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The purpose of this presentation is to report on a study undertaken by the author to asses teachers' social perceptions of dialectal differences among junior high school males. Male and female teachers judged the academic ability and school behavior of three black and three white male student speakers representing upper-middle-class, middle-class, and lower-class backgrounds, based on their spoken language. Teachers heard tape-recordings of these junior high school students reading the same brief passage. Black and white teachers, 13 of each, were selected by a random procedure from a junior high school in the Dade County, Florida, Public School System. This particular school was selected because of the black and white ratio (21 percent black, 79 percent white) of faculty desegregation, and the diversity in the teachers' birthplaces, educational backgrounds, and geographical locations of their teaching experiences. The findings indicate that white speakers were perceived with a significantly higher degree of favorableness by all teachers. Black teacher judgments were found to be significantly more favorable than those of white teachers. There were no significant differences found in the degree of favorableness with which upper-middle, middle, or lower-class speakers were perceived by all teachers. (Author/JM)

The Asolo State Theatre Company and Florida State University, operating together, provide a professional repertory theatre company, professional theatre training, a laboratory for theatre-related research, and a resource both for innovative teaching in the public schools and for undergraduate training in the humanities. Begun in 1960, this operation has grown from a summer student company to a year-round professional theatre company plus 19 full-time faculty members in the School of Theatre in 1974. Since the Asolo was designated the State Theatre of Florida in 1965, the state, the university, and the community have shared in the necessary financial subsidy, with additional support coming from the National Endowment for the Arts and other agencies. This is a highly successful operation which can serve as an example for the establishment of other similar theatre programs. (JM)

The process used in the design and evaluation of modules of instruction with the PLATO IV Computer System for stimulus display and response recording is described. Steps in the instructional design process are listed as problem identification and task analysis, identification of entry characteristics, development of performance objectives, development of evaluation instruments, determination of instructional sequence, design of instructional components, and production of instructional materials. Evaluation is discussed in terms of product, evaluation, process evaluation, and system effectiveness. (SK)

In May 1974, the Undergraduate Education Reform Project of the Southern Regional Education Board sponsored a small workshop for representatives from each of the 14 SREB states. The purpose of the regional workshop was to provide an opportunity for the state representatives to identify and examine issues connected with student transfer and to share with each other formal attempts to solve these problems and to explore new possibilities for the region. This report of that workshop contains: (1) a summary of discussions of the issues surrounding institutional articulation and student transfer; (2) reports of how these issues are dealt with in the six states in the region that have developed statwide approaches; and (3) formal presentations, including Problems of Articulation, and Association Group; What It Is and Where It's Going. The appendix contains a reproduction of the recommendations from the Airlie House Conference on College Transfer and a list of participants in the SREB workshop. (Author/KE)

The trend toward competency-based vocational teacher education (CBVTE) is related to other significant trends: the movement toward certification by skills demonstration, the emergence of Teacher Centers, and the increasing emphasis on inservice education. CBVTE focuses on teaching competencies, expecting trainees to possess the technical or occupational skills which comprise their subject matter; it identifies teaching competencies, provides learning activities which focus on their mastery, and assesses them in real teaching situations. It is individual-, performance-, and field-based, rather than group-, content-, and classroom-based. Florida's universities and State Department of Education (vo-tech division) are exploring CBVTE; Florida State University's (FSU) research and development project, the advanced testing of 300 CBVTE modules (which were based on exhaustive task analyses and developed in all vocational subjects in a lengthy cooperative venture at Ohio State University) has taken place on and off campus with preservice and inservice teachers. A wide variety of learning activities and feedback devices are used in the modules. Trainees practice competencies in a simulation and then in a classroom. Problems have included gaining commitment from individual faculty members and hesitant trainees. Statewide testing of the Ohio modules is being considered, and FSU plans an exemplary CBVTE program. (Author/AJ)

A sample of 558 communication specialists and nonspecialists was drawn for this study of the future role of mass media in Florida. The Delphi technique was used in four rounds of mail questionnaires, though response rates dropped from 29% of the total sample in round one to 8% in round four. Social, legal, and economic events affecting the future of the mass media are discussed in this report; technical aspects of the study will be reported in a later document. Twenty-eight future events are discussed on the basis of assigned probabilities of .5 or better in round three. Fourteen events were classified as social, dealing primarily with the public's trust in access to television and newspapers. Seven were classified as legal, concerned mainly with freedom of the press. Seven were economic, dictated by rising production costs and by competition within and between the various mass media. (AA)

Rather than a direct report on staff development programs, the speaker presents a case study of a district's experiences in organization change that were planned to improve the ways in which the school system fulfills its basic mission and goals. The change plan emphasized staff development at the administrative level as a means of decreasing the focus in the district that were opposed to change. The plan included retreats, workshops, attendance at conferences, and meetings with national authorities, but emphasized the reorganization of the district to reduce the effects of provincialism and to develop a solid management team relationship at the higher levels of management. The school board was left out of the management team. Eventually the district was reorganized into two distinct divisions-instruction and support services. One major provision of the reorganization was the establishment and staffing of a department to facilitate long-range planning and staff development. The rationale of the reorganization was to arrange the school system's management team so as to focus more directly on the clients of the system--the students. (Author/IRT)

Classroom processes dealing with both cognitive and socioemotional factors are studied to investigate the relationship of teacher threat behaviors to the academic achievement of educationally disadvantaged children. The specific objective is to supply evidence relating academic achievement to a positive socioemotional climate. It is hypothesized that classes with low threat socioemotional climates will achieve more than classes with high threat climates. A systematic observational instrument is developed to identify classroom behaviors on a bidimensional scale; that of threat (teacher aversive stimuli) and content (on-task activities). Initial results indicate no support for the hypothesis that threat is detrimental to learning; however, subsequent testing using a clearer distinction of high and low threat classroom indicates a significant relationship. A negative relationship between amount of content presentation and quality of teacher threat behavior is found. A teacher threat behavior increases, the quantity of content presentation decreases. Further research to determine the extent of the effect of various levels of threat on educationally disadvantaged minorities is suggested. Implications for the classroom suggests a need for greater awareness on the teacher's part that disadvantaged children can only achieve at a satisfactory academic level if they are provided sufficient opportunity to learn the materials at hand. (Author/AM)

Changes in the relative academic achievement of Florida's black and white children over the last 13 years during which desegregation was taking place are investigated. The availability of achievement data for the entire black and white population, along with the 13-year time span between observations are seen as principal advantages. Data show that the academic achievement gap between white and black children was smaller in 1974 than in 1961. The amount of decrease in the gap is stated to be small, yet of practical significance for the four subject areas examined: reading, vocabulary, math computation, and math problems solving. Of these areas, convergence in the black and white distribution was greater for math computation than for the othersubtest areas examined. The use of different tests in 1961 and 1974 is held to make assessment of changes in the absolute performance level of black or white children difficult. It is suggested that the study be viewed as an evaluation of a social action program rather than a scientific experiment. (Author/AM)

Situational and personal barriers to the educational goals of nonwhite youths in Florida appear to be caused by a variety of subtle and complex factors deeply rooted in the environment of the youths: (1) cultural determinism; (2) attitudes of resistance and antagonism on the part of white teachers and counselors; (3) lack of information on the part of nonwhite teachers and counselors; (4) failure of blacks to acquire needed cognitive skills; (5) unavailability of high level curriculums in segregated or predominantly black schools; (6) inadequate guidance service; (7) delayed or deferred decision making; and (8) lack of intelligent, aggressive concern by many black families. To help young blacks, teachers and counselors must recognize diversity as a genuine characteristic of blacks. Parents must take more responsibility for children's discipline and teacher cooperation. Black counselors must encourage black students to think more seriously about linking short-range activity and long-range goals. Faithful application of these strategies would greatly expand educational opportunities for nonwhite youth, thereby enabling them to more readily take advantage of such personally, educationally and economically rewarding time-shortened degree tools as the CLEP, early admission, advanced placement, and others. (Author/BEF)

The relationship between the public and independent sector of higher education in Florida is examined in this conference publication. The problems and issues involved in formulating state policy with respect to postsecondary education in Florida are examined. An overview of policy positions of other states is presented as well as an assessment of the present and prospective status of postsecondary education in Florida, a discussion of the possible components to be included in a policy statement, and an assessment of the legal and fiscal realities implicit in the adoption of a policy statement. Section I of the report provides a conference overview and two papers: "The Issues" (Senator David L. Boren) and "State Policies and Programmatic Implementation" (Richard W. Jonsen). Section II contains presentations on the policies of selected states towards independent higher education including: "Pennsylvania" (Edward McGuire), "Illinois" (Joseph D. Boyd), and "California" (Morgan Odell). A discussion of the policy issues facing the federal government in this area is presented in Section III by John D. Phillips in a paper entitled "Policy Issues, The Federal Government, and Diversity." Section IV of the report is a summary of the total meeting and includes the conference program, the membership of the Florida Postsecondary Education Commission, and a list of the conference participants. (SF)

Since the early 1970s, Haitians have been arriving in the United States in increasing numbers. Since 1977, the Immigration and Naturalization Service has taken several steps in response to this influx and to problems Haitian refugees face regarding asylum, exclusion, and deportation. One major decision resulted in new regulations that would provide for evidentiary hearings on asylum claims. Other decisions were to release those Haitians in detention who had been unable to post $500 bond, and to authorize work permits for Haitians residing in Florida with asylum claims pending. In mid 1978, there was a marked increase in the number of Haitians arriving in Florida. The Immigration and Naturalization Service, in order to shorten lines at the district office in Miami, reduced the bureaucracy involved with processing new aliens and took steps to speed up the hearings process for Haitians already detained. Recently, several lawsuits have been filed on behalf of Haitian refugees and are currently pending. In the meantime, several thousand new work authorizations have been issued. In light of the fact that the Immigration and Naturalization Service considers that most Haitians come to America to improve their economic status rather than out of political hardship, officials feel that considerable steps have been taken to aid this group. (Author/GC)

Social, political, and business moral issues that impede solving public problems, and the situation in higher education, specifically in Florida, are considered. Problems in society that have a moral impact include the high rate of crime and an ineffective rehabilitation system for convicted criminals, illicit drug traffic, and the strength of special interest groups through campaign financing at all levels of government. The moral issue of educational quality has been addressed at all educational levels in Florida. Special remedial help for students in K-3 programs and more difficult standards for future teachers are among the state's efforts to improve the quality of education. Florida has funded the community college system to improve quality and has reestablished a state community college coordinating board to promote systemwide coordination, prevent duplication, and monitor the quality of programs at the 20 community colleges. The state legislature authorized the issuance of state vouchers of $750 per year for Florida resident students for tuition costs in state private colleges. Objections to this action and problem areas, including an inefficient cabinet state board of education, are considered. (SW)

After needs assessments were conducted in six Florida school districts, strategies were developed for implementing creative and relevant workshops emphasizing curricular innovations and individualized instruction. Procedures and techniques evolved from 50 workshops given to 1500 elementary school teachers. Among the activities were: multimedia presentations, self awareness demonstrations, brainstorming techniques, and learning center tours. Reactions to the workshops were highly favorable, with positive ratings for the instructor a major component of participant satisfaction. (FG)

The study of the movement to desegregate the public schools of this country has led to the development of numerous indices of desegregation. These measures have been used for various purposes, including assessing the effectiveness of desegregation efforts, the changes in patterns of desegregation, and the relationship between desegregation status and school district characteristics. For this study, school enrollment data for the 1978-79 school year were obtained for all public schools in Florida's 67 school districts. Eight indices of segregation or racial isolation were computed for each district. The measures were Thiel's and Finizza's Measure of Racial Entropy (1967), Cisin's Segregation Index Number One (1970), Cisin's Segregation Index Number Two (1970), Farley's and Taeuber's Dissimilarity Index (1974), and Replacement Index (1974), the Index of Feasible Desegregation (Rossell and Crain, 1973), the Interracial School Contact Index (Coleman, 1975), and the Standardized Measure of Segregation (Coleman, 1975). These measures were compared across the Florida system while the size of the district and the proportion of minorities were used as independent variables. The results indicate that different indices will lead to different conclusions in identical situations. It is possible to pick an index to get a desired result. (Author/IRT)

Across the country citizens' and parents' groups have demanded participation in the collective bargaining process, which traditionally included only boards of education and teachers' union representatives meeting behind closed doors. The first state to require that bargaining in the public sector be conducted in the open (fishbowl bargaining) was Florida. Surveys show that a majority of Florida school board members and school superintendents favor fishbowl bargaining. Even 35 percent of the professional negotiators favor open collective bargaining. Teachers' unions are fervently opposed to it. Only a small percentage of the public has actually attended negotiating sessions. Media coverage in large school districts has been good, but it has been sparse in medium to small districts. As the citizens' movement grows, demands for greater participation in matters such as bargaining will increase, according to the author. (DS)

Approximately three years after a sample of vocational education teachers in Florida took the General Examinations, College-Level Examination Program (CLEP), the impact of the use of CLEP scores by teachers (392) in their professional development was assessed. Indicators of professional growth were teaching rank, salary, and degree status. Teachers who used CLEP for credit and/or admission to degree programs in vocational education advanced in rank and degrees held with greater frequency than teachers making no use of their scores. No difference in salary increases between the two groups was found. Subjects overwhelmingly endorsed the use of credit for prior off-campus learning in furthering their professional development. Conditions favorable to the study prevailed in Florida when the study was made: (1) The CLEP tests were given at no cost to the teachers, (2) State universities in Florida modified their admissions standards to allow subjects to enter degree programs of study with CLEP scores, and (3) a uniform cutoff score was used by the universities for granting credit for CLEP. Unless a generally similar set of circumstances prevailed elsewhere, the degree of association between the use of CLEP scores and indicators of professional growth reported in this study might not occur. (Author/HD)

This document contains seventeen presentations delivered at the ninth annual meeting of the Florida Statewide Conference on Institutional Research. Part one contains: (1) "Your Legislative Session--1976"; (2) "Equal Access/Equal Opportunity: Institutions, Students, Politics, and Fairness"; (3) "The Impact of the Equal Education and Equal Opportunity Movement on Universitites and Their Management Information Systems"; and (4) "A New Caveat: Let the Buyer Be Aware." Part Two, "Delivery Systems," includes the following papers: (1) "Open Learning: Effectiveness of a Computerized Instructional System"; (2) "Program Evaluation in a New University: Results of a Two Year Program"; (3) "A Comparative Study of the Florida Twelfth Grade Test and the College Level Examination Program"; (4)"A Longitudinal Study of the College Level Examination Program and Student Achievement in the State of Florida"; and (5) "Mid-Point Testing Program: Beauty or Beast?" Part Three, "Other Institutional Studies," presents five papers: (1) "The Effectiveness of an Incoming Student Orientation Program"; (2) "The Cost-Income Component of Program Evaluation"; (3) "Instructional Evaluation System"; (4) "Faculty Salary Increases and Evaluation of Selected Performance Variables"; and (5) "The Role of Institutional Research in Instructional Development: The Emergence of a New Model at the University of Florida." Part Four, "Potpourri," contains three papers: (1) "Distribution of First-Time-in-College Students Within the State University System of Florida"; (2) "Identification and Evaluation of Instruments in Institutional Research"; and (3) Regional Learning Needs Assessment: Practices, Pitfalls and Prospects". (MB)

The Child Find Program in Dade County, Florida, a federal project designed to identify exceptional children (to 21 years old) not presently receiving an education, is described. (IM)

The first of a series of productivity primers examining the interrelationship among vocational education, productivity, and economic development, this volume contains selections from a national conference on the role of vocational education in economic development and productivity that was held in Columbus, Ohio from June 24 through June 26, 1981. Presented first is the conference agenda. The second section of the document deals with an NBC white paper documentary entitled "If Japan Can, Why Can't We?" Included in this section are an introduction to the NBC white paper, a summary of the film, and the text of panel members' reactions to the documentary. Next, existing vocational education programs designed to foster economic development and productivity in three states--Ohio, Florida, and Georgia--are described. Covered in the fourth section is Oklahoma's strategy for increasing productivity. A summary of overall reactions of business and industry representatives to the conference concludes the report. (MN)

A study is in progress (with posttesting planned for April 1989), which examines whether word processing enhances the particular benefits of sentence-combining practice on the reading comprehension and writing fluency of low-achieving intermediate students. Subjects are 80 low-achieving fourth grade students from a Florida school district, randomly assigned to one of three levels of treatment. The first experimental treatment group is participating in teacher-directed lessons on sentence-combining with independent practice on data files with a word processing program. The second experimental treatment group is receiving the same lessons and exercises, but the independent practice is on worksheets. A control group forms the third group. A clinical study component entails a more in-depth analysis of students' writing and oral retellings of stories. Results will be collected from reading and writing measures, to include written retellings of stories using silent film prompts, two cloze tests, and audiotapes of story retellings. The clinical study component will be reported by means of narrative descriptions and descriptive statistics. The hypotheses for this research predict that the two experimental treatment groups will score significantly higher than the control group in writing fluency. (One table, of types of data to be collected and the manner in which it will be reported, is included. Twenty-two references are attached.) (SR)

Using radon (a naturally-occurring radioactive gas linked to lung cancer) as the health risk factor, a study examined which risk-taking tendencies interact with different health-risk message strategies. A phone survey pretested 837 randomly selected homeowners from three Florida counties with the highest levels of radon in the state (706 agreed to continue the study). Sixteen message conditions were manipulated from four experimental factors: (1) message source (newspaper article or government brochure); (2) health hazard target (children or adults); (3) complexity of comparative risks (smoking and x-rays, or nuclear power); and (4) specificity of information about actions to reduce the risk (a detailed step-by-step plan or an address for further information). Subjects were mailed questions based on one of the 16 message manipulations (with a 44.9% response rate). Some 317 persons returned the test booklets. Questions concerning media dependencies, personality attributes, home construction, and demographic attributes were measured, along with two dependent variables: fear of radon and estimates of the likelihood that the risk would affect the subject's own home. Risk-taking tendencies were measured by questions concerning personal freedom, sense of control, and sensation seeking. Results revealed that the risk-taking tendencies of adventurousness, impulsiveness, and rebelliousness interacted with message source, risk schema complexity, and target to affect estimates of the likelihood that the risk was a threat, and self-reported fear resulting from the risk. (Eleven figures are included, and two photocopied newspaper articles used in the study and 54 references are appended.) (MM)

Learner Verification and Revision (LVR) has been part of Florida's instructional materials adoption process since 1974, when state statutes required textbook publishers to provide written proof that their materials were revised based on student feedback before publication. Publishers were also required to collect student data and make revisions during the entire market life of the product. In 1983, the LVR guidelines were made more specific and required that the LVR be submitted by publishers prior to submitting textbooks for adoption. The current 1985 Florida LVR guidelines required four sections: (1) product background information; (2) intended learner outcomes; (3) prepublication LVR--overview of LVR process, data collection and use, instruments used, and sample revisions; and (4) post publication LVR--plans for further data collection. Training was provided for publishers, and state instructional materials councils felt it was easier to evaluate the reports. Publishers, however, expressed concerns about the cost of field testing an entire textbook, validity and reliability of students' feedback, paperwork, and lack of evidence validating LVR. In light of these problems, it was recommended that the guidelines be reviewed, that publishers work with authors in implementing LVR, and that guidelines be applied more consistently. (GDC)

When students choose postsecondary vocational education programs, they pay, in both money and in income lost during the time they are in the program. The public also pays by tax support for many educational programs. However, students often have little information about the effectiveness of these programs in terms of job placement, wage rates, and career potential. Some efforts to determine and disclose these outcomes have been made by Florida and Arizona. These states used Social Security numbers and state unemployment files to follow up on vocational education program completers. Although this method has some deficiencies, it is fairly simple and not too costly. Arizona attempted to do such a study and publish the results. However, missing information such as type of job obtained, not just employment obtained, undermined the results. Finally, political pressures contributed to the demise of the information disclosure program. It is recommended that future information disclosure efforts take into account the effect of the disclosures on school systems and students and the means of distribution before such a program is undertaken. (KC)

The 10 papers presented in this report examine various aspects of rural bookmobile projects in the United States. The objectives of this first bookmobile conference were to offer (1) encouragement to bookmobile workers; (2) information for improving their services; (3) new data for subjective analysis of services; and (4) assistance in developing a systematic planning method for further interpretation of services. The papers and their authors are: "The Rural Scene," by Susan Raftery; "What Is Happening Today in Rural Bookmobile Service?" by Bernard Vavrek; "The Bookmobile: Vehicle of the Future," with sections by Jack Barth, Russ Topping, Don Daye, Tom Lockshin, and Ken McDowell; "Bookmobile Programs That Have Worked: Utah," by Paul Buttars; "Bookmobile Programs That Have Worked: Florida," by Carol Hole; "Bookmobile Programs That Have Worked: North Carolina," by Anne Sanders; "Program Planning and Analysis," by John R. Kues; "Are There Alternatives to Bookmobiles?...Mail Delivery," by Benita Davis; "Are There Alternatives to the Bookmobile?...Instant Libraries/Portable Structures," by Donna Calvert; and a conference "Wrap Up/Evaluation," by Bernard Vavrek (a review of the conference's main objectives and ideas). (TES)

This study evaluated the effectiveness of mathematics inservice training for elementary teachers delivered in the longer-term institute format. The goal of the institute was to improve teachers' ability to provide meaningful, effective mathematics instruction to elementary school children. Specifically the investigators sought answers to the following: (1) To what extent did teachers master the mathematical content presented in the 12-day institute; and (2) To what extent did teaching behaviors change as a result of improved mathematical knowledge? The 18 participants were elementary school teachers in a rural county in West Central Florida. The program was delivered in twelve 5-hour sessions at the conclusion of the school year, The evidence gathered from post-institute analysis indicated that the teachers significantly improved their understanding of mathematical content, and appeared to have integrated this newly acquired knowledge into their everyday teaching behaviors. (JD)

FLAMINGOS-2 (PI: S. Eikenberry) is a $5M facility-class near-infrared (1–2.5 μm) multi-object spectrometer and wide-field imager being built at the University of Florida for Gemini South. Here we highlight the capabilities of FLAMINGOS-2, as it will be an ideal instrument for surveying the accreting binary population in the Galactic Center. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A prediction derived from cognitive dissonance theory is that children devalue an attractive but forbidden toy when mild rather than severe threat deters them from playing with it. One study found the opposite effect for lower socioeconomic class children, i.e., a harsh verbal threat produced more devaluation than a mild threat. Since the latter study was judged to contain methodological and theoretical difficulties, the present study was designed to further explore the "forbidden toy" paradigm with lower-income children. Nature (loss of money versus loss of approval) and level (severe versus mild) of threat were varied in a two by two factorial design. It was predicted that lower-income children (a) devalue a forbidden toy more when threatened with loss of money than with loss of approval, (b) derogate the toy more under threat of severe rather than mild money loss, and (c) devalue the toy an equally small amount regardless of threat level in the loss of approval condition. The data supported the hypotheses. Four- and five-year old black children (N = 43) selected from a day-care center located in a lower socioeconomic neighborhood in St. Petersburg, Florida, served as subjects. Findings are discussed in terms of reinforcement history and "sour grapes," suggesting that when a life history which includes repeated denials to requests for attractive objects leads one to believe that when an adult prohibits a toy, it means that the toy will never be available. (Author/JM)

Five articulation studies to be performed by the Florida Community Junior College Inter-Institutional Research Council are discussed. The studies are: General Description of Student Characteristics--A Transfer Student Profile; Upper Dividion Performance of Community College Students Grouped by Level of Florida Transfers by Majors and in Core Courses in Majors; Retention of Students in Lower Divisions in Florida Public Universities and Community Colleges and in Upper Division of Universities; and Academic Success of the Graduates of Three Florida Public Universities in Post-Baccalaureate Study. (DB)

The Florida Follow Through Model is one of several federally-funded experimental programs that attempts to modify the type of educational experience that children from low-income backgrounds receive during their first four years (K-3) of schooling. In the case of the Florida model, the emphasis is on home as well as school intervention. Two mothers from low-income backgrounds are trained and placed in the classroom to work as a team with the teacher. Called parent educators, the mothers visit the homes of the children in the classroom weekly and assist the teacher with classroom instruction. The classroom teacher is a key person in the Florida model. She coordinates both the instructional and home visit activities of the parent educators. Her morale is therefore important to the success of the program. It is the purpose of this article to: (1) briefly examine the nature of teacher morale, (2) look at the ways in which the Florida model affects teacher morale and, therefore, the child through the delicate set of home-school interactions called for by the model, and (3) report empirical data concerning the effect of the model on teacher morale during its first two years of operation. During the first two years of operation, teacher morale was assessed by a means of the "Purdue Teacher Opinionnaire" which is probably the best known and most widely used of all self-report teacher morale instruments. (Author/JM)

This study was conducted to identify and validate the work-related problems of public school teachers in Florida's Prekindergarten Early Intervention Program which targets economically at-risk 3- and 4-year olds. The study was designed to answer three questions: (1) What problems are perceived to be most bothersome and occur most frequently? (2) What global areas of concern can be inferred from teachers' perceptions of their problems? and (3) Are there significant relationships between problems reported and teachers' demographics (e.g., age, sex, years of teaching experience, and highest degree earned)? A state-wide sample of 55 teachers was asked to provide descriptions of their biggest classroom problems. A jury of early childhood experts, utilizing four separate instruments for statistical analysis, identified problems that occurred significantly more frequently than others. Global concerns were expressed in the following areas: (1) control and discipline; (2) parent relationships and home conditions; and (3) the prekindergarten program. Other factors included student success, time management, rapport with colleagues and students, and facilities. No significant relationships were found between problems and specific demographic variables. Two appendixes incorporate documents utilized in the generation and validation phases of this study. (LL)

This document presents six papers given at an international conference on educational policymaking and the relationship between the state and the university particularly in light of political developments in Europe and the partnership between the Western European and North American scholarly communities. The first paper, "State University: Agent or Agency?" (Hoke Smith), considers the essential nature of the university and the essence of scholarship. Next, "The Professional Representation of Universities, Lobbying and Professional Associations" (Robert Atwell) examines the role of professional associations on the American higher education scene. "Political Interventions of Higher Education: Comparisons by International Leaders" (Robert L. Caret) describes partnership programs of Towson State University, Maryland, with business and government. The next paper, "Scientific Expertise or How Universities Attain Public Authority" (Michael Daxner) explores the challenges and evolving role for universities in society. The fifth paper, "Government Intervention in Universities: Autonomy/Accountability" (Henry Wasser) looks at European universities' evolving relationships with the state, and the final paper, "The Selective Enhancement of Quality in Florida's Postsecondary Education: Tensions between Excellence and Parity" (Robert O. Berdahl and Susan Martin Studds) examines the operation and campus impacts of three types of quality enhancement strategies. (JB)

A study was conducted to achieve two objectives: (1) identify priority problems/concerns of Florida families as perceived by home economics supervisors and teachers; and (2) determine prevention and intervention strategies viewed as successful in addressing the identified social/family concerns. Thirty-two problems/concerns were identified and categorized as follows: economic support and welfare; family formation; family functioning and stress; and physical and mental health. A sample of 51 rural, suburban, and urban home economics teachers and supervisors ranked the frequency of the problems/concerns in their communities. Student performance standards were evaluated to determine which courses addressed, to some degree, the 10 most prevalent problems. Ten prevention/intervention strategies were identified that have had positive impacts on the identified problems. Fifty Florida home economics teachers of each of 11 home economics courses were surveyed; 319 of the 550 responded. The study found more similarities than differences in the rankings of problems for urban, suburban, and rural communities. Among the differences was that child care ranked first in the urban communities, fourth in the suburban communities, and ninth in the rural communities. Recommendations were made to encourage home economics teachers to plan inservice activities on the priority needs of families. The survey instrument is attached. (KC)

The Palm Beach Post newspaper in Florida provides a workplace literacy program with six classes in three programs: adult basic education; English for speakers of other languages; and high school equivalency in preparation for a General Educational Development diploma. Employees receive work-release time or are paid to attend class. Class size is 10-15 students. There is also a bonus plan for employees whose skills improve to certain levels, culminating in a $250 bonus for passing the GED exam. The bonuses are regarded as comparable to tuition aid offered for college classes. The Post's goals as a business in providing literacy programs are: (1) increased productivity; (2) improved safety, communications, and precision; and (3) reduced turnover and continued employment and advancement for people whose jobs might otherwise be in jeopardy. (CML)

In order to examine racism and sport, the focus of this paper is an athletic context that is commonly thought to be a meritocratic system in which racial politics do not operate-- college football. Specifically, we utilize a historical analysis to detail racial discrimination experienced by the so-called team of the 80s, the University of Miami Hurricanes. The direction of this research is motivated by the recent release of the most popular sports documentary of all time, "The U." This ESPN 30 for 30 film directed by Billy Corben attempts to downplay racism in football and in the city of Miami. Through this study, we contest myths of racial equity demonstrated in the film with investigation into race relations in Miami, at the University of Miami, and in college athletics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to expose the marginality faced by Maya migrants in the United States and the hardships caused by their undocumented status. The focus is on Guatemala Maya migration primarily from Guatemala (the sending nation) to South Florida (the receiving region). In the first half of this study the unique situation of Maya migrants is elaborated upon, demonstrating the challenges faced when these two social limitations, indigenous and undocumented are present for migrants. In the second half, a third marginality is exposed; that of being an undocumented Maya woman. A brief history of Maya in Guatemala, including present conditions in the nation in addition to reasons for migration leading to Maya life both in South Florida is presented. The paper uncovers some of the resource options that are available for undocumented migrants and calls for further research to the affect of migration on Maya women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contemporary cities, the arts are seen as a key to attracting new residents, businesses, and tourist dollars. This paper explores how one city, Saint Petersburg, Florida, has engaged the arts as a vital driver for its growth machine, taking to heart Richard Florida's (2002, 2008) mantra that a strong creative class is necessary for a city to succeed in today's economic and cultural landscape. But at the same time, it takes up the question of how the city is doing so--demonstrating that to a certain extent the city emphasizes high-profile displays of art by artists who reside outside the metro area, and working less hard to build up a resident population of artists to sustain the city's artistic output in the years ahead and establish it as an vital haven for the arts and artists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why do white adolescents have higher rates of drug use compared to African Americans? Several hypotheses have been developed to account for this disparity. The present paper utilizes data from a South Florida based community study of 897 young adults to test six hypotheses of racial differences in substance use. Only two of these hypotheses were supported. Specifically, whites tend to have higher rates of cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use because (a) they are more likely to initiate drug use during adolescence and (b) they have more discretionary financial resources to fund their use. Taken as a whole, the findings presented here indicate that the racial gap in drug use is real and not a consequence of methodological limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Miami-Dade County, in South Florida, has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the United States. Though much research has been done to reveal the causes of homelessness in the county, little has been completed to show what I believe is the main cause: gentrification. This paper analyzes the true effects that gentrification has had on Miami-Dade in the past five years and the consequences it has inflicted on the poorest individuals in this county. While "community cohesion" has been a goal for city officials, gentrification seems to causing more destruction to the citizens that need the most governmental help and support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is the purpose of this paper to discover and elucidate the reason(s) for a small but steady decline in Dual Enrollment (DE), using a mixed method analysis. Since, different school districts tend to encourage students to participate in different acceleration programs, many of them end up taking Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) accelerated courses, instead of participating in DE, because the mechanisms are in place in those districts to provide the proper instruction in those classes. Still, the number of DE students is significant, and the program provides many students a way to get college credit that doesn't otherwise exist. It is therefore imperative to understand the parameters of the declining DE numbers. The authors found by using a 2-level HLM model that the level-1 variables for Hispanic students, free or reduced lunch status and AP course taking along with the level-2 variable for distant rural schools created the best fitted model for this data, and significantly predicted DE decline. The qualitative analysis produced evidence that AP and IB courses are much more often recommended by high school teachers than are DE courses, and that college admissions officers prefer these as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will discuss data obtained from a study of 4,303 police use of force incidents and the relationship between tactics used and subject racial characteristics. Data was obtained over a 5 -year period from 2001 through 2005 from two major metropolitan police agencies in Florida. Analysis shows that police are more likely to use Conducted Energy Weapons (CEWs) and police canines on African-American suspects, however, when controlling for subject resistance levels the data indicates that the force is not disproportionately applied. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The total number of prisoners under Florida's jurisdiction was 95,253 at yearend 2007. This places Florida third in the nation for the number of inmates it incarcerates (out ranked by California and Texas, respectfully).This year, as in other recent years, America's prisons will release more than 600,000 inmates back into their communities. During the period of July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2007, 35,337 inmates were released from Florida's prisons. Florida's recommitment return to prison rate is 33%. Based on this recommitment rate it is estimated that over 11,500 ex-offenders will return to the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) within 3 years.In September 2006, the FDC was awarded a federally funded grant to develop, implement, and enhance reentry strategies during the pre-release period. The intent of this program is to reduce recidivism by identifying individual offender needs, providing targeting services and coordinating intense pre-release and post-release services that will assist offender with their transition from prison to their community. There are few research studies that have attempted to document the various obstacles offenders encounter upon release, especially around employment. Based on self-report assessments, this paper will address the challenges ex-offenders face upon reentry as they relate to employment. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The association between time spent with peers and delinquency is one of the most robust and well-established findings in criminology. Indeed, research indicates that adolescents who spend more time in unsupervised settings with their peers tend to engage in more criminal behavior. The advent of new means of digital communication between youth such as text messaging, instant messaging, web-spaces, email, and cell phones has created opportunities for association with peers in "virtual spaces." Yet little attention has been given to examining the relationship between virtual peers and delinquency. Using self-report data from roughly 3,200 youth in five Florida schools, this paper examines the relationship between time spent with virtual peers and law breaking. After controlling for time spent with parents, face-to-face time spent with peers, number of delinquent peers, and demographic information, time spent with virtual peers is positively associated with multiple forms of delinquency. Implications of this research encourage further specification regarding the nature and contexts of the relationship between peer association and delinquency. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Florida Faith and Community-Based Delinquency Treatment Initiative (FCBDTI) was designed to provide mentors, secular programming, and faith-based services to youths incarcerated in moderate and high-risk facilities. One of the goals of the FCBDTI was to improve the daily culture of and life experience within institutions for both staff and clients. Fear of victimization is one element of life inside institutions. We expect that youths' fear of victimization while incarcerated would be affected by their perceptions of how staff treats them (e.g., whether staff cares about them, listens to their concerns, or pushes them around). This paper will examine the effects of youths' perceptions of how staff treats them on their perceived risk and fear of victimization by staff and other residents while incarcerated. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has shown that biological evidence can be retrieved from property crime scenes and that offenders of these crimes can be identified by submitting DNA profiles to the CODIS system (see NIJ's publication "DNA in 'Minor' Crimes Yields Major Benefits in Public Safety," November 2004). As an example, burglars sometimes cut themselves on broken glass as they enter a property, thereby leaving blood behind as DNA evidence. This paper presents results on three sets of property crimes from which the Miami-Dade Police Department's Crime Laboratory processed biological evidence. The elapsed time for developing and processing the DNA profiles differed substantially across the three sets of data. Analysis shows that faster elapsed times lead to higher clearance rates. Particularly noteworthy is that 20 percent of the "Fast Track" cases resulted in clearances by police, as compared to 13 percent in the other two sets of cases, which had longer processing times. Results from this study show the benefits of processing biological evidence as quickly as possible and should encourage police departments to collect and analyze biological evidence from property crimes. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The total number of prisoners under Florida's jurisdiction was 90,423 at yearend 2006. This places Florida third in the nation for the number of inmates it incarcerates (out ranked by California and Texas, respectfully).This year, as in other recent years, America's prisons will release more than 600,000 inmates back into their communities. During the period of July 1, 2005 through June 30, 2006, 33,348 inmates were released from Florida's prisons. According to Beck and Shipley (1989), nearly 70% of offenders are returning to prison within three years.The offender returning to the community is confronted with a number of challenges. Offenders hear statements such as "no job," "no skills," "not enough education," "won't hire a felon." With the steady release of ex-offenders each year, the communities into which prisoners are released to are unprepared to sustain the economic and social burden of the massive reentry movement. As a result, ex-offenders lack the supportive services needed to reintegrate into society and lead productive, law abiding lives. There are few academic and/or research studies that have attempted to document the various visible and invisible barriers offenders encounter upon release (Maruno 2000). This paper will explore Florida's policy trends that account for the increase in incarceration rates and the resulting social, legal and economic challenges of reentry for ex-offenders and their communities. In addition, results from an inmate survey will be analyzed to highlight offender's views of what they believe will be the largest barriers to overcome when reentering society. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on five years of crime data (2001-2005) from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department, this paper offers a preliminary assessment of the secondary effects of sexually orientated businesses (SOB). Specifically, we compare the crime patterns surrounding SOBs with the crime patterns surrounding four different types of commercial establishments treated as "controls". In addition, we divide both the SOBs and controls into establishments that do and do not serve alcohol to determine its effects on crime patterns. We suggest a new way to approach understanding how sexually oriented entertainment and alcohol intersect to produce varying patterns of crime. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a downward trend in murders and other violent crimes in Palm Beach County between 1990 and 2002, in 2003 the number of murders almost doubled from a twelve year low in 2002. In 2002 there were 36 murders, in 2003 the number jumped to 61 and continued to rise in 2004 with 89, reaching a high of 95 in 2006. Numerous media reports of these increases in murders and violent crimes involving firearms fueled a growing public outcry that the county was plagued by violence and unsafe for citizens. The county responded to this outcry by funding a multi-agency violence reduction program implemented in early 2007 in five county cities which were found to have the most serious problems with murders and violent gun crimes. The program includes multiple agencies for proactive law enforcement, youth empowerment centers, and justice services centers for prosecution, correctional, and community re-integration services. This paper reports on some of the preliminary findings reflecting the five city implementation of the violence reduction program, including the characteristics of their operations, the fidelity of their implementation, and an evaluation of their effectiveness in reducing murders and violence. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers have increasingly devoted attention to the health and healthcare experiences of transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) populations. However, studies focused on the relationship between gender and accountability in transgender healthcare experience are limited and often erase those who do not conform to a binary gender system or the medical model for transgender identity. We draw on West and Zimmerman's "doing gender" theory and literature on social accountability to study cisnormative accountability structures in healthcare settings. Utilizing thematic analysis and feminist fieldwork analysis (Kleinman 2007), we examine the gendered nuances of accountability in transgender healthcare experience through 20 in-depth interviews with TGNC young adults (aged 18-24) in Florida. We found that participants often experience cisnormative accountability in healthcare settings. Specifically, there was variation in how participants were held accountable by healthcare providers and environments because of their TGNC status or assigned sex at birth. We found themes concerning accountability structures in participants' healthcare through the social processes of cisnormativity, reproduction, and community. In conclusion, we draw out implications of these findings and how gender-affirming healthcare may assist in alleviating possible consequences of accountability structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]