Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Improving Critical Thinking Skills Using Paideia Seminars In A Seventh-Grade Literature Curriculum, Stephanie A. Tarkington Edd

Dissertations

There are many programs which purport to teach thinking skills. If thinking skills of reasoning, logic, explaining, judging, and deciding can be taught, are there some ways to teach thinking that are more effective than other ways? The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of Paideia seminars on the critical thinking skills of seventh grade students. Paideia seminars are discussions held in a seminar format and involve active participation on the part of students and teachers. The format for the Paideia seminars was taken from The Paideia Proposal: An Educational Manifesto (Adler, 1982). There were four main …

An Analysis Of Selected California Community College Chief Executive Officers' Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of District Governing Board Evaluation Policies And Practices, Sherrill Lea Hatfield Amador Edd

Dissertations

Purpose. The focus of this study was to examine whether the California community college chief executive officers perceived their governing boards' evaluation policies and practices to be effective, and whether those evaluations contributed to their improved performance. Methodology. An ethnographic research design and interviewing methodologies were used for this study. The sample consisted of 20 California community college districts and chief executive officers selected from the 70 California community college districts based on: (a) multi-college and multi-campus district or single district organization, (b) northern or southern California district location, and (c) the district's chief executive's length of service as the …

The Impact Of The Father/Daughter Relationship On Women In Educational Administrative Leadership Positions, Marilyn Ann Skordas Edd

Dissertations

Research studies by Cartwright (1970), Helson (1971), and Hennig (1976) have indicated and demonstrated that a father's influence is critical to the development of skills in women who successfully obtained a position in business, medicine, and math, male dominated occupations. The public school teaching profession in the United States is an occupation dominated by women; however, the administrative positions such as principal, assistant superintendent, and superintendent positions of school districts are male dominated. This case study investigated the father/daughter relationship experienced during middle childhood, early and later adolescence, and early adulthood of ten women who are currently in positions of …

On Being A Truant: A Phenomenological Study Of Students In A Comprehensive High School, Diane Berger Mcclure Edd

Dissertations

This dissertation was a phenomenological study of eight students in a comprehensive high school who exhibited symptoms of truancy. Student interviews, student journals, and field notes were examined and the content analyzed. Students who began to display a truancy pattern and who have displayed symptoms of truancy in a previous school year were selected from a stratified random sample. Students were chosen to represent the ethnic and gender percentages of their school. During the first months of truancy, behavior modification steps were applied to the students which incorporated successful elements of major exemplary truancy programs. These students having not responded …

Organizing For Change: An Assessment Of Organization Development Activities Of Training Consultants, Katherine Waller Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine and analyze the background and training of consultants involved in organization development activities, the client organizations served by these professionals, the types of organization development interventions most commonly employed by the training consultants, and the resources utilized by internal and external consultants conducting organization development activities. The data were collected from a review and analysis of organization development research literature and from a descriptive survey questionnaire utilized to obtain information from a sample of 102 practicing consultants from a variety of institutional settings throughout the United States. Both qualitative and quantitative information …

Accessing A Global Language: A Comparison Of G-Telp And Toefl Performance, Paula C. Kelly Edd

Dissertations

The ESL (English as a Second Language) field has traditionally focused on foreign students who come to the United States to learn English to pursue an academic degree. Those students gain English proficiency, earn a degree, and often return home to be leaders in their countries. The author has titled these students first wave learners. As those newly trained leaders return home, they are met by a group of potential followers who do not speak English. These potential followers, or second wave learners, need to acquire English skills to join with their leaders in accessing professional and technical resources and …

A Study Of Shared Instructional Leadership By Mentor Teachers In Southern California, Rita M. King Edd

Dissertations

Can implementation of a mentor teacher program create instructional leadership opportunities resulting in retention of talented and dedicated educators, eliminate teacher isolation, and promote teacher empowerment, collegiality, and teacher and administrator collaboration? The purposes of this research were to determine the extent to which mentor teachers have become instructional leaders and to show activities and interactions in which mentors demonstrated instructional leadership with colleagues within one district. The research examined a sample number of formal and informal key relationships. Six research questions examined qualitative interview data and quantitative survey questionnaire data from mentor teachers, teachers who may or may not …

The Utilization Of The Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act Funding Within The Disabled Student Programs And Services (Dsp&S) Of The California Community Colleges, Susan Jean Sargent Edd

Dissertations

Federal legislation has had a profound impact upon the vocational education provided to students with disabilities. The Carl Perkins Vocational Education Act (VEA) of 1984 was designed to assure that vocational education programs were made available to all persons. Persons who are disabled were one of six populations targeted to receive specialized funding in order to assure their accessibility. The purposes of this study were: (a) to examine the distribution patterns of VEA funds within the California community college districts, (b) to identify services for students with disabilities funded by the VEA in each college, and (c) to identify the …

A Profile Analysis Of The Scl-90-R For Aggressive And Nonaggressive Adolescents With Conduct Disorder : A Comparison Of Aggression And Nonaggression In Relationship To Psychoticism And Depression, Hostility And Anxiety, Janet M. Rice

Dissertations

Problem. Dissatisfaction with the DSM-III classification of conduct disorder has led the editors of the DSM-III-R to group the socialized and undersocialized, aggressive and the undersocialized, nonaggressive conduct-disorderd youth together in the same category (Solitary Aggressive Type). However, the symptoms and behavior of aggressive and nonaggressive youth are so diverse, they should be placed in totally separate categories. The implications of misdiagnosis are serious for rehabilitation and treatment.

Method. One hundred-thirty male adolescents labeled aggressive and nonaggressive conduct-disordered were administered the SCL-90-R. The Chi-square test determined what percentage in each group scored at the 70th percentile or above in the …

Selected Dimensions And Orientations Of Religiosity Related To Marital Satifaction As Perceived By Married Seventh-Day Adventists In The Midwest, Margaret D. Dudley

Dissertations

Problem. A significant number of married people in contemporary American culture are exhibiting difficulty with the marriage relationship. Since Seventh-day Adventists believe that the Bible suggests basic guidelines, it would seem that their religion would have a positive effect on their marital relationship. The basic question for this research was: For Seventh-day Adventists does religiosity, defined as commitment to biblically-based religious beliefs and practices, contribute to marital satisfaction? Some previous studies demonstrated that it does. Additional multidimensional research was needed to identify which religious dimensions and orientations correlate with marital satisfaction. A multidimensional study of this kind has never been …

The Role Of Neuropsychological Deficits In The Comparative Inability Of Schizophrenics To Decode Facial Expressions Of Emotion, William George Mccown

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Relationships Between Gender, Length Of Stay, Host Country Culture And The Adjustment Experienced By Minor U.S. Sojourners, Timothy Lawler

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Psychological Distress Among Mexican American Women As A Reaction To The New Immigration Law, Rogelio Rodriguez

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No abstract provided.

Attributional Style, Depression, And Their Relationship To Gender And Gender Role Orientation, Karen M. Latza

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No abstract provided.

Does Sex-Role Orientation Predict Psychological Health?, Jean Marie Bradt

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No abstract provided.

Construct Validity Of The Slip: Measuring Moral Maturity Based On Jungian Typology, Holly O. Houston

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No abstract provided.

Ideology And Pneumapathological Consciousness: Eric Voegelin's Analysis Of The Spiritual Roots Of Political Disorder, Michael Franz

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No abstract provided.

Sex, Age, And The Level Of Involvement In Work And Family Roles Of Pediatricians, Sarah E. Brotherton

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No abstract provided.

Ratio Pausing And The Determination Of Discriminative Operant Latencies, Thomas M. Bell

Dissertations

The latency between discriminative stimulus onset and initiation of a corresponding ratio requirement (RR) was studied in pigeons using a two-key discrete-trial procedure with three-component multiple schedules. The two-key procedure allowed measurement of response-reinforcer relations on a "constant" key, and stimulus-reinforcer relations on a "stimulus" key. The first experiment showed regular between-session effects as equivalent fixed-ratio (FR) components were raised over several phases and then lowered. A direct relation was observed between latency and RR for each of ten subjects. Initial stimulus-key pecking showed several trends, the most prevalent being an inverse relation to RR.

Experiment 2 demonstrated within-session separations …

Development Of Michigan Jtpa Title Iia Performance Standards Regression Models Under The New Federalism, Yung Sung Wu

Dissertations

The purpose of this study has been to make some contribution toward an understanding of the United States Department of Labor's (USDOL) JTPA Title IIA performance standards models and their policy implications. The major objective of the study has been to construct, evaluate, and document short-run econometric models which would be available for policy analysis and ex ante forecasting. The consequences of job training programs may have important effects on participants and the manpower service delivery system--hence, this study of the relationship between program activities and their consequences.

The State of Michigan has been using USDOL's JTPA Title IIA performance …

The Idea Of Good Government: The Evolution Of Administrative Thought And Practice In The American Republic, James Robert Wieber

Dissertations

This study analyzes the evolution of the proper role of public administration in American government. American public administration traces its roots to the founding of American constitutional government in 1789, but divergent opinions continue regarding the discipline's proper role in a democracy. This question has never been settled in the American experiment. Considering the size, scope, and complexity of today's administrative state, it may well never be. Recent efforts have sought to define public administrations's role as proactive on behalf of clients for reasons of social equity and human dignity. Further attempts have been made to define administration as a …

An Analysis Of The Use Of Special Masters For Assuring Compliance With Judicial Decrees In Corrections Litigation, Richard J. Liles

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to analyze the recent practice of judges appointing remedial special masters to oversee the implementation of consent decrees and court orders. These orders are a response to the spate of inmate suits demanding compliance with the constitutional guarantees provided in the Fourth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments. As more courts have become involved in adjudging the constitutionality of conditions in correctional institutions, there has been a trend toward the judge becoming a quasi-manager in assuring compliance with the court's orders. To conduct this oversight, they have turned more and more to the practice of hiring …

Development And Evaluation Of An Infant-Care Training Program With First-Time Fathers, Ronald S. Dachman

Dissertations

We evaluated the effectiveness of a multicomponent package in training infant-care skills to first-time fathers. After developing and socially validating a set of infant-care skills, we assessed the effects of training in a hospital-based program with expectant fathers (Experiment 1) and in a home-based program with fathers having varied degrees of experience with their infants (Experiment 2). In both experiments, a multiple probe design demonstrated that the training package was responsible for producing criterion performance by the expectant and first-time fathers. A one-month generalization probe in Experiment 1 showed that the effects transferred across training conditions (training doll to human …

Recidivism Of 17-21 Year-Old Misdemeanants Participating In A Prosecution Diversion Program, Gerald D. Snodgrass

Dissertations

Criminal activity involving the youthful offender is a serious problem in law enforcement. The monetary considerations of processing a criminal case in the established criminal justice system are not declining. Youthful crime, like all forms of criminal activity, is a considerable drain on the resources of this country. The personal costs to the 17-21 year-old offender may include curtailment of employment opportunities, limited educational prospects, and the establishment of adverse life patterns, leading to further criminal involvement. The youthful offender who resorts to crime again and is arrested because of such criminal activity adds additional costs to the criminal justice …

An Analysis Of The Effects Of A Low Glycemic Diet On The Antisocial Behavior Of Juvenile Offenders, James Edward Longhurst

Dissertations

The objective of this study was to determine if a low glycemic diet contributes to a reduction in the incidence of antisocial behavior among male juvenile offenders.

One hundred forty juvenile offenders at a residential treatment center were randomly divided into treatment and nontreatment groups. The treatment group ate from a diet which contained foods low in glycemic characteristics. There was no dietary alteration for the control group.

Three instruments were used to measure differences between groups in antisocial behavior following a 5-week experimental period. These instruments include: (1) the Unusual Incident Report--a systematic and objective observer report form, (2) …

Preventing The "All But Thesis" Phenomenon, Maria Emma Garcia

Dissertations

Twenty-three to 54% of the students who enter graduate programs never obtain their degrees. A high percentage of those students drop out after the completion of all the academic requirements except their master's theses or doctoral dissertations. The literature makes reference to the "all but thesis" (ABT) and the "all but dissertation" (ABD) phenomenon.

The present study involved the implementation of a research supervisory system designed to help students complete their theses and dissertations, therefore preventing the ABT and ABD problems. Twenty-nine graduate students in psychology formed the research supervisory group and 53 graduate students from several departments formed a …

An Assessment Of The Counseling Services Provided To Juvenile Delinquents In Jordan Through The Perceptions Of Juvenile Probation Officers And Administrators, Ahmad Suleiman Zaghalil

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the present status of counseling services provided to juvenile delinquents in Jordan. More specifically, this study focused on the characteristics, priorities, major strengths and weaknesses, problems of counseling services provided to juvenile delinquents, portion of time spent in counseling juvenile delinquents individually and in groups, as perceived by juvenile probation officers and administrators in Jordan, and the academic courses studied by both groups which helped them to practice the profession of counseling with juvenile delinquents.

The subjects for this study consisted of 28 juvenile probation officers and 10 administrators. A questionnaire developed …

Treatment Of Spasticity Via Transcranial Electrical Stimulation In Persons With Cerebral Palsy And Severe Mental Retardation, George A. Thompson Jr.

Dissertations

Although the clinical manifestations of cerebral palsy are many and varied, spasticity is a common aspect of the disorder, observed in as many as 75% of all cases (Paneth & Kiely, 1984). A double-blind and placebo-controlled and counter balanced reversal design was employed to evaluate the effectiveness of transcranial electrical stimulation (TCS) in the treatment of spastic cerebral palsy in six severely mentally impaired individuals. Although there appeared to be some improvement from pre to post measures, a comparison of the placebo and treatment conditions yielded results indicating that transcranial electrical stimulation did not increase the passive range of motion …

School District Current Operating Expenditures: A Comparative Analysis Of Michigan School Districts Having A Student Population Of 10,000 To 50,000 For 1984-85, James Ross Constandt

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare line item current operating expenses among school districts in Michigan having a student population of 10,000 but less than 50,000 and to present a budget model which establishes minimum and maximum line item current operating expenses for such school districts. Line item expenditures were compared and analyzed among those school districts within the same student population grouping.

Local school districts in Michigan are categorized by the State Board of Education into 14 groupings based on pupil membership. School districts in Groups B and C were studied. Group B included four school districts …

Perceptions Of Western Michigan University International Students Regarding Seeking Personal Counseling, Nader F. Al-Qasem

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of the international students at Western Michigan University toward seeking personal counseling and to answer the following questions: (1) Is there a relationship between international students' duration of stay in the United States and their perceptions toward seeking personal counseling? (2) Is there a relationship between international students' previous contact with counselors and their perceptions toward seeking personal counseling? (3) Are the perceptions of international students toward seeking personal counseling affected by their sex? (4) Is there a relationship between the academic level of international students and their perceptions toward …