The problem of this study was a test of a specific videotape designed to influence the actions of tour guides for older adult groups. The purposes of the study were to observe guide performances and older adult responses before and after training in techniques for sharing information with older adults in public spaces. The hypotheses were tested. 1) Guides after training would exhibit significant differences in behaviors of pointing, repeating, pausing, questioning, conversing, facing art when talking, talking inaudibly, pacing rapidly. 2) Older adult drop-outs would decrease on tours with especially trained guides.

This dissertation sought to determine the effects of a buddy system on a student's self-concept, academic achievement, attrition rate, and congruence levels. The buddy system treatment randomly paired two students for the purposes of sharing ideas, working on assignments, getting to know each other, and supporting one another. The study included three randomly selected sections of pre-college level, developmental writing classes from the Brookhaven College of the Dallas County Community College District. Three other classes served as the control group, and one instructor taught all six sections of the course. Three instruments were used as measures of change: the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale (TSCS), designed by William H. Fitts, measured self-concept levels; the Personality and Educational Environment Scale (PEES), created by Roger Boshier, measured congruence levels; and a written paragraph measured achievement levels in English. Attrition percentages were based on the number of students enrolled during the second week of class who were not present during the sixteenth week of class. To test for significance, an analysis of covariance procedure was used on the TSCS, PEES, and written paragraph results, and a test for the difference between proportions for independent groups was used on the attrition percentages. The class sections were …

This study was conceived as an attempt to determine .and analyze factors deterring participation in continuing professional education among social workers in environments where continuing education for relicensure is mandatory and voluntary. The specific research design implemented to complete this study was the ex-post facto descriptive design. The sample included 106 social workers randomly selected in the state of Texas where continuing education is mandatory and 94 social workers in the state of Louisiana where continuing education is voluntary. The instrument used was the Deterrent to Participation Scale developed by Scanlan (1983) and a demographic inventory. Scanlan (1983) earlier identified six factors deterring participation in continuing professional education: Disengagement, Lack of Quality, Family Constraints, Cost, Lack of Benefit, and Work Constraints. The study concluded that social workers in both states considered work constraint as a major factor deterring participation in continuing professional education. Also the factors of cost and lack of quality were also considered as crucial barriers in their efforts to participate in continuing professional education. The Wilks' multivariate test of significance of the means and univariate F tests at alpha level p < .05 revealed differences in the combined mean scores of social workers in both states when …

In a three stage investigation the relationship between personality type and the use of learning as a coping device during the life transitions of adults was studied. Based on the assumption that a paper and pencil device could be constructed to achieve the same or nearly the same results that have been achieved through interviews with adult learners, the first two stages of this investigation involved the construction and validation of an instrument, the Adult Development Learning Inventory (ADLI), to measure the use of learning during life transitions of adults. The inventory has five subsections: a demographic profile, Life Events, Coping Strategies, Learning Activities, and Adulthood Tasks. Content validity of the ADLI was established through both the theory based in adult learning and developmental psychology and the panel of experts. Construct validation tools included principal component factor analysis and the Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA with age as the variable of discrimination. The instrument was capable of differentiating among age groups' perception of the tasks in the adult life cycle. For internal consistency, reliability estimates ranged from .83 to .94 for the subsections of the ADLI. Stage III of the investigation explored the relationship between the ADLI and personality as measured by the …

This investigation was concerned with the problem that the staff development needs of child-care personnel in juvenile detention facilities in the State of Texas have not been identified and described. The study utilizes the Delphi technique in determining juvenile detention administrators' perceptions of the skills/knowledge required to be a competent detention child-care worker. The assumption was made that detention administrators can supply relevant input to study.

Many engineers perform managerial roles; however, their professional education in engineering usually does not include management education. Thus, this study examined the participation of the Nigerian licensed engineers in professional development activities in management. The study proposed (1) to determine if, in fact, Nigerian licensed engineers participate in management education and training; (2) to determine the management programs in which the engineers participated and whether participation was voluntary or required, or within Nigeria or overseas; (3) to test hypotheses dealing with these variables: age, management level, academic level, years of experience in a managerial role, and sector of employment; and (4) to identify the mean number of hours of participation. Also, the engineers were asked to judge the value of non-credit versus credit programs.

The impact of a mandatory Part 48 training program on the health and safety knowledge level of newly employed inexperienced miners in Texas was studied. Part 48 training was defined by compliance with Mine Safety and Health Administration's (MSHA) mandatory health and safety training requirements. A two-group pretest, posttest research design was utilized. Group one individuals were newly employed inexperienced persons who received mandatory Part 48 training in accordance with MSHA guidelines. Group two subjects were newly employed inexperienced persons who worked for companies that were exempt from conducting a Part 48 training program. MSHA's health and safety knowledge inventory was utilized. A significant difference was found in the health and safety training program when compared with individuals who did not receive the training . A significant difference was also found in the posttest scores for eight of the ten subject areas of the MSHA health and safety knowledge inventory for persons who completed a Part 48 training program when compared to persons who did not receive the training . Analysis of gain scores resulted in significant differences in the same subject areas indicated by posttest scores. It was concluded that MSHA Part 48 did have a significant impact on …

This study identified the number of learning projects undertaken by thirty-eight retired educators and examined the extent to which these experiences were associated with the body weight and the exercise patterns of the subjects. A list of 1091 names of retired educators was obtained and 400 names were randomly selected to receive a brief survey seeking responses to demographic, personal and miscellaneous questions relating to their efforts to continue to pursue learning. Interviews were arranged with thirty-eight subjects who met established criteria. The 19 8 3 Metropolitan Height and Weight Tables were used to estimate weight characteristics and a probe sheet was designed to identify the number of hours spent exercising in activities vigorous enough to increase heart beat. In-depth interviews were conducted by the investigator using the questions from Tough's Interview Schedule for Studying Some Basic Characteristics of Learning Projects, and the probe sheet designed by the investigator. The interviews focused on the efforts to continue learning during the past twelve months and on the participation in vigorous exercise during the past twelve months. Findings were analyzed by computing t-tests for independent means and the Pearson product moment method of correlation. Comparisons of the results from this study were …