Digital Commons Network^™

A Performance Audit Of A Graduate Training Program, Maria Emma Garcia

Masters Theses

The present study consists of a performance audit of a graduate training program. The performance audit is an engineering model created by Gilbert (1978) to design, analyze, and evaluate organizations. This performance audit was applied to the Behavioral Systems Analysis Program (BSAP), a graduate training program of the Psychology Department at Western Michigan University. The mission of BSAP consists of training behavioral systems analysts to effectively create or improve systems that benefit humanity.

This study had two objectives: first, the identification of the areas of BSAP with greatest potential for improvement and the identification causes of their deficiencies; second, to …

Effects Of The Center For The Self-Management Of Academic Performance On High Risk Students, Connie J. Wittkopp

Masters Theses

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a behavioral package designed to help keep high risk students in school. Thirty-four undergraduate students on academic probation were referred to the Center for the Self-Management of Academic Performance by the College of Arts and Sciences. These students were divided into two groups: an experimental group which consisted of 21 students and a control group which consisted of 13 students. Members of the experimental group were exposed to a treatment package which included behavioral contracting, lectures, and mandatory attendance at a study center; members of the control group …

The Effect Of Discrimination Training On Salt And Sugar Taste Thresholds Of Preschool Children, Susan M. Castine

Masters Theses

Using a single-subject A-B-C-D design, this study examined NaCl and sucrose taste thresholds in water, tomato juice, and milk with four 4-year-old children. Taste thresholds were determined by presenting several concentrations of an adulterant (i.e. NaCl, sucrose) in each vehicle, in blocks of ten trials. Subjects evaluated each taste sample by pressing one of two levers (Yes/No response). Detection threshold was defined as the level at which there was 50% correct responding. During Baseline, subjects received no feedback regarding the accuracy of their response. During the differential reinforcement phase, subjects received reinforcement following each correct response. Results suggested that detection …

Western News, November 29,1984, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: Kemp to be recipient of Distinguished Service Award, 'Fiesta de Navidad' to be presented Nov. 30-Dec. 1, Parking permit expiration date extended, 22 to be inducted into 25 Year Club, Henderson named director of undergraduate admissions, Steps to be closed for snow season

Western News, November 1,1984, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: Public-education leaders unite to oppose Proposal C, Consortium preidents: 'C' would close doors of opportunity to students, hurt recovery, Campus groups united in opposition to Proposal C, Brown to be honored at national convention, 1984-85 campus directories distributed, Canadian studies scholar to speak Nov. 1-2, Yugoslavian scholar to speak on victimology, September gifts, grants total $485,992, Cooper honored a occupational therapist, New nutritional program serves thought with food

Western News, October 4, 1984, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: Proposal C 'a dagger in heart' of higher ed, Thirteen named to presidential search committee, Homecoming events continue this weekend, Paper Technology Foundation to meet, Board approves academic appointments, Center supports groundwater initiatives, Heikkinen named to position in development

Reading Comprehension, Visual Literacy And Picture Book Illustrations, Dee C. Storey

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The books selected for this article demand close inspection of the pictures by readers of varied ages. Children and adults alike will be challenged in the investifations that will lead toward a more comprehensive understanding of illustrations and their value.

Integrating Language Activities Into Reading Instruction, Dixie D. Sanger, Sheldon L. Stick, Una A. Lange

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

This study determines if second grade children, who have been identified as having possible listening comprehension problems and language deficiencies, demonstrate improved reading performance with an integrated reading-language treatment approach. A quasi-experimental design included sixteen children in the experimental group and nineteen subjects in the control group. Six operationally defined language behaviors were studied during eleven weeks of treatment. the data were interpreted to imply that certain aspects of an integrative reading-language approach were effective for reading instruction.

Monitoring Progress Toward Independent Silent Reading, Lilian H. Franc, Jeannette Hildrebrandt

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

In an effort to gain a greater understanding of how children make the transition from reading word for word orally to becoming independent silent readers this study monitored the development of fluent oral reading of beginning readers, recorded progress related to the children's ability to use a modified cloze procedure as an indication of their perception of reading as a meaning gathering process, charted children's ability to write a complete sentence independently, and observed children as they made voluntary decisions to read a trade book silently.

Read Aloud Tutoring: A Program To Enhance Reading Interests, Ora Sterling Anderson

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Meaningful reading, to a large extent, depends upon the interaction between the reader and the material read. In order to comprehend what is read and interact with the writer, the reader must bring prior knowledge to bear on the passage (Otto and Smith, 1980; Rumelhart, 1976; Smith, 1978).

Approaches And Methods For Reading Specialists: A Continuing Debate, Mark E. Thompson

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The power of technology is a challenge to humanistic concerns and forms the basis of the continuing debate, i.e., how should we use our educational technology and how do we keep it under control? There are many examples of raw technical power going haywire. For educators at all levels, technology must be under human control and carefully applied.

Reading Horizons Vol. 25, No. 1

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Complete Issue of Reading Horizons volume 25, issue 1.

The Social Security Controversy And The 1983 Amendments, Bruno Stein

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

As domestic political crisis go, the Social Security crisis has had a rather long run. The little monster made its first formal appearance in the 1974 Annual Report of the Trustees (1974), (1) and retained its ability to generate headlines and political grief until March 1983, when passage of the current Amendments put it to rest, at least for the time being. There is some measure of irony here. The original Social Security Act of 1935 was a rather modest venture, as these things go. Over time, the Act was expanded to cover more people, insure against more contingencies, and …

Social Workers As Magistrates Or Jps?, Donald E. Maypole

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

An inspection of data on magistrates and justices of the peace revealed that in many states the statutes do not require law degrees for the positions. A survey of a randomly selected sample of magistrates in one midwestern state found support for the claim that a law degree was not a pre-requisite for a magistrate's position. The author argues that social workers have the education and skills for magistrate and justice of the peace positions and proposes them as areas of employment.

Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare Vol. 11, No. 3 (September 1984)

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Symposium: The Social Security Controversy--Has the Solution Become the Problem? - pp. 510
• The Social Security Controversy and the 1983 Amendments - BRUNO STEIN - pp. 512
• The Social Security Controversy: Does The Solution Ignore The Problem? - MARTIN B. TRACEY - pp. 527
• Services for Battered Women - DECKY FIELDER, KATHARINE HOOPER BRIAR, MARIANNE PIERCE - pp. 540
• Anticipatory Socialization Towards Occupational Retirement - YAEL KRENER, ITZHAK HARPAZ - pp. 558
• Some Principles of Decision Making Under Uncertainty in Long Term Treatment Situations - JULIUS A. ROTH - pp. 585
• Income and Personal Resources: Correlates of …

The Social Security Controversy: Does The Solution Ignore The Problem?, Martin B. Tracy

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In 1982 the income levels of 18 percent of women age 65 and over were below the poverty line compared to 7.6 percent of men in the same age group (Kutza, 1982). The reasons for a higher incidence of poverty among older women are often correctly attributed to the generally unfavorable position of women in the labor market. A less frequently discussed contributing factor is the programmatic deficiency of old-age pensions under social security.

Two fundamental aspects of old-age pensions have been particularly unresponsive to meeting the economic needs of older women. These are: 1) relating income protection to paid …

Income And Personal Resources: Correlates Of Psychological Adjustment To Widowhood, Martha N. Ozawa, Susan Whitelaw Downs, Daniel Frigo

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study investigates factors that may determine the level of psychological adjustment to widowhood. Independent variables considered in this study are income and human capital. The population from which the study's sample was drawn consists of all nonremarried widows with at least one child receiving survivor benefits from social security in 1978 (N=3,041). The results support the importance of human capital variables for their predictive power. On the other hand, family income has not been found statistically significant. The source of data for this study is the 1978 Survey of Survivor Families with Children conducted by the Social Security Administration.

Student Racial Atitudes And Perceptions Of Causal Events At Entry To Graduate Social Work Education, Larry E. Davis, Enola K. Proctor

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study assessed the racial attitudes and perceptions of causal events of 174 graduate students at the time of their entry to social work training. Results indicate that social work students had more egalitarian attitudes than nonsocial work students and were more likely to attribute causality to environmental or external factors. black students were significantly more external than white students in tneir perceptions of causality. Some differences in racial attitudes and perceptions of causal events were found among social work students, depending upon area of practice specialization. Student attitudes and perceptions did not differ according to geographical regions. implications for …

Western News, August 9, 1984, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: Gifts and grants totals reported, Board receives WMU Foundation report, Kundel named financial aid director, Collins-Bondon to be assistant to VP, Stillwell reappointed

A Comparison Of Computer-Assisted Instruction And Traditional Instruction In Braille Transcription, Susan Kay Vlahas Ponchillia

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the teaching effectiveness of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) with the effectiveness of traditional instruction of braille transcription for sighted persons. Since the traditional method (TM) of teaching and learning braille transcription requires a great deal of time for both instructor and student, it was hoped that computer-assisted instruction would be as efficacious as the traditional method while shortening time requirements for instructor and student. A review of the literature revealed that computer-assisted instruction has been successfully used in teaching many subjects including languages, providing immediate feedback and reducing learning time. In studies where …

Use Of Contingency Contracting For The Generalization Of Social Skills Of Emotionally Impaired Students, Michelle M. Kapp

Masters Theses

The present study investigated the effects of contingency or behavioral contracting on the generalization of emitting polite words. Generalization as a result of social skills training was compared to generalization as a result of contracting. The subjects were three elementary students identified as emotionally impaired. The experimental design was a combination reversal and multiple baseline across subjects. The results of the study supported the hypothesis that contracting would be more effective than the social skills training in initiating generalization of emitting polite words. It was suggested that additional research be conducted to investigate the long term effects of contracting on …

The Delay-Reduction Hypothesis Of Evocative Effectiveness And Latency, James Bryant Nuzzo

Dissertations

Prior studies found that separations between latencies correlated with differential stimuli in a multiple discrete trial procedure were attenuated with increased intertrial interval durations. In this study six pigeons served as subjects in two groups. The procedure for one group was a multiple DRO-FR chain schedule (Ratio Delay group) while in the other group a multiple DRO - response-initiated delay interval chain schedule (Time Delay group) was used. Results of this study are consistent with the Delay-reduction hypothesis of evocative effectiveness which predicts that with increasing initial link durations relative terminal link evocative effectiveness would decrease. Specifically, relative terminal link …

Stimulus-Reinforcer And Response-Reinforcer Relationships In The Determination Of Response Latency, Bruce Edward Hesse

Dissertations

Response latency is measured from the onset of a stimulus to the onset of a response and is relevant to both respondent and operant control procedures. Previous research has shown response latency to be a sensitive operant dependent variable but the contribution of respondent influences was not known. The present experiment used pigeons, a two-key procedure and a two component FR schedule to study the respondent (stimulus-reinforcer) contributions to the determination of an ostensibly operant response latency. Stimuli associated with each FR component were displayed on one key (stimulus key) while responding for reinforcement was required on a second key …

Effects Of Tripelennamine And Pentazocine Alone And In Combination On Schedule-Controlled Performance, Deborah Lou Grossett

Dissertations

The effects of tripelennamine (3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 mg/kg) and pentazocine (5, 10, 20, 30, and 40 mg/kg), given alone and in selected combinations, were determined in rats performing under fixed-ratio 30 and interresponse-time-greater-than-15-second schedules of food delivery. When given alone, tripelennamine and pentazocine produced statistically significant decreases in responding under the fixed-ratio 30 schedule, but did not significantly affect responding under the interresponse-time-greater-than-15-second schedule. Each drug alone significantly decreased the number of reinforcers (food pellets) earned relative to control values under both schedules. The effects of the two drugs in combination were supra-additive. That is, the effects …

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale/Wechsler Memory Scale Difference Scores: Their Relationship To Brain Dysfunction And Closed Head Injury, Don A. Boyd

Dissertations

Performance differences between the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and the Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS) were studied. Differences in performance between the WAIS Full Scale IQ Score and the WMS Memory Quotient (WMS discrepancy score) were compared across three groups consisting of a closed head injury group (N = 45), a localized lesion group (N = 25), and a psychiatric group (N = 45) who were unimpaired on the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery. Also, WMS discrepancy scores were compared across a long-coma group and a short-coma group and the correlation coefficient between the WMS discrepancy score and neuropsychological impairment rating was …

Reliability And Validity Of The Black English Sentence Scoring System, Yvette D. Hyter

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to assess the concurrent validity and interscorer reliability of a specific diagnostic tool of language assessment which is designed to be nonbiased for dialectally different children. Black English Sentence Scoring (BESS; Nelson, 1983), which is based on Lee's (1974) Developmental Sentence Scoring (DSS), is a system for analyzing spontaneous language samples that gives cred it for the normally developing features of Black English dialect. The sample consisted of 17 children between three and seven years who were residing in Michigan in communities where Black English was spoken frequently. All were identified as having language …

An Examination And Analysis Of The Department Of Special Education In The Muskegon Heights Public Schools, Doristine Louise Minott

Masters Theses

This project was undertaken so that an indepth view of the role of the director of special education and the Department of Special Education, Muskegon Heights Public Schools, could be observed. While there are many facets in the Department, much of the time was spent reviewing the Michigan Department of Education Administrative Manual for Special Education, working on administrative skills, and getting a feel for operating the Department.

It was determined that the Department is a very complex one indeed. Because policies change so often from the state level, it is often difficult to stay abreast of things. Therefore the …

The Effects Of Immediacy To Parenthood On The Perceptions Of Importance Of Parent Education Topics, Nancy Mauro Gerard

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine how immediacy to parenthood affects one's perception of what should be learned in a parent education class. Differences were sought among groups of individuals at four levels of immediacy to parenthood on the perceived importance of 11 parenting topics. These topics were Pregnancy and Childbirth, Infancy, Early Childhood, Late Childhood, Adolescence, Health and Safety, Social Issues Related to Parenthood, Family Relations and Communication, Guiding the Behavior of Children, Parenting Patterns, and Career-Related Concerns. In order to determine if there were differences, the data, collected through the use of a parent education questionnaire, …

Job Position As A Moderator Of Opinion Regarding School Finance Among Seventh-Day Adventist Administrators, Gregory A. Gerard

Dissertations

All levels of public and private education have been affected by difficult economic times. Much attention has been paid to the financial plight of public schools, but less research has been undertaken regarding the financial operation of parochical schools.

The purpose of this study was to investigate one aspect of the financial operation of one church's school system. Specifically, the research examined the opinions of incumbents of five different positions within the Seventh-day Adventist Church and school system concerning the potential of within and outside of school strategies for the operation of boarding schools. Within school strategies were defined as …

Prescriptive Contracting: Utilization Of Self-Monitoring And Contracting In A Study Improvement Program, Raymond L. Boettger

Masters Theses

Several factors in program design and concurrent research of study programs for academically at-risk students have been noted in reviewing the literature. Two of the most effective techniques are self-monitoring and contracting. While many of the programs based on these procedures have shown significant increases in rates of study behavior, few have reported actual academic gains. Those that have predominately used simple difference of means tests to show significance. A major drawback to many of the study improvement programs is that they require additional expense to be implemented and maintained.

Prescriptive Contracting in an Individualized Guided Study center was designed …