Digital Commons Network^™

Identifying Behavioral Characteristics Of High School Principals Providing Leadership In Reforming Iowa High Schools, Nadene E. Davidson

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Technological advances and the changing world have created new challenges in preparing our youth to lead satisfying lives in the twenty-first century. Current literature supports the case that change is needed in our high schools to move from the factory preparation model to become more personalized learning communities preparing students for life in a global community. This reinvented high school will require reinvented leadership to guide the process of high school reform. The purpose of this study was to identify behavioral characteristics of high school principals providing leadership in reforming Iowa high schools.

Interviews were conducted with educators from two …

Product Family Design Knowledge Representation, Aggregation, Reuse, And Analysis, Jyotirmaya Nanda, Henri Thevenot, Timothy W. Simpson, Robert B. Stone, Matt R. Bohm, Steven B. Shooter

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A flexible information model for systematic development and deployment of product families during all phases of the product realization process is crucial for product-oriented organizations. In current practice, information captured while designing products in a family is often incomplete, unstructured, and is mostly proprietary in nature, making it difficult to index, search, refine, reuse, distribute, browse, aggregate, and analyze knowledge across heterogeneous organizational information systems. To this end, we propose a flexible knowledge management framework to capture, reorganize, and convert both linguistic and parametric product family design information into a unified network, which is called a networked bill of material …

Robust/Optimal Temperature Profile Control Of A High-Speed Aerospace Vehicle Using Neural Networks, Vivek Yadav, Radhakant Padhi, S. N. Balakrishnan

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

An approximate dynamic programming (ADP)-based suboptimal neurocontroller to obtain desired temperature for a high-speed aerospace vehicle is synthesized in this paper. a 1-D distributed parameter model of a fin is developed from basic thermal physics principles. ldquoSnapshotrdquo solutions of the dynamics are generated with a simple dynamic inversion-based feedback controller. Empirical basis functions are designed using the ldquoproper orthogonal decompositionrdquo (POD) technique and the snapshot solutions. a low-order nonlinear lumped parameter system to characterize the infinite dimensional system is obtained by carrying out a Galerkin projection. an ADP-based neurocontroller with a dual heuristic programming (DHP) formulation is obtained with a …

Quiet, Do Not Disturb: Prying Open The Door To Examine Our Worlds Of Testing And Assessment, Amma Akrofi, Carole Janisch, Mellinee Lesley, Robin Griffith, Xiaoming Liu

Essays in Education

Teacher educators recount their personal experiences related to testing and assessment. Through the examination of these experiences stemming from collegial conversations, the individuals have come to better understand the issues and challenges their university students, preservice and inservice teachers, will face in their classroom settings. Along with theory and research, the realities encountered by these individuals become “course capital.” The content of their current and future university literacy courses and assessment courses reflects their renewed emphasis on responsive and child-centered instruction as opposed to the untoward focus on testing.

The Socio-Economic Implications Of Teachers Supply Patterns On The Teaching Profession In Nigeria, S. V. Kobiowu

Essays in Education

Various scholars and researches have identified a number of traditions guiding the development of teacher education programmes. These include “the academic” tradition, “the social efficiency” tradition, “the developmentalist” tradition, otherwise referred to as the “personalist” or “humanist” tradition, and “the social reconstructionist” tradition. Education is the pivot of development in all countries, (Nigeria is no exception), and the availability of well-trained and highly qualified teachers is central to the supply of human capital needed to promote qualitative education. The training of teachers in Nigeria, which started in 1859 with the establishment of “The Training Institute”, at Abeokuta, has metamorphosed into …

Methane Potential Of Upper Fort Union Formation Sandstones, Campbell County, Wyoming, Michael J. Blackstone

Theses and Dissertations

Coalbed methane has been produced from the coalbeds of the Upper Fort Union Formation in the Powder River Basin for many years. The sandstones associated with these coals have also proven to be gas-charged, but industry has done little with the sandstones thus far. The purpose of this study is to determine the paleoenvironrnent responsible for the deposition of the coal and sandstone bodies in an attempt to locate gas-charged sandstone bodies in the Tongue River Member of the Fort Union Formation.

The 30-mile by 90-mile study area was chosen because of the presence of a decrease in thick coalbed …

Resolving Terrain Effects In Borehole Temperature Profiles, Shannon M. Heinle

Theses and Dissertations

The study of borehole paleoclimatology aids scientists in determining past climate changes and in understanding current climate trends. Accurate borehole temperature logs are necessary to obtain a useful temperature profile. However, as many climate workers have discovered, borehole temperature profiles can have many causes of inaccuracy. Uncertainties associated with borehole data include errors stemming from temperature measurement, depth measurement, thermophysical property measurements, and terrain effects. Terrain effects include topography, changes in land cover over time, direct and diffused sun radiation, and groundwater flow.

This study focused on specific terrain effects influencing borehole temperature profiles in the United States borehole dataset …

Dialogic Communication In Collaborative Problem Solving Groups, Robert B. Innes

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Discourse, especially dialogic communication between students in collaborative problem-solving groups, plays a central role in educational reforms informed by learning science. This study examined the quality of discourse in problem-based learning groups in a university course. The study found a low incidence of high quality dialogue (dialogic communication, elaboration and co-construction of ideas, productive disciplinary discourse) in 12 one-hour planning meetings. The most competent students took leadership in groups and made the majority of the conceptual contributions. Although there was a reasonable amount of time spent connecting theories to cases, there was little time spent in high-level analysis and very …

What Motivates Students To Provide Feedback To Teachers About Teaching And Learning? An Expectancy Theory Perspective, Johnette Caulfield

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

The purpose of this empirical research study was to investigate what motivates students to provide formative anonymous feedback to teachers regarding their perceptions of the teaching and learning experience in order to improve student learning. Expectancy theory, specifically Vroom’s Model, was used as the conceptual framework for the study. Multiple regression analysis was employed to test both the valence and force equations. Statistically significant results indicated that students’ motivation was dependent upon the importance to them of improving the value of the class and of future classes, and the expectation that their formative feedback would lead to increased value for …

“What Happens In My University Classes That Helps Me To Learn?” Teacher Education Students’ Instructional Metacognitive Knowledge, Helen Askell-Williams, Michael Lawson, Rosalind Murray-Harvey

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Teacher education students’ instructional metacognitive knowledge needs to be well developed to promote both their own learning and their prospective students’ learning. In this study, we asked teacher education students to provide answers to the question “What happens in my university classes that helps me to learn?” Students identified issues such as supportive classroom environments, teachers’ professional and personal qualities, practical activities, reflection, and discussions. Cognitive organisation strategies were not well represented. Cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling of students’ responses identified a perceptual separation between teachers’ and students’ roles, suggesting that participants’ sense of personal agency, shared responsibility for learning, …

Powerpoint Presentation Handouts And College Student Learning Outcomes, Illene C. Noppe Ph.D.

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

This investigation sought to determine if supplementing lectures using Microsoft PowerPoint slides with handouts of the slides enhanced test-taking performance in an undergraduate Human Development course. In the first study, one section of the course (N=50) was given handouts for one exam and a final; the other (N=50) received handouts only for the final. No significant differences in test performance occurred across sections. The second study, conducted the following semester for two sections of the same course, assessed whether the receipt of PowerPoint handouts was moderated by learning styles. Learning styles were not predictive of improved test performance as a …

Teachers’ Conceptions Of Teaching Service Statistics Courses, Sue Gordon, Peter Petocz, Anna Reid

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

In this paper, we report on the results of a series of e-mail interviews with statistics educators around the world, focusing on their views of the nature of teaching statistics as a ‘service’ subject. What do they think are the important aspects of statistics to focus on in such servicing teaching? What do they think are the characteristics of good teachers? And how do they go about developing themselves as statistics teachers? We analyse their responses to these and other questions using a phenomenographic approach to identify an outcome space for their conceptions of teaching service statistics. We examine the …

Patent Symmetry, Alan L. Durham

Articles

The patent system suggests a natural symmetry if nonobvious changes are enough to distinguish a patentable invention from the prior art then further nonobvious changes should be enough to avoid infringing the patent Logical as this seems the courts have adopted the notoriously difficult standard of insubstantial differences rather than nonobviousness as the ultimate test of infringement In this article I consider the possibility of a genuinely symmetrical patent system and find the difficulties profound However I conclude that a semisymmetrical adaptation of the nonobviousness standard of patentability could provide a superior infringement analysis an analysis more objective in application …

Developing/Testing A New Approach For Assessing Rapid Visual Identification Of Hematological Cells Using Principles Of Visual Cognition: A Health Science Education Study, Deborah Elizabeth Fox

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was the development and testing of a novel method for assessment of white blood cell (WBC) identification skills used in the field of Clinical Laboratory Sciences (CLS). A dual format exam was administered to both novices (students) and experts (laboratory professionals). Format 1 was similar to current assessment formats, simply presenting a series of single WBC images for identification. Format 2 applied principles of visual cognition, grouping WBCs for identification by patient and presenting multiple example images from the patient before requesting identification of individual cells. This novel exam format was intended to: (a) provide …

Lanthanide Complexes As Fluorescent Indicators For Neutral Sugars And Cancer Biomarkers, Onur Alpturk

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Simple water soluble lanthanum and europium complexes are effective at detecting neutral sugars as well as glyco- and phospholipids. In solutions at physiologically relevant pH the fluorescent lanthanum complex binds neutral sugars with apparent binding constants comparable to those of arylboronic acids. Interference from commonly occurring anions is minimal. The europium complex detects sialic acid-containing gangliosides at pH 7.0 over an asialoganglioside. This selectivity is attributed, in large part, to the cooperative complexation of the oligosaccharide and sialic acid residues to the metal center, based on analogous prior studies. In MeOH, lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), a biomarker for several pathological conditions …

Using Power Spectra To Look For Anisotropies In Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray Distributions, Megan Alicia Mcewen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The origins and compositions of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECR) remains a mystery to this day. The Pierre Auger Observatory (PAO) is being constructed now in the hopes that it will help solve this mystery by detecting more UHECR than any previous experiment. In this dissertation, I will discuss this experiment, and analyze the data collected so far by comparing it with simulated data from possible source distributions. In these simulations, I will track antiprotons, along with other possible cosmic ray primaries, through various models of galactic and extragalactic magnetic fields. Once they reach a certain distance, I will record …

Xanthene/Benzoxanthene Dyes: Novel Synthetic Metholologies, Applications In Molecular Recognition, Cellular Imaging And The Design Of A Tunable White (Rgb) Light Emitter, Youjun Yang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

My graduate work has focused on the development of new fluorophore materials towards addressing several interdisciplinary research problems. Selective detection of sialic acid via a boron-amide interaction. Concentration changes of sialic acid can be monitored ratiometrically in the visible region using a boronic acid based chemosensor. The technique shows great promise for the detection of sialic acid, a critical cell surface residue involved in cancer, graft rejection and virulence in certain bacteria. There is no interference from commonly occurring oligosaccharides, aminosugars and most carboxylic acid-containing compounds. Improved synthetic methodology and studies of novel molecular probe architectures. I have developed a …

Syntheseses [Sic] And Evaluation Of Porphyrin Derivatives For Applications In Medicine And In Material Science, Erhong Hao

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Chapter 1 presents a concise introduction to porphyrins, especially on the synthesis of meso-tetraphenylporphyrins, which were synthesized during the course of my research and were used for further purposes in the following chapters. Chapter 2 describes the synthesis of a series of cobaltacarborane-porphyrin conjugates for the boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) of tumors. Using an efficient and high yield ring-opening reaction, N-substituted porphyrins were also synthesized. The spectroscopic and structural properties of these compounds are presented. These high percentage boron and amphiphilic compounds are promising boron delivery agents for BNCT (prelimary cellular studies using some of these compounds have been …

Backward Stochastic Navier-Stokes Equations In Two Dimensions, Hong Yin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

There are two parts in this dissertation. The backward stochastic Lorenz system is studied in the first part. Suitable a priori estimates for adapted solutions of the backward stochastic Lorenz system are obtained. The existence and uniqueness of solutions is shown by the use of suitable truncations and approximations. The continuity of the adapted solutions with respect to the terminal data is also established. The backward stochastic Navier-Stokes equations (BSNSEs, for short) corresponding to incompressible fluid flow in a bounded domain $G$ are studied in the second part. Suitable a priori estimates for adapted solutions of the BSNSEs are obtained …

Wind Loads For Petrochemical Structures, Samuel Amoroso

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Techniques currently available to practicing engineers for estimating wind loads for petrochemical structures have little theoretical or experimental basis. This dissertation research is an effort to expand the understanding of wind effects on petrochemical and other, similar structures. Petrochemical structures introduce geometric scales into wind tunnel model simulations below what are common for enclosed structures. Wind tunnel experiments were performed to help determine whether this will introduce problems in achieving dynamic similarity between models and prototypes. The experiments did not reveal any clear indication that petrochemical structures cannot be modeled in wind tunnels at scales similar to those used for …

Watershed-Scale Patterns Of Seaward Migration In Lentipes Concolor, A Hawaiian Stream Goby, Mark Gordon Mcrae

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The native stream fishes of the Hawaiian Islands are uniquely adapted to colonize and thrive in lotic habitats in this extremely isolated archipelago. Chapter 1 of this dissertation introduces the five native fishes of Hawaii's streams and describes the variety of lotic habitats they occupy. All five species have amphidromous life cycles, and, as such, their larvae must migrate to the ocean soon after hatching. Of the five species, Lentipes concolor is able to scale Hawaii’s highest waterfalls during the migration back into fresh water, and therefore inhabits the widest variety of stream types. Adult L. concolor are found a …

Locally Derived Nonpoint Loading Estimates For The Boeuf River/Bayou Lafourche Watershed, Emerald Purser Roider

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

There is currently a great demand for data and models that can be used to quantify nonpoint source pollutant loads from different land-use types. The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) is in the process of implementing management programs for impacted water bodies based on the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) of a pollutant. Pollutants of concern include total suspended solids (TSS), nitrogen, and phosphorus. One of the key parameters in determining the TMDL of a water body is the nonpoint source pollutant load from different land-use types. To date, such load estimates in Louisiana are lacking. The primary objective …

Wood Liquefaction In The Presence Of Phenol With A Weak Acid Catalyst And Its Potential For Novolac Type Wood Adhesives, Hui Pan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Wood liquefaction was conducted using phenol as a reagent solvent with oxalic acid as a catalyst. A series of studies were done on liquefied wood, liquefied wood residues, novolac-type liquefied wood resins, and bio-composites fabricated from liquefied wood resin. The results of the liquefied wood residue characterization revealed that the liquefaction reactions conducted in different reaction vessels underwent different liquefaction mechanisms. The crystallinity indexes of the liquefied wood residues were higher than that of the original wood, indicating that the amorphous lignin was the most susceptible component in wood to the liquefaction reaction. Fe2+ and Fe3+ ions were found to …

A Comparison Of Individual-Based And Matrix Projection Models To Applied To Fish Population And Community Dynamics, Shaye Ellen Sable

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Matrix projection models and individual-based models (IBM) are commonly used for the analysis and management of fish populations. Matrix models break down the population into age or stage classes, while IBMs track individuals. I perform a series of quantitative comparisons between the predictions of the two modeling approaches using the IBM as the standard of comparison to demonstrate when individual variation, species interactions, and spatial heterogeneity adversely affect matrix model performance. I first evaluate the matrix approach for predicting yellow perch population responses when perch are involved in size-specific predator-prey interactions with walleye. I created density-dependent and stochastic age-structured and …

Closure Under Transfinite Extensions, Edgar Enochs, Alina Iacob, Overtoun Jenda

Mathematical Sciences: Faculty Publications

The closure under extensions of a class of objects in an abelian category is often an important property of that class. Recently the closure of such classes under transfinite extensions (both direct and inverse) has begun to play an important role in several areas of mathematics, for example, in Quillen's theory of model categories and in the theory of cotorsion pairs. In this paper we prove that several important classes are closed under transfinite extensions.

On Energy And Expected Uncertainty Measures In Weighted Distributions, Broderick O. Oluyede, Mekki Terbeche

Mathematical Sciences: Faculty Publications

In this note, bounds and inequalities for the comparisons of weighted energy functions, entropy, and discrimination information measures and their unweighted counterparts are presented. Inequalities for weighted expected uncertainty, cross-entropy or discrimination information measures are also presented. A useful result on the convergence of the weighted kernel density informational energy estimates is given and some informational energy applications presented.

The Influences Of Gender Identity On The Expectancies For Success And Perceived Task Value Of Three Different Activities, Chi Ching Chow

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of gender identity on expectancies for success and perceived task value. The Short form of the Bern Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI-SF) was used to identify four gender identities, androgynous, feminine, masculine, and undifferentiated. The Self- and Task- Perception Questionnaire measured expectancies and task values on three physical activities. One hundred thirty-three students (62 males and 71 females) at the University of Northern Iowa who were enrolled in the aerobic training session of the personal wellness class participated. The mean age of the participants was 20.2 years (SD= 1.9). AN OVA results …

A Note On Relations For Reliability Measures In Zero-Adjusted Models, Broderick O. Oluyede, Mavis Pararai

Mathematical Sciences: Faculty Publications

In this note we examine and study relations in zero-adjusted models. Relations for reliability measures in the adjusted and unadjusted models are established and appropriate comparisons including the relative error are presented. The relative error is shown to be a decreasing function of the counts. Some inequalities and comparisons for weighted zero-adjusted models are established.

Improving The Sound Absorbing Capacity Of Portland Cement Concrete Pavements Using Recycled Materials, Jonathan Gene Pitre

Master's Theses and Capstones

Over 50 percent of the United States population is exposed to traffic noise at a disturbance level of 70 decibel, while 15 percent are subjected to noise levels even higher and are considered an actual nuisance. Porous portland cement concrete pavements reduce noise at the source and have been very successful in Europe. A method was developed to predict the aggregate and concrete porosity and that was verified by image analysis. A laboratory manufactured impedance tube was developed to test the acoustical performance of the samples. Relationships were determined between the porosity, sample depth, aggregate type and acoustical performance. Detailed …

Statistical And Cartographic Modeling Of Vernal Pool Locations: Incorporating The Spatial Component Into Ecological Modeling, Tina A. Cormier

Master's Theses and Capstones

Vernal pools are small, isolated, depressions that experience cyclical periods of inundation and drying. Many species have evolved strategies to utilize the unique characteristics of vernal pools; however, their small size, seasonal nature, and isolation from other, larger water bodies, suggest increased risk of damage/loss by development. The goals of this research were to statistically determine physical predictors of vernal pool presence and, subsequently, to represent the output cartographically for use as a conservation tool. Logistic regression and Classification and Regression Tree (CART) routines were used to define important variables (slope, aspect, land use, soils, and reflectance) of 405 known …