Digital Commons Network^™

Human Genetic Variation And Health: New Assessment Approaches Based On Ethnogenetic Layering, Fatimah Linda Collier Jackson

Department of Biology Faculty Publications

Human genetic variation is often biologically relevant, particularly when it influences (or is influenced by) health outcomes. For example, human genetic variation can modulate disease aetiology as in the case ofhomozygous beta sickle gene (βS/βS or sickle cell) pathology. Conversely, health outcomes, such as the frequency and duration of homozygous sickle cell pathology, can change affected group gene frequencies by selectively targeting and culling specific genotypes in a group, such as clinically more severe βS Bantu/βS Bantu versions of the βS gene, thereby changing future patterns of genetic variation in this gene.

A Historical Geography Of The Bayswater Foreshore, Swan River, Susan Hames

Theses : Honours

This study examines the historical and present extents of native wetland-floodplain vegetation along the Swan River foreshore in the City of Bayswater, within the Perth metropolitan area. As a geographical history of native vegetation it is largely concerned with the contribution cultural values and modifications have made to ecological changes in foreshore biodiversity and the sustainability of the ecosystem. Adopted into the urban psyche, the Swan River forms a central artery in the cultural landscape and natural ecosystem; evocative and practical in combination. However, the contemporary foreshore is a modified environment with native vegetation, in terms of biodiversity and land …

Imagining The Performance Zone: Overcoming Ambiguity In Consumer Based Electronic Performance Support Systems, Jason Simons

Theses : Honours

The locus of performance support implementation was once the domain of large corporations where its principles offered an attractive alternative to traditional methods of training within the scope of contemporary business practices. Due to economies of scale the large corporations were able to build effective performance support through the precise identification of the PERFORMANCE ZONE. This zone is created through the defining of the three attributes of performance, 1) the nature of the worker, 2) the nature of the task, and 3) the type and amount of support needed. lncreasingly the principles of performance-centred design have been adopted within diverse …

The Reporting Of The Tampa Incident In Australian And Norwegian Newspapers, Lene Sjobrend

Theses : Honours

The M/S Tampa in August 2001 was turned by the Australian government into a tool to fight the increasing numbers of boat people heading for Australia. But more importantly, it was a fight to win back votes before the upcoming federal election. Also in Norway an election was imminent, and even though the incident did not become an important part of the Norwegian election campaign, it played a role in Norway's involvement in the case. The media has a tendency to listen to authoritative voices, which can make the media a victim of political spin. Since the governments in Norway …

Social Integration Of Older Immigrants In 21st Century America, Janet Wilmoth

Center for Policy Research

There are various reasons for the burgeoning interest in detailed research into the determinants of social well-being among older immigrants in this country. As a result of shifting federal government policies, the total volume of immigrants has increased significantly, the countries from which they migrate have changed, and more immigrant families have brought their parents into the United States than ever before. Consequently, the older adult population is becoming more diverse due in part to the aging-in-place of younger immigrants and an increasing number of immigrants who are older upon arrival in the United States. These trends create challenges for …

Duration Data From The National Long-Term Care Survey: Foundation For A Dynamic Multiple-Indicator Model Of Adl Dependency, James N. Laditka, Douglas A. Wolf

Center for Policy Research

This report describes preparation of data from the National Long-Term Care Survey (NLTCS) fur use in a dynamic multiple-indicator model of dependency in Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). The data set described makes use of all functional status information available across four NLTCS waves for six ADLs, including information from screening interviews, detailed interviews in the community, and institutional interviews. Importantly, it also captures all available information elicited from respondents about the *duration* of any impairment in these ADLs. The data was prepared as described in this report to enable the calculation of improved estimates of the probabilities that an …

Welfare State Expenditures And The Distribution Of Child Opportunities, Irwin Garfinkel, Lee Rainwater, Timothy M. Smeeding

Center for Policy Research

This paper estimates the redistributive effects of welfare state expenditures on social and economic disparities in the economic well-being of citizens in ten nations. Data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and other sources for cash and non-cash social welfare benefits (health and education benefits from third parties) are used to describe differences in the size and nature of welfare states and their distributional effects. The OECD data are combined with micro data on household incomes from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) both to estimate the redistributive effects of the expenditures and taxes and to construct measures …

Taxes, Deadweight Loss And Intertemporal Female Labor Supply: Evidence From Panel Data, Anil Kumar

Center for Policy Research

Very few existing studies have estimated female labor supply elasticities using a U.S. panel data set, although cross-sectional studies abound. Also, most existing studies have done so in a static framework. I make an attempt to fill the gap in this literature by estimating a lifecycle-consistent specification with taxes, in a limited dependent variable framework, on a panel of married females from the PSID. Both parametric random effects and semi parametric fixed effects methods are applied. I find evidence of larger substitution effects than found in female labor supply literature with taxes, suggesting considerable distortionary effects from income taxation. The …

How Much More Does A Disadvantaged Student Cost?, William D. Duncombe, John Yinger

Center for Policy Research

This paper provides a guide to statistically based methods for estimating the extra costs of educating disadvantaged students, shows how these methods are related, and compares state aid programs that account for these costs in different ways. We show how pupil weights, which are included in many state programs, can be estimated from an education cost equation, which many scholars use to obtain an education cost index, and we devise a method to estimate pupil weights directly. Using data from New York, we show that the distribution of state aid is similar with statistically based pupil weights and an educational …

Maternal Employment And Adolescent Self-Care, Leonard M. Lopoo

Center for Policy Research

Mounting evidence shows that self-care produces deleterious consequences for adolescents in the U.S. Since descriptive evidence suggests that maternal employment is the primary explanation for adolescent self-care, maternal employment, it is frequently argued, is harming children. Heretofore, very little empirical research has actually investigated the impact of maternal employment on adolescent self-care, however, calling into question this assertion. This paper aims to fill this gap. The author uses the National Education Longitudinal Survey of 1988 supplemented by the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-1979 to estimate the relationship between maternal employment and adolescent self-care. Unlike prior research, the author employs a …

Molecular Characterization Of Immunoglobins A, G, And M Heavy Chains In The Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin, Tursiops Truncatus, Holly Ann Gefroh

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

The dolphin immune system is not well characterized, unlike the human and mouse immune systems. As a sentinel species of the marine ecosystem, an understanding of the dolphin immune system will not only contribute to conservation and management of the species, but also contribute to an understanding of the status of the marine ecosystem. cDNA sequences encoding IgA and IgG heavy chains and IgM transmembrane segment of the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, were obtained using a combination of reserve transcription of mRNA, PCR amplification using degenerate primers, and 3' and VH-FR3 anchored 5' RACE. Analysis of dolphin γ gene …

Dis-Patch: Practice As. . . Practice And Research, Jonathan Mustard, Chrissie Parrott

Creative Connections Symposium @ BEAP2004 September 4, 2004

Dis-Patch is the title of a dance work that was partly the outcome of research into ways in which movement in space might successfully correlate to the parameters of sound. The process of making the work in workshops, rehearsals and performance both altered our view of, and added to the background research. It became evident in this process that certain outcomes, whilst alien to musically conventional ears, were nevertheless valid and interesting sonic translations of the choreography. The performance demonstrated how issues within and between disciplines can be re-problematised through the creative and innovative use of technology. It is our …

Lego Mindstorms As A Training Tool For Software Development Methodology In Multimedia Education., Elias Wyber

Creative Connections Symposium @ BEAP2004 September 4, 2004

This paper outlines an approach to educating multimedia practitioners utilizing Lego MindStorms® which evolved out of a desire to bridge the technical and aesthetic worldviews. The approach focuses on three aspects of the development process. First, it examines the linguistic model of code production. In order to convey the act of writing code as a linguistic task, the students are introduced to several aspects of linguistic theory, with examples illustrating their application in spoken, programmed and Lego MindStorms® based languages. The second area of focus is object theory. Adopting a similar approach to the previous section, but giving only Lego …

Phillip Adams, Nanette Hassall

Creative Connections Symposium @ BEAP2004 September 4, 2004

This paper explores the importance of narrative in Phillip Adams’ work. Despite the fact that he is seen by the critics as a member of the ‘post moderns’ in dance in Australia there are significant ways in which we see him depart from the traditional understandings of those terms in order to develop a more idiosyncratic and personal style.

The Bead Research Fellow Online - A Pilot Projet, Stephen Quinton, Annie English

Creative Connections Symposium @ BEAP2004 September 4, 2004

This project proposes to model the activities and roles of a visiting Research Fellow and an Artist-in-Residence (AIR) with the intention of applying the key educational features and strategies to the online environment. Where feasible, the aim is to replicate the role of a Research Fellow online by enlisting the services of well-known artists to contribute their expertise and creative input to the teaching activities of a University School of Art. The primary purpose is to support and enhance the delivery of quality learning outcomes for the Curtin BA (Art) Online degree. The project also presents an opportunity to establish …

American Midwifery Litigation And State Legislative Preferences For Physician-Controlled Childbirth, Stacey A. Tovino

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Exploratory Unitization Under The 2004 Model Oil And Gas Convention Act, Owen L. Anderson, Ernest Smith

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Erisa: Rethinking Firestone In Light Of Great-West--Implications For Standard Of Review And The Right To A Jury Trial In Welfare Benefit Claims, Donald T. Bogan

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Marbury's Legacy Of Judicial Review After Two Centuries, Harry F. Tepker

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Front Cover

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Title Page

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Editorial Board

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Editor's Page, Scott Titsworth

Basic Communication Course Annual

Now 16 years old, the Basic Communication Course Annual continues to hold a unique and instrumental status among peer communication journals. Notably, the Annual is the only national communication journal devoted to research and scholarship pertaining to the basic communication course. What started as an infant in 1988 has grown into a bright young-adult with an admirable sense of self.

The success of the Annual is entirely attributable to the community of scholars who have supported the journal over the years. All of us should be thankful for the leadership provided by the previous editors: Deanna Sellnow, Craig Newburger, and …

Bias In The Evaluation Process: Influences Of Speaker Order, Speaker Quality, And Gender On Rater Error In The Performance Based Course, Paul D. Turman, Matthew H. Barton

Basic Communication Course Annual

This study examines how variations in speaker order increase the potential for rater error in the performance based course. Seventy-six undergraduate raters were randomly assigned to one of eight treatment groups and asked to grade eight-week training course. Speaker order and presentation quality varied across groups and an ANOVA was used to examine significant differences across rater assessments, feedback quality and rater gender. Significant main effects were identified in each of the eight treatment groups suggesting that speaker order influenced rater scoring.

Written Speech Feedback In The Basic Communication Course: Are Instructors Too Polite?, Dana L. Reynolds, Stephen K. Hunt, Cheri J. Simonds, Craig W. Cutbirth

Basic Communication Course Annual

The present study investigates written performance feedback through the lens of politeness theory. Study 1 examined the types of comments instructors offer to students when they provide written feedback on speeches as well as the relationship between these comments and students' grades.

Results demonstrate that instructors used an overabundance of positive politeness messages and virtually no negative politeness messages. Students who received a higher grade were more likely to receive fewer face threats and more positive politeness messages than those students' who received a lower grade. The results also suggest that instructors are more willing to threaten a students' negative …

Communication Lab Peer Facilitators: What's In It For Them?, M. Tanya Bran-Barrett, Judith A. Rolls

Basic Communication Course Annual

Peer tutors have been used extensively within the communication discipline to enhance students' learning experiences (Hill, 1981; Webb & Lane, 1986). Research suggests that peer tutoring can have positive rewards for tutors and tutees (Goodland & Hurst, 1989; Topping, 1996). However, there is little to no research that explores the benefits received by peer tutors who run small group communication lab sessions for basic communication course students.

The qualitative data from focus group indicate that peer facilitators experienced: 1) self-development in terms of their self-esteem, confidence, and respect from themselves and others; 2) improved public speaking skills and better interpersonal …

Speech Laboratories: An Exploratory Examination Of Potential Pedagogical Effects On Studies, Adam C. Jones, Stephen K. Hunt, Cheri J. Simonds, Mark E. Comadena, John R. Baldwin

Basic Communication Course Annual

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects speech laboratories have on students enrolled in basic public speaking courses. Specifically, the researchers attempted to gain a student perspective about visiting a speech laboratory through qualitative methods. Ten semi-structured student interviews were conducted and the collected data were transcribed verbatim before being analyzed using the constant comparative method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Lincoln & Guba, 1985).

The results of the analysis provide initial support that speech laboratories do, to some degree, assist students with their public speaking skills and help them manage their public speaking anxiety.

Creating A Dialogue For Change: Educating Graduate Teaching Assistants In Whiteness Studies, Kristen P. Treinen

Basic Communication Course Annual

Research indicates that minority students are underrepresented in our classroom curriculum (Churchill, 1995; Delpit, 1995; Ladson-Billings, 1994). Our schools are often entrenched in the Eurocentric model of education from content to methodology. In this paper, I discuss antiracist pedagogy and whiteness studies, offer a justification for utilizing antiracist pedagogy with work in whiteness studies in the communication classroom, and provide one model for incorporating antiracist pedagogical practice with graduate teaching assistants. This essay is intended to help create a dialogue with GTAs, basic course directors, and communication faculty about antiracist practices in the communication classroom.

From Spectators Of Public Affairs To Agents Of Social Change: Engaging Students In The Basic Course Through Service-Learning, Lynn M. Harter, Erika L. Kirby, Katherine L. Hatfield, Karla N. Kuhlman

Basic Communication Course Annual

Much literature bemoans the attitudes of Generation X (and their successors) toward civic participation (e.g., Putnam, 2000) and indeed education itself (e.g., Sacks, 1996). However, we have found students to be highly engaged when they have opportunities for active learning, such as those found in well designed service learning projects. We see this pedagogy as a small antidote to the sense of powerlessness that often pervades our culture. Drawing on diverse literatures, we explore theoretical reasons for using service-learning and illustrate its usefulness in speech communication basic course. Our discussion is organized around two key themes: (a) connection of self …

Special Forum On The Philosophy Of Teaching Education As Communication: The Pragmatist Tradition, Chad Edwards, Gregory J. Shepherd

Basic Communication Course Annual

We take the basic course in communication to be a site where associated living is experienced, and where individuals practice the democratic art of referencing and articulating their own behaviors and beliefs to those of others. This democratic practice is associated living is, as American pragmatist and educational philosopher John Dewey insisted, communication itself -- "conjoint communicated experience." In this essay, we provide an overview of this pragmatist educational metaphysic and discuss a few consequences of metaphysical beliefs about education.