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The Emotional Intelligence And Resilience Of School Leaders: An Investigation Into Leadership Behaviors, Aileen Thompson Bumphus

Dissertations

Recent research suggests that leadership in schools and emotional intelligence are related. Furthermore, resiliency has been researched and found to be linked to successful leadership. As a result of these findings and the researcher's own professional experiences, it is speculated that emotional intelligence, resilience, and school leadership may be highly related factors in how one leads a school. The study of this three-factor relationship has been virtually overlooked in the research on school leadership and might prove useful in the recruitment, identification, development, and retention of effective school leaders.

A study of the emotional intelligence, resilience, and leadership of public …

Perceptions And Knowledge Of Special Education Law Among Building Administrators In A Selected Georgia School District, Patricia Claire Grasso

Dissertations

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has impacted every school district in the United States and significantly altered the role of administrators. Requirements for the administration and supervision of special education have developed exponentially since the enactment of Public Law 94- 142 and its reauthorization as the IDEA.

The purpose of this study was to compare the perceptions and knowledge of building administrators regarding special education law. The following research questions were developed to facilitate this study: (a) is there a difference in the level of knowledge about special education law among building administrators regarding the seven provisions of …

Sustainability Evaluation: Development And Validation Of An Evaluation Checklist, Daniela C. Schroeter

Dissertations

Sustainability permeates many levels of human activity. Interest in sustainability is grounded primarily in the sustainable development field which is concerned with the survival of humans on planet earth, and with the growing demands of meeting people's long-term needs. In the North American evaluation literature, however, sustainability is primarily thought of in terms of continuing program activity beyond initial funding cycles via diversification of funding streams or institutionalization.

Two distinct perspectives for evaluating sustainability were identified. The first is concerned with micro-level issues related to the continuation of programs, policies, and other types of human action. The second is a …

A Comparison Of Maintenance-Training Methods For Children Diagnosed With Autism, Nicholas L. Weatherly

Dissertations

The current study evaluated the effects of two different maintenance-training methods and one control condition on skill maintenance within a public-school classroom for children diagnosed with autism. The two training methods involved the use of either a continuous-reinforcement schedule or a thinned partial-reinforcement schedule during 20 overlearning training sessions following skill acquisition. The control condition did not involve any overlearning following skill acquisition. Three children were each taught two curricular programs, with each program involving the two training methods and the control condition using a multielement design. Overlearning using a thinned partial-reinforcement schedule reliably produced greater maintenance across all participants, …

The Use Of Personality Assessments In Designing Environmental Enrichment For Garnett's Bushbabies (Otolemur Garnettii), Lauren Elizabeth Highfill

Dissertations

Recently the study of animal personality has become an important and credible topic of research and a number of studies have revealed personality traits in a variety of species. The consideration of individual animal personality traits is important for animal management and welfare. For example, ensuring inter-individual compatibility in group housing animals may serve to ensure the safety of the whole group. To date, no formal research has been conducted on whether the assessment of individual personality traits could be used as a tool for individualizing environmental enrichment interventions. The goal of environmental enrichment is to increase the rate of …

Identification Of Two Distinct Glutaminyl Cyclase Isoforms In Drosophila Melanogaster, Amanda Thigpen Parker

Dissertations

Sequence analyses revealed two putative glutaminyl cyclase genes in Drosophila melanogaster with greater than 60% amino acid sequence identity to previously identified glutaminyl cyclase in humans. Expression, purification, and characterization of both putative proteins revealed two enzymatically active glutaminyl cyclase enzymes. Comparison of the Drosophila melanogaster glutaminyl cyclase enzymes to the published human glutaminyl cyclase revealed the enzymes were very similar. The Km values obtained were identical to those of human glutaminyl cyclase for three different substrates tested. However, the Drosophila glutaminyl cyclases demonstrated lower turnover numbers. Both Drosophila glutaminyl cyclase isoforms were inhibited by imidazole, imidazole derivatives, and metal …

Knowledge-Based Analysis Of Genomic Expression Data By Using Different Machine Learning Algorithms For The Purpose Of Diagnostic, Prognostic Or Therapeutic Application, Venkata Jagan Mohan Thodima

Dissertations

With more and more biological information generated, the most pressing task of bioinformatics has become to analyze and interpret various types of data, including nucleotide and amino acid sequences, protein structures, gene expression profiling and so on. In this dissertation, we apply the data mining techniques of feature generation, feature selection, and feature integration with learning algorithms to tackle the problems of disease phenotype classification, clinical outcome and patient survival prediction from gene expression profiles.

We analyzed the effect of batch noise in microarray data on the performance of classification. Batchmatch, a batch adjusting algorithm based on double scaling method …

Exploring The Cognitive Underpinnings Of Word Retrieval Deficits In Dyslexia Using The Tip-Of-The-Tongue Paradigm, Sarah Margaret Hanly

Dissertations

Over the past thirty years a consensus has emerged that the word reading difficulties of dyslexic readers stem from deficits in phonological processing. One experimental paradigm that has provided support for this view is the finding that dyslexic readers demonstrate deficits in word retrieval from long term memory on picture naming tasks. Dyslexic readers are able to retrieve fewer words in their receptive vocabularies and are less accurate than normally developing readers. However, the conclusion that dyslexic readers? difficulties in picture naming are the consequence of deficits in phonological processing is inferential. The current study uses the tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) paradigm …

The Impact Of Gender Socialization On Women?S Learned Technological Helplessness And Its Andragogical Implications, Joy Elise Harris

Dissertations

This research investigated a proposed construct of learned technological helplessness (LTH) in female adult learners, which is believed to be impacted by socialization into traditional gender roles, teacher modeling, and age. A two-pronged approach was used to examine women?s attitudes and beliefs about their abilities to use technology as a learning and personal productivity tool. Participants were females, over age 18, on two campuses of a public Midwest research university. Prior to the primary research, a pilot study (n=204) was undertaken for the purpose of creating a teacher modeling instrument, which measured how teachers model the use of technology. The …

Community Ecology And Phylogeography Of Bird Assemblages In Arid Zones Of Northern Venezuela: Implications For The Conservation Of Restricted-Range Birds, Adriana Rodriguez-Ferraro

Dissertations

Aridlands of northern Venezuela are important from an ornithological perspective because of the occurrence of habitat specialist birds that depend exclusively on desert scrubs and are endemic to this region. Currently, long-term survival of habitat specialists is threatened by ongoing changes in vegetation but the effects of such changes on bird assemblages are unknown. The goal of this study was to characterize bird assemblages found in six arid zones in northern Venezuela at both ecological and genetic levels, and to generate information relevant for conservation planning. The study involved assessments of patterns of avian species richness, abundance, community composition and …

Spatial And Temporal Dynamics Of Lekking Behavior And Female Mate Choice In The Blue-Crowned Manakin (Lepidothrix Coronata, Aves: Pipridae), Renata Duraes Ribeiro

Dissertations

In lekking species, males aggregate at display grounds (?leks?) that females visit to copulate. Lekking systems are non-resource-based and males vary widely in reproductive output. This dissertation investigates how spatial and temporal factors influence lekking dynamics and female mate choice in the blue-crowned manakin Lepidothrix coronata. The first chapter deals with spatial dynamics of lekking behavior, and investigates whether leks are formed by the establishment of males on sites of high female density (?hotspot hypothesis?). Predictive maps of female spatial distribution were built based on field data and contrasted to the lek distribution. Leks were located in sites where males …

Grassland Birds In Natural And Cultivated Grasslands In The Northern Campos Of Uruguay: Diversity Patterns, Responses To Vegetation Structure, And Nest Survival, Adrian Bruno Azpiroz

Dissertations

Grassland bird populations are declining in many regions of the world as a consequence of habitat modification but research efforts have been concentrated in North America and Europe. In the Neotropics, however, many aspects of grassland bird ecology remain virtually unexplored. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of habitat modification on the distribution, abundance, and reproductive success of grassland birds in the Northern Campos of Uruguay. The study focused on birds that inhabit four grassland habitats which differed in terms of agricultural management in the Northern Campos of Uruguay. First, distance sampling was used to characterize …

Population Genetics Of Island Endemics: Neutral And Major Histocompatibility Loci, Jennifer Lynn Bollmer

Dissertations

Island archipelagoes are ideal for the study of microevolutionary forces due to their multiple, closely related but geographically disjunct populations. I used both neutral and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) loci to determine the population genetic structures of bird species endemic to the Galapagos Islands. MHC molecules recognize foreign pathogens in the body, and these loci are known for their high degree of genetic variability maintained by natural selection. Small island populations are predicted to have reduced genetic variability due to the effects of genetic drift; however, selection may be strong enough to prevent the loss of variability at MHC loci. …

Transformations With Tai Chi: The Experience Of Community-Dwelling Tai Chi Practitioners, Sunny Yim Alperson Phd

Dissertations

While Tai Chi practice has dramatically increased across the U.S., its mechanism is unknown, and overall understanding of the phenomenon is lacking. The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of community-dwelling Tai Chi practitioners through a qualitative study, detailing its social and personal appeal, the reasons for their continued involvement, its symbolic meanings, and its impact on their lives. Utilizing the grounded theory method and dimensional analysis, in-depth interview data from 23 practitioners, aged 49-82 were audio-recorded, transcribed, coded and analyzed to derive a grounded theory. A theoretical model, transformation with moving meditation was developed, reflecting the …

Spirituality And Symptom Self Management Of Osteoarthritis, Lois M. Kannan Phd

Dissertations

Healthcare providers need to identify holistic self-care techniques that are endorsed by patients as effective strategies for symptom management of osteoarthritis, which is the single most common cause of disability in older adults. Research in this area may direct the development of interventions to ensure that older adults are afforded every opportunity to remain active and productive, with an improved health related quality of life, despite age related musculoskeletal conditions. The purpose of this study was to describe the relationships among symptom experience, symptom management, and symptom outcome based on spiritual well-being. A quantitative, descriptive, correlational, and noninterventional study design, …

Reproductive And Social Dynamics Of A Lek Breeding Bird, Thomas Brandt Ryder

Dissertations

Sociality and the unequal apportionment of reproductive success among social individuals is a common characteristic of many vertebrate taxa. To date, our understanding of what factors drive high variance in reproductive success (i.e., intra vs. inter-sexual selection) and which male attributes contribute to that variance, are still fragmentary for most species. Moreover, how social structure interacts with individual behavior and fitness remains understudied despite its potential importance to the evolution of cooperation. This dissertation research focused on understanding this complex synergistic interplay between social and reproductive dynamics in a lek-breeding bird, the wire-tailed manakin. The first chapter examines the complex …

Disruptive Effects Of Aβ Oligomers To The Radial-Arm Maze Performance Of Rats, Kineta Lynn Morgan-Paisley

Dissertations

Converging lines of research have implicated a causal relationship between oligomers of amyloid-β and the cognitive impairments associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD); however, very few studies have provided direct experimental evidence of this relationship and none of those studies have used an established model of working memory. The present study used an established model of working memory, the radial-arm maze, to examine the effects of amyloid-β oligomers on the memory of two groups of rats. The experimental group received ICV injections of the culture media (CM) of Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells transfected with a human mutation of APP containing …

Intimacy, Elizabeth Knapp

Dissertations

In one of his finest poems, "Asphodel, That Greeny Flower," William Carlos Williams writes: "It is difficult / to get the news from poems / but men die miserably everyday / for lack / of what is found there." Earlier, his contemporary, W.H. Auden, had made his famous claim that "poetry makes nothing happen." While the views of the two great modernists appear to be at odds with each other, they are in fact two sides of the same argument, the yin and yang at the center of all true art. For what these poets saw as critical to both …

The Role Of Short Term Synamptic Plasticity In Temporal Coding Of Neuronal Networks, Lakshmi Chandrasekaran

Dissertations

Short term synaptic plasticity is a phenomenon which is commonly found in the central nervous system. It could contribute to functions of signal processing namely, temporal integration and coincidence detection by modulating the input synaptic strength. This dissertation has two parts. First we study the effects of short term synaptic plasticity in enhancing coincidence detecting ability of neurons in the avian auditory brainstem. Coincidence detection means a target neuron has a higher firing rate when it receives simultaneous inputs from different neurons as opposed to inputs with large phase delays. This property is used by birds in sound localization. When …

Appropriation Of Privacy Management Within Social Networking Sites, Catherine Dwyer

Dissertations

Social networking sites have emerged as one of the most widely used types of interactive systems, with memberships numbering in the hundreds of millions around the globe. By providing tools for their members to manage an ever-changing set of relationships, social networking sites push a constant expansion of social boundaries. These sites place less emphasis on tools that limit social boundaries to enable privacy.

The rapid expansion of online social boundaries has caused privacy shockwaves. Privacy offline is enabled by constraints of time and space. Online, powerful search engines and long term digital storage means private data have no expiration …

About Love, Kerri Ann Quinn

Dissertations

About Love is a novella and a collection of short stories written at the University of Southern Mississippi. It is accompanied by a critical preface.

Marathon, Ohio, Alan Guido Rossi Jr.

Dissertations

Marathon, Ohio is an original collection of fiction, accompanied by a critical introduction. All of the stories were written between 2005 and 2008 at the University of Southern Mississippi's Center for Writers. The stories are arranged for a thematic and formal effect, rather than by chronology.

A Systematic And Taxonomic Review Of The Family Pseudotanaidae (Crustacea: Peracarida: Tanaidacea) Based Primarily On Morphometry Cladistic Analyses, Jerry Alan Mclelland

Dissertations

Species of the tanaid family Pseudotanaidae, established by Jurgen Sieg in 1973, have been reported from all the world's oceans in depths ranging from near the surface to below 6,000 m. The family currently consists of 46 characteristically small tanaidomorph species residing in two subfamilies, the Cryptocopinae (seven species) and the Pseudotanainae (39 species). Members of the more ancestral Crytocopinae differ from the Pseudotanainae by having females with four rather than three antennule articles and a complete separation of the maxilliped endites. The primary objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that the current structure of the family …

Evaluating Vascular Plant Composition And Species Richness On Horn Island, Mississippi, Using Passive And Active Remote Sensing In Conjunction With Ground Based Measurements, Kelly Lynn Lucas

Dissertations

Barrier island vegetation is subjected to chronic abiotic stressors combined with periodic storm events that favor species adapted to harsh environments. These islands are the first landforms to be affected by changes in coastal subsidence and sea-level rise. Evaluating changes in vegetation is important for understanding the impact of global climate change on coastal environments.

This study assesses vegetation composition and plant species richness on Horn Island, Mississippi using ground data in conjunction with remotely sensed spectral and LIDAR data. The goals of this research are to: 1) classify and map vegetation composition on Horn Island using hyperspectral and LIDAR …

The Rhetorical Strategies Of Pregnancy Support Centers Including The Visual Rhetoric Of Fetal Ultrasound Technology, Raymond Kyle Jones

Dissertations

This study examined the rhetorical strategies, including verbal and visual rhetoric, of pregnancy support centers that provide clients with fetal ultrasounds to persuade those who may be considering abortion as a means of resolving their unplanned pregnancy to carry to term. Qualitative data were gathered from 12 interviews of directors and ultrasound personnel from 7 states as well as from television advertisements and printed material. Eighteen research questions investigating the rhetorical transactions between centers and clients were answered. Rhetorical analyses were performed on the verbal and visual messages used in client interactions.

The grounded theory approach of inquiry resulted in …

A Performer's Analysis Of Eric Ewazen's Sonata For Trumpet And Piano, Joseph Daniel Mcnally Iii

Dissertations

Eric Ewazen is a prolific composer whose works are becoming standard repertoire for not only trumpet players but also for brass quintets, soloists, and wind ensembles alike. Ewazen wrote the Sonata for Trumpet and Piano for the International Trumpet Guild, and it was premiered by Chris Gekker, trumpet, and Ewazen, piano, in 1995 in Bloomington, Indiana.

This document illuminates some of the characteristics of Ewazen's music, and summarizes the music's technical and performance demands, based on firsthand performing experience. It should also offer practical observations and recommendations for the performance of Eric Ewazen's Sonata for Trumpet and Piano.

Use Of Monoclonal ∆-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Antibodies Chemically Bound To A Polystyrene Surface Using Glutaraldehyde For The Purpose Of Extracting ∆-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol And ∆-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Carboxylic Acid From Postmortem Whole Blood Samples For Analysis By Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry, Thomas Sidney Pittman

Dissertations

Quantitations of drugs and their respective metabolites in postmortem blood samples using gas chromatographic instrumentation is a primary analytical practice used to determine if drugs played a role in or were the cause of a victim's death. Postmortem blood samples often prove difficult to work with due to interfering substances formed during the putrefaction process. Attempts to eliminate interfering substances with present day extraction methods can be time-consuming, costly and often ineffective when dealing with drugs that exhibit toxicity or impairment at very low concentrations. This study was conducted using monoclonal antibodies chemically bound to a polystyrene surface to extract …

School Web Sites Within The Educational Marketplace: A Case Study Investigating The Parents As Engaged Consumer-Users, Claudia Jane Beeman Edd

Dissertations

Schools -- like their corporate counterparts -- recognize the many advantages that the Internet affords. Today's schools vie for students, and thus use the web to market their services and showcase their management team (administrators, teachers, staff) and academic accomplishments. In a sense, then, web sites are the public face of education; those that are well-designed and multi-featured can enhance a district's public image and create the perception of excellence and competence. This case study explores how one suburban, K-8 school district approaches web site development, specifically, the process by which decisions about design, development, and maintenance are made (and …

Roosting Ecology Of Rafinesque's Big-Eared Bat, Corynorhinus Rafinesquii, In Southeastern Mississippi, Austin Webb Trousdale Iii

Dissertations

Rafinesque's big-eared bat, Corynorhinus rafinesquii, is considered rare and/or declining throughout its range. Concrete bridges are potentially important roosts for C. rafinesquii, especially in the Gulf Coastal Plain where the species' natural roosts (caves and large hollow trees) are inherently scarce. Successful efforts to monitor and conserve this species must account for its movements among multiple roosts and determine the duration of its roost use (including bridges) at different temporal scales. Therefore, I investigated roosting ecology of C. rafinesquii from 2000-2005 within a mixed hardwood-pine (Pinus spp.) system in southeastern Mississippi. I conducted surveys of concrete bridges to determine phenological …

The Influence Of Species And Context On Human-Dolphin Interactions, Deirdre Breen Yeater

Dissertations

Anthropogenic activities pose a threat to marine mammals around the world. Cetaceans that use coastal waters are at particular risk for potential disturbances caused by vessel traffic and human swimmers. Although many cetacean species are found near the coast of Utila, Honduras, little is known about their behavior or the effects of anthropogenic activities on their behavior. Whether the presence of boats and human swimmers led to short-term changes in dolphin behavior was investigated for three commonly sighted species of dolphins; rough-toothed (Steno bredanensis), spinner (Stenalla longirostris), and bottlenose (Turslops truncatus). The dolphins' behavioral activities, with and without other boats …