The thesis of this investigation was that a systematic program of career exploration for college freshmen can improve their career decidedness. A Career Exploration Program was designed by the writer to facilitate two principal objectives of the career exploration process: (a) the understanding of personal needs and values which affect career decisions; and (b) the acquisition of meaningful career information from individuals in the world of work. The program consisted of two components designed to achieve these objectives. In the first component, a standardized self-appraisal inventory, the Hall Occupational Orientation Inventory (HALL), was administered to students following a ninety-minute orientation to decision-making theory. In the second component, college alumni were recruited to meet with students at work locations. Meetings were scheduled with alumni in careers corresponding to the students' stated interests. Students were encouraged to correlate information about themselves derived from the HALL with information obtained in interviews. The investigation was conducted in 1977-78 at Roanoke College, a small private liberal arts college in Salem, Virginia. One hundred-sixty freshmen were selected randomly to participate and assigned to one of four equal size groups. Group 1 served as a control. Group 2 received the orientation and completed the HALL. Group 3 interviewed alumni. Group 4 participated in both of these components of the program. It was hypothesized that participation by Groups 2, 3, and 4 in the components of the program would result in students exhibiting greater career decidedness over the control group. The Assessment of Career Decision Making-Form B (ACDM-B), developed by Vincent A. Harren, was administered to members of each group at six week intervals in a pretest/ posttest/post-posttest format. The instrument measured change in career decidedness along a continuum of four decision-making stages identified by David V. Tiedeman: exploration, crystallization, choice, and clarification. A multivariate analysis of covariance was used to test for group, sex, and group-sex interaction. A multiple comparisons analysis was used to compare all possible pairs of groups. A two-factor analysis of variance with repeated measures was performed to identify interaction effects across time. In tests of the stated hypotheses, it was determined that: (a) students in Group 2 differed significantly (.05) from the control on the clarification stage; (b) students in Group 3 did not differ significantly from any of the groups; and (c) students in Group 4 differed significantly (.05) from the control on the choice stage and on the ACDM-B weighted score. It was concluded that the three groups receiving treatments exhibited movement in the hypothesized direction toward greater decidedness. Clearly Group 4, which participated in the combination of components, evidenced the greatest change in career decidedness. Sex was not found to influence career decidedness. The self-appraisal experience alone and the combination of self-appraisal and alumni interviews resulted in significant differences from the pretest to posttest. Significant interaction (.05) was found among group means on the tests. A slight decline was noted on the post-posttest for Groups 2 and 4, which exhibited significant change on the posttest. Conversely, Group 3, participating in only the alumni interviews, increased slightly on post-posttest scores--evidence of a delayed effect of treatment. The findings suggest that the integrated self-appraisal and alumni visitation program had a positive effect on the career decision-making behavior of college freshmen. / Ed. D.

A study pertaining to men's social fraternities was conducted at a select sample of universities in the Southeastern United States. The purpose was to determine the status of racial integration in social fraternities at the six universities selected. Very little research has appeared in the professional literature with regard to integration in college fraternities, an extracurricular activity in which students may choose to seek membership. Personal interviews were conducted with black and non-black students, as well as administrative staff during visits to each campus. The study revealed that there was a very small number of black undergraduates at each university and consequently few blacks pledging non-black fraternities. Black fraternities had been established at three of the six universities. Black students at those universities had rushed and occasionally pledged non-black fraternities prior to the formation of the black chapters; very few had chosen to become members. No blacks chose to become members subsequent to the formation of black fraternities. Blacks were attracted to rush and pledge non-black fraternities at the three universities which did not have black fraternities, and a slightly higher percentage chose to be initiated. There was no evidence of non-blacks having rushed black fraternities. In conclusion, blacks were attracted only to black fraternities when a choice existed. Racial integration is a characteristic of non=black fraternities at selected Southeastern universities according to the criterion set forth. It could not be determined however, whether racial integration is characteristic of black fraternities, since such chapters were found at only three universities. / Master of Arts

During the past fifty-five years, 1920-1975, vocational agriculture teachers have faced many problems. One important problem was where to find instructional materials to use in teaching vocational agriculture classes. The problem was to obtain selected information about the extent and use that vocational agriculture teachers in the public schools in Virginia were making of the instructional materials developed by the Agriculture Education Program Area faculty at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Specifically, the problem was to find the answers to the questions listed in the objectives. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The objectives of this study were to: 1. Determine the following: A. The extent Virginia vocational agriculture teachers were using the instructional materials developed by the Agricultural Education Program Area at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. B. What special features to include in new instructional materials (transparencies, tear-outs, workbook, exercise sheet, teacher's key, etc.). C. Why the instructional materials were not being used in the public schools in Virginia and the reason(s) for not using them. 2. Compare the extent instructional materials were being used with selected factors, for example: A. Supervisory geographical area(s) B. Age of teacher C. Experience in teaching D. Multi- versus single-teacher departments E. Advanced training (M.S. and above) versus no advanced training (B.S.) F. VPI and SU graduates versus graduates from other institutions G. Level of teaching (middle versus senior high) PROCEDURE The seventeen selected instructional materials were grouped into five types of materials as defined by Cardozier (1967) listed below: 1, Resource Unit: A subject matter coverage of given instructional materials, including latest research finding. 2. Source Unit: A listing of objectives, problems, questions, and activities relating to a unit of instruction. 3. Teaching Plan: A teacher's guide for providing instruction. 4. Approved Practice List: Recommended practices to follow in specific agricultural enterprises based upon research. 5. Job Operation Sheet: A sequential listing of steps in carrying out a given manipulative type job. POPULATION The population for this study was vocational agriculture teachers employed in the public schools in Virginia. SUMMARY Teachers of vocational agriculture in Virginia with 0-5 years teaching experience, 0-5 years in the department, and teachers with a Bachelor's Degree used the seventeen instructional materials to a greater extent than teachers with 6-25 years or more of teaching experience; teachers with 6-25 years or more in the department, and teachers with Master's, Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study, or with the Doctor of Education Degree. There are more males teaching vocational agriculture in the public schools in Virginia than females. Teachers of vocational agriculture in age group 22-27 used the instructional materials more than teachers in age groups 28-33, 34-39, 40-45, 46-51, 52-57, and 58 and over. All of the seventeen selected instructional materials were rated good by vocational agriculture teachers in the public schools in Virginia. Teachers of vocational agriculture want transparency masters, student workbooks, tear-out pages, and teacher's keys in future developed instructional materials. / Ed. D.

This thesis argues against the Humean theory of practical reasons, criticising its foundations in philosophical and moral psychology. It develops a realist account of value-based reasons, underpinned by a distinctive cognitivist moral psychology, and a non-causalist account of the rational explanation of action. Contemporary Humeans reject Hume's own theory of thought, but this leaves the Humean theory of practical reasons without justification for a conception of desire as non-cognitive and not open to fundamental rational evaluation. Two possible strategies for filling this justificatory gap are (i) an appeal to grammatical considerations about the attribution of desires and their content, or (ii) an appeal to distinctions in respect of direction of fit. I argue that neither is successful. Kant's moral psychology provides the key to an alternative account, but is unsatisfactory due to its acceptance of a theory of thought which is relevantly similar to Hume's, and of non-compulsory rationalist presuppositions. Separated from these aspects, Kant's insights open a path to developing a conception of desire as essentially rationally evaluable. I argue that, in addition to such a conception, we should accept an account of rational attitudes as constitutively normative. On the basis of these two views, I argue that desire is a kind of evaluative belief. An independently plausible account of reasons takes them to be evaluative facts, and this neatly connects to the normative philosophical psychology. I consider the implications of such a view for the rational explanation of action, arguing that while causal theories of action and action-explanation are unacceptable, the normative philosophical psychology allows the development of non-causal alternatives to them. The non-causal account of action and action-explanation leaves space for an explanatory role for reasons themselves, beyond that provided by merely psychological explanation, as well as an explanatory role for an agent's character and emotions.