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Teachers' Of Students With Visual Impairments Perceptions And Experiences Of Teaching The Expanded Core Curriculum, Renae T. Bjorg

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the qualitative research study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of teachers of students with visual impairments (TSVIs) in the state of North Dakota regarding the expanded core curriculum (ECC). This study included transcribed interviews from six TSVIs who taught in grades K-12.

The National Agenda for the Education of Children and Youths with Visual Impairments, Including Those with Multiple Disabilities was used to frame this study. Phenomenological methods were used to analyze the interviews into codes, categories, themes, and an assertion. Following were the seven themes supported by the data collected:

1. Teachers of students …

The Relationship Of Substance Use, Biological Sex, And Age To Defender Behaviors In Middle And High School Students In Rural Schools, Amanda D'Ottavio

Theses and Dissertations

While there are many studies looking at the characteristic of defenders in bullying situations, the literature regarding defender behaviors and substance use is lacking. In a sample of rural adolescents, the current study aims to examine the relationship between defender behaviors, substance use, biological sex and age. Rural middle and high school youth from six Northern Plains schools in the Midwest (N = 264) completed a self-report survey. Surveys were created to examine defender behaviors and substance use, and a demographic questionnaire collected biological sex and grade level. Grade level was used in place of age. A relationship between defender …

School Experiences Of Middle School Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Shannon D. Grave

Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study examined the school experiences of adolescents with high functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in sixth through eighth grade. Two research questions guided this study: what were the participants’ day to day experiences and what were their perceptions of those experiences? The results of the study yielded three conclusions. First, school can be a confusing and unpredictable source of stress. This stress can be ameliorated through increased predictability in the classroom and through adaptations to materials based on individualized needs and preferences. Specific classroom based strategies were identified and discussed, with clear shared preferences emergent. Participants indicated preferences …

Old Tales, New Renditions: The Foundations And Development Of Anti-Semitic Ritual Murder Libels With Emphasis On A Shift In Centrality From Crucifixion To Blood Motifs In Late Medieval And Early Modern German Contexts, Evan John Halbach

Theses and Dissertations

The terms “ritual murder libel” and “blood libel” both refer primarily to medieval and early modern anti-Semitic allegations that Jews murdered Christian children on religious holidays, either to abuse or profane Christ and Christians, or to acquire Christian blood for use in Jewish ritual, sorcery, or as a medicine to treat stereotypical racial infirmities. Scholars to this point have generally treated the two libels as either synonymous, or have considered distinctions to be relatively insignificant. Insufficient treatment has been given to an inversion of primary and secondary motivations attributed to the libels’ constructed villains. In “ritual murder libels,” contempt for …

The Impact Of Trauma On Children’S Functioning And The Utility Of The Cbcl Ptsd Profile, Nicola Ashton Herting

Theses and Dissertations

The high rates of trauma exposure among children and adolescents is a major public health concern due to the many ways trauma can adversely impact cognitive, emotional, and social development and functioning. The high rates of comorbidity between posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and other mental health disorders translate to complex diagnostic pictures. When conducting psychological, educational, or neuropsychological evaluations it is therefore imperative that clinicians assess for trauma to accurately diagnose, but ultimately to ensure appropriate recommendations for treatment and interventions are made. Several challenges to screening and assessing PTSS among children and adolescents have prompted the identification of efficient …

Ecocomposition As Writing Curriculum: An Ecological Approach For Writing Program Administrators And Composition Instructors, Erin Renee Lord Kunz

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation forwards an argument for an ecologically-based composition and rhetoric curriculum that also emphasizes the best practices established by the Council of Writing Program Administration, particularly the writing process. I concentrate on how a writing program administrator can utilize ecological literacy to navigate her own experience in a new place and also how themes of ecological literacy can be applied to the writing program itself. Based on personal experiences as well as literature that establishes the need for best practices in composition and rhetoric curriculum, I argue that ecological composition, or ecocomposition, can assist in implementing an ecological writing …

Impact Of Seasonality On Agricultural Productivity In Bangladesh, Mohammad Gulam Mostofa

Theses and Dissertations

This paper studies the impact of seasonality on agricultural productivity in Bangladesh for the period of 1980-2013 for 7 regions. This study exploits regional fixed effect to estimate the impact of both observed and unobserved effects on agricultural productivity in order to control for regional differences. I used a panel dataset for the fixed and random effect regression model to control omitted variables bias and endogeneity. Findings from this study expressed that the effects of all the climate variables are not significant to rice, wheat, and pulse yield. Maximum temperature and minimum temperature wet for rice, minimum temperature dry and …

Britain's First War With Kandy: Landscape, Violence, And Conquest In Colonial Sri Lanka, Elizabeth Anne Mjelde

Theses and Dissertations

Accounts of travel to Sri Lanka published during the period of British conquest (1796 through 1818) reveal a consistent yet problematic tendency: despite ongoing military conflict, visual artists constructed representations of the island as a peaceful and orderly place. The contradiction is heightened when travelers’ uniformly tranquil images of Sri Lanka are juxtaposed with documented acts of destruction to land and property, undertaken by troops during Britain’s first war with the inland kingdom of Kandy, a conflict which eventually led to the island’s complete colonization. The present study reconciles this contradiction through analysis of publications by each of five artists …

Parent Understanding Of K-6 Student Mathematics Performance Using Standards-Based Compared To Traditional Report Cards, Jill Ann Olson

Theses and Dissertations

More and more elementary schools are adopting standards-based report cards to report student achievement in an effort to communicate to parents their child’s mastery of standards at each grade level. The effect this has on parent understanding of their child’s achievement is still uncertain. A survey methodology was used in this quantitative study to examine parents’ understanding of their K-6 child’s mathematics performance when reported using standards-based compared to traditional report cards. The researcher sought to determine the effect understanding has on parents’ probability of providing at-home skill building activities in the areas in which the child is not performing …

Can You Really Predict Markets With Twitter?, Christopher Plenzick

Theses and Dissertations

In this paper, I attempt to apply an emotional proxy derived by applying

the Affective Norms for English Words (ANEW) to messages posted to the

Twitter social networking service in order to forecast the movement two stock

market indices: the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and the CBOE

Volatility Index (VIX). In contrast to previous works, I have compared the

results of various forecast models employing different sentiment variables, as

well as comparing the neural network approach to more standard logistic re-

gression. Additionally, several of the models used employ an as-yet unique

sentiment proxy, focusing on the average of …

Teacher Referral Following Natural Disasters, Melissa Anne Quincer

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has shown that teachers are common referral points for children

experiencing mental health difficulties. This is especially true in rural communities and a

major time of intervention has been following natural disasters, when there are not

enough mental health services in an area, or they are too taxed. This study sought to

explore teachers’ referral habits and determine if there is any difference when rural

challenges are present or if the teacher has previously experienced a disaster. To this end,

teachers were recruited, presented with vignettes that either contained rural challenges or

did not contain rural challenges and …

The Impact Of Power Status On Gender Stereotypes, Sexism, And Gender Discrimination Toward Women In The Workplace And The Career Identity Development Of Women, Juemei Yang

Theses and Dissertations

Women often experience unique barriers at workplace that hinder their career development (Whitley & Kite, 2010). In this study I focused on several of the barriers: gender stereotypes, sexism, and gender discrimination. Specifically, I examined the impact of career-related power, the gender of the perceiver, and the gender of the perceived on the endorsement of gender stereotypes, of sexist attitudes, and of gender discrimination. Significant results indicated that gender stereotypes and sexist attitude are most strongly endorsed by men with high power and women with low power. The largely insignificant results of discrimination also suggested that a climate change might …

The Invocative Use Of The Bible's Rhetorical Power In The Transcripts Of Anne Hutchinson's Trials, Carolyn D. Baker

Theses and Dissertations

Generally speaking, some Massachusetts Bay Colony Puritans invoke the rhetorical power of the Protestant Old and New Testaments in their writings to specify and dictate certain courses of action, especially during the period known as the Antinomian Controversy. These authoritarian, dogmatic, directive allusions to Scripture-- what I call the invocative use of the Bible's rhetorical power--appear frequently in some specific contemporaneous Massachusetts Bay Colony journals, sermons, and letters. The author employs these uses to establish the literary and interpretive contexts for the rhetorical use of the Bible in the transcripts of Hutchinson's civil and ecclesiastical trials. For example, the author …

Negotiating Higher Education In The Us: Voices Of Ghanaian Graduate Students At A Midwestern University, Mildred Emefa Biaku

Theses and Dissertations

In this case study, there was an examination to gain a deeper understanding of the

effects of social interactions experienced by Ghanaian Students with various actors in

curricular and co-curricular departments and perceptions of the support during these

social interactions. Recommendations were made for ways to enhance social interactions.

Data for this qualitative study was collected using three methods; non-participant

observation, interviews, and focus group discussions. Participants for the study were six

Ghanaian international students and five service providers selected from departments

across the campus of a university in the Midwest. It was found that there were systemic

issues that …

Redefining Islamic Identity: Cosmopolitanism In The Theater Of Tawfiq Al-Hakim And Akbar Ahmed, Gaber Abdelghaffar Abdelrahman Hasaneen

Theses and Dissertations

The question whether Islam is compatible with American, or generally “Western,” values has now imposed itself on public debates, gaining more urgency and traction with every tragic act of terrorism committed in the name of Islam. In these debates Islamic identity is usually defined in Orientalist terms. Fundamentalist Muslims reiterate Orientalist concepts of who a Muslim is. Orientalist observers on the one hand, and on the other fundamentalist Muslims have defined Islam as the West’s inimical Other, which has made the so-called clash of civilizations sound inevitable.

I argue that cosmopolitan observers challenge these misrepresentations. Representation, particularly self-representation, of the …

Paying But Half Heed To My Father And His World: Daughters And Fathers In Postcolonial Texts Of South Africa And Ireland, Jody Lee Jensen

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation reads novels from South Africa and Ireland by noted writers like Nadine Gordimer and William Trevor, in order to examine how the peripheral and underanalyzed literary daughter has been increasingly used as a symbol of the developing postcolonial state. This reading focuses especially on the daughter-father dyad and how through this relationship the daughter reconfigures herself as what Kwame Anthony Appiah has elsewhere called "a partial cosmopolitan" - that is, a individual connected to both the local environment and to the larger global culture. This dual connection that I trace is established in a range of ways throughout …

Hommage Á Trois: A Tale Of Some Very Hungry Grammia Spp. Caterpillars, Katherine Hernandez

Theses and Dissertations

Larvae of the Arctiinae use an impressive arsenal of defenses to protect themselves against natural enemies. Several species within this subfamily have been studied for their defensive capabilities, specifically the use of plant secondary metabolites. Life history and sequestration patterns of secondary metabolites have been well documented for Grammia incorrupta; however, little information exists for other species of Grammia. Furthermore, information on sequestration patterns during the immature stages of several Grammia spp. is largely unknown. To address these gaps in knowledge, I am conducting a comparative study of the chemical ecology and life history traits for the virgin tiger moth …

Exploring The Impact Of Self-Determination On The Political Practices Of The Turtle Mountain Band Of Chippewa Indians: A Critical Content Analysis, Terri Jean Martin-Parisien

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA) of 1975 specific to the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians (TMBCI). The purpose of this study was to provide evidence as to the impact of the ISDEAA on the Tribe as well as if, and how, the Tribe set their own definition of self-determination, above and beyond the definition of the ISDEAA. This study also examined the tensions that exist between the federal government and the TMBCI using federal policies such as the ISDEAA.

Tribal Critical Race Theory (TribalCrit) and Content Analysis were used as the theoretical framework …

Racial Microaggressions, College Self-Efficacy, And The Persistence Of Students Of Color In Predominantly White, 4 Year Institutions Of Higher Education, John Mccullagh

Theses and Dissertations

College students of Color face unique challenges and barriers in college settings (Allen, 1992; Harper & Hurtado, 2007) and many of these students are not able to effectively integrate into the academic and social realms of college life. This leads many students of Color to ultimately drop out of college (Fischer, 2007).The present study utilized a sample of 228 Freshman college students of Color to examine the influence of college self-efficacy and experiences of racial micro-aggressions on factors related to the persistence in college of racial and ethnic minority students. Structural equation modeling was utilized to test the direct and …

Paul Scott's "The Jewel In The Crown": A Novelist's Philosophy Of History And The End Of The British Raj, Kathryn Ann Hughes Nedegaard

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a study of Paul Scott’s best-known novel The Jewel in the Crown,

published in 1966. Scott noted that much of the research and writing on the British

Raj that ended in 1947, lacked an adequate understanding of the union that had

endured for more than three centuries. Scott believed too that many interpretations

of why the Raj ended relied too heavily on monolithic categories of “us and them”

and that they over-emphasized the socio-political and economic influences of

empire. He also believed that many scholars of the Raj ignored the love that existed

among all the people …

High/ Low Context Communication And Therapeutic Working Alliance Among Asian Americans, Yoshitaro Oba

Theses and Dissertations

Asian Americans utilize both high and low context communication styles depending on their values and cultural backgrounds. Their styles of communication are unique cultural factors and individualized by their level of acculturation. This study explored how those communication styles could contribute to the process of forming therapeutic relationships. The results indicated that communication styles were associated with levels of acculturation, help seeking attitudes for mental health professionals, and therapeutic working alliance. In addition, step wise multiple regression analysis indicated that interpersonal sensitivity in communication style and help seeking attitudes were predictor for therapeutic working alliance. These findings indicate how Asian …

Convective Cooling In A Pool-Type Research Reactor, Susan Sipaun, Shoaib Usman

Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

A reactor produces heat arising from fission reactions in the nuclear core. In the Missouri University of Science and Technology research reactor (MSTR), this heat is removed by natural convection where the coolant/moderator is demineralised water. Heat energy is transferred from the core into the coolant, and the heated water eventually evaporates from the open pool surface. A secondary cooling system was installed to actively remove excess heat arising from prolonged reactor operations. The nuclear core consists of uranium silicide aluminium dispersion fuel (U₃Si₂Al) in the form of rectangular plates. Gaps between the plates allow coolant …

Perspectives Of Male American Indian Students In A Predominantly White Higher Education Institution, Patricia Ann Queen Jordheim

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions of male American Indian students and their strategies for staying enrolled in school and to determine what issues they were facing while attending a predominantly-White institution (PWI) of higher education in the Northern Plains. Participants consisted of seven male American Indian students attending school during the 2014-2015 academic school year. Resistance theory provided a framework for this research on male American Indian students and their perceptions of cultural dominance and their responses concerning assimilation and the campus cultural climate. The Hypothesis of Transculturation is a bridge to how male …

The Impact Of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (Tavi) On Cognition: Evaluating The Relationship Between Changes In Cognitive Function, Cerebral Injury, Physical Ability, And Mood, Jaclyn Reckow

Theses and Dissertations

Aortic stenosis is a cardiovascular disease affecting 2 to 4% of U.S. adults over

age 65 years old (Freeman & Otto, 2006). Aortic stenosis causes angina and syncope

eventually leading to heart failure and death (Otto, 2006). Transcatheter aortic valve

implantation (TAVI) is an alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement in patients with

high surgical mortality risk (Kappetein, 2013). The TAVI is associated with increased

cerebral injury, with silent ischemia reported in up to 90% of TAVI patients (Samim et

al., 2015). The present study examines the relationship between cerebral injury, cognitive

changes, and quality of life in TAVI patients. …

Analysis Of The Developing States In The Mena Region Seeking Civilian Nuclear Energy, With A Primary Focus On The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia (Ksa) And The United Arab Emirates (Uae), Thaqal Alhuzaymi, Ayodeji Babatunde Alajo

Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

The comprehensive analysis presented here attempts to ana­lyze “newcomer” states in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), primarily the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and Unit­ed Arab Emirates (UAE), seeking to implement civilian nuclear energy according to their political and economic situations. By investigating their motivations and funding resources for fu­ture nuclear projects, this analysis provides guidance for these states in terms of their nuclear infrastructure and nonprolifera­tion. The overall approach of this analysis relies on the factors for the success of civilian nuclear energy programs identified in experiential studies conducted since the Atoms for Peace speech in 1953.This …

Insatiability And Crisis: Using Interdisciplinarity To Understand (And Denaturalize) Contemporary Humans, Sean P. Macdonald, Costas Panayotakis

Publications and Research

This chapter illustrates how collaboration between different social sciences can encourage students to think critically about prevailing assumptions regarding human nature. Both the chapter and the pedagogical experience on which it is based investigate the distinctive type of human created by capitalist society. In so doing, it takes a heterodox approach to analyzing the concept of an insatiable human nature through a case study that invites students to critically assess this perspective. This discussion then leads to an investigation and critique of traditional neoclassical Economic assumptions about human behavior, which forms the basis for a case study on the causes …

Tracing The Development Of Willie Stark And Its Place In American Opera, Betsy Marie Uschkrat

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Highly praised American composer Carlisle Floyd (b. 1925), well known for his musical dramas Susannah (1955) and Of Mice and Men (1970), wrote Willie Stark (1981), commissioned by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and later Houston Grand Opera. Floyd’s libretto and musical score was based upon Robert Penn Warren’s Pulitzer Prize-Winning novel All The King’s Men. Despite the vast amount of publicity it received at the premiere, this opera has only occasionally been performed in the last 35 years. Chapter One discusses Carlisle Floyd’s creation of Willie Stark. Chapter Two discusses the workshop performance of the piece. Chapter …

After Images: Using Augusto Boal's Image Theatre To Balance Artistry, Analysis, And Activism In The Performance Composition Process, Bonny Leah Mcdonald

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this study, I describe several performance experiments in which I applied Brazilian theatre artist Augusto Boal’s Image Theatre method to mobilize a composition process that is artistically exciting, politically relevant, and pedagogically engaging. Over the span of about seven years I used Image Theatre as the bedrock of my artistic practice as a director of social justice themed works for the stage. I show how using Image Theatre as a tool for performance composition can balance artistry (theatrical practice), analysis (cultural studies), and activism (collaborative struggles toward justice). To do so, I review relevant literature on Boal and Image …

Exploring Teaching Approaches And Sociocultural Dynamics In The Middle And High School English Second Language Teaching Environment From The Perspective Of The Multicultural Educator, Nancy Laguna Luque

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT The act of teaching in the middle and high school involves highly complex sociocultural dynamics in challenging environments. English second language specialists are the type of educators that closely work with the most at risk students in that context. This study explored middle and high school multicultural ESL instructors’ literacy delivery approaches, the understanding they have of difficulties in their field of action, and their particular awareness, interpretation of otherness and attitudes regarding the specific characteristics of their working milieu. This qualitative study utilized participant observation and Developmental Research Sequence (Spradley, 1980) as the systematic approach to gather and …

Introduction To "The Depression Era: A Historical Exploration Of Literature", Aaron Barlow

Publications and Research

Here, you will find something other than standard essays about the four featured novels, something different, actually, from that generally contained in even the "literary biographies" popular at the time of their publication, an old-fashioned style of criticism even then coming to be sneered at by those contemporary scholars of the thirties who would soon come to be called "New Critics."