Digital Commons Network^™

Literacy: Parent Training In The Elementary Educational System, Mattie Darlene Mathis Hill

Dissertations

Over several years, second grade parents have expressed concerns about not understanding the curriculum in the area of phonetic coding. The purpose of this study was to give second grade parents the skills they lacked in understanding phonetic coding so they could better help their children with homework and thus see if a significant difference in the children’s Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills® (DIBELS) Oral Reading Fluency test performance was observed. Parents were offered training in the mornings and evenings for 15 weeks using the Saxon Phonics Program – the same program used to teach the children. The …

The Impact Of Celebrity Endorser Type And Source Credibility On The Advertising Attitudes And Purchase Intentions Of Indian Rural Consumers, Sidharth Muralidharan

Dissertations

India is among the fastest growing economies in the world and has the second largest population out of which 70% are considered rural. The rural consumer has witnessed a lifestyle shift wherein they have become brand conscious, consumption of media content has increased and a rising income has opened up possibilities never experienced before. Understanding the love for cinema, celebrity endorsement has become a popular marketing strategy being employed by advertisers in India. The purpose of this study was to find out which celebrity endorser type (national, regional or non-celebrity) was the most effective on rural consumer’s attitude toward the …

Classroom Management Styles: The Differences Among Traditionally-Licensed Teachers Who Were Formally Paraprofessionals And Alternatively-Licensed Teachers, Caterria Beasley Payton

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine ifthere was a difference in the attitudes and beliefs of traditionally certified teachers who were previously assistant teachers and alternatively certified teachers regarding classroom management. The instrument used in the study was the Attitudes and Beliefs on Classroom Control Inventory -Revised and Revisited (ABCC-R) (Martin, Yin, & Mayall, 2008). The sample included 171 participants. Seventy seven of those participants were traditionally certified teachers who were previously assistant teachers, and 94 alternatively certified teachers from four school districts across the state.

The study focused on two dimensions of classroom management: Instructional Management, tasks …

A Pedagogical Guide And Argument For Using The Harmonic Series In Teaching Beginning And Intermediate Level Horn Students, Patrick James Richards

Dissertations

An awareness of the harmonic series and its attributes is a crucial part of learning how to play the horn well, not to mention how the instrument works. Numerous undergraduates enter their career as music majors without understanding this important concept. This implies that students are not learning the harmonic series earlier in their development. Horn method books that instruct the student to use one harmonic series at a time often do not explicitly define the harmonic series, or the exercises are too difficult for developing horn students. Collecting existing and developing original exercises and other teaching tools will provide …

The Relationship Between The Pedagogical Use Of Differentiated Instructional Strategies And 3rd, 4th, And 5th Grade Language Arts Achievement, Kenitra Lasha Barnes

Dissertations

Today’s classrooms are comprised of students who perform on a myriad of levels. As a result of both state and federal mandates, educators have been charged with the task of ensuring that all students master the required grade level benchmarks at the end of each school term. The challenge in carrying out that duty is finding strategic ways of reaching all students, regardless of their performance levels. The stricter state mandates have placed many classroom teachers in a compromising position that leaves them with no time to remediate students who may struggle with mastering a skill and minimal time to …

Error Estimation Techniques To Refine Overlapping Aerial Image Mosaic Processes Via Detected Parameters, William Glenn Bond

Dissertations

In this paper, I propose to demonstrate a means of error estimation preprocessing in the assembly of overlapping aerial image mosaics. The mosaic program automatically assembles several hundred aerial images from a data set by aligning them, via image registration using a pattern search method, onto a GIS grid.

The method presented first locates the images from a data set that it predicts will not align well via the mosaic process, then it uses a correlation function, optimized by a modified Hooke and Jeeves algorithm, to provide a more optimal transformation function input to the mosaic program. Using this improved …

What’S In A Test? Constructions Of Literacy And Its Implications For English Proficiency Test Design, Josye Marie Brookter

Dissertations

Although college-level composition pedagogy is becoming more open to language diversity, some crucial current-traditional vestiges remain, particularly in proficiency exams. Too often these exams only identify students who are slipping through the cracks of literacy instruction, while the definition of English represented by this test limits alternate notions of writing and literacy. The test represents local, institutional values about written English, although those values must also be consistent with national standards. Typically, administrators, teachers, and students feel compelled to choose traditional forms of writing over postmodern ones, a choice that is seldom discussed in the literature. Conflicting perspectives of English …

The Impact Of Extracurricular Activities On Student Achievement At The High School Level, Steven Wesley Craft

Dissertations

The pressure applied on public schools to increase test scores and student achievement are reaching the highest levels ever seen in the United States. School systems are trying to find ways to increase student achievement while dealing with severe budget cuts. Many school systems are exploring the possibility of decreasing or suspending funding for extracurricular activities. This study explored the relationship between student achievement and participation in extracurricular activities. The study focused on the impact that participation in extracurricular activities had grade point average, absentee rate, SAT scores, and success on the Georgia High School Graduation Test. In order to …

Employee Volunteer And Employer Benefits From Business-Education Partnerships As Perceived By Employee Volunteers, Evelyn Kwan Green

Dissertations

The U.S. is losing global competitiveness in its institutions, higher education, and the casino industry. An industry’s competitiveness depends on its ability to produce a highly skilled workforce, and higher education plays a key role in preparing students with skills critical to workplace success. Business and education entities form partnerships to use employee volunteerism (EV) as a student skill gaps solution and as a corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy. Currently, education entities lack a systematic approach to measure and communicate the benefits of EV to their business partners. Without accountability, education entities may risk the long-term support of business partners. …

Ideological “Smackdown”: A Textual Analysis Of Class, Race And Gender In Wwe Televised Professional Wrestling, Casey Brandon Hart

Dissertations

The focus of this study is an in-depth intertextual examination of how the WWE in 2010 and by extension contemporary professional wrestling in general represents a microcosm of modern cultural ideology. The study examines three major areas in which this occurs. The first of these areas is that of class values. This section focuses on the establishment and extension middle-American values, defined as those values generally shared by the middle-class of the United States. The second section of this study focuses on how the WWE uses racial commodification in the treatment of people of color. Using concepts of Marxist power …

Comparison Of Academic Achievement, College Readiness, And Perception Between Students From Traditional High Schools And The Gatton Academy, Tim Gott

Dissertations

Secondary education in the United States has been evolving from the early days of Latin grammar schools to the present broad spectrum of high school structures. This study focuses on one of the latest types of high school models – specialized secondary schools. In particular, the intent of this study was to assess whether high ability students in one such program, the Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science, demonstrate between-group differences from their high ability peers in traditional high schools in the areas of academic achievement, college readiness, and perceptions on the high school experience.

To determine whether these differences …

The American Public Comprehensive University: An Exploratory Study Of The President's Role In Fundraising, Robert L. Jackson

Dissertations

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine America’s 272 public comprehensive universities and the president’s role in fundraising in order to better understand this unique group. In addition, this study examined the president’s background, training, duties, and specific involvement in the fundraising process. Also, this study reviewed what background and training would have been helpful prior to and during a presidency in preparation for these duties and responsibilities.

Previous studies stated that presidents ranked fundraising as the number one area where they were least prepared when they assumed their new role. In addition, many university presidents reported that …

An Analysis Of Factors Impacting K-12 Technology-Infused Design, Wesley A. Waddle

Dissertations

Public education in the 21st Century can be characterized as being in a period of unparalleled change, including the adoption of Common Core State Standards, increased public accountability, and renewed emphasis on the educational needs of every student. Simultaneously, as public education seeks to address these demands, the digital divide between traditional classroom instruction and learning needs of 21st Century students continues to grow, despite considerable fiscal investments in educational technology.

This study examined two questions: What teacher-related factors positively impact the level of technology-infused lesson design? and To what degree does the use of an instructional framework to guide …

Asking Latino Students: Strategies To Improve Dual Credit High School – Community College Bridge Programs, Ana L. King

Dissertations

This study explores and identifies factors that contribute to Latino students’ enrollment and persistence in the first two years of a 2+2+2 program (high school – community college – university). As community college leaders attempt to reach the fastest growing, youngest minority group in the United States (Passel, Cohn, & Lopez, 2011), questions emerge on how to create and implement an effective high school to college bridge program. The research focused on discovering insights and gaining understanding from the perspectives of Latino students participating in the high school years of a 2+2+2 bridge program. This qualitative inquiry situated in the …

Pedagogical And Cultural Phenomena Of On-Demand Writing Instruction, Deborah L. Bell

Dissertations

In 1985, 66 school districts filed a suit against the Kentucky Department of Education accusing the system of inequitable spending practices. In 1990, the Supreme Court declared the entire educational program unconstitutional, resulting in the Kentucky Education Reform Act or KERA. This new reform movement brought a plethora of changes to school districts across the state including its mode of assessment. KERA introduced new avenues of measuring student progress using writing as the main vehicle to assess content and communication skills. Unfortunately, the majority of Kentucky's high schools showed little improvement in this tested area with only 34% of high …

Factors Influencing Post-Acute Brain Injury Rehabilitation Treatment Outcome, Nicholas Joseph Cioe

Dissertations

Brain injury has a tremendous effect on the United States. The medical system has a continuum of care available but many of these services are extremely expensive. Despite the effectiveness of residential post-acute brain injury rehabilitation (PABIR) resistance to provide adequate funding remains because of a dearth of randomized controlled trial (RCT) studies demonstrating effectiveness. Some research suggests observational trials are typically more representative of community samples and yield conclusions similar to RCT studies. This study uses a large multi-state naturalistic community-based sample of individuals who received residential PABIR. The purposes of this study were to (1) use logistic regression …

Evidence Of Anxiety: Women's Agency And Engagement Law In American Literature And Film, 1880-1935, Carl Nicholas Bloom

Dissertations

During the end of the nineteenth century, breach of promise laws, which had protected unmarried but engaged women for centuries during their vulnerable engagement period, began to come under public scrutiny. The demonization of this legal protection coincided with increased legal agency in other areas of married life for women, but in most historical and critical discussions of this era, breach of promise, also nicknamed Heartbalm, has been overlooked, and the purpose of this dissertation is to examine canonical and non-canonical literature from this period and recontextualize these works in light of breach of promise's historical impact on courting and …

Attitudes Of Teaching Faculty Toward Inclusive Teaching Strategies At A Midwestern University, Bryan Dallas

Dissertations

This study measured postsecondary faculty attitudes toward academic accommodations and an inclusive teaching method called Universal Design for Instruction (UDI). The purpose of the study was to help determine a readiness for change among faculty with regard to implementing UDI principles, compare differences between faculty groups, as well as add to the postsecondary UDI research agenda. UDI requires faculty instructional design and has the potential to reduce the need for individualized academic accommodations and increase the retention and graduation rates of students with disabilities. The study included an online survey e-mailed to 1,621 faculty at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC). …

Stochastic Wave Equations With Cubic Nonlinearities In Two Dimensions, Haziem Mohammad Hazaimeh

Dissertations

The main focus of my dissertation is the qualitative and quantative behavior of stochastic Wave equations with cubic nonlinearities in two dimensions. I evaluated the stochastic nonlinear wave equation in terms of its Fourier coecients. I proved that the strong solution of that equation exists and is unique on an appropriate Hilbert space. Also, I studied the stability of N-dimensional truncations and give conclusions in three cases: stability in probability, estimates of L^p-growth, and almost sure exponential stability. The main tool is the study of related Lyapunov-type functionals which admits to control the total energy of randomly vibrating membranes. Finally, …

Family Attitudes, Beliefs, And Practices Facilitating A Sense Of Purpose In Black American Children And Youth: A Grounded Theory, Mallory Lynn Gary

Dissertations

i ABSTRACT Sense of purpose is strongly associated with positive health behaviors and academic achievement (Turner-Musa & Lipscomb, 2007, Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics FIFCFS, 2010). The purpose of this qualitative research study was to develop grounded theory by the exploration of sense of purpose by describing and interpreting attitudes, beliefs, and practices among Black American families participating in an outreach program in Southern, IL. Grounded theory was used to explain the phenomenon of sense of purpose, and the relationship among optimism, faith, hope, spirituality and sense of meaning. A non probability purposive sample was used for …

Decision-Making Following Sexual Assault: Reporting Decisions And Exposure To The Criminal Justice System, Ryan Michael Walsh

Dissertations

Violent crimes represent significant costs to society and survivors; costs which include mental health conditions which may emerge afterward. Victims of sexual assault are at particularly heightened risk for developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Breslau, Davis, Andreski, & Peterson, 1991). Although Crime Victims’ Compensation (CVC) is available to assist with healthcare costs for some individuals who report the event to police (NACVCB, 2009), many crimes are not reported. Theories of crime-reporting behavior suggest that victims decide whether to report crimes to police through the use of a “cost-benefit analysis” (Gottfredson & Gottfredson, 1988, p. 25). Little research, however, has been …

Analysis Of The Condition-Specific Regulation Of Puf3p Activity And Puf3p-Mediated Translational Repression Of Mrna In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Melanie A. Miller

Dissertations

The Puf family of proteins regulates aspects of eukaryotic development such as embryonic development, and memory formation by promoting translational repression and/or degradation of targeted mRNAs in the cytoplasm. Yeast Puf3p regulates mitochondria biogenesis and function by modulating the stabilities of nuclear-transcribed mitochondrial mRNAs in response to different carbon sources. Dextrose simulates rapid Puf3p-mediated degradation of its mRNA targets via decay complex recruitment. Ethanol, galactose, or raffinose promotes stabilization of mRNA targets, as Puf3p-mediated decay activity is severely inhibited or abolished. In this work, I have established that carbon source-induced inhibition of Puf3p activity is not due to decreased transcription …

Making Politics Personal: Leadership Programs As A Tool For Developing Political Interest And Efficacy In Young Women, Dayna Marie Stock

Dissertations

Encouraging young women to pursue careers in electoral politics is seen as one strategy for ameliorating the gender disparity that has characterized American political institutions for decades. This multi-method project focuses on outcomes obtained by participants in four "NEW Leadership™" Training Institutes that claim to "educate and empower the next generation of women leaders." Using original survey data from 2011, participant observations, and interviews with program alumnae, I explore the relationship between program participation and political interest and efficacy. The findings suggest that graduates of the NEW Leadership™ program report increased knowledge of women in politics and methods for participating …

Organizational Responsiveness To Anti-Offshoring Institutional Pressures, Shaji Ahmed Khan

Dissertations

This study explores the extent to which organizations are responsive to pressures from institutional constituents against offshoring of information technology and business processes. Drawing on a theoretical framework that integrates institutional and strategic explanations, it proposes that organizational responsiveness to anti-offshoring institutional pressures is a function of both the characteristics of such pressures as well as organizations’ prior success with offshoring. Results based on moderated hierarchical multiple regression analyses on survey data from 84 offshoring client organizations indicate the following. First, both greater organizational expectations of enhanced social legitimacy obtained from compliance and mimetic influences from other organizations led to …

Evaluating The Pragmatic Analytical Reading Level Instruction Framework: A Mixed Methods Research And Development Case Study, Katherine Elizabeth Bradarich

Dissertations

In light of the escalating literacy demands of the 21st Century workplace, and the reality the adolescent literacy rates remain stagnant despite considerable focus on them, there appears to be a need for translation of the role that reading comprehension plays in the growth of literacy of adolescent learners. A framework that recognizes the inherent complexities of reading at the secondary school level and provides a systematic and targeted means for flexible instruction to remediate the reading comprehension deficits of a diverse population of struggling adolescent readers was developed. The Pragmatic Analytical Reading Level Instruction (PARLI) framework integrates the essential …

Documentation: Delirium In The Hospitalized Older Adult, Jacqueline Fitzgerald Close Phd

Dissertations

Background: Delirium is a common, life threatening and preventable geriatric syndrome. Because this condition is frequently addressed by administering dangerous antipsychotic drugs, it is imperative that accurate systematic assessments are charted to determine the actual need for these medications. The purpose of the study was to describe medical record documentation of a systematic assessment of delirium in older adults who had been administered an antipsychotic medication. Methods: A descriptive correlational retrospective design was used for this medical record data based study. The setting was a 107 bed acute care community hospital located in southern California. Inclusion criteria were medical records …

The Relationship Between Secondary School Teacher Perceptions Of Grading Practices And Secondary School Teacher Perceptions Of Student Motivation, Matthew T. Bailey

Dissertations

Teacher grading practices and student motivation continue to be important topics in education and research. Although studies have documented teacher grading practices and strategies to increase student motivation, few studies have analyzed teacher perceptions of grading practices and teacher perceptions of student motivation and the relationship between these two perceptions. This quantitative study examined the relationship between secondary teacher perceptions of grading practices and secondary teacher perceptions of student motivation. By using data from two instruments, the Teachers’ Perceptions of Grading Practices (TPGP) questionnaire and the Perceptions of Student Motivation (PSM) questionnaire, this study examined the relationship between teacher perceptions …

The Essence Of The Distributed Leadership Experience Of A High School Literacy Coaching Team: A Phenomenological Study, Nancy Spaniak

Dissertations

This is a phenomenological study of a high school literacy coaching team’s experience during the 2010-2011 school year, the first year of its existence. As a distributed leadership organizational routine, the practice of literacy coaching was adopted by a large suburban high school to promote its initiative to infuse literacy strategies into every teacher’s classroom instruction. The purpose of the study was to uncover the essence of the literacy coaching team’s distributed leadership experience in order to elucidate the effect of distributed leadership on developing the literacy coaching initiative in general, and the literacy coaching team members as leaders in …

Achievement Motivation: Examination Of Explicit And Implicit Measurements In Two Studies, Jessica L. Deslauriers

Dissertations

Two theories that seek to explain personality are explicit traits (Allport, 1937) and implicit motives (Murray, 1938; McClelland, 1951). The present research investigates both implicit and explicit cognitions (specifically cognitions related to achievement motivation). Scores on three implicit measures, one explicit measure, and cognitive ability were obtained (N = 294) as well as performance on an attention task. Study 1 examined the theoretical similarities and differences among the implicit measures, as well as their relationship with an explicit measure. No significant correlations were observed among the implicit measures, and only the IAT correlated with the explicit measure. Factor analysis revealed …

The Impact Of Students With Special Education Needs In The General Education Setting On Missouri’S State Assessment, Chad D. Lent

Dissertations

Schools and educators have been increasingly educating students with disabilities in the general education setting; while at the same time the level of accountability for making a positive outcome on high stakes assessments for all students has increased. This study began with utilizing the data from 1250 elementary schools from all 524 districts in the state of Missouri over a three-year period (i.e. 2008, 2009, and 2010). This study examined the impact that students with disabilities participating in the general education setting had on the Missouri’s Assessment Program’s (MAP) Communication Art and Mathematics assessments for student with and without disabilities. …