Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Computer Networks And The Teaching Of English As A Second Language: How Networks Affect Second Language Acquisition, Kirstin J. Reed-Perez

English Theses & Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Autonomous Robot Navigation In Unknown Terrains Using Parallel Numerical Artificial Potential Fields, John C. Schneider

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

We present a new artificial potential field formulation for resolution complete robot navigation that unifies the purely geometric path planning problem with the lower level force control problem. Our formulation is designed for numerical computation over a massively parallel mesh of processors and is responsive to newly discovered terrain features. It does not suffer from many of the problems commonly associated with potential fields and with adequate resolution provides provably correct, collision free convergence to the goal. In addition, our formulation supports many desirable, practical features required for implementation, such as bounded actuator torques, attainable incremental constructability, realizable computation and …

African-American Women's Career Development: Predicting Nontraditional Educational And Career Choices Educational And Career Aspirations And Career Salience, Tonya Alicia Miller

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the current research was to develop and to test a model pertaining to the unique career development experiences of African-American women. The model concentrates on African-American women's educational and career aspirations, educational and career choices, and their career salience. A sample of 183 female African American undergraduate and graduate students from three local universities supplied data for the study. Results of the hierarchical block regression analyses conducted to test the proposed model were mixed. The proposed predictor sets, self-perceptions, career exposure, and relational support, were more strongly related to educational aspirations, career choice, and career salience, than …

An Approach For Representation Of Organizational Mental Models Using System Dynamics, Jörg-Peter Theissen

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The concept of mental models has received much attention within recent years, especially within the context of organizational learning. This research is based on and departs from the Organizational Learning Process as developed by Keating, Robinson, and Clemson (1994). That process, which is based on a verbal representation of mental models, does not call forth the kind of change that is desired in Organizational Learning. This research investigates if mental models can be represented in the form of system dynamics models and inquires if this representation is beneficial to the process of Organizational Learning.

The research was designed as a …

Group Therapy: A Play, Eleanor L. Earl

Institute for the Humanities Theses

Group Therapy is a modem drama set in Portsmouth, Virginia, a small Naval town which is part of a larger area called Hampton Roads. Hampton Roads is best known for its Naval shipyards, Naval bases, and historic landmarks. The year is 1994.

The play focuses on interpersonal communication in a setting that serves as a surrogate family. In the play, seven men and women from varied walks of life come together and share their most intimate joys and sorrows in group therapy. Together, with the assistance of a dedicated psychologist, they struggle to confront and overcome depression and anxiety.

Psychosocial Determinants Of Age-Appropriate Immunizations Of Infants In Norfolk, Virginia, Hoda Youssef Atta

Health Services Research Dissertations

This study represents an investigation of psychosocial factors affecting age-appropriate immunizations of infants in Norfolk, Virginia. A household survey was conducted in Norfolk, Virginia, from 4/93-8/93, to assess immunization coverage of children 12-30 months of age. This survey included a total of 389 children in the target age range. A subset of 201 mothers were randomly selected and reinterviewed to assess their knowledge and attitudes and the relationships of these factors to age-appropriate immunizations at 12 months of age. Sixty-two percent of children were not age-appropriately immunized at 12 months of age. Almost all mothers (99%) considered vaccines to be …

The Teamwork Components Model: An Analysis Using Structural Equation Modeling, Rebecca Rosenstein

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

As the world increases in complexity, teams have assumed greater importance in the work place as a method used by organizations to cope with global competition and technological progress. Thus, an understanding of team processes and outcomes has become critical to individuals who study and work in organizations. The purpose of this investigation was to undertake a construct validation study of a model of the processes that underlie teamwork. This investigation was accomplished in two parts. A first study was conducted in order to determine the construct validity of scales that were developed to measure the nine teamwork components: task …

Childhood Sexual Abuse: Attribution Of Responsibility, Dennis W. Goodwin

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Attribution theory is used to address a disparity between the number of male victims of child sexual abuse reported in clinical samples versus those reported in community samples. Participants were 48 female and 48 male undergraduate students. Participants were asked to read a vignette of a 25 year old male/female having sex with a 13 year old male/female. Two settings were used in the vignettes. The incident occurred at the victims home in half the vignettes and at a party in the other half. Participants completed an attributional questionnaire and a demographic questionnaire. Results indicate that female respondents considered the …

Threats, Carol DĺYnn West Bleyle

English Theses & Dissertations

As J. L. Austin and John Searle point out in their philosophies of language, words communicate more than surface meaning. Some utterances, speech acts, actually stand for actions. A threat is a speech act, but it is difficult to define. This study reviews several examples of threats, such as ( 1) and (2) and analyzes their essential characteristics.

( 1) If you don't give me all your money, I will shoot.

(2) I have a gun.

Threats are found to have three essential features which consistently identify a threat. The threat must indicate a future world which is detrimental for …

A Comparative Study Of Victimization Experiences And Family Dynamics Of Adolescent Sexual Offenders And Nonsexual Offending Delinquents, Alicia Ann Chavis

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Research has directed little attention toward understanding and dealing with the adolescent sexual offender. In an effort to understand what makes adolescent sexual offenders different from other delinquents. I will examine the victimization experiences (sexual abuse and physical abuse) and the family dynamics (family violence, family incarceration and family structure) of both adolescent sexual offenders and nonsexual offenders. The research question is: what factors contribute to each group of delinquency the most? Although all of the factors influence delinquency, victimization is expected to be the most influential. This study utilized data from The Survey of Youth in Custody, 1987; a …

The Effect Of Same-Sex Grouping Versus Mixed-Sex Grouping On Mathematics Achievement And Attitudes Of Academically Gifted Fourth And Fifth Grade Females In The Urban Classroom, Martha J. Tompkins

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Studies

Reports of the neglect of gifted students in America's schools and the inadequate mathematics involvement of females have made educators aware of a crisis in public education. Attitudes and opportunities are believed to be major influences in helping females become more involved with mathematics courses and careers. The research project examined the effect of same-sex groups versus mixed-sex groups on mathematics attitudes and achievement in fourth and fifth grade females in a mathematically gifted pilot program at a magnet center. The experimental study was analyzed with Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA), Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Regression Analysis, Post-Hoc tests, and …

Flow Kinematics And Dynamics Of The Gulf Stream From Composite Imagery, Caitlin Patrice Mullen

OES Theses and Dissertations

A unique set of contemporaneous satellite-tracked drifters and five-day composite satellite images of the North Atlantic is studied in order to infer the near-surface flow kinematics and dynamics of the Gulf Stream. Using fractal and spectral analyses, two kinematic models, and a potential vorticity model, detailed comparisons are made between these data sets.

Fractal and spectral analyses show that the data set is not fractal, there is no geographic variability, and there is not a strong fractal scaling link between the drifter trajectories and composite temperature fronts as had been postulated by several investigators. These results indicate considerably more work …

A Comparative Study Of Black And White Girls' Delinquency, Kenya Larae Covington

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

In this research, I examined the similarities and differences between black and white female delinquents. A secondary analysis of the Survey of Youth in Custody, 1987 data was utilized to answer the following research questions: (1) What factors contribute to each group's delinquency the most? (2) Are the factors that contribute to black girls' delinquency significantly different from those factors that contribute to white girls' delinquency? The study was guided by previous research on race and female delinquency, girls' victimization, the role of the family and school performance. The independent variables victimization, family structure, family function and school performance were …

An Assessment Of Four-Hour Sample Durations Used To Determine Full-Shift Noise Exposures In A Foundry, Vince Marlo Fleming

Community & Environmental Health Theses & Dissertations

Full-shift sampling, usually eight hours, is traditionally performed to assess daily occupational noise exposure. This sampling approach is inefficient, and costly for repeated, long-term exposure evaluations. This study assessed the use of four-hour sample durations and subsequent data analysis to determine daily occupational noise exposures in a foundry. The four-hour sample durations were extracted from full-shift samples and analyzed on their ability to provide valid data for estimating mean daily noise exposure levels without significantly affecting sampling precision or accuracy. Results of this study indicate four-hour sample durations can be used successfully to estimate full-shift noise exposures provided certain criteria …

The Atlantic Conference At Argentia (9-12 August 1941) The Anglo-American Agreement On The Defeat Of Nazi Germany, John Michael Sweeney

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The meeting at Argentina, Newfoundland, between Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin D. Roosevelt in August 1941 was the first "summit" conference of the Second World War. It set the stage for the United States' entry into the war on the side of Great Britain and produced the Atlantic Charter, the noble statement of Western war aims. This study describes how the Nazi threat to England and the Atlantic brought the two democracies together into a de facto alliance before the United States formally entered the war. Its central theme is the "strategy of provocation" whereby President Roosevelt, certain …

Vigilance: Instruction Effects And Personality Correlates Of Performance Workload And Boredom, David A. Sawin

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present laboratory study examined variables that are believed to impact vigilance in operational settings. Instructions were manipulated by telling half of the subjects to relax, and to focus on positive task characteristics (relaxation-emphasis), while the remaining subjects were instructed to "detect as many critical signals as possible" (detection-emphasis). It was expected that instructions emphasizing detection would lead to increased subjective workload ratings, though all subjects participated in the same 30-min vigilance task. Further, it was expected that decreasing demands by emphasizing relaxing qualities of the task would not impact performance, though lower workload ratings were expected. In addition, response …

Social Change In Rural Alaska: Attitudes, Sense Of Belonging, And Migration Intentions Of High School Students, Lisa R. Carley

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Using 1992 survey data collected from high school students in 15 Alaskan towns and villages, this study investigated migration intentions of adolescents. Previous studies on adolescents' migration intentions have concentrated on comparing youth in areas experiencing natural resource development with youth in other areas. However, these studies have found few differences based on rapid resource development. Previous analysis of the Alaska survey data shows few. if any, differences in migration intentions of students in an area with recent mineral development and students in a traditional fishing area. Differences were found between boys and girls and between town and village students. …

The Application Of Formal Principles Of Public Administration As Perceived By City Managers, Shelton P. Rhodes

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Management

The present study seeks to determine the extent to which formalist ideas in public administration are evident in the practice of managerial performance as perceived by city managers and assistant city managers in the three states of Arizona, Colorado, and Virginia. While numerous studies demonstrate how administrative practices vary in different socio-political environments, the International City Management Association contends that certain basic features of public management nevertheless should be widely applied in different settings.

The questions that are being posed in this study are: What are the perceived norms or standards that structure managerial performance of city managers and do …

The Role Of Laughter In The Thought Of Friedrich Nietzsche, Paul D. Gerdes

Institute for the Humanities Theses

The objective of this thesis is an analysis of the role of laughter in the thought of Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), by which I mean both its influence on his intellectual development, and the incorporation of it in his philosophy. Such an undertaking is important because, while it might seem somewhat odd for a philosopher, and particularly a German philosopher, to consider laughter fundamental to his thought, laughter does play an essential role in all of Nietzsche's writing.

For the purposes of this thesis, I will investigate three separate but interrelated aspects of Nietzsche's thought: the influence of the Dionysian tragic-comic …

The Effects Of Perceived Upward Influence Rewards And Personality Moderators On Job Satisfaction And Productivity In An Employee Suggestion Program, David J. Braun

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The extent to which work satisfaction, task satisfaction, suggestion quantity and suggestion quality may be affected by upward influence and reward in a suggestion program was investigated using 160 students as subjects. Locus of control and growth need strength were investigated in terms of their effects as personality moderators. Subjects offered suggestions during three trials for nine topics representing university problems. The percentage of suggestions accepted by a review committee was manipulated as four levels of an upward influence condition (0'/o, 25'/0, 50'/o and 75'/o). In addition, subjects were randomly assigned to either a no-reward or reward condition, in which …

Judging Statistical Significance: The Effects Of Standard Error Bar Formats And Visual Displays, Rebecca Wilson Miller

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present study examined various graphical displays for illustrating statistical significance. These displays were created following Dunlap and May's (1989) recommendation about representing statistical significance in figures with error bars derived from the pooled estimate of error variance. In the first experiment, 15 graduate students were asked to judge whether the relationships depicted in a series of graphs and tables were significant or nonsignificant. Four significance levels were combined factorially with three standard error bar formats, unidirectional opposite direction, unidirectional same direction, and bidirectional, and two displays, line graphs and bar graphs. A tabular display was also presented for comparison. …

Visual Information Processing Of Geometric Figures As A Function Of Complexity And Field Of Vision, Karen E. Inn

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether human information processing does occur in parallel in the right hemisphere and serially in the left hemisphere as suggested by the hemisphere strategy model. In addition, this study was also designed to determine if there is a right hemisphere advantage in the processing of nonverbal information as indicated by the material specific theory.

In this 3 x 3 x 3 x 2 x 2 mixed design, Complexity (3) and Gender (2) were the between-subjects variables. Time Factor (3), Field of Vision (3), and Type (2) were the within-subjects variables. Complexity was …

The Contribution Of Selected Cognitive And Noncognitive Variables To The Academic Success Of Medical Technology Students, Mildred Keels Fuller

Health Services Research Dissertations

The research problem for this study assessed the relationship of cognitive and noncognitive variables to the academic success of African-American versus Caucasian medical technology students attending traditionally black institutions versus majority institutions. Academic success was defined as cumulative grade point average, cumulative clinical practica grades, and graduation status. The cognitive variable was the preclinical cumulative grade point average, and the noncognitive variables were the noncognitive subscale scores.

Seventy-five senior medical technology students provided demographic data, and completed the Noncognitive Questionnaire (Tracey & Sedlacek, 1984) that assessed eight noncognitive dimensions: positive self-concept; realistic self-appraisal: understands and deals with racism; prefers long-range …

The Effect Of Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Education Program On Knowledge, Attitudes And Sexual Behavior Of Selected College Students, Arlene Jaine Jackson Montgomery

Health Services Research Dissertations

The problem studied in this investigation was whether a behaviorally focused Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) Program affects the knowledge, sexual attitudes and sexual behavior of college students.

Three hundred and six first-and third-year college students were included in the study from one university located in Southeastern Virginia. The sample was predominately female, African-American and mainly between the ages of 16-22 years of age.

Freshmen students were presently enrolled in the institution's HIV/AIDS education program, which was a part of a required course. The class sessions consisted of a pretest prior to student's completing the reading assignment …

Body-Image Disturbances In Anorexia Nervosa And Bulimia Nervosa: A Meta-Analysis Of Extant Research, Edwin A. Deagle Iii

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Body-image disturbances are key among the diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. However, the specific nature of this disturbance is not precisely defined by DSN-III-R or DSN-IV. The numerous body-image assessment techniques have generated inconsistent and conflicting results concerning the nature of body image in the eating disorders. This study is the first quantitative review, a meta-analysis of (n = 59) studies of body image among anorexics and bulimics relative to controls. The results indicated that attitudinal measures of body dissatisfaction, including perceptual self-ideal discrepancy measures, produce much larger effect sizes for clinical populations than do perceptual assessments …

Premature Infant Attractiveness And Temperament In The Prediction Of Maternal Sensitivity, Cheryl L. Shiflett

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The influence of infant attractiveness and temperament on maternal sensitivity is important to examine in infants born prematurely because many characteristics associated with prematurity, such as postnatal cranial molding, may negatively impact maternal response. The present study investigated maternal perceptions of preterm infant development, attractiveness, age, and temperament, and examined the influence of attractiveness and temperament on maternal sensitivity. Twenty-nine mothers of preterms completed questionnaires on infant behavior, development, temperament, rated photographs for attractiveness and age, and were videotaped with their infant to measure maternal sensitivity according to CARE-Index procedures (Crittenden, 1988). Results indicated that mothers have more negative expectancies …

Specialized Accreditation And Academic Libraries, Stuart L. Frazer

Libraries Faculty & Staff Publications

Discussion of academic libraries and the accrediting process focuses on an evaluation and comparison of library guidelines from 17 specialized accrediting bodies with guidelines from regional accreditors. Input versus output measures are discussed, and suggestions for improving the library's participation in the process are offered.

Religious Orientation, Persuasion, And Communicator Style, E. James Baesler

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

Using a functional approach to religion as an explanatory framework, this essay argues that a quest religious orientation is associated with particular communicator styles and with religious persuasion. The research positively associates quest religious orientation with susceptibility to religious persuasion and negatively associates it with the religious need to persuade others. The results do not generally support the relationship between a quest religious orientation and communicator styles, but the study finds partial support for the relationship between a quest religious orientation and an attentive communicator style.

Neuropsychological Functioning Among Violent And Nonviolent Sex Offenders, Pamela Knox-Jones

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Violent sex offenders, nonviolent sex offenders, violent non-sex offenders, and nonviolent non-sex offenders were compared on neuropsychological testing and on personality testing. A neuropsychological test battery and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - 2 (MMPI-2) were administered to 93 and 50 male felons respectively. Subjects were drawn from a data base provided by the state Department of Corrections. Potential indicators of neuropsychological impairment were controlled during the selection process. Analyses of Variance (alpha =.05) found that violent sex offenders scored significantly lower than the other three groups on two measures that are sensitive to left hemisphere impairment and one that …

A Study Of Similarity And Analogical Decision-Making In Collaborative Design, Christopher Edward Weeks

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of similarity and analogy in design communication and propose a descriptive representation of the analogical decision-making process in the context of engineering design. It is proposed that social, cultural, and contextual knowledge are brought to bear on statements of need in the form of analogy as a means to elicit and evince potential design solutions. A goal of this study is to identify communicative behaviors, representing process variables of analogical decision-making, that can be used to describe how design information is represented, manipulated, and conveyed in a collaborative design effort. …