Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Time-To-Degree And Credits-To-Degree Of Baccalaureate Degree Graduates, Cathie A. Weissman

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to a;sess two measures of accountability (i.e., time- to-degree (TTD) and credits-to-degree (CTD)). A total of 800 University of Wisconsin- Stout (UW-Stout) graduates, 200 from each graduating class from 1990 to 1993 were surveyed to determine the obstacles to four year degree completion and to determine why they completed excess credits beyond what was required to complete a degree program. Four hundred and twelve graduates returned the survey. Data were obtained from student transcripts and from the Bursar’s Office for only those graduates who returned the survey. The data were segmented in order to …

Graduate Student - Faculty Mentoring: Does Gender Matter?, Jodi Lynn Hallsten

Theses and Dissertations

Mentoring is an historically popular way to successfully guide a younger person's talents in a given field. The success of a mentoring relationship relies on close and frequent communication between its participants. When communication breaks down between a mentor and protege the relationship cannot fulfill its mentoring function and is rendered ineffective.

Communication literature asserts that women and men are socialized at very young ages into distinct gender specific communities (Tannen, 1990; Tingley, 1993, and Wood 1994). As a result of the different communication styles used by each gender, interactions between women and men often result in misunderstandings. In mentoring …

Toward Development Of An Integrated Aerospace Power Doctrine, Toby G. Doran

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis discusses the state of the Air Force, decision making factors in the making of military doctrine, the definition of doctrine, Air Force doctrines today, new ways to develop doctrine, including models and hypothesis-research-analysis loops, space doctrine, control of space, space superiority and a call for aerospace power doctrine.

A Methodology To Apply Business Process Reengineering Within The Brazilian Aeronautical Ministry, Ricardo F. G. Santos

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to examine Business Process Reengineering as a feasible methodology to be used to help reorganize the Brazilian Aeronautical Ministry. Using a qualitative approach, this research developed an analysis of BPR beginning with the concepts elaborated by Hammer and Champy. The research also investigated the laws and regulations used by the United States Government to apply BPR in all branches of its military. After establishing the framework, some methodologies and case studies were analyzed to obtain the big picture about the application of BPR as a managerial tool to reorganize organizations. The results of this …

Creating High-Quality Marriages: A Qualitative Study Of Religious Couples, Jerry Lyman Redd

Theses and Dissertations

This study is a qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with thirty-two couples who have been married for eight years. Although the couples in this sample have similar religious, economic, and cultural backgrounds, the quality of each marriage is quite different. Ten couples have exceptionally high-quality marriages, eighteen have average-quality marriages, three are struggling, and one couple has been divorced. The purpose of this study was to better understand what the ten couples with high-quality marriages are doing to create successful relationships. I conclude that high-quality marriages are created by a couple's participation in a particular process with a specific paradigm …

Religiosity And Life Satisfaction Among Lds College Students, Po Nien Chou

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between religiosity and life satisfaction among Latter-day Saints (LDS) college students. The scales used were the religiosity scale by Chadwick and Top (1993), and the life satisfaction scale by Neugarten, Havighurst and Tobin (1961). The analysis was based on data obtained from 222 students (55.5%) who responded. A prediction model was used to develop a regression equation. Pearson correlation analysis was used to evaluate the correlation between religiosity and life satisfaction. The regression equation is as follows: life satisfaction = 1.436815592 + 0.045915152 (spiritual experiences) + 0.042888274 (integration in congregation). …

The Meaning Of Religious Belief, Practice, And Community For Latter-Day Saint Fathers Of Children With Special Needs, Loren Dean Marks

Theses and Dissertations

While the tragedy of American fatherlessness has evoked a growing body of research, religious beliefs, practices, and communities have not been a significant part of the scholarly discussion. This article discusses possible reasons for this and reviews the religion and family literature with a focus on fathers. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 19 Latter-day Saint (LDS) fathers of children with special needs and analyzed to examine the meaning of religious experience for these fathers and their families. Analysis indicated three dimensions of religious experience: spiritual belief, religious practice, and faith community. The spiritual belief in an eternal perspective, including the …

An Evaluation Of The City Of Danville-Pittsylvania County Annexation, Gerald A. Craver

Theses and Dissertations

An insufficient amount of evaluation research has been conducted on Virginia's annexations. This study helps to fill that void by evaluating the Danville - Pittsylvania County annexation. The thesis attempts to determine if the city of Danville benefited from the annexation and if Pittsylvania County was able to recover from the loss that it suffered as a result of the annexation.

In order to evaluate the annexation, data was collected and analyzed for seven research categories: urban services, planning, demographics, community leadership, local government cooperation, economic development, and public finance. In addition, government documents were reviewed to collect information that …

Factors Influencing Effectiveness In Performance Of The State Comptroller's Agency, John T. Nix

Theses and Dissertations

The State Comptroller is an important state official. This research is intended to determine whether method of selection of the state comptroller (election or appointment), organizational configuration of the state comptroller's agency, professional qualifications of the state comptroller, or length of tenure served by the state comptroller have an impact on the effectiveness of the performance of the state comptroller’s agency.

This research utilized a multi-constituency model of effectiveness. Under this model, effectiveness was defined as satisfaction of the needs of major constituencies of the state comptroller’s agency. Major constituencies of the state comptroller’s agency were identified.

Variables to determine …

Human Resource Development: The Case Of The Civil Service Sector In The Sultanate Of Oman, Saleh Alkhamyasi

Theses and Dissertations

Human capital is a crucial element in the production equation of any organization. Since organizations are open systems that ought to adapt to their dynamic environment within which they operate, human resources should be developed , nourished and empowered to shoulder their task. This thesis explored the issue of human resource development (HRD) in the civil service sector in the Sultanate of Oman, a country situated in the Southeastern corner of the Arabian peninsula. The objectives behind this research were to examine the following: • To describe and define the Civil Service policy and practice of HRD in the Sultanate …

Analysis Of The Status Of Women Faculty In The United States Since The Enactment Of Equality Legislation In The 1970s: What Do The Numbers Suggest?, Annie M. Stith-Willis

Theses and Dissertations

The primary research question is: What changes have occurred in the status of women faculty members in higher education in the United States from 1974 to 1995. Status is determined by evaluating differences by sex in: the number of faculty, the tenure status, the average salary, the average salary by faculty rank, the percent of faculty to percent of earned doctoral degrees, and the percent of faculty to percent of enrolled students in higher education. The period since the enactment of equality legislation in the 19705 in the United States provides a time frame for this research. The ongoing legislative …

Higher Education And The Social Contract: Achieving Alignment With The Service Mission In The Liberal Arts/Sciences At Urban Universities, Jackie Cook Elston

Theses and Dissertations

American higher education exists today in an environment of accountability. The public is demanding full participation in addressing the considerable social, health and economic problems facing society. Despite explicit statements of commitment to public service and community outreach however, according to numerous studies conducted over the past twenty years, universities are not articulating this commitment in faculty roles and rewards.

This study advances the discussion of roles and rewards at one particular model of institution — the urban university. The focus is on the behavior and attitudes of academic leaders at these unique institutions to determine the extent to which …

The Use Of A Habit Reversal Treatment For Chronic Facial Pain In A Minimal Therapist Contact Format, Donald R. Townsend

Theses and Dissertations

The temporomandibular disorders (TMD) diminish quality of life and can be costly for both individuals and the health care system. Stress from a variety of factors, including daily hassles and maladaptive thought patterns, has been commonly cited as a contributing factor in TMD. Support for this hypothesis comes from research demonstrating masseter muscle hyperactivity in response to experimental stressors, such as painful or frustrating stimuli. Many believe the link between stress and increased masseter muscle pain is parafunctional oral habits, including teeth clenching, grinding, and lip biting. Habit reversal has been used effectively to treat parafunctional oral behaviors and facial …

The Ethics Of Human Genetic Enhancement: Extending The Public Policy Debate, John J. Baumann

Theses and Dissertations

Mammalian one—cell embryos can be genetically altered, implanted into the female's uterus, and subsequently develop into biologically mature organisms in the usual manner. If the resultant adult organisms reproduce, the genetic change may be passed on to future generations. In humans, the procedure is known alternatively as "human genetic engineering" or "human germline gene therapy." Bioethicists distinguish between genetic engineering intended for the prevention or treatment of disease ("treatment germline gene therapy") and genetic engineering intended for non—medical enhancement of certain characteristics ("enhancement germline gene therapy"). Human genetic engineering has the potential to effectively replace deleterious genes such as the …

Religious Couples' Reported Effects Of Prayer In Conflict Situations, Julie Ann Stout

Theses and Dissertations

For religious couples, the spiritual domain stands alongside the biological, psychological, and systemic domains as an influence upon interaction and mechanism for change. This study is a quantitative expansion of Butler, Gardner, and Bird's (1998) qualitative study, of the change dynamics of prayer. This study attempted to improve the generalizability of the Butler et al. (1998) study through its use of a larger, and religiously and geographically more diverse sample. This study investigated the effects of prayer during times of marital conflict through a quantitative methodology with a survey design. The researchers developed a survey based on the findings of …

General Diagnosis And Services Developed In The Corral De Piedra Village, San Juan Ermita, Chiquimula, Servin Ardany Flores Galdámez

Theses and Dissertations

The Corral de Piedra community is located in Chiquimula, Guatemala. The main agricultural activities are corn and bean production, small-scale gardens, and small animal production, such as poultry and pigs. The crop areas are predominantly located on lands with slopes between 12 and 55%, presenting low fertility conditions and poor moisture retention capabilities. In addition, local crop varieties have low productivity potentials and the winter season is characterized by poorly distributed and erratic periods of rain. The Benson Institute introduced a technology transfer model to increase and diversify agricultural production, while preserving current natural resources. An integral part of this …

The Influence Of Religiosity In The Construction Of Meaning From Advertising Messages Intended To Promote Lifestyle Values, Lillian Billing

Theses and Dissertations

Religiosity has largely been ignored by consumer research as a factor in the negotiation of meaning from magazine advertisements containing lifestyle messages. A meaning based study was undertaken to seek to identify its presence and emergence within a religious audience. A qualitative methodology employing in-depth, phenomenological interviewing was designed. Six members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, three men and three women, were invited to give their interpretations, thoughts, and feelings towards four magazine advertisements. A second in-depth phenomenological interview was conducted with each participant to provide individual lifeworld contexts. Analysis employed a previously tested conceptual construct, …

Family-Of-Origin Distress And Intimacy In Later-Life Couples, Paul James Birch

Theses and Dissertations

Married couples aged 55-98 were surveyed regarding their perceptions of family-of-origin distress, their affective communication and problem solving communication skills, and their emotional intimacy. Two 2-way ANOVAs were performed with husbands' (model 1) and wives' (model 2) emotional intimacy scores as dependent measures and family-of-origin distress scores as the independent measures. Then both models were re-analyzed with affective communication and problem solving communication entered as co-variates. Results suggested that for both husbands and wives, emotional intimacy was affected by family-of-origin distress. Additionally, intimacy was affected by the distress in their spouses' family-of-origin in both models. Post-hoc analyses suggested that as …

The Impact Of Religiosity On Coping Among Lds Adolescents, Matthew P. Roper

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the impact of religiosity on coping in a group of Mormon (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) youth. Longitudinal data were gathered from detailed questionnaires administered to 2852 male and female adolescents in 1990 and 1993. Coping was conceptualized as four general dimensions (self-concept, public activities and service, deviance and future plans). Religiosity was also conceptualized multi-dimensionally (religious belief, public religiosity, private religious behavior, and religious experiences). Multiple regression analysis was used to investigate the unique effects of each of the dimensions of religiosity on each dimension of coping. It was hypothesized that religiosity was positively …

The Mormon Influence On The Political Geography Of The West, Michael Madsen

Theses and Dissertations

The vast colonization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, in the nineteenth century had a profund impact on the populating, culture, economy, and environment of much of the American West. This thesis examines the political geographic influence of the Mormons in the West and, more specifically, in the lands ceded by Mexico to the United States in 1848. This land comprises all or portions of the following states: California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico.
The original organization of the Mexican Cession at the hands of Congress in 1850 was drastically influenced by …

Latter-Day Saint Fathers Of Children With Special Needs: A Phenomenological Study, Michael M. Olson

Theses and Dissertations

This research, presents a qualitative study of six Latter-day Saint fathers of children with special needs. In-depth interviews were used to examine the demands and resources fathers draw upon in meeting the needs of their child(ren), the application of the conceptual ethic of fathering as generative work and crisis/stress theory, as well as an analysis of how fathers incorporated their religious beliefs, faith, and practices into fathering their special needs children. Narrative accounts are used to illustrate the results. These results are then applied to an integrated conceptual framework and clinical applications are made.

Role Of Farming Women In The Communities Of Puculpala, Llulluchi, And Guzo, Quimiag, Chimborazo, Agusta Filomena Coello Arguello

Theses and Dissertations

In the Ecuadorian society there is a pronounced difference in the distribution of work between men and women. In the Ecuadorian society the man is dominant and the woman is seen as a free form of strenuous and excessive labor, who often goes without pay. The woman herself minimizes her own contribution in the production process, thereby magnifying this culture distinction. The division of work related responsibilities, through gender distinctions, has given women more tasks to complete, in addition to those generally reserved for females (taking care of the children, the animals and various household chores). Women also tend to …

Nutritional Education And Its Impact In The Copalacaya, Choquenaira, Callisaya And Muruamaya Communities Of La Paz, Rosa Yolanda Mamani Arias

Theses and Dissertations

This investigation was conducted with the collaboration of the authorities of the Carrera de Nutrición y Dietética (UMSA) and the Institute of Agriculture and Food Science Ezra Taft Benson. The general secretaries, mayor scholars Management 1998, rural professors and farmers of the communities of Copalacaya, Choquenaira, Callisaya and Muruamaya of the province of Ingavi of the Department of La Paz. It has been very gratifying for the author to carry out this research in said communities, in addition to knowing the reality in which these farmers live, with whose collaboration valuable information was collected that permitted an analysis on the …

Obtaining And Sampling Of High Quality Energetic-Protein Mixtures (Pottages) Of Tuber-Cereal-Leguminous Bases In The Candelaria Area, Maria Lilian Maldonado Chavez

Theses and Dissertations

Specially designed foodstuffs destined for children of weaning age in the community of Candelaria were developed and evaluated biologically. These victuals had as bases combinations of tubers-cereals-legumes of high nutritional quality to be implemented in the home. Based on the availability of food and alimentary habits of the region, seven mixtures were formulated of triples and quadruples containing tubers (potato, oca, papaliza, and isano); cereals (rice, wheat, corn, and quinua); and legumes (tarwi, broad bean, and peanut). The cereal-leguminous proportion was maintained as one complement and the addition of the tubers. These mixes were subjected to biological tests, obtaining incremental …

Nutritional And Health Behavior Of The Indigenous Pregnant Women In The Community Of Tunshi-San Nicolas, Chimborazo Province, Sandra Ordonez Gavilanez

Theses and Dissertations

The nutritional food situation in our country is alarming, by what has been classified as a major public health problem, their principle manifestation is the protein malnutrition- energy, with a high prevalence in urban zones- marginal and rural population. It is considered that the main causes that originate on one hand are still deteriorating at a level of income in the popular sectors with the consequent impossibility of access to basic services such as housing, education, stable jobs, health services (drinking water, sewage, etc.) appropriate food regimes, greatly affecting those vulnerable groups such as children and women in fertile years. …

Reconsidering Solidarity In The Mormon Village, Todd L. Goodsell

Theses and Dissertations

In what became a classic rural community study, Lowry Nelson concluded in his first Mormon village series in the 1920's that the Mormon village is characterized by an extraordinary sense of solidarity. He claimed that this strong solidarity can be primarily explained by four factors of the social group: leadership, conflict, cooperation, and ideology. After resurveying the Mormon village in 1950, he concluded that solidarity had declined. However, a few problems become apparent to the present researcher looking back upon Nelson's findings. One of them is that Nelson never had a clear definition of solidarity to begin with. Another is …

Reasons, Goals, And Incentives For Corporate Philanthropy To Arts Organizations, Marsonda Mcnutt Schroeder

Theses and Dissertations

One of the methods employed by corporations to create a favorable relationship with its publics is to use philanthropy to not- for-profit organizations such as the arts. From a communication point of view, this action may be looked upon as a gesture between the corporation, the recipient, and the publics which involves messages both sent and received. Research on this communication gesture is important because arts organizations need to know how the process works in order to help secure philanthropic dollars. Corporations need to understand the results of the process so that they can more effectively achieve the goals for …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Polycyclic Bis(Tert-Butylamido)Cyclodiphosph(Iii)Azane Complexes Of Lithium, Magnesium, And Tin, Ingo Schranz

Theses and Dissertations

Synthesis and single-crystal X-ray studies of the bis(fert-butylamido) cyclodiphosphazane cis-[(tBuNP)2(tBuNH)2], 1, and its lithium, magnesium, and tin(IV) salts are described. The pristine molecule has crystallographic C2 symmetry, both N-H groups being disposed in an endo fashion, and crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2/c with unit cell dimensions (193 K) a = 9.600(4) A, b = 5.904(4) A, c = 18.97(1) A, /? = 101.09(3)°, and Z = 2. Treatment of 1 with "BuLi or (nBu)2Mg in refluxing THF yielded the heterocubic cA-[(tBuNP)2(*BuNLi • THF)2], 2, and the seco-heterocubic [(tBuNP)2(‘BuN)2]Mg»(THF)2, 3, respectively. The crystal data (233 K) for the dilithio …

The Effect Of Biculturalism On Self-Esteem In Northern Plains Native American College Students, Mary J. Wilkie

Theses and Dissertations

The main purpose of this study was to examine the effect of biculturalism on self esteem in a sample of 51 Northern Plains Native American college students (29 females, 22 males). Subjects completed the Northern Plains Biculturalism Inventory (NPB1; Allen & French, 1994) and the Index of Self-Esteem (ISE; Hudson, 1982). Pearson Product- Moment correlations, independent t-tests, a multiple regression analysis, and an one-way analysis-of-variance was performed using the SPSS statistical package to examine, if any, the relationships between the NPBI subscales and the ISE total scores. This design tested the applicability of the Orthogonal Theory of Biculturalism (Oetting & …

Science Experiences Of Six Elementary Student Teachers: A Case Study, Jacqueline K. Wilcox

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study focused on the science experiences of six elementary student teachers. The purpose of the study was to learn how preservice teachers make meaning of science teaching during their student teaching experience. The sources of data were interviews with participants, descriptive field notes from observations of their science teaching, and artifacts collected from the site. The themes that emerged from data analysis were personal and professional career influences and constant adjustments of teaching strategies. The participants experienced these themes in varying intensities.

Learning to teach science to elementary children for the first time is complicated by the context …