Digital Commons Network^™

Do You See What I Mean? Measuring Consensus Of Agreement And Understanding Of A National Weather Service Informational Graphic, Lorna M. Geggis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Media use of hurricane graphics to apprise populations vulnerable to severe weather provides a persuasive demonstration of the importance and complexity of visual communication. Surprisingly little research, however, has explored how audiences interpret weather graphics. This study examined whether the general public and the National Weather Service share a common understanding of selected weather related terms and meaning of a NWS informational graphic. Using a coorientation model, general public responses to a questionnaire were compared to definitions prescribed by the NWS. Additionally, the public were asked questions to measure trust of the NWS as a credible and reliable source of …

Meaning Makers Make It: Ambivalence About Ambiguity In Academic Discourse, David Haldane Lee

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a broad survey of the uses of ambiguity in academic discourse. I note the uses of ambiguity in literary criticism, linking ambiguity with epistemic relativism. Then I pose the question, is the notion of "reframing" in psychotherapy analogous to the concept of "spin" in propaganda, advertising and public relations? In a consideration of theories that posit the social construction of reality, I examine articles by Judith Butler and Ian Hacking, noting the ambiguous reception of performativity and nominalism, respectively, within academia. In 1996 a physicist named Alan Sokal published an article which argued that reality is a …

Elisa Brune’S Le Goût Piquant De L’Univers: A Translation And Introduction, Ryan Orgera

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Le Goût piquant de l'Univers is written by the Francophone Belgian writer Elisa Brune. Brune holds a Ph.D. in environmental sciences, and this novel does not stray far from her training in science. The setting of this oeuvre is that of a Provençal village of Peyresq, the premiere annual rendezvous for the world's foremost cosmologists. The vocabulary employed in this book is that of highly scientific coteries. The work's sentence structure is a mix of dialogue, and unruly compound phrases. These two aforementioned stylistic choices made the translation of this work especially difficult. In translating, I worked with Dr. Gaëtan …

Real Challenges, Virtual Challengers: The Democracy For America Movement, Noah Porter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The project examines the effects of Internet use by the social movement organization (SMO) Dean for America/Democracy for America (DFA). This study describes the relationship between Internet usage and SMO beliefs, organization, causes, reasons for joining, strategies, reactions, and effects. Dean for America started out with few resources or supporters, and was seen as an unlikely contender for the 2004 presidential campaign. From its humble beginnings, it skyrocketed from being virtually unknown to frontrunner status in the span of a year. After Howard Dean withdrew from the race in February 2004, Dean for America transformed itself into Democracy for America, …

Anticonsultative Trends In Nonprofit Governance, Norman I. Silber

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

The cultural and political demand for nonprofit financial accountability has grown rapidly in recent decades. At the same time, donations and gifts continue, apparently, to decline as a proportion of overall revenue received. To remain viable in this environment, many nonprofit groups are changing their operating models and organizational structures, the better to attract contracts, grants, and fee-for-service revenue. An under-appreciated consequence of the convergence of these accountability and viability challenges is an anti-consultative or anti-collaborative imperative. With increasing frequency, scholars, attorneys, and consultants are advising nonprofit groups that seek to comply with nonprofit laws and to enhance their financial …

Counterfactual Thinking And The False Belief Task: A Developmental Study, Frederique Arreckx

School of Psychology Theses

The main aim of this thesis was to investigate children's reasoning abilities, especially their ability to solve counterfactual tasks. This thesis studied counterfactual thinking as an independent ability but also in relation to both types of the false belief tasks that measure theory of mind and contrary-to-fact syllogisms. Four experiments were conducted with typically developing children between the ages of 3 to 5. The first experiment studied the difference between affirmative and negative counterfactual questions and found that the former was easier than the latter. The second experiment replicated these results and investigated the link between counterfactual thinking and the …

From Certificates To Doctorates, By Degrees: Dublin Institute Of Technology - A Photographic Memoir, Jimmie Robinson

Books

Jimmie Robinson has photographed visitors and events at Dublin Institute of Technology for 43 years. In this photographic memoir, he chronicles the development of DIT over its first 120 years from behind the lens.

Evolution Of Prehension Ability In An Anthropomorphic Neurorobotic Arm, G Massera

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

In this paper, we show how a simulated anthropomorphic robotic arm controlled by an artificial neural network can develop effective reaching and grasping behaviour through a trial and error process in which the free parameters encode the control rules which regulate the fine-grained interaction between the robot and the environment and variations of the free parameters are retained or discarded on the basis of their effects at the level of the global behaviour exhibited by the robot situated in the environment. The obtained results demonstrate how the proposed methodology allows the robot to produce effective behaviours thanks to its ability …

Does Understanding National Business Cultures Help Build Regional Development?, Amanda Ratcliffe, Thomas Cooney Dr.

Conference proceedings

An EFER report in 1995 observed that little of the growth ofEurope’s top 500 companies came from existing products in existing markets, but almost two-thirds of the growth came from entering new markets. A large majority of Europe’s 500 are active in export markets, with exports accounting for 40% of their turnover as opposed to the 10% export share for SMEs overall. One of the critical reasons for the poor performance of SMEs within the international arena is their ignorance of local business cultures. Yet for a country – or a specific region – to achieve strong economic growth, it …

Writing Centers In The Managed University, Daniel Mahala

The Writing Center Journal

No abstract provided.

Student Non-Attendence In Higher Education: A Phenomenon Of Student Apathy Or Poor Pedagogy, Joanne Cleary-Holdforth

Level 3

Non-attendance at university seems to be an on-going problem that appears to transcend country, university and discipline. One need only consult the literature on this subject to appreciate the magnitude of this phenomenon (Gump 2006; McCarey et al. 2006; Sharma et al. 2005; Nicholl and Timmins 2005; Hughes 2005; Hunter and Tetley 1999; Longhurst 1999). It is a phenomenon that is both intriguing and frustrating and yet there is very little evidence of university or governmental policy on it. It is generally accepted that university is a rite of passage for its students and is, therefore, as much about a …

The Irish Working Group On Information Literacy: A Cross-Sectoral Approach, Philip Russell, Terry O'Brien

Support services (Former ITT) - Articles

The Working Group on Information Literacy (WGIL) was established by the Library Association of Ireland (LAI) in January 2006 to recommend strategies for the development of information skills at both a theoretical and practical level in the Library and Information Services sector in Ireland.

From the outset, one of the key objectives established was that the work of the WGIL would be approached on a cross-sectoral basis.

Membership of the group comprises ten members from across the range of LIS (Library and Information Services) sectors in Ireland. These include academic, special, schools, public, health and university sectors, and also a …

Contesting The Social Borderlands: Portraits Of Three Young People With Significant Disabilities And Their Struggle For Positive Relationships, Janet Story Sauer

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Over eighty countries are signatories to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2007), which states "that disability results from the interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers" (p. 1). The United States is not a signatory to the Convention but the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 recognizes disability as "a natural part of the human experience" and one which ensures children's rights to "contribute to society, and experience full integration and inclusion into all aspects of society." This qualitative study examined the complexities involved in the communication and co-construction of meaning …

An Analysis Of Coaching Efficacy In Volunteer Soccer Coaches, Christopher Lee Kowalski

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between five independent variables and volunteer soccer coaches' overall coaching efficacy as measured by motivation efficacy, character building efficacy, game strategy efficacy, and technique efficacy and five independent variables. The five independent variables explored included the age of a coach, a coach's gender, previous years of coaching experience, participation in a coaching training/licensing/certification program, and previous playing experience.

The study involved 69 participants who coached for the Cedar Valley Youth Soccer Association (CVYSA). The first part of the instrument used to measure coaching efficacy was a questionnaire discussing the various …

Considerations For Delivery Of Online Professional Development Courses For Childcare Professionals, Heather Marie Bauer Olsen

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

In an age of increasing accountability, childcare professionals are held responsible for providing young children quality early care and education. The unfortunate reality is that it is challenging for childcare professionals to pursue training because of the cost of training, family responsibilities, and scheduling conflicts. The Internet has the capability to knock down those barriers in the childcare profession, and has expanded the availability of information and has created avenues for teaching and learning.

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the factors that will give online professional development instructors a better insight into the characteristics …

(Un)Gendered Sentiments: The Relationship Between Modernism And Gender In The Works Of Barnfield And Woolf, Brittany Kay Jungck

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

By examining the history of literature through the lens of a gender critic, a person is able to discern how society and history frame our understanding of certain concepts. In this study, I have examined the lives and works of Richard Barnfield, a famed poet from the English Renaissance, and Virginia Woolf, a noted twentieth-century British novelist. The analysis of various aspects of Barnfield's and Woolf's creations reveals a connection between gendered language and modernity.

Gender Inequalities In Toddler Confrontation Teachers' Responses, Jessica Hermeyer

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This research examined the differences in confrontational interaction between boy and girl toddlers, and differences in how caregivers react to the children involved based on the children's gender. It is important to examine these differences in order to understand how gender differences are reproduced as children are socialized in day care culture.

Using content analysis of teacher-reported incidents occurring in a day care center, I explore the details of toddler confrontational behaviors from the teachers' perspectives following the incidents. My findings indicate that during confrontational interaction the children's gendered behavior in this study was similar to adults' gendered behavior revealing …

Origin Of The Gang Name "Crips", Wilson Gray, Gerald Leonard Cohen

Arts, Languages and Philosophy Faculty Research & Creative Works

The "Crips" derive their name from "cripples," which in turn derives from the "pimp canes" they carried as their badge and as a weapon with which to cripple anyone who messed with them. the original motivation was self-defense, but that, of course, changed with time. © 2007 by the American Name Society.

A Comparison Of Print Advertisements From Egypt, Lebanon, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates And The United States, Gilberto De Los Santos, Caroline Fisher, Salma Ghanem, Morris Kalliny, Anshu Saran

Business and Information Technology Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study examines cultural differences between the United States and the Arab world regarding low/high context, collectivism/individualism, time orientation and man's relationship with nature in print advertising. Study reveals that the main differences between the United States and the Arab world include cultural values that are embedded in religious values and beliefs.

Robert Philips Lane Papers - Accession 108, Robert Philips Lane

Manuscript Collection

The Robert Philips Lane Papers consist of lecture notes, term papers, examinations, class rolls, seating charts, speech notes and papers relating to Dr. Lane’s career as an English professor at Winthrop. Comprising a significant portion of the collection are research notes, writings, research papers, and other notes on literary figures and genres while Dr. Robert Philip Lane was a student at Thayer Academy, Harvard University, and the University of North Carolina.

Shared And Mutual Knowledge In Language Learning, Marty Meinardi

Articles

This article discusses the matter of shared knowledge from the perspective of the different deictic centres of understanding. Difficulties, which may result from a possible lack of a shared knowledge between NSs and NNSs due to differences in language experiences and personal backgrounds, are identified.

A Brief Introduction To Speech Synthesis And Voice Modification, Alan O'Cinneide, David Dorran, Mikel Gainza

Conference papers

For both engineers and linguists, the computer synthesis of natural speech is an objective that would provide many useful applications to human-computer interaction, including the realm of electro-acoustic music. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the area of speech synthesis by providing an overview of the three main methods of computer speech synthesis; namely concatenative, articulatory and formant syntheses. Some aspects of the current state of the technology are illuminated and the final section will explain the author’s motivation and current research approach to the field of voice modification.

Teachers’ Use Of Sensory Activities In Primary Literacy Lessons: A Study Of Teachers Trained In Accelerated Literacy Learning, Margaret E. Stockdale

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated Accelerated Literacy Learning (ALL) trained teachers' implementation of sensory activities into their classroom instructional practice. There were 38 participants in Phase One that completed questionnaires using a 5-point response scale to indicate their frequency of use for each of 30 sensory activities. All but one participant reported a high use of sensory activities in their literacy lessons, although the grade level did influence the variety and frequency of their reported use. Most primary level teachers reported a high use on many of the activities. Seven teachers of the participants from Phase One participated in interviews for Phase …

Photography, Dance And The Concept Of Punctum, Rhiannon Newton

Theses : Honours

... catching the underground home from the performance. Alone ... tears streaming down my face ... but I feel warm, uplifted, acutely sensitive. I can't pinpoint exactly what part of the performance or what idea is particularly affecting me. There is a broadening in my screen of vision, an excitement in previously unnoticed detail... an older wisdom (Journal 2007).

"Reality' is always, already encoded, it is never raw" (Fiske in Underwood.2003, p5). Codification negates abstraction or loss of information. "We do not live among and relate to physical objects and events. We live among and relate to systems of signs" …

Differences Among Non -Handicapped Students, Students With Mathematics Learning Disabilities, And Students With Mild Mental Retardation, In Elementary School In The Cognitive Components For The Addition Operation, Fawzi A. Al-Doukhi

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study is aimed at specifying the cognitive components for addition operations (encoding, speed of executing the operation, operation selection, and strategy choice) to determine if they are responsible for the difficulties that students with learning disabilities and mild mental retardation face in the elementary school in solving simple addition problems. The researcher selected 240 male and female pupils as a random sample from third and fifth grades from the state schools in the State of Kuwait. The sample was selected based on the characteristics of gender, type of handicap, and grade. The study employed two measurements. First, the addition …

Lost In Translation: Making Sense Of Dance Through Words, Paul T. O'Sullivan

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The aim of this paper is to enter into the debate about meaning and movement and challenge the idea of dance as linguistic communication. Without words, and even with words according to some linguistic theorists, it's not possible to make sense unless we come to an agreement about a set of shared concepts. This is difficult in dance, an art form that has been silent, but undergoing evolutionary change for a large part of its history. I take the point of view that performance movement is even more arbitrary than text as a form of signification. We can read words …

The Solution Of Traffic Signal Timing By Using Traffic Intensity Estimation And Fuzzy Logic, Paothai Vonglao

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study aims at calculating the traffic signal timing that suits traffic intensity at intersections studied in the inner city of Ubon Rachathani Provice, Thailand. The mixed models between maximum likelihood estimation and Bayesian inference are presented to estimate traffic intensity. A queuing system is used to generate the performance of traffic flow. A fuzzy logic system is applied to calculate the optimal length of each phase of the cycle. The fortran language is used to produce the computer program for computation. The algorithm of the computer programming is based on EM algorithm, Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm, queuing generation …

The Introduction Of Recurrent Funding To Non-Government Schools In Western Australia : National Statesmanship Or Provincial Pragmatism?, Heather De Leuil

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

State aid to private schools has been a controversial issue in Australia since the beginning of European settlement. This was true in all colonies' and remains a national issue in the twenty-first century. At various times colonial governments chose to provide to private schools, principally those operated by the Catholic and major churches. However as the colonies grew and statehood loomed, the of the day sought to withdraw their aid from private schools and their funding on the growing non-denominational, public school systems.

Multidimensional Approach To Nurse Client Communication In Two Malaysian Intensive Care Units, Faridah Hashim

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Communication among patients and nurses m the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) has received extensive attention in the nursing research literature. These studies have identified numerous factors both enhancing and impeding effective nurse client communication. Despite the extensive research attention paid to nurse client communication in an ICU setting, no studies can be located that take a multidimensional approach to exploring the factors serving to enhance or impede such nurse "client communications. The literature review searched from 1980 when the landmark study by Ashworth ( 1980) reported on nurse-patient communication in the ICU. Many studies followed on nursing communication

Mapping The Elements Of Physical Security Towards The Creation Of A Holistic Physical Security Model, Zachary J. Alach

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study has designed a theoretical mapping of complex element relationships within the field of physical security. The main purpose of the mapping is to form individual knowledge structures for modelling and provide a relative understanding of overall risk based on different combinations of physical security arrangements. An understanding of overall risk for modelling purposes should lead to improvements in providing support for decision making within this field. The final series of knowledge structures in this study have been represented by value matrices for element pair assessments within the topic of physical security. The values that have been presented in …