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The Experience Of Transition By Baccalaureate Nursing Graduates, Linda R. Pettersen

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to investigate the transition experience of new baccalaureate-prepared graduates entering nursing practice as registered nurses. Participants were a convenience sample of six graduates from a midwestem university who were employed as registered nurses from eight to twelve months in acute care nursing practice. Transition theory was used as a guide in designing interview questions. Participants were interviewed and the audio-recorded interviews were transcribed and then analyzed for codes, categories, and themes.

Four themes emerged from analysis of the data. Theme One: Lack of experience contributes to self-doubt for the new graduate nurse. Although …

The Lived Experiences Of Three Student Teachers In A Birth-Third Grade Teacher Licensure Program, Kathleen A. Sonsteng

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to discover themes in the experience, behavior, and attitude of three students in a Birth-Third Grade Teacher Licensure Program, at a specific midwestern university, as the students were involved in their primary-level student teaching experience. In looking at the lived experiences of these three student teachers, the focus was on their level of confidence and preparedness before, during, and after student teaching.

This qualitative study used a phenomenological research approach. The phenomenon in this particular study is the primary-level student teaching experience. This study sought understanding of what this student teaching experience was for …

Influential Factors Affecting The Career Success Of Professional Northern Plains Native American Males: A Qualitative Study, Adam J. Guilmino

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to better understand successful vocational experiences among Northern Plains Native American males. Most studies completed up to this point have approached the issue of Native American career exploration from a problem-based perspective. This study used a Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) methodology to examine the experiences of Native Americans who have been nominated by their tribal community as career successful members of their community.

Eight male members of two North Dakota Native American tribes were interviewed using semi-structured qualitative interview protocol. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed for domains and categories. Eight domains emerged from the …

Locating Social Justice Issues In Middle Years Classes: Not All Pumpkins Are Orange, Lee Anne Block

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study utilizes narrative inquiry to consider how difference and equity are experienced and represented in middle years classes and to link teachers’ concepts of curriculum to that experience and representation. The inquiry is grounded in a case study of interactions among students and between students and teacher in a grade six classroom in a Canadian city. Additionally, interviews with the grade six teacher and with four other teachers, who had a commitment to including social justice issues in the curriculum, develop the relationship of teachers’ curriculum concepts to teaching for social justice. The implications of that relationship for …

Teacher Preparation Reform Efforts: Perceptions Of School Leaders And Teacher Educators, Ann Beste-Guldborg

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of teacher educators and school leaders regarding various proposed reform recommendations to the field of teacher preparation. School leaders and teacher educators, employed at public institutions in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana were surveyed. Data were analyzed statistically to determine differences in perceptions between groups.

The findings of the study indicate that school leaders and teacher educators agreed more often than not regarding the importance of the various reform recommendations. Among the differences between groups, school leaders favored accountability measures and alignment with K-12 standards while teacher educators preferred advancing …

North Dakota Dual Credit: Initial Impact 1997-2004, Anita K. Decker

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of enrollment in North Dakota’s dual credit program on the students who had been enrolled from Fall 1997 through Spring 2004. Participants are identified by gender, by year in school, by courses taken for dual credit, and by high school size. Analysis of post-high school college entry data by matriculation, graduation, and grade point average are included.

Dual credit students took over 12,000 courses from the eleven public colleges in the North Dakota University System and from five nonpublic or out-of-state colleges. Students were divided between seniors, who took 9836 …

Two-Loop Bethe Logarithms For Non- S Levels, Ulrich D. Jentschura

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

Two-loop Bethe logarithms are calculated for excited P and D states in hydrogenlike systems, and estimates are presented for all states with higher angular momenta. These results complete our knowledge of the P and D energy levels in hydrogen at the order of α⁸ m_ec², where me is the electron mass and c is the speed of light, and scale as Z⁶, where Z is the nuclear charge number. Our analytic and numerical calculations are consistent with the complete absence of logarithmic terms of order (απ)² (Zα)⁶ ln [(Zα)^-2] …

Regulation Of A Dna-Compacting Plastid Nucleoid Protein, Steven William Adamson

Dissertations

DCP68, a DNA-compacting nucleoid protein, was further characterized in order to understand how plastid nucleoid proteins affect the structure and function of chloroplast DNA. Previously, DCP68 was identified as ferredoxin: sulfite reductase, an enzyme that participates in reductive sulfur assimilation and inhibits chloroplast DNA replication and transcription in vitro [1, 2]. In this study, the portion of SiR that was found to be present in soluble and plastid nucleoid-enriched fractions indicated that most SiR was stromal in Arabidopsis and soybean plants. Although SiR was detected in Arabidopsis chloroplast nucleoid-enriched fractions, the study of nucleoid dynamics proved to be difficult due …

Which Constitution? Who Decides?: The Problem Of Judicial Supremacy And The Interbranch Solution, Robert Justin Lipkin

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

American Standard, John A. Pascarella

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The work included in my MFA thesis exhibition entitled " American Standard" examines our role as narrative-based individuals within the American culture. In this current body of work I use the photographic image as a director uses the medium of film (moving image). Location scouting, casting, lighting, directing, editing, and processing all become intricate parts of the work, all to lead to a single solitary frozen moment in time that I believe creates a story. Story as created not in a fictional sense, but more in the vein of creative non-fiction, as the stories I tell come from a personal …

Software Application For Emergency Responders, Safer 2.0, Saritha Reddy Potula

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The SAFER 2.0 was developed as a web based information system for the First Responders involved in dealing with the hazardous materials incidents. The software tool enables First Responders to view and identify the substances involved in a hazard via a secure Internet connection. The tool also aids in identifying the unknown substances based on the physical description (color, odor, texture, gas/liquid, etc.), symptoms and other information available at the site of the incident. The system is based on the 2004 North American Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG2004) and NIOSH Pocket Guide (NPG). ERG2004 was developed for use by firefighters, police, …

Forwarding Strategies And Optimal Power Allocation For Coherent And Noncoherent Relay Networks, Somak Datta Gupta

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In fading wireless channels, relays are used with the aim of achieving diversity and thus overall performance gain. In cooperative relay networks, various forwarding techniques like amplify and forward (AF) and decode and forward (DF) are used at the relay for better throughput and improved BER performance than traditional multihop systems. In a power constrained environment, the performance can be further improved by using an optimal power allocation strategy. The relative position of the relay with respect to the source and destination also has an immense effect on the efficacy of the relay.;We position the relay at various positions in …

An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Faculty Perception Of Administrative Support And The Faculty Perceived Levels Of Implementation Of Good Teaching Practice In Distance Education, Carol L. Fugitt

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The faculty perceptions of administrative support for distance education and best distance education teaching practice were investigated. Participants were selected from the 2004-2005 full-time distance education faculty at Kentucky Community and Technical College, n = 432. The researcher developed a self-report survey, the Good Practices Survey, as a means to collect data for the research. Research questions investigating the relationship between four independent variables and perception of good distance education teaching practices were significant indicating that faculty perceive administrative support when implementing good distance education teaching practice. Research questions investigating the relationship between faculty support, student support, and support for …

Interpreting Site Formation Processes Affecting Re-Emergent Cultural Sites Within Reservoirs: A Case Study Of St. Thomas, Nevada, Denyse Wyskup

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The inundation of cultural resources due to the construction of dams as water retention mechanism is a global problem, affecting thousands of historic and prehistoric sites. Recent warming trends, in combination with increasing water usage from growing populations and urban expansion has initiated dramatic pool-level shallowing in many reservoirs, especially in the American Southwest, resulting in the re-emergence of inundated cultural sites. The "ghost town" of St. Thomas, Nevada, represents one example of a site that was impacted in this manner. This historic settlement is one of many hundreds of sites that became submerged when Boulder Dam was constructed to …

Personality Profiles Of Experienced U.S. Army Rotary-Wing Aviators Across Mission, Robert Grice

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Numerous studies have attempted to identify a relationship between personality traits and workplace performance. Workplace performance in this study was construed as including perceptions of congruence with the type of work and performance on the job. The Five-Factor Model (FFM) has been used to predict workplace performance across a number of vocations including aviation and the Revised NEO Personality Instrument (NEO-PI-R) is the most widely used FFM-based instrument. The NEO-PI-R has been used with commercial and military aviators to identify personality trait levels that are distinct from the general public and to predict performance in cockpit situations such as during …

The Integration Of Church And Home: A Strategic Partnership For Spiritual Formation, Michael B. Haynes

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The American family is deteriorating according to current research. This deterioration stems from the church’s inability to develop Christians who practice life according to the principles of the Bible. In a culture characterized by an atomic worldview, the church and family must work together to develop Christians who live according to the relational worldview of Scripture. This project describes how one church developed and implemented a strategy partnering the church and family for the spiritual formation of the next generation. This project is designed as a model for churches seeking to impact the culture one home at a time.

Stratigraphic And Structural Analysis Of The J1 Sandstone, Scotts Bluff Trend, Scotts Bluff And Morrill Counties, Nebraska, Jeremy M. Wolpert

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Scotts Bluff Trend is a group of 10 oil fields that produce from the Cretaceous J Sandstone. Production was previously thought to be aligned along this trend due to structural influence.;For this study well logs were utilized in analyzing structural and stratigraphic elements, as well as hydrocarbon predictability. The Scotts Bluff Trend appears to sit upon a residual structural high. A comprehensive look reveals that stratigraphic influence is superimposed on the structural high.;J1 Sandstone reservoirs were mapped assuming a NW--SE depositional trend. Deposition was in a shallow-marine bar environment. Central-bar, bar-margin and interbar facies are recognized which interfinger laterally into …

Three Essays On Banks' Relative Efficiency, Jorge Guillen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Three separate studies are conducted regarding banks' relative efficiency. Previous to start with the development of the studies, we review the situation before and after the enactment of the Riegle Neal's. This act restricts banks from opening branches in another state. The Riegle Neal act ended up the era of state branching deregulation which started in 1970. A discussion between proponents and opponents of branching deregulation is presented. A debate between bank's efficiency and concentration before Riegle Neal is introduced in the chapter.;The first essay found in chapter 2, develops a theoretical model of spatial competition between banks. Two different …

Intense Training In Sport: Monitoring The Effects On Immune Function And Mood State, Michelle Bartlett

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

To enhance and optimize sport performance, athletes are training at increasingly higher levels of intensity, volume and frequency. When increases in any of these areas of training are not accompanied by adequate recovery, over time, decrements in performance and physical/psychological maladies can result. Consequently, the purpose of this study was to monitor five competitive swimmers during a swimming season in two of the potential areas in which an adverse response to training may appear: the immunological parameter of mucosal immune function and the psychological parameter of mood state. Each parameter was assessed once per week over the seven weeks of …

The Association Between Aggressive Behaviors And Academic Self-Esteem Of Preschool Children, Chrische' Marie Walker

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The intent of this study was to investigate the association between preschooler's aggressiveness behavior and their academic self-esteem in the classrooms. The participants in this study consisted of 63 preschoolers who attended the West Virginia University Laboratory Nursery School or the Pierpont Christian Preschool during the school year of 2005-2006. The preschoolers were rated by their teachers at each school on their student initiative, social attraction, success/failure, social attraction, self-confidence on the Behavioral Academic Self-Esteem Scale (BASE) and their aggressiveness with peers on the Child Behavior Scale (CBS).;Results of the study indicated that the preschooler's academic self-esteem and aggressive behaviors …

A Socioeconomic And Spatial Analysis Of Obesity In West Virginia: Policy Implications, Anura Kumara Amarasinghe

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation integrates both theoretical and empirical insights to facilitate understanding of the current obesity epidemic in WV given heterogeneity in socioeconomic, demographic and built environment characteristics of the state. In meeting this objective, county-level and individual-level health demand analyses using secondary data sources were conducted. County-level obesity differences were studied using spatial and non-spatial random and fixed effects frameworks under a panel data structure. Individual health demand was investigated by recursive estimation of individual health responses to ordered self-assessed health (SAH) in terms of lifestyle choices, socioeconomic, demographic and built environment characteristics using Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) …

Left Arm Of The Republic: The Department Of The Pacific During The Civil War, James Robbins Jewell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Although the Civil War was fought largely in the East it was a transcontinental war. Securing the Far West for the Union played an important, though secondary role in the northern war effort. When most of the Regular Army units were called east, holding the region and confronting the multiple threats to its security fell to the western volunteers. Through their efforts, they maintained a general stability in a vast region where both potential and actualized threats could easily have hampered Union efforts in the main theatres of war. Therefore, by quelling secessionist schemes and activities and attempting to maintain …

Health -Related Quality Of Life In Multiple Sclerosis: Measurement, Predictors And Utilization In Routine Clinical Practice, Vivek S. Pawar

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

There are a large number of patient-reported questionnaires to assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). In order to make a recommendation for use in clinical practice, a comparison of their psychometric properties is necessary. In addition to accurate assessment, it is also necessary to identify factors that have a significant impact on HRQoL. Further, lack of use of HRQoL information in clinical practice warrants examination of attitudes and behavior of neurologists about HRQoL assessment and their intention to consider incorporating HRQoL information in their decision making. This study collected data from patients with MS …

Exploring High-Quality Student Affairs Learning Outcomes Assessment Practices At Three American Research Universities, Adam S. Green

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study was conducted because limited research has occurred in the area of co-curricular student learning outcomes assessment, which has resulted in confusion within the student affairs profession on how to develop and implement assessment plans. The purpose of this study was to examine high quality assessment practices of student affairs divisions at three different research institutions in order to advance the value, usefulness, and understanding of learning outcomes assessment within the student affairs profession, so more student affairs divisions may begin assessing the co-curricular. Those student affairs divisions selected for this study represented assessment models with significant experience in …

Perspectives Of 12th Grade Students, Their Families, And School Officials Related To Affordability And Accessibility Of The West Virginia Promise Scholarship Program At Logan High School, Craig S. Mcclellan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

With only 14% of West Virginia's population over 25 years old possessing a bachelor's degree, the lack of a skilled workforce often thwarted state legislators' attempts to attract new industry to the state's struggling economy. To address workforce qualification concerns, state educational stakeholders implemented a merit-based scholarship program with average requirements in 2002. The West Virginia PROMISE (Providing Real Opportunities for Maximizing In-state Student Excellence) Scholarship Program goals include encouraging high school students to work harder, and to entice more graduates to attempt post-secondary work at in-state institutions.;This qualitative study was designed to discover the perceptions of five high school …

Bend It Like Beckham: Embodying The Motor Skills Of Famous Athletes, P Bach, Sp Tipper

School of Psychology

Observing an action activates the same representations as does the actual performance of the action. Here we show for the first time that the action system can also be activated in the complete absence of action perception. When the participants had to identify the faces of famous athletes, the responses were influenced by their similarity to the motor skills of the athletes. Thus, the motor skills of the viewed athletes were retrieved automatically during person identification and had a direct influence on the action system of the observer. However, our results also indicated that motor behaviours that are implicit characteristics …

The Disgorgement Interest In Contract Law, Melvin A. Eisenberg

Michigan Law Review

Restatement Second of Contracts provided that contract law serves to protect one or more of three interests: the expectation interest, the reliance interest, and the restitution interest. There is, however a fourth interest that contract law should and does protect: the disgorgement interest, which is the promisee's interest in requiring the promisor to disgorge a gain that was made possible by the promisor's breach, but did not consist of a benefit conferred on the promisor by the promisee. It is not clear why Restatement Second excluded the disgorgement interest. Perhaps the drafters believed that this position was compelled by positive …

Murray Ledger And Times, December 1, 2006, Murray Ledger And Times

The Murray Ledger & Times

No abstract provided.

Mustang Daily, November 30, 2006

Cal Poly Student Newspaper

Student newspaper of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA.

Lanthorn, Vol. 41, No. 28, November 30, 2006, Grand Valley State University

Volume 41, July 13, 2006 - June 14, 2007

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.