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Western News, April 7, 1988, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: Nobel laureates to speak on state of economic science, University Curriculum helps students searching for major answers, Cesar Chavez to speak April 11, Support needed for Great Hunger Cleanup, Technology gap is joined by literacy gap in plaguing higher education; Haenicke says

The Effects Of Furnish And Supercalendering On Rotogravure Printability Of Uncoated Papers, David M. Diekelman

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

A comparison was made of the surface and printing properties of eucalyptus and loblolly handsheets which were subjected to different supercalendering conditions. Supercalendering nip pressure was kept constant (2000 pli). The different supercalendering conditions investigated were the effects of the steel and filled rolls on the paper quality produced. The differences between the two pulps were large and this was attributed to the compressible nature of the two different fiber network structures. The more compressible eucalyptus sheet obtained better surface and printing properties at a given nip pressure. The eucalyptus sheet also showed no significant change in properties obtained under …

Design Of A Secondary Headbox For The Wmu Pilot Plant Fourdrinier Paper Machine, James Robert Spranger

Paper Engineering Senior Theses

A secondary headbox has been designed for the WMU pilot plant fourdrinier papermachine to facilitate research into the formation and final sheet properties of two-ply webs. A thorough literature search was undertaken to determine the design criteria of a headbox and the means used to meet those goals. The result was a hydraulic secondary headbox. The stock for the second ply enters the headbox, passes over one baffle and under another, then flows through a closed channel with eight bends in it. The stock then flows through a short straight section, makes a 90° turn, and then flows to the …

Five Strategies For Teaching Vocabulary As A Process, Nancy L. Hadaway, Viola Florez

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Building vocabulary is an important component of any reading program; it is a crucial comprehension skill. In fact, Davis (1968), in an analysis of comprehension skills, found word knowledge to be the key factor in comprehension. However, vocabulary has often been relegated to a secondary position in the scheme of language development, and no real systematic program for vocabulary building in reading or language arts course really exists (0' Rourke, 1974). Additionally, the approaches to vocabulary study have long emphasized product over process (Brooks, 1986). Students have been presented with long lists of often unrelated terms that they could study …

Reading Research: Can It Improve Comprehension Instruction?, Amos L. Hahn

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The purpose of this article is to review the research supporting these two instructional models (Teacher Explanation and Teacher Mentoring), and to suggest implications for classroom reading instruction.

Helping Parents Help Their Children, Linda M. Clary

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Reading specialists are often besieged by calls from frantic parents. "What can I do? My child is having trouble with . . . " Many times, a long conversation follows in which, consistently, one fact emerges--the parent, genuinely concerned about the child's protlem, wants to know something specific and concrete to do. We usually suggest the procedure of having the child's ploblems diagnosed and followed up by prescriptive instruction, either in the classroom or through a clinic or tutor. Still, though, many parents are not satisfied. They feel very concerned about their child's problems and Want to know about something …

Reading Horizons Vol. 28, No. 3

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Complete issue of Reading Horizons volume 28, issue 3.

Informal Reading Inventory Comprehension Questions: Are Classification Schemes Valid?, Rosie Webb Joels, Betty Anderson

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

An area of controversy in reading diagnosis and instruction is that of the nature of comprehension. Questions have been raised about varied thinking skills employed during the comprehension of text. Is comprehension a unitary process? Or, is comprehension composed of different abilities based on the complexity of thought processes required?

Story Grammars: Are They Relevant For Classroom Teachers?, Mary Jane Gray

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The focus of this article will be on one area which has received emphasis during this time, story grammar, and the relevance of this area for reading teachers.

Helping Young Readers: A Teacher's Talk For Parents, Jill Fitzgerald

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

The present article outlines an entertaining one-hour talk designed to communicate a current perspectives on reading (Goodman, 1967; Rumelhart, 1977) and makes suggestions for helping young readers at home.

Research Implications For Improving Basal Skill Instruction, Ray D. Reutzel, Robert B. Cooter Jr.

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

We recommend that teachers teach basal skill lessons prior to reading the stories or text regardless of the placement of basal skill lesson instructional directives in the teacher's manual. By teaching skills prior to reading, students gain necessary reading skills in preparation for reading rather than learning reading skills after reading only to be applied to worksheets. Aside from theory and research, common sense dictates that if reading skills are learned to help one successfully read a text, then reading skill instruction should preced the text reading.

A Study Of Licensed Psychologists And The Problem Of Addressing Spiritual/Religious Issues In Therapy, Suzanne Lorenz Brennan

Dissertations

The study was done in response to a documented concern in the literature that therapists are unprepared to treat the spiritual concerns of their clients who come from a population in which 95% profess a belief in God.

One objective of the study was to determine the spiritual orientation of licensed psychologists and their attitudes toward religious belief and addressing religious issues in psychotherapy. Other objectives were to determine the amount of help received in addressing these issues during training and supervision and how competent they perceived themselves to be in this regard. Responses of the two license levels, full …

The Effects Of A Wilderness/Adventure Program On The Self-Concept, Locus Of Control Orientation, And Interpersonal Behavior Of Delinquent Adolescents, Timothy J. Zwart

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a 26-day therapeutic wilderness program for delinquent adolescent males on three conceptually distinct but closely related constructs: self-concept, locus of control orientation, and interpersonal behavior. Justification for the study was derived from the limitations of past wilderness/adventure research which suggested that there was a need for additional research on the effects of this type of alternative program for delinquent adolescents.

It was hypothesized that following participation in this program the youths would exhibit increased self-concept, more internal locus of control orientation, would express higher needs for inclusion and affection …

Summer Migrant Program Internship, Jacqueline G. Ladwein

Masters Theses

The proposed procedure for an elementary school teacher to gain entry level experience, skills, and knowledge required to assume a summer migrant program assistant directorship was to examine the scope of duties of a summer migrant program assistant director and to acquire knowledge, skills, and experience by assisting a summer migrant program assistant director as he performed his daily responsibilities.

The experience focused on all procedures necessary to establish a summer migrant program. This focus included: goals of the program, staffing, interpersonal relationships, disciplining, community and peripheral organization relationships and administrative leadership styles.

The experience provided on-the-job awareness of the …

The Efficacy Of Bilingual Education In Relation To Student Linguistic Type, Program Type, And Program Setting, Carol Stubbs Rice

Dissertations

The focus of this study was the differential effectiveness of bilingual education models as determined through the examination of Title VII project evaluations. The evaluation data were subject to a meta-analysis and the results compared to national norms.

The study examined the efficacy of bilingual education in relation to student type, program type and program setting, using data produced by projects from 1983-1986. The study design was based on the gap-reduction design, as modified for Title VII evaluations, with group means used as the unit of analysis. The study sample contained 2,500 monolingual and limited English proficient students from the …

Training-Program Evaluation: An Investigation Of Perceptions And Practices In Nonmanufacturing Business Organizations, Sarah P. Gutek

Dissertations

Despite the proliferation of evaluation literature and business and industry's growing investment in training activities, the evaluation component of training programs remains underdeveloped. Without evaluating the merit and worth of training, there is little evidence that organizations are getting a return on investment from training programs they sponsor.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the discrepancy between the emphasis on training-program evaluation in professional literature and actual practice in the field. The writer examined the perceptions of two stakeholders in the training process: upper-level managers and training directors.

Three hypotheses concerned the relationship between the frequency with which …

The Effects Of Aerobic Exercise On Anxiety In Pregnant Women, Janet L. Fourman

Dissertations

The objective of this study was to determine if aerobic exercise affects trait anxiety in pregnant women and if selected demographic variables relate to trait anxiety. These variables were age, occupation, family income, general physical and mental health, education, lifestyle, and previous exercise history. The independent variable was aerobic exercise. The dependent variable was anxiety which was measured by the trait portion of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, 1983).

This research was quasi-experimental and used the Solomon Four-Group Design. The experimental group consisted of women who participated in a Pregnancy Fitness Aerobic exercise program for the duration of their pregnancies. …

Reading Choices Of Native Children-And Informal Analysis, Katy Spangler

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

In this study, I chose to look at reading lists of Native children in one Alaskan school to see if any preferences toward books about Alaskan people were evident. These lists were compared to those of non-Native students. The results may be useful to professionals when buying books and making recommendations about books for Native children.

Cross-Age Study To Locate The Common Characteristics Of Students Identified As Struggling Readers, Jean C. Hackney

Masters Theses

The problem presented in this study is to locate common characteristics of elementary students who are struggling in their reading at school. The motivation for finding common characteristics is to identify and diagnose the struggling readers as soon as they enter school and to provide remedial assistance before poor self-concepts are developed.

The methodology used for the investigation involved interviews with students who have displayed a low reading ability in their classrooms and questionnaires to their teachers and parents about reading.

The main focus of the study is centered around the physical, social, mental, and emotional aspects of the human …

Synthesis And Reactions Of A-Diketones And Preparation Of Some New Benzimidazoles, Mohamad Reza Agharahimi

Masters Theses

This report will discuss the synthesis of 2,5-dl-(p-chlorophenyl)-3,4-dioxoadiponitrile and its reactions. This compound exists in the form of 4,4'- dichloropulvinic nitrile which is a precursor to 4,4'-dichk>rovulpinic acid. These compounds have been shown to have antiinflammatory activity in rats.

The benzimidazole and pyridazine derivatives of 4,4'-dichioropulvinic nitrile and the benzimidazole derivative of 4,4'-dichk>rovuipinic acid are another group of compounds that are also believed to have useful biological activities. The Pinner synthesis of imidates is used to make the intermediate to the benzimidazole derivative of 4,4'-dichloropulvinic nitrile.

This report will include the methodology of the reactions and …

The Use Of A Behavioral Checklist To Delimit And Define The Premenstrual Syndrome, R. Hope Kerr

Masters Theses

For the premenstrual syndrome (PMS), there is no consensus as to specific symptoms comprising the syndrome or their temporal relationship to the menstrual cycle. The purpose of this study was to delimit and define PMS by comparing contemporaneous, behavioral data collected by 3 groups of subjects.

Based on the results of this study, PMS is suspected of being a misnomer for frequently random symptoms which may or may not be menstrually-related. "Syndrome" is misleading since there is no group of symptoms specific to one group of women. "Pre-" and "menstrual" are also misleading because the symptoms do not occur consistently …

An Analysis Of Early Woodland Pottery From Southwest Michigan, James W. Cogswell

Masters Theses

Significant amounts of Early Woodland pottery have been recovered from excavations in southwest Michigan. Radiocarbon and thermoluminescence assays date this pottery from 590 B.C. to A.D. 10. This pottery is analyzed in great detail, providing evidence for attributes heretofore unreported in the Great Lakes area. Selected vessel attributes are presented in a chronological framework, and potential trends in the regional development of Early Woodland pottery are discussed.

Eliminating Resistive Behavior During Physical Therapy Using A Behavior Modification Procedure, Marcia Erhardt Roback

Masters Theses

The clinical utility of a behavior modification procedure, Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior, to reduce resistive behavior during physical therapy was investigated using a sample of four severely physically and developmentally disabled females. A multiple baseline design across subjects was employed to assess the effects of positively reinforcing behaviors other than the resistive or inappropriate behaviors during the therapy sessions. The procedure employed produced a dramatic decrease in the inappropriate behavior of two subjects, a moderate decrease in the behavior of one subject, and a minimal decrease in the fourth. The observational system generated extremely reliable data as indicated by …

Determination Of A "Benchmark" Rate Of Return For Regulated Small Telephone Utilities In The State Of Michigan, Gondy Bhaskara Rao

Dissertations

This study presents an approach that is consistent with regulatory standards of fairness, and enables the Public Service Commission staff to determining "benchmark" rates of return for Michigan's small telephone utilities. It applies only where they are either subsidiaries of holding companies or independently operating but whose securities are not publicly traded.

The methodology developed in this research is couched in the capital asset pricing framework and is powerful enough to capture the parent-subsidiary relationship to the ultimate determination of benchmark rates of return for utilities that have similar risks.

To evaluate the methodology for consistency with the regulatory standards, …

Defining A Social Problem: A Sociohistorical Analysis Of The Antinuclear Weapons Movement, Frances B. Mccrea

Dissertations

This dissertation is a sociohistorical analysis of the anti-nuclear weapons movement in the United States. This work conceptualizes social movements in advanced industrial societies by synthesizing certain aspects of social constructionism, resource mobilization and new class theory. The synthesis argues that progressive social movements are a form of class conflict in which members of the new class challenge the old elite for the control of cultural capital. Such movements are created, in part, by issue entrepreneurs, many of whom are intellectuals. The success or failure of any social movement organization is dependent on its own tactics and strategies, as well …

Educational Outcomes Of Children With Two Working Parents, Michael B. Dib

Dissertations

In this study five measures of ability or achievement (I.Q., reading comprehension, vocabulary, math concepts, and math computation) for each of four grade levels (third, fourth, fifth, and sixth) were analyzed to determine whether there were significant differences for students from traditional working parent families and students from two-working-parent families. An ex post facto design was used.

Subjects were 335 third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students from a single public school district in the state of Michigan. These students were identified by teachers or principals as being from either a traditional or a two-working-parent family. All ability and achievement …

Self-Control: Effects Of Ratio Size, Intra-Delay Reinforcers, And Response Requirement, Elbert Q. Blakely Jr.

Dissertations

This study tested the following hypotheses: (a) The preference reversal phenomenon will be found when the delays to reinforcement are defined by fixed-ratio schedules, (b) The preference reversal phenomenon will be observed when intra-delay reinforcers are programmed, and (c) Imposing response requirements during the delay to reinforcement will affect preference for a larger delayed reinforcer over a smaller more immediate reinforcer. In Experiment 1, pigeons chose between two schedules, each a sequence of two fixed-ratio schedules. The second schedule of one sequence offered a small reinforcer and the second schedule of the alternative offered a larger reinforcer. The latter sequence …

The Effect Of Attending A Bereavement Support Seminar On The Level Of Depression Of Bereaved Spouses Within The First Year After The Spouses' Deaths; An Experimental Study, Carole Jeanne Weidaw

Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the effect of providing information about the grief process and a supportive environment of peers on depression in recently bereaved spouses.

The treatment intervention consisted of the Bereavement Support Seminar, which provided didactic material relating to the normal aspects of the grief process with emphasis on dealing with anger, guilt and progressive growth while allowing for feelings and memories to be vented and supported.

The subjects were divided into two groups: experimental (those who were involved in the 4-week Bereavement Support Seminar) and control (those who received no intervention). The experimental …

A Survey Of Oral Communication Instructional Practices In The Elementary Public Schools Of Michigan, James N. Walker

Dissertations

Instruction in oral communication is critical to education. Oral communication skills are needed in the development of skills in written language, math, problem solving, and reading. Oral communication skills are important in achieving academic, vocational, and personal success. On November 1, 1978, speech education was recognized as a basic skill by United States law.

The purpose of this study was to determine the oral communication instructional practices in Michigan public elementary schools grades K-5. Eight research questions were identified:

(1) Is instruction provided? (2) What is the "basis" for instruction? (3) What materials are used? (4) What is the method …

The Effect Of Attending A Bereavement Support Seminar On The Level Of Expressed Physical Symptoms Of Bereaved Spouses Within The First Year After The Spouses' Deaths: An Experimental Study, Susan Jean Zonnebelt-Smeenge

Dissertations

Morbidity and mortality have been identified as potentially negative outcomes for bereaved spouses. Intervention is theorized to be an important factor in bereavement outcome, but few investigators have reported relevant studies depicting a decrease in somatic symptoms relative to planned treatment. The present research was conducted to explore the effect of attendance at a 4-session bereavement support seminar on the expressed physical symptoms of the widowed, within the first year subsequent to spousal death.

Subjects were obtained for this experimental study by the random sampling without replacement method, utilizing the obituary notices appearing in local newspapers. To facilitate generalization of …