Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Effects Of Reengineering On Hospital Performance Indicators, Linda Rutgers Albery

Dissertations

Reengineering was a management tactic designed to reduce costs and increase efficiencies in the work place. Although many hospitals reported reengineering efforts were a priority during the latter part of the 1990s, little research has been done to determine the effects of reengineering on cost and quality performance indicators.

This research studied a large regional medical center located in southwest Michigan, which implemented patient-focused care redesign. Within this medical center, ten separate and distinct patient care departments were studied over a 5-year period. These departments included critical care, medical, surgical, obstetric and pediatric areas. During the first year o f …

Transitioning And Adapting To College: A Case-Study Analysis Of The Experience Of University Students With Psychiatric Disabilities, Kenneth M. Werner

Dissertations

The psychiatric rehabilitation literature (Unger, 1987) indicates that few studies have been conducted about the adaptational demands associated with the transition to college for young adults with psychiatric disabilities who negotiate the university experience without the benefit o f a supported education program .

The purpose of this study was to describe how individual, social, and institutional factors contributed to the successful transition and adaptation to college life for students with psychiatric disabilities. The study sought to identify how students with psychiatric disabilities disclosed their illness in order to request support services and accommodations, and which services were essential or …

Effects Of Adult Modeling On Literacy Behaviors Of Head Start Preschoolers, Stephanie L. Kerbel

Masters Theses

This project explored the uses of literacy artifacts in the dramatic play of preschool children from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds who live in poverty in Kalamazoo County. The purpose of this 9-week study was to determine the impact of adult modeling on the frequency and quality of use of literacy artifacts during the dramatic play of at-risk preschoolers. Two Head Start classrooms received different types of intervention: (a) a literacy-enriched dramatic play area with adult modeling for 5 minutes at the start of each play period ( once per week); and (b) a literacy-enriched dramatic play area without adult …

Promoting Healthy Behavior Change In Skin Cancer Risk Reduction Using The Transtheoretical Stages Of Change Model, Sherry L. Pagoto

Dissertations

Skin cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States with 20% of people developing some form of skin cancer in their lifetime (American Cancer Society, 1999). In spite of the high incidence of skin cancer, it is highly preventable. Approximately 90% of the cases are caused by exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun (Skin Cancer Foundation, 1992). The effect of an intervention aimed at reducing skin cancer risk was compared to a survey only control group in 99 Chicago beach-goers. The intervention was based on the Transtheoretical Stages of Change Model (TTM) and included sun sensitivity …

Review Of Independent Practice For The Mental Health Professional: Growing A Private Practice For The 21st Century. Ralph H. Earle And Dorothy J. Barnes. Reviewed By Rafael Herrera, University Of California At Berkeley., Rafael Herrera

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review for Ralph H. Earle and Dorothy J. Barnes, Independent Practice for the Mental Health Professional: Growing a Private Practice for the 21st Century. Philadelphia, PA: Brunner/Mazel, 1999. $24.95 hardcover.

Review Of Addictions And Native Americans. Lawrence Armand French. Reviewed By Michael Gorman, San Jose State University., Michael Gorman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review for Lawrence Armand French, Addictions and Native Americans. Westport, CT: Praeger Publications, 2000. $59.95 hardcover.

Morality And God, John Hare

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Paper presented at the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society at Western Michigan University, January 18,2001 with the title, "Does Morality Need God?"

Progressive Time Delay Procedure For Teaching Motor Skills To Adults With Severe Mental Retardation, Jiabei Zhang

Human Performance and Health Education Faculty Research

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the progressive time delay (PTD) procedure on teaching gross motor skills to adult males with severe mental retardation. A multiple probe design across three skills and replicated across 4 participants was utilized. Results indicated that a PTD procedure with a 0 to 5 s delay was effective in teaching 4 participants three gross motor skills (tee-ball batting, softball pitching, croquet striking) over a period of 13 weeks. Data on effectiveness were analyzed in terms of the number of instructional sessions (M = 9.58), the number of trials (M = …

Walking The Walk --- The Reality Of Ethics In The University Presidency, Elson Floyd

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Papers presented for the Center of the Study of Ethics in Society Western Michigan University.

Ethics In Academia, Diether Haenicke

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Papers presented for the Center of the Study of Ethics in Society Western Michigan University.

The Quality Of Mercy, The Public Trust, And Ethical Issues In Higher Education, Elise Bickford Jorgens

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Papers presented for the Center of the Study of Ethics in Society Western Michigan University.

The Ethics Center At Fifteen Years, Michael Pritchard

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Papers presented for the Center of the Study of Ethics in Society Western Michigan University.

Ethics In Academia, 2000, Wmu Center Of The Study Of Ethics In Society

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Papers presented for the Center of the Study of Ethics in Society Western Michigan University.

Developmental, Psychosocial, And Economic Predictors Of Healthy Newborns In Michigan’S Teenage Pregnancies, Cheryl Lauber

Dissertations

Teenage pregnancy is a critical health indicator. Using a risk reduction model, this study examined the relationship between the characteristics o f the teenage mother i and her newborn. The research questions were: ( I) what risk factors are associated with poor birth outcomes, (2) is addressing each factor the best way to reduce the risk, and (3) has the overall risk changed as the birth rate has declined? Developmental, psychosocial and economic risks were identified as independent variables, while age and race were mediators.

Combining the birth certificate records of women under age 20 from 1990 through 1997 resulted …

Professional Expertise Of Community-Based Occupational Therapists, Lori Ann Madaus Lemorie

Masters Theses

Occupational therapists are increasingly practicing in community-based settings. Due to changes in the health care system, the need for defining roles, and explaining what a profession can contribute to health care has been highlighted. The major goal of this study was to identify job roles, job skills, and professional expertise of community-based therapists. The Community Practice Project survey was mailed to 200 AOTA registered community-based therapists. A response rate of 42% was achieved. The results provided a profile of the typical community-based therapist. Principal roles, job skills, and areas of professional expertise were also identified. The adequacy of educational preparation …

The Utilization Of Spirituality In Occupational Therapy: Beliefs, Practices, And Barriers, Jennifer S. Collins

Masters Theses

Spirituality has become an increasingly important topic in healthcare and specifically in occupational therapy. Previous studies of spirituality in occupational therapy indicated that while therapists believed spirituality was important to health and rehabilitation potential, few therapists reported incorporating spirituality into treatment (Engquist, Short-DeGraff, Gliner, & Oltjenbruns, 1997; Howe, 1996; Rose, 1999). This study utilized a survey design to examine occupational therapists' current beliefs and practices regarding spirituality, as well as asking therapists to identify barriers to the use of spirituality in treatment.

The results of this study indicate that beliefs and practices regarding spirituality in occupational therapy may be changing. …

Review Of Counseling And The Therapeutic State. James J. Chriss (Ed.). Reviewed By Daniel Harkness., Daniel Harkness

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of James J. Chriss (Ed.), Counseling and the Therapeutic State. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine de Gruyter, 1999. $48.95 hardcover, $24.95 papercover.

Review Of The Social Edges Of Psychoanalysis. Neil J. Smelser. Reviewed By Daniel Coleman., Daniel Coleman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Neil J. Smelser, The Social Edges of Psychoanalysis. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1999. $35.00 hardcover, $24.00 papercover.

The Discourse Of Denigration And The Creation Of "Other", Joshua Miller, Gerald Schamess

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper attempts to reduce the distance between intellectual frameworks that inform different fields of social work practice by exploring the relationships between intrapsychic mechanisms, family dynamics, small group processes and such society wide phenomena as public denigration, scapegoating, and the systematic oppression of politically targeted population subgroups. Clinical theories are used to explore disturbing social trends such as the redistribution of wealth while cutting services to the needy, the growth of prisons and disproportionaten umbers of incarcerated people of color, societal retreat from social obligation and commitment and divisive political rhetoric. Suggestions are made about how clinical social workers …

The Prevalence-Based Need For Adapted Physical Education Teachers In The United States, Jiabei Zhang

Human Performance and Health Education Faculty Research

The purpose was to develop a method for projecting the need for adapted physical education (APE) teachers in the public schools in the United States. This method was derived from a prevalence-based model---dividing the nurn- ber of APE students enrolled by the APE student-teacher ratio and then sub- tracting the number of APE teachers hired. This model used the findings of Kelly and Gansneder (1998) that (a) 4% of the school population required APE services and (b) the overall national APE student-teacher ratio was 104: 1. The results revealed a need for 22,116 additional APE teachers nationwide as well as …

Conflicting Bureaucracies, Conflicted Work: Dilemmas In Case Management For Homeless People With Mental Illness, Linda E. Francis

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This ethnographic study finds a case management agency torn between the rules of two conflicting bureaucracies. Funded by a federal grant, the agency is administered by the county, and the regulations of the two systems turn out to be incompatible. This conflict creates dilemmas in providing services to clients: meeting eligibility criteria for services from the federal grant meant the clients did not meet the eligibility criteria for many County services. Agency staff reacted to this dilemma by bending rules, finding loopholes, and investing extra time and emotional labor in each client. The role-conflict engendered by bureaucratic disjunction creates frustration, …

How Children And Adolescents Relate To Nature, Patricia Nevers

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Paper presented at the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society at Western Michigan University, September 21,1999.

An Investigation Of A Career In Medical Writing: Portfolio, Heather O'Neill

Honors Theses

This portfolio contains the projects worked on by the author, many written for a professional audience, as part of an internship with a freelance medical writer. Also included are resources for writing.

Fighting Aids With Holistic Weapons: An Integrated Approach, Tom Goodwin

Honors Theses

The current AIDS epidemic has changed the way we view the world as well as our society as a whole. Diseases have ravaged humanity since the dawn of time, so what makes AIDS so much different from every other disease encountered by man? One reason is its transmission method. We know that HIV passes from person to person via blood, semen, and vaginal secretions. Most people that suffer from this disease contract it during sex, during intravenous drug use, or during a blood transfusion. Early accounts of HIV disease occurred in minority groups, namely homosexual men. This may have bee …

Molecular Evolution Of Insecticidal Spore-Forming Bacteria, John Pool

Honors Theses

Molecular methods are increasingly being used to determine the phylogeny of microorganisms. This research was intended to determine phylogenetic relationships for bacteria of the species Bacillus thuringiensis and other members of the Bacillus cereus group. Each strain was analyzed by its sasp-B gene sequence to determine its species classification and relation to other strains studied. Results of this study indicated that according to the sasp-B gene tree, the species Bacillus thuringiensis is a paraphyletic with respect to both Bacillus cereus and Bacillus anthracis. Some unexpected results and implications for species designations are also discussed.

An Occupational Study Of Physical Playing-Related Injuries In College Student Musicians, Christine A. Guptill

Masters Theses

Several studies have been conducted on the playing-related physical injuries of college music students. In this study, a client-centered, occupation-based survey was administered to music majors at a large midwestem university. The primary objectives of the study were to examine which health professionals were consulted by this population, and to determine student satisfaction with any treatment they might have received. Secondary objectives were to determine: (a) the perceived efficacy of currently available treatments, (b) the needs and expectations with regard to consultation and treatment, ( c) the perceived need of professionals with specialized knowledge of music and treating musicians, and …

Temporal And Emg Relationships Among The Phases Of Vertical And Depth Jumps, Amanda Albright

Masters Theses

Plyometric exercises blend speed and strength training and are often used to help an athlete reach his or her ultimate power potential. Specifically, plyometric training is a technique that enhances neuromuscular excitability, which may in tum increase the ability to achieve a greater work output.

The purpose of this study was to examine the temporal and EMG differences between two different jumping techniques: a vertical jump and depth jumps of varying heights. The study consisted of 20 female physical education majors grouped as skilled or unskilled. Temporal and EMG data were collected for (a) the duration of time spent in …

Comparing Outcome Of Residential And Intensive Outpatient Treatment Services For Substance Dependence, Shawn E. Channell

Dissertations

The past 20 years have witnessed a significant increase in the number of published studies comparing inpatient with outpatient substance dependence treatment The majority of these studies have reported no benefit for those recipients receiving more intensive treatment However, the outpatient treatment investigated in these studies has typically been day treatment often involving 27 hours a week of participation, and not intensive outpatient treatment (IOP), which involves 12 or fewer hours of participation per week. Additionally, few published studies have compared alcohol and cocaine dependent populations. This study was designed to compare effectiveness of the residential and intensive outpatient levels …

Diagnostic Issues With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Conditional Probabilities And A Measure Of Symptom Ratings, Margo Adams Larsen

Dissertations

Current assessment taxonomy, including the DSM -IV and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) (World Health Organization, 1990) editions, have provided semistructured criteria sets to aid professionals in making a diagnosis of ADHD or ADD. The diagnostic taxonomy criteria, however, have resulted in a very heterogeneous population of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disordered (ADHD) individuals. Several studies have attempted to assess the behavioral syndromes— Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)/Conduct Disorder (CD)/ Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)—in terms of test or symptom sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive power, and negative predictive power (Landau, Milich, & Widiger, 1991; Milich, Widiger, & Landau, 1987; Waldman & …

The Validity Of The Adhd Section Of The Diagnostic Interview Schedule For Children, Ann M. Mcgrath

Dissertations

The purpose o f this study was to learn more about the validity o f the ADHD portion of the NIMH-DISCIV. In order to accomplish this goal, 58 youth participants were divided into three groups: (1) subjects who met criteria for ADHD based upon both the youth and the caretaker versions of the DISC; (2) subjects who met criteria for ADHD based upon the caretaker DISC, but not according to the youth DISC; and (3) subjects who did not meet criteria for ADHD according to either the youth or the caretaker DISC. Subjects in these groups were compared across parent …