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Brigham Young University

Theses/Dissertations

2016

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Design And Frequency Characterization Of Dual-Piezoresponsive Foam Sensors, Cory Nelson Newton Dec 2016

Design And Frequency Characterization Of Dual-Piezoresponsive Foam Sensors, Cory Nelson Newton

Theses and Dissertations

Multifunctional "self-sensing" materials at the frontiers of current research are generally designed to gather only a single type of information (such as quasi-static strain data). This project introduces a new sensor that is both multifunctional and dual-response, indicating its ability to not only perform in mechanical and sensing functions but also in its ability to sense multiple types of response. The proposed new class of sensing materials, comprised of nanocomposite polymer foams, exhibits measurable piezoresistive and quasi-piezoelectric phenomena in the form of change in resistance and voltage generation in response to deformation, respectively. An initial sampling of the envelope of …

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Parental Experience-Based Change: Positive And Negative Changes In Monitoring, Expectations, Nurturing, And Discipline, Joseph S. Rand Dec 2016

Parental Experience-Based Change: Positive And Negative Changes In Monitoring, Expectations, Nurturing, And Discipline, Joseph S. Rand

Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to create a measure of parent's perceptions of parental experience-based change (PEBC), or parents' perceptions of the changes they make to their parenting of secondborn children as a result of experiences with firstborn children. The measure assessed PEBC in the domains of monitoring, expectations, nurturing and discipline. Participants were 401 mothers or fathers of 2 or 3 adolescent children. Factor analyses revealed an 8 factor solution that assessed increasing and decreasing in each of the 4 domains. Criterion validity was evaluated using regression analyses to examine the relationships between each factor and parenting outcomes thought to be …

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Comparison Of Simulation And Hands-On Labs In Helping High School Students Learn Physics Concepts, Matthew Charles Rytting Dec 2016

Comparison Of Simulation And Hands-On Labs In Helping High School Students Learn Physics Concepts, Matthew Charles Rytting

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the research was to determine whether PhET simulation labs or hands-on labs were more effective in helping students learn physics concepts. This measure was done by comparing quiz scores using recall, calculation, and transfer questions. Additionally, student perceptions of learning from both hands-on and simulation lab experiences were measured. Six labs were conducted with high school physics students on the topics of momentum, energy, circuits, angular momentum, pendulums, and friction. It was found that PhET simulation labs were as effective at creating student understanding, and sometimes more effective, as measured by quizzes given after the labs. Additionally, …

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Extreme Sports: A Study Of Free-Solo Rock Climbers, Jacob Ray Sparks Dec 2016

Extreme Sports: A Study Of Free-Solo Rock Climbers, Jacob Ray Sparks

Theses and Dissertations

Extreme sport participation has traditionally been conceptualized as a psychological disorder and something to be avoided (Cashmore, 2002). Viewed in this way, these individuals are thought to be enacting an unhealthy psychology (Ogilvie, 1997; Slanger & Rudestam, 1997). Other research has described participants in extreme sports as sensation seekers under-stimulated by their normal surroundings and out of control (Zuckerman, 1979). Using Brymer's (2005) focused definition of extreme sports, "activities where a mismanaged mistake or accident would most likely result in death, as opposed to injury" (p. 5), this study utilized a phenomenological method to analyze semi-structured interviews with 16 free-solo …

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Relational Embeddedness In Mentoring Relationships Between Prospective K-12 Education Leaders And Their Mentor Principals, Maridee Beeston Dec 2016

Relational Embeddedness In Mentoring Relationships Between Prospective K-12 Education Leaders And Their Mentor Principals, Maridee Beeston

Theses and Dissertations

Prospective education leaders face challenges in a demanding environment often lacking critical resources necessary to make a difference in schools. The potential to acquire these resources may be found in the mentoring relationships formed during internships in educational leadership preparation programs. A lack of understanding exists regarding variations in the nature of these mentoring relationships—specifically in terms of relational embeddedness—the type and degree to which partners form ties embedded within a social relationship. Variations in relational embeddedness may impact mentoring quality and the potential to acquire the resources needed to succeed in demanding school environments. Theoretical frameworks in mentoring and …

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Extending Time Until Failure During Leaking In Inflatable, Pneumatically Actuated Soft Robots, Joshua Parker Wilson Dec 2016

Extending Time Until Failure During Leaking In Inflatable, Pneumatically Actuated Soft Robots, Joshua Parker Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

Soft robots and particularly inflatable robots are of interest because they are lightweight, compact, robust to impact, and can interact with humans and their environment relatively safely compared to rigid and heavy traditional robots. Improved safety is due to their low mass that results in low-energy collisions and their compliant, soft construction. Inflatable robots (which are a type of soft robot) are also robust to impact and have a high torque to weight ratio. As a result inflatable robots may be used for many applications such as space exploration, search and rescue, and human-robot interaction. One of the potential problems …

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Algorithms For Learning The Structure Of Monotone And Nonmonotone Sum-Product Networks, Aaron W. Dennis Dec 2016

Algorithms For Learning The Structure Of Monotone And Nonmonotone Sum-Product Networks, Aaron W. Dennis

Theses and Dissertations

The sum-product network (SPN) is a recently-proposed generative, probabilistic model that is guaranteed to compute any joint or any marginal probability in time linear in the size of the model. An SPN is represented as a directed, acyclic graph (DAG) of sum and product nodes, with univariate probability distributions at the leaves. It is important to learn the structure of this DAG since the set of distributions representable by an SPN is constrained by it. We present the first batch structure learning algorithm for SPNs and show its advantage over learning the parameters of an SPN with fixed architecture. We …

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An Investigation Of The Manufacture And Use Of Bone Awls At Wolf Village (42ut273), Joseph A. Bryce Dec 2016

An Investigation Of The Manufacture And Use Of Bone Awls At Wolf Village (42ut273), Joseph A. Bryce

Theses and Dissertations

Wolf Village is a Fremont farming village located at the southern end of Utah Valley where Brigham Young University has conducted six field schools there and recovered 135 awl and awl fragments. The Wolf Village awls, like the awls from many Fremont sites, represent a large range of morphological variability. Because of the ubiquity and diversity of Fremont bone awls, many different approaches have been taken to organize and understand them; focusing more on morphological characteristics than interpretation. In order to better understand the life use of bone awls, experiments were conducted to replicate the manufacture and use of these …

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An Ion Detection Scheme Employing Solid State Devices For Use In Portable Mass Spectrometers, Sanjiv Nath Pant Dec 2016

An Ion Detection Scheme Employing Solid State Devices For Use In Portable Mass Spectrometers, Sanjiv Nath Pant

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents a solid state approach to the ion detection system used in the back-end of modern mass spectrometers. Although various techniques already exist to detect ions – even with the sensitivity of a single particle, the existing techniques require high voltage or lower operation temperature to counteract the noise inherent in the system. The suggested design presents an alternative to the more popular detection system whereby the requirement of high operation voltage or low operation temperature can be precluded. This is made possible through the gate capacitance of a Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET). This thesis …

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Life-Cycle Benefit-Cost Analysis Of Safety Related Improvements On Roadways, Jordan Browne Frustaci Dec 2016

Life-Cycle Benefit-Cost Analysis Of Safety Related Improvements On Roadways, Jordan Browne Frustaci

Theses and Dissertations

The Highway Safety Manual (HSM) lists four different methods for determining the change in crash frequency in order of reliability. Currently, the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) uses the fourth reliable method. The goal of this research was to develop a tool that the most reliable method mentioned in the HSM could be used to perform life-cycle benefit-cost analyses. A spreadsheet program was built that performs the HSM's Part C Predictive Method for 11 different roadway segment types mentioned in HSM using Excel macros and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) programming. Intersections were not included in this spreadsheet program as …

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Redbeds Of The Upper Entrada Sandstone, Central Utah: Facies Analysis And Regional Implications Of Interfingered Sabkha And Fluvial Terminal Splay Sediments, Jeffery Michael Valenza Dec 2016

Redbeds Of The Upper Entrada Sandstone, Central Utah: Facies Analysis And Regional Implications Of Interfingered Sabkha And Fluvial Terminal Splay Sediments, Jeffery Michael Valenza

Theses and Dissertations

First distinguished from other sedimentary successions in 1928, the Entrada Sandstone has been the subject of numerous studies. The western extent of the formation was initially described as laterally continuous "earthy" red beds, and categorized as sub- to supratidal marine-influenced sediments. Recent workers have reexamined the sedimentary facies hosted by the Entrada Sandstone, and findings suggest purely terrestrial depositional environments. Several outcrops of the upper Entrada hosted peculiar sedimentary features, including undulatory and convex-upward, parallel-laminated bedforms, reminiscent of hummocky cross-stratification- unexpected features in a terrestrial environment. The purpose of this study was to collect detailed outcrop measurements of these and …

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Development Of A Performance-Based Procedure For Assessment Of Liquefaction-Induced Free-Field Settlements, Brian David Peterson Dec 2016

Development Of A Performance-Based Procedure For Assessment Of Liquefaction-Induced Free-Field Settlements, Brian David Peterson

Theses and Dissertations

Liquefaction-induced settlement can cause significant damage to structures and infrastructure in the wake of a seismic event. Predicting settlement is an essential component of a comprehensive seismic design. The inherent uncertainty associated with seismic events makes the accurate prediction of settlement difficult. While several methods of assessing seismic hazards exist, perhaps the most promising is performance-based earthquake engineering, a framework presented by the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research (PEER) Center. The PEER framework incorporates probability theory to generate a comprehensive seismic hazard analysis. Two settlement estimation methods are incorporated into the PEER framework to create a fully probabilistic settlement estimation procedure. …

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Submerged Jump Remediation At Low-Head Dams: The Multiple Staggered Deflector Design, Ronald Francis Mcghin Dec 2016

Submerged Jump Remediation At Low-Head Dams: The Multiple Staggered Deflector Design, Ronald Francis Mcghin

Theses and Dissertations

Low-head dams are capable of creating dangerous counter-currents just downstream from the structure. These dangerous counter-currents are known as submerged hydraulic jumps and are responsible for hundreds of fatalities at numerous low-head dams across the United States. The counter-current creates high upstream-directed surface velocities across the width of the channel, making it nearly impossible for an individual to escape. This submerged jump can occur during a range of upstream and downstream conditions. Effective, safe and low-cost remediation options must be explored in order to prevent further fatalities at these structures. This document explores such a remediation option: the Multiple Staggered …

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James Tissot's And Emile Zola's Shopgirl:The Working Girl As La Parisienne, Elizabeth Pusey Dec 2016

James Tissot's And Emile Zola's Shopgirl:The Working Girl As La Parisienne, Elizabeth Pusey

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis argues for the cultural space of late nineteenth-century Parisian shopgirls as a position of power. The shopgirls' role in society is an ambiguous position connecting fashion consumer culture, class divides, gender and identity perceptions, and the workspace. Using James Tissot's Femme à Paris series, specifically the image Demoiselles de Magasin, and Emile Zola's novel Au Bonheur des Dames as primary sources, I examine the role of the shopgirl as a liminal position within the definition of the iconic 'La Parisienne' woman. By looking at women's work and the role of shopgirls in the boutique and department store …

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Voltage Measurement Using Slab-Coupled Optical Sensors With Polarization-Maintaining And Absorption-Reduction Fiber, Rex Lavell King Dec 2016

Voltage Measurement Using Slab-Coupled Optical Sensors With Polarization-Maintaining And Absorption-Reduction Fiber, Rex Lavell King

Theses and Dissertations

This research presents the first use of side-polished Panda fiber in the fabrication of slab-coupled optical sensors (SCOS). It is determined that the Panda SCOS provides a sensor that is comparable to the D-fiber SCOS in cases of electric field sensing. It exhibits greater power transfer and higher bandwidth than a typical D-SCOS. The Panda SCOS is also less costly and easier to splice than the D-fiber alternative. This comes at a cost of slightly decreased sensitivity and a more fragile fabrication process. This research also demonstrates the use of the Panda-SCOS as means of voltage characterization across both the …

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The Effects Of Experimental Anterior Knee Pain On Bilateral Ground Reaction Forces During Running, Emily Rachel Cronk Dec 2016

The Effects Of Experimental Anterior Knee Pain On Bilateral Ground Reaction Forces During Running, Emily Rachel Cronk

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the independent effects of anterior knee pain (AKP) on bilateral ground reaction force (GRF) during running, with a focus on GRF applied to the uninvolved leg, which, prior to this study, had never been evaluated. Twelve volunteers completed three data collection sessions, that corresponded to one of three conditions (control, sham, and pain), in a counterbalanced order. For each session, subjects ran for five minutes. For the pain and sham sessions, respectively, hypertonic and isotonic saline were infused into the infrapatellar fat pad of the right leg during the running, while no …

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The Differences In Time To Stability, Foot Muscle Size, And Toe Flexor Strength Between Cheerleaders And Gymnasts, Kelsey Renee Garner Dec 2016

The Differences In Time To Stability, Foot Muscle Size, And Toe Flexor Strength Between Cheerleaders And Gymnasts, Kelsey Renee Garner

Theses and Dissertations

Context: There has been recent speculation that the intrinsic muscles of the foot may play a larger role in lower extremity control and injury than previously believed. Multiple studies have shown that certain intrinsic muscles increase in size and strength after transitioning to minimalist shoe running, theoretically decreasing injury risk. There are currently no studies that examine the effect that training barefoot has in other athletic populations. Objective: Our purpose was to compare the intrinsic and extrinsic foot muscle size and strength in gymnasts (who predominantly train barefoot) and cheerleaders (who predominantly train shod). Another purpose was to measure time …

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A Longitudinal Analysis Of Adult Esl Speakers' Oral Fluency Gains, Kostiantyn Fesenko Dec 2016

A Longitudinal Analysis Of Adult Esl Speakers' Oral Fluency Gains, Kostiantyn Fesenko

Theses and Dissertations

While a number of studies have sought to investigate ESL speakers' fluency gains over the course of one 15-week semester, few if any studies have investigated these changes over a longer developmental period. A critical factor in researching longitudinal change is that students do not often remain in an intensive English program (IEP) for more than two semesters before moving to a new school, applying to an American university, or returning to their home country. Longitudinal research, therefore, is necessary as program administrators, teachers, and learners all seek to understand points where change in oral fluency actually occurs. For this …

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Decision Making In The Backcountry While Carrying A Cellular Phone, Quinn S. Linford Dec 2016

Decision Making In The Backcountry While Carrying A Cellular Phone, Quinn S. Linford

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to gain understanding about the influence of technology, specifically cellular phones, on decision making during potentially risky situations in the backcountry. Previous research in this area is contradictory and some studies indicate technology is influencing people to take more risks while others suggest it is not. Further confounding the relationship is the fact that previous studies have found people may be taking more risk in the presence of technology were based largely on respondent perceptions, not observation data. The current study used a scenario-based decision model to examine the difference in decision making between …

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Examining Intrinsic Motivation And Holistic Functioning: The Role Of Therapeutic Recreation In Residential Substance Use Treatment, Damien Christopher Cavanaugh Dec 2016

Examining Intrinsic Motivation And Holistic Functioning: The Role Of Therapeutic Recreation In Residential Substance Use Treatment, Damien Christopher Cavanaugh

Theses and Dissertations

This evaluative study examined the impact of recreational therapy interventions on intrinsic motivation and holistic functioning among adults at a substance use treatment facility. West (2001) identified motivation as a key variable in treating substance use disorders, and self-determination theory, specifically intrinsic motivation, provided a useful framework for this study. Intrinsic motivation is grounded in self-determination theory and defines various motivation types and how to increase participants' engagement. Holistic functioning is another tool in assessing a participant's recovery. For this evaluation, four domains were specifically assessed: (a) physical, (b) leisure, (c) social, and (d) daily living functioning. These quality of …

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Evolvability And Excess Capability As A Response To Uncertain And Future Requirements, Jeffrey Douglas Allen Dec 2016

Evolvability And Excess Capability As A Response To Uncertain And Future Requirements, Jeffrey Douglas Allen

Theses and Dissertations

Product and system designers face many challenges in the modern world. Designing products that will be subject to emerging or uncertain requirements can be one of the most significant of these challenges. A major risk associated with emerging or uncertain requirements is premature obsolescence. Large-scale, complex engineered systems, such as, aircraft, spacecraft, large seagoing vessels, communication and power systems are especially susceptible to this issue. However, this challenge is not limited to only large-scale complex systems. Even relatively simple products can suffer from premature obsolescence and even failure to be initially accepted, due to inadequately understood or changing requirements. One …

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The Effects Of Class-Wide Function-Related Intervention Teams In Three Art Classrooms, Melanie April Nelson Dec 2016

The Effects Of Class-Wide Function-Related Intervention Teams In Three Art Classrooms, Melanie April Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

Challenging and disruptive student behavior is a major concern for all teachers, including those who teach art. Unfortunately, there is a lack of research and resources available for art teachers to manage student behavior. School-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) is a framework that has been shown to improve student behavior. Class-wide Function-Related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT) is an intervention that utilizes SWPBS principles including group contingency, social skills instruction, teacher praise, and positive reinforcement and has been shown to be effective in general education classrooms. This is the first study of CW-FIT in elementary art classrooms and examined the effects of …

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A Self-Regulated Learning Inventory Based On A Six-Dimensional Model Of Srl, Christopher Nuttall Dec 2016

A Self-Regulated Learning Inventory Based On A Six-Dimensional Model Of Srl, Christopher Nuttall

Theses and Dissertations

This report discusses a study undertaken to develop, pilot, and tentatively validate a self- regulated learning (SRL) inventory for L2 contexts. This inventory was specifically designed to measure learners' ability to self-regulate their learning. Although there have been a few SRL inventories developed to measure this ability, they do not conform to the six-dimensional SRL model proposed by educational psychologists and backed by extensive research. This warranted the development of a new SRL inventory. The primary focus of this study was that of taking initial steps to develop such an inventory. These steps involved writing and refining items conforming to …

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Task-Level Feedback In Interactive Learning Enivonments Using A Rules Based Grading Engine, John Shadrack Chapman Dec 2016

Task-Level Feedback In Interactive Learning Enivonments Using A Rules Based Grading Engine, John Shadrack Chapman

Theses and Dissertations

In order to improve the feedback an intelligent tutoring system provides, the grading engine needs to do more than simply indicate whether a student gives a correct answer or not. Good feedback must provide actionable information with diagnostic value. This means the grading system must be able to determine what knowledge gap or misconception may have caused the student to answer a question incorrectly. This research evaluated the quality of a rules-based grading engine in an automated online homework system by comparing grading engine scores with manually graded scores. The research sought to improve the grading engine by assessing student …

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How A Systematic Approach To Uncertainty Quantification Renders Molecular Simulation A Quantitative Tool In Predicting The Critical Constants For Large N-Alkanes, Richard Alma Messerly Dec 2016

How A Systematic Approach To Uncertainty Quantification Renders Molecular Simulation A Quantitative Tool In Predicting The Critical Constants For Large N-Alkanes, Richard Alma Messerly

Theses and Dissertations

Accurate thermophysical property data are crucial for designing efficient chemical processes. For this reason, the Design Institute for Physical Properties (DIPPR 801) provides evaluated experimental data and prediction of various thermophysical properties. The critical temperature (Tc), critical density (ρc), critical pressure (Pc), critical compressibility factor (Zc), and normal boiling point (Tb) are important constants to check for thermodynamic consistency and to estimate other properties. The n-alkane family is of primary interest because it is generally assumed that other families of compounds behave similarly to …

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Invisible Students: A Case Study Of Friendless Students During The First Year Of Junior High, Rachel E. Neeley Dec 2016

Invisible Students: A Case Study Of Friendless Students During The First Year Of Junior High, Rachel E. Neeley

Theses and Dissertations

This is a case study that investigates the experiences of eight friendless seventh grade students as they transition from elementary school to junior high. In an effort to examine the wide-range of experiences of friendless students, I explored and compared the experiences of students who have high social self efficacy and students who have low self-efficacy. Each student was interviewed two times and both interviews were analyzed using a priori codes of when and where students felt isolated and distressed. The interviews were also analyzed using an open coding method looking for emergent codes. The study highlights and illustrates what …

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The Ontology Of Immanence: Arriving At Being In Nan Shepherd's The Living Mountain, Rachel R. Gilman Dec 2016

The Ontology Of Immanence: Arriving At Being In Nan Shepherd's The Living Mountain, Rachel R. Gilman

Theses and Dissertations

In response to the economic and political upheaval of World War I, Scottish Modernism explored the cultural and linguistic changes of a nation trying to identify itself amidst a world-wide conflict. Scholars and critics have considered Nan Shepherd's fiction in this context—focusing on issues of gender, female identity, language, and land—but have yet to look seriously at her work The Living Mountain and its contributions to the Modernist movement. More recently, critics like Louisa Gairn and Robert MacFarlane have called attention to Shepherd's small but powerful text in an ecocritical and philosophical light, reframing her contribution to issues of Scottish …

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Expecting Excellence: Student And Teacher Attitudes Towards Choosing To Speak English In An Iep, Alhyaba Encinas Moore Dec 2016

Expecting Excellence: Student And Teacher Attitudes Towards Choosing To Speak English In An Iep, Alhyaba Encinas Moore

Theses and Dissertations

In an effort to immerse learners in the target language, many IEPs in the U.S. hold fast to inflexible English Only policies (Auerbach, 1993; McMillan & Rivers, 2011). However, research has identified several shortcomings of such a rule, such as (1) the benefits of the L1 in L2 learning, and the lack of research supporting the exclusion of the mother tongue (Atkinson, 1993; Brooks-Lewis, 2009; Butzkamm, 2003), and (2) psychological, sociocultural, and linguistic factors that diminish the effectiveness of English Only and contribute to a negative learning environment (Shvidko, Evans, & Hartshorn, 2015). This body of research has prompted a …

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Topic Manipulation In Five Children With Language Impairment In Response To Topic Probes, Kimberly Kasey Baker Dec 2016

Topic Manipulation In Five Children With Language Impairment In Response To Topic Probes, Kimberly Kasey Baker

Theses and Dissertations

This study describes a series of case studies on topic management patterns of five children (ages 5 to 10 years) with language impairment. The children participated in semi-structured topic tasks that assessed conversational abilities on topics that were verbally introduced and topics that were introduced both verbally and with an object. Although there was considerable variability among participants, the children generally responded to most introductions by acknowledging and maintaining the topic. With the exception of one child, however, the children in this study demonstrated immature topic manipulation patterns that could be expected to have negative social ramifications.

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Evidence For The Validity Of The Student Risk Screening Scale In Middle School: A Multilevel Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Matthew Porter Wilcox Dec 2016

Evidence For The Validity Of The Student Risk Screening Scale In Middle School: A Multilevel Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Matthew Porter Wilcox

Theses and Dissertations

The Student Risk Screening Scale—Internalizing/Externalizing (SRSS-IE) was developed to screen elementary-aged students for Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD). Its use has been extended to middle schools with little evidence that it measures the same constructs as in elementary schools. Scores of a middle school population from the SRSS-IE are analyzed with Multilevel Confirmatory Factor Analysis (MCFA) to examine its factor structure, factorial invariance between females and males, and its reliability. Several MCFA models are specified, and compared, with two retained for further analysis. The first model is a single-level model with chi-square and standard errors adjusted for the clustered nature …

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