http://escholarshare.drake.edu:80 The DSpace digital repository system captures, stores, indexes, preserves, and distributes digital research material. http://hdl.handle.net/2092/995 The Attitudes of Iowa Public School Board Members, Administrators and Students Toward Student Rights Romitti, Marion Anthony Since the decade of the sixties, the constitutional rights of students have become a major concern of school board members, administrators and students. Because of the rulings of the court, existing school policies may not agree with the decisions the courts have made. In addition, many of the people serving as school board members and administrators were educated in schools that promoted an authoritarian-type atmosphere, with little regard for student rights. Therefore, this study was made to determine the present attitudes toward student rights held by school board members, superintendents, secondary school principals and secondary school students in the public schools of the state of Iowa. The problem. The problems investigated in this study were: 1) Are the attitudes of school board members, superintendents, secondary school principals and secondary school students similar in regard to student rights? 2) Is there a relationship between school district size as determined by K-12 enrollment and attitudes of school board members, superintendents, secondary school principals and secondary school students in regard to student rights? Procedure. A survey instrument containing thirty-two statements pertaining to student rights was sent to school board members, superintendents, secondary school principals and secondary school students in randomly selected Iowa public school districts. These statements were individually ranked according to a scale which measured a positive or negative attitude toward student rights. A two-factor analysis of variance was selected as the most appropriate statistical model for the data. Findings. The findings included: 1} Students have a decidedly more positive attitude toward student rights than school board members, superintendents and secondary school principals. 2) Secondary school principals have a more positive attitude toward student rights than school board members or superintendents. 3) Board members and superintendents are similar in their attitudes toward student rights. 4) In Iowa, respondents in the large school districts (1,500 or more students) have a more positive attitude toward student rights than those in the small (less than 750 students) or medium-sized (750-1,499 students) public school districts. 5) In Iowa, respondents in small and medium-sized school districts were similar in their attitudes toward student rights. Conclusions. The following conclusions were made as a result of the study: 1) There is a significant difference in attitudes toward student rights among students, administrators, and board members. However, the differences in attitudes toward student rights between school board members and superintendents is non-significant. 2) Although respondents in small and medium-sized school districts were similar in their attitudes toward student rights, there is a significant difference between respondents in those districts and the large public school districts. Recommendations. The following recommendations were suggested. 1) For school board members and administrators, there should be held periodically a required in-service day concerning school law and discussion of court decisions relevant to public schools. 2) Pertinent courses of study encompassing the constitutional rights of students should be required for all student teachers and potential administrators. 3) A survey instrument by which each school could test for weak or dissonant areas concerning student rights should be developed. 4) School staff-parent-student representative councils for the review of school policies and the establishment of long-range goals should be formed. 5) The development of a uniform student rights code legally acceptable to all concerned parties is recommended. 6) There should be a longitudinal study to see how, if at all, group attitudes change over time and whether such changes result in larger or smaller differences between groups. 7) An identification and study of other groups, such as parents, should be compared with groups like those included in this study. 8) There should be studies designed to determine why the differences exist between groups as were found in this study and to explore the effectiveness of procedures structured to reduce such differences. 105 leaves. Advisor: Dr. Robert L. Whitt Tue, 01 Jul 1975 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2092/994 An Immunologic Investigation of Bisalbuminemia : A Genetically Transmitted Serum Protein Anomaly Vertuno, Lee Stuart The problem. Bisalbuminemia was investigated in an Iowa family by testing for hematological and immunologic abnormalities to determine associations between bisalbuminemia and connective tissue (collagen) and/or autoimmune diseases. Physiochemical properties of the anomalous albumin fraction were compared to normal serum albumin. Procedure. Cellulose acetate electrophoresis was used to determine the genotypes from which was established the genetic pedigree of the bisalbumin trait. Sera of family members was screened using the following tests: Complete blood count; sedimentation rate; hematocrit; antistreptolysin 0 titer; rheumatoid factor; LE preparation; VDRL; C-reactive protein and fluorescent anti-nuclear antibody analysis. Physiochemical characterization of the anomalous albumin fraction included an agar-gel diffusion study and measurement of the relative binding ability of normal and abnornal albumins using I125-thyroxine. Findings. Bisalbuminemia was found in seven of fourteen members of an Iowa family and was presumed to have been present in one deceased member of the family. The anomaly, transmitted as an autosomal codominant, was observed in the heterozygous state. The anomalous albumin fraction, albumin B, replaces one-half of the normal serum albumin and was found to be an albumin by agar-gel diffusion. Tests commonly associated with connective tissue and autoimmune diseases failed to show a relationship between the disease groups and bisalbuminemia. Addition of I125-thyroxine to bisalbumin sera resulted in excess thyroxine binding to albumin B with greater affinity than to normal albumin. Conclusions. The anomalous albumin B is assumed to be the result of a mutation of a gene responsible for the synthesis of normal serum albumin. The bisalbuminemia analyzed in this family study does not appear to be associated with the connective tissue and/or autoimmune diseases or any marked clinical abnormalities. 29 leaves. Advisor: Michael Myszewski Fri, 01 Nov 1974 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2092/993 Effects of the Administration of 5-Hydroxydl-Tryptophan and 3,4-Dihydroxyphenylalanine on the Acquisition of a Conditioned Avoidance Response Percy, Hector The administration of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-Dopa) has been shown to result in the facilitation of performance while the administration of 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) results in an impairment of performance and reported enhancement of acquisition. The purpose of the present study is to compare the effects of 5-HTP and L-Dopa on the acquisition of a single behavioral task. Each animal received a total of twenty daily trials in a shuttle box one hour after injection. All mice learned to avoid footshock both during each trial and the inter-trial interval. The results indicate that 5-HTP and L-Dopa do not facilitate the acquisition of a conditioned avoidance task. A significant number of inter-trial crossovers was obtained for the L-Dopa group for the 13 days of training and the 5-HTP group for the first 2 days. It was concluded that possible peripheral effects of L-Dopa interfered with acquisition. It was suggested that the effects of 5-HTP upon the visual system might have served to inhibit acquisition of a visual task. In view of the subject x treatment interaction, it would appear that the metabolites of 5-HTP and L-Dopa produced effects which varied within subjects as a function of the daily administration of precursors. The further analysis of effects of 5-HTP and L-Dopa on acquisition should include correlations between variations in regional concentrations and specific behaviors. 39, [3] leaves. Advisor: Kenneth Lloyd Mon, 01 Jul 1974 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2092/992 Influence of Incentive on Strategies of Human choice Behavior in a Four Alternative Transfer of Learning Probability Task Hanzelon, Robert J. The Problem: Forty-eight human Ss were presented with a four choice probability learning-task. Two groups of 24 Ss each were placed under different incentives - Equitable Wage (EW) and Gambling Wage (GW). It was anticipated that a transfer of learning effect would be present. Also, it was anticipated that the test in which the most frequently and least frequently presented alternatives were in opposite positions from that presented during pre-training would be the most difficult test presented. Procedure: All Ss were presented with 120 trials during pre-training and 60 trials in each of the four probability schemes during the test session. During one of the four tests, each alternative was the most frequently presented alternative. In each test, the four alternatives were presented in the following percentages: 56.25; 18.75; 18.75; and, 6.25. Findings and Conclusions: The GW group (greater incentive given) performed significantly more accurately than the EW group (lesser incentive given). Although both incentive groups approximated probability matching choice behavior, Ss in the GW group made more correct responses by distributing more responses to the most frequently presented alternative and fewer responses to the least frequently presented alternative than did the EW group. No support was present for a transfer of training effect nor the expected task difficulty. 79 leaves. Advisor: Jerome M. Feldman Wed, 01 May 1974 00:00:00 GMT