The aim of this study was two-fold: firstly, it attempted to focus on the earnings of foreign-born STEM professionals in the U.S. workforce to examine whether this population was at an earning disadvantage compared to the U.S. citizens. Secondly, it aimed to investigate whether legal status acquisition (from temporary work visas to permanent residency) enhanced the earnings of foreign-born STEM professionals in the U.S. workforce. This study utilized a mixed-methods (QUAN/QUAL) research design. ANCOVA (Analysis of Covariance) was used to test the hypothesis in order to determine any statistically significant differences between the group means. Secondary data from the National Survey of College Graduates (NSCG) was utilized for this study. The results of the ANCOVA test showed that temporary worker visa holders were not at earning advantage/disadvantage compared to the U.S. citizens, and there was no statistical evidence that legal status acquisition enhanced the salaries of the foreign-born STEM professionals in the U.S. workforce. The interviews indicated that foreign-born STEM professionals (temporary worker visa holders, LPRs, and naturalized U.S. citizens) were not at earning disadvantage compared to their U.S.-born counterparts. Although the legal status change did not enhance the salaries of the skilled immigrants, it did improve job mobility and overall flexibility.

Bibliography: pages 72-78. / Apart from its current application in the process of transformation of South Africa's education system, interestingly, the term rationalisation is absent from the international literature. The high level of impact that the economics of education has in the provision of education presupposes that, in the "Global Village", world trends and access to international financial markets to fund transformation in education will inform the national policy making process. In South Africa macro education policy is set by the National ministry. In this regard teacher I learner ratios and funding to the provinces have been set at the highest level of government. In terms of this, it is understandable that national imperatives will influence and in many cases determine provincial policy making and the implementation thereof. This study examines educator responses to the way in which the rationalisation of teacher numbers is being applied in the Western Cape Education Department (WCED). The investigation takes into cognisance the particular historical, political and social background of the Western Cape Province. In doing so this study recognises the influence that these factors have had on the way teachers view the rationalisation policies and, more importantly, their implementation. In the apartheid era education was organised, according to "race", into four different departments. Thus the Department of Education (DET) controlled "Black" education, the Cape Education Department (CED) controlled "White" education, the House of Representatives (HOR) controlled "Coloured" education and the House of Delegates (HOD) was responsible for "Indian" education. Since the number of HOD teachers in the WCED only constitutes 0,47% of the total [WCED, November 1995], they were not taken into consideration for this study. While there is a convergence of opinion by educators of the three ex departments on many issues regarding rationalisation there is also a noticeable divergence underpinned by historical difference in funding and human and physical resourcing. Conclusions drawn point to the fact that there is a general acceptance of the policy of the rationalisation of teacher numbers in the Western Cape. Yet, while this policy might promote equality of numbers, its merit as a means to assuage the demand for the equitable redressing of the injustices of the apartheid era remains questionable.

This dissertation focuses on three different aspects of physician pricing. The first is the use of the assumption in formal modeling that physicians have the same type of costs for different types of patients. The second aspect of physician pricing investigated here is physicians’ ability to change the name of a service in response to a fee cap without actually changing the price of the service. The third aspect investigated in this dissertation is the effect of posting physician prices on patient-initiated demand for physician services. All three of these aspects have potential implications for the discussion on health care reform. In Chapter One, I examine physician price response to fee ceilings set by third party payers. I use the realistic assumptions that physician’s have the same cost function for all their patients and physicians have increasing marginal cost. Using these assumptions, I find that, in theory, a third party payer that uses fixed fees benefits from including every physician in the community. In chapter two, I use the medical claims data from a Fortune 500 firm (Firm) to evaluate physician pricing response to the Firm’s institution of fee ceilings. I find that physicians who are constrained by the fee ceiling systematically record a more expensive office visit code than physicians who were not constrained by the fee ceiling. This result has implications for private insurers as well as government programs that fix physician fees. In chapter three I use a model of patient-initiated demand under uncertainty to examine the effect of posting physician prices on the demand for physician services. I find that requiring physicians with monopoly power to post all or some of their prices has no effect on the total patient cost associated with physician consultations, including the cost of untreated disease. If physicians compete in a Bertrand fashion, then requiring a physician to post the prices of all types of consultations results in lower total patient cost than posting only some prices. / Ph. D.

The problem to which this study is directed is the need for a better understanding of the current status of the salaries of ministers and their significance in the life of the individual minister, the local churches they serve, and the conference of which they are a part. The study was limited to the California-Nevada Conference of the Methodist Church and its antecedent, the California Conference, during the period 1941 to 1952. The author is a minister in this conference.

The issue of pay satisfaction is of increasing concern to management because of today's high cost of recruiting and training employees. Also of concern to management is the impact that a high employee turnover rate, due to pay dissatisfaction, can have on organizational effectiveness. Therefore, identifying the causes of, and reducing the probability of, employee pay dissatisfaction is desirable.

This study provides a survey of local school board members in the Commonwealth of Virginia which investigates attitudes and perceptions of merit pay for teachers. In addition, criteria considered important components of a merit pay program for teachers in Virginia are identified. Case studies of selected school systems in Virginia provide a comparison of the criteria with the characteristics of merit pay programs which are now or have been operational at sometime since 1960 in school systems in Virginia. Findings indicate that the variables of sex, educational level, occupational status, length of service on the school board, and the location of the school system served significantly effect school board member attitude and perceptions of merit pay for teachers. In addition, the case studies indicate a relationship between school board members' perceptions of merit pay and the actual operational characteristics of merit pay programs. / Ed. D.

The purposes of this descriptive investigation were (l) to construct a reliable instrument for assessing attitudes toward teaching of high school teachers, and (2) to determine if there was a difference in attitudes toward teaching between those high school teachers who were and those who were not involved in a career ladder/merit pay pilot program. Frederick Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene Theory served as the theoretical basis for the investigation. Analysis of work motivation indicates that motivation factors may be classified in two categories, intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation emanates from needs within the individual. Intrinsic motivators include the following: achievement, recognition, responsibility, advancement and growth possibilities. Extrinsic motivators include the following: organizational policies, salary, working conditions, status, job security, effects on personal life, and interpersonal relations. / Ed. D.

Virginia Tech Engineering graduates of 1975 were surveyed to determine if salary differences existed between matched groups of co-op and non co-op graduates and to determine if selected variables were related to salaries. The average salary for co-ops was higher for both first and current positions (six years after graduation). These differences were significant at the .0545 level for first salary and at .0845 after six years. Several variables had significant relationships to salaries. Location for both groups, undergraduate major for non co-ops and type of employer for co-ops were related to first salary. Four variables were related to current salary: type of employer for co-ops and undergraduate major, job function and fathers' Socio-Economic Index for non co-ops. For most of these variables with significant relationships with salary, the significance levels were similar for both groups, and these probably had little effect on salary differences between groups. Co-ops probably had higher first salaries because of their co-op experience. Two variables with possible effects on salary differences were undergraduate major (which was related to current salary for non co-ops) and type of employer (which was related to current salary for co-ops). These two variables may have undetermined effects on salary differences between the groups. The effect of fathers' socio-economic attributes (educational level and occupational prestige) seems to increase with time, with closer relationships to current salaries than to first ones. / Master of Arts

Public school teachers have, with few exceptions, invested four or more years in higher education to prepare themselves for the teaching profession. These four years of college education can be viewed as an investment when one realizes that the teacher had to pay for that education and could have otherwise been earning an income during that time. Some teachers make an additional investment in education by earning a master's degree or a doctorate. This study looked at the practice of teachers in Virginia who decide to make the additional investment in graduate education at selected Virginia institutions of higher education. This study used econometric methods to analyze this investment in graduate education. Social benefits and costs of education were not included in the study. Private costs included both direct and indirect acquisition costs. The salary supplements paid by school divisions to teachers who hold an advanced degree were used as the private benefits. Non-pecuniary benefits were not included in the study. Net present valuation, discounted benefits and costs, benefit-cost ratio, and internal rate of return calculations were made. Data from similar studies done in other areas of graduate study and in other areas of the nation and world were reviewed. The purpose of the study was to review the practice of all school divisions in Virginia which provide a salary supplement to teachers who hold a master's degree or a doctorate, and also to analyze the costs involved in the acquisition of such degrees. The cost-benefit analysis of the teachers' investment in graduate education provides information which can be used by teachers who are considering such an investment. The analysis can also be used by those school divisions which are currently spending considerable amounts of money for such salary supplements. The cost-benefit analysis of acquiring a master's degree with a subsequent change from the classroom to an administrative position has implications for school divisions and state level policy makers. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this research study was to examine the perceptions of Virginia's elementary principals concerning the concept of merit pay for classroom teachers. The problem for investigation was: what are the attitudes of these principals toward merit pay for classroom teachers? To identify these perceptions, a fixed-response-form-questionnaire, Survey on Perceptions of Elementary Principals on Merit Pay for Classroom Teachers, was developed by the researcher. The questionnaire was designed to gather information in six areas of concern: demographics of respondents, outcomes expected if a plan were adopted, opinions for or against merit pay plans, means for evaluation of teachers, resistance expected among teachers, and the most acceptable form of plan. Reliability was established at .85. In a random selection, 300 elementary school principals (26%) were mailed surveys, 269 surveys (89.66%) were returned, 31 (10.33%) principals did not respond. An attempt was made to contact each nonrespondent by telephone to see if there were any particular reasons why the survey was not answered. Nine nonrespondents were contacted, and 8 of them indicated a lack of time as the reason for not responding. Because of the high response rate, it was felt that nonrespondents could not have biased the data, therefore, attempts to administer the survey by telephone were not made. Respondents felt that teachers would become more competitive and less cooperative. Parents would make requests that their children be placed with teachers receiving merit pay, and teacher-filed grievances would increase. Respondents believed in the concept of paying more effective teachers higher salaries, but they were reluctant to recommend the adoption of a merit pay plan. Respondents felt that principals should be the main evaluators of teachers, but they endorsed the use of teachers' peers and outside evaluators. They felt that teacher associations would oppose merit pay. Of the three forms of above-the-scale compensation defined for the study, principals surveyed felt that teachers would find differentiated staffing the least objectionable. It was concluded that, given the attitudes of Virginia's elementary principals, it is unlikely that a merit pay plan can be successfully implemented in Virginia. / Ed. D.