Digital Commons Network^™

Visual Layout Of Print Questionnaires: Effect On Responses Of Middle School Students, Sheri Bauman, Robert Steiner, Francesca Lopez

College of Education Faculty Research and Publications

A three-page questionnaire was modified to a one-page format. Questionnaires were administered in classroom groups to 300 middle school students. Classrooms were randomly divided into two groups, with one group receiving the original three-page format and the other receiving a single-page version of the same questionnaire. The visual layout of the two versions was different, and included variations in font, placement of response options, and spacing. Item non-response was greater for the single-page format. No statistically significant differences were detected between response patterns or internal consistency of the two versions of the questionnaire. Implications for school counselors are discussed.

Understanding Hope: A Review Of Measurement And Construct Validity Research, Lisa M. Edwards, Kevin L. Rand, Shane J. Lopez, C. R. Snyder

College of Education Faculty Research and Publications

Hope has been discussed by philosophers, theologians, educators, and scientists, to name but a few groups of people, over the preceding two millennia. During the last 15 years, C. R. Snyder and his colleagues at the University of Kansas have developed a theory and associated measures of the hope construct that have received extensive, detailed attention both within and outside the field of psychology. In this chapter, we describe Snyder's hope model and some of the research findings that have supported the validity of this construct. Beginning with a conceptual definition of hope, we move to relevant findings about the …

Approaching Chinese Culture: Strategies American Expatriates Adopt For Learning Chinese Culture, May Hongmei Gao, Deanna F. Womack

Faculty Articles

It is generally believed that cultural sojourners have diffi culties adapting to a wide range of business, academic, and social situations in a host culture. They need to adopt certain strategies to learn a foreign culture. Building upon existing literature on intercultural learning, adaptation, and perception, this research investigates American professional expatriates’ experience of coping with cultural others in China. In particular, this research investigates communication strategies that the American expatriates adopt in learning Chinese culture. Twenty in-depth interviews were conducted in China to collect data from multiple perspectives on how American professional expatriates adapt themselves from home (American) culture …

Turn-Taking And The Local Management Of Conversation In A Highly Simultaneous Computer-Mediated Communication System, Jeffrey F. Anderson, Fred K. Beard, Joseph B. Walther

Faculty Articles

Ongoing inquiry in communication technology research includes the questions of whether and how users adapt communication to the relatively restricted codes provided by text-based computer-mediated communication (CMC). This study proposes that adaptations may be affected by the level of simultaneity in messaging that CMC systems afford users. This suggestion is examined through an analysis of the particular conversational management strategies afforded by a fully synchronous computer-mediated communication system in which message transmission is keystroke-by-keystroke. Conversation analyses performed on the transcript of a three-person online conversation suggest several conclusions: Despite the novelty of the system, the CMC users appropriated and adapted …

Student Social Workers' Attitudes About Domestic Violence And Implications For Social Work Education, Vonnie L. Hawkins

LSU Master's Theses

This descriptive, correlational and exploratory study used the Domestic Violence Blame Scale and Domestic Violence Myth Acceptance Scale, with questions suggested by the literature, to examine attitudes about domestic violence, knowledge and self-reported preparedness of a purposive sample of student social workers (N=236) in a southern state. An anonymous online web-based survey was used for data collection, and universities distributed the survey hyperlink directly to their students. Response rate was approximately 22% out of an estimated 1060 students who were reported to have received the hyperlink by their universities. Lower victim blame and myth acceptance scores were observed in students …

Competency In Forensic Examinations: What Variables Predict Restoration?, Devan R. Guidry

LSU Master's Theses

Competency to Stand Trial (CST), also known as adjudicative competency, remains an important issue for both judicial and mental health systems, and much effort is invested in research designed to define, assess and determine what factors are most relevant for restoring CST. The purpose of this study was to provide information that might improve the ability to predict which individuals would eventually become competent. Archival data were reviewed for 79 inpatient defendants referred for competency restoration treatment. Although information was incomplete, comparisons were made between those who remained incompetent (IST; n =15) and those who were restored to competency (CST; …

"Fame's Eternal Camping Ground": Louisiana And Virginia Civil War Cemeteries, Leanna Deveres Smith

LSU Master's Theses

The Civil War in the United States was the deadliest conflict faced by Americans during the nineteenth century. The resulting numbers of dead bodies called for a change in both cemetery planning and traditional cemetery use. The Union created what became the National Cemetery System, consisting of standardized, nearly identical cemeteries created throughout the South both during and immediately after the war. This system, controlled by the federal government, sought to honor the loyalty of the Union dead while simultaneously dishonoring the Confederate dead, who could not be buried in national cemeteries. In contrast, southerners formed local organizations, primarily made …

Interrelationships Between Demographic, Psychosocial, And Academic Characteristics And Ged Attainment Among At-Risk Youth, Judith L. Rhodes

LSU Master's Theses

This exploratory-descriptive research examines demographic, psychosocial, and academic characteristics of at-risk youth (N = 111) who attempted the General Educational Development (GED) Tests. Among students who passed and did not pass the GED Tests, numerous significant relationships emerged. Non-passers were more likely than passers to leave school for academic environment reasons (t = 2.21, df = 109, p < .05). As compared with those who passed the GED Tests, a greater number of moderately strong interrelationships among demographic, psychosocial, and academic characteristics emerged among students who did not pass. Most notably, for non-passers, significantly strong and positive relationships emerged between academic environment reasons for leaving school and two other variables: family reasons for leaving school (r = .55, p < .01) and psychosocial reasons for leaving school (r = .57, p < .05). In addition, a very strong and negative interrelationship emerged among non-passers between academic environment reasons for leaving school and the poverty indicator of status (r = -.68, p < .01). A multivariate perspective is critical for increasing knowledge regarding the social problem of dropout. Such knowledge is crucial for research and policy formation at the local, state, and national levels as well as for school social work practice and education.

Unethical Obedience By Subordinate Attorneys: Lessons From Social Psychology, Andrew M. Perlman

Suffolk University Law School Faculty Works

This Article explores the lessons that we can learn from social psychology regarding a lawyer's willingness to comply with authority figures, such as senior partners or deep-pocketed clients, when they make unlawful or unethical demands. The Article reviews some of the basic literature in social psychology regarding conformity and obedience, much of which emphasizes the importance of context as a primary factor in predicting people's behavior. The Article then contends that lawyers frequently find themselves in the kinds of contexts that produce high levels of conformity and obedience and low levels of resistance to illegal or unethical instructions. The result …

Logging-On To Sai Baba: The Poetics Of Sacred Globalization, Meredith Morgan Feike

LSU Master's Theses

Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is the leader of a progressive religious movement steeped in the Hindu tradition. The Sathya Sai Baba Organization claims to have over thirty million members in approximately 170 countries. The dedicated followers of the movement believe Sai Baba to be an avatar or incarnation of God in human form. Sai Baba utilizes the Internet to transmit his universalistic philosophies around the world. With this digital universe, devotees can log-on to a multitude of official Sai websites that act as training ground for achieving liberation of the mind and soul. This path of devotion that Sai …

Etiology Of Traumatic Brain Injury: Impact On Psychological Functioning, Jeffrey James Schneider

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) due to violence has received increased research focus in recent years, with numerous studies examining the impact of violent TBI on cognitive and psychosocial outcomes. However, few studies have examined psychological outcomes following violent TBI. The present study examined the prevalence of symptoms of depression and anxiety in individuals with TBI due to violence (n = 180) and other causes (n = 360). Results indicated that while etiology was not a significant predictor of psychological status, overall there were some differences in endorsement of depressive and anxious symptoms among individuals with moderate to severe injuries compared …

Palmore Comes Of Age: The Place Of Race In The Placement Of Children, David D. Meyer

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Uncivil Religion: Judeo-Christianity And The Ten Commandments, Frederick Mark Gedicks, Roger Hendrix

Faculty Scholarship

In the recent Decalogue Cases, Justice Scalia argued that when it comes to public acknowledgment of religious belief, it is entirely clear from our Nation's historical practices that the Establishment Clause permits th[e] disregard of polytheists and believers in unconcerned deities, just as it permits the disregard of devout atheists. Justice Scalia's argument represents the latest attempt to insulate American civil religion from Establishment Clause attack. A civil religion is a set of nondenominational values, symbols, rituals, and assumptions which create both reverence of national history and formation of a communal national bond.

The most recent incarnation of American civil …

A Social Defense Of Sarbanes-Oxley, James A. Fanto

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Sources De Données Sur Les Conditions De Travail En Lien Avec La Santé Et La Sécurité Du Travail. Document I, Synthèse, Patrice Duguay, Paul Massicotte, Jean-François Godin, François Hébert, Michèle Gervais

Rapports de recherche scientifique

La nature du travail se transforme tout comme les conditions dans lesquelles il s'accomplit. La population active vieillit. Un plus grand nombre d'emplois requièrent des compétences nombreuses, variées, souvent complexes. Les environnements de travail – que ce soit au plan physique, économique, organisationnel, psychosocial – ne cessent de se transformer. En raison de cette dynamique, plusieurs enquêtes ont été réalisées en vue de documenter les conditions de travail, en termes de changement ou de diversité. Ces études ont permis d'établir des liens entre certaines conditions de travail et la santé ou la sécurité des travailleurs.

L'objectif de ce document est …

Pediatric Oncology: Parent Education Handbook, Lindsey Anderson, Lacey Harrington

Occupational Therapy Capstones

In America, approximately 12,400 children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer each year (Harris, 2004). The number of newly diagnosed children is on a steady increase. With this steady increase it is important to ensure that parents of the child diagnosed with cancer have resources about cancer and the treatment process as well as support. A review of current literature, research, and resources was conducted in order to locate the gaps within pediatric oncology. The literature helped identify areas of concern related to pediatric oncology. The areas identified consist of the parents having minimal knowledge while under emotional stress when …

The Wings Of Change: Occupational Therapy Activities For Women Of Domestic Violence, Lainie Donahue, Dianna Steen

Occupational Therapy Capstones

Literature indicates that the current services provided to women of domestic violence typically include emergency housing, crisis counseling, and short-term legal and financial assistance (Gorde, Helfrich, & Finlayson, 2004). While these resources provide necessary immediate support to the victim, she may often feel powerless to make long-term changes. If adequate long-term resources and support are not available to the victim, the victim is more likely to return to an abusive situation.

The review of literature focuses on obtaining a deeper understanding of the needs that exist for women subsequent to leaving an abusive relationship, and how to prevent the risk …

An Occupational Therapy Parent Education Handbook: Parenting In The Nicu, Olivia Donald, Angie Laakso

Occupational Therapy Capstones

Parents often feel overwhelmed by their premature infant's fragile medical state and intimidated by the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) environment. The birth of a premature infant is a stressful event for parents because they are coping with their newborn facing life threatening immaturity and its possible consequences, such as handicap or even death. Due to the premature infant's fragile medical state parents often feel their infant does not belong to them but rather to the healthcare staff.

A parent's lack of involvement in their infant's care is a major source of stress, feelings of dis empowerment and a lack …

Handwriting From A-Z, Connie Lillejord

Occupational Therapy Capstones

Prevalence for the number of students with poor handwriting skills has been estimated to range from 12% to 21 % depending on grade, selection criteria, and instruments used (Graham & Weintraub, 1996; Hamstra-BIetz & Blote, 1993; Smits-Engelsman & Van Galen, 1997). During late elementary and middle school years there is an increasing demand for efficient work output, particularly in written requirements. Greater numbers of required reports, math assignments, and writing assignments tap into a child's capacity to develop ideas quickly and put them down on paper (Levine, Oberklaid, & Meltzer, 1981). Children who have not developed automatic, fluent handwriting will …

The Nullification Of The Russian Jury: Lessons For Jury-Inspired Reform In Eurasia And Beyond, Stephen C. Thaman

All Faculty Scholarship

This article explores the extent to which the Russian jury system has achieved goals crucial to the reformation of inquisitorial Soviet practices.

A Republic Of The Mind: Cognitive Biases, Fiscal Federalism, And Section 164 Of The Tax Code, Brian Galle

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In its efforts to guide money to the states, our federal government annually passes up more than $75 billion in potential revenue under a single provision of the Tax Code. That provision, section 164 of the Code, allows itemizing taxpayers to deduct the cost of the state and local income, property, and (to a limited extent) sales taxes they paid during the tax year. The eye-popping size of that number makes section 164 a perennial issue in tax policy circles, and as one of the deductions omitted from the Alternative Minimum Tax's (AMT) parallel tax universe, the section is also …

Early Panel Announcement, Settlement And Adjudication, Samuel P. Jordan

All Faculty Scholarship

Federal appellate courts have significant discretion to set the internal policies that govern the appeals process, and they have used that discretion to institute policies designed to combat increasing caseloads. This Article takes a close look at one such policy: early announcement of panel composition in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. In stark contrast to every other circuit, the D.C. Circuit announces panel composition to litigants in civil appeals well in advance of oral argument, and it does so at least in part to encourage settlement and control the court's workload. This Article concludes that although there are indications …

The Role Of Empathy, Anger Management And Normative Belief About Aggression In Bullying Among Urban, African American Middle School Children, Layla E. Esposito

Theses and Dissertations

This study used binary logistic regression analysis to examine the role of empathy,anger management, and normative beliefs about aggression on overt bullying, relational bullying, and prosocial behavior in urban African-American middle school children. Participants included 177 African-American sixth, seventh and eighth grade students from two public, urban middle schools in a large city in the Southeast United States. The results of this study indicated that binary logistic regression models including empathy, anger management, and normative beliefs about aggression predicted prosocial behavior, and marginally predicted relational bullying. Nonnative beliefs about aggression had a significant moderating effect, such that for participants who …

The Multiple Meanings Of Domestic Violence: A Constructivist Inquiry, Monica Rene' Leisey

Theses and Dissertations

Spurred by the work of the Battered Women's Movement, domestic violence has been responded to since it emerged as a problem in the 1970s. At first the response was providing places for victims to stay and recover from the violence while also providing opportunities for consciousness raising and empowerment work. As domestic violence became a more recognized problem, policies were created and enacted to end the problem. Through the 1980s and 1990s, changes in federal policies in regards to domestic violence were incorporated. The criminal justice system began incorporating such policies as mandatory arrest and no-drop prosecution policies as well …

Within And Without, Shane Robert Rocheleau

Theses and Dissertations

Within and Without is a document which illustrates my personal and artistic research into the nature of the postmodern conception of the self: that self is unfixed, multiple, and reactive. It explicates my myriad and explorative approaches to photographic portraiture. Furthermore, it indicates many of my theoretical and artistic references and how I have applied my lessons both as an artist and a researcher to maximize the effect of my concepts within the formal and aesthetic confines of my photographs. Finally, this document explains my own beliefs concerning the nature of self and how a synthesis of my influences has …

The Effect Of Child Characteristics And Environmental Demands On Parenting Across Intact And Divorced Families: An Exploratory View, Jennifer L. Stevenson

Theses and Dissertations

Minimal attention has been directed toward learning how children may influence parenting practices and styles within a divorce setting, and - more significantly - how children may influence the co-parenting practices and behaviors of divorced parents. The roles of child temperament, parenting, and their reciprocal interaction werereviewed as they relate to the development of externalizing and internalizing problems in childhood. Literature regarding the impact of divorce on the parent-child relationship was also discussed. A cluster analytic approach was utilized in order to identify three groups of individuals with internalizing, externalizing, and adaptive characteristics. Parenting features were then evaluated across both …

The Effects Of Transdermal Nicotine On Tobacco/Nicotine Withdrawal And Concurrently Administered Cigarettes In Women And Men, Betha A. Kleykamp

Theses and Dissertations

Transdermal nicotine (TN) is a smoking cessation pharmacotherapy thought to work by suppressing tobacco/nicotine withdrawal and reducing the effect of a concurrently smoked tobacco cigarette. Clinical trials suggest that TN may be less efficacious for women. This study explored the possibility of gender differences in response to transdermal nicotine in 54 women and 70 men. Participants completed four within-subject, double-blind, randomized sessions corresponding to 0, 7, 14, and 21 mg TN and 4-hrs after TN application smoked an own-brand cigarette. Prior to session onset participants completed ≥ 8 hours of verified tobacco cigarette abstinence (i.e., expired air carbon monoxide levels …

Exploring The Cardiovascular Response To Anger Imagery And Speech In Vietnam Veterans With And Without Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Jennifer Jane Runnals

Theses and Dissertations

Few studies directly compare the physiological consequences of anger under a variety of induction methods. The current study explored the patterns of cardiovascular responding associated with varying anger induction methods, specifically personal anger memory recall through verbalization versus imagery in a sample of Vietnam combat veterans with and without Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Spoken anger produced greater elevations in blood pressure than anger that was recalled through imagery but not spoken. This was true even after controlling for the metabolic activity associated with speech. However, for veterans with PTSD, anger imagery was also sufficient to produce an elevated response in …

Intrapersonal Grief As A Clinical Entity Distinct From Depression: Does It Exist Among A Medically Ill Parkinson's Disease Population?, Rashelle Brown Hayes

Theses and Dissertations

There has been growing support for the idea that complicated grief symptoms following bereavement are independent of symptoms of depression and anxiety. However, the loss of a loved one is not the only or the most frequent type of loss to be encountered. The onset of an insidious medical illness may trigger a mourning process for the lost function or body part that is posited to also involve feelings of grief. While the risk of depression is high among a medical or rehabilitative population, the impact of grief over functional losses has never been empirically investigated as a contributing factor …

A Fugitive Sea, Marian Brunn Smith

Theses and Dissertations

I make images that are fragmented like ominous dreams. Described with sensuous marks of paint, they demand intimacy but reveal vulnerability as they threaten to break apart before the eyes. This thesis examines my journey over the past two years at VCU and describes my artistic beliefs and visions.