The purpose of this study was to examine the potential of three independent psychological scales (Rotter's Locus of Control, Karasek's Job Content Questionnaire [non-injury job stress], and Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale) to predict job satisfaction, as measured by Brayfield and Rothe's Index of Job Satisfaction, among salespersons in a small independent department store in Wichita Falls, Texas. An 82-item survey which examined the dynamics of a salesperson's work life was administered to 20 individuals who were full-time employees of the department store. Demographic data were also gathered although these factors were not entered into the regression analysis. A multiple regression procedure examined the responses of the 20 employees who participated in the study. The R-squared coefficient indicates that 41 percent of the variance in Job Satisfaction was explained by the three predictor measures. A major proportion of this unexplained variance may be in variables outside the scope of this study, e.g., salaries, vacation time, benefits, bonuses, or commissions. Results suggest that the independent variables measured by the Locus of Control Scale and the Job Content Questionnaire in combination were the best predictors of job satisfaction with a significance level of .01. The single best predictor was the Job Content Questionnaire, significant …

The purpose of this study was to identify and analyze perceptional differences among department chairs, faculty, and instructors toward the barrier to using multiple teaching strategies in two-year technical and community college electronics courses. The literature review focused on defining multiple teaching strategies and identifying and discussing four major perceived barriers to implementing them in the electronics classroom: student, resources, classroom environmental, and teacher training/teaching technology. The targeted population consisted of 150 out of 231 electronics teaching technical and community college department chairs, faculty, and instructors throughout the state of Texas. In actuality, the targeted population's breakdown consisted of 36 full-time electronics teaching department chairs, 96 full-time electronics teaching faculty and instructors, and 18 part-time electronics teaching faculty and instructors who were actively involved in the delivery of instruction in their respective schools. Analysis of the data revealed that: (1) there are no significant differences among the perceptions of department chair people, faculty, and instructors toward the four perceived barriers to implementing multiple teaching strategies in a post-secondary electronics program; and (2) there are no significant differences in the perceptions electronics faculty members categorized by years teaching experience toward each of the four perceived barrier categories to implementing multiple teaching …

This research was one of the first longitudinal studies to determine the effectiveness of a computerized infant simulator as a deterrent to adolescent pregnancy. All of the female eighth-grade students (221) in 1994-1995 and 1995-1996 from a suburban North Texas middle school were part of this study. They were tracked from the eighth grade through high school graduation to determine whether and when pregnancies occurred. The Kaplan-Meier procedure for survival analysis was used to determine test statistics. Survival functions and hazard functions were created for each independent variable--parenting the infant simulator, ethnic and racial, involvement in co-curricular activities, and crime. Results showed the computerized infant simulator to be highly effective in postponing the on-set of pregnancies for those students who participated in the parenting simulation. Hazards peaked at 3 years, 2 months for the experimental group and at 2 years, 21/2 months for the control group. Summertime and holiday seasons marked times of the year when the majority of pregnancies occurred. Caucasians peaked before the Other ethnic group. No significant differences were detected in regard to involvement in co-curricular activities, and no involvement in crime was self-reported. The model was developed to use as a guideline for implementing a pregnancy …

Aircraft maintenance training programs in the Air Force have evolved from an almost exclusively mechanical orientation to one that is largely electronic. The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) with its four selector composites (Mechanical, Administration, General, and Electronic) has been in use for over 20 years. The mechanical (M) composite score is used to identify those who will be trained in aircraft maintenance.

Presently there are four generational cohorts in the workplace. Born from 1977 to 1997, the youngest cohort group, referred to as Generation Y (or Gen Y) in this study, has 81 million members, of whom over 29 million are already in the workplace. The importance of leader-subordinate relationships in the workplace has been confirmed; in recognizing this, leaders must identify and adapt to the changing era-shaped needs of employees, who cannot fully participate in organizational life if their most urgent needs are not being met. Because Gen Y employees are only now entering the workforce, little is actually known about the workplace needs of this cohort group. This study attempted to determine leadership needs of a Gen Y cohort as a means to enhance workplace relationships in the 21st century organization. A sequential, mixed methods study was employed to explore leadership preferences of a Gen Y cohort. Initially, focus group interviews were used to generate leadership themes. Based on these themes, an instrument was designed, and Gen Y business students from three higher education institutions were surveyed. Confirmatory factor analysis using LISREL software was used to test the themes. The driving force behind this research design was to build a …

This study examined the effects of test anxiety reduction strategies on U.S. Air Force allied health care students and had a fourfold purpose. The first was to estimate the extent of student test anxiety in allied health care students. The second was to determine the predictors of student test anxiety. The third was to determine if the Student Learning Center provides an effective method of reducing test anxiety in the subjects. The final purpose was to recommend areas for future research.

The recent emergence and growth of the regional airlines in the United States has placed a strain on the supply of pilots that are needed for staffing scheduled flights. This present pilot shortage is presenting challenges for 2-year colleges and 4-year universities with aviation programs to produce more pilot graduates in less time to meet the staffing demands made by the regional airlines. With this shortage, the pressing issues of how to train and hire qualified pilots to fly technologically advanced regional airline jet aircraft have forced the industry to demand more aviation skills from a shrinking market of aviation pilot candidates. Colleges and universities with aviation programs have been forced to compete with outside private aviation schools on a larger scale in the training of collegiate students for airline employment opportunities. The primary purpose of this study was to expose any inadequacies in the higher-education aviation curricula and to propose changes needed to better qualify aviation students in the hiring process at regional air carriers. This study concentrated on the principle that higher education is necessary for advancing a pilot's aptitudes and abilities to perform the highly technical tasks of a professional pilot in a regional airline environment. The …

Knowledge management is a major concern for organizations today, and in spite of investments in technology, knowledge transfer remains problematic. This study sought to determine whether a relationship exists among participant group demographics (experience), implementation of an integrated knowledge transfer system (best practices model), knowledge transfer barriers, and knowledge transfer project (Web-based training) outcome in a virtual organization. The participant organization was a network of individuals and groups who practice patient advocacy in the research and treatment of cancer. These advocates volunteer in various capacities and are not collocated nor do they report to any single organizational entity. Volunteer participants were randomly assigned to a treatment or control condition. The treatment participants received a training supplement based upon a best practices knowledge transfer model. All participants reviewed a Web-based communications training module scheduled for deployment by the participant organization. Upon completion of the training program, participants were instructed to practice specific techniques from the program. At the end of this period, participants completed an online survey that measured demographics, perceived barriers to the knowledge transfer, and project outcome. Knowledge transfer barriers were defined as knowledge, source, recipient, and organizational context characteristics that inhibit the expected transfer. Project outcome was a …

This quasi-experimental study, utilizing quantitative and qualitative descriptive methods, examined the sex-egalitarian attitudes of secondary mathematics teachers from the Ft. Worth Independent School District. A video tape, Women in the Workplace, was used as a training intervention to test the effectiveness of professional development training in altering the mathematics teachers' sex-egalitarian attitudes towards female employment. Information on the video presented seven jobs that provide opportunities for female students in the science, engineering, and technology fields that are considered nontraditional jobs for females. Subjects completed 19 Employment Role domain questions on the King and King (1993) Sex-Role Egalitarianism Scale. A one-way ANOVA was applied to the data to test for a significant difference in the means of the control group, who did not see the video, and the experimental group that viewed the video. Findings concluded that there was no significant difference in the sex equalitarian mean scores of the control group and the experimental group. The research indicated that it takes an intensive and prolonged training period to produce a significant change in people's attitudes. This study supports the research on length of training needed to change sex egalitarian attitudes of classroom teachers. There were data collected on four demographic …

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a relationship exists between the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) of first-term Air Force medical service corps (MSC) officers and their initial occupational placement matches (OCUPLACE MATCH), and, if so, whether this could it predict job satisfaction. The population consisted of 116 first-term Air Force MSC officers already assigned and working at their initial occupational placement. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS®) computer software program was used for the statistical computation. Several techniques were used, including, frequency distribution, the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient, and regression analyses, among others. Results showed a statistical significant correlation between the MBTI type of the first-term MSC officer matches and their initial occupational placement (OCUPLACE MATCH, r = .440, p < .01). Furthermore, results of a regression analysis showed no statistical significance for predication on job satisfaction (r = 492, F = .887, p < .05). Based on this study, the Air Force Personnel Center can match first-term MSC officers' personality type to an initial occupation placement; however, based on the second part of the hypothesis, prediction of job satisfaction may not be yield on less other aspects of the group are considered such as time …

This study is based on Kirkpatrick's (1996) four level evaluation model. The study assessed the correlation between and among three levels of data that resulted from evaluation processes used in the U.S. Air Force technical training. The three levels of evaluation included trainee reaction (Level 1), test scores (Level 2), and job performance (Level 3). Level 1 data was obtained from the results of a 20 item survey that employed a 5-point Likert scale rating. Written test scores were used for Level 2 data. The Level 3 data was collected from supervisors of new graduates using a 5-point Likert scale survey. The study was conducted on an existing database of Air Force technical training graduates. The subjects were trainees that graduated since the process of collecting and storing Levels 1 and 2 data in computerized database began. All subjects for this study graduated between March 1997 and January 1999. A total of 188 graduates from five Air Force specialties were included. Thirty-four cases were from a single course in the aircrew protection specialty area; 12 were from a single course in the munitions and weapons specialty area; and 142 were from three separate courses in the manned aerospace maintenance specialty …

This research examined the reasons for participation in continuing professional education (CPE) and the predictive relationship of those motivational reasons to the perceived leadership effectiveness of first-line supervisors. For this study, 105 first-line supervisors were surveyed from four electric utility companies. Input was also collected from each supervisor's subordinate employees. Using the five motivational reasons for participation, collected via the Participation Reasons Scale and the effectiveness score collected using the Leader Behavior Analysis II®, regression techniques were used to asses the data. The five participation reasons of the PRS were regressed individually against the effectiveness scores to determine the extent to which leader effectiveness could be predicted by the participation reasons. In each case, the null hypothesis failed to be rejected. Regression of the five PRS reasons collectively on leader effectiveness also failed to reject the null, producing a p value of .800 and an R2 value of .023. An "all possible subsets" regression was conducted to determine whether a smaller subset of the five predictor variables might improve the predictive value of the participation reasons. No subset improved the predictive value. This study concludes that motivation to participate in CPE does not predict leader effectiveness. Thus, training organizations do …

The purpose of this study was to determine if psychological type, economic status, and minority classification had an effect on the pass/fail rates of vocational nursing students. The rationale for conducting this study was based on the need for the institution to maintain program viability and successfully retain students. The personality types of vocational nursing students were measured using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Measures of economic status and minority classification were obtained through subject self-report. Students enrolled in a vocational nursing program at a small North Texas community college were studied. The Chi-square Test of Independence with a 2 x 2 design was employed. Findings indicated that there was a statistically significant relationship between the pass/fail rates of thinkers versus feelers in the vocational nursing classroom. Findings did not indicate a statistically significant relationship between the pass/fail rates of extraverts versus introverts; sensers versus intuitives; or judgers versus perceivers in the vocational nursing classroom. Findings also suggested that there were no significant relationships between the pass/fail rates of individuals with poverty versus non-poverty economic statuses, nor between individuals with minority versus non-minority classifications. Based on this study, vocational nursing students psychologically typed as thinkers, may have lower passing rates in …

This study examined the relationship between Career and Technical Education (CATE) and the Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS), the measure of school and learner success in Texas. CATE, an established program, traditionally encourages student achievement and perpetuates best educational practices. AEIS data was collected by the Texas Education Agency. In addition, a survey was used to measure CATE effectiveness and the relationship between effectiveness and AEIS performance. Two-factor mixed repeated measures ANOVAs were used to observe group differences over time. CATE and non-CATE exit level TAAS scores for reading and math at the district level were analyzed for 2000, 2001, and 2002. CATE students had higher group means but there was not statistical significance indicating that CATE students performed as well as non-CATE. Two-factor mixed repeated measures ANOVAs were also used for analysis of differences at the district level for attendance, dropout rates, and graduation rates. There were higher group means for attendance for CATE students and there was also statistical significance indicating that CATE students attended more often then non-CATE students. There was a lower group means for dropout rate and there was also statistical significance between groups over time. This was an inverse relationship indicating that CATE students …

The objective of this study was to observe evidence of structural transfer among subjects in a group problem-solving activity and determine whether mode of collaborative technology or use of a priming agent affected the nature of transferred structures. Evidence for structural transfer is found in three theoretical perspectives: organizational ditransitive (linguistic) verb structures, adaptive structuration theory, and mental model transfer theory. Dependent variables included various grammatical structures and coefficients derived from pretest and posttest scores on David Kolb's Learning Styles Inventory, modified for the experiment. The combination of changes in grammatical frequencies and learning style may suggest that one or more media or the priming agent may affect structural transfer. Results indicate that groups using the GroupSystems™ collaborative technology produced less overall linguistic content than did subjects using a generic chat system, but employed more complex language as indicated by frequency of the organizational ditransitive verb structure. Also, subjects supplied with an organization chart (priming agent) during the group problem-solving session experienced greater change on the learning styles inventory than did those participating in the session without the chart. These findings suggest that mode of communication and use of priming agents may contribute positively or negatively to the transfer of …

This study evaluated 227 students attending 12 classes of the Apprentice Medical Services Specialist Resident Course. Six classes containing a total of 109 students took the Block One Tests in the traditional paper and pencil form. Another six classes containing a total of 118 students took the same Block One Tests on computers. A confidence level of .99 and level of signifi­cance of .01 was established. An independent samples t-test was conducted on the sample. Additionally, a one-way analysis of variance was performed between the classes administered the Block One Tests on computers. Several other frequencies and comparisons of Block One Test scores and other variables were accomplished. The variables examined included test versions, shifts, student age, student source, and education levels. The study found no significant difference between test administration modes. This study concluded that computer-administering tests identical to those typically administered in the traditional paper and pencil manner had no significant effect on achievement. It is important to note, however, that the conclusion may only be valid if the computer-administered test contains exactly the same test items, in the same order and format, with the same layout, structure, and choices as the traditional paper and pencil test. In …

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of web-based instruction (WBI) on cognitive and psychomotor learning. The subjects of the study received two types of instructional methods, WBI (experimental group) and traditional classroom instruction (control group). Each group received 30 minutes of instruction on "Soldering a Circuit Board." The researcher chose this content subject because it involved both cognitive and psychomotor objectives, which suited the purpose of this study. It was hypothesized that there would be no significant difference between the two methods of instruction, and also that there would be no significant interaction effects between methods of instruction and gender. Forty-six subjects from a population of students enrolled in summer classes offered by the Applied Technology, Training and Development (ATTD) program at the University of North Texas voluntarily participated in this study. Random assignment of subjects was applied in this study. A subject matter expert delivered the content for both the experimental and control groups. To measure cognitive variable, a 10 item, multiple-choice test was administered immediately after instruction. To measure the psychomotor variable, a 15-item checklist was utilized by trained judges to evaluate learners’ performances while soldering. The 2 x 2 factorial model with interaction …

With the growing use of teams in organizations and schools there is a need to better understand the individual differences of employees that might potentially increase performance and improve attitudes. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of locus of control, which was the individual difference of interest in this study, and incentives on team performance and job satisfaction.

Colleges and universities throughout the world are offering many of their courses via the Internet. Some institutions offer entire degrees online. This has ushered in a renewed interest in the debate on the effectiveness of non-traditional course delivery method. Numerous educational research studies have been conducted in an attempt to quantify that effectiveness. In any form of experimental research, control of variables is paramount. The rich multimedia capabilities of the World Wide Web give educators a wide variety of delivery media. However, with the exception of advice from artisans on design factors of the media, little research has been conducted with regard to the aesthetics of Web page design as viewed by the student. This study was conducted in an effort to establish student preferences with regard to two factors of Web page design as they might be used on those Web pages, background color and typeface used for text. In addition, it contains an analysis of whether or not there is an interaction between the two factors. Use of the results of this study should prove beneficial to both educators and educational researchers in their future endeavors.

This investigation was conducted in response to the need for effective diversity awareness programs to help employers create intergenerational-friendly work environments. An experimental pre- and post-test control group randomized block design was employed to answer two research questions about the effects of a simulation game on knowledge and attitudes about age-related changes in learning and work behaviors of older workers. Participants were assessed immediately prior to and following the treatment, followed by a third assessment 60 days later. Necessary measures were taken to control for threats to the study's internal validity. An applicant pool comprised of human resource management and development practitioners and senior undergraduate students enrolled in human resource management courses yielded a sample of 65 participants. Chapter one introduces the study. Chapter two provides a review and summary of relevant literature on ageism in the workplace, training older workers, and simulation games. Chapter three describes the procedures and methods used to answer the research questions. Chapter four presents the results of all analytic procedures related to the investigation. Chapter five provides the conclusions and recommendations based on the findings of this investigation. In this investigation, the treatment group did not score significantly higher on their knowledge of age-related …

In a rapidly changing environment of growing competition for limited resources and ever increasing operational costs, institutions of higher education must focus on all aspects of the organizational functions to insure institutional effectiveness and the maximization of student success. This study will use a Student Environment Model (SEM) to assess students' perception of their college environment outside of the formal classroom at a unique two year technical college. The information obtained is used by the administration of Texas State Technical College Waco (TSTCW) to make appropriate adjustments in programs, services, or policies when the student data indicates that change or improvement is needed. While the SEM provides an indication of the students' "image" of the college environment, it can also provide indicators of areas which need improvement or require change. Applying the SEM information to decision making, problem solving, and planning will allow the institution and its people to move toward higher productivity and continuous quality improvement.

This study documented the psychometric development of the Adaptive Leadership Competency Profile (ALCP). The ALCP was derived from a qualitative database from the National Science Foundation project (NSF 9422368) and the academic body of literature. Test items were operationalized, and subject matter experts validated 11 macro-leadership competencies and 65 items. Rasch rating scale measurement models were applied to answer the following questions: (a) How well do the respective items of the ALCP fit the Rasch rating scale measurement model for the 11 scales of the ACLP? (b) How well do the person's abilities fit the Rasch rating scale measurement model, using the 11 scales of the ALCP? (c) What are the item separation and reliability coefficients for the 11 ALCP scales? (d) What are the person separation and reliability coefficients for the 11 ALCP scales? This study also sought to discern whether the ALCP could predict leader effectiveness as measured by the likelihood ratio index and frequency of correct predictions indices. The WINSTEPS and LIMDEP programs were used to obtain Rasch calibrations and probit estimates, respectively. The ALCP profiles the frequency and intensity of leadership behavior. Composite measures were calculated and used to predict leadership effectiveness. Results from this study …