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Effects of Interviewer's Impersonal and Personal Self-Disclosures on Somatic Symptom Verbalizations of Psychiatric Outpatients (open access)

Effects of Interviewer's Impersonal and Personal Self-Disclosures on Somatic Symptom Verbalizations of Psychiatric Outpatients

A literature review indicated that psychopathological symptomology must be considered within the social context of the patient. Recent research has suggested that the psychopathological symptoms of the psychotic patient function on a covert level of communication as a strategy to control the threat of interpersonal intimacy. The present investigation similarly examined the interpersonal function of another class of patient symptomology, somatic symptoms. It was hypothesized that somatic symptom verbalizations of psychiatric outpatients also can serve as covert messages to avoid the risk of interpersonal intimacy. Results indicated that only the high-somatic-symptom patients significantly increased their symptom verbalizations in response to demand. When the interviewer modeled impersonal self-disclosures, both groups showed a low rate of somatic verbalizations. The groups did not differ. When the interviewer modeled personal self-disclosures, both patient groups significantly increased their psychological symptom verbalizations compared to their counterparts in the impersonal condition. In addition, low somatic symptom patients under the demand for personal disclosure showed significantly less avoidance behavior than any other group. No differences were found among the experimental groups in terms of self-disclosure level. The results clearly lend support to Haley's (1963) intimacy-avoidance corollary; that is, symptoms of non-psychotic patients function as covert messages that avoid …
Date: August 1981
Creator: Skenderian, Daniel
System: The UNT Digital Library
Effects of Monitoring Positive and Negative Events on Measures of Depression (open access)

Effects of Monitoring Positive and Negative Events on Measures of Depression

This study examined psychoanalytic, physiological, and social learning models of depression in terms of etiology and symptomatology. Emphasis was placed on social learning theories of depression. First, Beck's cognitive approach stated that the root of depression was a negative cognitive set. Depressive episodes might be externally precipitated, but it was the individual's perception and appraisal of the event that rendered it depression inducing. Secondly, Seligman's learned helplessness model explained reactive depression in terms of a belief in one's own helplessness. Specifically, Seligman stated belief in the uncontrollability of outcomes resulted in depression, irrespective of the correspondence of such beliefs to objective circumstances. Additionally, depression resulted from noncontingent aversive stimulation and noncontingent positive reinforcement. Thirdly, Lewinsohn's model was based on these assumptions: a low rate of response-contingent positive reinforcement which acted as an eliciting stimulus for depressive behaviors. This low rate of response-contingent positive reinforcement constituted an explanation for the low rate of behaviors observed in the depressive. Total amount of response—contingent positive reinforcement is a function of a number of events reinforcing for the individual, availability of reinforcement in the environment, and social skills of the individual that are necessary to elicit reinforcement.
Date: May 1981
Creator: Ellis, Janet Koch
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effects of Preinstructional Strategies on Receiver State Anxiety Fluctuation and Aural Message Comprehension (open access)

The Effects of Preinstructional Strategies on Receiver State Anxiety Fluctuation and Aural Message Comprehension

The use of preinstructional strategies frequently results in improved comprehension as evidenced by test scores. Although empirical support for this phenomenon is inconsistent, the potential utility of preinstructional strategies warrants further consideration. The rationale of this study suggests that intervening situational factors, or individual learner characteristics, account for the inconsistencies. The knowledge of factors that influence the effectiveness of preinstructional strategies would be beneficial in assisting educators' attempts to apply the strategies for their students' best advantages. The problem of this study was an analysis of the effects preinstructional strategies have upon students' state anxiety and listening comprehension. The purpose was to compare the state anxiety fluctuations and listening comprehension scores of students given advance organizers, pretests, cognitive objectives or overviews with a control group given no prefatory assistance.
Date: August 1981
Creator: Froelich, Deidre Lumpkins
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effects of Specific Interventions with Supervisors on Paraprofessional Turnover in Selected Mental Health and Mental Retardation Facilities (open access)

The Effects of Specific Interventions with Supervisors on Paraprofessional Turnover in Selected Mental Health and Mental Retardation Facilities

The problem of this study was the identification of ways and means of reducing paraprofessional turnover in mental health and mental retardation facilities. The high turnover rate of mental health and mental retardation paraprofessionals has major implications for the quality and cost of client services. Several researchers have suggested that adequately trained supervisors can influence the turnover rate among employees as well as their motivation and production. A six-month study of the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation released in March, 1980 by a blue ribbon audit team blamed bad management practices, not low pay and poor working conditions, for the high rate of employee turnover. However, few studies have investigated the effect of supervisory training on turnover and researchers have called for additional studies in the area. The purpose of this study was to employ two specific intervention techniques with supervisory personnel in order to determine their effectiveness in reducing the rate of paraprofessional employee turnover in mental health and mental retardation facilities.
Date: August 1981
Creator: Baxter, Nick A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effects of Two Different Types of Background Music on Bowling Scores and Attitudes (open access)

The Effects of Two Different Types of Background Music on Bowling Scores and Attitudes

The problem with which this investigation was concerned was that of determining the value of the use of musical accompaniment while bowling. This study analyzed the effects of two different types of background music, played at the same decibel level, on the bowling scores and attitudes of college students enrolled in bowling classes at a state university.
Date: August 1981
Creator: Beasley, Tom S. (Tom Sherman)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Emily Bronte's Word Artistry: Symbolism in Wuthering Heights (open access)

Emily Bronte's Word Artistry: Symbolism in Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights is a composite of opposites. Its two houses, its two families, its two generations, its two planes of existence are held in place by Emily Bronte's careful manipulation of repetitive, yet differentiated, symbols associated with each of these pairs. Using symbols to develop her polarities and to unify them along the imaginatively rendered horizontal axis connecting Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, the vertical axis connecting the novel's several "heavens" and "hells," and the third dimensional axis connecting the spiritual and corporeal worlds, Emily Bronte gives the divided world of Wuthering Heights an almost perfect symmetry. This study divides the more than seven hundred symbols into physical and nonphysical. The physical symbols are subdivided into setting, animal life, plant life, people, celestial objects, and miscellaneous objects. The fewer nonphysical symbols are grouped under movement, light, time, emotions, concepts, and miscellaneous terms. Verticality and thresholds, the two most important symbolic motifs, are drawn from both physical and nonphysical symbols.
Date: December 1981
Creator: Madewell, Viola D'Ann
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Empirical Analysis of Technical Knowledge Needed by Taxpayer Service Specialists in the Areas of Partnerships, Corporations, and Subchapter S Corporations (open access)

An Empirical Analysis of Technical Knowledge Needed by Taxpayer Service Specialists in the Areas of Partnerships, Corporations, and Subchapter S Corporations

The Taxpayer Service Division contributes to the Internal Revenue Service mission of achieving the highest possible voluntary compliance with the Federal income tax law by answering questions and helping taxpayers in their return preparation efforts. These services are provided by Taxpayer Service Representatives and Taxpayer Service Specialists (TSS's). The TSS position was established in 1975 to upgrade the quality of assistance provided. TSS duties include being able to provide assistance with problems involving complex areas of the tax law. The purpose of the study was to disclose to what extent TSS's are called on to answer tax questions related to partnerships, corporations, and Subchapter S corporations and to disclose whether they have been trained and are able to answer the inquiries.
Date: May 1981
Creator: Colgan, Joseph C.
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Empirical Examination of Certain Aspects of Auditor Changes in NYSE, AMEX, and Selected OTC Companies (open access)

An Empirical Examination of Certain Aspects of Auditor Changes in NYSE, AMEX, and Selected OTC Companies

The purpose of this thesis was to analyze a number of auditor change and other peripheral issues from two related perspectives. Empirical data were gathered from publicly available Forms 8-K and 10-K to first assess whether meaningful differences existed between NYSE, AMEX, and OTC registrants regarding disclosures required in those documents. Secondly, the data were analyzed to determine whether differences existed with respect to the accounting firms (Big Eight or non-Big Eight) involved in the auditor changes. In most of the tests designed to achieve these purposes, statistically defensible results were obtained using the nonparametric chi-square test for significance of observed differences and the McNemar test for significance of changes, at the .05 level.
Date: May 1981
Creator: McConnell, Donald K., Jr.
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Empirical Exploratory Audit Study of the Effectiveness of the Retail Buyer of Fashion Wearing Apparel in Meeting Constituent Markets' Wants and Needs (open access)

An Empirical Exploratory Audit Study of the Effectiveness of the Retail Buyer of Fashion Wearing Apparel in Meeting Constituent Markets' Wants and Needs

This study is designed as an exploratory empirical attempt to audit the effectiveness with which retail buyers select fashion wearing apparel that meets needs and wants of their constituent target markets. This study presents the retail buyer of fashion wearing apparel as the "gatekeeper" who controls the flow of apparel products through various "checkpoints" as these products move from producer to consumer, thus controlling product availability. This study has a three-fold purpose. The first is to determine if significant differences exist between retail buyers' selections (ratings) and constituent market selections (ratings) when given like; alternatives on manufacturing levels. The second is to determine whether differences exist between the extents to which department store retail buyers and specialty store retail buyers meet the needs and wants of their constituent markets. The third purpose is to determine if significant differences exist between sales performances of like and unlike retail buyer/consumer choices.
Date: August 1981
Creator: Taylor, Ruth Arleen Lesher
System: The UNT Digital Library
Experience in Open-Space and Traditionally-Constructed Elementary Schools and Teacher Attitudes Toward Open Education (open access)

Experience in Open-Space and Traditionally-Constructed Elementary Schools and Teacher Attitudes Toward Open Education

The problem of this study was to determine the relationship between experience in open-space and/or traditionally constructed elementary schools and teachers' attitudes toward open education. Statistical analysis of the data used to test the hypotheses resulted in the following findings. 1. Teachers who were currently teaching in traditionally constructed schools had significantly more positive attitudes toward open education than did teachers currently teaching in open-space schools. 2. Teachers who had taught only in traditionally constructed schools had significantly more positive attitudes toward open education than did teachers who had taught only in open-space schools. 3. Teachers who had taught in both open-space and traditionally-constructed schools had significantly more positive attitudes toward open education than did teachers who had taught only in open-space schools. 4. Teachers who had taught only in traditionally constructed schools had significantly more positive attitudes toward open education than did teachers who had taught in both open-space and traditionally-constructed schools. 5. Teachers who had taught ten years or more had significantly more positive attitudes toward open education than did teachers who had taught less than ten years.
Date: August 1981
Creator: Smith, Mary Lynne
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Exploratory Study of Children's Multi-Sensory Responses to Symbolizing Musical Sound Through Speech Rhythm Patterns (open access)

An Exploratory Study of Children's Multi-Sensory Responses to Symbolizing Musical Sound Through Speech Rhythm Patterns

The purpose of the study was to investigate the multi-sensory responses of children to symbolizing musical sound through speech rhythm patterns. Speech rhythm patterns consist of the number of syllables and the stress/nonstress relationships of these syllables in a word or a phrase. The research problems were (1) to determine children's responses to speech rhythm patterns according to the differential sensory modes used; (2) to determine the children's responses to speech rhythm patterns by age, and (3) to compare children's responses to speech rhythm patterns by age and sensory modes.
Date: December 1981
Creator: Bennett, Peggy Dee
System: The UNT Digital Library
Facilitating the Career Attitude Maturity of Disabled College Students Through Career Awareness Groups (open access)

Facilitating the Career Attitude Maturity of Disabled College Students Through Career Awareness Groups

The problem of this study was to determine if career awareness groups which use Guided Imagery (GI) and the California Occupational Preference System (COPS), both individually and in combination, have a positive effect on career attitude maturity, oi* disabled college students as measured by the Career Maturity Inventory Attitude Scale (CMI-A). This study involved three experimental groups (GI, COPS, & GI-COPS) and a control group. Participants included thirty-two volunteer disabled college students attending four community colleges in an urban area in the Southwest (Texas). There were eight volunteers per campus, and each campus constituted a group. Each group met once for 120 minutes. After consent was obtained, subjects completed the CMI-A. The general sequence was: introduction; instructions specific to the group condition; presentation of assigned stimulus condition; group discussion of reactions to the presented stimulus; control group members completed the post administration of the CMI-A; and group members' completion of the post administration of the CMI-A, with the exception of the control group which discussed reactions to the presented stimulus.
Date: December 1981
Creator: Wilson, William Charlton
System: The UNT Digital Library
Finite Element Solutions to Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations (open access)

Finite Element Solutions to Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations

This paper develops a numerical algorithm that produces finite element solutions for a broad class of partial differential equations. The method is based on steepest descent methods in the Sobolev space H¹(Ω). Although the method may be applied in more general settings, we consider only differential equations that may be written as a first order quasi-linear system. The method is developed in a Hilbert space setting where strong convergence is established for part of the iteration. We also prove convergence for an inner iteration in the finite element setting. The method is demonstrated on Burger's equation and the Navier-Stokes equations as applied to the square cavity flow problem. Numerical evidence suggests that the accuracy of the method is second order,. A documented listing of the FORTRAN code for the Navier-Stokes equations is included.
Date: August 1981
Creator: Beasley, Craig J. (Craig Jackson)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Geometric Problems in Measure Theory and Parametrizations (open access)

Geometric Problems in Measure Theory and Parametrizations

This dissertation explores geometric measure theory; the first part explores a question posed by Paul Erdös -- Is there a number c > 0 such that if E is a Lebesgue measurable subset of the plane with λ²(E) (planar measure)> c, then E contains the vertices of a triangle with area equal to one? -- other related geometric questions that arise from the topic. In the second part, "we parametrize the theorems from general topology characterizing the continuous images and the homeomorphic images of the Cantor set, C" (abstract, para. 5).
Date: August 1981
Creator: Ingram, John M. (John Michael)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Group Rational Emotive Therapy Versus Usual Group Therapy in Residential Treatment of Alcoholism (open access)

Group Rational Emotive Therapy Versus Usual Group Therapy in Residential Treatment of Alcoholism

The goal of this experiment was to determine whether group rational emotive therapy would prove superior to usual group therapy in improving the psychological functioning of male alcoholics in an inpatient treatment facility and to determine if memory dysfunction would impede therapeutic progress. Four areas of psychological functioning were discussed for their relevance to etiology, recidivism, and treatment evaluation; they were depression, self-conception, social anxiety, and cognitive functioning. Further, rational emotive therapy as a potentially superior treatment for alcoholism was discussed and outcome research was reviewed.
Date: December 1981
Creator: Whitley, Michael D.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Holistic Stress Management Training: A Burnout Strategy for Mental Health Workers (open access)

Holistic Stress Management Training: A Burnout Strategy for Mental Health Workers

This study investigated the effects of an individually administered versus a group-administered stress management training program on various measures of stress, job satisfaction, and burnout among mental health workers. A total of 36 subjects, who were employed in Texas community mental health facilities, participated in the study. The subjects were randomly assigned to one of three groups: an experimental group (N = 12) which received training on an individual basis, an experimental group (N = 12) which received training in small groups of four to six subjects, and a control group (N = 12) which did not receive training. Both didactic and experimental modes were utilized during the six-week training program. All experimental subjects practiced relaxation daily and were exposed to a broad range of coping skills for stress management.This study investigated the effects of an individually administered versus a group-administered stress management training program on various measures of stress, job satisfaction, and burnout among mental health workers. A total of 36 subjects, who were employed in Texas community mental health facilities, participated in the study. The subjects were randomly assigned to one of three groups: an experimental group (N = 12) which received training on an individual basis, an …
Date: August 1981
Creator: Ray, Cathy Anne
System: The UNT Digital Library
Hypnotic Susceptibility as a Function of Information Processing (open access)

Hypnotic Susceptibility as a Function of Information Processing

Hypnotic susceptibility, often regarded as a relatively stable individual characteristic, has been found to be related to the personality dimension of absorption. To test the hypothesis that this relationship is a function of the nature of the sensory response to stimulus events and the development of cognitive models pursuant to the processing of that information, a group of hospitalized, chronic pain patients were assessed on the following dimensions: absorption, clinical hypnotic responsiveness, cognitive resistance to interference, and visual automatization.
Date: December 1981
Creator: Magnavito, Frederick J. (Frederick James)
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Identification and Analysis of the Problems of Freshman Students According to the Mooney Problem Check List (open access)

An Identification and Analysis of the Problems of Freshman Students According to the Mooney Problem Check List

The purpose of this study was to identify the major problem areas of freshmen community college students and to determine if significant differences in problems of freshmen students existed as a variable of age, sex, or marital status. The population consisted of 674 community college students enrolled in an Orientation to College program during the fall or spring semester of 1976, 1977, 1978 or 1979. Each student was administered the Mooney Problem Check List (MPCL), College Form (1950) during the first week of enrollment at the community college. he data were analyzed in order to determine if a significant difference existed in the problem areas reported by students according to a Friedman Two-Way Analysis of Variance by Ranks. A significant difference produced by the Friedman ANOVA indicated a need to apply a Wilcoxon Matched-Pairs Signed Ranks Test in order to determine which problem areas differed significantly from one another. A Mann Whitney U Test was employed to statistically compare the problem areas of male students and female students as well as married students and single students. A Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance by ranks for k independent samples was employed to test differences in the responses of four student age …
Date: May 1981
Creator: Rode, Joe W.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński (1807-1867): His Life And Symphonies (open access)

Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński (1807-1867): His Life And Symphonies

Ignacy Feliks , a Polish composer active in Warsaw, is best known for having been a colleague of Frederic Chopin while they were both composition students of Jozef Eisner. As an early nationalist composer, Dobrzynski is examined within the context of nineteenth-century Warsaw's musical culture and political situation. Dobrzynski early training was provided by his father, who was Kapelmeister at the Ilinski court in Romanow. The most important achievements of the career which followed Dobrzynskifs move to Warsaw in 1825 include second place in an 1835 Viennese contest with the Second Symphony, a German tour in I8I8, and the directorship of the Teatr Wielki in 1852. Cast in the late eighteenth-centurv style, Dobrzynski two symphonies were composed in 1829 and 1831. These works show knowledge of Beethoven's music and exhibit Dobrzynski's skill at orchestration. Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Op. 15, is the more important work because of national elements in each movement, as well as its success in a Viennese symphony contest in 1835. Although a precedent for national elements is seen in studying the development of the Polish symphony in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Dobrzynski's contribution shows an intensification of musical patriotism which was inspired …
Date: August 1981
Creator: Smialek, William
System: The UNT Digital Library
Imagery, Self-Concept, Anxiety, and Stress as Predictors of Seriousness of Disease (open access)

Imagery, Self-Concept, Anxiety, and Stress as Predictors of Seriousness of Disease

This research study was designed to investigate the relationships of imagery, self-concept, anxiety, stress, subjective stress and seriousness of illness and to determine the potential of certain cognitive mediating variables, especially imagery and an interaction between self-concept and imagery, to significantly increase the efficiency of stress as a predictor of seriousness of illness. The purposes of this study were: (1) to determine the efficiency of stress as a predictor of disease, (2) to determine if cognitive mediating variables will significantly increase the predictive efficiency between stress and disease, (3) to investigate selected correlations among the variables, (4) to provide a research base for current treatment procedures using imagery treating various illnesses.
Date: May 1981
Creator: Harris, Jerry Lon
System: The UNT Digital Library
Impact of Labor Union Representation Elections on Wages and Selected Employer-Employee Relations in Nonprofit Hospitals in Texas (open access)

Impact of Labor Union Representation Elections on Wages and Selected Employer-Employee Relations in Nonprofit Hospitals in Texas

This study concerns the general question, "What has been the impact of collective bargaining representation elections on nonprofit hospitals in Texas?" The means of answering this question involved a study of wages and attitudes of nonprofessional employees in both hospitals where such elections occurred and hospitals where no such elections had occurred in the State of Texas. An overview of the development of hospitals and the union movement in hospitals are presented as background information for this study. Further, a brief discourse on attitude development and attitude measurement is provided as theoretical foundational material. A researcher-constructed questionnaire was devised, tested, and administered to employees of the subject hospitals. There were 176 useable returns from employees where no union representation election occurred and 176 useable returns from employees where union representation elections occurred.
Date: August 1981
Creator: Duvall, Wallace L. (Wallace Lee), 1926-
System: The UNT Digital Library
Influence of Caffeine on EMG, Self-Rating, and Behavioral Observation Indices of Progressive Relaxation Training (open access)

Influence of Caffeine on EMG, Self-Rating, and Behavioral Observation Indices of Progressive Relaxation Training

This study was designed to investigate the inhibiting effect that caffeine may have in inducing deeper states of relaxation. The degree of relaxation was assessed by physiological measures, self-ratings, and behavioral observations of relaxation behavior.
Date: August 1981
Creator: Floyd, William T.
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Investigation of Hemispheric Specialization for the Pitch and Rhythmic Aspects of Melodic Stimuli (open access)

An Investigation of Hemispheric Specialization for the Pitch and Rhythmic Aspects of Melodic Stimuli

This study's purpose was to investigate the phenomenon of hemispheric specialization for the pitch and rhythmic aspects of melody. Its research problems were to investigate the Influence of pitch, rhythm, and training on hemispheric specialization for pitch-plus-rhythm melodic fragments. A final problem was to examine the relationship between dlchotic ear scores and eye movements evidenced during melodic processing. Twenty musicians and twenty nonmuslcians, right-handed and equally divided as to gender, participated in the project. Accepted dlchotic testing and eye behavior indexing procedures were implemented to investigate each research problem. The dlchotic tape produced for the study contained five subtests In which pitch activity was variously greater than, less than, or equal to rhythmic activity.
Date: December 1981
Creator: Herrick, Carole L. (Carole Lynn)
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Investigation of Music Teacher Preparation in Selected United Negro College Fund Colleges and Universities (open access)

An Investigation of Music Teacher Preparation in Selected United Negro College Fund Colleges and Universities

The problem of this study was to determine the perceptions of music educators at selected United Negro College Fund colleges and universities concerning the importance of music teaching competencies and courses for prospective public school music teachers, it was further designed to (a) determine if the music educators were in agreement with the published competency recommendations of the National Association of Schools of Music and the Music Educators National Conference for preparing prospective public school music teachers and (b) to discover if there were significant differences in UNCF music educators' perceptions across selected independent variables concerning the importance of those competencies and courses.
Date: December 1981
Creator: Claybon, Sibyl Elaine Carr
System: The UNT Digital Library