Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Perceptions Of Violence Among High School Students, Beth Sanner

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of violence among high school students. The researcher analyzed the differences in the perceptions of the severity of violence among high school students in the following demographic characteristics: ethnicity, gender, academic achievement, regional location and family e-up. In addition, the differences in the severity of physical, verbal and social violence was found and also compared among the above mentioned demographic characteristics. The sample included 145 high school students in Illinois. A quantitative causal comparative design was used to compare perceptions of violence among existing groups of high school students. Additionally, …

Analysis Of Suicidal Ideations And Attempts Among University Freshmen, Emily A. Johnston

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore freshmen Midwestern university students' (a) suicidal ideations and attempts, (b) help-seeking resources, and (c) relationships between suicide ideations/attempts and academic focus. Surveys were collected from 126 male and female university freshmen (n = 43 male; n = 83 female). A 15-question survey was designed to explore suicide attempts, ideations, academic majors, and help-seeking resources utilized by freshmen university students. The participants were a convenience sample from 8 freshmen introductory orientation classes. Results indicate: (a) a relationship between suicide ideations/attempts and academic college; (b) freshmen females rely on friends as a help-seeking resource; …

Diabetes Awareness Among Children: A Comparison Study Of Diabetes Knowledge In School-Age Children Between U.S. And Kuwait, Nayef Y. Bu-Maryoum

Masters Theses

The literature shows that people of all ages, in all socio-economic groups and in many countries, are not well educated about nutrition. Teachers in public elementary schools both the United States and Kuwait administered an eight-item questionnaire developed by the researcher. The questionnaire was delivered orally to insure comprehension by non-readers. Results indicated that young children in both the United States and Kuwait have an awareness of and a desire to learn more about diabetes. Generally speaking, Kuwaiti children are more knowledgeable about diabetes than their American counterparts as seen in questions four, five, six, and eleven. On the other …

Dietetic Students' Attitudes Toward Overweight/Obese People, Suzanne R. Stluka

Masters Theses

Health professionals are often the main line of obesity defense and targeted as possessing antifat bias; therefore, in an effort to address this issue, the depth of antifat bias among undergraduate dietetic students was analyzed. Student participation in this study was requested from across the United States, with 1099 students participating in the study and completing a web-based, self-administered questionnaire. The data indicated that a lower antifat attitude endorsement is present among current undergraduate dietetic students; however, five statements related specifically to the dietetics profession came close to showing strong antifat attitude endorsement. The majority of students classified their perceived …

Sexual Abuse Prevention Programs In Illinois Schools, Mary Ann Seaton

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to complete an in depth exploration of programs designed to teach children the skills necessary to keep them safe from sexual abuse. Educational programs have been utilized to aid in the prevention and acknowledgement of childhood sexual abuse for many years. While sexual abuse programs for children are used across the United States, little contemporary research exists related to the use of these programs.

Child sexual abuse prevention programs in central Illinois schools are provided through the public schools by various non-profit community organizations. The sample of this study consisted of five organizations, each …

Psi Hitting And Missing: The Effects Of Belief, Order Of Run, And Previous Experience, Jaymes Parker

Masters Theses

The current study examined several variables to determine their effects on telepathy performance. Part I used groups of participants who attempted to telepathically send the location oftargets to a receiver selected randomly from the group. Fifteen sessions were conducted during which 9 receivers each completed 16 trials. It was hypothesized that an order effect would be present with increased missing during the first and last run of each session. It was also hypothesized that belief in mental telepathy would influence telepathy scores. Results indicated significant differences when comparing positions 1 and 9 with positions 2-8. Scores, while not significant, tended …

The Relationship Between Maximizing, Perfectionism, And Relationship Satisfaction, Tara Lynn Riddle

Masters Theses

The relationship between maximization and perfectionism to relationship choices was explored. Ninety-seven undergraduate introductory psychology students were administered the Maximization Scale (Schwartz, et al., 2002), Hendrick Relationship Assessment Scale (Hendrick, 1991), Revised Almost Perfect Scale (Slaney, et al., 2001) and a brief demographic questionnaire. Results indicated that there is no significant relationship between maximization and relationship satisfaction, romantic relationship durations, or initiating relationship termination. In addition, perfectionism was not found to be related to choices in dating relationships. However, analyses did replicate prior research indicating a significant positive relationship between maximization and perfectionism (Schwartz, et al., 2002).

A Correlation Study Between Employee Perception And Customer Satisfaction In An Automotive Manufacturing Corporation, Jason Travis Felton

Masters Theses

Organizations may be able to utilize internal measures of customer and employee satisfaction in order to get a head start on potential customer satisfaction issues. Correlation analysis is employed to determine significance between measures of employee perception and the pulse of customer satisfaction. Employee perceptions and external customer satisfaction metrics are quantified across 3 manufacturing sites to determine relationships between key indicators. Validated survey questions are compiled statistically in composite groups in order to evaluate employee perceptions of customer satisfaction efforts and employee satisfaction efforts. Results are evaluated using Pearson product moment "r". Results indicate a positive correlation exists between …

A Study Of Knowledge Management Used For Managing Quality Systems In Selected Manufacturing Organizations In Coles And Effingham Counties, Merlin Haryati

Masters Theses

The globalization and information revolutions increase the complexity and competition resulting in a business environment that is no longer stable and static. Executives of all organizations face the challenge of adopting new management practices to keep their organizations vibrant in a rapidly changing technological business world. Knowledge management is one of the emerging fields that promise workplace improvements by putting the tacit knowledge of the company into use.

The emergence of knowledge management in the year 2000 caused organizations to realize that their intellectual assets are central to their survival. Managing and harvesting these assets is the focus of knowledge …

Empowering Adolescents In A Morally Ambiguous World: An Exploration Of Middle School Character Education Programs, Jill R. Bowers

Masters Theses

While instilling values in adolescents is often seen as the parent/guardian's primary respoponsibility, varying circumstances arise in the lives of individuals and families which cave members of society to rise to the challenges and social responsibilities of educating he young. Teaching adolescents to cope with the rising challenges associated with socialization and be individuals of good character who become productive citizens as adults is a social responsibility.

The primary purpose of this study is to explore the impact of character education programs on early adolescents in middle schools and school personnel. Through exploration of 2 middle schools who implemented 2 …

Differences Among Third Graders' Body Mass Index (Bmi) Levels, Gender, Race, And Number Of Minutes Spent Weekly In Physical Education, Kelly Devine

Masters Theses

The objective of this study was to examine the relationships among minutes spent in physical education (PE) class weekly, gender, and race with third graders body mass index (BMI). A survey was given to third graders in approved school districts in one unty in Illinois. Two hundred sixty surveys were used in this study. The researcher found that the BMI of third grade children who had PE class 40-50 minutes per week was statistically significantly higher as compared to the third grade children who had PE 60- 215 minutes per week. It was also concluded that there was no difference …

Relation Between Government Expenditure And Economic Growth, Bibhu Prasad Aryal

Masters Theses

Government expenditure depends upon the available resources and the scope of saving potential of the country. But the same requires a proper expenditure policy, so that the desired objectives of planned economic development could be achieved within a short span of time. In order to formulate the proper economic policy it is very necessary to know the importance of the causal relation of the expenditure and economic variables.

This paper investigates the causal relation between government expenditure and GDP growth. To find out the relationship between the two variables, a sample of eight developing countries from Asia and Africa is …

Unilateral Executive Power: Bush Push Or Congressional Cave? An Examination Of Executive-Legislative Relations During The First Term Of President George W. Bush, 2001-2004, Erika N. Cornelius

Masters Theses

The events of September 11th once again brought the unique power-sharing relationship between the executive and legislative branches into focus. The framers created the presidency to deal with direct threats to the national security of the United States and in situations such as September 11th, American citizens and Congress naturally rally-round the national leader, the president. This thesis examines the interaction between the Bush White House and 107th and 108th Congress, following the events of September 11th.

This study explores the political interplay between Congress and the president in the area of foreign policy, with special emphasis given to war …

Women Mayors: An Examination Of Leadership Style, Sherikia Lavette Humes

Masters Theses

Studies of women in politics traditionally focus on the state and federal levels. Scholarly literature suggests that women mayors have been largely ignored, even though there has been a significant increase in the number of women mayors. This thesis examines women mayors and their leadership styles through the models of transactional and transformational leadership. For this study, as a point of comparison, male mayors also were examined. This study was conducted through three research methods: elite interviewing and observational and document analysis. The findings of this study suggest that women mayors are more likely than men mayors to be transformational …

The Effects Of Repeated Reading And Goal Setting On Student Reading Fluency, Joann T. Ford

Masters Theses

This study investigated the effect of repeated reading and goal setting on students' oral reading fluency (ORF). Third grade students (n=24) were randomly assigned to one of three groups: repeated reading and goal setting, repeated reading, and no-treatment control group. Treatment groups met for six weeks, four times per week for 20 minutes. A paired repeated reading procedure was used and weekly progress monitoring occurred using third grade DIBELS ORF progress monitoring probes. Repeated reading and goal setting group set weekly goals, graphed fluency data, and received feedback. All groups made gains in reading fluency. Although no significant effects were …

Mental Telepathy And Social Fields: A Within Session Decline Effect, Timothy K. Bunfill

Masters Theses

The current study involves the exploration of several variables relating to the facilitation of mental telepathy from a social field perspective. Groups of participants ranging from 8 to 35 attempted to telepathically send information regarding one of four target locations to a receiver who was selected at random from the group. During each of ten sessions, an average of nine receivers completed 16 trials apiece over a period of two hours. It was hypothesized that since all participants had a previous experience with a telepathy task, they would score above chance initially and that as sessions progressed fatigue or boredom …

Reading Instruction Software Vs. Peer Tutoring For Improving Oral Reading Fluency, Morgan Carlyle

Masters Theses

Research suggests that computer-based instruction program is as effective as peer tutoring in increasing students' oral reading fluency rates. However, few experimental studies have compared these two reading interventions. The present study compared the effect of a computer-based reading instruction program, Reader Rabbit I Can Read with Phonics, with peer tutoring. Second grade students were randomly assigned to computer tutoring, peer tutoring, or control groups; and they read the same reading material for twenty minutes, two times a week for six weeks. Participants in the computer group used a segment of the reading software instruction program, Reader Rabbit I can …

Barriers And Facilitators To Health Seeking Behavior Of Individuals With Social Phobia, Kendra M. Holder Kennedy

Masters Theses

This study explored both the facilitators and barriers to treatment of individuals who have difficulties with anxiety in social situations. These barriers and facilitators to treatment were examined with respect to the participants' level of anxiety and their stage of change. Eleven participants, ten females and one male, completed the study. A screening procedure established that each participant was likely experiencing social phobia. These participants were then interviewed using a semi-structured interview. One of the main goals of the study was to develop an interview and coding procedures that provided reliable data. This goal was accomplished; the procedures used in …

Effects Of Response Card Use On Student Participation And Academic Achievement In An Elementary Classroom, Christina J. Diel

Masters Theses

This study compared the effectiveness of hand raising with the use of response cards in a sixth-grade general education classroom during whole-group social studies instruction. Dependent variables included the frequency of active student responding during instruction and student performance on both weekly quizzes and maintenance tests. Participants included 14 sixth-grade general education students (6 boys and 8 girls), ranging in ages from 11 to 12. An ABAB design was utilized to evaluate the effectiveness of the experimental condition. Participants were exposed to the hand raising condition during weeks 1 and 3 and the response card condition during weeks 2 and …

Predicting State Standardized Achievement Test Scores Using Curriculum Based Measurement In Third Grade, Lindsey Mitts

Masters Theses

With No Child Left Behind placing strong penalties on schools not making adequate yearly progress, many schools are searching for ways to predict student performance on state standardized achievement tests. The current study provides evidence as to the predictive nature of oral reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension data taken from a basal reading series, as well as student reading levels from an informal reading inventory, on Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) performance. Multiple regression analyses showed these measures to account for slightly more than one-half of the overall predicted variance in ISAT Reading performance. Furthermore, t-tests showed that a significant …

An Investigation Of The Dynamic Indicators Of Basic Early Literacy Skills (Dibels) And The Illinois Snapshot Of Early Literacy (Isel), Cara Williams

Masters Theses

This longitudinal study was conducted to compare and investigate the predictive power of DIBELS and ISEL measures. Data were collected to determine if ISEL and DIBELS measures similarly identify students as being at-risk. The predictive value of DIBELS and ISEL scores were evaluated in relation to third grade Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) scores and Illinois Standards of Achievement Test (ISAT) scores. Participants included 63 students from one grade level at a Chicago suburban school. Test scores from kindergarten through third grade were obtained for these students. Results indicate that the risk identification of students was significantly different between ISEL …

The Relationship Between Number Of Sports Played And Risky Sexual Behavior In High School Girls, Jennifer Martin

Masters Theses

Little is known about how the extent of athletic participation relates to sexual conduct for adolescent girls. The present study investigated how the number of sports played by female athletes in high school predicted their reports of risky sexual behavior. Participants included 2,304 female high school students from 9th grade through 12th grade from a Midwestern state. The students attended 27 high schools in seven counties and were recruited from a health prevention program called I Sing the Body Electric. As part of this program, students completed a confidential questionnaire that evaluated a number of health related issues. Two questions …

Factors That Hinder And Facilitate Help-Seeking Behaviors In Individuals With Social Anxiety, Hyland L. Smith

Masters Theses

This project focused on the development of a semi-structured interview for use in the exploration of factors that hinder or facilitate help-seeking behaviors of individuals with social anxiety. By participating in a qualitative semi-structured interview 10 participants identified factors that facilitated seeking professional help and barriers that prevented seeking professional help. Participants were grouped into two groups based on five stages of behavioral change proposed by Prochaska et al. (1983; 1991; 1992; 1999). The two groups were compared on the number of self-reported facilitator and barrier statements they made as well as their self-reported number of severity statements made. Participants …

Coping Strategy Use And Resilience Among Children Reporting Victimization, Julie K. Gepner

Masters Theses

Prior studies have established the negative implications of peer victimization; additional literature has focused on how children cope with the negative effects of peer bullying. However, no current research has examined the specific coping strategies, which may result in resiliency to the negative effects of peer victimization. The present study examined victimization, coping strategies, and resilience in a sample of 143 third through sixth grade students. The results indicated that the coping strategy of seeking social support was associated with resiliency among victims of aggression. In contrast, coping using externalizing behavior was associated with significantly lower levels of resiliency. The …

Detecting And Mapping The Michigan Vegetation Tension Zone Using Ecological Indicators, Janice Marie Fulford

Masters Theses

Ecotones are areas of transition between adjacent ecosystems that exist at various geographic scales, and are useful in measuring climatic changes. Ecotones are defined by their length and breadth and the ability to detect and map an ecotone from a specific period in time would be useful in measuring current and future change.

The study focused on a 1880's vegetation ecotone in the center of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. This was achieved by deriving ecological variables from the U.S. public land survey's tree species data. These variables were then used to ascertain the length of the ecotone by finding the boundary …

A Model Of The Natural Spread Of The Invasive Insect Species Emerald Ash Borer In The Lower Peninsula Of Michigan, Jennifer L. Weller

Masters Theses

More than 8 million ash trees in southeast Michigan have been killed by an infestation of the invasive insect species emerald ash borer (EAB). Since its identification in July 2002, EAB has been found in Ontario (Canada), Ohio, Indiana, and across Michigan. To date, EAB research has concentrated on the entomological classification and no systematic prediction of the pest's diffusion has been made.

This research presents a predictive model for the spread of EAB across the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Limited data on ash tree population distribution, ·. infestation distribution, and the dispersal rate of the emerald ash borer required …

Potential Effects Of Aggressive Videogames On Young Adult’S Behavior And Physiology, Kent David Smallwood

Masters Theses

Each year, interactive technology becomes more and more advanced, offering more lifelike environments, immersive experiences, and realistic situations. Additionally, the videogame industry has over doubled in size in less than ten years, now rivaling the box office industry. However, technological advances have quickly outpaced our understanding of the effects of certain types of adult content on the game player. To date, the majority of the research on the topic was conducted before the games themselves were technologically advanced enough to draw meaningful conclusions; the few studies conducted in the last few years, while offering promising methodological advancements from previous work, …

The Effects Of Feedback On Hourly Pay And Individual Monetary Incentives, Douglas A. Johnson

Masters Theses

The effects of performance feedback when individuals received fixed or individual incentive pay were examined. A 2 X 2 factorial design was used with approximately 30 college students in each group. Participants attended six experimental sessions. They entered the cash value of simulated bank checks presented on a computer screen. Monetary incentives increased the number of correctly completed checks (p = .000); however feedback had no effect (p = .825). Time spent working and rate of performance correlated strongly with the number of checks completed correctly, suggesting that both influenced the checks completed correctly. The results suggest that incentives increase …

The Journey Of A Social Movement: A Glimpse Into Hizb 'Allah And Its Integration Into The Lebanese Landscape, Lisa L. Peters

Masters Theses

Historically, research in Social Movement Theories has been limited to only certain aspects of a social movement, whether it was the impetus of the movement, explaining the reasons for its mobilization, how they recruit members and money, how social movements are able to function as an organization, or why groups suffer demise after flourishing for a period of time. This research attempts to build a framework of a particular social movement, Hizb'allah, a Shi'a Islamic movement based in Lebanon. This framework is built by extracting various elements from several social movement theories to explain and illustrate this movement's life course …

Gambling On A Simulated Slot Machine Under Conditions Of Repeated Play, Andrew Ellis Brandt

Masters Theses

Three experiments using a parametric, single-subject design investigated gambling behavior in eight adult humans on a slot-machine simulation. Participants were staked with credits exchangeable for money prior to each session. Experiment 1 a was a systematic replication of Weatherly and Brandt (2004), which investigated the effects of percentage payback (the amount of money gained as a proportion of the amount of money bet) on gambling. Percentage payback was varied from 50% to 110% across conditions. Consistent with Weatherly and Brandt, gambling did not vary systematically across percentage-payback conditions. Experiment 1 b replicated Experiment 1 a but also included forced-exposure sessions …