Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Utility Of Dibels As A Curriculum Based Measurement In Relation To Reading Proficiency On High Stakes Tests, Rebecca Gayle Cook

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the relationship between the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills or DIBELS reading measures and the Stanford Achievement Test, Ninth Edition or SAT9 reading scores. The following research question was examined: What is the concurrent validity of the DIBELS reading measures in relation to students’ SAT9 reading scores? In this study, archival data from five firstgrade classrooms at a rural southeastern Ohio elementary school were collected. The results of the study indicated that there was a positive and significant correlation between DIBELS measures and SAT9 scores with the exception of …

Analysis Of Impulsive Behaviors Among Prison Inmates Convicted Of Violent Crimes, Inmates Convicted Of Non-Violent Crimes And Undergraduate College Students, Lonnie Kishpaugh Sr.

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Sudden explosive episodes of rage and human aggression by individuals occur daily in our society. While impulsive aggressive behavior is included in several established psychological disorders, the etiology of such behavior has been widely debated.

This study tested the hypotheses that prison inmates who have committed violent crimes were no more likely to exhibit impulsive behavior, than like numbers of prison inmates who had committed non-violent crimes, or college students who have no criminal record. Groups of 20 each of the respective populations were randomly administered the Kipnis Impulsiveness Scale in accordance with instructions from the manual.

With an alpha …

The Relationship Between Student Achievement And Level Of Parent Satisfaction In A Summer Enrichment Program, Royna Faye Lattimore

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between parent satisfaction and student achievement in an activity based, multiage, inclusive, summer enrichment program. The researcher constructed a survey that was mailed to parents the first day of the last week of the program (n=139). Thirty five surveys were returned by mail and five surveys were conducted by phone for a total of forty surveys. The average score for this sample of parents on the whole survey was 3.98 (SD=1.41). The average parent satisfaction score on question fourteen was 4.40.

Multiple regression analysis on 40 parent surveys revealed that …

Current Trends In Athletic Training Education And Certification In Japan, Yuriko Ohashi

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Athletic trainer is a well-established profession in the U.S., but its definition is unclear in Japan because of no certification until recently. Japan Amateur Sports Association (JASA) has started in curriculum to prepare, educate and certify athletic trainers since 1994. This study researched the current trends in athletic training education and certification in Japan. It defines the historical and present athletic training situation, and clarifies education and certification with questionnaires. Questionnaires were sent to 43 sports medicine professors at JASA athletic trainer accredited and non-accredited program schools, and 26 (61%) responses were returned. The current problems include lack of clinical …

An Assessment Of The Fundamental Differences Between Mainstream And Independent Media : A Content Analysis Of The Print Media, Chadford D. Roush

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The mainstream media in the United States is an institutional arrangement of structural power within the political economy of capitalist society. The concentration and centralization of the media corporations creates the structural constraint for ideological social control. A few multinational corporations control a vast amount of media access that creates a filtering process for information. The mainstream media is extremely powerful in American society. The media helps to mold opinions on an array of news topics. Major media sources in the US are conforming their news coverage to be “industry friendly”. In simply terms the American people are only getting …

Witchcraft, Communism And Social Control, Kristi B. Salmons

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Society is composed of rules and regulations governing action, behavior and thoughts of its members. The Salem witch trials of 1692 and the McCarthy Era are discussed in terms of their how and why each event occurred so similarly. Findings suggest social stress and large scale societal shifts to be at the crux of the issue. Other factors discussed relating to causality are; gender, deviance and its functions, norms and conformity.

Gender Bias Among Mental Health Professionals, Joan B. Schroering

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The frequently cited Broverman study (Broverman, Broverman, Clarkson, Rosenkrantz, and Vogel, 1970) has motivated a great deal research in the area of gender bias, particularly investigations into the attitudes of mental health professionals. After a review of the literature referencing the Broverman study, the current study, utilizing the research patterns set forth in that research, examines if and to what degree gender bias affects mental health professionals in the state of West Virginia. The results of this study indicate that mental health professionals across the state hold fairly equitable and balanced views of the male and female gender, with one …

A Comparison Between Amount Of Television Viewing Time And Attentional Abilities, Gwendolyn Lawrence Smith

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between television viewing time and auditory attention with the effects of development examined. The study used 64 females and 29 males who were in regular and special education classes (i.e., 24 third graders, 32 fourth graders and 37 fifth graders). The researcher constructed two instruments to obtain data about TV viewing time. The Stanford Achievement Test - Ninth Edition (SAT9) Listening Subtest raw score was used as a measure of attention, while the SAT9 Total Basic Skills (TBS) raw score was used as a measure of overall achievement. Data about …

Analysis Of Locus Of Control And Educational Level Utilizing The Internal Control Index, Valerie L. Smith

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study is a comparison of Locus of Control as measured by the Internal Control Index (ICI) between adult subjects of high school education or less and adult subjects attending graduate school or of graduate school education or above. The study was conducted to determine if the Internal Control Index for the graduate level educated population was significantly different from that of the non-college-educated population. The Internal Control Index (ICI), by Patricia Duttweiler was used as the instrument for this study. A sample of 100 male and female subjects was used from the West Virginia and Ohio areas. Each participant …

Mountaintop Removal: An Assessment Of The Propaganda Model Of The News Media, Tonya Lynn Adkins

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This research used the method of content analysis to examine how the issue of mountaintop removal mining was presented in four print media sources: the Logan Banner, the Charleston Gazette, the Herald Dispatch, and Graffiti. The propaganda model put forth in Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media, by Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky, was used as the model upon which the research was based.

The purpose of the research was to determine whether or not the coal industry exerts a form of censorship over print media sources in West Virginia. It also sought to determine if there …

Emergent Literacy Activities In Preschool Years : The Effects Of Explicit Instruction On Rhyming And Narrative Development, Kristie Dawn Callihan

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Reading, a vitally important skill, develops early in a young child’s life. Research suggests that strong phonological awareness and narrative skills predict reading success. Using children’s literature that emphasized either rhymes (one of the earliest phonological awareness skills to emerge) or narrative structure, this study examined the effect of explicit teaching of rhymes and narrative structure on young children’s improvement in the ability to recognize and generate rhyming words and on improvement in the sophistication of narrative retellings. The results of this study, as well as the implications these findings have for speech-language pathologists and the need for further research, …

Expanding Self-Direction In Services For The Aged And People With Disabilities, Ruth A. Burgess

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Medicaid-funded long-term care services are traditionally delivered in nursing homes. States may apply for waivers which allow them to provide home and community based services with Medicaid funds. Because these services are by definition an alternative to nursing home care, waiver services are generally based upon a medical model which emphasizes medical deficits and tends to restrict consumers’ movements to inside the home. Recent developments such as the Olmstead Decision and federal New Freedom Initiatives have caused states to recognize that consumers desire and have a legal right to be part of a community rather than institutionalized or homebound. These …

Students' Perception Index Of The Mugc School Psychology Practicum : A Correlation Of Course Work With Practicum Experiences, C. Lee Chandler Iii

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The perceived consistency between the course work and practicum of the Marshall University Graduate College school psychology program was investigated. The magnitude of consistency was determined by a Spearman correlation coefficient comparing students’ subjective rankings of the relative importance of various school psychologist activities as emphasized in the program’s course work with the relative importance of those same activities as relevant to the practicum setting. The findings suggest a significant degree of correlation at the (.05) significance level between what is emphasized in the program’s coursework and what is relevant to practicum experience.

The Fear Of Femininity Vs. The Fear Of Death And Attitudes Towards Lesbians And Gay Men, Timothy Andrew Caswell

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Decades of research on attitudes toward non-heterosexuals has found that heterosexual males are significantly more negative towards gay men than lesbians, while females generally have similar attitudes toward both. Using a terror management research design, the current research investigates the influence of the fear of femininity and the fear of mortality on attitudes toward gay men and lesbians. Two hundred forty-seven introductory psychology students were primed to fear their own mortality, their femininity or masculinity, or dental pain. Sexual prejudice scores were consistent with prior research, but the findings were not consistent with either a mortality salience effect or femininity …

Associations Of Test Anxiety And Selected Variables On The Performance Of Adult And Technical Education And Psychology Students, Claudia Coleman

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The ADIQ was used to explore what, if any, attachment and clinical issues might be related to test anxiety. Furthermore, these variables were compared with age and size of city in which one was raised. The participants were 41 college students from a university located in Appalachia. It was found that a.) Ambivalent attachment patterns with the father had a significant negative effect on test anxiety b.) Age or gender was not significantly related to test anxiety. c.) Size of city in which a student was raised in resulted in no significant effect. d.) Negative attachment with a significant other …

Title Ix Compliance: Non-Appalachian Versus Appalachian In Colleges And Universities, Monica Corbo

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to see if economic status of the region was related to a difference in Title IX compliance rates among schools. NCAA Division I-A and IAA schools were studied in non-Appalachian and Appalachian regions. The female and male ratings of students to student athletes were derived and compared according to three variables; (1) division, (2) region and (3) division x region. In order to be in compliance the overall female and male ratings should be similar. The outcome of the overall female and male ratings showed a significant difference, favoring males. Therefore, Title IX compliance …

Social Disorganization Theory And Crime In West Virginia, Billy Crum

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study is to test the social disorganization theory by determining how a community’s ability to maintain social control effects crime rate, especially in areas of West Virginia that are experiencing rapid social change. Do lack of social controls and rapid social change effect crime rates in rural areas, and if so, what kinds of crimes are likely to be effected? This study is going to attempt to answer this puzzling question. This study uses poverty rate, unemployment rate, and high school dropout rate as the independent variables, and crime rate as the dependent variable.

Program Evaluation Of Practicum Iii: Marshall University's Summer Enrichment Program From A School Psychology Student's Perspective, Melissa L. Ferrebee

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The current study examined the School Psychology Practicum III Summer Enrichment Program at Marshall University Graduate College. This study investigated the expectation levels and perceptions in relation to the course goals and program objectives. The method of data collection included a questionnaire developed from the Practicum III goals and objectives. The questionnaire was designed to collect both qualitative and quantitative data. The close-ended data were analyzed by descriptive statistical measures for descriptives, frequencies, crosstabulation and correlations. Data were interpreted using a frequency analysis and the Pearson correlation coefficient (r). Results indicated a positive correlation between the students' expectations of the …

Final Frontier: The Methodist Church Involvement With The Recolonization Of Blacks To Liberia, Sharletta Michelle Green

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Missionary work over the course of one hundred years has changed the face of Liberia as a country. The work has affected the culture, economic structure, ethnic relationships within the country and surrounding areas and the political climate. The missionary movement into Africa did not start until the early eighteen hundreds.

In my thesis, I will focus on the ways the major stakeholders socially constructed the issues involved. I will focus on the ways in which the ideologies of racism in this period reflected American perceptions of the “dark continent.” This analysis will include the social constructions of church leaders, …

Identity Theft Awareness In North Central West Virginia, Gwendolyn Lea Goodrich

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Identity theft occurs when an individual "takes over" the identity of another without that person's consent or when someone uses bits and pieces of information about an individual to represent himself or herself as that person for fraudulent purposes. The simplicity of gathering personal identification through technology enhancements has made identity theft reportedly the fastest growing crime in the U.S. The latest report indicates, through a national survey, that 20 percent of Americans are victims of identity theft. However, the impact of this growing crime has not been assessed in North Central West Virginia, where this study occurred. The theory …

Effect Of A Modified Lincs Learning Strategy On The Achievement Of 4th Grade Students With Learning Disabilities, Shelby Brooke Haines

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The LINCS learning strategy, published by Edwin S. Ellis (1992), University of Kansas Institute for Research of Learning Disabilities, is a starter strategy used as a memory devise for vocabulary. The goals' of the strategy were to increase independent learning, memorize key vocabulary, provide a sense of control over learning and to promote motivation about learning new strategies. It is also clearly defined in the instruction manual that for students to effectively utilize this strategy they must perform with a fourth grade reading level or above (Ellis, 1992). It was hypothesized that by making modifications to compensate for the students' …

Association Of Knowledge, Attitudes, And Self-Efficacy With Sexual Risk Behaviors Among High School Students In Aguablanca District-Cali, Colombia, Zulma Hernandez

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the level of knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy related to reproduction, contraception, STD/HIV and sexual risk behaviors among high school students. The study featured a cluster sampling involving eleventh grade students from two high schools in Aguablanca District - Cali, Colombia. A cohort of 313 students completed an anonymous questionnaire with a 20–item scale that measured level of knowledge in reproduction, contraception and STD/HIV; 5 item-scale that measured attitudes and self-efficacy related to practices of protective sexual behavior; and a 5-item scale that measured intentions toward their capabilities to perform specific actions that …

Comparisons Of Three Different Investigative Interview Techniques With Young Children, Marc A. Lindberg Ph.D., Mary Tantalo Chapman, David Samsock, Stuart W. Thomas, Anders W. Lindberg

Psychology Faculty Research

After viewing a film of a mother hitting her son, a film not seen by the college student interviewers, children were misinformed about a detail (via exposure to a misleadingquestion) as well as explicitly coached to disclose 3 false details. The children were then interviewed by interviewers who had previously learned 1 of 3 different interviewing procedures: the Yuille Step-Wise Interview developed by J. C. Yuille, R. Hunter,R. Joffe, & J. Zaparniuk (1993); a doll play interview developed by Action for Child Protection Inc. (1994); or the Modified Structured Interview developed for this study. The Modified Structured Interview yielded more …

Transportation Solutions: Collaborative Problem Solving For States And Communities, National Policy Consensus Center

National Policy Consensus Center Publications and Reports

In April 2003, the National Policy Consensus Center (NPCC) hosted a colloquium for people involved in transportation collaborations—federal and state agency representatives, consultants, dispute resolution professionals and representatives from professional associations and local planning organizations. The colloquium was co-sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration, the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the Florida, Oregon, and California Departments of Transportation.

This report summarizes lessons learned about transportation collaborations and offers recommendations for governors and state transportation officials on ways to enhance the use and effectiveness of collaborative problem solving around transportation …

The Landscape: Vancouver, Wa, Shelley Holly

Metroscape

An overview of planning policy and urban renewal projects in Vancouver, Washington, including a brief discussion of future development and relations with Portland,

Spousal Abuse: Vietnamese Children’S Reports Of Parental Violence, Yoko Baba, Susan B. Murray

Faculty Publications, Sociology

This exploratory study used mailed questionnaires completed by 131 Vietnamese students to examine domestic violence patterns in parents' marital relationships. Research objectives included: (1) gaining an understanding of spousal abuse among Vietnamese couples; and (2) assessing which variables (demographic characteristics, decision-making power, and cultural adaptation, beliefs in traditional gender roles, and conflicts in the family) are correlated with spousal abuse. Findings suggest that although both parents used reasoning, mental abuse and physical abuse in their marital relationships, Vietnamese fathers were more likely to be physically abusive than mothers. Additional variables associated with family conflicts are also examined. Research implications and …

Professional Competencies For Reference And User Services Librarians, Jo Bell Whitlatch

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Progress And Opportunities In Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual And Transgender Health Communications, Laurie A. Drabble, J. Keatley, G. Marcelle

Faculty Publications

This article describes elements of effective health communication and highlights strategies that may best be adopted or adapted in relation to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) populations. Studies have documented the utility of multidimensional approaches to health communication from the macro level of interventions targeting entire populations to the micro level of communication between health care provider and consumer. Although evidence of health disparities in LGBT communities underscores the importance of population-specific interventions, health promotion campaigns rarely target these populations and health communication activities seldom account for the diversity of LGBT communities. Advances in health communication suggest promising direction …

Economies Of Scale In The Library World: The Dr Martin Luther King Jr Library In San Jose, California, Paul Kauppila, Sharon Russell

Faculty and Staff Publications

Discusses the new Dr Martin Luther King Jr Library in San Jose´, California, which will house the collections of the San Jose´ Public Library’s main branch and the San Jose´ State University’s Library system in one new building. Outlines the conception of the project, the site selection and the planning process. Considers the communities served, usage patterns and services. Focuses on the management structure and operations in light of a, perhaps controversial, aspect of mixing city and university library staff under the same roof, some performing similar functions, but with different supervisors and employing agencies. Discusses the new library in …

Bodied Knowledge: Theatre As A Pedagogical Tool, Victoria Rue

Faculty Publications, Social Sciences

No abstract provided.