Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 47-06, page: 3395. Advisers: Kristy O. Murray; George L. Delclos. Includes bibliographical references.

The relation between temperament and happiness in children aged 8-12 was examined. Participants included 311 students in Grades 4-6 and their parents, recruited from public and private schools in the Central Okanagan. Parents rated their children’s temperament using the Emotionality, Activity, and Sociability (EAS) Temperament Survey (Buss & Plomin, 1984) and rated their children’s happiness using a single-item measure. Children rated their own temperament using the EAS Temperament Survey and the Piers- Harris Self Concept Scale for Children, Second Edition (Piers-Harris 2) (Piers & Herzberg, 2002). Children also rated their own happiness using a single-item measure, the Oxford Happiness Scale, Short Form (Hills & Arygle, 2002), and the Subjective Happiness Scale (Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999). Confirmatory factor analyses established that parent and child ratings on the EAS Temperament Survey conformed to the four-factor structure proposed by Buss and Plomin (1984). Multiple regression analyses revealed that temperament accounted for between 9-29% of the variance in children’s happiness depending on the rater (i.e., parents vs. children) and the measure of happiness. Individual temperament variables that predicted a unique amount of the variance of children’s happiness over and above the combined effect of all temperament variables varied with the rater of children’s temperament (i.e., parents vs. children) and with the measure of happiness. Children who were more social, less shy, less emotional, and more free from anxiety rated themselves, and were rated by others, as happier. Children who scored higher on the activity temperament rated themselves, and were rated by others, as happier. The results of the current study parallel results of research investigating the relation between happiness and personality in adults. It establishes a strong relation between temperament and happiness, and iii supports the use of self-reports with children. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Cette thèse porte sur l'étude de modèles de polymère en milieu aléatoire: on se concentre sur le cas d'un polymère dirigé en dimension d+1 qui interagit avec un défaut unidimensionnel. Les interactions sont possiblement non-homogènes, et sont représentées par des variables aléatoires. Une question importante est celle de l'influence du désordre sur le phénomène de localisation: on veut déterminer si la présence d'inhomogénéités modifie les propriétés critiques du système, et notamment les caractéristiques de la transition de phase (auquel cas le désodre est dit pertinent). En particulier, nous prouvons que dans le cas où le défaut est une marche aléatoire, le désordre est pertinent en dimension d≥3. Ensuite, nous étudions le modèle d'accrochage sur une ligne de défauts possédant des inhomogénéités corrélées spatialement. Il existe un critère non rigoureux (dû à Weinrib et Halperin), que l'on applique à notre modèle, et qui prédit si le désordre est pertinent ou non en fonction de l'exposant critique du système homogène, noté νpur, et de l'exposant de décroissance des corrélations. Si le désordre est gaussien et les corrélations sommables, nous montrons la validité du critère de Weinrib-Halperin: nous le prouvons dans la version hiérarchique du modèle, et aussi, de manière partielle, dans le cadre (standard) non-hiérarchique. Nous avons de plus obtenu un résultat surprenant: lorsque les corrélations sont suffisamment fortes, et en particulier si elles sont non-sommables (dans le cadre gaussien), il apparaît un régime où le désordre devient toujours pertinent, l'ordre de la transition de phase étant toujours plus grand que νpur. La prédiction de Weinrib-Halperin ne s'applique alors pas à notre modèle.

The aim of this thesis is to bring together scattered information about the South African textile industry in an endeavour to give its growth some semblance of order up to 1948. The thesis commences by looking at the early colonial period, from the arrival of the 1820 Settlers and the first mill they established. As wool and cotton are basic commodities in the textile industry, these are dealt with from the arrival of Jan van Riebeeck in 1652, as is the colonial economy. The development of the industry is tabled , in chronological order, from 1822 covering where mills were sited and their founders. Two chapters are devoted to the leading pioneers in the industry - Harris, Mauerberger, Beier and Frame. The position of trade unions and the role of the state in the industry are looked at, subsequently. The thesis concludes with an assessment of the industry up to 1948. The question is posed as to the future of the textile industry in the South African economy. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

In recent years, the figure of the vampire has proliferated in American literature and media. According to Stephen King, creatures of horror such as vampires appear cyclically in cultural representations to exorcise social anxieties and to cope with periods of acute crisis. In Nina Auerbach’s view, vampires are powerful representations of social critique who adapt themselves to different cultures and historical times. Against this background, I will analyze how the modern American vampire intersects with contemporary American culture in the TV series True Blood. Because the setting of this media text is the American South, my approach will be regional. I will highlight the characteristics of this area of the United States by discussing the different cultural values embodied by the Southern vampires. I will investigate how the representation of these modern vampires is an expression of the American regional past due to its connections with an important historical moment: the American Civil War. This framework will help me explain why regional vampires embody specific cultural values, and I will show how these characters are peculiar because they offer opposite portrayals simultaneously produced within the same culture. In order to highlight the cultural aspects emerging from True Blood, I will frame my analysis through the lenses of capitalism and race. These two focal points will allow me to discuss contemporary American culture and its contradictions.

Thesis (Dr. P.H.)--University of Texas School of Public Health, 2008. Thesis (Dr. P.H.)--University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health, 2008. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-02, Section: B, page: 0973. Adviser: Kristy O. Murray. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Baylor University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 137-144)

The relation between temperament and happiness in children aged 8-12 was examined. Participants included 311 students in Grades 4-6 and their parents, recruited from public and private schools in the Central Okanagan. Parents rated their children’s temperament using the Emotionality, Activity, and Sociability (EAS) Temperament Survey (Buss & Plomin, 1984) and rated their children’s happiness using a single-item measure. Children rated their own temperament using the EAS Temperament Survey and the Piers- Harris Self Concept Scale for Children, Second Edition (Piers-Harris 2) (Piers & Herzberg, 2002). Children also rated their own happiness using a single-item measure, the Oxford Happiness Scale, Short Form (Hills & Arygle, 2002), and the Subjective Happiness Scale (Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999). Confirmatory factor analyses established that parent and child ratings on the EAS Temperament Survey conformed to the four-factor structure proposed by Buss and Plomin (1984). Multiple regression analyses revealed that temperament accounted for between 9-29% of the variance in children’s happiness depending on the rater (i.e., parents vs. children) and the measure of happiness. Individual temperament variables that predicted a unique amount of the variance of children’s happiness over and above the combined effect of all temperament variables varied with the rater of children’s temperament (i.e., parents vs. children) and with the measure of happiness. Children who were more social, less shy, less emotional, and more free from anxiety rated themselves, and were rated by others, as happier. Children who scored higher on the activity temperament rated themselves, and were rated by others, as happier. The results of the current study parallel results of research investigating the relation between happiness and personality in adults. It establishes a strong relation between temperament and happiness, and iii supports the use of self-reports with children. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed. / Graduate Studies, College of (Okanagan) / Graduate

The problem with which this investigation is concerned is that of determining perceived attitudes of self-concept of educationally disadvantaged students in special vocational environments, other vocational students, and academic students as measured by the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale. The hypotheses formulated to carry out this study included: 1. There is no significant difference in the mean attitude self-concept score of vocational education students, academic students, and educationally disadvantaged students (CVAE) as measured by the Piers-Harris ChildrenIs SelfConcept Scale. 2. There is no significant difference in the mean attitude self-concept scores as measured by the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale between vocational education students, academic students, and CVAE students and number of years of placement in a vocational program, academic program and CVAE program. The Piers-Harris Children1s Self-Concept Scale was administered to 311 students from the CVAE, vocational, and academic programs in the Birdville Independent School District, Fort Worth, Texas and Denton Independent School District, Denton, Texas.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate post-burn adjustment in light of the self-esteem of child burn survivors. The study attempted to assess the viability of using a single, explicit self-report measure of self-esteem (Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale) as an index of post-burn adjustment. It appears that pediatric burn patients do not suffer a compromised self-concept secondary to the burn injury and, rather, are successful in incorporating their post-burn state, physically and psychologically, into a positive self-concept. It is suggested that evaluation of overall self-esteem incorporate a comprehensive picture of post-burn adjustment, based upon psychological and physiological parameters. Further research is justified and suggestions for future examinations are presented.