Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Multi-Dimensional Regression Analysis Of Time-Series Data Streams, Yixin Chen, Guozhu Dong, Jiawei Han, Benjamin W. Wah, Jianyong Wang

Kno.e.sis Publications

Real-time production systems and other dynamic environments often generate tremendous (potentially infinite) amount of stream data; the volume of data is too huge to be stored on disks or scanned multiple times. Can we perform on-line, multi-dimensional analysis and data mining of such data to alert people about dramatic changes of situations and to initiate timely, high-quality responses? This is a challenging task.

In this paper, we investigate methods for online, multi-dimensional regression analysis of time-series stream data, with the following contributions: (1) our analysis shows that only a small number of compressed regression measures instead of the complete stream …

Workflow Quality Of Service, Jorge Cardoso, Amit P. Sheth, John A. Miller

Kno.e.sis Publications

Workflow management systems (WfMSs) have been used to support various types of business processes for more than a decade now. In ecommerce processes, suppliers and customers define a binding agreement or contract between the two parties, specifying quality of service (QoS) items such as products or services to be delivered, deadlines, quality of products, and cost of service. Management of such QoS directly impacts success of organizations participating in e-commerce. Organizations operating in modern markets require an excellent degree of quality of service management. Products and services must be available to customers with well-defined specifications. A good management of quality …

Attracting Foreign Direct Investment To Latin America, Carlos A. Loredo

Masters Culminating Experiences (1993-2011)

The purpose of the paper is to examine the literature of foreign direct investment to evaluate what factors are determinant to attract inflows of foreign capital to Latin-American and Caribbean countries. The paper focuses on factors such as market size, degree of openness, rule of law, political stability, trade, regional integration, democracy, availability of natural resources, government efficiency, and infrastructure (i.e. energy generation, transportation systems, ports and telecommunication services). The regression results showed that the degree of openness, trade reform, education, market size, and infrastructure are the most important determinants of foreign investment. Based on my analysis, different Latin American …

An Investigation Into The Sources Of Economic Growth Differentials Among Nations, John Roppenecker

Masters Culminating Experiences (1993-2011)

This study was conducted to comprehensively review established growth economics literature, analyze newly revised data sources, and reestimate generally accepted economic growth models using the revised data. Specific findings include the revalidation of the MRW model, discovery of a satisfactory alternative measure of human capital, sensitivity issues when performing Barro-style regressions, and data trends that may have an alarming impact on certain of the growth models.

Reestimation of the MRW model was found to be robust, and satisfactorily explains differences in productivity among nations. Additionally, human capital as measured by the literacy rate of the population was found to be …

Teenage Childbearing In Maine: Positive Trends But More To Be Done, Leslie King, Stephen Marks

Sociology: Faculty Publications

Teen birth rates in Maine have fallen by 34% over the past decade, the fourth highest decline in the nation. However, as King and Marks point out, a low birthrate of 29.8% in 1999 still exceeds the teenage birthrate in most other industrialized countries in the world by a substantial margin. Moreover, when the authors compared Maine’s predominantly white population with non-Hispanic whites in other states, Maine’s success is not as remarkable. Indeed, the teenage birthrate of Maine’s non-Hispanic white population is higher than every other state in the Northeast corridor with the exception of Delaware. All of this is …

School-Based Prevention Of Adolescent Substance Abuse, Kristina Lorenzen

Graduate Research Papers

Because of the prevalence and serious consequences of adolescent substance abuse, it is necessary to review programming for prevention. Progress has been made in identifying effective prevention methods. However, there is a gap between what research has shown to be effective and the methods commonly used in most schools.

The purpose of this paper is to review existing literature and research on substance abuse prevention for adolescents. The following research questions were addressed: How prevalent is adolescent substance abuse? What specific factors put an adolescent at risk for substance abuse? Why are some programs considered ineffective? What components make an …

Instructions For Authors, Discovery Editors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between Spiritual Belief, Life Attitude, And Mental Health Among Physical Fitness Participants In Northern Indiana, Sharon K. Sacks

Dissertations

Problem. The purpose of this study is to explore spiritual beliefs as defined by an interconnectedness with self and others, generated from a relationship with a higher power, and consider its impact on attitude toward life and mental health.

Method. This study employed the survey research method to collect data investigating the relationships between spiritual beliefs, attitude toward life, and mental health. A battery of three instruments was selected for this study. The Royal Free Questionnaire on Beliefs and Experiences, developed by King, Speck, and Thomas (1994), was used for measuring spiritual beliefs. The Optimism and Pessimism Questionnaire provided a …

Exploratory Study Of The Relationships Between Community Building And The Social, Academic, And Spiritual Engagement At Antillean Adventist University, Zilma Enid Santiago

Dissertations

Problem. This research examined the students’ sense of community building in a college and how such perceptions influenced academic, social, and spiritual engagement in a 4- year Christian university.

Method. The study was an exploratory study that used survey methodology. Data collection was done using a 150-question research instrument that consists of several sections designed to gather information about the demographic characteristics of the population, and to measure the following variables: sense of community, and the academic, social, and spiritual engagement. Both descriptive (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistical techniques (one-way analysis of variance and canonical correlations) were used …

Prejudice, Terrorism, And Behavior Therapy, S. C. Hayes, R. Niccolls, Akihiko Masuda, A. Rye

Psychology Faculty Publications

Behavior therapy is relevant not just to the needs of victims of terrorism, but also to the understanding and modification of psychological processes that lead to the perpetration of terrorist acts. A key process of this kind is prejudice. In this paper, human prejudice is defined as the objectification and dehumanization of people as a result of their participation in evaluative verbal categories. Prejudice is difficult to deal with because: 1) The same verbal processes that give rise to prejudice are massively reinforced in dealing with the external environment; 2) Virtually all cultures openly amplify this process with stigmatized groups; …

Measuring Socioeconomic Status: Reliability And Preliminary Validity Of Different Approaches, Paul Cirino, Rose Sevcik, Maryanne Wolf, Maureen Lovett, Robin Morris, Christopher E. Chin

Psychology Faculty Publications

This study investigated issues related to commonly used socioeconomic status (SES) measures in 140 participants from three cities (Atlanta, Boston, and Toronto) in two countries (United States and Canada). Measures of SES were two from the United States (four-factor Hollingshead scale, Nakao and Treas scale) and one from Canada (Blishen, Carroll, and Moore scale). Reliability was examined both within (interrater agreement) and across (intermeasure agreement) measures. Interrater reliability and classification agreement was high for the total sample (range r = .86 to .91), as were intermeasure correlations and classification agreement (range r = .81 to .88). The weakest agreement across …

Psychometric Stability Of Nationally Normed And Experimental Decoding And Related Measures In Children With Reading Disability, Paul Cirino, Fontina Rashid, Rose Sevcik, Maureen Lovett, Jan Frijters, Maryanne Wolf, Robin D. Morris

Psychology Faculty Publications

Achievement and cognitive tests are used extensively in the diagnosis and educational placement of children with reading disabilities (RD). Moreover, research on scholastic interventions often requires repeat testing and information on practice effects. Little is known, however, about the test–retest and other psychometric properties of many commonly used measures within the beginning reader population, nor are these nationally normed or experimental measures comparatively evaluated. This study examined the test–retest reliability, practice effects, and relations among a number of nationally normed measures of word identification and spelling and experimental measures of achievement and reading-related cognitive processing tests in young children with …

Differences Between Undergraduate And Graduate Students In Self-Concept And Depression, Ann L. Woolley

Dissertations

Problem.

Students have an opportunity for personal growth as they learn about themselves and the world around them. However, their levels of self-concept and depression can influence how they view' themselves, their relationships, and their world. This research compared undergraduate and graduate students with respect to their levels of self-concept and depression.

Method

A quantitative research design was used for an ex post facto study of 239 students from Andrews University and Western Michigan University. They completed the Demographic Questionnaire, the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale: Second Edition (TSCS:2), and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II).

Results

Using 13 as the B D …

The Role Of Libraries In Native American Communities In Louisiana, Becky Hebert

LSU Master's Theses

Describes the study done to identify and describe Louisiana tribal libraries and public library services to Louisiana Native American communities. These four tribes had tribal libraries: Chitimacha, Coushatta, Tunica-Biloxi, and the United Houma Nation. Tribal library evaluation areas included collections, users, technology, funding, cultural integration, and staff demographics. The following tribes were interviewed about public library service in their parishes: Caddo Adais, Choctaw-Apache Community of Ebarb, Clifton Choctaw, Four-Winds Cherokee, Jena Band of Choctaws, and the Talimali Band of Apalache of Louisiana. Most communication between tribes and parish libraries was poor. In general, the tribal library staff did not know …

Government Must Make Consequences Clear, Porcher L. Taylor Iii

School of Professional and Continuing Studies Faculty Publications

With false-profits mania reigning supreme on Wall Street, Congress needs to establish an academy of corporate responsibility and integrity under the Securities and Exchange Commission. This executive training center would have as students the chief executives and financial officers and boards of directors of the nation’s publicly held companies. Senior partners at accounting companies need to be included in this back-to-school group, too. The enforcement-savvy teachers for this two-week academy would be lawyers and accountants from the commission and Justice Department.

An Evaluation Of Storage, Hydration And Reporting Protocols For Biomechanical Testing Of The Rat Femoral Neck, Michael Wayne Reeves

LSU Master's Theses

The current study evaluated the effect of frozen storage and hydration under vacuum on density and breaking strength of the rat femoral neck. Femurs were frozen in saline for periods of 15, 34, 122, or 831 days. No significant effect on bone density was detected for freezing periods of 15, 34, and 122 days, indicating that frozen storage of specimens in saline is moisture-preserving for periods up to four months. Freezing periods of 34 and 122 days were used to examine the effect of frozen storage on bone biomechanical bahavior. Plastic strain increased for the 34-day storage period (p=0.0453) and …

African American Racial Identity And Sport, Keith Harrison

EGS Content

The purpose of this paper is to attempt to synthesize and apply African American racial identity theory and related research to the development of sport and physical activity patterns and preferences in African American youth. Historically the African American over-representation in particular sports phenomena has been examined genetically, anthropocentrically, physiologically, sociologically, and psychologically. The profusion of explanations is a testimony to the complexity of this phenomena. This manuscript provides yet another compelling perspective. Cross [(1995) The psychology of Nigrescence: revising the Cross Model, in: J.G. PONTEROTTO et al. (Eds) Handbook of Multicultural Counseling (Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage)] outlines the metamorphic …

Scholar Or Baller In American Higher Education? A Visual Elicitation And Qualitative Assessment Of The Studentathlete's Mindset, Keith Harrison

EGS Content

Eminent scholar Harry Edwards (2000) has articulated three major realities of African American males in sports: a) The presumption of innate, race-linked black athletic superiority and intellectual deficiency; b) media propaganda portraying sports as a broadly accessible route to African American social and economic mobility; and c) a lack of comparably visible, high-prestige African American role models beyond the sports arena. Driven by labeling theory (Becker, 1963; Goffman, 1959), eight African American male student athletes were surveyed and interviewed. The last two points of Edwards' scholarship were investigated. "We have pretty good historical data and quantitative data about African American …

Who Can A Baller Trust? Analyzing Public University Response To Alleged Student-Athlete Misconduct In A Commercial And Confusing Environment, Keith Harrison

EGS Content

No abstract provided.

User Education: An Overview, Kishor Chandra Satpathy

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of A Culturally Responsive School Environment On Pre-Service Teachers' Willingness To Teach In A School, Delois Maxwell

Trotter Review

In a climate that acknowledges the need for teacher educators to prepare new teachers for culturally diverse student bodies, the study examines the extent to which selected features of an urban school environment affect a preservice teacher's willingness to teach in the school. A survey was administered to 48 preservice teachers after they completed a 7-week student teaching experience in a large urban school district. The survey sample was drawn from a northeastern university which enrolls 90% Caucasian education students. The study pursues the following research questions: does race/ethnicity, gender, program level, school location and major relate to the preservice …

Responding To Cairo: Case Studies Of Changing Practice In Reproductive Health And Family Planning, Nicole Haberland, Diana Measham

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo codified views long advocated by women’s health activists the world over. The conference marked a turning point in the history of the population field—one that brought reproductive health and women’s rights to the forefront of the international population agenda. The 22 case studies in this book document changes in practice in reproductive health and family planning programs within 18 countries. The case studies demonstrate the important strides that were made in the years following the conference and point to many challenges that remain. The abolition or modification of population policies …

What About Us? Bringing Infertility Into Reproductive Health Care, Okonofua Friday, Bishakha Datta

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Infertility is a major reproductive health problem throughout much of the world. Despite the prevalence and seriousness of infertility, the population and reproductive health field has largely neglected this problem. National policies and international donor organizations have been one-sided in their focus on programs designed to prevent unwanted pregnancies. This issue of Quality/Calidad/Qualité, with clinic-based narratives and case reports from India and Nigeria, illustrates what is involved in trying to address the problem of infertility in developing countries. A possible framework for incorporating limited infertility care into a family planning or reproductive health program includes providing education and counseling, preliminary …

An Essay We're Learning To Read: Responding To Alt.Style, Michael Spooner

Library Faculty & Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

The Path Bookstore Bookmark, Cedarville University

WCDR Assorted Documents

No abstract provided.

Expanding Access To Consumer Health Information: A Multi-Institutional Collaboration, W. Bede Mitchell, Peter Sullivan, Mary Kate Pung, Lisa P. Smith

Library Faculty Publications

A partnership between an academic library, a public library system, and an area health education center meet a critical information need in a rural region of southeast Georgia.

Kenya: Community Sensitization Must Precede Alternative Coming-Of-Age Rite, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

Female genital cutting (FGC) is practiced as a rite of passage in over half of Kenya’s districts. Kenyan nongovernmental agency Maendeleo Ya Wanawake (MYWO) has long conducted community sensitization focused on discouraging this practice. In 1996, MYWO began implementing the “alternative rite” (AR) intervention in sensitized communities. Girls participating in AR receive family life education in seclusion, followed by a public graduation ceremony recognizing them as adults. They are not cut as part of the ceremony. In 2000, the Population Council carried out an assessment of the AR program that sought to identify the impact of MYWO’s activities on knowledge …

Developing Evaluation Frameworks For Assessing Quality Ict-Based Learning In Higher Education, Ron Oliver, John Hedberg, Barry Harper, Sandra Wills, Shirley Agostinho

Research outputs pre 2011

This paper describes the evaluation of high quality learning designs which are being selected for possible redevelopment in a National Project funded by the Australian University Teaching Committee (AUTC). The project focuses on "Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and Their Role in Flexible Learning" and is evaluating over 50 projects with a view to developing a range of software tools, templates and/or guidelines based on those that are deemed to be effective ICT-based learning projects. The approach is unique in that it tries to pinpoint the key attributes of ICT-based projects that make them suitable for application in other contexts …

Online Learning Design For Dummies: Professional Development Strategies For Beginning Online Designers, Ron Oliver, Janice Herrington

Research outputs pre 2011

Much of the conventional development of Web-based learning environments stems from design strategies that are based on providing delivery of the course content. Contemporary courseware delivery systems encourage teachers to see the design of online learning as settings as a process of electronic delivery of content and information. As a consequence Web-based courses have tended to display limited evidence of an underpinning learning design and varying degrees of use of the opportunities and affordances of the new technologies. This paper provides an overview of instructional design principles that can guide beginning designers in the creation of Web-based learning materials that …

Exploring The Development Of Learning Communities In Online Settings, Ron Oliver, Christopher Brook

Research outputs pre 2011

This paper discusses the notion of community as an outcome of working within an online environment. In particular, the paper explores the concept of users' development of a sense of community as an outcome of working within an online environment designed to support the professional and personal development of its users. The paper discusses previous research, which has explored the development of a sense of community and reports a study that investigates the development of a sense of community among users of a community-oriented site supporting teachers' professional development. The data gathered in this inquiry provided evidence that the users …