No description available.

In spite of an expanding enrollment of African American males in community colleges in the United States, the early departure of this minority group is one of concern. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore African American males’ identification of the factors that contributed to their persistence at community colleges. Data were collected through structured interviews with 7 African American male community college graduates who were enrolled at a 4-year university when the study was conducted. Data were analyzed through by coding and categorizing in order to determine themes. Social integration and social cognitive models were used to obtain an understanding of the factors that allowed these students to persist in their studies and obtain their associate degree. With this study, the researcher aimed at creating a mental picture of African American male students who have completed an associate degree by identifying the factors that African American males perceived contributed to their persistence. This study builds upon the limited amount of research available which focused on African American males attending community colleges. The researcher sought to bring understanding to factors affecting the persistence of African American males at community colleges. The study’s findings are significant as they highlight African American males’ identification of persistence factors; this information could be used by community college administrators to better support the success rates of African American males.

No description available.

For nearly a century, community colleges have worked to accommodate students both in and out of the classroom. They do this for a number of reasons, in a number of ways, and to many this is one of the main features that distinguish these institutions that pride themselves on being student-centered from their counterparts, the state universities. Another distinguishing feature is that community colleges have exceptionally high rates of student satisfaction. While students who are accommodated may feel satisfied while enrolled in community colleges, this study revealed how they felt once they transferred to four-year state universities. Research shows that most students experience “transfer shock,” which includes among other things an immediate decline in the GPA. Do these transfer students feel the community college experience and education helped prepare them in their pursuit of a baccaluarate degree, or do they find the transition more difficult than expected? This study looks at the community college, its history, and its history of student accommodation. Featured are phenomonologic interviews with eight subjects—students who transferred from community colleges and are presently enrolled in state universities. Interviews revealed that they were accommodated at their respected community colleges, they suffered “transfer shock,” they were not prepared for university culture and academics, but that they found community college accommodation necessary, as it prepared them for college, if not the university itself. Also included is a review of a University of Massachusetts (Amherst) “Community College Transfer Student” survey which supplements the research.

The purpose of this case study has been to describe and evaluate the Educational Transitions Program (ETP) at Greenfield Community College (GCC). The ETP was established in 1995 to provide an opportunity for academically able high school students at-risk of dropping out to attend GCC full-time while concurrently enrolled in high school. Community college programs for at-risk high school students are relatively new and uncommon. A body of literature has begun to develop, particularly around dual enrollment programs and middle college high schools, two types of programs that share common elements with the ETP. Data for the study were collected using a combination of documents analysis and interviews with ETP students, and staff from GCC and participating high schools. Participants' experiences and perceptions provided a foundation for describing the program and outlining its benefits and challenges. Benefits to ETP students included earning college credit concurrently with a high school diploma, developing improved self-images, and experiencing renewed interest in education and the future. GCC and participating high schools fulfilled an element of their educational missions by providing potential dropouts with an opportunity to remain in school by enrolling in the ETP. Institutions' enrollment and finances benefited from the ETP since both high schools and college received funding for ETP students and could include these students in enrollment statistics. Challenges and problems the ETP faced included the limited number of local high schools participating in the program and the low level of success for ETP students from at least one high school that did participate. Factors contributing to these challenges included the existence and enrollment of an appropriate cohort for the ETP, the varying levels of commitment high schools made to the program, and the program's cost. Issues for further consideration include the need to (1) understand what keeps high schools from participating in the program, (2) determine whom the program can effectively serve and whether there is a reasonable cohort appropriate to the program, and (3) evaluate the relationship between the costs and benefits of the program as plans are made for the ETP's future.

This study provides current, comprehensive information about the formal human resource strategic planning practices of major U.S. corporations and examines the impact of this planning on organization performance. The research in this study was carried out in two phases. Phase one consisted of a mail survey to identify firms using formal human resource strategic planning processes. Questionnaires were mailed to the Vice President of Personnel/Human Resources in each firm listed in the 1981 Fortune 500 Directory. The second part of this study consisted of a comparison between the performance of the sample firms using formal human resource strategic planning processes and non-users of such systems. The performance measures used in the study were sales growth, earnings growth, earnings/sales ratio, return on investment, earnings/employee, assets/employees, earnings/labor costs, and labor costs/employees. Data from the Standard and Poor's 1981 Compustat Tapes were used to calculate these measures. Two approaches to data analysis were undertaken. The first analysis consisted of a two-way multivariate analysis of variance, using industry groupings and formal human resource strategic planners versus non-human resource strategic planners as the independent variables, and five-year average on the eight performance measures as the dependent variables. The second analysis consisted of a comparison of five-year performance prior to the introduction of formal human resource strategic planning with both five-year and ten-year post human resource strategic planning performance. The results of these two analyses indicated no significant differences between the performance of firms using formal human resource strategic planning and firms that do not. Formal human resource strategic planning is still in its infancy. Few firms have developed the fully-integrated processes outlined in the literature. Fifty-five percent of the respondent firms initiated human resource strategic planning after 1976. The results show that larger firms are more likely to engage in formal human resource strategic planning. While the trend appears to be toward greater adoption of formal processes, the results presented in this study suggest that organizations have yet to reap the benefits of such planning.

Abstract not available

Part I of this study has highlighted certain aspects pertaining to the patients admitted to the Spinal Cord Unit at the Conradie Hospital, Pinelands, with Spinal Cord Injury (s.c.i.). The main points of interest are as follows: 0 The majority of victims of s.c.i. in this series are young men, mainly Black or Coloured, with a low educational and poor employment status, with little in the way of pension or sick leave benefits. 0 Post injury employment opportunities are very limited, as are vocational training facilities. 0 The main causes of injury are examined, and while Motor Vehicle Accidents, Falls and Gunshot wounds are commonly described in the literature as causes of s.c.i., what is unique at the Conradie Hospital is the high percentage of stab wounds (29,6%) causing spinal cord lesions. 0 The method of injury in patients coming from Cape Town is compared and contrasted with the methods of injury in other areas. 0 The levels of the cord lesions and the clinical sequelae are analysed, and while Tetraplegia and Paraplegia are well described in all series on spinal cord injuries, this series is unique in the large number of Brown-Sequard type lesions (36, or 12,7% of all patients) that exist, associated with the large number of stab wounds.

Today, urban development rapidly expands in India due to its immense population density and ongoing globalization. This phenomenon poses a significant challenge as it consumes vast land areas, leaving medium and low-income families without the space to build their homes. This research focuses on strategies to reduce the negative impact of urban sprawl on these groups. The case of Amaravathi, a new capital city being constructed in Andhra Pradesh, India, highlights the concern about using valuable agricultural land for urban purposes. To mitigate horizontal land expansion, the study explores the potential solution of increasing city height limits. Analysis of proposals like Le Corbusier's Three Million City and Radiant City provides insights into crucial factors such as building height and ground plane considerations. The further investigation includes the demolished Kowloon City in Hong Kong and Frank Lloyd Wright's 1 Mile Tower. This research developed a strategy for a vertical neighborhood cluster in Amaravathi, considering ventilation, resident experience, land preservation, human behavior, and agricultural sustainability. The goal is to reduce the negative impact of urban expansion on medium and low- income families while promoting sustainable urban development. / Master of Science / In today's world, cities in India are rapidly growing due to dense populations and globalization. This expansion consumes large amounts of land, leaving medium and low-income families without space for their homes. This research aims to find solutions to this issue. Take the case of Amaravathi, a new capital city in Andhra Pradesh, India. Valuable agricultural land is being used for this project, raising concerns about its wise utilization. One approach to address this is exploring vertical city growth by increasing building heights. Lessons can be learned from past proposals like Le Corbusier's Three Million City and Radiant City, which provide insights into building height and layout considerations. Real-life examples like the demolished Kowloon City in Hong Kong and Frank Lloyd Wright's 1 Mile Tower help us understand the successes and failures of vertical urban development. Based on this research, a strategy is developed for creating a vertical neighborhood cluster in Amaravathi. This strategy considers ventilation, resident experience, land preservation, human behavior, and agricultural sustainability. By implementing this strategy, we aim to reduce the negative impact of urban expansion on medium and low-income families while promoting sustainable urban development. The goal is to create livable, efficient cities that respect valuable resources and meet the needs of all residents.

Background. When available, chest radiography is widely used in acute lower respiratory infections in children. Its impact on clinical outcome is unknown. Methods. A randomised controlled trial was performed of 522 children aged 2 to 59 months who met the World Health Organisation case definition for pneumonia. The main outcome was time to recovery, measured in a subset of 398 participants who offered a telephone number. Subsidiary outcomes included diagnosis, elements of clinical management and subsequent use of health facilities. Findings. There was a marginal improvement in time to recovery, which was not clinically significant. The median time to recovery was seven days in both groups, 95% CI 6-8 days and 6-9 days in the radiograph and control groups respectively (p=0.50, log rank test). The hazard ratio for recovery was 1.08 (95% CI 0.85 to 1.34). This lack of effect was not modified by clinicians' experience and no sub-groups of children were identified in whom the radiograph had an effect. Pneumonia was diagnosed more often in the radiograph group (14.4% vs. 8.8%, p=0.03) and bronchiolitis less often ( 44% vs. 56%, p=0.005). Antibiotic usage was higher in the radiograph group (60.8% vs. 52.2%, p=0,05). There were no differences in subsequent health facility usage. Interpretation. Despite a net change in diagnosis and an increase in antibiotic usage, chest radiography did not affect clinical outcome in outpatient children with acute lower respiratory infection. This lack of effect was independent of clinicians' experience. There were no clinically identifiable sub-groups of children within the World Health Organisation case definition of pneumonia who benefited from radiography. It is concluded that routine use of chest radiography is not beneficial in ambulatory children over two months of age with acute lower respiratory infection.