Digital Commons Network^™

Attitudes Of Junior High Teachers Towards Teaching Students With Learning Disabilities In Inclusive Classes In Public Schools In New Providence, Bahamas, Virginia Alicia Romer

Dissertations

Problem. The implementation of inclusive programs has met disapproval and concerns from many general educators regarding the presence of students with learning disabilities in their classes. The purpose therefore of this study was to survey junior high teachers in New Providence, Bahamas, to determine their attitudes toward teaching students with learning disabilities in general education classes; to investigate the type of instructional methodology used in general classes and to determine if instructional delivery is modified to assist students with learning disabilities; examine whether general educators collaborate with special educators when planning their instruction; and to identify if there are differences …

Teacher Perceptions Of Internet-Based Distance Education In Adventist Colleges And Universities : A Mixed-Methods Study, Susan B. Smith

Dissertations

Problem. An examination of Internet-based distance education (IBDE) is important in order to maintain the delivery of quality higher education and to encourage the systemic adoption of policies and practices that promote excellence in IBDE. The quality of online distance education will increasingly become the standard by which students choose a program as their educational options have multiplied with the dramatic growth in distance education.

Method. This was a sequential exploratory mixed-methods study o f the perceptions of teachers on IBDE. It was conducted collaboratively with Pamela Cress who examined administrator perceptions. Data were collected for both studies from teachers …

Nursing Students' Experiences In Personal Spiritual Formation And In Provision Of Spiritual Care To Patients, Beverly Jane Cobb

Dissertations

Problem. Nursing professionals acknowledge that (a) spiritual care is part of holistic care, and (b) nursing education about spiritual care of patients is inadequate. Evidence points to the importance of personal faith and spirituality in order for the nurse to more effectively render spiritual care to patients. Enhancing knowledge about how nursing students learn spiritual care can benefit nursing education and, ultimately, patient care. This study explored how students with high faith maturity provided spiritual nursing care to patients.

Method. This study engaged phenomenological methods with a study population selected from two faith-based educational institutions. A total of 187 nursing …

Administrator Perceptions Of Internet-Based Distance Education In Adventist Colleges And Universities : A Mixed-Method Study, Pamela K. Cress

Dissertations

Problem . The quality of Internet-based distance education (IBDE) will increasingly become the standard by which students choose a program as higher educational options multiply due to the dramatic growth in distance education. A system-wide examination of perceptions of IBDE in Adventist highereducation is important to administrators for future institutional strategic planning purposes, systemic adoption of policies and practices that promote excellence, and identifying collaborative efforts.

Method . This was a sequential exploratory mixed-method study of the perceptions of administrators on IBDE. It was conducted collaboratively with Susan Smith who examined teacher perceptions. Data were collected for both studies from …

The Improv Church : A Qualitative, Theoretical, And Interdisciplinary Explanation Of Its Appeal To Collegians, Karl Haffner

Dissertations

The college years often represent the time when young people drop out of church. The reasons vary. One of the factors in a decision to abandon church is that college students feel many traditional churches are irrelevant. Conventional methods of pedagogy and communication are typically used. The result is a learning environment that feels stale to many young people.

Some educators are experimenting with new methods of instruction based on advances in learning theories, instructional strategies, and in whole-person learning. The purpose of this study was to consider the Improv Church as a learning environment where these advances in education …

How Instructional Leadership Is Addressed In Educational Administration/Leadership Programs, Lolethia Jones Kibble

Dissertations

Problem

Instructional leadership is a major factor in school effectiveness and student achievement, yet it is not widely practiced by school principals. One of the contributing factors, identified in the literature, is a lack of skills and knowledge. Although there is a great deal of information about principal preparation programs, there is very little information on the preparation of school leaders in the practice of instructional leadership behaviors. The purpose of this study was to examine how instructional leadership is addressed in both traditional and restructured educational administration/leadership programs and to what extent this is related to institutional and demographic …

A Comparison Of Kinetic Family Drawings Of Firstborn And Second-Born Siblings, Lynn Anderson

Dissertations

Problem. While the Kinetic Family Drawing (KFD) is a popular assessment tool for clinicians, research on developmental issues and how siblings draw their families is lacking. The purpose of this study was to (a) describe the way siblings perceive themselves and their family interpersonal relationships as expressed in the KFD; and (b) to describe possible developmental age differences in the KFD.

Method. The KFD and a Family Dynamics Interview Schedule were administered to 50 pairs of first- and second-born children from Southwestern Michigan, ages 5-14. The data were analyzed quantitatively by the Wilcoxon Sign Test and Chi-Square, using …

Psychological Sense Of Community In On-Line Learning Environments, Thomas Chris Laughner

Dissertations

Problem. Current literature discusses differences among populations as they relate to face-to-face learning communities. However, no literature exists to determine if these same differences exist in an on-line learning environment. Since community has been closely linked to social and academic integration and success, additional research on whether populations with certain demographics feel the same absence of a sense of community in an on-line environment must be addressed. This study examines differences in psychological sense of community among students based on ethnicity, age, and sex.

Method. A revised Sense of Community Index was administered to students enrolled in at least one …

Instructional Implications Of The Michigan Educational Assessment Program As An Accountability Instrument, Daniel J. Applegate

Dissertations

Problem. In Michigan, early elementary school teachers are held accountable for instructional decisions they made based on the number of children who pass the state standardized reading test, the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP). Although state officials claim the MEAP can inform instruction, no data are regularly collected to describe reading instructional practices or the relationship between current practices and the percentage of students who pass the MEAP.

Method. Using a survey instrument, this study measured the amount of instructional time Kindergarten through Grade 4 teachers reported that they devoted to the development of 19 different components or activities within …

The Stairway To Heaven: A Critique Of The Evangelical Gospel Presentation In North America, Paul Brent Dybdahl

Dissertations

The topic . This study focuses on the so-called "plan of salvation" or "gospel presentation" that evangelical Christians in the United States present to seekers who want to know how to be saved. There are currently three dominant presentations that are widely employed and emulated. The authors of each are well-known: D. James Kennedy, Bill Bright, and Billy Graham.

The major portion of my study involves a two-stage critique of these dominant evangelical gospel presentations: first, from the perspective provided by communication theory, and second, by comparing the presentations of Kennedy, Bright, and Graham with conversion accounts from Luke-Acts. Essentially, …

Culture And The Effectiveness Of Supplier Diversity Programs: A Test Of Predictors, Gwendolyn Whitfield

Dissertations

Increased globalization and diversity has brought with it unique interdependencies. As we experience demographical shifts unlike any other in U.S. history, the growth rate of minority-owned businesses may represent unprecedented opportunity for corporate buyers to partner with minority suppliers. According to the Minority Business Development Agency, the minority population will represent 37.4 percent of the total U.S. population by the year 2020, and will yield purchasing power of $3 trillion. Moreover, it is estimated that between the years 2000 and 2050 the majority of new business starts will originate in the minority business community (U.S. Small Business Administration 1994). Minority-owned …

Adult Esl Oral Reading Fluency And Silent Reading Comprehension, Kristin Lems

Dissertations

A descriptive study of second language adults studying ESL at the beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels in a post-secondary academic program revealed that their oral reading fluency had a significant, low-to-moderate correlation with scores on a measure of silent reading comprehension. The correlation was slightly stronger for measures of accuracy than speed, and strongest for miscue ratio. The correlation increased as proficiency level increased. Among different first language groups, the correlation was highest for Hispanic learners, and lowest for Chinese. Furthermore, all fluency measures correlated better with a listening measure than with the silent reading comprehension measure. When a system …

Load Sharing Strategies In Distributed Environments, Laurentiu Cucos

Dissertations

We investigate load sharing strategies in distributed systems based on work properties, environment and process organization. For various classes of problems we characterize the paradigms corresponding to applicable communication strategies. We develop suitable structure for the work, and work assignment techniques in order to maximize the efficiency. This research is based in part on work conducted on distributed numerical integration.

Student Satisfaction With Michigan Community College Distance Education Courses, Eugene H. Mckay Iii

Dissertations

Distance education courses offered by community colleges and other higher education institutions are becoming popular options for students who seek a more convenient method to obtain a college education. Community colleges are actively expanding their offerings of distance education courses, both nationally and in Michigan. Yet minimal research has been conducted on a large scale to discover the factors which contribute to satisfaction with distance education courses at community colleges.

This study consists of a cross-sectional survey of over 6000 Michigan community college students in Michigan, who completed a distance education courseduring the fall semester of 2002. Sixteen of Michigan's …

Preparing Teachers To Use Technology: The Webquest In The Secondary English Language Arts Methods Classroom, Melinda C. Dobson

Dissertations

This study focuses on why and how English language arts methods instructors can integrate WebQuest development into their courses. Behavioral, cognitive, and constructive learning theory are established as a theoretical basis for introducing the WebQuest into the English language arts methods curriculum. Practicing teachers are surveyed about their WebQuest-use to identify positive and negative outcomes of the activity. National and international standards the WebQuest fulfills are identified. This study focuses on how to integrate technology in general into the methods course and then documents the development of the researcher's WebQuest and that of three different secondary English language arts methods …

Mobility Modeling And Management For Next Generation Wireless Networks, Woo-Jin Choi

Dissertations

Mobility modeling and management in wireless networks are the set of tasks performed in order to model motion patterns, predict trajectories, get information on mobiles' whereabouts and to make use of this information in handoff, routing, location management, resource allocation and other functions.

In the literature, the speed of mobile is often and misleadingly referred to as the level of mobility, such as "high" or "low" mobility. This dissertation presents an information theoretic approach to mobility modeling and management, in which mobility is considered as a measure of uncertainty in mobile's trajectory, that is, the mobility is low if the …

Ip Traceback With Deterministic Packet Marking Dpm, Andrey Belenky

Dissertations

In this dissertation, a novel approach to Internet Protocol (IP) Traceback - Deterministic Packet Marking (DPM) is presented. The proposed approach is scalable, simple to implement, and introduces no bandwidth and practically no processing overhead on the network equipment. It is capable of tracing thousands of simultaneous attackers during a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. Given sufficient deployment on the Internet, DPM is capable of tracing back to the slaves for DDoS attacks which involve reflectors. Most of the processing is done at the victim. The traceback process can be performed post-mortem, which allows for tracing the attacks that …

Capacity, Coding And Interference Cancellation In Multiuser Multicarrier Wireless Communications Systems, Christian Ibars Casas

Dissertations

Multicarrier modulation and multiuser systems have generated a great deal of research during the last decade. Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is a multicarrier modulation generated with the inverse Discrete Fourier Transform, which has been adopted for standards in wireless and wire-line communications. Multiuser wireless systems using multicarrier modulation suffer from the effects of dispersive fading channels, which create multi-access, inter-symbol, and inter-carrier interference (MAI, ISI, ICI). Nevertheless, channel dispersion also provides diversity, which can be exploited and has the potential to increase robustness against fading. Multiuser multi-carrier systems can be implemented using Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), a …

Optimal And Intelligent Decision Making In Sustainable Development Of Electronic Products, Meimei Gao

Dissertations

Increasing global population and consumption are causing declining natural and social systems. Multi-lifecycle engineering and sustainable development address these issues by integrating strategies for economic successes, environmental quality, and social equity. Based on multi-lifecycle engineering and sustainable development concepts, this doctoral dissertation aims to provide decision making approaches to growing a strong industrial economy while maintaining a clean, healthy environment. The research develops a methodology to complete both the disassembly leveling and bin assignment decisions in demanufacturing through balancing the disassembly efforts, value returns, and environmental impacts. The proposed method is successfully implemented into a demanufacturing module of a Multi-LifeCycle …

Measurement Of The Nonlinear Refractive Index (N2) And Stimulated Raman Scattering In Optical Fibers As A Function Of Germania Content, Using The Photorefractive Beam Coupling Technique, Ferdinand Anayo Oguama

Dissertations

One of the greatest challenges in optical communication is the understanding and control of optical fiber nonlinearities. While these nonlinearites limit the power handling capacity of optical fibers and can cause noise, signal distortion and cross talk in optically amplified transmission systems, they have been equally harnessed for the development of new generations of optical amplifiers and tunable laser sources. The two prominent parameters that characterize the nonlinear properties of an optical fiber are the nonlinear refractive index n₂ and the Raman gain coefficient g_R. These parameters are related to the third order nonlinear susceptibility [x^{(3) …}

Design And Evaluation Of A List Gathering Tool In A Web-Based Collaborative Environment, Yuanqiong Wang

Dissertations

This research focuses on how to build a "list" structure to combine individual items of information into some sort of structure that converts the individual items of information into a structure of knowledge relative to the problem. Software was designed to provide relationships among and comparisons of the contributions in a "list" structure, so that individual members of a group process will be able to understand the contributions of information made by the group as a whole.

A List Gathering Tool was designed and implemented, which is one component in a Web-based Social Decision Support System (SDSS) Toolkit. Then, a …

Design And Evaluation Of A Voting Tool In A Collaborative Environment, Zheng Li

Dissertations

This dissertation researchdesigned, implemented, and evaluated a Web-based Dynamic Voting Toolfor small group decision-making in a collaborative environment.

In this dissertation, theliterature on voting tools in current GDSS research is presented. Variousvoting theories and methods are analyzed, and the advantages and weaknessesare compared, so as to gain a better understanding of how to apply thesedifferent voting methods to diverse decision-making situations. A briefoverview of scaling theories is also given, with an emphasis on Thurstone'sLaw.

The basic features of someweb-based voting tool implementations are reviewed along with a discussionof the pros and cons of Intemet voting. A discussion of Human DynamicVoting …

Understanding The Origins Of Metastability In Thin Film Growth; Tantalum And The Early Group Vb-Vib Metals, Neme Okechukwu Nnolim

Dissertations

Tantalum (Ta) is a metal that is highly prized for its applications in a variety of industries, including the microelectronics industry, where it is largely used in thin film modifications in order to achieve various electronic, magnetic and structural capabilities in solid-state devices. Ta frequently forms metastable phases, including the well-known ß-phase, during the preparation of thin Ta films by standard film deposition methods such as sputtering and electro-deposition. In order to gain insight into Ta metastable phase formation, the Bain transformation mechanism is studied for Ta and the neighboring body centered cubic (bcc) transition metals in Groups 5 and …

Performance Evaluation For Communication Systems With Receive Diversity And Interference, Debang Lao

Dissertations

Optimum combining (OC) is a well-known coherent detection technique used to combat fading and suppress cochannel interference. In this dissertation, expressions are developed to evaluate the error probability of OC for systems with multiple interferers and multiple receiving branches. Three approaches are taken to derive the expressions. The first one starts from the decision metrics of OC. It facilitates obtaining closed-form expressions for binary phase-shift keying modulation. The second approach utilizes the moment generating function of the output signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) and results in expressions for symbol and bit error probability for multiple phaseshift keying modulation. …

Method For Theoretically Determining The Locus And Location Of The Transmission Zeros In Microwave Filter Networks, Keehong Um

Dissertations

This dissertation presents a theoretical investigation of a practical method to determine quantitatively the locations and loci of complex transmission zeros (TZ's) of positively and negatively cross-coupled RF or microwave bandpass filter networks.

Bandpass filters can be effectively designed by adjusting the locations of TZ's in the complex s-domain. To locate TZ's, this practical method uses chain matrices for subsystems (discrete parts of the network) of the filter network, and can be extended to other types of filters with cross-coupled sections.

An important result is that a complex doublet, triplet and/or quadruplet, (one-, two-, or four-pairs) of TZ's are shown …

Identifying Behavioral Risk Factors For Acquaintance Rape In College Females, Sherrie Maher

Dissertations

In the current study, a videotaped scenario was used to assess sexual communication skills among a sample of undergraduate women. The study was designed to identify specific communication strategies that may serve as risk or protective factors in acquaintance rape situations. Given that women with a prior sexual victimization history are at increased risk for subsequent sexual assault, the study examined whether these women exhibit particular communication skills deficits in dating situations. Using a validated videotaped vignette, 47 undergraduate women without a history of victimization (NVP) were compared to 28 women with a history of sexual assault (SVP) (assault occurring …

Foreign Direct Investment In Developing Countries: Uncertainty, Trade And Welfare, Adugna Lemi

Dissertations

The objectives of this three-essay thesis are first, to analyze the role of economic and political uncertainty in affecting FDI flows; second, to test competing hypotheses that explain the determinants of sales of affiliates of U.S. multinational firms to alternative destinations; and third, to investigate the welfare impact of FDI flow on local firms in a host country. These issues are interrelated, as uncertainty is one of the main impediments in developing countries to attract foreign direct investment, and uncertainty in turn affects business practices of foreign affiliates in a host country. The combined effects of uncertainty and business practices …

The Effect Of Alcohol On Women’S Detection Of Risk In A Date Rape Analogue, Marci Marroquin Loiselle

Dissertations

Research strongly suggests that alcohol is a risk factor for date rape for both victims and perpetrators (Abbey, 1991, Fritner & Rubinson, 1994; Miller & Marshall, 1987; Muehlenhard & Linton, 1987; Norris & Cubbins, 1992; Marx, Van Wie, & Gross, 1996). Many victims of sexual assault consume alcohol prior to being raped (Marx, et al., 1999), and "early recognition of when a social situation with a male acquaintance or intimate partner has become threatening can aida woman in preventing a serious incident of sexual aggression" (Norris, et al, 1999, p. 230). This study's purpose was to experimentally address the link …

Examination Of The Skills And Dispositions Needed For Assistant Principals To Be Effective Disciplinarians, Sherie Lynn Williams

Dissertations

The main purpose of this study was to identify the set of key skills and dispositions needed by secondary school assistant principals to function as effective disciplinarians. A secondary purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of males and females concerning this topic. This was accomplished by exploring the perceptions of experts and practitioners, both male and female, concerning their ideas on the skills and dispositions needed by assistant principals at the secondary level to be successful disciplinarians.

This study used two methods of data collection, the Delphi Method of collecting information and focus groups. A panel of …

A Guide For Conducting Teachers: Physical Movement Taught In Six Selected Instrumental Conducting Textbooks And An Annotated Bibliography, William Geoffrey Carlton

Dissertations

The purpose of the dissertation was to provide a comparative guide of conducting textbooks for conducting teachers and students. In order not to replicate M. Johnson's (1967) dissertation only instrumental conducting textbooks available to conducting teachers and students between 1967 and 1997 were considered. The survey determined that the most common area emphasized by textbook authors was physical movement. Six textbooks by the following authors were selected for comparison of approaches to physical movement: E. A.H. Green (1997), D. Hunsberger and R. E. Ernst (1992), D. Kohut and J. W. Grant (1990), J. A. Labuta (1995), B. McElheran (1989), and …