A Topological Model of Thought (open access)

A Topological Model of Thought

The problem was to develop a model of thought within the basic structure provided by general or "point-set" topology. To do this, it was necessary to make four basic assumptions. It was assumed that each individual possesses more than the classical five senses and that for each of these there exists a category of sensory data. Also, it was assumed that the Cartesian product of these categories formed a set M of thought elements for each individual, and that certain subsets of M provide support for cogitation. The relation, function, continuous function, and homeomorphism, which are used to relate sets in topology, are discussed as a possible ramification of the model for communication. The global properties of the homeomorphism and continuous function present each as a viable support for strong and meaningful communication between thought spaces of individuals.
Date: May 1979
Creator: Cammack, Raymond W.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effect on Marital Adjustment of Teaching Basic Marital Communication in a Conjoint Couples' Group Using Videotape Feedback (open access)

The Effect on Marital Adjustment of Teaching Basic Marital Communication in a Conjoint Couples' Group Using Videotape Feedback

The purposes of this study were (1) to determine the immediate effects, if any, on marital adjustment of a marital enrichment program entitled Marital Skills Training. Program (MSTP); (2) to determine the residual effects, if any, on marital adjustment after MSTP had been terminated; and (3) to determine the differences, if any, in the effect on marital adjustment of an on-going group and extended session group using MSTP. Measures of marital communication and marital adjustment served as the dependent variables while the MSTP training served as the independent variable. Instruments used for data collection were the Marital Adjustment Test (Short Form), the Primary Communication Inventory, and the Semantic Differential. The study concluded that teaching marital communication skills in a conjoint couples' group in an on-going setting is an effective way to increase marital adjustment. However, the passage of time appears to be a necessary factor in integrating MSTP into behaviors which affect marital adjustment since the significant increase did not appear until five weeks following training and was found to exist only in the On-going training group.
Date: May 1979
Creator: Latham, Noreen V.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effect of the Multiple Talent Approach to Teaching on the Creative Thinking Performance of Elementary Students (open access)

The Effect of the Multiple Talent Approach to Teaching on the Creative Thinking Performance of Elementary Students

The purposes of this study were to ascertain the relationship between the treatment and creativity post-test gains with independent variables of sex, grade, group, and Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills total battery scores. Major conclusions include the following. 1. Girls appear to benefit more than boys from the Multiple Talent Approach to Teaching. 2. Fifth grade students appear to benefit more than third grade students from the Multiple Talent Approach to Teaching. 3. The creativity test score gains favoring the experimental students seem to justify the conclusion that it is potentially possible to enhance creative thinking through a teaching process.
Date: August 1979
Creator: Teeling, Therese Kreig
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Study of Self-Perceived Leadership Styles of Female Administrators Compared to Those of Their Superordinates of Five Major Texas Junior/Community College Districts (open access)

A Study of Self-Perceived Leadership Styles of Female Administrators Compared to Those of Their Superordinates of Five Major Texas Junior/Community College Districts

The problem of this study was a comparison of female administrators' self-perceived leadership styles to those of their superordinates' perceptions in five major junior/community college districts in Texas. The population included 59 female administrators submitting biographical information with 53 of the 59 submitting information on their leadership styles. The leadership data were paired with 53 superordinates for comparison of the perceptions of each group. In conclusion both groups agreed on the leadership style exhibited most often by female administrators as being high relationship-low task. Even though the female administrators exhibited this dominant style, the majority of the women and their superiors agreed they could span the other styles in an effective manner.
Date: May 1979
Creator: Branch, Elizabeth
System: The UNT Digital Library
Relationship of Sociometric Status to Counselor Evaluation Ratings and Selected Descriptive Variables (open access)

Relationship of Sociometric Status to Counselor Evaluation Ratings and Selected Descriptive Variables

The problem of this study was to assess sociometric status and selected variables relative to the selection and training of counselors. The relationship of sociometric status and six variables were investigated. The six variables were counselor evaluation rating, grade earned in a graduate course in group counseling, GRE score, chronological age, gender, and possibility of modification of preliminary perceptions of social choice by a graduate level course in group counseling. It was concluded that sociometrically highly chosen counselors-in-training tend to receive high counselor evaluation ratings. Those individuals who received high grades in a group counseling course that is part lecture and part experiential (participation in a laboratory group) also tended to receive high sociometric scores. This was not true for the students enrolled in a graduate admission seminar course that was all lecture. The sociometric status of counselors-in-training does not appear to be related to GRE scores, age, or gender. The mean sociometric status score of the group studied was not significantly modified by a graduate course in group counseling.
Date: August 1979
Creator: Senner, Sharon Talcott
System: The UNT Digital Library
American Prisoners in the Barbary Nations, 1784-1816 (open access)

American Prisoners in the Barbary Nations, 1784-1816

Between 1784 and I8l6, all four Barbary nations had captured and enslaved Americans. Generally the pirates treated the imprisoned Americans harshly, but the aid the United States forwarded to them alleviated much of their suffering. During this period the prisoner issue played an important role in formulating American foreign policy in the Mediterranean because of America's keen commercial interest in that region and its benevolent attitude toward its own citizens. In return, those captive Americans in North Africa supplied their government with valuable intelligence, and, after liberation, some continued to serve their country in the Mediterranean area.
Date: May 1979
Creator: Wilson, Gary Edward
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Survey of Speech Programs in the Public Community Colleges in the State of Texas (open access)

A Survey of Speech Programs in the Public Community Colleges in the State of Texas

This study is a survey of public community college speech programs in Texas. An investigation of the literature revealed that only three similar studies had been made concerning Texas junior colleges. Chapter Four concludes the study by reviewing the current status of public community college speech programs in Texas and making recommendations for the improvement of these speech programs.
Date: December 1979
Creator: Anderson, Johnny R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Assessment of the Effect of a School-Wide Positive Approach to Discipline and Classroom Management in a Suburban Junior High School (open access)

An Assessment of the Effect of a School-Wide Positive Approach to Discipline and Classroom Management in a Suburban Junior High School

The findings of this investigation support the following conclusions concerning junior high schools. 1. A positive approach to discipline can be expected to have a significant positive impact on students' opinions of school. 2. A positive approach to discipline can be expected to have a significant positive impact on teachers' opinions of school. 3. A positive approach to discipline can be expected to have a significant positive effect on school atmosphere as evidenced by fewer discipline cases and increased student involvement. 4. A positive approach to discipline will result in increased teacher participation in areas such as sponsorship of student clubs, mini-courses and other extracurricular activities. 5. A school-wide positive approach to discipline will result in increased direct teacher involvement with students. 6. A school-wide positive approach to discipline will result in increased parent-school communication. 7. A school-wide positive approach to discipline will result in fewer truancy problems. 8. A school-wide positive approach to discipline will result in fewer serious behavior problems resulting in Reassignment School or suspension.
Date: August 1979
Creator: Douglas, Art C.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Recidivism and Institutional Adjustment of Institutionalized Male Juvenile Delinquents Involved in a Vocational Training Program (open access)

Recidivism and Institutional Adjustment of Institutionalized Male Juvenile Delinquents Involved in a Vocational Training Program

The basic purpose of this study was to investigate if placement in a cottage designated solely for juveniles involved in vocational training significantly improved the institutional adjustment and recidivism rate of institutionalized male juvenile delinquents. An additional purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of an involvement in a vocational training program on institutional and post release adjustment of institutionalized juvenile delinquents. Statistical analysis of the data supported the basic hypothesis that subjects who were involved in the vocational training, regardless of cottage placement, would adjust better to the institution. The two groups of vocational subjects had fewer admissions to the Discipline Cottage and a greater frequency of achievement of privilege-level status than did the group of subjects who did not receive vocational training. The hypothesis that vocational subjects who were housed in a separate cottage would adjust better to the institution than would the vocational subjects who were housed in the regular cottages was also supported. The vocational subjects who were housed separately had fewer escapes, fewer admissions to the Discipline Cottage, and a greater frequency of attainment of privilege-level status than either of the other two groups. The analysis also supported the hypothesis that recidivism rates …
Date: May 1979
Creator: White, Jerry D.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effectiveness of Parent Group Counseling as Compared to Individual Parent Consultation in Changing Parent Attitude and Child Behavior (open access)

The Effectiveness of Parent Group Counseling as Compared to Individual Parent Consultation in Changing Parent Attitude and Child Behavior

The problem of this study concerns the effects of a parent group counseling procedure and an individual consultation procedure upon (1) the attitude of the parents, (2) the school-related behavior of the children, (3) the academic grades of the children, (4) the peer relations of the children, and (5) self-concept of the children. The results of this investigation indicated no significant differences in procedures for affecting behavior changes on the variables examined. Generally, parent group counseling appeared to generate more pervasive changes affecting multiple behaviors in their children than individual consultation with the parents.
Date: May 1979
Creator: Carns, Ann Worrell
System: The UNT Digital Library
Comparison of Families of Drug Abusers with Families of Non-Drug Abusers on Measures of Self Esteem, Parental Attitudes and Perceived Parental Behavior (open access)

Comparison of Families of Drug Abusers with Families of Non-Drug Abusers on Measures of Self Esteem, Parental Attitudes and Perceived Parental Behavior

The purpose of this study is to compare the drug abusing adolescent, along with his family, with a non-drug abusing adolescent and his family by (l) a comparison of the adolescents on measures of self esteem and perceived parental behavior, (2) a comparison of the parents of drug abusing adolescents with the parents of non-drug abusing adolescents on child-rearing attitudes and on distortion in perceived parental behavior, and (3) an identification of the salient factors contributing to the prediction of drug-using behavior in adolescents. The adolescent's self esteem, his perception of parental behavior, the ability of the parents to predict the child's parental perceptions, and the professed parental attitudes toward confidence and responsibility in child-rearing, all combine to suggest a set of factors differentiating the drug abusing adolescent from the non-drug abusing adolescent.
Date: May 1979
Creator: Rees, Constance F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Trumpet Arias in the Oratorios of George Frederic Handel: A Lecture Recital; Together with Three Other Recitals (open access)

The Trumpet Arias in the Oratorios of George Frederic Handel: A Lecture Recital; Together with Three Other Recitals

The lecture was given on April 23, 1979. The discussion consisted of an exploration of the history and derivation of the Baroque idiomatic technique for trumpet to which Handel was heir. Consideration for Baroque performance practice is included along with stylistic and formal analyses of the trumpet arias that were performed. Four works were rendered; they were selected on the basis of their adaptability to the recital situation. The first recital was presented on April 24, 1970, and included solo works of Giuseppe Torelli, Geoffrey Robbins, Marcel Poot, Halsey Stevens, and Fanfares Liturgiques by Henri Tomasi which featured Mr. Morley as conductor of a sixteen member brass choir. The second recital, on February 18, 1971, featured solo works by von Oskar Bohme, Roger Goeb, Robert Weast, Merrill Ellis, and the Septet fur Biasinstrumente by Paul Hindemith. The third recital included solo works of Paul Hinderoith, Kent Kennan, Georges Enesco, and Marcel Bitsch, and was presented on August 16, 1973. All of the recitals were recorded on magnetic tape and are filed, along with the written version of the lecture material, as a part of the dissertation.
Date: August 1979
Creator: Morley, Max L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Integrative Potential Of The Division For Student Affairs: An Exploration Of Conflict Resolution Modes In An Institution Of Higher Education (open access)

The Integrative Potential Of The Division For Student Affairs: An Exploration Of Conflict Resolution Modes In An Institution Of Higher Education

The integrative potential of the division for student affairs was investigated in this study using as the basis for assessment the six determinants for effective integrative units delineated by Lawrence and Lorsch. A review of related literature indicated that three of five of the determinants were at least partially, if not substantially, met by the division for student affairs. Student affairs was found neither to have influence based upon competence within higher education institutions nor operate within a setting of high total organization influence. Analysis of the data indicated that confrontation was not the primary mode of conflict resolution utilized in the southwestern multiversity studied, but rather, the compromise mode was ranked first by upper- and middle-level managers. The sixth determinant, then, was not met. It appeared that since three of the determinants were met and three not met, the potential for student affairs acting as an integrative unit was limited. Other data gathered through questionnaires, interviews, and factor analysis in this investigation suggested that there was a wide disparity between the modes of conflict resolution actually used on campus and those perceived as desirable in handling disagreements. It was shown that the modes were viewed differently in the higher …
Date: May 1979
Creator: Newell, Sara Lynn Arendall
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Study of the Effects of Conservatism on the Evidential Sample-Size Decisions Made by Auditors (open access)

A Study of the Effects of Conservatism on the Evidential Sample-Size Decisions Made by Auditors

This research was undertaken to test the effects of conservatism on the decisions made by auditors. The evaluation of the research results provided by the two psychological tests indicated that, when measured on the construct of resistance to change, auditors as a group are essentially heterogeneous and slightly conservative. However, the auditors' test scores on the construct of aversion to risk reflected a homogeneous group who were distinctly conservative. Based on these results, this research seems to indicate that the firm effect is more important in auditors' decision making than personal characteristics except, perhaps, in the area of compliance testing decisions. If this is indeed the case, it could be said that the different audit philosophies held by the public accounting firms and instilled in their auditors may be the prime cause of the substantial differences that have been continuously found in auditor judgments.
Date: August 1979
Creator: Sneed, Florence R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Transnational Organizations as Actors in the Nigerian Civil War, 1967-1970 (open access)

Transnational Organizations as Actors in the Nigerian Civil War, 1967-1970

The purpose of this study is to explore the activities of transnational organizations which were involved in the Nigerian civil war, in order to evaluate the hypotheses of this study - that the transnational organizations studied here contributed to the outbreak of the civil war; that they attempted to influence the behavior of the conflicting parties; that they helped to prolong the war; and that they served as instruments of conflict resolution in the civil war. The final chapter summarizes the conclusions arrived at in various chapters of the study. The evidence yielded varying degree of support to the hypotheses, These transnational actors are seen to have, through their different interactions with both sides affected the course of the war and have produced mixed impacts. They produced some evidence for the explanation of behavioral patterns likely to be displayed by transnational actors in similar situations. Also, these interactions are seen as giving some validity to the perceived need to expand the analytic framework of actors in international politics.
Date: August 1979
Creator: Osuji, Lawrence Chuks
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Study of Body-and-Soul Poetry in Old and Middle English (open access)

A Study of Body-and-Soul Poetry in Old and Middle English

In this paper I will examine the sources for the tradition of the address of the soul to the body or the dialogue between, the two. I will consider the Old and Middle English poetic expressions of the body-and-soul legend in terms of the criticism of the ten poems which specifically belong to that tradition and the elements which constitute that genre. I will also deal with those poems written at the same time which exhibit one or more of those elements, with the body-and-soul tradition in English morality plays, with the Ars Moriendi, and with the Dance of Death. I will demonstrate that a shift occurs in the consideration of death from a concern for the soul to a preoccupation with the grotesque and gruesome aspects of death. The address and dialogue forms fall into disuse as a vehicle for theological argument concerning the responsibility for sin, and the view of death reflected by the popular pictorial representations of the Dance of Death becomes prominent.
Date: August 1979
Creator: Tuck, Mary Patricia
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Analysis of the Knowledge and Attitudes of Secondary School Teachers Concerning Suicide Among Adolescents and Intervention in Adolescent Suicide (open access)

An Analysis of the Knowledge and Attitudes of Secondary School Teachers Concerning Suicide Among Adolescents and Intervention in Adolescent Suicide

The purpose of this study is to analyze the interaction of (1) the secondary school teacher's knowledge concerning both the problem of adolescent suicide and the potential for teacher intervention and (2) selected demographic variables on the dependent variables of the teacher's attitudes concerning both the problem of adolescent suicide and the potential for teacher intervention in order to develop a data base upon which to examine the prospects for realizing the intervention potential of secondary school teachers in the area of adolescent suicide. Findings indicate that there are significant differences in knowledge concerning the problem of adolescent suicide and the potential for teacher intervention as a function of particular demographics. Similarly, there are significant differences in attitude toward the problem of adolescent suicide and the potential for teacher intervention as a function of particular demographics. Findings further reveal that level of knowledge appears to be a significant contributing factor in the secondary school teacher's attitude as a function of selected demographics. Secondary school teachers appear to possess a low level of knowledge concerning both the problem of adolescent suicide and the potential for teacher intervention, and they exhibit a range of predominantly negative attitudes toward the problem of adolescent …
Date: May 1979
Creator: Gordon, Susan E. Licht
System: The UNT Digital Library