Search Results

open access

Diffusion across the digital divide: Assessing use of the Connecticut Digital Library (ICONN) in K-12 schools in Connecticut.

Description: State digital libraries are manifestations of the diffusion of technology that has provided both access to and delivery of digital content. Whether the content is being accessed and used equitably in K-12 schools has not been assessed. Determining patterns of the diffusion of use across socioeconomic groups in K-12 schools may help measure the success of existing efforts to provide equitable access and use of digital content, and help guide policies and implementation to more effectively addr… more
Date: December 2008
Creator: Bogel, Gayle
open access

Affordances of External Representations in Instructional Design: The Effect of Narrative and Imagery in Learning.

Description: Consisting of both theoretical and empirical inquires, this study examines the primary functions of narrative and the relationship between narrative and mental imagery. The study proposes a new framework to interpret semiotic resources. Combining this with the linguistic functional theory of Halliday (1978), a functional method to empirically investigate semiotic representations was also developed. In the empirical inquiry, the study developed a latent construct method to empirically test the … more
Date: December 2008
Creator: Wu, Yan
open access

Enhancement of spatial ability in girls in a single-sex environment through spatial experience and the impact on information seeking.

Description: The test scores of spatial ability for women lag behind those of men in many spatial tests. On the Mental Rotations Test (MRT), a significant gender gap has existed for over 20 years and continues to exist. High spatial ability has been linked to efficiencies in typical computing tasks including Web and database searching, text editing, and computer programming. The relationships between the components of visuospatial ability and performance are complex. However, research strongly indicates tha… more
Date: December 2008
Creator: Swarlis, Linda L.
open access

Globally Distributed Agile Teams: An Exploratory Study of the Dimensions Contributing to Successful Team Configuration

Description: Drawing upon configurational theory, work group design research, virtualness concepts, and the software agility literature, the purpose of this study was to provide a starting point for theorizing about the successful configuration of globally distributed agile teams by exploring the dimensions of team structure, virtualness, and agility. Due to the complex nature of this topic, the need to examine the phenomenon within its natural setting, and the limited amount of research that has been cond… more
Date: December 2008
Creator: Sharp, Jason H.
open access

The representation of national political freedom on web interface design: A comparison of government-based and business-oriented websites.

Description: The purpose of this study is to explore the representation of national political freedom on web interface design by using power distance, one of the culture dimensions identified by Geert Hofstede, as a measurement. This study also aims to determine if there are any differences between government-based websites and business-oriented websites in representing national political freedom. A pilot study was conducted to validate ten power distance indicators identified from previous research on cul… more
Date: December 2008
Creator: Li, Rowena Liu-ping
open access

The transformative library: A narrative inquiry into the outcomes of information use.

Description: This qualitative study uses narrative analysis to explore the outcomes of information seeking and use among public library users. Twelve women between the ages of 51 and 72, all residents of Fayetteville, Arkansas who self-identified as regular library users, were interviewed to gather their life stories and their experiences using the public library. The participants in this study used information to enable learning and, often, a change in their affective state. The participants used the new … more
Date: December 2008
Creator: Kenney, Brian
open access

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

Description: 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 … more
Date: December 2008
Creator: Hicks, Michelle, B.
open access

Haves, Halves, and Have-Nots: School Libraries and Student Achievement in California

Description: This descriptive, non-experimental study examines the strength of the relationship between California school library media programs and student achievement, using data from California criterion-referenced state-wide tests, publically available school and community demographic data, and a state survey of school library programs. Results indicate a substantial discrepancy in library staffing levels from the elementary grades through the high schools. Nevertheless, statistically significant corre… more
Date: December 2008
Creator: Achterman, Douglas L.
open access

Identification of Remote Leadership Patterns in Academic and Public Libraries

Description: Seminal works on leadership, including those in librarianship define a traditional model of interaction between leaders and followers without reference to the information technology-driven environment. In addition, remote leadership indicates a different model from the traditional model, one that is focused on the interaction of leaders and their staff through digital technology. Although leaders still use face-to-face interaction, due to varied work schedules or job responsibilities, they also… more
Date: August 2008
Creator: Venetis, Mary Jo
open access

Toward an Ideal Library: A Synthesis of Wilson's Library and Information Policy and Gilbert's Performance Matrix

Description: Inquiry about ideal library was sought by interdisciplinary approach from human competence derived from performance engineering by Gilbert (1978), and the library information policy by Wilson (1977). With Wilson's insights into the field of library and information science (LIS), this work demonstrated the synthesis of Wilson and Gilbert: engineering as common ground. One of the central concerns in LIS, utilization of knowledge, is re-conceptualized as Gilbert's view of performance, which refle… more
Date: August 2008
Creator: Koremura, Yuka
open access

Networked generation youth's information seeking process: An examination of cognitive, affective and physical behaviors and problem solving techniques.

Description: This study investigated the information seeking process of the networked generation youth. Specifically, I examined the cognitive, affective, and physical information seeking behaviors and problem solving techniques adolescent student users of the networked environment utilize to solve information needs. Grounded in the theoretical context of the information seeking process in the networked environment, the research extended the user-centered approach to modeling the information seeking proces… more
Date: May 2008
Creator: Peterson, Janet Walker
open access

The Effectiveness of Using Lego Mindstorms Robotics Activities to Influence Self-regulated Learning in a University Introductory Computer Programming Course.

Description: The research described in this dissertation examines the possible link between self-regulated learning and LEGO Mindstorms robotics activities in teaching concepts in an introductory university computer programming course. The areas of student motivation, learning strategies, and mastery of course objectives are investigated. In all three cases analysis failed to reveal any statistically significant differences between the traditional control group and the experimental LEGO Mindstorms group as … more
Date: May 2008
Creator: McWhorter, William Isaac
open access

Negotiation, communication, and decision strategies used by hostage/crisis negotiators.

Description: By conducting this theory-based empirical study, gathering data from working negotiators in the US and Canada, I have determined what primary dynamic activities, communication skills, and negotiation tools are used by hostage/crisis negotiators. Negotiators implement their negotiation and decision strategies differently depending on whether the situations they deal with are instrumental or expressive. I have determined which elements of negotiations and factors affecting negotiations differ whi… more
Date: May 2008
Creator: Hancerli, Suleyman
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