Digital Commons Network^™

A Comparison Of The Perceived Leadership Characteristics Of Central Florida Middle And High School Principals And School Achievement Scores, Thomas Fisher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this inquiry was to examine the possible extent to which specific, identifiable leadership characteristics of Central Florida school principals differ between middle and high school administrators, and to examine if these leadership characteristics display a relationship, either positively or negatively, with the obtainment of student scores on state measures of education accountability (FCAT reading scores). Data from the research sample were collected through the administration of a modified version of the Audit of Principal Effectiveness (APE), a survey instrument developed by Dr. Jerry Valentine through the Middle Level Leadership Center at the University of Missouri-Columbia (Valentine & …

Investigating Economic Inequality And Voter Turnout In The Industrialized Democracies, Benjamin Freeman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper investigates economic inequality and voter turnout in a sample of 21 industrialized democracies using a pooled time series model of elections from 1970 to 1999. The findings demonstrate a connection between inequality and voter turnout wherein increases in inequality lead to reductions in voter turnout. The ramifications for democratic accountability and representative democracy are discussed.

Relationship Of Student Satisfaction Levels In Distance Learning And Traditional Classroom Environments At Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Unviersity, James Gallogly

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine (a) what differences, if any, exist between Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) students enrolled in distance learning and traditional courses during 2004 with regard to their satisfaction with course quality and (b) the level of satisfaction of distance learning students with regard to online delivery technology and administrative services provided to them in distance learning. Data were gathered using information from 400 distance learning undergraduate students using the Distance Learning Student Response Questionnaire (DLSRQ) and 400 traditional undergraduate students using the Student Survey Form (SSF). These students were enrolled in at least one …

Attainment Of Doctoral Degree For American Indian And Alaska Native Women, Rosalin Hanna

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) population is challenged with diverse learning styles, high-risk behaviors, low economic status, low enrollment predictions, lower total education achievement, or lower graduate level higher education. However, AI/AN doctoral degree recipients may be successful due to diverse sources of support. Data from 1992 to 2002 SED was analyzed using Chi square tests to observe the trends of the total number of AI/AN women receiving doctoral degree compared to trends to African-American/Black, Hispanic, Asian, White, Other / Unknown women doctoral degree recipients. A two-way contingency table analysis was conducted to compare the difference in the total number …

A Healthy Pregnancy Curriculum For Adolescent Mothers: Participants' Perceptions And Effects On Infants' Birth Weight, Rae Konjoian

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if there are differences in birth weight of infants, tobacco use during pregnancy, and Apgar scores of infants between pregnant adolescents who successfully complete a healthy pregnancy curriculum and those who do not and to further examine the adolescent mothers' perceptions of the major concepts included in a healthy pregnancy curriculum. The study involved the collection and analysis of retrospective data to determine differences in birth weight of infants, tobacco use during pregnancy, and Apgar scores of infants. Additionally, a questionnaire, focus group discussions, and follow-up interviews were conducted with former students …

A Study Of The Cost-Utility Of Outcomes Of Various Methods Of Increasing The Four-Year Graduation Rate In Osceola County Public Schools, Isaac Harold Berger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine which interventions were deemed to be effective at increasing the four-year graduation rate in Osceola District Schools. This had become a concern due to the fact that this rate had decreased in recent years, and may be utilized as a predictor of the dropout rate. The interventions were then prioritized according to Levin's cost-utility theory, so that the order of implementation could be prioritized. The study was conducted in January and February of 2005, and responses were elicited from 600 people. Students currently in Osceola District Schools high schools comprised 200 of …

Second Language Learners' Recognition Of Unknown Words, Chai-Wei Lin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent research has underscored the important role of second language (L2) vocabulary acquisition in the reading process. The present study examined how accurately eighteen learners of English as a Second Language (ESL) were able to identify unknown words within a reading passage. It is assumed that "noticing" unfamiliar words in a text plays an important role in being able to extract meaning from context, which may ultimately result in word learning; thus, whether or not learners are able to recognize unknown words as unknown is a key step in vocabulary learning. The design of this study was based on previous …

Bistro Girls, Vanessa Blakeslee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bistro Girls is an interconnected collection of short stories focusing on characters whose lives intertwine in the affluent Floridian town of Bellamy Park. In "Bistro Girls of Bellamy Park," a senior at a privileged college struggles to confront an old friend who has slipped into addiction. In "Bobby Blues," two women's stifling situations with live-in boyfriends give way to a small hope as Valerie casts aside her illusions and leaves to find a new apartment, temporarily freeing herself from the pattern of relying on a man. In these stories people wrestle with flawed concepts of personal identity that create outward …

What Do Physicians Want? Information Technology Acceptance And Usage By Healthcare Professionals, Virginia Ilie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study builds on the theory of planned behavior, institutional and innovation diffusion theories to investigate physicians' responses to introduction of electronic medical records (EMR) in large healthcare organizations. Using a case study methodology, we show that physicians' attitudes towards using EMR are influenced by their perceptions of EMR complexity, relative advantage, compatibility with professional beliefs and individual predisposition to change. Specifically, we found that EMR usability characteristics such as system interface, "navigation," "search" and "speed" are major dimensions underlying physicians' perceptions of EMR complexity. To the extent that navigating and searching for clinical results are seen as difficult, physicians' …

Self-Narratives For Christian Multicultural Educators: A Pathway To Understanding Self And Others, Heewon Chang

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

As cultural diversity increases in classrooms, it becomes imperative for teachers to gain multicultural competency so that they can provide effective instruction to diverse students. This paper argues that the development of multicultural competency should be solidly grounded on reflective, empathic, and critical understanding of one’s own culture as well as others. This cultural understanding, particularly from a Christian perspective, recognizes the connectivity of self and others in God. To enhance the cultural understanding, the author recommends studying self-narratives written by others and writing one’s own cultural autobiography. Keywords: cultural autobiography, self-narratives, self-reflection, multicultural teacher education, discourse of others.

An Inclusive Guide To Assessing Web Site Effectiveness, Janna Arney, Paul J. Lazarony

Management Faculty Publications

This study presents the results of a literature review of the well-established literatures on readability, usability, and Web design. The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive review of the literature on readability, usability, and Web design and to propose a three-step evaluation process to assess Web sites in each of these three areas. We recommend that this process be used to evaluate existing Web documents and those still in the design phase. This evaluation process can be utilized as an educational tool in a classroom setting. Using this process in a classroom provides students with much needed …

"Living Through" The Looking Glass, Rebecca E. Pennington

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

In Lewis Carroll’s (1871, 1992) well-known poem from Through the Looking Glass, “Jabberwocky”, nonsense words combine with known English words to create a whimsical effect appealing to readers of all ages. The words seem to gambol and dance in the ear as one imagines the valiant son with the bloody “vorpal sword” in one hand and the head of the monstrous Jabberwock in the other as he goes “galumphing” back to his father (Carroll,1871, 1992). Alice senses there is meaning in the poem but confesses that she cannot quite understand it. She exclaims, “‘Somehow it seems to fill my head …

Pluma Fronteriza: Newsletter Of Latino/Chicano(A) Writers Of The El Paso And Cd. Juárez Border Region, Utep Chicano Studies

Chicano Studies

Electronic newsletter of the Latino/Chicano(a) Writers of the El Paso and Cd. Juárez Border Region.

Effects Of Goal Interdependence And Social Identity On Departments And Their Relationships In China, Liyan Wang

Lingnan Theses

Synergy among departments is increasingly considered vital for organizations to use their full resources to deal with threats and explore opportunities in the rapidly changing marketplace. Although valuable, developing synergy among departments is a difficult management challenge.

Departments within organizations often have their own business goals, yet the coordination of these goals is a precondition for overall organizational effectiveness. The need for goal coordination makes departments interdependent (Thompson, 1967), but this interdependence may become particularly problematic when the different departmental goals are incompatible (St. John & Hall, 1991).

Because of the value of cooperative goals for coordination, managers want to …

Goal Interdependence And Leader-Member Relationship For Cross-Cultural Leadership In Foreign Ventures In China, Yi Feng, Nancy Chen

Lingnan Theses

This study empirically examines the impact of goal interdependence and leader-member relationship on cross-cultural leadership in joint ventures in China. Its two research questions are how to facilitate leader-member relationships between foreign managers and Chinese employees in joint ventures in China, and how foreign managers and Chinese employees can develop cooperative goals in Chinese contexts.

Four hypotheses were generated. Hypothesis 1 examined the effects of leader-member relationship between foreign managers and Chinese employees on cross-cultural leadership. Hypothesis 2 studied the impacts of different goal interdependence on the leader-member relationship between foreign managers and Chinese employees. Hypothesis 3 and 4 investigated …

New Media Reading Strategy, Cheryl E. Ball

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

This dissertation addresses the need for a strategy that will help readers new to new media texts interpret such texts. While scholars in multimodal and new media theory posit rubrics that offer ways to understand how designers use the materialities and media found in overtly designed, new media texts (see, e.g,, Wysocki, 2004a), these strategies do not account for how readers have to make meaning from those texts. In this dissertation, I discuss how these theories, such as Lev Manovich’s (2001) five principles for determining the new media potential of texts and Gunther Kress and Theo van Leeuwen’s (2001) four …

Through The Back Door : Melungeon Literacies And 21st Century Technologies, Katherine G. Vande Brake

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The Melungeons, a minority recognized in Southern Appalachia where they settled in the early 1800s, have mixed heritage—European, Mediterranean, Native American, and Sub-Saharan African. Their dark skin and distinctive features have marked them and been the cause of racial persecution both by custom and by law in Appalachia for two centuries. Their marginalization has led to an insider mentality, which I call a “literacy” of Melungeon-ness that affects every facet of their lives.

Just a century ago, while specialized practices such as farming, preserving food, hunting, gathering, and distilling insured survival in the unforgiving mountain environment, few Melungeons could read …

Rudolf Steiner And The Jewish Question, Peter Staudenmaier

History Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Beneficial Reuse And Sustainability: The Fate Of Organic Compounds In The Land-Applied Waste, M. R. Overcash, Ronald C. Sims, J. L. Sims, K. C. Nieman

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Land application systems, also referred to as beneficial reuse systems, are engineered systems that have defined and permitted application areas based on site and waste characteristics to determine the land area size requirement. These terrestrial systems have orders of magnitude greater microbial capability and residence time to achieve decomposition and assimilation compared with aquatic systems. In this paper we focus on current information and information needs related to terrestrial fate pathways in land treatment systems. Attention is given to conventional organic chemicals as well as new estrogenic and pharmaceutical chemicals of commerce. Specific terrestrial fate pathways addressed include: decomposition, bound …

Establishing An Entertainment Engineering Curriculum, Robert F. Boehm, Joe Aldridge, Brackley Frayer

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Research

A new, multidisciplinary program in Entertainment Engineering and Design is being established at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. The name of the program could be defined in a number of ways because few programs of this type exist and the field is so broad. Our emphasis is on the application of technology to enhance the entertainment value of live shows and rides. Steps being taken to establish this program are outlined, starting with an undergraduate minor and moving to an undergraduate major. The role of entertainment-based businesses in the development of this new program is also described.

Getting Your Name Out There: Traveling Acting Companies And Royal And Aristocratic Prestige In Tudor England, James H. Forse

Quidditas

Records published to date concerning early English drama suggest that in the first third of the sixteenth century touring activity by municipal, amateur acting companies exceeded that of royal and aristocratic troupes. But after about 1535, the religious, social, and economic policies of Henry VIII, and Edward VI, severely limited locally based performances. At the same time tours by royal acting troupes substantially increased. Yet of all the Tudors, it was Elizabeth who seems to have realized the potential of her acting troupe representing the monarch's presence throughout the kingdom. From the beginning of her reign the Queen’s Men appeared …

Front Matter

Quidditas

No abstract provided.

Building Zion: The Latter-Day Saint Legacy Of Urban Planning, Craig D. Galli

BYU Studies

As with the founding of Plymouth Colony, distinctive historical circumstances and theological beliefs converged to motivate early Latter-day Saint community builders. While the historic roots of Salt Lake City are well known to virtually every grade school student in Utah and to Church members around the world, aspects of our remarkable legacy of urban and transportation planning remain obscure. The physical design and community values underlying early attempts to build Zion provide useful perspective and inspiration as today's community leaders now grapple with managing urban growth along Utah's Wasatch Front (from Brigham City to Nephi and Grantsville to Kamas) and …

Lawson Edward Thomas And Miami's Negro Municipal Court, Ernesto A. Longa

Faculty Scholarship

Highlights Lawson Edward Thomas's career as a civil rights attorney and judge of Miami's apartheid municipal court (1950-1963).

Wet Water Law: New Mexico Style, G. Emlen Hall

Faculty Scholarship

Table of Contents for a course reader. v. 1. The nature of a New Mexico prior appropriation water right -- The attributes of new Mexico water rights -- Surface water and groundwater in New Mexico -- The State Engineer: an administered system -- Statutory adjudications -- New appropriations, transfers and sales of a New Mexico water right -- Emerging issues -- Water planning in New Mexico -- Constraints on the state law of prior appropriation -- v. 2. Emerging local issues -- Federal constraints on the state system -- Native American constraints on the state system -- Interstate water rights.

Treating Tribes Differently: Civil Jurisdiction Inside And Outside Indian Country, Max J. Minzner

Faculty Scholarship

This Article attempts to analyze why, in the current jurisdictional framework, tribes are treated differently from states but not differently from each other. This article analyzes the key assumptions underlying jurisdictional and choice of law analyses both inside and outside Indian Country. After a summary overview of current tribal court systems, this Article attempts to identify features of tribal courts that might indicate that they a) might disadvantage non-tribal litigants and b) are threatened by the incursion of concurrent state jurisdiction. The article points to one potential reason that the Court has assumed that all Indian tribes are alike, which …

Off-White In An Age Of White Supremacy: Mexican Elites And The Rights Of Indians And Blacks In Nineteenth-Century New Mexico, Laura Gomez

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Executive Power And The War On Terror, Norman C. Bay

Faculty Scholarship

Two important paradigm shifts have occurred in the war on terror. First, the United States has treated terrorism as a military issue, not a law enforcement problem. Second, the United States has centralized its intelligence apparatus under the direction of the newly-created Director of National Intelligence and lowered the wall that separated external security or foreign intelligence activity from internal security or domestic law enforcement. In tandem, these changes are of historic dimension. They also occur against a backdrop in modern times in which the executive branch has steadily accumulated power. In pursuit of the war on terror, we have …

Cover And Contents

Turkish Journal of Zoology

No abstract provided.

Cover And Contents

Turkish Journal of Zoology

No abstract provided.