Digital Commons Network^™

Comparative Effectiveness Of Therapeutic Strategies On Drug Knowledge And Drug Attitude In Inpatient Psychiatric Substance Abuse Population, Amber Haque

Dissertations

This study examined the effects of instructional strategies on the change of knowledge and attitude scores in mentally ill subjects with a history of substance abuse. Twenty subjects from a state psychiatric hospital were randomly divided into one control and three experimental groups. The study period was ten weeks with each session lasting forty five minutes, twice per week. Subjects studied issues relating to drug abuse outside scheduled sessions as they pleased. Pre- and post-test scores were measured by a drug abuse questionnaire developed at the Pennsylvania State University. Hypotheses formed were: (a) drug education improves knowledge and attitude in …

The Effects Of Disclosure Of Comprehensive Pretherapy Information On Clients' Behaviors And Perceptions Of Therapists And The Therapy Process, Patricia J. Dauser

Dissertations

An experimental study of the effects of comprehensive versus partial pretherapy disclosure was conducted. Sixty-three clients in a university counseling center participated. The control and treatment groups received information on four pretherapy issues. Those issues were services provided, confidentiality, length of sessions, and right to terminate therapy. The treatment group received additional information which included personalized data regarding therapists, what to expect in therapy, and risks and alternatives to therapy. The study examined the effects of the comprehensive information received by the treatment group versus the partial information received by the control group on (a) perceptions of therapists, (b) opinions …

A Comparative Study Of Primary Preventive Behaviors And Secondary Preventive Behaviors Among Michigan Adults, Jing Chang

Dissertations

Many researchers have documented the range and extent of the health preventive behaviors. However, previous studies have generally focused on either the contact with medical professionals (secondary preventive care) or compliance with their recommendations (primary preventive care). Some have treated the two types of behaviors as one and related them to social demographic characteristics and socio-structural conditions (e.g., access to medical service). There have been very few studies that have compared the two sets of preventive behaviors. This study takes a first step to explore the correlates of secondary preventive activities and compare them with the correlates of primary preventive …

Transformational Leadership: The Relationship Between Consciousness, Values, And Skills, John E . Schmidt

Dissertations

Leadership is one of the most important, yet least understood, phenomena on earth. Many researchers have investigated leadership traits, activities, behaviors, and processes; yet, until B u m s (1978), few researchers distinguished between leadership that is "transactional" and leadership that is "transformational." Transformational leadership, says Bums, occurs "when one or more persons engage with others in such a way that leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of motivation and morality" (p. 20) .

Since Bums, few studies of transformational leadership have examined leaders who appeal to higher values or leaders who challenge individuals, organizations, and societies …

The Efficacy Of Eye Movement Desensitization In The Treatment Of Trauma Related Imagery And Cognitions: A Partial Dismantling Procedure, George S. Renfrey

Dissertations

This study investigated the effects of eye movement desensitization (EMD) on post-traumatic sequelae, and attempted a partial dismantling of the procedure to determine the necessity of EMD's characteristic eye movements. Twenty-three persons participated in three groups: (1) those receiving standard EMD, (2) those receiving a variant of EMD in which eye movements were engendered through a light tracking task, and (3) those receiving a variant of EMD in which fixed visual attention replaced eye movements. All participants had experienced traumata as defined by the DSM-III-R and were having intrusive symptoms of PTSD at pre-treatment. All but two met full DSM-II-R …

The Relationship Between Dependency, Gender, And Personality Style As It Impacts Adolescent Inpatient Depression, Cathy L. Kubik

Dissertations

The role of dependent personality traits in increased vulnerability to depression has been studied extensively. However,this issue remains controversial, and limited research has been done involving adolescent inpatients. In addition, limited research has been done regarding the possible interaction effects of gender and level of dependency upon depression and specific depressive symptoms in an adolescent inpatient population.

symptoms in an adolescent inpatient population. In this study, 92 inpatient adolescents from a private, not-for-profit psychiatric hospital had completed both the Millon Adolescent Personality Inventory (Millon, 1976, 1982), and the Multiscore Depression Inventory (Berndt, 1986).

One group consisted of 46 adolescents who …

Symbol Sense And Its Development In Two Computer Algebra System Environments, Brian A. Keller

Dissertations

The purposes of this study were to: (a) explicate the nature of symbol sense, (b) determine the differential effects of two computer algebra system (CAS) environments on students' development of symbol sense, (c) explore differences in symbol sense among students using a CAS and students not using a CAS, and (d) examine students' achievement in calculus with and without the use of a CAS.

Six sections of first-semester calculus at Western Michigan University during the 1992-93 academic year were used in the study. The investigator taught two CAS sections both semesters (n = 41, 34 Fall and n = 35, …

Adolescent Substance Use Patterns: Testing A Multidimensional Sociogenic Model, Eric O. Johnson

Dissertations

This dissertation begins with the understanding that behavior is a product of a variegated and complex web of social factors. Bringing this approach to the subfield of adolescent substance use, both substance use itself (alcohol, cigarettes and a broad range of illicit drugs) and the factors that influence such use are viewed as existing within the complex of demographic/structural, social contextual, attitudinal, and behavioral layers of adolescents' social worlds.

The Patterns of Adolescent Substance Use Typology, developed by Stanley S. Robin and me (1992a), is used to categories the overall level and kind of substance use, over time, that adolescents …

The Efficacy Of Prepared Videoprograms And Personal Conferences In Parent Education For Language Intervention, Candis M. Warner

Dissertations

This study was undertaken to examine the effectiveness of using prepared videoprograms and personal conferences to educate parents in the use of indirect language stimulation techniques with children who have delays in speech and language development. The efficacy of three methods to teach mothers to use facilitative communicative behaviors with their children was assessed by analyzing tape recorded language samples of 6 0 mothers conversing with their preschool children before and after their participation in one of three treatm ent conditions. The three treatm ents in the study were: (1) viewing the 30-m inute videoprogram, Let's Talk: First Steps to …

The Link Between Psychosocial Factors And Coronary Heart Disease: A Possible Neuroendocrine Mechanism, Sheila Wang

Dissertations

Coronary heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death in the affluent world. Despite identification of several risk factors for coronary heart disease (age, sex, lipoprotein profile, hypertension, diabetes, cigarette smoking, obesity), a significant amount of variability associated with the incidence of coronary heart disease cannot be explained solely on the basis of these risk factors. The contribution of psychosocial factors to the development of coronary heart disease (type A behavior, social isolation, traumatic events, unstable social conditions) continues to be a promising area of investigation. However, a biochemical pathway linking psychosocial factors to coronary heart disease remains …

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Risk Factors Among Hand Therapists, Suzanne Makielski

Masters Theses

The following study examined the presence of risk factors among hand therapists for developing carpal tunnel syndrome. A review of the literature indicated a significant relationship between the incidence of carpal tunnel syndrome and manual workers whose occupational tasks involve repetitive wrist and hand movements. Hand therapists were characterized as manual workers while possessing specialized knowledge and skill in the evaluation and treatment of hand and wrist disorders. Biomechanical analysis of various "hands on" techniques revealed repetitive wrist and hand movements including the use of force and increased risk for injury associated with carpal tunnel syndrome. In order to determine …

The Effect Of A Transition Class (Developmental Kindergarten) On Academic Parity, Douglas S. Mccall

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not those students who had participated in a developmental kindergarten program. Young Fives, had attained academic parity with their age mates who had not participated in the program.

The target population of this study was 245 students who were kindergarten age in 1988 and attended school in a rural school district in southwestern Michigan. The accessible population was 141 of the original 245 students.

The total battery grade equivalent test scores achieved on the California Achievement Test by the 141 students were analyzed using an analysis of variance (ANOVA) and …

A Comparative Study Of The Coping Ability Of Mobile And Nonmobile Elementary Pupils, Solomon Mokone Lebese

Dissertations

Frequent moves by parents of elementary-aged children can cause these children a considerable amount of stress, thus creating adjustment problems and straining their coping abilities to the limits. How do these children cope with such problems compared to those who do not move frequently?

The above question was the focus of investigation to determine whether or not there was a difference between the mobile (children whose parents have moved at least once in the past 3 years) and nonmobile (children whose parents have not moved from a particular school district in the past 3 years) elementary children in the way …

Productivity And Perceived Work Environment Of Work Groups In Poland, Donald L. Gusfa

Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the relation between levels of productivity and perceptions of autonomy among similar work groups. The analysis of data obtained did not support a tendency for perceptions of high autonomy among workers to be directly related to high levels of productivity. Data were obtained from workers at six carbide tool manufacturing plants in Poland who were administered the Work Environment Scale (WES) Form R (Moos, 1981) to measure perception of autonomy. The data were collected in February 1991. Analysis of the WES data used the Kendall tau test to investigate the relation …

A Study Of Aquifer Sensitivity And Vulnerability In Kalamazoo County, Michigan Based On Hydrogeologic And Agricultural Factors, Steven Douglas Chidester

Masters Theses

Groundwater in Kalamazoo County, Michigan has been impacted by human activities. This study presents a statistical method for predicting aquifer sensitivity/vulnerability within a glacio-hydrogeologic system.

Computerized data including 3620 water well records with partial chemical analyses, soil surveys, land use maps, and hydrogeologic reports were used to quantify aquifer parameters, nitrate-N contaminant concentrations, soil factors, and agricultural practices. Statistical analyses included simple t-tests , correlation, ANOV A, and multiple regression analyses.

The results indicate that there are statistically significant relationships between nitrate-N concentrations and depth of well submergence, well depth, clay thickness, partial clay thickness, land use, and soil slope. …

Neighborhood-Based Initiative To Address Poverty: Lessons From Experience, Robert Halpern

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The neighborhood has long been an important locus for efforts to address the causes and consequences of poverty in American society. Over the course of the past century neighborhood- based initiatives have been called on to reduce class conflict, counter feelings of alienation, localize control of social institutions, create jobs and reverse neighborhood economic decline, improve human services, and address a variety of specific poverty-related problems, ranging from infant mortality to juvenile delinquency. In this essay I draw on the historical experience with neighborhood initiative to illuminate its strengths and limitations as a strategy for addressing poverty and its correlates. …

Access To Prenatal Care And County Size: Implications For Service Delivery, Ellen E. Whipple

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The impact of population size across twenty-three west Michigan counties was examined to determine access to prenatal care, low birth weight, and infant mortality. Surveys were completed by forty-five managers of hospitals and county health departments. Service availability, sociodemographic, system-related and lifestyle factors were examined as contributors to perinatal support utilization. Low birth weight and infant mortality were highest in the small- and large-sized counties. Positive birth outcomes in medium-sized counties may have been due to greater availability of infant and child health services through health departments, and the targeting of resources to specific problem areas, such as smoking cessation. …

The Employed Homeless: A Crisis In Public Policy, Frederick A. Diblasio, John R. Belcher, Kathleen A. Connors

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Departing from the conventional wisdom of who constitutes the homeless, the "employed homeless" emerge as a subgroup of the homeless population in a state-wide Maryland Study (n= 178) at 25 shelter facilities. Twenty-four percent. of the homeless were found to work fulltime and eleven percent part-time. Gender disability, health, previous mental health hospitalization, military experience and education were significantly associated with employment status in the bivariate analysis. From these exploratory findings a theory of economic dislocation is hypothesized.

The Dual Face Of Empowerment: A Model For Cooperative Resource Building, Eric C. Albers, Nancy Paolini

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Homelessness among families with children has become a nationwide problem. Although homelessness is difficult to document, it is estimated that approximately 250,000 to 3,000,000 people in the United States are homeless. Families, which comprise approximately one third of the homeless population, is its fastest growing segment (Mihaly, 1991; National Coalition for the Homeless, 1989; Van Vliet, 1989). This may be a conservative figure. Some of these families often go uncounted because they are part of the "invisible" homeless. They avoid agency contact for fear of losing their children or live in motels, cars, or campgrounds and thereby are not counted …

Western News, November 18, 1993, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story Highlights: Haenicke issues memo outlining budget decisions and plans for 1993-94, Congress approves $6 million grant to expand, move WMU aviation school to Battle Creek, WMU one of four state schools selected for loan program, Engineering college to offer its first doctoral program starting in fall 1994, Campus United Way drivejust short of $148, 000 target

Western News, November 11, 1993, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story Highlights: Workload prompts president to conduct search for senior level official to assist with planning, Board praises Haenicke for leadership and for following 'continuous path of excellence', Senate approves timetable for General Education Policy, Wolpe to present lecture on U.S. foreign policy

Western News, November 4, 1993, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story Highlights: Barrett says legislators must increase support and deal with disparity between institutions, Burke to retire after 30 years of WMU service, Aviation curriculum slated for redesign under new grant, Employees build skills through apprenticeship program

Can We Share Ethical Views With Other Religions?, Robert Hannaford

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Presented to the WMU Center for the Study of Ethics in Society, October 7, 1993.

Western News, October 28, 1993, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story Highlights: Knowledge of teamwork comes in handy as Brinn helps United Way reach $6 million goal, Simulation promotes cooperation between disciplines, Author and illustrator to speak here Nov. 5 as part of Children's Book Week conference, Researchers developing device to assist blind children, Nigerinn sculptor in residence through November

Western Michigan, October 21, 1993, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story Highlights: Several events set in connection with opening of Carol Haenicke collection of women's poetry, Swartz chosen to fill dean of students position, '101' instructors make transition easier for freshmen, S~ial activist to present peace week keynote address, Specialists, NFL Hall of Farner to share views on diagnosis and treatment of panic disorder, Endowment fund is important source of support for WMU departments

Western News, October 14, 1993, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story Highlights: Haenicke announces plans to cover larger than anticipated budget deficit, University shoots for $148,000 goal by Oct. 29 in campaign for Greater Kalamazoo United Way, Cottrell explores theater education in China, Riley gives mathematics teaching tips to parents, Teleconference to observe World Food Day

Western News, October 7, 1993, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story Highlights: Key support moves aviation proposal foward, final action on legislation expected this month, Patrol to promote peace in neighborhoods, 'Great Sexpectations' goes on the road to educate young adults about decision-making, Grant enables WMU to create one-of-a-kind program

Reading Horizons Vol. 34, No. 1

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Complete issue of Reading Horizons volume 34, issue1.

What's In A Name?, Arlene L. Barry

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

When there is a lack of communication among special ists, as in Tony's case, mislabeling is bound to occur. Algozzine and Ysseldyke (1983) identify numerous cases of mislabeling. More specifically, they have found few psychometric differences between groups of students that have been labeled learning disabled and those students labeled low achievers. "Many of the learning disabled children did not meet federal definition guidelines as we operationalized them and many low-achieving children were 'learning disabled' by these same discussion rules" (p. 242).

Western News, September 30, 1993, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story Highlights: Homecoming '93 activities designed to celebrate the spirit of the Olympics, Engfest to focus on the controversial classroom, Graduate student wins Fulbright grant to study in Italy, Fall ethics center lecture topics to range from religion to accounting to environmentalism, Simon to discuss effects of population on economics