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THIS INVESTIGATION WAS TO EXPLORE THE POSSIBLE INFLUENCES OF ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE AND ITS ELEMENTS (AS DEPICTED BY THE CENTRAL OFFICE ADMINISTRATIVE PERFORMANCE TEAMS IN SELECTED SCHOOL DISTRICTS OF THE STATE OF OHIO) ON THE INNOVATIVENESS OF A SCHOOL DISTRICT. THE "ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE DESCRIPTIVE QUESTIONNAIRE," WHICH SERVED AS THE MAIN DATA-GATHERING INSTRUMENT, HAD BEEN DETERMINED IN SEVERAL PREVIOUS STUDIES TO BE A USEFUL INSTRUMENT WHEN WORKING WITH INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL STAFFS. FROM THE SCHOOL DISTRICT SAMPLE OF THE 1964 OHIO INNOVATIONS SURVEY, 13 PREDETERMINED NONINNOVATIVE DISTRICT AND 11 INNOVATIVE DISTRICTS WERE SELECTED FOR DATA COLLECTION. THE MAJOR FINDINGS WERE AS FOLLOWS--(1) INNOVATIVE SCHOOL DISTRICTS EVIDENCED A MORE OPEN CLIMATE THAN NONINNOVATIVE DISTRICTS, (2) INNOVATIVE DISTRICTS WERE FOUND TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY LESS DISENGAGED AND EVIDENCED A HIGHER ESPRIT. NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WERE OBTAINED FOR THE ELEMENT OF HINDRANCE, (3) NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WERE FOUND WITH RESPECT TO THE GROUP BEHAVIOR ASPECT OF INTIMACY, (4) SUPERINTENDENTS IN INNOVATIVE DISTRICTS WERE PREDICTED TO EVIDENCE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER ALOOFNESS, LOWER PRODUCTION EMPHASIS, HIGHER TRUST, AND HIGHER CONSIDERATION, ONLY THE COROLLARY INVOLVING HIGHER TRUST HELD, AND (5) FINDINGS ON SUCH OTHER ASPECTS AS RESEARCH EMPHASIS, BIOGRAPHICAL TEACHER CHARACTERISTICS, AND FINANCIAL PROGRAMS WERE ALSO OBTAINED. (JH)

This document analyzes some of the aspects of the trend toward educational regionalism and cooperation. Educational cooperatives are designed to provide the flexibility and service associated with large districts while allowing for local control and school district autonomy. Types of educational cooperatives discussed include intermediate education districts, voluntary education agencies, school study councils, industry and education coordination, shared personnel arrangements, and centralized facilities. The legal arrangements necessary for educational cooperatives are explained and some examples of administrative organization under the various consortium programs are provided. (RA)

The rural community is characterized by a decreasing population and an eroding of local taxable wealth which contribute to the ineffectiveness of community agencies or institutions to serve citizens' needs. The rural community resists widespread effort to change existing conditions since rural people are generally conservative and often do not have the financial resources to solve indigenous problems. Although local boards of education are delegated the authority to determine educational policy, they rarely make decisions that might raise the ire of the local power structure. To a large degree, local educational programs are determined by the attitudes of local administrators, teachers, school board members, parents, and other adults in the community. Most administrators and teachers in rural areas are themselves products of the rural subculture and reflect the attitudes of the community in which they work. Education continues to be viewed as an expense rather than an investment, with the school being an agency for passing on the eternal verities rather than an agency for social change. The recent move toward the educational cooperative and an emphasis in administrator and teacher preparation programs on educational change and innovation are seen as constructive efforts to improve rural schools. (JH)

The objective of this research was to determine the relationships between organizational climate and innovativeness. Investigators used the Organizational Climate Descriptive Questionnaire to determine the organizational climate for 24 Ohio school districts. An open climate is defined as one in which there is attention to both task achievement and social needs, whereas in a closed climate members receive little satisfaction from either. Findings indicate that innovative districts foster the open climate whereas noninnovative districts are characterized by the closed. Implications for the role of the principal as a change agent are also given. (RA)

Several explanations are proposed for community attitudes about the school system. The author claims that the most important factor affecting these attitudes may be the school's failure to develop effective ways of carrying on continuous dialogue with its community. The author specifies that an educator should subject his community to a regular examination rather than assume that the community decisionmaking structure is a stabilized constant. A model for examining the influence structure in a community presents four major categories: a consensual elite structure, where few citizens participate and a small group rules; the competitive elite structure, characterized by two or more ideological groups attempting to rule, but where few citizens participate; a consensual mass power system, implying general ideological unity with broad effective participation by a substantial number of citizens; and the competitive mass structure, analogous to the consensual mass but having some conflict because of the varying ideological base. A selected bibliography is included. (Author/WM)

A program was conducted to train 20 experienced teachers and administrators from school districts in Southern Appalachia as agents of change in entry-level administrative leadership positions in the districts from which they have been recruited. Leading to a master of science degree with a major in educational administration and supervision, the program covered 15 months full-time spanning a summer, a full academic year, and the following summer. Included were a human relations laboratory (sensitivity training), selected field problems, simulation, an intensive humanities "live in" seminar, an academic year-long behavioral science seminar, and seminars in change agency, decision making, and group processes. Other experiences included two short-term internships in the home district during the 15-month period, an organized program for the development of strategies for implementing needed changes in the home district. Results of a test battery administered before the program indicated a group well above average in academic potential and ability with a slightly better than average achievement record, a reasonable competence in general English skills, a strong conceptual ability, with a tendency toward dogmatism in its attitudes. Reaction to the program by both staff and fellows was "overwhelmingly favorable," with the "live in" humanities seminar and human relations laboratory ranked as major strengths. (JS)

Mice with targeted deletion of the growth hormone receptor (GHRKO mice) are growth hormone (GH) resistant, small, obese, hypoinsulinemic, highly insulin sensitive and remarkably long-lived. To elucidate the unexpected coexistence of adiposity with improved insulin sensitivity and extended longevity, we examined effects of surgical removal of visceral (epididymal and perinephric) fat on metabolic traits related to insulin signaling and longevity. Comparison of results obtained in GHRKO mice and in normal animals from the same strain revealed disparate effects of visceral fat removal (VFR) on insulin and glucose tolerance, adiponectin levels, accumulation of ectopic fat, phosphorylation of insulin signaling intermediates, body temperature, and respiratory quotient (RQ). Overall, VFR produced the expected improvements in insulin sensitivity and reduced body temperature and RQ in normal mice and had opposite effects in GHRKO mice. Some of the examined parameters were altered by VFR in opposite directions in GHRKO and normal mice, and others were affected in only one genotype or exhibited significant genotype × treatment interactions. Functional differences between visceral fat of GHRKO and normal mice were confirmed by measurements of adipokine secretion, lipolysis, and expression of genes related to fat metabolism. We conclude that in the absence of GH signaling, the secretory activity of visceral fat is profoundly altered and unexpectedly promotes enhanced insulin sensitivity. The apparent beneficial effects of visceral fat in GHRKO mice may also explain why reducing adiposity by calorie restriction fails to improve insulin signaling or further extend longevity in these animals.

The nucleotide substitution C797T in the Chrm2 gene causes substitution of leucine for proline at position 266 (P266L) of the CHRM2 protein. Because Chrm2 codes for the type 2 muscarinic receptor, this mutation could influence physiologic and behavioral phenotypes of mice. Chrm2 mRNA was not differentially expressed in 2 brain regions with high cholinergic innervation in a mouse strain that does (BALB/cByJ) or does not (C57BL/6J) have the mutation. In addition, strains of mice with and without the C797T point mutation in Chrm2 did not differ significantly in muscarinic binding properties. Variation across strains was detected in terms of acoustic startle, prepulse inhibition, and the physiologic effects of the muscarinic agonist oxotremorine. However, interstrain differences in these measures did not correlate with the presence of the mutation. Although we were unable to associate a measurable phenotype with the Chrm2 mutation, assessment of the mutation on other genetic backgrounds or in the context of other traits might reveal differential effects. Therefore, despite our negative findings, evaluation of characteristics that involve muscarinic function should be undertaken with caution when comparing mice with different alleles of the Chrm2 gene.

Hearing in laboratory animals is a topic that traditionally has been the domain of the auditory researcher. However, hearing loss and exposure to various environmental sounds can lead to changes in multiple organ systems, making what laboratory animals hear of consequence for researchers beyond those solely interested in hearing. For example, several inbred mouse strains commonly used in biomedical research (e.g., C57BL/6, DBA/2, and BALB/c) experience a genetically determined, progressive hearing loss that can lead to secondary changes in systems ranging from brain neurochemistry to social behavior. Both researchers and laboratory animal facility personnel should be aware of both strain and species differences in hearing in order to minimize potentially confounding variables in their research and to aid in the interpretation of data. Independent of genetic differences, acoustic noise levels in laboratory animal facilities can have considerable effects on the inhabitants. A large body of literature describes the nonauditory impact of noise on the biology and behavior of various strains and species of laboratory animals. The broad systemic effects of noise exposure include changes in endocrine and cardiovascular function, sleep-wake cycle disturbances, seizure susceptibility, and an array of behavioral changes. These changes are determined partly by species and strain; partly by noise intensity level, duration, predictability, and other characteristics of the sound; and partly by animal history and exposure context. This article reviews some of the basic strain and species differences in hearing and outlines how the acoustic environment affects different mammals.