Digital Commons Network^™

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 …

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 …

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 …

The Effects Of Pressure On The Kinetics And Mechanisms Of The Bod Reaction, Peter Sereico

Dissertations

The research was concerned with the kinetics and mechanisms of BOD reduction due to pressurization. The initial investigations involved attempts to reproduce and interpret the results of previous investigators. Thereafter, actual wastewater samples were pressurized and changes in the wastewater characteristics were analyzed and recorded. Based on the findings, possible mechanisms for creating the changes noted were proposed.

To test the mechanisms considered, samples of pure compounds were prepared and pressurized. The results of this analysis eliminated all of the mechanisms but the actual one. The mechanism responsible for changes in BOD profile under pressure conditions is the hydrolysis of …

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 …

Perceptual Accuracy Of Affect Identification And The Relationship To Representational System And Personality Type, Richard Andrew O'Leary

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate accuracy of response to affectively laden stimuli across visual, auditory, and kinesthetic representational systems. This research was undertaken to assess subjects' individual response patterns and to distinguish possible differences in accuracy of response which subjects reported across representational systems. Subjects' response accuracy was correlated with their response frequency in subjects' representational systems. Subjects most accurate representational system was, in turn, compared to subjects' personality type. Subjects were assessed by two instruments, a modified version of the Affective Sensitivity Scale and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

Relevant literature was reviewed related to human information …

Improving Interpersonal Perceptual Accuracy And Psychological Adjustment Through Brief Perception Therapy With A Substance Abuse Population, B. Gerald Hartman

Dissertations

This study's purpose was to determine if a type of cognitive therapy, Brief Perception Therapy, (Bullmer, 1980) could improve interpersonal perceptual accuracy and psychological adjustment in a substance abuse population. Thirty-five patients seeking inpatient treatment were randomly assigned to a treatment and a comparison group. Twenty-five patients completed the three week program, 13 in the treatment group and 12 in the comparison group. The treatment group received Group Brief Perception Therapy (GBPT) and the comparison group received Regular Group Therapy (RP). Therapists were experienced master's level psychologists and social workers trained in group treatment. GBPT groups used a programmed text, …

The Relationship Between Thought Disorder And The Diagnosis Of Schizophrenia, David Frank Fatzinger

Dissertations

The diagnosis of schizophrenia has been considered unreliable, especially when derived by psychiatric interview. Thought disorder is one symptom that has been accepted by most clinicians as a major indicator of schizophrenia. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between thought disorder and the diagnosis of schizophrenia in a state hospital setting.

The sample consisted of 88 patients, 58 males (mean age = 32.0) and 30 females (mean age = 38.6) and was gathered from newly admitted patients in a large state hospital. Thought disorder was measured by the Whitaker Index of Schizophrenic Thinking (WIST) Form A, …

The Effects Of Meditation On Counselor Candidates' Self-Actualization, Clifton H. Burrows

Dissertations

The purpose of this investigation was to (1) determine the effectiveness of meditation in promoting healthy adjustment or self-actualization in counselor candidates; and (2) ascertain whether a meditation group generates a more positive change in self-actualization than do a treatment control and a control group.

The sample consisted of 39 volunteer graduate students in counselor education courses at two major universities. Three intact classes were used, with members of each group made up from the same class. Classroom groups were randomly assigned to two treatment conditions, meditation (M) and relaxation (TC), and to a third no-treatment condition (C).

Treatment was …

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 …

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 …

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 …

The Effects Of Participation In A Student Development Mentoring-Transcript Program On Freshmen University Students, Thomas John Cosgrove Edd

Dissertations

The purposes of this study were: (a) to determine the effects of participation in a Student Development Mentoring-Transcript Program on freshmen University students, (b) to ascertain the perceived value of participation in such a program for University students, (c) to develop recommendations regarding the implementation of mentoring-transcript programs at colleges and universities, and (d) to determine areas for further research on this topic. Subjects for the study were randomly selected from the 1982 Freshman Class at the University of San Diego. Mentors were selected from among faculty, administrators and professional staff members at the University. The study employed an experimental …

A Description Of The Practices Of High School Principals In Designing Staff Development Programs In Dupage County, Robert F. Jerrick

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Investigation Of Factors Affecting Placement Decisions Of Multidisciplinary Teams, Mark M. Zebrowski

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Enhancement Of The Candidacidal Activity Of Cultured Peritoneal Exudate Cells By Sm-1213, A Synthetic Immunomodulator, Christine Joy Morrison

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Morphometric And Biochemical Study Of The Superficial And Deep Pineal Gland Of The Golden Hamster, Teresa D. Niiro

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Selected Psychological Characteristics Of A Veterans Population Seeking Prosthetic Surgery For Sexual Dysfunction, Marilyn A. Mendoza

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Management And Professional Jobs For Systematic Career Planning And Development, Patrick Calby

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Holistic Depth Psychology Of Ira Progoff, James P. Armstrong

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of School Resources On Elementary Students' Achievement In Reading And Mathematics In A Selected Wisconsin School District, Susan. O'Brien

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Typology For Couples Using The Ego Identity Status Construct, Richard F. Mcgourty

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Central Neural Organization Of The Respiratory Modulation Of Sympathetic Nerve Activity, Caroline Ann Connolly

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Development Of West Indies College, 1907-1960: A Historical Study, Anthon C. Francis

Dissertations

Problem

There is no written history of West Indies College (WIC). What little is cited in periodicals, magazines, Palm Leaves, and other sources about this institution is insignificant, incomplete, and sometimes incorrect. For over half a century, WIC has been preparing workers for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Until 1984, however, no comprehensive history was written on the development of this important institution of higher learning.

Method

The documentary-historical method was employed in this research. Books, periodicals, school bulletins, unpublished manuscripts, board minutes, school reports and agendas, school calendars, private files, correspondence, and other relevant documents as well as oral interviews …

A Comparative Study Of The Psychological Profiles Of A Selective Sample Of Incarcerated Females Versus Non-Incarcerated Females, Karen Ladd

Dissertations

Problem. Psychological testing is used in penal institutions at the initial time of incarceration. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of developing distinct psychological profiles for incarcerated females.

Method. The psychological assessment instrument employed to develop these profiles is the Sixteen Factor Personality Questionnaire (16PF). The data which were computed and analyzed to test the eight null hypotheses were provided by a selective sample group of 622 subjects in two penal institutions in Indiana.

Findings. (1) There is no significant difference between personality profiles of incarcerated white females who are property offenders and personality profiles of …