Perceptions of Faculty Development:  A Study of a North Texas Community College (open access)

Perceptions of Faculty Development: A Study of a North Texas Community College

This dissertation study deems faculty development critical to meeting challenges associated with retirement, potential professor shortages, increasing adjunct populations, unprepared faculty, and accreditation standards in the community college. The study centers on seeking a current, in-depth understanding of faculty development at Metro Community College (a pseudonym). The participants in this qualitative study consisted of adjunct and full-time faculty members and administrators who communicated their perceptions of faculty development. The analysis discovered faculty member types (progressive and hobbyist adjunct and proactive, active, and reactive full-time faculty) who invest themselves in development differently depending on their position and inclination to participate. Faculty members generally indicated a desire for collegiality and collaboration, self-direction, and individualized approaches to development whereas administrators exhibited a greater interest in meeting accreditation standards and ensuring institutional recognition. The study also discovered a need to consider development initiatives for adjunct faculty members. The dissertation proposes an improved partnership between the adjunct and full-time faculty and the administration.
Date: December 2008
Creator: Bodily, Brett Hogan
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Jewish Herald-Voice (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 100, No. 37, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 4, 2008 (open access)

Jewish Herald-Voice (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 100, No. 37, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 4, 2008

Weekly Jewish newspaper from Houston, Texas that includes local, state and national news along with extensive advertising.
Date: December 4, 2008
Creator: Samuels, Jeanne F.
Object Type: Newspaper
System: The Portal to Texas History
Genetic and Cellular Analysis of Anoxia-Induced Cell Cycle Arrest in Caenorhabditis elegans (open access)

Genetic and Cellular Analysis of Anoxia-Induced Cell Cycle Arrest in Caenorhabditis elegans

The soil-nematode Caenorhabditis elegans survives oxygen deprivation (anoxia < 0.001 kPa of O2, 0% O2) by entering into a state of suspended animation during which cell cycle progression at interphase, prophase and metaphase stage of mitosis is arrested. I conducted cell biological characterization of embryos exposed to various anoxia exposure times, to demonstrate the requirement and functional role of spindle checkpoint gene san-1 during brief anoxia exposure. I conducted a synthetic lethal screen, which has identified genetic interactions between san-1, other spindle checkpoint genes, and the kinetochore gene hcp-1. Furthermore, I investigated the genetic and cellular mechanisms involved in anoxia-induced prophase arrest, a hallmark of which includes chromosomes docked at the nuclear membrane. First, I conducted in vivo analysis of embryos carried inside the uterus of an adult and exposed to anoxic conditions. These studies demonstrated that anoxia exposure prevents nuclear envelope breakdown (NEBD) in prophase blastomeres. Second, I exposed C. elegans embryos to other conditions of mitotic stress such as microtubule depolymerizing agent nocodazole and mitochondrial inhibitor sodium azide. Results demonstrate that NEBD and chromosome docking are independent of microtubule function. Additionally, unlike anoxia, exposure to sodium azide causes chromosome docking in prophase blastomeres but severely affects embryonic viability. …
Date: December 2008
Creator: Hajeri, Vinita A.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Functions of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors within adolescent inpatients. (open access)

Functions of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors within adolescent inpatients.

The primary interest of this investigation concerned the self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITBs) of inpatient adolescents. Previous researchers have provided descriptive information regarding either automatic (or intrinsic) and social components using the Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors Interview (SITBI). However, the presence and trends of these components have not firmly been established, suggesting the need to explore this area further. Eighty-two adolescent inpatients were selected and interviewed using the SITBI to evaluate the predictive ability of self-reported self-injurious behavior with regard to social and automatic, negative and positive functions. Results showed that depending on the type of thought or behavior displayed one could discern the motivation behind their actions. Automatic-Negative was seen to have the strongest relationship across all SITB behaviors while Automatic-Negative was not found to be relatively low compared to other SITB behaviors. Both Social-Positive and Social-Negative were found to be present in moderate relationships compared to Automatic in general.
Date: December 2008
Creator: Thomas, Peter F.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Suburbia News (Seagoville, Tex.), Vol. 38, No. 2, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 4, 2008 (open access)

The Suburbia News (Seagoville, Tex.), Vol. 38, No. 2, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 4, 2008

Weekly newspaper from Seagoville, Texas that includes local, state and national news along with advertising.
Date: December 4, 2008
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Newspaper
System: The Portal to Texas History
Examining an eating disorder model with African American women. (open access)

Examining an eating disorder model with African American women.

In the current study, I examined the general sociocultural model of eating disorders that suggests that sociocultural pressures leads to internalization, which in turn leads to body dissatisfaction and ultimately disordered eating. Because I am testing this model with a sample of African American women, I also am including acculturation as a variable of interest. Specifically, I hypothesized that (a) the experience of more societal pressure to be thin will be related to greater internalization, (b) higher levels of acculturation will be related to greater internalization, (c) internalization of the thin ideal will be directly and positively related to body image concern, and (d) body image concern will be associated with higher levels of disordered eating. It was determined that there is a direct, negative relationship between Level of Identification with Culture of Origin and Internalization. Perceived Pressure was directly and positively related to both Internalization and Body Image Concerns. Body Concerns and Internalization were both directly and positively related to Disordered Eating. These findings suggest that although many of the same constructs related to disordered eating in other ethnic groups are also related to disordered eating among African American women, the relationships between the factors differs across racial/ethnic groups. …
Date: December 2008
Creator: Wood, Nikel Ayanna Rogers
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Learner use of French second-person pronouns in synchronous electronic communication. (open access)

Learner use of French second-person pronouns in synchronous electronic communication.

This study analyzes students' use of the French second-person pronouns tu (T) and vous (V) in small-group (2-3 students) inter-learner online chat sessions. The influence of internal linguistic factors (i.e., turn type and morphosyntactic environment) on learners' appropriate vs. inappropriate use of these pronouns is considered. The study also investigates the influence of Instructional Level on tu-vous use and the extent to which students from different instructional levels provide various types of peer assistance (e.g., lexical, morphosyntactic, and sociolinguistic/pragmatic) . Pronoun use was extremely unstable for learners of all levels, and a Kruskal-Wallis analysis revealed that Instructional Level did not significantly affect appropriate T/V use overall. Instructional Level and Syntax did, however, significantly affect interrogative T/V use, as shown through multivariate analyses. Peer-assisted performance was limited to lexical retrieval. Pedagogical recommendations are presented for teaching and learning second-person pronouns in French.
Date: December 2008
Creator: McCourt, Claire A.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Retention, Endurance, Stability, and Application of Learned Performances as a Function of Training Condition (open access)

Retention, Endurance, Stability, and Application of Learned Performances as a Function of Training Condition

A functional definition of fluency describes performance frequency ranges that predict retention, endurance, stability, application, and adduction as outcomes of practice. This experiment assessed these outcomes after different training conditions using a within-subject design. Participants in an experimental group learned new skills in a condition with rate and accuracy criteria, then in a yoked, rate-controlled condition with the same number of prompted responses and correct trials in practice. Control group participants received training in consecutive conditions with rate and accuracy criteria. Performance of individuals in the control group demonstrated practice effects. Data obtained from participants in the experimental group showed similar performance across conditions. Considering efficiency, the condition with rate and accuracy criteria was superior.
Date: December 2008
Creator: Cohen, Jason
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The impact of training and learning on three employee retention factors: Job satisfaction, commitment and turnover intent in technical professionals. (open access)

The impact of training and learning on three employee retention factors: Job satisfaction, commitment and turnover intent in technical professionals.

The purpose of this study is to explore the benefits of providing employee training and learning beyond the specific content covered in such interventions, and how personality constructs might moderate those benefits. Training refers to the imparting of specific knowledge and tasks. Learning involves processes and skills that support on the job learning experiences. This study builds on previous research linking training and development to increased job satisfaction, and reduced turnover intent, by considering additional factors. The relationships between independent variables training, learning, task variety and task significance and outcome variables job satisfaction, commitment and turnover intent are assessed. Personality constructs of need for achievement and growth need strength are explored as possible moderating variables. This research was conducted using archival data (N = 500) collected from technical professionals employed by fourteen organizations in the Southwest United States. Both task variety and task significance were found to significantly predict all three outcome variables. Growth need strength was found to moderate the prediction of commitment by task variety. Need for achievement was found to moderate the prediction of job satisfaction, commitment and turnover intent by training and learning. Need for achievement was also found to moderate the prediction of both commitment …
Date: December 2008
Creator: Barcus, Sydney Anne
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Informed Consent in Obstetric Anesthesia: The Effect of the Amount, Timing and Modality of Information on Patient Satisfaction (open access)

Informed Consent in Obstetric Anesthesia: The Effect of the Amount, Timing and Modality of Information on Patient Satisfaction

Using mainly quantitative methods of evaluation, as well as patient comment assessment, this study evaluated whether changing the current informed consent process for labor epidural analgesia to a longer, more informational process resulted in a more satisfied patient. Satisfaction with the labor epidural informed consent process was evaluated using a questionnaire that was mailed and also available online. Half of the patient population was given a written labor epidural risk/benefit document at their 36-week obstetric check up. All patients received the standard informed consent. Survey responses were evaluated based on three independent variables dealing with the modality, timing, amount of informed consent information and one dependent variable, whether the patient's expectations of the epidural were met, which is equated with satisfaction. Patients in this study clearly indicated that they want detailed risk/benefit information on epidural analgesia earlier in their pregnancy. A meaningfully larger percentage of patients who received the written risk/benefit document were satisfied with the epidural process as compared to those who did not receive the document.
Date: December 2008
Creator: Hicks, Michelle, B.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Greensheet (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 32, No. 242, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 4, 2008 (open access)

Greensheet (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 32, No. 242, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 4, 2008

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.
Date: December 4, 2008
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Newspaper
System: The Portal to Texas History
The impact of leadership capacity and style on professional learning communities in schools. (open access)

The impact of leadership capacity and style on professional learning communities in schools.

Leadership capacity may be enhanced when school staff members work together as a professional learning community (PLC). Leadership style may impact how well a school staff work as a professional learning community. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between principal leadership style and the level of PLC on 18 campuses across the US that were working on becoming PLCs. Staff members answered questions from two surveys which measured the level of leadership capacity, leadership style of the principal, and level of professional learning community within the schools. Questions regarding leadership capacity and leadership style were taken from the Leadership Capacity School Survey. Questions designed to measure the level of PLC on a campus were taken from the Professional Learning Community Assessment. The product-moment correlation coefficient or Pearson r was calculated between the answers from the questions from both surveys. The results indicated that when a capacity building principal is working with staff members to create a PLC, a higher level of PLC development is evidenced. When principals used collaboration with their staff, their schools operated at a lower level as a PLC. These results encourage principals to consider building capacity among their staff members if they …
Date: December 2008
Creator: Scoggins, Kimberly Travis
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 52, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 25, 2008 (open access)

Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 52, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 25, 2008

Weekly Jewish newspaper from Fort Worth, Texas that includes local, state and national news along with extensive advertising.
Date: December 25, 2008
Creator: Wisch, Rene
Object Type: Newspaper
System: The Portal to Texas History
Greensheet (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 32, No. 243, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 4, 2008 (open access)

Greensheet (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 32, No. 243, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 4, 2008

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.
Date: December 4, 2008
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Newspaper
System: The Portal to Texas History
The Greensheet (Arlington-Grand Prairie, Tex.), Vol. 32, No. 241, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 4, 2008 (open access)

The Greensheet (Arlington-Grand Prairie, Tex.), Vol. 32, No. 241, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 4, 2008

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.
Date: December 4, 2008
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Newspaper
System: The Portal to Texas History
Greensheet (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 522, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 3, 2008 (open access)

Greensheet (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 522, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.
Date: December 3, 2008
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Newspaper
System: The Portal to Texas History
Greensheet (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 32, No. 245, Ed. 1 Friday, December 5, 2008 (open access)

Greensheet (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 32, No. 245, Ed. 1 Friday, December 5, 2008

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.
Date: December 5, 2008
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Newspaper
System: The Portal to Texas History
The Greensheet (Austin, Tex.), Vol. 31, No. 43, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 4, 2008 (open access)

The Greensheet (Austin, Tex.), Vol. 31, No. 43, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 4, 2008

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.
Date: December 4, 2008
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Newspaper
System: The Portal to Texas History
Greensheet (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 523, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 4, 2008 (open access)

Greensheet (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 523, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 4, 2008

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.
Date: December 4, 2008
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Newspaper
System: The Portal to Texas History
The Greensheet (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 32, No. 239, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 3, 2008 (open access)

The Greensheet (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 32, No. 239, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.
Date: December 3, 2008
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Newspaper
System: The Portal to Texas History
Greensheet (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 518, Ed. 1 Tuesday, December 2, 2008 (open access)

Greensheet (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 518, Ed. 1 Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.
Date: December 2, 2008
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Newspaper
System: The Portal to Texas History
Greensheet (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 517, Ed. 1 Tuesday, December 2, 2008 (open access)

Greensheet (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 517, Ed. 1 Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.
Date: December 2, 2008
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Newspaper
System: The Portal to Texas History
The Greensheet (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 32, No. 244, Ed. 1 Friday, December 5, 2008 (open access)

The Greensheet (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 32, No. 244, Ed. 1 Friday, December 5, 2008

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.
Date: December 5, 2008
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Newspaper
System: The Portal to Texas History
Greensheet (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 527, Ed. 1 Friday, December 5, 2008 (open access)

Greensheet (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 527, Ed. 1 Friday, December 5, 2008

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.
Date: December 5, 2008
Creator: unknown
Object Type: Newspaper
System: The Portal to Texas History