Digital Commons Network^™

Pedagogical Fusion, David Maurice White

Theses and Dissertations

During the five semesters that I have been at VCU I have learned a great deal from the courses that I have been enrolled in but I have learned the most through my experiences as a Teaching Assistant. These experiences have been so valuable because of the wide range of subject areas in which I have been involved and the diverse instructors that I have assisted. Although I hesitate to use the word "problem" I feel that there is a tendency in teacher training for a student to latch onto one professor and model their teaching practices after that one …

A Life In Words, Thoughts, Ideas, Images And Movement, Randy Houston Mercer

Theses and Dissertations

I know it is my core, my purest nature to incessantly question myself and everything around me; as we pertain to the universe. As Robert Wilson suggests "I will always ask 'What is it?' before telling you what it is." My goal is to present you with some tools with which to approach your craft, your life, your uncertainties. And though I may not always be the best example, I still wish to encourage all that read this or spend time with me to see this craft/business and indeed your life as a great, happy adventure; guided by love. Because …

The Effect Of A Nominal Fee On Treatment Choices For Children Needing Dental Rehabilitation, D'Audra M. Cole

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: The purpose of the study was to determine if a co-payment resulted in a differential preference for general anesthesia (GA) or oral sedation (OS) and, if so, to examine whether age, the number of appointments, perceived risks of treatment, child's awareness during treatment, or insurance type appeared to play a role in this preference.Methods: Using a cross-sectional survey design, questionnaires were distributed to caregivers of patients in the waiting room of the Virginia Commonwealth University Pediatric Dental Clinic. Two different questionnaires were distributed randomly. Both surveys described a scenario with the need for dental treatment under general anesthesia (GA) …

The Quantitative Genetics Of Neurodevelopment: A Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study Of Childhood And Adolescence, James Eric Schmitt

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the causes of individual differences in brain structure may give clues about the etiology of cognition, personality, and psychopathology, and also may identify endophenotypes for molecular genetic studies on brain development. We performed a comprehensive statistical genetic study of anatomic neuroimaging data from a large pediatric sample (N=600+) of twins and family members from the Child Psychiatry Branch at the NIMH. These analyses included variance decomposition of structural volumetric endophenotypes at several levels of resolution, voxel-level analysis of cortical thickness, assessment of gene by age interaction, several multivariate genetic analyses, and a search for genetically-mediated brain-behavioral relationships. These analyses …

Elementary School Principals' Perceptions Of The Instructional Role Of The School Library Media Specialist, Audrey Puckett Church

Theses and Dissertations

Studies conducted in numerous states by various researchers demonstrate that library media specialists who take an active role in the instructional process positively impact student achievement in their schools. Principals are the instructional leaders of their schools, yet the research indicates that they are not knowledgeable regarding the role of the library media specialist. This study explored Virginia elementary school principals' perceptions of the instructional role of the library media specialist, the effect of library schedule on these perceptions, and the origin of these perceptions. Principals who responded to the study strongly endorsed the role of library media specialist as …

Children With Special Needs Oral Health Quality Of Life Survey, Kristin Elizabeth Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to asses the oral health quality of life of children with special health care needs. This study examined the effects of oral health conditions on general well-being and family life of these children. A secondary aim of the study was to investigate correlations between specific health care conditions, gender, and age of these children and their global ratings of oral health and well-being.Methods: This study was a cross-sectional design with subjects who are members of the Virginia Care Connection for Children program, based at Virginia Commonwealth University. The oral health quality of life …

Within And Without, Shane Robert Rocheleau

Theses and Dissertations

Within and Without is a document which illustrates my personal and artistic research into the nature of the postmodern conception of the self: that self is unfixed, multiple, and reactive. It explicates my myriad and explorative approaches to photographic portraiture. Furthermore, it indicates many of my theoretical and artistic references and how I have applied my lessons both as an artist and a researcher to maximize the effect of my concepts within the formal and aesthetic confines of my photographs. Finally, this document explains my own beliefs concerning the nature of self and how a synthesis of my influences has …

Merging Task-Centered Social Work And Motivational Interviewing In Outpatient Medication Assisted Substance Abuse Treatment: Model Development For Social Work Practice, Andreas Fassler

Theses and Dissertations

To advance social work practice and decrease the research practice gap, this dissertation followed a model development paradigm consisting of several phases. Based on the task-centered model of social work practice and motivational interviewing, a new combined model was construed. The two underlying models were analyzed and synthesized, using technical eclecticism as the integrative approach. The resulting combined model was described by guidelines and manualized. To test the combined model in an applied setting, a study was designed in collaboration with social workers at a substance abuse counseling center. There, the combined model intervention was implemented in an outpatient medication …

Developing An Online Tool For Delivering Research Results: An Update To The Oregon Department Of Transportation’S Crash Reduction Factor Database, Christopher Monsere, Aaron Breakstone, Robert Bertini, Douglas Bish

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Often, the challenge for the practitioner in disseminating research results is to package and present them in a manner that is accessible and easy to use while still providing depth, guidance, and necessary information. In most cases, final research reports are made available in printed form and online; however, for some applications, converting a report to a more interactive online report (tool) can produce results that are easier for the user to access. This is particularly true in this age of information overload and as practitioners find themselves needing to "do more with less." This paper describes how research results …

Politics And The Glass Ceiling In American Law Enforcement: Why Not More Women Chiefs Of Police?, Madeline G. Meistrich Edd

Dissertations

Law enforcement is one of the last male-dominated occupations. Out of 18,000 police departments in the United States, only 200 to 250 have women chiefs. Such under-representation reflects the "glass ceiling" effect of a gender-based metaphorical barrier that prevents women from rising to the top of an organization, regardless of qualifications. The research examined three questions: what are the issues and problems articulated by women officers attempting to move upwards; what strategies were employed as they attempted to advance; and what strategies could help other women reach the top? Nine female primary participants in law enforcement leadership were interviewed, as …

Pedagogy In Online Graduate Business Learning Environments, Alicia Maria Gallegos Butters Edd

Dissertations

Many higher education institutions have decided to offer graduate business online courses and full degree online programs. Offering a quality education for graduate business students online is of concern to business school professors, administrators, and students. Instructors are concerned with the content, delivery method, and level of student achievement. Instructional design support for the online instructors is often lacking in the online curriculum and pedagogy, leaving the faculty with a great deal of freedom to create their own course content, structure, and delivery without any formal distance education training. For this reason, it is imperative for universities to establish online …

Cascade Production In The Reactions 𝛾p → K⁺ K⁺(X) And 𝛾p → K⁺K⁺ Π⁻⁻(X), M. J. Amaryan, H. Bagdasaryan, S. Bültmann, S. L. Careccia, K. V. Dharmawardane, G. E. Dodge, G. Gavalian, N. Guler, C. E. Hyde-Wright, N. Kalantarians, A. Klein, S. E. Kuhn, M. R. Niroula, S. Tkachenko, L. B. Weinstein, J. Zhang, Et Al., Clas Collaboration

Physics Faculty Publications

Photoproduction of the cascade resonances has been investigated in the reactions γp → K + K +(X) and γp → K + K + π −(X). The mass splitting of the ground state (Ξ⁻,Ξ⁰) doublet is measured to be 5.4 ± 1.8 MeV/c², consistent with existing measurements. The differential (total) cross sections for the Ξ⁻ have been determined for photon beam energies from 2.75 to 3.85 (4.75) GeV and are consistent with a production mechanism of Y∗→K+Ξ⁻ through a t-channel process. The reaction γp→K+K+π−[Ξ⁰] has also been investigated to …

Welcome Home, Meredith Jones-Gray

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Reactive Oxygen Emission From Microwave Discharge Plasmas, S. Popovic, M. Rašković, S. P. Kuo, L. Vuskovic

Physics Faculty Publications

Metastable oxygen atoms and molecules have received increased interest because of their function in surface modification, bio-decontamination and many other industrial applications, in addition to the role in the upper atmospheric layer chemistry. We review work on production and detection of metastable oxygen and we describe our experiments, including the development of techniques for measurement of metastable molecular oxygen. We show that either metastable oxygen molecules or metastable oxygen atoms can be produced in large quantities in electrical discharges, carefully tailored to promote the required kinetics. Although the two species may coexist, colder discharge regimes favor production of molecules, while …

Selective Growth Of Single-Crystalline Zno Nanowires On Doped Silicon, Rolf Könenkamp, Robert Campbell Word, M. Dosmailov, J. Meiss, Athavan Nadarajah

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We report the growth of single-crystalline ZnO nanowires on n- and p-type Si wafers by electrodeposition. On strongly doped n-type Si high-quality nanowires can be grown under similar conditions as used for metallic substrates. For low electron concentrations occurring in weakly n-type or in p-type wafers, nanowire growth is inhibited. This difference allows selective growth in strongly n-type areas. The inhibited growth on weakly n-type and p-type wafers can be improved by applying stronger cathodic electrode potentials or by illuminating the growth area. The wires on n-Si show efficient electroluminescence covering the visible and extending into the ultraviolet spectral range.

Quantum Physics And Welfare Policy?, Jack C. Straton

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Welfare policy is examined through the paradoxical logic of Nagarjuna’s tetralema, providing a lens through which wave-particle duality in quantum mechanics is then viewed. Through this process students are challenged to radically expand their critical-thinking horizons beyond conventional dualistic bounds. They learn not only this key property of quantum reality, but have to come to grips with the nature of knowledge itself, and the degree to which they censor their own awarenesses.

Enhancing The Capability Of Rapid Bridge Replacement After Extreme Events, Yong Bai, Seong Hoon Kim, William R. Burkett

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose

The potential threats of extreme events to highway bridges have received increased attention from government agencies, the engineering and construction communities, and the traveling public. These events include terrorist attacks as well as human‐induced and natural hazards such as earthquakes, explosions, fires, floods, and hurricanes. To respond to the potential threats on highway bridges, a research project was conducted to identify rapid bridge replacement processes, techniques, and needs for improvements.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve the research objectives, a detailed case study of previous bridge replacement following an extreme event was conducted. The case study was performed using a three‐step approach. …

Subcentral Governmental Investment Incentives: Assessing Their Lawfulness Under The Gatt And The Scm Agreement, Rex Zedalis

Articles, Chapters in Books and Other Contributions to Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Market Failure In The Marketplace Of Ideas: Commercial Speech And The Problem That Won't Go Away, Tamara Piety

Articles, Chapters in Books and Other Contributions to Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Classroom Model And Peer Influence: The Relationship Between Preschoolers' Behavior And Academic Achievement In The Classroom, Rhonda Sue Jamison

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research indicates that classroom behaviors in students may be good predictors of academic success. The present study investigated the relationship between classroom peers, positive and negative classroom behaviors, early literacy and mathematics ability, and classroom model in 214 predominately low-income preschool children in 21 classes across a six-county area. It was hypothesized that peer classroom behavior would be a significant predictor of individual child ability and that peers would have differential influence across classroom models. Results indicated that peer classroom behavior was not a significant predictor of individual child ability. Individual child classroom behaviors, specifically positive behaviors, emerged as a …

Juvenile Hormone And Reproductive Tactics In Romalea Microptera, The Eastern Lubber Grasshopper, Raime Blair Fronstin

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Isolated populations that inhabit various geographic and climatic ranges tend to diverge in their life history tactics. When development time is constrained by unfavorable seasons, often an organism must trade-off the investment of resource allocation between somatic and reproductive growth. The variation in reproductive tactics and juvenile hormone titers were studied among three populations of Romalea microptera from Athens, GA, Jacksonville, FL, and Miami, FL, all of which exist on a latitudinal cline. The Athens population was significantly younger at oviposition and gained significantly less body mass than both the Jacksonville and Miami populations, which did not differ from each …

Dual Constraint Problem Optimization Using A Natural Approach: Genetic Algorithm And Simulated Annealing, James P. Sweeney

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Constraint optimization problems with multiple constraints and a large solution domain are NP hard and span almost all industries in a variety of applications. One such application is the optimization of resource scheduling in a "pay per use" grid environment. Charging for these resources based on demand is often referred to as Utility Computing, where resource providers lease computing power with varying costs based on processing speed. Consumers using this resource have time and cost constraints associated with each job they submit. Determining the optimal way to divide the job among the available resources with regard to the time and …

Team Vision Focusing On The Future: Assessing Community Needs And Outreach, The Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute At Virginia Commonwealth University

GEHLI - 2026 VCUL Team Project Publications

Faced with this challenge, Team Vision took a multi-pronged approach toward generating a solution. The first prong looked internally to delineate the scope of the problem, define community and community engagement, and understand VCU’s current commitment to community engagement. Next, looking external beyond the University, the team identified model institutions from which an approach for assessing community needs and determining appropriate projects could be garnered. Specifically, Team Vision, investigated Carnegie designated “Community Engaged Universities:” those institutions which have met stringent curricular and partnership criteria. The third step was to identify assessment tools and methods already in use at the University …

Current Trends In Air Traffic Controller Recruitment And Training, Jose R. Ruiz

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) currently employs approximately 15,000 air traffic controllers (FAA, 2004). Over the next 10 years, more than 11,000 members of the air traffic control (ATC) workforce will become eligible to retire (FAA, 2004). How is the FAA planning to offset this impending wave of retirements? In December 2004, the FAA announced its plan to hire 12,500 air traffic controllers over the next 10 years (FAA, 2004). Figure 1 displays projected controller losses and hires through the year 2013.

Back Matter

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

No abstract provided.

Back Matter

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

No abstract provided.

Crew Resource Management Is Still Flourishing In A Challenging Aviation Environment, Leslie Gibson

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

CRM is alive and well. It has grown from an obscure concept - when even pilots had to ask what the initials represented - to a universally recognized model that plays a substantial role in military, airline, and corporate flight training and evaluative procedures. This growth has occurred over nearly three decades, and the time factor is significant in enabling its advancement by building upon earlier concepts, measuring its effectiveness, and adapting better strategies to suit changing environments. Its development and flexibility are aptly represented by the alteration of its name, expanding the meaning of the "C" to signify all …

Front Matter

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

No abstract provided.

Distance Learning In Collegiate Aviation: A Survey Of The Historical, Theoretical, And Contemporary Aspects, C. Daniel Prather

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

Distance learning, which, for the purpose of this study, is defined as academic courses that can be completed via the computer and internet and entirely absent from the traditional classroom, has seen tremendous growth in the past decade. In fact, according to management guru Peter Drucker, "The future [of higher education] is outside the traditional campus, outside the traditional classroom. Distance learning is coming on fast" (Gubernick & Ebeling, 1997, para. 4). Indeed, according to the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), about 1 in 13 post-secondary students enrolls in at least one distance learning course each semester (U.S. GAO, 2002). …