Digital Commons Network^™

Developing Online Tutors And Mentors In Sri Lanka Through A Community Building Model: Predictors Of Satisfaction, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena, Buddhini Gayathri Jayatilleke, Shantha Fernando, Chulantha Kulasekere, Mark Lamontagne, Madduma B. Ekanayake, Thanaraj Thaiyamuthu

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

This paper discusses the results of a tutor mentor development program that utilized a community building model to train online tutors and mentors in higher education institutions and professional organizations in Sri Lanka. Based on WisCom; an instructional design model for developing online wisdom communities, this tutor mentor development program which utilized a blended format of face-to-face and online activities in MOODLE, attempted to build a learning community between trainees, both academics and professionals who represented diverse disciplines and organizations. A regression model examined predictors of learner satisfaction, using four independent variables: Community Building, Interaction, Course Design, and Learner Support. …

I Want My (Immigration) Lawyer! The Necessity Of Court-Appointed Immigration Counsel In Criminal Prosecutions After Padilla V. Kentucky, Scott R. Grubman

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Food Choice And Fundamental Rights: A Piece Of Cake Or Pie In The Sky?, Kammi L. Rencher

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Painting Ourselves Into A Corner: The Fundamental Paradoxes Of Modern Warfare In Al Maqaleh V. Gates, Ashley C. Nikkel

Nevada Law Journal

See how few of the cases of the suspension of the habeas corpus law, have been worthy of that suspension. They have been either real treason, wherein the parties might as well have been charged at once, or sham plots, where it was shameful they should ever have been suspected. Yet for the few cases wherein the suspension of the habeas corpus has done real good, that operation is now become habitual and the minds of the nation almost prepared to live under its constant suspension.

Wireless Health Monitor Design, Kostyantyn V. Koziy

Electrical and Computer Engineering

In this thesis, a Wireless Health Monitor system for novel spacesuit verification and tests is presented. This system monitors the operator's health-related vital parameters and incorporates data acquisition, collecting and processing, wireless transmission, data displaying and logging. Power-saving technics for battery-powered applications are incorporated. A proprietary communication protocol for multi-node wireless network is developed and integrated. An embedded web interface for system control and data monitoring is utilized to achieve platform independence and reliability. Calculations and simulation results for the algorithms developed for gas flow measurements are presented. Packaging for this system, sensor calibration procedures, final device characteristics, specifications and …

Design Of An Audio-Visual Display For Cross-Modal Experimentation, Gail Jeanne Myers

Electrical and Computer Engineering

The present paper shows the characteristics of a hardware/software display capable of presenting, at different spatial locations, multiple audio-visual stimuli in real-time. The system has been developed to provide a tool in neuroscience in event-related potential (ERP) studies, with presentation delays of less than one millisecond. The high time precision achieved makes it possible to overcome problems from previously used technologies in order to create a realistic environment of cross-modal stimulation. The design presented here has been built using a modular approach, which makes the system flexible and adaptable to different experiments or studies. The capability of presenting different stimuli …

Heteronormative Recovery In The Bell Jar, Gretchen Therese Junglas

English

In Sylvia Plath’s novel The Bell Jar, Esther Greenwood struggles to form a true identity. She emulates many women as a way to see how various identities work for her. One of these identities is that of a lesbian. During the novel’s 1953 setting, lesbianism was not a socially acceptable lifestyle. Esther struggles with own internalized homophobia as well as the control of her doctors. She undergoes treatment during her hospitalization that is suggestive of sexual conversion therapy at the time, including the use of electricity as a tool of discipline. Doctors lead her toward an identity that is not …

"Where Everything Goes To Hell": Stephen King As Literary Naturalist, Meghan Joy Perry

English

In his bestselling nonfiction book about the horror genre, Danse Macabre, author Stephen King lists among his idols "the great naturalist writer Frank Norris" (336). While King primarily writes horror fiction, he has often noted his indebtedness to early American literary naturalists. As these naturalist writers have been such an influence in King's life and writing, it seems logical to explore whether King himself, in addition to being a horror writer, can also be considered a literary naturalist. By looking at ideas of both early and contemporary American literary naturalism, I explore how a variety of King's works utilize the …

"Who Are You And I...?": The Rhetoric Of Identity In The Aloha Eagles Letters, Rebecca Joy Hayes

English

In 1969, four years before the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, Aloha Eagles, a Republican legislator in the North Dakota House of Representatives, proposed a House Bill 319 to legalize abortion in North Dakota. Throughout the legislative session, Eagles corresponded with many North Dakotans regarding the bill. This study asks how Eagles and her correspondents construct identities, such as mother, citizen, or medical professional, to support or oppose abortion. Using rhetorical and archival research methods to examine rhetorics of identity in 78 pairs of letters between Eagles and her correspondents, the study reveals that writers construct marital, professional, parental, …

Using The Counseling Center Assessment Of Psychological Symptoms - 34 (Ccaps-34) To Predict Premature Termination In A College Counseling Sample, Sean B. Hall

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Swift and Greenberg (2012) observed that variables influencing the decision to drop out fluctuate according to the primary presenting problem, the amount of structure in therapy, the length of treatment, and the clinical setting. Due to these reports, researchers may focus on predictors of premature termination (PT) in treatment settings where the unique situational characteristics may have an idiosyncratic influence on the decision to withdraw from services (Phillips, 1985; Swift & Greenberg, 2012). The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine client characteristics that impact dropout in University Based Clinics (UBC). Results from the logistic regression analysis indicated higher …

Two Essays On Behavioral Finance, Quang Viet Vu

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

The first essay is entitled: "CEO Overconfidence, Corporate Governance Practices and Firm Innovation". In this study, I examine if overconfident CEOs overinvest or underinvest in innovative projects. I also investigate if overconfident CEOs pursue innovative projects to benefit personal interests or the interest of shareholders. By focusing on the effect of corporate governance in monitoring the behavior of overconfident CEOs, my results show that there is a negative relation between CEO overconfidence and firm innovation among firms with poor governance. In these cases, the finding is consistent with the implication that overconfident CEO are entrenched and invest inadequately …

Conscientiousness And Academic Performance: A Mediational Analysis, Nicole Conrad, Marc W. Patry

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Previous research has established that a relationship exists between the personality trait of conscientiousness and academic achievement. The current study extends prior research by using a path analysis model to explore various proximal traits that may mediate this relationship in a sample of two hundred and twenty three undergraduate university students. Consistent with previous research, a strong positive relationship was found between conscientiousness and academic performance as measured by final grades. Of greater importance, two factors were found to mediate this relationship: Academic Self-Efficacy and Test Anxiety. The current study illustrates the complex nature of the relation between personality traits …

Building Sustainable Schoolwide Positive Behavior Supports In High Schools, Jessica M. Overturf

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this paper is to explore how School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) systems can be successful in high school settings. Chapter 1 will establish the need for SWPBS in high schools and Chapter 2 will provide an overview of and evidence supporting SWPBS. Chapter 3 focuses on what is considered best practice in implementing SWPBS. Chapter 4 discusses the characteristics exclusive to high schools that have been identified as potential barriers in implementing SWPBS efforts, and Chapter 5 provides examples of successful high school SWPBS case studies as well as recommendations for overcoming the aforementioned barriers.

Mathematics Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Low Achievers In Mathematics, Ibrahim El-Shara, Adnan S. Al-Abed

Journal of Educational and Psychological Studies

The present study aimed at identifying mathematics (math) teachers’ attitudes toward low achievers in mathematics, and the degree to which these attitudes are affected by their: sex, stage of school they teach in, years of experience, and their qualifications. For the purpose of the study, the Math Teachers’ Attitudes toward Low Achievers in Mathematics Scale (MTALAMS) was developed. The scale consisted of 30 items, distributed over 3 subscales: feelings, beliefs, and behavior. Validity and reliability of the scale were established. The sample of this study consisted of 217 male and female mathematics teachers in Amman, Jordan in the academic year …

Fuzzy Decision Model For A Smart Grid, Muhammad Niamul Baqui

Computer Science

Electricity is vital for U.S. economy. Over the years, the demand and the usage of electricity have skyrocketed, but the electric transmission and distribution processes have been manual. The current work formulates an automated decision-making model for electric-grid resource allocation. Resource allocation is primarily in the form of assigning the best power source to a sink. The model is built in Fuzzy Logic. The input parameters for the model are the power capacity, the price and the distance. A rule base has been created by domain knowledge and analyzing an operator decision making activity. The Mamdani Min-Max approach of is …

Software Inspection Team Formation Based On The Learning Style Of Individual Inspectors, Haribabu Bavanari

Computer Science

To improve the software quality, researchers have focused their effort on developing and validating effective methods of finding and fixing defects early in the development process. Software inspections are most widely used defect detection method. Also, researchers showed that the overall effectiveness of an inspection team is affected by the effectiveness of individual inspectors. But researchers have not been able to completely understand the inherent characteristic that makes an individual inspector effective. This paper investigates this problem by analyzing the learning style (LS) preferences of individuals who make up inspection team. Also presents a tool that provides ability to researchers …

Comparison Of Particle Swarm Optimization Variants, Satyanarayana Daggubati

Computer Science

Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is a heuristic global optimization method, which is based on swarm intelligence. It is inspired by the research on the bird and fish flock movement behavior. The algorithm is widely used and can rapidly be implemented with a few parameters to be tuned. In PSO, individuals, referred to as particles, are “flown” through a hyper-dimensional search space. Changes to the position of particles within the search space are based on the social-psychological tendency of individuals to emulate the success of other individuals. The changes to a particle within the swarm are therefore influenced by the experience, …

A Tutorial Approach For Teaching Database Concepts, Susbi Sharma

Computer Science

Experts in the education and psychology fields have undertaken immense research in order to find better learning approaches. Educators, teachers, cognitive psychologists, and researchers eventually accepted and developed a two-dimensional framework, focusing on both knowledge as well as cognitive processes. In combination, this two-dimensional framework clearly defines what a student is expected to learn in school. This framework is well described as well as addressed in the six different levels of the Cognitive approach in the Revised Bloom's Taxonomy. Taking into account one of the most commonly used learning approaches in the field of education and psychology, i.e., Bloom's Taxonomy, …

Examining Portfolio-Based Assessment In An Upper-Level Biology Course, Brittany Ziegler

Education STEM

Historically, students have been viewed as empty vessels and passive participants in the learning process but students actually are active forming their own conceptions. One way student learning is impacted is through assessment. Alternative assessment, which contrasts traditional assessment methods, takes into account how students learn by promoting engagement and construction of knowledge. This dissertation explores portfolio-based assessment, a method of alternative assessment, which requires students to compose a purposeful collection of work demonstrating their knowledge in an upper-level biology course. The research objectives include characterizing and contributing to the understanding of portfolio-based assessment in higher education, examining reflection and …

Feedback : Best Practices For Effectiveness, Hanne Elizabeth Wuertz

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The focus of this paper is on the use of formative assessment in classrooms which is increasingly becoming a widespread practice in education today. More specifically, the paper examines the role feedback (a crucial element of formative assessment) plays in student achievement. Feedback and the way it is defined, delivered, and used impacts the effectiveness of formative assessment. In addition, decisions about, and changes in, instruction are often made based on what is communicated through feedback. Thus, this paper defines feedback, discusses best practices for effective feedback, and describes how school psychologists can encourage and help facilitate the use of …

Assistive Technology For Students With Disabilities: Resources And Challenges Encountered By Teachers, Dawn Larae Jacobsen

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Assistive technology may be a solution for students with disabilities who are struggling to achieve academic growth; however, the consideration for assistive technology process is not prevalent in schools.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to take an in-depth look at the processes and factors that teachers of students with disabilities used in considering, adopting, and utilizing assistive technology to meet the needs of their students. Three teachers in one rural school shared the resources and challenges they encountered in the assistive technology process. Furthermore, using Rogers's Diffusion of Innovation Theory and Davis's Technology Acceptance Model as theoretical frameworks, …

Strategic Communication In Women's Rights Organizations: Tools, Challenges And Best Practices, Anastasia Kalinina

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Despite rapid globalization and tremendous expansion of the number of women's rights organizations, international attention to the issues of women and girls remains rather low. While some women's rights networks and organizations leap to prominence, others do not receive recognition and public support. I wanted to know why. I interviewed 13 directors and communication managers of women's rights non-governmental organizations to see how they manage communication. I used a convenience sample that included a wide range of geographical locations and sizes of NGOs. The interviews were held via Skype. I conducted a theme analysis of transcribed interviews. The participants indicated …

Destination Attractiveness Of The Silos And Smokestacks National Heritage Area, Puyong Choi

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to identify the characteristics of destination attractiveness of the Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area (SSNHA) in Iowa using the relative attractiveness and importance of the 15 attributes identified by Gearing, Swart, and Var's (1974) scale and 3 attributes identified by Hu and Ritchie (1993). These attributes represent the overall destination attractiveness of the Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area (SSNHA) in Iowa. This study focused on the perspective of visitors and tourism experts.

Fishbein's (1967) multi-attribute model was used to determine the attitudes and preferences of the participants. The model is used to …

Baseball In The Heartland: Semi-Pro Baseball Survives In Iowa, Todd Michael Hospodarsky

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Baseball has been an important part of American popular culture for over one hundred years. In the early part of the twentieth century baseball was the nation's most pervasive sport and symbolized many values and attitudes that Americans held dear. During the late nineteenth century, adult baseball teams were formed within small towns across the nation. The team members were typically considered amateur athletes playing "town team" baseball. Over the years, as they were given opportunities to make money from their play, the term of semi-professional was applied to many of these players.

The decades following World War II were …

Disordered Eating Habits And Extreme Weight Loss Techniques In Collegiate Wrestlers: A Qualitative Analysis, Jaime Marie Mayer

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Wrestlers have often been targeted as high-risk athletes for developing eating disorders. Research has found that wrestlers do practice extreme weight loss and disordered eating behaviors that are consistent with eating disorders. However, little evidence suggests that wrestlers also possess the psychological aspect that is required in order for a person to be diagnosed with an eating disorder according to the DSM (2000).

Many times researchers conclude that few wrestlers meet the criteria for eating disorders, but they participate in many behaviors that put them at risk of developing an eating disorder in the future. Very few if any researchers …

A Study Of Cultural Orientation And Attitudes And Meaning Toward Play: A Cross Cultural Investigation Among Emerging Adulthood In The People Republic Of China, Hong Kong, And United States, Winnie Wing-Sze Wong

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to examine play among emerging adults in the People Republic of China, Hong Kong, and the United States. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the respondents' perceptions of play and their personal cultural orientation. The study also explored the relationship between respondents' perceptions of play's importance and their cultural orientation. Respondents' frequency of play was also studied to determine whether there were relationships between frequency of play, countries of origin, and personal cultural orientation. Finally, the study considered the interactive effects among perceptions of play, play's importance, personal …

Learning Transfer Of Geospatial Technologies In Secondary Science And Mathematics Core Areas, Curtis P. Nielsen

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to investigate the transfer of geospatial technology knowledge and skill presented in a social sciences course context to other core areas of the curriculum. Specifically, this study explored the transfer of geospatial technology knowledge and skill to the STEM-related core areas of science and mathematics among ninth-grade students. Haskell's (2001) research on "levels of transfer" provided the theoretical framework for this study, which sought to demonstrate the experimental group's higher ability to transfer geospatial skills, higher mean assignment scores, higher post-test scores, higher geospatial skill application and deeper levels of transfer application than the …

Best Practices Of Individual Family Service Plans And Analyses Regarding Quality Outcomes, Ashley M. Andrew

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This quantitative research study provides information regarding best practices of Individual Family Service Plans (IFSPs). Research on the content, family-centeredness, and outcomes in IFSPs will be discussed. Evidence suggests that although expected content within IFSPs are clearly defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), professionals have a lack of consensus on what IFSPs should include, lack family­ centeredness, and have minimal understanding of a clearly defined outcome according to IDEA. In addition, this study provides additional data regarding quality outcomes. The researcher rated 120 outcomes in IFSPs against a state rubric. Data indicated that although empirical research states …

A Case Study Of One Iowa Female Elementary School Principal's Journey Into Administration, Angela J. Fowler

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The representation of women in educational administration fluctuated throughout history from the 1900s to present day. Presently, women represent over 53% of all elementary school principals in Iowa; but documentation of their specific stories and perspectives is infrequent. I conducted this research with the intent to build upon the qualitative research studies previously completed on educational leadership; specifically lo include an ethnographic account of one female's story in an urban school district.

Through a series of in-depth interviews and participant observations, I gained the perspective of one female elementary school principal in Iowa's experiences into and through the principalship. In …

A Shallow Harbor And A Cold Horizon: The Deceptive Promise Of Modern Agency Law For The Theory Of The Firm, David A. Westbrook

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.