Digital Commons Network^™

Using Solution-Focused Brief Therapy With Problem Students, Karen Y. Boyle

Theses

The traditional approaches of spending hours of time addressing each student's problems is no longer feasible today due to the large caseloads of students school counselors and teachers often face. Solution-Focused Brief Therapy is an approach which may be used for typical student concerns to achieve rapid observable change. School administrators and leachers will also benefit since each component of the approach may be used independently in a variety of situations. This thesis describes an outcome study of solution-oriented strategy in working with middle school students identified by teachers as having behavioral difficulties in the classroom. Subjects involved were a …

An Investigation Of Social Skill Group Counseling Intervention With At-Risk Students, Kathy A. Bennett

Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the benefits of teaching social skills to a group of 14 at-risk kindergarten students that were identified by their classroom teachers as exhibiting social skills deficits. A pre-test and post-test experimental design was devised using the Social Skills Direct Observation by Sheridan (1997). Students participated in a group social ski11s training program for five weeks. A statistical comparison between the pre and post test data was then performed by means of a nonparametric procedure. Results of the Wilcoxon's Matched Pairs-Signed-Ranks Test were indicative of positive gains in the students' acquisition of social …

A Comparison Of Body-Esteem In Adolescent Girls Between The Hutterite And Mainstream Western Cultures, Amanda Ann Walgren

Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore the cultural basis of body-esteem and negative body image in adolescent females. This study focused on the differences between the culture of the Hutterites, an Anabaptist communal society, and the mainstream Western culture in the same geographic area. The Body-Esteem Scale (Mendelson & White, 1982) was administered to 35 Hutterite and 31 mainstream girls between the ages of 12 and 17. The Hutterite girls were found to have significantly higher body-esteem scores than the mainstream girls. These findings add to the vast amount of research linking body-esteem to cultural factors. Several possible …

A Study Of The Relationship Of Self-Efficacy Of Adolescent Females In A Single-Sex School Versus A Coeducational School, Margaret Wolf

Theses

This study examined the self-efficacy of adolescent girls and its relation to the type of high school they attended, whether it was single-sex or coeducational. A convenient, volunteer sample was used from two high schools in the metropolitan area of St. Louis, Missouri. The 234 adolescents surveyed, ranged from 15 to 18 years of age. The participants were administered the Self-efficacy Scale (SES) after parental permission was received. The two schools conducted the surveys during religion classes. An independent t-test showed that there was a significant difference in the self-efficacy of adolescent females who attend single-sex schools and those who …

A Comparison Of Occupational Stress Between Elementary And Secondary School Counselors, Denise L. Dismukes

Theses

The purpose of this study is to compare the occupational stress felt by school counselors at the elementary level to the occupational stress felt by secondary school counselors. Occupational stress is measured using the Occupational Stress Inventory Revised Edition (OSJ-R). Participants in this study are employed school counselors randomly selected from the Directory of Illinois Public Schools and the Missouri School Directory. Analysis of the data is conducted using a 2-sample t-test of means to determine if the level of occupational stress differs in the two groups. Results of this study suggest that there is a difference in the occupational …

Perceived Social Support Of Survivors Of Suicide Who Attend A Support Group Compared To Those Survivors Of Suicide Who Are Non-Attendees, Tina M. Murphy

Theses

Death from suicide results in a troublesome and complex adjustment for the surviving friends and family members. As compared to other forms of bereavement, suicide survivors are likely to experience different grief reactions than people dealing with other types of loss. The survivor of suicide may suffer from social rejection and alienation. In this study, the level of perceived social support of survivors of suicide who attend a support group (n=22 ) was compared to the level of perceived social support in survivors of suicide who do not attend a support group (n=20). Subjects had lost a friend or family …

An Investigation Of Social Skill Group Counseling Intervention With At-Risk Students, Kathy A. Bennett

Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the benefits of teaching social skills to a group of 14 at-risk kindergarten students that were identified by their classroom teachers as exhibiting social skills deficits. A pre-test and post-test experimental design was devised using the Social Skills Direct Observation by Sheridan (1997). Students participated in a group social skills training program for five weeks. A statistical comparison between the pre and post test data was then performed by means of a nonparametric procedure. Results of the Wilcoxon's Matched Pairs-Signed-Ranks Test were indicative of positive gains in the students' acquisition of social …

An Evaluation Of Home Based Family Services, Tia L. Liston

Theses

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of home-based family therapy by analyzing existing data from a local agency. Files from the past year containing a complete referral form, a client satisfaction survey and follow-up forms from six months and a year, were evaluated to determine the level of client satisfaction. The data was analyzed to determine the differences in frequency of types of difficulties addressed. Data was also analyzed to determine factors related to successful outcomes. Based on results, it was determined that home-based services were successful. An evaluation of types of services and difficulties were …

The Development Of The Business Plan For The Real Estate Appraisal Group, Michele L. Suwe

Theses

This thesis will focus on the study of developing a business plan for a small home-based real estate appraisal company.

Studies indicate that a large percentage of business ventures fail due to a lack of planning . Many entrepreneurs believe that developing a business plan is not necessary if they do not require financing or have adequate personal expertise to operate a business . Although common to large business ventures , a business plan for the start- up and operations of a small business have been widely overlooked.

In today' s market, entrepreneurs are beginning to take business plans more …

Training Program For Infant And Toddler Caregivers: An Evaluation Of The Effects On Quality Of Care, Marie Doyle

Theses

Caregiver training has been shown to impact the quality of care for infants and toddlers in "out- of- home" settings. This thesis evaluated the effect of a 2 year program implemented at five urban child care centers {17 classrooms). In order to participate in the program, child care centers had to be licensed and had to serve a majority of children living in poverty. Five infant and toddler early care and education experts were selected to provide training and technical assistance to each of the participating sites. Training consisted of a combination of workshops and reflective supervision. The Infant/Toddler Environmental …

Influencing The Growth And Expansion Of Alternative Transportation For St. Charles County, Missouri, Elizabeth A. Johnson

Theses

This thesis will focus on the study of communication, leadership and Total Quality Management The case study establishes a link between these concepts and their application, directed at influencing of the growth and expansion of alternative transportation for St Charles County, Missouri.

The subject of TQM is a common point of discussion within the engineering and construction industry, with numerous technical publications written on the subject The primary concern within the industry is the. lack of implementation for continuous improvement and customer satisfaction. Documentation on resistance to change describes why the process of TQM is beneficial, but the issue of …

The Relationships Of Income, Predisposed Depression, And Marital Satisfactionto, Brian D. Dement

Theses

This study investigated the relationships of income, depression level and marital satisfaction, in the second trimester of pregnancy, to levels of depression approximately six months after childbirth. Data from thirty-eight women, completing self-report questionnaires that included the CES-O depression scales, were analyzed from within a larger survey of one hundred and fifty-one primiparous mothers. The investigation revealed that levels of depression prior to delivery and income were strongly correlated to levels of depression postpartum. The relationship between marital satisfaction and depression was inconclusive.

Job Satisfaction And Work Locus Of Control Among Physicians, Faye Schlecter Fay

Theses

This study examined the relationship between job satisfaction GS) and perceived work locus of control (WLOC) among physicians. A stratified random sample of non-retired hospital-based physicians (i.e., pathologists, radiologists, and anesthesiologists) belonging to the St Louis Area Medical Society received 2 brief Likert-type instruments: 6-item JS subset of the Job Descriptive Index, and the WLOC survey. The questionnaire packets were mailed to 108 doctors in each of the three specialties for a total of 324, and 138 usable responses were returned. Results indicated a positive association between job satisfaction and internal locus of control in the workplace. The findings support …

Student Activities And Self-Esteem Of Adolescents, Jennifer Spotanski

Theses

This thesis explores the relationship between adolescent self-esteem and participation in student activities. Conducted in a Midwestern public high school, the study involved 111 tenth-grade students who completed the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and a questionnaire about their involvement in extracurricular activities. The hypothesis proposed that adolescents who participated in school activities would report higher self-esteem than those who did not. Statistical analyses, including t-tests and Pearson correlations, were used to evaluate the data. Results indicated that both male and female students who participated in at least one activity had significantly higher self-esteem scores than nonparticipants. However, a significant positive correlation …

Intensity Of Grief And Belief In Personal Control, Diana M. Alferink

Theses

Much research has focused on stress and its consequences. Some studies have indicated personal control helps an individual handle stress better and remain healthier. Little research, however, has examined the role personal control plays in bereavement as a stressful life event This correlational study examined the relationship between belief in personal control and grief intensity experienced from losing a loved one to death. Volunteer subjects primarily from Grief Support Groups completed the Belief in Personal Control Scale and the Texas Revised Grief Inventory Results demonstrated some instances when higher belief in personal control resulted in lower intensity of grief in …

Evaluation Of Environmental, Health And Safety Management At Small Colleges, Ann Rippe

Theses

Environmental, health and safety management approaches and practices at small colleges are investigated. Awareness of environmental, health and safety initiatives among colleges is also investigated. Surveys were distributed to twelve colleges that accepted an invitation to participate in this study. The colleges were divided into two groups: an experimental group that consisted of small colleges that had made an envirpnmental claim or commitment and a control group that consisted of small colleges that were not known to have made such a claim or commitment. The results did not reveal a significant difference between the experimental and control group colleges that …

Sustainability And The Next Industrial Revolution: A Revolutionary Approach, Sarah Nesbitt-Rutkowski

Theses

The concept of the Next Industrial Revolution is relatively new. Information regarding this topic is not mainstream. There is little literature on how design, and the scientific principles, outlined in the Natural Step, are interconnected within the concept of the Next Industrial Revolution. In this thesis, I explore the big picture of where companies are today regarding sustainability issues, and how some companies are taking the lead in participating in this revolutionary new idea of the Next Industrial Revolution. How are these companies different? What are the similarities? Why and when do some companies choose to take revolutionary approaches, while …

A Study Discussing The Future Outlook Of Reits After The Reit Modernization Act, Amit Verma

Theses

Real Estate Investment Trust, which originated in 1960, gained popularity since 1991, when a large number of real estate companies went public. Paired Share structure, has been underscored throughout this thesis, as the whole research was limited to few companies named Starwood, Patriot American, Meditrust, and First Union who used this structure aggressively to acquire corporations. Paired Share REIT Structure refers to the REIT and a C-corporation being traded together under one symbol in the stock market. So, the investors get the combined profits from both the companies, which makes this structure extremely popular among the shareholders. Paired Share REIT …

Oculoplastic Surgery, Curtis W. Perone

Theses

Not Included

Issues Of Customer Satisfaction: A Study Of Monroe County Golf Courses, Tom Treat

Theses

The golf industry has experienced an explosion as it has grown over the years into a $30 billion a year industry. The Monroe County golf industry has also experienced growth with over 40 private, semi-private, and daily-fee in competition for golf customers. This study of 12 Monroe County golf course owners and managers asks for their beliefs regarding customer satisfaction issues. Lastly, this study will categorize the responses by industry segment to see if there are patterns to management beliefs on golf course competitiveness and customer service strategies.

Comparison And Evaluation Of The Moral Significance Of Emotions In Aquinas, The Manualists And Catholic Moral Theology 1960-1990, Thomas Ryan

Theses

This is a comparative study of the moral significance of emotions in Catholic Moral Theology. It is done with reference to Thomas Aquinas, to selected Manualist authors immediately prior to Vatican II, to representative Catholic theologians 1960-1990 and to a sample of contemporary writers from other disciplines. The project argues five points. Firstly, Aquinas sees emotions as designed to have a necessary and constructive significance in moral reasoning and moral development. In their habituated form as affective virtues, they enable a person to have the right emotional responses in terms of their object and intensity. Secondly, the Manualists, by a …

Characterization Of The Earth's Surface And Atmosphere For Multispectral And Hyperspectral Thermal Imagery, Erich Hernandez-Baquero

Theses

The goal of this research was to develop a new approach to solve the inverse problem of thermal remote sensing of the Earth. This problem falls under a large class of inverse problems that are ill-conditioned because there are many more unknowns than observations. The approach is based on a multivariate analysis technique known as Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA). By collecting two ensembles of observations, it is possible to find the latent dimensionality where the data are maximally correlated. This produces a reduced and orthogonal space where the problem is not ill-conditioned. In this research, CCA was used to extract …

Awareness Of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points, Gayle Brosseau

Theses

This study was an attempt to identify the awareness of principles of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) by individuals who completed an eight-hour food handlers' class at Los Angeles Mission College. A six-item questionnaire was distributed to one hundred eighty individuals enrolled in the food handlers' classes during the winter of 1999-2000. One hundred twenty-five questionnaires were returned and tabulated during the spring 2000. Data analysis revealed that there is limited awareness of HACCP principles by trainees. The study, coupled with the literature review, indicates that there is a need for HACCP training. Other research showed a correlation between …

Assessment Of Prothrombotic Tendency In Humans Using Functional And Genomic Determinants, Pádraig O'Sullivan

Theses

Thrombophilia describes the familial or acquired disorders of the haemostatic mechanism that are likely to predispose to thrombosis. Venous thrombosis and its associated complications account for a significant number of hospital admissions and deaths annually having a significant health-economic impact on the heath-care industry globally. Mutations in genes that code for proteins involved directly (or indirectly) in blood coagulation have been associated with prothrombotic states. The majority of inherited genetic defects were attributed to polymorphisms in Antithrombin III, Protein C, and Protein S genes until 1994. Together these accounted for only 5-10% of individuals with thrombosis. Subsequently the Factor V …

Applications Of The Atomic Force Microscope Within The Fields Of Haematology And Cytogenetics, Margaret O'Reilly-Crowley

Theses

Atomic force microscopy [AFM] has become a rapidly developing interdisciplinary field of research in recent years. The technique, including instrumentation and specimen preparation methods, is now more sophisticated and its application has increased dramatically. The key advantage of AFM is in providing three-dimensional images of samples imaged. Both size and shape of samples imaged can be obtained allowing their subsequent quantification. Red blood cells [RBCs] and chromosomes were imaged in this work. A brief overview of the current status of biomedical AFM, has been presented in the review.

Measurement of mean cell volume [MCV] of immobilised red blood cells with …

The Molecular Epidemiology Of Rotavirus In Ireland, Fiona O'Halloran

Theses

Between 1997 and 1998, 3,136 cases of rotavirus diarrhoea were detected in Irish children less than 2 years of age. Hospital inpatients accounted for 80% of these infections, with the remainder being diagnosed in general practice. A large percentage of infections were detected in neonates, suggesting a possible inadequate maternal derived protection from existing indigenous strains. This feature suggested the possible existence of ‘novel’ strains circulating in Ireland. No data describing the epidemiology of rotavirus strains in this country currently exists. Furthermore no assessment of the potential health-economic impact or quantitation of potential disease burden was ever undertaken

Three hundred …

Practice Placement In Social Care Education, Lillian Byrne

Theses

This research had two objectives first, to identify Applied Social Studies students' experience of practice placement and second, to identify their practice teachers experience of practice placement. The objectives were met by completing four Studies. To understand the context and purpose of practice placement during the education of Social Care workers the first three chapters focus on outlining the developments in Irish Social Care, providing an understanding of practice placement and the role of supervision during practice placement. The following four chapters outline and discuss each of the studies in detail and the final chapters discusses the findings in the …

Improving The Quality Of Foliage Transplants For Supply To The Kerry Foliage Industry, Gwen Lanigan

Theses

The possibility of improving the quality of transplants of ornamental foliage species, Eucalyptus perriniana, E. parvifolia and Pittosporum tenuifolium, for supply to the Kerry Foliage Industry was investigated. At present transplants (seedlings) are propagated from seed under glass and subsequently transplanted into the field. Therefore nursery practices for seed propagation, such as optimum sowing date, pot and medium selection, irrigation and fertilisation regimes, were investigated and optimised. The possibility of eliminating the occurrence of J- roots, a major problem with Eucalyptus species was also investigated. Vegetative propagation methods, such as cutting propagation and in vitro micro-propagation were investigated for comparative …

An Assessment Of On-Line Package Customization For Sheet Size Products Packaged In Paperboard Envelopes, Kevin Kennedy

Theses

This study evaluates the on-line printing of paperboard envelopes as a means of supporting the need to provide customized packaging. Market forces and new business models are contributing to the need for customized packaging and rapid response to orders. Large retailers are demanding unique packaging presentations and global marketing requires localized packaging for different regions of the world. A business environment ofjust-intime delivery and minimal inventory levels demand flexibility to react to unpredictable product mix and volumes. These conditions require customized packaging within short cycle times. The traditional carton printing process using offset lithography does not respond quickly enough to …

Where Do We Go From Here, Ishak Gaffar

Theses

Not provided.