Are there differences in leadership styles among occupational therapy clinic administrators and program directors in professional and technical education programs? This study investigated transformational and transactional leadership behaviors and effectiveness as measured by the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) Form 5x-Short behaviors and demographic characteristics of leaders and their organizations using a questionnaire designed by the researcher. MLQ Leader Forms were received from 50 clinic administrators randomly selected from the membership list of the Administration and Management Special Interest Section (AMSIS) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), 56 professional program directors, and 41 technical program directors from accredited occupational therapy education programs in the United States, for a total of 147 leader respondents. Rater forms were received from 2 to 5 occupational therapy staff or faculty per leader and average scores calculated. More than 86% of leader respondents were female and white. Major findings indicate that administrative positions indifferent institutional contexts relate to leadership behaviors and effectiveness. Technical education program directors and clinic administrators scored higher on transformational behaviors and effectiveness than professional education program directors. Consistent with other research on leadership, the self-ratings of leaders were higher than ratings of subordinates. The data indicated statistically significant positive correlations between …

Growth in the number of people living to very old age and progress in health care technology are creating important new challenges for our society. Among them is modern medicine's ability to extend some people's lives beyond the point where they are capable of making decisions or expressing their needs and desires, resulting in the very complex problem of knowing when to allow a person to die. In part, advance directives were created to solve this problem. Texas has been busy developing changes to existing state laws in an effort to create more "user-friendly" directives. This paper explores the history of advance directives, and discusses the details and nuances of the Texas Advance Directives Act of 1999.

Modernist painters such as Picasso, Ernst and Matisse were among others who incorporated what was then considered "primitive" art, mostly from Africa and Oceania, into their works. Prior to this, European artists had appropriated Greco-Roman themes and characters. These appropriated elements were consequently recreated without their cultural context and content, altered to reflect more current themes. In most cases, attention was directed toward the recreator, the author of the new work of art, not the creator of the artifact. In contrast, Post-Modern artists, including myself, have reproduced appropriated elements virtually unaltered as a way of denying authorship and emphasizing a more conceptual format. Appropriated imagery has been a tool for me in my work. Additionally, both figurative and abstract elements play significant roles since I consider juxtaposition of elements to be a strength. The challenge of fitting these elements together has enabled me to develop a style of painting that seems uniquely mine. The formal issues of style and content figure heavily in my endeavor to capture a moment in time; something lost forever except for its persistence in memory. These reflections are often imbued with personal icons, arcane text and symbolic drawing that weave in and out of the …

From its inception, the direction of The Fantasticks has been a fascinating and wonderful educational experience. When I first submitted my proposal to do the show, I had not intended for it to be my problem in lieu of a thesis, but rather a beginning directing project. I had no idea that the submission would meet with such opposition. I figured this was a lesson in "real life," for it is a widely recognized fact that getting a show produced requires much salesmanship and determination. When informed that I would be able to use this production for my master's thesis project, I was both delighted and frightened. After all, I had never directed a show before; and I wasn't really sure what I was getting myself into. In addition, I would be going about this project backwards. Usually, when such a project is contemplated, the thesis research is done first; and the direction of the show done after the completion of the written work. Although I did do my homework before directing The Fantasticks; because of time constraints, I was unable to delve as deeply into the subject as I would have liked. I have often stated that this, in …

Currently, there are more than 30 million refugees and internally displaced people in the world. Since the 1970s, after the Vietnam War, international organizations and many countries have supported refugees financially, however, they all have different definitions for a refugee. Refugees who desire peace or freedom and resettle in new countries have had remarkable economic, social, and educational achievement, especially Indochinese people in the US. However, refugees who flee from conflicts have often faced new conflicts in their host society. Both refugees and the host countries experience economic and social burden, however, refugees struggle and try to escape from their economic dependency from the local government. If refugee achievements continue, they could exceed the US educational and social norm in the future.

The study focused on the academic programs offered for telecommunications technicians provided by 16 two-year and four-year higher education institutions and the ways in which the programs compared to the established telecommunications technicians' skill standards. Six specific research questions concerned the training programs for telecommunications technicians. The first verified the validity of the information in Peterson's 2000: 2 Year Colleges and Peterson's 2000: 4 Year Colleges identifying the institutions offering a communication equipment technology major. The second question focused on the institutions that included telecommunications as part of the curriculum. The third identified the importance of the skill standards to the 2-year and 4-year training programs, and the fourth identified the job functions that were included in or excluded from the training. The fifth question identified the job tasks that were included in or excluded from the training. The final question determined whether the 2-year or the 4-year telecommunications technicians' training program was more closely aligned with the skill standards. In order to accomplish the objectives of this research, a survey methodology was selected. The survey instrument was developed to compare the importance of the telecommunications technicians' skill standards to the 2-year and the 4-year training programs. The skill standards …

In recent developments of composite materials, scientists and engineers have come up with fibers as well as matrices for composites and techniques of blending high cost components with low cost materials. Thus, one creates cost effective composite materials that are as efficient as space age components. One of the major breakthroughs in this area is the innovation of molecular composites, specifically polymeric liquid crystals (PLCs). These materials have excellent mechanical properties such as tensile impact and bending strength. They have excellent chemical resistance, low thermal expansivity, and low flammability. Their low viscosity leads to good processability One major setback in using space age composite technology in commercial applications is the price. Due to the complexity of processing, the cost of space composite materials is skyrocketing. To take the same concept of space age composite materials to create a more economical substitute has become a serious concern among scientists and engineers around the world. The two issues that will be resolved in this thesis are: (1) the potential impact of using PLCs (molecular reinforcement) can have on macro reinforced (heterogeneous composite, HC) long fiber systems; and (2) how strategic placement of the reinforcing layers can affect the macromechanical properties of the …

This study focused on the enzyme, aspartate transcarbamoylase (ATCase) from A. hydrophila, a Gram-negative bacterium found in fresh water. The molecular mass of the ATCase holoenzyme from A. hydrophila is 310 kDa. The enzyme is likely composed of 6 catalytic polypeptides of 34 kDa each and 6 regulatory polypeptides of 17 kDa each. The velocity-substrate curve for A. hydrophila ATCase is sigmoidal for both aspartate and carbamoylphosphate. The Km for aspartate was the highest to date for an enteric bacterium at 97.18 mM. The Km for carbamoylphosphate was 1.18 mM. When heated to 60 ºC, the specific activity of the enzyme dropped by more than 50 %. When heated to 100 ºC, the enzyme showed no activity. The enzyme's activity was inhibited by ATP, CTP or UTP.

The purpose of this investigation is to explore the possibilities of manipulating clay in three distinct ways to effectively show that clay objects were at one time moist and pliable. The techniques used are faceting while wet, manipulating a variety of additions, applying different glazing techniques, and three separate firing methods. In addressing the problem, the following concerns were considered: (a) Which of the pieces made best expresses my aesthetic concerns? (b) Which firing method, oxidation, reduction or atmospheric, best illustrates these concerns? (c) Which glazing technique was most successful? In an attempt to explore and solve these problems, a series of twenty pieces were produced. A visual record of slides showing individual pieces were made to demonstrate the differences and similarities between firing methods.

The purpose of this study is to examine housing construction trends in the Denton Independent School District area for the next 5 years estimating impacts on the resulting school district enrollments. Combining enrollment data obtained from the DISD and housing data from the Denton County Appraisal District, it is possible to calculate enrollment multipliers for elementary, middle, and high school students based on predefined categories of single family home values. The study suggests that enrollment multipliers currently used by the DISD over estimate the number of students coming from new single family residences, especially at the elementary school level. Using data from real estate agents, builders, developers, and permitting boards, a map is created showing areas of the DISD that will likely see the largest gains in school-age children during the next 2 to 5 years.

Most of my childhood was spent in either the expansive suburbs of north Texas or on a farm in southern Oklahoma. The experience of growing up in these two regions has done much to shape my sense of aesthetic. From these early experiences, I have developed two completely divergent ideas of beauty which I've tried to reconcile in my artwork. The first influence is that of sparseness, simplicity and the commonplace. This influence comes from the emptiness of the suburban landscape, the sameness of its architecture and the need to find beauty in mundane things as a simple cure for boredom. The second major idea is centered around peculiarity, chaotic complexity and irrationality. This interest originally stems from early memories of my grandfather, whose experiences in Oklahoma during the Great Depression gave him the obsessive habit of never discarding anything for fear that he might need it some day. The complexity in meaning that comes from unfamiliar combinations has allowed the ideas in my work a kind of ambiguity that frees it from any singular reading. I think the content of my work could best be described as constructions of memories, experiences and influences. I never speak about any one …

In this experiment, fluorescent N- (1-pyrenyl) iodoacetamide modified the two reactive thiols, SH1 (Cys 707) and SH2 (Cys 697) on myosin to detect SH1-SH2 a -helix melting. The excimer forming property of pyrene is well suited to monitor the dynamics of the SH1 and SH2 helix melting, since the excimer should only form during the melted state. Decreased anisotropy of the excimer relative to the monomeric pyrene fluorescence is consistent with the disordering of the melted SH1-SH2 region in the atomic model. Furthermore, nucleotide analogs induced changes in the anisotropy of the excimer, suggesting that the nucleotide site modulates the flexibility of SH1-SH2 region.

Performance issues related to Soli by Carlos Chávez and Two Little Serious Pieces by Silvestre Revueltas. Chapters one and two provide a brief biography of each composer. Chapter three is an examination of their musical style and the influence that indigenous Indian music, popular music and nationalism had on their styles. Chapter four provides an investigation of Soli by Carlos Chávez, a chamber piece written for oboe, B-flat clarinet, bassoon and B-flat trumpet. Chapter five offers an examination of Two Little Serious Pieces by Silvestre Revueltas, a wind quintet for piccolo, oboe, C trumpet, B-flat clarinet and baritone saxophone. Chapters four and five contain an analysis of these pieces with regard to melodic and harmonic material, tonality, texture, range, phrase structure and form. Performance issues, such as tempo, dynamics, articulation, rhythm and style are likewise addressed with the result being an interpretive analysis of each piece. The final chapter offers a comparative analysis of Soli and Two Little Serious Pieces relative to the topics discussed in chapters four and five.

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the independent variables of age, gender, residence, tribal affiliation, and perceived government control over tribal rights and the dependent variables of hopelessness, self-efficacy, and self-esteem. These attitudes are then explored as to their relationship to possible feelings of powerlessness among American Indians. The survey instruments used are the Beck Hopelessness Scale consisting of 20 items (Beck, Weissman, Lester, and Trexler, 1974), (Reproduced by permission of publisher, Psychological Corporation), the Self-Efficacy Scale consisting of 30 items (Sherer, Maddox, Merchandante, Prentice-Dunn, Jacobs, and Rodgers, 1982) (Reproduced by permission of Dr. Ronald W. Rogers), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale consisting of 10 items (Rosenberg, 1972) (Reproduced by permission of Dr. Florence Rosenberg) and a demographic questionnaire consisting of 6 items. These instruments were administered to 60 American Indians that make up the sample population of 25 respondents from tribal lands (reservation setting) and 35 respondents from an urban setting. Statistical analysis consists of crosstabulations using Chi-Square and t-tests (used to verify Chi-Square) to determine the significance of the relationship of the independent variables to the dependent variables previously mentioned. Fifteen hypotheses (page 10) were tested to explore the relationships between the above independent …

Composed for soprano, tenor, and baritone voices, woodwind, percussion, and string instruments, Three Voices is a polyglotic work that includes German, Chinese, and Spanish texts. The texts are chosen from Brecht Bertolt's Das Schiff, Po Chu I's Lang T'ao Sha, and Frederico Garcia Lorcá's Mar. Significant features of the piece are 1) application of Chinese operatic singing methods to vocal material in the sections that use Chinese text, 2) use of western instruments to emulate the sound of certain Chinese instruments, and 3) employment of Sprechstimme and dramatically inflected speech to create theatrical effects and highlight the sections that use German and Spanish texts.

This thesis examines China's state-owned enterprise reform and financial reform in the last two decades. I characterize the progress of China's state-owned enterprises reform in two areas: privatization of small SOEs and mass layoffs. I argue that privatization rests on the political economy of China. I also discuss the evolution of the financial system and come up with some strategies of financial liberalization in China. Result from this study suggests that if the necessary reforms of the financial sector and state enterprises are effectively carried out, inevitably this will lead to a significantly slower rate of growth for a period of time. However, these reforms will provide the basis for a period of sustained growth in the long run.

This study examined the uses of computer-mediated communication (CMC) by educators in selected public schools. It used Rogers' Diffusion of Innovation Theory as the underpinnings of the study. CMC refers to any exchange of information that involves the use of computers for communication between individuals or individuals and a machine. This study was an exploration of difficulties users confront, what services they access, and the tasks they accomplish when using CMC. It investigated the factors that affect the use of CMC. The sample population was drawn from registered users on TENET, the Texas Education Network as of December 1997. The educators were described with frequency and percentages analyzing the demographic data. For the research, eight indices were selected to test how strongly these user and environmental attributes were associated with the use of CMC. These variables were (1) education, (2) position, (3) place of employment, (4) geographic location, (5) district size, (6) organization vitality, (7) adopter resources, and (8) instrumentality Two dependent variables were used to test for usage: (1) depth or frequency of CMC usage and amount of time spent online and (2) breadth or variety of Internet utilities used. Additionally, the users' perception of network benefits was measured. …

Dimethoxynaphthalene (donor) and quinone (acceptor) have been chosen as a suitable redox pair and are bonded to either permethylated silane chains or corresponding permethylated alkyl chains to form Acceptor-(Bridge)-Donor molecules. The idea that the s-delocalization phenomenon of silane chains may greatly facilitate ET reactions will be tested. The starting material for the donor precursor, 4-(1,4-dimethoxynaphthyl)bromocyclohexane, was 1,4-naphthoquinone. After methylation and bromination, the Grignard reagent of the resulting bromide was reacted with cyclohexanedione, mono ethylene ketal. The resulting alcohol was changed to the donor precursor through the following functional group transformation steps: dehydration, hydrogenation, deketalization and bromination. 1,4-Dibenzyloxybromobenzene, the precursor for the acceptor, was synthesized from 1,4-hydroquinone through bromination and benzylation. The connection of the two precursors and either permethylated silane chains or permethylated alkyl chains will give the final target molecules for ET research. Progress on this is included.

This study compared perceived levels of parenting stress between mothers and fathers of children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), children with developmental disabilities, and normally developing children. The relationship of certain demographic variables, such as Socio-economic Status (SES), number of children, years married, parent age, and child age, as well as social support with parenting stress was also examined for mothers and fathers of these three groups. Identification of factors related to parenting stress in fathers was of particular importance for this study, as fathers are often an underrepresented group within parenting research. Identifying effective methods for predicting high levels of parenting stress is important, as stress has been linked to psychological well-being, potential for abuse, and a greater likelihood of poor adjustment for both parent and child. Results from the present study comparing reported stress levels between groups of parents were supportive of previous studies indicating that parents of children with ADHD and developmentally disabilities experience significantly greater parenting stress, specifically with respect to child characteristics. Significant gender differences were also found between mothers and fathers in terms of parent characteristics related to stress. Fathers reported greater stress in the areas of attachment, while mothers reported more parent role …

The research of Stice et al. (1994) and Stice and Shaw (1994) proposed several mechanisms that may mediate the adverse effects of media exposure to the thin ideal including internalization of the thin-ideal, negative affect, and body dissatisfaction. The purpose of this study was to extend initial research of Stice and Shaw (1994) by incorporating two forms of media (e.g., TV and Magazines) to assess the effects of exposure to the media portrayal of ideal body shape on women's mood, body satisfaction, and internalization of societal values concerning attractiveness. The relation of these variables to bulimic symptomatology was examined. The current study improved upon Stice and Shaw's study (1994) by matching participants' scores on BMI, level of negative affect, and level of body satisfaction before random assignment to the experimental conditions. Female undergraduates aged 18 to 25 years participated in premeasure (N = 198) and post measure (N = 164) conditions. Results from repeated mulitvariate analysis indicated media exposure to ideal-body images demonstrated no significant changes in women's affect, body satisfaction or endorsement of the thin ideal. Indirect support for the sociocultural theory of eating disorders was provided by multiple regression analyses that demonstrated lower levels of satisfaction with size …

In my dissertation I examine the steps in and performance of revolution through the writings of three Postmodern authors, Ralph Ellison, Toni Morrison, and E. L. Doctorow, in light of the model of the biblical Exodus journey and the revolution which precipitated that movement. I suggest that the revolution which began with the Israelites' bondage in Egypt has provided the foundation for American literature. I show that Invisible Man, Beloved, and Ragtime not only employ the motif of the Exodus journey; they also perpetuate the silent revolution begun by the Israelites while held captive in Egypt. This dissertation consists of six chapters. Chapter One provides the introduction to the project. Chapter Two provides the model for this study by defining the characteristics of the Exodus journey, Moses as the leader of the Israelites, and the pattern of revolution established by Michael Walzer in Exodus and Revolution. In Chapters Three, Four, and Five, I apply the model established in Chapter Two to the individual texts. In Chapter Six, I draw three conclusions which arise from my study. My first conclusion is that the master story of the Exodus journey and the Israelites' liberation from Egypt informs all Western literaturewhether the literature …

Benefits for soldiers follow the formation of ancient and present day armies raised for the purpose of extending the national or state will. Veterans' benefits for defenders of the U.S. emerged during the American colonial period. College benefits began after WWII with the GI Bill of Rights. This study examines the variations in purpose for nationally established educational benefits for veterans and the singular value to the veterans of these 5educational benefits. The study begins with an overview of the history of veterans' benefits. Primary emphasis is then placed on the educational portion of the World War II Servicemen's Readjustment Act and the current educational benefit, the Montgomery GI Bill. As the purpose of awarding educational benefits changed from World War II to the latest U.S. war, the Gulf War of 1990-1991, the economic value to the individual veteran also changed. The WWII GI Bill featured an educational provision intended to keep returning veterans out of the changing economy whereas current GI Bills is intended as a recruiting incentive for an all-volunteer force. Correspondingly, the economic value to the individual veteran has changed. Data supporting this study were extracted from historical documents in primary and secondary scholarly studies and writings, …

Accountability is a major issue in education and in Texas, the TAAS test is used to indicate performance of students, teachers, campuses, and districts. The stakes are high for students, as performance on this test has determined whether they progress to another grade and whether they will receive a diploma. Most research studies focus on relationships between the teacher and individual students or groups of students, but not classrooms. Expectations and high stakes testing are central within the educational process, and their relationship on student achievement should be investigated, especially since no studies on teacher attitudes toward the TAAS test have been found. This correlational study measured teacher attitudes toward the TAAS and teacher expectations for students through data collected from a survey. Student achievement information was collected from averaged Texas Learning Index scores for students by classroom over a two year period. The sample consisted of 22 4th, 8th, and 10th grade reading and/or math teachers who had taught in the same Texas mid-sized, rural school district for at least two years. Frequency, percent, mean, and standard deviation were used to analyze the responses on the survey. A median score distinguished between high/low expectations and between positive/negative attitudes toward …

Valve stem seal leakage is a major source of fugitive emissions, and controlling these emissions can result in added expense in leak detection and repair programs. Elastomeric O-rings can be used as valve stem seals, and O-ring manufacturers recommend lubrication of elastomeric seals to prevent damage and to assure proper sealing. In this research, a metallic coating was applied as a lubricant using a vacuum vapor deposition process to the surface of elastomeric valve stem seals. Valve stem leak measurements were taken to determine if the coated O-rings, alone or with the recommended lubrication, reduced valve stem seal leakage. This research determined that the metallic coating did not reduce valve stem leakage.