Digital Commons Network^™

Gender Equity And Differences In Support In The Vocational Rehabilitation System, Jennifer Faye Featherston

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Women with disabilities have different vocational rehabilitation (VR) experiences than men with disabilities. When they enter the VR system, they tend to be older, divorced, primary caregivers, more dependent on public assistance, and have less education and less work experience than their male counterparts. Given these differences, women may need to receive different treatment than men, yet the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Pub.L. 88-352, 78 Stat. 241, July 2, 1964) and the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment state that men and women must be treated equally within the state-federal vocational rehabilitation system. Because they have been out …

Synthesis Of Zinc Oxide Nanorods And Use In Biosensor Applications, Anishkumar Manoharan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The main aim of this research was to develop a nanorod based biosensor for biomedical applications. In this project I use zinc oxide nanorods as the bio-material for biosensor. I fabricated these nanorods using a solution-based technique. Initially I coated a zinc oxide seed layer as the base. This seed layer was then annealed at 350 degrees for almost 1 hour. As a next step, interdigitated electrodes were fabricated on the top of the seed layer using a lift off process. The zinc oxide nanorods were then grown at 90 degrees for almost 4 hours along the electrodes. In this …

The Incidence Of Plexiform Lesion Formation In Lines Divergently Selected For Ascites, James Grant Mason

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Complex Vascular Lesions, (CVL) are a common vascular change associated with idiopathicpulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH). CVL have been characterized in studies using animal models involving, but not limited to, Sprague-Dawley rats and poultry (Abe et al., 2010; Wideman et al., 2011).IPAH has been documented in poultry although no connection has been made with CVLs. The current study characterizes CVL in the lungs from broilers derived from lines divergently selected for 15 generations for ascites susceptibility under conditions of simulated high altitude. The ascites RES and SUS lines were sampled for CVL incidence over time. Both lines were reared in a …

Protein Utilization And Requirements In Broiler Breeders, Ricardo David Ekmay

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Advances in the genetics of poultry have created unintended consequences to the broiler breeder industry. Excessive weight has been shown to have many negative effects, including double hierarchies, multiple ovulations, and fatty liver. In an effort to curb excessive body weight gain, both the protein requirements and feeding strategies of broiler breeders are being revisited. A series of studies were conducted to determine the protein and amino acid requirements of broiler breeders during the production phase and to determine the interrelationship between protein turnover and egg formation. In the first trial, a 2x3x3 factorial study was conducted to determine the …

2011 December, Office Of Communications & Marketing, Morehead State University.

Morehead State Press Release Archive, 1961 to the Present

Press releases for December of 2011.

Early Hearing Detection And Intervention: Diagnostic Hearing Assessment Practices, Karen F. Muñoz, Lauri H. Nelson, N. Goldgewicht, D. Odell

Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education Faculty Publications

Purpose

To gain an understanding of practice patterns for infant diagnostic hearing services at pediatric audiology facilities.

Method

The authors used a cross-sectional survey design. From August to November of 2009, surveys were mailed to 1,091 facilities in 28 states and the District of Columbia. One survey was completed per facility, and responses were anonymous.

Results

The return rate was 33% (356 surveys). The results revealed that the comprehensiveness of the test batteries used varied among facilities. Over half of the respondents, 146 (55%), reported using a limited test battery, 94 facilities reported using a comprehensive test battery but lacked …

Trajectories Of Psychological Distress Among Low-Income, Female Survivors Of Hurricane Katrina, Sarah Ryan Lowe

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate trajectories of psychological distress among low-income women, primarily unmarried and African American, who survived Hurricane Katrina (N = 386). Data were collected in the year prior to the hurricane, as well as approximately one and three years thereafter. Using Latent Class Growth Analysis (LCGA), we detected six distinct trajectory groups. Over half of participants fit into a trajectory consistent with resilience; that is, they maintained low levels of psychological distress over the course of the study, but experienced an elevation in symptoms at the first pre-disaster time point, followed by a return …

Effects Of Voluntary Public Reporting On The Nurse Sensitive Measures Of Falls And Falls With Injury In Hospitals: A Massachusetts Perspective, Patricia Noga

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Background: Interest and efforts in the health care industry to be transparent by collecting and publicly reporting performance measures about healthcare quality and cost has increased in recent years. The National Quality Forum (NQF) endorsed a set of 15 national quality measures for nursing-sensitive care that could be used for public accountability and quality improvement, including measures of patient falls and falls with injury. Patient falls have been among the largest category of reported incidents in hospitals, and are a serious concern for healthcare leaders and healthcare team members. In 2006, Massachusetts hospitals began voluntarily publicly reporting the nurse sensitive …

The Inkwell, Armstrong Atlantic State University

The Inkwell

No abstract provided.

Newsroom, Georgia Southern University

Newsroom (2006-2023)

• Georgia Southern University Announces Fall 2011 Commencement Speakers

Culture And Regulation: Examining Collectivism And Individualism As Predictors Of Self-Control, Michael B. Pyle

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Self-control is the capacity to alter one's intended or instinctual behavior in order to align with societal and cultural standards. It has been suggested that the ability to exert self-control has developed evolutionarily in order to increase the odds of one and one's family's survival through participating in a society. A prediction resulting from this is that horizontal collectivism, in which individuals consider themselves as equals acting toward a shared goal, should predict self control, because a focus on one's ties to others will requires a greater development for restraining one's self. Conversely, vertical individualism, in which individuals are considered …

Teacher Candidates' Digital Literacy And Their Technology Integration Efficacy, Rona Lynette Tyger

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate perceived digital literacy levels and technology integration efficacy of preservice teaching (PST) candidates. The sample was comprised of PST candidates from two universities and one college in the southeastern United States that differ in size and culture. The study used a quantitative approach. PST candidates self-rated their digital literacy levels and technology integration efficacy using an online digital literacy survey. The relationship between PST candidates' perceptions of their digital literacy level and their level of technology integration efficacy was investigated. The existence of a digital divide has recently been of concern to …

The Effects Of Simulation On Junior Level Baccalaureate Nursing Students' Self-Efficacy And Intrinsic Motivation, Michelle E. Dykes

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Nursing education is experiencing a generational phenomenon with student enrollment spanning three generations. Classrooms cultures are changing today and include some Baby Boomers and large numbers of Generation X, Generation Y, and second-degree seeking students. These culturally diverse groups of students have unique sets of learning characteristics. Given the current challenges of growing student diversity, balancing budgets, and meeting faculty shortages, nursing schools are pressed to find alternative teaching methods that are not only cost and labor saving but also effective and equitable for the diverse student groups. This quantitative, experimental research design study explored the effects of the alternative …

Reading The Word And The World Through Graphic Novels: A Graphic Portrayal Of Young Adult Literacy Development In A Ninth Grade English Literature Classroom, Sandra Jane Greene

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study presents a view of reading instruction based on investigating motivation and engagement related to adolescent literacy practices through graphic novels. A case study utilizing the graphic novels grounded in the theoretical approach of critical literacy demonstrated increases in motivation toward reading from a more critical social lens. Participants in this case study were chosen from a set of ninth grade literature classes in a rural high school. The students were placed as a result of the random selection of heterogeneously mixed student abilities providing a rich mix of perspectives and motivational levels among the students. Allowing students to …

A Delayed Birth Of Freedom? Public School Graduates' Perceptions Of School Choice Viewed Through The Pragmatic Lenses Of The American Ideal, Donald B. Porter

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study was conducted to identify public school graduates perceptions regarding school choice options and their preparedness for success after high school. This is accomplished by presenting a historical and contextual overview of education as it specifically relates to low socioeconomic and minority populations. It analyzes governmental controls that may serve to restrict access to a quality education. This study seeks to promote equity through education as viewed through a social justice perspective. While governmental mandates, societal changes, and legal remedies have evolved and shaped America's education history, it has yet to fully empower parents and guardians to freely choose …

Density, Shell Use And Species Composition Of Juvenile Fiddler Crabs (Uca Spp.) At Low And High Impact Salt Marshes On Georgia Barrier Islands, Michelle D. Carlson

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Coastal wetlands offer refuge for juveniles of many species, with protection often coming in the form of dense vegetation. Human impacts have led to a 67% loss of coastal wetlands worldwide in the past 300 years, thus decreasing available refuges. There are no studies that show what affect this has on fiddler crabs (Uca spp.), a key species in salt marsh habitats. The present study looks at how human impacts are affecting juvenile fiddler crab densities, shell use, and species compositions. This study was conducted at 3 low and 3 high impact sites on Tybee and Skidaway Island, Georgia. Six …

Phytoplankton Ecology In The Skidaway River Estuary, Darren Parris

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Short-term and seasonal variation in abiotic factors such as salinity, nutrient concentration, and light availability strongly influence total phytoplankton biomass but less is known about their effects on species-level changes due to difficulties associated with identifying and enumerating individual taxa. Understanding taxon-specific shifts is important as species often contribute differently to primary productivity and food web support for higher trophic levels. The goals of this study were to examine changes in overall phytoplankton abundance and community composition following short-term increases in freshwater input (Chapter 1), seasonal variation in abiotic conditions (Chapter 2), and manipulated nutrient concentrations within the Skidaway River …

The George-Anne, Georgia Southern University

The George-Anne

• Lakeside, Landrum to be Remodeled
• Views
• Letters to the Editor
• Sports
• Classifieds
• Puzzles/Comics
• Weekly Buzz
• Arts

An Effective Approach For Topicspecific Opinion Summarization, Binyang Li, Lanjun Zhou, Wei Gao, Kam-Fai Wong, Zhongyu Wei

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Topic-specific opinion summarization (TOS) plays an important role in helping users digest online opinions, which targets to extract a summary of opinion expressions specified by a query, i.e. topic-specific opinionated information (TOI). A fundamental problem in TOS is how to effectively represent the TOI of an opinion so that salient opinions can be summarized to meet user’s preference. Existing approaches for TOS are either limited by the mismatch between topic-specific information and its corresponding opinionated information or lack of ability to measure opinionated information associated with different topics, which in turn affect the performance seriously. In this paper, we represent …

Kovesi And The Formal And Material Elements Of Concepts, T. Brian Mooney, Mark Nowacki, John N. Williams

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In his seminal work Moral Notions, Julius Kovesi presents a novel account of concept formation. At the heart of this account is a distinction between what he terms the material element and the formal element of concepts. This paper elucidates his distinction in detail and contrasts it with other distinctions such as form-matter, universal-particular, genus-difference, necessary-sufficient, and open texture-closed texture. We situate Kovesi’s distinction within his general philosophical method, outlining his views on concept formation in general and explain how his theory of concept formation is applied in moral philosophy.

Overcoming The Odds: An Exploration Of Resilience Strategies Used By Female Superintendents In School Districts In Georgia, Kathy H. Simmons

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences in the professional lives of female superintendents in Georgia to better understand the role of resilience when faced with adversity. The researcher utilized a mixed method design to determine the strategies employed by female superintendents to successfully overcome adversity and become more resilient. The experiences of female superintendents and strategies utilized in the position when faced with adversity were explored by administering a Leadership Resilience Profile questionnaire followed by in-depth interviews with five Georgia female superintendents. The questionnaire featured a rating scale to identify each participant's perception of individual resilience …

Self-Efficacy And First-Generation Students In A Physician Assistant Program, Judith B. Stallings

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed method study was to determine if a relationship existed between self-efficacy scores and a final program course grade for first-generation graduate professional college students (FGS) and non-first-generation graduate professional college students (NFGS) in a physician assistant program. In addition, the researcher sought to explore the perceptions of first-generation graduate professional program students regarding experiences, contributors, and successful strategies relative to self-efficacy as related to completion of their degree program. Method: This mixed method study examined the experiences of 59 physician assistant students from Georgia Health Sciences University (formerly known as the Medical College of …

Academic Tenure: Defining Scholarship In The Health Professions, Kimberly Mathieu Coulton

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Higher education institutions in the United States grant academic tenure to junior faculty based on teaching, service, and scholarship. Traditionally, scholarship is defined as original research that is demonstrated by reports of scientific findings, peer-reviewed journal publications and presentations. However, workload issues, insufficient institutional support and ambiguity in tenure guidelines often hinder the scholarly endeavors of university faculty seeking tenure. The roles and responsibilities of faculty in the allied health professions are unique in that they are also involved in the provision of patient care, the development of community partnerships and the task of addressing vital workforce needs. A broader …

Biological Analysis Of Prebiotics In Various Processed Food Matrices, Kristina Elise Moore

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The addition of prebiotic to a variety of food products has become a more common occurrence in recent years. Although research on the stability of prebiotics has been conducted, knowledge of the stability of prebiotics in processed foods is limited. The purpose of this research was to determine the biological stability of five prebiotics in a variety of food matrices when processed under various conditions. A biological test, the prebiotic activity assay, was used to test for stability of six food products (muffin, cookie, granola bar, breakfast cereal, sports drink, and bread) containing five different prebiotics (fructooligosaccharides (FOS), inulin, galactooligosaccharides …

Identification And Characterization Of Putative Allergens In Pecan Species, Jelena Spiric

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The identification and characterization of soluble pecan proteins was found to be qualitatively dependent on the chemical characteristics of the extraction buffer that also had a significant influence on the total protein content of an extract. The ionic strength of the extraction buffer had a greater impact on protein extractability than pH. A high salt phosphate buffer (0.01 M PBS, 1M NaCl, pH 7.2) was used as an optimal extraction solution that allowed remarkable detection of clinically relevant allergens.

The 2S albumin family of seed storage proteins has been shown to be one of the most stable allergens, thus potentially …

Music And Its Effect On Late Auditory Evoked Potentials In Elementary School Aged Children, Lee Helen Weeks

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Multiple Sclerosis Is Not A Disease Of The Immune System, Angelique Corthals

Publications and Research

Multiple sclerosis is a complex neurodegenerative disease, thought to arise through autoimmunity against antigens of the central nervous system. The autoimmunity hypothesis fails to explain why genetic and environmental risk factors linked to the disease in one population tend to be unimportant in other populations. Despite great advances in documenting the cell and molecular mechanisms underlying MS pathophysiology, the autoimmunity framework has also been unable to develop a comprehensive explanation of the etiology of the disease. I propose a new framework for understanding MS as a dysfunction of the metabolism of lipids. Specifically, the homeostasis of lipid metabolism collapses during …

The Impact Of The Mississippi Department Of Education's Dyslexia Grant Program On Third Grade Achievement, Cena Windham Holifield

Dissertations

Dyslexia is the most common reading disability and is non-discriminatory, affecting learners of all races and cultures (Shaywitz, 2003). Scientific data reveals dyslexia affects 70-80% of students with poor reading skills (Moats & Dakin, 2008).

The Mississippi Legislature appropriates funds yearly to support the Mississippi Department of Education, (MDE) Grant Pilot Program (MDE, 2009). The purpose of this dyslexia grant program is to support general education teachers in meeting the needs of regular education students who have been identified as having dyslexia and related disorders (MDE, 2009).

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of the MDE …

Principals' Perceptions Of The Importance Of Classroom Walkthroughs, Shannon Anne Mcgill

Dissertations

Education reform has required school administrators to become instructional leaders that ensure teacher effectiveness and academic success for all students. Classroom walkthroughs are one way that instructional leaders can accomplish this task. This study examined the level of importance that principals place on the practice of classroom walkthroughs and on specific elements of classroom walkthroughs; it further explored the relationships among perceptions about classroom walkthroughs and student achievement, school performance levels (AYP), and socio-economic status (SES) of the school.

This was a quantitative study that utilized survey methodology, archival data and correlational analyses to identify the relationships among principals‟ perceptions …

The Instructional Practice Implications Of A School Reform Model Versus No School Reform Model On Reading Achievement, Adebimpe Adebisi Solaru Odunjo

Dissertations

School reform seems to be the answer to redeeming the US public school system, but as observed by Slavin (1989) the cycle of reform has been for schools to jump from one prescriptive fad to another without any real congealing of ideas. Plagued by earlier installments of school reform programs reading instructional practice has resembled a mass of ideas that differ greatly in varying theoretical approaches.

The NCLB Act of 2000 came under widespread criticism which has lately been revised under President Obama's initiative Blue Print for Reform. Over the years, the validity of NCLB measures have been doubted and …