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Sequences Of Near-Optimal Feedforward Neural Networks, Pramod Lakshmi Narasimha Aug 2007

Sequences Of Near-Optimal Feedforward Neural Networks, Pramod Lakshmi Narasimha

Electrical Engineering Dissertations - Archive

In order to facilitate complexity optimization in feedforward networks, several integrated growing and pruning algorithms are developed. First, a growing scheme is reviewed which iteratively adds new hidden units to full-trained networks. Then, a non-heuristic one-pass pruning technique is reviewed, which utilizes orthogonal least squares. Based upon pruning, a one-pass approach is developed for producing the validation error versus network size curve. Then, a combined approach is devised in which grown networks are pruned. As a result, the hidden units are ordered according to their usefulness, and less useful units are eliminated. In several examples, it is shown that networks …

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Dynamic Push And Pull Strategy Based On Data Interpolation For Web Sensor Networks, Rohita Mohan Aug 2007

Dynamic Push And Pull Strategy Based On Data Interpolation For Web Sensor Networks, Rohita Mohan

Computer Science and Engineering Theses - Archive

Sensor Web, a new trend has been developed recently to effectively network large scale deployed heterogeneous sensors with Internet to make sensor data discoverable, accessible and controllable via World Wide Web. Since sensor nodes are highly resource constrained, continuous back hauling of a large amount of data is not feasible. In this paper, we propose a dynamic push/pull service architecture where sensory quality is dynamically monitored and controlled. The architecture is implemented in a web proxy residing at the gateway of the network. As data is being pushed continuously from the network for effective sketching of the sensing field, interpolation …

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Effects Of Age And Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (Cpr) Techniques On Characteristics Of Muscle Fatigue In Females Trained In Cpr Administration, Jesal N. Parekh Aug 2007

Effects Of Age And Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (Cpr) Techniques On Characteristics Of Muscle Fatigue In Females Trained In Cpr Administration, Jesal N. Parekh

Kinesiology Theses - Archive

Cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a widely popular and recommended assessment and intervention technique for life threatening conditions resulting from cardio-pulmonary disorders. As per the American Heart Association® 2005 revised guidelines for CPR administration, the rescuer is required to perform chest compressions and ventilations in the ratio of 30:2 at a rate of 100 compressions per minute with minimal interruption to chest compressions. In the process of CPR administration, the rescuer is likely to experience fatigue over time with continual compressions and ventilations. Fatigue is expected to manifest through variations in the rescuer's muscle activity, changes in joint kinetics and …

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Combustion Synthesis And Doping Of Titanium Dioxide, Walter Alexander Morales Aug 2007

Combustion Synthesis And Doping Of Titanium Dioxide, Walter Alexander Morales

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses - Archive

A novel combustion technique was used for the preparation and doping of titanium dioxide (TiO2). This metal oxide of titanium is a large band gap semiconductor (3.0 - 3.2 eV) that primarily absorbs in the ultraviolet region of the electromagnietic spectrum. However, the combustion synthesized TiO2 (CS-TiO2) prepared here, presented a shift in the absorption of light to the visible region of the spectrum and a high photocatalytic activity toward the reduction of Cr(VI). The final product was characterized using X-ray powder difraction (XRD), difuse reectance spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Comparison to a commercial …

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Rate Of Diversification In Crickets (Orthoptera: Ensifera) And A Possible Role Of F Supergroup Wolbachia In Bush Crickets, Kanchana Panaram Aug 2007

Rate Of Diversification In Crickets (Orthoptera: Ensifera) And A Possible Role Of F Supergroup Wolbachia In Bush Crickets, Kanchana Panaram

Biology Dissertations - Archive

Part I: Rates of speciation can tell us more than how many species have survived over a period of time. They indicate whether there are some characteristics of organisms or biogeography scenarios facilitate or hinder speciation. Many groups of ensiferan insects (e.g. Hawaiian sword-tailed, North American ground and field crickets) have been reported to have rapid speciation rates. To investigate whether the pattern of rapid speciation is common in crickets, we estimated overall diversification rates as a whole and within the clade. Ensifera as a whole does not appear to have particularly rapid diversification rates compared to other insect suborders. …

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Qualitative Behavior Of Dynamical Vector Fields, Roger Dale Kirby Aug 2007

Qualitative Behavior Of Dynamical Vector Fields, Roger Dale Kirby

Mathematics Dissertations - Archive

Differential Equations come in two classes, deterministic and stochastic. The first part of this analysis establishes the stable properties of the set of all trajectories converging on a critical point in the real plane defined by two distinct negative eigenvalues. Also in the deterministic class I offer a method for finding closed-form primitives for a great variety of differential forms, through a reduction process facilitated by a Lyapunov-type Energy function. Many of these forms lie in classes which heretofore have not been shown to be solvable in closed form. The last part of this work outlines the appropriate procedures for …

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A Framework For Improving The Performance Of Application Servers In Next Generation Networks (Ngns), Sumantra R. Kundu Aug 2007

A Framework For Improving The Performance Of Application Servers In Next Generation Networks (Ngns), Sumantra R. Kundu

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Next generation networks (NGNs) such as IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) are completely built on the Internet Protocol (IP) suite. This has made IP the de facto standard for data networking, voice over IP (VoIP), and media rich applications such as streaming multimedia, ringtones, multi-player gaming, and high-definition video conferencing for remote interaction. A primary feature of such converged networks is that they use the same IP-based network for simultaneously delivering voice, video, and data. Such services are provided on application servers built using industry standard Advanced Telecom Computing Architecture (ATCA) based blade computing units with various flavors of commodity open …

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A Robust Cooperative Localization System For A Heterogeneous Team Of Small Unmanned Ground Vehicles, Veera Jawahar Vibeeshanan Aug 2007

A Robust Cooperative Localization System For A Heterogeneous Team Of Small Unmanned Ground Vehicles, Veera Jawahar Vibeeshanan

Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Engineering Dissertations - Archive

This dissertation presents an organic approach to the cooperative localization problem by sequentially solving the problems of sensor calibration, multi-sensor fusion filtering, and cooperative localization. Successful navigation of unmanned ground vehicles requires accurate localization. Localization refers to the determination of the pose (position and orientation) of an unmanned ground vehicle with respect to a local or a global frame of reference. Cooperative localization is suited to multi-vehicle systems where vehicles with better accuracy in localization can assist those with poor accuracy through communication and relative pose sensing. A parametric modeling approach is presented for sensor calibration. Designed experiments are conducted …

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Optimization Of Coupling From A Sub-Wavelength Metal Nanoaperture To A Gaussian Mode, Muthiah Annamalai Aug 2007

Optimization Of Coupling From A Sub-Wavelength Metal Nanoaperture To A Gaussian Mode, Muthiah Annamalai

Electrical Engineering Theses - Archive

We model the surface resonance effects in a 1D-array of corrugations on a metal-dielectric film with a sub-wavelength nanoaperture, following the earlier work by Moreno et-al [Moreno:2003]. We are interested in computing the coupling of the highly-directional light field emerging from the metal nanoaperture to the lowest-order Gaussian mode. We follow the approach by Vasilyev [Vasilyev:2005], to compute the coupling to a fundamental Gaussian mode. We have developed an optimization routine to compute the field emission patterns from a metal nanoaperture, resonant wavelength and transmission coupling to fundamental Gaussian mode for various geometrical parameters of the metal nanoastructure. We optimize …

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Do Spinal Fusions Necessarily Result In Poorer Therapeutic Outcomes?, Brian Rohan Theodore Aug 2007

Do Spinal Fusions Necessarily Result In Poorer Therapeutic Outcomes?, Brian Rohan Theodore

Psychology Theses - Archive

Controversy exists over the relationship between spinal fusion surgery and successful therapeutic outcomes. Common problems include unstandardized outcomes, ignoring the impact of the medico-legal system, and a paucity of investigations going beyond the surgical procedure itself. The present study compared patients who received spinal fusions against patients who did not, within the setting of a tertiary rehabilitation program (i.e. functional restoration) for work-related chronic disabling occupational spinal disorders. Program completers were prospectively evaluated on several objective one-year post-rehabilitation outcomes, including occupational status and level of healthcare utilization. The non-fusion group (N = 2,295) had a statistical advantage over the fusion …

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Louisiana Identity On Trial: The Superior Court Case Of Pierre Benonime Dormenon, 1790-1812, Erica Robin Johnson Aug 2007

Louisiana Identity On Trial: The Superior Court Case Of Pierre Benonime Dormenon, 1790-1812, Erica Robin Johnson

History Theses - Archive

Louisiana and Saint-Domingue have intertwined histories with a number of similarities and periods of various interactions, most notably during the Haitian Revolution from 1791-1804 and the flight of refugees from Cuba from 1805-1810. Usually the exchanges of goods, people, and ideas between the two French lands were one-way, from Saint-Domingue to Louisiana. Understanding the pasts of each region and the significance of relations between the two colonies seems daunting without a point of reference. The Superior Court Case of Pierre Benonime Dormenon demonstrates how the combination of larger events within the western hemisphere influenced the reception of immigrants from the …

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Cpted: Interpreting Contemporary Security Practices In The Era Of Homeland Security, Rebecca Lynn Wenzel Aug 2007

Cpted: Interpreting Contemporary Security Practices In The Era Of Homeland Security, Rebecca Lynn Wenzel

Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses - Archive

The actions taken by the United States Government to increase domestic security in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, under the guise of homeland security, clearly make use of the techniques and philosophies of crime prevention through environmental design. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine components of Homeland Security's domestic response, specifically the airport security measures implemented as a result of the attacks, and demonstrate that they are, in fact, components of the crime prevention through environmental design general theorem. However, because the Department of Homeland Security has not recognized these techniques as components …

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Impact Of An Exotic Parasitoid On Plutella Xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) Population Dynamics, Damage And Indigenous Natural Enemies In Kenya, B. Löhr, R. Gathu, C. Kariuki, J. Obiero, G. Gichini Aug 2007

Impact Of An Exotic Parasitoid On Plutella Xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) Population Dynamics, Damage And Indigenous Natural Enemies In Kenya, B. Löhr, R. Gathu, C. Kariuki, J. Obiero, G. Gichini

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Diadegma semiclausum (Hellén) (Hymenoptera: lchneumonidae), an exotic diamondback moth parasitoid, was released in two pilot areas (Werugha in Coast Region and Tharuni in Central Province) in Kenya. Fifteen month before release, observations on the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus), and local natural enemy population dynamics and pest damage were initiated in both areas and continued for three years after release. The P. xylostella population was bimodal with higher records during dry seasons. At Werugha, the peak population of P. xylostella was 16.8 per plant (October 2001); at Tharuni it was 12.8 (February 2002). Populations at Werugha declined from three months …

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Ceas E-News 07.24.2007, College Of Engineering And Applied Sciences Jul 2007

Ceas E-News 07.24.2007, College Of Engineering And Applied Sciences

College of Engineering and Applied Sciences News

Titania nano-research could reap environmental rewards

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Evaluation Of Competition Between Tress And Turfgrass In The Landscape: Comparison Of Rooting Dynamics, Christopher Hendrickson, Kelly L. Kopp, Heidi Kratsch Jul 2007

Evaluation Of Competition Between Tress And Turfgrass In The Landscape: Comparison Of Rooting Dynamics, Christopher Hendrickson, Kelly L. Kopp, Heidi Kratsch

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

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What Drives Firm-Level Consensus Growth Forecasts? Cash Flow News Or Expected Return News?, Giao X. Nguyen Jul 2007

What Drives Firm-Level Consensus Growth Forecasts? Cash Flow News Or Expected Return News?, Giao X. Nguyen

Business Administration Dissertations - Archive

Recent findings in the finance literature document that analysts adjust their growth forecasts in response to major news, proxied by large changes in company stock price. However, Campbell and Shiller (1988) argue that stock prices, themselves, carry two sets of information: news about changes in cash-flow expectation (i.e. cash flow news) and changes in discount rate (i.e. expected return news). The former one directly relates to changes in expectation about the fundamentals of the company while the latter one to the changes in market expectation. Hence, are analysts more concerned about expectation of the permanent movement in the stock price …

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Capacity Estimation Of Two-Sided Type C Weaves On Freeway, Phong Thanh Vo Jul 2007

Capacity Estimation Of Two-Sided Type C Weaves On Freeway, Phong Thanh Vo

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

A weaving section is a common design on major highway facilities that has been an interest to researchers for years. Weaving areas are characterized by frequent lane changes, which significantly reduce the capacity of the freeway system. The 2000 Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) defined weaving capacity as "any combination of flows that causes the density to reach the LOS E/F boundary condition of 43 pcpmpl for freeways" based on configuration, number of lanes in the weaving section, free-flow speed, length of the weave, and volume ratio (VR). However, no research has been focused on the two-sided type C weaves, which …

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The Effects Of Religious Fundamentalism On Individual Belonging, Thomas W. Moore Jul 2007

The Effects Of Religious Fundamentalism On Individual Belonging, Thomas W. Moore

Management Dissertations - Archive

In the last several years there has been an increase in the interest of religion in the workforce (Mitroff & Denton, 1999; Konz & Ryan, 1999; Mohamed, Wisnieski, Askar, & Syed, 2004; Marques & King, 2005). A number of reasons for this interest, such as the graying of the workforce, increased distrust of upper management, an increase in demand for longer work hours and higher profits, and recent reductions in employee retirement and health care benefits, have been theorized as some of the causes (Burack, 1999; Bell & Taylor, 2001; Mohamed et al, 2004). Although there has been increasing interest …

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Development Of Quality-Aware Video Systems And Nmr Spectrum Registration, Basavaraj Hiremath Jul 2007

Development Of Quality-Aware Video Systems And Nmr Spectrum Registration, Basavaraj Hiremath

Electrical Engineering Theses - Archive

The work introduces a novel concept of Quality-Aware Video (QAV) System and demonstrates its successful implementation. During the course, it develops algorithms for reduced reference video quality assessment and for data hiding. The idea here is to extract quality defining features of the video sequence and embed them in the original video without causing any perceptual changes to obtain QAV. Such a QAV can then be exposed to distortions and adverse attacks that affect the perceptual quality of the video. At the receiving end, the algorithm extracts the quality features of the distorted video, decode the original video quality features, …

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Modeling Isotropic Organs Using Beam Models For The Haptic Simulation Of Blunt Dissections Of Bile Duct, Vishal Dalmiya Jul 2007

Modeling Isotropic Organs Using Beam Models For The Haptic Simulation Of Blunt Dissections Of Bile Duct, Vishal Dalmiya

Electrical Engineering Theses - Archive

Haptic modeling of organs using existing approaches is still not realistic and/or real time. We propose and develop the mathematical foundation of a new approach to modeling organs using beams. Beams are well known entities in Civil and Structural engineering. We develop their mathematical properties in the context of organ characteristics. The real time advantage arises from the fact that a single beam implementation eliminates hundreds, if not thousands of mass springs from the traditional mass spring models and, thousands of polygons from the finite element method (FEM). Even more importantly, our derivation works for both large and small deflections. …

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Detection And Opportunistic Spectrum Access In Sensor Networks, Hung Dinh Ly Jul 2007

Detection And Opportunistic Spectrum Access In Sensor Networks, Hung Dinh Ly

Electrical Engineering Theses - Archive

This thesis examines target detection problems in Radar Sensor Networks (RSN) and opportunistic spectrum access problem in Cognitive Sensor Networks (CSN). First, studies on the Space-Time Adaptive Processing (STAP) and radar waveform design are provided. Investigation into the target detection performance gain of RSN when STAP and radar waveform design are combined in RSN is then performed. Studies in this thesis show that detection performance of RSN using our proposal is superior to that of a single radar system using STAP only. To further studies on target detection, the multi-target detection problem in RSN is also examined. Signal, interference, and …

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A Quasi-Experimental Design: Multisystemic Therapy As An Alternative Community-Based Treatment For Youth With Severe Emotional Disturbance, Kirstin Painter Jul 2007

A Quasi-Experimental Design: Multisystemic Therapy As An Alternative Community-Based Treatment For Youth With Severe Emotional Disturbance, Kirstin Painter

Social Work Dissertations - Archive

This study compared multisystemic therapy to usual services in a community mental health setting for emotionally disturbed youth with externalizing disorders. Usual services included the combination of case management with a family skills training curriculum. A secondary data analysis utilizing a pretest-post-test, quasi-experimental design was used. Eighty-seven youth were in each group and were matched based on gender (53% female, 47% male) and ethnicity (34 % African American, 54% Caucasian, 10% Hispanic, and 2% other). Findings of this study suggest that youth who received MST experienced more improved treatment outcomes across the combination of areas in their social ecology than …

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Consumer Perceptions Of Rebranding: The Case Of Logo Changes, Saleh Abdulaziz Alshebil Jul 2007

Consumer Perceptions Of Rebranding: The Case Of Logo Changes, Saleh Abdulaziz Alshebil

Business Administration Dissertations - Archive

This dissertation explores the topic of rebranding, an important topic that has mostly been covered by practitioner journals and the business press. The focus of this research is on a specific type of rebranding - logo changes. The objective was to get a better understanding of consumer perceptions of logo changes by investigating what goes on in the consumer's mind when exposed to a brand logo change in terms of "coping" with this change. After an extensive qualitative investigation, a model was developed that focused on how exposure to a logo change puts the consumer into a coping process through …

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Dynamic Chracteristics And Stability Analysis Of Muncipal Solid Waste In Bioreactor Landfills, Mohamed Adil Haque Jul 2007

Dynamic Chracteristics And Stability Analysis Of Muncipal Solid Waste In Bioreactor Landfills, Mohamed Adil Haque

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Bioreactor landfills are operated to enhance refuse decomposition, gas production, and waste stabilization. The major aspect of bioreactor landfill operation is the recirculation of generated leachate back through the refuse mass. Due to the accelerated decomposition and settlement of solid waste, bioreactor landfills are gaining popularity as an alternative to the conventional landfill designed under Subtitle D regulations. However, recirculation of leachate or addition of water to accelerate the waste decomposition changes the biodegradation and geotechnical characteristics of waste mass. Our understanding of changes in engineering characteristics of solid waste with accelerated decomposition is limited. There is a need to …

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A Grammar Of West Coast Bajau, Mark Turner Miller Jul 2007

A Grammar Of West Coast Bajau, Mark Turner Miller

Linguistics & TESOL Dissertations - Archive

This dissertation is a description of the grammar of West Coast (WC) Bajau, a western Austronesian language spoken in Sabah, Malaysia by some 60,000 people. Drawing extensively from elicited data as well as a corpus of compiled texts, I describe the language at its various levels: phonology, morphology, phrase structure, clause structure, clause-combining operations, and discourse. In its verbal morphology, WC Bajau shows a (marked) actor-orientation vs. (unmarked) undergoer orientation with both transitive and intransitive verb roots. I show evidence for a verb phrase in WC Bajau, in one (and possibly two) voices. Investigation of the pragmatic structure of the …

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Lead Directorship, Corporate Governance, And Firm Performance, Bo Ouyang Jul 2007

Lead Directorship, Corporate Governance, And Firm Performance, Bo Ouyang

Accounting Dissertations - Archive

This dissertation empirically explores the role of the lead directorship in the corporate governance system and strives to empirically examine the association between the lead directorship and firm performance. I measure firm performance by three empirical proxies: Tobin's Q, returns on assets (ROA) and stock returns. I explore the research question on the relationship between lead directorship and firm performance in both cross-sectional and inter-temporal contexts. The sample consists of S & P 500 firms from 2001 to 2004 that have all the required financial, stock returns, and other relevant information. Overall, the empirical results of both cross-sectional and inter-temporal …

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Game Theoretical Data Replication Techniques For Large-Scale Autonomous Distributed Computing Systems, Samee Ullah Khan Jul 2007

Game Theoretical Data Replication Techniques For Large-Scale Autonomous Distributed Computing Systems, Samee Ullah Khan

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Data replication in geographically dispersed servers is an essential technique for reducing the user perceived access time in large-scale distributed computing systems. A majority of the conventional replica placement techniques lack scalability and solution quality. To counteract such issues, this thesis proposes a game theoretical replica placement framework, in which autonomous agents compete for the allocation or reallocation of replicas onto their representative servers in a self-managed fashion. Naturally, each agent's goal is to maximize its own benefit. However, the framework is designed to suppress individualism and to ensure system-wide optimization. Using this framework as an environment, several cooperative and …

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The Effectiveness Of A Virtual Learning Environment On Student Learning About Clinical Skills, Eric Youn Jul 2007

The Effectiveness Of A Virtual Learning Environment On Student Learning About Clinical Skills, Eric Youn

Social Work Dissertations - Archive

The purpose of this study was to explore whether social work students could increase their clinical skills knowledge in a Clinical Skills Virtual Learning Environment (CS-VLE). The evaluation of an online exercise that was developed using experiential learning theory and other learning theories was seen as being the first step in challenging a noted theme within social work academia concerning the effectiveness of online environments in teaching clinical skills. This study assessed changes in knowledge, produced by exposure to a web-based clinical skills environment. Results showed significant changes in knowledge after exposure to the online environment as hypothesized. Results also …

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Spacing And The Delay-Retention Effect: An Alternative Explanation Of The Effects Of Feedback Timing On Semantic Learning, Troy Anthony Smith Jul 2007

Spacing And The Delay-Retention Effect: An Alternative Explanation Of The Effects Of Feedback Timing On Semantic Learning, Troy Anthony Smith

Psychology Theses - Archive

Current theoretical accounts of feedback timing effects on retention are problematic. Some predict that delayed feedback should lead to better retention; others predict that immediate feedback should lead to better retention. Previous empirical findings are unclear: Some studies have found an advantage for delayed feedback, some an advantage for immediate feedback, and some no difference. In three experiments involving new semantic learning, I tested the extent to which spacing and lag effects can account for these seemingly contradictory findings, based on predictions of the new theory of disuse (Bjork \& Bjork, 1992). Experiment 1 compared the effects of timing variations …

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A Study Examining Perception And Knowledge Of Criminology/Criminal Justice And Political Science Students On Terrorism As It Pertains To The Palestinian/Israeli Conflict, Michael Andrew Gossett Jul 2007

A Study Examining Perception And Knowledge Of Criminology/Criminal Justice And Political Science Students On Terrorism As It Pertains To The Palestinian/Israeli Conflict, Michael Andrew Gossett

Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses - Archive

The purpose of this study is to examine perception and knowledge of Criminology/Criminal Justice and Political Science majors. University of Texas at Arlington students were asked to identify scenarios related to actions taken by both Palestinians and Israelis as they pertain to terrorism. The data in this study were obtained from a sample of UTA students enrolled in both Criminology/Criminal Justice and Political Science courses. These findings revealed that both CRCJ and Political Science respondents share a similar propensity towards identifying terrorist acts. Additionally, the findings revealed a general lack of knowledge and familiarity with the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and an …

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