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Language Symmetry: A Force Behind Persuasion, Joseph Yeager, Linda Sommer

The Qualitative Report

Language operates according to rules. Rules mean prediction. The application of these language rules to persuasive campaigns through linguistic technology can result in major gains in advertising, political and marketing outcomes. For qualitative researchers in communications, marketing and messaging, one area of persuasive language technology can be found in the linguistic feature of symmetry. Language has many forms of symmetry, and most persuaders are unaware that a great deal of persuasion depends upon symmetrical message structures. In persuasion, a mirror image or symmetrical reflection of an attitude or opinion is more persuasive than a random or non-symmetrical message or idea. …

Investigating Esl Graduate Students’ Intercultural Experiences Of Academic English Writing: A First Person Narration Of A Streamlined Qualitative Study Process, Lianhong Gao

The Qualitative Report

This report is a first person narration of the entire process of a qualitative study exploring the impact of ESL students’ native cultural and rhetorical conventions, as well as classroom cultures on their academic English writing in American universities. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. A coding system was constructed to analyze transcriptions of the interviews. The study found that there were impacts of L1 culture on the students’ academic English writing, but their effects were minor. The main factors associated with ESL students’ English writing were their familiarity with the disciplinary contents and general composing skills. Implications for culturally …

Method And Writing: A Review Of Adams’ Narrating The Close, Sandra L. Faulkner

The Qualitative Report

The reviewer starts the review with her reading strategy of beginning with the discussion of the method. She argues that Adams’ work expands definitions of culture and what constitutes the field in ethnographic work in a beautifully written piece of autoethnography. Adams marries method, writing, and topic matter. The reviewer believes that this text would be appropriate for undergraduate and graduate students as well as those of us wanting an excellent example of autoethnography. In conclusion, the reviewer claims excitement to see where this will take ethnographers in the future, and especially those of us interested in the study of …

The Process Of Creation: A Novel Methodology For Analyzing Multimodal Data, Erica Rosenfeld Halverson, Michelle Bass, David Woods

The Qualitative Report

In the 21st century, meaning making is a multimodal act; we communicate what we know and how we know it using much more than printed text on a blank page. As a result, qualitative researchers need new methodologies, methods, and tools for working with the complex artifacts that our research subjects produce. In this article we describe the co-development of an analytic methodology and a tool for working with youth produced films as multimodal artifacts of youth engagement with identity. Specifically, we describe how to employ this multimodal framework in data analysis, with an emphasis on how different modes interact …

Mysteries And Qualitative Research? Review Of Mats Alvesson And Dan Kärreman’S Qualitative Research And Theory Development: Mystery As Method, Tom Strong

The Qualitative Report

In an era of postmodern and social constructionist thought, qualitative researchers have experienced method as a mess. This time of conflict and tension has contributed to concerns and questions about researchers’ interpretive and reflexive contributions to the study of social reality. Into these confusing times, Mats Alvesson and Dan Kärreman, social constructionist researchers, take a novel approach to how qualitative research can inform theory development. They suggest researchers embrace the mysteries when trying to make sense of social situations by taking a reflective and interpretive approach towards their empirical material to create results that can challenge established theory and thus …

Conducting Qualitative Data Analysis: Managing Dynamic Tensions Within, Part One, Ronald J. Chenail

The Qualitative Report

In the third of a series of “how-to” essays on conducting qualitative data analysis, Ron Chenail examines the dynamic tensions within the process of qualitative data analysis that qualitative researchers must manage in order to produce credible and creative results. These tensions include (a) the qualities of the data and the qualitative data analysis of these qualities, (b) errors of deficiency and exuberance, (c) tacit and public knowledge, (d) separation and connection, and (e) verticality and horizontality.

Being A Korean Studying Koreans In An American School: Reflections On Culture, Power, And Ideology, Minjung Lim

The Qualitative Report

Recent debates on situated knowledge highlight the issue of the researcher’s position in the research process, challenging the traditional assumption of the insider/outsider dichotomy. Drawing on my fieldwork among Korean immigrant parents in an American school, I describe my shifting positions in negotiation and scrutinize the ways my reflexivity intersects with culture, power relations, and political ideologies in the research process. This self-analysis highlights partial and situated knowledge claims, questioning the author’s value-neutral, authoritative voice in texts. I argue that the researcher should critically reflect on her location in the field and articulate how this position influences the research.

Intersectionality Of Ethno-Cultural Identities And Construal Of Distant Suffering Outgroups, Marek Palasinski, Jackie Abell, Mark Levine

The Qualitative Report

In this paper, we explore how white Catholic men talk about the indirect dilemma of non-intervention for black ethnic outgroups. We illustrate how they mobilise global categorisation (all humanity) and use various forms of denial to deal with their non-involvement. Having analyzed representative fragments of their prejudice avoidance talk, we conclude with some observation about the strategic deployment of categories and denial forms as part of identity management talk. In contrast to quantitative research that oversimplifies the ingroup-outgroup distinction, we show how the status and outgroupness levels of the needy appear to be both flexible and intricate, which depends on …

Water, Workship, And Wisdom: Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge And The Human Right To Water, Rhett B. Larson

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

Water is used in ceremonies or as a symbol in nearly every religious community.

Bachelor Of Health Science Online Program, Entering Class 2012, Nova Southeastern University

Health Professions Divisions Course Catalogs and Course Descriptions

No abstract provided.

Volume 5, Number 1, Spring/Summer 2012, Nova Southeastern University

GWEP Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Desde Quisqueya Hacia Borinquena: Experience And Visibility Of Immigrant Dominican Women In Puerto Rico: Violence, Lucha And Hope In Their Own Voices, Sheila I. Velez Martinez

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

According to the United Nations, (U.N.) more than 1.5 million Dominicans have migrated from the Island of La Espatiola, most living in the United States.

Alternative Interventions Used To Help Mexican-American Students Improve Academic Achievement In Grades 9 - 12, Alberta M. Reyes

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative research study employing a cross-case analysis on previous case studies is to better understand the engagement of Latino students in a small number of cultural sensitivity programs and the teaching practices that are factors in the development of their academic achievement. In the traditional infrastructure of public schools, assimilation is built on fundamental values aligned with the U.S. political establishment rather than on the value of adaptation to the demands and conflicts of other cultures. Thus, less-empowered groups are at a disadvantage resulting in subgroups abandoning their ideas and reducing their contributions to human capital. …

Horizons Spring 2012, Nova Southeastern University

Horizons

• Features
  • Serving Seniors 4
  • The President’s 64 10
  • Fixing Smiles 15
  • Artful Glances 20
  • Alumni of Distinction, President’s Community Award 29
• Departments
  • Academic Notes
    • Two New Health-Related Colleges 3
    • Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Researcher Joins NSU 23
    • The OC Adds Two New Degrees 36
    • A New Name, a New Era 36
    • Business Leaders Offer a Pathway to Success 37
    • New M.B.A. Options at the Huizenga Business School 37
  • Around Campus
    • iPads Offer Hope 34
    • NSU Launches iShark 35
    • NSU Becomes a Tobacco-Free Campus 40
  • Faculty Profile
    • Shanti Bruce 24
    • Mark Sobell 26
    • Alumni Profi le
    • Raphael (Ralph) Perez 28
  • Athletics
    • Track …

An Exemplar For Teaching And Learning Qualitative Research, Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie, Nancy L. Leech, John R. Slate, Marcella Stark, Bipin Sharma, Rebecca Frels, Kristin Harris, Julie P. Combs

The Qualitative Report

In this article, we outline a course wherein the instructors teach students how to conduct rigorous qualitative research. We discuss the four major distinct, but overlapping, phases of the course: conceptual/theoretical, technical, applied, and emergent scholar. Students write several qualitative reports, called qualitative notebooks, which involve data that they collect (via three different types of interviews), analyze (using nine qualitative analysis techniques via qualitative software), and interpret. Each notebook is edited by the instructors to help them improve the quality of subsequent notebook reports. Finally, we advocate asking students who have previously taken this course to team-teach future courses. We …

A Qualitative Inquiry In The Evaluation Of A Pedagogical Course From The Prospective Teachers’ Points Of View, Banu Yucel Toy, Ahmet Ok

The Qualitative Report

Qualitative inquiry has gained importance in the evaluation of educational settings because it provides in-depth information, shedding light on context, situations, or processes. In this study, a qualitative inquiry was undertaken in order to evaluate a pedagogical course from the prospective teachers’ points of view. In this case study, data were collected through focus group interviews with three groups of prospective teachers. The lack of putting theories into practice, the lack of relating the topics to teaching life, the lack of attention and participation, and the lack of a variety of materials appeared to be the most essential problems. In …

Using Realist Synthesis To Develop An Evidence Base From An Identified Data Set On Enablers And Barriers For Alcohol And Drug Program Implementation, Barbara Hunter, Lynda Berends, Sarah Maclean

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this paper is to show how “realist synthesis” methodology (Pawson, 2002) was adapted to review a large sample of community based projects addressing alcohol and drug use problems. Our study drew on a highly varied sample of 127 projects receiving funding from a national non-government organisation in Australia between 2002 and 2008. Open and pattern coding led to the identification of 10 barrier and nine enabler mechanisms influencing project implementation across the sample. Eight case studies (four demonstrating successful implementation; four demonstrating less than successful implementation) were used for depth exploration of these mechanisms. High level theories …

Teacher Retention: What Motivates Highly Qualified Urban Teachers To Stay?, Orlando B. Milligan

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to provide insight into what motivates highly qualified teachers to remain in urban schools. Research has shown that the single most important factor in a child’s education is the teacher. Consequently, the issues related to teacher recruitment and retention rank as serious problems facing urban schools and the achievement of their children.

The purpose of this study was to examine what motivates highly qualified teachers to remain in urban schools and to identify factors that may contribute to the retention and recruitment of an urban teaching corps. This study also sought to determine if there …

Daily Flash Card Drills And Systems Thinking To Master Math Addition Facts, Jerome Ravenna

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to provide better access to information for the students and staff in an elementary school regarding acquisition and retention of basic addition math facts. Teaching techniques and strategies were explored that would enable elementary students to master essential skills in mathematics.

By the end of the first semester in Grade 1, learners must demonstrate knowledge of basic mathematic facts, especially in addition. Learners are subjected to diversified instruction where schools strive to teach a wide variety of subject materials rather than focus on basic skills and mastery. The result is broader student awareness of many …

Effects Of Remedial Reading On The Oral Fluency Skill Of Students With Disabilities Enrolled In An Inclusive Setting, Willie B. Green

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

Research showed students with poor reading skills face difficulties in general education classes. Schools are face with the challenge of meeting the needs of all students. Therefore, researchers recommended using a research-based reading intervention program to improve students’ reading achievement.

The Reading to Read intervention program was used to supplement reading benchmarks for each student. Instructions were provided and monitored by assistant teachers trained in the Reading to Read procedure. To measure the effects of the program, pretest-posttest scores were compared for 20 students in the treatment group who participate in the interventions and 20 students in the control group …

Evaluation Of A Special Education Reading Program For Secondary Students, Lorraine Yonally Kibler

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to provide information regarding the training of personnel, implementation of the programs within the classroom, and outcome results of the “Plugged-in to Reading” program for special education students and staff at two high schools. The reading programs were intended to serve adolescents who are at-risk. The programs had been in use for an average of four years and no evaluation had been done to determine if using the program had improved reading levels for these students.

The researcher designed this study to evaluate the training, utilization, and outcome data of a reading program utilizing a …

A Program To Improve The Reading Skills Of Eighth-Grade Students, Timothy Thurman

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The applied dissertation examined the effectiveness of Reader’s Workshop (Orehovec & Alley, 2003) on students’ reading skills on the SAT-10 state assessment and the Standardized Test for the Assessment of Reading (STAR, Renaissance Learning, 2002).

The site of the applied dissertation was a school located in rural Alabama. Based on STAR tests administered in August 2008, 19 out of 48 (40%) of the 8th-grade students taking the STAR at the school that was the site of the applied dissertation scored below grade level in reading. The 8th-grade class for the 2009-2010 school year followed the same trend and produced scores …

A Study Of The Processes Involved In Sexual Battery Investigations, Kelly S. Boone

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to identify the common and unique processes employed during investigations of sexual battery. While departmental policies and state statutes provide guidance on the processes to be used in sexual battery investigations, there is a great deal of variability in the combination of processes that can be employed to investigate these cases. There is also some degree of variability in the outcomes associated with these investigations. This study examined the processes employed during sexual battery investigations in an effort to identify common themes. Importantly, the study identified the variation in cases that are genuine versus unfounded, …

The Effectiveness Of A State Mathematics, Science, And Technology Initiative On Improving The Science Achievement Of Urban Fifth-Grade Students, Michal Grant Robinson

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to provide data for use by the science department in an urban school district regarding the Alabama Mathematics, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI) to improve science achievement. The initiative offered teachers sustained, ongoing professional development and support in science. AMSTI data indicated an overall increase in student achievement at its sites as measured by the Stanford Achievement Test-10th Edition (SAT-10) and the Alabama Science Assessment.

Fifth-grade students from six schools in the district were involved in the study. Three were intervention schools participating in the AMSTI initiative. Three schools from the same district with similar …

Applying Peer Modeling In Inclusion Classrooms: A Study On Educators’ Perception, Rossana I. Chiarella

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This study evaluated the effects of educators’ perception on the application of peer modeling strategies in the classrooms. Without teachers’ positive attitude towards peer modeling, it was difficult to apply these strategies effectively. Teachers’ attitudes were determined by their existing perceptions, whereas different perceptions resulted in different dispositions to act and different outcomes. The purpose was to determine how teachers in a school located in south Florida applied peer modeling, and how their perceptions over it played an important role. The researcher attempted to evaluate the importance of peer-model strategies and to demonstrate the true benefit of their proper application …

Exploring The Impact Of Digital Publishing: A Case Study Involving Service-Learning Integrated With Technology, Bridget Ann Bonczyk

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The study explored the long-term academic effects on the educational progress for three students who participated in a technology driven service-learning program. The purpose of the study was to describe the long-term effects of the program on the students’ academic experiences and students’ sense of self-efficacy. The study examined whether or not the associated activities involved in the creation of digital books had an impact on the technology skills the students were presently learning.

The writer developed the child-centered service learning project entitled, RealeWriter and RealeLibrary ~ Leading English Language Learners to Learn and Serve in the spring of 2006. …

Critical Resiliency: A Case Study Of Latino Students’ Experiences In Advanced-Level High School Courses, Eric J. Chagala

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The achievement gap has been at the center of much educational discourse for the past 20 years, and it has become even more prevalent since the introduction of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001. References in the literature regarding the achievement gap often center on raising ethnic minority and low-socioeconomic students to the same average academic performance as White, middle-class students (Gandara, 2005). This case study went beyond that and examined the achievement gap in terms of the experiences of 1stgeneration, college-bound, and low-income Latino students in advanced-level high school courses, such as advanced placement (AP) and international …

Impact Of A Rural Elementary School Closing On Parents’ Satisfaction Level, Crycynthia F. Gardner

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation study sought to determine what impact the closing of a small elementary school whose students were predominately Black had on parents’ levels of satisfaction with their children’s education now that they attended an integrated school and what cultural differences, if any, existed among and between different ethnic groups of parents. The Parent Opinion Inventory and an open-ended, structured interview were used to gather data in this mixed-method study.

A random select technique was used to generate a pool of 226 participants from 1 rural elementary school in the southern part of the United States. Eighty of these …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Student Life Skills Courses In The Social And Academic Integration Of Community College Students, Lourdes M. Perez

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to determine if Student Life Skills (SLS) courses impact the social and academic integration of community college students. Additionally, due to the unique demographics of the student population of the research setting, this study also examined if factors such as native language, income and employment workload impact the social and/or academic integration of students enrolled in a community college.

The writer developed an instrument using the Institution Integration Scale (IIS) consisting of 30 items constructed to assess the dimensions of academic and social integration. The instrument requires respondents to indicate their involvement with faculty, staff, …

Evaluation Of A 21st-Century After-School Program At A Southeastern Elementary School, Timothy B. Hunter

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The purpose of the research was to evaluate a 21st-century after-school program at an elementary school in the southeastern United States. The program focused on the improvement of academic skills for students in Grades 3 through 5 in the academic areas of English and math. Implementation was in response to the high rate of students scoring below average on standardized tests. The Stufflebeam model was used to guide the program evaluation. Interview data were gathered from the after-school coordinator. Survey data were gathered from the after-school teachers and regular-school teachers. Data were also gathered from archival and empirical sources.

Test …