Digital Commons Network^™

Teacher Perspectives On The Effect Of The Florida Public Accountability System On The Middle School Classroom, Helen Roberts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The Florida Public Accountability System and the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, FCAT, have been in use since 1996. Since that time, schools have received grades, rewards and sanctions for performance, promotion requirements have changed, and the results of the FCAT are published annually for public scrutiny. With testing required in grades 3 through 11, middle schools (grades 6--8) must test all the students in their schools. A literature review revealed that, although achievement studies, drop out studies, and other data had been analyzed, little research focused on the impact of the FCAT from the perspective of the classroom teacher. This …

Theoretical And Experimental Studies Of Multisensory Integration As A Coupled Dynamical System, Collins G. Assisi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Perception and behavior are mediated by a widely distributed network of brain areas. Our main concern is, how do the components of the network interact in order to give us a variety of complex coordinated behavior? We first define the nodes of the network, termed functional units, as a strongly coupled ensemble of non-identical neurons and demonstrate that the dynamics of such an ensemble may be approximated by a low dimensional set of equations. The dynamics is studied in two different contexts, sensorimotor coordination and multisensory integration. First, we treat movement coupled to the environment as a driven functional unit. …

Towards Reading Line Profiles Of Bardeen-Petterson Accretion Disks, Eric P. Vandernoot

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Images of highly idealized Bardeen-Petterson accretion disks around Kerr black holes and their generated energy spectra line profiles are created via computer simulations in this work. The line profiles are examined in the relation to the original disk parameters to demonstrate that Bardeen-Petterson disks can be the source of the spectra we observe, even of actual systems. The challenges in computer programming the simulations and methods to overcome the challenges are discussed in the paper. Also discussed are the future work, improvements and intentions for the simulations. Finally, the discussion turns to the usage of indicators in these line profiles …

Using The Braden Scale To Predict Heel Pressure Ulcer Development In Hospitalized Patients With Peripheral Arterial Disease, Charlene A. Demers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The purpose of this descriptive, correlational study was to attempt to determine if the Braden Scale predicts heel pressure ulcer development in hospitalized patients with peripheral vascular disease. A retrospective chart review was conducted on 235 medical records of patients admitted to the hospital with a primary and secondary diagnosis of peripheral vascular disease. One hundred thirty-two of the records reviewed were excluded from the study due to a confounding diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. Of the 103 medical records that met criteria, only three patients developed a heel pressure ulcer. All patients were white and over the age of 80. …

Un-Resistive Reproduction? Medical Hegemony, Pregnancy, And Reality Television, Serena R. Bruno

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

A new trend of unscripted, reality television programming chronicling the real-life childbirth experiences of American women and families has gained considerable ground in recent years. These programs, especially Discovery Health's BirthDay and The Learning Channel's A Baby Story, record, edit and broadcast the prenatal, childbirth, and postnatal health care of "everyday" women volunteers, including their physical, social, and emotional concerns. This research study focuses attention on the authoritative, technological and therefore, medically hegemonic perspective of this type of programming, illuminating through content, textual, focus group, and survey analyses the abundance of medically hegemonic meanings in both the discursive and visual …

Urinary Incontinence, 1850--1906: A Historiography, Barbara B. Phillips

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The purpose of this paper is to enable the reader to gain a truer understanding of the treatment of Urinary Incontinence over the past one hundred and fifty-five years. Specifically this work will compare medical and nursing interventions to those of the alternative medicine and lay or popular medicine practices. Grounded in historicism, the study produces a documentary effect allowing the reader to empathize with the healers of the past. The social context of the specific time frame was integrated into the study illuminating the Jacksonian and Progressive eras. In addition, the birth of professional nursing as we know it …

When We Hurt The Ones We Love: Predicting Violence Against Women From Men's Mate-Retention Behaviors, Aaron T. Goetz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Mate-retention behaviors are designed to solve several adaptive problems, such as deterring a partner's infidelity and preventing defection from the relationship. Although many mate-retention behaviors appear to be innocuous romantic gestures (e.g., giving flowers), some may be harbingers of violence. Here, the relationship between men's mate-retention and violence against women was investigated. In Study 1, men reported their use of mate-retention behaviors and violence in their relationships. Study 2 assessed women's reports of their partners' mate-retention behaviors and their partners' violence against them. Study 3 secured husbands' reports of their mate retention and wives' reports of their husbands' violence. As …

Women And Executive Office: Candidates, Campaigns, And Consequences, Alicia N. Jencik

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Although many nations have had a woman serve as president or prime minister, the United States has yet to come close to electing its first female president. Using profiles of the women who have pursued the presidency in the United States, as well as scholarly literature on women and executive politics, this study offers a comparative analysis of the factors impacting their campaigns and provides lessons from these trailblazing, but unsuccessful efforts that might prove to be relevant for future female candidates for the White House.

Xyz: A Scalable, Partially Centralized Lookup Service For Large-Scale Peer-To-Peer Systems, Jianying. Zhang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) systems are characterized by direct access between peer computers, rather than through a centralized server. File sharing is the dominant P2P application on the Internet, allowing users to easily contribute, search and obtain content. The objective of this thesis was to design XYZ, a partially centralized, scalable and self-organizing lookup service for wide area P2P systems. The XYZ system is based on distributed hash table (DHT). A unique ID and a color assigned to each node and each file. The author uses clustering method to create the system backbone by connecting the cluster heads together and uses color …

Validating The Search, Experience, And Credence Product Classification Framework In A Model Of Patronage Intentions, Tulay. Girard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Although the Internet as a shopping medium provides convenience to easily access products, the U.S. e-commerce retail sales still make up a very small percentage of the U.S. total retail sales. To better understand what influences consumers' choices to shop for products or services on the Internet versus local retail stores, this study tests the influence of antecedent factors of consumer patronage intentions for Internet and local retail stores. The study draws the antecedent factors from the extant literature, which include product classes, the importance consumers place on retailer attributes, and consumer perceived risk in product classes. Because the Internet …

Rites And Rights In Afghanistan: The Hazara And The 2004 Constitution, Justin Deystone

Publications

No abstract provided.

Executive Power And The Public Lands, Harold H. Bruff

Publications

No abstract provided.

A Property Rights Approach To Sacred Sites Cases: Asserting A Place For Indians As Nonowners, Kristen A. Carpenter

Publications

Although the Free Exercise Clause prohibits governmental interference with religion, American Indians have been unsuccessful in challenging government actions that harm tribal sacred sites located on federal public lands. The First Amendment dimensions of these cases have been well studied by scholars, but this Article contends that it is also important to analyze them through a property law lens. Indeed, the Supreme Court has treated the federal government's ownership of public lands as a basis for denying Indian religious freedoms claims. This Article contends that such holdings rely on an "ownership model" of property law wherein the rights of the …

A New Framework: Post-Kyoto Energy And Environmental Security, Lakshman D. Guruswamy

Publications

In this article Professor Guruswamy advances an argument for new energy agreements that address the immense global environmental challenge presented by the increasing global energy demands of both the developed and developing world. Arguing that new energy accords are needed to meet this challenge, he identifies and describes the decidedly interdisciplinary knowledge base and analytics required to negotiate such international instruments. The construction of these knowledge bases call for scientific, engineering, technological, legal, social, economic and behavioral expertise. Professor Guruswamy identifies pragmatic steps--including a targeted research agenda--that will contribute to such an undertaking and begin the arduous process of addressing …

Sustainable Energy: A Preliminary Framework, Lakshman Guruswamy

Publications

No abstract provided.

Policing The Spectrum Commons, Philip J. Weiser, Dale N. Hatfield

Publications

One of the most contested questions in spectrum policy is whether bands of spectrum left as unlicensed will fall victim to the tragedy of the commons. Advocates of increased unlicensed spectrum often downplay what enforcement measures are necessary to minimize interference and to prevent the tragedy of the commons problem. Even imposing spectrum etiquette requirements in addition to the FCC's equipment certification program will fail to address this concern effectively, as the development of such measures - e.g., the requirement that devices listen before they talk - does not ensure that they will be followed. Indeed, if there are incentives …

Indigenous Peoples' Rights To Water Under International Norms, David H. Getches

Publications

In this article, Dean Getches examines the nature of international law as it relates to indigenous water rights and evaluates the kinds of claims that native peoples might assert when they are deprived of access to water. Around the world, indigenous peoples have experienced depletion or pollution of their traditional water sources caused by the uses made by dominant, non-native societies. As a result, native peoples' ability to perform water-dependent vocations like farming and fishing, and to perpetuate cultures and spiritual practices requiring water is limited. While a few countries recognize water rights of indigenous peoples in their domestic laws, …

International Environmental Law: 2005 Annual Report, Vail T. Thorne, Lakshman Guruswamy, Kevin L. Doran

Publications

No abstract provided.

Taking Miranda's Pulse, William T. Pizzi, Morris B. Hoffman

Publications

No abstract provided.

Moody Investing And The Supreme Court: Rethinking The Materiality Of Information And The Reasonableness Of Investors, Peter H. Huang

Publications

This Article critically analyzes the judicial decisions and reasoning of the United States Supreme Court and lower courts accepting certain defenses in securities fraud litigation. This Article develops how and why the core notions of materiality of information and the reasonable investor should be revised in light of recent empirical data, experimental evidence, and theoretical models of moody investing. This Article proposes modifying three recent developments in materiality doctrine to take into account moody investing. In particular, this Article argues that current judicial treatment of puffery is flawed because it neglects the power of puffery to alter moods. This Article …

Energy, Environment & Sustainable Development, Lakshman D. Guruswamy

Publications

No abstract provided.

The Hillmon Case, The Macguffin, And The Supreme Court, Marianne Wesson

Publications

The case of Mutual Life Insurance Company v. Hillmon is one of the most influential decisions in the law of evidence. Decided by the Supreme Court in 1892, it invented an exception to the hearsay rule for statements encompassing the intentions of the declarant. But this exception seems not to rest on any plausible theory of the categorical reliability of such statements. This article suggests that the case turned instead on the Court's understanding of the facts of the underlying dispute about the identity of a corpse. The author's investigations into newspaper archives and the original case documents point to …

Wagin-Woodanilling (Zone 5) : Catchment Appraisal 2005, K Ohlsen, T Schulz, T W. Mathwin, Gina Pemberton, Henry Brockman, J Firth, Mitchell Davies, Heather M. Percy

Resource management technical reports

The aim of this report is to assess the current extent of salinity and other natural resource degradation issues and provide landholders with the best current management options to address natural resource management issues and enhance sustainable agricultural production.

Lucerne - Is It For Me? - Workshop Development Guide For Facilitators, Richard O'Donnell

Agriculture reports

This workshop has been developed as part of the GRDC/NDSP-funded ?A Million Hectares for the Future? Project with support and input from key personnel from the Department of Agriculture, Western Australian (DAWA). Thank you also, to the farmers who participated in the pilot workshops, providing valuable feedback on structure and content.

Introduction To Salinity - Workshop Development Guide For Facilitator, T M. Lacey

Agriculture reports

Participants will be able to recognise landscape components on their farm, which are at risk of salinity (current, imminent or future) and will be aware of a range of available options available to them to managing this risk.

Lucerne Is It For Me? Participants Notes, Richard O'Donnell

Agriculture reports

Participants will be able to recognise landscape components on their farm, which are at risk of salinity (current, imminent or future) and will be aware of a range of available options available to them to managing this risk. This workshop has been developed as part of the GRDC/NDSP funded ?A Million Hectares for the Future? Project.

Guide To Growing Summer Grain & Forages In The South Coast Region, Western Australia, Andrea Hills, Sally-Anne Penny

Agriculture reports

Growing summer grain and forages in the south coast region of Western Australia. Information is included for sorghum, millet family, sunflowers, and safflower.

A Template Functional-Gage Design Using Parameter-File Table In Autodesk Inventor, Cheng Lin, Moustafa Moustafa

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

A systematic approach using Autodesk Inventor to design the functional gages of Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing (GD&T) is presented. The gages can be used to check straightness, angularity, perpendicularity, parallelism, and position tolerances of a part when geometric tolerances are specified with Maximum Material Condition (MMC). Four steps are proposed to accomplish the task: (1) creation of two-dimensional (2-D) initial template files, (2) generation of hierarchical folders for the template files, (3) creation a 3-D gage model from a specific template file, and (4) dimensioning and generation of the gage drawing. Results show that, by following this approach, students can …

Actor And Partner Effects Among Marital Dyads In Retirement Adjustment And Well-Being, Julie Guenette Howard

Dissertations and Theses

Our understanding of and interest in how retirement impacts the lives of individuals have grown over the past 20 years. Studies to date have ranged from small, convenience samples composed primarily of men to large, national longitudinal samples of men and women from different professional and socioeconomic backgrounds. There is consensus in the literature that older adults generally function better with a partner; however, gaps remain. We know little about the impact of retirement beyond the individual, although research in other areas on couples has produced evidence of crossover and contagion effects relative to depression and other outcomes, including absenteeism, …

Community Benchmarks: An Analysis Of Performance Measurements In Urban Planning Management, Susan Joan Daluddung

Dissertations and Theses

New public management practices in the U.S. call for governmental accountability, performance measures and benchmarks. Community benchmarks research provides a basis for current information and further research for planners and educators in the urban planning profession. A benchmark is simply a standard for performance or targeted level of service delivery aspired to by the city. Community benchmarks, as defined by the researcher, are tied to an adopted community plan. Community plans take many shapes including the General or Comprehensive Plan, the city's budget document, or a variety of strategic planning documents.

The intent of the study was to complete research …