Digital Commons Network^™

Psychosocial Risk Factors For Essential Hypertension Among Black Women, Stephanie L. Livingston

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Investigation Into The Differential Effects Of Therapist Interventions On Homework Compliance: The Effects Of Attribution And Verification, Terrance E. Mcgovern

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Rejection Of Order: The Development Of The Newspaper Comic Strip In America, 1830-1920, Elsa A. Nystrom

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Towards A Sociology Of Sin, John C. D'Mello

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Breaking Rural Bonds Through Migration: The Failure Of Development For Women In India, Shobha Srinivasan

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Library Usage As A Staff Development Component Of A Mathematics Curriculum Improvement Project, Denise G. Dwyer

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Empirical Search For Fundamental Personality And Mood Dimensions Within The Rorschach Test, Gregory J. Meyer

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Exploratory Investigation Of The Use Of Humor As A Coping Strategy For Dealing With Stress Among Paramedics, Lisa Rosenberg

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Multiple Role Women And Their Spouses: Variables Effecting Family Functioning, Julie C. Novak Dnsc, Cpnp, Ma, Rn

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of age, education, perceived child care support, social support, role conflict, coping and marital adjustment on family functioning as experienced by multiple role women and their spouses. The family has long been recognized as the most important contextual influence in human growth and development. Nurses have been working with families for generations, especially in community and mental health nursing. It is only in the last decade, however, that there has been an increasing interest in family research among nurses reflected in a trend away from individual-focused studies and toward a …

From Parent To Child: The Effects Of A Home Learning Program On Attitudes And Achievements, Linda Linstrom Baker Edd

Dissertations

Literacy is shared value in our culture, yet many adults are unable or unwilling to read. Research indicates that the beginnings of literacy occur long before formal education. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of the Preschool Reading Experience Program on the attitudes and pre-reading skills of four- and five-year-old children. The subjects were 96 children enrolled in four San Diego preschools, and their parents. The methodology was quasi-experimental with a treatment and a control group. Interactions of sex, age, and type of preschool were also considered. Results of the quantitative data indicated that children who …

Think Globally, Act Locally: A Delphi Study Of Educational Leadership Through The Development Of International Resources In The Local Community, Stuart R. Grauer Edd

Dissertations

The probable future of international resource development in the local school community for the years leading up to 2000 was researched using the Delphi method--the best available tool for building consensus in emerging fields. A panel of 28 identified experts in elementary and secondary schools and districts from Southern California in the field of school-community relations with demonstrable experience in international education completed three rounds of surveys. The surveys served to identify (1) educational resource people who could bring constructive change communitywide, (2) program developments and school-community partnerships, (3) practical and philosophical goals for fusing international, national, community and academic …

The Schools Of The Future Commission Of San Diego City Schools: An Ethnographic Study, Bertha Ousley Pendleton Edd

Dissertations

Ethnographic research methods were used to analyze the culture of a large city commission appointed to make recommendations for the future of the school district. The study focused on the year-long deliberations of a panel of 17 community leaders. The objectives of the study were to (1) describe the culture of the Commission, (2) analyze the action of Commission members, and (3) develop guidelines for conducting successful commission studies. Major research questions that were the focus of the study were inquiries about (a) the social and cultural organization of the Commission, (b) how the Commission developed and proceeded to do …

The Labyrinth Of Challenge To Change: An Analysis Of Community College Leaders' Thinking Styles And Behavioral Practices In The Current Environment, Mary Elizabeth Scott Edd

Dissertations

The present research addressed a concern of both urgent and profound dimensions in the modern world: the current and compelling need for a radically different kind of leadership to meet the challenge of turbulent change. This need has been crystallized by a new and emerging paradigm shift which at once reflects, confronts and shapes the realities experienced today. This study sought to set in relief the current thinking styles of nominated California community college leaders and to see if and how these correlated with their leadership behavioral practices. The Human Information Processing Survey (HIPS) and the Leadership Practices Inventory-Self (LPI-S) …

The Transformation Of A Corporate Culture In A Mature Organization, James F. Kelly Edd

Dissertations

Much recent attention has been focused on organizational culture as a useful vehicle for understanding organizations. There have been many studies of the cultures of organizations and some on efforts by leaders to change them or implant new ones. Most of these have dealt with founders, their successors or other early generations of leadership or management. Many of them are anecdotal and most, if not all, have been conducted by researchers external to the organization. The limited time and access typically available to the researchers have generally impeded efforts to penetrate to the core culture or to identify significant subcultures. …

The Impact Of Oppressive Military-Political Governments On School Effectiveness In Uganda, 1971 To 1986, Daniel M. Babigumira Edd

Dissertations

How and why did the Ugandan educational system survive the political and economic instability of the dictatorial governments between 1971 and 1986? What did the school administrators do to make sure that the nation's schools survive the political turmoil? The purpose of this researcher was to determine the impact of oppressive military and political governments on schools. Secondly, the researcher wanted to determine the extent to which the school administrators acted as instructional leaders in ensuring that the school effectiveness survived the enormous political constraints during this period. Four research questions explored qualitative interview data from the school administrators, reputationally …

The Effect Of Art Education On Self-Concept Of Disabled Adult Students In A Community College Setting, James Joseph Harrington Edd

Dissertations

This study examined the effect of art education on self-concept of disabled adult students in a community college setting. An experimental, pretest-posttest, control group design was utilized to carry out the study. The treatment provided was a college art class involving painting, clay sculpturing, and drawing. The null hypothesis tested was that art education has no effect on self-concept in disabled adult students. The alternative hypothesis was that art education improves self-concept in disabled adult students. A non-replacement random sample of 30 participants from a population of 250 disabled adult volunteers was selected and divided into an experimental and a …

Pregnancy Outcome In Military And Civilian Women, Karen Messersmith Heroman Dnsc

Dissertations

Low birth weight and prematurity account for much of the morbidity and mortality in the neonatal period as well as for much of the cost in newborn care. The purpose of this investigation was to determine if two groups of pregnant women, military enlisted and civilian dependents, differed in selected risk factors (smoking, alcohol consumption, weight gain, prenatal care, work patterns, life stress, and social support) or in pregnancy outcome (infant birth weight and gestational age). The House (1981) theory of stress, social support, and health served as the framework for this study. Since little has been published on pregnancy …

Using A Cultural Change Intervention To Improve Organizational Effectiveness: An Evaluative Case Study, Terry M. Dearstone Edd

Dissertations

This study examines one organization in its attempt to improve organizational effectiveness by effecting a change to the organizational culture. In late 1984 the Rancho Bernardo division of Northern Telecom Electronics began a long term effort to change its culture. This study answers four research questions regarding this organization's attempt at culture change: 1) What were the strategies used by the Northern Telecom Electronics-Rancho Bernardo division to attempt to change organizational culture? 2) To what extent did the organization's culture change between 1984 and 1988? 3) In what ways did organizational effectiveness change between 1984 and 1988? and 4) What …

Organizational Change In Action: A Qualitative Case Study Of Usair's Acquisition Of Pacific Southwest Airlines, Joan A. Miszak Edd

Dissertations

Five dominant theories of organizational change have emerged from the literature. Each of these models expressly expand on a singular and specific paradigm of how change can be viewed within organizations. The models of change are the micro-personal-therapeutic, meso-rational-managerial, meso-systems-organic, macro-cultural-symbolic and macro-political-economic. While the contemporary literature on organizational change has done much to further our understanding about the future of organizational change, very few works provide us with case study examples of organizational change in action. Missing is an understanding of what facilitators of change actually do in the process of change. The present study sought to provide a …

Leadership And Culture, Richard L. Henrickson Edd

Dissertations

This study is about the phenomenon of leadership. Existing studies of leadership have failed to address the complex, multidisciplinary, processual, and collective nature of leadership. Attempts to appear scientific have focused on the forms of leadership rather than its universal processes. Following an analysis of existing theories of leadership viewed from disciplinary frames, the purpose of this study is to propose a new theory of leadership constructed within a cultural frame. The nature of leadership can be understood best when it is defined as a cultural expression containing complex sets of interdependent variables. Insofar as the study presents a cultural …

An Analysis Of The Special Education Services For Children And Youth In Costa Rica, Beatriz Villarreal Edd

Dissertations

An analysis of Costa Rica special education services was developed with the objective of analyzing its school programs, its university teacher training programs and the quality overall of services provided in the country. Program indicators of quality special education services were delineated with the purpose of comparing the degree to which these indicators were present in the special education programs of Costa Rica. Questionnaires, interviews, observations, and a review of literature were used to obtain a comprehensive description of special education services in Costa Rica. A quality special education school was subsequently designed based on the quality educational programs indicators …

A Study Of The Impact Of A Quality Circle On A Public Secondary School In Southern California, Ronald E. Williams Edd

Dissertations

The goal of this research was to establish a quality circle at a Southern California public high school and to determine what effect the quality circle process would have on problem resolution and communication at that specific institution. The circle was composed of eight faculty members who volunteered plus an administrator who served as the facilitator. The circle met weekly for one school year. The objectives of this study were twofold. The first was to utilize the quality circle as a process to identify, analyze, and solve specific school concerns selected by quality circle members. The second objective was to …

Adsorption Of Organic Compounds By Microbial Biomass, Ariamalar Selvakumar

Dissertations

The adsorption of hazardous organic compounds such as phenol, 2-chlorophenol, 2-nitrophenol, chlorobenzene, and ethylbenzene onto two types of inactive microbial biomass (activated sludge and nitrifying bacteria) was studied. The adsorption isotherms could be expressed by the Freundlich adsorption isotherm and were found to be nearly linear over the range of concentrations (50 - 200 mg/1) studied. Desorption studies showed that the adsorption process was partially reversible. Heat of sorption was estimated and indicate that the biosorption process involves a physical rather than a chemical mechanism. The adsorptive capacity of biomass is about two to three orders of magnitude less than …

Determinants Of Student-Faculty Informal Contact, Alan W. Barr

Dissertations

There was an examination in this study of the relationship of classroom experiences (cues) and professorial initiative to the frequency of informal student-faculty interaction in the freshman year. The research was conducted at an independent, four-year urban college in the state of Michigan with a predominantly commuter population. A survey instrument was administered to the entire freshman class in the Spring semester of 1988. Information was derived from the survey on the nature and frequency of informal faculty-student contact.

Out of the 137 freshman receiving surveys, 101 returned them. The response rate was 74%. Data from one survey returned were …

An Assessment Of The Relationship Between Decision-Makers' Opinions About Comprehensive Sex Education And Factors That Influence Those Opinions, M. Terri Voit-Devine

Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to investigate decision-makers' opinions about what was to be contained in comprehensive sex education programs, the degree to which decision makers believed course information was likely to be part of their own curriculum, and how much support they believed the community would give to various parts of the curriculum.

The instrument used in the study was created by combining parts of surveys by Wayne (1981) and Marini and Jones (1983). The study compared the opinions of decision makers about guidelines to be used when implementing sex education, reasons for offering sex education, reasons for …

An Analogue Of Science, Michael Albert Minervini

Dissertations

There is no science of human behavior, not even an incipient one. The popular conception of applied behavior analysis as a genuine principle-driven technology is mostly an illusion. Two sorts of evidence support this conclusion. The first is an ever widening split between the field's basic and applied realms. The second, thus far unacknowledged, is that when the concepts of operant and respondent conditioning are extended to human behavior, they are often rendered as no more than metaphors. These metaphors are not confined to casual discourse or even to interpretation. In fact, they are the prevailing form of extension in …

A Pilot Test Of The Career Adjustment And Development Inventory As A Career Needs Analysis Technique, Richard W. Zinser

Dissertations

A review of the career development literature in current journals revealed several important trends that accentuate the need for additional career services for working adults. Moreover, assessment techniques currently used are transparent and rely mainly on participants' self perceptions. A new career inventory (Crites, 1982), which is based on a taxonomy of adult career problems, has been developed to measure the career adjustment of establishment stage individuals. The instrument was developed as a more effective assessment instrument for the purpose of uncovering employee needs, and for designing appropriate career development programs.

The Career Adjustment and Development Inventory (CADI) was administered …

Applied Thermoplastic Screw Plastication Theory: Industry Acceptance And Implications For Plastics Processing Education, Paul V. Engelmann

Dissertations

Rapid expansion of the thermoplastics processing industry has increased the need for plastics education and training. Screw plastication is the major method of melting plastics in order to mold or extrude them into useful products. Thus, information about the role of plastication is needed to provide guidance for plastics education and training.

This study sought confirmation of suspected differences existing in the amount of knowledge personnel have about thermoplastic screw plastication, dependent upon: (a) the type of plastics process used, and (b) their job classifications. Furthermore, the study collected data in three additional areas: (1) the extent to which persons …

Effectiveness Of Employee Participation Groups In A Manufacturing Company, John F. Blamy

Dissertations

This case study investigated the short term effectiveness of Quality of Work Life participation groups in a Midwest manufacturing division of a major worldwide automotive corporation. Six traditional procedural measures were used to evaluate performance. These measures of performance were: employee attendance, written grievances, scrap produced, quality audits, customer complaints, and productivity.

Six hypotheses were formulated for this study: (1) Employees in departments with employee participation groups will improve their attendance more than employees in departments that do not have employee participation groups. (2) Employees in departments with employee participation groups will decrease the number of formal grievances more than …

The Effects Of Leadership Style And Work Setting On The Job Satisfaction Of Teachers Of The Trainable Mentally Impaired, John Charles Woods

Dissertations

This study examined the effect that leadership style and work setting would have on the job satisfaction of teachers of the trainable mentally impaired (TMI). Leadership style was based on the adaptability score from the LEAD Other instrument by Hersey and Blanchard (1982). Work setting was defined by one of three teaching situations, (1) integrated, with one or two teachers of the TMI working in a regular education building; (2) clustered, with three or more teachers of the TMI working in a regular education building; or (3) segregated, with teachers of the TMI working in a separate facility. Job satisfaction …