Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Comparison Of The Selection Process For International Special Olympics And Olympic Track & Field Athletes In The Great Lakes Region, Lisa M. Billman

Masters Theses

The purposes of this study were to determine if the selection process used to choose track and field athletes for the International Special Olympics Games follows the same guidelines as those of the Olympics and to determine if three groups (i.e. Special Olympics area directors, undergraduate students, and adapted physical education professionals) view the best athletic performance as the foremost criterion for advancement to Special Olympics international competition.

A four part questionnaire was developed to determine knowledge regarding the purpose of Special Olympics and attitudes of Special Olympics area directors, adapted physical education professionals, and undergraduate students regarding the selection …

The Relationship Of Career Evaluation Systems (Ces) Test Batteries With Work Production In A Sheltered Workshop, Blake Hegarty

Masters Theses

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between performance on Career Evaluation Systems' (CES) test batteries and performance on production tasks at CCAR Industries' Manufacturing Plant. Fleishman's factor analytic studies of psychomotor performance were reviewed to demonstrate the conceptual basis for the development of the test batteries. Hester's development of the CES batteries and the factors they measure were discussed.

The subjects were 112 CCAR Industries' clients who were administered Career Evaluation Systems' test battery during vocational evaluations at CCAR Industries' Manufacturing Plant between 1986 and 1992. Fifty-nine subjects met the criteria for inclusion in the final …

An Analysis Of Employee Print Media Content, Michelle M. Accardi

Masters Theses

This content analysis studies an area that has had limited research: university print media. University print media helps maintain communication between management and employees. Past research links three communication categories together: organizing, relationship and change. Organizing is found to be the dominant content category in business newsletters, according to past research.

The uses and gratifications theory, exchange theory and structural-functional theory all play an integral part in the communication process. Continuous two-way comunication between management and each public can lead to a successful organization. Internal communication, wants vs. needs, and finding common ground are additional variables that determine the effect …

Good Grief! Coping With Death And Dying In A Hospice Situation, Pegg Warnick

Masters Theses

The purpose of this qualitative study is to discover and examine the coping strategies concerning death and dying from the perspectives of hospice patients and hospice volunteers. A review of applicable literature, informal but structured interviews and participant observation are procedures for the study. The focus of the study lies in three areas: what are the internal attributes used to cope?; what are the external support systems used to cope? and, what are the adjustments in personal goals? Research for this study was patterned after Hegge's study (1991) who surveyed the coping strategies of the recently widowed elderly. The instruments …

Women's Communication In Country Music, Heather Elizabeth Yarbrough

Masters Theses

The lyrical content of female performed country songs was evaluated in this study. Female soloist performer's songs ranking in the top hits of each year between 1950 and 1989 were examined. After indepth research into the history of country music and the female role in country music, several songs performed by females and listed as hits between the years 1950 and 1989 were analyzed. The characteristic found in most female songs was relationships with men and family and how women react to the positive and negative aspects of these relationship.

Customer Satisfaction Among Cable Tv Subscribers: A Case Study Of Tci Of Illinois, Inc., Gail M. Gilliland

Masters Theses

This study gauges customer satisfaction among subscribers of TCI of Illinois, Inc., cable company. Two research questions were formulated in order to determine the customer satisfaction levels: "Can a satisfaction instrument be generated to measure customer satisfaction among cable subscribers?" and "What are the levels of customer satisfaction among TCI of Illinois, Inc., subscribers?" Data was obtained from personal, mail and telephone surveying of a 10% random sample of Charleston cable television subscribers. The results indicate that a reliable and valid measuring device was generated and 39.5% of the respondents were satisfied with TCI overall.

The Portrayal Of Men In Advertising In Specific Women's Magazines, Suzanne E. Fickes

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Examination Of Community Mental Health Services For Persons With Serious Mental Illness: A Descriptive Study Of 31 Counties In Michigan, Pamela C. Werner

Masters Theses

Thirty-one out of 55 Community Mental Health Boards participated in a survey conducted by the Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Michigan. This study examined a number of variables in the questionnaire using a product-moment correlational analysis.

Results indicated that family and consumer input is modestly correlated with comprehensive service delivery and staff/consumer education and training. Budget and the active number of mentally ill cases had a low correlation with comprehensive service delivery and staff/consumer education and training. Interagency collaboration was modestly correlated with program evaluation, and comprehensive services available to consumers. Weaknesses were noted in the management structure of …

Interest Group Influence On U.S. Congressional Committees: A Case Study Of The United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement, Laurel L. Hoffman

Masters Theses

The impact of special interests on Congress has long been a matter for concern. A content analysis of testimony presented at 14 Congressional committee hearings on the United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement revealed that three broad categories of witnesses participated: business, government, and non-business. Total testimony for business and government were comparable, while non-business had fewer witnesses and less testimony. Government supplied more testimony in oral form, which was interpreted as a higher degree of participation than written testimony, predominantly supplied by business. There was little evidence of lobbying coalitions as measured by crossreferencing; witnesses rarely referred to anything but …

An Arbitrary Matching Training Supplement To The Avc Discrimination Test, Charles P. Buller

Masters Theses

Kerr, Meyerson and Flora (1977) devised a series of small learning tasks that could be used to assess developmentally disabled individuals on the typical tasks to be performed in a school setting or sheltered workshop and required only very simple equipment. Davine (1990) suggested that there may be transitional skills between AVC levels IV and V not found by Kerr et al. Davine looked at four experimental steps designed to test this notion. The results of this study were inconclusive. Wilson (1991) tested the same notion by devising a series of nonidentity matching tasks which were generally found to be …

An Arbitrary Matching Training Supplement To The Avc Discrimination Test, Charles P. Butler

Masters Theses

Kerr, Meyerson and Flora (1977) devised a series of small learning tasks that could be used to assess developmentally disabled individuals on the typical tasks to be performed in a school setting or sheltered workshop and required only very simple equipment. Davine (1990) suggested that there may be transitional skills between AVC levels IV and V not found by Kerr et al. Davine looked at four experimental steps designed to test this notion. The results of this study were inconclusive. Wilson (1991) tested the same notion by devising a series of non identity matching tasks which were generally found to …

A Morphometric Study Of Sex Differences In Fetal Ilia, Susan Marie Cera Holcomb

Masters Theses

Considerable debate has concentrated on whether human fetal skeletal remains exhibit sexual dimorphism. Most attention has focused on the greater sciatic notch of the ilium, since it is a gross morphological characteristic with known sex differences in the adult and is easily seen in fetal skeletal remains. Previous traditional morphometric analyses of the fetal sciatic notch have, however, led to ambiguous results. The purpose of this study is to determine whether differences between the sexes can be discerned when modern morphometric techniques are applied.

Photographs of the ventral side of 133 fetal ilia of known age and sex from the …

Georgian Worldview: Its Definition, History, And Influence On The Material World Of Thomas Jefferson, Madison Scott Shumate

Masters Theses

The research of this thesis has been that of two directions. The first of these attempted to both define and expand that ideological concept known as the Georgian Worldview. By referencing the opinions of current authority and by examining the very origins of this concept's many attributes this thesis would suggest that the term "Georgian" encompasses far more than symmetry in architecture alone. With this said, however, it must yet be acknowledged that architecture, and particularly the balanced and refined Palladian examples of the eighteenth century, often represented the most clearly recognizable material manifestation of this particular pervasive mind set. …

Anthropometric Variation Of The Cherokee, Choctaw, Kiowa, And Pawnee Amerindians, Richard P. Bigee

Masters Theses

This thesis provides an overview of Anthropometric variation among six groups of American Indians: The Eastern Band of Cherokees, the Eastern Band of Choctaws, the Western Band of Cherokees, the Western Band of Choctaws, Kiowas, and Pawnees. Anthropometric variation among these groups is analyzed using a combination of historical and statistical information.

The history of the study groups was analyzed to determine the general level of health during the period leading up the point when they were measured under the direction of Dr. Franz Boas. It is revealed that all the study groups experienced considerable stress, which effected anthropometric measurements …

The Effect Of Public Posting And Supervisor Recognition On Treatment Team Performance In A Mental Health Institution, Susan Mencarelli

Masters Theses

This study compared the effects of public posting and supervisor recognition on the performance of professional staff in a mental health institution. Eleven indicators of successful performance in the writing of patient treatment plans were established after an analysis of existing standards. Seven treatment teams comprised the subjects of the study and included psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses, activity therapists, and residential care aides. Group performance data were used. The measurement and scoring systems which were developed proved to be highly reliable.

Neither form of performance feedback resulted in consistent improvement in performance on any of the eleven indicators. This …

Mdma And Memory: The Acute And Chronic Effects Of Mdma In Pigeons Performing Under A Delayed-Matching-To-Sample Procedure, Mark Lesage

Masters Theses

The physiological effects of (+) 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) have been studied extensively. The behavioral effects of MDMA, however, have not been examined in detail. In an attempt to gain further information about its behavioral effects, the acute and chronic effects of MDMA were examined in pigeons responding under a delayed-matching-to-sample procedure with 0-, 3-, and 6-s delays. In the absence of drug, accuracy (percentage o f correct responses) was inversely related to delay length. When administered pre-chronically, MDMA (0.32 to 5.6 mg/kg) decreased accuracy and response rates at higher doses. Tolerance developed following chronic exposure to 3.2 mg/kg. Performance did not …

The Effects Of Public-Posted Feedback On The Use Of A Photocopy Machine By Faculty In An Academic Department, Shijing Hu

Masters Theses

This study assessed the effects of a public-posting intervention on photocopy machine use by faculty members in an academic department. Public posting included posting of a chart that displayed number of copies made each week by individual faculty members along with the average cumulative rate of copying for previous weeks for each person. The intervention was applied in an A-B-A reversal design where data were collected prior to the intervention under usual conditions (A), during public posting (B), and after the public posting intervention was removed and usual conditions were restored (A). The results indicated that: (1) number of copies …

Political Action Committees In The State Of Michigan, Keeley I. Taylor

Masters Theses

A survey was conducted of all political action committees (PACs) registered with the Secretary of State's Office in Michigan for the 1986 and 1990 Statewide elections. A portrait of the structure of the organization, decision making criteria, and solicitation techniques of Michigan PACs has been developed from the survey data.

Most PACs in Michigan tend to be infant organizations because they are cyclical in nature, forming and dissolving around election periods. They tend to form around economic issues; have no specific PAC office; no permanent staff; have little or no office budget; fund their activities through direct mail solicitation; focus …

Modelling Suture Ossification: A View From The Cranial Capsule, Hugh Bryson Matternes

Masters Theses

A review of the development, anatomy, and physiology of the human cranial vault suggests that post-adolescent ossification of the suture margins is dictated by interactions between tissues of the cranial capsule and forces deriving from ectocranial, endocranial and diploid sources. A model viewing suture physiology as sensitive to changes in the cranial capsule's environment is tested to identify whether several processes stimulate connective tissue transformation in the suture area. Correlation and factor analysis of the suture-to-suture interactions produced results indicating that when age is controlled, endocranial and ectocranial surfaces independently respond to pressures placed on the anterior and posterior portions …

A Functional Analysis Of The Lithic Material From Burrone Scierra I (Calabria, Italy), Maureen A. Hays

Masters Theses

The purpose of this research is to investigate several aspects of function within Mousterian assemblages by performing an analysis of artifacts from Burrone Scierra I, a site on the Ionian coast of Calabria, Italy. This research focuses on the relationship between function and the edge angle, tool size, raw material, technology and typology. Another intent of this study is to examine what spatial integrity remained at the site. The study assemblage is a surface collection from a plow zone context. Because the collection under investigation is from plow zone context the methods employed are those developed for low power microwear …

The Differential Effects Of Performance Monitoring And Performance Contingent Consequences In A Laboratory Setting, Julie A. Glasser

Masters Theses

A simulated work task, consisting of paper and pencil quality control inspection, was used to examine the effects of performance monitoring and performance-contingent feedback on the quality and quantity of work produced. Six subjects were exposed to two treatment conditions. During monitoring only, a supervisor checked performance by asking subjects about their progress. During performance-contingent feedback, a supervisor informed subjects of the number of correct inspections completed on a sample page and summarized the quality of their work in a brief statement. Performance was measured in terms of error detection accuracy (errors missed and false error detections) and rate of …

The Suburban Rice Farmers: Economic And Cultural Change In Japan, Makoto Chiwaki

Masters Theses

The world economic situation is forcing the Japanese government to initiate policies designed to make its rice farming industry more competitive on the world market. These new policies, along with the growth of Japan's urban areas, are causing certain stresses on the cultural institution called bunke among the part-time rice farmers in the Kaizuka region of Chiba City, Japan.

An ethnographic study of these farmers reveals that the farmers of the Kaizuka region have responded to recent changes differently from the farmers of other regions because of their cultural institutions and traditions.

The Rhetoric Of Slobodan Milosevic And War On The Territory Of Yugoslavia, Agneza Bozic

Masters Theses

The hypothesis of this work is that the political rhetoric of the Serbian leader, Milosevic, was among the major factors contributing to the political and social changes in Serbia and Yugoslavia, which ultimately led to the war.

Three of Milosevic's speeches were studied in detail: the speeches of April 24, 1987, October 17, 1988, and November 19, 1988. The method of rhetorical analysis was adopted from Andrews (1990) because this method stresses the importance of context and effects of the speech. The theories of political language (Graber, 1981) and of political rhetoric (Bitzer, 1981) together with Johannesen's (1989) theory of …

Perceptions Of Ncaa Time Restrictions On Female Student-Athletes And Women's Intercollegiate Athletics At The University Of Tennessee, Knoxville, Donna C. Thomas

Masters Theses

Intercollegiate athletics are a part of every day life for millions of people. Americans are involved in sport in a variety of aspects; fans, participants, coaches and administrators to name a few. At times, intercollegiate athletics have seemed to be outside the realm of the role of higher education. In an attempt to make the collegiate athlete indistinguishable from the general student body, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, through the leadership of the Presidents Commission, has begun an effort to reform sport programs. A part of this reform movement is the restriction of playing and practice seasons and time commitments. …

Knoxville's Poor Neighborhoods: Types Of Poverty In An Appalachian City, Sue A. Remaley

Masters Theses

In the past thirty years, the American public has developed a stereotype of poor urban neighborhoods. Most people equate urban poverty with blacks and Hispanics, female-headed families on welfare, crime, and dilapidated row homes. Academicians researching urban poverty are at least partially responsible for these images. Most urban poverty research has looked at northeastern and Midwestern cities, examined large cities, or assumed a nationally homogeneous type of urban poverty. These biases are most evident in recent studies on the underclass, which call for national government response to increasing poverty among inner-city blacks and Hispanics. As poor neighborhoods are affected by …

Effects Of Clothing On Human Decomposition And Deterioration Of Associated Yarns, Shawn Elizabeth Cahoon

Masters Theses

This study focuses on how a single layer of clothing affects-human decomposition, and if human decomposition-has a noticeable affect on clothing materials. Two cadavers were placed at the Anthropological Research Facility in Knoxville, TN on January 16, 1991. One was clothed, the other was nude. Seven different types of yarns were attached to the inside of the clothing on the experimental subject, and another set of these yarns was anchored to the base of nearby tree to serve as a control sample set.

Cadavers were monitored as they decomposed, and insect activity was observed, from January 16, 1991 until May …

A Behavioral Overview Of Self-Control, Shannon Kay Swick

Masters Theses

The present paper is a review of behavioral self-control literature with self-control defined as the choice of a larger, more delayed reinforcer over a smaller, less delayed reinforcer. The paper includes a self-control experiment in which the subjects were adolescent males labelled Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The results show higher levels of self-control than those generally seen in similar subject populations. Self-control literature in behavioral psychology is examined and explanations for varying results are discussed.

Mtv Ideology: Rocking To A Different Beat?, Janelle L. Wilson

Masters Theses

This study analyzed 30 of the most popular rock music videos aired on Music Television Network in the summer of 1991. Using a qualitative content analysis, six prominent themes in these videos were identified: (1) eroticism, (2) female gender roles, (3) Americana, (4) violence, (5) religious symbols, and (6) clothing fetishism. From these themes, five values were discerned in the videos: (1) carpe diem, (2) individual freedom, (3) nihilistic religiosity, (4) nationalism, and (5) consumerism. It was found that these values constituted an ideology in music videos which in some ways reflects dominant American ideology. Their focus on appearance, their …

From Welfare To Liberation: A Socio-Historical Analysis Of The Animal Rights Movement, Linda J. Rynbrandt

Masters Theses

This thesis is a socio-historical analysis of the animal rights social movement in the United States of America at the end of the 19th and 20th centuries. The theoretical model is resource mobilization theory, especially McCarthy and Zald's (1973) entrepreneurial model. The method, which contrasts this social movement at two points in time, is informed by Skocpol's (1984) interpretative historical sociology. In particular, leadership, ideology, organizational structure, and strategy tactics in both eras are examined. Comparing the two manifestations of animal rights protest, the data show that: (a) Leadership and organizational structure, though similar in many respects, are more professionalized …

Perceived Importance Of Selected Nonverbal Cues In An Initial Encounter, Loretta L. Richter

Masters Theses

This study attempts to identify nonverbal cues which individuals are aware of using in an initial encounter and to identify the importance of those cues. It also a d dresses possible differences between men and women in nonverbal cue importance and possible differences based on the sex of the participant’s partner. Sixty-two male and female undergraduate students enrolled in communication courses interacted with a stranger and completed questionnaires which pertained to their partner's nonverbal behaviors. Results showed that the most important nonverbal cue for all participants was the amount of eye contact; the least important was body shape. Cues found …