Digital Commons Network^™

Psychosocial Moderators In The Relation Between Cd4 Count And Physical Symptoms Among African American Women With Hiv, Cara F. O'Connell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The current study examined the link between immune functioning (CD4 count) and physical symptoms, as well as the moderating role of optimism and depressive symptoms, in a sample of 99 low income, inner city African American women with HIV. Although there was no main effect of CD4 count on physical symptoms, depressive symptoms moderated the association between CD4 count and physical symptoms. More compromised immune functioning (lower CD4 count) was associated with more physical symptoms under conditions of higher levels of depressive symptoms, but not lower levels of depressive symptoms. This finding was observed using both a self-report measure and …

Exploring Career Satisfaction, Burnout, And Compassion Fatigue As Indicators Of The Quality Of Career Engagement Of Public School Educators, Beth Colleen Robinson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study explored the experiences of career satisfaction, burnout, and compassion fatigue in public school educators working with students in Primary/Kindergarten through grade 12 in schools in Nova Scotia and West Virginia. The research participants included 184 teachers, counselors, and administrators employed by the Annapolis Valley Regional School Board in Nova Scotia and Monongalia County Board of Education in West Virginia. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing the constructs of compassion satisfaction, burnout, and compassion fatigue that have been conceptualized in this study as indicators of healthy career engagement, career disengagement, and career overengagement, respectively. Participants also responded to a demographic …

The Behavioral Functions Of Stimuli Signaling Transitions Across Rich And Lean Schedules Of Reinforcement, Jessica B. Long

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The present experiment was designed to assess whether stimuli correlated with rich and lean fixed-ratio schedule components would function as conditioned reinforcers and conditioned punishers, respectively. Pigeons responded on a mixed schedule with fixed-ratio components leading to large or small food reinforcers. Pecks on either of two observing keys converted the mixed schedule to a multiple schedule by turning on a color associated with the current component. The stimulus consequences of the observing responses were manipulated across conditions. Pecks on one observing key produced the rich stimulus and the lean stimulus whereas pecks on the other observing key produced only …

Adoption Of Resource -Conserving Agricultural Technologies: An Economic And *Policy Analysis For South Africa, Daniel Vusanani Dlamini

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Land degradation continues to be a threat to the agricultural sector of South Africa. Land degradation induced by agricultural production activities is considered to be among the major factors responsible for a decline in land productivity. Conservation efforts through government intervention and voluntary efforts have produced minimal success compared to the desired targets. The purpose of this study is to understand the factors that influence the adoption decisions of resource conserving technologies in the context of commercial farmers in South Africa.;Adoption of conservation-oriented agricultural technologies in South Africa is influenced by a wide range of economic and social factors, and …

Understanding Mindfulness: Implications For Instruction And Learning, Todd Lyle Stoops

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This Dissertation examines the literature concerning Mindfulness as it relates to Educational Psychology and overviews a research study conducted to add empirical research on Mindfulness instruction and learning. The literature review is divided into three categories of Mindfulness which are defined and discussed according to applications and implications for education. These three categories are (a) Mindfulness as a meditative practice for teachers and in its use in teacher education programs, (b) clinical and therapeutic applications of Mindfulness in contemporary psychology, and (c) Mindfulness in Educational Psychology. Established constructs from the literature of psychology and education are related to the concepts …

Learner Satisfaction And Learning Performance In Online Courses On Bioterrorism And Weapons Of Mass Destruction, Tatiana I. Solovieva

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study examined the relationships between measures of (a) learner satisfaction with online courses on weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and bioterrorism intended to address the educational needs of responder Communities of Practice (CoP) and (b) degrees of accomplishment by the learner with those online courses. Provided that course design characteristics were similar between courses and that content was different, it was important to examine learner satisfaction with course common aspects in relation to learning outcomes and identify the predictors of effectiveness and relations between the learner satisfaction with the course characteristics and the learner achievement for potential design improvements …

Action Research Analysis Of The Forces Affecting Farmer Participation In A West Virginia Cooperative Extension Service Farmer Education Program, John Robert Edalgo

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study uses action research principles and Kurt Lewin's field theory to investigate the forces dictating farmer participation in the Decision Enabling Data Collection and Management System Initiative (DEDCMSI). These forces were classified in Chapter IV under the following project categories: Hardware, Software, Perception of DEDCMSI, Perception of Technology, and Sociocultural. This West Virginia University Cooperative Extension Service (WVUCES) initiative organized four farm finance groups located in the following counties: Ohio, Jefferson, Mineral, and Monroe. Data collection methods used to identify forces occurring within this seven-month pilot project is listed here as follows: structured, semi-structured, and un-structured interviews. A total …

How Optional Usage Of The Web Affects Reading Comprehension, Jocelyn K. Tenorio

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this investigation is to consider whether using web-enhanced material improves proportionally students' reading comprehension skills. In addition student attitudes are considered. Two groups of students at the University of Montemorelos, Nuevo Leon, Mexico were chosen as a census: a group of nursing students taking a course on reading comprehension of nursing articles in English and a group of students studying to be teachers of English as a foreign language. Reading selections were uploaded on the internet using the WebCT platform. The students were to read the selections and answer quizzes. The students took a pre- and post-test …

Exposure Utilization And Completion Of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy For Ptsd In A “Realworld” Clinical Practice, Claudia Zayfert, Jason C. Deviva, Carolyn Becker, Julie L. Pike, Karen L. Gillock, Sarah A. Hayes

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

This study assessed rates of imaginal exposure therapy (ET) utilization and completion of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a clinical setting and examined variables associated with CBT completion. Using a clinical definition, the completion rate of CBT was markedly lower than rates reported in randomized trials. CBT completion was inversely related to severity of overall pretreatment measures of PTSD, avoidance, hyperarousal, depression, impaired social functioning, and borderline personality disorder. Regression yielded avoidance and depression as unique predictors of completion. Most dropouts occurred before starting imaginal ET, although initiating ET was associated with greater likelihood of …

Assisted Reproductive Technology. What Is Needed In The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia?, Muhammad A. Majeed-Saidan

Saudi Medical Journal

In 1978, the first in vitro fertilization baby was born. Since then, we have seen the introduction of several new modalities of assisted reproductive technologies ART, and the spread of ART procedures throughout the world. The number of ART units in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is increasing rapidly. The associated complications of ART procedures include fetal, maternal and childhood.

Prevalence, Knowledge, Beliefs And Psychosocial Impact Of Acne In University Students In Central Saudi Arabia

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence of acne among Qassim University students, and to evaluate the knowledge, beliefs, and its psychosocial impact on them. METHODS: We observed 717 students (381 males, and 336 females), at Qassim University Medical clinics during February and March 2005. We interviewed and examined the subjects for the presence of acne. After confirming the diagnosis, we asked the patients several questions about acne, history, knowledge, perceptions, beliefs, and its psychosocial impact on them. We performed statistical analysis using the chi-square test with a 5% significance level. RESULTS: We found 56.2% of the students to have acne. The …

The Stress Management Self-Efficacy Inventory (Smsei): Development And Initial Psychometrics, Kristin Higgins

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of the current study was to develop, pilot, and establish the initial psychometrics of the Stress Management Self-Efficacy Inventory (SMSEI). Once developed and positive psychometrics established, middle school counselors and other mental health professionals can use the SMSEI to identify children who lack self-efficacy in the area of stress management. Once adolescents are identified as having low stress management self-efficacy, this measure can also aid professionals in creating programs and interventions. The SMSEI measures how well adolescents believe they can manage their stress as well as measures specific areas or management techniques that a child believes they …

Improving The Quality Of Conceptual Modeling Using Cognitive Mapping Techniques, Keng Siau, X. Tan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Conceptual modeling involves the understanding and communication between system analysts and end-users. Many factors may affect the quality of conceptual modeling processes as well as the models per se. Human cognition plays a pivotal role in understanding these factors and cognitive mapping techniques are effective tools to elicit and represent human cognition. In this paper, we look at the use of cognitive mapping techniques to improve the quality of conceptual modeling. We review frameworks on quality in conceptual modeling and examine the role of human cognition in conceptual modeling. The paper also discusses how human cognition is related to quality …

Towards A Theory Of Emotional Communication, Anne Bartsch, Susanne Hübner

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In their paper, "Towards a Theory of Emotional Communication," Anne Bartsch and Susanne Hübner outline a model of emotional communication where emotional communication is conceptualized as a process of mutual influence between the emotions of communication partners. To elaborate this general notion further, four working definitions of emotional communication are introduced, each of which is based on a different theory of emotions. In the second part of the paper, an integrative framework is proposed that reconciles the four working definitions and their underlying theories of emotion. According to this framework, emotional communication comprises three interrelated levels of complexity: 1) innate …

Television And Politics In The Former East Germany, Claudia Dittmar

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In her paper, "Television and Politics in the Former East Germany," Claudia Dittmar analyzes how in the former East Germany (GDR) while television audience was restricted severly by government, at the same time West German broadcasts acquired a substantial audience and what the impact of these broadcasts had on the audience. West German television programs enjoyed a high level of popularity with the East German population, thereby posing the greatest competition to the GDR's own television stations. As a result, GDR television was forced to counteract the impact of West German television. Dittmar discusses how the West German media were …

Aesthetics And Audiovisual Metaphors In Media Perception, Kathrin Fahlenbrach

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In her paper, "Aesthetics and Audiovisual Metaphors in Media Perception," Kathrin Fahlenbrach presents a model of audiovisual analysis where focus is on audiovisual aesthetics perceived physically and affectively. Fahlenbrach starts out from the assumption that image and sound are inseparable in audiovisual media and must be treated as a unit, a "synchresis" (Chion). Fahlenbrach proposes that only this premise is able to cover the pre-consciously perceived elements sufficiently, namely the sensorial and affective structures of audiovisual aesthetics. Fahlenbrach articulates some aspects for an audiovisual aesthetics that concentrate on the interfaces between audiovisual perception and audiovisual design and employs to this …

Imre Kertész's Nobel Prize, Public Discourse, And The Media, Steven Tötösy De Zepetnek

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

Steven Tötösy de Zepetnek, in his paper, "Imre Kertész's Nobel Prize, Public Discourse, and the Media," discusses aspects of media coverage in German-, Hungarian-, and English-language newspapers and magazines of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Literature, awarded to Imre Kertész. The perspective of Tötösy's analysis is to gauge the importance and impact of media coverage comparatively in the three cultural and media landscapes. Based on selected examples from newspapers and magazines with an international scope, Tötösy argues that the reception of Kertész's Nobel Prize suggests the convergence of the media (as the message) and the contents of the message within …

Neutrosophic Methods In General Relativity, Florentin Smarandache, Dmitri Rabounski, Larissa Borissova

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

In this work the authors apply concepts of Neutrosophic Logic to the General Theory of Relativity to obtain a generalisation of Einstein’s fourdimensional pseudo-Riemannian differentiable manifold in terms of Smarandache Geometry (Smarandache manifolds), by which new classes of relativistic particles and non-quantum teleportation are developed. Fundamental features of Neutrosophic Logic are its denial of the Law of Excluded Middle, and open (or estimated) levels of truth, falsity and indeterminancy. Both Neutrosophic Logic and Smarandache Geometry were invented some years ago by one of the authors (F. Smarandache). The application of these purely mathematical theories to General Relativity reveals hitherto unknown …

Gambling On A Simulated Slot Machine Under Conditions Of Repeated Play, Andrew Ellis Brandt

Masters Theses

Three experiments using a parametric, single-subject design investigated gambling behavior in eight adult humans on a slot-machine simulation. Participants were staked with credits exchangeable for money prior to each session. Experiment 1 a was a systematic replication of Weatherly and Brandt (2004), which investigated the effects of percentage payback (the amount of money gained as a proportion of the amount of money bet) on gambling. Percentage payback was varied from 50% to 110% across conditions. Consistent with Weatherly and Brandt, gambling did not vary systematically across percentage-payback conditions. Experiment 1 b replicated Experiment 1 a but also included forced-exposure sessions …

The Journey Of A Social Movement: A Glimpse Into Hizb 'Allah And Its Integration Into The Lebanese Landscape, Lisa L. Peters

Masters Theses

Historically, research in Social Movement Theories has been limited to only certain aspects of a social movement, whether it was the impetus of the movement, explaining the reasons for its mobilization, how they recruit members and money, how social movements are able to function as an organization, or why groups suffer demise after flourishing for a period of time. This research attempts to build a framework of a particular social movement, Hizb'allah, a Shi'a Islamic movement based in Lebanon. This framework is built by extracting various elements from several social movement theories to explain and illustrate this movement's life course …

Campus Chronicle (Vol. 8, No. 16), Valparaiso University

Campus Chronicle

No abstract provided.

"Far, Fast, And Fashionable": American Women Swimmers And Their Swimwear In 1920s And 1930s Sport And Consumer Culture, Elizabeth A. Zanoni

Masters Theses

This thesis examines American aquatic stars of public acclaim as displayers of clothing, and how their changing swimwear shaped the debate over physical culture, femininity, modesty, and gender roles in sport and consumer culture during the 1920s and 1930s. Performing in shortened, functional athletic attire, leading swimmers and divers conveyed cultural messages about athleticism and femininity through their athletic accomplishments and their multiple representations of the female body clothed in swimming attire. It also considers how these female aquatic luminaries, in a sphere traditionally defined as male, shaped American culture by providing a public platform from which the entire sporting …

Potential Effects Of Aggressive Videogames On Young Adult’S Behavior And Physiology, Kent David Smallwood

Masters Theses

Each year, interactive technology becomes more and more advanced, offering more lifelike environments, immersive experiences, and realistic situations. Additionally, the videogame industry has over doubled in size in less than ten years, now rivaling the box office industry. However, technological advances have quickly outpaced our understanding of the effects of certain types of adult content on the game player. To date, the majority of the research on the topic was conducted before the games themselves were technologically advanced enough to draw meaningful conclusions; the few studies conducted in the last few years, while offering promising methodological advancements from previous work, …

Nonlinear Dynamics And Interpersonal Correlates Of Verbal Turn-Taking Patterns In A Group Therapy Session, David Pincus, Stephen J. Guastello

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Interpersonal processes and dynamics are ubiquitous topics in psychotherapy, yet they are difficult to study and are theoretically fragmented across therapeutic subdisciplines. The current study tests an integrative model of interpersonal dynamics in small groups using nonlinear dynamical systems theory. The conversation of one group therapy session (with six adolescent sex offenders) is analyzed using orbital decomposition, which allows for the identification of patterns in categorical time series data. The results show evidence of selforganizing social patterns, based on formal measures of turbulence (Lyapunov dimension), information novelty (Shannon's entropy), and complexity (fractal dimension). The degree of patterning in turn taking …

Fun And Friendship In The Natural World: The Impact Of Oregon 4-H Residential Camping Programs On Girl And Boy Campers, Mary E. Arnold, Virginia D. Bourdeau, Janet Nagele

Journal of Extension

This article presents the results of a multi-site evaluation of Oregon's 4-H Camps. The evaluation assessed 3 main areas: 1) personal growth, 2) life skill development, and 3) camper satisfaction. Questionnaires were administered at the end of each camp, with the data aggregated and analyzed across camps. Results revealed significant changes in personal growth and the development of selected life skills. Results also indicated that the campers enjoyed camp and their camp counselors. The results are confirming of what we know about the impact of camp and are important for sustaining investments currently made in camp programs.

Fostering Total Wellness Through Peer Helping: Reflections On The Smu Experiences, Gilbert Tan, Timothy Hsi

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Peer Helping is widely implemented in Colleges and Universities in the United States and Canada. Despite the popularity of these programs, very little has been researched on peer helping in the Asian context. This paper traces the theoretical foundations of peer helping and the nascent development of a peer helping program in the Singapore Management University and how this program has developed since the beginning of 2004. The initial focus of the program was based on the model of paraprofessional student counselors assisting their fellow peers through difficult moments in their lives. Over time, the program was fine-tuned to embrace …

Using Community Service Projects To Teach Leadership And Team-Building: Theoretical Foundations, Students' Reactions And Practical Considerations, Gilbert Tan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This paper discusses the theoretical foundations of utilizing Community Service Project (CSP) or service-learning to teach Leadership and Team-Building. It examines the students’ reactions to this innovative method of instruction. This is done through conducting a content analysis of students’ learning journals, in which students reflect on their CSP learning experiences. Two themes emerged from the data: (a) variety of learning experiences, and (b) impact of CSP experience. The data suggested that students derived a variety of learning experiences from the CSP. In addition, there were attitudinal and learning impacts associated with the CSP experiences. The paper also outlines some …

Online Price Behavior And Ebay's Price Advantage, Justin M. Carriere

Theses and Dissertations

EBay is one of the world's most popular auction websites. Millions of buyers and sellers use eBay as a medium for e-commerce everyday. In this paper I will explain that one of the primary reasons for the success of this company is the perception that on average, eBay offers the best price between any two new like kind products. There are many factors that effect prices online and offline. Online purchasing and transaction behavior play a large roll in the actual prices that can be charged. Traditional retail establishments (retail establishments that have a physical location) have historically been the …

Factors Associated With Parenting Stress And Self-Competence In Single And Married Mothers Of Preschool-Aged Children, Erin Tentis

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the differences between married and single mothers in parenting stress and parenting self-competence. Fifty married and 45 single mothers of children aged 3- 4- or 5-years old participated in this study. Each mother completed a packet of questionnaires that included a demographics form, the Parenting Stress Index - Short Form, the Parenting Sense of Competence scale, the Daily Hassles subscale of the Hassles and Uplifts Scale, the Social Provisions Scale, the Colorado Child Temperament Inventory, and the Child Behavior Questionnaire.

Results indicated that married and single mothers do not differ in the extent to which they feel …

Asian Indian Perceptions Of Normality: A Qualitative Study, Mohammed S. Lodhi Khan

Theses and Dissertations

Normal mental health has always been defined from a Euro-centric worldview that excludes non-Westem cultures. In fact, what is normal is biased against non-Westem cultural ideals that influenced the definition of mental health. The difference between Eastern and Western cultural values suggest that the two cultures may also have differing views on the definition of normal mental health. The most commonly accepted definition of normality currently in use in the West is based on the models of health, utopia, average, transactional systems, and pragmatism. However, people from non-European cultures, such as Asian Indians, may not be represented by these current …