Numerous studies suggest that collaborative learning enhances the knowledge-building discourse. Emerging literature suggests that students can learn and understand mathematical concepts in an enriched way when the subject is approached in a discursive, collaborative fashion. In implementation to date, however, carefully designed online collaborative problem solving exercises have been insufficiently supported by student participation. This study examined the experience of one particular CSCL program, Virtual Math Teams (VMT) Project, which uses a collaborative problem-solving approach to mathematics. The intention of this program is to get students to work together online to solve mathematics problems. The distinctive feature of this exercise is a collaborative effort by a group of students to solve a problem. The problem investigated in this study was why students showed resistance to using the Virtual Math Teams (VMT) chat service tools, and what methods may be used to motivate students to engage in these collaborative problem-solving exercises. The goals of this study were to examine The Math Forum's program experience to determine why the collaborative exercise VMT Chat is beset by student refusal to register and participate, and why the number of registrants and participants in the individually oriented Problems of the Week (POW) are substantially higher than those of the VMT Chat. This study helped determine what factors motivate students to register and participate in this program. Four reasons for a lack of participation in the VMT Chat program were found: a lack of teacher encouragement, a lack of integration of the VMT Chat program in math classes, a potentially confusing and difficult to use computer environment for the VMT Chat program, and a lack of available information, advertising, and marketing for the program. The study contributes to the knowledge of online learning and collaboration by the determination of why participants are resistant to registering and participating in the VMT Chat; and factors that help to motivate users to shift from acting as individually oriented problem solving users to online problem solving collaborators.

Computer performance has become increasingly important at modern computer installations. At the same time, performance analysts have shown a strong interest in using expert system technology to meet these new demands. Because of the importance of the system sort product in improving overall system performance, a prototype expert system (KBSORT) was developed. When embedded in the system sort utility, KBSORT optimizes the CPU time performance of the sort applications generated by the system utility. A thorough search of the available literature revealed that no work had yet been done on applying expert system technology to enhancing sort performance. Because the research for this study is a first attempt in this area, a rigorous twelve step procedure was followed in developing the KBSORT prototype. The steps included formulating test cases, researching sort performance enhancement techniques, interviewing experts on sort performance, developing the rules for the expert system, embedding the prototype in the sort utility, and running the sort utility to study the difference in CPU time performance when the expert system was in use. Interviews with sort performance experts revealed that the expert system had to optimize in three areas. It had to choose (1) the best sorting algorithm for the current circumstances, (2) the optimal amount of core for the particular sort, and (3) the proper sort work allocation on the input/output devices available while taking into account the current level of contention for those devices. The results of this study support the original hypothesis that the use of a sort utility with an embedded expert system designed to improve CPU time performance generates applications that run more efficiently than sort applications generated by a sort utility without such an embedded expert system.

Online education through the use of an asynchronous learning network is playing an increasingly important role in higher education. The conveniences of time and place independent learning have added to the popularity of online education. Online education offers more than simply a digital representation of a traditional course. Instruction has the potential to be enhanced through the use of Internet based tools. When students are grouped and charged with a common goal, online collaboration can also result. Collaboration in itself offers many benefits to students during and beyond their academic experience. Therefore assessing such an activity, regardless of communication channels being used is important. The purpose of this study was to focus specifically on the assessment of an individual's contribution in collaborative activity conducted online or in a hybrid course setting. The product of this study was an instrument designed with the intended purpose of assessing such activities. Through the measurement of student participation, cooperation, and collaboration the assessment of a student's overall contributions to a collaborative activity could be determined. The development of this instrument was based on an established set of criteria. This set of criteria acted as a standard to which the instrument was designed. The criteria was based on review of the literature and validated through the use of an Expert Panel. The instrument was then tested in four classes. The groups in each class were exposed to both formative and summative feedback that resulted from peer and self-assessment of the activity. The peer and self-assessment of each individual's contributions were based on a set of identifiers also developed and validated by the Expert Panel. Data gathered from the instrument included both qualitative and quantitative support for the use of such an instrument. This study did develop an instrument for the assessment of collaborative activities. Further research was indicated that would further enhance the instrument and its capabilities.

This dissertation constitutes findings on research into the grand ideas of computer science and a philosophical framework for the grand ideas. By way of illustration, this dissertation is in the form of a college-level text meant to demonstrate both the grand ideas of computer science and a potential framework for them. The text is a sophisticated survey of the foundational concepts which form the basis of computer science. The text may serve as an introduction to computer science for those new to the discipline and also as a concise review of topics for those familiar with the discipline. The text is broken down into four units: the overview, the user's view, the functional view and the foundational view. The entire text and each of the first three units follows a spiral approach. The first three units present ideas in a top-down fashion (i.e., levels of increasing abstraction). The final unit presents ideas in a bottom-up fashion. Incorporated throughout the text are principles derived from the liberal arts, especially the notion of the trivium. The grand ideas of computer science are introduced through the use of "guiding questions" for each unit.

Electronic mail is undoubtedly one of the most successful computer applications in the Information Technology industry. International standards, such as the X.400 Message Handling Systems, have been developed to enable the continual expansion of electronic mail services to a wide range of users. The X.400 standards have comprehensively detailed the functional level of message handling systems but, as with all CCITT standards, has stopped short of defining any requirements for the user interface and a phase approach to the integration of X.400 mail systems for distributed networks. This thesis presents a functional model, requirements for a contemporary X.400 Mail system for distributed networks, discussion of mail systems, and an integrated phase approach. The functional model was developed from the X.400 recommendations. The functional model, requirements, and the implemented target system was the result of a comprehensive study and experiments. The X.400 issues focused upon in the functional model, Interim and Target systems include the complexity of specifying message recipient addresses and message options. One of the most promising international standards is the X.SOO Directory Services at this writing. X.SOO provides a global distributed database of information on people and an extensible range of objects. The directory enables users to store their complex X.400addresses and provide a more consistent and reliable method to access this information. The functional model, Interim and Target system also describes the requirements for the integration of X.SOO Directory Services with X.400 Message Handling Systems. This tightly coupled integration is considered to be a powerful enabling technology for electronic mail users. The functional model, requirements and Interim and Target system with the integrated phase approach provides the computing science discipline with a proven and functional methodology for X.400 message systems with X.SOO directory support.

The challenge of securing of Web based transaction services continues to influence the development and evolution of ecommerce and Web Services. This problem had driven the computer industry and standards organizations to introduce a number of security measures in an attempt to compensate for the growing security concerns of enterprises and the software development community. These efforts have not yielded a standardized architectural framework to securing Web based transaction services. The research that was conducted provided a solution to this problem by using a unique combination of technologies and architectural design techniques that provided a security framework for these transactions. The research model defined an architectural framework that incorporated infrastructure technologies, including Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and Lightweight Directory Protocol (LDAP), along with XML security and a set of SOAP specification extensions that when used in conjunction with custom Java components provided an environment for secure web based transaction services. This framework used a centralized operational model that represented behavioral, security and resource location parameters in an LDAP repository. The custom Java components of the framework provided client driven capabilities that allowed a client and service provider to establish a secure transaction relationship by using a predetermined negotiation protocol that captured these parameters in the LDAP repository. The parameters defined the trust relationship in the LDAP repository and were communicated in SOAP messages using Directory Service Markup Language (DSML). These DSML SOAP messages were used with custom SOAP extensions that applied a set of operational design patterns that communicated transaction behavior between client and service provider to ensure security of the Web based transactions. The research model used this extended SOAP model and XML security to provide message level confidentiality, authentication, authorization, content integrity and non-repudiation. The framework provided these security characteristics within a SOAP messaging environment that provided end-to-end message security, application independence, transport protocol independence, intermediary soap server processing capabilities, message protection during transmission and storage and notary service capabilities.

This study attempted to determine whether supplementing textbook reading and writing exercises in the typical Jesuit high school Spanish III curriculum with native-language electronic conferences, E-mail and bulletins can significantly improve the Spanish verbal skills of the students involved. The focus was on the comparison of the achievement of the students in the same level of the Spanish curriculum in two similar Jesuit High Schools in the same city, one in the Bronx, New York, and another in Manhattan, New York. The control group followed the traditional curriculum and the experimental group supplemented textbook reading and writing assignments with their participation in one of the Internet Spanish language conferences. Using a pre-test/post-test instrument, the National Spanish Examination of the American Association of the Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, no significant difference was found in the performance of the Spanish III students of the two groups that could be traced to the intervention of this study's experiment. There was found, however, a UN hypothesized and significant difference in the pretest performance of the two groups which seems to indicate that further studies may conclude that either this difference was unique to this pairing or that some other factor which eluded this study needs examining. Among the recommendations made by this study is the examination of the role of a Classical Latin requirement in the curriculum of one of the schools. Finally, finding no deterioration of performance in verbal skills in the language studied due to the substitution of E-mail conferences for traditional text book exercises, this study encourages their use and further experimentation due to the possible motivational factors that may be involved and the increasing availability of the needed technology.

The National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) is a non-profit, independent organization which, since 1915, has prepared and administered qualifying test examinations that have been accepted by the legal agencies governing the practice of medicine within each state as sufficient proof of a candidate's depth of medical knowledge. The Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States (FSMB), Inc. is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1912. Its membership is comprised of the medical licensing boards of all the states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), which began in 1992 and is administered by both the NBME and the FSMB, provides a common evaluation system for all candidates for medical licensure. The USMLE is a single examination with three steps that together assess a physician's ability to apply knowledge important for effective patient care. The results of the USMLE are reported to medical licensing authorities for use in granting physicians the initial license to practice medicine in the United States, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The NBME and the FSMB are connected by a leased line link this link allows both organizations to exchange data and share databases of information relevant to the medical licensure process. In order to accommodate current and future information needs, a scalable, expandable, and secure network infrastructure was required. The network architecture that resulted supported document imaging, multimedia, client/server applications, and interconnections from other networks. Using the FDDI and Ethernet protocols coupled with switching technology, over a structured cable system, a network was created facilitating access to network resources of all interconnected computing platforms from any point within the network. The dissertation designing the Intelligent Network: An Architectural Model for the Enterprise Information System chronicles the design and installation of a switched virtual network infrastructure. Using multiple media access protocols concurrently, a network was created which supported 250 workstations, 15 PC based file servers, 3 V AX systems, asynchronous connections, and a direct connection to the Internet, with less than 5% of the total network capacity utilized.

Children with autism have difficulty communicating. Their limited vocabulary reduces their comprehension of language and their use of speech to express thoughts and needs. Increasing vocabulary is important to improve communication skills. These children do not learn language like typical children. They have limited joint attention skills and impaired basic learning skills that impede their communication. Specialized instruction is necessary to help them learn language. They need to be explicitly taught words, phrases, and sentences. Computer assisted instruction (CAI) offers interactive, customizable, and measurable training for learning language. Children with autism can use CAI to learn at borne, in a clinic, and in a classroom. It is readily available and affordable and computers are prevalent. CAL offers repetition, predictability, and interesting instruction that can support individual and classroom instructional goals. The complications, considerations, and possibilities of using CAI in a classroom are explored in this single subject investigation. The use of CAI by a child with autism to learn words was investigated. The First Words II software by Laureate Learning Systems was used in a preschool classroom. The case provides a comprehensive description of the participant including his pre-treatment skills, treatment behaviors, and test results. Four research questions were answered. How does CAI that presents pictures of objects impact the acquisition, generalization, and retention of new words by a child with autism? How does text captioning of pictures presented in CAI affect a child with autism? What behaviors help a child with autism learn new words using CAI? How can a child with autism benefit from using CAI in a classroom? Results gathered from the CAT treatment indicate that the participant made progress toward learning new object labels. Additional skills beyond the content delivered by the CAI were also demonstrated by the participant. These skills included increased motivation, strengthened positive relationship with a teacher, improved joint attention, sustained concentration with an instructional task, and verbal and motor imitation. The participant enjoyed using the CAI l in the classroom.

Approximately 10,000 camps are currently in operation in the United States, and an estimated 9 million youth attend camps annually. Each accredited camp is required to have a healthcare provider on the property when campers are present, and this provider is most often a registered nurse. Most nurses are unfamiliar with the outdoor milieu and must learn to adapt clinical skills and patient care to the camp setting. Camp nurses cannot rely on traditional medical equipment and supplies; they must use their own skills, clinical knowledge, critical thinking and problem-solving abilities to make independent decisions and nursing interventions. The many changes in healthcare and nursing in recent years have caused nursing professionals to realize that continuing education is necessary to insure professional advancement, and to keep current with the latest nursing research findings. The need for flexibility in the delivery of nursing education has been identified by various initiatives, and there is considerable pressure from professional nursing organizations, schools of nursing, and individual nurses to establish educational courses that are accessible and relevant. Nursing education is increasingly challenged to convert traditional course offerings to distance delivery, and courses in specialty nursing areas are in great demand. This research study focused on the collection of data in order to design, implement, and evaluate a Web-based course for camp nurses. The goals of this study were to increase the camp nursing knowledge base, optimize the visibility of camp nursing research, establish a repository of research resources and information related to best camp nursing practices, stimulate camp nurses to create communication and support networks, create more opportunities for collaboration between camp nurses and camping organizations, promote an environment of continuous quality improvement in the camp health center, and deliver self-directed educational programs that prepare healthcare professionals to assume the camp nursing role. Since there are currently no educational programs available for camp nurses, a Web-based course for camp nurses would fill an educational void for this nursing population.