Student involvement in the management and operation of the institution of higher education is perhaps one of the most controversial issues on college and university campuses resulting from the campus unrest in the 1960's. Many university officials, faculty and administrators have ceded long standing and exclusive controls of governance to students. The purpose of this study was to determine if student participation in campus governance activities was significantly related to student development. The study was important in approaching identification of the characteristics of students who participate in the governance process and to identify specific activities in the campus environment which enable students to master the developmental tasks isolated as factors of student development. The Student Development Task Inventory (SDTI) is a measure of a student's mastery of nine (9) developmental tasks. The Inventory was completed by sixteen (16) students who participate in campus governance activities at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) in Washington, D.C. and twenty-one (21) students who do not so participate, before and after one semester at UDC. The students were matched on the bases of sex, age, marital status, classification and major. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to compute Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) of the dependent variable (development as measured by the post-test scores of the SDTI) by each of the independent variables (sex, age, major, classification, previous experience in decision-making, and participation in governance activities at UDC) with each dependent variable pre-test score as a covariable. Since norm data were not provided on the SDTI, a Multiple Classification Analysis (MCA) procedure was used to produce a grand mean score for the dependent variable with covariables and the independent variables. The ANCOVA procedure showed that differences in the two groups existed prior to the analysis. The correlation did account for a significant relationship between the dependent and independent variables in three (3) developmental tasks: Developing Instrumental Autonomy, Developing Intimate Relationships with the Opposite Sex, and Developing Mature Life-Style Plans. The students who participate in governance activities showed more development than their counterparts on only four (4) of the nine (9) tasks: Emotional Autonomy, Appropriate Educational Plans, Instrumental Autonomy, and Mature Career Plans. The data strongly suggest that the characteristics of the urban, non-traditional student may make the SDTI invalid for use with this population. The Inventory was validated on a traditional student population (campus residents, 18-23 years of age, predominantly suburban or rural, single, dependent upon parents for financial support). The UDC student profile (Spring 1979) indicates its students are distinct from traditional students (they dwell in the city, are 24 and older, predominantly urban, 61 percent are single, 20 percent are married, they are employed full- or part-time and are self-supporting). The principal finding of the study was that student participation in campus governance activities is significantly related to student development on some developmental tasks, and not significantly related on others. Though the treatment of black liquor to remove lignin and production of carboxylated lignin for copolymerization seem practical, the microbial treatment of lignin in general is economically unattractive at present. / Ed. D.

The association between leadership, influence and power is well developed in the literature. However, there is a notable lack of research on youth leadership development, especially as it pertains to their exercise of influence. This paper was borne out of the need to explore how youth - emerging adults’ males in particular - exercise influence as a leadership competency within their voluntary leadership positions. Using semi-structured face-to-face interviews and the Critical Incident Technique (CIT), the research primarily focused on influence tactics and how they were employed. This included assessing the related power bases and principles of influence that were manifest, as well as the learning and development that occurred when reflecting on the outcome of the influence process. Data was analysed using an open coding procedure. Incidents explored in the study were primarily interpersonal in nature. This was reminiscent of lateral influence that characterised the peer to peer contextual environment of the study. The study found that in their influence pursuits, emerging adults followed a rational approach to influence. The distinguishable power bases and their relative importance in application were context dependent (Krause and Kearney, 2006:59-86). In addition, various proactive influence tactics were employed with a leaning towards those perceived as positive, honest and non-manipulative in application, which was congruent with Head Student role expectations and the culture of the organization. The utilization of social media as a communication platform from which various tactics could be launched was a novel and notable finding. Consequently, the results were presented primarily under two themes, exploring how tactics of influence are used face to face and via the social media platform. In addition, the study emphasised the ethical implications of the exercise of influence in both of these platforms and related to this, the challenge of influencing friends or close associates, without undermining leadership integrity. Overall, the various influence incidents presented and their outcomes, evidently shaped leadership development by reinforcing tactics which worked and stimulating continuous reflection and learning, adaptive strategies and the development of new means to deal with resistance and non-compliance. All of these are critical to shaping future influence behaviour. Primary recommendations include the need for a proactive approach to educating youth on leadership and influence through formal programmes, if they were to be empowered with tools to develop and maximize their leadership potential. Equally, practitioners need to be sensitized to the significance of their role as catalysts in nurturing youth leadership development. In addition, the novel use of social media as a leadership influence platform was recognised as significant and as such, a candidate for further research. Beyond the limited scope of this study, other angles worthy of further research include, factoring in elements such as gender, cross-cultural differences and the aspect of voluntary versus incentivised (or paid) leadership positions. The research is presented in an academic paper format, and is structured in three sections. These sections are written up as relatively independent sections, but are complementary in covering the full scope of the research. Section One, which is essentially a paper in a format of an academic journal article, represent the primary section and covers the results of the study, together with discussions and recommendations. This is followed by a literature review (i.e. Section Two), which delves into all the relevant literature explored. Section Three covers the methodology, research design and research procedure pursued. As part of the addendum, a comprehensive summary of the incidents explored is presented. This gives insight into the nature of the various incidents, the influence tactics preferred, power bases and influence principles manifested, together with the outcomes of the incidents. Furthermore, lessons drawn in reflection are noted, which participants viewed as critical, in that they shaped the way they now intend to exercise influence and thereby reflects their personal leadership development.