Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Mpa/Msa Program Survey Of Columbus State University Alumni, Judith A. Frix

Theses and Dissertations

Questionnaires were mailed to all Columbus State University MP A/MSA alumni, and the responses were used to evaluate alumni perception of the program. Survey questions included: indication of the alumni option area; selection and evaluation of program objectives; relationship of the degree to the objective; year of graduation; perceived importance of the degree to life success; job status during and after completion of the degree; rankings of curriculum, support facilities, and advising; value of degree versus the cost of acquiring the degree; the fulfillment of learning expectations; career goals reached through program training; contribution of the program to the general …

The Public Librarian's Role In Teaching Information Literacy, Elizabeth A. Battelini

Theses and Dissertations

To determine the public librarian's role in teaching information literacy, this study was designed to evaluate library skills of the adult population in Cumberland County, New Jersey. Two separate surveys consisting of matrix and open-ended questions were sent to reference librarians employed in public libraries within the county and to 380 adult residents. Ten out of 18 librarians participated. One hundred and eighty-five resident surveys were returned. Sixty-seven participants were library users.

The research revealed there is a need for library instruction but patrons may not be interested in attending formal instruction at their public libraries. Twenty-one percent of adults …

Marketing Plans For Convention And Visitors Bureaus: A Content Analysis, Kelli Kennedy

Theses and Dissertations

The major purpose of this study was to identify convention sales marketing and public relations trends by conducting a content analysis of the tactics in CVB convention marketing plans. By identifying both the common and unique public relations elements in marketing plans, CVBs can draw a relationship between public relations tactics and the success of reaching their mission statements in their own marketing plans.

Five cities' convention and visitors bureaus in the Eastern region of the U.S. were selected. These cities are Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. The researcher obtained three complete marketing plans, one telephone interview and …

A Comparative Study Of Marketing Planning In Higher Education: Is It A Trend?, Janice L. Powers

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the status of marketing planning at colleges and universities, and if it helps with recruitment, retention and enrollment.

This study also examined whether marketing planning helps institutions create, guide and coordinate marketing efforts.

The first phase of the research for this study consisted of related findings reviews, in-depth interviews with non-profit, education specific marketing firms, as well as marketing professionals at institutions of higher learning. Next, primary research involved a fourteen item self-administered questionnaire electronically mailed to selected four-year colleges and universities in Northeast/Southeast/Central Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The questionnaire asked respondents …

How The Internet Has Impacted College Recruitment And Admissions, Maureen Constantino

Theses and Dissertations

This study provides advice to college admissions and public relations professionals so they can make their college web sites more user friendly.

The author surveyed 275 juniors and seniors from six randomly selected Catholic and public New Jersey high schools. There were 261 viable responses.

The author found that the family is the most influential factor in the student's college search. Participants indicated that the Internet plays a role in most of their searches. The students rely on direct mail and guidance counselors in their search as well.

Participants were interested in visiting college web sites that were easily navigated. …

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, …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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: …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

"Woman Arise!": Political Work In The Writings Of Lu Dalton, Sheree Maxwell Bench

Theses and Dissertations

In 1872, Mormon plural wife, educator, and suffragist Lucinda Lee Dalton began writing fiery political essays and insightful poetry for the Woman's Exponent from her small community in southern Utah. Through her writings Dalton endeavors to shape the opinions of Exponent readers by working within public discourse toward the goal of equality for women. At times both optimistic and troubled, she uses the rhetorical strategies of humor, irony, reason, identification, and persuasion to educate men and women on disparities and to encourage women to participate actively in their own emancipation. She often engages in a dialogical process with other writers …

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 …