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A study of 29 students enrolled in Algebra II in an 8-week summer instructional program for minority students was conducted to reveal the skills that students have in translating among representational forms in mathematics problems where the representational form is varied in the given problem and in the required form of the answer. All students were Black or Hispanic and most were about to enter grade 11. The relationship between the kinds of translation used in instruction and students' problem solving processes and performance is also investigated. Students were presented with problems from two topics: solving simultaneous equations in two unknowns and distance-rate-time relationships. Problem sets were developed that varied the symbolic form of the problem as given (words in a story problem, graph, diagram, algebra) and of the response required (words, graph, diagram, algebra). Results of the study led to four implications. First, presenting students with only conventional symbolic representations of problems allows students to memorize algorithms for identified problem types, and is likely to give a limited picture of students' mathematical problem solving abilities. Second, it is possible to understand students' difficulties in translating among symbolic representations by systematically varying the symbolic form of problem and response required. Third, using alternative symbolic forms of the required response may be an effective way to measure students' conceptual understanding of mathematics. Fourth, the kinds of translation between symbolic forms covered during instruction did not seem to play a major role. (MDH)

The school dropout problem among American Indian youths is severe and complicated by the heterogeneous nature of the population and its unique social, cultural, and political history. To investigate the educational experiences of high risk Navajo youths in the areas of language minority status, traditionalism, critical markers, distance to school, and future orientation, 24 adolescents (13 males, 11 females), representing three subgroups: high school dropouts (N=6); high school seniors with no future educational plans (N=9); and college bound high school seniors (N=9), were interviewed. Interview topics included family, school history, language profiles, socialization experiences, perceptions, future plans, and work history. School and community records were also obtained. An analysis of the results showed that students whose families encouraged the development of English appeared to be more likely to do well in school and to graduate. Successful youths came from moderate homes that valued many of the Navajo traditions while adhering to many modern notions. Dropouts perceived themselves as more contemporary. In studying critical markers, student record keeping was found to be lacking as students moved between schools, making identification and planning for "high risk" students difficult. Distance to school and transportation problems affected school attendance, motivation, and the ability to go to school and to keep up with school work. Finally, college bound students had concrete future goals and plans, while graduates had some future goals and plans. Dropouts had little future orientation and no plans to improve their unemployment status. (Case studies of the six dropouts present a qualitative picture of the research findings.) (BL)

The convergent validity between the following measures was investigated: use of accomplices, imaginary accomplices, feltboard, disguised questionnaire, and undisguised questionnaire. The first four measures yielded corresponding results. Subjects' awareness proved to be an important methodological consideration. Results were not affected by the subject as participant vs. subject as arranger. (Author)

Data derived from 1,423 adults who were permanent residents in 9 northwest Wisconsin counties in 1974 were used to test the hypothesis that peripheral metropolitan ring areas (within 30 miles of cities over 50,000) have more pleasing natural environments and more desirable social settings than urban areas and offer better access to jobs and services than rural areas. Dependent measures were drawn from 39 community and environmental items tapping 3 quality of life dimensions -- the natural environment, social relations, and facilities/services. Eight individual (age, education, sex, marital status, household size, residential duration, family income, and organizational membership and two ecological (size and distance from urban center) variables were employed. Results indicated persons living in the ring areas: rated their environment more favorably than urbanites; rated their social setting less favorably than either urbanites or rural people; and rated their social services less positively than rural people. Persons living in small towns and open country areas beyond the 30-mile perimeter rated their environment higher than urbanites and, with a few exceptions, higher than rural dwellers; rated their social setting, with 2 exceptions, higher than urbanites and, with 2 exceptions, higher than ring area dwellers; rated their job opportunities and many other services higher than suburbanites. (JC)

The study was conducted to determine the feasibility and value of using broadband communications (transmission of many television, voice and/or data signals through a single system) to provide public services for rural areas. Applications of broadband communications to rural areas were divided into public services (health, education, law enforcement, and governmental/administrative uses) and commercial uses (security systems, information and data transmission, and pay-TV). Each category was examined in terms of: rural needs; experiments conducted in providing the service; and potential rural uses, including their feasibility and value. In addition, tasks were undertaken to: identify rural needs and make a preliminary evaluation of actual and potential applications of broadband communications to meet those needs; determine the present status of rural growth so that the role broadband communications might play could be defined; and identify constraints to, and an approach for, bringing broadband communications to rural areas. Three policy alternatives were identified, briefly considering pros and cons of each. Appendices include: an examination of the health services and needs of rural populations; and a description of the technologies (cable television, translators, telephone, microwave, communications satellite, fiber optics) included in the assessment and the economic factors governing their use. (NQ)

This investigation utilized a recent concept developed by researchers and theoreticians studying nonverbal behavior--the contextual framework. Instruments of demonstrated reliability were employed to record simultaneous verbal and nonverbal data within the selected contextual framework of student-initiated questions. Data was collected at the University of Northern Iowa, Malcolm Price Laboratory School. The study sample included 15 teachers from grades one through twelve and 60 pupils. Pupils were placed in categories by their teachers: (1) accepting, (2) concerned, (3) indifferent, and (4) rejecting. Objectives of the investigation included: (1) to investigate physical proximity as a quantifiable dimension of nonverbal behavior; (2) to continue the exploration of the situational frame contextual approach to the study of nonverbal behavior; (3) to attempt to simultaneously record verbal and nonverbal behaviors using trained observers; (4) to validate the pupil categories that are currently being employed in investigations of teacher behavior; and (5) to examine the relationships between observed verbal and nonverbal teacher behaviors and the pupil category system developed by Silberman (1969) and used by Willis and Brophy (1974). Significant aspects of the study are that: (1) it presented an expanded view of observable teacher behavior; (2) it quantified the verbal and nonverbal behavior of teachers within the context of student-initiated questions; and (3) it appeared to validate, with additional data, the pupil category system. Six tables illustrate the data. (MM)

Examining census data on each of 3,100 U.S. counties for 1950, 1960, and 1970, the amount of net migration was analyzed in terms of general urban to rural migration, migration and Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA) adjacency, 26 rural county subregions, and the kinds of county characteristics associated with population change. Results indicated: rural county growth of more than 4% between April 1970 and July 1973 as compared with an urban growth rate of 3%; a net rural migration of more than 1,000,000 between 1970-73; a steady decline of urban migrants over the 23-year period; an increase in the rate of net migration to SMSAs with fewer than 250,000 people between 1970-73; a higher rate of inmigration among the 629 rural counties not adjacent to a SMSA than among any metropolitan category; population growth among all 26 subregions between 1970-73; a reversal among the 7 subregions which had had declining populations during the 60's; a higher growth rate among rural counties with State colleges; a consistent association between the migration of older people for recreation/retirement purposes and total population growth and net migration in both adjacent and nonadjacent counties; growth among southern counties with less than 5% black population; recent growth among counties with an agricultural workforce; and no correlation between recent rural growth and rural areas already dependent upon manufacturing. (JC)

In order to test the hypothesis that size of place of residence and urban proximity preferences constitute factors in population dispersal migration behavior, a random sample of 777 Pennsylvania households plus a sample screened for moving probability (N=319) were surveyed via personal interviews in 1974. A follow-up survey on actual migration patterns was conducted by phone one year later. Data were analyzed in terms of: (1) preferred size of place of residence by size of place of origin (central city or suburb over 500,000; medium-sized city of 50,000-500,000; smaller city/village under 50,000; and countryside); (2) size of place of destination by preferred size of place of residence; (3) percent of movers attaining preferred size of place of destination and zero order and partial correlation coefficients between preferred and size of place of destination; (4) percent of movers attaining preferred destination with respect to a large city and zero order and partial correlation coefficients between preferred and actual destination with respect to a large city. Data did not support the population spread approach (growth spread in rural areas), as most respondents who preferred a smaller size of place also wanted to be within commuting distance of an urban center, nor did the data indicate correlation between residential preferences and actual migration behavior among those preferring smaller rural places. (JC)

In order to investigate the interaction of cost, quality, and efficiency in the provision of educational services in rural Nevada, synthetic cost functions were developed using a linear programming transportation model to identify optimal school district organization. Optimal school district organization was defined for specific levels of educational quality (breadth of curriculum), student-teacher ratios, cost of transportation, and maximum bussing distances for students in the region. Alternative district organizations were considered by varying these parameters and observing sensitivity of optimal solutions. It was found that by increasing the student-teacher ratio from 20:1 to 30:1, operating costs would be reduced by 17% and that transportation costs would have to increase by over 200% before they became a critical factor in the definition of optimal district organization. Changing the assumed bussing mileage limits did have a significant effect on the location and size of schools in the region. Assuming that no student could be bussed more than 50 miles (one way) resulted in three schools in solution. Assuming a 75-100 mile limit resulted in only two schools in solution. The versatility of the linear programming transportation model was demonstrated in terms of its ability to provide cost comparisons for changes in program sizes, student-teacher ratios, permitted school locations patterns, bussing costs, and changes in permitted bussing distances by students. (Author/JC)

The paper introduces a 3-level paradigm for community assessment. First, Raza communities are conceptualized as belonging to three phases--culturally homogeneous, culturally in transition, and culturally heterogeneous. Each phase is determined by the proximity of the cities'"barrios" to the home country (Mexico, Puerto Rico, Central America) and by those pockets that have developed in some of the larger cities where Raza people can come in and be in a totally Latino environment. Further analysis develops Tonnes and Nisbet's concept of "gemeinschaft" (cultural homogeneity) and "gesellschaft" (acculturation), or the movement from an autonomous community to one that is dependent on outside services, and the implications this has for meaningful intervention. Second, a causal model of community development that assumes a common disenfranchisement of the Raza is introduced. Using basic path analysis, a cause and effect relationship is conceptualized. This relationship may take either a functional or dysfunctional path based on the "barrio's" experiences with the dominant system and the efficacy of developing grass-roots leadership along those lines. Last, the three-cultural phases are combined with the functional developmental community stages, and the possible areas of leadership action are analyzed with a matrix. The paper addresses issues of cultural pluralism, concepts about communities, and such concepts as community "sociotherapy", anomie, political alienation, empowerment and Raza impact on social problems. (Author/NQ)

In an effort to provide conceptual meaning to the role of residential preferences and their influence upon migration behavior in the context of a changing society, data derived from a 1973 statewide survey of Arizona heads of households (a random sample of 1,416 people) were analyzed in terms of: (1) residential preference and spatial proximity to a large city; (2) potential loss of income and a move to a small place; (3) the number of potential migrants to rural areas; and (4) the prospects for population dispersal. Findings indicated: the majority of the respondents preferred places of less than 50,000 in population, but that when conditionals were introduced, preferences for smaller places diminished greatly; the vast majority were satisfied with their present communities and had little or no desire to migrate even though they preferred smaller places; 14% of the respondents were potential migrants; 7% of the respondents were potential migrants from areas larger than 50,000 to smaller areas; the number of people interested in smaller areas decreased as distance from urban area increased and decreased further when the economic conditional of a 10% loss of family income was added; when controlling for potential migrants and nonmigrants, the percentage was further reduced; population dispersal would not take place without the aid of a national policy equalizing social and economic amenities. (JC)

The following four hypotheses were tested: (1) nonmetropolitan areas with the highest percentages employed in industry in 1960 will experience the greatest inmigration between 1965-70; (2) those with a high percentage employed in agriculture will experience the lowest amounts of inmigration; (3) those areas with small farm size and low farm income in 1960 will experience low inmigration rates; and (4) nonmetropolitan areas close to metropolitan centers will experience the highest rates of inmigration. Employing the nonmetropolitan State Economic Area (SEA) unit and utilizing U.S. census data, migration rates were calculated for each of the nonmetropolitan SEA's in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. Total inmigration, inmigration from the nonmetropolitan and metropolitan SEA's, and net migration were calculated for the population 5 years and older in 1970. Some results were: positive correlation between inmigration and net migration and percent employed in industry but negative correlation between inmigration and net migration and percent employed in agriculture; negative correlation between inmigration and agriculture regardless of size of farm; and positive correlation between net migration and proximity to large Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas. (JC)

In an effort to test certain aspects of Oscar Lewis's "Culture of Poverty Theory" in the rural South, an investigation was made of the differences in participation patterns of the rural poor, those factors associated with participation patterns of the rural poor, and the relationship between the social participation patterns of one generation and the mobility of the next generation. Applying the Gamma measure of association, the completed interview schedules of 110 Mississippi (Kemper County) household heads (36 white and 74 black) and their adult children (218 black and 139 white) were analyzed. In the first part of the analysis, the high, moderate, and low participation scores of household heads were treated as dependent variables and age, income, education, geographic mobility potential, home tenure status, and sex as independent variables. In the second part of the analysis, the years of education of adult children and the geographic distance they had moved were treated as dependent variables, while the community participation scores of their parents constituted the independent variable. Results indicated household heads who participated most beyond the nuclear family had children who: showed greater mobility potential; were better educated; and moved greater geographic distances away from home. (JC)

Analyzing the components of "successful" migration, this paper presents arguments based upon data derived from personal interviews and observations of French-Canadian and Cree Indian migrants living in a northern Quebec mining town. A comparison is made in terms of distance of place of origin and length of time in town for two French-Canadian migrants' folk taxonomies (taxonomies were derived from a respondent elicited domain of terms). Analyzing the changes necessary for commitment to a permanent townsman identity, this comparison elucidates the problems inherent in a French-Canadian's inability to distinguish place of origin from the mining town and to relinquish old ties over a relatively short period of time. Citing the literature of acculturation, migration, and evolving social structure (Canada's industrial north), this paper suggests that the American Indian's lack of commitment to a townsman identity is grounded in his relationship with the land (a respect for the land that is not region specific nor significantly different in town) and a racism which implies that townsman identity is white identity. It is concluded that a particular acculturative experience wherein a migrant embraces a new identity based on identification with the town exclusive of prior identification is essential for developing the kind of commitment necessary for successful migration. (JC)

The determinants of several measures of journey to work for residents of metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas are analyzed and compared based on findings from a national study. Some of the more important issues raised by other researchers are also explored in this paper. The basic concern of this report is whether the journey to work patterns of residents of nonmetropolitan areas are responsive to the same kinds of forces as those that influence the journey to work patterns of residents of metropolitan areas. An argument is developed that shows that journey to work patterns are influenced heavily by the spatial structure of housing markets in relation to the spatial distribution of activities in urban areas, and that differences in the journey to work patterns of nonmetropolitan and metropolitan residents are largely a function of differences in the scale of the respective urban spatial systems. Essential to the discussion is the assertion that as urban spatial systems increase in scale, their morphological structure undergoes successive transformations that result in a redistribution of land activities (including residential activities). The same factors that significantly affect the journey to work pattern of metropolitan residents also affect those of nonmetropolitan residents, although effects vary with respect to size and direction. (Author/AM)

Proxemic behavior was unobtrusively observed in open and enclosed environments with concurrent variation of the approach of subject to confederate or confederate to subject. The sex of subject and the sex of confederate were also varied, with nesting on the sex of confederate variable. A robust environment effect indicated that personal space is larger in enclosed areas. The nesting variable also proved significant, indicating that some difference between confederates other than sex contributed to personal space differences. Further research is recommended with respect to the effects of human proxemic behavior of both design variables and personal characteristics of the others. (Author)

The present study examined three different methods of data collection in which subjects judged proximity between object pairs. One method required subjects to partition objects into homogeneous subsets; the second entailed rating object pairs on a similarity-dissimilarity continuum; and the third involved comparing inter-object proximities to a fixed standard. The three types of proximities were analyzed by the nonmetric multidimensional scaling procedure, and subsequent multidimensional representations were compared for accuracy to a criterion or "true" multidimensional configuration of the same objects generated by the same subjects. Considerable differences in accuracy were found among the methods. (Author)

Examining 1,815 Pennsylvania rural boroughs and townships, seven variables were employed to determine the places where net migration had been outward 1940-60 and inward 1960-70 and where it had been inward 1960-70 and outward 1960-70. The demographic variables employed were: (1) total population of each selected nonmetropolitan area, (2) absolute changes in the size of the college or military population, (3) percentage of residents 15-24 years old, and (4) population per square mile. The ecological variables employed were: (1) highway accessibility, (2) functional differentiation in industry types, and (3) population potential. Local officials were surveyed via mail to determine if they agreed with the turnaround migration hypothesis (55 percent response). Findings indicated that most nonmetropolitan minor civil divisions had experienced out-migration between 1940 and 1970, though 10 percent had experienced net in-migration, and nearly 18 percent were termed net migration turnaround areas (three times as many of these places turned around to net in-migration between 1960 and 1970 than places which turned around to net out-migration). It was also found that on the average both types of migration turnaround had occurred about 20-25 miles from an urban center; that reductions in farming, industry, and military installations were evident in places having out-migration turnaround; and that not in-migration turnaround; and that net in-migration turnaround areas had residents employed in relatively specialized industries. (JC)

Focusing on Texas nonmetropolitan areas, this study described recent population changes, identified probable causes of change, examined demographic and economic correlates and the likelihood of continued trends. Population changes from 1960 to 1970 in 164 nonmetropolitan incorporated (NMI) places with a population between 2,500 and 25,000 were studied. Each place was designated as growing, declining, or stable. Of the 118 growing and declining places, 52 grew and 66 declined. Correlation between growth and decline of Texas' NMI places and size of place and the geographic variables of urban influence, accessibility, and regional location were then examined. NMI places were further classified into regions, and regional growth patterns were examined using four declining and three growing regions. Findings were: (1) places remote from the Interstate Highway System tended to decline; (2) location in close proximity to a growing urban center favored growth; (3) places with relatively high proportions of their labor force engaged in manufacturing tended to grow, while those with agricultural and mining industries tended to decline. Using the three labor factors and two geographic factors, predictions for 1960-70 growth were made and then tested against actual changes. As prediction accuracy was 70 percent, predictions were also made for 1970-80. (JC)

Investigating the distinction between submetropolitanization and decentralization of industry, the "Datafile for National Sample of Nonmetropolitan Counties" (a 10 percent national sample, involving 205 counties) was employed to test the following hypotheses: (1) the nearer the county to a Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA), the higher the level of manufacturing activities; (2) the higher the level of activities, the higher the degree of concentration, density, and number of residents working in services; (3) the larger the size of the surrounding metropolitan population, the higher the levels of density, population concentration, and service employed residents in the rural county; (4) the closer the rural county to SMSA, the greater the net migration; (5) the larger the size of the surrounding metropolitan population, the higher the level of net migration in the rural county; (6) the more isolated the county, the greater the importance of size of the largest city in attracting jobs and providing residences and affecting positively further growth. Data derived from the County Business Patterns (1947, 1959, and 1970) and U.S. Censuses (1950, 1960, and 1970) were used to measure: number of county jobs, number of plants, and average plant size (manufacturing indicators) and density, concentration, and number of residents working in services (urbanization indicators). It was concluded that submetropolitanization would characterize industrialization trends. (JC)

Using aggregate data from several Idaho counties and towns, the study examined the economic forces which pressure small town people and merchants--pressures which ultimately shape and will shape small towns in areas like Idaho. Six towns chosen for intensive study were Priest River, Cottonwood, Riggins, Shoshone, Oakley, and Malad. Focusing on small towns and their businesses, the study examined the: regional economic theory (location and regional economics) by providing a spatial model of small towns; relationship between the range of goods and services and the town size; and relation between community size, migration, and the expenditure patterns of local governments by using cross-section county data. It was found that: costs of providing public services was related to population changes, and local access to commercial goods and services was also closely related to population. The evidence on public services seemed to support the contention that small communities suffer from significant diseconomies of small scale and that outmigration imposes an additional burden of increased cost on those people who remain. Transportation improvements have allowed residents of a small town-based community to have better access to the goods and services of nearby larger towns. The elimination of jobs in the countryside has reduced the role of some small towns in line with the reduced population to be served. (NQ)

Differentials in the use of preventive health care were investigated for a sample of 123 rural white, urban white, and urban black infants from data reported by their mothers. The data were compared on two measures of preventive care: immunization records and frequency of well checkups. Immunization scores were highest for urban white children, followed by rural white children, and lowest for urban black children. However, urban black children had better scores for preventive checkups than rural white children. Multiple Classification Analysis was used to identify specific demographic, economic, and accessibility variables that explain much of the race/residence differential in both measures. On the basis of the data, it can be concluded that as demographic and economic differentials are narrowed among residence and race groups, the utilization differentials should also narrow. However, in order to improve accessibility to preventive care for infants, it is important to continue efforts to encourage mothers of newborns to establish ties with a place for regular preventive care. (Author/GC)

Almost everyone who responded to three transportation surveys of rural Handicapped Children's Early Education Program (HCEEP) projects identified transportation as a critical problem in the delivery of services to handicapped children in rural areas. Transportation problems encountered were attributed to environmental/geographic factors, inadequate funding coupled with high costs, lack of public transportation, parental inability to provide transportation, and difficulty in securing cooperation and support from other agencies. Strategies and suggestions for coping with transportation problems included: (1) maintaining contact with families through the mail, telephone, and CB or ham radios; (2) efficient scheduling and teaming to cut down on the number of trips required and to reduce boredom/fatigue factors; (3) scheduling visits to families on a biweekly rather than weekly basis; (4) using staff vehicles for reaching and/or transporting families; (5) encouraging parents to carpool to center-based programs; and (6) coordinating efforts with social service agencies and educational systems. Respondents offered fewer strategies for dealing with the lack of public transportation than for any other identified problem. Almost all projects responding to the transportation surveys reported that they had not found long-term solutions to their transportation problems; however, a number of short-term solutions were identified. (CM)

Teacher Corps experience in meeting Corps objectives in rural sites provides a rich source of information about rural education. Collaboration exists between university faculty and rural school staff despite distances involved and sharp increases in transportation costs, but development of on-site facilitators is critical to making collaboration work. College scholarships and low-interest loans offered to young local people who agree to return as teachers in local schools can alleviate the problem of attracting and keeping quality staff. Weekly conference call sessions and use of videotape are possible solutions to problems which distance creates for the delivery of supportive inservice training. Utilization of on-site facilitators, combined with an orientation toward more individualized and staff-based inservice, can greatly improve a small district's staff development efforts. A consistent finding, relevant to the improved school climate objective, is that morale of staff, students, and community residents is generally high in rural areas. Progress has been mixed with regard to Teacher Corps objectives focusing on multicultural education and needs of exceptional students. Establishment of an office or center for rural education seems essential to meeting objectives of institutionalization, demonstration, and dissemination. A land grant university would be an ideal location for this. (CM)

Based on research suggesting spatial zones of proximity in human behavior (individuals have definable zones of intimate, personal, social, and public space), it was hypothesized that "framed shots" of people on television screens would suggest specific distances to the viewer. The hypotheses were that subjects would estimate a greater interpersonal distance for each succeeding shot ranging from close-up to long shot, and that subjects would perceive a given shot in relation to a similar interpersonal distance. After a brief explanation of the nature of subjective shots, 45 subjects were asked to estimate the distances between viewer and eight subjective shots of people framed in a television screen. The shots varied between extreme close-ups and long shots. Seven order-relationships were possible for each subject, allowing 315 pairs of distance comparisons with which to test the hypotheses. The analysis of data indicated that (1) regardless of the order in which shots were seen, the subjects estimated greater distances ranging from close-up to long shot; (2) mean distances for shots differed significantly; and (3) the variance within each shot was high but increased proportionately to the mean. These findings strongly indicated that the manner in which a person is pictured within a frame creates a phenomenon related to perception of physical distance. (RL)

Post-experimental seating patterns of two coacting, cooperating, or competing laboratory groups were factorially manipulated such that groups sat near, far, or randomly with respect to each other. A propinquity-attraction model predicted intergroup evaluations only to the extent that previously determined territorial preferences were not violated. (Author)