Digital Commons Network^™

The Role Of Personal And Contextual Variables In College Students' Academic Achievement, Rachel A. Rogers

Doctoral Dissertations

College matriculation rates are increasing but graduation rates are failing to parallel the increased enrollment. One reason for this discrepancy may be that many college students are unable to regulate their own learning. This dissertation examined the Self-Regulated Learning (SRL; Pintrich, 2004) model in students taking Statistics in Psychology and Research Methods. The inclusion of the constructs of possible selves and identity development in the SRL model was proposed, as was the Achievement Goal Questionnaire (AGQ; Elliot & McGregor, 2001), a measure of the 2x2 Framework of achievement goal orientation. These variables were assessed along with those included in the …

Creek Diplomacy In An Imperial Atlantic World, Deena L. Parmelee

Doctoral Dissertations

"Creek Diplomacy in an Imperial Atlantic World," argues that Creek leaders saw opportunities for Creek peoples to play an important political and economic role in the Atlantic world even while the Confederacy itself was still forming. This study explores Creek participation in the Atlantic world in two ways. First, it traces Creek diplomatic travel to European centers. Second, it examines Creek reception of European traders and diplomats in Creek towns. In this way, it traces Creek diplomacy in its external and internal forms, as Creeks moved outward to establish diplomatic relations with others, and dealt with outsiders who came to …

Learning Systems: An Ecological Perspective On Advanced Academic Literacy Practices Of Multilingual Writers, Steve Simpson

Doctoral Dissertations

Recent work in composition's leading journals has challenged the field's exclusive focus on native English speakers and has called for a more international perspective on writing research and pedagogy. This dissertation, which grew from requests from multilingual graduate students in my own institution for more advanced academic writing support, extends this call to explore ways writing programs can better account for the needs of international graduate students, a growing population in US institutions. The role English has assumed as the lingua franca of international academic communication has made writing in English a critical skill for these students' professional development. In …

Slavery Exacts An Impossible Price: John Quincy Adams And The Dorcas Allen Case, Washington, Dc, Alison T. Mann

Doctoral Dissertations

On August 22, 1837, a Georgetown resident sold Dorcas Allen and her four children to James H. Birch, a District of Columbia slave trader He transported them across the Potomac to Alexandria, Virginia to hold them in the largest slave pen in the District. They faced, most likely, passage on a slave coffle to Natchez or New Orleans. That same evening, Allen, who had married and been living unofficially in the District as a "free Negro" for a number of years, killed the two youngest children and was restrained from harming the others, after their terrified shrieks alerted someone nearby. …

The Long Journey To Become 'The River Of National Unity': The Sao Francisco River Basin From 1940s To 2008 And The Interactions Of Environment, Government And Local Citizens, Lucigleide Nery Nascimento

Doctoral Dissertations

In its 2,700 kilometers north and then eastern journey to the Atlantic Ocean, the Sao Francisco River of Brazil drains eight percent of the nation's territory. The watershed is three and a half times the size of New England. This research investigates the impacts of the federal water resource management, or lack of it, on the riverine environment and on the life of the people who locally have depended on the ecosystem's services of the river during the 1940s--2008 timeframe. A new legal instrument, the 1997 Water Policy, introduced a novel form of management regarding public participation, policy goals and …

The Self-Help Of Composition: Peter Elbow's "Writing Without Teachers", Composition Studies, And The Extracurriculum, Alexandria Peary

Doctoral Dissertations

The influence of Peter Elbow's Writing without Teachers on Composition Studies and classroom-based writing instruction is indisputable, yet the central message of the book has been continually sidestepped. At the heart of Elbow's book is an inherent contradiction to classroom instruction: the original impetus for the book was based on self-instruction, or learning about writing outside of any course. For Composition Studies, Writing without Teachers, starting with its title, is a riddle or a Zen koan the discipline has delayed answering for over thirty-five years. This project examines Writing without Teachers as a self-help book on writing and thus as …

Archiving The Sacred: Austin Phelps And The Adaptation Of Nineteenth-Century Rhetorical Education At Andover Theological Seminary, Michael-John Depalma

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation project expands the canon of nineteenth-century rhetorical history by providing a broadened understanding of how professional rhetoric was taught, learned, and practiced in nineteenth-century America. To do so, I examine the rhetorical theory, writing pedagogy, and pulpit oratory of Austin Phelps, an accomplished nineteenth-century preacher and professor of sacred rhetoric at Andover Theological Seminary. In drawing from the archival materials at the first graduate seminary in the United States and Phelps's published preaching manuals, I highlight the ways that Phelps's civic-minded rhetorical theory and pragmatic methods of instruction depart from documented trends in rhetorical education at American colleges …

Navigating The Cultural Gaps: Whiteness And Diversity In Two Elementary School Classrooms, Rachel Parse Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations

This study asked how two white, in-service elementary school teachers within the context of their classrooms navigated the cultural gaps between themselves and students from whom they differed (e.g. racially, ethnically, socio-economically, and/or linguistically). Three sub-questions examined: 1) what life experiences shaped how the teachers understood difference and diversity within their classrooms; 2) what system(s) of beliefs the teachers learned and constructed through those experiences; and 3) what identities the teachers assumed and/or assigned to themselves and their students. The study employed a sociocultural theoretical framework. Ethnographic data collection strategies included participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and material collection. Discourse analysis …

Movement And Behavior Of Ocean Sunfish, Mola Mola, In The Northwest Atlantic, Inga F. Potter

Doctoral Dissertations

The ocean sunfish, Mola mola, has a worldwide distribution and is a common resident of the NW Atlantic Ocean. Notable for its unusual anatomy and large size, the biology of the species is largely unknown. I examined the movement and behavior of M. mola using pop-up satellite archival tags (PSAT's). In addition, analysis of aerial survey data was conducted to determine the distribution of ocean sunfish (Family Molidae) in NW Atlantic shelf waters. Data was analyzed from twenty-five PSAT's deployed on M. mola in the northwest Atlantic between 2005 and 2008. Tags were attached from 7-242 days. Results indicate that …

Comprehension Of Protagonists' Goals And Intentions: The Dynamic Relation Between Reading Skill, Text Characteristics, And Reading Strategies, Jennifer J. Stiegler

Doctoral Dissertations

Studies by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP, 2009) indicate that the inability to comprehend text is one of the primary reasons students perform poorly in school Reading difficulties often persist into adulthood with 23% of U.S. adults only meeting basic reading proficiency levels (NCES, 2004). To address this problem, it is critical to identify the underlying cognitive processes that pose the greatest challenges to struggling readers. Recent research has explored basic skills (e.g., working memory capacity, suppression mechanisms, domain knowledge, and reading strategies) that have been shown to be essential for reading. To date it is unclear which …

From Biosphere To Noosphere: Vladimir Vernadsky's Theoretical System As A Conceptual Framework For Universal Sustainability Education, Irina L. Trubetskova

Doctoral Dissertations

In light of accelerating global warming and climate change, the importance of sustainability education is unquestionable. It is a requirement of our time that sustainability education must become a part of any professional curriculum in higher education because today's college students are tomorrow's decision makers and the key players at local, national, and international levels.

Although the importance of education for a sustainable future has been recognized by the global community and we are now living through the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014), a common conceptual approach to teaching sustainability does not exist. We face a …

"This Wilderness World": The Evolution Of A New England Farm Town, 1820--1840, Mary Babson Fuhrer

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation uses the extraordinary conflict that roiled one rural town in central Massachusetts during the second quarter of the nineteenth century as a lens through which to observe communal relationships in transition. Using the Amish as a model, the dissertation identifies traditional communal social organization as agrarian, patriarchal, communal, homogeneous, localistic, and consensual -- as well as closed, conformist, and suspicious of difference and innovation. The dissertation argues that conflict arose in Boylston during the 1820s and '30s as these traditional relationships gradually gave way to more modern ways of belonging, associating, and envisioning one's place in the wider …

Teaching, Activism, And The Purposes Of Education: Toward An Integrated Vision Of Teachers' Work, Carina E. Self

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to consider the political dimensions of teachers' work through a conceptual comparison to the work of social activists. The author developed a four-part analysis of the work of activists through a reading of the social movement literature and compared that analysis to the work of teachers according to four contemporary approaches to teachers' work (neo-conservative, caring, contemporary liberal, and critical theory). The result was an integrated vision of teachers' work that brings together teachers' daily practices and their educational commitments around four dimensions of teachers work: social critique, identity formation/negotiation, affiliation, and institutional change. …

Land Development In Massachusetts: Its Effect On The Environment Within Essex And Middlesex Counties From 1990 To 2007, Peter Sean Tardie

Doctoral Dissertations

Since the 1970's urban centers in and surrounding Essex and Middlesex Counties in Massachusetts have expanded and proliferated into adjacent communities. This expansion has led to the conversion of land for housing, businesses, schools, recreation, and parks, placing significant strain on existing land cover, land use, and available natural resources. Mounting growth pressures and a reduction of undeveloped land have raised serious concerns as cropland and forest fragmentation, wetland destruction, protected open-space infringement, pollution, and systematic losses of rural conditions have become obvious. To monitor development, the post-classification change detection method was applied to Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) satellite data …

An Initial Evaluation Of Market-Based Land Reform In Brazil: Can It Create Sustainable Communities?, Arthur Powers

Doctoral Dissertations

Land reform is a burning issue in Brazil. Redistribution of land through government expropriation has proven to be difficult and expensive as unwilling landowners can hold up the process for years, or defeat it, in the courts. In 1997, the World Bank, at the request of the Brazilian Government, approved Land Reform and Poverty Alleviation Pilot Project 4147-BR -- known in Brazil as the Cedula da Terra. This program instituted a market based approach to land reform through which eligible agricultural workers could form associations and obtain subsidized financing to purchase land from willing sellers. As there was no previous …

University Of New Hampshire R+30 Headcounts Of Majors By College And Gender Unh - Durham Degree Candidates Only Fall 2009, University Of New Hampshire. Institutional Research And Assessment

UNH Factbooks

University of New Hampshire factbook data from the 2009-2010 academic year

University Of New Hampshire Graduate School Catalog, 2010-2011, University Of New Hampshire

Graduate Catalog

No abstract provided.

University Of New Hampshire R+30 Headcounts Of Majors By College And Gender Unh - Durham Degree Candidates Only Spring 2010, University Of New Hampshire. Institutional Research And Assessment

UNH Factbooks

University of New Hampshire factbook data from the 2009-2010 academic year

The 2009 Annual Reports Of The Town Of Effingham, New Hampshire., Effingham Town Representatives

Effingham, NH Annual Reports

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire.

Annual Reports Of The Town Of Strafford 2009. For The Year Ending December 31, 2009., Strafford Town Representatives

Strafford, NH Annual Reports

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire.

University Of New Hampshire R+30 Headcounts Of Majors By College And Gender Unh - Manchester Degree Candidates Only Fall 2009, University Of New Hampshire. Institutional Research And Assessment

UNH Factbooks

University of New Hampshire factbook data from the 2009-2010 academic year

Bachelor Degree Completions By College, 2000-2009, University Of New Hampshire. Institutional Research And Assessment

UNH Factbooks

University of New Hampshire factbook data from the 2009-2010 academic year

The Relationship Between Learning Styles And Nursing Students' Satisfaction With Online Education, Jamie L. Meyers

Master's Theses and Capstones

A descriptive correlation study was conducted to investigate the relationship between nursing students' satisfaction with online education and their preferred learning style. Eighty-nine nursing students from a Northeast university completed the Visual (V), Auditory (A), Read/Write (R), and Kinesthetic (K), (VARK) learning style inventory tool, Online Course Satisfaction Survey (OCSS) and demographic questionnaire. Findings revealed an overall 67% satisfaction rate with online education but dissatisfaction in the areas of communication and interaction. The study showed the majority of nursing students possess the combination of all four learning preferences, VARK. No statistical significant relationship between a student's learning style and satisfaction …

Winter Sprouting Broccoli: A New Crop For High Tunnels?, Becky Sideman

UNH Cooperative Extension

No abstract provided.

Asset Forfeiture: State Restrictions And Equitable Sharing, Charles Kucher

Master's Theses and Capstones

Civil asset forfeiture is criticized for its lack of procedural protections for property owners and for skewing the priorities of law enforcement. Federal civil forfeiture law allows federal agencies to prosecute civil forfeiture cases for state and local law enforcement agencies, a practice that is criticized for allowing the circumvention of state laws. This thesis looks at three factors governing forfeiture at the state level (standard of proof, conviction requirement and financial incentive) and examines their effect on federal equitable sharing payments. The results indicate that both conviction requirement and standard of proof affect equitable sharing payments and suggests that …

Book 1 Of William The Breton's "Philippide": A Translation, Gregory P. Stringer

Master's Theses and Capstones

Among the contemporary narrative sources for the reign of King Philip II Augustus of France [r. 1179--1223], William the Breton's thirteenth-century epic poem the Philippide is the least well known and the least utilized. This thesis represents the first English language translation of a significant portion of the Philippide. The introduction explores William the Breton's life and works; the poem's sources, classical and contemporary; William the Breton's vocabulary and poetic voice; William the Breton's self-conception as a historian and a narrator, as demonstrated in his surviving works; and the overall theme and structure of the Philippide. It also includes as …

Is The Internet Colorblind?, Courtney Marshall

The University Dialogue

No abstract provided.

Potential For Conflict Index Of Management Options At Two New Hampshire Beaches, Rochelle Pernak

Master's Theses and Capstones

The 18 miles of New Hampshire coastline is a popular destination among recreationists, attracting millions of visitors each year. Swimming, surfing and spending time on the beach are just a few of the many activities that take place on the coast. While swimming has been utilized as a recreational activity for thousands of years, surfing has just recently become an established activity in the last few centuries. Surfing's popularity continues to grow around the world and particularly in New Hampshire and on the east coast. With increasing interest in these recreational activities at the beaches and the amount of resources …

Advocates, Agendas, And Nay-Sayers: Science And Technology In The Public Arena, Arthur Greenberg

The University Dialogue

No abstract provided.

Oral Language Milestone Acquisition In Children Adopted From China, Hannah Harwood

Master's Theses and Capstones

This study contains language milestone acquisition information for 14 children adopted from China between 8 and 12 months of age. A retrospective questionnaire was utilized to gain information regarding the specific ages at which these adoptees demonstrated an understanding of English along with the ages where they demonstrated proficient usage of English. Parent responses indicated that these adoptees developed English language milestones comparable to their monolingual peers, for both age of acquisition and order of acquisition. This research adds to the literature on what may be expected regarding language development in children adopted from China prior to one year of …