The transition from elementary to middle school has been characterized as one of many “normative life crises" that involves both an increased opportunity for psychological growth and a heightened vulnerability to psychological disturbance. Principles from life stress/transition literature and prevention research have been applied to the development of programs designed to help students adapt to the various changes they encounter in the transition from elementary to middle school. In the present study, students evincing a poor academic transition to middle school were identified following the second grading period of the sixth grade, and placed into one of two 16-week treatment conditions. The "full treatment" condition consisted of group support (including training in problem—solving and social skills, goal-setting, self-monitoring, and incentives), parental support, and increased teacher support; the "partial treatment" condition consisted only of teacher support. A group of good academic transition students was included in the study for comparative purposes. Measures of depression, anxiety, stress, and self-esteem were administered to students at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and followup, and behavior problem checklists were completed by teachers at the same points in time. At pre-treatment, important differences were found between treatment and comparison students, most notably along the behavioral dimension. The full treatment group showed a significant improvement in grade-point average (GPA) and depression scores over time, whereas the partial treatment group did not. However, improvement in academic performance was not as marked as predicted for either treatment group. The results of the present study were discussed relative to the findings of other prevention researchers, and directions for future research were considered. / Ph. D.

no abstract provided by author / Master of Science

M.S.

A major problem associated with air cargo transport is the assignment and scheduling of aircraft to routes that include several transloading points. This problem is complicated by the fact that shipping quantities vary at each terminal from one day to the next, and there are often wide fluctuations in demand for high priority cargo. Rapid delivery requirements calling for frequent flights to maintain satisfactory service often result in over-assignment and excess capacity. The balancing of capacity and service is a significant problem for air freight carriers. The problem investigated was to develop a means of evaluating various combinations of aircraft and route schedules taking into account the frequency of flights and the stochastic nature of shipping quantities. Key performance and cost variables were identified, and shipping data were analyzed to determine distribution parameters. A computer simulation model called CARGOSIM was developed to represent the air transport system and provide a tool for the evaluation of various alternatives. The simulation model allows for the stochastic behavior of cargo quantities and the detection of shipment delays due to random surges in demand. Accordingly, both the extent to which assigned aircraft can transport available cargo and the level of service at each terminal are determined through simulation. The simulation model is used in conjunction with a heuristic designed to search through aircraft types and flight frequency combinations until a least-cost solution is found. The cost function includes both the cost of operating the air transport system and the cost of service delays, thus a balance is achieved between capacity and service when an efficient solution is obtained. This feature represents a decision framework designed so that successive iterations of the simulation model will lead to a least-cost solution within statistically determined margins of error. / Ph. D.

Differential item functioning on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was examined in regard to gender. The Myers-Briggs has a differential scoring system for males and females on its thinking/feeling subscale. This scoring system preserves the 60 % thinking male and 30 % thinking female proportion that is implied by the Jungian theory underlying the Indicator. The MBTI's authors contended that the sex-based differential scoring system corrects items that subjects at a certain level of a latent trait either incorrectly endorse or leave blank. This reasoning is the classical definition of differential item functioning (DIF); consequently, the non differentially scored items should exhibit DIF. If these items do not show DIF, then there would be no reason to use a differential scoring system. Although the Indicator has been in use for several decades, no rigorous item response theory (IRT) item-level analysis of the Indicator has been undertaken. IRT analysis allows for mean differences in subgroups to occur, independent of the question of DlF. Linn and Harnisch's (1981) pseudo-lRT analysis was chosen to test for the presence of DlF in the MBTl items because it is best for tests of relatively small length. The Myers-Briggs subscales range from 22 to 26 items, which is relatively small by lRT standards. lRT analyses conducted on N=1887 subjects indicated that no items on the thinking/feeling subscale showed evidence of DIF. Out of 94 items, only one extraversion/introversion item and one judging/perception item showed evidence of DIF; no Thinking/Feeling items showed DIF. It is recommended that sex-based differential MBTI scoring be abandoned, and that the distribution of type in the population be examined in future studies. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was two-fold: first, to determine the reliability of the reconnaissance method of land classification as indicated by various farm management, home economic, and other economic factors; second, to determine the economic conditions existing on each class of land, attempting to measure the relative importance of the major factors affecting farm financial successful on land of different classes. / Master of Science

The isotherms of the Lennard-Jones fluid and the Stockmayer fluid are calculated by Monte Carlo computer simulation using the constant NpT ensemble. Empirical coefficients are determined for a truncated virial equation of state fitted to our data. Spinodal points are located for each temperature and fluid. For temperatures less than 0.90 of the critical temperature, we succeeded in temporarily isolating clusters during the gas to liquid transition for the LJ fluid. Density profiles are calculated for clusters at and above the spinodal pressures. The clusters above the spinodal pressure have liquid-like densities at their centers and are identified as critical condensation clusters. The clusters at the spinodal increase in size with temperature and have densities roughly half as dense as the equilibrium liquid at their centers. It is found that the results are essentially system size independent. / Ph. D.

"The immeasurable is the one thing that captivates the mind: the measurable makes very little difference.” Kahn Transition could be thought of as the only constant—life being in itself a transition, composed of a myriad of inseparable transitions—a continuum of events "taking place." This work imagistically explores the evocative nature of transition place as it is manifested in architecture, art, and poetry, and prepares an architectural place for the transitions of life. / Master of Architecture

Dairy marketing cooperatives provide marketwide services, such as lobbying for higher support prices and negotiating for premiums above marketing order prices, which benefit all dairy farmers in the market. The presence of free riders, people who benefit from these marketwide services without paying any of the costs of these services, can jeopardize the existence of the cooperative. Understanding why members were attracted to the cooperative and why independents (non-members) were attracted to the investor oriented firm (IOF) allows cooperatives to target specific membership groups. Depending on the cooperative's goals, management can then use this information to focus on either retaining current members or attracting new members or both. The purpose of this study is to produce practical recommendations for dairy marketing cooperatives for recruitment and retention of members. This study begins with a background on cooperatives and a conceptual framework based on group and game theory. The data are a result of a regional survey of dairy farmers. The data are then analyzed using t-tests for continuous responses and chi-square tests for categorical responses. This analysis results in a comparison of responses from cooperative members and independents. The independents stressed immediate benefits over long-run gains. Independents also appeared to have a risk/return trade-off. They received higher prices in exchange for fewer written contracts. Economic issues were important to both groups but significantly more important to independent producers. The two groups exhibited no difference on tradition and loyalty issues. Cooperative members emphasized prices and deductions, but they also highlighted assured markets and field services offered by their cooperatives. / Master of Science

Tuition and fees are a major source of income for colleges and universities and a major portion of the cost of a student's education. The university administration's task of making sound and effective tuition and fee policy decisions is becoming both more critical and more complex. This is a result of the increased reliance on student-generated tuition-and-fee income, the declining college-age student population, reductions in state and Federal funds, and escalating costs of operation. The comprehensive computerized decision support system (DSS) developed in this research enhances the administration's planning, decision-making, and policy-setting processes. It integrates data and reports with modeling and analysis in order to provide a systematic means for analyzing tuition and fee problems, at a detailed and sophisticated level, without the user having to be an expert in management science techniques or computers. The DSS with its imbedded multi-year goal programming (GP) model allocates the university's revenue requirements to charges for individual student categories based on a set of user-defined objectives, constraints, and priorities. The system translates the mathematical programming model into a valuable decision-making aid by making it directly and readily accessible to the administration. The arduous tasks of model formulation and solution, the calculation of the model's parameter values, and the generation of a series of reports to document the results are performed by the system; whereas, the user is responsible for defining the problem framework, selecting the goals, setting the targets, establishing the priority structure, and assessing the solution. The DSS architecture is defined in terms of three highly integrated subsystems - dialog, data, and models - that provide the following functions: user/system interface, program integration, process control, data storage and handling, mathematical, statistical, and financial computations, as well as display, memory aid, and report generation. The software was developed using four programming languages/systems: EXEC 2, FORTRAN, IFPS, and LINDO. While the system was developed, tested, and implemented at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, the concepts developed in this research are general enough to be applied to any public institution of higher education. / Ph. D.