Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Comparison Of Alphanumeric, Direct Manipulation Graphic, And Equivalent Interface Design For A Production Scheduling Task, Ann C. Fulop

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Scheduling is an essential factor influencing the efficiency of any production system. The effectiveness of the scheduling system depends upon the interaction of the human and machine. Thus, to effectively design the interface between the human and the machine, the human factors professional must understand scheduling behavior and the information requirements of the scheduling task. The present study modeled human scheduling behavior and determined the information requirements of the scheduling task. The study also compared alphanumeric, direct manipulation graphic, and equivalent interfaces to determine which interface best supports scheduling. The results of the study show that schedulers monitor the current …

Environmental And Age Differences In The Formation Of Romantic Pairs And Self-Monitoring In Adolescents, Russell I. Oelheim

Dissertations and Theses

Mark Snyder (1974) in his Self-Monitoring (SM) construct proposed there were two ways in which people might be classified: high and low self-monitors. High SM individuals attend to environmental cues and respond to the expectations of a given situation, while low SM individuals respond to their feelings, inner states and personal values. This construct has been extensively researched with adults and children, but not with adolescents.

David Elkind (1979), in his Imaginary Audience (IA) construct, suggested that upon reaching puberty, teenagers become vitally aware of how they are perceived by others. Elkind maintained that girls in early adolescence were more …

Changes In The Midgut Of Female Amblyomma Americanum As A Result Of Feeding Upon Hosts Expressing Different Levels Of Acquired Anti-Tick Resistance, Mildred E. Voss-Mccowan

Theses and Dissertations

Previous studies have demonstrated that host acquired resistance resulted in reduced numbers of engorged ticks, restricted engorgement, reduced numbers and viability of ova, longer duration of feeding, and in some instances, the death of the tick. It is currently not understood how ticks are adversely affected by feeding on hosts expressing acquired tick resistance.

Examination of the midgut and diverticulae of adult female Amblyomma americanum allowed to engorge on guinea pigs acquiring and expressing tick resistance revealed changes in the gut epithelium as well as in the cellular composition of the blood meal. Engorging females were removed from hosts at …

The Relationship Of Gender And Marital Status To Depression And Personality And Demographic Variables Among The Well Elderly, Virginia C. Schwalm

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of gender and marital status to depression and personality and demographic variables among the well elderly.

There were three research questions: (1) By gender, what is the relationship of the inventory scales scores and the demographic variables to the CES-D Depression Scale? (2) Are there significant gender differences on the inventory scales scores and on the demographic variables? (3) Is there a gender by marital status interaction on the CES-D Depression Scale scores and on the inventory scales scores?

Subjects were 214 females and 103 males ages 55 to over …

Music As Communication: A Rhetorical Perspective Based On Susanne Langer's Theory Of Aesthetic Symbolism, Deanna D. Sellnow

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to create a rhetorical perspective by which to understand and analyze music as aesthetic communication. Specifically, this study extends Susanne Langer's theory of aesthetic symbolism as it relates to music as a mode of communication. Once the rhetorical perspective for analyzing music as communication has been depicted, the perspective is operationalized to analyze music from two contemporary social movements in the United States. The music analyzed in this dissertation comes from the Neo-Nazi Skinhead movement and the New Age movement. By approaching music as aesthetic communication in this way, the reader is able to …

Time Of Day And Age Differences In The Components Of Working Memory, Maureen J. Winger

Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined the effects of time of day on short-term memory efficiency in older and younger adults. Forty-five young (18-35 years of age) and thirty-six older (over 60 years of age) adults were selected for participation. Subjects were tested individually at 0900 hrs, 1400 hrs or 2000 hrs. Two measures of memory scanning and three measures of memory span were employed. Memory scan measures required subjects to scan working memory for sets of 2, 3 or 4 digits or words. Memory span measures included digit span, word span, and sentence span. The digit and word span measures were …

Learning To Love: Philosophy And Moral Progress, Phil Smith

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

Love is a crucially important notion in morals. Moral philosophy, then, should give attention to this notion, and some of that attention should be concerned with how people might develop or improve as lovers. However, when the author tried to think through some rather obvious suggestions relating to love and becoming a lover, it became clear that much moral theory gives love short shrift. Assumptions inherent in rationalistic moral theory prevent most moral philosophers from letting love be the central concept in their work.

This dissertation has two aims: to suggest four things which may contribute to moral progress by …

The Blood-Oocyte Barrier: Morphological Evidence Implicating The Zona Pellucida, Allan D. Forsman

Theses and Dissertations

A developing oocyte is capable of synthesizing "non-self" proteins recognized as foreign by the maternal immune system. Since the oocyte may be perceived as foreign it must be protected from interaction with the immune system in order for it to mature to the point of ovulation. Oocytes that begin development but do not mature to the point of ovulation become atretic and are destroyed and phagocytized by the maternal system. This study proposes that the zona pellucida of the ovarian follicle is the barrier between the immune system and the oocyte. The suggestion is made that the oocyte may play …

Nurse Manager Role Stress, Rosemarie Mohn

Ellmer School of Nursing Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of decision-making style, and right and left brain function on nurse manager role stress. Data were collected from 48 nurse managers employed at four acute care facilities along the Atlantic seaboard. A nonexperimental correlation descriptive design was utilized to determine if any positive or negative correlation existed between study variables and levels of stress. Findings suggested that nurse managers experienced moderate amounts of role stress, including role conflict and role ambiguity. One significant statistical correlation existed between role ambiguity and the decision making dimension of intuition. Recommendations for future research …

States Of Mind Model And Cognitive Change In Treated Social Phobics, Monroe A. Bruch, Richard G. Heimberg, Debra A. Hope

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The applicability of Schwartz and Garamoni’s (1986, 1989) States of Mind (SOM) model for assessing the influence of cognitive-behavioral therapy on cognitive functioning was evaluated with social phobics. The SOM model states that a positive dialogue (i.e., a 2:1 ratio of positive to negative thoughts) is optimal for effective coping. Social phobics receiving either a cognitive-behavioral or educational-supportive group treatment were compared for SOM change, as were subjects meeting criteria for improvement or nonimprovement. Also the study compared the predictability of the SOM ratio with a ratio based on percent of negative thoughts. Subjects in both treatments evidenced negative monologue …

Concurrent Validity Of The Social Phobia And Anxiety Inventory, James D. Herbert, Alan S. Bellack, Debra A. Hope

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI) is a new instrument designed to assess symptoms of social phobia. Although the scale has been shown to have a good test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and construct validity, no studies have examined its concurrent validity with respect to other measures of social anxiety and avoidance. In the present study, the relationship between the SPAI and several self-report measures of social anxiety was examined in a sample of 23 patients meeting DSM-III-R criteria for social phobia. The relationship between the SPAI and other measures of psychopathology, as well as performance during a role play …

The Relationship Of Obsessive-Compulsive Characteristics To Impression Accuracy And Perceptions Of Self And Others, Jill M. Plevell-Omdahl

Theses and Dissertations

The identification of methodological and statistical difficulties in previous impression accuracy research has necessitated that the role of personality in impression accuracy be reinvestigated. The present research addressed: (1) the impact of obsessive-compulsive personality traits on impression accuracy; and (2) subject perceptions of actual self, ideal self, others, and others' perceptions of them.

This study utilized a 2 x 2 x 2 design. Independent variables included: (1) judge vs. observer status; (2) high vs. low obsessive-compulsive traits; and (3) first vs. second session. Dependent variables included subject ratings on the OSCARS (Versions 1-4), designed to measure the obsessive-compulsive tendencies in …

The Effect Of Acute Alcohol Intoxication On Memory Scan And Memory Span In Working Memory, Dawn M. Kugler

Theses and Dissertations

The efficiency of working memory processes has been studied by many researchers. Verbal ability and intoxication with ethanol are two hypothesized influences on the efficiency of working memory processes. This study looked at these factors across two measures, memory span tasks and memory scan tasks. This study also examined the extent to which verbal ability modulates the effect of alcohol on working memory performance.

Seventy-eight male subjects participated in the present study. Subjects who reported drinking at least two drinks on two separate occasions per week were invited to participate. Subjects were administered the WAIS-R Vocabulary subtest and categorized as …

Carno-Phallogocentrism, Gary L. Francione

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Acquisition Of Conflict Management Skills With High School Adolescent Females, Leslie Skinner-Hughes

Dissertations

This study examined the effects of a conflict management training program on the performance levels of high school adolescent females. Twenty female adolescent students were randomly assigned in equal numbers to either an experimental or control group. The students in the experimental group participated in a one school-day training program in conflict management skills. The students in the control group participated in two hours of discussion on handling conflicts. Pre- and post-training performance was measured by videotape recordings, classroom behavior ratings, behavior checklist, and student records of referrals for discipline.

The results showed the following: (1) The videotapes revealed a …

Sequences Of Fixed-Ratio Schedules Of Reinforcement: The Effect Of Ratio Size In The Second And Third Fixed-Ratio On Pigeons' Choice, Susan Goeters

Dissertations

The present study used a discrete-trials procedure to examine choice in pigeons presented with various three-component sequences of fixed-ratio schedules of reinforcement. An experimenter-controlled stimulus was correlated with each sequence and pigeons were presented with a specified number of forced-exposure and choice trials. Three phases were implemented in an effort to investigate the conditions under which fixed-ratios other than the first in a sequence of three affect choice. In Phase 1, pigeons were given a choice between a fixed-ratio X fixed-ratio 1 fixed-ratio 25 and a fixed-ratio X fixed-ratio 25 fixed-ratio 1 sequence of food delivery. Across conditions, X was …

Organizational Development Through The Implementation Of Strategic Plans, Susan M. Eickhoff

Dissertations

Organizations today need effective and efficient total organizational change strategies in order to ensure both short- and long-term organizational health. As a result of an organization being a multi-dimensional entity, the ingredients for its change strategy must necessarily be representative of all its dimensions such as business management, information system, behavior analysis, behavioral systems analysis, total quality management and statistical process control techniques. Those ingredients of a comprehensive change strategy exist but have not been put together into a totally integrated package so far. In the present study, a fully-integrated organizational change strategy was systematically employed with the goal of …

The Effects Of Relaxation Plus Imaginal Flooding Versus Relaxation Only On Panic Attacks In Veterans With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Jan E . Bachman

Dissertations

Many Vietnam veterans experience intrusive recollections of combat-related events in the form of nightmares and flashbacks, a primary symptom of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Imaginai flooding has shown some promise in reducing the frequency and intensity of these. Cognitive- behavioral therapies have also been used, but their effectiveness has not been studied. Experiment 1 attempted to determine whether a self-imposed version of imaginai flooding (called Self-Imaginai Flooding) could be used rather than the usual therapist-led procedure, and whether treatment effects could generalize from the treated to untreated intrusive memories. In a between groups design, with six Vietnam veteran subjects in …

The Effects Of Individual Feedback And Group Feedback On The Nominal Group Technique, Monica Porter

Dissertations

The nominal group technique (NGT) was modified and implemented in an educational setting. Procedures included (a) targeting and voting on the most important issue, (b) generating a list of possible solutions and providing rationales, and (c) completing a final report as a group consensus.

The effects of individual feedback and group feedback on the NGT were examined. Group 1 received individual feedback followed by group feedback, and Group 2 received group feedback followed by individual feedback.

Twenty undergraduates served as subjects and participated in problem solving tasks in which individual feedback and group feedback were provided on the subjects' written …

A Comparison Of The Effects Of Two Individual Monetary Incentive Systems On Work Productivity: Piece-Work Pay Versus Base Pay Plus Incentives, Kirk L. Gillette

Masters Theses

This study compared the effectiveness of a piece-rate pay system in which 100% of the subject's pay was incentive-based with a base pay plus incentive system in which approximately 30% of the subject's pay was incentive-based. Two experiments were conducted. In each experiment, six subjects were exposed to both pay systems using a within-subject reversal design. Subjects participated in 6 to 9 three-hour sessions (Experiment 1) or 9 to 14 four-hour sessions (Experiment 2). Simulated bank checks with differing cash values were presented on a computer screen, and subjects entered the cash values using the computer keyboard. The dependent variable …

Effects Of Music As A Conditioned Stimulus And Progressive Muscle Relaxation In Reducing Anxiety, Marie Elaine Clarkson

Masters Theses

The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether music could become a conditioned stimulus for lowered muscle tension and/or reduced anxiety.

There were three groups: (1) the PMR group receiving PMR alone, (2) the MUS group receiving music alone, and (3) the PMRM group receiving PMR followed by music. After four training sessions, a posttest was conducted in which all of the groups were given five minutes to relax. The PMR group had silence, the MUS group had music and the PMRM group had music which had previously been heard after relaxation training. Tension and anxiety reduction were …

Student's Perceptions And Experiences Of Sexual Harassment At The University Of Tennessee At Chattanooga, Wendy W. Davis

Honors Theses

This research was conducted to examine students' perceptions and experiences of sexual harassment in higher education. The study was designed and administered in such a way as to address four concerns which have not been effectively handled in previous studies. These specific concerns are as follows: (a) the nonrandom selection of students, (b) the exclusion of males in samples, (c) the limited number of research methods used, and (d) the lack of a standardized definition for sexual harassment. The first three issues focus on the need to obtain representative samples of the college population.

Let's Not Fight. Let's Talk: Resolving Conflict Through Mediation, St Mary's University

President's Peace Commission - Programs

The President’s Peace Commission existed from 1984 to 2013 at St. Mary's University. The Commission fostered an ethical commitment to participate in the establishment of world peace and social justice.

This program is about preventing international conflicts starting from early education.

Consumption Of Solid Food By Suckling Pigs: Individual Variation And Relation To Weight Gain, Edmond A. Pajor, David Fraser, Donald L. Kramer

Feeding Behavior Collection

Individual daily consumption of supplementary solid food ('creep feed') was measured from Day 10 to weaning at Day 28 for 39 piglets in four litters, and its relationship to body weight and weight gain up to Day 42 was investigated. Individual consumption was measured by combining the weight of the feed removed from the dispensers (monitored electronically) and a video image of piglet activity at the feeder. Creep feed consumption varied greatly, both between and within litters. On average, pigs began feeding on Day 12 (range Day 10-28), intake was relatively low (usually < 5 g day ^‒1) until Day 20 but increased …

Use Of A Commercially Available Flight Simulator During Aircrew Performance Testing, S. A. Shappell, B. J. Bartosh

Publications

Investigations of aircrew sustained operations (SUSOPS) have been criticized for employing tasks with no apparent external validity. Because measures obtained directly from aviators flying high-performance aircraft are difficult to obtain, a laboratory compromise is needed. High-fidelity flight simulators used for aircrew training offer the most realistic simulation, but their availability is limited. Personal computer-based flight simulators may provide adequate simulation in, the laboratory at a reasonable cost. This report describes a representative research protocol using a commercially available flight simulator during a simulated aircrew SUSOP.

An Examination Of Work Related Social Support In A Longitudinal Study Controlling For Negative Affectivity And Transient Mood, Brian J. O'Connell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Current research on organizational stress suggests a relationship between stressors, and psychological and psychosomatic health outcomes. The strength of this relationship varies between 0.17 and 0.35. Research has also suggested that personal relationships may moderate these correlations. One such variable is thought to be social support. This study set out to examine the relationship between social support in the workplace and organizational stressors while at the same time controlling for variables that may obscure the true nature of the relationship. Taking measurements while still seniors in college (Time one) and shortly after they were employed (Time two) allowed this control …

Behavioral Variability And Rule Generation: General Restricted, And Superstitious Contingency Statements, Stuart Vyse

Psychology Faculty Publications

Examines the contingency statements produced by uninstructed human subjects exposed to a task that assessed nonverbal response variability. Relationship of self-instructions to nonverbal behavior; Environmental conditions associated with accurate and inaccurate rule-generation; Causal status of self-rules.

Maternal Work And Child-Care Strategies In Peri-Urban Guatemala: Nutritional Effects, Patrice L. Engle

Psychology and Child Development

Associations of 293 mothers' works for earnings and child-care arrangements with the anthropometric status of their children were examined in urban Guatemala. It was hypothesized that during the period of life in which growth often falters (8 through 35 months), maternal employment could be beneficial for children. Informal workers tended to be poorer, less educated, and have more undernourished children than formal workers or nonworkers. When poverty and mother's education were controlled for, no effects of maternal employment on children's anthropometric growth patterns were seen. However, the percent of the family income the mother earned was positively associated with all …

Multiple Cue Probability Learning: Effects Of Individual Differences On Mcpl Performance, Catherine Q. Greenwald

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This exploratory study investigated individual difference effects on multiple cue probability learning performance. Measures of cognitive complexity, creativity, problem solving ability, and anxiety were correlated with the NCPL indices of performance. Eighty participants (40 men and 40 women) were randomly selected graduate students from the six colleges of Old Dominion University. Results showed significant Pearson Product Moment correlations among the Level 2 NCPL achievement and matching indices and the predictors Career Path Appreciation phrase card average, Kirton Adaptation Innovation Inventory, Quantitative GRE scores, gender, and anxiety. There is some evidence that MCPL performance can be explained in terms of these …

Body-Image Attitudes And Perceptions Among African-Americans And Whites As A Function Of Socioeconomic Class, Christopher Eugene Huffine

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

While many facets of body image have been extensively researched, relatively few studies have examined racial and social class differences in body image. The present paper consists of two studies examining racial and class differences in body image among males and females. Study 1 utilized a national sample of respondents to a 1985 Psychology Today survey to examine racial (Black and White) and educational differences in body image among men and women. Study 2 utilized a smaller sample of Black subjects, half drawn from several Southeastern universities and the other half from non-academic locations in the Tidewater area of Virginia …