The objective of this research project is to build a sound defense of the hypothesis that Genesis 22, the story of the testing of Abraham, functioned in Persian Period Judah to benefit the systematic socio-religious reforms implemented by Ezra the priestly scribe. It is argued in this dissertation that the “Book of the Law” Ezra read to the Temple community is a version of the Pentateuch, which under Ezra’s care had become the holy writ of Judaism. Based on Ezra’s scribal abilities, priestly status, royal commission to teach God’s Law to the people of the Trans-Euphrates Satrapy, and his impetus to reform the apostate Temple community, it is argued that Ezra is the final redactor of the Book of the Law of Moses. Being deeply immersed in the Pentateuch, it is most likely that Ezra would have used the narrative material in the corpus that would best effect socio-religious reform. It is shown in this dissertation that there could be no better text than Genesis 22 to instill that ideology in the apostate Temple community. It is further postulated that Genesis 22 would have been used at that time to instill in the apostate members of that community a sense of reverence for God, obedience to the tenets of the Book of the Law, which overwhelmingly advocates a lifestyle of socio-religious separateness. It is also argued that embracing that ideology was paramount to the survival of the Temple community as a distinct religious entity in the Persian Empire, as well as to regaining their autonomy over the Land. A redaction critical analysis, an examination of key words and phrases, a consideration of separateness as the ideology of the postexilic period, and a study on cultic reform in Ancient Israel are used to support the argument that Genesis 22 was used to impact the wayward fifth-century Jews. Furthermore, it is shown that divine testing, the fear of God, covenant, and socio-religious separateness expressed in the Abraham cycle (all of which culminate in Genesis 22) are the main concerns of Ezra, making the narrative an indispensable didactic in the reform and indoctrination of the apostate elders, priests and Levites of the Jerusalem Temple community. It is shown that Abraham’s demonstration of utter reverence and radical obedience to God’s directives would have best set the standard of the God fearing Jew at that time. Having apparently lost their identity as the people of Yahweh, whose original vocation it was to bless the nations with the revelation of the one true God of creation and his Law, it has been argued in this dissertation that Genesis 22 would have been used in the effort to restore that identity to the Temple community in the fifth-century reform movement.

This study investigated relationships involving peer acceptance, mathematics achievement, and birth order among 74 fifth-grade students. The children were administered a standardized achievement test and a sociometric measurement in one sitting. They were then listed in rank order on the basis of number of choices received for each of two areas-- Social- and Work-acceptance. A comparison of High and Low Social- and Work-acceptance groups in terms of mean mathematics-achievement scores indicated a significant positive interaction between peer acceptance and mathematics achievement. No significant difference was evidenced between mean mathematics-achievement scores of males and females. As expected, birth order was not shown to interact significantly with Social- or Work-acceptance for either sex. Results indicate the importance of utilizing various techniques such as sociometrically determined work groups and seating arrangements in order to improve the peer climate of the classroom.

Houston's Fifth Ward neighborhood is one of the last remaining areas of the inner city to have not yet seen large-scale redevelopment. Situated just northeast of downtown, the neighborhood's population is predominantly low- to mid-income African Americans; demographics are similar today as they were during the neighborhood's prime, from the 1920s-60s, when the Fifth Ward was a cultural hub of Houston famous for its musical culture of zydeco and blues. The ward's rich history also has dark spots, however, specifically its longstanding reputation as a center of poverty and violent crime, and its physical vulnerability to damaging floods. Much of the neighborhood's built history is unpreserved and unprotected, at risk of being wiped off the map by both development interests and extreme weather events. By modernizing the city's approach to stormwater management and infrastructure and strengthening its historic preservation and emergency management practices, Houston could help preserve one of its oldest communities, while also decreasing flood volumes, improving air and water quality, saving money, and establishing a pattern of smart growth citywide. In addition, neighborhood level efforts to promote placemaking via preservation and sustainability efforts can help the Fifth Ward leverage the redevelopment process to change its reputation, ensuring a future for the community that respects its past. / text

Handheld computers may hold the possibility for a one-to-one computer: student ratio. The impact of the use of Palm® (Palm, Inc.) handhelds on information acquisition and use by 5th grade students in a North Texas school during a class research project was investigated. Five research questions were examined using observation, interviews, surveys, and document analysis. Are there differences in information gathering and use with the Palm between gifted, dyslexic, and regular learners? What relevance criteria do students use to evaluate a web site to determine whether to download the site to the Palm and afterwards whether to use the downloaded site's information in the report? How do the Palms affect the writing process? Do the animations and concept maps produced on the Palm demonstrate understanding of the intended concepts? Are there significant differences in results (i.e., final products grade) between Palm users and non-Palm users? Three groups of learners in the class, gifted, dyslexic, and regular learners, participated in the study. The regular and dyslexic students reported using Web sites that had not been downloaded to the Palm. Students reported several factors used to decide whether to download Web sites, but the predominant deciding factor was the amount of information. The students used a combination of writing on paper and the Palm in the preparation of the report. Many students flipped between two programs, FreeWrite and Fling-It, finding information and then writing the facts into the report. The peer review process was more difficult with the Palm. Most students had more grammatical errors in this research report than in previous research projects. By creating animated drawings on the Palm handheld, the students demonstrated their understanding of the invention though sometimes the media or the student's drawing skills limited the quality of the final product. Creating the animations was motivational and addressed different learning styles than a written report alone. No statistically significant difference was found in the scores of the three 6+1 Traits categories, however the Palm users didn't meet the page-length requirement for the research project but the majority of the control class did.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a method of motivational enrichment that may be applied to a structured art program when teaching the visual element, value, to fourth, fifth, and sixth grade children.

The problem of the present study is to determine what changes will take place in certain personal and social attitudes of pre-adolescent children at the fourth- and fifth-grade levels as a result of their "having learned about the factors that underlie behavior" through a mental hygiene program utilizing "causally" oriented materials at their own level of interest and understanding.

The problem of this study was the relationship of the self-concept of fifth-grade Negro students with their knowledge of Negro leaders and events. Sub-problems of this study were (1) the relationship between the self-concept of fifth-grade students and their reading achievement and (2) the relationship of their knowledge of Negro leaders and events and their reading achievement.

The purpose of this study is two-fold: (1) to evaluate an instrument for measuring the self-concept of middle grade children; and (2) to determine the relationship of a middle-grade child's self-concept to his peer status, his classification by the teacher as a problem in behavior or classroom management, and to his academic achievement.

The problem of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of systematic desensitization on test anxiety, general anxiety, and attitude toward school among fifth-grade elementary-school children.

This study is a description and analysis of the effect of criterion referenced test data on the acquisition of math skills and the mastery of selected objectives in fifth-grade students.The first chapter includes the introduction, statement of the problem, purposes of the study, statement of the hypotheses, background and significance., definition of terms, limitations, basic assumptions, and procedures for collecting data. The second chapter is a review of the literature pertaining to criterion-referenced testing and also includes a review of studies utilizing criterion-referenced test material. The third chapter describes the population being studied, the instruments used to measure achievement, and procedures for treatment of the data. The fourth chapter presents an analysis of the data collected for the study and a discussion of the findings. The fifth and final chapter presents a summary of the study, findings, conclusions, and recommendations pertaining to future research in the utilization of criterion- referenced testing. The subjects in this study were sixty, fifth-grade students attending Lakeland Elementary in the Lewisville Public School System who comprised the experimental group and sixty, fifth-grade students attending Central Elementary in the same district, who comprised the control group. The Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (Form G Level 2), and the Prescriptive Mathematics Inventory (Aqua Level), were administered to both groups, with the pretest occurring in September, 1973 and the posttest being administered in April, 1974. Analysis of covariance and chi square goodness of fit were the techniques used to analyze the data statistically. Significant change was found to take place in the experimental group in mastering a greater proportion of the objectives selected for this study. The socio-economic level and educational background of the parents of the subjects in this study proved to be a significant factor in mastering the objectives selected for this study. The hypotheses utilizing the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills, were all rejected. Two things may be assumed. The test may not have been sensitive enough to pick up changes that occurred during the year. Secondly, it might be assumed that the direction of the instructional program came from the 113 objectives selected by the teachers prior to the school year. These particular objectives were covered specifically in the Prescriptive Mathematics Inventory, but not in the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills.