The purposes of the study were:1) To collect and share information on the perceptions of graduates regarding the academic, professional, and social experiences of students in the doctoral program in Educational Administration and Supervision at Ball State University, 1987-2002, relative to their professional preparation and career goals;2) To profile the demographic characteristics of respondents whose experiences are described and reported in this study: Gender, age, ethnicity, date of admission, enrollment status, date of graduation, professional occupation during and after doctoral study, financial situation, and sources of financial support during doctoral study.3) To draw conclusions and make recommendations, based on the data, on how students' personal motivation and professional preparation, career goals, academic training, institutional, and social support blend together to enrich the experiences of doctoral students in Educational Administration and Supervision at Ball State University.The population for this study consisted of 111 graduates (72 males and 39 females) of the doctoral program in Educational Administration and Supervision, Department of Educational Leadership, Teachers College, Ball State University, 19872002. A list and addresses of doctoral graduates of the program were obtained from the Graduate School Office. The addresses were verified by the Ball State University Alumni Office. A packet of questionnaires was mailed successfully to 106 graduates. Seventy-nine completed surveys (76 percent) were returned. Of the 79 respondents 52 were male, and 27 were female. The data were subsequently tabulated, analyzed, summarized, and reported in narrative form. Findings and conclusions suggest that:1. The doctoral program in Educational Administration and Supervision at BallState University adequately prepared graduates to contribute meaningfully tothe scholarship and professional demands of the discipline;2. The curricula of the doctoral program allow for rich and diverse career optionsto graduates;3. Improvement should be made in the doctoral program in EducationalAdministration and Supervision at Ball State University to include:a. Practical application experiences through structured internship,mentoring, and peer interaction;b. Greater efforts at job search and placement assistance;c. The effective management of technology to serve the growing numberof part-time students; andd. A systematic departmental database to keep track of graduates of the program. / Department of Educational Leadership

The purpose of this study was to provide an analysis of the major arias and ensembles of Jody Nagel's Fifty-Third Street for performance practice, drawing upon a case study of the premiere. The opera Fifty-Third Street was composed in 1992 by Nagel for his dissertation project at the University of Texas at Austin. The librettist is Seth Wolitz, then a University of Texas faculty member. The opera examines the lives of two homeless men on 53rd Street in New York City, between 5th and 6th Streets, and the reactions toward them from various facets of society, including the church, art institutions, businesses and tourists. The opera was premiered at Sursa Performance Hall on the campus of Ball State University on April 12, 2007 with a subsequent performance on April 15, 2007.Both the piano/vocal score and the chamber orchestra score from the premiere have been examined in the analysis of the opera, in addition to the original treatise by Jody Nagel. The analysis is conducted from a performer's perspective and examines vocal aspects, including potential technical challenges, range and tessitura; musical aspects, including formal analysis, tonality, melody, harmony and rhythm in relation to the text; drama and staging, and character motivation for each of the major arias and ensembles. Suggestions are offered for practice and performance based upon the analysis and informal interviews with the composer, conductor, directors, cast and crew of the premiere performance. Appendices include scene charts, costume lists, lighting and projection cues, original set and publicity materials, and a DVD recording of the world premiere performance.Many composers throughout the centuries have used opera as a way to comment on the world in which they lived and to challenge the status quo: Mozart, Le nozze di Figaro; Verdi, Un ballo in maschera; Berg, Wozzek; Britten, Peter Grimes. Jody Nagel has continued this tradition in a way that is powerful and compelling. Future directors will discover that Fifty-Third Street offers an invaluable tool for the musical development of students and professionals, for the growth of the American opera repertory, and for challenging the American way of life. / School of Music

The purpose of this project was to identify the content of a series of electricity and electronics courses which would meet the training needs of the Muncie community and the enrollment of the Muncie Community School's program for adults. To achieve this, it was necessary to determine who the program serves and to determine their training needs. Representative advisory committees were therefore, used to evaluate and recommend course content. Since the study was concerned with the training needs of the whole community, a survey of three different types of electrical and electronic employers was conducted. Thissurvey was conducted by means of a mailed questionnaire.

This qualitative study was designed to investigate Millennial Family Members and their impact on higher education. The goal of this research was to richly describe the institution-student-parent relationship. Eighteen interviews were conducted with parents of first year students in order to gather descriptive data. The researcher had contact with the family members through "The Conference on Student Success."Five conclusions emerged. Millennial Family Members:1. Have a very different role in their student's higher education process than their parents did.2. Have expectations that the University guarantee safety, provide life lessons and career development.3. Communicate regularly with their students regarding all aspects of their lives including academic work, social issues, community concerns, and financial issues.4. Believe that they have a strong and essential influence on their college student.5. Interact with Student Affairs and Academic Affairs departments on behalf of their students.Implications of these findings and future directions for research were discussed. / Department of Educational Studies

In this study, Multidimensional Scaling of a reperatory grid using five point scale was found to be a flexible, precise and sensitive method of measuring visual quality and preference. The results of the multidimensional scaling were found to be consistent with the arithmetic means of a five point rating scale. Each of the two major dimensions of the spatial configuration gave important insights into the criteria by which Muncie residents (Ball State Students) evaluated townscapes. "Dim 1" revealed the importance of whether the townscapes have dense or little vegetative cover, and "Dim 2" indicated that visual perception of a townscape is influenced by whether it is "old" or "new". In addition the resulting solutions also showed a high positive correlation between visual quality and preference.The dimensions may be used as generalized guidelines for determining characteristics of visual quality and preferred townscapes. / Department of Landscape Architecture

The performance of my opera/art installation, Ariadne, on April 2 and 4, 1993, in Recital Hall, culminated a year of research, composition, production, and rehearsal upon the Ariadne Project, an interdisciplinary art collaboration. My project brought together the research, creative, and performance skills of many individuals throughout the university community and beyond. Designed as a companion paper to this composition and performance, this paper documents the inception, creation, production, and performance of the Ariadne Project. It also addresses the issues and sources dealt with and assessess the effectiveness of the product and the process. / Department of Art

Using McClusky"s (1963) Power Load Margin (PLM) theory, this study employed a correlational research design to investigate if relationships existed between involvement in career-related professional development outlets and activities, and Margin in Life (MIL) scores for full-time student affairs professionals at Ball State University. Correlation coefficients (Pearson r) were calculated to determine if relationships existed between MIL scores and the number of career-related professional development outlets and activities. Partial correlation coefficients were calculated to determine if relationships existed between subjects' ages and the relationship between MIL scores and the number of career-related professional development outlets and activities.Subjects (n = 107) were identified using the 2004-2005 Ball State University Directory and mailed a Professional Development Questionnaire (PDQ), created by the researcher, and Stevenson's (1982) Margin in Life Scale. Responses from 64 subjects were used in this study (31 females and 33 males). Subjects' ages ranged from 22 to 67 years (M = 41.5 years).PDQ results indicated that subjects averaged involvement in 10.6 outlets in the previous 12 months. Six indicated involvement in more than 20 outlets. Excluding these responses, the mean for outlets was 8.8. The mean for activities was 8.4.The mean MIL score for subjects was .60. All subjects in this study had a sufficient amount of power; thus, no subject had an excessive amount of load.Results of the correlational analyses suggest the possibility that a negative correlation may exist between MIL scores and the number of career-related professional development outlets. Although the correlation and partial correlation coefficients were weak, this may have been a function of the relatively small number of subjects who participated in this study. Additional research with a larger subject population is suggested to investigate this possible relationship. No relationship was found between MIL scores and career-related professional development activities. No differences in relationships between outlets and activities, and MIL scores were found when the age of subjects was factored either in or out as an influence. Further PLM research in student affairs is suggested, including qualitative methods investigating areas of professional development relating to power, load, and margin. / Department of Educational Studies

The purpose of this embedded case study was to describe the academic experiences of international graduate students at Ball State University. Purposive and snowball sampling procedures were used to select nine international graduate students for this study. Their countries of origin were Ghana, Kenya, China, Iceland, Greece, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia. Ball State University was the case in this study and the nine international graduate students the units of analysis. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed by means of constant comparison and cross-unit analysis. The findings of the study revealed the reasons why these international graduate students came to Ball State University to pursue their education, the students’ assessments of their academic experiences, and descriptions of their personal and professional development as outcomes of their educational experiences at Ball State University. The main reasons why the international graduate students came to Ball State University were, due to connections they already had with someone affiliated with the university, the quality of the programs offered at Ball State University, and through the award of scholarships. The international graduate students described their academic experiences as beneficial to their development in a number of ways including, development of research and publication skills, increased competence in the use of technological aids to enhance teaching and learning, and the opportunity to put into practice the skills and knowledge they had acquired through practica and internships. The study participants also expressed that they acquired skills that made them competent to perform in the areas they were trained, for example, therapeutic skills or team skills. They shared that they had grown as individuals because of the experience that they gained at Ball State University. In addition, some stated that their worldview had expanded, and their self-confidence had increased. The study discusses the findings in the light of the current literature on international graduate student education in the U.S., as well as the implications for future research. The study makes recommendations as to how Ball State University can make use of this new information to better market itself as a first class institution of higher learning, and to make the experiences of international graduate students at Ball State University a more appealing choice to prospective international graduate students. / Department of Educational Studies

Family practice physicians receive many non-emergency after-hours phone calls. Patients themselves could care for non-emergencies until their doctor is in his office. The purpose of this study is the development and testing of a patient information booklet to provide patient education for non-emergency self care. The booklet will hopefully result in better home health care and a reduction of non-emergency after-hours phone calls. The booklet could be a valuable asset for the family physician for both patient education and the reduction of physician occupational dissatisfaction.This booklet will also provide information about the Ball Memorial Hospital Family Practice Center and the specialty of Family Practice. This study will suggest a method to determine if such a booklet actually reduces the number of non-emergency after-hours phone calls received by residents of the Family Practice Center.Ball State UniversityMuncie, IN 47306

This baseline study sought to evaluate Ball State University (BSU) undergraduate students' credibility perceptions of news reports gleaned from the World Wide Web (WWW). A random selection of 378 BSU undergraduate students were phoned and administered a questionnaire,which included newspaper and television news credibility questions for comparative purposes.Among WWW users and non-WWW users combined, credibility perceptions of newspaper and television news were not found to differ significantly, with the majority of respondents ranking newspapers and television medium in credibility. Television held a statistically significant lead over newspapers as the most believable news source in the event of conflicting reports of the same news story appearing in both media.WWW users rated the WWW medium in credibility and felt television to be more believable than newspapers and the WWW in the event of conflicting reports appearing in all three media. / Department of Journalism