The purpose of the study was to investigate the leadership role of the Texas Bandmasters Association (1920-1997) in the development of the band program in Texas. It sought to determine TBA's effect on the band movement in Texas, and ascertain how the TBA has contributed to the emphasis on performance focus that is associated with the Texas band tradition. In doing so, the study also provided information regarding the association's goals, purposes, activities, and contributions during the time period under investigation. The historical data for the study was compiled from documentary sources and personal interview. Documentary sources included minutes of meetings from 1920-1997, information contained in various periodicals including the Southwestern Musician combined with the Texas Music Educator, and a nearly complete set of clinic-convention programs. Historical data from past researchers, including several masters theses and doctoral dissertations, and tapes and transcripts of interviews conducted by past researchers, as well as interviews conducted by this researcher, were also utilized. Much of the historical data for the study was located at the Texas Music Educators Association archives, housed at the association headquarters in Austin, Texas. The researcher identified five periods of the association's history. In addition to developing a historical chronology, the study identified prominent leaders for each historical period and explored how these individuals shaped the development of the association, which has grown from a small group of municipal bandmasters in 1920, into the largest state band association in the world, with over 2,200 active members. The researcher chronicles the events that led up to the first annual clinic-convention in 1948, and continues through the fiftieth clinic-convention in 1997. Although the first clinic-conventions focused on new music and the marching band exclusively, over the years this original concept has expanded and now encompasses virtually every aspect of band work. The study sought answers to the following research questions: (1) Who were the primary leaders of the association during each historical period? (2) What was TBA's leadership structure during each period? What was its effect on the growth and development of the association? (3) What were TBA's goals and activities during each historical period and to what extent were the goals of the association achieved? What role did the leadership play in achieving these goals? What were TBA's contributions to the band movement in Texas during each historical period? (4) TBA has come to find its present niche in the presentation of an annual clinic-convention centered, at least initially, on new music and the marching band. What was the role of the leadership in making this present state of affairs become reality? Using a previous leadership model, the researcher found that the leaders identified were mainly elected officers and/or executive secretaries of the association. The leadership structure changed over the years in order to meet the association's needs at the time. Goals, activities, and contributions were discussed for each historical period and evaluations were made regarding the extent to which the association's goals were achieved. Finally, the role of the leadership in making the current state of affairs become reality was discussed, as well as recommendations for further research.

"It is the purpose of this study to present the organizational, operational, constitutional, and financial structures of eight junior high school band and music clubs of Tampa, Florida. A complete analysis and interpretation will be made of these structures. The following chapter will include the inner workings of these clubs"--Introduction. / "August, 1956." / Typescript. / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music Education." / Advisor: Robert L. Briggs, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 75).

"It is within the framework of the objects of the Parent-Teacher Association that the writer of this paper has projected his thinking about what might be done to promote parent-teacher understanding. The main purpose to be served by the paper is, therefore, that of projecting a concrete plan toward improvement of the school through making proper use of the Parent-Teacher Association Local Unit. At Cherry Lake School, it appears that the Local Unit of the Parent-Teacher Association has not met in full its first obligation, viz., to project a program for building real understanding among the parents and teachers concerned. Without attempting to fix blame on either parents or teachers, the writer, within the limits of the paper, will analyze the situation briefly and project in as concrete a form as is possible the next steps that might be taken. In other words, the focus of the paper will be that of projecting a concrete yet flexible plan that will be useful in promoting cooperative efforts on the part of parents and teachers during the school year 1955-56"--Introduction. / "August, 1955." / Typescript. / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science." / Advisor: W. Edwards, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 23-24).

There is disagreement about the role of civil society in the development of society, both among researchers and in national agreements between the public and civil actors. The thesis aims to study the political parties' view of the role of civil society in the development of society in Sweden. The main question sounds • What is the role of civil society in social development according to Socialdemokraterna, Moderaterna and Sverigedemokrtaerna? In order to carry out a good analysis, the basic question is divided into three sub-questions: • What are the similarities in the view of the role of civil society in social development between the political parties? • Are there any clear contradictions between the political parties on the question of the role of civil society in social development and how can these be understood? • How can the picture that appears in the analysis of the political parties' view of the role of civil society in social development give us a better picture of the more general view of civil society in Sweden? The thesis analysis is carried out as an idea analysis and is based on four ideal types which are compiled in an analysis scheme. The three political parties are selected on the basis of "most different systems design". The analyzed parties differ in ideological origin and in the party's own history and growth. The essay's analysis shows that the views of the analyzed political parties on civil society differ in most respects. The Social Democrats and Moderate politics agree on several of the ideal types used in the essay, while the Swedish Democrats' policies fail from all ideal types. The parties 'views on the role of civil society in society have clear sayings, ties with the parties' ideological origins. The large differences in the parties' politics regarding civil society can explain the many contradictory roles that civil society in Sweden is expected to take on.

Bibliography: pages 155-164. / This research study attempted to gather, present and analyse information regarding the current role of the Parent-Teacher-Student-Associations in the democratic governance of secondary schools for purposes of contributing towards the education governance policy discourse as South Africa moves away from apartheid to democracy. Central to this largely fact-finding exercise was an attempt to make a contribution to an understanding of how the Parent-Teacher-Student-Associations, in the execution of their duties, practice both democracy and accountability; operate; resolve tensions and/or differences among parents, teachers and students; impact upon the schools in general; and relate to both the Department of Education and Training and other organs of civil society. Further, this survey attempted to ascertain m which crucial areas the Parent-Teacher-Student-Associations are most lacking, and how these could be strengthened. And finally, an attempt was made in this study to contribute to the possible future role of the Parent-Teacher-Student Associations in the new democratic education dispensation, and how, in the execution of this new role the Parent-Teacher-Student-Associations should relate to the new, future democratic government. The study concluded with a number of recommendations for policy in the area of democratic school governance. The study used largely a survey method. The Parent-Teacher-Student-Associations of three secondary schools under the auspices of the Department of Education and Training in the Western Cape region were surveyed. The single most important data-gathering instrument used was the interview. Numerous conclusions were arrived at. First, the Parent-Teacher-Student-Associations studied were found to be very powerful and effective in their areas of operation in school governance despite their inability to have access to resources of power, wealth and expertise. These Parent-Teacher-Student-Associations are important education policy actors who are not only influencing policy, but are in total control of very crucial policy areas in their schools. Second, the study concluded that whereas the Parent-Teacher-Student-Associations studied represent an important step towards the full democratisation of education in general, and in their schools in particular, their role in school governance could not be described as an unqualified success. However, despite the problems associated with the PTSAs involvement in school governance, their role does have the potential to make for better schools. And finally, because of the limited nature of the study in terms of the methodology, scope and time, the conclusions arrived at here cannot and should not be generalised beyond the confines of the study as no attempt was made to embark upon regional or national research exercise.

In this dissertation, I examine the political organization of Maya states during the Classic period (AD 550-950) through the workings of an institutional order whose practices came to light in excavations at Xultun, Guatemala. Archaeological, artistic, and epigraphic evidence shows that members of this order, called Taaj, lived, worked and instructed others at a household compound called Los Sabios. Members specialized in indigenous Maya sciences and high-level ritual that were instrumental in the organized, astronomically-timed public ceremonies and crafted spectacles by which local sovereigns communicated and maintained political authority. The Taaj order first surfaced on a mural found within a small, central structure of Los Sabios. The artist(s) depicted three male Taaj members and two novices dressed in uniforms and labeled with ranked titles, with a high-ranking Taaj gesturing in ritual toward the enthroned ruling sovereign as the other Taaj look on. The mural also served as a palimpsest for scientific and astronomical calculations painted over and around the figures of the scene. Eventually, residents closed off this mural room and converted it into a mausoleum under which they buried a man dressed in the same uniform as the Taaj depicted on the mural. As household sub-floor burials were typical among the Maya, this discovery affirms that these Taaj resided at Los Sabios. Papermaking tools found throughout the residence suggest the Taaj recorded their scientific and ritual knowledge in barkpaper books. Such tools were also found buried with a woman at Los Sabios, showing her key role in creating books alongside the Taaj, despite her omission from the mural. Taaj has long been overlooked as a title, but my reconsideration of the term as it occurs elsewhere reveals its widespread use as such and indicates these Taaj figures existed throughout Maya area. These discoveries shed unexpected new light on governance and social organization among the Maya. Together, they reveal a political structure in which rulers relied on the expertise and secret knowledge of the Taaj to help sustain local systems of sovereignty as well as forms of class-based inequality that characterized Classic Maya society until the time of its collapse. / 2017-05-01

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)

The purpose of this study was to determine the theories of recruitment and compensations utilized by the Young Men's Christian Association to compare the reasons given by a selected group of volunteer leaders in the Young Men's Christian Association for their volunteer work with the opinions given by a selected group of Young Men's Christian Association program secretaries.

Grassland birds are the most rapidly declining bird guild in North America, due in large part to extensive loss and fragmentation of grassland habitat resulting from the spread of agriculture and other human-dominated landscapes. Over the past several decades, grassland birds have increasingly become a guild of high conservation and management interest as their populations continue to decline and suitable grassland habitat becomes continually scarcer. Although studies investigating grassland bird responses to management actions and habitat structure are common, few studies are concerned with clarifying the mechanisms through which habitat structure may affect grassland birds. Filling this knowledge gap is critical for increasing our understanding of grassland bird ecology and improving the effectiveness of management and restoration actions for grassland birds. To address this knowledge gap, I took a uniquely holistic approach to traditional grassland bird-habitat studies by concurrently gathering data on multiple wildlife taxa that may interact with birds to examine how these different taxa respond to habitat characteristics across multiple spatial scales, and how those responses may in turn impact grassland birds. Research was conducted on 10 grassland sites at Burning Star State Wildlife Management Area in northeast Jackson County, Illinois, during the bird breeding season (May-July) from 2018 to 2021. My first five objectives were to determine the grassland habitat characteristics that were most highly associated with the following taxa: arthropods, an important food source for adult and nestling grassland birds; small mammals, which are occasional nest predators and an alternate prey source for more prolific nest predators; snakes; raccoons; and grassland birds. My final objective was to estimate the extent to which grassland bird habitat associations were mediated through nest predator abundance, alternate prey abundance, and food availability. In Chapter 2, I examined associations between grassland arthropod communities and habitat characteristics representing three spatial scales: local (within-patch vegetation structure and composition), patch (size, shape, edge composition), and landscape (landcover composition within a 400 m buffer). In addition to their relevance for grassland birds, arthropods play important functional roles in grasslands and are useful indicators of grassland health. I collected arthropod samples using pan traps in grassland patches at Burning Star, and used generalized linear mixed models to relate variation in arthropod biomass and diversity to habitat predictor variables. I found that arthropod biomass increased with vegetation height at the local scale and proportion of forest/shrub edge at the patch scale, while arthropod diversity responded only to local-scale variables, including a negative association with vegetation height and woody vegetation cover, and a positive association with forb cover. I conclude that local vegetation structure and composition are the main drivers shaping arthropod communities at Burning Star, and that limiting woody encroachment and increasing forb cover and variation in vegetation height within grassland patches may encourage arthropod abundance and diversity in tallgrass prairies. In Chapter 3, I estimated associations between small mammal abundance and habitat variables, again representing three spatial scales. I surveyed small mammal communities using a grid of 100 Sherman traps set out for three nights at each study site. I identified all captured individuals to genus, individually marked them with ear tags, and estimated abundance using a combination of Huggins P and C models in Program Mark and generalized linear mixed models in Program R. I found that small mammal abundance was positively related to vegetation density and negatively related to plant diversity, though variation in plant diversity affected Microtus voles more strongly than Peromyscus mice. At the landscape scale, small mammal abundance was positively associated with the amount of water surrounding a patch, and negatively associated with the amount of grassland surrounding a patch. Variation in small mammal community composition (proportions of Microtus vs Peromyscus) was mostly governed by differences in habitat structure at the landscape scale, rather than differences in vegetation structure at the local scale. I suggest that managers interested in influencing small mammal abundance in grasslands encourage dense vegetation growth by limiting disturbance if increased small mammal abundance is desired, or reduce vegetation density by increasing disturbance frequency to reduce small mammal abundance. Additionally, increasing plant diversity by sowing a high diversity of seeds may be an effective way to control Microtus vole populations. In Chapter 4, I estimated the habitat associations of snakes at Burning Star, focusing on the relative abundance of snakes among different grassland sites, as well as snake diversity and species-specific occupancy. Although snakes are prolific nest predators of grassland birds, they are also integral components of grassland systems, and there may be instances where managers and decision-makers wish to increase, rather than decrease, their abundance in grasslands. I found that snake community metrics were strongly and positively related to an increase in woody plant cover at the local (within-patch) scale. Snake relative abundance was also positively related to an increase in grass cover and a decrease in forb cover, though my occupancy results suggest that this was primarily driven by an increase in black kingsnakes (Lampropeltis nigra). At the patch scale, snake relative abundance and diversity were both positively related to the proportion of patch edge composed of roads. Habitat structure at the landscape scale had the smallest impact on snakes in this study, though the proportion of trees in the landscape was positively related to snake diversity. I suggested that managers and conservationists interested in manipulating snake abundance in grasslands focus on within-patch vegetation structure and composition. Decreasing woody cover in grasslands, or increasing the ratio of forbs to grasses, may reduce the presence of snakes, while maintaining a woody component could encourage both snake abundance and diversity. In Chapter 5, I estimated the habitat characteristics that were most strongly associated with raccoon abundance estimates in grassland patches at Burning Star. Raccoons have become increasingly important avian nest predators in midwestern grasslands due to rampant habitat fragmentation. I estimated raccoon abundance using an occurrence index from a series of baited trail cameras located in grassland sites. I found no convincing evidence of raccoon abundance being influenced by local scale habitat structure, beyond a weak association with vegetation height. At the patch scale, raccoon abundance was positively related to the proportion of patch edge composed of roads. At the landscape scale, raccoon abundance was negatively related to grassland, and positively related to water, within 400 meters of a grassland patch. I recommended that managers concerned with minimizing the presence of raccoons in grasslands should limit roads along grassland perimeters, maximize the proportion of grassland in the landscape surrounding a grassland patch, and avoid planning a grassland restoration in close proximity to open water if possible. In Chapter 6, I estimated the habitat characteristics that were most strongly associated with daily nest survival, nest density, and abundance of Dickcissels (Spiza americana), Field Sparrows (Spizella pusilla), and Common Yellowthroats (Geothlypis trichas), but also considered responses of all grassland bird species combined. I considered habitat characteristics representing four spatial scales: nest site, within-patch, patch, and landscape, though the nest site scale was only considered for nest survival analyses. I found that Dickcissels, an obligate grassland species, exhibited the strongest response to fire, as nest density drastically improved after previously undisturbed grasslands were burned. Dickcissel abundance was positively related to agriculture at the landscape scale and negatively related to woody cover. Field sparrows demonstrated a preference for woody cover and proximity to forests and shrublands, and Common Yellowthroats were positively associated with forb cover. Both Field Sparrow and Common Yellowthroat nest survival increased with greater distance from an edge, though no edge effect was detected for Dickcissel nest survival. All bird species benefitted from increased plant diversity and greater patch size. All species also responded negatively to vegetation height or litter depth, suggesting that fire, which reduces vegetation biomass and litter, may indirectly benefit the facultative grassland birds of Burning Star in addition to Dickcissels. In Chapter 7, I used structural equation models and data gathered in the previous five chapters to estimate whether the effects of habitat structure on breeding Field Sparrows is mediated through changes in predator (snake and raccoon) abundance, alternate prey availability, or arthropod biomass. I used Field Sparrows as the focal species for this chapter because they were the most common grassland bird in my dataset. I found no evidence of nest survival or nest density of Field Sparrows being directly influenced by nest predator abundance, alternate prey, or arthropod biomass, although habitat characteristics associated with increased nest survival were also associated with greater arthropod biomass and reduced predator abundance. I suggested that habitat structure at Burning Star may primarily impact breeding Field Sparrows through direct means, such as influencing nest concealment or foraging efficiency. These results also suggest that nest success and nest density are decoupled in this study area, so Field Sparrows may be preferentially selecting nest sites with structural characteristics that do not increase nest survival. Ultimately, my findings from this study indicate that while predator avoidance and food provisioning likely play an important role in determining nest survival for grassland birds, predator abundance and arthropod biomass may not necessarily predict predation risk and foraging efficiency to the extent that is often assumed.

In this study, identity construction among Yugoslavs in Sweden is explored through Jugoslaviska riksförbundet i Sverige (Yugoslav National Association in Sweden, JRF). The activities and structure of the JRF are understood through the lens of strategies and perception, grounded in the theoretical frameworks of social identity theory and integration from the migrant perspective. These perspectives highlighted how the JRF constructed its identity according to expectations placed upon them by both the Swedish integration policy and the Yugoslav’s perception of them as “temporary workers abroad”. This did not mean a placid acceptance of these expectations, but rather the JRF used them to influence perceptions of the organization. The JRF adopted organizational structures and policies from Yugoslavia and adapted them to the Swedish context. This resulted in a decentralized organizational structure in which the primary activity of the national association was political, and thus the JRF’s notion of “Yugoslav” and how to maintain such an identity was grounded in political activity, such as advocating for the national communities within the organization or sending youth labor brigades to Yugoslavia.