Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Effect Of Feedback Given To Nurse Aides On Response Latency To Patient Call Lights In A Geriatric Nursing Home, Patricia L. Matuszak

Masters Theses

Feedback has been used in staff performance and management systems in various human service settings. It was applied to four female nurse aides in a geriatric nursing home to decrease response latency to patient call lights. A multiple-baseline-across-subjects design was used with each aide receiving feedback on her mean response time to assigned patients' call lights. Two of the four subjects demonstrated a decrease in mean response times, while two showed little effect after feedback.

A Perspective On Differential Services In Counseling: Altruism And Likeness, James Latimore

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In this exploratory study using a small sample, an attempt is made to understand the differential services provided by vocational counselors in a non-profit agency, a setting in which a strong identification with clients is encouraged. The services are measured and the unequal measures of service are related to the degree to which the client is seen as an image of the counselor in certain respects. Counseling is viewed as an altruistic occupation and the differential services are analyzed in this context. In general, it is suggested that the differential counseling and psycho-therapeutic services noted by other writers all reflect …

Holidays As Multiple Realities: Experiencing Good Times And Bad Times After A Disabling Injury, Mary Jo Deegan

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Holidays are idealized as times of celebration. They are embedded in cultural symbols, family patterns, and lived experience. Because all holidays are not good times, however, the lived experience of holidays is considerably more complex than its symbolization. This ambivalence is dramatically deepened for recently disabled adults who view holidays as a specially strained time of remembrance. Past holidays are often idealized in a new way as one's biography is placed into a new embodied reality. Simultaneously, holidays remain days when one is supposed to celebrate, and often denote some celebration for the injured. The resulting experience is a melange …

Measuring Domestic Violence In An Alcoholic Population, Larry R. Livingston

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A survey of 107 adults receiving residential treatment for substance abuse was conducted, to determine characteristics of domestic violence in relationships. The survey incorporated instruments to measure the degree of substance abuse (the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test or MAST) as well as types and frequencies of domestic violence (the Conflict Tactics Scale or CTS-N). Findings are then compared to a national study of 2143 normals (Straus, Gelles, & Steinmetz, 1980) to ascertain differences in domestic violence.

Findings indicate that 83% of alcoholic subjects behaved violently in past relationships, compared to 28% of the normal population. Fifty-five percent of the alcoholics …

Assessing The Needs Of Mothers With Mentally Retarded Offspring: An Empirical Approach, Jonathan Rabinowitz

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This exploratory study assesses the needs of mothers with retarded offspring living at home. Previous studies have focused on meeting those parental needs which would benefit their retarded offspring. This study does not limit parental needs to those needs, which if met would benefit the retarded child, and defines parents as an independent group with special needs.

The Sociology Of Alcoholism Counseling: A Social Worker's Perspective, Katherine Van Wormer

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

An occupation - alcoholism counseling - strives to gain professional status. Still a field largely dominated by counselors who derive their status more from personal attributes - the fact of being recovering alcoholics - rather than from achievement of impersonally applied standards, chemical dependency counseling is in a state of flux. This sociological analysis examines recent developments in the field. Special emphasis is on roles for social workers.

The Effects Of Methylphenidate On The Learning And Performance Of A Child Diagnosed Addh, Kendra Leigh Heath

Masters Theses

The effects of methylphenidate (Ritalin) on the learning and performance of a child diagnosed Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity (ADDH) was evaluated using a repeated acquisition apparatus. A placebo and three dosages of methylphenidate were evaluated in both the learning and performance components of the experiment. Dosages tested included the subject's therapeutic dosage, a dosage 5 mg higher, and a dosage 5 mg lower. Methylphenidate produced no effect of consequence on the number of errors per session, suggesting that the medication neither impaired nor facilitated learning or performance at the range of dosages investigated. Data were also collected on social …

Auditory Temporal Processing Abilities Of Autistic Children, Theresa L. Bender

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Seating Arrangement On Affective Meanings And Group Interaction In Healthy Senior Citizens, Judith Ann Boughton

Masters Theses

Occupational therapists state that environmental factors (seating arrangements) influence behavior. This ex post facto study examined the effect of peripheral versus central seating arrangement on interaction (verbalizing and looking), affect, and group climate in 41 healthy senior citizens. Nine men and 32 women aged 62 to 83 participated in two collage activities (creative and imitative) in either a parallel/nonsharing group or a project/ sharing group. Seating arrangement was added to an earlier study's independent variables (creative and imitative activities, and sharing and nonsharing groups). Dependent variables consisted of three factors of affective meaning from the Osgood Semantic Differential, evaluation, power, …

The Effects Of Two Contracting Methods On Altering The Eating And Exercise Behavior Of Seven Obese Adolescents: An In-Home Weight Treatment Study, Donald Edward Montgomery

Masters Theses

Seven obese males and females, ages ranging 12-15 years, served as participants in an eight-week in-home treatment program. The purpose of the study was to compare the effects of two contracting methods to influence eating and exercise patterns. Individualized exercise and nutrition programs were designed for each participant based on their health and behavior patterns at the time of the study. Four subjects were assigned to Group A (Self-Management) where contracting was established with each adolescent and based their compliance with the program. In Group B (Parental Modeling) contracting was established with the mothers of three subjects who participated along …

The Post-Exercise Cardiovascular Response Of Post Myocardial Infarction Males To Varying Water Temperatures In A Hot Tub, Janeen S. Docsa

Masters Theses

This study compared heart rate, blood pressure, and electrocardiographic response of post myocardial infarction males taking either vasodilator and beta blocker or just beta blocker medications, and a control, to different water temperatures in a hot tub. Twentysix adult males were observed. Each subject engaged in exercise, then sat in a hot tub for 12 minutes. Each subject repeated this procedure three times, once at each water temperature (36.6°, 38.3°, and 40°C).

The data during immersion indicated: (a) heart rate was affected by increased temperature and duration of exposure; (b) blood pressure was affected by length of exposure; (c) frequency …

Physiological Differentiation And Cognitive Discrimination Of An Olfactory Stimulus Produced Under Stress, Robert Gray Perra

Dissertations

Humans may have ability to transmit, receive, and react to biological information from other humans through olfactory chemosensory communication. Two studies examined human (1) ability to differentiate physiologically, via olfaction, fresh stress produced sweat and (2) cognitive discrimination, through smell, of "aged" stress produced sweat. Four stress conditions were employed; (1) exercise, (2) relaxation, (3) sexual arousal, and (4) repulsion.

Experiment I. A male dyad participated--donor and recipient. Donor was prepared to collect his axillary secretion on gauze; following preparation donor was stressed. After stressing, the gauze which was presumed to contain a fresh non-odoriferous sweat, was removed, sandwiched between …

Relationship Of Admission Variables To Success For Licensed Practical Nurses In Associate Degree In Nursing Ladder Program, Sally Kathryn Johnson

Dissertations

The problem and challenge for nurse educators in Practical Nursing/Associate Degree Nursing (PN/ADN) ladder programs is to identify admission criteria for Licensed Practical Nurse (PN) applicants entering the advanced standing level. The selected admission criteria should include those which are most likely to indicate success in the program and on the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nursing (NCLEX-RN). Identifying such criteria would promote the most efficient use of scarce educational resources and help avoid loss of time, energy and financial resources for potential nursing students.

The records of 79 LPNs who entered a PN/ADN ladder program at the advanced …

Performance Of Brain Dysfunctional And Non-Dysfunctional Subjects On The Bip And A Multiple-Choice Bip With Varying Degrees Of Background Interference, Michael Joseph Ezzo

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the visual and motor behavior of brain dysfunctional patients and the effects of varying the line density on the Background Interference Procedure for the Bender-Gestalt (BIP). Various claims have been made for the increased diagnostic accuracy of the BIP over the regular Bender-Gestalt, yet few investigations have been conducted to explore the BIP phenomenon. A model for the process of drawing geometrical figures was proposed in hopes of clarifying how this procedure and others intervene in the graphomotor task.

The original BIP paper was considered to have lines of single-density. A transparency …

The Effects Of Strain Differences On The Binding Of Concavalian A To Mouse Sperm, Lisa A. Mckay

Honors Theses

The current study, lectins were used as genetic probes to determine the phenotype of the sperm from different strains of mice. Lectins are proteins of non-immune origin, which bind to specific carbohydrates (McCoy, 1986). Being that virtually all cell membranes contain carbohydrate components, lectins have been used to identify all types of cells. In this study, a biotinylated lectin Concavalian A (Con A) derived from Canavalia ensiformis, was used and binding was detected using an avidin-biotin peroxidase (ABP) complex technique. The object of the current research was to 1) determine if mouse strain differences have an effect on lectin binding, …

Dual-Purpose Activity Versus Single-Purpose Activity In An Institutionalized Geriatric Population, Rita M. Yoder

Masters Theses

The use of purposeful, goal-directed activity has traditionally been a central theme for occupational therapy. In dual-purpose activity the participant has two goals: successful task completion and the making of adaptive responses in the activity process. This study compares the extent to which a dual-purpose activity (stirring for the purpose of exercise and baking cookies) enhances performance in contrast to a single-purpose activity (stirring for the purpose of exercise alone) in an institutionalized geriatric population.

Thirty women between 70 and 92 years of age were randomly assigned to either the single- or dual-purpose activity. Duration, exertion, and discontinuities were measured …

Comparison Of Individual Vs. Group Progressive Muscle Relaxation Training On State And Trait Anxiety, Janet L. Niefert

Masters Theses

This study investigated the relative effects of group and individually administered progressive muscle relaxation on the reduction of state and trait anxiety. A six-week training program was conducted for 12 graduate and undergraduate volunteers. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Relaxation State Behavioral Checklist were administered prior to and immediately following training. A Subjective Stress Record was maintained daily for two weeks prior to training and for the s ix weeks of training. No decrease was found in trait anxiety scores after training. A significant decrease in state anxiety scores was found in both individually trained and group trained subjects. …

The Effects Of Reinforcement Magnitude On The Transfer Of Stimulus Control, L. Martin Grabijas

Masters Theses

Communication training for the developmentally disabled is becoming a vital component among residential training facilities. Such education necessarily entails the transfer of stimulus control from a prompt stimulus to a stimulus inherent in the task. The current study investigated the effects which different values of a reinforcer may have on the transfer of stimulus control. Three severely, mentally retarded adults were taught manual sign language, while two values of the reinforcer were varied according to two classes of response: preprompt and postprompt responding. A within subjects design was incorporated with a delayed prompting procedure in identifying the precise moment of …

Ipsilateral Electromyographic Activity Of Shoulder Muscles During Unilateral Maximal Resistance Of Grasp In The Prone-On-Elbows Position, Bryan John Wodaski

Masters Theses

This study reports the relationship between electrical output of the deltoid muscle and the pectoral is major muscle (clavicular portion) ipsilaterally, following maximal resistance to grasp of the non-dominant hand while in the prone-on-elbows position. Forty-two normal college students were recruited from Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, and were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental subjects' shoulder muscles' electrical activity was measured for changes from baseline to maximal contraction during two trials. The control group was measured in the same manner but they were not asked to contract their hand against resistance. For both groups electrical activity was …

Comparing Three Ways Of Obtaining Exercise Adherence, Maria Sonia Acosta

Masters Theses

The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the effectiveness of various incentives, including course bonus points, social reinforcement, and partner assignment to encourage exercise among college students. Participants were assigned to one of three groups. Members of the structured group exercised at a specific time and location, members of the partner group exercised with a companion determined to be their best match, and members of the individual group exercised on their own. In addition to a maximum of five bonus points, members of the structured group received social praise in terms of verbal statements such as "I'm glad …

A Preferred Interpersonal Leadership Style: Perceived By A Chief Board Officer As Compared To A Chief Executive Officer In A Hospital Setting, Nelson Alward

Dissertations

This study investigated the relationship of preferred interpersonal leadership style of chief board officers (CBOs) as compared to chief executive officers (CEOs) in hospital settings. Futher, the study explored the comparison of preferred interpersonal leadership styles of CEOs in selected areas of position, size of facility, age of the individual, years of experience, and time of last formal education degree. One hundred participants, 50 CEOs and 50 CBOs of hospitals, were surveyed in the study.

The interpersonal leadership style was identified using the four quadrant approach of leadership as reflected by Blake and Mouton (1964), Reddin (1980), and Hersey and …

The Role Of Trainer Contact In The Treatment Of Enuresis Using A Conditioning Device, Elaine Lee Phillips

Dissertations

This study examined if regular planned contact compared to no contact with a trainer made a difference in terms of dropout rate and success rate in the treatment of enuresis using a conditioning device. The study additionally attempted to determine if the frequency of contact had an impact on success and dropout rates. Twelve boys and six girls were assigned to one of three groups, a high contact group, medium contact group, and no contact group. Other than matching for age, subjects were randomly assigned. All subjects received the same training on the use of the conditioning device. Subjects in …

A Comparison Of The Sub-Types And Specific Learning Disabilities Of Attention Deficit Disordered Children, George D. Pommer

Dissertations

Children who have an Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) are typically reported by parents and teachers to be poor in attending and concentrating on tasks, functioning below academic potential, and displaying numerous impulsive behaviors. Although research indicates a significant number of these children may have specific learning disabilities, the identification of the specific type and an accompanying treatment modality is necessary for effective treatment.

The purpose of this research was to survey the clinical relationships between ADD, learning disabilities, and emotional problems. Subjects (N = 28) were outpatient clients of a private psychiatric clinic who were free of visual or auditory …

The Relationship Between Marital Satisfaction And Jungian Psychological Type, Lawrence Brad Beer

Dissertations

Researchers investigating the relationship between marital satisfaction and psychological type have discovered indications of a clinically useful relationship. By further clarifying the relationship between these two variables, guidelines may be established which can be helpful to counselors conducting marital therapy and marital enrichment programs. A secondary purpose of the investigation was to assess the relationship between selected demographic variables and marital satisfaction.

Married subjects were randomly selected from two groups--La Maz class participants and students from a local community college. Subjects responded to three self-report instruments--the Marital Satisfaction Inventory (MSI), the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), and a Personal Information Questionnaire …

Scientific Technology And The Human Condition, Vernon R. Wiehe

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Society applauds the recent advancements of scientific technology in fields such as medicine, energy, and communication. While humankind profits in many ways from this technology, a few voices are heard cautioning society to consider the implications of these developments. This paper discusses the gulf which appears to exist between scientific technology and the human condition. Reasons for this gulf are: I ) the failure to develop a philosophy of science in which human values, and aspirations are viewed within the context of scientific technology, 2) the reductionist approach to science in which the parts are emphasized at the expense of …

Developing Social Work Interviewing Skills Through A Micro-Video Analysis Training Program, Peter C. Iverson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Effective interviewing techniques are required for successful social work practice. Consequently, mastering this relatively complex technology is vital for both social work students and agency professionals. This article will provide a descriptive analysis of the Micro-Video Analysis Training Program which may be operationalized in either an academic classroom or agency. Also discussed are the primary components of the training program and their inter-relationships within the context of the Micro-Video Analysis approach. Hopefully this material will assist those with social work education responsibilities to teach interviewing skills more effectively.

Applying Computers To Clinical Social Work, James Gripton, Paul Licker, Leo De Groot

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper discusses the application of computer technology to clinical social work. It is based on a three-year research and demonstration project on microcomputer applications to clinical social work. The paper reviews the use of computers in social work, contrasting the developments in this field with those that hove occurred in psychiatry and clinical psychology. It then describes the two major components of the integrated software package for supporting clinical social work that has been developed and is currently being tested. The paper concludes with a discussion of the misconceptions and realities of introducing computer technology to a clinical social …

Medicine, Technology, And Genetic Engineering: Reflections From The Outside, Jeffrey R. Plittman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Advances in technology are producing many changes in the ways humans view and manage their lives. The refinement of genetic engineering techniques has created vast opportunities for humankind, along with novel problems and dangers. Accordingly, the questions that must be addressed pertain to the nature of life itself. Yet the scientific community can not be given sole discretion In managing todey's technologies. Instead, all segments of society must be Involved In determining how genetic engineering will be used.