2004 MU dissertations - Freely available online
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Item The formation of a community of practice in preservice teacher education : the interaction of the classroom environment and new communication technologies(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2004) Poole, Melissa J., 1956-; Laffey, James M. (James Michael), 1949-The goal of this study was to examine the development of a group of preservice teachers over three semesters during the second phase of their coursework and fieldwork in the teacher development program at a major Midwestern university. The questions at the heart of the study were whether this cohort of preservice teachers developed community. What markers of community were evidenced? What contextual factors served to support or impede the development of community? Data were collected through observation of their courses, a series of interviews with a sample of preservice teachers, and archiving artifacts of their coursework such as the course syllabi, reading materials, and their discussions online. Data analysis was grounded in theory about the nature of community, communities of practice, teacher communities, online communities and in a sociocultural theory of technological change. The findings suggest that these preservice teachers began to form community during their years in the teacher development program. This community began to evolve from a community of practice into a professional learning community as they developed from college students into practicing teachers. However, the culture of the classroom, the physical arrangement of the room and the importance given to students' voices in class and online, played a large role in fostering and supporting the development of community.Item But in the night we are all the same(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2004) Hartin-Young, Sally, 1973-; Lewis, Trudy (Trudy L.)But In the Night We Are All the Same, a critical dystopian novel, explores the creation and perpetuation of power structures, gender identity, and desire. The protagonist, Lemon, is a member of the oppressed class. She lives in a nameless city where she and her peers are kept endlessly alive by "hospital machines," a technology that cures every illness and prolongs life. The ruling group (the Those That) uses mindcontrol technologies known as noodles and stroodles to compel the oppressed class to buy the items they see advertised and to make them perform various violent, sexual and degrading acts for the Those That's amusement. Although the people of the city dislike aspects of their lives, most worship and admire the Those That as much as they fear them. Lemon's partner and love interest Astrix, once a member of the Those That, has had his memory erased and must struggle to find out his identity and to come to terms with who he is once he remembers his past. Lemon and Astrix help each other to resist and to determine their identities. Like other modern dystopian novels, this one focuses on an individual's struggle to resist the society and ends with a hopeful conclusion that shows that a better society can exist in the future. Additionally, this novel uses a female protagonist to illustrate the ways in which a person can be oppressed in both gender-specific and non-gender-specific ways. It also illustrates the power structures that lie beneath social systems, and examines how people's desires can be manipulated into a form of social control.Item Development of urban area geospatial information products from high resolution satellite imagery using advanced image analysis techniques(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2004) Shackelford, Aaron K., 1977-; Davis, Curt H.The latest generation of commercial satellite imaging sensors have a number of characteristics (e.g. high spatial resolution, multispectral bands, and quick revisit time), that make them ideal data sources for a variety of urban area applications. The goal of this doctoral research was to develop advanced automated and semi-automated image analysis and classification techniques for the extraction of urban area geospatial information products from commercial high-resolution satellite imagery. We developed two semi-automated urban land cover classification approaches, as well as fully automated techniques for road network and 2-D building footprint extraction. By utilizing fully automated feature extraction techniques for training data generation, a self-supervised classification approach was also developed. The self-supervised classifier is significantly more accurate than traditional classification approaches, and unlike traditional approaches it is fully automated. The development of automated and semi-automated techniques for generation of urban geospatial information products is of high importance not only for the many applications where they can be used but also because the large volume of data collected by these sensors exceeds the human capacity of trained image specialists to analyze. In addition, many applications, especially those for the military and intelligence communities, require near real time exploitation of the image data.Item An analysis of the 1875-1877 scarlet fever epidemic of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2004) Parish, Joseph MacLean, 1974-; Sattenspiel, LisaAn epidemic of scarlet fever on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada between 1875 and 1877 is analyzed in the context of a larger, world-wide pandemic of scarlet fever that occurred between 1825 and 1885. Data derived from public records on national censuses, provincial vital death records and parish records suggest that the epidemic impacted the two main ethnic groups of the island, the Acadians and the Scots, in very different ways. Statistical analysis was done considering the temporal and socio-cultural context of cause of death reporting in order to examine if this initial reading is valid. A deterministic computer model was also created to analyze the effects of each factor on the overall course of the epidemic. Results suggest that although the two groups did experience the epidemic in different ways, this difference is partially attributed to the terms used to describe cause of death information. Occupation, and household type resulting from occupation, is found to be a key indicator of epidemic experience. Differences in person to person contact rate are association with the different occupations/household types. Ethnic group preferences for the occupations of fishing or farming inextricably tie the issues of ethnicity and occupation together. The number of contacts people have per unit of time was found to be one of the major factors correlated to the epidemic experience. These results emphasize the importance of socio-cultural factors in an age where drug therapies are becoming less effective. They point to a need to understand the interactions between biology and behavior when examining such complex phenomena as human epidemics.Item Adoption and diffusion of agrobiotechnologies in the US cotton production(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2004) Suntornpithug, Pasu, 1969-; Kalaitzandonakes, Nicholas G., 1960-The study examines the farm level adoption and county level diffusion of three cotton biotechnologies in the US: insect resistant (Bollgard®), herbicide tolerance (Roundup Ready®), and stacked trait (Bollgard® & Roundup Ready®). Adoption and diffusion of these cotton biotechnologies are interdependent. A theoretical framework is developed to consider the adoption decision first. An optimal control model explains the effects of various learning mechanisms on the adoption of multiple, interdependent, and divisible innovations. Empirical specifications use a Generalized Method of Moments framework. Farmers are found to simultaneous adopt multiple technologies influenced by perceived economic gains, learning from own experience, and their neighbors' adoption. Other factors also influence adoption decision including: interdependencies among biotechnologies and certain agronomic practices (e.g. minimum tillage). Adoption is found to be scale neutral. Aggregate (county level) models confirm that potential economic gains, learning, innovation interdependencies and complementarities with agronomic practices drive the diffusion of the cotton biotechnologies.
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