Thesis (M.A.)--Carleton University, 1989. / Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Buffalo, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 187-205).

Originally presented as the author's thesis (M.F.A. -- George Mason University). / Includes bibliographical references (p. [247]).

Thesis--Paris, 1937. / Includes bibliographical references.

The subject of the dissertation This dissertation focuses on a controversial area of quality management in education: teacher-appraisal. The research is set in the Hungarian maintained sector secondary educational context but with an outlook on developments on the international scene. The ultimate objective of the investigation is to examine and theorise how an appraisal system needs to be linked to a specific context and the norms which professional teachers have in that context. In order to achieve this I designed, piloted and critically analysed an internal secondary school teacher appraisal scheme which is based on (i) a systematic in-depth review of the relevant academic background and (ii) the comprehensive study of the specific context. The nature and scope of work undertaken The project consists of two closely related phases. Phase 1 is a four-part preliminary study, which lays the theoretical foundation for the second phase of the investigation by exploring the distinctive features of the Hungarian context and surveying the available academic knowledge of the subject. The first part is a review of the current context for teacher appraisal in Hungary, the second part is a comprehensive review of both the Hungarian and the international literature on the most controversial appraisal-related issues, the third part is a review of some selected earlier and existing models of appraisal, and the fourth part presents and evaluates a set of large scale surveys of the opinions of three key cohorts of stakeholders (teachers, pupils and their parents) in Hungarian secondary education. Phase 2 consists of two overarching sections, which uses the knowledge acquired in Phase 1 in order to obtain direct experience of how this knowledge can be applied in a specific context. My purpose in this phase is to devise, analyse and evaluate a teacher appraisal scheme which is theoretically well-founded, reasonably practicable, and in full compliance with the norms and the specific legal and moral requirements of Hungarian education. The first part, building on the findings and conclusions of the first phase of the investigation, draws up the general theoretical principles and practical details of a proposal for a pioneer secondary school teacher appraisal scheme. The second part describes in detail the piloting of this scheme on a small but typical population, and presents the analysis and discussion of the data from both the piloting proper and the follow-up review of the piloting process. While findings from the pilot seem to have confirmed the validity of the proposed scheme, they have also revealed that the sociological-societal environment (lack of motivation and lack of resources) might prove to be a serious obstacle in the path of the introduction of appraisal in secondary schools in Hungary. Contribution made to the knowledge of the subject treated On the basis of empirical evidence from the research, it was possible to (i) establish a general theoretical framework that can provide a sound basis for a conceptual model for linking teacher appraisal to specific contexts and the norms stakeholders have in that context, and (ii) develop a practical methodology for a design process which can help administrators devise an appraisal scheme which conforms to the accepted norms of stakeholders in a particular educational context. This design process can be divided into two distinct phases: generalising a methodology for formulating a roughly-tuned national-level proposal on the one hand, and establishing a standard procedure for the local-level fine-tuning of this proposal to the specific contexts and norms of a particular institution on the other.

An inventory of the most important indigenous and exotic Salix clones for basket making was carried out in Hungary. Eleven clones were selected from those presently growing in various parts of the country. The vegetative and generative characteristics of the shoots were described. Interspecific hybridization was carried out using five different combinations. The germination of Salix seed was studied by taking a series of photographs. Vegetative propagation by means of shoot cuttings and by "T" bud grafting were tried. A selection method was used for evaluating the different clones within the country. Five experimental plantations were set out on the more important soil regions and the eleven clones were planted in randomized blocks, each 10 by 10 meters in size. Each clone was replicated four times and 170 cuttings of each were planted in a block. The height growth of the 5th and the 10th ramets in each row were measured bi-weekly during the growing season in 1955 and in 1956. More than 100,000 height measurements were recorded. The influence of the clone, year, and locality on the average height attained was evaluated by means of an analysis of variance, and an attempt was made by using the components of variance to estimate the heritability. The simple correlation coefficients were calculated to approximate the degree of association of the average tree height, weight and volume of different clones in the five localities during the years 1955-1959 inclusive. Form of sprouts, cellulose content of one-year-old shoots, and meteorological conditions were studied. Experiments were undertaken concerning spacing and fertilization as part of the basket-willow improvement work. / Forestry, Faculty of / Graduate

On coming to power in 1948, the communist regime sought to transform Hungary into "a country of iron and steel." Industrialization and collectivization were made the order of the day; repressive police measures were necessary to force the project through. The effectiveness of this authoritarian regime has often been exaggerated by previous scholars. Drawing on archival documents, the "popular" press, and numerous contemporaneous interviews, I find instead that the communist administration was disorganized and ineffective, lending itself to manipulation by its subjects at all levels of the labor hierarchy from technocrats to factory workers to peasants. Its difficulties were further compounded by its clash with preexisting forms of social, economic, and cultural organization. In the countryside, peasants continued both traditional practices of resistance, such as wood theft, and cultural practices that were banned by the regime, such as pig-killing. Both of these forms of resistance persisted throughout the period; ironically, the products of these deviant practices were commodified as they found their way onto the black market. The party-state likewise proved unable to eradicate theft from work, black-marketeering, and 'cosmopolitan' forms of cultural consumption such as listening and dancing to American jazz. However, not all elements of society opposed the state at every turn; the limited successes the regime enjoyed were also due to these underlying forms of social organization. The patriarchal order that antedated communism carried through into the communist period, as is apparent in the regime's prostitution policy. Patriarchy's persistent influence was also a key factor in the nominal success of the regime's pronatalist policy in the early 1950s. Similarly, the regime's propaganda campaign against hooliganism resonated with a generational rift between the young generation coming of age under communism and its elders. Overall, though, most elements of society nursed numerous grievances against the authoritarian system. Although there is no direct linkage between outright rebellion and pig-killing, black-marketeering, or most of the other forms of criminal behavior I describe herein, their cumulative effect was the erosion of whatever fragile legitimacy the regime enjoyed and the society-wide normalization of anti-regime activity. In October 1956, the vox populi finally got its opportunity to talk back.

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