Digital Commons Network^™

The Experiences Of Panamanian Afro-Caribbean Women In Stem: Voices To Inform Work With Black Females In Stem Education., Beverly King Miller

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

THE EXPERIENCES OF PANAMANIAN AFRO-CARIBBEAN WOMEN IN STEM: VOICES TO INFORM WORK WITH BLACK FEMALES IN STEM EDUCATION By BEVERLY A KING MILLER B.A., Psychology, Nyack College, NY, 1985 M.A., Teaching, National-Louis University, IL, 1992 Ph.D., Multicultural Teacher and Childhood Education, University of New Mexico, 2013 ABSTRACT This grounded theory case study examines the experiences of Panamanian Afro-Caribbean women and their membership in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) training and careers. The shortage of Science and Math teachers in 48 of 50 States heightens the need for those trained in STEM. Females of African phenotype have persistently been underrepresented …

Engagement Of Mexican Immigrant Families In Schools: Educational Impact For School Reform, James Lujan

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

Family engagement is widely believed to enhance childrens academic achievement. Some children, particularly Latino English language learners, are consistently found at the low end of the achievement gap. This qualitative study examined the relationship between the Epstein Model of Parent Involvement, and the personal engagement of Mexican immigrant families who have a son or daughter enrolled at the middle school level. This study employed a constructivist grounded theory analysis method. The participants of this study are Mexican immigrant parents who comprised the core sample. Data was collected in participants' homes, community agencies, neighborhoods, and schools. Data sources included interviews, participant …

A Line In The Sand: The Human Contexts Surrounding The Opening Of Albuquerque's Second Public High School, Highland High, Ann Piper

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

During the years 1945-1953, what were the historical, social, economic, and political influences exerted on the planning and opening of Albuquerque Public Schools' (APS's) second high school, Highland High? From 1881 until 1949, Albuquerque High was Albuquerque's only public high school. This study highlights a convergence of circumstances that reveals an educational and cultural story unique in the United States. Utilizing a qualitative study design, data emerged from open coding of documents, artifacts and personal interviews. Findings demonstrate that major influences on Highland's opening include: the end of World War II, a patterning of Highland after Albuquerque High, a divide …

Defining And Evaluating Agile Construction Management For Reducing Time Delays In Construction, Fei Han

Civil Engineering ETDs

Both competitive market forces and growing societal needs have triggered the demand for rapid delivery of construction projects, or at a minimum, for projects completed on schedule. However, schedule delays are common and recurring in construction, inevitably resulting in rework, cost overruns and legal claims. As projects become increasingly complicated, delays arise in a more unpredictable manner. The initial motivation for this research is to explore a systematic flexibility to deal with delays caused by complex changes in construction and meanwhile enhance the overall project performance. Accordingly, agile construction management is proposed in terms of a conceptual framework. Derived from …

Private Matters: The Place Of Privacy In English Legal Records, Romances, And Letters, 1300-1500, Christine Kozikowski

English Language and Literature ETDs

As a result of the growth of cities and the rise of a merchant class in later medieval England, the desire for privacy began to emerge alongside an increase in personal consciousness. In my dissertation, I examine the place of privacy in fourteenth- and fifteenth-century England by juxtaposing elements of the private such as access, intimacy, and withdrawal in historical documents such as court records and marriage customs against canonical literature including, but not only, Chaucers Troilus and Criseyde, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and Malory's Le Morte Darthur. My study explains the dynamics between privacy and place in …

Skinning The Deer: A Love Story, Heather Campbell

English Language and Literature ETDs

This dissertation consists of a novel entitled Skinning the Deer: A Love Story. Alternating between the landscapes of New Mexico and rural Maine, the novel examines the life of tortured lesbian Hannah Huff and the brutal excision of her glorious wings—those magical appendages she grew in secret—the two downy white miracles she believed would be her ticket out of Monkstown, Maine, a desperate landscape of backwoods trailers, dogs, and family members, where her only interactions are either detached or violent. While the novel alternates between Hannah as an adult and Hannah as a child, it is first and foremost a …

Dual Language Teachers' Changing Views Of Spanish Literacy Teaching And Learning As Influenced By Critical Dialogue, Susana Ibarra Johnson

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

This study grew out of a growing awareness of the severe lack of quality and authentic Spanish literacy instructional practices. There were two major purposes. The first was to examine the relationships between Dual Language (DL) teachers views on Spanish literacy instructional practices, their students', and the texts from which they taught to enact their practice. A second purpose was to identify and inform three DL educators of Spanish literacy pedagogical views so that they could consider those views in light of their current practices. The research design was three case studies of the three DL teachers and addressed four …

Teacher Perceptions About Diversity And The Achievement Gap: Understanding The Discursive Construction Of Whiteness, Virginia Padilla Vigil

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

Teacher perceptions about diversity and the achievement gap were examined. Participants were alternative teacher licensure candidates at the student teaching phase of their preparation program. Two-hour individual, in-depth, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with each of the participants. Additionally, the participants participated in focus groups that engaged them in discourse about the achievement gap (definitions, contributing factors, and solutions). Finally, the participants submitted written statements related to diversity, multiculturalism and critically reflective practice. Critical discourse analysis of the interview/focus group transcripts and the participants written statements was conducted to identify the underlying ideologies of the participants. The study yielded three …

Conversations With Former Students With Intellectual Disability And Their Families About Their Experiences In High School, Frances Robinson Duff

Special Education ETDs

Collaboration among parents, educators, and students expands the knowledge base and promotes mutual respect among decision-makers involved in planning students education. The relationship can help students achieve their goals. This study sought to examine the experiences among students with intellectual disability and their families in high school. I chose to use qualitative methods of portraiture and interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Students, like those in this study, with low incidence disabilities are often disenfranchised because of their low proportion of the general population of high school students. The results of this study, reported in portraits, gave voice to members of this …

The Gay Accent, Gender, And Title Vii Employment Discrimination, Ryan Castle

Seattle University Law Review

While race, religion, ethnicity, and sex will always remain salient social issues in our nation, sexual orientation is currently at the forefront of our national debate and will likely not abate in the foreseeable future. Federal courts, for example, struggle in differentiating sex, gender, and sexuality when adjudicating Title VII employment discrimination claims. Because Title VII does not protect employees from sexual orientation-based discrimination, plaintiffs who are or are perceived to be of a sexual minority have difficulty proving a valid sex-based discrimination claim in federal court. This difficulty arises because one cannot perceive sex, gender, and sexuality without muddling …

An Ochered Fossil Marine Shell From The Mousterian Of Fumane Cave, Italy, Marco Peresani, Marian Vanhaeren, Ermanno Quaggiotto

KIP Articles

A scanty but varied ensemble of finds challenges the idea that Neandertal material culture was essentially static and did not include symbolic items. In this study we report on a fragmentary Miocene-Pliocene fossil marine shell, Aspa marginata, discovered in a Discoid Mousterian layer of the Fumane Cave, northern Italy, dated to at least 47.6-45.0 Cal ky BP. The shell was collected by Neandertals at a fossil exposure probably located more than 100 kms from the site. Microscopic analysis of the shell surface identifies clusters of striations on the inner lip. A dark red substance, trapped inside micropits produced by bioeroders, …

The Effectiveness Of Systematic And Engaging Early Literacy (Seel) Intervention On Word Reading In Kindergarten Students Receiving Tier 3 Services, Christina Haley Cole

Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Systematic and Engaging Early Literacy (SEEL) intervention method to improve consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) reading in four students receiving Tier 3 services. The SEEL intervention method was also combined with the use of digital books on an iPad to investigate the effects of using technology in reading intervention sessions. Previous research indicates effectiveness for the foundational principles of SEEL, which include instruction in engaging, meaningful contexts that provide frequent and intense opportunities to practice. This research involved 4 kindergarten students who qualified for Tier 3 services based on their performance on an index of difficulty …

Social Networks Of Children With Language Impairment, Serena Marita Louisa Mickelson

Theses and Dissertations

Children with language impairment (LI) often exhibit social difficulties along with language issues that can affect their friendships with peers. This study sought to identify the self-reported social networks of children with LI and compare them to the self-reported social networks of children with typical language development. Sixteen children with LI (9 girls and 7 boys) between the ages of 5-11 years, and sixteen children with typical language development matched for age and gender were studied. Children were asked to name interactants in four social circles (Blackstone & Hunt Berg, 2003): family, friends, acquaintances, and paid interactants. A parent also …

The Physical Theatre Of War: Language, Memory, And Gender In Black Watch And War Horse, Andrea M. Gunoe

Theses and Dissertations

The public's perception of war is influenced by every media story they see, every account they read, and every story they hear. News telecasts and newspapers tend to lean towards a focus of the grand narratives of war such as political involvement and overarching strategy. Media such as books and film can tell a more personal narrative of the events of war and attempt to display how war "really is" through the use of written and visual language that focuses more on how things happened as opposed to simply what happened. Theatre provides a unique perspective on war as the …

At Cross Purposes: Protrestant Missionaries Among The Osage Indians 1820-1837, Joshua Nathan Luparell

Theses

Luparell, Joshua N. “At Cross Purposes: Protestant Missionaries Among the Osage Indians, 1820-1837. M.A. Thesis, University of Missouri-St. Louis, 2013. At Cross Purposes sets out to establish a nuanced interpretation of the complicated relationships forged between Osage Indians and Protestant missionaries. These interactions occurred between 1820 (when New England Protestant missionary societies first attempted to “civilize” and Christianize Osage Indians) and 1837, when the missionaries left the Osages without significantly impacting Osage beliefs or culture. This thesis challenges the relatively recent assertion that the Osages resisted the Christians and their messages. Instead, this thesis argues that the traditional diversity of …

Using An Ipad To Teach Spontaneous Communication Of Students With Low-Functioning Autism, Deborah Leonard

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of using the Apple iPad to assist students with low functioning autism in learning communication skills. Three non-verbal students identified as having autism and being low-functioning participated in the study. A multiple baseline design with AB phases across academic and social settings was used. During the baseline, students were given access to an iPad with the SonoFlex voice output communication aid (VOCA) application. Some of the students played games on the iPad, but none of them attempted to us it for communication purposes. During the intervention, students were taught to …

Speaking For Himself: Odysseus And Rhetoric In Sophocles' Philoctetes, Christian Wiggo Axelgard

Theses and Dissertations

In order to reconcile the deus ex machina at the end of Sophocles' Philoctetes with the actions of the rest of the play, this project analyzes the role of Odysseus within the play with special attention to rhetoric. By considering the character of Odysseus as a complex construct referencing both literary and historical contexts, this study suggests that Neoptolemus in fact errs in siding with Philoctetes to the degree that he does by the tragedy's end. The themes of the play involving Philoctetes and Neoptolemus then become warnings against inappropriate emotional responses, again consistent with Heracles' advice in the deus …

Alignment Between Secondary Biology Textbooks And Standards For Teaching English Learners: A Content Analysis, Joseph H. Hanks

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of the most recent science education reform movement in the U.S. is science literacy for all Americans. Science literacy among U.S. students remains low, however, as compared with students in other industrialized countries, and is lowest among English Language Learner (ELL) students. Although there are barriers to developing science literacy for all adolescent students, ELL students often experience additional barriers that make developing science literacy even more challenging without support. Because textbooks are often heavily relied upon by secondary science teachers, the opportunity for many ELLs to develop science literacy may depend upon the support for these students …

Cross-Cultural Design Attitude: Open-Ended Design Solution For Welcoming The Diversity, Elena Enrica Giunta, Agnese Rebaglio

Learn X Design Conference Series

Italy draws lots of refugees from the Mediterranean regions: in 2010, Milan received more then 850 people in its welcomely Centres. Municipalities, citizens but also professionals must be involved in the collective answer to such a kind of phenomenon. The ephemeral nature of the settlement in the Centres, the precarious conditions of staying, as well as the variety of tenants’ identities (multi-ethnical and gender turns) shape a new research field of great, social, importance which challenges the designer to imagine new strategies and tactics for collective living. These reasons convinced a multi-disciplinary group (designers, social workers and environmental psychologists) to …

July 6, 2013: Changes For Comparative Drama, Department Of English

Gleanings: Department of English Blog Archive

No abstract provided.

Developing Expertise And Connoisseurship Through Handling Objects Of ‘Good Design’: The Example Of The I.L.E.A./Camberwell Collection, Maria Georgaki

Experiential Knowledge (EKSIG) Conference Series

The paper develops from the study case of the I.L.E.A./Camberwell Collection. The I.L.E.A./Camberwell Collection comprises about 20,000 design and craft objects chosen by the London County Council and the Inner London Education Authority as examples of “good design”. It circulated in London schools between 1951 and 1976. The paper uses the Collection in order to discuss “handling” as a research methodology with particular relevance to expertise and connoisseurship in design history. It provides an overview of how expertise and connoisseurship diverge in their meaning and scope in the discipline of design history as compared to art history and adjacent disciplines, …

Design History, Connoisseurship And Sustainability: Object Lessons And Collecting As Learning Tools For Designers, Paul Denison

Experiential Knowledge (EKSIG) Conference Series

The academic discipline of Design History is sometimes accused of having a connoisseurial approach, something which arguably fosters the creation of false hierarchies and subsequently leads design students and the design community to create products which are environmentally, socially and economically unsustainable. The first part of this paper takes the work of sustainable design theorist Tony Fry (2009) as a starting point by which to evaluate this proposition. Fry has been critical of design history, claiming that a focus on style and the icons of design to has resulted in a lack of student interest in the real issues of …

Knowing: Inside/Insider Knowledge, Outside/Outsider Knowledge, Helen Mcallister

Experiential Knowledge (EKSIG) Conference Series

In Italian, there are two words for “to know” – Sapere – to know, to inform about, let know, be familiar with. Conoscere – “to know”, well known. (Conoscitore) – Connoisseur – one who has expert knowledge and keen discrimination in some field. The notion that the familiar everyday acknowledgment differs from the deeper understanding that is gained from experiential defines expertise from generic experience. When does critical knowledge from the experiential become that of connoisseurship? In all PhD and post doctorial research, expertise is a pre-requisite. Often it is in the experiential research method that how knowledge is gained …

The Expertness Of Accounts Of Typeface Design: Locating The Emic And Etic, Michael Harkins

Experiential Knowledge (EKSIG) Conference Series

This paper is written in response to problems arising from defining the term “expert” within the literature review of a PhD study that ultimately focuses on a Grounded theory approach, relating how typeface design “experts” describe their knowledge in connection with design processes, particular to their esoteric discipline. The study was conceived as being emergent and inductive in nature as no prior studies of this area of typeface design process exist. It became clear that the study demonstrated a methodological fit with Grounded Theory Methodology in terms of being emergent qualitative research. However, questions raised within the initial background research …

Crafting Expertise, Georgina Palmer, George Torrens

Experiential Knowledge (EKSIG) Conference Series

Throwing as a ceramic process of making is established worldwide in a variety of forms, but essentially the process has changed relatively little through the years; the method of learning the skills (Schön, 1991), from master to student, from expert to novice, is as old as the craft Expertise is defined as “expert skill or knowledge in a particular field” (Oxford English Dictionary Online, 2012), “a high level of skill or knowledge” (Cambridge Dictionaries Online, 2011), or “a special skill or knowledge” (Chambers, 2011). This raises issues of how an expert/high or special skill determined? Is it in the number …

Metaphors In Design: An Analysis Of How We Represent Design Expertise, Melehat Nil Gulari

Experiential Knowledge (EKSIG) Conference Series

Design and design expertise are often argued about and rarely agreed upon by the design community, which is a result of their multifaceted nature and existing underlying assumptions, theoretical anomalies and fragmented knowledge in the field. Lakoff and Johnson (1980) suggest that metaphors structure our perceptions and understanding. Metaphors affect the way we categorise experiences and organise our ideas (ibid). Based on this argument, the paper investigates the visual and cognitive metaphors related to design, in particular, design expertise (DE), to address how these metaphors shape our understanding of DE. It examines how DE is represented through the use of …

Mapping The Terrain Of Earth Jurisprudence: Landscape, Thresholds And Horizons, Anne Louise Schillmoller, Alessandro Pelizzon

Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)

This paper investigates central ideas in the emergent field of Earth Jurisprudence. It suggests that development of conceptual and practical frameworks for an earth justice system predicated on rights of nature is currently at a nascent stage, but such ‘creative uncertainty’ provides scholars and practitioners with opportunities to identify and articulate new conceptual frameworks which avoid some of the hazards of human exceptionalism.

Part I suggests that the concept of ‘rights of nature’ rests upon contestable epistemological and ontological claims and that an effective Earth Jurisprudence will require a continual negotiation of interpretative disagreements and frameworks for action.

Part II …

Linguistic Constraints On Children's Overt Marking Of Be By Dialect And Age, Joseph Roy, Janna B. Oetting, Christy Wynn Moland

Faculty Publications

Purpose: Overt marking of BE in nonmainstream adult dialects of English is influenced by a number of linguistic constraints, including the structure's person, number, tense, contractibility, and grammatical function. In the current study, the authors examined the effects of these constraints on overt marking of BE in children as a function of their nonmainstream English dialect and age. Method: The data were language samples from 62 children, ages 4-6 years; 24 children spoke African American English (AAE), and 38 spoke Southern White English (SWE). Analyses included analysis of variance and logistic regression. Results: Rates of overt marking varied by the …

Paediatric Mri Research Ethics: The Priority Issues, Nuala Kenny, Jocelyn Downie, Ryan D'Arcy, Jennifer Marshall, Matthias Schmidt, Michael Hadskis

Research Papers, Working Papers, Conference Papers

In this paper we first briefly describe neuroimaging technology our reasons for studying magnetic resonance imaging MRI technology and then provide a discussion of what we have identified as priority issues for paediatric MRI research We examine the issues of respectful involvement of children in the consent process as well as privacy and confidentiality for this group of MRI research participants In addition we explore the implications of unexpected findings for paediatric MRI research participants Finally we explore the ethical issues concerning advances in functional MRI This paper aims to provide a clear description of priority paediatric MRI research ethics …

Sparking Metacognition: Contextualizing Reading Strategies For Low-Proficient Esl Readers, Deborah L. Pratt

Theses and Dissertations

Reading strategies are consciously controlled actions learners execute in order to aid comprehension. The effectiveness of strategies is increased with metacognitive awareness. Researchers have created instruments to raise metacognitive awareness targeted for native and highly proficient L2 readers. This article outlines the creation of a new survey, the Contextualized Inventory of Metacognitive Awareness for novice to low-intermediate L2 readers. Unlike other instruments, this survey contextualizes pre-, during-, and post-reading strategy deployment with the use of simplified, narrative reading passages. The survey was piloted at an Intensive English Program with 88 subjects. The overall readability of the survey had a Lexile …