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The Effects Of Ecotourism On Polar Bear Behavior, Gillian Eckhardt Jan 2005

The Effects Of Ecotourism On Polar Bear Behavior, Gillian Eckhardt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Polar bears spend the majority of their lives on the sea ice, where they gain access to seals and mates. In western Hudson Bay, the sea ice melts for three to four months in the summer, and polar bears there are forced onto land. These bears live on their fat reserves for the duration of the iceless period, until temperatures get colder in the fall and freeze up begins. The aggregation of polar bears near Churchill, Manitoba during the ice free period has led to a thriving tourist industry, with a large influx of tourists visiting Churchill in the fall …

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Voice Authenticationa Study Of Polynomial Representation Of Speech Signals, John Strange Jan 2005

Voice Authenticationa Study Of Polynomial Representation Of Speech Signals, John Strange

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A subset of speech recognition is the use of speech recognition techniques for voice authentication. Voice authentication is an alternative security application to the other biometric security measures such as the use of fingerprints or iris scans. Voice authentication has advantages over the other biometric measures in that it can be utilized remotely, via a device like a telephone. However, voice authentication has disadvantages in that the authentication system typically requires a large memory and processing time than do fingerprint or iris scanning systems. Also, voice authentication research has yet to provide an authentication system as reliable as the other …

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Expression Of Cholera Toxin B Subunit-Rotavirus Nsp4 Enterotoxin Fusion Protein In Transgenic Chloroplasts, Anila Kalluri Jan 2005

Expression Of Cholera Toxin B Subunit-Rotavirus Nsp4 Enterotoxin Fusion Protein In Transgenic Chloroplasts, Anila Kalluri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Rotavirus, the major cause of life-threatening infantile gastroenteritis, is a member of the Reoviridae family and is considered to be the single most important cause of virus-based severe diarrheal illness in infants and young children particularly 6 months to 2 years of age in industrialized and developing countries. Infection in infants and young children is often accompanied by severe life threatening diarrhea, most commonly following primary infection. Diarrhea is the major cause of death among children around the world. Responsible for 4 to 6 million deaths per year according to the World Health Organization (WHO), diarrhea is especially dangerous for …

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Site Preparation Methods For Restoration Of Non-Native Pasturelands To Native Upland Habitat, Krisann Joie Kosel Jan 2005

Site Preparation Methods For Restoration Of Non-Native Pasturelands To Native Upland Habitat, Krisann Joie Kosel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The flatwoods ecosystem of Florida has been heavily depleted over time but remains one of the most important systems to many threatened and endangered species. Areas that have been converted into non-native pastures may be restored to provide not only this invaluable ecosystem but also restore connectivity of the surrounding ecosystems. The pasture areas on The Disney Wilderness Preserve in central Florida were surveyed, and a conceptual plan for restoration was written in 1996. That same year a pilot study was developed to assess five methods for removing non-native pasture grasses. The treatments studied were single herbicide, single disc, multiple …

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The Effect Of Gender, Confirmation Bias, And Metacognitive Self Assessment Over Varying Levels Of Expertise In A Visuospatial Task, Tatiana Ballion Jan 2005

The Effect Of Gender, Confirmation Bias, And Metacognitive Self Assessment Over Varying Levels Of Expertise In A Visuospatial Task, Tatiana Ballion

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It has been shown that there exists a relationship between levels of metacognitive ability and estimation of personal ability for largely verbally-based tasks, where those with lessened facility for the task tend toward overestimation of their aptitude relative to their peers (Kruger and Dunning, 1999). This study examines this effect for a task of mechanical ability for volunteer participants (n = 69), where participants were given an abbreviated form of the Bennett Mechanical Comprehension Test (BMCT) to establish a level of competency. Following the administration of the BMCT, the participants were then asked to speculate on the hypothetical grade for …

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The Status Of Advertising Education In The New Millennium, Joan Mccain Jan 2005

The Status Of Advertising Education In The New Millennium, Joan Mccain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Advertising education is 100 years old in 2005. What was necessary to earn a degree in advertising, and how American universities prepared students for it, had a research champion in Billy I. Ross, who did extensive study on curriculum and degree requirements beginning in the 1960s. His last study was in 1991. The World Wide Web, Internet, digital communications and emerging consumer communication choices and preferences have educators discussing changes in advertising curriculum in the new millennium. Some challenges remain constant, while others present a new frontier. An advertising education summit in 2001, sponsored by the American Advertising Federation and …

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A Theoretical Approach To Assessing Annual Energy Balance In Gray Whales (Eschrichtius Robustus), Nathalie Lucie Elizabeth Greenwald Jan 2005

A Theoretical Approach To Assessing Annual Energy Balance In Gray Whales (Eschrichtius Robustus), Nathalie Lucie Elizabeth Greenwald

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While direct measurements of energetic demands are nearly impossible to collect on large cetaceans, comprehensive bioenergetic models can give insights on such parameters by combining physiological and ecological knowledge. This model was developed to estimate necessary food intake of gray whales, Eschrichtius robustus, of the Eastern North Pacific stock. Field Metabolic Rates (FMR) for gray whales were first estimated based on various assumptions (e.g. volumetric representation of gray whales, extent of their feeding season, and blubber depth distribution) using morphometric data, energetic costs, and food assimilation according to age and gender specific requirements. Food intake rates for gray whales of …

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News Or Speculation? A Comparative Content Analysis Of Headlines And The Prevalence Of Speculative Language In Corporate And Independently Owned Newspapers, Lindsay Hudock Jan 2005

News Or Speculation? A Comparative Content Analysis Of Headlines And The Prevalence Of Speculative Language In Corporate And Independently Owned Newspapers, Lindsay Hudock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study began with the question of whether the press is conveying messages that contain speculation of future events as opposed to the recounting of current events. Speculative language is a form of subjective speech and as such its presence in press content defies the journalist principle of objectivity. The analysis sought to identify two newspaper's use of speculative language within headlines in the news sections. Two other variables considered were article placement, and the ownership structure of the news organizations. Previous research supports the claim that the ownership structure of an organization can influence the content it publishes (Lacy, …

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Receptor Mediated Oral Delivery Of Bioencapsulated Green Fluorescent Protein Expressed In Transgenic Chloroplasts, Arati Limaye Jan 2005

Receptor Mediated Oral Delivery Of Bioencapsulated Green Fluorescent Protein Expressed In Transgenic Chloroplasts, Arati Limaye

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The skyrocketing costs of prescription medicine in developed countries and their lack of availability in developing countries are the most challenging problems of human health. Primary reasons for such high cost are fermentation-based production, expensive purification methods, the need for low temperature storage and transportation and the delivery through sterile injections. Most of these expenses could be minimized or eliminated when therapeutic proteins are expressed and orally delivered via plant cells. Chloroplasts have the machinery to fold complex and biologically active eukaryotic proteins in the soluble chloroplast stromal compartment. Protein expression through chloroplast transformation system offers a number of advantages …

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Phase Synchronization In Three-Dimensional Lattices And Globally Coupled Populations Of Nonidentical Rossler Oscillators, Limin Qi Jan 2005

Phase Synchronization In Three-Dimensional Lattices And Globally Coupled Populations Of Nonidentical Rossler Oscillators, Limin Qi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A study on phase synchronization in large populations of nonlinear dynamical systems is presented in this thesis. Using the well-known Rossler system as a prototypical model, phase synchronization in one oscillator with periodic external forcing and in two-coupled nonidentical oscillators was explored at first. The study was further extended to consider three-dimensional lattices and globally coupled populations of nonidentical oscillators, in which the mathematical formulation that represents phase synchronization in the generalized N-coupled Rossler system was derived and several computer programs that perform numerical simulations were developed. The results show the effects of coupling dimension, coupling strength, population size, and …

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Historical Responses Of Marine Turtles To Global Climate Change And Juvenile Loggerhead Recruitment In Florida, Joshua Reece Jan 2005

Historical Responses Of Marine Turtles To Global Climate Change And Juvenile Loggerhead Recruitment In Florida, Joshua Reece

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Marine turtle conservation is most successful when it is based on sound data incorporating life history, historical population stability, and gene flow among populations. This research attempts to provide that information through two studies. In chapter I, I identify historical patterns of gene flow, population sizes, and contraction/expansion during major climatic shifts. In chapter II, I reveal a life history characteristic of loggerhead turtles previously undocumented. I identify a pattern of juvenile recruitment to foraging grounds proximal to their natal nesting beach. This pattern results in a predictable recruitment pattern from juvenile foraging ground aggregations to local rookeries. This research …

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Registered Nurses' Attitudes Toward The Protection Of Gays And Lesbians In The Workplace: An Examination Of Homophobia And Discriminatory Beliefs, Christopher Wright Blackwell Jan 2005

Registered Nurses' Attitudes Toward The Protection Of Gays And Lesbians In The Workplace: An Examination Of Homophobia And Discriminatory Beliefs, Christopher Wright Blackwell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Discrimination and inequality encountered by gays and lesbians in the United States is profuse. A cornerstone of the gay rights movement, equality in the workplace has been a pivotal struggle for gays and lesbians. This study examined the attitudes and opinions of registered nurses (RNs) regarding homosexuals in general and the protection of homosexuals in the workplace through a nondiscrimination policy. The author measured overall homophobic and discriminatory beliefs of the sample using the Attitudes Toward Lesbian and Gay Men (ATLG) Scale; the demographic questionnaire was infused with questions regarding a protective workplace policy. Using T-tests, one-way analysis of variance …

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Native And Invasive Competitors Of The Eastern Oyster Crassostrea Virginica In Mosquito Lagoon, Florida, Michelle Boudreaux Jan 2005

Native And Invasive Competitors Of The Eastern Oyster Crassostrea Virginica In Mosquito Lagoon, Florida, Michelle Boudreaux

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Populations of Crassostrea virginica within Mosquito Lagoon, Florida have recently undergone significant die-offs, which are a subject of major concern. Restoration efforts within Mosquito Lagoon are focusing on reconstructing the three-dimensional reef habitats. Before effective protocols can be established, however, important questions about the sources of juvenile and adult oyster mortality must be answered. Potential causes of Crassostrea virginica mortality in the Indian River Lagoon system include sediment loads, competition, predation, and disease. My research focused on the interactions between oysters and the competitors that may affect the settlement, growth, and survival of Crassostrea virginica. The four objectives of my …

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A Survey Of Progressive And Affirmative Employee Discipline Systems In Florida's Hospitals, Mark Johnson Jan 2005

A Survey Of Progressive And Affirmative Employee Discipline Systems In Florida's Hospitals, Mark Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Conflict between managers and employees is inevitable in any organization, whether public or private. Often, the source of the conflict is employee non-compliance. Managers are responsible for disciplining those employees whose performance or conduct is sub-standard or inappropriate. Therefore, the ability to effectively address employee non-compliance is an essential skill for all managers. Most employee discipline systems fall into one of three categories: traditional, progressive, and affirmative. Traditional systems were prevalent in the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. An autocratic, demanding manager would mete out punishment to non-compliant employees both as an action against the employee and as a warning …

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A Little Slice Of The Moon: Stories, Fatima Rashid Jan 2005

A Little Slice Of The Moon: Stories, Fatima Rashid

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A Little Slice of the Moon: stories is a collection of short stories that explore the struggles of various characters to find their place in the world. And the world, despite its familiarity, can be a hostile place. The characters in this collection learn that families are a fragile lot, that every desire contains a paradox, that the Road of Life can seemingly be grasped by the horns, but that the future twists and turns, yet never escapes the past. And it is the past that haunts these characters' lives. One word, one act, impacts a lifetime. In A Little …

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The Impact Of Anger Management Training On Students Of Skills For Managing Anger, Kristin Lynn Mitchell Jan 2005

The Impact Of Anger Management Training On Students Of Skills For Managing Anger, Kristin Lynn Mitchell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research has been to study the impact of anger management training on students of the Skills for Managing Anger (SMA) program used in the Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS). Conflict resolution programs are discussed as are causes of violence in school age children. The company that produces SMA suggests that its program can reduce verbal and physical violence and increase the use anger management strategies. SMA was observed from the teacher training throughout the 12 session course. An increased awareness of anger and of anger management was seen, however no evidence was found that verbal and physical …

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The Role Of Histidine-Rich Proteins In The Biomineralization Of Hemozoin, Lisa Pasierb Jan 2005

The Role Of Histidine-Rich Proteins In The Biomineralization Of Hemozoin, Lisa Pasierb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hemozoin formation, the consequential end product of the proteolysis of hemoglobin by Plasmodium falciparum, is essentially a biomineralization process whereby toxic free heme is aggregated into an inert crystalline solid, also known as malaria pigment or ß-hematin. The histidine-rich protein II (HPR II), isolated from the digestive vacuole of the parasite, has been implicated in the mediation of this biomineral through the protein's ability to bind heme, aggregate the biomineral, and be effectively inhibited by known antimalarials, including chloroquine. The HRP II sequence, which is comprised of 76% of histidine and alanine residues, has a specific amino acid repeat motif …

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Bayesian Hierarchical Modeling For Longitudinal Frequency Data, Joseph Patrick Jordan Jan 2005

Bayesian Hierarchical Modeling For Longitudinal Frequency Data, Joseph Patrick Jordan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research is to develop a longitudinal frequency model for data collected regularly for several individuals over an extended time period. This model must recognize explicitly the discrete nature of the data, as well as any dependence that exists among an individual's time consecutive measurements. Motivated by a study investigating alternative treatments for relief of menopausal symptoms, we apply this model to actual study data in an effort to compare treatment effectiveness. We propose a Bayesian hierarchical model to describe not only frequency measurements, but also the parameters that govern an individual profile.

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Understanding The Culture Care Practices Of Rural Immigrant Mexican Women, Catherine Archibald Johnson Jan 2005

Understanding The Culture Care Practices Of Rural Immigrant Mexican Women, Catherine Archibald Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this ethnonursing study was to understand the culture care meanings, expressions, patterns and practices of immigrant Mexican women who live in a rural community in Ohio. Leininger's Culture Care Diversity and Universality Theory was utilized as an organizing framework in studying the domain of inquiry. Interviews were conducted with twenty-four general informants and twelve key informants all of whom were immigrant Mexican women. Exhaustive analysis of audio-taped interviews revealed nine data categories and five patterns from which three main themes emerged. Respecting and supporting cultural identity, self-determination, self-reliance and the role of mothers were discovered as significant …

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The Scholarship And Praxis Of Communication Ethics: Rhetorical Interruptions In Historical Narratives, Melissa Cook Jan 2005

The Scholarship And Praxis Of Communication Ethics: Rhetorical Interruptions In Historical Narratives, Melissa Cook

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Creating a praxis model for performing communication ethics scholarship is important in Postmodernity, as a multiplicity of narratives requires knowledgeable life-long learners who are willing to understand historicity and one's place within traditions. This study relies on Alasdair MacIntyre's seminal work, A Short History of Ethics, as it provides an historical lineage of Western philosophers who wrote about ethics within the time span from ancient Greece, to modern day. Major metaphors are extracted from the works of these philosophers as guiding hermeneutical entrances into historical and temporally bound narratives, used as the praxis portion of this work. Narratives, epics and …

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C. M. Sedgwick's 'Patient Investigation' Of America's Past: An Intertextual Study Of Hope Leslie, Ellen Adrienne Foster Jan 2005

C. M. Sedgwick's 'Patient Investigation' Of America's Past: An Intertextual Study Of Hope Leslie, Ellen Adrienne Foster

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the 1987 republication of Catharine Maria Sedgwick's Hope Leslie ; or, Early Times in the Massachusetts (1827), literary-historical interpretations have most often explored its proto-feminist impulses, revisionary history of the Pequod War, and models of American citizenship. Inquiries into Sedgwick's historical research for Hope Leslie have largely been limited to internal textual references. This dissertation answers questions regarding Sedgwick's research and also provides a foundation for a number of future studies. That foundation derives from extensive archival research conducted at and supported by the Massachusetts Historical Society, involving the examination of several layers of textual evidence (the unpublished correspondence …

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News Framing: A Comparison Of The New York Times And The People's Daily Coverage Of Sino-U.S. Spy Plane Collision Of April 1, 2001, Xiaoling Zhang Jan 2005

News Framing: A Comparison Of The New York Times And The People's Daily Coverage Of Sino-U.S. Spy Plane Collision Of April 1, 2001, Xiaoling Zhang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

On April 21, 2001, the United States and China faced their first major incident of the 21st century when a U.S. spy plane accidentally collided with a Chinese fighter plane. The dialogue that followed between the two countries, as well as the tenor of the incident as reported in the international press, provide some interesting and insightful glimpses into how these major powers handled the incident in the days and weeks that followed. Although the mainstream media in both China and the United States reported the key facts and elements of the incident in a similar fashion, the spin that …

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Reducing Non-Urgent Utilization Of The Emergency Department By Self-Pay Patients: Analysis Of The Impact Of A Community-Wide Provider Network, Karen Karen Van Caulil Jan 2005

Reducing Non-Urgent Utilization Of The Emergency Department By Self-Pay Patients: Analysis Of The Impact Of A Community-Wide Provider Network, Karen Karen Van Caulil

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a coordinated and comprehensive system of care for the uninsured changed the behavior of the uninsured by decreasing non-urgent utilization of the emergency departments within a large, urban county. The literature on emergency department trends and interventions designed to decrease "inappropriate" or non-urgent use of the emergency departments was reviewed and links to relevant theoretical concepts were identified. Utilization data from six emergency departments and six federally qualified health centers were evaluated. Secondary data over a three-year time period were abstracted from patient and organizational records at the hospitals and federally …

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Selenotrisulfide Derivative Of Alpha-Lipoic Acid: Evaluation In A Cell Culture Model For Potential Use As A Topical Antioxidant, Melenie Lee Alonis Jan 2005

Selenotrisulfide Derivative Of Alpha-Lipoic Acid: Evaluation In A Cell Culture Model For Potential Use As A Topical Antioxidant, Melenie Lee Alonis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Selenium is a required micronutrient in mammalian cells. It is incorporated in the form of selenocysteine into selenoenzymes such as glutathione peroxidase and thioredoxin reductase, and is absolutely required for activity. Thioredoxin reductase is necessary for reduction of oxidized thioredoxin and therefore plays a major role in maintaining the redox status of the cell. Glutathione peroxidase is responsible for reducing peroxides into their corresponding alcohols and water. Together, these selenoenzymes constitute a significant part of the cell's arsenal to defend itself against oxidative stress. Exogenous sources of oxidative stress, such as UV radiation, are capable of generating reactive oxygen species …

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Public Participation In Transportation: An Emperical Test For Authentic Participation, Jorge Cesar Figueredo Jan 2005

Public Participation In Transportation: An Emperical Test For Authentic Participation, Jorge Cesar Figueredo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the public participation activities of State Departments of Transportation (SDOTs) in the United States. A review of existing literature and legal frameworks suggests that an "authentic" public participation results when dimensions of representativeness, use of public inputs, interactiveness, and quality of citizen inputs have been achieved. The study sought to identify conditions that serve as measurements that must presumably be satisfied for authenticity to exist in public participation. The result was a Model of Authentic Public Participation that served as the basis for creation of a new four-tiered methodology to assess the performance of these districts relative …

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Session-Based Intrusion Detection System To Map Anomalous Network Traffic, Bruce Caulkins Jan 2005

Session-Based Intrusion Detection System To Map Anomalous Network Traffic, Bruce Caulkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Computer crime is a large problem (CSI, 2004; Kabay, 2001a; Kabay, 2001b). Security managers have a variety of tools at their disposal -- firewalls, Intrusion Detection Systems (IDSs), encryption, authentication, and other hardware and software solutions to combat computer crime. Many IDS variants exist which allow security managers and engineers to identify attack network packets primarily through the use of signature detection; i.e., the IDS recognizes attack packets due to their well-known "fingerprints" or signatures as those packets cross the network's gateway threshold. On the other hand, anomaly-based ID systems determine what is normal traffic within a network and reports …

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How Leadership Affects Follower Satisfaction: The Federal Case, Tracey Trottier Jan 2005

How Leadership Affects Follower Satisfaction: The Federal Case, Tracey Trottier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on the effect of leadership in the federal government. Using a slightly revised version of Bass's Full Range Leadership Model, the study examines the influence of transformational leadership, transactional leadership, and combination of the two on the perception of leadership effectiveness and follower satisfaction in the federal government. To establish if this revised model is consistent with federal employees' perception of effective leadership, if leadership in the federal government increases follower satisfaction, and if both the transactional and transformational leadership are important to followers' perception of leadership and their satisfaction, data from the 2002 Federal Human Capital …

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The Influences Of System Affiliation, Size, And Location On Bioterrorism Preparedness Among Florida Hospitals, Kourtney Scharoun Jan 2005

The Influences Of System Affiliation, Size, And Location On Bioterrorism Preparedness Among Florida Hospitals, Kourtney Scharoun

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the event of a bioterrorist attack, emergency departments are considered the first line of response for all acute levels of care. This study focused on hospital emergency departments in Florida and the activities, policies, and procedures involved in preparing for a bioterrorist attack. Hospital size, location, and system affiliation were related to attaining these levels, and their impact was assessed. Through a cross-sectional survey design, the physical properties of the 77 hospitals (i.e. facilities, equipment, communication systems, etc.), and the social characteristics of the organizations (managerial functions including: planning, training, financial, and environmental characteristics) were examined. One-way analysis of …

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Life Event Perception: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach To The Antecedents Of The Life Stress Response, Christopher Aaron Myers Jan 2005

Life Event Perception: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach To The Antecedents Of The Life Stress Response, Christopher Aaron Myers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It has been often argued that life events have an impact on our physical and psychological well-being. In general, research supports this connection between life events and general health, though some argue that simply experiencing life events has a measurable and predictable impact our health, while others contend that this effect is mediated by the appraisal process. Further, research has identified a number of different factors (hypothetically stratified into pre-existing beliefs, external resources and demands, and behavioral activation and coping strategies) that may influence appraisal and general health. The current study attempts to integrate these findings by testing structural models …

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Accuracy Of Parental Report On Phonological Inventories Of Toddlers, Kristin Marie Teske Jan 2005

Accuracy Of Parental Report On Phonological Inventories Of Toddlers, Kristin Marie Teske

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Considering the diminishing availability of professional resources, increasing costs, and time requirements involved in early childhood mass screenings, parents are an essential source of information. In this study, the Survey of Speech Development (SSD) (Perry-Carson & Steel, 2001; Steel, 2000) was used to determine the accuracy of parents in reporting the speech sound inventories of their toddlers. Parents of 30 children, who were between the ages of 27 to 33 months old, completed the SSD prior to a speech and language assessment session. Based on assessment results, the children were classified as normal developing or language delayed. A 20-minute play …

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