Digital Commons Network^™

Reducing Disciplinary Referrals And Academic Failure Rate Of Seventh- And Eighth-Grade Students, Melad Smith Jr.

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This practicum addressed the excessive disciplinary referrals and the academic failure rate of 7th- and 8th-grade students of Charlton County High School in Folkston, Georgia. The data collected during the 1998-1999 and 1999-2000 school years served as the basis of this practicum. During the 1998-1999 school year, the 7th and 8th grades accounted for 46. 9% of all high school referrals, and an alarming 23. 5% of total students in 7th and 8th grade failed academic courses in social studies, math, science, and English. During the 1999-2000 school year, a preliminary investigation was implemented to curtail the academic and discipline …

The Development Of A Strategic Continuous Improvement Process Implementation Guide For The North Carolina Department Of Administration, George E. Millsaps Jr.

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The North Carolina Department of Administration (DOA) is under pressure by the North Carolina legislature and governor's office to increase both the quality of services provided, and decrease the cost of providing services. The pressure is on mission expansion, reduction in the number of positions, and limiting budgetary growth primarily to cost of living increases in salary.

The leadership of the department knows of no other reasonable way to respond to these pressures except through the implementation of continuous improvement or total quality management (TQM). However, the department has attempted to implement quality initiatives four times in the past with …

Comparative Development, Longevity And Population Growth Of Exotic And Native Parasitoids Of Lepidopteran Cereal Stemborers In Kenya, J. C. Mbapila, W. A. Overholt

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Studies on the effect of temperature on the development, longevity and population growth of Cotesia flavipes Cameron and Cotesia sesamiae (Cameron) indicated that the development of both Cotesia spp. from oviposition to cocoon formation and adult emergence was inversely related to temperature. The longevity of the parasitoids was also inversely related to temperature. Both parasitoids lived longer when moisture and food (agar + honey/water) were provided. The mean number of females and total adult progeny produced by C. flavipes on two host species were, in most cases, higher than C. sesamiae. The intrinsic rate of natural increase of C. flavipes …

A Socio-Historical Study Of The Construction Of Knowledge In Secondary Media Education In Western Australia - Whose Knowledge?, Robyn Quin

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis investigates the history of the construction of knowledge in the school subject media studies using the Western Australian experience as the case for the study. It seeks to explain why the subject media studies looks and sounds the way it does today through the production of a genealogy of the subject. The problems addressed are first, why was this subject introduced into the curriculum in the 1970s. Secondly, how has the knowledge in the subject been defined and contested, how and why has it changed in the course of the subject’s history. Thirdly, which knowledge attains the status …

Privacy On The Internet : Investigation Into Corporate Privacy Policy Of Australian Large Private Sector Organisations On The Internet, Keiko Sato

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The popularity of the Internet has been dramatically increased over recent years. The rapid growth of this technology and its international use has made it almost impossible to regulate the internet. As a result, the Internet has certainly provided freedoms to people and it has led to some abusing systems. Privacy is one of the major issues in the development of Electronic Commerce using the Internet. As an enormous amount of personal information is transmitted to several hosts connecting to the Internet, the information can be accessed by both authorised and unauthorised people. Although it is certain that there are …

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 …

Small Business Owners' Measures Of Success, Elizabeth A. Walker

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Small business plays a significant part in the economy of all nations because of its revenue contribution and as a generator of employment. In the Australian context, small businesses account for 85% of all businesses, employ 40% of the total workforce and contribute $75 billion annually to Industry Gross Product. All of these numerical indicators highlight the financial importance of small business, which is also how small business success has traditionally been measured. These traditional success measures have been by increases in financial performance criteria, such as return on investment, turnover or profit, or by increases in number of staff.

Influence Of Politics On The Budgeting Process : A Study Of The Fertiliser Manufacturing Industry In Indonesia, Akhmad Syakhroza

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study investigates the influence of politics on the budgeting process within the fertiliser manufacturing industry in Indonesia. Prior budgeting studies have focused on one of the following three theoretical frameworks - economic, psychological, and social. This study expands the research corpus by assessing the effect of politics on the budgeting process. The objectives of this study arc: (a) to investigate the effect of politics in the relationship between managerial roles and budgeting process – budgetary participation, budgetary communication, and budgetary control including budgetary monitoring and budgetary evaluation, and (b) to assess the impact of structural and individual power on …

History, Culture And Alcohol: Drinking Patterns In Poland And Australia, Barbara Wolska

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

It is a widely held view in Poland that for centuries those in power have promoted heavy drinking among their subjects in order to achieve their various goals and that this contributed to the development of Polish drinking patterns. There is some empirical evidence that the political economy of alcohol in Poland promoted heavy drinking among the Polish population. Drinking alcohol in Poland was an important aspect of social situations. The most popular beverage was vodka(s). Social pressure to drink in the extreme was attributed to the tradition of hospitality. Cultural norms encouraged very heavy drinking among men and imposed …

Accumulated Response In Live Improvised Dance Performance, Joanna T. Pollitt

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The response project and accompanying thesis aim to affirm the role of the dancer as an authority in revealing patterns and traces of accumulated lived experience, knowledge and ideas through the practice and performance of dance improvisation. The dancing body is investigated as a dynamical and complex system of research that is embedded in a process of continual response to the present. These bodily inscriptions and the process of active response form the seminal grounds for the physical and energetic exchange of improvised dance in performance.

Statistical Multiplexing And Connection Admission Control In Atm Networks, Guoqiang Mao

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) technology is widely employed for the transport of network traffic, and has the potential to be the base technology for the next generation of global communications. Connection Admission Control (CAC) is the effective traffic control mechanism which is necessary in ATM networks in order to avoid possible congestion at each network node and to achieve the Quality-of-Service (QoS) requested by each connection. CAC determines whether or not the network should accept a new connection. A new connection will only be accepted if the network has sufficient resources to meet its QoS requirements without affecting the QoS …

A Framework For River Restoration Planning : Considering Conceptual And Structural Perspectives From Case Studies Of The Liao River In China And The Kalgan River In Australia, Ye Sun

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Over the last decade, restoration ecology has been considered a new paradigm for dealing with many of the environmental problems of river systems. It is also recognized that management decisions have a greater chance of being successful if they are based on a thorough understanding of a concept or a plan. A review of current studies on river restoration and river restoration planning revealed that managers and scientists have put a substantial emphasis on ecological science and technology in restoration, while many sociopolitical and economic elements have been de-emphasized Besides this, understanding and experiences of river restoration, especially those of …

A Qualitative Analysis Of The Loyalty Building Attributes Of Customer Loyalty Programs On Gaining Loyalty To Brands, Caryn Ow

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

A paradigm shift from mass marketing to the concentrated focus on one-to-one marketing has led to a barrage of tactical strategies to instill long-tern consumer loyalty among organisations' most valued customers. At the forefronts of these strategies are customer loyalty programs. Since the inception of the first loyalty program, AAdvantage in 1981, the marketplace has seen a proliferation of these programs across a widening range of industries. Not surprisingly, this has led to significant interest in customer loyalty programs among academics and practitioners. Despite the skepticism of academics relating to the effects of loyalty programs, many organisations have allocated a …

To Release Or Not To Release That Is The Question: A Phenomenological Study Of Western Australian Government Freedom Of Information Coordinators, Graham Harnwell

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study explores the issues that impact on Western Australian State Government Freedom of Information Coordinators who, within the framework of the Freedom of Information Act (1992), manage requests from the public to access agency held documents. A literature review identified two bodies of material. One extolling FOI, the other arguing that some agency personnel have not accepted, and are actively resisting, the concept of FOI. Using a phenomenological approach, eight Coordinators narrated the issues that impact on their roles and decision-making processes. Themes were identified, analysed and reported in the context of the broader FOI environment. This research found …

Farm Tourism In The South West Tapestry Region, Western Australia : Experiences Of Hosts And Guests, Gloria Ingram

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis describes a research project in the South West Tapestry Region of Western Australia which uses phenomenological method to investigate the experiences of farm tourism hosts and guests. The overall aim of the research was to identify motivations of both hosts and guests in order to determine to what degree farm tourism in the SWTR provides the kind of holiday experience people are seeking. Phenomenology was chosen as a flexible yet rigorous methodology for researching lived experience, which would enable an in-depth understanding of motivations surrounding hosting farm tourism and choosing a farm tourism holiday. The initial stage of …

Sentencing Decisions : The Public View Of The Effects Of Consequences Of Crime, Offender Remorse And Type Of Crime, Jodie S. Wright

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The Australian justice system is based in a conventional model of justice with the aim of uniformity in sentencing. It is important to ascertain public opinion on the relevance of different factors to be taken into account at sentencing as accurately as possible, in order to provide informed public opinion which may assist policy makers in making legislation or educating the public on these matters. The current study examined the impact of varying levels of victim harm (high or low) and offender remorse (high or low) for both person and property crimes on sentencing decisions made by both male (n …

Mediation In Practice: Common Law And Civil Law Perspectives Compared, Nadja Alexander

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Australian mediation practice is thriving. Effective forms of mediation are practised in court-connected schemes, in the public sector, in the community justice sector and in the private business sector. Indeed, no industry is excluded from the application of mediation. In contrast, Hoffmann-Riem laments that despite many years of discussions about ADR (alternative dispute resolution) in Germany, mediation plays a marginal role only. Further, Labes states that 'ADR mechanisms are relatively obscure methods in Germany.' The comparison between Australia and Germany is particularly interesting because it considers both a common law and a civil law tradition. This essay will discuss the …

Synthesis In Trial Procedures? The Experience Of The International Criminal Tribunals, Mark Findlay

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Critical to analysing the recent synthesis of criminal trialprocedures is an understanding of the internationalisation of criminal law andprocedure. As well as the creation of international tribunals to investigateand try crimes of world significance, there is emerging an internationaljurisprudence on criminal law (and procedural hybrids to support and developthis) which require integrated analysis.

Regulation Of Religious Proselytism In The United States, Howard Hunter, Polly J. Price

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Howard Hunter and Polly Price examine the components of the US legal system that affect proselytism, focusing on the contradictions between the constitutional protection of religious freedom and legal constraints on proselytism. Hunter and Price comprehensively review the regulation of proselytism in both public and private spaces in the United States, analyze the justifications for these regulations, and suggest probable future issues of debate regarding religious freedom. Additionally, Hunter and Price argue that the regulation of proselytism has led to a failure to protect religious minorities, and in some cases contributed to their persecution.

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 …

A Bayesian Decision Approach For Sample Size Determination In Phase Ii Trials, Denis H. Y. Leung, You-Gan Wang

Research Collection School Of Economics

Stallard (1998, Biometrics54, 279–294) recently used Bayesian decision theory for sample-size determination in phase II trials. His design maximizes the expected financial gains in the development of a new treatment. However, it results in a very high probability (0.65) of recommending an ineffective treatment for phase III testing. On the other hand, the expected gain using his design is more than 10 times that of a design that tightly controls the false positive error (Thall and Simon, 1994, Biometrics50, 337–349). Stallard's design maximizes the expected gain per phase II trial, but it does not maximize the rate of gain or …

The Asian Economic Crisis: The Way Ahead For Singapore, Augustine H. H. Tan

Research Collection School Of Economics

No abstract provided.

Aspects Of The Taxonomy And Ecology Of The Ground Beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) Assemblage Of The Swan Coastal Plain : (With Particular Reference To Habitat Fragmentation And The Quindalup Dune System), Nadine A. Guthrie

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Long term studies encompassing seasonal variation in abundance and species present, forming base-line phenological data, arc required to understand the responses of the carabid (Ground Beetle) fauna to major habitat changes. In addition, few habitats unaffected by human disturbance remain in Australia, and evaluation of these fauna in these areas is required before further habitat loss occurs. Generally an unknown group of terrestrial predatory invertebrates in Australia, carabids have been the subjects of few ecological studies in this country. This restricts the utility of the Carabidae in environmental or conservation assessment programs in Australia. A study was initiated to assess …

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 …

The Management Of Performance By Volunteers: The Use Of Performance Feedback, Megan Paull

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of feedback by managers and co-ordinators of volunteers in the management of performance by volunteers. Research into the use of feedback in the paid workforce was examined extensively. Additionally, research dealing with the application of human resource management theory to volunteers is discussed. A foundation study conducted to examine the performance management practices in use with volunteers in Western Australia forms the basis for a multi-phase qualitative and quantitative examination of the topic. The perceptions of the managers and coordinators of volunteers, and the volunteers themselves about what constitutes poor …

An Investigation Into The Use Of The Internet For Medical Informatics, Patricia A. Williams

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The rapid evolution and popularity of the Internet technologies, and the World Wide Web, have resulted in unrestricted worldwide access to medical and health information. This has provided the medical profession with the ability to access up to date research more immediately than by traditional means, and has created the potential for advanced information collation. Also the availability of medical literature, previously difficult to obtain for the general public, is having an effect that is both a benefit and a burden to the medical profession. Whilst benefits exist in the use of the Internet in General Practice for clinical support, …

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 …

A Report On Nurses' Response To Occupational Injuries And Exposures To Hazards In A Californian Community Hospital, Sandra Kilminster-Binder

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study set out to determine the reasons for underreporting of occupational injuries and exposures in the American health care environment. A cross sectional survey was used to report the responses and opinions of nurses who failed to report all occupational injuries and exposures, and the type of injuries that are least likely to be reported. The participants were a random sample of Registered Nurses employed in a California Health Care Center, who responded to a simple self-reporting questionnaire. The study revealed that the majority of occupational injuries, accidents and exposures by this group in the previous twelve month period …

Depressed Men Angry Women: Non-Stereotypical Gender Responses To Anti-Smoking Messages In Older Smokers, Debora Brown

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This qualitative study into the effective use of fear arousal in social marketing advertising, focused on exploring gender differences in smokers' attitudes towards threats in anti-smoking messages in the 40 to 50 year old age group. This age group of smokers has received relatively little attention in the fear arousal literature to date, presumably because their 'hard core' attitudes are perceived as difficult to change by social marketing and medical practitioners. The key purpose of this study was to explore the attitudinal responses of male and female smokers in the 40 to 50 year old age group to anti-smoking messages …

Principles In Public Reasoning About Criminal Justice : Victim Vulnerability, Trust, And Offender Status, Dianne R. Mckillop

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

It is popularly assumed that the public is highly punitive toward criminal offenders and that its reasoning about criminal offences is emotionally and morally based. This assumption has been challenged by social scientists who cite influences of news media and methodological flaws in empirical studies as contributing causes. Public sentiment is a basis for law and the increasing responsiveness of legislator to what is perceived to be public opinion on crime means that accurate information on enduring principles in the public's intuitive reasoning about criminal justice is vital. An initial exploratory study (N = 34) presented members of the public …