In a report on leadership research for the U.S. Army, three papers dealing with soft skills analysis and training are presented. "What Are Soft Skills?" describes a questionnaire designed to clarify the terms "hard" and "soft" skills. Soft skills are defined as important job-related skills that involve little or no…

The guide for nurses consists of 10 papers on identification and management of selected developmental disabilities. Included are the following titles: "The Importance of Early Mothering" (R. Benfield); "Infant Stimulation" (J. Arnold); "Failure to Thrive" (M. Haynes); "The Neurological Evaluation of Infants and…

Research has shown that prosocial behavior can be encouraged in an educational setting through social reinforcement and appropriate role modeling. To test the combined effect of media presentations and teacher behavior to promote cooperative behavior in preschool students, 34 children were divided into four groups, each of which was given one of…

The application of behavior modification procedures by Head Start teachers in the classroom and the remedial application of programmed instructions to children with preacademic deficiencies were studied in 11 classrooms located in three Kansas towns--Lawrence, Topeka, and Kansas City. Data were collected throughout the 1968-1969 year on both the…

Three socio-psychological programs are highlighted here: "cultural literacy," achievement motivation, and group dynamics. The introduction reviews their common aim: to provoke significant, abrupt changes in adults, i.e. changes that affect the value and attitudinal orientations of the individual in a short period of time. The objectives…

This study evaluated the functioning of 20 lower class mothers who had participated in the Project Know How (PKH) child care and family life education program at Florida State University. They were compared with control groups of 20 lower class (LCC) and 20 middle class (MCC) mothers on cognitive complexity or ability, interpersonal competence,…

The primary focus was on the impact of vocational programs on educational achievement, job training, and job placement of disadvantaged youth. Procedures were developed to insure coverage of all major categories of the disadvantaged, all major areas of vocational education, pre-vocational programs, comprehensive regional coverage, and private as…

As a final chapter in the research to evaluate the impact of the Michigan township extension experiment, this report focuses on why and how change came about, what factors appear to be most closely related to change, and the ways in which change agents can most effectively help bring about change. In the experiment, extension agents worked…

The proceedings include the following: three papers on state finance; six on state legislation; 10 on state, county, and community resources; two on special education administration; seven on recruitment problems and training of personnel; and 11 on curriculum and program planning. Keynote and banquet addresses treat administrative problems and…

Nine conference papers consider the application of knowledge and methods known to special education to the instruction of disadvantaged children. Edmund W. Gordon views the disadvantaged population; Frank B. Wilderson discusses behavior disorders in children from deprived backgrounds; Harriet Green Kopp describes problems of perception and…

Recognizing that punishment for aggression often is noneffective or inadvertently reinforces the aggressive act, the authors discuss an alternative approach and provide an explanation of the exchange theory of aggression. Three classroom experiments, operated with children chosen as the most severe behavior problems in a local school system, are…

A description of the Social Exchange Laboratory's work with autistic children is presented. The laboratory's philosophy of the exchange theory of autism, seen as a set of habitual response patterns maintained and intensified by exchanges which are inadvertantly structured by others in the child's environment, is set forth with characteristics,…

A solution developed to correct the lack of cultural experiences for rural children in art, drama, dance and music is evaluated in this final project report. A summary of findings lists the number of school programs and their budgets. The nature and number of subjects and activities employed in attacking the problem are briefly described. The…

"Microville II," a simulation-game idea, is a creative effort to develop and apply resources, processes, and programs necessary to resolve contemporary problems faced by rural and urban leaders. The strategy is that a community council has been established within the community of "Microville" and participants assume the various…

The present study examined some effects of literacy achievement on the lives of 184 of the 215 adults who had successfully completed literacy training between 1962 and 1966 in the Flint, Michigan, Adult High School. Interviews and public records were used to gather data on student background, experiences during literary training, participants'…