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An Analysis Of Health Related Fitness Practices In The Michigan Secondary School Physical Education Curriculum, D. Robert Salmon

Masters Theses

This study investigated the emphasis placed on health-related fitness in Michigan's secondary school physical education system. Information for this study was gathered from questionnaires. A total of 707 questionnaires was sent out, with 421 returned, representing a response rate of 59%. Analyzed variables included: (a) psychomotor, (b) cognitive, (c) socio-economic, (d) frequency, (e) geographical regions, (f) class size, (g) faculty, (h) public/private education, (i) facilities, and (j) evaluation tests. Statistical analyses included percentages, frequencies, and chi squares.

The findings from this study indicated that only two variables, (c) socioeconomic, and (j) evaluation, had a significant effect on fitness education. It …

A Comparison Of The Effects Of Two Individual Monetary Incentive Systems On Work Productivity: Piece-Work Pay Versus Base Pay Plus Incentives, Kirk L. Gillette

Masters Theses

This study compared the effectiveness of a piece-rate pay system in which 100% of the subject's pay was incentive-based with a base pay plus incentive system in which approximately 30% of the subject's pay was incentive-based. Two experiments were conducted. In each experiment, six subjects were exposed to both pay systems using a within-subject reversal design. Subjects participated in 6 to 9 three-hour sessions (Experiment 1) or 9 to 14 four-hour sessions (Experiment 2). Simulated bank checks with differing cash values were presented on a computer screen, and subjects entered the cash values using the computer keyboard. The dependent variable …

Democracy And Capitalism: The Issue Joined From Within, Christopher E. Bischoff

Masters Theses

This study utilizes contemporary and classical literature to illuminate the complexities of Western democracy. Of specific focus is American democracy and the effects that capitalism has had upon democracy in America. The achievement of democracy on the scale of the modern nation-state appears problematic even without the adversarial burdens posed by a capitalist economic consort. It emerges that American democracy is particularly compromised by its roots in liberal tradition. Forced by nature to depend upon the allocative abilities of its economic consort, democracy must endure a relationship that dramatically undermines its ideological orientation. Although American democracy is not yet in …

The Effects Of Selenate, Molybdate And Chromate On The Triiodothyronine Induced Enzyme Activity And Mrna Level For Both Fatty Acid Synthase And Malic Enzyme, Yuan Zhu

Masters Theses

In chick embryo hepatocytes in culture, triiodothyronine (T3) stimulates enzyme activity, mRNA level and transcription rate for both fatty acid synthase (FAS) and malic enzyme (ME). Recent evidence has demonstrated the effects of selenate, molybdate and chromate on various physiological processes. Little information, however, is available on the effects of these metal ions on the T3- regulated gene expression for FAS and ME.

In chick embryo hepatocytes incubated in a chemically defined medium, addition of sodium selenate (20 μM) coincident with T3 almost completely inhibited the T3-induced stimulation of FAS and ME activity and accumulation of their respective mRNA's. Neither …

The Debate On Lesbian Sadomasochism: A Discourse Analysis, Gudbjorg Ottosdottir

Masters Theses

This study examines an issue debated within the U.S. lesbian community since the mid-1970s, lesbian sadomasochism. The issue has been whether sadomasochism is consistent with lesbian feminism, a political ideology which has much shaped lesbian identity and community. The claims and counter-claims made about lesbian sadomasochism are analyzed, as are the underlying ideologies and their relationship to general lesbian political and cultural history. It is argued that the debate is the result of a limited subject position offered by lesbian feminism. The perspective of lesbian sadomasochists is seen as a call for a renewed lesbian feminist discourse. It is proposed …

Temporal Contiguity As A Defining Feature Of The Terms Reinforcer And Discriminative Stimulus: A Survey Of Journal Editorial Staffs, Julie Ann Fillhard

Masters Theses

Behavior analysis is a science that requires a consistent set of terms to describe independent and dependent variables and the relations between them. However, a review of literature indicates that behavior analysis is plagued by terminological inconsistencies, even with such basic terms as reinforcer and discriminative stimulus.

In the present study, 193 journal editorial staff members were surveyed to determine the importance of temporal contiguity in defining the terms reinforcer and discriminative stimulus. Eighty-seven editors (45%) responded to the survey which described two hypothetical scenarios and contained a series of questions relevant to each.

The results of the study indicate …

Location Analysis Of The Recycling Drop Off Program In Knox County, Tennessee, Carol Michelle Donoghue

Masters Theses

This study examines the drop-off recycling program in Knox County, Tennessee, in order to evaluate the convenience of the drop-off site locations. Measures of convenience were distance, level of recycling participation, and location of the site. Surveys were administered to 461 individuals participating in the program at the three Convenience Centers with drop-off recycling facilities. The spatial analysis compared the drop-off locations to the development patterns of the surrounding area.

The survey results indicate that more people are recycling now than before the beginning of the drop-off program. More than half of those surveyed recycle at least once a week …

The Effects Of Goal Setting And Supervisory Feedback On Staff Performance In A Human Service Setting, Michael D. Mack

Masters Theses

Goal setting and supervisory feedback were examined to determine their relative effects on the performance of direct care staff. The performance of five staff from a day treatment program for developmentally disabled adults was measured. The specific performance measure of interest was staff implementation rates of daily training programs with clients. The results demonstrated that adding performance feedback to goal setting had minimal impact on staff performance. Yet, goal setting alone as an initial technique was effective in improving the performance of staff. Unfortunately, the long-term effects of goal setting alone may be less desirable than these initial data indicate. …

Nonidentity Matching Training As A Supplement To The Audio-Visual Combination Test, Melissa Wilson

Masters Theses

The Audio-Visual Combination Test is an assessment tool developed by Kerr, Meyerson, and Flora (1977), and used by those working with developmentally disabled persons to assess learning-to-learn skills. The test measures motor, visual, and auditory discrimination learning.

The experimenter attempted to determine if there were an important step-visual nonidentity discrimination-between AVC subtests 4 and 5/6 of the test. Twelve developmentally disabled adults were tested with three different sets of tasks interposed between a revised subtest 4 and 5/6. Results showed that most subjects had greater difficulty with the visual nonidentity discrimination than with the auditory/visual discrimination, subtest 5/6. The results …

King Bela Before The Mongol Invasion (1214-1241), Pongracz Sennyey

Masters Theses

This is a study of the political history of Hungary in the first part of the thirteenth century. Special attention is given to the political role played by King Bela from 1214 until the Mongol invasion of 1241. The focus of the first part of the study is the relationship between King Bela and his father King Andrew II. In the second half of the study, the focus shifts to the policies pursued by King Bela once he became the sole ruler of the kingdom.

The study sheds light on the reasons for the Hungarian defeat by the Mongol armies …

Time Delay Neural Networks And Speech Recognition: Context Independence Of Stops In Different Vowel Environments, Gregory Andrew Makowski

Masters Theses

A series of speech recognition experiments was conducted to investigate time-dynamic speech recognition of stop consonants invariant of vowel environment using data from six talkers. The speech preprocessing was based on previous studies investigating acoustic characteristics which correlate to the place of articulation (Blumstein and Stevens 1979). The place of articulation features were statistically abstracted using four moments and the energy level of the speech sample.

Both statistical and neural network pattern recognition methods were used. Statistical methods included linear and quadratic discriminant functions, maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) and K-nearest neighbors (KNN). The neural network approach used was Time Delay …

The Effects Of Quality Contingent Extrinsic Rewards On Intrinsic Motivation, Kimberly Ann Filler O'Connor

Masters Theses

Although many studies have shown that performance-contingent rewards increase performance quantity, few have examined whether quality contingent rewards increase quality. One objective of the present study was to determine whether quality contingent rewards would improve quality.

A second, independent objective was to determine whether extrinsic quality contingent rewards would decrease a person's intrinsic interest in and quality performance of a task following termination of those rewards. To date, no other studies have examined the effects of quality contingent rewards on intrinsic interest and quality performance.

The results indicated that quality performance-contingent rewards do improve quality. Quality contingent rewards increased quality …

Resonant Electron Transfer And K-Shell Excitation Of FQ+ (Q=6,8) In Collisions With Neutral He And H2 Targets, Konstantinos E. Zaharakis

Masters Theses

Measurements of resonant transfer and excitation (RTE) were conducted for 16.5-38 MeV F⁶⁺ (Li-like) ions colliding with H₂. In the RTE process electron capture and projectile excitation take place simultaneously due to the electronelectron interaction. In previous work, for the same collision system, at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Oak Ridge, TN) , the magnitude of the measured RTE cross sections was found to be nearly a factor of two smaller than theory. In order to investigate RTE in F⁶⁺ H₂ collisions more completely, we undertook measurements at Western Michigan University using the EN tandem …

Flotation Data Sampling Strategies In Archaeological Research: An Experiment At The Elam Site (20ae195), Allegan County, Michigan, Brian David Deroo

Masters Theses

Studies of prehistoric Native American subsistence patterns have benefited greatly from data recovered through the technique of flotation, which allows investigators to recover small scale organic remains which would otherwise be missed using standard excavation procedures. Using data recovered through flotation researchers have been able to more fairly evaluate the role of plant foods, both wild and cultivated, in the aboriginal diet.

A common method of obtaining a flotation sample is to define a column through the center of the cultural feature or midden and removing a specified volume of soil matrix (usually 10 liters) from this column. This thesis …

Added-Purpose Versus Rote Exercise For Dynamic Standing Balance Training In Hemiplegia, Ching-Lin Hsieh

Masters Theses

Adding purpose to daily occupation in order to promote performance is a basic premise of occupational therapy. This study investigated the hypothesis that in individuals with hemiplegia, two added-purpose occupations would elicit more exercise repetitions than a rote exercise occupation. In a counterbalanced order, twenty-one hemiplegic patients aged 51 to 78 experienced all three conditions of a dynamic standing balance exercise involving bending down, reaching , standing up, and extending the arm. One condition of added purposes involved materials (small balls and a target); another prompted imagery of those materials; the third involved the same physical exercise without added purpose. …

The Effects Of A Performance-Based Lottery System On Accident Reduction In The Kalamazoo Office Of The United States Postal Service, Dale F. Polley

Masters Theses

The effects of a performance-based lottery system on the accident rates of mail carriers were examined. Two hundred and eight mail carriers in five United States Postal Service facilities participated. The experimental design consisted of a multiple-baseline with reversal. In addition, the accident rates for the intervention period were compared to the accident rates for the same period of time during the preceding two years.

A Safety Bingo game served as the lottery system. If an accident did not occur in a work unit during the day, a bingo number was drawn. The bingo game continued until either a bingo …

A Comparison Of Functional Equivalence Training And Timeout Procedures In The Reduction Of Disruptive Behavior, Steven D . Goodman

Masters Theses

The use of nonaversive or aversive procedures continues to be debated regarding treatment of behavior problems of persons with developmental disabilities. This study compared the efficacy of a punishment and a nonaversive procedure in the reduction of problem behavior. The nonaversive technique involved the teaching of alternative, functionally equivalent, responses. Timeout was employed as the punishment procedure. The functional equivalence training included a functional analysis to identify the motivating conditions for the disruptive behavior of three boys with severe mental retardation. Treatment conditions were evaluated on rate of disruption, effects on learning trials, and time engaged in training. Results indicate …

The Paleoethnobotany Of Schwerdt (20ae127): An Early Fifteenth Century Encampment In The Lower Kalamazoo River Valley, Gregory R. Walz

Masters Theses

Carbonized macrobotanical remains from the Schwerdt Site, an Upper Mississippian sturgeon fishery in the Lower Kalamazoo River Valley are identified and analyzed in terms of their implications for localized subsistence-settlement systems operating during the Berrien Phase in southwestern Michigan. The exploitation of wild plant foods at this limited-activity, spring sturgeon fishery and the environmental composition of the site environs are reconstructed from their representation in flotation samples derived from excavated feature and midden contexts.

Botanical data indicate a strong wetland-aquatic orientation in plant procurement, with aquatic tubers being the primary plant resource exploited at the site. Data from several sites …

Dierdre: A Soap Opera, For Singers, Dancers, Players, Electronic Sounds And Projected Images, James Schwall

Masters Theses

Dierdre: A Soap Opera is a chamber opera in one act, with dance, and takes about an hour to perform. There are six singing parts which may be performed by five singers. Two parts are for sopranos or mezzos, two for baritone, and one is designated tenor. All have fairly easy ranges. The piece also requires four percussionists and a pianist. Several interludes, called "breaks," are intended for modern dance. One of these breaks and the overture are for taped electronic music, realized by the composer. The libretto, also by the composer, involves the employees and regulars at a somewhat …

Test-Retest Reliability Of The Levels Of Rehabilitation Scale Iib, Maura Katherine Murphy

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to evaluate test-retest reliability of the Levels of Rehabilitation Scale IIB (LORS IIB), developed by Carey and Posavac in 1982. Reliability is an important concept when a therapist begins to assess a client's activities of daily living skills. If a test is reliable, the therapist will have a dependable means by which to measure client progress with stability and accuracy.

This study was conducted with eight volunteer post-stroke victims. The study found that the LORS IIB assessment was highly significant in test-retest reliability.

The Role Of A Chairperson Of A Michigan Accreditation Program Visitation Team, Ione M. Condit

Masters Theses

This project report describes the functions and responsibilities of an accreditation team leader before, during and after a three-day, on-site visit to validate an elementary school's self-study findings. The elementary school accreditation process for both host school and visitation team is described.

The evolution of the Michigan Accreditation Program as conceived by the Michigan State Legislature and current obstacles to the planned implementation in the Michigan elementary schools are review.

Effects Of Communication Apprehension, Biological Gender, And Gender Stereotypes On Non-Occasion Greeting Card Sending, Elizabeth E. Adams

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Enhancing Cooperative Education Programs For Indian Valley Conference High Schools, William R. Estes Iii

Masters Theses

The purpose of the study is to examine the alternatives by which small rural schools in the Indian Valley Conference could offer a broader education base for their students through cooperative education programs. Data was collected by personal interviews from the principals of the thirteen Indian Valley Conference high schools. The study focused on four areas, a) the factors necessary for effective cooperative education programs, b) the advantages of cooperative education programs, c) the disadvantages of cooperative education programs,d) and the desire for increased participation in cooperative education programs.

The survey results, relative to the cooperative education program needs of …

A Comparison Of Attendance And Self-Esteem At Assumption High School, Connie Lee Falconer

Masters Theses

Nonattendance has historically been a problem for teachers and administrators. Only recently has the effect of self-esteem and attendance been the focus of serious research. This study was conducted at Assumption High School, Assumption Community School District #9, Assumption, Illinois. The study encompassed those students in grades 9 through 12 for attendance purposes in the school year 1990-1991. Those students who were added or dropped during the given school year were not included in the study. Since this research involved some of the factors of ten associated with nonattendance of high school students, all of the students continuously enrolled from …

The Effectiveness Of Auditory Bombardment In The Remediation Of Phonological Processes, Lisa M. Gangloff

Masters Theses

Current research examining the efficacy of different stages of phonological remediation is limited to the use of minimal pairs and the integration of language therapy to assist children with accompanying language deficits. Auditory bombardment, however, although frequently used, has not been researched as to its effectiveness in the remediation of phonological processes. Auditory bombardment is currently being presented through word lists. This researcher suggests that a language-based bombardment, in the form of children’s stories, would aid in the reduction of phonological processes and the acquisition of language skills.

Six subjects were included in the research study. The subjects ranged in …

The Facilitation Of Students With Learning Disabilities To Postsecondary Education By Secondary Special Educators, Victoria A. Stephans

Masters Theses

This descriptive research was conducted to collect data concerning the attitudes and policies about transition to postsecondary education by secondary special educators in the State of Illinois. A survey was sent to 208 secondary special educators representing the independent high school districts in the state. The survey measured three variables in relation to size of school: special educators' awareness of postsecondary educational opportunities, special educators' expectations for students labeled learning disabled to pursue postsecondary education, and current practices for serving high school students labeled learning disabled. The findings showed that there were more likenesses than differences in the transition attitudes …

Methods Of Improving The Student Teaching Experience At The Elementary And Junior High School Levels As Identified By Cooperating Teachers, Student Teachers And First Year Teachers, Darrell L. Sy

Masters Theses

The purpose of this field experience was to identify how the student teaching experience could be improved based upon recommendations by cooperating teachers, first year teachers and student teachers who completed a questionnaire. Each group was asked its opinions of the current status of the student teaching experience and how the process could be improved.

Cooperating teachers provided information relative to the special types of activities they conducted to better prepare student teachers for the profession. Current student teachers were asked to determine the teaching skills with which they needed the most assistance. First year teachers provided information that compared …

A Review Of The Literature On Self-Care Children: A Need For Empirical Studies, Stephanie L. Perry

Masters Theses

The term "self-care child'' refers to a young child who returns from school and remains at home unsupervised for an indefinite period until the parents arrive from work, or one who is alone before school in the mornings. In this paper, the emotional functioning, social functioning, and academic performance of self-care children were compared to adult-supervised children. Also, programs designed for self-care children were examined.

When examining the current literature on the self-care child regarding loneliness, anxiety and behavior problems, susceptibility to peer pressure, sexuality, social functioning, and academic performance, no significant differences were found between self-care and adult-supervised children. …

The Perpetual Journey: Jonathan Edwards' "Personal Narrative" And Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography, Pamela A. Masden

Masters Theses

Scholarly readers seem to have avoided a comparison of the writings of Jonathan Edwards (1703-58) and Benjamin Franklin (1706-90). Although they were born three years apart, they are rarely represented in anthologies as having been contemporaries, primarily because Edwards was a Puritan preacher and Franklin was an "Enlightenment" politician and inventor. However, when we disregard these critical constraints and assumptions, we find that as writers and thinkers, they have a great deal in common.

In my thesis, I have examined the autobiographies of these contemporary works: Edwards' "Personal Narrative" (c. 1739-42) and Franklin's Autobiography (1771-88). The theoretical approaches of Jane …

A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Preaching Of Robert Lee Russell, Ben F. Pennington

Masters Theses

Robert Lee Russell's pulpit oratory is analyzed through a review of the literature, personal interviews and critical study of three specific sermons. The consistency of idea content and effectiveness of the preaching is evaluated according to the concepts of rhetorical analysis delineated in Nilsen's (1957) Interpretive Funnction of the Critic. Robert Russell's concepts of man [existence], ideas [knowledge], and society [values] is examined through analysis of his sermons. The results of the analysis are compared to the literature on preaching, statements from interviews with him, and comments by leaders of his congregation. It is concluded that Russell is an …