Digital Commons Network^™

Teachers' Perceptions Of The Influence Of Standardized Tests On Curricular And Instructional Practices, Jennifer Joy Davis Fox

Masters Theses

Does a student's performance on a standardized test measure the quality of education he/she is receiving? Many students today are being bombarded with standardized assessments mandated by state and district policies. The pressure to perform well on these assessments causes teachers to focus their classroom instructional time on test preparation even at the expense of the non-tested topics and curricular areas. A written survey was designed to determine teachers' perceptions of the influence of standardized tests on curricular and instructional practices. Participating in this study were third and fourth grade teachers (n=67) who administer the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT). …

Writing In The Mathematics Classroom, Ryan C. Ghere

Masters Theses

This paper explores the benefits of using writing as a tool for teaching mathematics. It is a summary of literature intended to help educators implement a writing plan of their own. Part one is a summary of the purpose, benefits, and types of mathematics writing. Writing in mathematics opens the lines of communication in the classroom, helps in assessment, and allows for the use of interdisciplinary units. Writing in mathematics benefits students, teachers, and the classroom learning atmosphere as a whole. Teachers can use informal writing assignments so that students express their opinions, or assign formal writing to provide students …

The Effects Of Diagnostic Status, Assessment Information, And Intervention Type On Teachers' Acceptability Of Treatment Recommendations, Rebecca Hassell Fogarty

Masters Theses

This study explored the effects of diagnostic status, assessment information and intervention type on teachers' acceptability of treatment recommendations in an analog procedure. Teachers from both a suburban and a rural school district read one of eight vignettes that varied diagnostic status (ADHD vs. no diagnosis), assessment information (traditional vs. functional), and intervention type (behavioral vs. pharmacological). Teachers' ratings of treatment acceptability were examined as a function of diagnostic status, assessment information and intervention type. Results indicated a significant main effect for assessment information, with the traditional method rated as more acceptable than the functional method, and a significant main …

The Effect Of Cross-Age Tutoring On Reading Attitude, Joshua John Quick

Masters Theses

One of the greatest challenges facing teachers of reading today is the negative attitude of students toward reading. One suggested means of positively influencing the reading attitude of students is cross-age tutoring. However, a study is needed to establish whether a clear link exists between cross-age tutoring and positive changes in reading attitude. Experimental research was conducted during the course of an academic quarter (nine weeks) to determine whether cross-age tutoring has a positive impact on reading attitude. The subjects of the study were first grade students (n=12). The first graders were identified for the study based on low scores …

The Lived Experience Of Student Nurses Providing Health Care Relief To Hurricane Mitch Victims In Nicaragua, Marci Jo Holstege

Masters Theses

International exchange and cultural immersion is becoming a favored way to educate nursing students on cultural diversity and cultural sensitivity. There is no research literature about student nurses rendering health care in a third world country after the turmoil of a natural disaster.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to discover the lived experience of student nurses who provided health care relief to victims of Hurricane Mitch in Nicaragua. Their oral descriptions were tape recorded and transcribed verbatim. These descriptions were then analyzed using the Giorgi method. Four focal meanings emerged: a) culture shock, b) adjustments, c) lessons learned, …

Alkyl Nitrates During The Prophet ’98 Summer Intensive, Kristi A. Ostling

Masters Theses

As part of the PROPHET intensive held at the University of Michigan Biological Station in northern Michigan, a gas chromatography system for making fast-turnaround measurements of C1 to C5 alkyl nitrates was developed and deployed from July 19 to August 21, 1998. Every 30 minutes, samples were automatically acquired on a small Tenax trap made from silicosteel column and injected on a GC column by thermal desorption prior to ECD detection. Tests performed to measure breakthrough and on-trap destruction indicated no breakthrough for C3, C4, and C5 nitrates and excellent stability for these compounds on the trap. Chromatographic resolution of …

Calibration, Installation Techniques, And Initial Measurements For Vertical Resistivity Probes Used In Hydrogeologic Investigations, Jeffrey Mark Groncki

Masters Theses

Vertical Resistivity Probes (VRPs) are being increasingly used in a variety of applications where detailed vertical resistivity information in both the vadose and saturated zones is needed. All the different possible array types and spacings must be calibrated for the effect of the 2" (outer diameter) insulating PVC cylinder on which the electrodes are mounted. Apparent resistivities must be corrected by calibration factors. Varying the installation parameters greatly influences the measured apparent resistivity because of the disturbed annulus and the composition of the backfill materials. Bentonite slurry is necessary for the installations to keep the electrodes in good contact with …

Stratigraphic Analysis Of Diamicton Units In North-Central St. Joseph County, Michigan, Andrew C. Flint

Masters Theses

Seven subsurface glacial diamicton units, including a paleosol, have been characterized from two borings in north-central St. Joseph County, Michigan. These units have been characterized in terms of their clay mineralogy, texture, color, and stratigraphic position. t-Tests confirm that each unit displays a significant difference in mean 7A/10A peak height ratio from all other units.

Unit 4, informally called the Gray Marker tilt has been correlated between borings in this study and to the findings of others (Gardner, 1997, Nicks, in preparation). The Newbury till described by the Indiana Geological Survey (unpublished data) may also correlate to Unit 4, raising …

The Educational Nature Reserve Problem: Selecting A Prairie Reserve Location For The Kalamazoo Nature Center, Theresa M. Mau-Crimmins

Masters Theses

This study investigates a complex location-planning problem that is often faced by managers of nature centers: how to select sites on which to position new habitat reserves. Mission statements of these establishments often indicate objectives of habitat preservation and public education. Inherent in land preservation is a limited amount of traffic through the area. In contrast, in order for visitors to fully experience an ecosystem, access to the site is required.

In order to address site selection problems at such institutions, the Educational Nature Reserve Model was developed. This model fits situations in which the conflicting goals of conservation and …

Quantitative, Non-Destructive Calibration Of Scanned Probe Microscope Cantilevers, John Hazel

Masters Theses

Principles of surface science and engineering are applied to determine scanned probe microscope cantilever spring constants. The bi-component gold-ceramic cantilever composition is modeled analytically. Finite element analysis is applied to simulate deflection behavior of the probe tip. Data from experimental determination of resonant frequency are employed to infer material characteristics. Combination of the results from these three procedures is employed to infer material characteristics. Combination of the results from these three procedures is used to produce a spring constant assessment within 10% of actual values. An additional convenient program for assessment of scanning probe microscopy cantilever spring constants is developed …

The Relationship Between Vocabulary And Reading Comprehension In Junior High Aged Students With Learning Disabilities, Harvey Burkhour

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the reading ability, particularly in the area of reading comprehension and the level of reading vocabulary possessed by junior high aged students with learning disabilities. Reading is a complex process involving the simultaneous integrated application of the four cuing systems: (a) graphophonic, (b) syntactic, (c) semantic, and (d) schematic. While most people learn to utilize these systems rather easily, this is not true for everyone. Failure to effectively employ any one or more of these cuing systems can spell disaster for the reader both in school and in many …

Multiple Isotopic Studies Of Calcium Carbonate Growths In Concrete Structures, Danielle M. Schmitt

Masters Theses

Secondary minerals, predominantly carbonates, forming under concrete structures have received attention in terms of their possible role in the degradation of their hosts. δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O analyses of several calcium carbonate growths collected from bridges in Michigan and New York were performed. The δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values clustered around -24.7 ± 1(PDB) and 13.7 ± 1(SMOW) ‰, respectively. A positive δ¹⁸O- δ¹³C correlation suggests kinetically driven precipitation involving atmospheric CO2• ¹⁴C activities determined for select samples support the theory that atmospheric CO₂ is involved …

A Descriptive Analysis Of Factors Related To The Effectiveness Of Educational Technology Implementations In Poorer, Rural School Districts, Daniel John Vomastek

Masters Theses

As the use of educational technology in our classrooms continues to increase, schools must take every reasonable step they can to ensure the time and money invested in educational technology is not wasted. This is especially true in poorer, rural school districts that do not always have the money and personnel that larger, more affluent school districts have access to. These poorer, rural schools must take extra precautions to ensure their investment of limited resources has the greatest gain possible.

The goal of this thesis was to identify those specific factors related to the effectiveness of educational technology implementations to …

Effects Of Methylphenidate On The Sensitivity To Reinforcement In Children Diagnosed With Adhd: An Application Of Matching Law, Laura Kay Murray

Masters Theses

This experiment evaluated the effects of methylphenidate on sensitivity to reinforcement of children diagnosed with ADHD using matching law.

Four children (2 males and 2 females) between the ages of 6 and 10 who were previously diagnosed with ADHD completed easy math problems to earn tokens under four different variable-interval (VI) schedules of reinforcement presented in random order. The rate of completed math problems was plotted against the mean frequency of obtained reinforcers at each schedule value in tokens per minute. The data were fit to the following single-rate hyperbolic equation (Herrnstein, 1970): R = kr/r+r₀.

Results show …

Spectroscopic And Kinetic Investigation Of Carbocation Reactivity In Supercritical Carbon Dioxide, Hongshu Jin

Masters Theses

Recent interest in the use of supercritical CO₂ as an environmentally benign reaction medium has included the development of solvent systems that may support polar and ionic chemistry. Carbocations are key intermediate in a variety of synthetically important reactions and characterization of their reactivity is the focus of this work. UV-visible absorption, and steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy has been used to identify and monitor the reaction kinetics of 9- phenylxanthenium carbocation. The arylcarbocation is conveniently generated from 9- phenylxanthen-9-ol in supercritical CO₂ under mildly acidic conditions. Under these conditions 9-phenylxanthenium ion is extremely stable and persists for …

Dimethyldioxirane In Tcf Bleaching Sequences, Nayereh Mahdavi

Masters Theses

The use of chlorine containing bleaching process creates various organic compounds such as chlorinated furan, dioxin, and AOX (adsorbable organic halogen). The human and aquatic life has been affected with the formation of these chlorinated organic compounds. EPA is proposing new regulations to impose discharge limits on the conventional pollutant materials of the bleaching effluents.

The objective of this research was to evaluate two TCF (Total Chlorine Free) bleaching sequences that use hydrogen peroxide and DMD on oxygen delignified hardwood kraft pulp. In one of the sequences, the DMD stage (A) was used prior to the hydrogen peroxide stage (P), …

Efficiency Of Distributed Priority Queues In Parallel Adaptive Integration, Rodger Zanny

Masters Theses

The adaptive integration algorithm is· effective in numerically solving integration problems. It is able to focus the application of integration rules on the portion of the integration region where the integrand is the least well-behaved. Parallel implementations must use dynamic load balancing or performance suffers.

Dynamic local load-balancing techniques allow each processor to maintain its own pool of work in a local priority queue and balance the workload based on local criteria. However, the use of locally controlled priority queues is known to be inefficient (in terms of the number of integration rule applications needed to reach an answer) as …

Repeatability Of Kinematic And Kinetic Data In The Analysis Of Normal Human Gait, Jennifer M. Piotter, Peter A. Post, Kristi J. Vanden Berg

Masters Theses

Computerized gait analysis (CGA) is a powerful tool used to study the intricacies of human walking. The CGA tool is being used to make objective observations of human movement patterns. It is essential that acceptable repeatability of kinematic and kinetic data be established so that clinicians can detect actual changes between successive tests. This study assessed the repeatability of kinematic and kinetic waveform data from test and re-test trials on 15 subjects. Intra-tester and inter-tester data were examined to determine how much error existed due to marker placement between trials and testers. Part II of this study assessed the repeatability …

Effects Of Temperature Control On Gravure Packaging Inks, Rodrigo Sosa

Masters Theses

It is well known that variations in ink temperature cause a variation in color density and viscosity. The viscosity of almost all liquids decreases with increasing temperature. In this research project, three different ink temperatures were selected to measure the effects of temperature control on solvent and ink consumption and on printability. Two colors were selected (magenta and cyan) and two heat exchangers were constructed to cool and/or heat the ink.

It was found that variations in ink temperature cause variation in solvent and ink consumption. As the temperature of the ink increases, solvent consumption and ink consumption increase, but …

Gas Sparging And Humic Acid Sorption/Desorption, Masaki Sakakibara

Masters Theses

Partition coefficients (K_DOC) for sorption of PAHs and chlorinated benzenes to dissolved humic acids (HA) were measured using gas-sparging methodology. The resulting K_DOC values were significantly lower than the K_OW-based K_DOC values, which generally appear to provide reliable estimates for K_DOC values. The K_DOC values measured by gas sparging were also strongly influenced by the concentration of HA in solution, as measured by dissolved organic carbon content (DOC). Increasing DOC concentration consistently resulted in decreased K_DOC values for all compounds investigated. Previous studies have claimed that K_DOC values measured using …

Grade Equivalents: Accuracy And Certainty Of Interpretations Among Parents, Teachers, And School Psychologists, Eric R. Smith

Masters Theses

Scores on standardized tests (e.g., Iowa Test of Basic Skills, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children III, Wechsler Individual Achievement Test) can be represented by a number of different metrics. One of the ways scores can be represented is with grade equivalents, which tend to be popular with parents and teachers because they seem to be fairly easy to understand. However, several researchers have claimed that grade equivalents are often misinterpreted. Standard scores are viewed by many researchers as the superior type of derived score. However, standardized scores can be difficult to understand, particularly for individuals with little or no training …

Lnservice Educational Activity Needs And Preferred Delivery Methods Of Bement Community Unit School District #5 Teachers, Nyle G. Waters

Masters Theses

A study of the Bement Community Unit School District #5 faculty was conducted in the spring of 1999. The purposes were to determine the inservice educational activity needs of the faculty and to determine which inservice educational activity delivery methods the faculty considers most effective. Bement C.U.S.D. #5 is a small rural district in central Illinois with 38 prekindergarten through 12th grade teachers. A needs assessment questionnaire was constructed and administered to all district teachers. Each item on the questionnaire was designed to collect data on the following questions:

1. What are the perceived inservice educational activity needs of the …

A Study Of The Elements For Effective Implementation Of A Full-Day Kindergarten Program At Armstrong-Ellis Grade School, Jamie Ann Dorsey

Masters Theses

This study was conducted to determine the effective elements needed to implement a full-day kindergarten program at Armstrong-Ellis Grade School, a rural district located in northwestern Vermilion County. It was designed by first looking at how to implement change in a system. After the steps for change were determined, the elements for effective implementation were incorporated into the change process. These elements were established by analyzing the related literature and research.

It was determined that to introduce change within a system a three-step process was needed. These steps are mobilization, implementation, and institutionalization. All three steps are examined in the …

Guillaume De Machaut: Musician And Poet, Sharon S. Pearcy

Masters Theses

The life of Guillaume de Machaut (c. 1300-1377) is examined in light of his loyalty to his king, patriotism toward his country, and his religious ties to the Catholic church. Each of these, as well as his affair in middle age with a young, nineteen year old girl named Peronnelle, shaped the life and work of Machaut. The rich legacy of Machaut's prolific output of poetry and music is documented from his personal involvement in its preservation. The fixed poetic forms, the formes fixes, found in his virelais, ballades, and rondeaux became a springboard of evolution under Machaut's creative talents. …

Effect Of Asymmetrical Loading And Walking Time On Surface Emg Activity Of The Lumbar Paraspinal Muscles, Michael Aenis, Angela Bueche, Brian Trembly

Masters Theses

BACKGROUND A high incidence of back pain is associated with carrying loads asymmetrically and is believed to be influenced by the amount of weight involved and the distance carried. PURPOSE (1) To study the effects of asymmetrical loading on lumbar paraspinal muscle activity. (2) To document ratings perceived exertion (RPE) for carrying an asymmetrical load. METHODS Electromyography (EMG) readings were obtained at the L2/L3 paraspinal level of 12 males and 12 females. All subjects completed three randomized 9-minute trials consisting of walking on a treadmill while carrying an asymmetrical load of either 0, 10 or 20% of their body weight. …

Predictors Of Successful Completion In A Physical Therapist Assistant Program, Debra S. Howell, Susan M. Stout

Masters Theses

The basis of this research was to investigate the ability of age, gender, ASSET test and science GPA (Human Anatomy & Physiology I and II, Essentials of Pathophysiology, Clinical Kinesiology, Neurological Foundation of Motor Control and Clinical Pathology) to predict the successful completion of a PTA program by a student. In this causal-comparative study (ex post facto), the sample consisted of ninety graduates and five non-graduates from the PTA program at Baker College of Muskegon (1993 -1998).

This study used a logistic regression method to make an attempt to demonstrate that Clinical Kinesiology was significant as a predictor …

The Impact Of Fast Forword On Phonological Awareness And Literacy Skills, Melissa Nulty

Masters Theses

This study investigated the impact of Fast ForWord on individual children's phonological awareness and reading skills as well as general language and auditory processing skills. Five children, ages six through eight years, served as experimental subjects. The duration of participation in the Fast ForWord (FFW) training program was approximately 2 hours per day, 5 days a week, for 6 to 8 weeks. Fast ForWord training was completed when the subject reached at least 90 percent completion on five of the seven training exercises or when it was determined by the Fast ForWord professional that the child had received maximum benefit …

Investigating The Allosteric Behavior Of Malate Dehydrogenase From Escherichia Coli, Eman M. Ghanem

Masters Theses

Regulatory mechanisms of malate dehydrogenase from E.coli (eMDH) involving NADH as an allosteric effector were investigated. The reaction was studied in both directions: malate oxidation and oxaloacetate reduction. When malate was the variable substrate, a plot of rate against substrate concentration was sigmoidal in the presence of 0.065 mM NADH, which indicates the presence of an allosteric site for NADH on the enzyme. Binding of NADH at the allosteric site causes conformational changes in the active site and, thereby, changes the catalytic activity of the enzyme. An increase in K_m value, from 1.3 to 3.9 mM malate was observed, …

Reasons For Home Schooling As Cited By Selected Parents In Central Illinois, Douglas A. Taylor

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the specific reasons the home-schooling option was chosen by some parents in central Illinois. The number of parents who home school their children has increased significantly in recent years. Understanding the motives behind parents' decisions can provide important information on the home-schooling movement and these parents' perceptions about public education. By knowing the reasons the home-schooling option was selected, legislators, public school educators, and parents can initiate any changes that may be warranted.

The study took place in the fall of 1998 utilizing a survey instrument that was developed using information gleaned …

Optimization Of The Reaction Of Hexamethyldisilazane On A Fumed Silica Surface, Frederick R. Jones

Masters Theses

Hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) is commonly used to transfer trimethylsilyl (TMS) groups to silica surfaces. While studies have been done examining individual factors that influence the reaction, no investigations have reported how these factors affect each other. The factors examined in this study include temperature, presence of catalyst (butylamine), pretreatment, time, concentration, solvent, and presence of water in the solvent. The purpose of this study is to examine potential factors and two-way interactions to determine which significantly affect the yield and produce an optimum set of conditions.

The HMDS reactions occurred in an organic solvent slurry under nitrogen. Using statistical experimental design, …