Digital Commons Network^™

Lexical Decision Latency Differences Between Fluent And Nonfluent Aphasics, Jennifer Loewen

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Ephemeral Pause : Negotiating Literal And Abstract Notions Of Biography And Narration Through The Forms Of Name, Place, And Medium Utilized By Samuel Beckett In Ohio Impromptu And Various Writings Of Simon Peter Buehrer, Simon P. Buehrer

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Object Is An Object Is An Object Is An Object : The Making Of The Mother Of Modernism, Perry W. Benson

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Treatment Of Phonological Processes Using A Visual/Gestural Cuing System, Jillian D. Kirbyson

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Persuasion Theories In The Practice Of Public Relations In The 1990'S, Susan E. Owens

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to present ways in which persuasion theories are currently used in public relations and how persuasion theories could be used in public relations. Some public relations textbooks devote a chapter or section to persuasion theories and how they relate to public relations. The public relations practitioner needed a publication that expanded on these theories and provided cases of how they are used in public relations today.

To research persuasion theories and current application of them, current textbooks and periodicals were reviewed at several libraries. The searches at Rowan College, Richard Stockton College and Ocean …

Identifying Indicators Of Program Quality In U.S. Baccalaureate Aviation Programs, Paul Douglas Lindseth

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Speaker Recognition By Hidden Markov Models And Neural Networks, Erik J. Zeek

Theses and Dissertations

As humans, we develop the ability to identify people by their voice at an early age. Getting computers to perform the same task has proven to be an interesting problem. Speaker recognition involves two applications, speaker identification and speaker verification. Both applications are examined in this effort. Two methods are employed to perform speaker recognition. The first is an enhancement of hidden Markov models. Rather than alter some part of the model itself, a single-layer perceptron is added to perform neural post-processing. The second solution is the novel application of an enhanced Feature Space Trajectory Neural Network to speaker recognition. …

The New Logic Of Hypertext: Electronic Documents, Literary Theory, And Air Force Publications, Gordon G. Geison

Theses and Dissertations

Hypertext systems offer electronic links that can instantly join related documents with the click of a mouse. Some observers predict that in the next few years hypertext will become the predominate technology of communication. Such a revolutionary transformation of our culture's basic system for sharing information is bound to have a profound and wide-ranging impact. At this early stage in hypertext's evolutionary development, no empirical study can be expected to capture the long-term implications of this new technology. An exploratory survey was distributed to 100 large corporations to gather their initial assessment of the revolutionary implications of hypertext. The results …

A Domain Independent Framework For Developing Knowledge Based Computer Generated Forces, James L. Benslay Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Computer Generated Forces (CGFs) are important players in Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) exercises. A problem with CGFs is that they do not exhibit sufficient human behaviors to make their use effective. The SOAR approach has yielded a human cognitive model that can be applied to CGFs, but this is extremely complex. The product of the research reported in this thesis is a much less complex behavioral framework for a CGF that is easy to validate, revise, and maintain. To support this, an existing, domain independent CGF architecture is discussed and applied to an experimental CGF. Techniques for modeling the knowledge …

A Comparative Study Of The Sounds Of Kuo-Yu And Taiwanese, Chia-Jung Fan

Theses and Dissertations

This study was made to explore the pronunciation rules between Taiwanese and Kuo-yu, which are the two major languages used in Taiwan today, by comparing selected features of their phonological systems. The purpose was to provide the future researchers and Taiwanese learners more information on sounds, which will be helpful in the maintenance and future development of the Taiwanese language.

In the introduction, there is a brief description of the background and formation of Taiwanese and Kuo-yu. In chapter two, the syllable structure and phonetic systems of Taiwanese and Kuo-yu are introduced. The following three chapters are about the three …

"Now She Understood": Free Indirect Discourse And Its Effects, Mary Margaret Dahlberg

Theses and Dissertations

While the discussion of Free Indirect Discourse is limited almost entirely to the twentieth, century, the technique has been used by writers from a variety of periods throughout literary history. Its effects vary, depending on the strength of the narrative voice and whether it is used to represent speech or thought. The first essay in this dissertation examines free indirect thought as it emerges in Chaucer's Troylus and Criseyde, Lyly's Euphues, and Gascoigne's Adventures of Master F.J. The effect in this early period seems to be primarily dramatic, a finding supported by further discussion of a prototype form identified in …

A Descriptive Study Of Preschool Children Learning Through Shared Activity, Carol Lynn Enger

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop a better understanding of how preschool children learn from other children in shared activities. Shared activities provide opportunities for children to assist each other in a meaningful social context. The question directing the study was: how do preschool children assist other children to learn in teacher designed learning centers and in child directed free play activities?

In order to discover how and when children are learning from other children, an observational study of one universtiy campus child care center was conducted over a period of seven months. Initial investigations included observations of …

Information Requirements Analysis: A Qualitative Characterization Of The Flightline Expediter For The Integrated Maintenance Information System, John C. Gorla Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

The Integrated Maintenance Information System (IMIS) concept design includes the addition of management tools to access IMIS databases and provide communication capabilities between flightline technicians and supervisors. Armstrong Laboratory has developed a portable maintenance aid for technicians, and sponsored this research to investigate the requirements for a computer based tool for the expediter, The basic hardware and software requirements document for IMIS, the System/Segment Specification (SSS), contains task information that closely corresponds to the expediter job description as defined in Air Combat Command Instruction 21-166. This research compiled a list of information requirements for the expediter from the IMIS SSS …

The Experiences Of Four Hispanic Kindergartners In An Upper Midwest Schools, Deanne E. Borgeson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to better understand the kindergarten experiences of four Hispanic children, with and without previously diagnosed disabilities, in a predominantly Mainstream American public school in the Upper Midwest. The children's initial school experiences as well as their later adjustments to the Euro-American school were studied from the first day of the school year to the end of the first quarter of school (nine weeks later).

Qualitative research methods were used in the study including participant observation, parent and teacher interviews, and a review of each child's medical and educational record. Data were analyzed for themes …

Improving The Writing Of The Learning Disabled Student: One Teacher's Reflections, Amy J. G. Christanson

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Inclusion Of Students With Autism: A Handbook For Public School Programming, Colleen Trosen

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Improving The Writing Of The Learning Disabled Student: One Teacher's Reflections, Amy J. G. Christanson

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Reaction Based Grasp Force Assignment, Mark W. Hunter

Theses and Dissertations

An iterative method is developed by which the contact forces required to apply an arbitrary wrench (six elements of force and moment) to a stably grasped object may be calculated quickly. The assignment of contact forces, given a required object wrench, is accomplished with the use of fuzzy logic. This concept is referred to as the fuzzy logic reactive system (FLRS). The solution is versatile with respect to goals inherent in the rulebase and the input parameters, and is also applicable for an arbitrary number of contacts. The goal presented in this research, to illustrate the concept of the FLRS, …

A Comprehensive Description And Critical Analysis Of Portfolio Assessment, Cindy J. Simione

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive description of portfolio assessment and analyze critically the use of portfolios for student assessment at the high school level with specific application to the mathematics content area.

A portfolio is a purposeful collection of student work that demonstrates their learning experiences, knowledge, applications and development over time. There are many variations of portfolio assessment depending upon the specific purpose of compiling the portfolio.

Portfolio assessment is a new trend in the area of student assessment that will address the need for an alternative to traditional pencil and paper testing procedures. …

A Study To Determine The Effects Of Word Recognition Scores On Total Grade Level Scores For Adolescents With Reading Disabilities, Wesley L. Myers Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

A large majority of classified students have reading problems. Many of these classified students fall behind in reading because their decoding skills are deficient in first and second grades when most children begin to read. This study was an attempt to find out if students who are at least three grade levels behind their same age peers in reading could benefit from a direct instruction flash card procedure to see if an increase in word recognition scores would result in increased scores on total reading scores. The study used a pretest posttest data gathering technique with an experimental versus control …

Increasing The Involvement Of Parents Of Special Needs Children By Establishing A Parent Resource Center, Anne S. O'Donald

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a parent resource center, with related activities, on the parental participation of special needs children. Surveys consisting of seven questions were used as the initial data collecting instrument. Thirty-five parents received these surveys. Twenty-one parent surveys were returned. Information gathered here yielded percentages of parental participation during the last school year (1994-95).

Personal interviews were accomplished at school, at homes or by telephone at the discretion of the parents. These percentages gave numbers for the present school year (1995-1996).

When results from the survey and the interviews were compiled …

The Head Start Program And Subsequent Reading And Math Achievement Of First Graders, Marisa B. Snyder

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effect of the Head Start Preschool Program on fist graders' academic achievement in math and reading. A literature review reported the results of other studies and the effect of early educational experiences on at-risk students' elementary school achievement. In general, these studies found that early educational intervention increased cognitive gains in the primary grades, but these gains were not sustained in the upper grades. Also, students from low socio-economic areas demonstrated greater gains than middle class children, In the present study, the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills was administered to first grade students of low socio-economic …

Facilitating Socialization And Problem-Solving Skills Of The Multiply Handicapped Child Through Play, Irene Ann Digilio

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to study the implementation of a program for the multiply handicapped child to improve their social skills and problem-solving ability. The subjects in this study were three females, fourteen, twelve and eleven years old, and one thirteen year old male. The program began with all the subjects being pretested for five days on their ability to socialize and problem-solve. The study ran for ten weeks. The subjects were part of a one hour daily intervention with the teacher modeling the desired behavior. Each of the subjects was familiar with the table/board games. Data on …

A Comparison Of The Rates Of Progress Between Low Achieving And High Achieving Fourth Grade Children Using A Whole Language Reading Program, M. Ayako Loder

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the rates of progress between low achieving and high achieving fourth grade children using a whole language reading program. Subjects were fourth grade students at a Bridgeton Elementary School, grouped into low and high ability groups each containing 7 students. Reading instruction was provided during 90 minute class periods 5 times each week for 24 weeks. Instruction centered on reading short stories and trade books considered appropriate for fourth graders. Subjects completed a pre- and post-test using the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement in reading and spelling. A holistically scored writing example was completed in the fall …

What Determines A "Severe Discrepancy?": An Analysis Of Discrepancy Factors In Determining Eligibility For Classification As Perceptually Impaired In Four New Jersey School Districts, Robin G. Dolan

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to review heterogeneous school districts in an attempt to analyze discrepancy factors used by districts in determining eligibility for classification as perceptually impaired in New Jersey. A record review of child study team confidential files was conducted in four school districts to research the methodology of the classification of perceptually impaired. A total of 80 student files with an initial classification of perceptually impaired within the last 3 years were evaluated for the severe discrepancy factor In each of the districts, 20 files were selected randomly for the research.

The data gathered from the …

Teacher Expectations Of Bilingual Education Students In Mainstream Classes, Diana C. Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if regular education teachers have lower expectations for bilingual students who have been in bilingual programs than for bilingual students who have not. Also, will the expectations of the teachers change as the teacher becomes more familiar with the student?

The sample consisted of twenty elementary classroom teachers from five different elementary schools. A teacher rating scale was devised to identify student behaviors in the following areas: Educational, Social Skills, Behavior, and Home. During the second week of school, each teacher was asked to complete the rating sheet on two students. One …

A Longitudinal Assessment Of The Educational Status Of Children Enrolled In A Title I Preschool Program, Mary L. Corriveau

Theses and Dissertations

This study attempts to determine if children who have been through the Title I Preschool program require less special services than the rest of the district in subsequent years. The sample consisted of children who had been through the Title I Preschool program during the 1991-1992 school year through the 1997-1998 school year and are still currently enrolled in the Gloucester Township School District. Computer records were used to check the number of children who had received the benefit of the Title I Preschool program and were receiving services as of Oct. 15, 1998. The percentage of Title I students …

Generalized Hidden Filter Markov Models Applied To Speaker Recognition, John M. Colombi

Theses and Dissertations

Classification of time series has wide Air Force, DoD and commercial interest, from automatic target recognition systems on munitions to recognition of speakers in diverse environments. The ability to effectively model the temporal information contained in a sequence is of paramount importance. Toward this goal, this research develops theoretical extensions to a class of stochastic models and demonstrates their effectiveness on the problem of text-independent (language constrained) speaker recognition. Specifically within the hidden Markov model architecture, additional constraints are implemented which better incorporate observation correlations and context, where standard approaches fail. Two methods of modeling correlations are developed, and their …

Effects Of A Visual/Gestural Cuing System On The Reduction Of Phonological Processes In Children With Low Speech Intelligibility, Sheri Sawatzky

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Soviet-German "Rehabilitation" And The Ethnic German Nationalist Wiedergeburt In The Ussr And Cis, 1987-1995, Eric J. Schmaltz

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.