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This qualitative case study examined the individual plan of study (IPS) within three comprehensive high schools. Ecological systems theory was used as a construct for understanding the actions of the participants and their interactions within the ecology in support of the success of each student. Participants in this research shared their understandings of the individual plan of study priorities as well as their experiences in the organization and delivery of services in the support of each student. Kansas communities face increasingly complex circumstances including generational, cultural, and economic change. Kansas high schools contribute to the development of students and their capacity to navigate these changes and launch into a successful young adulthood. Supporting students in early complex decision making regarding their educational journey has the potential to profoundly impact their lifespan outcomes. The research question explored the role that school counselors play in supporting student experiences through an organization of ecological members. The research further explored the relationships within the ecological system that students experienced and the roles or activities that members of the ecology filled to support the completion of individual plan of study activities which informed the growth of the student. The literature study established the foundational nature of the individual plan of study as representative of experience-making that occurred as students grew and developed forming their understandings of themselves, their education, and their continuing journey. The literature examined the roles of school counselors in the comprehensive high school, examined career development models, and explored the importance of such learning experiences as applied learning, contextual learning, and career and technical education in supporting student achievement. As a bounded case study, data was collected from personal interviews, a focus group discussion, and examination of artifacts submitted by interview participants. Completed during the COVID-19 event, the delivery of individual plan of study services were unique to the year. Outside of major urban areas these three comprehensive high schools were primarily in-person learning environments throughout most of the year with periodic tilts toward hybrid instruction, and instances of individual quarantine affecting students, staff, community, and family in unique and individual ways. This study's key findings contribute to the study of ecological systems theory as well as career development. Evidence showed that counselors representing the whole staff within the ecological system were facilitating the individual plan of study in ways that supported the connection of ecological members to provide support for student learning. The school counselors gained confidence and satisfaction through their actions which also supported the function of engaging other members of the ecology. Data suggested that school counselors' success was supported through strong organizational elements that provided a vehicle for arranging and engaging intersections which benefit student growth and experience. The data illustrated the importance of activities which included families, school staff, and communities as significantly important to providing a wide range of opportunities and experience, which when available fostered student capabilities. Where these parties were able to converge, students experienced increased opportunities for engagement. There is potential for this study to have broad implications in schools as each student from the middle grades through twelfth grade is mandated by the Kansas State Board of Education to create and maintain an individual plan of study. Each year school counselors are supported in the foundational ideas of the individual plan of study. An understanding of ecological systems theory will conceptualize knowledge, structures, and activities supporting the implementation of the individual plan of study and improve school counselors' perspective toward services. This may prove to be a transformative experience for a community as their students experience and grow through these implemented activities. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

ABSTRACT: Joseph Leopold Eybler (1765-1846) is a largely forgotten Viennese master composer of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. His Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra in B-flat Major dates from 1798 and is a fine yet obscure masterwork worthy of study and performance. Presently, the concerto is not part of the standard clarinet repertory, and this fact substantiates a significant loss. The Autograph Manuscript is housed at the Wienbibliothek im Rathaus (City Library of Vienna) in Vienna, Austria, and the concerto was published by Eulenburg Zürich (now Edition Kunzelmann) in 1976 in two editions: orchestral score (Nr. 10132), and an arrangement for clarinet and piano (GM 54). The world premiere recording was presented by Dieter Klöcker (1936-2011) in 1990. Eduard Brunner (1939-2017) released a recoding in 1993, and Peter Rabl (b. 1958) released a recording in 2001. Joseph Eybler: A Forgotten Viennese Master Composer and a History, Analysis, and Performing Edition of the Concerto for Clarinet in B-flat Major consists of the following components: 1) the most comprehensive English language biography of Eybler to date; 2) an overview of his compositional output; 3) theoretical analysis of the three movements of the concerto; and 4) an authoritative modern performing edition of the solo part of the concerto developed from an authorized facsimile of the Autograph Manuscript and other sources, including but not limited to modern and period performance-practice treatises and methods. The performing edition also corrects wrong notes that appear in the published versions of the solo part. Additionally, the study includes the composer’s discography, music in print, and compositional output as reported by Schmidt and Herrmann. To date, no other study, intensive or otherwise, exists to illuminate Eybler’s concerto. The analysis, performing edition, and historical insight into this forgotten master’s life, style, and temperament serve to aid performers in interpretations of the concerto. Because Eybler is largely unknown to clarinetists, this study ultimately aims to facilitate the concerto’s rightful and eventual inclusion into the standard clarinet repertory.

Parental care in the Class Reptilia is generally considered to be rare. However lizards in the genus Eumeces (Family Scincidae) are a group of species in which females possess extensive behavioral adaptations that allow them to provide for their young. Females of virtually every species of Eumeces either give birth to live young or brood their eggs until hatching. It has been suggested that brooding females are behaviorally monitoring and maintaining the microclimate of the nest. The first purpose of this study was to describe the behavioral components of brooding exhibited by females of the fivelined skink, E.fasciatus, from eastern Tennessee and to compare the frequency of these components under different temperature and moisture conditions. Second, moisture preferences of gravid and non-gravid adult females were compared to determine if a shift in reproductive status corresponds to a shift in microhabitat preference. There was no significant difference in any of the behavioral variables between two temperature and two moisture treatments. In addition these variables did not seem to change significantly over the course of the brooding period. Non-gravid and gravid females did not exhibit a significant preference for soil moisture. These results are inconsistent with the conclusions drawn in other studies of the brooding behavior of this species and other closely related species. This may be because other analyses of brooding behavior in, Eumeces have focused on species (or populations of E.fasciatus) that inhabit regions that are drier than the southeast United States. However, the discrepancies could also be due to differences in the way brooding behaviors were quantified and to problems associated with small sample sizes. Further analysis of the variability of brooding behavior across the geographic range of E.fasciatus is necessary to provide a clear understanding of the adaptive significance of this behavior for different populations.