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Since World War II there has been a "revolutionary" increase in nonparental preschool-age child care. However, the effects of nonparental preschool care remains illusive. In an effort to address some of the limitations of previous research, seven different types of preschool-age care were statistically analyzed. Survey research and available data were gathered on 456 students in a large mid-south metropolitan area. Academic performance was measured by intelligence test scores and report card spelling grades from the sample children's third grade permanent record file. School behavior was measured by the child's conduct score over several years. Fourteen background conditions served as controls.

Latter-day Saints are recognized throughout the world by their peculiar dietary code known as the Word of Wisdom. It is accepted by the Church as revelation and contains both proscriptions and prescriptions. Different levels of interpretation, understanding and observance of the principles in the Word of Wisdom make it a unique Latter-day Saint religious health code. The study population consists of college-aged male and female members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from Brigham Young University and a Latter-day Saint student stake affiliated with Utah Valley University. A questionnaire was conceptualized, designed and validated over a one year rigorous process. The responses of 720 participants were evaluated using frequency distributions and measures of central tendency. The t statistic was used for testing the null hypothesis of equality of means between independent groups and computed using approximate degrees of freedom from Satterhwaite's approximation when the variances between the two groups are unequal. Logistic regression was used with the stepwise option to identify demographic variables associated with selected interpretation variables. Two-sided tests of significance were based on the 0.05 level against a null hypothesis of no association. Participants generally interpret and comply with the proscriptions in the Word of Wisdom. Participants can identify the prescriptions, but actual behaviors are far below scientific and government recommended minimums. The interpretations and behaviors of this sample provide valuable insights for those interested in the Word of Wisdom and its connection to the standards of the Church.

Assessment Centers (ACs) are a fantastic method to measure behavioral indicators of job performance in multiple diverse scenarios. Based upon a thorough job analysis, ACs have traditionally demonstrated very strong content and criterion-related validity. However, researchers have been puzzled for over three decades with the lack of evidence concerning construct validity. ACs are designed to measure critical job dimensions throughout multiple situational exercises. However, research has consistently revealed that different behavioral ratings within these scenarios are more strongly related to one another (exercise effects) than the same dimension rating across scenarios (dimension effects). That is, results from ACs suggest that we are unsure of what these behavioral measures represent. Over the last three decades, researchers have sought to illuminate why same dimension ratings are inconsistent across scenarios. However, these investigations have been limited to changes influencing the source of the ratings (e.g., assessors, trained raters). No approach has been taken to change the structure of the AC. This study breaks with tradition and introduces a structurally different AC: A Day-In-The Life AC (DITLAC). A DITLAC structure is designed to mimic that of a normal day on the job. In the present study, the construct validity between a DITLAC and a traditionally structured AC is compared with the argument that the DITLAC will demonstrate stronger construct validity evidence. In several cases, this was found to be true.

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Service reliability is one of the main factors influencing public transport level of service and, thus, passengers’ satisfaction. Public transport services are subject to various sources of uncertainty related to traffic conditions, public transport operations and passenger demand. Passengers are able to form their perception of trip attributes and service reliability through accumulating experiences of repetitive travel choices. Perceived service reliability can be improved either by increasing the ground-truth service reliability (e.g. introduce exclusive bus lanes, control strategies etc.) or by providing real time information (RTI) to passengers. However, RTI prediction schemes might not be perfectly accurate and thus, passengers might be able to account for the reliability of the provided information as well. The learning mechanism of individuals becomes, as a result, an important component in Dynamic Transit Assignment Models (DTAM) which enables accounting for how perceived reliability of service and the provided information evolves, through iterative network loading. This thesis provided the modeling framework for passengers’ perception of reliability and its effects on decision making with respect to path choice. Within-day effect is represented through the incorporation of scheduling constraints, while passengers’ learning mechanism accounts for updates in their expectations and the perceived level of information credibility in the day-to-day context. The proposed model was applied to Stockholm’s rapid transit network which was simulated in BusMezzo, an agent-based public transport assignment model. The application used the real-world timetables, vehicle schedules and RTI prediction scheme. Passengers’ learning function was analysed under various specifications which corresponded to different levels of adaptation. The results highlight the importance of capturing service uncertainty and the credibility associated with alternative information sources, while they stress the need for empirical estimation and validation of the proposed model. This study also provides the framework for future evaluation of measures which aim to improve service reliability.

The Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) Church operates one of the largest private educational systems in the United States. However, throughout the past ten years, there has been a steady decrease in the enrollment of Seventh-Day Adventist schools, although church membership has increased. Previous research has shown that SDA ministers have considerable influence, and have proved particularly influential in decisions regarding SDA schools. Since the educational values of SDA schools are conveyed to the church members by their ministers, it is important for Church leaders to have a knowledge of the values held by their ministers. The primary purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of the SDA Church ministers concerning the values, effectiveness, fiscal status, and future structure of the SDA schools. / Ed. D.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is one of the youngest Christian denominations in modern history. It is also one of the smallest, numerically, in South Africa. However, because of the church’s high evangelistic zeal Adventists can be found in almost every part of South Africa. From a motley figure of about 3500 at the time of the church’s legal organisation in 1861, Adventists now number about 18 million globally. There is a notable presence of Adventists in Soweto, west of Johannesburg. In this study, the focus is on how the Adventist church responds to the phenomenon of poverty in Soweto. The intent is to identify current activities of the church relative to poverty alleviation, actual or possible weaknesses in the church’s response to poverty and whether these are consequences of socio-theological or other factors in the structures and institutions of the church. The end of the study will be a propositional discourse that will suggest pointers towards a more relevant and sustainable poverty alleviation programme informed by sound theological, practical pastoral and developmental considerations. This work is a missiological study focusing on Soweto, seeking to critically assess the extent to which Adventists are involved in alleviating poverty in Soweto. It also explores a model by which they can successfully and redemptive encounter the poor at their point of need. Although the main focus will be given to the missiological task of the Adventists of Soweto, the study will also integrate other disciplines to deal with sociological and political considerations. The approach adopted in this study is a pastoral contextual approach of doing theology in Soweto. Within this contextual approach I shall apply the pastoral cycle since this method converges with other relevant methods of analysis and social critique. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D. Th. (Missiology)

This is a study of the ex-dividend day. The study covers six years (2007-2012) and studies the shares included in the OMXS30 on the Stockholm stock exchange. OMXS30 is a share index of the 30 most actively traded stocks on the exchange. The study comprised a total of 145 observations. The purpose of this study is to investigate if the stock price on the ex-dividend day unfolds as the efficient market hypothesis teach or if there exists room for speculation, and thus earn a return higher than the market.The ex-dividend day effect has been studied previously, both on the Swedish market but also abroad. The results of previous researchers are different but they all have one thing in common, namely that there is a certain ex-dividend day effect.When calculating the ex-dividend day effect, the stock prices had to be adjusted for the normal return that occurs during the ex-dividend day. The normal return is not something that is universally known, but must be estimated by the author. In this study, it was estimated using the OMXS30 index movements relative to each company's beta. After that price drop ratio is calculated. The authors found that the share price on average fell by about 90 % of the dividend amount, with the possibility of an excess return of approximately 0.37 %. This was according to statistical tests significantly different from one, indicating that the ex-dividend day effect exists. By studying each year the authors found significant discrepancies between the years that cannot be explained, the authors themselves could conclude that the price drop ratio exists in symbiosis with the current economic situation.

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