The purpose of this study was to measure the impact on low achieving learners within the first year implementation of a professional learning community in a large suburban middle school located in the Midwest. Interventions through collaborative efforts were devised for low achieving learners and implemented. Grade trends for students earning below average and failing grades in all subject areas in the 7th and 8th grade were examined from each quarter of the previous four years and compared to grades from 833 students through the end of the second quarter after implementing intervention strategies during the 2005-2006 school year. Surveys were completed from 38 staff and 350 students. Preliminary analyses of student and staff survey data were examined for violation of normality. Both data sets violated assumptions of normality using Shapiro Wilks statistics (all ps<.001). Reliability for student surveys were calculated for internal consistency values and yielded an adequately reliable value of .71. Staff surveys were also examined and yielded an internal consistency value of .92. Student surveys separated composite variables correlating questions relating positive school climate as well as positive attitudes towards interventions during the implementation process of the professional learning community. Staff surveys exposed two composite variables reflecting positive responses in the area of personal teaching reflection and classroom management as well as school climate during the same period. Data examined from student grade data showed a statistically significant decline in the percentages of failing grades (F’s) and no significant decrease in D’s for both 7th and 8th grade students using a Welch t-test when comparing the year with professional learning community interventions with the previous four years. Establishing a professional learning community was found to improve success for low achieving learners within the first semester of implementation. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--Wichita State University, College of Education, Dept. of Curriculum and Instruction / "May 2006." / Includes bibliographic references (leaves 27-30)

Piaget hypothesized that we understand the world through the use of cognitive frameworks. The strengths and limitations of these cognitive frameworks (or levels) both help and hinder the learning process. Comprehending individuals’ cognitive levels is essential for teachers to ensure that their students learn. Piaget developed a series of tasks to assess individuals’ cognitive levels (typically called "clinical interviews" which can only be conducted in a one-to-one fashion). Thus, a paper-and-pencil test that could be administered to groups was developed to help teachers determine the cognitive level of the children they teach. Problems with the scoring technique limited the validity and reliability of the instrument; therefore, a revised scoring system was developed that simplified and broadened the scoring of the test. The purpose of the current study is to determine if the reliability and validity of the paper-and-pencil instrument would be significantly increased through the use of the revised scoring procedures. Pre-existing data will be used in all analysis. A total of 279 students (ranging from third to twelfth grades) took the paper-and-pencil test. Next, each student either completed the Piagetian tasks under the supervision of a trained task administrator in the traditional one-on-one format or was retested using the paper-pencil instrument. Some students participated in all three assessments. A bivariate correlation was conducted to analyze the validity and reliability of the instrument. A t-test was calculated to test for a significant difference in the correlational coefficients between the two scoring methods. Results show that correlation coefficients are stronger when using the revised method. The t-test found that the revised scoring method was significantly more reliable, yet was only more valid for two of three stages. / by Amy Dugan / Thesis (M.Ed.)--Wichita State University, College of Education, Dept. of Counseling, Educational, & School Psychology. / "May 2006." / Includes bibliographic references (leaves 46-48)

In spite of efforts at the federal, state, and local levels, the achievement gap has persisted over time. Recent NCLB legislation has brought renewed attention to the achievement gap, forcing schools to address it. Despite the daunting task of mediating the impact of poverty, some schools have made substantial progress in narrowing the achievement gap with low-income students. This qualitative case study of one successful Kansas public secondary school has concluded the caring actions of teachers and administrators can serve as important sources of social capital for economically disadvantaged students, reducing the achievement gap between them and economically advantaged students and improving their likelihood of success in school. / by Martin Stessman / Thesis (Ed.D.)--Wichita State University, College of Education. / Includes bibliographic references (leaves 134-145). / "May 2006."

The current study utilized a laboratory analogue to psychological trauma to examine the link between levels of experiential avoidance and the development and maintenance of negative emotional states. Specifically, participants were exposed to a graphic film displaying the aftermath of several automobile accidents that occurred as a consequence of drinking and driving in an attempt to induce intrusive thought patterns and related distress analogous to that seen in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). After viewing the film, participants were asked to report the development of PTSD-like symptoms, including subjective distress, state anxiety, and intrusive thoughts and images. Distress levels were measured before exposure to the film; immediately following exposure to the film; immediately following exposure to an attention-placebo distraction task, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) treatment protocol, or an acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) treatment protocol; and 4 days later in order to assess distress levels as a function of participant levels of experiential avoidance. While participants experienced an increase in distress and anxiety following exposure to the film as well as a decrease in these variables following exposure to all implemented intervention conditions, no significant differences were noted on these measures as a function of participant levels of experiential avoidance, intervention condition, or interaction between these two variables. Additionally, no significant differences were noted on measures of intrusive thought patterns as a function of intervention condition or interaction between experiential avoidance and intervention condition. However, two regression analyses indicated a significant effect for experiential avoidance on the number of intrusive thoughts postfilm. Several limitations within the current study that may account for these unexpected findings are outlined and the implications for further related investigations are discussed. / Thesis(Ph.D.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Psychology

We propose a method of analyzing a crack in a three dimensional body. We treat the problem as an inverse problem and apply Green’s Theorem, Trace Theorem, and the Fredholm Alternative. We model the problem using Helmholtz equation. / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, Mathematics and Statistics. / "May 2006." / Includes bibliographic references (leaves 10-11)

Studies have demonstrated the effect of dominance on bone mineral density (BMD) of both weight bearing and non-weight bearing limbs and the effect of physical activity and specific sports, such as tennis, gymnastics, and volleyball on bmd of the predominantly used limb(s) versus non-used limb(s). Like tennis and volleyball, the Wichita State University (WSU) bowling team performs a high volume of repetitive use of their bowling arm on a regular basis. This is the first study to investigate the effect of ten-pin bowling at an elite collegiate level on BMD of the bowling arm compared to the non-bowling arm. Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry Unit (Hologic QDR 4500W Elite) was used to assess BMD of bilateral arms (whole body scan) and bilateral forearms (forearm scan) of 25 (N=13 males, N=12 females) collegiate bowlers (20.72 ± 1.46 yrs). In this study, the forearm scans showed significantly greater (p<0.05) BMD in the bowling arm (0.635 ± .05 g·cm-2) compared to the non-bowling arm (0.618 ± .06 g·cm-2) of both male and female bowlers. However, when separated by gender, the female bowling arm showed a significantly greater difference between arms (4.1 ± 3.1% difference, p<0.05) and compared to the males (1.5 ± 2.6% difference, p<0.05). Whole body scans of the left and right arms were also assessed and similar results were observed in the bowling arm compared to the non-bowling arms of males (3.81 ± 5.19%, p<0.05) and females (4.15 ± 2.54%, p<0.05). In conclusion, the female elite level collegiate ten-pin bowlers demonstrate an increased BMD in the bowling forearm when compared to the non-bowling forearm. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--Wichita State University, College of Education, Dept. of Human Performance Studies

Bone density and body composition among the average population has been extensively researched; little research has been reported on the effects of Severe Mental Illness (SMI). Recent studies have suggested that individuals with SMI are at greater risk of osteoporosis, but the study groups have been primarily patients that required chronic institutionalized care. Purpose: To assess bone mineral density (BMD) and body composition in individuals with SMI. Methods: BMD of the forearm and femoral neck and body composition was measured by a DXA unit (Hologic QDR 4500). 28 individuals (15 male; 13 female) with Severe Mental Illness (bipolar (N=13), schizophrenia (N=4), schizoaffective (N=4), major depression/depression (N=2), and other (N=5)) volunteered for this study. Results: Total group (N=28) body fat percentage (35.5±9.4) and BMI (31.7±6.24) is significantly greater (<0.05) than the national and state averages. Forearm BMD results showed t-score values of 0.0±1.1 and femoral neck t-scores of -0.4±0.8. By groups, results showed bipolar (N=14) to have the highest body fat % (39.1±8.1 vs. 30.7±9.4 %, p<0.05) and greatest risk of CVD (DXA forearm t-score and femoral neck were normal). The schizophrenia group (N=5), (body fat % = 26.38±8.0; forearm t-score -0.6±1.43; femoral neck t-score -1.0±1.08), schizoaffective group (N=4), (body fat % = 27.33±3.8; forearm t-score -0.4+1.56; femoral neck t-score -0.4+0.51), major depression/depression group (N=2), body fat % = 32.8±8.13; forearm t-score 0.8±0.42 femoral neck t-score -0.4±0.42), and other (N=5), (body fat % = 34.7±8.33; forearm t-score -0.7±0.91; femoral neck t-score -0.9±0.70) were within normal range. Conclusion: People with SMI that are stabilized on a medication regime and integrated into the community do not appear to be at a greater risk of low BMD. Body composition findings agree with recent studies indicating that a higher incidence of obesity exists in individuals with SMI. Supported by WSU U-Link Award. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--Wichita State University, College of Education, Dept. of Human Performance Studies.

The role of the villain in literature and cinema poses a problem for traditional critical scholars: how can readers see beyond the villain‟s role as literal antagonist? Differing critical methods approach this problem from their respective systems, but how can a feminist critic see a creature such as Silence of the Lamb’s Hannibal Lecter as anything but a misogynistic mass murderer? Intertextual theory seems much more apt to handle a complicated multi-dimensional character such as Hannibal the Cannibal. Traditionally, Intertextualism has dealt primarily with examining texts within a genre with a particular focus on convention: elements of plot, character, and theme are examined in light of all other works regardless of period or authorial intent. Cinematic Intertextualism operates similarly, only now examining cinematic conventions; however, this approach suffers from a form of myopia as well. What seems lacking is a comprehensive viewpoint that examines literature and film not just within their separate formats, but intertextually between the two. What‟s more, in examining the links between literature and film, and even more all-encompassing viewpoint comes into sharper focus, a viewpoint in which not only are the texts themselves examined through an intertextual lens, but the criticism applied to those texts. This project seeks to examine these comprehensive “Macro-Intertextual” connections between texts – both literary and cinematic – combined with an intertextual view of criticism as well. With this theory in mind, Hannibal Lecter is revealed as much more than cannibalistic madman: through a Macro-Intertextual lens, he and other villains can be seen as social commentary, embodying the societies in which they arise and exposing their society‟s hypocrisies simultaneously. Removed from structuralist theory and classic literary criticism, Macro Intertextualism forms a more all-encompassing viewpoint. / Thesis (M.A.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of English.

A long standing, dominant paradigm in the biological control of weeds is the independence of insect herbivore guilds' effects on their host plant. Recent work has shown stronger interactions among insect herbivore guilds than was previously expected. My research focuses on damage to apical meristems of tall thistles (Cirsium altissimum) by stem mining insects and the direct effects of this damage on plant architecture as well as the indirect, plant-mediated effects of this damage on flower head feeding insects and the arthropod predator community associated with tall thistle in south-central Kansas. Three questions are addressed; 1) What is the natural history of the predatory arthropod – tall thistle interaction in south-central Kansas? 2) Does apical meristem damage by insect herbivores influence host plant architecture, flower head damage and/or predatory arthropod densities? 3) Does plant architecture affect flower head damage and/or predatory arthropods? Two experiments were used to address those questions. The first experiment compared bolting tall thistles whose apical meristems were protected with insecticide with tall thistles whose apical meristems were not protected and were subject to herbivory. Damage to the apical meristem creates a plant that is shorter and has more flower heads than plants with the apical meristem intact and marginally increases primary branching. The second experiment modified the architecture of a bolting tall thistle with apical meristem damage back to a “pre-damaged” state by clipping lateral branches of the main stem. Neither experiment showed any significant difference in flower head damage severity or frequency, nor any differences in predatory arthropod densities among treatments. Through an overcompensation mechanism in the plant, meristem mining insects indirectly influence flower head feeding insects mediated by tall thistle. My results do not support the importation of multiple biological control agents for weed control. / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Biological Sciences.

Every student goes to school; every student takes standardized tests. This research project addresses whether or not being involved in high school athletics can affect test scores. The data is from the Educational Longitudinal Study (2003). Analyses were done in order to see if there is a difference in the relationship between test scores of students that participated in sports compared to those who did not. The overall finding is that participation in sports increased test scores. Students who were involved in sports on average scored .50 points higher on standardized tests. Students who spent more time watching TV or playing video games decreased their test score by .13. Characteristics of the school were also variables. The higher the percentage of students on the free lunch program at the school, the lower the individual student’s score. Family influences that were tested were such things as the socioeconomic status of the family and the number of siblings the student had. The higher the socioeconomic status the higher the test scores. The more siblings a student has the lower the scores. The peer level factors that were tested were if the student had friends who dropped out of school and if school was important to peers. The results showed if a student had friends who dropped out of school they scored 1.99 points lower on standardized test. Students who had peers that felt school was important tended to score .55 points higher. / Thesis (M.A.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Sociology.