Digital Commons Network^™

Making A Connection Between Student Achievement, Teacher Accountability, And Quality Classroom Instruction, Kelli Ballard, Alan Bates

The Qualitative Report

The importance of standardized test results is becoming more prevalent in the structure of classroom instruction and the operation of schools throughout the nation due to pressure on educators and students from various levels of authority. This study looks at the relationship between classroom instruction and standardized test content and the effects this has on students, parents, and teachers. Seventeen fourth grade students, fourteen parents of fourth graders, and fifteen elementary teachers completed surveys. The study describes several positive and negative aspects to standardized tests, along with ideas of who is responsible for test performance. Standardized tests provide comparisons and …

Sensory Isolation In Flotation Tanks: Altered States Of Consciousness And Effects On Well-Being, Anette Kjellgren, Fransica Lyden, Torsten Norlander

The Qualitative Report

A qualitative analysis (The Empirical Phenomenological Psychological method) of interviews involving eight patients (depression, burn-out syndrome, and chronic pain) was carried out in order to obtain knowledge regarding the effects of flotation tank therapy. This knowledge might be helpful for both professionals and potential floaters. The analysis resulted in 21 categories, which were summarized as four themes: (a) experiences during flotation, (b) perceived effects afterwards, (c) technical details, and finally (d) the participants ́ background, motivation, and expectations. Floating was perceived as pleasant. An altered state of consciousness was induced, varying from a milder state including profound relaxation and altered …

Impact Of Afghan Refugees On The Infectious Disease Profile Of Pakistan: Beyond Economy, Ali Jawaid, Abdul Mueed Zafar, Syed Faisal Mahmood

Department of Medicine

No abstract provided.

Reluctant Gatekeepers: Influencing Factors In A Small Business Owner's Decision To Not Sponsor A Retirement Plan For Employees, Jill Mccullough

Student Scholarship

In a nation with the lowest savings rate in the industrialized world, nearly 60% of U.S. small business owners do not provide retirement plans for their more than 40 million workers. There is a dearth of formal inquiry about small business owners' perspectives of and attitudes toward retirement and the factors that motivate behavior related to it. Interviews with small business owners revealed that most are not concerned about their own retirements and are ambivalent about the retirement security of their employees. Those who have attempted to implement a plan find the process complex, intimidating and require the assistance of …

Surgeon Acceptance Of Computer Assisted Surgery, Jonathan B. Brewster

Student Scholarship

The advancement of modern medicine would not be possible without the development, diffusion, and adoption of medical technologies. Few studies have measured technology adoption at the level of the individual physician and fewer of surgeons per se. Computer assisted surgery (CAS), an example of clinically oriented technology, has experienced slow adoption by orthopedic surgeons. Our inquiry, based on semi-structured interviews with practitioners trained to use CAS in knee replacement surgeries, sheds light on how surgeons make decisions to adopt or reject clinical technologies. Findings suggest that classic technology acceptance models, TAM, TAM2 and TAM3, insufficiently explain clinical technology choice. Our …

Bridging The Great Divide - Moving From Outsider To Insider: How For Profit Executives Become Effective Nonprofit Ceos, Antoinette E. La Belle

Student Scholarship

A leadership crisis in the nonprofit sector is portended by sector growth, turnover at the top and a smaller cohort of leaders coming up from behind. Crossovers from the corporate sector present an alternative source of CEO talent, but a dearth of empirical research about top executives who cross the boundaries of sector, organization, and, at times role, stymies our understanding of the transition process of for-profit to non-profit leaders. In depth interviews with U.S. nonprofit leaders--both crossover CEOs and CEOs hired from within the nonprofit sector--compared and contrasted transition experiences. Rather than significant differences between the two groups, our …

Brand Loyalty In Fast Moving Consumer Good Markets: The Role Of Bonds, Rose Leahy

Dept. of Marketing & International Business Publications

This paper examines the concept of brand loyalty in Fast Moving Consumer Good (FMCG) markets. The primary objective of the study was to explore why loyalty develops in FMCG markets from the consumers’ perspective. In addition, this study explored the consumers’ perspective on the types of bonds that exist in FMCG markets and the role of bonds in the development of brand loyalty.

The dominant conclusion arising from this study is that brand loyalty exists in FMCG markets for both cognitive and emotional reasons. Essentially this research determined that the development of brand loyalty is predicated on the development of …

The Relationship Between Reproducing Ownership And Sustaining Non-Profit Collaboration, Nonie Brennan

Student Scholarship

Semi-structured interviews with 21 partners of three long-standing, non-profit collaborations in the health and human services sector emphasize the role of constituents’ sense of “ownership”– and their continuous reproduction of it − on collaboration sustainability. The data suggests that enduring collaborations are characterized, on the one hand, by employee behaviors typically considered aberrant – including rule breaking and rule making – and on the other, “appreciative” participant behaviors. Findings imply non-profit governance and leadership can purposefully foster environments in which collaboration ownership can reproduce.

Survey On The Virgin Mary And Mary Magdalene, Larimee Cortnik

Student Scholarship

Twenty diverse responses to a survey on the beliefs about the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene. The survey was completed by Larimee Cortnik for Women in the Bible: Ethnographic Approaches to Rite and Ritual, Story, Song and Art (JDST - RLGN 268, Prof. J. Neulander) in Fall 2008.

The Role Of Statutory Auditor In An Environment Of Complex Information Technology And Audit Risks, Ali Hussein Aldoghachi

Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences

Companies are increasingly accelerating the integration of information technology into their financial operations, reducing reliance on paper-based documentation while retaining original copies primarily to support electronically processed transactions. This growing shift toward virtualization in business relationships with suppliers, consumers, and partners has intensified the need for trust and assurance, placing significant pressure on auditors to certify these digital safeguards. Furthermore, the widespread adoption of publishing financial reports online—initially through the establishment of corporate websites and subsequently using Adobe Acrobat to present non-interactive, read-only financial statements—aims to facilitate stakeholder access while maintaining data integrity. However, to ensure credibility, auditors must verify …

Communicative Functions Of Young Children's Visual Art, Clover Simms Wright

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

How can young children use visual art to communicate? This study used Halliday's communicative functions of language (Halliday, 1973), to frame the answer to this question; Halliday's categories of communicative functions are: instrumental, regulatory, interactional, personal, heuristic, imaginative, and representational/informative. Five children, between the ages of three and five, were observed and interviewed as they voluntarily created visual art over a six-week period. In that time period, each of the seven functions of language was demonstrated collectively by the participants. The research was conducted by an educator employed in the early childhood setting. Qualitatively, this study confirmed that young children …

Greater Grand Rapids Community Survey, 2008, Community Research Institute-Johnson Center

Research, Reports, and Publications

No abstract provided.

The Use Of Chickens To Remove The Infective Stage Of Haemonchus Contortus From The Field After Sheep Have Grazed, Jessica Harley Nicole Eddy

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

There are few USDA organic certified practices for controlling the nematode Haemonchus contortus. This small ruminant parasite has a life cycle that makes it a candidate for control using field rotations. The third-stage of the nematode's life cycle is responsible for infecting or re-infecting a host and the use of chickens to control H. contortus has not been tested. This experiment was conducted to determine if the chicken's foraging behavior reduces the number of infective third-stage larvae on the pasture by comparing a chicken sub-plot, a sub-plot that was mowed, a control sub-plot and a pretreatment. These forage removal methods …

Contention And Ambiguity: Mining And The Possibilities Of Development, Anthony J. Bebbington, Leonith Hinojosa, Denise Bebbington, Maria Luisa Burneo, Ximena Warnaars

Geography

The last decade and a half has witnessed a dramatic growth in mining activity in many developing countries. This article reviews these recent trends and describes the debates and conflicts they have triggered. The authors review evidence regarding debates on the resource curse and the possibility of an extraction-led pathway to development. They then describe the different types of resistance and social mobilization that have greeted mineral expansion at a range of geographical scales, and consider how far these protests have changed the relationships between mining and political economic change. The conclusions address how far such protests might contribute to …

Hemodynamics Of Intracranial Aneurysms: Factors That May Influence Occurrence, Francisco Adolfo Pino Romainville

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The formation and growth of intracranial aneurysms are partly attributed to various hemodynamic factors, such as the wall shear stress and pressure. However, the exact nature of the hemodynamic variables responsible for triggering aneurismal growth is still unknown. The conclusions drawn by various studies in this regard are found to be speculative and sometimes ambiguous. This issue is further investigated in the present work using some new insight gained from passive scalar dispersion in the blood flow for realistic aneurysm geometries. Intracranial aneurysms are best visualized using selective catheter angiogram technique where a contrast agent added to the blood flow …

University Of San Diego News Print Media Coverage 2008.12, University Of San Diego Office Of Public Affairs

Print Media Coverage (1947-2009)

Printed clippings housed in folders with a table of contents arranged by topic.

Female Collegiate Gymnasts And Experiences In Sport Retirement Due To Injury, Coleen Harrington Barry

Dissertations

There has been very limited research on sport retirement concerning the experiences that female collegiate athletes face when retiring from a sport due to injury. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore, understand, and describe experiences that former NCAA Division I female gymnasts had when they retired from gymnastics, part-way through college, due to injury. The main objective of the study was to attempt to understand female collegiate gymnasts' sport retirement experiences and the impact these experiences may have had on their identity development and college experience. The study also considered female collegiate gymnasts' perceived needs and coping …

The Acute Effect Of A Single Treatment Of Graston Instrument-Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization And Stretching On Active Knee Extension, Stephanie Janette Lopez

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Studv design: Single-blinded, pre-treatment/post-treatment, randomized groups. Objective: Determine the effectiveness of a single session of Graston instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization (GISTM), stretching, and GISTM plus stretching on active knee extension (AKE) in healthy individuals with limited motion. Background: Individuals need adequate ROM in order to complete every day activities. Stretching and soft tissue mobilization are often used to increase ROM. The effects of Graston Technique on humans have not been widely studied in experimental situations. Methods: Forty participants (28M, 12F, 25.0±5.7 years, 1.7±0.09 m, 85.76±18.59 kg, mean ROM deficit of 38°±12°) randomly assigned to four different treatment groups: measurement only …

2008 December, Office Of Communications & Marketing, Morehead State University.

Morehead State Press Release Archive, 1961 to the Present

Press releases for December of 2008.

The Effect Of The Amide Substituent On The Biodistribution And Tolerance Of Lanthanide(Iii) Dota-Tetraamide Derivatives, Mark Woods, Peter Caravan, Carlos F.G.C. Geraldes, Matthew T. Greenfield, Garry Kiefer, Mai Lin, Kenneth Mcmillan, M. Isabel M. Prata, Ana C. Santos, Xiankai Sun, Jufeng Wang, Shanrong Zhang, Piyu Zhao, A. Dean Sherry

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objectives—Recent advances in the design of MRI contrast agents have rendered the lanthanide complexes of DOTA-tetraamide ligands of considerable interest, both as responsive MR agents and paramagnetic chemical exchange saturation transfer agents. The potential utility of these complexes for in vivo applications is contingent upon them being well tolerated by the body. The purpose of this study was to examine how the nature of the amide substituent, and in particular its charge, affected the fate of these chelates postinjection.

Materials and Methods—Complexes of 6 DOTA-tetraamide ligands were prepared in which the nature of the amide substituent was systematically …

Vanishing Voices: The Impact Of Life Behind The Barbed Wire On World War Ii Prisoners Of War, James Reginald Burgess

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation is an exploration into the lived experiences and interconnectedness of World War II prisoners of war (POWs). It is driven by the personal accounts of four men who experienced life on the wrong side of the barbed wire: my father, the late William Austin Burgess, formerly of Hinesville, Georgia; C. Neill Baylor, of Vidalia, Georgia; Herman Cranman, of Savannah, Georgia; and Robert Waldrop, of Beaufort, South Carolina. The impetus for this exploration began with the stories I received as a child when my father would share his wartime military experiences with me and continues with the learning of …

Jacksonian Nationalist: Joel R. Poinsett's Role In The Nullification Crisis, Joshua Matthew Cain

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The object of this thesis is to examine the role of Joel R. Poinsetts role in the Nullification Crisis of 1832-1833 in South Carolina within the context of his previous experiences abroad. The work will analyze Poinsetts occupations before his role as leader of the Unionists in South Carolina to better understand his actions during the crisis. The work will also examine how his experience in the Nullification Crisis affected his time as secretary of war under Martin Van Buren.

Comparison Of Invasive And Non-Invasive Techniques For Measuring Fiddler Crab Density In A Salt Marsh, Charles Robert Hubbard

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Quantifying the density of burrowing crabs is challenging, and several techniques have been developed to accomplish it, including burrow counting, visual surveys of surface-active crabs, and substrate excavation. These techniques have been compared in mangrove forests but not in a salt marsh, nor has anyone attempted to excavate traps repeatedly for multiple days. Previous comparisons have not examined these techniques over the course of several months, nor considered the cost and precision associated with each technique. Therefore, from May of 2007 to April 2008, I conducted burrow, visual, single excavation, and repeated excavation surveys to estimate Uca pugnax density in …

Earmstrong, Armstrong Atlantic State University

Armstrong News & Publications: e-Armstrong Newsletter (Archived)

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of Treatments Offered To Patients With Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis, Saleem Perwaiz Iqbal, Sadia Mahmud, Saeed Hamid, Omrana Pasha, Khabir Ahmad

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

OBJECTIVE: To compare various treatment options provided to patients with Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) and assess improvement in liver status via reduction in serum Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) levels.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study.

PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from April 2000 to April 2007.

METHODOLOGY: All available records of patients aged between 20-70 years, fatty liver on ultrasound, elevated serum ALT and having at least one follow-up, after a baseline visit were included. The patients had variable number of follow-ups and a maximum of 3 follow-ups were considered. Information was collected on demographic and clinical …

Physiological And Perceived Psychological Responses Of Collegiate Football Athletes To Ventilated Shoulder Pads During A Scrimmage, Kathryn Claire Tice

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of cold air ventilated shoulder pads on core temperature and perceived exertion in football athletes during a scrimmage. METHODS: Eight football athletes were randomly divided into two groups, one receiving cold air ventilation (v) and the other receiving no treatment (nv). Ratings of perceived exertion were taken and core temperatures were taken using a radio frequency device and swallowed CorTemp pills. RESULTS: Data were analyzed using paired and independent sample T-tests. There were no significant differences in core temperature or RPE between the ventilated and non-ventilated groups. No significant …

Presidents At Public Colleges, Universities And Technical Colleges In The State Of Georgia: A Leadership Tribute Analysis, Peter Nicholas Mastopoulos

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This descriptive quantitative study identifies self-described leadership attributes of college or university presidents in the University System of Georgia and technical college presidents in the Technical College System of Georgia. Additionally, this study identifies commonalities in leadership attributes between both groups. Data for this study was collected using the Leadership Attributes Inventory (LAI) survey instrument that was disseminated to all 68 presidents at the public institutions of higher education in the State of Georgia. Forty survey recipients completed and returned the survey, yielding a 59% response rate. In order to analyze the data and draw conclusions, statistical tests of central …

Lived Experiences Of Selected African-American Male Elementary Teachers In Georgia, Chequita Franchon Brady

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The supply and demand of teachers is constantly changing in the United States because they are steadily flowing in, through, and out of the educational profession (Ingersoll, 2002). Many educators and administrators are concerned about the shortage and underrepresentation of minority teachers in the profession such as African- Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, and even males (Pytel, 2006). There is also an underrepresentation of African-American male elementary teachers. African- American male elementary teachers, a unique minority, are needed in the education profession to serve as role models earlier in the schooling process of young children, as well as to increase …

Understanding Conditions Leading To High School Success As Identified By Urban Georgia At Risk Students, Catherine Michele Nigg

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

A qualitative research design was used to gather data from in-depth interviews of 10 at risk students at an east-central Georgia high school. The students met at least two of the following at risk characteristics: low SES, failing at least one grade and/or in danger of failing four or more courses this year, and high rate of suspension or absenteeism and/or on probation. The instruments for this study consisted of structured interviews that contained questions to elicit the students' views on school with the aim of determining what they identify as critical to their success. The interviews were guided by …

European Union Food Law Update, Emilie H. Leibovitch

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The European Union (EU) is facing major institutional challenges because Ireland rejected the Treaty of Lisbon last summer. The Treaty of Lisbon aims at modifying the institutional framework of the EU; more precisely, it aims in part at modifying the interaction of the various EU regulatory bodies with one another, as well as the interaction between the EU regulatory bodies and the national ones. The next few months will be decisive in determining whether the Treaty of Lisbon will finally replace the Treaty of Nice.