Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Impact On Rural Incomes Of Improved Water Management Practices In Milagro County, Ecuador, Phillip H. Lloyd

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Farm budgets based on survey data a reused to calculate the net revenue for average irrigated and unirrigated farms for four tenure classes on the Milagro irrigation project, Ecuador. Differences in net revenues between irrigated and unirrigated farms within each tenure class are assumed to be the return to investment in irrigation capital, assuming homogeneity of all other production factors.

The internal rate of return is calculated on investment in irrigation capital assuming returns to such an investment are the difference in net revenues between irrigated and unirrigated farms. Investment in such capital is found to be highly profitable assuming …

Individual Family Contribution To Paper Pollution In Cache County, Carroll Porter Latham

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Paper waste discarded by families of five persons in Cache County was studied for two seven-day periods. The sample consisted of 19 families comprised of a father who was employed full-time, a mother, and three children living at home. A background questionnaire was administered to each family for the purpose of describing the sample.

Sample families were given (1) plastic bags for storing of paper wastes and (2) bathroom tissue, the unused portion of which was collected with the other paper discards. The weight of all paper discards was tabulated for each family and an average was tabulated for families …

The Role Of Verbal Incentives And Researcher Attitude In The Motivation Of Preschool Children From Different Socioeconomic Levels, Carol Hunter Byrnes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The motivating effects of positive and negative verbal reinforcement and researcher attitude on the performance of preschool children were studied in relation to socioeconomic level. Forty children from the Utah State University Child Development Laboratory and forty from Head Start classrooms in northern Utah served as subjects. Each child performed the simple task of placing pegs in a pegboard during a 60- second time interval; once under conditions of positive verbal reinforcement and positive attitude, and again, under one of four experimental conditions: control; positive reinforcement/positive attitude; negative reinforcement/positive attitude; or negative reinforcement/ negative attitude.

The findings seemed to indicate …

Semantic Influence And Concept Attainment Of Slang And Its Effects On Parents' And Teenagers' Linguistic Interaction, Kim Earl

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this research was to determine parents and teenagers slang awareness and when this awareness begins to appear in the vocabulary of the younger generation.

Two studies were construed to measure the intended purpose of t his research. Study A was conducted to determine if semantic influence and concept attainment of slang definitions would be greater for teenagers than that for adults. The instrument was an open ended word list consisting of 25 slang terms. Criterion for the selection of words was assessed by determining if each word used could be found in three of the five sources. …

The Comparative Effects Of Two Reinforcement Schedules Applied To Groups In Teaching Arithmetic Skills, Ronald C. Bennett

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A behavioral approach to teaching in the public school system is difficult because of the inherent difficulty of finding positive reinforcers and administering them simultaneously to large groups of students.

This study attempts to apply the same tangible reinforcers to two groups of students under different schedules of reinforcement. The students in the study were in special classes termed "learning adjustment" classes because of their failure to perform at grade level in regular classroom settings.

One group was on a continuous schedule of reinforcement using tokens and gold strike stamps as reinforcers. The second group was also on a continuous …

A Reliability Measurement Of The Transactional Analysis Checklist, Robert B. Kahn

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of the study was to measure the reliability of a checklist created and standardized for the study. The development of the checklist, referred to in the study as the Transactional Analysis Checklist (TAC), finds its basis in Transactional Analysis theory.

The literature available pertaining to Transactional Analysis was reviewed. No literature, prior to the study, existed which directed itself specifically to the examination of an instrument that could be used during the diagnostic phase of treatment.by .Transactional Analysts. The lack of literature was a partial motivator for the study. It was suggested that informally constructed devices are being …

College Level Career Counseling, Ain Roost

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was designed to examine and evaluate vocational decision making and counseling at Utah State University and to provide a basis for further research. A written questionnaire was given to a random sample of 500 college students on the Utah State University campus.

It was found that over 15% of freshmen could not express a vocational choice, and of those who could,their commitment to it was weaker than the other classes. Immediate family, friends and college professors were the most influential people in making a career choice, with the influence of college counselors being almost negligible. Other than influential …

Expressed Group Member Satisfaction And Measured Group Difference Between Trained And Untrained Group Members, Dennis Randall Kilstrom

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In college programs utilizing the quarter system there arise problems in the development of encounter groups due to a limited amount of time available. A short training program in evaluating group processes might be one way to facilitate group development. In order to test one such program two hypotheses were generated. Hypotheses I was tested for a significant difference between a Treatment Group, receiving training, and a Control Group, receiving no training, in expressed member satisfaction. Hypothesis II was tested for a significant difference in the therapeutic value of rated interaction between the Treatment and Control Group. Expressed member satisfaction …

The Use Of Story Reading As A Method Of Improving Verbal Expression Of Head Start Children, Romayne Norris Sternad

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this experimental study was to conduct and evaluate a teaching method for improving verbal expression performance of Head Start children. The teaching method of language stimulation given the experimental subjects was based on story reading and retelling with active participation by the children in daily small group tutoring sessions, for seven weeks. An academic program given the control subjects included specific vocabulary and sequencing training. Verbal expression was measured by an analysis of stories told by each subject before and after tutoring, in response to sequence pictures and standup figures. Measures of vocabulary, sentence structure and evidence …

Children's Awareness Of Environmental Pollution, Carol A. Darling

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to determine children's awareness of environmental pollution and the effect of environmental education on the awareness of preschool children.

Data for this study were collected by individually interviewing 20 preschool, 20 first grade and 20 third grade children. These 60 children were presented 15 colored slides and 9 words denoting various types of pollution and environmental symbols and slogans. The slides varied from litter on a beach, chimneys emitting black smoke, and polluted water to such environmental symbols as Smokey Bear, Johnny Horizon, and Woodsy Owl. In addition, the environmental symbols were also presented …

Parent-Child Affinity As Perceived By Children, Earlene E. Miller

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Parental preference of girls and boys was studied in this research. Situations of recreation, personal and moral needs, places and things, and social events constituted the range of choices in the children's selection for one parent or the other as a companion for the activity.

Ninety children (30 preschool, 30 third graders, and 30 sixth graders) were tested individually by an interview schedule. The Parent-Affinity Perception Scale developed for this research contained 30 items. Children were asked to choose "Mother" or "Father" as a response for each item.

The findings indicated a significant difference in preference for "Mother" rather than …

Family Planning Of Mormon Women In Three-Generation Families, Brent C. Miller

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This intergenerational study compared the family planning and related attitudes of females who were daughter-mother-grandmother relatives. Questionnaire responses of eighty-one subjects in twenty-seven three-generation families were analyzed regarding birth control, abortion, and population crisis attitudes. Other variables studied included Mormon orthodoxy, education, and place of residence.

Except for abortion, the generations had significantly different attitudes. The oldest generation's attitudes, which were the most conservative, differed significantly when contrasted with the more similar attitudes of the middle and younger generations. Mormon orthodoxy was the most dramatically significant factor in attitude differences. Education and residence were not significant sources of attitude variance; …