Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Organizational Change In Action: A Qualitative Case Study Of Usair's Acquisition Of Pacific Southwest Airlines, Joan A. Miszak Edd

Dissertations

Five dominant theories of organizational change have emerged from the literature. Each of these models expressly expand on a singular and specific paradigm of how change can be viewed within organizations. The models of change are the micro-personal-therapeutic, meso-rational-managerial, meso-systems-organic, macro-cultural-symbolic and macro-political-economic. While the contemporary literature on organizational change has done much to further our understanding about the future of organizational change, very few works provide us with case study examples of organizational change in action. Missing is an understanding of what facilitators of change actually do in the process of change. The present study sought to provide a …

The Schools Of The Future Commission Of San Diego City Schools: An Ethnographic Study, Bertha Ousley Pendleton Edd

Dissertations

Ethnographic research methods were used to analyze the culture of a large city commission appointed to make recommendations for the future of the school district. The study focused on the year-long deliberations of a panel of 17 community leaders. The objectives of the study were to (1) describe the culture of the Commission, (2) analyze the action of Commission members, and (3) develop guidelines for conducting successful commission studies. Major research questions that were the focus of the study were inquiries about (a) the social and cultural organization of the Commission, (b) how the Commission developed and proceeded to do …

The Effects Of Training Strategies On Assessor Behavior And The Accuracy Of Assessment Center Consensus Ratings, Todd A. Baker

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of four training strategies (e.g., part, whole, individual, and team) on the accuracy of performance ratings and the occurrence of interactive behaviors in consensus meetings. The results were analyzed using a 2 x 2 factorial ANOVA design. Part and whole training strategies were directly compared with one another. Team and individual training strategies made up the other direct comparison. Undergraduates (N = 108) were randomly assigned to four training conditions. The subjects were grouped into teams of three assessors. In these teams the assessors needed to exchange information about assessee …

Gender Differences In The Relation Between Locus Of Control And Physiological Responses, Monique C. Grelot

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The relationship between locus of control and the physiological responses of heart rate (HR) and electrodermal activity (EDA) was investigated in 30 males and 31 females during an arithmetic task. The Levenson's Internal, Powerful Others and Chance (IPC) scales (Levenson, 1974) were used to assess the various degrees of internality for each subject. Additionally, to determine each subject's physiological Lability or Stability (LS), EDA was measured by recording spontaneous skin conductance responses during a ten minute rest period and to a tone (an Orienting Response (OR) task). A simple difficulty effect was found on the performance scores across the three …

Cost-Benefit Analysis In A Port Development Project Using A Simulation Model, Young Tae Chang

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Assessing Soccer Referee Performance Using Work Sample And Conventional Testing Methods, Robert L. Kuhnle

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

A game simulation consisting of game segments filmed from two camera angles, a behavioral event interview (BEI), a written test, and a physical performance test battery were compared for testing college soccer referees as linesmen. A content-oriented strategy (Alba & Dickinson, 1985) was used to prepare the tests. Sixty-one referees from two testing sites were assigned to one of two conditions of physical demand and one of three experience groups. Strong evidence of criterion-related validity was found for the game simulation from the press box camera angle when game simulation scores were compared with peer ratings and assessment scores. Mixed …

Family Environments And The Development And Course Of Anorexia Nervosa, Amy E. Hewett

Honors Theses

Preoccupation with physical appearance is a hallmark of adolescence, and distorted body images are common among teenage women in developed countries around the world. Obviously alI of these adolescents are not contracting eating disorders, and a distorted body image, although necessary, is not sufficient to induce anorexia. The mitigating factor appears to be family relations and environments. Previous research has noted unusual relationships among family members of anorexic girls. The present study contends that familial factors and environments powerfully direct both the move toward and the recovery from anorexia nervosa. It is hypothesized that high scores on the Family Environment …

Initial Dyadic Peer Interaction Of Adhd And Normal Children, Julie A. Hubbard

Honors Theses

The present study assesses the nature of the behavior of ADHD children in an initial social encounter with a peer. Eight pairs each of previously unacquainted ADHD/normal and normal/normal children were videotaped as they interacted in a free-play setting for 30 minutes. All ADHD subjects were currently receiving psychostimulant medication. As compared to the normal/normal dyads, the ADHD/normal dyads engaged in more solitary play as well as less associative play. The ADHD/normal dyads also had a greater latency to reach rule-governed associative play and engaged in less affective verbalization than the normal/normal dyads. Sequential analyses revealed that the normal/normal dyads, …

Role Satisfaction In Working Mothers : A Comparison Of Occupational Status, Mary G. O'Donnell

Honors Theses

The effects of employment on a working mother's overall role satisfaction was examined as a function of occupational status (professional, middle management, working class). Sixty women of differing employment levels were given a questionnaire of items concerning their experiences as working mothers. Professional women were found to be at an advantage. They possesed significantly higher levels of work orientation and job satisfaction than both middle management and working class women, and higher levels of family satisfaction than working class women. Professional women were also slightly more satisfied with their roles, but this effect was not significant. A stepwise multiple regression …

Prediction Of Reading Pesticide Warnings And Consumer Purchasing Intentions, Kathryn Anne Ponsi

Honors Theses

Correlates of reading and noticing warnings on consumer products and of consumers' purchasing intentions were examined using ratings of 26 household pest-control products. Seventy college undergraduates were asked to respond to a 19-item questionnaire assessing subjects' perceptions of each product's packaging, labeling, and warning characteristics. Additional data was collected by coding the products for several packaging and warning characteristics, and product effectiveness. The results showed that the products perceived as more hazardous, potent, likely to cause injury, and difficult to use contained warnings that subjects reported they would more likely notice and read. A different cluster of variables were predictive …

Activation Of Social Heuristics In Social Decision Making Tasks As A Function Of Leadership Role Assignment, Amber B. Keating

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of assigning leadership roles implying varying degrees of social responsibility along with examining lay peoples' perceptions of these roles. Using 105 subjects, a 3 (leadership role) x 2 (resource type) design was used to examine how leaders make decisions about sharing resources in groups. First, 41 subjects rated the perceived degree of social responsibility for each of the 32 roles. In the next phase, another 64 subjects were assigned one of three leadership roles (supervisor, guide, or leader) and were asked to take that type of leader's deserved amount of …

The Effects Of Caffeine On Operant Behavior In The Mongolian Gerbil, Stephanie L. Myers

Honors Theses

The present study looks at the effects of stomach loads of caffeine on operant behavior in Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus). Four male and four female gerbils were trained to a fixed interval schedule of 30 seconds with Noyes 4.5 mg rodent pellets used for reinforcement. A data collection and analysis package for Apple computers was used to measure the post-reinforcement response frequencies and number of reinforcements. Data was collected using a baseline of saline stomach loads of 1% of body weight, and then stomach loads of ascending concentrations caffeine mixed with saline (10, 20, 40, 60 mg/kg) with two to …

The Correlation Between The Motive To Achieve And The Motive To Affiliate In College Women, Lisa Salladin

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the correlation between the motives to achieve and to affiliate in college senior women and to compare that correlation earlier findings that consistently produced a significant negative relationship. It has been suggested in the 1970's that for women achievement and affiliation were be_coming less adversarial and approaching a more balanced coexistence. These motivations were measured by the frequently utilized Edward's Personal Preference Schedule in an effort to help strengthen the comparability of the present results with those previous findings. Interviews were conducted in an effort to shed light on whether these women …

Variables Which Discriminate Successful Versus Unsuccessful Placement Of Adolescents In An Open Residential Treatment Program, Teresa Gayle Turner

Dissertations

Problem. Little information exists that clarifies what type of adolescent in need of out-of-home care is appropriate for open residential treatment. The purpose of this study was to identify variables that discriminate between those adolescents who complete and those who fail to complete an open residential treatment program.

Method. Information on 208 adolescents placed at the Family and Children's Center Residential Treatment Program was obtained on 36 independent variables. The variables covered demographic and family characteristics, behavior problems prior to placement, and academic/intellectual functioning. Descriptive statistics were cited; five groups of variables (models) were analyzed by discriminant analysis.

Results. …

Developing Self-Esteem: A Search For The Missing Element, Douglas Mack

Masters Theses

Educators have long known the impact a child’s self-esteem, or self-concept, has upon his or her ability to perform in the classroom. This paper explores the variables involved in developing self-concept both in theory and the research. The roles of teacher feedback, student failure and success, and difficulty of task are examined and their impact upon student self-esteem assessed. Learning theories such as constructivism and the use of teams in the classroom are also presented and discussed. Self-esteem does not come about simply as a result of prior success. It develops 1) as a child experiences success at tasks he …

Opening Lines In Classroom And Social Settings: A Study Of The Initiator's First Conversational Sequence, Julie E. Hutcheson

Masters Theses

This study examined various types of opening lines that college students use with strangers in classrooms and social settings. An opening line was defined as the initial turn of the conversational sequence. The responses received by the students, through an open-ended survey, were analyzed and categorized using content analysis. The results revealed many similarities among the two settings in eight pre-established categories and three new categories except for in one of the newest categories. The social setting in one of the newest categories received more sarcastic conversational sequences than the classroom. This study provides examples pertaining to many opening lines …

Communication And Aging: Perceptions Of Family And Friend Interaction On Self Reported Life Satisfaction Among Selected Residents Of Three Nursing Homes, Patricia J. Fetzner

Masters Theses

The study of communication and aging provides great potential for enriching the lives of the elderly. Of course this should be of great interest to each of us as we are all inevitably aging. One rapidly growing area in communication research deals with how communication affects the life satisfaction of the elderly. Of particular interest is the attitudinal effect of family and friend interaction.

Early research dealing with the elderly focused on two theories: 1. Activity theory, which is the idea that social activity is essential to an older person's sense of well being and; 2. Disengagement theory, which suggests …

A Survey Of Psychotherapists Conceptions Of Self-Actualization, Constance C. Jones

Theses

Therapists views of the nature, function, and effect of the self-actualizing capacity in their clients were investigated. Variation in views as a function of therapists ' gender, experience, and theoretical orientation was also examined. The researcher gathered the information by randomly selecting psychologists from the American Psychological Association's Register and as king 35 men and 25 women to respond to a 12-quest ion self -administered questionnaire.

The results from the questionnaires were coded and grouped into general categories . The responses seemed to fall naturally into two broad groupings of (a) psychological and physical (internal phenomena) effects or (b) factors …

Female Representation Among State Legislative Elite: The Illinois General Assembly 1922-1986, Juliana J. Helmke

Masters Theses

This study of female representation in the Illinois General Assembly examines 33 general assemblies, beginning with the 53rd General Assembly – election year, 1922 – at which time the first woman was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives. Trend lines are used to describe changes in female representation over the 64-year period. The effect of changes in the electoral system and the institutional structure are examined. Social and demographic characteristics of women legislators in Illinois are discussed. This data is then compared to data on legislators elected to the 83rd General Assembly.

Over the 64-year period covered in this …

Evolution/Creation Debate: A Rhetorical Analysis, James V. Miteff

Masters Theses

During the course of human history, many social issues have come and gone. One argument that caught the writer's eye is the argument about how man came to exist.

Purpose of Study

The purpose of this study is to analyze an evolution/creation debate that took place at Columbus College, Georgia, on May 6, 1981. Evolutionary theory was supported by Dr. Schwinner, a paleontologist from Columbus College. His partner was Dr. Frazier, a professor of geology at Columbus College. Creation theory was supported by Dr. Henry Morris, President of the Institute for Creation Research, San Diego, and Dr. Slusher, an astronomer …

An Expressive Therapy And Psychotherapy Group Program For Adult Female Survivors Of Childhood Incest, Janice Kay Hinton

Theses

This project involved developing a group treatment program for adult female survivors of childhood incest. The program is time-limited and task-oriented, and it is intended to be used with a closed group of eight to ten women and conducted by two female therapists. The program combines the techniques of expressive therapy and psychodynamic group therapy. It consists of twelve sessions that are an hour-and-a-half to two hours long. Each session is devoted to a specific issue of concern to adult female survivors of childhood incest. Each issue is explored through the making of art projects, the use of guided imagery, …

The Use Of Word Association To Examine Conscious Attention, Laura A. Batchelor

Theses

This study applied statistical analysis to the word association method of psychological research to investigate the element of conscious attention, defined as those mental processes which deliver a word a s a response to a stimulus word.

The subjects were 15 males and 15 females from a middle-class suburban community. They were tested individually with a 100 - item word association test. Each subject participated in two testing sessions, and the word association test was administered twice during each session.

Two variables were measured, response time and response reproduction. These were used to classify each subject's reactions to the test …