An analysis of interrater agreement across multiple respondents on anecdotal assessments and correspondence between functional analysis outcomes was completed. Experiment I evaluated overall agreement among multiple respondents (direct-care staff) on the hypothesized function of each residents (28 adults with mental retardation) problematic behavior using the Motivational Assessment Scale (MAS) and the Functional Analysis Screening Tool (FAST). Results of the questionnaires indicated that respondents agreed on the function of the problematic behavior for 10 of the 28 residents. Experiment II examined whether, for selected cases in which 4 out of 5 respondents agreed on the function of the problematic behavior, correspondence occurred between functional analyses and anecdotal assessments outcomes. Two of the 6 functional analyses did not evoke the problematic behavior. However, 4 functional analyses did produce corresponding outcomes suggesting that, when the functional analyses produced interpretable data, the results of the functional analyses corresponded with those of the anecdotal assessments.

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.

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.

This paper evaluated the effects of selected demographic characteristics and services received on obtaining unsubsidized employment by Job Training Partnership Act Program participants in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma in 1996 and 1997. The data used for this paper are from Title II A (Disadvantaged Adults) individualized records. Six variables were statistically significant across all four states. These variables were cash welfare benefits, high school grade completed, occupational classroom training with a goal, on-the-job training with a goal, work experience training with a goal, and the real three-year growth rate in retail/wholesale trade employment. included demographic characteristics, as well as service interventions.

This study evaluated the relative association of socioeconomic, minority group and housing characteristics of census tracts with the racial composition of residential areas within one southwestern city between 1950 and 1980. The unit of analysis was the census tract; the data were taken from the U.S. Census of Population and Housing 1950-1980 for the Fort Worth, Texas SMSAs. The Index of Dissimilarity compared racial segregation in the Fort Worth urbanized area for blacks with all others (1950-1980) and for Spanish and non-black minorities with all others (1960-1980). The data show little change in the extent of residential segregation over 30 years. The multiple regression showed that the degree of segregation in census tracts became increasingly predictable based on past minority concentration in the same neighborhood. Lagged social status and minority group variables significantly predicted the percent of the population that was black or Spanish in census tracts ten years later. Beta weights for percent black or percent Spanish were always the strongest in each tract regression and largely determined the level of segregation that existed in tracts ten years later. This paper asserts that social status characteristics must approach more equal levels between minority and majority groups before integrated neighborhoods …

The banquet staff at a north Texas hotel were responsible for setting up 11 different functions (e.g., buffet dinners) for conferences and meetings. The functions were often set up late and items were often omitted. An analysis suggested that performance problems were the result of weak antecedents, inefficient work procedures, inadequate training and a lack of motivating consequences. An intervention consisting of task checklists, feedback, goal setting, monetary bonuses, training and job aids was designed to enhance the accuracy and timeliness of function setups. Performance increased from an average of 68.8% on the quality measure (accuracy plus timeliness) in baseline, to 99.7% during the intervention phase. Performance decreased to 82.3% during a follow-up phase in which parts of the intervention were discontinued by hotel management. Performance increased to 99.3% with the reintroduction of the intervention phase.

The present experiment studied the relationship between interresponse intervals and behavioral variability. Subjects emitted sequences of 4 keypresses on two keys on a variability schedule that delivered points when the current 4-response sequence differed from the previous 5 sequences. Three experimental conditions were studied; no interresponse interval, 4-s interresponse interval and 8-s interresponse interval. Interresponse intervals followed each of the first three responses in each sequence. Two groups were used to study initial training histories. Group 1 was first exposed to the no-interresponse interval condition. Group 2 was first exposed to the 4-s interresponse interval condition. Subjects were then exposed to the different interresponse interval conditions. There was little change in variability across conditions. However, the variability observed in the subjects first exposed to the 4-s interresponse interval was greater than the variability observed in subjects first exposed to no-interresponse interval. There was higher-order response patterning in both groups, but it was more pronounced in the no-interresponse interval group.

This study investigated the effects of verbal and graphic feedback alone and in combination with praise on the data-recording behavior of 12 direct care trainers (DCTs) who recorded their reinforcer deliveries as they interacted with mentally retarded clients. An additional variable examined was the effect of time of delivering feedback on subsequent data-recording behavior. Feedback was delivered by the experimenter. Correspondence checks were conducted and a three-phase multiple condition experimental design was used. All feedback conditions produced an observable difference in DCT data-recording behavior. Time of delivery of feedback also appeared to have an effect on the amount of data recorded by DCTs.

This experiment investigated how different percentages of incentive pay affected performance on a number-entering task. It was hypothesized that the critical factor in incentive pay systems was the absolute amount of money that could be earned in an incentive pay paradigm. A counterbalanced single-subject reversal design was employed to examine effects of incentives on performance. Twelve subjects were used in the experiment with three subjects assigned to one of four experimental paradigms. Two of the experimental paradigms incorporated 10% and 100% incentive pay conditions, while the other two experimental paradigms incorporated absolute pay conditions equal to the 10% and 100% incentive pay conditions. Results indicated that similar trends in productivity occurred across subjects in all four experimental paradigms.

Data from the National Survey of Households and Families were used to study the factors previous research identified as affecting post-divorce child adjustment. Responses from 358 divorced parents with custody of children under age 12 were analyzed. Special attention was paid to the effect of family financial status. The strongest predictor of problem behavior for both preschool children and school-aged boys was the amount of parent/child activity time. Older boys were also particularly sensitive to interparental conflict. Elementary-aged girls, however, were most affected by the presence of parental depression, which was found to be significantly associated with a decline in post-divorce family financial status. Only girls' problems showed a direct relationship with family income.

To meet global competition many companies have reorganized work process systems, eliminated management levels, formed employee work groups and implemented variable compensation systems. This study investigated the effect of group incentives on individual sales performance in two specialty shops located in a large metropolitan hotel. Two questions were addressed: What effect would adding a group bonus plan have on individual employee's sales performance who had previously received hourly wages in one shop; and, what effect would changing an individual incentive plan to a group plan have on the individual employee's sales performance in the other shop. In one shop 5 of 7 employees' productivity increased: in the other, 1 of 3 subjects' productivity increased. Contingencies in both shops are analyzed and suggestions offered for future research.

A popular approach to operating organizations in the 1990s is the implementation of work teams. The current literature offers little information on the use of performance management techniques in work team settings. This case study examined the effects of employing a performance improvement strategy on employee performance in a work team environment comprised of part-time graduate students. The performance improvement strategy included composing job descriptions, job aids (e.g., work organization charts), task request logs and posting weekly and monthly performance feedback. Improvements were observed in some aspects of team performance. Some of the improvement was due to task clarification and improved scheduling produced by the antecedent interventions. Performance feedback had little effect on measured performance but seemed to facilitate discussion and problem-solving.

The study was designed to examine the causal relationship between the Venezuelan inflation and the monetarist variables--money supply--and the structuralist variables-- exchange rate and balance of payments. The data (1964-1982) was gathered from the International Financial Statistic Yearbook, 1983 and the Statistical Yearbook, 1974, 1982. Chapter I is an introduction to the research problem. Chapter II does a review of the related literature. Chapter III deals with the methods and procedures for treating the data. Chapter IV presents an statistical analysis of the data. And, Chapter V contains a summary of the study and its findings, conclusions and recommendations. The study only found a significant relationship between inflation and the monetarist variables money supply and GNP, though supporting the monetarist theory. A similar investigation is suggested, but selecting a longer time period, other.variables, and more refined methodologies and analysis.

The purpose of this study is to determine which of three forecasting methods provides the most accurate short-term forecasts, in terms of absolute and mean absolute percentage error, for a unique set of data. The study applies three forecasting techniques--the Box-Jenkins or ARIMA method, cycle regression analysis, and multiple regression analysis--to quarterly sales tax revenue data. The final results show that, with varying success, each model identifies the direction of change in the future, but does not closely identify the period to period fluctuations. Indeed, each model overestimated revenues for every period forecasted. Cycle regression analysis, with a mean absolute percentage error of 7.21, is the most accurate model. Multiple regression analysis has the smallest absolute percentage error of 3.13.

This study investigates the relationship between stagflation and price stability and full employment and four economic scenarios and the economic condition. The data used in the study were obtained from government publications and were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression. The standard inferential apparatus were employed. Give independent variables were found to be significant in explaining the causes of stagflation. These were: absolute change in M1, oil embargo of 1974, corporate profits, output per hour, and Iranian crisis of 1979. In conclusion, the causes of economic instability do not rest with one single theory or factor, but a combination of several.

This study tests the relationship between certain economic scenarios and the state of the economy in regard to inflation and recession. Using data gathered from government publications, the economy was divided into periods of inflation, recession, and recession recovery. These periods were regressed against variables representing four schools of economic thought: monetarist scenario, structural scenario, power scenario, and micro, or supply side scenario. This study concludes that because of the complex nature of the economy, all representative variables have both positive and negative effects on the economy and no one scenario holds the key to economic stability.

The purpose of this study was to determine (1) the size of the Saudi Arabian manpower shortage in light of the Second Development Plan, (2) the number of skilled and semi-skilled workers that will be graduated from vocational and technical programs during the plan period, and (3) the factors that explain the major causes of the labor shortage problem. In order to accomplish these objectives, the study has considered two questions: (1) Is there a consistency between the manpower needs of skilled and semi-skilled workers and the vocational and technical training programs' output? (2) What are the major factors that explain the labor shortage in Saudi Arabia?