Digital Commons Network^™

Adapt: A Cognitive Architecture For Robots, Deryle W. Lonsdale, D. Paul Benjamin, Damian M. Lyons

Faculty Publications

The goal of the ADAPT project is to create a robot that can model its environment accurately in real time, and use that model to perform tasks and interact with people using natural language.

Ten Efficient Research Strategies For Distance Learning, Thomas C. Wright, Scott L. Howell

Faculty Publications

Today's distance education administrator, frequently with an expertise in another academic discipline, is also supposed to be a distance education scholar. This expectation results from the recent interest in distance learning that nearly all institutions of learning and disciplines of study have shown. More research, studies, journals, and essays about distance education also exist than at any other time.

A distance education administrator and an education research librarian at Brigham Young University have teamed up to identify ten pragmatic research strategies to help new, busy, and even a few experienced distance education administrators stay current in their field and successful …

An Examination Of The Mechanisms Of Action In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy For Bulimia Nervosa, Scott A. Baldwin, Diane L. Spangler, W. Stewart Agras

Faculty Publications

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for bulimia nervosa (BN) has received consid- erable empirical support for its efficacy. However, few investigators have examined the mechanisms proposed to account for the reduction of BN symptoms during CBT. The current study examined the associations between therapist interventions, client mechanisms, and symptoms during treatment in a sample of 56 clients under- going CBT for BN. Results suggested that behavioral interventions were most asso- ciated with symptom change during treatment whereas relational interventions were most associated with change in client mechanisms such as client engagement. Addi- tionally, some changes in BN symptoms were mediated by changes …

Description Of A Program For Social Language Intervention: “If You Can Have A Conversation, You Can Have A Relationship, Lee Robinson, Bonnie Brinton, Martin Fujiki

Faculty Publications

Adolescents with impaired language comprehension and formulation skills often experience difficulty keeping up with the linguistic and social demands of peer interaction. This clinical exchange describes an individualized treatment program designed to increase the conversational skill of an adolescent male with language impairment. Treatment focused on increasing awareness of the listener’s needs and on balancing the exchange of conversational turns. Clinical performance, parent report, and client report were used to assess outcomes.

Crime Prevention Through Social Development, Ed Rawlinson

Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies

The following document outlines the emergence of Crime Prevention through Social Development (CPTSD) as one pro-active method of crime prevention addressing root causes of crime. A review of the literature reveals that CPTSD programmes have a positive impact on promoting of pro-social behaviours in at-risk populations - with at risk being defined as: those more likely to be involved in the criminal justice process either by committing a crime or as a victim of a crime. Normalization is seen as a process of gathering heterogeneous audiences together for CPTSD deliveries in generically named programmes that will not scare off participants …

Fabrication Or Induction Of Illness In A Child: A Critical Review Of Labels And Literature Using Electronic Libraries, Kenneth Burns

Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies

This paper argues that the variance between professionals on the use of terminology to describe and define this form of child maltreatment may lead to a loss of focus on children's welfare. The author argues that the label Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy has outlived its use and recommends the adoption of a new label 'Fabrication or Induction of Illness in a Child'. The article presents a critical analysis of the titles of 41 0 unique library entries collated from electronic libraries to discern the prevalence of labels to denote the fabrication or induction of illness in children. The article also …

Redesigning The Teacher Education Technology Course To Emphasize Integration, Charles R. Graham, Richard Culatta, Mitchell Pratt, Richard West

Faculty Publications

Teacher education programs in the United States are trying to equip tomorrow’s teachers with the technology skills needed to impact learning in the classroom. During the past decade there has been a realization that teaching technology skills alone is not adequate– pre-service teachers must also learn how to integrate the use of technology into their curriculum. This paper describes BYU’s instructional technology course and the design process that a team of instructors went through to redesign the course in order to put greater emphasis on technology integration. An iterative redesign approach was used. Several iterations of the course redesign will …

Fathering In A Beijing, Chinese Sample: Associations With Boys' And Girls' Negative Emotionality And Aggression, Chongming Yang, Craig H. Hart, David A. Nelson, Christin L. Porter, Susanne F. Olsen, Clyde C. Robinson, Shenhua Jin

Faculty Publications

Whether specific patterns of parenting are similarly associated with child outcomes in diverse cultural contexts has been a topic of inquiry for the past several decades. Most recently, attention has focused on Asian parenting and the indigenous meanings of parental control among specific Asian groups as contrasted with Western cultures (Chao & Tseng, 2002). Recent debates in this literature center on whether coercive parenting has similar meanings for mainland Chinese and North American children and their parents (e.g., Grusec, 2002; Lau & Yeung, 1996). To further address the question of whether there is a universal nature to parenting and its …

Remembering The Forgotten Ones: Protecting The Elderly From Financial Abuse

San Diego Law Review

There is nothing new about fraudulently taking money from people, particularly the elderly. The elderly population is rapidly increasing, however, and is readily accessible by telephone and mail. As a result, the elderly are easy targets for financial abuse. Such abuse can emanate from several sources, including people the victims know and trust, particularly family and friends.

Perpetrators can be people upon whom the elderly depend for care. Abuse can also come from strangers with whom elderly victims have no direct contact. This Article focuses primarily on the financial abuse of the elderly by strangers.

Can Promise Enforcement Save Affordable Housing In The United States?

San Diego Law Review

Promise Enforcement is my original approach to the development of affordable housing. Promise Enforcement, as a system, includes three components: (1) contextual thinking; (2) valuing individuality, and (3) comprehensive responsibility. Contextual thinking involves a sense of environmental, historical, and geographic context. Valuing individuality allows residents of public housing to express themselves as unique individuals. Comprehensive responsibility involves a complete understanding of the costs and benefits of affordable housing. The theory was inspired in part by the work of Austrian activist, artist, and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser and the writings of French social contract theorist Jean-Jacques Rousseau. My article that introduced the …

A Randomised Controlled Trial And Cost Effectiveness Study Of Systematic Screening (Targeted And Total Population Screening) Versus Routine Practice For The Detection Of Atrial Fibrillation In The Over 65s: (Safe) [Isrctn19633732], Dawn Swancutt, Richard Hobbs, David Fitzmaurice, Jonathan Mant, Ellen Murray, Sue Jowett, James Raftery, Stirling Bryan, Michael Davies, Gregory Lip

Peninsula Medical School

Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) has been recognised as an important independent risk factor for thromboembolic disease, particularly stroke for which it provides a five-fold increase in risk. This study aimed to determine the baseline prevalence and the incidence of AF based on a variety of screening strategies and in doing so to evaluate the incremental cost-effectiveness of different screening strategies, including targeted or whole population screening, compared with routine clinical practice, for detection of AF in people aged 65 and over. The value of clinical assessment and echocardiography as additional methods of risk stratification for thromboembolic disease in patients with …

Announcements

The Writing Center Journal

No abstract provided.

To Cover Ancient Prejudice With The Palladium Of Scientific Argument: Women, Reproduction, Pseudo-Science, And The Alarm Of Race Suicide, 1870-1915, Sarah Hamilton '04

Honors Projects, History

In 1905 President Theodore Roosevelt presented the decreasing size of native born American families to Congress as "one of the greatest sociological phenomena of our time" and of"far greater importance than any mere political or economic question," although by that time the size of the American family had been shrinking steadily for about a century. He condemned the tendency towards smaller families as decadent, a sign of moral disease and, like others who worried about "race suicide," he specifically condemned women by categorizing those who avoided large families as criminals against the race and the objects of detestation by healthy, …

Quality Assurance Of Cervical Smear Slide Inspection Using A Novel Eye-Tracking Technique, Lee Roy Coombes

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

A novel objective quality assurance system for smear slide screening is investigated in this thesis. A method of data validation was developed that compares data from an eye tracked image display, machine image colour texture analysis and expert judgements in a statistical manner to identify salient areas of cervical cytological images. These data are used to construct screener performance profiles, which have been compared to screener experience. The experimental methodology is described and how the screener performance profile is constructed. Results from a study of 10 screeners, checkers and pathologists are presented showing predicted trends of human performance. Relations to …

Visualization Techniques For The Analysis Of Neurophysiological Data, Martin Alan Walter

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

In order to understand the diverse and complex functions of the Human brain, the temporal relationships of vast quantities of multi-dimensional spike train data must be analysed. A number of statistical methods already exist to analyse these relationships. However, as a result of expansions in recording capability hundreds of spike trains must now be analysed simultaneously. In addition to the requirements for new statistical analysis methods, the need for more efficient data representation is paramount. The computer science field of Information Visualization is specifically aimed at producing effective representations of large and complex datasets. This thesis is based on the …

Futures Thinking To Achieve Sustainable Development At Local Level In Ireland, Lorcan Sirr, Ruth Kelly, John Ratcliffe

Reports

We are living in times of unprecedented global change and upheaval and over the next ten to 20 years governments, organisations and individuals will face increasing difficulties in an environment of growing complexity, heightened uncertainty and a quickening pace of change. The concept of sustainable development implies the reconciliation of long-term socio-economic development, environmental protection and quality of life; essentially it is concerned with the future. Unfortunately, the potential for linking “futures thinking” to debates about sustainable development at local and regional government levels is relatively undeveloped, particularly in Ireland. Responding to this challenge, The Futures Academy at Technological University …

Fostering Of Creativity Within An Imaginative Curriculum In Higher Education, Roisin Donnelly

Journal Articles

Psychology is frequently used as a foundation discipline in the training of adult educators because it addresses those questions which naturally emerge from an engagement with adult learning and teaching (Tennant, 1997). The professional context which forms the focus of this article is no different. By providing academic support for lecturers in a higher education institution in Ireland, there is a desire to develop a sustainable curriculum model whereby by working with them on designing and developing creative curricula in their various subject disciplines in the arts and sciences they, in turn, pass the benefits of this on to their …

Soap Opera, Com Mercialisation An D The Proletarian Isation Of Cultural Production, Edward Brennan

Articles

Abstract This article is based in a broader study of the production of Fair City, Ireland’s most popular television soap opera. The study argues that such shows are potentially important in civil society. They can promote discussion and debate on hidden or taboo social issues. They may thus inform public opinion. Until recently the potential role of soap opera in civil society has largely been overlooked. The research examined the social issues that Fair City could introduce to public discussion by examining its production process. It found the main limits on what the show could and could not say to …

Detecting Suicide Risk In Adolescents And Adults In An Emergency Department: A Pilot Study, Katie N. Davis

Honors Projects

A pilot study was conducted to detect suicide risk in adolescents and adults presenting to an Emergency Department (ED) in the Midwest, as well as to test the reliability and validity of the 4-item Risk of Suicide Questionnaire (RSQ) developed by Horowitz, et al. (2001). Participants consisted of a convenience sample of 104 ED patients ranging in age from 12 to 82 regardless of chief complaint or psychiatric history. The RSQ was verbally administered to 39 adolescents (age 12 to 24) and 65 adults (over 25). Demographic data, chief complaint, and discharge diagnosis were also obtained. Psychometric analysis demonstrated an …

An Exploratory Study Of How Decisions Are Made In The Yield Management Environment Of Four Star Dublin Hotels, Tony Kiely

Other resources

Yield management in the hotel industry has been described as a method of profitably managing fixed capacity. A critical element of yield management is the decision strategy employed as this determines the degree to which optimum solutions are generated. Recent research has indicated that the use of technology assisted decision optimising models (the management science model) would greatly improve the optimisation of decisions by minimising the need to employ guesswork in achieving optimum solutions. Despite this assurance, yield management remains couched in uncertainty through being inextricably associated with forecasting future demand for a perishable product in an increasingly competitive environment. …

2004 - 2006 Postgraduate Prospectus, Dublin Institute Of Technology

DIT Publications

Postgrad prospectus for years 2004 - 2006, containing information on applications to studies, disability services, research funding, international student office, contact persons.

Modeling And Measuring The Dispersion Of Odors From Hog Confinements, François Béra

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

A comparison was made between predicted and measured odor concentration downwind of two hog finishing confinements. Two Gaussian dispersion models, STINK.BAK and AERMOD, were used. The experimental cases examined odor emanating from a mechanically-ventilated facility and a curtain-sided facility during summer 2003. A field olfactometer was used to measure odor concentration. The odor concentrations served as input to STINK.BAK, which then estimated the odor emission rate from the confinement. AERMOD used this emission rate and other meteorological data to predict the peak concentration of odor around the confinement over the sampling hour. The calculated odor emission rates are slightly higher …

The Effect Of Music On Pre-Competitive Cognitive Anxiety, Somatic Anxiety, And Self-Confidence In Male Basketball Players, Jamie Jean Blome

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of personally-selected music on pre-competitive cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, and self-confidence. Intramural athletes from a collegiate university (N = 97) were randomly assigned to a music group, white noise group, or control group. The Sport Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT) and was used to measure trait anxiety, and the modified version of the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAl-2) was administered to measure state anxiety and self-confidence. It was hypothesized that differences would be found in precompetitive cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, and self-confidence among groups. Results indicated that the music group …

Threshold, Clifford Lavelle Blodgett

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Clifford L. Blodgett mixes the worlds of Psychological Realism, Technology and Humor. His ingenious blend of modern prose and cinematic techniques makes this piece a page turning adventure. With the swagger representing the new generation of authors, Blodgett's first attempt at longer fiction is in one word, riveting. In Threshold a young Midwestern man, obsessed with the new trends of technology, finds a job in New York City. Worlds collide as the man attempts to extract revenge against his now former employer and the greatest figurehead ever, West-Coast rapping sensation C Ryder G.

School Climate, Culture, And Educators’ Beliefs And Practices In Motivation: An Exploratory Study, Sarah Galloway

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This study seeks to examine one aspect of school climate, school culture, through the lens of achievement goal theory in order to link the broad construct of climate and educational practices. Achievement goal theory is a motivational theory that provides a framework for organizing and construing cognitive and affective responses to achievement related situations. An underlying assumption of the current study is that goal structures can positively influence school climate and lead to positive outcomes for students. Goal structures were investigated through educator perceptions of goal structures and educators self-reports of their educational practices. Overall, the 124 educators who responded …

Identifying School-Aged Children At-Risk To Develop An Eating Disorder, Natalie Jean Muth

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Current research supports that school-based eating disorder prevention programs have yielded unsuccessful results. Hypotheses presented in chapter one suggest failure to implement effective prevention programs are related to problematic screening attempts and a lack of focus on targeting prevention at the primary level. Chapter two outlines a review of literature analyzing eating disorder identification, history, prevalence, assessment and existing prevention programs. Chapter three describes the present study, which uses an eating disorder assessment instrument to screen a consenting sample of forth through twelfth graders. Results, presented in chapter four, suggest (a) that a significant number of students could benefit for …

Perceived Exercise Constraints And Motivation For Exercise Among University Undergraduate Students, Ryan Paul Harkema

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between perceived exercise constraints and motivation for exercise among university undergraduate students, and to identify if there is a difference in perceived exercise constraints and motivation for exercise among university undergraduate students in the three exercise behavior categories of regular exercise participants, intermediary exercise participants, and nonparticipants. As issues related to overweight and obesity continue to grow in the United States, research efforts must concentrate upon exercise behavior and the factors that influence exercise participation levels. This study focused upon the exercise behaviors of university undergraduate students, as Americans aged …

Sources Of Stress And Its Impact On Health Behaviors And Academic Performance Of International Students At The University Of Northern Iowa, Israel Gabriel Msengi

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

International students travel from their home countries in search of continuing education abroad without expectations that they will encounter stress. However, upon arriving at American college and university campuses, international students start noting differences with their respective countries. Challenges start developing related to a range of issues including language difficulties, immigration, and cultural shock/alienation concerns which, if not dealt with promptly, might impede their health behaviors and academic performance. This study investigated sources of stress and its impact on academic performance and health behaviors of international students at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI). Investigated also were coping strategies that …

The Frequency Of Imagery Use On The Performance Of A Complex Motor Skill, Eric Rebhuhn

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The use of imagery to enhance athletic performance has been an interesting topic for coaches, athletes, and researchers. Indeed, a number of researchers have found that using mental imagery resulted in improved athletic performance (Blumenstein, Bar-Eli, & Tenenbaum, 1995; Corbin, 1972; Feltz & Landers, 1983; Weinberg, 1981). In addition, imagery has been reported to be one of the most utilized cognitive strategies by athletes (Defrancesco & Burke, 1997; Gould 1994). Findings suggest that imagery can be an effective performance improvement strategy. Moreover, a majority of the research has focused on simple motor tasks performed in laboratory settings rather than on …

Protecting Us From Pictures: Gender And Support For Legal Restrictions On Pornography, Elizabeth Lynne Chivers

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Research and debate concerning pornography has been controversial, primarily focusing on the perceived harmful effects. The current study addresses support for legal restrictions and the effect of gender on this support. Based on the internalization of gender roles, perspectives, and identities through socialization, gender is constructed differently for men and women. Because this socialization is constructed around an oppositional male-female dichotomy, men and women experience the world differently. While there have been previous research addressing gender differences, the gendered nature of attitudes merits further study. The current study is based on data collected for 451 undergraduate students at the University …