Digital Commons Network^™

Aid Administration Of Bilateral, Multilateral And Non-Government Organisations In The Primary Education Sector: A Comparative Case Study Analysis Of Zambia, Patrick Nkhoma

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This is a study of the administration of aid by bilateral, multilateral and non-government organisations in Zambia during the period 1990 to 2000. The particular purpose of this study is to compare the aid programs administered by the above organisations to the primary education sector using a case study approach. The study critically analyses how the performance of these organisation is or is not influenced by setting clear objectives, by elaborating planning processes and implementation arrangements. The study uses a matrix table developed through a NUD*IST retrieval reports generated from the data collected from each organisation’s documentation and in-depth interviews …

Meeting The Challenge Of Dynamic User Requirements Using Data-Driven Techniques On A 4gl-Database Environment, Christopher Bolan

Theses : Honours

Accompanying the ever-growing reliance on computers within contemporary organisations, the task of software maintenance is, increasingly, becoming a resource burden. The author has identified that there is a need for proven techniques to allow the modelling of flexible/changing user requirement, to enable systems to cope with requirements creep without suffering major code change and associated down-time from rebuilds of the database. This study ascertains the applicability of extension to current data modelling techniques that allows innate flexibility within the data model. The extension of the data model is analysed for potential benefits in the provision of such a dynamic/flexible base …

Number Sense In Urban Aboriginal Primary Students, Kathryn J. Lyon

Theses : Honours

This paper examines the number sense of urban Aboriginal primary students attending school in Perth. The subjects were asked to complete a test designed to assess their number sense, which has been defined as "[a] propensity for and an ability to use numbers and quantitative methods as a means of communicating, processing and interpreting information" (McIntosh, Reys, Reys, Bana & Farrell, 1997, p. 61). It involves an intuitive understanding about numbers and how to use them in practical ways. Some subjects were also interviewed, so that a greater understanding of their number sens8 could be gained. It was found that …

Pearson's Paradox : An Emergent Social Reality, Anthony Dews

Theses : Honours

In his speech The Light on the Hill Noel Pearson criticises the nature of contemporary social reality in Australia. In his view this social reality is co-dependent in portraying Indigenous Australians as victims and non-Indigenous Australians as guilty. The result has been the generation of a welfare mentality to the structural disadvantage of Indigenous Australians. I conclude that the debate Pearson has initiated is ongoing. This debate has adopted ideological overtones consistent with emphases on individual and community development and these emphases are emerging in policy. However I suggest that governments are seeking to divest responsibility for individual and community …

An Exploratory Study Into The Relationship Between Moral Judgement And Academic Ability By School, Gender, And Socio-Economic Status, Kathleen Bancroft

Theses : Honours

Society appears to be exhibiting an innate belief that the private school system provides a better education, a moral education and the opportunity to secure a place in the workforce more so than its counterpart, the public school system (Australian Council of Educational Research, 1980). A 1.5% shill of Australian school students from the public school system to the private school system each year has been reported (Kemp, 1997). Previous research indicates that parents are choosing the private system as they perceive an educational advantage over public schools (Australian Council of Educational Research, 1980). The purpose of this study is …

Teaching Practices Which Enhance Rhythm Development In Junior Primary Students : Case Studies In The South West Region Of Western Australia, Natalie Oddy

Theses : Honours

This thesis has arisen from a desire to enhance the benefits of musical development, in particular, rhythm, for children in junior primary classrooms. Music plays an important role in the overall development of the child as it ''aids a child's development in other areas such as overall academic achievement, ability to concentrate, creative and artistic expression, social skills and emotional stability" (Parkinson, 1989, p. 3). Therefore music education plays an important part in the academic curriculum. The researcher selected rhythm as the element of music to focus on as it is "the most basic element of music" (Latham and Sadie, …

The Personal Is Political And The Political Can Be Very Bloody Personal : Family Farming In A Deregulated Dairy Industry, Terese Reid

Theses : Honours

This qualitative study considers the links between the political ideology that led to the deregulation of the dairy industry in July 2000 and the personal lived experiences of dairy farming families at a grass roots level. The post-deregulation experiences of dairy farming families within the South West region of Western are investigated through an engaged critical ethnographic methodology. A critical analysis of the political policies relating to dairy deregulation, is also incorporated within the study's methodological framework. The underlying aims of critical ethnography are emancipation, empowerment and liberation. The central purpose of this research is to give the daily farming …

'Reading The Play' Situational Awareness And Performance Of Australian Football League Players, Craig Harms

Theses : Honours

Many high-performing Australian Football (AF) players appear to be better at 'reading the play' than other AF players. One cognitive capacity that appears to be similar in nature to 'reading the play', and that has been associated with the performance of elite pilots, is Situational Awareness (SA). The principal focus of this study was to examine the extent to which individual differences in an AF -specific measure of SA and the PC-based WOMBAT^TM test of SA were associated with individual differences in AF player performance, within the context of physiological and psychomotor capacities, using Multiple Regression Analysis. The results …

Young Children's Collaborative Interactions In An Educational Computer Environment, Mohamad I. Shahrimin

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study investigated the collaborative interaction patterns exhibited by five-year old pre-primary children in an educational computer environment. The case study method was used in one pre-primary centre in metropolitan Perth, Western Australia, to examine the patterns of collaborative interaction among young children whilst engaged with the computer. The one event case study was of the interactions exhibited by pre-primary children whilst engaged, in dyads, with the computer within a naturalistic classroom environment. This study involved three phases of data collection. Phase I consisted of observations and videotaping sessions, compilation of written observations, narrative descriptions and relevant field notes on …

Change Of Support Correction In Mineral Resource Estimation, Marek J. Janas

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The success of any mining operation greatly, if not entirely, depends on the accuracy of prediction of recoverable mining reserves. However, prior to mining, knowledge about the distribution of the Selective Mining Unit (SMU) is limited. The SMU represents the volume on which extraction of ore takes place and on which recoverable mining reserves are based. Realistic recoverable reserve estimates can be obtained from the grade-tonnage curve that corresponds to the unknown distribution of the SMU rather than to the distribution of exploration sample data. In general, if the reserve calculation, at the given cut-off grade, is based upon exploration …

An Investigation Into The Use Of Software Code Metrics In The Industrial Software Development Environment, Tim Littlefair

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This work describes a project that investigates the use of software metrics based on measurement of source code in industrial software development. Literature is examined relating to considerations of quality in industry; to software engineering; to emergent technologies in the software industry including the object-oriented paradigm and software patterns; to software product and process metrics; and to cultural factors affecting workplaces in the software industry. It then expounds theoretical and practical work aimed at specifying, designing and implementing a source code analyzer for use in a typical industrial project setting. There is an explanation of the design and outcomes of …

Education, Training And The Role Of Logistic Managers In Ireland, John Mangan, Orla Gregory

Articles

The paper is based on the analysis of the responses of a questionnaire survey of logistics managers working in manufacturing firms in Ireland. The objectives of the survey were to establish the educational and training needs of the practicing logistics manager. The questionnaire was designed to address issues including the various logistics practices undertaken by the respondents' company and the time spent by respondents on these activities; the skills currently required by logistics managers; the attitude to logistics in respondents' companies; the qualifications held and nature of training received by logistics managers; the effectiveness of training received; future training requirements …

Development Of A Diagnostic Assessment System To Improve The Motn Ation Of Admitted Students To Matriculate Into The Nursing Program At D’Youville College, Francis R. Dunphy

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

Forensic Science Associates (FSA) is a Virginia law enforcement training school. The problem is that FSA wishes to expand! the scope of its operation and! sees opportunities in training international police. Currently it does not have a program for such training. The purpose of this project was to develop a plan to offer courses designed to be attractive, useful, and contemporary, to train international police educators at FSA.

There were four research questions for this project First, "What are the training needs of international law enforcement agencies that FSA could provide for effectively?" Second, "What are the appropriate elements to …

Development Of A Drug And Alcoholisn Distance Learning Training Project Proposal For Probation Officers With An Implementation And Evaluation Plan, Sam Pirozzi

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The purpose of this project was to provide a training alternative to assist in the drug and alcohol training program for probation officers. The product developed replicates the Biopsychosocial Model of Addiction Treatment and Behavioral Healthcare: A Linkage with the Criminal Justice System (BMAT) two-day workshop curriculum as an independent learning model.

There were seven research questions for this project. First, "What are the various methods of delivering instruction at a distance?" Second, "What are appropriate criteria for selecting a distance learning method for this project?" Third, "Which method identified best suits the criteria for curriculum delivery for probation officer …

Improving And Enhancing The Afterschool Program At Brookside School, William E. Kayal

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This report explains the progress of a program for participants who benefited more than the typical nonparticipants in an afterschool extended-day program. Schubert (1997) stated, "To develop school experience that genuinely engage students and teachers in citizenship, gives meaning and direction to their lives" (p. 82). Results of the study showed that the participants' development was a complex process about the natural reciprocity between self and others with an emphasis on building relationships and providing programs to support student needs. The staff members have always demonstrated through modeling that students are the school's first priority.

Students commented that staff interest …

Parents In Partnership With Children To Improve Student Readiness Skills, Glenda G. Miller

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

In compliance with Goal 1 of Goals 2000: Educate America Act of 1994 (U.S. Department of Education, 2001), all children should enter school with all developmental skills in place, ready to learn. In the 2000-2001 school year, educators reported that a large majority of kindergartners continued to enter school with less than the expected chronological-age-level skills, and it is their anticipation that this goal will continue to be unmet. Partially due to the lack of agreement on what readiness constitutes and the lack of availability of programs that are designed to focus on appropriate developmental programs for preschoolers, children continue …

Enhancing School Climate To Improve Teacher And Student Morale: An Ethnographic Study, Mark Register

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

Through an ethnographic process, the researcher sought an enhanced school climate that would result in improved morale among teachers and students at Sacred Heart School. The opportunity provided was to take the school beyond the level of solid and move it toward the status of being regarded as a major private educational institution.

Data were obtained for this project through surveys and personal interviews of faculty members, parents, students, and alumni in the attempt to describe past and current school climate and culture accurately. School archives were researched to gain further information concerning the philosophical foundation on which this institution …

Teaching Children How To Learn: A Program To Teach Self-Regulation Skills, Connie C. Lawrence

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This report describes an intervention to train teachers how to instruct and support self-regulated learning in the classroom. An analysis of 4th- and 7th-grade student responses on a modified Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (Pintrich, Smith, Garcia, & McKeachie, 1991) revealed that, although 43% of the students indicated that they always or almost always use some self-regulation skills, 23% stated that they never or almost never use them. In a private school where the mission is to equip future learners, 50% of the students should be using self-regulation skills all or most of the time. An analysis of the teaching …

How Can Increasing Parent Involvement Improve Student Performance In Reading And Math?, Mary O. Jones

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

In 2000, parents were less likely to be involved in school than in the previous decade. Increasing parent involvement may be related to improved student performance and prevention of poor performance in students. This practicum was conducted at 1 elementary school in a small, rural school district to investigate how to increase parent involvement and how that increased involvement would affect student performance in reading and mathematics.

Teachers were surveyed about school needs and identified parent involvement as the needed area of improvement. Parents were surveyed about participation in the school, and a set of strategies was designed to involve …

Development Of An Associate Of Applied Science Degree In Interpreting For The Deaf At The Community College Of Southern Nevada, Sandra L. Workman

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The associate of applied science degree in deaf studies has been in place since 1 994 and 4 is transferrable as a prerequisite toward a four-year deaf studies degree. The Community College of Southern Nevada (CCSN) has the only deaf studies program in the state. If a student wants to pursue a degree in interpreting for the deaf, the student must go out of state. In July, 1 997, the governor of Nevada signed a law stating that American Sign Language is a fully developed, autonomous, natural language with distinct grammar, syntax, and art forms. However, the current administrations at …

Development Of Plan To Establish Safety Committees At Miami-Dade Water And Sewer Department, Holly A. Word

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The problem under investigation was that it was unknown that the absence of safety committees could influence workers' compensation costs to Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department. The purpose of this study was to develop a plan to establish safety committees. This plan may promote employee participation by increasing safety awareness that may reduce the overall rate of employee injuries. The research question for this study was, " What should be included in a plan to establish safety committees at Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department?"

Deliberations of formative and summative committees were established to develop criteria of the safety committee program …

Comparison Of Reading Levels Of Students In A Computer Assisted Instructional Reading Program To Students In A Traditional Reading Program, Raquel Chin

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The problem for this study was no available data documenting the impact of the computer assisted instruction (CAI) program on the reading levels of students in Pines Middle School's eighth grade reading program. Previous studies have suggested that students in CAI reading programs do increase their reading levels.

The research question for this study was "Will students participating in the computer assisted instruction reading program achieve significantly higher reading levels, as determined by the STAR assessment, than students instructed in the traditional reading program?" The quasi-experimental research methodology was applied because the investigator compared treatment effects in a setting that …

Relationship Of Academic Performance Of Those Students Who Utilize Peer-Tutoring And Those Who Do Not, Bonnie Higgins Bonnie Higgins

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The problem of this study was the high attrition rate in the Adult Nursing Course. Peer tutoring was a strategy implemented to decrease the attrition rate. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between academic performance and participation in a peer-tutoring program. There was one research question, "Is there a relationship between academic performance and participation in a peer-tutoring program?"

A two by two bivariate frequency distribution was constructed with the variables academic success and participation in the peer-tutoring program. The relationship between the two variables was determined through the use of the Fisher's Exact test. The …

Development Of A Strategic Plan To Integrate Leadership And Management Concepts Throughout Frankford Hospital School Of Nursing Curriculum With Plans For Implementation And Evaluation, Jo Ann Runewicz

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The problem is that a gap exists between the Frankford Hospital School of Nursing (FHSN) curriculum design, increased National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) passing standards, and the revised NCLEX-RN examination that has integrated leadership and management concepts. The FHSN curriculum design does not adequately prepare students to address leadership and management concepts that are being tested on the NCLEX-RN.

The purpose of this project was to develop a strategic plan to integrate leadership and management concepts throughout the FHSN curriculum. A plan for implementation and evaluation was also developed. The following five research questions were addressed: (1) …

Creation Of A Leadership Development Handbook For Asia Pacific Assemblies Of God Leaders, Benjamin M. Kaufman

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

Few issues will be as important in the new millennium as the development of leaders. Character and managerial leadership competencies and skills are particularly important to those who lead the churches and Christian colleges and universities in the new era. The purpose of this applied dissertation was to create a handbook, including implementation and evaluation plans, that Asia Pacific Assemblies of God leaders can utilize for their own character and managerial development.

Six research questions guided this research. First, what broad content categories need to be addressed in the leadership development handbook? Second, within each of the categories, what issues …

Function, Nonfunction, And Monumental Works Of Architecture: An Interpretive Lens In Copyright Law, Melissa M. Mathis

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of An Orientation Program For First Semester Nursing Students At Glendale Community College, Virginia Dumas

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

In Fall 1999, Maricopa Community College District (MCCD), implemented a new Health Care Integrated Educational System (HCIES). As part of that implementation, a district wide nursing program was introduced to the students. To help with the process of transition a specialty orientation program has been designed by nursing faculty for first semester nursing students as an extension of the general orientation program for Glendale Community College. The purpose of this evaluation practicum was to determine if the specialty orientation program was meeting the needs of the nursing students. There were two research questions for this practicum. "What is an appropriate …

A First-Grade Reading Academy: An Accelerated Program For At-Risk Readers, Keith W. Yost

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

In response to the Texas Education Agency's expectation that all children enrolled in 1st grade during the 2000- 2001 school year will read on grade level by the end of 3rd grade, this practicum addressed an early reading intervention program for at-risk 1st-grade readers in a suburban school district with a student population of 7,200. Planned solution strategies to help these students read on grade level at the conclusion of this 18-week accelerated reading program included (a) using a research-based identification process for flexible grouping and monitoring of students' progress; (b) using trained reading teachers; (c) providing students with an …

Increasing The Independent Living Skills Of Lower Functioning Students In A Special School, Through Teacher Training, Motivational Strategies, Parent Involvement, Hands-On Experiences, And Music., Joan Reid

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This practicum was designed to increase the independent living skills of low functioning students in a special school. Parents were not involved in the school's programs and were not committed to seeing that their children develop independence. Teachers were not motivated or adequately trained and equipped to assist these students. These low functioning students were not aware that their needs were not being met.

The writer selected and utilized five strategies as solutions for the problem. These included: Teacher training, motivational strategies, parental involvement, hands-on experiences, and music. Weekly planning and training sessions were conducted for teachers, who were provided …

The Long-Period Orbit Of The Dwarf Nova V630 Cassiopeiae, J. A. Orosz, J. R. Thorstensen, R. K. Honeycutt

Dartmouth Scholarship

We present extensive spectroscopy and photometry of the dwarf nova V630 Cassiopeiae. A late-type (K4-5) absorption spectrum is easily detectable, from which we derive the orbital parameters. We find a spectroscopic period of P=2.56387 +/- (4 times 10^{-5}) days and a semiamplitude of K_2=132.9 +/- 4.0 km/s. The resulting mass function, which is a firm lower limit on the mass of the white dwarf, is then f(M)=0.624 +/- 0.056 solar masses. The secondary star is a ``stripped giant'', and using relations between the core mass and the luminosity and the core mass and the radius we derive a lower limit …