Digital Commons Network^™

Further Validation Of The Child Routines Questionnaire: Child Self Report, Christina Binder Stabler

Dissertations

There has been a lack of empirical studies on the impact of child routines on adjustment. A series of instruments, the Child Routines Questionnaires (CRQ) and the Adolescent Routines Questionnaires, were developed to assess routines in childhood. Recently, a self-report version of the CRQ was developed for children aged eight to 12. Initial validity estimates of the CRQ were weak, which may have been a result of cross-informant variance stemming from parent and child reports. The primary purpose of this study is to reevaluate the factorial and construct validity of the self-report CRQ with use of a single informant. The …

Preschool Curriculum: Choices That Promote Learning, Renee Curet Criddle

Dissertations

Ongoing research has shown that preschool is beneficial not only to early childhood success, but also in providing long-term benefits (Wong, Cook, Barnett, & Jung, 2008). With standards for early childhood being generated at the national level with the announcement of the common core standards nationwide and at the state level through state-mandated early learning guidelines and benchmarks, preschools are turning to specified curriculum content and mandated outcomes for early education programs. Effects of preschool programs vary (Barnett et al., 2008) due to differences in program curriculum and method of delivery. As the knowledge and understanding of how young children …

The Effects Of Teacher Praise On Engagement And Work Completion Of Students Of Typical Development, Brandon Joseph Richard

Dissertations

The current study investigated the effects of teacher praise on engagement and work completion of students of typical development. Four students (grades two through four) and their teachers served as participants during the study. Teachers provided specific labeled praise or general praise if students met the engagement criteria while completing math worksheets. A nonconcurrent multiple baseline across participants design with a crossover element served to evaluate the differential effects of specific labeled praise or general praise for one pair of students. A concurrent multiple baseline across participants design with a crossover element was used for the remaining pair. A 10-second …

The Effects Of Direct Training And The Star Problem Solving Model On Teachers' Treatment Integrity And Generalized Use Of An Intervention, Neelima Gutti Duncan

Dissertations

Direct training procedures have been beneficial in increasing teachers’ knowledge and skills for the use of recommended intervention for target students in their classrooms. However, direct training alone has not been successful in teachers’ consistent and sustained use of the intervention for the target student and the generalized use of the intervention to non-target students, novel settings, and problem behaviors is relatively unknown. The present study examined the effects of direct training and a cognitive based problem solving model (the STAR problem solving model) on teachers’ use of specific, labeled praise (SLP) directed to both target and non-target students. Participants …

Increasing Positive Interactions Between Staff And Individuals With Disabilities: The Impact Of Training On Acquisition And Maintenance, Kimberly Anne Martell

Dissertations

The primary purpose of the present study was to evaluate the use of direct training to increase the rate of positive interactions between direct care staff (DCS) and individuals with developmental disabilities who reside in intermediate care facilities. Specifically, this study evaluated whether real-time prompts delivered via a one-way radio would result in immediate and sustained increases in rates of DCS positive interactions. Additionally, this study evaluated the link between increased rates of DCS positive interactions and concomitant decreases in residents’ challenging behaviors. A multiple baseline design across participants was implemented to assess DCS rates of positive and negative interactions. …

Sci-Tech Book News Reviews, Susan Fingerman

Sci-Tech News

The following section consists of 100 book reviews selected from Reference and Research Book News, reprinted with the permission of Book News Inc. This review journal is published six times a year, each issue reviewing thousands of new titles in all disciplines. For a sample issue and subscription information, contact Book News Inc at [email protected] or (503)281-9230.

Full Issue: Vol. 66, No. 4

Sci-Tech News

No abstract provided.

Full Page Ads

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

Back Talk-Does Santa Like Differential Pricing?, Anthony W. Ferguson

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

From The Reference Desk-Reviews Of Reference Titles, Tom Gilson

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

Who Chooses Wisely? Ebook Pda Purchases: Librarian And Teaching Faculty Selections, Debbi Dinkins

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

A Study Of The Demand-Driven Acquisition Of Ebook Titles In An Academic Library, Dara Elmore

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

Cost-Sensitive Online Classification, Jialei Wang, Peilin Zhao, Steven C. H. Hoi

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Both cost-sensitive classification and online learning have been extensively studied in data mining and machine learning communities, respectively. However, very limited study addresses an important intersecting problem, that is, “Cost-Sensitive Online Classification". In this paper, we formally study this problem, and propose a new framework for Cost-Sensitive Online Classification by directly optimizing cost-sensitive measures using online gradient descent techniques. Specifically, we propose two novel cost-sensitive online classification algorithms, which are designed to directly optimize two well-known cost-sensitive measures: (i) maximization of weighted sum of sensitivity and specificity, and (ii) minimization of weighted misclassification cost. We analyze the theoretical bounds of …

Investigating Intelligent Agents In A 3d Virtual World, Yilin Kang, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah, Ah-Hwee Tan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Web 3.0 involves "intelligent" web applications that utilize natural language processing, machine-based learning and reasoning, and intelligent techniques to analyze and understand user behavior. In this research, we empirically assess a specific form of Web 3.0 application in the form of intelligent agents that offer assistance to users in the virtual world. Using media naturalness theory, we hypothesize that the use of intelligent agents in the virtual world can enhance user experience by offering a more natural way of communication and assistance to users. We are interested to test if media naturalness theory holds in the context of intelligent agents …

An Investigation Of Corporate Identification And Disidentification, Wijnand Hendrik Rijkenberg

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the taken-for-granted processes of both identification and disidentification with corporate messages. Theories of identity and identification aided as a starting place in developing a focus for this study and Bakhtin’s dialogism perspective provided a lens for understanding how people’s word choices in their interviews worked as performances of identification and disidentification in the world of the Mokum Corporation, a nationwide company operating in the financial industry. The findings from this study challenge the idea that a corporation controls employee identification. Rather, while the messages from a corporate office can influence what meanings are out for employees to …

An Instructional Framework For Tier 2 Intervention In Mathematics, Catherine Didio Beals

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the effectiveness of an instructional framework for Tier 2 intervention in mathematics. The framework suggests intervention teachers utilize instructional practices shown to be effective for students with disabilities while assessing students strengths and weaknesses in skills that are strong indicators of an MLD. This study used a mixed methods design to determine whether tutoring based on this framework led to changes in understanding of multiplication and division for four low achieving fourth graders. It also evaluated the usefulness of the instructional framework in determining whether a student had patterns of deficit related to a mathematics learning disability. …

Successful Aging In Hispanic Elders: A Narrative Inquiry, Julie Kay Carr

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this narrative study was to describe and provide an understanding of the unique cultural factors that are associated with successful aging in the elder Hispanic population.

Background: The number of aging Hispanic in Americans is on the rise. The Center for Disease Control recently released data showing the life expectancy for the Hispanic population is 80.6 years — a 2.5 year advantage over the non-Hispanic white population and 7.7 years over the non-Hispanic black population. With longer life spans resulting in an increased number of Hispanic older adults, we are presented with a difference that – …

An (In)Active Pursuit Of Healing, Sara Roik

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This thesis seeks to raise a discussion and reflection of the current state of psychiatry in an intensely globalized world. As a result of globalization, many individuals have a lack of enculturation and a shallow connection to tradition. I take both a subjective and objective approach to understand how this has an effect on an individual’s perceptions and efficacy of treatment as many healing methods come to coexist. The subjective will be explored through my own reactions to treatment methods after becoming diagnosed with an anxiety disorder that leads to periodic states of depression. The objective will focus on two …

The Power Of Stories: A Communicative Investigation Of Dancehall Narratives And Caribbean Culture, Marlon Emmanuel Douglas

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the power of stories told within Caribbean dancehall music and culture that present “good reasons” that are adopted by members of that culture. In addition, these “good reasons” were further investigated through participants’ communicative cultural performances at two dancehall related events. I adopted a qualitative interpretive approach to data collection and employed Walter Fisher’s narrative paradigm theory to engage in narrative analysis of collected Caribbean dancehall stories. My findings show that dancehall stories reveal powerful ideological frames that “naturalize” ways of being within Caribbean dancehall culture. Moreover, various relationships between “good reasons” presented in lyrical stories and …

Nurses’ Perceptions Of The Support Needs Of Women Experiencing A Crisis Pregnancy, Kristyn Dyson

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Background: In the United States, one half of all pregnancies are unintended. Research suggests that many women make a decision about their pregnancy immediately, taking action very quickly without any form of options counseling. Women oftentimes do not conceptualize their pregnancy as a scenario involving three alternative outcomes. Research has shown that when in a state of crisis, the decision-making process is diminished and the individual becomes vulnerable. Additionally, when making decisions in the absence of adequate social support, negative health outcomes can result.

Objectives: To explore nurses’ perceptions of the social support needs of women experiencing a crisis …

Understanding The Tradeoff Between Safety And Food Quality In A Mammalian Herbivore Specialist, The Pygmy Rabbit, Jamie Lyn Utz

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Conserving a sensitive animal species requires understanding the simultaneous tradeoffs between food and shelter within a landscape. Most management approaches only consider single factors like percent cover at landscape spatial scales. Quantifying the synergy between cover and food quality at a scale relevant to a foraging animal could better reveal the forces that shape habitat use. To better understand habitat use components, I investigated tradeoffs between predation risk and diet quality in a sagebrush endemic, the pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis). This species is a rare example of a specialist herbivore that relies almost entirely on sagebrush for cover …

An Examination Of Finish Time Variation For Collegiate Cross Country National Championships By Gender, Kevin Riley Peters

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

In cross country, women compete over shorter distances than men with little justification for these differences. The purpose of this study was to assess gender differences for the spread of finishing times and examine the appropriateness of shorter competition distances for females. Forty-six cross country national championship data sets (n_males = 10,788; n_females = 10,884) from the NCAA (1999-2011) and NAIA (2005-2011) were utilized for analyses. Several measures of variation were computed to assess spread of finishing times data (i.e., Coefficient of Variation [CV]; Interpercentile Ranges [IR], and Rates of Separation [RS; IR divided by the distance …

Parkinson Disease And Rehabilitation Administration And Services, Deanna Booker

Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Customer Satisfaction Of Self-Serve Concepts In The Food Industry, Mayuka Abe

General Human Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore customer satisfaction levels in a Self-serve frozen dessert establishment. The target population for this study was guests at a commercial frozen dessert operation in Northwest Arkansas. Over 200 useable samples were collected via direct data collection method. The results showed the attributes that the consumers in this study found important for patronage and customer satisfaction. The results also indicated consumers’ preferred frozen dessert establishments. Attributes such as product quality, cleanliness, quick service, value, and product quantity were highly ranked.

The Problem Of Evil, Modern Calvinism And The Doctrine Of Free Will: Is John Feinberg's Theodicy A Coherent Resolution To The Problem Of Tragic Moral Evil?, Michael Obanla

Masters Theses

The thesis examines and evaluates Feinberg's theistic defense against the problem of evil with a view to determining whether it represents a coherent and consistent resolution to the problem of tragic moral evil. The thesis relies on three criteria for the evaluation: the internal consistency of Feinberg's theistic defense, its exegetical accuracy, and epistemic adequacy.

An Undergraduate Seminar On Irish Musical Culture In Ireland And The Irish Diaspora In America, Including The Influence Of Irish Music On Appalachian Folk Music Culture, Frieda Eakins

Masters Theses

The following project establishes a concise, yet multifaceted design for a seminar on Irish musical culture. While it was initially developed as a course for its author to teach in the undergraduate, on-ground classroom, this project provides a framework adaptable enough for use by other instructors and/or for additional music seminars. This project is unique in its two-fold purpose in that the design and resources are directed to assist the instructor with streamlining course curriculum preparation, while the course content specific to the project when utilized offers students in the undergraduate college classroom a better understanding of Irish musical culture …

A Critical Analysis Of The Kyoto Protocol Using Monte Carlo Simulation And Magicc, Penny Lambert

The Plymouth Student Scientist

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change adopted the Kyoto Protocol in December 1997. Emissions data from national registries were used to quantify the total anthropogenic emissions of signatory parties between 1990 and 2009, found to have been reduced by approximately 18 percent of base year levels. Using IPCC Special Report Emissions Scenarios (SRES) as a practicable baseline for non-mitigation, three distinct intervention scenarios were constructed from target and observed emissions reductions under the Protocol to investigate their climatic implications against unabated anthropogenic carbon by the end of the 21st century. MAGICC Version 5.3 was used to model forecast …

In Vitro Assessment Of The Survivability Of Lactobacillus Casei Dn-114 001 And Lactobacillus Casei Shirota, Within Commercialised Food Matrices, In The Upper Gastrointestinal Tract, Rosie Wills

The Plymouth Student Scientist

The aim of this study was to determine the survivability of probiotics; Lactobacillus casei Shirota and Lactobacillus casei DN-114 001, within their respective commercialised food matrices YakultÃ’ and ActimelÃ’, during in vitro simulated gastrointestinal transit. Original and Light/Fat Free varieties of each brand were assessed to determine whether nutritional composition affected bacterial survival rate. Strains were exposed to 3 hours of simulated gastric transit at pH 2, using Hydrochloric Acid (32%) and Pepsin (3mg ml-1), followed by 2 hours of simulated duodenal transit, at pH 6.5, using Bile Salts (0.3% w/v) and Sodium Hydroxide (4M). Samples were serially diluted with …

A Preliminary Study Into The Use Of Canopy Invertebrates And Sampling Techniques In Relation To Forest Indicators In A Fragmented Scottish Woodland - Application And Management, Natalie Walsh

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Caledonian forests within the Scottish Highlands have experienced severe fragmentation and currently remain as small isolated habitats. Canopy invertebrates within these forests play an important role in ecosystem functioning and may be potentially used as forest indicators for the use in forest management. Four different low-cost invertebrate trapping methods were deployed into birch, oak and Scots pine trees, comparing family diversity and composition between tree and trap types. Data on canopy spread, tree height and d.b.h were also tested to see if they influenced family composition of invertebrates. Collected data found little difference in family diversity and composition between tree …

A Study To Investigate The Effects Of Priming A Lad's Magazine Brand On Women's Perception Of The Sexual Harassment Of Other Women, Emily Robson

The Plymouth Student Scientist

This study investigated the effects of priming a Lad’s magazine brand on women’s perceptions of the sexual harassment of other women and their notions of women as sex objects. Previous research has demonstrated perceptions of women can be affected by media exposure. Past studies were reviewed and a gap was identified in the current knowledge of the effects of exposure to sexualised media on women’s perceptions of the sexual harassment of other women. One-way ANOVAs did not demonstrate any statistically significant differences in women’s perception of the sexual harassment of other women or notions of women as sex objects in …