Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Radon Contamination Of Residences In A City Built Upon A Karst Landscape Bowling Green, Warren County, Kentucky, James William Webster

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 8 to 12% of U.S. homes have radon concentrations that equal or exceed 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/l). A statewide screening of Kentucky by EPA resulted in an average residential radon concentration of 2.8 pCi/l with 17% of the homes at or above 4 pCi/l. EPA requires routine monitoring and maintenance or worker health records in mines and caves having radon daughter concentrations at or above 0.30 working levels (WL).

Bowling Green is a city located in a karst region of south central Kentucky. Residents of Bowling Green have been subjected …

Effects Of Three Organizational Policies On Individuals’ Attitudes About Drug Testing, Alan Walker

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The consensus of recent literature appears to be that drug testing is both legal and valid. However, a testing program can meet legal and technical criteria and still fail to meet organizational objectives because one vital component has been left out – employees’ attitudes. The present study uses data from 148 college juniors and seniors to assess the effects of three hypothetical drug testing policies: (a) consequences of detected drug use (termination vs. rehabilitation), (b) timing of the program (expected interval vs. random interval vs. reasonable cause), and (c) business purpose (weak vs. strong) on attitudes toward drug testing. It …

Processes And Perceptions Of Remaining Current, Diane Paul

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This research examined the problem of professional obsolescence and mechanisms available to employees to avoid becoming obsolete. Current literature is reviewed on obsolescence and on remaining current in the nursing profession. Specific areas addressed are indicators of obsolescence and an examination of what happens to skills and abilities when an individual moves from a technical field into its administration. Participants in the research include registered nurses at three hospitals. The research is composed of two phases: an interview phase and a survey phase. Qualitative and quantitative analysis reveal categories of concerns about remaining current. The special concerns an obsolescence of …

Public Relations: Its Importance In The Public School System, Lawrence Crittenden Hunter

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Literature was reviewed to determine the importance of a public relations program in the public school system. Information was retrieved from various published sources, including materials from the National School Public Relations Association, professional journals, books relating to public relations and a variety of other educational reports.

An analysis of the literature reveals the following components of a successful public relations program:

1. A plan of action benefits the public relations program.
2. Staff participants benefit the public relations program.
3. Parent involvement is an important aspect of the public relations program.
4. Community involvement is essential to a successful public relations program

Factors Affecting Wood Fuel Consumption And Environmental Impacts In Warren County, Kentucky, Barry Vann

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this research is to identify factors that contribute to wood fuel consumption as a space heating source and estimate a county-wide proportion for wood fuel consuming households. In addition, environmental problems associated with deforestation such as erosion and loss of wildlife habitat are delineated; moreover, air pollution resulting from wood fuel emissions are discussed.

An exhaustive literature review provided the basis for the study. Data on Warren County wood fuel consumption patterns were derived from a mail survey. Proportion estimates were tested by using a classical two-tail test of hypothesis. Subsequently, factors were identified and used in …

Stigma And The Negotiation Of Identity By Rural And Small-Town Lesbians, Margaret Cooper

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Fifteen women who identify themselves as lesbians were located through snowball sampling. These women participated in confidential taped interviews and assigned pseudonyms. They were questioned on topics which included growing up gay, family, work relations and friendship associations.

It was assumed that life experiences may differ on the basis of social environments. This study focused on the unique experiences of rural lesbians.

Erving Goofman’s book, Stigma, provided the theoretical framework utilized in the analysis of lesbian identity management. It also allowed for a discussion of stigma and its effect on lesbians.

The women in the study experiencing homosexual feelings during …

Stress Indicators Of Kentucky Elementary Principals, Helen Kirby

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Stress has become a problem to which people of all walks of life may relate, affecting the actions of the individual on both professional and personal levels. In the field of education, administrators often report a high level of stress, sometimes referred to as burnout. Much has been written about teacher stress, but very little research has been done on stress encountered by elementary principals. Research was conducted on stress as perceived by elementary principals in the Commonwealth of Kentucky for this study.

The questionnaire used was compiled by the researcher using Koff, Laffey, Olson and Cichon’s table of Stress …

Need For Cognition Scale: A Study Of Its Psychometric Properties And Its Ability To Predict Academic Achievement, Arthur Cleavinger

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The psychometric properties of the Need for Cognition Scale (NCS; Cacioppo & Petty, 1982) were investigated in two studies with independent samples of undergraduates at Western Kentucky University. In the first study (N = 379), the internal consistency and factor structure of the NCS were examined, and the NCS was compared to the Achievement subscale of the Personality Research Form (Jackson, 1974) and the State-Trait Curiosity subscale of the State-Trait Personality Inventory (Speilberger, 1979). Also, the possibility of differences in “need for cognition” attributable to socio-economic status (i.e. the educational attainment of the subjects’ parents) were examined. The second study …

A “Drastic” Evaluation Of The Ground-Water Pollution Potential Of Karst Terrain: Lost River Ground-Water Basin, Warren County, Kentucky, David Baize

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Karst terrains, such as the Lost River Karst Ground-Water Basin, are extremely vulnerable to ground-water contamination. Seven physical factors: depth to water, recharge, aquifer media, soil media, topography, impact of the vadose zone, and hydraulic conductivity, are evaluated using the DRASTIC system to determine the ground-water pollution potential of the study area. A numerical value is calculated for each of the seven factors, and a map layer for each factor is produced. These layers are then “added” together to produce a DRASTIC ground-water pollution potential map. The effectiveness of each factor in evaluating the pollution potential of karst terrain is …

The Effects Of Decreased Uncertainty And Telescopic Versus Full Field Training On The Useful Field Of View, Lauren M. Jackson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The “Useful Field of View” (UFOV) is the entire area in which information can be gathered without moving the eyes or head (Ball, Beard, Roenker, Miller & Griggs, 1998). Previous research has demonstrated that the UFOV shrinks with age (Scialfa, Kline & Lyman, 1987; Plude & Doussard-Roosevelt, 1987: Ball et al., 1988). With decrement in the UFOV, everyday activities, such as driving and walking can be limited. If the area in which information is received is smaller, then objects seem to appear suddenly and here is little time to react to them. One example of an everyday activity that would …

The Altered Mobile Home: A Stationary Image Of Work And Value, Gregory Kendall Jenkins

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

As the medium cost of conventional housing rises, many people unable to incur such an expense look for alternative forms of adequate housing. In rural areas surrounding Bowling Green, Kentucky, several families have utilized the mobile home as a base to expand, embellish, and personalize, creating a larger more conventional-looking home. Many of these altered homes possess gabled roofs, rock exterior walls, and expansive interior space. Of primary concern is: why have these families undertaken a project of this nature?

As material culture scholars and folklorists examine our built environment, they find relationship between construction and the builders. What can …

A Comparison Of The Frequencies Of Selected Teaching Behaviors Of Trained And Untrained Teachers, Raymonde Antonia Frances Joseph

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of the study was to compare the frequencies of a selected set of teaching behaviors of trained and untrained teachers in elementary schools in St. Lucia. The dependent variables in the study were the frequencies of Structuring, Questioning, Feedback and Praise behaviors. The independent variables were training, grades awarded at teaching practice, and subject areas.

Records of the lessons were obtained through the use of audiotapes. The behaviors were coded using a low inference observation schedule. The data were analyzed using means and standard deviations. The significance and inferential statistic applied was the chi-square.

Significant differences were found …