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General Catalog 1990-1992, Utah State University

University Catalogs

Contains course descriptions, University college calendar, and college administration.

Teaching Behaviorally Disordered Adolescents To Use Self-Management Skills For Improving The Completeness, Accuracy, And Neatness Of Creative Writing Assignments, Nancy K. Glomb, R. P. West

Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a self-management procedure known as WATCH that was designed to teach adolescents with learning and behavior problems to improve the completeness, accuracy, and neatness of their creative writing homework assignments. The procedure was based on four strategies: teaching students the fundamentals of behavior change, teaching students to use self-instruction, teaching students to set goals and implement plans to achieve those goals, and teaching students to accurately evaluate their work. Two high school students who were classified as behaviorally disordered were taught to develop plans for completing their creative writing …

The Effects Of Incidental Teaching On The Generalized Use Of Social Amenities At School By A Mildly Handicapped Adolescent, L. K. Oswald, Benjamin Lignugaris / Kraft, R. West

Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling Faculty Publications

Recently, researchers have begun exploring the effects of incidental teaching on the acquisition of socially appropriate behavior by handicapped children and adults. The results of these investigations suggest that incidental teaching may facilitate the generalization of newly trained social skills. This study used incidental teaching procedures to teach a 16-year-old mildly handicapped student to use social amenities in a resource classroom. In addition, generalization was assessed to another resource classroom and to an art classroom. The results of the study indicated that the student increased his use of social amenities in the training setting. Moreover, directions to use thank you …

Achilles Tendon Replacement By A Collagen Fiber Prosthesis: Morphological Evaluation Of Neotendon Formation., Arthur J. Wasserman, Y. Pedro Kato, David Christiansen, Michael G. Dunn, Frederick H. Silver

Scanning Microscopy

Reconstituted type I collagen was processed into fibers which were subsequently severely dehydrated and cyanamide cross-linked. Fibers prepared by this method were stronger and more resistant to degradation than uncrosslinked fibers. When used as a tendon replacement prosthesis, morphological events occurred which were observed by light, scanning, transmission electron microscopy and electron histochemistry.

Resorption was the initial host response to the prosthesis and involved gradual biodegradation. Formation of a host-replacement tendon was the second response. Increased collagen fibril diameters and a transition in the proteoglycan/collagen fibril interactions occurred in the newly developing connective tissue between 3 and 10 weeks post-implantation. …

Parent-Child Privileges, Angela Furca

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This paper will demonstrate the desirability and necessity of recognizing the parent-child testimonial privilege. As this is a legal research paper, it will present arguments for both sides of the issue, while proving that the parent-child testimonial privilege deserves recognition and is fundamental in maintaining healthy family relationships.

Office Signs: Reflectors Of Organizational Culture, Melvin Leon Jeppson

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

Social scientists widely believe that symbols can reveal important information about personalities, values, beliefs and characteristics of the communicator. Although scholars from fields such as semiology, psychology, sociology and anthropology have analyzed symbols and the messages they reveal as cultural indicators, few communication researchers have studied organizational symbols as organizational cultural indicators. In an article entitled, "Organizational Symbolism: A Topic to Expand Organizational Analysis," Dandridge, Mitroff and Joyce chastened communication researchers for overlooking a wealth of organizational data available through the study of organizational symbols. Stephen R. Barley supported these claims when he wrote that culture is embodied in and …

Reaction Time In Elderly Subjects: The Effects Of Practice On Two Different Reaction Time Tasks, Dawn Marie Birk

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The reaction time of four groups of elderly human subjects were examined to determine the effects of stimulus presentation and task practice. Each group practiced different tasks, each requiring a response when more than one alternative was available. Two tasks involved making responses based on either visually or auditorily presented stimuli only. One task required decisions to be made on the basis of both auditory and visual stimuli. The fourth group acted as a comparison group and did not practice a reaction-time task; although they did perform a task on the computer and their reaction times were measured. Before and …

Mate Selection In Contemporary America: An Exchange Theory Perspective, Margaret H. Young

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The use of exchange theory as it applies to human relations has escalated dramatically in the past 20 years. The present study applies exchange theory as the basis of mate selection in contemporary society. Whereas an actual barter system was used in the past and families played a major role in choosing prospective mates, participants in the mate selection process are not virtually on their own and must rely upon their own bargaining skills to present their assets on the marriage market. A number of characteristics are thought to enhance or detract from a person's "worth" on the marriage market. …

Moral Development Theories: Controversy, Bias, And A New Perspective, Julie Ann Robinson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This thesis examines the well-established Kohlberg hierarchical model of moral development and allegations of bias within the model. The Cognitive-Development approach to moral development, the Kohlberg model, and a counter-model proposed by Carol Gilligan are presented. The interview methodology commonly used by moral development researchers as well as the applicability of interview data to actual moral decision-making is questioned. A web model that includes the interactions of culture and education in moral modifications is presented as an original alternative to the step-wise models currently in use.

Public School Preschool For Disadvantaged Children: Program Quality And Long-Term Effects, Ellen Frede

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Although preschool for disadvantaged children is strongly supported nationally as a beneficial endeavor, the research that underlies this support has mostly been limited to small-scale, high-quality experiments. Some have questioned the ability of public schools to provide similar experiences for young children and to produce long-term effects. This study is a long-term follow-up in first-grade children who attended preschool in a statewide public school program. The classrooms were observed to assess the quality of treatment. It was determined that children who attended classrooms that provided medium- to high-quality experiences outperformed those in poor-quality classrooms, as well as comparison children who …

Perceived Affective And Behavioral Characteristics Of Mother-Daughter Relationships And Subsequent Mentoring Relationships, Anne Marie Mcshane

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Mentoring has been recognized as an important relationship in a variety of circumstances. This study was conducted for the purpose of determining the perceived benefits or disadvantages of a mentor relationship and identifying characteristics of the relationship. Another objective was to explore to what extent the nature of the mother/daughter relationship functions as a factor that makes the choice of a mentoring pattern more likely.

The study sample consisted of 47 females, 12 graduate students and 35 assistant or associate professors on the faculty at Utah State University. The subjects completed several mother/daughter inventories, a mentoring inventory, and a personality …

Relationships Between Motivational Orientations And Participants' Perceptions Of An Electronic Distance Education Learning Environment, Charles Wynn Wilkes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between students' motivational orientations and their perceptions of an electronic distance education (EDE) environment. Subjects were 156 participants (81 women, 75 men; 83 undergraduates, 73 graduate students) enrolled in Utah State University's electronic distance education system, Com-Net.

A comparison group was also utilized, that consisted of 85 participants (64 females, 21 males; 34 undergraduates, 51 graduates) from rural Utah enrolled in Utah State University extension programs. These students were from seven classes which were taught by the traditional method with an instructor physically present.

Correlation coefficients were computed to test …

Using Computer Imaging To Assess Visual Impacts Of Forest Insect And Disease Pests, Daniel Rabin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Forest insect and disease pests alter the appearance of trees, thereby impacting visual resources. Because of the complexity of most forest landscapes, the degree of visual impact of pest-infested forest stands is difficult to quantify.

This paper describes a method of measuring visual impacts of pest-infested forest stands. Photographs of healthy Ponderosa pine trees were entered into a computer video-image-processing system. Using this system, images of trees were altered to simulate different degrees of infestation by limb rust, a forest pathogen.

The altered and unaltered images were shown to groups of observers who rated the scenes in terms of "scenic …

The Effects Of A Direct Instruction Program In Fractions On Academic And Mathematics Self-Concept, William H. Lowry

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The study investigated the effect of a videodisc-based, teacher-controlled, direct instruction-based program in fractions content, on self-concept. Self-concept was operationally defined as scores on a slightly modified version of Marsh's Self-Description Questionnaire (Marsh, 1988). A quasi-experimental, nonequivalent control group design was used to compare the self-report self-concept of two groups of upper elementary students (N = 337). The treatment group (n = 171) received instruction in fractions via the teacher-directed, videodisc-based, Mastering Fractions program (Systems Impact, 1986a). The control group (n = 166) received their normal grade four or grade five mathematics program, but did not include common fractions.

Differences …

Bilingual Education: What It Could Mean On The Navajo Reservation, Berniece A. Blackhorse

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The educational system in the United States is meant for the native speakers of English. As a result, students who are limited English proficient do not succeed academically in this educational system.

Literature presents much evidence as to the effectiveness and successes of students' academic performance when their mother tongue or home language is used in the classroom.

Successful bilingual program models which could be used with Navajo students was sought through the literature.

Through the literature there was no one method that was appropriate for all bilingual programs. There were three distinct program models discussed in the literature: the …

A Longitudinal Study Of Dietary Intake And Influence Of Iron Status On Infants' And Toddlers' Mental And Motor Development, Steven Matley Wood

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Thirty-two non-anemic children were assessed clinically, biochemically and anthropometrically at six months, one year and two years of age to investigate the relationship of iron status to mental and motor development. Using dietary history and dietary record instruments, dietary iron was estimated and compared to the National Food Consumption Survey (1985) and the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) for corresponding age groups. The Bayley Scales of Infant Development (which assess mental and motor development) and the Caldwell Home Inventory (which evaluates the environmental stimuli) were performed and correlated with blood iron parameters, anthropometric measurements and dietary nutrient intakes.

Nutrient intakes of …

Psychosis In A Developmental Psychopathology Context: A Factor Analytic Study Of Schizophrenia In Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatients, Paul R. Adams

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Demographic, historical, psychometric, and clinical data were obtained from the psychiatric files of all patients manifesting schizophrenic symptomatology who were hospitalized in an adolescent psychiatric facility during a five year period (N= 71). Factor analysis of the usable data resulted in three interpretable factors, which included: (1) aggressive behavior; (2) disturbed family functioning; and, (3) thought disorder. Age of first hospitalization correlated positively with factor three.

The results provide support for concerns expressed by a number of scientists and clinicians that schizophrenia may not be a discrete, unitary disorder; and that uncritical downward extension of adult diagnoses to adolescents and …

The Effect Of Notetaking And Review Among Eighth-Grade Students, Nancy Lindbergy Risch

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A study was conducted in which both notetaking and review were systematically varied in order to examine viii eighth-grade student's notetaking and performance behaviors. Three formats of notes (Matrix, skeletal, conventional) were examined in combination with three notetaking strategies (take notes/review own notes, take notes/review expert notes, listen/review expert notes) to form nine conditions. Subjects viewed a videotaped lecture, reviewed their respective set of notes, and were administered the following performance tests: structured recall, factual recognition, application, and synthesis. The number of ideas, number of words, and an efficiency calculation was obtained for each notetaking protocol. Results indicated that subjects …

The Reliability And Validity Of An Instrument Designed To Measure Attitudes Toward The Elderly, Jane Schultz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

An attitude is a mental state that influences the way an individual responds to relevant objects and situations. Attitudes toward the elderly have a potential impact on all Americans, as the population is growing older. These attitudes constitute an important area of study because their nature is unclear and their impact extensive.

The Kogan Attitudes Toward Old People Scale (OP) was examined to establish reliability and validity estimates. A questionnaire, consisting of this scale and four others, was administered to a sample of adults. Factor analysis of the OP revealed two factors, which were somewhat ambiguous. Internal consistency estimates for …

In Vitro Identification Of The Effect Of Serotonin On Lymphocyte Dna Synthesis And Natural Killer Cell Activity, Kim Kartchener Kane

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of the neurotransmitter, serotonin (SE), on the immune function of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of normal, healthy subjects. This was done as a preliminary investigation to studies on the association of SE with immune changes in autistic subjects.

The PBMC isolated from normal male subjects were treated with various concentrations of SE for 48 hrs. Their incubation in SE at a concentration of 10^-3 M induced about a 35% decrease in DNA synthesis. However, incubation of the cells in lower concentrations (10^-4 to 10^-10) of …

A Method For Knowledge Engineering In Clinical Decision Making, Sheila S. Giere

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to validate the problem behavior evaluation section of an expert system computer program, Class.BD. Class.BD was developed to assist special education personnel in determining whether students qualify for special education services as behaviorally disordered/severely emotionally disturbed students.

The subjects were six Utah who regularly individuals from 1) work with the state of behaviorally disordered/severely emotionally disturbed students and 2) participate in multidisciplinary assessment teams. Three of the subjects were special educators, and three were school psychologists.

Specifically, this study investigated the impact of five behavioral factors on the subjects' ratings of the seriousness of …

The Effectiveness Of Language Intervention With Preschool Handicapped Children: An Integrative Review, Beverly Marie Poirier

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Controversies surrounding language intervention for preschool children have primarily focused on specific issues about which approach is better than another. However, most researchers consider language intervention to be effective--even though many studies yield conflicting findings. Previous reviews on language intervention added little to resolving the controversies because of inadequate sampling procedures and insufficiently addressing methodological issues. A more systematic review of prior research was needed to clarify the status of the language intervention literature. The purpose of this study was to conduct a comprehensive integrative review of the primary research on language using a meta-analysis approach to determine the relative …

Neuroanatomical Asymmetry, Handedness, And Family History Of Handedness: A Study Of The Markers Of Structural And Functional Lateralization, Steven A. Lifson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study investigated the associations between (1) handedness (demonstrated preference of one hand for the performance of most unimanual tasks) and neuroanatomical asymmetry (measurable differences in width between the cerebral hemispheres) and (2) familial history of handedness (the presence of a left-handed sibling or parent of a right-handed subject) as an intervening factor in the relation between handedness and neuroanatomical asymmetry. Width measurements of the brain were derived from computerized tomographic (CT) films and grouped in to categories by hand preference (measured by the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory) and family history. The measurements of right (n=68), right with left-handed relatives (n=24), …

Assimilation And Accommodation In Family Discourse: A Longitudinal Analysis, Marcia Summers

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Assimilative behavioral strategies provide continuity through maintenance of similarities, traditions, and interactions, while accommodative strategies result in social innovation through the creation of new modes and interactive patterns (J. Block, 1982; J. H. Block, 1983). It was hypothesized that females would show assimilative discourse patterns through the maintenance of conversational topics, while males would show accommodative patterns through more frequent changes in conversational topic, and that the roots of this pattern lie in family conversation. Nineteen families were videotaped at one month, four months, and four years following the birth of their second child. Results showed that gender-differentiated use of …

Socio-Behavioral Correlates Of 6- To 11-Year-Old Offspring Of Alcohol Consuming Parents, Jan Garver Bacon

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

There is a lack of simple random sample based research into whether there are social skill and behavior problem differences for six- to eleven-year-old boys and girls which correlate with rates of parental alcohol consumption, social sequelae of parental alcohol consumption, reported level of marital conflict, and extended family history of alcoholism.

This simple random sample study correlates the above variables with T scores on the behavior problem and social competence scales of the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist and Child Behavior Checklist - Teacher's Report Form for six- to eleven-year-old children (N=100). Behavior problem scales include disorders of affect, thought, …

The Development Of The Stress-Response Scale For Adolescents, Steven Curtis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Adolescence is an important period in the life cycle for which to study stress, due to the many involved developmental changes that require adaptation. This adaptation can be very stressful and result in pathology. Stress is defined as a "process" involving a continual transaction between stressors in the environment, mediating variables, and stress responses.

The Stress-Response Scale for Adolescents (SRSA) was developed to measure self-perceived stress responses of those between the ages of 14 to 20. The SRSA's development involved three studies. Study 1 involved item selection, scale construction, item reduction, and estimations of internal consistency and validity. Truthfulness items …

A Method For Knowledge Engineering In Clinical Decision Making, Sheila S. Giere

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to validate the problem behavior evaluation section of an expert system computer program, Class.BD. Class.BD was developed to assist special education personnel in determining whether students qualify for special education services as behaviorally disordered/severely emotionally disturbed students.

The subjects were six Utah who regularly individuals from the state of 1) work with behaviorally disordered/severely emotionally disturbed students and 2) participate in multidisciplinary assessment teams. Three of the subjects were special educators, and three were school psychologists.

Specifically, this study investigated the impact of five behavioral factors on the subjects' ratings of the seriousness of …

Mental Status And Functional Behavior In Male Geriatric Patients, Gregory Lee Mayer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

It was the goal of this study to examine the ecological validity of a number of measures of mental status for geriatric individuals. Subjects were 40 alert, ambulatory male VA patients. Mental status instruments included the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS) and the Vocabulary subtest of the WAIS-R. Measures of functional behavior included the Woodcock-Johnson Scales of Independent Behavior (SIB) and the Parachek Geriatric Behavior Rating Scale (PGBRS). Significant relationships were found between the MMSE and the SIB, between the WMS and the SIB, and between the WMS and the PGBRS. It was found that estimation …

An Examination Of Open- And Closed-Economic Conditions In Operant Research, Craig R. Loftin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The effect of economic condition on the relation between responding and overall rate of reinforcement has been an area of recent interest in operant research. The present research was conducted to determine whether the manipulation of the economic condition, by the systematic manipulation of the provision of substitute food, has an effect on this relation and whether open- and closed-economies represent two opposing alternatives or two parametric extremes along a continuum. The results of two experiments conducted with pigeons using variable-interval and fixed-ratio schedules of reinforcement suggest that the manipulation of economic condition has a controlling effect on the relation …

A Preschool-Age Neurodevelopmental Comparison Between Normal-Birthweight Infants And Low-Birthweight Infants With And Without Intraventricular Hemorrhage, William Frederick Corey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Advances in medical technology have provided the mechanisms for sustaining life in premature and low-birthweight infants, resulting in the survival of more of these infants. Low-birthweight (LBW) and preterm infants are placed at risk by a number of medical complications, including intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH).

The outcome of low-birthweight infants with intraventricular hemorrhage has been the subject of a great deal of research and continues to be a much-discussed topic in the medical and psychological communities. As more data become available, it appears that more questions arise concerning the later neuodevelopmental and neuropsychological outcome of these infants.

For this reason, research …