Digital Commons Network^™

A Comparative Study Of Year-Round And Traditional Calendar Schools In Chicago, Andrea Therese Winkelmann

Dissertations

Restructuring the school calendar has been investigated by school districts as a possible way to increase student achievement in order to meet the standards of higher accountability. In order for districts to make sound and informed decisions about year-round schools and to evaluate the effectiveness of calendar differences; educators and administrators need to review the research on this subject. However, the research on year-round schools (YRS) can be misleading, biased, and inconclusive. While increased student achievement would arguably be of importance when researching YRS; demonstrating and reporting student achievement can be challenging.

This study will investigate the academic achievement in …

Home-School Collaboration And Children With Emotional And Behavioral Disorders: An Examination Of School Services, Laura Jean Swanlund

Dissertations

The treatment for childhood emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) is of significant concern within society. The research literature has frequently noted that parental involvement in the treatment of childhood EBD has a positive impact on outcomes in both school and community-based supports. The current study examined the relationship between parent involvement and school services received for children with emotional and behavioral needs. Parents of children with EBD were recruited from one large and two small on-line support groups. Results suggest that parents who reported satisfaction with school teams were more likely to receive research-based services and had a higher rate …

First-Year College Students And Faculty: A Comparison Of Expectations For Success, Jodi Ellen Koslow Martin

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study is to identify and explore academic, social, and career-related expectations that first-year college students believe lead to their collegiate success as defined by their perception of persisting in higher education. Further investigation determines how these expectations align with faculty expectations of student success. Eight first-year college students and eight college instructors were interviewed about their expectations at a small, private college. Criteria for first-year students include residing on campus and graduating from high school within the last year. Eligible faculty teach at least one class at the first-year level.

The data from student interviews …

Mid-Childhood Immigrant Perspectives On Achieving College Success, Mark John Litwicki

Dissertations

This study extends what is known about the experience of mid-childhood immigration. Fifteen participants, college students who immigrated to the U.S. from Latin America between the ages of 8 and 16 and who had completed at least a semester of transferable college-level coursework, provided their narratives by way of an open-ended interview focusing primarily on academic performance and achievement. Interviews were conducted using a life story methodology which seeks to maximize participant control over responses. Participants recounted their experiences from arrival through school completion and at college, and described which variables - circumstances, characteristics, behaviors, attitudes, events - they perceived …

Exploring The Use Of Suspension In High School Codes Of Conduct For Mild, Moderate, And Severe Behaviors, Amy Beth Horwitz

Dissertations

The purpose of this investigation is to describe the outcomes of a multi-state study of written discipline policies in a high school setting. This study examines discipline codes of conduct and analyzes the content for behaviors ranging in severity (mild, moderate, and severe) while specifically examining the use of suspension as a punitive measure. Publicly available written discipline policies (n=120) were drawn from state board of education web-sites in six states (Illinois, Iowa, Georgia, Texas, New York, Oregon). The Analysis of Discipline Codes Rating System (ADCR-R) was used as a tool to analyze the behaviors. The frequency of school responses …

School Factors That Promote Academic Resilience In Urban Latino High School Students, Christine Michelle Fallon

Dissertations

The purpose of this ex post facto quantitative study was to examine the relationship between the academic optimism of schools and academic resilience in urban Latino high school students attending those schools. This study sought to address three research ideas. First, it was hypothesized that, consistent with previous research, student achievement is related to the level of academic optimism of schools. A second purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between academic achievement with academic resilience for students with multiple risk factors, specifically, Latino students from low SES backgrounds attending an urban high school. Thirdly, it was hypothesized …

Turmoil, Tirades And Transformation: The Wars For The National History Standards 1991-2004, Phyllis Margaret Henry

Dissertations

This document presents a research project in the format of an historical narrative that chronicles the issues, process of consensus, and the impact of the National History Standards Project (NHSP) on local policies and curricula in history education. The influence of the voluntary national history standards movement is chronicled with the local development of social science standards-based curricula with the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and the Chicago Public Schools (CPS).

This dissertation is a case study that utilizes multiple sources of research such as archival primary sources, oral history interviews and participant observations to corroborate the evidence. The …

The Impact Of Tracking On Student Achievement: A Multilevel Growth Model, Carrie Christine Livingston

Dissertations

Tracking is the process of sorting students into different curriculum tracks, such as academic, general or vocational, based on student's abilities, interests, and needs. Ability grouping pertains to academic subjects and is the process of placing students with similar skills and abilities into levels, such as an honors level course or a regular level course. This study defines a track as the course level in which a student is enrolled within an academic subject, such as remedial, regular, or honors. The purpose of this research study is to further explore the relationship between academic tracks and student achievement and to …

An Historical Analysis Of The Chicago Public Schools Desegregation Consent Decree (1980 - 2006): Establishing Its Relationship With The Brown V. Board Case Of 1954 And The Implications Of Its Implementation On Educational Leadership, Shawn L. Jackson

Dissertations

This study provides an historical analysis of the Chicago Public School Desegregation Consent Decree, while illustrating its relationship with the Brown v. Board of 1954. It provides and analysis of the mission and objectives of all three versions of the Consent Decree which include: The Original Consent Decree 1980, The Modified Consent Decree 2004, and The Second Amended Decree 2006. The study also provides an account of the Brown v. Board case of 1954, defining the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as the conduits between the landmark case and the Chicago …

Building Level Principals As Change Agents In A Response To Intervention Reform Initiative, Kristen Elizabeth Ninni

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of the principal in a systems change effort. Utilizing Response to Intervention (RtI) as a means of studying principals as change agents, this researcher examined the principals' ability to implement and sustain a reform effort such as RtI as perceived by the principal, problem solving team, and teachers. This study examined how the perceptions influenced the change process and the extent to which the principal demonstrated characteristics of change such as knowledge of change, self-efficacy or their belief in their ability to make changes, and skills of change as supported …

Exploring The Relationship Between Teacher Personality Traits And Teachers' Attitudes And Practices Towards Family-School Partnerships, Anna Rawlings Hamilton

Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study is to determine if there is a relationship between teacher personality traits and teachers' reported attitudes and behaviors towards family-school partnerships. A secondary purpose of this study was to: 1) explore how various teacher demographic impacted attitudes and practices towards partnership, 2) examine if a cultural match between teachers' and students' backgrounds impacts teachers' reported attitudes and practices, and 3) to compare the personality profile of teachers as measured by the Five Factor Model (FFM) to that of the general population.

The participants were 243 practicing teachers in the state of Illinois who completed …

Internet Advocacy Support For Families Of Children With Emotional Difficulties, Maureen Elizabeth Curtin

Dissertations

Archival data from a survey of parents of children with emotional difficulties who are members of a specific online support group are examined to determine to what degree, if any, those parents are using internet resources to access sources of information for

advocacy. Twelve specific variables were collapsed into four sources of importance: Legal, School, Personal and Online sources that served as the dependent variables. Demographic data were collected and parent income was collapsed into three variables: Upper, Middle and Lower. Parent level of education was collapsed into three categories: College degree and above, Some college, and High school and …

Business Ethics And Global Age Cosmopolitanism, Isaias Ramon Rivera

Dissertations

This dissertation is a study of business ethics and business education. It is particularly focused on the Business Administration degree and the business ethics literature, while also considering university students, professors, and business practitioners. The key problem I address is how to create and teach an ethics of Global Age Cosmopolitanism (GAC). I approach this problem through a philosophical analysis focusing on political, economic, and educational principles. It is my hope that such an ethics will cause university professors and students to become engaged citizens who seek to solve the many problems that affect society and to sustain structural justice …

An Overarching Defense Of Kant's Idea Of The Highest Good, Alonso Villaran

Dissertations

The main goal of this dissertation is to develop an overarching defense of Kant's idea of the highest good, against the criticisms pointed out in the English-speaking world, within the framework of the so-called "Beck-Silber controversy."

As it is known, since the second half of the last century, when the "Beck-Silber controversy" started, Kant's idea of the highest good has been subject to a massive attack. These attacks motivated, in turn, the emergence of a counterforce of defenders, a group that I attempt to join through this work. Particularly, I have identified six criticisms against Kant's idea of the highest …

Uncovering Medical And Mental Health Professionals' Decision-Making In The Treatment Of Trans-Variant Patients, Jodie M. Dewey

Dissertations

This project is a study of medical and mental health professionals who treat trans-variant patients. Using in-depth interviews, I show how providers describe the process by which they make decisions with patients who desire, through formal means, to hormonally and/or surgically transition from one gender to the other. This work uncovers the ways professionals make decisions in the absence or limitation of formal knowledge while simulaneously attemping to ground their work in this same knoweldge to obtain respect and legitimacy. Professionals must also acknowledge that they relinquesh some power to patients to make decisions which involve high risk for them. …

Lysine Specific Demethylase-1 And The Brahma Chromatin Remodeling Complex Regulate Conserved Signaling Pathways During Drosophila Wing Development, Brenda Jean Curtis

Dissertations

The conserved SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex uses the energy from ATP hydrolysis to alter local chromatin environments by disrupting DNA-histone contacts. The Drosophila SWI/SNF counterpart, the Brahma complex, has been shown to have an essential role in regulating the proper expression of many developmentally important genes, including those required for eye and wing tissue morphogenesis. A temperature sensitive mutation in one of the core subunits, SNR1 (SNF5/Ini1/SMARC B1), results in reproducible wing patterning phenotypes that can be enhanced and suppressed by extragenic mutations. SNR1 functions as a regulatory subunit to modulate chromatin remodeling activities of the Brahma complex on target …

Digging Below The Demographic Level: Examining The Effects Of Internalized Racial And Social Attitudes On White Physicians-In-Training Self-Reported Cross Cultural Competency, Sha'kema Maigre't Blackmon

Dissertations

The racial and social attitudes of White physicians-in-training were explored in relation to aspects of self-perceived cross cultural competence. Specifically, internal motivation to respond without prejudice, ethnocultural empathy, color-blind racial attitudes, and general just world beliefs were examined as possible predictors of patient centered attitudes toward patients of color and skillfulness in providing cross cultural care. Multivariate multiple regression analyses found that internal motivation to respond without prejudice was significantly associated with patient centeredness toward patients of color. Global ethnocultural empathy was significantly associated with patient centeredness and skillfulness in providing cross cultural care. General just world beliefs attitudes had …

Quality Of Life And Health Outcomes In Overweight And Non-Overweight Children With Asthma., Amy Becker Manion

Dissertations

Over the last two decades the number of children and adolescents who are overweight has more than doubled. Currently, an estimated 18 percent of children and adolescents ages 6-19 years are overweight. Following this trend in childhood overweight, there has been an alarming increase in the number of children with asthma who are overweight. The increasing trend in both asthma and overweight has led to the suggestion of a causal relationship between the two. Childhood overweight has been found to have a profound negative impact on quality of life (QOL), yet there is a dearth of research regarding the impact …

Pushing On: A Grounded Theory Study Of Maternal Perinatal Bereavement., Patricia Wright

Dissertations

Over 1 million American women experience the unexpected loss of a pregnancy each year (Ventura, Abma, Mosher, & Henshaw, 2009). The care and support they receive from family members, friends, and health care providers is often inadequate. Despite nearly 3 decades of research, very little is known about women's experiences of loss and the trajectory of perinatal bereavement. This classic grounded theory study was undertaken to discover a substantive theory of maternal perinatal bereavement, which was empirically derived from the words of the participants.

Data were collected from interviews with 19 women who had experienced the loss of a pregnancy, …

The Caller And The Called: How Young Adults Understand Vocation In Their Lives, John A. Dahlstrand

Dissertations

While scholarly research offers some insight into the career decision-making process, it says little about how individuals discern their callings and how the vocational discernment process affects career choice. Accordingly, this study generated baseline understandings in both of these areas that proved theoretically and practically fruitful and which have the potential to serve as a launching pad for future research. These new understandings are critical because decisions relating to career choice and vocation are of particular importance to college-aged adults.

This study was informed by a conceptual framework identifying seven key domains that were assumed to potentially shape students' understanding …

Courting And Consorting With The Global: The Local Politics Of An Emerging World Heritage Site In Sulawesi, Indonesia, Kathleen M. Adams

Anthropology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

I begin this chapter with a vignette concerning the events that led to the selection of a particular Toraja hamlet (known as Ke'te' Kesu') for tentative inclusion on UNESCO's List of World Heritage Sites. In this portion of the chapter I also unpack some of the local reactions to this selection and contrast these reactions with an analysis of UNESCO conception~ and assumptions pertaining to World Heritage Sites, many of which are entwined with romantic assumptions about ancient life-ways under siege by the contemporary world. I then turn to trace the historyofKe'te' Kesu', from its colonial roots to the present, …

Improved Detection Of Bartonella Dna In Mammalian Hosts And Arthropod Vectors By Real-Time Pcr Using The Nadh Dehydrogenase Gamma Subunit (Nuog), James M. Colborn, Michael Y. Kosoy, Vladimir L. Motin, Maxim V. Telepnev, Gustavo Valbuena, Khin S. Myint, Yuri Fofanov, Catherine Putonti, Chen Feng, Leonard Peruski

Bioinformatics Faculty Publications

We used a whole-genome scanning technique to identify the NADH dehydrogenase gamma subunit (nuoG) primer set that is sensitive and specific enough to detect a diverse number of Bartonella species in a wide range of environmental samples yet maintains minimal cross-reactivity to mammalian host and arthropod vector organisms.

Projected Loss Of A Salamander Diversity Hotspot As A Consequence Of Projected Global Climate Change, Joseph Milanovich, William E. Peterman, Nathan P. Nibbelink, John C. Maerz

Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Significant shifts in climate are considered a threat to plants and animals with significant physiological limitations and limited dispersal abilities. The southern Appalachian Mountains are a global hotspot for plethodontid salamander diversity. Plethodontids are lungless ectotherms, so their ecology is strongly governed by temperature and precipitation. Many plethodontid species in southern Appalachia exist in high elevation habitats that may be at or near their thermal maxima, and may also have limited dispersal abilities across warmer valley bottoms.

Regeneration Of New Neurons Is Preserved In Aged Vomeronasal Epithelia, Jessica H. Brann, Stuart Firestein

Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

During normal and diseased aging, it is thought the capacity for tissue regeneration and repair in neuronal tissues diminishes. In the peripheral olfactory system, stem cell reservoirs permit regeneration of olfactory and vomeronasal sensory neurons, a unique capacity among neurons. Following injury, a large number of new neurons can be regenerated in a young animal. However, it is unknown whether this capacity for renewal exists in aged proliferative populations. Here, we report that neuronal replacement-associated proliferation continues in the vomeronasal organ of aged (18-24 months) mice. In addition, the potential for the aged stem cell to yield a mature neuron …

The Trpc2 Channel Forms Protein-Protein Interactions With Homer And Rtp In The Rat Vomeronasal Organ, Thomas G. Mast, Jessica H. Brann, Debra A. Fadool

Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

BACKGROUND: The signal transduction cascade operational in the vomeronasal organ (VNO) of the olfactory system detects odorants important for prey localization, mating, and social recognition. While the protein machinery transducing these external cues has been individually well characterized, little attention has been paid to the role of protein-protein interactions among these molecules. Development of an in vitro expression system for the transient receptor potential 2 channel (TRPC2), which establishes the first electrical signal in the pheromone transduction pathway, led to the discovery of two protein partners that couple with the channel in the native VNO. RESULTS: Homer family proteins were …

A New Species Of Boubou (Malaconotidae: Laniarius) From The Albertine Rift, Gary Voelker, Robert K. Outlaw, Sushma Reddy, Michael Tobler, John M. Bates, Shannon J. Hackett, Charles Kahindo, Ben D. Marks, Julian C. Kerbis Peterhans, Thomas P. Gnoske

Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

We describe Laniarius willardi, a new species of boubou shrike (Malaconotidae) from the Albertine Rift of Africa. The most conspicuous, distinguishing morphological feature of the species is a gray to blue-gray iris. This and external morphometric data indicate that L. willardi is diagnosable from other black or sooty boubous. Further, L. willardi is genetically diagnosable, and its closest relative is the Mountain Sooty Boubou (L. poensis camerunensis) from Cameroon. The Crimson-breasted Bush-shrike (L. atrococcineus) and the Lowland Sooty Boubou (L. leucorhynchus) are together the sister clade to L. willardi—L.p. camerunensis. Laniarius willardi and …

Toward True Integration Of Response To Intervention Systems In Academic And Behavior Support: Part Two: Tier 2 Support., Kent Mcintosh, Hank Bohanon, Steve Goodman

Education: School of Education Faculty Publications and Other Works

Part 2 of a series involving the integration of academic and behavior support.

Communication, Language Learning, And Faith, Deborah Berho

Faculty Publications - Department of Sociology

No abstract provided.

Anglo And Spanish-Speaking Church Relationships: A Brief History And An Oregon Case Study, Deborah Berho

Faculty Publications - Department of Sociology

No abstract provided.

Farming Practices (Chapter Two Of Walking Gently On The Earth), Lisa Graham Mcminn

Faculty Publications - Department of Sociology

Excerpt: "My mother and her siblings grew up raising sugar beets . in Fort Morgan, Colorado- on one of the six million family farms that provided food for the rest of the nation. Grandma sold eggs from their chickens and cream from the dairy cow to buy fabric to make school dresses for Mom and her sisters. Grandma also tended the large vegetable garden that fed her family along with the chickens and cows they raised."