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The Psychological Aspects Of Loneliness Experienced By College Students, Jerie Kull Wood

Dissertations

Loneliness is a common problem that occurs at various life stages, but is most intense for college students. To clarify and operationalize the concepts of loneliness, several current sociological and psychological approaches to loneliness were critically examined.

The major purposes of this study were to identify the lonely among the student population, the types of loneliness they experience, the behavioral manifestations of that loneliness, and the effectiveness of an intervention method. The Belcher Extended Loneliness Scale as administered to 126 students in a pretest and 203 students in a posttest. The students also answered questions about grade point average and …

Effects Of Anticonvulsant Drugs On Learning And Memory, Mitchell Jon Picker

Dissertations

The effects of phenobarbital, clonazepam, valproic acid, phenytoin, and ethosuximide were examined in pigeons performing under repeated acquisition of response chains and delayed matching-to-sample procedures. In experiment I, clonazepam, valproic acid, ethosuximide, and phenytoin produced generally dose-dependent increases in rate of responding, while phenobarbital had little consistent effect on response rate across the dose range studied. Phenobarbital and clonazepam produced dose-dependent increases in error rates (i.e., learning impairment). Although valproic acid and phenytoin generally increased error rates relative to control values, this effect was not directly dose-dependent or consistent across subjects. In contrast to the other anticonvulsants examined, ethosuximide had …

Criteria For “Reduction-In-Force” Staffing Decisions: Opinions Of Teachers And Administrators From Large Nea Districts In Connecticut, Lorraine A. Marcantonio

Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to answer the question: When reduction in force (RIF) decisions are necessary, what is the extent of agreement between teachers and administrators in regard to criteria to be considered? The criteria of seniority and performance evaluation were investigated in depth through analysis of the responses to these questions: (1) To what extent do teachers and administrators have similar opinions concerning the definition of seniority? (2) Would a change in nature of existing evaluation systems affect the acceptance of evaluation as a criterion in RIF decisions?

In order to collect the data necessary to …

Learning Computer Logic Architectures On Apple Ii System, Falah Reda Al-Saffar

Masters Theses

For this thesis seven computer-assisted instruction packages have been designed to illustrate the design of electronic circuits of gates , the logic of combinational and sequential circuits, and integrated and magnetic core memories.

The programs in these packages have been written in the Pascal computer language on an Apple II microcomputer and stored on a double-sided floppy disk.

A Comparative Study Of The Career Aspirations, Job Seeking Patterns, And Career Patterns Of Male And Female Doctoral Recipients In Educational Administration, Alice J. Hullhorst

Dissertations

There has been a dramatic increase in the number of women completing advanced degrees in education administration during the past decade. Yet, the number of women administrators has decreased during this same time period. The purpose of this study was to compare career aspirations, job seeking patterns, and career patterns of men and women doctorates in educational administration.

The sample consisted of 118 men and 118 women who received doctorates in educational administration or educational leadership from Mid-American Conference universities between 1976-1980. A mailed questionnaire was used to collect data. The 23 hypotheses were tested using a chi-square test or …

Mothers' Intervention Strategies In A Structured Question-Answer Dialogue, Marcia C. Hill

Masters Theses

Language intervention strategies of the mothers of ten normal and ten language-impaired children were compared. An experimenter asked each child questions of varying difficulty about a storybook, in the presence of the mother, who was free to help her child as needed. Both the children's and mothers' utterances were coded. The frequency and types of mothers' strategies were analyzed. The analysis revealed that mothers of normal children intervened significantly more often than mothers of language -impaired children, when all interventions were considered. However, the differences were not significant when only interventions related directly to the predetermined questions were considered. The …

A Comparison Of Two Methods Of Presenting Nutrition Education To Senior Citizens Participating In A Congregate Meal Program, Janice M. Williams

Masters Theses

Senior citizens participating in a congregate meal program received nutrition education lessons in two different ways. One group received nutrition lectures, a second group recieved nutrition lectures accompanied by printed material. A third group served as a control. Each group contained an urban and rural site. The nutrition lectures and printed material centered on the Basic Four food groups. The lessons were presented to the subjects once a week in four successive weeks. The length of the nutrition lecture for each food group was twenty minutes. The senior citizen took pre and posttests to measure an increase or decrease in …

A Query-Processing Optimization Strategy For Generalized File Structures, Donna Marie Kaminski

Masters Theses

In processing a Boolean query against a non-inverted file, a subset of the query's keys must be selected. Only the records satisfying these keys need to be retrieved from the file. A dynamic programming algorithm, the Dual-to-minDF, is developed here for arriving at the optimum set of keys, i.e., the minimum number of external record retrievals. Previously suggested greedy methods yield feasible solutions which may or may not be optimal. This algorithm has exponential time complexity. However, it is useful for applications involving relatively short queries with duplication of keys within different conjuncts, and in cases where the files have …

The Fungal Ecology Of The Activated Sludge Process, Douglas William Jaques

Masters Theses

Examination of wastewater secondary influent and activated sludge reveal that bacteria and fungi may exist in a negative correlation. Activated sludge may support a resident population of microfungi. All fungi isolated from secondary influent and activated sludge belong to the form-class Deuteromycetes. The density of geofungi in activated sludge may exceed that of bacterial chemolithotrophs and rival that of bacterial heterotrophs.

The Oral Self-Administration Of Nicotine In Two Groups Of Rats, Jay D. Hansor

Masters Theses

Six, adult male, Spraque-Dawley rats served as subjects in this experiment which examined whether they would self-administer a 32 microgram per milliliter or a 64- microgram per milliliter (32 ug/ml and 64 ug/ml) nicotine tartrate solution when presented concurrently with distilled water. Subjects in Group I had access to a 32 ug/ml nicotine solution and Group II subjects had access to a 64 ug/ml nicotine solution during both phases. During Phase II an "AB" reversal was implemented to ascertain whether the subjects had a side preference or if they preferred to injest nicotine. It was found that each subject in …

An Improvement In The Performance Of A Learning System For Finite State Machines, Lea F. Fuller

Masters Theses

A learning system is examined which is capable of learning a finite state machine from a class of finite state machines based on the observed behavior of the machine. The size of the search space becomes very large as the number of states in the machine increases. The size of the search space quickly becomes the limiting factor in the size of the class of machines which may be learned. An investigation is made of methods to improve the performance of the learning system. The application of a depth first approach to the development of the search space is shown …

Social Skills In Vivo: An Experimental And Theoretical Analysis, Stephen Earl Eversole

Masters Theses

A multiple baseline across behaviors was employed to demonstrate generalization effects across settings. A 14 year old shy female was presented with social skills treatment package to increase the rate of eye contacts, verbalizations and smile sin vivo. One of the intervention phases included role-playing of social situations with a peer. A second phase required the occurrence of desired responding while playing foosball-- the same activity which took place in vivo during generality data collection. A third intervention required interaction assignments to be completed in vivo. Results indicate inconclusive evidence of an increase due to the treatment package. A general …

A Computer Aided Instructional System And Its Application Towards A Course On Snobol4 Programming Language, Abtin Edelji

Masters Theses

Computers are rapidly replacing humans in many tasks. Computer Aided Instructional System is an application of the computer in the teaching of a subject. Currently, a large number of educational Institutes use Computer Aided Instructional Systems.

The objectives of this thesis is to review some techniques in implementing such systems and to present a Computer Aided Instructional System called TEACH. The emphasis of this thesis is on the type of the directory used to minimize the search time for the TEACH System.

Archaeological Perspectives Of The Lumber Industry In Northern Lower Michigan, 1865-1920, Rebecca Ellen Dinsmore

Masters Theses

In an attempt to generate predictive statements about site structure and location, the nature of lumber industry development is examined through historical and environmental relationships between logging sites, early logging methods, transportation technology, and the presettlement forest as reconstructed from the original General Land Office surveyor field notes and plats. Eighteen historic logging sites recorded on the Huron National Forest and within the Au Sable River watershed comprise the data set. The purpose of this study is two-fold: (a) to reconstruct the lumber industry history along the Au Sable River, and (b) to develop a means of locating, identifying, and …

Manual Labor: The Twelfth-Century Cistercian Ideal, Dennis R. Overman

Masters Theses

Throughout the history of western monasticism three principal occupations were repeatedly emphasized for the monk: prayer, lectio divina (spiritual reading/ meditation), and manual labor. Periodically, cultural mindsets, social structure, or even geography have produced in a variation in the practice of these occupations, resulting in the dominance of one or the other, or even the disappearance of one altogether.

The emergence of the Cistercian Order at the end of the eleventh century was characterized by a spirit of simplicity and austerity with a renewed emphasis on manual labor which had been a neglected element in the monastic regime in the …

The Training Of A Few Response Forms Under Multiple Controlling Variables, Mary-Ann Wiermanski

Masters Theses

This study investigated the acquisition of a few response forms under different controlling variables using both a topography based language (TB) (i.e., signing) and a stimulus selection based language (SSB) (i.e., touching symbols) with three language deficient developmentally disabled individuals. The subjects were taught to name, to ask for, and to touch keys that opened boxes that contained some form of reinforcement. Most of the keys' names were trained across more than one set of controlling variables per session. Before training began for a given key under a new condition, a transfer test was conducted, investigating the possibility of stimulus …

The Patterns Of Cultural Behavior Which Promote And Disrupt The Transmission Of Malaria In Haiti, Janet Jenks Sloan

Masters Theses

Malaria is in epidemic resurgence in the Limbe region of Haiti as a consequence of the termination of internationally-sponsored eradication programs. The presence of endemic disease cannot be considered an exclusively biophysical phenomenon; it is also an aspect of human adaptation within a particular environment. The biocultural ecology of Haiti the biocultural context must be understood and the complexity of the interaction of these factors appreciated. Any ameliorative intervention program must be based on a multiple strategy approach that is compatible with the realities of the cultural context of the human ecology of Haiti.

Feature-Value Effect, Nedra N. Zerbel

Masters Theses

Feature-value effect concerns the asymmetry obtained in the discrimination learning of pigeons and young children, based on the presence (feature-positive) versus the absence (feature-negative) of a single distinctive feature. Subjects master the discrimination problem when the distinctive feature appears on the positively-reinforced (S+) display but not necessarily when the distinctive feature appears on the non-reinforced (S-) display. This thesis replicates and examines the first (three) extensions of traditionally experimental research to human preschool populations. Six 3-5 year old children attending the Child Development Center preschool served as subjects in the experiment. The feature-positive discrimination training conditions consisted of the presentation …

Interview Training For College Students: A Behavioral Approach Versus A Self-Help Approach, Toni Yvette Woolfork

Masters Theses

This study was designed to train college students to interview effectively for a job. Ten upper-level students were randomly assigned to an experimental group or a control group. The experimental group participated in a 16-hour training program consisting of modeling coaching, behavior rehearsal, peer and trainer feedback and instructional training. The techniques were used to train students to interview effectively, using the appropriate verbal behavior and nonverbal behavior. The control group's training consisted of a videotape and reading materials. There were significant differences between groups on the verbal behavior, but not on the nonverbal behaviors.

Purification And Properties Of A Mannitol-Binding Protein From Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Gregory V. Plano

Masters Theses

Mannitol-binding protein from Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PAO has been purified 36-fold from magnesium chloride cold-shock supernatants. Sephadex G-100 gel filtration and carboxymethyl Sephadex ion exchange chromotography were utilized in the purification scheme. The position of the mannitol-binding protein band was identified on sodium dodeyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels. The mannitol-binding protein has an apparent molecular weight of 45,000 as judged by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

The Use Of Alternative Behaviors, Covert Sensitization And A Package Intervention In Treatment Of Bulimia, Janice Marie Arone

Masters Theses

Bulimia is a complex eating disorder that involves bouts of binge eating which are usually followed by a purge to rid the individual of the unwanted food. This disorder occurs primarily in females and may lead to several medical and psychological complications. The efficacy of two single component treatments and a package intervention designed to decrease variables related to binge eating were investigated with three bulimic females. The results of the research indicated that individuals who were exposed to the package intervention experienced the largest decrements in the binge eating when compared to the single component procedures.

The Propensity Toward Juvenile Delinquency And The Social Rehabilitation Needs Of Alternative Education Students In Western Michigan, Joseph Steven Miller

Dissertations

This study investigated the propensity toward juvenile delinquency and the social rehabilitation needs of 238 Section 48 alternative education students. The study population was comprised of students from ten Section 48 alternative education programs in Allegan, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana, and Ottawa Counties in Michigan. The study also investigated the differences between groups of students within these programs when the independent variables of age, sex, and grade level were compared. The data were collected during one-day visits to each program. The Jesness Inventory was used to measure propensity towards juvenile delinquency and social rehabilitation needs. A t-test that compared a sample …

The Relationship Of Declining Enrollment, Community Involvement, Tax Support, And Assessed Evaluation To Labor Peace In Some Selected Michigan School Districts, William Right Kirby

Dissertations

Golden first investigated labor peace to determine if the causes of labor peace could be identified. It was his premise that organizations should work toward peace to allow the organizational goals to be accomplished more efficiently. Given Golden's premise, this study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between the quality of labor peace in school districts and the external factors of community involvement, declining enrollment, tax support and assessed evaluation. These factors were selected as they are the external factors most influential on the operation of a school district. A total of 22 districts in Southwestern Lower Michigan, 16 identified …

Geographic Place Location Knowledge: An Empirical Investigation Into The Performance Of University Undergraduate Students As A Result Of Cognitive Theory Based Instruction, Sharafat Khan

Dissertations

The major purpose of the study was to determine the effects of cognitive based Atlas Exercises and cognate materials (films, data sheets, readings from a geography book, regional examinations and map tests, book reviews, transparencies, a map module, wall maps, and slides) on the geographic place location knowledge of undergraduate university and/or college students. The research sample (n = 371) consisted of students enrolled in introductory geography courses located in three institutions of higher education in Michigan. Three researcher designed survey instruments were utilized for data collection: Background Data Questionnaire, Map Location Test I, and Map Location Test II. These …

A Study Of The Work Values And Achievement Motivation Of Persons Eligible For Federal Job Training Programs In A Rural Service Delivery Area, John Desiderio

Dissertations

The focus of this study was an analysis of the work values and achievement motivation of persons eligible to participate in federal job training programs in a rural region in west central Michigan. Also under review were the possible differentiating effects of select biodemographic and educational variables (sex, age, years of formal education completed, and level of scholastic achievement) on the work values and achievement motivation of persons within this population. Finally, the study contained an examination of the relationship between achievement motivation and work values.

The subjects under study were 167 individuals (85 males and 82 females) who qualified …

The Influences Of Schooling, Job Experience, Information About Job Openings, Mentoring, Geographic Mobility, And Discrimination On The Selection Of College And University Presidents, Raymond D. Davis

Dissertations

The study was designed around an occupational-distribution model developed by Milner (1979) and adapted for the present study to include the factors: (a) years of schooling, (b) quality of education, (c) job experience, (d) information about openings and promotions, (e) geographical regions, and (f) deliberate discrimination. Twenty-five hypotheses, thought to be related to the adapted model, were developed and tested. A particular goal was to examine possible screening factors that may limit women and members of racial minority groups in securing higher education presidencies.

A survey questionnaire, mailed to the population of 1,227 persons, yielded 1,015 usable responses (for an …

The Impact Of Gender On The Perceived Importance Of Criteria For Selection And For Promotion Of Administrators In One Institution Of Higher Education, Karen R. Laroe

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to answer the following question: What is the relationship between the gender of administrators at Western Michigan University and the perceptions of factors and qualities significant to employee selection and promotion? Specific questions were: (1) Do male ratings of each variable--aptitudes, attitudes, capacity for work, knowledge, personality, political factors, preferences, skills, social factors, wants--differ from female ratings of each variable when the variable is considered in relationship to selection of higher education administrators? (2) Do male ratings of each variable--aptitudes, attitudes, capacity for work, knowledge, personality, political factors, preferences, skills, social factors, wants--differ from …

Community Mental Health Attitudes, Fenimore William Johnson

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare community mental health attitudes of the past and the present, and between mental health workers and the public. The results indicate that the public is better informed and more favorably disposed toward the mentally ill today than was true several decades ago. Some stereotypes persist, however, and the mentally ill are still regarded less favorably than are other disability groups. Mental health workers and the public appear to be similar in their endorsement of a medical approach to treatment, although the former endorse more strongly a community-based treatment orientation. There was no …

Public Universities And Societal Development – Application Of The Ideal Type Methodology In The Case Studies Of Addis Ababa University And Michigan State University, Solomon Wako

Dissertations

The role of higher education in societal development has been addressed by a number of scholars in various fields including sociology. Though these scholars virtually agree on the importance of university education, they have not identified the type of the university that facilitates the kind of societal development they advocate. Therefore, this study is concerned with the construction of a theoretical model of the ideal type university that will facilitate the conceptualization of societal development for Ethiopia and the USA. The study employs Weber's ideal type methodology which simply refers to the construction of certain elements of reality into logically …

Western News, March 29, 1984, Western Michigan University

Western News (1972-2018)

Story highlights: Education scholar; writer is WMU Foundation fellow, 2,800 invited to 'Meet WMU Night' Wednesday, Next Thursday to be Jim Miller Day, Faculty write new economics book, Kowalski to retire early in 1985