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Evaluating the Effects of Project DARE in Rural Southeast Minnesota Schools
Get PDFvii, 142 leaves. Advisor: Janelle CowlesThe Problem. The purpose of this study is to determine whether differences exist in knowledge and attitude toward chemical substances and use between groups receiving instruction with the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program and no specific drug education program. The study also investigates the effect of gender and pretesting.
Procedures. A sample of over 500 students from eight rural Minnesota schools were included in the study. The students were administered a 36-item knowledge assessment to measure knowledge related to drugs, and a 74-item attitude survey used to measure drug knowledge, self-esteem, and attitude toward chemical usage, police, resistance, and
drugs. The data were collected using a Solomon four group design and analyzed using the three-way Analysis of Variance. The alpha-level was .05. T-tests were used to determine differences for the DARE group that participated in the pretest and posttest administrations.
Findinqs. The DARE students scored statistically
significantly higher on the knowledge assessment. In both the DARE and non-DARE groups, girls scored significantly higher than boys. The results of the attitude survey revealed that students instructed in the DARE program experienced statistically significantly higher scores for self-esteem and drug knowledge scales. The attitude toward police scale was the only scale in which pretesting had a
statistically significant effect. In the group of DARE students who took both the pretest and posttest, it was found that statistically significant differences existed for the knowledge assessment and for all of the scales of the
attitude survey.
Conclusions. The evidence presented in this study
indicated gains in drug knowledge assessment, as well as drug knowledge, self-esteem, and attitude toward drugs scales from the attitude survey, can be attributed to the scope and sequence of the DARE program. In this study, the results were mixed as to whether the DARE program improves
resistance and attitude toward police.
Recommendations. Based on statistically significant results from the knowledge assessment and attitude survey, it is recommended that the Project DARE program should be implemented into a school's comprehensive drug prevention education program. It is recommended that the curriculum
and instruction be reevaluated and modified with additional student instructional time being devoted to resistance training. A longitudinal study is recommended for DARE students during their high school years
Cardiac Rehabilitation and Activities of Daily Living in Women After Myocardial Infarction
Get PDFvi, 69 leaves. Advisor: Linda H. BradyThis work was a replication of a study in which the level of physical activity in women following
myocardial infarction (MI) was compared to their level of activity before MI. An extension of the initial work included an investigation of an association between activity levels in women post-MI and participation in a cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program. A sample of 52 post-MI women responded to a mailed survey. The women were categorized according to age (45-64 years and 65-90 years) and whether they had
participated in a cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program post-MI. According to t-test analysis, there were no significant differences in 14 activities of daily living (ADL) when comparing women who had participated in CR with the women who had not participated in CR. An examination of the two age groups and their 14 ADLs, using a t-test analysis, revealed that the older women
spent significantly less time doing housework and
dusting, compared to the younger women. A chi-square concluded there was no difference in participation in CR programs between younger women compared to older women
Parents' and Teachers' Perceptions of Effective Parent Involvement
Get PDF98 leavesThe purpose of this study was two-fold: to learn if parents and teachers have different perceptions of the ways parents can
effectively be involved in their children's education and to learn what parents and teachers would suggest to improve parent involvement in the school.
These perceptions were measured using an original survey of two questions. The first question asked those surveyed to define
parental involvement; the second question asked what the school could do to improve parental involvement. The participants included
117 parents and 16 teachers from an elementary school located in Des Moines Iowa.
Each response was recorded verbatim on individual note cards. The individual responses of both parents and teachers were then content-analyzed for each survey question. The note cards were sorted by the researcher looking for trends that would lead to common categories. A preliminary label was then assigned to each group of statement cards. The researcher reevaluated each set of cards looking at the individual statements to determine if they fit within a category.
After reevaluating the statement cards several times, they were further subdivided according to common themes until each statement had been properly assigned within a category. A frequency count was completed for each category. The total number of surveys completed
was then divided by the number of statements in each category to provide percentages for categories and sub-categories.
A team of experts was asked to validate the researcher's categorization of the responses by teachers and parents. The team included a female elementary principal, a male elementary principal, and a university professor who brought an analytical perspective to
the team. Six research questions were addressed regarding parental involvement. The first three evaluated what parents and teachers
each believe to be effective parent involvement and then how their perceptions are similar and different. The last three evaluated what parents and teachers each believe the school can do to improve
parental involvement and how their perceptions are similar and different.
The study indicates that both parents and teachers define effective involvement using many of the same qualities but differ
when determining how frequent parents should be involved. Parents and teachers both viewed communication as the most important factor
in improving effective parent involvement.
This exploratory study provides the insight that the perceptions of both parents and teachers are not easily predictable nor can they be summarized in two or three statements. Both parents and teachers shared strong views about what they believe to be effective. Among
the recommendations is that the school has a base of information in understanding the differences of both parents and teachers to taylor the parental involvement program to be more meaningful to both parties. The survey also provides topic for staff inservices to help staff better understand parent involvement from both parent and teacher perspectives
Job Satisfaction of Directors of Nurses Working in Long-term Care
Get PDFvii, 73 leaves. Advisor: Mary HansonThe Problem. The purpose of this study was to
determine whether a significant relationship existed between job satisfaction of long-term care facilities' Directors of Nurses and the leadership style practiced by their administrators. In addition, the relationship between the length of time they had worked with their current administrator and job satisfaction was studied.
Procedure. A Job Satisfaction Survey developed by Paul Spector (1985) was mailed to 100 percent of the long-term care facilities' Directors of Nurses in a midwestern state. The survey was designed to measure overall employee job satisfaction. The total response rate was 66 percent.
Findings: A significant relationship was found between job satisfaction of long-term care facilities' Directors of Nurses and the leadership style practiced by their administrators. In addition, a significant correlation was found between the length of time Directors of Nurses had worked with their current administrator and job satisfaction.
Conclusions: The results of this study can be of great value to nursing home owners and administrators who are interested in subordinate job satisfaction, employee retention, and provision of quality care to patients residing in their long-term care facility. Assisting administrators to better understand the needs of their Directors of Nurses could lead to a more effective and productive working relationship and an increased tenure of the nursing administrator. Awareness of the perceived importance of participatory leadership, as it influences the job satisfaction of Directors of Nurses, can influence the planning of management strategies that promote optimal performance by the long-term care facility administrative team.
Recommendation. Recommendations for future research include replicating this study using different geographical areas, administering a
leadership style-questionnaire, and statistically
analyzing the demographical data
The Acceptance and Feasibility of Alternatives to a Centralized Substitute Teacher System
Get PDFvii, 229 leaves. Advisor: Edward R. DucharmeThe problem. Centralized substitute teacher systems are widely used in urhan high schools, but without instructional effectiveness. With the demand for greater accountability and the increased use of school-based management, there is a need to investigate the acceptance and feasibility of alternatives to this system.
Procedures. Alternatives to a centralized substitute teacher system in high schoois were investigated in an urhan district in a midwestern state. A focus group of teachers and administrators generated eight alternatives.
Alternatives were defined as methods of covering for absent teachers without uslng substitutes from the district substitute teacher pool. Absences considered were limited to those of five days or fewer in duration. A critical component of this investigation was the assumption that monies could be returned to schools for their coverage for
absent teachers.
Teachers, administrators and students were surveyed to determine the attractiveness of alternatives generated by the focus group. Two high schools, the smallest and larqest in the district, were selected for further study.
Department chairpersons and administrators were
interviewed to determine their interest in using alternatives and problems they anticipated in change. Feasibility of implementing alternatives was based on current cost established by analyzing teacher absences for the 1990-1991 school year.
Findings. Alternatives were identified which educators wish to implement. The preferred alternative was substitute teachers assigned specifically to high schools. High schools differed in preference for alternatives as did
subject area departments. Interviewees believed teacher involvement was important in the selection of alternatives and findings support this belief.
Conclusions. No alternative was able to meet all of the needs of either high school, but, in combination, the use of alternatives appears feasible. Centralized substitute teacher systems continue to be needed for long term absences and days of high absenteeism. A model was develooped to illustrate the use of alternatives along with the centralized system.
Recommendations. Further investigation is needed to create improved methods of predicting absence trends for planning. The use of alternatives should be evaiuated for their instructional effectiveness and effect on professional
climate. There is a need to determine the acceptance and feasibility of alternatives at other instructional levels
Depression and Self-esteem in Adult Children of Alcoholics and Adult Children of Dysfunctional Families
Get PDF99 leaves. Advisor: Susan KashubeckThe problem. The purpose of this study was to assess whether ACAs have specific characteristics or problems directly related to parental alcoholism or whether they are simply a subset of a larger group of adult children from dysfunctional families. It was hypothesized that participants from dysfunctional families would have more depression and less self-esteem than participants from functional families, regardless of parental alcoholism, and that females would
have higher levels of depression than males.
Procedure. The sample was composed of 201 participants (73 males, 127 females, 1 no gender available) assigned to one of four groups according to parental alcoholism and family functioning.
Findings. Adult children of dysfunctional families reported more depression and lower self-esteem than the adult children of functional families, regardless of parental alcoholism, with adult children from dysfunctional: families having
similar levels of depression and self-esteem. No gender differences were found for depression or self-esteem.
Conclusions. The findings of this study indicated that family dysfunction predicted psychological distress (i.e., higher levels of depression and lower self-esteem), regardless of parental alcoholism.
Recommendations. It may be more beneficial to focus research efforts on the effects of family functionality, rather than on a particular population (e.g. Adult Children of Alcoholics)
The Direct Teaching of Thinking Skills for Improvement of Reading Comprehension Skills
No full textiv, 77 leaves. Advisor: Edward R. DucharmeThe problem: The purpose of this study was to
determine whether a difference existed in reading
comprehension test scores between groups receiving
traditional reading instruction and traditional reading
instruction with specific thinking skills. The study also
investigated the effect of I Q and gender on thinking skills
and reading comprehension.
Procedures: A sample of 257 fifth-grade students were
taught regular reading instruction with the experimental
Grow receivinq the first 10 lessons of Edward deBono's
Coqnitive Research Trust(CoRT)Thinkinq Skills Proqram.
Instruction consisted of one 35-minute lesson per week over
a 10-week period. Students were pretested and posttested
with the Stanford Diaqnostic Reading Test, 3rd Edition. All
test results were subjected to Analysis of Covariance which
adjusted mean scores.
Findinqs: All students experienced significant gains
in reading comprehension over the 10-week study. However,
no statistically significant differences were found to exist
between the experimental and control groups. The study
revealed that students in the high and middle IQ groups
experienced similar gains, both significantly higher than
students in the low IQ group. No differences were found to
exist in gain scores due to gender.
Conclusions: The evidence presented in this study
indicated gains in reading comprehension scores can be
attributed to the scope and sequence of the reading
curriculum and to the maturation of the students over the
10-week period. In this study, the specific thinking skills
course, for the purpose of improving reading comprehension,
was ineffective,
Recommendations: To maximize the effect of specific
thinking skills lessons, it is recommended that classroom
teachers be the instructors for the program. Staff
development would assist the teachers in integrating the
specific thinking skills into all instructional areas, thus providing additional practice time for students. Evaluation
should occur after the complete program of 60 le ssons has been taught. Investigation into the effectiveness of
specific thinking programs in all academic domains may
provide the basis for additional research
Are Teacher Experience and Education Associated with Evaluation Ratings?
Get PDFviii, 125 leaves. Advisor: Hilda L. William
Job Satisfaction in One Non-Direct Patient Care Setting
Get PDFiv, 91 leaves. Advisor: Marion HemstromThe purpose of this study was to determine the
level of Job satisfaction, the level of need
reinforcer, and any correlation between job
satisfaction and autonomy for nurses employed in a nondirect patient care setting. The sample consisted of 107 Registered Nurses employed in nine locations who adjudicate Medicare Part A claims.
Each nurse was asked to complete the Minnesota
Satisfaction Questionnaire and the Minnesota Importance Questionnaire which are part of the Theory of Work Adjustment developed by the Department of Vocational Psychology Research at the University of Minnesota. This theory was found to be congruent with Rogers' Theoretical Basis of Nursing.
Individually, 87 percent of the nurses indicated a
low level of job satisfaction. As a group, they
indicated a very low level of satisfaction. The nurses identified Achievement as the most important reinforcer for job satisfaction and Status as the least important. No correlation between autonomy and job satisfaction was found.
Recommendations for further study include: using
the same instruments with multiple study groups; and completing a comparison study of nursees engaged in direct care and nurses in non-direct care settings. Additionally, it is recommended that supervisors complete the Minnesota Job Description Questionnaire to establish an Occupational Reinforcer Pattern (ORP) for
nurses in non-patient care settings
The Effects of Ketoconazole on the Oxidation of Low Density Lipoproteins by Bovine Aortic Smooth Muscle Cells
Get PDF[iv], 57 leaves. Advisor: Russell SextonBovine aortic smooth muscle cells (BASMC) in culture have been shown to oxidatively modify human low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Such oxidized LDL appears to be a significant factor in the
etiology of atherosclerosis. This work shows that the azole antifungal drug ketoconazole when added to the culture medium of BASMC inhibits LDL oxidation. Confluent BASMC were fed 1 ml of F-
12/DMEM containing LDL (320 ug protein). The cells over a 24 hour period caused a 2x increase in LDL oxidation as measured by an increase in thiobarbituric acid reactive substances. Copper at 5 uM enhanced by 2x the oxidation of LDL by BASMC. Oxidized LDL was found to be cytotoxic to the BASMC. Addition of ketoconazole to the cell medium caused a concentration dependent inhibition of LDL
oxidation by BASMC. Maximum inhibition of LDL oxidation was achieved at 20 uM of ketoconazole. BASMC viability was maintained in the presence of ketoconazole and LDL as determined by the
protein content per well