This study examined the comparability of job-task lists generated using alternative methods. A task list generated through Traditional procedures was compared to a task list generated by using a modification of the Delphi technique. / Two sets of procedures were applied concurrently to the generation of task lists for the job of Clerk or Comptroller of the Circuit Court of Florida. Once each method had generated a list of task statements, the statements were reviewed and a subset of twelve tasks was identified which were rewritten to be identical. The results of the two generation procedures were task lists having 204 tasks on the traditionally developed list and 207 tasks on the modified Delphi technique developed list. / To assess the comparability of the two task lists, Spearman rank order correlations were calculated for three subsets of response data. Responses to the two total task lists, responses to the set of twelve identical task statements, and responses to the remaining unlike task statements were compared. The Comprehensive Occupational Data Analysis Programs (CODAP) were used to generate overlap values for the purpose of rankings the respondents for each subset of tasks. The results of the Spearman Rho calculations were Rho values of .799 (df = 57) for the total task list, .736 (df = 57) for the like item subset, and .799 (df = 57) for the remaining unlike tasks. All three comparisons revealed a significant association between the rankings of the subjects with p < .0001. / A second analysis was done on the aggregate number of tasks selected by each individual on each task list for each of the three subsets of tasks. Significant t-test values were found for the mean number of tasks selected for the total task list (t(116) = 21.79; p < .01) and for the unlike task statements (t(116) = 24.50; p < .01). / These results suggest that the two task lists are interchangeable and that alternative procedures can be proposed for the generations of job-task lists. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 43-07, Section: A, page: 2326. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of instructions designed to activate two organizational cognitive strategies, on two types of delayed free recall of prose. The first type of recall measured was recall of major themes, and the second type was overall recall of themes and supporting details. The two organizational cognitive strategies which the instructions were designed to activate were paraphrasing and searching for themes. The study also attempted to determine if students' reading comprehension ability displayed an interaction with the cognitive strategy activation instructions they received, to produce effects on recall of both types. / The study was conducted in a typical middle school setting with classroom size groups ranging from sixteen to forty-five students. One hundred and four sixth grade students were rank ordered in terms of their reading comprehension ability, and then randomly assigned to three treatment groups, so that the treatment groups were similarly distributed with respect to reading comprehension level. One treatment group received a prose passage to read, along with instructions designed to activate a theme-searching strategy to store the passages for delayed free recall. The second group received the same prose passage along with instructions designed to activate a paraphrasing strategy to store the passage for delayed free recall. The third group -- the control group -- received the same prose passage as the other two groups; their instructions directed them only to reread the passage for delayed recall, rather than to use organizational strategies for storage. / The prose passage used for the study was taken from a standard fourth-grade level reading textbook. In order to avoid effects due to differing lengths of time on task with the prose passage, the instructions were designed so that all three sets were parallel in terms of length and difficulty. Difficulty of the instructions was determined by sentence length, length and phonetic regularity of words, context placement of important ideas, and formatting of the print on the page. / Each group was told to read the passage once and then close their booklets. After all students had done this, they were told to reopen their booklets and follow the treatment instructions. All students were given twenty minutes to read the brief instructions and review the prose passage for later recall. The students were given a free recall test five days later, which was scored by a pair of judges for theme recall and overall recall. The scoring guide employed was based on a linguistic model designed to break down the content of the prose passage into ideas high and low in structural importance, and their supporting details. On a trial sample of thirty recall protocols, the judges had a high level of agreement in classifying the student recall protocols (in their own words) as actual ideas or details in the target prose passage (Pearson correlation coefficient = .97 for theme recall and .99 for overall recall). / The cognitive strategy activation treatments were not found to have a statistically significant effect on either type of delayed recall obtained after five days. Nor were there any significant interaction effects found between the cognitive strategy activation treatments and students' reading comprehension level for either type of delayed recall. Existing research results were reconfirmed in this study with the finding that students' reading comprehension level had a significant effect on delayed recall of both types (p (LESSTHEQ) .001 for theme recall and p (LESSTHEQ) .002 for overall recall). / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-02, Section: A, page: 0644. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.

Partial Canonical Analysis has not previously been applied in an educational setting. Problems associated with the interpretation of relationships within and between residualized sets of variables had not been addressed. In the application of this relatively new technique, this study examined / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-07, Section: A, page: 2837. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.

Theories of composition that utilize heuristic or problem-solving procedures are explicated and compared in an effort to determine what can logically be expected from the application of a particular heuristic during the composing process. All of the theories chosen for evaluation make, or have made for them, explicit epistemological claims; the theorists make assumptions about the nature, source, and criterion of knowledge, and they tend to make their theories of composition a direct reflection of their epistemological stances. As the heuristic is the problem-solving strategy in the theory, the epistemology is the problem statement: it specifies what the theorist takes to be the unknown element in the universe of discourse. It is a major contention of this study that the application of a metatheory--such as that proposed by Janice Lauer--to evaluate and compare the theories is hampered by a failure to understand this fundamental relationship. Thus, a major aim of this study is to provide capsule analyses of theories on a number of salient points: to identify the controlling metaphor that underlies each theory, to specify the heuristic employed by the theory, to determine the nature of truth assumed by the theorist and the extent to which adherence to truth is a basic concern of the theory; this leads to the necessary understanding of the purpose of discourse as expressed in each theory and its focus in the universe of discourse; the goal of pedagogy specified by the theory and the type of product presumed to result from instruction are likewise useful indicators of the scope of a theory; assumptions made about the writer are directly reflected in the role of invention in the theories; the treatment of arrangement and style, though often only tangential concerns for heuristic theorists, are also considered. / The study begins with a description of the origins of the traditional course and suggests that the unresolved epistemological conflict at the foundation of the "current-traditional" composition paradigm has had a continuing negative effect on composition theory. The classical topics remain the most consistent and complete of the rhetorical heuristics available, although a failure to understand their function as a probe for the discovery of arguments and not of facts can seriously impair their efficiency. The Pre-Writing project, extending the romantic conception of the creative artist to include student writers, utilizes analogy as the primary heuristic technique but restricts its scope to the discovery of subjective truth. The behavioral pedagogy of Robert Zoellner shifts attention from the internal and hence inaccessible activities of the composer to external performance. Zoellner proposes to shape the behavior of the student "talker" by reinforcing intermediate attainment of the desired scribal performance. Kenneth Burke's pentad, like the classical topics, is frequently misconstrued as an information retrieval probe when adaptors fail to understand the terministic basis of his epistemology. As a theory of composition, tagmemics is derived from the linguistic theory of Kenneth Pike, finding its epistemological base in the principle of indeterminacy and utilizing the terms of particle, wave, and field as the basis for the heuristic. Despite the favorable attention given to tagmemics, some ambiguity remains in the theory. The conceptual theory of Frank D'Angelo takes as its controlling metaphor the argument from design for the existence of God. He suggests that "one grand design" underlies the universe and that form consciousness is the key to composition instruction. / While none of the theories is a perfect model of pedagogy, heuristics can be useful if attention is paid to problem-stating as well as problem-solving. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-10, Section: A, page: 4375. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.

The purpose of this study was to investigate certain conditions which have been associated with successful school improvement projects, including: (1) the local principal's support, (2) faculty enthusiasm, (3) support of the district administration, (4) outside resources and information, (5) inservice training and technical assistance, and (6) school-based advocacy groups. The context of the study was the Florida Linkage System (FLS), a Federally funded R & D Utilization project involving twenty-three school sites where the implementation of validated teaching materials and/or procedures was planned in response to specific instructional needs. / One survey instrument was designed to measure the relative importance that FLS personnel attributed to each facilitating condition and the relative degree that each condition existed at the project site approximately nine months after initial implementation efforts had begun. Another survey instrument was designed to assess the degree that individual projects were implemented and the degree to which participating staff were satisfied with the progress of implementation efforts. / The responses of FLS teachers and administrators were aggregated to represent individual project sites. Facilitating conditions were analyzed in terms of their mean importance to FLS project personnel and their mean existence at the various school sites. Correlation coefficients were determined between each facilitating condition and measures of project implementation and staff satisfaction. Path analysis was then employed to derive quantitative estimates of the causal impact associated with each facilitating condition. / It was found that: (1) existence ratings for the six facilitating conditions yielded highly reliable (internally consistent) measures; (2) existence ratings were significantly different from importance ratings made on the same conditions; (3) existence ratings were significantly and positively correlated with project implementation and staff satisfaction; (4) facilitating conditions were significantly and positively correlated with one another; (5) all of the facilitating conditions had a measurable causal impact on project success measures; and (6) there was a substantive difference between the rank ordering of facilitating conditions based on importance ratings versus rank ordering based on the magnitude of correlations and causal effects. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-06, Section: A, page: 2631. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.

Traditional classroom utilization of audiovisual media typically consists of an uninterrupted presentation of the material, perhaps prefaced and/or followed by teacher-directed instructional activities. / The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of alternating short segments of an existing audiovisual presentation with teacher-directed activities incorporating the "instructional events" (Gagne & Briggs, 1979) of: providing learning guidance, eliciting student response, and providing feedback. It was hypothesized that this procedure would increase learning achievement because: there would be periodic opportunities for active student participation; the instructional events would be positioned in closer proximity to relevant content; and, student attention would be better maintained because of periodic changes in the format of the lesson (audiovisual media alternating with the classroom teacher). / Eight second grade intact elementary classes were randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups (two classes per treatment). Each of the eight classes could be characterized as (1) exhibiting average or above average overall ability (as measured by the California Test of Basic Skills Reading section) and as (2) containing "media-wise" students (all classes received a steady if not daily exposure to audiovisual media). / A 16mm film was selected as the stimulus material for all treatments. Classroom teachers were trained in the administration of their treatment and were given detailed scripts to follow. A posttest was given immediately after the treatments followed by a retention test, one week later. / Results indicated that, although no detrimental effects on either the achievement or the attention of the subjects were caused by the periodic interruption of an "off-the-shelf" audiovisual presentation, no statistically significant differences in learning achievement could be attributed to the inclusion of the instructional activities in any of the treatment groups. This result was the same for both the post- and the retention tests and for lower as well as upper ability level students in all groups. / The conclusions drawn from the study indicate that average or above average students can be expected to learn a great deal from educational audiovisual media, even if not supplemented with instructional activities. Nontraditional utilization procedures may, however, increase the attention that students will pay to an audiovisual presentation, by offering shorter segments and more frequent "breaks" in a lesson. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-01, Section: A, page: 0186. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the stability of factor structure across three levels of analysis: student scores, class means, and teacher's group means, as units of analysis. / It was hypothesized that there would be no similarity among extracted factors when analyzing the fifty items from the Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes (SSHA) developed by Brown and Haltzman (1966) across three levels of analysis. / The population was defined as high school students who attended school in the U.S.A. during the 1978-79 school year. Approximately 4,300 students comprised the sample collected by the Individualized Science Instructional System Project (ISIS). These 4,300 students were aggregated to 181 classes and 62 teacher's groups. / Factor analyses were conducted for the three levels of analysis. The stability of each factor was examined by varimax rotation. Procrustes solution was utilized to match all three initial factor structures to determine the stability of factor structure across different levels of analysis. / The methods of judgment were used in this study to determine the degree of similarity or dissimiliarity among the factor structures: (a) subjective judgment, based on observation of factor loadings and comparisons of the labeled factors across the three levels of analysis; (b) application of the Procrustes solution, which provided the correlation between factors and the root mean square which are two viable criteria to judge the similarity or dissimilarity of the factors extracted. A comparison of the results from labelling and factor matching showed a good match among the fellow factors across the three levels of analysis. / Results of the study led to the conclusion that as the level of aggregation increased, the correlation coefficient between variables increased constantly. Varimax rotation showed that Factor 1, which is a strong factor, is very stable across all three levels of analysis. Factors 2 and 3 are weaker and less stable. / Factor matching and factor labelling both revealed that all three factors across the three levels of analysis are stable; however, this stability is very high for Factor 1 and led the investigator to conclude that the strong factors would remain the same regardless of the level of analysis. Therefore, the null hypothesis of dissimilarity among extracted factors across different levels of analysis was rejected. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-09, Section: A, page: 3785. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.

For many decades there has been concern about the socio-economic gap between developed and developing countries. For altruistic and for economic reasons the developed world has instituted measures designed to reduce the gap between rich and poor nations. The modernization process has been seen as the basis for development. Education has been perceived by all nations as being vital for the modernization process. But education does not appear to have had much impact upon narrowing the gap between rich and poor. Many studies have concluded that education has reinforced the social and economic elite and has not promoted equity. / Using Dependency Theory as a theoretical framework this study demonstrated that, within the context of development, foreign aid which was conceived as a tool for development has instead helped to reinforce external and internal dependent relationships, relationships which hamper rather than accelerate development. / Four components of the Colombian educational system were analyzed through the use of secondary data, collected in the country. It was found that dependency manifested itself in terms of an educational structure that does not facilitate equality of access, or provide for social mobility. Foreign aid, applied to education, was directed towards improving and reinforcing an educational structure which did not promote those essential social changes aimed at achieving equality and social mobility. Moreover, it was found that foreign aid strongly influenced the decision-making process by directing goals and priorities, as well as by the transference of institutional models functional to the industrialized world. / Colombia was chosen because it has been the major recipient of foreign aid in Latin America during the past 20 years. It also is one of the better examples of the dependent economies existing within this Region. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-02, Section: A, page: 0467. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 40-09, Section: A, page: 4809. / Thesis (Educat.D.)--The Florida State University, 1979.

The study sought to determine whether an experimental remote delivery methodology could provide instruction in certain medical laboratory analysis skills, while reducing the expenditure of time and funds associated with conventional instruction. Hypotheses were derived from the thesis that remotely located subjects would perform at a level equal to or higher than conventionally trained counterparts. / The study was designed as a Workshop in Recognition and Quantitation of Tubercle Bacilli in the Level I Laboratory. The experimental methodology of remote delivery (teleconferencing) was compared with conventional instruction administered to subjects (medical technicians) in Georgia, Florida, Illinois, and Iowa. In the experimental methodology, subjects were remotely located from instructors. In conventional instruction, subjects were co-located with instructors. / Terminal Learning Objective tests were scored on a pass-fail basis. A Chi-square one sample test was applied to the data. Values of computed scores showed no statistically significant difference. / The conclusion reached is that no measurable difference exists between scores of subjects receiving instruction through teleconferencing and those to whom conventional instruction was administered. Cost factors and limited availability of qualified faculty suggest increased use of teleconferencing for instruction in skills similar to those employed in the study. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-06, Section: A, page: 2632. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.