Thesis (M.S. in )--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2006. / Thesis Advisor(s): Indranath Dutta. "September 2006." Includes bibliographical references (p. 49-52). Also available in print.

<p>Network meta-analysis (NMA) is a process by which several treatments can be simultaneously compared for relative effectiveness. When conducted in a Bayesian framework, the probability that each treatment is ranked 1st, 2nd and so on can be calculated. A square matrix of these probabilities, referred to as the rank probability matrix, can be structured with rows representing treatments and columns representing ranks. In this thesis, a simulation study was conducted to explore properties of five proposed rank probability matrix summary measures: determinant, Frobenius norm, trace, diagonal maximum and diagonal minimum. Each measure is standardized to approach 1 for absolute certainty. The goal of this simulation is to identify strengths and weaknesses of these measures for varying networks. The measures are applied to previously published NMA data for further investigation. The simulation study and real data analysis revealed pros and cons of each summary measure; the Frobenius norm was found most effective. All summary measures yielded higher values with increases in symmetry, relative effect size and number of studies in the network. If the rank probability matrix is used as the primary output of a network meta-analysis (as is often the case), a simple measure of the overall confidence in the rankings is beneficial. Future research will require exploration into the distributions of these measures.</p> / Master of Science (MSc)

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Tulsa, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 100-118).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Tulsa, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 100-118).

published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

A perspective for the archaeology of the 1980s is developed based upon the conclusion that we have entered an era of big archaeology analogous to the advent of big science in the 1950s. The birth of big archaeology coincided with a significant paradigm shift that brought us processual archaeology, but the creation of the field of cultural resource management altered the nature of archaeological research even more drastically. The scope and scale of big archaeology are defined and problems challenging this new style of archaeology are identified. The most serious is one of managing research more efficiently. To provide a framework for assessing the current status of our discipline an "external" history of American archaeology is outlined by identifying three earlier paradigms and reviewing the context of research during each. These include (1) an early 19th century paradigm focused on the origin of American Indians and more generally racial diversity, (2) a late 19th century captivation with sociocultural evolution, and (3) an early to mid-20th century enthusiasm for defining culture areas and chronologies. This review shows that our most recent paradigm shift and the rise of cultural resource management, as the dominant institutional base of research support, are not dissimilar to changes associated with each of the earlier paradigms. However the level of research funding during the current paradigm has exceeded the historic growth trend tremendously, thus creating big archaeology. An in-depth case study of the 15-year history of the cultural resource program associated with the Central Arizona Project is presented to show how one example of big archaeology originated and evolved. Trends of growth and increasingly intensive survey and salvage are documented and evaluated. (An appended annotated bibliography presents the data for this analysis.) The experience of big science is reviewed to provide insight into the issues challenging big archaeology. Several structural problems in the current context of archaeological research are highlighted and strategies for attacking them are broached.

Rs. This elimination would allow the services theability to avoid execution bills associated with BAH shortfalls. The current BAH program meets itsgoal of providing service members fair compensation for housing / however, the current PPBE system,information flow, and technology need adjustments to allow for a more efficient BAH program.

Human Systems Integration Report / The rapidly changing complexity of the Global War on Terrorism has changed the approach to equipping forward deployed military forces. Combatant Commanders conducting operations now require timely materiel solutions to enhance mission capabilities and reduce risk for individual Soldiers. To address this challenge the U.S. Army established the Rapid Equipping Force (REF) to assess emerging requirements, to propose solutions to those requirements, and to implement those solutions in an expdient time frame. Unfortunately, the REF lacks a consistent analytical methodology for developing alternative materiel solutions. To address the need for a Human Systems Integration analysis method, the authors developed an Assessment Based Rapid Acquisition HSI Analysis Tool (ABRAHAM) capable of generating tailored surveys and evaluating these surveys for unacceptable risks to Soldiers. To validate ABRAHAM's concept and content, ABRAHAM was showcased in three Department of Defense settings, the Human Factors Engineering Technical Advisory Group, the REF, and the United States Marine Corps' Operational Test and Evaluation Activity. The ABRAHAM appears to fill a gap in the current library of HSI tools. Based on the feedback provided during the product showcases, there is sufficient interest and tech nological maturity to futher develop ABRAHAM to serve both the traditional and rapid acquisition processes.

The aim of this conceptual investigation is to reclaim the ethics of teaching through a critical examination of some recent accounts of good practice in teaching and by advancing an alternative account. Many recent accounts of good practice focus on concepts such as professionalism, competence and reflective practice. In some of these accounts, the ethical dimension of teaching is central and explicit; in others, it is only implicit; in yet others, it is distorted or even ignored. This inattention to ethics in theoretical accounts is paralleled in practice by teachers' failure to understand teaching as a moral enterprise, as is exemplified by responses of teachers to some of the teaching problems that they encounter. This research gives an alternative account of teaching as a practice through using Alasdair MacIntyre's conception of a practice. Key term in MacIntyre's conception are internal and external goods, standards of excellence and virtue. It is shown that the acquisition of the goods internal rather than the goods external to teaching is necessary but not sufficient for a flourishing practice of teaching. The conception of teaching as a practice is also used in this investigation to reflect on the roles of teachers as specified by the new Norms and Standards Teacher Education in South Africa. If well understood, the roles of teachers are not made up of mere lists of tasks and competences. The notion of teachers' roles opens the way for reclaiming an ethics of teaching.

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