Activities Of Leaders Research Articles

The Bolsheviks' "German Gold" Revisited: An Inquiry into the 1917 Accusations

On the evening of 4 July 1917, at the height of the anti-government uprising, the Provisional Government's Minister of Justice, Pave! N. Pereverzev, authorized a press release accusing the Bolshevik leaders of treasonable activities. The report published the next day alleged that Lenin had been sent to Russia by the German government to rally support for a separate peace with Germany and "to undermine the confidence of the Russian people in the Provisional Government. " The money for his activity was allegedly channeled from Berlin to Petrograd, by way of Stockholm. In Stockholm the transfer was carried out by the Bolshevik Jakub Ftirstenberg (Hanecki) and the Russo-German Social Democrat Alexander Israel Helphand (Parvus). The main recipients in Petrograd were the Bolshevik lawyer Mieczyslaw Kozlowski and Evgeniia M. Sumenson, a relative of FtirstenbergHanecki. She and Kozlowski ran a trading business as a cover for financial dealings with Ftirstenberg, thus making the transfer of German funds look like a legitimate business transaction.

The Process Evaluation of a Dutch Community Health Project

This article reports on the design and results of the process evaluation of the Dutch community project "Healthy Bergeyk." The major goal of this project was a reduction in cancer-related risk behavior prevalence, especially smoking and high fat consumption. The project was designed to integrate health education theory and methods with community organization principles. An intersectoral local project group was formed for project implementation. The main objectives of the process evaluation were to assess what was done and how this was evaluated by participants and leaders of activities, project group members and the community in general. Data were gathered throughout the implementation period using minutes of meetings, registration forms, pre-structured telephone interviews, written questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews. Community members were involved in the data collection. The results indicate that the project group organized many health activities in their community in a short time period. Positive elements of the project concern the intersectoral co-operation and the workbook supplied to the project group. Time pressure and limited possibilities for community initiatives were the main negative aspects of the project. The implications of the findings for both the community health project and the process evaluation are discussed.

Changing Demographics and Shrinking Engineering Enrollments (includes associated papers 25294 and 25517 )

Summary Changing U.S. population demographics, poor academic preparation, and a decreasing interest in engineering among college students indicate possible shortages ahead, particularly among chemical and petroleum engineers. If we are to ensure an adequate future supply for the U.S., the engineering talent pool must be enlarged to include women and minority men. Introduction Over the past few years, most of the U.S. industry has been downsizing, hardly noticing that the number of engineering degrees awarded has dropped or that the characteristics of graduating classes have changed. Several changes have affected both the numbers and characteristics of engineering students. Demographic Changes Because of the drop in U.S. births beginning in 1962, there are 2.5 million fewer college-age students today than in the mid to late 1970's, and that population will continue to decline throughout the mid 1990's-a 25% drop(Fig. 1). The rising number of births after 1975 continued through 1990, when the number almost matched the 1961 peak. But it is quite a different crop of babies in the new wave, which will be the source for engineering students in the following decades. In addition to a 25% drop in the size of the college-freshman age group, the racial and ethnic characteristics of both today's and tomorrow's freshmen also are changing significantly. More of these youth are Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Asians than in the past, and more of tomorrow's college-age students must come from minority groups. Most of the 35% increase in minorities that occurred during the 1980's was a result of the net increase in children. The white, non-Hispanic population grew only 2% during that decade, dropping from 76% of the U.S. total population to 71%. Immigration, both legal and illegal, accounts for some of the increase, and higher birth rates among these minorities account for more. Bust most of all, the minority populations are much younger. Increased immigration (particularly for Hispanics and Asians), higher birth rates for Blacks and Hispanics, and younger ages of all three groups mean that school children are more likely to be from minority families. In 1982, minorities made up one-fourth of the school-age population. By 2000, they will make up one-third, and by 2010, about one-half. And 50%of these children are girls, leaving a smaller and smaller fraction of white males. This would not be a problem except that, in the past, we have relied almost exclusively on white males to become our engineers, as well as our physicians; our college faulty; and our leaders in government, education, and other essential activities. At the same time, our educational system has done a very poor job until now of preparing most minority youngsters to go to college and major in engineering. Furthermore, we have allowed and sometimes even encouraged, minority boys (as well as girls of every racial or ethnic group) to drop out of mathematics in high school or to take a mathematics course sequence that will make it impossible for them to choose mathematics-based college majors. Interest in Engineering As our traditional white-male source pool for engineering has grown smaller, we have done very little to increase that talent pool with females and minority males who are capable, interested in, and prepared to choose and engineering field. At best, interest in mathematics and science drops drastically after elementary school and continues to decline throughout height school and college. The drop is greater for women than for men and faster for minorities than for the majority. Thus, of 3.5 million first-graders in 1968, only about 66,000 or 1 in 54, earned an engineering degree in 1990. Another change has occurred that affects our future supply. Since 1982, male and female college freshmen have expressed less interest in majoring in engineering or other mathematics-based fields than in earlier years (Fig. 2). The percentage of the freshman class planning to major in engineering (or any related fields, such as computer science, mathematics, or physical sciences) peaked in 1982 at 12.6% and has since dropped by one-fourth in engineering and by more than two-thirds in computer science. Interest in the physical sciences has dropped slowly but steadily for 15 years.

Community Participation in National Family Planning Programs: Some Organizational Issues

Increasing the involvement of communities in implementing national family planning programs has been advocated as a means of increasing the acceptability, availability, and sustainability of services provided. This article reviews the nature and extent of community participation in the national programs of Bangladesh, China, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, and Thailand by analyzing the structures and processes through which participation is organized. Across all five countries a similar pattern of participation has emerged in which a community-based delivery system is supported by the involvement of community leaders in activities that promote family planning. Active participation in planning and management functions is, however, virtually nonexistent. This limited form of participation is attributed to the bureaucratic organization of national family planning programs that seek to implement policies with explicit demographic goals. Given these goals and organizational structures, however, the pattern of organizing participation observed is probably the most appropriate. Consequently, policymakers should be wary of expecting greater involvement by community members in program implementation activities or in contributing resources unless consideration is given to reorienting the goals and organizing programs that meet needs that are directly relevant to families and communities.

Participation in Multipurpose Senior Centers

Studies of participation in senior centers frequently compare attenders and nonattenders on a number of social psychological, demographic, and socioeco nomic indicators. The result of these studies is a growing set of generalizations that help to differentiate those who attend from those who do not. This article is based on the premise that the classification ofattenders and nonattenders is a helpful but rather crude classification and examines variation in participation among users of senior centers. The analysis is based on observational methods during a ten-month period in a senior center and interview data collected from a sample of senior center participants (N = 48). Several of the variables used to predict variations in duration and frequency ofsenior centerparticipation are based on multiple indicators (e.g., age identity, anxiety, and life satisfaction). The results suggest that frequent attendance is more likely among elderly adults who use the center primarily as a social agency, but long-time attendance and greater participation in activities are more likely among those who use the center primarily as a voluntary organization. Implications of the findings are discussed in terms of the recruitment and development of potential senior leaders in center activities and programming of service for specific types of senior participants.

PUBLIC LIBRARY NETWORKING VIEWED FROM A STATE LIBRARY AGENCY

Especially over the past 30 years, state library agencies have played a major role in the planning and development of cooperative and networking activities among public libraries and between public libraries and other types of libraries. These activities have been carried out in a great variety of ways, with each state reacting to its own demographic, governmental, and library realities. The federal Library Services and Construction Act has been a major constructive force enabling state library agencies to be effective leaders in cooperative and networking activities. State library agencies and public libraries working together can continue to extend library services by taking leadership in networking activities.

Student leadership, mathematics aptitude and college major.

This report describes a significant difference found between a small group of college student leaders and one of college student non-leaders in both mathematics aptitude and college major. From consideration of rhe personality and aptitude correlaces of student leaders versus student non-leaders cited by Waters ( 1 9 6 9 ) , and Carson and Parker ( 1 9 6 6 ) , and student major concentration differences by Pohl and Pervin ( 1 9 6 8 ) , it was hypothesized that college student leaders in social activities and student government would score significantly lower on a mathematics usage test than their non-leader counterparts. Also hypothesized was that college student leaders in contrast to non-leaders would select with significantly greater frequency college majors which are more person oriented (e.g., Social Science) than thing oriented (e.g., Namral Science, Business). The total student leader population of a school, meeting specified Ss and Student Leader criteria (N = 30) . was compared with a control group of 30 student non-leaders, meeting specified Ss and Student Non-leader criteria. The student non-leader group was selected by utilizing a computer generated equally probable random sample procedure resulting in a uniformly distributed sample of 40 Ss from which 30 Ss volunteered. T o control for differences in sex, age, and academic standing, criteria required that all Ss be male, full-time students of junior or senior standing and have a cumulative gpa of at least 3.0 from a possible 5.0. Student leader status was defined as holding a position in either the campus recognized student government or programming-social activities governing board during the 1967-68 school year. Student non-leader status was defined as never having held an office or position of leadership in any campus organization. ACT Mathematics Usage standard scores were available for 15 of the student leaders and 18 of the student non-leaders. O n the basis of the consistency of scores from other tests concurrently administered, between the reduced and original samples, it was decided that the reduced samples approximated suitably representative samples of the original groups of 3 0 student leaders and 3 0 student non-leaders. A t of 3.85 ( 3 1 df, p < ,001) indicated that there was a significant difference in ACT Mathematics Usage standard scores berween the reduced student leader and student non-leader samples as expected. Analysis of a personal data questionnaire administered to all Ss suggested that 50% ( 1 5 ) of the smdent leaders but only 10% ( 3 ) of the student non-leaders were Social Science majors in college ( x 2 = 27.1, 1 df, p < .01) and that 64% ( 1 9 ) of the 30 student non-leaders selected either Business or Science as majors in college as compared to only 23% ( 7 ) of the 3 0 student leaders who chose these areas as majors ( x l = 53.3, 1 df, p < .01). The prediction was substantiated that more of these college student leaders than the non-leaders selected with significantly greater frequency college majors which are more person oriented than thing oriented.

Leadership in Relation to Intelligence

Mr. George Van Ness Dearborn in an article' in the Scientific American Supplement for August 25, 1917, enumerated those qualities which he considered essential to leadership. He summarized by stating that intelligence, of course, underlies ability in leadership. He further stated that every normal being is potentially a leader. He considered initiative, courage, self-trust, insight, kindliness, good humor, and knowledge of human nature as the qualities involved in leadership. Bodily energy underlies the indispensable vigor, self-confidence, and initiative of every leader, according to Mr. Dearborn. It would appear from a consideration of the careers of acknowledged leaders that these are the qualities possessed by them. The study here reported is an effort to determine whether the possession of the qualities listed by Mr. Dearborn indicates ability to become a leader and whether intelligence underlies these qualities. The conclusions are drawn from an investigation which included twenty-nine pupils attending the Rochester Shop School. The intelligence rating was determined by means of eight tests of the Otis Group Intelligence Scale, age not being considered. The estimate of ability as leaders was the result of the combined judgment of the instructors, the principal, and the athletic director. Each instructor listed five boys whom he considered the leaders in his classes and also submitted a list of the five who appeared to be deficient in those qualities usually considered essential to leadership. The principal selected the five boys whom he considered the leaders in the school activities. The athletic director selected the five boys who were recognized by the students and by the