The present investigation was initiated in order to determine the relationship of responses to geometric designs to inferiority feelings and certain personality variables. The major problem was divided into the following sub-problems: 1. What is the relationship of responses to geometric designs to selected clinical scales on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory? (MMPI). 2. What is the relationship of responses to geometric designs to selected personality variables on the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule? (EPPS). 3. What is the relationship of responses to geometric designs to selected personality characteristics on the Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey? (G-Z).

According to Alfred Adler, founder of Individual Psychology, a feeling of inferiority is in some degree common to all people. People who are unable to overcome these inferiority feelings by striving for cooperation may become discouraged. Although there are three scales to measure social interest, no scales measuring discouragement for adults was found. Additionally, Adler held basic assumptions regarding homosexuality, and the findings suggest that the assumptions should be reexamined. The purpose of this study was twofold. First, three University of North Texas candidates developed a discouragement scale for adults 18 years of age and older, known as the Discouragement Scale for Adults (DSA). Discouragement was examined relative to the five life tasks. Second, this candidate normed the instrument for the scores of gay male subjects and compared it to the scores of the other subject groups. Since the emphasis was on developing the instrument and norming it for various subject groups, no hypothesis was developed. Data was collected on three subject groups, known as the general norm subjects, the discouraged subjects, and the gay male subjects. Analyses were performed on the scores. Among the analyses, it was found that gay male subjects were slightly more discouraged than the general norm subjects, and the discouraged subjects were far greater discouraged than the other two subject groups. Initial reliability and validity was found to be high, offering support that the DSA is a reliable and valid instrument. The recommendations for further research include cultural and gender studies, predicting behavior, counseling intervention, and exploring the relationship between discouragement and stressors, such as the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

This thesis critically analyses music coverage in Maclean’s between 1967-1995, and reveals that the magazine continually stressed Canadian music as inferior to that produced by foreign artists. Only during times of intense nationalism were Canadian musicians positively received in its pages. More generally, domestic productions were seen as deficient. The historical components of this investigation reveal an essential irony in the perception of Canadian music during the last four decades of the 20th century. Despite nationalist rhetorics and Maclean's self-appointed title of "Canada's National Newsmagazine," its critics consistently emphasised that Canadian music was of poor quality in the 1967-1995 period.

This thesis critically analyses music coverage in Maclean’s between 1967-1995, and reveals that the magazine continually stressed Canadian music as inferior to that produced by foreign artists. Only during times of intense nationalism were Canadian musicians positively received in its pages. More generally, domestic productions were seen as deficient. The historical components of this investigation reveal an essential irony in the perception of Canadian music during the last four decades of the 20th century. Despite nationalist rhetorics and Maclean's self-appointed title of "Canada's National Newsmagazine," its critics consistently emphasised that Canadian music was of poor quality in the 1967-1995 period.

Tyrimo tikslas - nustatyti paauglių (10-11 klasių) menkavertiškumo jausmo ir agresyvaus elgesio sąsajas su tėvų taikomais auklėjimo stiliais. Tyrime dalyvavo 240 aukštesniųjų klasių mokinių (134 merginos ir 106 vaikinai). Tiriamųjų amžiaus vidurkis 17,27. Tyrimas buvo atliekamas Kauno rajono Babtų gimnazijoje ir Kaišiadorių Algirdo Brazausko vidurinėje mokykloje. Tyrimas atliktas taikant EMBU klausimyną (EMBU: Egna Minnen Betraffande Uppfostran, Arrindell, 1999; Arrindell et al., 1994), Lyginamojo menkavertiškumo jausmo indeksą (ang. Comparative Feeling of inferiority index. aut. Strano, Dixon, 1990), bei A. Buss ir A. Durkey metodiką (1957). Atlikus duomenų analizę nustatyta, kad menkavertiškumo jausmas ir agresyvus elgesys nėra susijęs su lytimi. Taip pat nenustatyta, kad paaugliai, kurie turi išreikštą menkavertiškumo jausmą pasižymi agresyviu elgesiu. Nustatyta, kad paaugliai vaikinai, kurie mamos auklėjimo stilių suvokia kaip atstūmimo ir perdėtos globos, pasižymi mažesniu menkavertiškumo jausmu. Merginos, kurios suvokia tėvų auklėjimo stilių kaip emocinės šilumos, turi labiau išreikštą menkavertiškumo jausmą. Vaikinai, pasižymintys mažesniu agresyviu elgesiu, yra linkę tėvo auklėjimo stilių suvokti kaip perdėtos globos. Paauglės merginos, kurios suvokia motinos auklėjantį stilių kaip atstumiantį ir perdėtos globos, pasižymi mažesniu agresyviu elgesiu. Paauglių merginų suvokiamas tėvo emocinės šilumos auklėjimo stilius, susijęs su didesniu agresyviu... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The aim of the thesis is to find a connection between the inferiority and aggressiveness of adolescents (forms 10-11) and the applied parenting styles. 240 students of senior forms (134 girls and 106 boys) took part in the research. The average age of the students under research is 17.27. The research was conducted at Kaunas Region Babtai Gymnasium and Kaišiadoriai Algirdas Brazauskas Middle School. The research was carried out by means of EMBU Questionnaire (EMBU: Egna Minnen Betraffande Uppfostran, Arrindell, 1999; Arrindell et al, 1994), Comparative Feeling of Inferiority Index, authors Strano, Dixon, 1990) and A. Buss - A. Durkee method (1957). It was established after the data analysis that the inferiority and aggressiveness are not connected with the sex. It was also found out that the adolescents with a pronounced inferiority are not marked by aggressiveness. It was established that with the youngsters boys who perceive their mothers’ style of rearing as parental rejection and overprotection have the less pronounced inferiority. The inferiority is more clearly pronounced with the girls, who take the parenting styles as emotional warmth. The boys marked by lesser aggressiveness are inclined to perceive their fathers’ style of rearing as overprotection. The girls perceiving their mothers’ style of rearing as parental rejection and overprotection are marked by lesser aggressiveness. The girls who take the style of rearing of their fathers as emotional warmth are marked by... [to full text]

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2005. / Advisor: Dr. Thomas E. Joiner, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Psychology. Title and description from dissertation home page (Sept. 14, 2005). Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 24 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Non-inferiority tests are well developed for randomized parallel group trials where the control and experimental groups are independent. However, these tests may not be appropriate for assessing non-inferiority in correlated one-to-many matched data. We propose a new statistical test that extends Farrington-Manning’s (FM) test to the case where many (≥1) control subjects are matched to each experimental subject. We conducted a Monte Carlo simulation study to compare the size and power of the proposed test with tests developed for clustered one-to-one matched pair data and tests based on generalized estimating equations (GEE). For various correlation patterns, the sizes of tests developed for clustered matched pair data and GEE-based tests are inflated when applied to the case where many control subjects are matched to each experimental subject. The size of the proposed test, on the other hand, is close to the nominal level for a variety of correlation patterns. There is a debate in the literature regarding whether or not statistical tests appropriate for independent samples can be used to assess the statistical significance of treatment effects in propensity-score matched studies. We used Monte Carlo simulations to examine the effect on assessing non-inferiority via risk difference when a method for independent samples (i.e. FM test) is used versus when a method for correlated matched samples is used in propensity-score one-to-many matched studies. If propensity-score matched samples are well-matched on baseline covariates and contain almost all of the experimental treated subjects, a method for correlated matched samples is preferable with respect to power and Type I error than a method for independent samples. Sometimes there are more experimental subjects to choose from for matching than control subjects. We conducted a Monte Carlo simulation study to compare the size and power of the previously mentioned tests when many (≥1) experimental subjects are matched to each control subject. In this case, the Nam-Kwon test for clustered data performs the best in controlling the type I error rate for a variety of correlation patterns. Therefore, the appropriate non-inferiority test to use for correlated matched data depends, in part, on the sample size allocation of subjects.

This master thesis deals with topics related to the task whether customers are able to recognize a difference between products. First, testing of equivalence and non-inferiority is discussed in detail. It is an important tool when verifying that two products are equivalent or that a new product is not substantially worse than a current product. Afterwards, Thurstone's approach is introduced as a way to evaluate the impact of a stimulus on human senses. Subsequently, using the previous chapters, there is a detailed discussion dealing with three standards wi- dely used in practice in the case when someone needs to apply sensory evaluation to verify whether customers are able to recognize a difference between products. In particular, these are duo-trio, triangle and paired comparison tests. There is a thorough explanation of their statistical base and the tests are compared accor- ding to their power. Furthermore, an approach based on the Thurstone's theory is introduced as an alternative to the standard methods. Moreover, this thesis introduces Saaty's approach to the estimation of a priority vector, which is a useful tool to compare, to order or to choose the best one from n objects. We also introduce another approach to estimation of a priority vector which is based on Saaty's idea. 1

To assess non-inferiority of an experimental product to an active control in a clinical trial, an ideal design is to include a placebo arm to ensure both the experimental product and the active control is superior to placebo. We aim to identify methodology to control Type I error rate and maintain adequate power in a superiority/non-inferiority seamless clinical trial defined as: 1. selecting the best experimental treatment dose vs. placebo out of multiple treatment doses in Stage I; and 2. assessing non-inferiority of the chosen experimental dose to an active control, after adding subjects to yield adequate power for non-inferiority, in Stage II. The trial design here is an antihypertensive trial with change in systolic blood pressure as the outcome. The trial has three experimental treatment doses arms of experimental, a placebo control arm, and an active control arm. A simulation study of 20,000 such trials was conducted. We apply multiple comparison methodologies in Stage I to detect the most beneficial experimental treatment dose versus placebo, and test non-inferiority of the selected experimental dose to the active control in Stage II. Simulated Type I error rate and power for claiming non-inferiority are calculated for various dose-response trends. The need to adjust alpha to control Type I error either stage is assessed, seeking the optimal approach for doing so. Next, type I error and power for various fixed and variable non-inferiority margins are evaluated, exploring a range of margins informed by the first stage results of the study. A variable non-inferiority margin informed completely by the first stage of the trial approach results in inflated error rate which cannot be controlled by suggested multiplicity adjustments. We assess a synthesis approach between the fixed and variable margins, to both control the family-wise error rates and reach adequate power, depending on a tuning parameter defined in our work. We conclude that well-designed and adequately controlled seamless superiority/non-inferiority trials are possible with appropriate multiple comparisons adjustments and could result in less development time and fewer subjects needed to assess efficacy than separate trials.

Scientific Racism was a method used by some to legitimize racist social thought without any compelling scientific evidence. This study seeks to identify, through the Afrocentric Paradigm, some of these studies and how they have influenced the modern western institution of medicine. It is also the aim of this research to examine the ways Africans were exploited by the western institution of medicine to progress the field. Drawing on The Post Traumatic Slave Theory, I will examine how modern-day Africans in America are affected by the experiences of enslaved Africans. / African American Studies