The major purpose of the study was to identify and describe leadership duties and service responsibilities provided by Coordinating Secretaries in state, provincial and regional organizations affiliated with the Association of School Business Officials of the United States and Canada. A second purpose of the study was to identify and describe significant historical antecedents leading to the development of the position of Coordinating Secretary.The population of the study included sixteen individuals identified as Coordinating Secretaries of associations affiliated with ASBO and five association secretaries who, though elected annually, have, by agreement, continued to serve year after year.A data gathering. instrument was designed to secure responses from study participants relative to personal and employment information. Also, data was collected relative to the fiscal and personnel support provided by the state association to the Coordinating Secretary to conduct ASBO services and activities. The questionnaire was also designed to secure information relative to value judgment data from study participants regarding the degree of importance of various organizational activities associated with the office of Coordinating Secretary. In addition, information relative to historical antecedents leading to the development of the office of Coordinating Secretary and information relative to the formation of administrative "umbrella" associations was secured from study participants through the data gathering instrument.Findings derived from the study included:(1) Forty-seven percent of the respondents reported having had ten or more years of state ASBO service as a coordinating or elected secretary.(2) Fifty-seven percent of the Coordinating Secretaries reported that at least one-fifth of the total work week was devoted to state ASBO activities.(3) Coordinating Secretaries reported holding other employment positions as faculty members of state universities, professional staff members of state departments of public instruction and as Executive Directors of other professional associations. Four respondents reported being retired from full-time employment positions.(4) Additional compensation paid to Coordinating Secretaries for state association service varied from $0 to $10,000.(5) The number off members in state organizations served by a Coordinating Secretary ranged from 160 persons to 850 persons. The average number of members was computed to be 502 persons.(6) The annual budgets for state associations served by a Coordinating Secretary varied from $2,000 to $54,000. The average annual state association budget was computed to be $25, 750.(7) Coordinating Secretaries reported the following association activities to be of major importance: publications-newsletters-mailings, correspondence, budget control and reporting, membership promotion, relations and communication with ASBO, fiscal record keeping and reporting, workshop planning and relations with the state department of public instruction.(8) The need for continuity, the need for coordination, the need for representation with other educational associations and the need for a centralized repository for association records were reported by study participants to be the four major forces causing state ASBO leadership to establish the office of Coordinating Secretary.Conclusions developed from the study included the following:(1) The establishment of the office of Coordinating Secretary can be very beneficial to a state ASBO organization, primarily because stability and continuity of leadership are strengthened.(2) Because state universities and state departments of public instruction have typically had a strong commitment, to service, have been willing to provide service assistance to professional education groups and have staff members with the needed background and interest, state ASBO officials contemplating the establishment of the position of Coordinating Secretary should explore both sources for assistance and support.(3) Because of the essential nature of the services provided by Coordinating Secretaries, more and more state associations will be considering the establishment of an office of Coordinating Secretary.

Perceptual-cognitive skills are important characteristics for sport participants, which have been shown to contribute to the expert advantage (Abernethy, Baker & Côté, 2005; Mann, Williams, Ward, & Janelle, 2004; McPherson, 2000). One such skill is visual attention, which is beneficial for athletes, but less commonly researched for sport officials. For this dissertation, three data collection procedures assisted in examining the visual behaviors of elite, intermediate and novice ice hockey referees. In phase one, 2 elite, 2 intermediate, and 2 novice referees wore helmet cameras for one game and subsequently participated in stimulated recall interviews to address visual behaviors that occurred during that game. The four resultant themes that emerged were: Divided Attention, Selective Attention, Positioning and Context, and Influences of Visual Attention. Within each of these major themes there were several similarities and differences amongst the referees. In phase two, 2 elite, 2 intermediate, and 2 novice focus groups watched one elite and one intermediate helmet camera videotape and discussed what they thought the referee was attending to and where they would direct their visual attention. The focus group transcripts were deductively coded to search for potential differences between the elite and intermediate referees based on the themes identified in phase one. It was evident that the elite referee was superior to the intermediate in several areas including: Maintaining a focus on the majority of players, knowing when to focus away from the puck, having better post-whistle attention, and being better positioned. Discussion related to how these advantages might be gained by learning through experience. For phase three, 10 elite, 10 intermediate, and 10 novice referees wore an eye-tracking device and made penalty decisions on ice hockey infractions presented on a computer screen. In this experiment, decision accuracy, decision type, number of fixations, and fixation duration were calculated. MANOVA results indicated that there were no significant differences across participant groups. The global discussion includes data excluded from the three main papers, alternative methods for further interpretation of the results, integration of the results of the three papers, and proposals for future research.

Thesis ([Ph. D.])--University of Jyväskylä, 2006. / Originally issued in series: Studies in sport, physical education and health ; 118 Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-91). Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Waikato, 2007. / Title from PDF cover (viewed May 7, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 144-158)

Thesis (M.A.) - Carleton University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 129-139). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Akademisk avhandling--Gothenburg, Sweden. / Summary in English. Bibliography: p. 588-594.

Thesis--Auburn University, 2009. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 199-200).

Thesis (doctoral)--Friedrich-Alexander-Universität zu Erlangen.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität zu Köln, 1969. / Includes bibliographical references (p. viii-xxiii).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1993. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 146-150). Also available via the Internet.