The Use of an Academic Library by University Students (open access)

The Use of an Academic Library by University Students

Academic librarians have for a number of decades been interested in understanding more about how and why students use libraries. This study contributes to that area of library administration by focusing on nine factors thought to be associated with student use of academic libraries.
Date: August 1988
Creator: Harrell, Charles B.
System: The UNT Digital Library
First Impressions of Therapists: the Effect of Therapist Gender, Gaze, Smiling and Subject Gender (open access)

First Impressions of Therapists: the Effect of Therapist Gender, Gaze, Smiling and Subject Gender

Conceptualization psychotherapy as an interpersonal influence process emphasizes how a therapist is perceived by a client. Factors affecting a client's early impressions of a therapist could influence therapeutic interactions since first impressions are relatively stable. The study investigated effects of nonverbal behavior and gender during a simulated initial meeting between a therapist and client. Undergraduates (N = 466) viewed a male or female therapist interviewing with a new female client. Therapist gaze .(100%, 80%, 40%) and smiling (high, low) were manipulated. After subjects viewed one of 12 videotapes, they completed questionnaires rating therapist expertness, trustworthiness, attractiveness, masculinity and femininity. A comparison of the therapist with subjects' expectations of a therapist in general was obtained by pre- and post-testing utilizing a measure of client expectations. MANOVAs were performed on all ratings except expectation scores, where an ANCOVA was utilized. Main effects for therapist gender indicated the female therapist was rated as significantly more expert, attractive, trustworthy and feminine than the male (ps < .81). For ratings of masculinity, subject gender interacted with therapist gender (p < .001). Wain effects showed that high smiling was rated as more attractive and more feminine (ps < .01). Smiling and level of gaze interacted on …
Date: August 1988
Creator: Ziegler Kratz, Nancy Ann
System: The UNT Digital Library
Speech Recognition Using a Synthesized Codebook (open access)

Speech Recognition Using a Synthesized Codebook

Speech sounds generated by a simple waveform synthesizer were used to create a vector quantization codebook for use in speech recognition. Recognition was tested over the TI-20 isolated word data base using a conventional DTW matching algorithm. Input speech was band limited to 300 - 3300 Hz, then passed through the Scott Instruments Corp. Coretechs process, implemented on a VET3 speech terminal, to create the speech representation for matching. Synthesized sounds were processed in software by a VET3 signal processing emulation program. Emulation and recognition were performed on a DEC VAX 11/750. The experiments were organized in 2 series. A preliminary experiment, using no vector quantization, provided a baseline for comparison. The original codebook contained 109 vectors, all derived from 2 formant synthesized sounds. This codebook was decimated through the course of the first series of experiments, based on the number of times each vector was used in quantizing the training data for the previous experiment, in order to determine the smallest subset of vectors suitable for coding the speech data base. The second series of experiments altered several test conditions in order to evaluate the applicability of the minimal synthesized codebook to conventional codebook training. The baseline recognition rate …
Date: August 1988
Creator: Smith, Lloyd A. (Lloyd Allen)
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Analysis of the Elderhostel Experience at One University (open access)

An Analysis of the Elderhostel Experience at One University

This ethnographic, descriptive case study is concerned with an analysis of the Elderhostel experience at one specific university. Questionnaires, evaluation documents, observations, phototographs, and interviews were used in this study to describe the 1988 Elderhostel experience at North Texas State University. Thirty-three persons were initially asked to participate in this study. Twenty-nine agreed and actually completed the questionnaires, and 26 completed the program evaluation. The study is organized and presented in the following manner: Chapter I introduces the study. Chapter II presents a review of related literature addressing those studies directly concerned with the Elderhostel experience, those addressing motivational reasons for participation in adult education, and those dealing with learning abilities, interests, and goals of the elderly in general. Chapter III includes the methods and procedures used to collect and analyze the data. Chapter IV presents the descriptive and statistical analysis of the data, and Chapter V includes the summary, interpretations, conclusions, and recommendations that were derived from the analysis. Major findings of this study include a description of the organization and administration of the program, a description of the educational and co-curricular activities offered and how they were evaluated by the participants, and demographic and motivational data of the …
Date: August 1988
Creator: Patterson, Mary Frances, 1948-
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Manager as a Source of Departmental Power in a Manufacturing Company (open access)

The Manager as a Source of Departmental Power in a Manufacturing Company

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between position-related sources of power and person-related sources of power in organizations. The subject is the power of an organizational sub-unit compared to other units. Theory on the structural sources of power is well established in the literature. The question in this study is whether the individual manager, the person, is another major source of power for the organizational unit. A major objective of the study is to fill this gap in the literature on power in organizations. A secondary objective of this study is to see if one can rank the individual position-related sources of power and person-related sources of power, identified through a literature review, within each group in terms of their relative importance. The type of this study is exploratory. It is a descriptive study explaining the "what is" about the relationship between position and person sources of power in a manufacturing company. Results indicate that there is a two-way relationship between manager power and department power, and that one can rank order the sources of power in terms of their contribution to a department's or manager's power. Power is defined in this study as the ability …
Date: August 1988
Creator: Nasif, Ercan G. (Ercan Gultekin)
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Path Analysis of a Job Burnout Model Among Firefighers (open access)

A Path Analysis of a Job Burnout Model Among Firefighers

The purpose of this study was to propose an exploratory causal model that examines the influence of several antecedent variables on burnout. The antecedent variables included age, marital status, education, tenure, Type A personality, Jungian types, death anxiety, leadership style, job satisfaction, stress, coping efficacy, and marital satisfaction. The validity of the causal model was tested by using path analysis. Subjects were 100 male firefighters who completed self-report measures of the predictor variables. Instruments included the Jenkins Activity Survey, Myers- Briggs Type Indicator, Collett-Lester Attitudes Toward Death Scale, Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire, Job Descriptive Index, Perceived Job Stress, The Coping Inventory, Dyadic Adjustment Scale, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Perceived work stress made the only direct contribution to the variance in burnout. Direct paths were found to stress from job satisfaction, Type A personality, and single marital status. Job satisfaction was directly related to leadership (consideration) and the Jungian Introversion, Feeling, and Perceiving preferences. Direct paths were found to marital satisfaction from death anxiety, leadership (consideration), and leadership (structure). Leadership (consideration) was directly related to structure. From the above results, it can be concluded that perception of stress is an important factor in predicting burnout. Other factors are important contributors …
Date: August 1988
Creator: Goza, Gail R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Life Histories Behavior and Space Partitioning in Selected Species of Western North American Plecoptera (open access)

Life Histories Behavior and Space Partitioning in Selected Species of Western North American Plecoptera

Five species of stoneflies (Zapada haysi, Plumiperla diversa, Taenionema pacificum, Isoperla petersoni, Arcynopteryx compacta) from the North Slope and Interior of Alaska were examined for seasonal patterns of emergence of adults and growth of nymphs. Generally growth was retarded during the winter in this region, and all species except I. petersoni completed growth prior to January. The life cycles of six stonefly species (Prostoia besametsa, Triznaka signata, Sweltsa coloradensis. Isoperla fulva, Skwala parallela, Claassenia sabulosa) are described from northern New Mexico. In this region growth was generally less retarded during the winter than in Alaska; P. besametsa completed all nymphal growth during late fall and winter. Drumming behavior of a Colorado population of Pteronarcella badia was described using an evolutionary framework to explain the maintenance of signal variation in this species. Laboratory experiments were used to explore the effect of intraspecific and interspecific interactions on spatial partitioning in P. badia and Claassenia sabulosa. P. badia exhibited clumping and distributed itself as the surface area of substrate in low densities; however, in the presence of C. sabulosa its distribution was random and different from available surface area. A field study was used to examine spatial partitioning by three New Mexico stonefly …
Date: August 1988
Creator: Hassage, Rodney Lynn, 1947-
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Follow-Up Study of Autistic and Autistic-Like Children (open access)

A Follow-Up Study of Autistic and Autistic-Like Children

Autism is a lifelong handicapping disorder that occurs on a continuum of severity. Children who show mild autistic behaviors but do not meet the criteria for a diagnosis of autism are often called autistic-like, but it is not known if their development and functioning are similar to that of autistic children. A follow-up study was done on 35 autistic and autistic-like children who were an average of 3 years of age when initially seen. Initial test scores indicated that the children were similar on measures of intellectual/developmental functioning, receptive vocabulary, and adaptive functioning. Approximately 4 years later they were evaluated again. Using the Childhood Autism Rating Scale, the children were divided at follow-up into three groups: nonautistic, mildly/moderately autistic, and severely autistic. Most children made gains on intelligence tests and displayed a diminishing number of autistic symptoms. Changes in nonverbal intelligence, adaptive functioning and receptive vocabulary scores depended on group membership. The results are discussed in relation to the reported stability of cognitive functioning in young autistic children and the implications for clinical practice, early intervention, and research on attachment. The nature of the syndrome of autism is also discussed, particularly in its relation to the milder, atypical children. The …
Date: August 1988
Creator: McCallon, Denise
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Historical Review of Higher Education in Kenya Since 1975, with an Emphasis on Curriculum Development (open access)

An Historical Review of Higher Education in Kenya Since 1975, with an Emphasis on Curriculum Development

This study focuses on the history of higher education in Kenya since 1975, with an emphasis on curriculum development. The main purposes of the study were (1) to describe the historical events of higher education in Kenya since 1975, and (2) to analyze the present system of higher education in the country. The study attempted to answer questions related to higher education in Kenya. The questions investigated were (1) how had the characteristics of higher education curriculum changed since 1975?; (2) in what ways had the purposes of higher education in Kenya changed since 1975?; (3) to what extent have these purposes been achieved? why or why not?; and (4) which events since 1975 had a major impact on higher education in Kenya? The major analysis of the study is historical and gives an explanation of the history of the development of higher education in the colonial days in Kenya, briefly discussing the period 1963-75. The analysis of Kenyan institutions of higher education covers the development of Kenyan higher education since 1975. The discussion consists of basic facts of Kenyan higher education. Data from primary and secondary sources were analyzed and studied. Documents were chronologically and topically reviewed. Chapter I …
Date: August 1988
Creator: Munywoki, Mathenge
System: The UNT Digital Library
Analysis of Acid Gas Emissions in the Combustion of the Binder Enhanced d-RDF by Ion Chromatography (open access)

Analysis of Acid Gas Emissions in the Combustion of the Binder Enhanced d-RDF by Ion Chromatography

Waste-to-energy has become an attractive alternative to landfills. One concern in this development is the release of pollutants in the combustion process. The binder enhanced d-RDF pellets satisfy the requirements of environmental acceptance, chemical/biological stability, and being storeable. The acid gas emissions of combusting d-RDF pellets with sulfur-rich coal were analyzed by ion chromatography and decreased when d-RDF pellets were utilized. The results imply the possibility of using d-RDF pellets to substitute for sulfur-rich coal as fuel, and also substantiate the effectiveness of a binder, calcium hydroxide, in decreasing emissions of SOx. In order to perform the analysis of the combustion sample, sampling and sample pretreatment methods prior to the IC analysis and the first derivative detection mode in IC are investigated as well. At least two trapping reagents are necessary for collecting acid gases: one for hydrogen halides, and the other for NOx and SOx. Factors affecting the absorption of acid gases are studied, and the strength of an oxidizing agent is the main factor affecting the collection of NOx and SOx. The absorption preference series of acid gases are determined and the absorption models of acid gases in trapping reagents are derived from the analytical results. To prevent …
Date: August 1988
Creator: Jen, Jen-Fon
System: The UNT Digital Library
Effect of Cell-Specific, Music-Mediated Mental Imagery on Secretory Immunoglobulin A (sIgA) (open access)

Effect of Cell-Specific, Music-Mediated Mental Imagery on Secretory Immunoglobulin A (sIgA)

This study was an investigation of the effects of physiologically-oriented mental imagery on immune functioning. College students with normal medical histories were randomly selected to one of three groups. Subjects in Group 1 participated in short educational training on the production of secretory immunoglobulin A. They were then tested on salivary IgA, skin temperature and the Profile of Mood States (POMS) before and after listening to a 17-minute tape of imagery instructions with specially-composed background "entrainment" music, designed to enhance imagery. Subjects in Group 2 (placebo controls) listened to the same music but received no formal training on the immune system. Group 3 acted as a control and subjects were tested before and after 17 minutes of no activity. Treatment groups listened to their tapes at home on a bi-daily basis for six weeks. All groups were again tested at Weeks 3 and 6. Secretory IgA was analyzed using standard radial immuno-diffusion techniques. Repeated measures analyses of variance with planned orthogonal contrasts were used to evaluate the data. Significant overall increases (p < .05) were found between pre- and posttests for all three trials. Groups 1 and 2 combined (treatment groups) yielded significantly greater increases in slgA over Group 3 …
Date: August 1988
Creator: Rider, Mark Sterling
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Relationship of Temperament and Extraversion-Introversion to Selected Group counseling Outcome Measures (open access)

The Relationship of Temperament and Extraversion-Introversion to Selected Group counseling Outcome Measures

The problem of this study was the determination of the relationship between Myers-Briggs personality temperament and extraversion-introversion, and group counseling norms, as reflected by the group counseling outcome measures: Survey of Attraction to Group, self and leader-report Interpersonal Relationship Rating Scale (IRRS), and Sociometric Choice Status Survey. The Mvers-Briggs Temperament Indicator (MBTI) and the four outcome measures were administered to a sample population of 103 graduate and undergraduate counselor education students after completion of a semester-long group counseling experience. Fifteen groups of five to nine members were surveyed. It was expected that group members whose temperaments were compatible with group counseling norms would be more likely to receive confirmation, support, and acceptance in the group, be attracted to the group, receive higher leader and self-report ratings of interpersonal skills, and be more highly valued by other members than would members whose temperaments were incompatible with group norms. It was also thought that extraverts were more likely to be attracted to the group, receive higher self and leader ratings of interpersonal skills, and to be more highly valued by other members than were introverts. No significant relationship was found between temperament and the four outcome measures. Possible explanations for this finding …
Date: August 1988
Creator: Hays, Donald G.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Environmental Scanning Behavior in Physical Therapy Private Practice Firms: its Relationship to the Level of Entrepreneurship and Legal Regulatory Environment (open access)

Environmental Scanning Behavior in Physical Therapy Private Practice Firms: its Relationship to the Level of Entrepreneurship and Legal Regulatory Environment

This study examined the effects of entrepreneurship level and legal regulatory environment on environmental scanning in one component of the health services industry, private practice physical therapy. Two aspects of scanning served as dependent variables: (1) extent to which firms scrutinized six environmental sectors (competitor, customer, technological, regulatory, economic, social-political) and (2) frequency of information source use (human vs. written). Availability of information was a covariate for frequency of source use. Three levels of entrepreneurship were determined by scores on the Covin and Slevin (1986) entrepreneurship scale. Firms were placed in one of three legal regulatory categories according to the state in which the firm delivered services. A structured questionnaire was sent to 450 randomly selected members of the American Physical Therapy Association's Private Practice Section. Respondents were major decision makers, e.g., owners, chief executive officers. The sample was stratified according to three types of regulatory environment. A response rate of 75% was achieved (n = 318) with equal representation from each stratum. All questionnaire subscales exhibited high internal reliability and validity. The study used a 3x3 factorial design to analyze the data. Two multivariate analyses were conducted, one for each dependent variable set. Results indicated that "high" entrepreneurial level …
Date: August 1988
Creator: Schafer, D. Sue
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Analysis of Achievement Test Scores to Determine the Effectiveness of a Remedial English Program in a Small University (open access)

An Analysis of Achievement Test Scores to Determine the Effectiveness of a Remedial English Program in a Small University

Freshmen at Sul Ross State University are required to take tests which are used for placement purposes. One of the tests given is the Nelson-Denny Reading Test which measures comprehension, vocabulary, and reading rate. The scores are used with American College Test or Standard Achievement Test scores to place students in either remedial or regular freshman English. Remedial students, who score below the tenth-grade competency level, are placed in English 1300. Regular students are placed in English 1301 or 1302. Twelve studies were found which had been done in this area since 1980. One was directly related to this study. The Anglo and Hispanic population of the freshman class of 1987 was tested. Blacks were not included as they comprised less than 9 percent of the freshman class. There were 69 students in the experimental group and 162 in the control group. A pretest-posttest design was used. A three-way analysis of variance set up data for statistical testing. The Alpha level was set at .05. The findings indicate a significant difference for Hypothesis 1, which predicted no significant difference in the posttest performance of students required to take English 1300 and the pretest performance of students who were not. Therefore …
Date: August 1988
Creator: Grimm, J. Ed (Joseph Ed)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nonprofit Corporate Colleges: a Description of Their Curricula, Faculty, and Students (open access)

Nonprofit Corporate Colleges: a Description of Their Curricula, Faculty, and Students

The purposes of this study were (1) to describe and analyze the organization and content of nonprofit corporate curricula, (2) to describe and analyze the background and status of nonprofit corporate college faculty, and (3) to describe and analyze the demographics, educational background, and employment characteristics of students in nonprofit corporate colleges. Institutional demographics on student enrollment, number of graduates, admission policy, tuition cost, types of financial aid programs, student housing, and schedule of classes were gathered as well. Data were collected from survey instruments returned by 12 nonprofit corporate college administrators. The data were treated to produce frequencies and percentages. The study revealed that the majority of nonprofit corporate colleges are specialized institutions which primarily offer graduate degree programs. Faculty are most likely full-time, non-tenured employees. White males between the ages of 25 and 40 constitute an overwhelming majority of the student population. Two major findings unrelated to the purposes of the study were revealed during this investigation. They are (1) the term corporate college and the definition are sometimes misunderstood and (2) three corporate colleges identified last year have ceased operating as post-secondary degree-granting institutions.
Date: August 1988
Creator: Parker, Karen, 1960-
System: The UNT Digital Library
Information Content of Managerial Decisions, Change in Risk, and Complimentary Signals: Evidence on New Bond Issue, Exchange Offer, and Dividend Payments (open access)

Information Content of Managerial Decisions, Change in Risk, and Complimentary Signals: Evidence on New Bond Issue, Exchange Offer, and Dividend Payments

The effect of a change in capital structure on the risk and return of common stockholders is investigated. Also, the information content of dividends when a firm goes for new outside financing is examined. Data used in the study are collected from the Moody's Bond Survey, the Prentice Hall's Capital Adjustments, the Wall Street Journal Index, and the Center for Research in Security Prices Tape. The study uses an event study methodology. The risk (beta) of common stock before an issuance of debt securities is compared with the risk after the issue. The stock market reaction to the issuance of new debt securities is measured using after-the-event risk. The information content of dividend announcement before a new debt issue is compared to that of after the issue. The findings show that debt issue reduces stock holders' risk if the issuer is a dividend paying company. Also, debt securities issued through an exchange offer increase stockholders' wealth. Finally, issuance of new debt does not affect the information content of dividends.
Date: August 1988
Creator: Iqbal, Zahid
System: The UNT Digital Library
Semaphore Solutions for General Mutual Exclusion Problems (open access)

Semaphore Solutions for General Mutual Exclusion Problems

Automatic generation of starvation-free semaphore solutions to general mutual exclusion problems is discussed. A reduction approach is introduced for recognizing edge-solvable problems, together with an O(N^2) algorithm for graph reduction, where N is the number of nodes. An algorithm for the automatic generation of starvation-free edge-solvable solutions is presented. The solutions are proved to be very efficient. For general problems, there are two ways to generate efficient solutions. One associates a semaphore with every node, the other with every edge. They are both better than the standard monitor—like solutions. Besides strong semaphores, solutions using weak semaphores, weaker semaphores and generalized semaphores are also considered. Basic properties of semaphore solutions are also discussed. Tools describing the dynamic behavior of parallel systems, as well as performance criteria for evaluating semaphore solutions are elaborated.
Date: August 1988
Creator: Yue, Kwok B. (Kwok Bun)
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Analysis of the Perceptions of Physics Teaching Effectiveness as Viewed by Students and Physics Instructors in Universities in Thailand (open access)

An Analysis of the Perceptions of Physics Teaching Effectiveness as Viewed by Students and Physics Instructors in Universities in Thailand

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of the physics instructors, major-physics students, and nonmajor-physics students regarding actual teaching performance and effective teaching performance. The sample consisted of a total of 56 physics instructors, 120 major-physics students, and 120 nonmajor-physics students at eight public universities in Thailand. A total of 53 physics instructors or 94.64 percent, 101 major-physics students or 84.17 percent, and 107 nonmajor-physics students or 89.17 percent responded in this study. Multivariate analysis of variance, univariate analysis, one-way analysis of variance, and multiple regression were used in the follow-up assessment, with the .05 level of significance. The physics instructors, major-physics students, and nonmajor-physics students perceived actual teaching performance in class to be significantly different from effective teaching performance. The three groups rated actual teaching performance on every factor to be less than sffective teaching. There was a significant difference between the physics instructors' perceptions and the major-physics students' perceptions regarding actual teaching performance, and also there was a significant difference between the physics instructors' perceptions and the nonmajor-physics students' perceptions regarding actual teaching performance. However, there was no significant difference between major-and nonmajor-physics students' perceptions regarding actual teaching performance. There was no significant difference among …
Date: August 1988
Creator: Chayan Boonyaraksa
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Stylistic Analysis of Charles Martin Loeffler's Deux Rapsodies for Oboe, Viola and Piano, L'étang and La cornemuse, After Poems by Maurice Rollinat: A Lecture Recital, Together with Three Recitals of Selected Works by E. Rubbra, D. Beaty, B. Britten, W.A. Mozart, and Others (open access)

A Stylistic Analysis of Charles Martin Loeffler's Deux Rapsodies for Oboe, Viola and Piano, L'étang and La cornemuse, After Poems by Maurice Rollinat: A Lecture Recital, Together with Three Recitals of Selected Works by E. Rubbra, D. Beaty, B. Britten, W.A. Mozart, and Others

At the turn of this century, Charles Martin Loeffler (1861-1935) was considered to be among the finest of the handful of well-known American composers of the time. His music was often performed by major symphony orchestras, chamber groups and solo artists. Deux rapsodies for Oboe, Viola and Piano: L'Etang and La Cornemuse, after poems by Maurice Rollinat (1846-1903), show Loeffler's affinity for programmatic concepts. These works, completed in 1901, are revisions of settings of 1898 for low voice, clarinet, viola and piano, and are now, unfortunately, out of print; but the oboe, viola and piano setting has been published (originally as Deux rapsodies by G. Schirmer, 1905; the latest edition, Two Rhapsodies, is by McGinnis and Marx, N.Y., 1979) and recorded several times. Loeffler has reflected Rollinat's poetry in his settings by means of melodic, rhythmic and harmonic devices unique to his style. Formal and articulative devices also tend to point to his dependence on the poetry as a source of inspiration and as means for defining the final musical product. Indeed, the music seems incapable of existence independent of its source in the richly imagistic poetry of Rollinat.
Date: August 1988
Creator: Goodall, John W. (John Williams)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Personality and Behavioral Correlates of Autonomic Imbalance (open access)

Personality and Behavioral Correlates of Autonomic Imbalance

Individual differences in autonomic nervous system responsiveness have been linked to a variety of physical disorders and personality and behavioral tendencies. The present study attempted to correlate specific personality characteristics hypothesized to be associated with either sympathetic or parasympathetic dominance based on the work of M. A. Wenger. The Clinical Analysis Questionnaire Personality Inventory, a physical disorders questionnaire, a self-report stress measure, and seven psychophysiologic tests were administered to 60 undergraduate students in an introductory psychology class at North Texas State University. The results provided limited support for the hypotheses. A skewed population with 50 of the 60 subjects achieving scores indicative of sympathetic dominance occurred. Statistical comparison (t-tests) of the CAQ personality traits, and clinical factor scores of these 50 subjects labeled sympathetic dominant with CAQ norms for college students revealed means on five personality traits and three clinical factors were significantly different for the sympathetic dominant group at the .05 or greater level of significance. These findings were interpreted as limited support for Wenger's work and for the positions of Acker and Kagan that individuals with more reactive sympathetic nervous systems tend to have difficulty binding anxiety, poor emotional controls and outlets, ambivalence about interpersonal relationships, and a …
Date: August 1988
Creator: Sawyer, Judy
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Tagmemic Analysis of Coherence in the Writing of Descriptive Texts by College Students (open access)

A Tagmemic Analysis of Coherence in the Writing of Descriptive Texts by College Students

For this study an attempt was made to bridge the disciplines of linguistics and composition in order to examine factors contributing to textual coherence. Pairs of descriptive texts written by fifty college students were examined in order to identify the factors which differentiate quality and topic. Students were asked to compose a descriptive paragraph on the topic of fall. They were then encouraged to use their five senses, given leaves, and asked to compose a paragraph describing the leaves. The pairs of texts thus elicited were evaluated for preference by readers. The ANOVA revealed a significant difference (p=.001) between the two topics with fall texts preferred over the more specific leaves texts. Results suggest that encouraging students to use their five senses does not improve their writing. It may be more important to move through various levels of abstraction than to merely focus on sensory detail. The texts were also scored holistically by two trained evaluators. Results of this grading were used to choose five high- and five low-coherence texts on each of the two topics. These 20 texts were then analyzed in terms of the tagmemic referential hierarchy. A MANOVA was done to examine the dependent variables of Slot …
Date: August 1988
Creator: Kent, Carolyn E. (Carolyn Elizabeth)
System: The UNT Digital Library
History of Counseling Services in Hong Kong (open access)

History of Counseling Services in Hong Kong

The purpose of this study was to trace the development of the counseling movement in Hong Kong from its beginning to the present and to examine future directions confronting those who work in the counseling field in Hong Kong. Originating from social unrest in 1966 and 1967, the counseling movement began as an attempt to meet the society's developmental needs of self-expression and direction. Although not a formal program, the first known counseling service in Hong Kong was offered by Ben Fong in 1967 at the Yang Memorial Social Service Center. In 1969 the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups established the first formal counseling service in Hong Kong. Institutions of higher education and foreigners played a major role in the development of early counseling services in Hong Kong. In 197 0, Peter Whyte, an Australian, organized a counseling service at the University Hong Kong. In 1971, Ken Locke, an American, established a counseling service at the Hong Kong Baptist College. Counseling services grew rapidly in the early 1970s, and a 1975 survey identified fifty-five agencies which reported providing counseling services. In the mid-1970s, helping professionals were struggling with the issue of "What is counseling?" A significant developmental step was …
Date: August 1988
Creator: Leung, Timothy Tin-ming
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Analysis of Smoothing of Proved Oil and Gas Reserve Quantities and an Analysis of Bias and Variability in Revisions of Previous Estimates of Proved Oil and Gas Reserve Quantities (open access)

An Analysis of Smoothing of Proved Oil and Gas Reserve Quantities and an Analysis of Bias and Variability in Revisions of Previous Estimates of Proved Oil and Gas Reserve Quantities

The purpose of this study is to determine whether oil and gas producing companies smooth their ending reserve quantities. Smoothing is defined as a reduction in variance in the trend of ending reserve quantities over time compared to the trend of ending reserve quantities less the hypothesized smoothing variable over time. This study focuses on two variables that are most susceptible to manipulation—revisions of previous estimates and additions. This study also examines whether revisions are positively or negatively biased and the variability of the revisions. The sample consists of 70 companies chosen from oil & Gas Reserve Disclosures: 1980-1984 Survey of 400 Public Companies by Arthur Andersen and Company. For each company, ending reserve quantities for the years 1978-1984 were regressed over time, and the standard deviation of the estimate (SDE) was calculated. Then the ending reserve quantities less the hypothesized smoothing variable were regressed over time, and the SDE was calculated. A linear model and a semi-logarithmic model were used. A smoothing ratio (SR) was determined by dividing the SDE of reserves less the hypothesized smoothing variable by the SDE of ending reserve quantities. An SR greater than one indicates smoothing, and an SR less than one indicates that …
Date: August 1988
Creator: Campbell, Alan D.
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Empirical Investigation of the Structural Form and Measurement Validity of the Hill Inventory (open access)

An Empirical Investigation of the Structural Form and Measurement Validity of the Hill Inventory

This research began with the Hill Inventory. Cognitive style preference variables were classified as one of following four types: Theoretical Codes, Qualitative Codes, Social-Cultural Codes or Reasoning Modalities. A consumer behavior perspective was then used to form an alternative structure for the Hill Inventory variables. The following three constructs were proposed: Evaluation Codes, Perceptual Codes, and Reasoning Modalities. The purpose of this research was to assess the structural form and measurement validity of the Hill Inventory. Specific steps taken to accomplish this objective included: developing confirmatory factor and structural equation models; using the LISREL software package to analyze the model specifications; and assessing the validity of the questions used to measure the variables. A descriptive research design was used to compare the model specifications. The research instrument consisted of eight statements for each of twenty-eight variables for a total of 224 questions. Five-point response choices were described by the words: often, sometimes, unsure, rarely, or never. The sample consisted of 285 student subjects in marketing classes at a large university. Data analysis began by comparing the distributions of the data to a normal case. Parameter estimates, root mean square residuals and squared multiple correlations then were obtained using the LISREL …
Date: August 1988
Creator: Blake, Faye W.
System: The UNT Digital Library