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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

This study examined the educational activities at the University of Jordan, established in 1962, which is the oldest university in the country. The study traced the historical development of the university, which emphasizes highly-qualified graduates, and analyzed some of its educational practices. Research on this subject is limited. Jordanians have written little about their educational system, and there is little evidence of foreign scholars' interest in the subject. Some researchers argued that national pride was the main reason for establishing the university, since financial resources were not available to initiate and sustain serious research. The university started in the fall semester of 1962 with 167 students and one faculty, the Faculty of Arts. Two decades later, the university had ten faculties: Commerce and Administrative Sciences, Sciences, Medical Sciences (Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy), Agriculture, Education, Law, Engineering, Sharia, and Physical Education. The total number of staff continued to increase from 7 in 1962 to 627 by 1982. The size of the physical structure increased from one building to 40 buildings with approximately 18,000 square meters in 1982. As of 1982, more than 15,253 students had graduated from the university with bachelor's, master's, and diplomas-in-education degrees. In 1972, the University of Jordan …

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 …

The purposes of the study were: to determine the relationship between class size and academic achievement among university students in first-semester calculus classes, and to compare opinions about the instructor, course, and classroom learning environment of university students in small first-semester calculus classes with those in large classes. The sample consisted of 225 university students distributed among two large and two small sections of first-semester calculus classes taught at the University of Texas at Arlington during the fall of 1987. Each of two tenured faculty members taught a large and small section of approximately 85 and 27 students, respectively. During the first week of the semester, scores from the Calculus Readiness Test (CR) were obtained from the sample and used as the covariate in each analysis of covariance of four periodic tests, a comprehensive final examination, and final grade average. The CR scores were also used in a logistic regression analysis of attrition rates between each pair of large and small sections of first-semester calculus. Three semantic differentials were used to test the hypotheses relating to student opinion of the instructor, course, and classroom learning environment. It was found that for both pairs of large and small first-semester calculus classes …

In cerebral palsied adults, the cardiovascular responses to different types of exercise have not previously been ascertained. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the blood pressure and heart rate responses of adults with cerebral palsy to static muscular contractions and to dynamic muscular contractions. Fifteen adults with cerebral palsy and 15 able-bodied adults (average age for each group = 30 years) performed a static exercise protocol and a dynamic resistance exercise protocol using each limb (or the limbs capable of meeting the requirements of the exercise protocol). Heart rate and blood pressure were assessed before, during, and after each exercise bout with each limb. During the static exercise protocol, each subject performed static contractions at 40% of maximal voluntary contraction to fatigue. The dynamic exercise protocol for each limb consisted of three 20-second bouts of hydraulic resistance exercise each of which was followed by 20 seconds of rest. No differences were found between the two groups of subjects in heart rate and blood pressure during static exercise. In dynamic exercise, however, the trend in heart rate from bout to bout differed between the groups. In addition, the cerebral palsied group's diastolic pressure was higher than that of …

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 …

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.

The purpose of this study was to determine the local economic impact of alternative state budget reductions for Texas community colleges by investigating the income losses to the Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) if state appropriations were reduced by 10, 15, and 20 percent. The objective of this study was achieved through an economic analysis of the local economy of selected MSAs and by computing the income size which was generated by selected colleges. Eight community colleges located in eight MSAs participated by answering mailed questionnaires. The model of Direct Economic Impact was applied to describe the colleges' economic impact. The model was composed of college expenditures, employee expenditures, student expenditures, and the economic multiplier. The study revealed that the selected community colleges were responsible for creating new jobs and increasing the income of the local economies. These eight colleges were responsible for increasing the income of the local economies by $294,945,560 and for creating 5,129 jobs. Reduction in state appropriations to the selected community colleges will reduce the income they produce. A state appropriation cut of 10 percent will result in a loss to the local economy of $6,153,951. A 15 percent reduction in state appropriations will cause the local …

The problem addressed in this study is how selected universities in the South and Southwest recognize and attempt to deal with alcohol use and other drug use among students. The purpose of the study was to determine current practices and policies concerning student alcohol and drug use among the 20 selected universities. The data were obtained by means of a descriptive survey questionnaire which was mailed to 20 selected universities under the jurisdiction of the Southern Regional Accrediting Board. The instrument was designed to identify practices and programs concerning student alcohol and drug use. A copy of each institution's alcohol and drug policy was requested. The content and procedures of the programs implemented by the responding institutions were reviewed, in order to evaluate the extent and degree to which they provide for the recognition, education, intervention, and treatment for students with alcohol- or drug-use problems. Results are presented in tabular form. Of the 20 major state-supported universities which were mailed questionnaires, 75% returned usable instruments. All responding institutions felt they have an alcohol or drug problem of some magnitude, and all either have, or believe they have, some kind of policy to deal with substance use by students. All of …

This study was conducted to examine the use of microcomputers and other computers by top administrators in the twenty—seven public colleges and universities in Oklahoma; to assess the impact that training and other factors have on the extent to which microcomputers are being used; and to identify trends in administrative computer usage. The survey technique was utilized in collecting the data for this study. The survey instrument was developed for use in this study from a review of the literature, an evaluation by a panel of judges, and a pilot study. The survey instrument was sent to the administrators for business, academic, and student affairs via the president of each university in the 1986 spring and summer semesters. Seventy-four of the eighty-one or 91.4 percent of the administrators responded. Following is a summary of the major findings of this study. 1. Fourteen of the seventy-four or 18.9 percent of the respondents personally use a microcomputer and 51.3 percent of the respondents have someone use a microcomputer on their behalf. 2. The most prevalent use of microcomputers is word processing; the most prevalent uses of mainframes are word processing and database management; and the majority of the respondents do not use …

The purposes of this study were to determine whether differences existed between the communication styles and teaching effectiveness, respectively, of native and non-native teaching fellows, as perceived by their undergraduate students. In addition, the study sought to determine whether a positive correlation existed between the final grades and the communication styles and teaching effectiveness, respectively, of native and non-native teaching fellows as perceived by their undergraduate students. In order to carry out the purposes of this study, six hypotheses were tested concerning the perception of native and non-native undergraduate students toward the communication style and teaching effectiveness of teaching fellows in North Texas State University.

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.

The problem of this study concerns the reduction of spasticity in physically handicapped persons with CP. The hypotheses tested were: that there would be no significant difference between the mechanical efficiency (ME) of persons with spastic CP following application of the TENS Unit and following application of the placebo unit; that there would be no significant difference between the ME of males with spastic CP, following application of the TENS Unit or the placebo unit, and the ME of females with spastic CP, following application of the TENS Unit or the placebo unit; and that there would be no significant interaction between the treatment factor and the gender category.

The problem of this study is to predict how basic design will be taught in the year 2000 in the United States of America according to the perceptions of design educators who were polled using a Delphi exercise. Basic design is an introductory course in design disciplines covering fundamental principles, components, and applications of design. This study has a twofold purpose. The first is to predict how basic design will be taught in the year 2000 to allow design educators to better prepare for the future. The second is to provide a basis for further research that might address specific areas in the future of teaching design.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …