Library: Best sellers

This book argues that the standardization of the American military chaplaincy occurred during the Civil War. It shows that the chaplains of the North and South provided the model on which the modern chaplaincy is based. This model is seen in both the regulations which were established during this war and the actual ministry of the chaplains with the men of their assigned units. To accomplish this task, the book traces the history of the military chaplaincy from the American Revolution through the American Civil War. This analysis relies heavily on official documents and reports as well as ...

This study examined emergency management certification programs in order to understand what the training requirements for state emergency management certification reveal about the core functions of emergency management as conducted by emergency managers working in local jurisdictions. Based on practices in the 23 certification programs managed by state emergency management agencies or professional associations at the time of the study, qualitative content analysis identified a range of core functions practiced by those programs that specified training requirements in terms of specific courses...

Truth-telling about life-threatening cancer illness is a controversial matter. Few studies have explored attitudes towards truth-telling among people from migrant communities living in cultures different to their own. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to explore the perceptions of white British and British south Asian community workers within the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall as to the factors that influence truth-telling. In-depth, focused interviews were carried out with a sample of 20 key informants. A theoretical model was developed which describes the factors that lead to an...

This study investigated whether known economic and international business theories available in the literature are meaningful enough to explain the nature, existence and role of multinational companies (MNCs) in the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia. Two sets of questionnaires were distributed in major cities of Saudi Arabia -- one set for 100 multinational managers and another for 280 multinational customers. 234 questionnaires were collected -- 45 from multinational managers and 189 from customers. This represents a total response rate of 62 percent, which is adequate for this study.The...

A synopsis of eminent computer chess programs reveal that they are designed around a 'brute force' approach. An argument is made that by continuing the 'brute force' search approach, computer chess development is moving away from human evaluation methods. Research is done into studies of evaluation methods, and a discovery is made that humans use a form of intuition, called their 'sense of beauty', to choose the best chess move. A paper by Margulies is cited which formulates principles of beauty which apply to chess. Three versions of a chess program are developed, using no heuristics, standar...

This thesis will investigate, by means of the historical-critical method, Augustine of Hippo's understanding of the Manichaean idea of the Good, and how this understanding affects his own related notions of summum bonum and personal evil, and, as a corollary, his doctrine of predestination. The question of a possible Manichaean influence is particularly pertinent because Manichaeism is at heart a dualistic solution to the issue of good and evil. The focus is not on Manichaeism per se but on Augustine's perception of it, as more directly affecting his thinking. Augustine's treatise De natur...

Investment in executive education has grown steadily since its inception during the last century. Several studies have attempted to measure the effectiveness of executive programs; prior research has indicated that some programs lack relevance. This study addressed the topic from the perspective of corporations, whose future executive education decisions are affected by the relevance of current programs, and program alumni. In a partial replication of a 1959 Harvard study, which queried graduates of 39 residential programs, I surveyed the 1993-1995 executive MBA graduates of four schools: ...

Recent national efforts to coordinate and promote higher education in the fire service led to this national survey of fire service degree programs. The main purpose of the study was to gather descriptive information concerning fire service degree programs offered at two-year and four-year accredited institutions. A second purpose of the study was to identify the perceptions fire service degree program coordinators/directors hold concerning current and future issues affecting their programs. The information collected as part of the study can be used in a variety of ways from benchmarking amo...

The at-risk student population is growing larger in number with educators finding increased difficulty in meeting their diverse needs. Traditional teaching methods are not always working successfully. Accommodative services and aternative methods of education must be implemented in a fashion that will ignite students to success. Standard forms of statistical measurement (attendance, dropout, and graduation rates) have consistently shown negative ratings in schools across America. These measurements are indicators that students' educational needs are not being appropriately dealt with. This stu...

Adventure-based training has become an effective medium for delivering experiential training programs within a variety of disciplines such as; school outdoor education, corporate teamwork development, youth at risk and psychological counseling. In addition, Meyer & Wenger (1998) and Meyer (2000) were instrumental in pioneering research in to the efficacy of adventure-based training with sporting teams. This investigation adds to the growing body of knowledge in this area by demonstrating the positive effects an adventure training intervention has on athletes ability to...