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1997-1999-Unm Catalog, Unm Office Of The Registrar

Course Catalogs

Course catalog for 1997-1999

Los Alamos: Coming Down From The Hill Of Certainty, E. A. Mares

New Mexico Historical Review

No abstract provided.

Collected Papers, Vol. 2, Florentin Smarandache

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

A Middle School Student-Centered Conflict Management Program: Impact On Student Managers' Self-Esteem, Communication Skills, And Approaches To Conflict Resolution, Thomas J. Keller

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to examine self-esteem, communication skills, and approaches to conflict resolution of trained student mediators in a conflict resolution program. This study also assessed the perceived transferability of conflict management information and skills from the school to the home environment. Indicators were the frequency, duration, and intensity of sibling conflicts reported by conflict managers and their parents.

The subjects in this study consisted of 60 sixth, seventh, and eighth graders at two different middle schools in the state of Iowa. Thirty were trained as conflict managers and assigned to the experimental group, and thirty to …

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Perspectives Of Participants Involved In The Identification And Treatment Process, Judy Davison

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to investigate the viewpoints, the perspectives, and the understandings about Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) which are held by parents, teachers, other school personnel, and physicians who are regularly involved in the process of identifying and/or treating students for ADD. A qualitative inquiry approach was initiated in a middle class community in a Midwestern metropolitan area and included individual interviews and classroom observations.

The researcher offered her understanding of the meaning and intentions behind the expressions/behaviors/decisions of individuals who work or interact with children labeled as ADD. An examination of the data revealed incongruencies in …

Student Perceptions Of General Education At A Comprehensive University And Implications, Kenneth E. Nuss

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Using a case study method, I investigated how students negotiate their way through the general education program at a middle-western comprehensive university, and consequently I increased my understanding of the student perspective of this portion of their undergraduate curriculum. From 34 semistructured qualitative interviews with general education science students, I discovered that they could articulate only a dim notion of the purpose of general education. I also became aware that the university structure failed to clearly communicate to students that the faculty values the general education curriculum.

The following themes for further analysis emerged from the student interviews: the purpose …

Drowning In Loneliness And Writing The Blues: Creating Lesbian Space In The Novels Of Radclyffe Hall And Leslie Feinberg, Laura Ellen Goetz

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Feminist theory has long been concerned with identity politics, and feminists have grappled with the ideologies and identities of race, sex, gender, and sexuality, to name only a few. Psychoanalytic theorist Teresa Brennan and postmodern theorist Judith Butler combine feminism with their respective fields in their quests to figure out how subjectivities are created, and why some people are objectified or created as objects, while others are created as subjects. Literature is an excellent vehicle for studying subject/object creation and identity politics, because it often mirrors “real” life, because literature can have such an impact on the lives of those …

Testing The Grades: Evaluating Grading Models In Clinical Legal Education, Stacy Brustin, David Chavkin

Scholarly Articles

This article describes the structure and findings of the Catholic University grading experiment. It reviews the advantages and disadvantages traditionally ascribed to graded courses and analyzes the available research on this subject. The article concludes with the recommendations proposed by the clinical faculty. These recommendations are designed to maximize the advantages and minimize the disadvantages of a graded system of evaluation.

The Pain Related Self-Statements Scale (Prss): Psychometric Properties In A College Sample, Howard D. Griffin

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Pain Related Self-Statements Scale (PRSS) in a college sample. Specifically, the purpose was to replicate the two factor structure of the PRSS, evaluate the instrument's internal consistency, and examine the convergent validity of the PRSS with other measures of coping with pain. The PRSS is a measure of "situation specific" cognitive coping strategies for individuals suffering from chronic pain. The instrument has two subscales: Catastrophizing and Active Coping. Participants in this study were undergraduate psychology students. Each student was given a packet of self-report measures including a …

Early British Espionage Fiction And The Differentiation Of Clandestine Realities: A Study In The Paradox Of The Protagonist’S Motivation In Erskine Childer’S The Riddle Of The Sands, Joseph Conrad’S The Secret Agent, John Buchan’S The Thirty-Nine Steps, And Arthur Conan-Doyle’S The Last Bow, Hans-Jörg Grohmann

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This thesis offers a phenomenological approach to four examples of early British espionage fiction; by discussing the experiences of four protagonists with their perceptions of reality, the study also gives a reconsideration to the literary essence of the figure of the spy of early British espionage stories. In attempting the combination of phenomenology and espionage fiction, the thesis first of all reviews the canon of criticism on British espionage fiction in general. This review criticizes the dilemma of preceding scholarly contributions, focusing on their general ignorance of the early phase of espionage fiction, which was due to the comparison between …

Am I Virtually Me?: Virtual Reality And The Self, Douglas J. Frederick

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Am I Virtually Me? Virtual Reality and the Self is a theoretical discussion that examines the consequences of using Virtual Reality technology. Virtual Reality is examined as a communication medium. The theoretical foundations for this examination include Marshall McLuhan's medium theory and George Mead's Symbolic Interactionism. Drawing upon these theories, which include concepts such as consciousness, mind and self, the focus of this examination is individual expenence. A theoretical argument is constructed which views Virtual Reality as a simulation of consciousness and details two different virtual-selves which arise by using Virtual Reality technology. These virtual-selves are "the pseudo-self' and "the …

An Attempt To Identify Health Defensive Externals, Sarah J. Flynn

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The present study attempted to apply the concept of defensive externality (Rotter, 1966) to health locus of control and preventive health behavior. The study attempted to identify a subgroup of externals, called "health defensive externals," and determine how they may differ from congruent internals and congruent externals in terms of health beliefs and coping strategies. Health defensive externals were thought to score high on chance health locus of control (CHLC) and yet engage in a high number of preventive health behaviors. Participants were recruited from a local chiropractor's office and a local community health clinic. They completed a modified version …

Conferences, Compassion, And Composition: A Modest Proposal For Inspiring The Alienated Student, Greg Shafer

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

No abstract provided.

Correctional Management : The Systemic Impact And Consequences Of Truth-In-Sentencing Legislation, Timothy S. Sexton

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Recently, a growing number of states have enacted truth-in-sentencing policies which will ensure that certain violent offenders serve at least 85% of their sentence. These policies are designed as a general deterrent to crime by placing an offender behind bars without the chance of parole. Theoretically by increasing the incarceration rate, "the effects of incapacitation will grow because fewer offenders will be free to victimize the population at large" (Parent, Dunworth, McDonald, & Rhodes, 1997, p.l). Although, truth-in-sentencing policies may sound practical, there is growing debate as to the systemic impact that truth-in-sentencing laws will have on correctional systems.

This …

Perceptions Of Problem Solving: Where's Waldo?, Darla Olk Stack

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Until recently, intervening for a child experiencing difficulty in school meant referring the student for special education evaluation. Problem solving is a new administrative arrangement recommended in many states, where a team of people who know the child, meet to define and recommend interventions to address the concern prior to referral for possible special education placement.

The purpose of this study was to observe the problem solving process and describe the process as it is implemented in the schools. Results indicated that while documentation of problem solving suggested problem solving was taking place, the traditional test-and-place model continues to be …

Preservice Teachers’ Use Of Curriculum-Based Measurement In An Informal Assessment Based Reading Clinic, Tina M. Schroeder

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This study investigated 13 preservice regular education reading teachers' use of curriculum-based measurement (CBM) data under specified conditions. Conditions included: (a) providing preservice teachers with 75 minutes of training in the use of CBM in reading, (b) biweekly CBM administration and graphing during a 10-week practicum experience, and (c) concomitant use of other reading measures [e. g., Reading Miscue Inventory (RMI), Running Records (RR)]. Exit interviews indicated that preservice teachers made use of CBM data in some, but not all, of the important ways suggested in the research literature. Preservice teachers provided the following positive ratings of CBM: (a) CBM …

The Relationship Between Adolescent Alcohol Consumption And Selected Sexual Behaviors: A Retrospective Study, Linda L. Schoonover

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to determine if the quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption by adolescents is associated with their voluntary participation in a continuum of sexual behaviors.

Sixty-one males and 14 females between the age of 18-25 from two substance abuse agencies in Iowa were surveyed. They were asked to provide some basic demographic information (i.e., age, gender, etc.,) and to retrospectively answer questions regarding their referral source to the agency where they completed the questionnaire, residence as an adolescent, family with whom they lived during adolescence, personal quantity and frequency choices for alcohol consumption, attitudes and …

An Examination Of Environmental Sensitivity Among Supporters Of An Outdoor Recreation Area, Rodney James Blackman

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The environment as an issue has been prominently before the public for over three decades. Yet the question of how much people know about the natural environment and how committed they are to the environment has seldom been considered in research literature. Research of this nature is needed because without it individuals interested in the preservation and conservation of the environment cannot be sure how their efforts to increase people's environmental sensitivity should be applied. The purpose of this study was to examine the level and extent of environmental sensitivity among supporters of an outdoor recreation area/facility in northeast Iowa. …

An Exploratory Study: Reading And Spatial Visualization Ability As Predictors Of Success For Technical Drawing, Eldon Bruce Swanson

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

If one were to open a technical drawing book, the reader could make the observation that the book was "written" and "read" in two languages--the English language and the universal graphic language. The technical drawing is presented in the context of these two languages: written statements accompanied by their graphical translations. The two seemingly symbiotic languages are synergistically integrated in technical drawing.

The problem of this exploratory study was to determine the strength of the bivariate correlational relationships between students' assessed spatial visualization ability and their reading ability to their assessed achievement in technical drawing. Further, the problem of the …

The Use Of Solid Waste Materials As Alternative Compositions In The Development Of Wood/Cement Blocks, Haig Mamas Vahradian

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

As the population of the planet Earth increases, the need for affordable housing becomes a paramount issue in construction. This need is further complicated by the rising cost of basic building materials due to the depletion of natural resources throughout the world. These problems have caused the construction industry to refocus its attention on the elimination of waste through a comprehensive strategy to: (a) reclaim and recycle these resources into usable materials, and (b) develop products and markets in construction for recycled materials through research and testing to prove their integrity.

The purpose of this study is to determine the …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between First Grade Teachers' Theoretical Orientations Toward Reading Instruction And Their Classroom Instructional Practices, John Anthony Luciano

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between first grade teachers' theoretical orientations toward reading and their classroom instructional practices. The study, which was conducted in Duval County Florida, used the Theoretical Orientation to Reading Profile (DeFord, 1985) and the Luciano Reading Instruction Practices Survey to gather self-reported data from the 102 study participants.

The sample teachers reported the frequency with which they used 25 specific instructional practices to assist students in learning to read. Ten percent of the sample teachers were observed by the researcher for thirty minutes and their instructional practices were documented on a checklist which corresponded to the …

The Influences Of Curriculum Integration On Students’ Perceptions Of Learning, Sheryl Jean Hoffman

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to examine how integrative curriculum experiences influenced fifth grade students' perceptions of learning. An integrated curriculum for fifth grade students, based on a thematic unit of study, was written and implemented by the researcher and took place in a small, urban community in Northeast Iowa. The theme of Flight was used to integrate all subjects and taught for approximately four weeks. The researcher acted as participant/observer and documented how integrated curricular experiences influenced students' perceptions of learning in a classroom that had been primarily subject-centered. The data for this study was compiled from observations, …

Reassessing Fault Factors In No-Fault Divorce, Peter N. Swisher

Law Faculty Publications

The purpose of this article is not to "turn back the clock" through the rehabilitation of fault grounds as the sole means for securing a divorce in America. Rather, this article will explore the ways in which fault-based factors, when applied to serious or egregious marital misconduct that significantly contributes to the marital breakdown, may still be utilized in order to bring about enhanced social, economic, and legal protection to spouses on divorce, while concurrently establishing a greater sense of responsibility and accountability in marital relationships.

Right-Wing Authoritarianism Relative To Traditional Western Thinking And Locus Of Control, Nadejda Diakonova

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship among right-wing authoritarianism, traditional Western thought and the degree to which subjects tend to perceive themselves as having control over their lives (having internal or external locus of control). It was hypothesized that these three aspects of individuals' cognitive-emotional makeup are interrelated. Three questionnaires were used in the study: the Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) Scale (Altemeyer, 1988), the EastWest Questionnaire (EWQ) (Gilgen & Cho, 1979), and the Locus of Control (LC) Scale (Rotter, 1966). A counterbalanced experimental design was used to control for possible order effects. Duckitt's (1989) conceptualization of …

Goethe's Die Leiden Des Jungen Werthers: An Epistolary Novel, Or A Stage Drama In Disguise?, Ilona Klein

Faculty Publications

Photography of the late 1920s generated repercussions in other fields of the arts. It sparked an interdisciplinary interest in critics who balked at viewing the frozen images as merely one moment's reality, and who wanted, instead, to recompose and integrate underlying cultural, literary, or political discourse within the photographic frame. This fertile interdisciplinary backing guaranteed an in-depth interpretative dissection of artistic expression which had not been previously possible. The small photograph, a still visual image, became connected to the larger visual images of stage sets-these, a series of visual, immobile backgrounds which framed the caracters acting within.

Improved Heterogeneous Distance Functions, Tony R. Martinez, D. Randall Wilson

Faculty Publications

Instance-based learning techniques typically handle continuous and linear input values well, but often do not handle nominal input attributes appropriately. The Value Difference Metric (VDM) was designed to find reasonable distance values between nominal attribute values, but it largely ignores continuous attributes, requiring discretization to map continuous values into nominal values. This paper proposes three new heterogeneous distance functions, called the Heterogeneous Value Difference Metric (HVDM), the Interpolated Value Difference Metric (IVDM), and the Windowed Value Difference Metric (WVDM). These new distance functions are designed to handle applications with nominal attributes, continuous attributes, or both. In experiments on 48 applications …

The Ability Of Children With Specific Language Impairment To Participate In A Group Decision Task, Lee Robinson, Martin Fujiki, Bonnie Brinton, Valyne J. Watson

Faculty Publications

This study examined the ability of 6 children with specific language impairment (SLI), ages 8:10 to 12:5 (years; months), to participate in a group negotiation task. Each child interacted with two peers to select toys that children their age would enjoy. Performance was compared to both chronological age-similar (CS) peers and language similar (LS) peers performing the same task. Analyses of the resulting interactions indicated that subjects with SLI produced significantly fewer utterances than the other children in the triad. Similar differences were not observed in the CS or LS triads. Additionally, significantly fewer utterances were addressed to the children …

The Influence Of Decision Aids On User Behavior: Implications For Knowledge Acquisition And Inappropriate Reliance, Steven M. Glover, Douglas F. Prawitt, Brian C. Spilker

Faculty Publications

Structured decision aids are widely used in many organizational settings, and their influence on judgment consistency and accuracy have received considerable attention in the literature. While two benefits commonly associated with decision aid use are improved judgment and enhanced expertise development, relatively little attention has been directed toward the potential influence of decision aids on decision maker behavior. In particular, we argue that the use of structured aids may influence relatively inexperienced decision makers to approach aided tasks mechanistically, without becoming actively involved in the task or judgment. Such passive decision behavior may, in some situations, threaten gains in performance …

An Evaluation Of The Clinical Utility Of The College Adjustment Scales, Timothy B. Smith, Mark A. Nafziger, Gwenna C. Couillard

Faculty Publications

Comparisons of College Adjustment Scales (CAS) profiles with interview data from 748 clients generally supported the clinical usefulness of the CAS, although further refinements appear warranted.

A Study Of The "Grassroots Integrated Development Agency" In Uganda, John B. D. Kakembo

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

When poverty in Uganda deepened due to the miseries and destabilization caused by economic mismanagement, turbulent politics, and the incessant civil wars in Uganda up to 1985, all public, private, and religious organizations were adversely affected. At the end of 1985, conditions in the Seventh-day Adventist church were characterized by massive poverty among its rural membership, a slow church-growth annual rate of 4.9 percent--the lowest tithe per capita in the Eastern Africa Division (EAD)--and the lowest remuneration scales for pastors in the EAD. In 1986, an indigenous, grassroots organization sprouted in the SDA church under the leadership of a …