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Agent-Based And System Dynamics Hybrid Modeling And Simulation Approach Using Systems Modeling Language, Asli Soyler Akbas Jan 2015

Agent-Based And System Dynamics Hybrid Modeling And Simulation Approach Using Systems Modeling Language, Asli Soyler Akbas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Agent-based (AB) and system dynamics (SD) modeling and simulation techniques have been studied and used by various research fields. After the new hybrid modeling field emerged, the combination of these techniques started getting attention in the late 1990's. Applications of using agent-based (AB) and system dynamics (SD) hybrid models for simulating systems have been demonstrated in the literature. However, majority of the work on the domain includes system specific approaches where the models from two techniques are integrated after being independently developed. Existing work on creating an implicit and universal approach is limited to conceptual modeling and structure design. This …

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"I'M Not Talking To Myself, I'M Having A Parent-Teacher Conference!": A Study Of Literacy Practices And Mediation Within Homeschooling Families, Joshua Corlew Jan 2015

"I'M Not Talking To Myself, I'M Having A Parent-Teacher Conference!": A Study Of Literacy Practices And Mediation Within Homeschooling Families, Joshua Corlew

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Homeschooling is a dynamic learning and living community producing a growing percentage of our nation*s college-ready students. Serious academic studies of homeschooling remain scarce, and those that exist tend to come out of sociology and anthropology. Through an analysis of the literacy practices that constitute the work of homeschooling, this study offers findings and conclusions relevant to current discourses in the fields of literacy studies and rhetoric and composition. These include discussions on the ways technology is reshaping and individualizing traditional models of literacy learning and composing, as well as the growing research on the specific actions taken by literacy …

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A Grounded Theory Study Of The Experiences Of Gender And Sexually Diverse High School Students: Balancing School Ethos, Frankie Huff Jan 2015

A Grounded Theory Study Of The Experiences Of Gender And Sexually Diverse High School Students: Balancing School Ethos, Frankie Huff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Anti-bullying campaigns and legislation are on the rise, and school districts are fighting in favor of and against various forms of support for gay and sexually diverse (GSD) students, creating very distinct experienced ethoses in their prospective schools. At times, these ethoses stand in direct opposition of the aspirational ethoses of those same schools. The purpose of this grounded theory study is to understand how schools interact with the educational policies in place to create a balanced ethos. This study uses Charmaz*s (2014) constructivist approach to grounded theory methods to answer the following questions: How, if at all, does the …

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Sleep Disturbances Among Combat Military Veterans: A Comparative Study, Jeremy Stout Jan 2015

Sleep Disturbances Among Combat Military Veterans: A Comparative Study, Jeremy Stout

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The sleep characteristics of 37 military combat veterans (17 with PTSD and 20 without PTSD) of recent wars were analyzed to determine if combat deployment, with its resultant wartime sleep restriction, may be an alternative explanation for the sleep duration complaints found among combat veterans with PTSD (as determined by PCL-M scores). Participants completed sleep actigraphy and a self-report measure of sleep duration over a 1-week period. Although strongly correlated, a comparison of subjective (e.g., self-report) and objective (e.g., actigraphy) sleep duration revealed a significant difference in sleep duration based on method of assessment. With respect to group differences, actigraphy …

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Quantifying The Effects Of Boat Wakes On Intertidal Oyster Reefs In A Shallow Estuary, Donna Campbell Jan 2015

Quantifying The Effects Of Boat Wakes On Intertidal Oyster Reefs In A Shallow Estuary, Donna Campbell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There have long been concerns about the negative impacts of recreational boating activity in the Indian River Lagoon system (IRL), especially in Mosquito Lagoon (ML), the northernmost part of the IRL. My research is focused on the impacts of boat wakes on intertidal reefs formed by the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica. There has been a 24% loss of oyster habitat in ML since 1943, where natural oyster reefs have been replaced by dead oyster reefs which do not serve the same ecological function. While there is anecdotal and correlative evidence that this loss is a result of boat wakes, no …

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More Is Not Always Better: Unpacking The Cognitive Process Underlying Introspective Psychological Measurement, Matthew Lapalme Jan 2015

More Is Not Always Better: Unpacking The Cognitive Process Underlying Introspective Psychological Measurement, Matthew Lapalme

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For decades, psychometricans have measured non-cognitive constructs with little attention paid to the underlying cognitive processes of response. Previous advancement in psychometrics suggests that traditional cognitive oriented approaches may, in fact, yield construct deficiency and spurious results when applied to non-cognitive measurement. This thesis highlights the importance of specifying an ideal point response process for non-cognitive measurement and empirically demonstrates that an ideal point response processes undergirds self-reported personality and attitude measurement. Furthermore, this thesis also advances current understanding on the limitations of ideal point assumptions by exploring the moderating effects of various individual differences in motivation and ability.

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Opportunistic Networks In Campus Environments, Salih Safa Bacanli Jan 2015

Opportunistic Networks In Campus Environments, Salih Safa Bacanli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Opportunistic communication is an active research area in wireless sensor networks. Exploiting the opportunities to communicate between devices in an unstable network is one of the main challenges of the opportunistic communication. In this thesis, we propose an infrastructure-independent opportunistic mobile social networking strategy for efficient message broadcasting in campus environments. Specifically, we focus on the application scenario of university campuses. In our model, the students' smartphones forward messages to each other. The messages are created spontaneously as independent events in various places of the campus. The events can be either urgent security alerts or private announcements to the students …

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Characterization Of Waste-To-Energy (Wte) Bottom And Fly Ashes In Cementitious Materials, Jin Woo An Jan 2015

Characterization Of Waste-To-Energy (Wte) Bottom And Fly Ashes In Cementitious Materials, Jin Woo An

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Waste-to-Energy (WTE) ashes (or called as municipal solid waste incineration ashes) have been recycled in the areas of road bed, asphalt paving, and concrete products in many European and Asian countries. In those countries, recycling programs (including required physical properties and environmental criteria) of ash residue management have been developed so as to encourage and enforce the reuse for WTE ashes instead of landfill disposal. However, the U.S. has shown a lack of consistent and effective management plans as well as environmental regulations for the use of WTE ashes. Many previous studies demonstrated the potential beneficial use of WTE ash …

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Modeling Social Norms In Real-World Agent-Based Simulations, Rahmatollah Beheshti Jan 2015

Modeling Social Norms In Real-World Agent-Based Simulations, Rahmatollah Beheshti

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Studying and simulating social systems including human groups and societies can be a complex problem. In order to build a model that simulates humans' actions, it is necessary to consider the major factors that affect human behavior. Norms are one of these factors: social norms are the customary rules that govern behavior in groups and societies. Norms are everywhere around us, from the way people handshake or bow to the clothes they wear. They play a large role in determining our behaviors. Studies on norms are much older than the age of computer science, since normative studies have been a …

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A Coupled Cfd-Lumped Parameter Model Of The Human Circulation: Elucidating The Hemodynamics Of The Hybrid Norwood Palliative Treatment And Effects Of The Reverse Blalock-Taussic Shunt Placement And Diameter, Andres Ceballos Jan 2015

A Coupled Cfd-Lumped Parameter Model Of The Human Circulation: Elucidating The Hemodynamics Of The Hybrid Norwood Palliative Treatment And Effects Of The Reverse Blalock-Taussic Shunt Placement And Diameter, Andres Ceballos

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Hybrid Norwood (HN) is a relatively new first stage procedure for neonates with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS), in which a sustainable univentricular circulation is established in a less invasive manner than with the standard procedure. A computational multiscale model of such HLHS circulation following the HN procedure was used to obtain detailed hemodynamics. Implementation of a reverse-BT shunt (RBTS), a synthetic bypass from the main pulmonary to the innominate artery placed to counteract aortic arch stenosis, and its effects on local and global hemodynamics were studied. A synthetic and a 3D reconstructed, patient derived anatomy after the HN …

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An Integrated Framework For Automated Data Collection And Processing For Discrete Event Simulation Models, Carlos Rodriguez Jan 2015

An Integrated Framework For Automated Data Collection And Processing For Discrete Event Simulation Models, Carlos Rodriguez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Discrete Events Simulation (DES) is a powerful tool of modeling and analysis used in different disciplines. DES models require data in order to determine the different parameters that drive the simulations. The literature about DES input data management indicates that the preparation of necessary input data is often a highly manual process, which causes inefficiencies, significant time consumption and a negative user experience. The focus of this research investigation is addressing the manual data collection and processing (MDCAP) problem prevalent in DES projects. This research investigation presents an integrated framework to solve the MDCAP problem by classifying the data needed …

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Improving Fmri Classification Through Network Deconvolution, Jacob Martinek Jan 2015

Improving Fmri Classification Through Network Deconvolution, Jacob Martinek

HIM 1990-2015

The structure of regional correlation graphs built from fMRI-derived data is frequently used in algorithms to automatically classify brain data. Transformation on the data is performed during pre-processing to remove irrelevant or inaccurate information to ensure that an accurate representation of the subject's resting-state connectivity is attained. Our research suggests and confirms that such pre-processed data still exhibits inherent transitivity, which is expected to obscure the true relationships between regions. This obfuscation prevents known solutions from developing an accurate understanding of a subject’s functional connectivity. By removing correlative transitivity, connectivity between regions is made more specific and automated classification is …

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Enhanced Microwave Hyperthermia Using Nanoparticles, Maryory Urdaneta Jan 2015

Enhanced Microwave Hyperthermia Using Nanoparticles, Maryory Urdaneta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation a study of enhanced hyperthermia for cancer treatment through the use of magnetic nanoparticles is presented. Hyperthermia has been in use for many years, as a potential alternative method in cancer treatment, and high frequency microwave radiation has been used successfully to raise the tumor temperature to around 42°C in superficial tumors without causing damage to surrounding healthy tissues. Magnetic fluid hyperthermia involves the use of magnetic nanoparticles injected into the tumor before exposure to microwave radiation. The magnetic energy in the nanoparticles is converted into heat allowing for a more rapid rise of temperature in the …

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Life-Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions And Water Footprint Of Residential Waste Collection And Management Systems, Mousa Maimoun Jan 2015

Life-Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions And Water Footprint Of Residential Waste Collection And Management Systems, Mousa Maimoun

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Three troublesome issues concerning residential curbside collection (RCC) and municipal solid waste (MSW) management systems in the United States motivated this research. First, reliance upon inefficient collection and scheduling procedures negatively affect RCC efficiency, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and cost. Second, the neglected impact of MSW management practices on water resources. Third, the implications of alternative fuels on the environmental and financial performance of waste collection where fuel plays a significant rule. The goal of this study was to select the best RCC program, MSW management practice, and collection fuel. For this study, field data were collected for RCC programs …

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Meshless Direct Numerical Simulation Of Turbulent Incompressible Flows, Andres Vidal Urbina Jan 2015

Meshless Direct Numerical Simulation Of Turbulent Incompressible Flows, Andres Vidal Urbina

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A meshless direct pressure-velocity coupling procedure is presented to perform Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) and Large Eddy Simulations (LES) of turbulent incompressible flows in regular and irregular geometries. The proposed method is a combination of several efficient techniques found in different Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) procedures and it is a major improvement of the algorithm published in 2007 by this author. This new procedure has very low numerical diffusion and some preliminary calculations with 2D steady state flows show that viscous effects become negligible faster that ever predicted numerically. The fundamental idea of this proposal lays on several important inconsistencies …

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Mechanism Of Hip Dysplasia And Identification Of The Least Energy Path For Its Treatment By Using The Principle Of Stationary Potential Energy, Mohammed Abdulwahab M. Zwawi Jan 2015

Mechanism Of Hip Dysplasia And Identification Of The Least Energy Path For Its Treatment By Using The Principle Of Stationary Potential Energy, Mohammed Abdulwahab M. Zwawi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is a common newborn condition where the femoral head is not located in its natural position in the acetabulum (hip socket). Several treatment methods are being implemented worldwide to treat this abnormal condition. One of the most effective methods of treatment is the use of Pavlik Harness, which directs the femoral head toward the natural position inside the acetabulum. This dissertation presents a developed method for identifying the least energy path that the femoral head would follow during reduction. This is achieved by utilizing a validated computational biomechanical model that allows the determination of …

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Trust Trajectories As A Function Of Violation Type And Repair Efforts, Amanda Thayer Jan 2015

Trust Trajectories As A Function Of Violation Type And Repair Efforts, Amanda Thayer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Across domains, organizations and society are facing a trust deficit (Twenge, Campbell, & Carter, 2014). This is problematic, as trust is important to a variety of critical organizational outcomes, such as perceived task performance, team satisfaction, relationship commitment, and stress mitigation (Costa, Roe, & Taillieu, 2001), and has been cited as a motivator for cooperation and knowledge transfer due to its capacity to reduce fear and risk of exploitation (Chen et al., 1998; Fleig-Palmer & Schoorman, 2011; Irwin & Berigan, 2013; Yamagishi & Sato, 1986), and a key component of collaboration. As organizations increasingly rely upon collaboration for achieving important …

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Data-Driven Simulation Modeling Of Construction And Infrastructure Operations Using Process Knowledge Discovery, Reza Akhavian Jan 2015

Data-Driven Simulation Modeling Of Construction And Infrastructure Operations Using Process Knowledge Discovery, Reza Akhavian

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Within the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) domain, simulation modeling is mainly used to facilitate decision-making by enabling the assessment of different operational plans and resource arrangements, that are otherwise difficult (if not impossible), expensive, or time consuming to be evaluated in real world settings. The accuracy of such models directly affects their reliability to serve as a basis for important decisions such as project completion time estimation and resource allocation. Compared to other industries, this is particularly important in construction and infrastructure projects due to the high resource costs and the societal impacts of these projects. Discrete event simulation …

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Applications Of Computer Vision Technologies Of Automated Crack Detection And Quantification For The Inspection Of Civil Infrastructure Systems, Liuliu Wu Jan 2015

Applications Of Computer Vision Technologies Of Automated Crack Detection And Quantification For The Inspection Of Civil Infrastructure Systems, Liuliu Wu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many components of existing civil infrastructure systems, such as road pavement, bridges, and buildings, are suffered from rapid aging, which require enormous nation's resources from federal and state agencies to inspect and maintain them. Crack is one of important material and structural defects, which must be inspected not only for good maintenance of civil infrastructure with a high quality of safety and serviceability, but also for the opportunity to provide early warning against failure. Conventional human visual inspection is still considered as the primary inspection method. However, it is well established that human visual inspection is subjective and often inaccurate. …

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Sustainability Assessment Of A Municipal Utility Complex: A System Of Systems Approach, Tarek Fahmy Jan 2015

Sustainability Assessment Of A Municipal Utility Complex: A System Of Systems Approach, Tarek Fahmy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Construction of municipal utility complexes has to support continuing population growth, economic development, and a widespread of social interest in environmental preservation. Municipalities face challenges in designing, constructing, and operating environmentally sustainable utility complexes, and their primary goal in developing such a complex is to minimize the environmental impact resulting from energy production and waste treatment (both liquid and solid), management, and disposal. However, decision and policy makers lack a system of systems approach that takes into account multiple interdependent systems comprised of the functional system (infrastructure, facilities, operations within the complex…), the economic system, the social/cultural system, and the …

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A Framework For Safety Training Using Virtual Reality Software, Rana Riad Jan 2015

A Framework For Safety Training Using Virtual Reality Software, Rana Riad

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Safety training is a vital component to the well-being of individuals in all industries. With technology advancing at the current pace, conventional training methods are no longer the most effective way to communicate information. There is a strong need for safety training that incorporates new methods and forms of communication to obtain higher levels of comprehension. Virtual reality systems offer a highly customizable and interactive form of delivering information to users. This research addresses major gaps in the field of safety training using virtual reality systems and provides a design framework for creating a virtual safety-training system. A model for …

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The Brevard Chronicles: Short Stories, Joshua Dull Jan 2015

The Brevard Chronicles: Short Stories, Joshua Dull

HIM 1990-2015

America has a long history of making promises it can't keep, the most accessible buzz word for such promises being, "the American Dream", where everyone will enjoy some level of affluence and assimilate into the proverbial "melting pot" so long as they work hard and follow predetermined rules set by the power structure. In this model American lifestyle, the spiritual essence of humans is buried by the materialistic drive of capitalism, which drives us farther apart and alienates us from our neighbors. Yet in the mid 2000s, in the aftermath of some of the country's worst disasters, this power structure …

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Recursive Behavior Recording: Complex Motor Stereotypies And Anatomical Behavior Descriptions, Nathaniel Bobbitt Jan 2015

Recursive Behavior Recording: Complex Motor Stereotypies And Anatomical Behavior Descriptions, Nathaniel Bobbitt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A novel anatomical behavioral descriptive taxonomy improves motion capture in complex motor stereotypies (CMS) by indexing precise time data without degradation in the complexity of whole body movement in CMS. The absence of etiological explanation of complex motor stereotypies warrants the aggregation of a core CMS dataset to compare regulation of repetitive behaviors in the time domain. A set of visual formalisms trap configurations of behavioral markers (lateralized movements) for behavioral phenotype discovery as paired transitions (from, to) and asymmetries within repetitive restrictive behaviors. This translational project integrates NIH MeSH (medical subject headings) taxonomy with direct biological interface (wearable sensors …

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Applying Problem-Of-Practice Methods From The Discipline Of Higher Education Within The Justice System: Turning The Concept Of Therapy Dogs For Child Victims Into A Statewide Initiative., Jessie Holton Jan 2015

Applying Problem-Of-Practice Methods From The Discipline Of Higher Education Within The Justice System: Turning The Concept Of Therapy Dogs For Child Victims Into A Statewide Initiative., Jessie Holton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This Dissertation-in-Practice introduces a law enforcement concept-to-practice model designed by combining tested methods of organizational analysis often utilized by those in the discipline of education. The model incorporates a two phase design with the first phase focusing on implementing and evaluating innovative changes within a medium size law enforcement agency for a micro-level analysis. A second phase examines the ability to replicate the concept program on a statewide, macro-level, by incorporating a re-design method utilizing organizational resource and structure frames. The concept applied to this model was the introduction of a therapy dog interaction during investigations involving crimes against children …

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Seeing A Whole Life: Genre And Identity In Occupational Therapy, Stefanie Johnson Jan 2015

Seeing A Whole Life: Genre And Identity In Occupational Therapy, Stefanie Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A significant body of writing and rhetoric research focuses on the literate practices that reflect or construct the professional self, particularly in disciplines that rely heavily on the use of forms to categorize or identify customers, clients, or patients. Many of these studies examine the influence of discipline-specific genres on the creation of a professional self for healthcare practitioners. Occupational therapy, a nearly 100-year-old yet little understood profession, is significantly different from many other healthcare disciplines, in part, because the genres used by occupational therapists reflect the profession's careful attention to the whole life of a patient. These genres are …

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Design Disjunction For Resilient Reconfigurable Hardware, Ahmad Alzahrani Jan 2015

Design Disjunction For Resilient Reconfigurable Hardware, Ahmad Alzahrani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Contemporary reconfigurable hardware devices have the capability to achieve high performance, power efficiency, and adaptability required to meet a wide range of design goals. With scaling challenges facing current complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), new concepts and methodologies supporting efficient adaptation to handle reliability issues are becoming increasingly prominent. Reconfigurable hardware and their ability to realize self-organization features are expected to play a key role in designing future dependable hardware architectures. However, the exponential increase in density and complexity of current commercial SRAM-based field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) has escalated the overhead associated with dynamic runtime design adaptation. Traditionally, static modular …

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Perceptions Of Secondary Education Teachers Working In An Inclusive Setting, Destiny Pacha Jan 2015

Perceptions Of Secondary Education Teachers Working In An Inclusive Setting, Destiny Pacha

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation in practice addresses the continuous underperformance of students with disabilities (SWD) on standardized assessments when compared to their non-disabled peers. This dissertation on the complex problem of practice investigates secondary education teachers' perceptions of students with disabilities and their ability to be included in the general education classroom. The purpose of this research is to develop a professional development framework to enhance inclusive practices. Students with disabilities nationwide are increasingly taught in the general education classroom in order to provide them access to their least restrictive environment and instruction of the general education curriculum. The beliefs held by …

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Literate Citizenship: The Culture Of Literacy In Inclusive Middle School Social Studies Classrooms And Students With Intellectual Disabilities, Kathleen Becht Jan 2015

Literate Citizenship: The Culture Of Literacy In Inclusive Middle School Social Studies Classrooms And Students With Intellectual Disabilities, Kathleen Becht

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As more and more students with intellectual disabilities are included in the general education middle school setting, the culture and context of the literacy instruction they are receiving is severely limited in the existing literature. In this study, the researcher employed an ethnographic research design to observe the literacy culture of two middle school general education social studies teachers in the context of a district and school that had focused on more inclusive practices over the past five years. The learning environment and the general education teachers* perceptions and expectations of the nature of literacy for students with intellectual disabilities …

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The Effect Of Allocated Assessment Time And Allocated Instructional Time On Student Achievement In Small, Medium, And Large School Districts In Florida, Samuel Crupi Jr. Jan 2015

The Effect Of Allocated Assessment Time And Allocated Instructional Time On Student Achievement In Small, Medium, And Large School Districts In Florida, Samuel Crupi Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

To date, there is little current research which explores the effect of allocated assessment time and allocated instructional time as related to student achievement (Spanjers, Burns, & Wagner, 2008). Current educational reform has placed accountability and assessment at the forefront of public education (Hirsh, 2007; Jennings, 2012; Kallemeyn, 2009; NCLB, 2001; Supovitz, 2009). Research of time on task has demonstrated that there may be a positive correlation between the amount of time on task in learning activities and student achievement (Fredricks, McColskey, Meli, Mordica, Montrosse, & Mooney, (2011). There is current legislation to increase the time demands of assessment and …

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Psychometric Issues Related To The Tinker Toy Test, Daniel Guzman Jan 2015

Psychometric Issues Related To The Tinker Toy Test, Daniel Guzman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An evaluation of executive functioning is a critical component of a comprehensive assessment of higher cerebral functioning. The Tinker Toy Test (TTT) was introduced in 1982. This test allows an individual to demonstrate the extent of their executive capacities by permitting them to initiate, plan, and structure a potentially complex activity and carry it out independently in an unstructured fashion and administration is simple. This is a departure from more complex and structured tests of executive function. There is a dearth of research on the TTT and this study seeks to examine some of the psychometric properties of this instrument; …

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