Digital Commons Network^™

Religion And U.S. Culture, James L. Heft

Journal of Catholic Education

After reviewing the history of the interplay between religion and culture in the U.S., this article explores important facets of contemporary American society that color the experience and meaning of religious faith. Among these are excessive individualism, a heightened awareness of the need for personal integrity, and the desire for personal religious experience. While religion is often treated as a “classroom pariah” at universities, the author argues that there are numerous possibilities for a more full integration of religion into university life and overall American culture.

Capacity Building, Improving Work Ethics And Enhancing Productivity In The Nigerian Civil Service., O. Ajakaiye

Economic and Financial Review

This paper examines issues that are of great concern to capacity building, improving work ethics and productivity enhancement in the Nigerian civil service with the ultimate objectives of proposing informed ways and means of improving the human capacity for analysing and managing development in a rapidly changing world. The rest of the paper is organised as follows: The next section discusses conceptual issues where the concepts of capacity building, work ethics and productivity are defined in order for us to focus on the essential attributes of the concepts with special reference to the Nigeria civil service. The contemporary situation in …

Measuring The Effectiveness Of Selection Procedures And Training Programs Used In A Vocational Training Organization, Matthew J. Coumbe

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a private vocational training organization's selection procedures and training programs. Specifically, the selection and training process was analyzed by employing qualitative and quantitative approaches that determined the relevant contribution the process had on employee selection and preparation. As part of this evaluative research, plant managers and supervisors from three machine manufacturing organizations, the program director and faculty of the training organization, and former trainees perceptions were used to compliment the quantitative analysis. Statistical analysis was conducted by assessing the predictive power of interview ratings, aptitude tests, and training tests. …

Trends. The Unconditional As Conditional: We Are All Tamils, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses the problematic nature of the term "unconditional" when applied to peace talks, in this case in Sri Lanka between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan government.

An Update On The Political Psychology Of Sex And Personnel Security, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes the positive and negative contributions of scientific psychology to the interface of sexual orientation and personnel security.

Sanctions And Nonproliferation Behavior: Missing On Missiles, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes political psychologies supporting United States (US) sanctions-related behavior towards the People's Republic of China's (PRC) exporting of missiles, missile components, and missile technology.

Trends. Social Violence: The Jigsaw Classroom As A Piece Of The Puzzle, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses the "jigsaw technique" developed by social psychologist Elliot Aronson as a partial way of addressing school-related violence.

The Effects Of Colonization On The Career Development And Occupational Choices Of African Students Studying In The United States, Augustine E. Bessong

Dissertations

A quantitative research design was utilized to understand the perceptions of the effects of colonization on career choices and occupational development of Africans in the United States. In face-to-face, 60-90 minute interviews using a semistructured interview guide developed by the researcher, participants were asked open-ended questions about the effects of colonization on their career choices and occupational development. Using purposeful sampling, 12 African male and female students, 7 enrolled at one Southeastern university and S from a large metropolitan city in the Southeastern United States, were interviewed for data collection.

Interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed. Transcripts were analyzed using the …

An Account Of Novice Phylogenetic Tree Construction From The Problem-Solving Research Tradition, Terrance E. Brisbin

Dissertations

Both the content and strategic knowledge used in phylogenetic tree construction are described to account for novice performance. A review of the literature is used to place this research with respect to studies in: problem solving studies (both expert, and novice), the history and practice of evolutionary systematics, and the teaching of evolution. The computer-based problem-solving environment is discussed along with model problems used for the research.

Each of the five research problems consists of an encoded matrix containing phylogenetic data organized by taxa and characters. Twelve participants (high school students) volunteered to solve the research problems, on their own …

Can Principals’ Personality Traits Predict Their Risk-Taking: Uncertainty And Success Orientation As They Relate To Risk Propensity, Bruce A. Evans

Dissertations

This exploratory investigation compared the personality traits uncertainty orientation and success orientation of Michigan principals with their risk-taking propensities. The personality traits were correlated individually with the risk-taking of principals and both traits were combined to examine their additive effect. The principals' personality traits and their risk-taking were also compared by gender.

One-third o f the public school principals in Michigan were chosen and targeted as subjects for study. The study concluded a significant positive correlation between uncertainty orientation and success orientation existed. The Pearson coefficient was r = 0.39. However the alpha level was a = 0.003. The findings …

Developmental, Psychosocial, And Economic Predictors Of Healthy Newborns In Michigan’S Teenage Pregnancies, Cheryl Lauber

Dissertations

Teenage pregnancy is a critical health indicator. Using a risk reduction model, this study examined the relationship between the characteristics o f the teenage mother i and her newborn. The research questions were: ( I) what risk factors are associated with poor birth outcomes, (2) is addressing each factor the best way to reduce the risk, and (3) has the overall risk changed as the birth rate has declined? Developmental, psychosocial and economic risks were identified as independent variables, while age and race were mediators.

Combining the birth certificate records of women under age 20 from 1990 through 1997 resulted …

Supervisory Identity Development And Its Relationship To Supervisory Experience, Counseling Experience, And Training In Supervision, Nadine Joy Pelling

Dissertations

The relationship between supervisory identity development and supervisory experience, counseling experience, and training in supervision was investigated in this study. A developmental model of supervisory identity development was utilized, the Supervisor Complexity Model, in both the conceptualization of supervisory identity development and the measurement of supervisory identity development. Consequently, supervisory identity and some factors thought to effect its development are reviewed. Counseling professionals likely to be engaged in providing supervision services were surveyed by mail. Participants completed a measure of supervisory identity development, the Psychotherapy Supervisor Development Scale, and also indicated their supervisory experience, counseling experience, and training in the …

Journey To Self: The Experience Of Inner Life Of Helping Professionals, Candace W. Ross

Dissertations

Based on the assumptions that self-awareness is an important factor in healthy and effective functioning of helping professionals (Corey, Corey, & Callanan, 1998) and that the self of the therapist is an important tool in effective therapy (Baldwin, 2000), this phenomenological study was conducted to explore the experience of inner life of helping professionals. Three women and two men, either licensed counselors or psychologists who were working in therapeutic settings, agreed to participate in a two-part interview. In the first interview, the participants described their experience of inner life, including what facilitated or hindered their experience, how inner life informed …

Rethinking Knowledge And Pedagogy In Dental Education, Joan Whipp

College of Education Faculty Research and Publications

Dentistry as a profession has often been considered both art and science. Traditional dental education has attempted to address both; however, in many places only the science of dentistry is emphasized. The move toward competency-based curricula in dental education requires an expansion of what constitutes meaningful knowledge in the curriculum and what pedagogies best support that curriculum. The scientific and technical knowledge considered foundational to clinical practice is not sufficient to teach competencies associated with the art of dentistry. Habermas, a social scientist, offers a way of looking beyond technical knowledge to consider two other forms of knowledge: practical and …

Panther- December 2000 - Vol. Lxxviii, No.13, Prairie View A&M University

PV Panther Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Review Of "Social Control And Public Intellect: The Legacy Of Edward A. Ross" By S. H. Mcmahon, Robert C. Bannister

History Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Washington University Record, December 1, 2000

Washington University Record

No abstract provided.

The Douglas County Drug Court: A Comparison Of Recidivism Rates Between Drug Court Participants And Traditionally Adjudicated Drug Offenders, Erika Davis Frenzel

Student Work

Over the years there have been large increases in the number of drug offenders arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced to prison. These increases have lead to an overload of the criminal justice system. This overload prompted states to develop new responses to substance use and drug-related crime. One such innovation is the drug treatment court, which combines accountability and treatment. The goal of these courts is to reduce recidivism and substance use among drug-involved criminal offenders. This study uses data from Douglas County (Nebraska) to compare recidivism rates for participants in the Douglas County Drug Court and traditionally adjudicated drug offenders. …

Irving V. Penguin: Historians On Trial And The Determination Of Truth Under English Libel Law, Dennise Mulvihill

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Can Coppa Work? An Analysis Of The Parental Consent Measures In The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, Joshua Warmund

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Microfinance And Poverty Alleviation: Lessons From Indonesia's Village Banking System, Yoko Miyashita

Washington International Law Journal

Indonesia needs an aggressive poverty reduction strategy to counter the 1997 Asian financial crisis, which has propelled millions of its citizens into poverty. Microfinance is a proven method of reducing poverty and has been successfully used within Indonesia in government-supported programs. In addition to continuing its state-run microfinance programs, Indonesia should support increased non-governmental organization ("NGO") participation in microfinance programs by permitting NGOs to conduct the full range of activities of a state-run microfinance program. Such a move would help to ensure that microfinance services reach people with the least access to the formal financial sector.

The Sanctuary

Shabbat Shalom: A Journal for Jewish-Christian Reconciliation

No abstract provided.

The Ties That Bind: Friendship Development In An Information Technology Work Environment, Courtney E. Fristoe

Student Work

Examination of workplace friendship development is currently an important emerging research area. This study investigated the factors and communication changes that impacted workplace friendship development in an information technology organization. Additionally, the level to which relationship partners agreed about the factors and communication changes their relationship had experienced was also examined. Findings suggested proximity, shared tasks, perceived similarity, and increased openness were important in early friendship development. Further sharingof personal information, such as life experiences and spending time together outside of work, brought friends even closer. Increased closeness over time lead relationship partners to be considered almost best friends. The …

Agent Provocateurs In The Mideast, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes examples of agent provocateurs in the context of conflict between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA.)

Prognostic Factors For Treatment Outcome In Young Children With Autism, Susannah Grimm Poe

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Over the past decade, systematic applications of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) have proven an effective means of improving the prognosis for many young children with autism. But in every study indicating that a number of participants have experienced good outcomes from these interventions, there remain a sizeable number of participants who have not had the same success. This study was undertaken to examine the differences between the parental rankings for each of eight characteristics across three points in time for children with autism to determine who succeeds with this kind of treatment and who does not. These parental reports were …

Evaluating Mandatory Parent Education For Divorcing Couples With Children, Brian John Krolczyk

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Court-mandated parent education for divorcing parents with children has become a standard practice in recent years. The West Virginia State Legislature voted to mandate parent education programs in all of West Virginia effective January, 2000. Research suggests parental conflict is a major factor contributing to adjustment difficulties reported by children. Generally, parent education programs for divorcing couples with children focus on adjustment issues for parents and children as they navigate a demanding period of family change. A literature review of current parent education programs in the United States revealed programs differ in teaching methods used and curriculum. It is reported …

Statistics, Not Experts, Cass R. Sunstein, William Meadow

Coase-Sandor Institute for Law & Economics Research Paper Series

The legal system should rely much more than it now does on statistical evidence. It should be cautious about the judgments of experts, who make predictable cognitive errors. Like everyone else, experts have a tendency to blunder about risk, a point that has been shown to hold for doctors, whose predictions significantly err in the direction of optimism. We present new evidence that individual doctors' judgments about the ordinary standard of care are incorrect and excessively optimistic. We also show how this evidence bears on legal determinations of negligence, by doctors and others.

Deference And Disability Discrimination, Rebecca Hanner White

Michigan Law Review

For thirty-five years, the civil rights community has paid scant attention to administrative law principles. Those interested in advancing on-the-job equality for this country's working men and women (or in preserving employer autonomy vis-a-vis federal encroachment) have all but ignored what many consider the arcane technicalities of administrative law. This state of affairs is strange when one considers that administration and enforcement of each of our major federal laws outlawing employment discrimination have been confided to an administrative agency, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"). The EEOC, however, has historically been given short shrift by litigants and by the judiciary. …

Conjunction And Aggregation, Saul Levmore

Coase-Sandor Institute for Law & Economics Research Paper Series

This Article begins with the puzzle of why law does not embrace the "product rule"; a mathematically-inclined judge or jury that thought a defendant .6 likely to have been negligent and .7 likely to have caused plaintiff's harm might conclude that plaintiff had failed to satisfy the preponderance of the evidence standard. Following some discussion of a number of reactions to this puzzle, the Article advances the idea that the process of aggregating multiple jurors' assessments overlooks valuable information. First, following the Condorcet Jury Theorem, agreement among jurors might raise our level of confidence beyond what the jurors themselves report. …

The Role Of Institutional And Market Forces In Divergent Organizational Change, Thomas D'Aunno, Melissa Succi, Jeffrey A. Alexander

Business Faculty Articles and Research

This paper focuses on a radical change, in which organizations abandon an institutionalized template for arranging their core activities, that is likely to occur in organizational fields that have strong, local market forces and strong but heterogeneous institutional forces. We examine the role of market forces and heterogeneous institutional elements in promoting divergent change in core activities among all U.S. rural hospitals from 1984 to 1991. Results support the view that divergent change depends on both market forces (proximity to competitors, disadvantages in service mix) and institutional forces (state regulation, ownership and governance norms, and mimicry of models of divergent …