The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of mode and intensity on VO2 kinetics in the severe intensity domain. Seventeen participants completed 3-7 tests each on a cycle ergometer and treadmill. For each test, Tfatigue, VO2max, Tmean response, VO2GAIN, TVO2max and T@VO2max were determined. Linear regression techniques were used to describe the relationship between TVO2max and Tfatigue . VO2max values were higher in running. The VO2 response profile was faster for running than cycling and faster at higher intensities. The faster VO2 response in running may be associated with larger active muscle mass or differences in muscle activation patterns. The faster response at higher intensities may suggest that VO2 response is driven by O2 demand.

James Sellars has established himself as one of America's foremost composers whose eclectic style reveals a wealth of influences. His artistic combination of various traditional and avant-garde techniques, along with his sensitive and expert craftsmanship has earned him an important position in contemporary American music. Sellars' compositional styles have encompassed neo-Romanticism, in his early days, through post-serialism and Dada to an eclectic, post-Romantic style utilizing popular elements including electro-acoustic techniques. His extensive catalog of over 150 compositions includes works for orchestra, opera, chorus, dance, chamber, voices with ensemble, solo voice, piano, instrumental solos, band, and media. Sellars' compositions for piano solo span a 38-year period and total 17 works, the most important of which are his six one-movement sonatas, which represent, according to Sellars, "a journey from modernism to post-modernism." Their value lies in their eclectic stylistic approaches, artistic nd technical challenges, and pianistic effectiveness. The first three sonatas, incorporating post-serial elements, fall into a modernist stylistic stance while numbers four through six, in postmodern style, contrast one another drastically. Sonata Brasileira, recalls the broad sweeping gestures of the Romantic period; Sonata V reveals the influence of the absurdist Dada movement; and the last sonata Patterns on a Field, blends …

This thesis is an inquiry regarding the interconnections between water scarcity, geopolitics, resource management, and the strategies for developing effective ways to resolve conflict and encourage sustainable water resource use in developing countries. The ecological services of trans-boundary rivers are explored in conjunction with the potential impacts to freshwater availability due to economic modernization, water resource development, and decision making regimes that determine how water is allocated among competing users. Anthropogenic stressors that induce water scarcity and the geopolitical mechanisms of conflict are studied. A discourse on the creation and functional extent of global and localized water ethics is investigated, emphasizing the importance of perceptual dispositions of water users in understanding the value of trans-boundary river basins.

Despite a long-standing tradition to view gender as a unitary theoretical construct, there is an increasing approbation afforded to gender identity as a multifarious construct. Over and above physiological characteristics, gender identity is a psychological and a social construct. More than simply a biological classification, both gender and gender identity have been explored as portentous moderators of consumers' cognitive and emotive states, brand attributions and shopping behaviors. How might gender differences be manifested in building and sustaining brand relationships? This is the seminal question addressed in the present research. The overarching objective of this research is to address how the broadened conceptualization of gender impacts customer-based brand equity across U.S. and Chinese consumers. The focal populations of interest are related to markedly different levels of brand penetration in each a post-developed and transitional market setting. Furthermore, it provides a platform for investigating how gender identities may differ across two of the largest consumer buying groups in the global marketplace. Toward this goal, this research explores the multidimensionality of gender as a construct, and then empirically investigates how an extended view of gender may or may not impact consumer-based brand equity. Based on an integration of extant theories in gender identity …

This study was designed to examine: (1) the extent to which cheating occurs in fundamentalist Christian colleges; (2) the attitudes of fundamentalist Christian college students toward cheating; (3) attitudes of fundamentalist Christian college students toward cheating among their peers; (4) the kinds of cheating practices of fundamentalist Christian college students; (5) the degree to which students engage in neutralizing behavior to justify cheating; (6) differences in cheating behaviors according to gender; (7) differences in cheating behaviors according to ethnicity; and (8) differences in cheating behaviors according to the length of duration of Christian commitment. Based upon the responses of 337 students attending 3 different Christian colleges, it was concluded that: (1) most Christian fundamentalist students do not engage in cheating; (2) respondents believe that each of 17 self-reported cheating behaviors are serious forms of cheating; (3) respondents are unlikely to report cheating among peers; (4) plagiarism is the most common cheating behavior; (5) most respondents justify cheating on the basis of the workload at school and the pressure to obtain good grades; (6) there are no differences in cheating behavior according to gender; (7) there are differences in cheating behavior according to groups; and (8) most respondents do not cheat …

This qualitative study described and examined the characteristics, components and theoretical design of the Student African-American Brother (SAAB). The SAAB is a national program that seeks to increase the academic and social integration of African-American males in higher education to increase their potential to graduate with an undergraduate degree. The SAAB's academic and social integration strategies were compared to Bean and Bennett's conceptual model of black student attrition to determine the congruency between the organization's strategies and the theoretical framework. The methodology was case study. Thirty semi-structured interviews were held with past and current members of the organization to gain a broader knowledge of the SAAB strategies and interventions used to promote their academic and social integration. The research revealed the SAAB applies a three dimensional approach which consists of providing a supportive environment, supporting academic goals, and encouraging campus and community involvement. This approach increases the students' understanding of the organization and structure of the higher education setting to yield successful matriculation through a four year college or university.

Assessing offenders' risk of future violent behavior continues to be an important yet controversial role of forensic psychologists. A key debate is the relative effectiveness of assessment methods. Specifically, actuarial methods (see Quinsey et al., 1998 for a review) have been compared and contrasted to clinical and structured clinical methods (see e.g. Hart, 1998; Webster et al., 1997). Proponents of each approach argue for its superiority, yet validity studies have made few formal comparisons. In advancing the available research, the present study examines systematically the type of forensic case (i.e., sexual violence versus nonsexual violence) and type of assessment method (i.e., actuarial, structured clinical, and unstructured clinical). As observed by Borum, Otto, and Golding (1993), forensic decision making can also be influenced by the presence of certain extraneous clinical data. To address these issues, psychologists and doctoral students attending the American Psychology Law Society conference were asked to make several ratings regarding the likelihood of future sexual and nonsexual violence based on data derived from actual defendants with known outcomes. Using a mixed factorial design, each of these assessment methods were investigated for its influence on decision-makers regarding likelihood of future violence and sexually violent predator commitments. Finally, the potentially …

Organizational change and development (OCD) has been studied by researchers to identify the effectiveness of change initiatives. Because of the broad scope of interventions in OCD, these studies have covered a range of areas including multiple interventions and the methodological rigor used by researchers. However, few have looked at organizational versus individual change within an organization, to examine whether individual change is more effective than organizational change. The purpose of this study is to determine if organizational change occurs in a top down or bottom up manner. A meta-analysis was conducted using 238 field experiments. Each study was coded for intervention and organizational outcome and for individual or organizational level variables. Effect sizes were calculated for each study, each level, and each level by intervention and outcome measure. Results indicate that while OCD interventions overall had a moderate effect size, the level of intervention or outcome was not a moderating variable.

Emotional Intelligence (EI) has been relatively unstudied after young adulthood. Yet there are a variety of reasons to expect that EI may be different at mid life than in young adulthood. Normative life experiences may lead to increases in EI, and as the array of different environments and experiences increases with age, one might expect greater individual differences in EI. Similarly, if EI is located somewhere at the intersection of personality and intelligence, as some have speculated, it may follow a course of structural differentiation similar to cognitive abilities. EI may be more closely linked to social variables such as loneliness and friendships at mid life, and its relation to established personality and ability factors such as the Big Five (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness) and fluid and crystallized abilities may also vary with age. These hypotheses were investigated in samples of 292 young adults and 246 mid life adults, using the Schutte Self Report Emotional Intelligence Inventory, the NEO-Five Factor Personality Inventory, markers of crystallized and fluid ability from Horn's Crystallized/Fluid Sampler, and a variety of other measures. Mid life adults scored higher on overall EI scores, but evidenced no greater range of individual differences than did young …

Fetal programming results from stressors during fetal development and may influence the occurrence of disease later in life. Maternal nutritional status and/or environment can affect renal development by inducing limited nephron endowment at birth, which results in diseases such as hypertension and coronary heart disease in mammals. Birds are likely to be effective models for this process because, like mammals, they have high pressure cardiovascular systems, mammalian-type nephrons and are homeothermic. This project uses the chicken embryo to explore physiological responses of disrupted hydration state thereby providing insights into renal fetal programming. Under normal conditions the chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) and developing avian kidney work in unison to ensure a proper balance of ions and water within the egg. White leghorn chicken eggs were incubated at 37.5oC±0.5oC and either <35%, 55-60% (normal) or >85% relative humidity. Amniotic fluid serves as the drinking source for the embryo late in development; its composition is important to salt and water homeostasis. High amniotic fluid osmolality increased the blood osmolality for embryos exposed to low humidity incubation thereby indirectly influencing the renal developmental program of the embryos from this group. Indeed estimated filtering capacity was doubled in the low humidity group (6.77 ± 0.43 mm3) …

The purpose of this research was to study the attitudes of Korean and American early childhood educators concerning gifted children and programs aimed specifically at meeting their needs. The study examined general attitudes towards giftedness and gifted education programs and factors that might affect those attitudes. The study also examined desirable environments for young gifted children. Twenty-item questionnaires were developed and logically divided into six sections (identification, teacher environment, classroom environment, parent environment, educational rights, and program). A systematic process of development, analysis, and refinement of the questionnaire was done. The questionnaires were given randomly to American educators attending the 1996 National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) conference. A random Korean sample included early childhood educators listed in the Korean Association for Early Childhood Education Directory (1995-1996) and the Korean Association for Child Care Directory (1995-1996). All subjects were members of one of three groups: (a) teacher educators, (b) teachers, and (c) administrators/directors. The surveys found agreement between Korean and American early childhood educators on the importance of knowing the strengths of individual gifted children, the need to stimulate higher order thinking skills, the rights of gifted children to an appropriate education, a perception of more work …

This intrinsic case study documents a community-based history expedition implemented as a project-based, voluntary, out-of-school history activity. The expedition's development was informed by the National Education Association's concept of the intensive study of history, its structure by the history seminary, and its spirit by Webb's account of seminar as history expedition. Specific study objectives included documentation of the planning, implementation, operation, and outcomes of the expedition, as well as the viability of the history expedition as a vehicle for engaging teenagers in the practice of history. Finally, the study examined whether a history expedition might serve as a curriculum of identity. Constructivist philosophy and situated learning theory grounded the analysis and interpretation of the study. Undertaken in North Central Texas, the study followed the experiences of six teenagers engaged as historians who were given one year to research and write a historical monograph. The monograph concerned the last horse cavalry regiment deployed overseas as a mounted combat unit by the U.S. Army during World War II. The study yielded qualitative data in the form of researcher observations, participant interviews, artifacts of participant writing, and participant speeches. In addition, the study includes evaluations of the historical monograph by subject matter experts. …

The dissertation explores middle-school students' abilities to engage in historical thinking. I dispute the Hallam-Piaget model, which discourages analytical thinking through the assumption that children lack skills to think critically about history. My historical narrative inquiry model (1) teaches procedural knowledge (the process of "doing" history); (2) enhances interpretative skills; (3) cultivates historical perspectives based upon evidentiary history; and (4) encourages student authorship of historical narratives. In the fall semester of 2006, with a classroom of twenty-five seventh-graders, I initiated a research study designed to explore the impact of the historical narrative inquiry model through a sequence of thirty-two lessons. The lessons involved small- and large-group activities, including oral presentations, discussions about primary documents, and consideration of the relation between narratology and the creation of written history. Students generated their own historical narratives in order to articulate their perspectives. Eight students having varied reading-level proficiency served as primary participants in the study. Each of these students received pre- and post-intervention interviews. Outcomes reflected the enhancement of pedagogy intended to facilitate historical thinking and historical empathy in the classroom.

This dissertation chronicles my search to engage high school English students in inquiry as part of a formal research process. The perspective of critical literacy theory is used to describe the four phases of the problem posing process in shaping student research and action. Grounded in Freire's approach and consistent with Dewey and others who advocate inquiry, action and relevance, Wink's process is built into the instructional plan described in this study. Because of the real-life context of the classroom and the complex social phenomena being considered, a case study methodology was utilized in which multiple sources of data converged to develop the themes. Data sources included the work and artifacts of ten students in a tenth grade English class during the spring semester of 2008. The analysis focuses on the supports, the constraints and the impact of problem posing on the high school research assignment. The analysis, findings, and conclusions contribute to the literature in three areas: audience, reflection and grading.

Although researchers have studied perceptions regarding sexually abused children, little was known about how other types of abusive events were perceived. This study examined 480 college students' abuse history and perceptions of child, spousal, and elder abuse by varying the respondent, victim, and perpetrator genders. Physical abuse, psychological abuse, and neglect were investigated. Perceptions of abusiveness, seriousness, harm, and responsibility were examined, along with the extent of identification with the victims/perpetrators. Participants viewed spousal abuse as less serious and harmful than other abuse types, especially when perpetrated against a male or by a female. Although able to recognize psychological abuse, students did not fully understand what other abuse types entailed. Individuals also showed a considerable amount of blame toward victims. Results further demonstrated important findings about how ethnic identity/orientation, religious affiliation, and history of abuse related to perceptions of abusive events.

Background music is often used in preschool classrooms with the belief that music makes children smarter and increases attention. The purpose of this study was to determine if background music increased children's focused attention during play activities. Focused attention occurs when children maintain attention to a task regardless of distractions. This quasiexperimental study investigated background music and play in a laboratory setting. I videotaped individual children during play with math manipulatives in a pretest-posttest research design with background music used as the treatment. Forty-three 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds played for 15 minutes. The first 5 minutes of play had no music (pretest), the second 5-minute play episode had background music (treatment), and the final 5-minute play episode had no background music (posttest). Data were analyzed using one-way repeated measures analysis of variance. Findings revealed that the subjects paid less attention to the play task with background music than they did during the pretest, with no music. Another key finding was that children with more musical experiences at home, as reported by the Child's Home Musical Experience Survey (CHIMES), exhibited longer periods of focused attention with background music. This study confirmed previous research that 3-year-old children have shorter focused attention than …

Transformational leaders have tendencies that include: 1) projecting confidence and optimism about goals and followers' ability, 2) providing a clear vision, 3) encouraging creativity through empowerment and rewarding experimentation, 4) setting high expectations and creating a supportive environment, and 5) establishing personal relationships with followers. Transactional leadership as a process in which leaders and followers decide on goals and how to achieve them through a mutual exchange. The leader provides followers with resources, rewards, and punishment in order to achieve motivation, productivity, and effective task accomplishment. Laissez-faire leadership is the process of letting followers work without direction or guidance from the leader. The laissez-faire leader avoids providing direction and support, shows a lack of active involvement in follower activity, and abdicates responsibilities by maintaining a line of separation between the leader and the followers. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the assumption that a combination of transformational and transactional leadership factors is more predictive of greater followers' job satisfaction, motivation toward extra effort, and perceived presidential effectiveness than either leadership style alone. The study investigated perceptions of the degree to which transformational leadership, transactional leadership, and laissez-faire leadership were practiced by presidents of member colleges and universities …

The purpose of this study was to examine the financial nexus between college choice and persistence for full-time, first-time, first-year freshman college students. The theoretical framework of this study was the financial nexus construct developed by St. John, Paulsen, and Starkey (1996) and Paulsen and St. John (1997). This is the first study to apply the financial nexus construct to full-time, first-time, first-year freshman population; the first to examine baccalaureate/comprehensive and doctoral/research institutions in both public and private sectors separately. The results of this study found that (1) overall, it is slightly evident that there is a financial nexus between college choice and persistence among full-time, first-time, first-year freshman students; (2) the nexus between college choice and persistence may be different by the Carnegie Classification, and (3) the pattern of the direct effects of financial variables (i.e., tuition and financial aid) on persistence was different from the previous results. Unlike in the previous studies, tuition increases appeared to have a positive effect on the enrollment of full-time, first-time, first-year freshman students attending institutions of all Carnegie Classifications. The result suggests that price may reveal a "quality effect" and that higher tuition institution may signal higher quality. In both public and …

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the impact of a junior high school leadership program on the academic success and leadership development of its at-risk student participants. A secondary purpose, based on impact, was to evaluate the program as a potential school-based model for adolescent at-risk intervention. The leadership program investigated in this study is unique in three ways. First, the program is in a magnet school and the student population is heterogeneously mixed as to ethnicity and socio-economic status. Second, enrollment is open to all students. Third, its curriculum goals meet research-based criteria for effective intervention practices and leadership development. Academic success indicators associated with at-risk students included achievement, conduct, attendance, and school engagement. Leadership development indicators included leadership practices students had experienced and leadership positions students had held. The design of this post hoc study was the comparison of two groups of high school students who qualified as "at-risk" during their junior high years. Data collection included district or campus reports for cumulative attendance rates, grade point averages, and conduct demerits, as well as student survey responses for school activities, leadership practices experienced, and leadership positions held. Results of multivariate and univariate inferential analyses show …

Language policy reform movements have increased accountability in order for schools to improve student achievement and measure the progress of English language learners. The number of English language learners (ELLs) has grown significantly in the school population, yet the level of academic achievement for this population continues to lag. Language planning and policy provide critical decisions about how to measure what students know in all subjects. In 1999, the 76th Texas Legislature approved the assessment of the state curriculum to account for student learning while nationally the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires assessment and accountability to measure what students know. Long term English language learners (LTELs) in high school are of particular concern because they have not been able to meet standards on the state's assessments. These assessments are used for national NCLB accountability under Annual Yearly progress (AYP) indicators, the state's accountability and the Texas graduation criteria. The purpose of this study has been to examine the impact of educational language planning and policy on LTELs who have lived and attended US schools for more than four school years.

Admissions processes for health professions programs result in students entering these programs academically homogeneous. Yet some students have great difficulty with the programs. Research has shown a limited ability of traditional academic indicators to predict successful outcomes for health professions education. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between learning motivation and academic outcomes for students in health professions programs. The Modified Archer Health Professions Motivation Scale (MAHPMS) and a demographic survey were administered at orientation to 131 medical and 29 physician assistant students at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in the fall of 2005. At the end of the semester, the same version of the MAHPMS was administered, and final course grades and semester averages were collected. Descriptive statistics were analyzed for all the study variables. Analysis of variance was utilized to examine within subjects and between subjects differences for the learning motivation scores among programs and demographic categories. Linear regression analyses were used to determine the relationship between learning motivation scores and end-of-semester grades. And finally, logistic regression was performed to explore the ability of the motivation scores to predict academically high-risk students. Approximately three-fourths of the students indicated a preference for …

As educators search for ways of improving student achievement, it is imperative that focus be placed on teacher learning and development. Currently, the trend in public schools throughout the country is to look directly at students and the deficits they bring to the learning environment when responding to those who find fault with the educational system. The current study directed attention to teachers' beliefs about their ability to affect change in student learning. The study centered on seven research questions that sought to determine: (1) the effect of job-embedded staff development on teachers' sense of efficacy; (2) the effect of job-embedded staff development on teachers' stages of concern; (3) the relationship between teacher efficacy and stages of concern; (4) the status of teachers' level of use of an innovation; and (5) the dominance of teacher concerns prior to and after involvement in job-embedded professional development. Through a mixed methodology approach, quantitative and qualitative analyses provided perspectives from 30 teachers in a suburban North Texas school district on the impact of job-embedded professional development on teacher efficacy, stages of concern, and resulting levels of use of an educational innovation. Quantitative results of two surveys: the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (Tschannen-Moran …

The first diamond mine in North America was discovered in 1906 when John W. Huddleston found two diamonds on his farm just south of Murfreesboro in Pike County, Arkansas. Experts soon confirmed that the diamond-bearing formation on which Huddleston made his discovery was the second largest of its kind and represented 25 percent of all known diamond-bearing areas in the world. Discovery of the field generated nearly a half century of speculative activity by men trying to demonstrate and exploit its commercial viability. The field, however, lacked the necessary richness for successful commercial ventures, and mining was eventually replaced in the early 1950s by tourist attractions that operated successfully until 1972. At that time the State of Arkansas purchased the field and converted it to a state park. Thus this work tell the rich and complicated story of America'a once and only diamond field, analyzes the reasons for the repeated failures of efforts to make it commercially viable, and explains how it eventually succeeded as a tourist venture.

A study was conducted to gather information from department chairs serving in the 26 two-year colleges that are members of the North Texas Community College Consortium using the International Community College Chair Survey (ICCCS). The ICCCS is designed to gather insights into four aspects of the chairs' professional lives: personal characteristics, responsibilities challenges, and strategies. The study compared the demographic data and the respondents' perceptions of the challenges their units will face in the next 5 years to the original survey conducted in 1992. The regional sample included 616 first-line administrators, and a 30.5% response rate was achieved. The demographic distribution of the regional respondents shows significant shifts in gender, age, education, experience and release time but constancy in race and stability of the population. Similarities between the two samples exist regarding the challenges of maintaining program quality, providing technology, and managing financial issues. The regional sample expresses greater concern about the challenges of distance education, external accountability, and student matters.