Digital Commons Network^™

2001 : Part - Time Courses, Dublin Institute Of Technology

DIT Publications

Book consisting of student information on DIT life and details of part - time courses offered in each faculty.

Dictionary Of 1913 Baseball And Other Lingo, Vol. I (A-F), Gerald Leonard Cohen

Arts, Languages and Philosophy Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

An Investigation Of Cooperative Consciousness-Raising As An Innovative Teaching Practice, And Of Reactions To Its Introduction Into A High School, Sahoby Solo Raharinirina

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The language pedagogy literature stresses the importance of the quality of second/foreign language teaching/learning in learners' acquisition, development of communicative competence, or both. The change literature equally emphasizes the importance of the quality of innovation in change audience’s resolution to reconceptualize current practices and espouse the new practice being advocated. Both literatures underline the need to use multiple research strategies in order to depict the product and process of learning and/or shifting experiences. To contribute to the educational literature in these areas, the present research incorporated two different but interrelated studies.

Study One utilized both between- and within-method approaches (Denzin, …

A Contrastive Cross-Cultural Study Of The Speech Act Of Correction In Egyptian Arabic And American English, Nadir Anis

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The present study is an empirical cross-cultural investigation of the speech act of correction in Egyptian Arabic and American English. The purpose of the study is to examine how and why Egyptians and U.S. Americans modify the illocutionary force of their corrections in terms of mitigation and aggravation in different speech situations. A Discourse Completion Task/Test (OCT) was used to elicit corrections from 30 Arabic-speaking Egyptians and 30 English-speaking U.S. Americans. All the respondents were either university students or university graduates between the ages of 18 and 35. The six situations used to elicit corrections represented different settings (e.g., classroom, …

A Look At The Possible Effects Of Genial/Eclectic Learning Environments In Denmark And The United States Of America, Annette Sigrid Wilson

Graduate Research Papers

The intent of this qualitative research is to gain knowledge and understanding of the impact a genial/eclectic environment may have upon creativity and skillful problem solving. Upon invitation from Benedicte Riis, a well-known Danish educator, composer, author, musician, and presenter in Denmark, Bulgaria, Norway, and the United States; I embarked on a trip to Ebeltoft, Denmark in May of2000 to study her pedagogy. My desire was to compare the methodologies, philosophies, and classroom environments of Benedicte's Tante Andante Hus in Denmark with Franklin Elementary School in Council Bluffs, Iowa. My professors at the University of Northern Iowa encouraged me to …

Relationship Between Early Development Of Spelling And Reading, Lorraine S. Hammond

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The research reported in this thesis examined the relationship between beginning spelling and reading. More specifically, it focussed on the relationship between the development of early reading and spelling in a context where the approach to early reading instruction includes systematic phonological awareness and decoding instruction. A critical assumption made by proponents of developmental early literacy models is that transfer of skills and knowledge from reading to spelling will occur spontaneously and without formal instruction (Frith, 1980). By contrast instruction-centred approaches make the assumption that there are critical pre-requisite skills that can and should be taught explicitly (Carnine, Silbert & …

Teacher Perceptions Of Student Speech, Yvonne G. Haig

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Although language variation is widespread and natural,it is subject to judgement. Where a standard language has developed, other varieties tend to be judged against its "standards". While a number of overseas studies have found that this type of linguistic bias occurs in education and negatively impacts on dialect speakers, there has been little research in Australia. The research reported in this thesis investigates how teachers perceive the speech of school-aged students and whether the socio-economic status or level of schooling of the students influence these perceptions. Further, it examines the relationships between the teachers' background, the way they define Standard …

Trace And The Makers Of Meaning, Lindon J. Thompson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

One of the greatest accessible records of trace and the past is the landscape, which over time acts as a repository of evidence from natural forces and things that humans have created or changed. This thesis considers trace as material and nonmaterial evidence, remnants, marks, vestiges of events past and forgotten or remembered. How can a past that is evidenced only by its traces be read within a landscape context by disciplines of knowledge production? The subsequent interpretation, generation of meaning and understanding of traces contributes to the knowledge, mythology and perceptions of reality for differing groups in different places. …

A Critical Linguistic Analysis Of A Popular Comic Genre In Japan, Angela Rawson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research will focus on the issue of power and gender in the language of Japanese comics (manga). Comics in Japan are enormously popular and are read by a wide audience. They are aimed at specific audiences and it is my argument that the language of manga helps to reinforce certain social stereotypes - particularly the inferiority of women and the dominance of males. The language of children's manga will be analyzed using the framework of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), which concerns itself with the relation between ideology and power in discourse. The analysis will be at various levels including …

Documentary Photography/Postmodern Commodities, Allan Radich

Theses : Honours

This honours project is divided into two parts. Part one is the written thesis. Part two is the photographic component. Part one discusses some of the practices and discourses associated with 'documentary' photography. Some documentary practices and discourses of the past can be seen to be culturally divisive. These practices and discourses were based on being, white, male and European. This ideology and its discursive modes are in conflict with contemporary photographic practices and the relevant social and cultural theories that define it. The thesis defines the discourses and practices of the modernist and postmodernist documentary photographer. It highlights the …

The Social Construction Of Fatherhood, Helen Le Gresley

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The present research sought to explore the lived experience of fatherhood guided by a social constructionist perspective and Bronfenbrenner’s ecological framework (1977, 1989), by collaborating with seven Western Australian fathers on a series of multiple case conversational interviews. To ensure that the data generated from the interviews was manageable and the aims and objectives of research could be effectively facilitated by the researcher, only those fathers belonging to specific cohort, that is, fathers in an intact heterosexual, defacto or marital relationship, were sampled. The interviews were transcribed and a qualitative thematic analysis was conducted on the data. The multiple case …

The Role Of Children's Talk In Writing Development, Belinda Nelson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study is a 'snap shot' into the interactions and utterances of developing writers. It provides insight into the usefulness of talk, the need to model and encourage talk in the composing processes of children and also into the factors that impact on such talk making it more or less effective for young writers. The study observed six middle primary school students during the writing of two texts and recorded the accompanying talk. Classroom observations provided insight into the pedagogical and cultural influences within the writing contexts. Writing samples enabled each student's writing development to be analysed and became a …

Information Systems Development And Practice In Organisations In Sri Lanka : An In-Depth Case Study, Sunil G. Rajapaksege

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis describes an investigation of information systems development and practice in a privatised state owned enterprise (North-West Cement Company Limited or NWCL) in Sri Lanka between J95M-2000. The objectives of my study were: (1) to understand the approaches used by NWCL for information systems development; (2) to understand how these approaches relate to the organisational, socio-cultural, economic and political realities of organisations in Sri Lanka; (3) to outline a theory to better understand information systems development and practice for organisations in Sri Lanka; and (4) to make recommendations which could be used to improve information systems development and practice …

Monday Morning And The Millennium : Cultural Studies, Scepticism And The Concept Of Power, Mark Gibson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The thesis examines the use or the concept of power in cultural studies, offering a revisionist perspective on the history or this use. The dominant approach to questions or power in the field, it is argued, is a 'rationalist' one: the various phenomena comprehended under the concept are conceived ultimately as instances or the one phenomenon. This approach implies that positions in relation to power share a common referent allowing them to be assessed according to general criteria of 'correctness' or theoretical adequacy. It also allows developments in debates around power to be represented in terms or a narrative or …

Nursing Students' And Clinical Teachers' Perceptions Of Effective Teacher Characteristics, Shirley Chow

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Instructional and organisational strategies can improve students' transfer of knowledge and skill to the workplace. Constraints on transfer include: 1. a shortage of teachers who can build transfer inlo programmes; and 2. time span (interval) between teaching of the task and transfer of learning. Fifteen nursing students and five clinical teachers from a university in Western Australia participated in the initial qualitative component of the study. These students and teachers were asked to list effective clinical teachers' behaviours which were then compared with beaviours listed in the Rauen's Clinical Instructor Characteristics Rating Scale (1974). Using a modified Rauen's Scale, 200 …

Genetic Variation And Disease In The Roma (Gypsies), David J. Gresham

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The Roma (Gypsies) are a European people composed of a mosaic of culturally heterogeneous populations. Linguistic analyses point to their origins in the Indian subcontinent. Cultural diversity in extant Romani populations suggests that they are descended from a mixture of Indian populations. Previous population genetic studies of the Roma have supported this claim by demonstrating the genetic heterogeneity of Romani populations. More recently, medical genetic research has detected identical founder mutations in separated Romani populations, which provides evidence of their relatedness. In this thesis, the genetic heritage of the Roma and its significance for genetic disease and research is investigated. …

The Mind Of Christ? A Phenomenological Explication Of Personal Transformation And Cosmic Revision In Christian Converts In Western Australia, Stuart Cranford Devenish

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Religious converts routinely report differences in the way they attribute meaning as a consequence of religious conversion. Previously known objects, events and persons are perceived differently as a result of a new plausibility structure being brought to bear. Converts experience themselves and their lives as fundamentally problematic due to their limitations in the face of seemingly insurmountable physical, moral or spiritual crises, and set out in search of a resolution to their anguished existence. The resolution comes as they encounter God, the one whom-it is thought-holds within his hands the resolution to their problem and the seeds of their transformation …

Communicative Interaction In The English Language Classroom : A Field Study Of A Western Teacher As Change Agent In Two Chinese Primary Schools In Zhong Shan, People's Republic Of China, Monika Trittibach-Andres

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of a 'Change Agent' in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Chinese primary schools, and to determine whether changes were perceivable in the number and type of communicative interactions that occurred in EFL classrooms. The Department of Education of Zhong Shan, People's Republic of China, welcomed this research as the communicative approach to teaching English is sanctioned by the authorities. However, the formality of the actual classroom in primary schools often precludes much use of this method. An Investigation of the influence of a Westerner in the role …

Factors In The Development Of Early Childhood Distance Education Curriculum Materials For Language And Literacy In Western Australia, Elisabeth Turner

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Many factors influence the changing nature of education: family structures, cultural diversity, rapid technological change, social conditions. In response to these changes the Curriculum Framework for Western Australian schools has been developed to establish the learning outcomes expected of all students from K-12. Students in isolated and distance education settings are supplied curriculum materials designed to meet their diverse educational needs. This study presents one snapshot of an ongoing research project in which new language and literacy curriculum materials for early childhood distance education learners were developed, trialled and further developed. Some factors that appear to be important in the …

Discipleship Out Of Transition : A Study Of The New Membership Policies And Procedures Of The Free Methodist Church And Its Impact On Discipleship, Barton T. Herndon

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Health Care, Technology And Federalism, Kevin Outterson

Faculty Scholarship

The regulation of health care has traditionally been the province of the states, most often grounded in the police power. In Colonial times, this division of responsibility was a rational response to the technological level of the eighteenth century, although even in the youth of the Republic some health and safety regulation required national and international action. With the growth of distancecompression technology, the increase in mobility of goods and services, and a significant federal financial role in health care, the grip of the police power on the regulation of health care has been weakened. Discussion of the police power …

Synchronous Communication Tools: Enabler For The Deaf And/Or Hard-Of-Hearing Colleagues, Yael Agriss

Theses

Deaf and/or hard-of-hearing and hearing people communicate frequently. Most people find it enjoyable in some situations and scary in others. We spend most of our waking hours communicating. Communication affects our life. This is a study to investigate the use of synchronous communication tools, in particular focusing on two target groups, the deaf and/or hard-of-hearing and their hearing colleagues. The aim will be to determine people's views on whether synchronous communication tools are now or will be beneficial for them to use as communication. The point of the survey and interview was to ascertain who, if anyone, was actually using …

Rape, Murder, And Formalism: What Happens If We Define Mistake Of Law?, Gerald F. Leonard

Faculty Scholarship

The criminal law maxim "ignorance of the law is no excuse" represents a broad doctrine of strict liability in an area of law that usually insists on a culpable state of mind as a prerequisite for liability. For that reason, many scholars have attacked the harsh mistake-of-law rules as incompatible with basic principles of culpability. Other scholars have come to the defense of the maxim, and courts have adhered to it quite strongly even as the list of exceptions to the maxim has slowly grown. Oddly enough, however, this debate has proceeded without a definition of mistake of law. Distinguishing …

Outrelativizing Relativism: A Liberal Defense Of The Universality Of International Human Rights, Robert D. Sloane

Faculty Scholarship

This Article seeks to provide a new framework, rooted in classical liberalism, for understanding and defending the universality of international human rights. After reviewing the philosophical and historical development of the idea of universality, I argue in Part II that none of the traditional justifications for conceiving of international human rights as universal succeed. Cultural pluralism therefore must be accepted as a descriptive truth. But to acknowledge the cultural contingency of values as a descriptive claim does not, by itself, undermine the normative claim that human rights are, or should be, universal. Instead, it points to the need to justify …

Adventures In Comparative Legal Studies: Studying Singapore, Carole Silver

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Linguistic Issues: Is Plain English The Answer To The Needs Of The Jurors?, Leon D. Lazer

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Genes, Categories, And Species: The Evolutionary And Cognitive Causes Of The Species Problem, Michael Dietrich

Dartmouth Scholarship

Review of Genes, Categories, and Species: The Evolutionary and Cognitive Causes of the Species Problem by Jody Hey.

Language And Formalities In Commercial Contracts: A Defense Of Custom And Conduct, David V. Snyder

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This article defends the decision to retain usage of trade, course of performance, and course of dealing in the revision of Article 1 of the Uniform Commercial Code. The article responds to recent neoformalist criticisms of the incorporation approach and offers a theoretical justification. Usage of trade and course of dealing should be understood as part of the parties' language, following Wittgenstein's understanding of language. Course of performance, which presents a weaker case in terms of language, should be understood as a legal formality, following Fuller's explanation of formalities. Thus understood, custom and conduct can be as important as written …

Women, Writing & Wages: Breaking The Last Taboo, Jan M. Levine, Kathryn M. Stanchi

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Agrammatic Verb Errors In Spanish Speakers And Their Normal Discourse Correlates, Jose G. Centeno, Loraine Obler

Publications and Research

Agrammatic verb errors are characterized by a reliance on simple verb forms without elaborated inflectional markings. Yet agrammatism studies on verbs have not addressed the possible correlations that might exist between pre-morbid verb use patterns and agrammatic verb production, especially frequency in oral discourse. Spanish, a language with a highly inflected verb system, is a useful context to explore this interaction. This study investigated agrammatic and normal verb use for those Spanish verb tenses found in daily conversation (Silva-Corval/m, 1983; Bentivoglio and Sedano, 1992). We analyzed agrammatic verb performance in spoken discourse and a sentence repetition task, and compared it …