Digital Commons Network^™

An Evaluation Of A Conflict Management Program At An Elementary School, Maggie Holland

Theses and Graduate Projects

There is a growing concern about conflict due to the growing increase in more violent crimes both in the schools and the surrounding communities. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a conflict manager program in elementary school. The program was evaluated by distributing three different questionnaires to three different groups. The groups which were surveyed included the student disputants who used the program to help resolve their problem, the conflict managers who were trained and utilized the conflict management skills, and the parents of the conflict managers. All of the responses were very positive. The …

A Study Of Nebraska Superitendents' Opinions Toward School Restructuring, Allan J. Inzerello

Student Work

Public school superintendents from Nebraska were asked to indicate their priorities toward school restructuring in five areas identified by the researcher. The areas of inquiry included school goals, school curriculum, instruction or methodology, evaluation and school organization. Current literature in each of the areas of school reform was investigated in order to devise survey statements that all public school superintendents could rank order as to their highest priorities toward school restructuring. Of the 311 surveys mailed to superintendents, a total of 191 were returned. The responses represented 61.4% of Nebraska public school superintendents. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the …

A Literature-Based Approach To Reading, Cheryl L. Lester

Masters Theses

This study examined the impact that a primarily literature-based reading program had on a third grade class in becoming proficient independent readers and writers. Using authentic literature, students were taught reading content, prioritized strategies, and necessary reading skills. Progress was assessed using theme tests, periodic reading surveys, skills surveys, observation checklists and forms, student portfolios, and standardized tests.; The results of this study indicated that a primarily literature-based approach inspired and motivated children to become successful readers and writers. The literature produced, emphasized, and enforced positive learning experiences. The assessments used demonstrated that the class became stronger and more enthusiastic …

Professional Development Needs From The Identified Concerns Of School Leaders As The Change Facilitator For Inclusive Schools, Susan H. Belcher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problem of this study was to identify the professional development needs of the school leader to facilitate the inclusion of students with handicaps into the regular education program. This was a descriptive study which utilized questionnaire methodology. The Change Facilitators Stages of Concern Questionnaire (CFSoCQ) was the instrument selected as appropriate for the study. Permission was obtained from Dr. Gene Hall at the University of Northern Colorado to reproduce and administer the CFSoCQ. The population of this study was school leaders working in Tennessee public schools. A demographic data sheet and the CFSoCQ were mailed to 500 selected school …

Intuition In Decision-Making, Joanne Horton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This was a two-phase study designed to identify intuitive principals and then to determine if there were common elements of their decision making. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator was used to identify intuitive principals, and then a sampling of these principals were interviewed. The results showed that the principals with the highest preference scores for intuition differed from the principals with lower preference scores in that they came from supportive environments, were more conscious of using and developing their intuition, drew from experience but combined that with a future orientation, and were more comfortable with risk-taking and change. Recommendations included the …

The Concept Of The Theory Of Multiple Intelligences And An Interdisciplinary, Arts Inclusive Curriculum: A Model For Teaching Whose Time Has Come, Loraine W. Cowe

Masters Theses

The biting critique of A Nation at Risk (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983) caused the nation to initiate school reform on federal and state levels. The initiatives have defined education's deficiencies in meeting the needs of students in a rapidly changing, technological society. Students and the society in which they live are the premise and focus for the new outcome-based curriculum. Educators and researchers are developing new concepts of teaching that radically change the traditionally accepted curriculum, instructional delivery, and assessment. Many of these changes are based on new knowledge of the mind's capacity to function in several …

Productivity And Perceived Work Environment Of Work Groups In Poland, Donald L. Gusfa

Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the relation between levels of productivity and perceptions of autonomy among similar work groups. The analysis of data obtained did not support a tendency for perceptions of high autonomy among workers to be directly related to high levels of productivity. Data were obtained from workers at six carbide tool manufacturing plants in Poland who were administered the Work Environment Scale (WES) Form R (Moos, 1981) to measure perception of autonomy. The data were collected in February 1991. Analysis of the WES data used the Kendall tau test to investigate the relation …

Adaptive Leadership Style And Sales Performance: A Test Of The Social Style Model, Frank M. Gambino

Dissertations

The Social Style Model served as the central theoretical framework of this study. The purpose of this study was twofold:

1. To assess whether performance evaluations of salespeople are related (a) to their social styles, (b) to the social styles of the sales managers who supervise their work, or (c) to the differences between their social styles and the styles of their sales supervisors.

2. To test the assumption that self-evaluations of social style are often significantly different from evaluations supplied by others who are familiar with a person’s behavior.

Two types of empirical data were collected: <1) measures of three social style variables—assertiveness, responsiveness, and versatility—for salespeople and sales supervisors, and (2) measures of salespeople’s overall job performance. Job performance was assessed using both self-ratings and supervisory ratings on five constructs of sales performance: (1) ability to meet sales objectives, (2) technical knowledge and application of that knowledge, (3) control of company expenses, (4) information processing, and (5) presentation skills. Social style was assessed using self-, peer and supervisory ratings.

Mail surveys were …

A Comparative Study Of The Coping Ability Of Mobile And Nonmobile Elementary Pupils, Solomon Mokone Lebese

Dissertations

Frequent moves by parents of elementary-aged children can cause these children a considerable amount of stress, thus creating adjustment problems and straining their coping abilities to the limits. How do these children cope with such problems compared to those who do not move frequently?

The above question was the focus of investigation to determine whether or not there was a difference between the mobile (children whose parents have moved at least once in the past 3 years) and nonmobile (children whose parents have not moved from a particular school district in the past 3 years) elementary children in the way …

An Assessment Of Vocational Technical Education Students' Literacy Levels And Awareness Of Employer Expectations, Toni Woolfork

Dissertations

This is a correlational study designed to determine the readiness of high school students to pursue employment upon graduation. The study consisted of 137 subjects in grades 10-12, enrolled in 11 vocational education classes within the Kalamazoo Public School System in Kalamazoo County. Subjects were administered both a literacy instrument designed to measure literacy levels; and a self-awareness inventory, designed to obtain demographic information and to assess each subject’s knowledge or awareness of employer expectations as well as skills necessary for the workplace. Each teacher also complemented an inventory, which allowed the researcher to determine the similarities between subject’s and …

Capital Maintenance Funding Of Two-Year Colleges In The Tennessee Board Of Regents System And Selected Funding Models, Charles A. Hurley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the differences between selected state capital maintenance models and the model used in Tennessee. Research questions addressed the differences between the other selected models and the Tennessee model; the quantitative results of the models using data collected from the 14 Tennessee public two-year colleges, and the policy issue differences of the selected models. Research involved gathering information for each specific selected model including common factors used to calculate capital maintenance needs. Comparisons were made of the major components of each model. Actual data from the 14 Tennessee public two-year colleges was incorporated …

The Development Of The Parent Effectiveness Test (Pet), Sharon S. Morrison

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract Not Available.

Senior Theses: Department Of Physical Sciences, Frank Baldridge, Billy B. Stapleton, James Bond, Mark A. Blair

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

1993 Fall Semester Senior Theses for the class Physical Science 471:

Petrologic Classification of Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks by Frank Baldridge

X -Ray Analysis of Cave Sediments From Pigeon Water Cave of Northeastern Pine Mountain by Billy B. Stapleton

The Correlation of Stream-deposited Breccias In Bat Cave, Carter Caves, Kentucky by James Bond

Jointing and Faulting in Selected Areas of Eastern Kentucky by Mark A. Blair

Information Requirements For The Air Force Institute Of Technology Under A Fee-For-Service Concept, Jerry A. Cole, Patricia C. Cruz

Theses and Dissertations

Due to the current shift in national defense strategy, the DoD is going to have to perform new roles and missions with major reductions in resources. One of the major initiatives committed to achieving savings is Corporate Information Management, a broad program designed to help the DoD operate more efficiently by application of successful private sector business practices and better application of information technology. To meet the challenge of operating in a business-like environment AFIT must be able to maximize its competitiveness to provide customers with the quality and types of services they desire. To accomplish this task, information technology …

College Teaching In Four States: An Examination Of Teaching Methods Received And Needed By New College Teachers, Lee F. Mumpower

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to examine what teaching methods new college teachers received and which ones they believed were important. New college faculty were asked questions on teaching methods to determine which, if any, were made available to them before they entered college teaching. The research questions under study were: (1) What type(s) of methodological preparation do/does higher education faculty receive? (2) What methodological preparation would be beneficial to new higher education faculty? (3) How do new higher education faculty learn methodological preparation? (4) What strategies could be developed to assist new higher education faculty in the development …

A Study Of The Thematic Integrated Curriculum (Tic) Of The Focus 2000 Program, Sherry Collins

Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to describe how a thematic integrated curriculum (TIC) enhances the quality of education by examining three outcomes of a TIC. These outcomes are: (1) the instruction of critical thinking skills, (2) the motivation of students to be self-directed and assume responsibility for their own learning, and (3) the empowerment of teachers to become educational leaders. The underlying assumption of the study was that the more the three outcomes are used in the learning process, the better will be the quality of education.

For this study, the process of "enhancing the quality of education" …

Using Technology For Dispensing Information, Ray Hoag

Dissertations

Technology that enhances communication through the use of digitized media abounds. Yet, there is a perception that education does not use technology's full potential to communicate with its audience. This dissertation demonstrates that a technological solution can communicate relevant educational information. Extensive documentation provides a high level departure point for subsequent technology enhanced communication projects.

The planning team for the Applied Technology Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan, wanted an application to express the center's name-implied mission. This opportunity was fulfilled by the development of a point-of-information kiosk application, the dissertation's focal point. Methodology included using project management software to identify …

The Effect Of A Transition Class (Developmental Kindergarten) On Academic Parity, Douglas S. Mccall

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not those students who had participated in a developmental kindergarten program. Young Fives, had attained academic parity with their age mates who had not participated in the program.

The target population of this study was 245 students who were kindergarten age in 1988 and attended school in a rural school district in southwestern Michigan. The accessible population was 141 of the original 245 students.

The total battery grade equivalent test scores achieved on the California Achievement Test by the 141 students were analyzed using an analysis of variance (ANOVA) and …

Stakeholder Perceptions Of Barriers To Implementing Shared Decision-Making In Wisconsin Schools, Donald John Viegut

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was (a) to investigate if differences exist in stakeholder perceptions of barriers to implementing shared decision-making (SDM), and (b) to investigate if differences exist in stakeholder perceptions across the following constructs of shared decision- making: empowerment, leadership, motivation, organizational culture, accountability, and learning organizations. Randomly selected members from the stakeholder categories of: parents, board of education members, superintendents, principals, and teachers, were the sample (N = 100). Stakeholder perception was compared on a composite score of the survey instrument. Perceptions were also compared across the six constructs of SDM for each of the stakeholder categories. …

The Relationship Of Right Brain/Left Brain Hemispheric Dimensions Of Cognitive Style Between Teachers And Principals In Northeast Tennessee, Thomas S. Little

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Problem of this study was to determine if the cognitive style of elementary school principals affects the principal's evaluation of a teacher when there is a match or mismatch between the principal's and teacher's cognitive style. Using the Productivity Environmental Preference Survey, the dimensions of right brain/left brain hemispheric dimensions of cognitive style were measured for the sample population. The sample population included 40 elementary school principals and 120 elementary school teachers. The 120 teachers were made up of teachers selected by each of the 40 principals as the most effective teachers in the school. The statistical analysis of …

An Assessment Of The Appropriateness To The Royal Australian Air Force Of A Masters Level Professional Program In Information Systems, Ralph G. L. Kettle, Joseph R. Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

This study assessed the appropriateness, to the Royal Australian Air Force RAAF, of a graduate professional program in Information Systems (IS) based on the Association for Computing Machinery’s ACM curriculum model. The ACM curriculum model is an archetype of graduate education in IS. Programs based on this model produce graduates with knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) that are required by IS practitioners. The usefulness of twenty KSAs that underlie the ACM curriculum model were evaluated by 33 incumbents of RAAF information Systems Agencies and Directorate of Communications and Information Systems - Air Force. Although uncertain about the educational background suited …

The Effectiveness Of Semantic Mapping On Reading Comprehension, Sharon Fredricks

Dissertations and Theses

It is the goal of all reading instructors to use techniques that will enhance reading comprehension. This is certainly no less so in the second language classroom. Studies have shown that readers possess schemata for text structure that is activated during the reading process. It has also been shown that a reader's textual schemata may be culturally influenced and that second language students may possess textual schemata that conflicts or interferes with the structure of the text making comprehension more difficult. For this reason, second language learners may benefit from explicit instruction in text structure and content relationships. Semantic mapping …

Environmental And Institutional Characteristics And Academic Strategic Action Variables In Small Private Colleges, And Their Relationship To Enrollment Changes In The 1980s, Johnnie Ray Driessner

Dissertations and Theses

Small private colleges represent a unique and important element of diversity within American higher education. Their small size, heavy dependence on tuition, and limited resources, have caused them to be repeatedly identified as singularly threatened with enrollment declines. Despite these predictions the evidence indicates that most of these colleges survived the 1980s and many thrived.

This study had two major goals. The first was the characterization of institutions within the population during the 1980s with regards to environmental characteristics, institutional attributes and academic strategic actions. The second was the description of the relationships between these variables and enrollment changes in …

The Identity In Crisis: A New Approach To The Culture Shock Experience Of University Exchange Students, Christina Maria Luther

Dissertations and Theses

The relationship of language and culture is explored in this thesis for the purpose of better understanding why all sojourners, regardless of preparation, experience some degree of culture shock. The author begins with a review of literature on culture shock establishing that the native language of sojourners is not considered to be of any consequence to the sojourning experience. The fields of intercultural communication, social psychology and psychology are then explored to establish the link between language and culture and to introduce the notion of linguistic identity. Evidence found in each of these fields leads the author to conclude that …

The Relationship Of Locus Of Control, Self-Esteem, And Level Of Social Play, Patricia A. Knudsen

Student Work

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there was a relationship among children's internal or external locus of control, self-esteem, and level of social play. The study, conducted early in the year to minimize the effect of the classroom environment on test results, included 39 children enrolled in either the morning or afternoon sections of the author's kindergarten class. Eight days after the start of school the following instruments were administered individually to each child by trained volunteers: the Preschool and Primary Nowicki-Strickland Internal-External Control Scale (PPNS-IE) by Stephen Nowicki, Jr., and Marshall P. Duke to assess locus …

Learning Style Preferences Of East Asian Esl Students, Torpong Jamtawee Goodson

Doctoral Dissertations

Understanding learning-style needs of foreign students can help teachers avoid focusing on just their own learning styles and systematically add variety to their teaching patterns. Knowing the ways all students learn, indeed, is very important to good teaching. The main purpose of this research study was to investigate the learning style preferences of East Asian (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese) ESL students at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Specifically, the investigator attempted to: (1) identify ethnographic variables that affect the differences in learning styles of these ESL students; and (2) identify self-perceived changes in learning styles of these ESL students …

Cellular And Enzymatic Basis For Carnitine-Mediated Attenuation Of Ethanol Metabolism, Youn-Soo Cha

Doctoral Dissertations

(From the Introduction)

Alcohol (ethanol) is the most widely used of psychoactive drug and has been known in almost all civilizations since ancient times (Keller 1979). There are millions of people throughout the world who responsibly enjoy consuming alcoholic beverages served as food, medicines, and euphoriants. However, alcohol abuse, alcohol intolerance, alcohol dependence and other alcohol-related disabilities are some of the most challenging social, economical and public health problems facing our modern-day society. In the United states alone, the annual cost of lost productivitity and health expenses related to alcohol is estimated to be $117 billion (Hoek et …

Consumer Use Of Innovativeness: An Empirical Conceptualization, Kyungae Park

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to empirically conceptualize consumer use innovative behavior. By separating use and purchase in innovative behavior, comparing these two innovative behaviors, and identifying the best predictor variables of use innovative behavior over the adoption and post-adoption processes, this study investigated whether use innovative behavior was a viable concept in consumer behavior.

Based on the theoretical framework of consumer innovative behavior and post-adoption usage behavior, this study tested use innovativeness for the clothing product. College students of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville participated in the questionnaire survey for data collection. Five hundred thirty nine responses were …

Academic Background And Prerequisite Skills For Success In College Freshman Physics, Jean Friend Condrey

Master's Theses

Instructors of college freshman introductory physics in Virginia, North Carolina and West Virginia were surveyed to determine which academic courses, technical skills and general skills acquired in high school are essential for success in their courses. Faculty responses were analyzed using mean and percent frequency, while comparison of their responses by size of physics department was analyzed using chi square. Each student's responses were compared to those of his or her instructor using a paired sample t test. The general skills of English language usage were found to be the most important skills. Results from the students surveyed indicated similar …

Attitudes Of Occupational Therapy Students Toward The Mentally Disabled, Patricia Mccarthy

Masters Theses

Thirty-nine undergraduate occupational therapy and fifty-seven entry-level graduate occupational therapy students from eight randomly selected academic programs were surveyed using the Opinions About Mental Illness Scales ([OMI], Cohen and Struening, 1959) and the Mental Health Information Questionnaire ([MHIQ], Nunnally, 1961). Results revealed that both student groups’ knowledge toward the mentally disabled was more similar to the general public’s knowledge. Using a one-tailed t-test to compare the MHIQ factors revealed there was no statistically significant difference between the occupational therapy student groups.

Both student groups’ OMI factor scores were similar to an expert group for Factors A B, and D; however, …