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Criteria For “Reduction-In-Force” Staffing Decisions: Opinions Of Teachers And Administrators From Large Nea Districts In Connecticut, Lorraine A. Marcantonio

Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to answer the question: When reduction in force (RIF) decisions are necessary, what is the extent of agreement between teachers and administrators in regard to criteria to be considered? The criteria of seniority and performance evaluation were investigated in depth through analysis of the responses to these questions: (1) To what extent do teachers and administrators have similar opinions concerning the definition of seniority? (2) Would a change in nature of existing evaluation systems affect the acceptance of evaluation as a criterion in RIF decisions?

In order to collect the data necessary to …

A Descriptive Study Of The Leadership Styles Of School Business Officials In Selected Michigan School Districts, Daniel S. Gilmore

Dissertations

This study described the leadership style of school business officials employed by Michigan school districts with an enrollment range between 5,000 and 20,000 students. The population was comprised of 68 public school districts.

The dependent variable of leadership style and the independent variables of age, experience, professional orientation, and enrollment size were investigated. The basis for a predominant leadership style was also established.

Leadership style was defined as the extent to which the leader is concerned about (a) task or production, and (b) people or relationships. Various theories focusing on the dimensions of concern for task and concern for people …

A Comparative Study Of The Career Aspirations, Job Seeking Patterns, And Career Patterns Of Male And Female Doctoral Recipients In Educational Administration, Alice J. Hullhorst

Dissertations

There has been a dramatic increase in the number of women completing advanced degrees in education administration during the past decade. Yet, the number of women administrators has decreased during this same time period. The purpose of this study was to compare career aspirations, job seeking patterns, and career patterns of men and women doctorates in educational administration.

The sample consisted of 118 men and 118 women who received doctorates in educational administration or educational leadership from Mid-American Conference universities between 1976-1980. A mailed questionnaire was used to collect data. The 23 hypotheses were tested using a chi-square test or …

The Propensity Toward Juvenile Delinquency And The Social Rehabilitation Needs Of Alternative Education Students In Western Michigan, Joseph Steven Miller

Dissertations

This study investigated the propensity toward juvenile delinquency and the social rehabilitation needs of 238 Section 48 alternative education students. The study population was comprised of students from ten Section 48 alternative education programs in Allegan, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana, and Ottawa Counties in Michigan. The study also investigated the differences between groups of students within these programs when the independent variables of age, sex, and grade level were compared. The data were collected during one-day visits to each program. The Jesness Inventory was used to measure propensity towards juvenile delinquency and social rehabilitation needs. A t-test that compared a sample …

The Relationship Of Declining Enrollment, Community Involvement, Tax Support, And Assessed Evaluation To Labor Peace In Some Selected Michigan School Districts, William Right Kirby

Dissertations

Golden first investigated labor peace to determine if the causes of labor peace could be identified. It was his premise that organizations should work toward peace to allow the organizational goals to be accomplished more efficiently. Given Golden's premise, this study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between the quality of labor peace in school districts and the external factors of community involvement, declining enrollment, tax support and assessed evaluation. These factors were selected as they are the external factors most influential on the operation of a school district. A total of 22 districts in Southwestern Lower Michigan, 16 identified …

Geographic Place Location Knowledge: An Empirical Investigation Into The Performance Of University Undergraduate Students As A Result Of Cognitive Theory Based Instruction, Sharafat Khan

Dissertations

The major purpose of the study was to determine the effects of cognitive based Atlas Exercises and cognate materials (films, data sheets, readings from a geography book, regional examinations and map tests, book reviews, transparencies, a map module, wall maps, and slides) on the geographic place location knowledge of undergraduate university and/or college students. The research sample (n = 371) consisted of students enrolled in introductory geography courses located in three institutions of higher education in Michigan. Three researcher designed survey instruments were utilized for data collection: Background Data Questionnaire, Map Location Test I, and Map Location Test II. These …

A Study Of The Work Values And Achievement Motivation Of Persons Eligible For Federal Job Training Programs In A Rural Service Delivery Area, John Desiderio

Dissertations

The focus of this study was an analysis of the work values and achievement motivation of persons eligible to participate in federal job training programs in a rural region in west central Michigan. Also under review were the possible differentiating effects of select biodemographic and educational variables (sex, age, years of formal education completed, and level of scholastic achievement) on the work values and achievement motivation of persons within this population. Finally, the study contained an examination of the relationship between achievement motivation and work values.

The subjects under study were 167 individuals (85 males and 82 females) who qualified …

The Influences Of Schooling, Job Experience, Information About Job Openings, Mentoring, Geographic Mobility, And Discrimination On The Selection Of College And University Presidents, Raymond D. Davis

Dissertations

The study was designed around an occupational-distribution model developed by Milner (1979) and adapted for the present study to include the factors: (a) years of schooling, (b) quality of education, (c) job experience, (d) information about openings and promotions, (e) geographical regions, and (f) deliberate discrimination. Twenty-five hypotheses, thought to be related to the adapted model, were developed and tested. A particular goal was to examine possible screening factors that may limit women and members of racial minority groups in securing higher education presidencies.

A survey questionnaire, mailed to the population of 1,227 persons, yielded 1,015 usable responses (for an …

The Impact Of Gender On The Perceived Importance Of Criteria For Selection And For Promotion Of Administrators In One Institution Of Higher Education, Karen R. Laroe

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to answer the following question: What is the relationship between the gender of administrators at Western Michigan University and the perceptions of factors and qualities significant to employee selection and promotion? Specific questions were: (1) Do male ratings of each variable--aptitudes, attitudes, capacity for work, knowledge, personality, political factors, preferences, skills, social factors, wants--differ from female ratings of each variable when the variable is considered in relationship to selection of higher education administrators? (2) Do male ratings of each variable--aptitudes, attitudes, capacity for work, knowledge, personality, political factors, preferences, skills, social factors, wants--differ from …

College Impact On Religiosity Of Muslim Students Studying In The United States, Hamid Pouryoussefi

Dissertations

The major purpose of this study was to examine the religiosity of Muslim students studying in the United States. Religiosity was viewed as a four-dimensional variable: belief dimension, ritual dimension, experiential dimension, and consequential dimension. In addition, a combined index of religiosity was created.

The five hypotheses tested were: (1) The higher the academic status of the student, the lower the religiosity of the student. (2) There is an association between the religiosity of students and their major fields of study. (3) The more courses taken in social sciences by the student, the lower the religiosity of the student. (4) …

Perceptual Accuracy Of Affect Identification And The Relationship To Representational System And Personality Type, Richard Andrew O'Leary

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate accuracy of response to affectively laden stimuli across visual, auditory, and kinesthetic representational systems. This research was undertaken to assess subjects' individual response patterns and to distinguish possible differences in accuracy of response which subjects reported across representational systems. Subjects' response accuracy was correlated with their response frequency in subjects' representational systems. Subjects most accurate representational system was, in turn, compared to subjects' personality type. Subjects were assessed by two instruments, a modified version of the Affective Sensitivity Scale and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

Relevant literature was reviewed related to human information …

Two Faces Of Alienation: A Study Of The Iranian Students' Activism And Passivity In American Universities, Alireza Mohseni-Tabrizi

Dissertations

The relationship between Iranian students' alienation from the Iranian politics and society and their social and political activism is examined at the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Western Michigan University. The major goals of the study are to determine if there is a significant difference in the alienation levels of students who are politically and socially active and those who are not prone to participate in social and political activities, and to compare and contrast activists and non-activists by testing several propositions about characteristics of alienated students. The analysis of the data shows strong support for all six …

Community Mental Health Attitudes, Fenimore William Johnson

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare community mental health attitudes of the past and the present, and between mental health workers and the public. The results indicate that the public is better informed and more favorably disposed toward the mentally ill today than was true several decades ago. Some stereotypes persist, however, and the mentally ill are still regarded less favorably than are other disability groups. Mental health workers and the public appear to be similar in their endorsement of a medical approach to treatment, although the former endorse more strongly a community-based treatment orientation. There was no …

Improving Interpersonal Perceptual Accuracy And Psychological Adjustment Through Brief Perception Therapy With A Substance Abuse Population, B. Gerald Hartman

Dissertations

This study's purpose was to determine if a type of cognitive therapy, Brief Perception Therapy, (Bullmer, 1980) could improve interpersonal perceptual accuracy and psychological adjustment in a substance abuse population. Thirty-five patients seeking inpatient treatment were randomly assigned to a treatment and a comparison group. Twenty-five patients completed the three week program, 13 in the treatment group and 12 in the comparison group. The treatment group received Group Brief Perception Therapy (GBPT) and the comparison group received Regular Group Therapy (RP). Therapists were experienced master's level psychologists and social workers trained in group treatment. GBPT groups used a programmed text, …

The Chromatic And Cochromatic Number Of A Graph, John Gordon Gimbel

Dissertations

Clearly, there are many ways that one can partition the vertex sets of graphs. In the first chapter of this work I examine the problem of determining, for a given graph, the minimum order of a vertex partition having specified properties. In the remaining chapters I concentrate on partitions of two types--those in which each subset induces an empty graph and those in which each subset induces an empty or a complete graph.

The chromatic number of a graph G is the minimum number of subsets into which V(G) can be partitioned so that each subset induces an empty graph. …

The Relationship Between Thought Disorder And The Diagnosis Of Schizophrenia, David Frank Fatzinger

Dissertations

The diagnosis of schizophrenia has been considered unreliable, especially when derived by psychiatric interview. Thought disorder is one symptom that has been accepted by most clinicians as a major indicator of schizophrenia. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between thought disorder and the diagnosis of schizophrenia in a state hospital setting.

The sample consisted of 88 patients, 58 males (mean age = 32.0) and 30 females (mean age = 38.6) and was gathered from newly admitted patients in a large state hospital. Thought disorder was measured by the Whitaker Index of Schizophrenic Thinking (WIST) Form A, …

The Effects Of Meditation On Counselor Candidates' Self-Actualization, Clifton H. Burrows

Dissertations

The purpose of this investigation was to (1) determine the effectiveness of meditation in promoting healthy adjustment or self-actualization in counselor candidates; and (2) ascertain whether a meditation group generates a more positive change in self-actualization than do a treatment control and a control group.

The sample consisted of 39 volunteer graduate students in counselor education courses at two major universities. Three intact classes were used, with members of each group made up from the same class. Classroom groups were randomly assigned to two treatment conditions, meditation (M) and relaxation (TC), and to a third no-treatment condition (C).

Treatment was …

The Psychological Aspects Of Loneliness Experienced By College Students, Jerie Kull Wood

Dissertations

Loneliness is a common problem that occurs at various life stages, but is most intense for college students. To clarify and operationalize the concepts of loneliness, several current sociological and psychological approaches to loneliness were critically examined.

The major purposes of this study were to identify the lonely among the student population, the types of loneliness they experience, the behavioral manifestations of that loneliness, and the effectiveness of an intervention method. The Belcher Extended Loneliness Scale as administered to 126 students in a pretest and 203 students in a posttest. The students also answered questions about grade point average and …

Public Universities And Societal Development – Application Of The Ideal Type Methodology In The Case Studies Of Addis Ababa University And Michigan State University, Solomon Wako

Dissertations

The role of higher education in societal development has been addressed by a number of scholars in various fields including sociology. Though these scholars virtually agree on the importance of university education, they have not identified the type of the university that facilitates the kind of societal development they advocate. Therefore, this study is concerned with the construction of a theoretical model of the ideal type university that will facilitate the conceptualization of societal development for Ethiopia and the USA. The study employs Weber's ideal type methodology which simply refers to the construction of certain elements of reality into logically …

Effects Of Anticonvulsant Drugs On Learning And Memory, Mitchell Jon Picker

Dissertations

The effects of phenobarbital, clonazepam, valproic acid, phenytoin, and ethosuximide were examined in pigeons performing under repeated acquisition of response chains and delayed matching-to-sample procedures. In experiment I, clonazepam, valproic acid, ethosuximide, and phenytoin produced generally dose-dependent increases in rate of responding, while phenobarbital had little consistent effect on response rate across the dose range studied. Phenobarbital and clonazepam produced dose-dependent increases in error rates (i.e., learning impairment). Although valproic acid and phenytoin generally increased error rates relative to control values, this effect was not directly dose-dependent or consistent across subjects. In contrast to the other anticonvulsants examined, ethosuximide had …

Relationship Between Four Temperament Types And Nineteen Spiritual Gifts, Roland L. Joachim

Dissertations

Problem. No studies have been found that examine empirically the possible relationship between temperament and spiritual gifts. Traditionally they have been seen as offspring of discrete disciplines, the former belonging to the realm of psychology and the latter to theology. When some writers recently hypothesized a possible correlation between temperament and spiritual gifts, others discredited the notion.

This study was undertaken to investigate the possible correlation between the traditional four temperament types and a selection of nineteen spiritual gifts of the New Testament.

Method. The data base for this study consisted of 1,067 Christian graduate students and church members from …

Seventh-Day Adventists And Original Sin: A Study Of The Early Development Of The Seventh-Day Adventist Understanding Of The Effect Of Adam's Sin On His Posterity, Edwin Harry Zackrison

Dissertations

Problem. In Seventh-day Adventist theology, the doctrine of original sin has received ambivalent treatment. Periodically voices within the church and outside of it have asserted that the doctrine has no part in SDA theology, yet other Christians have insisted that it is a Scriptural doctrine. It was the purpose of the present study to examine the theological roots of Adventism to determine the reasons for and the content of its treatment of the doctrine.

Method. Since Biblical and historical perspectives are indispensable to the critical process of theology, a brief developmental survey was done to reveal trends and models relevant …

Frederick Griggs, Seventh-Day Adventist Educator And Administrator, Arnold Colin Reye

Dissertations

Problem. Frederick Griggs was a pivotal figure in the development of Seventh-day Adventist education. As an administrator he was influential in clarifying educational goals, defining the scope of the educational program, and building the structure and organization necessary to achieve and maintain an educational system. Despite his considerable contribution to Adventist education, there has been no comprehensive investigation of his life.

Method. This study has investigated Grigg's life from the perspective of his work as an educational administrator. A historical-documentary method of research has been used. Major sources have been collections of official correspondence; minutes of committees, boards, and faculties; …

The Relationship Of Self-Concept, Sex, Age, Major, Anxiety, Mathematics Background, And Mathematics Ability To The Level Of Mathematics And Statistical Anxiety Among College Juniors, David John Maysick

Dissertations

Problem. One's choice of career has significant effect upon one's future life in terms of earning potential and social interaction. Mathematics/statistical anxiety and the mathematics avoidance often accompanying such anxiety, can influence career choice, causing otherwise talented people to limit their future. The purpose of this study was to determine from selected variables--particularly self-concept--which, if any, were related to the problem of mathematics and/or statistical anxiety.

Method. The statistical sample used was 350 juniors. Stratification was by degree of mathematics content in subject's major field of study. For the study, subjects had to be in the same major category as …

A Model For Development Of A Telecommunications Satellite Network For Administrative, Educational And Other Purposes In A Private Organization, Allen Steele

Dissertations

Problem. While large organizations such as federal and state governments and large commercial corporations have expended their resources to take advantage of communication satellites, private organizations with more modest means have not been provided with a plan for utilization of this new technology. The purpose of this study was to design a model for development of a telecommunications network which private organizations could use to create their own telecommunications satellite networks. Literature was reviewed to provide a perspective of the history and development of satellite technology. Two telecommunication networks already in operation by private organizations were visited and a report …

Liturgy And Ritual As Religious Education: Implications For The Seventh-Day Adventist Church, James Bingham

Dissertations

Problem. The act of worship has not been the central focus of the Seventh-day Adventist church. An evangelistic priority has reduced its worship periods to mostly didactic acts, often leaving believers unsatisfied in their desires to worship. Structural deficiencies are evident in the neglect of liturgical and ritualistic matters. The problem is compounded in that the educative forces inherent in liturgical, ritualistic expressions are not well understood.

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to analyze the nature of liturgy and ritual in order to better understand their contribution and potential as religious education and their impact upon worship. It …

An Investigation Of Predictors Of Success In Elementary Student Teaching In Selected Seventh-Day Adventist Colleges, J. Roger Couty

Dissertations

Problem. Investigations of predictors of student teaching success have yielded contradictory results in general. Besides, reports of such investigations could not be located, as related to Seventh-day Adventist colleges. There seemed to be a need for a study of predictors of student teaching success in Seventh-day Adventist colleges.

Method. The purpose of the study was to look at selected factors and determine whether or not they are related to student teaching success. Four hundred and fifty students who had completed their student teaching experience between Fall quarter 1977 and Spring quarter 1983 were involved in the study. Data were collected …

A Research-Based Model District Administrative Internship Program, Lancie V. Wright

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Description Of The Practices Of High School Principals In Designing Staff Development Programs In Dupage County, Robert F. Jerrick

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Analysis Of Faculty Perceptions Of Institutional Goals And Environments At Two Campuses Of A State University, Sarah A. Crawford

Dissertations

No abstract provided.