Digital Commons Network^™

The Role Of Dairy Products In The Calcium Intake Of Suburban Adolescents, Simie Bredeweg-Dejager

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine consumption of dairy products by suburban adolescents. This was a secondary analysis of data from a questionnaire administered in late fall of 2003. There were 255 adolescents who completed the questionnaire. Data were examined to estimate calcium intake from dairy products.

There was a significant difference in the amount of calcium adolescents consume from cheese, compared to that supplied by milk (t = -8.502, p = .000). Further analyzing by gender, there was a significant difference between boys and girls intake of milk and cheese. No significant difference was found between boys …

Responses Of Flight Nurses To Catastrophic Events, Gene L. Olsen

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine for the presence of symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a sample of flight nurses. Also examined were the coping mechanisms used by the sample to ameliorate the stressors associated with performing the role of the flight nurse, as well as the relationship between the symptoms and the coping mechanisms identified by the sample. Data were collected by questionnaires sent to a randomly selected national sample of 350 flight nurses who belong to the Air and Surface Transport Nurses Association.

Of the 101 participants, intrusion was found to be most …

The Lesbian Connection: The Negotiation Of Individualism In A Unique Community, Emily E. Lenning

Masters Theses

This research explores the issue of how individualism is situated within and expressed through a progressive, alternative, and constitutive community. The Lesbian Connection, a lesbian owned and operated publication, will be considered as it relates to the individual-focused dialogue that recent radical theorists claim to be of great importance to the formation of "ideal" communities. Content analysis will be used to investigate how lesbians choose to shape their own community identity while maintaining a sense of personal individualism. Additional attention will be afforded to how lesbians use interaction through text to shape community norms and identify common goals.

Dietary Exposure To Aroclor 1254 Impairs Radial Arm Maze Acquisition And Performance In Rats, Danielle M. Paris-Larson

Masters Theses

Exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) is suspected to produce long lasting cognitive deficits in children and adults. This study assessed the effects of dietary exposure to a commercial mixture of PCBs on spatial learning and memory in Fisher 344 rats. Aroclor 1254 (0, 10, 50 ppm) was administered for 28 consecutive days in the daily diet. Seven days after the last dietary exposure, acquisition training began in an eight-arm radial maze. Following 28 days of acquisition training, "working" memory was assessed using a delayed win/shift procedure. Each delay (20 minutes, 2 hours, and 6 hours) was examined on three consecutive …

Visual-Motor Integration Skills Impact On Handwriting, Amber M. Kapnick

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to evaluate if a visual-motor integration intervention improved handwriting legibility and visual-motor integration in first grade students as measured by the Minnesota Handwriting Test (MHT) and the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (VMI). Intervention was based on sensory-motor learning theories. Sixty-six children from four first grade classrooms in a suburban elementary school were randomly assigned to an intervention or a control condition. The intervention group received eight weeks of visual-motor integration training twice a week for 30 minute sessions. The control group received regular academic instruction. All children were tested on the Minnesota Handwriting …

Dialectics In Mother-Child Relationships Among First-Generation Asian Indian Women In The United States, Chitra Akkoor

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of Asian Indian immigrant women raising children in the U.S. as value contradictions between Asian Indian culture and U.S. culture. Relational dialectics in parent-child relationships among Asian Indian immigrant women and their children was also explored using the dialectcial perspective. Participants for the study were 20 Asian Indian women chosen randomly from the Kalamazoo-Battle Creek (MI) AI community who participated in one-one-interviews. Results of the study showed that participants experienced value contradictions in child-rearing. All four contradictions addressed in research on relational dialectics were also discovered in the context of …

A Comparison Of The Shopping Preferences Of College Age Apparel Shoppers In Turkey And The United States, William C. Perrine

Masters Theses

This study compared the store attribute preferences of college-age apparel shoppers in Turkey with those of their United States counterparts. The American respondents were selected from a convenience sample of students from a Midwestern university. The Turkish respondents consisted of a convenience sample of undergraduate and graduate students from two urban universities. Ninety-six surveys were given in Turkey and 113 were given in the United States to currently enrolled female and male undergraduate and graduate students between the ages of 17 and 51, yielding 204 usable surveys at a 97 percent response rate. Twenty-one shopping preferences were included in the …

Perceived Benefits Of And Barriers To Continuing Education Among Hospital Employed Registered Nurses, Jacqueline A. Dean

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to expand on the body of knowledge related to the reasons far participation and non-participation in continuing education (CE). The study examined the relationship between Registered Nurses (RNs) perceived benefits of and perceived barriers to CE and their reported participation in CE programs. The Health Belief Model is the theoretical framework utilized for this study, with the variables of perceived benefits and perceived barriers in particular. This was a secondary analysis of data collected in a descriptive correlational study where RNs employed in two acute care hospitals in the Midwest were surveyed. Descriptive statistics …

The Understanding And Utilization Of Occupational Therapy Services By Medical Doctors In Acute Hospital Settings, Naina Jamani

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine what medical doctors working in the Canadian healthcare system know about occupational therapy, and if this understanding of occupational therapy is deemed valuable by the rate of referrals generated by these practitioners. This study will examine the relationship between physician's knowledge level and referrals to occupational therapy. The study instrument was a survey that consisted of eight questions, seven multiple choice and one open-ended response. The study took approximately five minutes to complete. A total of forty surveys were distributed at three different acute hospital settings. A total of fourteen or thirty-five …

Nutrition Education For Persons With Disabilities, Jada A. Miller

Masters Theses

This study provides descriptive information about the dietary knowledge and intake of community-based young adults who have been diagnosed with a number of disabilities. A nutrition education curriculum was implemented for the Experimental group (N=9) and at a later date for the Delayed Intervention group (N=9). Results indicated that the three-week nutrition education curriculum produced moderate improvement in participants' nutritional knowledge and moderate improvement in nutritional value of foods chosen from a menu. However, the intervention proved to have a negligible effect on the nutritional value of foods consumed within this population of individuals.

Based on the results of this …

Athletic Amenorrhea: Prevalence And Awareness Among Female Athletes At Western Michigan University, Michele R. Chupurdia

Masters Theses

Women who participate in competitive sports are under enormous pressure to maintain an extremely low body weight through diet and exercise. While exercise is viewed as widely beneficial to women of all ages, the pressure to succeed in sports by achieving or maintaining an unrealistically low body weight through food restriction and high intensity training may lead some women to develop eating disorders, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis.

The research conducted for this thesis and presented here investigates female college athletes (18-24 years) from Western Michigan University, a Division I school, who are undergoing strenuous training. The goal of this study is …

The Effects Of On-The-Spot Observations In A Behavioral Safety Application, Sigurdur Oli Sigurdsson

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a package intervention on critical safety behaviors and conditions in a food and drinking industry setting. The intervention involved training a sub sample of employees to conduct safety observations, providing all employees with safety information, and posting weekly graphic safety feedback on six safety-related variables based on employee observations. A multiple baseline design across departments was used to assess the effects of the interventions in two dining services kitchens on the campus of a midwestem university. Overall, the intervention implemented in this study had mixed effects on safety behavior, …

An Evaluation Of City Hall Departmental Complaints In Kalamazoo, Michigan, 1993 And 1994, Monique R. Moore

Masters Theses

My research will evaluate the citizen complaints made to various departments in the Kalamazoo, Michigan's City Hall for the years of 1993 and 1994. The complaints were compiled on a monthly basis by the Citizen Action Center for the various departments. The number and types of complaints received and significant differences in the frequency and content of complaints or patterns of change from one year to the other were analyzed.

There was a consistent pattern in the content or types of complaints concerning the Public Works department from 1993 to 1994, but no consistent pattern for any of the other …

Superimposition And Withdrawal Of Tangible Consequences As A Treatment For Automatically Reinforced Problem Behaviors, Tina M. Sidener

Masters Theses

Tangible superimposition and withdrawal is a reductive procedure in which a new stimulus is delivered following behavior already maintained by a different controlling stimulus. The new stimulus is then removed in an attempt to reduce behavior. The current investigation sought to extend previous research on this procedure by evaluating its efficacy and durability as a treatment for stereotypy in three children diagnosed with autism. First, automatic reinforcement functions for stereotypic behaviors were identified via functional analyses. Next, for two participants, tangible items were delivered contingent upon stereotypy and then subsequently withdrawn. When the superimposition procedure proved ineffective, environmental enrichment was …

Measuring Spelling Growth Over Time In Elementary Writing Samples, Pamela M. Ansell

Masters Theses

Developmental spelling stage theories have been proposed and disputed for 30 years. The current study used Gentry's (1982) model to assign category ratings to narrative writing samples produced by 32 students over two years to observe developmental growth over time. In addition, quantitative measures were obtained from the samples, including an index of control (Laminack & Wood, 1996) and a percentage correct. Analyses were also used to test the effectiveness of using a writing lab approach (Nelson, Bahr & Van Meter, 2004) on spelling development. During the last half of second grade, all 32 students received intervention guided by the …

Low Self-Esteem As It Relates To Anxiety And Depression, Joel B. Makowski

Masters Theses

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the relationship between low self-esteem and anxiety and/or depression. Participants were selected based on their subjective experience of having high or low self-esteem. Low self-esteem participants were then selected on the basis of their subjective assessment of attributing anxiety/and or depression to their low self-esteem experience. Two high self-esteem and two low self-esteem participants were interviewed.

High self-esteem participants were found to base their self-worth and respect on an internal locus of evaluation. They did not identify any notable anxiety or depression. Low self-esteem participants were found to base their worth …

The Effect Of Employee Computer Self-Efficacy On Transfer Of Training Following Computer-Based Training, Amy Lynn Trombley

Masters Theses

This study used the Technology Acceptance Model, prior research of self-efficacy, and transfer of training theory, to examine the relationships between employee computer self-efficacy, perceptions of the ease of use of CBT, perceptions of the usefulness of CBT, behavioral intention, and transfer of training, following computer-based training. Eighty-three employees of a large mid-west retail chain participated in this study. A pre-test, measuring existing computer self-efficacy, employee perceptions of the ease of use of general computer-based training, and prior safety knowledge was given to employees prior to the start of a web-based safety training program. A post-test, measuring developed computer self-efficacy, …

Do Caucasian And African American Students Have Different Learning Styles?, Robin J. Black-Vannoy

Masters Theses

This study explored whether African American and Caucasian students have different learning styles. It specifically examined differences in preferred modes of information processing and instruction. Participants in the study completed the Dunn and Dunn Learning Style Inventory and the Kolb Learning Style Inventory. Subsequent analyses revealed that there were no significant differences in how African American and Caucasian students choose to process information for learning. However, there were some significant differences in preferred modes of instruction. African American students were more likely to prefer noisier and warmer learning environments, to snack while learning, and to learn in the late morning. …

Improving Functional Assessment With Computer-Based Data Collection And Analysis Software, Rebecca May

Masters Theses

Many students exhibit behavior problems in the classroom that can negatively affect academic performance and social/emotional functioning if not identified and appropriately accommodated (Sugai, Lewis-Palmer, and Hagan, 1998; Scott, DeSimone, Fowler, and Webb, 2000). In order to combat the increasing number of students with behavior problems, an efficient means of assessing and treating problem behavior is warranted (Nelson and Johnson, 1996). Traditional observation methods are limited in the number of behaviors recordable and elaborateness of data analysis (Sharpe and Koperwas, 2001), and do not lend themselves to direct treatment development (Nelson, Roberts, Bullis, Albers, and Ohland, n.d.). Computer-based data collection …

Low Stress Algorithms For Children With Difficulty In Mathematics, Amanda B. Boyer

Masters Theses

The purpose of this research was to examine the effectiveness of low-stress algorithms with third and fourth grade students who struggle with mathematics. It is important to study mathematics interventions because math is a neglected area of research (Gersten & Chard, 1999). This research examined the effectiveness of low-stress addition and subtraction instruction for low-achieving students compared to a control group of students receiving traditional instruction in the regular classroom. Additionally, half of the students in the experimental group (low-stress) self-monitored the number of problems they correctly completed. Results indicate that low-stress addition did not result in an increased number …

An Examination Of Explanatory Models, Coping Methods, And Help-Seeking Methods Among Individuals With Social Phobia, Brooke Jasmine Dibello

Masters Theses

In this pilot study, explanatory models, coping methods, and help seeking behaviors among individuals with social phobia were explored using in-depth interviews. Participants were ten female college students with probable social phobia. Researchers created a coding manual to investigate the qualitative data by organizing it into categories. Coders were trained to utilize the coding manual, which explored several factors such as name for social anxiety, explanatory models, perceived level of severity, coping methods, and appraisals of coping methods. Contributions of this study are a semi-structured help-seeking interview, coding manual, and rich data. Although the results were inconclusive, this study provides …

Gender And Ethnic Biases In Personality Disorder Diagnostic Criteria, Danna Frantz

Masters Theses

The present study examined gender biases, ethnic biases, and interaction effects within the DSM-IV-TR Clusters A and B Personality Disorder (PD) criteria. One of the principal controversies of the DSM-IV-TR involves the diagnosis of PDs. The diagnostic criteria have been considered to be subjective, making PDs hard to diagnose, yet easy to misdiagnose. In Phase I, examination of Cluster B PDs, there were 89 female and 31 male participants and in Phase II, examination of Cluster A PDs, there were 60 females and 60 males from introductory psychology courses. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire and viewed a PowerPoint presentation depicting …

The Relationship Between College Year And Depressive Symptoms For University Students, Erik Michael Levinson

Masters Theses

The goal of the present study was to examine how gender and grade level relate to depressive symptoms in a sample of university students. Based on previous research, it was expected that students in their first year of college would report more depressive symptoms than nonfreshmen, women would report more depression than men, and that female students in their first year of college would have the highest scores on a depression inventory. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) (Beck, 1979) was completed by 131 freshmen and 114 nonfreshmen at a Midwestern university. The final sample included 188 women and 57 men, …

A Similarity Based Concordance Approach To Word Sense Disambiguation, Ramakrishnan B. Guru

Masters Theses

This study attempts to solve the problem of Word Sense Disambiguation using a combination of statistical, probabilistic and word matching algorithms. These algorithms consider that words and sentences have some hidden similarities and that the polysemous words in any context should be assigned to a sense after each execution of the algorithm. The algorithm was tested with sufficient sample data and the efficiency of the disambiguation performance has proven to increase significantly after the inclusion of the concordance methodology.

Sibling Interaction: Sisters' Use Of Advice Episodes In The Construction Of Relational Identities, Melissa R. Gornick

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine how sisters collaboratively construct advice episodes in naturally-occurring conversation and how they used these advice episodes in their negotiation of relational identities. Thus, two research questions were addressed: 1) How do sisters collaboratively construct advice episodes in naturally occurring conversation, and 2) How do sisters use advice episodes in their negotiation of relational identities. The database for the study consisted of four sister sets who audio taped naturally occurring conversation. Jefferson's (1984b) transcript notation system was used to transcribe sibling conversations which contained advice episodes and the transcripts were analyzed using the …

Distinct Group Differences And Discriminant Validity Of The Adjustment Scales For Children And Adolescents: Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Versus Conduct Disorder, James Richard White

Masters Theses

The present study examined the distinct group differences and discriminant validity of the Adjustment Scales for Children and Adolescents (ASCA; McDermott, Marston, & Stott, 1993). Participants included 37 children in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Thirty children met DISC-IV/DSM-IV criteria for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and 7 met DISC-IV/DSM-IV criteria for Conduct Disorder. Participants were classified based on the results of the DISC-IV parent interview administered by school psychology interns. The teacher completed the ASCA when the student was initially referred. Results of the present study provided further support for the discriminant validity of the ASCA. The results of the MANOVA …

The Impact Of Information Processing On The Rating Of Speeches, Ryan Wyckoff

Masters Theses

This paper takes a look at how information competency, information processing, and receiver apprehension, affect rating behavior when rating speeches. The paper is broken down into two studies. The first study looks at information competency, which is measured by the Information Competency Assessment Instrument, and how it affects rating behavior. The second study looks at information processing, which is broken down into three scales based on the Inventory of Learning Processes then each is analyzed based on rating behavior, and receiver apprehension which is measured using the Receiver Apprehension Test and how these two concepts affect rating behavior. Students were …

An Analysis Of Mentorship In Michigan Police Agencies, Jeffrey G. Swanson

Masters Theses

The purpose of this research is to investigate how newer police officers are familiarized into their agency with respect to the manner in which they were trained and mentored. The concept of mentoring programs has been highly successful in the private and business sectors for many years. Since the concept of formal mentoring programs in law enforcement is largely limited to date, this study incorporates research in several other disciplines, to determine if there may be a corollary regarding law enforcement and other disciplines, and if so, to what degree mentoring exists among patrol officers. A survey was distributed to …

Motivation For Studying Abroad, Wendy M. Buesing

Masters Theses

The motivational factors among students who have completed a study abroad program or who are currently studying abroad were investigated. Several variables were explored including gender, age, major and whether the student was an international student who has studied or is currently studying in the United States from another country or an American student who has studied or is currently studying in another country. Two hypotheses were tested: 1) American students are more likely motivated to study abroad by cultural motives such as sightseeing and gaining awareness about a different culture, and 2) International students are more likely motivated to …

The Individualized Education Plan: Parental Satisfaction And Involvement, Melissa Habing

Masters Theses

Little recent research has examined parents' involvement and satisfaction with their child's Individualized Education Plan (IEP). For the current study, parents of children with special needs were surveyed. Out of 1,000 questionnaires mailed out by an agency that provides support to families who have a child with a disability, 348 parents completed and returned the survey. As a result of the parents' written responses, it was determined that 234 (67%) of the children they reported on were boys and 114 (33%) were girls. The age of the children whose parents completed the questionnaire ranged from two to twenty-two. All eligible …