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Treatment Outcome In Tension Headache: Disregulation As A Potential Mechanism., Paul Allen Davis

Theses and Dissertations

Although considerable research has demonstrated that progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) is an effective treatment for tension-type headache, the mechanism responsible for its effectiveness has not been determined. Recent findings regarding physiological disregulation and its impact on headache indicate a possible mechanism for the effectiveness of PMR. Physiological disregulation occurs when physiological responses are not appropriately monitored, or when they are monitored correctly but adjustments are not made in an appropriate manner. It is suggested that this disregulation can disrupt homeostasis which then leads to tension-type headache. Because PMR enhances a person's ability to monitor his/her physiology and make necessary adjustments, …

The Relationship Of Gay -Related Developmental Stress To Problems In Living In College -Age Men., Philip Levinson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between the stress associated with growing up gay in our culture and the following variables: depression; history of psychiatric treatment; history of suicidality; alcohol and substance use/abuse; and attitudes toward homosexuality. It was predicted that higher levels of gay-related developmental stress would be a predictor of higher levels of depression, mental health treatment involvement, a history of suicidality, higher levels of substance use/abuse, and more negative attitudes toward homosexuality. Participants in this study were 469 gay, predominantly White, young men who were recruited primarily from Boston area college campuses. Instruments …

An Introduction To Formal Sexuality Education: A Qualitative Study., Kari Lynn Berg

Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on perceptions of twelve fifth-grade boys and girls during a sexuality education unit in two elementary schools. The purpose of this study was to investigate, through open-ended questions of students and individuals involved with the puberty program planning and implementation, how students and adults accomplished a sexuality education class at the fifth-grade level. The research questions were: (1) How did classroom teachers and students perceive each other over the course of a puberty education unit? (2) What kind of learning environment was created for the puberty education classes? (3) How did the students experience the learning environment? …

Genetic Characterization Of Cytosolic And Mitochondrial Matrix Isoforms Of Nucleoside Diphosphate Kinase., James Gunder Mehus

Theses and Dissertations

Nucleoside diphosphate kinase (NDP kinase) is an enzyme which transfers the gamma phosphoryl group of a nucleoside triphosphate donor to a nucleoside diphosphate acceptor. NDP kinases have been implicated in a wide range of biological phenomena including tumor metastasis, differentiation, gene regulation, signal transduction, and mitochondrial energetics. Prior experimentation documented in the early biochemical literature has given strong evidence for the presence of a mitochondrial NDP kinase. In particular, pigeon liver mitochondria possess an unusually high level of NDP kinase activity confined to the matrix space. Despite extensive work on vertebrate NDP kinases in the last decade, no genes had …

Writing In A Psychology Classroom: Learning And Adopting The Apa Epistemology., Suellen Shaw

Theses and Dissertations

Each discipline has unique conventions and discourse, which new writers in that area must learn to gain entry and credibility in that discipline. Learning of a new discourse is not automatic. This dissertation explores how undergraduate students in two psychology classes have achieved that learning. In doing so it considers the following questions: “What strategies do students use to learn to write in psychology?” “How do students discern what an instructor's definitions of good writing are?” “How does that instructor convey the discourse and expectations to the students?” “What skills and knowledge are transferable from previous classes?” “What from previous …

Modifications By Ehrlich Ascites Tumors, In Vivo, Of The Mouse Hepatic Glucose -6 -Phosphatase System., Jay Wiedemann

Theses and Dissertations

The enzyme glucose-6-phosphatase (Glc-6-Pase, E.C.3.1.9.3) plays a major role in the maintenance of blood glucose levels. Ehrlich ascites tumor cells pose a stress on the host to maintain blood glucose. Therefore, the Glc-6-Pase and associated substrate/product translocases, must function in response to cancer since the enzyme is common to both the glycogenolytic and gluconeogenic processes. Earlier kinetic studies showed there was a diminished inhibition by exogenous Pi of Glc-6-P hydrolysis in native hepatic microsomes of Tumor-bearing mice compared with controls (Lucius et al. (1995) Biochem. J. 311, 537–540). The first purpose of these studies was to determine the time of …

The Effect Of Biculturalism On Depression In Northern Plains Native American College Students, Alan H. Storey Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the effect of biculturalism on depression in a propsed sample of 52 Northern Plains Native American College students (32 female, 20 male). This study tested the applicability of the Orthogonal Theory of Biculturalism (Oetting and Beauvais, 1992). Subjects completed the Northern Plains Biculturalism scale (NPBI) and the Beck Depression Inventory-Second edition (BDI-II). A descriptive analysis, Pearson product moment correlational analysis, independent t-tests, and multiple regression analysis were performed. The multiple regression utilized the two-culture orientation subscales of the NPBI as predictor variables and the total score of the BDI-II as outcome …

The Effects Of Rumination And Distraction Tasks On Psychophysiological Responses And Self-Reported Mood In Dysphoric And Nondysphoric Individuals, Kristin S. Vickers Douglas

Theses and Dissertations

According to the response style theory of depression (Nolen-Hoeksema, 1987), the way in which individuals respond to depressed mood affects the severity and duration of that mood. Prior laboratory studies of response style have not included psychophysiological measures or investigated the relationship between ruminative response style and the conceptually-related constructs of worry and neuroticism. Dysphoric (n = 84) and nondysphoric participants (n = 86) were randomly assigned to either a rumination task (i.e., self-focused attention) or a distraction task (i.e., other-focused attention). In addition to the pre-task and post-task mood ratings used in prior response style studies, the present study …

Reputation Management: The Effect Of Ceo Behavior During A Crisis, Ellen J. Shockley

Theses and Dissertations

This purpose of this thesis was to study how CEO behavior during a crisis impacts the organization's lasting reputation.

A thorough review of relevant publications, as well as intercept surveys, content analyses and email surveys, was conducted to test the hypotheses.

Fifty intercept surveys were conducted over two weekends to discover opinions about the issue. Respondents appearing to be age 25 or older were randomly selected. A content analysis was conducted using articles from Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal to determine the media's tone on the CEOs of Odwalla, Jack in the Box, Dow Coming and Exxon. A total …

Flooded Lifeways: A Study Of The Garrison Dam And Its Environmental Impact Upon The Three Affiliated Tribes Of The Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, Brian K. Russell

Theses and Dissertations

On December 22, Congress authorized the Flood Control Act of 1944, later named the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program (PSMBP). The primary purpose of the PSMBP, which would require the construction of six main stem dams on the Missouri River, was to provide flood control, navigation, irrigation, and hydropower. The Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara nations, the Three Affiliated Tribes, maintained a reservation and way of life on Fort Berthold which lay in the direct path of the water that would form the reservoir behind one of the dams, the Garrison Dam.

It is important to acknowledge that the Garrison Dam also …

Determination Of Phenols In Water Using Solid Phase Microextraction And Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy And Measurement Of Distribution Constants For Solid Phase Microextraction Using A Successive Extraction Technique, Betsy J. Bannier

Theses and Dissertations

Solid phase microextraction (SPME) is an effective method for concentrating organic compounds prior to analysis by a variety of detection methods, including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and gas chromatography (GC). The first part of this work focused on the selection of an infrared-compatible solid phase that would partition phenols out of aqueous solutions. The criteria we employed dictated that potential solid phases be polar yet insoluble in water, have open regions in their IR spectra between 400-1200 cm·', 3010-3095 cm·', or 3200-3650 cm·' and be less than 200 μm thick.

Infrared spectra of a variety of proprietary epoxies and …

The Relationship Of Small Mammal Species To Habitat Variables In West-Central Georgia And East-Central Alabama, Patricia Maureen Kosky

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this investigation was to assess the impact of environmental variables upon small mammal species distribution in 60 plots on Fort Benning, Muscogee and Chattahoochee Counties, Georgia and Russell County, Alabama. The small mammal fieldwork was carried out in December of 1994 through January of 1995. The vegetation was inventoried in June through October of 1995. During this period, 235 small mammals were trapped in a total of 5950 trap nights. A total of 10 small mammal species and 234 plant species were identified. The small mammal species abundance's were determined by using snap trapping along the plot …

Nutrition And Student Achievement In Kindergarten Students: An Experimental Study, Stephanie Lynn Terista

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the effects of nutrition on student achievement. The subjects were a transitional kindergarten class, ages 5-6, who took part in a 3-week experimental study.

Each week the subjects were instructed to perform a cognitive task directly following a treatment. Week 1, the cognitive task was performed following a nutritional snack; week 2, the cognitive task was performed following a non-nutritional snack; and week 3, a cognitive task was performed without any snack at all.

The results indicated that the findings for each week were not statistically significant: F (1,13)=213.86, …

A Study Of The Relationship Between Reading Attitude And Gender In Fourth Grade Children, Crisalinda C. Byro

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between reading attitude and gender, to compare reading attitudes between boys and girls on academic and recreational reading, and to attempt to show the difference in reading attitudes between boys and girls in the fourth grade. The seventy-nine (79) subjects who participated in this study were taken from the total population of the three fourth grade classes in a public elementary school in a suburban area in southern New Jersey. The Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (ERAS; McKenna & Kear, 1990) was used to assess reading attitudes. Mean reading attitude scores …

Rapid Sample Preparation Methods For Use With High -Speed Gas Chromatography., Robert Wesley Current

Theses and Dissertations

Rapid sample preparation schemes for analysis of high humidity gas and aqueous samples by high speed gas chromatography (HSGC) are described in this dissertation. Sample preparation methods are known to be a limiting factor in HSGC analysis. Most notably, cryointegrating HSGC instruments have been limited to the analysis of dry gas samples. This dissertation addresses known limitations, and provides methods for expanding the use of cryointegrating HSGC to high humidity gas samples, as well as samples in an aqueous matrix. Cryointegrating HSGC was used to monitor the efficiency and changes in activity of a biofiltration apparatus. This was done by …

The Effects Of Acute Alcohol Intoxication On The Cognitive Performance Of Adult Children Of Alcoholics And Controls., Stephanie Marie Fuller

Theses and Dissertations

A decreased sensitivity to the effects of alcohol has been consistently demonstrated in adult children of alcoholics (ACAs) and has been hypothesized as a predictor of future risk of alcoholism. The present study investigated whether family history of alcoholism would influence response to alcohol on a number of cognitive tasks. ACAs and controls were administered either a dose of alcohol in the form of 1.25 ml/kg body weight of absolute ethanol or placebo and subjected to the FAS test of word fluency, the Sternberg memory scanning task, a reaction time task, a test of prose memory, the WAIS-R Digit Span …

The Role Of Acetaldehyde In The Pathogenesis Of Alcoholic Heart Muscle Disease., Qiangrong Liang

Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol abuse is a major health problem in the United States with 14 million people affected. Long term alcohol abuse leads to alcoholic heart muscle disease (AHMD) in one third of alcoholics. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain alcohol's damaging effects on the heart but neither the mechanism nor the ultimate toxin has been established. The principal candidates for the specific toxin are alcohol, acetaldehyde and fatty acid ethyl esters. In order to test the hypothesis that acetaldehyde, the major oxidative metabolite of ethanol by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), is the specific toxin responsible for AHMD, seven lines of transgenic …

Computers In The Classroom – Do They Really Make A Difference In Student Learning?, Colleen Fitzgerald

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if the utilization of computers in the classroom would increase student learning. The participants were eighty-two seventh grade students from Demarest Middle School in Demarest, New Jersey. The students were organized into four heterogeneously mixed classes. The study was conducted over approximately two weeks. All students received introductory instruction on amphibians and frog anatomy and physiology. Two classes then completed the traditional specimen dissection, while the other two classes completed a computer-simulated dissection. The classes then switched and performed the alternative dissection procedure. Their performance was measured by the results on the …

An Administrative Internship Experience At Maple Shade Junior/Senior High School, Maple Shade, New Jersey, 1999-2000, Frank Jankowski

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop a plan that would allow teachers in the junior high at Maple Shade High School to incorporate technology into their lessons on a more consistent basis. The use of technology would improve learning and better prepare our students for the future.

The intern used interview and survey as data gathering techniques for the project. The intern brought meaning to the data through a thorough analysis of interview responses. Also, surveys were collected, coded, and analyzed.

Teacher preparation and prior teaching experience were cited as reasons behind the fear of technology. Staff claimed …

A Multicultural Club At Hammonton High School, Mildred Peretti

Theses and Dissertations

This action research study examines the attitude change among rural high school students regarding diversity and tolerance presented through a multicultural club. Fifty randomly selected students and parents of the high school were pre-tested using a survey instrument measuring needs assessment and an attitude profile. Data analysis was conducted using percentages of each of the four questions asked. The entire student body was then exposed to various multicultural facts and experiences promoted through a multicultural club. Activities included daily factual announcements, a trivia contest of information retrieval, guest speakers, music, assemblies, displays of heritage's artifacts, and relevant content knowledge integrated …

Information Literacy Skills: Successful Cross-Curricular Integration At The Secondary Level In New Jersey, Susan T. Rohrman

Theses and Dissertations

Focusing on information literacy skills instruction at the secondary level, the purposes of the field research were to examine the impact of national and state curriculum standards on library skills curriculum; to explore the instructional role of the school media specialist; and to create a model for successful information literacy skills projects. Field research was conducted at the media centers of two secondary schools, grades 9 - 12 in southern New Jersey. Two educational media specialists in secondary schools and their 10th grade Biology classes were observed during an instructional period. Application of information literacy skills was incorporated into the …

The Information-Seeking Experience Of Users In The Reference Section Of The Rowan University Library, Faye E. Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to learn about the information-seeking experience of users of the Rowan University library. The data were collected by way of a self-administered questionnaire. One hundred and five library users participated in the study; the average respondents were male undergraduates 18-22 years old. The data were analyzed by examining the percentages of responses. One major finding of the study is that 92% of the respondents did not think they needed the help of the librarian to use electronic resources. Another relevant finding was that users found one-on-one assistance from a librarian was more effective than …

Can Computer Technology Help Elementary Students Achieve Information Literacy?, David Calvanico

Theses and Dissertations

In an attempt to determine if computer technology helps elementary students achieve information literacy, a quasi-experiment was conducted using the Solomon four-group design with two fourth grade and two fifth grade classes. Information Literacy Standards from Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning and Eisenberg and Berkowitz' Big 6™ Information Literacy model were used to structure the experiment. The researcher was a participant observer, the school's librarian. Two classes were pretested and posttested, the other two were only posttested following Solomon four-group protocol. The researcher used a rubric to assess students at each step of the Big 6™ Information Literacy model …

Leisure Reading Among Fourth And Sixth Grade Boys, Linda Kissling

Theses and Dissertations

This study attempted to determine whether middle school boys read less for leisure than elementary school boys. Forty-eight boys and 45 girls in fourth grade and 48 boys and 52 girls in sixth grade maintained a log for one week to determine how their time outside school was spent and responded to a survey to describe their attitudes toward leisure reading. Time outside school was divided into three categories; personal, including sleeping, eating, and hygiene; structured or demand time, including homework, chores, and sports and music practice; and leisure, including television, reading, time with friends, etc. The survey asked respondents …

A Study Examining The Importance Of Early Intervention On Premature Development, Suzanne F. Appleby

Theses and Dissertations

Every year, thousands of babies are born prematurely or at low birth weight. As a result, many of these children are confronted with health and developmental issues. The purpose of this study was to examine the importance of early intervention on premature development. It was hypothesized that premature children, who were initially denied early intervention services, would eventually be in need of services at a later time, and these children would be in need more than full-term children. The present study consisted of a sample of fifty-four children: twenty-seven pre-term and twenty-seven full-term. The subjects were collected from the Child …

Comparisons Between Add/Adhd Diagnosed And Non-Diagnosed Boys, Pre-Kindergarten Through Grade Eight, Daniel Del Vecchio

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of the Conners' Teacher Rating Scale-Revised: Short Form (CTRS-R: S). The CTRS-R: S is an instrument used for the assessment of attention-deficit disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD) and related behavioral problems in children and adolescents. The study included 225 boys in grades Pre-Kindergarten through eight. The subjects were divided into two groups. Group one consisted of 165 boys who were not diagnosed with ADD/ADHD; Group two consisted of 61 boys who had been previously diagnosed with ADD/ADHD. A second analysis regrouped the sample by grade-groups that were consistent …

Teaching For The Enhancement Of Self-Esteem Of Adolescents With Learning Disabilities, Kathy Carney

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine if participation in structured, self-concept enhancing classroom activities would improve the self-esteem level of adolescents with learning disabilities. Forty-eight high school students identified with learning disabilities participated in this study. One-half of the students served as the control group and worked with the same teacher. The other 24 students were in the experimental group and were instructed by a different teacher who conducted lessons aimed at improving students' level of self-esteem over a period of 15 weeks. Self-esteem scores were obtained by administering the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory to all participants during the …

Comparison Of Students Eligible For Special Education Services Who Are Involved In Extra-Curricular Activities And Those Not Involved, Lisa M. Owen

Theses and Dissertations

The difference in academic achievement of students eligible for special education services who are involved in extra-curricular activities and those not involved was studied. Academic achievement referred to the report card grades and semester grade point averages of the students. Extra-curricular activities included those associated with the high school. The purpose of the study was to identify the differences in academic achievement between these two groups of students.

There were 193 subjects from a suburban high school in Southern New Jersey. The sample was from varying ethnic and economic backgrounds. They were eligible for special services under 8 different classifications, …

Gender Role Stereotyping In Occupational Choices, Paul Michael Rodrigo

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to see if students' occupational career choices were gender role stereotyped. The subjects making up this study were from a middle/upper class suburban area located in southern New Jersey. 192 subjects in fifth grade, 201 subjects in eighth grade, and 280 subjects in twelfth grade participated in this study. The percentage of males and females for each grade was close to a 50% split. This study was conducted using a survey, which asked the subjects what their choice for a career was at that time. Choices were compared to a listing of careers from …

Establishing Validity In The Social Sexual Awareness Scale For Adults With Developmental Disability, Pauline N. Stuempfle

Theses and Dissertations

The present study seeks to establish data supporting convergent and concurrent validity of the Social Sexual Awareness Scale by correlating SSAS score with current status regarding competency to make the decision to engage in high risk sexual behavior as agreed by the IDT. The premise is that capacity to consent to high risk sexual behavior can be measured in a way that would enhance the decision making process of the court without detracting from its authority.

Archival data relating to IQ, adaptive functioning level, guardianship status, absence or presence of a secondary psychiatric diagnosis and previous IDT decisions as to …