The dissertation is a collection of eighteen short stories. These stories relate the life experiences of the first-person narrator and chronicle a period of twenty years. They are arranged in five thematic groups: Expectations, Questions, Lighter Moments, Answers, and Separation. The focus of each one represents the narrator's experiences with his father, as the narrator attempts to understand a man who exerts such control over his life. Expectations contains three stories, with the first depicting the narrator's earliest association with his father. The other two represent significant growth experiences. The five stories in the Questions portion focus on the youthful narrator as he tries to understand the reasons behind his father's values and moral lessons. In the section, Lighter Moments, there are four stories in which the narrator is in his late teens and recalls four incidents that lacked the usual serious undertones prevalent in most of his experiences with his father. Answers is composed of three stories in which the narrator, nearing manhood, struggles with feelings of disillusionment with the life his father has planned for him, as well as the realization that his father controls every aspect of his life. The final section of three stories, Separation, depicts …

This dissertation attempts to demonstrate how Nathaniel Hawthorne's lifelong friendship with Franklin Pierce influenced the author's literary imagination, often prompting him to transform Pierce from his historical personage into a romanticized figure of notably Jacksonian qualities. It is also an assessment of how Hawthorne's friendship with Pierce profoundly influenced a wide range of his work, from his first novel, Fanshawe (1828), to the Life of Franklin Pierce (1852) and such later works as the unfinished Septimius romances and the dedicatory materials in Our Old Home (1863). This dissertation shows how Pierce became for Hawthorne a literary device—an icon of Jacksonian virtue, a token of the Democratic party, and an emblem of steadfastness, military heroism, and integrity, all three of which were often at odds with Pierce's historical character. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the Hawthorne-Pierce friendship. The chapter also assesses biographical reconstructions of Pierce's character and life. Chapter 2 addresses Hawthorne's years at Bowdoin College, his introduction to Pierce, and his early socialization. Chapter 3 demonstrates how Hawthorne transformed his Bowdoin experience into formulaic Gothic narrative in his first novel, Fanshawe. Chapter 4 discusses the influence of the Hawthorne-Pierce friendship on the Life of Franklin Pierce, Hawthorne's campaign biography …

The issue of women's reproductive rights has become an international concern in the recent decade. Ongoing debates on women's reproductive rights in world conferences and conventions have heightened the need for empirical research and theoretical explanations of women's reproductive rights Nevertheless, very few sociological studies have treated women's reproductive rights as a dependent variable. This study examines the effects of family planning programs and the processes of modernization on women's reproductive rights. Several facets of modernization; processes of socioeconomic development, secularization, women's education, and levels of gender equality are considered. The study involves 101 countries identified by the World Bank (1994) as developing countries. It is argued, on the one hand, that variations in women's reproductive rights in developing nations may be explained by the social changes brought about by modernization processes. On other hand, the universality of the anti-natalistic population policies in developing countries in the late 20th century provides a strong state control over fertility rate, which may contribute to the attainment of women's reproductive rights. Using linear structural equation analysis, the study finds that fertility decline due to family planning programs leads to the achievement of women's reproductive rights. The empirical findings support the hypothesis that socioeconomic …

The purpose of this study was to examine and compare individuals that had survived a single incidence trauma, the Luby's massacre in Killeen, Texas. Participants answered questions regarding various facets of social support following the trauma, and were also screened for a diagnosis of PTSD. Participants' level of symptoms, specifically depression, anxiety, and phobic anxiety was measured over time with the SCL-90-R. The results of this study indicate that, while women initially experience a higher level of depression and phobic anxiety, there is no gender difference in rate of symptom change over time. This study also found that women were significantly higher than men on desirability, utilization and usefulness of social support. Of the target symptoms, however, only depression correlated with any facet of social support, specifically, desirability. Finally, this study questioned whether individuals would share more similarities with others based on gender or diagnosis. It is suggested by the current data that diagnosis is the better indicator of similarity.

The purpose of this study was to describe the criteria that students reported using when selecting writing samples for an assessment portfolio. Specifically, the study involved content analysis of student responses to five prompts which asked the students to give selection criteria for writing samples in language arts portfolios prepared for assessment. The population consisted of twelve eighth grade students in three urban middle schools. The students were in classes that were participating in the New Standards Portfolio Assessment Field Trial. In addition to the responses to prompts, students also submitted writing samples to be scored using New Standards rubrics. The writing samples were evaluated to determine if the students successfully selected pieces of their writing to provide evidence of standards attainment. Through the analysis of the student responses to the prompts, two categories of selection criteria were noted. Public standards were the standards that corresponded with the criteria that were presented to the students through their use of New Standards performance standards, portfolio exhibit requirements, and entry slips. Personal standards were criteria that did not correspond to the published criteria presented to the students. Ten sub-categories were identified. These ten sub-categories became the instrument for analysis and tabulation of …

The present study was designed to assess both the construct of psychopathy in a female jail sample as well as the quality of the measures that have been employed to assess this personality style. Utilizing the multitrait-multimethod matrix proposed by Campbell and Fiske (1959), the construct of psychopathy was measured via three instruments: (a) the Antisocial Scale of the Personality Assessment Inventory, (b) the Psychopathy Checklist - Revised, and (c) the Antisocial Scale of the Personality Disorder Examination. In addition, the predictive validity of each of these measures of psychopathy was evaluated to determine their ability to predict institutional violence and non-compliance. The results revealed significant convergence and divergence across the three instruments supporting the construct of psychopathy in a female jail sample. In addition, the measures of psychopathy demonstrated moderate predictive validity.

In 1879 Congress created the Mississippi River Commission (MRC) to develop and coordinate federal flood control policy for the Lower Mississippi River. Through 1927, that Commission clung stubbornly to a "levees-only" policy that was based on the mistaken belief that levees alone could be effective in controlling the flood waters of the Mississippi River. When the levees failed--and they occasionally did--the MRC responded by raising and strengthening the system but refused to adopt a more comprehensive program, one which would include outlets and reservoirs. Finally, a disastrous flood in 1927 forced the abandonment of levees-only and the adoption of a comprehensive plan for the Lower Mississippi River. Predictably, the MRC faced heavy criticism following the failure of its highly-touted levee system in 1927. While certainly the Commission was culpable, there was plenty of fault to go around and a plethora of mitigating circumstances. Developing a plan for achieving adequate flood control along the lower Mississippi River constituted what was probably the most difficult and complex engineering problem ever undertaken by the U. S. Government. Additionally, there were innumerable political and financial constraints that worked to shape MRC policy. This study will endeavor to tell the story of the MRC from …

This thesis examines the quantum dynamics of electrons in periodic semiconductor superlattices in the presence of electric fields, especially uniform static fields. Chapter 1 is an introduction to this vast and active field of research, with an analysis and suggested solutions to the fundamental theoretical difficulties. Chapter 2 is a detailed historical review of relevant theories, and Chapter 3 is a historical review of experiments. Chapter 4 is devoted to the time-independent quantum mechanical study of the electric-field-induced changes in the transmission properties of ballistic electrons, using the transfer matrix method. In Chapter 5, a new time-dependent quantum mechanical model free from the fundamental theoretical difficulties is introduced, with its validity tested at various limiting cases. A simplified method for calculating field-free bands of various potential models is designed. In Chapter 6, the general features of "Shifting Periodicity", a distinctive feature of this new model, is discussed, and a "Bloch-Floquet Theorem" is rigorously proven. Numerical evidences for the existence of Wannier-Stark-Ladders are presented, and the conditions for its experimental observability is also discussed. In Chapter 7, an analytical solution is found for Bloch Oscillations and Wannier-Stark-Ladders at low electric fields. In Chapter 8, a new quantum mechanical interpretation for Bloch …

This research grew from concerns relative to the mathematical performance of Spanish-speaking limited English proficient (LEP) public school students. This investigation studied the effects of the sheltered mathematics class on eighth-grade Spanish-speaking LEP students with regard to mathematical achievement, attitudes toward mathematics, the dropout rate, and the number of math credits earned in high school. The enrollment of a sheltered mathematics class was limited to LEP students. The purpose was to compare Spanish-speaking LEP students enrolled in sheltered mathematics classes with Spanish-speaking LEP students enrolled in regular mathematics classes. The research hypotheses were that achievement, mathematical attitudes, the dropout rate, and high school math credits earned would favor enrollment in sheltered mathematics classes. The data for achievement, dropout information, and mathematics course work completed were drawn from student records in the school district data bank. A mathematics attitude survey was given to a sample from the 1995-96 eighth-grade advanced level Spanish-speaking LEP students. The research hypotheses were not accepted. All of the populations did show an academic deficit. However, they did have more positive attitudes than negative attitudes toward mathematics. To improve achievement, staying in school, and a higher rate of inclusion in mathematics related careers the following recommendations were …

I interviewed twenty-four International students from the following countries: Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Puerto Rico and Spain. Hereafter I shall refer to the respondents as Hispanic International students. My primary interest was to learn the way in which Hispanic International students defined themselves in view of ethnic definitions imposed on them by the administrative system in the U.S. First, Hispanic International students defined themselves primarily by their nationality. The second finding dealt with the usage of language. The Hispanic International students spoke Spanish with relatives and friends. They spoke English when a non-Spanish speaker joined the conversation. The third finding was related to the problems and adaptations encountered by Hispanic International students.

In the present quasi-experimental study, the relationships among individual executive characteristics, top management group processes, the business environment, and organizational performance for the gas and computer industries were investigated. Data were collected through a questionnaire using several published instruments measuring work locus of control, self-monitoring, group innovation/improvement, collaboration, and task management, environmental uncertainty, and perceptions of organizational performance. Return on assets data and sales data for several years were obtained from a business database. A total of 204 executives, 135 from the gas industry and 69 from the computer industry, returned completed questionnaires. Group processes were positively correlated with the average return on assets over three years. In addition, based on regression analyses, group processes predicted the average return on assets over three years. Work locus of control was positively correlated with group processes. However, none of the hypothesized moderator relationships were supported due to collinearity difficulties with one of the measures. Also, there were no differences between the gas and computer industries with regard to the uncertainty of the business environment.

This study investigated the effects of personality characteristics on emergent leadership in small group settings. Two instruments were used to assess personality factors: The BASIS-A and the California Personality Inventory (CPI). A sociometric tool was developed to elicit leader ranking of female group members. The BASIS-A, was used to test for Taking Charge and Wanting Recognition lifestyles in women who emerged as leaders. The CPI was used to assess female emergent leaders for Dominance and Leadership Potential. The two instruments and a sociometric form were distributed to 115 female graduate counselor-in-training students the last week of their group counseling experience. This survey resulted in 55 respondents (N=55) from eleven discussion groups. It was expected that women who had the highest averaged leader rank would demonstrate higher test scores in Dominance, Leadership Potential, Taking Charge, and Wanting Recognition than women who received a lower averaged leader rank. It was also thought that these four test factors would be highly related. If so, a case would be made to use the BASIS-A as an emergent leader assessment tool because it is consistently based in one psychological theory. No significant effect was found between the highest leader rank and three of the test …

U.S. companies have implemented just-in-time purchasing (JITP) and total quality management (TQM) techniques to improve their global competitive position. The lack of empirical research on these techniques with firm's performance is the reason to explain further their strategic values as management innovations in different types and sizes of organizations. From a theoretical foundation on the relations between innovation, strategy and performance, the following research questions were generated: (1) Are JITP and TQM positively related to the firm's performance?, (2) Do the combination/sequence of implementing JITP and TQM have a relation with the firm's performance?, and (3) Is the relationship between JITP and TQM to the firm's performance moderated by any of industry type, firm size,firm type and/or duration of JITP and TQM techniques? A model is developed and hypotheses are proposed. A survey is mailed to firms operating in the U.S. that have implemented one or both techniques. Questionnaire items measuring JITP, TQM, performance, and moderating variables - industry type, firm size,firm type, and duration of JIT purchasing and TQM techniques— are either developed or borrowed from other studies. From rosters of the American Society for Quality Control and the National Association of Purchasing Management, 1884 target respondents result in …

Mothers and siblings of children with autism incur stressors that impact their well-being more adversely than mothers of children with ADHD or normally developing children. In Study 1, twenty-six mothers of children with autism (Group 1) were compared to 24 mothers of children with ADHD (Group 2) and 24 mothers with normally developing children (Group 3). All families included a normally developing child (ages 4 to 12). Measures to delineate levels of maternal functioning were administered. Results for Study 1 indicated that mothers of children with autism had higher levels of psychological symptomatology, higher parenting stress, poorer perceptions of their family environment and their ability to parent the siblings, and higher perceptions of internalized problems of the siblings than mothers with normally developing children. These findings support the literature stating that mothers of children with autism may experience increased levels of maternal stress. The reciprocal nature of the parent-child relationship suggests that parents should be involved in meeting the needs of siblings in these families. A subgroup of Group 1 mothers participated in a parent group that occurred simultaneously with a sibling group. Mothers were randomly assigned to participate in a parent/sibling group, a sibling only group, or a wait-list …

The effects of short term exposure (5 minutes) to EEFs at relatively high dosages (10, 25, 39, kV/m) on the electrical activity in rat pineal glands was studied. Daytime and nighttime recordings were taken from an implanted microelectrode in the gland. The data show that (1) both the activity and frequency were enhanced when the animals were exposed to EEFs at 39 kV/m continuously and discontinuously; (2) the later condition yielded a sustained increase (36%) whereas the former a brief (10 sec) increase. This enhancement was statistically significant under both conditions (day and night). The effects observed were thought to be due to membrane alterations either in the pineal gland itself or in the neural inputs to the gland.

This dissertation primarily concerns selected structural elements in Bagatelles and Konstellationen. These are pitch/interval, rhythm/meter in Bagatelles, the formal design and its relations with dynamics and texture in Konstellationen, as well as the usage of indeterminacy. There are also selected aspects of performance in regard to extended technique, pedaling, and certain dynamic control problems related to two works in question. Chapter one introduces the historical background of Polish music and the emergence of Poland as one of the leading forces in contemporary music. It also provides the musical background of Moszumanska-Nazar, as well as the stylistic features and representative works in her three compositional periods. Personal interviews and correspondence with the composer provide additional biographical and stylistic insight for this chapter. Chapter two focuses on the aspects of structural procedure. In Bagatelles, the structural elements are: organized pitch sets, the dominance of linear interval, scale pattern, dissonant intervals, as well as the rhythmic pattern and the various metric designs. Konstellationen present most interesting and unusual formal design in that the elements that delineate the form are dynamics, texture and certain pianistic devices, such as the ostinato, trills, abrupt high notes, irregular fast notes, and clusters. Chapter three addresses particularly the …

Members of the Instructional Teleconference Consortium (ITC) were mailed a survey instrument. A total list of 375 teleconference coordinators generated 137 usable responses. The purposes of this study of faculty and staff development presentations by teleconferencing were to determine the amount of usage; which subject areas are utilized; what delivery methods (live, interactive, prerecorded, multimedia, etc.) are utilized; barriers (size or location of college, size of teleconference or travel budget, etc.) to implementing teleconferences; and the sources of presentations utilized in teleconferences. Larger community colleges are the greater users of teleconferencing and even produce some for distribution to other community colleges, whereas smaller community colleges have just begun to receive equipment that enables them to receive telecasts for this purpose. No clear subject area has yet been defined that dominates these teleconferences, and the trend is toward two-way audio and one-way video as the delivery media as communication costs decline. Barriers of money for staff, equipment, and programming appear to be the principal objections to the use of teleconferencing for faculty and staff development presentations. There appear to be few sources of presentations except for the Public Broadcasting System (PBS).

The problem of this study was to determine the change in public support which would occur due to a public school district's going through a strategic planning process and then the implementation of specific action plans. The purpose of the study was to demonstrate that the public support necessary to assure adequate funding for the district's programs could be gained by involving the community in a broad-based planning effort and by demonstrating a concerted effort to implement the actions required by the plan.

One of the major issues concerning old age security is the adequacy of support systems for the aged population. Population aging and economic development in the People's Republic of China have raised the question about the ability of the family to take care of the elderly. Using the latest data collected by the Research Center on Aging in China of a national representative sample of the aged population, this study develops a model to examine the effectiveness of family support for the elderly during the current socio-economic transition of the society. The model also examines the adequacy and effectiveness of state welfare systems on the aged population and the effect of select socio-demographic factors on the well-being of the elderly in China. The investigation into the social, economic, and health aspects of the life of the elderly provides the background knowledge for understanding the support systems for the elderly in China. The multivariate analyses of the effects of the elderly support systems within the framework of shared functions of the primary groups, and the bureaucracy in achieving social goals, identify the important effects of the economic conditions of the family and the state income maintenance programs on the sense of …

Aspartate transcarbamoylase (ATCase) was purified from 16 selected bacterial species including existing Pseudomonas species and former species reassigned to new genera. An enormous diversity was seen among the 16 enzymes with each class of ATCase being represented. The smallest class, class C, with a catalytically active homotrimer, at 100 kDa, was found in Bacillus and other Gram positive bacteria. In this report, the ATCases from the Gram negatives, Shewanella putrefaciens and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia were added to class C membership. The enteric bacteria typify class B ATCases at 310 kDa, with a dodecameric structure composed of two catalytic trimers coupled to three regulatory dimers. A key feature of class B ATCases is the dissociability of the holoenzyme into regulatory and catalytic subunits which were enzymatically active. In this report, the ATCase from Pseudomonas indigofera was added to class B ATCases. The largest class, at 480 kDa, class A, contains the fluorescent Pseudomonas including most members of the 16S rRNA homology group I. Two polypeptides are produced from overlapping pyrBC' genes. The former, pyrB, encodes a 34 kDa catalytic polypeptide while pyrC' encodes a 45 kDa dihydroorotase-like polypeptide. Two non active trimers are made from six 34 kDa chains which are cemented …

Applied sport psychology consultation is a relatively new phenomenon with limited empirical underpinnings. The purpose of the study was to evaluate three applied sport psychology consultant personal and professional characteristics within Strong's social influence model that have been suggested to impact consultants' effectiveness in working directly with athletes and their performance problems. The three consultant characteristics were academic training, past athletic experience, and interpersonal skill. Division I female athletes (N = 187) read written preconsultation information and watched a 10- minute vignette between a consultant and an athlete. Participants completed the Counselor Rating Form-Short (CRFS), the Sport Psychology Consultant Evaluation Form (CEF), and questions concerning willingness to work with the consultant. The data from the dependent measures were analyzed by a 2 (level of consultant academic training) X 2 (level of consultant past athletic experience) X 2 (level of consultant interpersonal skill) MANOVA. Results indicated that applied sport psychology consultants' academic training and past athletic experience had only limited influence on the participants' perceptions about the consultants. The Division I female athletes unambiguously rated consultants with positive interpersonal skills more favorably on all dependent measures regardless of the consultants' level of academic training or past athletic experience. Directions for future …

The androgyny of the Gethenians in The Left Hand of Darkness is a vehicle for Ursula Le Guin's rhetoric concerning gender roles. Le Guin attempts to make the reader identify with an ideal form of androgyny, through which she argues that many of the problems of human existence, from rape and war to dualistic thought and sexism, are products of gender roles and would be absent in an androgynous world. The novel also links barriers of separation and Othering with masculine thought, and deconstructs these separative boundaries of opposition, while promoting connective borders which acknowledge difference without creating opposition. The novel thus criticizes gendered thought processes and social roles, because they lead to opposition and separation.

In this thesis, the three hypotheses on the nature of early L2 acquisition (the Full Transfer/Full Access view of Schwartz and Sprouse (e.g., 1996), the Minimal Trees view of Vainikka and Young-Scholten (e.g., 1996), and the Valueless Features view of Eubank (e.g., 1996)), are discussed. Analysis of the early French production by two native speakers of Moroccan Arabic is done to determine if the L1 grammar is transferred onto the L2 grammar. In particular, the phenomena of verb-raising (as determined by the verb's position vis-a-vis negation) and finiteness are examined. The results of this study indicate that the relevant structures of Moroccan Arabic do not transfer onto the emerging French grammar.

Six novels of Martin Amis--The Rachel Papers, Dead Babies, Success, Money: A Suicide Note, London Fields, and The Information--are analyzed to determine to what extent they uphold moral standards traditional in Western society, particularly the categories of virtue that have descended from Aristotle and Aquinas. Thus the novels are analyzed in relation to what they show about the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and love, the cardinal virtues of prudence, temperance, courage, and justice, and the intellectual virtues of knowledge, art, skill, and understanding. Nearly all of these virtues turn out to be important in varying degrees. Faith and hope are mocked, and courage is given incidental attention. The other virtues, however, are strongly upheld, including prudence and temperance, and particularly love, justice, and the intellectual virtues. In the earlier novels, the protagonists understand love between adults egoistically, only as romance or sexual passion, with emphasis not on the welfare of the other but on getting what one wants. The need for parental love is upheld, however, with a clear understanding that its lack produces danger for the children and for society. The protagonists pity the weak, but have little understanding of love as self-sacrifice. Ego-based justice predominates as …