Digital Commons Network^™

The Sound Of Utah: The Presence Of Geographical Elements In Music Written About The State Of Utah, Kamia Walton Holt

Theses and Dissertations

Music is a by-product of place and time. Musicians have opportunities to use the idea of place in their music. Thus, music has regionally distinctive characteristics which reflect human perceptions of the physical environment. Artists of the past and present focus on geographical themes, and paint a picture of ‘place’ in their music. This thesis focuses on the music of a geographical location: Utah. Musicians wrote of Utah in hymns of the past, and contemporary musicians continue to write music about Utah. This thesis answers the questions: Is music characterized by geography? How have the local musicians been influenced by …

[1996 Developments Concerning] International Courts And Tribunals, Roger P. Alford, Keith Highet, Peter H.F. Bekker

Journal Articles

The most significant developments in 1996 regarding international courts and tribunals are reviewed herein, particularly events relating to the International Court of Justice, the European Court of Justice, and the proposed Permanent International Criminal Court. Other significant developments relating to the International Criminal Court for the Former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Court for Rwanda, and the World Trade Organization are detailed in other reports in this issue.

Demythifying Multicultural Education: Social Semiotics As A Tool Of Critical Pedagogy, Stephanie Urso Spina

Publications and Research

This article discusses the assumptions and curricular implications of a social semiotic approach to education. Semiotics refers to the meaning we make with language as well as other objects. events, and actions. Social semiotics emphasizes the social, cultural, historic, and political contexts that shape that meaning. A social semiotic approach to education can help teachers and teacher educators to deconstruct the reproduction of class, politicize the ideology of colonialism, and overcome the inequities they engender. By providing a way to challenge selectively reproduced cultural politics, social semiotics provides a way to reconstruct and democratize schools and society.

The Secret Lives Of The Four Horsemen, Barry Cushman

Journal Articles

"Outlined against red velvet drapery on the first Monday of October, the Four Horsemen rode again. In dramatic lore they are known as Famine, Pestilence, Destruction, and Death. These are only aliases. Their real names are Van Devanter, McReynolds, Sutherland, and Butler. They formed the crest of the reactionary cyclone before which yet another progressive statute was swept over the precipice yesterday morning as a packed courtroom of spectators peered up at the bewildering panorama spread across the mahogany bench above." Or so Grantland Rice might have written, had he been a legal realist. For more than two generations scholars …

The Effects Of Human-Computer Communication Mode, Task Complexity, And Desire For Control On Performance And Discourse Organization In An Adaptive Task, Cristina Bubb-Lewis

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present study examined how different communication patterns affected task performance with an adaptive interface. A Wizard-of-Oz simulation (Gould, Conti, & Hovanyecz, 1983) was used to create the impression of a talking and listening computer that acted as a teammate to help participants interact with a computer application.

Four levels of communication mode were used which differed in the level of restriction placed on human-computer communication. In addition, participants completed two sets of tasks (simple and complex). Further, a personality trait, Desire for Control (DC), was measured and participants were split into high and low groups for analysis. Dependent measures …

Post-Soviet Transitions In Policy And Management Of Zapovedniki And Lespromkhozi In Central Siberia., David Miller Ostergren

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 changed the government bureaucracy and dismantled the centrally controlled economic system. Directors of zapovedniki (strict nature preserves) and lespromkhozi (forest industry dependent communities) are experiencing a challenge to their ability to manage, protect and/or study the lands under their supervision. This study investigates how changes in the social-political system have affected the forests and protected areas in Central Siberia, and how managers have adapted to the current political and social climate. This investigation used case study methodology and three sources of empirical data; open-ended interviews, documentation from archival and secondary sources, and personal …

A Recorded Tape Analysis Of The Types And Frequencies Of Decisions Made By West Virginia School Boards From August 1990 To August 1995., Linda K. Mccall

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study examined the relationship between the types of school board decisions identified by the Hange and Leary study (1996) and the duration of time spent on these decisions. The source of information for this study was electronically recorded minutes of selected West Virginia school board meetings during the time period of August 1990 to August 1995 and the types and frequencies of decisions identified by the Hange and Leary study (1996) of the same period. The duration of time spent on each decision type was determined by reviewing videotapes or audiotapes of meetings which corresponded to the selected written …

Vincennes: From French Colonial Village To American Frontier Town, 1730-1820., Denise Marie Wilson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation explores the social, political, and economic transitions which occurred among the French-Canadian inhabitants of Vincennes (in present-day southern Indiana) as the colonial French village became an American frontier town. Few studies in recent decades have explored the colonial history of the Middle West, and even fewer make the chronological transition from the Colonial Period to the Early National Period. This study investigates the changes experienced by the French when they became British subjects (in 1763) and American citizens (in 1783). It also contributes to a fuller understanding of midwestern history by showing how the normal process of pioneer …

The Relationships Of School Organizational Health And Teacher Commitment To Student Achievement In Selected West Virginia Elementary Schools., Louis Kent Watts

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study was designed to assess the relationships between school organizational health, teacher commitment, and student achievement as measured by third and sixth grade CTBS test scores. The purposes of the study were to determine whether relationships existed between school health and achievement, teacher commitment and achievement, and the combined variables of school health and teacher commitment and student achievement. A sample of 504 teachers in 29 identified schools in four counties of southwestern West Virginia was chosen. Each participant was provided a packet which contained a cover letter, a sheet with five demographic questions, the Organizational Health Inventory for …

Portrayal Of Teacher Image: An Exploration Of Perceptions And Behaviors Of Healthcare Educators., Carole Shockey Thomassy

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the image healthcare educators believed they portrayed as a teacher and the behaviors they believed actualized the image. A pilot study was completed to evaluate the data collection techniques. A purposive sample of healthcare educators participated in one-to-one semi-standardized interviews and was observed in a teaching situation for demonstration of self-identified behaviors they believed actualized their image. Thematic analysis of the data resulted in five categories: coming to the role, perceptions held by subjects regarding image, people who may have influenced the image, behaviors that actualized the image and self-perceived …

Role Of Patient Empowerment In Enhancing Medical Care Outcomes: Development And Validation Of A Framework., Krithika S. Venkataraman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The overall goal of the study was to assess the characteristics of empowered type II diabetes patients and delineate an operational definition of empowerment. In addition, the study explored the role of empowerment on diabetes self-management, quality of life, and selected health resource utilization of these patients. The study was conducted in two phases. In Phase I, "empowerment" was operationalized into two domains: "first stage" and "second stage." Additionally, it was found that these two domains had three subdomains each. The "first stage" of empowerment subdomains were: (i) instrumental beliefs, (ii) outcome expectancy, and (iii) perceived self-efficacy; while the "second …

An Exploration Of Critical Thinking, Learning Style, Locus Of Control, And Environmental Perception In Baccalaureate Nursing Students., Sandra Elizabeth Marra

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This descriptive correlational study was conducted to explore the relationships among the constructs of Critical Thinking (as measured by the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal), Learning Style (as measured by the Kolb Learning Style Inventory), and Locus of Control (as measured by the Adult Nowicki-Strickland Internal-External Scale) in baccalaureate nursing students. A convenience sample (n = 68) of senior students from two classes was recruited to represent the last group graduating before (n = 47) and the first group graduating after (n = 21) curricular revision generated to better facilitate Critical Thinking. A subsample (n = 20) described their perceptions of …

Recruiting Retirees For Economic Development: A Public Policy Perspective., Michele Louise Kreidler

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This paper examines retiree recruitment as a strategy in state economic development policy. The study employs a theoretical framework of policy adoption and lesson-drawing to answer the questions (1) why would a state adopt the policy of retiree recruitment and (2) how is the policy adopted. Three states in different stages of retiree recruitment policy adoption were selected as case studies. Results show that different strategies in policy adoption were operating in each case study state. In each state development of retiree recruitment was in response to a need to diversify the state economy. The idea of retiree recruitment originated …

Conceptual Knowledge Of A Normative Life Event: The Impact Of Intellectual Ability, Age, Experience And Attachment On The Concept Of Death., Elizabeth Rooney Levelle

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The present study investigated differences in the conceptualization of death among children and adults with and without mental retardation (MR). Thirty-five adults (17 adults without MR, 18 adults with MR) and 29 children (21 children without MR, 8 children with MR) participated in the study. The study employed a 2 x 2 design with Age and MR as the factors. Participants completed several questionnaires, cognitive developmental tasks, and intelligence assessments. Results indicated that diagnosis of mental retardation was slightly more influential than chronological age in determining participants' responses about death. This effect was evident for the Universality and Causality components …

A Neural Network Based Inference Engine Generator For Comprehension And Translation Of English And Spanish Commands To Unix "E-Mail" And "Vi" Editor., Mohammad Reza Moozoun

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Since the advent of computers, scientists have tried to use the human languages for communication with computers. This pursuit has led several scientists, such as Chomsky to establish that there must be a specific part of the brain adapted to language learning and processing genetically, namely the "language organ". Humans are able to understand and produce sentences that they may have never heard. This leads to the understanding that language must follow some strict rules of processing which is referred to as "grammar of a language". The Artificial Neural Networks (NN) inspired by the neural networks of biological systems have …

The Relationship Between The Method Of Selection And Length Of Service Of Department Chairs And Degree Of Subordinate Faculty Support., P Michael Ditchen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study was designed to examine the relationships between the method of selection and length of service of department chairs and degree of faculty support as measured by the Department Evaluation of Chairperson Activities for Development (Decad) instrument. The database contains rankings of all chairs (n = 1312) rated with the Decad from 1977-1991. The database contains departmental evaluations from over 120 institutions located throughout the United States and Canada. After all identifying characteristics were removed from this database, the database was analyzed using the Statistical Analysis (SAS) program to calculate departmental mean scores of perceived initiating structure and consideration …

Implementation Of Collaborative Problem-Based Learning In The Classroom: A Focus On Group Dynamics In Relation To Self-Esteem And Skill Acquisition Through The Generation Of A Web Page., Lynn Allison Dombrowski

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this research was to provide information concerning group dynamics and Problem-Based Learning (PBL) to school teachers and counselors to determine if student behaviors have any influence on acquiring skills and knowledge. In addition, self-esteem was measured and crossed with group dynamics. Prior to the research study, Consent and Assent Forms had to be signed by students and one parent or guardian. Students were provided an overview of the project including a packet of handouts which consisted of a project timeline of day to day activities, daily task assignments, and instructions on learning Hyper-Text Markup Language (HTML) and …

The Development Of A Representative Policy For Student Use Of Campus Computer Networks At Research I And Ii Institutions., Jeffrey Scott Hale

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The campus computer network is available to students on nearly every university campus. Needing to know how to interact electronically as well as the potential to reach libraries throughout the world is well chronicled and is becoming a matter of students' common knowledge. Problems that can arise on a campus range from new ways to cheat to new methods of threatening to do harm. The purpose of this study then, was to develop a representative policy for student use of campus computer networks at Research I and II institutions. Separate surveys were sent to the chief student affairs and chief …

Computer Programming: Science, Art, Or Both?, Sandra Trent Gum

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to determine if spatial intelligence contributes to a student's success in a computer science major or if mathematical-logical intelligence is sufficient data on which to base a prediction of success. The study was performed at a small university. The sample consisted of 15 computer science (CS) majors, enrolled in a computer science class, and 15 non-CS-majors, enrolled in a statistics class. Seven of the CS-majors were considered advanced and seven were considered less advanced. The independent measures were: the mathematics and the English scores from the ACT/SAT (CS-majors); a questionnaire to obtain personal information; …

Isolation And Characterization Of The 22 Kd Subunit Of Gluconate Dehydrogenase Derived From Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Pao1., John David Gordon

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Approximately 95-99% of soil phosphorous is unavailable to plants, with {dollar}\\sim{dollar}90% of phosphate fertilizers also being rendered unavailable upon application. 2-Ketogluconate (2KG) has been shown to solubilize insoluble phosphates in vitro. If plants themselves could solubilize the insoluble phosphate in the soil, this would greatly reduce the need for phosphate fertilizers. Two greenhouse experiments were conducted to examine in vitro and in situ solubilization of insoluble phosphates (calcium phosphate, RP, and iron phosphate, IP) with increasing concentrations of 2KG, as seen through plant (Lycopersicon esculentum) growth and Pi uptake. In the first experiment (in situ solubilization), water alone showed a …

Inter-Rater Reliability, Sensitivity To Student Growth, And Concurrent Validity Of The Competent Learner Repertoire Assessment Level Two., Joseph Wesley Deem

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study is to determine if two independent raters can reliably score the Competent Learner Repertoire Assessment Level 2 (CLRA), if the CLRA is sensitive to student growth over time, and to analyze if the CLRA concurs with another adaptive behavior assessment. To answer these questions the behavior of approximately 159 preschool students in a large Southern California school district will be assessed with the CLRA. The researcher proposes to evaluate inter-observer reliability by comparing scores on each CLRA item. The scores will be recorded by each of four teacher, associate teacher (paraprofessional aides) pairs across a …

The Relationship Between Brain Hemispheric Characteristics And Leadership Style Of School Superintendents In West Virginia., Theodora Sinicrope Farmer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study was designed to examine the relationship between the self-perceived preferred brain hemispheric processing of West Virginia public school superintendents and their self-perceived leadership styles. Respondents completed the Hermann Brain Dominance Profile, the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire, and a demographic sheet. Data were analyzed using the General Linear Model of the Statistical Analysis System (SAS). Two hypotheses guided the study. West Virginia public school superintendents who perceive themselves as preferring predominantly left hemispheric processing will have significantly higher Initiating Structure scores than superintendents who perceive themselves as predominantly right hemispheric. West Virginia public school superintendents who perceive themselves as …

Cell-Specific Regulation Of Transcription Of The Malic Enzyme Gene. Characterization Of The Cis-Acting Elements That Modulate Nuclear T3 Receptor Activity., Xuexun Fang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Stimulation of malic enzyme transcription by triiodothyronine (T3) is robust ({dollar}>{dollar}60-fold) in chick embryo hepatocytes, weak (5-fold) in chick embryo fibroblasts that stably overexpress the nuclear T3 receptor-{dollar}\\alpha,{dollar} and still weaker (1-fold) in chick embryo fibroblasts which contain nuclear T3 receptor levels that are similar to those of CEH. Directed by the DNase I hypersensitive regions in the malic enzyme gene, functional transfection and in vitro DNA-binding analyses were performed and four cis-acting elements were identified in the malic enzyme 5{dollar}\\sp\\prime{dollar}-flanking DNA. These four cis-acting elements confer differences in nuclear T3 receptor activity between chick embryo hepatocytes and chick …

Simplifying Subchapter K: The Deferred Sale Method, Laura E. Cunningham, Noel B. Cunningham

Articles

The article critiques the complexity and ineffectiveness of current tax laws governing contributions of property to partnerships, particularly under Subchapter K. It argues that the existing framework, which aims to tax built-in gains or losses at the time of contribution, is overly complicated and often fails to achieve its intended goals due to provisions like the ceiling rule. The authors propose the adoption of the deferred sale method as a simpler and more effective alternative. This method defers the recognition of built-in gains or losses until specific triggering events, such as the sale or distribution of the property by the …

Job Satisfaction In Newspaper Ad Departments, James Pokrywczynski, John Crowley

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

The results of a study indicate that newspaper advertising employees are not as dissatisfied as their editorial counterparts but that they are the least satisfied of any group in the advertising industry.

Communicative Planning Theory And Community Initiatives, John Foley

College of Urban and Public Affairs (CUPA) Working Papers, 1991-2000

We evaluate lender discrimination during the mortgage default process. A telephone survey was conducted to evaluate the extent of lender discrimination in defaults that lead to foreclosure in New Orleans, Louisiana between 1985-1990. We use these data to estimate the independent effects of race and neighborhood characteristics on the extent of lender assistance or forbearance during the foreclosure process. Our analysis indicates that the proportion of black residents in the neighborhood where the property was foreclosed is a more significant predictor of forbearance than the race of the borrower. This is a foreboding indication of the possibility that recent gains …

Review Of "From Grunts To Gigabytes: Communication And Society", William C. Welburn

Office of the Provost Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

The Open-Ended Nature Of Luke And Acts As Inviting Canonical Actualisation, William Kurz

Theology Faculty Research and Publications

Starting from generally accepted narrative insights, this article attempts to justify a canonical reading of Luke and Acts that actualises the Lukan text for contemporary theology and Christian life. It argues that one set of foundations for later actualisation was laid by the original author: that is, the text itself of Luke and Acts has built into it several invitations for its actualisation in later Christians' lives. Among these built-in occasions for canonical actualisation, this article focuses especially on the 'open-endedness' of Luke and Acts toward the future . It examines three specific openings toward actualisation and application: (1) an …

Drug Testing And Oregon Workers : Is Perceived Fairness Of Corporate Drug Testing Moderated By Drug Use?, Leslie James Normandy

Dissertations and Theses

This study proposed that two predictors of perceived fairness of organizational drug testing would be moderated by drug use. These two predictors, outcome of a positive drug test and whether respondents were ever previously tested for drug use, had been found to be predictors of perceived fairness of drug testing. It was expected that the theories of organizational justice and cognitive dissonance would explain these relationships. Additionally, it was proposed that drug users would perceive drug testing as less fair than would non-drug users.

Participants were 191 adults randomly selected throughout the state of Oregon. The survey items measuring the …

Self-Assessment And Planned Change Of Placement And Career Services Center, Gary A. Adams, Ross J. Rapaport, Julia B. Sherlock, Joellyn S. Malmquist, Tina C. Elacqua, Rosemary Stanek Dinello

Management Faculty Research and Publications

In the 1990s, college and university career services and placement units face many challenges which may influence their success including (a) increased budgetary constraints, (b) changing student demographics, (c) increased availability of computer technologies, (d) new service delivery models, and (e) changing employer recruitment practices. In an effort to address these issues and examine its role within the university (Roth, 1994), the Placement and Career Information Center (PCIC) at Central Michigan University undertook a program of applied research, self-assessment and planned change. The purpose of this article is to briefly report our experiences in conducting this program of applied research. …