Education Commons^™

A Fundamental Investigation Of The Effects Of Die Geometry And Process Variables On Fiber Diameter And Quality Of Melt Blown Polypropylene Webs, Ahamad Yacub A. Khan

Doctoral Dissertations

An elaborate investigation was carried out to study the effects of die geometry and process variables on fiber diameter and shot formation of melt blown polypropylene webs. This four part investigation included the study of die orifice di mansions such as diameter and UD ratio, die geometry variables such as nosetip angle, air gap, nosetip setback, face gap, and process variables such as polymer throughput rate, volumetric flow rate of primary air, die-to-collector-distance, resin melt flow rate (MFR), and melt shear viscosity. Also the effects of different process variables on physical and mechanical properties of the webs were studied during …

An Investigation Of Nutrition Knowledge, Beliefs And Dietary Intake Of Women In A Poor Community As A Basis For Nutrition Education, Carolyn Patricia Parks

Doctoral Dissertations

A descriptive and exploratory design was employed to investigate nutrition knowledge, beliefs and dietary intake in poor women, using the health belief model, as a basis for developing a culturally relevant nutrition education program. Women from four housing developments in a metropolitan southern city were studied.

Twenty-four judges in nutrition, health education, poor populations of color, and communication were utilized to establish content, cultural and linguistic validity of the knowledge and beliefs instruments. Statistical analysis showed sufficient reliability: knowledge test - .88 (KR-21) and beliefs scale - .90 (Cronbach's alpha). Alpha reliabilities for beliefs subscales, except seriousness (.49), were also …

Predictors Of Bone Density In Women: A Longitudinal Study, Susan G. Munroe

Doctoral Dissertations

This research was a 15-year follow-up study of the relationships of age, physical measurements, diet group (non-vegetarian, NV; vegetarian, V), use of estrogen, dietary intakes of energy, calcium, and bone density in 60 healthy postmenopausal NV (n=31) and V (n=29) women, (age range 53-92). The V group was comprised of 29 lacto-ovo-vegetarian women, the remaining 31 subjects were NV. All subjects had been participants in an earlier (1976-1979) bone density study conducted in these laboratories. Measurements of height, weight, triceps skinfold thickness (TSF), and bone density of the radius and ulna were made (single photon absorptiometry); 7-day dietary records, and …

The Presence Of Anxiety In First Year Associate Degree Nursing Students And The Effectiveness Of A Stress Management Program, Cynthia W. Swafford

Doctoral Dissertations

The purposes of this study were to document and describe the presence of anxiety in an incoming class of associate degree nursing students and to determine the effects of a stress management program on anxiety reduction and promotion of success in the first semester of a nursing program.

The population was 122 first year nursing students at Chattanooga State Technical Community College in Fall 1990. Treatment (n = 58) and control (n = 64) groups were assigned based on a common schedule of nursing classes.

During the semester, the treatment group voluntarily attended weekly one hour stress management/anxiety reduction sessions. …

The Influence Of Peers On The Food-Related Behavior Of Adolescents During And Post Pregnancy, Lisa Marie Varner

Doctoral Dissertations

Peer influence on snack food selections and nutrient intake from snacks was investigated in adolescents during pregnancy and at 12 months postpartum. Seventy pregnant (PG) adolescents completed two 24-hour food recalls, one two-day food record, and a Peer Influence Questionnaire (PIQ) pertaining to participation with close friends in various activities and discussions (including nutrition- and food-related). Fifty-three of the 70 PG adolescents brought a peer to an interview session and participated with this peer in a Snack Food Selection Activity. Thirty-two of the PG adolescents also completed at postpartum (PP) the food records/recalls and the PIQ; an additional 27 adolescents …

Pregnant And Postpartum Adolescents' Appetite Compulsions, Food Preferences, And Reasons For Dietary Change, Janet Faye Pope

Doctoral Dissertations

This study was conducted to examine factors influencing the nutritional habits of adolescents during and after pregnancy. Data were collected on 97 white adolescents during the third trimester of pregnancy, and on 64 of the same adolescents at one year postpartum. The study included three components: (a) an exploration of reported changes in eating habits and reasons for the changes; (b) a semi-structured interview used to obtain information about appetite compulsions (cravings, aversions, and pica); and (c) a sensory analysis of preferences for 16 specific foods.

Data showed that adolescents made positive changes in their diets during pregnancy; 64% reported …

Strategies And Skills Used By Middle School Students During The Solving Of Non-Routine Mathematics Problems, Terry D. Rose

Doctoral Dissertations

This study was conducted to determine the processes and strategies selected middle school students use during the solving of non-routine mathematics problems. Qualitative research methods were used to identify the cognitive and metacognitive skills and processes used in problem solving and to determine the affective influences on the problem solving process.

Six middle grade students were selected to participate in the study. Each student was interviewed four times. The first interview was conducted in order to develop student profiles by obtaining information about each student's family, school, and mathematics background. The second and third interviews consisted of two phases. First, …

Determining The Effect Of Television, Parents, And Peers On The Food Choices Of Pregnant Adolescents, Dena Leah Goldberg

Doctoral Dissertations

The influence of television, parents, and peers on the food choices of 79 pregnant adolescents, aged 14 to 18, was studied. Two 24-hour diet recalls and a two-day food record, questionnaires about television viewing habits and communication with parents and peers relating to food selection and food purchasing, and semi-structured interview regarding television commercials were administered in the last trimester of pregnancy.

Adolescents consumed 38% of their calories and 36% to 41% of total vitamin and mineral intake per day while watching television. Foods consumed while watching television were significantly lower (P=0.03) in fat than foods consumed while not watching …

Effect Of Carnitine On The Disposition Of Alcohols, Robin Ann Ruark Brothers

Doctoral Dissertations

Male Sprague-Dawley rats, 300-500g, were fed Purina rodent chow with or without a supplement of 0.5 % L-carnitine (CS or NS groups) for 5-7 days, after which they were given a single oral dose of methanol (2.25 g/kg), isopropanol (2.0 g/kg), ethylene glycol (5.56 g/kg), or ethylene glycol (5.56 g/kg) followed by ethanol (3.0 g/kg) 1 hour later in aqueous solutions. Serial blood and urine samples were collected over time and analyzed for the respective alcohols by gas chromatography. The data were subjected to pharmacokinetic analysis and statistical analysis.

There was significant reduction in blood methanol concentration in the CS …

The Development Of Medical Standards For The Assessment Of Back Disability In A Nursing Population, John Charles Turner

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop a job-specific abilities analysis for nurses, and to compile medical standards for disability assessment based upon abilities analysis, appropriate for The University of Tennessee Medical Center at Knoxville. The primary area of interest for this research was back disability.

A group of 226 staff nurses at the Medical Center completed a survey of six physical ability scales developed to assess the greatest amount of physical stress experienced by them in their daily duties. In addition, a group of 24 physicians and physical therapists completed a survey designed to rate the maximum allowable …

The Effect Of Exercise, Diet Restriction And Aging On The Pituitary-Adrenal Axis In The Rat, Madeline Dellwo

Doctoral Dissertations

The effects of calorie restriction and exercise on feed consumption, growth, and the pituitary-adrenal axis were studied in aging male Wistar rats. The study consisted of 4 experimental groups: Sedentary, ad libitum fed controls (A); Sedentary, diet restricted by feeding on alternate days (R); Exercised by swimming on alternate days, ad libitum fed (AE); Exercised by swimming on alternate days, diet restricted by feeding on alternate days (RE).

Training effect was verified by heart weight:body weight ratio. Exercise resulted in a significantly lower body weight, in spite of the fact that exercised animals ate more than the sedentary animals. Body …

The Social Interaction Of Mainstreamed High School Students: An Ethnographic Inquiry, Marge Terhaar-Yonkers

Doctoral Dissertations

This ethnographic study examined the social interaction of mainstreamed and nondisabled learners at McArthur High School. The researcher studied the relationship between social interaction and context and the meanings held by McArthur students and teachers. Participant observation, structured and unstructured interviews, and artifact collection were the methods used to obtain these descriptions. The study was divided into three phases, each focused on a specific component of social interaction: peer interaction, reported standards which shape interaction, and standards negotiated in action, "standards in action." For each of the phases, descriptions were provided and comparisons were made between mainstreamed and nondisabled learners. …

Disease Related Knowledge, Mhlc, And Compliance With Treatment Of The Patient With Copd, Ann Putnam Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations

Statement of the Problem: The problem of the study was to determine the relationship among disease related knowledge, multidimensional health locus of control, and level of treatment compliance for COPD patients at U.T. Medical Center, Knoxville.

The Effect Of Dietary Sulfur On The Metabolism Of Long Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids, Mei Fung Chen

Doctoral Dissertations

The test hypothesis of this investigation was that methionine-supplemented diets could possibly interfere with the metabolism of polyunsaturated fatty acids, thereby altering the biosynthesis of the active metabolites, prostanoids, and the profiles of tissue phospholipids. The postulated mechanism of action for this dietary regimen would be to increase the tissue concentration of the active methyl donor, S-Adenosyl-methionine (SAM) which is also called an activated methionine. SAM is a potent inhibitor of the cycloaxygenase enzyme which is important for the synthesis of biologically active prostanoids.

The results demonstrated that liver microsomes from rats fed the methionine-supplemented diet had a statistically significant …

A Survey Of Health Risk Factors Among Tennessee Adolescents: Ninth And Twelfth Graders, Deborah Ann Fortune

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify health risk factors for teens attending selected Tennessee public schools as either ninth or twelfth graders during the school year 1986-1987 and to provide baseline data for future school health education programs in Tennessee.

The data were collected using a computerized health risk appraisal questionnaire. The sample consisted of 1,348 ninth and twelfth grade students from seven selected Tennessee public schools across the state. Of the 1,348 students, 720 were ninth graders and 628 were twelfth graders. Descriptive statistics were used to obtain frequencies and percentages of the sample according to grade, …

The Relationship Between The Frequency Of Occurrence Of Potentially Stressful Events And Their Overall Ranking By School Psychologists, With Exercise As A Moderating Variable, Harold Wayne Jernigan

Doctoral Dissertations

The concept of stress and its relationship to events relevant to the profession of school psychology was investigated. The purpose of this descriptive study was to investigate the relationship between the relative frequency of stressful events related to school psychology and their overall ranking as to degree of stressfulness, with exercise considered as a moderating variable.

The survey research method was utilized. Surveys were mailed to a sample of 281 school psychologists, primarily within the state of Tennessee. The instrument included a modified version of Wise's (1985) School Psychologists and Stress Inventory which allowed each of 35 potentially stressful events …

The Limits Of Schooling By Imposition: The Hopi Indians Of Arizona, Donald Eugene Miller

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is a historical study of education among the Hopi Indians of Arizona. The basic premise of the study is that schooling was imposed on the Indian. Those who brought schooling, whether Spanish priest or American agent, were committed to changing the Hopi into a new cultural being. The years from 1540 to the 1920s reflect a period when cultural intolerance, imposed through schooling, was most intense. When educators tried to destroy Hopi culture they were less successful than when they tried to accommodate it. The Hopi were committed to their own way of life which was transmitted and …

Life-Cycle Cost Effectiveness And Safety Evaluation Involving Tennessee Bureau Of Investigation Vehicles, Curtis Lee Sturgill

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify and analyze the life-cycle effectiveness and safety factors involved in operating Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) motor vehicles from zero miles through life-cycle. The major concerns were to provide a balance of economic and safety factors for determining when vehicles should be replaced.

The data were collected from TBI files, Department of Transportation (DOT) records, and the National Automobile Dealers Associations Guide (NADA).

The analysis consisted of entering the data into a computer where they were cross tabulated to determine the correlation between operational costs and mileage.

The major findings of the …

A Study Of The Perception Of Verbal Aggression In Black And White Females, Rosemary E. Phelps

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare black and white females' perceptions of verbal aggression. Eighty black and 80 white female participants read a short dialogue of two female college roommates engaged in a verbal interaction. One of these women was arbitrarily selected as the identified aggressor; the other, the target. Pilot studies had established that participants similar to those used in this study thought that the dialogue contained verbal aggression and that each of the persons was equally verbally aggressive. As the participants read the dialogue, they had access to drawings of the two women. The experimental conditions …

A Study Of Selected Factors To Identify Sixth Grade Students Gifted In Mathematics, Charleen Mitchell Deridder

Doctoral Dissertations

The identification of children who are gifted is common in schools of the United States. High I.Q. and achievement scores are traditionally used. This study explored the adequacy of these variables in mathematics education. Based on the Renzulli model for giftedness, the study assessed problem solving ability, and task commitment. Only students identified as having above average general ability were selected as subjects. Eighty-seven sixth graders were selected from three Knox County, Tennessee, middle schools to form six groups. These groups were stratified as high (128 or above), mid upper(116-127), and average (95-115) I.Q. scores coupled with either a mathematics …

Math Anxiety: Relationship With Sex, College Major, Mathematics Background, Mathematics Achievement, Mathematics Performance, Mathematics Avoidance, Self-Rating Of Mathematics Ability, And Self-Rating Of Mathematics Anxiety As Measured By The Revised Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale (Rmars), Patricia Ann Preston

Doctoral Dissertations

Mathematics educators and psychologists blame "math anxiety" for affecting mathematics learning, performance, and enrollment, and, subsequently, choice of college major and career. Researchers have yet to agree on prevalence, stability, and effects of math anxiety.

This study (1) investigated the prevalence and intensity of math anxiety in college students (as a whole, by major, and by sex), (2) determined the stability of math anxiety over time, and (3) investigated those background and experimental factors related to its occurrence in college students, using data gathered on 173 college students in mathematics, education, and English classrooms. The data concerned college students' math …

Functional Performance Of Thual Barley Grown In Two Locations As Affected By Salt In Model And Food Systems, Ruthann Burroughs Swanson

Doctoral Dissertations

Functional properties of Thual hull-less whole-grain barley flours milled from barley grown in two locations were studied. Proximate composition of Tennessee-produced barley flour approximated that of whole-wheat flour; flour milled from Alaska-produced barley had reduced protein and increased carbohydrate plus ash levels. Alaska barley flour had higher levels of the amino acids detrimental to loaf volume, whereas higher levels of amino acids related to increased loaf volume were present in the Tennessee barley flour. Photomicrographs of flour components revealed a bimodal starch distribution. Starch granule shapes approximated those of wheat. Adhering matter was present.

Composite flours that were 50% bread …

Modulation Of The S-Adenosylmethionine To S-Adensoyhomocyseine Ratio: Effect On Transmethylation, George Loo

Doctoral Dissertations

Regulation of transmethylation by lowering the molar ratio of S-adenosylmethionine to S-sdenosylhomocysteine (SAM: SAH ration) was studied. Reduction of the ration in vitro caused a decrease in the activities of rat liver thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT), thiol methyl-transferase (TMT), and protien(lysine)methyltransferase (PLMT). Furthermore, rats injected with D,L-homocysteine thiolactone had a reduction in the hepatic SAM:SAH ration, as well as a decrease in the activities of TPMT and PLMT, but not TMT, in liver.

Reduction of the hepatic SAM:SAH ratio in rats fed a pyridoxine-deficient diet resulted in a decrease in the activity of PLMT, but not TPMT and TMT, in liver. …

Influence Of Quality Of Worklife Variables On The Retention And Career Satisfaction Of Science And Mathematics Teachers, Jerry D. Barker

Doctoral Dissertations

Teacher shortages are predicted in all areas of public education. These shortages are already a reality for science and mathematics. The overall purpose of this study was to identify major workplace variables that affect job satisfaction within educational organizations. Once identified these variables were utilized to construct an intervention framework grounded in the principles of the Quality of Work-life (QWL) paradigm. The investigation was designed as a descriptive study utilizing a survey instrument and interviews developed around the QWL model of workplace satisfaction.

The study sample included 479 secondary classroom teachers representing a diverse range of school district types from …

A Comparison Of The Effect Of Using Computer Calls And Personal Calls For Improving Public Attendance In The Public High Schools, Maurice M. Mcdonald Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations

Research supporting a positive correlation between parents awareness of their children’s school absenteeism and improved pupil attendance is limited and studies related to the use of telephone computers as viable alternatives for improving parental notification and reducing pupil absenteeism is non-existent. The primary purposes of the study were (1) to add to the body of research which deals with the relationship between parental awareness and pupil attendance and (2) to provide public school decision makers with data which would assist them in determining if telephone computers are effective, cost-beneficial alternatives to using personnel for notifying parents of their children’s non-attendance. …

Use Of Eye Movement As An Indicator Of Sensory Components In Thought, Michael Orval Buckner

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate some of the basic tenets of the Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) eye movement model which state that specific eye movements are indicative of when a person is thinking visually, auditorily, and/or kinesthetically. Forty-eight graduate and undergraduate students from educational psychology classes were interviewed and were asked to concentrate on a single thought while their eye movements were videotaped. They were subsequently asked if their thoughts contained visual, auditory, and/or kinesthetic components. Two NLP trained observers independently rated edited silent videotapes of the subjects and reported the presence of eye movements posited by NLP …

Importance Of Teaching Competencies For Secondary Teachers In North Carolina As Perceived By Educational Practitioners And Policy Makers, Colleen K. Cody

Doctoral Dissertations

The purposes of this study were to determine if there were any consensus among superintendents, chairpersons of the boards of education, and principals in North Carolina relative to the perceived importance of teaching competencies for the secondary teacher and to identify the competencies considered most and least critical to secondary teacher job performance. The North Carolina Teacher Performance Appraisal Instrument competencies were used for this study. The 34 competencies were grouped under 10 major functions which were also analyzed for this study.

Data were gathered from 289 respondents who were mailed a questionnaire containing the 34 competency statements in the …

Managing Instructional Information: A Decision Support System To Aid In Textbook Selection, Fred B. Wheeler Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of developing a decision support system--a set of computerized information management tools to collect, store, analyze, and report information--to aid in the selection of classroom textbooks. The study was designed to assess the economic, technical, and operational feasibility using a management information systems model. A textbook selection decision was regarded as a combination of both operational control and managerial control decision types, semi-structured in nature, requiring a wide range of data having specific information characteristics.

Working in a rural North Carolina school system, three administrators, twelve special education teachers and …

Teacher Time-On-Task: An Analysis Of Classroom Time Use For Two City School Systems, 1985, Suzanne Thomas Richards

Doctoral Dissertations

Teacher use of classroom time was the focus of this 1985 study. An analysis of on- and off-task behavior of 38 randomly selected elementary teachers in grades three, four, and five comprised the data for the research. The effect of interruptions, both inside and outside the classroom, were analyzed as well as teacher on- and off-task percents by system and across grade levels.

The study showed that a majority of teachers were on-task over 70 percent of the instructional day, averaging just over 74 percent of on-task behavior. Interruptions accounted for a substantial portion of off-task behavior for some teachers …

A Typology Of Information Search Patterns: Apparel Selection Of Employed Women, Soyeon Shim

Doctoral Dissertations

The purposes of this study were to: (1) identify segments displaying different information search patterns among employed purchasers of apparel; (2) to determine the consumer, situational, product, and market characteristics that correlate with each segment; and (3) to develop an exploratory framework of the processes which produce characteristics of information search patterns.

A random sample of 3,000 female consumers, age 25-44, was sent questionnaires resulting in a 47 percent return rate (n=1410). Only employed women were used for this research (n=1034).

Principal Components Factor Analysis with Varimax Rotation was used: (a) to find out factors of information search activities, and …