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The Eutrophic Status of Ten Central Iowa Lakes
Get PDF35 leaves. Advisor: Dr. Phyllis KingsburyThe problem. To date little work has been done
determining the eutrophic status of small central Iowa lakes. The purpose of this study is to (1) determine the eutrophic status of ten central Iowa lakes; (2) compare and contrast any differences between the lakes located within the Wisconsin
Glacial drift and those lakes located outside of this area; and (3) compare and contrast any differences between natural and man-make lakes.
Procedure. During the spring of 1975, the fall of
1975 and the spring of 1976, composite water samples were taken from the euphotic layer of each lake. Each water sample was then subjected to various tests including: alkalinity, free carbon dioxide, specific conductance, pH, nitrate and nitrite nitrogen and ortho and meta phosphate.
After autoclaving, each water sample was innoculated with a test algae, Selenastrum capricornutum, and incubated under set conditions. Cell counts and algal dry weights were
determined. The algal dry weights and seasonal changes in lake alkalinity were correlated to the eutrophic status of each lake.
Findings. After incubation, all the samples from the man-made lakes had moderate algal dry weight values while the algal dry weight values of the samples from the natural lakes were higher. In general, the lakes located within the Wisconsin Glacial drift had higher chemical parameters than
those located outside of this area but this did not seem to have any effect on the general eutrophic status of any lake studied.
Conclusion. Of the lakes studied the man-made lakes are mesotrophic while the natural lakes are eutrophic.
Recommendations. It is suggested that further studies on these lakes be more quantitative, employing more frequent samplings and including nutrient budgets and turnover to aid in developing a plan to improve water quality
Central City-Suburban Political Preference: The Case of Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa
Get PDF88 leaves. Advisor: Dr. William AngrickThe thesis is that there is no difference in political preference of city or suburban residents without a concomitant difference in social status.
The Presidential electoral returns for 1972 and
1976 were correlated with socioeconomic information from the 1970 census of population for Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa. The statistical analysis was done by computer.
The findings support the thesis. In addition, the
findings indicate that lower socioeconomic status registered voters reside in the east side of Des Moines and the contiguous suburban townships and tend to vote Democrat; that the higher socioeconomic status registered voters reside in
the west side of Des Moines and the contiguous suburban townships, and tend to vote Republican; that lower and higher socioeconomic status voters tend to participate proportionately in the actual voting process, once they are registered; and that suburban residents tend to be in a
higher socioeconomic status than city residents
The Effect of Red Rock Reservoir on the Planktonic Community of the Des Moines River
Get PDF53 leaves. Advisor: Wayne B. MerkleyThe problem. The objective of this study was to
determine the effect of Red Rock Reservoir on the planktonic community of the Des Moines River.
Procedure. This was accomplished by (1) measuring primary productivity of the phytoplankton in terms of C14-uptake using standard lake methods in conjunction with a
newly designed sample-holding apparatus to overcome most of the problems attributed to water currents, and (2) ascertaining
the fate of phytoplankton passing through Red Rock Reservoir.
Findings. Primary productivity above Red Rock
Reservoir was significantly higher than below Red Rock Reservoir. The values recorded for water temperature, available light, essential nutrients and water velocity showed no
correlation to differences in primary production. The greatest correlation was found between primary production and the total number of planktonic organisms per milliliter.
Conclusion. Primary production by phytoplankton
below Red Rock dam was significantly lower than above Red Rock Reservoir. This difference was apparently due to lower population levels below the dam as a result of cell destruction
in passage through Red Rock Reservoir.
Recommendations. It is recommended that a similar study be conducted after Saylorville Reservoir has been impounded to assess its impact on primary production
An Approach to the Study of American Indian Literature at the College Level
Get PDF154 leaves. Advisor: John HagamanAlthough few English students in American colleges and universities have been exposed to the materials of the American Indian tradition,
such literature has been available for a number of years. The works of American Indians, whether individual or tribal, have generally gone unnoticed by the majority of teachers, who have usually favored non-Indian interpretations of Indian experiences. Most literature students have studied the works of James Fenimore Cooper and have read
"Hiawatha," but few have read the Navajo "Night Chant" or heard traditional Indian tales, and courses in twentieth century literature have routinely omitted American Indian novelists and poets. An increasing interest in minority and ethnic literature, however, has resulted in more publication of American Indian materials for the classroom. While this is to be applauded as a long-awaited realization that American literature is multi-cultural, there are difficulties inherent in the assumption that one can pick up a lesson plan or curriculum guide and teach a novel by N. Scott Momaday or a group of poems by Ray Young Bear. To understand and to teach American Indian
literature is more difficult than is apparent on the surface. Although a teacher could "get by" with a superficial treatment of a novel or
poem, such activities do justice neither to education nor to the literature.
Teaching minority literature is difficult because we lack a critical past that exists for most American and British literatures.
The problems are intensified by the negative attitude toward minority groups that has been nurtured by the very exclusion of their literature from courses. In excluding these literatures from regular academic programs, English departments have left students with mostly popular culture to determine their images of and knowledge about Native Americans.
Chapter One discusses some of the stereotypes which in the past have hindered and still today limit our understanding of American
Indian literature. The study of American Indian literature should begin with the
traditional oral materials of the People. What have been passed down as poems were originally songs, which usually are presented in a
printed page context rather than through the oral tradition within the cultural context. Also as a part of the oral heritage are a large
number of tales and myths. There are religious accounts of creation, trickster tales, explanatory tales, and both serious and humorous stories. Such literature is found among all American Indian tribes and, although much has been lost, there is a great deal remaining as a part of living American Indian cultures. These oral materials are at the core of later biographical and autobiographical works which tell the stories of individual lives as well as tribal lives. The ceremonies
recounted in Black Elk Speaks and the account of the religious lives of his people in Charles Eastman's Soul of an Indian can be
directly traced to the power and pervasiveness of the oral tradition. Most often selected for today's classrooms are the contemporary fiction
and poems, written in English rather than the native languages and often reflecting twentieth century concerns. Here too are the
vestiges of the traditional cultures of Indian people, sometimes directly related to a particular tribe and sometimes reflecting a pan-Indian philosophy. Writers such as N. Scott Momaday, James Welch, Wendy Rose, Leslie Silko, Ray Young Bear, and others represent the
vitality and imaginations of the Indian writers of this century, but they do not ignore their heritage, nor do they deny its influence. Because none of the contemporary literature of the American Indian can be fully understood or appreciated without a solid knowledge of the traditional materials--the symbols, the characters, the themes, and
their significance to tribal lives--this study will emphasize the traditional heritage that continues to perdure and to influence and
direct contemporary writers. The emphasis of Chapter Two will be on this essence of American Indian literature. Chapter Three will then illustrate the influences of traditional elements on contemporary writing. It is impossible to prescribe a plan for a course in American Indian literature that will be appropriate for all college classrooms;
nevertheless, it is possible to describe a variety of approaches and materials which might be used. To this end, the concluding chapter will present several suggestions to the teacher of American Indian literature. These suggestions plus the annotated bibliography will provide substantial material from which to organize a course designed to meet the needs of an individual teacher and class
Alchemy In Selected Plays Of Shakespeare
Get PDF141 leaves. Advisor: Grace EckleyAlchemy, as a philosophical system incorporating elements of religion, psychology, and myth, provided a rich matrix of imagery and associations. The mean of certain allusions and processes in Shakespeare's plays are clarified and extended by reference to alchemical concepts. Research includes examination of primary
alchemical texts, a survey of historical and critical comment on alchemy, exploration of alchemical metaphors in selected plays of
Shakespeare, and an intensive examination of Hamlet. Citations from alchemical texts are compared to specific passages in Shakespeare's works, not as sources, but as explanatory analoques. Historical evidence indicates that alchemy was more eclectic, more pervasive, and more influential than previously judged. In
both its exoteric and esoteric aspects, it held a significant place in the developing thought patterns of mankind. The material of esoteric alchemy was man himself. The alchemists assumed a world which operated as chemical process, a Nature which tended toward perfection but might be diverted, and a method through which man could participate in the restoration and rejuvenation of himself and his world. Alchemical references are implied in the metaphorical use of blood as tincture in Julius Caesar and Macbeth. Cordelia is
related to the Paracelsian idea of balm in King Lear. Alchemical imagery associated with the processes of tincturing, surfeiting,
healing, and magic is found in other selected references. Hamlet participates in a process of restoration which includes both his destruction and his fulfillment. His actions are linked
to the passage of time and a movement through various stages which may be compared to the steps of the alchemical process: dissolution,
separation, putrefaction, fixation, and projection. His world, like the world of the alchemists' is full of the potentialities of taint or tincture. Alchemy is examined as an essentially dramatic and poetic complex of ideas suggesting the possibilities of transformation
The Immune Response of the Laboratory Mouse Subjected to 'Trichinella Spiralis' and Prednisone
Get PDF31 leaves. Advisor: Rodney A. RogersThe problem. This project studied the effect of
prednisone on the immune system of young white laboratory mice infected with Trichinella spiralis.
Procedure. Mice were divided into the following four groups: 1) T. spiralis-infected, 2) prednisone-injected,
3) T. spiralis-infected and prednisone-injected, and 4) normal controls. Three days prior to the inoculation of T. spiralis to groups one and three, prednisone injections were initiated on alternate days to groups two and three. At the end of the thirty day life cycle of T. spiralis, sera was drawn from the four groups for an agar gel-diffusion and
precipitin test to show prednisone's effect on the immunoglobin production due to the Trichinella larvae. The number of larvae in the diaphragm muscle was also determined to
insure infection had occurred, and to show prednisone's effect on the susceptibility to infection.
Findings. The "T. spiralis-nfected:prednisone-injected" group had a 23% higher frequency of larvae present in the diaphragm muscle than did the "T. spiralis-infected" group. Prednisone treated mice demonstrated a marked decrease in weight gain as compared to the other groups.
Conclusions and Recommendations. Prednisone appeared to immunosuppress the mice, resulting in an enhanced Trichinella infection, and decreased the total weight gain of the mice. For further study, the use of multiple infections, a longer period of time before the sera is collected, and perhaps heavier infection doses of Trichinella may facilitate the antibody study. A histological study would
be useful in investigation of the effects of prednisone on the immuno-competent regions
Effects of Audio Cueing on Teacher Praise and Subsequent Effects on Children's Rule Violations in a Day Care
Get PDFThe problems. The experimental problems were to demonstrate the effectiveness of an audio cueing procedure in manipulating teacher praise and to assess any subsequent changes in students' violations of classroom rules in a day care center.
Procedure. Three teachers, one in each of three daily free play periods, and nine children were observed using an interval recording technique. The cues were short duration audio-tape recorded tones presented automatically. Teachers were instructed to praise a child's good behavior at least after every cue.
Findings. Each teacher's percentage of 20 second intervals in which praise was recorded was increased over her respective baseline. Following low cueing rates, each teacher's praise increased when high cueing rates were presented and decreased when low rates were reintroduced.
Spearman's rho correlations of praise levels and median rule violations yielded r = -.116, r = -.002, and r = -.073 in the three periods.
Conclusions. The cueing procedure was an efficient and effective tool in manipulating the teachers' levels of praise. Praise and rule violations were not systematically related possibly because (as informal observation indicated) other forms of teacher attention followed both appropriate and inappropriate student behaviors.
Recommendations. Future studies should assess the effect of teacher praise on the student behaviors which are praised
The Purified Vision: The Fiction of Wallace Spegner
Get PDF124 leaves. Advisor: Stuart BurnsThis dissertation examines the most prominent characteristics of Wallace Stegner's fiction. The controlling theme is the "purified vision" or Stegner's dedication to the principle
of clarity in art. This principle serves as unifying metaphor and loose framework for a three part study of method, theme, and poetic effect.
Part I is an analysis of Stegner's first person narrators and his use of the bird motif. The discussion is concerned primarily with the first person narrators, Joe Allston and Lyman Ward, who appear in Stegner's recent fiction. They are assessed as both characters and devices in
reference to Wayne Booth's classification of fictional narrators. The focus here is on point of view, the consequences and appropriateness of the first person narrator for fiction.
Part II examines a major element in Stegner's fiction, the protagonist's search for himself which usually involves him with some kind of father/authority figure on the filial,
political, or spiritual levels. The broad theme of paternalism is expressed in a variety of patterns but the father and son relationships of The Big Rock Candy Mountain and the Joe Allston novels are the most significant. It is this
theme of paternalism that produces the warm humanity and passionate parenthood of Stegner's fiction.
Part III marks a culmination with the discussion of the spiritual/poetic dimensions of Stegner's works. It suggests that Stegner is most evocative and poetic when working with time and his "ghosts of memory" or his "ghosts of meaning"--and
that though he is " no mystic of any stripe," he nevertheless succeeds in being most mystical with non-mystical/non-spectacular means--the purified vision which in this case serves spiritual truth.
The conclusion evaluates Stegner's critics to date plus asserting the importance of this supremely versatile artist
Quality, Equity, Efficiency, Evaluation, And Local Flexibility: The Political And Educational Dilemmas Of Iowa's Foundation Plan
Get PDF238 leaves. Advisor: Dr. James HalvorsenDuring the 1970's the State of Iowa has exercised a high degree of budget control over its public elementary and secondary schools. Five guiding principles, developed by the
Governor's Educational Advisory Committee for improving education for Iowans, led to the development of the Foundation Plan and has since provided the basis and the support for
State legislative and executive action to meet the educational responsibility to its citizens. Voluntary reorganization, causing a drastic reduction in the number of districts, was to have occurred, and a mandatory reorganization law is now being considered.
The problem. The primary task was to develop a definition for quality education to be used for comparing programs being offered in different size rural school districts. The
second task was to show what progress has been achieved on a statewide basis toward providing tax and expenditure equity. The third task was to define efficiency and to determine if
the State's insistence upon efficiency was brought about major voluntary reorganization. The fourth task was to look at the problem of providing citizens with meaningful evaluation
of local districts. The fifth task was to define local flexibility, to show what flexibility(ies) exist within the Foundation Plan, and to illustrate to what extent schools have opted to use them.
Procedure. The review of related literature presents an historical study of the theoretical development of state finance plans, the court's influence on finance reform, and authoritative views on quality, efficiency, and local flexibility.
Forty-three items of data were collected on each of the eighteen randomly selected rural school districts from State Department of Public Instruction reports and through
administering student, teacher, and parent survey instruments (designed by the researcher to reflect elements of satisfaction viewed by authorities as being important) to selected
populations within each district. The districts were grouped into categories of three sizes. ANOVA tests were used to determine if there were significant differences in levels of satisfaction by size; t-tests for determining where differences
existed; z-tests for determining where significant differences existed in average daily attendance and student participation
in extra-curricular activities; and Pearson correlation tests for determining correlations between size and the other variables of educational input and output. A correlation
matrix table was used to illustrate the intercorrelations among all variables. Conventionally accepted levels of
probability were used throughout the study for determining significance.
Findings. (Quality) The output of an educational program best reflects its quality. School district quality can be measured in terms of student retention, student participation, graduate productivity, citizen satisfaction, and parent willingness to financially support schools. Students
in districts with below 750 enrollments expressed higher levels of satisfaction with their schools. Teachers in those districts expressed a higher level of satisfaction than did teachers in districts of 1000-1999. Larger districts displayed the following significant characteristics: They offered their students more units, paid their teachers higher salaries, and bad lower costs per pupil. Smaller districts had smaller pupil-teacher ratios; greater student retention rates, knew a
greater percentage of the graduates' status, bad higher levels of student satisfaction because of teacher assistance and personal interest, and their recognition for school accomplishments, bad higher levels of parent satisfaction with their school, their children's opportunities in extra-curricular
activities, and a greater willingness to vote for increased school taxes. Statewide data revealed that rural districts in smaller size cohorts have lower dropout rates; higher
graduate productivity in terms of employment percentages and percentage of graduates going on for post-secondary training; and higher standardized achievement scores in the 70th, 80th, and 90th percentiles. Smaller schools had greater student participation in extra-curricular activities. (Equity) Iowa is the fourth most equalized state in the union in terms of expenditure equity and substantial progress has been made toward achieving tax equity. (Efficiency) Efficiency must be measured in terms of what is being received for dollars spent. Higher per pupil cost districts characteristically had higher student retention rates; higher average student daily attendance; greater student pride in their school; and higher levels of parent satisfaction with their school and that their tax dollars were being put to good use by their schools.
(Evaluation) The State basically collects input data on schools for purposes of evaluating them. In terms of quality
output, citizens have no better knowledge today than they did five years ago concerning the relative standing of their district. (Local Flexibility) Local flexibility must be
associated with local budget control. Iowa's plan provides for a limited additional enrichment tax. Six schools, all with enrollments below 350 and having an eighty percent local effort support, have elected to use this means of local budget flexibility.
Conclusions. Based upon the results of this study, Iowa's smaller rural school districts deserve more political and educational attention and credit for offering quality
educational opportunities to their students. Alternatives to reorganization should be considered in order to preserve the positive thing's that are coming out of these districts.
The findings would support a movement toward the decentralization of larger units rather than the consolidation of smaller units
The Effect Of Prekindergarten Experiences On The Intellectual And Academic Performance Of Culturally Deprived Children
Get PDF165 leaves Advisor: Charles RowleyThe problem. The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of a formal prekinderqarten education proqram on culturally deprived children. Retention of intellectual qrowth due to prekindergarten treatment was examined. The specific aspects of reading readiness, reading and mathematics achievement, measured intelligence, visual motor skills, language usage, and concept formation among the
different groups of children were also investigated.
Procedure. Subjects were identified for the study by
meeting specific eligibility criteria of the regulations as
set down by Title I, Elementary and Secondary Education Act
legislation and who resided in a midwestern school system
during the period beginning with the school year 1973-74 and
ending with the school year 1975-76. The first project year
included an experimental school-based group. Change in
measured intelligence was determined for this group by comparing scores taken at the time of beginning one year's
participation in the project and at the end of grade one. During the second project year, a comparison between an experimental school-based group and a control group was
made regarding reading and mathematics achievement change
and status in reading readiness. During the third project year, comparisons were made between an experimental school-based
group, an experimental home-based group, and a control group regarding differences in measured intelligence, visual motor skills, language usage, and concept formation.
Findings. For the experimental group from the first project year, the analysis indicated no change regarding measured intelligence. In the second project year, the analysis indicated no significant difference between the
experimental and control groups regarding changes in reading
or mathematics achievement, or in reading readiness status. For the third project year, a comparison between the two experimental groups and the control group indicated the following (p < .05): the performance of the school-based group surpassed that of the control group in measured intelligence; there was no significant differences among the
three groups regarding a comparison of visual motor skills;
the performance of the school-based group surpassed that of the home-based group and the control group regarding language usage; and the performance of the school-based group surpassed that of the home-based group regarding
concept formation.
Conclusions. The findings indicated the following
conclusions: (1) Children who attend a school-based prekindergarten educational program benefit more in measured
intelligence and language usage, but not in visual motor skills, over children who do not participate in any prekindergarten
educational program; (2) Children who attend a school-based prekindergarten educational program benefit more in language usage and concept formation, but not in measured intelligence or visual motor skills, than do
children who participate in a home-based prekindergarten
educational program; (3) Children who attend a prekindergarten
educational program do not show significantly greater
growth in reading or mathematics achievement, nor in reading
readiness status than children who do not participate in any prekindergarten educational program by the time they reach the end of their kindergarten year; (4) Children who
attend a prekindergarten program do not show a change in
measured intelligence from the beginning of the prekindergarten
year to the end of the first grade.
Recommendations. Recommendations included: (1) If a school district is considering the implementation of a
prekindergarten program, it would appear that the school-based
approach is the most effective; (2) All school districts
should utilize an evaluation procedure similar to
that used in this study in appraising prekindergarten
programs; (3) Future studies should consider the measurement
of human characteristics other than those of the cognitive
area