Digitized Theses and Dissertations

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A British history of India: philosophical commitments in James Mill's the history of British India
(2000) Ferguson, Paul; Blue, Gregory
This thesis about James Mill's philosophical commitments in The History of British India gives a close analysis of the main themes in that work. It first traces the sources of his thought in the conjectural history of Dugald Stewart, the four-stages theory of Adam Ferguson and John Millar, and the Utilitarianism of Jeremy Bentham. The influence of classical political economy developed by Adam Smith, Thomas Robert Malthus, and David Ricardo is also examined. The analysis of Mill's text here focuses particularly on the relative importance of conjectural history and Utilitarianism in The History of British India, an issue that has animated much of the scholarship on this work in the last fifty years. This thesis argues that conjectural history plays a greater role in The History of British India than has been realized by scholars who have focused on the Utilitarian component. Mill's resultant Eurocentrism is also addressed.
A case study of two foster parents and their experience providing care for difficult children: a phenomenological study
(1999) Kienas, Kelli Dawn; Ricks, Frances
The Ministry for Children and Families has a standard format/procedure for determining an individual's capacity for fostering "difficult" children. The procedure typically includes a thorough home study and assessment of the potential caregiver as well as a criminal record and reference check. The home study and assessment processes are considered to be critical in the provision of foster care. However, despite these procedures, foster placements break down, resulting in turmoil for both the foster parents and the children in care. In order to develop an understanding of foster placement breakdown and/or continuity, an inquiry using a case study approach and a phenomenological method was undertaken. The focus of the study was on foster parent experiences in providing care for "difficult" children. Two cases (foster parents) were studied. Each foster parent was engaged in interviews to elicit descriptions of their experiences of one foster child's placement within their home. One-to-one interviews were held to review the preliminary data analysis and provide feedback regarding the analysis. From this inquiry, three key factors relevant to foster placement breakdown emerged: foster parent motivation, ability to accommodate, and awareness of own knowledge. This thesis concludes by reviewing the significance of these key factors and suggests areas for further research.
A case study: VSWAG court monitoring program
(1997) Albion, Susan Emily; McCarthy, Bill
This feminist Participatory Action Research chronicles the development of a grassroots feminist initiative (a Court Monitoring Program [CMP]), assesses its effectiveness through the eyes of women who participated in the program, and locates the CMP's action and the research participants' theories within competing contemporary mainstream feminist perspectives on sexual assault and the law, specifically Carol Smart and Catharine MacKinnon. The research includes archival data and 36 research participants (12 interviews, 24 questionnaires). The data were collected in Victoria, BC in 1994 - 95. The findings indicate that the grassroots feminists' theories and actions support MacKinnon and Smart's calls for action, but not necessarily their theories on power. It brings forward issues of communication between differing discourses and experiences of grassroots and academic feminists. The research supports further feminist attention to court monitoring as a method for supporting individual women while also effecting positive social change for women as a group.
A comparison of young female rope skippers with untrained matched controls
(1999) Peters, Jill T.; Gaul, Catherine Ann
The purpose of this study was to compare measures of fitness in 11 experienced female competitive rope skippers, aged 8 - 15 years, with 11 untrained control participants matched by age and maturation. A secondary purpose was to evaluate the exercise intensity of a typical rope skipping training session. The experienced rope skippers trained 3 times a week, for 60 – 90 minutes. Self-assessed maturity status was used to separate subjects into prepubescent (6 experienced, 6 control) and pubescent (5 experienced, 5 control) groups. Stature and weight were recorded and the following measures of physical fitness were assessed: maximal oxygen uptake (V02max) predicted by a 20-meter shuttle run test, peak power in ls and 5s and total work over 30s estimated from a Wingate Anaerobic Cycle test, muscular power predicted from vertical jump, muscular endurance measured by partial curl ups and straight-legged push ups, dynamic balance assessed by the Modified Bass Test of Dynamic Balance, and flexibility measured by the Leighton flexometer for shoulder flexion/extension and the sit & reach test for general body flexibility. A two-way ANOV A revealed no significant rope skipping experience (trained vs. untrained) main effect or an experience by maturity status interaction for any dependent measure. A significant maturity effect (p < 0.05) was found for height, weight, V02max, peak power in ls & 5s, total work over 30s, muscular power, balance, and left shoulder extension. High reliability (r = 0.89) was reported for the straight-legged push ups performed by the females in this study, indicating its appropriate use among similar populations. Both rope skippers and control subjects exhibited normal to higher fitness levels when compared to nonnative and criterion standards. Heart rates monitored in 2 subjects during a typical rope skipping training session demonstrated great variability, with brief periods of high intensity work combined with extended periods of low intensity activity, reflecting a less than optimal work:rest ratio and intensity level for effective aerobic training. The lack of any rope skipping training effects may be attributed to a combination of low training intensity (< 60% max HR) and duration (< 30 min). It is also possible that the control participants had higher physical fitness levels than that expected of a normal, untrained population of females.
A data analysis of Near Eastern Middle Palaeolithic hominid fossil occurrences using evidence of disposal of the dead
(2000) Roy, Cheryl Ann; Rolland, Nicolas
Fossil occurrences ascribed to archaic Homo sapiens, Homo (sapiens) neandertalensis, or early Homo sapiens sapiens or associated with the Middle Palaeolithic or Mousterian Techno-complex from twenty caves and rockshelters in the Near East are examined. These sites include: A mud, Bisitun, Dederiyeh 2, Geulah, possibly el-Wad, Hayonim, Karain, Kebara, Ksar' Akil, Masloukh, Qafzeh, Ras el-Keib, Shanidar, Shovakh, Shukbah, Skhul, Tabun, Tamtama, Zuttiyeh, and Kanal, Tikali, or Merdevenli (near Magracik in Turkey). The patterns of behavior expressed at these sites through disposal of the dead evidence suggest regional continuity with the gradual emergence of social complexity during the Middle Palaeolithic and reflect symbolic prescience on the part of the social groups. Curation or post-mortem processing of skeletal remains intensified over time and continued into the Upper Palaeolithic. The Near Eastern Middle Palaeolithic was a period of social development which laid the foundations for Upper Palaeolithic behaviors.
A descriptive survey of family law mediators on influences on outcomes in family law mediation in British Columbia
(1995) Bircher, Robert John; Hett, Geoffrey
A survey of family law mediators in the Province of British Columbia, Canada, revealed outcome rates and reported mediators' attitudes towards numerous factors that influence outcome in family mediation. The survey was restricted to lawyers certified by the Law Society of British Columbia to practice mediation; all 327 lawyer mediators in the Province were surveyed and 85 mediators responded. These mediators reported a 75.38% success rate (defined as a signed separation agreement or a consent order) which was achieved in an average of three to four sessions. Single issue mediations were reported to be more difficult to resolve than multiple issue mediations. The mediators ranked the levels of difficulty of ten common issues in mediation on a Likert scale with access reported to be the easiest to resolve and spousal maintenance reported to be the most difficult. Thirty-five factors that are believed to influence outcome were also ranked in order of significance showing that the clients' commitment to mediation is the most significant factor and whether or not the clients are common-law or married being the least significant. The results indicated that mediators believe men have no particular advantage in mediation due to better negotiating skills, higher income and assets or being more competitive. The results di9 indicate that mediators believe that mediation affords women a greater opportunity to express their views than other forms of dispute resolution and that they tend to be more satisfied with the process than men. Sixteen forms of power commonly seen in mediation were ranked in terms of difficulty to balance, with information and knowledge being the easiest to power balance and assertiveness and self-esteem rated the most difficult. The results of this study will give practicing mediators contextual background data on these factors which will allow them to better predict outcomes in given fact situations.
A dissociation between verbal and pictorial implicit memory in an elderly population
(1988) O'Sullivan, Catherine Deirdre; Masson, Michael E. J.
Current research indicates that, although older people show impaired performance, relative to young people, on standard tasks of explicit memory, i.e. recognition, cued recall and free recall, they perform as well as young people on tasks of implicit memory. In this study, performance of old and young subjects was compared on an explicit free recall task and on two implicit memory tasks; word fragment completion and picture fragment completion. As expected, on the free recall task performance of old subjects was impaired relative to young subjects for pictures and words. In addition, there were no age related decrements in performance on the implicit verbal task. In contrast, on the implicit pictorial task clear age related differences emerged with the older subjects performing more poorly than the young subjects. Further, manipulations of frequency and familiarity had no differential effect on performance for either group on the implicit tasks. In addition, there was a significant correlation for old, but not young, subjects between the picture completion task and a standard visual perceptual task. IMPLICIT MEMORY These findings suggest that, at least some components of implicit memory and specifically pictorial memory, may show an age related decline. The results are discussed in terms of a material specific, component processing approach to memory function.
"A Face Like a Mask": Themes of ldentity and Theatricality in Selected Works of Sam Shepard and Bob Dylan
(1998) Wynands, Sandra; Scobie, Stephen
This study ("'A Face Like a Mask': Themes of Identity and Theatricality in Selected Works of Sam Shepard and Bob Dylan") investigates the use of literal and figurative masks in selected works by Sam Shepard that are seen in relation to Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue tour. Of interest are collaborations and aesthetic intersections between the two artists. In a series of investigations identity is shown not to be based in a fixed origin but to be a performance of the self. The two authors' deliberate stagings of the self (both on the level of fictional character and biographical self) render the boundary between the private and the public, the true and the false, the face and the mask meaningless. Identity emerges as a fluid concept; the face and the mask become inseparable and interchangeable. Personal and national identity appear as interlaced concerns. This is reflected in the two writers' treatment of American national myths with their contribution to national identity formation. In the authors' re-written versions of American myths these myths appear as simultaneously deconstructed and empowered.
A fragment of Korean phrase structure grammar
(1988) Kim, Yong-Bum; Hukari, Thomas E.
This dissertation attempts to provide a phrase structural account of the Korean language within a restricted syntactic framework which dispenses with multi-stratal representations of sentences. It is shown that the major portions of the Korean syntax can be accounted for by a slight extension of the currently prevailing theory of Generalized Phrase Structure Grammar. The findings obtained in this thesis are two-pronged. One is related to the way in which some Korean language facts are analyzed: this aspect of our results led us to conclude that an adequately restricted descriptive model serves as a heuristic in the analysis of languages. The other involves the formal aspect of the theory which necessitated a slight relaxation of restrictions imposed on the grammar. It is shown in Chapter 2 that what is traditionally known as a subject marker in Korean is also a focus marker in the sense that it encodes exclusiveness of given information; it is also claimed that two types of multiple nominative constructions are identifiable. Chapter 3 is devoted to justifying the existence of two separate structures of similar appearance: the missing object construction and the stative sentential subject construction. Chapter 4 analyzes the Korean honorific system, especially the subject honorific system as a control-agreement phenomenon. Chapter 5 provides an unified account of two linguistic phenomena known as scrambling and topicalization. Focusing is included in our account m addition to topicalization and scrambling. These three phenomena are captured by a single generation mechanism, while differences in subjacency and the use of resumptive pronouns are explained through parochial statements. If the framework employed here is claimed to be a universal linguistic model, some of the restrictions imposed on the theory should be relaxed. Based on the analysis of Korean, the following changes are suggested: metarules should be able to apply to their own output and in non-Lexical environments; extraction from fillers should be allowed: the unbounded dependency feature (or SLASH) should be able to take a set of categories as its value. We believe that implementation of these suggestions into the grammar will increase the generative capacity of our model beyond that of the context-free grammar.
A fresh look at smoking and cessation
(1998) Schultz, Annette Susan; Dawson, J. Isobel
This study approaches smoking and cessation from a unique stance. I capture stories of smoking, cessation, attending a cessation program and continuing or resuming smoking from people currently smoking. The methodology used in-depth interviews to capture personal stories of the lived experience. The result of a series of interviews is a co-created narrative which captures each person's stories about smoking and cessation. I describe my personal meaning making process. I came to this study as a smoker for over a fourteen year period, who has not smoked in five years. My process includes influences from the narratives, which then directed me to current pertinent literature. Themes from the narratives include: paradoxes about smoking, pervasiveness of smoking, perceived barriers to quitting, the multi-layered issue of control, impact of the tobacco reduction strategies, and a wish list for smoking cessation programs. After discussing each theme I then speak from related literature.
A grounded theory of conflict between child care counsellors and adolescents in a juvenile justice facility
(2000) Woodman, Lesley Ann; Stuart, Carol
This grounded theory study explored the reported experiences of conflict between child care counsellors and adolescents within a juvenile justice program for young offenders. In particular, this research accessed the meanings that each party attributes to their experience of conflict, especially as it relates to the exercise of power. A critical theory lens was used to direct the guided conversations with participants. The nature of the influence exerted by the organizational system on the occurrence of conflict between the two and the meaning the participants attributed to that conflict was explored. Through grounded theory analysis the researcher develops a substantive theory of conflict with respect to the perception or expression of power between adolescents and counsellors and how conflict influences each parties experience of self and their roles within the juvenile justice setting. The application of this theory to practice and policy is discussed and indications for future research suggested. Practitioners are encouraged to broaden their understanding of the phenomenon of adolescents who act-out to include an appraisal of how systems can and do contribute to this phenomenon.
A little younger than fire: personal storytelling, drama, and learning
(1999) Nyman, Jennifer L.; Saxton, Juliana
This thesis is a story about story; a story which explores the relationship between personal storytelling and drama as instruments of learning. In providing a thorough, comprehensive analysis of this relationship, this researcher has sought to address the following questions: 1) What is personal storytelling, and how is it different from other forms of narrative? 2) What role does personal storytelling play in one's cognitive and emotional development? 3) How might the utilization of personal storytelling within the curriculum effect school learning? 4) How might personal storytelling be utilized to enhance learning in drama education? The answers to these question will be addressed within this thesis as I provide a detailed account of the current research which surrounds these issues and of the outcomes of my human subjects research project. The project, conducted during the Summer of 1998, serves to illuminate the reciprocal educative relationship maintained by personal storytelling and drama, how the two may work in tandem as effective pedagogic tools, both within school learning and drama education.
A mediated me: an autoethnographic study of self, body and media
(2002) Dellebuur, Kristyll Jo-Ann; Hoskins, Marie L.
In this autoethnographic study, the metaphor of a river illustrates the media's impact on women's conceptions of their body/selves. Through documenting and analyzing her own experiences with media and academic discourses about body and self, the author illustrates the complexities inherent in these discourses. Stating that current language limits our abilities to conceptualize our bodies and selves in healthy ways, the author introduces the term body/self as a more encompassing descriptor of the experiences she explores in this text. The author's findings challenge her previously held belief that knowledge-based prevention programming for disordered eating can effectively protect adolescent girls and women from the patriarchal discourses of femininity that they are swimming in. She puts forth the idea that resistance to these discourses must be a community activity and encourages activities for adolescent girls and adult women that foster feelings of physical groundedness and embodied wholeness.
A model for the processing of sequential information
(1979) MacGregor, James Norman; Bavelas, Alex
The dissertation proposed and tested a quantitative model of the processing of sequential information. In the first chapter, criticisms were made of the most generally accepted current quantification of sequential patterns. First, the argument was forwarded that the high correlations which support the measure are not truly representative of its predictive power. It was demonstrated that the measure typically takes on a highly limited range of values, and for this reason cannot account for much of the systematic variation found in behaviour. Second, it was argued that the measure is conceptually limited and cannot account for the results of a particular class of sequential processing studies concerned with temporal patterning. In the second chapter a new quantitative model was proposed, which provides a measure of sequential patterns called " structural embeddedness" or "embeddedness-of-runs." The measure is sensitive to the relative positions of the larger and smaller subjective structures within a sequential pattern. It takes on a minimum value when the magnitudes of structures vary inversely with their degree of embeddedness within a pattern. This means that the lowest value obtains when the largest subjective structures are in the outermost positions, the next largest structures in the next outermost positions, and so on. It takes on a maximum value when the opposite is true, and the largest structures are in the innermost positions, the next largest in the next innermost, and so on. Comparisons of the structural embeddedness of sequences with behavioural data in the literature indicated that subjects appear to prefer patterns with minimal structural embeddedness. Other results examined indicated that the subjective complexity of sequences varies directly with the degree of structural embeddedness. Two main hypotheses were proposed: that the complexity of sequences varies as a direct function of structural embeddedness, and that sequences tend to be organized into forms which minimize their structural embeddedness. In the third chapter psychological interpretations of the model’s two parameters were considered. The embeddedness of structures was proposed to reflect the order in which they are processed, with outermost structures being processed first, next outermost, next, and so on, resulting in an "endsinward" type of processing. The magnitude of structures was given two possible interpretations: either larger structures required more effort, in the process of forming or, once formed, they represented more salient features of a sequence. The order- of- processing hypothesis, and the effort or salience hypothesis were proposed as subsidiary hypotheses. The fourth chapter described the general method used in testing the experimental hypotheses. The method involved tracking subjects' anticipations during processing, and classifying responses into correct anticipation, wrong anticipation and no anticipation (copy response). The fifth chapter described two experiments. Both experiments found significant differences in the complexity of sequences across levels of structural embeddedness, under conditions where other features of sequences were controlled. This supported the first hypothesis. The second experiment demonstrated a significant tendency for sequences to be reorganized towards minimizing structural embeddedness. This result supported the second hypothesis. In addition, the first experiment confirmed that embeddedness reflects order-of-processing, and indicated that the magnitude of structures affects their salience, with larger structures being more readily processed. The structural embeddedness measure was therefore interpreted as reflecting the degree to which the most readily processed structures of a sequence are in the most readily processed positions. Such an arrangement appears to maximize subjective pattern "goodness." Hypotheses were proposed to explain this finding, and a more general psychological theory outlined. The final chapter considered possible extensions of the theory into the related areas of serial learning and verbal processing. Finally, an issue more central to the basic theory was discussed.
A model of mixed-motive intra-alliance negotiation behavior
(1988) Schmidt, Faye Nella; Lee, Eric S.
A new theoretical model of mixed-motive intra-alliance negotiations is presented and tested. The assumptions in this model address: (a) cooperative and individualist goals, (b) positions of mutual dependence, (c) perceptions of power, (d) standards of fairness (equity and resource scarcity or need), and (e) outcomes (conflict and effective power). The model was developed with reference to the crisis game which simulates two-party negotiations in NATO over defense spending. It proposes that as negotiators interact over decisions relating to their cooperative and individualistic goals, several factors come into play (factors which are linked to the negotiator' s relative levels of resources and the importance of these resources to the alliance' s goals). One factor is the extent to which the negotiators are mutually dependent to obtain or maximize these goals. Another is the amount of power each is perceived to have. A third factor is the influence of the value of fairness which is assumed to impact contribution strategies and the negotiator's ability to justify the solutions they favor. These factors are used to predict levels of conflict and financial outcomes (e.g., high conflict will occur when negotiators are mutually dependent and there is a large discrepancy in their level of resource scarcity or need). In contrast to other crisis game models, this model generates predictions for a larger range of negotiation behaviors and outcomes in addition to predicting the amount of conflict. The model demonstrates a mathematical modelling approach in a complex situation, clarifies concepts important to intra-alliance negotiations, and advances theoretical knowledge. Many of the model's predictions were tested in two experiments utilizing the crisis game. These studies examined the impact of different economic contexts on several negotiation behaviors and outcomes (e.g., desired and actual financial outcomes, concessions, perceived and effective power, conflict, defense fund spending, individual contribution strategies, and the importance of goals). In Experiment I the ratio of the resources needed by the alliance (to meet external threats) to available resources was held constant while the relative resources of the negotiators were varied (100 resources were divided using a .50/.50, .75/.25, and a .95/.05 division). In Experiment 2 the .75/.25 division was replicated with a new ratio of needed to available resources (in Experiment I the total resources were less than the maximum threat and in Experiment 2 the alliance's resources exceeded it). These experiments offer substantial support for the model including its new predictions linking conflict to both of the economic factors considered. In Experiment I a curvilinear conflict pattern was found with most conflict in the .75/.25 condition. In Experiment 2 the new level of resources resulted in a low level of conflict for this resource division. These results show that the model predicts the data reported in past studies (A. Bavelas, personal communication, 1977; Lee, 1986; Vitz and Kite, 1970) as well as new economic contexts not previously considered.
A portable animation facility for the design of autonomous underwater vehicles
(1998) Hackett, Georgina Bronwyn; Nahon, Meyer A.
The development process of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) typically requires evaluation of the stability and controllability of a large number of candidate vehicle configurations. The three-dimensional animated simulation presented in t his thesis provides a computer-based tool with which initial screenings of candidate vehicle configurations can be performed. The three dimensional animation includes an animated AUV and instrument panel. The application is written with Open Inventor, a C++ graphics library developed by Silicon Graphics and based on OpenGL. The entire package was initially developed on a Silicon Graphics Indy workstation and then ported to a PC running Windows NT and equipped with an OpenGL compatible graphics card.
A qualitative study of companion animal loss and grief resolution
(1999) Stefan, Faye Marlene; France, Honoré
The purpose of this study was to gain knowledge about the grief resolution process of bereaved pet owners. Most studies on the grieving process have outlined the stages through which the bereaved goes until the final stage of letting go of the attachment to the deceased and reinvesting that energy in new relationships. Studies regarding pet loss bereavement have been focused on the similarities of grief over the loss of a person and grief over the loss of a pet. These studies have been based on the model of grief espoused by the positivist view of stages of grief and the concept of working through to resolution. This study has taken a postpositivist perspective, and looks at bereaved pet owners' journeys through the grief experience and questions whether or not resolution has to mean letting go of the relationship attachment to the deceased. The method employed in this study was a qualitative, heuristic, descriptive model. Interviews were conducted with five childless women who had experienced the loss of a pet one year or more prior to the study. From the transcripts, an individual summary was written for each participant. An analysis was then done of the factors that influenced the grieving process. The results showed that three main factors influenced the grief experience of these participants: the quality of the relationship with the deceased pet, the support network available to the bereaved, and the way the companion animal died. Further exploration of the transcripts revealed the variety of ways the bereaved tried to work with their grief. These were: executing rituals as leave taking, writing of the experience, seeking information and knowledge about the death, regaining routines disrupted by illness and death, new pet acquisition, and sharing the experience with others. The final analysis uncovered what remains with the participants of this death experience: the traumatic quality of the death, the lack of social support, insights into the meaning of life, continued mourning as a way of maintaining attachment, and integration of the deceased pet as a continuing bond. The results indicate that the stages of grief for bereaved pet owners are similar to those outlined by other theorists in regard to grief over the loss of a person, as are the activities the bereaved engages in. The results also suggest, as Klass, Silverman, and Nickman (1996) have said, that the relationship to the deceased does not end; it influences the bereaved, and the bond continues. This is of significance to counsellors when working with individuals who have suffered the loss of a companion animal. This study helps further to identify a population of people that may be at risk of stressful bereavement and the factors that might be helpful in the identification process.
A revision of the New Adult Reading Test
(1988) Blair, Jennifer R.; Spreen, Otfried
A comparison of current with premorbid intellectual level is integral to the assessment of organic deterioration. Premorbid test data are rarely available, however, so methods of estimation are needed. Several methods measure performance on tests which are believed to resist deterioration. Other methods utilize the correlation between demographic variables and actual IQ in unimpaired subjects to estimate premorbid IQ. The limitations of these methods are discussed. The New Adult Reading Test (NART) was developed as another attempt to assess premorbid IQ. Nelson and O'Connell (1978) noted that demented patients' word reading ability was maintained in spite of intellectual deterioration. Since word reading correlated highly with IQ level in a group of unimpaired subjects, it was considered a possible indicator of premorbid intelligence levels. The maintenance of word reading ability is most likely due to previous familiarity with the words, rather than the ability to phonetically decode those words. Difficult words which can only be deciphered through the application of phonetic rules may be correctly read by the unimpaired, but prove too complex for a demented population. In order to capitalize on the individual's familiarity with words, the NART was devised. The NART consists of 50 words which could not be correctly phonetically decoded. In order to pronounce the words correctly, the individual must have previously learned how they sound. Nelson and O'Connell (1978) found that the NART correlated significantly with IQ in an unimpaired population, and discrepancies between predicted (on the basis of NART performance) and actual IQs were significantly greater in a demented population. While the NART has promise as an assessment tool for the determination of premorbid intellectual function, it must be modified for current use in a North American population. The purpose of this study was to develop a revised NART word list and to standardize it on an unimpaired Canadian/U.S. population. Sixty-six unimpaired subjects were tested with a revised NART and all subtests of the WAIS- R. Demographic variables were also recorded in order to compare prediction accuracies between revised NART and demographic variable prediction equations. It was hypothesized that the revised NART score would correlate significantly with FSIQ, VIQ and PIQ. It was also hypothesized that prediction would prove more accurate with the use of equations based on revised NART and demographic variables than with demographic variables alone as outlined by Barona, Reynolds and Chastain (1984). All hypotheses were supported. Correlations between actual VIQ, PIQ and FSIQ, and predicted IQs on the basis of revised NART score were. 83, .40, and .75, respectively, all significant at p<.001. Stepwise multiple regressions of VIQ, PIQ and FSIQ on age, sex, education, occupation, source (U.S. vs. Canadian) and NART score were calculated to generate prediction equations for the estimation of IQs. NART score was the only variable entered into all three prediction equations. Prediction was more accurate with equations based on revised NART score than with prediction equations developed by Barona, et al. (1984). The present study provides strong support for the use of the revised NART as an assessment tool for the determination of organic deterioration. The support of further validation research is needed, however, before it can be used with confidence in a clinical setting.
A test of two minimax models for predicting the scaling of partitions of stimulus sets
(1977) Lee, Stephen Lee; Bavelas, Alex
The organizing of a set of objects by partitioning them into groups is an aspect of many familiar tasks. A distinction is drawn between the sorting version of the partitioning tasks in which the basis for sorting a set of objects into groups is explicitly specified and the classification version of the tasks in which no objective is explicitly specified. In contrast to such traditional problems as concept identification in which the partitioning is prescribed by the experimenter and the subject is required to identify the underlying concept, the subject in either a classification or a sort situation has the freedom to partition a set of objects in any way that he chooses. The present research is directed towards the ultimate goal of developing a model that would predict the partitions made by subjects when sorting objects on the basis of perceived physical similarity. In sorting on the basis of similarity, subjects presumably attempt to maximize the similarity within groups and the difference between groups. This sorting objective is called the "minimax'' objective. It is argued that, when sorting on similarity, subjects compare possible partitions in terms of the degree to which they meet the mini1nax objective. Two competing models were developed to predict subjects' judgments of the degree to which a given partition of the stimulus objects meet the minimax objective. The proposed models are not models of sorting but models of the judgmental processes that are assumed to be involved in the process of sorting. The specific purpose of the two dissertation experiments was, first, to test whether subjects can make minimax judgments and, second, to test the two models of the judgmental process. Although both judgmental models could, with the addition of supplementary assumptions, have been tested in a sorting situation, the experiments provided a more direct test of the judgmental assumptions. The relevance of these experiments and models to the problem of sorting is discussed in the dissertation. In each experiment, subjects were required, first, to judge the similarity between all possible pairs of objects and, second, to judge the degree of similarity within and difference between groups for each of a number of selected partitions. Consistency was high among subjects both in their judgments of similarity and in their judgments of minimax. On the basis of the pairwise similarity judgments, predictions of the minimax judgments for partitions were generated from each model and compared with the corresponding minimax judgments actually made by the subjects. The weighted-means model was supported to a degree over the unweighted-means model; the informal verbal reports of subjects tended to confirm this superiority of the weighted model. However, both models were very good predictors of the obtained minimax judgments.
A test of Weiner's attributional theory of achievement motivation and emotion in a youth sport achievement setting
(1988) Robinson, David W. (David William); Howe, Bruce L.
This study assessed the applicability of Weiner's (1985) attributional theory of achievement motivation and emotion to the youth sport achievement setting. After participating in a six-week competitive team sport program, 351 male and 395 female grade 8 and 9 students completed a questionnaire which employed Likert-type scales to assess their (a) perceived personal performance appraisal, (b) attributional appraisals for personal performance, (c} general (GA), self-related (SRA), and other-related (ORA) affective reactions, and (d) EXPECTANCY for future achievement. Multivariate analyses revealed the following: 1. both perceived success and perceived failure were affectively involving, with perceived success being associated with (a) greater internality, stability, and controllability of attributions, (b) more positive GA, SRA, and ORA, and (c) greater EXPECTANCY, 2. perceived performance played a more important role in the affect and expectancy processes than did attributional appraisal, 3. the causal dimensions had roles of differing importance in each of the perceived success and perceived failure conditions, 4. congruent with the linkages proposed by Weiner, it was shown that (a) perceived performance had the greatest predictive power for GA, (b) internal and stable attributions were linked with positive SRA in success outcomes, and uncontrollable attributions were linked with negative SRA in failure outcomes, (c) internal attributions were linked with positive ORA in success outcomes, and external attributions were linked with negative ORA in failure outcomes, and (d) stable and internal attributions were linked with high EXPECTANCY in success outcomes, and unstable and uncontrollable attributions were linked with low EXPECTANCY in failure outcomes, 5. contrary to Weiner's model it was shown that, (a) perceived performance was linked not only with GA, but with SRA, and ORA, and EXPECTANCY also, and (b) attributional appraisals may not always be involved in the affect or expectancy processes, but when operative they may influence each of the affect types and EXPECTANCY, and 6. males and females had similar appraisal variable-affect relationship patterns, but dissimilar appraisal variable-EXPECTANCY relationship patterns. It was concluded that, although Weiner's model provides a useful theoretical framework for research, the need exists for a sport specific model of the antecedents of affect and expectancy.

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