A comprehensive investigation examines the decline and changes that have affected Dallas regional theatre development from the dream of Margo Jones in the 1940s to the proliferation of emerging theatres in 1993. Changing economic conditions, lack of audience support, and shortages of performance space have contributed to an exodus of Dallas actors and artists. Reviewed are measures to reverse this trend, including funding changes, awareness campaigns, improved inter-theatre cooperation, and guidelines for audience development. The study's conclusion notes that theatres do, indeed, have a natural life cycle, but with renewed emphasis on audience development and self-sufficiency, theatres in Dallas can endure and contribute to an enlarged sense of civic pride.

At times called a philosophy and other times called a process, cutting score methodology is an issue routinely encountered by Industrial/Organizational (I/0) psychologists. Published literature on cutting score methodology appears much more frequently in academic settings than it does in personnel settings where the potential for lawsuits typically occurs more often. With the passage of the 1991 Civil Rights Act, it is no longer legal to use within-group scoring. It has now become necessary for personnel psychologists to develop more acceptable selection methods that fall within established guidelines. Designating cutoff scores with the Angoff method appears to suit many requirements of personnel departments. Several procedures have evolved that suggest enhancing the accuracy and reliability of the Angoff method is possible. The current experiment investigated several such procedures, and found that rater accuracy methods significantly enhance cutoff score reliability and accuracy.

This study investigated the attitudes toward teaching and research among biology faculty in Texas institutions of higher learning. The purposes of the study were to: 1) determine what the attitudes of Texas biology faculty were toward teaching; 2) to determine the attitudes of Texas biology faculty toward research; 3) to determine if biology faculty attitudes toward teaching vary according to faculty rank; 4) to determine if biology faculty attitudes toward research vary according to faculty rank; 5) to determine if attitudes of biology faculty in Texas toward teaching vary according to institutional type; and 6) to determine if attitudes of biology faculty in Texas toward research vary according to institutional type.

This study explored the inferences male children held about the brand personality. The sample included 46 male fifth graders. Personal interviews were conducted and the results were compiled and interpreted using descriptive statistics. Four subject areas were addressed: identification and inferences about brand personality, sources of inferences, children's ability to make inferences about other children based on brand personality, and application of brand personality to self. Results indicated children make inferences about brand personality, make inferences about other children based on brand personality, and apply brand personality to themselves. An attempt to identify sources of inferences was inconclusive.

Two continuous performance tests were administered to normal adult subjects. The mode of presentation (visual or auditory) and the type of task (vigilance or distractibility) were varied, and their effects on performance measured. Data were collected on eighty-two subjects, and results indicated that auditory presentation of stimuli increased the difficulty of both tasks. Results also suggest that the distractibility task administered in either mode was more difficult than the vigilance task. Intercorrelations among the four continuous performance tasks are provided. Normative data are presented on all four tasks administered. A measure of symptoms of attention-deficit disorder in adults, the Adult Behavior Checklist, was found to correlate significantly with another measure of pathology, the SCL-90-R.

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the ability of two-year college students and faculty in one area of activity and to gain a more adequate understanding of them. A dearth of taxonomic literature on plant populations at the local level prompted this study. It has been observed that amateur botanists have accomplished satisfactory and commendable work in plant taxonomy. Also, it has been observed that a high percentage of students in two year colleges commute considerable distances. These disparate observations led to a potential solution to the botanical dilemma.

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the effect of a parent involvement education program on the academic achievement, school behavior, and educational motivation of Hispanic students enrolled in a bilingual education program. Fifty bilingual fourth-grade students and their parents were compared to 50 bilingual fourth-grade students and their parents who were subjected to a parent education program. The groups were randomly assigned from a stratified random sample. Students in each group were given the Student Attitude Measure prior to treatment and immediately following the parent involvement training. Parents in each group were given the Parent Opinion Inventory prior to and immediately following the parent involvement training. Students were also compared utilizing a norm-referenced achievement test. Discipline referrals were compared between the experimental group and the control group.

The original purpose of this study was to determine if Tegretol has an effect on the impulsive behavior exhibited by people with mental retardation. This was to be accomplished through a replication of the self-control choice procedures used by Ragotzy, Blakely, and Poling (1988). The procedure involved three stages. First, subjects chose between stimuli that provided either one or three edibles. Then the stimuli associated with the smaller and larger edibles were reversed. Following this, the procedure required the implementation of successively longer delays to the larger reinforcer. However, none of the subjects who participated was able to make the discriminations necessary to proceed, i.e., the subjects did not systematically select the stimulus associated with the larger magnitude edible choice. The identification and rectification of these errors in discrimination became the focus of this study. Various procedures were used to enhance discrimination, including fading, adjusting the magnitude of the edibles, and stimulus changes. None of these changes was successful in teaching the subjects the necessary discriminations.

The film is about a newly arrived Japanese student's initial period of adjustment at the University of North Texas. This observational documentary film follows the student and witnesses the student's first reactions to various social environments. The purpose of this creative thesis project was to depict the difficulties that international students encounter at the beginning of their stay in America. The initial goal of the video was to provide useful visual research material to people who are interested in the acculturation of foreign students. Because of its realistic character, the video can give its audiences a more immediate and vivid picture of foreign students than existing written literature. By giving an authentic portrait of the students' hardship and adjustments, the ultimate goal of this video was to increase the American people's appreciation of the difficulties encountered by foreign students who come to this country equipped with limited social assistance and resources. An accompanying production report describes the research process, the pre-production, production, and post-production stages.

Habitat Evaluation Procedure data gathered at Ray Roberts Lake in 1989 and 1990 were analysed for temporal variability, observer variability and relationships between Habitat Units (HUs) and species density/diversity. observer variability within a group was analysed by cluster analysis and bootstrapping. Five out of 36 sites showed significant differences in Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) values within the group. A nonparametric Mann-Whitney test was used to analyze temporal variability. One of 6 sites showed a significant difference in HSI values between years. Using Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient, a correlation was found between indicator species density and HUs. No significant correlation was indicated between species diversity and HUs.

Geographic information systems (GIS) technology was used to analyze factors influencing habitat use by an endangered species, the red-cockaded woodpecker. The study area was the western part of the Raven Ranger District of the Sam Houston National Forest, Texas. The factors considered included both structural characteristics and spatial relationships among stands of trees in the habitat.

This study concerned the impact lifestyles of the elderly have on purchases from different product categories. The main purpose was to determine, evaluate, and analyze the effects of lifestyles on elderly shoppers' choice of retail outlets.

The role of exposure to a human-made disaster and the subsequent development of post-traumatic stress reactions were examined. Subjects included 49 males and 30 females who were variously exposed to the Luby's shooting incident in Killeen, Texas in October of 1991. Post-traumatic stress symptomatology was measured by the SCL-90R. Exposure was operationalized by using a scenario-rating scheme with independent raters estimating each subject's level of exposure. A regression and commonality analysis revealed that exposure is an important predictor in post-traumatic symptomatology. Premorbid functioning and gender were also found to play important roles, with females expressing higher levels of symptomatology.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the implementation year of state mandated, site-based management in a rural elementary school in north-central Texas.

The impact of four basic capital project funding models for state participation was determined for the school districts in Texas. A review of the historical background for funding of capital projects and improvements by states was followed by a review of the historical background of state support for funding capital projects in the State of Texas. Additionally, the current funding models and methods of determining need were reviewed for all of the states. This historical review revealed that facility funding, like aid for maintenance and operation, has evolved with all the states at different stages.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of job satisfaction among full-time faculty members at historically black colleges and universities in Texas with respect to gender, age, marital status, salary, academic rank, level of education, teaching experience, institution of employment, and race/ethnic origin. The investigation was based on the six variables of job satisfaction: work on present job, present pay, supervision, co-workers, promotion, and job in general.

A toxicological study was initiated because of concerns about allegations that the Texas Water Commission that effluent from the Dallas Central Wastewater Treatment Plant, which discharges into the Trinity River, was affecting downstream water quality. Monthly, flow-weighted composite effluent samples were collected. Grab samples were also collected upstream and downstream from the effluent from April 1989 to August 1991. Toxicity tests were conducted on these samples using Ceriodaphnia dubia as the test organism. Samples were collected four times during this study in which rainfall occurred prior to sampling. In every instance, this "first flush" of the watershed during a rising hydrograph was toxic to C. dubia upstream. Analyzing toxicity by season resulted in a statistically significantly lower neonate production in the effluent than in the river samples during the months of June, July, and August. This impact on neonate production was suspected of being caused by organic pesticides which are used for insect control on lawns. The effluent was never acutely toxic to C. dubia. Primarily, toxic occurrences in either the effluent or the river samples were primarily of a chronic nature. Overall, survival of C. dubia was affected more frequently at the upstream site than in the effluent or …

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the image of the University of North Texas as perceived by the University Administration and Board of Regents, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Baord and selected Legislators, and the Boards of Directors of the Metroplex area Chambers of Commerce. The significance of the study was to contribute knowledge that could be used to construct a more direct and cost effective marketing plan.

The purpose of this study was to analyze and compare the values, beliefs, and ideas in school reading textbooks (Readers) in Taiwan and in Texas. It intended to examine the social control function of school Readers, with which a culture deliberately molds its young generation. This study employed primarily qualitative methods. The collection of data used the technique of content analysis, student surveys, and teacher expert panel discussions. The analysis of data followed a constant comparative approach. The themes shared by the two sets of Readers included family, friends, humans and living creatures, political ideals, reading/writing, appreciation of nature, science, indomitable spirit, turning danger into safety, setting goals, education, desirable and undesirable qualities or behaviors. Despite the similarities of these themes, the substance or focus of them may vary. The themes unique to the Texas Readers were content knowledge, cultural diversity, dilemma and choice, observations about people, words, tomorrow's technology, winning, and general truth. The themes unique to the Taiwan Readers included life philosophy, learning, necessary difficulties, sensitivity, and military strategies. The theme occurring most frequently in both sets of Readers was the desirable qualities or behaviors. The values advocated in the Taiwan Readers were idealistic and had a society-centered …

A content analysis was conducted to determine the amount and type of causal explanation included in coverage of the 1992 Los Angeles riots in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and The Christian Science Monitor. The data were analyzed to determine whether causal explanations were primarily societal or individual/situational. The primary purpose was to examine whether the press has altered its reporting techniques since the Kerner Commission report criticized the narrow, descriptive-based reporting of the 1960s riots. Study results indicate riot coverage was predominantly descriptive and similar in content to that detailed by the Kerner Commission. The most frequently cited cause was the triggering event, the Rodney King acquittal verdict.

The increase in the number of nontraditional aged undergraduate students (25 yrs. and older) and students transferring between post-secondary institutions has raised the question of whether effective instruction is viewed the same by these different groups of students. This study addressed this question by analyzing the responses of these different groups to 23 instructional questions on a standard faculty evaluation form.

This study used a posttest only design to determine the effects of a strategic thinking program on the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT, Form 4) scores of seventh graders who received direct instruction in Strategic Thinking Skills (STS) with the scores of seventh graders who did not receive direct instruction in STS. The study was conducted in a large suburban middle school in north Texas.

The first objective of this research was to identify whether Asian-Americans having higher than average levels of income and education represent an appropriate target market for four food product categories. Second, the impact of national origin membership, demographic variables, and level of acculturation on food consumption was determined. In addition, perceptions related to sensory and nutritional factors and the cultural acceptability of the products were identified and interpreted to determine if the variables differed among specific groups of Asian-American consumers.

The application of Gowin's knowledge vee as a means to design instruction for adult Bible study was investigated in this study. The study was designed to determine whether subjects using this instructional approach differed from subjects using traditional instructional materials regarding their attitudes toward Bible study, attendance, knowledge retention, application of study materials to life, and recruitment of new class members.