The purpose of the study was to investigate the leadership role of the Texas Bandmasters Association (1920-1997) in the development of the band program in Texas. It sought to determine TBA's effect on the band movement in Texas, and ascertain how the TBA has contributed to the emphasis on performance focus that is associated with the Texas band tradition. In doing so, the study also provided information regarding the association's goals, purposes, activities, and contributions during the time period under investigation. The historical data for the study was compiled from documentary sources and personal interview. Documentary sources included minutes of meetings from 1920-1997, information contained in various periodicals including the Southwestern Musician combined with the Texas Music Educator, and a nearly complete set of clinic-convention programs. Historical data from past researchers, including several masters theses and doctoral dissertations, and tapes and transcripts of interviews conducted by past researchers, as well as interviews conducted by this researcher, were also utilized. Much of the historical data for the study was located at the Texas Music Educators Association archives, housed at the association headquarters in Austin, Texas. The researcher identified five periods of the association's history. In addition to developing a historical chronology, …

The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of the comorbidity of emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) and speech/language disorders among those students identified as under The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act criteria as emotionally disturbed and speech impaired. The literature reviewed included clinical and school settings that examined a cooccurrence of language disorders in the EBD population. Other research reported a lack of routine involvement of speech/language therapists in the assessment of the EBD population. Implications from clinical studies suggested a need for greater attention to language disorders in a multi- and interdisciplinary assessment. This study investigated the prevalence of the dual occurrence of EBD and speech/language disorders in Grades 2 through 6 in Texas schools in light of the known research. Relationships in ethnicity and socioeconomic status were examined using chi-square test of independence. Aggregate data were obtained from the database of the Texas Pupil Information Management System and from survey questionnaire responses provided by speech therapists in selected districts. The literature review focused on the impact of language in the development of appropriate personal interactions and communication skills, especially those relevant to pragmatic language factors and the implications of language competency in successful personal living and career …

The commercial value for Bed and Breakfasts and Country Inns did not kept pace with other lodging establishments. Lodging real estate investment trusts (REITs) grew in the 1990's by acquiring hotels and motels but not the smaller Inns. This study investigated what sale terms and conditions an Inn owner would sell their property to a REIT. The study examined what conditions an innkeeper would manage the property for the REIT once the sale was closed. This study concluded that a REIT was not a feasible exit strategy for Inn owners.

This syllabus includes both lecture notes and laboratory activities for a two-semester anatomy and physiology community college course. The syllabus is based on a 16-week semester that is comprised of a three-hour lecture section and a one-hour laboratory class each week. Both the lecture course and laboratory are necessary to fulfill the requirement for anatomy and physiology. Laboratory activities coincide with lectures to enhance understanding of each topic by providing visual and hands-on experiments for the concepts learned in the lecture. Laboratory quizzes will be given each week to help students maintain a working knowledge of the material learned in the laboratory. This course is appropriate for the typical anatomy and physiology student and should benefit both students who plan to major in biology and also those who are non-biology majors. Because subject matter in anatomy and physiology is quite difficult, the importance of attendance and good study skills is stressed.

Implementations of information technology solutions to address specific information problems are only successful when the technology is utilized. The antecedents of technology use involve user, system, task and organization characteristics as well as externalities which can affect all of these entities. However, measurement of the interaction effects between these entities can act as a proxy for individual attribute values. A model is proposed which based upon evaluation of these interaction effects can predict technology utilization. This model was tested with systems being implemented at a pediatric health care facility. Results from this study provide insight into the relationship between the antecedents of technology utilization. Specifically, task time provided significant direct causal effects on utilization. Indirect causal effects were identified in task value and perceived utility constructs. Perceived utility, along with organizational support also provided direct causal effects on user satisfaction. Task value also impacted user satisfaction in an indirect fashion. Also, results provide a predictive model and taxonomy of variables which can be applied to predict or manipulate the likelihood of utilization for planned technology.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of mode and intensity on VO2 kinetics in the severe intensity domain. Seventeen participants completed 3-7 tests each on a cycle ergometer and treadmill. For each test, Tfatigue, VO2max, Tmean response, VO2GAIN, TVO2max and T@VO2max were determined. Linear regression techniques were used to describe the relationship between TVO2max and Tfatigue . VO2max values were higher in running. The VO2 response profile was faster for running than cycling and faster at higher intensities. The faster VO2 response in running may be associated with larger active muscle mass or differences in muscle activation patterns. The faster response at higher intensities may suggest that VO2 response is driven by O2 demand.

The results of neuropsychological tests are often used by clinicians to make important decisions regarding a demented patient's ability to competently and/or independently perform activities of daily living. However, the ecological validity of most neuropsychological instruments has yet to be adequately established. The current study examined the relationship between neuropsychological test performance and functional status in 42 individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. A comprehensive battery of cognitive tests was employed in order to assess a wide range of neuropsychological abilities. Functional status was measured through the use of both a performance-based scale of activities of daily living (The Direct Assessment of Functional Status; Loewenstein et al., 1989) as well as by a caregiver/informant-based rating scale (Instrumental Activities of Daily Living; Lawton & Brody, 1969). Findings suggest that neuropsychological functioning is moderately predictive of functional status. Memory performance was the best predictor of functional status in most ADL domains, followed by executive functioning and visuospatial abilities.

Smelser's theory of collective behavior holds that people join radical social movements because they experience strain. Among the most serious strains are anxieties that relate to one's social status and the roles that correspond to it. A social movement arises as a means of coping with these anxieties. Militia presence and activity on the Internet (especially Usenet) is a phenomenon that can be studied within the framework of Smelser's theory. Militia watchers contend that those who join the militias have experienced the kinds of strain to which Smelser refers. A content analysis of Internet traffic of U.S. militias provides a test of the general thesis outlined above. By analyzing Internet sites it is possible to examine whether militiamen have experienced strain, and whether the strain, together with other factors, influence an individual's decision to join the militia. This dissertation was the first sociological study of American militias on the Internet and the first in which militias from all regions of the country was studied. Information was gathered on 171 militiamen who joined 28 militias. A qualitative analysis of militia web sites and Usenet traffic (n=1,189 online documents) yielded answers to seven research questions. Most militiamen studied experienced some form of …

Texas law regarding the legal status of women and their property rights developed from the mingling of Spanish and English laws. Spanish laws regarding the protection of women's rights developed during the centuries-long Reconquest, when the Spanish Christians slowly took back the Iberian Peninsula from the Moorish conquerors. Women were of special importance to the expansion of Spanish civilization. Later, when Spain conquered and colonized the New World, these rights for women came, too. In the New World, women's rights under Spanish law remained the same as in Spain. Again, the Spanish were spreading their civilization across frontiers and women needed protection. When the Spanish moved into Texas, they brought their laws with them yet again. Archival evidence demonstrates that Spanish laws in early Texas remained essentially unchanged with regard to the status of women. Events in the history of England caused its legal system to develop in a different manner from Spain's. In England, the protection of property was the law's most important goal. With the growth of English common law, husbands gained the right to control their wives's lives in that married women lost all legal identity. When the English legal system crossed the Atlantic and took root …

To further facilitate mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence analysis for human identity testing, a better understanding of its mutation rate is needed. Prior to the middle 1990's the mutation rate applied to a forensic or evolutionary analysis was determined by phylogenetic means, This method involved calculating genetic distances as determined by amino acid or DNA sequence variability within or between species. The mutation rate as determined by this method ranged from 0.025-0.26 nucleotide substitutions/ site/ myr (million years). With the recent advent of mtDNA analysis as a tool in human identity testing an increased number of observations have recently come to light calling into question the mutation rate derived from the phylogenetic method. The mutation rate as observed from forensic analysis appears to be much higher than that calculated phylogenetically. This is an area that needs to be resolved in human identity testing. Mutations that occur within a maternal lineage can lead to a possible false exclusion of an individual as belonging to that lineage. A greater understanding of the actual rate of mutation within a given maternal lineage can assist in determining criteria for including or excluding individuals as belonging to that lineage. The method used to assess the mutation …

This study related college students' remembered early relationships with parents to their depression symptoms and to dependent and self-critical subjective feelings. Undergraduates (N = 217, 118 female, 99 male) provided information regarding their current level of depression, overall functioning, subjective feelings of depression (Depressive Experiences Questionnaire), negative thoughts, interpersonal functioning, and recollections of their parents' behavior and attitudes. Depression symptoms were related to dependent and self-critical feelings and to recalled low parental care and high parental control. However, for women, paternal affection and, for men, paternal control, were unrelated to depression symptoms. Other results are inconclusive but, overall, provide evidence for the usefulness of Blatt's theory in assessing depression via dependent and self-critical subjective feelings.

This study used an experimental design and a direct test of recall to provide data about teacher immediacy and student cognitive learning. Four hypotheses and a research question addressed two research problems: first, how verbal and nonverbal immediacy function together and/or separately to enhance learning; and second, how immediacy affects cognitive learning in relation to student motivation. These questions were examined in the context of video instruction to provide insight into distance learning processes and to ensure maximum control over experimental manipulations. Participants (N = 347) were drawn from university students in an undergraduate communication course. Students were randomly assigned to groups, completed a measure of state motivation, and viewed a 15-minute video lecture containing part of the usual course content delivered by a guest instructor. Participants were unaware that the video instructor was actually performing one of four scripted manipulations reflecting higher and lower combinations of specific verbal and nonverbal cues, representing the four cells of the 2x2 research design. Immediately after the lecture, students completed a recall measure, consisting of portions of the video text with blanks in the place of key words. Participants were to fill in the blanks with exact words they recalled from the videotape. …

The Great Depression elucidated the shortcomings of the banking system and its control by Wall Street. The creation of the Federal Reserve System in 1913 was insufficient to correct flaws in the banking system until the Banking Acts of 1933 and 1935. A.P. Giannini, the American-Italian founder of the Bank of America and Mormon Marriner S. Eccles, chairman of Federal Reserve Board (1935-1949), from California and Utah respectively, successfully worked to restrain the power of the eastern banking establishment. The Banking Act of 1935 was the capstone of their cooperation, a bill that placed open market operations in the hands of the Federal Reserve, thus diminishing the power of the New York Reserve. The creation of the Federal Housing Act, as orchestrated by Eccles, became a source of enormous revenue for Giannini. Giannini's wide use of branch banking and mass advertising was his contribution to American banking. Eccles's promotion of compensatory spending and eventual placement of monetary control in the hands of the Federal Reserve Board with Banking Act of 1935 and the Accord of 1951 and Giannini's branch banking diminished the likelihood of another sustained depression. As the Bank of America grew, and as Eccles became more aggressive in …

This thesis examines existing curricula at colleges and universities about sustainability and uses results to develop an introductory post secondary course curriculum. The proposed course is organized around three major elements - - science, philosophy, and economics - - all integral to understanding sustainability. Materials needed to teach the proposed 3-semester hour course including syllabus, teaching modules, transparencies, handouts, and exams were developed. Suggestions on how to teach a one-semester hour course on sustainability and a workshop on sustainability are also presented. The following research and curriculum development was a project established and funded by the Texas Energy Office, Renewable Resources and Sustainability Program.

The recruitment and retention of teachers demand attention with estimates of two million new teachers needed in the next decade. Hiring under qualified teachers necessitates adequate induction programs. Development of a recommendation for a teacher induction program comprises the purpose of the study. The recommended induction and support program addresses the activities perceived as valuable by both mentors and mentees. The researcher describes the mentor programs currently in place in Region XI in northern Texas by surveying the mentors and mentees; of particular relevance is a determination and description of the program model in place. Data sources include the literature review and information obtained from Region XI mentors/mentees. Data shows the model in Region XI is primarily a colleague model. Mentors and mentees are matched for grade level, content area and physical proximity. Three of the most frequently occurring activities are in the category emotional support, three in logistical concerns, two in systems information, one in student management, and one in instructional support. Mentees believe those activities associated with classroom management and organization and developing confidence and self-esteem are most important. Mentors concur. Specific recommendations for structuring a comprehensive beginning teacher induction and support program include reexamining the program currently …

This research examines the effects of task interspersal and density of reinforcement on several behaviors of an autistic 6-year-old boy during the performance of a visual matching task and two auditory matching tasks. Experiment 1 investigated the effects of interspersing high and low accuracy tasks on correct matching responses, positions of matching responses, looking away, and self-injurious behavior (SIB). The effects of interspersed trials were evaluated using an ABAB multiple treatments design. Results indicated that interspersed trials produced slightly more correct responses during the visual matching task; however, correct responses decreased during the other two tasks. The use of interspersed trials also decreased looking away from the stimuli and SIB. Experiment 2 evaluated the effects of reinforcement density apart from task interspersal. Two conditions, reinforce-corrects-only and reinforce-all-responses, were compared in Experiment 2. Correct responses increased slightly for all three tasks during the reinforce-all-responses condition. Looking away and SIB were very infrequent throughout Experiment 2.

Spontaneously active monolayer neuronal networks cultured on photoetched multimicroelectrode plates (MMEPs) offer great potential for use in studying neuronal networks. However, there are many problems associated with frequent, long-term use of MMEPs. The major problems include (1) polysiloxane insulation deterioration and breakdown, (2) and loss of gold at the gold electroplated indium-tin oxide (ITO) electrodes. The objective of this investigation was to correct these major problems. Quality control measures were employed to monitor MMEP fabrication variables. The phenotypes of polysiloxane degradation were identified and classified. Factors that were found to contribute most to insulation deterioration were (1) moisture contamination during MMEP insulation, (2) loss of the quartz barrier layer from excessive exposure to basic solutions, and (3) repetitive use in culture. As a result, the insulation equipment and methods were modified to control moisture-dependent insulation deterioration, and the KOH reprocessing solution was replaced with tetramethylguanidine to prevent damage to the quartz. The problems associated with gold electroplating were solved via the addition of a pulsed-DC application of gold in a new citrate buffered electroplating solution.

Elder abuse first received national attention in 1980, as the subject of a congressional investigation. Now, 20 years later, establishing successful strategies of identification, subsequent intervention, and prevention of abuse is of paramount importance; but progress toward this goal is hindered by lack of consensus as to the definition of elder abuse, and the use of vague, confusing, and sometimes contradictory terms in its discussion. In this paper, both social research and professional approaches and legal approaches to the definition of elder abuse are surveyed, as are definitions formulated for the National Elder Abuse Incidence Study conducted by the National Center on Elder Abuse. The continuing need for a universal or standard definition is emphasized.

This study is an investigation of the perceived attitudinal differences between administrators and faculty toward research and teaching at three Saudi Arabian universities, King Saud University (KSU), King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), and the Islamic University (IU). The researcher also investigated the effect of several variables, such as rank, university, and academic field on administrators and faculty members' attitudes toward teaching and research. Little Attention has been given to studies that examine the differences between faculty and administrators with regard to their attitudes toward the priorities of teaching and research in Saudi Arabian institutions. Also, little research has been conducted regarding the effects of rank and academic field on faculty attitudes in Saudi Arabian institutions. The author used a mail survey and collected 518 useable responses from a total of 710 questionnaires distributed. Factor analysis, MANCOVA, MANOVA, and ANOVA were the statistical methods employed in data analysis. Five attitudes were identified as a result of factor analysis: (a) attitudes toward teaching; (b) attitudes toward research; (c) mission; (d) promotion; and (e) interest. Results indicated that there was a significant difference between faculty and administrators regarding teaching and resea4rch. Administrators showed stronger attitudes toward teaching than faculty at …

Document that details the conception, evolution and conclusions of a body of work consisting of seven prints executed in the printmaking technique of intaglio printing in the manner of the state print. The work is discussed by explaining the visual and conceptual associations that occur in an "Alice In Wonderland" manner, where the initial idea is paired with seemingly unrelated topics to establish a progressive visual language. This language is further supported by discussing a comparative of the state print with the idea of the sketchbook as a tool of thought generation and elaboration. The technical aspects of intaglio and the choice of techniques utilized are discussed to support this comparison. How the quality of the prints reflects the quality of the sketchbook and how these techniques combine with the conceptual reasoning, which result in the body of work. Findings for the work are based on three questions that deal with the progression of conceptual reasoning, predictability of recurring ideas and the intentions of the technical choices made.

Condom trace evidence must not be overlooked in sexual assault cases; understanding the chemical and physical characteristics of condoms is imperative if condoms are to be useful evidence. Previous research shows that condom identification is possible, but it is equally important to evaluate durability of condom residues versus time. Using FT-IR, this study examined vaginal swabs from subjects who self-sampled at intervals for up to 72 hours after having intercourse with a condom. This study investigated whether age and the stage of the menstrual cycle affected the durability of residues in the vagina over time. This study revealed that condoms containing nonoxynol-9, silicone-based lubricants, and particulates provide valuable information for identification, and that nonoxynol-9 specifically withstands the vaginal environment for up to 72 hours. Additionally, age and menstrual cycle both appeared to have an effect on the durability of residues although larger sample size is desirable.

The graying of America will have implications for all areas of society, especially the delivery of long-term care services. Many older individuals are aging in place, a phenomenon that is apparent at Dickinson Place, a church-sponsored low-income housing property for the elderly in Dallas, Texas, where the average age of residents has risen from 65 in the early 1970s to 78 in 1999. This change has prompted the board of directors to review the facility's mission, its physical plant, and the services it provides for strategic planning purposes, to ensure that Dickinson Place can continue to meet the needs of its residents both now and in the future.

Gunther Schuller is credited with coining the term Third Stream, meaning compositions where twentieth-century art music forms exist simultaneously with jazz. Furthermore, Schuller specifically states in the liner notes to the debut recording of Eine Kleine Posaunenmusik "The work is not a Third Stream piece." Yet the concerto alludes to jazz through a multitude of slide glissandi and plunger mute effects, Solotone mute passages, specific references to the jazz trombone styles of Tommy Dorsey and Lawrence Brown, musical quoting or indirect reference, and the use of a walking bass line in Movement V, Finale. What makes one piece Third Stream and another simply a modern composition with jazz implications? Is Third Stream primarily a compositional designation or a performance practice stipulation? How does a celebrated trombone soloist inspire and collaborate with a distinguished composer in the creation of a major work? The somewhat conspicuous title, Eine Kleine Posaunenmusik, seems to point towards Mozart's famous string serenade Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. What connection to Mozart, if any, does Schuller's title suggest? All of these questions are elucidated in this study through careful investigation and research of Gunther Schuller's Eine Kleine Posaunenmusik. New interviews with John Swallow and Gunther Schuller are included.

Although humor is a generally accepted part of everyday life for humans, its existence, importance, and positive influence on older persons are often underestimated. The purposes of this study are to determine whether humor is a normal experience for nursing home residents, enhancing their activities of daily living, and whether it plays a role in contributing to their psychological well-being. The study includes a discussion of research on humor, particularly as it relates to the elderly and the aging process; analysis and comparisons based on interviews with residents on the subject of humor and review of their psychological state as evaluated by the MDS 2.0 nursing facility assessment; individual case studies, and anecdotes illustrating the beneficial contributions humor brings to the lives of nursing home residents.