One idea common in the computer industry today is that by the time a technological innovation reaches the mass market it is already obsolete. News of recent technological developments race quickly through the computer industry, creating large scale competition among various businesses for the dollars of both educational institutions and industries. In an effort to produce sophisticated and powerful software readily accessible to users whose area of expertise is not programming, software developers have increasingly turned toward the simplest form of language and concept representation--the icon. As icons become increasingly sophisticated and their function grows, so will their availability in various interfaces. The number of users who operate them will also increase. Advanced help systems and animation will assist in relieving some difficulties while creating others. In either case, icon recognizability will be a crucial factor for anyone (novice or expert) who will use them. The purpose of this study was to verify whether all users unfamiliar with a graphical user interface (GUI) system, specifically icons, will require assistance with 40' "W those icons that are unrecognizable in either form or function. Based on the results of this study, an icon recognizability does exist among different groups of computer users. …

Gendered organizational conditions create the context for persisting differences between men and women in the workplace. Within, higher education, this manifests as a salary gap between male and female faculty members. The academic capitalistic policy environment creates the conditions for increasing competition for external funding, especially in the areas of research and science and engineering. The change in the academic climate may sustain or intensify the gendering of universities as organizations. Universities with the highest level of research activity were chosen for this study and formed the 130 public institution sample. This study used fixed effects panel regression analysis to explore the relationship between the faculty gender salary gap and institutional emphasis on research as well as science and engineering. In addition, the relationship between institutional emphasis and the faculty gender salary gap was explored over time with the inclusion of a time trend and temporal interaction terms. Results showed that the higher the percentage of female faculty members, the greater the faculty gender salary gap for assistant professors. In addition, science and engineering emphasis over time had a significant impact on the professor salary gap with a decreasing effect both at the mean and one standard deviation above the …

This dissertation explores the topic of intercollegiate athletics at public community colleges in the United States. This study is national in scope and includes members of the three major community college athletic associations: the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), Commission on Athletics (COA), and the Northwest Athletic Association for Community Colleges (NWAACC). Community colleges that were not members of any of these organizations are also included. The sources of data are the Institutional Postsecondary Educational Data System (IPEDS) surveys as well as Equity in Athletic Disclosure Act (EADA) survey data and the Katsinas Community College Classification Scheme. The population for this study was the 567 public community colleges which submitted IPEDS data in 2001 and 2002 and EADA data in 2002. The geographic classification scheme for public community colleges used in this study revealed differences in the role of athletics in rural, suburban, and urban colleges. Rural community colleges place a larger emphasis on intercollegiate athletics. Urban colleges had a lesser emphasis on intercollegiate athletics. Topics that are examined include the extent of college sponsorship of athletics, athletic associations, student participation, sport sponsorship, athletically-related aid, divisions of competition, athletic revenues and expenses, state reimbursement, recruitment expenses, and staffing requirements. …

Trends in tuition and financial aid policy have increased the number of students who borrow for higher education and the aggregate debt students acquire. Most research on student borrowing over the years has analyzed the effects of borrowing and the prospects of indebtedness on individual students' choices and persistence. However, dynamics at the institutional level such as the need to ensure a stable flow of resources may accelerate or slow down student borrowing. Drawing on resource dependence theory, this study examined changes in student borrowing at private not for profit four year institutions in the US to identify trends and implications. A fixed effects regression analysis was applied to panel data from the Delta Cost project and the National Association of College and University Business Officers. Analytical focus was on the financial and enrollment characteristics of private not for profit four-year institutions, the relationship between these characteristics and student borrowing, and whether these relationships are stable or change over time. Findings revealed that the financial and enrollment characteristics of private not for profit institutions during the study period were characterized by gradual variation. The results also revealed that most of the financial characteristics were predictive of student borrowing and that …

This study examined the relationship between success of small businesses and the educational backgrounds of their owners. A survey composed of questions concerning demographics, educational backgrounds, and business success was mailed to 1100 businesses in Dallas, Denton, and Tarrant counties in Texas. There were 228 usable responses which were analyzed by using the Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS12). Data were sorted so that educational level, sales volume, number of employees, and longevity, were identified on a 5-point ordinal scale. Educational major was identified on a 5-point nominal scale. Pearson's correlation was used to determine whether relationships existed between founders' educational background and small business success. Spearman's correlation was used to determine the direction and strength of the relationships. Then educational level and major were combined with age, gender, ethnicity, and industry, to determine the relationships between founders' educational background, and business success. For this purpose a canonical correlation was used. Five opinion questions concerned influence of college education on business success among college graduates and non-college graduates were identified on a 5-point Likert scale and tested using one-way ANOVA, and independent sample t-test. When educational level and major were the only predictors of business success, a statistically significant relationship …

The problem addressed in this study is whether physiologic, hematologic, and performance parameters obtained during and after a long term program of anaerobic and aerobic exercise can be used as markers of chronic fatigue.

The problem with which this study is concerned is to determine the relationship between the motivations to work for Nigerian lecturers and their perceptions of their academic organizational climate. The related purposes of the study are to determine the motivations to work for Nigerian lecturers, their perceptions of the academic organizational climate in which they work, and the relationships that exist between motivations and type of organizational climate.

The purpose of this study is to determine the personal values systems of senior restaurant managers and what differences there are among the following values; gender, marital status, level of education, country awarding the highest degree, major field of study, income and size of organization.

The purpose of this study was to develop a test which would reveal a person's primary level of existence according to Clare W. Graves' model of adult psychosocial behavior. The sub-purposes of this study were (1) to translate Graves' theoretical levels of existence into discrete components of attitude and behavior which could then be assessed with a written test instrument, (2) to create such a written instrument, and (3) to test the instrument for reliability and validity. The general conclusion of this study is that the Levels of Existence test meets the standards of reliability and validity accepted within psychometrics sufficiently to recommend that it be revised with respect to certain details as specified in the study, and that further research be undertaken.

The major purpose of this study was to describe and analyze the business and higher education partnership program in one Texas community college. Secondary purposes were to describe and analyze (a) the premise of business and higher education partnerships; (b) the planning, organization, and administrative structure in a selected community college; (c) the educational benefits received by both businesses and their employees who are involved in cooperative partnerships in general and at this community college; (d) the future challenges and opportunities for partnerships at other levels of American higher education; and (e) the needed research to evaluate business and higher education partnerships. The five chapters comprising the study include an introduction, a review of literature, the methods and procedures, a presentation and analysis of data, and the summary, conclusions, interpretation, and recommendations of the study.

Federal law requires institutions to designate campus-based administrators to oversee Title IX processes and investigations, but little is known about how these have been professionally prepared for their roles. The purpose of this study was to understand the professional preparation, educational experiences, and professional training of Title IX administrators and to understand their independence in decision-making in those roles. This study utilized qualitative content analysis and a social constructionist approach to analyze data generated from interviews and document analysis. Sixteen current and former Title IX administrators (investigators, deputy coordinators, coordinators) provided their perspectives on their professional training and development. Using frameworks of work/professional socialization and professions theory, findings illustrated complex systems for knowledge acquisition, professional preparation, and professional socialization based on factors including resources, institutional context, and role prioritization. Participants' formal education, formative experiences, position-specific training, and professional organizations training all served as preparation for their roles. Discussion focused on implications for graduate programs, training and trainers, institutions and supervisors, the field of higher education, and current Title IX practitioners regarding professional preparation for these roles.

A survey instrument, Coaches' Survey, was constructed for the purpose of collecting data for this study. Subjects were selected from the 1989-1990 National Directory of College Athletics. The survey instrument was mailed to 411 coaches; 273 usable instruments were returned. The coaches were asked to indicate their agreement or disagreement with 36 statements in both the Real situation and the Ideal situation. Major findings of the study led to the conclusions that (a) better communication between athletic directors and coaches resulted in better understanding and acceptance of limitations which may be beyond the athletic directors' control, (b) coaching stress was a real concern for the coaches surveyed, (c) the coaches believed that athletic directors should be strong leaders, (d) men have better access to community leaders than do women, (e) coaches generally believe that athletic directors perform adequately even though there are some weaknesses, and (f) the area of concern for most coaches is financial support for their programs. Even when seen as a fact, it was viewed as restricting the strength and growth of programs.

In 2009 the Texas legislature created the National Research University Fund (NRUF), intended to encourage a select group of public doctoral universities in the state, known as emerging research universities (ERUs), to increase their institutional status related to academic research by awarding supplemental financial support for meeting specific policy metrics. Efforts to increase the research status of these universities occurred at a time when public financial support remained stagnate and overall institutional costs increased within the higher education sector. This study utilizes a theoretical approach grounded in strategic action fields and employs panel data and a difference in differences statistical technique to analyze the impact that NRUF policy has in assisting ERUs in achieving R1 status, and how this organizational change impacted access to, and the quality of, undergraduate education. Results indicate that the NRUF policy intervention was not statistically significant for any part of the study. These findings suggest that policy interventions do not matter as much as specific institutional characteristics and the overall policy environment. Enrollment and tuition revenue predicted institutional performance related to academic research and graduate education, while also assisting these institutions in maintaining undergraduate academic quality and access. These cultural and material resources at the …

The purposes of this study were: (a) to present a brief history of university press publishing in Texas, (b) to describe operating policies and practices of these presses, (c) to compare these policies and practices with commonly accepted principles of publishing policy, and (d) to provide a view of the future of university press publishing in Texas.

The purposes of this study are (1) to identify the major policy issues being addressed by state agencies responsible for coordinating and regulating higher education; (2) to develop a classification system through inductive "clustering" that will aid in the analysis and synthesis of the major policy issues facing state coordinating boards for higher education; (3) to classify these policy issues; (4) to compare the goals and strategies of the various states; (5) to propose a list of significant policy issues that institutions and state agencies of higher education may face through the 1990s and into the 21st century.

Chinese college students' 1993 perceptions of gains in achievement as a result of informal student-faculty relations outside the classroom were investigated at Liaoning Normal College of Foreign Language in Liaoyang, China. This study included assessment of pre-enrollment demographics and analyzed perceived gains due to student-faculty informal contact in the areas of academic achievement, intellectual achievement, and personal development.

The purposes of this study were to identify the problems and issues encountered in the development of an educational information and counseling brokering service for adults and to determine their relative significance to the success of an educational brokering service. To accomplish this, the relevant developmental issues were identified by a search of the literature. These were sent to a consultant of the National Center for Educational Brokering who selected forty issues and problems as salient. These statements were formulated into a questionnaire to determine their significance in each stage of development. The initial questionnaire was submitted to four additional consultants for recommendations. The questionnaires were then mailed to the directors of 135 educational brokering centers listed in the Directory of the National Center for Educational Brokering. Based on the findings of the study, eleven issues were considered very significant by the total population of respondents. The three most significant issues were: flexibility and responsiveness in service, maintaining clarity of purpose while attempting to meet diverse needs, and insuring continuing financial viability.

This study explored the preparation methods, qualifications and criteria that both university and athletic directors deemed necessary when searching for athletic directors. Participants completed a survey via Qualtrics online software. Two different populations were sampled for this study: 651 university presidents and 651 athletic directors whose schools compete in either Division I or II in the NCAA, resulting in 96 and 150 usable responses respectively. Participants in both groups were primarily white males with mean ages of 62 for presidents and 52 for the athletic directors. The study provided demographic information, educational history, professional experience, and prior careers of athletic directors. The rankings of the athletic were compared to the rankings of the presidents and identified consistencies of opinions. The respondent groups were in agreement on the qualities and ranking of many dimensions of leadership in this role. The top seven, for both groups, in order, were ethics, budgeting and finances skills, fundraising, communications, sport leadership, strategic management and policy, and athletic administration. This information could be used as a guide for people who want to strategically maneuver up the ranks in athletics administration. Presidents might use the information as they prepare to hire candidates for the athletic director position.

This study examined the extent of research and teaching on higher education programs in the United States that focuses on for-profit higher education. This descriptive study used a 30-item questionnaire to gather the information reported here. This survey instrument was sent to the entire population of interest. This population was made up of all of the programs in higher education that are listed in the ASHE Higher Education Program Directory, which is produced by the Association for the Study of Higher Education. The results of this research show that little research and teaching is being done that has a primary focus on for-profit higher education. Recommendations on how to address this are provided.

The problem of this study was to determine if the competencies identified by recreational sports practitioners as most needed for entry into the profession were the same as those identified by chairpersons of preparatory departments. Furthermore, this study determined if chairpersons of physical education and recreation curricula identified significantly different competency areas for entry level personnel. The two populations of respondents were from sixty seven institutions listed in the 1982 SPRE-NRPA Curriculum Catalog. Each subject was asked to complete a copy of the Jamieson Recreational Sports Competency Analysis. The criterion scores for each of the statements were divided into twelve competency areas for analysis.

The purposes of this study were to measure and compare stress levels of academic administrators in public and private universities which are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of University Affairs in Thailand. The administrators surveyed included vice rectors (vice presidents), deans, department chairpersons, and secretary officers from five public and five private universities. The four administrative stress factors studied included role-based stress, task-based stress, conflict-mediating stress, and social-confidence stress.

The growing commercialism within Division I big-time athletics has raised the financial stakes for universities, as successful athletic programs benefit from increased opportunities for financial gain. This has contributed to a pervasive "win culture" that drives institutions to seek competitive advantages, and as a side effect, NCAA rule violations have become incentivized. Programs whose infractions go unnoticed may benefit from the competitive advantage gained, but for programs investigated by the NCAA, the financial penalties incurred may far outweigh the potential revenues from undetected violations. The purpose of this study was to address institutional self-sanctions as an organizational behavior in response to NCAA major infractions and the impact of self-sanctioning on alumni charitable giving. Through the use of neo-institutional and resource dependence theories, this study aimed to further examine the role of institutional self-sanctions as a crisis management strategy in containing financial fallout of athletic scandal. While researchers have addressed scandal and alumni charitable giving in relation to athletics and institutional self-sanctions, respectively, no research exists linking the two bodies of literature. This study employed a two-way fixed effects analysis of 10 years of panel data to address the effect of key variables on alumni charitable giving. Analysis results indicated no …

The problem with which this study was concerned was that of determining some of the ways and to what extent Texas upper-level universities in their academic units and the individual university as a whole have uniquely met the needs of public higher education in Texas. It was concluded that upper-level universities are fulfilling their roles in innovative/experimental programs. However, as a group upper-level universities are not advancing any more rapidly toward meeting their initial goals and purposes than the four-year universities.

The problem with which this investigation is concerned is that of providing research on the development of the Coordinating Board, Texas College and University System, and to describe the manner in which it presently functions.