Matching Items (43,913)
Description
The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of a context-based teaching approach (STS) versus a more traditional textbook approach on the attitudes and achievement of community college chemistry students. In studying attitudes toward chemistry within this study, I used a 30-item Likert scale in order to study the importance of chemistry in students' lives, the importance of chemistry, the difficulty of chemistry, interest in chemistry, and the usefulness of chemistry for their future career. Though the STS approach students had higher attitude post scores, there was no significant difference between the STS and textbook students' attitude post scores. It was noted that females had higher postattitude scores in the STS group, while males had higher postattitude scores in the textbook group. With regard to postachievement, I noted that males had higher scores in both groups. A correlation existed between postattitude and postachievement in the STS classroom. In summary, while an association between attitude and achievement was found in the STS classroom, teaching approach or sex was not found to influence attitudes, while sex was also not found to influence achievement. These results, overall, suggest that attitudes are not expected to change on the basis of either teaching approach or gender, and that techniques other than changing the teaching approach would need to be used in order to improve the attitudes of students. Qualitative analysis of an online discussion activity on Energy revealed that STS students were able to apply aspects of chemistry in decision making related to socioscientific issues. Additional analysis of interview and written responses provided insight regarding attitudes toward chemistry, with respect to topics of applicability of chemistry to life, difficulties with chemistry, teaching approach for chemistry, and the intent for enrolling in additional chemistry courses. In addition, the surveys of female students brought out subcategories with regard to emotional and professional characteristics of a good teacher, under the category of characteristics of teaching approach. With respect to the category of course experience, subcategories of useful knowledge to solve real-life problems and knowledge for future career were revealed. The differences between the control group females and STS group females with respect to these characteristics was striking and threw insight into how teacher behavior and teaching approach shape student attitudes to chemistry in case of female students.
ContributorsPerkins, Gita (Author) / Baker, Dale R. (Thesis advisor) / Sloane, Finbarr (Committee member) / Marsh, Josephine P (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
This dissertation explores the interrelationships between periods of rapid social change and regional-scale social identities. Using archaeological data from the Cibola region of the U.S. Southwest, I examine changes in the nature and scale of social identification across a period of demographic and social upheaval (A.D. 1150-1325) marked by a shift from dispersed hamlets, to clustered villages, and eventually, to a small number of large nucleated towns. This transformation in settlement organization entailed a fundamental reconfiguration of the relationships among households and communities across an area of over 45,000 km2. This study draws on contemporary social theory focused on political mobilization and social movements to investigate how changes in the process of social identification can influence the potential for such widespread and rapid transformations. This framework suggests that social identification can be divided into two primary modes; relational identification based on networks of interaction among individuals, and categorical identification based on active expressions of affiliation with social roles or groups to which one can belong. Importantly, trajectories of social transformations are closely tied to the interrelationships between these two modes of identification. This study has three components: Social transformation, indicated by rapid demographic and settlement transitions, is documented through settlement studies drawing on a massive, regional database including over 1,500 sites. Relational identities, indicated by networks of interaction, are documented through ceramic compositional analyses of over 2,100 potsherds, technological characterizations of over 2,000 utilitarian ceramic vessels, and the distributions of different types of domestic architectural features across the region. Categorical identities are documented through stylistic comparisons of a large sample of polychrome ceramic vessels and characterizations of public architectural spaces. Contrary to assumptions underlying traditional approaches to social identity in archaeology, this study demonstrates that relational and categorical identities are not necessarily coterminous. Importantly, however, the strongest patterns of relational connections prior to the period of social transformation in the Cibola region largely predict the scale and structure of changes associated with that transformation. This suggests that the social transformation in the Cibola region, despite occurring in a non-state setting, was governed by similar dynamics to well-documented contemporary examples.
ContributorsPeeples, Matthew A. (Author) / Kintigh, Keith W. (Thesis advisor) / Hegmon, Michelle (Thesis advisor) / Spielmann, Katherine A. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
To sustain world preeminence, 21st century university and college leaders in the United States are redesigning their institutions organizationally and culturally to align with the direction of local and global societies and markets. The New American University enterprise model at Arizona State University has become one of the leading organization and cultural redesigns in United States higher education since its inception in 2002. Yet, sustaining a 21st century model such as this one means every individual in the college or university must understand his or her specific role to further progress the new model forward. Therefore, to advance and sustain a 21st century higher education redesign model at a U.S. college or university, it becomes imperative that every master-level professional who works in the academic/student services field at the institution understand his or her specific role in helping to further progress the new model forward. To this end, there is a need to change the way graduate students in higher education/student affairs masters programs are educated to work in the 21st century institution. This change can prepare new professionals to understand these enterprise models and how to integrate them into their practice in order to meet the needs of the institution, local and global societies and markets. The purpose of this action research study is to highlight one program, the ASU M.Ed. Higher and Postsecondary program, and show how graduates from 2007 - 2011 understand New American University concepts and integrate them into professional practice within higher education. Through use of a quantitative approach, this action research study described how the ASU M.Ed. in Higher and Postsecondary program graduate students' understanding of New American University concepts informs their thinking and practice to lead and respond to changes and challenges facing today's 21st century higher education field.
ContributorsAntonucci, Mark J (Author) / Ewing, Kris M (Thesis advisor) / Denke, Mark (Committee member) / Rund, James (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Alfred de Musset (1810-1857) is one of the greatest playwrights of the Romantic era. The most attractive fact of his work is the diversity of topics, genres, tones, opinions and styles. Musset's theater was created in the romantic drama period, which was influenced by abroad. He sought freedom of creation and sometimes showed independence from writers taking his own initiatives to change and mix different writing styles. Throughout the different parts of this thesis, I analyzed in detail the dramatic work of Musset, especially through his two plays, Les Caprices de Marianne (1833) and On ne Badine pas avec l'Amour (1834), to study the artistic originality of such an exceptionally talented artist. He lived in the Romantic period but never forgot his predecessors to whom he paid tribute. He was influenced by them while preserving his work's originality. This thesis consists of two chapters, the first is devoted to the Romanticism and its influence on Musset's dramatic work, and the second is about the different literary doctrines that have left their mark on Musset's theater. By studying them, I show how Musset used his talent to mix and match these several types of doctrines to create a unique artwork that is still alive and interesting today.
ContributorsAlavi, Azadeh (Author) / Canovas, Frédéric (Thesis advisor) / Cruse, Markus (Committee member) / Gallais, Sylvain (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
This dissertation puts forth an account of moral responsibility. The central claim defended is that an agent's responsibility supervenes on the agent's mental states at the time of the action. I call the mental states that determine responsibility the agent's quality of will (QOW). QOW is taken to concern the agent's action, understood from an internal perspective, along with the agent's motivations, her actual beliefs about the action, and the beliefs she ought to have had about the action. This approach to responsibility has a number of surprising implications. First, blameworthiness can come apart from wrongness, and praiseworthiness from rightness. This is because responsibility is an internal notion and rightness and wrongness are external notions. Furthermore, agents can only be responsible for their QOW. It follows that agents cannot be responsible for the consequences of their actions. I further argue that one's QOW is determined by what one cares about. And the fact that we react to the QOW of others with morally reactive emotions, such as resentment and gratitude, shows that we care about QOW. The reactive attitudes can therefore be understood as ways in which we care about what others care about. Responsibility can be assessed by comparing one's actual QOW to the QOW one ought to have had.
ContributorsKhoury, Andrew (Author) / French, Peter A. (Thesis advisor) / Calhoun, Cheshire (Committee member) / Portmore, Douglas W. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
This study examines the experiences of participants enrolled in an online community college jazz history course. I surveyed the participants before the course began and observed them in the online space through the duration of the course. Six students also participated in interviews during and after the course. Coded data from the interviews, surveys, and recorded discussion posts and journal entries provided evidence about the nature of interaction and engagement in learning in an online environment. I looked for evidence either supporting or detracting from a democratic online learning environment, concentrating on the categories of student engagement, freedom of expression, and accessibility. The data suggested that the participants' behaviors in and abilities to navigate the online class were influenced by their pre-existing native media habits. Participants' reasons for enrolling in the online course, which included convenience and schedule flexibility, informed their actions and behaviors in the class. Analysis revealed that perceived positive student engagement did not contribute to a democratic learning environment but rather to an easy, convenient experience in the online class. Finally, the data indicated that participants' behaviors in their future lives would not be affected by the online class in that their learning experiences were not potent enough to alter or inform their behavior in society. As online classes gain popularity, the ability of these classes to provide meaningful learning experiences must be questioned. Students in this online jazz history class presented, at times, a façade of participation and community building but demonstrated a lack of sincerity and interest in the course. The learning environment supported accessibility and freedom of expression to an extent, but students' engagement with their peers was limited. Overall, this study found a need for more research into the quality of online classes as learning platforms that support democracy, student-to-student interaction, and community building.
ContributorsHunter, Robert W. (Author) / Stauffer, Sandra L (Thesis advisor) / Tobias, Evan (Thesis advisor) / Bush, Jeffrey (Committee member) / Kocour, Michael (Committee member) / Pilafian, Sam (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Lipids and free fatty acids (FFA) from cyanobacterium Synechocystis can be used for biofuel (e.g. biodiesel or renewable diesel) production. In order to utilize and scale up this technique, downstream processes including culturing and harvest, cell disruption, and extraction were studied. Several solvents/solvent systems were screened for lipid extraction from Synechocystis. Chloroform + methanol-based Folch and Bligh & Dyer methods were proved to be "gold standard" for small-scale analysis due to their highest lipid recoveries that were confirmed by their penetration of the cell membranes, higher polarity, and stronger interaction with hydrogen bonds. Less toxic solvents, such as methanol and MTBE, or direct transesterification of biomass (without pre-extraction step) gave only slightly lower lipid-extraction yields and can be considered for large-scale application. Sustained exposure to high and low temperature extremes severely lowered the biomass and lipid productivity. Temperature stress also triggered changes of lipid quality such as the degree of unsaturation; thus, it affected the productivities and quality of Synechocystis-derived biofuel. Pulsed electric field (PEF) was evaluated for cell disruption prior to lipid extraction. A treatment intensity > 35 kWh/m3 caused significant damage to the plasma membrane, cell wall, and thylakoid membrane, and it even led to complete disruption of some cells into fragments. Treatment by PEF enhanced the potential for the low-toxicity solvent isopropanol to access lipid molecules during subsequent solvent extraction, leading to lower usage of isopropanol for the same extraction efficiency. Other cell-disruption methods also were tested. Distinct disruption effects to the cell envelope, plasma membrane, and thylakoid membranes were observed that were related to extraction efficiency. Microwave and ultrasound had significant enhancement of lipid extraction. Autoclaving, ultrasound, and French press caused significant release of lipid into the medium, which may increase solvent usage and make medium recycling difficult. Production of excreted FFA by mutant Synechocystis has the potential of reducing the complexity of downstream processing. Major problems, such as FFA precipitation and biodegradation by scavengers, account for FFA loss in operation. Even a low concentration of FFA scavengers could consume FFA at a high rate that outpaced FFA production rate. Potential strategies to overcome FFA loss include high pH, adsorptive resin, and sterilization techniques.
ContributorsSheng, Chieh (Author) / Rittmann, Bruce E. (Thesis advisor) / Westerhoff, Paul (Committee member) / Vermaas, Willem (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Lexical diversity (LD) has been used in a wide range of applications, producing a rich history in the field of speech-language pathology. However, for clinicians and researchers identifying a robust measure to quantify LD has been challenging. Recently, sophisticated techniques have been developed that assert to measure LD. Each one is based on its own theoretical assumptions and employs different computational machineries. Therefore, it is not clear to what extent these techniques produce valid scores and how they relate to each other. Further, in the field of speech-language pathology, researchers and clinicians often use different methods to elicit various types of discourse and it is an empirical question whether the inferences drawn from analyzing one type of discourse relate and generalize to other types. The current study examined a corpus of four types of discourse (procedures, eventcasts, storytelling, recounts) from 442 adults. Using four techniques (D; Maas; Measure of textual lexical diversity, MTLD; Moving average type token ratio, MATTR), LD scores were estimated for each type. Subsequently, data were modeled using structural equation modeling to uncover their latent structure. Results indicated that two estimation techniques (MATTR and MTLD) generated scores that were stronger indicators of the LD of the language samples. For the other two techniques, results were consistent with the presence of method factors that represented construct-irrelevant sources. A hierarchical factor analytic model indicated that a common factor underlay all combinations of types of discourse and estimation techniques and was interpreted as a general construct of LD. Two discourse types (storytelling and eventcasts) were significantly stronger indicators of the underlying trait. These findings supplement our understanding regarding the validity of scores generated by different estimation techniques. Further, they enhance our knowledge about how productive vocabulary manifests itself across different types of discourse that impose different cognitive and linguistic demands. They also offer clinicians and researchers a point of reference in terms of techniques that measure the LD of a language sample and little of anything else and also types of discourse that might be the most informative for measuring the LD of individuals.
ContributorsFergadiotis, Gerasimos (Author) / Wright, Heather H (Thesis advisor) / Katz, Richard (Committee member) / Green, Samuel (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Raman spectroscopy characterization of anharmonicity and alloying effects in semiconductor materials
Description
The chemical sensitivity and spatial resolution of Raman spectroscopy, combined with the sensitivity of modern systems that can easily detect single atomic layers, have made this technique a preferred choice for the strain characterization of complex systems such as nanoscale complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor - CMOS - devices. A disadvantage of Raman spectroscopy, however, is that the shifts associated with strain are not related to the geometrical deformations in any obvious way, so that careful calibrations are needed to determine the anharmonic coefficients (p, q and r) that relate strain to Raman shifts. A new set of measurements of the Raman shift in strained Ge films grown on relaxed SiGe buffer layers deposited on Si substrates is presented, and thereby, a new consistent set of values for the parameters p and q for Ge has been proposed. In this dissertation the study of the vibrational properties of Ge1-xSnx alloys has also been reported. The temperature dependence of the Raman spectrum of Ge-rich Ge1-x Snx and Ge1-x-ySi xSny alloys has been determined in the 10 K - 450 K range. The Raman line shift and width changes as a function of temperature are found to be virtually identical to those observed in bulk Ge. This result shows that the anharmonic decay process responsible for the temperature dependence is extremely robust against the alloy perturbation.
ContributorsBagchi, Sampriti (Author) / Menéndez, Jose (Thesis advisor) / Treacy, Michael (Committee member) / Ponce, Fernando (Committee member) / Tsen, Kong-Thon (Committee member) / Rez, Peter (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
During adolescence, friends are a central part of adolescents' daily lives, they serve as significant sources of emotional support and companionship (Keefe & Berndt, 1996; Way & Robinson, 2003) as well as provide opportunities to negotiate interpersonal conflicts and disagreements (Laursen & Pursell, 2009). This study was designed to examine the nature and correlates of friendships, capturing the multidimensional nature of these relationships. Specifically, three goals were proposed: (a) to use a pattern-analytic approach to identify different profiles of adolescents' friendships along three dimensions: intimacy, negativity, and involvement; (b) to examine linkages between profile membership and adolescents' cultural orientations and values; and (c) to explore the relation between profile membership and adolescent well-being. Participants were 246 Mexican-origin adolescents (M = 12.50 years; SD = 0.58) who participated in home interviews and a series of nightly phone calls. Adolescents reported on their friendship qualities, their cultural orientations and values, as well as their depressive symptoms, risky behaviors, and on their current grades (GPA). Adolescents' time spent with best friends was calculated from the seven nightly phone calls. Results revealed three distinct latent profiles: Positive Engagement, Moderate Engagement, and Low Involvement. Profile membership was not linked to adolescents' cultural orientations and values. Further, associations emerged between profile membership and adolescents' GPA, but not their risky behaviors and depressive symptoms.
ContributorsRodriguez, Sue Annie (Author) / Updegraff, Kimberly (Thesis advisor) / Umana-Taylor, Adriana (Committee member) / Bradley, Robert (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011