A national survey was conducted to investigate job satisfaction among women accounting educators at four-year college and universities in the United States. The purpose of the study was to determine if differences existed among women accounting educators at research, doctoral, master's, and baccalaureate institutions in three areas relating to job satisfaction: levels of job satisfaction, individual sources of job satisfaction, and structural sources of job satisfaction. Also, the relationships among these three areas of job satisfaction were examined. A stratified random sample of 755 women accounting educators was selected from the population of 1,519 women. A mailed questionnaire was used to collect data. A total of 495 (66%) questionnaires were returned. Women accounting educators expressed satisfaction with co-workers, supervision, and work. They were neutral regarding satisfaction with pay and dissatisfied with promotion opportunities. A difference was detected between satisfaction with pay and type of institution. Differences were found between individual sources of job satisfaction and type of institution. The differences were attributable to education level and the personality characteristics of conscientiousness and openness. Differences were detected between structural sources of job satisfaction and type of institution. Academic rank, salary, tenure, institutional resources, and job functions accounted for the differences. Significant …

The percentage of women who receive doctorates has increased by over 300 percent during the past three decades. The consequences of pursuing the Ph.D. degree have always been far reaching and profound, serving as an impetus and springboard for the reconfiguration of one's beliefs, values, and professional life. The purposes of this national study were to ascertain and describe marital and social changes that occurred in the lives of women who were awarded the Ph.D. degree at midlife. A questionnaire was distributed to a sample of three-hundred women who hold the Ph.D. degree and were employed in institutions of higher education in the United States. The study sought to identify the effects of the Ph.D. experience upon the marital relationships, friendships, and social activities of women who completed the degree between the ages of thirty-five and forty-five. Demographic data were collected which were related to their marital status before, during, and after the Ph.D. experience. Both closed and open-ended questions were posed which solicited information pertaining to their post Ph.D. experience. This research reports both quantitative and qualitative findings. The majority of women who complete the Ph.D. experience at midlife undergo and initiate changes in their lives which impact their …

The purpose of this study is to describe the history, development, problems, and issues related to achieving university status of South-East Asia College from 1974 to 1993. This historical research used records and documents from South-East Asia College and the Association of Private Higher Education Institutions of Thailand as primary sources. Also interviews with the president, faculty and staff of South-East Asia College were used. Secondary Sources were reports and publications from the Ministry of University Affairs in Thailand. The areas of emphasis in the study were government policies on private higher education, legislation that initiated the founding of the college, the founder, the college's goals, financial sources, curriculum, library, faculty, students, and buildings. It was found that the Thai government encourages the establishment of private higher education institutions. The Private Higher Educational Institution Act of 1979 was enacted to allow private universities to be equal to government universities. South-East Asia College was founded in 1974 by the Khunya Plak Muanpiew Foundation with the purpose of training Thai students for industrial technologies and business sectors. The college requested university status in April, 1987. The first attempt was turned down. Four areas not meeting the requirements were the library, faculty, students, …

The Bill J. Priest Institute for Economic Development is an entity created in the Dallas County Community College District to serve the community in workforce and economic development. The history of the Priest Institute over the last ten years parallels and illustrates the commitment of community colleges nationally to workforce and economic development. The history also reflects similar goals and trends within the state of Texas and, particularly, in the city of Dallas. The Priest Institute is made up of three distinct entities. One entity is the Edmund J. Kahn Job Training Center; another is the Business and Professional Institute, which provides consulting and training services to business clients. The final service area is the complex made up of the regional North Texas Small Business Development Center and its several related local service operations. This study provides an analytical history of each of these components and the process by which they came together in a model facility in Dallas. This study also describes perceptions of persons within the Institute regarding its present mission and purposes and the efficacy of the current organizational structure both internally and within the district operation as an appropriate structure enabling the Institute to meet its …

This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of intensive play therapy as a method of intervention for child witnesses of domestic violence. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of intensive play therapy in: (a) improving the self-concept of child witnesses of domestic violence; (b) reducing internalizing behavior problems, such as withdrawal, somatic complaints, anxiety, and depression, of child witnesses of domestic violence; (c) reducing externalizing behavior problems, such as aggression and delinquency, of child witnesses of domestic violence; (d) reducing overall behavior problems, including internalizing and externalizing behavior problems, and social problems, thought problems, and attention problems, of child witnesses of domestic violence; and (e) improving play behaviors in the areas of affection, contact, physical proximity, self-direction, aggression, mood, play themes, and food nurturing themes.

This study investigated the effects of personality characteristics on emergent leadership in small group settings. Two instruments were used to assess personality factors: The BASIS-A and the California Personality Inventory (CPI). A sociometric tool was developed to elicit leader ranking of female group members. The BASIS-A, was used to test for Taking Charge and Wanting Recognition lifestyles in women who emerged as leaders. The CPI was used to assess female emergent leaders for Dominance and Leadership Potential. The two instruments and a sociometric form were distributed to 115 female graduate counselor-in-training students the last week of their group counseling experience. This survey resulted in 55 respondents (N=55) from eleven discussion groups. It was expected that women who had the highest averaged leader rank would demonstrate higher test scores in Dominance, Leadership Potential, Taking Charge, and Wanting Recognition than women who received a lower averaged leader rank. It was also thought that these four test factors would be highly related. If so, a case would be made to use the BASIS-A as an emergent leader assessment tool because it is consistently based in one psychological theory. No significant effect was found between the highest leader rank and three of the test …

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) continues to be the most accepted approach for the treatment of addictions in the United States. However, due to recent evidence questioning the effectiveness of AA, the need for alternative approaches to the treatment of addictions has become clear. The following research addresses the efficacy of one such alternative, Rational Recovery (RR). Node-Link Mapping (NLM), a graphic communication technique which uses links and nodes as building blocs to facilitate and enhance communication of information as well as awareness in a counseling environment, was implemented to enhance the recovery process. Three groups of ten (10), chemically dependent, adjudicated subjects were exposed to three different treatment approaches at an outpatient counseling center. The Experimental group received RR with NLM, the Comparison group was exposed only to RR, and the Control group continued in treatment according to the protocol of the counseling agency. All subjects were given the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory-2 (SASSI-2) as a measurement of symptoms associated with chemical dependency. The subjects were also administered the Rotter Internal-External Locus of Control Scale (Rotter I-E Scale) to determine locus of control prior to treatment and any change after treatment.

This study chronicles the contributions of Bill J. Priest under the headings of Board of Trustees governance model, multi-college district, quality first: facilities and staff, curriculum, counseling, public relations, telecourses and the Bill J. Priest Institute for Economic Development. Data were gathered from personal interviews, primary sources and secondary sources. The study includes an overview of the emergence and evolution of the junior college with specific focus on the conceptual beginnings of the Dallas County Community College District and the selection of its founding president, Bill Priest. Professional and personal profiles of Priest are documented as background for the study. Conclusions are that Bill Priest established the Dallas County Community College District as a national model of a multi-college district, was instrumental in affecting the change from junior college to comprehensive community college as the standard for two-year higher education institutions, played a significant role in setting the national agenda for the community college movement through his long-term participation in a leadership capacity in the American Association of Junior and Community Colleges and through the establishment and selection of leadership of the League for Innovation, was instrumental in the creation of the Associate Degree of Nursing, was a national leader …

Members of the Instructional Teleconference Consortium (ITC) were mailed a survey instrument. A total list of 375 teleconference coordinators generated 137 usable responses. The purposes of this study of faculty and staff development presentations by teleconferencing were to determine the amount of usage; which subject areas are utilized; what delivery methods (live, interactive, prerecorded, multimedia, etc.) are utilized; barriers (size or location of college, size of teleconference or travel budget, etc.) to implementing teleconferences; and the sources of presentations utilized in teleconferences. Larger community colleges are the greater users of teleconferencing and even produce some for distribution to other community colleges, whereas smaller community colleges have just begun to receive equipment that enables them to receive telecasts for this purpose. No clear subject area has yet been defined that dominates these teleconferences, and the trend is toward two-way audio and one-way video as the delivery media as communication costs decline. Barriers of money for staff, equipment, and programming appear to be the principal objections to the use of teleconferencing for faculty and staff development presentations. There appear to be few sources of presentations except for the Public Broadcasting System (PBS).

This study investigated Texas nurses' attitudes toward mandatory continuing education, and their perceptions of skill improvement, knowledge enrichment and improvement of health care to the public as a result of participation in twenty contact hours of continuing education programs as required by the Board of Nurse Examiners for the State of Texas. This sample of Texas nurses felt that the goals set forth by the Board of Nurse Examiners for the State of Texas had been met by participation in mandatory continuing education. However, given the small return rate, the attitudes of these nurses may not represent the attitudes of the majority of Texas nurses.

Body image may be defined as the perception or attitude one has regarding the appearance of his or her body. Body image concerns are not only central to the diagnostic criteria of eating disorders, but also create distress for nonclinical populations. Females (n = 167) from three universities participated in a study by completing the Eating Disorder Inventory - 2 (Garner, 1991) and the Figure Rating Scale (Stunkard, Sorenson, & Schulsinger, 1983); watching a video; and then completing the instruments again. Subjects in the treatment group (n = 89) viewed a video designed to increase awareness of unrealistic body sizes and shapes seen in the media (Kilbourne, 1995). Subjects in the comparison group (n = 77) viewed a video unrelated to female body image.

The spallation of aluminum, chromium, and iron oxide scales is a chronic problem that critically impacts technological applications like aerospace, power plant operation, catalysis, petrochemical industry, and the fabrication of composite materials. The presence of interfacial impurities, mainly sulfur, has been reported to accelerate spallation, thereby promoting the high-temperature corrosion of metals and alloys. The precise mechanism for sulfur-induced destruction of oxides, however, is ambiguous. The objective of the present research is to elucidate the microscopic mechanism for the high-temperature corrosion of aluminum alloys in the presence of sulfur. Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), low energy electron diffraction (LEED), and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) studies were conducted under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions on oxidized sulfur-free and sulfur-modified Al/Fe and Ni3Al(111). Evaporative deposition of aluminum onto a sulfur-covered iron surface results in the insertion of aluminum between the sulfur adlayer and the substrate, producing an Fe-Al-S interface. Aluminum oxidation at 300 K is retarded in the presence of sulfur. Oxide destabilization, and the formation of metallic aluminum are observed at temperatures > 600 K when sulfur is located at the Al2O3-Fe interface, while the sulfur-free interface is stable up to 900 K. In contrast, the thermal stability (up to at least 1100 …

This research study investigated the effectiveness of a child-centered play therapy intervention conducted by trained high school students on the behavior of preschool and kindergarten children with adjustment difficulties. Specifically, this research determined if play sessions conducted by high school students trained in child-centered play therapy skills and procedures facilitated change in the children's behaviors. The experimental group children (N=14) each received 20 weekly individual play sessions from a high school student enrolled in a Peer Assistance and Leadership class. The high school students were randomly paired with a referred child. The high school students completed 7 one-hour training sessions in child-centered play therapy procedures and skills prior to beginning the weekly, supervised play sessions. The control group (N=12) received no treatment during the study. Pre and post data were collected from parents who completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and teachers who completed the Early Childhood Behavior Scale (ECBS). Multivariate analyses of variance of gained scored revealed statistical significance in 2 of the 4 hypotheses. Specifically, the children in the experimental group showed significant decreases in internalizing behaviors (p = .025) and total behaviors (p = .025) on the CBCL. Although not in the statistically significant range, positive trends …

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, …

This study examined how current family counseling/therapy programs train students to work with families with young children and made recommendations for training in this area based on recommendations of child and family therapy experts and the research and clinical literature. These recommendations explored what knowledge and skills all students should acquire versus students who want to specialize with this population. Changes to accreditation standards were also proposed as well as a description of resources to support changes in program curricula. Current training was measured by examining curricula from master's level marriage and family counseling/therapy programs accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE) and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs (CACREP) and master's level social work programs with a family-related concentration accredited by the Council on Social Work Education Commission on Accreditation (CSWE), the accreditation standards from these three organizations, course syllabi from the COAMFTE and CACREP programs, and surveys of COAMFTE and CACREP program directors (60% response rate). Recommendations for training were obtained through a qualitative analysis of quotations from the literature concerning training and through interviews of child and family therapy experts (65% response rate). The results revealed the …

This research study investigated the effectiveness of child-centered group play therapy with children experiencing adjustment difficulties. Specifically, this study determined the effectiveness of child-centered group play therapy in: (a) improving self-concept, (b) reducing externalizing, internalizing, and overall behavior problems, (c) enhancing emotional and behavioral adjustment to the school environment, and (d) increasing self-control of kindergarten children experiencing adjustment difficulties. Also investigated were child-centered group play therapy effects on reducing parenting stress of the parents of kindergarten children experiencing adjustment difficulties. The experimental group consisted of 15 kindergarten children who received one 40-minute child-centered group play therapy session per week, for twelve weeks. Group facilitators were play therapists who were doctoral students at the University of North Texas. The control group consisted of the 14 kindergarten students that had been assigned to the control group in Baggerly's (1999) study. Before the group play therapy sessions began and after termination of the sessions: the researchers administered the Joseph Pre-School and Primary Self-Concept Screening Test; parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist-Parent Report, Self-Control Rating Scale, Filial Problem Checklist, and Parenting Stress Index; and teachers completed the Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report, Early Childhood Behavior Scale, and Self-Control Rating Scale. Although the general results of …

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 …

The purpose of this study was to identify indicators of quality for liberal arts colleges and universities as defined by internal and external constituents, and to compare the results of this study with those of two-year public institutions. The internal constituents included college and university presidents and faculty, and the external constituents consisted of officers of Chambers of Commerce and the Kiwanis International, representing business and industry. A survey instrument of 70 items was sent to the constituents of 148 institutions accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. A total of 592 surveys were sent with an average response rate of 56.93%. The study was limited to Baccalaureate (Liberal Arts) Colleges I and Baccalaureate (Liberal Arts) Colleges II according to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. There were 57 survey items identified as indicators of quality by agreement of all respondent group means. The highest ranked indicator of quality was faculty commitment to teaching. The Analysis of Variance revealed close agreement by constituents on 17 of the quality indicators. There was close agreement also that three of the survey items were not indicators of quality. Fisher's Multiple Comparison test revealed that various constituents rated some survey …

This study is a historical analysis of the significant events that led to the creation and evolution of the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science (TAMS), from 1987 through 1992, and a description of the key individuals contributing to the development of the program. Included is a historical review of early college entrance and acceleration practices in the American educational system. In addition, the development of residential programs for mathematically and scientifically precocious high school-aged youths is offered. On June 23, 1987, the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science was established by the 70th Texas Legislature. Though fourth in a line of special programs created for mathematically and scientifically able high school-aged youths, the TAMS model significantly deviated from its predecessors. Only the accelerative TAMS model would offer a college curriculum taught by college faculty and the opportunity to concurrently complete the last two years of high school and the first two years of college. From the inception of the program in 1987 through 1992, changes would occur. From 1987 through the summer of 1988, the development of the curriculum, student life program, and admissions process took place. From 1988 through 1989 the inaugural class was introduced to the program, …

The major purpose for this study was to determine the self-perceived leadership styles of the presidents, vice-presidents, and deans of public community and junior colleges in Texas in 1994. Administrators' choices of leadership style were also compared with personal characteristics of leaders, such as age, gender, title, number of years in current position, number of years in current institution, number of years in administration, degree earned, number of years in teaching, and number of full-time subordinates. The backgrounds of the administrators, particularly their previous experience, control over their respective budgets, size of their budgets (state, local, other, percentage of workers' compensation), and the ethnicity of leaders, were also examined. The Styles of Leadership Survey and a Demographic Information Form were used to collect the data.

This study is a descriptive analysis of corporate learning resource centers. The study was designed to incorporate historical background and current status, organization and personnel, types and amount of alternate delivery instruction, and selected cost considerations in the establishment and maintenance of a learning resource center. A functional definition was furnished, with a deliberative attempt to encompass related synonyms. Discussion included training types or instructional delivery medium distinctions. A contribution of this study was the development, field testing, and enhancement of a survey instrument, which reflects the steps to be followed by those planning implementation of any learning resource center. Findings of this study indicated that learning resource centers were young and transitioning to increased on-line individualized and self-paced learning. Training and learning will become much less interdependent. Training types will increasingly become nontraditional and technology driven. Courseware will be received and managed remotely. Partnerships and cooperative efforts are mandates for business and higher education. Learner mobility will become normative, not the exception. Internet training will rapidly increase, most quickly among small business. Learning resource centers will continue to become more cost effective. This study proposed the redefinition of both learner and educator roles within a changing learning resource center …

Graduate students in the College of Education at the University of North Texas, Denton rated 57 teacher attributes on their relative importance in effective teaching. The data was analyzed across six demographic variables of department, sex, degree, nationality, teaching experience, and previous graduate school, using mean scores, one-way ANOVA, and t-tests for two independent samples.

This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of filial therapy as a method of intervention for non-offending parents and their children who have experienced sexual abuse. Filial therapy is a didactic/dynamic approach used by play therapists to train parents to be therapeutic agents with their children. Parents are taught basic child-centered play therapy skills and the utilization of these skills in weekly play sessions with their children. Parents learn to create a special environment which enhances and strengthens the parent-child relationship, thus assisting in personal growth and change for both the parent and child. The purpose of this study was to determine if filial therapy is effective in: (a) increasing the acceptance of non-offending parents of their sexually abused children; (b) reducing the stress level of non-offending parents; (c) improving empathic behaviors of non-offending parents toward their sexually abused child; (d) decreasing the anxiety of sexually abused children; (e) enhancing the self-concept of sexually abused children; (f) decreasing behavior problems of sexually abused children as reported by their non-offending parents; and (g) enhancing the emotional adjustment of sexually abused children.

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.