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Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Kristy L. Pederson-Archuleta / Viewership of reality television has been indicated to influence behaviors among individuals and groups, as existing literature has linked reality television viewership to an increase in the likelihood of demonstrating other non-financial behaviors. The literature notes increases in risky sexual and dating behavior, increases in tobacco, drug, and alcohol use, and increases in violent behavior. This dissertation examined the perceptions of the influence of reality television on financial behavior. Situational reality television programming was found to have the greatest influence on the financial behaviors of college students. Ten college students were interviewed using a phenomenological qualitative approach. There were four primary findings from this study. The first was that reality television has the ability to inform the financial behavior of college students. Second, an individual’s connection to his or her social system has an influence on financial behavior. Third, reality television does have the ability to influence financial behavior change and fourth, reality television influences the meaning of money as perceived by the respondents. The results of this study provide valuable information to promote further inquiry as to how reality television and other forms of media influence financial behavior.

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of Senate Bill 351 on public school finance equity in Texas and to provide information to those concerned with the financing of schools in this state. Data provided by the Texas Education Agency were used to determine differences in expenditures per student and local tax rates before and after the implementation of Senate Bill 351.

University of Macau / Faculty of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

In spite of widespread critiques about the neoliberalisation of higher education and its production of citizenship in relation to the market, transformation of students into profit-maximising individuals, and the vitalisation of a self-enterprising subjectivity, many of these claims remain under-examined with respect to cultural production. The objective of this research is to explore the neoliberal production of middle-class citizenship through the lens of educated non-elite local youth in Singapore. By combining geographical, sociological and anthropological insights about education and youth, I develop a theoretically informed ethnographic case study to examine how this segment of young people reproduce themselves as middle-class citizens. The research is based on eleven months of fieldwork at a local private institute of higher education, where I hanged around, talked to, and observed Singaporean young people between ages 18 and 25 studying for their first degree. The ethnographic materials are written up into four substantive papers, demonstrating the ways in which educated non-elite Singaporean youth in private higher education engage with state disseminated ideas around neoliberal accumulation and human capital formation. I argue that these students draw on class-based sensibilities and feelings to produce vibrant forms of normativities, subjectivities, and politics that pose a challenge to dominant assumptions of a "hollowed out" citizenship under neoliberalism. The research makes two overall interventions in geographic and social scientific writings about neoliberal restructuring of higher education and its implications for youth citizenship. First, it cautions against a straightforward claim that neoliberal technologies of control have extended market values into citizenship subjectivity and, with it, the erosion of progressive political projects. Second, it provides a much-needed analysis of middle-class citizenship formation among young people caught at the losing end of a diversifying educational landscape.

Despite the education, autonomy, and high demand for physical therapists both nationally and in Florida, recent graduates have seen steadily rising education costs with disproportionate changes in income once they have graduated and entered the workforce. The growing debt burden of physical therapists entering the workforce, coupled with the growth in projected need and stagnant wages, raises concern about where and how entry-level physical therapists will practice and if these choices will be affected by their debt burden. The purpose of this quantitative, cross-sectional survey study was to identify the debt profile of entry-level physical therapists and explore the relationship between the student debt and clinical practice choices of entry-level physical therapists. The results of this study provide important findings and additional questions to be considered with these growing concerns surrounding student debt in physical therapy. The results of this study suggest that practice setting choice may be affected by physical therapists’ student debt and that student debt may be a barrier overall to career choices in physical therapy. Additional research and support for innovative models that reduce debt burden in academic physical therapy should be considered.

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The purpose of this study was to analyze factors AVID students perceive as important in making financial decisions about paying for college. This study analyzed the factors college-bound students perceive as important in making decisions about paying for college. Trends in higher education include the rising cost of attendance, longer degree completion time, and the lagging purchasing power of federal grant funding. Existing data has delivered student perceptions regarding college access, affordability, and retention. The researcher framed the study using the human investment capital model. This model is grounded in the basic theory that education is an investment that will provide greater social and financial mobility in the future. The human capital theory coupled with benefits of a college education help guide the research and collects data that capture factors students perceive as important about making financial decisions regarding paying for college. From the data, it was evident that AVID students were seeking to maximize their higher education opportunities. Many students applied to as many as seven colleges while examining tradeoffs of college costs, the impact of financial aid offers, and ways to reduce the total costs. The factors students perceived as important in making financial decisions about paying for college could be put into three categories; tradeoffs, offered financial aid, and reducing the total cost. Students reported that the total cost of education was more important than peer and family approval of their school, academic reputation, and time to degree. However, the location of the school and the social and networking opportunities were more important than the total costs of the school. Conclusions from the study are students would rather attend a school that has less prestige and take longer to earn their degree if the total cost was aligned accordingly. Yet, the location and the networking and social experiences were not worth sacrificing for the students. Students were not willing to attend an institution with a less desirable location or fewer social opportunities even if the costs were minimal. The data say that an important factor for AVID students is the amount of financial aid they will receive.