This document is the seventh annual publication of abstracts of research projects conducted within the Austin (Texas) Independent School District (AISD) by external agencies or individuals. Each researcher has passed a screening process in which AISD staff members from a variety of departments reviewed proposals. This screening insures the…

Annotations on 2,948 bibliographies of dissertations, theses, and research completed and in progress for graduate degrees are presented. The bibliographies, produced through 1983 and most of 1984, are specialized and usually subject-oriented and cover current and retrospective research in the United States and throughout the world. The annotations…

This report summarizes and cross-references the results of 12 studies dealing with competencies for Adult Basic Education (ABE) and diploma programs. Described in the report are the following studies/projects: (1) the Adult Performance Level (APL) Study; (2) five APL-based validation studies (the New Jersey ABE Study, the New Jersey English as a…

Described in this report are the extramural activities for fiscal year 1983 of the Center for Research for Mothers and Children (CRMC). The CRMC is designed to advance knowledge about fetal development, pregnancy, and birth; to identify the prerequisites of optimal growth and development through infancy, childhood, and adolescence; and to…

This document reports on an effort to identify, collect, and catalog: (1) various fitness- and health-related promotion materials available to the general public by federal, state, and local agencies; and (2) informational items distributed by the private sector. Printed materials are categorized as: (1) currently available brochures and pamphlets…

This paper describes the Self-Help Information Service (SIS), and summarizes data evaluating the program. Associated with a generally focused information and referral service (I&R), SIS was designed to facilitate research on self-help groups. Its specific goals were to develop and maintain a telephone referral service disseminating self-help…

This study investigated the accuracy with which administrators describe the college environment as it appears to students. Student personnel administrators projected students as viewing the environment significantly higher in terms of "intellectual stimulation" and significantly lower in "bureaucracy" than students actually did. (Author)

Although the majority of faculty members surveyed favored the structure, purposes, and operation of pass/not pass grading, they preferred limited use of the option by students. (Author)

A newsletter format and a one-day on-campus orientation program for parents were compared using three criteria: factual knowledge, attitude, and perceptions of the university. Results indicated that different systems of information dissemination have differential effects on the parents of incoming freshmen. (Author)

This study focused on the efficiency of family variables in predicting university student personality types (expressed occupational choices) within the framework of Holland's theory. Eight of 22 family variables emerged as the best predictors of personality types. (Author)

Reports on student expectations of an undergraduate college education. Indicates that the students were concerned primarily: 1) with developing personally; 2) with increasing decision-making skills and broadening experience; and 3) with exploring disciplines and their relationships to contemporary life. Recommends several ways for student…

Systematic desensitization is described as an effective method for reducing test and speech anxieties in college students. Two standardized hierarchies, one for test anxiety, are presented to minimize problems in hierarchy construction. (Author)

This experiment attempted to condition subject's answers to a questionnaire about study-related behaviors using verbal social reinforcement and to measure the extent to which this training affected rate of studying. For five of the six subjects, significant changes in study comments resulted. (Author)

The philosophy and characteristics of a project for preventing drug abuse is described. A partial history of its ongoing evaluation is presented. The results show that participating teachers gained significantly in drug knowledge. There were also significant changes in attitudes concerning drug abuse, child development, and pedagogy. (Author)

A description of the socio-demographic characteristics associated with student drug use is discussed. Findings indicate that while drug usage began to increase in the seventh grade, substantial increases occurred after this grade level. For all substances, drug use peaked in the ninth or tenth grade with dramatic decreases in the twelfth grade.…