Digital Commons Network^™

The Team Concept In Today's Work Environment: People Are Our Greatest Asset, Jack D. Patten

Theses

This thesis will focus on the study of The Team Concept in today's work environment. People are the greatest asset any company possesses and how they are utilized directly affects the success and failure of that organization. The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of what is required to implement a team approach.

Both knowledge and skills associated with the subject must be fully attained before any results can be achieved. This study provides knowledge around the team concept and provides some tools necessary for implementation. Knowledge is what any student can learn about a subject, but …

Marital Status And The Parent-Child Relationship: Contentment With The Parent-Child Relationship Of Single Parents And Married Parents, Jennifer Marie Reinsch

Theses

A study was completed looking at marital status as it relates to parental contentment with the parent-child relationship. This varied from previous studies which looked at the quality of the marital relationship or measured the child's satisfaction with the parent-child relationship. A total sample of 48 parents participated, comprised of 34 married parents and 14 single parents. All participants were Caucasian, had children ages five to 14 attending a Midwest, urban, Catholic elementary school, and were between the ages of 27 and 49. Participation was voluntary and anonymous. The Index of Parental Attitudes (IP A) was utilized to measure parental …

Minimum Crushed Aggregate Requirements, Haiming Huang, Thomas D. White

JTRP Technical Reports

An accelerated pavement testing facility has been developed by Purdue University for the Indiana Department of Transportation. The test facility includes a test pit in which prototype scale pavement sections can be installed. The Accelerated Pavement Tester loading system has the capability of applying moving wheel loads to the test sections. An initial study utilizing the accelerated pavement test facility has been conducted at Purdue University to determine the minimum crushed aggregate requirements in asphalt mixtures in Indiana. This study addresses effects of various constituents of the asphalt mixture on pavement rutting. The factors included in this study are aggregate …

Examining The Parental Authority Style Of Fathers Within Various Family Configurations, Michael E. Laws

Theses

The discipline style of one's parents is often discussed as a factor toward various behavioral outcomes of their children. In some literature, certain types of families, "step"- families for example, have been labeled as exhibiting a particular parenting style perhaps more than some other type of family. In this project 3 parenting styles (authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive) are reviewed and examined in relation to 3 types of families (blended families, single parent families, and families with 2 biological parents present in the home). In particular, the parenting style of the fathers or stepfathers was examined. Parenting style was determined in …

Perceptions Of Touch In Psychotherapy: A Survey Of Clients Recovering From Substance Abuse And/Or Childhood Sexual Abuse, Deborah Harmann Harris

Theses

Differences in perception of touch in psychotherapy were studied among clients with childhood sexual abuse and/or substance abuse issues. Forty clients from the general context of the "recovery community" were recruited to fill out an eleven item Revised Touch in Therapy Survey. Participants also gave narrative responses to a single open-ended question asking what meaning their touch experience held for them. The researcher adapted this current instrument from the longer, 1995 Touch in Therapy self-report questionnaire developed by Horton, Clance, Sterk-Elifson and Emshoff. A mail back system was used, with swveys returned to a local post office box.. The Llkert …

Strange Snow: A Director's Approach, David A. Quinn

Theses

This thesis examines Strange Snow, a play by Stephen Metcalfe, through the lens of a director's approach. It delves into themes of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among Vietnam War veterans and the challenges of reintegration into society, as portrayed through the experiences of the play's central characters. The author provides an in-depth analysis of the script, casting choices, rehearsal process, and production challenges, emphasizing the emotional depth of the story and the interplay between the characters. The thesis also reflects on the director's strengths, weaknesses, and personal growth, offering insights into the process of bringing a poignant narrative to …

Marketing Niche Software Products: An Analysis Of How Software Products Are Marketed Through The Channels Of The Computer Industry, James D. Rigman

Theses

This thesis, Marketing Niche Software Products: An Analysis of How Software Products Are Marketed Through the Channels of the Computer Industry, explores the strategies for marketing software products within niche segments of the computer industry, specifically focusing on the Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) and power management sector. It examines how companies successfully target specific market segments to establish strong positions and maintain competitive advantages.

The study highlights the importance of strategic marketing plans, effective distribution channels, and promotional efforts in the software industry. It discusses challenges faced by marketing managers in launching new software products, including competition, pricing structures, …

The Workplace Of The Future: The 9 To 5 Office Is Dead, Terry Ann Rooney

Theses

The Workplace of the Future: The 9 to 5 Office is Dead by Terry Ann Rooney, explores the shift away from traditional work schedules in favor of more flexible arrangements. Rooney argues that businesses must adapt to evolving workforce expectations by embracing alternative work schedules such as telecommuting, flex-time, job sharing, and compressed workweeks.

The research highlights demographic shifts, particularly the increasing presence of women and minority workers, which necessitate greater workplace flexibility. The document outlines the advantages of these work models, including increased employee productivity, job satisfaction, and retention, as well as reduced absenteeism and operational costs for employers. …

Searching For Negotiability In Payment And Credit Systems, Ronald J. Mann

Faculty Scholarship

The casual observer of the legal academy would assume that negotiability is a legal principle of foundational importance to our nation's payment and credit systems. All of the obvious indicators support that assumption. Among other things, the 1980s witnessed a major effort by the American Law Institute and the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws to update and revise the relevant provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code. Similarly, negotiability continues to occupy a safe position in law school curricula, as prominent academics at our most elite schools continue to write casebooks focusing on negotiability. Most recently, for example, …

Golden Rules For Transboundary Pollution, Thomas W. Merrill

Faculty Scholarship

Environmental law is becoming ever more centralized. In the United States, state and local pollution laws have been eclipsed by federal regulation. In the European Community, and to a lesser degree under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), national controls have been supplemented by regional regulation. And the growing importance of treaties regulating particular aspects of the global environment has reinforced calls for more general regimes of international environmental regulation.

One inevitably given justification for this centralizing trend is that pollution is a transboundary phenomenon. Air and water pollution, and to a lesser extent groundwater contamination, can cross political …

Prisms: A Study Of Color As Light, Form And Motion, E. Deloras Bauer

Theses

Unavailable.

The Changing Telecommunications Industry, Marie P. Woodcock

Theses

Telecommunications in today's global society has undergone a dramatic transformation since the invention of the telephone. In the early years of telephony, a host of dedicated men and women endured tremendous hardships to pioneer the telephone. Bell, his wife Mabel, his two benefactors along with Thomas Watson and Theodore Vail fought to gain recognition of the instrument and establish its usefulness to society. Many great inventions came from by the Bell Laboratories, which forever sought a better way, encouraging the progress of civilization. Despite major setbacks caused by the government and regulation, the Bell system evolved into a very capable …

College Characteristics Influencing Choice Of Missouri Valley College, Bryan B. Berlin

Theses

Not available.

A Proactive Approach To Juvenile Delinquency Utilizing The K.A.R.E. Program, Shae Cody Abram

Theses

This project will focus on the study of juvenile delinquency in America and the growing trend of juveniles between the age of 12 and 16 years old who are both the victims and perpetrators of criminal activity. It introduces a program called K.A.R.E., an acronym for Kids At Risk Education which is a proactive approach to addressing the root causes of juvenile delinquency.

Breakdowns in family life, neighborhood environments, socioeconomic, inequities, and peer group's pressures have contributed to this growing trend of youth crimes. Youth violence has become one of the leading causes of death for juveniles in this country. …

Incorporating Critical Thinking Skills Into The Language Arts Curriculum, Particularly In The Field Of Detective Fiction, Charles E. Bright

Theses

In this age of accelerated change and continuing complexity, there is a widely-recognized need to incorporate critical thinking skills into all aspects of everyday life and not simply as an optional philosophy class at the post-secondary level of American education.

Chapter One of this culminating project investigates the historical roots of critical thinking, with a brief investigation into the history of bow education in America (with slight digressions such as Alcott/Emerson's Temple School and John Dewey's Chicago experiments) has historically failed to foster the development of critical thinking skills in America's students by its centuries old tradition of emphasizing rote …

A Study Of The Relationship Between Optimism, Pessimism, And Depression, Brian E. Elledge

Theses

The relationship between optimism, pessimism , and depression was investigated . Graduate counseling students (N=44) currently enrolled in school were recruited by a sample of convenience to participate in the study . The subjects were administered three questionnaires measuring optimism, pessimism, and depression, as well as a data sheet to help describe the sample. Correlational analyses only showed significant relationships between gender and optimism, and between race and depression. No significant relationships were found between optimism and depression, or pessimism and depression . The implications for these findings are discussed.

The Impact Of Community Violence On African American Children And Families, Simeon J. Williams

Theses

This thesis will attempt to increase awareness of the significant impact of community violence on the social and emotional development of African American children and families and to examine the role that mental health and maternal and child health agencies could play in the implementation of effective prevention and intervention strategies.

The purpose of the study is to give an overview of the scope of the problem, identifying the extent, prevalence, and nature of the community violence in African American communities. Additionally, the study will review the theoretical and conceptual frameworks that have guided research in the area of violence …

The Effects Of Organizational Culture On Employee Motivation, Vickie R. Newman

Theses

This thesis will focus on the study of organizational culture and the effect of the organization's beliefs and value systems on employee behavior. Current research has focused on the organization as the unit of analysis, rather than on the individual . Measuring individual behavior at t he organizational level is a challenging endeavor . However, the measurement o f organizational behavior, in its individual components, must be assessed for each individual within the organization.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the internalization of organizational culture by individuals and the resultant outcome behaviors. It is hypothesized that organizational culture, …

Effects Of Training And Contact On Decreasing Ageism In Mental Health Professionals, Kristen Lyn Nachtmann

Theses

Advances in research on attitudes towards older adults can productively be applied to the problem of professional ageism. In this study a group of 50 mental health professionals ranging in age from 19-65 with 21 being male and 29 being female responded to a questionnaire entitled Aging Opinion Survey. This survey requested the subjects' opinions concerning three topics: stereotypic decrement, personal anxiety towards aging, and social value of the elderly. This was matched with their level of training in gerontology and contact with this population. ln general, subjects with higher levels of contact and training had a more positive opinion …

The Integration Of The Long Term Care Continuum Into A Seamless Health Delivery System, Virginia E. Moseley

Theses

A seamless continuum of healthcare services is necessary to serve older adults, caregivers and the community. Personal knowledge and experience of the author, a nurse and skilled nursing facility administrator. is combined with a literature review to determine a vision for serving older adults and caregivers. A vertical integration of long term care into a health delivery network traditionally focused on acute and primary care is proposed.

Employee Benefits, Kimberly Elinor Miller

Theses

This paper discusses how group benefits have changed over the past ten years, what corporations are offering their employees such as medical insurance, employee assistance programs, wellness training programs, child care programs, flexible compensation plans, continuing education benefits and retirement benefits and how each one of these benefits is set up . Employers want not only to implement benefit programs which will help them meet their organizational goals, but also to attract, retain and motivate employees. In order to succeed in these efforts they must install a program of benefits that is both cost effective and will meet organizational profit …

Estate Planning For The Senior Adult, Susan E. Weis

Theses

This thesis will focus on the study of developing a marketing strategy for an attorney firm with the main focus being estate planning and wills. Statistics show that approximately 77 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964 are now entering middle age. This represents one-third of the population in the United States who will be the senior citizens of the next century. Due to increasing life spans, the eider's role and societal views, this age group demands a change of their needs. These needs not only include elements suclh as Social Security and housing but a broader perspective of planning …

A Procedure Guide For Resident Directors Of Lindenwood College, Janice L. Pierce

Theses

This culminating project will focus on the role of the Resident Director at Lindenwood College. It is experientially bused and intended Lo address an identified need to document key philosophies and procedures that support the potential success of a new Resident Director.

The Resident Director is a member of the Administrative staff but is generally a temporary employee as opposed to a member of the permanent staff. The key responsibilities of the role are to provide an environment that is safe and secure and conducive to the pursuit of an academic education.

Management Needs And Development Of Nursing Administrators In The Long Term Care Industry, Myrtle Jean Darnell

Theses

This thesis will focus on the role of the nursing administrator in long-term care in the past, at present, and the requirements for the future. The major emphasis will be to focus on the educational needs required for the nursing administrators to function effectively in their role as top nursing leader of the facility.

There are many external forces affecting long-term care facilities: early discharges from hospitals result in sicker residents in the nursing home, a case mix prospective payment system is being piloted for rollout to all fifty states, and managed care enrollment is increasing for the Medicare population, …

T.H.A.N.K.S.: Teens Helping Anyone Needing Knowledge Service, Carole Dawn Arrendale

Theses

This thesis is a business plan for a new non-profit organization for volunteerism. This non-profit organization will connect college students, high school students, grade school students, and other nonprofit agencies for the purpose of providing volunteers to non-profit agencies.

The enactment of the Welfare Reform Act (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, TANF) has created a greater need for quality, well-trained volunteers in order to meet the growing demands for and needs of non-profit agencies. The □ew deadline for Welfare to Work is now 2-5 years and public assistance such as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), food stamps, and …

Quality Assisted Living For Older Adults, A Study Of Three Single Family Homes, A Viable Housing Alternative To Institutionalization, Rhonda Lynn Dahlberg

Theses

Long-term care is one of the greatest threats to the financial security of older Americans and their families. People are living longer and because of this many are becoming frail, developing functional impairments and suffering from chronic illnesses. In the past, elderly people did not have many options when health problems made running a household too difficult to manage. It then became necessary to explore other housing alternatives. Previously, nursing homes were the traditional solution for individuals without the family resources to help them stay at home.

Today, new housing options are emerging. These housing options are gaining considerable attention. …

Motivating And Leading Today's Workforce, Janet Brown-Mitchell

Theses

This thesis will focus on the study of motivation tactics used by American companies in reaching their two most important goals - goals which are one, to grow and expand by increasing profits and two, to stay in business.

Organizations are finding that they cannot survive and prosper merely by laying off employees and restructuring . Events are unraveling at a dramatic pace, and businesses are no longer able to compete globally.

Companies must begin to think long term if they are to meet their goals. Downsizing and restructuring are resulting in poor employee morale, and reduction of quality in …

Working With Your Employees To Move Through Change Using Communication And Motivation: A Case Study, David G. Buck

Theses

This thesis focuses on effecting change in a government agency by the use of communication, motivation through incentives, and other management tools.

The United States Army Reserve Personnel Center (ARPERCEN) manages, trains, and mobilizes Army personnel. Its largest directorate is the Personnel Records Management Directorate, which houses the Accessions Division. At least 200,000 hard-copy personnel records pass through the Division for verification and processing in a typical year.

Eighty percent of hard-copy records transferred to ARPERCEN were also transferred electronically; however all were band-processed as if new. This entire accessioning process was redundant and inefficient.

Change was coming. The Reserve …

The Effects Of 50 Beat Per Minute Music To Decrease Anxiety And Lower Heart Rates In A Select Group Of College Students, Laura E. Burnell

Theses

The purpose of this study was to assess the affect of experimenter chosen 50 beat per minute music composed especially for stress and anxiety reduction on a select group of college students, and to examine its usefulness in promoting relaxation. The rationale for the study was based on research done in the area of using music to promote relaxation, and on the composer's claims that this music has been effective on a variety of populations for such purposes. Thirty subjects comprised of 17 males and 13 females ranging in age from 18 to 25 years participated in the study. This …

Foreword: The New Estates, Lance Liebman

Faculty Scholarship

Telecommunications Law is under pressure from fast-paced technological advances and changes in the industry structure. As the high-stakes debates plays itself out in federal and state legislatures, agencies and courts, the academic study is struggling to catch up. The author poses provocative questions about the present and future of Telecommunications Law. Of paramount interest are the ill-fitting legal categories that continue to influence crucial determinations about the level of First Amendment protection accorded various communications media, and the reach of Constitutional Takings doctrine that pits incumbent regulated industries against government regulators and up-start competitors looking to shake-up the established order. …