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Western News, April 2, 1987, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: Eight new $20,000 Medallion Scholarships established, MAGB to honor two students; two faculty members, Barnett to speak on importance of mentoring, Conference to focus on wife abuse, Events planned to celebrate 'Asia Week' April 6-10, Tour world at International Night

The Westerner Vol. 7 No. 5, Western Michigan University

The Westerner (1980-1997)

• Pushing, pulling, twisting limits some product's usefulness, study says • Kellogg Foundation grant focuses on strengthening preparation of administrators • Investigating all financial aid options a must today • College of Health and Human Services has long tradition of service, academic excellence • Number of freshman applications up about 30 percent • 'Traditional' students becoming more 'nontraditional' • Choosing a good health club, requires expending energy • Dybek named one of thirteen Michiganians of the Year • Robots getting a bad rap because of improper use, robotics specialist says • Medical science could reverse trend toward sexual equality • …

The Application Of Chitosan To Composite Boxboard For Plybond Development, Tracy O. Drier

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

The area of study during this research was the effect of the marine polymer chitosan addition rate on strength properties, and retention characteristics. Two machine trials were run on the WMU twin ply former using old corrugated container (O.C.C.).

Machine run # 1 consisted of running a 1% chitosan solution at 0, 6, 16, 18#/ton. Run # 2 also used a 1% chitosan solution but lower addition rates of 0, 2, 5#/ton. The chitosan was added to the thick stock prior to the fan pump for both runs. No comparisons between the runs were made.

Conclusions from both runs include: …

Turning Passive Readers Into Active Readers In Content Area Subjects, G. Franklin Elrod

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The purpose of this paper is to detail a metacognitive strategy which has exhibited the ability to improve the reading comprehension of poor readers (Brown & Palincsar, 1982) and LD adolescents (Elrod, 1984). Metacognition has been defined as "one's knowledge concerning one's own cognitive processes and products" (Flavell, 1976). Metacognitive reading strategies have been effective in enhancing the reading comprehension performance of LD adolescents in the resource room while concurrently demonstrating the transferability of that performance to the regular classroom (Elrod, 1 Yt:S4). The metacognitive strategy outlined below could be an effective approach for a high school resource room teacher …

Ideal And Real Performance Expectations Of Baccalaureate Nursing Graduates As Perceived By Graduates, Nurse Educators, And Nurse Administrators, Maureen Martin Fochtman

Dissertations

Nurse educators and nursing service administrators have different expectations for the baccalaureate graduate nurse. The difference in expectations has made the transition from student to practitioner difficult for the new graduate.

The purpose of this study was to identify the ideal and real expectations regarding entry level performance as perceived by nurses who graduated in 1985 from 17 of 31 baccalaureate programs represented in the Consensus on Entry project. The ideal and real expectations of the graduates were compared to the nurse educators' and the nursing service administrators' results from the consensus on Entry project.

One hundred fifty-four baccalaureate graduates …

American Indian Perception Of Counselor Characteristics In A Counseling Interview, Francis Donald Mcleod

Dissertations

This investigation of Native Americans determined to what extent counselor expertness, effectiveness and trustworthiness affect their perception of the counseling interview. The study was specifically designed to assess Native American attitudes as they relate to situational counselor characteristics and behavior. The attitudinal preferences investigated were: (a) racial characteristics of counselor, (b) personal attractiveness of counselor, (c) expertness of counselor, and (d) trustworthiness of counselor.

The sample for the study was composed of 60 Native American students randomly selected through Project M.A.I.S.S. (Making American Indians Self-Sufficient), an academic remedial program for American Indian students from the area around Kalamazoo, Michigan. The …

Guilt, Ego Development, And Christian Faith, Dane Ver Merris

Dissertations

This research addressed the problem of whether a relationship exists between a particular level of ego development and guilt engendered by a rigid conscience based upon orthodox Christian beliefs. It was anticipated that forty-five graduate students at a conservative midwestern seminary who experienced higher levels of guilt and demonstrated a more rigid conscience/superego would score at the Conscientious stage of ego development measured by the Washington University Sentence Completion Test. Guilt and rigidity of conscience were measured by the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire.

Object relations theories of the origins of guilt were examined along with the relationship between object relations …

An Examination And Analysis Of Effective Leadership Styles And The Skills Necessary To Successfully Lead A School District, Jerome S. Goosen

Masters Theses

The analysis of leadership styles provided an indepth view of the many roles and responsibilities of the position of principal and superintendent. The opportunity to observe and interact with more than one person helped to draw comparisons. Several instruments, used nationally to assess leadership styles, were also observed for the first time.

It was determined that administration requires many skills to handle the numerous tasks and situations that arise. Each one of the field supervisors demonstrated the ability to fit his/her personality to different situations. Each was different in his/her basic styles but yet shared several common traits. Finally, it …

Production Of Thymine Dimer In Dna From Mesophilic And Thermophilic Bacteria By Uv Irradiation, F Redrick Shu-Chung Yein

Dissertations

The in vitro production of thymine dimer (TT) in DNA, isolated from the mesophile (B. licheniformis) and the thermophile (B. stearothermophilus), was carried out by UV irradiation (254 nm) at three different temperatures (35, 45, and 55(DEGREES)C). The production of TT from the thermophilic DNA was significantly higher than that from the mesophilic DNA. This was the case at all three irradiation temperatures. The increase in TT production per 10(DEGREES)C increase in irradiation temperature was four times higher for the thermophile than that for the mesophile. It was concluded that the DNA from the thermophile was photochemically less stable than …

Depression And Anxiety In Postmenopausal Women: A Study Of Black, White, And Hispanic Women, Patricia Groessl

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate depression and anxiety in postmenopausal women. The study examined four areas: race, hormone state, number of menopause symptoms, and demographic data.

The sample consisted of 90 women between the ages of 45 and 65. All subjects had completed either natural or surgical menopause by a minimum of one year. The subjects were volunteers from the West Michigan area.

There were 30 subjects from each of the following race categories: black, white, and Hispanic. On the basis of self reports, the subjects were assigned to one of the following hormone state groups: (a) …

Differential Response Latencies Using Auditory Stimuli, Albert Edward Neal

Dissertations

Previous research has identified and isolated the elicited (autoshaped) control of pigeons' response latencies. The present research, using auditory frequencies as discriminative stimuli, was designed to eliminate the intrusion of this elicited control.

Two experiments are presented, both using a discrete-trial, two-component multiple schedule. In Experiment 1, in which a two-key arrangement was used, pigeons were required to peck a continuously-illuminated left key when one of two different frequencies, each correlated with a different amount of reinforcement, was presented behind the illuminated right key. In Experiment 2, in which a three-key arrangement was used, pigeons were required to peck either …

A Study Of Variables Related To Teacher Absenteeism In A K-12 School District, Dale F. Martin

Dissertations

Teacher absenteeism is a serious problem in school administration. The costs of teach absenteeism were estimated at two billion dollars per annum, according to a report published in 1981. Teacher absenteeism, like all forms of employee absenteeism, is a source of reduced productivity. Despite the seriousness and costs of teacher absenteeism, few studies of this problem have been completed.

In this study, reasons for teacher absenteeism in a K-12 school district were studied. Data from this study were compared to selective data from five medium sized school districts, with student population ranging from 3,350 to 22,845 students, located in Michigan. …

Responding Under Homogeneous Versus Heterogeneous Chained Variable-Interval Schedules, Stephen P. Starin

Masters Theses

Four pigeons responded under chained variable-interval schedules in which the required response topographies were either similar [i.e., a homogeneous chain] or dissimilar Ci.e., a heterogeneous chain]. Subjects were exposed to all possible combinations of initial-link key pecking or treadle pressing and terminal-link pecking or treadling. Three of four subjects displayed higher initial-link response rates under the homogeneous chains. The present results were explained in terms of an induction effect in which the strengthening effect of reinforcing a particular terminal-link response topagrapahy generalizes to similar responses earlier in the chain, but not to topographically different responses.

Structural Geology And Geothermal Investigation Of The White Sulphur Springs Area, Montana, William G. Gierke

Masters Theses

Sevier thrusting in the White Sulphur Springs area was associated with left-lateral movement along the Lewis and Clark line . During Middle Miocene time, the Lewis and Clark line exhibited right-lateral movement, forming extensional features that either truncated Sevier structures or followed preexisting Sevier zones of weakness.

The Smith River Valley is a pull-apart basin that is filled with Tertiary volcanic ash and clay-rich sediments that are thermally nonconductive relative to surrounding rocks.

Hydrothermal activity in the area is associated with a structurally controlled circulation system accompanied by a high thermal gradient. Thermal discharge is constrained along the north-trending White …

The Effect Of Well Efficiency On In-Situ Permeability Test Results, Scott T. Dennis

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine what effect well efficiency has upon the results of in-situ permeability tests.

Several in-situ permeability tests were performed on wells during various stages of their development. The well efficiency was determined each time an in-situ test was performed. An accurate value of permeability was determined by performing local aquifer pumping tests. The accuracy of the results of the in-situ tests with respect to the aquifer pump test results were then compared to the efficiency of the well at the time of the test.

Test results showed that a linear relationship exists between …

A Comparison Of Wais-R Scores With Wais-R Scores For Mentally Handicapped Students With Iqs Below 70 And For Regular Education Students, Kimberly A. Brennan

Masters Theses

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the utilization of WISC-R scores as a basis for placement and continuation of services for mental retardates in special education classes throughout their school careers. A comparison of the WISC-R Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQs with the WAIS-R counterparts and a statistical analysis was conducted. Regular education students were also tested to determine if the two scales were equal.

The WAIS-R was found to yield higher Verbal and Full Scale IQ scores, but comparable Performance IQ scores. These results suggest that the differences between the two instruments for children of …

A Study Of The Direct Capture Process Of Protons By 27Al, Rozana Hussain

Masters Theses

An experimental investigation of the 27Al(p,γ)²⁸Si reaction was made for protons in the energy range 550- to 1785-keV and at angles of 0, 20, 55, 90 and 118 degrees. Four angular distributions at E_p = 845-, 1055-, 1135-, and 1618-keV were selected for detailed study. These angular distributions were fit with theoretical calculations employing a directcapture model. These fits permitted the extraction of spectroscopic factors for the population of the first excited-state in ²⁸Si by proton transfer.

The Effects Of Computer Assisted Instruction In Basic Skills Courses On High-Risk Ninth Grade Students, Thomas E. Dellario

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to determine the effects of computer assisted instruction (CAI) in basic skills English and mathematics courses on high-risk ninth grade students. Utilizing an ex post facto design, the study was undertaken to determine if CAI courses make any measurable difference in students' academic achievement. The study also examines three nonacademic concerns relating to the school-imposed, high-risk, label carried by these students: attendance, student behavior, and dropouts.

Data were collected from school personnel offices on 384 ninth grade students enrolled in four high schools of two urban school districts. Because of student drops from school, …

Effects Of Training On Measures Of Productivity: A Meta-Analysis Of The Findings Of Forty-Eight Experiments, Alice Susan Leddick

Dissertations

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of training on three employee productivity measures: output, withdrawal, and disruption.

A meta-analysis of forty-eight field experiments published in the United States between 1971 and 1981, inclusive, was conducted to explore differences in training effectiveness associated with eight substantive training variables (five design variables and three contextual variables) and two study design variables.

Across all studies, training programs contributed to overall improvement of experimental groups over control groups of 0.67 standard deviation. Training interventions were most successful applied to disruption; however, a shortage of data cast doubt on the reliability …

Drug Addict And Non-Addict Offenders: A Comparison Of The Disparity In The Types Of Crimes, Sentencing Recommendations, And Formal Dispositions Of Each Group, Scott B. Courtney

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between the type and severity of a crime and the offender's known history (past or present) of controlled substance abuse.

A random sample of federal cases between the years 1980-1985 was used to see if the offender's known problem with substance abuse had any impact on the severity of the recommended and actual sentence imposed on the offender.

Specific control variables such as race, age, educational level, and marital status of the offenders were also incorporated.

Teaching Paragraph Construction To Second Grade Students Using A Structured, Sequential Instructional Program, Sheryl Ann Miller

Masters Theses

The present study proposed that specific methods of teaching writing could be implemented through the application of established principles of behavioral, educational technology. A group of eight second grade students took part in a five week sequential writing program designed to teach them to construct a paragraph incorporating the following components: title, name, introductory sentence, three explanatory sentences, and a conclusion sentence.

Samples of the student's writing were obtained at the beginning and end of the program. Changes in writing style were analyzed for the absence or presence of each component. Every child demonstrated some improvement regarding one or more …

A Study-Support Program For High-Risk, Black College Freshman Enrolled In A General Psychology Course, Angela Michelle Williams

Masters Theses

As a replication of Jackson's (1984) work, this research compared the performance of three groups of college freshmen. The groups consisted of black, high-risk students who voluntarily enrolled in a study-support group because of their initial quiz scores. The support program required the students to study each week's psychology objectives in four smaller segments, rather than studying all the week's material at once. The assumption was that this would increase the students' contact with the study material and improve their performances. An ABA design was used. The participants in the support program received higher quiz scores and final grades than …

The J-Curve: An Empirical Investigation Of The Trade Balance And Balance Of Payments In Seven European Countries, Sabine Beate Bomke

Masters Theses

The effects of exchange-rate changes on the trade balance and the balance of payments of selected European countries is examined in this paper. Of particular interest are estimates of the existence and length of the J-curve effect, which describes the curve the trade balance may follow over time after devaluation. Contrary to popular expectations, the trade balance may deteriorate further after devaluation before "turning around" and improving.

Quarterly data from 1973 to 1985 for Belgium, Denmark, France, West Germany, Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands were used in this study. Out of a total of 84 realignments the J-curve was observed …

Western News, March 19, 1987, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: Wolpe to speak on Africa, Haenicke paints statistical portrait for Senate, PRRs needed to help University fulfill its mission, Robin; Delene to lead Senate, New program targets junior high school students, Minority Leadership Conference scheduled, See the latest advances at EXPO

Western News, March 12, 1987, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: Haenicke condemns racism, says tuition hike 'a certainty' in remarks to Board of Trustees, Grants to strengthen school administrator preparation, New computerized system to speed up maintenance service request process, Wellness committee works with new smoking policy, Noted occupational therapist to speak, Scholar to speak on Gorbachev

Wmu Board Of Trustees Regular Meeting March 6, 1987, Wmu Board Of Trustees

WMU Board of Trustees Meetings

• Acceptance of the Agenda
• Approval of the Minutes
• Correspondence
• Remarks by the President
• Committee Appointments
• Gift Report
• Grant Report
• Personnel Report
• Recommendation re Departmental Name Change
• Recommendation re Appointment of External Auditor
• Recommendation re Architect Selection - Maybee Hall
• Recommendation re Student Room and Board and Apartment Rental Rates for 1987/88
• Recommendation re Liquor License
• Authorization to Confer Degrees
• Recommendation re Honorary Degrees
• Resolution re Recognition of WMU's 30th Anniversary as a University
• Board Committee Reports
• WMUK Report
• Public Comments
• Adjournment

Professional Achievement In Social Work, Harry Specht, Doris Britt, Charles Frost

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The authors report on a study of the professional achievements of 719 recently graduated California MSWs. Respondents are assigned an achievement score which is an index based on responses to seven questions. The scores of low achievers and high achievers are compared to analyze associations with: validating factors (e.g., salary), personal factors (race and gender), and pre-MSW factors (e.g., undergraduate education).

Rejoinder, Harry Specht

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The comments by Chaiklin and Lause are representative of the sort of scholarly, but sterile and despairing, criticism that pervades social work education today. They have many technical complaints about the Specht-Britt-Frost paper: the conceptualization of the variables is defective; the response rate is too low; the sample is poor; the weightings are inappropriate; gamma is not a sufficiently powerful measure of correlation; and so forth. I have responded to most of these issues elsewhere, (1) so I will address only two here.

Individual Experience And Critical Consciousness: Sources Of Social Change In Everyday Life, David G. Gil

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Social scientists tend to interpret social change as the result of collective action. However, all collective action is at some level and time initiated and carried out by individuals, who, of course, are rooted in particular social contexts. A theory of social change needs to derive, therefore, not only from the study of collective action, but also from the study of individual initiation of, and involvement in, social change oriented practice.

The following observations on individual involvement in social change practice are based on personal experience and study over several decades. They are not a theory of social change but …

Professional Autonomy In Community Mental Health Centers, William E. Buffum

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Professional community mental health workers want considerable autonomy in doing their work, but too much autonomy can lead to frustration and less satisfaction with work. This finding of a study of 93 mental health professionals in three community mental health centers is in sharp contrast with a comparison group of 60 professionals in a chemical plant. The article cautions against the direct translation of research on all professionals to community mental health professionals.