Digital Commons Network^™

The Schools Of The Future Commission Of San Diego City Schools: An Ethnographic Study, Bertha Ousley Pendleton Edd

Dissertations

Ethnographic research methods were used to analyze the culture of a large city commission appointed to make recommendations for the future of the school district. The study focused on the year-long deliberations of a panel of 17 community leaders. The objectives of the study were to (1) describe the culture of the Commission, (2) analyze the action of Commission members, and (3) develop guidelines for conducting successful commission studies. Major research questions that were the focus of the study were inquiries about (a) the social and cultural organization of the Commission, (b) how the Commission developed and proceeded to do …

The Labyrinth Of Challenge To Change: An Analysis Of Community College Leaders' Thinking Styles And Behavioral Practices In The Current Environment, Mary Elizabeth Scott Edd

Dissertations

The present research addressed a concern of both urgent and profound dimensions in the modern world: the current and compelling need for a radically different kind of leadership to meet the challenge of turbulent change. This need has been crystallized by a new and emerging paradigm shift which at once reflects, confronts and shapes the realities experienced today. This study sought to set in relief the current thinking styles of nominated California community college leaders and to see if and how these correlated with their leadership behavioral practices. The Human Information Processing Survey (HIPS) and the Leadership Practices Inventory-Self (LPI-S) …

The Impact Of Oppressive Military-Political Governments On School Effectiveness In Uganda, 1971 To 1986, Daniel M. Babigumira Edd

Dissertations

How and why did the Ugandan educational system survive the political and economic instability of the dictatorial governments between 1971 and 1986? What did the school administrators do to make sure that the nation's schools survive the political turmoil? The purpose of this researcher was to determine the impact of oppressive military and political governments on schools. Secondly, the researcher wanted to determine the extent to which the school administrators acted as instructional leaders in ensuring that the school effectiveness survived the enormous political constraints during this period. Four research questions explored qualitative interview data from the school administrators, reputationally …

Crew: The South Shore Community's Response To Youth Unemployment, Joan Marie Payne Hill

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Rater Accuracy In A Job Simulation Oral Examination For Entry Level Supervisors, Robert L. Holmgren

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Library Usage As A Staff Development Component Of A Mathematics Curriculum Improvement Project, Denise G. Dwyer

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Development Of A Personalized Computer Assisted School Psychology (Casp) System, Patricia Lou Steinert

Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to develop a model computer system to assist school psychologists in managing and manipulating data accumulated in the course of accomplishing their professional responsibilities. School psychologists have traditionally generated large amounts of data, but rarely have they looked across these data to obtain information and/or feedback about their own functioning relative to their professional role. The system described is intended as a model from which an individual psychologist might construct a system to meet individual needs. Data across students were accumulated in four broad areas: (1) personal effectiveness/accountability, (2) diagnosis, (3) local test norms, …

Synthesis Of N And C Nucleosides Via Cycloaddition Reactions A New Approach To An Old Problem, Glenn L. Heise

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Computer Graphics Use On Student Understanding Of Calculus Concepts, Charlene E. Beckmann

Dissertations

Student understanding of selected calculus concepts as developed through use of a Cartesian coordinate graphical representation system were investigated. Subjects (N = 163) enrolled in first-semester calculus sections at Western Michigan University participated in one of four treatment conditions: Graphics (G), exposure to a computer-graphically-developed conceptual course; Graphics Plus (G+), exposure to the same course as G subjects plus provision of computer graphics software and related supplemental assignments; Standard 1 (S1), exposure to a graphically-developed, conceptual course; and Standard 2 (S2), exposure to a traditional skill-oriented course.

Two investigations were undertaken. In Investigation 1, comparisons were made between G and …

Chromatic Partitions, Paresh J. Malde

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Intuition In Decision Making By Human Service Administrators, Judith Huber Halseth

Dissertations

The phenomenon of intuition includes insights and hunches, as well as the ability to pick up clues and to see patterns. The role of intuition in interpersonal relationships, in problem solving and decision making, and in creativity makes it an important cognitive faculty. As a complement to more systematic and deductive decision making, intuition provides creative insights, especially when people consciously acknowledge intuition.

This study focused on the experience of intuition as reported by 25 administrators in human service organizations. In face-to-face interviews, the 10 women and 15 men who were known to use intuition were asked open-ended questions about …

Applied Thermoplastic Screw Plastication Theory: Industry Acceptance And Implications For Plastics Processing Education, Paul V. Engelmann

Dissertations

Rapid expansion of the thermoplastics processing industry has increased the need for plastics education and training. Screw plastication is the major method of melting plastics in order to mold or extrude them into useful products. Thus, information about the role of plastication is needed to provide guidance for plastics education and training.

This study sought confirmation of suspected differences existing in the amount of knowledge personnel have about thermoplastic screw plastication, dependent upon: (a) the type of plastics process used, and (b) their job classifications. Furthermore, the study collected data in three additional areas: (1) the extent to which persons …

Gas-Phase Reactions Of Methylene Chloride And Methylene Chloride-Trichloroethylene Mixture With Methane In Tubular Flow Reactor And Atmospheric Pressure, Javad Tavakoli-Attar

Dissertations

Reactions of methylene chloride diluted in methane and Argon and a mixture of methylene chloride + trichloroethylene diluted in methane and argon are studied in three flow reactors of different surface to volume ratios 4, 10.5, and 16 mm ID , atmospheric pressure and over a temperature range of 750-1000 °C. Experiments were conducted isothermally, ±5 °C over central 80% of oven length using a three zone oven. Argon was added as a diluent in order to limit carbon (s) formation. The concentration ratios of methylene chloride/methane/argon and methylene chloride/trichloroethylene/methane/argon was held constant at 1:4:10 and 1:1:40:40 respectively, throughout the …

Effects Of Task Difficulty, Performance Consequence, And Social Interaction On Physiological Reactivity In Post-Coronary Patients, A. Janelle Maldonado

Dissertations

Three experiments were performed to determine the effects of three task variables and Type A behavior pattern on physiological reactivity to time-limited math and anagram tasks. In the first experiment, ten post-coronary patients performed time-limited computer tasks under two performance consequence conditions: Point Reward or presentation of an Auditory Blast combined with two task difficulty conditions (40% and 60% difficult). The findings of Experiment 1 indicated that while the tasks did produce levels of physiological reactivity comparable to those observed in the literature, there were no significant main effects for either variable for any of the five measures. A significant …

Generalized Distance In Graphs, Garry L. Johns

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Graph And Directed Graph Augmentation Problems, Zhuguo Mo

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Autonomic Regulation Of Heart Rate Variability, Shaw-Jyh Shin

Dissertations

Complex demodulation, accompanied by the techniques of interpolation, detrending and zero-phase-shift lowpass filtering were used to examine the effect of both divisions of the autonomic nervous system (sympathetic and parasympathetic) on heart rate by analyzing the heart rate variability signal from dogs under two different classical conditionings: CS+ and CS-, which cause different dynamic pattern changes in the autonomic nervous system to regulate the heart rate.

Unlike power spectral analysis, complex demodulation gives results in the time domain and shows the variation of amplitude and phase over time at a given frequency. The variation of phase indicates the frequency deviation …

Multiyear Drought Simulation With Periodic-Stochastic Hydrologic Processes, Lankeswara Hemal Wijayaratne

Dissertations

Previous studies on multiyear droughts are often limited to the analysis of historic annual flow series. A major problem in these studies is the unavailability of long historic flow records, on which to perform the analysis. To overcome this difficulty, the present study has used synthetically generated mean annual flow series to suppliment the historic flows. For the purpose of generating flows, a general methodology was developed to propose a mathematical model based on the harmonic and stochastic analyses of the historic flow series. The main objective was to derive a large population of multiyear drought events from the generated …

Sorption And Desorption Of Organic Compounds By Flyash, Kashinath Banerjee

Dissertations

A sorbent treatment process has been developed which uses flyash as sorbent in the treatment of highly toxic and hazardous chemicals; these include: Alcohols, Aldehydes, Ketones and Aromatics. Batch, as well as dynamic, studies were performed, in different phases, during the investigation. Single and multiple solute systems were examined separately. The samples were analyzed using a Flame Ionization Detector Gas Chromatograph.

The result of this study demonstrates that isolation/ immobilization of the organic pollutants is technologically feasible by adsorbing the contaminants onto flyash. The residual carbon content of the flyash plays a very significant role during the treatment process. The …

An Investigation Of The Traditional And Non-Traditional College Students' Perceived Benefits Regarding Participation In The Cooperative Education Program, Beatrice C. Ullrich

Dissertations

Cooperative education has become an important component of education. The basis for cooperative education is that learning occurs outside the classroom as well as in the classroom. The shift in employment patterns from an industrial society to a knowledge and information based society means that many of the existing types of jobs will disappear. The value of cooperative education exists in its ability to provide a transition from school to work and its flexibility to respond to industries' needs and individuals' training needs.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences of the traditional cooperative education student and …

A Feasible Direction Procedure For General Multiple Objective Optimization, Wen-Tsia Liu

Dissertations

The Feasible Direction Finding Problem (DFP) of Zoutendijk is adapted to create a general Mathematical Programming (MP) algorithm for treating optimization problems with multiple objective functions. Classically such problems are reduced to standard MP form by converting them to single objective function problems by the use of weighting functions. Unfortunately not all practical problems can be so reduced. Consider the problem of maximizing the strength of a structure. Typically there are several, or even many, failure modes. All active failure modes must be included in the optimal search in such a way that resistance to one active mode can not …

Attributes Of Undergraduates Majoring In Scientific And Technological Disciplines: Perseverance And Commitments, Judith Watlington Edwin Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was first to determine the characteristics that distinguished persisters from nonpersisters in the fields of science and technology; second, to determine the effects of sex, college choice, parental income, parental educational background, GPA, and academic and social integration factors on persistence; and third, to suggest program implementation for assisting students in the science and technology disciplines to make choices in "fit" of characteristics to college environment. Subjects for this study were randomly selected from a group of 256 juniors at the University of California, San Diego who had initially selected science or technology as an …

The Effects Of A Wilderness/Adventure Program On The Self-Concept, Locus Of Control Orientation, And Interpersonal Behavior Of Delinquent Adolescents, Timothy J. Zwart

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a 26-day therapeutic wilderness program for delinquent adolescent males on three conceptually distinct but closely related constructs: self-concept, locus of control orientation, and interpersonal behavior. Justification for the study was derived from the limitations of past wilderness/adventure research which suggested that there was a need for additional research on the effects of this type of alternative program for delinquent adolescents.

It was hypothesized that following participation in this program the youths would exhibit increased self-concept, more internal locus of control orientation, would express higher needs for inclusion and affection …

The Efficacy Of Bilingual Education In Relation To Student Linguistic Type, Program Type, And Program Setting, Carol Stubbs Rice

Dissertations

The focus of this study was the differential effectiveness of bilingual education models as determined through the examination of Title VII project evaluations. The evaluation data were subject to a meta-analysis and the results compared to national norms.

The study examined the efficacy of bilingual education in relation to student type, program type and program setting, using data produced by projects from 1983-1986. The study design was based on the gap-reduction design, as modified for Title VII evaluations, with group means used as the unit of analysis. The study sample contained 2,500 monolingual and limited English proficient students from the …

A Survey Of Oral Communication Instructional Practices In The Elementary Public Schools Of Michigan, James N. Walker

Dissertations

Instruction in oral communication is critical to education. Oral communication skills are needed in the development of skills in written language, math, problem solving, and reading. Oral communication skills are important in achieving academic, vocational, and personal success. On November 1, 1978, speech education was recognized as a basic skill by United States law.

The purpose of this study was to determine the oral communication instructional practices in Michigan public elementary schools grades K-5. Eight research questions were identified:

(1) Is instruction provided? (2) What is the "basis" for instruction? (3) What materials are used? (4) What is the method …

On Being A Truant: A Phenomenological Study Of Students In A Comprehensive High School, Diane Berger Mcclure Edd

Dissertations

This dissertation was a phenomenological study of eight students in a comprehensive high school who exhibited symptoms of truancy. Student interviews, student journals, and field notes were examined and the content analyzed. Students who began to display a truancy pattern and who have displayed symptoms of truancy in a previous school year were selected from a stratified random sample. Students were chosen to represent the ethnic and gender percentages of their school. During the first months of truancy, behavior modification steps were applied to the students which incorporated successful elements of major exemplary truancy programs. These students having not responded …

The Impact Of The Father/Daughter Relationship On Women In Educational Administrative Leadership Positions, Marilyn Ann Skordas Edd

Dissertations

Research studies by Cartwright (1970), Helson (1971), and Hennig (1976) have indicated and demonstrated that a father's influence is critical to the development of skills in women who successfully obtained a position in business, medicine, and math, male dominated occupations. The public school teaching profession in the United States is an occupation dominated by women; however, the administrative positions such as principal, assistant superintendent, and superintendent positions of school districts are male dominated. This case study investigated the father/daughter relationship experienced during middle childhood, early and later adolescence, and early adulthood of ten women who are currently in positions of …

Improving Critical Thinking Skills Using Paideia Seminars In A Seventh-Grade Literature Curriculum, Stephanie A. Tarkington Edd

Dissertations

There are many programs which purport to teach thinking skills. If thinking skills of reasoning, logic, explaining, judging, and deciding can be taught, are there some ways to teach thinking that are more effective than other ways? The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of Paideia seminars on the critical thinking skills of seventh grade students. Paideia seminars are discussions held in a seminar format and involve active participation on the part of students and teachers. The format for the Paideia seminars was taken from The Paideia Proposal: An Educational Manifesto (Adler, 1982). There were four main …

The Chinese Minority In Thailand: Social And Educational Perspective, Supha Phinaitrup

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of The Functions Of The Director Of Medical Education In The Teaching Hospital, Elaine Lee

Dissertations

No abstract provided.