Self-Directed Learning Projects of Older Adults (open access)

Self-Directed Learning Projects of Older Adults

This study determined the number of self-directed learning projects undertaken by older adults and examined the motivational factors and anticipated benefits related to the learning activities. In addition, obstacles to conducting self-directed learning were identified by the respondents. A list of 20,032 names of adults, aged 50 or more years and residing in Tom Green County, Texas, was obtained from voter registration rolls and the residential rolls of four retirement complexes. Four hundred names were randomly selected to serve as the sample of the study. Of the 400 potential subjects, 120 persons agreed to be interviewed. Indepth interviews were conducted using the questions from Tough's Interview Schedule for Studying Some Basic Characteristics of Learning Projects and a probe sheet to identify obstacles to conducting self-directed learning projects. The interviews focused on the learning activities of older adults during the previous year. The 120 subjects of this study conducted a total of 239 learning projects in the previous year, an average of 1.99 self-directed learning projects per person. Ninety-five (95%) percent of the persons interviewed reported to have conducted at least one learning project in the past year. The majority of the learning projects were self-planned for the purpose of self-enjoyment …
Date: August 1989
Creator: Sears, Emma Jo Benson
System: The UNT Digital Library
Perceptions of College and University Auditors Concerning the Importance of Selected Factors Associated with Operational Auditing (open access)

Perceptions of College and University Auditors Concerning the Importance of Selected Factors Associated with Operational Auditing

The primary purpose of this study was to identify and analyze the perceptions of college and university auditors concerning the importance of selected factors associated with operational auditing. The secondary purpose was to determine whether the perceptions of certified auditors differ significantly from those of noncertified auditors. Selected factors associated with operational auditing for colleges and universities were categorized in three attribute groups—organizational, personal, and environmental. The identification of organizational and personal attributes was based mainly on concepts set forth in the Standard for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing published by the Institute of Internal Auditors (1978). Identification of environmental attributes was based on a review of the relevant literature, as well as on discussions with selected college and university auditors. Each attribute, whether categorized as organizational, personal, or environmental, was used as a basis for the identification of detailed factors associated with operational auditing. The findings of this study reveal that factors dealing with organizational attributes were perceived as considerably more favorable than were factors dealing with personal or environmental attributes. With regard to the secondary purpose of this research, a total of 14 hypotheses were developed and subjected to t-tests to determine whether the perceptions of certified …
Date: December 1988
Creator: Nikkhah-Azad, Ali
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Historical Development and Future of the National Technological University (open access)

The Historical Development and Future of the National Technological University

The National Technological University (NTU), a consortium of more than twenty American engineering schools, broadcasts courses produced at member institutions to professional engineers at corporate sites across the country. It is a nonprofit institution.begun in fall 1984 with headquarters in Fort Collins, Colorado, which offers only course work leading to the Master of Science degree in various branches of technology, or applied science. Students must be sponsored by their corporate employers who pay their tuition. This is the first systematic examination of the instructional process at an educational institution created in response to the demands of the governmental and corporate sectors' technological needs. This study includes an attempt to explore the effectiveness of that instructional process and the use of computers in distance education at NTU and implications for institutions of the future. This study focuses on distance education, corporate education, national universities and nontraditional institutions and the extent to which NTO exemplifies each of these concepts. It covers the organizational structure and methods of operation of NTU, and offers opinions of students, faculty, and other personnel associated with the institution as reflected by surveys, interviews, and the media.
Date: August 1988
Creator: Mays, Marilyn Elaine
System: The UNT Digital Library
Gender Bias in Textbooks in Selected Kinesiology Courses in Texas Colleges and Universities (open access)

Gender Bias in Textbooks in Selected Kinesiology Courses in Texas Colleges and Universities

Gender bias, as well as other forms of discrimination, have been deemed unacceptable by today's standards. Research indicates that while it is not obtrusive, gender bias in the media is pervasive and potent. Textbooks are a communication medium which not only convey the requisite knowledge of a particular subject, but also, subliminally, norms and expectations of behavior for individuals in society. These subliminal messages, sometimes termed the hidden curriculum, may serve as inhibitors of an individual's aspirations and goals. The purposes of this study, therefore, were to analyze current kinesiology literature to determine if gender bias was present and if so, was the gender of the author associated with the presence of bias. A third purpose was to compare the results of this study with previous related research.
Date: August 1991
Creator: Munt, Glada C. (Glada Carole)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Northern Minnesota Public Television: a Historical Perspective (open access)

Northern Minnesota Public Television: a Historical Perspective

Northern Minnesota Public Television is an independent, non-profit corporation operating as KAWE television on the campus of Bemidji State University in Bemidji, Minnesota. This study focuses on the lack of educational/public television in the northern section of Minnesota and develops a historical perspective of Northern Minnesota Public Television from an idea of two men until sign-on in 1980. The study describes the early beginnings, organizational structure, problems encountered, and educational philosophy. KAWE television operates on Channel 9 with a satellite station in Brainerd, Minnesota, operating on Channel 22.
Date: August 1989
Creator: Hawk, Clement Lee
System: The UNT Digital Library
Institutional Inbreeding among Mathematics Faculty in American Colleges and Universities (open access)

Institutional Inbreeding among Mathematics Faculty in American Colleges and Universities

The purpose of this research was to estimate (1) the extent to which institutional inbreeding is prevalent among mathematics faculty at colleges and universities throughout the United States; (2) the extent of institutional inbreeding among mathematics faculty at American colleges and universities classified according to institutional genre; (3) the extent of institutional inbreeding among mathematics faculty classified according to gender; and (4) the extent of institutional inbreeding among mathematics faculty in American colleges and universities classified according to regions of the country. Institutional inbreeding was defined as faculty employment at the institution from which one received the highest earned degree. An exhaustive review of the literature on inbreeding was used to develop this research. All public-supported and private-supported American universities that offer a doctorate in mathematics were identified by consulting the 1991 American Mathematical Society Professional Directory. Catalogs for the academic year 1991-1992 were requested from each institution. One-hundred sixty-seven institutions of higher education which offer the Ph.D. degree in mathematics and 5,961 faculty members were identified. The results of the analyses found a mean proportion of inbred mathematics faculty of 3.46 percent, which is one-tenth of the most recent study examining mathematics faculty. A chi-square goodness of fit test …
Date: August 1992
Creator: Stewart, G. Bryan (Gregory Bryan)
System: The UNT Digital Library