Digital Commons Network^™

Two 1/2-Year-Old Children Use Animacy And Syntax To Learn A New Noun, Jane B. Childers, C. H. Echols

Psychology Faculty Research

We examine how attention to animacy information may contribute to children's developing knowledge of language. This research extends beyond prior research in that children were shown dynamic events with novel entities, and were asked not only to comprehend sentences but to use sentence structure to infer the meaning of a new word. In a 4 × 3 design, animacy status (e.g., animate agent, inanimate patient) and labeling syntax (agent, patient, nonlabel control) were varied. Across most events, 21/2-year-old participants responded as if they expected animate entities to be named. However, in a prototypical (animate agent-inanimate patient) event condition, children responded …

Dynamic Magnetic Effects In Amorphous Microwires For Sensors And Coding Applications, Serghei Sandacci

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

This work is devoted to the study of the dynamic properties of magnetic amorphous wires, in particular, glass-coated microwires, which have small diameters (5-30 microns), outstanding soft magnetic behaviour with a high permeability and low coercivity, yet, possess a well-defined magnetic structure. First part of my PhD research has been devoted to the investigation of a bi-stable magnetisation reversal in glass-coated amorphous microwires. In contrast to traditional approaches, where characteristics of the magnetisation reversal are analysed as a consequence of the eddy current effect, l have applied stochastic methods for modelling the remagnetisation reversal in the microwires with axial anisotropy. …

Metadata And Buckets In The Smart Object, Dumb Archive (Soda) Model, Michael L. Nelson, Kurt Maly, Delwin R. Croom Jr., Steven W. Robbins

Computer Science Faculty Publications

We present the Smart Object, Dumb Archive (SODA) model for digital libraries (DLs), and discuss the role of metadata in SODA. The premise of the SODA model is to "push down" many of the functionalities generally associated with archives into the data objects themselves. Thus the data objects become "smarter", and the archives "dumber". In the SODA model, archives become primarily set managers, and the objects themselves negotiate and handle presentation, enforce terms and conditions, and perform data content management. Buckets are our implementation of smart objects, and da is our reference implementation for dumb archives. We also present our …

Staff Council Meeting Minutes, Georgia Southern University, Staff Council

Staff Council Meeting Minutes & Agendas

No abstract provided.

Animal Science Stock Report: Winter 2004, Animal Science Department, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

Stock Report

No abstract provided.

Nursing Students' Experiences In Personal Spiritual Formation And In Provision Of Spiritual Care To Patients, Beverly Jane Cobb

Dissertations

Problem. Nursing professionals acknowledge that (a) spiritual care is part of holistic care, and (b) nursing education about spiritual care of patients is inadequate. Evidence points to the importance of personal faith and spirituality in order for the nurse to more effectively render spiritual care to patients. Enhancing knowledge about how nursing students learn spiritual care can benefit nursing education and, ultimately, patient care. This study explored how students with high faith maturity provided spiritual nursing care to patients.

Method. This study engaged phenomenological methods with a study population selected from two faith-based educational institutions. A total of 187 nursing …

Administrator Perceptions Of Internet-Based Distance Education In Adventist Colleges And Universities : A Mixed-Method Study, Pamela K. Cress

Dissertations

Problem . The quality of Internet-based distance education (IBDE) will increasingly become the standard by which students choose a program as higher educational options multiply due to the dramatic growth in distance education. A system-wide examination of perceptions of IBDE in Adventist highereducation is important to administrators for future institutional strategic planning purposes, systemic adoption of policies and practices that promote excellence, and identifying collaborative efforts.

Method . This was a sequential exploratory mixed-method study of the perceptions of administrators on IBDE. It was conducted collaboratively with Susan Smith who examined teacher perceptions. Data were collected for both studies from …

The Improv Church : A Qualitative, Theoretical, And Interdisciplinary Explanation Of Its Appeal To Collegians, Karl Haffner

Dissertations

The college years often represent the time when young people drop out of church. The reasons vary. One of the factors in a decision to abandon church is that college students feel many traditional churches are irrelevant. Conventional methods of pedagogy and communication are typically used. The result is a learning environment that feels stale to many young people.

Some educators are experimenting with new methods of instruction based on advances in learning theories, instructional strategies, and in whole-person learning. The purpose of this study was to consider the Improv Church as a learning environment where these advances in education …

How Instructional Leadership Is Addressed In Educational Administration/Leadership Programs, Lolethia Jones Kibble

Dissertations

Problem

Instructional leadership is a major factor in school effectiveness and student achievement, yet it is not widely practiced by school principals. One of the contributing factors, identified in the literature, is a lack of skills and knowledge. Although there is a great deal of information about principal preparation programs, there is very little information on the preparation of school leaders in the practice of instructional leadership behaviors. The purpose of this study was to examine how instructional leadership is addressed in both traditional and restructured educational administration/leadership programs and to what extent this is related to institutional and demographic …

A Comparison Of Kinetic Family Drawings Of Firstborn And Second-Born Siblings, Lynn Anderson

Dissertations

Problem. While the Kinetic Family Drawing (KFD) is a popular assessment tool for clinicians, research on developmental issues and how siblings draw their families is lacking. The purpose of this study was to (a) describe the way siblings perceive themselves and their family interpersonal relationships as expressed in the KFD; and (b) to describe possible developmental age differences in the KFD.

Method. The KFD and a Family Dynamics Interview Schedule were administered to 50 pairs of first- and second-born children from Southwestern Michigan, ages 5-14. The data were analyzed quantitatively by the Wilcoxon Sign Test and Chi-Square, using …

Hermeneutics, Steelman Library

Syllabus Repository

No abstract provided.

Psychological Sense Of Community In On-Line Learning Environments, Thomas Chris Laughner

Dissertations

Problem. Current literature discusses differences among populations as they relate to face-to-face learning communities. However, no literature exists to determine if these same differences exist in an on-line learning environment. Since community has been closely linked to social and academic integration and success, additional research on whether populations with certain demographics feel the same absence of a sense of community in an on-line environment must be addressed. This study examines differences in psychological sense of community among students based on ethnicity, age, and sex.

Method. A revised Sense of Community Index was administered to students enrolled in at least one …

Instructional Implications Of The Michigan Educational Assessment Program As An Accountability Instrument, Daniel J. Applegate

Dissertations

Problem. In Michigan, early elementary school teachers are held accountable for instructional decisions they made based on the number of children who pass the state standardized reading test, the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP). Although state officials claim the MEAP can inform instruction, no data are regularly collected to describe reading instructional practices or the relationship between current practices and the percentage of students who pass the MEAP.

Method. Using a survey instrument, this study measured the amount of instructional time Kindergarten through Grade 4 teachers reported that they devoted to the development of 19 different components or activities within …

The Stairway To Heaven: A Critique Of The Evangelical Gospel Presentation In North America, Paul Brent Dybdahl

Dissertations

The topic . This study focuses on the so-called "plan of salvation" or "gospel presentation" that evangelical Christians in the United States present to seekers who want to know how to be saved. There are currently three dominant presentations that are widely employed and emulated. The authors of each are well-known: D. James Kennedy, Bill Bright, and Billy Graham.

The major portion of my study involves a two-stage critique of these dominant evangelical gospel presentations: first, from the perspective provided by communication theory, and second, by comparing the presentations of Kennedy, Bright, and Graham with conversion accounts from Luke-Acts. Essentially, …

The Contingent Attorney's Fee Tax Trap: Ethical, Fiduciary Duty, And Malpractice Implications, Gregg D. Polsky

Scholarly Works

In employment and civil rights lawsuits, the alternative minimum tax may cause a plaintiff's net recovery to be taxed at rates significantly higher than the current maximum rate of 35 percent. This Essay discusses the ethical, fiduciary duty and malpractice implications for lawyers representing plaintiffs who may be affected by this tax trap.

Psychological Versus Generic Critical Thinking As Predictors And Outcome Measures In A Large Undergraduate Human Development Course, Robert L. Williams, Renee Oliver, Susan Stockdale

Faculty Articles

This article compares the predictive and outcome status of a subject-specific versus a generic measure of critical thinking in a large undergraduate course. Specifically, the predictive potential of critical thinking was assessed with respect to test performance, both for tests requiring critical thinking and for those requiring only direct recall. This paper also examines the extent to which answering practice-exam questions with embedded psychological critical thinking issues produced improvement in critical thinking. The impact of the treatment on the critical thinking of students who performed well or poorly on the course tests requiring considerable application of critical thinking was assessed.

If The Shoe Fits: Kasky V. Nike And Whether Corporate Statements About Business Operations Should Be Deemed Commercial Speech, Jason A. Cade

Scholarly Works

This Note argues that the Kasky court was correct to recognize that today's commercial speech encompasses communications beyond traditional advertisements about products or services. Corporations are aware that a sizeable number of consumers rely on their statements about their business operations when making investment and purchasing decisions. In order to ensure the accuracy of these statements, and thereby protect the integrity of the market, this speech is properly considered commercial speech.

Demystifying The Tenure Process, Lindsay L. Van Sicklen

The Christian Librarian

The tenure process holds a lot at stake for the candidate. In an effort to demystifY it, the panel will discuss questions about tenure review, the process of tenure review and how to prepare for it, a supervisor's perspective of a candidate up for tenure review along with examples of tenure portfolios.

Four individuals served as panelists for this presentation. Lindsay Van Sidden (Periodicals Librarian) fi·om Ouachita Baptist University (OBU) set the stage by introducing questions that many have as they approach preparing for tenure. She also shared different ways in which OBU paved the way for their candidates. Tami …

Connecticut Blueprint For A Nclb “Housse” In Educational Technology, Antoinette P. Bruciati

Education Faculty Publications

According to the United States Department of Education, teacher quality is one of the most critical aspects of the teaching and learning process. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) has required that state agencies assume the responsibility for increasing student achievement and ensuring teacher quality by the end of the 2005-2006 school year. The NCLB outlines minimum qualifications that are needed by teachers who work on any facet of classroom instruction and authorizes state administrators to establish the criteria through which an experienced teacher will meet the subject matter competencies in a specific content area. This paper …

Conferencing: An Exploration Into Connectivity, Content, And Community, Marc Glassman, Michael K. Barbour

Education Faculty Publications

The electronic conference, Bits and Bytes: An Online Symposium on the Evolution of Technology in Education, was a joint initiative of the Faculty of Education at Memorial University of Newfoundland and the Centre for Advanced Placement Education at Discovery Collegiate. The format of this electronic conference (e-conference) was similar to that of an on-site conference, with a call for submissions, a peer-reviewed processing of these proposals, and a presentation of the accepted proposals. However, the participants of this e-conference never met in a specific locale in a synchronous time frame, as is the case with traditional conferences. The authors and …

Summary Of In Re Mosley, 120 Nev. Adv. Rep. 94, Christopher Carson

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

This case is an appeal of the evidentiary findings of the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline (Commission) on eleven different counts of an official complaint filed by a special prosecutor against the Honorable Donald M. Mosley (Judge Mosley). The complaint listed eleven inappropriate actions Judge Mosley allegedly committed from August of 1997 through August 1999. The counts alleged that Judge Mosley: Count I- Wrote a personal letter on official judicial letterhead to the principal of his son’s school in August 1999; Count II- Wrote a personal letter on official judicial letterhead to the principal of his son’s school in February …

Summary Of Rodriguez V. District Court, 128 Nev. Adv. Op. 14, Rami Hernandez

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

Petitioner Charles Rodriguez (Rodriguez) and the real party in interest, Nicole Eddowes (Eddowes), divorced in November 2001. The terms of the initial custody order and divorce decree awarded primary physical custody of the couple’s daughter to Eddowes and ordered Rodriguez to pay child support, half of the child’s insurance premiums, and half of any unreimbursed medical expenses incurred on the child’s behalf. Rodriguez failed to make payments as required, and on March 1, 2004, the district court issued its third contempt order against Rodriguez for the non-payment of child support. The district court denied Rodriguez’s assertion that he was an …

Restraint And Responsibility: Judicial Review Of Campaign Reform, Spencer A. Overton

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

The First Amendment doctrine governing campaign finance law allows judicial outcomes to turn on often unstated political assumptions about the appropriate role of money in campaigns. As illustrated by the conflicting opinions of different U.S. Supreme Court Justices in McConnell v. FEC, current narrow tailoring and substantial overbreadth tests provide inadequate guidance and compel judges to rely on their own political assumptions in balancing the need for regulation against the right of free speech. Judges skeptical of campaign reform err on the side of protecting speech, while judges supportive of reform lean toward tolerating regulations said to prevent corruption. To …

Making Federal Information Technology Accessible: A Case Study In Social Policy And Procurement, Christopher R. Yukins

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires that all information technology bought by the federal government be accessible to persons with disabilities. That goal, simple to state, has been enormously complex to implement. In imposing a social initiative on the procurement system, Congress has left a huge number of issues unresolved - including, most critically, who is to pay for the initiative. This article reviews the issues raised by Section 508, and traces common patterns that emerge when, as with Section 508, social goals are implemented through a large, complex, and deeply entrenched procurement system. The article traces the impact …

Both Sidesof The Coin: A Decade Of Parallel Proceedings And Enforcement Of Foreign Judgments In Transnational Litigation, Louise Ellen Teitz

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Self-Reported Versus Recorded Sleep Position: An Observational Study, Susan J. Gordon, Karen A. Grimmer, Patricia Trott

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Background: Patient reports of ‘usual’ and ‘recent’ sleep positions are used by allied health professionals to direct the management of waking and nocturnal musculoskeletal symptoms. However no published studies have determined if self reports of sleep position are valid, consistent or reliable. An observational study was conducted at the Centre for Sleep Research of the University of South Australia. Twelve subjects, four in each of the age groups 18 to 39 years, 40 to 59 years and 60 years and over, without any known sleep disorders or sleep-disturbing medical or emotional problems participated in the study. Subjects spent two non-consecutive …

Use Of Herbal Medications By Patients In A Conventional Health Care Setting: A Health Education Challenge, Jill Delaubenfels

Graduate Research Papers

The use of herbal medication is growing rapidly in the United States, but use of herbal medication is not without risk. This is a veritable mine field of health care risks. The federal regulation of herbal medicine as a dietary supplement raises safety and efficacy concerns. The American public lacks knowledge of herbal medicines, often believing that "natural" means "safe". Patients who combine the use of herbal medicine with conventional medicine pose challenges for health care providers. Is the health care provider aware of their patient's use of herbal medication? Is the health care provider adequately educated on the safe …

Reflections [Complete Issue : First Quarter 2004], Sigma Theta Tau International, Jacklynn Price, Julie Benbenishty, Nava Klein, Michele J. Upvall, Angela Barron Mcbride, Jim Henry, Linda Henry, Sandra L. Stuban, Shawna Beese-Bjurstrom, Diane Sieg, Eric Klein, Mary Koloroutis, Jayne Felgen

Sigma Past Publishing - Reflections Magazine

Publishing History: Print issues of Reflections magazine were published from 1975 to 1999 and its successor, Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL) began publication in 2000. RNL migrated to an online format, http://www.reflectionsonnursingleadership.org, in 2006 and continues today.

RNL is a member benefit of the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI). The historical print issues have been made openly available.

Publishing Frequency: Quarterly until its transition to online. It’s now updated virtually every day.

Format: Print, 1975 - 2005; Online, 2006 - present

Feature Articles in this Issue:

Transcultural Nursing: Pathway to Peace?

Worlds Apart

Daniel J. …

An Investigation On The Effects Of Influenza Virus Infection As It Pertains To The Initiation Of Translation, Morgan Hager Mccoy

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Like the majority of host cell mRNAs, the mRNAs of influenza virus are capped and polyadenylated. The NS1 protein of influenza has been implicated as a translational activator for both influenza and reporter gene mRNAs. Data is presented showing that influenza A virus infection resulted in an increased ratio of cap-dependent to cap-independent translation. This ratio increase was largely due to an increase in cap-dependent translation. These experiments employed a bicistronic reporter construct measuring cap-dependent and cap-independent translation in a single sample. Expression of NS1 alone resulted in a small, but reproducible increase in the ratio of cap-dependent to cap-independent …

Can The Internet Be A Human Right?, Michael L. Best

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Human Rights and the Internet edited by Steven Hick, Edward F. Halpin, and Eric Hoskins. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2000. 276pp.