Digital Commons Network^™

A Comparison Of Reading And Listening Performances Of Braille And Print Readers, Betty P. Zook

Masters Theses

Blind and sighted subjects were tested on their capability to retain information after both reading and listening to specially prepared printed and taped materials. The sample consisted of graduate students and professional individuals. It was found that, on the average, subjects retained more after reading than listening. This effect was more pronounced in the braille reading subjects. As the level of complexity of the material increased, the difference in the points earned between the two modalities, reading and listening, increased significantly. A behavioral analysis suggested some reasons for this difference. It was suggested that further research into reading and listening …

The Paleoecology Of Carbonaceous (Algal) Material In The Middle Devonian Rockport Quarry Limestone Of The Northeastern Portion Of Michegan's Lower Peninsula, Jeffrey Dean Spruit

Masters Theses

The Rockport Quarry Limestone of the Lower Traverse Group represents a sequence of laterally contemporaneous carbonate platform sediments characterized in outcrop by four facies: (l) stromatoporoid biolithite, (2) organic-mud packstone, (3) biolithite-micrite transition, and (4) micrite. In facies (l), (2) and (3) dark brown 4-micron microspheres are found grouped or singly in wispy seams of brown carbonaceous material. Three species of filamentous blue-green algae were discovered in insoluble residues of facies (l) and (2). Numerous lamellar stromatoporoids and solitary corals occur with the carbonaceous-rich sediment in facies (l). Coalescing lenses of crinoid and bryozoan debris occur with the carbonaceous sediment …

A Study Of The Library Knowledge Of A Sample Of Freshmen Students Enrolled At The University Of Puerto Rico For The School Year 1980-81, Sarai Rodriguez De Perez

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to collect data that could help assess the library needs of a sample of college freshman enrolled at the University of Puerto Rico for the school year 1980-81.

Data were collected by means of a 50 item library test and 8 survey type questions.

As indicated by the test scores and by the students' answers to the survey questions: library instruction is needed in six of the seven subject areas covered by the library test and in a ll the subject areas specified by the questionnaire; library instruction is needed by 75% of the …

A Functional Analysis Of Response Contingent Full Physical Guidance, Richard J. Jackle

Masters Theses

Two experiments were conducted in this study of effects of full physical guidance (folding the subjects' hands) that was made contingent on a mechanically defined leg movement response. Two severely mentally impaired adolescents served as subjects. Experiment I compared the effects of baseline and contingent full physical guidance procedures upon the leg movement response. Experiment I I compared the effects of several procedures incorporating full physical guidance to ones which developed operant baselines of leg movement responses. The results Indicated that full physical guidance functioned as an evocative stimulus for Subject 1 and as mild reinforcement for Subject 2.

Detector Geometry For Cascade Photon Experiments, Roger Minoru Munechika

Masters Theses

An observation of cascading optical photons can be used to determine an absolute excitation cross section for the intermediate state without the need of standard lamp calibration. In order to reduce the data an angular correlation function and an angular distribution function must be known. These functions depend on the alignment of the upper excited state and the polarization of the light emitted in the lower part of the cascade. However, at certain angles of observation the values of the required functions are known regardless of the alignment or polarization. A computer search is done to find these angles for …

A Comparison Of Overall Verb Complexity Between Aphasic Adults And Language Disordered Children, Cheri Suzanne Carrico

Masters Theses

In this investigation, no difference in the overall complexity of verbs produced in spontaneous speech existed between adults and children with primarily expressive language disorders. Six adults, four males and two females between 37;1 and 68;7 years of age, and eight children, five males and three females between 4;3 and 8;3 years of age, comprised the subjects. Each had essentially intact receptive language skills, but was deficient in expressive language abilities. None evidenced a history of hearing, mental or emotional deficits.

Spontaneous language samples elicited from each subject were scored using the Developmental Sentence Scoring (DSS) procedure (Lee, 1974). Marginal, …

The Effect Of Storm Sewer Drainage On An Urban Lake, Jose Ignacio Aizpurua

Masters Theses

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the impact from normal precipitation (ra in , snow) into an urbanized lake during 1978- 1980. Several stations were chosen, and various limnological parameters were investigated. Chemical analyses were used to estimate the annual load of nutrients input into the lake by the storm sewer and surface runoff. Excessive phosphorus and nitrogen loads from these sources were discharged into the lake.

Fecal coliform distribution in the lake before, during, and after several storm events was studied. In general, fecal coliform counts increased after storm events. Peak concentrations decreased markedly with distance of the …

Politics And Medicine In The Estrogen Replacement Controversy: A Comparative Analysis Of The United States And Great Britain, Frances B. Mccrea

Masters Theses

This thesis investigated social and medical aspects of the Estrogen Replacement Controversy (ERT) in the United States and Great Britain. American researchers claim that ERT, a treatment for menopausal and postmenopausal problems, substantially increases the risk of endometrial cancer; British researchers minimize the risk and instead emphasize benefits of the treatment. Whereas British medical practitioners are reluctant to prescribe ERT, their American counterparts widely prescribe the treatment. American feminists and consumer groups strongly oppose ERT; similar groups in Britain demand the treatment. Whereas the British government has not regulated the drug, in America, increasing restrictions have been placed on ERT. …

A Diagnostic Teaching Analysis Of The Feasibility Of Teaching Trainable Mentally Impaired Students Hutchings’ Low-Stress Addition Algorithm, Marsha K. Markle

Masters Theses

This study attempted to determine the feasibility of teaching trainable mentally impaired subjects Hutchings' low-stress addition algorithm. It was a non-experimental study of acquisition using diagnostic teaching techniques. Three trainable mentally impaired subjects participated in training. No subjects knew basic addition facts, so use of a number line was substituted. Training was divided into four steps: a) use of the DOOF for a single binary; b) notation; c) adding two binaries in one column; and d) adding binaries in two columns. Tests were scored immediately, error patterns diagnosed and program modifications implemented. All subjects acquired skill for the first three …

An Analysis Of Validity Constructs In The Dichotic Listening And Hemispheric Competition Procedures, Wade Addam Kapik

Masters Theses

This investigation was designed to determine the validity of two categories of neuropsychological measures of cerebral dominance. Forty right-handed subjects were administered two dichotic listening tests and two hemispheric competition tests in a random order. The principal data showed that none of the four tests had sufficient levels of criterion-related and concurrent validity to be considered clinically useful in measuring laterality. In addition, a Baysean analysis of one of the dichotic listening tests indicated that it possessed a predictive validity of .79. Finally, the assertion that the scoring methods of each test are dynamically different was disputed, and Kinsbourne's interhemispheric …

Intimacy In Context: A Theory Of Interpersonal Relationships, Sara Mirjam Terian

Masters Theses

To define intimacy, interpersonal relationships are divided into four major categories that encompass the whole range of interpersonal behavior: strangers, acquaintances, friends, and intimates. These are seen as progressive stages, defined by the individual's subjective, affective orientation, and discernable by behavioral indicators. Strangers are divided into total, encountered, and familiar strangers, acquaintances into mere and friendly acquaintances, and friends into Just friends, casual friends, and close friends. The process culminates in intimacy which is divided into three aspects: psychological, the necessary aspect, biological, and ideological. Total intimacy is the presence of all three. This framework has explanatory and predictive value, …

A Geochemical Study Of The Sudbury Breccia, Kevin M. Prochaska

Masters Theses

The origin of the Sudbury Breccia surrounding the Sudbury Basin of Ontario, Canada has long been debated. The breccia has been described both as an igneous injection and as an abraded country rock formed by attrition in place.

A geochemical analysis of selected elements in matrix and clast samples from the breccia revealed distinct differences between the two sample groups. Matrix samples were lower in silicon and higher in heavy elements than the clasts. Matrix and clasts were comparable in light elements.

The results of the analysis favor an igneous process. Petrographic observations and structural evidence support this idea. The …

Reduction Of Aggressive Behavior Of A Preschool Child Using Extinction And Teacher Attention Procedures, Greg Randle

Masters Theses

The subject was a 2 and a half-year-old male who engaged in a high rate of aggressive behavior that appeared to be maintained by teacher reprimands and physical contact. An extinction procedure in which all aggressive behavior directed toward peers was ignored was used in conjunction with teacher attention directed to the victim. Teacher attention was also used to positively reinforce the subject for interaction with peers. These procedures reduced the subject's aggressive behavior to a much lower rate. Although the subject's undesirable behavior was modified, a questionnaire responded to by the teachers indicated the need for open communication between …

A Study Of The Films Produced By The Aluminum/Water Reaction Using Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy, Reed L. Shilts

Masters Theses

This work compares the action of pure water to various aqueous electrolytes on aluminum surface film formation at about 100°C. The electrolytes were pure water with various inhibitor ions added. The ions were nitrate, tungstate, borate, molybdate, silicate, phosphate, a mixture of nitrate and molybdate, and a mixture of silicate and molybdate. The investigative technique was Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) using 2 MeV alpha particles with an annular detector set at 180 degrees for maximum elemental resolution. RBS was chosen for this investigation because it offers in an easily interpretable manner a relatively fast and semi-quantitative method of analysis of …

A Computer-Assisted Instructional System And Its Application To A Course On Computer Structures And Hardware, Tahir Mufti

Masters Theses

Computer-Assisted Instruction is a powerful tool which is fast becoming an integral part of the instructional system in schools.

The objective of this study is to review the techniques used to provide Computer-Assisted Instruction and to present such an instructional system called LEARN which is general enough to be applied towards the teaching of any subject. Also included are notes on the application of the LEARN system to a subject entitled "Computer Structures and Hardware".

The Effect Of Active-Participation With Feedback In A Videotape, Discrimination-Training Program, Stephen M. Brewer

Masters Theses

With the use of a multiple-baseline design, the present experiment examined the effect of three training conditions on the acquisition of tutoring techniques in four volunteer college students. The three training conditions were: (1) Guidelines, subjects read and were tested over a manuscript; (2) Passive-Participation Without Feedback, subjects viewed 15 vignettes of a model's correct and incorrect use of tutoring techniques without receiving feedback on the model's behavior; and (3) Active-Participation With Feedback, subjects actively scored and received feedback on the same videotaped model's use of tutoring techniques. Subjects participated in one of the training conditions once at the beginning …

Development And Implementation Of An Outlining Preskills Program Utilizing A Multiple-Probe Design, Patricia Ellen Bird

Masters Theses

This project proposed to develop, implement and validate an outlining preskills program utilizing a multiple-probe design (Horner & Baer 1978). The critical entry skills for any recording system (Carnine & Silbert, 1979) include: Determining the topic, main idea and supporting details of a paragraph. These skills and how to identify each in an outline were presented in the Outlining Preskills Program developed by the researcher. Measurement was taken on student responses to nine probes which tested every component and subskill presented in the program. For each component, student performance increased from a zero baseline to 50 percent or better accuracy …

U-Pb Systematics And Ages Of Rocks From The Zone Of Cataclasis, Bitterroot Dome, Southwestern Montana, Edward Charles Arruda

Masters Theses

The eastern flank of the Bitterroot range, western Montana, consists of a 100 km-long zone of cataclasis which dips to the east. Zircons in sheared granitic plutons from three localities within this zone were dated using U-Pb methods. These zircons, which consist of anhedral cores and euhedral overgrowths, yield concordia lower-intercept ages of 48-52 million years before the present, dates which likely represent crystallization ages of the plutons. Shearing which affected these plutons, therefore, is significantly younger than the 72-76 million year age assigned for eastward movement of the Sapphire tectonic block whose detachment zone has been interpreted as the …

An Experiential Project Examining The Realm Of The School Business Function, Robert J. Gabel

Masters Theses

The objective of this experiential project was to examine the role and functions of the school business manager and the school business office.

Major areas that were examined were budgeting procedures, investigation of school district insurance coverage, investigation of developing alternative revenue sources such as a preschool and day care center, and shared time programs.

Through the investigation of these areas it was found that budgeting is an ongoing, year around process. It was observed that the South Haven Public Schools use a form of the Planning Programming Budgeting System (PPBS) and zero-base budgeting as management tools. Further it was …

Business Office Internship, Kathryn S. Weeden

Masters Theses

Successful operation of a school district depends upon the functions of the business office. This internship at Grand Rapids Public Schools under the supervision of Dr. James Gallagher, Executive Deputy Superintendent of Business Affairs, involved experiences in the school business areas of accounting, data processing, investments, funding, payroll, and purchasing. Knowledge of school business functions will provide the author with the awareness she needs when she attains her career goal working in central office administration, preferably as a curriculum and instruction specialist.

In addition to an introduction this report is divided into four sections which discuss the site and the …

The Menu Formation In A Computerized Nutrition System, Kathleen Ann Kostrzewa

Masters Theses

The creation of a diet is a complex process which involves analysis of a number of critical variables. Due to present technology, computers can be used effectively in menu planning and recipe analysis.

The objective of this study is the utilization of the computer to test the major criteria which must be met in order to produce a diet which meets nutritional, cost, and acceptability requirements. In this thesis, the design and implementation of a computerized menu planning system known as the Nutritional Data Base System is presented.

Increasing Job Performance By Training Employees How To Request Instructions And Feedback, Laverne Talley Alebiosu

Masters Theses

This study investigated the effectiveness of a procedure to increase the job performance, defined as task completion, of four black adolescents serving as child care aides in a day care center. The trainees were taught to request instructions and feedback from their supervisor. They were also taught to self-record the number of requests for instructions and feedback and the tasks they completed. Training procedures therefore involved a method to increase task performance without any direct intervention on increasing tasks and incorporated these direct instruction techniques: Small group instruction; active responding; the model, lead, and test format; and the use of …

Effects Of Supervisory Feedback Skills On Performance And Job Satisfaction, Kenneth Wayne Barnes

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Improving Instructional Skills Of Special Education Teachers Using A Group Training Package, R. Thomas Arkwright

Masters Theses

The objective of the present study was to develop and evaluate a training package which facilitates instructional skills of special education teachers in a practical, cost-efficient manner. After pretraining sessions of staggered baseline lengths, each teacher received sample program forms with written instructions and concise training on usage. As session performance stabilized, three teachers were taught specific performance feedback competencies and began giving verbal feedback during four other teachers' instructional sessions in a multiple-baseline across behaviors design. In addition to instructional competencies,generalization and maintenance effects were also assessed. Results indicate: 1) general training and program materials improved the instructional performance …

A Comparison Of Speed And Accuracy In Addition Calculation For High And Low Achieving Math Students Using The Calculator, Conventional Algorithm And The Hutchings' “Low Stress Algorithm”, Edward S. Drew

Masters Theses

This study was an attempt to compare the differential calculation power (speed plus accuracy) with addition for the conventional algorithm as compared with the Hutchings' low stress algorithm as compared to hand held calculators for high and low achievers with two levels of difficulty. Also, it is a systematic replication of Zoref's (1976) previous research. The subjects were eight third grade students, four male and four female, approximately nine years old. A multielement baseline design was used varying type calculation method within sessions and level of difficulty across sessions. The Hutchings' "low stress" algorithm produced markedly better results in correct …

An Analysis Of Behavioral Approaches To Obesity/Weight Reduction, Charlene Marie Curtis

Masters Theses

Behavioral technology has been applied to obesity/weight reduction. Three problems are identified: (1) the discrepancy between the measurement of, and the duration of time required for the acquisition and remediation of obesity and of weight; (2) the consensus of various reviewers that there are a number of methodological deficiencies in experimental studies termed behavioral approaches to obesity/weight reduction; (3) the absence of expressed methodological criteria stated by reviewers for their recommendations of certain procedures. There is compliance to some of the methodological c rite ria of the experimental analysis of behavior as adapted to obesity, and to weight in the …

A Methodology For Documenting The History Of Michigan Houses Built Between 1830 And 1930, Esther M. Walton

Masters Theses

This thesis delineates the methodology for documenting the history of Michigan houses built between 1830 and 1930* Three major areas of documentation are discussed. They are record search, architectural style and physical examination, as well as the location of relevant material. Each type and kind of public and private records, written, cartographic and visual are explained as to their importance and use for house research.

A brief overview of architectural style is presented along with illustration. Within the architectural style is a discussion on the physical examination of a house.

The conclusions are presented as a case study complete with …

A Comparison Of The Hutchings' “Low-Stress", Fulkerson "Full-Record" And Conventional Addition Algorithms For Speed, Accuracy And Preference With Regular Education Students, John Robert Vanhevel

Masters Theses

The differential calculation power (speed and accuracy) of three different addition procedures were investigated using the Hutchings " Low-stress", Fulkerson "Full-record" and conventional algorithms. The subjects were nine fourth grade students, five female and four male, approximately ten years of age. Elements of both multiple baseline and reversal designs were employed, varying the type of calculation method across phases. After exposure to each algorithm, students were given a choice of methods to use in solving a problem. Results indicated that both the Hutchings "Low-stress" and Fulkerson "Full-record" algorithms were generally superior in producing stable, accurate and efficient calculations. When given …

Liberalism And The Austrian School Of Economics, Gilbert Mason Scott

Masters Theses

This thesis examines the political philosophy and impact of an important group of European economists known as the Austrian School. This group includes such notables as Eugen Von Boehra-Bawerk, Ludwig Von Mises, and Friederich Havek.

The thesis first seeks to identify the role of the Austrian School within the liberal tradition, chiefly as a "conservative force" seeking -to defend the liberal tradition of Locke and Smith.

Secondly, the thesis seeks to examine the Impact of the Austrian School on American politics, specifically upon the growth of the American right. The thesis focuses on the impact of the Austrian School upon …

A Comparison Of Calculation Speed And Accuracy On Two Levels Of Problem Difficulty Using The Conventional And Hutchings’ "Low Stress" Subtraction Algorithms And The Pocket Calculator, Margaret T. Mcglinchey

Masters Theses

This study involved a comparison of three different calculation procedures for solving two different sizes of subtraction problems. A multi-element baseline design was used with three subjects: 2 females and 1 male, whose ages were 9.6, 24, and 8.1, respectively. The calculation procedures were varied randomly within, sessions, and the problem sizes varied randomly across sessions. Dependent measures included rate correct, rate incorrect, and percent accuracy. For all subjects, the conventional algorithm was the fastest calculation procedure. Accuracy data were not as consistent, since they varied across subjects and problem array sizes. Future research in this area might involve larger …