Digital Commons Network^™

Digging It: A Participatory Ethnography Of The Experiences At A School Garden, Branimir Cvetkovic

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This case study of a school garden focuses on concepts of community that are fostered and embodied at this setting. By utilizing participatory ethnographic methodologies, this research explored gemeinschaft and gesellschaft concepts of community. Data reveals that students are able to learn mastery, belonging, generosity and independence while participating in the garden work. Teachers manage students who attempt to challenge the boundaries of this community by utilizing and ethic of care which allows teachers to de-emphasize authority and to first consider the networks of relationships and how to mend and improve them. Students are able to experience governmentality and an …

Minutes April 6, 2009

Minutes

No abstract provided.

De Novo Establishment Of Wild-Type Song Culture In The Zebra Finch, Olga Feher, Haibin Wang, Sigal Saar, Partha P. Mitra, Ofer Tchernichovski

Publications and Research

What sort of culture would evolve in an island colony of naive founders? This question cannot be studied experimentally in humans. We performed the analogous experiment using socially learned birdsong. Culture is typically viewed as consisting of traits inherited epigenetically, via social learning. However, cultural diversity has species-typical constraints1, presumably of genetic origin. A celebrated, if contentious, example is whether a universal grammar constrains syntactic diversity in human languages2. Oscine songbirds exhibit song learning and provide biologically tractable models of culture: members of a species show individual variation in song3 and geographically separated groups have local song dialects 4,5. Different …

Faculty Senate Meeting Agenda And Minutes, April 6, 2009

Faculty Senate Minutes and Agendas

Agenda and minutes from the Wright State University Faculty Senate Meeting held on, April 6, 2009.

Faculty Senate Monthly Packet April 2009, Portland State University Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Monthly Packets

The April 2009 Monthly packet includes the April agenda and appendices and the Faculty Senate minutes and attachments from the meeting held March 2009

Concept Analysis Of Risk Behavior In The Context Of Adolescent Development, Alice L. March

Journal of Youth Development

The term risk behavior is a concept that has been used in the literature for many years, particularly as it relates to adolescent developmental issues and adolescent health behaviors. Currently the literature specific to the conceptual analysis of risk behavior is limited and relates in general to adults, rather than youths. The purpose of this investigation was to analyze not only the concept of risk behavior, but also its specific relationship to adolescents. Previous conceptual analyses have not considered how those concepts may be affected by the psychosocial development of adolescents. Therefore the specific aim of this analysis is to …

Historical Imagination In/And Literary Consciousness: The Afterlife Of The Anglo-Saxons In Middle English Literature, Richard Joseph Ellman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the afterlife and literary presence of the Anglo-Saxons in three literary works from the Middle English period. Middle English writers appropriated classical and French traditions for decidedly English purposes, but relatively few scholars have noted the way in which individuals in the Middle English period (particularly in the fourteenth century) drew upon and (re)constructed an organic English identity or essence emblematized by the Anglo-Saxons. Post-Conquest English men and women did not relate to their Anglo-Saxon forebears in an unproblematic manner; changes in language and culture, precipitated by the Norman Invasion, placed a vast, unwieldy gap between Middle …

Creek Schism: Seminole Genesis Revisited, Philip C. Hawkins

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This work reevaluates commonly accepted interpretations of Seminole ethnogenesis in light of recent scholarship and previously ignored sources from the Spanish archives. It argues that Seminole formation was largely a bi-product of a struggle between two opposing Lower Creek factions: the Creek "nationalists" and the ostensive Creek "partisans" of the British. This factional struggle became increasingly bitter during the French and Indian War and ultimately led to a schism whereby the ostensive "partisans" of the British colonized of the Alachua savanna in the early 1760s to become recognized as the first Florida Seminoles. This work also raises questions about the …

Communication As A Cultural Construct At The United Nations Arabic Translation Service, Amina Iraqi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I examine the practical challenge of constructing communication at the Arabic Translation Service (ATS) of the UN through the process of translation. Unlike in English in which "communication" has only one equivalent, in Arabic it has many depending on the context. My analysis focuses on analyzing the occurrence of two translation equivalents, namely ittissal and tawassul given that their use in translation sometimes proves to be cultural.

I conducted participant observation over the course of a two-month internship at the UN Headquarters in New York. Using grounded theory, I pieced together insights from a database of occurrences …

Social Implications Of Fair Trade Coffee In Chiapas, Mexico: Toward Alternative Economic Integration, Joseph J. Torok

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The coffee trade in Chiapas, Mexico is a unique approach of sustainable development and economic integration, demonstrating that local social movements can change behaviors in international trade regimes. The Zapatista community of Chiapas, Mexico, has an impact on the global trade system, where resultant changes begin at the local level. In the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, factors contributing to the Zapatista rebellion have led actors within civil society to form new socio-political organizations capable of changing participation, norms, and economic outcomes during the post-rebellion period (1994 - present). This study explores the dilemmas facing the autonomy of actors in …

Dialectal And Developmental Influences On Real Word And Non-Word Spelling Tasks, Stephanie Joy Dickerson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Spelling development is a linguistic process which involves the interaction of phonological, orthographic, and morphological knowledge (Bahr, Silliman, & Berninger, in press). It is also clear these linguistic factors are influenced by a person's dialect. Previous research has indicated that use of African American English (AAE) does influence spelling performance (Kohler, Bahr, Silliman, Bryant, Apel, & Wilkinson, 2007); however, few studies have considered how dialect use influences spelling as a function of spelling task (i.e., real vs. non-word tasks), error category (phonological, orthographic, or morphological) or grade. A secondary goal was to note if dialectal or developmental errors predominated in …

Statistical And Data Mining Methodologies For Behavioral Analysis In Transgenic Mouse Models Of Alzheimer’S Disease: Parallels With Human Ad Evaluation, Ralph E. Leighty

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder and the leading cause of human senile dementia. Alzheimer’s represents a significant public health concern, having widespread social and economic implications. Consequently, protocols for early detection and therapeutic intervention (both behavioral and pharmacologic) constitute important targets for medical investigation. Furthermore, contemporary research depends upon comprehensive neurobehavioral assessment and advanced statistical and computational analytic methodologies for characterizing AD-associated sensorimotor and cognitive impairment, as well as evaluating therapeutic efficacy. This dissertation introduces data mining-based techniques (decision trees, neural networks, support vector machines) for behavioral analysis in both nontransgenic and Alzheimer’s transgenic mice, to evaluate …

Deafdigest: Blue Edition, April 5, 2009, Barry Strassler

DeafDigest Blue 2009

No abstract provided.

Francophone African Immigration To The United States: Causes And Implications For American Social Work Practice, Whitney Henderson

Global Studies Student Scholarship

Francophone West Africans are a special population within whole African immigration to the US. Due to the political instability in the West African region, it is understandable why West Africans would seek immigration to more stable environment. What is not understood is why Francophone immigrants are immigrating to an English-speaking country such as the United States instead of France, where there is an official language commonality in addition to cultural similarities. In terms of social work practice, this is of great importance, as social workers will be aiding this group in resettling in the United States. This paper explores why …

Um Research Conference Open To The Public, University Of Montana--Missoula. Office Of University Relations

University of Montana News Releases, 1928, 1956-present

No abstract provided.

Teaching Vocabulary Meaningfully With Language, Image, And Sound., Doraina D. Pyle

Theses and Dissertations

This study was an exploration of how an instructional technique that uses language, image, and sound—that of a meaningful presentation of language with image by gradual, step-by-step sequencing—affects vocabulary acquisition. Research was carried out with volunteers from the BYU language community, who were randomly assigned to one of two testing groups. The two groups viewed Arabic language presentations wherein the presentation for the experimental group received line drawings to indicate vocabulary meanings, and the other group received English translations. Following the treatment, learners completed an online vocabulary test, and one week later, the same online vocabulary test. Statistical analyses indicated …

A Toe In The Water: A Primer On Louisiana Riparian Law And Emerging Issues, Mark Davis

Annual Institute on Mineral Law

Louisiana has a long and complex relationship with water, one that figures to get more interesting and complex in the years ahead. Culturally and economically, water has shaped Louisiana in powerful and obvious ways. Legally, the relationship has been more obscure, defined more by specific uses and periodic crises that command great attention, than by a systematic approach to management. Louisiana is hardly unique in this regard; indeed this has been the general approach that "wet" eastern and southern states have taken to water management and law. As a result, water law as a discipline and area of practice has …

Media Forms In Use [7th Grade], Salena Gonzales

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

Advanced Contemporary Literacy is a new course at NEISD where each grade level's curriculum is designed around a different focus for the year to meet the needs of students who require or desire a challenge and change of pace from the traditional reading class. In seventh grade, the focus is Media Literacy, the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and create media in a variety of forms-from print to video to the Internet. Media Literacy is essential to today's adolescents because, according the the Center for Media Literacy, it "builds an understanding of the role of media in society as well …

'Conflict Analysis:' Exploring The Role Of Kuwait In Mediation In The Middle East, Abdullah R. Al Saleh

Dissertations and Theses

The Middle East is a large geographical area, and while people think of it as a homogeneous area in terms of language and culture, the region IS actually more of a melting pot of ethnic, religious, racial and linguistic groups. Understanding the distinctions between these groups is of paramount importance to understanding the region. Historical rivalries between some groups, for example, Sunni and Shia Muslims, go back hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years. Yet, people continue with life. How do countries continue to deal with each other when there are open, unsettled questions, such as boundaries or control of islands? Is …

Program, Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival

Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival

No abstract provided.

Optical Pulsars And Black Arrows: Discoveries As Occasioned Productions, Timothy Koschmann, Alan Zemel

Publications

The current paper represents a methodological proposal. It seeks to address the question of how one might recognize a discovery as a discovery without knowing in advance what is available to be discovered. We propose a solution and demonstrate it using data from a study previously reported by Roschelle (1992). Roschelle investigated two students’ discovery of certain abstract features of Newtonian mechanics while working within a computer-based microworld, the Envisioning Machine. We employ an approach we term discovery-as-occasioned-production to re-examine his data. Such an approach proceeds stepwise from the identification of some matter discovered, working backwards to see just where …

Web Usability Testing With A Hispanic Medically Underserved Population, Mary Moore Phd, Randolph G. Bias, Katherine Prentice, Robin Fletcher, Terry Vaughn

Faculty Research, Publications, and Presentations

Skilled website developers value usability testing to assure user needs are met. When the target audience differs substantially from the developers, it becomes essential to tailor both design and evaluation methods. In this study, researchers carried out a multifaceted usability evaluation of a website (Healthy Texas) designed for Hispanic audiences with lower computer literacy and lower health literacy.

Perspectives In Gifted Education: Diverse Gifted Learners, Institute For The Development Of Gifted Education, Ricks Center For Gifted Children, University Of Denver, Norma Hafenstein, Jamie A. Castellano

Perspectives in Gifted Education

This is the fourth in a series of monographs published through the Institute for the Development of Gifted Education at the University of Denver. The first monograph contained different perspectives on the growth and development of young gifted children. The second monograph addressed the characteristics and needs of the twice-exceptional - those who are gifted and also have some type of disabling condition. The third monograph focused on the personality, spiritual, and character development of gifted children.

Requests Of Brown By Lc Classification: April 2009, Ruth E.. Souto

HELIN Monthly Loan Statistics

Requests of Brown from other HELIN libraries - April 2009

Medically Underserved Areas And Populations In Maine 2008, Hannah Lafleur ('11)

Atlas of Maine

According to the Health Resources and Services Administration Shortage Designation Branch of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Medically Underserved Areas may be a whole county or a group of contiguous counties, a group of county or civil divisions, or a group of urban census tracts in which residents have a shortage of personal health services. Medically Underserved Populations may include groups of persons who face economic, cultural, or linguistic barriers to health care. These federal designations are supplemented by state designations which cover areas or populations that do not meet federal designation criteria. The Health Resources and Services …

Courting Specialization: An Empirical Study Of Claim Construction Comparing Patent Litigation Before Federal District Courts And The International Trade Commission, David L. Schwartz

All Faculty Scholarship

The United States International Trade Commission (ITC) has recently become an important adjudicator of patent infringement disputes, and the administrative law judges (ALJs) on the ITC are widely viewed as experts on patent law. This Article empirically examines the performance of the ITC in patent claim construction cases. The Article also compares the performance of the ITC on claim construction with that of federal district courts of general jurisdiction. This study does not find any evidence that the patent-experienced ALJs of the ITC are more accurate at claim construction than district court judges or that the ALJs learn from the …

Zionism And The Nationalization Of Jerusalem, Khaldoun Samman

Macalester International

No abstract provided.

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter, Spring 2009

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Integrating Technology In One Literacy Course: Lessons Learned, Chinwe H. Ikpeze

Education Faculty/Staff Publications

In lieu of an abstract, here is the article's first paragraph:

Teacher education has been subject to both criticism and innumerable efforts designed to reform it and to make it more relevant to teaching and learning in the diverse societies of the 21st century. A much sought after reform includes evidence of programs that utilize a more tightly holistic and integrated approach to instruction (Boyer, 1990) aimed at equipping teacher candidates with skills to teach in the information age of multiple technological literacies (Leu, Kinzer, Coiro, & Cammack, 2004). Rapid digitization of everyday practices means that we need to rethink …

Online Learning And Mentors: Addressing The Shortage Of Rural Special Educators Through Technology And Collaboration, Evelyn S. Johnson, Michael J. Humphrey, Keith W. Allred

Early and Special Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article describes a promising model in comprehensive special education personnel preparation to support the recruitment and retention of special education teachers in rural areas. The approach draws on several bodies of research to include best practices for teacher education, online service delivery, collaboration among key stakeholders, and the development of strong mentoring and induction programs. The implementation plan, based on evidence-based practice in special education and online learning, is presented. A key element of this plan is developing and maintaining strong relationships among rural districts, the state department of education, and higher education.