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Experimental Determination of the Scattering Cross-section of Ogives and Prolate Spheroids at Microwave Frequencies
Because of the great difficulty of obtaining exact numerical values of cross-section, and because of the inherent uncertainties in interpreting and evaluating the approximate methods, accurate experimental cross-section data would be extremely useful to the radar engineer. It was with this purpose in mind that the present long-range research program in microwave scattering was undertaken. Of immediate interest were the scattering properties of the prolate spheroid, the ogive (formed by rotating the minor segment of a circle around the chord), and, for comparison, the long cylinder.
The Experimental Draw-a-Group Projective Technique for Measuring Interpersonal Responsiveness
The purpose of this study is to present an exploratory investigation into the possibility of developing a projective technique for measuring interpersonal responsiveness. The projective technique explored here is a form of drawing analysis based on the drawing of a group made by each subject in a tested population.
An Experimental Examination of the Effects of Fraud Specialist and Audit Mindsets on Fraud Risk Assessments and on the Development of Fraud-Related Problem Representations
Fraud risk assessment is an important audit process that has a direct impact on the effectiveness of auditors' fraud detection in an audit. However, prior literature has shown that auditors are generally poor at assessing fraud risk. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) suggests that auditors may improve their fraud risk assessment performance by adopting a fraud specialist mindset. A fraud specialist mindset is a special way of thinking about accounting records. While auditors think about the company's recorded transactions in terms of the availability of supporting documentations and the authenticity of the audit trail, fraud specialists think instead of accounting records in terms of the authenticity of the events and activities that are behind the reported transactions. Currently there is no study that has examined the effects of the fraud specialist mindset on auditors' fraud risk assessment performance. In addition, although recent studies have found that fraud specialists are more sensitive than auditors in discerning fraud risk factors in situation where a high level of fraud risk is present, it remains unclear whether the same can be said for situation where the risk of fraud is low. Thus, the purpose of my dissertation is to examine the effects of fraud specialist and audit mindsets on fraud risk assessment performance. In addition, I examined such effects on fraud risk assessment performance in both high and low fraud risk conditions. The contributions of my dissertation include being the first to experimentally examine how different mindsets impact fraud-related judgment. The results of my study have the potential to help address the PCAOB's desire to improve auditors' fraud risk assessment performance though the adoption of the fraud specialist mindset. In addition, my study contributes to the literature by exploring fraud-related problem representation as a possible mediator of mindset on fraud risk assessment …
An Experimental Examination Of The Effects Of Goal Framing And Time Pressure On Auditors’ Professional Skepticism
Professional skepticism is a critical component of audit practice and current auditing standards direct auditors to remain skeptical throughout the duration of each audit engagement. Despite the importance and prevalence of an emphasis on professional skepticism throughout auditing standards, evidence indicates that auditors often fail to exercise an appropriate degree of professional skepticism. Prior accounting research suggests that auditors’ professionally skeptical behavior is affected by individual personality traits as well as situational (state) influences, whereby both factors contribute to auditor professional skepticism. Yet, prior research has primarily focused on trait skepticism; and little research to date has investigated the concept of state skepticism. The purpose if this research study is to experimentally investigate the impact of time pressure and trait skepticism on state skepticism, and to test a potential debiasing procedure on the impact of time pressure on state skepticism. In addition, this study examines the influence of both skepticism types on skeptical behavior.This research offers several contributions to accounting literature and practice. First, I contribute to the existing debate regarding the influences of professional skepticism by providing evidence that professional skepticism may be categorized as a temporary state, induced by situational aspects, in addition to being classified as an enduring trait. Second, I identify certain situational conditions which create differences in the level of state professional skepticism exhibited within an auditing context. Lastly, my findings may also be important to audit firms as they consider tools within their training arsenal equipped to promote an appropriate level of professional skepticism among employees. If auditor skepticism can be influenced by the frames they are provided, then audit firms may create an environment that promotes consistency in auditors’ application of professional skepticism, simply by engaging in goal framing.
An Experimental Investigation into the Interaction Between Modality Preference and Instruction Mode in the Learning of Spelling Words by Upper-Elementary Learning Disabled Students
This study investigated the effects of selected spelling teaching methods on spelling mastery of upper-elementary, learning disabled students. It also examined the value of assessing learning disabled students' modality preferences for diagnostic/prescriptive purposes.The study's significance is that it sought to (a) determine whether students classified as learning disabled can identify their preferred learning modes; (b) determine whether matching modes of instruction to students' modality reference(s) results in greater achievement; and (c) identify a systematic way of prescribing instruction for learning disabled students.
An Experimental Investigation of Information Systems Project Escalation: An Examination of Contributory Factors in a Business Environment
The purpose of this research is to continue examining the project management process. The management of projects is complicated. It is the complexity of the process that makes a project so difficult to control. This research examines the effect of particular facets of the project manager's skill set and operating environment on management decisions.
Experimental Investigation of the Relation Between Intelligence Quotients, English Scores, Reading Scores, and English Marks at N.T.S.T.C.; and a Suggestion for the Use of These Instruments in Predicting Academic Success in English
"The problem here is to determine the scholastic prediction in English at the college freshman level by means of the correlation coefficients of the following test scores and marks at North Texas State Teachers College..."--1.
An Experimental Investigation of the Relation Between the Percentage of Possible Gain in Reading Comprehension and Academic Success in Major Fields of Study
Determination of gains made in reading comprehension and the relationship of these gains to the academic success of 545 college freshmen of North Texas State Teachers College is the main consideration of this study.
An Experimental Investigation of the Relationship Between Perception of Parental Acceptance and Social Acceptability of Adolescents
The purpose of this study is twofold. One is that of developing an instrument for determining a child's concept of how he is thought of by his mother and his father; in other words, a method of measuring parental acceptance as it is perceived by the child, himself. The development of this instrument will be discussed in Chapter IV. The second purpose of this study is that of determining whether or not there is any significant relationship between the child's perception of parental acceptance and the social acceptability of the child, as measured by a sociometric instrument.
An Experimental Investigation of the Relative Effectiveness of Two Methods of Teaching Mechanical Drawing
The purpose of this study was twofold: First, to analyze two methods of teaching mechanical drawing in the seventh grade by conducting an experiment to determine by which method the greatest amount of achievement was obtained by the students in the ability to visualize, sketch, letter, and understand three-view drawing; and second, to recommend a work plan and certain teaching techniques for teaching mechanical drawing in the seventh grade of the Santa Fe, New Mexico Junior High School, based upon the method by which the greater amount of achievement was indicated in the study.
An Experimental Investigation of the Value of Music Workbooks in Junior High Music Classes
This study is an experimental investigation of two groups of junior high school students in an effort to evaluate the advantages of workbooks in their music classes. The comparison was made with two classes composed of thirty-two students each from the two junior high schools in the Beaumont Independent School District. One class used the workbooks in conjunction with the regular singing and appreciation work, but the other class did not use formal workbooks. They discussed the theory and notation of the music in relation to the work they were doing.
Experimental Investigation on Efficiency of Fresnel Lenses with Different Manufacturing Methods
Non-imaging Fresnel lenses have been playing an important role in improving the efficiency of the solar energy systems. Many researchers and scientists have devoted their research to optimize the design of the Fresnel lenses. Before it can contribute to energy efficiency increase, a Fresnel lens with optimized design will first need to be fabricated with the most cost-effective method as well as the best quality fabrication as possible. If targeted in a commercial market, feasibility of mass production with a minimum fabrication time would also be a consideration. To bring the design optimization of a Fresnel lens from a conceptual theory to a real-life increase in energy efficiency, the lens needs to be fabricated, tested, compared, and analyzed. This research thesis is intended to explore the performance of the lenses with optimized design through experimental investigations. The design optimization was achieved by a previous PhD student at UNT. A total of six lenses fabricated with four different methods along with two purchased lenses were tested with two different approaches. Multiple testing routes were conducted within a 10-month period to observe the effects of material decomposition and degradation on the lens performance. The resulting experimental data has provided a solid base for analyzing the performance of the lenses, in particular, the energy conversion efficiency increase of the solar cell by using each lens. The potential cause of the performance variation can be extracted from the comparison and evaluation.
An Experimental Investigation on the Effects of Learning Style and Presentation Methods on Knowledge Acquisition in a University Classroom Environment
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of four learning styles (accommodator, assimilator, converger, and diverger) and two different presentation methods (traditional and computer-based) on knowledge acquisition in a university classroom.
An Experimental Investigation on the Effects of Web-Based Instruction/Training on Cognitive and Psychomotor Learning
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of web-based instruction (WBI) on cognitive and psychomotor learning. The subjects of the study received two types of instructional methods, WBI (experimental group) and traditional classroom instruction (control group). Each group received 30 minutes of instruction on "Soldering a Circuit Board." The researcher chose this content subject because it involved both cognitive and psychomotor objectives, which suited the purpose of this study. It was hypothesized that there would be no significant difference between the two methods of instruction, and also that there would be no significant interaction effects between methods of instruction and gender. Forty-six subjects from a population of students enrolled in summer classes offered by the Applied Technology, Training and Development (ATTD) program at the University of North Texas voluntarily participated in this study. Random assignment of subjects was applied in this study. A subject matter expert delivered the content for both the experimental and control groups. To measure cognitive variable, a 10 item, multiple-choice test was administered immediately after instruction. To measure the psychomotor variable, a 15-item checklist was utilized by trained judges to evaluate learners’ performances while soldering. The 2 x 2 factorial model with interaction was used in this study. The analysis was run for each of the dependent variables, cognitive and psychomotor learning. Although there was not a statistically significant difference in the main effects of method of instruction or interaction effects between method and gender, the results imply that students in the traditional-classroom instruction group performed better than those in the WBI group in psychomotor learning. Perhaps, this trend would be statistically significant if the sample size were larger. This study provides empirical evidence for the effectiveness of WBI in delivering cognitive and psychomotor objectives. The outcome of this study supports the need …
The Experimental Preparation of Earth Pigments of Denton County, Texas
This study is a report of the results of a series of experiments, the purposes of which were to determine: (1) what natural pigments are available in Denton County, Texas, (2) the variety, quality, and quantity of the native pigments as compared with standard commercial pigments, and (3) the suitability of these native pigments for use in the preparation of artists' colors. Since the chief interest was in the specific hues, their quality and variety, the factor of commercial possibilities was not investigated.
An Experimental Study in Developing Initiative in Children
The problem of this study is to find the causes for lack of initiative in a group of second grade pupils in the Era School, and to discover, from reading books and magazine articles, what techniques are most successful in developing initiative in the children.
An Experimental Study in Teaching Mathematical Concepts Utilizing Computer-Assisted Instruction in Business Machines
The problem of this study was an analysis of results obtained by a computer-assisted instructional approach and a lecture-demonstration instructional approach of teaching mathematical concepts in the area of office machines at the community college level. The purposes of this study were as follows: (1) to determine which method, the lecture-demonstration or computer assisted instruction, will produce the better mathematical skill in office machines; (2) to determine the effectiveness of computer-assisted instruction as compared to the lecture demonstration approach on the student’s attitude toward office machines, as measured by the Purdue attitude scale; (3) to compare the correlation between attitude and achievement for the computer-assisted instruction group and the lecture-demonstration group; and (4) to compare the correlation between attitude and achievement for high-ability students and low-ability students, based on scores obtained from the Otis-Lennon Mental Ability Test. The findings in this study indicate that there were no significant differences in mathematical achievement, attitude scores, or the correlation between attitude and achievement between students in the computer-assisted group and students in the lecture-demonstration group. The following conclusions were formulated from an analysis of this study. 1. Based on the mathematical achievement scores and the statistical analysis presented in this study, it is concluded that there are no demonstrated differences between the computer-assisted instructional approach and the lecture demonstration approach for teaching applied mathematical concepts to business machines students. 2. Based on the attitude scores presented in this study, students in both groups appear to have a favorable attitude toward the business machines course. Attitude scores for students in the computer-assisted group were not significantly different from scores for students in the lecture-demonstration group. 3. The integration of business machines and applied mathematics, in addition to developing speed and accuracy on electronic calculators and adding machines, produces increased achievement in mathematics.
An Experimental Study of Bifurcated (Weekend and Weekday) and Unitary (Past Week) Retrospective Assessments of Sleep
Discordance between weekday and weekend sleep schedules is common (Bonnet & Arand, 1995; Breslau, Roth, Rosenthal, & Andreski, 1997; Machado, Varella, & Andrade, 1998; Strauch & Meier, 1988; Tsai & Li, 2004). Brief retrospective self-report measures are essential for epidemiological research studies (Moul, Hall, Pilkonis, & Buysse, 2004), but self-reports are prone to error in recall, and the greater the variability in nightly sleep, the less reliable are retrospective reports (Babkoff, Weller, & Lavidor, 1996). More accurate self-report responses may be possible if measures prompt participants to consider variations in sleep schedules that are consistent (i.e., weekday and weekend sleep schedules). The current study experimentally examined whether Bifurcated (Weekday and Weekend) retrospective assessments of sleep are more accurate than Unitary (Past Week) assessments. Participants were randomly assigned to complete one of the two versions (Bifurcated vs. Unitary) of the Sleep Questionnaire. One hundred and thirty-one participants were included in the analyses. Results of a a series of analyses demonstrated that the Bifurcated version of the Sleep Questionnaire provided more accurate and less variable estimates of total sleep time than the Unitary version of the Sleep Questionnaire. Differences between the versions of the Sleep Questionnaire for other sleep variables were less consistent, and the increased length of the Bifurcated version of the Sleep Questionnaire may have contributed to increased missing and unusable data in this group. Overall, the findings suggest that in both research and clinical work, retrospective measures that examine weekday and weekend sleep separately may offer advantages over retrospective measures that do not differentiate between weekday and weekend sleep.
An Experimental Study of Collision Broadening of some Excited Rotational States of the Bending Vibration of Methyl Cyanide
A double modulation microwave spectrometer is used to evaluate the linewidth parameters for some excited rotational components in the bending vibration v_8 of 13CH3 13C 15N and 13CH3C15N isotopomers of methyl cyanide. The linewidth parameters for self-broadening of the ΔJ=2←1 rotational components for the ground v_8 , 1v_8, and the 2v_8 vibrations were determined over a pressure range of 1 to 13 mtorr and at a temperature of 300 K. The double modulation technique is used to explore the high eighth derivative of the line shape profile of the spectral line. This technique proved to give good signal-to-noise ratios and enabled the recovery of weak signals. An experimental method is developed to correct for source modulation broadening. The tests of the ratios of the two inner peak's separation of the eighth derivative of the line showed that they were up to 95% similar to those for a Lorentzian line shape function. The line shapes were assumed to be Lorentzian for the theoretical analysis of the derivative profiles and comparisons were made between experiment and theory on this basis. Dipole moments for vibrationally excited states were calculated from linewidth parameters and show systematic decrease with the increase of excitation. Impact parameters were calculated using the "hard sphere" model of the kinetic theory of gases. The results were many times larger than the size of the molecule itself. This suggests that the dominant interaction is a long range dipole-dipole force interaction.
An Experimental Study of Critial Thinking in Student-Centered Teaching
The problem of this study was to determine the effectiveness of student-centered teaching in producing significant changes in certain critical thinking abilities among selected freshmen students at North Texas State College.
An Experimental Study of Intonation Factors of the Cornet and Trumpet
Many musicians have theorized that intonation would be improved if all players in a band or orchestral section used instruments of identical dimensions and material. This study consists of a test taken under experimental conditions comparing the Conn 38A cornets used in the North Texas State University Concert Band with a random selection of trumpets, using the same performers for both sets of instruments.
An Experimental Study of Mindfulness and Acceptance-Based Skills for Internalized Ageism in Older Adults and College Students
This project explored whether mindfulness and acceptance-based practices (MABPs) for older adults would reduce the negative effects of ageism and negative attitudes and beliefs related to aging. In addition, state affect and stress were explored. This study used an experimental design to compare two groups of older adults and two groups of undergraduate students – those who received a MABP and those who did not, after being presented with negative ageist stereotypes. Condition and condition by age sample comparisons revealed several findings. Following the MABP, undergraduates who received a MABP had significantly lower ageism scores than did undergraduates who did not. Older adult findings were opposite of proposed hypotheses, with older adults having higher scores on ageism after receiving the MABP, as compared to the scores of older adults who were in the comparison condition. Differences in state mindfulness were seen between conditions, with the MABP condition exhibiting more state mindfulness than in the comparison condition. However, there was no significant condition by age sample interaction effect. Change scores for state affect after the MABP were non-significant at either level of analysis, and older adults showed no difference in digit span stress scores based on their condition assignment. Exploratory analyses revealed some research consistent, as well as nuanced, findings. These findings suggest that undergraduates may respond to MABPs for recontextualizing aging, discrimination, and stigma. These findings also suggest that older adults may employ different coping strategies when confronted with ageism in an experimental context when asked to reflect, as oppose to participate in MABPs. Overall, a need for aging education, experimental research with older adults, and empirical understandings of MABPs for age-related issues, is needed. Limitations and future directions are discussed.
An Experimental Study of Personality Development in the Stenography Class of the Edinburg High School
The purpose of this study is (1) to make a survey of all personality training procedures in an attempt to adapt those methods to the instructional problems of schools having a large Latin-American enrollment, and (2) to correlate personality development with the study of stenography and job finding by giving it specific emphasis in such a course.
An Experimental Study of Student Progress in General Mathematics
The purpose of this investigation is to make an experimental study of the compiled data obtained from the results of three standardized tests that were administered to two groups of general mathematics students during one semester; and to determine, if possible, by the scores, whether the prescribed course in mathematics makes for any significant increases, or losses in student progress.
An Experimental Study of Teachers' Verbal and Nonverbal Immediacy, Student Motivation, and Cognitive Learning in Video Instruction
This study used an experimental design and a direct test of recall to provide data about teacher immediacy and student cognitive learning. Four hypotheses and a research question addressed two research problems: first, how verbal and nonverbal immediacy function together and/or separately to enhance learning; and second, how immediacy affects cognitive learning in relation to student motivation. These questions were examined in the context of video instruction to provide insight into distance learning processes and to ensure maximum control over experimental manipulations. Participants (N = 347) were drawn from university students in an undergraduate communication course. Students were randomly assigned to groups, completed a measure of state motivation, and viewed a 15-minute video lecture containing part of the usual course content delivered by a guest instructor. Participants were unaware that the video instructor was actually performing one of four scripted manipulations reflecting higher and lower combinations of specific verbal and nonverbal cues, representing the four cells of the 2x2 research design. Immediately after the lecture, students completed a recall measure, consisting of portions of the video text with blanks in the place of key words. Participants were to fill in the blanks with exact words they recalled from the videotape. Findings strengthened previous research associating teacher nonverbal immediacy with enhanced cognitive learning outcomes. However, higher verbal immediacy, in the presence of higher and lower nonverbal immediacy, was not shown to produce greater learning among participants in this experiment. No interaction effects were found between higher and lower levels of verbal and nonverbal immediacy. Recall scores were comparatively low in the presence of higher verbal and lower nonverbal immediacy, suggesting that nonverbal expectancy violations may have hindered cognitive learning. Student motivation was not found to be a significant source of error in measuring immediacy's effects, and no interaction effects were detected …
An Experimental Study of the Effect of a Career Education Program on Academic Achievement and Attitudes of Fifth-Grade Students
This study was designed to determine the effects of the infusion of career-education concepts into the language arts and social studies curricula of fifth-grade students. Hypotheses related to differences in mean scores of students in the experimental group and the control group on the Reading Test, Language Test, Study Skills Test of the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills, as well as on the total battery scores. Additional hypotheses were formulated concerning the difference between proportional mean scores on the Career Education Questionnaire and three self-concept inventories designed by Instructional Objectives Exchange. The following conclusions are based on the findings of this study: (1) Infusion of career-education concepts into content areas of the curriculum can result in the increased academic achievement of-students. This conclusion is reinforced by the fact that, statistically, the arithmetic mean scores for the experimental and the control groups were not significantly different. Gains in language expression and mechanics, reading vocabulary, and references study skills can result when students relate academic knowledge to the world of work; (2) Students' attitudes toward career education can be altered through the provision of factual information and meaningful experiences; and (3) The self-concepts of students are relatively stable and not altered appreciably during a brief period of time.
An Experimental Study of the Electrodeposition of Lead
This thesis aimed to study some of the general principles underlying electrodeposition together with experimental facts regarding the effects of changing constituents of the plating solutions, variations in hydrogen-ion concentrations, and variation in current density used in the electrodeposition of lead.
Experimental Study on Fluidization of Biomass, Inert Particles, and Biomass/Sand Mixtures
Fluidization of biomass particles is an important process in the gasification, pyrolysis and combustion in order to extract energy from biomass. Studies on the fluidization of biomass particles (corn cob and walnut shell), inert particles (sand, glass bead, and alumina), which are added to facilitate fluidization of biomass, and biomass/sand mixture were performed. Experiments were carried out in a 14.5 cm internal diameter cold flow fluidization bed to determine minimum fluidization velocities with air as fluidizing medium. On the of basis of experimental data from both present work and those found in the literature, new correlations were developed to predict minimum fluidization velocity for inert particles as well as biomass particles. It was found that the proposed correlations satisfactorily predict minimum fluidization velocities and was in well agreement with experimental data. Furthermore, effect of weight percentage of biomass in the biomass/sand mixtures was studied. The weight fraction of biomass particles in the mixture was chosen in the range of 0 ~ 100 wt. %. The results show that minimum fluidization velocity of the mixtures increases with an increase in biomass content. Using the present experimental data, a new correlation was developed in terms of mass ratio for predicting values of minimum fluidization velocity of these mixtures. However, the validity of the proposed correlation should be further studied by conducting more experiments using the biomass/sand mixtures of different particle size, shape, and density.
An Experimental Study on Situated and Dynamic Learning Assessment (SDLA) Environment
The current supplementary web based English learning in Taiwan provides online learning resources and gives assessments at the end of each lesson to evaluate learners' online learning results. Based on the testing results, instructors may adjust their in-class instructional method to focus on the students' weaknesses. For the average classroom size of 40 students with one instructor, it is extremely difficult to provide individual learning content for each learner's needs because each student has his or her own weaknesses. This study conducted the situated environment with Vygotsky's dynamic assessment theory to test learner's learning achievements and satisfactions as compared to the current web learning environment. The study finds that when both groups of Taiwanese students used Internet based learning, those that utilized the situated and dynamic learning assessment environment showed a statistically significant higher achievement score than those using only the current online learning environment (p < .01). In addition, learners in the SDLA environment had statistically significant higher satisfaction scores than those in the current web learning environment.
An Experimental Study on the Reading of Comics
It is the purpose of this study to (1) determine the history and status of the comic book; (2) to find out how many and what kinds of comic books two groups of fourth graders of the Perryton school are reading; (3) to set up a well-planned reading program in one of these groups; (4) to compare the amount and kinds of comic books read by the two groups at the end of the experimental period.
An Experimental Study to Ascertain the Amount of Achievement Made in Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary, and Social Studies by the Use of Audio-Visual Aids
The present study is an attempt to obtain, from two groups of students, useful facts with which to evaluate the most effective method of presenting educational materials to junior-high-school students. The study is an attempt to measure and evaluate the achievement made in social studies, reading comprehension, and vocabulary in 1949 and 1950. The following questions form the basis for the present study: What method is best for the purpose of presenting materials to a class? Which method helps to solve the problem of the student most effectively? By which method is greater achievement made? If the two methods prove of equal value, then how much achievement may be attributed to the use of each method?
An Experimental Study to Compare Audio-Tutorial Instruction with Traditional Instruction in Beginning Typewriting
The problem of this study is to compare the effectiveness of two methods of teaching beginning typewriting in the community college. The two methods are an audio-tutorial approach and the traditional textbook approach. Groups taught by the contrasting methods of instruction were compared on the basis of their production performance and their straight-copy skills after thirty-six class periods of instruction. A comparison was also made of the attrition rate of the two groups.
Experimental Synchronization of Chaotic Attractors Using Control
The focus of this thesis is to theoretically and experimentally investigate two new schemes of synchronizing chaotic attractors using chaotically operating diode resonators. The first method, called synchronization using control, is shown for the first time to experimentally synchronize dynamical systems. This method is an economical scheme which can be viably applied to low dimensional dynamical systems. The other, unidirectional coupling, is a straightforward means of synchronization which can be implemented in fast dynamical systems where timing is critical. Techniques developed in this work are of fundamental importance for future problems regarding high dimensional chaotic dynamical systems or arrays of mutually linked chaotically operating elements.
An Experimental Technique for the Objective Quantification of Body-Image Distortion
The purpose of this study was to develop an experimental technique to objectively measure the deviation between an individual's perception of his body image and his actual image. In addition, this technique was utilized to compare the accuracy of perception of body image between institutionalized and non-institutionalized individuals. Half of each subject category was also compared in terms of performance on an additional perceptual task unrelated to body image.
An Experimental Theatrical Production of a Star-Spangled Girl Directed for a Deaf Audience
On December 5, 1969, an experimental production of Neil Simon's A Star-Spangled Girl was presented at the Callier Hearing and Speech Center in Denton, Texas. On December 6, 1969, the production was repeated in the Studio Theatre on the North Texas State University campus in Denton, Texas. The production was experimental in that it was directed for a deaf audience.
An Experimental Treatment of Inaccurate Singers in the Intermediate Grades
A study of the causes and remedial treatment of inaccurate singing through experimentation and research was chosen by the writer as a practical problem urgently in need of solution.
Experimental Trichinosis in Birds
This work concerns itself with essentially four experiments: (1) the cecum-injective-infection experiment; (2) the anus-injective-infection experiment; (3) the mouth ingestive-infection with larvae, and (4) the mouth ingestive-infection with the flesh of infected rats.
Experimentations in Construction, Light, Shadow, and Architectonics
The problem concerning this investigation is determining some of the possibilities of combining painting, architectonic constructions, and shadows produced by the controlled lighting of the structure. Chapter I is a brief history of experimentations in these areas during the twentieth century. This history assists in defining what has been done in the past, and reveals some directions for the future. Chapter II concerns three areas of study 1) the selection of the constructed forms mounted on canvas panels, 2) the lighting experimentations and their results, 3) the use of painted shadows to create an ambiguous pattern. This research concludes that a synthesis of these various art elements is not only possible, but aesthetically pleasing.
An Expert System Approach to the Evaluation of Hypertext Engineering : An Experiment with KnowledgePro and MaxThink's
The purpose of this study is to create the prototype expert system, HEES, and to examine its usability and usefulness in evaluating hypertext software.
Expertise Revisited: Reflecting on the Intersection of Science and Democracy in the Case of Fracking
This dissertation aims to explain the conditions under which expertise can undermine democratic decision making. I argue that the root of the conflict between expertise and democracy lies in what I call insufficiently “representative” expertise – that is forms of scientific research that are not relevant to the policy questions at hand and that fail to make visible their hidden values dimensions. I claim that the scholarly literature on the problem of expertise fails to recognize and address the issue correctly, because it does not open the black box of scientific methodologies. I maintain that only by making sense of the methodological choices of experts in the context of policy making can we determine the relevance of research and reveal the hidden socio-political values and consequences. Using the case of natural gas fracking, I demonstrate how expert contributions – even though epistemically sound – can muddle democratic policy processes. I present four case studies from controversies about fracking to show how to contextualize scientific methodologies in the pertinent political process. I argue that the common problem across all case studies is the failure of expertise to sufficiently represent stakeholders’ problems and concerns. In this context, “representation” has three criteria: (1) the operational research questions on which the qualified experts work are relevant to stakeholders’ problems and concerns; (2) the non-epistemic values and consequences of epistemic choices of experts are compatible with social and political values and priorities; and (3) hidden values attached to facts are fully transparent and openly debated. In the conclusion, I propose a normative version of this representation theory that can be used to evaluate the appropriateness of expertise for democratic policy making. Instead of the value-free science ideal, I propose a new ideal to legitimately allow non-epistemic values in scientific reasoning without compromising the soundness of …
Expertness and Similarity as Factors of Influence in the Preferences of Deaf College Students for Therapists
This study utilized Strong's (1963) theory of counseling as a social influence process to investigate the effect of therapist's training, experience, and similarity on hearingimpaired subjects' perceptions of the therapist's expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness and their willingness to see the therapist. Increasing levels of therapists' training and work experience was hypothesized to increase subjects' perception of expertness and their willingness to see the therapist. Increasing levels of therapists' similarity to the client was hypothesized to increase subjects' perceptions of expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness and their willingness to see the therapist. Subjects' ratings of the therapist were hypothesized to change when therapists with different levels of similarity were seen in different orders of presentation.
Explaining Buyer Opportunism in Business-to-Business Relationships
The interaction among firms in the supply chain is necessary for business process execution and relationship success. One phenomenon of great significance to buyer-supplier relationships is opportunism. Opportunism is defined as behavior that is self-interest seeking with guile. It is manifested in behaviors such as stealing, cheating, dishonesty, and withholding information. Opportunism negatively impacts relational exchange tenets such as trust, commitment, cooperation, and satisfaction. Furthermore, perceptions of opportunism negatively affect firm performance. In lieu of the known negative effects of opportunistic behavior on buyer-supplier relationships, why do agents continue to engage in opportunistic tactics with their exchange partners? A comprehensive examination is necessary in order to understand why sourcing professionals engage in acts of opportunism. Understanding why opportunism occurs will reveal how to deter it, and this remains a gap in the literature. Based on theories in economics, marketing channels, supply chain management, decision science, and psychology, a comprehensive model tested a set of factors hypothesized to drive the use of opportunistic tactics. Factors include buyer-supplier relationship-specific factors, environmental factors, individual personality-related factors, and situational factors. Data was collected via internet survey of sourcing professionals from private industry and government agencies. Common to many studies of ethics, respondents made choices based on two hypothetical vignettes. Two logistic regression models were used to test the hypotheses. Factors found to affect buyer opportunism included buyer power, corporate ethical values, pressure to perform, leadership opportunism, business sector, honesty/integrity, and subjective expected utility. This research contributes to theory by combining several disparate theories to best explain opportunism. A comprehensive evaluation should determine which theory explains the most variance in decision making. The study contributes to practice by identifying those important factors contributing to a sourcing professional's decision to use opportunistic tactics. The ability to manage these factors should improve the probability of relationship success. …
Explaining Economic Development Strategies Using Product Differentiation Theory: a Reconceptualization of Competition Among City Governments
Local governments do not operate in a vacuum. Instead, they are part of a complex “polycentric” system of governments where politically autonomous and self-ruled cities compete with one another over taxable wealth. Missing from the scholarship on metropolitan governance is an understanding of the factors driving competition among local governments. The purpose of this dissertation is to fill this gap by examining how interjurisdictional competition over economic development impacts a city’s choice of strategies for attracting business and residential investment and how those strategies affect revenue collection. First, this dissertation examines whether cities, knowing the economic development strategies of their neighboring cities, pursue similar types of businesses? Or do cities strategically target different types of businesses as a way to avoid the negative consequences of competition? Second, this dissertation explores what impact the decision to pursue similar or dissimilar businesses has on the revenue collection of local governments. Using spatial data analysis to analyze a sample of 2,299 cities, this dissertation finds general support for both theoretical frameworks presented. Overall, the findings from both analyses provide unique insights into metropolitan governance and interjurisdictional competition.
Explaining “Everyday Crime”: A Test of Anomie and Relative Deprivation Theory
Every day, individuals commit acts which are considered immoral, unethical, even criminal, often to gain material advantage. Many people consider cheating on taxes, cheating on tests, claiming false benefits, or avoiding transport fare to be wrong, but they do them anyway. While some of these acts may not be formally illegal, they are, at best, considered morally dubious and is labeled “everyday crime.” Anomie theory holds that individuals make decisions based on socialized values, which separately may be contradictory but together, balances each other out, producing behavior considered “normal” by society. When one holds an imbalanced set of values, decisions made on that set may produce deviant behavior, such as everyday crime. RD theory holds that individuals who perceive their own deprivation, relative to someone else, will feel frustration and injustice, and may attempt to ameliorate that feeling with deviant behavior. Data from the 2006 World Values Survey were analyzed using logistic regression, testing both constructs concurrently. An individual was 1.55 times more likely to justify everyday crime for each calculated unit of anomie; and 1.10 times more likely for each calculated unit of RD. It was concluded from this study that anomie and relative deprivation were both associated with the tendency towards everyday crime.
Explaining Juvenile Delinquency: A Test of Robert Agnew's General Strain Theory, Utilizing the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health Data
Strain theory has a long academic lineage for explaining criminal and deviant behavior from the classical writings of Emile Durkheim to the contemporary writings of Robert Agnew. The purpose of this research is to conduct an empirical test of Agnew's general strain theory utilizing Wave 1 data from the 1994-1996 National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health data (Add Health) (N = 6,503). Utilizing the Add Health data set represents a new attempt at empirically evaluating Agnew's theory. Scales were constructed by the author operationalizing the propositions of general strain theory utilizing variables from this data set. Regression was used to find out if juvenile delinquency is associated with Agnew's general strain theory. Research findings show that taken together, the propositions of general strain theory, cumulative measures of failure to achieve goals, loss of valued objects and introduction of stressful events are all statistically significant predictors of juvenile delinquency. Regression and scale correlations indicated a low positive relationship between juvenile delinquency and Agnew's general strain theory propositions. This study represents an attempt in utilizing a data set which has not been used before to empirically test general strain theory.
Explaining Marijuana Use Among Turkish Juveniles: A Test of Hirschi's Social Bonding Theory
Marijuana is the most prevalent illicit drug used in the world and among Turkish juveniles. Although studies have examined marijuana use among Turkish juveniles, none has tested Hirschi's social bonding theory, one of the most frequently tested and applied criminological theories in the United States and other Western and developed countries. This study investigated the empirical validity and generalizability of Hirschi's theory to juveniles' marijuana use in Turkey, a non-Western and developing country. Data on 2,740 Turkish tenth grade students from the 2006 Youth in Europe survey were used. Results from binary logistic regression analyses were generally consistent with the propositions of Hirschi's theory and the findings of previous empirical studies. Regarding the attachment component of the theory, Turkish juveniles who lived in two-parent families and those who were closely monitored by their parents were less likely to have tried marijuana. In addition, teens who were strongly attached to their school and religion were also less likely to have used the drug. As for the commitment component, language grade was negatively associated with marijuana use. None of the involvement items had significant effects on marijuana use in the predicted direction. Participation in club sports had a positive effect on marijuana use. Belief items, such as acceptance of societal norms, values, and rules, had the predicted inhibiting effects on teens' marijuana use. Of the six sociodemographic/controls included in the analyses, only gender had a significant effect; male students were more likely to have tried marijuana than the female peers. Policy implications of the results for adolescents, parents, and schools are discussed.
Explaining the Homeland-Diaspora Nexus: Israel Motivated Violence and Its Consequences
This dissertation examines the homeland-diaspora nexus with a focus on how homeland conflict affects diaspora targeting and insecurity in Israel.
Explaining the Relationship Between Borderline Personality Features and Suicidal Ideation
Researchers have previously identified substance use and borderline personality disorder as factors that increase risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. This study explored the relationship between these factors in samples of students and individuals seeking outpatient treatment. Supplemental data collected via the internet (MTurk) also looked at experiential avoidance (EA) with the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth. The Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, Scale for Suicide Ideation, and Personality Assessment Inventory- Borderline Features Scale elicited information regarding severity and/or frequency of substance use, suicidal thoughts, and borderline features respectively. Additionally, the Psychiatric Diagnostic Screening Questionnaire was administered to the UNT sample. The UNT sample analyses indicate substance use moderates, strengthening, the relationship between borderline features and current suicidal thoughts. However, severity of suicidal thoughts was lower for individuals high in both borderline features and substance use disorder symptoms compared to those low in borderline features and high in substance use symptoms. The MTurk sample analyses suggest substance use functions as a mediator. A robust relationship existed between substance use severity and EA, showing substance use as a behavioral marker for EA. In conclusion, concurrent treatment of substance use and borderline personality features would be beneficial in reducing risk for suicidal thoughts. Further investigation into the role and utility of addressing EA is warranted.
Explanation for the Variation of Women’s Rights Among Moderate Muslim Countries
Due to the actions of radicals and extremists, many in the West have come to view Islam as a religion of gender inequality that perpetuates the severe oppression of women. However, there is actually great variation in women’s rights across Muslim countries. This thesis presents a theoretical framework seeking to explain this variation, by examining differences in family law. The theory supposes that variation can be explained by the strategic actions of political leaders. From this theory, I hypothesize that the variations in women’s rights come from the variation in family law, which in large, are due to the existence of groups threatening the power of the political leaders, and the leader’s subsequent understanding of this threat. Using a most similar systems research design, I examine 4 moderate Muslim countries, Turkey, Tunisia, Morocco, and Egypt. Through case study research, I find limited support for the above hypothesis.
An Explanation of Racial Attitudes Utilizing Intergroup Threat Theory and Group Empathy Theory
This project examined the effects of threat perceptions and group empathy on racial outgroup attitudes. The relationship between threat perception and increased racial prejudice has been well established within the literature, but the effect of group empathy within this dynamic has been largely undocumented. The following study utilizes data from the American National Election Study 2020 Time Series to analyze racial outgroup attitudes among subsamples of Blacks (n = 726), Hispanics (n = 762), and Whites (n = 5,962). Along with threat perception, group empathy was found to be a salient predictor of outgroup attitudes. These results suggest that an effective technique to reduce negative outgroup attitudes would aim to reduce perceptions of outgroups as threatening and increase group empathy.
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