Research revealed teachers are the most influential factor on student achievement and districts face their own unique set of challenges as they attempt to maintain a highly qualified teaching staff. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which Grow Your Own Teacher (GYOT) programs assist districts in meeting the demand…

The purpose of this study was to explore the connections to professional development, professional conferences, professional learning communities, benefits associated with conversing and collaborating with educators, and qualities of highly effective teachers. This study was designed to further the understanding of professional development…

In 2009, a PK-12 public school district board of education approved a teacher evaluation tool developed by a volunteer team of teachers and administrators. The Learning Based Teacher Evaluation (LBTE) was constructed with six broad standards and fifteen specific criteria. The standards and criteria were assumed important to professional practice,…

The purpose of this research was to determine if there was a relationship between the leadership style of the nursing department head and the level of professional satisfaction and organizational commitment by nursing faculty members. The survey instrument was a self-constructed four point Likert scale designed by the researcher to determine the…

In the alleged information society, providing access to ICT purportedly will enable people, in all walks of life, to actively participate across multiple realms of social, economic, and political life. However, ICT initiatives in Kenya have not necessarily promoted people's ideal participation in an information society. Emphasis on ICT in IL…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine time and efficiency to undergraduate degree completion. Four dependent variables were examined including semesters enrolled, semesters elapsed, graduation efficiency index (GEI), and alternative GEI. Many independent variables were assessed to determine if they had a correlation to time or…

Our nation's K-12 schools are faced with numerous critical challenges that affect student achievement and consequently impact society. Key challenges, such as elevating academic achievement, meeting state and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) standards, high dropout rates, at-risk students, parental involvement, and the recruitment and retention of…

As schools try to meet state and federal requirements of No Child Left Behind, student academic achievement becomes a crucial part of that standard. However, schools are faced with challenges that may hinder overall student success. Some secondary schools are struggling with student tardiness and absenteeism. Tardies and absenteeism have an impact…

The purpose of this "intrinsic multi-descriptive" case study was to explore how a mathematics curriculum leadership graduate degree program influenced seven participants' views and actions as they transitioned into new mathematics curriculum leadership roles. The mathematics curriculum leadership graduate degree program was a joint…

The purpose of this quantitative correlational research study was to examine the relationship between costs of operation and total return on profitability of outsourcing information technology technical support in a two-year period of outsourcing operations. United States of America list of Fortune 1000 companies' chief information officers…

Information security breaches pose a significant and increasing threat to national security and economic well-being. In the Symantec Internet Security Threat Report (2003), companies surveyed experienced an average of about 30 attacks per week. Anecdotal evidence suggests that losses from cyber-attacks can run into millions of dollars. The CSI-FBI…

After decades of development and use in a variety of application areas, Quantitative Structure Property Relationships (QSPRs) and related descriptor-based statistical learning methods have achieved a level of infamy due to their misuse. The field is rife with past examples of overtrained models, overoptimistic performance assessment, and outright…

Despite debate over whether or not college student suicide rates are greater or less than similar age groups not enrolled in higher education, the rates of college students experiencing suicide ideation, attempting suicide, and successfully committing suicide are indeed rising. A steady increase in these rates over the last 15 years is evidence…

As a result of massive retirement and educational program expense and closure, the field of Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) is facing a critical workforce shortage. Combatting this issue by increasing undergraduate class size is a difficult proposition due to the intense psychomotor curricular requirements of MLS programs. Technological advances…

Personal informatics systems help people collect and reflect on behavioral information to better understand their own behavior. Because most systems only show one type of behavioral information, finding factors that affect one's behavior is difficult. Supporting exploration of multiple types of contextual and behavioral information in a…