Digital Commons Network^™

A Case Study Of E-Learning Initiatives In New Zealand's Secondary Schools, Allison Powell

Theses and Dissertations

There is a shift occurring in education systems around the world, which could change the face of education as we have known it through blended and online learning. E-Learning offers opportunities and possibilities that were unknown to educators over a decade ago. Countries, states, and school districts are implementing online and blended learning environments to offer world class educational opportunities to all students no matter their zip code or socio-economic status. In general, research in the field of K-12 online learning has focused on the United States and Canada. However, an international survey of online learning in initiatives conducted by …

Organizational Change Effectiveness A Case Study In Customer-Alignment Structures For Employee Engagement And Service Delivery, Emily C. Logan

Theses and Dissertations

Although organizational changes are common in business, few of these changes are decided based upon clearly defined organizational goals (Hilmer & Donaldson, 1996). Making structural changes may not be the best approach to improve performance, given that organizational changes are disruptive to the organization (Day, Lawson, & Leslie, 2003). Instead of following prevalent management fads, organizational leaders need to evaluate carefully any potential changes for their situation and objectives before embarking on a disruptive change. The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of an organizational change in which the defined goals were to create more empowered employees …

Interdisciplinary Authentic Assessment: Cognitive Expectations And Student Performance, Jenni M. Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

This two-pronged quantitative, non-experimental design study, conducted at an urban secondary school of 472 students in Los Angeles, California, was designed to gain understanding of the potential impact of interdisciplinary authentic assessment and the manner and complexity with which such tasks push students to think. Since limited research has been conducted around the results of such practices at the secondary school level, this research serves as a pilot study to examine (a) cognitive levels of Bloom's Taxonomy present within four interdisciplinary authentic assessment tasks, following an ongoing professional development intervention and (b) student performance on these assessments of varying cognitive …

Financial Stability Is A Volume Business: A Comment On The Legal Infrastructure Of Ex Post Consumer Debtor Protections, Anna Gelpern

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Professor Melissa B. Jacoby's essay pays homage to Stewart Macaulay's classic study of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, a U.S. federal consumer protection law that, according to Macaulay, was virtually unknown to the lawyers whose clients needed it the most. The moral of Macaulay's study is that even good consumer protection laws on the books often fail to deliver in action for complex cultural, institutional, and economic reasons. Yet reducing Professor Jacoby's essay to this very important moral undersells its contribution. A fragmented infrastructure for legal service delivery of the sort she describes does not merely fail consumers more often than …

Cultural Landscapes In Conflict: Addressing The Interests And Landscape Perceptions Of Native Americans, The National Park Service, And The American Public In National Parks, Emily Anne Eide

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The Prayer and Fasting Project of 2010 from Glacier National Park produced startling results indicating that many areas which have cultural significance to Native American peoples have been adversely impacted by national park recreationalists. This thesis addresses the significance of these impacts along with other management issues associated with conflicting landscape perceptions of national park lands. These concerns are explored through the examination of past and present archaeological theories along with cultural resource management approaches to landscapes. The need to identify and consider different cultural perceptions of landscapes in research and management scenarios is stressed throughout this work. The inclusion …

Distribution, Use And Cultural Meanings Of Ciprés De Las Guaitecas In The Vicinity Of Caleta Tortel, Chile, Kyla Sara Zaret

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study examined the changing roles of ciprés de las Guaitecas (Pilgerodendron uviferum) in the lives and livelihoods of Tortel community members. A political ecology framework built on concepts of power, scale and social construction was used to problematize the availability of the tree as a resource by revealing the multiple, contrasting perspectives of different socio-political actors. National and international policy documents were analyzed in order to uncover the discourses that drive decision-making at those scales. Participant observation and semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore local people’s knowledge, perceptions and opinions regarding the difficulties they face in accessing and utilizing …

A Primer On Batson, Including Discussion Of Johnson V. California, Miller-El V. Dretke, Rice V. Collins, & Synder V. Louisiana., Mikal C. Watts, Emily C. Jeffcott

St. Mary's Law Journal

Fundamental to the existence of the rights guaranteed to every citizen is the assurance that the right to equal protection under the law will be defended at all costs. Key to the United States’ system of adjudication is the right to a trial by jury, which is embodied in the Sixth and Seventh Amendments to the Constitution. These rights are also incorporated into all state constitutions through the Fourteenth Amendment. During jury selection, the judicial system permits the elimination of a certain number of jurors without cause. This form of elimination is known as a peremptory challenge. Over time, however, …

International Law In Crisis: Challenges Posed By The New Terrorism And The Changing Nature Of War, John F. Murphy

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

Intervention In Libya, Yes, Intervention In Syria, No: Deciphering The Obama Administration, Amos N. Guiora

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

International Law In Crisis: Piracy Off The Coast Of Somalia, Milena Sterio

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

Student Motivation And No Child Left Behind, Tiffany Kleckner

Graduate Research Papers

The No Child Left Behind Act was developed in 2002 by the administration of George W. Bush. The purpose of this piece of legislation was to increase student achievement in America. Regulations and requirements have been put in place by the administration such as standardized testing. This paper discusses the history of NCLB, the current issues with the legislation, and how student motivation and achievement has been effected due to the NCLB law.

The Bandi Of Northwestern Liberia: A Study Of Change And Continuityin Bandi Society To 1964, Samuel Benedict Ngovo

Dissertations

Relying on oral accounts and archival and published sources, this dissertation employed interdisciplinary methodology to examine change and continuity in traditional Bandi systems to 1964. It focuses on traditional Bandi social, religious, economic and political systems that changed and those that persisted as a result of contacts with neighboring ethnic groups, Islam, Christianity, and the Liberian state.

The Bandi of northwestern Liberia are divided into six subgroups. Nevertheless, the six subgroups of Bandi share common traditional values. The Bandi people belong to the Mande-linguistic group and share common traditional values with neighboring Mande speakers such as the Loma and Mende. …

Cause-Related Marketing Partnerships: Is It A Win-Win?, Karen Erickson

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of the study is to conduct a comprehensive literature review related to examining if cause-related marketing partnerships are a win-win for both the corporation and the nonprofit. Does one reap more rewards than the other? Are there more risks to one party involved? Will nonprofits run the risk of relying too heavily on corporate donations? Will the nonprofit run the risk of losing its mission and ultimately the public's trust? Will a corporation's bottom line and public image increase? Is the community the real winner? These questions and a host of others will be researched and examined through …

A History Of The Pigtail Bridges In South Dakota, Krystol R. Frerking

Graduate Research Papers

The history of the Pigtail Bridges in the Black Hills of South Dakota is an interesting historical story that in children's non-fiction books has not told. Three questions that guided this research were what the best layout/design is for a children's book on the Pigtail Bridges, how does an author select the content for a children's book on a local history topic like the Pigtail Bridges, and what is the most appropriate text structure for this content? The purpose of this research project was to create a non-fiction children's book about the history of the Pigtail Bridges in the Black …

Social Life And Ancient Andean Public Landscapes: Actions And Performances As Seen Through The Use Of A 1st Millennium Bce Plaza At Caylán, Peru, Matthew Ryan Helmer

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis examines ancient Andean performances from the early urban site of Caylán (800-10 cal. BCE) on the North-Central coast of Peru, Ancash. Spaces utilized for public events such as feasting, spectacles, and rituals have been a rich source of data for anthropologists looking to understand dynamics of community, power, and ideology. These spaces are also undervalued in terms of their potential multivocal qualities. During the Formative Period (1600-100 BCE), sunken plazas were the focus of a vast array of public activities and performances in ancient Peru. This thesis focuses on Formative Period public spaces as theaters of heightened interactions, …

Animal Scavengers As Agents Of Decomposition: The Postmortem Succession Of Louisiana Wildlife, Audra Leigh Jones

LSU Master's Theses

Four adult pig carcasses were placed within a wildlife center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in order to determine what conditions animals utilize carrion and which animal species engage in scavenging. The cadavers were deposited without any protective covering and wildlife cameras were placed around the pigs in order to document animal scavenging. In two cases cameras showed that coyotes were the initial animal scavengers followed by opossums. In another case coyotes were inferred to have scavenged the pig due to discovering a similar pattern of disarticulation as compared to the previous two scenes. In the third case turkey vultures skeletonized …

Lighting Design And Development Process For The Strayer-Wood Theatre's Production Of On The Verge, Michael Franklin Brown

Honors Program Theses

I chose to do this project because it was the logical final step in my theatre education at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI). I began my education at UNI with the goal of working as a mainstage lighting designer at the Strayer-Wood Theatre, and I worked my way through the ranks to reach this position. I have aspirations to design lights for professional theatre, and I believe this fully realized project will be a great example of my work to show potential employers.

This portfolio will showcase the steps I took to complete the project and written and visual …

From Camping To Permanence: A History Of Montana Mobile And Manufactured Homes, Zoe Ann Stoltz

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis examines the history of Montanans use and perceptions of manufactured homes. Nationally, manufactured housing has enjoyed a dynamic historic and social evolution, as revealed by federal, state, and local documents, newspaper reports, periodicals, and interviews. Yet, manufactured housing struggles to escape its mobile origins and the negative stereotypes acquired during its rich history. In Montana, the housing form has experienced unprecedented success, both as transportable housing in the boom and bust cycles of the State as well as permanent housing. Montana’s rural population has embraced mobile home’s convenience and affordability. However, public misperceptions persist despite its success as …

A 50 Year Accomplishment In Marine Science: A History Of The Journal Published By The Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, Mark S. Peterson, Nancy J. Brown-Peterson, Sara E. Lecroy, Joyce M. Shaw, James S. Franks, Richard W. Heard

Gulf and Caribbean Research

The Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (GCRL) has a 50 year history of annual publication of the peer-reviewed journal Gulf and Caribbean Research (GCR, 2000-present; formerly Gulf Research Reports (GRR) from 1961—1999). Other extant journals serving the region during this time include Contributions in Marine Science (since 1945), Proceedings of the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute (since 1948), Bulletin of Marine Science (since 1951), Revista de Biología Tropical (since 1953), and Caribbean Journal of Science (since 1961). In the early years of the GCR publication, papers were primarily concerned with research in Mississippi and the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM), and …

Some Think Of The Future: Internet, Electronic, And Telephonic Labor Representation Elections, Sara Slinn, William A. Herbert

Articles & Book Chapters

Amid the scholarly dialogue regarding amending labor certification procedures, there have been calls for the adoption of internet, electronic and/or telephonic representation voting (IETV) procedures in representation elections. To date, most labor relations agencies in the United States and Canada have not implemented IETV. Three notable exceptions are the National Mediation Board (NMB) and the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) in the United States, and the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB). This article explores the strengths and weaknesses of IETV and the potential for wider adoption of this technology in the representation election context. The article examines NMB’s rationale in …

Writing The Northland: Jack London's And Robert W. Service's Imaginary Geography, Cara Erdheim

English Faculty Publications

Book review by Cara Erdheim.

Giehmann, Barbara Stefanie. Writing the Northland: Jack London's and Robert W. Service's Imaginary Geography. Würzburg, Germany: Könighausen & Neumann, 2011.

Knowns, Unknowns, And Impacts, Randall Jackson

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

Jouke van Dijk opened the most recent issue of Papers in Regional Science with “Long lasting knowledge in Regional Science,” an editorial highlighting the role that the Association”s journal has played in documenting much of the key regional science research since its inception. Publications obviously provide a long lasting chronicle of research in regional science, but I had rather hoped to find in his editorial an actual identification and enumeration of examples of specific long lasting knowledge gleaned from the regional science record. My hopes stemmed from having spent the past year contemplating appropriate content for this Presidential Address on …

Regional Science Reconsidered, Peter V. Schaeffer, Randall Jackson, James O. Bukenya

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

Members of a discipline share common research questions, values they use to address normative issues, and a set of research methods. Collectively, the features of a discipline that are common to all of its members constitute its core. Disciplines – and their specializations – can also be defined by their boundaries. However, in the case of regional science, the boundaries are fuzzy. Because regional science has been influenced by economics, geography, urban and regional planning, sociology, political science, public administration, and transportation engineering, it overlaps to a significant degree with these “parent disciplines” so that clear cut boundaries do not …

The Role Of Institutional Quality In Fdi Inflows In Sub-Saharan Africa, Mulugeta Kahsai, Yohannes G. Hailu, Chali Nondo, Peter V. Schaeffer

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

During the period 2000 to 2008, Africa’s collective GDP grew at an annual rate of 4.9 percent. Even though previous studies argue that strengthened and improved institutional quality is key determinant for attracting foreign direct investment to Africa, we find no evidence to that effect. Using a panel data for 45 Sub-Saharan African countries (SSH), we estimate the role of institutional quality (governance) in attracting FDI inflow during the 1996-2007 period. After controlling for country and time specific effects and the economic environment of the host country, we find no significant evidence of the impact of institutional quality on FDI …

Visions Of Odalisques: Orientalism And Conspicuous Consumption In Leila Sebbar's "Le Peintre Et Son Modele" (2007), Alexandra Gueydan-Turek

French & Francophone Studies Faculty Works

Many Algerian writers (Alloula, Djebar, Boudjedra) have revisited the representational politics of colonial iconography despite awareness that this endeavor is at risk of renewing exoticism. This article examines how Leïla Sebbar's "Le peintre et son modèle" reproduces such a problematic stance through the inclusion of a photograph by Joel Leick inline with her short story. Whereas Sebbar attempts to deconstruct the photograph's orientalism by placing it outside the realm of the aesthetic and resituating it within the sexual exploitation of women in the former French colonies, I intend to demonstrate how this photograph reintroduces the very inequalities that her text …

Deaf Around The World: The Impact Of Language, G. Mathur, Donna Jo Napoli

Linguistics Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Bridging The Gap From Skills Assessment And Problem-Based Learning: Lessons From The Coalface Of Scholarly Engagement With Curriculum Development, William E. Boyd

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

This reflective essay charts and reflects on the progress of a scholarly engagement in curriculum change. Grounded on planning for syllabus and assessment change in a first year university subject, it aimed at evolving that subject from skill learning to problem-based learning. The challenge was to develop problem-based curriculum as authentic, equitable and integrated curriculum for a large, multi-modal and novice student cohort. Using the opportunity for reflective commentary on the author's engagement of both curriculum development and scholarly process, the essay presents parallel narratives that describe the scholarly context of the case study, and predominantly, the author’s reflection on …

Mapping The Field Of Statistics Education Research In Search Of Scholarship, Linda Van Der Merwe, Annette Wilkinson

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

This paper is intended as a contribution to the advancement of scholarship in the field of statistics education, which directly links with the scholarship of teaching and learning. It is apparent from the literature, that statistics education research, as an interdisciplinary field, does not rely on a single tradition of research methodology. There are different research backgrounds, different research methods are used, studies have different foci and different outcome variables are studied. What constitutes research in statistics education is therefore still a fundamental issue, with a consequent call for more research in this field. The present study attempts to identify …

A Vegetation Reconstruction Of Union County, Pennsylvania During The Early Historical Period (1755-1855), Nick Gonsalves

Honors Theses

This thesis assesses relationships between vegetation and topography and the impact of human tree-cutting on the vegetation of Union County during the early historical era (1755-1855). I use early warrant maps and forestry maps from the Pennsylvania historical archives and a warrantee map from the Union County courthouse depicting the distribution of witness trees and non-tree surveyed markers (posts and stones) in early European settlement land surveys to reconstruct the vegetation and compare vegetation by broad scale (mountains and valleys) and local scale (topographic classes with mountains and valleys) topography. I calculated marker density based on 2 km x 2 …

Le Travail Des Femmes Dans Le Secteur Agricole: Entre Précarité Et Empowerment—Cas De Trois Régions En Egypte, Au Maroc Et En Tunisie, Zhour Bouzidi, Saker El Nour, Wided Moumen

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Despite a remarkable decline in the agricultural labor force in general, the number of women employed in the agricultural sector is growing substantially, particularly as a result of the intensification of agricultural activity. This Population Council working paper focuses on the working conditions of women in the agricultural sector based on the analysis of three case studies in three countries: the West of Delta in Egypt, the coastal zone of Gharb in Morocco, and the Nadhour region in Tunisia. The report analyzes to what extent agricultural work could be a means of precariousness or empowerment for women workers. Results show …