This study investigated whether a computer-administered mathematics test can provide equivalent results for normal and mathematically disabled students while retaining similar psychometric characteristics of an equivalent paper and pencil version of the test. The overall purpose of the study was twofold. First, the viability of using computer administered assessment with elementary school children was examined. Second, by investigating items on the computer administered mathematics test for potential bias between normally achieving and mathematically disabled populations, it was possible to determine whether certain mathematical concepts consistently distinguish between the two ability groups.

Few areas of research in the finance literature have received greater attention than the efficient market hypothesis. Much of the research has been directed toward the securities market while very little research has been done in the real estate markets. The existing research on real estate market efficiency has been either descriptive or illustrative with very little empirical testing being performed. The major reason for the lack of empirical testing has been the inability to develop an adequate data base. The results of the empirical work that has been done do not support the widely held belief that real estate markets are inefficient. This study, using the autoregressive-integrative-moving average (ARIMA) time series analysis technique, tests the weak-form efficiency of the Dallas-Fort Worth office properties real estate market. According to the weak-form efficient market hypothesis, all price information should be capitalized into current real estate prices and not provide the basis for earning abnormal returns in trading. Price data formed from office building sales dating from January, 1979 to January, 1985 are used to test the market. The data was gathered from the files of several professional appraisal firms located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The transaction information includes (1) transaction …

This study examined the factors related to travel mode choices in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area. Changes in population, life style and economy of the Dallas-Fort Worth region over the last few decades demand a careful re-examination of travel demand tools and methods. The purpose of the study was to provide an understanding of transportation modal choice in the region. Those demographic variables best predicting the choices were identified. The Home Interview Survey, a set of disaggregate data from the 19 84 North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) Regional Travel Survey, was analyzed using logistic regression. The major findings of the research indicate that about 97 percent of the travelers in the study area used private cars and 3 percent used public transit. Household income and cars-vans were significant explanatory variables. The impact of household income and number of car-vans available upon an individual's decision for travel mode choice were very important. The number of car-vans available in the household, and age of respondents were significant predictors in travel mode. Household members with incomes of $30,000 to $39,000 and those with incomes of at least $50,000 tended to use more private cars than did other income groups. Also, household …

This study was designed to assess the types of shared service arrangements and the degree of commitment as evidenced by the incorporation of policy statements displayed toward the sharing concept evident in the Dallas-Fort Worth hospitals. The purpose of this research, then, was to identify and evaluate present utilization of shared arrangements to establish a base for comparison and recommendations for future participation by the various categories of hospitals. The conclusions derived from the findings include the following: 1. Shared services promise to be a continuing factor in the operation of the health care industry in the future. 2. Governmental influence and regulation will expand into every area of health care. Hospital administrators must take every opportunity to contribute input to the formulation of these regulations. 3. The selection of products or services to be shared must be handled in a systematic manner complete with a control system to assure continued quality levels. 4. Standardization of product specifications is the single largest obstacle to the expansion of the shared service concept. This obstacle can be removed only through the committed involvement of the medical community. 5. The sharing of services, rather than products, appears to have great potential in terms …

The purpose of the study was to investigate independent piano teachers' view of themselves in the light of selected attributes found in sociological writings on the professions. The research problems were: (a) to determine the attitudes which independent piano teachers held toward selected professional attributes; (b) to determine the relationship between the attitudes toward the professional attributes and selected background variables; and (c) to determine the degree of association between these attributes. The problems were addressed by a questionnaire directed to independent piano teachers active in the area of Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas. Thirty teachers were also interviewed to determine consistency of response and to explore issues which the questionnaire had raised. Reliability and validity were established at acceptable levels. Techniques of statistical analysis included Pearson's product-moment correlation, multiple regression, chi-square in conjunction with Cramer's V_, and factor analysis. The strongest attitudes expressed by the teachers in the study concerned professional self-image, altruism, client orientation, commitment to work, and independence. The most important background variables were age, years of experience, number of students, certification by a professional association, and college degree in music. A multiple regression analysis tested each variable against the dependent variable professional self-image; recognition by others, commitment to …

The purpose of this study was to investigate job satisfaction of full-time faculty members at a large multi-purpose university in relation to gender, rank, and types of activity. The population consisted of 664 full-time faculty members at North Texas State University during the spring semester, 1984. The questionnaire consisted of two parts, the Job Descriptive Index and The Faculty Data Sheet. The theoretical basis of the study was Herzberg's theory of Motivation-Hygiene.

The present study evaluated offender characteristics associated with completion of halfway house placement by the inclusion of additional offender characteristics for analysis in addition to those studied in previous research, the analysis of a large number of representative cases, and the use of statistics allowing clear conclusions upon which to base decision making. Data analysis was done in three steps. The first Step was to identify offender characteristics which were associated with completion in halfway house placement. The second step was to see how accurate the offender characteristics identified were in predicting completion of an offender's halfway house stay. The third step was to identify any possible factors which underlie the offender characteristics identified. Discriminant analyses identified ten offender characteristics which were associated with completion of halfway house placement for 521 male offenders and four offender characteristics which were associated with halfway house completion for the group of 33 female offenders studied. These offender characteristics resulted in 75.38 percent correctly classified cases for the male offender group and 96.9 7 percent correctly classified cases for the group of female offenders. Factor analyses resulted in the identification of four factors for the group of male offenders and two factors for the …

This was a quantitative study designed to determine the role orientation and role behavior of school resource officers in public secondary schools in a metropolitan area of central Texas. The perception of role orientation and role behavior was assessed by two relevant groups: secondary school principals and school resource officers. Each group's perception of role orientation and role behavior was compared to determine if role conflict was an inhibiting factor in the job performance of the recently created school resource officer position. This instrument relied heavily on the work of James Telb who conducted a 1982 study involving the role perceptions of public safety officers in public institutions of higher learning as viewed by senior patrol officers and campus judicial officers. A questionnaire was distributed to both groups to assess perceptions of role orientation of school resource officers as either service oriented or law enforcement oriented. A statistically significant difference in role orientation was identified between groups on two factors: maintenance of traditional police values and police discretionary powers and handling of behavioral scenarios.

This study is an experiment to determine the effectiveness of high-speed drill on speed and accuracy achievement in the first semester of beginning typewriting at the high school level.

A nonexperimental descriptive study was conducted to determine the interrelatedness among coping strategies, humor and burnout among nursing education faculty. The conceptual framework of this study was based on the constructs of coping strategies and humor which were conceptualized as having a direct relationship to burnout. Areview of the literature concerning coping, humor and burnout supported this proposition and emphasized the need for empirical testing. Coping Humor Scale. Wavs of Coping Questionnaire and Maslach Burnout Inventory were the instruments used to measure the constructs. Academic history and demographic data sheets were also used. Hie instruments were mailed to 285 nursing faculty teaching in programs of nursing in the Dallas /Fort Worth, Texas area. The return rate for the mailing was 70.07%. Burnout among nursing education faculty showed a low degree of emotional exhaustion (54.8%), a low degree of depersonalization (84.7% and a low degree of personal accomplishment (60.7%). The findings did not reveal a high or low degree of burnout but rather a pattern of burnout suggestive of a different stage. Humor as a coping mechanism during stressful events was not frequently used. The highest proportion of nursing education faculty used distancing (46.53%) as a coping strategy. The second strategy …

This study investigated the relationship between certain biographical and personality characteristics and decision-making ability of purchasing personnel as measured by the results achieved in a complex management game.

The problem with which this investigation is concerned is that of comparing a learning systems approach to a lecture-demonstration-rotation approach of teaching the manipulative skills of office machines.