Digital Commons Network^™

Importance Of Accommodating Elementary School Students With Learning Disabilities, Angelica R. Rivera

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This senior capstone examines the rationale why it is important to accommodate the students with learning disabilities at the elementary schools. Mainstreaming students with disabilities with those in regular general education classrooms remains a very important issue for principals and teachers. Through the use of literature review and interviews with a principal and a teacher from their respective schools in the Monterey County area, the results show that there is a gap between the services provided to students with learning disabilities.

Mexica Music, Tizoc E. Ramirez-Marquez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This paper explores the society of Mexica, or the Aztecs, and some of the instruments that were produced in the civilization and used in today’s compositions. The history and their creation mythology will also be deliberated for those individuals who do not know this information of the culture. In the history, the subjects of the Mexica constructing a giant city in a lake to the conquest that was lead by Hernan Cortez will be discussed. The creation story will also exhibit the ideology of the Mexica and how their culture is sustained before the conquest. In the music section, the …

The Role Of Principals In Creating A Healthy Environment For Teachers And Students, Mirel T. Mejia

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

When one observes high or low student achievement, teachers’ performance seems to be the focus. Do we ever observe or question how leadership affects a schools environment? This senior capstone research project examines the role principals play in creating a healthy environment for teachers and students. Through the use of interviewing principals, teachers and surveys with students, the results show that when teachers feel supported by their principals, they perform better and students do well academically and socially. This senior capstone shed some light on the role of principals that help us understand the effects of good and bad leadership …

Seeing Special Needs Education Through The Eyes Of Girls Like Us, Hailey Leighton

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The young adult novel, Girls Like Us, by Gail Giles, tells a story of two young ladies—Quincy and Biddy—seeking to live a rich life post-high school. Though fiction, Girls Like Us is an insightful curriculum for educators and pre-service teachers about the need for quality education for children with special needs. This capstone traces the history of the development and implementation of the Individualized Education Plan (IEP); which at its conception was herald as a strong tool to provide children with a quality educational program. Unfortunately, the IEP has often become a simple tool which does not, in fact, …

Words Are Sometimes Mightier Then Weapons, Edward M. Perez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

I have chosen for my senior capstone the Research Project Option. As a Human Communication major with a concentration in Practical and Professional Ethics, I will be using this research to show how previous works and theories written in the past and the present can be cross correlated to begin future vision. I will show how intellectual endeavors coupled with an ethical practice will prevail over past ways of being, especially in Western Civilization.

Epiphany Through Chaos, Sibel Borquez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This essay examines how each individual in a family going through a divorce is fighting through their own chaos and storms of the process. Psychological examinations, statistics, cases and personal experience are used as examples to demonstrate how these struggles help create and shape the children in the family and their identity; as well as the parents.

On The Trope Of Identity, Elizabeth Contreras-Garibay

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

I intend for my project to comprise of different literary genres from poetry and a creative nonfiction pieces. My project will focus on the struggle of searching for one's own identity, and the acceptance of bracing one’s own individuality. I will be discussing on issues such as: gender norms, assimilation, and cultural identity.

Who Is Really Behind The Username? (Re)Affirming Oneself In The Digital Age, Taylor Dixon

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

I am going to study authenticity and see the fluidity of the word over the passing decades and see if the meaning has changed due to societal changes. I am then going to study the digital age and show the progression of the internet. Starting from when at home computers were created to present day. After researching those topics I’m going to see if social media users are about to be authentic and true to their identities while using these online platforms. I want to look at case studies that represent authentic identities as well as inauthentic identities.

The Road Less Traveled, Brandon Caskey

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

I intend to write 5 poems and a short story, all of which is aimed at helping young people find their self-identity through natural experience. The short story will be a fiction piece that tells about my younger brother and I bonding in the outdoors while he searches for his identity. The poems are going to be about influence, solitude, and being yourself.

Beautifully Scarred: The Journey Through Recovery And Loving Thy Self, Racquel Ward

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

A personal anthology in the form of a creative nonfiction story that follows the journey I took as a young girl to finding myself after a lifetime of feeling alone and misunderstood by my family and my peers.

Safe And Sustainable Commutes, Mariana Del Valle Prieto Cervantes, Ian Deville, Darlenne Guerra, Giovanni Ibarra, Victoria Mcclellan, Rebecca Ortega

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

A group of six undergraduate students worked with a local city government, their professor, and other university leaders to develop a research project related to sustainable community transportation. A city road project was analyzed to understand the sustainability implications to a changing transportation system. By taking a closer look at the city and the adjacent residential community, the project was examined. Additionally, a university project was undertaken to investigate the adoption of an alternative transportation resource on campus. With this information gathered, the campus community has the ability to further utilize new resources to improve campus transportation sustainability.

Promoting Sustainable Transportation With Campus Car Policies And Public Outreach, Michelle Dela Cruz, Stephanie Samos, Kelcey Tern, Nathaniel Todd

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

In fall of 2016 at California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB), the Environmental Studies undergraduate program began offering its first group-based capstone course that was based on its first Projects for Sustainable City Year course (ENSTU 471). Capstone projects are a senior-level, project based graduation requirement for an undergraduate degree. The Sustainable City Year projects focused on increasing sustainable transportation at two locations; one in the nearby city of Salinas, California, and one on the CSUMB campus. A majority of the community in Salinas drive which has limited the quality and effectiveness of the shuttle system provided by Monterey-Salinas Transit …

Effects Of Classroom Relationships Between Students And Teachers On Emotional Development Of Elementary School Students, Hannah R. Allen

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Today, the current education system does not foster the emotional development of elementary school students. As a consequence, this affects student’s emotional development. Through the use of literature review, interview of a teacher, anonymous survey with five teachers and twenty-six elementary school students, this senior capstone research examines the effects of classroom relationships between students and teachers on the emotional development of elementary school students. The results indicate that classroom relationship does in fact foster the development of student emotional skills.

Reading Strategies Used By High School Japanese Language Learners, Tomoki Kuwana

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

World Readiness Standards emphasize the importance of language learners' proficiency in literacy as well as life skills in contemporary society and future. Implementing authentic materials into language instruction is encouraged due to its benefits. Yet adaption of authentic materials for reading is usually delayed until higher-level classes in Japanese instruction at secondary levels. This is often due to the Japanese writing system, which is a combination of hiragana, katakana, and kanji and configures meaning of a sentence. The present study investigated to what extent Japanese as a foreign language (JFL) high school learners use reading strategies when they read authentic …

Beyond Financial Need: Predictors Of Student Loans And Student Loan Attitudes, Jill M. Norvilitis, Meghan J. Batt

Journal of Student Financial Aid

Although public concern about student loan debt has been increasing, little research has examined predictors of debt beyond financial need or demographic factors. The present study explored the role of several psychological and attitudinal variables in student loan debt among 189 college students. Results indicate that loan initiative and loan resignation attitudes predicted level of student loan debt. In addition, locus of control, delay of gratification, and social comparison are also related to loans and loan attitudes. Parental instruction marginally predicted loan attitudes, but not loan totals. Overall, these results suggest the need to consider non-need based factors when counseling …

Which U.S. Households Use Education Loans?, Chungwen Hsu, Patti J. Fisher

Journal of Student Financial Aid

This empirical study uses the 2013 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) to investigate the characteristics of households that hold at least one loan for educational expenses. The benefit of using household-level data is that a single household may have education loans for multiple people in the household, including the household head, spouse/partner, and children. In studies of the education loan debt of individuals, the true effect on households may be overlooked. The present results show that the respondent’s age, respondent’s marital status, having at least one dependent child under the age of 18, net worth, home ownership, stock ownership, being …

Intravenous Ketamine For Subacute Treatment Of Refractory Chronic Migraine: A Case Series., Clinton Lauritsen, Santiago Mazuera, Richard B. Lipton, Sait Ashina

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Refractory migraine is a challenging condition with great impact on health related quality of life. Intravenous (IV) ketamine has been previously used to treat various refractory pain conditions. We present a series of patients with refractory migraine treated with intravenous ketamine in the hospital setting.

METHODS: Based on retrospective chart review, we identified six patients with refractory migraine admitted from 2010 through 2014 for treatment with intravenous ketamine. Ketamine was administered using a standard protocol starting with a dose of 0.1 mg/kg/hr and increased by 0.1 mg/kg/hr every 3 to 4 h as tolerated until the target pain score …

Time, Death, And Retribution, Chad Flanders

All Faculty Scholarship

The heart of a Lackey claim is that when a death row inmate is kept waiting too long for his execution, this delay can amount to cruel and unusual punishment — either because they delay is itself cruel and unusual, or because the execution on top of the delay is. All Lackey claims brought by death row inmates have failed, but not for want of trying. The usual complaint against Lackey claims is that those who, by their own appeals, delay their execution date cannot turn around and use that delay as an argument against their death sentences. I agree …

A Traders Guide To The Predictive Universe- A Model For Predicting Oil Price Targets And Trading On Them, Jimmie Harold Lenz

Doctor of Business Administration Dissertations

At heart every trader loves volatility; this is where return on investment comes from, this is what drives the proverbial “positive alpha.” As a trader, understanding the probabilities related to the volatility of prices is key, however if you could also predict future prices with reliability the world would be your oyster. To this end, I have achieved three goals with this dissertation, to develop a model to predict future short term prices (direction and magnitude), to effectively test this by generating consistent profits utilizing a trading model developed for this purpose, and to write a paper that anyone with …

Academic Affairs Update, December 2016, University Of Northern Iowa. Office Of The Provost And Executive Vice President For Academic Affairs.

Academic Affairs Update

Inside this issue:

-- Interview: Dean Gaëtane Jean-Marie

Tributes To W. A. Brandenburg, L. A. Guthridge, Eulalia E. Roseberry, G. W. Trout

William Aaron Brandenburg Documents

Article tributes from different contributors to Brandenburg

Hands, And Numbers, And Dots Oh My! Examining The Effect Of Nearby-Hands On Counting And Subitizing, Gabriel Allred

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The “nearby-hand” effect (Tseng, Bridgeman, & Juan 2012), an alteration of performance caused by the presence of our hands in the visuospatial area, has been found in learning, attention, and working memory tasks (Brockmole, Davoli, Abrams, & Witt, 2013a). However, no work to date has been published demonstrating a relationship between the nearby-hand effect and judgments of magnitude, including subitizing and counting. It is suggested by Tseng, Bridgeman, and Juan (2012) that nearby-hands affect attentional disengagement, yet little experimental evidence is available to support this notion. Given the serialized nature of counting, which requires attentional disengagement from item to item …

Nursing Students’ Nonacademic Barriers To Success On High Stakes Exams, Jennifer Bussen Bussen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Every nursing program wants its graduates to pass the NCLEX-RN licensure examination the first time they take it. For those who fail, entry into practice is delayed until they can pass the NCLEX-RN. The nursing programs that graduated students who fail may experience a loss of reputation, decreased numbers of potential applicants, and, ultimately, state board of nursing sanctions. In an effort to determine which students are likely to be successful in taking the NCLEX-RN, many programs have turned to end-of-program predictor exams such as the Health Education System Inc. (HESI) exit examination (E2) (Lauer & Yoho, 2013; Nibert & …

Improvement Of Security In Uas Communication And Navigation Using Ads-B, Vedadatta Gouripeddi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In this thesis, we congregate the security threats on UAS and suggest solutions using ADS-B device. UAS ground and intercommunication is prone to availability, confidentiality and integrity attacks. UAS communication has three layered wireless Ad-Hock network which comprises of Complex group key exchange. Loss of one layer in the Ad-hock network leads to a complete loss of communication in the network. Current UAS navigation methods include complete reliance on on-board sensors, radars and GPS. This research proposes solutions for UAS communication, navigation and collision avoidance using ADS-B. ADS-B acts as a back-up when there is a loss in any one …

Stationary Nonimaging Concentrators – A Comprehensive Study And Design Improvements, Srikanth Madala

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Most places on our planet receive an annual average radiation between 800-1000 W/m2. In the man-made world, this radiation is largely incident on stationary structures such as buildings, roads, monuments, bridges etc. Moreover, in the natural world also, there are large tracts of barren land which can be put to good use given their solar energy potential. The vision of the current research is to concentrate all this available solar energy to a more readily usable form. Therefore, stationary nonimaging solar concentrator technologies are sought after. This dissertation work is an exhaustive research on the nonimaging concentrating mechanisms with stationary …

Differential Cbct Analysis Of Collum Angles In Maxillary And Mandibular Anterior Teeth In Patients With Different Malocclusions, Erin Shane Wan Ma

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Background: The collum angle is an angular measurement of the difference between the longitudinal axis of the crown and the longitudinal axis of the root. The aim of this study was to determine the mean collum angles for all maxillary and mandibular anterior teeth. In addition, the collum angles of different molar and skeletal classifications were compared for each anterior tooth.

Methods: Based on patient records obtained from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, 326 CBCT scans were selected and divided into four molar and skeletal classifications. The patients were divided into Class I, …

School Connectedness: Comparing Students With Emotional And Behavioral Disorders To Their General Education Peers, Robert Jordon Marsh

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

School connectedness is the extent to which a student feels that adults and peers on their school campus care about their behavioral and academic success as well as their overall wellbeing. School connectedness is comprised of four factors: (a) bonding, (b) attachment, (c) engagement, and (d) climate. Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) may experience difficulty with developing high levels of school connectedness, which may lead to engagement in health-risk behaviors.

The purpose of this study was to determine the levels of school connectedness of students with EBD and compare them to the levels of their general education peers. …

Assessing A Potential Paleothermal Anomaly Near A Salt Wall Using (U-Th)/He Thermochronology And Silica Cementation Analysis, Onion Creek, Utah, Richard Gregory Ness

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Onion Creek salt wall in Fisher Valley, Utah is an exposed salt structure that lies adjacent to sandstones of the Permian age Cutler Group. The thermal conductivity of salt is two to four times greater than other sedimentary rocks and has been shown to act as a regional conduit for heat flow which has implications for petroleum systems in hydrocarbon exploration. Numerical models predict that thermal anomalies should extend 1.5 times the radius of a salt structure into adjacent strata. I hypothesized that an elevated paleothermal anomaly exists in sandstones of the Cutler Group where they are located near …

Alkali-Activated Natural Pozzolan/Slag Binder For Sustainable Concrete, Meysam Najimi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study aimed to fully replace Portland cement (PC) with environmentally friendly binders capable of improving longevity of concrete. The new binders consisted of different proportions of natural Pozzolan and slag which were alkaline-activated with various combinations of sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate. A step-by-step research program was designed to (1) develop alkali-activated natural Pozzolan/slag pastes with adequate fresh and strength properties, (2) produce alkali-activated natural Pozzolan/slag mortars to assess the effects of dominant variables on their plastic and hardened properties, and (3) finally produce and assess fresh, mechanical, dimensional, transport and durability properties of alkali-activated natural Pozzolan/slag concretes. The …

Simulation Of Online Bin Packing In Practice, Kalpana Rajagopal

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The bin packing problem requires packing a set of objects into a finite number of bins of fixed capacity in a way that minimizes the number of bins used. We consider the online version of the problem where items arrive over tine and a decision has to be made as soon as an element is available. Online algorithms can be analyzed in terms of competitiveness, a measure of performance that compares the solution obtained online with the optimal offline solution for the same problem, where the lowest possible competitiveness is best. Online processing is difficult due to the fact that …