Current Search: info:fedora/islandora:personCModel (x) » pamphlet (x)
View All Items
(17,161 - 17,180 of 22,602)
Pages
- Title
- Do investors attach higher valuation weights to cash flow-based measures than to accrual-based measures in valuing intangible-intensive, high-technology stocks?.
- Creator
- Al-Harbi, Abdullah D., Florida Atlantic University, College of Business, School of Accounting
- Abstract/Description
-
This study provides empirical evidence on the impact of high-tech firms' unrecognized intangible investments on the market valuation of cash flow and accrual amounts. In particular, this study empirically examines the different valuation weights that capital market participants attach to accrual-based versus cash flow-based measures when valuing intangible-intensive, high-technology stocks, and finds that investors appear to value, on average, a dollar of cash flows higher than a dollar of...
Show moreThis study provides empirical evidence on the impact of high-tech firms' unrecognized intangible investments on the market valuation of cash flow and accrual amounts. In particular, this study empirically examines the different valuation weights that capital market participants attach to accrual-based versus cash flow-based measures when valuing intangible-intensive, high-technology stocks, and finds that investors appear to value, on average, a dollar of cash flows higher than a dollar of accruals for intangible-intensive high-technology firms. Based on samples of Compustat high- and low-technology firms between 1992--2001, the empirical results suggest that cash flows have larger multiplier than aggregate accruals, and have incremental value-relevant information beyond that contained in the individual components of accruals for valuing high-technology stocks. This study further provides evidence that suggests that cash earnings measures of low-technology firms are dominated by those of high-technology firms as a summary indicator of share values. This study contributes to existing literature that reports no substantial difference in the value relevance of cash flow and accrual amounts in high and low tech industries. It provides evidence that suggests that capital market investors do not hold high-tech stocks to the same standards of valuation that they use for low-tech traditional stocks.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2003
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FADT12055
- Subject Headings
- Business Administration, Accounting
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Leadership: The intrapreneurial experience at the University of Oxford and the University of Warwick, United Kingdom.
- Creator
- Smith, Linda Marie, Florida Atlantic University, Bryan, Valerie
- Abstract/Description
-
Intrapreneurialism, a strategy adopted by an organization to exploit ideas and turn them into profitable realities, is a relatively recent phenomenon in higher education. Previous studies have concentrated on intrapreneurialism from the perspective of how it relates to organizational structures, characteristics of entrepreneurial universities, and academic strategies as a comparison to industry (Keller, 1983; Clark, 1998; Slaughter & Leslie, 1997). This present study investigated another...
Show moreIntrapreneurialism, a strategy adopted by an organization to exploit ideas and turn them into profitable realities, is a relatively recent phenomenon in higher education. Previous studies have concentrated on intrapreneurialism from the perspective of how it relates to organizational structures, characteristics of entrepreneurial universities, and academic strategies as a comparison to industry (Keller, 1983; Clark, 1998; Slaughter & Leslie, 1997). This present study investigated another aspect of intrapreneurialism, intrapreneurial leadership. This is a subject that, to date, has not received the attention it requires if academic leaders are to play the role expected of them in a modern, highly competitive knowledge economy. The University of Oxford and the University of Warwick are recognized to be at the forefront of those universities that have elected to move up the intrapreneurial path. Therefore, these two universities were selected because they symbolize a radical transformation in the financial relationship between universities, government, and industry, or suggest new ways of responding to change. This research confirms work of Clark, 1998; Apps, 1994; Slaughter & Leslie, 1997; and Keller, 1983 in which they encapsulate key features of a successful entrepreneurial institution. This study expands the limited knowledge base of intrapreneurialism in higher education from the perspective of intrapreneurial leaders at the University of Oxford and the University of Warwick, United Kingdom. This phenomenological study explored the beliefs, styles, and strategies of nine intrapreneurial leaders at the University of Oxford and twelve intrapreneurial leaders at the University of Warwick. Even though the universities differ in their educational profiles and cultural settings, the intrapreneurial strategies of both universities are similar and the leadership shares common intrapreneurial beliefs, styles, and strategies. It was found that an organizational structure designed to include a small steering core is crucial to the successful assimilation of intrapreneurialism into the culture of the university. Based on findings, an intrapreneurial leadership framework was identified which constitutes the foundation of the structure for a Change Agent University model. This model was designed to be used by other universities to effect changes necessary to incorporate intrapreneurialism into their organizations.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2003
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12054
- Subject Headings
- University of Oxford, University of Warwick, Educational leadership, Entrepreneurship
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Discovery of novel molecular targets in cancer using bioinformatics.
- Creator
- De Young, Maurice Phillip, V., Florida Atlantic University, Narayanan, Ramaswamy
- Abstract/Description
-
The Cancer Genome Anatomy Project (CGAP) database of the National Cancer Institute contains thousands of expressed sequences, both known and novel, derived from diverse sets of normal, precancerous, and tumor cDNA libraries. This offers the possibility of using this database as a rational starting point for bioinformatics-based cancer gene discovery. Using the Digital Differential Display tool of the CGAP database, a hypothesis-driven gene discovery approach was undertaken to analyze...
Show moreThe Cancer Genome Anatomy Project (CGAP) database of the National Cancer Institute contains thousands of expressed sequences, both known and novel, derived from diverse sets of normal, precancerous, and tumor cDNA libraries. This offers the possibility of using this database as a rational starting point for bioinformatics-based cancer gene discovery. Using the Digital Differential Display tool of the CGAP database, a hypothesis-driven gene discovery approach was undertaken to analyze differential expression of various solid tumor types. Two hundred known genes and five hundred novel sequences were discovered to be differentially expressed, and a comprehensive database was established to facilitate identification of cancer diagnostic and therapeutic targets. To validate the use of bioinformatics in discovering genes with organ- and tumor-selectivity, novel ESTs predicted to be colon tumor-specific were analyzed further for expression specificity. Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) analysis using matched sets of colon normal- and tumor-derived cDNAs identified one EST to be specifically expressed in the majority of colon tumors and normal small intestine. Due to this apparent specificity, the gene was termed Colon Carcinoma Related Gene (CCRG). Based on protein sequence analysis, CCRG belongs to a novel class of secreted factors. Another gene identified in this study showed homology to Single Minded 2 gene (SIM2). Involvement between SIM2 and cancer has not yet been reported. Isoform-specific expression of SIM2 short-form (SIM2-s) was seen in colon, pancreas, and prostate carcinomas but not in most normal tissues. Using a large collection of paraffin sections from colon, pancreas, and prostate tumor and normal tissues, elevated protein expression was seen in tumors compared to normal tissue specimens, demonstrating the diagnostic potential of SIM2-s. Antisense inhibition of SIM2-s expression in colon and pancreatic cancer cell lines caused inhibition of gene expression, growth inhibition, and apoptosis. Administration of SIM2-s antisense in nude mice caused inhibition of colon tumor growth without pronounced gross toxicity. Using GeneChipRTM technology, a gene expression profile indicative of apoptosis was observed in the colon cancer model. CCRG and SIM2-s offer both a diagnostic and therapeutic potential in select cancers and validate the use of bioinformatics approaches in the gene discovery paradigm.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2003
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FADT12053
- Subject Headings
- Bioinformatics, Gene expression, Oncogenes
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- A three-dimensional finite element model for the biomechanical analysis of total ankle replacement.
- Creator
- Vo, Ha Van., Florida Atlantic University, Han, Chingping (Jim), College of Engineering and Computer Science, Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering
- Abstract/Description
-
The artificial ankle joint implant has been developed since 1970 after the relatively successful total hip and knee arthroplasty. The main goal of ankle replacement is to eliminate pain and preserve joint motion. Unfortunately, total ankle replacement (TAR) has not been effective as implant of other joints. Recently, published studies of early series showed that the newer second-generation ankle prosthesis have been improved with time. However, only one of the three current ankle designs is...
Show moreThe artificial ankle joint implant has been developed since 1970 after the relatively successful total hip and knee arthroplasty. The main goal of ankle replacement is to eliminate pain and preserve joint motion. Unfortunately, total ankle replacement (TAR) has not been effective as implant of other joints. Recently, published studies of early series showed that the newer second-generation ankle prosthesis have been improved with time. However, only one of the three current ankle designs is allowed by FDA to be used widely in the U.S. This study provides a new ankle design with an advanced approach in designs, biomechanical rationale, and implantation using finite element method (FEM). The new ankle prosthesis in designed to be optimal in terms of ultimate stress, implant parameter that correlating with minimal bone removal using finite element model created from CT scan. In addition, its implantation is less invasive and traumatic compared to the current TAR with longer expecting service life time. Case study showed that the thickness meniscus of the new ankle design obtained from FEM is well within the recommendation ranges by the expert in the ankle joint implantation field.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2003
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12052
- Subject Headings
- Ankle--Effect of implants on, Artificial joints, Ankle--Mechanical properties, Finite element method
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Perception of facial affect: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study of adolescents and adults with and without nonverbal learning disabilities.
- Creator
- Vallabha, Taube Lubart, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences
- Abstract/Description
-
Individuals with nonverbal learning disabilities (NLD) have an impaired ability to interpret facial expressions of emotion (FEE), the consequences of which can include progressively debilitating socioemotional disturbances. Thus, it is important to determine how the neuroanatomical structures underlying the perception of FEE in people with NLD differ from the normal population. To this end, functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to compare brain activation patterns in male and female...
Show moreIndividuals with nonverbal learning disabilities (NLD) have an impaired ability to interpret facial expressions of emotion (FEE), the consequences of which can include progressively debilitating socioemotional disturbances. Thus, it is important to determine how the neuroanatomical structures underlying the perception of FEE in people with NLD differ from the normal population. To this end, functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to compare brain activation patterns in male and female adolescent subjects and male adult subjects with and without NLD. The subjects were presented with FEE at low and high intensities while they performed a gender decision task. Subjects with NLD displayed less activation in limbic areas responsible for processing emotion in the normal population. The NLD subjects exhibited more activity than controls in the orbital gyrus, inferior, middle and superior frontal gyri, fusiform and superior temporal gyri, insula, striatum and inferior and superior parietal lobules. Several of these structures participate in language function: as individuals with NLD have superior verbal abilities, it is probable that this population relies on their linguistic strengths to compensate for their nonverbal weaknesses whilst processing FEE. Additionally, because of an impaired capacity for attention to and discrimination of visual details, the NLD subjects showed more active responses for low intensity FEE in comparison to controls. This may have led to a failure of regions such as the middle and superior frontal and superior temporal gyri to habituate or sensitize appropriately to emotionally salient visual stimuli. In comparison with the normal population, people with NLD utilize different neural structures when processing FEE, in accordance with the strengths and deficits associated with the NLD syndrome.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2003
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FADT12051
- Subject Headings
- Biology, Neuroscience, Education, Special, Psychology, Cognitive
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- The predictive validity and adverse impact of an assessment center, a multirater appraisal system and top-down appraisal for selecting retail store managers.
- Creator
- Tyler, Catherine L., Florida Atlantic University, Bernardin, Harold John
- Abstract/Description
-
This study compares the levels of criterion-related validity and the extent of statistical adverse impact against minorities based on supervisors' top-down (TD) performance appraisals, a multirater appraisal (MRA) system and a traditional assessment center (AC). Data from all three sources were collected as a part of a predictive validity study using criterion data completely independent of the predictor data and where managers who provided criterion data had no knowledge of the predictor...
Show moreThis study compares the levels of criterion-related validity and the extent of statistical adverse impact against minorities based on supervisors' top-down (TD) performance appraisals, a multirater appraisal (MRA) system and a traditional assessment center (AC). Data from all three sources were collected as a part of a predictive validity study using criterion data completely independent of the predictor data and where managers who provided criterion data had no knowledge of the predictor scores. The performance of the selected managers was used as the dependent variable. This is the first study in which direct comparisons were made for predictive validity and adverse impact among these three methods of staffing decisions for the same subjects. As hypothesized, the assessment center (uncorrected r = .32) and multirater methods (uncorrected r = .31) had the highest levels of predictive validity. The predictive validity of the top-down managerial assessment was significantly lower than the other two methods, and the correlation with subsequent managerial performance was not statistically significant (uncorrected r = .13). It was also hypothesized that multirater appraisal and assessment centers would result in less adverse impact than top-down appraisal. After examination by several commonly used methods, only partial support was found for these hypotheses. Analyses using the 80% rule and z-scores found that data from the AC and MRA methods did not indicate adverse impact against minorities while TD data resulted in adverse impact. Possible reasons for the discrepant findings of the various methods of analysis and implications for expert witness testimony are discussed.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2003
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12050
- Subject Headings
- Assessment Centers (Personnel Management Procedure), Employee Selection, Executive Ability--Testing
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Using classroom assessment techniques: The experiences of adjunct faculty at a Vanguard Learning College and two non-Vanguard community colleges.
- Creator
- Tuby, Heidi S., Florida Atlantic University, Acker-Hocevar, Michele A.
- Abstract/Description
-
The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATS) by adjunct faculty at 3 homogeneous Florida community colleges, 1 Vanguard and 2 non-Vanguard. A qualitative methodology, with a phenomenological approach, helped to describe the meaning that the experience of using CATS had for adjunct professors. Interviews with 18 participants, including adjunct faculty and faculty development administrators, were the primary means of data collection,...
Show moreThe purpose of this study was to investigate the use of Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATS) by adjunct faculty at 3 homogeneous Florida community colleges, 1 Vanguard and 2 non-Vanguard. A qualitative methodology, with a phenomenological approach, helped to describe the meaning that the experience of using CATS had for adjunct professors. Interviews with 18 participants, including adjunct faculty and faculty development administrators, were the primary means of data collection, supplemented by researcher field notes, demographic profile sheets, and analysis of actual CATS. The data synthesized into 3 levels of meaningful encounters, revealing the barriers that inhibited adjunct faculty use of CATS and how those obstacles were overcome, as well as facilitators that promoted use of CATS. A critical finding was that CATS did not motivate adjunct faculty to move from "private" investigation of student learning to "public dialogue" on teaching and learning that can add to the scholarship of teaching. The data showed that institutional commitment to CATS and a formal introduction to them as formative assessment, built upon a solid research base, were important steps toward encouraging their use. Also, "high touch" faculty development activities, which included CATS, effectively complemented those that were "high tech." The findings of the study indicated that the Vanguard and non-Vanguard colleges shared similar ideas. The Vanguard Learning College, however, distinguished itself by the actions taken to become more learning-centered; adjunct faculty participants assumed leadership roles as educational researchers who pursued independent projects to develop instructional materials to improve student learning as compared to adjunct professors at the non-Vanguard colleges. The following conclusions were reached: (a) Community college adjunct faculty use CATS to expand their own learning, often by designing probing questions in response to immediate classroom concerns. Therefore, the experience of using CATS is unique for each professor. (b) Deprivatizing adjunct faculty teaching is difficult, and sharing meets with resistance. At the Vanguard College, individual and communal learning are beginning to fuse. (c) CATs strengthen learning colleges as communication tools between instructors and individual students, but are not used to their fullest advantage to generate public dialogue on student learning.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2003
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FADT12049
- Subject Headings
- Educational tests and measurements, College teachers, Part-time, Effective teaching, Community college teachers
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- The relationship between the perceived leadership styles of directors of associate degree radiography programs and faculty satisfaction, willingness to exert extra effort, perceived director effectiveness, and program outcomes.
- Creator
- Shaver, Gary Wayne., Florida Atlantic University, Acker-Hocevar, Michele A.
- Abstract/Description
-
The focus of this study was to examine the faculty-perceived leadership styles of directors of associate degree radiography programs and to determine if significant relationships existed between those styles and faculty perceptions of director effectiveness, faculties' satisfaction, and the faculties' willingness to exert extra effort. This study also examined the relationships between the directors' leadership styles and three radiography program outcomes: American Registry of Radiologic...
Show moreThe focus of this study was to examine the faculty-perceived leadership styles of directors of associate degree radiography programs and to determine if significant relationships existed between those styles and faculty perceptions of director effectiveness, faculties' satisfaction, and the faculties' willingness to exert extra effort. This study also examined the relationships between the directors' leadership styles and three radiography program outcomes: American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) exam pass rate, program completion rate, and job placement rate. Further, the relationship between the directors' leadership styles and demographic information was also examined. Directors' leadership styles were measured with the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) (Form 5x-Short). Director, faculty, and program-specific demographic information was assessed with two researcher-designed questionnaires. Demographic questionnaires were mailed to all directors of Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT) accredited associate degree radiography programs (n = 321) located in the United States and Puerto Rico. One hundred and fifty-one (47%) responses were received. Faculty (n = 352) were randomly selected from names submitted by their respective program director. Each was sent a demographic questionnaire and the MLQ (Form 5x-Short). One hundred and seventy-six (50%) responses were received. Hierarchical multiple regression procedures and Pearson correlations were used to analyze the data. The findings of this study indicated that the transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire factors are significant predictors of program director effectiveness, faculty satisfaction, and the faculties' willingness to exert extra effort and the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) Exam pass rate. None of the leadership factors significantly predicted program completion rate, job placement rate, or the eight and five-year JRCERT accreditation awards. There was no significant correlation between directors' leadership styles and the demographic variables.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2003
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12048
- Subject Headings
- Radiography--Study and teaching (Higher), College teachers--Attitudes, Educational leadership
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Software reliability engineering with genetic programming.
- Creator
- Liu, Yi., Florida Atlantic University, Khoshgoftaar, Taghi M., College of Engineering and Computer Science, Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- Abstract/Description
-
Software reliability engineering plays a vital role in managing and controlling software quality. As an important method of software reliability engineering, software quality estimation modeling is useful in defining a cost-effective strategy to achieve a reliable software system. By predicting the faults in a software system, the software quality models can identify high-risk modules, and thus, these high-risk modules can be targeted for reliability enhancements. Strictly speaking, software...
Show moreSoftware reliability engineering plays a vital role in managing and controlling software quality. As an important method of software reliability engineering, software quality estimation modeling is useful in defining a cost-effective strategy to achieve a reliable software system. By predicting the faults in a software system, the software quality models can identify high-risk modules, and thus, these high-risk modules can be targeted for reliability enhancements. Strictly speaking, software quality modeling not only aims at lowering the misclassification rate, but also takes into account the costs of different misclassifications and the available resources of a project. As a new search-based algorithm, Genetic Programming (GP) can build a model without assuming the size, shape, or structure of a model. It can flexibly tailor the fitness functions to the objectives chosen by the customers. Moreover, it can optimize several objectives simultaneously in the modeling process, and thus, a set of multi-objective optimization solutions can be obtained. This research focuses on building software quality estimation models using GP. Several GP-based models of predicting the class membership of each software module and ranking the modules by a quality factor were proposed. The first model of categorizing the modules into fault-prone or not fault-prone was proposed by considering the distinguished features of the software quality classification task and GP. The second model provided quality-based ranking information for fault-prone modules. A decision tree-based software classification model was also proposed by considering accuracy and simplicity simultaneously. This new technique provides a new multi-objective optimization algorithm to build decision trees for real-world engineering problems, in which several trade-off objectives usually have to be taken into account at the same time. The fourth model was built to find multi-objective optimization solutions by considering both the expected cost of misclassification and available resources. Also, a new goal-oriented technique of building module-order models was proposed by directly optimizing several goals chosen by project analysts. The issues of GP , bloating and overfitting, were also addressed in our research. Data were collected from three industrial projects, and applied to validate the performance of the models. Results indicate that our proposed methods can achieve useful performance results. Moreover, some proposed methods can simultaneously optimize several different objectives of a software project management team.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2003
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FADT12047
- Subject Headings
- Computer software--Quality control, Genetic programming (Computer science), Software engineering
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Low-income women's standpoint: Recognizing poor and working-class American women as generators of resistant knowledge.
- Creator
- Larson, Holly Ann., Florida Atlantic University, Caputi, Jane
- Abstract/Description
-
This dissertation puts economically disadvantaged American women at the center of analysis. I turn to standpoint theory to demonstrate that low-income women construct knowledge out of resistance to systemic oppression in their everyday, concrete worlds. In addition, I create a distinct theory on low-income women's standpoint to show that poor and working-class women are grounded in and produce knowledge from the messiness of contradictions and the murkiness of ambiguity in the immediate,...
Show moreThis dissertation puts economically disadvantaged American women at the center of analysis. I turn to standpoint theory to demonstrate that low-income women construct knowledge out of resistance to systemic oppression in their everyday, concrete worlds. In addition, I create a distinct theory on low-income women's standpoint to show that poor and working-class women are grounded in and produce knowledge from the messiness of contradictions and the murkiness of ambiguity in the immediate, material world. Therefore, their forms of resistance is as complex, ambiguous, and messy as the world from which they struggle. Discerning and analyzing low-income women's standpoint does not create a value hierarchy that places more worth on one form of resistance than on another. Nor does it make an ethical judgment on how low-income women resist or uphold moral absolutism that categorizes their acts of resistance as "good/healthy" or "bad/dysfunctional." Rather, uncovering and examining low-income women's standpoint focuses on how poor and working-class women struggle to be whole, complex beings who daily fight against economic oppression under structural limitations and within contradictory situations. Low-income women's standpoint theory acknowledges the messiness of life and the imperfection of humanity. Furthermore, it illustrates that knowledge is an ongoing process of seeking "truth"; there is no one correct way of finding "truth." Hence, low-income women's standpoint theory shows that there is "truth" in the murkiness and confusion of contradictions and ambiguity. My dissertation is set up as the following: in chapter one, I explain what poor and working-class women's standpoint is and highlight how their resistant knowledge is grounded in their immediate and everyday world; in chapter two, I examine how low-income female performing artists and writers openly express their sexuality as "bad girls" through their art and writing to claim sexual agency; in chapter three, I analyze how low-waged female workers encountering structural limitations negotiate power relations in the workforce; and, in chapter four, I look at how low-income women deal with emotional pain and anger as they resist being crushed by economic and social oppression.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2003
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12046
- Subject Headings
- Poor women--United States, Oppression (Psychology), Working class women
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Finding their voice: Jewish women artists in the 19th and 20th centuries.
- Creator
- Kirchen, Anita Mary, Florida Atlantic University, Kirsch, Max H.
- Abstract/Description
-
While Jewish women artists became active in the visual arts beginning in the mid-19th century, to date they have not been addressed as a group. This project presents a theoretical and historical overview of the work of six Jewish women artists---Rebecca Solomon, Charlotte Salomon, Helen Frankenthaler, Sonia Delaunay, Louise Nevelson, and Eva Hesse---examining their art in the context of their cultural heritage, Euro-American nationalities, social environments, life experiences, and...
Show moreWhile Jewish women artists became active in the visual arts beginning in the mid-19th century, to date they have not been addressed as a group. This project presents a theoretical and historical overview of the work of six Jewish women artists---Rebecca Solomon, Charlotte Salomon, Helen Frankenthaler, Sonia Delaunay, Louise Nevelson, and Eva Hesse---examining their art in the context of their cultural heritage, Euro-American nationalities, social environments, life experiences, and contemporary art movements. Providing both representational and nonrepresentational artists---an important factor in Jewish aesthetics---this group includes both well-recognized artists and those whose work has only recently become known. For Delaunay, Frankenthaler, Nevelson, and Hesse, this analysis provides an understanding of their artwork in light of their Jewish heritage, as opposed to the Western cultural context in which they are most often viewed. To properly examine the lives and artwork of these artists requires a multi-faceted theoretical framework. Given the history of Jewish exile, which dispersed artists among Euro-American societies, cross-cultural perspectives and analyses provide a context in which to situate their artwork. Contemporary aesthetic theories and women's art scholarship reframe the visual arts, particularly in reference to Jewish women artists. Finally, new textual methods of interpretation contribute to a broader understanding than traditional art historical practice. Since Euro-American art scholars most usually confine themselves within Western culture and aesthetics, the introduction of Jewish aesthetic history and theory provides a more appropriate structure within which to examine the work of Jewish women artists. While this sample group is small, it represents a broad historical and geographical range and examines the various ways of creating visual art within that range. This study weaves together traditional art historical models with newer theories from textual art scholarship, as well as cross-cultural and Jewish cultural studies. This use of a multi-faceted theoretical framework seeks to provide a more complete understanding of the lives and artwork of Jewish women artists, and their place within art history.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2003
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FADT12045
- Subject Headings
- Jewish women artists--19th century, Jewish women artists--20th century, Asceticism--Judaism
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- The effects of a self-evaluation intervention on the instructional behavior of special education interns.
- Creator
- Keller, Cassandra L., Florida Atlantic University, Taylor, Ronald L.
- Abstract/Description
-
This study investigated the effects of an audiotaped self evaluation intervention on the instructional behavior of interns in classrooms for students with disabilities. Three interns teaching in elementary school settings in Southeast Florida participated in the study. The dependent variable was frequency of specific social praise statements. The independent variable was the self evaluation intervention which consisted of an individual training session that required each intern to listen to...
Show moreThis study investigated the effects of an audiotaped self evaluation intervention on the instructional behavior of interns in classrooms for students with disabilities. Three interns teaching in elementary school settings in Southeast Florida participated in the study. The dependent variable was frequency of specific social praise statements. The independent variable was the self evaluation intervention which consisted of an individual training session that required each intern to listen to five minute audiotaped samples of their instruction and then graph the frequency of specific social praise. A multiple baseline design was used to measure the effects of the intervention. Generalization probes were administered to determine the effects of the intervention in other content areas and maintenance probes were evaluated to determine the effects of the intervention over time. A qualitative design employing an open ended interview was used to enhance and amplify the quantitative portion of the study and to find out what value the interns placed on the intervention. Results indicated that the intervention had a positive effect on all three interns' use of specific social praise. Generalization probes indicated that two of the three interns increased their use of specific social praise during non-targeted content areas. The maintenance probes indicated that all three interns' average use of specific social praise was well above their baseline averages, although two of the three interns had a decreasing trend. The findings from the qualitative data supported the results from the quantitative analyses and revealed that interns valued the self evaluation intervention because it allowed them to reflect, evaluate, and then change their behavior. Recommendations for future research were made.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2003
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12044
- Subject Headings
- Interns (Education), Teachers--Self-rating of, Students with disabilities--Education, Teachers of children with disabilities--Training of
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Count models for software quality estimation.
- Creator
- Gao, Kehan, Florida Atlantic University, Khoshgoftaar, Taghi M., College of Engineering and Computer Science, Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- Abstract/Description
-
The primary aim of software engineering is to produce quality software that is delivered on time, within budget, and fulfils all its requirements. A timely estimation of software quality can serve as a prerequisite in achieving high reliability of software-based systems. More specifically, software quality assurance efforts can be prioritized for targeting program modules that are most likely to have a high number of faults. Software quality estimation models are generally of two types: a...
Show moreThe primary aim of software engineering is to produce quality software that is delivered on time, within budget, and fulfils all its requirements. A timely estimation of software quality can serve as a prerequisite in achieving high reliability of software-based systems. More specifically, software quality assurance efforts can be prioritized for targeting program modules that are most likely to have a high number of faults. Software quality estimation models are generally of two types: a classification model that predicts the class membership of modules into two or more quality-based classes, and a quantitative prediction model that estimates the number of faults (or some other software quality factor) that are likely to occur in software modules. In the literature, a variety of techniques have been developed for software quality estimation, most of which are suited for either prediction or classification but not for both, e.g., the multiple linear regression (only for prediction) and logistic regression (only for classification).
Show less - Date Issued
- 2003
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12042
- Subject Headings
- Computer software--Quality control, Software engineering, Econometrics, Regression analysis
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Neural correlates of rhythmic auditory stimulation and rhythmic movement: Rate dependence and transient to steady-state transition.
- Creator
- Carver, Frederick White, Florida Atlantic University, Kelso, J. A. Scott, Fuchs, Armin
- Abstract/Description
-
The experiments in this dissertation were designed to produce a systematic characterization of the neuroelectric and neuromagnetic correlates of isochronous tone stimulation and simple rhythmic movements over a broad range of rates. The goal was to determine how the cortical representation of rhythm changes with rate, which would provide insight into known rate-dependent differences in perceptual and coordinative abilities. Fundamental transitions in the composition of the auditory and motor...
Show moreThe experiments in this dissertation were designed to produce a systematic characterization of the neuroelectric and neuromagnetic correlates of isochronous tone stimulation and simple rhythmic movements over a broad range of rates. The goal was to determine how the cortical representation of rhythm changes with rate, which would provide insight into known rate-dependent differences in perceptual and coordinative abilities. Fundamental transitions in the composition of the auditory and motor responses were hypothesized to occur within the parameter ranges studied here, including the attenuation of major response components and a shift from discrete transient activity at low rates to continuous steady-state activity at high rates. The auditory responses were studied in separate electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) experiments with stimulation rates ranging from 0.5 to 8Hz. In both studies, a transition from a transient to a continuous steady-state representation of the tone sequence occurred near 2Hz. In addition, an N1m component of the transient responses disappeared at rates near 8Hz, which may indicate the border beyond which tones are no longer distinct since the response is known to be an index of novelty in the auditory environment. Moreover, in a result important for understanding how evoked activity interacts with activity already present in the cortex, the phase of ongoing 40Hz rhythms is shown to affect the amplitude of the auditory evoked 40Hz response. Rhythmic finger movement was studied using a continuation paradigm in two EEG and MEG experiments at movement rates from 0.5 to 2.5Hz. Major findings included the disappearance of activity associated with movement planning and initiation at rates above 1Hz, suggesting a transition into a steady-state motor response in which there is less direct control of individual movements by the cortex. In addition, the neural correlates of synchronization and continuation were compared, with the results showing a similar cortical organization of metronome-paced and self-paced movements. The attenuation of major response components and the development of continuous steady-state activity within the present parameter ranges indicate rate-dependent changes in the cortical representation of simple rhythms, which are proposed here to relate to known rate-dependent behavioral differences in more complex coordinative environments.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2003
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12040
- Subject Headings
- Electrophysiology, Auditory evoked response, Electroencephalography
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- The other side of fifty: The Crones Among Us.
- Creator
- Benson, Bonnie Marie., Florida Atlantic University, Brown, Susan Love
- Abstract/Description
-
The playwright can be both a public intellectual and an agent for social change. In this creative dissertation, consisting of a series of essays and a full-length play, I demonstrate an alternative view of aging women to combat the pejorative images now current. Drawing on dramatic portrayals from the past 100 years and current information on aging in the United States, I explore the dominant viewpoint on aging women. Combining the structures of spiritual quest and rite of passage with an...
Show moreThe playwright can be both a public intellectual and an agent for social change. In this creative dissertation, consisting of a series of essays and a full-length play, I demonstrate an alternative view of aging women to combat the pejorative images now current. Drawing on dramatic portrayals from the past 100 years and current information on aging in the United States, I explore the dominant viewpoint on aging women. Combining the structures of spiritual quest and rite of passage with an appreciation for the ritual that celebrates such events, I have written a play, The Crones Among Us, from a female viewpoint. Presenting female characters as subjects rather than objects, the play provides an alternative view of women on the other side of fifty. Using the archetype of the crone, the play affords a more empowering view of women as they age in a society which has privileged youth and beauty.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2003
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FADT12039
- Subject Headings
- Middle-aged women--Fiction, Aging--United States, Women dramatists, Playwriting
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Recovering Eden: The photographer in the garden.
- Creator
- Bentley-Kemp, Lynne Austin., Florida Atlantic University, Brown, Susan Love
- Abstract/Description
-
This dissertation explores the intersection of Paradise, art making, concepts of beauty and the social conventions that influence artists. My exploration occurs within the landscape genre, specifically the landscape photograph. For the purpose of contextualizing this analysis the dissertation is designed as an illustrated book where word and image occupy places of equal importance. Photographs are used as primary source material in this investigation. The work of six accomplished American...
Show moreThis dissertation explores the intersection of Paradise, art making, concepts of beauty and the social conventions that influence artists. My exploration occurs within the landscape genre, specifically the landscape photograph. For the purpose of contextualizing this analysis the dissertation is designed as an illustrated book where word and image occupy places of equal importance. Photographs are used as primary source material in this investigation. The work of six accomplished American photographers has been selected so that a lineage may become apparent in the portrayal of a pictorial vision of Eden. All the photographers chosen for the project made/make art that is centered on the paradisiacal landscape, an ideal that is interpreted by each individual photographer according to their gender, socio-political influences, personal spirituality and cultural orientation. The review begins in the 1860's with the work of Carleton Watkins, one of the first photographers of the western American landscape and continues with Timothy O'Sullivan. The review will segue into Modernism with Ansel Adams and Laura Gilpin and ends in latter part of the 20th century with two contemporary American photographers, Linda Connor and Marilyn Bridges. This particular analysis is structured upon a universal image of paradise as a garden and how that image has become culturally imprinted upon humans. The visual manifestations of Eden seen in nineteenth and twentieth century painting and photography are constructed throughout history. They represent use of art as means towards creating utopias. With this impulse to escape or change the status quo I have examined the connection of the appreciation of beauty to ethical transformation.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2003
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12038
- Subject Headings
- Landscape photography--United States, Eden in art, Photographers--United States
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Building a template of electoral strategies for women who aspire to the superintendency in appointed school districts within the southern United States.
- Creator
- Swain, Marianne Russo, Florida Atlantic University, Bogotch, Ira, Acker-Hocevar, Michele A.
- Abstract/Description
-
Based on an observation that women have been more successful in ascending to the level of school superintendent within southern school districts that use electoral procedures, this study examined unique electoral strategies women superintendents use that maybe transferable to women who aspire to the superintendency within districts in which appointment is the only means of ascension. The researcher interviewed five superintendents in districts within the southern United States. The data were...
Show moreBased on an observation that women have been more successful in ascending to the level of school superintendent within southern school districts that use electoral procedures, this study examined unique electoral strategies women superintendents use that maybe transferable to women who aspire to the superintendency within districts in which appointment is the only means of ascension. The researcher interviewed five superintendents in districts within the southern United States. The data were analyzed using three conceptual frameworks: (a) Murphy's governance theory, (b) Ferguson's bureaucratic theory, and (c) Lather's emancipatory theory. The data were also evaluated in terms of elected and appointed school districts. Analysis of the data revealed four emerging themes: (a) career pathway and representative democracy, (b) political administrative elite and the bureaucracy, (c) gender dichotomy, the representation of self, and (d) building networks of support. The data revealed information about each superintendent's personal attributes that contributed to her electoral success, which included: (a) career path, (b) support system, and (c) and motivation to run. The superintendents also discussed mediating factors that shaped their campaign strategies and electoral success, which included: (a) negotiating powerbrokers within the community, (b) their relationship with the school board, (c) governance issues, (d) personal leadership philosophy, (e) power, and (f) gender stereotypes. Findings from the study provide guidance to those women aspiring to the superintendency in appointed school districts suggesting that appointed women superintendents recognize, understand, and negotiate the bureaucratic structure and governance framework as supported by the state and administrative elites.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2003
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FADT12037
- Subject Headings
- Women school superintendents--Selection and appointment, Women school superintendents--Southern States--Attitudes--Interviews, Women school administrators
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Mentoring across multiple generations of school leaders.
- Creator
- Andrews, Janis., Florida Atlantic University, Bogotch, Ira
- Abstract/Description
-
Higher expectations for student achievement, administrative shortages, and more diverse emotional, social and learning needs of students, make the job of the educational leader a challenging one for today's school principals and district administrators. Superintendents and educators across the nation report a shortage of qualified candidates to fill principal vacancies. Mentoring was studied as a strategy to support the retention and development of school leaders. This phenomenological study...
Show moreHigher expectations for student achievement, administrative shortages, and more diverse emotional, social and learning needs of students, make the job of the educational leader a challenging one for today's school principals and district administrators. Superintendents and educators across the nation report a shortage of qualified candidates to fill principal vacancies. Mentoring was studied as a strategy to support the retention and development of school leaders. This phenomenological study focused on mentoring practices across multiple generations of educational leaders that had been successfully mentored. Selected mentors identified proteges whom they had mentored. The identification of mentors and proteges continued through five school leader mentoring generations. Each family consisted of five participants who had served as both mentor and protege. Each participant was asked open-ended interview questions about their roles as a mentor and as a protege. A total of 10 school leaders participated in this study. There were two interrelated research purposes of this study: (a) To understand the different meanings/practices of mentoring and being mentored, and further; (b) to explore whether there may be intergenerational patterns of mentoring that have been "inherited" by members of mentoring "families." In studying the relationship between mentoring and leadership development, the research design identified two distinct "families" of mentors and proteges. The significance of this design allowed the researcher to focus on "inherited" patterns of mentoring in order to better understand how mentoring might simultaneously promote cultural transmission and reproduction as well as the need for mutual and continuous learning. This study found that the cultural norms and values of Mentoring Family 1 and of Mentoring Family 2 were passed on from the first generation to the next through traditional mentoring and/or co-mentoring strategies. Mentoring strategies passed on from one generation to the next in both Family 1 and in Family 2 through mentors providing opportunities that opened doors that lead to advancement, socialization of proteges into new professional roles, and the development of trust and friendship. Role modeling and informal communication were the key learning strategies identified. These mentoring traits passed on relatively unchanged from one dyad to the next in both families.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2003
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12036
- Subject Headings
- Educational leadership, Mentoring in education, School principals
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Enhancing video quality based on psychophysical studies of smooth pursuit eye movements.
- Creator
- Chilamakuri, Pavani., Florida Atlantic University, Furht, Borko, Glenn, William E., College of Engineering and Computer Science, Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- Abstract/Description
-
When motion occurs in a scene, the quality of video degrades due to motion smear, which results in a loss of contrast in the image. The characteristics of the human vision system when smooth pursuit eye movements occur are different from those when the eye fixates on an object such as a video screen during motion. Smooth pursuit eye movements dominate in the presence of dynamic stimuli. In the presence of smooth pursuit eye movements, the contrast sensitivity for increasing target velocities...
Show moreWhen motion occurs in a scene, the quality of video degrades due to motion smear, which results in a loss of contrast in the image. The characteristics of the human vision system when smooth pursuit eye movements occur are different from those when the eye fixates on an object such as a video screen during motion. Smooth pursuit eye movements dominate in the presence of dynamic stimuli. In the presence of smooth pursuit eye movements, the contrast sensitivity for increasing target velocities shifts toward lower spatial frequencies. The sensitivity for low spatial frequencies during motion is higher than for a stationary case. This dissertation will propose a method to improve the perceptual quality of video using temporal enhancement prefiltering technique based on the characteristics of Smooth Pursuit Eye Movements (SPEM). The resulting technique closely matches the characteristics of the human visual system (HVS). When motion occurs, the eye tracks the moving targets in a scene as opposed to fixating on any portion of the scene. Hence, psychophysical studies of smooth pursuit eye movements were used as a basis to design the temporal filters. Results of experiments show that temporal enhancement results in improved quality by increasing the apparent sharpness of the image sequence. In this dissertation, a study of research describing how motion affects the image quality at the camera lens and the human eye is presented. This dissertation uses that research to develop a temporal enhancement technique to improve the quality of video degraded by motion.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2003
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FADT12035
- Subject Headings
- Eye--Movements, Digital video, Visual perception, Video compression
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- An exploratory study of victim participation in the justice systems of Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad/Tobago.
- Creator
- Eastep, Mary Ann., Florida Atlantic University, Leip, Leslie A.
- Abstract/Description
-
This study examines the nature and extent of victim participation in the criminal justice systems in the three Caribbean nations of Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Through visits to the three island nations, observations were made; interviews were conducted with justice practitioners, including police officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys and victim advocates; conversations were held with citizens and several crime victims; observations of court proceedings were conducted; and...
Show moreThis study examines the nature and extent of victim participation in the criminal justice systems in the three Caribbean nations of Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Through visits to the three island nations, observations were made; interviews were conducted with justice practitioners, including police officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys and victim advocates; conversations were held with citizens and several crime victims; observations of court proceedings were conducted; and documents were studied. Victim participation was considered in the context of the culture and within the theoretical framework of institutionalism and organized anarchies. Institutions were seen as both constraining forces with respect to victim participation and emerging entities as regards victim participation. Justice practitioners' perceptions of participation often matched and often varied from actual systems of participation that exist. In addition, there were instances wherein practitioners who had considerable contact with victims (police officers, prosecutors) had very little knowledge about victims' rights and/or the status of victim policy. Victims of crime in Jamaica have more services available to them than do victims in the other two nations, as there is a government network of victim service agencies in place there. Participation in the actual trial process is similar in each of the nations studied.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2003
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12034
- Subject Headings
- Criminal justice, Administration of--Barbados, Criminal justice, Administration of--Jamaica, Criminal justice, Administration of--Trinidad and Tobago, Victims of crimes--Caribbean Area
- Format
- Document (PDF)
