The purpose of this study was to determine differences in satisfaction of public university Resident Assistants (RAs) with regard to several job satisfaction factors identified on the Resident Assistant Satisfaction Survey (RASS), specifically as compared to Casey’s (2009) normative sample of RAs in privatized university housing. The RASS outlined eight Employment Aspect Factors and three Criterion Factors to determine RA job satisfaction. This study also determined if there were differences in job satisfaction for public university RAs based on gender, racial ethnic identification, or academic class standing. Resident Assistants from three Research I Florida institutions in the United States completed the RASS. There has been very little research identifying the factors influencing job satisfaction of paraprofessional RAs, specifically at Florida public institutions of higher education and as compared to a privatized university housing Company. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015 / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

The purpose of this study was to explore individual variables affecting preferences for natural or managed landscapes. Environmental attitudes and value systems of student participants (N = 147) were assessed using the revised New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale and the Scenarios for the Measurement of Collectivism and Individualism (SMCI) scale, respectively. In addition, feminist orientation was assessed using the Attitudes toward Woman scale (AWS). The hypothesis that proenvironmental attitudes would be positively correlated with a preference for natural landscapes was supported. However, hypotheses that alignment with collectivist values would correlate positively with a preference for natural landscapes and that a feminist orientation would be positively correlated with a preference for natural landscapes were not supported. Demographic variables are discussed with respect to landscape preference. Caveats of the individualism-collectivism variable are also discussed.

Attitudes of male and female subjects toward a prospective social group member who did/did not have a history of mental illness were investigated. The cognitive, behavioral and affective components of subjects' attitudes were measured. Results from the cognitive measure indicated that: 1) Subjects in the experimental condition perceived the confederate less positively on personal characteristics indicative of moral character. 2) Male subjects perceived the confederate as more dependable when she had a history of mental illness, while female subjects perceived her as less dependable when she disclosed history of mental illness. On the behavioral and affective component measures, there were no significant differences between the groups.

The purpose of this study was threefold: (a) to describe the impact the SLS courses had on the retention and success rates of students who were taking developmental English courses at FSCJ-Kent Campus, (b) to explain how students taking developmental English felt the SLS courses impacted them, and (c) to find out what elements of the SLS program were most and least valued by students. In order to understand how the SLS program impacted students in the developmental English program at FSCJ-Kent Campus, I conducted a mixed methods case study using FSCJ–Kent Campus as the research site. The case study included a quantitative stage, during which I examined archival data from fall 2008 to summer 2010 to determine the impact of the SLS program on student success and retention, and a qualitative stage, during which I conducted a survey and two focus groups to get an understanding of participants’ perspectives. The evidence that the SLS program affected the success and retention rates of students in the developmental English classes at FSCJ-Kent Campus was not conclusive. However, students reported that the program was extremely beneficial to them and provided insight into why they thought the program contributed to their success. The study was significant because I was able to get a deeper understanding of students’ perspectives and provide a framework for understanding those perspectives. I concluded that the SLS program was a mechanism to transition and integrate students into the institution. This study may affect the way leaders in educational institutions approach developmental English, the SLS program, and all other developmental programs.