There is no abstract available for this dissertation.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether differences exist between the vectors of the means of inflectional endings, plural and total scores, supplied by children of the age groups three, four, five and six enrolled in selected day care centers, kindergartens and first grades in Muncie, Indiana.An additional purpose of the study was to determine whether inflectional endings were acquired gradually between ages three and six or whether the inflectional endings were acquired at a specific age between the years three and six.A total of 120 children enrolled in selected ay care centers, kindergartens and first grades located in Muncie, Indiana, were randomly selected to represent four different age groups: 3-year-olds, 4-yearolds, 5--year-olds and 6-year--olds. Each age group was represented by 30 children, 15 boys and 15 girls.The Wug Test, which measures the inflectional endings supplied by children, was the ins-crument selected for the study. The Wug Test was developed by Berko and adapted by Stickle. The adapted form of the Wug Test was used for the purposes of this study. A pilot study was conducted to determine the reliability coefficient of the adapted form of the Wug Test when administered to 30 three-year-olds. Using the Kuder Richardson Reliability #20 formula, the reliability coefficient for 16 items of the test was .691,15 for three-year-olds. There was no variance reported on item 16 of the test; however, all 17 items were used since older children were also tested. The adapted form of the Wug Test was individually administered to 120 children in a quiet room away from the general noise and possible intrusions at each site.One overall null hypothesis was tested at the .05 level of statistical significance. The hypothesis stated that no statistically significant difference exists between the vectors of the means of inflectional endings, plural and total scores, supplied by children of three, four, five and six enrolled in selected ay care centers, kindergartens and first grades in Muncie, Indiana. Statistically significant difference was found; therefore, further comparisons were made utilizing Tukey's Honestly Significant Different procedures to determine the point at which statistically significant differences existed between age groups on plural sub-scores and total scores. Statistically significant differences were found when }year-olds were compared to 6-year-olds and when 4-year-olds were compared to 6-year-olds on plural sub-scores; when 3-year-olds were compared to 5-year-olds and 6-year-olds on total scores. Children who were 4-years old differed statistically on total scores when compared to children who were 5 or 6 years old.Conclusions drawn from the findings were: children as young as 3 years old can inflect nonsense words; children seem to acquire gradually the ability to supply inflectional endings between the ages 3 and 6; all inflectional endings are not acquired by age 6; significant differences exist between the number of inflectional endings supplied by children 3 through 6 years of age on both plural sub-scores and total scores; and the general superiority that is often reported concerning the language development of girls over the language development of boys was not found when testing inflectional endings.

Drinking water is a potential means for transmission of the opportunistic pathogen Legionella pneumophila. The objective of this research was to document the occurrence of L. pneumophila from source water, partially treated water after conventional water treatment, and distribution water. Water samples were examined for L. pneumophila by direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) techniques and by SYBR Green based real-time multiplex PCR. Primers were designed to amplify a 16S product of 490 bp and a mip product of 290 bp within L. pneumophila. Sensitivity of culture methods and PCR was determined by percent recovery and by using serial dilutions of positive control DNA, respectively. Eighty percent of source water samples were positive for L. pneumophila by real-time PCR versus 100% positive by DFA for L. pneumophila. Twenty percent of GAC filter water samples were positive for L. pneumophila by real-time PCR versus 40% positive by DFA. Distribution water samples yielded mixed results. Twenty percent of biofilms from the distribution system were positive for L. pneumophila by real-time PCR. This project confirms the potential for human infection by L. pneumophila from distribution water within the study area. / Department of Biology

This creative project is to create a DVD as an interactive tool for Muncie Public Library librarians, introducing the library's environment and promoting programs to local residents. The DVD provides a friendly interface and utilizes the latest technology, such as Quick Time movies, 360° Virtual pictures and animations in introducing the library's facilities and guiding Muncie residents visually around the library. Additionally, the DVD provides a new method instead of a traditional flyer for residents to access the library's services and programs. / Department of Telecommunications

In this study, the writer will attempt to further the work done by the students of truancy. The approach is somewhat different from that in general use. In the research which has been done in this area, the emphasis has been upon objective comparison of truants with non-truants. The reader will find here an approach which attempts to discover the feelings and attitudes of truants toward the situation in which they find themselves. By this method, it is hoped that a better understanding of these attitudes will result in more effective action by the parents, teachers, and agency workers who contact them.

There is no abstract available for this thesis.

This research focused on the gap in data and theory on occupational mobility between historians researching the nineteenth century and sociologists researching the twentieth century. City directory listings on Muncie, Indiana provided the source data for a re-assessment of the blocked-mobility thesis asserted by Robert S. and Helen M. Lynd in the Middletown (1928) study of Muncie. The Middletown Index of Association was developed to analyze rates and trends in intra-generational occupational mobility.The results showed that the rate of upward mobility varied on the basis of the rate of industrialization, and both phenomena declined in the period under study. Thus, while upward mobility was decreasing, as reported by the Lynds, that decrease occurred with the deceleration rather than the advent of industrialization.Out-migration significantly increased through time contributing to a decelerating rate of urbanization, but low-status laborers continued to migrate out of the labor force at a significantly greater rate than skilled and white-collar workers. The "floating prolitariat" continued as a phenomenon in Muncie into the twenties. As a city declining in regional dominance, Muncie served as a "stage" in the movement of rural populations into increasingly larger cities.The association of high status to persistence in the labor force was matched with significantly greater residential persistence by skilled and non-manual workers. Social control was found to be more plausible than affluence as an explanation of the strong individualistic faith of the Muncie working class.

Success is a something that every organization strives for, yet not all accomplish. This investigator reviewed the literature on organizational communication. Specifically, the study examined the use of communication audits as a management tool.The investigator conducted a study of the external publics/ customers, and publics/ staff members of a private, non-profit center. Additionally, the investigator- did an survey of Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) members who are with Fortune 500 companies throughout USA. The purpose was to probe the state of communication research in our country. Result's of the data showed that the use of research has slightly increased. However there is some skepticism regarding the value of public research. / Department of Journalism

This thesis argues that since baseball is "America's National Game" and Muncie, Indiana, is commonly perceived as "Middletown USA," that Muncie baseball should be very reflective of the national game and serve as a microcosm for both national and local social changes. A detailed historical account of baseball in Muncie, Indiana, from 1876 to 1953 is provided which serves as an excellent model of the importance of semi-professional baseball in a small city.This project has uncovered some interesting facts about the role of sports because baseball was actually treated in Muncie more as entertainment than as a sport. The real reason for the success of Muncie baseball was the constant availability of quality baseball parks and that appears to be an important criteria for a successful semi-professionalbaseball club.Muncie was very reflective of the "National Game" as the Pittsburgh Pirates held spring training during World War II in Muncie and the Cincinnati Reds supported a Class "D" farm club from 1946 to 1950. Such national attention from major league clubs was a product of a very rich Muncie baseball tradition. / Department of History

This study is essentially a descriptive account of the images of women labeled as prostitutes in the newspapers of Muncie, Indiana, at the turn of the century. In addition, attention was also given to how women as a group were presented. It was suspected that there would be a correlation between the images of women stigmatized by arrest and the images of those other women whose status or behavior was thought to merit inclusion in the newspapers.This paper includes: 1. a brief overview of the social, economic and political dynamics of the town in 1895, 1905 and 1914, 2. a section on images of the prostitute as portrayed by the newspapers during these years as well as an attempt to evaluate the actual, as opposed to symbolic, position of women identified as prostitutes and 3. a review of the activities and images of other women as presented in newspaper accounts.The main findings are: 1. In 1895, prostitutes were presented as stigmatized but integral members of the community who were routinely regulated by law enforcers while women as a group were newsworthy primarily when involved with the legal system in cases involving, marriage, divorce and suicide. 2. In 1905, the prostitute had become a symbol of individual and communal decay while women in general were portrayed within the context of romantic love whereby passion led to elopements, divorce, suicide and interpersonal violence. 3. By 1915, the image of women labeled as prostitutes had shifted again to that of a youthful victim of socioeconomic processes. This new image was linked with the much publicized ascendancy of middle-class women into the public sphere as professionals, club members and active reformers in the town. 4. Women labeled as prostitutes suffered a loss of status and legal protection between 1895and 1915 while women actively involved in public life experienced increased visibility and affirmation in the newspapers.