Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Lyndon Johnson, Civil Rights, And Party Realignment In The South, Adam L. Warber

Masters Theses

Lyndon Johnson's decision to place the power of the presidency behind a drive for civil rights of African Americans initiated momentum which by 1994 resulted in a substantial party realignment in the South. First, history; Johnson's personal experience as a Southerner; his knowledge of the political system; his political power, and his political judgement were important elements in making this decision. Secondly, Johnson's considerations in striving for civil rights legislation included: (a) consideration of political difficulties and strategies in framing and in passage of the legislation, (b) his break with Southern Democratic colleagues on civil rights, (c) the pressures which …

Differences In Retention Rates Between Cocaine And Alcohol Dependent Individuals In A Drug-Free Setting, Barbara A. Johnston

Masters Theses

Substance abuse treatment outcome is an important area for clinical research. Furthermore, it is important to identify sub-populations which may require additional treatment services in order to improve outcome. Cocaine dependent individuals have been identified as a group that provides many challenges to clinicians and researchers due to the high incidence of relapse. The current study explored the differences in treatment retention between persons diagnosed with either cocaine or alcohol dependence. There was a significant difference between the length of stay for the two groups (p=.003). However, there was not a significant difference in type of discharge between the two …

Assessment Of The Stimulus Properties Of Mda And Mdma Stereoisomers In A Lsd-Saline-Amphetamine Discrimination, Michele Marie Taylor

Masters Theses

This study employed a three-choice drug discrimination procedure in order to further delineate the discriminative stimulus properties of the stereoisomers of 3,4- methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). Eight male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained to discriminate amphetamine (1.0 mg/kg) and LSD (.08 mg/kg) from saline in a three-lever, food reinforced (sweetened condensed milk) drug discrimination procedure. A fixed-ratio (FR) 20 schedule with a reset condition for incorrect responses was employed. When criteria (85% over 10 consecutive sessions) were met, (+)-MDA, (-)-MDA, (+)-MDMA (.31, .63, 1.25 mg/kg) and (-)-MDMA (.88, 1.75, 3.5 mg/kg) were tested for substitution. All of these compounds produced …

Differential Outcomes In A Cocaine Versus Saline Discrimination, Thomas B. Morgan

Masters Theses

The effects of differential outcomes on the speed of acquisition of a cocaine vs. saline discrimination were examined. Two groups of male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained to discriminate 8.0 mg/kg cocaine from saline. The experimental group was exposed to differential outcomes, where correct responses following the different injections (discriminative stimuli) were correlated with a particular outcome (either sweetened condensed milk or tap water). The control group received either sweetened condensed milk or tap water at random following cocaine and saline injections. Acquisition of schedule control and three progressively difficult testing criteria were examined. The differential outcomes group came under schedule …

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder In Adolescents And Risk For Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection, Margo A. Adams

Masters Theses

The adolescent population has been identified as the age group most quickly increasing in HIV transmission. Specific subpopulations of adolescents may be more at risk than others due to their unique situations. Characteristics commonly discussed in the literature describing individuals with attention deficits and hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) are similar to those that put individuals at risk for HIV infection (i.e., impulsivity, overactivity, drug use). This anonymous survey study investigated several hypotheses suggesting that ADHD adolescents may be more at risk than controls for HIV infection. Undergraduates at a midwestern university completed the sexual behavior survey. Eight male subjects reported a …

Job Satisfaction Of West Michigan Certified Nurse-Midwives: A Qualitative Study Of Autonomy And Empowerment In The Provision Of Health Care, Martha M. Shafer-Thyen

Masters Theses

Certified Nurse-Midwifery provides optimal health care service to women through all stages of the reproductive cycle. In order to ensure continued growth of this field of health care, prospective students must see it as an occupation which can offer them high levels of job satisfaction, and certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) must be satisfied in their job or they will not continue to practice. In this qualitative study of West Michigan CNMs, two main factors are identified that determine high levels of job satisfaction: (1) The ability to autonomously care for a woman, with recourse to supportive comanagement of the woman's care …

Changes In Communication After The Diagnosis Of An Illness, Kimberly M. Sniderman

Masters Theses

A cancer, HIV, or AIDS diagnosis may alter a person's life. This may be exhibited communicatively, particularly when people with illnesses (PWI) disclose their diagnosis to people without illnesses (PWOI). The present study examined the premise that communication between PWI and PWOI was likely to be affected by illness disclosure. PWI were asked whether and how (positively or negatively) they perceived communication to change in family, doctor, nurse, other health care professional and their own contexts. Results indicated that PWI communication did change, though this was not found across contexts. Specific types of communication changes PWI experienced included greater openness, …

An Assessment Of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder And Psychology And Physical Health Comorbidity Among Law Enforcement Officers, Terri L. Belville

Masters Theses

A qualitative survey was employed to gather descriptive information on Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and collateral psychological and physical health conditions among law enforcement officers. Three diagnostic assessment instruments for PTSD were utilized including a self-report traumatic stress questionnaire to screen for PTSD, as well as provide information on the range of personal and on-the-job traumatic events experienced by officers. At a structured clinical follow-up interview the C-DIS-R and MCMI-III were used to verify a diagnosis of PTSD and establish psychological comorbidity on Axis I and Il, respectively. A self-report physical health questionnaire was also used to assess for physical …

The Assessment Of The Effectiveness Of Three Bibliographic Instructional Tools At Teaching Basic Library Skills, Julie M. Liew

Masters Theses

Three library instructional tools/guides. were compared to evaluate their effectiveness at teaching basic library skills to undergraduate students. A step-by-step scoring sheet was the main data collection tool used to measure subjects' stepwise responses as they interacted with computers and the library to find answers to test questions. Pretest, posttest, and follow-up test consisting of three basic library utilization questions were administered. The three experimental groups were trained with one of the following tools: · a computer self-instructional tool (Hypermedia Group), printed handouts (Handout Group), and computer help-screens (Helpscreen Group). Test scores at each of the assessment points showed no …

Public And Private Differences In Gender Role Identity Presentation, Peter R. Stevenson

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study is to assess public and private differences in gender role identity presentation. It was hypothesized that in both public and private, males should generally present themselves as more masculine (instrumental) and females should present themselves as more feminine (expressive) as traditional gender norms would suggest. Also, public and private situational differences in gender identity presentation are hypothesized. Males and females who are high in public self-consciousness should design their gender related presentations to meet the normative expectations of public situations because these individuals are highly aware of social expectations.

The results of the study supported …

Volunteer Fire Departments: A Neglected American Voluntary Association, Michelle C. Akers

Masters Theses

This thesis explores the social and cultural dimensions of volunteer fire departments (VFDs) in West Michigan. Through interviews and observations of four VFDs, important dimensions of social cohesion and variability within and between the departments and communities are revealed. An emphasis is placed upon the gender relations within the departments and their effect upon the relations in the larger community. From these companies, a sketch of a small West Michigan community is derived. If used as a companion with other research of Midwestern communities of a greater scope and sample size, an understanding of social organization and social structure may …

The Effectiveness Of A Call-In Number In Telephone Surveys, Robert J. Moore

Masters Theses

Answering machines are now more frequently encountered in telephone studies than just a few years ago. Researchers must devise new techniques to compensate for the increased use of answering machines. The main point of the Michigan Higher Education Institute (MHEI) 800 number study was to establish if leaving an 800 call-in number on an answering machine would increase response rates and lower the number of interviewer initiated call-backs for call attempts resulting in an answering machine disposition. The MHEI study provided a chance to look at how an 800 number could improve response rates in a panel telephone study. The …

Experiences Of Bidialectism In College-Educated African Americans: An Exploratory Study, Ina N. Owens

Masters Theses

This study was undertaken to explore experiences of bidialectism in college-educated African Americans. The major questions in this study attempted to answer the following: 1) How do college-educated African Americans perceive and negotiate differences between Black and Standard English? 2) Does negotiating two language systems impact their sense of cultural identity? If so, in what ways? and, 3) Is there a conflict involved in negotiating two language systems? If so, what is the nature of the conflict?

Eight interviews were conducted with graduate students who were both Black and Standard English speakers. Subjects ranged in age from 22 to 50. …

A Statewide Comparative Study Of Enhanced Referral Services Given To Teenage Mothers Offered By The Illinois Child Care Resource And Referral System Through The Teen Parent Initiative Program And The Non-Enhanced Referral Services Given To Teenage Mothers Offered By The Illinois Child Care Resource And Referral System, Melissa M. Cruz

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Nutrition Facts Label Made Easy: Development, Implementation And Evaluation Of A Label Education Workshop, Kathy Kemper

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Male Serial Killers And The Criminal Profiling Process: A Literature Review, Jennifer R. Phillips

Masters Theses

A review of the relevant psychological and sociological literature regarding serial killers is presented. Also described is the investigative process and the procedures involved in constructing accurate criminal profiles. This paper examines the definition, characteristics, and classifications of male serial killers. Additionally, the paper discusses various motivations for killing serially, the importance of fantasy, and emotional, cognitive, and behavioral processes in the serial killer. The process of criminal profiling, which is a relatively new and innovative proactive and reactive investigative procedure, is also described as a tool used frequently in the investigative process of serial homicides. Also described is the …

Counseling College Athletes: Career Choices Based On Motivation, Interest, Gpa, And Academic Major Among Selected Division I, Ii, And Iii Institutions, Don D. Dawson

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study is to provide descriptive and statistical data to identify any differences in three college divisions of men's basketball and baseball student athletes as they related to career decision making in their career interest, academic major and grade point average.

Concepts of this study were originally tested by Dr. Joseph Scott Paul (1986) in his doctoral dissertation, The Intercollegiate Athlete as a Student in Higher Education: An Analysis of Career Expectations, Interests, and Academic Majors.

This study will include men's basketball and baseball student athletes at three different institutions in three different divisions. The research describes …

The Assertive/Vulnerable Dimension Of Dreaming Style, William Andrew Peters

Masters Theses

This study involved the exploration of the Assertive/Vulnerable dimension of dreaming style. Assertiveness and Vulnerability, as characteristics of dreaming experience, were measured using the Dreaming Style Questionnaire-Revised that was derived from a revision of Gruber's 1988 Dreaming Style Questionnaire (DSQ.) For this study, the DSQ-R was administered to approximately 2500 participants. The structure, reliability, validity and waking correlates of the Assertive/Vulnerable scale of the DSQ-Revised was explored. Factor analysis replicated the Assertive/Vulnerable dreaming dimension, first uncovered by the original DSQ, as predicted, with the ten Assertive and Vulnerable items loading together to form one bi-polar factor. The exploration of sub-scales …

The Effects Of Family Planning On Malnutrition In Bangladesh, Ridwan Al-Rahman

Masters Theses

Some of the best historical and archeological evidence has claimed that about a million years was required for the human race to reach the 250 million mark by the beginning of the Christian era. Pestilence, famine and war had then reduced the population increase to a tiny fraction of 1% per year, requiring 16 centuries for the world population to double to 500 million. However, by 1850, 250 years later, the population doubled to the one billion mark. As of 1993, approximately one and a half centuries later, the world population stood at about 5.5 billion. According to United Nations …

Poverty And Rural Policy In South Africa, Malose Hilton Ledwaba

Masters Theses

Poverty in South Africa is a rural and urban problem. It is endemic to the rural environment where the majority of the people live. It is transferred to the urban areas through labor migration.

Rural people depend on agriculture for subsistence. Apart from subsistence farming there are no employment opportunities. The choice for a rural young man is to be a subsistence farmer or a migrant laborer. The industrial sector is unable to offer a job for everyone. Thus, the rural migrant’s dream of a city job often becomes an unemployment nightmare.

I argue, therefore, that poverty can best be …

Wage And Employment Effects Of The North American Free Trade Agreement On The U.S. Manufacturing Sector, Abm Ekramul Nasir

Masters Theses

According to the conventional theories of international trade, trade liberalization equalizes factor prices across countries involved in trade. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is a newer form of regional economic integration between a developing country, Mexico, and two developed countries, the United States and Canada. Complying with proposition of conventional theories, it is rational to expect that NAFTA will lead to equalization of factor prices among theses three countries. On the other hand, the existence of a wide gap in wages between the United States and Mexico may lead to lower wages in the U.S.A. This study, however, …

Money Demand Determination In China, Jiang Wu

Masters Theses

This paper provides an estimation of the money demand in China using a basic theoretical framework based on the quantity theory of money. Besides conventional independent variables included in the quantity theory of money, both the expected rate of inflation (serving as the measure of the opportunity cost of holding money) and the extent of monetization in China (serving as an institutional variable) are included in the money demand function. It is supposed that changes in the demand for money in China between 1952 to 1989 were highly correlated with the institutional shifts in monetary sector.

The Influence Of Higher Education And The Perceived Effects On Women And Their Interpersonal Relationships With Significant Others, Tracy L. Conn

Masters Theses

This study of professional women holding advanced degrees examined the influence of doctoral education and the perceived effects on women and their interpersonal relationships with significant others. It was found that half of the women believed that their level of education affected their relationship status. Though there were a group of women who reported that their level of education limited them in their interpersonal relationships, the majority of the women reported being in gratifying relationships with supportive significant others. Therefore, it is not surprising that the majority of the women reported that their significant other was one of the greatest …

A Study Of School Personnel's Knowledge Regarding Traumatic Brain Injury, Kelly Kay Richardson

Masters Theses

This study attempted to determine if school psychologists are more knowledgeable regarding traumatic brain injury (TBI) today than in a study conducted years ago (Mira, Meck, & Tyler, 1988). Since the Mira, et al. study a federal category has been added to special education legislation, and it was hypothesized that school psychologists would be receiving more training in this area as a result of the addition of the special education category. This study also attempted to determine if regular education teachers, special education teachers, and school psychologists differ in their knowledge of (TBI). A survey from the Mira, et al. …

Strategic Transfer In Logical Abilities In Children Playing Mastermind And An Analogue, Cynthia J. Kincaid

Masters Theses

Strategy development and the use of strategy as a mechanism of transfer was examined in sixty elementary students while playing the logical deduction game Mastermind and a familiar analogue. In the first couple of two-way ANOVAs subjects showed that they are in fact learning or developing a task-specific strategy that can be applied across the two types of games regardless of which game was in the target position of a transfer paradigm. This suggests that subjects were able to focus on structural similarities rather than surface features and apply what was learned between the game isomorphs. Both the third and …

A Comparison Of Personality Correlates Of Self-Identified And Nonidentified Adult Children Of Alcoholics, Patti K. Hampsten

Masters Theses

This study compared personality traits of adult children of alcoholics with adults who did not come from alcoholic home environments, for the purpose of developing treatment protocols. It was hypothesized that 1) there would be differences between clinical ACOA's and non-clinical ACOA's, 2) clinical ACOA's would differ from non-ACOA's, 3) non-clinical ACOA's would differ from non-ACOA's. Four groups were used in the comparison, adult children of alcoholics in treatment, adult children of alcoholics with no treatment history, non-adult children of alcoholics in treatment, and non-adult children of alcoholics with no treatment history. The fifty-two female participants were administered the Children …

The Effects Of Local Enforcement Of The Legal Minimum Drinking Age On The Students Of Eastern Illinois University, Timmy D. Tritsch

Masters Theses

This study investigated the perceived effect of increased community enforcement of the legal minimum alcohol drinking age on the attitudes and behavior of university students as reported by the community. The results indicated increased local alcohol enforcement efforts, changed student drinking behavior, which in turn created a positive change in community attitude toward enforcement efforts. Increased enforcement efforts between the years 1993 and 1995 targeted underage drinking and alcohol related crime as demonstrated by university students. Enforcement efforts were initiated by community officials in the form of a beer keg registration ordinance, minimum age bar compliance checks, raising the bar …

Undergraduate Knowledge Of School Psychology And The Effects Of Presentation On Graduate And Career Pursuit, Robert J. Bolin

Masters Theses

With the increasing national demand for credentialed school psychologists, it is essential that every effort be made to recruit qualified individuals into the field of school psychology. This paper describes the important role and function of the school psychologist. Research demonstrating the present and future need for school psychological services is presented. Literature investigating several factors that contribute to the gap between supply and demand is reviewed. An intervention is presented based on the recommendations of the reviewed research. A brief informational presentation on school psychology, in conjunction with distributed materials about the profession, was assessed with a retrospective pretest-posttest …

Academic Achievement Of High School Students As It Relates To Locus Of Control, Family Life Changes, And Perceived Level Of Stress, Marla M. Mcdaneld

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between family life changes, perceived stress, locus of control, gender, and the achievement of grade eleven students. A literature review revealed that adolescents report a high level of stress in a variety of situations. Changes in family life and factors at school are two of the major stressors. The research suggests that an individual with an external locus of control is more likely to experience stress than an individual with an internal locus of control. The research also suggests that a higher level of stress combined with an external locus …

Families And The Co-Construction Of Shared Experiences: A Narrative Approach, Angela S. Jacobs

Masters Theses

This study examines how families co-construct joint accounts of shared experiences. Two foster families participated in the study, and were asked to recall information about the decision-making process of becoming a foster family. Through the use of narrative, each foster parent created an individual, detailed chronology of events that took place, including emotional reactions to events, types of decisions made, conversations held with each other as well as all outsiders, and any conflicts that arose during this process. Through conversational discourse, each family transformed individual experiences into one co-created story.

To understand how these individuals came to create such experiences, …