Digital Commons Network^™

Development Of An Entrepreneurial Training Seminar Using Adult Education Principles For The University Of North Florida Small Business Development Center, Philip R. Geist

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation developed an entrepreneurial training seminar to fill a gap between an existing 3-hour workshop and a semester-long FastTrac™ class. The existing 3-hour workshop, required by contract between the UNF SBDC and the U.S. SBA, serves as a screening mechanism to identify potential entrepreneurs. The FastTrac™ class is designed for existing business owners and assumes significant understanding of business concepts. The new seminar will act as a bridge and be a prerequisite for the semester-long class.

The writer developed lesson plans, an instructor’s manual, a strategy for multicounty implementation using local area presentation partners, and an implementation plan. …

Improving Analytical Writing Performance Of High School Freshman Social Studies Students Through Uniform Writing Standards, Kimberly Ann Juirdano

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to improve the analytical writing performance of freshman students in their social studies classes. The field of social studies requires students to review documents and respond argumentatively to questions posed by their teachers. The freshman social studies teachers in this applied dissertation profess that freshman students had poor writing skills, and therefore were unable to effectively analyze and argue in written form.

In order to remedy the problem of poor analytical writing skills, freshman social studies teachers implemented interventions such as (a) the development and usage of a locally-constructed common rubric, (b) writing laboratories in …

Increasing Third-Grade Students’ Reading Achievement At Maximo Microsociety® Elementary School, Barbara F. Hires

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The goal of this study was to increase the reading achievement of 3rd-grade students in order to maintain little or no mandatory retention based on the new state law related to Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test scores. In the 2002-2003 school year, Maximo MicroSociety® Elementary School’s 3rd-grade mean score was 256 on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test compared to the district’s mean score of 292. An analysis of the 3rd-grade reading Pinellas Instructional Assessment Plan scores for the 2001-2003 school years indicated that the percentage of the school’s students reading below grade level was greater than that of the district. The …

Development Of A Curriculum Evaluation Tool For The Crown College Online Program With Plans For Implementation, William J. Hyndman

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

At Crown College Online (CCO), courses have been evaluated for the past four years with student satisfaction surveys only. This provided very limited assessment of how the courses were meeting the institutions learning outcomes. This project developed the following products: (a) three rubrics for evaluating online courses, (b) an evaluative tool in the form of a guide, and (c) an implementation plan with timeline.

There were five research questions addressed in this study: (a) criteria for evaluating online courses, (b) criteria for evaluating course objectives, (c) criteria for evaluating teaching method online, (d) format and design of an online evaluation …

Improving Instructional Practice Through Professional Study Groups, Alice Howe Lindsay

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to assess the impact of professional study groups on educational reform efforts. The problem was that although teachers at the elementary school were being provided training in balanced reading strategies, they were not integrating the new strategies into their instructional practice.

Teachers at the school volunteered to participate in study groups centered on the topic of balanced reading. Prior to implementation, teachers attended a 4-hour training session to learn about professional study groups. The teachers attended monthly workshops to review strategies used in balanced reading: prereading, guided reading, and post reading. They had the opportunity …

The Impact Of An Induction Program Within An Exceptional Educational Center To Assist Beginning Teachers, Donna A. Just

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation addressed the crisis of retaining beginning teachers at a public high school for exceptional students. The purpose of the project was to develop a program to support beginning teachers in their 1st year of teaching. A mentoring program within the school was developed based upon research and survey feedback. The program included (a) peer support, (b) administrative support, (c) positive role modeling, (d) professional development workshops, and (e) assistance in transitioning into a new career and setting.

To explore the critical needs of the beginning teachers at the school site, a survey was sent to all novice …

Development Of Criteria For Hiring Fourth-Grade Science Instruction Specialists: A Model For Elementary School Administrators, Lenora Y. Johnson

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The purpose of this applied dissertation was the creation of a developmental model of hiring criteria for 4th-grade science specialists to be used by elementary education leaders in the future. The premise for the model sprang from the author's view that 4th-grade instructors trained in science content and pedagogy would be more likely than generalist classroom teachers to plan and to implement optimally effective 4th-grade science curriculums and delivery methods. The author further believed that specialized 4th-grade science instruction might raise national science achievement test scores at that grade level and might increase student interest in science as a subject …

Replication Of The Advancement Via Individual Determination (Avid) Program At Dent Middle School, Juanita K. Henry

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to replicate critical components of the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program with selected at-risk students at Dent Middle School in Columbia, SC. Students were identified by risk factors of poor academic achievement, poor attendance, and lack of parental involvement. The program was designed to restructure teaching methodologies to improve students' success in college preparatory curricula.

Strategies included the following: (a) targeting students identified as average (between 2.0 and 3.25 grade point average with some exceptions) with academic potential; (b) enrolling students in a rigorous course of study with an emphasis on writing, inquiry, and …

Case 3270: Isometrinae Clark, 1917 (Ecinodermata, Crinoidea): Proposed Emendation Of Spelling To Isometrainae To Remove Homonymy With Isometrinae Kraepelin, 1891 (Arachnida, Scorpiones), Victor Fet, Charles G. Messing

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The purpose of this application, under Articles 55 and 29 of the Code, is to remove the homonymy between the crinoid subfamily name ISOMETRINAE Clark, 1917 (type genus Isometra Clark, 1908; family ANTEDONIDAE) and the scorpion subfamily name ISOMETRINAE Kraepelin, 1891 (type genus Isometrus Ehrenberg in Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1828; family BUTHIDAE). It is proposed that the entire generic name of Isometra should be adopted as the stem, so that the correct spelling of the crinoid subfamily will become ISOMETRAINAE Clark, 1917.

Reviewed Work(S): Electronic Tagging And Tracking In Marine Fisheries., David W. Kerstetter

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Age, Growth And The Annual Cycles Of Lipogenesis And Reproduction Of Acanthurus Bahianus In Southeastern Florida, Stacy M. Wolfe

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The ocean surgeon, Acanthurus bahianus, is a coral reef fish inhabiting the tropical and subtropical waters of the western Atlantic, including southeastern Florida. This study was a 23-month analysis of the reproductive cycle correlated with the annual build up and depletion of fat reserves in the fish. In addition, an age and growth analysis of this species was conducted. A total of 507 fish were analyzed for length, weight, gonad weight and fat body weight. 478 were aged by microscopic examination of the transverse section of the sagittae otolith. The von Bertalannfy growth equation was used to determine length at …

Meta-Inquiry: An Approach To Interview Success, Nancy M. Carlson, Mark Mccaslin

The Qualitative Report

Developing an effective interview strategy presents unique challenges for the novice and master researcher for if the questions one asks are not crucial, then differences in responses are not crucial either (Creswell, 1998, p. 335). To focus qualitative research in the human ecology of the study, our strategy uses an initial interview protocol and preanalysis process, called meta-inquiry, prior to developing our formal interview protocol. Meta-inquiry of initial interview data, obtained in dialogue with key informants in the researched culture, provides us with an inductive tool to assess, modify, enhance, and focus the formal interview protocol. Thus, preparing for the …

Understanding Reliability And Validity In Qualitative Research, Nahid Golafshani

The Qualitative Report

The use of reliability and validity are common in quantitative research and now it is reconsidered in the qualitative research paradigm. Since reliability and validity are rooted in positivist perspective then they should be redefined for their use in a naturalistic approach. Like reliability and validity as used in quantitative research are providing springboard to examine what these two terms mean in the qualitative research paradigm, triangulation as used in quantitative research to test the reliability and validity can also illuminate some ways to test or maximize the validity and reliability of a qualitative study. Therefore, reliability, validity and triangulation, …

Coastal Observatory Investigates Energetic Current Oscillations On Southeast Florida Shelf, Alexander Soloviev, Rebekah J. Walker, Robert H. Weisberg, Mark E. Luther

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Coastal circulation along the southeast Florida shelf is strongly related to the dynamics of the Florida Current. The current follows the steep bottom terrain along the shelf break separating the deep ocean from the coastal zone (Figure 1 a, b). Energetic and complex flow regimes arise along the current's western edge, causing transient features such as sub-meso-scale eddies [Lee and Mayer, 1977; Shay et al., 2000] and energetic internal oscillations [Mooers, 1975; Soloviev et al., 2003], which affect mixing between the shelf and deeper ocean waters. Understanding of these regimes is important for modeling and prediction of the …

Fall 2003, Nsu Oceanographic Center

Currents

No abstract provided.

Use Of Pop-Up Satellite Archival Tags To Demonstrate Survival Of Blue Marlin (Makaira Nigricans) Released From Pelagic Longline Gear, David W. Kerstetter, Brian E. Luckhurst, Eric Prince, John E. Graves

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Distributions Of Trace Gases And Aerosols During The Dry Biomass Burning Season In Southern Africa, Parikhit Sinha, Peter V. Hobbs, Robert J. Yokelson, Donald R. Blake, Song Gao, Thomas W. Kirchstetter

Chemistry and Physics Faculty Articles

Vertical profiles in the lower troposphere of temperature, relative humidity, sulfur dioxide (SO₂), ozone (O₃), condensation nuclei (CN), and carbon monoxide (CO), and horizontal distributions of twenty gaseous and particulate species, are presented for five regions of southern Africa during the dry biomass burning season of 2000. The regions are the semiarid savannas of northeast South Africa and northern Botswana, the savanna-forest mosaic of coastal Mozambique, the humid savanna of southern Zambia, and the desert of western Namibia. The highest average concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂), CO, methane (CH₄), O₃, …

Disparate Academic Environments: An Emergent Framework Of Socialization, Michael D. Thompson

The Qualitative Report

Twenty-four graduate associate and/or full professors from four disparate academic environments were interviewed on the salient attributes they emphasize and reinforce to their graduate students in socializing them to the professional norms of their respective academic discipline. Qualitative research methodology was utilized to assess and understand the socialization mechanisms and processes of graduate students within disparate academic environments. The results of the study have produced a new theoretical framework for understanding the differential patterns of student learning and development as a result of student’s collegiate experience.

A Search For Pure Disk Galaxies, Stefan Kautsch, Eva K. Grebel

Chemistry and Physics Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

Flat (or superthin) galaxies are late-type edge-on spiral galaxies that exhibit large axial ratios, small stellar disk scale heights and no distinct spheroidal bulge component. This type of galaxies appears to be a pure disk system with an extended blue stellar disk embedded in a red thick layer. Flat galaxies are very common objects with low star formation rates, low metallicities, low optical surface brightness but high neutral gas fractions. Their rotation curves resemble those of dwarf and irregular galaxies. These simple disk systems offer the unique opportunity to constrain galaxy disk evolution in underevolved galaxies in the nearby Universe. …

Who Is Eating Most Of The Zooplankton In The Oceanic Gulf Of Mexico? The Impact Of Mesopelagic Fishes, Tracey Sutton, Scott E. Burghart

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

Deep-sea pelagic fishes are the most abundant vertebrates on Earth, yet their role in the overall economy of these is poorly known. Low latitude oligotrophic regimes, typified by the eastern Gulf of Mexico, constitute most of the world ocean and consequently support the largest global ecosystems. Thus, we have little information on the trophic role of most of Earth's vertebrates. To address this, the diets of an entire midwater fish assemblage (164 species, constituting > 99% of assemblage numbers) were analyzed to assess feeding guilds and predation impact. Zooplanktivory was the dominant feeding mode (80% of prey biomass taken), followed by …

Summer 2003, Nsu Oceanographic Center

Currents

No abstract provided.

The Knight Summer Orientation Issue, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Emissions Of Trace Gases And Particles From Savanna Fires In Southern Africa, Parikhit Sinha, Peter V. Hobbs, Robert J. Yokelson, Isaac T. Bertschi, Donald R. Blake, Isobel J. Simpson, Song Gao, Thomas W. Kirchstetter, Tihomir Novakov

Chemistry and Physics Faculty Articles

Airborne measurements made on initial smoke from 10 savanna fires in southern Africa provide quantitative data on emissions of 50 gaseous and particulate species, including carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, methane, ammonia, dimethyl sulfide, nonmethane organic compounds, halocarbons, gaseous organic acids, aerosol ionic components, carbonaceous aerosols, and condensation nuclei (CN). Measurements of several of the gaseous species by gas chromatography and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy are compared. Emission ratios and emission factors are given for eight species that have not been reported previously for biomass burning of savanna in southern Africa (namely, dimethyl sulfide, methyl nitrate, five …

Evolution Of Gases And Particles From A Savanna Fire In South Africa, Peter V. Hobbs, Parikhit Sinha, Robert J. Yokelson, Ted J. Christian, Donald R. Blake, Song Gao, Thomas W. Kirchstetter, Tihomir Novakov, Peter Pilewskie

Chemistry and Physics Faculty Articles

Airborne measurements of particles and gases from a 1000-ha savanna fire in South Africa are presented. These measurements represent the most extensive data set reported on the aging of biomass smoke. The measurements include total concentrations of particles (CN), particle sizes, particulate organic carbon and black carbon, light-scattering coefficients, downwelling UV fluxes, and mixing ratios for 42 trace gases and 7 particulate species. The ratios of excess nitrate, ozone, and gaseous acetic acid to excess CO increased significantly as the smoke aged over ∼40–45 min, indicating that these species were formed by photochemistry in the plume. For 17 other species, …

Does Information Technology Provide Competitive Advantage And Improve Performance? An Empirical Study Of Trading Companies In Brazil, Ruth Clarke, Marcilio Machado

HCBE Faculty Presentations

Growing investment in information technology applications creates a need to understand the proper integration of these tools into strategic decision making of the firm. This study discusses the impact of global information and communication technologies on competitiveness and performance of Brazilian trading companies. Using resource based theory as a starting point, we examine how information technology, as an internal resource, can provide competitive advantage and what impact information technology produces on competitiveness of Brazilian export intermediaries. The study implements a replicable model (CAPITA) developed by Sethi and King (1994), to investigate these relationships in the emerging market of Brazil. The …

The Alumni Network, Summer 2003 (Vol. Xvii No. 1), Nova Southeastern University

Alumni Network Newsletter

No abstract provided.

A Rapid Assessment Of Coral Reefs Near Hopetown, Abaco Islands, Bahamas (Stony Corals And Algae), Joshua Feingold, Susan L. Thornton, Kenneth W. Banks, Nancy J. Gasman, David S. Gilliam, Pamela Fletcher, Christian L. Avila

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Coral reefs at 13 sites ranging in depth from 1-16 m near Hopetown, Abaco Islands, Bahamas were surveyed utilizing the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) benthos protocol. A total of 35 species of scleractinian corals and 2 species of calcareous hydrocorals were observed. The overall coral cover averaged just over 14%. Among corals that were at least 10 cm in diameter, small colonies (< 40 cm diameter) predominated in all sites except for the Fowl Cay pinnacles where 68% were larger than 60 cm in diameter. Large colonies (> 40 cm diameter) were also found in the Lynyard Cay spur-and-groove formations and the Sandy Cay fore reef. Zero-4% of the colonies were affected by disease. Total (recent + old) partial-colony mortality ranged from …

Phytoplankton Response To Intrusions Of Slope Water On The West Florida Shelf: Models And Observations, John J. Walsh, Robert H. Weisberg, Dwight A. Dieterle, Ruoying He, Brian P. Darrow, Jason K. Jolliff, Kristen M. Lester, Gabriel A. Vargo, Gary J. Kirkpatrick, Kent A. Fanning, Tracey Sutton, Ann E. Jochens, Douglas C. Biggs, Bisman Nababan, Chuanmin Hu, Frank E. Muller-Karger

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Previous hypotheses had suggested that upwelled intrusions of nutrient-rich Gulf of Mexico slope water onto the West Florida Shelf (WFS) led to formation of red tides of Karenia brevis. However, coupled biophysical models of (1) wind- and buoyancy-driven circulation, (2) three phytoplankton groups (diatoms, K. brevis, and microflagellates), (3) these slope water supplies of nitrate and silicate, and (4) selective grazing stress by copepods and protozoans found that diatoms won in one 1998 case of no light limitation by colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM). The diatoms lost to K. brevis during another CDOM case of the models. In …

Leap-Ing Toward Accountability? Ideology, Practice, And The Voices Of Louisiana Educators, Jim Horn

The Qualitative Report

Louisiana educators at an urban K-5 school participated in a two-year study to share their experiences related to the implementation of a state high-stakes testing program (LEAP 21) that is used to make promotion decisions in grades 4 and 8. Observations, document analysis, and interviews were used to study the development of attitudes, perceptions, and practices related to the use of and consequences emanating from this testing practice. It was found that the state test has far-reaching effects on teaching, curriculum, school climate, students, parents, and school administration. The ideology of testing as a positive reform idea and the practice …

Energetic Baroclinic Super-Tidal Oscillations On The Southeast Florida Shelf, Alexander Soloviev, Mark E. Luther, Robert H. Weisberg

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Historical and recent data reveal a very energetic regime on the shelf off southeast Florida. In addition to spin off eddies, large-amplitude tidal velocity fluctuations with amplitudes exceeding 0.5 ms⁻¹ are observed. Recent exploratory measurements conducted as a part of the South Florida Ocean Measurement Center (SFOMC) show that the time scale of these oscillations is about 10 hrs. This period does not coincide either with the inertial period (27 Hrs) or with the semidiurnal M₂ (12.42 hrs) or S₂ (12 hrs) tidal constituents. In addition, these internal oscillations appear to be modulated seasonally. A possible explanation …