The purpose of this study is to investigate student leadership development. This study will investigate if there are any differences in the estimate of gains from attending college between students who participated in a Leadership Community and a sample of non-participants. In this study, estimate of gains is defined as students' progress toward educational goals, as reflected in the College Student Experiences Questionnaire (CSEQ). The estimate of gains represents a measure of growth in college. The participants in this study were recipients of a first-year $1000 merit-based scholarship. Recipients of this scholarship earned a 3.75 grade point average and were ranked in the top 10 percent of his or her high school graduating class. One hundred and seventy-two students received these scholarships in the 1998-1999 academic year. Seventy-nine of these students chose to live in a Leadership Community their first-year in college. Ninety-three of these students chose to live else where on campus. Specifically, the study is designed to examine the following hypotheses: Null Hypothesis: There will be no difference in the mean scores of the CSEQ scales (a) Estimate of gains; (b) Student acquaintances; (c) Experiences with faculty; (d) Clubs and organizations; and (e) Course learning, for LC students as compared to NLC students. Research Hypothesis: The LC students will have higher mean scores on the CSEQ scales (a) Estimate of gains; (b) Student acquaintances; (c) Experiences with faculty; (d) Clubs and organizations; and (e) Course learning, than the NLC students. This quantitative study uses the College Student Experiences Questionnaire. The participants of this study will be in their fourth semester of college. The researcher will collect data from sections of the CSEQ that correspond with the hypotheses. This study isolates the variables that are associated with student leadership development to explore student leadership development within a specific population of students. The researcher will analyze the data using descriptive statistics, as the study measures the characteristics of a population at one point in time. The researcher will determine if there are differences between scores from students who participated in the leadership community and those who did not. The researcher anticipates this study will benefit educators in evaluating the leadership development efforts on their own campuses. / Master of Arts

Abstract The living circumstances of the elderly are closely related to the social changes in society. The aim of this research is to firstly, identify the impact of social changes on the spatial organization of dwellings and housing from the perspective of the elderly within the framework of social ageing, and secondly to examine the reasons for relocation of the elderly to sheltered housing. Using this data, some recommendations are made about a suitable barrier-free housing model for the elderly based on traditional Finnish rural housing. In addition to the need for barrier-free design criteria in the design process of future dwellings, understanding the social and psychological aspects of the traditional housing of the northern outreach can provide a new perspective for developing and modifying current living environments of the network society. Dwelling architecture already contains a versatile spatial order and a productive identity to constitute different levels of social order and integration. Applied in the network society, the traditional Finnish housing feature known as "tupa" has the capability of exceeding the physical boundaries of home to integrate the service possibilities of the cyberworld. This "tupa" model, both on the dwelling unit level and on the housing level, is not only suitable for the lifestyle of the network society, but also for the elderly who are gradually growing fragile. The "tupa" model functions as a suitable space for the elderly; firstly, as a place to grow old as productive members of the society after retirement and, secondly, as a place to function as active members fostered by the housing community and by the facilities of the network society. "Theme housing" model which is a reinterpretation of the principles of Finnish rural housing, provides a model which can both facilitate social interaction, and the productivity of different generations, while avoiding isolation and social exclusion in the network society.