Digital Commons Network^™

Analysis Of Small Muscle Movement Effects On Eeg Signals, Erhan E. Yanteri

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, the artefactual effects of the small muscle movements were investigated. Upper frequency bands (30 Hz) of the EEG signal were extracted in order to investigate the artefactual effects of the small muscle movements. When the contamination level is high, the detection of the small muscle artifact can be made with the 92.2% accuracy. If these artifacts are really small such as a single finger movement, the detection accuracy decreases to 64%. But, the detection accuracy increases to 72% after removing the eye blink artifacts. The results of the classification support our hypothesis about the artefactual effects of …

Spacex: Breaking The Barrier To The Space Launch Vehicle Industry, Matthew M. Liskowcyz

Theses and Dissertations

The Space Launch Vehicle (SLV) industry has been around for a long time, but few companies have managed to enter this industry. SpaceX was founded only 10 years ago, but it has managed to become a leader in the U.S. industry and a dominant player worldwide. The purpose of this thesis research is to discover what it took for SpaceX to break into this tightly controlled industry. A qualitative analysis was performed to compare SpaceX to companies that overcame the barriers of entry for their respective industries. SpaceX, like FedEx, could implement a unique technique to the industry and find …

An Information Theoretic Investigation Of Complex Adaptive Supply Networks With Organizational Topologies, Joshua V. Rodewald

Theses and Dissertations

Supply networks exist throughout society in manufacturing and knowledge-intensive industries as well as many service industries. Organizations have been noted to behave as complex adaptive systems or information supply networks with both formal and informal structures. Thoroughly understanding supply network structure and behavior are critical to managing such organizations effectively, but their properties of complex adaptive systems make them more difficult to analyze and assess, forcing researchers to rely on unrealistic data or assumptions of behavior. This research proposes an information theoretic methodology to discover such complex network structures and dynamics while overcoming the difficulties historically associated with their study. …

The Perceived Social Norms Of Courtship Initiation In Various Social Situations, Peter Ray Concepcion

Ursidae: The Undergraduate Research Journal at the University of Northern Colorado

There have been a small number of studies that have examined different aspects of courtship such as courtship strategies, forms of communication, and various factors that affect the level of attraction between two individuals. However, very few researchers have examined the common techniques or methods that individuals use when initiating courtship. The current study investigated the common techniques that college students prefer when initiating courtship, whether there were any differences between men and women, and whether there was a difference in on-campus and off-campus scenarios regarding the most commonly preferred method. Forty-three undergraduate students, 36 females and 7 males, at …

Language Policy And The Preparedness Of Mainstream Teachers For Serving Els In K-12 Classrooms, Laureen A. Fregeau, Robert D. Leier

TAPESTRY

English language learners (ELs) numbers are increasing steadily in classrooms across the United States. Some southeastern states have seen more than a 200% EL student increase in recent years (Migration Policy Institute, 2010). Since the inception of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and especially since Title I “flexibility” revisions, responsibility for educating ELs has shifted from ESOL and bilingual teachers to primarily mainstream teachers. States that have opted out of NCLB under flexibility revisions are no longer as accountable to the U. S. Department of Education for the education of ELs. States and school districts are no longer required to …

An Esol Curricular Model: Infuse Esol Standards In Teacher Education, Deborah L. Wheeler, Jane M. Govoni

TAPESTRY

Florida approved teacher preparation programs provide coursework in English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) based on a mandate that began for graduates in 2004; however, there are few studies on the effects of an ESOL integrated model. The data show that an ESOL-infused program effectively prepares teacher candidates in demonstrating ESOL standards. The data were applied to a Likert scale and the results revealed that the program ranked between the ranges of average and exceeds expectations. The results will foster further research on a larger scale on ways to effectively prepare teacher candidates to work with English learners (ELs).

Book Review, Joe Terantino, Susanne Kelley

TAPESTRY

Stanley, G. (2013). Language learning with technology: Ideas for integrating technology in the classroom. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Cambridge University Press.

Literacy In Our Lives, Past, Present And Future: Exploring Digital Stories By Uae Pre-Service Teachers, Patience A. Sowa

TAPESTRY

The purpose of this research study was to examine how pre-service teachers in a college of education in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) used multimodal digital storytelling to explore their language and literacy learning experiences in Arabic and English. Twenty-one pre-service teachers participated in this qualitative study. Drawing on the digital stories, reflection papers and open-ended surveys as data, the study explored the pre-service teachers’ bilingual literacy language experiences and how they created their digital stories. Emerging themes included early experiences in language and literacy learning at home and at school, and expanded notions of literacy. The memoirs offered a …

Toward Integrative Call: A Progressive Outlook On The History, Trends, And Issues Of Call, Kasumi Yamazaki

TAPESTRY

With the advancement of technology now allowing complex and intricate simulation gaming and virtual reality (VR), current trends and issues in language learning extend their research on the topic of digital literacy, aiming to find the ways in which the use of technology fosters, or perhaps hinders, overall performance of language learning. While there have been many published articles that claim the successful utilization of technology and digital media into the classroom, there are considerably few that deliver a successful integration of theory into practice. To address this issue, this paper provides a historical review of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL), …

Problems And Possibilities: Emergent Bilinguals And Multimodalities, Kathy Marie Bussert-Webb

TAPESTRY

This commentary and review focuses on my teaching and research experiences with Mexican-heritage youths in the lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas, alongside Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico. Most of these youths were emergent bilinguals of poverty. I argue that high-stakes testing environments limited their experiences in diverse sign systems, including technology, in and out of school. These youths engaged in entertainment and friendship uses of technology outside of school, even though most had access to up-to-date digital tools at home for more higher-order technology use. They did not appear to have mentors or teachers who taught them to use …

Multiliteracy In Three English As A Second Language (Esl) Middle School Classrooms, Elena Andrei

TAPESTRY

This study investigated the teaching of multiliteracy in three middle school English as a Second Language Arts classrooms. The research question was: How are English learners (ELs) developing multiliteracy - defined as critical literacy, electronic literacy, and socio-cultural literacy, if at all, in middle school ESL Language Arts classrooms? Collected data consisted of classroom observations, transcribed teacher and focus student interviews; copies of teacher and student artifacts such as handouts and student notebooks. The findings of the study suggest that teachers did not teach all aspects of multiliteracy and the students seemed to be developing mostly electronic literacy, but not …

Microblogging: Using Digital Literacies To Engage Middle School English Learners, Carolyn J. Stufft, Susan Casey

TAPESTRY

As a result of the changing technologies associated with the 21st century, the definition of literacy has changed and expanded (Antonacci & O’Callaghan, 2011) to encompass e-books, text messages, blogs, and even videogames and the peripheral literacies associated with gaming. These new literacies have demonstrated promise for engaging students in literate practices (Gee, 2007; Gerber, 2009). One practice in particular, microblogging, provides a way to engage English learners in writing and responding to text. Microblogging is a participant web technology that allows users to interact and share information in succinct online posts (Hricko, 2010). For middle school English learners, microblogging …

Flying Without Dying: The Future Of Wingsuit Design, Maria E. Ferguson

ENGR 310: Technical Writing Final Project

Wingsuit flying is an extreme sport practiced by veteran skydivers and BASE jumpers. From 1930 to the 1960s, the attempt to create a functional wingsuit killed 96% of pioneers attempting to realize the dream of human flight. Today, hundreds fly in wingsuits, but flying remains a dangerous sport left to the select few We have the power to change that.

Building Age-Friendly Community: Notes From The Field, Rachel Filinson, Marianne Raimondo, Maureen Maigret

Sociology Between the Gaps: Forgotten and Neglected Topics

Building age-friendly communities is a global as well as a national concern. The purpose of this paper is to explore fundamental tensions underlying the formulation of age-friendly goals and their implementation, based on a review of age-friendly projects and reflections on the journey towards age friendliness in one state (Rhode Island). The authors conducted a comprehensive investigation of the relevant literature on previous age-friendly initiatives, which included case studies of individual projects, meta-analyses of age-friendly work, and educational toolkits for promoting age-friendly community. They also collected original data from ten focus groups with older adults, interviews with key informant service …

Exploring New Paths To Academic Literacy For English Language Learners, Mayra C. Daniel, Dong-Shin Shin

TAPESTRY

This article discusses a revised paradigm for understanding the role of technology in learning in today’s 21st century’s digital world. We propose that the digital literacy that is an integral part of learners’ daily lives requires a concentrated examination. We argue that appropriate selection and incorporation of current technologies in instruction can improve today’s schoolhouse and raise the academic achievement of English language learners. This commentary addresses the ways teachers prepare to use technology effectively in literacy education for collaborative learning, for multi-modal authoring, and for the virtual classroom. Specific applications are considered and recommended for classrooms with English learners.

Tapping The Potential Of El Paraprofessionals Through Professional Development, Michaela Colombo, Qing Zhao, Heidi Perez

TAPESTRY

Many paraprofessionals provide instructional support to English Learners (ELs), yet little research exists regarding their preparedness. Research on paraprofessionals in special education suggests that paraprofessionals are often under-prepared for their responsibilities. This paper explores ongoing professional development (PD) for paraprofessionals using findings from a study of the first year of a 5-year PD initiative for 109 paraprofessionals who worked with ELs in a high-poverty, high-minority urban district. Study findings are derived from the analysis of 57 participant reflection journals, interviews with 12 paraprofessional participants, a focus group with six PD providers, and de-identified observation and focus group data provided by …

Bridging The Gap: Preparing Teachers To Meet The Needs Of Ells Through Service-Learning, Michele Regalla

TAPESTRY

Although the U.S. student population has become increasingly diverse, our teaching force does not reflect equal levels of diversity. Teacher education programs are charged with the task of preparing pre-service teachers to meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students. This paper addresses one option for providing pre-service teachers with diversity experiences by offering a short term service-learning program abroad. Research has shown that pre-service teachers feel more prepared to meet the needs of English learners after their participation in international experiences with service-learning or study abroad. This paper presents practical guidance for teacher educators who wish to start …

“Textbooks Come Alive:” Engaging Teacher Candidates In Service-Learning To Enhance Their Learning About English Language Learners, Carla Amaro-Jiménez, Kim K. Winter

TAPESTRY

This article describes the results of a Service-Learning collaboration initiative between several community partners and two teacher preparation programs (i.e., bilingual education and middle level education) at a large, urban university in the Southwest. We draw on data collected from a total of 77 teacher candidates (38 in bilingual education and 39 in middle level education) who were enrolled in a course focusing on methods of literacy instruction for ELL. The manuscript focuses on the impact that participating in Service-Learning had on teacher candidates’ personal, professional, and academic experiences as they worked with ELL as part of their teacher preparation …

Schemes And Sense: Teaching Creative Writing With Design In Mind, Ben Gunsberg

Journal of Creative Writing Studies

This essay proposes a theoretical conception of design particularly suited for the creative writing classroom and suggests teaching strategies that enhance what I refer to as students’ design sense. Drawing upon the work of Francis Christensen, I highlight instructional approaches that reposition and reformat texts on the page such that the functional relationships between sentence elements are made more concrete and thus more comprehensible to students. I argue that by helping students see the subtle part-to-part and part-to-whole dynamics within sentences, creative writing teachers inspire students to move beyond their usual stylistic and syntactical tendencies.

What’S Creative About Creative Writing? Critical Pedagogy And Transversal Creativity, Erick Piller

Journal of Creative Writing Studies

As creative writing studies emerges as a field, scholars should interrogate the meanings and possibilities of creativity in the educational contexts of creative writing. This article draws from the ideas of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari to propose the concept of transversal creativity, which emphasizes agency and self-invention through a realized meshing of discourses and identities—ways of speaking, writing, thinking, and being that cut across and run between established discourses and subject positions. Conceived in this light, creativity can bring critical pedagogy into the creative writing course.

Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Exemplary National Blue Ribbon Elementary School Principals In Improving Student Learning Through Effective Coaching Conversations With Their Teachers: A Phenomenological Study, Colleen Flavin

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to discover and describe how exemplary National Blue Ribbon elementary school principals improve student learning through effective coaching conversations with their teachers. A second purpose was to explore the barriers they encountered to holding these conversations and the actions to overcome these barriers.

Methodology: This study utilized a phenomenological design. The primary source of data collection was a standardized open-ended interviews. Using inductive analysis, the data were coded and themes were identified that aligned to the research questions.

Findings: Data analysis revealed that exemplary National Blue Ribbon elementary school principals used coaching conversations …

Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Exemplary National Blue Ribbon Elementary School Teachers In Improving Student Learning Through Effective Coaching Conversations With Their Principals: A Phenomenological Study, Kristin Watson

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to discover and describe how exemplary National Blue Ribbon Elementary School teachers improve student learning through effective coaching conversations with their principals. A second purpose was to explore the barriers they encountered to holding these conversations and actions they took to overcome barriers. The theoretical framework for this study was grounded in Lev Vygotsky’s sociohistorical viewpoints of development which relies on social interaction as an ingredient in the process of learning.

Methodology: This study employed a qualitative methodology utilizing in-depth and semi-structured interviews of 12 participants. Participants were identified in collaboration with the …

Nietzsche's Spiritual Exercises, Babette Babich

Articles and Chapters in Academic Book Collections

Nietzsche’s third Untimely Meditation, composed in 1874, Schopenhauer as Educator, reflects upon and describes a “spiritual exercise” not unlike the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, detailing tactics and including practical advice. Thus Nietzsche’s “spiritual exercises” correspond to the traditional practice of self-cultivation, self-education, characteristic of the Stoic philosophers but also influential for the Hellenistic neo-Platonic tradition, the church fathers, and St. Augustine, author of De Magistro and the Confessions. Beyond antiquity, spiritual exercises refer to a theological practice of selfcultivation and self-discipline.

Optimism As A Mediating Factor In The Relationship Between Anxiety And News Media Exposure In College Students, Danielle Hoyt

Honors Projects in Applied Psychology

Recently, media research has focused on young people to determine what effect violent media images may have on aggressive behavior, but little research has investigated the kind of psychological distress similar images may cause. What emotional impact does increased exposure to negative and even violent news coverage have on young adults? In this study, the relationship between such news media and anxiety levels is examined, as well as the possible mediating role that an optimistic life orientation may play in that relationship. It is hypothesized that the degree to which these individuals follow news media will positively correlate with their …

Can Student Assistants Effectively Provide Chat Reference Services? Student Transcripts Vs. Librarian Transcripts, Vera J. Lux, Linda Rich

University Libraries Faculty Publications

To determine if undergraduate student information desk assistants were effectively staffing the library's chat reference service, librarians at Bowling Green State University embarked on a chat transcript analysis project, comparing the performance of librarians to student assistants. Although student desk assistants generally did not perform as well as librarians, it was concluded that with a renewed emphasis on continual oversight and training, students were a very viable option for staffing a chat reference service.

Psychology Sociology Alum Starts As Senior Analyst In January, Ohio University College Of Arts & Sciences

All Forum Articles

No abstract provided.

Generation Of Flower High-Order Poincaré Sphere Laser Beams From A Spatial Light Modulator, T. H. Lu, T. D. Huang, J. G. Wang, L. W. Wang, Robert R. Alfano

Publications and Research

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a new complex laser beam with inhomogeneous polarization distributions mapping onto high-order Poincaré spheres (HOPSs). The complex laser mode is achieved by superposition of Laguerre-Gaussian modes and manifests exotic flower-like localization on intensity and phase profiles. A simple optical system is used to generate a polarization-variant distribution on the complex laser mode by superposition of orthogonal circular polarizations with opposite topological charges. Numerical analyses of the polarization distribution are consistent with the experimental results. The novel flower HOPS beams can act as a new light source for photonic applications.

Provider Liability And Medical Identity Theft: Can I Get Your (Insurance) Number?, Thomas Clifford

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

No abstract provided.

A Town Wants Visitor Feedback? There’S An App For That, Sarah Schaier

UNH Today Archive

No abstract provided.

Relief Fund Proposed For New Hampshire’S Dairy Farms, Sarah Schaier

UNH Today Archive

No abstract provided.