Digital Commons Network^™

Understanding Human Learning Using A Multiagent Based Unified Learning Model Simulation, Vlad T. Chiriacescu

Department of Computer Science and Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Within cognitive science, computational modeling based on cognitive architectures has been an important approach to addressing questions of human cognition and learning. Modeling issues such as limited expressivity in representing knowledge and lack of appropriate selection of model structure represent a challenge for existing architectures. Furthermore, latest research shows that the concepts of long-term memory, motivation and working memory are critical cognitive aspects but a unifying cognitive paradigm integrating those concepts hasn’t been previously achieved.

Derived from a synthesis of neuroscience, cognitive science, psychology, and education, the Unified Learning Model (ULM) provides this integration by merging a statistical learning mechanism …

A Collective Case Study Of The Nature Of Form-Focused Instruction Among Secondary English As A Second Language Teachers, Sevda Budak

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The nature of teaching expertise for form-focused instruction (FFI) in secondary schools has received little research attention. FFI research that has been carried out so far has devoted time in exploring the classification of one form of FFI, or the effectiveness of one form of FFI over another. Given that exploring teaching expertise for FFI in a natural classroom setting is necessary in order to bring out the interplay of factors influencing and prioritized by the teacher in choosing how to proceed instructionally. Furthermore, student experiences of teacher FFI have been largely ignored. Giving voice to student perspectives will help …

Application Of Bradford's Law Of Scattering To The Literature Of Library & Information Science: A Study Of Doctoral Theses Citations Submitted To The Universities Of Maharashtra, India, Vijay Ganesh Wardikar Viju

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

ABSTRACT

Application of Bradford's Law of Scattering is one of the bibliometric law, which is used most commonly in bibliometric research. The paper gives a review of the contribution in Library & Information Science & theoretical aspects of the law. A study carried out on the data of journals cited by Ph.D. research scholars at the universities in Maharashtra for their doctoral research. To examine the applicability of Bradford's Law of Scattering, study include 798 periodical containing 5467 references collected form 138 theses during the period 1982-2010. Rank list was prepared and Annals of Library Science and Documentation took top …

Community College Pathways: A Narrative Inquiry With One Student, Philip Ross

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Developmental education is a field that has a long history in higher education in the United States. Some have called it remedial education, but the field promotes a pedagogy that addresses what it claims is broader in the development of the whole person, his or cognitive, social/behavioral, and vocational growth. This study, set in a Midwestern community college, acknowledges the absence of recognition of the role of developmental education in higher education and responds to a lack of qualitative research in this area. A six-month study using narrative inquiry results in the documentary Crossroads Community College: Flying Solo and following …

Perceptions Of Positive Youth Development Experiences Related To Rural Hispanic Youth Academic Success, Jill A. Goedeken

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Understanding the struggles rural Hispanic youth face academically, learning more about their perceptions of positive youth development experiences relating to their academic success connects the essence of the two experiences. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore rural Hispanic youths’ perceptions of positive youth development experiences as they relate to their academic success. The phenomenological design was chosen to explore the essence of the shared experiences of positive youth development experiences among rural Hispanic youth in the Columbus, Nebraska, community. To understand a possible perceived connection between positive youth development experiences to academic success, 28 Hispanic youth from …

La Preparación De Los Maestros Para Afrontar La Diversidad En La Escuela. Estudio Comparativo Entre Castilla-La Mancha Y El Estado De Nebraska / Training Teachers To Deal With Diversity In School. Comparative Study Of Castilla-La Mancha And The State Of Nebraska, Olga Elwes Aguilar, Aránzazu Bernardo Jiménez, Maria Victoria Guadamillas Gómez, Theresa Catalano, Thomas Mcgowan

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

El presente artículo, de naturaleza comparativa, pretende estudiar la preparación de los maestros para atender la diversidad lingüística y cultural en las aulas en dos contextos diferentes a simple vista, pero que presentan ciertos paralelismos (Nebraska-Lincoln, EEUU y Castilla-La Mancha, España). En primer lugar, analizaremos la literatura existente; posteriormente, propondremos una hipótesis de partida sobre dicha preparación lingüística y didáctica en el trabajo con niños inmigrantes sobre tres ejes fundamentales: la formación de los maestros a nivel universitario a través de encuestas, la práctica educativa a través de entrevistas y la revisión de los planes de estudio. Por último, y …

Home Visits: A Way Of Connecting With Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Families, Stephanie Wessels

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Home visits allow ELL educators to learn more about culturally and linguistically diverse families’ interactions and experiences and build on those activities in the educational setting. The visits can provide an amazing source of information regarding the socio-cultural processes, academic, and linguistic development of students. Home visits are a start to relationship building between teachers and parents where everyone benefits. ELL teachers benefit from learning more about their students’ interests and cultural experiences. Parents benefit from the teachers showing how much they care and value what the parents have to offer to the educational process. Students benefit the most from …

Media Discourse And Dual Language Programs: A Critical Linguistic Analysis, Theresa Catalano, Aleidine Kramer Moeller

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Much research exists that discusses the benefits of dual language education (DLE) as well as the political, historical and social factors involved in the implementation (or lack of) of DLE in the United States. However, little attention has focused on how these programs are presented in media discourse. This study aims to fill this gap by examining media discourse and how DLE is currently relayed to the public. Twenty-nine online articles from US news sources were collected and analyzed as regards linguistic strategies used in media discourse of DLE. Findings reveal the prevailing metaphors used in multilingual/monolingual discourse to be …

Hardy, Darwin, And The Art Of Moral Husbandry, Owen Roberts-Day

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study of the influence of Charles Darwin on Thomas Hardy's tragic novels centers on two key concepts in the work of Darwin. The first is Darwin's narrative of the evolution of morality, which describes moral decisions as a struggle for survival between various instincts, habits, and customs, both within the individual and within society as a whole. Of particular importance is the role of reason and sympathy in overcoming base and selfish instincts. The second is the idea, introduced in Origin, that the work of scientific breeders represents an act of Conscious Selection, a separate form of evolution …

Cehs Student Research Conference Program

The Nebraska Educator: A Student-Led Journal

Welcome – Dr. Jon Pedersen

Keynote Address: Dr. Kenneth Howe, University of Colorado, Boulder.

Poster Session

Paper Sessions

Panel Sessions

Graduate Student Awards and Presentations

Student Panel: Advice for Beginning Graduate Students

Teaching Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Students: A Phenomenological Study Of Volunteer Teachers' Learning Curve, Jessica Sierk

The Nebraska Educator: A Student-Led Journal

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to explore and describe the experiences of former Cristo Rey Jesuit High School teacher volunteers. The experiences of these teacher volunteers include how they learned to teach on the job, as well as how they developed the intercultural competence necessary to work with culturally and linguistically diverse students.

Central Question: What meaning do former Cristo Rey Jesuit High School teacher volunteers attribute to their learning to teach process?

Cehs Student Research Conference Program--Abstracts

The Nebraska Educator: A Student-Led Journal

Papers and Panels

Posters

Review Of The Dead Sea Scrolls In Context: Integrating The Dead Sea Scrolls In The Study Of Ancient Texts, Languages, And Cultures, Edited By Armin Lange, Emanuel Tov, And Matthias Weigold, In Association With Bennie H. Reynolds Iii., Sidnie White Crawford

Sidnie White Crawford Publications

These two massive volumes comprise the proceedings of a conference of the same name held at the University of Vienna in February 2008. The purpose of the conference, and the proceedings volumes, in the words of the editors, is “to integrate the Dead Sea Scrolls fully into the various disciplines that benefit from the discovery of these very important texts” (vol. 1, p. x). As a result, the papers contained in these volumes are wideranging, written by specialists in the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) as well as in other disciplines. The volumes will thus appeal to scholars in a variety …

Lakoff’S Theory Of Moral Reasoning In Presidential Campaign Advertisements, 1952–2012, Damien S. Pfister, Jessy J. Ohl, Marty Nader, Dana Griffin

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

This study examines the presence and distribution of George Lakoff’s Strict Father and Nurturant Parent paradigms of moral reasoning in presidential campaign advertisements between 1952 and 2012. Results show that Republicans outpace Democrats in the general use of moral reasoning and that Republicans are far more likely to use Strict Father language than Democrats. The study found no difference in the use of Strict Father= Nurturant Parent morality throughout history, during times of war and recession, or if the candidate was an incumbent. The Strict Father and Nurturant Parent models of moral reasoning were also evaluated based on their relationship …

Linguafolio Goal Setting Intervention And Academic Achievement: Increasing Student Capacity For Self-Regulated Learning, Oxana D. Clarke

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In the last few decades there has been a shift from thinking less about teaching and more about learning. Such a paradigm shift from teacher-centered to student-centered instruction requires students to think about their own learning and to monitor their own learning development and language achievement. Researchers have identified goal setting and self-regulated learning as crucial factors that affect academic achievement. Goal setting improves student performance and enhances achievement by allocating attention, activating effort, increasing persistence and motivation which in turn leads to the development of self-regulation skills. With this belief, LinguaFolio was integrated into foreign language classrooms to support …

Remarkable Russian Women In Pictures, Prose And Poetry, Marcelline Hutton

Zea E-Books Collection

Many Russian women of the late 19th and early 20th centuries tried to find happy marriages, authentic religious life, liberal education, and fulfilling work as artists, doctors, teachers, and political activists. Some very remarkable ones found these things in varying degrees, while others sought unsuccessfully but no less desperately to transcend the generations-old restrictions imposed by church, state, village, class, and gender.

Like a Slavic “Downton Abbey,” this book tells the stories, not just of their outward lives, but of their hearts and minds, their voices and dreams, their amazing accomplishments against overwhelming odds, and their roles as feminists and …

Protecting The Civil Rights Of English Language Learners Today: A Study Of The Recent Doj And Ocr Investigations Of Selected School Districts In The United States, Omobola Oyeleye

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of the study was to examine the circumstances and practices that led to OCR and DOJ investigations in seven selected school districts, and to determine the emerging themes from the details of the settlement agreements between the school districts and the United States. The themes developed through this study were aimed at providing a framework for school officials all across the nation, assisting them to examine their practices and align the practices with the results of the recent investigations and settlement agreements.

Representing the intermingling of the field of law and education, the study addressed the question: What …

Poets Of Kashmir: A Digital Library, Mudasir Khazer Rather, Bilal Gani Bhat

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Abstract

Kashmir has remained a seat of learning and knowledge, religious and philosophical discourses since centuries. Kashmir has a rich and vibrant cultural history and a tradition of learning and scholarly pursuit since times immemorial. Through the ages, it has been a melting pot of ideas, which have been distilled into the finest traditions of learning, tolerance and cultural cohesion. These ideas have been portrayed by different writers, Poets and historians from time to time. Unfortunately, very less information pertaining to these cultural icons is available. The main aim of this work is to build a Digital collection of biographies …

Self-Efficacy For Metalinguistic Control And Its Relationship To Writing Quality, Michael S. Dempsey

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Currently influential models of writing processes, such as Flower and Hayes (1980) and Hayes (1996) do not attend explicitly to metalinguistics—writers’ ability to monitor and control linguistic skills. Dimensions of metalinguistic ability—metaphonology, metasyntax, metasemantics, metapragmatics, and metatext—arguably are central to the writing process and to writers’ success as they compose. The purpose of this study was to discover if a relationship existed between metalinguistic self-efficacy and (1) ratings on essays written by participants and (2) participants’ self-reported average grade on college papers. Essays were rated using two rubrics, one analytic and the other holistic, which were developed from metalinguistic constructs. …

Use Of Social Networking Sites (Snss): A Study Of Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak, India, Anil Kumar, Rajinder Kumar

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This paper has made attempt to study the activities and reasons for using Social Networking Sites by the Post Graduate students and research scholars of Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak, India. A self structured questionnaire was distributed among the target population and primary data gathered through questionnaire were analysed and discussed in accordance with the objectives of the study. It was found that majority of the respondents to be aware and making use of such applications in their research work. The study also reveals that Facebook is the most popular SNSs among the all categories of students and research scholars.

Ell High School Students Of Mexican Ancestry: A Phenomenological Study Of Language Ideologies, Kristine Sudbeck

The Nebraska Educator: A Student-Led Journal

The formation of languages and dialects is frequently considered a social process (Gal & Irvine, 1995). As such, humans form their own ideologies about particular language varieties, placing values on certain ones in a given context more than others (Greenfield, 2010). The development of a person’s language ideology can be influenced by the profit of distinction, which Pierre Bourdieu (1984) describes as the “noted margin of difference for usefulness and prestige of a particular language” (p. 55). It is through the process of misrecognition (Bourdieu, 1984) that a particular language is “recognized as legitimate and appropriate for discourse in official …

Coming Full Circle, Suzanne Crawford O’Brien

University of Nebraska Press: Sample Books and Chapters

Coming Full Circle is an interdisciplinary exploration of the relationships between spirituality and health in several contemporary Coast Salish and Chinook communities in western Washington from 1805 to 2005. Suzanne Crawford O’Brien examines how these communities define what it means to be healthy, and how recent tribal community–based health programs have applied this understanding to their missions and activities. She also explores how contemporary definitions, goals, and activities relating to health and healing are informed by Coast Salish history and also by indigenous spiritual views of the body, which are based on an understanding of the relationship between self, ecology, …

Herta Müller, Bettina Brandt, Valentina Glajar

University of Nebraska Press: Sample Books and Chapters

Two languages—German and Romanian—inform the novels, essays, and collage poetry of Nobel laureate Herta Müller. Describing her writing as “autofictional,” Müller depicts the effects of violence, cruelty, and terror on her characters based on her own experiences in Communist Romania under the repressive Nicolae Ceauşescu regime.

Herta Müller: Politics and Aesthetics explores Müller’s writings from different literary, cultural, and historical perspectives. Part 1 features Müller’s Nobel lecture, five new collage poems, and an interview with Ernest Wichner, a German-Romanian author who has traveled with her and sheds light on her writing. Parts 2 and 3, featuring essays by scholars from …

Articulatory Distinctiveness Of Vowels And Consonants: A Data-Driven Approach, Jun Wang, Jordan R. Green, Ashok Samal, Yana Yunusova

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

Purpose: To quantify the articulatory distinctiveness of 8 major English vowels and 11 English consonants based on tongue and lip movement time series data using a data-driven approach.

Method: Tongue and lip movements of 8 vowels and 11 consonants from 10 healthy talkers were collected. First, classification accuracies were obtained using 2 complementary approaches: (a) Procrustes analysis and (b) a support vector machine. Procrustes distance was then used to measure the articulatory distinctiveness among vowels and consonants. Finally, the distance (distinctiveness) matrices of different vowel pairs and consonant pairs were used to derive articulatory vowel and consonant spaces …

Combined Erp/Fmri Evidence For Early Word Recognition Effects In The Posterior Inferior Temporal Gyrus, Joseph Dien, Eric S. Brian, Dennis L. Molfese, Brian T. Gold

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty and Staff Publications

Two brain regions with established roles in reading are the posterior middle temporal gyrus and the posterior fusiform gyrus. Lesion studies have also suggested that the region located between them, the posterior inferior temporal gyrus (pITG), plays a central role in word recognition. However, these lesion results could reflect disconnection effects since neuroimaging studies have not reported consistent lexicality effects in pITG. Here we tested whether these reported pITG lesion effects are due to disconnection effects or not using parallel ERP/fMRI studies. We predicted that the Recognition Potential (RP), a left-lateralized ERP negativity that peaks at about 200–250 ms, might …

Wikipedia-Type Disambiguation Functionality In Lcsh: A Recommendation, Daniel Canncasciato

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Abstract: A proposal for a modest change in LCSH practice (and RDA when chapter 23 is written) to provide a Wikipedia-type disambiguation function for subject headings in library catalogs. Such a change is cost effective, scalable, familiar, and system-agnostic. Furthermore, it is necessary for fulfillment of our catalog objectives.

Understanding The Language Of The Occupy Movement: A Cognitive Linguistic Analysis, Theresa Catalano, John W. Creswell

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

In the expanding area of narrative inquiry, researchers often battle with the decision of how to analyze/interpret data. The aim of this article is to propose the use of cognitive linguistics as a tool in narrative analysis using as a case illustration interviews conducted in October/November 2011 with participants in the Occupy movement (Occupy). Results expose important metaphors/metonymies that reveal much about the perception of the movement by its inceptors. Not only did the analysis present the movement as a war and a force against government corporations, oppression, and inequality, but it was also seen as a strong structure and …

The Mayaarch3d Project: A 3d Webgis For Analyzing Ancient Architecture And Landscapes, Jennifer Von Schwerin, Heather Richards-Rissetto, Fabio Remondino, Giorgio Agugario, Gabrio Girardi

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

There is a need in the humanities for a 3D WebGIS with analytical tools that allow researchers to analyze 3D models linked to spatially referenced data. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) allow for complex spatial analysis of 2.5D data. For example, they offer bird’s eye views of landscapes with extruded building footprints, but one cannot ‘get on the ground’ and interact with true 3D models from a pedestrian perspective. Meanwhile, 3D models and virtual environments visualize data in 3D space, but analytical tools are simple rotation or lighting effects. The MayaArch3D Project is developing a 3D WebGIS—called QueryArch3D—to allow these two …

Science As A Second Language: Integrating Science And Vocabulary Instruction For English Language Learners, Stephanie Wessels

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

In recent years, educators have become ever more aware of the critical role that vocabulary knowledge plays in the academic lives of their students. Vocabulary knowledge is fundamental to the comprehension of text and is most effective when it relates new words to students’ existing vocabulary and background knowledge. Effective vocabulary instruction provides multiple exposures through rich and varied activities that are meaningful and relevant to English learning (EL) students (Marzano 2004). This helps them gain ownership and understanding of the words, instead of just learning them well enough to pass a test. Nagy and Scott (2000) noted that “knowing …

Word Recognition From Continuous Articulatory Movement Time-Series Data Using Symbolic Representations, Jun Wang, Arvind Balasubramanian, Luis Mojica De La Vega, Jordan R. Green, Ashok Samal, Balakrishnan Prabhakaran

CSE Conference and Workshop Papers

Although still in experimental stage, articulation-based silent speech interfaces may have significant potential for facilitating oral communication in persons with voice and speech problems. An articulation-based silent speech interface converts articulatory movement information to audible words. The complexity of speech production mechanism (e.g., co-articulation) makes the conversion a formidable problem. In this paper, we reported a novel, real-time algorithm for recognizing words from continuous articulatory movements. This approach differed from prior work in that (1) it focused on word-level, rather than phoneme-level; (2) online segmentation and recognition were conducted at the same time; and (3) a symbolic representation (SAX) was …