Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Mass Education'

Public education in the United States has seen many changes over the years. Some of those changes came in response to what are now recognized as clear problems with religious liberty in the common education system adopted in the mid 1800's. This dissertation reviews past and current ideas related to religious liberty and the larger issue of liberty of conscience (Nussbaum, 2008) in education and pursues a research question by considering past and current issues. Does a system of general, mass education necessarily infringe upon students' liberty of conscience? This question is pursued following a Deweyan framework of philosophy of education wherein a "felt difficulty" is identified, information is gathered to apply to the difficulty, and possible solutions to problems identified (Dewey, 1938).

I begin with a discussion of liberty of conscience and a discussion of some of the conflicts included in a system of mass education. This establishes the structure of the difficulty, or problem. The history of the public education system in the United States is reviewed with a focus on the common education system adapted in the 1830's along with relevant issues related to religious intolerance. Improvements in the respect for religious diversity applied to that system over time and improvements proposed but not yet fully implemented are discussed. Ideas from religious intolerance literature is introduced to add insight and expose the larger issue of liberty of conscience including how those ideas can be applied to educational systems. The process of religious intolerance (Corrigan & Neal, 2010) is developed into an architecture of religious intolerance that can assist with identifying this type of intolerance in educational settings.

I argue that while many of the strongest issues of religious intolerance in public education have been resolved, many problems still remain. I will also argue that the intolerance is not limited to religious intolerance but includes intolerance for ideas stemming from many different epistemic foundations. This will lead to a consideration of an idea I have labeled as epistemic intolerance. These arguments support an answer to the research question, which is that a system of general, mass education does necessarily infringe on students' liberty of conscience if one or more cultural majorities centrally control that system of education.

AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OFKimberly Noel Turner, for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Political Science, presented on June 9, 2021, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: EDUCATION BULGES AND MASS PROTEST: HOW HIGHER EDUCATION INFLUENCES PROTEST ONSET AND OUTCOMESMAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Stephen BloomCan trends in higher education attainment explain protest onset and outcomes? Beneficial state development indicators, such as education attainment, may produce detrimental employment outcomes. Nonviolent protests spread throughout the developing world throughout the 2010s, often in countries previously immune to public agitation. At the forefront of these protests were well-educated professionals, often doctors and lawyers. Why did these protests emerge? Why did middle-class groups initiate and lead these protests? How successful were these protests? The education bulge theory provides a framework for explaining the onset and outcomes of nonviolent mass protests in repressive countries. The education bulge theory captures the formation of skilled labor grievance and the spillover that influence the emergence of nonviolent, large and diverse protests. Chapter Two details the education bulge theory. Education bulges occur when a country undergoes sharp increases in university enrollments exceeding global averages. As university graduates increases, so does the supply of skilled labor. An increasing percentage of the population is then impacted when demand for skilled labor wanes, i.e. skills downgrading. Skills downgrading worsens the relative position of university graduates to other educational attainment groups, increasing tertiary unemployment and underemployment. Skilled labor compensates by downshifting, seeking out and competing for positions within the semi-skilled job market. This increased competition for semi-skilled positions pushes other educational groups down and out of the labor market. The global forces of labor polarization, education bulges, and skills downgrading are examined for their roles in inducing downshifting behavior. The fomentation of grievance amongst skilled labor is detailed, as well as the spillover effects for semi and unskilled labor. Flattening supplies of knowledge-intensive positions within the private sector along with public sector hiring reductions in the post-recession period exacerbates the decline of skilled labor’s relative position. Chapter Three examines objective measures of skilled labor’s relative position to other education attainment groups. Alongside theories of economic development and inequality, the education bulge theory is tested for its relationship to protest onset. Governmental expenditures on education, relative unemployment amongst primary, secondary and tertiary education attainment groups, and average wage growth are evaluated for their relationship with education bulges and protest onset. Bivariate and multivariate regression analysis indicate that skills downgrading is significantly increases the odds of protests emerging in highly repressive countries. Under an education bulge, additional governmental spending on tertiary education is positively correlated to protest onset. Do education bulges contribute to the overall successfulness of protests? In Chapter Four, I develop a new cost-benefit approach to measuring protest success. Canonical binary measurement of protest success fails to capture the relative concessions demonstrators might extract from their regimes. I develop a 21-point scale capturing the dimensions of gains protests might achieve (in the form of regime concessions) and the costs they pay for those concessions (in the form of state reprisals). Using Mokken scale analysis, country success scores pinpoint a protest’s position along a unidimensional continuum of abject failure to transformative changes in the body politic is developed. My measure offers an improved method of capturing regime behavior in the form of ‘ignoring’ and active repression. My measure also captures instances where protests may be misclassified as failures and features a stronger correlation for crowd age diversity. However, the success scores and binary measures often share directionality and strength for key causal factors. Thus, I cannot claim a definitive victory for my measure. However, unlike binary measures, my measure is able to offer more accurate confidence intervals for interactive relationships evaluated in Chapter Five. Chapter Five evaluates the relationship between political contexts and protest features. Entrenched leadership and repressive state structures are traditional deterrents to protest success. Education bulges, leadership tenure, and state repressiveness are evaluated for their influence on protest successfulness. Education bulges are found to increase overall protest successfulness. Education bulges are also found to increase crowd size and crowd diversity. Interactive relationships between education bulges, crowd size, and class diversity are examined. Class diversity and education bulges are individual have a positive and significant influence upon protest success. Education bulges are found to moderate class diversity, shifting class diversity’s effect on protest success from positive to negative. Regime concessions and protest successfulness are also influenced by external factors, such as sanctions, defections, and audience sympathy. External actors are more likely to apply reputational, material or defection costs against regimes when protests occur within education bulges and feature class diversity. These costs act as mediators of regime responsiveness. Under a mediated moderation model, the direct and indirect effect of education bulges, crowd size, class diversity, and regime costs are evaluated for their effect on protest successfulness. Education bulges increase reputational costs for regimes while class diversity increases material costs. Crowd size increased both material costs and defections. Education bulge contexts producing diverse and large crowds are more successful than non-education bulge protests. This study offers an examination of the role of higher education attainment upon the emergence and successfulness of nonviolent mass protests in authoritarian states from 2005-2013. Despite data limitations, robust findings indicate that education bulges increase the odds of a stable repressive regime experiencing protest onset and protest success. Failure of central governments to ensure commiserate employment for their growing pools of skilled labor increases grievance, crowd sizes and diversity, and punitive action against governments seeking to repress demonstrators.

The primary purpose of this study is the exploration of the theoretical and critical framework of media education. The major paradigms used as rationale for the study of media embody views of media as agents of cultural decline that stress discriminating against the media; media as popular arts, stressing discriminating within the media; media as agents of communication, featuring the behavioral models of media studies; studying the media as representational or symbolic systems; and an exploration of the interaction between the self and the media and the question of whether and how media empower or oppress. Developments in the fields of structuralism, semiotics, theories of ideology and the social context of media production are discussed as the contributing factors to a view of media as representational systems. The study is concluded with a discussion of the significance of the context of meaning and a brief discussion of the educational implications of the field of cultural studies.

Forensic science television shows, especially CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, have been said to influence the public's perception of how forensic science is used and create interest in studying forensic science and pursuing jobs in the field. This study investigates this claim through a variety of methods. First, definitions of the CSI effect are discussed, including how it was first used and mentioned in the media. Second, survey data from students in a forensic anthropology course regarding interest in forensic science media and educational and career choices are analyzed. Third, the number and debut dates of forensic science non-fiction books, novels, non-fiction television shows, and television dramas are investigated. Finally, a content analysis of the television show Bones is undertaken in order to understand how the forensic anthropology presented in this show differs from the actual practice of forensic anthropology. Results of this study indicate that, overall, students who wanted to pursue forensic science careers and graduate study did not watch more forensic science television shows and read more forensic science novels than those who did not want to pursue forensic science careers and graduate study. Also, based on the decreased interest in a number of forensic careers, it appears that respondents may have started the course with false perceptions regarding the actual job descriptions of these careers. Regarding the number and debut dates of forensic science media, this study found that the majority of non-fiction forensic anthropology books, non-fiction television shows, television dramas debuted after CSI appeared, corroborating the claim that CSI led to an increase in interest in forensic anthropology. In addition, this study found that while much of Bones is fictionalized for entertainment purposes, many of the techniques and analyses presented on the show have a peripheral basis in scientific methods.
ID: 029094425; System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader.; Mode of access: World Wide Web.; Thesis (M.A.)--University of Central Florida, 2010.; Includes bibliographical references (p. 129-130).
M.A.
Masters
Department of Anthropology
Sciences

The developmental research project was undertaken to determine the best way to structure the future of journalism and mass communication education so that it remains a viable discipline within the academy. New media technology is an emerging discipline within the journalism field. While many new jobs exist for graduates who are skilled in the field, only a small number of colleges and universities are offering undergraduate programs to train students in new media technology. The goal of the dissertation was to propose a new undergraduate major in new media technology that schools may implement. The literature review traces the origins and development of journalism and mass communication education through the 19th and 20th centuries and focuses on the emerging field of new media technology and online journalism. To help answer the research questions, a survey questionnaire was distributed to journalism and mass communications educators at 108 programs in the United States and to more than 300 media professionals. All the programs are accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC), and the media professionals are all members of the Online News Association (ON A). The total number of participants was 102. In the surveys, participants shared their views on the current state of journalism and mass communication education as well as the new media industry through a combination of rank-order items, Likert-type scales, and open-ended questions. Results were used to correlate industry requirements with program offerings to prescribe the best possible undergraduate program in new media technology. The content, coverage and feasibility of the model program were validated by a panel of experts.

The mass media nowadays hold a high position in the educational world, / and have a strong influence over societies. They influence and shape people's thoughts and behaviour. They have been used for a long time in many western countries in drug prevention campaigns, both successfully and unsuccessfully, Drug abuse has recently become a serious problem in Saudi Arabia . At first the Government tried to tackle the problem only by using the police force and without any publications . However, recently the Government has tried to utilize the advantage of the widespread mass media in teaching the population about the dangers of drug abuse. It started to publish a large amount of information about drugs in the mass media. This study is an evaluative research to assess the Saudi Arabian mass media coverage of the drugs issue in two respects. First is a study of the content of the coverage with regard to its presentation, style, and appeal. The second part concentrates on the effect of that coverage on the target audience: Saudi Arabian pupils, their knowledge and attitudes toward drugs, and whether those publications have benefitted them or not. This study has adopted the information-processing model as a theoretical framework. According to that model the first step in the change process is exposure to the message with a certain level of attention, that will lead to increase in knowledge and that automatically will lead to attitude change. The respondents' exposure to the newspaper messages about drugs has been measured and the result indicates that the majority of the respondents received the messages and are interested, like and believe them. Statistical tests indicate that their knowledge about drugs has been increased. Their attitudes have been assessed and the results indicate that most Saudi Arabian pupils aged from 12 to 25 years old have negative attitudes towards drugs. The results indicate that the newspaper coverage of the drugs issue has had some influence upon the Saudi Arabian pupils' knowledge and their attitudes towards drugs.

Higher education in the UK has experienced unprecedented levels of expansion over the last 50 years. This expansion has been underpinned by political and social discourses that expound its value to the social and economic prosperity of the country and more recently, towards the delivery of social justice and the social mobility of individuals. Higher education institutions are channelling increasing amounts of resource into supporting these discourses, largely around widening participation and fair access agendas. In juxtaposition, changes to funding models, including the cessation of maintenance grants and increasing charges for tuition fees, are placing significant financial burdens on graduating students, calling into question just how achievable these agendas can be. This research seeks to understand if there is a disparity between the social value and benefits that governmental and institutional discourses claim for going to university, and how individuals perceive the value of a contemporary degree. To do so it draws on the narratives of a panel of over 100 volunteer writers submitted as a qualitative survey on their opinions of and interactions with higher education. Drawn from all over the UK, these writers are participants in the Mass Observation Project, an in-depth, qualitative survey of everyday life in Britain established in 1981. The empirical research is embedded within biographical narrative methods, and seeks to create a landscape of perceptions of the social value of a university education and how these are embedded within people's life stories. Using the depth and retrospective opportunities provided in the qualitative narratives of Mass Observation allows this research to provide a more nuanced understanding of both the long-term impacts of higher education on individuals and how perceptions of its social and economic value have changed over the decades. It suggests that the ability to derive the greatest benefit from going to university is embedded within social backgrounds and therefore ensuring equality is far more complex than simply providing an opportunity to access higher education. This thesis also illustrates how the use of longitudinal and qualitative methods of research can provide alternative viewpoints that should be considered when creating policies that will ensure the greatest benefit to providing value and equality within higher education.

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the efficacy of Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment (START) triage during actual mass casualty incidents (MCI) and full-scale MCI exercises. Developed in 1984, Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment triage was created to assist in the process of triaging large quantities of injured patients from natural or manmade disasters and has since been the nationally accepted triage model in the United States. Historically, limited studies have shown patients are in fact, over-triaged 53% of the time. The research goal was to obtain substantial data to determine whether first responders’ use of the current triage model effectively sustains life. A mixed methods research analysis of quantitative and qualitative data collected from one historical MCI incident and three MCI exercises was evaluated to develop recommendations for protocol change and future curriculum development. Data analysis from actual incidents and exercises confirm that “just-in-time” training does increase the accuracy of the START triage model used from 42% to 73%.

This study examined the relationship between BMI and academic achievement in third-grade white females. Academic achievement was determined by classroom grades and standardized achievement test scores (e.g. CTBS). Also assessed were teachers' predictions for school success and teachers' perception of student behavior. The results of the investigation indicated no statistically significant differences in classroom grades between groups of "normal-weight" students and a group of obese students. However, teachers predicted less school success for obese girls and the highest degree of school success for the thinnest girls, and ANCOVA revealed statistically significant lower CTBS scores for obese girls. While MANCOVA of BMI and other confounding factors on CTBS scores showed BMI was not statistically significant, a relationship does exist. A model is proposed linking BMI and academic achievement through the mediating factors of teachers' predictions for success (teacher expectancies) and parents' level of education.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 2001.
Title from title page screen, viewed April 11, 2006. Dissertation Committee: James Palmer (chair), Dianne Ashby, Paul Baker, William Tolone. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 132-137) and abstract. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Telecommunications, 2008.
Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Oct. 6, 2009). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-02, Section: A, page: 0401. Adviser: Maria E. Grabe.

Educators, education administrators, parents, guardians, and policy makers are concerned with the use of Internet streaming video, both inside and outside the classroom. Since clearly defined sources and informed regulation of Internet information including streaming video are absent, students need to make credible evaluations of information. The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in perceived credibility among college students from the viewing of videos. The data were gathered when the participants watched three different video genres depicting the same historical event. The participants answered the same questionnaire after watching each video. This study used a mixed method explanatory sequential design where the quantitative phase informed the qualitative phase, in a design framed using Fogg's Prominence-Interpretation Theory. Two quantitative research questions were addressed: (1) Are there significant differences in the credibility scores among participants receiving the information across three video genres? and (2) Is there a significant relationship between reported time spent watching Internet streaming video and perceived credibility of information for each participant across three streaming video genres? A non-parametric Friedman Test was used in order to answer research question 1. The results indicated a statistically significant difference in perceived credibility, p < .001. A post-hoc test revealed there were significant perceived credibility differences between CBS News and Apollo 13 and NASA and Apollo 13. The difference between CBS News and NASA was not found to be significant. In order to answer research question 2 a non-parametric correlation test was applied using Spearman's rho. The results were significant, p = .030. On the other hand, the effect size was small, .20. After the quantitative data analysis, two focus groups were created. Focus Group One was made up of younger participants (mean age = 18.5) and Focus Group Two of older participants (mean age = 36.5). Six focus group questions emerged from the quantitative data analysis. The focus group responses were sorted out into sub-themes using a six-step process. The data revealed the focus group participants' defined credibility as a trusted source/expert and straight, factual information. Both groups emphasized the importance of evaluating video credibility in order to avert being manipulated and to be aware of biases. The qualitative data analysis, to some extent, mirrored the quantitative data analysis. The difference between the CBS News footage and the NASA clip was not found to be statistically significant. Similarly, the focus group participants were "torn between" the CBS News footage and the NASA clip as being most credible. The Apollo 13 clip received no responses for being most credible.

Keywords: credibility, digital generation, younger generation, older generation, streaming video.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1992.
Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: William Sayres. Dissertation Committee: Maryalice Mazzara. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 328-245).

Although the literature establishes the importance of employee commitment and communication, there is a lack of empirical research focusing on communication's precise role for Quality Management (QM). Within the context of change, this thesis demonstrates that communication contributes to commitment by targeting both attitudes and behaviours. These findings were used to build a content analysis identified communication initiatives within a school's QM program and an interview linked those initiatives to desired changes in attitudes and in behaviours to build an employee survey assessing communication and commitment. A factorial analysis revealed that three communication factors -- Involvement, Learning Culture and Formal Communication -- contributed to changes in both attitudes and behaviours suggesting that organizations can emphasize these factors in their communication plans to set the foundation for commitment to quality. This study focuses on the role of communication in creating commitment to quality specifically through attitudes and behaviours. Future research would be valuable in validating this model within other types of organizations.

In order to effectively teach students how to critically consume media it is paramount for teachers to be media literate (Ian & Temur, 2012; Keller-Raber, 1995; Schmidt, 2012). Using Freirean critical literacy as a theoretical framework, this case study investigated how a 60-hour teacher training program in media literacy promoting Catholic Social Teaching and how undergoing this training has influenced teachers’ perceptions of media literacy, Catholic Social Teaching, and the link between the two. As the researcher, I performed participant-observation as a trainee in the program. Five teachers, alumni of the program, participated in this study: one middle school teacher, three high-school teachers, and one college professor, all of them taught at Christian private schools. I recorded how participants applied the Media Mindfulness—a faith based media literacy strategy—in their practice as a response to the Church’s call for Catholic teachers to engage in media education (Benedict XVI, 2008; John Paul II, 1987, 1990, 1992, 2005). Findings show how the Media Mindfulness method helped teachers integrate media literacy in their practice, promoting student empowerment and character education. A follow up action research at a Catholic high school where teachers are trained in Media Mindfulness is recommended to find out: a) how the training influenced teachers’ confidence in integrating media education into their practice? b) to what extent students’ assimilation of Catholic Social Teaching concepts resulted from the teacher training program? c) and how training teachers in the media mindfulness model influenced the school’s culture in addressing social justice issues?

Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Architecture, 2015.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 123-128).
Artificial intelligence is substituting human intelligence and robots are replacing human workers. Instead of settling for this competitive relationship between humans and machines, this thesis proposes a novel framework in which humans and machines work together to solve the complex problems of design-scripting education, problems which humans or machines alone cannot easily solve. In design education, there are few clear guides and pedagogies that can effectively teach students with diverse educational and professional backgrounds, some of who may need individualized tutoring. This thesis specifically explores applications of artificial intelligence (machine learning and computer vision algorithms) in which humans and machines mutually improve their learning performance. Humans can increase a machine's performance by providing training-data sets that can be a foundation for intelligent decision-making. Machines, on the other hand, can improve humans' learning performance by analyzing human study patterns and providing mass-customized instructions. This thesis illustrates that the developed Synthetic Tutor provides novice students with architectural precedents by analyzing their drawings and documents and effectively teaches these students introductory computer programming skills in the context of architectural design. Therefore, this human-machine collaboration has proven an effective framework to solve these ill-structured problems.
by Ju Hong Park.
Ph. D.

Tuberculosis is a world-wide problem in less developed countries. In this thesis I report the evaluation of impact, process and objectives of a mass media health education campaign for tuberculosis control developed in Cali, Colombia. The campaign aimed at reducing levels of prejudice against people with this disease and at increasing demand for diagnostic tests. I assessed impact on levels of prejudice using two cross sectional surveys as sources of data. I assessed impact on demand for diagnostic tests with a quasi-experimental evaluation design relying on epidemiological data. I used qualitative and quantitative techniques for assessing the process of the campaign. I used text analysis for assessing the objectives of the campaign, and for identifying the values underpinning these objectives. The results show that the campaign significantly reduced the prejudice, and increased the demand for tests. Process evaluation shows that the campaign managers applied satisfactorily the programme theory of the intervention, that around half of the population was exposed to the campaign, and that it aimed exclusively at reinforcing a medical approach to tuberculosis control, which promoted compliance with medical surveillance, instead of contributing to the creation of an educated public regarding this disease. Assessment of objectives showed that the values underpinning the campaign are Utilitarian which define the worth of human life in terms of its economic productivity. This thesis demonstrates that current evaluation models of health education, which draw only on impact and process, are inappropriate for all those who have an interest at stake in the programme in order to judge its worth and to take policy decisions. Health education programmes are responses to social problems based on a specific idea of what is worthwhile to be pursued by individuals and society. Thus, evaluation research in health education should include not only assessment of impact and process but also assessment of their objectives in order to unveil the values underpinning such responses.

Professors in mass communications departments of higher education institutions continue to search for the best way to prepare graduates for the ever-changing world of print, broadcast, and online media. Business administration theories have long been used in other areas, including education. While some application of strategic planning has been documented with regards to education, there is not much to reference in this area. The study investigated the use of strategic planning in developing a course of action for curriculum convergence in mass communication programs. The study used a purposive sample to determine if administrators are utilizing this method as a part of curriculum convergence. The results indicated a use of this method among institutions involved in curriculum convergence.

Master of Science
Department of Journalism and Mass Communications
Sam Mwangi
From around the year 2006, the government of Kenya has committed substantial amounts of resources to build Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) around the country and in the education sector in particular, with the sole purpose of catalyzing education. This commitment has emanated from the need to increase access to education to the greater portion of the ever-growing nation’s primary and secondary school population. Some of the pressure to increase education access has also come from regional and international commitments to bodies such as the United Nations through the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) through its e-school initiative. The news media have an important and potentially influential role in the discourse about the use of ICTs in education. While the news media rely on different sources for their news about ICTs and education, including politicians, central government ministers, and interest groups, policymakers, in turn, use the same media as a communication channel to relay their messages on education policy to the general public, education professionals and stakeholders. Having this symbiotic relationship between the media and its source(s) of e-learning news in mind, the purpose of this study is to examine the nature and content of the news media’s interest in e-learning and to begin to ask how it could have influenced public opinion or even the public policy-making process. Content analysis was used to audit news media content comprising 60 news articles taken from two leading online daily newspapers in Kenya. Findings from this study indicate that government officials were the most relied-upon sources of news about e-learning, while the theme of connectivity was the most discussed. The tone of the coverage was largely positive. Understanding the intersection between media coverage and e-learning ultimately enriches our understanding and knowledge of the power of journalists and news outlets in constructing the debate about educational technology. ICTs, with their efficacy in boosting education still being studied, a discussion is provided about the need for media coverage to encompass the viewpoints of all stakeholders in education and adopt a broad conceptualization of ICTs so as to have a balanced debate about ICTs and ICT projects in education.

Educational Leadership
Ed.D.
School districts are charged with the task of providing America’s youth with the most well-rounded education so that they can grow into the most productive adult citizens. However, school funding cuts and the unending demand to make AYP often push students out of the center of that focus. As a result, matters like school-based Body Mass Index notifications have been moved to the backburner and are often simplified to only what the law requires. Although researchers have sought the best practice to address this cause, it still remains that those not directly involved in the process are designing and implementing regulations. The perceptions of parents and school personnel are not being addressed. As a result, this exploratory, single-case, qualitative study, researched the best school-based body mass index notification practice according to the perspective of eleven total parents and school personnel. These participants were from a school in Southeastern Pennsylvania, whose process is mandated by the state. Based on the findings, it is recommended that schools collaborate with parents to establish the most informative notification letter that meets their needs, rather than simply address the requirements of the state’s mandate. This collaboration must be inviting and easy to enter into and the findings need to be implemented, instead of just gathered and recorded. Prior notification must also be improved and supplemental materials need to be included in the mailing.
Temple University--Theses

Obesity is related to poor academic achievement, reduced quality of life, discrimination, lower educational attainment, lower earnings, and a number of socio-emotional problems (Dockray et al., 209; Erickson et al., 2008; Gerberding, 2008; Roth et al., 2008; Salvy et al., 2008; Barlow, 2007; Marsh et al, 2007; Storch et al., 2007; Davison & Birch, 2002; Braet et al., 1996). The present study investigates the significance of English, math, and physical self-concept as moderators of the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI), academic achievement, and psycho-social outcomes of depression and anxiety. The study includes 15-year-old female and male participants from the database of the Study of Early Child Care (SECC) by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). The research controls for prior self-concept measured in 6 th grade, academic achievement measured in 5 th grade, psycho-social factors measured in 6 th grade, and attendance measured in 8 th grade. Other controls measured at the same time as the independent and dependent variables include the amount of TV watched and SES. Overall findings suggest that among females BMI was significantly related to each of the outcome variables with the exception of English achievement. There was a negative relationship between BMI and achievement in math and positive relationships between BMI and depression and anxiety among females. For males, there was only one significant relationship between BMI and an outcome variable, achievement in English (a negative relationship). Overall, BMI does not appear to be correlated with negative socio-emotional outcomes of depression and anxiety nor does it appear to be related to achievement in math among males. However, among females BMI does appear to be related to negative socio-emotional and achievement outcomes. Self-concept in math interacts with BMI in its effects on achievement in math however self-concept does not appear to be a protective factor. For males, physical self-concept interacts with BMI in its effects on depression however; it again does not appear to be a protective factor against these negative outcomes.

A l'ère de la société du savoir, l'éducation est un vecteur de la croissance économique. Or, les systèmes éducatifs des pays du sud sont caducs et participent à la consécration de la fracture Nord-Sud (UNESCO, 2005). Leur vetuste ne permet pas à l'Afrique de faire face aux défis contemporains. Le présent travail se propose d'étudier les apports de l'université virtuelle au dépassement des écarts Nord-Sud en matière d'enseignement. Notre recherche s'inscrit ainsi dans une logique ou le savoir se constitue en un nouveau capital pour accéder à la modernité. Celle-ci, dans sa forme contemporaine, basée sur l'économie du savoir, permet d'assurer le développement (Ascher, 2000). Pour mener notre étude, nous avons choisi l'université virtuelle africaine (UVA) comme un cas représentatif des efforts déployés pour contrer les effets de la fracture Nord-Sud. La démarche, s'appuyant sur les fondements de l'économie du savoir, permettra d'analyser les retombées des nouvelles applications technologiques dans une zone géographique dépendante de l'aide internationale et incapable de s'arrimer à la modernité et d'assurer son propre développement.

Las diferencias económicas regionales en Colombia han persistido en el tiempo. El presente trabajo busca contribuir al debate sobre las diferencias territoriales y la persistencia de la pobreza a partir de la identificación de patrones de baja cobertura educativa entre 1904 y 1958, tanto en la educación primaria como secundaria. Para ello, esta investigación ha utilizado fuentes inéditas en escalas subnacionales para construir un panorama nacional, ya que la evolución de los resultados educativos no ha sido homogénea en todo el país. El primer capítulo de esta tesis nos ayuda a contextualizar el caso colombiano desde una perspectiva comparada. Asimismo, se adaptaron los datos del sistema educativo colombiano a la Clasificación Internacional Normalizada de Educación (CINE) de 2011 y se muestran los principales patrones que siguió la escolarización a nivel regional. En el Capítulo 2 se analizó la cobertura educativa de Colombia desde la perspectiva de la oferta y relaciona el modelo de descentralización financiera de la educación adoptado a principios del siglo XX. En el Capítulo 3 se discutió el impacto del boom cafetero en las tasas de escolarización en el corto plazo. Y finalmente, el Capítulo 4 estudia el impacto de las reformas legales liberales sobre la condición económica y social de las mujeres en la reducción de la brecha de género en la educación.
Regional economic differences in Colombia have persisted over time. The present study seeks to contribute to the debate on the territorial differences of the country through the identification of patterns of low coverage in both primary and secondary education between 1904 and 1958. For this purpose, this research has used unpublished sources at sub-national scales to build a national picture, since the evolution of educational outcomes has not been homogeneous throughout the country. On the contrary, educational outcomes have been conditioned by the geographical, economic and institutional features of each region. The first chapter of this thesis helps us to contextualize the Colombian case from a comparative perspective. Likewise, it was adapted data on the Colombian education system to the International Normalized Classification of Education (ISCED) of 2011 and the main patterns that schooling followed at the regional level are shown. In Chapter 2 it was analysed Colombia’s educational coverage from the supply perspective and relate the model of the financial decentralization of education adopted at the beginning of the twentieth century. In Chapter 3 was discussed the impact of the coffee boom on school enrolment rates in the short term. And finally, Chapter 4 studies the impact of liberal legal reforms to the economic and social condition of women in reducing the gender gap in education.

The purpose of this study is to advance existing Media Education theory by looking at similarities in English Language Arts (ELA) theory and Media Education theory. The study explores similarities and differences between the two areas of study creating a broader understanding of literacy, English Language Arts, Media Education and pedagogy.
In order to clarify the co-relation between English Language Arts theory and Media Education theory, I interviewed experts in both fields to shed light on how these two areas of study complement one another and where the points of difference lie. The information points to the development in theory and opportunities for research that may help teachers in training and classroom teachers integrate Media Education and ELA education.

Proceeding from an analysis of contemporary practices of online education courses taught in virtual environments, I seek to recuperate a notion of social identity in Hannah Arendt's vision of a political stage; social identity as a mask that actors wear when acting politically. I avoid the language of mediation, instead seeing the 'Mask' as ever present. I offer this mode of inscription as being central to our understanding of medium specificity, and apply it in particular to my analysis of the use of Second Life (SL) in online learning environments. I take the use of SL in university courses as an example to think through what happens when education- which I understand as being essential to citizenship, a practice that depends on appearing in public- shifts to a space of virtual publicity. I examine the history of the modern university and the role that technologies have played in the growing corporate reorganization of the university. I defend the university as, ideally, an autonomous site from which, in Nietzsche's words, the "untimely" can emerge. I look to the political thought of Hannah Arendt as a theoretical ground for understanding avatars and virtual community, following Norma Claire Moruzzi in reading the mask of social identity as a site of political engagement. I explore the appositeness of Hannah Arendt's articulation of public, political personae or masks in On Revolution, as well as her critique of Plato's metaphysical bifurcation of Being and appearance, and her understanding of (Jewish) identity as non-territorial- and therefore virtual- to contemporary debates concerning cybersociality and online community. I read her against common reception to argue that the conception of political actors animating her texts is best illuminated when read heuristically through contemporary discourses of technology. In so doing I develop an Arendtian view of politics and social identity that is amenable to and invests itself in modes of resistance enabled by cybersociality. From the perspective of critical pedagogy, I aim to think through ways of utilizing technologies as potentially repoliticizing, and I identify the properties online learning must demonstrate in order to create new sites of resistance.
Partant d'une analyse des pratiques contemporaines de cours de formation en ligne a enseigné dans les environnements virtuels, je cherche à récupérer une notion d'identité sociale dans la vision de Hannah Arendt sur une scène politique, l'identité sociale comme un masque que les acteurs portent quand il agit politiquement. J'évite le langage de la médiation, au lieu de voir le "Mask" plus que jamais présent. J'offre ce mode d'inscription comme étant cruciales pour notre compréhension de la spécificité moyenne, et il s'applique en particulier à mon analyse de l'utilisation de Second Life (SL) dans des environnements d'apprentissage en ligne. Je prends l'utilisation de SL dans les cours universitaires comme un exemple de penser à ce qui arrive quand l'éducation-ce que je comprends comme étant essentiels à la citoyenneté, une pratique qui dépend apparaître en public-se déplace vers un espace de publicité virtuelle. J'examine l'histoire de l'université moderne et le rôle que les technologies ont joué dans la réorganisation des entreprises de croissance de l'université. Je défends l'université, idéalement, un site retiré par d'autres institutions, un site à partir de laquelle, dans les mots de Nietzsche, le «prématurée» peut émerger. Je me tourne vers la pensée politique de Hannah Arendt, comme un motif théorique pour comprendre et avatars communauté virtuelle, après Norma Claire Moruzzi en lisant le masque de l'identité sociale comme un site d'engagement politique. J'explore l'apposition de l'articulation de Hannah Arendt de public, personae politique ou des masques dans Essai sur la révolution, ainsi que sa critique de bifurcation métaphysique de Platon de l'Etre et l'apparence, et sa compréhension de (juif) identité en tant que non-territoriales-et donc virtuelle aux débats actuels concernant cybersociality et de la communauté en ligne. Je lui ai lu contre la réception commune pour faire valoir que la conception des acteurs politiques animant ses textes est la meilleure lumineux lorsqu'il est lu à travers les discours contemporains heuristique de la technologie. Ce faisant je développe un point de vue d'Arendt de la politique et l'identité sociale qui est susceptible d'être et s'investit dans des modes de résistance possibles par cybersociality. Du point de vue de la pédagogie critique, je vise à réfléchir aux moyens d'utiliser les technologies comme potentiellement repolitiser, et je identifier les propriétés d'apprentissage en ligne doivent démontrer de manière à créer de nouveaux sites de résistance.

Au sein des institutions d'enseignement, l'avènement des dispositifs techniques mobiles a donné naissance à un tout nouveau phénomène connu sous le néologisme mobile-learning. Bien que cette toute dernière itération du e-learning demeure une pratique encore peu répandue, elle se doit d'être examinée vu l'important potentiel qu'elle représente dans le contexte numérique actuel qui justifie un examen approfondi des tenants et aboutissants qui la sous-tendent. Considérant l'importance des transformations susceptibles d'affecter la pratique pédagogique dans les années à venir, cette thèse a pour objectif d'évaluer le potentiel réel de la mobilité en éducation par rapport aux dispositifs technologiques actuellement en présence dans les institutions scolaires canadiennes. L'analyse critique des recherches effectuées auprès des argumentaires présents dans la littérature et sur le terrain de 2002 à aujourd'hui, démontre que la réussite de cette promesse d'apprentissage connecte 24/7, bien que hautement probable, demeure néanmoins embryonnaire en raison de la fragilité de nombreux facteurs associés aux dimensions techniques, sociales et économiques.

Connection to and appreciate for the natural world are directly linked to positive experiences participating in outdoor nature-based activities. These direct experiences have been declining over the past decade, causing concerns about the perceptions of nature by populations that don’t participate in nature-based activities. This study examines framing of media coverage about human-wildlife conflicts and its implications for perception building by those audiences with less experience in the natural world. Data were collected via daily newspapers across the Intermountain West from 2010 to 2015. Results demonstrated that there were significant differences between newspapers serving larger, more urban communities and smaller, more rural communities. Findings indicate that urban audiences are exposed to messages that discourage participation in the natural world. Messages regarding human-wildlife conflict in newspapers serving larger, more urban communities should be reframed to avoid negative perceptions of nature and to motivate connection to the natural world.

This thesis is the story millennial males told about their experiences with media serving as an educator during their adolescence and beyond. By using depth interviews, an oral history was developed and a concept I have called the impurity truth, where media are teaching the millennials that their virginity is a gatekeeper to becoming a man, was crafted from the narratives. Twelve males, ages 18 to 24, from geographically, racially, and sexually diverse backgrounds, were interviewed. A fantasy theme analysis of the interview transcripts revealed a masculine hierarchy where the millennial males decoded a media message that men should cast their virginities aside in order to cement their place in a masculine hierarchy. The analysis of the narratives revealed four character themes: the virgin, the player, the ideal man, and the role model. The character themes provided the context to a hierarchical structure of masculinity that was in turn grounded by theories of adolescent identity development (Blos, 1962; Erikson, 1969) and a challenge to R.W. Connell’s (1987) theory of hegemonic masculinity.

Media literacy is touted as a necessary life skill for cultural citizenship, yet as it is generally practiced there is little engagement with sustainability issues. In order to gain insights into why this is the case, this research investigated how media literacy practitioners use metaphors to frame both the role of media education in the world and how it affects green cultural citizenship. This involved analyzing web site documents and teacher resources of seven North American media literacy organizations as well as interviewing nine key practitioners within a bounded system called the media literacy ecosystem. Drawing on an ecocritical framework, I analyzed the discourses of the media literacy ecosystem by using multi-site situational analysis, qualitative media analysis and critical discourse analysis. This research explored how media literacy practitioners participate in meaning-making systems that reproduce pre-existing environmental ideologies. The findings show that media literacy education is grounded in a mechanistic worldview, thereby perpetuating unsustainable cultural practices in education. By problematizing the mechanistic discourses of media literacy education, the aim of this research was to raise awareness and to offer potential solutions for changing the nature of those same discourses. As such, I theorized a model of media literacy that incorporates green cultural citizenship, called ecomedia literacy, and outlined a path forward so that sustainability becomes a priority for media literacy educators.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Curriculum and Instruction, School of Education, 2008.
Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on May 11, 2009). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-08, Section: A, page: 3026. Adviser: Mary B. McMullen.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the University of Arizona College of Agriculture magazine, Arizona Land & People, by evaluating it for reader satisfaction and interest, usefulness of information and reader demographics. The study used a mailed questionnaire, sent to a random sample of Arizona residents on the subscriber list. Findings indicate that the majority of the recipients are satisfied with the magazine in its present form, although they prefer that it be published more often. The readers represent a wide range of occupations, many related to agriculture. The magazine is valued for the quality of its technical information, which a majority of the readers use for work-related purposes. Findings also suggest that Arizona Land & People is a valuable reference tool in schools and libraries.

In this quantitative quasi-experimental study, correlation and regression analyses were used to test two research hypotheses. The experiment was to examine if a relationship existed between the mode of electoral information dissemination from the election organizing body (EMB) and voters’ behavior and attitudes associated with an electoral process. A Baptist church located in Otta, Nigeria gave permission to conduct the experiment within its premises, and 285 church members took part as participants in the study. Three main elements each of modern and traditional electoral information and communication channels including short message service (SMS), e-mail, surface post, newspaper, posters, and radio/television (TV) were tested to determine the validity of the research assumptions. Results of the study indicated voters’ preference for receiving direct electoral information from the organizer, preferably using mobile direct communication channels. There was an indication of knowledge and attitude changes because the electoral management body disseminated the electoral information directly to voters via direct mail. Knowledge and attitude changes could have implications for subsequent elections and other electoral management decisions. The implication of this study was that proper information system management could be a key remedy for unethical behavior during the electoral process. The suggestion following the result of the study was that if a sustainable, systematic planning and execution of electoral information and communication management is adopted, it could likely lead to improved voter knowledge and informed decision-making ability. It also has the prospect of reducing unethical stakeholder behavior during elections, and election of qualified candidates based on merit would be possible as may be demonstrated through informed participation by the electorates.

Mass notification systems exist to provide rapid notification to members of the public during emergency situations. Since the middle of the 20 ^th century, these systems have evolved to incorporate a variety of different communications methods as technology has advanced. While local governments have used mass notification systems for many years, institutions of higher education generally only began using such systems following the Virginia Tech shootings in 2007. This study attempted to examine trends relating to mass notification systems and to identify differences in how they have been implemented both in local government and in higher education. While the study was not able to identify statistically valid results due to low response rates, it appears that such differences do exist and further research in this area is needed.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Political Science, 2001.
Includes bibliographical references (p. [405]-409).
Can pernicious views about history exacerbate conflict among states, and if so, how? How can we prevent such ideas from emerging, or dampen their more malevolent effects? Despite a long history of scholarly writing on nationalism that assumes that distorted, mythologized history can be dangerous, we still know little about how pernicious historical ideas lead to interstate conflict, if at all. This study clarifies that relationship by identifying a number of hypotheses on the malevolent effects of pernicious ideas that are empirically grounded in the recent experiences of post-Soviet Russia. It examines popular Russian historical ideas widely purveyed through mass public education, assesses their perniciousness, and details the mechanisms by which they have precipitated or exacerbated recent conflicts in Russian foreign policy. Pernicious historical ideas precipitate or exacerbate conflict in two general ways: First, through "emotional" mechanisms, whereby pernicious myths instill resentment and animosity, and manifest grievances over real or perceived injustices. These feelings then lead to violent retaliation or demands for apologies, restitution, reparations or other symbolic gestures that raise tensions, or lead to confrontational or antagonistic policy choices. Second, there are "cognitive" mechanisms. Pernicious myths foster ethnic and nationalist stereotypes and negative or false images about others, or create false assumptions and beliefs about the nature of international politics, the causes of war and peace, and one's own and other's national interests. These images and assumptions reflected in distorted and pernicious views of history-can cause significant national misperceptions that lead to conflictual policies. The study identifies popular views of history by systematically analyzing Soviet and all post-Soviet Russian history textbooks. It examines three cases of wars, conflicts and interventions that have been especially prone to Russian historical mythmaking: The Soviet-German War of 1939-45; Soviet western interventions in 1939-40; and the Russo-Turkish wars of the 19th century. Russia's portrayal of these wars and interventions is dominated by self glorifying, self-exculpating, other-denigrating and victimization myths. An examination of recent Russian foreign policy conflicts in two regions-the Baltic and the Balkans-illustrates how these historical ideas have shaped Russian images and assumptions, and fostered emotional antagonisms and misperceptions that have precipitated or exacerbated conflict.in those regions.
by David A. Mendeloff.
Ph.D.