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The Status Of Middle Level Schools In Berrien County, Michigan Following Michigan Public Act 25, Judith A. Burns

Dissertations

Michigan Public Act 25 of 1990 mandated public school reform. One of 4 components of Public Act 25 is the development of a 3 to 5 year School Improvement Plan (SIP). The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine middle level school improvement in Berrien County, Michigan, for evidence that developmentally appropriate middle level education is promoted.

This 2-part investigation involved analyzing SIPs submitted for 1992-93 school year using a content analysis format and interviews with each building principal or designee. The content analysis format was developed by Sweeney and Cooper in 1992 to analyze SIPs of Wayne County, …

Teaching/ Learning Experiences: Meanings Constructed By Participants Ini A Degree Completion Program For Adult Students, Natalie K. Manbeck

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the meaning that teachers and their adult students construct of their classroom experiences and to see how those meanings impact the teaching/ learning process. Because of the multiple factors affecting an educational experience, this study took the view that this should be explored in a holistic way. Most educational research focuses on the teacher's perspective, with students and their learning considered as the result of the educational process. In order to more fully understand what is occurring in classrooms and what students are actually learning, it is important to ascertain student perceptions …

The Effect Of Written Information And Reassurance On Patient Satisfaction, Anxiety, And Intent To Return For Emergency Care, June Andrea Dnsc

Dissertations

Patients' satisfaction is one of the primary goals of emergency department (ED) providers today. As emergency departments are overcrowded, stressful environments, anxious patients want to be kept informed. Nurses have the opportunity to meet these needs and possibly influence the patients' perception of the experience and intent to return for future care. This study examined the effects of providing written information and reassurance on patient satisfaction, anxiety, and intent to return for emergency care. The design was a posttest design involving a comparison between the control and three experimental groups. Two hundred and forty patients participated in the study, approximately …

Ethical Decision-Making Among Critical Care Unit Nurses, Mary Ellen Bowen Dnsc, Mn, Rn, Cnaa

Dissertations

The health care business has created complex relationships between consumers and health care institutions. Rising health costs, rationing of health care and medical technology have put critical care unit (CCU) nurses in complex environments where they must face ethical conflict. CCU nurses find themselves ill equipped to make sound decisions concerning ethical dilemmas. Nurses must ensure the patient's choices are respected and honored due to the duties inherent in the nurse-patient relationship. The purpose of this study was to explore the process of ethical decision making (EDM) as it is experienced by CCU nurses. Gaining an understanding of this process …

Nursing Faculty Connecting With Students: A Heideggerian Hermenteutical Study, Debra I. Craig Dnsc, Msn, Rn

Dissertations

This study sought to gain an insight into the phenomenon of nursing faculty members connecting with students. Caring has been espoused as a key component of nursing education for many decades. In the last 10 years the terms caring and connecting are commonly found associated with each other, and yet there is no clear definition of connecting. It is important to understand a phenomenon from the point of view of those who are experiencing it. Therefore, a study which asked nursing educators to tell stories of the times they had connected with students was undertaken. Ten nurse educators in the …

The Journey From Nonexerciser To Exerciser: A Grounded Theory Study, Keri Kuniyoshi Medina Dnsc, Ms, Rn

Dissertations

The physiological and psychological health benefits of regular physical exercise are well-documented; however, drop-out rates from both supervised and unsupervised exercise remain high. Many potential influences on exercise behavior have been studied, but with largely inconsistent results, making it difficult to identify key targets for intervention. The purpose of this study was to explore the process through which nonexercisers become exercisers, and the contextual factors which affect movement through this process, in order to enable nurses to more successfully assist clients to incorporate exercise into their lifestyles. The exercise experiences of 22 individuals who had successfully made the transition from …

A Comparison Of Youth Living Environment In Small And Large Communities Of Michigan, Huilan Yang

Dissertations

This study compares youth living environment in small and large communities in Michigan. The comparison includes three areas of youth living environment: community environment, financial environment, and educational environment. Community in this study is defined as school district. Data are extracted from an existing database developed by the National Center for Educational Statistics titled School District Data Book (SDDB). Out of 560 Michigan school districts included in SDDB, 370 are used in the data analysis, excluding the Detroit City School District and 189 medium-sized districts. Fifteen variables are selected for comparison, categorized under the three areas of youth environment. The …

The Effects Of A Corporate Adventure Training Experience On Group Dynamics And Individual Self-Actualization Of Middle-Management Professionals, Scott A. Kelly

Dissertations

Adventure programming has been utilized in the corporate world for training and team building. The focus of this study was to examine the effects of a 2-day corporate Adventure Training program on the group and individual functioning of middle-level managers in a Midwestern manufacturing company. The training utilized ropes course and group activities to develop teamwork and increase group functioning.

A work team consisting of 34 individuals, who were divided into three groups, participated in the training. A control group of 12 individuals was utilized for comparison. Variables of interest included group functioning and self-actualization. Group functioning was measured with …

The Public Administrationist As Civic Shaman: The Self-Reflective Integrator Of Policy Frames Of Reference And Social Character, Phillip A. Brown

Dissertations

This study discusses the discipline of Public Administration and the Public Administrationist in relation to policy frames of reference and social character. The relationship of policy frames of reference and social character is the basis for public trust As the American political system becomes more and more fragmented, public administrationists, sometimes by default, become the trustees for safeguarding the public trust.

The concept of policy frames of reference, as it evolves in this discussion, refers to the ability of the public administrationist to understand the interactions of changing issues impacting on the interactions of changing issues, or quantum thinking. Social …

Perinatal Loss: An Exposure Based Approach To Alleviating Feelings Of Grief In Bereaved Parents, Michele Lee Rosa

Dissertations

The efficacy of exposing bereaved parents to stimuli associated with their deceased child as a means of alleviating their grief reaction was explored. Three parents who had suffered a perinatal loss participated. Pre, post, and follow-up measures of depression, hopelessness, anxiety, marital functioning, daily stress, psychopathology, bereavement and grief were gathered.

Results showed clinically significant improvement for two of the three subjects on measures of depression and psychopathology. All subjects showed improved marital functioning. Negative change was seen on a measure of hopelessness for two of the three subjects. The treatment effects for symptoms of stress, anxiety, bereavement and grief …

Adolescent Students At Risk: The Roles Of Stress, Distress, And Coping, Jennifer Massicotte

Dissertations

Male and female adolescents who reported recent suspension/ threats of suspension or academic failure were compared to male and female adolescents who did not report these two variables of dropping out on three measures--the discrete negative uncontrollable events experienced (LEQ-A, Garmezy, Masten, & Tellegen [1985]), the level of distress (GHQ-30, Goldberg [1972]), and the types of coping skills used (A-COPE, Patterson & McCubbin [1983]). Native and non-Native at risk for suspension and academic failure rates were also compared using archival data from a community mental health survey of 714 adolescents (36 Native) attending high school in Northern Ontario.

Native adolescents …

The Discriminative Stimulus Properties Of Morphine And U-50,488h In A Three-Key Assay: A Mu And Kappa Opioid Discrimination In The Pigeon, Malath Makhay

Dissertations

Opiate drugs have been classified in two-choice assays according to their ability to produce generalization in animals to the prototypicix opiate, morphine, versus vehicle, or to the k opioid, U -50,488H versus vehicle injections (Picker & Dykstra, 1987). A three-choice discrimination procedure, in which subjects discriminate among morphine, U -50,488H , and vehicle injections, might afford a greater degree of precision in characterizing the subjective effects of opioids. The feasibility of such a procedure was demonstrated in the present study, in which five pigeons were trained to discriminate among injections of 5 .6 m g/kg morphinel 5 .6 m g/kg …

Effects Of D-Amphetamine On Free-Operant Response Acquisition With Immediate And Delayed Reinforcement, Mark G. Lesage

Dissertations

The present study examined in 8-hour sessions the effects of d-amphetamine (1.0, 5.6, and 10 mg/kg) on the acquisition of lever-press responding by rats exposed to procedures in which water delivery was delayed by 0, 8, or 16 seconds relative to the response that produced it. Although neither shaping nor autoshaping occurred, substantial levels of operative-lever responding developed whenever responses produced water. Rats that did not receive water and yoked-control rats that received response-independent water emitted relatively few responses.

The lowest dose (1.0 mg/kg) of d-amphetamine either had no effect on or enhanced rates of operative-lever pressing, whereas …

An Investigation Of The Relationship Between Homework Assignments In Counseling And Perceptions Of Specific Counselor Characteristics, George T. Starrett

Dissertations

This study investigated the relationship between the use of homework assignments in counseling and perceived counselor characteristics. An analog design was used with 60 introductory psychology students serving as subjects. One of two video taped counseling vignettes was presented to the two subject groups. The counselor depicted in the control group tape did not use homework assignments, while homework assignments were used by the counselor depicted in the treatment group tape.

After viewing the one of the two tapes the subjects completed the Counselor Evaluation Scale (CES) and the Counselor Rating Form-Short (CRF-S) to provide ratings of each of the …

The Experiences Of Mid-Career Elementary Teachers, Susan H.L. Johnston Edd

Dissertations

The demographics of the teaching population in British Columbia indicate a significant number of teachers in mid career. Their cares, concerns, and interests dramatically influence educational activity in the province. The experiences of these educators lie within a context of major restructuring of the entire provincial school system and substantive educational change mandated by the government of British Columbia. Using a phenomenological approach, this study explores the experiences of seven, mid-career, elementary school teachers in one British Columbia school district; investigates how these teachers experience system-wide, mandated, educational change; and suggests implications of these understandings for leadership practice. During three, …

Androgen Receptors In The Hippocampus: Localization, Autoregulation, And Modulation Of Gene Expression In The Adult Male Rat, Janice E. Kerr

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Age And Time Of Day On Delirium In Elderly Postoperative Hip Surgery Patients, Marianne L. Jagmin

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Weathering The Storm Persevering Through A Difficult Time, Lynn Allchin-Petardi

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Nietzsche's Critique Of Kant's Moral Philosophy: A Study In Revaluation, Lee F. Kerckhove

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Case Study Of The Change Process In An Urban Public School As Teachers React To Mandated Change, Susan Kurland

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between Child Sexual Abuse And Hypoactive Sexualdesire Disorder In Adult Women: An Investigation Of Contributory Factors And Treatment Outcomes, David B. Sarwer

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Return Of Christianity: The Christian Education Of Korean- American Children In The Chicago Area By Parents, 1965-1995, Mark Yoon

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Evaluation Case Study Of The Effects Of A Learning Style Awareness Program For Ninth Graders At An Independent School, Dorene Casey Mclaughlin Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the implementation of a year-long learning style awareness program and its effects on locus of control and academic achievement in a ninth grade population. This study was also designed to collect subjective data from students on their perceptions of responsibility for their own achievement, ability to identify their individual learning style, a willingness to ask for help, and in addition, over parental conflict. This study was conducted, using a sample of 76 ninth graders, at an independent college preparatory school in a large Southern California city. All subjects were administered the National …

The Relative Effectiveness Of Face-To-Face And Telephone Contact By Community Mental Health Workers During Psychiatric Inpatient Treatment Of Children And Adolescents, Bruce Patrick Hackworth

Dissertations

Problem. With the advent of managed care has come the increasing necessity to provide effective and efficient services to children and families experiencing severe emotional disturbances. The use of cost-effective and therapeutically effective services is at the crux of an effective service delivery system. Few studies have considered the usefulness and comparative effectiveness of face-to-face versus telephone interventions in therapeutic situations. This study considered the clinical value of face-to-face community mental health worker involvement during and after psychiatric inpatient hospitalizations of children and adolescents ages 11-17. The study also considered the comparative value of this follow-up when using master's-trained, mental …

Moral Orientation, Ego Maturity, And Religious Commitment : An Exploratory Study From A Developmental Perspective, Penelope Anne Webster

Dissertations

Problem. Although moral development research has focused extensively on Kohlberg's moral judgment theory and Gilligan's considerations of moral orientation, little has directly addressed the issue of integration of the voices of care and justice. This study proposed that, with maturation, a more integrated moral orientation would guide moral decision making. Integration and the impact of age, gender, ego maturity, and religious commitment were examined from a developmental perspective.

Method. A cross-sectional design was employed, with adults from two age cohorts (25-35 and 50-65). A semi-structured interview (Brown, Debold, Tappan, & Gilligan, 1991) was used to collect data. Each individual …

The Relationship Between Dissociation And Object-Relations Impairment In Adult Female Incest Survivor Clients With And Without Personality Splitting, Linda Jean Stuppy

Dissertations

Problem. Childhood incest appears to play a role in the formation of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) (formerly Multiple Personality Disorder). This study investigated whether a relationship exists between dissociation and object-relations impairment in incest survivors and whether DID incest survivors have higher levels of these characteristics than non-DID incest survivors.

Method. The Dissociative Experience Scale, Bell Object Relations Reality Testing Inventory and Childhood Maltreatment Interview Schedule-Short Form were completed by a sample of 60 adult female incest survivor clients. 29 who met the diagnosis for DID and 31 who did not.

The Results. All three hypotheses were supported …

An Analysis Of Selected Aspects Of The Role Of The High School Principal In The Chicagoland Area In Light Of Leadership-Orientation, Antonia C. Bouillette

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Children's Assignment Of Intentionality To People, Animals, Plants, And Objects: Challenges To Theory Of Mind And Animism, Elizabeth Nebeker Szendre

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Work Stress In The Forensic Psychiatric Facility: The Relationship Between Coping Responses And Personal Need For Structure, Nilsa Rivera

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Literary Study Of Non-Fiction: An Analysis Of Selected Works By George Orwell, Richard Wright, Zora Neale Hurston, And Virginia Woolf, Kenneth S. Rogers

Dissertations

No abstract provided.