Date of Award

Winter 1991

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering

Program/Concentration

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering

Committee Director

Laurence D. Richards

Committee Member

Resit Unal

Committee Member

Larry D. Lee

Committee Member

Frederick Steier

Abstract

This research concerns itself with Participatory Action Research in a hostile setting. The thrust is a sociotechnical one, with the intent being to enhance the capacity of the Wallop Public School System, Wallop, USA, to address its problem of racial disparate treatment of Black children. The potential for Organizational Learning among the school system's senior staff is studied. Some new theory about such hostile interventions is proposed. Also discussed are questions about reliability and construct validity within the context of the multiple role playing that an interventionist has in this setting. The role of the press is reflected in the intervention reporting. Some probes are also posed concerning the role of the technical skill level of participants in any sociotechnical intervention. Linear programming and traditional statistics are used to develop a measure of full racial integration and a pupil assignment model for racial balance.

DOI

10.25777/9b20-ef31

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