Digital Commons Network^™

Employers’ Expectations Of Library Education In Nigeria, Adam Gambo Saleh

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Library Education in Nigeria was very much tied up with the general social and political history of the Country. As such, those who aspired to become librarians went to Britain to qualify for the Associate of the Library Association (ALA). However, with the attainment of independence in 1960, the country witnessed the establishment of educational institutions at various levels. The first Library school was established at University College Ibadan in 1960.

Prior to 1960, the Carnegie Corporation has sponsored two studies (Margaret Wrong in 1939 and Ethel Fagan in 1940) to survey the Library needs of West Africa with the …

Teaching Independent Living Skills To Moderately And Severely Disabled Students, Jennifer Jordan

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This study examined the use of picture reading to teach independent living skills to students with moderate to severe disabilities. The purpose of this research was to test the hypothesis that picture reading would increase independence in employability and daily living skills. The primary investigator decided to use pictures as visual supports to determine if students could follow directions in sequential order to make a sandwich and wash dishes. Six students from an inner-city school receiving special education services in a self-contained setting participated in this research. Research was conducted using a mixed-methods approach consisting of qualitative and quantitative research. …

Students’ Perceptions Of Bullying And The Impact Of Lessons On Pro-Social Behaviors And Bullying Prevention, Jia Borror

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The purpose of this study was to increase fifth-grade students’ perceptions and knowledge of bullying, adult assistance, and bystander behaviors. The researcher developed a survey to assess students’ perceptions and knowledge of bullying prior to 3 months of interventions, which included lessons and activities on pro-social behaviors and bullying prevention. The goals of the intervention were to increase knowledge of bullying, enhance students’ interpersonal skills through character education, and increase the seeking of adult assistance and bystander responses. The research site was an urban, public elementary school in southeast Florida. The study focused on the following research questions:

1. What …

Perceptions Of Secondary Teachers And Administrators About Coteaching, Brenda Brie Cederna

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

Educating students with disabilities in the general education classroom continues to increase as districts are mandated to meet federal requirements. The use of coteaching to support students in the general education classroom is on the rise. By having a content area teacher and a special education teacher share classroom responsibilities, students gain access to the general education curriculum while continuing to receive services and supports to meet their individual needs. This qualitative study allowed the researcher to gather information directly from the teachers and administrators who were responsible for the implementation of the coteaching model at one high school in …

Effects Of A Middle Grade Family-School Partnership Program At A Southeastern Charter School, Fayette Nick

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of a middle grade family-school partnership program at a southeastern charter school that served students in kindergarten through Grade 12. In 2009, the state charter school advisory board surveyed parents of students in kindergarten through Grade 8 and found that parental involvement decreased drastically after Grade 5. The state board advised the school to develop a plan of action to increase parental involvement in Grades 6 through 8. It was decided to implement a family-school partnership program in the middle grades. The program was guided by Lueder’s (2011) self-renewing partnership …

An Elementary-To-Middle School Transitional Program And Its Effect On Student Behavior, Kyle Sheer

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The transition from elementary to middle school has proven to be difficult for all stakeholders. Reports of increased discipline infractions and truancy, combined with a noticeable drop in overall student achievement, have resulted in numerous attempts to ease the anxieties and frustrations that are characteristic of this transition. Schools often establish transitional programs to prepare incoming middle school students with the skills needed to be successful in a new educational environment. Transitional programs are often very expensive to operate and require an extensive amount of planning. This program evaluation considered 1 specific transitional program that took place during the summer …

Assessing The Effect Of Mentoring On First-Semester Associate-Degree Nursing Students, Arlene Walker-Adams

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This research study assessed the perceptions of first-semester nursing students about mentoring. The first purpose of the study was to describe the perceptions of first-semester nursing students in an associate-degree nursing program about mentoring. The second purpose was to ascertain the students‟ perceived values of mentorship as a strategy to support their learning and promote retention.

The sample population consisted of 10 first-semester nursing students who participated as mentees. The researcher utilized a qualitative methodology to assess the perceptions of first-semester nursing students. The researcher used three instruments to collect the data: focus groups, individual interviews, and a demographic questionnaire. …

Coping Behaviour As An Adaptation To Stress: Post-Disturbance Preening In Colonial Seabirds, Shandelle M. Henson, Lynelle M. Weldon, James L. Hayward, Daniel Greene, Libby C. Megna, Maureen C. Serem

Faculty Publications

In humans, coping behaviour is an action taken to soothe oneself during or after a stressful or threatening situation. Some human behaviours with physiological functions also serve as coping behaviours, for example, comfort sucking in infants and comfort eating in adults. In birds, the behaviour of preening, which has important physiological functions, has been postulated to soothe individuals after stressful situations. We combine two existing modelling approaches – logistic regression and Darwinian dynamics – to explore theoretically how a behaviour with crucial physiological function might evolve into a coping behaviour. We apply the method to preening in colonial seabirds to …

The Effects Of A Mentoring Program On Minority Student Science Achievement, William J. Belle

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to test the theory that a comprehensive science mentoring program would help low income, minority, and other at-risk students improve their attitudes toward science and their test performance in science in Grade 5. The study research questions focused on (a) How did mentoring improve achievement in science? (b) What evidence illustrated whether those students mentored in science showed improvement in perceptions or experiences? (c) How did the students’ attitudes and appreciation change by the end of the mentoring program?

The researcher used an experimental research design for a single group. The design included pretest-posttest. Participants …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of A School-Wide Discipline Program For African American Male Students, Sterling A. White Jr.

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a school-wide discipline program in lowering referrals and suspensions of African American male students in Grades 3-5 in an urban elementary school in southeastern United States. The student body was 99% African American (48% African American male), and 82% of the student body received free or reduced-priced breakfast and lunch through the district’s nutrition program. At the time of this study, the school served 560 students in prekindergarten through Grade 5. The school-wide discipline program, Consistency Management and Cooperative Discipline (CMCD) focused on five themes: (a) prevention, (b) caring, …

Strategic Communication Games: Theory And Applications, Shintaro Miura

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

The dissertation consists of the three essays about strategic communication games. Strategic communication games are costless sender-receiver games, and address the question of how much information can be credibly transmitted in equilibrium, and what kind of communication environments facilitate information transmission. Ch. 2, “Multidimensional Cheap Talk with Sequential Messages,” considers a multidimensional cheap talk game where there are two senders who share the private information, and send a message to the receiver sequentially. We suggest a notion of extended self-serving belief, and show that there exists a fully revealing equilibrium if and only if the senders have opposing-biased preferences. Ch. …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Student Life Skills Courses In The Social And Academic Integration Of Community College Students, Lourdes M. Perez

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to determine if Student Life Skills (SLS) courses impact the social and academic integration of community college students. Additionally, due to the unique demographics of the student population of the research setting, this study also examined if factors such as native language, income and employment workload impact the social and/or academic integration of students enrolled in a community college.

The writer developed an instrument using the Institution Integration Scale (IIS) consisting of 30 items constructed to assess the dimensions of academic and social integration. The instrument requires respondents to indicate their involvement with faculty, staff, …

Alignment Of Academic Preparation And Job Skills: A Health Promotion Case Study, Michael P. Mcneil

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to describe the alignment or misalignment between the essential and preferred competencies at the Director-level outlined in the American College Health Association’s (ACHA) Guidelines for Hiring Health Promotion Professionals in Higher Education and the graduate-level course learning objectives in a single site case study. The study used a document review methodology with an evaluative matrix to demonstrate the connections between the ACHA Hiring Guidelines and learning objectives from the study site graduate courses. Additionally, the researcher utilized experts to describe the potential need for a concentrated program of study addressing health promotion in higher education. …

An Intervention Designed To Increase Student Perseverance In An Undergraduate Teacher Education Environment, Heather Hansen

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to provide additional support services to online undergraduate teacher education students. The students who were enrolled in EDUC 2500 Pre-Enrollment Seminar did not have a supportive learning environment previously. This study was conducted to determine whether adding a mentoring and supportive learning environment leads to student persistence in the course. This research shows that mentoring and supportive learning environments lead to increased graduation rates for the university in the teacher education program and qualified teachers in the school districts if students persist in the first semester online course.

The course assessment survey was sent to …

An Evaluation Of A 21st Century After-School Tutoring Program At A Rural County Middle School, Jimmy H. Ramey

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The purpose of this research was to evaluate a 21st century after-school tutoring program at a rural middle school. The program was designed to improve achievement, attendance, and behavior.

The evaluation sought to determine if the components were implemented as designed. It also sought to determine what components should be sustained and any unanticipated effects. The evaluation was guided by Stufflebeam’s (2003) CIPP evaluation model. Only the process and product evaluation types were used. Empirical, interview, and survey data were gathered to answer the research questions. In addition, there was a review of various archival documents. Results from the evaluation …

An Exploration Of Staff Retention Among Child Care Center Directors, Gale S. Vanater

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

A qualitative phenomenological methodology was used in this study to explore lived experience of staff retention among 15 child care center Directors (Moustakas, 1994; Sokolowski, 2008; Van Manen, 1990). In this study, the researcher also attempted to identify the skills that are critical for successful administration of early childhood education organizations and to discover what leadership training can aid leaders to retain quality staff. The study addressed 3 applicable research questions:

1. What is the lived experience of staff retention among center directors?

2. What leadership attributes promote staff retention in early childhood centers?

3. Which types of leadership trainings …

Teaching Presence And Communication Timeliness In Asynchronous Online Courses, Erik Skramstad

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The purpose of this study was to examine student perceptions of teaching presence and communication timeliness in asynchronous online courses using a survey research methodology. The community of inquiry model developed by Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2000) provided the framework of the study while asking the following research questions:

1. What are student perceptions of teaching presence in asynchronous online courses?

2. What is the communication timeliness of instructors for direct feedback on students’ assignments?

3. What is the relationship between instructor communication timeliness for direct feedback on students’ assignments and student perceptions of teaching presence?

Participants were 59 anonymous …

A Study Of The Processes Involved In Sexual Battery Investigations, Kelly S. Boone

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to identify the common and unique processes employed during investigations of sexual battery. While departmental policies and state statutes provide guidance on the processes to be used in sexual battery investigations, there is a great deal of variability in the combination of processes that can be employed to investigate these cases. There is also some degree of variability in the outcomes associated with these investigations. This study examined the processes employed during sexual battery investigations in an effort to identify common themes. Importantly, the study identified the variation in cases that are genuine versus unfounded, …

The Effectiveness Of A State Mathematics, Science, And Technology Initiative On Improving The Science Achievement Of Urban Fifth-Grade Students, Michal Grant Robinson

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

This applied dissertation was designed to provide data for use by the science department in an urban school district regarding the Alabama Mathematics, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI) to improve science achievement. The initiative offered teachers sustained, ongoing professional development and support in science. AMSTI data indicated an overall increase in student achievement at its sites as measured by the Stanford Achievement Test-10th Edition (SAT-10) and the Alabama Science Assessment.

Fifth-grade students from six schools in the district were involved in the study. Three were intervention schools participating in the AMSTI initiative. Three schools from the same district with similar …

Effects Of Remedial Reading On The Oral Fluency Skill Of Students With Disabilities Enrolled In An Inclusive Setting, Willie B. Green

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

Research showed students with poor reading skills face difficulties in general education classes. Schools are face with the challenge of meeting the needs of all students. Therefore, researchers recommended using a research-based reading intervention program to improve students’ reading achievement.

The Reading to Read intervention program was used to supplement reading benchmarks for each student. Instructions were provided and monitored by assistant teachers trained in the Reading to Read procedure. To measure the effects of the program, pretest-posttest scores were compared for 20 students in the treatment group who participate in the interventions and 20 students in the control group …

Effects Of Teacher Training On Implementation Of Research-Based, Reading-Comprehension Strategies With Students With Autism, Katie Roggie

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

Mastering reading comprehension is vital to an individual’s long-term success. Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) typically struggle with developing reading-comprehension skills. Adequate teacher training in research-based, reading-comprehension strategies is necessary for developing students’ skills in implementation of the strategies. This applied dissertation addressed the lack of training teachers in the research setting received to adequately teach reading-comprehension strategies to students with ASD.

Teachers of students with ASD received in-service, workshop-style training sessions and individualized mentoring sessions. The content was developed and delivered by the researcher based on current literature on reading-comprehension strategies for students with ASD and effective teacher-training …

Impact Of The Four Brain-Essential Learning Steps On Preschool Teachers In The Development Of Instructional Strategies To Create A Positive Learning Environment, Andrea Seidman

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the ways in which the use of the Four Brain-Essential Learning Steps (4BELS) may impact preschool teachers in the development of instructional strategies that create a positive learning environment. For the purpose of this study, a positive learning environment was defined as emotionally safe, of high quality, and using differentiated instructional strategies.

This study sought to answer the following research questions:

1. What factors should be considered when exploring the ability of preschool teachers to implement new instructional strategies using the 4BELS to create a positive learning environment?

2. What …

Developing Athletic Accountability Systems To Control Spending At Historically Black Colleges And Universities, Travis A. Blue

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

Athletic departments at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) were not performing well due to anomalies in accounting systems. Further, because the HBCUs lacked the funding, staff, and training necessary to support such programs, strategic plans were needed to help establish better accounting systems in HBCUs. This goal involved training staff within the athletic departments to take full responsibility for their fiscal accountability.

The researcher developed two surveys to provide a quantitative assessment, to make recommendations, and to develop ideas for training that would strengthen the fiscal accountability of athletic department personnel. The research questions for this study were as …

Modern Military Justice: Cases And Materials, Gregory E. Maggs, Lisa M. Schenck

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Modern Military Justice: Cases and Materials (2012) is a textbook written by Professor Gregory E. Maggs and Associate Dean Lisa Schenck (both of the George Washington University Law School) and published by West (ISBN-13: 9780314268037).

This new textbook comprehensively covers the modern military justice system under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Materials from every service within the Armed Forces show how the military justice system addresses all criminal offenses, ranging from minor infractions to serious offenses, such as the misconduct of soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison. The text covers the jurisdiction of courts-martial; sources of military law; military offenses …

The New Kinship, Naomi R. Cahn

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Over the past century, the Supreme Court has articulated numerous doctrines that protect family privacy. These doctrines are not, however, well-suited to the brave new world of families formed through donor eggs, sperm, and embryos. As the number of donor-conceived children born to same-sex and heterosexual couples and to single parents increases, and as these families develop connections to one another, the law has not yet adjusted. This Article provides an extensive mapping of these “donor-conceived family communities,” and it reaches two major conclusions that support the development of these new families. First, relational interests, the traditional focus in family …

An Addendum To Cox And Posner: A Visa To 'Snitch', Eleanor Marie Brown

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Cox and Posner’s landmark contribution is the first article to have highlighted the challenges of information asymmetry in immigration screening. While Cox and Posner have undoubtedly made a significant contribution, there is a critical oversight in their framework: they do not discuss the importance of targeted ex post mechanisms of screening educational elites. This Essay is an attempt to remedy Cox and Posner’s omission. Why is this oversight so problematic? In the post-9/11 world, U.S. immigration policy currently finds itself on the horns of a dilemma. While immigrant educational elites are critical to U.S. economic growth, terrorist networks have stepped …

Users' Perception Of Self-Check System At International Islamic University, Malaysia Library, Hauwa Sadiq, Amina Bagudu

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

No abstract provided.

“All Textbooks In The Library!” An Experiment With Library Reserves, Tony Greiner

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

In the fall of 2010, a grant of $36,000 allowed Portland Community College Library to purchase and place on reserve a copy of every required text at one of its campuses. A smaller college “center” also placed all required texts on reserve. The program was very popular with students and parts of the reserve collection received heavy use. Compared to the previous fall term, overall use of reserves at the Cascade Campus library rose 35%, and the Southeast Center collection saw an increase of 110%. However, use of the collection was unevenly distributed, with 26% of the books having more …

The Assessment Of Information Prescription Service To Patients With Heart Valve Disease; Applying User‘S Satisfaction Study, Vahideh Zarea Gavgani, Mina Mahami

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Background: The prescription of reliable information to patients is growingly considered as a remedial intervention in healthcare. The charter of patient right recognizes patients’ right to information as a fundamental right. We offered health information “information prescription service (IPs)” to patients in SH. Madani teaching hospital and Shams hospital (Tabriz-Iran) from October 2010 to October 2011 to empower patients in their health care decision making and to take the library service into the practice field where users demand and need information rather than libraries physical space.

Objective: The objective of study was to find out patients’ satisfaction about the physician-prescribed …

Mothers’ Perception Of The Influence Of Interactive Media On Children Cognitive And Social Development In Lagos, Nigeria., Ifeanyi Adigwe

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study attempts to investigate mothers’ perception on the influence of interactive media on children cognitive and social development in Lagos Nigeria. It may be surprising, but recent video game research has demonstrated positive, social, and educational related benefits from video game play. However, many parents and teachers fear the negative effect of video games, worrying that video games will turn their children, into mindless, violent, isolated, unhealthy individuals. While some of these concerns are not completely unfounded, video game research has uncovered a wide array of effects of video game play, including many positive influences of video games in …