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Coping Methods And Meaning Making Of Liberian Refugees In The Buduburam Refugee Camp Of Ghana, Abena Gyamfuah Sarfo-Mensah

Honors Scholar Theses

The mental health of war-impacted individuals has been an issue of growing concern to many researchers and practitioners internationally (Miller, Kulkarni, & Kushner, 2006). According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (2006a), Africans are disproportionately impacted by conflict-related displacement. To date, however, much of the research on the mental health of refugees has been based mostly on Western views of health and trauma. The current study is a mixed-methods investigation of stressors, coping strategies, and meaning making of Liberian refugees in the Buduburam Refugee Camp of Ghana. Results from the Brief COPE, focus groups, and semi-structured ethnographic interviews …

Reconfigurable Antennas With Beam-Scanning Radiation Patterns, Lijun Zhang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Alex De Waal, Ed., War In Darfur And The Search For Peace, John H. Weiss

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

War in Darfur and the Search for Peace, edited by Alex de Waal, offers an enlightening tour of the contested intellectual terrain encountered by those who have concerned themselves with the fate of Sudan’s westernmost region since the escalation of the conflict there at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The fact that one is contri- buting to a journal dedicated to preventing the radical diminishing of peoples and cul- tures, aka genocide, guides the selection of parts of the volume under review that will receive special attention here. That it is an attempt to understand the failure of nego- …

An Integrated Database Management System And Building Information Modeling For Sustainable Design, Sultan Althobaiti

Masters Theses

The use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) with sustainable design is getting widespread since it helped architects, engineers, and contractors in achieving the sustainability goal. The present work is using green and certified products and materials to be integrated with Building Information Model (BIM) to simulate and generate a conceptual design for green and sustainable design. The use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) would help achieving sustainability, which would be predictable and possible. Revit Architecture is a tool of BIM technology that can be used for building designing and modeling.

The research represents a database system for green building products …

Teacher Recertification: A Historical Analysis Of The Illinois Process, Nancy Brodbeck

Dissertations

ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF Nancy Negley Brodbeck, for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Educational Administration, presented on (DATE) at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: TEACHER RECERTIFICATION: A HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE ILLINOIS PROCESS MAJOR PROFESSORS: Brad Colwell, Ph.D., J.D. and Patrick Dilley, Ph.D. License renewal and recertification have long been standard practice in service professions. Ten years ago, a new law called for policy revision and mandated that Illinois teachers acquire continuing professional development to maintain certification. This study provides a historical perspective of the Illinois teacher recertification process, exploring its genesis and its metamorphosis. The nine stakeholders …

Workforce Education And Development Curriculum Responsiveness To Culturally And Internationally Diverse Graduate Students: A Mixed Methods Study, Debra Sharon Ferdinand

Dissertations

This descriptive study used a mixed methods design and sought to examine students' perceptions on workforce education and development (WED) curriculum responsiveness to culturally and internationally diverse graduate students, at a Midwestern university on four dimensions: teaching strategies (to include delivery), curriculum inclusiveness, international responsiveness, and curriculum improvements. The research study design consisted of the mixed methods Follow-up Explanations Model (QUAN emphasized) complemented by the With-in Stage Mixed Model. A pragmatic paradigm guided the collection and analysis of the study's census data (survey and focus groups). A newly developed WED Curriculum Responsiveness Survey (.850 Cronbach's alpha index) containing closed- and …

A Case Study Of How A Large Multilevel Efl Writing Class Experiences And Perceives Multiple Interaction Activities, Hsien-Chuan Lin

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine students' experiences and perceptions of multiple interaction activities (self-directed, peer, and teacher feedback) implemented in a large multilevel EFL writing class in one private technological university in the southern part of Taiwan. Large size writing classes, quite common in private institutions of higher education in Taiwan, cannot be effectively operated to meet individual students' needs in improving their writing performance. Low achievers have difficulties in keeping up with competent writers in learning writing skills while advanced students complain of their learning too little from the class. This research, based on the activity …

The Relationship Between Web Accessibility Policy And Practice In Postsecondary Institutions, Michael Whitney

Dissertations

From computer workstations to the world of the web, statutes and policies have afforded students with disabilities the right to participate in postsecondary education in a non-discriminatory manner. Automatic doors and adjustable tables are a commonplace on campuses and represent prime examples of accessible policy adherence, but what affect do accessible website design policies have on practice? The answer is monumental for the students with disabilities that rely on the integration of electronic curb cuts into institutional websites. In 2006, Illinois Board of Higher Education required public postsecondary institutions to develop and implement a website policy, report on the accessibility …

A Critical Analysis Of Rural Teachers' Usage Of Online Communities, Sherri A. Snider

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to analyze data related to rural teachers' use of online communities. Rural teachers are often isolated in their practice and sometimes have difficulty connecting with other teachers with their same assignments or needs due to their professional setting. As Internet availability increases and online communities proliferate, teachers have more opportunity than ever to seek personal and professional support in virtual relationships when face-to-face ones are not easily available. In small schools such as the ones included in this study, teachers can become burned out as they perform the difficult task of teaching with few …

The Impact Of Training And Its Integration In The Firm's Business Strategies On The Firm's Competitiveness, Vichet Sum

Dissertations

The problem of the present study was to determine training professionals' perceptions of their awareness of and involvement in the integration of training in the firm's business strategies and the impact of training on the firm's competitiveness. The analysis of data obtained from the online survey of 111 participants who were training professionals employed in small, medium, and large firms across three different industries - service, retailing, and manufacturing - revealed that more than 50% of the participants indicated that they either had some understanding of or understood in depth the integration of training in their firms' business strategies. And …

Climate Change In The Changing Climate Of News Media: A Comparative Analysis Of Mainstream Media And Blog Coverage Of Climate Change In The United States And The People's Republic Of China, 2005-2008, Lei Xie

Dissertations

The social construction of climate change has been an enduring interest to media scholars. Extensive research has been done to explore how the mass media portrayed climate change and how the influence of their representations contributed to the social reality of climate change. However, most research focused on the news media in the United States and other developed countries and ignored China--the second largest greenhouse gases emitter in the world. This oversight has led to a sociological map of global climate change with the one of the biggest puzzle pieces missing. In addition, traditional news media were in the spotlight …

Effectiveness Of Team-Building And Teamwork In Real And Virtual Worlds, Rachana Ranade

All Theses

Given the increasing importance of globalization and collaboration, this research investigates the possibility of performing team-building training for globally dispersed teams using the capabilities of the virtual world Second Life. Three meeting conditions, the 3D virtual world Second Life, a combination of face-to-face and Second Life and face-to-face were evaluated. Thirty randomly assigned 3 person teams performed an ice-breaker session and then a team-building activity in each meeting condition. Four dependent variables were measured: task completion time; quality of task performance; the subjective satisfaction with the process based on group cohesiveness, perception of the process and satisfaction with the outcome; …

Analysis Of Distributed Denial Of Service Attacks And Countermeasures, Sampada Karandikar

All Theses

Network technology has experienced explosive growth in the past two decades. The vast connectivity of networks all over the world poses monumental risks. The generally accepted philosophy in the security world is that no system or network is completely secure [1] which makes network security a critical concern. The work done in this thesis focuses on Distributed Denial of Service Attacks (DDoS) where legitimate users are prevented from accessing network services. Although a lot of research has been done in this field, these attacks remain one of the most common threats affecting network performance.
One defense against DDoS attacks is …

Incremental Development And Cost-Based Evaluation Of Software Fault Prediction Models, Yue Jiang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

It is difficult to build high quality software with limited quality assurance budgets. Software fault prediction models can be used to learn fault predictors from software metrics. Fault prediction prior to software release can guide Verification and Validation (V&V) activity and allocate scarce resources to modules which are predicted to be fault-prone.;One of the most important goals of fault prediction is to detect fault prone modules as early as possible in the software development life cycle. Design and code metrics have been successfully used for predicting fault-prone modules. In this dissertation, we introduce fault prediction from software requirements. Furthermore, we …

Globalization, Diversity, And The Search For Culturally Relevant Models For Adult Education, Patricia K. Kubow

International Education

This is a book review for Curriculum Development for Adult Learners in the Global Community (Volume II, Teaching and Learning). Victor C.X. Wang (Ed.), 2009. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company.

The R Journal (December 2009) 1(2): Complete Issue, The R Foundation

The R Journal

Contributed Research Articles

Aspects of the Social Organization and Trajectory of the R Project, John Fox

Party on! Carolin Strobl, Torsten Hothorn and Achim Zeileis

ConvergenceConcepts: An R Package to Investigate Various Modes of Convergence, Pierre Lafaye de Micheaux and Benoit Liquet

asympTest: A Simple R Package for Classical Parametric Statistical Tests and Confidence Intervals in Large Samples, J.-F. Coeurjolly, R. Drouilhet, P. Lafaye de Micheaux and J.-F. Robineau

copas: An R package for Fitting the Copas Selection Model, J. Carpenter, G. Rücker and G. Schwarzer

Transitioning to R: Replicating SAS, Stata, and SUDAAN Analysis Techniques in Health Policy Data, …

Board Level Strategic Decision-Making: Process Characteristics And Context, Bernard C. Bailey

Student Scholarship

How do boards make strategic decisions? Semi-structured interviews with twenty eight directors of small to medium size publicly traded U.S. companies in the high technology sector were conducted in order to gain insights into strategic decision-making at the board level. We identified six characteristics that distinguish two divergent views about strategic decision-making. These characteristics include the role of the board chair, the boardroom climate, the board's shared vision and goals, the board's agency primacy, the board's process for decision closure and the board's level of involvement in the strategic planning process.

Inhibition Of Pi 3-Kinase Signaling Contributes To Metronidazole Resistance In The Protozoan Parasite, Entamoeba Histolytica, Rhonda Powell

All Theses

Amoebiasis is defined as an intestinal infection with the human protozoan parasite, Entamoeba histolytica; approximately 100,000 deaths annually can be attributed to amoebiasis. Disease states range from asymptomatic colonization to invasive amoebiasis, characterized by abdominal pain and dysentery. Dissemination to extraintestinal sites, such as the liver and/or brain, can occur. Vesicle trafficking is critical for parasite virulence, and multiple signaling cascades within the pathogen facilitate these events.
One important regulator of signal transduction is the tightly controlled PI 3-kinase (PI3K), which phosphorylates the lipid, phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate (PIP₂), producing phosphatidylinositol trisphosphate (PIP₃). Effector proteins, such as Akt, …

Labor And Employment Law, W. Melvin Haas Iii, William M. Clifton Iii, W. Jonathan Martin Iii, Glen R. Fagan

Mercer Law Review

This Article surveys recent developments in the state statutory and common law that affect labor and employment relations of Georgia employers. Accordingly, it surveys published decisions interpreting Georgia law from June 1, 2008 to May 31, 2009. This Article also includes highlights of certain revisions to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.).

Torts, Deron R. Hicks, Travis C. Hargrove

Mercer Law Review

This Article surveys recent developments in Georgia tort law between June 1, 2008 and May 31, 2009.

University Of Minnesota Morris Constitution And By-Laws [Draft], December 2009 Revision, University Of Minnesota Morris Constitution Revision Committee

Constitution and By-laws

This is a draft version with comments.

November-December 2009, Syracuse University Biology Department

BioLog

No abstract provided.

You've Got Your Mother's Laugh: What Bankruptcy Mediation Can Learn From The Her/History Of Divorce And Child Custody Mediation, Nancy A. Welsh

Faculty Scholarship

Due to our current deep economic woes, growing bankruptcy filings, and apparent legislative unwillingness to expand the number of judges, bankruptcy courts are exploring the use of mediation to help resolve adversary proceedings, negotiate elements of reorganizations, and deal with claims that cannot be heard directly in bankruptcy proceedings. In addition, mediation advocates have been consistent in urging greater use of the process to reduce debtors’ and claimants’ costs, bridge the jurisdictional and standing challenges that bankruptcies can pose, and offer claimants the opportunity to be heard and determine their own resolution of claims. At this point, the relatively few …

When Immigration Borders Move, Huyen Pham

Faculty Scholarship

With recent immigration enforcement efforts, we have created a completely new paradigm of moving borders: laws, enacted at all levels of government, that require proof of legal immigration status in order to obtain a driver's license, a job, rental housing, government need-based assistance, and numerous other essential benefits. Unlike the fixed physical border, these laws require proof of immigration status at multiple, moving points within the country's interior and are triggered through everyday transactions; if unable to prove her legal status, a person is denied the restricted benefit. If a person is denied access to multiple essential benefits, then she …

Reactivity Of Phenyldi(2-Thienyl)Phosphine Towards Group 7 Metal Carbonyls: Carbon–Phosphorus Bond Activation, Shishir Ghosh, Alok K. Das, Noorjahan Begum, Daniel T. Haworth, Sergey V. Lindeman, James R. Gardinier, Tasneem A. Siddiquee, Dennis W. Bennett, Ebbe Nordlander, Graeme Hogarth, Shariff E. Kabir

Chemistry Faculty Research and Publications

Addition of phenyldi(2-thienyl)phosphine (PPhTh₂) to [Re₂(CO)_10−n(NCMe)_n] (n = 1, 2) affords the substitution products [Re₂(CO)_10−n(PhPTh₂)_n] (1, 2) together with small amounts of fac-[ClRe(CO)₃(PPhTh₂)₂] (3) (n = 2). Reaction of [Re₂(CO)₁₀] with PPhTh₂in refluxing xylene affords a mixture which includes 2, [Re₂(CO)₇(PPhTh₂)(μ-PPhTh)(μ-H)] (4), [Re₂(CO)₇(PPhTh₂)(μ-PPhTh)(μ-η¹,κ¹(S)-C₄H₃S)] (5) and …

The Effect Of A Surfactant Monolayer On Gas Exchange Across An Air-Water Interface During Mixed Convection, Richard Lee

All Theses

A set of laboratory experiments are presented that reveal the effect of a surfactant monolayer on the transport of oxygen across an air-water interface during mixed convection conditions. The experiments were conducted in a wind/water tunnel with water tanks of differing depth. Forced convection was imposed via the air flow, while natural convection was imposed by heating the water bulk above the air temperature. For the range of wind speeds being considered, mixed convection conditions resulted. Experiments were also conducted with only forced convection present. The data acquired during these experiments were used to develop a parameterization between the Sherwood …

The 'I' In Team: Effects Of Performance Appraisal Type On Teamwork Variables, Brandy Brown

All Theses

The following research examined the effects of performance appraisal condition on teamwork variables. As more reliable models of teamwork emerge, there remains a noticeable lack of information regarding team motivation and feedback in an organizational context. This paper first reviews the current findings on team motivation, feedback, and performance appraisals and then applies that topic to teamwork processes. The researcher proposed that individual, team, and dual (individual and team feedback) performance appraisals would have different effects on teamwork processes and performance. Positive effects on team orientation, mutual trust, and team performance in the team and dual performance appraisal conditions were …

Interactive Perception For Cluttered Environments, Robert Willimon

All Theses

Robotics research tends to focus upon either non-contact sensing or machine manipulation, but not both. This paper explores the benefits of combining the two by addressing the problem of extracting and classifying unknown objects within a cluttered environment, such as found in recycling and service robot applications. In the proposed approach, a pile of objects lies on a flat background, and the goal of the robot is to sift through the pile and classify each object so that it can be studied further. One object should be removed at a time with minimal disturbance to the other objects. We propose …

Physically And Viscerally Made, Jenny Hutchinson

All Theses

Through the mediums of painting and drawing, I seek to create a figure that communicates particular states of being relative to contemporary conditions in society. Today we are individuals consumed by visual media and interconnectivity. I question -in wake of those conditions- how often we are self-aware. By living our lives through these two devices, we increasingly satisfy external needs, but may neglect internal needs. This situation, I believe, causes a dislocation of mind from body, and allows us to behave body-less. The distortion that we feel viscerally and live physically is actualized through the paint and drawing mediums. An …

Structures Serving The Visibly Homeless: An Emergency Shelter Response In Charleston, South Carolina, Ellen Martin

All Theses

This thesis is an architectural exploration into how to partially address the housing crisis affecting the visibly homeless population of Charleston, South Carolina. Thousands of men, women, and children in the United States are homeless in Charleston there is a significant and increasing number of visibly homeless. Those who sleep outside shelters are generally known as the 'visibly homeless' or street homeless. The visibly homeless is the most underserved group within the entire homeless population and is composed of those who sleep in places not intended for human habitation, such as bus stations, subway trains, automobiles, doorways, and abandoned buildings. …