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Effective academic advising may be perceived or experienced differently depending on a person’s involvement (student, advisor, or administrator). In addition, a person’s understanding and description of effective advising depends on how it is identified (process, outcome, or approach) or the context in which it is encountered. Results from multiple studies of the relevant literature have demonstrated how the quality of advising influences students in regard to retention, academic and social integration, decision-making processes in selecting academic programs and careers, overall student satisfaction, and success (Banta et al., 2002; Cuseo, 2004, Hunter & White, 2004). However, research on effective advising and the assessment of advising has received very little attention in the literature. Although awareness of the importance of institutional assessment has increased, assessment of academic advising today is – if conducted at all – is piecemeal and consists of simple student satisfaction surveys that may be neither adequate of useful. Even when assessment measures are conducted, advising units are often inept at utilizing the results to create positive change within their programs. Understanding effective advising requires a closer look at the participants, the advising programs, and the assessment practices of programs along with exploring student learning outcomes. The overarching area of inquiry in the research study is: What is effective advising (how is it manifested and in what ways is it measured at the University)? Within this context, the goals for this study were to uncover the following: how academic advising is administered and supported across a specific institution; how perceptions about advising differ among system participants; what valued characteristics are found among effective advisors and advising programs; what assessment of academic advising looks like at the institution; what advisors and advising programs do to contribute to quality and improvement. To achieve these objectives, the study utilized a multi-faceted case study of undergraduate academic advising and the participants within a large public research institution which contained several academic advising centers. Understanding effective advising and the advising system required a comprehensive and multi-dimensional approach that involved the collection and analysis of many different forms of data from a variety of sources and over an extended period of time. A mixed methods, action-research design utilized the collection and review of numerous assessment and advising documents, descriptive and quantitative SPSS analysis of several longitudinal data sets yielded from electronic survey systems of seven colleges, numerous original interviews and focus groups with students, staff, and administrators, and a year’s worth of detailed field observations (journals and critical reflection) of the advising process and the advising system. / text

Reading aloud to very young children has been described as one of the “most important activities for developing the knowledge required for eventual success in reading” (Bus, van IJzendoorn, & Pelligrini, 1995, p. 19), and it is equally as strong as phonemic awareness as a predictor of reading achievement (Bus et al.). In the dialogue around reading aloud to children, mothers are routinely envisioned as the actors. Indeed, much of the research on families and reading aloud centers on the mother’s role in this process (e.g., Ninio & Bruner, 1978; Phillips & McNaughton, 1990; Reese, Cox, Harte, & McAnally, 2003). Despite a gap in research around fathers’ roles in influencing their children’s general development (Cabrera, Shannon, & Tamis-LeMonda, 2007), some theorists indicate that fathers can play an important role in their linguistic, cognitive, and emotional development (Gadsden, Brooks, & Jackson, 1997; Nord, Brimhall, & West, 1997). An understanding of what fathers contribute to read alouds with texts written in English in general and an examination of how those contributions vary from father to father may enable teachers to recognize and address differences that exist in children’s pre-school experiences and how those differences may be manifested in classrooms. This, then, may prove beneficial to educators who work with families encompassing a variety of demographic and structural characteristics in their efforts to support literacy acquisition. The input provided by fathers in this study varies over a wide spectrum in terms of frequency and style; similarly, the invitations to think abstractly vary across multiple levels. In addition, the familiarity of the book being shared, both in terms of language and content, appears to exert a strong influence on the number of interactions and the invitations to think abstractly during read alouds. The implications of these findings suggest that we should challenge our assumptions regarding the economic and situational factors that result in the labeling of children as academically “at risk.” I outline actions for consideration by parents, educators, and stakeholders who are working with young children and their families to promote language and literacy development. / text

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This thesis is a contribution to the existing knowledge of the nature of the scour hole around bridge piers. The analysis is based on the fictitious, long contraction concept developed by Dr. Emmett M. Laursen. This concept and its equation has been used herein to determine the size of rip-rap particles which will reduce the local scour at bridge piers. Evaluation of the parameters involved in it is required for sizing the rocks in a prototype. Values such as approach velocity, water depth, average diameter of the rip-rap particles in the scour, and geometry of the pier are among the values to be known. Both a graphic and an analytical procedure are proposed as a means to find the size of particles to be used as protection. The discussion and conclusions derived from this investigation will be of great help to civil engineers working in the field of river engineering.

Under consideration are the temple layouts at Delphi and the Athenian Acropolis which were shaped in completely different ways. What they have in common, however, is that both represent an architecture on two hierarchic levels: the upper or sacred level as symbolised by the eternal principle expressed in both elevated Doric temples, which are placed in dramatic juxtaposition with features in their natural settings (earth, horizon, sky); and the lower, human level which is represented by the auxiliary buildings of the approach areas of these temple complexes. The latter buildings are smaller than the main temples and are marked by complexity and ambiguity in that they are imperfect, of varied design and not oriented to a geometric axis, which is in complete contrast to the serenity of the fully articulated superior Doric order exemplified by the Temple of Apollo at Delphi and the Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis. In both cases the focus will be on the perceptual totality of the group designs.

This study sought increase student understanding of nutrition with the use of technology. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of using technology, in the form of the legacy cycle, on student understanding of nutrition, with a particular interest in at risk students. Ninth grade students participated in either a legacy cycle lesson or a traditional classroom instruction that taught facts about genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) and the controversy that surrounds GMOs integration into the diet of the world. Analysis of pretest, posttest, and one-week retention test scores showed that there was no significant difference between the two teaching methods, although both were effective at teaching the concepts. This study showed that the legacy cycle could be incorporated in the academic classroom without detriment to student learning. / text

An in depth reflection on my approach to directing theater, particularly the attitudes and exercises I utilize to foster a positive environment for actors and designers to do their best artistic work. This thesis sites specific examples from the productions I directed as a Master of Fine Arts student in the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Texas at Austin. / text

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