archives@tulane.edu / 1 / Margaret Brooks

Open-ended interview questions were asked to ten college freshmen with learning disabilities (LD) to provide the primary source of data in this qualitative study that was done to explore personal experiences of these students in transitioning from high school to a large university. Student participants were chosen based on meeting the criteria of having a diagnosed specific learning disability, having qualified and received special education services in high school, and at the time of the study were receiving accommodations through the Disability Resource Center (DRC) at the University of Arizona (UA). Students were further identified as members of a "successful" group with a first semester grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher, or members of a "jeopardy" group with a first semester GPA of below 2.0 and the academic status of probation. This was done in order to ensure that I included the perceptions of students at the high and low range of academic status levels in this sample, not to compare or contrast the two groups. Interviews yielded information about student perceptions of barriers, attitudes, resources and assistive factors in the transition process. Data were analyzed to determine themes related to student success and difficulties. Suggestions for further research and information for future practice are offered.

Previous studies of students’ higher education choices have been mainly examined in the US, European and Australian context, with few related empirical research studies in the context of China (Hemsley-Brown and Oplatka, 2015). Although there is no lack of various online surveys about the reasons driving students towards postgraduate education in China, little is known about how far their decisions were shaped by their specific circumstances which is the purpose of this study, which investigates the main factors influencing students’ decision-making about postgraduate education at G University in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. To achieve this aim, three main research questions were asked: what motivated students to undertake PG education, why did they choose their particular subjects for PG studies, and why did they choose G University as their place of study? This study employs an-in depth case study approach. The research was conducted in two stages. In the first stage, questionnaires were distributed among the first-year postgraduate students at G University to get a general idea of what motivated them to undertake PG education and why they chose their particular subjects and place of study. In the second stage, 30 students who indicated their willingness in the questionnaires to participate in follow-up interviews were interviewed to explore the responses to the questionnaires in greater depth. The findings of this research were analysed from the theoretical aspects of human, cultural and social capital, as well as the related Chinese concept of guanxi. The findings indicated that students’ decisions to undertake PG education was mainly to enhance their employment competitiveness and to gain jobs with higher salaries and better advancement opportunities. In addition, the findings indicated that personal interest influenced either by their family's education or school teacher’s instruction constituted the main reason for choosing their specific fields of study. The findings also showed that family social capital and the social capital formed in the school context exerted great influence on students’ choices of postgraduate education. Further, students chose G University as their place of study mainly for its academic reputation, the quality of its faculties and resources, and its convenient location. The data indicated that students’ choices of postgraduate education were influenced by their individual economic, social and cultural backgrounds, or the interplay between human, cultural and social capital from the theoretical aspect. Enquiring into the students’ choices of postgraduate education in the specific Chinese social and cultural context contributes to the literature on students’ choices of higher education. It is hoped that the findings will provide some informed knowledge for students who plan to invest in their future employability through postgraduate education in China, as well as for the Chinese further and higher education system, which may gain a better understanding of its students and so be able to provide a better service to them.

Students with learning disabilities (LDs) represent 9% of students attending college, and college administrators must comply with a large number of federal requirements outlining the provision of educational services for students with LDs, including offering support groups. Nurse-facilitated support groups, held within the university setting, could provide effective social support, increasing likelihood of college success among students with LDs. The purpose of this project was to develop a plan for implementing nurse-facilitated support groups for students with LDs within the student health services (SHS) department at a university designed to improve their coping skills on personal, social, and academic levels. Guided by the Logic Model, a plan for implementing nurse-facilitated support groups within the SHS department was developed and presented to university stakeholders. Components of the plan included a support group structure, curriculum, evaluation tools, steps for piloting the program, and a proposed timeline for implementing the program. The stakeholders acknowledged the potential benefits of initiating a program of nurse-facilitated support groups for students with LDs to assist in attaining their academic goals. However, additional analysis of the program and refining and other disabilities to assist in attaining their academic goals; however, additional analysis of the program and refining the proposed student self-evaluation tool were needed before implementing the program. Nurses in a SHS department staff are effective support group facilitators for students with LDs. This study holds the potential for positive social change by enhancing personal, social, and academic coping skills with nurse-facilitated support groups who may help students with LDs reduce their risk of experiencing burnout and enhance the likelihood of academic success.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1991. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 234-250). Also available via the Internet.

Submitted by Diogo Barreiros (diogo.barreiros@ufba.br) on 2017-06-02T17:24:53Z No. of bitstreams: 1 PGCOMP_MSC_FranciscoHelio_Final_Entregue.pdf: 810832 bytes, checksum: 2a46919a8a9f5355562fb7917d301da5 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Uillis de Assis Santos (uillis.assis@ufba.br) on 2017-06-28T18:35:03Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 PGCOMP_MSC_FranciscoHelio_Final_Entregue.pdf: 810832 bytes, checksum: 2a46919a8a9f5355562fb7917d301da5 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-28T18:35:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 PGCOMP_MSC_FranciscoHelio_Final_Entregue.pdf: 810832 bytes, checksum: 2a46919a8a9f5355562fb7917d301da5 (MD5) / A modelagem conceitual de software é uma atividade não trivial que se relaciona com vários desafios, como: dificuldades na elicitação de requisitos, problemas de comunicação entre o analista e o usuário, uso de documentos de requisitos que nem sempre expressam claramente as funcionalidades do sistema. Esse problema se agrava quando o trabalho está relacionado com domínios mais complexos. Na área de educação essa questão também se verifica, por exemplo, em projetos de software que devem atender aos padrões para ambientes de aprendizagem como o IMS Learning Design. Para minimizar esse problema, ontologias de domínio podem ser utilizadas. Pode-se observar na literatura evidências teóricas dos benefícios do uso de ontologia na área de desenvolvimento de software. Por outro lado, as evidências experimentais são poucas ou talvez não existam. Dado esse contexto, o objetivo deste trabalho _e mostrar evidências experimentais que ontologias de domínio ajudam na modelagem conceitual. Para atingir esse objetivo, foram desenvolvidos: um processo de modelagem com ontologia, um mapeamento sistemático e dois experimentos controlados. O primeiro experimento mostrou indícios de que o uso de ontologia pode ajudar na criação de diagramas de classe (modelo conceitual). Sua replicação mantém resultado semelhante, entretanto, mostra signficância estatística. Portanto, o resultado do primeiro experimento e da sua replicação mostram resultados convergentes. Dessa forma, esta dissertação fornece dados acerca do uso de ontologia de domínio na modelagem conceitual. De acordo com a análise dos dados apresentados, é possível afirmar, com base experimental, que o uso de ontologia de domínio ajuda na modelagem conceitual. / The conceptual modeling the software is a non-trivial activity that relates to a number of challenges, such as difficulties in requirements elicitation, communication problems between the analyst and the user, and use of requirements documents that are not always clearly express the functionality of the system. This problem is aggravated when the work is related to more complex areas. In education this issue can also be seen, for example, in software projects that must meet standards for learning environments such as IMS Learning Design (IMS-LD). In order to minimize this problem, domain ontologies can be used. It can be observed in the literature, theoretical evidence of the benefits of ontology use in software development. On the other hand, experimental evidence is few or may not exist. In this context, the objective of this study is to show experimental evidence that domain ontologies help in conceptual modeling. To achieve this goal, we developed: a modeling process with ontology, a systematic mapping and two controlled experiments.The first experiment showed evidence that the use of ontology can help in creating class diagrams (conceptual model). Their replication maintains similar result, however, shows statistical significance. Therefore, the results of the first experiment and its replication show convergent. Thus, this work provides data for the domain ontology use in conceptual modeling. According to the analysis of the data it is possible to say with the experimental basis that the use of domain ontology helps conceptual modeling.

Students with learning disabilities (LDs) represent 9% of students attending college, and college administrators must comply with a large number of federal requirements outlining the provision of educational services for students with LDs, including offering support groups. Nurse-facilitated support groups, held within the university setting, could provide effective social support, increasing likelihood of college success among students with LDs. The purpose of this project was to develop a plan for implementing nurse-facilitated support groups for students with LDs within the student health services (SHS) department at a university designed to improve their coping skills on personal, social, and academic levels. Guided by the Logic Model, a plan for implementing nurse-facilitated support groups within the SHS department was developed and presented to university stakeholders. Components of the plan included a support group structure, curriculum, evaluation tools, steps for piloting the program, and a proposed timeline for implementing the program. The stakeholders acknowledged the potential benefits of initiating a program of nurse-facilitated support groups for students with LDs to assist in attaining their academic goals. However, additional analysis of the program and refining and other disabilities to assist in attaining their academic goals; however, additional analysis of the program and refining the proposed student self-evaluation tool were needed before implementing the program. Nurses in a SHS department staff are effective support group facilitators for students with LDs. This study holds the potential for positive social change by enhancing personal, social, and academic coping skills with nurse-facilitated support groups who may help students with LDs reduce their risk of experiencing burnout and enhance the likelihood of academic success.

[pt] A indústria siderúrgica no Brasil gera atualmente cerca de 5 milhões de toneladas/ano de escória de aciaria LD. Estudos preliminares recentes têm mostrado ser promissora a produção de cimento mediante tratamentos térmicos e modificações químicas capazes de gerar fases com propriedades pozolânicas com resistência a compressão semelhantes às do cimento Portland. Dentro deste contexto o presente trabalho teve como objetivo investigar a viabilidade de utilização da escória LD na produção de um cimento Portland classe E por meio de ajuste químico composicional e tratamentos térmicos da escória ainda liquida utilizando análises químicas por ICP-OES e testes de resistência à compressão segundo a norma NBR 7215. Além disso, a presente pesquisa realizou estudo de correlação utilizando várias gamas de misturas e um fator de correlação entre os corpos de prova especificados pela norma (5x10cm) e corpos de prova menores (1x2cm), a fim de adequar um equipamento mais apropriado ao projeto. Os resultados mostraram que a mistura formada por 75 por cento Cimento Portland II F-32 e 25 por cento Novo Clínquer (escória de LD química e termicamente tratada) e a mistura com a relação 50-50 desses mesmos materiais, foram as que atenderam plenamente a condição exigida pela norma para a resistência à compressão dos Cimentos Portland Tipo II, Classe E, decorridos 28 dias de cura. Além disso os resultados mostraram viabilidade na correlação dos corpos de prova, dessa forma sendo possível a realização dos testes mecânicos com corpos de prova com dimensão de 1x2 cm. / [en] Nowadays the steel industry in Brazil generates about 5 million tons of LD steel slag annually. Recently some studies with its use in cement production have shown promise, once that after heat treatment and chemical modifications it can present phases with similar hydraulic properties to Portland cement and equivalent compressive strength as well. In this context, the present work aimed to investigate the feasibility of using LD slag for production of a Portland cement Class-E, in the face of chemical modifications of the liquid slag followed by a fast-cooling heat treatment and chemical analysis carried out by ICP-OES techniques and also a compressive strength test according to the NBR 7215 standard. In addition, based on the results of the compression test and to optimize the amount of material used, a correlation study was carried out between specimens in accordance with the standard (5X10cm) and smaller specimens (1X2cm), in order to use an appropriate lab compressive machine. The results showed that the mixtures using 75 percent Portland II Cement F-32 and 25 percent Novo Clinquer (chemical and heat-treated LD slag) and that one with 50-50 ratio using the same materials, were the mixtures that fully satisfied the minimum compressive resistance condition required by the NBR standard, concerning Type II Class Portland Cements, after 28 days of curing. In addition, the results showed feasibility in the correlation of specimens, thus making it possible to perform mechanical tests with specimens with a dimension of 1x2 cm.

This doctorate thesis reports on a qualitative research project to investigate the English learning experiences of seven People’s Republic of China (PRC) students during nearly five years of studies at the National University of Singapore (NUS). The research questions for this longitudinal, multiple-case study are: 1. What are some key learner characteristics of PRC students and what transitions, if any, do they make in their English learning journey as a result of studying in NUS? 2. What pedagogical implications can I draw from the findings? For the purpose of triangulation, four instruments were used to collect data in two stages. In the students’ first year in NUS, the instruments were learner diaries and face-to-face interviews while those used in the students’ final year, were email interviews and an autobiography. This research design facilitated the broad to narrow approach adopted for the study, and made possible the collection of increasingly more in-depth data. The analysis of the initial data, through coding, categorising and summarising, was carried out alongside the collection of the later data, similar to the grounded theory approach. However, this study also started with some a priori categories culled from literature and a decade’s teaching and research experience associated with PRC students. The findings indicate that the traditional Chinese culture of learning as well as the NUS L2 context had an influence on the seven participants’ key learner characteristics. These students underwent a variety of transitions in their beliefs, strategies, motivation, affective dimension, and identity, agency and investment. However, certain aspects of their key learner characteristics also remained stable. Based on these findings, pedagogical implications were drawn and limitations stated to teachers of PRC learners to better equip themselves and their students to successfully navigate the latter’s transition from EFL to ESL/EIL contexts.

Individually administered intelligence tests are a routine component of psychological assessments of children who may meet criteria for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), learning disorders (LD), or emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). In addition to providing potentially useful test scores, the individual administration of an intelligence test provides an ideal opportunity for observing a child’s behavior in a standardized setting, which may contribute clinically meaningful information to the assessment process. However, little is known about the associations between test scores and test session behavior of children with these disorders. This study examined patterns of test scores and test session observations in groups of children with ADHD, LD, EBD who were administered the Stanford Binet Intelligence Scales, Fifth Edition (SB5), as well as in control children from the SB5 standardization sample. Three hundred and twelve children receiving special education services for ADHD (n = 50), LD (n = 234), EBD (n = 28) and 100 children selected from the SB5 standardization sample were selected from a data set of children who were administered both the SB5 and the Test Observation Form (TOF; a standardized rating form for assessing behavior during cognitive or achievement testing of children). The groups were then compared on SB scores and TOF scores. Associations between test scores and TOF scores in children with ADHD, LD, and EBD and normal controls were also examined. The results of this investigation indicated that children with ADHD, LD, and EBD and normal control children differed on several SB5 and TOF scales. Control children scored higher on all of the SB5 scales than children with LD, and scored higher on many of the SB5 scales than children with ADHD and EBD. Children with EBD demonstrated the most problem behavior during testing, followed by children with ADHD. Children with LD were similar to control children with respect to test session behavior. In addition, several combinations of test scores and test session behavior were able to predict diagnostic group status. Overall, the results of this investigation suggest that test scores and behavioral observations during testing can and should be important components of multi-informant, multi-method assessment of children with ADHD, LD, and EBD.