The Effectiveness of the precision fluency shaping program controlling stuttering behaviour in adults

This study was done to test the effectiveness of the Precision Fluency Shaping Program in controlling stuttering behaviour in adults. Two sites were chosen, each using the Precision Fluency Shaping Program to treat stuttering. At each clinic, a Speech Patbologist made a random selection of the subjects' pre- and post-therapy video-taped interviews, totalling 20 in all. During the interviews, the clients were asked questions and re~d a short passage to determine the frequency of stuttering in natural conversation and in reading. Perceptions of Stuttering Inventory questionnaires vvere also filled in before and after therapy. Two judges were trained to identify stuttering behaviour, and were given an inter-rater reliability test at selected intervals throughout the study. Protocols",:m.a;d;6 of each interview tape, were scored for (a) stuttering behaviour and (b) words spoken or read. An Analysis of Variance Repeated Measures Test was used to compare before and after scores of conversations, readings, and Perceptions of Stuttering Inventory to determine whether the Precision Fluency Shaping Program controlled stuttering behaviour significantly. A Pearson R Correlation Test was also administered to determine if a relationship existed bet\veen Perceptions of Stuttering Inventory and (i) conversation and (ii) reading scores.

The effectiveness of a multisensory writing program in improving cursive writing ability in children with sensorimotor difficulties

It is estimated that five to ten percent of children experience sensory motor difficulties that result in various learnlng disabilitiies , among them. inabllity to output Information on paper in the appropriate manner (Ayres ,1985). The relationship between sensorimotorabillty and handwriting is well documented in the literature (Freeman,1917; Townsend , 1951; Nlkola-Ll sa, 1987). While much of the literature is inconclusive, there are findings to suggest that muitisensory handwriting programmes are an effective approach to improvlng writing abIlity in these chlldren. For a number of years, Occupational Therapists have been involved in the remediation of handwriting utllizing , amongst other approaches . multisensory programmes. While subjective assessments of effectiveness have been extremerly positive. scientIfic evaluation has been minimal . If further intervention in this area is to occur, it Is essential that the profession be able to justify the existence of such programmes . The purpose of this study was to examine what effects a multlsensory writing prog~am would have on the curslve writing ability of chlldren with sensorimotor dlfficulties. A single case with multiple baselines across be havlours design was used , with the behavlours being cursive writing abilIty of fIve distInct letter groups. The fIve groups were taught in random order, one group every two weeks , In a one-hour session. Repeated measurements of writing speed and qualIty for each letter group were made. This design was repeated over three other cases . Results of the study yielded statistical signifi cance in trend changes In specIfic letter groups for all of the chlldren following interventlon. One child achieved statistical significance In the overall change In quality , while none of the children achieved overall statistical significance In speed score changes . Teacher reports and an assessment of written language prior to and following the program suggest that Intervention may have had a positive effect on self-confidence in written output, and on the maturlty of written expression in some of the cases . Further research in this field is needed to validate the continual use of multisensory writing programmes by Occupational Theraplsts worklng with this specific population and to provide some directlon with regards to the Integration of multlsensory writing programmes within the regular academic remedial programme .

The effectiveness of a computer program on career planning for university students

This study investigated the effectiveness of a computer program, PERSONAL CAREER DIRECTIONS (PC DIRECTIONS) (Anderson, Welborn, & Wright, 1983) on career planning and exploration for twenty-four Brock University students (18 women and 6 men) who requested career planning assistance at the Career/Placement Services of the Counselling Centre. A one-group pretest/posttest design was used in the study_ Progress in career planning and exploration was measured by Career Planning (CP) and Career Exploration (CE) scales of the Career Development Inventory (College and University Form) (Super, Thompson, Lindeman, Jordaan, & Myers, 1981). A paired samples 2-tailed t test for Career Development Attitudes (CDA) , the combined CP and CE scales, revealed the posttest scores were significantly higher than the pretest scores, t(23) = 3.74, 2 < .001. Student progress was also assessed by self-report lists of job titles which reflected positive changes after students used PC DIRECTIONS. In response to several questions, students' attitudes were more positive than negative toward the program. Implications are that PC DIRECTIONS is an effective component in promoting career planning for university students. Further studies may reveal that different types of students may benefit from different interventions in the career planning process.

The effect of motor-encoding activities on memory and performance in a grade one reading program

This study examined the effectiveness of motor-encoding activities on memory and performance of students in a Grade One reading program. There were two experiments in the study. Experiment 1 replicated a study by Eli Saltz and David Dixon (1982). The effect of motoric enactment (Le., pretend play) of sentences on memory for the sentences was investigated. Forty Grade One students performed a "memory-for-sentences" technique, devised by Saltz and Dixon. Only the experimental group used motoric enactment of the sentences. Although quantitative findings revealed no significant difference between the mean scores of the experimental group versus the control group, aspects of the experimental design could have affected the results. It was suggested that Saltz and Dixon's study could be replicated again, with more attention given to variables such as population size, nature of the test sentences, subjects' previous educational experience and conditions related to the testing environment. The second experiment was an application of Saltz and Dixon's theory that motoric imagery should facilitate memory for sentences. The intent was to apply this theory to Grade One students' ability to remember words from their reading program. An experimental gym program was developed using kinesthetic activities to reinforce the skills of the classroom reading program. The same subject group was used in Experiment 2. It was hypothesized that the subjects who experienced the experimental gym program would show greater signs of progress in reading ability, as evidenced by their scores on Form G of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test--Revised. The data from the WRM--R were analyzed with a 3-way split-plot analysis of variance in which group (experimental vs. control) and sex were the between subjects variables and test-time (pre-test vs. post-test) was the within-subjects variable. Findings revealed the following: (a) both groups made substantial gains over time on the visual-auditory learning sub-test and the triple action of group x sex x time also was significant; (b) children in the experimental and control groups performed similarly on both the pre- and post-test of the letter identification test; (c) time was the only significant effect on subjects' performance on the word identification task; (d) work attack scores showed marked improvement in performance over time for both the experimenta+ and control groups; (e) passage comprehension scores indicated an improvement in performance for both groups over time. Similar to Experiment 1, it is suggested that several modifications in the experimental design could produce significant results. These factors are addressed with suggestions for further research in the area of active learning; more specifically, the effect of motor-encoding activities on memory and academic performance of children.

The effects of a language intervention program on the phonological and word awareness skills of language-delayed kindergarten children

Over the past decade, research has suggested that phonological and word awareness skills (i.e., the ability to reflect on and manipulate the components of language) are important for early reading acquisition. This study examined the phonological and word awareness skills of language-delayed kindergarten children at the beginning and end of a language intervention program using five tasks. The results were compared to the performances of average kindergarten children who did not participate in the language intervention program. There were significant performance differences for all tasks, favouring the average children, at the beginning of the intervention program. However, at the end of the training interval, the languagedelayed children performed as well as the average children.

The impact of a training program in phonological awareness on children's early writing

This study examined the effects that a training program in phonological awareness had on the early writing skills of children in a Grade One class in the Lincoln County Separate school system. The intent of the training program was to provide consistent and systematic practice in the manipulation of the phonological structure of language. The games and activities of the training program were related to a framework of developmental phonological skills and practised in a group setting during an unstructured period of the regular classroom schedule. The training program operated three days in a six-day cycle for approximately twenty minutes a day, from November until mid-March. All children were tested at the outset and conclusion of the study to determine level of functioning in letter identification, word recognition, verbal intelligence, phonological awareness and spelling. Results of the pre-tests and post-tests were compared to determine differences between the experimental and control groups over time. In addition, a systematic analysis of the children's writing looked at the development of the spelling of regular and irregular words. The results of this study provided strong support for the hypothesis that the treatment group would progress through the stages of early writing development more quickly than children without such training. On the basis of differences between the groups over time, it was evident that training in phonological awareness had a direct positive effect on the spelling of regular words for children during the early stages of writing. The training program did not have a significant effect on the spelling of irregular words. Test results evaluating phonological awareness indicated a significant difference within each group over time but no significance between the groups during the experimental period. It would appear that the results of these tests reflect maturational changes in the child rather than causal effects of the training program. Nor did the effects of the training program transfer significantly to other aspects of language. Although some of the hypotheses considered were not supported by the study, the results do indicate that children during the early stages of writing development can benefit from a training program in phonological awareness. The theoretical direction for effective programming as a result of this study is discussed. The educational implications of training phonological awareness concurrent to beginning efforts in writing are considered.

The quality of life in the Master of Education program, Brock University

This study addressed the problem of the quality of life in the Brock Master of Education program. Survey and interview data were used to gain an understanding of satisfaction with the learning achieved and student life experienced. Eighty-seven percent of the study sample reported satisfaction with the program overall. Results suggested the higher the overall satisfaction with a program, the greater the likelihood learning and student life satisfaction were also more positive. Student reflections suggested satisfaction with the quality of life in the program was associated with the program's focus on the student, the use of self-directed learning, and the support of professors to meet student needs. Comparison of the Brock Master of Education survey with the Brock Pre-Service Teacher Education program showed both student groups shared a similar satisfaction with student life in the Faculty. Comparison of Master of Education programs suggested the difference between two programs, a difference which may be influenced by time in the program. The results from the three programs suggested that students beyond the first undergraduate degree favored the school domains of learning acquisition. Supplementary data on the relationship between cognitive and affective opinions suggested the more positive the affective dimension of learning, the greater the likelihood the cognitive dimensions of student life were also more positive. It was concluded that time was a chief factor influencing part-time student satisfaction with both learning and student life in the program. Part-time students, as. the majority in the survey, expressed comments about the need for clarity of communication between the organization and student to promote the effective use of limited time.

The development, assessment, and implementation of an evaluation of the EMPOWER Program at shelters for abused women /

The development, assessment, and implementation of a program evaluation instrument was carried out to evaluate the impact and efficacy of the EMPOWER Program. This intervention was created to educate residents at a shelter for abused women with an anticipated outcome of prevention. Participants included the staff and residents at 2 shelters in Southern Ontario. Client pre, post and follow-up measures were obtained and analyzed statistically and using keyword content analysis. A single staff measure was obtained and summarized using keyword content analysis. Qualitative results were suggestive of important change in participants. All women in the post and follow-up measures believed their participation in the EMPOWER Program provided them with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to avoid abusive relationships in the fliture. This transformational impact was repeatedly expressed in both resident and staff feedback. Limitations of this research, as well as suggestions for future study were discussed.

An exploration of the impact of a mandatory quality assurance program on the staff nurse's commitment to professional development /

This study explored experiences in relation to the impact of the College of Nurses of Ontario's (CNO's) mandatory Quality Assurance (QA) program on registered nurses (RNs) working in a clinical setting of an acute care hospital. A qualitative descriptive research design was used and data collection was done in 2 stages. First, a survey with open-ended questions was given to 45 nurses. Second, 8 respondents from the survey were interviewed using a semistructured format. Data were obtained from 2 groups-diploma-prepared and post diploma-prepared RNs. Findings demonstrated that the CNO's QA program had varying influences on the RNs' learning paths, and these differences appeared to be related to the educational background of the individual. The diploma-prepared nurses reported that their commitment to professional development was influenced by their level of internal motivation, the pressures associated with time, and the need for a strong external motivator, namely the obligation of management to conduct formal performance appraisals. They further reported that the QA program played a part in positively altering their commitment to continuing education. The post-diploma baccalaureate nurses reported that the QA program played a positive role in influencing their ongoing learning, along with their level of internal motivation, the work and health care environment, and the element of professionalism. Several implications for nursing practice, theory, and fiirther research also became evident.

Women’s Literary Club of St. Catharines Fonds

The Women's Literary Club of St. Catharines was founded in 1892 by a local author, Emma Harvey (Mrs. J.G.) Currie (1829-1913) and held its last official meeting on February 19, 1994. The Club developed, flourished and eventually waned. After more than one hundred successful years, the last members deposited the Club's archives at Brock University for the benefit of researchers, scholars and the larger community. The ‘object of the Club’ was established as “the promotion of literary pursuits.” The Club was a non-profit social organization composed of predominantly white, upper middle class women from the St. Catharines and surrounding areas. Club meetings were traditionally held fortnightly from March to December each year. The last meeting of the year was a celebration of their Club anniversary. The early meetings of the Club include papers presented and music performed by Club members. The literary pursuits that would dominate the agendas for the entire life of the Club reflected an interest in selected authors, national and local history, classical history, musical performances and current cultural and newsworthy events. For example in 1893 a typical meeting agendas would contain papers on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Hawaii, Brook Farm, Miss Louisa May Alcott and “Education of Women 100 years Ago.” Within the first year of the Club’s existence, detailed minute books became the norm and an annual agenda or program developed. The WLC collection contains a near complete set of meeting minutes from 1892 until 1995 and a comprehensive collection of yearly programs from 1983-1967 which members took great care to publish each year. Mrs. Currie brought together a group of women with a shared interest in literature and history, who wanted to pursue that interest in a formal and structured manner. She was well educated and influenced at an early age by her tutor and mentor William Kirby, local historian, writer and newspaper editor from Niagara-on-the-Lake. While Currie’s private education influenced her love of literature and history, the Club movement of the 1890’s offered a more public forum for her to share knowledge and learning with other women. Mrs. Currie was the wife of St. Catharines lawyer, James G. Currie, who also served as a Member of Parliament for the county of Lincoln. Mrs. W.H. McClive, who was also married to a St. Catharines lawyer, worked closely with Currie and they began research into the possibility of a literary Club in St. Catharines. Currie corresponded with a variety of literary Clubs across North America before she and Mrs.McClive tagged onto the momentum of the Club movement and published “A Clarion call for Women of St. Catharines To Form a Literary Club” in the local paper The St. Catharines Evening Journal. in 1892 and asked like Clubs to publish the news of their new Club. The early years of the WLC set the foundation of how the Club meetings and events would unfold for the next 80 plus years. Photos and minutes from the first ten years reveal an excitement and interest in organized Club outings. One particular event, an annual pilgrimage to the homestead of Laura Secord, became a yearly celebration for the Club. Club President, Mrs. Currie’s own personal work on Laura Secord amplified the Club’s interest in the ‘heroine of 1812’ and she allocated the profits from her publication on Secord in order to create a commemorative plaque/monument in the name of Laura Secord. The Club celebrated this event with a regular pilgrimage to this site. The connection felt by Club members and this memorial would continue until the Club’s last meetings. The majority of members in the early years were of the upper middle classes in the growing city of St. Catharines. Many of the charter members were the wives of merchants, business men, lawyers, doctors, even a hatter. Furthermore, the position of president was most often held by a woman with a comprehensive list of interests. This is particularly the case in Isabel Brighty McComb (1876-1941). Brighty who became a member in 1903, became Club president in 1932 and stayed in her post until her death in 1941. Similar to Mrs. Currie, Brighty was a local historian and published 2 booklets on local history. Her obituary indicates her position in the community as an author and involved community member committed to lifetime memberships in the Imperial Order of Daughters of Empire, I.O.D.E., the National Organization of Women, N.O.W. and the United Empire Loyalist Society, as well as the WLC. She was a locally known ‘teacher of elocution’ and a devoted researcher of Upper Canadian history. In a Club scrapbook dedicated to her, the biographical sketch illustrates the professionalism surrounding Brighty. There is very little personal history mentioned and the focus is on her literary works, her published essay, booklets and poetry. This professional focus, evident in both her obituary and the scrapbook, illustrate the diversity of these women, especially in their roles outside of the home. The WLC collection contains a vast array of essay, lectures clippings and scrapbooks from past meetings. Organized predominantly by topic or author, the folders and scrapbooks offer a substantial amount of research opportunity in the literary history of Canada. The dates, scope of topics and authors covered offer historians an exciting opportunity to examine the consumption of particular literary trends, artists and topics within the context of a midsized industrial city in English Canada. This is especially important because the agenda adhered to by the Club was bent on promoting, discussing and reviewing predominantly Canadian material. By connecting when and what these women were studying, scholars many gain a better understanding of the broader consumption and appreciation of literary and social trends of Canadian women outside of publishing and institutional records. Furthermore, because the agendas were set by and for these women, outside of the constructs of an institutionalized canon or agenda, they offer a fresh and on the ground examination of literary consumption over an extensive length of time.

Participants' perceptions of their involvement in a cardiovascular disease risk factor reduction program

A cardiovascular disease risk factor reduction program was implemented in the Niagara region. To gain an understanding of this program from the participants ' perspective, 10 participants of the program were interviewed to document their perceptions of what they learned in the program, their perceptions of their behaviour change and their perceptions of factors that facilitated or impeded any behaviour change. The learning style inventory and PET test were also given to the participants to further understand their perceptions. Findings unique to this study highlighted aspects of the andragogical model, self-directed learning theory, learning style preference and psychological type that were prominent in the participants' comments and perspectives. Implications for practice, theory development and further research are suggested.

Examining the role of goals and motives for physical activity and eating behaviour in commercial weight-loss program participants

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between physical activity and healthy eating behaviour with the participant's motives and goals for each health behaviour. Methods: Participants (N 121; 93.2% female) enrolled in commercial weightloss programs at the time of data collection, completed self-reported instruments using a web-based interface that were in accordance with Deci and Ryan's (2002) Self-Determination Theory (SDT). Results: Multiple linear regression models revealed that motivation and goals collectively accounted for between 0.21 to 0.29 percent and 0.03 to 0.16 percent of the variance in physical and healthy eating behaviours in this sample. In general, goals regarding either behaviour did not appear to have strong predictive relationships with each health behaviour beyond the contributions of motives. Discussion: Overall, findings from this study suggest that motives seem to mattermore than goals for both physical activity and healthy eating behaviour in clientele of commercial weight-loss programs. Therefore commercial weight-loss program implementers may want to consider placing more attention on motives I than goals for their clientele when designing weight-loss and weight-maintenance initiatives.

Bonds away : baseball mythology and the 2007 home run chase

In 2007, Barry Bonds hit his 75 6th home run, breaking Hank Aaron's all-time record for most home runs in a Major League career. While it would be expected that such an accomplishment would induce unending praise and adulationfor the new record-holder, Bonds did not receive the treatment typically reserved for a beloved baseball hero. The purpose of this thesis is to assess media representations of the 2007 home run chase in order to shed light upon the factors which led to the mixed representations which accompanied BOlTds ' assault on Aaron's record. Drawingfrom Roland Barthes ' concept of myth, this thesis proposes that Bonds was portrayed in predominantly negative ways because he was seen as failing to embody the values of baseball's mythology. Using a qualitative content analysis of three major American newspapers, this thesis examines portrayals of Bonds and how he was shown both to represent and oppose elements from baseball's mythology, such as youth, and a distant, agrarian past. Recognizing the ways in which baseball is associated with American life, the media representations of Bonds are also evaluated to discern whether he was portrayed as personifYing a distinctly American set of values. The results indicate that, in media coverage of the 2007 home run chase, Bonds was depicted as a player of many contradictions. Most commonly, Bonds' athletic ability and career achievements were contrasted with unflattering descriptions of his character, including discussions of his alleged use of performance-enhancing substances. However, some coverage portrayed Bonds as embodying baseball myth. The findings contribute to an appreciation of the importance of historical context in examining media representations. This understanding is enhanced by an analysis of a selection of articles on Mark McGwire 's record-breaking season in 1998, and careful consideration of, and comparison to, the context under which Bonds performed in 2007. Findings are also shown to support the contemporary existence of a strong American baseball mythology. That Bonds is both condemned for failing to uphold the mythology and praised for personifYing it suggests that the values seen as inherent to baseball continue to act as an American cultural benchmark.

Identifying language needs of ESL students in a Canadian university based intensive English language program

This study investigated the needs of adult ESL learners intending to pursue higher education in Canada. Its chief purpose was to enable educators and administrators to design ESL programs that would prepare students to function at optimal levels in academic and social settings during their university studies. The study adopted a mixed research method that was predominantly qualitative in its orientation and narrative in its implementation. It focused on an Intensive English Language Program (IELP) offered at an Ontario university. Using a holistic approach, the study sought to represent the various perspectives of all the participants in the program: the students, the instructors, and the administrators. Analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data gathered from 17 students, 6 instructors, and 1 administrator in the IELP showed that to a large extent the academic needs ofESL learners in the IELP were generally not being met. Most notably, the study found that learners were not receiving sufficient training in speaking and listening skills, a factor that contributed to their sense of insecurity and lack of confidence in their ability to communicate successfully in academic and social settings. The study also revealed that the solutions to many of the problems it identified lay not in the classroom but in the way the ESL program was structured administratively. One major recommendation to come out of the study is that programs like the IELP should be restructured so as to give them greater flexibility in meeting individual needs. While the study labored under certain limitations and did not achieve all of its goals, it did succeed in creating awareness ofthe problems and in establishing a methodological approach that can serve as a framework within which future research may be conducted in this somewhat neglected area.

Analyzing the learning of the taking personal and social responsibility model within a new physical education undergraduate degree program in El Salvador

EI Salvador presents an unfortunate history that includes a military regime and a civil war that together created a legacy of violence in which the country still struggle nowadays. Salud Escolar Integral (SEI) was created in 2005 as a program to combat youth violence throughout the re-formulation of physical education (PE) classes in public schools, promoting life skills learning that supports the resolution of conflicts with nonviolent ways. In 2007, SEI supported the creation of a physical e~ucation teacher education (PETE) degree at the Universidad Pedag6gica de EI Salvador (UPES), having the goal to assist pre-service teachers with a better understanding of humanistic principles. The present research analyzed if after attending all three years ofUPES PETE program, students presented high self-perception levels of competence and confidence related to attitude, skills and knowledge to teach PE within humanistic principles. Taking Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR) was the theoretical framework used to analyze the development of humanistic principles. The study had a mixed-method longitudinal design that included questionnaires, reflection templates and interviews. In conclusion, although it is suggested that UPES should provide better support for the development of the teaching principles of empowering students and transfer learning, most of the humanistic principles were highly promoted by the program. At last, it is suggested that future research should track teachers' progress while teaching in schools, in order to analyze if the theory of promoting humanistic principles have also become a daily practice.