This study examined Stanislavski's system as it was explained in his three books, An Actor Prepares, Building A Character, and Creating A Character. The study then examined the applicability of the Stanislavski System to the theaters of Bertolt Brecht and Absurdist theatre as represented by Harold Pinter and Samuel Beckett.

The present study compared the academic stress levels of 450 college sophomore students at a public university and a public two-year college. This investigation also explored the levels of academic stress by institutional type, age, gender, and ethnicity. Data were obtained from having the subjects complete the Academic Stress Scale, a questionnaire which lists thirty five stress items found in the college classroom. Analysis of variance and t-tests were used to analyze the data. There were 225 subjects each in the community college group and the university group. The university group had a statistically significant higher mean stress score than the community college group. 294 traditional age (23 and younger) and 156 nontraditional age (24 and over) subjects stress levels were compared. It was found that the traditional age college student group experienced a statistically significant higher academic stress level in both academic settings. Group means were compared between the stress scores of 245 female and 205 male subjects. At both the community college and university levels, the female group had a statistically significant higher level of academic stress. The academic stress levels were also compared according to ethnicity. The minority group consisted of 104 subjects and 346 subjects comprised …

The purposes of this study were to (a) examine higher education activities from 1945 to 1980 before Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong became newly industrialized countries; (b) study the higher education reforms that each country made in its progress in order to meet the challenge; (c) compare and contrast the higher education systems that were adopted; and (d) identify a single Asian higher education system model (descriptive model) for any country that desires to become an industrialized country. Historical research was utilized in this study. This study was approached as follows: First, the economic growth of the countries under study was examined. Then, the countries' higher education systems were compared and contrasted. The result is at least one possible higher education system model that can be used by any country to improve the future performance of its higher education system. The study concluded that the models of higher education used by Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong from 1945 to 1980 were not identical. However, they came to similar conclusions in terms of economic development. In this case, an emerging industrial country like the social and economic condition of Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong would find that adoption of those higher …

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).

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 …

To determine the relationship between computer intensive classwork and change in critical thinking skills exhibited by college students, the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal, which generates Inference, Assumptions, Deduction, Interpretation, Arguments, and Total scores, was administered as pretest and post-test to students enrolled in four sections of a freshman level writing class at a community college, where two sections each were taught by computer intensive (computer) and traditional (non-computer) methods. Students completed a Demographic Questionnaire regarding previous computer experience, gender, and ethnicity. Where available, reading skills information was obtained from college records.

The purposes of this study were to (a) determine graduate students' perceptions of the effectiveness of the delivery system and their level of comfort with the delivery system, (b) determine graduate students' perceptions of the effectiveness of the delivery system and their level of comfort with the teacher, (c) determine graduate students' level of comfort with the delivery system and their level of comfort with the teacher, (d) determine differences in graduate students' ratings of the effectiveness of the delivery system before a distance education session and after a distance education session, and (e) determine differences in graduate students' level of comfort with the teacher before a distance education session and after a distance education session.

The purpose of this study was to identify a selected set of perceived indicators of institutional quality for Bible colleges accredited by the Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges (AABC). From the literature, 67 indicators of institutional quality in higher education and Bible colleges were identified and collected in a questionnaire, the Inventory of Determinants of Quality for Bible Colleges (IDQBC). The IDQBC was mailed to Bible college presidents, faculty members, alumni, and alumnae representing all 73 Bible colleges in the United States accredited by the AABC. Of the 448 surveys mailed, 309 were returned for a response rate of 69%. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) procedure was executed for each of the 67 IDQBC indicators to determine if the group means of the four study groups were significantly different. Of the 67 indicators evaluated, 12 were found to have significant differences among the study groups at the .01 level. Therefore, the study groups were in agreement as to the relative weight they assigned to 55 of the 67 indicators. Of these 55 indicators, 46 were rated as important or very important when considering the quality of a Bible college, while 9 were rated as less important when considering the quality …

This research sought to ascertain whether differences exist in the levels of student-faculty interactions between students taught by part-time and full-time faculty. Differences in the interactions of students with faculty were examined for four types of content (a) course-related, (b) intellectual, (c) career planning, and (d) informal socializing; for both in-class and out-of-class.

In the last several years, there has been an interest in graphical user interfaces as compared with character user interfaces. The "mouse" is the device most closely associated with graphical user interfaces. Key strokes are more closely associated with character user interfaces. Given these associations, is there a preference for the keyboard or for the mouse as an input device? The determination of user preference was reduced to the determination of preference of key strokes or mouse clicks for selection of main menu items. The subjects, university students working with Microsoft Works by Microsoft Corporation, copyright 1987-1989, were learning how to use application software. While Microsoft Works was running, tracking software recorded every user key stroke and mouse click, together with data about these key strokes and mouse clicks. From the analysis of these data, common preference for the means of menu item selection was determined.

The problem of this study concerned the relationship between the academic achievement of students in Jordan state universities and the socioeconomic status (SES) of their families. A survey composed of questions regarding demographics, SES background, cultural factors, and accumulated grade point average (GPA) was administered by four Jordanian professors in four state universities in Jordan. Of the 620 surveys made, there were 609 usable surveys analyzed using the Statistical Package of Social Science SPSS/PC+. Data were sorted so that families' SES variables, namely fathers' and mothers' income, occupation, and education, and students' GPA were identified on a 9-point ordinal scale. Pearson's chi-square was used to determine whether relationships existed between parents' SES and with students' GPA. Spearman's correlation was also used to determine the direction and strength of the relationships. The same data were then compressed from 9 to a 3-point ordinal scale and were used to determine the relationship between studendts' GPA and their parents1 SES. For this purpose a one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used. Five additional related questions concerned relationship between degree of religious commitment of parents, number of siblings, parents' kinship, parents1 educational aspiration, and reason for parents' educational aspiration, and students' GPA were identified …

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, …

Significant passages in Alice Walker's writings give evidence of archetypal patterns from Carl Jung and feminine archetypal patterns from Annis Pratt. Since a knowledge of archetypal patterns can influence the total understanding of aspects of Walker's writings, a study of these patterns in the undergraduate classroom benefits the student and opens up another system of analyzing writings, particularly writings by African-American women.

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.

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 purposes of this study were to: (a) analyze subjects' responses from Form F of the Standardized Bible Content Tests of the American Association of Bible Colleges by factor analysis and the Rasch measurement model and (b) determine dimensionality of Form F, determine the correlation to the Literal, Anti-literal, Mythological Scales, and determine the best criterion-referenced test design of Form F using Rasch measurement procedures. Volunteers from a purposefully selected sample of nine colleges from the American Association of Bible Colleges participated in the study. One research instrument with five demographic questions, the Standardized Bible Content Test Form F, and the Literal, Anti-literal, and Mythological Scales was administered to 179 volunteer graduating seniors. Frequencies and percentages of responses were computed for the demographic questions. Mean scores on the Literal, Anti-literal, and Mythological Scales were computed for gender and religious affiliation. Principal components analysis of Form F with varimax rotation and list-wise deletion of missing data was used to assess the dimensionality of Form F. Correlations between scores on the Literal, Anti-literal and Mythological Scales and scores from the principal components analysis of Form F were computed. Dunn's multiple comparison procedures were used to test for statistical significance. Rasch-Model measurement analysis …

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 study was undertaken: (a) to categorize the contents of educational computing articles using a taxonomy developed by Knezek, Rachlin, and Scannell (1988), (b) to examine the trends in educational computing subject matter addressed in community/junior college journals between 1977 and 1991, and (c) to identify and analyze specific characteristics of contributing authors and their employing institutions which might explain writing and publication biases.

One of the most important skills of a pianist is the ability to read at sight. Because there are so many areas of piano study to address, sight-reading is overlooked either out of frustration or simple neglect. However, if acquisition of this skill is neglected, it will be difficult for a pianist to ever attain his full potential. For a pianist, sight-reading is one area that strengthens all others. The purposes of this study were to secure data concerning teaching sight-reading to undergraduate piano majors, to identify methods and techniques in current use in the instruction of sight-reading, to determine the extent of keyboard and computer-assisted learning technology usage within sight-reading instruction, to identify more effective methods and techniques being used to teach sight-reading, and to search for ways to enhance sight-reading instruction, including the utilization of recent computer technology applications in education and learning. The method used was survey research with a questionnaire sent to 168 randomly selected NASM colleges and universities. Response rate was 49.4 percent. The questionnaire, designed by the researcher, sought to ascertain the status of sight-reading instruction in these colleges and universities and to endeavor to determine the extent, if any, keyboard and computer-assisted learning …

The study attempted to determine the relationship between student evaluation of instruction and institutional performance ratings with the following predictors: faculty job satisfaction, faculty attitudes toward the evaluation process, faculty attitudes toward factors associated with the evaluation process, and faculty characteristics.

This study identified determinants existing within the academic environment of professional education faculty that influence the development and implementation of an information technology system to support their professional endeavors. Such a system would encourage these faculty to integrate technology into their curriculum and, consequently, produce teacher graduates who could employ information technology effectively in teaching. This study used a field survey research design with a mailed questionnaire. Both institutional and personal demographic factors were examined. The population exhibited a high level of homogeneity. This study indicated that ease of use, reliable operation, and capability to integrate technology into their personal work style were the most important concerns of faculty members. These factors reduce the emotional and intellectual costs of using technology.

The purpose of this study was to determine the business communication needs and problems of women in entry-level, middle, and upper management positions in Texas. A questionnaire was completed by sixty-eight female managers (twenty-one entry-level; forty middle; and seven upper). Female managers were asked to indicate the frequency of use and the importance of fourteen types of written and seven types of oral business communication, the importance of twenty-seven skills or knowledge, and the frequency with which they consider thirty-two skills or knowledge as problem areas. Data were also collected for the same number of male managers and were used to further interpret and complement the data on female managers. Results for female managers as a total group and male managers as a total group were evaluated by performing chi-square tests.

The attitudes toward the integration of faith and discipline of full-time faculty members at five selected Southern Baptist colleges and universities which are members of the Christian College Coalition were explored for this study. The integration of faith and discipline is a concept unique to Southern Baptist higher education. Arthur Walker, Jr., of the Education Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention defines the concept as referring to the mission of the institution, the personal faith of faculty members, and the professional involvement and interaction of faculty members with their students, regardless of disciplines. Since little information exists on faculty attitudes toward this concept, data were collected through a survey instrument on three dimensions of integration: professorial integration in the classroom, professorial integration in and out of the classroom, and institutional integration of faith and discipline.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate metabolic, cardiorespiratory, and perceptual responses during recumbent cycle ergometry performed at various seat back angles and different work rates. Healthy college-aged men performed steady-state exercise at two work rates, 100 watts (n=46) and 150 watts (n=26), using five back seat angles, 90, 105, 120, 135, and 150 degrees. The results of this study suggest that recumbent seat back angles of 135 to 150 degrees are associated with lower metabolic and cardiorespiratory stress during rest and submaximal exercise than more upright positions. The reduced stress at these angles is accompanied by lower perceptions of exertion and improved seating comfort. The failure of the base-line correction for resting V0 2 to remove the effect of seat back angle implies that the reduced physiological stress associated with these positions is due to reasons other than attenuated resting metabolic costs. It is concluded that the selection of recumbent seat back angles between 135 and 150 degrees can result in improved efficiency, reduced physiological stress, diminished perceptions of exertion, and increased seating comfort.