Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Roles And Prevalence Of Communication Research In Selected Southern New Jersey School Bond Referenda, Paul Dice

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the roles and prevalence of communication research in two successful Southern New Jersey school bond referenda. Both school districts utilized communication research to help them win the support of their communities. The study sought to offer insight into the importance, or lack thereof, of communications research as a tool to be used in assisting school officials to pass their referenda.

This study does not present a "how-to" manual for passing a bond referendum. Rather, it offers insights into how school officials can make use of research to enhance their chances of passing …

Memory Functioning In Children Exposed To Domestic Violence Trauma, Deanna Cosgrove

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis describes the memory functioning in children exposed to domestic violence trauma. Research findings suggest that adult participants with a clinical diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as defined by the Diagnostic Statistical Manual-IV (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) suffer from impairments in memory associated with reductions in hippocampal volume. However, a question arises as to whether children who have been exposed to domestic violence trauma will differ from controls in their memory functioning. A question also arises as to the relationship between the children's parent-reported behaviors and their memory functioning. The Children's Memory Scale (CMS) (Cohen, 1997) was administered …

Surveying The Future: An Innovative Tool For Expressing Stakeholder Vision As Demonstrated In Lawrence Township Public Schools, Jessica Reynolds Haviland

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to create a survey instrument that will allow all stakeholders in a school district to share their thoughts, opinions, and attitudes regarding their vision for the future. The results of this survey will be used to create a vision statement to clarify goals, prioritize activities, and unify stakeholders in the pursuit of a desired future. This survey can serve as a benchmark, against which a school district can measure progress toward its goals. The survey instrument will also be a template, which can be used by other organizations to assess their publics' vision for …

The General Public's Knowledge And Perceptions Of The Certified Athletic Trainer's Professional Role And Educational Background, Casey Christy

Theses and Dissertations

This study's purpose was to determine the general public's knowledge, attitudes and behaviors relative to the certified athletic trainer's professional role and educational background.

Two-hundred and seventy-nine people completed an 11-question intercept survey. Results indicate the athletic training professional faces many perception barriers with the general public.

Only 12 percent identified an "athletic trainer" as one of the on-field healthcare providers for injured professional football players. More than half failed to correctly describe what an athletic trainer does. Many responses indicate the public confuses certified athletic trainers with "personal trainers" and other strength and conditioning professionals. Eighty-four percent of the …

Robustness Of Multiple Objective Decision Analysis Preference Functions, William K. Klimack

Theses and Dissertations

This research investigated value and utility functions in multiobjective decision analysis to examine the relationship between them in a military decision making context. The impact of these differences was examined to improve implementation efficiency. The robustness of the decision model was examined with respect to the preference functions to reduce the time burden imposed on the decision maker. Data for decision making in a military context supports the distinction between value and utility functions. Relationships between value and utility functions and risk attitudes were found to be complex. Elicitation error was significantly smaller than the difference between value and utility …

Child Labor In Egypt, Dina Ismail El Shafei

Theses and Dissertations

Child labor is a complex worldwide problem, especially in LDCs where poverty and low educational standards are persistent. A survey of child labor worldwide finds that children are working in considerable numbers throughout many regions of the world. Each region differs in the extent of child labor and the specific sectors where children may be found working. However, the main reasons behind the work of children namely poverty and education, were common in all areas. Egypt represents a typical case where child labor exists in most of its forms, except for prostitution, traficking and child bondage, and is mainly caused …

Nukes Or No Nukes: How Does The Community View The Salem & Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Stations, David S. Burgin

Theses and Dissertations

This study addresses resident and political opinion surrounding the Salem and Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Stations (SHCNGS) owned by Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) by analyzing survey responses of residents and politicians living within 0-10 miles, 11-30 miles and from 31-50 miles from the stations in New Jersey and Delaware.

The study also investigates resident and political opinion since September 11, 2001, and how residents and politicians receive information about SHCNGS. In addition, resident and political opinion on four key issues facing the future existence of SHCNGS is also captured. Those four key issues are license renewal, environmental impact, safety/security, …

Multiple Intelligences And Teachers' Use Of The School Library Media Center, Jacqueline Albright Pugh

Theses and Dissertations

Howard Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences asserts that each person has a unique cognitive profile made up of several different types of intelligences. This theory is being incorporated into school curricula in lesson planning. Gardner has identified eight types of intelligences that humans can possess. In order to plan instruction that develops each of the different types of intelligences, teachers need access to a wide array of resources. In this study, surveys were sent to 150 classroom teachers from grades K-6 in each of the elementary schools in Burlington County to assess teachers' familiarity with Multiple Intelligences and to assess …

A Comparative Study Of Third-Grade Students' Use Of Children's Web Directories, Kristin Montanero

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this naturalistic case study was for 72 third-grade students to effectively use the children's Web directories Yahooligans and Kidsclick to locate specific information on the Internet and then to compare the success rates of the two directories. The researcher taught a three-week unit of instruction on searching children's' Web directories to locate information. Students completed a five-question worksheet in which they were required to do a keyword search on a specified directory to answer each question. Students recorded their answers, the number of Websites visited to locate each answer, and the URL of the Website where the …

Case Study To Assess The Effectiveness Of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy And Psychotropic Medications As A Treatment Approach For An Adult Male With Major Depressive Disorder And Opioid Dependence, Brian Newman

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this case study was to assess the treatment effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) on a client with a dual diagnosis of major depressive disorder and opioid dependence. The client exhibited severe depressive symptoms along with symptoms of opioid dependence. The client's depressive disorder was the primary diagnosis on Axis I due to onset of symptoms beginning before substance use began. A review of major studies evaluating Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with depressive disorders and substance dependence was conducted. Studies which evaluated the use of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as a treatment modality alone and coupled with psychotropic medications …

The Relationship Of Adolescent Attachment Patterns To College Student Adjustment, Cathleen M. Hutchison

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to examine if a relationship exists between attachment to parents and peers and college student adjustment during the freshmen year. Forty-seven undergraduate freshmen students between the ages of 18-19 participated in this study. Each participant completed four questionnaires including a demographic information survey, the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire, the Texas Social Behavior Inventory, and the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment. Correlation analyses determined that there was a significant positive relationship between attachment to parents and peers and college student adjustment. Analyses of Variance determined that there were significant differences between gender …

A Study Of The Changing Face Of Newspaper Journalism And Its Effect On Public Relations, Eva Marnie

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine three newspaper markets within the Philadelphia region to determine how journalism is changing and how this change affects the practice of public relations.

The study compared and contrasted the results of a nationwide survey given to editors of all major newspaper markets.

In-depth interviews were conducted, followed by a survey, to determine the attitudes and opinions of the Philadelphia region's major newspaper editors.

The research of the newspaper industry led to the trend of civic journalism. Much research was conducted about civic journalism and its role in the newspaper industry.

From the …

The Correlation Of Compulsive Buying And Binge Eating Behaviors In Female Undergraduate College Students, Michele Z. Clemente

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to extend previous research by Faber et al. (1995) in which comorbidity (two or more disorders existing at the same time) was found between Binge Eating Disorder and compulsive buying behaviors in a clinical sample. Faber et al. explored whether a subset of impulse control disorders could be called "compulsive consumption" disorders. Participants in this study, 51 undergraduate, female students, aged 18-23, were obtained from the Introduction to Psychology subject pool at Rowan University. The subjects completed the Binge Eating Scale and Compulsive Buying Scale and a correlation was completed. The result was that …

A Case Study Illustrating Depression From Interpersonally Related Issues, Cheryl Scheurich

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a single subject case study of a 20 year old, single, white female conducted in a university counseling center setting. This female presented into therapy with symptoms of major depression disorder, single episode, with moderate severity, and some mood congruent distortions. The therapy extended over a nine-week period, but with only six actual treatment sessions. Therapy consisted of an eclectic approach and individualized treatments pertaining to Cognitive-Behavioral Theory and some Interpersonal Theory elements for treating depression. This case was conceptualized through Young's Early Maladaptive Schema Theory (1990) and Bowlby's Attachment Theory (1969, 1973, 1980) in accordance to …

An Exploratory Study Of How Public Relations Practitioners And Journalists Need, Perceive And Deceive One Another, Jamie Leigh Mufalli

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis studies the relationship between public relations practitioners and journalists; how they perceive one another, what defines the relationship and what they would do differently if they were in the opposite field.

The author surveyed journalists and public relations practitioners to determine what kinds of attitudes help shape and define the relationship between these two very important professions.

Both public relations practitioners and journalists believe they are equal partners in the dissemination of information. Only 34.6 percent of public relations practitioners believe journalists have high morals and ethics, and are honest with public relations practitioners. Over 50 percent of …

Comparison Of Show-Rates For Telephone And Walk-In Referrals For Substance Abuse Services, Rebecca C. Lafleur

Theses and Dissertations

The investigator attempted to determine if individuals who make in-person (walk-in) referrals would be more likely to keep their initial appointment with a substance abuse counselor at an outpatient mental health clinic than will individuals who refer themselves over the telephone. Participants were 40 adults who had been ordered to undergo a substance abuse evaluation by the legal system between July and December 2001. The walk-in group consisted of 18 males and 2 females (mean age 34.04). The telephone-in group consisted of 18 males and 2 females (mean age 35.67). The investigator saw all participants for the initial appointment. The …

Case Study To Evaluate Effectiveness Of A Treatment Approach For Major Depression, Jennifer R. Laird

Theses and Dissertations

This case study evaluated the effectiveness of a therapeutic intervention with an adult diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder. A case study design was used to evaluate treatment for an adult male diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder and Opioid Dependence in Early Full Remission. The subject voluntarily participated in individual psychotherapy, was given the Beck Depression Inventory during the fourth and final sessions, completed a satisfaction survey during the final session and self-reported his substance use throughout his time in psychotherapy. The literature review indicated that the three psychotherapy modalities were most effective in the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder are: …

The Philadelphia Phillies: Why Do They Play To An Empty Stadium?, Christine A. Bosco

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was threefold: 1) to determine fans' attitudes about the Philadelphia Phillies, 2) to determine why there is low attendance at Phillies home games, and 3) to determine how fans can be lured back to the stadium. A sample (n = 100) from the Philadelphia and southern New Jersey areas was chosen to complete a 12-question survey. Both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered. Data was processed through the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences for frequencies and cross-tabulations. Major findings from the study include: 36% of respondents indicated that ticket price was their first consideration …

Communication Tactics For Empowering Employees: A Guidebook For Organizations And Managers, Todd Michael Pasley

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to establish communication tactics that apply to various communication situations in an empowerment context. The creation of such a reference source will offer a valuable resource for organizations and managers that wish to implement or change empowerment initiatives.

The completion of the study has yielded a guidebook consisting of case studies that offer solutions to communication problems based on literary research. The case studies will act as a guide for effective communication tactics when implementing or altering an empowerment initiative.

A non-scientific content analysis of relevant literature was completed to ascertain communication tactics and …

Analysis Of Gps Satellite Allocation For The United States Nuclear Detonation Detection System (Usnds), Aaron J. Bell

Theses and Dissertations

We present an approach for identifying salient input features in high feature to exemplar ratio conditions. Basically we modify the SNR saliency-screening algorithm to improve the solution of the optimal salient feature subset problem. We propose that applying the SNR method to randomly selected subsets (SRSS) has a superior potential to identify the salient features than the traditional SNR algorithm has. Two experimental studies are provided to demonstrate the consistency of the SRSS. In the first experiment we used a noise-corrupted version of the Fisher s Iris classification problem. The first experiment designed to prove the fidelity of the SRSS …

Aerospace Expeditionary Force Implementation And The Effect On Team Cohesion, Michael J. Zuhlsdorf

Theses and Dissertations

A statistical analysis of deployed and deploying airmen was conducted to provide insight and defensible support for Aerospace Expeditionary Force Center commanders to base teaming initiatives and policy decisions. To ensure that the results of this research are applicable across the Air Force, the research examined the effect of the Aerospace Expeditionary Force deployment process, comprised of individual anxiety, group unity, and work-group characteristics, on team cohesion, deployment commitment, and team effectiveness. The sample obtained included 643 airmen who had deployed within a 12-month period or who were scheduled to deploy within the next 3-month period. The results of the …

Commercial Regional Space/Airborne Imaging, Ugur Akyazi, Ali Durmus, Birce Boga Bakirli, Arif Arin

Theses and Dissertations

In this work goal programming is used to solve a minimum cost multicommodity network flow problem with multiple goals. A single telecommunication network with multiple commodities (e.g., voice, video, data, etc.) flowing over it is analyzed. This network consists of: linear objective function, linear cost arcs, fixed capacities, specific origin-destination pairs for each commodity. A multicommodity network flow problem with goals can be successfully modeled using linear goal programming techniques. When properly modeled, network flow techniques may be employed to exploit the pure network structure of a multicommodity network flow problem with goals. Lagrangian relaxation captures the essence of the …

Adolescent Pregnancy Attitudinal Survey, Amy Katherine Wolfe

Theses and Dissertations

A census of 53 adolescent females was conducted over a period of time beginning July 15, 2001 and ending March 5, 2002. Each subject was surveyed by using an interview with 66 items. The resources examined in this census were means of transportation and the social support structure before the female became an adolescent. The census found that 72 percent (N=53) of the adolescent females interviewed do not have a car, and 79 percent do not use public transportation. The census also found that 77 percent of the adolescent females interviewed do depend on their family/friends for transportation, and eighty-five …

Ethical Leadership And Communication, Jacquelynne Jordan

Theses and Dissertations

This analysis of leadership and communication research argues that effective leadership is manifested through the ethical communication a leader practices with group members. This paper approaches leadership as an interactional process and corroborates this view with supporting research and theory from the fields of business and communication. Ethical communication is used as a framework for how groups can communicate more effectively. A review of extant literature concluded that effective leadership does not exist with the leader's hands alone, but is created through communication and interaction within the group. Findings indicated that the more effective and productive managers approach their positions …

An Examination Of The Government Relations Profession From The Perspective Of Contract Lobbyists, Owners Of Lobbying Firms And Principal Corporate Lobbyists: A Comparison Of Female And Male Lobbyists, Kathy H. Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

In the past decade, some women lobbyists have progressed from representing compassion issues such as healthcare, children and education that were traditionally associated with women to representing concerns such as finance and engineering that are nontraditional for women and of vital importance to major corporations in the United States. Women have become contract lobbyists with major law firms, women have started their own firms. In addition, women have become the principal corporate lobbyists for major American companies.

The study was conducted with a mail survey sent to women lobbyists in the three classifications and to male lobbyists who served as …

A Spatio-Temporal Data Model For Zoning, Philip J. Uhl

Theses and Dissertations

Planning departments are besieged with temporal/historical information. While for many institutions historical information can be relegated to archives, planning departments have a constant need to access and query their historical information, particularly their historical spatial information such as zoning. This can be a cumbersome process fraught with inaccuracies due to the changing organizational methods and the extended historical legacies of most municipalities. Geographic Information Systems can be a tool to provide a solution to the difficulties in querying spatio-temporal planning data. Using a data model designed specifically to facilitate the querying of historical zoning information, queries can be performed to …

Book Of Mormon Stories Diglot Reader On Computer, Neal S. Harmon

Theses and Dissertations

This report describes the design, development, and evaluation of a computer-based diglot reader of the Book of Mormon Stories of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Di means two and glot means language, thus a diglot reader combines two languages into one reader in order to teach a person to read in a new language. The program, which runs on both Macintosh and Windows computer platforms, contains fifteen chapters of the Book of Mormon Stories and introduces about four hundred Spanish words. This report includes a literature review on the diglot method and related materials, a description of …

The Effects Of Computer-Based Metacognitive Strategy Training For Adult Second Language Learners, Heidi D. Hyte

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a metacognitive language learning strategy training program that was implemented into computer-assisted language learning (CALL) software on second language learners' independent use of metacognition and language learning strategies (LLS). Questions under investigation included what effect this metacognitive training had on learners' independent use of metacognition, the differences in use of metacognitive strategies between fast and slow language learners, and the effect of learners' perceptions of metacognition on their use of LLS and specific metacognitive strategies.

The subjects included 239 missionaries learning Spanish as a second language at the Missionary …

Time As Motivation: Selected Theories As Compared To Modern Revelation, Jill Judkins

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis proposes that human beings by virtue of living in each new present moment are motivated to develop strategies to secure the best possible outcome in their lived experience. A personal account of the phenomenological experience of time is presented and a brief history is given. The implications associated with being thrown into the present moment make apparent the weaknesses of the current assumptions that the slices of the present moment form a continuity of past and future and create a coherent synthesis of life. The assumption that human beings are intentional, goal-directed, and prone to seek meaning in …

Balance And Conflict: Variation In Attaining Work-Family Fit Among A Homogeneous Population, Laura C. Koch

Theses and Dissertations

The concept of work-family fit has recently emerged in the work and family literature, comparable to work-family balance in that it represents interactions between work and family, and yet distinct from balance in its sense of universal ownership and responsibility. Using Barnett's (1998) model of the work-social system interface as a framework, this study explores the relationship between and predictive factors of work-family fit and work-family balance. Data are from a survey of Brigham Young University's Marriott School of Management (MSM) graduate school alumni (n = 273). Findings indicate that fit and balance are indeed two separate constructs, with fit …