Digital Commons Network^™

An Investigation Of Principal Leadership Behaviors And Implementation Of Adult Learning Strategies On The Professional Learning Environment Of A K-12 School, Christina Larson

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore the influence of principal leadership behaviors and potential of utilizing adult learning strategies on the development of a school’s professional learning environment (PLE). The intention was also to determine if principals considered themselves prepared to develop and sustain such an environment. Research shows that principals and teachers perceive professional development needs and results differently. To obtain perspective from both groups, two separate surveys were administered. The results from this dissertation came from 262 principals and 433 teachers employed in K-12 public schools in Indiana. With the survey completed by principals, the …

I Am Commanded To Love You: The Journey Of Three Women College Presidents, Carey Monroe

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This was a phenomenological study of the lived experiences of women who serve as college presidents. Three women, who serve as current college presidents, participated in this study. The first was a president at a two-year community college in the upper Midwest for twelve years and served as president in another Midwestern community college for nine years prior. The second woman was a first-time president who had served for three years at a Catholic four-year college established to provide nurses for a health system. The third was a first-time president who served at a Research I institution in the upper …

Teacher Evaluations: Do Classroom Observations And Evaluator Training Really Matter?, Sarah J. Pies

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if the minimum number of observations stated in a district’s teacher evaluation plan, observation characteristics described in a district’s evaluation plan, and the characteristic of those evaluating teachers had an impact on whether a school would receive a bonus or penalty point for Indiana’s A-F accountability model. This study analyzed both math and English/language arts bonus and penalty points for all schools whose district has been implementing the new mandated teacher evaluation plan since the 2012-2013 school year. This included 3,997 schools within 215 districts in Indiana. Overall, when predicting whether a …

Trends In Naep Scores Among 17-Year-Old Students In The Era Of Accountability, Katherine Kyler

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Education has undergone a sweeping renovation throughout the last several decades as part of the school accountability movement aimed to increase student success. High school graduation rates are the highest they have been in decades. School accountability measures continue to be implemented and modified with a goal of increasing student success and closing the achievement gap (Maleyko & Gawlik, 2011). Accountability measures are in place that require data analysis and reporting of information such as graduation rates and standardized test scores (No Child Left Behind Act [NCLB], 2008). While it is important to hold schools accountable, many of the currently …

An Exploration Of Job Satisfaction Levels, Pathways Into Education, And Recruiting Behaviors Of Teachers In Indiana, Tricia Johnson

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teacher retention and recruitment has been studied from many different perspectives, but there is limited research on the issue from the perspectives of current teachers. The purpose of this quantitative study was to gather data to fill a gap in the research concerning teacher recruiting behaviors by asking teachers if they were likely to encourage different categories of people (friend or relative, community member, current student, other students, recent high school graduate, and their own child) to enter the field of education as a profession. Analysis of the data from 2,083 current Indiana teachers found multiple statistically significant differences in …

Effect Of Directed Study Of Mathematics Vocabulary On Standardized Mathematics Assessment Questions, Adel Marlane Waite

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problems under investigation included (a) Did a directed study of mathematics vocabulary significantly affect student performance levels on standardized mathematical questions? and (b) Did the strategies used in this study significantly affect student performance levels on standardized mathematical questions? The population consisted of eighth-grade pre-algebra students from two different middle schools in southern Indiana. This quasi-experimental study was of a quantitative, repeated-measures design, using a population of approximately 140 eighth-grade students with a control sample of 37 and an experimental sample of 52. I performed a repeated measures ANCOVA to analyze scores from a mathematics vocabulary posttest for each …

Be Here Now, Katrina Luehrmann Rattermann

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Drawing from my religious upbringing and my identity as a millennial, Be Here Now investigates my personal conflicts with the Art object. The exhibition, comprised of two pink, celebratory installations made-on-site and displayed in adjacent spaces, is an exploration of superficiality. Displayed in spaces that are externally visible from the street, the installations invite audience participation. Through the use of placement, color, construction and material make up, the works provoke visceral reactions from the viewer. Though viewers are able to approach the installations from various vantage points, they are unable to physically enter the works and become immersed within the …

Food Insecurity And Emotional Health In The Usa: A Systematic Narrative Review Of Longitudinal Research, Meg Bruening, Lauren Dinour, Jose B.Rosales Chavez

Department of Nutrition and Food Studies Scholarship and Creative Works

Objective To examine the causal directionality in the relationship between food insecurity and emotional well-being among US-based populations. Design Systematic literature review from January 2006 to July 2016 using MEDLINE (PubMed), PsychInfo, Web of Science and CINHAL. Inclusion criteria were: written in English; examined a longitudinal association between food insecurity and emotional well-being. Setting The USA. Subjects Children and adults. Results Twelve out of 4161 peer-reviewed articles met inclusion criteria. Three articles examined the effect of emotional well-being on food insecurity, five studies examined the effect of food insecurity on emotional well-being, and four studies examined a bidirectional relationship. Most …

Evaluating Attitudes And Experience With Emerging Technology In Cadets And Civilian Undergraduates, Richard Pak, Ericka Rovira, Anne Collins Mclaughlin, William Leidheiser

Publications

Existing research on the characteristics of digital natives, traditionally defined as those born after 1980, has shown subtle differences in how they approach technology compared with other cohorts. However, much of the existing research has focused on a limited set of conventional technologies, mostly related to learning. In addition, prior research has shown differences within this cohort in how they respond to autonomous technology (e.g., trust, reliance; Pak, Rovira, McLaughlin, & Baldwin, 2016Pak, R., Rovira, E., McLaughlin, A., & Baldwin, N.(2016). Does the domain of technology impact user trust? Investigating trust in automation across different consumer-oriented domains in young …

Is Your Research Reproducible?, Andrée Rathemacher, Harrison Dekker, Amanda Izenstark

Technical Services Faculty Presentations

Slides from a presentation, "Is Your Research Reproducible?", offered at the University of Rhode Island Libraries on December 1 and December 5, 2017.

"Learn more about the reproducibility crisis, how tools like the Open Science Framework can help you contribute to solutions, and about how proper management of your code and data helps you and other researchers."

Part of the University Libraries' Search Savvy Seminar series.

Main file is a PDF file of speaker slides as presented. Supplementary file is a PDF file of speaker slides with notes, including extra slides that were not used for presentation.

Modern Interpretation Of Ornamentation In Naftule Brandwein’S Firn Di Mekhutonim Aheym And Der Heyser Bulgar, Michael Aaron Gersten

Dissertations

Research on the klezmer revival is wanting both in size and scope. Much of the existing research focuses on extra-musical influences on modern klezmer music with only tangential study of performance practice. This study seeks to inform the body of literature on klezmer performance practice by analyzing and comparing the interpretation of melody and ornamentation in modern performances of Der Heyser Bulgar and Firn di Mekhutonim Aheym, two of famed clarinetist Naftule Brandwein’s (1884–1963) most popular tunes. Analysis of ornamentation in modern performances of the selected recordings reveals a marked shift in modern style when compared to Brandwein’s original recordings. …

Improving Discharge Planning Using The Re-Engineered Discharge (Red) Program, Sterling L. Roberts, Leslie C. Moore, Brian Jack

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Translational and Clinical Research Projects

The 12-actionable items of the Re-Engineered Discharge Program (RED) are equipped to address essential areas to prevent hospital re-visits. Evidence supports the use of nurses to complete these essential components of hospital interventions. The aims of this project were to: 1) assess nurses’ readiness to learn prior to receiving education on the RED Program, and 2) measure the utilization of the RED discharge process from patient chart reviews following an educational intervention focused on the RED 12-actionable items. Participants (N = 69) scored high M = 219.8 (SD 23.7) on the Self-Directed Learning Readiness – Adult Scale, indicating the nurses …

Just The Right Amount Of ‘Too-Muchness’: The Visceral Poetry Of Diane Seuss, Dec. 7, Ohio University College Of Arts & Sciences

All Forum Articles

No abstract provided.

Review: Jesuits Telling Jokes: A [Serious] Introduction To Ignatian Spirituality By Nikolaas Sintobin, S.J., Jennifer Ann Kurtz

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

No abstract provided.

Genesis, Goals, And Achievements Of Long-Term Ecological Research At The Global Scale: A Critical Review Of Ilter And Future Directions, M. Mirtl, E. T. Borer, I. Djukic, M. Forsius, H. Haubold, W. Hugo, J. Jourdan, D. Lindenmayer, W. H. Mcdowell, H. Muraoka, D. E. Orenstein, J. C. Pauw, J. Peterseil, H. Shibata, C. Wohner, X. Yu, P. Haase

Long Term Ecological Research Network

Since its founding in 1993 the International Long-term Ecological Research Network (ILTER) has gone through pronounced development phases. The current network comprises 44 active member LTER networks representing 700 LTER Sites and ~80 LTSER Platforms across all continents, active in the fields of ecosystem, crit­ical zone and socio-ecological research. The critical challenges and most important achievements of the initial phase have now become state-of-the-art in networking for excellent science. At the same time increasing inte­gration, accelerating technology, networking of resources and a strong pull for more socially relevant scientific information have been modifying the mission and goals of ILTER. This …

Clemson Commencement Program, December 2017, Clemson University

Clemson Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Newsletter, Fall/Winter 2017, Tyler Carter

Newsletters of the Graduate School

No abstract provided.

With Great Power: Examining The Representation And Empowerment Of Women In Dc And Marvel Comics, Kylee Kilbourne

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Throughout history, comic books and the media they inspire have reflected modern society as it changes and grows. But women’s roles in comics have often been diminished as they become victims, damsels in distress, and sidekicks. This thesis explores the problems that female characters often face in comic books, but it also shows the positive representation that new creators have introduced over the years. This project is a genealogy, in which the development of the empowered superwoman is traced in modern age comic books. This discussion includes the characters of Kamala Khan, Harley Quinn, Gwen Stacy, and Barbara Gordon and …

Expository Preaching At The Dawn Of The Reformation: An Evaluation Of Martin Luther As Preacher In Light Of Modern Expository Theory, Randall Rozelle

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

This thesis examines Martin Luther as an expository preacher. Contemporary authors such as Ewald Plass, Peter Brooks, Fred Meuser, Sydney Greidanus, James MacKinnon, John MacArthur, and Hughes Oliphant Old describe Luther as an expository preacher, yet none of them clarifies how or in what way they reach that conclusion. To that end, chapter 1 introduces Luther as a preacher and the need for this study.

Chapter 2 defines modern expository theory and presents a four-fold method for creating faithful, expository sermons.

Chapter 3 tracks Luther’s change in hermeneutic from a medieval, allegorical approach to a Christ-centered, historical-grammatical method. Luther’s postils …

A Revitalized Educational Conception Of Growth In The 21st Century For Contemporary Education Praxis In Nebraska, Scott Blum

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Theses and Other Student Research

My dissertation argues for a revitalized conception of growth in the 21^st century and contemporary education. Through reconstruction, re-conceptualizing, and re-emphasis of growth, this revitalization attends to acute challenges in schooling and can impact praxis in education today. This pragmatic and philosophical work places a revitalized conception of growth as the purpose of education and, to the extent that education is life, continual growth as a process for living.

John Dewey provided his conception of growth during the 19^th and 20^th centuries as he valued the natural capacities a human being possesses for experiencing life. He recognized …

Profiling The Immunome Of Little Brown Myotis Provides A Yardstick For Measuring The Genetic Response To White-Nose Syndrome, Michael E. Donaldson, Christina M. Davy, Craig K. R. Willis, Scott Mcburney, Allysia Park, Christopher J. Kyle

KIP Articles

White‐nose syndrome ( WNS ) has devastated populations of hibernating bats in eastern North America, leading to emergency conservation listings for several species including the previously ubiquitous little brown myotis ( Myotis lucifugus ). However, some bat populations near the epicenter of the WNS panzootic appear to be stabilizing after initial precipitous declines, which could reflect a selective immunogenetic sweep. To investigate the hypothesis that WNS exerts significant selection on the immunome of affected bat populations, we developed a novel, high‐throughput sequence capture assay targeting 138 adaptive, intrinsic, and innate immunity genes of putative adaptive significance, as well as their …

Label-Free Refractive Index Sensing With Free-Space Coupled Photonic Crystal Slabs, Yonghao Liu

Electrical Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Label-free optical resonance sensors can detect small changes of refractive index (RI), which could be used for biochemical molecular detection, drug screening or gas detection. One of the most critical parameters in these sensors is the sensor detection limit (DL). Reducing DL can be achieved by increasing the resonance quality factors (Q) and the spectral sensitivity (S). Another critical research challenge in these sensors is the sensing specificity. In this thesis, based on Fano resonance principle in two-dimensional photonic crystal slabs (PCS) and the integration with gas separation columns, we investigated various free-space coupled on-chip optical resonance sensors for both …

Label Free Optical Detection Of Electrical Activity In Mammalian Neurons, Sarmishtha Satpathy

Electrical Engineering Dissertations - Archive

We describe an optical technique for label-free detection of the action potential in cultured mammalian neurons. Induced morphological changes due to action potential propagation in neurons are optically interrogated with a phase sensitive interferometric technique. Optical recordings composed of signal pulses mirror the electrical spike train activity of individual neurons in a network. The optical pulses are transient nanoscale oscillatory changes in the optical path length of varying peak magnitude and temporal width. Exogenous application of glutamate to cortical neuronal cultures produced coincident increase in the electrical and optical activity; both were blocked by application of a Na-channel blocker, Tetrodotoxin. …

Large Dimensional Analysis And Optimization For Massive Mimo Wireless Networks, Longwei Wang

Electrical Engineering Dissertations - Archive

The Last decade has seen a massive growth of wireless devices. Demands for high capacity and massive connectivity always increases. To meet the these requirements, massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology is proposed for the next generation wireless systems. With massive antenna arrays at the BS, the channel vectors between the users and the BS are asymptotically orthogonal, and the intercell interference can be eliminated with simple linear processing method. The effects of fast fading, and uncorrelated noise tend to disappear as the number of BS station antennas grows large. In this thesis, we mainly focus on the performance analysis and …

Algorithms For Building Compact Representatives And Processing Ranking Queries, Abolfazl Asudeh Naee

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Ranked retrieval model has rapidly replaced the traditional Boolean retrieval model as the de facto way for query processing when a large portion of (big) data matches a given query. Returning all the query results in these cases is not efficient nor informative. Unlike the Boolean retrieval model, the ranked retrieval model orders the matching tuples according to an often proprietary ranking function and returns the top-k of them. In this dissertation, we study ranked retrieval model and propose exact and approximate algorithms for (i) building representatives for fast query processing, and (ii) online processing of ranking queries. We study …

Crypto Ransomware Analysis And Detection Using Process Monitor, Ashwini Balkrushna Kardile

Computer Science and Engineering Theses - Archive

Ransomware is a faster growing threat that encrypts user’s files and locks the computer and holds the key required to decrypt the files for ransom. Over the past few years, the impact of ransomware has increased exponentially. There have been several reported high profile ransomware attacks, such as CryptoLocker, CryptoWall, WannaCry, Petya and Bad Rabbit which have collectively cost individuals and companies well over a billion dollars according to FBI. As the threat of ransomware has become more prevalent, security companies and researchers have begun proposing new approaches for detection and prevention of ransomware. However, these approaches generally lack dynamicity …

On Chip Hybrid Photonic Crystal Surface Emitting Lasers, Shih-Chia Liu

Electrical Engineering Dissertations - Archive

We report here the design and experimental demonstration of optically pumped photonic crystal bandedge membrane lasers on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) and on bulk silicon (Si) substrates, based on heterogeneously integrated InGaAsP multi-quantum-well membrane layers transfer printed onto patterned photonic crystal cavities. Single mode lasing under room-temperature operation was observed at 1542 nm, with excellent side mode suppression ratio greater than 31.5 dB, for the laser built on SOI substrate. For the laser built on bulk Si substrate, the improved thermal characteristics are favorable for lasers operating potentially at higher temperatures and higher power. We also report the experimental and theoretical investigations …

Scalable Conversion Of Textual Unstructured Data To Nosql Graph Representation Using Berkeley Db Key-Value Store For Efficient Querying, Jasmine Manoj Varghese

Computer Science and Engineering Theses - Archive

Graph database is a popular choice for representing data with relationships. It facilitates easy modifications to the relational information without the need for structural redefinition, as in case of relational databases. Exponentially growing graph sizes demand efficient querying, memory limitations notwithstanding. Use of indexes, to speed up query processing, is integral to databases. Existing works have used in-memory approaches that were limited by the main memory size. This thesis proposes a way to use graph representation, indexing technique and secondary memory to efficiently answer queries. Textual unstructured data is parsed to identify entities and assign unique identification. The entities and …

Molecularly Engineered Surfaces For Early Cancer Diagnosis, Mohammad Raziul Hasan

Electrical Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Early detection of cancer can have immediate and significant impact on effective treatments for cancer patients and better disease prognosis. In the early stage of cancer, symptoms are initially expressed at molecular and cellular scales. Identification and capture of cancer cells can greatly advance cancer research. This research work is aimed to introduce novel biosensors and technologies for early cancer detection. We developed a one-step method to create nanotextured polymer substrates and showed the effect of surface nanotexture on cancer cell adhesion and cell surface interactions. The nanotextured surface was functionalized with an antibody to selectively capture cancer cells from …

Massive Mimo Performance Analysis And Radar Sensor Networks Based Target Detection, Ganlin Zhao

Electrical Engineering Dissertations - Archive

In this dissertation, we apply massive multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) performance analysis and radar target detection based on radar sensor networks(RSN). In recent years, massive MIMO draws great interest for wireless communication re- searchers. As a highly scalable technology for 5G networks, massive MIMO will meet the increasing demand for wireless throughput. Also, radar target detection is also an important topic for military and civilian applications. Improving detection accuracy when target is embedded in strong background clutter is a challenging task. In Chapter 2, we investigate scaling law of theoretical transmission capacity limit in an uplink multi-user MIMO system. In 5G network …