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The Influence of Pragmatism in the Essays of Randolph Bourne (open access)

The Influence of Pragmatism in the Essays of Randolph Bourne

This study traces the influence of the American philosophy of pragmatism in the writing of the Progressive Era intellectual Randolph Bourne (1886-1918),. In courses with John Dewey at Columbia University and through the books of William James, pragmatism became a major intellectual factor in Bourne's social and cultural criticism. The philosophy remained so to the end of his brief career. From pragmatism, Bourne learned a method of challenging a restrictive status quo. In his essays, Bourne sought harmony between analytical reasoning and the imagination in order to promote self-growth along with the creation of a more humane society. Bourne promoted individualism and the need for transcendent values in modern industrial society.
Date: May 1993
Creator: Brown, Byron D. (Byron Delano)
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effects of Parental Substance Abuse on the Behavior of School Children (open access)

The Effects of Parental Substance Abuse on the Behavior of School Children

The purpose of the present archival study was to investigate the relationship between parental substance abuse and the risk for maladjustment and psychopathology in children in a clinic sample. Children of alcoholic parents and children of drug-dependent parents were compared to children of non-substance abusing parents. The subjects were 83 boys age 6 to 12. Children of substance abuse parents had lower levels of adaptive functioning and higher levels of school behavioral problems. Although previous studies have reported a strong association between an adverse family environment and the risk of child maladjustment, the present study did not find that the addition of an adverse family environment increased the risk for maladjustment or school behavioral problems in children of substance abusers.
Date: May 1993
Creator: Prelow, Hazel (Hazel M.)
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Historical/Critical Analysis of the TV Series The Fugitive (open access)

A Historical/Critical Analysis of the TV Series The Fugitive

In many respects, the popular 1960's television series, The Fugitive perfectly captured the swelling disillusionment with authority, alienation, and discontent that soon encompassed American society. This historical/critical study provides a broad overview of the economic, social, and political climate that surrounded the creation of The Fugitive. The primary focus of this study is the analysis of five discursive topics (individualism, marriage, justice & authority, professionalism, science and technology) within selected episodes and to show how they relate to broader cultural debates which occurred at that time. Finally, this study argues that The Fugitive is a part of a television adventure subgenre which we may classify as the contemporary "wanderer-hero" narrative and traces its evolution through selected television series from the last three decades.
Date: May 1993
Creator: Pierson, David P. (David Paul)
System: The UNT Digital Library
From Isolation to Action: A Metaphoric Analysis of Franklin Roosevelt's Pro-Preparation Rhetoric (open access)

From Isolation to Action: A Metaphoric Analysis of Franklin Roosevelt's Pro-Preparation Rhetoric

Virtually all studies on the presidential use of metaphor focus on one particular event and speech. These studies look only at speeches that justify military actions after they have already occurred, and these researchers seek to discover a relationship between the use of the metaphor and the public's support of a military action. In order to analyze the persuasive elements of President Franklin Roosevelt's rhetoric in developing popular and Congressional support for war preparation, this study seeks to answer three specific questions. To what extent does Franklin Roosevelt develop a common theme in selected speeches of war preparation immediately prior to World War II? To what extent was Roosevelt's development of this theme persuasive to the American public? What consequences can be anticipated if future presidents or speakers for social movements employ these procedures.
Date: May 1993
Creator: Garrett, Terry (Terry Joe)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Test Order Effects on Children's Rorschachs (open access)

Test Order Effects on Children's Rorschachs

Thirty-three children from a community sample, ages 5 to 13, were administered the Rorschach Inkblot Test, along with projective Draw-an-Animal and Draw-a-Person tasks and other psychological measures. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three test order conditions: Draw-an-Animal followed by the Rorschach, Draw-a-Person followed by the Rorschach, and Rorschach before any other projective test. The number of Human and Animal contents in the test records was examined. Analysis showed no significant differences among the three groups for production of the content variables, suggesting that the Rorschach Inkblot Test is relatively robust with respect to test order effects.
Date: May 1993
Creator: Coyle, Edward L. (Edward Louis), 1965-
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effect of Creative Dramatics Activities on the Story Retellings of Kindergartners (open access)

The Effect of Creative Dramatics Activities on the Story Retellings of Kindergartners

The study was designed to determine the effect a dramatic play activity had on the content of a story retelling of kindergarten students. Approximately 35 students were randomly sampled to form experimental and control groups. Both groups engaged in a read aloud activity, followed by brief discussion, and an independent illustration of the story. The experimental group participated in a creative reenactment of the story prior to the illustration activity. Students in both groups then retold the story to the researcher. Retellings were transcribed and scored for: Story Retelling Analysis score (Morrow, 1988); percentage of characters recalled; percentage of plot episodes recalled; and the presence of story language, inferential statements, and a distinct beginning, middle, and end. Anecdotal data are described narratively.
Date: May 1993
Creator: Weidner, Deborah Fowler
System: The UNT Digital Library
Discursive Horizons of Human Identity and Wilderness in Postmodern Environmental Ethics: A Case Study of the Guadalupe Mountains of Texas (open access)

Discursive Horizons of Human Identity and Wilderness in Postmodern Environmental Ethics: A Case Study of the Guadalupe Mountains of Texas

Using a genealogy of the narratives of the Guadalupes, I explore three moral identities. The Mescalero Apache exist as caretakers of sacred space. Spanish and Anglo settlers exist as conquerors of a hostile land. The park service exists as captives, imprisoned in the belief that economic justifications can protect the intrinsic value of wilderness. The narrative shift from oral to abstract text-based culture entails a shift from intrinsic to instrumental valuation. I conclude that interpretation of narratives, such as those of the Guadalupes, is not by itself a sufficient condition for change. Interpretation is, however, a necessary condition for expanding the cultural conversation beyond merely instrumental justifications to include caring for wilderness's intrinsic values.
Date: May 1993
Creator: Hood, Robert L. (Robert Leroy)
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Rhetoric of Ecofeminism: A Postmodern Inquiry (open access)

The Rhetoric of Ecofeminism: A Postmodern Inquiry

Ecofeminism is a mixture of two important contemporary schools of thought; feminism and ecology. The rhetoric generated from ecofeminism focuses on language, on its potential to reconstruct deeply embedded attitudes and beliefs. Thus, ecofeminists attempt to transform society through the redescription and redefinition of modern concepts into postmodern concepts. The rhetoric of ecofeminism, set in postmodern context, is a fusion of substantive and stylistic features that simultaneously deconstruct patriarchal structures of exploitation and domination and reconstruct lateral-collaborative structures of cooperation and liberation. In short, ecofeminist rhetoric portends a persuasive transformation of the social-natural conditions of existence.
Date: May 1993
Creator: Robinson, Michael W. (Michael William)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Briefs: A Discussion of Genre and a Presentation of Short Fiction (open access)

Briefs: A Discussion of Genre and a Presentation of Short Fiction

Eleven short fictions are introduced with a discussion of genre. Genre is looked at as being a matter of degree ranging from absolute prose on one end of the spectrum to a very specific form of poem with conventions of its own such as the Shakespearean Sonnet on the other end of the spectrum. The analysis is made in an appeal for the short-short story (or sudden fiction) as being a genre of its own. It is argued that regardless of what category a fiction may fall into (and some of the distinctions seem arbitrary), that what is most important is success at conveying a meaningful experience.
Date: May 1993
Creator: Kenney, Stephen Robert
System: The UNT Digital Library
Winnie Verloc and Heroism in The Secret Agent (open access)

Winnie Verloc and Heroism in The Secret Agent

Winnie Verloc's role in "The Secret Agent" has received little initial critical attention. However, this character emerges as Conrad's hero in this novel because she is an exception to what afflicts the other characters: institutionalism. In the first chapter, I discuss the effect of institutions on the characters in the novel as well as on London, and how both the characters and the city lack hope and humanity. Chapter II is an analysis of Winnie's character, concentrating on her philosophy that "life doesn't stand much looking into," and how this view, coupled with her disturbing experience of having looked into the "abyss," makes Winnie heroic in her affirmative existentialism. Chapters III and IV broaden the focus, comparing Winnie to Conrad's other protagonists and to his other female characters.
Date: May 1993
Creator: Henderson, Cynthia Joy
System: The UNT Digital Library
Edgar Allan Poe's Use of Archetypal Images in Selected Prose Works (open access)

Edgar Allan Poe's Use of Archetypal Images in Selected Prose Works

This study traces archetypal images in selected prose fiction by Edgar Allan Poe and shows his consistent use of such imagery throughout his career, and outlines the archetypal images that Poe uses repeatedly throughout his works: the death of the beautiful woman, death and resurrection, the hero's journey to the underworld, and the quest for forbidden knowledge. The study examines Poe's use of myth to establish and uphold archetypal patterns. Poe's goal when crafting his works was the creation of a single specified effect, and to create his effects, he used the materials at hand. Some of these materials came from his own subconscious; however, a greater portion came from a lifetime of study and his own understanding of the connections between myth and archetypal images.
Date: May 1993
Creator: Brackeen, Stephanie E. (Stephanie Ellen)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Bureaucratic Writing in America: A Preliminary Study Based on Lanham's Revising Business Prose (open access)

Bureaucratic Writing in America: A Preliminary Study Based on Lanham's Revising Business Prose

In this study, I examine two writing samples using a heuristic based on Richard A. Lanham's definition of bureaucratic writing in Revising Business Prose: noun-centered, abstract, passive-voiced, dense, and vague. I apply a heuristic to bureaucratic writing to see if Lanham's definition holds and if the writing aids or hinders the information flow necessary to democracy. After analyzing the samples for nominalizations, concrete/abstract terms, active/passive verbs, clear/unclear agents, textual density, and vague text/writers' accountability, I conclude that most of Lanham's definition holds; vague writing hinders the democratic process by not being accountable; and bureaucratic writing is expensive. Writers may humanize bureaucracies by becoming accountable. A complete study requires more samples from a wider source.
Date: May 1993
Creator: Su, Donna
System: The UNT Digital Library
Predicting Sexual Abuse by Analyzing Manifest Content of Thematic Material (open access)

Predicting Sexual Abuse by Analyzing Manifest Content of Thematic Material

The TAT protocols of 30 sexually abused female children and 30 female children with no documented history of abuse were analyzed using the Scoring Scheme for the TAT and Other Verbal Projective Techniques (Fine, 1955). No significant differences were found between groups on mean number of negative feelings portraited in the TAT stories. Similarly, no significant differences were found between groups on mean number of unfavorable outcomes to TAT stories. However, when specific feelings were considered, subjects in the sexual abuse group showed a significantly higher incidence of reference to guilt and sexuality. These results were independent of age, race, and intelligence.
Date: May 1993
Creator: Pistole, Debbie R. (Deborah Rene)
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Organizational Improvement of the Village Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Fort Worth, Texas, 1969-1988: a Case Study of Forces Responsible for Organizational Change (open access)

The Organizational Improvement of the Village Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Fort Worth, Texas, 1969-1988: a Case Study of Forces Responsible for Organizational Change

This study documents that external and internal forces were causes of change at VCWTP. External forces caused. Fort Worth to reorganize and introduce new management at VCWTP after 1982. These improvements led to VCWTP being selected best managed wastewater treatment plant in the nation by EPA in 1988. This study first analyzes external and internal forces responsible for changes at VCWTP. A history of plant operations also is reviewed. Personnel interviews were conducted of perceptions of employees. Finally, statistics obtained of the plant operation from 1969 to 1988 are compared with personal interviews. Five forces effect change at VCWTP; population, regulatory requirements, political conflicts, an organizational and managerial factors. Turnaround occurred as external and internal corrections were made.
Date: May 1993
Creator: Akidi, Innocent O. (Innocent Okechuknu)
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Light Under (open access)

The Light Under

A poet who is a woman and a theologian writes under three pressures, or a triple bind: individuality, spirituality, and society. The desires and drives of the ego and those of spirituality often conflict, and societal expectations which gender bestows add further stress to the poet's efforts. This constant struggle destroys some poets (Plath, Sexton) and renders silent many of the rest. The following collection of poems combats the silence in four progressive sections: The first is an introductory essay which further discusses the triple bind; the second, "Between Two," illustrates spiritual relationships from despair to disillusionment; the third section, "Life in the Mirror," describes deteriorating human relationships; the final section, "Salt," presents problems resolving to a kind of negative capability. This poetry collection continues one woman's poetic struggle toward validity and acceptance.
Date: May 1993
Creator: Galliher, Debra L. (Debra Lee)
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Impact of the Ordination of Women and Androgyny on Marital Adjustment (open access)

The Impact of the Ordination of Women and Androgyny on Marital Adjustment

Research on the ordination of women has focused on the effect in the church and on aspects of the personality of the women choosing the priesthood but not on effects on the families of ordained women. Using personal interviews, the Dyadic Adjustment Scale and the Bem Sex Role Inventory, spouses in 12 families which contain ordained women from Episcopalian, Methodist, Unity and The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints churches were analyzed to determine the effects of ordination on the families. Couples containing an ordained female were found to have slightly higher marital adjustment and significantly higher levels of androgyny than a standardized sample. Androgyny and marital adjustment were significantly correlated. The more androgenous, the greater the marital adjustment.
Date: May 1993
Creator: French, Beverly J. (Beverly June)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nutrition Knowledge and Attitudes of Students in Four-Year Hospitality Programs (open access)

Nutrition Knowledge and Attitudes of Students in Four-Year Hospitality Programs

The purpose of this research was to determine the level of nutrition knowledge of students in four-year hospitality programs; their attitudes toward nutrition in general (general attitudes); and their attitudes toward its role in commercial foodservice (restaurant attitudes). Correlations between knowledge and attitudes and differences based on gender, age, college classification, and completion of a college nutrition course were also examined. Hospitality management majors in baccalaureate programs at three Texas universities completed 454 usable questionnaires. Although knowledge was not extensive, general and restaurant attitudes were positive. Knowledge was influenced by all factors except gender. General attitudes were influenced by gender, age, and classification. Only gender influenced restaurant attitudes. Knowledge was positively correlated with favorable attitudes.
Date: May 1993
Creator: Bruce, Agnes R. (Agnes Rodriguez)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Effects of an Intervention Program on Caregiver Coping Efficacy (open access)

Effects of an Intervention Program on Caregiver Coping Efficacy

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of an intervention program for Alzheimer's patients on coping efficacy of their family caregivers. Using a pre-post repeated measures design, 16 family caregivers were interviewed before and after a medical, nursing, and social service intervention. Self-report measures, adjusted for caregiver satisfaction and caregiver mastery, were used to determine if there was a change in: resources, burden, and coping efficacy with caregiver specific and general life events. Results showed a marginal effect [F = 2.6, df(4,10), p<.10] for the omnibus MANCOVA. Most of this change was due to an increase in resources. Covariates of caregiver satisfaction and mastery were correlated with average burden. Results suggest that interventions such as this will be helpful for family caregivers of Alzheimer's patients.
Date: May 1993
Creator: Driskill, Gail
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Prototypical Analysis of Antisocial Personality Disorder: Important Considerations for the DSM-IV (open access)

A Prototypical Analysis of Antisocial Personality Disorder: Important Considerations for the DSM-IV

Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) represents a controversial diagnoses which has gone through many revisions over the past 25 years and is scheduled to be revised again for the DSM IV. A comprehensive survey was composed of APD criteria from the DSM II, DSM III, DSM III-R, PCL-R, Psychopathic Personality Disorder, and Dyssocial Personality Disorder. The survey was completed by 321 forensic psychiatrists based on which criteria they believed to be the most prototypical of antisocial personality. The results identified four factors: irresponsibility, unstable self image, and unstable relationships; manipulation and lack of guilt; aggressive behavior; and nonviolent juvenile delinquency. A diagnostic set composed of the most prototypical criteria was proposed for the DSM IV diagnosis of APD.
Date: May 1993
Creator: Duncan, Julianne Christine
System: The UNT Digital Library
Stressors, Resources, and Psychological Symptomatology for Family Caregivers of Alzheimer's Patients (open access)

Stressors, Resources, and Psychological Symptomatology for Family Caregivers of Alzheimer's Patients

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between life stressors, resources, and psychological symptomatology of 20 family caregivers of Alzheimer's patients. Stressors were categorized as stressors specific to the caregiving role and general life stressors. Resources were also categorized as resources specific to the caregiving role and general life resources. Multiple regression determined which stressors, resources, and demographic variables predicted psychological symptomatology. Specific stressors that were significant predictors included: caregiving events, caregiving event chronicity, and mean burden scores. Significant general stressors included: size of caregivers' household, non-caregiving events and non-caregiving event chronicity. Significant resources included: other caregivers, the duties other caregivers provided, and caregiver's educational level. No Other Demographic Variables were found to be significant predictors.
Date: May 1993
Creator: Bizzell, Laurie
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Interpretation of Archaic Medical Treatises (open access)

An Interpretation of Archaic Medical Treatises

Ancient peoples did not distinguish between philosophy, religion, and science. Scientific truth did not exist apart from divine truth. Any new idea, finding, or theory was assimilated into a monolithic mythological structure. This is one of the causes of the underestimation of ancient science: it is always packaged in a myth - the method of preserving information in an oral culture. The mythological medium allowed the preservation and dissemination of hard-won, empirical, scientific knowledge through generations of preliterate peoples. The context for mythological memorization, or simply tradition, needed to be easily and naturally acquired. The ideal context was the anthropomorphic context, the ontogenic context. This is the Grand Allegory - the anthropomorphization of information. Biomyths are essentially biological texts allegorized in esoteric language.
Date: May 1993
Creator: Wagers, William D. (William Delbert)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Political Culture in the United States: A Reexamination of Elazar's Subcultures (open access)

Political Culture in the United States: A Reexamination of Elazar's Subcultures

This thesis discusses the use of Daniel Elazar's theory of political subcultures in the United States. The first chapter is an introduction to the concept of political culture. The second chapter discusses Elazar's theory and method. The third chapter points out the problems in Elazar's theory and his method with a discussion of recent studies. The fourth chapter outlines the present analysis and the method used. The fifth chapter sets out the conclusions and offers avenues of new direction in the study of political culture.
Date: May 1993
Creator: Jogerst, Meredith Brandes
System: The UNT Digital Library
Developing and Establishing the Reliability and Validity of the East Asian Student Stress Inventory (EASSI) (open access)

Developing and Establishing the Reliability and Validity of the East Asian Student Stress Inventory (EASSI)

The primary purpose of this study was to develop and establish the reliability and validity of the East Asian Student Stress Inventory. Data was obtained from 235 East Asian students at the University of North Texas during the fall semester of 1992. The procedures used were a two-week interval test-retest for reliability, experts' assessment of test items for face validity, a factor analysis, a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficient for construct validity. Significance was set at the .05 level. The EASSI was identified as having moderately high reliability. High test anxiety, physiological symptoms, social support, financial difficulty, and culture shock were found to be constructs of the EASSI. Majority of independent variables in this study effectively identified stressors and stresses among East Asian students.
Date: May 1993
Creator: Ding, Jiansan
System: The UNT Digital Library
China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan: The Convergence and Interaction of Chinese Film (open access)

China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan: The Convergence and Interaction of Chinese Film

This study focuses on the evolution of the movie industries in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with an emphasis on the interaction and cooperation in movie production among these three areas. The study consists of three sections: a general description of the development of Chinese cinema before 1949; an overview of the movie industries in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China after the civil war; and an intensive study of the recent changes, interactions, and connections among these industries. In the third section, three models are proposed to explain the changing practices in movie production in these three areas. Obstacles preventing further cooperation and the significance of the reconstruction and integration of Chinese cinema are discussed.
Date: May 1993
Creator: Yu, Gwo-chauo
System: The UNT Digital Library