Digital Commons Network^™

2000 - 2001: Postgraduate Prospectus, Dublin Institute Of Technology

DIT Publications

This booklet outlines the opportunities for post graduate studies offered by the Dublin Institute of Technology. Including both taught and programmes of research leading to higher level awards.

Foreign Language Textbooks In The Classroom: Bridging The Gap Between Second Language Acquisition Theory And Pedagogy, Kristina Harlan '00

Honors Projects

Second language acquisition (SLA) research encompasses various theories of language learning in which the theoretical perspectives sometimes are not connected to SLA methods used by instructors in the classroom. This paper discusses several theories of SLA in an effort to better understand their connection to pedagogy. Foreign language (FL) pedagogy accounts for various methodological approaches the most common being Grammatical-Translation, Direct Method, Audiolingual, and Communicative. These distinctive methodologies have produced a variety of FL textbooks which focus on one or several methodologies.

The following research examines a selection oftextbooks in which the methodologies in beginning language learning are analyzed and …

The Role Of Intercultural Communication In Conflict Resolution Between African Immigrants And Their U.S.-Born Children, Aje-Ori Anna Agbese

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This research examines intercultural communication's role in resolving and managing conflicts between African immigrants and their U.S. -born children. Marriage and close family ties are the backbone of selection in U.S. immigration law. Over 90% of immigrants in the U.S. raise families within the host culture, making immigrant families an area worthy of study. Unfortunately, families are the least studied areas of immigration. Assumptions that immigrants assimilate completely into the host culture through intermarriage and raising children/families are being debunked. Recent studies on immigrants show that their ethnic cultural values are retained for many years, and passed on to children …

The Effects Of Symbol Organization Strategy On Syntactical Language Production In First Grade Children, Daniel Thomas Baier

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) is the process in which a person's disordered speech is augmented or assisted with communication technology. This study investigated the effects of vocabulary organization using branching capabilities of a high technology device on sentence construction. Information about vocabulary organization strategies might be important for addressing the language and literacy deficits that were noted in previous research with AAC users. The study attempted to investigate whether or not vocabulary organization in a grammatical sequence across one page or multiple pages would improve non-AAC users abilities to retell a story using AAC technology. Six students participated in …

Inner Presence, Amy L. Bailey

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

What we believe constructs the person we are and will become, the ways and means we conduct our lives and form our sense of right and wrong at all levels inward and outward: politically, socially, and personally. My own beliefs, founded on my faith in God, have directed me in my work. This thesis exhibition is an exploration of how to express these beliefs visually. During my exploration, I had to alter and develop my own visual iconography to express my ideas of God. Conventional transcendent icons including the cross, the 1 Christ figure, and the Virgin Mary, have been …

Civilian Conservation Corps Rubble And Masonry Dams And Gully Morphology In Northeastern Iowa, Timothy Robert Beerman

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was created in 1933 in an effort to help solve the problems associated with the lack of jobs for young men, the nations dwindling natural resources, and problems associated with soil erosion. The CCC's work in Iowa was primarily in the areas of reforestation and erosion control. Company 1749 of Cresco, Iowa stands out as an example of how the CCC worked to halt erosion. As a part of their erosion-control strategy, Company 1749 built a large number of rubble and masonry dams on gullies. These dams were designed to trap sediments and prevent further …

Gender, Self-Efficacy, Anxiety, Experience, And The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition, Short Form (Wais-Iii), Laura Jean Blalock

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationships between gender, self-efficacy, anxiety, experience and the WAIS-III, short form. This study investigated the hypotheses that gender differences occur on select subtests of the WAISIII, short form, that math self-efficacy, math attitudes, and math experience affect Arithmetic scores, and that motor speed affects performance on the Digit Symbol subtest. The sample consisted of 93 undergraduate students from the University of Northern Iowa (36 males, 57 females). Students completed questionnaires and were administered the WAIS-III short form individually. Males scored higher on the Arithmetic, Information, and Digit Span subtests and …

Incidence Of Voice Disorders In Teachers Who Coach, Todd Allen Bohnenkamp

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Eighteen teachers who coach, representing school districts in northeast and southeast Iowa participated in this study. Voice recordings were analyzed acoustically, and perceptually rated to quantify voice quality. Videostroboscopy was used to visualize laryngeal anatomy and function to confirm suspected voice pathologies yielded from the acoustic data. A questionnaire was used to collect vocal history information from each coach. Utilizing these objective and subjective methods, it was determined that 39% of these coaches had a voice disorder at the time of testing. These coaches often would change their teaching style when confronted with a voice problem; however, a high percentage …

The Effects Of Computer Animations On Secondary Students’ Understanding Of The Crushing Can Chemical Demonstration, Resa Marie Kelly

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Understanding chemistry requires the ability to think at three different levels: submicrochemistry, macrochemistry, and representational chemistry. Students often have difficulty making connections among these three areas due to the abstract nature of many chemistry concepts. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how computer animations affected secondary students' understanding of the Crushing Can Demonstration. This investigation compared two groups of chemistry students at a large, suburban high school. The treatment group viewed the animation after seeing and discussing the crushing can demonstration, while the control group received the same instruction as the treatment group but did not see the …

Evaluation Of Lsco Electrodes For Sensor Protection Devices, Robert W. Schwartz, M. T. Sebastian

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

We have evaluated lanthanum strontium cobalt oxide (La0.50Sr0.50CoOx; LSCO 50/50) as a candidate “transparent” electrode for use in an electrostatic shutter-based infrared sensor protection device. The device requires that the electrode be transparent (80% transmission) and have moderate sheet resistance (300 - 500 Ω/sq.). To meet these needs, the effects of postdeposition annealing on the resistivity and optical absorption characteristics of sputter deposited LSCO thin films were studied. The as-deposited films were characterized by an absorption coefficient of ~ 12,500 cm-1 and resistivities of ~ 0.08 to 0.5 Ω-cm. With annealing at 800°C, the resistivity decreased to 350 μΩ-cm, while …

An Evaluation Of The Ductile Iron Casting Training Program At The Industrial Technology Department Of A Midwestern University, Khalid D. Alkarimy

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study is to determine how efficient this training program is as measured by (a) increasing the knowledge of new employees about the ductile iron casting process and other casting processes as perceived by the participants, (b) participants achievement of the program learning objectives as perceived by the participants, and (c) a positive reaction and attitude toward the program contents, instructors, facility and handout as perceived by the participants. The problem of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Ductile Iron Casting Training program offered by the Industrial Technology department of a Midwestern University to …

Comparison Of Health Practices Of International Students At The University Of Northern Iowa Before And After Coming To The United States, Joseph Kwesi Ogah

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The primary purpose of this study was to compare the health practices of international students at the University of Northern Iowa before and after coming to the United States (US). Also included in the study was a description of differences in the selected health behaviors by gender, age, marital status, residence type, place of origin, and length of stay in the US. A random sample of 81 international students from about 60 different countries (35% male, 65% female) responded to a 50-item health behavior survey in the Fall semester of 1999.

The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was …

The Relationship Between Childhood Sexual Abuse And Revictimization In Adulthood Among Uni College Students, Kristine R. Wroblewski

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a relationship between childhood sexual abuse and adult revictimization. Two hypotheses were examined. It was hypothesized that childhood victims of sexual abuse were more likely to be revictimized as adults. It was also hypothesized that there would be significant differences in demographic and psychosocial correlates between victims of childhood sexual abuse and those who did not report childhood sexual abuse.

The Health and Safety Survey was administered to 589 students at the University of Northern Iowa. There were 398 female respondents and 182 male respondents. The Health and Safety …

Investigation Of The Job Training Partnership Act Career Inventory In Predicting Career Clusters For Clients In Black Hawk County, Amy Bryte

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) is a federally funded program that is an approach to employee training and placement to the economically disadvantaged, dislocated workers, or those facing significant employment barriers. The goal of ITP A is to put People to work by placing them in jobs through various training activities. Overall the ITP A program strives to move jobless individuals into permanent self-sustaining employment. A service offered through the ITPA program is career inventory. Career inventory are assessment tools used to determine a client's current abilities, values, and interests. After a client completes the career inventory they are …

Supporting Survivors Of Sexual Assault: A Feminist Perspective, Geeta Cowlagi

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Sexual assault continues to be a serious problem in the United States and in Utah; one that exacts a heavy toll on the survivors as well as society in general. While the issue is an old one, there is still considerable debate around it. Indeed, the myths, misperceptions, and ignorance about the causes and effects of rape and sexual assault impede the recovery process for the survivors of sexual assault. The goal of this thesis is to support survivors of sexual assault in their recovery. The core of the thesis is a manual written for professionals who work with survivors …

The Effects Of Influence Tactics On Performance And Supervisory Evaluations Of Subordinates, Courtney L. Determan

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This study examined the effects on performance and attitudes of three different types of influence tactics including exchange, personal appeal and inspirational appeal. The sample consisted of 78 undergraduate students from the University of Northern Iowa. The researcher conducting the study gave instructions for a paper-folding task to construct miniature paper tents. The instructions were given in a manner demonstrating one of the three influence tactics. After hearing the instructions, the participants' attitudes toward the researcher were evaluated using the Supervisory Behavior Description (as cited in Robinson, Athanasiou, & Head, 1974). The participants were then given materials to construct as …

A Probabilistic Analysis Of The Ratio Spectrum, M. D. Skowronski, J. G. Harris

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Recently, Lim and Harris (see IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, p.277-80, June 1998) developed a novel spectral representation called the ratio spectrum. The ratio spectrum is formed by taking the ratio of the power of a low pass filtered signal to the power of the original unfiltered signal for all filter cutoff frequencies. Features extracted from the ratio spectrum have proven to be promising for phoneme recognition and speech compression. In this work we have shown that the ratio spectrum feature sets are competitive with standard feature sets used for automatic speech recognition. To understand the underlying properties …

Development Of A Functional Basis For Design, Robert B. Stone, Kristin L. Wood

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Functional models represent a form independent blueprint of a product. As with any blueprint or schematic, a consistent language or coding system is required to ensure others can read it. This paper introduces such a design language, called a functional basis, where product function is characterized in a verb-object (function-flow) format. The set of functions and flows is intended to comprehensively describe the mechanical design space. Clear definitions are provided for each function and flow. The functional basis is compared to previous functional representations and is shown to subsume these attempts as well as offer a more consistent classification scheme. …

Tuning Parameter Tolerance Design: Foundations, Methods, And Measures, Daniel A. Mcadams, Kristin L. Wood

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, a novel technique is presented to solve tolerance design problems. To achieve the desired performance tolerance, the technique uses a subtle, but significant, change in the design: the addition of a tuning parameter in place of an increase in component precision. Statistical models are used to develop a framework for the tuning parameter design method. Also developed is a new, dimensionless design metric which ranks candidate tuning parameters. A step-by-step method is developed for the application of tuning parameters using this metric. The step-by-step tuning parameter design method is applied to a heavy-duty manual stapler as a …

Using Quantitative Functional Models To Develop Product Architectures, Robert B. Stone, Kristin L. Wood, Richard H. Crawford

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Developing product architectures is a key phase in design and development processes. It encompasses the transformation from functional model to alternative product layouts. In this paper, we introduce a methodology for representing a functional model of a product in a quantitative manner. In addition to describing product functionality, the quantitative functional model also incorporates customer need ratings. Product design knowledge can be archived and transmitted in databases using this novel representation. Numerical manipulations of such a database assist in developing product architectures. In particular, product families and customer need ratings for modules are easily computed. Prior to the methodology, a …

Preservice Teachers’ Beliefs About Teaching And Learning, Helga M. Gudenschwager

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Research shows that knowing what preservice teachers believe about teaching and learning helps their instructors to reinforce those beliefs that are compatible with current approaches in education and challenge those that promote the perpetuation of antiquated and ineffective teaching practices. Four main research questions guided this study: 1. To what extent the beliefs expressed by participants aligned with traditional or constructivist perspectives? 2. Do elementary and secondary majors differ in terms of their preference for practices aligned with these perspectives? 3. Do elementary and secondary majors differ in terms of their beliefs about the goals of education and effective strategies …

A Survey Of Iowa High School Band Directors And Their Students On The Occurrences Of Performing On A Musical Instrument While Experiencing Pain, Crystal M. Franzen Halverson

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Learning to play a musical instrument is a challenging and exciting venture for many children. Lessons are the primary means for children to learn to play a musical instrument. Some begin studying an instrument through private lessons and others through a Suzuki program. Many other children begin their study of a musical instrument in the public school system with a music teacher in elementary, junior high, or middle school. Regardless of how one begins to learn to play a musical instrument, by the time high school is reached, it is conceivable that he or she will have had at least …

Integration Of Csab And Abet, Lee W. Saperstein, Kenneth Martin, Doris K. Lidtke

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc. (ABET) and the Computing Sciences Accreditation Board (CSAB) signed a Memorandum of Agreement in November 1998 to integrate CSAB''s accreditation services with ABET, with a transition time of approximately two years. During the interim period, the operations of the Computer Science Accreditation Commission (CSAC) are contracted by CSAB to ABET. A committee with CSAC, CSAB, and ABET representation is working to set up the new commission for accrediting programs in the computing sciences. This new commission will probably be called the Computing Accreditation Commission (CAC). Other activities are underway to try to …

Impairment In Dichotic Listening Following Anterior Communicating Artery Aneurysm, Paul Michael Evitts

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Dichotic listening involves the simultaneous presentation of stimuli binaurally and was initially a method for determining cerebral dominance or laterality of hemispheric function. Since its inception, dichotic listening has evolved into a method for assessing neurologic pathology. An interruption in the central auditory pathways will result in a detectable asymmetry of dichotic scores. Impaired dichotic listening has been well documented in numerous neurological etiologies, but dichotic listening in patients who present anterior communicating artery (ACoA) aneurysm has yet to be documented. Due to the location of the ACoA and the substrates of innervation, central auditory pathways responsible for the transmission …

An Evaluation Of Two Different Data Modeling Techniques For Data Warehousing, Litao Fu

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The database community is devoting increasing attention to the research themes concerning data warehouses. After having invested a lot of time and resources to build huge and complex information systems, managers ask for support in obtaining quickly summary information to help in planning and decision making. Data warehousing systems address this issue by enabling managers to acquire and integrate information from different sources and to query efficiently very large databases. Building a data warehouse requires adopting design and implementation techniques completely different from those underlying information. Multidimensional data structures used for decision support applications in data warehouses have rather different …

Comparison Of Text-Dependent Speaker Identification Methods For Short Distance Telephone Lines Using Artificial Neural Networks, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, N. Sundepersadh

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The transition to democracy in South Africa has brought with it certain challenges. The main challenge is to get rid of crime and corruption. The paper presents a technique to combat white-collar crime in telephone transactions by identifying and verifying speakers using artificial neural networks (ANNs). Results are presented to show that speaker identification is feasible and this is illustrated with two different types of ANN architectures and with two different types of characteristic features as inputs to ANNs.

Discriminating Trickle-Flow Hydrodynamic Models: Some Recommendations, F. Larachi, I. Iliuta, M. (Muthanna) H. Al-Dahhan, M. P. Dudukovic

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Forecasting Ability of Five One-Dimensional (1-D) Two-Fluid Phenomenological Models for Liquid Holdup and Two-Phase Pressure Drop in Trickle-Flow Reactors Was Evaluated using the Most Comprehensive Trickle-Flow Regime Database. All of These Models, Namely, the Permeability Model, the Slit Model, the Extended Slit Model, the 1-D CFD Model, and the Double-Slit Model Can Be Used to Predict Liquid Holdup. among Them, the Permeability and the Slit Models, Because of a Much Simpler Structure, Are Recommended. the Extended Slit Model based on Iliuta Et Al. (Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 1998, 37, 4542) Shear and Slip Constitutive Relationships Can Be Employed for …

Media Education In Ireland: An Overview, Brian O'Neill

Articles

No abstract provided.

The Training Environment Of The Irish Defence Forces:Integrated Training, Bullying And Sexual Harassment, Tom Clonan

Books/Book chapters

The training environment of the Irish Defence Forces: integrated training and bullying in the workplace In this chapter I will refer to recruit and cadet training within the defence forces in light of international trends in integrated training. Following the consideration of ‘commitment’ in terms of numbers of women recruited to the organisation in chapter five, this chapter assesses the “education” component of the setting (Reskin and Padavic, 1994). Through an examination of archival data (syllabi of training, training policy etc) and the data obtained at interview, an assessment of the PDF’s equality of opportunity agenda as it applies to …

Challenges In Delivering Library Services For Distance Learning, Cynthia Wright Swaine

Libraries Faculty & Staff Publications

The first section of this paper on library services for distance education discusses the status of distance learning in higher education. What distance learning means for libraries is addressed in the second section, including considerations related to diverse locations, agreements with participating institutions, delivery limitations, librarian commitment, and awareness of new ways to deliver services. The third section summarizes requirements for libraries and provides World Wide Web addresses for American Library Association and Canadian Library Association guidelines. The fourth section describes the challenges and impact of distance learning on library service units related to administration, collection management, acquisitions, cataloging, collection …