This dissertation examines the use of group support systems (GSS) and cooperative learning techniques to improve classroom productivity. Cooperative learning assumes that learners have prior knowledge they can contribute, that knowledge is expanded, clarified and created as it is shared, participation is critical to learning and learners will participate given necessary and sufficient conditions. GSS were initially developed to support users and analysts in identifying system requirements, a task which satisfies the assumptions of cooperative learning. GSS features such as anonymity and parallel communication can overcome obstacles to cooperative learning such as air-time fragmentation, production blocking, free-riding, evaluation apprehension and dominance. Additional issues examined in this dissertation include the relationship between deindividuation and electronic communication and the effect GSS have on affective reward. The following research questions were identified: (1) What influence can the use of GSS have on classroom participation? (2) How are obstacles to participation such as dominance, free-riding, production blocking, evaluation apprehension and the sucker effect influenced by the use of GSS? (3) What effect can the use of GSS in the classroom have on both self-reported and observed learning? (4) What is the relationship between GSS and both flaming and off-task buffoonery in the classroom? (5) What is the relationship between GSS and affective reward? A longitudinal experiment was conducted comparing two sections of an introductory MIS course held in consecutive semesters. The two sections were identical with respect to lectures and class-activities with the exception that the second class received GSS-support for the course's eight group tasks. In the GSS-supported class, total student participation increased by over 500% with all students engaging in every task. Dominance was cut by 50%. Process losses such as free-riding, production blocking and the sucker effect were substantially reduced. Flaming and off-task buffoonery occurred in the first task and then subsided. Students in the GSS-supported class reported a greater degree of affective reward. Perhaps more impressively, students in the GSS-supported class were more successful in retaining and applying concepts learned during the group tasks.

The purpose of this study was to determine if a difference existed between a sample of fraternity residents and a sample of dormitory residents in the level of self-disclosure present in their same-sex friendships. Of additional import was whether or not self-disclosure, directed toward different target persons, varied according to the age of the discloser, the identity of the target person, and the reported closeness of the discloser to his father. A modified version of Sidney M. Jourard's Self-Disclosure Questionnaire was utilized to measure present levels of self-disclosure. Findings indicated there was a significant difference in self-disclosure with same-sex friends between the sample of fraternity residents and the sample of dormitory residents. Moreover, significant differences were found in the mean level of self-disclosure as it related to the identity of the target person, and to the reported closeness of the discloser to his father.

With recent advances in artificial intelligence, new methods are being developed that provide faster, and more consistent predictions for data in complex environments. In the field of landscape assessment, where an array of physical variables effect environmental perception, natural resource managers need tools to assist them in isolating the significant predictors critical for the protection and management of these resources. Recent studies that have utilized neural networks to assist in developing predictive models of scenic beauty that have typically utilized linear regression techniques have found limited success. The goal of this research is to compare NN's with linear regression models to determine their efficiency predictive capability for assessing near view scenic beauty in the Cedar City District of the Dixie National forest (DNF). Results of this study strongly conclude that neural networks are consistently better predictors of near view scenic beauty in spruce/fir dominated forests than hierarchical linear regression models.

This study explored the relationship of physical mobility; social integration with children, siblings, other relatives, and close friends; and social satisfaction with friend and family relations to the well-being of unmarried Canadians age 75 and older. This study also explored the relationship between each of four social integration measures and physical mobility in potentiating well-being. To take into account any possible effects of demographics the following were included in a multiple regression analysis with the major study variables; age, gender, marital status and living arrangements. A correlational cross-sectional design, using a subsample of 754 unmarried persons living in the community was selected from an archived data set, Statistics Canada's 1985 General Social Survey. No significant interactions were identified between social integration and physical mobility. The results lend support to the importance of physical mobility and the quality of relationships to the older person's well-being. Physical mobility, satisfaction with friendships, being older, and satisfaction with family relations were identified as constituting the best set of variables most strongly related to well-being. Together they accounted for 40% of the variance (p $<$.01). Physical mobility was more strongly related to the well-being of men age 75 to 79 than that of any other gender-age group. Practice and research implications are discussed.

<p> This 3-month intensive single case study of Rey (pseudonym), a 16-year-old male client and his family highlights the impact of the local wraparound program in Santa Cruz County (WRAP) on a participating probation youth of immigrant background. A holistic lens helped understand the interactive spheres that made up Rey's world. The theoretical considerations reviewed&mdash;both individual and systems orientations&mdash;suggested a more complete view of the complex interrelated factors that made up the participant's reality. The literature review covered social ecology; community psychology; wraparound; the local cultural, historical, and ethnographical background; attachment; complex trauma; emotion regulation; interconnectedness; family therapy; and coherence. There is a session-by-session synopsis of Rey's interactions with the program, followed by an analysis of the sessions as they related to his defense, receiving support, connectedness, participation, exploration, and emotion regulation. The holistic model offered detailed insight into Rey's experiences during his work with WRAP. Although the results are individualized, the focus on the single participant allowed for sensitization and increased awareness regarding WRAP's impact on Rey's world. The use of the holistic model and the themes that emerged should be examined in further research with different populations and diverse sociocultural surroundings.</p>

<p> This study examined the common essence of language restriction and then resurgence among Quechan Native American elders. The data suggests that Quechan elders' sense of culture and identity was influenced by speaking the native language. Bourdieu's work on language and power were supported as socially constructed means of communication. Findings from this study provided empirical support for Hatch's Cultural Dynamics model. Erikson's work on identity was also supported with additional suggestions made to expand his final stage of psychosocial development for the Quechan Native American. </p><p> This research primarily focused on the individual level of analysis and provided practical application for the constructs of language, culture, and identity. In addition, this research also provided theoretical contributions for identity while embracing the existing body of knowledge. The research question, <i>"How does speaking the native language affect one's sense of culture and identity?"</i> was addressed through ten interviews with elders of the Quechan Native American Tribe. </p><p> Three distinct findings emerged from data gathered in this research. The first major finding indicated that language is a means of survival for the Quechan elders who forms much of their current reality on historical knowledge. The second finding suggests that the identity of Quechan elders is under reconstruction through the resurgence of the Quechan language and subsequent legitimization of that linguistic symbol. Lastly, the Quechan elders may be realigning their individual view of culture based on a combination of long-standing tribal knowledge and documentation presented by the dominant culture. </p><p> This study suggests a need to draw stronger theoretical connections between the constructs of identity and culture. On the individual level of analysis, culture and identity form and reform constantly to emerge as new entities. However, as this research has suggested, the individual may greatly influence the group's fundamental ideas of culture and identity.</p>

<p> Gatekeeper Suicide Prevention Trainings such as Question Persuade and Refer (QPR) are used to increase suicide awareness and teach participants basic suicide intervention skills. Previous researchers showed that QPR training increases knowledge of suicide risk factors and increases participants' willingness to intervene with individuals at risk of suicide. It was hypothesized that completion of QPR would also increase positive attitudes toward the utilization of mental health services and that this outcome would be more pronounced among male participants. The examination of attitudes was rooted in the theoretical framework of Ajzen's theory of planned behavior. The Inventory of Attitudes toward Seeking Mental Health Services (IASMHS) was the instrument used for the study. The study occurred in a rural community college in southern Oregon. Student attitudes were assessed prior to completion of a 1-hour QPR presentation followed by a 3-week post assessment. Analysis of Variance revealed significant effects of QPR training. IASMHS scores were significantly higher at post QPR training. A significant interaction between gender and QPR training showed that women scored significantly higher than men only at pre QPR training. There was no statistical gender difference in attitudes measured by the IASMHS at post QPR training. QPR increased help seeking attitudes in both men and women with the increase being more pronounced in men. Increasing positive attitudes toward help seeking can contribute to positive social change. Practitioners in the field of men's health should consider using gatekeeper suicide prevention training such as QPR as a means of increasing male help seeking.</p>

<p> The effects of a six-week mindfulness class on racial stereotype bias, attention, and working memory was measured by the Implicit Association Test (IAT), Attention Network Task (ANT), and Automated Operation Span Task, respectively. Explicit racism (Modern Racism Scale, Right-Wing Authoritarianism, Social Dominance Orientation), mindfulness (Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire), depression, anxiety, and stress (Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale) were also examined. Sixty traditional-aged undergraduate women participated in this study (20 completed the mindfulness course and the remaining completed a non-MBSR physical education course). The results revealed that training was not associated with decreased racial stereotype bias on the IAT. Training was associated with increased performance in attention-switching on the ANT. In both groups, explicit racism and working memory predicted racial bias at time 1, and explicit racism predicted change in racial bias between times 1 and 2. Unexpectedly, increase in mindfulness (FFMQ) approached prediction of an increase in racial bias across both groups. In summary, the findings contradict the hypothesis that participation in a six-week mindfulness course will reduce stereotype application and activation.</p>

<p> Demographic trends indicate a significant increase in the number of adults over 65, especially those 85 and older (Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics, 2010). Community services may be reduced or eliminated due to fiscal constraints (NGA, 2010). Recruiting and retaining volunteers to act as legal guardians (VGs) for incapacitated older adults may be essential in meeting increased community service demand for guardians. </p><p> This mixed method study built upon prior research to include themes of qualitative semi-structured interviews and quantitative results from the Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI; Clary et al., 1998; Clary, Snyder, &amp; Stutkas, 1996) with VGs from a mid-Atlantic not-for-profit guardianship agency. Quantitative data suggest VG motivations score higher than the comparison sample on subscales measuring factors, such as Values (humanitarian, altruistic reasons), and lower than comparison sample on the Career, Enhancement, and Protective factor subscales. Qualitative data were collected using a semi-structured interview guide and analyzed using the Generic Inductive Qualitative Method (Hood, 2007). Interviews conducted with 12 volunteer guardians indicated themes related to why VGs chose this task, such as 'helping the unbefriended (Values factor),' 'giving back/paying forward,' and 'learning to help.' Themes illustrative of how the guardians performed this volunteer task included 'how they with conflict,' 'need for a good match (client to volunteer),' and 'asking for help.' </p><p> In addition, findings seem to indicate that volunteers with human service training employed a more directive case management style. Volunteers without human service training provided more collaborative, functionary guardian services. Qualitative interview data were also collected from six board and agency staff and indicated a difference in perception between administration and VGs related to the 'need for a good match,' as well as 'recruitment' methods. </p><p> Implications for practice include the need to provide more support and assistance to volunteers without human service training, understanding the need for guardian-client matches that would be more compatible with the guardian type, as well as a need for improved, specific recruiting methods. Implications for future research include the development of a model to recruit and train volunteer guardians that could be replicated by social service, faith-based, and other not-for-profit agencies.</p>

<p> Separate theories of leadership roles and parenting styles have been richly developed and explored, but the relationship between the two is an area in need of further research. The various skills garnered through leadership experience can be instrumental for parents in managing and resolving family conflict, thereby increasing family resiliency. The willingness to address conflict directly versus the avoidance of conflict has been summarized into specific patterns that all groups, including families, progress through; however, the degree to which parents initiate reconciliatory actions needs further detailed analysis. Additionally, insight on the importance of parents modeling positive coping strategies will be derived through proper conflict management as a learned adaptive behavior for children. The intent of this grounded theory qualitative study was to explore potential overlap between leadership roles and parenting styles, and how the use of constructive conflict management strategies develops family resiliency. Through the use of semi-structured interviews, this overlap between leadership, parenting, and conflict management was analyzed. Each participant provided a response to open-ended questions regarding their leadership experience, role as a leader in their family, and their perception of family conflict. Next they described how they would respond to hypothetical scenarios incorporating various degrees and approaches to conflict. All the responses were coded and analyzed for themes that resulted in a new theory on family resiliency based on parents' use of minor levels of conflict to teach children the life skills necessary to cope with greater confrontational situations, such as crises or potentially traumatic events. </p>