College Students' Preference of Computer Input Device: Keyboard versus Mouse (open access)

College Students' Preference of Computer Input Device: Keyboard versus Mouse

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.
Date: May 1994
Creator: Pickard, Stanley R. (Stanley Ray)
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Undergraduate Teaching of Archetypal Patterns in the Writings of Alice Walker (open access)

The Undergraduate Teaching of Archetypal Patterns in the Writings of Alice Walker

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.
Date: May 1994
Creator: Linn, Linda S. (Linda Salmon)
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Study of Factors of Creativity in Three Selected Fields of Study (open access)

A Study of Factors of Creativity in Three Selected Fields of Study

The purposes of the study are to identify factors of creativity which have been revealed in the fields of personality and cognitive theory, art education, and science, and to formulate a base for a theory of creativity.
Date: May 1973
Creator: Schutz, Edward E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
South-East Asia College: History, Development, Problems, and Issues Related to Achieving University Status (open access)

South-East Asia College: History, Development, Problems, and Issues Related to Achieving University Status

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, …
Date: May 1994
Creator: Chaowichitra, Jiravadee
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Investigation of Certification in Computer Science as a Teaching Field in Secondary Schools in the United States (open access)

An Investigation of Certification in Computer Science as a Teaching Field in Secondary Schools in the United States

The purpose of this study was to investigate the status of computer science teacher certification in the United States. Methods used included a survey of chief teacher certification officers in all fifty states to determine the status of each state concerning the certification of high school computer science teachers and a survey of forty selected leaders in the field of computer science education to determine the current and future status of computer science education and to identify the courses most appropriate for computer science teacher training programs. Status reports on all fifty states were presented. Summaries for the states that offer certification in computer science as a field by itself and as a part of another subject field were provided. Five state-approved computer science certification programs were reviewed.
Date: May 1983
Creator: Taylor, Harriet G. (Harriet George)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Technology: A Significant Factor for Developing Education (open access)

Technology: A Significant Factor for Developing Education

The problem to which this study is addressed is that of education in a technological age. The principal concern is for the recognition of technology in developing general education for the student with particular reference to industrial arts education. The purposes of the study are to assess technology's significance for education, concepts of education which postulate technology as significant, and the impact of technology on education. Finally, the study discusses critically the implications of these assessments for industrial arts education. Four categories of sources provide the data: the history and philosophy of technology, social sciences, the work of generalists, and education. Selection of data includes both common and divergent viewpoints of facts and judgments. The data are formed into a composite structure of ideas which have implications for education in a technological world.
Date: May 1982
Creator: Herrington, Glen D. (Glen Dale)
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Comparison of Recall by University Bible Students After Discussion and After Self-Study (open access)

A Comparison of Recall by University Bible Students After Discussion and After Self-Study

Recall of expository prose after one of two learning techniques was determined. Pearson correlation did not discover a significant difference between the recall writings of the examinees who studied by discussion and those who studied by underlining. The significance of the difference between two proportions found that the group which underlined recalled significantly better than the group which discussed what they had read. This highly significant difference was almost identical when all synonyms from the Turbo Lightning computer program were considered correct recall and analyzed by the significance of the difference between two proportions.
Date: May 1987
Creator: Stovall, Johnny Harold
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Development and Interpretation of Several Symbolic Models of Thought (open access)

The Development and Interpretation of Several Symbolic Models of Thought

Philosophical and physiological investigations define thought to be the result of thinking. psychological Inquiry has mainly focused on discovery of the mechanisms and topology of thought. Philosophical Inquiry either has explored the mind-body problem or has analyzed the linguistics of the expression of a thought. However, neither has Investigated adequately phenomenal characteristics of thought Itself, the Intermediary between the production and the expression of a thought. The use of thought to analyze phenomenal characteristics of thought engenders a paradox. If the expression of thought requires finite series of linked words with rules governing syntax, then analysis of both the thought and the expression of the thought must necessarily transcend the linguistic level. During the last century many examples of logical paradoxes In linguistics of thought have been given. The culminating difficulty of dealing with a finite structure, a characteristic of any language, Is Godel's Incompleteness Theorem, which says in essence that in order to render all decisions about a finite system requires the use of material outside the system. Thus, a potentially complete interpretation of thought must use some technique which is basically non-linguistic . Wittgenstein proposed such a method with his "Picture theory. " This technique solves the major …
Date: May 1986
Creator: Keyton, Michael M. (Michael Murray)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Sociology Faculty in Texas Public Community Colleges: An Exploration in the Sociology of Teaching (open access)

Sociology Faculty in Texas Public Community Colleges: An Exploration in the Sociology of Teaching

The research problem was to develop a comprehensive, descriptive profile on full-time sociology faculty employed by public community colleges in the State of Texas in terms of demographic characteristics, academic and professional preparation, and teaching and other professional practices. A forty-three item questionnaire was sent to the population under investigation. By November of 1982, eightytwo (80.4 percent) of the 102 instructors contacted had responded.
Date: May 1983
Creator: Semones, James King, III
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Objectives of Basic Political Science Courses in Texas Institutions of Higher Education as Perceived by Instructors of the Courses (open access)

The Objectives of Basic Political Science Courses in Texas Institutions of Higher Education as Perceived by Instructors of the Courses

The State of Texas requires the completion of all six semester hours of government for graduation from a public college, but does not provide detailed guidelines regarding content, and related objectives, for these courses. Thus instructors have considerable discretion in the setting of course objectives. The problem of this dissertation, therefore, is the determination of course objectives actually set and the general orientation within political education that the objectives may reflect.
Date: May 1984
Creator: Lauch, Michael Marsh
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Follow-Up Study of Master's Degree Graduates in Physical Education at North Texas State University: 1965-1976 (open access)

A Follow-Up Study of Master's Degree Graduates in Physical Education at North Texas State University: 1965-1976

This study investigates different factors related to master's degree graduates 1965-1976 in Physical Education at North Texas State University in order to gain information about the master's degree program's relevance to the subsequent career. The findings of the study support the following conclusions: 1. Approximately two-thirds of the graduates thought the program had satisfactorily prepared them for their current positions. 2. Seventy per cent of the graduates suggested there should be a core of courses required in the master's degree program in physical education. The courses most often included in the responses regarding core courses were Research Perspective in Physical Education, Thesis, Mechanical Analysis of Motor Skills, Professional Preparation in Physical Education, Administrative Problems in Physical Education, and Testing in Physical Education. 3. The greatest strengths of the master's degree program in physical education at North Texas State University as reported by the graduates were faculty, research work for students, teaching resources and courses available. 4. The greatest weakness of the master's degree program in physical education at North Texas State University as indicated by the graduates was availability of facilities. 5. The majority of the graduates suggested the following: candidates should be free to select a variety of courses, …
Date: May 1977
Creator: Oladunjoye, Matthew O.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Selected Research Studies and Professional Literature Dealing with Physiological, Socioeconomic, Psychological, and Cultural Differences Between Black and White Males with Reference to the Performance of Athletic Skills (open access)

Selected Research Studies and Professional Literature Dealing with Physiological, Socioeconomic, Psychological, and Cultural Differences Between Black and White Males with Reference to the Performance of Athletic Skills

This study was designed to accomplish an in-depth examination and documentary analysis of professional literature and scientific studies in order to identify and synthesize reported physiological, socioeconomic, psychological , and cultural differences between American black and white male athletes in the performance of selected athletic skills. The following major conclusions seem justifiable from the data which has been reported: 1) Physical differences impede or enhance athletic performance in certain athletic activities. 2) Social elements influences the choice and extent to which both races are involved in athletics. 3) Black male athletes have equal or stronger control of their emotions than white male athletes. 4) Culture and environment affect the development of traits in both races which contribute to their success in selected athletic skills. 5) How athletic skills are acquired accounts for the success both races experience in selected athletic skills. 6) A positive relationship exists between education and vocational aspiration and athletic success for white male athletes, but athletic success has independent consequences for facilitating higher levels of education for black male athletes. 7) black male athletes perform more successfully in reactive activities and white male athletes perform more skillfully in self-paces athletic activities.
Date: May 1980
Creator: Bayless, Vaurice G.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Factors Related to Travel Mode Choices in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area (open access)

Factors Related to Travel Mode Choices in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area

This study examined the factors related to travel mode choices in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area. Changes in population, life style and economy of the Dallas-Fort Worth region over the last few decades demand a careful re-examination of travel demand tools and methods. The purpose of the study was to provide an understanding of transportation modal choice in the region. Those demographic variables best predicting the choices were identified. The Home Interview Survey, a set of disaggregate data from the 19 84 North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) Regional Travel Survey, was analyzed using logistic regression. The major findings of the research indicate that about 97 percent of the travelers in the study area used private cars and 3 percent used public transit. Household income and cars-vans were significant explanatory variables. The impact of household income and number of car-vans available upon an individual's decision for travel mode choice were very important. The number of car-vans available in the household, and age of respondents were significant predictors in travel mode. Household members with incomes of $30,000 to $39,000 and those with incomes of at least $50,000 tended to use more private cars than did other income groups. Also, household …
Date: May 1988
Creator: Karimpour, Abdolmehdi
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Comparison of the Teaching of History in Teacher Colleges in the Metropolitan Region and Other Regions in Thailand (open access)

A Comparison of the Teaching of History in Teacher Colleges in the Metropolitan Region and Other Regions in Thailand

The purpose of this study is to compare and analyze the teaching of history in teachers colleges in the Metropolitan region and other regions in Thailand. Variables examined in this study include the following: salary, teaching experience, degrees held, the number of graduate credit hours in history, the number of graduate credit hours in education, attendance at professional meetings, the number of publications, membership in professional organizations, the number of hours devoted to course preparations, teaching load, and teaching behaviors. The comparison is based on geographical location of the teachers colleges by region. The survey instrument, after intensive review and validation by selected faculty both in Thailand and the United States, was distributed to the 180 history instructors in the teachers colleges in the six major regions of Thailand. The total number of responses was 138, or 76.7 per cent. The statistical procedures used in the analyses of data include frequency and percentage of responses, a chi square test of independence, t test, the Yates* correction for continuity, and Fisher's Exact Probability Test (2-tailed). The data findings from this study indicate that there is a high degree of similarity between the respondents from the Metropolitan region and other regions' history …
Date: May 1986
Creator: Ayuwathana, Suratath
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effects of Perceived Sex-Appropriateness of a Task on Performance of Selected Sports Skills (open access)

The Effects of Perceived Sex-Appropriateness of a Task on Performance of Selected Sports Skills

Recent literature reveals that sex differences in performance actually might be reflections of sex differences in perceptions about the sex-appropriateness and the masculinity and femininity of certain activities. Therefore, this study was designed to determine the effects of perceived sex-appropriateness of a task upon performance of selected sport skills.
Date: May 1983
Creator: Harris, Victoria L. (Victoria Lou)
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Effect of Ritalin on WISC-R Block Design WISC-R Coding and Bender Gestalt Developmental Scores of Hyperactive Children (open access)

The Effect of Ritalin on WISC-R Block Design WISC-R Coding and Bender Gestalt Developmental Scores of Hyperactive Children

Psychological research suggests that Ritalin reduces the rate of maladaptive behaviors in hyperactive children but does not improve their academic performance. Teachers, however, often assert that writing skills and other graphic work are improved by Ritalin. Twenty elementary school children who had been diagnosed as hyperactive and who were taking Ritalin were tested using WISC-R coding, WISC-R block design, and Bender Gestalt. Ten of the subjects were assigned to a group which was first tested when the children were off Ritalin and subsequently tested when they were on Ritalin. The sequence was reversed for the remaining ten. This procedure was designed to counterbalance the effect of practice. Direct difference t-tests indicated that there were no differences between groups regarding any of the three dependent measures. Thus, results indicate that the popular conceptions among educators regarding the efficacy of Ritalin for improving visual-motor efficiency is open to serious question.
Date: May 1986
Creator: Wall, Mark
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Comparison of Two Methods of Training Naive Users in the Use of a Microcomputer System (open access)

A Comparison of Two Methods of Training Naive Users in the Use of a Microcomputer System

The problem addressed in this study is the need for efficient and economic methods to train naive college students to operate microcomputers as a necessary step in their acquisition of computer proficiency. Two methods of training were compared. These were training by live demonstration and training by videotape. These methods were considered economically viable because each could be presented in a classroom and neither required a one-to-one student-to-computer or student-to-tutor ratio. Four sections of an introductory computer science class were used in the study. Two classes were presented each treatment. The effectiveness of the presentations was measured by means of a written quiz administered immediately after the presentation and by the number of microcomputer system operation tasks successfully completed during an individual laboratory session. The computer anxiety level of each participant was measured prior to the presentation to determine if anxiety was a factor in finding the best training method. When scores of naive users who saw the videotape were compared with the scores of naive users who saw the live demonstration, no significant differences were found. However, when novice users (those who had some previous experience with operating or programming a microcomputer) were included, the group that saw the …
Date: May 1986
Creator: Wallace, Susan Ree Heil
System: The UNT Digital Library
Personality Characteristics of Most Effective and Least Effective College Teachers in Three Church Related Universities as Measured by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (open access)

Personality Characteristics of Most Effective and Least Effective College Teachers in Three Church Related Universities as Measured by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

This study is an investigation of the personality characteristics of the Most and least effective teachers in three church-related universities in a central West Texas city. A student evaluation of instruction form was utilized to allow students in the three universities to rate teacher effectiveness in the classroom. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (Isabel Briggs-Myers, The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, 4th ed., Princeton, Educational Testing Service, 1973) was administered to those teachers who were rated both as most effective and least effective by 5,153 students. The use of this instrument, which provides a personality profile that is indicative of dominant personality characteristics (extrovert-introvert; sensing-intuitive; thinking-feeling, judging-perceptive), allows for measurement (by upper and lower quartile scores) of the differences between the personality characteristics of the most and least effective teachers in this sample.
Date: May 1984
Creator: Campbell, Montie A. (Montie Allen)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Effects of a Leisure Education Program Upon Expressed Attitudes Towards Recreation and Delinquency for Institutionalized Adolescents (open access)

Effects of a Leisure Education Program Upon Expressed Attitudes Towards Recreation and Delinquency for Institutionalized Adolescents

The social problem of juvenile delinquency and treatment efforts to alleviate this problem are introduced in this study. Literature related to theories on delinquency, institutional treatment, the role of recreation in correctional settings, and leisure education is reviewed and summarized. A basis for a leisure theory on delinquency is presented, suggesting delinquent behaviors are socially unacceptable leisure pursuits. Implications include efforts to replace delinquent behaviors with socially acceptable leisure pursuits (i.e. recreation).
Date: May 1985
Creator: Aguilar, Teresita E. (Teresita Elena)
System: The UNT Digital Library
Competencies Required for the Design and Implementation of Manufacturing Systems for Advanced Composite Structures (open access)

Competencies Required for the Design and Implementation of Manufacturing Systems for Advanced Composite Structures

The problem with which this investigation is concerned is that of identifying and prioritizing the competencies required to design and implement manufacturing systems for advanced composite structures. The classical Delphi procedure is the research method used for the conduct of this study. A five-member advisory board developed a list of seventeen categories under which the competencies would reside. In the first-round questionnaire, the seventeen categories were presented to a Delphi panel of experts who provided up to five competencies required in each category. The first-round returns provided two new categories and 973 competency statements. Duplications were eliminated and 366 competency statements remained in nineteen categories. The second, third, and fourth rounds were a reiterative rating process. The panel was asked to rate the items in the questionnaire based on their relative importance to the intent of the study. The importance rating scale included "very important," "important," "slightly important," and "unimportant." The means and interquartile ranges were calculated for each statement and provided as feedback in the successive round. Kendall's coefficient of concordance W for tied ranks was used to validate the panel consensus. The W was significant at the .01 level for each of the three rounds where rating was …
Date: May 1986
Creator: Lange, Robert Douglas
System: The UNT Digital Library
Research Productivity of Nurse Educators (open access)

Research Productivity of Nurse Educators

This study examined the research productivity of a selected group of nurse educators in the United States. Research productivity was defined as: (1) the number of past research studies conducted in relation to degree requirements, (2) the number of past research studies conducted which were not in connection with degree requirements, (3) the number of research studies that have been published, and (4) the number of ongoing research studies. The major findings and conclusions of the study are: 1. Nurse educators holding doctorates and those holding the rank of Professor are the profession's most productive researchers. 2. The majority of the present research studies is being conducted by faculty in graduate rather than undergraduate nursing programs. Many nursing programs are providing support for faculty research. However, as a collective, the research support provided by educational institutions is minimal, and only 50 per cent of the institutions use research productivity as a criterion measure for the evaluation of faculty. 3. The majority of the research has been done in connection with degree requirements. However, 72 per cent of the nurse educators who hold doctorates report that they have conducted additional research studies in the past, and 65 per cent of them …
Date: May 1980
Creator: Nieswiadomy, Rose M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Identification and Analysis of the Problems of Freshman Students According to the Mooney Problem Check List (open access)

An Identification and Analysis of the Problems of Freshman Students According to the Mooney Problem Check List

The purpose of this study was to identify the major problem areas of freshmen community college students and to determine if significant differences in problems of freshmen students existed as a variable of age, sex, or marital status. The population consisted of 674 community college students enrolled in an Orientation to College program during the fall or spring semester of 1976, 1977, 1978 or 1979. Each student was administered the Mooney Problem Check List (MPCL), College Form (1950) during the first week of enrollment at the community college. he data were analyzed in order to determine if a significant difference existed in the problem areas reported by students according to a Friedman Two-Way Analysis of Variance by Ranks. A significant difference produced by the Friedman ANOVA indicated a need to apply a Wilcoxon Matched-Pairs Signed Ranks Test in order to determine which problem areas differed significantly from one another. A Mann Whitney U Test was employed to statistically compare the problem areas of male students and female students as well as married students and single students. A Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance by ranks for k independent samples was employed to test differences in the responses of four student age …
Date: May 1981
Creator: Rode, Joe W.
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Investigation into the Effectiveness of Intelligent Tutoring on Learning of College Level Statistics (open access)

An Investigation into the Effectiveness of Intelligent Tutoring on Learning of College Level Statistics

The present research incorporated the content of basic statistics into the Artificial Intelligence Physics Tutor (ARPHY), which was used as the expert system shell, and investigated the effects of the Artificial Intelligent Statistics Tutor (ARSTAT) as a supplement to learning statistics at the college level. Two classes of an introductory educational statistics course in the Department of Educational Foundations, University of North Texas, were used in the study. The daytime class was used as the experimental group and the evening class was used as the control group. The experimental group's lecture/discussion was supplemented with ARSTAT, and the control group received only lecture/discussion. A one-way analysis of covariance was used to compare students' test scores. No significant difference was found; however, the adjusted mean score of the experimental group was slightly higher than that of the control group. A two-way analysis of covariance showed no significant main effect or interaction between gender and study technique. A second two-way analysis of covariance showed no significant interaction between the students' attitude toward statistics and the study technique used. However, the students with a statistics-positive attitude scored significantly higher on the test than students who had a negative attitude toward statistics. This study concluded …
Date: May 1989
Creator: Palitawanont, Nanta
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Faculty Orientation and Design for Writing Across the Curriculum (open access)

A Faculty Orientation and Design for Writing Across the Curriculum

A Faculty Orientation and Design for Writing Across the Curriculum is a case study of the work done to introduce the concept of writing across the curriculum at an urban community college. Emphasizing the related processes of learning, thinking, and writing, the researcher describes private interviews and analyzes transcriptions of small group meetings designed to discuss ways to encourage increased quantity and improved quality of writing in vocational and university-parallel courses on the campus. The focus of the study is the transcription of the faculty meetings where teachers reveal their methodologies and educational philosophies as they discuss ways to provide increased writing opportunities to large classes of open-door students. The culmination of the orientation project is a faculty booklet of ways to increase writing. The researcher concludes that although a writing "program" is not in place as a result of the year's work, essential groundwork for such a program is laid.
Date: May 1988
Creator: Fulkerson, Tahita N. (Tahita Niemeyer)
System: The UNT Digital Library