Digital Commons Network^™

Partitioning Method For Emergent Behavior Systems Modeled By Agent-Based Simulations, O. Thomas Holland

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Used to describe some interesting and usually unanticipated pattern or behavior, the term emergence is often associated with time-evolutionary systems comprised of relatively large numbers of interacting yet simple entities. A significant amount of previous research has recognized the emergence phenomena in many real-world applications such as collaborative robotics, supply chain analysis, social science, economics and ecology. As improvements in computational technologies combined with new modeling paradigms allow the simulation of ever more dynamic and complex systems, the generation of data from simulations of these systems can provide data to explore the phenomena of emergence.

To explore some of the …

Prompting Self-Monitoring Of Learning In Self-Paced Computer Based Training: The Effect On Self-Regulation And Learning, Christopher J. Coburn

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the effects of prompting students to monitor their use of learning strategies and comprehension while completing self-paced, work-related training in a computer-based learning environment. Study participants included 94 enlisted military volunteers, randomly assigned to one of three groups in the spring of 2012. Changes in strategy use and comprehension were evaluated within and between groups receiving either immediate, delayed or no prompts using multiple methods of measurement, both during and after training. Prompts asked participants to rate their level of agreement to statements regarding their strategy use and comprehension of lesson content. …

When Cognitive Bias Masquerades As Intervention Efficacy: Drinking Norms As Anchors And Norm Interventions As Anchoring Effects, Matthew R. Pearson

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Problematic drinking is a serious public health concern on college campuses in the United States. College students most frequently report drinking for social reasons, and perceptions of peers' drinking, or perceived drinking norms, are among the most consistent, robust predictors of college student drinking. Therefore, norm-based interventions have risen to prominence in the attempt to reduce the harm caused by college student alcohol use. However, the efficacy of these interventions may be obscured by cognitive bias. Specifically, providing information regarding the drinking norm may "anchor" individuals' estimates of their own behavior. Using samples of college student drinkers, two studies were …

Facebook And Its Users: Using Grounded Theory To Understand Perceived Interactivity As A Constraint In The Rhetorical Situation, Katie Lee Retzinger Pruitt

English Theses & Dissertations

The general term interactivity has been used in a variety of disciplines to describe phenomena that occur in website interfaces; however, definitions and explanations about what constitutes interactivity and how it functions do not consider the specific ways in which interactivity can function and be perceived by users in specific rhetorical situations. In this study, I address the problems with the literature about general interactivity in writing studies and in other disciplines such as computer science, advertising, marketing, and communication studies by distinguishing between two types of interactivity—functional and perceived. I situate the different types of interactivity rhetorically, which can …

Prisoner Reentry And Reintegration : Perspectives Of The Women Involved In Outcare's St John Of God Women's Program, Melissa Lackner

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Promoting and supporting the successful transition of prisoners into the wider community following release is a challenge that has received increasing attention on the part of both researchers and policymakers alike, especially considering the great costs to the community of crime and incarceration. Consequently, literature in this area has grown considerably, spurred by criminal justice interests in reducing recidivism and social justice interests in improving the opportunities and life circumstances of returning prisoners. This literature has however, traditionally been comprised of international studies based exclusively on male populations or with disregard for the differentiation between males and females. Although there …

Protective-Restoring To Maintain Self Integrity : A Grounded Theory Of The Human Experience Of Dog Relinquishment, Mary Ellen Elizabeth Edwards

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Dog relinquishment or ‘getting rid of the dog’ is common practice in Australia and other countries where dogs are kept as pets. Each year thousands of dogs are relinquished for a variety of reasons. While losing a pet through death can be as devastating for some people as the death of a loved human, little is known about the human impact of losing a dog through relinquishment. This qualitative study sought to explore the experience of dog relinquishment from the perspectives of a Western Australian sample of 21 relinquishers, 10 adults who had experienced dog relinquishment in childhood and 15 …

Complications And Disturbance In University Teaching: Researching Dangerous And Troublesome Knowledge., Joanna Haynes, Wendy Lambert-Heggs, Emma Macleod-Johnstone, Tony Brown, Heather Knight

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

1. Research and develop current conceptualisations of teaching troublesome, difficult and dangerous knowledge in universities, through a comprehensive literature review and further dialogue within the UoP research group. 2. Create a log of episodes of teaching and learning that are experienced as troublesome, difficult and/or dangerous - ,through research dialogues with students and tutors, from a range of applied fields of study, such as education, nursing and other health professions, psychology, social work, early childhood studies, the built environment. 3. Develop an analysis of students' and tutors’ accounts of complications in teaching and learning through the creation of illustrative case …

Salmon People In An Era Of Depleting Salmon: The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community’S Climate Adaptation Action Plan As A Manifestation Of Tribal Sovereignty, Kelly Davis

Tribal Law Journal

Climate change presents novel challenges to indigenous peoples striving to maintain their place-based subsistence cultures. Climate change is altering physical environments, tribes are experiencing detrimental impacts, and adaptation is necessary to preserve indigenous lifestyles. The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, a Coast Salish tribe in northwestern Washington State, has taken the initiative in tribal climate change adaptation efforts.

In 2010, the Swinomish Office of Planning and Community Development issued a thorough Climate Adaptation Action Plan, which delineates strategies the vulnerable coastal, salmon-dependent tribe must take. Resilient social systems, like American Indian tribes, are capable of anticipating and planning for the future. …

Uap 3270: Suspected Employee Impairment At Work, University Of New Mexico

Section 3000: Personnel

Process Owner: Vice President for Human Resources

Cross-Cultural E-Mentor Roles In Facilitating Inquiry-Based Online Learning, Buddhini Gayathri Jayatilleke, Geetha Kulasekera, Malinda C.B. Kumarasinha, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

This paper discusses how cross-cultural e-mentoring facilitated inquiry-based learning through community and knowledge building and the multiple roles e-mentors played in fostering transformative learning in protégées. A series of professional development programmes on “online tutoring and mentoring” were conducted by the Distance Education Modernization Project (DEMP) implemented by the Ministry of Higher Education in Sri Lanka. These programmes were conducted in the form of a blended online course using the MOODLE learning management system. The main aim of these programmes was to develop the capacity of faculty and other professionals who would be responsible for designing and delivering online programmes. …

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. …

Beyond Best Practices For Legal Education: Reflections On Cultural Awareness - Exploring The Issues In Creating A Law School And Classroom Culture, Antoinette M. Sedillo Lopez

Faculty Scholarship

If law schools are to prepare students for the reality of practice, it is useful to help students become aware of cultural issues that can affect client representation by examining the culture that the law school creates. The culture created by faculty, students, administration, and staff will affect the law student's acculturation as a legal professional as well as the law student's psychological well-being. This issue was addressed briefly in Best Practices for Legal Education (Best Practices), but not developed. This essay explores some of the challenges and opportunities of bringing cross-cultural issues into a law school classroom and some …

Brief For Thirteenth Amendment Scholars, United States V. Hatch As Amicus Curiae, Dawinder S. Sidhu

Faculty Scholarship

Like the district court, we conclude that Congress has power under the Thirteenth Amendment to enact § 249(a)(1). Although the Thirteenth Amendment by its terms applies to slavery and involuntary servitude, Supreme Court precedent confirms Congress’s authority to legislate against slavery’s “badges and incidents” as well. In particular, the Supreme Court held in Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co., 392 U.S. 409 (1968)—a case permitting a federal private right of action against private individuals for housing discrimination—that Congress itself has power to determine those badges and incidents.

Grandparental Death: Through The Lens Of An Asian Child, Wing-Fu Lai

The Qualitative Report

Bereavement has been extensively studied over the years, yet scholarly work depicting, with the first-person perspective, the experience of childhood bereavement is severely lacking. The research question I set out to answer here is: What is it like as an Asian child to experience bereavement following grandparental death? As such, self-introspection was exercised, and this, together with the diaries and free writings generated at the time of my grandma’s death, was used as the basis for autoethnographic reflections. It is hoped that my story presented here can offer a psychological portrayal of an Asian child enduring grandparental death, and illuminate …

Administrator Insights And Reflections: Technology Integration In Schools, Bryan Berrett, Jennifer Murphy, Jamie Sullivan

The Qualitative Report

There are numerous technology tools that educators utilize to support student learning. Often, technology is mandated from the top down with school administrators’ responsible for overseeing the implementation. Innovative technological approaches to learning often meet resistance within schools. The pervasive culture in education is counteractive to technology integration, which may be useful to pedagogy and in the long run may help students deal with the ever growing level of technology present in today’s society. Characteristics are identified at two out of four schools as a way of assessing the progress of technology integration and locating individuals who will help move …

Contract And Grants Awards Monthly Reports, 2006-2012, Office Of The Vice President For Research

Office of the Vice President for Research

Monthly listings of awards received at Main Campus and Branches and other reports such as expenditures and F&A.

Usefulness Of Hook Wire Localization Biopsy Under Imaging Guidance For Nonpalpable Breast Lesions Detected Radiologically, Imrana Masroor, Shaista Afzal, Gulnaz Shafqat, Hasan Rehman

Department of Radiology

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of hook wire localization biopsy under imaging guidance for nonpalpable breast lesions detected radiologically.Methods: This was a descriptive study conducted at the Department of Radiology, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. All patients undergoing needle localization biopsy of a nonpalpable breast lesion under mammographic or ultrasound guidance between January 2009 to December 2010 were included in the study. Patients with incomplete medical records were excluded. All patients' mammograms or ultrasound were categorized using BI-RADS() assessment categories. The percentages of benign and malignant lesions were determined by pathological examination of surgically …

Hiring Sexters To Teach Children: Creating Predictable And Flexible Standards For Negligent Hiring In Schools, Kelly M. Feeley

New Mexico Law Review

No abstract provided.

Respecting The Privilege Against Self-Incrimination: A Call For Providing Miranda Warnings In Non-Custodial Interrogations, Rinat Kitai-Sangero

New Mexico Law Review

No abstract provided.

Building A Simple General Model Of Municipal Water Conservation Policy For Communities Overlying The Ogallala Aquifer, Jeffrey A. Edwards, R. Gary Pumphrey, Lucia Barbato, Lyubov A. Kurkalova, Mark L. Burkley

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.

Transition From High School To Associate Degree Nursing Education: A Qualitative Study, Kathy Jessee Mitchell

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Nursing is facing a critical shortage and retention of nursing students is of paramount importance. Much research has been completed related to retention in nursing education and student success, but there is very little in current literature related to issues associated with the transition from high school to associate degree nursing (ADN) education. The purpose of this study was to explore this phenomenon through qualitative research involving ADN students who entered the nursing programs immediately after graduation from high school. This qualitative study involved students from a rural associate degree program. The intent was to provide a better understanding of …

A Mixed Methods Study Of Special Education Teachers' Knowledge Of Reading Instruction And Perceptions Concerning Their Preparation To Teach Reading, Cynthia Darden Blakeslee

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

Significant changes in requirements for reading instruction and special education teacher preparation have occurred in recent years due to provisions found in the No Child Left Behind legislation of 2001 and the 2004 Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act. This study examined the preparation for reading instruction that prospective special education teachers received during their teacher preparation and their beliefs concerning their preparation. Reading instruction preparation was examined in the context of the knowledge and skills associated with reading instruction acquired in two required university reading courses. Using a mixed methods sequential explanatory design-participant-selection model (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2010) …

Lines Of Tribe, Christine Zuni Cruz

Faculty Scholarship

It is important to begin by explaining why I take the title of my essay from the statement in President Barack Obama's 2009 Inaugural Address: "the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve." During the address, his words affected me and they remained with me long afterward. President Obama may very well have meant what he said in a metaphoric or figurative sense; I have certainly been provided with many interpretations and assurances by most that a literal meaning was not his intent and that he instead spoke in a good way of the beneficial melting of divisions between us." It …

A Modest Proposal: The Aged Of Death Row Should Be Deemed Too Old To Execute, Elizabeth Rapaport

Faculty Scholarship

My exploration of the case for an Eighth Amendment bar against executing the long-serving elderly will begin with a review of the representation of the elderly on Americas death rows and a survey of the very limited avenues of relief currently available to them on the basis of age. I will then discuss the attribution problem by asking at whose door should 'fault' for long delays between condemnation and consummation of a capital sentence be laid--the prisoner, the state, or the working through of due process? For many jurists, attribution of fault is critical to resolving the question of whether …

The Identity Crisis Of Libraries In The Attention Economy, Nishat Kazi

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

In the present day world, the ecology that the human beings inhabit is laden with various kinds of spaces and places. Our ecology encompasses different kinds of cyberspaces and market places that continuously sway our mind. This character of continuously influencing and controlling the human psyche according to Herbert Simon makes our economy an ‘attention economy’. The concept of ‘attention economy’ revolves around the innumerable existing spaces and places and the human attention. Attention Economy is considered to be one where there is scarcity of human attention. Davenport & Beck defines attention as, “focused mental engagement on a particular message …

Preparing Lis Professionals For Leadership, Suresh Jange

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

In the Changing scenario of Information industry and tremendous impact of multi-disciplinary disciplines, Library and Information Science has emerged as a multi-disciplinary subject with a fusion of educational technology, psychology, management, and information technology and computer science. The traditional roles of the library and information centres are no longer adequate to support the changed environment. It is seen in an academic and research environment particularly state universities and colleges; library leadership is lacking results an unhealthy environment that becomes an obstacle for development of an institution or library to achieve the desired goals. Hence, a new kind of leadership with …

Identifying And Mapping The Information Science And Scientometrics Analysis Studies In India (2005-2009): A Bibliometric Study, K. R. Mulla

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The paper describes the bibliometric analysis of 998 articles of on information science and scientometrics (ISS) that appeared in different journals during the period of 2005-2009. The study reveals that, most researchers preferred to publish their research results in journals; as such 91.98% of articles were published in journals. More numbers (329, 32.97%) of articles were published in 2009. The authorship trend shows that, out of 1703 authors who contributed a total of 998 articles, out of which more number of (376, 40.96% ) articles were two authored papers. The degree of collaboration in ISS was 0.78, and the country …

User Education Programs In Academic Libraries: The Experience Of The International Islamic University Malaysia Students, Shammasi Ali Suleiman

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The library supports the reading and research needs for that particular institution. It is the library's responsibility to provide better services to its clients to make sure that information sources, services and resources are well utilized for user benefits; hence user education program is very crucial for user's achievement. The aim of this paper is to identify perception of user education program at International Islamic University (IIUM) library, to identify Module of user education program at IIUM library and to develop searching skills for users. The descriptive survey is adopted for the study. The population is Undergraduate and Postgraduate students …

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 …