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In Her Own Words: A Qualitative Case Study Of Foster Care, Adoption And Independent Living, Elise N. Zuber

Masters Theses

This is a biographical account of a young lady who was involved with the child welfare system for eleven years. “Jill” entered foster care when she was eight years old. She was adopted by her foster parents and re-abused as a young adolescent by her adoptive father. Jill re-entered foster care, experiencing several foster homes, caseworkers and counselors. This year Jill Is one of 20,000 foster children who will assume independence from the child welfare system.

The author utilizes a qualitative method of case reporting. Interviews were conducted with Jill, former caseworkers, foster parents and therapists. In addition, a record …

Factors In Pediatrician Medication Administration, Kathleen Elaine Campbell

Masters Theses

King’s conceptual framework was used to examine the relationship between nurses’ stated beliefs of goals of pain management, their personal experience of pain, and their educational levels when choosing to intervene in the management of pain for pediatric patients. A descriptive correlational design was used with a convenience sample of 51 registered nurses in a West Michigan children’s hospital.

No significance was found between the goal of pain management and the level of stated intentions to intervene, the education level of the nurse and stated intentions to intervene, and nurses who have had a personal pain experience and their stated …

Attachment Styles And Childhood Trauma In Batterer Subtypes, Eric S. Davidson

Masters Theses

Eighty-three men seeking treatment for domestic violence and 28 non-violent control subjects completed self-report questionnaires on conflict resolution, attachment styles, and childhood trauma. Those seeking treatment were divided into three batterer subtypes in order to determine if there were differences between the three groups and the control group in attachment styles, and childhood trauma (overall trauma, sexual assault, punishment, and neglect). There were no significant relationships found between batterer subtype or subject status (batterer vs. non-batterer) concerning attachment style. Significant results were found concerning trauma and batterer status, as well as some significant differences between batterer subtype and trauma. Limitations …

Perceptions Of The Effects Of Vocal Hygiene Training On College Professors, Kimberly D. Wait

Masters Theses

This study investigated the efficacy of vocal hygiene training by studying changes in the self- and listener-rated vocal characteristics of college professors before and after vocal hygiene training. Eight college professors served as experimental subjects and received three half-hour sessions of vocal hygiene training. Nine college professors served as control subjects and received no vocal hygiene training. Subgroups of professors with self-reported vocal difficulties were further identified within each group. An original vocal characteristic scale based on the literature was used to measure self-rated vocal characteristics. Results indicated no significant difference in self-rated voice characteristics between subjects who received vocal …

L.I.F.E., Omar Merideth Headen

Masters Theses

I've written my creative thesis in support of the Chicago Public School (CPS) System's "Character Education" initiative. This initiative is composed of a teaching curriculum designed to develop instructional lessons and activities for students, training for teachers and CPS staff, and information for the community that will serve to reduce racial, ethnic and/or religious intolerance and increase sensitivity, cooperation, and understanding. The purpose of this thesis is to give teenage students valuable lessons in character building and allow them to come face to face with various realities of life (i.e., peer pressure, divorce, death, etc.). But more importantly, this thesis …

Lnservice Educational Activity Needs And Preferred Delivery Methods Of Bement Community Unit School District #5 Teachers, Nyle G. Waters

Masters Theses

A study of the Bement Community Unit School District #5 faculty was conducted in the spring of 1999. The purposes were to determine the inservice educational activity needs of the faculty and to determine which inservice educational activity delivery methods the faculty considers most effective. Bement C.U.S.D. #5 is a small rural district in central Illinois with 38 prekindergarten through 12th grade teachers. A needs assessment questionnaire was constructed and administered to all district teachers. Each item on the questionnaire was designed to collect data on the following questions:

1. What are the perceived inservice educational activity needs of the …

A Study Of The Perceptions Of Students, Staff, And Parents Regarding Conflict At Mary Miller Junior High School, Georgetown-Ridge Farm Community Unit School District # 4, Georgetown, Illinois, Robert A. Rice

Masters Theses

Too often in schools across the country students and teachers have felt unsafe. Students and teachers have been threatened physically, verbally, and have experienced violence. Besides creating fears, violence in schools has diverted energy and resources from instruction. The researcher believed that based on recent national happenings regarding school violence, it was important to assess the school environment at Mary Miller Junior High School to identify if any problems existed regarding safety at school. It is not surprising that one of the National Education Goals for the year 2000 was to establish safe, disciplined, and drug-free schools that offer an …

A Study Of The Elements For Effective Implementation Of A Full-Day Kindergarten Program At Armstrong-Ellis Grade School, Jamie Ann Dorsey

Masters Theses

This study was conducted to determine the effective elements needed to implement a full-day kindergarten program at Armstrong-Ellis Grade School, a rural district located in northwestern Vermilion County. It was designed by first looking at how to implement change in a system. After the steps for change were determined, the elements for effective implementation were incorporated into the change process. These elements were established by analyzing the related literature and research.

It was determined that to introduce change within a system a three-step process was needed. These steps are mobilization, implementation, and institutionalization. All three steps are examined in the …

Is Achievement Motivation In Basketball Games Affected By Team Or Individual Competitive Situations In Elementary Physical Education Classes?, Adam C. Lane

Masters Theses

This study examined the relationship between skill, setting and gender. There were three main purposes for conducting this study. The first was to determine whether a child's achievement motivation changes when participating in a team setting compared to an individual setting. The second purpose was to determine and compare any differences between boys' and girls' achievement motivation, in both team and individual settings, and thirdly, to determine and compare any differences between the achievement motivation of high-skilled and low-skilled children, in both team and individual settings. Subjects were administered the Sport Orientation Questionnaire, (Gill and Deeter, 1988), which assesses competitiveness, …

Health Locus Of Control, Perceived Health Competence, And Fluid Adherence In Hemodialysis Patients, Mark W. Conard

Masters Theses

Patient adherence with prescribed medical regimens is vital in promoting the health of patients. Complex medical regimens are difficult for patients to follow and it is therefore important to understand what causes patients not to follow their prescribed treatment recommendations. Hemodialysis (HD) is one such complex medical regimen that requires patients to follow strict restrictions in their diet. One area of the HD regimen that is particularly hard for patients to adhere to is restrictions in the amount of fluid they can safely consume. Research has shown that noncompliance to fluid restrictions is pervasive, with patients stating that adherence to …

Perceived Social Support And Exercise Compliance Of Phase Iii Patients In Cardiac Rehabilitation Programs, Rana M. Smith

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a difference in the level of perceived social support from family, friends, and program staff in Phase III patients who comply and patients who do not comply to cardiac rehabilitation programs.

Staff of 22 cardiac rehabilitation programs in ten different states, distributed 10 surveys to compliers and 10 surveys to non-compliers. A three-part questionnaire was designed to gather information regarding demographics, perceived staff social support and perceived family social support. Independent t-tests were used to determine if there were differences in perceived social support between compliers and non-compliers.

Of …

Effects Of Interparental Conflict Tactic Styles On The Psychological Adjustment Of College Undergraduates, Jodell D. Bauer

Masters Theses

Past research has examined the effect of the level of interparental conflict on the psychological adjustment of children and young adult offspring. Research has suggested that higher levels of conflict in intact, separated, and divorced homes have negative effects on the psychological adjustment of children and young adults. Recent studies have further examined interparental conflict by examining the styles with which parents resolve or cope with conflict and it's effect on their children. This study assessed the effect of different interparental conflict styles of mother and of father on college-age offspring. The three styles examined were negotiation, psychological aggression and …

Struggle, Aspiration, And Obsession: The Discourse Of Diet, Emily K. L. Jahn

Masters Theses

Research has shown that members of society are generally dissatisfied with their current weight. This study examines how individuals socially construct meanings of the word diet and the dieting process. Participants (n=443) were males and females who ranged in age from 7 to 68. Each were given a diet questionnaire to complete. The older groups were given the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) Scale in addition to the survey. The text for analysis was obtained by the surveys and four focus groups. The resulting data indicated that both males and females perceive the word diet means "to lose weight." …

Effectiveness Of The "Baby Think It Over" Program On Adolescents' Contraceptive And Child-Rearing Attitudes, Stephanie Ann Johnson

Masters Theses

An increasing number of high schools in the United States have begun to use the "Baby Think It Over" doll as part of their curriculum in certain classes. This study examined the effectiveness of this doll on influencing 46 male and female adolescents' attitudes and behaviors regarding pregnancy, sexual activity, and contraceptives. Five specific subscales were developed to measure the teens' contraceptive attitudes and behaviors before and after using the doll regarding their feelings about becoming pregnant, understanding/comprehension of the responsibilities of child-rearing, appreciation of the impact of child-bearing on their lives/future, and attitudes toward premarital sex. Also, a qualitative …

Patient Compliance-Gaining: A Look At Care Facility Vs. Home Health, Merideth Mayberry

Masters Theses

The patient compliance-gaining strategies employed by health care providers in the care facility and home health environments were investigated. Each participant completed a two-page, open-ended survey. A content analysis, and more specifically a thematic analysis of the research, allowed for similarities and differences between the two settings to be compared to current literature. Results indicated that participants used similar strategies to those suggested by researchers in the field. The results showed that strategies applied by health care providers in this particular study are effective for gaining patient compliance.

Collaborative Versus Prescriptive School-Based Behavioral Consultation: An Analysis Of Verbal Resistance, Brandon M. Royer

Masters Theses

Audiotaped problem analysis interviews involving actual referrals from 25 elementary school teachers were examined. A Teacher Resistance Code (TRC) was developed from Patterson's (1985) Client Noncompliance Code and used to evaluate verbal resistance in both "collaborative" and "prescriptive" problem analysis interviews. The relationship between resistance, interview condition, and treatment acceptability was assessed. Results indicated no significant differences in resistance between the collaborative and prescriptive conditions. Analysis of Intervention Rating Profile-15 (IRP-15) (Martens, Witt, Elliott, & Darveaux, 1985) scores between collaborative and prescriptive cases also revealed no significant differences. Analysis of the association between resistance on the Teacher Resistance Code and …

Identifying Self Serving Cognitive Patterns In Behavior Disordered Adolescents Using The How I Think Questionnaire, Lynn M. Veach

Masters Theses

The etiology of behavior disorders in adolescents has previously been attributed to such factors as temperament, genetics, social learning, and irrational thoughts described as self debasing cognitions observed in cognitive behavior research. Working with adult criminals, Yochelson and Somenow (1976) found that none of the prevailing theories were conclusive. They unveiled a second set of irrational cognitions which appeared in adolescents and were self serving in nature. Drs. Gibbs and Barriga (1996), working from the position that this observed set of cognitive distortions were present in behavior disordered adolescents, developed the How I Think Questionnaire (HIT). This study used the …

Symbol Of Youth, Savior From Aging: Dialectical Relationship Between American Attitudes On Vitamin E And Toward Aging, Thalia Rios

Masters Theses

This study explores the dialectical relationship between American attitudes about Vitamin E and American attitudes toward aging. Through an examination of this dialectic, I will demonstrate that Vitamin E's history has contributed greatly to current American discourses on aging. For many Americans, the vitamin symbolizes youth and health because they perceive that its use can prevent or slow the aging process. During the 1990s, many Americans' early negative perceptions of Vitamin E as a quack substance have changed, partly due to recent research advances and studies that have further elucidated its powerful antioxidant function against harmful free radicals. Meanwhile, many …

Incidence Of Myocardial Infarction In Coronary Arteries With Previously Non-Significant Stenosis (<50%) Identified On Angiography, Brandi R. Haik, Amy M. Schreur

Masters Theses

The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of myocardial infarctions in coronary arteries with previously non-significant (<50%) stenosis identified on coronary angiography. The angiograms of ten subjects who had undergone cardiac catheterization prior to their acute myocardial infarction were evaluated. Six of the ten subjects (60%) were found to have an acute myocardial infarction in areas supplied by vessels with <50% stenosis identified on previous angiography. Three of these six subjects had underwent percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) after angiography and one subject undergone coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) prior to the initial angiogram. Four of the ten subjects (40%) included those who had >50% stenosis identified on prior angiography in the infarct related artery. Although this study involved a small sample that did not yield statistically significant results, the data did point to the fact that an acute myocardial infarction can occur in vessels with non-significant (<50%) stenosis.

Relationship Between Number Of Prenatal Visits And Infant Apgar Scores, Sarah Pernie

Masters Theses

This retrospective chart review examined the relationship between the number of prenatal visits and infant apgar scores and compared infant apgar scores among women who received inadequate, intermediate and adequate prenatal care according to Kessner's classification. Quota sampling was used to identify 30 individuals in each category of prenatal care.

The sample (N=90) consisted of women who delivered their babies at a hospital in a large Midwestern city. Neuman's Systems Model provided the framework for the study.

The findings indicate that there is a positive relationship between the number of prenatal visits and infant apgar scores (r=.33, p=.002) and that …

Acute Care Nursing: Are Perceived Work Stressors Different For Nurses Working In Critical Care And Non-Critical?, Mary Jane Rolf

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine, using King’s Conceptual Framework, “stressful” nursing situations that might affect critical care (CC) and non-critical care (NCC) nurses in an acute health care setting. Similarities that existed between the two groups were evaluated using responses to Gray-Toft and Anderson s Nursing Stress Scale (NSS).

The sample of 131 included registered nurses and licensed practical nurses at a 300-bed acute care tertiary hospital in Northern Michigan representing two critical care areas and three non-critical care areas. The NSS, letter of explanation and waiver, and return envelope were sent to participants’ homes. Data indicate …

What Are Female University Students' Perceptions Of Their Healthcare Needs?, Kathleen K. Loose

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to gain a greater awareness of the self-perceived healthcare needs of female university students. An anonymous questionnaire was sent to a random sampling of the total female enrollment at a midwest university. A Healthcare Concern Score was tabulated on 230 completed questionnaires. There were 21 items identified as concerns. Students in the 17-24 year old age bracket had a higher healthcare concern score than individuals in the 24-53 year old age bracket. Orem’s Self-care Deficit Theory (1991) was the conceptual framework for this study. The majority of identified concerns fell within the category of …

Efficacy Of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Evidence Collection: A Northern Michigan Study, Camille J. Griswold

Masters Theses

King’s Theory of Goal Attainment provided the basis for this descriptive, two group comparison study design to determine if sexual assault evidence kits prepared by sexual assault nurse examiners (SANE) would be more complete than evidence kits prepared by non-sexual assault nurse examiners. A convenience sample of 100 evidence kits (41 SANE and 59 non-SANE) were analyzed using the Evidence Kit Audit Tool consisting of 18 questions that reflect the standards for submission of evidence.

The kits submitted by SANEs were significantly (t=5.6, df=71, p<.001) more complete (mean=93%) than those completed by non-SANEs (mean=77%). Corrected Chi-square comparisons of the two groups on whether or not individual items of evidence were complete indicated significant differences in 11 out of 18 items. A higher percentage of SANEs completed each item. Therefore, the hypothesis of sexual assault evidence kits prepared by a SANE will be more complete than sexual assault kits prepared by a non-SANE was supported.

Maternal Identity In Previously Infertile And Never Infertile Women, Christal L. Saffee

Masters Theses

M the United States approximately one in five couples are infertile. Infertility can be a major life crisis to the affected individuals. This study compared the difference in maternal identity in previously infertile women as compared to never infertile women during the postpartum period. The conceptual framework used in this study was symbolic interactionist theory. Maternal identity was measured by Myself as Mother (Walker, 1977) scale in both groups of women. Demographic information was collected on each participant in the study. Previously infertile women's maternal identity scores were significantly lower than those scores of fertile women (t=-8.63 df=51 p=.00). This …

An Examination Of Patient And Nurse Perceptions Of Stressors During The Electrophysiology Study, Donna J. Thurn

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to (a) identify the perceived stressors of patients undergoing an electrophysiology study (EPS) and (b) compare them to the stressors identified by nurses caring for those patients.

A descriptive two group comparative design with a non-probability convenience sample was used. Data were obtained using self report questionnaires. The sample consisted of 25 patients undergoing an EPS and 25 nurse responses. Data analyses included a comparison of the ordering of stressors according to perceived concern by the patient and the nurse. While similar items were identified, there was a difference in the perceived order of …

Does The Method Of Treating Bacterial Vaginosis In Early Pregnancy Affect The Re-Occurrence Rate Near Term?, Karen Taylor

Masters Theses

There is no significant difference in the relationship between oral or vaginal metronidazole and oral clindamycin in the treatment of bacterial vaginosis (BV) in early pregnancy and the re-occurrence rate of BV at 35 to 37 weeks gestation. Treatment of BV in pregnancy has been shown to decrease the preterm delivery rate saving millions of dollars and improving the health of infants. This was a descriptive, correlational study using a retrospective chart review. A constructed checklist was used for collecting data from 186 charts.

Age, parity, and insurance were comparable in each of the three drug groups. The re-occurrence rate …

Therapeutic Touch For Treatment Of Chronic Pain Related To Fibromyalgia, Lois M. Christian

Masters Theses

Therapeutic touch (TT) has been used to treat persons with many different illnesses, especially those with chronic pain. The purpose of this study was to determine if TT reduces fibromyalgia pain.

In this study five TT treatments were given to each of 10 female subjects with fibromyaIgia from 36 to 59 years old using a quasi-experimental single-subject design.

Using a visual Analogue Scale (VAS) to measure the subject's pain before and after each of 5 TT treatments, a repeated measures ANOVA was employed to analyze the data. .A significant difference in pain levels was found between the pre- and post-test …

Perceived Benefits' And Barriers' Effect On Occurrence Of Exercise In Women, Denise K. Petersen

Masters Theses

Perceived benefits and barriers affect exercise occurrence. The purpose of this study was to determine the affect of perceived benefits of and perceived barriers to exercise in women, ages 20-69. A descriptive correlational design was used to determine this relationship. A convenience sample of 61 women were surveyed using the Exercise Benefits/Barriers scale, the activity section of the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile, and demographical data. Data were analyzed using a Pearson's r correlation and an independent t-test. The hypothesis of a decrease in occurrence of exercise as perceived barriers increased and the hypothesis of an increase in occurrence of exercise …

Perceived Job Satisfaction Of Nurses Working With Unlicensed Personnel Versus Nurses Working With Licensed Personnel, Wendy J. Koopman

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived job satisfaction of nurses who worked primarily with unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) compared to the job satisfaction of nurses working primarily with licensed personnel. A descriptive comparative study was employed using a random sample of 250 nurses registered in the state of Michigan. Data were collected using a survey methodology. One hundred three nurses responded. Data analysis included a comparison of job satisfaction of participants with the amount of time spent working with unlicensed personnel. The area of practice and level of education of the participants were also compared among …

Impact Of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (Adhd) On Parents And Children: What Are The Lived Experiences Of A Parent With A Child With Adhd?, Deborah K. Taylor

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to seek a fuller understanding of and to identify and describe the underlying themes of the lived experiences of a parent with a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The Husserelian phenomenological and Giorgi methods of research were utilized in this study. Four meanings emerged: 1) discovery, 2) searching for control, 3) struggling for normalization/overcoming obstacles, and 4) hope. The synthesized structural description of the experience that emerged was described as an emotional experience that progressed in stages that were cyclic and ongoing in nature. The data suggests that chronic sorrow, as it …