An assessment instrument for use by non-physical educators in screening the performance of selected gross motor skills by kindergarten children was developed. Selected locomotor, manipulative, and stability skills were assessed from both a product and pattern perspective. / A sample of 655 kindergarten students were screened with the Central Florida Gross Motor Screening Inventory (CFGMSI). A subsample of 90 subjects were assessed and reassessed by the same personnel for the purpose of obtaining test-retest reliability data. A separate subsample of 90 subjects were assessed by two independent personnel teams simultaneously to obtain inter-rater reliability data. / The degree of skewness for the test scores indicated that the subjects performed better on the selected locomotor and stability tasks than expected. The subjects' performance was less skilled than expected for the manipulative tasks. The product and pattern aspects of performance for the selected locomotor, manipulative, and stability tasks were determined to be independent of each other. / The CFGMSI was found to possess statistically significant internal consistency under all testing conditions which is indicative of total test reliability. The proportion of agreement computations for the test-retest comparisons all reached sufficient levels to assure practical meaningfulness. However, the obtained coefficients of agreement and correlations from the test-retest comparisons failed to achieve statistical significance. The proportion of agreement computations for the inter-rater comparisons also assured practical meaningfulness. Additionally, the inter-rater data indicated statistically acceptable levels of test objectivity for all facets of the CFGMSI except the pattern aspects of both the locomotor subtest and the catch component of the manipulative subtest. Since the inter-rater comparisons were so robust it was postulated that the lack of statistical significance for the test-retest comparisons was a result of the naturally occurring developmental variability of kindergarten aged children. / The results of this study indicated that the CFGMSI is a valid and reliable instrument for use with kindergarten children which can be administered to large numbers of children by non-physical educators. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-01, Section: A, page: 0118. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1985.

This investigation was conducted primarily to compare the influence of an internal, controllable, unstable orientation with that of other orientations on self-concept of ability (SCOA), intrinsic motivation, performance, and expectations of performance during perceived failure. Male and female seventh, eighth, and ninth grade students (N = 332) responded to a SCOA questionnaire. Based on the response to this questionnaire, 42 low and 42 high SCOA subjects were selected to participate in this study. Separately, the low and high SCOA subjects each randomly assigned to one of three causal dimension orientation groups, with restrictions on gender and grade, were oriented to perceive their performance on a stabilometer balancing task as due to (1) internal, controllable, unstable factors (ICU); (2) internal, uncontrollable, stable factors (IUS); or (3) nothing in particular (NDO). Participants then received fictitious normative feedback over 15 trials, suggesting they had performed below average compared to other seventh, eighth, and ninth grade students. Dependent variables included (1) persistence (intrinsic motivation) with the experimental task, (2) expectancies, (3) performance scores, (4) responses to a Causal Dimension Scale, and (5) responses to a SCOA scale. The persistence, expectancies, and performance dependent measures were significant considering SCOA. Causal dimension orientations were also significant. More specifically, the High SCOA group persisted longer, had higher expectations, and performed significantly better than the Low SCOA group. Furthermore, the ICU group persisted for a longer amount of time, revealed higher expectations over trials, and performed significantly better over trials than the IUS and NDO groups. In addition, the results for the Causal Dimension scale revealed that the dimensional orientations appeared to influence the / internal and stable dimensions. The results of this investigation were discussed in terms of the benefits of internal, controllable, and unstable dimensions on cognitive and behavioral parameters for individuals either high or low in SCOA. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-09, Section: A, page: 2620. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1985.

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate differences in the perceived stress levels of university freshman athletes and non-athletes by sex, race, high-school size, hometown size, and basic stress knowledge. Subjects for the study included freshman students represented by athletes from The Florida State University (FSU-FA) (n = 65) and Florida A&M University (FAMU-FA) (n = 78); Summer Enrichment Program (SEP) freshmen (n = 52) from The Florida State University; and non-athletes from Florida A&M University (FAMU-RF) (n = 260), and The Florida State University (FSU-RF) (n = 375). Non-athletes served as the control group with whom athletes could be compared. / This study included the use of two instruments, a biographical information sheet and the stress levels inventory. The stress levels inventory instrument contained five sections. The first four sections included assessment scales and were as follows: (a) Patterns of Behavior, (b) Anxious-Reactive Personality, (c) Overload, and (d) Self-Perception. The complete stress levels inventory packets were administered to the three designated categories of students at The Florida State University and Florida A&M University. Participants were given as much time as they needed to complete the instrument. The packets were given to Dr. Beverly Yerg to administer to the freshman athletes at The Florida State University. The researcher administered the test to the other groups. / The hypotheses were tested using two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Data were analyzed by five independent variables (sex, race, high-school size, hometown size, and basic stress knowledge). The dependent variable was the stress score. There were four different stress scores. The data were reported in three parts: (a) demographical data (sex, race, high-school size, and hometown size), (b) basic stress knowledge, and (c) levels of stress for each group. Descriptive statistics were used to report the demographic data. The results of this investigation indicated that, in the area of Patterns of Behavior, SEP and FAMU-FA females had a high Type A-like behavior according to sex. All other areas for all groups were moderate. In the area of Anxious-Reactive Personality, SEP females had high stress according to sex. All other areas for all groups were moderate or low. In the area of overload, all the groups experienced moderate stress. However, in the area of Self-Perception; all the groups had an extremely low self-image of themselves. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-07, Section: A, page: 1698. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.

Intense cooling of a warm-core ring can cause the ring to sink under the surrounding fluids. A simple model of this process in a two and one-half layer (two active and one passive layer) ocean consisting of an inviscid Boussinesq fluid on an f-plane is presented. The model assumes that the cooling is limited to just the ring and occurs in such a way as to maintain a uniform density throughout the ring. This special cooling allows the results for various ring densities to be connected through the conservation of potential vorticity. The analytic solution that is derived for this model is examined to establish the physical processes accompanying the cooling and sinking of a ring. / Results show that warm-core rings can sink in a matter of days when exposed to typical cold air outbreaks of 500 to 1000 W m('-2). The model predicts that when the ring sinks it is overwashed completely, but this overwashing layer is very thin near the center of the ring. Thus the overwashing fluid would slow (but not eliminate) the cooling of the ring. Further analysis of the system assuming that the ring continues to be cooled after sinking shows that the overwashing fluids spiral in towards the center of the ring. These spiral trajectories steepen as the cooling rate increases, achieving spiral angles approaching those observed in Gulf Stream rings for cooling rates of about 1000 W m('-2). It is proposed that this mechanism can lead to the formation of streamers when one portion of the overwashing fluid has been passively marked with a visible tracer such as temperature or chlorophyll. / It is shown that the fluid that initially overwashes the ring originates under the ring, and not from outside the ring. When the ring sinks, this fluid is pushed out to the edge of the ring and spun up in the process. The theory further provides a mechanism for the entrainment of shelf-water organisms that are observed in warm-core rings. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-03, Section: B, page: 0688. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.

The following endoergic ion-molecule reactions were investigated with a crossed beam apparatus: (UNFORMATTED TABLE FOLLOWS) / Cs('+) + C(,6)H(,5)CN (--->) C(,6)H(,5)('+) + CsCN (1) / Cs('+) + C(,4)H(,7)Cl (--->) C(,4)H(,7)('+) + CsCl (2) / (--->) C(,3)H(,5)('+) + C(,2)H(,2) + CsCl (3) / Cs('+) + C(,3)H(,5)Br (--->) C(,3)H(,5)('+) + CsBr (4)(TABLE ENDS) / Angular and energy distributions were measured for these reactions at the following relative collision energies: reaction (1) at 10.9 and 13.1 eV, reaction (2) at 7.2 eV, reaction (3) at 9.9 eV, and reaction (4) at 7.2 and 9.5 eV. / Cartesian contour maps of the relative scattering intensity of the product ion were constructed for each reaction at each relative collision energy. The experimental contour maps for reactions (1) through (3) showed the greatest scattering intensity sideways to the center of mass, unlike the results of other similar systems investigated in this lab. The experimental contour map for reaction (4) showed backward peaking. / A general treatment of the Sequential Impulse Model (SIM) was developed for endoergic, exoergic and elastic reactions and generic calculated contour maps were presented to illustrate the effects of the model's adjustable parameters. Best fit calculated SIM contour plots were presented for reactions (1), (2) and (4). Contour maps of the relative intensity of the scattered product ion for reactions (1) and (2) were reproduced quite successfully, while the corresponding contour maps for reaction (4) were reproduced with fair success. / The SIM best fit calculations for reaction (1) were discussed in comparison with SIM calculations published for reactions of Cs('+) with other substituted benzenes. Physical and chemical implications of the SIM best fit parameters were discussed for each system. Finally, several modifications to the SIM were suggested to enhance the model's realism. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-03, Section: B, page: 0772. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.

Pictorial and verbal instructions were compared relative to the learning of a novel motor skill. High school-aged subjects (n = 54, 16-18 year old males) were divided into six instructional treatment groups: (1) Verbal; (2) Pictorial; (3) Pictorial and Verbal; (4) Verbal and Imagery; (5) Pictorial and Imagery; and (6) Pictorial and Strategic coding. It was hypothesized that the four groups using pictures as an instructional aid would demonstrate superior performance versus the two verbal treatment groups. It was also predicted that the learning trends would be different for the pictorial groups as compared to the verbal groups. It was further hypothesized that imagery ability would be related to performance, and therefore, each subject's imagery ability score was to be used as a covariate. Results of a one-way ANOVA supported the primary hypothesis. That is, subjects in the pictorial treatment conditions performed significantly better than subjects in the verbal treatment conditions. No significant differences were observed between the four pictorial conditions. Similarly, no significant difference was discovered between the verbal treatment conditions. / A 6 x 10 ANOVA (6 methods x 10 repeated measures) was used to analyze subject's performance over trials. Significant results were discovered for between groups, between trials, and the interaction of trials by groups. Learning trends for subjects in the pictorial groups continued to display improvement through the fourth trial. However, for subjects in the verbal groups the learning trends leveled off after the initial performance trial. The hypothesis that imagery ability would be related to performance was not sustained. Therefore, the covariate score of imagery ability was not applied to the overall analysis. Implications of findings in this investigation indicate that learners will benefit from environments that include pictorial illustrations as a learning aid. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-07, Section: A, page: 1700. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.

A numerical model simulation investigates the influence of the mid-Atlantic ridge on non-linear barotropic and first-mode baroclinic Rossby waves generated by seasonal wind fluctuations. The north Atlantic is simulated by a square-box, two-layer quasi-geostrophic model. The bottom topography is ridge-like and compromises the QG approximation and the actual shape of the ridge. Sponge layers protect all boundaries except the eastern one from wave reflexion. The model is forced by a purely fluctuating wind stress curl derived from the most significant EOF's of the FGGE winds. A flat bottom and a ridge experiment are compared. The topography is an important source of barotropic variability for the eastern basin. The topographic Rossby waves generated over the ridge, either by wave reflexion or by direct wind forcing, account for at least 50% of the barotropic variability of that basin. Their frequencies range from 0.01 to 0.05 cpd. / In both experiments the eastern boundary is an important source of annual-period baroclinic Rossby waves. Wavetrains having a wavelength of about 1060 km and a westward phase speed around 3.4 cm sec('-1) propagate energy westward at 3 cm sec('-1). In the flat bottom experiment a source of directly wind-forced baroclinic waves of annual period is found in the middle of the basin. Their amplitude is smaller and they have a noticeable northward phase propagation resulting in a southward group velocity component. The topography blocks the waves coming from the eastern boundary but generates new wavetrains whose phase vector is almost normal to the ridge crest. Those waves propagate energy mostly westward at 2.9 cm sec('-1). The northern waves are out of phase with the southern ones because of the structure of the dominant wind pattern over the ridge region where they are generated. All waves have a small group velocity component in the meridional direction. It is northward (at 0.34 cm sec('-1)) for the northern waves and southward (at 0.32 cm sec('-1)) for the southern waves. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-12, Section: B, page: 4811. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.

Samples of fresh and weathered Florida phosphate rock were analyzed for several uranium decay-series radionuclides. In bulk samples, almost all radionuclides display higher activities in weathered samples compared to fresh material. ('230)Th is normally in isotopic equilibrium with ('234)U in fresh material but is often depleted and occasionally enriched in highly weathered samples. ('226)Ra is close to equilibrium with its parent ('230)Th in most samples. ('210)Pb/('226)Ra activity ratios were less than 1.00, as expected, due to radon leakage. Less than unity activity ratios of ('210)Po/('210)Pb in a few weathered samples indicates a preferential release of ('210)Po under some conditions. / Highly weathered samples contain the most significant portion of their activity within the finest size fraction, while radionuclide activity in fresh samples tends to follow the predominant size of the phosphate particles. The finest size material of nearly all weathered samples shows a significant depletion of ('226)Ra relative to ('238)U, while fresher samples show a small excess ('226)Ra activity. Radionuclide concentrations are governed by 2 processes which occur during intense weathering of phosphate rock: (1) increased surface area with enhanced adsorption and (2) transformation of phosphate pellets into more CARFAP-pure "pebble" phases. / Based on over 2 years of measurements, the mean concentration of dissolved ('226)Ra in the Suwannee River is 26 dpm 100L('-1), 2-4 times higher than most other world's rivers. Radium in the Suwannee River appears to be controlled by two processes: (1) relative mixing of water from surface drainage (low radium); and (2) interaction between soluble radium and particulate matter in the suspended load of the river. / The annual long-term discharge of dissolved ('226)Ra to the Gulf of Mexico is approximately 3.3 x 10('12) dpm yr('-1), about two orders of magnitude less than that discharged by the Mississippi River. Upon entrance into the Gulf, a portion of the particulate radium is released accounting for part of the high ('226)Ra concentrations observed in the estuary. Other possible radium sources to the estuary include submarine springs, seepage of coastal ground water and salt marshes. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-12, Section: B, page: 4811. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.

Data were obtained from 62 secondary school physical education supervisors and 69 secondary school principals in Alabama public secondary schools. Instruments selected from the literature were modified, evaluated, and refined by a panel of experts. The revisions and modifications suggested by the experts and the pilot study resulted in a 98-item questionnaire. The Chi-Square test of two independent samples was used to test Hypotheses 1 through 14 to determine whether differences exist between the perceptions of the physical education supervisors and the secondary school principals regarding the actual and expected job roles of the physical education supervisor for the duties related to seven categories: Staff, Scheduling, In-Service Education, General Administration, Public Relations, Facilities and Equipment and Curriculum Development. The .01 adjusted alpha level was used as the criterion for the rejection of the hypotheses. / The following conclusions were made: (a) Physical education supervisors and principals agree on the actual and expected job responsibility roles of physical education supervisors in the Staff, Scheduling, In-Service Education, General Administration, Public Relations and Curriculum Development categories; (b) Physical education supervisors and principals disagree on the actual and expected job responsibility roles of physical education supervisors in the Facilities and Equipment category; (c) Physical education supervisors have a role conflict situation because their perceptions of actual and expected job responsibility roles are in disagreement with those of principals in Facilities and Equipment and to a lesser degree in Scheduling and General Administration; and (d) The physical education supervisors were in agreement with the actual job responsibilities, while the principals were in agreement with the expected job responsibilities of physical education supervisors. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-02, Section: A, page: 0331. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.

The primary purpose of this investigation was to study the effects of perceived teacher stress and work environment complexity, on job satisfaction of physical education faculty at Division I-AA Institutions. In addition, differences in the job satisfaction of physical educators who perceived high or low occupational stress, and employed in a simple or complex environment were studied. / Three instruments were used. The Perceived Work Environment Measure (PWEM) contains 51 items and looks at nine dimensions of the work environment. The Teacher Occupational Stress Factor Questionnaire (TOSFQ) is a 30 item five factor instrument. The job descriptive index (JDI) contains 72 items and provides a satisfaction score related to the teacher's job. / Data used were obtained from 348 teachers at 81 institutions and randomly selected to receive a questionnaire along with a personal data sheet, a stamped self-addressed envelope and a scan sheet for responses. The PWEM and TOSFQ were used to obtain a measure on the independent variables. For this study, each independent variable was partitioned into two categories; (a) Environment, simple or complex; and (b) Stress, high or low. In order to determine the effect of the two independent variables (environment complexity and job stress) on the dependent variable work satisfaction, the problem was analyzed using multiple regression, and a 2 x 2 factorial design with Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The p < .05 significance level was used as the criterion for the rejection of the hypotheses. / Conclusions. Multiple regression analysis revealed a moderate effect between work environment complexity and work satisfaction. A moderate negative effect was exerted on work satisfaction by the stress variable. As a further test of the hypotheses, the data were presented in a 2 x 2 cross tabulation which showed physical educators with lower work satisfaction and employed in a simple environment perceived more occupational stress than physical educators with higher job satisfaction. The data indicated that the perception of low occupational stress produces greater work satisfaction. The effect of perceived stress on job satisfaction appears to hold true, whether the physical educators worked in a simple or complex environment. / Recommendations. (a) Similar studies should be conducted using teachers in other departments; (b) Studies using different size institutions, State or Private, to determine if either affect teacher job satisfaction; and (c) Studies using a more heterogeneous population of educators. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.) / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-06, Section: A, page: 2076. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.