Digital Commons Network^™

"I'Ve Got The Power!": Investigating Pre-Service Special Educators' Perceptions And Abilities To Teach Reading To Students With Disabilities", Tandria Milango Callins

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study, through a multiple case study approach, was designed to investigate how pre-service special educators were empowered to teach reading to students with disabilities during their final internship. A developmental-constructivism theoretical framework guided this study in order to examine how a teacher preparation program prepared a six-member cohort of pre-service special educators in the areas of efficacy, competency, and preparedness. Based on the principles of developmental-constructivism, the researcher investigated whether or not these pre-service special educators became more empowered in the areas of efficacy, competency, and preparedness through active-learning and hands-on opportunities.

The researcher employed a concurrent mixed-method design …

Exploring Women’S Complex Relationship With Political Violence: A Study Of The Weathermen, Radical Feminism And The New Left, Lindsey Blake Churchill

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis I use the radical, pro-violent organization the Weathermen as a framework to examine women and feminisms complex relationships with violence. My thesis attempts to show the many belief systems that second wave feminists possessed concerning the role(s) of women and violence in revolutionary organizations. Hence, by using the Weathermen as a framework, I discuss various feminist essentialist and pacifist critiques of violence. I also include an analysis of feminists who, similar to the Weathermen, embraced political violence. For example, radical feminists Robin Morgan and Jane Alpert criticized the Weathermen's violent tactics while other feminists such as Ti-Grace …

The Effects First Language Use Phonological Difficulty Perception Foreign Accented Speech, Astrid Zerla Doty

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Listener perception of accentedness has been shown to be influenced by experience with L2 (measured by length of residence in US). However, frequency of L1 use and degree of phonological difficulty (defined by the number of non-native phonetic features targeted) may provide more insight into the role of experience in the perception of accentedness.

Three groups of listeners (monolingual English and Spanish [L1] speakers divided into two groups of high and low use of English [L2]) rated the accentedness of bilingual speakers who spoke with varying degrees of accentedness. The speakers read sentences adapted from Magan (1998) to include phonological …

Immigrant Vulnerability In High-Risk Industry: A Socio-Occupational Examination Of Counties With Large Meatpacking Plants In Iowa And Nebraska, Mary Patricia Everist

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The decade of 1990-2000 saw a 53 percent increase in the number of Hispanics to 35.3 million, 20.6 million whom are of Mexican origin, signifying the fastest growing cohort in the U.S. today. This decade has also seen a surge in Hispanic migration to the Midwest region, particularly to communities with large meatpacking plants (LMPPs). Although overall literary consensus underscores the fact that this educationally disadvantaged ethnic group is over-represented in service and labor-based industries, few attempts have been made to empirically link the ir growing participation in high-risk industries like meatpacking with socioeconomic and occupational indicators of immigrant vulnerability. …

Oral/Written Contrast Of Mental State References In Older Children, Jeanne E. Federico

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine differences in the use of mental state references by typically developing 9- and 11-year-old children. Following a priming task that emphasized distinctions between physical and mental acts, children watched an 11- minute textless video and then were asked to generate an oral and a written story that focused on the mental states of the multiple characters. Narratives were transcribed, and all mental state references were classified into motivational, experiential, and belief categories. Specific mental state references were also analyzed to determine levels of semantic complexity. The study attempted to answer: 1) whether …

Negotiating Artistic Identity Through Satire: Subreal 1989-1999, Anca Izabel Galliera

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this research study is on major art works produced during the nineteen-nineties by the Romanian collective subREAL, composed of Calin Dan and Josif Kiraly. The thesis is an alternative to the literal-minded and politically biased Western view typified in two major exhibitions of art from Eastern Europe: Beyond Belief: Contemporary Art from East Central Europe (Chicago, 1995) and After the Wall: Art and Culture in Post-Communist Europe (Sweden, 1999). Both exhibitions presented Post-Communist nations as a monolithic bloc, in which art was primarily a passive reflection of political and social events. It will be demonstrated that …

Reliability Of Hand Measures Of Ultrasound Analysis, Sarah A. Hardin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As ultrasound imaging gains popularity in speech research, an important question to address is the reliability of the measures taken from these images. This study examines the reliability of hand measures of ultrasound data collected by graduate student researchers in the University of South Florida’s speech science lab. Speech production data from “Ultrasound analysis of velar fronting” (Wodzinski, 2004) and “Ultrasound study of errors in speech production” (Frisch, 2003) were used to obtain inter-rater reliability measures. This study compares the rater’s choice of video frame depicting alveolar or velar closure image, anterior and posterior points of closure, tongue blade and …

The Effects Of An Internet-Based Program On The Early Reading And Oral Language Skills Of At-Risk Preschool Students And Their Teachers’ Perceptions Of The Program, Mary Huffstetter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This investigation examined the effects of instruction, within the context of the Headsprout Reading Basics program, on the oral language and early reading skills of atrisk preschool students, and their teachers’ perceptions of the program. Random assignment was used in a pretest-posttest, control group design to assess the effects of this program. Thirty-one students, across two preschool settings, participated in the experimental group, and 31 students participated in the comparison group. The experimental group received instruction through the Headsprout Reading Basics program, which teaches the alphabetic principle, decoding strategies, print awareness, vocabulary, and deriving meaning from texts. The comparison group …

Lessons Learned About Boys’ And Girls’ Mathematical Problem Solving: The Solution Processes, Performance, Linguistic Explanations, Self-Efficacy, And Self-Assessment Of Fifth-Grade Students Of Varying Reading And Mathematics Abilities, Patricia D. Hunsader

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this non-experimental, causal-comparative study was to examine how gender, reading ability, and mathematics ability differentially moderated students’ mathematical problem-solving processes, linguistic explanations of those solution processes, achievement on a mathematical problem-solving test, self-efficacy on a self-reported rating scale, and selfassessment on a self-reported rating scale. The investigation addressed five research questions. First, to what extent are students’ mathematical problemsolving processes related to gender? Second, to what extent is children’s performance in mathematical problem solving related to gender, reading ability, and mathematics ability? Third, to what extent is the quality of students’ linguistic explanations of their problem-solving processes …

The "Comity" Of Empagran: The Supreme Court Decides That Foreign Competition Regulation Limits American Antitrust Jurisdiction Over International Cartels, Sam Halabi

Articles, Chapters in Books and Other Contributions to Scholarly Works

In 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that the amorphous doctrine of "comity between nations" limited the reach of U.S. antitrust laws where an international cartel had a direct, substantial and foreseeable effect on U.S. commerce (as the statute provided) but where damages were suffered in foreign markets only. The Article challenges the reasoning of the majority, arguing that so limiting the reach of the antitrust laws is not only inconsistent with the statute's intent, but ultimately removes an important source of cartel deterrent.

Japanese Accent Placement On Four-Mora Loanwords, Atsuko Yamura

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

"Is There A Translator In Teh [Sic] House?": Cultural And Discourse Analysis Of A Virtual Speech Community On An Internet Message Board, Tracy Rene Leblanc

LSU Master's Theses

In the newly emergent field of online ethnography, netspeak and online behavior are quickly becoming the next frontier of linguistic anthropology. The discourse analysis and cultural investigation of the virtual speech community of Penismightier.com reveal several salient aspects of culture through the lens of the internet and online human behavior. This thesis focuses on aspects of language use in the discourse on message board threads on the Penismightier website. The Pen speech community has innovated a lexicon of original and modified techie language, such as unique emoticons and alpha-numeric orthography. The orthographic innovations of this virtual speech community blur the …

The Influence Of Solo Performance Opportunities On Self-Reported Levels Of Musical Performance Anxiety Among Undergraduate College Music Majors, Carol W. Larsen

LSU Master's Theses

Musical performance anxiety (MPA) is a concern for most college age musicians. While low to moderate levels of MPA may enhance performances for some musicians, too much “stage fright” can seriously hinder the quality of solo performances. Musicians use several techniques to manage MPA. One of these, desensitization, involves repeated exposure to solo performance opportunities. The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship existed between the number and type of public solo performances completed and the level of self-reported performance anxiety among students pursuing baccalaureate degrees in music at a research extensive university in the southern United …

The Economics Of Neutrality: Switzerland And The United States In World War Ii, Matthew Schandler

LSU Master's Theses

The following study addresses the contentious issue of Swiss economic policy during the Second World War. In particular, it concentrates on the deterioration of Swiss-American relations that resulted from Switzerland’s economic ties to Nazi Germany. It is argued that Switzerland’s survival as a neutral and democratic country depended less on the defense preparations of the Swiss Army and more on the difficult trade negotiations with both the Axis and Allies. Varied sources that include American and Swiss governmental reports, diplomatic documents, and contemporary accounts of the war, support the argument that although moral considerations played a secondary role to economic …

Palimpsest Encounters: A Baseline Study Of Federal, Antebellum, And Postbellum New Orleans Gardens Using The Notarial Archives Drawings, Cecilia L. Mcnab

LSU Master's Theses

The focus of this thesis is to establish a basis for a typology of New Orleans gardens from 19th Century Notarial drawings. Previous inquires of the New Orleans Notarial Archives drawings emphasized elite gardens of the Vieux Carré and Garden District. This baseline study investigates both vernacular and elite gardens of 159 drawings in the three oldest of the city Municipal Districts during the period 1810-1880, and identifies 19 garden templates. It sets the drawings in their social, political, and historical context to inform a critical understanding of the garden types. The inquiry examines 47 spatial and design variables, using …

Language Learning Strategies Of Botswana Students : An Exploratory Study, Joel M. Magogwe

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The purpose of this research is to explore the learning strategies used by Botswana students acquiring English as a second language. It also examines whether the choice of strategies is affected by the factors of different age/level of education, proficiency and gender. The research also explores whether the students’ self-efficacy beliefs correlated with their use of language learning strategies. Specifically this research examined the types of strategies used by primary, secondary and tertiary students. It also examined the types of strategies used by the students deemed by their teachers to have good, fair or poor levels of English proficiency. The …

Investigating Information Management Weaknesses In A Local Government Organisation: A Critical Hermeneutic Ethnographic Case Study Of Internet Documents From Information Warfare And Legal Perspective(S), Edward E. Andre

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

In this thesis I develop an approach to analyse and interpret internet documents belonging to a particular organisation in a State of Australia. My intention in the research is to find ways to protect a local government organisation from litigation and other threats due to weaknesses in information management on the internet. Based on Gadamer's (1985) approach to the interpretation of text discourse, this thesis is a critical hermeneutic ethnographic case study of one local government organisation investigating internet docunents from information warfare and legal perspective(s).

A Study Of Intercultural Discourse Between Mainland Chinese Speakers Of English And Anglo-Australians, Leng Hui

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Intercultural communication between mainland Chinese speakers of English and Anglo-Australians is receiving ever-increasing attention in many fields. These fields include intercultural communication. English language teaching, education and business. This study approached the intercultural communication between mainland Chinese speakers of English and Anglo-Australians from a cognitive perspective by applying the theoretical framework of cultural linguistics. The intercultural discourse produced by mainland Chinese speakers of English in the context of them interacting with Anglo-Australians was analysed. The analysis was made by employing key concepts such as schemas, cultural schemas, discourse scenarios and discourse indexicals. A body of 39 audio-taped conversations between mainland …

Future Reasoning Machines: Mind And Body, Brian Duffy, Gregory O'Hare, John Bradley, Bianca Schoen-Phelan

Articles

In investing energy in developing reasoning machines of the future, one must abstract away from the specific solutions to specific problems and ask what are the fundamental research questions that should be addressed. This paper aims to revisit some fundamental perspectives and promote new approaches to reasoning machines and their associated form and function. Core aspects are discussed, namely the one-mind-many-bodies metaphor as introduced in the Agent Chameleon work. Within this metaphor the agent’s embodiment form may take many guises with the artificial mind or agent potentially exhibiting a nomadic existence opportunistically migrating between a myriad of instantiated embodiments. We …

An Assessment Of Case-Based Reasoning For Spam Filtering, Sarah Jane Delany, Padraig Cunningham, Lorcan Coyle

Articles

Because of the changing nature of spam, a spam filtering system that uses machine learning will need to be dynamic. This suggests that a case-based (memory-based) approach may work well. Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) is a lazy approach to machine learning where induction is delayed to run time. This means that the case base can be updated continuously and new training data is immediately available to the induction process. In this paper we present a detailed description of such a system called ECUE and evaluate design decisions concerning the case representation. We compare its performance with an alternative system that uses …

A Dynamic Simulation Assessment Of English As A Second Language Students' Academic Readiness: An Initial Validation Of A University Admissions Tool, S. "Sha" G. Balizet

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the measurement quality of the Content Learning Experience: Academic Readiness (CLEAR) test, a new measure for university admissions decisions regarding English as a Second Language (ESL) applicants. The CLEAR test measures ability through dynamic simulation: learning opportunities are followed by testing how well students learned the academic content, all modeled on university instructional experiences.

Measured by the CLEAR is academic readiness (AR), the direct, present evidence of ability to learn academic content via the second language as demonstrated during the dynamic simulation. AR is hypothesized to comprise above-threshold academic language proficiency, personal characteristics, topical knowledge, academic skills, …

Ecclesiology In Seventh-Day Adventist Theological Research, 1995-2004: A Brief Introduction And Bibliographical Guide, Gerald A. Klingbeil

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

No abstract provided.

"Our Struggle": Ecclesia Militans In Ephesians 6:10-20, John K. Mcvay

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

No abstract provided.

The Use Of The Septuagint In New Testament Research [Review] / R. Timothy Mclay., Teresa L. Reeve

Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)

No abstract provided.