Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Tobacco And Its Role In The Life Of The Confederacy, D. T. Smith

History Theses & Dissertations

This study examines the role that tobacco played in influencing Confederate policy during the American Civil War. Surprisingly, very little research has been done on this subject; historians have virtually ignored the influence of tobacco upon Southern economic interests between 1850 and 1870.

The southern tobacco-producing states grew 439,183,561 pounds of raw tobacco in 1860. Southern manufactured tobacco was worth $21,820,535 in 1860, and along with other agricultural products, especially cotton, played an important economic, political, and diplomatic role in the life of the Confederacy. The tobacco industry represented a very strong interest group in the Upper South during the …

A Preliminary Study Of A Job Analytic Inventory Derived From A Behavioral Consistency Method For Assessing Intrinsic Motivation, William John Banis

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Management

The research question for this study asked if the Job Specifications Inventory (JSI) had acceptable internal reliability and an ability to differentiate among occupational groups. The JSI was designed to have subject matter experts rate the importance of skill, content, context, relationship and work focus requirements of jobs or occupations. The JSI used a taxonomy of 268 behavioral elements derived from the content analyses of satisfying achievements reported by a large, diverse clientele. A clinical-type behavioral consistency method was used to extract performance dimensions from clients' achievements to build the taxonomy. The achievement-based taxonomy was seen as potentially enhancing productivity …

A Multiple Case Study Of Selected Individuals Who Facilitate The Successful Adoption Of Environmental Public Policy, John H. Austin

Health Services Research Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the personal and professional characteristics of successful individuals who have had a positive influence on the development of public policy concerning the environment. Additionally, which characteristics are most likely to enhance success and determine which of these characteristics might contribute to efforts toward developing public environmental policy in the future were investigated. The purpose was accomplished through the design and implementation of a multiple case study utilizing a qualitative research methodology. The sample for this study included six public servants who were identified as actively involved in affecting the development of public …

Correlates Of Disciplinary Practices In Working- To Middle-Class African-American Mothers, Michelle L. Kelley, Janis Sanchez-Hucles, Regina R. Walker

Psychology Faculty Publications

The disciplinary practices of 52 working- to middle-income African-American mothers were coded to assess the degree to which the mother took a parent-oriented versus a child-oriented approach across various aspects of discipline. Factors associated with physical punishment included maternal education and maternal age. The use of social/material control practices were associated with maternal age, father presence, and concerns about child victimization. Only maternal education was associated with restrictive discipline. Fear of child victimization independently predicted the use of material/social consequences. Findings are discussed in terms of the factors contributing to these individual differences, and the adaptiveness of these practices for …

The Red Hawk's Cry, Malaika Anne King

Institute for the Humanities Theses

The Red Hawk's Cry, a collection of twenty-eight poems, is arranged in three sections. "Calling It Back," the first section, consists of eight poems. The title and the poem rely on the concept of resurrecting people, the past, and pieces of the self in order to release them. Several of the poems' subjects are childhood and the personal mythology one weaves growing up. "Dialogue" has nine poems which revolve around relationships with lovers and friends. Though there appears to be a chronological order, the poems are placed more for interplay than for a constructed time line. The final section, "The …

A Sociotechnical Approach To The Study Of Semiautonomous Work Group Communication In Technical Organizations, Elizabeth B. Varnes

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The sociotechnical aspects of group communication in semiautonomous technical work teams were investigated to understand how team members define "effective" group communication and what impact technical tools have on the group communication process. A team of workers with various technical backgrounds was selected for study. The study involved videotaped group sessions, a group training educational briefing and individual group member questionnaires. The results indicate that group members believed sharing information among group members was critical to successful communication and that certain technical tools could be effective during group meetings. The findings are congruent with the general theory that group communication …

The Implementation Of Neighborhood Conservation Projects In Portsmouth, Virginia, 1960-1990, Robert Brooke Albertson

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Management

The study describes and analyzes the implementation of federally-funded neighborhood conservation programs in two of Portsmouth, Virginia's oldest urban neighborhoods by addressing four research questions: (1) To what extent is there variation in the implementation of neighborhood conservation projects in differing neighborhood settings? What are the factors that account for such differences? (2) To what extent are the neighborhood conservation projects distributive or regulatory programs, and what forms of conflict and/or cooperation result from this? (3) What is the intergovernmental context of neighborhood conservation projects, and how does this affect the nature of bargaining and negotiation among governmental units? and …

The Identification And Magnitude Estimation Of Stressors In A Selected Military Population At One Training Command, Susan W. Miller

Community & Environmental Health Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify the most stressful aspects of being a student at a military training command. ·Forty students listed the significant stressors that they encounter at the training command. This list was reviewed and consolidated into a stressor rating questionnaire with 16 stressors. A convenience sample of 86 students rated the stressors. In the second part of the study, the students rated the stressors on a scale of "0 to 1000". The study revealed that the most significant stressors for students were absence of family and friends, uncertainty about their future, dealing with instructor's attitudes, …

Women's Profiles, Robyn Lynn Cochran

Institute for the Humanities Theses

This creative project chronicles the development of an innovative short-format public radio series called Women's Profiles. I include a range of pertinent materials, including a record of my public radio internship, a grant proposal, and a public radio script. Using a feminist approach, I create a prototype for a radio show in which women subjects/narrators, in a non-hierarchical interview process, share their life experiences in conversation with one ( or more) women interviewers. By incorporating myself as a subject in this document, with work journals and narrative, I give readers an opportunity to appreciate the effort and process involved in …

Cultural Transposition: Exploring Meanings Of And Strategies For Cross-Cultural Transfer Of Organizational Practices, Yongming Tang

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The research objective is to study the phenomenon of transferring organizational practices which are conceptualized in one culture to another different culture. The purpose of the study is (1) to understand how cultural values and beliefs are manifested in behavior; (2) to explore how the Western organizational practices are interpreted and assimilated into an organization in an Eastern culture; and (3) to explore strategies for the fit between local cultural orientations and imported organizational practices. A qualitative, interpretive, and reflexive research methodology was developed to conduct this study.

The study was conducted in two phases. The first phase was designed …

Diffusion Of Total Quality Management: An Organizational Self-Production Perspective, Baizhong Zhao

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

American industries are in the process of a quality revolution. Most companies are busy implementing Total Quality Management (TQM) programs. However, the experience of both Japanese and American companies indicates that successful TQM implementation depends on an understanding of implementation processes, which itself relies on an understanding of organizational self-organizing, for it is through this process that TQM gets diffused and becomes a core component of an organization's culture. Self-organizing is a so-called process-oriented approach, based on theory from cybernetics (Ashby, 1962; Steier & Smith, 1985; von Foerster, 1960), dissipative structure theory (Prigogine & Stengers, 1984), and chaos theory (Gleick, …

A Comparison Of Minority And Non-Minority Engineering Students On Selected Personality And Program Variables, Thomas Mercer Collier Jr.

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there are common characteristics associated with 226 Hispanic, African American, and White engineering students who persist at predominantly White colleges and universities. A personality profile of minority and non-minority engineering students was developed. Information regarding factors influencing choice of major, university, study, work and extracurricular involvement, possible reasons for withdrawal from college, awareness and satisfaction with student support services and selected academic courses was also compiled. Components of Minority Engineering Programs (MEPs) which are most used or valued by minority engineering students were identified.

Analysis of Variance identified four of the …

Improving Team Performance By Identifying And Targeting Back-Up Behaviors: A Training Strategy, Rosalynn M. Peron

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to determine if training workshops of short duration (one-to-three hours) could contribute to enhanced teamwork and hence improved team performance for teams at the primary level (first production level) of a natural gas service and installation organization.

The teamwork characteristic of back-up behaviors (i.e., actions to help other team members that require adaption or anticipation and improve team performance by contributing to successful task completion) was the focus of workshop activities. Other strategies were employed to enhance the process such as team-building, goal setting and feedback. Feedback consisted of posting back-up behavior scores (i.e., …

Large Capacity Missile Carrier (Cmx), C. N. Calvano, J. M. Berner, J. M. Bradley, K. A. Tosiello, D. T. Hooker, C. F. Merrill

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

A systems engineering approach to the development of a radically different kind of surface combatant ship is presented, followed by a preliminary design of the ship shown by the analysis to be most effective. The requirement for the project was the development of a ship which would provide a major increase in the missile firepower of a battlegroup. The study conducts an analysis of four warfare scenarios and evaluates the effectiveness of replacing some Aegis ships with the missile carrier (CMX) and examines the relative utility of varying missile loads for the CMX. An alternative is chosen for further development …

The Influence Of Touch And Gender On Subjects' Perceived Social Support And Emotional State, Edmond R. Cochard

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine how males and females react to touch. It was hypothesized that females who were touched, compared to females who were not touched, would report higher levels of perceived social support, increases in positive affect, decreases in negative affect and higher evaluations of the confederate that touched them. In contrast, it was hypothesized that males who were touched, compared to males who were not touched, would report less perceived social support, decreases in positive affect, increases in negative affect and lower evaluations of the confederate. Eighty subjects, 40 male and 40 female, participated …

Export Marketing Development Program Selection, Albert Phillip Bianchi Jr.

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Management

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is an arrangement of export development programs which could be utilized by state agencies to best serve the economic and social policy goals of states.

Quantitative and qualitative techniques were employed in conducting this research. Descriptive information was gathered from surveys of state export development agencies. A Delphi methodology was used to gain consensus from public managers about program goals and program effectiveness.

The research demonstrates that there are primary goals which states pursue, such as employment generation and providing exporter assistance, for which certain export promotion activities are considered …

The Complexities Of Learning Prepositions: Spanish To English, Denise J. Simon Chiavarini

English Theses & Dissertations

This study explores reasons for the improper use of English pronouns by Spanish speaking ESL students, as evidenced in the Free Writing Placement Tests given at The Adult Learning Center in Virginia Beach and Old Dominion University.

The database includes 84 examples of prepositional errors (Appendix B) that were translated into Spanish for comparison and analysis. Some errors can be attributed to first language interference (Chapter 2, Contrastive Analysis). Some can be attributed to interlanguage (Chapter 3, Error Analysis). Other chapters show additional complications such as variation in native speaker preposition use and the effects of some prepositional contexts. Although …

The Influence Of Cohesive Groups On The Ethical Behavior Of Public Employees: An Analysis Of An Urban University, Patricia Bellin Strait

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Management

Ethics problems permeate all aspects of public agencies. This is especially true in urban areas where public workers have frequent interactions with large numbers of civilians. The results of unethical behavior often have very tangible effects with perhaps the most serious consequences being the deterioration of public services and the destruction of public trust.

This dissertation explores Milton Fisk's Group Ethics Theory which states that ethical behavior varies according to cohesive group membership. In order to investigate Fisk's theory, an ex post facto study was performed within a single urban university. The primary independent variable was group membership. Data was …

Choice Reaction Time As A Function Of Set Size And Signal Frequency, Barbara M. Herzing

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This research was conducted in two experiments. The first experiment assessed whether set size for the negative and positive sets affected reaction time during a visual scanning task. The effects of signal frequency on these relationships were assessed in the second experiment. It was hypothesized that as set size increased, reaction time would increase. In addition, as signal frequency increased, it was hypothesized that reaction time would decrease. In the first experiment, 12 groups of 10 subjects each were tested varying the number of stimuli for the positive and negative sets. The second experiment tested 18 groups by varying the …

The Perceived Role Of High-Level Black Urban Managers In Virginia, Karen Ann Johnson

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Management

Focusing on sixteen cities in Virginia, the researcher studied the perceived managerial and career roles that high level black urban managers play in local government. From June to August 1991, black managers in the study completed self-assessments in the following areas: (1) socio-demographics, (2) perceived managerial and career role, (3) behaviors associated with managerial activism, pursuing the needs of the black community and career development, and (4) characteristics of their work environment. Based on their responses, the managers were assigned to role groups. Differences among the groups were noted. The entrepreneurs reported a higher degree of organizational support, role norm …

A Phenomenology Of Textuality, Alessandro Tomasi

Institute for the Humanities Theses

This thesis introduces a new meaning of the word "textuality" based on its etymology, as a "woven thing. I reject the notion of isolatable entities that we call "words" and argue that language presents itself, in our experience, as "textual." In this sense, "textuality" is not limited to written texts, but it applies to every linguistic media: thinking, writing, and speaking.

I attempt a distinction between "textuality" and "contextuality" which allows me to isolate this phenomenon, "textuality," and to proceed with a phenomenological description of its features and structures. Among these, I describe to some length what I call "diesis," …

The Implementation Of The Reagan Administration's Counterterrorist Policy, Howard Lawrence Steinberg

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This thesis investigates the implementation of President Ronald Reagan's active counterterrorist policy. The paper attempts to determine why the stated policy of "swift and effective retribution" was not carried out. This paper concentrates on the discrepancies between the numerous statements advocating retaliation made by Reagan and his top officials and the failure of these officials to administer the necessary orders for such retaliatory policies. This research indicated numerous causes, although the primary cause is attributed to the divergent opinions of the reticent Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and the more retributive views of the two successive Secretaries of State, Alexander …

Increasing International Military Interdependence: Defense Cooperation In The New World Order, Sheila Callaham-Gay

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines whether military interdependence among states is increasing or decreasing. Although it is impossible to predict the future, it can be deduced that military interaction is increasing as a result of current world events and stated Presidential policy objectives. In order for interdependency to reach fruition governments must create policy which allows mutual goals to be realized. If military-to-military programs contribute to U.S. political objectives then government policy toward military interdependence should allow the U.S. military to act as a catalyst for international cooperation as well as the guardian of U.S. security interests. Whether global peace and security …

The Description And Prediction Of Self-Percepts And Ideal-Percepts Of Body Image For Multiple Physical Attributes, Lora L. Jacobi

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present study examined the self-perceived body state, ideal body state, perceived other-sex ideal state, and actual other-sex ideal state for a number of body characteristics in white, heterosexual, undergraduate males and females. The relative strength of the ideal choices were also indicated by the sexes. The characteristics examined were: body size, weight, muscularity, height, hair color, hair length, eye color, and female breast size. Discrepancies between the self-perceived body state, the ideal body state, and perceived other-sex ideal body state were examined for the sexes. Also investigated were the differences between the perceived other-sex ideals and the actual other-sex …

The Effects Of Stroke On The Comprehension Of Affective And Nonaffective Prosody, Mona Matheney Tiernan

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of stroke on the comprehension of prosody. Thirty two inpatient volunteers (16 with right hemisphere and 16 with left hemisphere stroke) and 16 controls participated in the study. A 3(Group) x 2(Gender) x 2(Task) mixed design was used. The independent variables were the subject group, gender and the prosody task (affective or nonaffective). The dependent variables were the percentage of correct responses to the affective and nonaffective prosody tasks. A 3(Group) x 2(Gender) x 2(Task) AN0VA revealed a significant main effect for group, E

The Effects Of Automation And Task Difficulty On Crew Coordination, Workload, And Performance, Ruth Coleen Thornton

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purposes of this research were two-fold: (1) to assess the reliability and utility of the Aircrew Coordination Observation and Evaluation scales in describing crew coordination behaviors exhibited during flight and (2) to investigate the effects of automation on crew coordination, workload, and performance. Two levels of automation (i.e., presence or absence of an autopilot) and two levels of task difficulty (i.e., presence or absence of wind and turbulence) were combined to yield a 2 x 2 design. Twenty-four two-person crews performed in both levels of automation and one of two levels of task difficulty. The results of the reliability …

The Effects Of Exposure To The Modeling Of Normative Discontent Versus Rational Coping On Women's Body-Image Affect, Lyse Guttau

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to examine the nature and effects of appearance-focused conversations among women. One hundred-twenty female college students listened to one of three types of scripted audiotapes. The three conditions were a negative modeling condition, a rational coping condition, and a neutral condition in which appearance was not discussed. The three components under investigation were: (a) perceptions about the conversation, (b) the impact of the conversation on body image, and (c) the impact of the conversation on emotional affect. The influence of appearance orientation on reactions to the conversations in each of the three areas …

Individual Differences In The Career Decision-Making Process, Laura S. Hamill

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

A total of 98 seniors from Old Dominion University participated in an experiment designed to determine the nature of the relationships between the ability to cope with complexity as measured by the Career Path Appreciation interview, career decision-making as measured by the Career Development Inventory, intelligence as measured by grade point average and the Wonderlic Personnel Test, and preferred occupational complexity (as well as relationships among exploratory hypotheses). Regression analysis results indicated that ability to cope with complexity predicted career planning skills(as measured by the Career Planning subscale of the CDI), and grade point average (GPA) significantly predicted career decision-making …

The Riga Mission: The Reports Of The First American Outpost On The Soviet Border, 1924-1933, Jeffrey Acosta

History Theses & Dissertations

From 1917 to 1933, the United States did not recognize the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. In 1920 the United States established conditions for recognition. First, the Soviet Union had to pay all debts owed to the United States government and its citizens by previous Russian and Soviet governments. In addition, all propaganda and subversive activities sponsored by the Soviet Union in the United States had to cease. During this period, the Division of Eastern European Affairs (DEEA) studied and collected data about the Soviet Union from its main "outpost" at the United States Mission in Riga, Latvia. The Russian …

Causal Analysis Of A National Study Of Sales Personnel Turnover Functionality, Eric J. Vanetti

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

A causal model of the antecedents of turnover functionality was developed and tested in a national field study of sales representatives from a Fortune 50 company. Turnover functionality was defined in terms of the difference between the performance levels of leavers and stayers in the host organization. Questionnaire data were collected from 1,732 salespeople, and it was predicted that the hypothesized model would be confirmed by the obtained data. Several forms of supporting evidence for the model were obtained. First, the hypothesized model provided a better, more parsimonious fit to the obtained data than did two plausible alternative models. Second, …