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x, 133 p. ; ill. (some col.) A print copy of this title is available through the UO Libraries under the call number: SCIENCE QP405 .J67 2007 / Meditation has been defined as a "group of practices that self-regulate the body and mind, thereby affecting mental events by engaging a specific attentional set" (Cahn & Polich, 2006). We conducted a randomized, longitudinal trial to examine the effects of concentrative meditation training (40 min/day, 5 days/week for 8 weeks) on top-down, voluntary control of attention with a progressive muscle relaxation training group as a control. To determine if training produced changes in attentional network efficiency we compared, pre- and post-training, mean validity effect scores (difference between invalid cue and center cue reaction time) in the contingent capture paradigm (Folk et al., 1992). The meditation group showed a trend towards improvement of top-down attention while the relaxation group did not. Using EEG we assessed the changes in amplitudes of wavelets during periods of mind-wandering and meditation. Periods in which subjects were on- vs. off-focus during the meditation task were identified by asking subjects to make button presses whenever the mind wandered and also at probe tones, if they were off-focus. After training, the episodes of mind-wandering were significantly lower in the meditation group as compared to the relaxation group. Increased amplitudes of alpha and theta EEG frequencies in the occipital and right parietal areas were seen during the meditation task for the meditation but not the relaxation group as an effect of training. A baseline EEG trait effect of reduced mental activity was seen (meditation training: occipital and right parietal areas; relaxation training: only occipital areas). Within a given meditation session, prior to training, alpha and theta activity was lower in on-focus conditions (occurring immediately after subjects discovered they were off-focus and returned to active focus on the breath/syllable) compared to meditative focus segments. After training, we found higher alpha amplitude in periods of meditative focus as compared to periods of mind wandering for both groups. However, the meditation group showed significantly higher theta amplitude than the relaxation group during the meditative state segments. / Adviser: Marjorie Woollacott

M.A. / In accordance with literature indications that have established the need for psychotherapeutic outcome assessment instruments to determine the effects of psychotherapy, an exploratory and comparative study was conducted with anxiety disorder clients in private practice settings. The purpose of the study was to verify the recommendations made in the literature for the use of an idiographic method of outcome assessment (the Dyad Grid), as opposed to typically applied normative methods (the IPAT Anxiety Scale). The nature of the suggestions concerning the application of an idiographic method of outcome assessment, required the development of a theoretical framework which integrated the assessment procedure in an explanatory manner. To this end, the personal construct psychology view of anxiety was discussed in relation to repertory grid technique and prior outcome assessment research conducted with the Dyad Grid. On the basis of the personal construct approach to anxiety, a pre-test post-test research design was used to establish the utility of the Dyad Grid to discriminate between beneficial and nonbeneficial psychotherapy outcomes with anxiety disorder clients. The outcome results of the Dyad Grid assessments were compared with the results obtained from the IPAT Anxiety Scale, in conjunction with qualitative post-therapeutic ratings of benefit, or a lack of benefit, made by the client and therapist. The findings obtained on the basis of 14 case-studies are encouraging. The Dyad Grid displayed a statistically significant level of agreement with the client and therapist ratings of therapeutic outcome (onetailed, p = 0,05), whereas the IPAT Anxiety Scale did not. Though limited to a sample of convenience, and subject to an idiographic methodological bias, the discussion of the results indicated that the study provides support for the use of idiographic procedures as an alternative to nomothetic methods of outcome assessment. It is concluded that the initial success of the Dyad Grid in assessing psychotherapy outcome as beneficial or non-beneficial warrants further investigation with a large sample research design.

The purpose of this thesis is to identify typical patterns of career destinations for young women and men in relation to their high school science preparedness. This is an empirical structural study that documents the way high school academic capital is turned (or not) into human capital for science and engineering professions. The study uses ten years of longitudinal data on educational and career paths of British Columbia high school graduates of the Class of '88. Correspondence analysis and other descriptive statistics provide a picture of students' participation in mathematics and science senior high school courses and post-secondary academic programs. School course choices, post-secondary educational attainment, specialization fields are correlated to respondents' high school science preparedness, parental education and gender. A major finding of this study is that high school science preparedness opens greater opportunity for students to attend and succeed along abroad range of post-secondary pathways. Still, thesis findings confirm the existence of a "leaking" phenomenon along the physical sciences and engineering post-secondary pipeline, especially for women as well as men with non-university educated parents. Equity in access and outcomes is discussed in relation to respondents' possession of cultural and academic capital, and in relation to gender inequality that persists within school and post-secondary institutions, the science community and society at large. Implications for further research emerge from the literature review and the interpretation of thesis findings. Longitudinal research needs to explore more directly the reasons why many young women and men who excelled in science at the high school level depart from the science pipeline sooner or later. A major conclusion is that the "critical mass" approach that directs attention toward creating a large supply pool to feed the science pipeline by encouraging more young women to enter the field of science is still a unilateral numerical strategy, and more has to be done to improve the retention and advancement of talented women interested in science. This thesis reinforces the need for an analysis of the culture of the science community and a revision of the leaking science pipeline concept that should be replaced by a more open non-linear model of science careers. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

Investigations into the speech of normal children have indicated that disfluencies are common. It is important for the Speech Language Pathologist to have knowledge of normal disfluencies for differential diagnosis, parent counseling, and in order to plan strategies for intervention. The purpose of this study was to compare the frequency of disfluencies in 4 year old and 6 year old normal male children to the frequency of disfluencies when they were 3 years old and 5 years old respectively.

No description available.

Over the next decade the ‘Baby Boomer' cohort will increasingly contribute to the proportion of those aged 60 and over in Britain. The issue of how the mobility of older people has changed for different cohort groups has not been considered in a historical context. Ryder (1965) argued that cohort groups could be important in determining behaviour as have other social structural factors, such as socioeconomic status. This thesis merges the disciplines of transport geography and population studies using a novel approach of cohort analysis, which has not been used widely for studying mobility trends. Using National Travel Survey data from 1995-2008, the mobility trends of older people in Britain are explored by creating pseudo cohorts. Pseudo cohorts are artificially created datasets which are constructed from using repeated cross-sectional data (McIntosh, 2005, Uren, 2006). This technique can differentiate ‘age', ‘period' and ‘cohort' effects in mobility trends. Age effects are differences in behaviour between age groups i.e. changes in mobility associated with age itself. Period effects relate to changes in behaviour in all age groups over a period of time. Cohort effects are those associated with behaviour common to particular groups born around the same time (Glenn, 2005, Yang, 2007). The influence of the Scottish concessionary travel policy on the mobility of older people at the aggregate level is also considered using Scottish Household Survey data from 1999-2008. This policy is very blunt and based on assumptions about older age. As cohorts differ, these assumptions may no longer hold and therefore the policy may not be effective. This thesis argues, using a longitudinal demographic perspective, that structural effects shape mobility of cohorts differently over time. The findings reveal although mobility amongst older people is rising in general, there would actually be declining mobility were it not for the Boomer cohort. Amongst younger cohorts mobility is lower. The analysis also shows that women travel further than men, a fundamental break with the past, specific to this generation. This thesis illustrates the importance of cohort membership in explaining mobility change.

by Ting Kwok-Fai. / Thesis (M.Ph.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1985 / Bibliography: leaves 123-126

This study is a Time 4 (T4) follow-up interview of ninety-three caregivers of persons who experienced a first stroke between 2 to 4 years (mean = 36 months) prior to the T4 interview. The first wave of data collection occurred within two months after the stroke. The second and third waves occurred six and twelve months, respectively, after the first interview. The caregivers were identified by the person with stroke as being the person closest to him/her who would be responsible for care after the stroke. Data were gathered at all four interviews using reliable and valid measures for depressive symptomatology (CES-D; Radloff, 1977), psychological well-being (IPWB; Berkman, 1971), and caregiver burden (Zarit, 1980). The contribution of social support to caregiver well-being was also investigated. Additional areas of investigation at T4 included coping strategies (F-Copes; McCubbin, Larsen, and Olson, 1981), caregiver adjustment, and the respondents' perception of themselves as "caregivers". The mean scores of depressive symptomatology, perceived burden, negative well-being, and positive well-being did not change significantly over the four points in time. However, the percentage of the sample having CES-D levels of 16 and above (indicating potential diagnosis of clinical depression) decreased by ten percent between T1 and T4. About ten percent of the respondents who were at risk for clinical depression at T4 reported high levels of depressive symptoms at all four interviews. Respondents who specifically thought of themselves as "caregivers" (sixty-two percent) were significantly more likely to report high levels of depressive symptoms, to experience high levels of strain and caregiver burden, and to be caring for persons who were more severely impaired by the stroke than those who did not. Caregiver characteristics contributed more to the variance in depressive symptoms and psychological well-being than did characteristics of the stroke. However, depressive symptomatology and perceived burden were significantly associated with both the functional capacity of the person with stroke and with an index of stroke severity comprised of communication impairments and negative personality/behavior changes since the stroke. The findings from this study have implications for stroke management programs, caregiver intervention planning, and health care policy.

The eleven studies which comprise the Consortium for Longitudinal Studies were described in order to determine long-term effects of preschool education on disadvantaged children. Research methods and results of the studies were evaluated and compared. An historical overview details the sociopolitical milieu from the time the eleven studies began in the 1960s to the present. Theories which impacted the preschool movement in the 1960s were also discussed, particularly those which concern the development of intelligence, the importance of early education and environmental impact on the development of intelligence. Demographic data were used to describe disadvantaged children's needs for quality early intervention programs. The results of the eleven Consortium studies indicate positive long-term effects for disadvantaged children enrolled in quality preschool programs.