Digital Commons Network^™

Generalization Effects Of Social Story Interventions For Individuals With Asperger's Disorder, Jennifer Alphonso Abraham

Dissertations

Social Stories™ (Gray, 2004) is a relatively new intervention designed to teach appropriate skills to individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Although there is preliminary evidence of the effectiveness of Social Stories it has typically been implemented in one target setting. As a result, there are little data to support whether or not the effects of Social Stories will generalize to other settings. The current study examined the effectiveness of Social Stories for increasing appropriate behaviors exhibited by four children diagnosed with Asperger's Disorder. Generalization effects across settings were assessed using a typical Social Story (Train and Hope) format and …

Coincidence Theory: Seeking A Perceptual Preference For Just Intonation, Equal Temperament, And Pythagorean Intonation In Excerpts For Wind Instruments, Derle Ray Long

Dissertations

Coincidence theory states that when the components of harmony are in enhanced alignment the sound will be more consonant to the human auditory system. An objective method of examining the components of harmony is by investigating alignment of the mathematics of a particular sound or harmony. The study examined preference responses to excerpts tuned in just intonation, Pythagorean intonation, and equal temperament. Musical excerpts were presented in pairs and study subjects simply picked one version from the pair that they perceived as the most consonant. Results of the study revealed an overall preference for equal temperament in contradiction to coincidence …

The Role Of Msa In The Global Regulation Of Virulence In Staphylococcus Aureus, Vijayaraj Nagarajan

Dissertations

Staphylococcus aureus is an important pathogen causing life threatening diseases in humans. Previously we showed that msa modulates the activity of sarA (Staphylococcal accessory regulator), which is one of a major global regulator of virulence in S. aureus. The objective of this study is to characterize the role of msa (Modulator of SarA) in the global regulation of virulence in S. aureus. Structure and function predictions were done using several computational tools and approaches to understand the nature of msa. A novel S. aureus microarray meta-database (SAMMD) was designed and developed to compare and contrast other transcriptomes with msa transcriptome. …

Ncaa Division I Head Softball Coaches' Confidence, Openness And Stigma Tolerance Toward Sport Psychology Consultants, Laurie Ann Neelis

Dissertations

This study used a mixed-method to look at NCAA division I head softball coaches confidence, openness, and stigma tolerance about sport psychology principles and consultants, as well as what sport psychology principles, time of year used, and what a Sport Psychology Consultant (SPC) can do to help division I head softball coaches have more success with their teams. These variables were measured through the use of the Sport Psychology Attitudes - Revised Coaches instrument developed by Zakrajsek and Zizzi (2007). For the qualitative component, the researcher developed five inquiries that allowed for a more in-depth response from the coaches concerning …

A Comparison Of Reading Interventions Based On Preference To Reading Interventions Identified By Brief Experimental Analysis, Debborah Eda Smyth

Dissertations

The available literature on children's acceptability of interventions is rather sparse and offers little support for the link between acceptability and effectiveness (e.g., Foxx & Jones, 1978; Shapiro & Goldberg, 1986; Turco & Elliot, 1990). The present study compared the effects of treatment preference to treatment effectiveness using a brief experimental analysis to select skill-based oral reading fluency interventions. The use of a brief experimental analysis (BEA) (Daly, Martens, Hamler, Dool, & Eckert, 1999) has been demonstrated to be an effective procedure for selecting oral reading interventions. However, the studies on brief experimental analysis to date have not examined student …

South Mississippi Public Elementary School Teachers' Implementation Of And Attitudes Toward Inquiry-Based Science, Thomas Franklin Sumrall

Dissertations

The present study was designed to examine the relationship between the dependent variables of K-5 elementary teachers' attitudes toward inquiry-based science, implementation of National Science Education Standards concerning inquiry-based science, and the number of inquiry-based lessons taught with the predictor variables of gender, school district teaching, ethnic group, educational level, experience, grade level teaching, and number of science courses taken. Four hundred thirty teachers of grades K through 5 from seven school districts in south Mississippi were surveyed using the Revised Science Attitude Scale (Bitner, 1994), Inquiry Beliefs and Practices survey (Jeanpierre, 2006), and a demographic questionnaire. A total of …

Fantasy Variations On George Gershwin's Prelude Ii For Piano: An Analysis And Conductor's Guide, Brian Stevon Taylor

Dissertations

Donald Grantham has received much acclaim and awards for his compositions. Fantasy Variations proves to be noteworthy addition to his collected works and to the band repertoire. The work won the NBA/William Revelli Memorial Band Composition Contest in 1998 and the ABA/Ostwald Award in 1999. The piece has received much acclaim and many performances with several commercial recordings. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the importance of the band music of Donald Grantham through an analysis of one of his award-winning works. Further, another aim would be to help more bands perform this noteworthy piece by assisting in …

Participation In Accelerated Reader Programs And Reading Pursuit In 11th Grade, Heather E. Boucher

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Teachers and researchers continue to seek ways to build positive attitudes about reading and effective ways to promote robust reading interests. Some schools have implemented the reading software Accelerated Reader (AR) with these goals in mind. The purpose of the present study was to analyze the effects of long-term participation in the activities of AR on reading attitude and reading pursuit. Participants were 206 eleventh-grade students from the mid-Atlantic Region. The Estes Attitude Scale (Estes, 1969) and Title Recognition Test (Pavonetti, Brimmer, and Cipielewski, 2000) served as measures of reading attitude and reading pursuit, respectively. Data analyses indicated no effects …

Evaluation Of Machine Vision Techniques For Use Within Flight Control Systems, Marco Mammarella

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In this thesis, two of the main technical limitations for a massive deployment of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) have been considered.;The Aerial Refueling problem is analyzed in the first section. A solution based on the integration of 'conventional' GPS/INS and Machine Vision sensor is proposed with the purpose of measuring the relative distance between a refueling tanker and UAV. In this effort, comparisons between Point Matching (PM) algorithms and Pose Estimation (PE) algorithms have been developed in order to improve the performance of the Machine Vision sensor. A method of integration based on Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) between GPS/INS and …

Promoting Self-Directed Learning In Adult Piano Instruction, Rhonda Jane Mizok-Taylor

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

More and more adults are studying music. Because of this, the number of adult method books has been increasing; however, when writing an adult method book, it is important for the author to remember that adults are more capable of independent learning by using their own previous musical experiences to understand new material. They may not wish to be completely dependent on a teacher for every aspect of instruction.;Using questions derived from Malcolm Knowles' book Self-Directed Learning and questions used by Hung-Ling Chen in the dissertation "An Investigation of Self-Directed Learning among Non-Music Major Adult Piano Learners in One-to-One Piano …

Exhaled Nitric Oxide. An Emerging Marker Of Inflammation In Respiratory Diseases, Syed S. Habib

Saudi Medical Journal

Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) is a recently introduced non invasive marker to measure inflammation and oxidative stress in the lung. The numerous roles of NO in respiratory pathophysiology have been extensively reviewed. There is contradictory evidence regarding the exact function of NO in lung diseases. In pathological states, the enzyme inducible NO synthase generates extraordinarily high concentrations of NO when the body faces an inflammatory response by attracting macrophages that generate NO and hence NO participate in host defense against specific organisms. Fractional exhaled nitric oxide measurements have been useful in asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis, and …

Association And Preferential Transmission Of The Ccr2v64i Polymorphism With Absence Of Asthma In High-Risk Families, Saleh A. Al-Abdulhadi, Mohammed W. Al-Rabia

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVE: To explore a possible association between the major functional CCR2V64I polymorphism and asthma and related phenotypes independent of atopy. METHODS: We conducted this study in the Royal Aberdeen Children9s Hospital, University of Aberdeen Medical School, United Kingdom from September 2004 to December 2006. One hundred and fifty-four unrelated nuclear families (598 individuals including children and parents) were identified from the local Grampian population. The major functional polymorphism CCR2V64I was analyzed for associations with asthma, lung function (forced expiratory volume% [FEV1%] of predicted), bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) to methacholine, total serum-immunoglobulin E (s-IgE) and allergic sensitization (positive skin prick test to …

In Vitro Testing Of Daptomycin Plus Rifampin Against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Resistant To Rifampin, Faisal A. Khasawneh, Deborah S. Ashcraft, George A. Pankey

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVE: To test for synergy between daptomycin (DAP) and rifampin (RIF) against RIF-resistant methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates. METHODS: Synergy testing using time-kill assay (TKA) was performed on 6 clinically, and genetically unique RIF-resistant MRSA isolates. The isolates were identified out of 489 (1.2%) samples collected during April 2003 to August 2006, from patients at the Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States of America. RESULTS: Synergy testing of DAP plus RIF by TKA showed that 5 isolates were indifferent, but one isolate was antagonistic. CONCLUSION: Our in vitro study failed to demonstrate synergy between DAP plus RIF, …

Folic Acid Awareness Among Female College Students. Neural Tube Defects Prevention, Jameela A. Kari, Ekhlas S. Bardisi, Rabaa M. Baitalmal, Ghofran A. Ageely

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the level of awareness among female college students on the importance of preconception folic acid supplementation in preventing neural tube defects (NTDs). We have also studied their response after educating them. METHODS: This is a questionnaire-based study. Five hundreds questionnaires were distributed to the female students of the 3 colleges, namely, Humanities, Sciences, and Health in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in April 2008. The questions included an enquiry on their knowledge regarding the importance of folic acid preconception, and if they will implement what they learned after listening to lectures, delivered by the 4th year medical …

Topical Therapy Of Acne Vulgaris Using 2% Tea Lotion In Comparison With 5% Zinc Sulphate Solution, Khalifa E. Sharquie, Adil A. Noaimi, Mazin M. Al-Salih

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate effectiveness of 2% tea lotion in comparison with 5% zinc sulphate solution in the treatment of acne vulgaris. METHODS: This is a single-blind randomly comparative therapeutic clinical trial carried out in the Department of Dermatology, Baghdad Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq from June 2006 to December 2007. Full history and clinical examination were studied for each patient regarding all relevant points of the disease, to evaluate the severity of acne. Forty-seven patients with acne vulgaris were divided randomly into 2 groups, and were instructed to use the following solutions twice daily for 2 months; group A used 2% …

Hepatitis B And C Knowledge Among Saudi Dental Patients, Nahid Y. Ashri

Saudi Medical Journal

OBJECTIVE: To explore Saudi dental patients9 awareness of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections and its knowledge of transmission; and to compare the HBV and HCV knowledge and practices of men and women. METHODS: A pre-tested anonymous self-administered one-page questionnaire consisting of 3 parts with 32 different statements concerning basic knowledge of HBV and HCV, their mode of transmission, risk behaviors, prevention, treatment and immunization were randomly distributed to dental patients at clinics and waiting areas of different governmental and private dental clinics. The study was conducted between 2006 and 2007, in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi …

Emergency Cervical Cerclage. Does The Gestational Age Make A Difference?, Mamdoh A Eskandar

Saudi Medical Journal

No abstract provided.

The Pluralistic Universe Of Law Towards A Neo-Classical Legal Pragmatism, Susan Haack

Articles

After a brief sketch of the history of philosophical pragmatism generally, and of legal pragmatism specifically (section 1), this paper develops a new, neo-classical legal pragmatism: a theory of law drawing in part on Holmes, but also on ideas from the classical pragmatist tradition in philosophy. Main themes are the "pluralistic universe" of law (section 2); the evolution of legal systems (section 3); the place of logic in the law (section 4); and the relation of law and morality (section 5).

Private Equity's Three Lessons For Agency Theory, William Wilson Bratton

Articles

It is time to consider the lessons to be learned from the recent boom in private equity buyouts, not least in view of its abrupt termination in the wake of tightened credit. In the past, such inquiries have been undertaken in the context of agency theory and have focused on the buyout's implications for solving the problem of separation of ownership and control. This article reverses the pattern of inquiry to consider the buyout's implications for agency theory, pointing to three lessons. The first lesson addresses agency theory's three-way association among control transfers, governance discipline and hostile takeovers, suggesting that …

Component Materiality For Group Audits, Steven M. Glover, Jonathan T. Liljegren, Douglas F. Prawitt, William F. Messier

Faculty Publications

Determining overall group materiality and materiality levels for individual components is becoming more of a hot-button issue as the number and complexity of large and international group audits increases. Auditing standards and other professional materials offer little practical guidance on the topic. Internal and peer reviews and regulatory inspections have revealed a variety of approaches in this area. In some instances, reviews have discovered potentially troubling practices. Our conversations with regulators and practitioners indicate an intense and growing interest in the development of conceptually sound guidance. This article outlines a practical approach that group engagement partners can consider in establishing …

Phylogeography Of The Bigeye Chub Hybopsis Amblops (Teleostei: Cypriniformes): Early Pleistocene Diversification And Post‐Glacial Range Expansion, Peter B. Berendzen, Tony Gamble, Andrew M. Simons

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

The bigeye chub, Hybopsis amblops, is a member of the Central Highlands ichthyofauna of eastern North America. Phylogenetic analyses of the H. amblops species group based on a 1059 bp fragment of the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b gene did not recover a monophyletic group. The inclusion of Hybopsis hypsinotus in the species complex is questionable. Within H. amblops, five strongly supported clades were identified; two clades containing haplotypes from the Ozark Highlands and three clades containing haplotypes from the Eastern Highlands and previously glaciated regions of the Ohio and Wabash River drainages. Estimates of the timing of divergence …

A Comparative Analysis Of Factors Contributing To The Biblical Worldview Among High School Students In The American Association Of Christian Schools Of Georgia, North Carolina, And South Carolina, Michael Hugh Bryant

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This non-experimental quantitative study is a comparative analysis of factors contributing to the biblical worldview of students attending select Christian schools in the states of Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The research design uses non-randomized control groups, an instrument which includes original questions in addition to items from three other instruments, and a Likert-type scale. Results imply that the subjects appear to consistently reflect orthodox doctrine in their responses, if not always in their behavior. The subjects were homogenous in many of their answers even though there were particular questions that evoked a wide disparity of answers. The particular …

Block Scheduling In High School Mathematics: Effect On Algebra Ii End-Of-Course Grades And Act Assessment Mathematics Scores, Gayle Hawkins Hughes

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a statistical difference between end-of-course grades in Algebra II at three high schools in northeast Tennessee and mathematics content scores on the ACT Assessment at the same three high schools, by comparing a one-semester accelerated (4x4) block schedule, a two-semester accelerated (4x4) block schedule, and a traditional year-long schedule. The purpose was also to determine if a relationship exists between Algebra II grades and ACT Assessment mathematics content scores for all students and for each school, and to determine if a statistically significant difference occurred in the number of …

On Funding, Susan J. Dudash

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

Gazing At Gawain: Reconsidering Tournaments, Courtly Love, And The Lady Who Looks, Elizabeth L'Estrange

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

Elizabeth Allen, False Fables And Exemplary Truth In Later Middle English Literature. (The New Middle Ages.) Palgrave Macmillan, 2005, Elizabeth Scala

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

Political Parties In Singapore, Malaysia, And The Philippines: Reflection Of Democratic Tendencies, Ulla Fionna

Makara Human Behavior Studies in Asia

This essay examines the role of political parties in different forms of government. In the three Southeast Asian countries, the different governments have distinctive methods of utilizing the parties according to their needs. The more democratic the country usually the less control the government has on the parties. The more reliant the government on its party, the more systematic its control over it. Consequently, the stronger control of government the less likely the parties would be able to reach democracy.

Application At The Bedside: Moving From Knowing How To Knowing Why In Nursing, Joyel J. Brule

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The nursing field is beginning to emerge as a profession with curricula that emphasis nursing as a discipline distinguished from a medically dominated paradigm. This changing focus places emphasis on professional competence upon graduation and entry into practice to foster fitness for purpose within an environment of continuously changing expectations of the nurse by society. Despite a growing body of research on transition into practice, a gap exists as to when this transition occurs and how this finding may influence educational preparation of nurses. This qualitative, exploratory study examined nurses’ perceptions of their transformation from novice to professional practitioner by …

Soil Moisture Responses In Traditional And Drought Adapted Landscapes In The Intermountain West, James Gregory

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Water conservation in the Intermountain West will be an important issue in the future as population and demand for limited water resources increases. In Utah, outdoor water use accounts for up to 60% of total per capita water use with 67% of that outdoor water being used to irrigate non native plant species to maintain a uniform green appearance. The objective of this study was to measure intra landscape changes in soil water potential during a 21.5 day dry down from DOY 215 to 236.5 in the summer of 2005 and 2006. Four, 2 x 2 replicated traditional and drought …

Identification Of Subsoil Compaction Using Electrical Conductivity And Spectral Data Across Varying Soil Moisture Regimes In Utah, Jay Murray Payne

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Subsoil compaction is a major yield limiting factor for most agricultural crops. Tillage is the most efficient method to quickly treat compacted subsoil, but it is also expensive, increases erosion, and accelerates nutrient cycling.

The use of real-time electrical conductivity (EC) and near-infrared (NIR) reflectance values to differentiate compacted areas from uncompacted areas was studied. This method has potential to reduce monetary and time investments inherent in traditional grid sampling and the resultant deep tillage of an entire field. EC and NIR reflectance are both very sensitive to spatial variability of soil attributes.

The objective of this research was to …