Thesis (M.S.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2009. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 41-43).

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2008. Graduate Programme in Higher Education. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 33-37). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR45942

This study looks at the effects of silence as compared to two different types of music and one type of irrelevant speech to analyze the effects on an assessment of 4 categories of mathematical questions. The hypothesis tested was that students would perform best when subject to no distraction (silence), followed closely by non-verbal music (dubstep), while verbal music (Rap) and irrelevant self-speech (repeating the word ‘za’) would result in a decrease in performance. The hypothesis was not found to be statistically significant, but a general trend supporting the hypothesis was present and found to be consistent with similar research. / text

Previous studies have shown positive results on the use of music as postoperative pain relief. Quantitative studies have examined the effect of music on rated pain and otherparameters such as anxiety, relaxation and blood-pressure. The purpose of this study was to investigate the expectations and experiences of patients and nurses onimplementing music as postoperative pain relief in an orthopedic unit Qualitative design and semi-structured interviews were used to examine expectations and experiences. Five patients and five nurses in the unit were interviewed. Four themes developed during the data-analysis. These themes were “Expectations on music as postoperative pain relief”, “Experiences of music as postoperative pain relief”,“Effects of music as postoperative pain relief” and “Continued implementation of musicas postoperative pain relief”. A general theme was distraction. Both patients and nurses described the distracting ability of music. Music distracted the patients from both painand the unfamiliar environment and provided relaxation. According to the results of this study there is a connection between the distracting effect of the music and pain relief. More research needs to be done to examine how musicaffects the human body and mind.

Hand held device users encounter various forms of distraction in their daily lives. Distractions may prevent them from correctly using the hand held device. Usability evaluations are meant to identify issues prior to end-users experiencing them. However the laboratory environment, which usability evaluations are conducted, may not reflect the real-world conditions that devices are used. The experiment involved each participant performing tasks in both a quiet and a noisy environment. The noisy environment emulated part of a real-world experience by adding social noise in the background during the participant's tasks. The goal was to compare how much insight each participant was able to achieve from the data in each of the environments. It was found that task performance accuracy was higher in a quiet environment as opposed to the noisy environment. The mental demands and frustration of participants were found to be higher during the noisy environment evaluation.

The term cognitive control refers to a variety of mental processes that support goal-directed behavior. In the current dissertation, I focus on the role of cognitive control in situations where a weaker (but task-relevant) source of information must be selected over a stronger (but task-irrelevant) source of information. The efficiency with which individuals select information in the face of distraction has classically been viewed as a function of static control settings tied to task instructions. Recent evidence suggests, however, that variations in the efficiency of cognitive control can be induced by variations in stimulus experience and that multiple control settings may be maintained for a single task. To date, little is known about the mechanisms that support this more flexible form of control. Across six experiments, I find evidence for the formation of multiple control settings that are relatively long lasting but fragile. Multiple control settings can be maintained within a single experiment and can last over relatively long periods of time, however, without the proper contextual support these control settings fall apart. These results emphasize the important role of stimulus experience in studies of cognitive control.

Distraction osteogenesis is a recently developed option for surgical correction of the craniofacial discrepancy but there are few studies that look at the long-term effect of the relapse phenomenon. This study was conducted to look at the bone and muscle response at different consolidation and remodelling periods. Thirty ten-week-old Merino lambs were subjected to this current study. The surgically created defect was performed on the experimental side (right) by superficial masseter myectomy and a condylectomy. The lambs showed a midline shift to the affected side three months later. Marker screws were placed on both sides of the mandible to examine the adjustment of the vertical and horizontal dimension of the mandible. In this present study, the left side was used as the control. The affected mandible was surgically corrected using a vertical ramus distraction osteogenesis protocol. The latency period was 7 days where the device was inactive. Distraction was then performed at 1 mm per day until the distracted gap was 10 mm on a radiograph. Initially, the sheep were divided into 8 groups but later the groups were refined into 6 groups for statistical analysis; Group 1: Immediately post distraction Group 2: Consolidation 2 months and remodelling 1 month Group 3: Consolidation 3 months Group 4: Consolidation 3 months and remodelling 1 month Group 5: Consolidation 3 months and remodelling 2 months Group 6: Consolidation 4 months A ‘hemifacial microsomia like’ defect was successfully created and it was then corrected using vertical ramus distraction. Cephalometric examination showed that the vertical height was significantly increased after the distraction was completed. Examination of the bone and muscle was performed to look at the adjustment of bone structure in relation to relapse. The bone investigation was conducted using radiological analysis, histological analysis and direct measurement of the vertical screws at pre-distraction and at sacrifice as well as histomorphometric analysis. The radiological examination was conducted using cephalometric analysis of the distance between marker screws on both experimental and control sides. Bone histology was investigated on the middle and posterior position of the experimental side. The histomorphometric analysis was conducted using Quantiment analysis software. The muscle responses and adaptation were investigated by measuring: the weight of the masseter and medial pterygoid muscles; length between 6 different points (4 landmarks); cross section and thickness of masseter muscles by ultrasound and by histopathological examination of both masseter and medial pterygoid muscles on the experimental and the control sides. The distracted bone showed a completion of maturation after a three month consolidation period. Bone formation was shown to continue after longer consolidation periods. A two-month consolidation period was insufficient time for the bone to consolidate and stable, as there was evidenced of relapse during this period. There was no increased in muscle mass after distraction. The distraction altered the length of anterior and posterior planes and the size of cross sectional area and thickness of origin and middle level of masseter muscles. There were no changes in the length of the middle and oblique planes and the cross sectional area of the insertion of the masseter muscle. The distracted muscle adapted well after a longer consolidation and remodelling period but was sensitive to any surgical procedure such as device removal. The adjustment was observed to continue within the first month after surgical removal of device. The weight, length of planes, cross section and thickness was temporarily reduced on the experimental side but continued to improve and stabled during the second month after removal of the device. The first month after device removal also showed that histopathological activity was increased after both 2 and 3 month consolidation periods. Importantly, muscle histopathology was back to almost normal activity after the second month of device removal, following a 3 month consolidation period. This study showed that it was possible to create a ‘hemifacial microsomia like’ defect in very young lambs. The defect was then successfully corrected by a vertical distraction osteogenesis procedure. It was also shown that the sufficient time for the device to be fixed in place (consolidation period) was 3 months or longer as the bone and muscle was stable after that period of time. Results from this investigation have important implications to the management of similar conditions in humans. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1346836 / Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Adelaide, School of Dentistry, 2008.

Thesis (Psy.D.)--University of Northern Colorado, c2005. / Adviser: David Gonzalez. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of Psychology, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on July 8, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 142-147). Also issued in print.

Thesis (M.S.)--Villanova University, 2009. / Psychology Dept. Includes bibliographical references.