Digital Commons Network^™

Iep Team Decision-Making Process In The Reintegration Of Special Education Students: A Qualitative Analysis Of Exiting Decisions, Kenneth G. Hayes

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to take an in-depth look at the decision-making process that an IEP team goes through regarding the reintegration of special education students. In particular, this study looked at the exiting criteria used by an IEP team in determining whether or not a student should be exited back into the general education classroom prior to graduation. Furthermore, using Raven's (1992) Power/Interaction Model as the theoretical framework, this study also looked at the beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes of an IEP team that were adopted through the processes involved in exiting students from special education programs.

The …

Students At A Chinese Radio And Television University: Reasons For Participation, And Perceptions Of Their Status As Students And The Quality Of Their Learning, Huiping Ding

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this case study was to investigate students' participation in distance education and perceptions of their status as students and the learning achieved within the context of a radio and television university in the North of China. This study focused on the students who had completed a two-year college program and been promoted to a four-year bachelor's degree program. Data was collected and analyzed from observations, interviews and document reviews.

Results of the study identified many reasons for students' participation at the radio and television university to pursue their higher education. The primary reason for most was their …

National Board For Professional Teaching Standards Certification: Does It Impact Student Learning?, Patricia E. Falaney

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study measured student gains in learning using the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test pre and post-test mean scale scores in reading comprehension and math problem solving. The project involved classes of students in fourth and fifth grade in six north Florida counties. Thirty class sets of students were taught by a National Board Certified teacher, and a comparable set of thirty class sets of students of the same grade level and at the same school were taught by a teacher who was not National Board Certified. The analysis indicated if National Board Certified teachers produced a higher mean gain …

Approximate String Matching With Dynamic Programming And Suffix Trees, Leng Hui Keng

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The importance and the contribution of string matching algorithms to the modern society cannot be overstated. From basic search algorithms such as spell checking and data querying, to advanced algorithms such as DNA sequencing, trend analysis and signal processing, string matching algorithms form the foundation of many aspects in computing that have been pivotal in technological advancement.

In general, string matching algorithms can be divided into the categories of exact string matching and approximate string matching. We study each area and examine some of the well known algorithms. We probe into one of the most intriguing data structure in string …

P2pcompute - A Peer-To-Peer Computing Model, Jayant Mishra

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Peer-to-peer (P2P) networks consist of nodes which have both client and server capabilities and on which communication and data sharing is carried on directly between nodes, rather than being arbitrated by an intermediary node. The P2P architecture was popularized by file-sharing, one of the widely-used applications of the Internet. Many applications that are based on this architecture have been developed. It also provides an efficient platform to harness the computing power of a network of desktop computers. P2P computing power can help solve computationally complex problems that require powerful supercomputers. However, it has not been as widely used as the …

The New Religious Prisons And Their Retributivist Commitments, Marc O. Degirolami

Scholarly Articles

This essay explores the criminological commitments of religious prisons. Though religious prisons serve rehabilitative aims, this essay emphasizes the importance of their retributive goals-what Professor R.A. Duff has termed the censure-communicating purpose of punishment and the "Three 'R's of Punishment" (repentance, reform, and reconciliation)9-in justifying the use of religious programming in prisons. The focus of this article is narrow: it offers an argument in response to skeptics who claim that religious programming serves no criminological purpose absent an unequivocal showing of rehabilitative effectiveness. It claims that even if the evidence of reduced recidivism has been inflated or manipulated, as many …

Recoiling From Religion, Marc O. Degirolami

Scholarly Articles

This review offers a critical appraisal of God vs. the Gavel, in particular of Professor Hamilton's discussion of the complicated idea of the public good and how it intersects with religious free exercise interests. In Part II, the review explains the structure of the book and the framework for Hamilton's conclusions about religious accommodation. It emphasizes several instances of Hamilton's use and explanation of the concept of the public good. Part III articulates Hamilton's general theory of the public good, breaking the concept down into several distinct categories suggested by the book itself. The review critiques the book's explanation and …

A Study Of The Relationship Between The Number Of High School Science Credits Earned And Successful Completion Of The First Year Of College At A Regents’ Institution, Amy Denise Jabens

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this research was to study the relationship between the number of science credits a student completes at Prairie High School and the successful completion of his or her first year of college at an Iowa Regent's institution as defined by college grade point average and a minimum number of credits earned. Data for this study was collected from high school transcripts and Prairie High School's annual report from the Iowa State Board of Regents. This report outlines how many credits students earn and their cumulative grade point average at the end of their first year of college. …

Self-Esteem, Locus Of Control, Conformity, And The Psychology Behind Body Modification, Brianne Renae Arends

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The current study examined the psychological characteristics of individuals with and without tattoos and body piercings, along with their perceptions of cosmetic surgery as either positive or negative. Psychological characteristics measured included: self-esteem, locus of control, conformity, and fear of negative evaluation. Participants were ninety-seven individuals who completed paper-and-pencil measures encompassing the various psychological characteristics as well as a demographic and risk assessment questionnaire. Participants were recruited through the PSPM system established by the University of Northern Iowa and did not significantly vary on demographic information provided. The current study's hypotheses based upon similar research were: (1) individuals who approve …

Gender Socialization Through Children’S Literature: Body And Beauty Image, Meera Basnet

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This exploratory study centers on a small number of children's books to examine how female characters are portrayed, and to consider the question, "Do gendered images of female characters exist visually in children's literature? I selected 5 books from the time periods of 1980 to 1989 and from 2000 to 2005. These books were written by U.S. authors and are directed at children aged 5-8 years. Findings are tentative, based upon the limited number of books included in the study, but patterns indicate that children's literature portrays gender somewhat stereotypically. I include body structure, dress, beauty and decoration, and movement …

Written On The Body By Jeanette Winterson In The Context Of Nomadology, Maria Goltsova

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This study provides an interpretation of the novel Written on the Body by Jeanette Winterson in the context of nomadology, a post-modern philosophical project initiated by Gilles Deleuze. My analysis, concentrating on the plot and the narrative strategy of the novel, explores the concept of nomadic subjectivity and demonstrates how it is constructed in the text and how, if at all, it can be challenged. It also examines melancholy and loss, and their role in the formation of nomadic identity. In the novel, Louise is presented as an object of the narrator's desire; she is articulated through the examination and …

Looking Back, Looking Forward: Celebrating Two Decades Of The Language Arts Journal Of Michigan, Jonathan Bush

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

No abstract provided.

Psychometric Rash Evaluation Of Shoulder Scales (Press), Paul Buchheit

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Health outcome instruments attempt to measure patient's ability or change in ability. Region specific instruments offer practical data for athletic trainers, but serious limitations are hindering proper measurement within health outcomes research. First, these limitations are attributable to the classical test theory (CTT) approach of instrument development and evaluation. Second, they are attributable to the instruments' unknown measurement capabilities within a physically active population. Within recent years modern measurement theory (MMT), which accounts for CTT limitations, has been incorporated in the health sciences. The purpose of this study was to use MMT to assess the psychometric properties and measurement capabilities …

Motivating Rehabilitation By Distorting Reality, James L. Patton, Yejun Wei, Chris Scharver, Robert V. Kenyon, Robert A. Scheidt

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

We have found, through a series of recent experiments, encouraging evidence that the neuro-motor system is motivated to change motor patterns when exposed to visuo-motor tasks. We have also shown that the learning of these tasks can be heightened with forces and/or visual distortions that appropriately manipulate the error. This process does not require intense concentration and it is often considered a game. We describe the next generation of robotic large-workspace, three dimensional haptics/graphics systems for rehabilitation

Functional Behavioral Assessment : A New Model For Interviewing, Shelley K. Schafer

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The factors which affect how children learn are as varied as the individual students within any given classroom. These factors can affect not only the academic resilience of the student, but their behavior as well. Problem behaviors that create substantial amounts of tension in the classroom can inhibit the academic success of an individual child, as well as the performance of his or her peers. Some students do not have the appropriate behavioral repertoires necessary to cope with the many academic and social expectations of attending school. The purpose of the current study is to develop and assess the effectiveness …

Relationship Between Playing Ability And Selected Performance And Physical Measures In High School Football Players, Timothy Scott Birkey

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

No abstract provided.

School-Wide Positive Behavior Supports : An Evaluation Of An Elementary School Program, Lisa Andreasen

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The outcomes of a school-wide positive behavior support program at a rural elementary school were evaluated to determine the effects of a school-wide program on the behavior of students. A program evaluation was conducted using student office referrals that were collected over a six year period. The results indicated that student office referrals significantly decreased from Year 1 to Year 6 and that specific behaviors of aggression and inappropriate language also decreased significantly from Year 1 to Year 6. Data were investigated to indicate trends in total office referrals by gender, grade, month, location, and problem behavior.

The Contribution Of Socio-Economic Status And Maturity On Injury Risk In Youth Soccer, Kristin Noel Stoneberg

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Soccer is considered the universal sport as it is played by youth in nearly every nation around the world. With such a large number of children involved in soccer, injury is inevitable. Many possible risk factors have been identified, but very little current data address other risk factors such as maturity and socio-economic status (SES). The purpose of this study was to determine injury rates and the association between injury, maturity, socio-economic status, and other risk factors in youth soccer players. There were 440 youth soccer players ages 6-18 years involved in the cohort sample and a sub-sample of 102 …

The Public Trust Doctrine And Natural Law: Emanations With A Penumbra, George P. Smith Ii, Michael W. Sweeney

Scholarly Articles

In American jurisprudence, the public trust doctrine emerged as a means of protecting certain limited environmental interests, such as coastal waterways and fishing areas, which were preserved for the benefit of the public and distinguished from grants of private ownership. Modern scholars have, however, called for an expansive application of the public trust doctrine - citing, as such, the growing inventory of "changing public needs" in the environmental context, such as the need for improved air and water quality, and the conservation of natural landscape. This Article examines the history and scope of the public trust doctrine in order to …

The Kronecker Product, Bobbi Jo Broxson

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper presents a detailed discussion of the Kronecker product of matrices. It begins with the definition and some basic properties of the Kronecker product. Statements will be proven that reveal information concerning the eigenvalues, singular values, rank, trace, and determinant of the Kronecker product of two matrices. The Kronecker product will then be employed to solve linear matrix equations. An investigation of the commutativity of the Kronecker product will be carried out using permutation matrices. The Jordan - Canonical form of a Kronecker product will be examined. Variations such as the Kronecker sum and generalized Kronecker product will be …

Scuffling For A Slice Of The Ringtone Pie: Evaluating Legal And Business Approaches To Copyright Clearance Issues, Carmen K. Yuen

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

A cell phone goes off, but instead of "Brring," you hear the disco swirls of ABBA's "Money, Money, Money." The tune is rather revealing about the potential of the U.S. ringtone market. Consumers are enjoying an increased selection of MP3-quality ringtones, but the music industry is grappling with a host of legal complications. The new ringtone format is unprecedented, and copyright law offers little clarification on which royalties are due to whom. As a result, labels, publishers, ringtone companies and performing rights organizations are avoiding litigation, and negotiating innovative deals instead. Are private business solutions enough to resolve the ringtone …

Celebrities In The Courtroom: Legal Responses, Psychological Theory And Empirical Research, Jared Chamberlain, Monica K. Miller, Alayna Jehle

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This article sets out to answer a basic question about celebrities in the legal system: does celebrity status influence the outcome of a trial? Part I focuses on the legal aspects surrounding the treatment of celebrities in the courtroom. For example, there is some evidence that celebrities receive preferential treatment in court, while there is other evidence that celebrities are held to higher standards than non-celebrities. Part II examines psychological theories suggesting that status and authority influence jurors' decision-making processes. In Part III, a review of relevant past psychological research provides an empirical basis to make conclusions about celebrity influence …

The Privacy Gambit: Toward A Game Theoretic Approach To International Data Protection, Horace E. Anderson Jr.

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This article briefly explores several scenarios in which economic actors compete and cooperate in order to capture the value in personal information. The focus then shifts to one particular scenario: the ongoing interaction between the United States and the European Union in attempting to construct data protection regimes that serve the philosophies and citizens of each jurisdiction as well as provide a strategic economic advantage. A game theoretic model is presented to explain the course of dealings between the two actors, including both unilateral and bilateral actions. Part I ends with an exploration of opportunities for seizing competitive advantage, and …

Rider Beware: Relying On The Courts And A Nationalized Rating System To Address The Duty Of Care Owed To Amusement Park Attraction Guests, Tobias Butler

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This note explores the history of amusement park attraction regulation, including both the legislative and judicial treatment, and highlights the deficiencies in court approaches in light of "common carrier" law. First, is a brief history of thrill attractions in America as well as regulation of these attractions by both the legislature and judiciary. Specifically it will discuss the major approaches courts have taken in applying or refusing to apply the "common carrier" definition to these attractions. Second, it will analyze why any standard less than "utmost care" does not provide sufficient power for the courts to create a consistent standard …

"Did You Want Fries With That?" The Unanswered Question Of Federal Product Placement Regulation, Raghu Seshadri

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This note argues that the structure of existing FCC and FTC regulatory regimes is not effective in addressing challenges posed by certain types of product placement. Thus, a specific disclosure requirement targeting non-visual product placement is needed. Part I presents an overview of the existing federal regulatory structure governing product placement, and the current arguments for and against affirmative disclosure requirements. Parts II and III identify the various categories of product placement and argue that non-visual placement presents unique challenges that are absent in other categories of product placement. Finally, Part IV argues that the current regulatory regime is insufficient, …

Conducting The Constitution: Justice Scalia, Textualism, And The Eroica Symphony, Ian Gallacher

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

The goal of this article is a very modest one: to use one piece of music, the first movement of Beethoven's Eroica symphony, to consider how legal scholars, using the doctrinal principles they have developed to interpret the Constitution, would interpret the piece as conductors. This article makes no pretense of offering a new genre of legal hermeneutics; there is no suggestion here that a "law and musicology" movement will provide a comprehensive analytical framework which we can use to solve problems of Constitutional interpretation. Rather, this article suggests that musical interpretative "doctrines"--if so loose a collection of practices merits …

The Age Of Innocence: The First 25 Years Of The National Collegiate Athletic Association, 1906 To 1931, W. Burlette Carter

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

In 2006, the National Collegiate Athletic Association ("NCAA"), the most powerful body in intercollegiate athletics, celebrates its 100th anniversary. In this article, the author undertakes to survey the NCAA's first twenty five years, offering a revealing snapshot of the beginning of intercollegiate athletics in the United States. As with the author's prior articles on this subject, this article continues the unique approach of using the proceedings of the NCAA and contemporaneous media articles to make its case. In so doing, the article challenges commonly held assumptions about the origins of present intercollegiate athletics policy, providing a much-needed history to frame …

Is The Ada Short-Sighted? An Analysis Of Sightline Regulations In Movie Theaters, Michael D. Driver

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

In Part I, the history of disability law in the United States will be discussed, following the decision of Brown v. Board of Education until the passage of the ADA. The purpose and contents of the ADA will, in pertinent part, then be discussed, as will the language of the Act that caused the circuits to split and the language of the Act as it now stands. The contents of the circuit court cases from the First, Fifth, Sixth, and Ninth Circuits will be analyzed, separating the circuits into majority (First, Sixth, and Ninth Circuits) and minority (Fifth Circuit) positions. …

Objectified Body Consciousness And Eating Attitudes And Behaviors Of College Females And Males, Danielle Jo Eastman

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This study investigated the relationship between objectified body consciousness (OBC) and eating attitudes and behaviors of both female and male students at a Midwestern university. Based on a survey completed by 369 females and 181 males, relationships between OBC as measured by the Objectified Body Consciousness Scale (OBCS; McKinley, 1995) and eating attitudes and behaviors as measured by the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26; Garner, Olmstead, Bohr, & Garfinkle, 1982) were analyzed using Pearson product-moment correlations. The OBCS consists of three subscales representing body surveillance, body shame, and control beliefs. A higher score on the EA T-26 indicates an increased likelihood …

The Revolt Revisited: A Study Of Popular 20th-Century American Small-Town Literature, Ted Ray Duitsman

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The subject of small towns has both attracted and made some of the greatest authors in American literature. Through stunning imagery, description, and dialogue they create realistic portrayals of this places that lay them bare for all to see. Generous treatments portray them as generally good places that uphold the myth of small towns as utopian villages. For those with more unfavorable views, however, the literature shows the dullness of the town as well as the provinciality and closed-mindedness of its people. It is unfair to categorize some of the better works into either/or arguments however, for they involve more …