Digital Commons Network^™

Apologetics And The Apostle Paul In The Book Of Acts: An Agenda For A Viable Apologetic Methodology, Bruce A. Little

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Man Alone: Alienation In Karl Marx And The Twentieth Century Atheists, Ramon W. Baker

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Use Of Contingency Contracting For The Generalization Of Social Skills Of Emotionally Impaired Students, Michelle M. Kapp

Masters Theses

The present study investigated the effects of contingency or behavioral contracting on the generalization of emitting polite words. Generalization as a result of social skills training was compared to generalization as a result of contracting. The subjects were three elementary students identified as emotionally impaired. The experimental design was a combination reversal and multiple baseline across subjects. The results of the study supported the hypothesis that contracting would be more effective than the social skills training in initiating generalization of emitting polite words. It was suggested that additional research be conducted to investigate the long term effects of contracting on …

Reliability And Validity Of The Black English Sentence Scoring System, Yvette D. Hyter

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to assess the concurrent validity and interscorer reliability of a specific diagnostic tool of language assessment which is designed to be nonbiased for dialectally different children. Black English Sentence Scoring (BESS; Nelson, 1983), which is based on Lee's (1974) Developmental Sentence Scoring (DSS), is a system for analyzing spontaneous language samples that gives cred it for the normally developing features of Black English dialect. The sample consisted of 17 children between three and seven years who were residing in Michigan in communities where Black English was spoken frequently. All were identified as having language …

An Examination And Analysis Of The Department Of Special Education In The Muskegon Heights Public Schools, Doristine Louise Minott

Masters Theses

This project was undertaken so that an indepth view of the role of the director of special education and the Department of Special Education, Muskegon Heights Public Schools, could be observed. While there are many facets in the Department, much of the time was spent reviewing the Michigan Department of Education Administrative Manual for Special Education, working on administrative skills, and getting a feel for operating the Department.

It was determined that the Department is a very complex one indeed. Because policies change so often from the state level, it is often difficult to stay abreast of things. Therefore the …

Prescriptive Contracting: Utilization Of Self-Monitoring And Contracting In A Study Improvement Program, Raymond L. Boettger

Masters Theses

Several factors in program design and concurrent research of study programs for academically at-risk students have been noted in reviewing the literature. Two of the most effective techniques are self-monitoring and contracting. While many of the programs based on these procedures have shown significant increases in rates of study behavior, few have reported actual academic gains. Those that have predominately used simple difference of means tests to show significance. A major drawback to many of the study improvement programs is that they require additional expense to be implemented and maintained.

Prescriptive Contracting in an Individualized Guided Study center was designed …

I. A Temperature Dependent Nmr Study Of 6,6-Dicarbethoxy-5,5-Dideuteodi-Benzo--[A,C]-[L, 3]-Cycloheptadiene Ii. The Synthesis Of Four Deuterated Analogs Of 6, 6-Dicarbethoxydibenzo-[A,C]-[1,3]-Cycloheptadiene, Patrick F. Jonas

Masters Theses

The kinetics of conformational interchange of 6,6-dicarbethoxydi-benzo- a,c - 1,3 -cyloheptadiene and its 5,5-dideuterated analog were studied using variable temperature NMR techniques. The free energy of activation for conformational interchange of the parent compound was found to be 9.02 kcal mol^-1 and that of the 5,5-dideuterated analog to be 9.42 kcal mol^-1. Values of the entropy of activation were found to be -19.91 e. u. and -18.12 e. u. respectively. The spectra were recorded on a Nicolet NMC-360 wide bore spectrometer and the data collected treated as an AB spin system.

The 4,8-dideutero, 4,5,5,8-tetradeutero and 5,5,7,7-tetradeutero analogs …

The Effects Of Given Versus Self-Derived Rules On Children's Performance Of A Complex Discrimination Task, Susan F. Roy

Masters Theses

Two groups of preschool children were studied in a discretetrial concept formation task involving identification of stimulus cards which shared a common feature (e.g., picture a color, or a facial expression). During training, one group (rule-given) was given a verbal description which delineated the aspect of the stimulus card that should control responding. The second (self-derived rule) group was exposed to the same cards, without a rule (verbal description) being given. Members of each group were reinforced for correct responses (i.e., identifying which of two pictures had the relevant stimulus property), and accuracy of description was recorded for each trial. …

Male-Female Differences In Expressed Work Attitudes: An Examination Of Sex Roles And Gender Identity, Keith A. Woods

Masters Theses

This study investigates the existence of sex-based differences in attitudes toward social relations in the work environment. Both sex role (male vs. female) and gender-identity (agentic and communal aspects of self-conception) were related to work attitudes within the context of situational (attitude disclosure) and dispositional (public self-consciousness) factors. Subjects' attitudes toward the work environment were measured by a newly-developed Work Attitude Questionnaire (WAQ) which assessed preferences for personal vs. counterpersonal and preferences for conflict vs. conflict-avoidance in social relations in the work environment.

Significantly different work attitudes were expressed by male and female subjects: males expressed greater counterpersonal and lower …

Alcoholism: The Insidious Disease, Kathryn Van Bruggen

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study is to describe alcoholism as a disease, it s likely etiology, symptoms, methods of treatment and prognosis. Problems due to alcoholism are reported as they affect not only the alcoholic but the family, job and community as well. Education will help identify an alcoholic problem before it becomes too advanced. Various treatment modalities are discussed, including Alcoholics Anonymous. This study relates to the impact on the family and how the family can exacerbate the problem. Conclusions are based on observations of alcoholics and families of alcoholics in a therapeutic setting and literature review.

The Use Of Performance Data To Monitor And Support The Reorganization Of An Educational System, Ellen Spall Thompson

Masters Theses

The goal of this study was to determine the performance effects on staff and students following the reorganization of a special education facility. The organizational plan was based on the development of teaching teams where students were grouped together according to exit curricular goals. Four interventions were completed in order to assess the overall outcome of the reorganization project. At the student level, the rate of learning was monitored in order to determine whether the implementation of teams affected educational objective acquisition . At the team level, meeting agendas were surveyed to find out what effect they had on student …

Ralph Iii And The House Of Tosny, Joseph P. Huffman

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study is to provide a full prosopographical examination of the origins of a great Norman noble family known as the Tosnys, and of its principal figure Ralph III. The Tosny role in the Norman ventures in Italy, Spain, and England is studied, and an analysis of Ralph Ill's English lands, as found in Domesday Book, is also included. This thesis presents a complete study of the life of Ralph III de Tosny; a life virtually void of participation in English affairs after the Conquest. In this he departs from the standard of Norman aristocratic activity in …

A Modification Of The Dry-Bed Training For The Treatment Of Nocturnal Enuresis, Abubaker Muftah Abdurrazek

Masters Theses

The present study explored the effectiveness of the Dry-Bed Training (DBT) method without positive practice (20 trips to the toilet) and urine alarm. It also compares the efficacy of the DBT with and without the urine alarm. Eight nocturnally enuretics, aged 6 to 12 years, were assigned to two groups, experimental and control; each consisted of three boys and one girl. During the first phase of treatment, the experimental group underwent the DBT without positive practice and urine alarm, whereas the control group underwent the DBT with positive practice but no alarm. Subsequently, the urine alarm was introduced to both …

Church History, Jay Fletcher

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Marriage Beliefs Inventory, Timothy P. Peters

Masters Theses

The Marriage Beliefs Inventory is designed to measure biblical versus unbiblical held beliefs about marriage. The HBI contains five sub-scales of marriage problem areas including finances, fulfillment, communication, companionship and sex. Each sub-scale includes fifteen belief statements with which the participant chooses the degree to which he agrees or disagrees. The MBI was given to thirty couples of a Sunday school class. The test-retest reliability correlation was high (r= .76). Research relevant to the construction of the inventory, conclusions and suggestions for further research are given.

The Problem Of Reductionism In Theories Of Hemispheric Specialization And Recovery Of Functions, Grant Jackson Butterbaugh

Masters Theses

A selective review of functional and anatomical hemispheric asymmetries in humans confirms the doctrine of hemispheric specialization. However, the post-insult phenomenon of recovery of functions challenges theories that posit too strict a correspondence between anatomical structures and functions. Follow-up studies on hemispherectomized and hemidecorticated patients, who later recovered language, support a hypothesis of hemispheric redundancy, rather than "invariant" hemispheric specialization for language. Thus, through an evolutionary selection process, the brain may have developed as two potentially similar organs. Neuropsychological research on recovery phenomena is criticized as neglecting environmental contributions to recovery. Several models of hemispheric specialization are compared with recovery …

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 …

A Quantitative Study Of The Copper Content In Granite Rocks, Samir F. Al-Mandwee

Masters Theses

A spectrographic analysis was conducted on ten granite samples of different geological origin from the Pioneer Mountains in Central Idaho. A qualitative analysis was performed first and then a quantitative analysis to determine the presence and relative amounts of copper in the various samples. This spectrographic analysis employed a direct current arc source of 340 volts and 4 amperes to excite the samples which were dissolved in acid and dried on the ends of high purity carbon electrodes. The emitted light passed through a step sector and a medium quartz spectrograph to a photographic plate. The optical density of the …

The Effects Of Quantitative Information Content On Selection Strategies In A Complex Concept Formation Design, Tony B. Croke

Masters Theses

Thirty adult undergraduates and graduate students were placed in one of three quantitative information content groups. The Ss received either High, Medium or Low Information Content (IC) in a concept formation paradigm designed to study the types of problem solving strategies used by Ss under varying amounts of information content. High IC Ss produced the optimal strategy— focusing— sooner and more often than Medium or Low IC Ss. Medium IC Ss did better than low IC Ss. High IC Ss increased their use of focusing over trials, while Medium and Low IC Ss only used focusing intermittently. Medium and Low …

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 …

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.

A Program To Teach Multiple Verbal Relations Involving A Small Number Of Response Forms, Kimberly Lou Richter

Masters Theses

As a consequence of reviewing the results of non-behavioral and behavioral approaches to language training for the language deficient, further development of an alternative approach seemed warranted. This study attempted to develop a procedure for training a functional verbal repertoire involving a new language system which consisted of originally meaningless words and symbols. Young "normal" children participated as a first step in developing this procedure. Two preschoolers were taught a few verbal responses, each controlled by several different variables. A new verbal response was then taught under the control of a few variables. Transfer of the new verbal responses under …

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 …

A Geophysical Investigation Of A Possible Astrobleme In Southwestern Michigan, Suhas L. Ghatge

Masters Theses

A circular pattern to the oil production in Calvin Township, Cass County, Michigan, absence of about 1200 feet of Ordovician sediments and uplift indicated by a deep drill hole in the center of the productive area and absence of anomalies on the regional gravity and magnetic maps led to detailed gravity and magnetic surveys over this structure to delineate it and provide information regarding its genesis.

The Bouguer gravity and magnetic anomaly maps show no anomaly associated with the structure. The 28-mile wavelength second harmonic residual gravity and magnetic maps show linear features in the area. Two dimensional gravity modeling …

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 …

A Comparison Of The Effects Of Student-Generated Versus Instructor-Generated Questions On The Comprehension Of Written Material, Helen Diann Pratt

Masters Theses

Twelve college students volunteered to participate in a special section of an introductory psychology course at Western Michigan University. A multiple baseline design across groups was used to assess differences in reading comprehension between students who received study objectives written by the instructor and students trained to write their own study objectives. Quizzes and examinations were used to assess students' reading comprehension of course materials. A comparison of pre- and post-test scores on the Nelson-Denny Reading Comprehension Test was used to determine whether students had acquired skills which aided their comprehension of other materials. Results indicated no statistically significant differences …

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.

An Investigation Of Methods Of Surface Estimation With Application To The Interpolation Of Antenna Patterns, Paul Matthew Niall Feehan

Masters Theses

"The problem of estimating a surface from a set of discrete measurements lying along straight lines is considered. This situation arises when one attempts to determine the S-Band antenna gain pattern for the Space Shuttle, from measurements taken at several ground stations. The results of previous investigators concerned with the performance of surface approximation techniques for the present application, are extended in this study by examining the case where the data samples are corrupted by measurement noise. Results have been obtained using least-squares approximation with bicubic B-spline basis functions, and for an interpolation algorithm in conjunction with a spatial smoothing …

The Design And Implementation Of The Programming Language Natural, Alan L. Sparks

Masters Theses

"This paper reports progress on the development of the programming language Natural, currently under design by Dr. Thomas J. Sager at the University of Missouri--Rolla. Natural is a very high-level language with a mathematical flavor, and includes several concepts relatively uncommon in programming language design.

The text also discusses an implementation on the IBM Personal Computer of Mini-Natural, a subset of Natural, and presents examples of programs written in Mini-Natural"--Abstract, page ii.

Survey Of Routing Algorithms For Computer Networks, Lu Yu

Masters Theses

"This thesis gives a general discussion of routing for computer networks, followed by an overview of a number of typical routing algorithms used or reported in the past few years. Attention is mainly focused on distributed adaptive routing algorithms for packet switching (or message switching) networks. Algorithms for major commercial networks (or network architectures) are reviewed as well, for the convenience of comparison"--Abstract, page ii.