Digital Commons Network^™

Representational Status Of Minority Students In Special Education In The State Of Rhode Island, Megan O'Reilly Foran

Open Access Dissertations

The issue of overrepresentation of certain ethnic groups in special education has been a documented problem for decades. Several variables are hypothesized to be related to the overrepresentation of minority groups in special education including economic, demographic, and academic variables, as well as biases in the special education referral and placement process. The purpose of this investigation was to analyze characteristics of minority and non-minority children in special education in the state of Rhode Island to determine if there was a disproportionality problem in special education. Specifically, the study examined if there was a disproportionate representation of students of specific …

Using Spelling Performance To Study Literacy Acquisition In English For Spanish-Speaking Students In The Seventh Grade, Ivy E. Rollins

Open Access Dissertations

The U.S. educational system is undergoing dramatic increases in the rates of English Language Learners (ELLS), particularly those who speak Spanish as their first language (Kindler, 2002). The rising enrollment of ELL children highlights the importance of determining how to best meet the instructional needs of these students. One of the central issues pertains to whether literacy instruction should occur in Spanish or English. The prevailing recommendation is that Spanish-speaking ELL students first should learn to read in Spanish and subsequently learn to read in English. The purpose of the current study was to examine spelling development when this approach …

Computerized, Tailored, Theory-Based Interventions For Health Behavior Change: A Comprehensive Meta-Analysis, Paul M. Krebs

Open Access Dissertations

Personal behavior accounts for much of the risk associated with chronic disease, thereby providing incentive for development of interventions that offer effective prevention on a large scale. Computer tailored interventions have become increasingly common for facilitating behavior change for a number of health concerns associated with chronic disease. Systematic reviews of tailoring have been completed but a sufficient number of outcomes are now available to facilitate the quantitative analysis of overall effect sizes for this type of intervention. The present study employs meta-analytic techniques to assess the mean effect for tailored interventions focusing on four health behaviors: smoking cessation, increase …

The Effects Of Participation In Literature Circles On Reading Comprehension, Jodi Crum Marshall

Open Access Dissertations

Research supports that comprehension is a vital component of reading and life-long literacy, and there are many instructional approaches for teaching reading comprehension. Literature circles are a popular approach which are widely used but have not yet been studied empirically. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of participation in literature circles on the reading comprehension of middle school students. More specifically, the study examined whether there was a difference in the reading comprehension scores of students after participating in literature circles versus after participating in directed reading activity, and whether there were interactions of type of …

Objectification Or Liberation? Bisexual And Lesbian Women's Experiences With Physical Appearance, Amy Black

Open Access Dissertations

Using a multi-method qualitative design and analytic approaches derived from grounded theory, the current study examined the appearance standards within lesbian and bisexual communities and how these norms relate to lesbian and bisexual women's psychological experiences with physical appearance. The study investigated how the women's diverse social identities relate to these experiences. Participants consisted of a relatively diverse sample of 24 bisexual (n = 10) and lesbian (n = 14) women who took part in 1 of 4 focus groups. From this sample, 4 bisexual women and 6 lesbians were recruited to participate in in-depth interviews. Participants represented a broad …

Discourse On Diversity: A Qualitative Study Of A College Communication Course In Multiculturalism, Mary V. Gormley

Open Access Dissertations

The result of a semester long participant-observation study of an upper level Communication Studies course on multiculturalism, this dissertation investigates the efforts that students undertake with regard to multiculturalism, collaboration, and social change. Critical multiculturalism, like other forms of multiculturalism, encourages a pluralist perspective and acceptance of diversity, but it also looks at the social structures that underlie difference, at the intersections of differences, and at issues of privilege, power, oppression and social justice. It focuses not on difference as essentialist but as constructed, and it seeks to create and/or recognize opportunities to transform power relations. Similarly, cultural geography and …

What's Wrong And Who Cares? Reader Reaction To Error, Susan Rashid Horn

Open Access Dissertations

As much as readers profess to be bothered by its presence, little is known about error except that it is irksome. This study demonstrates that error has practical consequences. While error may not significantly affect reading comprehension, it does affect reading time and reading patterns, and its presence correlates with a negative construction of the writer. Prior studies about error have been conducted in formats where errors are highlighted and readers are queried about the degree of "bothersomeness." But Williams has demonstrated there is a difference between reading for error and reading for content. So in this study, errors were …

Sexual Identity Construction Among Lesbian, Bisexual And Unlabeled Women, Kelly Brooks

Open Access Dissertations

Current research and theory regarding women's experience of sexuality depict more flexibility and variability in sexual identity development and self-labeling than generally accounted for in traditional sexual identity models. The present study examined lesbian and bisexual women's use of sexual identity labels, attitudes about sexual fluidity and self-labeling, and patterns associated with sexual identity processes. Two hundred nineteen women with same-sex attractions or experiences participated in the study, completing an anonymous online survey. The majority of participants (85.4%) identified as White, with ages ranging from 18 to 69. One hundred eighteen women identified as lesbian, 59 as bisexual, 5 as …

The Incorporation Of Communicative Language Teaching Into The Elaboration Of Interactive Software For Esl/Efl Learning, Vladia Borges

Open Access Dissertations

This study investigated the extent to which ESL/EFL software programs currently available on the market develop language skills according to the principles of Communicative Teaching and an interactive approach to computer use for language learning. A software evaluation instrument was developed and validated. The validated instrument was used to evaluate fifteen ESL/EFL software programs currently available on the market for the technological, pedagogical and individualization features that would account for the incorporation of Communicative Language Teaching principles and an interactive approach to computer use in language teaching. Results indicated that only three programs incorporated more than seventy-five percent of the …

The Genres Of Tutor Training: Searching For Reflective Practice, Elaine Hays

Open Access Dissertations

As those involved in writing center work acknowledge, tutor training, whether informal or formal, is at the center of effective one-on-one instruction. The tutor training manual has become a popular tool for tutor education, but not always deemed useful. Likewise, the activities called "tutor training," vary with institutional context and, of course, budget and time. Still, from the onset of peer tutor training and collaborative learning, the intellectual development of the tutor was deemed as significant, if not more so, than assuring that the tutors knew what to do, or not do, during a tutoring session. Drawing on a lineage …

Meanings In The Lives Of Older Adults: In Their Own Voices, Isabel A. Trombetti

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation attempts to advance our understanding of how we as human beings perceive, judge, and evaluate our lives, particularly in the last stage of the life cycle. The primary goal was to counterbalance the predominantly quantitative approach to meaning in life with a qualitative approach by interviewing 21 older adults as they reflected on and attempted to find purpose and value in the totality of their experiences. This goal was explicit on the point of wanting older adults, those ideally positioned in the lifespan to inform us about meaning in life, to speak without the restriction associated with response …

Bilingual School Psychologists' Practices With Students With Limited English Proficiency, Christopher John Lopes

Open Access Dissertations

The present study investigated bilingual school psychologists' practices with students with limited English proficiency (LEP). Two hundred and forty-five psychologists from the 2000 National Association of School Psychologists (HASP) directory of bilingual school psychologists were asked to complete a survey reporting demographic information, levels and kinds of professional experiences, current assessment and other professional practices, levels of perceived accuracy, and levels and types of training. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the demographic information and assessment instruments used. Point-biserial correlations were used to evaluate the degree of relationship between selected pairs of variables. A series of principle component analysis was …

The Representation Of Race In Composition Studies And Stories, Carole Eileen Center

Open Access Dissertations

Nonwhite students have limited access to and limited success in graduating from US institutions of higher education. First-year required composition courses and other writing requirements can act as barriers to college matriculation. Yet composition studies, which has as its focus writing students and student writing, has yet to commit to a thorough examination of all the factors that affect the experience of nonwhite students in composition classes. In order to engage in inquiry into the difference that race makes in students' classroom experiences, composition teacher-researchers must represent the race of those involved in classroom scenes because, as race studies (whiteness …

Prolegomenon To The Literary Study Of Hypertext, Edward Steven Shear

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation is intended as contribution to the development of a framework and methodology for the literary study of hypertext. Its first purpose is to analyze the term "hypertext" and related keywords in respect to their widely varying usages in multiple disciplines to provide required clarification to identify the object of study in literary hypertext studies. The second purpose of the study is to propose a framework by which pre-computer literary works may be examined in relationship to the contemporary form of hypertext. These two goals work hand-in-hand to provide a groundwork of a literary history of hypertext. The first …

Assessing Craftsmanship At Early Design In Product Development, Philip N. Miller

Open Access Dissertations

Consumers now more than ever demand products with the highest quality possible. Often this demand for quality is expressed in craftsmanship. Craftsmanship was originally referred to as the quality of goods produced by the craftsman. Some view craftsmanship as a design issue while others emphasizes inspection and individual workmanship. Currently, most companies do not understand the role of craftsmanship in their products and need to be able to assess the craftsmanship of a product and choose the best from a number of competing designs at early stages of development. This dissertation first explored the relationship between a product's craftsmanship and …

Visuoconstructional Impairment: What Are We Assessing, And How Are We Assessing It?, Jessica Somerville Ruffalo

Open Access Dissertations

Visuoconstruction (VC) is a commonly-assessed neuropsychological domain that involves the ability to organize and manually manipulate spatial information to make a design. Tests used to measure VC are considered multifactorial in nature given their multiple demands (e.g., visuospatial, executive, motor), and therefore, interpretation of VC impairment can be difficult. Additionally, a wide variety of tests and methods are used to measure VC, further complicating interpretation of results. Although clinicians and researchers spend a great deal of time studying "VC," there has been much confusion about what it is, what is being measured, and how to best measure it. The following …

Resilience In Ex-Refugees From Cambodia And Vietnam, Lynne Ee Lin Yong

Open Access Dissertations

The negative impacts of various forms of trauma on the physical and mental health of victims are well documented, including the experiences of the French Indo-Chinese, who suffered a range of traumatic experiences ranging from displacement to torture. However, a sizable percentage of French Indo-Chinese refugees living in the U.S. do not exhibit psychopathology. Very little is known about the Indo-Chinese refugees who are not seeking services and are doing well in their host country. This study focused on resilient Cambodian and Vietnamese ex-refugees, with the goal of identifying resiliency factors and their underlying processes, in order to inform the …

Organizational Climate For Diversity, Cultural Comfort, And Professional Relationships: Predicting Perceptions Of The Workplace Among Employees Of Color, Ivory Roberts-Clarke

Open Access Dissertations

Very little empirical research has been conducted to understand the unique experiences of employees of color. This study analyzed the perceptions that employees of color have about their places of employment. The total sample included 204 participants, 83 African Americans, 51 Caribbean/West Indians, 32 Latinos/Latinas, 15 Asians, 12 Africans, 8 Multi-ethnic individuals, 1 Native/Indigenous Subgroup, and 1 Middle Eastern. There were 133 women, 70 men, and 1 participant who did not identify his or her gender. Participants were recruited at professional conferences and via the internet where they anonymously completed a questionnaire at a website that was created for this …

The Birth Of Bizdames: A Rupture In The Conversation, Engaging The Body In Decision-Making, Kathleen Mallon

Open Access Dissertations

Organizational studies consistently find that managers spend more time talking than any other activity (Mintzberg, 1973; Simon, 1945), that strategic decisions are developed and enacted through interactive talk (Perlow, 2003; Shaw, 2002), and that a diversity of perspectives has a positive effect on decision-making and organizational performance (Agyris, 1977). Conversely, the evidence suggests that cultures that perpetuate silence are less effective (Bourgeois, 1985; Enz & Schwenk, 1991; Morrison & Milliken, 2000; Ryan & Oestreich, 1991). Thus, knowledge about the inter-relationship of the micro-mechanisms of silence and talk and their effect on organizational performance is critical to management theory and practice …

Sociocultural Contexts Of Asian American/Pacific Islander Women's Hiv Risk Enhancing/Reducing Responses, Jennifer C. Huang

Open Access Dissertations

HIV prevention issues for Asian American and Pacific Islander (API) women are complex and multifaceted. Comprehending the risk enhancing/reducing responses of API women in heterosexual relationships requires an examination of various sociocultural influences, such as gender roles, cultural expectations, community, economic conditions, acculturation and public policies that shape API women's decision-making and HIV risk enhancing/reducing responses. In order to address these issues, a mixed method study (i.e., qualitative and quantitative) was conducted to elucidate these sociocultural factors. Additionally, this study sought to investigate the various ecological levels that are associated with API women's sexual risk enhancing and reducing behaviors. Participants …

The Relationships Between Metacomprehension Strategy Awareness, Student Reading Performance And Comprehension Strategy Instruction, Diane Elliott Kern

Open Access Dissertations

This study examined relationships between comprehension strategy instruction, reading comprehension, and metacomprehension awareness. The study occurred in four phases. In Phase 1, third grade teachers participating in the Rhode Island Reading Excellence program (REA) administered pre- and posttests of the Metacomprehension Strategy Index (MSI) (Schmitt, 1990). Teacher groups were determined as "high gains" or "less gains" based on MSI results. In Phase 2, teachers were observed. In Phase 3, "high gains" teachers completed structured interviews. In Phase 4, third grade students (N = 414) completed pre- and post testing of the MSI. Findings suggest the MSI may help to identify …

Manifestoes: A Study In Genre, Stevens Russell Amidon

Open Access Dissertations

This project is a book-length study of the manifesto, which attempts to trace adaptations writers have made to the genre, beginning with the Luther's "95 Theses." From there I move to political manifestoes, including the "Twelve Articles of the Swabian Peasants and Marx and Engels' "Manifesto of the Communist Party," and then to the aesthetic manifestoes of modernism. Later I treat manifestoes of critique, examining texts by Virginia Woolf, Frank O'Hara, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, and Donna Haraway, the Students for a Democratic Society and the Lesbian Avengers.

While this project is a study of genre and influence, it is grounded …

The Offering: Writing A Historical Screenplay, Alicia B. Lyon

Open Access Dissertations

Historians pose questions regarding film's influence on the public's perception of historical eras and events. One concern is adapting information from written sources into visual discourse. However, they do not discuss how the screenplay holds an intermediary position between these two modes of representation. The Offering: Writing a Historical Screenplay, therefore, explores how a scriptwriter determines his or her use of sources to suit the visual medium of film. Characterization and plot elements which are extracted from sources are transformed according to the dramatic narrative screenplay's unique set of conventions and codes which have been formulated as a result of …

Life Experiences Of Cambodian-American Refugee Women: Segmented Life Stories, Jane A. Mccool

Open Access Dissertations

Of the estimated 50 million international refugees and displaced persons (U.S. Committee for Refugees, 2003), 80% are mothers with children (Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children, 2003). There is a paucity of research that explores refugee experiences with organized violence and healing following such events. Available research typically addresses acts of domination and oppression rather than life stories of individuals. Individual health and healing responses are ordinarily examined through the lens of psychotraumatology. A socialized view proposes that exposure to trauma is not a private experience and that the refugee experience of organized violence, the flight to safety, and …

Writing Across Cultures: Contrastive Rhetoric And A Writing Center Study Of One Student's Journey, Christine M. Fox

Open Access Dissertations

As student populations in colleges and universities continue to diversify, composition programs do not always meet students' varying needs. English as a Second Language (ESL) students appear to fail mainstream writing courses at higher rates than their traditional counterparts, yet mainstreaming continues to be mandated, often due to budgetary constraints. Many programs offer multicultural writing courses, but these, too, are often ineffective for many students. Meanwhile, as Paul Kei Matsuda shows, there is a decided split between the disciplines of composition and ESL. Since ESL scholars have a much stronger history of working with diverse student populations than composition scholars …

Mystical Discourse As Ideological Resistance In Wordsworth And Whitman: A Transatlantic Bridge, Donald J. Moores

Open Access Dissertations

Despite both the recent trend in transatlantic scholarship and the central position Wordsworth and Whitman occupy in the Romantic tradition, there have been relatively few comparative discussions of the two poets. Although some critics have discerned solid connections between them, there is essentially a scholarly void in the critical record, and my dissertation fills this gap. A bridge between Wordsworth and Whitman is found in their privileging of a marginalized epistemology, which they expressed through a type of mystical rhetoric I call the "cosmic" mode. This epistemology entails the merging of self and other, a living cosmos endowed with consciousness, …

Digging Up Roots In "Gardens Of Eden": Michelene Wandor's Feminist Midrash, Lisa Renee Kenyon

Open Access Dissertations

Michelene Wandor is best known for her critical writings on gender in the British theatre, but Wandor is also the author of short stories, plays, and two collections of poetry, and her creative works reiterate and reinforce many of the issues and themes present in her theatrical criticism. It is unfortunate that Wandor's poetry is generally overlooked, for the poems, particularly Gardens of Eden, mirror her growth as a writer and as a feminist, explore the role of feminism in her creative process, and reveal the connections between her art and her political beliefs. Michelene Wandor's poems are representative not …

The Effect Of An Integrated Curriculum On Fourth Graders' Achievement In And Attitude Toward Music Instruction, Shirley E. Lacroix

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an integrated curriculum on fourth graders' music achievement and attitudes toward general music instruction. Participants were two classes of fourth grade students (N = 41) randomly assigned to an experimental or control group. Taught by the same teacher, students in the experimental groups received integrated music and language arts instruction; students in the control groups received traditional music instruction. Prior to treatment, music background was assessed using the Music Background Questionnaire (Yoder-White, 1994) and Metropolitan Achievement Tests (1993) scores were gathered. In addition, data were collected across subjects' pretreatment …

An Examination Of Collaborative Practice In Anesthesia Care Team Settings And Occupational Sress In Nurse Anesthetists, Steve Louis Alves

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to provide a comprehensive understanding of the nature of certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) scope of practice (SOP), collaboration with anesthesiologists in anesthesia care team (ACT) settings, and occupational stress. A critical philosophy viewpoint serves as a broad perspective in understanding the depiction of domination and conflict between CRNAs and anesthesiologists in ACT environments. The theoretical basis for this study was derived from the quality of nursing practice framework, with an elaboration of the process component to examine CRNA' s scope of practice, collaboration between CRNAs and anesthesiologists, and rolerelated occupational stress. A mailed …

An Examination Of The Nature Of Reading Fluency, Emily D. Russell

Open Access Dissertations

The present study attempted to investigate the underlying cognitive and linguistic skills necessary for three different aspects of reading fluency: rate, phrasing, quality of expression. The variance accounted for by each of these skills on measures of reading comprehension was also evaluated. Oral reading skills of third and fourth-grade normal readers were assessed on narrative passages within each participant's independent reading level (i.e., fewer than two percent word reading errors). Results indicated similarities in the cognitive and reading skills necessary for rapid reading and appropriate phrasing. Specifically, word recognition was the strongest predictor in both cases. However, oromotor accuracy and …