The purpose of this study is to make a comparative analysis of the development of high school library standards since 1918 by taking into consideration the factors of rapid growth of high school enrollments, modifications of the basic philosophy of education, and the development of secondary school libraries.

Many corporate managers elect to adopt a new Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (SFAS) early instead of waiting until the mandatory adoption date. This study tests for evidence that managers use early adoption as an earnings management tool in a manner consistent with one or more positive accounting theories.

Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are viewed by many people with interests in health care as valuable tools for reducing practice variations that undermine patient outcomes and increase medical costs. However, guidelines themselves vary in quality. Assessment tools generally base quality measures on strength of guidelines' evidence base, but particularly for newly emerging applications of ultrasound, standards for measuring guideline quality are controversial. The validity of a guideline is considered likely when strong research-based evidence supports its recommendations, but for newer medical procedures such as emerging ultrasound applications, available evidence is sparse. Existing assessment tools must be modified if they are effectively to measure the validity of these guidelines built on immature evidence. Focusing on ways document drafting affects CPG validity, this study rated six guidelines using the Appraisal of Guidelines Research and Evaluation (AGREE) tool which was customized according to categories of guideline purposes and their differing features of validity. Fine-tuning AGREE in this way may create a more consistent, informative method of evaluating guidelines for emerging applications, and standards established in such an instrument may be useful as a template during the guideline development process. Results from my analyses illuminate several common omissions that weakened documents. Most guidelines did not describe an updating procedure or identify areas for future research, but results also highlighted some highly effective techniques for building validity. Notable examples include providing full credentials for expert drafters, and embedding statement references directly in the text. From the results of the analysis, I conclude that, although the adapted assessment tool I used needs additional adjustment, it may refine analysis of guidelines for emerging ultrasound guidelines and conversely serve as a useful tool during their development process.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to determine the levels of concern of central office instructional administrators, building level principals, and teachers in Superintendents' Region Seven as they implement Virginias' Standards of Learning initiative. The Stages of Concern (SOC) Questionnaire and demographic sheet were mailed to a sample of 405 instructional personnel of Superintendents' Region Seven in Virginia; 231 responded. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis of variance procedures at the a=. 05 level of significance. Results revealed that central office instructional administrators (N=31), elementary principals (N=31), secondary principals (N=32), and elementary (N=33) and secondary teachers (N=33) not responsible for administering SOL Tests possessed profiles indicative of nonusers. The concerns for these groups were typically highest on stages 0, 1, and 2 and lowest on stages 4, 5, and 6. When the data were analyzed for elementary (N=30), and secondary teachers (N=41) responsible for administering SOL Tests, the findings identified these groups as possessing similar concerns. These groups were highest in stages 3, 6, and 2, respectively. A series of ANOVAs and Scheffes' post hoc analyses at the .05 level were conducted to analyze the data according to the group position/user or nonuser in relation to the seven stages of concern. When the participants were grouped according to position/grade level in relation to the seven stages of concern, an analysis of variance and Scheffes' post hoc were conducted to determine if the groups were significantly different at the .05 level. How practitioners feel about and perceive change will in large part determine whether or not change actually occurs in schools. The amount and scope of educational change needed to successfully implement the Standards of Learning is evident. It is believed the results of this study will provide reformers with an assessment of the various perceptions educators in Superintendents' Region Seven have regarding the implementation of the Standards of Learning. The implications and recommendations could aid reformers as they continue to implement the Standards of Learning and as they implement future initiatives. / Ed. D.

This is a historical study of the modern standards movement starting in 1983 with the landmark report, A Nation At Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform, and concluding in 1995 with the publication of the revised Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The study was done through a review of available archival papers, written documents, and oral testimony. The purpose of this study was to analyze critically the modern standards movement as a context to the development and implementation of the revised Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools. Objectives of the study were to identify key events and key characters that impacted the standards movement and identify issues that evolved. A main focus of the study was to develop a documentary history that identified themes that linked events and showed connections between past and current events. Phase one of the process involved data collection from appropriate literary sources and writing the history as portrayed in written documents. Phase two of the process was done through the collection of oral testimony from key informers, especially in the Virginia movement and weaving that testimony logically and chronologically into the appropriate documentary history. Phase three of the process concluded with the identification of main themes that linked events and implications for future studies. / Ed. D.

This study aims broadly to explore the legal and practical problems of winding up and insolvency for charities that are, or ought to be, registered with the Charity Commissioners for England and Wales and to explore possible 'rescue mechanisms.' It seeks to identify common underlying factors or trends associated with charities becoming insolvent or being wound up. The methodology consisted of book work and practical research in which a detailed study was made of 130 charitable companies and the experiences of legal and accountancy practitioners were sought. Twenty case studies were put together from information provided by the practitioners and from the author's own experience. The areas of legal complexity explored include problems associated with land and endowments, and the augmentation principle in respect of bequests to a corporate charity that has been dissolved. Some issues such as property holding and personal liability are more complex in an unincorporated association. Practical difficulties such as disputes between trustees, between staff and trustees, or between members are significant as are the legal and practical complexities associated with the contract culture. Charities represent an important sector of the economy, collectively being worth £19.7bn in 1998, and their success or failure is of public concern. The research indicates that charities are affected by societal changes, legislative change and changes in the attitudes of beneficiaries. Their dissolution or winding up is often a result of a combination of factors, both internal and external and service providing charities appear to be particularly vulnerable. The quality, cost, and availability of professional advice is considered. It is suggested that the role of local intermediary bodies could be enhanced and that a means be found for accrediting the competence of charity advisors, whether professional or lay.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 28-31, 1996 / Town and Country Hotel and Convention Center, San Diego, California / A distributed architecture framework has been developed for NASA at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) as the basis for developing an extended series of space mission support data systems. The architecture is designed to include both mission development and operations. It specifically addresses the problems of standardizing a framework for which commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) applications and infrastructure are expected to provide most of the components of the systems. The resulting distributed architecture is developed based on a combination of a layered architecture, and carefully selected open standards. The layering provides the needed flexibility in mission design to support the wide variability of mission requirements. The standards are selected to address the most important interfaces, while not over constraining the implementation options.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Economics and Finance / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The principal objective of this report is to conceptualize and articulate a product plan for EvoLesson, a hosted application for supporting the implementation of the standards-based lesson cycle. EvoLesson is a lesson planning application that supports the creation of efficient, effective and aligned assessments and daily lesson plans without restricting teacher autonomy. EvoLesson's lesson design process creates shared resources for objective driven, backwards-planned lesson development that facilitates the creation of teacher-generated daily objective student mastery data. EvoLesson's mission is to provide public school teachers and administrators with a platform to find, create, edit and share lesson planning resources and generate student data to improve teacher effectiveness and drive student performance. EvoLesson was created as a means of solving the daily challenge teachers face in attempting to implement standards-based lesson plans effectively. EvoLesson's teacher centered design creates values for both teachers and administrators by offering the following lesson planning benefits to impact student achievement. EvoLesson addresses the critical need of providing teachers and administrators with essential resources to support effective planning and drive student achievement. EvoLesson is positioned to compete in the rapidly growing education technology market, with specific emphasis on the content and instructional support segments. This report outlines a comprehensive strategy for marketing EvoLesson to both teachers and school districts. EvoLesson's future role in providing critical support for the implementation of standards-based learning has wide-ranging education policy implications, including increased student performance, improved teacher quality, and data support for improved teacher evaluation methods. At the state level, the ability to aggregate daily objective student mastery data can provide quality data feedback on standards alignment and testing. / text