The effect of participation in a ``Greening the BCC Curriculum'' workshop series on the environmental literacy of a community college faculty

The purpose of this study was to develop a series of workshops designed to raise the environmental literacy of a community college faculty and facilitate infusion of an environmental perspective into the courses they teach. Data was gathered on the effect of the workshops on the level of environmental literacy of the participants as well as the persistence of any observed effect. How faculty infused an environmental perspective into their courses was also explored.^ The workshop model was developed by reviewing adult learning and change theories, case studies of workshops at other colleges, environmental education research, and results of a pilot study. Content, organization, and delivery methods from these sources were selected and integrated to create the 14 components of the model employed by the workshops in this study.^ Forty-two faculty from the North Campus of Broward Community College participated in the study. The 20 workshop participants from seven academic departments attended seven two hour workshops during the fall term of 1996, and implemented projects to infuse environmental topics into their courses the following term. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest-delayed posttest nonequivalent control group design was employed in which the 22 members of the control group who did not attend the workshops were administered the Wisconsin Environmental Survey at the same time as the workshop participants (immediately before the first workshop, immediately following the last workshop, and four months following the completion of the workshop series). This instrument, an adaption of the Wisconsin High School Student Environmental Survey, yielded three measures of environmental literacy: Affective, Behavior, and Cognitive Subscale scores.^ The repeated measures MANOVA performed using the scores of the two groups on the three administrations of WES revealed a significant interaction for group by time, so repeated measures ANOVA were performed for each of the three subscales to investigate the interaction. Tukey-HSD post hoc comparisons indicated that for all three subscale scores, the two groups were not significantly different on the pretest, but on the posttest and the delayed posttest, the workshop participants demonstrated significantly higher levels of environmental literacy. All statistical tests were performed at $\alpha$ =.05. ^

The relationship between participation in unethical behaviors during the nursing student experience and participation in unethical behaviors as a registered nurse

The effect of unethical behaviors in health care settings is an important issue in the safe care of clients and has been a concern of the nursing profession for some time. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between use of unethical behaviors in the nursing student experience and the use of unethical behaviors in the workplace as a registered nurse. In addition, the relationship between the severity of unethical behaviors utilized in the classroom, clinical setting and those in the workplace was examined. To insure greater honesty in self-report, only a limited number of demographic variables were requested from participants.^ During the summer of 1997, a 56 item questionnaire was distributed to registered nurses enrolled in either undergraduate or graduate courses in a public or private institution. The participants were asked to self-report their own use of unethical behaviors as well as their peers use of unethical behaviors. In order to assign a severity score for each item, nursing school faculty were asked to rate severity of unethical behaviors which could be used during the nursing student experience and nursing administrators were asked to rate unethical behaviors which could be used in the workplace.^ A significant positive relationship was found between individuals' use of unethical behaviors during nursing school and those used in the workplace $r=.630.$ A significant positive relationship was found between the severity of unethical behaviors used in the nursing student experience and the severity of unethical behaviors used in the workplace $r=.637.$ No relationship was found between years of practice, type of initial nursing education and whether or not the participant was raised inside or outside the United States and the use of unethical behaviors. ^

The impact of parent participation in a hospital-based kangaroo care program on time spent with their preterm infant in the neonatal intensive care unit

Occupational therapists and other health professionals are faced with the challenge of helping parents cope with the birth of their preterm infant and fostering parent-infant bonding and attachment. Kangaroo care, or skin to skin contact, has the potential to minimize the delay in the parent-infant attachment process and facilitate more normal infant growth and development. The present study investigated the impact of parent participation in a hospital-based kangaroo care program on time spent with their preterm infant in the NICU. Fourteen parents with preterm infants in the NICU participated in the study. The results indicated that parents who participated in the kangaroo care program spent significantly more time with their infant than the parents who did not participate in the program (p $<$.022). In addition, parents in the kangaroo care group visited their infant more frequently than the control group (p $<$.037). However, the mean time with baby per day did not show a significant difference between the groups (p $<$.194). This information may assist occupational therapists in developing family-centered early intervention programs beginning in the NICU. ^

Global factors affecting women's participation in leadership

This dissertation is a multi-level, cross-cultural study of women in leadership conducted with both macro-society data and individual-level data aggregated to the country level. The research questions are, “What macro and micro forces are hindering or advancing women into business or political leadership?” “How do these forces impact the level of women's involvement in business and political leadership in a particular country?” Data was collected from 10 secondary sources, available for 213 countries, and includes about 300 variables for business leadership (N=115) and political leadership (N=181). To date, most women in leadership research has been Western- or US-based, and little rigorous empirical, multi-level research has been done across countries. The importance of cross-cultural studies on women in leadership stems from the potential to better understand why some countries have more women in positions of both business and political leadership; and the factors that affect women's involvement in such positions in different countries. A “Levels of Women's Participation in Leadership” country model is tested using cluster and discriminant analyses. Results indicate that the factors that affect women?s participation in leadership in countries with fewer women leaders are different from the factors that affect women's participation in countries with high levels of participation. This dissertation proposes that initiatives to increase participation of women in leadership need to consider the relevant factors that significantly affect countries at certain Levels of Women's Participation in Leadership. ^

An investigation of the effects of mothers' participation in adult literacy classes on interactive literacy activities (ILAs) at home

The National Center for Family Literacy (2003a) and the National Even Start Association (2005) have stated that the single most effective and influential factor in increasing student academic achievement is parental involvement. The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine how participation in adult literacy courses influences parent-child interaction in various educationally related activities known as Interactive Literacy Activities (ILAs). This study investigated ILAs from the mothers? perspective, and examines the changes that occur in parental involvement or ILAs when immigrant parents of a limited educational background participate in an adult education program. The principal method of data collection was key informant interviews (Gall, Borg, & Gall, 1996). Other methods of data collection included observations of parent-child interactions and field observations. Data analysis methods included Memo-ing (Miles & Huberman, 1994), within case analysis and cross-case analysis. ^ Findings demonstrate that changes occurred in the parent-child relationship when mothers of a limited educational background participated in an adult literacy course. When participating in ILAs or English literacy activities related to second language acquisition (including reading and speaking for comprehension and pronunciation), the children of these mothers took on the role of the adult. Participation in literacy activities was often initiated by the child and the children were frequently concerned with their mother's literacy acquisition. Mothers reported that their children were more confident, worked harder on school related activities and were more open to communication. ^ It can be concluded from this study that, in the case of these immigrant families, a mother's participation in adult literacy classes is influential in the relationship between mother and child. These children participated in ILAs for the benefit of their mothers and initiated literacy activities more frequently. The children responded better to their parents during literacy activities because there was a positive change in the relationship between mother and child. The relationship between mother and child appeared to be strengthened by greater trust, a sense of pride and more communication. ^

Evaluating the effects of initial participation in the group therapy process

Although the effectiveness of group therapy has been highlighted, the underlying mechanisms involved in the group process have been under studied. The purpose of this study is twofold. First, the current study utilized an outcome mediation model to examine whether initial level of participation in the intervention (Control/No intervention, non-participatory, participatory) predicted change in Identity Conflict Resolution (IDCR), Personal Expressiveness (PE) and Informational Identity Style (INFO) at posttest, and Internalizing (INT) and Externalizing (EXT) behaviors at post and follow-up assessment. Secondly, the current study examined whether relationships between variables varied as a result of group differences in initial participation. The study utilized an archival sample of 234 high school students, ages 14 to 18, who participated in the Changing Lives Program of the Youth Development Project (YDP) since 2003. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine differences in direct effects as a result of initial participation on an outcome meditational model. To further analyze this model, SEM was utilized to conduct a multi-group solution to examine whether group differences based on level of initial participation in the variables^

The effects of participation in an Internet -based project on the development of global knowledge, global mindedness, and global pedagogy among preservice social studies teachers

In order to prepare younger generations to live in a world characterized by interconnectedness, developing global and international perspectives for future teachers has been recommended by the National Council for the Social Studies and the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects that participation in the International Communication and Negotiation Simulation (ICONS), an Internet-based communication project has on preservice social studies teachers' global knowledge, global mindedness, and global teaching strategies. ^ The study was conducted at a public university in South Florida. A combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches was employed. Two groups of preservice social studies teachers were chosen as participants: a control group composed of 14 preservice teachers who enrolled in a global education class in the summer semester of 1998 and an experimental group that included nine preservice teachers who took the same class in the fall semester of 1998. The summer class was conducted in a traditional format, which included lectures, classroom discussions, and student presentations. The fall class incorporated a five-week Internet-based communication project. The Global Mindedness Scale (Hett, 1993) and an adapted Test of Global Knowledge (ETS, 1981) were administered upon the completion of the class. ^ Contrasting case studies were utilized to investigate the impact of participation in the ICONS on the development of preservice teachers' global pedagogy. Four preservice teachers, two selected from each group were observed and interviewed to explore how they were infusing global perspectives into social studies curriculum and instruction during a 10-week student teaching internship in the spring semester of 1999. ^ This study had three major findings. First, preservice social studies teachers from the experimental group on average scored significantly higher than those from the control group on the global knowledge test. Second, no significant difference was found between the two groups in their mean scores on the Global Mindedness Scale. Third, all four selected preservice social studies teachers were infusing global perspectives into United States and world history curriculum and instruction during their student teaching internship. Using multiple resources was the common pedagogy. The two who participated in the ICONS were more aware of using the communication feature of the Internet and the web sites that reflect more international perspectives to facilitate teaching about the world. ^ Recommendations were made for further research and for preservice studies teacher education program development. ^

Employer participation in Florida school -to -work initiatives

This study used a cross-sectional design and descriptive research methodology to assess the characteristics and practices of employers participating in Florida school-to-work (STW) initiatives, the factors influencing their participation, and their STW partnerships with schools. The study also examined the relationships between employer characteristics and participation. ^ A sampling frame of 15,202 employers from the 28 Florida STW regions was constructed. Data were collected via a mail survey with a random sample of employers, using a researcher-designed questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlational analysis, and analysis of variance. ^ At the 95% confidence level, it was estimated that the mean establishment size in the population is between 25 and 51 employees and that employers have been involved in STW partnerships between five and seven years. ^ The study revealed broad-based employer participation in three of four areas: Working with Students, Working with Educators, and Internal Company Practices Supporting STW. A fourth area, Building a System, showed generally low participation. Data indicate that workforce needs are important incentives to employer STW participation beyond their desire to contribute to education or the community. Data also indicate that lack of information on STW is the greatest barrier to employer participation. ^ Sample employers have more positive perceptions of the value of their partnerships with schools than of the quality of the partnerships. Ninety-four percent agreed that students are better prepared for work and careers as a result of the partnership's activities. More than half agreed that a sense of trust and good communication exist between educators and employer partners. ^ Employer variables found to have a significant, positive relationship with participation include size (coefficient of determination r2 = .116), years in STW partnerships (r2 = .128), and perceptions of partnership quality (r2 = .092) and value (r2 = .112). ^ A major conclusion based on the findings of this study is that employer participation is optimized in initiatives that achieve important STW outcomes for students and build long-term relationships between employers and schools. Another that in Florida, the STW Opportunities Act of 1994 has not resulted in substantially greater employer involvement in building a STW system. ^

Participation in a positive youth development program and multi -problem alternative high school students' transformative goals: An investigation of the theoretical and methodological utility and validity of the Transformative Goal Attainment (TGAS)

There is a growing body of literature that provides evidence for the efficacy of positive youth development programs in general and preliminary empirical support for the efficacy of the Changing Lives Program (CLP) in particular. This dissertation sought to extend previous efforts to develop and preliminarily examine the Transformative Goal Attainment Scale (TGAS) as a measure of participant empowerment in the promotion of positive development. Consistent with recent advances in the use of qualitative research methods, this dissertation sought to further investigate the utility of Relational Data Analysis (RDA) for providing categorizations of qualitative open-ended response data. In particular, a qualitative index of Transformative Goals, TG, was developed to complement the previously developed quantitative index of Transformative Goal Attainment (TGA), and RDA procedures for calculating reliability and content validity were refined. Second, as a Stage I pilot/feasibility study this study preliminarily examined the potentially mediating role of empowerment, as indexed by the TGAS, in the promotion of positive development. ^ Fifty-seven participants took part in this study, forty CLP intervention participants and seventeen control condition participants. All 57 participants were administered the study's measures just prior to and just following the fall 2003 semester. This study thus used a short-term longitudinal quasi-experimental research design with a comparison control group. ^ RDA procedures were refined and applied to the categorization of open-ended response data regarding participants' transformative goals (TG) and future possible selves (PSQ-QE). These analyses revealed relatively strong, indirect evidence for the construct validity of the categories as well as their theoretically meaningful structural organization, thereby providing sufficient support for the utility of RDA procedures in the categorization of qualitative open-ended response data. ^ In addition, transformative goals (TG) and future possible selves (PSQ-QE), and the quantitative index of perceived goal attainment (TGA) were evaluated as potential mediators of positive development by testing their relationships to other indices of positive intervention outcome within a four-step method involving both analysis of variance (ANOVA and RMANOVAs) and regression analysis. Though more limited in scope than the efforts at the development and refinement of the measures of these mediators, the results were also promising. ^

Toward equity through participation in Modeling Instruction in introductory university physics

We report the results of a five year evaluation of the reform of introductory calculus-based physics by implementation of Modeling Instruction (MI) at Florida International University (FIU), a Hispanic-serving institution. MI is described in the context of FIU’s overall effort to enhance student participation in physics and science broadly. Our analysis of MI from a “participationist” perspective on learning identifies aspects of MI including conceptually based instruction, culturally sensitive instruction, and cooperative group learning, which are consistent with research on supporting equitable learning and participation by students historically under-represented in physics (i.e., Black, Hispanic, women). This study uses markers of conceptual understanding as measured by the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) and odds of success as measured by the ratio of students completing introductory physics and earning a passing grade (i.e., C− or better) by students historically under-represented in physics to reflect equity and participation in introductory physics. FCI pre and post scores for students in MI are compared with lecture-format taught students. Modeling Instruction students outperform students taught in lecture-format classes on post instruction FCI (61.9% vs 47.9%, p

The relationship between participation in unethical behaviors during the nursing student experience and participation in unethical behaviors as a registered nurse

The effect of unethical behaviors in health care settings is an important issue in the safe care of clients and has been a concern of the nursing profession for some time. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between use of unethical behaviors in the nursing student experience and the use of unethical behaviors in the workplace as a registered nurse. In addition, the relationship between the severity of unethical behaviors utilized in the classroom, clinical setting and those in the workplace was examined. To insure greater honesty in self-report, only a limited umber of demographic variables were requested from participants. During the summer of 1997, a 56 item questionnaire was distributed to registered nurses enrolled in either undergraduate or graduate courses in a public or private institution. The participants were asked to self-report their own use of unethical behaviors as well as their peers use of unethical behaviors. In order to assign a severity score for each item, nursing school faculty were asked to rate severity of unethical behaviors which could be used during the nursing student experience and nursing administrators were asked to rate unethical behaviors which could be used in the workplace. A significant positive relationship was found between individuals' use of unethical behaviors during nursing school and those used in the workplace r = .630. A significant positive relationship was found between the severity of unethical behaviors used in the nursing student experience and the severity of unethical behaviors used in the workplace r = .637. No relationship was found between years of practice, type of initial nursing education and whether or not the participant was raised inside or outside the United States and the use of unethical behaviors.

The role of group activity participation in depression among institutionalized elderly

The role of group activity participation in depression among a group of residents (N=65), age 80 and older, in a nursing home was examined using the framework of Roy's Adaptation Theory and Nolen-Hoeksema's Response Style Theory of Depression. Roy views depression as a maladaptation. Nolen-Hoeksema views group activity participation as a therapeutic distraction to break depressed moods and thus allow for positive adaptation. This study utilized data from medical records, group activity attendance, and self-report questionnaires. Demographic distributions were computed and correlational statistics were performed between subjects' participation and their degree of depression, pain experience, functional status, presence of social support, and perception of benefits. Results show a negative correlation between frequency of participation and Geriatric Depression Scale score (GDS). The wide range of measured frequencies among low GDS-scored subjects suggests that less depressed individuals exercise more freedom of choice to participate than those who are more depressed. Significant finding show a positive correlation of group activity participation with functional status in terms of ambulation. Data shows that the experience of pain was not a significant deterrent to participation. The presence of social support from the staff and family did not increase participation. However there is a lesser GDS score among subjects who had recent family/friends visit suggesting a positive role of family in decreasing depression. These results are significant not only for optimizing group therapeutic effects but also for understanding basic human and environmental correlates of depression. Study limitations are pointed out and recommendations are presented.

Reaganomics and its effects on pricing and participation in the regular paying sector of the National School Lunch Program in Dade County public high schools

Problem: This research proposes to examine the effects of Reaganomics on pricing and participation in the regular paying sector of the National School Lunch Program in Dade County Public High Schools. Subproblems: The first subproblem is to examine the effects of Reaganomics on pricing in the regular paying sector of the National School Lunch Program in Dade County Public High Schools. The second subproblem is to examine the effects of Reaganomics on participation in the regular paying sector of the National School Lunch Program in Dade County Public High Schools. Hypotheses: The first hypothesis is that Reaganomics has resulted in price increases to the regular paying sector of the National School Lunch Program in Dade County Public High Schools. The second hypothesis is that Reaganomics has decreased the percentage of the regular paying sector participating in the National School Lunch Program in Dade County Public High Schools.

Exploring Perceptions of Middle Class Urban Indian Women Regarding Socio-Cultural Deterrents Influencing Participation in Adult and Continuing Educational Programs

Unlike its childhood counterpart, adult and continuing education is a voluntary activity, where adult learners partake in educational programs for the sake of realizing some explicit or implicit goal. The purpose of this study was to explore the association between socio-cultural influences and deterrents to participation of middle class urban Indian women in adult and continuing educational programs. Darkenwald and Merriam’s (1982) theory of non-participation was selected as the theoretical lens used to guide this study. This study involved collecting qualitative data to analyze participant views and was collected through 16 semi-structured interviews to explore participants’ individual perceptions concerning socio-cultural deterrents influencing participation of middle class urban Indian women in adult and continuing educational programs. Qualitative data were analyzed to discover emerging themes and sub-themes. In the second phase of the study, a modified Deterrent to Participation Scale – General (DPS-G) was used to measure data collected from the surveys completed by participants, that included specific demographic questions. Descriptive statistics were used to examine the relationships between the demographic questions and the deterrent identified on the DPS-G. The interview and survey data were used convergently to understand the relationship between socio-cultural influences and deterrents impacting participant participation in adult and continuing educational programs. The findings of the study indicated that the biggest socio-cultural influence deterring participation among middle class urban Indian women in adult and continuing educational programs is marriage. It is an Indian social norm that comes with a set of pre-defined roles and expectations, and married women find themselves consumed by fulfilling the marital and familial expectations and responsibilities and participation in adult and continuing educational program is furthest from their mind. Middle class urban Indian women do realize the importance of educational pursuits, but do not feel that they can, after marriage. They are open, however, to pursuing adult educational programs in the form of short-term skill development programs leading to income generation, although they would lead primarily to home-based work enterprises.

Global Factors Affecting Women's Participation in Leadership

This dissertation is a multi-level, cross-cultural study of women in leadership conducted with both macro-society data and individual-level data aggregated to the country level. The research questions are, “What macro and micro forces are hindering or advancing women into business or political leadership?” “How do these forces impact the level of women’s involvement in business and political leadership in a particular country?” Data was collected from 10 secondary sources, available for 213 countries, and includes about 300 variables for business leadership (N=115) and political leadership (N=181). To date, most women in leadership research has been Western- or US- based, and little rigorous empirical, multi-level research has been done across countries. The importance of cross-cultural studies on women in leadership stems from the potential to better understand why some countries have more women in positions of both business and political leadership; and the factors that affect women’s involvement in such positions in different countries. A “Levels of Women’s Participation in Leadership” country model is tested using cluster and discriminant analyses. Results indicate that the factors that affect women’s participation in leadership in countries with fewer women leaders are different from the factors that affect women’s participation in countries with high levels of participation. This dissertation proposes that initiatives to increase participation of women in leadership need to consider the relevant factors that significantly affect countries at certain Levels of Women’s Participation in Leadership.