Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Effect Of The Type A Coronary Behavior Pattern On Intergroup Conflict Reduction, Ian Beckford

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of an individual difference variable (the Type A/B coronary prone behavior pattern) on intergroup conflict reduction. Undergraduates were first characterized as Type A/B based on a pretest. They then participated in a study that consisted of the presentation of two conflict-inducing tasks to each of two groups homogeneous with respect to the A/B dimension. There were three conditions in the study: sessions in which the groups were composed exclusively of "A"'s or "B"'s, and sessions which consisted of "A"'s and "B's. The two groups competed with one another on …

The Application Of Program Evaluation Techniques To Improve Services For Emotionally Disturbed Children And Youth In Kentucky: Discussion Of A Statewide Needs Analysis Model And A Framework For Program Development, Vicki Phillips

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

No abstract provided.

Depression In Caregivers Of Alzheimer’S Patients: Concurrent Validity Of Two Depression Scales, Joyce Sutton

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Forty-five male and female family caregivers of institutionalized and noninstitutionalized Alzheimer’s Disease patients were assessed for depression, using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Internal consistency and concurrent validity for the BDI and GDS were acceptable, based on item-total correlation, coefficient alphas, and a Pearson’s Product-moment correlation. A stepwise multiple regression analysis was carried out to determine which variables predict depression in Alzheimer’s caregivers. Using the traditional cut-off score of 11 for each scale, it was found that 42% were depressed on the BDI, while 58% were depressed on the GDS; these rates were not significantly …

Aging And Spatio-Temporal Vision: Effects Of Blur On Localization Task Performance, David Griggs

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The aim of this project was to examine age-related declines in the processing of spatial frequency information. Some current theories of spatial vision state that humans process high spatial frequency information separately or differently from low spatial frequency information. There is also evidence that normal aging may affect the processing of some spatial frequencies more than others. Specifically, it has been proposed that older adults have deficits in their ability to process low spatial frequency information, and that older adults process visual information more slowly in general than young adults. Eight observers in each of three age groups were tested …

The Relationship Between Creativity In Prose & Standardized Academic Achievement, Coy Callicott

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of the relationship between creativity, as measured by the Prose Quantification System (PQS), and standardized academic achievement as measured by the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS). The Prose Quantification System is a measurement of the creative quality of written prose.

PQS story-starters were administered to 89 fifth-grade students enrolled in six classes in two schools in south central Kentucky. Each student received two story-starters about the same content (box or paper), but in a different context (usual vs. unusual setting) and was instructed to complete the stories. A total …

Mapping The Desertification Process In Southern Morocco Using Remote Sensing Data, Abdellah Benkhalti

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Desertification is a problem occurring in arid and semiarid zones all over the world. It is a consequence of mismanagement of the land. Human activities and livestock pressure on such fragile ecosystems lead to a deterioration of the soil by increasing its salinity, lessening its moisture, and covering it with sand and dust. Aerial photographs and satellite images constitute a tool for mapping and monitoring the desertification process. Multispectral data can assist in detecting the indicators of desertification in early stages in order to plan adequate action.

The improvement of the resolution of satellite images and the fact that they …

Evaluation Of The Junior Leader Organization In Southwestern Indian, Amy Manning

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Samples from three groups--Junior Leaders, 4-H members, and Non-4-H members--were compared to determine the effectiveness of the Junior Leader organization in Southwestern Indiana. Each sample in the three groups was given the Michigan Leadership Scale and a background information sheet. Comparisons were made between the groups and within each group. The study indicated that the Junior Leader group did not show a significant difference on enough of the variables in the study to conclude the members' skills could be directly attributed to the organization. The Junior Leader group was found to be significantly higher on some of the variables and …

The Development Of A Knowledge Test For Armor Trainees, Jerry Seibert

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A study was conducted to develop a written tank knowledge test for United States Army armor trainees. Such a test may be employed as a tool for training program evaluation and as a criterion measure for assessing trainees. The Tank Knowledge Test (TKT) was developed from items written by subject matter experts familiar with the armor training program. After pilot testing, a revised version of the TKT had an internal consistency reliability of .79. Item difficulty levels ranged from .16 to .92 with a mean of .57. A factor analysis performed to examine the possibility of deriving subscales from four …

American Family Types & Marital Happiness, Ann Busby

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The research reported here estimates the frequency of twenty-five husband and wife family types and examines the differences between six of the most prevalent and important family types in the American population in the 1980's. The variables used for comparisons are age at first marriage, income, fertility rates and marital happiness. To further clarify the relationship between marital happiness and family types, analyses were performed controlling for fertility, and income. The data used were part of the General Social Survey of 1980, 1981, 1983, and 1984 conducted by the National Opinion Research Center. The results show that the traditional family …

Identification Of Training Needs: A Focus Group Interview/Q-Sort Methodology, Michele Erb

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In light of research that suggests that formal needs analysis leads to efficient and productive training programs, managers and a sampling of non-management employees from a mid-size manufacturing company participated in a needs assessment to determine future training needs for the company's mangers. The information was collected through focus group interviews and a Q-sort technique was developed to categorize the issues raised in the interviews. The categories of training issues and related concerns identified as a result of the focus group interview process were compared to a list of training topics generated by managers through an informal survey prior to …

Depression In College Students: Construct Validity Of The Student Experience Inventory, Angela Kramp

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Research suggests that the population of undergraduate college students may be especially prone to depression. While the prevalence of depression within the general population ranges from 3 to 9 percent (Boyd & Weissman, 1981), it has been shown that between 15 and 46 percent of undergraduate college students suffer the symptoms of mild to severe depression (Beck & Young, 1978; Oliver & Burkham, 1979). Although depression is prevalent among college students, there are no known instruments yielding indices of depression specific to the college population. In fact, depression measures frequently employed in college settings seldom recognize the unique features of …

Better Differentiation Of Kohlberg's Stage 6 Using A Modified Form Of Rest's Defining Issues Test, David Gendron

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The present research attempted to modify Rest's Defining Issues Test (DIT) in order to better differentiate stage 6 moral reasoners from stage 5 reasoners. A review of the literature showed that the DIT seems to be both reliable and valid, yet it is unable to clearly differentiate between the stages of principled moral reasoning. After three pilot tests, newly developed stage 6 items were added to the DIT. The revised DIT was then administered to people believed to be stage 6 reasoners. Of the 30 respondents, three made the stage 6 cutoff. No stage 6 items were shown to clearly …

The Blankety-Blank Of Bear Creek Camp: A Rhetorical Analysis Of A Folk Drama, Gregory Hansen

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A rhetorical theory of folklore was used to interpret how summer camp staffers use a folk drama as a means of identification and as a type of artistic expression. The performance was analyzed for ethnographic information using Kenneth Burke's theory of dramatism and for artistic techniques using Burke's theory of the psychology of audience. The dramatistic pentad contextualized the performance, and this information was analyzed for motives through the delineation of dramatistic ratios. The skit's syntagmatic structure was outlined using Burke's description of five aspects of form. The analysis demonstrates that meaning is emergent through both the content and form …