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An Ergonomic Training Program For Manual Handling Tasks, Akhilesh Agrawal

Masters Theses

The objective of this study was to test whether or not muscular endurance of individuals engaged in industrial manual handling tasks can be improved through a short and intensive training program. This investigation also involved the study of the effect of muscular endurance training program on muscular strength.

The study revealed that, over a six-week period, the muscular endurance can be improved significantly. After sixteen sessions of training, the endurance time increased over 500% for manual materials handling tasks and over 1200% for upper extremity manual handling tasks. The endurance training program, however, did not increase both static and dynamic …

Psychophysiological Assessment Of Panic Disorder, Kent A. Koehn

Masters Theses

This study compared physiological and psychological measures between 9 subjects meeting the DSM-III-R criteria for panic disorder (PD) and 9 control subjects to identify psychophysiological differences that might be relevant to the etiology and maintenance of panic attacks. The subjects were assessed through a number of self-report measures and across three laboratory sessions involving five experimental conditions: baseline, role play, relaxation, mental arithmetic, and cold pressor. We measured electrodermal (EDG) and electro-myographic activity (EMG), heart rate (HR), and blood volume pulse (BVP) in terms of absolute values, reactivity, and habituation. Both groups were also assessed in their ability to accurately …

Reliability And Validity Of The Body Mechanics Obstacle Course Evaluation, Louise Sinclair-Eastman

Masters Theses

A review of the literature suggests that the way in which an individual performs activities, or body mechanics, can affect the amount of stress placed on the low back. Several clinical programs treat patients with low back pain by teaching proper body mechanics. Although body mechanics obstacle course evaluations are used by occupational therapists to assess patients, there has been no published information regarding the reliability and validity of these evaluations. The purpose of this study was to establish the validity and reliability of one version, the Body Mechanics Obstacle Course (BMOC).

Content validity was established by reviewing the literature …

The Use Of Musical Wind Instruments As An Expiratory Therapy With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients, Ellen R. Griggs Drane

Masters Theses

The use of musical wind instruments as an expiratory therapy with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients was compared to the traditional inspiratory treatment of the Inspiratory Muscle Trainer (IMT) during a twelve week pre - posttest study. Sixteen subjects, attending an out patient respiratory rehabilitation program, were randomly assigned to either the experimental group, receiving musical wind instruments, or the control group, receiving the IMT.

Measures for the study were: Forced Expiratory Volume in one second (FEV1) and Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) as measured by the Pulmonary Function Test; physical endurance measured by the Twelve Minute Walk Endurance Test; …

A Comparison Of Maximal And Submaximal Heart Rate And Oxygen Uptake In Combined Arm And Leg Bicycling And Rowing, Victoria L. Asaro

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Smoking Cessation In Relapsed Smokers: A Competing Schedules Approach, Catherine E. Ellis

Masters Theses

Recent research in cigarette smoking reveals that social support and reinforcing alternative behaviors to smoking may be instrumental for sustained abstinence. This study examined the efficacy of these approaches with a group of relapsed smokers. Subjects were fifteen male and female Southwestern Michigan residents between the ages of 22-48. Both the treatment and control group attended two initial smoke-stopping sessions. The independent variable was a relapse-prevention package administered to the treatment group over the third through seventh sessions. Dependent variables were Carbon Monoxide (CO) levels, Saliva Thiocyanate (SCN) levels, and the daily number of cigarettes smoked. A two-way analysis of …

Rating Of Perceived Exertion Of Four Swimming Strokes At A Constant Intensity, Betty Lou Hall

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Cyanogenesis In The Euphorbiaceae, Lucinda L. Horton

Masters Theses

Fresh samples of nine species included in the family Euphorbiaceae, Acalypha qracilens, Acalypha ostryaefolia, Acalypha rhomboidea, Acalypha virginica, Chamaesyce maculata, Chamaesyce supina, Cnidoscolus stimulosus, Euphorbia corollata, and Poinsettia dentata, were tested for the production of cyanide using the Feigl-Anger technique. Two of these taxa were tested for polymorphism of cyanogenesis by repeated testing of the same individuals within a population. Two of these nine species, Acalypha ostryaefolia and Cnidoscolus stimulosis, gave positive results, although not every individual tested was positive. One of the species tested for polymorphism, Acalypha ostryaefolia, …

A Survey Of Fifth And Sixth Grade Parents At Jefferson Elementary School, Charleston, Illinois, James M. Louthan

Masters Theses

The purpose of this field study was to survey parents/guardians of fifth and sixth grade students concerning their opinions of programs, practices and procedures used at Jefferson Elementary School in Charleston, Illinois. An instrument was designed and given to students to take home to be completed by their parents/guardians and returned to school via the student. Results of the survey indicated that, in general, most parents were satisfied with the programs, practices and procedures except for the schoolwide discipline program, certain curricular offerings (handwriting, math and physical education) and the amount of homework assigned. Opinions of the parents surveyed will …

An Analysis Of The Effectiveness Of The Dual Principal As An Instructional Leader, Alan L. Jones

Masters Theses

This field experience investigated the effects of assigning multiple buildings to one principal. This study investigated the perceptions of the dual principals' effectiveness as instructional leaders and the impact of the dual principalship on job functions. In 1985 the state of Illinois passed school reform legislation stating that 51 percent of an administrators' time must be dedicated to instructional leadership. By developing a survey instrument to collect data from principals in Illinois serving in the capicity of multiple building principals information containing demographics of the districts, buildings, principals and perceptions of principals was tabulated. Even though the Illinois school reform …

Exploration Of Alternative Methods Of Providing Quality Educational Programs In Five Small Illinois Rural School Districts, Odus T. Cheek

Masters Theses

This study explored alternative methods that might be used by five selected small Illinois rural school districts to provide quality educational programs. Many Illinois school districts are facing problems that are unique to today's educational setting. Declining enrollments and decreasing farm land assessments along with small increases in state aid have compounded the problems of school districts. School board members must be aware of the condition of the school districts and what warning signs show impending problems. This study explored the enrollment projections, financial conditions and the instructional setting of five Shelby County Illinois school districts. Then options available to …

A Study Of The Administrative Agent's Role Of The Regional Superintendent Of Schools In Illinois, John E. Mcnary

Masters Theses

This work contains a study of the administrative agent's role of the Regional Superintendent of Schools in Illinois. The fifty-seven Educational Service Regions (E.S.R.s) in Illinois were surveyed to determine the number of superintendents acting as an administrative agent for a program, the educational experience possessed by each superintendent, the types of services being offered, the total number of dollars that become the responsibility of the administrative agent, the total number of jobs created, the governance structure, and the benefits and detriments of the role as reported by the superintendents. The data gathered by the survey was tabulated and analyzed …

Chaucer's Troilus And Shakespeare's Troilus: A Comparison Of Their Declines, Laura Devon Flesor

Masters Theses

Only in the last ten years have critics worked to establish a more than superficial link between Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde and Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida. Part of the problem in this area of study was that scholars had ignored textual evidence proving that Shakespeare’s main source was Chaucer’s great poem. Current source-studies, outlined in the opening pages of this thesis, validate comparative treatments of the two texts.

This thesis steps beyond the issue of indebtedness into the realm of characterization, particularly the elements of Chaucer’s characterization of Troilus that Shakespeare chose to present to his Elizabethan audience and …

Mainlining, Philip L. Simpson

Masters Theses

Mainlining is a collection of six original stories and a prose foreword. The six stories, each of which can stand on its own but when read together form a unified whole, divide into two sections. The first section introduces three main characters, and the second section details the various fortunes (and misfortunes) of these three main characters and additionally introduces a wide range of secondary characters. When analyzed as a group, these characters provide some insight into the collective experiences and emotions of the people living in Mainlining's fictional community of Lincoln.

Lincoln is a small city bearing more …

Communication And Aging: Perceptions Of Family And Friend Interaction On Self Reported Life Satisfaction Among Selected Residents Of Three Nursing Homes, Patricia J. Fetzner

Masters Theses

The study of communication and aging provides great potential for enriching the lives of the elderly. Of course this should be of great interest to each of us as we are all inevitably aging. One rapidly growing area in communication research deals with how communication affects the life satisfaction of the elderly. Of particular interest is the attitudinal effect of family and friend interaction.

Early research dealing with the elderly focused on two theories: 1. Activity theory, which is the idea that social activity is essential to an older person's sense of well being and; 2. Disengagement theory, which suggests …

An Analysis Of The Impacts Of The Illinois Board Of Higher Education' S Admission Requirements On Selected High Schools In East Central Illinois, Stephen C. Selle

Masters Theses

The Illinois Board of Higher Education in 1985 instituted mandatory subject admission requirements for all state universities beginning in the year 1990. Subsequent legislative action by the Illinois General Assembly has moved these requirements back to 1993. This field experience investigated the possible impacts of these requirements on rural schools of under 500 students in east central Illinois. A cover letter explaining the purpose of the study and a two page questionnaire were mailed to twenty- one schools. Sixteen schools in the counties of Vermillion, Ford, Iroquois, Kankakee, and Will responded and were the focus of the study. Enrollment patterns …

Needs Of Families Of Adult Cardiac Surgery Patients During The Intensive Care Stay, Michael L. Williams

Masters Theses

The purposes of this research were to identify needs of family of adult cardiac surgery patients during the intensive care stay, by whom these needs were met, and to identify demographic variables that were associated with identified family needs. Thirty-one families of adult cardiac surgery patients ranked 45 need statements using the Critical Care Family Needs Inventory. The need to have questions answered honestly was identified as the most important need by the families in this study. Nurses were identified as the person who met most of the needs of the families. Some significant differences in needs between spouses and …

Showering In Labor: An Effective Pain Management Alternative, Kathleen A. Austin

Masters Theses

Health care professionals continue to be concerned about the relief of pain and anxiety associated with childbirth. There are recent anecdotal reports in the literature which describe showering as an effective nonpharmaceutical alternative for labor pain management. The effectiveness of showering can most likely be explained physiologically by the "gate control" theory of pain.; The purpose of this descriptive-correlational study was to examine the labor patient's perception of the effectiveness of showering as a comfort measure and the relationship between showering in labor and outcome variables such as analgesia use, anesthesia use, and childbirth satisfaction. After approval by appropriate human …

Staff Nurse Identification Of Nursing Diagnosis From A Written Case Study, Sharon Etheridge

Masters Theses

A descriptive study was conducted to determine how well medical-surgical and critical care staff nurses identified the same nursing diagnoses and defining characteristics from a written case study. A convenience sample of 83 staff nurses from four acute care institutions participated in the study.; Of the total diagnostic statements made, 42.9% were the same as those identified by experts in the case study. Three nurses (3.6%) correctly identified all five nursing diagnoses in the written case study. An additional seven (8.4%) nurses correctly identified four of the nursing diagnoses. The demographic characteristics of these nurses were varied. No statistical relationship …

Perceptions Of Registered Nurses Toward Two Patient Classification Systems, Sarah J. Follen

Masters Theses

Patient classification systems provide a means of delineating nursing activities that a patient requires. The majority of patient classification systems consist primarily of delegated services or functional tasks. Two other areas of nursing care, independent and interdependent services, are not a part of most workload measurement systems.; Two patient classification systems were developed for this study. One was designed using primarily delegated services, and the second designed according to the Clinical Practice Model of Nursing (Wesorick, 1988) and consisted of independent, interdependent, and delegated services. The researcher studied how registered nurses perceived each instrument: how acceptable was each instrument to …

Cardiac Rehabilitation: Client's Perceived Adequacy Of Education Related To Adjustments Following Myocardial Infarction, Mary E. Flikkema

Masters Theses

Heart disease significantly impacts the lifestyles of clients. Psychosocial difficulties such as anxiety, depression, marital and family conflict are documented in the literature. Various methods and aspects of adjustment have been studied to assist the client with adaptation to changes in exercise, diet, weight reduction and smoking.; This descriptive study used a correlational design to investigate the relationship between the client's perceived adequacy of cardiac rehabilitative education with postdischarge fears and adjustments. Thirty clients participating in a cardiac rehabilitation program completed a self report questionnaire regarding level of preparedness in the areas of exercise, diet, work/activity, sexual functioning, and social …

Facilitating The Nursing Process For The Nursing Diagnosis "Alteration In Thought Processes", Meridell Veen

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine if nurses who were given a tool to facilitate assessment of thought processes would collect more assessment data, diagnose "alteration in thought processes" more frequently, and include a care plan for this diagnosis more often. A quasi-experimental pre-treatment/post-treatment design was used. An inservice program about the Level of Cognitive Function Scale (LOCF) was the treatment.; Of the 40 randomly selected subjects from the 199 adult critical care nurses at a metropolitan hospital, 20 completed the study with pre-treatment and post-treatment data. Data were collected by scoring patient assessment/care plans pre-treatment and 4 …

Relationship Between Actual And Perceived Physical Fitness In College Students, Barbara A. Barry

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Ethnobotany Of Sweet Flag, Acorus Calamus L., Timothy J. Motley

Masters Theses

One of the more interesting and attractive components of aquatic ecosystems is sweet flag, Acorus calamus L., a herbaceous perennial belonging to the Araceae, a primarily tropical family. Sweet flag is one of the few extratropical members.

The primary purpose of this work is to present a compilation of the various traditional and contemporary uses of sweet flag by various cultures.

Information regarding the known ethnobotanical and economic uses of the rhizome and aromatic essential oil as a flavoring agent is given, as well as its medicinal uses and value as an insecticide. In addition, a discussion of the …

Effects Of New Science Textbooks On Selected Sixth And Eighth Grade Students At Crestwood Elementary School, Paris, Illinois, David R. Pruim

Masters Theses

This paper describes the results of a six-month field study to determine the effects of a newly adopted and implemented junior-high level science textbook series on student achievement. This study took place in the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade science classrooms of Crestwood Elementary School, Paris, Illinois, from December 1988, until May of 1989. This study compared the science achievement of two groups of students in both their sixth and eighth grade years. The Normal Curve Equivalents or NCE's and letter grades as given by the junior-high level science teachers at Crestwood, were analyzed using non-independent t tests. Descriptive data …

The Relationship Of School Enrollment Size With Academic Achievement In Secondary Schools, Randy B. Steinkamp

Masters Theses

This investigation was designed to examine the relationship between school enrollment size and academic achievement. Fourteen schools in the East-Central region of Illinois formed the focus of this study. The schools were grouped according to the number of enrolled students: small-size (less than 300); mid-size (300-799); and large-size (over 800). Data for the study were obtained from the 1987 School Report Cards. Report Cards are documents that were completed by schools in the state of Illinois to review the status of their educational programs.

Data from the Report Cards included measures of academic achievement and also descriptive data on the …

The Financial Effects Of Farmland Reassessment On Rural Schools In East Central Illinois, Donald D. Morgan

Masters Theses

This field experience investigated the effects of farmland reassessment on nineteen rural schools in Illinois. These schools received fifty percent or more of their Equalized Assessed Valuation (EAV) from farmland assessment. The study demonstrated the effects of the Farmland Assessment Act of 1981 on rural schools and the perceptions of the superintendents of those schools as to the major effects of the law. The study compares data from the year before the Farmland Assessment Act of 1981 with the data for the latest year available. An analysis of the EAV for every school in the study indicated that farmland reassessment …

Effects Of Methylxanthines On Newborn Rat Respiration, Craig Gatto

Masters Theses

Methylxanthines (MX), such as theophylline, are commonly used in the treatment of recurrent apnea due to their stimulant effects on the respiratory center. Structure-activity studies have demonstrated that substitution of alkyl groups on the 3-position of the xanthine nucleus results in increased bronchodilator potency, while substitution on the 1-position is important for adenosine antagonism and CNS stimulation. Three different alkylxanthines were studied to determine the structural requirements for respiratory stimulation. Respiratory rates and volumes were determined in 4- to 7-day-old rats using a volume displacement body plethysmograph. Measurements were made before and at 5 minute intervals after subcutaneous (s.c.) injection …

Muscle Stress And The Use Of Body Mechanics, Kathleen Ann Keeler

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the amount of lower back muscle stress produced during lifting tasks, using variations in weight and postures. Electromyographic activity of the erector spinae muscles at the L4-5 vertebral level was measured.

Thirty healthy female subjects participated in the study. Each subject lifted loads of two given weights using both the stooped and squat lifting postures. Electromyographic activity was recorded and averaged throughout each lift.

Results indicated that increased weight resulted in increased stress on the erector spinae muscles, regardless of posture. The squat lifting posture was found to be more stressful on …

Angelman's Syndrome Case Study And Appropriate Educational Curriculum, Allyson Lesly Hatt

Masters Theses

The purpose of this professional paper is to provide Special Educators with information on a presumably rare type of Mental and Physical Retardation that has been diagnosed as Angelman's Syndrome.

In order to assist this presentation, a previously unpublished case study of a nineteen year and four month old female who has been categorized as having Angelman's Syndrome, will be discussed. This case study will aid in the understanding of the syndrome.

Secondary to informing, it is the author's goal to provide teachers of special education with practical lesson curriculum that will assist the teachers who have a student with …