Digital Commons Network^™

An Analysis Of Local District Initiatives To Reduce Student Absence Rates Subsequent To Passage Of The No Child Left Behind Act, Lori Myles

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Absence rates in school districts have been a concern for educational stakeholders before the passage of NCLB act. The state of Georgia along with the United States has had to face the effects of this law in the area of attendance. Attendance as Georgia's second indicator requires school districts to become accountable for their absence rates within their districts by changing their attendance policies. The overarching question for this research was, "Have absence rates differed since the implementation of the NCLB Act and the subsequent changes in attendance policies?" The following sub-questions guided the over-arching research question. 1. What were …

Cognitive Frameworks That Enable South Carolina High School Principals To Implement Smaller Learning Communities, Leslie Jr. Gamble

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The demands of an ever-changing technological and diverse global society contribute to the need for systemic change in today's secondary schools. Faced with these realities, American high schools must set course on a new mission for education. Not only must high schools require differentiated instructions to accommodate students' needs, high school personnel must also be held accountable for student learning by producing a high quality education. Because of the variety of these diverse issues, high school principals are faced with overcoming the challenges and obstacles that confront high school reforms. The research regarding smaller learning communities is well-documented and encouraging. …

Leadership Practices That Influence Teacher Attendance In A Low And High Teacher Absentee School, Allison Taylor Owen

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The impact of teacher absenteeism is all encompassing. Teacher absenteeism affects student achievement and behavior as well as the morale of other teachers. It strains an already overburdened school budget and poorly trained substitute teachers are with students for as much as one whole year of the time that students are in school from kindergarten to twelfth grade. The primary purpose of this study was to determine what leadership practices affect teacher attendance at school. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to conduct this study. A school culture survey, which included items addressing three major areas, tasks, processes and …

The Impact Of Alternatively Prepared Teachers In Middle Georgia: The Perceptions Of High School Principals, Jaquel Lafay Johnson

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Alternative teacher preparation programs make both positive and negative contributions in producing classroom teachers. Principals are the key evaluators in determining the teachers' success. Principals are essential evaluators because they serve as the immediate supervisors of the program and help determine the certification process of the alternatively prepared teachers. Teachers are being hired to teach from traditional and alternative teacher preparation programs. This study was essential in determining the impact of the alternative teacher preparation programs in producing needed teachers for the classroom. The study focused on alternatively prepared teachers meeting the shortage areas in Georgia schools. "A teacher shortage …

Effective Print Media Relations Practices Of Georgia's Rural High-Performing Principals: Three Case Studies, Patricia L. Cato

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Previous researchers (Scott, 2005; Mobley, 2007; Oplatka, 2007; Bagin, Gallagher, & Moore, 2008) have illustrated the impact of journalists and newspapers on the public’s perception of a principal’s effectiveness. However, prior studies have focused on higher education, funding, and urban areas. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative study was to determine the perceived best print media relations practices from the viewpoints of identified high-performing principals, print media professionals, and parents. This qualitative study employed a multi-case study design with purposive sampling. Principals from one elementary school, one middle school, and one high school who had been named to the Georgia …

An Assessment Of Faculty Job Satisfaction In Georgia's Technical College System Using Bolman And Deal's Four Organizational Frameworks, Samuel Bee Hart

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This research examined the extent to which elements within Bolman and Deal's (2003) four organizational frameworks impact the job satisfaction of full-time faculty working within the Technical College System of Georgia. A researcher developed survey instrument was made available to all full-time faculty members within the Technical College System of Georgia. A factor analysis coupled with a linear regression analysis found that elements within the structural framework had the greatest impact on full-time faculty job satisfaction followed by elements within the human resources, political, and symbolic frameworks respectively.

A Study Of The Perceptions Of Stakeholders Regarding Commercial Fundraising In Georgia's Public Schools, Ronald Edwin Main

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of principals, teachers, and parents regarding the use of commercial fundraising methods in Georgia's public schools. It was the researcher's purpose to fill a void in the literature regarding the perceptions of school stakeholders, in terms of their perceptions regarding the nature, scope, and general acceptability of commercial fundraising in Georgia's public schools. Accordingly, the researcher used a random sample of principal, teacher, and parent members of school councils of elementary, middle, and high schools across the state. Following a review of literature, the researcher created, tested, and validated a …

The Principal's Roles In Creating And Maintaining Working Conditions In Schools In Georgia, Sandra Wallace Nethels

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative study examined principal's role in creating and maintaining working conditions in schools in Georgia. The researcher reviewed the literature related to the five major domains of teacher working conditions in schools. The five major domains were time: facilities and resources; teacher empowerment; leadership; and professional development. The study was conducted to understand how the principal created and maintained conditions conducive to support teachers. The design of the study was a case study with multiple sites on the role of leadership in school working conditions. The researcher interviewed three principals, conducted three focus group interviews with teachers from elementary, …

The Relationship Between Situational Crime Prevention Theory And Campus Employee Computer Misuse, M. Juliane Santiago

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Computer misuse is a leading problem for all industry sectors, including higher education. However, much of the current research related to computer misuse has been conducted in the business sector, leaving higher education a relatively unstudied group. Many theories have been addressed in computer security literature, but only one theory offers a more holistic solution to combating computer misuse, Situational Crime Prevention Theory. Situational Crime Prevention Theory encompasses four categories of countermeasures: countermeasures that Increase the Perceived Effort of the offender, countermeasures that Increase the Perceived Risk of the offender, countermeasures that Reduce the Anticipated Rewards of the offender, and …

Perceptions Of Middle School Teachers Regarding The Use Of Standardized Testing Data, Darrell Lamar Stephens

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Principals and teachers are under continuous pressure to improve student learning. The ability to analyze standardized testing data provides a tool for educators to use in their effort to combat students' deficiency in learning. The researcher conducted the study in four middle schools in a Georgia school district located outside of metropolitan Atlanta, which is in the beginning stages of providing training to teachers, and administrators on how to use standardized test results to improve student learning. To accomplish the purpose of this study, the researcher analyzed the surveyed responses of 242 participants, all middle school teachers. The method for …

An Assessment Of The Practices And Strategies That Contribute To The Success Of High School Service-Learning Programs, James E. Taylor

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Service-learning is widely recognized as a form of experiential learning that positively impacts students. Studies have supported academic and inter-personal growth as a result of student involvement in an organized service-learning program. While some educators report that student participation is all that is required, this research demonstrates that the teaching practices implemented and strategies employed are the foundational elements necessary for a successful service-learning program. A successful service-learning project should be intentionally selected and developed with built-in opportunities for preparation activities prior to the service-learning event, a thoroughly planned service-learning opportunity, and planned debrief to solidify student comprehension and application …

Examining Aspects Of Role And Practice Changes For School Psychologists In Georgia: A Mixed Methods Analysis, Bruce A. Rogers

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Throughout the 1980's and onward, professional commentary, editorials and models have been put forward to expand roles for school psychologists beyond assessment and special education. The harbinger has been to move away from traditional roles towards including all students in prevention, mental health and regular education initiatives. Recent legislation passed including NCLB, 2001 and IDEA, 2004 for schools across the country represented a major change for the directions of public school curriculum to include scientific based research instruction, more accountability and increased assessment at each grade level. This study was conducted in light of the historical context, these recent legislative …

Now I Speak: The African American Males' Perspective As To Whether His Identification With Hip-Hop Culture Affects His Academic Achievement, Chiquetta O. Mitchell

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study explores the African-American males' perspectives of whether his identification with the hip-hop culture affects his academic achievement. Many Black males have embraced the popular culture of hip-hop with its glamour and style, but many also continue to fall behind in school or dropout. The use of qualitative analysis allows the participants in this study to speak of their experiences with hip-hop and education. Glesne (1999) writes, "Critical Race Theory as a theoretical framework allows the ability to listen well to others stories and to interpret and retell the accounts [which is] is part of the qualitative researcher's trade" …

Beauty, Breasts, And Brains: An Exploration Of Using The Adolescent Female Body As A Resistance Site, Hanna Andrews Beall

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Adolescent girls are continuously barraged with messages regarding what it means to be a girl and the appropriate way in which to do so. Particularly within the South, there are strict boundaries for acceptable forms of femininity both within school and in the broader social context. However, within the walls of the classroom, these lived experiences of girls are often ignored. By ignoring the lived experiences of girls in schools, many girls are being marginalized, trivialized, and dismissed from the school environment. This dissertation examines the hidden curriculum as it applies to adolescent girls in schools today and offers a …

The Confrontation Of White Supremacy: A Consciousness Raising Group Experience, Vickie S. King

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study investigated the responses of six white female high school teachers in a small, rural community in southern Georgia to discussions about and challenges to their belief systems concerning racial issues and the racial climate of their school. These women were part of a multi-session consciousness raising focus group experience. The theoretical framework for this study was black feminist theory. Black feminist theorists' emphasis of the importance of lived experience and dialogue in questioning the structures of dominant powers was an important component of the study. Qualitative research was employed in an effort to capture the fullness of the …

String Theory And Our Relationship With Nature: The Convergence Of Science, Curriculum Theory, And The Environment, Virginia Therese Bennett

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Curriculum Theory affords us the opportunity to examine education from a multitude of directions. This work takes advantage of that opportunity to explore the relationships between science, nature, and curriculum using string theory and our ideas about the environment as a backdrop. Both the energy and multiple possibilities created by strings and the rich history leading up to the theory help to illustrate the many opportunities we have to advance discussions in alternative ways of looking at science. By considering the multiple dimensions inherent in string theory as multiple pathways and interweaving metaphors from Deleuze and Guattari, Michel Serres, and …

Resegregation And Educational Apartheid In Macon/Bibb County, Georgia: The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same, Ashley Paige Briandi

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study examined how the institution of the White private school system and the continued segregation of schools in Macon, GA has affected Macon's Black community. Archival data included newspaper accounts of Macon's educational climate from Brown v. Board of Education to present day. Interviews with five African-American women who lived in Macon during the time of integration showed through building "desegregation academies," gerrymandering public school districts, overcrowding and underfunding public schools (which are already at a disadvantage because of their socioeconomic status), the bureaucracy of Macon has unequivocally sent the message to the Black community that they are not …

Curriculum And The Elements Of The Earth: Deconstructing Sustainability And Reconstructing Responsibility, Elizabeth Alford Pollock

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

In October, 2009, I attended a presentation on Sustainability where the argument was made this concept is an issue for government and administrative agencies. The problem with this summation is in its exclusion of individuals existing outside of these agencies who interact with their environment on a daily basis. This exclusion potentially encompassed an extinguishing effect in that it closed off the term to multiple interpretations and possibilities I believe sustainability possesses; a "closing" that does not provoke the liberating nature associated with more open forms of dialogue and engagements. My dissertation explores the myriad ways sustainability can be interpreted …

Faunal Analysis And Comparative Study Of Mont Repose Plantation, Misty Y. Dunn

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Over the past several years excavations have been underway within a structure at the Mont Repose plantation site located near Coosawhatchie, South Carolina. This structure has yielded an array of artifacts including numerous faunal remains. Species recovered thus far include domestic species such as cow, pig, and chicken. The wild species represented within the collection include deer, opossum, raccoon, fish, bird, turtle, and alligator. By comparing the findings from the Mont Repose structure with other coastal plantation sites, it is suggested that conclusions can be drawn about who was occupying the structure. Also, it may be possible to determine the …

Birth Outcomes In Georgia: Socioeconomic And Ecological Analyses Of Low Birth Weight, 2000-2006, Kelley G. Chester

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Despite advances in medical and preventive care in the U.S., the low birth weight percentage continues to rise in the U.S. and the state of Georgia. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of socioeconomic status, county type (rural vs. urban), and adequacy of prenatal care on low birth weight in the state of Georgia for the years 2000 to 2006. The study also applied practical methods such as spatial analysis and geographic information systems (GIS) in order to pinpoint the at-risk populations for adverse birth outcomes. This study involved the use of secondary data analysis, specifically …

From Reproduction To Consumption: The Economic Deterioration Of Families In The United States After World War Ii, Michael David Gillespie

Dissertations

The United State's “great recession,” beginning in December 2007, is the latest indicator of the economic decline of middle- and working-class families. This research questions why the economic condition of U.S. families deteriorated after World War II. To address this research question, social structure of accumulation theory is used to examine the changing role of the family as an institution in capitalist society.

First, a qualitative institutional analysis of federal welfare, labor, and financial regulatory policies from the New Deal to the present is conducted. This analysis shows that, initially, the family was vital to the capitalist economy as the …

Digital Commons Statistics For December 2010, Liberty University

Digital Commons Statistics

No abstract provided.

Universal Biases In Self-Perception: Better And More Human Than Average, Steve Loughnan, Bernhard Leidner, Guy Doron, Nick Haslam, Yoshihisa Kashima, Jennifer Tong, Victoria Yeung

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

There is a well-established tendency for people to see themselves as better than average (self-enhancement), although the universality of this phenomenon is contested. Much less well-known is the tendency for people to see themselves as more human than average (self-humanizing). We examined these biases in six diverse nations: Australia, Germany, Israel, Japan, Singapore, and the USA. Both biases were found in all nations. The self-humanizing effect was obtained independent of self-enhancement, and was stronger than self-enhancement in two nations (Germany and Japan). Self-humanizing was not specific to Western or English-speaking cultures and its magnitude was less cross-culturally variable than self-enhancement. …

Voices Raised, Issue 30, University Of Dayton. Women's Center

Women’s Center Newsletter

Included in this issue: Sisterhood of the Traveling Scarf; Dr. Corvino Speaks on Homosexuality; Center for Social Concern Offers Break-out Trips; UD Shows Continues Dedication to Women’s Athletics; The A Team; There’s no (bent) grass growing under these sisters feet; The Importance of Taking Time for Yourself; Home for the Holidays; Unique Nativity Scenes; Thanks to those who make UD “run like butter”.

Pittsburg Fire Department, Call Register, 1907-1917, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

Finding Aids

A ledger book containing a handwritten account on lined paper of fire alarm calls for Pittsburg, Kansas from January 1, 1907 through March 30, 1917.

Colorado Residentail Property Owners And Their Cloudy Right To Precipitation Capture, Ryan S. Hansen

Tulsa Law Review

No abstract provided.

Volume 30, Number 4, December 2010, Kate James, Nathan Putnam, Jan Mayo, Barbara Vaughan, Katie Eller, Jay Weitz

OLAC Newsletters

Digitized December 2010 issue of the OLAC Newsletter.

A Comparison Of Cumulative-Germination Response Of Cheatgrass (Bromus Tectorum L.) And Five Perennial Bunchgrass Species To Simulated Field-Temperature Regimes, Stuart P. Hardegree, Corey A. Moffet, Bruce A. Roundy, Thomas A. Jones, Stephen J. Novak, Patrick E. Clark, Frederick B. Pierson, Gerald N. Flerchinger

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) has come to dominate millions of hectares of rangeland in the Intermountain western United States. Previous studies have hypothesized that one mechanism conferring a competitive advantage to this species is the ability to germinate rapidly at low temperatures in the fall, winter and spring and, therefore, initiate growth and establishment more rapidly than more desirable perennial bunchgrass species. In this experiment, we developed thermal-germination-response models for multiple seedlots of cheatgrass and five perennial grass species. We conducted sensitivity analysis on potentialcumulative- germination response to a 38-y simulation of field-variable conditions of seedbed temperature and moisture. …

Eighteen Microsatellite Loci Developed From Western Burrowing Owls (Athene Cunicularia Hypugaea), Brant C. Faircloth, Alexandra Title, Kevin Tan, Justin Welty, James R. Belthoff, Patricia Adair Gowaty

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Western burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia hypugaea) are ground-dwelling owls distributed throughout western North America. Because of population declines, this species is considered endangered in Canada, and burrowing owls are listed as a species of conservation concern in states of the western USA. Korfanta et al. (2002) previously presented primers for seven microsatellite loci in burrowing owls. Parentage and relatedness studies require a larger number of markers for accuracy and precision. Here, we developed and characterized 18 additional microsatellite DNA loci, and we tested these loci in 23 individuals. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to …

Statutory Interpretation In The Roberts Court’S First Era: An Empirical And Doctrinal Analysis, Anita S. Krishnakumar

UC Law Journal

This Article examines the Roberts Court’s statutory cases from its 2005–2008 Terms, beginning with cases decided after January 31, 2006, when Justice Alito joined the Court, and concluding with cases decided on June 29, 2009, when Justice Souter retired. The Article’s approach is both empirical and doctrinal, in that it (1) presents descriptive statistics illustrating the Court’s and individual Justices’ rates of reliance on fourteen different tools of statutory construction, and (2) engages in doctrinal analysis of the Court’s statutory cases, highlighting discernable patterns in the individual Justices’ interpretive approaches. The Article makes two significant contributions to the field of …