Digital Commons Network^™

Agricultural Land Evaluation In Black Hawk County Using Geospatial Technologies, Elisha Jasper Dung

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Agriculture is one of the world's most important activities supporting human life. However, the rate of agricultural land conversion to non-agricultural uses around the world, and especially in the United States is on the increase. It has been asserted that over 2,965,265 acres of U.S. agriculture lands have recently been lost per year to development, which is a rate nearly two and a half times that lost due to development in the last 10 years ( 1982-1992). This is of particular concern in Iowa which is agriculturally based because the loss of small tracts of this high-valued land may have …

American Judges And International Law, A. M. Weisburd

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This article addresses an issue with which federal courts have been forced to deal with increasing frequency: How ought a judge go about determining the content of customary international law? The article seeks to demonstrate, using the example of the treatment of the concept of "jus cogens" by the courts of appeals, that federal courts have come to rely on doubtful sources in addressing questions of international law. More specifically, it sets out to show that courts frequently do not rely on the actual practice of governments to determine the content of customary international law, which would seem to be …

Using Mindtools To Build Information Literacy And Promote Critical Thinking, Matthew J. Haan

Graduate Research Papers

Information literacy is a skill that students need to handle the overwhelming amount of information. Using Mindtools can provide teachers with a way to help students use the information literacy skills. Mindtools are used to allow students to learn through the use of technology, not from technology. By giving students opportunities to use these skills, they will be able to think critically and independently about the information they access. As a result of focusing on information literacy and critical thinking, students wiII increase proficiency in locating, evaluating, synthesizing, and applying new information. The importance of this review is to determine …

Combining Science And Reading Materials To Teach Comprehension Strategies, Melena Haskovec

Graduate Research Papers

This paper describes a curriculum development project in which science and reading were combined to teach reading comprehension strategies to kindergarten and first grade children. Nonfiction science texts were purchased. The teachers collaboratively created and implemented lesson plans for three science units and one social studies unit. The combined classes met once every six days from January to May.

The children were paired across grade levels to read the texts, participate in the strategy instruction and complete the guided practice activities. Pre and post project measures of first graders' growth in reading comprehension showed that all the first grade students …

Morning Message : Bringing Interactive Writing To Life In A Kindergarten Classroom, Kay M. Hoffman

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this article is to inform the reader of one way of implementing interactive writing into a kindergarten classroom, which is through the use of morning message. Interactive writing means different things to different people and my interpretation will be discussed throughout the article. I will share where I have been as a teacher of young children as well as some of the things I have learned along this invigorating journey.

Active Learning Techniques To Teach Spanish Vocabulary, Sara E. Janssen

Graduate Research Papers

The journal article, "Pictures, John Travolta moves, and Sign Language: Active Learning Techniques to Teach Spanish Vocabulary," discusses the experiences 8th grade Spanish students had while using three instructional practices for learning vocabulary. Active learning strategies are a popular method for educators, especially those at the middle level. Educators can get their students active in learning by doing many different things. Pictures, "silly signs," and sign language were used to engage my students in learning fourteen Spanish vocabulary words.

Three groups of Spanish exploratory classes were the subjects in this study. Each of the three groups received instruction using one …

Training : What Is Training, Identifying The Need For Training, Methods Of Training, And How Can Trainings Effectiveness Be Evaluated?, Michael Johnson Jr.

Graduate Research Papers

This review involves aspects and elements of preparing effective training programs. In this review the researcher addresses the design and development stages of training programs. This review will provide valuable information for practitioners in the field of training and staff development. Definitions, needs assessment methods, evaluating effectiveness, methods of conducting evaluations, and building a rational for training programs are the areas covered by this review.

This review is written in the perspective for novice trainers and staff developers. The information provided can assist novice trainers build a knowledge base to enhance their ability to provide effective training. This review is …

Web Citation Availability: Analysis And Implictions For Scholarship, Mary F. Casserly, James E. Bird

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

Five hundred citations to Internet resources from articles published in library and information science journals in 1999 and 2000 were profiled and searched on the Web. The majority contained partial bibliographic information and no date viewed. Most URLs pointed to content pages with "edu" or "org" domains and did not include a tilde. More than half (56.4%) were permanent, 81.4 percent were available on the Web, and searching the Internet Archive increased the availability rate to 89.2 percent. Content, domain, and directory depth were associated with availability. Few of the journals provided instruction on citing digital resources. Eight suggestions for …

Use Of Multi-Scale Phase-Based Methods To Determine Optical Flow In Dynamic Scene Analysis, Robert Hastings

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Estimates of optical flow in images can be made by applying a complex periodic transform to the images and tracking the movement of points of constant phase in the complex output. This approach however suffers from the problem that filters of large width give information only about broad scale image features, whilst those of small spatial extent (high resolution) cannot track fast motion, which causes a feature to move a distance that is large compared to the filter-size. A method is presented in which the flow is measured at different scales, using a series of complex filters of decreasing width. …

Fall Risk Assessment : A Prospective Investigation Of Nurses' Clinical Judgement And Risk Assessment Tools In Predicting Patient Falls In An Acute Care Setting, Helen Myers

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Falls are a significant problem in acute care, hospital settings, and can have serious consequences, especially for older patients. Fall prevention has therefore been recognised as an important area for research and intervention. In order to target interventions and use resources effectively, a major strategy of many fall prevention programmes has been the development and/or use of risk assessment tools to identify patients who are at high risk of falling. Although many tools have been developed, few have been rigorously tested, and there is currently no evidence to support the clinical utility of fall risk assessment tools. There is a …

The Intergenerational Transmission Of Violence? : The Self-Report Of Physical Abuse In Childhood Among Violent And Non-Violent Offenders, John Dockerill

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study examined the parental disciplinary history of male offenders to explore the relationship between report of childhood physical abuse and subsequent violent offending, based on the concept of intergenerational transmission of violence. The study also examined the relationship between reports of childhood physical abuse and juvenile delinquency together with an examination of the links between physical abuse and anger. Finally, this study explored the relationship between witnessing aggression to other family members and the motivation for subsequent violent offending (hostile motivated versus instrumentally motivated). Social learning theory provided the theoretical basis for this research. The underlying premise is that …

Developing A Catalogue Of Errors And Evaluating Its Impact On Software Development, Indrit Troshani

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The development of quality software is of paramount importance, yet this has been and continues to be an elusive goal for software engineers. Delivered software often fails due to errors that are injected during its development. Correcting these errors early in the development or preventing them altogether can, therefore, be considered as one way to improve software quality. In this thesis, the development of a Catalogue of Errors is described. Field studies with senior software engineering students are used to confirm that developers using the Catalogue of Errors commit fewer errors in their development artifacts. The impact of the Catalogue …

The Service Delivery Process : An Examination Of How Consumers Evaluate Technology-Assisted Service Encounters In The Retail Banking Industry, Catherine W. Munene

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study examined consumers' perceptions post-adoption of technology and how these perceptions affect their levels of dis/satisfaction and their continued use of technology·assisted service encounters. To this end, this study investigated the criteria that consumers in Western Australia's retail banking industry are likely to use when evaluating banking transactions involving EFTPOS, ATM, telephone, and Online banking modes. II examined whether these criteria changed with the mode of electronic banking in use and whether the significance of the criteria changed with

consumers' demographic characteristics. In addition, this study explored whether consumers who use these modes of electronic banking experience the paradoxes …

Crane Operator Training Delivery : Is The Current System The Way To Go?, Ian Douglas

Theses : Honours

There are over 20,000 people certificated to operate cranes in West Australia and there are currently approximately 2000 construction cranes operating in the state of West Australia. The safe operation of these machines in the workplace is critical to safety on the job. As is often the case when machinery is involved in an accident or event, when something goes wrong there is the possibility of people being injured or for damage to occur to the machine and the surrounding infrastructure. The number of events that have been reported in the media during recent months highlights this fact. To help …

Storying The Body : Women's Narratives Through The Lens Of Breast Cancer, Janet A. Griffin

Theses : Honours

What can women's narratives contribute to our understanding of breast cancer and to feminist theories of the body? This thesis explores the meanings women construct to make sense of embodied experiences of breast cancer, and the profound experience of breast loss. Rich contextual data was elicited from in depth, guided conversations with five premenopausal women who have undergone mastectomy. Adopting feminist methodology, biographic-narrative was used to place the body at the heart of inquiry. This thesis explores the personal and theoretical meanings of mastectomy, embedded in the larger story of how these five women experience their breasts, throughout their lives. …

Phonological And Syntactic Processing, And The Role Of Working Memory In Reading Comprehension Among High School Students, John V. Holsgrove

Theses : Honours

The performance of 60 year8 students was examined on tasks measuring phonological processing, syntactic processing, and reading comprehension. The students were also administered several measures of working memory relating to the phonological loop and the central executive. A series of hierarchical regression analyses indicated that phonological processing and syntactic processing were both predictors of reading comprehension, and that the presence or absence of the latter distinguished good and poor comprehenders respectively. The phonological loop was found to play a small but significant role in the processes involved in reading comprehension, but not the central executive. Gender differences suggested that boys …

The Effects Of Sleep On The Acquisition Of Skill, Peter G. Croy

Theses : Honours

The current research was designed to evaluate the effect of sleep on memory for the declarative and procedural knowledge components of a cognitive skill. In a training phase, 17 participants in a no-sleep control group practised 120 repetitions of a simple algebra equation at Sam and 22 participants in a sleep group practised the task at 8pm. Novel task inputs were introduced withh1 the same task structure in a transfer phase conducted 12 hours after training for each group. Overnight sleep conferred a 29% performance deficit on the transfer tusk compared to no-sleep controls. The results support the hypothesis that …

Hepatitis C, Quality Of Life And Cognitive Function : An Exploratory Study, John Caithness

Theses : Honours

Active chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is a viral infection that affects approximately 150,000 Austra1ians. It has various quality of life impacts and the literature suggests some cognitive ramifications. In this Western Australian exploratory study, 13 healthy students from Edith Cowan University made up a control group. One experimental group consisted of 11 people with CHC and mild liver damage, and a second experimental group consisted of 8 people with CHC and at least moderate liver damage. The participants were assessed with a health-related quality of life questionnaire, the Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36); a test of cognitive functioning, the …

Identifying Complex Issues Surrounding The Construction Of Indigeneity In Film And Documentary, Debbie Carmody

Theses : Honours

Indigenous identity can only be located within . a framework of historical dislocation from where white notions of assimilation are shattered. Therefore Indigeneity can only be defined in relation to the black experience within colonialism's hegemonic structures. I will argue this by looking at constructions of Indigenous Australians in the feature film Radiance (1998) directed by Rachel Perkins, and the documentary Sissy (2000) directed by Debbie Carmody (previously known as Debbie Gittins), which was made as part of this thesis. This raises questions: What is the black experience and the process of black survival within colonialism's hegemonic structures? How does …

Public Scepticism And The Social Conscience : New Implications For Public Relations, Rachel Yeates

Theses : Honours

This research thesis explores the question "how can public relations counteract growing public scepticism, maximising trust and goodwill between an organisation, its target publics and the wider community?" Public scepticism of large corporations is not a new phenomenon, but it is gaining great momentum. Subsequently, it has been suggested that the practice of corporate public relations must focus on fostering an organisational culture that adopts a 'social conscience', that is necessary to counteract consumer distrust. This includes organisations practicing attributes of 'excellence' such as open communication, corporate transparency and honesty. They must also be aware of, and sensitive to, the …

Wireless Local Area Network Security : An Investigation Into Security Tool Usage In Wireless Networks, Susan Webb

Theses : Honours

Many organisations and individuals installing wireless local area networks (WLANs), which are based on the IEEE 802.11 b standard, have little understanding of the security issues that surround this technology.

This study was initiated to determine how WLAN security issues affect organisations in Perth, Western Australia. The scope of the study was restricted to 802.llb WLANs operating in infrastructure mode, where all traffic is transmitted by wireless access points (APs). This study was conducted in two phases. The general aims of the first phase were to determine the number of detectable WLANs in the Perth Central Business District (CBD) and …

Street Photography: An Approach To Strangers: Casual, Close And Personal Encounters, Flavia M. Schuster

Theses : Honours

Street photographers can either camouflage or reveal their identities to the strangers they photograph. By choosing to remain anonymous, photographers often create images in which only their subjects are exposed. By unveiling their identities however, they often create images in which their interaction becomes evident in the resulting images. Casual Encounters looks at the mechanisms employed by photographers that choose to remain anonymous in contrast to the myth of the flâneur. Close Encounters looks at the mechanisms employed between strangers to deal with their daily interactions in urban environments. Personal Encounters serves to explain my own approach to the strangers …

Investigation Into The Population Dynamics And Key Life History Characteristics Of Non-Biting Midge (Diptera: Chironomidae) Which Can Be Utilised To Improve Nuisance Control At Lake Joondalup, Western Australia, Michael Roberts

Theses : Honours

Non-biting midges (Diptera: Chironomidae) become a severe nuisance to humans living close to urban wetlands when they emerge at night to form mating swarms. The phototactic nature of adult chironomids means that large quantities of chironomids congregate around artificial lighting prominent in the surrounding suburbs of urban wetlands. This nuisance problem has compelled the investigation of suitable control options which are able to reduce the numbers of midges to below nuisance levels for an extended period. Currently the options available to control chironomid populations rely on the treatment of affected wetlands with pesticide. These treatment regimes are usually only successful …

The Ecological Evolution Of Public Relations Theories: An Exploration Of The Ningaloo Controversy, Allison Campbell

Theses : Honours

Many contemporary public relations scholars are attempting to redefine the discipline to incorporate more than the current token gesture of community beneficence into professional practice. Communication activities that perpetuate organizational privilege in Wester style democracies are now considered outdated and unethical. Current theoretical research suggests that public relations suffers an image crisis front its association with liberalist ideology and is considered something of an adversary to the purpose of social movements such as environmentalism. An ever-growing endorsement of communitarian values within society signifies that public relations has the opportunity to enhance greater cohesion between diverse interests by contributing to the …

Tauhid And Tasawwuf: Indonesian Sufism In Search Of Unity, Natasha Ryan

Theses : Honours

The Islamic principle of Tauhid (Divine Unity) is foundational to Islam and Tasawwuf, better known to us as Sufism. Within the Indonesian consciousness of Islam, Tauhid can also mirror Indonesia's national motto, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity), its understanding of tolerance reverberating with the purity of Islam. The recent renewal of Sufism in Indonesia may provide a Sufi paradigm shift to help relieve some tension surrounding an emergent Islamist intolerance, thereby smoothing the rising waters of uncertainty flowing alongside the current Islamic resurgence. While it is generally rare for Australians to take an interest in Indonesia's mystical Islamic culture, …

Development And Validation Of A Professional Behavior Assessment., Kristie Koenig, Caryn Johnson, Cathleen K Morano, Joseph P Ducette

Department of Occupational Therapy Faculty Papers

Allied health students must quickly socialize into a professional role as they transition from classroom to clinic. In addition to skill development, students must exhibit a host of professional behaviors that facilitate successful interaction with patients, families, and colleagues. There is a need for a valid, reliable assessment of professional behaviors that contribute to clinical competence. This study reports on the development and validation of a professional behavior assessment for occupational therapy students on a part-time clinical rotation (Level I). The Philadelphia Region Fieldwork Consortium (PRFC) Level I Student Evaluation was developed from an initial survey (n = 75) to …

Analyzing Erp Implementation At A Public University Using The Innovation Strategy Model, Keng Siau, J. Messersmith

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have revolutionized the way companies are using information technology in their businesses. ERP was created in an effort to streamline business processes and has proven to be successful in many operations. Unfortunately, not all ERP implementations have met expectations. One way that businesses may be able to increase success rates is to embrace creativity and innovation in their ERP implementations. For businesses to do this, they must first understand how creativity originates and how that creativity can be integrated into business solutions. This article presents a case study that examines the ERP implementation at a …

Performance Measurement Framework For Hierarchical Text Classification, Ee Peng Lim, Aixin Sun, Wee-Keong Ng

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Hierarchical text classification or simply hierarchical classification refers to assigning a document to one or more suitable categories from a hierarchical category space. In our literature survey, we have found that the existing hierarchical classification experiments used a variety of measures to evaluate performance. These performance measures often assume independence between categories and do not consider documents misclassified into categories that are similar or not far from the correct categories in the category tree. In this paper, we therefore propose new performance measures for hierarchical classification. The proposed performance measures consist of category similarity measures and distance-based measures that consider …

An Examination Of Socially Constructed Whole Group Storybook Reading In Three Pre Primary Classrooms, Anne Drabble

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study examines the socially constructed context of whole group storybook reading in pre primary classrooms. The study is centred in the shared communications that occur between pre primary teachers and students before, during and after the storybook reading. In particular, insights are sought on the nature and extent of the pre primary teachers' and the pre primary students' communicative contributions and the opportunity provided for the inclusion of personal knowledge and personal experience in the communication. Whether there is a change in the nature of the contributions over time is also examined. The study seeks to extend current understanding …

A Study Of The Security Implications Involved With The Use Of Executable World Wide Web Content, Christopher Hu

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Malicious executable code is nothing new. While many consider that the concept of malicious code began in the 1980s when the first PC viruses began to emerge, the concept does in fact date back even earlier. Throughout the history of malicious code, methods of hostile code delivery have mirrored prevailing patterns of code distribution. In the 1980s, file infecting and boot sector viruses were common, mirroring the fact that during this time, executable code was commonly transferred via floppy disks. Since the 1990s email has been a major vector for malicious code attacks. Again, this mirrors the fact that during …