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2005

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Presuppositions In Moral Education Discourse: Developing An Analytic Framework And Applying It To Moral Education Traditions, Maria Sciaino Jan 2005

Presuppositions In Moral Education Discourse: Developing An Analytic Framework And Applying It To Moral Education Traditions, Maria Sciaino

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Moral education is ever more important in our schools today, but the various moral education traditions make it difficult to decide which tradition best serves our purpose and population. This dissertation develops and uses an original analytic framework to narrow the choices of moral education curricula. The analytic framework introduced presuppositions that expounded upon one's center of value or source of moral authority, the nature of people and their capacity for rational thought, the nature of society, the time orientation of tradition, and the resulting morality in action. The analytic framework was then applied to ten notable traditions: Catholic religious …

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Preparing Teachers To Partner With Families, Mary Senne Jan 2005

Preparing Teachers To Partner With Families, Mary Senne

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Decades of research have demonstrated that family involvement significantly contributes to improved student outcomes relating to learning and overall school success. Teachers must be prepared to promote effective family involvement in the education of all children including those students with disabilities. Many factors can be attributed to successful outcomes for a student with a disability both in the school and the broader community. Families of children with disabilities can be one of these significant factors, yet teachers and those who prepare teachers are often ill prepared and lack essential skills and basic knowledge about the process of partnering with families …

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The Influence Of Past Abuse On Heterosexual Cohabiting Couples' Relationship Types, Page Thanasiu Jan 2005

The Influence Of Past Abuse On Heterosexual Cohabiting Couples' Relationship Types, Page Thanasiu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the influence of past witnessed or experienced abuse on heterosexual cohabiting couples' Premarital Personal and Relationship Evaluation for Cohabiting Couples (PREPARE-CC) couple relationship types. The researcher utilized preexisting data from 5,000 cohabiting couples who had previously participated in the PREPARE marriage preparation program and had completed the PREPARE-CC inventory including a demographic section that elicited information about past abuse. Discriminant analysis was conducted in SPSS to answer the question of whether the presence of past witnessed or experienced abuse could successfully predict relationship type among cohabiting couples. Results of the discriminant analysis yielded no significant ability to …

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Integrating Journal Writing With Inquiry Based Science Instruction In A Second Grade Classroom, Lauren Zissman Jan 2005

Integrating Journal Writing With Inquiry Based Science Instruction In A Second Grade Classroom, Lauren Zissman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This action research study investigated the effects of using science journals to promote science writing and to investigate changes in student attitudes in a second grade inquiry-based science class. This was an action research study in which qualitative and quantitative data was collected. The data was collected using science journals, pre and post inventories, field notes, teacher observations, videotaped science inquiry lessons, and surveys. The students demonstrated a true fondness for journal writing and expressed interest in continued use. After concluding this action research study, I better understand the benefits of utilizing journal writing to enhance my teaching of the …

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An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Job Satisfaction, Organizational Culture, And Perceived Leadership Characteristics, William Omer Dale Amburgey Jan 2005

An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Job Satisfaction, Organizational Culture, And Perceived Leadership Characteristics, William Omer Dale Amburgey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this study were to determine if (a) there is a relationship between job satisfaction, organizational culture, and perceived leadership characteristics at a dual-residential private university based on location, gender, level of education, and length of employment and, (b) to measure those relationships if they were present. Understanding how these areas relate may enhance strategic planning and personnel decisions for leaders within organizations. The population of this study was the 1,478 full-time faculty and staff located on the residential campuses of the participating university. Participants in the study were asked to complete three test instruments: an Employee Demographic …

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Democratic Voices Speaking Loudly: Does Public Participation Yield Accountability In Special Purpose Governments?, Owen M. Beitsch Jan 2005

Democratic Voices Speaking Loudly: Does Public Participation Yield Accountability In Special Purpose Governments?, Owen M. Beitsch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The American system of governance includes a network of state and local units identified as either general purpose or special purpose governments. The latter are often aligned with, but operate independently of, general purpose governments. Even as these special purpose or special district governments have shown extraordinary growth relative to their general purpose counterparts, there has been little interest in them or the structural characteristics that distinguish their systems for maintaining order and assuring accountable behaviors. In the meanwhile, the literature regarding accountability has been expanded materially in the last several years leading to debates about its form, component parts, …

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Regional Readiness For Intelligence Information Sharing To Support Homeland Security, Christine Genet Kemp Jan 2005

Regional Readiness For Intelligence Information Sharing To Support Homeland Security, Christine Genet Kemp

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Markle Task Force on National Security in the Information Age was created to produce recommendations on how to best leverage intelligence and information to improve security without compromising existing civil liberties. Their second report proposed that the government set up an information-sharing network using currently available technology to improve our ability to prevent terrorist attacks, while protecting civil liberties. The Markle recommendations have been incorporated into the recent Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. The proposition is that the Markle task force recommendations are sufficient to achieve the required data integration in the United States. To affirm …

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An Inquiry Into Discourse Choices As Indicators Of Gender Attitudes In A Non-Profit Conservative Christian Business, Dawn Marie Kruger Jan 2005

An Inquiry Into Discourse Choices As Indicators Of Gender Attitudes In A Non-Profit Conservative Christian Business, Dawn Marie Kruger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper is an inquiry into the discourse styles of men and women who work together in a conservative Protestant Christian business. Many conservative Protestant Christian churches teach that the Bible forbids women from holding positions of authority over men. Yet in the communications department of this particular business, women fill the top three management positions, supervising a mixed-gender staff of 15. Research has shown that men and women subconsciously use language markers that indicate personal attitudes toward the same and the opposite genders. This research project draws on that information while it analyzes the oral and electronic discourse of …

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Perceptions Of Teachers And Administrators Of The Organizational Supports For Inclusion Programs In Southwest Florida Elementary Schools, Brian Douglas Moore Jan 2005

Perceptions Of Teachers And Administrators Of The Organizational Supports For Inclusion Programs In Southwest Florida Elementary Schools, Brian Douglas Moore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The success of exceptional student education, although dependent upon the teachers involved, is largely made possible both by the role the school principal performs and the organizational support provided by the school district. The primary purpose of this study was to identify the sources and components of organizational support required to implement the inclusion of students with disabilities into general education classrooms. The provision of resources by administrators, particularly the building principal, is an example of an organizational support that helps students with disabilities learn successfully in this setting. These resources include funding, special curricula, adaptive technology, organizational resources such …

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Relationship Between Supervisor Locus Of Control And Employee Satisfaction In A Residential Care Facility, Patricia Chene Nowotniak Jan 2005

Relationship Between Supervisor Locus Of Control And Employee Satisfaction In A Residential Care Facility, Patricia Chene Nowotniak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research was to identify factors that may contribute to employee satisfaction. Review of the literature revealed potential factors influencing employee satisfaction, such as locus of control, difficulty of the work itself, and working conditions. These literature findings guided this research, to establish if a relationship existed between employee satisfaction of caregivers employed in a developmental institution and locus of control. Supervisors and their employees were given a locus of control scale; employees were additionally given a job satisfaction survey. The relationship between the supervisors' locus of control and employee satisfaction was evaluated as well as the …

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Reliability Of The Concensus Auditory-Perceptual Evaluation Of Voice On Pediatric Voices With Trained And Untrained Listeners, Teresa Elizabeth Pitts Jan 2005

Reliability Of The Concensus Auditory-Perceptual Evaluation Of Voice On Pediatric Voices With Trained And Untrained Listeners, Teresa Elizabeth Pitts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Rating scales are commonly used to study voice quality. The purpose of this study was to examine inter-rater reliability/agreement of graduate student clinicians with differing levels of experience in rating voice perception. The Consensus Auditory Perception Evaluation of Voice (CAPE-V) was used to asses 1.) overall severity, 2.) roughness, 3.) breathiness, 4.) strain, 5.) pitch and 6.) loudness from a sample of pediatric voices. Twenty-four graduate clinicians who had completed a graduate level course in voice disorders participated in the study. Twelve of the participants were randomly selected to complete a perceptual training course prior to the evaluation session. Voice …

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The Effects Of Discourse And Journal Writing On Students' Attitudes Towards Mathematics In A Fifth Grade Classroom: An Action Research Study, Anna Rose Jan 2005

The Effects Of Discourse And Journal Writing On Students' Attitudes Towards Mathematics In A Fifth Grade Classroom: An Action Research Study, Anna Rose

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate how my use of discourse and journal writing affected students' attitudes and conceptions of mathematics in a 5th grade mathematics classroom. The nature of students' strengths and weaknesses with mathematics using discourse and journal writing were described. To show students' attitudes towards the two teaching methods transcription of teacher and student discourse on digital audio recordings, observational notes, journal writing, and pre and post attitude surveys were used. The research approach was qualitative and quantitative. The participants in this twelve-week study were twenty fifth grade students from a private school in central …

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Affective Design In Technical Communication, Michael Alan Rosen Jan 2005

Affective Design In Technical Communication, Michael Alan Rosen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Traditional human-computer interaction (HCI) is based on 'cold' models of user cognition; that is, models of users as purely rational beings based on the information processing metaphor; however, an emerging perspective suggests that for the field of HCI to mature, its practitioners must adopt models of users that consider broader human needs and capabilities. Affective design is an umbrella term for research and practice being conducted in diverse domains, all with the common thread of integrating emotional aspects of use into the creation of information products. This thesis provides a review of the current state of the art in affective …

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An Investigation Of High School Geometry Students Proving And Logical Thinking Abilities And The Impact Of Dynamic Geometry Software On Student Performance, Lalitha Subramanian Jan 2005

An Investigation Of High School Geometry Students Proving And Logical Thinking Abilities And The Impact Of Dynamic Geometry Software On Student Performance, Lalitha Subramanian

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate (a) the role of a yearlong geometry course on high school geometry students' logical thinking and proof construction abilities, (b) the linkage between students' logical thinking and proof construction abilities, and (c) the impact of dynamic geometry software on students' performance. In addition, this study also ventured to determine if the type of geometry course had any impact on students' logical thinking and proof construction achievement. The sample for the study consisted of 1,325 high school geometry students enrolled in regular, honors, and mastery courses in four high schools from the school …

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Inclusion Of Students With Disabilities: An International Perspective, Jeanette Amayo Jan 2005

Inclusion Of Students With Disabilities: An International Perspective, Jeanette Amayo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the inclusion of students worldwide. Because the language barrier would impede the gathering of the necessary research, this study was delimited to only those English-speaking countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. The researcher examined many aspects of the education of students with disabilities in each country and how that attributed to the extent in which students with disabilities were being educated in the regular classroom. First, the researcher analyzed the legislation regarding students with disabilities, especially those directives that called for the Inclusion of …

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The Effects Of A Project-Based Mathematics Curriculum On Middle School Students' Intended Career Paths Related To Science, Technology, Engineering And Mathematics, Barbara Clanton Jan 2005

The Effects Of A Project-Based Mathematics Curriculum On Middle School Students' Intended Career Paths Related To Science, Technology, Engineering And Mathematics, Barbara Clanton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study is an examination of whether a project-based mathematics curriculum would influence students' intended career paths related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) endeavors; perceived usefulness of mathematics; and perceived competence in doing mathematics. A review of the literature revealed that there are many shortages of professionals in STEM fields. United States women and men are not pursuing STEM endeavors in great numbers and the U.S. relies heavily on international students to fill this gap. The literature revealed that the girls who do not pursue STEM endeavors in great numbers do not perceive mathematics as a useful endeavor …

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A Dialectical Methodology For Decision Support Systems Design, Wafa Elgarah Jan 2005

A Dialectical Methodology For Decision Support Systems Design, Wafa Elgarah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As organizations continue to grow in size, reaching global proportions, they have ever increasing impacts on their environments. Some believe that a much broader array of concerns should be brought into organizational decision-making processes, including greater consideration of social, political, ethical and aesthetic factors (Mitroff and Linstone, 1993; Courtney, 2001). Decision environments such as these are decidedly "wicked" (Rittel and Webber, 1973). Designing decision support systems in such environments where there is a high level of interconnectedness, issues are overlapping and a multiplicity of stakeholders is involved, is a very complex task. In this dissertation a methodology for the development …

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The Maintenance Of Ethnic Culture And Manifestations Of Ethnic Identity In The Life Stories Of Finnish Immigrants, Minna Grantham Jan 2005

The Maintenance Of Ethnic Culture And Manifestations Of Ethnic Identity In The Life Stories Of Finnish Immigrants, Minna Grantham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined whether Finnish immigrants show evidence of assimilation or if they have maintained their ethnic culture in the United States. More specifically, the purpose was to examine how the ethnic culture has been maintained and the ways that ethnic identity manifests itself in their life stories. Ten qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with Finnish immigrants and children of Finnish immigrants, and emerging themes were identified in the data. The results indicate a strong ethnic identity among Finnish immigrants, yet it appears to be a very much taken for granted experience for them. The immigrants' lives were influenced by …

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Collective Teacher Efficacy And Reading Achievement For Hispanic Students In Reading First And Non-Reading First Schools In Southwest Florida, Larry Hylemon Jan 2005

Collective Teacher Efficacy And Reading Achievement For Hispanic Students In Reading First And Non-Reading First Schools In Southwest Florida, Larry Hylemon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined explicit and systematic reading instruction for Hispanic, limited English, lower SES students in a southwest Florida school district. Additionally, collective teacher efficacy was assessed to determine if differences existed between a Reading First and a non-Reading First school. A total of 68 students participated in the study and were divided equally between a Reading First and non-Reading First school. While the Reading First school concentrated resources on grades 2 and 3, all students received some degree of Reading First strategies. Available reading measures for analyses at the time of the study included the Group Reading Assessment and …

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Liquid Crystal Optics For Communications, Signal Processing And 3-D Microscopic Imaging, Sajjad Khan Jan 2005

Liquid Crystal Optics For Communications, Signal Processing And 3-D Microscopic Imaging, Sajjad Khan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation proposes, studies and experimentally demonstrates novel liquid crystal (LC) optics to solve challenging problems in RF and photonic signal processing, freespace and fiber optic communications and microscopic imaging. These include free-space optical scanners for military and optical wireless applications, variable fiber-optic attenuators for optical communications, photonic control techniques for phased array antennas and radar, and 3-D microscopic imaging. At the heart of the applications demonstrated in this thesis are LC devices that are non-pixelated and can be controlled either electrically or optically. Instead of the typical pixel-by-pixel control as is custom in LC devices, the phase profile across …

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Investigation Of The Outcomes Of Delivering Training To Spanish Speakers In Standard Spanish Versus Their Native Dialect, Mary Kosarzycki Jan 2005

Investigation Of The Outcomes Of Delivering Training To Spanish Speakers In Standard Spanish Versus Their Native Dialect, Mary Kosarzycki

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study explored the outcomes of delivering training to Spanish speakers in either their native dialect or in Standard Spanish in the context of a self-running, narrated PowerPoint presentation on a health topic, "The Importance of Vaccinations." The training outcomes that were examined included learning scores; attitudes toward the training; and attitudes toward employment with organizations that employed the same or different dialect-speaking employees, supervisors, and trainers. In addition to examining the effects of ethnicity upon outcomes, this study also examined the effect of age, education level, time in the U.S., and familiarity with the locally dominant subgroup's dialect. …

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An Examination Of Best Practices In Retention In The Associate Degree Nursing Programin The Florida Community College System, Mary Lewis Jan 2005

An Examination Of Best Practices In Retention In The Associate Degree Nursing Programin The Florida Community College System, Mary Lewis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This mixed-methods research examined student nurse retention methods perceived as best practice by directors and coordinators in selected Associate Degree Nursing (AND) programs within the Florida Community College System (FCCS). A critical nursing shortage is expected to worsen over the next twenty years due to the aging workforce and the inadequate supply of qualified nurse graduates. The Associate degree nursing programs supply the majority of nursing graduates to the workforce. Thus, the associate degree nursing programs and student retention measures were studied. The research was conducted using a Delphi survey of directors of nursing in ADN programs within the FCCS. …

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Transformational Leadership Qualities Of Florida Community College Student Government Advisors, Thomas Rath Jan 2005

Transformational Leadership Qualities Of Florida Community College Student Government Advisors, Thomas Rath

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

College student government organizations (SGOs) have the important responsibility for achievement of purposes that serve students and the college community. They are also the student voice in higher education governance. Effective student leadership is vital to the effective fulfillment of these purposes, as is the role of the student government advisor in ensuring the success of student leadership and leadership development. Transformational leadership (Bass, 1985) is seen as a way of reaching higher levels of leadership effectiveness and organizational performance, and it has been advanced for use in SGOs. This study examined the extent to which community college student government …

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Developing Technical Communication Pedagogy For Nonnative Technical Graduate Students, David Sepulveda Jan 2005

Developing Technical Communication Pedagogy For Nonnative Technical Graduate Students, David Sepulveda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis seeks to develop a pedagogy for teaching academic writing to nonnative graduate students of technical disciplines in order to give them the skills they need to write papers that they can submit to academic journals and conferences, thereby advancing their careers and gaining recognition for their academic institutions. The work draws on research from the fields of technical communication and second-language acquisition in order to develop pedagogical principles for a class in which nonnative technical graduate students write an academic paper that they can submit for publication. The thesis proposes an approach that incorporates content-based instruction, certain plain …

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A Comparison Of The Leadership Roles Of Public And Private Elementary School Principals, Caron Staples Jan 2005

A Comparison Of The Leadership Roles Of Public And Private Elementary School Principals, Caron Staples

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Public school principals' role requirements have undergone changes during standards-based reform and accountability (Copland, 2001; Daresh, 1998; Jones, 1999; Lashway, 2003a). This study was designed to identify the leadership role focus and behaviors of public school principals who were attempting to meet the challenges of this movement and to provide valuable information about the effects of accountability reforms on school leadership. Public school principals were subject to the mandated policy initiatives associated with the accountability movement. Private school principals, or lower school heads, were not subject to these federal and state policy reforms. The leadership role and behaviors of public …

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The Effects Of Looping On Student Achievement And Self-Efficacy Of Exceptional Education Students, Marybeth Thomas Jan 2005

The Effects Of Looping On Student Achievement And Self-Efficacy Of Exceptional Education Students, Marybeth Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of the current study was to examine the effects of looping on academic achievement and self-efficacy for Exceptional Student Education (ESE) students. The basic design of this study was causal comparative, or ex post facto, because the researcher was seeking to identify a difference in achievement based on developmental scale scores between the two groups of looping and non-looping students with ESE classifications. A retrospective causal comparative study was chosen because the researcher began with a potential cause, looping, and studied the potential effects on achievement and self efficacy. The hypotheses were that the experimental group would outperform …

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The Relationship Between School Culture And Student Achievement In Middle Schools, Karen Vislocky Jan 2005

The Relationship Between School Culture And Student Achievement In Middle Schools, Karen Vislocky

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was developed to produce data about the cultures of selected Florida middle schools. The research was intended to contribute to the existing body of knowledge on collaboration, collegiality, and self-determination/efficacy as related to student achievement. The focus for this study was provided through three research questions: (a) to determine to what extent middle schools scoring in the top half and the bottom half on the modified version of Wagner and Masden-Copas' School Culture Triage Survey differed on various demographic elements; (b) to determine what differences, if any, existed between the cultures of the selected Florida middle schools and …

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A Probe Into Learning Approaches And Attitudes Towards Technology-Enhanced Language Learning (Tell) In Chinese Instruction, Rong Yuan Jan 2005

A Probe Into Learning Approaches And Attitudes Towards Technology-Enhanced Language Learning (Tell) In Chinese Instruction, Rong Yuan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative research, carried out at the military environment at the Defense Language Institute investigated whether learning approaches could predict learners' language proficiency and learners' attitude towards technology-enhanced language learning (TELL). In addition, it also examined whether learners' demographic factors, such as age, educational backgrounds, prior experience in foreign language learning and in TELL as well as their ability to use PC and the World Wide Web could predict the above mentioned language proficiency and attitude. A cluster sampling method was adopted and data was collected in four Chinese departments at the institute. Both the learning approaches inventory ASSIST and …

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Configuration Methodology For Traffic-Responsive Plan Selection: A Global Perspective, Montasir M. Abbas, Nadeem A. Chaudhary, Geza Pesti, Anuj Sharma Jan 2005

Configuration Methodology For Traffic-Responsive Plan Selection: A Global Perspective, Montasir M. Abbas, Nadeem A. Chaudhary, Geza Pesti, Anuj Sharma

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Although several studies have shown the potential great benefits of traffic-responsive plan selection (TRPS) control, time-of-day operation continues to be the primary method used to select patterns for signal control applications. This practice could be largely attributed to the minimal guidelines available on the setup of the TRPS mode. An innovative framework for TRPS system setup is provided, and guidelines for implementing TRPS in a simplified manner are shown. The guidelines, developed at Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), use a comprehensive approach that incorporates a multiobjective evolutionary algorithm and a supervised discriminant analysis. Engineers can directly implement the guidelines presented as …

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International Writing Centers Association Information Jan 2005

International Writing Centers Association Information

The Writing Center Journal

No abstract provided.

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