Digital Commons Network^™

The Most Effective Efl Approach For An Elementary School In Spain, Krista Emily Swanson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The main research question addressed in this paper is: what does the literature say about effective EFL approaches to be implemented in a private elementary school in Spain? In order to fully answer that question this capstone addressed the following question as well: what teaching strategies are effective for developing fluency in an EFL setting for children? The method of study was a systematic review of literature. Key influencers were Björklund and Suni (2000) and Björklund (2005). They studied a Finnish immersion school that used content-based instruction in a multilingual program with successful results. Another key influencer was Pérez-Vidal (2013). …

Improving Antibiotic Resistant Infection Transmission Situational Awareness In Enclosed Facilities With A Novel Graphical User Interface For Tactical Biosurveillance, Valeriya V. Kettelhut

Theses & Dissertations

Serious challenges associated with antibiotic resistant infections (ABRIs) force healthcare practitioners (HCP) to seek innovative approaches that will slow the emergence of new ABRIs and prevent their spread. It was realized that traditional approaches to infection prevention based on education, retrospective reports, and biosurveillance often fail to ensure reliable compliance with infection prevention guidelines and real-time problem solving. The objective of this original research was to develop and test the conceptual design of a situational awareness (SA)-oriented information system for coping with healthcare-associated infection transmission.

Constantly changing patterns in spatial distribution of patients, prevalence of infectious cases, clustering of contacts, …

The Impact Of Gasoline Prices On Medical Care And Costs Of Motor Vehicle Injuries, He Zhu

Theses & Dissertations

Background Traffic safety has placed a tremendous economic and social burden on individuals and nations. Gasoline prices have been linked to traffic safety in the recent studies. Higher gasoline price may prompt people to reduce expenses by changing travel distance and frequency, transportation mode, or driving behaviors.

Objective This study aims to examine the relationship of gasoline prices to hospital utilization and cost for motorcycle and non-motorcycle motor vehicle injuries in the United States.

Methods Data on inpatient hospitalization for motor vehicle injuries were obtained from the 2001-2010 Nationwide Inpatient Sample, which is part of the Healthcare Costs and Utilization …

School Design To Promote Physical Activity, Jeri Brittin

Theses & Dissertations

Increasing children’s physical activity (PA) at school is a national focus to address childhood obesity. Research has demonstrated associations between school built environments and students’ PA, but has lacked a comprehensive synthesis of evidence. Chapter 1 presents new evidence-, theory-, and practice-informed school design guidelines, including evidence substantiality ratings, to promote PA in school communities. These guidelines delineate strategies for school designers, planners, and educators to create K-12 school environments conducive to PA. They also engage public health scientists in needed transdisciplinary perspectives.

There have been few longitudinal studies to verify causal relationships between the school built environment and PA. …

An Examination Of Net Primary Production In Southern Appalachian Wetlands, Mike Maguigan

Theses and Dissertations

Southern Appalachian wetlands have yet to be studied in terms of net primary production (NPP), thus few studies have been conducted to examine what environmental factors have relationships with NPP. To that end, this research investigates several facets of southern Appalachian wetland production. The research was divided into three studies. The first study was conducted to answer the question of what environmental factors have relationships with NPP. It appears that stream discharge and annual precipitation had the strongest relationships with NPP (r = 0.91, p <0.05 and r = 0.81, p <0.05, respectively), yet both factors showed multicolinearity (r = 0.97, p <0.05). The strong relationships between hydrologic factors and NPP is similar to montane wetlands in the western United States. The second study was conducted to examine the relationship between water chemistry and NPP. Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), and pH were examined in order to determine if any of the aforementioned factors had a relationship with NPP. Neither Ca (r = -0.34, p = 0.0835) nor Mg (r =-0.38, p = 0.0535) had strong relationships with NPP, though pH (r = -0.66, p <0.05) had a strong negative relationship with NPP. The acidity of the stream water, driven by the acid rain in the southern Appalachians, creates enhanced conditions for wetland plants to grow. The third study was conducted to establish which vegetation index was best for estimating NPP from proximally and remotely sensed data. The findings suggest that VARIRed Edge was best for examining NPP at the in situ level, NDVI was best for examining NPP at the airborne level, and the DVI was the best for examining NPP at the satellite level. NPP in southern Appalachian wetlands is driven by the chemistry, specifically the pH, of stream discharge and annual precipitation and can be monitored by NDVI using NAIP data or DVI using Landsat data. The examination of NPP in southern Appalachians in response to environmental factors and water chemistry along with the examination of vegetation indices at three levels of platforms will help to monitor and manage these rare and unique ecosystems in the future.

Comparisons Of Lygus Lineolaris Populations From The Mississippi Delta And Hills Agricultural Regions, Daniel Edward Fleming

Theses and Dissertations

Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois) is a pest of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) in Mississippi, particularly in the Delta region of the state. It is estimated that 3.1old more insecticide applications are needed to control this pest and it costs producers 3.6old more in the Delta region than in the Hills region. These differences have been attributed to increased insecticide resistance in the Delta and the possibility of a biotype of L. lineolaris in the Delta that is better adapted to cotton than the population in the Hills. A series of experiments were undertaken to evaluate these differences. The first …

Genetic Structure Of Rhizobia Associated With Chamaecrista Fasciulata, Hanna Elizabeth Dorman

Theses and Dissertations

The legume-rhizobia relationship is an important symbiosis. Studies have found variation in specificity and the functionality of symbiotic specificity can vary among plants of the same species and among rhizobia, as well as in concert with geographical variation. Here, we examined the diversity and geographic structure of rhizobia nodulating Chamaecrista fasciculata, which grows throughout the east-central U.S. and is symbiotic with Bradyrhizobium species. We investigated the association of geography and soil variables on rhizobial diversity by sampling plant nodules and soil across Mississippi and evaluated variation in rhizobia housed in different nodules of individual plants. Using nifH and truA, we …

Evaluation Of Hybrids, Planting Dates, And Planting Densities On Corn Growth And Yield Under Rainfed Systems In Mississippi, Matthew W. Hock

Theses and Dissertations

Improved hybrid genetics and more efficient farming techniques have increased corn (Zea mays L.) production and grain yields for Mid-South farmers. Early planting is one technique to mitigate heat and drought stress that negatively influence grain production. The first objective was: a) determine the effect of early planting on grain yield, b) to determine the effects on physiological characteristics and c) determine if some hybrids are better suited for early planting. Data suggest there were yield advantages for early planted treatments. Starkville 2014 yields exhibited the greatest reduction of .80 Mg ha-1 for each week that planting was delayed. A …

Large-Scale And High-Resolution 3-D Cave Mapping By Terrestrial Laser Scanning: A Case Study Of The Domica Cave, Slovakia, Michal Gallay, Ján Kaňuk, Zdenko Hochmuth, John D. Meneely, Jaroslav Hofierka, Vladimír Sedlák

International Journal of Speleology

Mapping and modelling the complicated geometry of caves is a challenging task that has traditionally been undertaken by tacheometric surveying methods. These methods are excellent for capturing the general shape of a cave system but they are not suitable for high-speed, high-resolution mapping of complex surfaces found in this environment. Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) technologies can acquire millions of points represented by 3-D coordinates, at very high spatial densities on complex multifaceted surfaces within minutes. In the last few years, advances in measurement speed, reduction in size / cost and increased portability of this technology has revolutionised the collection of …

Impact Evaluation Of Investments In The Appalachian Region: A Reappraisal, Juan Tomas Sayago Gomez, Gianfranco Piras, Donald J. Lacombe, Randall Jackson

Regional Research Institute Working Papers

We evaluate the impact of the Appalachian Regional Commission’s investments on its members counties over almost fifty years. We apply different propensity score methods to find the most appropriate matching and to identify the effect of policy implementation in the most accurate way possible.

The general evidence is that counties that received ARC funding had higher per-capita income growth compared to the control counties. Per-capita income growth rate in ARC counties grew an average of 5.5 percent over the entire study time period compared to the control counties. Employment grew significantly faster in ARC counties compared to the control counties …

Learning The Rules Of The ‘Student Game’: Transforming The ‘Student Habitus’ Through [Im]Mobility, Mark Holton

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

In recent years, a growing body of literature has emerged concerning the mobilities of students, specifically relating to the interactions between local and non-local students, which can accentuate unequal access to education; social interactions and learner outcomes. Central to much of this literature is a sense that being mobile in institutional choice is the most appropriate and expected approach to successful university life. Conversely, local students, disadvantaged by their age, history, external commitments and immobility, are thought to be unlikely to share the same ‘student experiences’ as their traditional counterparts, leading to feelings of alienation within the student community. This …

Schneefernerhaus As A Mountain Research Station For Clouds And Turbulence, S. Risius, H. Xu, F. Di Lorenzo, H. Xi, H. Siebert, R. A. Shaw, E. Bodenschatz

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Cloud measurements are usually carried out with airborne campaigns, which are expensive and are limited by temporal duration and weather conditions. Ground-based measurements at high-altitude research stations therefore play a complementary role in cloud study. Using the meteorological data (wind speed, direction, temperature, humidity, visibility, etc.) collected by the German Weather Service (DWD) from 2000 to 2012 and turbulence measurements recorded by multiple ultrasonic sensors (sampled at 10 Hz) in 2010, we show that the Umweltforschungsstation Schneefernerhaus (UFS) located just below the peak of Zugspitze in the German Alps, at a height of 2650 m, is a well-suited station for …

(Re)Connecting With Listeners: How Radio Stations Are Reaching Beyond The Dial (And Their Competitors) To Connect With Their Audience, Alyxandra Sherwood

Theses

Radio has a history of adapting to new technologies to spread its signal farther and more efficiently to a larger audience. With the emergence of social media, the audience has begun to use non-traditional media channels to reach back and out to each other, thus by-passing traditional media outlets such as radio. Prior studies examined how the audience has shifted its daily routine to incorporate new technology. The present study sought to determine to what extent radio stations in New York State have adapted to use non-traditional media channels, how often they update those channels, and if revenue type had …

Initial Results Of The First Nsf-Funded Research Experience For Undergraduates On Small Satellite Software, Jeremy Straub, Ronald Marsh, David Whalen

Small Satellite Conference

This paper presents preliminary results from the first year of the first National Science Foundation (NSF) funded research experience for undergraduates (REU) with a focus on small satellite software. It begins with a discussion of prior work on the development of an open-hardware, open-source software CubeSat, the OpenOrbiter project and the Open Prototype for Educational NanoSats design, and how this served as foundational work for the REU. A brief discussion of the evaluation techniques used in this program is presented as are the results (which serve as a point of reference for which to compare those from the REU). Next, …

Innovative Technology, Krista Graham, Nate Hill

Re-think it: Libraries for a New Age

Panelists will discuss the creation of two innovative technology spaces. CURVE at Georgia State University is a technology-rich discovery space designed to support the research and digital scholarship of students, faculty, and staff; while the 4th Floor at Chattanooga Public Library is an experimental civic laboratory and makerspace with a focus on information, design, technology, and the applied arts. This panel will discuss the planning process and design thinking that went into building these unique spaces, as well as the technology and services provided to patrons.

Behind At The Starting Line: Poverty Among Hispanic Infants, Daniel T. Lichter, Scott R. Sanders, Kenneth M. Johnson

Carsey Publications

In this brief, authors Daniel Lichter, Scott Sanders, and Kenneth Johnson examine the economic circumstances of Hispanic infants using the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey annual microdata files from 2006 through 2010. They report that a disproportionate share of Hispanic infants start life’s race behind the starting line, poor and disadvantaged—an important finding because the proportion of all U.S. births that are Hispanic is growing rapidly. The poverty risk is especially high among rural Hispanic infants and those in new destinations. Despite higher poverty risks, Hispanic infants receive less governmental assistance. High Hispanic infant poverty has immediate and long-term consequences …

The Effectiveness Of Direct Instruction In Increasing English Reading Fluency For Arabic Speaking English Language Learner Students In Qatar: A Research Case Study, Jared Andrew Lorence

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this project was, what effect does Direct Instruction reading curriculum have on improving the reading fluency of Arabic speaking, English language middle school students? It documents one teacher’s experience and results using Direct Instruction reading curricula to improve reading fluency and comprehension of Qatari English Learner students. The author provides a literature review of Direct Instruction research and documents the results of his own efforts to increase the reading fluency of his students using Direct Instruction curricula and methods. He concludes that Direct Instruction was ineffective for his students, as it did not significantly improve …

Urban Art And Uneven Development: The Geography Of “Artwashing” In Miami And Philadelphia, Mackenzie Sheldon

Open Access Theses

This thesis explores the intersections of art and urban redevelopment by evaluating the strategic uses of urban art forms in distressed neighborhoods of Philadelphia and Miami. Specifically, this thesis takes to task the trend of “artwashing” in which developers appropriate and aestheticize markers of urban decay in order to market real estate to consumers seeking an industrial chic backdrop. While most discussions of artwashing center on the upgrading of austere industrial buildings, I believe the term should also be applied to the appropriation of urban art forms for neighborhood rebranding purposes. In recent years, the commissioning of street art has …

Monitor's Interim Consumer Relief Report Regarding Defendants Ocwen Financial Corporation And Ocwen Loan Servicing, Llc, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Et Al. V. Ocwen Financial Corporation And Ocwen Loan Servicing, Llc

National Mortgage Settlements Digital Archive

No abstract provided.

Ocwen Consumer Relief Report: A Report From The Monitor Of The National Mortgage Settlement, Joseph A. Smith

National Mortgage Settlements Digital Archive

No abstract provided.

Host Promiscuity In Symbiont Associations Can Influence Exotic Legume Establishment And Colonization Of Novel Ranges, Metha M. Klock, Luke G. Barrett, Peter H. Thrall, Kyle E. Harms

Faculty Publications, Environmental Studies

Aim
Invasive Acacia species have negatively impacted natural areas in multiple regions around the globe. Almost 400 Acacia species have been introduced outside their native ranges in Australia; approximately 6% have become invasive, 12% are naturalized, and 82% have no record of naturalization or invasion. This variation in invasiveness provides a comparative framework in which to examine mechanisms that either promote or constrain establishment and colonization of species in novel regions. Here, we experimentally examine the role that the legume–rhizobia symbiosis plays in the differential invasiveness of acacias introduced outside their native Australian ranges.
Location
Canberra, Australia.
Methods
We paired …

Scaling Up Teacher Professional Learning: How To Grow Teacher Knowledge While Growing School Networks, Emily J Klein, Reva Jaffe Walter, Meg Riordan

Department of Teaching and Learning Scholarship and Creative Works

This research reports data from case studies of three intermediary organizations facing the challenge of scaling up teacher learning. The turn of the century launched scaling up efforts of all three intermediaries, growing from intimate groups, where founding teachers and staff were key supports for teacher learning, to large multi-state organizations. The authors drew on data from three earlier qualitative studies of professional development at Big Picture Learning, Expeditionary Learning, and the Internationals Network, and reveal some of the benefits and challenges of taking teacher learning to scale.

Similar Settings, Different Story Lines: The Positioning Of Esl Teachers In Two Middle Schools, Mary Mcgriff, Maria Selena Protacio

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

As the need to better support English learners’ achievement in academically rigorous content area classes increases, so does the call for expanded ESL teacher – content area teacher collaboration. However, the nature and outcomes of such collaboration depend on how these professionals are positioned within their school settings. Using positioning theory as an analytic lens, this article investigates the collaborative interactions of two ESL teachers in two separate, but demographically similar suburban middle schools. It examines the impact of these ESL teachers’ collaborations on ELLs’ opportunities for academic language and content area learning, and it calls for the field to …

Reading Horizons Vol. 54 No. 1

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

No abstract provided.

Summary Of Proposed Updates To The National Health Security Preparedness Index For 2015-2016, Glen P. Mays, Michael T. Childress, Pierre Martin Dominique Zephyr, Christopher R. Bollinger, Anna Goodman Hoover

Health Management and Policy Reports

This report describes proposed updates in methodology and measures for the 2015-16 release of the National Health Security Preparedness Index

Sustainable Social Work: An Environmental Justice Framework For Social Work Education, Samantha Teixeira, Amy Krings

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

Environmental degradation is not experienced by all populations equally; hazardous and toxic waste sites, resource contamination (e.g., exposure to pesticides), air pollution, and numerous other forms of environmental degradation disproportionately affect low income and minority communities. The communities most affected by environmental injustices are often the same communities where social workers are entrenched in service provision at the individual, family, and community level. In this article, we use a global social work paradigm to describe practical ways in which environmental justice content can be infused in the training and education of social workers across contexts in order to prepare professionals …

Suitability Of Great South Bay, New York To Blooms Of Pfiesteria Piscicida And P. Shumwayae Prior To Superstorm Sandy, October 29, 2012, Pawel Tomasz Zablocki

Theses and Dissertations

Pfiesteria piscicida and P. shumwayae are toxic dinoflagellates implicated in massive fish kills in North Carolina and Maryland during 1990s. A set of physical, chemica l, and biological factors influence population dynamics of these organisms. This study employs i nformation gathered from relevant literature on temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbulent mixing, and dissolved nutrients, bacteria, algae, microzooplankton, mesozooplankton, bivalve m ollusks, finfish, and other toxic dinoflagellates, which influence Pfiesteria population dynamics. The research focused on whether conditions in the Great South Bay, Long Island, New York were suitable to blooms of Pfiesteria species prior to the passage of superstorm …

Community Development And Its Socioeconomic Impact On A Latino Enclave: A Case Study Of The Frog Hollow Neighborhood In Hartford, Connecticut, Reinaldo Rojas

Doctoral Dissertations

The topic of low-income neighborhoods and the different approaches to community development dominate the national discussion on urban revitalization and poverty reduction. The debate is ongoing, regardless of whether economic development models serve the broader interests of the community or the narrow interests of proponents and benefactors. This study analyzes the impact of urban revitalization projects in the Frog Hollow neighborhood of Hartford, Connecticut, an impoverished but vibrant Latino enclave in the city. Frog Hollow underwent a highly publicized series of revitalization projects during the 2000s, where business owners, community organizations and local government were involved in both development and …

Teaching Qualitative Research: Fostering Student Curiositythrough An Arts-Informed Pedagogy, Jennifer Lapum, Sarah Hume

The Qualitative Report

Creative pedagogical approaches in higher education can facilitate students’ journey in thinking like and becoming a qualitative researcher. Pedagogical approaches tend to focus on procedural steps of qualitative research neglecting students’ development of cognitive skills and reflective capacity. Arts-informed teaching methods for qualitative research show promise as an educational development in stimulating student interest and expanding their understanding of qualitative research through an experiential approach to learning. In this article, the use of an arts-informed pedagogy to structure a graduate level qualitative research course is discussed. This pedagogy, grounded in experiential teaching-learning theories, was developed to foster students’ curiosity as …

Ecofeminism: Feminist Intersections With Other Animals And The Earth Edited By Carol J. Adams And Lori Gruen, Astrida Neimanis

The Goose

Astrida Neimanis reviews Ecofeminism: Feminist Intersections with Other Animals and the Earth, edited by Carol J. Adams and Lori Gruen.