Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Differential Implementation Of A Performance Objective Directed At The Reduction Of Suspensions At Five Desegregated Junior High Schools, Walden A. Baskerville Jr.

Dissertations

This study was designed to examine the efforts of a desegregated urban public school district to reduce the incidence of student suspension over a three-year period. More specifically, it examined the efforts and results five middle school staffs achieved in reducing the incidence of student suspension from school as a method of dealing with disruptive behavior.

Category I suspensions, i.e., suspensions resulting from disruptive behavior not requiring legal action, constituted the data base for the study. These data were obtained from central office files maintained by schools for the three-year period 1972-75 following a directive issued by the superintendent of …

A Discrete Trial Choice Procedure For Assessing The Periodic Equivalent Of Aperiodic Ratio Schedules, Michael Joseph Boivin

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Study Of Four Year State University Related Foundations, Timothy Arthur Reilley

Dissertations

The Purpose. The purpose of this study was to define the organizational and operational structures of four year state university related foundations. An additional purpose was to compile a listing of all four year state university related foundations in the United States.

Methodology. Data were obtained through the use of a questionnaire mailed to all four year state universities in the United States. The questionnaire was divided into two parts. Part one included a series of three demographic questions which identified the respondent at a certain level in each of three categories, number of students, kinds of degrees and number …

A Test Of A Sociological Causal Model Of Alcohol And Deviant Drinking Patterns, Ruby E. Ivens

Dissertations

There is no widely accepted comprehensive sociological theory of the etiology of alcohol use or misuse. More generally, there are frames of reference in which are found statements about the nature of the relationship between societies or groups of people and specific drinking behaviors. This study will present a theoretical model which is derived from available descriptive literature and empirical research.

The review of pertinent literature reveals two general social factors that seem to be associated with drinking patterns. First, members of a society are socialized from an early age to drinking norms and behavior. In a simple society socialization …

Developing A Verbal Repertoire Using Sign Language And Skinner's Analysis Of Verbal Behavior, Mark L. Sundberg

Dissertations

A series of experiments on the use of sign language with hearing, non-vocal, mentally impaired individuals was conducted. Several researchers have shown that such persons can acquire signs; but in a recent review of the literature (Pulton & Algozzine, 1980), the authors conclude that there was no evidence that a "functional communication system" was acquired and in only one case had manual signing become a primary mode of communication. The problem may be related to the issue that most of the previous work on sign training has been based on traditional programs of language instruction. Such programs often place an …

An Analysis Of The Role Of Reinforcement Magnitude In The Transfer Of Stimulus Control In A Receptive Discrimination Task, Beverly S. Adler

Masters Theses

The role of reinforcement magnitude in the transfer of stimulus control was analyzed using a delayed prompting procedure. A delay was gradually lengthened between the presentations of the relevant discriminative stimulus and an imitative prompt. During one condition, the contingencies of reinforcement were arranged such that the reinforcement available for anticipatory and prompt-controlled responses were equal. During another condition, responses which preceded delivery of the prompt were given more reinforcement than prompt-controlled responses. Two subjects were exposed to these conditions in the context of acquiring a series of receptive discrimination tasks. Results were inconclusive. Mean trials to criterion showed little …

Citizen Advisory Committees: The Relationship Between Member Satisfaction And Committee Variables, Linda Kimmel Pifer

Masters Theses

The relationship between the satisfaction members of locally initiated citizen advisory committees have with their committees and the following types of independent variables were examined: (a) shortcomings of the committees; (b) external influences on the committees; (c) information available to the committees; (d) specific actions performed by the committees; and (e) personal characteristics of the members. The membership of eight citizen advisory committees in Kalamazoo, Michigan comprise the sample. A questionnaire was distributed to the members to collect information on the five groups of independent variables, member satisfaction with the committees, and socio-economic characteristics of the members. A satisfaction scale …

The Effects Of A Transfer Of Stimulus Control Procedure, Probes, And Reinforcement On The Acquisition And Generalization Of An Intraverbal Repertoire, Steven John Braam

Masters Theses

A deaf, mentally-impaired youth was trained to emit intraverbal responses within the same response class to verbal stimuli which were presented in daily probe sessions (e.g., "food" evoked "apple", "bread","hot dog", etc.). Training consisted of a transfer of stimulus control procedure. If an incorrect response was made, the therapist would re-present the verbal training stimulus and immediately present a non-verbal prompt (picture) which evoked a verbal response. Since the transfer procedure was only Implemented contingent upon incorrect responding, it resulted in longer delays to trade-in for back-up reinforcers in sessions where mistakes were made. Correct responding Increased only as training …

Preferences Of Students For The Hutchings "Low Stress" Compared To The Conventional Algorithm Under Conditions Of Differentially Increasing The Number Of Problems With And Without Reinforcement, Pamela G. Buitendorp Drew

Masters Theses

This study was an attempt to determine which computation procedure students would select under varying classroom conditions. It is a systematic replication of previous research by Gillespie (1976). Algorithm preferences of 14 third grade students, 10 high accuracy and four low accuracy on a math facts test, were investigated under conditions of differentially increasing the number of problems with and without reinforcement, Reversal designs were used. The students completed 4X5 array problems and chose which algorithm to use, but after choosing the same algorithm for three consecutive sessions, they were required to use the alternative algorithm the next session. Preference …

Effects Of Withdrawing Diphenylhydantoin (Dilantin) On Matching To Sample Performance In Mentally Retarded Persons, Vicky June Davis

Masters Theses

The present study was designed to examine the effects of gradual DPH withdrawal on the matching to sample performance of three mentally retarded persons. The percentage of correct responses per session served as the dependent variable and the sample and comparison stimuli were red, green, and blue illumination of translucent response windows. The results showed that doses of diphenylhydantoin considerably lower than the suggested optimim therapeutic level can impair the performance of mentally retarded individuals on a simple discrimination task. As doses were reduced for each subject, there were increases in the percentage of correct responding with the highest percentage …

A Treatment Package To Improve Academic Performance, Lynn Daniel Larrow

Masters Theses

Six high school students volunteered to participate in a research project to improve their academic grades. Of these six subjects, it was found that subjects with low grade point averages (GPA) were the main beneficiaries of a behavior treatment package consisting of contingency contracting, graphing, and a self-management lecture. In addition, this study demonstrated that a contingency contract, employing a weekly consequence, and graphing can control an academic behavior, note taking. Finally, it was shown that a cost effective treatment package could produce GPA increases comparable to more expensive and time consuming treatments. It is hoped that the findings of …

Availability And Utilization Of Student/Personnel Services For Academic And Personal Development At Kalamazoo Valley Community College, Verlyn R. Knowles

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Development And Application Of Service Management By Objectives Within One Program Of One Division Of A Michigan Intermediate School District, James Harper Kaye

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Changing Appointment Making Procedures On Increasing The Number Of Initial Appointments Kept At A Family Planning Agency, Carla A. Jones

Masters Theses

The procedures for making initial client appointments at a family planning clinic were manipulated to increase the number of kept appointments. Receptionists and counselors made appointments on the two appointment forms used. Questions on the appointment sheet varied depending on the age of the caller. The 1,432 women participating in the study were placed into three groups (a) 19 years of age and under (b) 20 to 30 years of age and (c) 31 years of age and over. The results showed that the occupation of the person making the appointment at the agency did not affect the number of …

An Analysis Of The Faunal Remains From The Schwerdt Site, A Late Prehistoric Encampment In Allegan County, Michigan, Michael J. Higgins

Masters Theses

Analysis of faunal remains from the Schwerdt site, a fifteenth century encampment on the Kalamazoo River, reveals a temporary late spring occupation with an exploitative strategy aimed primarily at the spawning sturgeon. The position of Schwerdt in a larger subsistence/ settlement system is examined through comparisons with other contemporaneous sites in the southeastern Lake Michigan region. Changes in subsistence strategies on the northern periphery of effective maize agriculture.

Teaching Self-Protective Behaviors To Preschool Children Using A Videotape Training Program, Paul James Yoder

Masters Theses

This study investigated the effectiveness of a videotape training program to teach self-protective skills to preschool children. Children were taught to say, "I have to ask my teacher/parent," and to run to their teacher/parent when presented with one of two lures commonly used by child molesters. The videotape incorporated the direct instructional techniques of active pupil responding; the model, lead, and test format; and use of minimally different stimuli to teach children to discriminate between correct and incorrect responses. The results showed that although none of the subjects showed any improvement in responding after only one viewing, five of the …

The Effects Of Cumulative Review In An Interspersal Procedure On The Acquisition And Retention Of Sight Words, Kathleen M. Wright

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The 1973 Oil Embargo Arab Oil Diplomacy, Amal Mustafa Shamma

Masters Theses

The Arab oil producing countries, following years of a stalemate in the Arab-Israeli dispute,- decided to put their oil resource in the service of the Arab cause using it as an instrument of pressure against the West. Their objective was to induce a change in the Western world Middle East policy and to work toward achieving a lasting and peaceful solution for the Arab-Israeli problem.

The purpose of this thesis is to show that the application of Arab oil diplomacy has been effective into producing a more even handed policy in the area, and into breaking the deadlock in the …

The Development And Validation Of Concept Programmed Materials Based On A Direct Instruction Model, Curt E. Lalonde

Masters Theses

The experiment validated a set of instructional materials designed to teach behavioral concepts. Twenty-two subjects matched on the basis of their scores on a pretest covering these concepts comprised the experimental and control groups. Following a pretest, subjects in these two groups completed both sets of materials. After exposure to the instructional materials, they took an alternate-form posttest on the same concepts. Gain scores on the posttest were significantly higher (p<.05, means = .91, -.55) for subjects who completed the experimental materials than for the subjects who completed the control materials, materials contained sequences of examples and nonexamples of the behavioral concepts which were designed to maximize learned of those concepts.

A Comparison Of Computer-Generated Advising And One-To-One Advising For Community College Students, Chris G. Zichterman

Dissertations

This study investigated the effectiveness of a counselor-made computer advising system. Ninety-one (91) community college students who had declared career choices were randomly assigned to either ADVISOR (N = 46) or to traditional one-to-one advising (N - 45). The effectiveness of both advising processes was measured along four variables: satisfaction with the process indicated by student response to a survey after the completion of the first semester, compliance with the process as indicated by the students' actual registration for courses identified during advising, performance indicated by students' grade point average during the first semester, and completion indicated by the completion …

Teaching Health-Related Behaviors To Young Children Through Social Skills Training, Mary Louise Stevens

Dissertations

Part I consisted of training four kindergarten subjects to make eye contact, assertive comments and assertive actions in reference to social and health-related situations. Training occurred on a one-to-one basis with an adult female and results were assessed with a multiple baseline design. Skill acquisition and maintenance were assessed by measuring ratio of eye contact to speech duration, assertive content and assertive actions on training scenes. Generalization of social skills was assessed by means of: (1) similar, but untrained scenes, (2) choice tests between products with and without sugar, (3) in vivo tests in the school and home environment, (4) …

Status Inconsistency And Attitudes Toward Collective Bargaining At Western Michigan University, Thomas R. Radecki

Dissertations

Status inconsistency has been extensively investigated as an explanatory variable since the pioneering research of Lenski (1954). A wide range of substantive outcomes have been examined as dependent variables. The findings have been disparate. While a number of studies have found support for the concept, a substantial body of negative results have been reported.

Recently, a controversy has developed in the literature. On one side of the controversy are those who feel the concept has little value as an explanatory variable--adding nothing beyond status alone. Supporters of the concept see it as an important explanatory variable and a determinant of …

Effect Of Participation In Cooperative Education On Level Of Career Maturity Attitudes Of Senior Students In Selected Muskegon County High Schools, William Howard Pendell

Dissertations

This study was designed to investigate the effect of participation in a cooperative education work-experience program on the level of vocational maturity attitudes of senior high school students. The post-test only, control group design was utilized. A sample of randomly selected senior students from 11 Muskegon County, Michigan, high schools volunteered to be participants for the study. This sample population consisted of one control group of 98 students with no previous cooperative education experience, one experimental group of 100 students with 1 year of cooperative education experience, and a second experimental group of 100 students with 2 years of experience …

The Structured Meeting System: A Procedure For Supervising The Completion Of Nonrecurring Tasks, Barbara J. Fulton

Dissertations

Supervision of delegated tasks is often a source of organizational problems, because workers do not complete tasks as efficiently as managers expect. Analysis of the work setting suggests that behaviors of both supervisors and supervisees are governed by overlapping contingencies; different supervisor behaviors probably result in different contingencies for supervisee behavior. The analysis also reveals two categories of tasks: recurring tasks and nonrecurring tasks, with the latter type requiring frequent supervisor attention to assign new tasks and monitor previous ones. Contingencies for nonrecurring tasks were targeted for study in the present research, because of indications by managers that productivity and …

The Effects Of Sex-Role Attitudes On Womens' Self-Actualization And Life Satisfaction, Mary Ann Vigilanti

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of sex-role attitudes on levels on self-actualization and satisfaction with life among a group of randomly selected women. This study also explored the relationships between occupational primacy as defined through paid employment and homemaker on overall life satisfaction, and employment commensurate with education/training and its relationship to self-actualization. This relationship between overall life satisfaction and measures of self-actualization was also investigated.

Data was collected from 264 women of which 236 responses were included for final hypotheses testing. All subjects were women 18 years and older who lived within the City …

The Repeated Acquisition Procedure As A Means Of Analyzing Rule-Governed Behavior, Margaret E. Peterson

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Professionals, Bureaucrats, And Radicals: A Study In The Sociology Of Social Workers, David Russell Joslyn

Dissertations

This study seeks to initiate a much needed reassessment of social work practice. Recognizing the criticisms and contributions of recent radical critics of social work, a theoretical model is constructed. This model incorporates aspects of both the professional and the radical perspectives. Specifically, the model focuses upon social work treatment planning as the dependent variable. Ideological, organizational structure, and perceptual variables are assessed as potential determinants of treatment planning.

A questionnaire was mailed to a sample drawn randomly from a list of certified social workers in Michigan. This selected sample received three mailings which resulted in a response rate of …

An Investigation Of "Spirituotherapy": An Approach To Christian Counseling, Robert Q. Hendershott

Dissertations

The Christian counseling field as known today is a relatively new professional practice. Little evaluative research has been undertaken on the various counseling approaches which corporately make up the Christian counseling movement. This research studied one of these new Christian approaches, "Spirituotherapy" (Christ-centered counseling).

Spirituotherapy's thrust and teachings are directed towards individuals who are seeking biblical answers for the problems for which they are seeking psychological help. This study sought to identify what effect Spirituotherapy had on past clients of Grace Fellowship International (GFI), the organization pioneering Spirituotherapy. The clients' perceptions of the effect of counseling at GFI was the …

The Effects Of Hypnosis And Mastery Imagery On Task Performance, Robert J. Russell

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of combining mastery imagery with hypnosis to facilitate performance on a motor task, and to identify the variables which are responsible for such an effect. Ninety-nine students were pretested on the Pursuit Rotor Task and screened for hypnotic susceptibility. From this screening, 40 high susceptible subjects were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: (1) hypnosis and mastery imagery, (2) hypnosis, (3) mastery imagery (H), and (4) no-treatment control. Ten low susceptible subjects were directly assigned to a second mastery imagery (L) condition which served as a special comparison group. …

A Descriptive Study Of The Leadership Styles Of Michigan Juvenile Court Administrators Utilizing The Application Of The Managerial Grid Theory, Zigmund S. Kryszak Jr.

Dissertations

This descriptive study investigated the 83 juvenile court administrators in the state of Michigan. Specifically, the study attempted to (a) collect biographical and professional data regarding the administrators, (b) establish a preferred leadership style utilizing the Managerial Grid Theory postulated by Blake and Mouton, and (c) test the relationship between key variables and the leadership styles demonstrated by the administrators as a group.

The instruments utilized to collect the data were the Style of Management Inventory copyrighted by Teleometrics International of Woodland, Texas, and a self-designed Personal Data Questionnaire. These instruments were mailed to all 83 juvenile court administrators. The …