This dissertation develops and empirically tests a theory of political participation that posits that the local economic context moderates the effects of individuals’ socioeconomic status by influencing their prospective financial outlooks. These perceptions, in turn, affect individuals’ likelihood of engaging in various political activities. I examine the theory using indicators of economic vitality and status both for the entire population and for racial and ethnic group-specific economic conditions. This two-pronged approach allows me to assess the extent to which group-specific conditions are more salient for minority group members than are more traditional contextual (full population) measures that reflect the economic status of the entire population. Thus, such questions as whether blacks’ financial outlooks are influenced more by the visibility of black-owned businesses or by the total visibility of business activity are addressed. Hypotheses are tested using the 1992 National Election Study, the 1995 Texas Minority Survey, and economic data collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, 1992 Economic Census. Results indicate that the financial perceptions of blacks and Latinos are significantly related to levels of political activity while the financial outlooks of Asians and whites are not significantly related to their political activity.

While our schools across the United States evidently are witnessing an influx of students from diverse backgrounds, the need to address the issue of diversity among public school teachers is critical for inclusive and equitable schools. The purpose of this study was to explore and analyze Texas secondary agricultural education teachers' attitudes toward diversity inclusion in Texas secondary agricultural education programs. Using a web-based questionnaire, the researcher employed a nonproportional stratified random sampling technique, and 232 secondary agricultural education teachers participated in the study. Descriptive statistics were used for reporting the demographic and personal characteristics of respondents. Mean scores were used to assess teachers' perceptions of the benefits of diversity inclusion, perceptions of the barriers of diversity inclusion, and perceptions of proposed solutions to increase diversity inclusion in Texas secondary agricultural education programs. The sample consisted of 170 males and 45 females. The ethnic distribution of the sample was 90.5% White/European American, 6.2% Hispanic/Latino American, 1.9% Native American, 0.9% African American, and 0.5% Asian American. Respondents agreed that secondary agricultural education programs can benefit students of color and students with disabilities. Respondents also agreed that some of the barriers that prevent diversity inclusion in agricultural education include the lack of information about agricultural education, negative parental attitudes about agricultural education, and not being accepted by peers. Respondents indicated that the following is needed for all students to achieve in school: (a) educators, parents, and policymakers must develop strategies to address the different learning styles of all students; (b) agricultural educators should encourage and strive to increase students? of color membership in FFA; (c) teachers should become familiar with students of color represented in their classrooms in order to promote an atmosphere of acceptance and cooperation; and (d) agricultural educators should increase recruitment efforts to promote diversity inclusion must occur. The study also indicated that statistically significant differences in means scores existed based upon certain personal characteristics in regards to the Benefits, Barriers, and Solutions scales.

The purpose of this research is to examine the influence of perceptions of organizational politics on justice and trust. This research also deeply investigates the variables that moderate the perceptions of organizational politics-. These variables are understanding and control. This research regards 40 organizations as the research object, the valid questionnaire adds up to 1,890. The data was analyzed by statistical methods are descriptive statistic, item analysis, factor analysis, correlation analysis and hierarchicla regression analysis. The major results of this study are as following: The perceptions of organizational politics were found have a negative relationship with justice and trust. The finding also indicated that understanding and control moderated the relationship among the perceptions of organizational politics, justice and trust.

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Bakgrund: Sjuksköterskeutbildningen är treårig. I den ingår teoretisk och verksamhetsförlagd utbildning inom psykiatrisk vård. Studenter behöver förberedas med att träna för att få förmågan att möta och hantera patienter med psykisk ohälsa. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur sjuksköterskestudenter uppfattar akuta omhändertaganden av patienter på psykiatriska akuta vårdavdelningar. Metod: En kvalitativ induktiv metod valdes. Tio intervjuer med semistrukturerade intervjufrågor genomfördes med studenter under termin tre på sjuksköterskeprogram i Mellansverige. Datamaterialet analyserades med manifest innehållsanalys enligt Graneheim och Lundman (2004). Resultat: Ur analysen framkom två kategorier: sjuksköterskans arbetssituation och studentens reflektion över patientens situation. Vidare framkom fem subkategorier: speciellt att sätta gränser och vårda inom akut psykiatrisk vård, anpassa stöd och samtal, använda sig själv som ett redskap, etiska reflektioner och olika perspektiv. Konklusion: Studien visar att studenterna inte har tillräcklig teoretisk eller erfarenhetsmässig kompetens i rollen som sjuksköterskestudent på en psykaitrisk akutavdelning när de ska utföra VFU. Med  anledning av avdelningsinriktning, kort placering och akuta situationer de möts av inom psykiatrisk verksamhet, finns behov för studenterna att få mer psykiatrikunskap innan den kliniska praktiken utförs. Akuta omhändertaganden i psykiatriska situationer uppfattas därför mer sensitivt, svårförstådda och svåra att hantera av studenterna. / Background: Training to become a nurse is three years and includes theoretical and clinical training in psychiatric care. Students need to be prepared to practice to get the ability to meet and manage patients with mental illness. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine how nursing students perceive the emergency care order of patients in acute psychiatric wards. Method: A qualitative inductive method was chosen and ten interviews with semi-structured interview questions were conducted with students during the third semester in nursing programs in central Sweden. The data were analyzed by content analysis according Graneheim and Lundman (2004). Results: From the analysis revealed two categories: Nurses work situation and student reflection on the patient's situation. It was also found five subcategories: especially to set limits and take care in emergency psychiatric care, customize support and conversation, using her own as a tool, students' ethical reflections and different perspectives. Conclusion: The study shows that students do not have sufficient theoretical or experiential expertise in the role of a nursing student, in a psychiatric emergency department. The study shows that students do not have sufficient theoretical or experiential expertise in the role of a nurse, in a psychiatric emergency department. Because of the departments focus, where students are located and emergency situations they encounter in psychiatry, there is a need for students to gain more knowledge before psychiatry clinical practice is carried out. Acute psychiatric nursing care in situations perceived therefore more sensitive, difficult to understand and difficult to manage by the students.

This study focused on competencies considered important in the selection of principals from the perspectives of effective principals on the Texas–Mexico border. The competencies of effective K-12 principals included in the study were initially advanced by Marzano et al. (2005). Specifically, an attempt was made to determine which competencies are considered important, how these were assessed during the selection of effective principals, and whether differences in importance existed by school level (elementary, middle, and high school). Using purposeful sampling, the principals were selected from a list of high-performing schools from data provided by the Center of Research, Evaluation and Advancement of Teacher Education. A total of 100 principals participated in the study. Data were collected using an electronic survey and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Additionally, emerging data were analyzed using the narratives provided by the respondents in reference to other competencies and other ways the competencies were assessed during the selection process. Findings indicated that whereas all the identified competencies were endorsed to be considered in the selection of an effective school leader, 2 were the most important: communication and visibility. Next highest in importance were focus; involvement in curriculum, instruction, and assessment; and culture. Additional findings indicated 8 emerging competencies, with the premier being data-driven decision making. Findings also indicated that most of the competencies were assessed by means of two types of interviews: interview with the committee or interview with the superintendent or designee. On the other hand, some of the respondents reported the competencies were not assessed, but a few were assessed using other methods, such as checking references, a Gallup survey, and experience in the district. Some were simply appointed to the position. Findings also indicated that the endorsement of the identified competencies differed by school level to some extent. Communication was endorsed as most important by elementary and middle school principals, whereas the high school principals endorsed visibility as the most important competency to consider when hiring a principal. Finally, implications for the selection of effective principals are offered. Moreover, suggestions for further inquiry that might illuminate other aspects of the hiring process are presented. / text

Research indicates there is a gap in the implementation of online courses and programs in engineering education compared to other academic disciplines (Allen & Seaman, 2008, 2011, 2013). Using a mixed methods approach, this study collected both quantitative survey and qualitative interview data to identify which factors engineering faculty members perceived influence the implementation of online engineering courses. The survey items, based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology Model (UTAUT) (Davis, 1989; Venkatesh, Morris, Davis, & Davis, 2003), included important factors specific to engineering education as indicated the literature. The interview instrument was developed based on the significant results of the survey portion of the study. The initial survey was sent to every engineering faculty member at all 31 institutions and 125 ABET accredited engineering programs in the state of Texas, with a final response population of n=266. The findings identified three major factors that influenced the implementation of online engineering courses: online teaching experience, course development issues, and implementation of technical aspects particular to engineering in an online format. The results are discussed within the context of the literature and recommendations to address the identified factors and barriers to implementation of online engineering are provided. / text

The purpose of this research study was to capture, document and examine parents’ perceptions regarding their descriptions of the statements, “best education possible” and “school choice” in regards to the traditional and the nontraditional models for public schooling. Additionally, for this research study, traditional public schools are defined as the regular public school that serves grades P-12 with no restrictions for parents’ choice in enrollment of their child/children. Nontraditional public schools are defined as any school, public and/or private, that functions outside the boundaries of the traditional public school systems’ supervision. This body of work reflects the perspectives of 30 parents who provided their perceptions toward their personal experiences as they negotiated specific outcomes for their child’s/children’s educational achievements. By providing substantive information in the form of a satisfaction survey and personal interviews, their voices are now captured within a body of work that gives meaning to their experiences as they have described them in this research study. Through the research process, this researcher brought forward a wealth of qualitative data that were supported by a limited level of quantitative data. The findings revealed that an overwhelming majority of the parents who were surveyed where satisfied with their educational outcomes. The parents who participated in this research study provided the answers for why, and/or how these perceptions were formed, materialized, achieved, and/or sustained. As a result of the findings from this research study, a grounded theory was formed. The grounded theory reads as follows: Parents who have a minimum of a high school diploma, and/or greater and who are single and/or married with an income no less than $31,000 can achieve a satisfactory outcome as well as the best education possible for their child/children in the traditional and/or nontraditional model of schooling, where he/she is actively engaged in his/her child/children educational matriculation. Because this study was overwhelmingly represented by African-American adults, a similar study should be conducted with primarily European-American adults, and/or other racial groups that may include Asian-Americans and/or Latino-American adults. Race was cited as a factor within the review of related literature with regards to educational outcomes as well as the disparaging gap for educational advancement found among the racial groups. As a result, given all other factors are the same, the grounded theory produced from this research study could be further validated across racial lines.

This study investigated the relationship between children's environmental perceptions and their ecological actions before and after attending Earthkeepers, an earth education program. Participants were 604 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students from 14 schools in Arizona and Pennsylvania. A comparison of the environmental perceptions of participants revealed a statistically significant difference between those who undertook more and those who undertook fewer or no positive ecological actions. After the program, students who undertook more positive ecological actions, for example using less energy and fewer materials, had more pro-environmental perceptions than their counterparts. Individual interviews with 18 of the participants supported the positive relationship between environmental perceptions and ecological actions and provided further explanations for those actions.

National shortages of special education teachers exist due to increased enrollments, retirements, and teacher attrition. In the Southwest, rapid population growth also contributes to the personnel shortage. Paraprofessionals may be a promising group of potential teachers (Smith, 2003; Tillery et al, 2003; White, 2004). Little research exists concerning the perceptions of paraprofessionals about their training and interest in teaching. This study investigated the perceptions of 48 paraprofessionals concerning training experiences in one Southwestern school district. A 46-item Paraprofessional Training Questionnaire sought opinions about preparation, types of training, the alignment of training with the competencies from the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), and the extent training and length of service were related to a desire to enter the field of education. Responses were analyzed using the SPSS System (2004). Data analysis for closed-ended questions presented response distribution among categories. Descriptive statements were used to clarify, summarize, and interpret the data. Cross tabulation tables assisted in identifying relationships between specific topics and the demographic characteristics of the respondents. Seventy-two percent of paraprofessionals reported being offered training opportunities to assist their work. Eighty-three percent reported the training they received assisted them. Training opportunities varied in topic, but were aligned with the CEC knowledge and skill competencies for special education paraprofessionals.Over 53.2% of the paraprofessionals reported they were Satisfied or Very Satisfied with the training opportunities provided. However, more training opportunities were desired by both beginning and experienced paraprofessionals. Opportunities to meet with supervising teachers varied, as did attendance at training which fostered collaborate relationships with teachers. The relationship between years of service and the desire to become a special education teacher was not statistically significant. However, paraprofessionals with fewer years of service were more interested in becoming teachers. This study provides local and state educational agencies with a framework for designing a supportive and defined infrastructure for implementing competency-based training programs for paraprofessionals, supporting special education teachers, and increasing the pool of qualified special education staff in the schools. Districts may find well-designed paraprofessional training programs could assist in meeting the need for a qualified special education teacher workforce.