Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Confounding Effects Of Ability, Item Difficulty, And Content Balance Within Multiple Dimensions On The Estimation Of Unidimensional Thetas, Ki Lynn Matlock

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

When test forms that have equal total test difficulty and number of items vary in difficulty and length within sub-content areas, an examinee's estimated score may vary across equivalent forms, depending on how well his or her true ability in each sub-content area aligns with the difficulty of items and number of items within these areas. Estimating ability using unidimensional methods for multidimensional data has been studied for decades, focusing primarily on subgroups of the population based on the estimated ability for a single set of data (Ackerman, 1987a, 1989; Ansley & Forsyth, 1985; Kroopnick, 2010; Reckase, Ackerman, & Spray, …

Effectiveness Of Teacher-Implemented Function-Based Interventions Versus Non-Function-Based Interventions For Preschoolers, Katherine Marie Bellone

Dissertations

Disruptive behaviors occur frequently in preschool classrooms. Children who exhibit early-onset behavioral concerns in educational settings are at greater risk for negative developmental outcomes than their peers. In order to address problem behaviors in the classroom, practitioners may use functional assessment methodology to design an individualized intervention tied to the function of the behavior. Alternatively, practitioners may choose to use an evidence-based practice, not tied to behavioral function, shown to be beneficial through research. Though much research states the need for empirical comparisons between function-based interventions and non-function-based interventions, past comparisons have often been unbalanced, such that the interventions included …

Three Essays On The Economic Costs Of Armed Conflict, Anton Parlow

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three essays on the economic cost of armed conflict.

The first essay focuses on the impact of an armed conflict on children's health. The exposure to violence in utero and early in life has adverse impacts on children's age-adjusted height. Using the experience of the Kashmir insurgency, I find that children more affected by the insurgency are 0.9 to 1.4 standard deviations shorter compared with children less affected by the insurgency. The effect is larger for children born during peaks in violence. Also, children affected by the insurgency are more likely to be sick in the …

The Predictors Of Success Of Palestinian Tawjihi Students In East Jerusalem : A Multilevel Analysis., Rhonda G. Amer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed-method research study was to identify the predictors of success of Palestinian Arab Tawjihi students in East Jerusalem schools. Three theories guided this research study and assisted in developing the conceptual framework; social disorganization theory, ecological theory, and achievement motivation theory. Methods: The sample consisted of 20 schools and 522 students from 19 different neighborhoods. This study was based on existing data and observational data as well as some qualitative data to provide context for the model results. The existing data were gathered from the different schools, the Ministry of Education, local organizations, neighborhood representatives, and …

Sex As A Moderator Of The Association Between Childhood Trauma, Impulsivity, And Primary Psychopathy In A Hispanic Undergraduate Sample, Judy D. Sifonte

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The current study investigates the effect that sex as a moderator has on the association between childhood trauma and impulsivity on primary psychopathy in a Hispanic college sample. The online survey obtained 443 responses from undergraduates; however after incomplete responses were removed and the data was cleaned, a sample size of 367 remained for use in primary analysis. The study utilized a hierarchical moderation regression analysis to determine the effect of sex on the association of predictor variables—childhood trauma and impulsivity, to the dependent variable, primary psychopathy. Researchers hypothesized that sex will enhance the association between childhood trauma and psychopathy, …

Grammar Enhanced Biliteracy: Naskapi Language Structures For Facilitating Reading In Naskapi, William Joseph Jancewicz

Theses and Dissertations

The Naskapi language is the language of instruction in the early primary grades of the school in the Naskapi community. Only recently have Naskapi-speaking teachers received formal instruction in pedagogy, with a cohort of Naskapi teachers following courses for their Bachelor of Education degree towards careers teaching in the Naskapi language in their local school. These adults are highly motivated to become literate in their mother tongue in order to teach or prepare curriculum materials in the Naskapi language. This thesis explores how basic grammatical structures can be mastered, and provides insight into the form that pedagogical grammatical instruction should …

The Academic Impacts Of Attending A Kipp Charter School In Arkansas, Caleb P. Rose

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

KIPP Delta College Preparatory School (KIPP: DCPS), an open-enrollment charter school, opened in 2002 in Helena, Arkansas. Since its opening, KIPP: DCPS students have consistently outperformed their peers in the Helena/West Helena School district, and moreover, recent test scores suggest that white students and minority students are achieving at the same rate, essentially eliminating the achievement gap that persists between whites and minorities elsewhere in the state. In fact, KIPP's achievement record was so influential that when Arkansas lawmakers instituted a cap on the number of open-enrollment charter schools in the state, they made an exception for KIPP, essentially allowing …

Associations Of Organic Produce Consumption With Socioeconomic Status And The Local Food Environment: Multi-Ethnic Study Of Atherosclerosis (Mesa), Cynthia L. Curl, Shirley A.A. Beresford, Anjum Hajat, Joel D. Kaufman, Kari Moore, Jennifer A. Nettleton, Ana V. Diez-Roux

Cynthia Curl

Neighborhood characteristics, such as healthy food availability, have been associated with consumption of healthy food. Little is known about the influence of the local food environment on other dietary choices, such as the decision to consume organic food. We analyzed the associations between organic produce consumption and demographic, socioeconomic and neighborhood characteristics in 4,064 participants aged 53–94 in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis using log-binomial regression models. Participants were classified as consuming organic produce if they reported eating organic fruits and vegetables either “sometimes” or “often or always”. Women were 21% more likely to consume organic produce than men (confidence …

Barriers For Foreign-Born Students In Elite Post-Secondary Education In The United States, Charmian Lam

Theses and Dissertations

Foreign-born students complete college at a lower rate when compared to native-born students. It is essential to examine both the known and latent barriers that prevent foreign-born students from successfully completing the first four years of college. The purpose of this study is to assess the applicability of Bourdieuian notions of capital in explaining the discrepancy in educational attainment between foreign-born and native born students. The data is from the 1999 National Longitudinal Survey of Freshmen (n=3176), a survey designed to test various theoretical explanations for minority underachievement in higher education. Stepwise regressions were used to determine the individual impact …

Casualisation Of The Teaching Workforce: Implications For Nursing Education, Elizabeth J. Halcomb, Sharon Andrew, Kath Peters, Yenna Salamonson, Debra Jackson

Elizabeth Jane Halcomb Professor

Internationally, nursing faculty shortages have been reported and there is a potential for them to worsen into the next decade as existing faculty age. To, in part, address this issue, across disciplines there is clearly an international trend towards the increasing casualisation of the higher education workforce. Despite the potential impact of this two-tiered workforce structure, there has been limited examination of the discipline specific issues related to the employment of a growing number of sessional nursing staff. This paper provides a critical review of the literature related to the employment of sessional teachers in higher education. The paper advances …

Towards A Learning For Disaster Resilience Approach: Exploring Content And Process, Neil Dufty

Neil Dufty

This paper is a first attempt to scope the possible content and learning processes that could be used in a holistic Learning for Disaster Resilience (LfDR) approach as a possible improvement to current disaster education, communications and engagement practices. The research found that LfDR should not only cover public safety aspects, but also learning about the community itself, including how to reduce its vulnerabilities and strengthen resilience. In relation to learning process, a review of learning theory found four broad learning theory groups - behavioural, cognitive, affective, social – that have relevance to LfDR. The research identified a range of …

Red Queen Takes White Knight: The Commercialisation Of Accounting Education In Australia, Edmund W. Watts, Carol J. Mcnair, Graham D. Bowrey

Ted Watts

Purpose - This paper investigates the consequences of the commercialisation of Australian universities. It also provides a theoretical framework which focuses this action. Design / methodology - The Red Queen scenario posits that organisations that are more active than their rivals (they run faster) improve their competitive positions and increase their performance. However, organisations that are more sluggish (they run slower) experience negative performance consequences. This paper examines this process using the new institutional theory against the backdrop of the quest for increased international student numbers, higher international ranking and international accreditation. Findings - Using data from the 2011 Excellence …

I Don't Want To Save Your Children, Katherine M. Patterson

SURGE

A few weeks ago, the moment that I’ve been dreaming of for almost half of a year finally arrived. I started the Heston Summer Experience as an intern in Gettysburg. An embarrassing amount of my winter break was devoted to writing and rewriting my applications. After receiving an invitation for an interview, I convened my roommates to help me choose an outfit and ask me practice questions, which is not something I do…ever. Getting my acceptance letter in the mail was the ultimate highlight of a long and difficult year. When I was home for the first few weeks of …

"I'M Afraid [Of] My Future.": Secrecy, Biopower, And Korean High School Girls, Noelle Easterday

Anthropology ETDs

This paper analyzes the secrets revealed by Korean high school girls. Despite their struggles being known to the Korean public-at-large, the majority of these secrets express the students dismay at not meeting the high standards expected of teenage girls in successfully preparing for the future. In this case study, the public airing of the otherwise silenced acknowledgement of the authors' perceived deficiencies and failures illuminates processes of biopower (the subject-based regulation and disciplining of bodies) embedded within the Korean nation-state building project. I explore how the Neo-Confucian principles of reverence, obedience, and self-cultivation work together with the neoliberal, post-industrial consumerist …

High School In Bali, Samantha R. Eck

Bali Soundscapes Essays

In the Indonesian education system, high school is comprised of 10^th, 11^th, and 12^th grades. In their first year of high school, a Balinese student’s curriculum might look very similar to an American student’s. At this point in their education, the Balinese are still following the national general curriculum, studying mathematics, science, language, and history. During the eleventh and twelfth years of school the Balinese school structure diverges from the American system. Indonesian students must choose one of three areas of study on which to focus for the last two years of high school, a …

Balinese Elementary Schools, Jane A. Best

Bali Soundscapes Essays

Kerambitan’s elementary school houses approximately 100 students. These students, from first to sixth grade, attend class six days a week from 8 AM until noon (the afternoon heat is too strong). Like in many American elementary schools, the teachers on this level teach all core subjects; in Indonesia these subjects are math, reading, culture, and social studies. Subjects are highly standardized on a national level; students in Bali are learning the same things as students in Java or any of the other islands. The exception to this rule is the culture class; here students learn about Balinese culture, arts, and …

Brown Eyes, Brown Mind: What We Learn From What We See, Mauricio E. Novoa

SURGE

My summer days aren’t spent in a house on the beach or travelling to different states or countries with my family or friends, forgetting about the worries of the rest of the year and wondering what could be better than life under the sun. They are spent in a school building, the first place my younger self would have been eager to escape during off time. This is the second summer I am working at the LIU Migrant Education Summer School of Excellence. Unlike normal summer school, which usually consists of remedial classes for students who can’t seem to …

Impact Of Sectoral Allocation Of Foreign Aid On Gender Equity And Human Development, Léonce Ndikumana

Léonce Ndikumana

While developing countries have made some progress in achieving human development since the turn of the century, many are still lagging behind in important human development goals such as education, health, nutrition and access to clean drinking water and improved sanitation. Moreover, gender equity remains a major challenge in most countries. In this paper, we examine the role that foreign aid plays in generating these outcomes, using panel data from OECD-DAC on the sectoral allocation of development aid, in conjunction with country-level data on public expenditures, human development outcomes and other economic, social and political indicators. Specifically, the paper attempts …

Profiles Of Productive Educational Psychologists, Melissa M. Patterson Hazley

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

The present study aims to answer the questions: Who are presently the most productive educational psychologists? How do they accomplish so much? And what advice might they give to young scholars? To identify the most productive educational psychologists, a survey was sent to Division 15 members (educational psychology) of the American Psychological Association. The top four educational psychologists were Patricia Alexander, Richard Mayer, Dale Schunk, and Barry Zimmerman. Using instrumental case study methodology, three broad themes were identified that allow these scholars to be so productive. These included professional influences, time management, research and writing techniques, and time management. The …

The Impact Of The Arts On Traveller Education; An Exploratory Study, Bernadette Fagan

Masters

The aim of this study was to explore the impact that the Arts, (that is the study of visual art, drama, music, dance, creative writing, film and video expression), have on the educational process within Irish Traveller Educational Centres whose students are widely recognised as the most highly marginalised group within Irish society (Ireland, 1995; MacGreil, 1996; Zappone, 2002). Art programmes appear to induce a ‘flow’ state, as identified by Csikszentmihalyi, that he defines as a state of optimal awareness in which the subject becomes lost in the action of the moment and results in a heightened integration and differentiation …

Resolving Inner Cultural Conflicts Toward Education In Pastoral East Africa: A Grounded Theory Study, Timothy A. Keiper, Janvier Rugira

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this grounded theory study was to explain the perceptions of semi - nomadic pastoralists in East Africa, who self - identified as having the characteristics of the most vulnerable, and who were educationally successful. This study identified motivating factors that contributed to resiliency while in the pursuit of an education. Findings suggest that even though students from this background utilize these motivating factors they are still faced with inner cultural tensions that can be insurmountable. Emergent theory suggests that inner cultural conflicts toward education are resolved when push/pull factors were combined with a sense of something beyond …

Immigrant Brides In Taiwan: New Land, New Hope?, Yuwen Chen

Student Research Initiative

In the last two decades, transnational marriages have been growing in Taiwan, Republic of China (R.O.C). Increasing numbers of Taiwanese men have married bride immigrants from Southeast Asian countries (Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Cambodia) and Mainland China. These women usually are from low socio-economic class and have little formal education (Chen, Katsurada & Wu, 1998; Tsai, 2006; Tsai & Hsiao 2006). Their offspring are the so-called “New Taiwanese Children”(NTC). The academic performance of New Taiwanese Children has become a contested issue in Taiwanese society, because these children are viewed by some as not being able to contribute to …

Worn Down And Worn Out, Irene Carney, Thomas J. Shields

School of Professional and Continuing Studies Faculty Publications

Exposure to early adversity, particularly dire poverty, can powerfully shape the life course of a young person. As a city and region, we continually choose whether we’ll commit ourselves to an alternative course.

George Brooks: A Personal Reminiscence, David B. Lipsky

David B Lipsky

[Excerpt] In 1961, George joined the faculty of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) at Cornell and Sara was appointed to a position in the School's extension division. George hadn't done much college-level teaching when he joined the ILR School faculty. He quickly established himself as one of the School's most popular and influential instructors. George was certainly an engaging and entertaining lecturer, but it was not only his platform skills that made him so popular with students. Cornell students — especially those who were part of the 1960s generation — were drawn to George's unorthodox views on …

Personal And Professional Expectations Of Students At California Polytechnic State University Based On Socialization Of Gender Norms In Education, Marisa Wishart

Social Sciences

Two hundred and one students from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo completed a one page survey regarding their role models and expectations for life after graduation in order to gain insight on the gender differences that are present within the student community. The results were analyzed using cross tabulations in IBM SPSS and supported the hypotheses (1) traditional gender roles, such as men as the provider and women as the domestic caretaker, will be reflected by survey respondents, and (2) due to a lack of female role models for women in professional fields, women are less likely than …

Using Balanced Learning Course Design To Reduce Resistance To Diversity Curricula, Misty L. Wall

Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Diversity content is often met with covert and overt resistance in the classroom. Utilisation of a balanced learning model may address classroom resistance. Balanced learning models require ‘backwards’ course planning, equal attention to course content and class process, and a strategic use of cyclical course design to include introduction of new materiel, experience, followed by personal reflection. Using a balanced learning model moves classroom instruction beyond active learning strategies in the classroom, but can present unique challenges for instructors. While not without challenges, utilising a balanced learning model proves useful during course design and delivery of a graduate course on …

The Non-Profit Education System In Cambodia: Case Study Of Two Programs, Sasha I. Zuflacht

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the strengths and weaknesses of two non-profit education systems in Cambodia using organizations focused on educating and supporting Cambodian youth. The study addresses the challenges that these different schools face and what they are doing to overcome these issues. Questionnaires were distributed and interviews and guided conversations were conducted at The Global Child and The Ponheary Ly Foundation; teachers, staff, volunteers and students participated. This study discusses how strategies and structure vary between these two different organizations and the impact they are having on education and youth in Cambodia. The information collected indicates that non-profit education programs …

Practicum Projects, Michael P. Johnson

Public Policy and Public Affairs Faculty Publication Series

Executive Summary LIFT-Boston, a local non-profit organization, entered into a collaborative partnership in September 2012 with McCormack Graduate School Public Policy Ph.D. students and faculty to develop and execute a research project. The goals of this endeavor were to assist LIFT-Boston in understanding the outcomes associated with its services and enable the organization to further pursue service goals. The primary research questions respond to the organization’s most fundamental questions. These include how the organization’s unique service model impacts clients across several objective and subjective dimensions of well-being. Secondary questions focus on how these impacts may translate into increases or decreases …

Beyond Small Change: Reforming Nevada's Approach To Education Reform, Sonya D. Horsford

Lincy Institute Reports and Briefs

When it comes to education, Nevada’s reputation as a low‐performing state in no way reflects a shortage of reforms. The politics of high‐stakes accountability characteristic of federal education policy since the 1980s has resulted in much reform, but “small change” in terms of funding and improved outcomes in the Silver State. This brief examines the history of Nevada education reform and why Nevada must reform its approach to improving schools by turning its attention from unfunded mandates to adequate and equitable investments in education. It concludes with a discussion of how Nevada policymakers and educational leaders can move beyond small …

Gender Based Differences In Managerial Experience: The Case Of Informal Firms In Rwanda, Mohammad Amin, Khrystyna Kushnir

Mohammad Amin

The paper contributes to the literature on gender-based disparity in human capital by extending existing results on educational attainment to the number of years of experience that female vs. male managers have among informal or unregistered firms. Using the case of Rwanda, results show that the number of years of experience for female managers is significantly lower equaling 80-88 percent of their male counterparts. We also find that this gender disparity is higher among the relatively older managers and among firms in the relatively less developed city of Butare compared with the more developed city of Kigali.