Digital Commons Network^™

Lawn Dogs And Other Stories, Heather Gaddy

Dissertations and Theses

The wife reminds herself that she must breathe. To find a steady center in the chaos that is her confused rage; this will help to transform her lack of control into that enviable ability to gracefully cope. She knows this from somewhere deep inside of herself, and she also read about it in a book. She takes a big breath, but the calm eludes her. She finds other ways to keep the moment in hand. Counting the husband's movements, watching the crows fly and making decisions about her future according to how they land, combing her hair too hard. Amazingly, …

Effects Of Three Training Components In An Aac Intervention For An Adult With Severe Broca’S Aphasia, Bradley Josef Hendershott

Dissertations and Theses

Individuals with severe nonfluent aphasia may lose functional verbal communication. With the loss of fluent speech, one may also lose the capacity to share in the casual conversation that enriches our lives. A rehabilitative course that seeks to stimulate restoration of verbal abilities can be lengthy with uncertain outcomes. Fortunately, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) interventions have shown promise in treating aphasia by providing non-verbal means of communicating. Communication aids designed around specific topics and comprised of words and pictures have been used by persons with aphasia to participate in conversations. Such aids have shown promise in facilitating successful conversation …

Error Correction Preferences Of Latino Esl Students, John Burrell

Dissertations and Theses

The present study looked at the error correction preferences of 172 adult Latino ESL students. It was a modified replication of a study which looked at the error correction preferences of Japanese university students. A questionnaire was used to gather the data. The questionnaire measured the participants' general preferences for error correction, attitudes towards peer correction, the desired frequency of correction in five aspects of language and preferences for specific types or methods of error correction.

The study found a very positive attitude towards error correction by the teacher. There was a positive attitude towards peer correction, but only from …

Legislating Against Reality : The Political Conflicts And Context Of The Seventh-Century Merovingian Church Councils, Gregory Burgas

Dissertations and Theses

The bishops of the seventh-century Merovingian Church were often drawn from the secular aristocracy after long careers in local or royal government. They remained involved in politics even after becoming . bishops, and these entanglements occasionally dictated their actions. Historians have examined these actions by using the chronicles and hagiography of the seventh century, but not by using the Church councils.

I translated the last five general councils of the Merovingian Church from the Latin into English for the first time, and then examined the councils in their political context. In the seventh century, the bishops were asserting their independence …

A Comparison Of The Child Directed Speech Of Traditional Dads With That Of Stay-At-Home Dads, Judith Nancarrow Barr

Dissertations and Theses

The speech that mothers use when addressing adults has consistently been shown to exhibit modifications when the conversation partner is their language-learning child. Fathers adopt similar changes in the structural linguistic aspects of their Child Directed Speech (CDS), but their patterns of discourse remain more of a challenge for the child. This contrast in parental language is thought to be beneficial to the language-learning child: a mother's language focuses on the child as a conversation partner, whilst a father's more demanding language is considered a "Bridge" between the mother's and that of adults in the outside world. With family roles …

Chinese Numeratives And The Mass/Count Distinction, David Goodman

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigates the mass/count distinction for lexical nouns, and how this is formalized morphosyntactically in language. English is one language in which a grammaticized mass/count distinction can be seen--though there are varying explanations regarding what this distinction actually signifies. Chinese, on the other hand, is a language which might appear to be missing a formalized mass/count distinction. However, I postulate that Mandarin Chinese does in fact have a syntactic-distributional diagnostic available for teasing apart mass nouns from count nouns.

The diagnostic that I propose for finding a mass/count distinction among lexical nouns in Mandarin lies in the distribution of …

The Presentation Of Gender-Based Sexuality Scripts In Sex Education Films, Patricia Anne Drew

Dissertations and Theses

The manifest purpose of sex education films is to transmit factual information about sexuality to schoolchildren. However, films additionally contain covert messages informing students of proper and improper sexual roles. Films can reinforce patriarchal gender-differentiation within the sexual realm or, alternately, films can promote commensurate, non-patriarchal gender scripts for sexuality. This paper researches the ideological gender messages set within and transmitted by sex education films. Although sex education films represent only a small part of the sexual culture, the trends revealed in the films may indicate general parameters of US sexual culture.

The data set for this content analysis consisted …

An Evaluation Of Earobics I In Improving Phonological Awareness In 6- And 7-Year-Old Boys Who Are At-Risk For Reading Disabilities, Wendy Goughnour Gunter

Dissertations and Theses

Earobics Pro PLUS Step I (Earobics I) is a software program designed to increase the auditory processing and phonological awareness skills of children when used in conjunction with traditional intervention. Phonological awareness is the ability to manipulate the sounds of a language and has been shown in previous studies to have a strong relationship with reading ability. Phonological awareness can be taught, and studies have been conducted in an effort to determine effective methods for teaching phonological awareness. No studies have been published on Earobics I to this date.

In this study, the effectiveness of Earobics I was analyzed with …

A Comparison Of African-American And White Caregivers Of Elderly With Dementia ... More Alike Than Different?, Fred C. Miller

Dissertations and Theses

The family is recognized as an important social unit in society. Traditionally, one role played by family members is that of providing long term care. The demands of prolonged caregiving can lead to increased role strain and negative health outcomes for caregivers. Little research has addressed the diversity among caregivers' racial, cultural or ethnic backgrounds. This study investigates the differential impacts of caregiver role strain among Americans of African and European descent.

A hierarchical multiple regression was used to determine if African American caregivers report less caregiver role strain than White caregivers and if higher socioeconomic status is associated with …

The Assessment Of Children With Attachment Disorder: The Randolph Attachment Disorder Questionnaire, The Behavioral And Emotional Rating Scale, And The Biopsychosocial Attachment Types Framework, Alice Myrth Ogilvie

Dissertations and Theses

Children with attachment disorder (AD) have an ongoing risk of mental health challenges and an exacerbated resistance to traditional treatments. The inability to trust and inadequate relationship skills present a substantial challenge for supervising adults in families, child welfare, juvenile justice, public schools, and other community settings.

This study examined the assessment of AD in children between ages 6 and 18 utilizing two standardized instruments, the Randolph Attachment Disorder Questionnaire and the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale. A new framework developed by the author, Biopsychosocial Attachment Types (BAT), for conceptualizing childhood attachment concerns, was explored as a foundation for assessment …

Japan's War Memories: A Political Approach, Miyuki Sakuta

Dissertations and Theses

In discussion of Japan's role in the world, scholars and politicians have often pointed out the significance of Japan's war memories. Japan is considered an anomalous actor because of its status as an economic superpower without military or political weight. Memories of World War II have been defined as a constraining factor in Japan's attempts to assume a greater role in international affairs.

The purpose of the present study is to analyze the origins and the functions of the memory factor. While common explanations have been either psychological or cultural, I took a political approach, adopting the Realists' theory that …

The Sculpture Of Presence, Michael William Schmunk

Dissertations and Theses

My work was presented in the Autzen gallery. It consisted of seven individual sculptures. The materials used in the sculptures were steel and wood. The sculptures were placed in the gallery with regard to their spacing to each other and the walls, the effect of their reflections on the floor, and the utilization of the architecture (one leaned against the wall, another leaned on the cement windowsill). The gallery lighting was manipulated to create shadows that gave additional affect to the sculptures. The particular manner of presentation heightened each sculpture's effect of expressing a psychological presence to the viewer by …

Another Look At The Portrayal Of Minorities And Women In Prime-Time Television, Tellisa Amos

Dissertations and Theses

This study updates a 10-year longitudinal study investigating TV's portrayal of minorities and women on prime time television. Prior studies focused on the types of roles held by performers. This study extends prior research, examining not only the types of roles held by performers, but also networks' preference for women and minorities and the genre that most often feature women and minorities.

Data were collected for a consecutive five-week period from February 19, 1997 to March 14,1997. From this sample 40 dramas and 115 situation comedies were recorded and coded. Programming was taken from shows that aired in the Pacific …

American Indian Elderly And Long-Term Care : Interorganizational Barriers To The Use Of Oregon's Home And Community-Based Medicaid Waiver, Jo Lynn Isgrigg

Dissertations and Theses

Developing culturally supportive long-term care services for Native American elderly has gained increasing attention on the federal level. On the state level, Oregon's Senior and Disabled Services Division (SDSD) possesses a federal Medicaid waiver that allows for the development of home and community-based long-term care services. While this waiver is culturally neutral, its value is that it would allow tribal governments within Oregon to develop their own culturally supportive home- and community-based services, yet none have done so.

The purpose of this study was to determine why senior service agencies of tribal governments within Oregon have not participated in the …

The Value Of Independence In Old Age, Paula C. Carder

Dissertations and Theses

Why is independence a central theme for proponents of assisted living facilities? How do assisted living providers respond to this theme? These questions are pursued in an ethnographic study centered on Oregon's assisted living program. Assisted living facilities (ALF), defined and monitored by Oregon's Senior and Disabled Services Division (SDSD), are a type of housing for disabled, primarily elderly, persons. Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR-411-56) define independence, requiring ALF providers to support resident independence.

Using social worlds theory as a sensitizing concept, assisted living is treated as a distinct social world. The activities of key groups, including SDSD staff, an ALF …

An Ethnographic Study: Building An Identity Through The Stories Of An Italian-American Family, Gloria Marie Tottten

Dissertations and Theses

Storytelling involves the active utilization of both past experiences and future possibilities, which is sustained through interaction, and could not exist without its past and future counterparts. It is the vehicle through which all intertwine.

This implies that communication is a very important element in the formation of an individual's identity - and to the meaning given to the storytelling practices. As a family member tells a story, other members listen, question, and request more about particular aspects of the story. By talking and listening, family members produce a narrative together, a story.

The purpose of this study was to …

The Effects Of Mentoring On Work-Parenting Gains And Strains In A Sample Of Employed Predominately Female Afdc Recipients, Charlene Rhyne

Dissertations and Theses

Nationally, as well as locally, the emphasis in public assistance is to assist clients in becoming job ready. To this end, Oregon received waivers necessary to implement an innovative welfare reform effort, JOBS Plus Program (JPP), in 1994. The JPP provided subsidized employment for welfare recipients through the cashing out of public assistance benefits and Food Stamp monies. Employers were required to provide an on-site mentor for subsidized employees as a condition of agreement to participate in the Program.

Mentoring has been shown to positively impact employee overall job satisfaction, tenure, salary and promotion. While mentoring has been seen traditionally …

Tocqueville's Civic Republicanism: The Balance Between Equality And Liberty In American Democracy, Clifford Brantley Smith

Dissertations and Theses

At the heart of America's experience with liberal democratic institutions remains the continuous struggle between liberty and equality. The two are opposed, but form the dual foundation upon which American democracy rests. One foundation emphasized the importance of equal political rights and equality of opportunity. This theme considers the prospects of a person are not predetermined at birth, as in an aristocratic country, but instead are left to be filled by the decisions made through life. Yet for people to have the greatest options available as they steer their way through life, there must also exist the second foundation of …

Speech Parameters Affects On Social Acceptability Ratings Of Adolescents With Repaired Cleft Lip And/Or Palate, Sarah Telkins Hoff

Dissertations and Theses

The current study explored speech social acceptability ratings of adolescents with and without orofacial clefts. The study utilized speech samples previously collected on 80 adolescents, 40 cleft and 40 noncleft, dubbed on to a stimulus tape in a random order. From an earlier study the following were available: (a) adolescent (cleft and noncleft) self-ratings of speech social acceptability, (b) objective ratings of the adolescents' speech social acceptability provided by a listener panel with no background in speech-language pathology. New data were collected by recruiting a new listener panel of 10 graduate students with training in speech-language pathology, utilizing a 7-point …

Theory Of Nothing, Adam Wieslaw Rupniewski

Dissertations and Theses

My work was presented in the form of an installation. Using three and two-dimensional objects, as well as sound and light, I created a site specific type of installation. Materials involved in this project were hydrostone, plaster, steel and copper. The sound I recorded on my steel sculptures in an acoustic space and then mixed to create sound compositions to amplify the feeling for the space. This installation reflects my pursuits in painting and sculpture, as well as my interest in music and light effects. Its philosophical and spiritual content were expressed through visual language, symbolic use of elements and …

Stays And The Staggering Shape, Anmarie Trimble

Dissertations and Theses

If considered thematically, this collection of love poems explores loss and the desired subject using metaphors and images of the body and the objects with which we define ourselves. These poems also explore the body and these objects so as to suggest ideas beyond the particular.

The collection is divided into three sections: Ultrasound, Ouija Flood, and Dream of Surgery. Part one, Ultrasound, investigates self-image formation by using the body as idea and metaphor for physical, social, and psychological confinement. Part two, Ouija Flood, contrasts storm and desert imagery against human-constructed interiors to illuminate the elaborate psychological constructs of desire …

A Comprehensive Analysis Of Teachers' Attributional Tendencies And Gender Bias Towards Failing Students With Learning Disabilities, Polly Chalette

Dissertations and Theses

Student characteristics, such as sex, race, and socioeconomic status, have been found to influence teachers' perceptions of students and their patterns of interaction with them in the classroom. Behavior and achievement also has been shown to influence a teacher's perceptions. When teachers have been asked for evaluative comments and their expectations for future performance of a student, they have stated ability and effort as their explanations. This study will use the principles of Weiner's attribution theory dealing with success and failure in order to examine teachers' attributional tendencies towards a hypothetical student.

This study intends to examine the degree to …

The Effects Of School-Mandated Community Service On Subsequent Intrinsic Motivation To Volunteer, Carol Berubee

Dissertations and Theses

Many American high schools and universities require students to perform community service. Although social psychological research shows that intrinsic motivation for an activity decreases when that activity is rewarded or when the actor perceives little self-determination in performing the activity, no research has examined the effect of intrinsic motivation on volunteerism subsequent to mandated community service.

The purpose of the present study was to determine if students who had been required to perform community service would be less likely to volunteer in the community at a later date than would those students who had not been required to serve. In …

Intuition In The Undergraduate Nursing Curriculum: Faculty Attitudes, Practices And Preparation, Beverly Jean Epeneter

Dissertations and Theses

The primary goal of undergraduate nursing programs is to prepare students for nursing practice. Achievement of this goal may be hindered by reliance on the scientific method in nursing education. Nursing practice often requires the ability to make judgments in situations of ambiguity without the benefit of objective data. The ability to rapidly "read" a situation and respond appropriately is critical to safe nursing care. This requires education in the intuitive way of knowing. Intuitive development may be impeded when students are taught to rely on the rational, scientific way of knowing. The end result may be that students are …

Patient-Guided Investigation Of The Restoration Of Health Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Nancy Ann Carney

Dissertations and Theses

The development of emergency department medical interventions and the implementation of fast-transport trauma systems has decreased the rate of death resulting from traumatic brain injury (TBI). Without corresponding methods for long-term treatment and recovery, the prevalence of people disabled by TBI has increased, creating a growing public health problem. Investigations generated by physicians, rehabilitation programs, and social scientists, which attempt to associate standard measures of injury severity with outcome, leave unexplained variance in long-term functional status for persons with TBI.

The purpose of this investigation was to use persons with brain injury and their family members, to guide an analysis …

The Persistence Of African Religious Beliefs And Practices As Cultural Resistance To Slavery In Pre-Emancipation Colonial Tobago, Okokon Okon Essiet

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines African religion as a form of cultural resistance to slavery in pre-emancipation Tobago. African religion was a tool of resistance to enslavement and oppression in pre-emancipation colonial Tobago. African religion acted as a source of empowerment, cohesion, and identity at a time when the colonial authorities in Tobago were attempting to strip the African of his/her Culture. This research examines the social dimensions of this struggle for religious/cultural supremacy between master and the enslaved African.

The purpose of this study is to show that the colonial authorities in Tobago, in order to sustain their basic economy had …

Development And Validation Of A Work Safety Compliance Measure, Tara L. Smecko

Dissertations and Theses

It is important that organizations manage the safety behavior of employees by the implementation of a safety program including periodic assessment of the safety level (i.e., how frequently employees are complying with safety guidelines) in the organization. The occupational safety literature lacks sufficient assessment tools for measuring employee safety behavior.

The purpose of the present study was to develop and validate a comprehensive measure of compliance with safety behavior guidelines in the form of a questionnaire that can be utilized across industries and occupations. The research objectives for the present study were to: 1) Perform factor analysis on the safety …

The Relative Influence Of Internal Resources, External Resources, And Social Support On Parenting Stress, Angela Cecelia Rodger

Dissertations and Theses

This study examined the relationship of three different kinds of resources important to parenting to the degree of stress experienced by 58 mothers of small children who completed a questionnaire distributed through kindergarten classes in three public schools, and through three Head Start centers. Parenting sense of competence and internal working model of caregiving were examined as internal resources. Income level and stability and neighborhood characteristics were examined as external resources, and perceived available social support, which is both internal and external, was also examined. Interrelationships between the resources were predicted, as well as the unique contribution of each type …

Rudolf Steiner's Theory Of Foreign Language Learning, Michaela Wolf Hashitani

Dissertations and Theses

Rudolf Steiner is best known as the founder of the philosophical movement Anthroposophie and as the ideological father of Waldorf schools. The Waldorf school program follows Steiner's education principles in that it teaches children to explore their world with all senses. The goal of Waldorf education is to help children develop their soul and spirit in order to become a conscious, mature adult. Waldorf schools introduce two foreign languages at grade one in order to raise world-awareness in children and young adults.

This study reviews Steiner's biographic background until the opening of the first Waldorf school. It highlights Steiner's spiritual …

Returning Women's Workshop And Retention Of Returning Women Students, Kimberly E. Lamb

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis investigates the retention of returning adult women students by examining: 1) demographic and motivational backgrounds of women who attend a university Returning Women's Workshop and women who do not; 2) retention, bonding, and support measures for the two groups of women; 3) student evaluations of the various Workshop components. The thesis also describes the history of the Workshop and the Women's Study Program.

A telephone survey was conducted of women who either participated in the Returning Women's Workshop or attended the University during the same selected years. All the women surveyed were over the age of 24 and …