Digital Commons Network^™

A Critical Study Of Communications In Land Use Hearings, Douglas J. Warren

Dissertations and Theses

This study addresses a major theoretical issue posed in the literature: can alienation in modern urban society be conceptualized in terms of the communicative competence of speakers taking part in social interaction. Specifically, this study explores the relationship between communicative competence and two observable indications of success in land use hearings: 1) ability to influence the final decision of the Variance Committee and 2) expression of feelings of dissatisfaction with the hearings process, as expressed by the participants. On a broader scale, the study tests Jurgen Habermas's classification of speech acts and the notion that public hearings are a free …

A Study Of Principals' Leadership Behavior In One Suburban School District, Darleen Huber-Dilbeck

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the leadership behavior of principals as perceived by the teachers and principals of one suburban school district. Research questions asked were: (1) Are there significant differences between the perceptions of principals and teachers concerning principals' leadership behavior on the twelve subscales of the LBDQ-XII? (2) Are there significant differences in viewing the leadership role when teachers' age, gender, teaching experience, level of training, or teaching assignment is considered?

This descriptive study invited 350 randomly selected teachers and all of the principals from 35 elementary, intermediate, and high schools in one suburban school …

The Socialization Of Cpep Teachers: Implications For Administration, Jim L. Kuhlmann

Dissertations and Theses

The competencies and needs of those entering the teaching profession have become the subject of public debate since the release of A Nation at Risk. Subsequently many comprehensive and comparative reviews have documented the socialization of those entering the teaching profession especially student teachers and first-year teachers. The problems of beginning teachers have produced survival and self-oriented concerns. Internships and induction programs have been developed to ease the socialization of beginning teachers and mediate these concerns. As internships are developed and induction programs implemented, descriptive field studies which examine the processes of beginning teacher socialization are needed. Particularly, studies which …

Mmpi And The Juvenile Sex Offender Russell Funk, Russell Funk

Dissertations and Theses

This study examined the effectiveness of the MMPI in identifying juvenile sex offenders. This study examined the hypothesis that previously identified subscales of the MMPI (i.e., Toobert et al. (1959) Pe scale and Dolan (1986) Ic scale) could be used in discriminating juvenile sex offenders (n=l 02) (and subgroups of juvenile sex offenders i.e., pedophiles n=79, and incest perpetrators n=41) from a control group of 40 juvenile offenders who had been adjudicated for non-sex related crimes. The study yielded results which indicate that the Pe subscale was not effective in discriminating pedophiles from non-pedophile sex offenders or from the control …

Pupil Mobility And Its Effect On Basic Skills Achievement Growth Rates And The Educational Program, Daniel P. Klee

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of the study was to compare the basic skills achievement scores of mobile and non-mobile students within the Portland Public Schools. The problem was to assess the effect of this mobility on basic skills achievement and the total educational program. The study was designed to test differences in reading, language usage and mathematics achievement test scores between pupils in the third through the eighth grades. The instrument that was used was the Portland Achievement Levels Tests of reading, language usage and math. These tests are administered to students in grades 3 - 8 in the fall and spring …

Simplified Framework Evaluation Of Large Water Resource Project Impacts, Brian Woodbridge Clowes

Dissertations and Theses

The document most frequently used to support a water resource project's economic feasibility is the commercial benefit-cost analysis, which quantifies tangible and direct project consequences. The objective of this type of analysis is simply to maximize net monetary benefits. This analysis assigns an arbitrary monetary value to ecological and social disruptions, if it does not ignore these effects entirely. An improvement on this method is the social benefit-cost analysis, which assesses sane intangible costs such as air and noise pollution. Unfortunately, even the social analysis usually neglects the sometimes profound effects that a large water resource project has upon quality …

The Effects Of A Thank-You Letter And/Or Phone Call To First-Time Volunteer Blood Donors, Larkey Sheldon De Neffe

Dissertations and Theses

This study measures two reinforcement strategies designed to increase repeat donations in first-time volunteer blood donors.

The Effects Of Test Result And Diagnosticity On Physicians’ Revisions Of Probability Of Disease In Medical Diagnosis, Ann Elizabeth Sinclair

Dissertations and Theses

This study examined the effects of sensitivity, specificity and result of diagnostic tests on the uses which physicians make of those results. These were compared with the Bayesian model of probability adjustment, which is generally accepted for medical diagnosis. Ninety six active members of the Oregon Academy of Family Physicians were interviewed by telephone, using a case scenario describing a patient with a newly discovered breast lump. Subjects estimated prior probability of malignancy, based on history and physical findings, and then estimated posterior probability following results of a mammogram. Mammograms varied by result (positive or negative) and by high and …

The Influence Of Work Station Architecture On Work Perceptions And Work Behavior, Connie L. True

Dissertations and Theses

A field study was conducted to find whether open office architecture is related to employees' perceptions of their jobs and their work groups, and to their behavior in and around their work stations. Fifty-two employees in the administrative division of a large manufacturing operation volunteered to participate by answering a questionnaire and allowing their work stations to be analyzed for levels of visual access and visual exposure, the two independent variables. Access and exposure, at first theorized to be independent and interacting functions, were found to be too highly correlated in this open office setting to test as originally planned. …

Friendship Between Women: The Influence Of Incest, Laurie Lockert

Dissertations and Theses

This study focused on the mother/daughter relationship in father/daughter incest and how that relationship influences women's friendships with other women. Many researchers have concluded that females who were sexually abused by male authority figures, i.e., father, step-father, grandfather, older brother, minister, babysitter, will have impaired relationships with men. Clinicians surmise that the enormous betrayal of trust involved in the incest leads the child to generalize from her experience with one male to all males. Victims express feelings of distrust, fear of intimacy, and fear of personal expression in all male/female relationships. Studies suggest that in families where father/daughter incest has …

Isolating Factors Predicting Cooperation In Work Groups: Leader Motivation And Style, Denise Hunter Velaski

Dissertations and Theses

There is evidence that cooperation in the workplace can have positive outcomes for organizations. To take advantage of these outcomes, it would be useful to gain information about the causes of cooperation. This study attempts to isolate some factors, leader motivation and style in particular, that may predict cooperation within work groups.

The Impact Of Physical Environment On The Social Climate Of Two Jails, James G. Houston

Dissertations and Theses

In recent years there has been a strong movement to replace outdated and inadequate jails throughout the United States. According to the National Sheriff's Association 15.9% of all jails have been under a court order to improve services or conditions at one time or another. In addition, 960 jails of the 3,493 existing jails in the United States were built prior to 1950. This need for new construction or renovation has given birth to a new area of expertise among architects and contractors--jail design and construction. While design and construction techniques have improved, little is known of the effects of …

Worker Perceptions Of The Fast-Food Giant : Interviews With And Class Comparisons Of Teenagers Working At Mcdonalds, Joyce A. Korshgen

Dissertations and Theses

This study examines the relationship between social class and adolescents conceptions of work. Four major areas of the adolescent's work experience are examined: (1) tasks and training, (2) relations with co-workers and managers, (3) organizational structure and change, and (4) family life and work. Forty female adolescent, nonmanagerial employees who worked part time at McDonald's franchise stores were interviewed.

A Case Study Of A Nationally Recognized Middle School's Decentralized Participatory Governance Structure, Donna Lynn Carman

Dissertations and Theses

To effectively and substantively impact the realization of school improvement goals, there is a perceived need for the implementation of participatory processes that involve parents, patrons, students, and educators through decentralization of the planning, programming, and implementation phases. Related to this need is the pressing requirement of providing educational leaders with a greater understanding of what knowledge and skills they should possess to effectively guide and direct the implementation of decentralized participatory processes. An exploratory case study of a nationally recognized middle school's decentralized participatory structure was conducted. The purpose of this study was to provide the comprehensive context of …

Determinants Of The Spatial Distribution Of Peri-Urban To Rural Agriculture In The United States, Ibrahim Amin Abdel-Karim

Dissertations and Theses

Two issues are focal to the subject of the spatial distribution of crops in peri-urban zones. The first deals with developments in the fields of transportation, other technology, urbanization, and other factors which are not only prevalent in developed world economies, but which also are thought to force the cultivation of freshly consumed agricultural commodities away from the immediate vicinity of the market center. The second issue pertains to indirectly consumed crops, which are thought to shun proximity to the market center, where land rents per unit area are characteristically high, even when conditions for productions are ideal. Traditional models …

A Study Of Ability To Choose Appropriate Conflict Behavior Determined By The Relationship Between Locus Of Control And Conflict Behavior Styles, Mary H. Zinkin

Dissertations and Theses

Two major theoretical controversies were addressed in this study: (1) whether conflict behavior can best be explained by personal characteristics or by situational characteristics and (2) whether there is one best way to handle conflict or several effective ways depending on the situation. Specifically, it explored the relationship between locus of control (internal, powerful others, chance) and conflict behavior (nonconfrontation, solution-orientation, control) in situations where choosing each of these strategies was regarded most appropriate. The study gathered data relevant to four questions: (1) Is there a relationship between an individual's conflict behavior style and personal characteristics such as feelings of …

A Comparison Of Principal And Teacher Perceptions Of Principal Leadership Skills, Alan Mark Carlton

Dissertations and Theses

This study examined principals' and teachers' perceptions regarding both the importance of certain leadership skills and the ratings of principals' actual skills. There are strong theoretical bases for the use of principals' and teachers' perceptions in this study. The analysis of perceptions of leadership skills can lead to: (1) an increased awareness of principals' strengths and weaknesses; (2) greater communication between principals and teachers; and, (3) hopefully, increased productivity on the part of principals and teachers. The population for this study included a group of twenty-eight principals who participated in the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators Assessment Center, and teachers …

Segment Congruence Analysis: An Information Theoretic Approach, Jamshid Hosseini-Chaleshtari

Dissertations and Theses

When there are several possible segmentation variables, marketers must investigate the ramifications of their potential interactions. These include their mutual association, the identification of the best (the distinguished) segmentation variable and its predictability by a set of descriptor variables, and the structure of the multivariate system(s) obtained from the segmentation and descriptor variables. This procedure has been defined as segment congruence analysis (SCA). This study utilizes the information theoretic and the log-linear/logit approaches to address a variety of research questions in segment congruence analysis. It is shown that the information theoretic approach expands the scope of SCA and offers some …

The Cognitive Learning Styles Of International Students, Shelley L. Smith

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this research was to examine the usefulness of David A. Kolb's Learning Styles Inventory (LSI) as a tool for categorization and analysis of systematic differences between American and International students. The research addressed five primary questions:

1. Are the learning styles of the International students tested different from those established by Kolb in previous studies of American students?

2. Do the learning styles of the International students tested differ among the various groups?

3. Are there differences among the groups of International students tested that can be related to gender?

4. Do the learning styles of the …

An Investigation Of Resolution And Addressability Requirements For Digital Display Systems Used In Word-Processing And Computer-Aided-Drafting Applications, Stephen T. Knox

Dissertations and Theses

Two hardware factors contributing to the overall image quality of digital CRTs are display resolution and addressability. The relationship between these two factors and human performance was modeled by a metric of display quality, the Resolution Addressability Ratio (RAR), and investigated within the contexts of Word-Processing (WP) and Computer-Aided-Drafting (CAD) tasks. The findings indicate a perceptual limit to MTF bandwidth improvements, and significant differences in display quality requirements between the two applications. The regression of image quality as a function of RAR metric values resulted in an r² = 0.94 for the WP task and an r² = 0.79 for …

Care, Need, And Conceptions Of Love: A Reexamination, Janet Gruwell Morris

Dissertations and Theses

The present study examines the roles need and care play in such positive interpersonal attitudes as love, liking, attraction, and friendship, by both replicating and extending a 1982 study by Steck, Levitan, McLane, and Kelley. Subjects were presented with slightly revised Rubin Love Scales which were filled out as if by persons involved in relationships, and were asked to judge how much each hypothetical person loved, liked, was attracted to, and felt friendly toward their partner. In fact, the love scales had been divided into three components, i.e. need, care, and trust, and were filled out with each component at …

Effects Of Stress Management Instruction And Anxiety Monitoring In Adult Day Treatment Population, Jack Blanton Wills

Dissertations and Theses

This study examines the effectiveness of a particular stress management intervention with adult outpatients diagnosed as chronic schizophrenics. The setting for the study was the Portland, Oregon, Veteran's Administration, Outpatient Clinic, Day Treatment Center. The intervention was composed of two factors; 1) stress management training and 2) Behavior-Graph Instruction. Both of these were presented using a psychoeducational model of classroom instruction, role play, and discussion.

Cooperative Responses In Competitive Soccer, Rodney Gordon Williamson

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to discover patterns in intra-team cooperation (passing) versus individualistic behavior (dribbling) across various age and gender groups. A behavioral coding scheme for soccer players in possession of the ball was designed to tabulate team responses of passing or dribbling behavior in a four-a-side indoor tournament. A total of 32 teams, 18 male teams and 14 female teams, participated in four age brackets. A multi variate analysis of variance (MANOVA) generated one significant result for age and passing behavior. This supported the first hypothesis that intra-team cooperative behavior increased with age. Due to the nonorthogonal …

A Comparison Of Behavioral Problems Between Speech And/Or Language Impaired Children And Normal Children, Jeannie S. Botelho

Dissertations and Theses

The questions posed in this study were: 1) Is there a significant difference in the prevalence of behavioral problems between speech and/or language impaired children and normal children as reported by parents and teachers? and 2) Is there a significant difference in the types of behavioral problems between speech and/or language impaired children and normal children, as reported by parents and teachers?

The Effect Of Order Of Presentation And Experience On Problem Solving, Edward Bruce Versteeg

Dissertations and Theses

The effects of order of presentation and amount of experience on errors and solution time were investigated. An interactive narrative puzzle was presented on a computer screen to 60 undergraduate students. Solution of the problem involved the integration of two path segments. Subjects in the Forward Condition were presented the path segments in the order in which they had to be traversed for solution. Subjects in the Backward Condition were exposed to the opposite order of presentation. Amount of experience was varied by permitting one, three, or five readings of the narrative.

An Attempt To Reduce Actor-Observer Differences In Attributions, Carla A. Green

Dissertations and Theses

The purposes of this study were (a) to replicate previous research reporting actor-observer differences in subjects' attributions about behavioral causality, and (b) to manipulate the availability of causal information so that those actor-observer differences would be eliminated.

The Development Of The Self-Concept In The Young Child, Doris Mascall

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to explore, based upon a literature survey of articles and books published primarily, though not limited to, the past fifteen years, the development of the self-concept in children during the first five years of life. This will include defining self-concept, the establishment of its significance throughout the life span, the role significant others play in the development, an examination of sex-role identity in relationship to self-concept formation, and a critique of available tests and measurements, followed by a conclusion which focuses upon implications for treatment providers.

Development, Diagnosis And Treatment Of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder And The Vietnam Veteran Population, Bari S. Fisher

Dissertations and Theses

Over the past 15 years, mental health professionals have seen an increasing number of Vietnam combat veterans suffering from stress disorders resulting from the trauma of combat and continued exposure to life threatening situations. Prior to 1980, professional repudiation of and hostility toward Vietnam veterans and toward a clinical reality of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was common while nondiagnosis and nontreatment was prevalent.

Analysis Of Problemsolving Groups With Feedback Intervention Using A Systematic Multiple Level Observation Of Groups, Donna Buchanan Schantz

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a feedback cycle on problemsolving groups. A formal method, Systematic Multiple Level Observation of Groups (SYMLOG), was employed for the analysis of behavior in such groups. The system, which codes on multiple levels of communication, served both as a theoretical and an explanatory approach. Problemsolving groups which included a feedback session on group process were compared with problemsolving groups which were not given feedback. The study used primary data from SYMLOG field diagrams to determine whether group movement, leader movement, self-perceptions, and group satisfaction would be affected by feedback …

Organizational Development: An Investigation Into The Knowledge Obsolescence Of Engineers In The Electronics Industry, Cheryl J. Hubbard

Dissertations and Theses

Purpose. This study investigated organizational development climate within the context of an organization experiencing rapid change in its environment resulting in employee knowledge obsolescence. Secondary purposes were: (1) determine current development methods and behavior; (2) identify preferred development methods; (3) examine the influence of educational background on development; (4) examine the influence length of service on development and (5) investigate reward preferences and their link to development. Procedure. The data were collected through a sample of 550 nonmanager engineers. The questionnaire consisted of individual background information and a modified version of the Work Description Questionnaire for Engineers (WDQE). Environment factors …