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The Effects Of Individual Verbal Training Versus Group Verbal Training Upon Preschooler's Corresponding Snack Selection, John W. Hoedl

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to compare group correspondence training with individual correspondence training. Groups of individually-trained and group-trained preschoolers were observed for their selection of specific snack items (fruit). First, they were trained to say they would select fruit. Then, social reinforcers were used to attempt to reinforce correspondence. Next, tangible reinforcers were contingent upon correspondence. The Group-Trained Tangible Reinforcement Phase proved the most successful and was replicated across the other groups.

The Effects Of Hutchings’ Low Stress Addition And Subtraction Algorithms On The Accuracy And Rate Of Problem Solving With Low Performing Math Students, Stephen Edgar Hadden

Masters Theses

The accuracy and rate of problem solving using Hutchings' low stress addition and subtraction algorithms was investigated using four, fourth-grade low performers. Two multiple baseline designs were used, (one for addition and one for subtraction) where subjects were required to work addition and subtraction problems using the conventional method during Baseline. As Baseline for each subject stabilized, a brief training program was implemented using Hutchings' low stress addition or subtraction algorithm. Following training, subjects were required to work the addition and subtraction problems using the new algorithm. Probes were administered before and after training to measure knowledge of place value …

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 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 …

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

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Improving Staff Performance Through Checklists, Duane Lee Bacon

Masters Theses

Analysis of a checklist system suggested that it may be a useful method of improving staff performance and that three features were important: task definitions, recording responses on checklists, and periodic supervisor review. A checklist system incorporating these features was developed for an administrative staff in a large instructional system. A multiple baseline design and one reversal were used with three small groups of front-line staff, whose task completion was determined by permanent products left by the tasks. The percent of tasks completed improved by 28.8% when the checklist system was in effect. This study indicates that checklists may be …

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 …

Stress Relative To The Onset Of Multiple Sclerosis Exacerbations, Charlene A. Horgen

Masters Theses

Twelve Multiple Sclerosis (MS) participants recorded weekly on standardized forms, Life Change Units (LCU) and a Neurological Examination Checklist (NE), to determine if a relationship existed between stress and the onset of MS exacerbations. Dicotomizing the LCU values and contrasting these values with the corresponding NE scores, resulted in non-significance using a t-test. Non-significance was found when contrasting dicotomized NE scores and corresponding LCU values. No relationship was indicated when individual subject comparisons of weekly LCU-NE and LCU-NE with one week lag scores were correlated.

The Effects Of Self-Management Training On Academic Performance, Mark R. Dean

Masters Theses

Two studies evaluated the effect of a self-management training program on students' academic performance. In Experiment 1, nine students with low academic scores received an instructional package providing training in self-monitoring, self-recording, and several environmental management techniques designed to increase the duration of studying for quizzes. The students had a median quiz score of low "C" before training and a median quiz score of "B" following training. Follow-up measures indicated that the majority of students were continuing to use these self-management techniques as part of their everyday activities. In Experiment 2, three components of the self-management program were individually evaluated. …

Completing Long-Term Undergraduate Projects: Some Critical Variables, Timothy K. Zoia

Masters Theses

Completion of long-term academic projects involves large amounts of behavior over long periods of time. Steady rates of task completion may be difficult. This study is concerned with the completion of long-term projects by undergraduates who have received a prestigious university scholarship. Project completion and hours worked were correlated with the amount of supervision that the students received. The correlation between frequent supervisory meetings and completing project on time was significant (r=.70; df=1; P<.001). Suggestions for maintaining steady student performance are offered.

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 …

Self-Injurious Behavior: Evaluations Of Controlling Variables And Interventions, Scott Nelson Schrum

Masters Theses

A nested multi-element within a multiple baseline design was used to evaluate potential controlling variables for the self-injurious behavior (SIB) of two severely retarded seventeen-year-old boys. Both subjects had extended histories of SIB which were somewhat unresponsive to prior behavioral programming. For each subject, four variables, attention, escape from a task, sensory stimulation, and mild punishment were evaluated. Results indicated that Subject 1's SIB was controlled by the response produced stimulation. A "package" intervention which included sensory attenuation and punishment procedures was evaluated with Subject 1 and shown to significantly suppress head hitting. A controlling variable was not identified for …

Economic Aid As An Instrument Of Soviet Foreign Policy: The Case Of Ghana 1957-1966, Patricia Masilo Hoeane

Masters Theses

This study examines the role of aid in Soviet policy toward Ghana during the Nkrumah era. Since aid is seen as a means to counter Western and Chinese influence, the paper seeks to establish the extent to which Soviet foreign policy met its goals in Ghana. It also examines the actions of other nations which had vested interests that ran counter to Soviet aspirations. An argument is made that in so far as Soviet aid was used as a response to Western influence it was an inadequate instrument of policy due to its insignificant quantity. In so far as it …

The Effects Of Glucocorticoids On Gluconeogenesis In Diabetic And Normal Chinese Hamsters, Charles James Woody

Masters Theses

The objective of this study was to determine whether diabetic Chinese Hamsters maintained elevated endogenous cortisol concentrations and whether the previously reported elevation in gluconeogenesis in these diabetic animals was correlated with these cortisol concentrations.

It was found that nonketotic diabetic Chinese Hamsters maintained plasma cortisol concentrations similar to those of controls for the morning and evening time periods examined. Their rate of gluconeogenesis and absorption of injected pyruvate is much greater than that of controls in the morning. Furthermore, adrenalectomy increases gluconeogenesis and pyruvate absorption in both diabetics and normals and alleviates the difference seen in these parameters in …

An Activity Perspective Of Alcohol Consumption And Problem Drinking Among Older Adults In Michigan, Gerald M. Burns

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

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 …

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 …

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 …

The Paleoethnobotany Of The Upper Mississippi Component At The Elam Site, A Seasonal Encampment On The Lower Kalamazoo River, Kathryn E. Parachini

Masters Theses

Carbonized floral remains from the Elam site (20AE195) located on the Kalamazoo River in Allegan County, Michigan are identified and analyzed in terms of the local Upper Mississippian subsistence system. The function of Elam as a specialized activity locus in the seasonal round of a late prehistoric people is examined. Interpretations of the botanical data permit hypothetical reconstruction of vegetation and natural ecosystems in the site vicinity as they were prior to Euro-American contact. A warm weather seasonal re-occupation of several months duration is indicated, with intensive exploitation of several plant and animal resources abundant in the riverine and marsh …

A Comparison Of Concurrent And Removed Component Procedures For Teaching Toothbrushing Skills To Preschoolers, Timothy Ian Mckinley

Masters Theses

The study compared the use of a removed component program to a concurrent training program in teaching toothbrushing skills to preschool children. The removed component program separated three response components from the terminal toothbrushing response and taught them separately out-of-the mouth before requiring them in the mouth. The concurrent training program required the three response components but did not train them separately in or out of the mouth. The removed component program taught the skills faster than or equal to the concurrent program, with a significantly higher percentage of correct responses.

Addressing Community Awareness Of Self-Help Groups, David Glenn Anderson

Masters Theses

A directory of self-help organizations in Vermilion County, Illinois, was developed as a project to complete the requirements of the Specialist in Education degree through the Department of Education Leadership at Western Michigan University. The intern's training placement was with the Vermilion County Community 708 Mental Health Board, a mental health funding agency.

It was determined that the majority of self-help groups in Vermilion County were not listed in any existing directory and that a directory of self-help groups was needed. A self-help group directory was completed and a spring conference co-sponsored by his Vermilion County Council of Social Agencies …

The Evaluation Of An Incentive Program Used To Recruit Health Club Memberships Through Friend Referrals, Michael D. Bowles

Masters Theses

This study evaluated an incentive program used to recruit memberships through friend referrals in a health club. A multiple-baseline design was used to compare the relative number of referrals made per person in the incentive conditions to the number made in the no-incentive conditions. In the first incentive condition for the two groups involved, the changes in the mean number of referrals per person dropped from .317 and .295 to .129 and .029 under the no-incentive conditions and back up to .291 and .297 under the second incentive condition. In looking at the cost and revenues attributable to this incentive …

Elite Perspectives And Predictive Potential: Park In Korea 1963-1972, Brian Borlas

Masters Theses

This study is concerned with the analysis of suppressive control policies in a centralized and monocratic political system. As the central elite figure in the Republic of Korea from 1961 until 1979, Park Chung-hee directed the growth of a political system which continually reinforced his own personal power. Park's reactions to challenges and crises led him to a policy of systemic manipulation and increased suppression of personal freedoms.

The existence of a large body of writing and speeches by Park makes it possible to examine the development of his personal philosophy as well as providing the basis for a directional …

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 …

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 …

A Confusion Matrix Intelligibility Testing Procedure For Preschool Children, Jane C. Coe-Kruse

Masters Theses

This study was conducted to develop and examine a procedure for testing and analyzing the speech intelligibility of preschool children through the use of a phonetically balanced pictured word list, confusion matrices, and computer analysis. Four subjects and 15 listeners were used to obtain data on perception of sound production. The results indicate that use of this procedure differentiates varying speech intelligibilities and allows for effective analysis of sound production parameters as they pertain to speech intelligibility.

Grade Point Averages And Fraternity Pledging, Janice Lynel Rambo

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Female Figure Study, Jason F. Rockhold

Masters Theses

This graduate thesis deals with my feelings and interpretation of the nude female figure in my drawings, paintings, and sculpture pieces; as well as the representations of other artists. The unique aspect about this special object is the broad range of interest it has created through the years. Since the female figure has such great versatility it can be viewed from a realistic portrayal as well as from a complete abstraction, and still be creatively effective.

My intentions in this paper are to discuss other artists and my own work in relation to the female figure. The main portion of …