School recess can be a problematic setting due to inadequate safety, supervision, and structure. Peer praise notes (PPNs) is a school-wide positive behavior support strategy that was implemented during recess to address these concerns at a Title I elementary school. An ABAB reversal design across all students was employed to evaluate the effectiveness of PPNs. Overall changes in office disciplinary referrals (ODRs) in each phase of the design, an effect size that reflects a highly effective treatment, and a moderately strong and statistically significant negative correlation suggest that PPNs decreased ODRs. Results from social validity surveys completed by eight recess aides and 88 students indicated that participants had positive perceptions of PPNs improving student behavior and peer relations, communicating playground rules, extending supervision responsibilities, and offering structured activity to peer praisers. Students' perceptions were overall more positive than the recess aides' perceptions. Limitations, future research, and implications are addressed.

The study aimed to examine high school student usage of licensed databases available through public libraries in Atlanta-USA. A descriptive quantitative survey was conducted via a web-based questionnaire among 135 East Cobb high school students. The findings revealed that most students are aware of these licensed databases, but their usage is low (1:10) compared to Google. However, as students advance in grade levels, their database usage increases and GALILEO is the most-used licensed resource. Factors that influence student database usage include: specific academic needs; teacher instruction to use specific databases and frequent Digital Information Literacy (DIL) instruction. Most students receive DIL instruction at school, but their DIL skills are still inadequate. To increase usage of licensed databases as reliable information resources, the study recommends collaboration between public libraries and high schools, including incorporation of Generation Y's digital information preferences such as Google-type simplified interfaces, cutting-edge technology and time-saving search features. / Information Science / M.A. (Information Science)

This item contains the agenda, minutes, and attachments for the Faculty Senate meeting on this date. There may be additional materials from the meeting available at the Faculty Center.

The study aimed to examine high school student usage of licensed databases available through public libraries in Atlanta-USA. A descriptive quantitative survey was conducted via a web-based questionnaire among 135 East Cobb high school students. The findings revealed that most students are aware of these licensed databases, but their usage is low (1:10) compared to Google. However, as students advance in grade levels, their database usage increases and GALILEO is the most-used licensed resource. Factors that influence student database usage include: specific academic needs; teacher instruction to use specific databases and frequent Digital Information Literacy (DIL) instruction. Most students receive DIL instruction at school, but their DIL skills are still inadequate. To increase usage of licensed databases as reliable information resources, the study recommends collaboration between public libraries and high schools, including incorporation of Generation Y's digital information preferences such as Google-type simplified interfaces, cutting-edge technology and time-saving search features. / Information Science / M.A. (Information Science)

Die Neue Rückenschule ist ein standardisiertes Rückenschulkonzept der Konföderation der deutschen Rückenschulen, dessen Hauptanliegen in der Förderung der Rückengesundheit und der Verhinderung der Chronifizierung von Rückenschmerzen besteht. Die Zielsetzungen und Inhalte der Neuen Rückenschule richten sich in erster Linie nach den aktuellen Europäischen Leitlinien zur Prävention von Rückenschmerzen und den für die Prävention formulierten Kernzielen für Gesundheitssport. Diese Festlegungen basieren auf dem biopsychosozialen Modell, dem Salutogenesemodell und der Internationalen Klassifikation der Funktionsfähigkeit, Behinderung und Gesundheit (ICF). Mit ihrem multimodalen Programm zielt die Neue Rückenschule darauf ab, dass Menschen ein eigenverantwortliches, gesundheitsorientiertes und Risikofaktoren vermeidendes Handeln aufbauen, ihr individuelles Gesundheitspotential fördern und damit das eigene Wohlbefinden und ihre Lebensqualität verbessern. Das Konzept integriert sowohl bewegungsbezogene praktische als auch informations- und verhaltensbezogene theoretische Anteile. Dennoch steht bis dato eine Wirksamkeitsprüfung der Neuen Rückenschule, insbesondere zur Vermittlungsstrategie der Neuen Rückenschule aus. So liegt das Erkenntnisinteresse der vorliegenden Dissertationsschrift in der Beantwortung der Frage, inwieweit die Intervention Neue Rückenschule im präventiven Kontext günstige Effekte bezüglich der Parameter gesundheitsbezogene Lebensqualität, Rückenschmerzen, körperliche Aktivität, (rücken-)gesundheitsbezogenes Wissen, Selbstwirksamkeit und Kontrollüberzeugung hervorruft. Eine Analyse, ob der nachhaltige Mehrwert der Neuen Rückenschule darin besteht, theoretische Wissensvermittlung und praktische Übungsanteile miteinander zu vernetzen, stellt ein weiteres zentrales Ziel der Arbeit dar. So lässt der momentane Stand der Evaluation noch offen, ob nicht bereits die kognitiv-theoretischen Module die Effekte der Neuen Rückenschule zu einem sehr hohen Anteil erklären. Zur Beantwortung dieser Fragen wurde eine Längsschnittstudie mit Versuchs-Kontrollgruppen-Design durchgeführt, die eine dreimonatige Intervention mit zwei unterschiedlichen Vermittlungsstrategien vorsah. Die empirischen Analysen konzentrierten sich auf die Beschreibung von unmittelbaren Effekten der Intervention sowie Nachhaltigkeits-Effekten sechs Monate nach Interventionsende. Zusammenfassend wird ersichtlich, dass insbesondere für eine Verhaltensänderung im Sinne der Implementierung von körperlicher Aktivität und einer langfristigen Bindung an diese, spezifisches Wissen allein offenbar nicht ausreicht, sondern Handlungserfahrungen und Körperwahrnehmungen in Verbindung mit erlebter Selbstkompetenz den Erfolg einer Intervention maßgeblich bedingen.

The diploma thesis focuses on a European activity eTwinning and its implementation within the system of education. The theoretical part of the thesis introduces the activity and its main principles, as well as its goals and management. The emphasis is also put on its position within the conception of lifelong learning. The thesis presents the development of the activity since its lunch in 2005 until now, describes its original direction to be followed at the beginning as well as the gradual changes that happened during its further implementation. The practical part defines the main internet tools offered by eTwinning to its users and describes those in detail. In the last part, three eTwinning projects are presented as good practice examples from the Czech Republic. The main aim of the diploma thesis is to present the European activity in as broad context as possible and from different points of view. All the data used are based on relevant literature and other sources.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Recent technological applications have made the life of people too much dependent on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and its applications. Understanding basic level science is a must in order to use and contribute to this technological revolution. Science education in middle and high school levels however depends heavily on visual representations such as models, diagrams, figures, animations and presentations etc. This leaves visually impaired students with very few options to learn science and secure a career in STEM related areas. Recent experiments have shown that small aural clues called Audemes are helpful in understanding and memorization of science concepts among visually impaired students. Audemes are non-verbal sound translations of a science concept. In order to facilitate science concepts as Audemes, for visually impaired students, this thesis presents an automatic system for audeme generation from STEM textbooks. This thesis describes the systematic application of multiple Natural Language Processing tools and techniques, such as dependency parser, POS tagger, Information Retrieval algorithm, Semantic mapping of aural words, machine learning etc., to transform the science concept into a combination of atomic-sounds, thus forming an audeme. We present a rule based classification method for all STEM related concepts. This work also presents a novel way of mapping and extracting most related sounds for the words being used in textbook. Additionally, machine learning methods are used in the system to guarantee the customization of output according to a user's perception. The system being presented is robust, scalable, fully automatic and dynamically adaptable for audeme generation.