Class of 2014 Abstract / Specific Aims: The specific aim of this study was to measure the severity of dopamine receptor 1 (D1R)- and dopamine receptor 2 (D2R)-induced abnormal involuntary movements (AIMs) when administered with the NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 or opioid glycopeptide MMP-2200. Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were injected with 6-hydroxydopamine to cause unilateral loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra and subsequent striatal dopamine loss. Levodopa (7 mg/kg; i.p.) injection for 21 consecutive days caused the rats to develop levodopa-induced dyskinesias, termed AIMs in this preclinical rat model. The rats were first primed with the D1R agonist SKF81297, then co-administered with MK-801 or MMP-2200 and AIMs scores were recorded to determine the severity of the dyskinesias. Then the same procedure was performed with the D2R agonist quinpirole. Main Results: MK-801 worsened D1R-induced limb, axial and orolingual (LAO) AIMs (p<0.05) whereas there was no change in locomotor AIM scores. MK-801 reduced D2R-induced LAO AIMs by 89% (p<0.001). However, MK-801 induced ipsiversive rotations, which is a parkinsonian symptom in this model. MMP-2200 had no effect on D1R-induced LAO AIMs but significantly reduced locomotor AIMs by 50% (p<0.05). MMP-2200 significantly decreased both D2R-induced LAO and locomotor AIMs by 40% and 90%, respectively (p<0.01). Conclusion: Both MK-801 and MMP-2200 had differential effects on the rodent direct and indirect striatofugal pathways with regards to AIMs. These results support that MK-801, an NMDA receptor antagonist, and MMP-2200, a mixed mu and delta opioid receptor agonist, modulate levodopa-induced dyskinesias through the dopaminergic and glutaminergic pathways.

M.Ed. / During adolescence confusion in idendity can occur (Louw. 1990:463) as adolescents find themselves in a period of transition. During this phase of life a positive self -concept is extremely important. because it determines where the person will fit into society, choices he will make (louw. 1990:460) and whether he is successful in his relationship with his fellow men (Staples, 1991: I I I). It is therefore extremely important that adolescents accept themselves. Although information about self-concept development is available. the researcher found that some adolescents still suffer from low self-concept which might, if not addressed. become hindrances to optimal development and self-actualisation. The purpose of this study was to determine whether self-esteem in adolescents could be improved. A program based on Constructivistic principles was developed and ten adolescents actively participated therein for ten sessions of two hours each. Nine components of self-concept development was discussed, namely: what is self-concept; how is self-concept formed; the ideal self; proactive attitude; conflict resolution strategies; self-assertiveness and friends. The last session was reserved for the evaluation on the program and self-growth. The development of the respondents were assessed and video's were taken. Workbooks were also analyzed. Measures to ensure trustworthiness was kept in mind and the development of the respondents were discussed with their parents.

M.Ed. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. (Education Management) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / During the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, not only physical assets were eroded but more importantly, human capital were destroyed and left the country living hardly on qualified personnel at almost all levels of the economy to play a meaningful development role. While capacity building is needed in many sectors of the economy, it is especially important in the education sector. This study focuses on one particular issue namely to what extent sending academic staff for training in foreign countries can effectively contribute to capacity building in Rwandan higher education institutions (HEI). Various options exist to improve a strategy to build capacities in higher education institutions; amongst others is the training of human resource which is the most important of all. In order to investigate the above, both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. Techniques such as documentation, semi-structured interview, questionnaire and direct observation were also used in order to reach the research objectives. With regard to the main question of this study, findings reveal that funding academic staff for foreign training is believed to effectively contribute to capacity building in Rwandan higher education. As respondents explain, academic staff sent for training in foreign countries acquires new knowledge that is needed to build the country. This gained knowledge is spread all over the country through teaching at universities where most sectors of the country find their human resources. Being open minded, trained academic staff will be able to update his knowledge and therefore train in turn his students accordingly. However, findings inform also that Rwandan HEI are faced with multiple problems amongst others the problem of defining the real institutional needs for appropriate training. In this regard, findings suggest that for the training to be effective in Rwandan HEI there is a need of putting in place appropriate mechanisms and assessing institutional needs before training a person and training according to those specific needs in order to help the process of capacity building being more effective. / South Africa

The United States system of education is guided by broad underlying educational aims, whether or not those aims are critically examined or recognized. Contemporary educational discourse, however, has primarily focused on the level of implementation of policies and practices. This is a problem, because the broad underlying educational aims that guide the system of education have profound effects on humans' lives and the larger social structure. The question of what aims ought to guide education is a moral question that requires moral justification. In this dissertation I develop the concept of Generative Community as a regulative ideal and use it to assess the moral value of six educational aims and six educational policies and practices. In conceptualizing Generative Community, I draw on the insights of Deweyan pragmatism. I draw on Dewey's work because of the clarity Dewey brings to the concept of education, the notion of an "ideal", and because of the clarity Dewey brings to the concept of moral value. There are two parts to this dissertation. Part I is titled "Developing a Regulative Ideal for Educational Aims, Policies, and Practices". In Part I, Chapter 1, I first explicate the concept of education that I employ. Second, I examine the scholarly literature in the field of educational philosophy on the subject of educational aims. Third, I set out the ethical theory of Dewey's reflective morality and critically assess its merits. I conclude that Deweyan reflective morality is a well warranted moral theory and can serve as the means to reach morally justifiable decisions. In Part I, Chapter 2, I first discuss the multidimensional notion of the "Good Life" as an ultimate aim of education. I draw on Dewey's notion of "moral happiness" to give definition to the concept of the Good Life, and argue that society is best enabled to approach the Good Life if its decision making processes conform to a Deweyan form of reflective moral reasoning. Given this, a morally good education must provide conditions that are conducive to a) the occurrence of reflective morality and b) the realization of moral happiness and the Good Life. I then develop a conception of a state of affairs that would constitute an ideal, in the Deweyan sense, such an ideal being necessary for the Deweyan process of reflective morality. This is the concept of generative community. This concept is intended to serve as a regulative ideal. Part II of the dissertation is titled "Using Generative Community as a Regulative Ideal to Assess the Moral Value of Educational Aims, Policies, and Practices. In Part II, Chapter III, I select and explicate six educational aims that have figured prominently in the U.S. system of education. I then assess each by reference to generative community as a regulative ideal. These aims are: 1) to disseminate knowledge; 2) to increase economic efficiency; 3) to achieve individual self-realization; 4) to promote cultural assimilation; 5) to promote the growth of democracy; and, 6) to advance social justice. In Part II, Chapter IV, I select and explicate six prominent and politically important cases of educational policy and practice in the United States. The first three cases of educational policy and practice exemplify features within the current system of education that conflict with generative community. The second three cases exemplify features within the current system of education that align well with generative community. Finally, in the Conclusion, I provide a summary account of the work that has been accomplished.

The persistence of a 120 year-old mathematics curriculum despite dramatic changes in society (Dossey et al., 2016; NCTM, 2018) and the failure of the US mathematics education system to achieve many of its stated aims, especially for students from traditionally marginalized populations (Attridge & Inglis, 2013; Carnevale & Desrochers, 2003a; Ganter & Barker, 2004; Kastberg et al., 2016; Lei et al., 2015; Mullis et al., 2016) raises the question: “What aims, if any, actually shape the curriculum experienced by students?” This dissertation adds to what is known about curricular systems by building a theory of the role of aims for school mathematics in curriculum development, planning, and enactment. It does so by undertaking a qualitative analysis of ten lessons by four different teachers at two different high schools; tracking how the lessons are transformed from instructional materials into plans by the teacher and then enacted in classrooms and perceived by students. This dissertation analyzes these lessons through the lens of activity theory, enabling a deeper understanding of how aims can be described and how they permeate curricular systems. The data analysis produces a framework for how aims can be described and categorized, how aims permeate an individual stage of curriculum, and how aims permeate across stages of curriculum. It finds that aims can be conceptualized as having two parts, a central activity for which mathematical learning is designed to prepare students and the function that school mathematics plays in preparing students to participate in that central activity. The extent to which and how aims permeate a stage of curriculum can be described as the extent to which the mathematical goals for the lesson are connected to clear central aims. The aims found in particular stages of curriculum and the levels of permeation of those aims in those stages can be tracked across stages to determine whether the stages are reinforcing each other’s support for the achievement of aims or working at cross purposes. The application of this framework to the selected curricular systems reveals many lessons with low levels of aim permeation and extensive changes in the aims of lessons as the curriculum is transformed from intention to plan to enactment. This study suggests that aims are underutilized in curricular planning and provides evidence that the mathematics curriculum may be built following disciplinary logic with aims created to justify what is already in place. Further research must be done to explore this conjecture. If it is supported, then curriculum decision makers who seek to improve the extent to which they achieve their aims and eliminate racial and economic disparities in this achievement must begin by elevating the role of aims in their curricular work.

"Since education is a process of development and growth throughout all life, it is necessary for man to realize that its forms and purposes vary from one environmental and societal condition to another. However, education is also a process by which the individual is trained to conform to the behavior patterns of society. In this society with its many values, some confused and conflicting, two values are basic: a belief in the potential worth of each individual, and reliance upon the method of individual and group intelligence in the solution of problems. When either of these basic values is challenged, democracy is threatened. Research shows that the elementary school's basic function is the education of its children for life in a confused and changing society. Also that this function requires close co-operation between the school and community. How to bridge the gap between the small limited community life of the Remerton children, who of necessity must also live in a school and other societies outside their community, provides an impetus for skillful planning and consequently the primary purpose of this paper"--Introduction. / "August, 1953." / Typescript. / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts." / Advisor: Virgil E. Strickland, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 64-68).

This is a doctoral dissertation centered on a qualitative research case study on teachers' perceptions of the effects of a particular high-stakes test--the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) on high school English and math curriculum and instruction. Specifically, this case study involved three focus group interviews at three Arizona high schools. Participants were experienced English and math teachers at each school site. To broaden the perspective gained from the focus group interviews, the study included classroom observations and document analysis. Two of the high schools chosen are located on the Navajo Reservation and were specifically chosen to include an important population of students in a discussion in which they are largely forgotten even though they face unique challenges. A review of the literature on high-stakes testing effects reveals almost no extant literature on the effects of the AIMS test. This study will contribute to the national dialogue on testing effects as well as make an important foundational research contribution to the Arizona state dialogue on AIMS effects.

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