Digital Commons Network^™

Size And Complexity As Stimulus Characteristics Effecting Choice Behaviors On A Learning Task In Young Children, Kristia A. Stout

Honors Capstones

The study examines the effects of the qualitative factors size and complexity of stimulus objects on preschool and first grade children on a learning task. Choice behavior is looked at with regards to initial choice (with the eyes) and final choice (with the hands). Other variables included in the analysis are long-term novelty and proportion of looks towards the rewarded object as a function of positive (choosing the rewarded object) and negative (choosing the unrewarded) choice outcomes. The results showed that first grade children are better at utilizing stimulus characteristics to aid their choice behavior, and further, that the specific …

Cross-Validation With Learning-Disabled Students Of The Abbreviated Halstead-Reitan Battery For Older Children, Paul G Webb

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The present study attempted to cross-validate a screening battery developed by Reitan and Herring (1985) from the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery for Children. Twenty-eight average (AC) 9-11 year olds were compared to 28 learning disabled (LD) students of similar age and IQ using the Reitan and Herring (1985) screening battery, with the addition of two tactile-perceptual tests--Tactile Finger Recognition (TFR) and Finger-Tip Number Writing Perception (FTWP). The Screening Index score discriminated significantly (p {dollar}<{dollar}.0005) between the LD and AC groups. The mean Screening Index score of the LD group (.23) was over twice as high as the AC group's mean score (.10), with an overall classification rate of 76% (90% for ACs, 62% for LDs). Converted scores (impairment ratings) of the individual measures (7) in the screening battery revealed only three statistically significant differences between the groups (p {dollar}<{dollar}.05); however, only 24% or less of the LD subjects earned converted scores within the impaired range on these three measure suggesting little practical diagnostic differentation between the groups using Selz and Reitan's (1979) impairment levels for the individual measures for LD classification. The tactile-perceptual tests were better discriminators between the groups with all but one statistical comparison reaching significance, both for raw and converted score means. Total Error and Right Hand Error mean scores were the most discriminating measures, and of the two tactile-perceptual tests, FTWP was the better discriminator between groups. The Aphasia Screening Test of the screening battery provided maximum separation between the groups classifying 95% of the subjects overall--100% of the ACs and 90% of the LDs; Results of this study support the use of Reitan and Herring's (1985) screening battery with 9-11 year olds as a screening instrument for disabilities from diagnosed or suspected CNS dysfunction, e.g., learning disability. The screen battery is clearly enhanced for LD screening with the inclusion of both tactile-perceptual measures--TFR and FTWP. The AST appears to offer the greatest diagnostic power for 9-11 year old LDs.

Court-Sponsored Custody Mediation To Prevent Parental Kidnapping: A Disarmament Proposal Comment., Sue T. Bentch

St. Mary's Law Journal

Texas should implement a court-sponsored custody mediation plan to prevent parental kidnapping. Each day, hundreds of parents kidnap their own children. These kidnapped children are often the innocent victims of an escalating custody battle between parents. The magnitude of the parental kidnapping problem has forced Congress and the legislatures of the various states to address its possible solution. Congress and state legislatures implemented the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act, the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act of 1980, state criminal laws, civil laws, and tort suits to address the problem. Unfortunately, these remedies only address the problem after the abduction has occurred. …

Children And The Environment: Work, Play And Learning In Rural Sudan, Cindi Katz

Publications and Research

In agricultural economies, environmental learning and the use of environmental knowledge are central practices of social reproduction. The former is important because it encompasses the acquisition of important vocational skills and knowledge, and the latter because it is often integral to the work of providing or procuring basic needs goods and services. In these societies children learn about the environment--that is, about agriculture, animal husbandry and the use of local resources-- largely in the course of their work and play in a variety of settings. In rural areas of the Third World the transition to capitalist relations of production is …

A Comparison Of Stress Levels And Body Weight In School-Age Children, Melissa Kent

MSN Research Projects

This descriptive study was designed to compare stress levels in school-age children according to weight category. The researcher hypothesized that when third-grade students’ scores on the Kent Stress Measurement Tool for children were compared according to weight category (underweight, appropriate weight, overweight), there would be no signifi­ cant difference. Sixty-four third-grade public school students participated in the study. Height and weight measurements were done, plotted on a growth percentile graph, and a weight category assigned. A researcher-designed question­ naire, the Kent Stress Management Tool for Children, was administered to the students. The one-way ANOVA was used to analyze the scores. …

From Coitus To Commerce: Legal And Social Consequences Of Noncoital Reproduction, Joan Heifetz Hollinger

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This paper argues that there is an urgent need for the creation and clarification of a legal framework within which contemporary efforts to produce or procure children can take place. State legislatures should act now in order to avoid the kind of crisis that confronts Great Britain, where an infant girl, the product of a breached surrogacy contract, has been impounded by a British court. While the court ponders how to determine the legal parentage of this particular child, Parliament considers criminal penalties for those who arrange surrogacy contracts and general regulations to constrain IVF and ET research and practice. …

Introduction, Michael S. Wald

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Virtually everyone agrees that the family is a vital institution. Because of the perceived importance of the family to the state, our society always has tried to regulate both the form and functions of families. Laws prescribe who may form a family, the rights and obligations of family members towards each other, and the substantive and procedural rules for dissolving families.

House Of Judah: The Problem Of Child Abuse And Neglect In Communes And Cults, Gregory M. Gochanour

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note argues that although some modifications were appropriate, state intervention and removal of children, even from a commune or cult, should be handled through examination of each individual parent/child relationship. Part I examines the statutory and case law framework for state intervention and removal of children from the custody of abusive parents in Michigan, and discusses the policies supporting these laws. Part II examines the circumstances present in the House of Judah and notes the state's departures from the statutes and rules. Part III analyzes and evaluates the usefulness and wisdom of these departures. Finally, Part IV briefly proposes …

Beyond State Intervention In The Family: For Baby Jane Doe, Martha Minow

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Newspapers and broadcasters gave major billing to the story. Headlines announced: "The Life or Death Question of Baby Doe;" and "Baby Doe's Parents Call U.S. Action Intimidating." The medical care decisions about this infant born with spina bifida, microcephaly, and other severe disabilities, not only attracted mass media attention, but also led to both state and federal court proceedings. Legislative hearings raised the issue of her care. Many commentators debated what should happen to this infant of Long Island parents. This article instead will ask: what was all the attention about?; why are cases like this so riveting?; and might …

Exclusion Of Families With Children From Housing, George Palmer Schober

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note attempts to resolve the most significant problems raised by discrimination against children in housing. Part I briefly analyzes the prevalence of child exclusion in different types of housing. It also provides a statistical analysis of the rental housing market to enable the reader to gauge the extent of the problem in one type of housing. Part II discusses policy arguments supporting both those who seek to exclude children and those who advocate government policies forbidding exclusion. Part III then examines the various approaches that states have adopted in this area, as well as federal implications of the issue. …

The Next Step: Definition, Generalization, And Theory In American Family Law, Carl E. Schneider

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The Journal of Law Reform's Symposium on Family Law comes opportunely, in legal scholarship's spring of hope, its winter of despair, at a time when we have everything before us, when we have nothing before us. As is natural in such an epoch, reflection about legal scholarship, about its history, purposes, and methods, has flourished. This Symposium invites us to extend that reflection to family law, and this essay attempts, tentatively and speculatively, to accept the invitation.

A Methodology For The Study Of Children's Environmental Knowledge In Other Cultures, Cindi Katz

Publications and Research

This paper presents a methodology which I used to study the content and acquisition of children's environmental knowledge as central to the social reproduction of a rural agricultural economy in the Sudan. My approach was forged drawing on methods of geography, linguistics and anthropology to provide information on (1) how children learn to interact productively with their environment, (2) the nature of their interactions and (3) their knowledge of environmental processes and resources. In this paper I will describe first the methodology adopted including participant observation, ethnosemantic interviews, child-led walks, environmental modeling and "geo-dramas". I will then discuss its use …

The Development And Motivational Function Of Expectations, Rebecca Bardwell

College of Education Faculty Research and Publications

Researchers have assessed either the development of expectations or the motivational function of expectations, and often have attempted to relate their findings to the other half of the expectation - performance relationship. This study was designed to investigate simultaneously the development of and the motivational function of expectations. Fourth, sixth, and eighth grade students studied a word learning task and were tested on 3 consecutive days. Expectancy statements were made by half the subjects. Results concerning the development of expectations seemingly contradict previous research, but the contradiction was explained in terms of complexity of the task. Expectations were found to …

The Establishment Clause And Religion In Child Custody Disputes: Factoring Religion Into The Best Interest Equation, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note examines when judges deciding custody disputes may consider potential custodians' religious practices without violating the establishment clause of the first amendment to the Constitution. Although courts agree that they may not prefer one parent to another for religious reasons when both parents are religious and neither parent's religious practices threaten the child's health or safety, some courts believe that they may constitutionally prefer a religious parent to a nonreligious parent. Part I argues that courts violate the establishment clause by preferring religion to nonreligion when there is no showing that the child has personal religious convictions. Part II …

Acceptability Of Treatment: The Effects Of Socioeconomic Status And Intellectual Level On Teachers' Ratings Of Interventions, Kathryn L. Welch

Student Work

The study examined the effects of a child's socioeconomic status and intellectual level on classroom teachers' ratings of positive and negative interventions. Ninety urban kindergarten through sixth grade classroom teachers participated in the study. The teachers varied according to age, sex, race, number of years taught, and years of experience with low socioeconomic children, as well as grade level currently teaching. A vignette was constructed varying the socioeconomic status and intellectual level of an elementary school age boy who was displaying inattention during instructional time. The inattention (token economy) paired with it. The teacher were asked to read one of …

The Battering Parent Syndrome: Inexpert Testimony As Character Evidence, Thomas N. Bulleit Jr.

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note proposes that courts refuse to give further consideration to admitting the battering parent syndrome as evidence in both civil and criminal proceedings arising out of child abuse. Part I of the Note describes the syndrome as it appears in the psychological literature. Part II suggests that current judicial attitudes favor the future admissibility of the syndrome, conditioned only on an improved showing of scientific accuracy. Part III demonstrates that regardless of scientific accuracy, the character evidence rule forbids courts from admitting the battering parent syndrome. Part IV argues that the important policies underlying the character evidence rule override …

Parental Liability For The Torts Of Their Minor Children: Limits, Logic & Legality, Robert Charles Levine

Nova Law Review

Throughout history, children have had a tendency to cause mischief,

damage and often injury to people and the property of others.

Commentary: Advertising In Arcadia, Lawrence Kimmel

Philosophy Faculty Research

There is not a long history of censorship in philosophy, but where it does occur it receives memorable note, as in the case of Plato‟s Republic. And there, as elsewhere, I often find I am in sympathy, if not agreement, concerning the problem, but utterly opposed to the offered solution.

In the paper I wish to review, Paine takes the very strong position that “child advertising” is in its very conception an offense—and that its continuance is both economically exploitative and morally corruptive of children. Although she is careful to separate her concerns as moral rather than legal or political, …

Attitudes Toward Animals: Age-Related Development Among Children, Stephen R. Kellert

Attitudes Towards Animals Collection

This paper reviews the results of a study of 267 children in the 2nd, 5th, 8th, and 11th grades. A battery of tests was used to examine children's knowledge and attitudes towards animals, and behavioral contacts with animals. A typology of basic attitudes towards animals and appropriate scales was employed. Children's knowledge and attitudes towards animals were also compared to those of adults 18 years of age and over. Major differences occurred among children distinguished by age, sex, ethnicity, and urban/rural residence. Additionally, significant knowledge and attitude variations occurred among diverse animal-related activity groups (e.g., among children who hunted, birdwatched, …

The Governor's Constituency For Children: Concerned Adults Unite In Lobbying Efforts, Margaret Kempel

Nova Law Review

In the political lexicon of the 1980s, a "constituency" has come to

mean a special interest group coalesced around a single issue. These

single-issue constituencies, or special interest lobbies, range from right

wing to left wing, from neighborhood associations to well-organized political

action committees, from environmental causes to tax-slashing

referenda.

Hrs And The Health And Welfare Of Florida's Children, William W. Ausbon M.D.

Nova Law Review

Recent information concerning children and families arising from

1980 census data and several national reports reveals certain situations

and trends which will have far-reaching consequences for Florida and

the nation.

Assessing Needs And Developing Programs For Children And Youth, Kay Frances Greer

Theses

The Southeast region is one of six regions developed for planning purposes by the Division of Comprehensive Psychiatric Services of the Department of Mental Health in the State of Missouri. The region is comprised of 24 counties with a total population of 513,400 persons ; 148,624 of those persons are under the age of 18 . Concerned citizens and mental health providers have been concerned for several years about the lack of special programming for the children and youth throughout the region. Available services for this population include outpatient services in each of the four service areas, a limited day …

Evaluating The Expert: Judicial Expectations Of Expert Opinion Evidence In Child Placement Adjudications, Jane W. Ellis

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Incest Statutes And The Fundamental Right Of Marriage: Is Oedipus Free To Marry?, Carolyn S. Bratt

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

The U.S. Supreme Court has found that the right to marry is a constitutionally protected right. That right is restricted, however, by state incest statutes which impede marriage between adults by making some choices of a marriage partner illegal. The constitutional validity of modern state incest statutes is difficult to analyze because of shifting definitions, reflexive fears, ambivalent attitudes, and underlying facile generalizations.

The mere word "incest" triggers strong feelings of revulsion in most people. Therefore, any a priori labeling of a marriage as incestuous tends to preclude objective thought about the permissibility of the particular form of the marriage …

For The Sake Of Our Children: Selected Legislative Needs Of Florida's Children, Ellen Irene Hoffenberg

Nova Law Review

The realization that children are a group of special people-

individual constituents deserving special recognition, protection

and attention-is a new concept for American jurisprudence and for

state legislators.

Rethinking The Substantive Rules For Custody Disputes In Divorce, David L. Chambers

Articles

A few states, mostly in the West and South, still retain a preference in custody disputes for placing young children with their mothers. In most other states, legislatures or courts have replaced the maternal presumption with a rule directing courts to be guided solely by the child's "welfare" or "best interests." A few legislatures have created a new preference for joint custody, directing courts to consider favorably requests by a parent for such arrangements, even over the objection of the other parent. This Article argues that the trend away from the maternal presumption is sensible, but that the current best-interests …

Figurative Language And Speech Play: A Study Of First Grade Children, Dena Weiss-Tisman

Honors Papers

This paper is a study of figurative language and speech play in first grade children. I will describe what types of figurative language the children use and comprehend and discuss the role of figurative language, and specifically metaphor, in speech play. I will emphasize the need to study children's language using anthropological methods as a separate entity from adult language. In this chapter, I will present a survey of the literature concerning children's speech play and figurative language, and then I will provide a brief introduction to my work.

The Cancer Spreads: Atomic Veterans Powerless In The Aftermath Of Feres V. United States, Susan Cohen-Klein, Howard Berkower

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Arkansas Juvenile Courts: Do Lay Judges Satisfy Due Process In Delinquency Cases, Paula J. Casey

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Learning Years: A Review Of The Changing Legal World Of Adolescence, Bruce C. Hafen

Michigan Law Review

A Review of The Changing Legal World of Adolescence by Franklin E. Zimring