Using structural equation modeling to assess two theoretical models that explain dropout

This study evaluated the relative fit of both Finn's (1989) Participation-Identification and Wehlage, Rutter, Smith, Lesko and Fernandez's (1989) School Membership models of high school completion to a sample of 4,597 eighth graders taken from the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988, (NELS:88), utilizing structural equation modeling techniques. This study found support for the importance of educational engagement as a factor in understanding academic achievement. The Participation-Identification model was particularly well fitting when applied to the sample of high school completers, dropouts (both overall and White dropouts) and African-American students. This study also confirmed the contribution of school environmental factors (i.e., size, diversity of economic and ethnic status among students) and family resources (i.e., availability of learning resources in the home and parent educational level) to students' educational engagement. Based on these findings, school social workers will need to be more attentive to utilizing macro-level interventions (i.e., community organization, interagency coordination) to achieve the organizational restructuring needed to address future challenges. The support found for the Participation-Identification model supports a shift in school social workers' attention from reactive attempts to improve the affective-interpersonal lives of students to proactive attention to their academic lives. The model concentrates school social work practices on the central mission of schools, which is educational engagement. School social workers guided by this model would be encouraged to seek changes in school policies and organization that would facilitate educational engagement. ^

Investigation of Group Leadership in a Fission-Fusion Species, the Bottlenose Dolphin

Consistent leadership of group travel by specific individuals has been documented in many animals. Most species exhibiting this type of leadership have relatively stable group membership. Animals using fission-fusion grouping are not expected to use specific leaders because associations would not be frequent. Certain conditions, however, may allow this type of control over group travel to occur. First, a population would need to be small enough to allow regular associations between individuals. Second, leadership may be useful if the environment where the population in question lives is complex and requires learning to access the resources efficiently. To determine whether fission-fusion species existing under these conditions utilize specific individual leadership, I examined a small residential population of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Lower Florida Keys (LFK) where the benthic habitat is highly complex. My goals were to (1) determine whether specific individuals in this population led group travel more often than expected; (2) determine whether certain factors predicted which animals would lead most often and (3) investigate the benefits of leading to leaders and to followers in a fission-fusion society. Multiple types of data were collected to answer questions posed including dolphin behavior (for leadership analyses), fish sampling (to examine dolphin habitat use under leadership), and dolphin biopsy sampling (for genetic analyses). Results of analyses provided strong evidence for consistent leadership in this population. Leaders were female, most were mothers and on average they had larger measures of centrality within the LFK population. Leaders benefited by leading individuals who were more closely related than expected. Followers benefited from efficient access to profitable habitat. Results build on previous leadership research by expanding our knowledge about the type of species in which specific individuals lead and predictors for what types of individuals may lead. Additionally, results provide the first detailed information about benefits group members obtain by both leading and following.^

Psychosocial variables associated with the co-occurrence of risky sexual behavior with alcohol consumption among university students

This study examined the association of theoretically guided and empirically identified psychosocial variables on the co-occurrence of risky sexual behavior with alcohol consumption among university students. The study utilized event analysis to determine whether risky sex occurred during the same event in which alcohol was consumed. Relevant conceptualizations included alcohol disinhibition, self-efficacy, and social network theories. Predictor variables included negative condom attitudes, general risk taking, drinking motives, mistrust, social group membership, and gender. Factor analysis was employed to identify dimensions of drinking motives. Measured risky sex behaviors were (a) sex without a condom, (b) sex with people not known very well, (c) sex with injecting drug users (IDUs), (d) sex with people without knowing whether they had a STD, and (e) sex with using drugs. A purposive sample was used and included 222 male and female students recruited from a major urban university. Chi-square analysis was used to determine whether participants were more likely to engage in risky sex behavior in different alcohol use contexts. These contexts were only when drinking, only when not drinking, and when drinking or not. The chi-square findings did not support the hypothesis that university students who use alcohol with sex will engage in riskier sex. These results added to the literature by extending other similar findings to a university student sample. For each of the observed risky sex behaviors, discriminant analysis methodology was used to determine whether the predictor variables would differentiate the drinking contexts, or whether the behavior occurred. Results from discriminant analyses indicated that sex with people not known very well was the only behavior for which there were significant discriminant functions. Gender and enhancement drinking motives were important constructs in the classification model. Limitations of the study and implications for future research, social work practice and policy are discussed. ^

The role of individualism and collectivism as predictors of attributions for unethical work behavior: An empirical examination across two culturally diverse groups

This dissertation addresses how the cultural dimensions of individualism and collectivism affect the attributions people make for unethical behavior at work. The moderating effect of ethnicity is also examined by considering two culturally diverse groups: Hispanics and Anglos. The sample for this study is a group of business graduate students from two universities in the Southeast. A 20-minute survey was distributed to master's degree students at their classroom and later on returned to the researcher. Individualism and collectivism were operationalized as by a set of attitude items, while unethical work behavior was introduced in the form of hypothetical descriptions or scenarios. Data analysis employed multiple group confirmatory factor analysis for both independent and dependent variables, and subsequently multiple group LISREL models, in order to test predictions. Results confirmed the expected link between cultural variables and attribution responses, although the role of independent variables shifted, due to the moderating effect of ethnicity, and to the nuances of each particular situation. ^

Democratic purgatory: The failure of democracy in Venezuela

This research provides an understanding of the conditions that presage the failure of consolidated democratic political regimes through constitutional processes. In seeking to answer the question of how democracy might fail through democratic means, this study has revealed a gap in the literature on democratization. Venezuela was selected as a heuristic case study to explain this phenomenon. Heuristic case studies place less emphasis on the more configurative or descriptive elements of the case itself, and instead see the case as a point of departure for the formulations of theoretical propositions. While in-case hypotheses are possible, heuristic case studies make it an explicit research plan to tease out mechanisms that exist in a particular case study that might survive in other situations. ^ This study demonstrates that the elements in society that act as direct participants in the establishment of a democratic political system are able to maintain their position in the new order largely through an expansion of their ability to meet popular demands through clientelistic arrangements. While these corporatist groups may serve to facilitate social mobilization during the establishment of democratic regimes, they do so only in so far as they can maintain social control of in-group membership without fully providing for representative democracy. Once these democratic institutions are consolidated as key parts of the democratic structure, these corporatist arrangements provide for a type of unstable democratic purgatory: democracy is not fully representative, yet it is not completely unresponsive to the demands of the electorate. ^ The condition of democratic purgatory produces a paradox whereby democracy can be undemocratic under certain conditions. The stability of these regimes allows for democratic consolidation, despite the undemocratic basis of legitimacy. While these regimes can undergo consolidation, ultimately, this condition is unstable: either these regimes must establish an endogenous basis of political legitimacy (one that is not simply a function of the corporatist/clientelistic political structure), or the democracy will suffer a qualitative decline that may result in a democratic breakdown. Furthermore, this study finds that the viability of any type of democratic regime rests upon its adaptability to ensure adequate representativeness. ^

A Q factor analysis of college undergraduate students' study behaviors

The purpose of this study was to better understand the study behaviors and habits of university undergraduate students. It was designed to determine whether undergraduate students could be grouped based on their self-reported study behaviors and if any grouping system could be determined, whether group membership was related to students’ academic achievement. A total of 152 undergraduate students voluntarily participated in the current study by completing the Study Behavior Inventory instrument. All participants were enrolled in fall semester of 2010 at Florida International University. The Q factor analysis technique using principal components extraction and a varimax rotation was used in order to examine the participants in relation to each other and to detect a pattern of intercorrelations among participants based on their self-reported study behaviors. The Q factor analysis yielded a two factor structure representing two distinct student types among participants regarding their study behaviors. The first student type (i.e., Factor 1) describes proactive learners who organize both their study materials and study time well. Type 1 students are labeled “Proactive Learners with Well-Organized Study Behaviors”. The second type (i.e., Factor 2) represents students who are poorly organized as well as being very likely to procrastinate. Type 2 students are labeled Disorganized Procrastinators. Hierarchical linear regression was employed to examine the relationship between student type and academic achievement as measured by current grade point averages (GPAs). The results showed significant differences in GPAs between Type 1 and Type 2 students at the .05 significance level. Furthermore, student type was found to be a significant predictor of academic achievement beyond and above students’ attribute variables including sex, age, major, and enrollment status. The study has several implications for educational researchers, practitioners, and policy makers in terms of improving college students' learning behaviors and outcomes.

Middle school teachers' intentions to refer eating disorder students for professional counseling

Eating disorders can lead to a negative impact on students' academic growth, nutrition and can cause death (Claude-Pierre, 1997; Manley, Rickson, & Standeven, 2000; Romeo, 1996). Early intervention by referring students to professional counseling might help counter these negative consequences. The teacher is in the position to assist students by providing health information, identifying those with problems, and intervening for a variety of dysfunctions that may include the eating disorders called anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa (Myers-Clark & Christopher, 2000). However teachers are in a difficult position to know when to address student concerns and judge what action to take (Ransley, 1999). Teachers' engagement seems crucial (Smolak, Harris, Levine, & Shisslak, 2001) since eating disorders are being identified in younger children. The purpose of this study was to examine (a) the relationships of the theoretical constructs, attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control of the theory of planned behavior as predictors of behavioral intention (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980) of middle school teachers to identify and refer suspected anorexia nervosa (AN) and/or bulimia nervosa (BN) students for professional help; and (b) the actual behavior of middle school teachers who reported having ever referred a student suspected of having AN and BN and those teachers who reported not having made such a referral. One hundred fourteen middle school teachers in Broward County, Florida volunteered to participate in the ex post facto research. Data were collected from a questionnaire. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the constructs of subjective norm (perception of what others think about one's performance of behavior combined with motivation to comply) and perceived behavioral control (perception regarding the extent of the difficulty of performing the behavior) were predictive of teachers' intent (likelihood of engaging in a behavior) to refer. However, the analysis revealed that attitude (overall positive or negative feeling with respect to performing the behavior) was not predictive of teachers' intent. Discriminant function analysis revealed that both intent and perceived behavioral control were predictive of group membership, either having referred a student suspected of having an eating disorder for counseling or not having made such a referral. Attitude and subjective norm were not predictive of group membership.

The use of treatment process variables to differentiate between completers and dropouts for a guided self -change adolescent substance abuse intervention

This study documented differences between substance using adolescent participants who either completed or dropped out of a brief motivational intervention. Therapeutic alliance, working alliance and patient involvement were used to describe differences in treatment process ratings in a sample of majority Latino males who either (a) completed a adolescent substance abuse intervention called Alcohol Treatment Targeting Adolescents In Need (ATTAIN) or (b) dropped out after the first or second Guided Self-Change therapy session. Fifteen-minute segments were copied from the midpoint of previously recorded audio-tapes of Guided Self-Change therapy sessions. Raters were trained to a criterion level of interrater reliability for both the Working Alliance Inventory-Short and Vanderbilt Psychotherapy Process Scale. Correlations among Working Alliance Inventory- Short and Vanderbilt Psychotherapy Process Scale subscales reflected a general similarity in the assignment of ratings to client-therapist dyads. Findings underscore why these concepts are often used interchangeably in the treatment process literature. The Vanderbilt Psychotherapy Process Scale patient participation subscale demonstrated substantial empirical differentiation from overall therapeutic alliance. Discriminant function analysis demonstrated the Working Alliance Inventory-Short goal subscale and the Vanderbilt Psychotherapy Process Scale patient participation and therapist warmth and friendliness subscales as successful classifiers of groups of mostly Latino youth based on completion status. Follow-up logistic regression analyses confirmed major findings and successfully predicted group membership. Treatment process constructs can be used as clinical tools to identify participants who may be susceptible to dropping out of treatment services. Further investigation of treatment process may enhance understanding of the influence of alliance between clients and Guided Self-Change therapists. Investigating the role of treatment process as a critical component of brief motivational interventions for substance-using adolescents will inform both practitioners and researchers regarding the effectiveness of community-based substance abuse interventions for adolescents.

Psychosocial variables associated with the co-occurance of risky sexual behavior with alcohol consumption among university students

This study examined the association of theoretically guided and empirically identified psychosocial variables on the co-occurrence of risky sexual behavior with alcohol consumption among university students. The study utilized event analysis to determine whether risky sex occurred during the same event in which alcohol was consumed. Relevant conceptualizations included alcohol disinhibition, self-efficacy, and social network theories. Predictor variables included negative condom attitudes, general risk taking, drinking motives, mistrust, social group membership, and gender. Factor analysis was employed to identify dimensions of drinking motives. Measured risky sex behaviors were (a) sex without a condom, (b) sex with people not known very well, (c) sex with injecting drug users (IDUs), (d) sex with people without knowing whether they had a STD, and (e) sex with using drugs. A purposive sample was used and included 222 male and female students recruited from a major urban university. Chi-square analysis was used to determine whether participants were more likely to engage in risky sex behavior in different alcohol use contexts. These contexts were only when drinking, only when not drinking, and when drinking or not. The chi-square findings did not support the hypothesis that university students who use alcohol with sex will engage in riskier sex. These results added to the literature by extending other similar findings to a university student sample. For each of the observed risky sex behaviors, discriminant analysis methodology was used to determine whether the predictor variables would differentiate the drinking contexts, or whether the behavior occurred. Results from discriminant analyses indicated that sex with people not known very well was the only behavior for which there were significant discriminant functions. Gender and enhancement drinking motives were important constructs in the classification model. Limitations of the study and implications for future research, social work practice and policy are discussed.

The role of individualism and collectivism as predictors of attributions for unethical work behavior : an empirical examination across two culturally diverse groups

This dissertation addresses how the cultural dimensions of individualism and collectivism affect the attributions people make for unethical behavior at work. The moderating effect of ethnicity is also examined by considering two culturally diverse groups: Hispanics and Anglos. The sample for this study is a group of business graduate students from two universities in the Southeast. A 20-minute survey was distributed to master's degree students at their classroom and later on returned to the researcher. Individualism and collectivism were operationalized as by a set of attitude items, while unethical work behavior was introduced in the form of hypothetical descriptions or scenarios. Data analysis employed multiple group confirmatory factor analysis for both independent and dependent variables, and subsequently multiple group LISREL models, in order to test predictions. Results confirmed the expected link between cultural variables and attribution responses, although the role of independent variables shifted, due to the moderating effect of ethnicity, and to the nuances of each particular situation.

The effect of different instructional groupings on student achievement and attitudes from a computer-based interactive videodisk biology unit

The purpose of this research study was to determine the effect of two different instructional groupings (cooperative and traditional whole-class) on student achievement and attitudes using a computer-based interactive videodisc biology unit. The subjects were 64 high school biology students assigned to two heterogeneous experimental groups, randomly selected from two preassigned summer school biology classes, one honors, the other regular. A two-group, posttest-only, control group experimental research design was utilized. Achievement at three cognitive levels and attitudes towards science laserdisc instruction were measured at the conclusion of the study. The cooperative group consistently outperformed the traditional group in achievement posttest scores. Factorial ANOVA on total (overall) achievement scores indicated that subjects in cooperative groups significantly outperformed those in the traditional group, and also that the instructional group, class level, and gender interacted in an ordinal fashion to make a significant difference in how female and male subjects were affected by the treatments depending on their class (aptitude) level. Regular level females and honors level males performed much better when in cooperative groups, whereas group membership did not appear to make a difference for either honors level females or regular level males. A t-test comparing honors level males revealed that cooperative groups were close to being significantly better in total achievement posttest scores than their traditional group counterparts. Factorial MANOVA comparing the instructional groups at three cognitive levels found no significant difference. Analysis on the attitudes posttest data also revealed that subjects in cooperative groups demonstrated more positive attitudes towards science laserdisc instruction; however these differences were not found to be significant. Significant interactions in attitudes of females and males from different class levels had the opposite effect as achievement: honors level females and regular level males demonstrated more positive attitudes towards science laserdisc instruction when in cooperative groups, whereas group membership did not appear to make a difference for honors level males, and regular level females demonstrated the lowest attitudes ratings of any group when involved in cooperative groups. This contrast between achievement and attitudinal results suggests cross-gender interaction in traditionally defined gender roles.

Investigation of the causes of serious injury and fatal crashes: An analysis using econometric models

The rate of fatal crashes in Florida has remained significantly higher than the national average for the last several years. The 2003 statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the latest available, show a fatality rate in Florida of 1.71 per 100 million vehicle-miles traveled compared to the national average of 1.48 per 100 million vehicle-miles traveled. The objective of this research is to better understand the driver, environmental, and roadway factors that affect the probability of injury severity in Florida. ^ In this research, the ordered logit model was used to develop six injury severity models; single-vehicle and two-vehicle crashes on urban freeways and urban principal arterials and two-vehicle crashes at urban signalized and unsignalized intersections. The data used in this research included all crashes that occurred on the state highway system for the period from 2001 to 2003 in the Southeast Florida region, which includes the Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties.^ The results of the analysis indicate that the age group and gender of the driver at fault were significant factors of injury severity risk across all models. The greatest risk of severe injury was observed for the age groups 55 to 65 and 66 and older. A positive association between injury severity and the race of the driver at fault was also found. Driver at fault of Hispanic origin was associated with a higher risk of severe injury for both freeway models and for the two-vehicle crash model on arterial roads. A higher risk of more severe injury crash involvement was also found when an African-American was the at fault driver on two-vehicle crashes on freeways. In addition, the arterial class was also found to be positively associated with a higher risk of severe crashes. Six-lane divided arterials exhibited the highest injury severity risk of all arterial classes. The lowest severe injury risk was found for one way roads. Alcohol involvement by the driver at fault was also found to be a significant risk of severe injury for the single-vehicle crash model on freeways. ^

Origin of the Grande Ronde Formation flows, Columbia River flood basalt group

Lavas belonging to the Grande Ronde Formation (GRB) constitute about 63% of the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG), a flood basalt province in the NW United States. A puzzling feature is the lack of phenocrysts (< 5%) in these chemically evolved lavas. Based mainly on this observation it has been hypothesized that GRB lavas were nearly primary melts generated by large-scale melting of eclogite. Another recent hypothesis holds that GRB magmas were extremely hydrous and rose rapidly from the mantle such that the dissolved water kept the magmas close to their liquidi. I present new textural and chemical evidence to show that GRB lavas were neither primary nor hydrous melts but were derived from other melts via efficient fractional crystallization and mixing in shallow intrusive systems. Texture and chemical features further suggest that the melt mixing process may have been exothermic, which forced variable melting of some of the existing phenocrysts. ^ Finally, reported here are the results of efforts to simulate the higher pressure histories of GRB using COMAGMAT and MELTS softwares. The intent was to evaluate (1) whether such melts could be derived from primary melts formed by partial melting of a peridotite source as an alternative to the eclogite model, or if bulk melting of eclogite is required; and (2) at what pressure such primary melts could have been in equilibrium with the mantle. I carried out both forward and inverse modeling. The best fit forward model indicates that most primitive parent melts related to GRB could have been multiply saturated at ∼1.5--2.0 GPa. I interpret this result to indicate that the parental melts last equilibrated with a peridotitic mantle at 1.5--2.0 GPa and such partial melts rose to ∼0.2 GPa where they underwent efficient mixing and fractionation before erupting. These models suggest that the source rock was not eclogitic but a fertile spinel lherzolite, and that the melts had ∼0.5% water. ^

Developing a leadership identity: A case study exploring a select group of Hispanic women at a Hispanic serving institution

Leadership is a socially constructed concept shaped by the context, values and experiences of society (Klenke, 1996); the historical context of gender and ethnicity in society affects views about leadership and who merits a leadership role. Therefore, developing an understanding of Hispanic women students’ leadership identity development is critical in broadening how we define leadership and develop leadership education. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore and describe the leadership identity development of a select group of women leaders at a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) in the southeast. A psychosocial approach to the study was utilized. In-depth interviews and focus groups were conducted with 11 self-identified Hispanic women students of sophomore, junior or senior standing with varying degrees of involvement in leadership activities at Florida International University. Participants were asked questions related to four topics; (a) leadership, (b) gender, (c) ethnic identity, and (d) influences that contributed to their understanding of self as leader. Five topics emerged from the data presented by the participants’: (a) encouraging relationships, (b) meaningful experiences, (c) self development, (d) the role of gender, and (e) impact of ethnicity. These themes contributed to the leadership identity development of the participants. Findings indicate that leadership identity development for Hispanic women college students at this HSI is complex. The concept of leadership identity development presented in the literature was challenged as findings indicate that the participants’ experiences living and attending a school in a majority-minority city influenced their development of a leadership identity. The data indicate that leadership is not gender or ethnicity neutral as differences exist in expectations of men and women in leadership roles. Gender expectations posed particular challenges for these women student leaders. The prescriptive nature of stage-based models was problematic as findings indicated leadership identity development a complicated and continuing process influenced strongly by relationships and experiences. This study enhanced knowledge of the ways that Hispanic women students become leaders and the influences that shape their leadership experiences which can assist higher education professionals in developing leadership programs and courses that address gender, multiculturalism and awareness of self as leader.

Assessing the impact of business group diversification on the internationalization of their affiliates: The case of Latin American firms

This dissertation explored the capacity of business group diversification to generate value to their affiliates in an institutional environment characterized by the adoption of structural pro-market reforms. In particular, the three empirical essays explored the impact of business group diversification on the internationalization process of their affiliates. ^ The first essay examined the direct effect of business group diversification on firm performance and its moderating effect on the multinationality-performance relationship. It further explored whether such moderating effect varies depending upon whether the focal affiliate is a manufacturing or service firm. The findings suggested that the benefits of business group diversification on firm performance have a threshold, that those benefits are significant at earlier stages of internationalization and that these benefits are stronger for service firms. ^ The second essay studied the capacity of business group diversification to ameliorate the negative effects of the added complexity faced by its affiliates when they internationalized. The essay explored this capacity in different dimensions of international complexity. The results indicated that business group diversification effectively ameliorated the effects of the added international complexity. This positive effect is stronger in the institutional voids rather than the societal complexity dimension. In the former dimension, diversified business groups can use both their non-market resources and previous experience to ameliorate the effects of complexity on firm performance. ^ The last essay explored whether the benefits of business group diversification on the scope-performance relationship varies depending on the level of development of the network of subsidiaries and the region of operation of the focal firm. The results suggested that the benefits of business group diversification are location bound within the region but that they are not related to the level of development of the targeted countries. ^ The three essays use longitudinal analyses on a sample of Latin American firms to test the hypotheses. While the first essay used multilevel models and fix effects models, the last two essays used exclusively fix effects models to assess the impact of business group diversification. In conclusion, this dissertation aimed to explain the capacity of business group diversification to generate value under conditions of institutional change.^