were compared to …

Contingency-Shaped Behavior And Rule-Governed Behavior: A Comparison In Terms Of Speed Of Acquisition, Generalization And Maintenance, Ronald Ramirez-Henderson

Dissertations

According to Skinner (1969, 1974), operant behavior can be acquired through two major processes, direct contact between the behavior and its environmental consequences and antecedents in a process referred to as contingency - shaped behavior (CSB) and through verbal mediation by rules and instructions in a process referred to as rule-governed behavior (RGB). CSB and RGB were compared in terms of the speed of acquisition of complex problem skills, the generalization of those skills to new stimuli, and their maintenance. Forty-four college students, 13 males and 31 females, with an average age of 21 .5 years, participated in four sessions …

Toward A Biocritical Sociology, John Neuhaus

Dissertations

This dissertation is a critical discourse with three prominent trends in contemporary sociology. It is a critique of Emile Durkheim's admonition that sociological analysis, by definition, requires the exclusion of biological and psychological data. It shows, in contrast, that the exclusion of biosocial data removes vast sources of information which are useful and necessary in any interpretation of human behavior. This work also demonstrates that a biosocial perspective facilitates the development of a transcultural theory of human needs, which, if utilized, would enable sociologists to clarify a number of unproductive disciplinary conflicts concerning the definition and extent of social problems. …

The Song Of Lies: A Collection Of Poems, James Scannell Mccormick

Dissertations

This creative dissertation is a book-length manuscript of poems. What holds up, what holds together, the collection is, fundamentally, a narrow examination of the interrelationship between the poetic speakers' physical and psychological landscapes, that is, how various psychological states (love, grief, fear) shape a speaker's perceptions of, and reactions to, the world. This psychological anatomizing and taxonomizing takes place in four stages, arranged as parts in the manuscript.

The first part, with its emphasis on the contrast between the "objective" (real or external) and the "subjective" (perceived or internal) worlds, establishes the speakers' essential inability to reconcile what they see …

Beliefs And Perceptions Of Michigan Superintendents Toward Females Advancing In The Ranks: Perspectives To Increase The Minority Pool, Dennis J. Stanek

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine potential factors which affect the advancement of females in the role of superintendent. With the research pointing to a variety of causes for the low percentage of female superintendents, the reason for this study was to make various groups in leadership positions aware of such factors.

Three research questions were studied:

1. Do practicing K-12 male superintendents in Michigan possess significantly different beliefs and perceptions toward female superintendents than do practicing female superintendents?

2. What experiences did the respondent have in working with a female superintendent?

3. What perceptions do K-12 superintendents …

Stress And Healthwellness, A Longitudinal Study, Howard Allen White

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to compare and examine the self-evaluated general health status of individuals in a five year longitudinal research study. Self-evaluations of health status have been shown to predict mortality, above and beyond the contribution to prediction made by indices based on the presence of health problems, physical disability, and biological or life-style risk factors.

The association between the stressful events of everyday living and the onset of the disease process suggests the importance of understanding the specific relationship under which stress is likely to result in illness. This research investigated the interrelationship of the different …

An Empirical Study Of Cognitive Evaluations Using House-Tree-Person Drawings, Anna M. Heiberger

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Staff Attitudes Regarding Full Inclusion Of Special Needs Children In Regular Education Classrooms, Levin Roxanne Beth Weiss

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Leadership And Organizational Change: An Examination Of Superintendents, Theresa M. Sak

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Grounded Theory Of Knowledge Utilization In Undergraduate Management Majors: An Institutional Study, Alfred Rosenbloom

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Coping With Chronic Illness: Patient Determination Of Ability To Control Chronic Illness, Maureen O'Brien

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Circulating Androgens And The Response To Stress, Elena W. Bingaman

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Subjectivity And Human Agency, Theodora Bryan

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Therapists Psychological Adaptation To Client Suicidal Behavior, Patrick J. Horn

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Secondary School Assistant Principal, Victoria W. Halsey Edd

Dissertations

School leadership research typically centers around the high profile roles of the site level principal and the district superintendent. The resulting scarcity of information in regard to the role of the assistant principal is contributing to ineffective training, fewer initial guidelines and an overall lack of clear conceptualization of the position. The purpose of this study was to construct a realistic portrayal of the assistant principal's daily professional life in the educational arena. This qualitative, ethnographic study stressed depth, richness and accuracy to depict the singular and collective voices of the participants. Eight practicing Junior and Senior High School assistant …

Development Of A Participative Approach To Guide Organizational Change: Reviewing The Sawtooth Technique, Port Robert Martin Edd

Dissertations

In a world economy that bears scant resemblance to the one dominated by the United States following World War II, many American companies have found it increasingly difficult to keep pace with their foreign competitors. The public sector, too, has found itself under significant pressure to provide needed services but with significantly reduced resources. In each individual case leaders have been seeking new solutions to both old and new problems, and organizations have been faced with change and its impacts. The purpose of this study was to design a methodology that could be used to structure organizational changes in such …

Women And Men In Collaborative Working Partnerships: Connecting Two Disparate Modes Of Experience, Steven Blue Robbins Edd

Dissertations

This study provides an in-depth description of mixed gender working partnerships in a collaborative effort over a one year period. The research identified differences between men and women in mutually collaborative working partnerships at the undergraduate level in order to also discover what was productive or problematic between those women and men in the partnerships. The research studied twenty-two UCSD undergraduate women and men who worked together in partnerships with mutual goals. The research utilized phenomenological interviewing techniques. The focus was the perceptions and experiences of the participants. The interviews were designed to address two primary research questions: 1) What …

The Impact Of Community Service-Learning On Student Development, As Perceived By Student Leaders, Judith Starr Rauner Edd

Dissertations

Since the mid-1980s, leaders in higher education have promoted the resurgence of student service linked with learning, but limited research exists on expectations or outcomes for these students or for the communities they serve. The literature review revealed that students' experiences of community service leadership had been a previously unexplored phenomenon. This study investigated the experiences of college students as community service leaders over a two-year period at two universities. According to data generated by four case studies, these leaders perceived significant personal changes in themselves as being different from changes they experienced when they volunteered. They grappled with their …

Awakening Intuition: A Delphi Study, Verna Veronica Schmidt Edd

Dissertations

This study was framed by three key questions: How is intuition characterized, how is intuition in adults best developed, and what influence might the development of intuition have on individuals, organizations, and society. The data for the study was collected using the Delphi method. The panel included twenty females and twenty-three males from three Canadian provinces and eighteen American states. Eighty-three percent of the panel had post secondary degrees in over twenty different disciplines. Twenty-three percent of the panel held doctorate level degrees. Thirty-one different occupations were represented. All forty-three participants who started the study completed all three rounds. Data …

The Identification Of Behavioral Indicators Of A Superintendent's Leadership Success: A Delphi Study, Douglas George Player Edd

Dissertations

In British Columbia, as well as other Canadian provinces, an annual report is produced by every school district. The report informs the citizens using a variety of indicators that demonstrate the level of success of the district. These reports do not include specific indicators on the level of success of the superintendent or other administrators in the district. This study sought to identify and describe behaviors that could serve as indicators of a superintendent's leadership success. It also sought to ensure that the indicators were aligned with the leadership behaviors applicable to a Total Quality Management model. The research methodology …

Illness Impact And Adjustment To Parkinson's Disease: Before And After Treatment With Tolcapone, Mickie D. Welsh Dnsc, Rn

Dissertations

There is evidence that adjustment to chronic illnesses such as Parkinson's disease (PD) may be affected by psychological factors especially how patients appraise and cope with the stress of their illness. There has been limited research available examining the role of illness impact or appraisal in adjustment to chronic illness. No studies were found dealing with the interrelationship of illness impact, adjustment and pharmacological treatment. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the quality of life (as conceptualized by impact of illness and adjustment) was improved by treatment with tolcapone in persons with Parkinson's disease. This study was …

The Relationship Of Leadership Style And Organizational Climate To Job Burnout Levels Among Taiwan Public Secondary-School Teachers, Jerry Liang-Yueh Chi

Dissertations

Problem. This study is to examine the burnout levels of secondary-school teachers in Taiwan and to determine if leadership style, organizational climate, and demographic variables are related to teacher burnout.

Methods. This quantitative research based on empirical data collection utilized the following instruments: (1) the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), (2) the Leadership Behavior Description Questionnaire (LBDQ), and (3) the Organizational Climate Index (OCI). The four instruments are translated into Chinese and administered to 809 secondary teachers serving in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Multiple regression and Analysis of Variance were used to determine what kind of leadership style and organizational climate factors, as …

A Study Of Gender-Role Attitudes Among Contemporary White And African American Couples, Margaret Cecile Dust

Dissertations

Problem. Limited and conflictual studies have been completed on White and African American marriages and gender-roles. As a result, this study sought to compare perceptions of gender-roles in White and African American married couples. In addition, this study looked at relationships between gender-roles, length of marriage, and level of education in White and African American married couples.

Method. A total of 92 couples (26 African American, 33 White interacting married, 33 White non-interacting defacto) participated in this study. The defacto couples served as a control group.

The Bem Sex-Role Inventory, Masculine-Feminine Sex-Roles Survey, and a demographics sheet were given to …