Digital Commons Network^™

The Experience Of Flow And Learning By Designing Interactive Multimedia Software, Leonie Ramondt

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

As computer technology is increasingly adopted in education, some students continue to have little context for its use. This is particularly true of tertiary drama education students, of whom many still remain computer illiterate. Constructivist pedagogy proposes that a learner constructs knowledge through active participation in their learning. An approach that is gaining currency which applies this principle is learning by designing. This approach was adopted for this study, with the premise that the process of designing multimedia software for their peers would not only motivate these students to use computers but could also lead to a deepening of their …

Pedagogic Approaches And Cultural Scripts: The Use Of Talk During Shared Literacy Lessons In Three Primary Two Classrooms In Singapore, Maha Sripathy

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study investigates the use and occurrence of talk during the implementation of the key approaches of Shared Book Reading and Class Dictated Story in three Primary Two classrooms in Singapore. These approaches are based on a constructive perspective of literacy where children make meaning from texts read with the teacher through joint exploration and connection with their respective background knowledge and experiences. Central to this joint exploration and meaning-making is the teacher-pupil talk. The occurrence and use of talk in the implementation of these approaches in three primary two classrooms was recorded, transcribed and analyzed. Teachers' and pupils' experiences …

Improving Police Officer Performance Appraisal, Leslie D. Simpson

Theses

This thesis will examine the development of American police management practices and organizational structure from its inception during the eighteenth century to the present. The organizational structure and management philosophy will be discussed concerning the influence they have on police officer performance appraisal.

Private sector business organizations have undergone monumental changes in management philosophy during the past twenty years. Most successful enterprises have shifted to a form of quality management that recognizes the benefits of employee participation in management programs. With emphasis on customer service, quality, process improvement, and human resource management American businesses are regaining their leadership role in …

An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Self-Esteem And Parental Configuration In Adult Male Felony Offenders, Dawn C. Sokolik

Theses

The parental configuration of families has become a topic of increasing interest in the latter part of the twentieth century. Examination of divorce rates reveal that the structure of the family is ever-changing. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between self-esteem and criminal offenders and how the structure of one's parental influence effects criminal activity. The types of parental configurations used within this study are as follows: Mother, Father, Mother and Father, or Biological Parent and Stepparent. The self-esteem scores of offenders incarcerated in a medium-security correctional institution for both violent and non-violent offenses were sampled …

Coping Styles Of Parents With Visually Impaired Children Compared To Parents With Fully Sighted Children, Lisa Tackett

Theses

The purpose of this research study was to determine if the coping styles of parents with visually impaired children are different from the coping styles of parents with fully sighted children. These results indicated that there is no difference on coping styles with the parents with the visually impaired children and the parents with the fully sighted children.

The Influence Of Perceived Social Support On Loneliness Among Students Of Foreign Status Studying In The United States, Brian Vakoc

Theses

Loneliness is a common experience for individuals studying in foreign countries. Where cultures, communications, and social structures are unfamiliar feelings of loneliness can present a difficult component within the adjustment process. Social support has a direct influence on a person's ability to adjust to an unfamiliar environment. Feelings of loneliness experienced by a person can be attributed to that person's perception of social support. Students who are studying in the United States from abroad are subject to a multitude of unfamiliar environments that promote uncertain social supports and increased levels of loneliness. Understanding differences between cultures and their effects on …

The Relationship Between Parental Conflict And Marital Satisfaction, Sheri Ann Tonioli

Theses

This study examined the relationship between perceived parental conflict and marital satisfaction. Fifty subjects participated in this study. These participants were from the graduate counseling classes at Lindenwood College in St. Charles, Missouri and from a business office in Earth City, Missouri. These individuals were married at least one year and were between the ages of 25-40. Most of the individuals in the study were white, middle class, and college graduates. Each individual completed a demographic questionnaire, the Family Environment Scale, and the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale. The results found that there is no significant relationship between perceived parental conflict …

The Effectiveness Of Cognitive Stress Management Intervention For Customer Contact Employees, Nancy M. Rickert

Theses

The relationship between cognitive stress management interventions and an improved stress level for customer contact employees was examined . Twenty- five (25) customer contact employees were volunteer subjects of this study. Twenty-five (25) completed the pretest and posttest questionnaire (the work stress inventory) . Six (6) of the twenty-five volunteer subjects completed the pretest , participated in the cognitive stress management workshop , and the posttest. Results revealed a significant difference in reported levels of stress between the two groups of customer contact employees .

An In-Depth Look At Demographics And Psychographics To Show How Data About Consumers Have Changed To Meet The Need Of Marketers, Susan L. Sebacher

Theses

Consumers are constantly changing. The generations are aging, causing their wants and needs to change. Products are also changing. They have gone from standardized to specialized. The market for consumer goods has gone from a mass market to niche markets. As consumers' sophistication grows so does their skepticism about advertising and claims advertisers make about their products. This creates a tough environment for marketers.

Demographic information provides marketers with a profile of their customers. Demographic information includes: gender, race, age, education, income, marital status, and number of children Demographic information groups consumers into generational groups. Generational groups are designated by …

Value Engineering For The Practice Of Architecture, Husam Akoud

Theses

The practice of value engineering has become a significant factor in the construction industry during the past five decades. To value engineer a product or an item is to examine carefully its components in relation to their respective performance. Alternatives are generated to enhance functionality and reduce cost.

Techniques and methods have been developed to assist in performing a value engineering study that has a substantial impact on the final product, whether an item in a system or a building component. The different phases of value engineering are the INFORMATION, SPECULATIVE, ANALYTICAL and PROPOSAL PHASES. Each phase has its unique …

The Environmental Justice Misfit: Public Participation And The Paradigm Paradox, Eileen Gauna

Faculty Scholarship

This Article argues that current administrative processes fail to effectively incorporate an important form of public participation in decision-making -- the participation by communities bearing the greatest environmental risks. This Article advocates an "environmental justice style" public participation model as a more promising approach because it calls for a recasting of the role of community participation in environmental decision-making -- a recasting which transcends traditional, modern, and proposed decision-making paradigms.Part II of this Article provides a brief history of the environmental justice movement. Part III addresses the role of the public under three models of administrative policy and decision-making: the …

Local Environmental Policy Capacity: A Framework For Research, Daniel Press

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.

Retention Of Administrators In Nursing Homes: What Can Management Do?, Douglas A. Singh, Robert C. Schwab

Faculty Publications

Annual turnover among nursing home administrators may be 40% or higher. To investigate the factors that could lead to greater administrator retention, responses to a survey (53% response rate) were analyzed using factor analysis and multiple regression models. Results show that higher retention is observed when administrators are allowed to function independently, are involved in decision making, are treated fairly, and are given reasonable goals to achieve. Organizations must hire administrators whose values match theirs. Multifacility chain organizations and for-profit facilities appear to have a greater need to embrace organizational principles that lead to greater job satisfaction.

Welcome To The 21st Century Classroom - Your Living Room: The Fcc Requires Three Hours Of Children's Educational And Informational Programming, Richard Jr. Cortez

SMU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Castrating Pedophiles Convicted Of Sex Offenses Against Children: New Treatment Or Old Punishment, William Winslade, T. Howard Stone, Michele Smith-Bell, Denise M. Webb

SMU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Judicial Incentives And The Appeals Process, Christopher R. Drahozal

SMU Law Review

No abstract provided.

An Empirical And Normative Analysis Of The Impact Of Televised Courtroom Proceedings, Ralph E. Roberts Jr.

SMU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Contemporary Financial Innovation: Orthodoxy And Alternatives, Charles R. Pouncy

SMU Law Review

No abstract provided.

When Murdering Hands Rock The Cradle: An Overview Of America's Incoherent Treatment Of Infanticidal Mothers, Brenda Barton

SMU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Criminal Procedure: Pretrial, Trial And Appeal, Shirley Baccus-Lobel, Gary Alan Udashen

SMU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Clinical Design For Social Justice Imperatives, Jon C. Dubin

SMU Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Troubled State Of Chapter 13 Bankruptcy And Proposals For Reform, Jeffrey A. Logan

SMU Law Review

No abstract provided.

American Family Law: History -- Whostory, Ana M. Novoa

Faculty Articles

Family law should be rooted in preserving and protecting intimate relationships; instead, it is rooted in preserving those domestic systems that created or expanded the economic empire of the "Founding Fathers," the white males of the colonial northeast. This northeastern colonial perspective continues to underpin most of the basic assumptions in family law. Concurrently, with the increased privatization of the cooperative virtues, Americans have developed an excessive preoccupation with self and a cult of consumerism.

Consumerism has driven American society toward increased individualism and narcissism. A by-product of the increased individual-consumer culture is the mistaken belief that our personal values …

Confronting First Nations Cultural Genocide: Showcasing Perspective Of Cree Elders For Identity And Leadership Renewal, Phyllis S.A. Cardinal Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to gain insight on the effects of cultural genocide through the lens of selected Cree elders in Alberta, Canada. The study enlisted the elders' perspective on the legacy of cultural genocide, and its residue. This process enabled the elders to offer views about Cree identity, and suggest a leadership perspective for continued cultural renewal. The study applied a Lockean theory to the attack on Natural Law to explain the genocide. The study also explained the way Locke's ideas may have contributed to the earlier federal policies that have subordinated the Cree, and to the …

A Theoretical Perspective Of Factors That Relate To The Functional Independence Of Mature Adults, Richard N. Ashden Edd,Dc

Dissertations

Limitations of policy makers and health care providers understanding about living conditions in later adulthood continually constrains mature adults from doing more for themselves, and society. These circumstances move society to devalue mature adults. Less valued mature adults tend to become even more dependent, that is, increasingly less willing to care for themselves, and less able to contribute to the social good. As a result, a vicious cycle was created, and it caused mature adults to live lower quality lives, and become increasingly dependent on others. To empower mature adults in later life, this study does the preliminary work to …

Teachers' Perspectives From Within A School Leadership Team: A Phenomenological Study, Sheridan L. Barker Edd

Dissertations

This qualitative study explored a different type of leadership by investigating leadership among peers in a California School Leadership Team (SLT). Using a phenomenological approach, the researcher asked ten teachers to describe their experience as members and as leaders in a schoolwide change team. The teachers characterized the SLT as: a positive force in the school, a vehicle for communication, and a support group. They described the experience as: eye opening, unique, challenging, and transforming. Five themes emerged as the essence of the experience: (a) the interdependent relationship among the team members; (b) the teachers' growing capacity to discern fine …

An Analysis Of Dialogue For Understanding Educators' Stress: Implications For Voice, Listening And Leadership, Joanna R. Doonan Edd

Dissertations

Research indicates that educator stress is a widespread phenomenon that not only impacts the educational community, but society at large. This being the case, there is an urgent need to consider this phenomenon within responsible school leadership. In particular, understanding what creates stress for educators, and learning more about leadership responses that would support educators under stress, are critical to more holistic school leadership, and for enabling teachers to envision a viable future for themselves. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine how school principals and colleagues might respond to educators coping with professional stress, so that they …

Identification Of Core Multidisciplinary Competencies In An Integrated Public Health And Human Service System, Brian Winslow Thomas Moffitt Edd

Dissertations

In response to economic, legislative and social forces, public health and human service systems are becoming more integrative, requiring direct service practitioners to acquire new competencies to successfully perform in these new settings. In a review of the literature, competencies pertaining to team effectiveness, interprofessional collaboration and cross-functional knowledge and skills all appear to be relevant considerations. Moreover, an examination of competencies must consider individual, team and organizational dimensions in a context of health and welfare reform. However, the current literature is fragmented, limited in scope and empirically inconclusive. A descriptive, qualitative study was therefore warranted. The following research question …

Storytelling In Project Heart To Heart: A Means To Bridge Generational Gap In Post-1965 Filipino Immigrant Families, Juanita Toledo Santos Nacu Edd

Dissertations

As we share our experiences with others, we also explore its meaning to ourselves and to whomever it is being shared with. This is how stories are told. Most families usually develop a body of stories that is passed on from one generation to the next generation. These stories are used to preserve the family member's identity, history, and values. The stories touch not only our past experiences, but also influences our present and links it to the future. This study explored the Filipino American families' experiences of storytelling as a means of bridging together past, present, and future experiences …

The Development Of An Instrument To Identify Differing Views Of Leadership Within Organizations, Robert W. Siciliani Edd

Dissertations

Popular literature and much of the research reported in recognized journals imply that all members of an organization subscribe to the same ideas about leadership. However, a few authorities believe the research findings may result from test instruments based on a single view of leadership. Accurately identifying members' views of leadership is important because these views help shape behavior and expectations within the group. Differing views of leadership may also be a root cause of conflict among organizational members. This research used published definitions, descriptions, and measures of leadership to establish ten elements that seem to comprise the leadership construct. …