Digital Commons Network^™

Actual And Self-Assessed Financial Literacy Among Employees Of A South African University, Gizelle D. Willows

Numeracy

This study examines the level of financial literacy and self-assessed financial literacy amongst members of a South African tertiary institution’s retirement fund. Based on surveys of the fund’s members, I employ descriptive statistics and multivariate regression analyses to examine differences in financial literacy within and across groups. The results show that, despite working for an employer implementing many best practices identified by financial literacy advocates, respondents from all demographic subgroups possess relatively low levels of financial knowledge. Men, White respondents, and those with a higher cost of employment or higher educational attainment were more likely to have a higher level …

Coastal Dune Vegetation Mapping Using A Multispectral Sensor Mounted On An Uas, Chen Suo, Eugene Mcgovern, Alan Gilmer

Articles

Vegetation mapping, identifying the type and distribution of plant species, is important for analysing vegetation dynamics, quantifying spatial patterns of vegetation evolution, analysing the effectsof environmental changes and predicting spatial patterns of species diversity. Such analysis can contribute to the development of targeted land management actions that maintain biodiversity and ecological functions. This paper presents a methodology for 3D vegetation mapping of a coastal dune complex using a multispectral camera mounted on an unmanned aerial system with particular reference to the Buckroney dune complex in Co. Wicklow, Ireland. Unmanned aerial systems (UAS), also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) or …

William Stokes Papers - Accession 882, William Stokes, American Civil War

Manuscript Collection

The William Stokes Papers mainly consist of personal correspondence from William Stokes (1833-1905) to his wife, Eliza Jane Boulware Stokes (1837-1916), during the American Civil War. William Stokes served in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War with the 4^th Regiment South Carolina Calvary as Lieutenant Colonel. After the conclusion of the war he would be given the rank of Brigadier General by then Governor Wade Hampton. He was born on October 20, 1833, and died on June 30, 1905. The collection includes pre-Civil War, Civil War, and post-Civil War letters and military orders. Also includes writings by …

An Investigation Of Therapeutic Rapport Through Prosody In Brief Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, Carolina De Pasquale, Charlie Cullen, Brian Vaughan

Conference Papers

Therapeutic alliance, a concept closely related to rapport, is one of the most important variables in psychotherapy. High degrees of synchrony/coordination in the therapeutic session are considered to contribute to rapport, and have received attention in the psychotherapy literature. Coordinative behaviours are observable in speech, and they manifest in phenomena such as prosodic accommodation, a dynamic phenomenon closely related to conversational success. A preliminary investigation of interpersonal prosodic dynamics in psychotherapy was performed on a database obtained in collaboration with the University of Padua, consisting of 16 recordings making up the entire course of a brief psychodynamic psychotherapy intervention for …

Presentations & Infographics, Quality Blended Learning Consortium

Open Educational Resources

This tutorial introduces the users to the fundamental concepts on how to create presentations and infographics, as well as provides guidance on the tools to be used, best practices, and mistakes to avoid. The tutorial includes quizzes for self-assessment.

High-Speed Distributed Data Process Of Photometric Astronomical Data, Paul Doyle

Other

Since the 1970s the CCD has been the principle method of measuring flux to calculate the apparent magnitude of celestial objects within astronomical photometry. Each CCD image must be digitally cleaned and calibrated prior to its use. As data archives increase in size to Petabytes, the data processing challenge requires image processing techniques to continue to exceed the rate of data capture.

This paper describes NIMBUS, a rapidly scalable, failure resilient distributed network architecture capable of processing CCD image data at a rate of hundreds of Terabytes per day. NIMBUS is implemented using a decentralized web queue to control the …

What Is A Bim Design Model?, James Peters, Malachy Mathews

Conference papers

The recent report into Building Information Management or BIM, by construction law experts May Winfield and Sarah Rock entitled “Winfield Rock Report” [1] gives reason to state that the UK architectural, engineering and construction industry or AEC, is hindered by the absence of a clear definition of Level 2 BIM. The ISO 19650-2 standard published in 2019, is based upon PAS1192-2:2013. The intent of ISO 19650-2 is to provide a road map to facilitate the standardisation of BIM process in a uniformed fashion. A key pillar of ISO 19650 is the “information cycle” and central to this is a federated …

Systematics And Evolution Of Antennaria (Asteraceae, Gnaphalieae) And New Insights Into The Antennaria Rosea Polyploid Agamic Complex, Ramhari Thapa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Antennaria are dioecious perennial herbs distributed mainly in the Holarctic Region with their major center of diversity in the Rocky Mountains of Western North America. The genus, which consists of 34 known sexual diploid/tetraploid species and at least five polyploid agamic complexes has a complex evolutionary history due to dioecism, excessive polyploidy, and the evolution of polyploid agamic complexes. In this study, a phylogenetic reconstruction of the 34 sexually reproducing Antennaria species using a target enrichment method, development of microsatellite markers for the genus, and study of the genetic diversity, population structure, and estimation of ancestry was carried out in …

Social Recognition As A Problem For Black Rectificatory Justice, John Torrey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Within academic circles, arguments supporting the rectification of anti-Black injustice in America have become more widespread in recent years. Three questions arise from these arguments: How should we understand what it means to rectify those injustices? What explains why these arguments, despite the increased attention by scholars, have not been taken seriously in mainstream American social and political discussions? Finally, what can be done to change this lack of mainstream attention? My dissertation answers these questions by advancing a new moral framework for understanding what it means to rectify anti-black injustice. On this view, rectificatory justice requires possessing a moral …

Military Workplace: Employee Perception On Leadership Involvement And Safety, Kelley R. Vandecoevering

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to describe the employee perspective of how leadership influenced their workplace safety in a military environment. The participants in this case study were observed while working in their normal environment, interviewed, and historical records were reviewed. During the interviews and observations, the researcher attempted to describe how the participants engaged in workplace safety with and without their supervisors present. Data obtained through the case study was analyzed and two major themes emerged: (1) recreating a military structure; and (2) leading from the front. Based on the data from this case study, it …

Site Effects Study In The Mississippi Embayment And Uncertainties Evaluation In Site Response Analysis, Arash Yarahmadi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

The local site conditions have paramount influence on the characteristics of seismic ground shaking. There are several methods of investigating seismic site effects which can be classified into two major categories; common site-specific response analysis, and procedures that use solely earthquake time series like the Standard Spectral Ratio (SSR), and Horizontal to Vertical Ratio (HVSR) methods. In the SSR method, the spectral ratios of earthquake records at a certain station can be evaluated with respect to a reference station located on a nearby outcrop rock. In the first part of the dissertation, we use earthquake records to find reference stations …

Applications Of Sparse Representations, Pulin Agrawal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

In this dissertation I explore the properties and uses of sparse representations. Sparse representations use high dimensional binary vectors for representing information. They have many properties which make this representation useful for applications involving pattern recognition in highly noisy and complex environments. Sparse representations have a very high capacity. A typical sparse representation vector has a capacity of 10^84 distinct vectors, which is more than the number of atoms in the universe. Sparse representations are highly noise robust. They can tolerate even up to 50% noise. A very powerful and useful property of sparse representations is that they allow us …

Investigating Vocabulary Learning Strategies Of Saudi University Students In The Us, Ahmed Abdullah Alahmadi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the use of vocabulary learning strategies reported by Saudi university students in the US. It also explored how the use of vocabulary learning strategies varied based on gender in this population. An explanatory mixed-methods design was used to provide an in-depth understanding of strategies employed. In the quantitative phase, data were collected using self-reported questionnaires, while semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect the qualitative data. A total of 123 students participated, eight of whom were interviewed. The quantitative results showed participants used various vocabulary learning strategies. The most common were guessing …

An Investigation Of Efl Learners Attitudes Toward Computer-Assisted Writing (Caw), Ahmed Almenei

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

This dissertation studies attitudes of the Saudi university learners studying English as a Foreign Language (EFL) toward using the Computer-assisted Writing (CAW) applications, e.g., up-to-date versions of word processing programs, for doing English writing assignments. Research has confirmed that CAW applications, e.g., up-to-date versions of word processing program, have been utilized in and out of the class to supplement, but not to replace, the methods of learning and teaching writing. Previous studies have revealed that students attitude towards writing improves when they use the word processor. The current study aims at examining the hypotheses that the EFL learners have effective …

Exploring Teaching Intercultural Communicative Competence Among Saudi University Efl Teachers, Abdulrahman Alqefari

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Intercultural communicative competence (ICC) is an essential part of instruction in the diverse English as a Foreign or Second Language classroom (EFL, ESL), but instructors may not have sufficient knowledge, skills, or tools to be able to promote ICC in their classes. The Saudi Arabia Ministry of Education's (MoE) policies on teaching English encourage students to be cross-culturally competent, yet various people, including students and parents, have demonstrated concerns regarding the inclusion of Western values, beliefs, and cultures into the EFL curriculum. Consequently, these differences lead to teachers facing various content and process barriers in the EFL classroom.Using Byrams Intercultural …

From My Side Of The Screen: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study Of Older Teachers, Administrators, Technology Coordinators, And Their Experiences With The Implementation Of Technology In Rural West Tennessee Schools, Donnie Lee Bailey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

This hermeneutic phenomenological study centered on the lived experiences of older teachers, administrators, and technology coordinators as they navigate the acquiring, teaching, learning, using, and evaluating of technological resources in the classroom. In particular, this study sought to understand this phenomenon through the eyes of the participants as they interact with teachers with 20 or more years of teaching experience in two rural West Tennessee school districts. Using social learning theory as the backbone of analysis, I had nine participants engage in three in-depth interviews each. The first interview acquired background and foundational knowledge in relation to the use of …

A Simulation-Enhanced Intraoperative Planning Tool For Robotic-Assisted Total Knee Arthroplasty, Daniel Farley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

The purpose of the present study was to investigate current methods of surgical planning used in conjunction with robotics-assisted total knee arthroplasty (raTKA) to determine if improvements could be made using advanced computational techniques. Thus, through the use of musculoskeletal multi-body dynamic simulations, an enhanced surgical planning tool was developed, which provides insight on active postoperative joint mechanics. Development of the tool relied on patient-specific simulations using single-leg and full-body models. These simulations were constructed using two publicly-available datasets (Orthoload and SimTK); in particular, joint loading data obtained from subjects during various activities. Simulation parameters were optimized using a design-of …

Towards Building Intelligent Collaborative Problem Solving Systems, Dipesh Gautam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Historically, Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) systems were more focused on Human Computer Interaction (HCI) issues, such as providing good experience of communication among the participants. Whereas, Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) focus both on HCI issues as well as leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques in their intelligent agents. This dissertation seeks to minimize the gap between CPS systems and ITS by adopting the methods used in ITS researches. To move towards this goal, we focus on analyzing interactions with textual inputs in online learning systems such as DeepTutor and Virtual Internships (VI) to understand their semantics and underlying intents. In order …

Active Perception By Interaction With Other Agents In A Predictive Coding Framework: Application To Internet Of Things Environment, Masoumeh Heidari Kapourchali

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Predicting the state of an agent's partially-observable environment is a problem of interest in many domains. Typically in the real world, the environment consists of multiple agents, not necessarily working towards a common goal. Though the goal and sensory observation for each agent is unique, one agent might have acquired some knowledge that may benefit the other. In essence, the knowledge base regarding the environment is distributed among the agents. An agent can sample this distributed knowledge base by communicating with other agents. Since an agent is not storing the entire knowledge base, its model can be small and its …

Invisible In Plain Sight: The Lived Experiences Of Black Female Graduates Of Private Schools, Teresa Leary Jenkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

This qualitative study was an examination of the lived experiences of 12 Black female graduates of P-12 private schools in the United States to understand the nature and essence of their schooling experiences. The objective of this research was to understand what happens to Black female students in private schools and what that experience means to them, either positively or negatively. The phenomenological research and composite narrative design entailed conducting semistructured interviews. The criterion-based sample gathered using the snowball method included 12 participants who identified as Black female graduates of P-12 private schools in the United States.The study supported the …

The Effects Of A Mobile App-Based Sky Map In Teaching College Students About Constellations, Aklilu Maasho

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of using a mobile app-based sky map to teach college students about constellations, stars, nebulae, and star clusters. The name of the app was Star Chart. The setting for the study was a community college in West Tennessee. Twenty out of 60 participants were males, with 83% of all being less than 25 years old. The first effect studied was concerning students level of attitude toward astronomy after they used the mobile app to learn about sky constellations, stars, nebulae, and star clusters. The second effect investigated in the study …

Deeper Understanding Of Tutorial Dialogues And Student Assessment, Nabin Nabin Maharjan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Bloom (1984) reported two standard deviation improvement with human tutoring which inspired many researchers to develop Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs) that are as effective as human tutoring. However, recent studies suggest that the 2-sigma result was misleading and that current ITSs are as good as human tutors. Nevertheless, we can think of 2 standard deviations as the benchmark for tutoring effectiveness of ideal expert tutors. In the case of ITSs, there is still the possibility that ITSs could be better than humans.One way to improve the ITSs would be identifying, understanding, and then successfully implementing effective tutorial strategies that lead …

Essays On Health, Labor And Public Economics, Ahmad Reshad Osmani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

This Dissertation consists of three essays on health, labor, and public economics. The first essay investigates how gender-specific cancers affect the labor market outcomes of cancer survivors. Using a theoretical construct of labor supply and health capital, this essay exploits a nationally representative dataset, the 20082015 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), for estimating the correlated random effects (CRE) and over-dispersion empirical models to capture the job market effects for cancer survivors. After addressing the potential endogeneity of cancer and controlling for the number of years after cancer diagnoses, the estimated CRE model detect substantial male-female differences in the labor market …

Investigating The Impacts Of The Fungal Pathogen, Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis, On Growth, Behavior, And Reproductive Investment In Salamanders, Bailey Patillo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Amphibians are declining globally, with the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) implicated as a contributing factor. Bd infects keratinized tissue of amphibians, including the skin of post-metamorphic individuals. Susceptibility to Bd varies among species, with many carrying sublethal infections, which can alter growth, behavior, and reproduction. The goals of these experiments were to determine the impact that Bd has on growth and body condition, feeding behavior, performance, and reproductive investment in salamanders with sublethal infections. The impacts of Bd infection on growth were assessed in post-metamorphic spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum). They were monitored for 12 weeks, and the amount of …

Targeting Self-Critical Thoughts In The Treatment Of Non-Sucidal Self-Injury In Adolescents: Accentuate The Positive, Eliminate The Negative, William Ramsey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

The primary purpose of this investigation was to examine the added benefit of directly targeting self-critical thoughts in the treatment of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in youth undergoing Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Adolescents (DBT-A). This was a randomized study of 40 adolescents with recent engagement in NSSI at a partial hospitalization program using DBT-A. This study utilized an additive component treatment design with randomization to either DBT-A or DBT-A Plus. All study participants received the full DBT-A protocol, and those randomized to the DBT-A Plus condition received a brief cognitive intervention developed to decrease self-critical thoughts in adolescents. Of the 40 …

The Relation Among Phonological Processing, Oral And Silent Reading Fluency, And Reading Comprehension For Students With Dyslexia: A Longitudinal Investigation, Melissa Fetterer Robinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

The purpose of this study was to examine the relations among phonological skills, oral and silent reading fluency, and reading comprehension for a longitudinal sample of students who have been diagnosed with dyslexia. Only two studies to date have modeled the relation between oral and silent reading fluency and comprehension, of which only one addressed phonological processing. No studies to date have modeled these relations in students with dyslexia. Participants in this study were 104 students in grades 2-5 with dyslexia, who were administered oral and silent reading fluency and comprehension assessments and selected phonological processing measures at the beginning …

Sleep Matters For Adolescents To Rise And Thrive: A Brief Motivational Intervention For Short Sleep Among Adolescents With Large Bodies, Kristina Decker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Sleep plays an essential role in health and well-being throughout the lifespan. Short sleep duration (< 8 hours/night) is highly prevalent among adolescents and is associated with a myriad of problematic psychosocial and physical health outcomes including obesity. There are a number of mutable, behavioral predictors known to be associated with short sleep; however, interventions targeting these behaviors to increase sleep duration are either limited or yield inconsistent findings. Researchers suggest that Motivational Interviewing (MI) interventions may be a feasible and acceptable means to improve sleep duration, yet no known research has examined MI to improve sleep duration among adolescents with large bodies. The purpose of the current study was to examine the feasibility and acceptability of a brief, individually-delivered, MI intervention that utilized tailored feedback and values-based strategies to improve sleep among adolescents with large bodies. Thirteen adolescents (aged 13-18; 62% female; 77% Black; Mage=15.2) with large bodies and self-reported short sleep participated in an MI intervention incorporating personalized sleep feedback generated from weeklong monitoring via sleep diary and Fitbit. The present study employed a one-group design with pre-test/post-test assessment to examine the feasibility and acceptability of this brief MI intervention. Session attendance was feasible given high retention from baseline to post-intervention (100%) and follow-up (92%, N=12). Monitoring sleep via Fitbit was acceptable and moderately feasible, while sleep diary completion was neither. Regarding intervention content, teens found personalized sleep feedback helpful and activities easy to understand. From baseline to six-week follow-up, teens reported improvements on perceived importance of sleeping more as well as increased confidence in their ability to get more sleep and readiness to sleep more. Findings support the feasibility and acceptability of an MI intervention for short sleep among teens with large bodies and will be used to inform future intervention development and adaptation for use in a randomized controlled trial. The brevity and practicality of this intervention also enhances long-term sustainability and ease of integration into busy multidisciplinary clinics.

Crisis Intervention Team Training For Law Enforcement: Analyzing The Factors That Influence Verbal De-Escalation Skills Knowledge Attainment In The Memphis Model, Paul M. Dunaway

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Crisis intervention team (CIT) training has been proven to be effective at increasing officers knowledge of mental health, improving attitudes toward those with a mental illness, and reducing use of force rates and arrest leading to incarceration of mental health consumers. Prior research has been primarily limited to outcome evaluations of CIT programs. The current study had 105 participants and examined officer-level variables identified in the literature that may affect verbal de-escalation skills knowledge attainment in the Memphis Model of CIT training. This was accomplished through the use of a hierarchal regression analysis. Results of the study found that officers …

Computational Thinking Self-Efficacy In High School Latin Language Learning, Dennis Clark Dickerson, Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Research suggests that computational thinking is a necessary skill exercised in STEM courses, non-STEM fields, and in everyday life. However, very little research has investigated the potential transfer of computational thinking self-efficacy available through classical Latin courses. This causal comparative study contrasted the computational thinking self-efficacy of computer science students with no exposure to Latin to computer science students with exposure to Latin at a Memphis all-boy high school. The independent variables were Latin language learning experience, i.e., up to 6 years total of Latin language learning (n = 33), versus 0 years of Latin language learning experience (n = …

Atomistic Models To Study Thermodynamics And Kinetics Of Solid-Liquid And Solid-Solid Transitions In Binary Metals, Seyed Alireza Alireza Etesami

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Design of novel materials and novel manufacturing process requires understandingthermophysical properties of materials during their process and working conditions.Microstructure of materials, which is usually, consists of grains, phases, and defectsdetermines the overall physical and mechanical properties of materials. Specifically inmetals, the formation of solid crystal from liquid is considered as one of the most importantfactors during the solidification, which can elucidate the final formation of microstructureof materials. The experimental study of the phenomena related to the coexistence of solidliquid phases is generally arduous, because the experiments are needed to be carried out atthe melting points of the materials. Thanks to …