1941 research outputs found
Sort by
The Long Range Effects of a Title III Curriculum
No full text46 leaves. Advisor: Robert VandenBrandenQuestions to be Answered.
1. Is there any dIfference in the dropout rates evidanced at Highland Park and Butler elementary Schools in Fort Dodge, Iowa, since 1972 when the Positive Experience Program (PEP) was instituted at Highland Park with Title III federal funds?
2. Did the PEP program produce any long-range
changes in negative attitudes of the students who formerly attended Highland Park?
3. How did academic achievement by former Highland
Park students compare to that by Butler students?
Dropout Rate. Seventeen percent of the original 53
members of the sixth grade at Highland Park had dropped out of school by 1979. Nineteen and one half percent of the 46 members of the sixth grade from the control school (Butler) had dropped out by the same time.
Positive Attitudes. Attitudes of the experimental (PEP) students were compared to attitudes of the control students by computing total scores on an attitude scale in an opinionnaire designed by the writer. Out of a possible total of 75 points, the experimiental group had a mean score of 55.7 and the control group had a mean score of 56.4. Student responses were also tabulated into "agree" and "disagree" responses in four subcategories on the attitude scale. There was no statistical difference between the group responses in any category. The experimental group did exhibit more positive attitudes in their responses than expected.
Academic Achievement. Twelfth grade ITED soores and sixth grade ITBS scores were obtained for 57 percent of both groups. The experimental group had a mean score of 51.2 on the ITBS and a mean of 49.4 on the ITED. The control group had a mean of 51.9 on the ITBS and a mean of 42.9 on the ITED. Neither group's difference was statistically significant. The academic data did indicate more growth shown by the experimental group than by the control.
Summary. The experimental group evidenced long-range changes making them very close to the control group in dropout rates, academic performance and positive expression. Althouqh there was no significant differences between
the groups, these changes would encourage future replication of the study for the following six years, until all of the students who participated in the PEP program have been evaluated in these three areas. The study will be continued
Eating as Adjunctive Behavior in Humans
No full text29 leaves. Advisor: Larry A. AlferinkThe problem. The present study investigated the
possibility that some eating may be adjunctive in nature during television viewing when an opportunity to eat is provided.
Procedure. Three children were individually placed
in a room with a television that monitored either uninterrupted cartoons or intermittent cartoons with commercials intended to serve as an S-. There were two levers in front of the chair in which they sat. One lever turned off the video portion for 10 sec while the other lever produced
breakfast cereal only while the video portion was off. The frequency of responding on these levers and the temporal placement of responses were recorded.
Findings. Two subjects showed response increases
during these phases consisting of intermittent cartoons with commercials and during these phases all subjects responded considerably more during commercials than cartoons. During uninterrupted cartoons, a higher proportion of responding
occurred durinq the first 30 sec of a cartoon than the last 30 sec.
Conclusions. The results suggest that commercials
serving as an S- can induce adjunctive eating. The fact that during uninterrupted cartoons a higher proportion of responding occurred during the first 30 sec (which is less reinforcinq and more predictable) than the last 30 sec
(which is more reinforcing and less predictable) of a cartoon may lend additional support to the notion that some eating is controlled by S- variables.
Recommendations. Additional research is needed to
investigate what kinds of commercials, television programs, and what time parameters lead to adjunctive eating. Furthermore, other S- variables may be investigated to identify conditions where adjunctive eating may be related to weight
control problems
A Comparison of Procedures to Reduce Self-Abusive Behavior in an Institutionalized Male
Get PDF28 leaves. Advisor: Dr. Kenneth E. LloydThe Problem. The existence of self-abusive behavior among mentally retarded individuals is a continuing challenge for those who work with them. Several treatment techniques are available for reducing or eliminating such behaviors.
Adversive stimuli such as shock or aromatic ammonia capsules have proven effective in eliminating self-abusive behaviors. Most settings do not allow the use of aversive stimuli without first exhausting less intrusive possibilities. One
of these, overcorrection, has reduced self-stimulatory behaviors. In the present study three self-abusive responses were measured. Later one response was consequated while the other two remained in baseline.
Procedure. Sessions were held in several settings
within the hospital. One female Psychiatric Tecbnician and one female Laboratory Technician acted as data collectors on alternate days. Three responses were recorded: striking fist to forehead, knee to forehead and head banging. Six experimental conditions were used: Baseline I, Positive Practice Overcorrection, Baseline II, Cold Water Squirt I, Baseline III, and Cold Water Squirt II. Reliability was measured ten times and averaged 98%.
Findings. Fist to forehead responses decreased during treatment. Knee to forehead responses also decreased as did head banging.
Conclusions. Both positive practice overcorrection
and a squirt of water to the cheek reduced the rate of fist to forehead responses. Response generalization was demonstrated with knee to forehead and head banging during both overcorrection and squirt bottle conditions
The Use of Self-Recording as a Staff Management Technique
Get PDF30 leaves. Advisor: Mary Ann PowersThe Problem. While a variety of management techniques have been uti1ized to modify staff behavior, there remains to be found an effective
cost and time efficient procedure to modify staff behavior on a long term basis.
Procedures. A multiple baseline design in which self-recording was introduced across eight staff members was utilized to evaluate the effects of recording on the rate of staff-resident social interactions with mentally retarded institutionalized individuals. Observations were conducted as well on resident behavior, and resident and ward cleanliness.
Findings. Interactions were found to increase from an average of 7% of all observations to an average of 54% of all observations made during the self-recording condition. Follow-up data provided similar results. Resident inappropriate behavior was found to decrease consistent with the intervention. Resident and ward cleanliness were found not to suffer.
Conclusions. Self-recording was found to be an effective cost and time efficient procedure for modifying staff behavior. The effects of self-recording maintained during follow-up. Increasing social interactions has a beneficial effect on resident behavior. General work load on a ward can be increased without a decrease in ward cleanliness.
Recommendations. Future research should examine the effects of social interactions contingent upon specific resident behaviors. The complex reciprocal interaction between staff and resident behavior should be investigated
Los Suenos en las Novelas "Marianela," "Fortunata y Jacinta," Y "Miau" de Benito Perez Galdos
Get PDF52 leaves. Advisor: Rosendo Diaz-PetersonA close examination of the novels "Marianela," "Fortunata y Jacinta" and "Miau" by Benito Perez Galdos and a careful reading of a wide variety of secondary sources about this famous Spanish realist has revealed a few small areas which have yet to be fully investigated. One of these areas is Galdos' use of dreams and it is this topic in relation to the three above mentioned novels that this thesis (written in Spanish) examines.
The results of this research suggests three major conclusions. The first is that Galdos uses dreams as part of the overall construction of the novel. For example, the dream is used to summarize or fore-shadow the plot of the novel. The second is that Galdos uses dreams to aid him in the development of his characters. In this instance one finds dreams reflecting the frustrations of the main characters, not infrequently sexual in nature. And finally Galdos uses dreams to reveal the religious conflicts and tensions within his characters. And not infrequently in this usage, we find Galdos criticizing the Catholic Church of his day
Operant Conditioning of Foot Thrusts in Infants and Concomitant Effects on Non-Reinforced Social Behaviors
Get PDF33 leaves. Advisor: W. Scott WoodThe problem. It has been reported by some investigators that behaviors not directly reinforced increase during the course of operant conditioning with infants. Specifically, smiling and cooing appear to emerge as the result of exposure to operant contingencies designed to
increase motor responding. Previous studies have failed to gather objective data on this phenomenon. The purpose of this study is to record smiling and cooing behavior in infants exposed to positive reinforcement for foot thrusts. Procedure. Three two-month-old infants were exposed to a mobile which could be activated by their foot thrusts. During daily ten-minute sessions the rate of foot thrusts and the percentage of five-second intervals in which the
infant smiled and cooed were assessed for baseline (stationary mobile) and contingent stimulation conditions.
Findings. Of the three subjects, only one learned
to operate the mobile by foot thrusts. One subject was dropped from the study after it was learned that he had access to another mobile and another did not condition. For the subject who learned to control the mobile, smiling did not vary systematically across conditions. In contrast
to this, cooing clearly increased after a few days of exposure to contingent stimulation.
Conclusions. Operant conditioning with infants is
not as straightforward as might be assumed, but when it is accomplished, increases in a non-reinforced behavior (cooing) occur in addition to increases in the reinforced responses.
Recommendations. Possible explanations for the increased cooing were presented. Further research might be directed to determine which explanation best accounts for this phenomenon
The Realism of George Moore
Get PDF102 leaves. Advisor: Dr. Bruce MartinThe problem. The realist novels of George Moore are extremely unlike one another in content and technique. While scholars have studied in detail the French influences in Moore's writing,
the question of whether Moore was something more than an imitator of French fiction and whether he contributed something new to the English realist tradition has not been studied.
Procedure. The multifarious literary currents in England during the Nineties were examined. Then George Moore's realist novels were studied with respect to their links with the naturalism
of Zola. Finally, the novels of Moore were compared to those of Dickens, Eliot, and Hardy with regard to elements of realism. One typical novel of each author was examined in detail,
and references were made to other novels of the three writers.
Findings. It was found that Moore brought to the English novel a distinctly new creation in realism. His borrowing from French naturalism was selective and superficial. Moore created a realist novel that was highly objective in tone and technique, concentrating on the cerebral reality of the individual, who for the first time in English fiction, was not a representative
of a distinct and strong social environment.
Conclusion. While Moore's novels will probably never be ranked beside those of Dickens, Eliot, and Hardy as the great novels of the English language, Moore will be regarded as one who not
only sought and found inspiration outside of the English tradition but also contributed something new and different to the tradition of the realist novel
A Translation and Commentary on Maruxa Vilalta's
Get PDF115 leaves. Advisor: Dr. Mario SoriaMaruxa Vilalta is a multi-faceted writer of contemporary Mexican drama. Her plays, although of unquestioned literary value, are generally unavailable to the English speaking public. Mexican theater and salient dramatists
since 1950 are considered, and a biographical study of Maruxa Vilalta and her works made. "A Matter of Noses", which premiered on September 9, 1966, won great critical acclaim throughout the Spanish speaking world. It demonstrates
Maruxa Vilalta's theatrical skills and exemplifies her antiwar philosophies as well as her concern for the struggle of people to overcome the dehumanizing forces of their environment.
The play is a tragic farce which juxtaposes the
childishness and ridiculousness of the fights between people for trivial motives with the senselessness of the wars that the world espouses. "A Matter of Noses" and a panorama of pertinent critical commentaries are translated and discussed
in order to make them accessible in English
First Draft of a Pictorial History of Drake University Through its First 100 Years
No full text140 leave
Knowing the Prisoner and Knowing Oneself: the Bases for the Convict-Counselor Relationship
Get PDF116 leaves. Advisor: Stuart TiedemanOne of the difficult challenges to the helping professions is the high rate of crime and recidivism. Can prison counselors meet this challenge by establishing good relationships
with their clients?
An investigation of primary and secondary source material illuminated this question. A counselor who is familiar with the problems in drawing inferences from crime statistics, aware of the kinds and proportions of crimes that occur, and examines the inmate population without preconceived stereotypes will be open to the uniqueness and humanness of his clients behind bars. In spite of these efforts, a beneficial relationship will be hampered if the helper holds beliefs which negate the humanity of the
client, for beliefs have a way of making themselves felt through behavior; thus, honest self-examination is another prerequisite for a constructive relationship. Finally, research has uncovered techniques which enable counselor
to translate these attitudes into behavior.
In order to successfully apply these findings it is recommended that a more comprehensive study of the role of the counselor within the criminal justice system be undertaken, efforts be made to behaviorally define beneficial penal
interactions, the number of helpers be increased, and follow-up studies be done on released helpees