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Improving Reading Fluency And Comprehension In Elementary Students Using Read Naturally, Rebecca Arvans

Dissertations

Difficulty learning how to read is a risk factor for school failure, low grades, behavior problems, juvenile delinquency, truancy, unemployment, jail time, and substance abuse. Reading difficulties are common in the educational setting, afflicting anywhere from 20-40 percent of students. Read Naturally is a computer-based reading program which targets the third "big idea" (i.e„ accuracy and fluency with reading). The current study assessed the efficacy of the Read Naturally program in second through fourth grade elementary students in a public elementary school. Additionally, this study assessed whether improving reading abilities resulted in changes in classroom behavior problems or self-esteem. Eighty-two …

Anomaly Detection Techniques For Ad Hoc Networks, Chaoli Cai

Dissertations

Anomaly detection is an important and indispensable aspect of any computer security mechanism. Ad hoc and mobile networks consist of a number of peer mobile nodes that are capable of communicating with each other absent a fixed infrastructure. Arbitrary node movements and lack of centralized control make them vulnerable to a wide variety of unknown and known attacks from inside as well as from outside. In this dissertation we propose two efficient statistical techniques for anomaly detection for these networks.

In order to take into account incomplete testing samples and the interaction among multiple features, we present BANBAD •- a …

A Molecular Analysis Of Training Multiple Versus Single Manipulations To Establish A Generalized Manipulative Imitation Repertoire, Breanne K. Hartley

Dissertations

This study evaluates the necessity of training multiple versus single manipulativeimitations per object in order to establish generalized manipulative-imitation. Training took place in Croyden Avenue School's Early Childhood Developmental Delay preschool classroom in Kalamazoo, MI. Two groups of 3 children each were trained to imitate in order to determine the most appropriate number of manipulations required (per object) to establish a generalized manipulative-imitation repertoire. Three children received single-manipulations training, and 3 children received multiple-manipulations training. It was anticipated that the multiple-manipulations training group would acquire a greater amount of generalized manipulative-imitation because the training required that the children discriminate between …

An Evaluation Of A Sexual Assault Education Program, Angela P. Hatcher

Dissertations

Sexually aggressive behavior, especially on college campuses, is an issue of major concern. Previous research has found that 54% of college women report being sexually victimized (Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987). Given the scope of this problem, effective prevention strategies are necessary. Sexual assault prevention programs have included those targeting a mixed gender audience as well as gender specific programs. Research examining the effectiveness of these programs, at both post-intervention and follow-up, have provided mixed results.

The goal of the current study was to examine the effectiveness of a video-based sexual assault education program in decreasing rape myths, increasing victim …

Kendall's Tau And Spearman's Rho For Zero-Inflated Data, Ronald Silva Pimentel

Dissertations

Zero-inflated continuous distributions have positive probability mass at zero in addition to a continuous distribution. Such type of data can be encountered, for example, in medical, environmental and financial research. The main focus of this research is to study the association of nonnegative random variables, both having a positive probability mass at zero. New estimators of the classical measures of association, Kendall's tau and Spearman's rho, appropriate for the zero-inflated distributions, are proposed and their asymptotic distributions are derived. Performance of the estimators is assessed by a Monte Carlo simulation study. New ideas are illustrated by a real data example.

Three Essays On Foreign Aid, Poverty And Growth., Aberra Senbeta

Dissertations

This dissertation studies how foreign aid impacts poverty and economic growth and addresses three interrelated issues: whether aid reduces poverty, how aid affects economic growth, and whether the poverty mitigating role of aid depends on the levels of poverty.

The first essay, "Does Foreign Aid Reduce Poverty?" examines the direct effects of foreign aid on poverty in developing countries using dynamic panel estimation techniques. The results suggest that aid has a significant poverty reducing effect even after controlling for average income. The findings are robust to model specification and estimation techniques. The policy implication is that poverty reduction can be …

The Politics And Consequences Of Stakeholder Participation In International Development Evaluation, Anne Cullen

Dissertations

Participatory approaches to evaluation have long been vogue in the international development evaluation community. However, despite their widespread use, there is a dearth of research on the impact of stakeholder participation in international development evaluations. Although proponents of participatory approaches to international development evaluation assert many advantages of their use, the evidence to support these claims is largely anecdotal. Similarly, critics of participatory approaches do not have empirical data on which to base their assertions. Further confusing the matter are multiple and conflicting definitions of stakeholder and participation. Some interpret stakeholders to mean funders while others view stakeholders as those …

Empirical Essays On The Impact Of Health-Aid On Health Outcomes, Elsy Thomas Kizhakethalackal

Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three essays that empirically explore the impact of multilateral health-aid on health outcomes like infant mortality rate (IMR) and incidences of an infectious disease, Tuberculosis, in developing economies. The first essay uses parametric and semiparametric mean regressions (additive and non-additive specifications) to capture the impact of education and health-aid on the IMR, after controlling for other covariates. Both specifications confirm education as an important factor in reducing IMR. However, the effect of health-aid on IMR is not significant. In our additive model, we do see a threshold level of health-aid after which the impacts of health-aid …

Metaevaluation Of Hiv/Aids Prevention Intervention Evaluations In Sub Saharan Africa With A Specific Emphasis On Implications For Women And Girls, Tererai Mafukidze Trent

Dissertations

Despite numerous attempts by international agencies to halt the spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), nowhere has the impact of HIV/AIDS been felt more acutely than among women and girls in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). SSA women account for 59% of adults over the age of 15 living with HIV/AIDS and 76% of those 15-24 who are infected (United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS [UNAIDS], 2007).

The evidence on gender disparities in infection rates is indisputable; there is an urgent need to identify what is missing in HIV/AIDS prevention interventions: What is the evidence based upon …

Theoretical Study Of Localized Surface Plasmons Of Metal Nanoparticles, Clusters And Embedded Metal Nanoparticles In Matrices, Masoud Shabani Nezhad Navrood

Dissertations

Localized surface plasmons resonances (LSPRs) in metallic nanoparticles (NPs) arise from the interactions between incident light and conduction electrons and have attracted enormous research interest in recent years both for their fundamental nature as well as applications in interdisciplinary areas of sciences such as biological imaging, plasmonic photo-thermal therapy, photovoltaics, and plasmonic sensors. LSPRs are strongly localized and depend on the shape, size, the composition of the NPs, the polarization direction of the incident light, refractive index (RI) of the surrounding medium as well as on the chemical environment that surrounded NPs. Although significant research has progressed both theoretically and …

Persistence And Success: A Study Of Cognitive, Social, And Institutional Factors Related To Retention Of Kalamazoo Promise Recipients At Western Michigan University, Michelle Ann Bakerson

Dissertations

The Kalamazoo Promise, a universal scholarship program announced in November 2005 provides four years of tuition and fees at any of Michigan's two- or fouryear public colleges or universities for students who have attended Kalamazoo Public Schools. This investment in the community is being replicated elsewhere across the nation, including Denver and Pittsburgh. The scholarship program lowers the cost of postsecondary education, thereby increasing incentives for high school graduation, college enrollment, and college completion. Of the 307 Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship recipients who have attended Western Michigan University since its inception, 16% have been academically dismissed.

The main objectives of this …

The Collective Voices Of Asian International Doctoral Students In Counseling Psychology In The U.S.: Recommendations For Faculty And Training Programs, Miki Koyama

Dissertations

There is growing interest among scholars to understand the training experiences of international students in applied psychology. Few empirical studies have specifically investigated international doctoral students in counseling psychology. The purpose of the present study was to create an opportunity for the voices of Asian international students in U.S. doctoral counseling psychology programs could be expressed, and to convey their collective voices.

Twelve Asian international students, predominately women from East Asia, participated in two phone interviews. Participants were asked to illustrate their overall training experiences, share helpful and unhelpful aspects of their training, and identify recommendations for faculty and training …

Child Care Centers On Higher Education Campuses: Director Perceptions Of Internal And External Roles And Director Leadership, Kerisa A. Myers

Dissertations

An increasing focus on early childhood education and brain research offers a prime opportunity for higher education institutions to research and formulate thought concerning quality child care. Currently, there is limited research examining the impact and roles of child care centers on university campuses. To add to the base of knowledge, this nationally-focused study examined the following broad question: "what value do campus child care centers offer to a given higher education institution and its surrounding community, especially from a center director's perspective?"

An on-line survey was sent to over 400 campus child care directors at two- and four-year public …

Understanding The Impact Of The Kalamazoo Promise From The Perspectives Of Parents And Community Group Members, Charles Pearson

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to uncover the emerging views of parents and community group stakeholders in regards to The Kalamazoo Promise, and what they believed were the important issues that must be understood by implementers of The Promise in order to provide more effective implementation.

The Kalamazoo Promise is a full-tuition scholarship provided to all eligible graduates of the school district. The qualification criteria are simple, and all graduates attending at least the four years of high school are eligible.

A case study was conducted in one representative school in this midsized, urban district. A multiple-phase approach was …

Can We Get Nurses To Stay? A Qualitative Study To Evaluate The Effectiveness Of A Formal Mentoring Program In An Acute Care Health System, Eileen M. Willits

Dissertations

This qualitative phenomenological case study was designed to investigate the affect that a formal mentoring program had on job satisfaction including a nurse's intent to stay with their current employer and their intent to stay in the nursing profession. The research was intended to determine whether mentoring programs could be used to help avoid the affect of the upcoming predicted nursing shortage in the acute care hospital.

The findings were based on the results of a sample of twelve nurses who had voluntarily signed up to take part in a formal mentoring program sponsored by the staff development department of …

The Ethnic Identity Of Returning Immigrants To A Pueblo In Yucatan, David Piacenti

Dissertations

This study seeks to understand: 1) motivations for leaving and, if applicable, racialized, segregated environment, which is represented by the returned cholo, whose "urban gangbanger" mentality confronts the traditional, rural ethnic identity. San Francisco also affects the overall perception of immigration and desire for permanent U.S. residence. Of the San Francisco cohort, 42% say immigration is "positive overall." Conversely, 62% of the Kalamazoo cohort says that immigration is "positive overall." Only 29% of the San Francisco cohort desire permanent residence in the U.S. while 54% of the Kalamazoo cohort desire permanent U.S. residence. Therefore, the suburban context of Kalamazoo may …

A Two-Sample Adaptive Procedure Based On The Log-Rank And Peto And Peto's Wilcoxon Tests, Annie A. Tordilla

Dissertations

It has been shown that under a location-scale model y = μ + βz + σε at where y is right censored, the Log-Rank test is asymptotically efficient for the Extreme minimum value error distribution while Peto and Peto's Wilcoxon test is asymptotically efficient for the Logistic error distribution. We propose a two-sample adaptive test, which first selects between Extreme minimum value and Logistic error distribution as to which is a better fit to the data, then performs the asymptotically efficient test (Log-Rank or Peto and Peto's Wilcoxon test) for the selected distribution. The performance of the adaptive test is …

Measuring Graduating M.S.W. Students' Knowledge Of The Steps Of Evidence-Based Practice, Kellie D. Cody Jr.

Dissertations

Knowledge of evidence-based practice (EBP) is essential to social workers entering the workforce. The literature review revealed no studies that have measured the knowledge students have of the steps of EBP in the final semester of their master's of social work (M.S.W.) degree programs.

The purpose of this study was to administer a newly validated instrument to graduating M.S.W. students to measure their knowledge of the steps of EBP. Eighty-six students in four schools in Michigan completed the instrument and scored a mean of 6.23 out of a possible score of 15. An ANOVA showed no statistically significant difference in …

The Heterosexual Mother-Lesbian Daughter Relationship: Using Consensual Qualitative Research (Cqr) To Understand Perceptions Among Predominately White, Formally Educated Mothers, Julie Meredith Davis

Dissertations

Little research specifically addresses the heterosexual mother-lesbian daughter relationship. Given this, a core research team of six utilized a Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) approach to gain insight into two broad ideas. The first broad idea was about how heterosexual mothers perceive that their relationship with their lesbian daughters unfolds after the mothers accepted their daughters' minority sexual orientation. The second broad idea was how changes in the heterosexual mothers' values, beliefs, and attitudes (from the mothers' perspectives) influenced their postacceptance relationship with their daughters. The 10 women who agreed to participate in the study were predominately white, formally well-educated, psychologically …

A Comparison Of Methods For Teaching Auditory-Visual Conditional Discriminations To Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Laura Lee Grow

Dissertations

Early and intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) is an approach to treating the behavioral deficits and excesses observed in children with autism spectrum disorders. The magnitude of improvement in the overall functioning of children receiving EIBI has stimulated additional research and widespread clinical dissemination through the publication of EIBI curricular manuals. Many EIBI manuals recommend teaching conditional discriminations using the simple/conditional method. Initially, component simple discriminations are taught in isolation and in the presence of a distracter stimulus. Finally, conditional discriminations, which include stimuli previously taught as simple discriminations, are presented to the learner. Although the simple/conditional method is often recommended …

Adoption And Integration Of Best Practice Methods In Secondary English Teaching, Gretchen Rumohr-Voskuil

Dissertations

Commencing with a critical examination of the history and rhetorical force of the term "best practice," this dissertation undertakes a qualitative study of three secondary English teachers, considering their adoption and integration of best practice methods. The subjects, represented by urban, suburban and rural secondary schools, were National Writing Project participants identified as "exemplary teachers" by a NWP site director. "Best practice" methods analyzed included the process model for the teaching of writing and literature, student decision-making, and a low-risk writing environment. Factors that were found to influence the adoption of best practice methods included undergraduate and preservice experiences, intern …

Simulation, Synthesis, And Characterization Of Hydrogels And Nanocomposite Gels., Kamleshkumar J. Suthar

Dissertations

Stimuli-responsive gels are three-dimensional, cross-linked polymeric materials that undergo large physical change in response to the environmental stimuli, like temperature, pH, electrical potential, and irradiation. Ferrogels are colloidaldispersion of magnetic nanoparticles in the hydrogel network. The magnetic nanoparticles are attached to the polymeric network by different adhesive forces; as a result, it becomes sensitive to the applied magnetic field.

The main objective of this research is the simulation, synthesis, and characterization of the hydrogel and ferrogel. Simulation of the hydrogel response was performed for various environmental stimuli using a multiphysics finite element analysis software, COMSOL. The pH and electrical response …

Validating The Attitudes Toward Sex Offenders Scale, Charmeka. Whitehead

Dissertations

This study investigated the reliability and validity of the Attitudes Toward Sex Offenders Scale (ATS) measurement by assessing attitudes of counselors in training towards juvenile sex offenders. The specific aims of this study were to determine (a) internal consistency of the ATS, (b) construct validity of the ATS based on exploratory factor analysis, and (c) the degree to which this instrument has convergent and discriminate validity. The intellectual merit of this study was to provide appropriate scale validation of the ATS so that it might be used to assess attitudes of mental health professionals who work with juvenile sex offenders. …

Spatial Frequency Localization In Mammograms Using Wavelets, Tomislav Bujanovic

Dissertations

Microcalcifications are residual calcium deposits that are often the first signs of developing breast abnormalities that may lead to breast cancer. Up to 30% of cancerous lesion in diagnosed breast cancer cases could have been detected earlier through mammogram screenings if the right tools were available. While the detection of calcifications may be easier in fatty backgrounds, it is challenging in dense parenchyma, suggesting the need for more sensitive tools for accurately identifying suspicious regions in mammograms and propping a computer-aided system for further target classification. Therefore, the objective of the research work in this dissertation is to develop a …

Important Or Impotent? Radical Right Political Parties And Public Policy In Germany And Austria, Marcella J. Myers

Dissertations

Across Western Europe throughout the 1990s radical right political parties emerged and gained some electoral success. Since that time, particularly in the face of the popularity of the National Front in France and the Freedom Party in Austria, many studies have been conducted examining the voting behavior, party membership and ideologies of these parties, and what the parties mean to democratic governments. Largely unexamined are the effects of radical right political parties on public policy. This study attempts to evaluate the effect of radical right parties on public policy by using a most similar, case study research design, relying heavily …

The Program Evaluation Standards Applied For Metaevaluation Purposes: Investigating Interrater Reliabiity And Implications For Use, Lori A. Wingate

Dissertations

Metaevaluation is the evaluation of evaluation. Metaevaluation may focus particular evaluation cases, evaluation systems, or the discipline overall. Leading scholars within the discipline consider metaevaluation to be a professional imperative, demonstrating that evaluation is a reflexive enterprise. Various criteria have been set forth for what constitutes excellence in evaluation. In the context of educational program evaluation, the dominant criteria are the Program Evaluation Standards, developed by the developed by the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation.

There has been widespread acceptance and application of the Program Evaluation Standards, and their use is advocated by major organizations and several of …

Adolescents' Experience Of The Factors Influencing Their Diabetes Treatment Regimen, Roger W. Apple

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to better understand and provide a description of the factors that influence adolescents' adherence to the diabetic treatment regimen from the adolescents' experience. The sample consisted of nine adolescents diagnosed with Type I diabetes. A qualitative phenomenological methodology is used to look for significant statements, meanings, and themes that resulted in an exhaustive description of the adolescents' experience.

In-depth interviews are the primary method of data collection. Data analysis includes: transcribing the interviews and reading the transcripts, extracting significant statements, developing formulated meanings, organizing the formulated meanings into clusters of themes, and developing an …

Exploring The Relationship Between Religious Faith, Mental Health Help Seeking Attitudes, And Preferences For Counselor Characteristics Among Black American Churchgoers, Darryl P. Plunkett

Dissertations

Empirical data has shown that Black American churchgoers have generally higher baseline rates of religious involvement than the general U.S. population, as well as higher rates of religious involvement than most Black Americans (Chatters, Taylor & Lincoln. 1999). Researchers have noted the influence of religion on the help seeking attitudes of Black Americans (Abernethy, Houston, Mimms, & Boyd-Franklin, 2006) and have also identified counselor characteristics preferred by Black Americans when seeking help for mental health problems (Atkinson, Furlong, & Poston, 1986). However, Black American churchgoers are rarely identified as the target population in empirical studies and little is known about …

Mapping The Global Landscape In Women's Diasporic Writing, Martha Addante

Dissertations

As a contribution to the theory of cognitive mapping, the dissertation examines the ways in which contemporary novels by women writers of diasporic literature offer new conceptual maps of the present global space. This study argues there is a need for alternative mapping strategies that locate the female diasporic subject within the new global political economy. Fredric Jameson's theory of cognitive mapping and Arjun Appadurai's model of global flows provide a useful framework for mapping global space, yet each must be filtered through a feminist critique and modified by a feminist politics. Ultimately, the dissertation argues for a feminist theory …

Informed Consent As A Predictor Of Working Alliance And Perception Of Counselor/Psychotherapist, Scott E. Kerby

Dissertations

Client informed consent is an important component and ethical dimension of counseling and psychotherapy required by each of the mental health professions. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which informed consent in counseling/psychotherapy may relate to client perceptions of the working alliance, measured by the Working Alliance Inventory - Short Version (WAI-S) (Tracey and Kokotovic, 1989), and clients' general opinion of the counselor/psychotherapist, measured by the short form of Counselor Rating Form (CRF-S) (Corrigan and Schmidt, 1983). In particular, the study investigated: (1) how discussion and understanding of informed consent related to client perceptions of …