Digital Commons Network^™

Impact On Open Source Software Performance: A View From Social Structure, Y. Long, Keng Siau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Open source software (OSS) has drawn increasing attention from both practitioners and researchers in recent years. However, few empirical studies have investigated the interaction process of OSS teams during OSS development. This research has two primary objectives. The first is to study the social structure of OSS teams. The second is to investigate the factors impacting the social structure of OSS teams as well as the effects of the social structure on OSS performance. Based on the social structure and social network theory, and group-related theories, this paper first presented a general research framework, then discussed research methodology, and finally …

Essays On The Publicness Of Education And The Effects Of School Choice On Student Achievement, Kerry A. King

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation is a collection of papers that focus on the effects of school choice in the education market. The first chapter introduces the concept of school choice and discusses the arguments both for and against its implementation into public education. In addition, this chapter outlines the research agenda for this dissertation. Chapter 2 empirically measures the spillover benefits created by K-12 public education and finds that they are not Pareto-relevant at the margin. Given the results, this chapter also examines the role of school choice in the market for K-12 public education. Chapter 3 provides a brief history of …

Fictions Of The Gift: Generosity, Obligation, And Economy In Eighteenth-Century England, Cynthia J. Klekar

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Fictions of the Gift: Generosity, Obligation and Economy in Eighteenth-Century English Literature examines the relationship between generosity, obligation, economy, and the gift in eighteenth-century English literature and culture. The central inquiry of the project investigates the paradoxical nature of the gift and ways in which the politics of a gift economy informed both practical and symbolic relations of domination in the period. Given the widespread nature of the language of the gift in the period, I concentrate on cultural texts and eighteenth-century novels to demonstrate the work of the gift within a number of eighteenth-century institutions, such as international trade, …

An Exploration Of Interdisciplinary Collaboration When Serving Students With Moderate And Severe Disabilities At The Middle And High School Levels: A Current Snapshot Of Perceived Barriers And Opportunities, Sara A. Brannan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study investigated current perceptions of the barriers and the opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration among Special Educators and Related Health Service Personnel at the middle and high school levels when serving students with moderate and severe disabilities. In order to serve individuals with moderate and severe disabilities in accordance with federal legislation and current best practice, it is important that education and related health services professionals work together collaboratively.;The design of this study combined a simple quantitative survey measure with exploratory, qualitative inquiry using a series of open-ended focus group interviews. Sampling for this research study was purposeful homogeneous sampling …

Developing And Testing A "Responsibility" Questionnaire For 8th Graders, Melissa S. Ward

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to develop and test a questionnaire that could assess students' attitudes and behaviors as they related to the trait "responsibility." Content validity was obtained using the delphi process. Reliability was estimated using a test of internal consistency. The questionnaire was completed by a small group of eighth graders. The test items were based on the definition of responsibility provided by the Character Counts organization. The questionnaire included twenty Likert-type items with eleven measuring perceptions of behavior and nine measuring perceptions of attitude.;Internal consistency tests showed Cronbach's Alpha to be .834 for the entire questionnaire, …

The Effects Of Ethnicity, Gender, And Urgency Of A Message On Prosocial Behavior, Orlando Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

A study by Christensen et al. (1998) looked at prosocial behavior toward strangers via responses to wrong-number messages on a telephone answering machine and found a higher than anticipated prosocial response. However, additional research was required in order to determine whether or not manipulation of gender and ethnicity would have produced different results. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of gender (male or female) of the caller, ethnicity (white-non Hispanic or Mexican American) of the caller, and urgency ("low," "medium," "high," & "high with prod") of a message on telephone helping behavior. One hundred …

Faculty Senate Election Memo, 2005, Vol 34, P 6, Unm Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Documents

No abstract provided.

Parish Nurse Perspectives On Addressing Clients' Spiritual Wellness And Needs, Rebecca E. Elbert

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory study is to identify processes that parish nurses use to assess spiritual needs, to develop interventions that address these needs, and to evaluate meeting these needs. Parish nurses are one group of specialty nurses who outwardly emphasize the importance of holistic care and who attempt to incorporate the spiritual aspect of holistic care into each client contact. While all nurses learn about spiritual care many nurses are uncomfortable and inexperienced in addressing clients’ spirituality. No other research has been done like this with this population. Grounded theory design and methodology including constant comparative …

Perception Of Safety And Usability Of Powered Hand Tools, Mun-Su Seol

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The objective of this research was to identify the relationship between powered hand tool design features and risk and usability perception. The general goal of this research was to provide information that will help in the design of tools that do not create inaccurate impressions of safety or usability.;Safety and usability perception evaluations were conducted to identify which factors influence on user's safety and usability perception. Orthogonal view images of three categories of powered hand tools were developed and deployed at the web for their evaluation. One hundred and one subjects participated in this research. The estimated injury data (2001 …

Views Of Health Care Providers On Low-Income Populations In West Virginia With Sexually Transmitted Disease, Genevieve R. Cox

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis focuses on health care providers who consistently diagnose sexually transmitted disease (STDs) in low-income populations. Eighteen providers ranging from registered nurses to physicians were interviewed about their experiences dealing with low-income patients, mainly women, who were diagnosed with incurable and curable STDs for the first time. This qualitative analysis which utilized grounded theory methods reveals several interesting findings. First, that providers who consistently work with low-income populations have a high level of empathy. They believe patients undergo a negative change in self-image second to an incurable STD diagnosis. Providers have concerns about a number of issues related to …

The Professionalization Of Naturopathic Medicine, Mindy Michelle Tyson

Theses and Dissertations

Use and interest in naturopathic medicine, a comprehensive alternative healing modality, has been on the increase in the United States for more than a decade. Proponents of the health discipline are working to move it from its current position as a partially professionalized heterodox medical system into mainstream medicine in the United States. Advocates for this form of primary care medicine claim that through its use of natural therapeutics and preventive medicine, naturopathic medicine has the ability to curb the ever- escalating costs of American health care and to slow the epidemic of preventable diseases occurring in the United States. …

Competing Fictions: Eighteenth-Century Domestic Novels, Women Writers, And The Trope Of Female Rivalry, Elizabeth Johnston

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation focuses on mid to late eighteenth-century domestic fiction by Samuel Richardson, Sarah Scott, Frances Burney, and Maria Edgeworth, arguing that female rivalry in the novel performs a complex double function, both reinscribing domestic ideology and undermining it. I begin with the premise that Richardson's depiction of female rivalry differs significantly from those of the women writers who follow him. My chapter on Richardson's Clarissa examines his depiction of rivalry between Clarissa and all the other women of the novel, arguing that the "bad" women work to overshadow Lovelace's abuses; in other words, female rivalry effectively displaces a critique …

Understanding Interpersonal Trust In A Confucian-Influenced Society: An Exploratory Study, Hwee Hoon Tan, Dave Chee

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Adopting a qualitative methodology, this exploratory study examined the construct of trust and its factors of trustworthiness as perceived in a Confucian-influenced society. The findings of our study indicated that there are emic differences in the meaning of trust as perceived in a Confucian-influenced setting. Specifically, we found a heavy reliance on affective factors of trustworthiness in the decision to trust. In addition, we found a number of factors unique to the context that facilitates the development of trust: diligence, perseverance, filial piety, thriftiness, respect for authority, a shared value of collective effort, harmonious relationship in the office, humbleness and …

The Murray Ledger And Times, August 1, 2005, The Murray Ledger And Times

The Murray Ledger & Times

No abstract provided.

Insurance Plan For The Gay Man: Who Benefits From Media Stereotypes?, Meghan Burke

Scholarship

The Emmy award-winning Queer Eye for the Straight Guy has been a hit since its dashing entrance onto the reality TV scene. But this entrance came at a politically fragile time for LGBT rights in the United States. On what seems to be the surface, the popularity of the show is a testament to the growing acceptance of queer people in the media and in daily life. But below this surface, I think there’s trouble lurking.

July 27th 2005, Hispanic News

Inland Empire Hispanic News

No abstract provided.

Determining The Probable Responsibility Of The Head Coach And Fitness Coach For Match Outcomes Using Bayes’ Theorem, Mahfoodh Faleh Hassan, Abdul Amir Hashim Allawi, Firas Hadi Khalaf

Modern Sport

Bayes' Theorem represents a fundamental principle in probability and statistics. It describes how to update the probability of a hypothesis based on new evidence. It provides a mathematical rule for reversing conditional probabilities, allowing us to determine the probability of a cause given an observed effect. Bayes' Theorem is also considered one of the key tools in machine learning applications. This study uses Bayes' Theorem to determine the probability of a team's loss and the percentage responsibility of the head coach and fitness coach. Its importance lies in developing a probabilistic model to reveal the likelihood of defeat and the …

Changes In The Perception And Sense Of Self Of Individuals With Aphasia: An Ethnographic Study, Erline Vieira Nakano

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Little is known about the perceived changes in identity and sense of self in individuals with aphasia. Seminal research using qualitative methods and personal narratives has been conducted in England regarding the experience of living with aphasia (see for instance Parr, Byng, Gilpin & Ireland, 1999; Parr, Duchan & Pound, 2003; Byng, Pound & Hewitt, 2004), but the use of such methodologies is still emergent in the United States. In addition, despite the great achievements of the disabilities movement in countries such as the U.S. and the U.K., individuals with aphasia have remained largely at the margins due to the …

Deafdigest: Gold Edition, July 24, 2005, Barry Strassler

DeafDigest Gold 2005

No abstract provided.

Quarterly Meeting, Wku Board Of Regents

Board of Regents Documents

Minutes of WKU Board of Regents quarterly meeting. Agenda items: resolution in honor of Patti Johnson, construction reimbursement, water resources minor, American humanics minor, geographic information systems minor, sexuality studies minor, Kentucky studies certificate, Center for the Study of the Civil War in the West, Chris Finwood's contract, personnel actions and emeritus faculty.

WKU Athletic Employment Contract - Chris Finwood is attached.

Law As A Healing Profession: The “Comprehensive Law Movement”, Susan Daicoff

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

Secularization As A Decline In Religious Authority Over Gender, Catherine E. Meyers

Theses and Dissertations

Recent secularization debates have helped to interpret the changing influence of religion over time and over social life. I argue that Chaves' (1994) conception of secularization, that secularization occurs as a decline in religious authority, is an effective theoretical tool for describing religious change over time. Using GSS data and the example of gender ideology, I attempt to illustrate this concept and argue that this view of secularization, combined with a multidimensional approach to gender, is necessary to more fully explain the changing relationship among religion and gender over time.

Muneerah Maalik, Muneerah Maalik 2000, Sep, Illinois Wesleyan University

All oral histories

Muneerah Maalik, Sociology, Class of 2000, discusses her current work with Columbia College in Chicago and the IWU Minority Alumni Network. The Muslim Student Association was formed after she left, but she recalls activities with other Muslim students and talks about the atmosphere for Muslims on campus generally. She mentions being one of only two African-American Muslim students on campus and living with other Muslim students in the International House.

Where The Students Do The Grading: A Content Analysis Of Ratemyprofessors.Com, Mlisa A. Manning

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

"I would have been better off using the tuition money to heat my apartment last winter."

"Three of my friends got As in his class and my friends are dumb."

"The movies are so bad, even he has to leave the room."

These are just a few of the "Funny Ratings" from a page on RateMyProfessors.com, a web site dedicated to providing information to students so they may make a difference in (their) education (http://www.RateMyProfessors.com/ faq.jsp). The online evaluations differ in origin, use and content from traditional teaching evaluations as they are the result of a virtual atmosphere …

Illinois Wesleyan Students Conduct Summer Research, Rebecca Welzenbach

News and Events (Discontinued Series)

No abstract provided.

Central Florida Future, Vol. 37 No. 73, July 20, 2005

Central Florida Future

Age-specific student housing leads some to wonder if so many freshmen can reside in same apartment complex; Death of friends leaves some students to battle grief: Denial and anger part of multitude of emotions faced when loved ones are lost; New dorms feature high-class amenities: Private parking garage retail shops enhance housing; Shark tales: The beaches that line the coast of Florida attract thousands if surfers every year - and sharks; Online facebooks latest student sensation: Addictive MySpace Thefacebook improve social networking friendship between Internet buddies.

The Bg News July 20, 2005, Bowling Green State University

BG News (Student Newspaper)

The BGSU campus student newspaper. July 20, 2005. Volume 95-Issue 158.

What An Aging Workforce Can Teach Us About Workplace Flexibility: Labor Force Participation Rates Of Women Age 55 And Over, By Age Group, Annual Averages, 1963–2003, Robert Hutchens Phd

Charts and Summaries of State, U.S., and Foreign Laws and Regulations

No abstract provided.

What An Aging Workforce Can Teach Us About Workplace Flexibility: Population Pyramids For The United States, Robert Hutchens Phd

Charts and Summaries of State, U.S., and Foreign Laws and Regulations

No abstract provided.

What An Aging Workforce Can Teach Us About Workplace Flexibility: Labor Force Participation Rates Of Men Age 55 And Over, By Age Group, Annual Averages, 1963–2003, Robert Hutchens Phd

Charts and Summaries of State, U.S., and Foreign Laws and Regulations

No abstract provided.