Digital Commons Network^™

Cultivating Passion In Teaching English Language Learners: A Critical Analytical Inquiry, Victoria Vazquez Webbert

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

In this theoretical dissertation my aim is to research the academic literature in the field of second language acquisition (SLA), compare it to the life experiences of past and/or present students, colleagues, children and myself to reflect and summarize my learning in the form of a conceptual framework that I have named, Framework for Understanding the Teaching and Learning of English Language Learners. The ever increasing number of diverse students in US schools along with the demand for standardized learning and assessments has created a range of challenges for educators that I seek to attend to with the writing of …

Issues Of Blondeness: Identity, Education, And Experience, Kelly C. Blackston-Cail

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This narrative study is an inquiry into the lives of five women and their personal identity development as it is related to the generalizations and negative stereotypes based on hair color among the female gender. The concept of blondeness as it is related to hair color and identity is the primary focus of this study based on the responsibility of social construction on the development of this image. The subject's willingness to participate provided many viable insights about their lived experiences in life, their education and/or professional careers. This study shows how each participant faced these generalizations and negativity which …

Performance-Based Assessment Within A Balanced Literacy Framework: An Analysis Of Teacher Perceptions And Implementation In Elementary Classrooms, Amy Mcgowan Duke

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This mixed methods study explored the perspectives of thirty-nine (N=39) elementary teachers employed in four elementary schools in one school district in Georgia regarding the use of performance-based assessment strategies within an all encompassing balanced literacy framework for instruction. Participants were surveyed on their use of performance-based assessment strategies, and both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. This study draws on the research regarding the dichotomy that exists between standardized tests and the performance-based assessment practices of teachers implementing balanced literacy. Because teacher buy-in is critical to the success of any curricular initiative, inquiry into teacher perceptions of their role …

Race, Class, And Tracking: What Keeps African American Males From Pursuing College Degrees?, Sonja Renee Richardson-Shavers

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Using critical race theory (Crenshaw, Gotanda, Peller, & Thomas, 1995; Delgado & Stefancic, 1995, 2001; Ladson-Billings, 1998) as the theoretical framework and narrative inquiry (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000) as the research methodology, this study explored the stories of 4 African American males to discover how race, class, and tracking affected their higher education opportunities. Participants were selected based upon their chosen curriculum; 2 participants represented a college preparatory curriculum, and represented a technical preparatory curriculum. Stories were collected via individual and focus group interviews in a predominantly Black high school in middle Georgia. Additional methods included school portraiture, participant profiles, …

Self, Other, And Jump Rope Community: The Triumphs Of African American Women, Wynnetta Ann Scott-Simmons

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Using Critical Race Theory, Critical Literacy, Black Feminist Thought as a theoretical framework and Oral History as research methodology, the lives of four young African American women are explored as they leave their culturally insular surroundings, Jump Rope Communities, to seek access to the codes of power and registers of language in all-White, all-girl, elite private schools during the late 1960s and early 1970s. In capturing the memories, perceptions, and lived experiences of these women over thirty years later, the journey into a world of divergences was explored--divergent language codes, divergent social, cultural, and economic stratifications, and divergent linguistic expectations, …

Black Feminist Autobiographical Inquiry Into The Experiences Of A Teen Mom, Advis Dell Wilkerson

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Using Black feminist thought as the theoretical framework and autobiographical inquiry as methodology, I explored ways in which adversity fostered resiliency of character. Despite difficult circumstances, such as growing up in a poor, single-parent household and becoming pregnant in the 9th grade when continuing one's education after pregnancy or marriage was not permitted in the Deep South, with the help of others, I fought to finish my high school education and succeeded in college. I credit a close bond with a supportive adult and my own development of racial awareness with helping me to turn obstacles into successes. My intent …

Understanding The Influences On The Homework Experiences Of Low-Socioeconomic, African American, Kindergarten Students, Sheryl Florantine Venable

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Mixed views exist on the benefits of homework for elementary students. The focus of this interpretive case study was to understand the influences on the homework experiences of 10 low-socioeconomic, African American kindergarten students. The general research question framed by Bandura's (1986) social cognitive theory was stated as followed: How do the students' personal processes, the parents' home and the teachers school classroom environments, and the students' school academic behaviors interact to influence the homework experiences of low-socioeconomic, African-American kindergarten students? The data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Interviews and records of homework and quiz grades revealed that …

Phenomenology, Film And Curriculum Theory: An Inquiry Into The Intellectual Persona Of Teachers, Tara Danielle Britt

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Teachers have lost autonomy due to the restraints placed on them by local and state standards and standardized testing. I am concerned that teachers have lost sight of their purpose as intellectuals who guide students in the development of critical thinking skills. In this dissertation, I used film to examine teachers' abilities to think critically. I used the phenomenological perspective of Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Vivian Sobchack to examine how teachers physically and mentally react to representations of teachers and teaching as selected films depict them. I considered how the teachers' embodiment of film played a part in guiding them to …

Identification Of Teacher Interpersonal Relationship Behaviors Related To High School Hispanic Student Success, Iris Torres Crews

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study investigated high school Hispanic students' perceptions of their mathematics or science teachers' interpersonal relationship behaviors. The Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI) was completed by 572 high school Hispanic students in Georgia. Of these, 259 high school Hispanic students identified the teacher interpersonal relationships behaviors of their mathematics teacher and 313 students identified the behaviors of their science teacher. Ratings obtained from high school Hispanic students in a district with a large percentage of high school Hispanic students whose scores on the Georgia High School Graduation Tests (GHSGT) exceeded the reported state pass/pass plus percentage, and ratings from high …

Dry Beans, Unknown Unknown

All Current Publications

This fact sheet lists details of dry bean crop insurance.

The Effects Of The Quadhelix Appliance On The Dentition And Adjacent Buccal Bone, Shannon Hilgers

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Maxillary palatal expansion has long been used in orthodontics as a means of correcting constricted and collapsed dental arches. The quadhelix appliance, developed by Drs. Robert Ricketts and Ruel Bench, expands buccal segments and causes distobuccal rotation in upper first molars. The objective of this study was to assess the direct effects that the quadhelix appliance on the surrounding dentition and buccal bone in the maxillary premolar and molar areas in a finite, measurable manner. This assessment was made using the NewTom 3G. The pre-quadhelix and post-quadhelix NewTom 3G images of twenty patients treated in the Graduate Orthodontic Clinic at …

Is Electrical Stimulation A Predictive Tool For Autonomic Dysfunction In Males With Diabetes?, Susan Dorothy Rand

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine whether electrical stimulation can be used as a predictive tool to assess autonomic dysfunction in males with diabetes. The study was designed to better understand the extent of autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction in the diabetic population.

Controls and patients with diabetes were recruited from the community at large and the Loma Linda University Diabetes Treatment Center and were managed by a physician. Twelve (12) people with diabetes and thirteen (13) control subjects participated. Mean age (years) for people with diabetes was 52.4 +/- 6.1 and 47.2 +/-11.1 for controls (p =0.05). …

Distraction Of Heterotopic Bone Formed With Bmp-2 In A Rat Model: The Technique, Stacie Dawn Fenderson

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Multiple studies have shown that ectopic bone forms when bone morphogenic proteins (for example BMP-2 and BMP-7) and a collagen matrix are surgically placed in a rat model either orthotopically or heterotopically. Bone begins to form by the 14 day, and is at it maximum calcified state by the 21st day. The purpose of this study is to observe and quantify the effect of distraction osteogenesis on the ectopic bone. First, a preliminary procedure was performed by surgically placing a titanium cage into the back of a rat just caudal to the thoracic vertebrae. The anterior corners were sutured to …

James Hainlen: An Oral History Of An Exemplary Public School Orchestra Director And His Program, Rebecca E. Starr

Theses and Dissertations

Experts advise string teachers to identify and model successful string teachers and programs. However, there is a scarcity of literature that examines this subject. There is literature that examines exemplary band teachers and programs, and these works can be useful to the string teaching profession. However, string teachers ·can benefit more from literature that specifically examines exemplary string orchestra programs and teachers. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to gather information from a renowned public school string teacher about the components of his successful string orchestra program.

The researcher conducted a personal interview with James Hainlen, retired director and …

Parker Mountain Adaptive Resource Management Group 2007 Annual Report, Michael Guttery, David Dahlgren, Michael Monsen, Terry Messmer

All Current Publications

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Time Of Day On Executive Function And Memory In Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Jennifer M. Garaas

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined time of day effects on the performance of executive function and memory tasks in children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and non-ADHD children. Previous studies have found that ADHD children performed worse on executive function and memory tasks. Also, research has found that time of day influences performance on executive function and memory tasks. The data analysis in this present study consisted of comparing the performance of ADHD children tested in the morning, ADHD children tested in the afternoon, non-ADHD children tested in the morning, and non-ADHD children tested in the afternoon on a variety of tests of …

Hiv/Aids Policies In The United States And The United Kingdom: Emerging At-Risk Groups And The Struggle For Limited Resources, Jennifer Lorren Willis

Masters Theses

This thesis compares the HIV/ AIDS policies in the United States of America and the United Kingdom since the emergence of the virus in 1981. Despite a privatized health care system in the U.S. and the universal system in the UK, which lie on opposite ends of the policy care spectrum, similar populations have recently emerged as those most in need of health care services, preventative programs, and financial assistance. This thesis employs several quantitative and qualitative data to highlight the emergence of women and minorities in both nations as those that are most in need of resources. Data has …

Neuropsychopharmacological Investigations Of Mdma/Cocaine Combinations, John J. Panos

Masters Theses

Despite the popularity of polydrug abuse among recreational MDMA users, relatively few controlled experimental studies have documented the neurobehavioral effects of MDMA in combination with other abused substances. In this study, the neurochemical and behavioral effects of MD MA/cocaine combinations were assessed using in vivo microdialysis with simultaneous measurement of locomotor activity (LMA). Rats were administered cocaine (10 mg/kg or 20 mg/kg, IP), MDMA (1.5 mg/kg or 3.0 mg/kg, IP) or combinations of cocaine and MDMA during microdialysis experiments. Microdialysis samples were collected every 30 min for three hours prior to drug injections. Following drug administration, six additional 30 min …

Breaking The Be Nice Rule: Direct Action Community Organizing, Adriana Rosas

Masters Theses

Focusing on the Kalamazoo Homeless Action Network (KHAN), this thesis explores the dynamics of transformation in community organizing, and the crucial and often complicated role of anger in that process. Current Anthropological literature on the topic of resistance and poverty leaves unexamined the micropolitics of individuals' transformation as they become civically engaged as well as the laborious organizing techniques culminating in such events that lead to social change and individual empowerment. I will contribute to the literature on poverty and resistance by examining the 'behind-the-scenes' dimensions of direct action community organizing that influence individual and social transformation. Through this examination …

Design Of Multi-Electron Transfer Catalysts For The Reduction Of Trichloroethylene, Christopher Gerard Eman Ciptadjaya

Masters Theses

For decades, organohalide (RX) compounds have been heavily used in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries and in agriculture as pesticides. Improper disposal of organohalides has resulted in their presence in the environment as pollutants, and they have therefore presented serious environmental and toxicological concerns. These organohalides have been associated with various health and environmental problems. Therefore, effective methods for their remediation are required. We have developed a multi-electron transfer (MET) catalyst consisting of flavin mononucleotide anchored to nanocrystalline mesoporous titanium dioxide (TiO₂) thin films, and examined its reactivity toward the organohalide pollutant trichloroethylene (TCE). Various environmental factors were …

Winding Down For Winter, Jaydee Gunnell

All Current Publications

By the time the frost starts covering the lawn at the end of the season, many gardeners–like their plants– are spent. It is all too easy to ignore outdoor chores, but by accomplishing a few simple chores before those first flakes fly, you can ensure an easier start to next spring.

The Relationship Between The Mmpi-2'S Rc3 Cynicism Scale And Social Support, Blake K. Webster

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The current study examined the MMPI-2's Restructured Clinical Scale 3 (RC3) measuring cynicism from the Tellegen et al. (2003) Restructured Clinical Scales project. While RC3 has shown adequate reliability coefficients, research investigating RC3 has questioned its validity and descriptive abilities. Research suggests that adequate criterion has not been established for the scale. RC3 in this study was correlated with three types of social support: Proactive Coping, Instrumental Support Seeking, and Emotional Support Seeking. Based on a review of the literature of cynicism and social support, it was hypothesized that a negative relationship would exist between the two constructs. The study …

Corn, Unknown Unknown

All Current Publications

This fact sheet lists details of corn crop insurance.

The Berlin Poplars: A Translation, Lene Johansen

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a translation of a section of Anne Birkeland Ragde's Berlinerpoplene, or The Berlin Poplars, a contemporary Norwegian novel about how' family dynamics shape and haunt following generations. The narrative alternates between three brothers and reflects how each of them experiences and deals (consciously or not) with feelings of belonging, alienation, and isolation. The Berlin Poplars is a strong novel: the character development and the interpersonal dynamics are rich, and Ragde presents her very flawed protagonists in a dark, brutally honest, yet humane manner. Furthermore, the novel strongly reflects Norway and traditional Norwegian culture.

The complexity of the …

When Using Intensive Grazing Practices, Does It Matter How Often You Move Cattle To A New Paddock On Improved, Irrigated Pastures In Utah?, R. D. Weidmeier

All Current Publications

This publication includes results from a study that answers the question of how often to move cattle to a new paddock when using intensive grazing practices.

Analysis Of Freight Tours In A Congested Urban Area Using Disaggregated Data: Characteristics And Data Collection Challenges, Miguel Andres Figliozzi, Lynsey Kingdon, Andrea Wilkitzki

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Confidentiality issues are usually an insurmountable barrier that precludes the collection of detailed and complete freight data. However, when detailed disaggregated truck activity data is available, the analysis of commercial vehicle routes and trip chain structures can provide insightful information about urban commercial vehicle tours, travel patterns, and congestion levels. Where truck data is usually aggregated and cross-sectional, this research analyzes several months of detailed truck activity records in a congested urban area and thus contributes a level of investigation unavailable with aggregated data. To the best of the author's knowledge, there is no published research regarding the analysis of …

Tribal College Culture-Based Education Impacts American Indian Students In North America, Loann Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

Life Circle Tribal College (a pseudonym), as other tribal colleges, claims its purpose for existence is to help increase American Indians' access to affordable and culturally relevant vocational and academic postsecondary education. This study sought to answer the following questions: (1) How did students and staff at Life Circle Tribal College perceive Life Circle Tribal College as fulfilling the cultural portion of its mission? (2) What impact did students and staff feel the culture-based education approach used at Life Circle Tribal College had on students' lives in their educational pursuits at the tribal college, in their current and future relationships …

Social Isolation Meets Technological Innovation: Towards Developing A Model Of Communication Among Parents Who Homeschool, Megan Nicole Tollefson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand how a sample of homeschoolers were using blogs. In this study of homeschoolers and their blog use, a content analysis of 25 blogs with entries from September 2006, February 2007, and June 2007 were studied. The subjects were homeschoolers who blogged; 19 were females, three were males, and six did not clearly identify themselves as male or female. Seven themes emerged through a content analysis: resources, succeeding at homeschooling, homeschooling and fun, advice, questioning homeschoolers, current events, and socialization. These themes were verified through a word count listing from the software used …

Eagleville Times, Volume 5, Issue 23, Debbie Ryan

Eagleville Times

No abstract provided.

Review Of Imperialism And Human Rights: Colonial Discourses Of Rights And Liberties In African History, Chima J. Korieh

History Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.