Digital Commons Network^™

An Investigation Of The Impact Of Chld Care Quality On Child Outcomes Using Structural Equation Modeling, Jared Cutler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The quality of a child care setting is believed by many child care researchers to have an impact on the development of children in child care. While a considerable amount of research has been done regarding the impact of child care quality on child outcomes, an examination of literature reviews on the topic reveals that there is a lack of consensus in the field on the question of whether child care quality has a substantial impact on children's development.

The present study assessed the impact child care quality has on child outcomes. A dataset from the NICHD Early Child Care …

The Use Of Stress Management In Combination With Parent Training: An Intervention Study With Parents Of Preschool Children, Theresa L. Gunderson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Many preschool children exhibit a number of problematic, acting-out behaviors. Parents of preschoolers exhibiting behavior problems often experience a great deal of stress associated with these problem behaviors. Consistently robust improvements have been found in the use of stress management for adult stress, pain, and medical wellbeing. Likewise, studies have shown parent training decreases the severity of child behavior problems. However, only a few studies have examined effects of parent training on both child behavior and parent stress. Some studies have found that parents who complete parent training also report lowered stress levels commensurate with improvement of child behavior. It …

Multiple Mentors And Family Involvement In Mentoring At-Risk Youth, Christine W. Woodbury

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined whether higher family involvement plus additional mentoring relationships had a greater positive effect than a one-on-one relationship with a mentor and low family involvement. The study demonstrated, in this sample, that having two mentors does not have a greater impact on academic motivation, social competency, family unity, self-esteem, and deviance than having one mentor. It was also shown, in this sample, that higher family involvement does not have a greater impact on academic motivation, social competency, family unity, self-esteem, and deviance than lower family involvement. Although additional studies are needed to fully understand the impacts of mentoring …

The Effects Of Mortgage Debt On Assets And Total Resources Among Near-Retirement Households, Lance Palmer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to investigate the long-term relation between household leverage through the use of mortgages, and changes in household wealth using the theoretical framework of the life cycle income hypothesis. The results of this study are relevant to current positions regarding household leverage via mortgages. This study used the 1992 through 2002 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. The characteristics of leveraged and unleveraged households were compared in 1992 and 2002 as were changes during that period. The relation between household leverage and changes in assets and total resources over the period was modeled using …

Relationship Satisfaction And Stability Among Latinos With Respect To Communication Styles And Conflict Resolution Types, Adam C. Munk

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This secondary analysis employed data from portions of the Spanish and English versions of the RELATionship Evaluation inventory, a self-report questionnaire (RELATE) The present research analyzed conflict resolution types, communication styles, and relationship satisfaction and stability among Latino men and women compared to Caucasian men and women. Multiple linear regression analysis was used for analyzing the data.

Communication styles and conflict resolution types were more different than similar among Latino males and females in predicting relationship satisfaction and relationship stability; however, they were more similar than different among Caucasian males and females. The communication style of love was the only …

Factors That Influence Marital Satisfaction In Couples Raising A Child With Cerebral Palsy, Sarah L. Stoker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined factors that influence marital satisfaction in couples raising a child with cerebral palsy. The theoretical frameworks for this study were drawn from family systems theory and the social ecology model.

Twenty-eight married couples raising a child between the ages of 3-17 years, with a diagnosis of cerebral palsy, comprised the sample for this study. Participants were classified as raising a child who is mildly/moderately or severely impaired by cerebral palsy. Participants were recruited through referrals of professionals working in local organizations that provide services and support for persons with disabilities and their families.

Data were analyzed using …

The Effectiveness Of Peer Tutoring Programs In Elementary Schools, Melinda Gee

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The present review examined the effectiveness of three peer tutoring programs: cross-age peer tutoring, Classwide Peer Tutoring (CWPT), and Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS), for elementary students in the academic areas of math and reading. The research reviewed indicates students who participated in cross-age peer tutoring and CWPT had improved test scores on basic math facts as well as increased math scores on standardized assessments. Students also showed improvement in reading fluency, reading comprehension, spelling, and reading level after participating in cross-age peer tutoring and CWPT. High-, average-, and low-achieving students as well as students in special Ill education benefitted from …

Physicians' Health Promotion Practices For Mexican American Patients At Risk For Type 2 Diabetes, Holly Day Mcfarland

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The relationship between physicians' perceptions of Mexican American patients at risk for Type 2 diabetes and the subsequent care they provide was studied. Primary care providers responded to questionnaires about their health promotion practices. A 2x2 analysis of variance was used to identify differences in reported treatment of patients that accounted for both ethnicity and risk. Results indicated Hispanic patients received less time with their providers than Caucasian patients regardless of risk for Type 2 diabetes. Both groups received about the same reported care in terms of information gathered for diagnosis, diagnosis made, and treatment regimen prescribed. Data also suggested …

The Skull Valley Goshute And Nuclear Waste: Rhetorical Analysis Of Claims-Making Of Opponents And Proponents, Jesse T. Weiss

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

One of the greatest challenges to modem society is the management and disposal of hazardous by-products that have accompanied the industrial advances of the twentieth century. One of the most difficult by-products to deal with has been radioactive waste. Previous research has shown that due to the real and perceived risks associated with this type of waste, the burden of storing said waste has fallen on minority communities, including Native American groups. This research examines the proposed temporary nuclear waste storage facility to be located on the Skull Valley Indian Reservation in Utah. Using an ethnographic case study approach, this …

An Analysis Of Bilingual Programs In The Context Of A Schoolwide Reading Program, Jonathan A. Stewart

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

There has been much controversy over the effectiveness of bilingual education in helping English language learning (ELL) students to become successful students. One variable overlooked in this literature has been the use of effective instruction in these programs. This investigation compared students in a schoolwide reading program that utilizes research-based practices, Success for All (SFA) and its Spanish counterpart Éxito Para Todos (EPT). Three groups of third-grade students were compared at 8-week intervals throughout the school year: English-speaking students in SFA, ELL (English language learning) students in SFA with ESL (English as a Second Language), and ELL students in EPT. …

A Comparison Of Rational Versus Empirical Methods In The Prediction Of Psychotherapy Outcome, Glen I. Spielmans

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Several systems have been designed to monitor psychotherapy outcome, in which feedback is generated based on how a client's rate of progress compares to an expected level of progress. Clients who progress at a much lesser rate than the average client are referred to as signal-alarm cases. Recent studies have shown that providing feedback to therapists based on comparing their clients' progress to a set of rational, clinically derived algorithms has enhanced outcomes for clients predicted to show poor treatment outcomes. Should another method of predicting psychotherapy outcome emerge as more accurate than the rational method, this method would likely …

Changes In Child Symptomatology Associated With Animal-Assisted Therapy, Catherine C. Woolley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined the changes in symptoms of anxiety, depression, and social dysfunction associated with a history of child trauma after adding animal-assisted therapy (AAT) to conventional psychotherapy for adolescents living in a residential treatment facility in northern California. Using a quasiexperimental design, participants were followed over a period of nine weeks, with both groups completing the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory, an abbreviated version of the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Youth Self-Report, and residential staff completing the Youth Outcome Questionnaire at three time points. In addition, the treatment group completed state anxiety and depression assessments before …

The Reliability And Validity Of The Boatwright-Bracken Child Attention Deficit Scales: Child And Parent Versions, Erica S. Thomas

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined the psychometric properties of a new measure of attention-deficit/hyperactive disorder (ADHD) symptoms, the Boatwright-Bracken Child Attention Deficit Scale (BCADS), self- and parent-report forms. Parents and children with and without ADHD completed the BCADS to determine the reliability and validity of the BCADS. The BCADS-Child and Parent had high internal consistency reliability. The total sample parent-selfratings were moderately correlated, indicating a typical level of cross informant agreement.

Results indicate that the BCADS differentiates children with ADHD from children without ADHD. Children and parents in the clinical sample reported more symptoms of ADHD than those in the comparison sample. …

Intermediate Trainee Perspectives Of Family Therapy Skills, Margo Benson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Marriage and family therapy training involves the development of therapy skills that lead to effective treatment, and the family therapy literature recognizes the importance of skill development in training. The training literature dealing with specific skills most often refers to beginning-level skills and obtains data largely from supervisors and trainers. Intermediate-level skills appear to be overlooked and no apparent attention is given from the perspective of trainees.

This research examined the perspectives of trainees concerning family therapy skills at the intermediate level. Intermediate trainee perspectives were compared with the perspectives of their supervisors. Comparisons were also made with perspectives of …

A Longitudinal Analysis Of Socioeconomic Differences In Obesity And Weight Change During The Early Adult Years, Young-Taek Kim

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in American society. However, not enough attention has been given to weight change by temporal and dynamic detailed social characteristics, controlled for unobserved heterogeneities nested in county and state. Using the National Longitudinal Survey Youth (NLSY79), this study examined weight change and its development into unhealthy conditions like being overweight or obese, in relation to change in social characteristics including life course events. This study also examined the social characteristics of remaining at a normal weight through all time intervals over a 19-year period. Using hierarchical linear multilevel analysis, this study found that changes in …

Maternal And Paternal Attributions And Perceptions Related To Parent-Child Interactions, Angela L. W. Ehrlick

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Parent cognitions, including parent attributions for and perceptions of children's behaviors , are related to negative parent-child interactions and have been hypothesized to negatively affect treatment outcome in parent training studies. Specifically, parents who attribute children's disruptive behaviors to internal, stable, uncontrollable, and global causes and believe that they are not personally responsible for their children's behavior are less likely to engage in positive interactions with their children and successfully manage child behavior. Additionally, parents who expect their children to demonstrate aversive behavior and perceive their children's neutral behaviors as aversive are less likely to engage in positive interactions with …

The Role Of Deception In Mediating Relationship Involvement Of Couples Interacting On The Internet: Stages Of Intimate Formation, Dustin W. Edgerton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A vast majority of individuals involve themselves in an intimate relationship at one time or another. This study looks at a new, but increasing, forum of relationship development, that of the Internet. More specifically, this study addresses various stages of Internet relationship development, and deception individual 's use during the process of forming and maintaining these relationships.

This research gathered quantitative and qualitative information from 134 individuals involved in online relationships. The quantitative analyses provided only a few significant findings and it is suggested that the current methods of measuring deception are inadequate and do not appear to represent the …

Practicum Students' Beliefs About Developmentally Appropriate Practice For Infants And Toddlers, Kaelin Olsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined practicum students' beliefs and experiences about developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) prior to a practicum experience and following it. Another goal was to examine differences between the practicum students' majors and their pre- and posttest DAP beliefs and experiences scores. Finally, this investigation sought to determine the differences between practicum students' DAP beliefs and experiences and the amount of time they spent in a practicum setting.

A total of 95 students completing a practicum in the Adele and Dale Young Child Development Laboratory in the infant (Group I) or the 2-year-old classroom (Group 2) participated in the study. …

The Socialization Of Home-Schooled Children In Rural Utah, Neil A. Mecham

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Concern over the social development of children who are home schooled has caused parents and educators to question the wisdom of this practice. A review of home-schooling research has not revealed whether a difference exists between the social skills of homeschooled children and children who attend public schools. This study explored the socialization of home-schooled children by comparing Social Skills Rating System scores of home-schooled children with the scores of their mothers and a comparison sample of publicly-schooled children. Forty-six home-schooled children (23 boys and 23 girls), their mothers, and 39 publicly-schooled children (16 boys and 23 girls) participated in …

Amazonian Women: A Multi-Voiced Narrative On Surviving Breast Cancer, Melissa Bowles

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

When my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in May of 2003, I immediately turned to journal writing and to reading to try and make sense of what was happening in my family. I searched websites for causes of breast cancer and ways to prevent it, I read literary women's memoirs, and I wrote a great deal about the way that I was feeling: scared, guilty, angry, broken. As a reader and a writer I needed to somehow intellectualize all of the things I was feeling. This writing project is a product of that initial response and of my subsequent …

Predictors Of Graduation And Rearrest In A Contemporary Juvenile Drug Court Program, Anthony Phillip Tranchita

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research on the efficacy of drug courts for substance-abusing criminal adult offenders has generally found reduced recidivism rates, and both actual and potential cost savings to the public. However, outcome research on juvenile drug courts has been limited. Furthermore, little research has examined variables that may be predictive of outcome in this population. This study reports graduation and rearrest rates for a sample of juvenile drug court participants in Salt Lake City, Utah. Also, this research assessed whether demographics, prior arrest history, attendance at drug education classes, serving detention time, or a preprogram measure of degree of substance abuse (SAS …

Review Of Social Competency Training For Pre-School And Elementary School Age Students At Risk For Developing Or Classified With Emotional/Behavioral Disorders, Cristine C. Sosa

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Social competency training is a common intervention for students at risk for developing or classified with emotional/behavioral disorders. However, a review of research indicated that it is only mildly effective in producing significant outcomes for these students. A number of factors have been identified as possibly impacting the success of social competency training, including: the intervention setting, the timing of intervention, characteristics of participants, characteristics of interventions and the outcome measurements ~d. A review of literature was conducted to evaluate these factors. Findings of the review indicate that there are not significant differences between interventions conducted in regular education and …

Cognitive Defusion And Self-Relevant Negative Thoughts: Examining The Impact Of A Ninety Year Old Technique, Akihiko Masuda, Steven C. Hayes, Casey F. Sackett, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Faculty Publications

Cognitive defusion techniques are designed to reduce the functions of thoughts by altering the context in which they occur, rather than the attempting to alter the form, frequency, or situational sensitivity of the thoughts themselves. Applied technologies designed to produce cognitive defusion seem to lead to reductions in the believability of negative thoughts, but defusion techniques are generally only parts of complex packages and the role of defusion techniques per se is note yet known. The present study examined the impact of a cognitive defusion technique first described by Titchener nearly 90 years ago: rapidly repeating a single word. In …

Effect Of Sucrose Esters On The Crystallization Behavior Of Bulk Oil Systems, Silvana Martini, M. Cerdeira, M. L. Herrera

Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Sciences Faculty Publications

Sucrose esters (SE) of FA can be used in foods as emulsifiers because they are nontoxic, tasteless, odorless, and are digested to sucrose and FA in the stomach. They can also be used in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics and in other products where a nonionic, nontoxic, biodegradable emulsifier is required. In addition to their major function of producing and stabilizing emulsions, SE have numerous other functional roles as texturizers, film formers, and modifiers of bulk-phase crystallization behavior (with bulk phase meaning a homogeneous oil phase). A few reports have dealt with the effect of SE on the crystallization behavior of fats …

Faculty Senate Meeting Agenda, January 5, 2004, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• Aggie Ecology
• New University Website and Commercial
• Student Government Update
• EPC Business
• Scholarship Advisory Board
• Research Council
• Council on Teacher Education

Process This: Undergraduate Writing In Composition Studies, Nancy C. Dejoy

All USU Press Publications

In Process This, Nancy DeJoy argues that even recent revisions to composition studies, cultural studies, service learning, and social process movements--continue to repress the subjects and methodologies that should be central, especially at the level of classroom practice. Designed to move student discourses beyond the classroom, these approaches nonetheless continue to position composition students (and teachers) as mere consumers of the discipline. This means that the subjects, methodologies, and theory/practice relationships that define the field are often absent in composition classrooms. Arguing that the world inside and outside of the academy cannot be any different if the profession stays the …

Coming To Terms: A Theory Of Writing Assessment, Patricia Lynne

All USU Press Publications

In a provocative book-length essay, Patricia Lynne argues that most programmatic assessment of student writing in U.S. public and higher education is conceived in the terms of mid-20th century positivism. Since composition as a field had found its most compatible home in constructivism, she asks, why do compositionists import a conceptual frame for assessment that is incompatible with composition theory? By casting this as a clash of paradigms, Lynne is able to highlight the ways in which each theory can and cannot influence the shape of assessment within composition. She laments, as do many in composition, that the objectively oriented …

The Equivalence Of Evolutionary Games And Distributed Monte Carlo Learning, Yuya Sasaki

Economic Research Institute Study Papers

This paper presents a tight relationship between evolutionary game theory and distributed intelligence models. After reviewing some existing theories of replicator dynamics and distributed Monte Carlo learning, we make fonnulations and proofs of the equivalence between these two models. The relationship will be revealed not only from a theoretical viewpoint, but also by experimental simulations of the models by taking a simple symmetric zero-sum game as an example. As a consequence, it will be verified that seemingly chaotic macro dynamics generated by distributed micro-decisions can be explained with theoretical models.

Statistical Discrimination In Labor Markets: An Experimental Analysis, David L. Dickenson, Ronald L. Oaxaca

Economic Research Institute Study Papers

Statistical discrimination occurs when distinctions between demographic groups are made on the basis of real or imagined statistical distinctions between the groups. While such discrimination is legal in some cases (e.g., insurance markets), it is illegal and/or controversial in others (e.g., racial profiling and gender-based labor market discrimination). "First moment" statistical discrimination occurs when, for example, female workers are offered lower wages because females are perceived to be less productive, on average, than male workers. "Second moment" discrimination occurs when risk averse employers offer female workers lower wages based not on lower average productivity but on a higher variance in …

General Catalog 2004-2005, Utah State University

University Catalogs

Contains course descriptions, University college calendar, and college administration