Digital Commons Network^™

Learning Disabilities: The Definitional Dilemma, Gretchen Burman

Masters Theses

As professionals in the fields of education and psychology, we often focus on the children who are having difficulty learning in and adjusting to school, children who may have learning disabilities. We examine test results and what they say about how a child learns; we consider what the teacher says about the difficulties the child has in the classroom. Teachers discuss how frustrating it is to work with children who are ''slow learners" or who "learn differently." However, the definition of learning disability is so variable that we may fail to identify, or we may over-identify, those with a learning …

Comparison Of Ability-Achievement Discrepancies Among The Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Woodcock-Johnson-Revised Tests Of Achievement, And Wechsler Intelligence Scale For Children-Third Edition In A Sample Of Students Referred For Evaluation Of Learning Disabilities, Tracy L. Cole

Masters Theses

Under current IDEA definitions, a significant or severe discrepancy between intellectual ability and academic achievement is the primary criterion by which a student may be classified as having a specific learning disability. By recommendation of the Work Group on Measurement Issues in the Assessment of Learning Disabilities (1984), the most common method of determining such a discrepancy is to calculate the discrepancy between an individual's score on an individually administered intelligence test and his/her score on an individually administered achievement test using a regression-based formula to correct for the regression of IQ on achievement.

Because two previous studies suggested that …

A Study Of Army Medical Treatment Methodology & Medical Simulation Related Products: Final Technical Report, Sumeet Rajput

Institute for Simulation and Training

Report detailing the research undertaken between phases 1 and 2 of the Combat Trauma Patient Simulator (CTPS) program, a long term research effort in which a dual purpose training and test and evaluation system that realistically simulates emergency medical treatment situations is being developed and prototyped.

Next Frontier In Public School Finance Reform: A Policy And Constituional Analysis Of School Choice Legislation, The;Issues In School Choice, Christopher D. Pixley

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

Swosu Fact Book Fall 1998, Denisa Engelman

Fact Books

I am proud to introduce the seventh annual Southwestern Oklahoma State University Fact Book. It provides a ready source of information to answer frequently asked questions about the University and its operations. Unless otherwise noted, the information in this Fact Book came from computer-generated reports that are printed following the tenth class day of each fall semester. Because of student fluctuations during the semester, numbers will not match other published enrollment numbers that may be based on enrollment at the end of a semester.

University Studies 1994-1997: A Progress Report, Portland State University. General Education Working Group

University Studies Assessment Research

Broadly reports on the state of implementing University Studies, reviewing consequences for the University, faculty, and students.

Annual Faculty Senate Minutes October 1998 - June 1999, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Annual Compilations of the Faculty Senate Minutes (Minutes Only)

Minutes of the Faculty Senate for October 1998 to June 1999.

Mathematics, Modeling, And Modular Curriculum In Engineering Retraining Programs, Massoud Moussavi

Educational Studies Dissertations

The present study is an attempt to probe, explore, and provide an appropriate educational method for engineering retraining programs. The central concerns and implications of this study revolve around: who engineers are, how they learn, why they need to learn, and what they have to learn. The existing retraining programs also will be evaluated in order to develop a suitable retraining program for engineers.

A New Options Theory For Risk Multipliers Of Attorney's Fees In Federal Civil Rights Litigation, Peter H. Huang

Publications

Given the importance of private enforcement of federal civil rights laws, Congress and the courts have attempted to encourage plaintiffs' attorneys to accept meritorious civil rights cases through fee shifting and risk multipliers. Recently, however, the Supreme Court has essentially prohibited the use of risk multipliers, thus undercompensating attorneys for the risk of losing civil rights actions and discouraging the filing of such cases. In this Article, Professor Huang develops a new options-based theory of calculating attorney's fees. Professor Huang argues that a lawsuit consists of a sequence of options to continue with the case rather than a once-and-for-all irreversible …

Performance Indices For Multivariate Ice Hockey Statistics, William (Bill) H. Williams, David A. Williams

Publications and Research

A Review of the Use of Performance Indices in Ice Hockey

The Effects Of Qasswide Peer Tutoring On Students’ With Learning Disabilities Basic Reading Skills, Susan Louise Tucek

Masters Theses

The effects that Classwide Peer Tutoring has on students’ with learning disabilities basic reading skill was examined. Classwide Peer Tutoring is a program that allows students to engage more time in actual reading behavior with partner feedback. One instructor implemented Classwide Peer Tutoring for a 4 week period to 11 students who had learning disabilities in the areas of reading and writing. One volunteer was used twice a week to emit tests of the students’ progress. Results of the study indicated that compared to their pretest scores, the post-test scores showed that students made slightly positive improvements in the areas …

Unlv College Of Education Multicultural & Diversity Newsletter, Steve Mccafferty, John Filler, Nancy P. Gallavan, Le Ann Putney, Nancy Sileo, Kyle Higgins, Porter Troutman, Stanley Zehm, Cyndi Giorgis, Aimee Govett, Jack Starr, Bill Pankratius, Sheila Gregory, Susan Rumann, Joyce Nelson-Leaf

College of Education Multicultural & Diversity Newsletter

Join us on November 12, 13, and 14, 1998 at the Orleans Hotel and Casino for the 1^st Annual Multicultural Conference & Luncheon sponsored by NvNAME (the Nevada chapter of the National Association for Multicultural Education.) The 1998 Multicultural Education conference will feature keynote addresses by: Mr. Herbert R. Stevens, Director of the San Carlos Apache Tribal Cultural Center; Dr. G. Pritchy Smith, Professor from the University of North Florida; Dr. Rudolfo Chavez Chavez, Professor from New Mexico State University; Mr. Charles E. Pace, Scholar with the Chataqua Public Humanities, Dr. Sam Chan, Professor from the California School of …

The Relationship Of Teacher Cognitive Style And Teacher Job Satisfaction, Moderated By Administrator Management Style, Holly Shella Jaacks

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Success as a school administrator strongly depends upon the complex interplay of teacher cognitive style, teacher satisfaction on the job, and the effectiveness of the principal's administrative management style. Nonetheless, the supervision of teachers within their cognitive style has had little research or attention given to it. According to the literature, administrative management style greatly influences teachers perceptions of satisfaction on the job. A wide variety of variables, directly impacted by administrative management style, influence a teachers degree of job satisfaction; This study surveyed teacher's cognitive style, as determined by Witkin's Field Dependence, Field Independence model utilizing the Group Embedded …

Critical Multiculturalism In The Classroom: From Theory To Practice, Denise Michelle Dalaimo

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Since Paulo Freire's (1970) revolutionary work Pedagogy of the Oppressed, "radical" (critical/feminist/multicultural) educators have endeavored to change the face of education by altering traditional power relations and by including the work and experiences of previously under- or unrepresented groups. Research to date in the field of radical pedagogy has been largely focused on and performed in the small and intimate classroom. Many of the approaches and techniques proposed by radical educators---though effective in smaller classes---are difficult to implement in the larger, more impersonal classroom which is becoming more and more prevalent in contemporary higher education. This research has been largely …

Experimental Investigation Of Shear Deformation In Laboratory Prepared Layered Soil Specimens, Nicholas William Hudyma

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the shear deformation mechanisms and structures of laboratory prepared layered soil specimens. Soil specimens made of alternating layers of sand and clay were produced in the laboratory with different layering schemes and layering geometries. Layering schemes are groups of specimens with similar layering geometries. Layering geometries refers to the number of layers of sand and clay, thicknesses of the layers and the layer positions within the specimen. The specimens were sheared perpendicular to layering using a specially designed deformation apparatus and their deformation mechanisms and deformation structures were identified and …

Fraction Instruction For Students With Disabilities: Comparing Two Teaching Sequences, Frances Mary Butler

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study investigated the effects of teaching middle-school students with mild to moderate disabilities equivalent fraction concepts and procedures using the concrete-representational-abstract (CRA) instructional sequence or the representational-abstract (RA) instructional sequence. Twenty-six students formed the CRA group, and twenty-four students formed the RA group, while sixty-five eighth-grade students without disabilities served as a contrast group. The two treatment groups received carefully sequenced instruction over ten lessons. The only difference between the two treatment groups was that the CRA group used concrete manipulative devices for the first three lessons while the RA group used representational drawings. The eighth-grade contrast group received …

Special Education Students: Which Ones Are Prepared To Receive A High School Diploma?, Rhoton Titus Hudson

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study sought to determine whether statistically significant differences between students with disabilities who pass and those who fail the Nevada High School Proficiency Examination are accounted for by demographic variables alone, or if they can also be attributed to educational variables. To establish the basis for this study, legislation such as IDEA and Goals 2000 was examined, recent literature was reviewed, and court cases involving testing students with disabilities on standardized and minimum competency tests were studied; The study follows 965 students with disabilities who were in the eleventh grade during the 1998--99 school year through five administrations of …

The Effectiveness Of Traditional Instructional Methods In An Online Learning Environment, Steven Bradford Smith

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

For more than a century, the most predominant form of instruction in higher education has been classroom-based and instructor-led. Today, this traditional approach to learning is being challenged by new technologies such as multimedia, telecommunications, and the Internet. It has been suggested that the effectiveness of traditional pedagogical methods in alternative learning environments may be resolved through the creation of a new domain for educational interaction referred to as online education (Harasim, 1990); There has been much research focused on the advantages of teaching university courses online (Davis, Odell, Abbitt, Amos, 1999; Hiltz, 1994; Harasim, 1990). However, there is little …

Effects Of Discrete Wavelet Compression On Automated Mammographic Shape Recognition, Ravikiran Kalluri

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

At present early detection is critical for the cure of breast cancer. Mammography is a breast screening technique which can detect breast cancer at the earliest possible stage. Mammographic lesions are typically classified into three shape classes, namely round, nodular and stellate. Presently this classification is done by experienced radiologists. In order to increase the speed and decrease the cost of diagnosis, automated recognition systems are being developed. This study analyses an automated classification procedure and its sensitivity to wavelet based image compression; In this study, the mammographic shape images are compressed using discrete wavelet compression and then classified using …

Howells, Dickinson, Lewis: An Exercise In Reading The Interracial Canon, Craig Andrew Magee

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Howells, Dickinson, Lewis: An Exercise in Reading the Interracial Canon has two purposes. First, it offers detailed readings of three American novels: An Imperative Duty by William Dean Howells (1891), What Answer? by Anna Dickinson (1868), and Kingsblood Royal by Sinclair Lewis (1947). These readings are accomplished within the context of the "interracial canon", a set of writings dealing with the expression of various aspects of interracial relationships. The interracial canon, as well as its specialized vocabulary and unique theoretical outlook, is roughly sketched in an introduction and several appendices.

Application Of Cubic B-Splines To Boundary Value And Optimal Control Problems, Deborah Ann Skidmore

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

In this thesis, a one-dimensional second order differential two-point boundary value problem will be approximated by a variational method using cubic B-splines. This method will then be extended to solving N-dimensional two-point boundary value problems. In the final part of the thesis, certain control problems will be converted into boundary value problems, which in turn, will be approximated by the previous variational method which uses cubic B-splines.

A Study Of The Influence Of Physical Parameters On The Drying Of Porous Media, Jason C Viggato

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

An experimental setup is developed to observe the mass transfer that occurs in the drying of saturated porous media due to bulk flow of gas. The analysis and equations are developed in a one-dimensional perspective, and focus on the convection and evaporation that results. Humidity readings are monitored at various locations and used in the analysis of the results. These procedures are used in test cases for Steel spheres and Ceramic beads both 4.5 mm in diameter at.25 L/min,.5 L/min,.75 L/min and 1 L/min flow rates; Drying times and humidity plots versus time for both steel and ceramic are witnessed …

Drazin Inverse And Its Application To Linear Degenerate Systems, Trevor Allen Wilcox

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

In the thesis, we review some recent progresses on the study of Drazin inverses and the study of linear degenerate systems with nonsingular pencil. Properties of the Drazin inverse are discussed. An application of Drazin inverses to linear degenerate systems is presented. Furthermore, a numerical algorithm for calculating Drazin inverses and a FORTRAN program are provided.

Flexible Ac Transmission System Compensation On A Utility Transmission System, Julia Jesi Black

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Power system security can be increased by the use of flexible AC Transmission System devices, FACTS, in transmission systems experiencing high power flows. This thesis presents an analysis of one of these devices, namely, a Thyristor Controlled Series Compensator, TCSC, as applied to the Nevada Power Company 230kV southern transmission network. The methodology for choosing the appropriate location for the device and equations to accurately analyze the TCSC are developed. The analysis of the utility network is divided into three stages: (1) development of a benchmark, pre-TCSC case, establishing the real and reactive power transfer capabilities of the network, (2) …

An Aristotelian Ethic For The Professional Naval Officer, Ronald L Smith

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The Navy's training revolves around the core values of Honor, Courage and Commitment. It is my purpose here to propose an Aristotelian based ethic for the professional U.S. Naval Officer. Chapter One will be my introduction. In Chapter Two I will look at Aristotle's practical reasoning and what it takes to attain excellence. Chapter Three will explore the U.S. government's broken covenant with members of the armed forces. The law and morality pertaining to warriors will be addressed in Chapter Four. Chapter Five will address the apprenticeship of junior officers and their need for growth and mentoring. I will conclude …

Philosophical Foundations, Social Power And Social Work Practice, Timothy Duane Hamilton

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The contemporary philosophical landscape, which affects the fields of philosophical endeavor and the ways power is framed, is described. The covert manner these influences effect social work practice is made more visible through the use of ethically oriented decision making patterns; Ways that authority and discretion are used and abused, and abusive decision-making, are described making them easier to recognize and mitigate. Knowledge of current and potential ways that social power operates provides social workers tools in promoting the goals of empowerment and uncovering and enhancing clients' strengths; Finally, a public sphere within which a reflective social work practice could …

Fear Itself: Assessing The Risks Of Transporting High-Level Nuclear Waste, Fred Carl Dilger

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This thesis contrasts and compares two approaches to risk assessment as they apply to the problem of transporting high level radioactive waste to Yucca Mountain, NV. Risk assessment, a lineal descendant of cost-benefit analysis, is an increasingly popular tool for justifying policy or programmatic decisions that involve some potential for public harm. The study uses Frank Fischer's framework for policy analysis to examine the problem of transportation risk assessment and to propose a new process for risk assessment that has political legitimacy, rather than technical elegance, as its goal.

Population Size Estimation From Mark-Resighting Surveys, Huawen He

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

We consider the problem of estimating the size of a closed population based on the results of a certain type of marking-resighting sampling design. The design is similar to the commonly used multiple capture-recapture design, yet in some cases economically more feasible and easy to use. Sampling is done by first tagging a number of randomly selected animals with visible markers and later randomly sighting them (for instance, for large animals by visually sampling from a helicopter) and counting the number of tagged animals; In this paper, by using the above mentioned sampling scheme we present the maximum likelihood estimation …

Instrument Development And Validation For Use In A Health Education Program, Joanna Lynn Blockey

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study was conducted to establish the validity and reliability of a dependent measure instrument developed specifically for health education programs geared to expectant mothers and their significant others who smoke; This study's instrument was distributed to 201 randomly chosen college students participating in health education, general education, educational psychology, and communication studies classes at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Results from this study found that the instrument has merit. The confirmatory factor analysis, which proved the instrument's reliability, isolated three different areas of study: beliefs about smoking in general; the effects of smoking on pre- and post-natal babies; …

A Sturdy House Built On Shifting Soil: Separation Of Powers Interpretations From The Bench, Michael Justin Sibley

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This thesis explores the development of the separation of powers doctrine and its application by the United States Supreme Court. Its analysis will focus upon the six different approaches to the doctrine that the Court has employed over the past two hundred years. Moreover, it will show that these six methods of analysis; which include the textual, original intent, structural, institutional competence, historical practice, and values approaches, have often been mixed single cases; The approach that is employed in these separation of powers cases often dictates their outcome. In many of these cases, a different approach may have led to …