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James Welch's Winter In The Blood: Thawing The Fragments Of Misconception In Native American Fiction, Mario A. Leto Ii

Masters Theses

The conventional scholarly view of Native American literature asserts that Native authors often portray their characters as alienated and despairing individuals that are incapable of attaining the means for dispelling those negative feelings. As a result, the characters are presumably destined to forever wander the barren reservation, unable to grasp their fleeting cultural traditions or the modern Euroamerican way of life. James Welch, with his novel Winter in the Blood, challenges that stereotypical scenario by allowing his nameless protagonist to discover a previously unknown link to his traditional Blackfeet heritage. Through the knowledge of his ancestors and the unconscious …

Chaucer's Use Of The Absalom Archetype In The Knight's Tale And In The Miller's Tale, Sharon Hardin

Masters Theses

Although Chaucer did not write The Canterbury Tales until after the death of Edward III, Chaucer's youth was spent in the company (albeit on the fringes) of the war-like king and his war-like sons. Surely, as the young Chaucer performed his duties and perhaps read stories or listened to the gossip spread by servants and courtiers, such as the account of Edward's having ravished a defenseless woman, impressions formed in Chaucer's mind. Perhaps such rumors as that Edward's son Lancaster had designs on his father's throne added to and solidified those impressions into opinion, and a character type was born, …

The Impact Of Prekindergarten Participation Upon Academic Placement, Mary Suddarth

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine whether participation in the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) Prekindergarten Program for Children At Risk of Academic Failure had impact on a child's future academic placement. Current uncertainty regarding continued ISBE or federal funding of programs makes such a longitudinal study imperative. This study examined the 1995-1996 academic placement, including additional resources required, i.e., Title 1, speech, or learning disabled services, for 40 children who participated in the 1990-1991 Hamilton-Jefferson Counties Educational Service Region cooperative prekindergarten program in Jefferson County. Results indicated that all children reached expected placement, regardless of one …

Sums Of Powers And The Bernoulli Numbers, Laura Elizabeth S. Coen

Masters Theses

This expository thesis examines the relationship between finite sums of powers and a sequence of numbers known as the Bernoulli numbers. It presents significant historical events tracing the discovery of formulas for finite sums of powers of integers, the discovery of a single formula by Jacob Bernoulli which gives the Bernoulli numbers, and important discoveries related to the Bernoulli numbers. A method of generating the sequence by means of a number theoretic recursive formula is given. Also given is an application of matrix theory to find a relation, first given by Johannes Faulhaber, between finite sums of odd powers and …

An Evaluation Of The Behavior Disorders Classroom Program Of The Wabash And Ohio Valley Special Education District, Daniel J. Allen

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the relative effectiveness and desirability of identified key components of the behavior disorders program delivered by the Wabash and Ohio Valley Special Education District in southeastern Illinois. Sixty-one school superintendents, building principals, and local coordinators of special education responded to a survey addressing key components of the behavior disorders program: technical assistance, timeliness of the Individualized Education Program process, thoroughness of the Individualized Education Program process, academic remediation, behavioral remediation, transition coordination, and followup services. The results revealed very little discrepancy between each of the groups of administrators according to their responses …

A Study Of Secondary School Principals' Perceptions Regarding Current Teacher Evaluation Procedures In Three Midwestern States, Beth A. Saiki-Olsen

Masters Theses

In recent years, new methods of evaluating teachers have been introduced and recommended by educational experts.

This study was conducted to determine the methods and procedures currently used in three midwestern states to evaluate secondary education teachers and to investigate secondary school principals' perceptions regarding those methods and procedures.

The study, which took place during the spring of 1996, included a survey of a random sample of 300 secondary school principals in Illinois, Iowa and Indiana through the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

One hundred and fifty-six principals responded to the survey which found that although principals agreed that …

A Woman Alone And Writing: Anti-Ideology And Artistic Irony In Writings Of Mary Shelley, Delores Archaimbault

Masters Theses

This study focuses upon the letters, journals and selected fiction of Mary Shelley and reveals that Shelley engages in the processes of anti-ideology and artistic irony to help her explore gender identity. To show her consistent use of these processes, I juxtapose excerpts from her letters and journals with excerpts from her fiction. The fiction selections are narrowed to three: Frankenstein, Mathilda and The Last Man. In addition, I examine her writing and her use of anti-ideology and artistic irony relative to the influences of her significant others: her mother Mary Wollstonecraft, her father William Godwin and her …

Edgar In Wonderland: Elements Of Nonsense In Lewis Carroll And Edgar Allan Poe, Martha Taussig

Masters Theses

The names of Lewis Carroll and Edgar Allan Poe would seldom appear together as literary "kindred spirits." While Carroll's imaginative tales have delighted generations of children and continue to provide vivid bedtime story memories, Poe's tales produce equally vivid nightmares. A comparison of the two writers' works, however, leads to the startling realization that despite their apparent differences, Carroll and Poe used the same tools and techniques to explore the same epistemological and existential questions. Like artists dipping into the same colors and simultaneously painting the same psychic landscape, they created eerily similar literary canvasses.

Carroll has long been recognized …

A Study Of Home Influences On Young Children's Early Literacy, Christy Buehnerkemper-Elder

Masters Theses

Recent research has shown that the degree of children's exposure to and knowledge about reading when they first enter school is highly predictive of future reading achievement. Researchers investigating home influences on literacy have concluded that certain home experiences prior to first-grade affect performance and general abilities in early elementary school. One component of the literacy-rich home environment is that of a parent reading to children. This has been considered by many as a critical component of a home environment which fosters reading skills. Being read to as a preschooler has been shown to be associated with reading achievement well …

Physical Condition And Reproductive Success Of White-Tailed Deer At Fort Chaffee, Ar: A Five-Year Study, Donald A. Phillips

Masters Theses

A baseline study conducted in 1991 demonstrated that the resident white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) population at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas was in poor condition, with below average reproductive success, body weight, and antler size, and above average parasite load compared to other regional deer populations. Consequently, a management program was initiated in 1991 which included: (1) neutralizing acidic soils, (2) prescribed burning, (3) planting supplemental food plots, and (4) liberalizing the harvest of female adults from the population. The purpose of this study was to monitor changes in the health and reproductive success of the herd as this program was implemented. …

A Study On How Interactive Distance Education Affects Perceived Instructor Credibility, D. Brent Crebo

Masters Theses

A group of distance education students at four Illinois colleges and universities were studied to see if sending class students rated distance education instructors differently in reference to credibility when compared to receiving class students. A survey was used to gather initial data and then subjects were interviewed by telephone to obtain more information on the topic. The results of the study revealed no significant difference between how students at receiving sites and how students at sending sites perceived an instructor in terms of overall credibility in distance education courses. Responses indicated that students did not have a problem with …

English Proficiency And Intercultural Communication--A Study Of Chinese Students' Ability To Adapt To American Culture, He-Ping Cheng

Masters Theses

Modern technologies have brought our world to the brink of a Global Village. In the modern world, intercultural communication becomes an indispensable part of human activities. In the environment of foreign language study, intercultural communication skills are intertwined with the language education in order to prepare students for the needs of intercultural communication. There is no exception with teaching English as a foreign language in China. Started in the early 1980s, intercultural communication is a hot topic among scholars in the field of language education. However, despite the efforts made to raise the English learners' intercultural awareness, Chinese students still …

Mentoring Relationships Amongst Women In Public Relations, Kristen Kahles

Masters Theses

Mentoring is an old tool used to advance the education and/or careers of individuals that dates back to ancient Greece; it has recently reemerged in organizational and business settings. I examine mentoring relationships among women in the public relations profession. In this study my purpose is to determine how women are affected in a same sex mentoring relationship in the public relations field. One hundred surveys were distributed to female practitioners in the New York and Chicago areas. Thirty-five were returned, yielding a 35% response rate. In addition, six in depth interviews were conducted with six female public relations professionals …

Study On Rheological Behavior Of The Composites Of Recycled Hdpe With Recycled Tire Rubber Particles, Yanze Li

Masters Theses

This study was mainly concerned with rheological properties of composites of recycled high density polyethylene (HDPE) with recycled tire rubber particles at shear rates from 1.167 to 116.7 s^-1. The viscosity was investigated in terms of effects of shear rate, shear stress, temperature, concentration of recycled tire rubber particles and heating duration. The temperature was in the range from 160 to 250 °C and the rubber particle concentration was between 0 and 25%. The heat duration for the composites was up to 240 minutes before testing.

The viscosities of composites were decreased with increase in shear rate and …

Parental Investment In The Red-Eared Slider Turtle, Trachemys Scripta, Michael D. Marlen

Masters Theses

This study was conducted to determine egg and hatchling components of the red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta). In addition, energy components transferred from egg to hatchling were used to determine the level of parental investment in embryogenesis and hatchling care. Eggs of the red-eared slider, collected from central Illinois ponds, were obtained by inducing gravid females to lay by an injection of oxytocin. Egg and hatchling lipids were extracted with petroleum ether while egg and hatchling protein content was determined using the micro-Kjeldahl procedure. Eggs averaged 70.7% water by mass, and dry mass of whole eggs and egg yolks averaged 2.4g …

Self-Disclosure Among Women In Similar Crisis Situations: Case Studies, Stephanie J. Butler

Masters Theses

Using volunteers who were single mothers of young children who were products of unplanned pregnancies in a non-marital situation, six interviews were conducted and disclosure and narrative communication patterns were observed. Each interview was videotaped and observations and comparisons were made about the subjects interviewed. Common themes identified included an overall willingness to discuss the father of the child, a correlation between the relationship with the father and the feelings felt toward the father, worries about money, the importance of talking to other people, a feeling that mother and child were a "package deal" in that if a man they …

A Rhetorical Criticism And Analysis Of President Ronald Reagan's Inaugural Address: Applying The Burkeian Dramatistic Pentad Approach, Marzuki Jamil Baki Bin Haji Mohamed Johar Bachik

Masters Theses

It is no accident that Ronald Reagan rose to the pinnacle of power at a moment when there was a rising wave of intellectual pessimism. Numerous theories were being offered as to why the trajectory of the American experiment has passed its apogee. Reagan's greatest gift to his country has been his soaring sense of possibilities. To see where he got it, look at what he has seen in a long life. However, a great communicator will communicate complicated ideas, hard choices and bad news. Reagan has had little aptitude and less appetite for those tasks. But, then, communication is …

Customer Feedback Information System For Quality Improvement, Ke Wang

Masters Theses

This research addressed the basic needs for an effective customer feedback information system and the database technology to develop the system. It discussed the system concept and configuration of a typical customer feedback information system, database management technology, programming flow charts, program functions and capabilities. A proposed customer feedback information system consists of customer data inputs, database management system and outputs to various departments in an organization. With a user-friendly interface, database management system serves as an information management tool. It can process the feedback from customers and use the information in decision making. Thus, customer feedback can be promptly …

Small Mammal Community Structure In Restored Prairies, Kathleen A. Falout

Masters Theses

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources currently manages approximately 4,000 hectares of natural prairie. High human impacts coupled with small patch size result in challenging management decisions for prairie conservation. The ideal restored prairie would consist of a mosaic of habitats varying in vegetation from forb-grass dominated areas to oak savannas, with concurrent stages of vegetative succession occurring across the habitats. A study was conducted at the Middle Fork State Fish and Wildlife Area located in Vermillion County, IL, to analyze small mammal diversity and community composition among three different stages of prairie restoration.

The three treatment categories were: fallow …

Government Policy And Private Organizational Forms: Analysis Of Refuse Collection And Disposal In Three Metropolitan Cities, Thomas Wright

Dissertations and Theses

This study explores refuse collection as a municipal service using qualitative methods to examine how government makes decisions about residential refuse collection services in Portland, Gresham, and Beaverton, Oregon. The study explores the history of refuse collection in these three cities to identify factors that influence bureaucratic behavior and decision making when selecting a municipal service delivery option for refuse collection. Public choice and public policy analysis theory are used to discuss those non-monetary considerations present when government makes decisions about service arrangements. Qualitative data was collected from public officials and private haulers involved in refuse collection in the three …

Unrelated Business Enterprise And Unfair Business Competition Issues Facing Nonprofit Organizations, Larry Glen Scruggs

Dissertations and Theses

Unrelated business enterprises have been an appropriate way for nonprofit organizations to generate income since the first income tax was enacted into law. The Internal Revenue Act of 1950 clarified this opportunity and enacted the Unrelated Business Income Tax to ensure that fair competition existed between nonprofits and for profit organizations. Nonprofit organizations conducting unrelated business enterprises are faced with a dilemma: it is legal for them to conduct such enterprises but if they do so they face potential litigation from for profit business for unfair competition and/or potential loss of tax-exempt status for operating outside of their exempt function. …

An Interdisciplinary Solar Energy Project, William J. Hutzel

School of Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

An HVAC course, previously offered to students in Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET), has been re-structured to include students in Building Construction Management (BCM). A large project is always an integral part of this course, creating a unique opportunity for collaboration between two distinctly different groups of Technology students. This cooperation is particularly beneficial because MET and BCM graduates frequently cross paths during their professional careers. Many MET graduates operate and service heating, ventilating, and air conditioning equipment that was originally specified and installed by BCM graduates. This paper discusses and evaluates student interactions during a solar …

How Retirement Saving Programs Increase Saving, James M. Poterba, Steven F. Venti, David A. Wise

Dartmouth Scholarship

This paper summarizes the authors work on the effect of IRA and 401(k) contributions on net personal saving. They consider many different nonparametric approaches to controlling for heterogeneity in individual saving behavior and conclude that the weight of the available evidence suggests that contributions to both IRAs and 401(k)s largely represent new saving. The authors devote particular attention to reconciling their results with the findings in other studies that reach different conclusions, sometimes using the same databases that the authors analyze. Methodological limitations that undermine the reliability of results in other studies explain many of these disparities.

"Duel" Diligence: Second Thoughts About The Supremes As The Sultans Of Swing, Paul H. Edelman, Jim Chen

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

We respond to Professor Lynn A. Baker's criticisms of our article, The Most Dangerous Justice: The Supreme Court at the Bar of Mathematics. Professor Baker fundamentally misunderstands our measure of Supreme Court voting power. Moreover, she erroneously presumes that the "median Justice" wields the bulk of the Court's power. Even if there were a median Justice, it is far from clear whether he would be the Most Dangerous Justice. We conclude with a clarification of the median voter theorem and its implications for the distribution of voting power within the Supreme Court.

Encouraging Relational Investment And Controlling Portfolio Investment In Developing Countries In The Aftermath Of The Mexican Financial Crisis, Randall S. Thomas, Enrique Carrasco

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Global financial markets trade about $1 trillion of securities each day. Investors in these markets seek the highest returns by shiffing huge amounts of capital from nation to nation, "playing global monopoly... and deciding which governments deserve to 'Pass Go' and collect $200 billion dollars and which should go directly to jail and be starved of the capital to raise living standards." International competition for capital gives global investors tremendous leverage over developing nations' economic policies.

Investors will shift capital into developing countries that adopt macroeconomic policies to ensure stable, high rates of effective return. However, if returns drop, or …

Pain And Suffering: Damages In Search Of A Sounder Rationale, W. Kip Viscusi

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

This paper will address pain and suffering generally and will not distinguish these different potential components of pain and suffering damages. Section 1 presents the theoretical foundations for damages awards, including both the deterrence and compensation objectives. Section 2 explores some practical rationales for pain and suffering damages, such as the omission of legal fees as a component of damages. Section 3 examines the extent to which pain and suffering awards vary systematically with the extent and nature of the injury as opposed to simply being random acts of capricious juries. Since much of the interest in pain and suffering …

The Barking Dog, Suzanna Sherry

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Professor Tushnet, and indeed many of the participants in this symposium, seem to believe that United States v. Lopez will have some lasting significance. Those participants who disagree have suggested that the case's lack of significance will stem from inadequacies of the test set out by the Court: it is easily evaded by Congress, or it does not vary much from prior cases, or it applies only in narrow circumstances. I agree that Lopez will have little significance, but its minimal impact has little to do with the specifics of the test. Instead, I believe that Lopez will join a …

The Pariah Principle, Suzanna Sherry, Daniel A. Farber

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

The Supreme Court's recent decision in Romer v. Evans' has caused both joy and consternation. Among legal scholars, however, it has mostly engendered puzzlement. The Court explicitly avoided the most doctrinally plausible grounds for invalidating Colorado's ban on anti-discrimination protections for homosexuals. Instead it purported to strike down the state constitutional amendment under minimal scrutiny or rational basis review. The word on the street-or, in the case of lawyers and law professors, the word on the internet-is that Romer cannot mean what it says, but instead must be a way-station to declaring homosexuality a quasi-suspect classification like gender or illegitimacy. …

The Sleep Of Reason, Suzanna Sherry

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

A very strange thing is happening in legal academia. The left and the right have joined forces, and the center is under attack. What makes this so unusual is that law has traditionally been a field of centrists. The common law background, drummed into every first year law student, tends to leave lawyers with a taste for incremental rather than sudden change.' Further experience with the doctrine of stare decisis and the methods of legal reasoning only strengthens this tendency. Even those students who come in eager to change the world rarely survive more than a few years in practice …

Malpractice And Environmental Law: Should Environmental Law "Specialists" Be Worried?, J.B. Ruhl

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

This article examines the field of environmental law as a potential minefield for malpractice claims given its complex and dynamic nature. The article outlines principles for malpractice law applied to environmental law, based on malpractice principles applied in the tax and patent fields.