Digital Commons Network^™

Virtual Escapes And Intercultural Explorations: How Members Of Interpals Are Using Their Online Community As A Window To The World, Ryan Scott Bartlett

Theses and Dissertations

This study utilized in-depth, one-on-one interviews to examine the experiences, attitudes, and opinions, with regard to their use of the Internet for online intercultural communication (OIC), of a culturally diverse sample of 17 members of the global online social community, Interpals. The purpose of this study was threefold: first, the study sought to determine how OIC is shaping the intercultural perceptions of English-speaking Interpals members; second, the study sought to determine how OIC shapes and/or reinforces the cultural identities of English-speaking Interpals members; and finally, the study set out to examine the various ways that English-speaking Interpals members are using …

Interpretación Comunitaria: El Papel Del Intérprete Médico. Expectativas De Médicos E Intérpretes., Nathalie Seitz

Research Papers

This research examines the expectations hold towards the role and responsibilities of healthcare interpreters in order to propose an ideal role profile of a medical interpreter. It also analyzes existing role models, accommodation strategies and the positioning of the interpreter in an interpreted situation. The elaborated role profile is intended to be a guideline for the field of healthcare interpretation which lacks norms and standards for the rendition of interpreters.

Utilizing Technology To Enhance Reading Comprehension Within Mathematical Word Problems, Michele E. Conley

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Many students who are proficient with basic math facts struggle for understanding when it comes to word problems. Teachers time and time again teach and re-teach problem solving strategies in hope that their students will one day acquire all the skills necessary to become proficient in this area. Unfortunately understanding problem solving skills is not the only answer to solving word problems. There has been a significant amount of evidence linking reading comprehension to mathematical reasoning. The development of a website to assist teachers and students who are having difficulties with mathematical word problems is extremely beneficial. The website is …

At The Core Of School Reform: A Culture Of Commitment, Collaboration, And Collective Leadership, Lari Ann Nelson

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Public education in America today is a product of more than a century of reform. Innovators of each era have attempted to transform the education system to match their ideals and beliefs. Educational reform efforts to improve learning for all students have been an issue of debate since the founding of America – seeking for equality and quality of education. The most recent educational initiative an emphasis on accountability via high-stakes tests, many schools are now branded as “failing” and requiring program improvement. As such, leaders search for reform models that will save their school from further sanctions.

Of the …

The Lived Experience Of Honduran And Usa Nursing Students Working Together In A Study Abroad Program, Lorinda J. Sealey, Donna Hathorn

The Qualitative Report

Nursing study abroad is one approach to preparing student nurses to work more effectively in international environments as well as at home with culturally diverse clients. These programs foster self-reflection by permitting students to spend considerable time immersed in different cultures, thus exposing them to clients with different health beliefs and values. The authors of this transformational phenomenological study examined the lived experience of American and Honduran nursing students working collaboratively during a nursing study abroad program. One-time audio-recorded semi structured interviews were conducted to gather data from American and Honduran students. Six themes emerged: Communication (i.e., language and communication …

The Relationship Between Research Method And Visual Display: A Study Of Conference Proceedings In The Field Of Knowledge Organization, Alon Friedman

School of Information Faculty Publications

Introduction. Research method refers to how to conduct research, how to measure progress, and what constitutes success. Visualisation has become the platform for communicating research findings according to Friedman and Smiraglia . Knowledge organization aims to organize knowledge and many researchers employ visualisation in their findings. So, what was the relationship between research methods and visual display when researchers presented their findings?

Method. All conference proceedings of the International Society of Knowledge Organizationfrom 1990 to 2010 are examined, including 256 visualisations found in the 609 articles. A random sample of 50 visualisations is then analysed to determine the …

Japanese Poetry And Nature In Borson's Short Journey Upriver Toward Ōishida, Shoshannah Ganz

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In her article "Japanese Poetry and Nature in Borson's Short Journey Upriver Toward Ōishida" Shoshannah Ganz shows how the limited focus of research on Roo Borson oversimplifies the poetry and ignores the tradition that Borson is aligning her work with both in form and content: classical Chinese and Japanese poetry and their perspectives on nature. Further, Ganz explores the ways in which Borson's poetry overcomes intuitively the binaries of East/West, human/non-human, and the further binaries within the human/non-human created through representational language. Ganz contextualizes Borson's work within the master/disciple lineage of Chinese and Japanese tradition and explores how Borson …

The Systemic Approach, Biosemiotic Theory, And Ecocide In Australia, Iris Ralph

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In her article "The Systemic Approach, Biosemiotic Theory, and Ecocide in Australia" Iris Ralph summarizes an argument in defense of disciplinarity ("openness from closure") that Cary Wolfe makes in What is Posthumanism? She also comments on an implicit argument that Wendy Wheeler makes in The Whole Creature: Complexity, Biosemiotics and the Evolution of Culture. As Ralph argues, Wheeler's implicit claim is that biosemiotic language, which humans share with other biological beings, connects human animals and nonhuman animals on moral and affective grounds. Ralph summarizes Wolfe's defense of disciplinarity that literary and cultural studies scholars who engage with the "question …

Is The Smartphone Smart In Kathmandu?, Seth Bird

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This is the extensive study of the smartphone in the developing country of Nepal, specifically the Kathmandu valley. Throughout my research I conducted various interviews with businesses, Tibetan refugees, and Nepali millennials (18yrs-33yrs) with the goal of identifying how the smartphone is used and understood. I chose the Kathmandu valley as my main area of research because the usage of smartphones in rural Nepal is extremely limited, and the valley represents the economic hub where progressive thinking flourishes. As a main objective I sought to understand how, if at all, the smartphone is used differently between Nepal and America. All …

Establishing The Validity And Reliability Of The Fairness Of Items Tool, Nikole Anderson Hicks

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Perspectives Of Elementary Teachers And Ethiopian Immigrant Parents On Parent-Teacher Relations And The Education Of Ethiopian Children, Keno Abdeta Nagasa

Dissertations

This multi-case dissertation describes a qualitative inquiry into the experiences of Ethiopian immigrant parents and elementary school teachers with respect to their perspectives on their relationship for serving the educational needs of select Ethiopian children. Data obtained from interviews and observations of three Ethiopian parents and three elementary school teachers in a large school district in the Rocky Mountain region demonstrated that (a) there was similarity across cases regarding lack of teacher preparation in working with diverse students; (b) barriers to communication between parents and teachers include language and cultural differences and parents‘ invisibility in schools; (c) parents are unfamiliar …

Writing & Linguistics News, Georgia Southern University

Writing & Linguistics News (2012-2022)

• Burning Swamp reading & Brannen Creative Writing Award ceremony

Teaching Communication: Helping Students To Learn And To Love A New Language, Jacob Fredrickson

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio represents many hours spent in classrooms (as a student and as a teacher), in the library reading and writing, and spent in quiet contemplation. My views on teaching languages and on education in general have grown and changed. What a tragedy it would be to pass through a graduate program and not to have one’s views evolve and grow. Most importantly, this portfolio represents that growth and the ideal that, as an educator and as a human being, time on this earth ought to be spent growing, learning, and striving for something better.

Structure’S Impact On Homiletic Rhetoric: A Case Study Of Melissa Scott’S Preaching, Erik S. Nelson

Honors Theses

Though the connection between the study of rhetorical processes and the practice of expository preaching is obvious, academic cooperation between the two fields is lacking. This case study presents an example of the harmony achievable between the disciplines through the production of constructive criticism, a process known to communication scholars as rhetorical analysis, for a sample of sermons given by Pastor Melissa Scott in recent years. Scott, whose preaching style is uniquely centered on translation-based exposition, represents the modern pastor whose skill and technique might be improved upon with the implementation of recent and emerging communication theory. Specifically, this study …

A Behavioral Database For Masked Form Priming, Js Adelman, Rl Johnson, Sf Mccormick, M Mckague, Et Al

School of Psychology

Reading involves a process of matching an orthographic input with stored representations in lexical memory. The masked priming paradigm has become a standard tool for investigating this process. Use of existing results from this paradigm can be limited by the precision of the data and the need for cross-experiment comparisons that lack normal experimental controls. Here, we present a single, large, high-precision, multicondition experiment to address these problems. Over 1,000 participants from 14 sites responded to 840 trials involving 28 different types of orthographically related primes (e.g., castfe–CASTLE) in a lexical decision task, as well as completing measures of spelling …

A Critical Race And Critical Whiteness Theory Analysis Of Preservice Teachers' Racialized Practices In A Literacy Across The Curriculum Course, Kathleen Cullen

Dissertations - ALL

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the racialized practices enacted by seven preservice teachers while they participated in a university-based literacy across the curriculum course that included a school-based tutoring component. Research questions asked: 1) what racialized practices were enacted by preservice content-area teachers when they participated in a required literacy across the curriculum course that included one-on-one tutoring of youth at an urban secondary school, and 2) how did preservice content-area teachers' backgrounds contribute to their racialized practices?

This study drew on the premises of critical race theory and critical whiteness theory to define racialized …

Application Of The Transtheoretical Model: Assessing Exercise Behavior In African Americans In A Church-Based Setting, Robin Marie White

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Sedentary behavior rates are higher among African-American men and women than in other American races and ethnicities, placing them at greater risk for chronic illness. Routine physical activity reduces the risk of chronic health problems such as: (a) overweight and obesity, (b) type 2 diabetes, (c) hypertension, (d) coronary artery disease, (e) stroke, (f) congestive heart failure, and (g) cancers. Assessment of African-Americans' exercise attitudes in a church-based setting may provide information with which to develop effective interventions to improve physical activity. This descriptive, cross-sectional study used components of the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) to assess whether any associations exist between …

The Lived Experience Of Nursing Students During Their Psychiatric Nursing Education: Does It Influence View Of Psychiatric Nursing As A Career Choice?, Lisa Mcconlogue

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Using a van Manen phenomenological approach combined with a Colaizzi step-wise data analysis procedure, this study seeks to describe the lived experience of recent nursing school graduates during their psychiatric didactic and clinical education and how the experience influenced their view of psychiatric nursing as a specialty choice.

Inclusion criteria for participants were registered nurses (RN) who graduated from their entry level nursing program within the last three years; graduated from a United States RN program; and are currently working as an RN in an inpatient setting. Two groups of participants were selected; one group of nurses who chose psychiatric …

Rethinking Governance In Management Research: From The Editors, Laszlo Tihanyi, Scott Graffin, Gerard George

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In the field of management, the study of governance has primarily dealt with decision-making by boards of directors, chief executives, and senior managers. The corporate governance literature has generated important insights regarding incentive alignment, risk taking, and coordination challenges. Emerging trends, highlighted in this issue, raise new questions regarding managerial roles, organizational contexts, internal and social processes, and changes in governance over time. We encourage management scholars to rethink their approach to governance research by considering stakeholder engagement, the implications of big data, social impact, global dimensions, and comparative analysis of governance. A broadened conceptualization of governance may also deal …

Government Dependency Theory: Public Services, Banking Crisis, And The Likelihood Of Protests, Titus Bickel

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to determine what causes certain countries to experience mass protests during economic crises while other governments weather the same events and emerge unscathed. Further research on this topic could predict the likelihood of protests that lead to state collapse in countries like Ukraine. I argue that high gross domestic product expenditure on social services creates a dependent society that will protest when those goods and services are threatened by banking crises. I originated this theory and titled it the Government Dependency Theory. My theory uses data from 147 banking crises occurring in 115 countries …

Lynn Hershman Leeson's Roberta Breitmore And The Art Of Becoming A Woman, Maayan Glaser-Koren

Master's Theses

Throughout the emergence of second-wave feminism in the 1970s, social and political activism inspired female artists to create powerful artworks that critiqued institutional discrimination and supported women's reproductive rights and workplace equality. Feminist artists raised the public's awareness of women's issues by making women the subject of their artwork. In California especially, these creators turned to performance art, often taking their creations to the streets.

This thesis focuses on Lynn Hershman Leeson's performance, Roberta Breitmore (1974-1978), and examines how, through the steps of the performance, the piece's fictitious title character became a living resident of San Francisco. It will explore …

Study Of Creative Processes That Lead To Successful Visually Narrative Art Products, Denissa U. Kiehl

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The success of an artist’s work depends upon a few key factors. No matter which field of study you pursue as an individual it is important to examine and understand previously collected knowledge and works developed within that field. Once an artist has learned from the successful “Old” methods and examples of artworks he or she may then combine the “Old” with some of his or her “New” methods and ideas. When it comes to visual narrative art there is a large variety of visual art and other creations to learn from. Factors related to decision making will change with …

Developing The Modern Heroine Of Fantasy Literature: An Examination Of Lyra From "His Dark Materials" And Clary From "The Mortal Instruments", Diana Aileen Borghols Herrera

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This work looks at the figure of the heroine as present through the characters of Lyra Belacqua in His Dark Materials and Clary Fairchild in The Mortal Instruments. The characters will be analysed within the fantasy genre and the tradition of the heroic figure. By defining the hero and the heroine, two types of characters with different traits, I will show that the heroic archetype for the female is not entirely set. Lyra and Clary share some similarities but their relation to their respective role is perceived and fulfilled through varying degrees of commitment. The analysis will be contained to …

How Firms Respond To Financial Restatement: Ceo Successors And External Reactions, David Gomulya, Warren Boeker

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Although past studies have paid considerable attention to firms' reputations, few have investigated the actions that firms take following a reputation-damaging event. We identify firms involved in financial earnings restatements and examine whether naming a successor CEO with specific qualities serves to signal the seriousness of a firm's efforts to restore its reputation. Using theories of market signaling, we argue that attributes of successor CEOs significantly influence the reactions of key external constituencies. In particular, firms with more severe restatement tend to name successors who have prior CEO or turnaround experience and a more elite education. The naming of such …

An Attempt To Establish Approval As A Learned Reinforcer, Kelly T. Kohler

Dissertations

Approval does not function as a powerful reinforcer for many children with autism, making it difficult to reinforce appropriate behavior in a functional and consistent manner. The current study first assessed the effects of establishing approval (“Nice,” accompanied by a smile and nod) and nonsense words as discriminative stimuli, with the intent that they might also become learned reinforcers. We conducted several experiments to assess the effectiveness of approval as a reinforcer, including tests on learning new responses (receptive, expressive, freeoperant, and simple simultaneous discriminations) and tests on the performance of previously mastered responses (receptive and expressive responses). Despite the …

"We Can't Reclaim What We Don't Understand": Teachers' Perceptions Of Advocacy And Voice In A Rural Institute Of The National Writing Project, James Anthony Anderson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines teachers' perceptions of advocacy and voice in a summer institute of the National Writing Project. The Rural Advocacy Institute, a first-time initiative through the Northwest Arkansas Writing Project, offered three weeks of professional development centered on rural education and teaching English language arts in rural public schools. The study is a grounded theory study; grounded theory forces the researcher to stay "close to the data," compare data sets, and use reflective writing to identify conceptual categories in the data. Data collection in the study included semi-structured interviews with six K-12 teachers participating in the Institute and twenty-seven …

The Effects Of Book Format On Parent-Child Interaction During Joint Book Reading, Jennifer Lynn Bowman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Technology is a part of our society and is ever changing. Therefore, it is important to examine the effects that such innovations have on parent-child interactions, especially those that have been shown to promote children's early literacy learning and future school success. This study was conducted in the context of a larger project, The Family Reading Project, which investigated parent-child engagement in joint reading activities using mobile devices. This research compared parent and child behaviors when reading traditional books versus reading e-books to determine if book format had any effect on parent-child interaction. The results of this study were that …

It's All In A Meme: A Content Analysis Of Memes Posted To 2012 Presidential Election Facebook Pages, Bobbie Foster

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis was an exploratory study to understand how Democrats and Republicans design memes, use traditional media framing, and how memes fit into modern humor theories. The study explores the relationship between the traditional media frames of the ideal candidate, populist campaigner, and the sure loser (Grabe & Bucy, 2009) and the commentary added by Internet users to these images in the memes.

The study also applies the benign-violation theory (McGraw & Warren, 2010) to the analysis of memes to understand the design choices made by meme creators. The benign-violation theory states that a physical or psychological violation is benign …

Understanding Service Utilization Disparities And Depression In Latino Parents And Children: The Role Of Fatalismo, Elizabeth Anastasia

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research has repeatedly demonstrated a disparity between need and utilization of mental health services for Latino adults and children. The adapted Health Beliefs Model (Henshaw & Freedman-Doan, 2009) provides a useful framework for conceptualizing the roles of perceived severity and therapy expectations in the relation between demographic variables and service utilization. Cultural variations in perceptions of mental illness by Latinos may be linked with lower service utilization rates for Latino parents and children. It was speculated that fatalismo, a cultural construct similar to external locus of control, may be related to perceptions of mental illness and service utilization outcomes for …

Social Networks As Command & Control Channels For Botnets, Adam St. Onge

Theses

The weakest link in detecting Botnets is typically the communication channel. What if there was a possibility to leverage existing high volume communication channels such as social networks for the command and control traffic of a botnet? Utilizing a social network such as Twitter, has many advantages over alternative methods, when done properly it is easier to hide in plain site due to the high volume of normal chatter, the protocol and traffic is already established as a known protocol to many security systems and antivirus software, and it is highly available across the globe. Twitter is aware of their …