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A Comparative Study Of High And Low Achieving Inner-City African-American Sophomore Males’ Expectations Of Self, In-School And Out-Of-School Support, John L. Jackson Sr.

Dissertations

Academic and personal successes and failures of young inner-city African- American males are invariably linked to the dynamics of family life, societal acceptance, economic and political opportunities and participation, and cultural expressions and peculiarities. Additionally, there may be other important factors, such as personal meanings, present and projected insecurities, differing values, hopes, and so forth, which may be highly contributive to determining the extent to which these youngsters perceive their chances of succeeding in the larger society. The implication here is that academic and other life successes are not only depended on individual responsibility and commitment, but also the supportive …

Spatial Visualization And Leadership In Teaching Multiview Orthographic Projection: An Alternative To The Glass Box, Mark A. Curtis

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of using one instructional method versus another in teaching multi view orthographic projection to college students possessing varied spatial visualization abilities. Two instructional methods were used: (1) the traditional hinged glass box method and (2) an unconventional method in which an object is placed in the middle of a bowl/ hemispheric shape where the front view of the object is seen by looking directly into the bowl. Other views are developed by sliding the object along the surface of the bowl until they are at right angle to the viewer's …

The Psychological Typologies And Leadership Behaviors Of First-Line Supervisors In A Large Automotive Company, James Joseph Conlen

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the psychological typologies and leadership behaviors related to participative management of first-line supervisors in a plant of a large automotive company. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI, Myers & McCaulley, 1985) was used as a measure of psychological typologies. The Group Environment Scale (GES, Moos, 1974) was used as a measure of leadership behaviors. The population was 113 first-line supervisors; complete data were obtained for 76 supervisors (67%).

Hypotheses were formulated upon the expectation that GES mean scores would differ depending upon MBTI personality type. Twelve directional hypotheses were investigated using four MBTI …

The Relationship Between The Styles Of Leadership Of Superintendents And The Effectiveness Of School Districts In Puerto Rico, Carlos Jose Cortes

Dissertations

This study investigated the relationship between a superintendent's style of leadership and the effectiveness of the school district as measured in the Education Department of Puerto Rico.

The style of leadership of the superintendents was analyzed using the Leader Behavior Analysis II-Self (LBAII, Blanchard, Hambleton> Zigarmi, & Forsyth, 1990) questionnaire. The effectiveness of the school districts was measured using students' dropout rate, 12th grade students' graduation rate, and students' scores on three standardized tests (mathematics, English, and Spanish). The data for measuring district effectiveness were correspondent to the 1988-89 school year.

The Education Department of Puerto Rico has 100 superintendents. …

The Relationship Between Cooperative Education And Other Criteria In Attractiveness For Hiring, Carl B. Wagner

Dissertations

This study examined the perceptions of employers who belong to the Midwest College Placement Association and actively recruit graduates from Midwestern colleges and universities. Their attitudes on hiring criteria and kinds of work experience which influence the decision to hire were surveyed using an equal-appearing interval scale. The data collected were disaggregated according to the academic majors of the graduates hired using a chi-square analysis and t tests. The validity of the instrument developed by a team of experts was tested with a pilot survey to determine mean and modal scores of each item to establish which items should be …

Being Pregnant And Using Drugs: A Retrospective Phenomenological Inquiry, Merry A. Armstrong Dnsc, Msn

Dissertations

Qualitative methodology was employed to conduct a phenomenological inquiry describing the structure of the experience of being pregnant and using drugs. The purpose of the study was to explore the nature of women's experience and perception of the interaction, relationship, and intersection of contextual phenomena of lifestyle, pregnancy, and substance abuse. Data gathering and analysis was accomplished using guidelines provided by Spiegelberg and Van Manen. Eleven mothers voluntarily participating in a recovery program described their prior experience of being addicted and pregnant during 2 conversations with the researcher. Through transcript analysis of the first audio-taped interview, major and minor themes …

A Comparison Of Blood Volume Pulse And False Biofeedback In The Treatment Of Migraine, Paul Greilick

Dissertations

The efficacy of temporal artery blood volume pulse (BVP) biofeedback in the treatment of migraine was investigated. After four pre-treatment baseline psycho-physiological monitoring sessions, 8 migrainuers were randomly assigned to undergo 12 sessions of either BVP biofeedback or a placebo procedure (false feedback). Both treatments resulted in clinically significant and statistically equivalent reductions in headache activity and medication intake. Subjects exhibited substantial within-session decreases in BVP amplitude during pre-treatment baseline sessions and during false feedback, and the introduction of BVP biofeedback failed to increase the magnitude or the rate of BVP amplitude reductions. All subjects failed to show evidence of …

A Comparison Of Four Methods To Teach Complex Verbal Concepts Using A Computer-Assisted Instruction Program, John Byron Connors

Dissertations

This study compared four instructional programs which taught terminology in behavioral psychology using computer-assisted instruction (CAD with college students. The independent variable was the type of instruction presented by one of four CAI programs: (a) Rules Only, (b) Rules Plus Positive Examples, (c) Rules Plus Negative Examples, and (d) Rules Plus Positive and Negative Examples. The dependent variables were the: (a) pretest scores, (b) posttest scores, (c) 1-week delayed posttest scores, and (d) preference questionnaire scores. Using the pretest as a covariate, results approached significance (p=.07) on posttest scores only for the Rules Only and Rules Plus Positive Examples over …

Appeal And Vulnerability Patterns In Girl Victims Of Incest, Ruth Mausert-Mooney

Dissertations

This study compared certain personal characteristics and behaviors of sexually abused girls with those of matched controls. Experimental subjects were 49 girls, aged 6 to 16 years, who had been sexually abused by an older male family member. Fifty girls who had not experienced sexual abuse served as the comparison group, matched on the basis of age, race and socioeconomic status.

Demographic and psychological measures were completed by each research participant and her mother. Videotapes were made of an initial session in which each child met an unknown male tester.

This study hypothesized and affirmed that sexually abused girls appeared …

Effects Of Feedback Type And Signal Probability On Quality Inspection Accuracy, Matthew A. Mason

Dissertations

A computer simulation was developed to examine the effects of feedback type (immediate, delayed, or none) and signal probability (p = 0.05 or 0.12) on the accuracy of identifying signals (missing components), inspection response rate, and response sensitivity (d'). Subjects were randomly assigned to one of six experimental groups: (1) immediate feedback with a signal probability of 0.05 (1/0.05), (2) delayed feedback with a signal probability of 0.05 (D/0.05), (3) no feedback with a signal probability of 0.05 (N/0.05), (4) immediate feedback with a signal probability of 0.12 (1/0.12), (5) delayed feedback with a signal probability of …

A Progressive Disease Model For Doubly-Censred Bivariate Survival Data That Accommodates Covariate Information, Hilmi F. Yahya

Dissertations

A model for the natural history of a progressive disease is developed. The model has three disease states and can be expressed as the joint distribution of two survival random variables.

Covariate information is incorporated into the model using the proportional hazards model for the marginal distributions. The model will also accommodate data with observations which are censored on one or both of the survival random variables.

The likelihood function for censored data is exhibited for finding the maximum likelihood estimates of the parameters and their standard errors for testing the effects of the covariates. The method used to obtain …

The Impact Of A Stress Management Training Program On Symptoms Of Fibromyalgia, Robert J. Sheppard

Dissertations

Fibromyalgia is a noninflammatory rheumatic disorder characterized by musculoskeletal pain, nonrestorative sleep, and mood disturbance. Emotional stress is frequently reported as a factor that exacerbates symptoms. This study was designed to assess the impact of stress management training on perceived stress and fibromyalgia symptoms. Four female subjects with fibromyalgia participated on an individual basis in a 10 week stress management training program, which was administered in the fixed sequence of training in self-monitoring, relaxation, cognitive behavioral skills, and assertion. The effects of the training on self-report measures of perceived stress, pain, functional disability, sleep disruption, daytime fatigue, and depression were …

Job Aids, Feedback, And The Teaching Of Verbal-Reasoning, Angela Williams Campbell

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to test the effects of a job aid and feedback on learning to solve directional verbal-reasoning problems, and (2) to examine whether students’ skills transferred to similar problems following the removal of both the job aid and feedback. Some previous researchers who studied problem solving utilized the think-aloud technique and used solutions generated by expert problem solvers. The think-aloud technique, although perhaps a good one, is not practical in the classroom. In the main study, a job aid was incorporated within the problem so students would be able to use guidance toward …

How Latinas Come To Know About Aids And Aids Prevention, Patricia Walker Caudle Dnsc, Mnsc, Fnp, Rnc

Dissertations

By the year 2000, Latinos will become the largest minority group in the United States. Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is occurring at a disproportionately high rate among Latinos. As care-giver and health decision-maker in the family, the Latina needs to know about AIDS and AIDS prevention. This research identified and offers an explanation of how the Latina comes to know about AIDS and AIDS prevention within the context of the family and the Latino culture. Grounded theory methodology was used to explore the complex socialization patterns within the Latino community that affect how the Latina perceives HIV/AIDS. Data were collected …

Improving The Throughput Of Plasticating Extruders : Manufacture Of Non-Circular Pellets, Measurement Of Their Interparticulate Friction Coefficient, And Implications For Screw Design, Chia-Ying Liu

Dissertations

This dissertation addresses the hypothesis that the interparticulate friction coefficient of a bed of polymeric particulates is a function of the cross-section of the pellets. Most pellets have a circular cross-section especially those that are strand cut. But when such pellets constitute a particulate bed there are few restrictions to adjacent pellets turning with respect to each other, or of the beds rupturing under shear load. This rupture can occur in plasticating extrusion, and it results in a poorly mixed melt with an inhomogeneous temperature distribution. The temperature fluctuations cause viscosity fluctuations which in turn cause pressure fluctuations. The pressure …

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 …

An Investigation Of The Effectiveness Of Training In The Utilization Of Spiritual Gifts In The Personal Ministries Of Ontario Seventh-Day Adventists, Fitzroy S. Maitland

Dissertations

Problem. The New Testament indicates that spiritual gifts occupy a crucial function in the life and growth of the church. No known empirical study has measured the effectiveness of nurture and training for gift implementation. This study was designed to investigate behavioral change in awareness and use of spiritual gifts by Seventh-day Adventist members.

Methodology. The New spiritual Gifts Inventory (NSGI) was used to identify awareness of giftedness in five clusters--Teaching, Shepherding-Evangelizing, Supporting, Counseling, and Leadership. An Activity Inventory was developed for the study with 20 activity questions corresponding to the NSGI. The following statistical designs were used to analyze …

A Study Of Religious Attitudes And Problems As Perceived By Current And Former Seventh-Day Adventist Students At Seventh-Day Adventist Mission Secondary Schools In Hong Kong, Daniel Gim-Teng Chuah

Dissertations

Problem. In spite of the combined efforts of both the local churches and the schools, the church attendance of Seventh-day Adventist adolescents has been low. This present study was to identify the religious attitudes of current Adventist students and Adventist alumni of all Adventist mission secondary schools in Hong Kong and to determine the relationship of these attitudes to other selected variables such as Bible classes, spiritual assemblies, church services and activities, doctrinal beliefs, relationships with parents, teachers, and pastors, their own self-concepts, and peer and media influences. This study sought to relate also the attitudes with 14 background variables …

The Development And Administration Of A Modified Community College-Type Program For Caribbean Union College, T. Leslie Ferdinand

Dissertations

Problem. Throughout the Caribbean Union College (CUC) constituency thousands of youth are unemployed and unemployable. They do not possess marketable skills. At present no church-operated educational institutions exist in the constituency to provide relevant education for 50%-60% of its young people.

Methods. The survey method of research was used to compare the self-perceived educational needs of non-college-bound youth with the perceptions of board members/administrators, faculty/staff, alumni, students, parents/guardians, and other-adult SDAs of those needs in the CUC constituency. The population and sample were 93,140 and 1,903 respectively. A 56-item questionnaire was used. Chi-square was applied. The confidence level was set …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Information Essential For Accountability And Planning As Identified By Board Chairs And Principals Of Seventh-Day Adventist Secondary Schools, James R. Nash

Dissertations

Problem

Particularly during the 1980s and 1990s, Seventh-day Adventist secondary schools have been facing problems with enrollments and finances. The purpose of this research was to identify those elements of information and data that the board chairs and principals of United States Seventh-day Adventist secondary schools determined would provide, if gathered and organized, the foundation for school personnel accountability and planning.

Method

The population consisted of the board chairs and principals of SDA secondary schools located in the continental United States. A questionnaire was developed, piloted by a panel of judges, and sent to each of the 78 principals and …

Development And Application Of A Diligence-Ability Regression Model For Explaining And Predicting Competence Among Juniors And Seniors In Selected Michigan High Schools, Hinsdale Bernard

Dissertations

Problem. There has been growing concern that high-school students should be held more responsible fortheir educational results. This study aimed at developing a diligence inventory (DI) to measure the nature and extent of student involvement in their education.

The purpose of the study was to develop the DI and to formulate a multiple-regression equation to predict competence (semester GPA) from diligence and ability (ACT score). It was envisioned that this model could suggest intervention for improved student performance through the diligence component.

Method. Two hundred and thirty-seven high-school juniors and seniors participated in the study. Item analysis and factor analysis …

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 …

Lysosomal Enzyme Secretion In Tumor Cells And The Purification And Partial Characterization Of A 67 Kda Cathepsin B-Like Enzyme Secreted By B16 Melanoma Cells, Charles Achkar

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Generation Of Cross-Reactive Monoclonal Anti-Streptococcal Cell Membrane Antibodies: The Evolution Of A Murine Model For Goodpasture's Syndrome, Edward J. Fitzsimons

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Studies Of The Virion Host Shutoff Function Of Herpes Simplex Virus, Annette Schmidt Pak

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Mechanisms Mediating Sympathoadrenal Activation During Endotoxicosis In The Rat, Zhengzheng Zhou

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Amino Acids And Pineal Gland Function In The Rat, Laura Kus

Dissertations

No abstract provided.