Digital Commons Network^™

Second Language Writing Instructor Written Feedback Practices In An Esl Freshman Composition Class: A Complexity Theory Perspective, Masakazu Mishima

Open Access Dissertations

This case study investigated second language writing instructors’ written feedback practices from a complexity theory perspective. The purpose of the research was to explore and examine contextual factors and their impact on instructor written feedback practices. Data were collected from two ESL writing instructors and two ESL writers through surveys, interviews, and classroom observations. Based on the results, a complexity theory-based model of second language writing instructor written feedback practices was developed to represent the complexity of written feedback practice situated in the specific instructional context. The findings suggest that the instructors were under constant influence of five different contextual …

The Depth And Complexity Program Evaluation Tool: A New Method For Conducting Internal Evaluations Of Gifted Education Programs, Jason Scott Mcintosh

Open Access Dissertations

Few program evaluation models unique to gifted education currently exist. The Depth and Complexity Program Evaluation Tool (DC-PET) is a new method for conducting an evaluation of a gifted program that combines the Kaplan Depth and Complexity Model with tools and techniques from the fields of program evaluation and organizational change. The tool was designed to assist local school district personnel in generating data for gifted program improvement by requiring a close examination of critical issues in the field (e.g., defensible differentiation, underserved populations, twice-exceptional learners). The DC-PET is meant to provide a framework for guiding those who have little …

Spanish-Speaking Immigrants In A U.S. Midwestern Community: An Exploration Of Attitudes Towards Spanish, Spanish In The U.S., Language Maintenance, And Bilingualism, Mara Raquel Barbosa

Open Access Dissertations

This study investigated Spanish-speaking immigrants’ attitudes towards Spanish, which includes the evaluative reactions that people have towards the language. One hundred participants living in three different cities in Indiana completed a background questionnaire, a language attitudes questionnaire, and a one-on-one interview about their attitudes towards Spanish. It is imperative to know about Spanish-speaking populations’ attitudes in states with lower numbers of Spanish-speaking immigrants like Indiana, because this knowledge helps to influence and make predictions about that language’s maintenance and shift in the community (Luo & Wiseman, 2000; Rivera-Mills, 2000); it guides language policy and planning and promotes language awareness (Pennycook, …

Exploring The Constitutive And Social Processes Of Ethics In Multidisciplinary Engineering Design Teams, Megan Kenny Feister

Open Access Dissertations

This study seeks to examine the communicative constitution of ethics in team-based design projects in an engineering education context. Engineering and design work involve complex social processes and ethical decision-making activities and collaboration (Bucciarelli, 2010). The understanding and development of ethics in future engineers is a primary concern for engineering educators, students, and the governing bodies that oversee this field (ABET, 2013; NAE, 2012). Specifically, given the highly fluid and subjective nature of ethics and the complications of the team-based context, challenges arise about how to move beyond codes and standards that are intended to guide ethical conduct (ASEE, 2012; …

The Relationship Between Acoustic Features Of Second Language Speech And Listener Evaluation Of Speech Quality, Mengxi Lin

Open Access Dissertations

Second language (L2) speech is typically less fluent than native speech, and differs from it phonetically. While the speech of some L2 English speakers seems to be easily understood by native listeners despite the presence of a foreign accent, other L2 speech seems to be more demanding, such that listeners must expend considerable effort in order to understand it. One reason for this increased difficulty may simply be the speaker’s pronunciation accuracy or phonetic intelligibility. If a L2 speaker’s pronunciations of English sounds differ sufficiently from the sounds that native listeners expect, these differences may force native listeners to work …

Using Deception To Enhance Security: A Taxonomy, Model, And Novel Uses, Mohammed H. Almeshekah

Open Access Dissertations

As the convergence between our physical and digital worlds continue at a rapid pace, securing our digital information is vital to our prosperity. Most current typical computer systems are unwittingly helpful to attackers through their predictable responses. In everyday security, deception plays a prominent role in our lives and digital security is no different. The use of deception has been a cornerstone technique in many successful computer breaches. Phishing, social engineering, and drive-by-downloads are some prime examples. The work in this dissertation is structured to enhance the security of computer systems by using means of deception and deceit.

Homecoming Festivals: The Re-Accentuated Image Of Don Quixote In Western Novel, Tatevik Gyulamiryan

Open Access Dissertations

The publication of Don Quixote (1605, 1615) impacted significantly the dynamics of Western literature. The renowned novel, which builds upon a considerable number of characters and episodes, is considered one of the most read and most analyzed pieces of literature in the world. This novel opens a wide platform for socio-political criticism, religious and cultural discussions, and literary analyses. For these reasons, critics read and study, and writers mention and imitate Cervantes’ novel up until today. A multitude of significant novels written by a variety of eminent authors share characteristics with Don Quixote, and thus become “quixotic.”

Classroom Discourse Of Elementary English Language Learners’ Writing Instruction In A Midwestern School, Marshall D. Klassen

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the discourse of English Language Learners’ writing instruction in a third and fifth grade classroom. Indiana has experienced great growth in the population of English Language Learners (ELLs) in the past ten years, with this school district sharing a similar trend with an increase of the number of ELLs in this schools’ population. This research took place in two classrooms with a high percentage of ELLs, utilizing a case study approach with teachers’ classroom discourse being analyzed through both a qualitative analysis and a Systemic Functional Linguistics discourse analysis. The findings of …

Effects Of Collaboration And Isomorphic Models On Transfer: An L2 Writing Investigation, Dennis Mitchell Koyama

Open Access Dissertations

How can feedback become a productive resource for students? Much of the research investigating the role of feedback in second language (L2) writing has set out to find an answer to this question. Based on the principle that feedback is given to students as a means of providing useful information to improve their writing (Bitchener, 2008, 2009; Hanaoka & Izumi, 2012), the discussion on feedback includes the idea that learners will transfer knowledge from feedback to improve subsequent writing (Hyland, 1998; Storch & Wigglesworth, 2010). When learners apply feedback to their subsequent writing, they are using collected knowledge, which is …

Exploring Perceived Communicative Competence In Upper-Level L1 And L2 Interactions In Higher Education, Heejung Kwon

Open Access Dissertations

The present study explores how university-level second language learners of English prepare themselves for professional worlds in English-speaking environments in a North American context. I specifically look at how upper-level L2 students (second language learners) identify their needs and negotiate miscommunications and preconceived notions of L2 learners in various communicative events in the process of developing communicative competence (Canale & Swain, 1980; Hymes, 1972) and planning for their future careers. I also investigate how L1 English speakers (native speakers of English) form perceptions of L2 English speakers and negotiate miscommunications and misunderstandings while engaging in collaborative projects. Using ethnographic approaches …

Incorporating Interactive Electronic Storybooks Into Shared Reading Programs By Kindergarten Teachers: A Multiple Case Study, Sha Yang

Open Access Dissertations

This qualitative study investigated how two kindergarten teachers used interactive electronic storybooks (referred to as e-storybooks) for shared reading, as well as their attitudes towards adopting this tool as a resource for shared reading. The research inquiry was guided by three research questions: 1) What instructional strategies did the kindergarten teachers employ to try to achieve pedagogical effectiveness of the e-storybooks for shared reading programs? 2) What problems did the kindergarten teachers encounter in utilizing the e-storybooks for shared reading programs, and how did they try to overcome them? 3) What were the kindergarten teachers’ attitudes towards adopting e-storybooks as …

The Road To Vienna: Habsburg And Ottoman Statecraft During The Time Of Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa Paşa (1676-1683), Yasir Yilmaz

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation comparatively analyzes Habsburg and Ottoman decision-making and statecraft during the time of Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa Paşa (1676-1683). I synthesize Habsburg diplomatic reports and Ottoman chronicles to show that during the peace negotiations between the Habsburg envoys and Kara Mustafa Paşa’s court before the second Turkish siege of Vienna in 1683, the two state’s diplomatic postures were shaped by their different court structures. At the end, in response to the religiously-oriented explanations of early modern Habsburg-Ottoman confrontations, I argue that the monumental encounter in 1683 was a product of the difference between the two states’ governmental priorities and …

Toward World Englishes Writing: Is It Idealism In The Introductory Composition Class?, Shih-Yu Chang

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of the present study is to discover how teaching college introductory composition for international students within the World Englishes paradigm looks like. The study was conducted through questionnaires, blog entries, and interviews across three semesters in a public university in Indiana, America. In total, three introductory composition classes consisting of 41 students participated the study. The students were introduced to World Englishes through a series of related readings and the designed World Englishes workshop while they were also prepared for writing for other university courses. The results of this mixed-method study show that by learning about World Englishes, …

Cultivating Multicultural Education In Islamic Schools In The U.S: Teachers' Perspectives About Diversity In Islamic Schools, Kadriye El-Atwani

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the perspectives of six teachers who have taught in Islamic schools in the U.S. to comprehend the general context of multicultural education in Islamic schools. This study was designed as a descriptive collective case study primarily to investigate how racial, class, national, language and gender diversity were observed in six different Islamic schools’ climates and classrooms. Designing this research as a collective case study fostered the exploration of various social dynamics among Muslim communities in the U.S., and exemplified different characteristics of Muslim communities through the six cases. Key findings and analyses …

Elementary School Teachers' Attitudes Towards Multilingualism And Language Policy: Kazan, Russia, Alsu M. Gilmetdinova

Open Access Dissertations

The dissertation adopts a transdisciplinary approach to study schools as sites of language policy implementation. Contributions of language policy, TESOL and multilingual education, and linguistic anthropology help understand the role of teachers in language education. Of particular interests are teachers’ attitudes towards multilingualism and language policies, namely, the learning and teaching of national (Russian), titular (Tatar) and foreign (English) languages, as well as teachers’ negotiation of language policies in school. Federal, regional and school policy documents, 25 teacher interviews and site observations from a Tatar-medium school (1), a Russian-medium school (2) and a school with intensive English language program (3) …

First Graders As Sensitive Social Partners And Skilled Readers, Zaira R. Arvelo Alicea

Open Access Dissertations

This mixed methods dissertation is guided by a sociocultural framework and a pragmatist stance to contribute to early literacy scholarship about minority children. In particular, I explore the relationship between low socioeconomic status Puerto Rican children’s reading experience and their social cognition by: (1) assessing them through quantitative and qualitative measures that reveal their capacities in these areas at the end of their first grade year, and (2) documenting their reading experiences at home and at school through ethnographic qualitative methods. The analyses revealed significant positive correlations between the tests of reading and social understanding, a scarcity of conventional reading …

Assessment Of The Technical And Economic Potential Of Automated Estrus Detection Technologies For Dairy Cattle, Karmella Ann Dolecheck

Theses and Dissertations--Animal and Food Sciences

Poor estrus detection can limit the reproductive performance of a dairy herd. One objective of this research was to evaluate an alternative method to traditional estrus detection in the form of automated monitoring technologies. To accomplish this, the first study considered the ability of automatically monitored parameters (activity, number of steps, lying bouts, lying time, feeding time, rumination time, and temperature) to detect estrus. A second study compared automated activity monitoring to timed artificial insemination as reproductive management strategies on commercial herds. The other objective of this research was to evaluate the economic potential of automated estrus detection technologies. This …

Arbitration Agreements In Arkansas After Concepcion, John C. Williams

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Hitchhiking The Labyrinth, Tom Gage

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

James Moffett’s best friend recalls Moffett’s enduring influence on his own extraordinary career, as well as Moffett’s substantial contributions to AEPL.

Exceptions Meet Absolutism: Outlawing Governmental Underreach In Health Law, Christina S. Ho

Denver Law Review

No abstract provided.

From A-Town To Atl: The Politics Of Translation In Global Hip Hop Culture, Holger Droessler

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

This article examines the linguistic and cultural tensions in global Hip Hop culture through an analysis of the performance of Gsann, an emcee from the Tanzanian Hip Hop crew X Plastaz, at the 2009 Black Entertainment Television (BET) Hip Hop Awards in Atlanta. Gsann's rhymes in Swahili, his emphasis on religion, and his global travels distinguished him from his African American colleagues in the cipha. At the same time, the decision by the BET producers to translate Gsann's Swahili rhymes into English has to be seen within the longer history of cultural and linguistic politics in Tanzania and the United …

Are Bilateral Investment Treaties And Free Trade Agreements Drafted With Sufficient Clarity To Give Guidance To Tribunals?, Benard Hanotiau

American University Business Law Review

No abstract provided.

Challenges To The Credibility Of The Investor-State Arbitration System, Michael Nolan

American University Business Law Review

No abstract provided.

Immigrant Lawyers And The Changing Face Of The U.S. Legal Profession, Ethan Michelson

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

In this Comment, I extend Lazarus-Black and Globokar's analysis further downstream to consider the stakes for the U.S. legal profession as a whole. Gatekeepers to LL.M. programs are doing far more than determining individual fates and collectively shaping the future of U.S. legal education. I will demonstrate in this Comment that their work helps shape-in concrete, measurable ways-the demographic composition of the U.S. legal profession. In so doing, I will contribute to the emerging field of legal demography, which refers to the study of lawyers through the analysis of data not collected for this specific purpose.

Foreign Attorneys In U.S. Ll.M. Programs: Who's In, Who's Out, And Who They Are, Mindie Lazarus-Black, Julie L. Globokar

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

In recent decades, there has been a remarkable growth in the number of foreign attorneys enrolled at U.S. law schools and particularly in LL.M. programs. To learn more about these students and how they fare, we conducted research in two law schools, one in the Midwest and the second on the East Coast. We examine the admissions process for foreign attorneys from the perspectives and experiences of both the administrators who make admissions decisions and the students who seek admission. We consider the layered international, national, state, and local laws that complicate the selection process, as well as the standards …

The Aspiring And Globalizing Graduate Law Student: A Comment On The Lazarus-Black And Globokar Ll.M. Study, Jayanth K. Krishnan, Vitor M. Dias

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

As a thought experiment, in the next section we present a theoretical frame (that builds on what previous scholars have discussed) for understanding motivation-as it relates to the subject focused on by Lazarus-Black and Globokar. Based on this model, we then postulate an alternative motivation for why foreign applicants might wish to pursue their LL.M. studies. We base our hypothesis on the experiences we have had in two countries we know well: India and Brazil. Because this is just a short Comment, we leave the empirical work on our proposal for future research. Our hope is that this exercise might …

Toward Permanence: Addressing The Need For Accessible Premarital Care For Deaf Couples, Peter Christopher Myers

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Deaf people in America have become increasingly recognized in recent years as a distinct community. While Christianity within the Deaf community has a recorded history dating back some five hundred years, little is known regarding pastoral care for Deaf people and in particular, guidance in marriage preparation. In spite of the plethora of research on marriage preparation, little attention has been paid to Deaf couples and marriage preparation-its efficacy for them in enhancing marital satisfaction and avoiding divorce. This project addressed the inaccessibility of premarital-care resources in the church for Deaf couples whose first language is American Sign Language (ASL). …

Characterization Of Prose By Rhetorical Structure For Machine Learning Classification, James Java

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

Measures of classical rhetorical structure in text can improve accuracy in certain types of stylistic classification tasks such as authorship attribution. This research augments the relatively scarce work in the automated identification of rhetorical figures and uses the resulting statistics to characterize an author's rhetorical style. These characterizations of style can then become part of the feature set of various classification models.

Our Rhetorica software identifies 14 classical rhetorical figures in free English text, with generally good precision and recall, and provides summary measures to use in descriptive or classification tasks. Classification models trained on Rhetorica's rhetorical measures paired with …

Motivation And Learning Of Non-Traditional Computing Education Students In A Web-Based Combined Laboratory, Michael Jesse Green

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

Hands-on experiential learning activities are an important component of computing education disciplines. Laboratory environments provide learner access to real world equipment for completing experiments. Local campus facilities are commonly used to host laboratory classes. While campus facilities afford hands-on experience with real equipment high maintenance costs, restricted access, and limited flexibility diminish laboratory effectiveness. Web-based simulation and remote laboratory formats have emerged as low cost options, which allow open access and learner control. Simulation lacks fidelity and remote laboratories are considered too complex for novice learners.

A web-based combined laboratory format incorporates the benefits of each format while mitigating the …

Anticipating A Sea Change For Insider Trading Law: From Trading Plan Crisis To Rational Reform, John P. Anderson

Journal Articles

The Securities and Exchange Commission is poised to take action in the face of compelling evidence that corporate insiders are availing themselves of rule-sanctioned Trading Plans to beat the market. These Trading Plans allow insiders to trade while aware of material nonpublic information. Since the market advantage insiders have enjoyed from Plan trading can be traced to loopholes in the current regulatory scheme, increased enforcement of the existing rules cannot address the issue. But, simply tweaking the existing rule structure to close these loopholes would not work either. This is because the SEC adopted the current rule as a part …