VTechWorks Repository :: Browsing by Author "Ballweg, John A."

Browsing by Author "Ballweg, John A."

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After the Aquaculture Bust: Impacts of the Globalized Food Chain on Poor Philippine Fishing Households
Macabuac, Maria Cecilia Fiel (Virginia Tech, 2005-07-15)
The Philippines is a food extractive enclave in the bust stage of export-oriented aquaculture, and this globalization agenda has had several negative impacts. Aquaculture has not expanded fish and marine foods but threatens national food security by integrating Philippine aquatic resources into the globalized food chain. Following structural adjustment policies imposed beginning in the 1980s, the Philippines shipped massive levels of animal protein to world markets, but this country has grown less food self-sufficient. During the decades that shrimp aquaculture has boomed and busted in the Philippines, the living conditions of Filipino families have steadily worsened. This study of three Panguil Bay fishing communities of Northern Mindanao demonstrates that the survival of subsistent artisan fisher households is now threatened because export-oriented producers have severely degraded the ecosystem upon which they rely. Moreover, women and children are inequitably threatened by the ecological and economic changes that have accompanied the Philippine global aquaculture agenda. In reality, capitalist commodity chains of export-oriented aquaculture externalize to households and to nature much of the true cost of producers and of ecological degradation. As a result, malnourished and impoverished Philippine fishing households subsidize global aquaculture commodity chains. While Filipino fisher households can no longer afford local food costs, their hidden inputs into capitalist commodity chains keep prices of luxury seafoods cheap in rich core countries.
Alcohol use among military personnel: an examination of demographic and sociological determinants
Li, Li (Virginia Tech, 1989-04-05)
The objective of this thesis was to examine the demographic characteristics and the drink-related determinants of alcohol use among U.S. military personnel. The data were obtained from The 1985 Worldwide Survey of Alcohol and Nonmedical Drug Use among Military Personnel which included 17,328 active duty military personnel. Analysis of Variance and Pearson r were used to examine the zero-order relationships among all independent and dependent variables in the study. Multiple Regression and Path Analysis were used to reveal the relationships between demographic and drink-related variables in predicting alcohol use. Findings from bivariate analyses explored the zero-order relationships between alcohol use and demographic attributes as well as drink-related determinants. It was found that the following characteristics were more frequently associated with military personnel who used alcohol: male, black, younger, not living with a spouse, in lower military ranks and with lower educational attainment. Furthermore, personnel who were strongly influenced by their drinking peers, considered the positive personal benefits of alcohol use, had favorable attitudes toward alcohol use, and encountered more serious problem situations were found to exhibit higher levels of alcohol use. Findings from multiple regressions and path analyses indicated that personal benefit was the most important determinant in predicting alcohol use. lt was found that the effects of problem situations on alcohol use were largely mediated by personal benefit. Moreover, peer influence not only directly affected alcohol use, but also mediated the effect of age on alcohol use. Surprisingly, it was found that normative definition toward alcohol use was not a good predictor of alcohol use. Both direct and mediating effects of normative definition on alcohol use were weak and negligible. Based on the findings of the study, implications for academic research on alcohol use were also discussed in the thesis.
Class Inequality among Third World Women Wage Earners: Mistresses and Maids in the Philippines
Arnado, Mary Janet Madrono (Virginia Tech, 2002-02-28)
This dissertation is geared toward a deeper understanding of the complexity of the multiple positions of women in the "Third World," and on how these positions create, sustain, and reproduce inequalities. I examine class inequality among employed women in the Philippines in the context of mistress-maid employment relationship. Using feminist fieldwork approaches, my gatekeeper, Merly, and I conducted extensive interviews and focus groups with thirty-one maids and ten mistresses between May and August 2000 in a medium-sized city in the Philippines. Recorded interviews were transcribed and processed using QSR NUD*IST N4. Domestic workers, who started as child laborers, live in their mistresses' homes where they perform household chores and carework. Aside from their "job description," they carry out additional tasks within and outside the household. The maids' relationship with their mistresses is based on maternalism, in which the mistresses integrate them into the family, engage in gift giving, provide educational support, but at the same time, control their bodies, times, spaces, and relationships. Except in cases where maternalist behavior becomes violent, both maids and mistresses approve of maternalism. In looking at the factors that may contribute to the mistresses' maternalist behavior, this study found that mistresses who are subordinate relative to their spouses and their workplaces are more likely than those who are not subordinate to engage in maternalist behavior with their maids. As maids prefer maternalist relationship with their mistresses, they accommodate their mistresses' dominating tendencies. When reprimanded, they respond through culture-specific rituals of subordination. However, when their threshold of tolerance is breached, they apply a combination of subtle and blatant resisting strategies. Younger maids perceive domestic work as a stepping-stone toward a more comfortable future, while older maids view it as a dead-end occupation. From a global standpoint, class mobility is examined based on the domestic workers dialectic positions within the international division of reproductive labor. Throughout this dissertation, women's inequality in the context of mistress-maid relations were analyzed from various angles, shifting the analysis from micro to macro dynamics; from class to the intersection of gender, ethnicity, age, and class; and from local to global. In addition to providing a sociological understanding of this phenomenon, I put the varied voices of "Third World women" at the forefront of this study.
Deviant fertility in China
Li, Li (Virginia Tech, 1992-11-05)
While most Western and Chinese scholars emphasize the success of Chinese family planning programs, this dissertation focuses on fertility behavior which violates family planning regulations in China. The study contributes to a better understanding of the Chinese "deviant" fertility by conceptualizing the phenomenon in a theoretical framework and conducting an empirical investigation of the issue. In this dissertation, the concept of "deviant fertility" is defined as reproductive behavior that violates current family size norms in terms of having more than the accepted number of children. An approach that bridges the sociology of fertility and the sociology of deviance is established. Specifically, the theoretical framework is based on the cultural conflict perspective of deviance, developed by Thorsten Sellin. The normative conflict concerning fertility in general and the confrontation between the traditional Chinese large family norms and current family planning rules are explicated. Three major data sets are used: the Chinese In-Depth Fertility Survey, with a sample of 6,654 Chinese ever married women aged 49 or younger, the Old-Age Security Survey of 220 married Chinese couples, and the Records of County Family Planning Commissions. More than 50 variables and a number of measurement scales are defined and measured. Descriptive statistics, Pearson's r and analysis of variance, multiple regression, and path analysis are employed in the analysis. Findings from multivariate analyses indicate that a number of factors are significantly related to deviant fertility in China. They are: (1) ideal of large family size, (2) son preference, (3) socioeconomic development, (4) type of employment, (5) area of residence, (6) failed pregnancy, and (7) fertility discussions between a husband and a wife. In addition, the analyses reveal different patterns between rural and urban samples in terms of the impact of individual variables on deviant fertility and different explanatory power of the models. Path analysis further enriches the knowledge of deviant fertility by identifying a number of particular paths through which deviant fertility is influenced. by the selected factors. Several relevant issues drawn from the findings are addressed, including relationships between deviant fertility and Chinese women's status, prevalence of son preference, rural-urban differences, and normative conflicts of fertility in China. Policy implications are also indicated.
An exploration of selected variables associated with the instructional leadership of secondary school principals
Thomason, Charles S. (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1988)
This study is an exploration of a set of variables associated with instructional leadership of secondary school principals in Virginia. Four variables--(a) clarity of instructional goals, (b) performance efficacy, (c) autonomy, and (d) instructional expertise--were used to predict the instructional leadership of the principals. Data for the predictor variables were gathered from practicing principals with a mailed questionnaire. A total of 200 questionnaires (64%) were returned; one hundred eighty-four (59%) were usable. The measure of instructional leadership was developed around seven dimensions of leadership commonly found in the literature on effective schools. Data on these dimensions were gathered from teachers in each participating principal's school. A total of 729 questionnaires (69%) were returned by teachers; seven hundred one (66%) were usable. A principal components analysis of the items on the teachers' questionnaire revealed seven components of instructional leadership. Multiple regression analyses were run for total leadership behavior and for each of seven scales derived from the principal components analysis. Three of the analyses produced significant, but small, R-squares: using praise, rewards, and feedback (R² =.05, p<.05); establishing an environment for change (R² =.05, p<.05); and maintaining an orderly environment (R² =.04, p<.05). The partial regression coefficients indicated that the principals' perceptions of autonomy in decision making were positively associated with their use of praise, rewards, and feedback (b=.04, R<.05) and with their establishment of an environment for change (b=.15, R<.05). This study lends some support to those who believe that the provision of increased authority to the local school principal will provide a climate for innovation and change.
An exploratory study of agreements between institutions of higher education and correctional institutions
Grasty, Rose Anne (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1988)
This exploratory study was conducted in the Commonwealth of Virginia and included Wardens, Department of Correctional Education Principals, community college Deans, and community college personnel assigned as prison program coordinators for college/correctional institution programs. Those were the total number of instructional managers responsible for postsecondary programs in medium and maximum security correctional institutions in the Commonwealth during November 1986. Surveys and interviews were used to obtain individual perceptions of responsibilities to be assigned to colleges and correctional institutions when agreements are for educational programs are developed. Agreements used by colleges that were members of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and correctional institutions were reviewed. There was no consistency among the states' agreements in the responsibilities included or in the institution assuming the same or similar responsibilities. A review of journal articles describing responsibilities in existing or proposed college/correctional institution programs revealed no consistency in the responsibilities necessary to be included in agreements. The responsibilities found in the state agreements as well as those in the journal articles provided examples of reasonable responsibilities for instructional managers to consider when developing agreements for college programs in correctional institutions. A survey form was developed and administered to instructional managers. College coordinators of college/prison programs provided the largest percentage of responsibilities to be included in agreements, but correctional institution instructional managers overall responded with a larger number of necessary responsibility statements than college instructional managers. Generally instructional managers chose responsibility statements in the categories of Instruction, Curriculum Support, and Equipment and Supply to be included in agreements. Responses to the open-ended question asked during the interview phase revealed problems in the current structure of the college/prison programs. Many problems were appropriate for the categories of Faculty and Staff, Students, and Instruction. Wardens articulated the highest number of problems and were the only group of instructional managers to express concern about inmates as students in the community at the time they were released from the correctional institution. Instructional managers ranked Student and Faculty and Staff categories of responsibility statements as most important to include in agreements although they did not select them to be included in agreements. Recommendations for improving the current method of providing college programs to incarcerated persons include the development of a statewide system composed of state level leadership. Individual colleges need to improve the quality of support and transitional services for students.
Financial returns to human capital development: a case study of former students of agriculture at Virginia Tech
Almero, Maria Cristina P. (Virginia Tech, 1988-08-17)
The objective of this thesis was to identify and measure the effect of factors that influenced income earnings of former agricultural students. Data were obtained from a questionnaire mailed to former Virginia Tech students, all of whom were enrolled in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences during 1977. An analysis of the 243 respondents was conducted with emphasis on educational profiles, labor market entry and participation, and personal characteristics. Models based on human capital and labor market principles were developed to explain differences in individual incomes. Earned income models were estimated for the first job after leaving college, for the job held in 1985, and for the 1985 job in a lagged formulation. Analysis of covariance was used to estimate the empirical models. Model results for the first job starting income indicated positive returns to education and the provision of profit sharing benefits. Significantly higher starting incomes were also found for males and for those who considered pay as important or very important. In contrast, the year of job entry exhibited an inverse relationship with starting income. No significant differences in first job income were found for college major, type of placement services used, state location of the job, nature of the job (whether agricultural or not), and provision of housing benefits. Model results for the 1985 income, as in the starting income model, indicated positive returns to the provision of profit sharing benefits. Significantly higher incomes were also associated with married respondents, urban residents, and those who ranked oral communication skills as much needed or essential. In contrast, lower incomes were associated with those who ranked a technical skill to be much needed or essential and with those who held more previous jobs. Insignificant variables in the 1985 income model included level of education, college major, state location of the job, nature of the job, personal assessment of the importance of pay, provision of housing benefits, ranking of the need for knowledge of agricultural policy, and gender. Results for the lagged formulation of the 1985 income model were similar to results for the 1985 income model. In addition, prior income was found to be a positive and significant determinant of 1985 incomes. Implications for academic support areas, curricula, and students were presented and discussed
Institutionalization of clinical supervision in the public schools of North Carolina
Dobney, William Lloyd (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1986)
During the 1982-83 school year, public school districts in North Carolina were given the option of using clinical supervision as part of a state-wide performance appraisal process. This option resulted in considerable variation in the implementation and institutionalization of clinical supervision in schools and provided the opportunity to study variables associated with the institutionalization of change in school systems. Berman’s (1981) implementation paradigm was used to identify and categorize predictors of institutionalization. A set of five variables was selected as having the best potential for accounting for the variation in institutionalization of clinical supervision in the public schools of North Carolina. 1. Principal’s perception of the amount of time required to perform one clinical supervision cycle. 2. Amount of internal support for clinical supervision. 3. Amount of training in clinical supervision. 4. Principal’s belief in the effectiveness of clinical supervision. 5. Type of school administered. A Principal’s Survey was developed and mailed to a random sample of 450 public school principals in North Carolina. Information was received from 288 principals (64%). A follow-up survey of nonrespondents verified the representativeness of the original respondents. Principals responding to the follow-up survey were added to the original respondents for a total sample of 300 principals (67%). Multiple regression analysis was applied to the data with institutionalization as the dependent variable. The multiple R was .30 and R² was .09 (F = 4.03, p < .00). Internal support was the only significant predictor of institutionalization (b = .20, t = 3.62, p < .05). Two demographic variables, age and sex, were added to the multiple regression as a side analysis. With these 4 variables added, an R² of .10 was obtained (F = 3.37, p < .001). Age was determined to be a statistically significant predictor of institutionalization (b = -.06, t = -2.48, p < .05).
Internationally aided development for arid and semi-arid lands in Kenya: a comparative sociological analysis and a framework for project planning
Gichina, Charity G. (Virginia Tech, 1996-05-05)
Majority of the world's poor live in marginal areas. In developing countries, about 60 percent of the poorest population live in hilly vulnerable ecological areas which include arid and semi-arid lands with limited soil fertility, hilly upland areas, and steep slopes. Most of the inhabitants of these areas owe their livelihood primarily to the exploitation of the natural resource. However, the natural resources and ecosystems in these areas have continually undergone severe degradation. Governments and development agencies face a major challenge in their efforts to achieve sustainable development in the world's fragile ecological areas. The poor inhabitants of the world's fragile ecological areas are faced with increasing population pressure, lack of protective infrastructure such as transportation and communication systems, investment, and inadequate technology. These conditions continue to affect their social and economical standards of living. The deteriorating living conditions of the world's poorest population inhabiting arid and semi-arid lands result in a cycle of continued economic decline and land resource destruction. Hence the challenge to focus on development strategies which would break the vicious circle of poverty and environmental degradation. This research employs thematic content analysis as a research technique to do a comparative sociological study of two rural development projects, (Turkana rural development project and Lokitaung pastoral rural development project), in arid and semi-arid Turkana district in Kenya. I propose and use COPETT, (culture, organization, population, environment, technology, and time), a human social-ecological framework as a tool for analysis. Specifically, this study presents a descriptive account of the project's history; the formal development objectives of the Turkana rural development project and Lokitaung pastoral development project as set by NORAD and OXF AM. The study also examines the projects management and the interaction effects with the Turkana people, their culture, organization, environment, and technology. The understanding of the two international development agencies of the concept and the effect of time with regard to culture, organization, population, environment, and technology is also examined. I argue that the continued use of the project approach to development particularly in rural areas call for an examination and identification of sociological requirements attached to this framework for development intervention. The use ofCOPETT framework for development planning could provide a holistic human-centered development strategy that engenders mobilization and empowerment of the rural population socially, economically, and politically not only in Kenya but also for the world at large. Further, the analysis adopted in this study could serve as a point of departure for understanding ways through which international development agencies could improve on the strategies needed in designing and implementing development projects in order to achieve sustainable development.
Is migration a solution to the earnings loss of the displaced workers in the segmented labor market in the U.S.?
Hoe, Ruan (Virginia Tech, 1994-06-16)
Earnings loss due to both lower wages at the current job and the time forgone between two jobs is one of the major consequences of job displacement caused by plant closing, moving and downsizing in the 1980s. Is migration a solution? The present study attempts to answer this question empirically by exploring five waves of data on the displaced manufacturing workers from the CPS Displaced Workers Supplements. Human capital theory and neo-classica1 theory of labor migration both assert that migration should improve people's socio-economic status. They largely neglect social and economic structural constraints on the outcomes of individual behavior. From the dynamic segmentation perspective, this study hypothesizes that deindustrialization has been squeezing workers from the subordinate (lower-tier) primary segment down and thus such workers suffered more loss than their counterparts from the independent (upper-tier) segment; since deindustrialization primarily affected the core manufacturing industries, core workers suffered greater loss from displacement relative to their peripheral counterparts. In this context, this study further hypothesizes that migration will not benefit the workers from the subordinate primary segment as much as the workers from the independent primary segments. The empirical results confirm the main hypotheses of the present study: Workers displaced from the subordinate primary segment suffered more earnings loss and longer jobless duration than their counterparts from the independent primary segment. Workers from the core industries experienced longer jobless duration than their counterparts from the peripheral segment. Migration had no effect on the postdisplacement earnings and jobless duration for the displaced workers from either segment. The clear implication of these findings is that migration is no solution. Among other things, occupation/industry change when reemployed is an important factor causing earnings loss; formal educational attainment reduces earnings loss and shortens the jobless duration while work tenure on the pre-displacement job increases earnings loss and lengthens the jobless duration.
Measuring attitudes toward water use priorities
Ballweg, John A. (Water Resources Research Center, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1972)
A methodology for segregating rural and urban mortality
Pagtolun-an, Imelda (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1986)
This study involved the design and testing of the Rural Urban Mortality Measurement (RUMM) technique. The technique generates independent estimates of rural and urban mortality for all age-groups by segregating death registration data into areas of similar characteristics to urban and rural areas. These areas are referred to as inferred urban and inferred rural populations in the study. In order to assess the reliability and validity of the RUMM technique, it was applied to the Philippine death registration data of 1975 and 1980, and to the 1980 death registration data . for Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia. This application followed several procedural stages involving evaluation and assessment of the reliability and completeness of death and population data. Application of the RUMM technique to Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia allowed the comparison of inferred urban arid inferred rural mortality estimates to the estimates generated for urban and rural areas. This is because Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia have rural and urban data on death registration. The assessment procedure which compared the closeness of the patterns and levels of mortality between inferred urban and urban areas, and between inferred rural and rural areas, showed no difference. The differences in survival ratios for each age-group and the mean differences were found to be close. to zero. This led to the conclusion that the mortality estimates for inferred urban and inferred rural populations are valid representations of· levels and patterns of mortality found in urban and rural areas. Therefore, in cases where rural and urban tabulations of deaths do not exist, RUMM technique provides a valid method for calculation of mortality estimates. This study also presented the strengths and weaknesses of the technique especially when applied to sub-national populations. Mainly, weaknesses result from using the Brass Growth Balance Equation to assess completeness of death registration. Substitution of alternative estimates of death registration completeness tends to strengthen the technique. Finally, this study showed the robustness of the RUMM technique as well as its non-dependence on any specific index of urbanization arid on any technique of assessing completeness-of death registration.
A multiple case study research to determine and respond to management information needs using Total-Factor Productivity Measurement
Pineda, Antonio J. (Virginia Tech, 1990)
This study (1) determines the information managers commonly need to make decisions and initiate actions to improve performance, based on selected case studies, (2) investigates and explains the features and issues involved with how the different versions of TFPM address these information needs, and (3) develops a teaching model of TFPM. Based on the literature review, interviews with experts, and experiences with applications, the features and differences of the available TFPM versions were explained, providing sample applications whenever necessary. Using four selected cases, common user information needs were identified and compared with results of previous surveys. Alternative TFPM applications for each case were developed and evaluated using Archer's (1978) Design Process as implemented with VPC's (1990) PRFORM software. Based on the evaluations of the TFPM applications in each of the case studies, a teaching TFPM model was developed incorporating the features of the available TFPM versions that most appropriately responded to the common information needs. Some other features not portrayed in the available TFPM versions were added to facilitate portrayal, understanding, and acceptance for new users. There are basically two models of TFPM - the Productivity Indices (PI) Model and the Profitability = Productivity + Price Recovery (PPPR) Model. I proved that as implemented with discrete variables, Gollop's Model is equivalent to the PPPR Model. Various versions of these two models feature differences in deflation, aggregation of Outputs, inputs, and/or organizational units, treatment of capital, computation of dollar effects of changes in performance, and how to use TFPM for planning. The common information needs identified were (1) measures of a firm's past performance using physical productivity related to profitability; (2) measures of individual organizational units’ productivity aggregated into plant, division, or firm level productivity; (3) partial measures to explain what factors dr.ve the total performance measures; and (4) evaluations of plans/budgets to ensure performance improvement. Based on the evaluations of possible TFPM versions appropriate for each application, REALST stands out as the most advanced and flexible version. However, it has become too complicated for first-time users. Hence, the teaching TFPM model I have developed is a simplified version of REALST.
Nutrition and social scale: the impact of social differentiation on dietary intake
Magallanes, Josefino M. (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1982)
This study takes as its basic problem the understanding of the influence of community structure upon the dietary intake of families. The principal hypothesis is that a group of households having higher social characteristics, in terms of the level of household income, occupation and education, is associated positively, and in terms of household size, is associated negatively, with adequate food intake. To determine the existence of such relationships, a multi-focused survey, stratifying populations into three strata, and selecting random samples in a two-stage design, was employed. The logic of the design proceeds from the assumption that the strata correspond to three different social changes that have happened to them. These social changes that have occurred in varied ways are the principal uncontrolled factors influencing their social behavior differentially; the other disturbing factors are assumed to have affected them equally. The results of the study showed that the strata had been essentially different in relevant variables during the survey. By the logic of the design, such hypothesized differences between strata are attributed to the social factors of income, occupation, education, and household size. Against this logical background, food intake was examined to ascertain whether there is a concomitant increase observed in stratum 1. Indeed, higher average food intake, nutrient status, and food expenditures, were observed stratum 1, relative to other strata. Because of the weakness of the design, further multivariate analysis using multiple regression as the method of study was conducted. The conclusion in this section was the same, such that in areas of households with high level of income, education, occupation, and a small household size, there was also an increase in average food intake, nutrient status, and food costs. In addition, an important insight coming from multivariate analysis is that household size has been found to influence food and nutrient intake most significantly and that household real income has shown to have the strongest influence in food costs only.
An overview of school choice
Jessee, Hazel H. (Virginia Tech, 1993-11-05)
School choice is an intriguing issue, getting to the very heart, of the American ideals of freedom, self-direction, equity, and diversity. While school choice is touted by some as a solution to the problems of American education, it is questioned more critically or even cynically by others. What cannot be denied is the fact that school choice exists on an increasingly widespread basis in America. The purposes of this study were to provide an up-to-date review of the status of the school choice movement on the national level, to identify key issues of the movement, and to describe choice options and programs. Having a description of its nature will offer assistance to those decision makers such as school boards, superintendents, administrators, and teachers, who will need to sort the rhetoric from the truth in analyzing the role of school choice in shaping schools in their communities. School choice is replete with contradictory and often unanswered questions. A review of the literature on school choice has revealed a range of issues: school choice as a reform movement, as a diversionary tactic to use public funds for private education, as a solution to integration, as a guise for increased segregation and elitism, as a basic parental right, or as a detriment to the greater needs of a society, among others. One of the strongest observations to be made as a result of this review of school choice is that it is an issue for which the evidence is inconclusive. Another important observation is that school choice has survived head-on attacks on the pclitical battlefields from the White House to state capitols to school board meeting rooms. It has woven itself into the school restructuring movement, and new options such as charter schools continue to emerge in the school choice movement. It is a significant educational issue for the future.
Public perception of water resource problems
Ibsen, Charles A.; Ballweg, John A. (Water Resources Research Center, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 1969)
The relationship between seasonal fuelwood availability, household food consumption, and women's time allocation
Okeyo, Ruphina Nyawade (Virginia Tech, 1995)
A study was conducted in 1993/94 on a group of 45 women clustered into the Hill, Lake, and Town regions of Kasgunga West sub-location in Homa Bay district, Kenya to assess women’s perceptions of problems and solutions related to fuelwood availability, household food consumption, and women’s time allocation for daily activities, and the relationships between time allocation, fuelwood availability, and household food consumption. Results obtained from the qualitative part of the study showed that 35, 23, and 22% of the respondents perceived that fuelwood collection, child care, and farming activities, respectively, were the most strenuous and time consuming activities of women in the Homa Bay district. The most obvious fuelwood availability problem was inadequate supplies. This caused a shift in the size of collected fuelwood (from large to small and increased usage of agricultural residue for fuel). According to the study, inadequate food is produced in the area and this results in approximately 91% of the staple consumed being bought from the market. The total time spent by respondents for collecting fuelwood was positively correlated with the amount of fuelwood collected (r=0.69) and earnings derived from sale of charcoal (r=0.61).
Residential segregation of blacks in Virginia cities: assessing socioeconomic factors
Ji, Weidong (Virginia Tech, 1993-04-05)
Using data from the 1990 Census of Population and Housing, the relationship between socioeconomic status and residential distribution was examined for the black population in four Virginia cities, Lynchburg, Roanoke, Norfolk, and Richmond. Three indexes were employed to measure degrees of segregation at the census tract level. These indexes were, dissimilarity, interaction, and isolation. The dissimilarity index is a measure of the evenness of residential distribution of minority members. The interaction index is a measure of the probability of minority residential contact with majority members. The isolation index is a measure of the probability of residential isolation of minority members. Census tracts were classified according to the extent of racial changes that took place in these tracts. Socioeconomic status of black residents was measured over two dimensions: education and income. The association between minority socioeconomic achievement and degrees of segregation was estimated with multiple regression. A majority of the regression results supported the human ecology theory that minority spatial assimilation is an outcome of socioeconomic achievements. Findings also suggested that the relationship between minority socioeconomic status and degrees of segregation did not vary in strength in the hierarchical pattern predicted by previous human ecology studies of segregation. The findings provide a minor departure from the traditional theory of human ecology. The regression models estimating the effects of socioeconomic variables on residential dissimilarity and residential isolation showed statistical significance. The regression models estimating the effects of socioeconomic variables on residential contact did not show statistical significance. This might suggest that present measures of residential segregation and socioeconomic status need to improved.
The resolution by elementary principals of incongruencies in teacher and assistant superintendent expectations for leader behavior as inferred from self and teacher perceptions of actual leader behavior: a case study
Dilley, Boots (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1983)
The purpose of the study was to investigate sent-role conflicts in expected leader behavior of elementary principals and whether the Real leader behavior of those principals more closely approximated that behavior expected by teachers or their immediate superior, an assistant superintendent. Three research questions guided the investigation: (1) Do teachers and an assistant superintendent have different expectations for the leader behavior of principals? (2) Does the actual leader behavior of principals, as perceived by principals, more closely approximate the behavior expected by the assistant superintendent or the behavior expected by teachers? (3) Does the actual leader behavior of principals, as perceived by teachers, more closely approximate the behavior expected by the assistant superintendent or the behavior expected by teachers? The data were gathered by means of the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire Form XII. The questionnaire was administered to 26 elementary principals to obtain perceptions of their Real leader behaviors, to 260 elementary teachers to ascertain perceptions of their principal's Real and Ideal leader behavior, and to the assistant superintendent to determine his perception of the Ideal leader behavior of principals. Means, standard deviations, and standard error of the means were calculated for the teachers' perceptions of the Real and Ideal leader behavior of principals on each of the LBDQ dimensions. Ninety-five percent confidence intervals were calculated for the teachers perceptions (Real-Ideal) for the purpose of identifying schools having leadership role conflicts and to determine the apparent resolution. The analysis of the combined data indicated that principals' Real leader behavior was congruent with teacher expectations in 35% of the cases, with the assistant superintendent's expectations in 25% of the cases, with both the teachers' and assistant superintendent's expectations in 17.5% of the cases, and with neither the teachers' nor assistant superintendent's expectations in 22.5% of the cases.
Return migration: socioeconomic determinants for state in- migration
Pippert, John Marvin (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1985)
The central concern of this study is to determine the role of return migration in the changing economic and noneconomic determinants of state in-migration. It was hypothesized that the transition from primarily economic to noneconomic determinants of in-migration in the United States in the last decade was directly related to changes in the components of the migration stream itself; that is, that an increasing proportion of return migrants in the in-migration stream contributes to the movement toward noneconomic reasons for migrating. This study compares the selective characteristics of lifetime and five-year non migrants, and primary, secondary and return migrants using Public Use Sample data for 1960, 1970, and 1980. In addition, it analyzes four economic and six noneconomic determinants of migration for 1970 and 1980 usinq a data set that includes published data on state migration and socioeconomic characteristics. An analysis of the selectivities of migration has both supported and rejected existing literature. In a comparison of migrants and non migrants, migrants tend to be younger, better educated persons from white collar occupations with higher incomes and smaller households than non migrants. When migrant types are compared, return migrants tend not to be as well off as other migrants socioeconomically. They tend to have lower education, come from blue collar occupations, have larger households, be a little older and have less income than other migrants. The most significant finding is the distinction of five-year from lifetime nonmigrants. The regression analysis on the determinants of state in-migration reveals that there has been a shift from economic to noneconomic reasons for migrating from 1970 to 1980. In addition, the relative proportion of primary, secondary and return migration has changed over time. Contrary to the hypothesis, however, the trend from economic to noneconomic determinants of migration has not been related to changes in the proportion of return this study points to the relationship migration in the stream. Rather, further research that investigates between secondary migration and the changing determinants of state in-migration.

Browsing by Author "Ballweg, John A."

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