Digital Commons Network^™

Farewell's Linear Increments Model For Missing Data: The Flim Package, Rune Hoff, Jon Michael Gran, Daniel Farewell

The R Journal

Missing data is common in longitudinal studies. We present a package for Farewell’s Linear Increments Model for Missing Data (the FLIM package), which can be used to fit linear models for observed increments of longitudinal processes and impute missing data. The method is valid for data with regular observation patterns. The end result is a list of fitted models and a hypothetical complete dataset corresponding to the data we might have observed had individuals not been missing. The FLIM package may also be applied to longitudinal studies for causal analysis, by considering counterfactual data as missing data- for instance to …

Sgof: An R Package For Multiple Testing Problems, Irene Castro-Conde, Jacob De Uña-Álvarez

The R Journal

In this paper we present a new R package called sgof for multiple hypothesis testing. The principal aim of this package is to implement SGoF-type multiple testing methods, known to be more powerful than the classical false discovery rate (FDR) and family-wise error rate (FWER) based methods in certain situations, particularly when the number of tests is large. This package includes Bi nomial and Conservative SGoF and the Bayesian and Beta-Binomial SGoF multiple testing procedures, which are adaptations of the original SGoF method to the Bayesian setting and to possibly correlated tests, respectively. The sgof package also implements the Benjamini-Hochberg …

Automatic Conversion Of Tables To Longform Dataframes, Jimmy Oh

The R Journal

TableToLongForm automatically converts hierarchical Tables intended for a human reader into a simple LongForm dataframe that is machine readable, making it easier to access and use the data for analysis. It does this by recognising positional cues present in the hierarchical Table (which would normally be interpreted visually by the human brain) to decompose, then reconstruct the data into a LongForm dataframe. The article motivates the benefit of such a conversion with an example Table, followed by a short user manual, which includes a comparison between the simple one argument call to TableToLongForm, with code for an equivalent manual conversion. …

Mvn: An R Package For Assessing Multivariate Normality, Selcuk Korkmaz, Dincer Goksuluk, Gokmen Zararsiz

The R Journal

Assessing the assumption of multivariate normality is required by many parametric multivariate statistical methods, such as MANOVA, linear discriminant analysis, principal component analysis, canonical correlation, etc. It is important to assess multivariate normality in order to proceed with such statistical methods. There are many analytical methods proposed for checking multivariate normality. However, deciding which method to use is a challenging process, since each method may give different results under certain conditions. Hence, we may say that there is no best method, which is valid under any condition, for normality checking. In addition to numerical results, it is very useful to …

Coordinate-Based Meta-Analysis Of Fmri Studies With R, Andrea Stocco

The R Journal

This paper outlines how to conduct a simple meta-analysis of neuroimaging foci of activation in R. In particular, the first part of this paper reviews the nature of fMRI data, and presents a brief overview of the existing packages that can be used to analyze fMRI data in R. The second part illustrates how to handle fMRI data by showing how to visualize the results of different neuroimaging studies in a so-called orthographic view, where the spatial distribution of the foci of activation from different fMRI studies can be inspected visually.

Functional MRI (fMRI) is one of the most important …

Phaser: An R Package For Phase Plane Analysis Of Autonomous Ode Systems, Michael J. Grayling

The R Journal

When modelling physical systems, analysts will frequently be confronted by differential equations which cannot be solved analytically. In this instance, numerical integration will usually be the only way forward. However, for autonomous systems of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) in one or two dimensions, it is possible to employ an instructive qualitative analysis foregoing this requirement, using so-called phase plane methods. Moreover, this qualitative analysis can even prove to be highly useful for systems that can be solved analytically, or will be solved numerically anyway. The package phaseR allows the user to perform such phase plane analyses: determining the stability of …

Applying Spartan To Understand Parameter Uncertainty In Simulations, Kieran Alden, Mark Read, Paul S. Andrews, Jon Timmis, Mark Coles

The R Journal

In attempts to further understand the dynamics of complex systems, the application of computer simulation is becoming increasingly prevalent. Whereas a great deal of focus has been placed in the development of software tools that aid researchers develop simulations, similar focus has not been applied in the creation of tools that perform a rigorous statistical analysis of results generated through simulation: vital in understanding how these results offer an insight into the captured system. This encouraged us to develop spartan, a package of statistical techniques designed to assist researchers in understanding the relationship between their simulation and the real system. …

The Role Of Ceramides In Mediating Endotoxin-Induced Mitochondrial Disruption, Melissa Ellen Hansen

Theses and Dissertations

Ceramides are sphingolipids that serve as important second messengers in an increasing number of stress-induced pathways. Ceramide has long been known to affect the mitochondria, altering both morphology and physiology. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a prevalent circulating inflammatory agent in obesity, potentially mediating some of the pathologies associated with weight gain. Given previous findings of TLR4-mediated ceramide accrual and ceramide-mediated mitochondrial disruption, we questioned whether ceramide is necessary for LPS-induced mitochondrial disruption. We found that LPS treatment increased gene transcript levels of ceramide synthesis enzymes and mitochondrial fission proteins and increased ceramide content in cultured myotubes and in mouse tissue. Mitochondrial …

Teachers' Curricular Reasoning And Mkt In The Context Of Algebra And Statistics, Kolby J. Gadd

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates 7th grade teachers' curricular reasoning and MKT in algebra and statistics. Although the use of curriculum materials and MKT both influence the quality of mathematics instruction, no relationship between teachers' curricular reasoning and MKT was found. Further, teachers' curricular reasoning across algebra and statistics was very similar despite differences in these fields and differences in MKT. A model for thinking about the knowledge needed to provide high quality instruction is proposed by considering the role of curricular reasoning and MKT in instruction.

Replication And Knowledge Production In Empirical Software Engineering Research, Jonathan L. Krein

Theses and Dissertations

Although replication is considered an indispensable part of the scientific method in software engineering, few replication studies are published each year. The rate of replication, however, is not surprising given that replication theory in software engineering is immature. Not only are replication taxonomies varied and difficult to reconcile, but opinions on the role of replication contradict. In general, we have no clear sense of how to build knowledge via replication, particularly given the practical realities of our research field. Consequently, most replications in software engineering yield little useful information. In particular, the vast majority of external replications (i.e., replications performed …

Is A Viable Theistic Program Of Psychological Research Possible?, Michael Zhang

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores whether a viable theistic program of psychological research is possible. The importance of this exploration has to do with naturalism's monopoly on psychological science, inasmuch as naturalism prevents other worldviews from competing fairly in psychology's scientific marketplace by controlling the criteria of psychological science. Because theism is naturalism's most complete rival, considering theism's scientific potential in psychology is crucial to dismantling naturalism's monopoly. Contrary to conventional wisdom, theism encompasses a unique set of understandings about the natural events that constitute the discipline of psychology. Therefore, a robust scientific conception of theism would change how psychological researchers understand …

The Existence Of A Discontinuous Homomorphism Requires A Strong Axiom Of Choice, Michael Steven Andersen

Theses and Dissertations

Conner and Spencer used ultrafilters to construct homomorphisms between fundamental groups that could not be induced by continuous functions between the underlying spaces. We use methods from Shelah and Pawlikowski to prove that Conner and Spencer could not have constructed these homomorphisms with a weak version of the Axiom of Choice. This led us to define and examine a class of pathological objects that cannot be constructed without a strong version of the Axiom of Choice, which we call the class of inscrutable objects. Objects that do not need a strong version of the Axiom of Choice are scrutable. We …

The Multidimensional Quality Metric (Mqm) Framework: A New Framework For Translation Quality Assessment, Valerie Ruth Mariana

Theses and Dissertations

This document is a supplement to the article entitled “The Multidimensional Quality Metric (MQM) Framework: A New Framework for Translation Quality Assessment”, which has been acepted for publication in the upcoming January volume of JoSTrans, the Journal of Specialized Translation. The article is a coauthored project between Dr. Alan K. Melby, Dr. Troy Cox and myself. In this document you will find a preface describing the process of writing the article, an annotated bibliography of sources consulted in my research, a summary of what I learned, and a conclusion that considers the future avenues opened up by this research. Our …

Framework To Implement Authentication, Authorization And Secure Communications In A Multiuser Collaborative Cax Environment, Francis Mensah

Theses and Dissertations

Computer Aided Design (CAD) applications have historically been based on a single user per application architecture. Although this architecture is still popular to date, it does have several drawbacks. First of all the single user CAD architecture inhibits a concurrent engineering design process where several designers can work on the same model simultaneously. This limitation introduces time inefficiency especially when a project involves geographically dispersed designers. A solution to these drawbacks could be a transition from the traditional single user CAD architecture to a multiuser collaborative architecture. Advances in computer networking technologies, especially relating to the Internet, have provided the …

Determining The Reliability Of An Early Expository Comprehension Assessment, Tammie Harding

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the reliability of the revised Early Expository Comprehension Assessment (EECA), a measure that looked at preschoolers' comprehension of expository text. Thirty-seven preschool children between the ages of four and five were administered two comparable versions of the measure by two examiners. Scoring procedures were created and the protocols were scored and compared for reliability. The data was analyzed using a mixed models Analysis of Variance for repeated measures and a maximum likelihood estimate of variance components. Results from the analysis showed that version and order had no significant effect on three of the response task scores (Purpose …

Characterization Of Smoothness In Wrist Rotations, Layne Hancock Salmond

Theses and Dissertations

Smoothness is a hallmark of healthy movement and has the potential to be used as a marker of recovery in rehabilitation settings. While much past research has focused on shoulder and elbow movements (reaching), little is known about movements of the wrist despite its importance in everyday life and its impairment in many neurological and biomechanical disorders. Our current lack of knowledge regarding wrist movement prevents us from improving current models, diagnosis, and treatment of wrist disorders. In particular, while movement smoothness is a well-known characteristic of reaching movements and may potentially be used to diagnose and monitor recovery from …

A Covering System With Minimum Modulus 42, Tyler Owens

Theses and Dissertations

We construct a covering system whose minimum modulus is 42. This improves the previous record of 40 by P. Nielsen.

Development Of Speech Recognition Threshold And Word Recognition Materials For Native Vietnamese Speakers, Claire Hanson

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the documented need for reliable speech audiometry materials for measures such as speech recognition threshold and word recognition score, such recorded materials are not available in the Vietnamese language. The purpose of this study was to develop, digitally record, evaluate, and psychometrically equate a set of Vietnamese bisyllabic and monosyllabic word lists for use in the measurement of speech recognition and word recognition ability, respectively. To create the speech recognition threshold materials, common Vietnamese bisyllabic words were digitally recorded by male and female talkers of Vietnamese and presented for evaluation to 20 native speakers of Vietnamese with normal hearing. …

Components Of Effective Writing Content Conferences In A Sixth-Grade Classroom, Paul Ricks

Theses and Dissertations

Students are now required to show proficiency in writing through performance on standardized tests. Educators and researchers are looking for ways to improve persuasive and argumentative writing created by students. The writing content conference setting gives educators and students opportunities to discuss student writing in a one-on-one format in which students receive feedback. Ideally, this helps them to create multiple drafts of writing that improve with each revision. Many practitioner guides have been created that offer suggestions as to how conferences can be conducted and what types of interactions can theoretically occur. Few, however, have examined what actually happens during …

Zadie Smith's Nw And The Edwardian Roots Of The Contemporary Cosmopolitan Ethic, Laura Domenica Marostica

Theses and Dissertations

British contemporary writer Zadie Smith is often representative of cosmopolitan writers of the twenty-first century: in both her fiction and nonfiction, she joins a multicultural background and broad, varied interests to an ethic based on the importance of interpersonal relationships and empathetic respect for the other. But while Smith is often considered the poster child for the contemporary British cosmopolitan, her ethics are in fact rooted in the one rather staid member of the canon: EM Forster, whose emphatic call to ‘only connect’ grounds all of Smith's fiction. Her latest novel, 2012's NW, further expands her relationship to Forster in …

The Bioluminescence Heterozygous Genome Assembler, Jared Calvin Price

Theses and Dissertations

High-throughput DNA sequencing technologies are currently revolutionizing the fields of biology and medicine by elucidating the structure and function of the components of life. Modern DNA sequencing machines typically produce relatively short reads of DNA which are then assembled by software in an attempt to produce a representation of the entire genome. Due to the complex structure of all but the smallest genomes, especially the abundant presence of exact or almost exact repeats, all genome assemblers introduce errors into the final sequence and output a relatively large set of contigs instead of full-length chromosomes (a contig is a DNA sequence …

Transcription And Translation Of A Yearly Letter From 1619 Found In The Japonica Sinica 71 From The Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu, Jason Michael Wilber

Theses and Dissertations

This project is a transcription and translation of a 21-page annual letter written about the Cochinchina mission for the year 1619 by the Jesuit missionary João Rodrigues Girão. In 1619 the Cochinchina mission consisted of central and southern Vietnam. The two Jesuit residents at this time were located in the city of Faifo, in the province of Cacham, and Nuocman, in the province of Pulocamby. A semi-diplomatic and diplomatic transcription style is used for the transcription, with a dynamic-equivalent (sense-for-sense) style used for the translation.

Crash Prediction Modeling For Curved Segments Of Rural Two-Lane Two-Way Highways In Utah, Casey Scott Knecht

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis contains the results of the development of crash prediction models for curved segments of rural two-lane two-way highways in the state of Utah. The modeling effort included the calibration of the predictive model found in the Highway Safety Manual (HSM) as well as the development of Utah-specific models developed using negative binomial regression. The data for these models came from randomly sampled curved segments in Utah, with crash data coming from years 2008-2012. The total number of randomly sampled curved segments was 1,495. The HSM predictive model for rural two-lane two-way highways consists of a safety performance function …

Paraeducators' Perceptions Of Their Responsibilities Based On The Utah Standards, Mary E. Buynak

Theses and Dissertations

Paraeducators are increasingly involved in the education of students with disabilities. In order for paraeducators to properly work with this population, they must have adequate and ongoing training. Research has shown that paraeducators do not receive appropriate training in order to work with students with disabilities. The purpose of this study is to investigate the self-perceived knowledge of paraeducators working in special education and their level of training need. The study examines paraeducators' work environment, responsibilities, knowledge based on the Utah Standards for Paraeducators and perceived training needs. Ninety-five special education paraeducators working in a large, suburban school district in …

Analyzing The Instructional Methodologies And Ideologies Underlying English As A Foreign Language Textbooks In China And Evaluating Their Alignment With Assessments And National Standards, Anneke Garcia

Theses and Dissertations

The current study is a collection of three publishable articles addressing a similar theme. Each article is an examination into the role textbooks play in Chinese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms and, specifically, a look at textbooks as an element in the classroom environment, their relationship to pressures from high-stakes exams, and an exploration into any paradigms about the nature of EFL learning they may be explicitly or implicitly promoting through their content and methodologies. The first article, a grounded theory look at underlying methodologies and ideologies in common Chinese textbooks, reveals that there may be competing paradigms …

Inheriting The Library: The Archon And The Archive In George Macdonald's Lilith, Lauran Ray Fuller

Theses and Dissertations

George MacDonald's novel Lilith relates the story of a young man inheriting his deceased father's estate and coming in contact with its remarkable library and mysterious librarian. The protagonist's subsequent adventures in a fantastical world prepare the young Mr. Vane to assume authority over his inherited archive and become an archon. Jacques Derrida's exposition of the responsibilities of the archon including archival authority, domiciliation, and consignation illuminate the mentoring role of the elusive librarian Mr. Raven in Vane's adventures. By using Derrida's deconstruction of archives to unpack the intricacies of knowledge transfer in MacDonald's novel, the lasting impact of the …

Effects Of Nitrate Supplementation On Cognitive And Cerebrovascular Function At Simulated High Altitude, Wesley K. Lefferts

Theses - ALL

Acute high altitude (HA) exposure compromises cognitive function thus posing a significant risk to personnel safety in a HA environment, particularly when performing tasks that requires cognitive vigilance. Normal cerebral function, and thus cognitive function, is dependent upon oxygen supply. At HA there is reduced oxygen availability results in compensatory increases in cerebrovascular blood flow which may be related to nitric oxide (NO), a primary signaling molecule that acts to increase blood flow and ensure an optimal neurovascular coupling (NVC). Upon initial ascent to HA, however, there may be reductions in NO production which may play a role in acute …

The Practice Of Neogeography In Community-Based Organizations, Patrick Oberle

Theses - ALL

Neogeography and Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) are two terms that have emerged recently to describe the practice of geography by those not formally trained in it as a discipline and spatial data provided by individuals through social media and other Web-based tools. Both neogeography and VGI can be directly linked to the growth of various online mapping websites and applications that allow for the creation of electronic maps that are interactive, adaptable, and easily shared via the Internet and Web. As recent phenomena, the practice of neogeography and VGI is not well understood, nor are the links these new fields …

Blending, Mixing, And Processing: Strategies Used To Engage Students In The Classroom, Mark Aaron Polger, Karen Okamoto

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2012

Two of the biggest challenges in the provision of library instruction are memory retention and student engagement. How can students retain all of the information they receive in a “one shot” library instruction class and how do librarians engage them in a memorable way?

A Library instruction class provides a unique opportunity to not only educate students (and even teaching faculty) but promote valuable services and resources. Librarians must be creative and must use a variety of teaching strategies that will help promote critical thinking, memory retention, and student engagement. Our presentation will provide numerous teaching examples from our library …

A Synthesis Of Literature Examining The Structured Teaching Components Of The Teacch Model Employing The Use Of A Visual Conceptual Model, Karin Kliemann

The Journal of Special Education Apprenticeship

A synthesis of research on the TEACCH Model was conducted to determine which components of Structured Teaching under the TEACCH model meet criteria as evidenced based practices using the Reichow, Volkmar, and Cicchetti criteria (2007) along with reporting on the findings of the National Autism Center report (2009). The critical components of the Structured Teaching approach under the TEACCH model as defined by Schopler et al. (1995) are: physical structure; visual schedules; work systems; and task organization. Our analysis found visual schedules met the Reichow et al. (2008) criteria and a case can be made for task organization. A secondary …