Digital Commons Network^™

All Sports, All The Time: Sports Talk Radio And Its Uses By Listeners., Andrew W. Peacock

Student Work

Over the past few decades, sports talk radio has become an increasingly popular communication vehicle for delivering and consuming sports news. However, there is limited research to indicate how sports fans interact and connect through sports talk radio. Further, do sports fans incorporate the topics they hear on sports talk radio into their daily sports conversations with friends and other sports fans? How are sports fans using the information they hear on sports talk radio shows? How do fans use sports information in building and maintaining relationships? The goal of this study is to examine the role of sports talk …

Can A Community Of Practice Be Established At Org X?, Kasturi Golla

Student Work

Communities of Practice (CoP's) can preserve the knowledge of an organization by pooling together individuals who share the same goals and are determined to build their level of knowledge through 'innovative interaction'(Wenger, 1998). CoP's help organizations pool together their knowledge of value, keeping in mind the organization's business processes. This study was conducted in order to establish a CoP in the I/S department at Org X, by first identifying knowledge sharing barriers and the measures that could be taken to eliminate these barriers. This research is aimed at answering three primary questions: 1. What are the barriers that prevent employees …

A Case Study Of Effective Practices For The Management Of Global Software Development Projects, Mudita Agarwal

Student Work

Global software development has proliferated in recent years because of rapid globalization, development of telecommunication and information technologies, and maturing of the software development processes. This thesis synthesizes available research on the global software development paradigm into an integrated model. The theoretical study analyzes different aspects of dispersion, their effect on traditional group processes of communication, coordination and control, and the recommendations in the literature for addressing some of these issues. The model developed in the theoretical study was then used to perform a detailed case study of a CMM Level 5 software company that specializes in global software development. …

The Urban Transportation Decision-Making Process: A Qualitative Examination Of Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area, Aleksandra Georgieva Tepedelenova

Student Work

This thesis focuses on the transportation decision-making process in urban areas with a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). It recognizes the importance of transportation planning for decision-making, in that planning supports decision-making. This research is a qualitative case study, which examines transportation decision-making in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. The Metropolitan Area Planning Agency (MAPA) is the MPO of the urban area. Responsible parts for transportation planning are the MAPA Transportation Technical Advisory Committee (TTAC) and the MAPA Council of Officials. The researcher conducts a series of interviews with members of the two groups in order to address the research questions. …

Regional Economic Issues: Determinants Of Recession Duration And Determinants Of New Firm Formation, Angela M. Kuhlmann

Student Work

Why are some regional economies able to outperform those of other regions? Using state-level data in two separate analyses, this thesis shows that industrial diversity is one potential answer. Industrial diversity is calculated using the Herfindahl index. In the first model, duration analysis on state recessions occurring between 1979 and 1996 indicates that an increase in industrial diversity is associated with shorter recessions. Other determinants of recession duration include unemployment, change in real income per capita, proportion of non-white workers, total population, and change in population growth. In the second model, regression analyses on 2001 firm formation rates show that …

The Effect Of A Dialogic Reading Intervention On The Emergent Literacy Skills Of Preschool Students, Alicia M. Domack

Student Work

Seventeen children enrolled in a preschool for four-year-old children were separated into a dialogue reading intervention group and a control group. Dialogic reading involves making children active participants in the adult-child storybook reading process. Adults prompt children to talk about the book by asking questions. The intervention group received dialogic reading in small groups for six weeks. It was found that there was no significant improvement in emergent literacy skill in the intervention group as measured by the Developing Skills Checklist, but the children in the intervention group were actively engaged in the reading process a larger percentage of the …

Elementary School Principals' Perceptions Of Their Needs For Professional Development In Instructional Leadership, Michael N. Smith Jr.

Student Work

The purpose of this study was to assess Nebraska elementary principals' perceptions of their need for further instructional leadership professional development. Relationships were examined between the Nebraska elementary principals' perceptions and various demographic variables. The independent variables were defined as (1) the principal's personal characteristics—age, gender, years of teaching experience, highest degree earned, age at first administrative appointment, years of experience as a principal, years in current position, and (2) the individual elementary school's characteristics—school size, district size, grades embraced by the school, and the school's socio-economic status.

Exploring Teachers' Perceptions Of Their Preparedness For Culturally Responsive Teaching, Mary T. Brauch Petersen

Student Work

This study sought to examine how teachers perceived they were prepared for culturally responsive teaching (CRT). CRT refers to the ability of a teacher to use prior knowledge or experience to either teach children of diversity certain content topics or to teach all children in the classroom cultural topics. Culturally responsive teaching is demonstrated by teachers' possessing" (a) knowledge and sensitivity about cultural influences, (b) ability to provide a supportive learning context, (c) appropriate instruction and assessment, and (d) facilitation of parental involvement" (Daunic, Correa, & Reyes-Blanes, 2004, p. 106).

A New Model For Heat Dissipation In A Data Center., Karthikeyan Ragunathan

Student Work

Current data centers are designed to provide cooling systems on the basis of power consumption of all IT equipments divided by the total data center floor spaces or divided by area covered by the IT rack enclosures and their clearances. But uniform power density is not a real scenario in data centers, where some racks draw more power & consequently generate more heat than others. This project approaches a creative solution providing a better feasible model for heat dissipation.

An Interactive Online Tutoring System (Lots) For Central Dogma Of Molecular Biology, Zoe Xin Song

Student Work

Tutoring education has existed for years since the computer was invented. These systems are designed to help students to achieve their study goals. Presently, as computer technology becomes more advanced thousands of Web Based Training (WBT) and Computer Based Training (CBT) applications have been made available as tutoring systems. As various tutoring systems built, a system reuse situation rises. How could we easily apply the same tutoring system on different education subjects without doing additional code? To make this possible, and gain a more flexible architecture, we developed Interactive Online Tutoring System (IOTS). IOTS is transformed based on the ideas …

Nonlinear Multiregressions Based On Choquet Integral For Data With Both Numerical And Categorical Attributes., Jin Hui

Student Work

Based on generalized Choquet integrals with respect to signed fuzzy measures, a model of nonlinear multiregression that can catch the interaction among predictive attributes toward the objective attribute can be established. In this model, some predictive attributes are numerical while the others are categorical. A numericalization technique is adopted to project each state of a categorical attribute that has more than two states to a multi-dimensional space optimally through a genetic algorithm, in which some regression coefficients are determined from data. To reduce the complexity of the genetic algorithm, the other regression coefficients such as the values of the signed …

Similarity And Cluster Analysis Of Time Series Data Using R*-Trees., Jiaxiong Pi

Student Work

Two important issues related to time series data are similarity analysis and cluster analysis. There are two different, but related issues. Regarding to similarity analysis, although R*-Tree based method is most promising, its performance suffers from the so­called "dimensionality curse" and thus dimensionality reduction is needed for it to function efficiently. In this thesis, we use PCA as a dimensionality reduction method in similarity analysis of time series. A similarity tool is developed with dimensionality reduction modules PCA, DFT and PAA included. Compared with DFT and PAA, PCA demonstrates better distance conservation property after dimensionality reduction, cheaper query time and …

Elementary Cellular Automata, Fractal Dimensions And Mutual Information., Naomi Kochi

Student Work

We explore a quantitative description of Wolfram's classification of elementary cellular automata based on fractal dimensions. We find the· fractal dimension to be a global measure in classifying elementary cellular automata independent of initial conditions. On the other hand, the results of our analysis of rules in Class 3 numerically confirm the existence of a wide range of dynamics among rules in Class 3. The main reason for this is due to the fact that the rules with the Sierpinski structure in Class 3 have the capacity to behave like rules in Class 2 depending on their initial conditions. Furthermore, …

The Confessions Of The Madison Henderson Gang, Mark K. Reuter

Student Work

In 1841, Adam B. Chambers, the editor of The Missouri Republican, published a pamphlet containing the texts of his interviews with four African Americans convicted of bank robbery and murder. Because these narratives cover the lives of three free men of color and one quasi-free slave, they present a view of the antebellum African American experience that has been understudied. The existing canon of African American narratives and secondary research focuses on slaves. While few studies have examined the lives of free blacks, most of those have focused on the African American elite. This project brings to light the lives …

Alternative Methods For Identifying Groups Of Neighborhoods To Support The Development Of Alliances In Omaha, Nebraska, Heather L. Bloom

Student Work

Omaha by Design’s (OBD) initiative, Neighborhood Omaha, identifies groups of neighborhoods as planning units. Objective methods can be used to identify alternative groupings of neighborhoods into alliances for sub-area planning. For alliances to be successful, neighborhoods need to be drawn together based on similar characteristics, specifically neighborhood demographics. This study asserts that neighborhood, business and miscellaneous associations can be analyzed using two-step cluster analysis to determine demographic, problem and identity similarity. An analysis of the neighborhoods east of 72nd Street, as identified by the City of Omaha Planning Department, resulted in the creation 11 multi-neighborhood alliances.

Citizens Contacting The Police: The Dynamics Of Police-Citizen Interactions During Two Voluntary Contacts, Tracie L. Toscano

Student Work

The thesis investigates two types of citizen initiated contacts with the police using data from the Bureau of Justice, “Contacts Between Police And The Public: Findings From The 1999 National Survey.” The two types of contacts examined are citizens asking for assistance from the police and citizens reporting neighborhood problems to the police. It was hypothesized that there are differences between citizens calling the police during these two contacts by demographic variables income, gender, age, and race. The descriptive findings were that people with higher income, females, between the ages of 25-44, and Whites call the police more than citizens …

Eliza Orzeszkowa: Polish Patriot, Positivist Writer, Social Critic And Feminist., Aneta Maria Czarnik

Student Work

Eliza Orzeszkowa (1841-1910) became one of most popular and influential authors of the Positivist movement in Polish arts, letters, and politics during the later nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when Poles experienced economic and social instability and foreign political repression. Orzeszkowa achieved renown as a writer of realistic fiction, as a pioneering Polish feminist, and as a vigorous advocate of political and social reform who sought to challenge all discrimination based on gender, ethnicity, and religious affiliation. Many of her publications dealt with the emancipation of women, the assimilation of Jews, and the integration of the Polish peasantry into the …

The Role Of Culture, Ethics And Credibility In The Misuse Of Anonymous Sources: Jayson Blair And The New York Times Scandal, Elizabeth Cajka

Student Work

In May 2003, The New York Times announced that a young star reporter, Jayson Blair, had made up sources and interviews and has stolen information from other reporters’ work. On May 11, the Times used four full pages to report on Blair’s mistakes and lies, printing corrections in hopes of restoring his credibility (Barry, Barstow, Glater, Liptak, & Strinberg, 2003). The scandal also led to the resignations of executive editor Howell Rains and managing editor Gerald Boyd. This was one among a series of such cases in the history of American journalism.

I That Am Lord Of Lif: The Christ-Knight Figure Of The Ancrene Riwle, Piers Plowman, And The Faerie Queene, Melissa Ann Conroy

Student Work

Throughout medieval literature, the allegory of Christ as a knight appeared in numerous text, and the Christ-Knight figure was an extremely important literary, religious, cultural, and historical force. This thesis traces the origins and the first appearance of the Christ-Knight figure in English literature and analyzes three prominent medieval and early modern text which offer depictions of the figure.

An Evaluation Of Wetland No Net Loss And Mitigation Under Section 404 Of The Clean Water Act On The Santa Rosa Plain, Sonoma County, California., Teresa M. Silence

Student Work

The Santa Rosa Plain (Plain), Sonoma County, California, has lost 85% of its vernal pools, affecting the survival of four threatened and endangered species. The ability of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act to achieve the goal of no net loss is a particular importance in areas, such as the Plain, where wetland resources have become severely impacted. The objective of the study was to determine if a no net loss of wetland area occurred on the Plain, to evaluate the implementation of the Santa Rosa Plain programmatic permit, and to examine trends associated with compensatory medication. Fifty-two Section …

Physiological Profile Of Olympic Style Tae Kwon Do Match, Georgios C. Korellis

Student Work

Olympic style Tae Kwon Do training may achieve accepted training intensity threshold for effective aerobic capacity training, energy expenditure thresholds and elevation in excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. Little work regarding the acute metabolic demands during Olympic style Tae Kwon Do competition has been done before. The purpose of this study was to examine the physiological demands of a match in Olympic style Tae Kwon Do. Physiological assessment included measurement of oxygen uptake (V 02), heart rate (HR), blood lactate concentration (BL), rate of perceived exertion (RPE) and body temperature (BT). A total of 7 subjects between the ages of 19 …

Bioenergetics And Time-Motion Analysis Of Competitive Basketball, Kenji Narazaki

Student Work

Basketball has been considered to require players to employ extensive amount of energy throughout games. However, research findings regarding bioenergetic traits and demands of actual basketball performance has been considerably limited. The purpose of this study was to describe and assess bioenergetic traits of actual basketball performance in collegiate female and male players by measuring oxygen consumption (V02), heart rate (HR), blood lactate concentration (BLC), as well as rating of perceived exertion (RPE), and performing a time-motion analysis in team scrimmages. Six female and six male collegiate basketball players (20,0 ±1.2 and 20.8 ± 0.9 years old, respectively) were asked …

An Evaluation Of The Douglas County Day Reporting Center, Dae-Young Kim

Student Work

The purpose of the present study was to understand the nature of the DRC's clients and the roles of the DRC as a mechanism of informal social control in the context of the Nebraska State/Douglas County Criminal Justice System. More specifically, as a preliminary evaluation of the DRC, this research will determine whether the program has been working as intended. The current study pursued two main goals: (1) identifying the demographic and case variables that determine successful completion of the program (i.e., graduation) and recidivism and (2) identifying the types of effective and ineffective treatment for an offender's reintegration. In …

Physiological Profile Of Olympic Style Tae Kwon Do Match, Georgios C. Korellis

Student Work

Olympic style Tae Kwon Do training may achieve accepted training intensity threshold for effective aerobic capacity training, energy expenditure thresholds and elevation in excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. Little work regarding the acute metabolic demands during Olympic style Tae Kwon Do competition has been done before. The purpose of this study was to examine the physiological demands of a match in Olympic style Tae Kwon Do. Physiological assessment included measurement of oxygen uptake (V 02), heart rate (HR), blood lactate concentration (BL), rate of perceived exertion (RPE) and body temperature (BT).

A total of 7 subjects between the ages of 19 …

An Empirical Study Of High School Principals' Data -Driven Decision-Making Practices And Their Relationships To Contextual Variables, Mingchu (Neal) Luo

Student Work

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which Nebraska high school principals practiced data-driven decision-making and to determine the relationships between principals' data-driven decision-making and the contextual factors. The following leadership dimensions were surveyed: school vision, school instruction, school organization, collaborative partnerships, moral perspective, and larger-context politics. Three categories of contextual variables were included for study: principal characteristics as people factors, leadership dimensions as problem factors, and school setting as organization factors.

Private Odyssey: Responsibilities, Challenges, And Needs Of The Beginning Catholic School Principal, Dorothy A. Ostrowski

Student Work

This dissertation describes a multi-case, qualitative study involving six participants from a Midwestern, Catholic diocese and explores the responsibilities, challenges, and needs of the beginning Catholic school principal. The dissertation contains an extensive review of the literature and describes the design and procedures of the study with a summary of the methods and analysis strategies. Job descriptions, interviews, and written responses to provided reflection questions are the primary data sources.

Solving Nonlinear Optimization Problems That Have A Nondifferentiable Objective Function By Using A Pseudo Gradient Search., Marie Louise Spilde

Student Work

The gradient search fails in an optimization problem where the objective function is not differentiable--such as nonlinear multiregressions based on generalized Choquet integrals. In cases such as this, we may replace the gradient search with a pseudo gradient search to determine the optimal search direction. The pseudo gradient can be obtained algorithmically from a data set containing the objective attribute and relevant arguments of the objective function. The algorithm for the pseudo gradient search is based on a neural network model which uses statistical techniques such as root mean square error to determine the optimal search direction and the optimal …

Implementation Of Wireless Connection Between Personal Digital Assistant (Pda) And Relational Database., Wantit Tangrugsasut

Student Work

The significant number of mobile devices such as cellular phones, smart phones and PDA usages are increasing rapidly in recent year. Popularity of wireless connection along with the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA); Pocket PC, Palm and Windows CE have been growing significantly as well. Applications have been designed and developed for mobile devices base on the personal and business usage purposes. These applications can be define as mobile applications. Even though, the number Pocket PC, Palm or other handheld devices usage are growing, the design and implementation of mobile applications for these devices is still currently a novelty for most …

Play Assessment: The Effects Of Peer Interaction On Children's Cognitive Capabilities., Korrinda Mendez

Student Work

Play Assessment (PA) has recently gained the attention of researchers as a potential valid assessment tool for determining the cognitive capabilities in younger children. O f particular importance is the use o f PA among various contexts. Specifically, PA can provide insight into the types of contextual situations that promote higher levels of cognitive skills in younger children. The present study explored peer interactions as a contextual aspect of PA using the PACSS empirical coding scheme to determine the highest level of play behavior. According to the present study, results did not yield any significant differences in overall cognitive play …

The Relationship Between Rhetorical Sensitivity, Locus Of Control, And Religiosity Among College Students, Paul J. Hartzell

Student Work

This study looked at the relationship between rhetorical sensitivity, locus of control and religiosity amongst college students at three fundamentally different college institutions. Data were collected from 235 students. Results revealed that students belonging to the most religiously fundamental group have significant differences from students outside that same group. A major finding was discovery of a positive relationship between rhetorical reflectomess and fundamental religiosity as well as a negative relationship between rhetorical sensitivity and fundamental religiosity. Also a significant but modest relationship was found between external locus of control and rhetorical sensitivity and between internal locus of control and noble …