Digital Commons Network^™

The Effects Of A Pre-Therapy Client Orientation On Clients In Psychotherapy, Nels Sather

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this research was to assess the effects of a pre-therapy client orientation on clients admitted to a mental health center. A secondary purpose was to develop an effective and brief audio-visual orientation that would positively influence clients in therapy. It was hypothesized that a pre-therapy orientation would significantly reduce client no shows and cancellations, increase client fee payment, increase client level of psychological functioning, and increase client satisfaction with mental health services. None of the four hypotheses was supported by the research. A questionnaire filled out by the therapists involved in the study, after the data were …

The Effect Of Reinforcer Type On The Resurgence Of Responding, Lori Light-Richter

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

The purpose of the study was to determine whether a previously reinforced response would resurge following the reinforcement and subsequent extinction of a second response when the two responses were established using two different reinforcers, and when both responses had been equivalent training. Rats were trained to press either a lever or a key with either food or water as the reinforcer. After this response had been extinguished, the alternative behavior was trained with the alternate reinforcer. Finally, this second behavior was extinguished. Little resurgence of the original response was noted for either subjects trained under same- or different- reinforcer …

Surfacing And The Diviners: A Comparative Study, Helen Beach Cannon

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This paper explores religio-folkloric connections in two works of Canadian fiction--Surfacing, by Margaret Atwood, and The Diviners, by Margaret Laurence. On several levels these books have striking parallels. They are here treated as novels of quest and in terms of elemental symbology.

The Relationship Between The Content Component Of Cognitive Moral Development And Premarital Sexual Standards, Janet H. Anderson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between the content of moral thought and premarital sexual standards. The sample used (n=159) was homogeneous and purposive; the majority of the sample was female, second year college students, and Caucasian. A discriminant analysis using the sexual standards of permissiveness with affection and the traditional standard as dependent variables, and the moral constructs of egoism, hedonism, nonhedonism, utilitarianism, deontology, rule-utilitarianism, act-utilitarianism, rule-orientation, and act-orientation as independent (predictor) variables was run. This analysis resulted in a final model in which egoism, hedonism, nonhedonism, act-utilitarianism, and rule-orientation were found to …

Identity And Intimacy: A Correlational Or Casual Connection?, Patricia A.H. Dyk

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlational and casual connection between identity and intimacy development in later adolescents using lagged data and multiple measures of each construct. Developmental paths were hypothesized from four theoretically based models and designed to investigate gender and sex role orientation differences in the relationship of identity and intimacy formation. Identity was measured by the Revised Version of the Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status. Both identity and intimacy were assessed by the Erikson Psychosocial Stage Inventory and the Inventory of Psychosocial Development. The Bem Sex Role Inventory and the …

Pms: Bi-Phasic Differences In Personality And Marital Relations Among A Clinical Sample, Donna R. Rogers

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) is a controversial and widely misunderstood syndrome which encompasses mood, behavior, and physical symptoms that occur cyclically and are associated with the menstrual cycle. Many women report suffering from recurring PMS symptoms severe enough to create a temporary physical or mental incapacitation which may affect the marital relationship. A study was initiated to document bi-phasic personality and marital changes related to PMS.

This sample consisted of 119 adult females and their husbands, ranging in age between 18 and 60, who sought diagnosis and treatment at the Utah PMS Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Within this clinical …

Long-Term Effectiveness Of Educational Intervention On The Assertiveness, Self-Esteem, And Well-Being Of Displaced Homemakers, Marc F. Mathias

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to determine if educational intervention could cause a decrease in distress, and if so would this change last up to a year. The sample consisted of displaced homemakers from three Northern Utah counties enrolled in a seminar (educational intervention) to prepare for the development of employment skills. Pre-test, post-test and follow-up tests were given to measure the change in stress. The three measures used to determine the psychological preparation (a reduction in distress level) were assertiveness, self-esteem and well-being. It was concluded that the educational intervention did reduce the distress level and that the …

Food Practices And Ritual In The Family Across Three Generations, Audrey Crawford Liddil

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The overall purpose of this study was to assess family patterns in regard to food practices and family rituals that occur in all families. Specifically, four major purposes were considered in this study: (a) to learn more about generational food practices and how they are passed from one generation to the next, (b) to analyze demographic factors in relation to food related practices, (c) to understand the role of family ritual in family food practices, and (d) to learn how family food practices impact the dietary patterns for society at large.

The data were obtained in February am March of …

The Self-Perceived Need For Parent Education By Divorced Parents, T. Wayne Hunsaker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to determine the self perceived needs of divorced parents for parent education. Five independent variables, age, sex, income level, education, and time since divorce were analyzed. The survey was organized into three major parts with sub-headings. The survey questions asked divorced parents what parent education resources they used before, after divorce, and use now or in the future. Other questions asked what content these resources should contain. The survey was completed in Houston Texas, and Ogden, Utah with a total N of 38.

The results of the analysis indicated there was no significant differences …

Demographic And Professional Dimensions Of Child Care Providers, Carol Joan Armga

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this investigation was to develop a demographic profile of current child care providers in 3 selected Western states. Further, this study sought to assess dimensions of professionally in the day to day activities of child care workers.

Utilizing a mailed questionnaire, 226 child care providers in Salt Lake City, Utah; Eugene, Oregon; and Boise, Idaho were surveyed for information on demographics and professional dimensions. Results suggest that the demographic profile created by a cross-sectional sample of child care providers differs markedly from a profile created by a sample based on professional affiliation. Statistical analyses suggest that education …

Attitudes Toward Seeking Financial Counseling: Instrument Development, Janeen Cook

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this research was to establish the validity and reliability of the scores on an instrument which assesses attitudes toward seeking help for financial problems . Content, criterion-related, and construct validity and internal consistency reliability of the scores on the instrument were examined. The Hughes' conceptual model of the Family in Financial Crisis provided the theoretical basis for this study .

The sample size of this study was 510. The instrument evaluated was based on a scale developed by Rimm (1975) to assess attitudes toward seeking help for financial problems. Total scores on the 16-item instrument ranged from …

The Effect Of Ultrafiltration On Protein Quality Of Skimmilk And Cottage Cheese, Rita Y. Y. Tung

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Protein quality in freeze-dried skimmilk (SM), regular cottage cheese (RCC), retentate (Ret) and cottage cheese made from ultrafiltrated skimmilk (UFCC) were evaluated by chemical (amino acid score) and biological methods. Biological evaluation was at 5, 8 and 11% protein level in growing rats by measuring biological value (BV), net protein utilization (NPU) and nitrogen efficiency for growth (NEG) over a 14-day period. A 28-day protein efficiency ratio (PER) was determined on the same products at 10% protein level. Effects of added lactose on PER of retentate, regular and UFCC were also evaluated. The most limiting amino acids were cystine + …

The Effect Of Instructional Presentation On Student Satisfaction And Performance As Demonstrated In An Electronic Distance Educational (Ede) Delivery System, R. Alan Seamons

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the emerging field of electronic distance education (EDE) so as to improve and enhance the delivery of educational programs utilizing EDE. The study was conducted at Utah State University, using an EDE-method (COM-NET) as the research setting. Thirty-seven instructors taught 45 courses over the COM-NET system from Fall quarter, 1985 through Summer quarter, 1986.

The design of this study was based upon simple correlation coefficient matrices and the subsequent prediction models of multiple regression analysis. Contextual data were gathered from a solicited instructor self-reporting instrument. The objective was to identify …

Poverty And Migration: Synthesis Of Macrolevel And Microlevel Perspectives Of Migration, Keywon Cheong

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study assesses effects of contextual and personal characteristics on the migration propensities of individuals, with primary focus on several measurements of individual poverty status and the poverty level of the residential areas. The restricted opportunity perspective on poverty, the human capital perspective and the microeconomic perspective on migration, are the major frameworks guiding the study. Logistic regression analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of the Youth Cohort and from the 1983 County and City Data Book is employed to investigate differences in the Migration behavior between the poor and nonpoor, and significant main and interactive effects of …

Expert System Technology And Concept Instruction: Training Educators To Accurately Classify Learning Disabled Students, Mary Anne Prater

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Many learning disabled student being served by the public school systems have been inaccurately classified. Training and research efforts are needed to assist members of the multidisciplinary team in making more accurate learning disabilities classification decisions.

CLASS.LD2, a computer-based expert system, was designed to assist multidisciplinary teams by providing second-opinion advice regarding the appropriateness of a learning disabilities classification for individual student cases. The existing expert system, CLASS.LD2, was combined with strategies for effective concept instruction to create an instructional package entitled LO.Trainer.

The purpose of this study was (a) to develop a computer-based instructional package combining expert system technology …

Verbal Interactions Among Elementary Students With The Jigsaw Ii Learning Method, Katherine Gilbert

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The cooperative learning method, Jigsaw II, was implemented in a grade four social studies class for the purpose of examining the verbal interactions among students as they learned from each other. Jigsaw II is structured to enhance cooperation because each student has exclusive information that is needed by other group members to do well on a test. It was hypothesized that the more capable students in a heterogeneous learning group would help the less capable ones learn the material. As the lower ability students gained proficiency in teaching their information, the variance in the rates of speaking would be less …

An Investigation Of The Five-Term Contingency And The Conditional Control Of Equivalence Relations, Richard W. Serna

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the study of human operant behavior. One area of study reflecting this interest is the study of the formation of equivalent classes of stimuli by human subjects. The focus of the present research was the study of the conditions under which classes of equivalent stimuli can be inferred to be under conditional control.

In Experiment 1-A, three college students were trained to respond to a balanced five-term contingency via a visual-visual simultaneous matching-to-sample task with two choices of comparison stimuli. Probe tests showed that subjects' behavior could be described as …

Investigation Of Patient Anxiety, Patient Satisfaction, And Dental Student Behaviors, Mary Kathryn Morris

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The present study examined the effect of information about patient's dental anxiety on patient satisfaction, patient discomfort, and patients' perceptions of dental student behaviors. The validity of patients' perceptions was examined by independent observation of dental student behaviors on videotaped dental screening visits.

Thirty dental students each examined two dentally anxious female patients. Each student received information about one of the patient' s dental anxiety and no information about the other. The order of presentation of the conditions information and no information was counterbalanced. The dependent measures were the Dentist Behavior Checklist, the Dental Visit Satisfaction Scale, the Patient Discomfort …

Academic Achievement Of Bereaved Children: Comparison With A Nonbereaved Population, Rebecca W. Valcarce

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this research was to study the effects of bereavement on the academic achievement of secondary school students who had lost a parent through death by comparing them with students attending the same schools but who were living with both natural parents. The subjects in both groups were matched on pretest scores and demographic characteristics at the beginning of the study. Achievement posttest scores and overall high school grade point averages of both groups were compared using ANCOVA and multiple regression analyses. None of the analyses were found to be statistically significant, implying that academic achievement is not …

A Comprehensive Treatment Program For Abusive Parents: An Exploratory Study, Marvin Kim Marvel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Estimates of the incidence of child abuse range from 200,000 to 500,000 (Light, 1973) to over one million children each year (O'Brien, 1980). Child abuse is a leading cause of childhood death and injury (Starr, 1979). Demographic studies (e.g., Steele & Pollock, 1968) suggest that parents who abuse their children were often abused or neglected themselves. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that many of the present victims of abuse will become abusing parents in the future unless the cycle is broken. The need for effective interventions to reduce this pervasive social problem is obvious.

Using Music In Teaching Social Skills To Mentally Retarded Subjects, Tamara Barron-Johnson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which Melodies to Assist Social Interaction (MASI) would affect the social skills performance of the educable mentally retarded.

The study employed a pretest-posttest control group design with an N of 27 mentally-retarded subjects. It also employed a one-group pretest-posttest design with an N of 8 non-mentally retarded subjects.

All of the subjects received a pre- and post-score for their social skills performance level. Nineteen of the mentally-retarded subjects and all eight non-mentally retarded subjects received the MASI social skills teaching program as part of their regular curriculum.

The pre- …

Honoring The Farm: Identity And Meaning In Personal Narratives, Jeannie Banks Thomas

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis employs the literary folklorist methodology to explore personal narratives. Personal narratives told by Elizabeth (Beth) Wyatt Winn were analyzed. It was discovered that these narratives provide an eyewitness account of history, reveal world views, and encapsulate experiences into values and personal meanings. The depth of meaning found in Elizabeth (Beth) Wyatt Winn's personal narratives illustrates the importance of personal narratives in historical research and historical re-creation and simulation.

Appendices include several oral interviews containing personal narratives.

Crime Victims And The Media: A Comparison Of Newspaper Coverage In The Los Angeles Times From 1969 To 1985, Cory J. La Bianca

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this paper was to compare the newspaper coverage of crime victims in five mass murder cases covered by the Los Angeles Times over a 16-year period from 1969 to 1985. Specific cases studied included the 1969 Manson murders, the 1976 Cal State Fullerton murders, the 1977-78 Hillside Strangler serial murders, the 1984 San Ysidro McDonald's restaurant massacre and the 1985 Night Stalker serial killings. Coverage of each incident was analyzed, with particular attention paid to coverage of crime victims. Subtle but significant changes in the treatment of crime victims were reported. The Los Angeles Times was found …

Exploring Folk Art, Michael Owen Jones

All USU Press Publications

Jones explores the human impulse to create, the necessity for having aesthetically satisfying experiences, and the craving for tradition. He also considers topics such as making chairs, remodeling houses, using and preserving soda-fountain slang, preparing and eating food, and sculpting lifelike figures out of cement.

Insites, Winter 1987, Utah State University

inSites

Magazine of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning

Utah Science Vol. 47 No. 3, Fall 1986

Utah Science

70 CHROMOSOMES AND INFERTILITY IN DAIRY CATTLE T. D. Bunch, A. Maciulis and S. L. Henderson The analysis of chromosomes is providing valuable information about genetic abnormalities in cattle.

78 THE APPLICATION OF BEHAVIORAL CONCEPTS TO LIVESTOCK MANAGEMENT D. F. Balph and M. H. Balph Several principles useful in the study of human behavior may also explain livestock behavior.

86 GENETIC PROBLEMS IN MINK CULTURE L. C. Ellis and N. C. Pace Mink are an ideal animal to study genetic problems in other animals and humans.

94 UNDERSTANDING THE APPLE MAGGOT D. W. Davis and V. P. Jones Findings are …

Utah State University Commencement, 1986 – Main Campus, Utah State University

Commencement Programs

Ninety-Third Annual Commencement of Utah State University

Marriage Enrichment: Does It Make A Difference, Eric R. Olsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to determine if participation in a marriage enrichment program had an impact on couple's relationships in the areas of regard, empathy, congruence, dyadic adjustment and self-esteem. Seven independent variables were also analyzed to see if they had any impact on the five outcome measures. A survey was given at four different time periods (pretest, immediately before the enrichment experience; posttest, immediately after the enrichment experience; three months following; and six months following the enrichment experience) to determine if change did occur and if it was maintained over time. There was no control group and …

The Role Of Vicarious Reinforcement For Modeled Or Alternate Behavior, Brian C. Lech

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research on vicarious reinforcement has answered many questions but whether vicarious reinforcement increases the likelihood that an observer will imitate a model, a social learning theory would predict, or sets the occasion for the observer to perform an alternate response, as a discriminative stimulus interpretation of vicarious reinforcement suggests, seems to depend on (1) the setting, (2) procedure, and (3) reinforcers used. In an effort to better understand the function of vicarious reinforcement, while controlling for subjects; histories and using tangible reinforcers, 47 preschool children participated in two experiments that (1) provided an experimental history of responding on several levers, …

The Stability And Predictive Validity Of The Bayley Scales Of Infant Development: A Meta-Analysis, Gary A. Goodrich

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

The Bayley Scales of Infant Development (Bayley, 1969) is the most widely used infant assessment instrument in the United States. Reasons for its widespread use include research into the nature and development of intelligence, studies of intervention efficacy, and treatment and placement of handicapped infants.

To this date, the stability and predictive validity of the Bayley scales have not been well established. According to Webster and Bates, "There remains a serious lack of research examining the stability of all general intelligence measures over extended intervals of time" (1977, p. 5). Anastasi (1976) suggests that tests like the Bayley are particularly …