Education Commons^™

Graduate Connections- August 2010

Graduate Connections: A Newsletter for UNL Graduate Students

In This Issue:

Navigating Graduate School....... 1

Why Are You Here?

Taking the “Resent” out of Presentation

Good Practices in Graduate Education ..............5

Academic Integrity Pledge

Professional Development ..........6

Assessing What Your Students Know

Mistakes to Avoid when Writing a Research Article

Tips for Teamwork

Teaching Tip ................................. 6

Assessment vs. Evaluation

Funding Opportunities ................. 9

The Graduate Writer .................. 11

Writing about Yourself

Events .......................................... 13

New Student Welcome

Campuswide TA Workshops

Graduation Information Sessions

NURAMP

Announcements .......................... 14

Registration and Financial Aid

Graduate Bulletin

Health Insurance

Call for Award Nominations

CLC Opportunities

RCR Training

Interactions …

Student And Faculty Perceptions Of Technology’S Usefulness In Community College General Education Courses, William L. Moseley

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Educational institutions of all levels invest large amounts of time and resources into instructional technology, with the goal of enhancing the educational effectiveness of the learning environment. The decisions made by instructors and institutions regarding the implementation of technology are guided by perceptions of usefulness held by those who are in control. The primary objective of this mixed methods study was to examine the student and faculty perceptions of technology being used in general education courses at a community college. This study builds upon and challenges the assertions of writers such as Prensky (2001a, 2001b) and Tapscott (1998) who claim …

Medical Students' Attitudes Toward The Medical College Admission Test, Cassie J. Connealy

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The following study analyzed the attitudes held by pre-clinical medical students about the Medical College Admission Test or MCAT. One hundred and eighty first-year and second-year medical students at a public Midwestern medical university participated in this study. Participants completed the “Medical Students Attitudes toward the Medical College Admission Test” survey during their morning lectures near the end of their spring semester. A composite scale score of the Likert items of the survey was computed and the proportion of students with attitudes ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree was calculated. For six of the twelve Likert items the largest …

An Investigation Of Interpersonal Disruptions And Secondary Traumatic Stress Among Mental Health Therapists, Rachael Ann Robinson-Keilig

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Mental health therapists who work with victims of trauma are often exposed to vivid descriptions of traumatic events and strong emotional expressions from their clients. Research within the last fifteen years has started to explore the impact of this indirect form of trauma exposure on therapists who treat trauma clients.

The purpose of this study was to explore the prevalence of interpersonal and sexual disruptions as symptoms of secondary traumatic stress/vicarious trauma among practicing mental health therapists, to understand how various therapist characteristics predict interpersonal and sexual disruptions, and to explore the role that gender and prior trauma history play …

Evaluating Measurement Invariance With Censored Ordinal Data: A Monte Carlo Comparison Of Alternative Model Estimators And Scales Of Measurement, Natalie A. Koziol

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Evaluations of measurement invariance provide essential construct validity evidence. However, the quality of such evidence is partly dependent upon the validity of the resulting statistical conclusions. The presence of Type I or Type II errors can render measurement invariance conclusions meaningless.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of categorization and censoring on the behavior of the chi-square/likelihood ratio test statistic and two alternative fit indices (CFI and RMSEA) under the context of evaluating measurement invariance. Monte Carlo simulation was used to examine Type I error and power rates for the (a) overall test statistic/fit indices, and …

Talent Management In Higher Education: Developing Emerging Leaders Within The Administration At Private Colleges And Universities, Steven Riccio

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This research focused on identifying a series of successful practices relating to administrative talent management within the higher education setting. The field study included a thorough examination of seven small to mid-size private colleges and universities that have incorporated employee development strategies. These strategies were aimed at growing future leaders from within the organization in order to achieve continuity and support institutional priorities. Specifically, several focus areas were investigated including presidential vision, leadership commitment, talent management’s place among institutional priorities, program characteristics, and program evaluation.

Among the commonalities that were gathered included support at the senior officer level who serve …

Applications Of Linear Programming To Coding Theory, Nathan Axvig

Department of Mathematics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Maximum-likelihood decoding is often the optimal decoding rule one can use, but it is very costly to implement in a general setting. Much effort has therefore been dedicated to find efficient decoding algorithms that either achieve or approximate the error-correcting performance of the maximum-likelihood decoder. This dissertation examines two approaches to this problem.

In 2003 Feldman and his collaborators defined the linear programming decoder, which operates by solving a linear programming relaxation of the maximum-likelihood decoding problem. As with many modern decoding algorithms, is possible for the linear programming decoder to output vectors that do not correspond to codewords; such …

Nebline, August 2010

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Youth Develop Life Skills at Hands-On Clover College

Farm Views

Horticulture

Food & Fitness

Home & Family Living

Environmental Focus

Urban Agriculture

4-H & Youth

Community Focus

Extension Calendar

Nutrition Education Program

Family and Community Education (FCE) Clubs

and other extension news and events

Lancaster County Super Fair Schedule & Map Special Pullout Section

Vowel Recognition From Continuous Articulatory Movements For Speaker-Dependent Applications, Jun Wang, Jordan R. Green, Ashok Samal, Tom D. Carrell

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

A novel approach was developed to recognize vowels from continuous tongue and lip movements. Vowels were classified based on movement patterns (rather than on derived articulatory features, e.g., lip opening) using a machine learning approach. Recognition accuracy on a single-speaker dataset was 94.02% with a very short latency. Recognition accuracy was better for high vowels than for low vowels. This finding parallels previous empirical findings on tongue movements during vowels. The recognition algorithm was then used to drive an articulation-to-acoustics synthesizer. The synthesizer recognizes vowels from continuous input stream of tongue and lip movements and plays the corresponding sound samples …

Global Competence: Determination Of Its Importance For Engineers Working In A Global Environment, Gregg M. Warnick

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

We live and work in a world that is even more interconnected and interdependent than ever before. Engineers must now not only develop technical engineering competence, but must also develop additional skills and competencies including global competence to obtain success within a global engineering environment.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether multinational companies considered global competence an important skill in mechanical engineering graduates when making hiring decisions. The study was an exploratory study that utilized an extensive literature review to identify eight global competencies for engineering success within a global environment and also included a survey instrument …

Student Leader Lmx Relationships As Moderated By Constructive-Developmental Theory, Shelly Mumma

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

This study examined how the quality of Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) relationships was moderated by the Constructive-Developmental stage or Order of Consciousness of both leader and follower. Using student organization presidents and officers on a small, private, liberal arts college campus in the Midwest, the researcher used a sample of 37 students to study the impact developmental stage had on the leadership relationship. Using the Leader Member Exchange-Multi-Dimensional Measure (LMX-MDM), four dimensions of LMX were examined. The four dimensions were Affect, Contribution, Loyalty and Professional Respect. There was no significant relationship between Order of Consciousness and quality of LMX relationship. While …

The Perception Of Natural, Cell Phone, And Computer-Synthesized Speech During The Performance Of Simultaneous Visual-Motor Tasks, Nirmal Kumar Srinivasan

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study investigated the influence of top-down and bottom-up information on speech perception in complex listening environments. Specifically, the effects of listening to different types of processed speech were examined on intelligibility and on simultaneous visual-motor performance. The goal was to extend the generalizability of results in speech perception to environments outside of the laboratory. The effect of bottom-up information was evaluated with natural, cell phone and synthetic speech. The effect of simultaneous tasks was evaluated with concurrent visual-motor and memory tasks. Earlier works on the perception of speech during simultaneous visual-motor tasks have shown inconsistent results (Choi, 2004; Strayer …

Preservation Ethics In The Case Of Nebraska’S Nationally Registered Historic Properties, Darren Michael Adams

Department of Geography: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation focuses on the National Register of Historic Places and considers the geographical implications of valuing particular historic sites over others. Certain historical sites will either gain or lose desirability from one era to the next, this dissertation identifies and explains three unique preservation ethical eras, and it maps the sites which were selected during those eras. These eras are the Settlement Era (1966 – 1975), the Commercial Architecture Era (1976 – 1991), and the Progressive Planning Era (1992 – 2010). The findings show that transformations in the program included an early phase when state authorities listed historical resources …

Vanishing Of Ext And Tor Over Complete Intersections, Olgur Celikbas

Department of Mathematics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Let (R,m) be a local complete intersection, that is, a local ring whose m-adic completion is the quotient of a complete regular local ring by a regular sequence. Let M and N be finitely generated R-modules. This dissertation concerns the vanishing of Tor(M, N) and Ext(M, N). In this context, M satisfies Serre's condition (S_{n}) if and only if M is an nth syzygy. The complexity of M is the least nonnegative integer r such that the nth Betti number of M is bounded by a polynomial of degree r-1 for all sufficiently large n. We use this notion of …

Attitudes And Beliefs Of Marriage And Family Therapists Regarding Psychotropic Drugs And Therapy, Paul R. Springer, Steven M. Harris

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

Clinical members of AAMFT were solicited by means of a randomized multi-staged clustering technique to identify their attitudes and beliefs regarding psychotropic drugs. All participants were blind to the overall purpose of the study (n = 322) and were directed to read a clinical vignette and then identify what course of action they would take with the client. They were then asked to complete a small questionnaire regarding their attitudes and beliefs regarding psychotropic drugs. Results of the study showed that 35.7% of the clinicians identified medication and a medication referral as a viable treatment option they might pursue with …

Acuta Enews July 2010, Vol 39, No. 7

ACUTA Newsletters

ln This lssue

From ACUTA Headquarters: FCC: Traveling with Wireless Phones .....Jeri A. Semer, CAE, Executive Dir.

Why Should You Visit the ACUTA Community Often?

Tech Talk: The lnternet Just Keeps on Growing ....Kevin Tanzillo, Dux PR

Hurricane Preparedness Checklist

Cloud Security, Some Guidance...........Gary Audin, Delphi, lnc.

lnfo Links ............. Randy Hayes, Univ. of Northern lowa

Write for the ACUTA Journal in 2011

Second-Notice Membership Dues Mailed July 1

Washington Update Newsletter

Board Report......... George Denbow, Univ. of Texas, Austin

New Members

Check lt Out: Press Releases...Job Postings...RFls/RFPs...Special Deals

Improving Irt Parameter Estimates With Small Sample Sizes: Evaluating The Efficacy Of A New Data Augmentation Technique, Brett P. Foley

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The 3PL model is a flexible and widely used tool in assessment. However, it suffers from limitations due to its need for large sample sizes. This study introduces and evaluates the efficacy of a new sample size augmentation technique called Duplicate, Erase, and Replace (DupER) Augmentation through a simulation study. Data are augmented using several variations of DupER Augmentation (based on different imputation methodologies, deletion rates, and duplication rates), analyzed in BILOG-MG 3, and results are compared to those obtained from analyzing the raw data. Additional manipulated variables include test length and sample size. Estimates are compared using seven different …

Differentiation In The Content-Area Classroom For English Language Learners, Robyn M. Warner

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This paper explores the idea of using differentiation strategies in the content-area classroom to improve reading skills and comprehension. In particular, this thesis explores methods and strategies that can be used in the classroom to help address the individual needs of English language learners (ELLs). A broad range of experts in curriculum, differentiation, and English language acquisition were consulted in the development of this review, which synthesizes the research on ELLs’ needs, differentiation, and differentiation strategies for ELL readers. The models for best teaching practices are then placed within a ninth grade language arts unit.

Quilt Documentation Projects 1980-1989: Exploring The Roots Of A National Phenomenon, Christine Humphrey

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The documenting of thousands of quilts by small groups throughout the United States was one of the most notable parts of the 1980s surge of interest in quilt history. The purpose of this study was to examine the phenomenon of quilt documentation projects of the 1980s and to gain a better understanding of the social and cultural factors that influenced the organizers and the participants. Inspired by the success of the Kentucky Quilt Project, Inc. in 1983, organizers in thirty-five other states initiated or completed statewide documentation projects by 1989. This study examined five of those statewide projects—the Kentucky Quilt …

Unopa Notes, Volume 48, Issue 10 -- Summer 2010

UNOPA Newsletters

Message from Our Presidents — Past and Future

UNOPA 2010-2011 Elected Officers

Summer Social

Calendar

Nebline, July 2010

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: See, Learn, Explore Spring Creek Prairie

Farm Views

Horticulture

Food & Fitness

Home & Family Living

Environmental Focus

Urban Agriculture

4-H & Youth

Community Focus

Extension Calendar

Nutrition Education Program

Family and Community Education (FCE) Clubs

and other extension news and events

The Academic Success Of Homeschooled Students In A South Carolina Technical College, Jack N. Bagwell Jr

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In 2010, homeschooling was increasing in prevalence in the United States. Yet, little was known about the academic achievement of these students as they matriculated into colleges and universities. The purpose of this mixed methods sequential explanatory study was to examine the academic success achieved by the homeschooled population (N=273) and a sample of the traditionally educated students (N=273) who had enrolled in credit courses between the years of 2001 and 2008 at York Technical College, a comprehensive community college in South Carolina. In the quantitative phase of the study, academic success measures included COMPASS placement scores in writing, pre-algebra, …

Young Children’S Decisions To Include Peers With Physical Disabilities In Play, Karen E. Diamond, Soo-Young Hong

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

The authors examined factors related to preschool children’s reasoning about including a hypothetical peer with a physical disability in different play activities. They hypothesized that children’s inclusion decisions would be influenced by features of the physical environment, attention to issues of fairness and equity, and individual child characteristics. Participants comprised 72 children enrolled in inclusive preschool classrooms. Children’s ideas about inclusion and their inclusion decisions were gathered in response to vignettes reflecting experiences that children are likely to encounter in preschool. The authors found that children were significantly more likely to say that they would include a child with a …

Acuta Enews June 2010, Vol 39, No. 6

ACUTA Newsletters

In this Issue

Extremely Strong Program Planned for San Francisco Seminar

From the President..........Matt Arthur, Washington Univ. in St. Louis, ACUTA President

Can Wireless Replace the RSTN?.... Gary Audin, Delphi, lnc.

Add Names from Your Campus to Your ACUTA Roster

Multi-Event Discount: Attend More in 2010 and Save More!

ACUTA Resources Are Better than Ever

Hurricane Preparedness Checklist

FYI: Useful lnformation from the Campus...................Student Monitor

Board Report............ George Denbow, Univ. of Texas, ACUTA Secretary/Treasurer

lnfo Links .......... Randy Hoyes, Univ of Northern lowa

Washington Update Newsletter

Welcome New Members

Check lt Out: Press Releases...Job Postings...RFls/RFPs...Special Deals

The Battered Woman Experience: A Phenomenological Study Exploring The Lives Of Latina Women And Their Experience With Domestic Violence, Jaime Gonzalez

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the meanings that Latina women place on their domestic violence experiences so as to better understand what impact these meanings may or may not have on their futures and the futures of their families. This study used qualitative interviews and the method of phenomenology to elicit descriptions from a sample of Latina victims of domestic violence. Specifically, the goal of this study was to explore how Latinas conceptualize their experience of domestic violence and to understand how these conceptualizations differ from those used to describe domestic violence from a Euro-American women’s …

Nebline, June 2010

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: 12 Reasons for Visiting a Farmers' Market

Farm Views

Horticulture

Food & Fitness

Home & Family Living

Environmental Focus

Urban Agriculture

4-H & Youth

Community Focus

Extension Calendar

Nutrition Education Program

Family and Community Education (FCE) Clubs

and other extension news and events

Building Leadership: The Knowledge Of Principals In Creating Collaborative Communities Of Professional Learning, Chad M. Dumas

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Research literature is replete with the importance of collaboration in schools, the lack of its implementation, the centrality of the role of the principal, and the existence of a gap between knowledge and practice--or a "Knowing-Doing Gap." In other words, there is a set of knowledge that principals must know in order to create a collaborative workplace environment for teachers. This study sought to describe what high school principals know about creating such a culture of collaboration.

The researcher combed journal articles, studies and professional literature in order to identify what principals must know in order to create a culture …

Perfect Numbers:, Diana French

Department of Mathematics: Master's of Arts in Teaching, Exam Expository Papers

While this topic of “Perfect Numbers” was completely new to me (at least to the degree at which it is discussed within this paper,) I found it very intriguing and believe there is still much information and mathematical discovery in it for me. There were many historical points of interest, and I found it difficult to whittle them down to a manageable size for the intent of this paper. Likewise, there were many facts and peculiarities I found interesting and certainly worthy of consideration. However, to maintain anything close to a reasonable length of discussion as outlined in the guidelines …

An Examination Of Changes In Program Offerings And Program Enrollments In Selected Nebraska High Schools During The Era Of Standards-Based Reform, Kenneth E. Schroeder

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study was to examine whether or not there were changes in certain characteristics of educational programs in grades 9-12 Nebraska public high schools during the era of standards-based reform. This purpose was accomplished by testing for changes between the 1993-94 school year and the 2007-08 school year in the courses high schools offered and in the courses students took. The total program and each of ten designated subject areas that comprise the program were examined. Those ten designated subject areas were language arts, science, social science, mathematics, foreign language, vocational education, visual and performing arts, personal …

Acuta Enews May 2010, Vol 39, No. 5

ACUTA Newsletters

ln This lssue

Report from Annual Conference in San Antonio

From ACUTA Headquarters: Expanded ACUTA Benefits Jeri A. Semer, CAE, Executive Dir.

Hurricane Preparedness Checklist

Tech Talk: A Different Way of Measuring Value of Unified Communications....... Kevin Tonzillo, Dux PR

See the Conference on Your Desktop

DC Update ................Dove Ostrom, Washington State Univ. (retired)

ACUTA Alert: Write Your Senators to Urge Passage of IRS/Cell Phone Legislation

Dues lnvoices Mailed May 1

Washington Update Newsletter

lnfo Links ............ Randy Hayes, Univ. of Northern lowa

Another Great Conference, More Terrific Prizes!

Board Report ......... George Denbow, Univ. of Texas, Austin

New Members …