Browsing by Subject "Knowledge"
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Item Agricultural education student teachers' confidence and knowledge: Teaching special needs students(2005-12) Kessell, John; Lawver, David; Burley, Hansel E.; Fraze, Steven; Davis, Chad S.Agricultural education programs are becoming a popular course for the inclusion of students with disabling conditions, but little research has been conducted to assess teacher confidence and knowledge regarding special education and teaching diverse populations in agricultural education classrooms and laboratories. This dissertation investigated and measured student teacher confidence in regard to teaching special education students in agricultural education classrooms and laboratories. Student teacher knowledge of common disabling conditions and special education laws were investigated. Three hundred thirty-five student teachers located in the Southern Region as defined by American Association of Agricultural Education (AAAE) participated in the study. There were 13 states and 40 universities in the southern region. States participating in this study include: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Student teachers participated by completing an on-line instrument. The instrument was divided into two sections. The first section sought to determine confidence levels related to teaching special needs students in agricultural education classroom and laboratories. Items in this section were designed to determine confidence in teaching students that possess Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) recognized disabilities. Other confidence questions focused on the participants’ knowledge in special education law, providing the least restrictive environment (LRE), participating in Individual Education Program (IEP) development, and providing an appropriate and challenging curriculum for all students. Section two involved three multiple-choice questions for each IDEA recognized disability and three special education law topics. The instrument consisted of a total of 11 confidence questions, 33 multiple choice questions in knowledge, and 11 demographic questions. Data were collected in the spring of 2005 and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 12th edition. The researcher found that relationships to total confidence and total knowledge produced no significant interaction. Student teacher demographics produced statistically significant differences with total confidence and total knowledge scores. Recommendations include continued research as well as incorporating these findings to design curriculum to address special needs issues in agricultural education classrooms and laboratories for future student teachers for the betterment of learners involved in agricultural education teacher certification programs.Item Agricultural education student teachers' confidence and knowledge: teaching special needs students(Texas Tech University, 2005-12) Kessell, John Edward; Lawver, DavidAgricultural education programs are becoming a popular course for the inclusion of students with disabling conditions, but little research has been conducted to assess teacher confidence and knowledge regarding special education and teaching diverse populations in agricultural education classrooms and laboratories. This dissertation investigated and measured student teacher confidence in regard to teaching special education students in agricultural education classrooms and laboratories. Student teacher knowledge of common disabling conditions and special education laws were investigated. Three hundred thirty-five student teachers located in the Southern Region as defined by American Association of Agricultural Education (AAAE) participated in the study. There were 13 states and 40 universities in the southern region. States participating in this study include: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Student teachers participated by completing an on-line instrument. The instrument was divided into two sections. The first section sought to determine confidence levels related to teaching special needs students in agricultural education classroom and laboratories. Items in this section were designed to determine confidence in teaching students that possess Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) recognized disabilities. Other confidence questions focused on the participants’ knowledge in special education law, providing the least restrictive environment (LRE), participating in Individual Education Program (IEP) development, and providing an appropriate and challenging curriculum for all students. Section two involved three multiple-choice questions for each IDEA recognized disability and three special education law topics. The instrument consisted of a total of 11 confidence questions, 33 multiple choice questions in knowledge, and 11 demographic questions. Data were collected in the spring of 2005 and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 12th edition. The researcher found that relationships to total confidence and total knowledge produced no significant interaction. Student teacher demographics produced statistically significant differences with total confidence and total knowledge scores. Recommendations include continued research as well as incorporating these findings to design curriculum to address special needs issues in agricultural education classrooms and laboratories for future student teachers for the betterment of learners involved in agricultural education teacher certification programs.Item An empirical investigation of factors promoting knowledge management system success(2006-08) Thomas, Bobby Dale; Jones, Donald R.; Viator, Ralph E.; Sherif, Karma S.; Westfall, Peter H.The growing popularity of the knowledge-based theory of the firm, the view that organizational knowledge is one of the last remaining sources of long-term sustainable competitive advantage, has led to management’s growing interest in knowledge management (KM) and knowledge management systems (KMS). To date, organizations that have implemented KMS have encountered mixed results. This research contends that existing KM studies fail to give adequate consideration to the importance of KM strategies in determining critical KMS success factors. The rationale behind this research is that by properly considering the moderating effect of KM strategy on the factors that influence KMS success one can explain the success of a KMS (or lack thereof) using a greatly simplified list of success factors. This research draws on existing IS and KM frameworks, models, and literature and selects four organizational factors that are believed to be critical for the success of a KMS; this study hypothesizes which of these factors are more critical for a knowledge exploration strategy (KRS) and which of these factors are more critical for a knowledge exploitation strategy (KIS). A web-based survey utilizing existing scales, some with slight adaptations, and a newly created strategy scale was administered to test the model; 204 complete responses were collected. The results contribute to the literature by empirically confirming the hypothesized positive relationships between the identified success factors and KMS success. This research can serve as a foundation for future studies, which can help identify additional factors critical for KMS success.Item An empirical investigation of factors promoting knowledge management system success(Texas Tech University, 2006-08) Thomas, Bobby Dale; Jones, Donald R.; Sherif, Karma S.; Westfall, Peter H.; Viator, Ralph E.The growing popularity of the knowledge-based theory of the firm, the view that organizational knowledge is one of the last remaining sources of long-term sustainable competitive advantage, has led to management’s growing interest in knowledge management (KM) and knowledge management systems (KMS). To date, organizations that have implemented KMS have encountered mixed results. This research contends that existing KM studies fail to give adequate consideration to the importance of KM strategies in determining critical KMS success factors. The rationale behind this research is that by properly considering the moderating effect of KM strategy on the factors that influence KMS success one can explain the success of a KMS (or lack thereof) using a greatly simplified list of success factors. This research draws on existing IS and KM frameworks, models, and literature and selects four organizational factors that are believed to be critical for the success of a KMS; this study hypothesizes which of these factors are more critical for a knowledge exploration strategy (KRS) and which of these factors are more critical for a knowledge exploitation strategy (KIS). A web-based survey utilizing existing scales, some with slight adaptations, and a newly created strategy scale was administered to test the model; 204 complete responses were collected. The results contribute to the literature by empirically confirming the hypothesized positive relationships between the identified success factors and KMS success. This research can serve as a foundation for future studies, which can help identify additional factors critical for KMS success.Item An analysis of consumers' knowledge and perceptions in relation to genetically engineered (GE) Cotton : marketing and utility(2011-12) Watson, Megan Mignon; Krifa, Mourad; Lee, Hyun-Hwa; Xu, BugaoCotton makes up a majority of the world’s fiber market, with genetically engineered (GE) cotton the current staple of the US agricultural landscape. With GE cotton’s overall acceptance for US farmers and manufacturers, it is of concern that the majority of literature concerning GE crops primarily compares negative attitudes towards GE food crops in stricter economies such as the European Union. Due to the inadequate literature regarding both the market advantages and consumer perceptions of GE cotton specifically, this study was conceived to provide marketers with a baseline analysis of the factors that affect US consumers’ current attitudes (knowledge, risk perceptions, etc.) regarding GE cotton. Multiple regression analyses were used for our models which measured purchase intentions towards GE cotton and perceived risks of GE cotton based on both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Paired and single t-tests were performed to predict the current positioning of GE cotton as a marketable alternative to organic and conventional cotton, and to determine which institutions consumer’s trust most for information on the risks and benefits of GE cotton. Our studies showed that while knowledge of cotton and agriculture is low, GE cotton was regarded more positively than conventional cotton with the potential to improve in consumer’s opinions. According to our findings, by efficiently communicating the benefits of GE cotton through trusted channels of communication (i.e. scientists, consumer organizations, the media), particularly addressing ethical concerns, policy regulation, and how the product is useful to the consumer individually, GE cotton could become a comparative market alternative to organic, at a greater available supply.Item Assertion and belief without knowledge(2010-12) McGlynn, Aidan Neil; Sainsbury, R. M. (Richard Mark)Recent epistemology has been dominated by the knowledge first approach championed by Timothy Williamson and others, and its influence continues to grow, spreading into the philosophy of language, the philosophy of mind, and beyond. Proponents of the knowledge first approach have argued for the centrality and importance of knowledge in these areas of philosophy by arguing that there is something wrong with asserting or believing something that one doesn’t know, that assertion and belief are to be understood in terms of knowledge, and that a knowledge‐maximizing principle of charity is constitutive of the contents of one’s assertions and beliefs. I attack the knowledge first approach by developing more plausible accounts of assertion, belief, and the determination of content that break these supposed ties with knowledge.Item Climate change framing in the New York Times : the media’s impact on a polarized public(2015-12) Goff, Paepin D.; Jensen, Robert, 1958-; Wilson, KristopherWhile the threat of climate change grows stronger along with the consensus of scientists about the certainty of anthropogenic causes, researchers observe an opposite effect in the public’s acceptance of climate science. While climate change is a salient topic in society, the media’s presentation of climate change has varied over time and the public remains politically divided on the issue. This content analysis of 134 New York Times’ climate change articles between 2001 and 2013 identified six different types of media frames associated with climate change coverage and investigated the presentation of scientific information within those frames. This study also investigated the congruence between scientific consensus regarding climate change, the public’s perception of current scientific knowledge and the way climate change is talked about in the media.Item Defining the knowledge base of our profession: a look at agricultural and extension education in the 21st century(Texas A&M University, 2005-08-29) Cummings, Gregory AaronThe profession of agricultural and extension education has increased in complexity in response to the demands of the changing field of agriculture and the need for educators who are responsive to those demands. A standardization of the knowledge base of the profession is seen as necessary in light of geographic mobility, the nationwide emphasis on assessment, and the need for a public relations tool that clearly articulates the concepts forming the framework of agricultural and extension education. In this study a panel of experts consisting of agricultural and extension education leaders nationwide, responded to open-ended and Likert-type surveys online as part of a Delphi technique to establish the knowledge base for agricultural and extension education. Three rounds of the Delphi technique were used. A minimum of 13 of the 24 panel members were required to respond to each round. Ninety-five statements were initially generated by 16 panel members in response to an open-ended statement in Round I which asked the participants ??What are the articulated understandings, skills, and judgments that serve as the foundation of knowledge (??the body??) for professionals in agricultural and extension education??? These statements were presented to the panel members in Round II. Two-thirds of the panelists had to ??Strongly Agree?? or ??Agree?? with each item for it to be retained for Round III. Based on the responses of 14 panelists in Round II, 67 items were retained for Round III, and one item was added based on panel input. After Round III, three items were eliminated due to lack of twothirds achievement of ??Strongly Agree?? and ??Agree?? ratings by 17 respondents. Thus, 65 statements established the knowledge base of agricultural and extension education in this study. Among the knowledge base are concepts related to traits of effective educators; management issues; environmental impacts on instruction; curriculum development; learner-based contextual, applied pedagogical strategies; leadership development; communications; assessment strategies; community and collegial connections; integration of technology; critical thinking and problem solving; and teaching as a changing process grounded in sound theory.Item Effects and implications of changing approaches to information on technical communication(2011-05) Betz, MatthewThe ways that individuals take advantage of information and communication technologies are leading to new approaches to both information and communication. Recent technological developments, such as cellular phones and wireless-broadband internet are being used to provide instant access to information and networks, allowing users to satisfy their needs or desires almost immediately and from almost any location. More specifically, shifting approaches to information have encouraged a new kind of rapid meaning making in physical and digital spaces that differs in fundamental ways from the sort of quickly-formed view of the world that television and radio brought. Who is producing and distributing this information is of primary concern to technical communicators because amateurs and uninformed users now have access to the same networks, and content production and distribution methods as professionals. Parallel to individuals’ decentralized and true-enough information approaches are concerns over the position of credentialed knowledge workers to information spaces, communities, and cultures, and concerns over new relationships between quality and speed. Due to the growing scale of new approaches to information, the field of technical communication is now faced with a crisis best articulated by one significant question: how do growing trends of personal agency and self-service in technologized societies affect technical communication as a discipline, and individual approaches to knowledge and authority? While the reliability and ethos of professional technical communicators can largely mitigate the threat of untrained, uncredentialed users who have the ability to develop and distribute technical information freely, social networks can contribute to the crisis through striking much of the authority from technical communicators who do not work to form strong or functional identities in those spaces.Item Examining the Use of Knowledge Management Technology in a Small Nonprofit to Attain Organizational Goals(5/23/2014) Kennady, Maxwell Edison; Kennady, Maxwell Edison; Pate, Sandra K.; Pate, Sandra K; Lawrence, Richard J; Stanley, Kristin G; Eoff, Shirley MPeople working for nonprofit organizations today have many responsibilities, from planning fundraisers to organizing volunteers. For daily tasks, the employees and volunteers of nonprofits must have access to necessary information. This is vital to the success of the organization and to its mission. With limited financial and human resources, a nonprofit must be able to share information effectively in order to accomplish organizational goals. This is especially true for small nonprofits. Recent research has focused on knowledge management technology and its ability to provide an efficient, low-cost way to share information to a wide range of people within a nonprofit. Using interviews with three key groups, this study examines the knowledge processes of a small animal rescue 501(c)(3) and provides a practical explanation of the uses of knowledge management and related technology for the organization.Item Exploring Secondary Agriscience Teachers' and Students' Use, Attitude Toward, Knowledge and Perceptions of Computers and Technology Tools(2012-07-16) Miller, Kimberley AnnComputers are an ever changing facet of everyday life; almost all businesses, including schools, are dependent on technology, from research to information delivery. With the rapid advances in computer technology made every year combined with the increasing availability of computers to students, it is important to continually investigate how secondary agriscience teachers' and students' use and view computer technology, both personally and educationally, in order to effectively utilize this advancing educational tool for the benefit of both groups. The purpose of this study was to describe agriscience teachers' and students use, attitude toward, knowledge and perceptions of computers and technology tools in order to better understand how secondary agriscience teachers use computers in their instruction and how agriscience students use computers for school and social purposes. This study explored both teacher and student opinions about school assignments that require computer use and how often both groups utilize the computer for work and entertainment.Item A generative epistemic theory of remembering(2014-08) James, Steven Patrick; Tye, MichaelThis dissertation is about the nature and epistemic significance of remembering. Recent philosophical work has exploited the constructive nature of memory to weaken its relationship to knowledge. Against this, I argue that memory's constructive nature actually helps us to understand memory as a source, and remembering a species, of knowledge. I provide a positive account of remembering facts, objects, and events. In light of this account, I offer philosophical insights concerning memory's relation to other epistemic sources.Item How self-confidence and knowledge effects the sources of information selected during purchase situations(Texas Tech University, 2008-05) Barber, Nelson A.; Dodd, Timothy H.; Blum, Shane C.; Kolyesnikova, Nataliya P.The wine market is changing at such a fast pace, wine producers need to competitively market their products and services to consumers. However, consumers bring to the buying decision different types of experiences and expectations. Therefore, it is necessary to target consumers, understand their behavioral characteristics, purchase decisions, and their purchasing needs. Factors affecting how customers make decisions are extremely complex and not all decisions are treated the same. Some decisions are more complex, while others are fairly routine. Information search and self-confidence have emerged as critical and central components of consumer decision making models with situational determinants considered an important attribute to consider. This study investigated the mediating role self-confidence plays with knowledge in the selection of sources of information given different wine purchase situations. The research design was a self administered on-line survey distributed to 1,200 individuals. Based upon multivariate analysis and structural equation modeling, this research found past experience to be the most influential predictor of a consumer’s wine knowledge, particularly their level of subjective knowledge. This research also found consumers with high levels of subjective knowledge likely to have high levels of self-confidence, confirming the mediating effect of self-confidence and suggesting consumer’s are likely to use themselves as a source of information, rather than other sources. Results suggest that subjective knowledge may have other measurable and meaningful components, such as self-efficacy, that play an important part in the consumers’ ability to make a purchase decision.Item The intellectual given(2010-05) Bengson, John Thomas Steele; Sosa, David, 1966-; Bealer, George; Dancy, Jonathan; Pautz, Adam; Sainsbury, Mark; Tye, MichaelSome things we know just by thinking about them: for example, that identity is transitive, that three are more than two, that wantonly torturing innocents is wrong, and other propositions which simply strike us as true when we consider them. But how? This essay articulates and defends a rationalist answer which critically develops a significant analogy between intuition and perception. The central thesis is that intuition and perception, though different, are at a certain level of abstraction the same kind of state, and states of this kind are, by their very nature, poised to play a distinctive epistemic role. Specifically, in the case of intuition, we encounter an intellectual state that is so structured as to provide justified and even knowledgeable belief without requiring justification in turn—something which may, thus, be thought of as given. The essay proceeds in three stages. Stage one advances a fully general and psychologically realistic account of the nature of intuition, namely, as an intellectual presentation of an apparent truth. Stage two provides a modest treatment of the epistemic status of intuition, in particular, how intuition serves as a source of immediate prima facie justification. Stage three outlines a response to Benacerraf-style worries about intuitive knowledge regarding abstract objects (e.g., numbers, sets, and values); the proposal is a constitutive, rather than causal, explanation of the means by which a given intuition connects a thinker to the fact intuited.Item Knowledge, Opinion, and Tragedy: A Survey From Mythic Origins to Elizabethan Tragedy(Texas Tech University, 1965-05) Littlefield, Robert LeeNot Available.Item Political economy, geographical imagination, and territory in the making and unmaking of New Granada, 1739-1830(2016-05) Afanador-Llach, Maria José; Cañizares-Esguerra, Jorge; Deans-Smith, Susan; Del Castillo, Lina; Appelbaum, Nancy; Hunt, BruceThis dissertation interrogates the intersections between political economy and territoriality during the transition from colony to republic in New Granada—modern day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panamá. It proposes a framework to analyze the discursive and on-the-ground impacts of early-modern political economy in pre-, and post-colonial politico-geographic debate. This dissertation sheds light on the territorial shifts and political debates between 1739 and 1830. First, it traces the imperial reform that led to the establishment of the viceroyalty of New Granada in 1739 and its territorialization over the course of the eighteenth century. Second, it analyses the fragmentation of New Granada into autonomous sovereign states starting in the 1810s. Third, it studies the Spanish military recovery of New Granada during the Reconquista wars. Lastly, it explores the unification of the Gran Colombian republic and its separation in 1830. To fully comprehend the political and territorial outcomes of the era, it is essential to understand that the coexistence of different spatial conceptions within colonial territories shifted both along geopolitical contingencies and spatial political economies that were long in the making. The rearrangement of territories from the eighteenth century to the republican era implied negotiations among often opposing ideas and interests over how to economically and politically organize and connect different spaces. Geographical imagination and ideas about nature played a central role in these processes. Throughout the eighteenth century and beyond, this tradition informed debates involving rights over municipal, imperial, and national spaces advancing conceptions of territory that shaped political debate. Because of its distinctive position, New Granada provides a useful perspective from which to explore key themes in the history of eighteenth-century imperial reform, the revolutionary period, and the early republican era.Item Rationale management as the basis of knowledge preservation for enterprise systems value-added resellers(2010-12) Otero Lanuza, Miguel Angel; Barber, K. Suzanne; Graser, ThomasEnterprise systems (ES) implementation, especially Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERP), is an extensively researched topic in recent years. Existing papers focus mainly on the success or failure of the project analyzed from the client’s standpoint. Although authors agree that a successful implementation requires the participation of consultants from a Value-Added Reseller (VAR), little or no work has been published that examines the topic from this perspective. While it is true that this kind of implementation is not strictly related to the traditional software development lifecycle, the two have many things in common and the former can benefit from software engineering techniques. Intellectual capital found in the heads of consultants, developers, project managers, and all other project stakeholders is VAR’s main asset as well as in most of software-related organizations. Hence, it is critical to preserve it in order to safeguard the foundation of these organizations. The goal of this paper is to propose rationale management as the basis of knowledge preservation for enterprise systems VARs. Enterprise systems implementation process, including its actors, challenges, and the knowledge that surrounds it, is examined to justify the proposal. To assess the perception of real-world VARs about knowledge management applicability and their existing strategies, a questionnaire was applied to 3 executives. Their answers confirmed that knowledge is considered vital to their organizations but the methodologies as well as the tools currently utilized to preserve it are rudimentary and distant from the theoretical literature.Item Skepticism, faith, and knowledge: an analysis of the epistemological implications of skepticism(Texas Tech University, 2001-08) Nelson, Douglas RayNOT AVAILABLEItem A sociological analysis of Ibn Khaldun's theory : a study in the sociology of knowledge(1950-06) Wardī, ʻAlī; Moore, Harry E. (Harry Estill)Ibn Khaldun is a great Moslem thinker of the fourteenth century (b. 1332, d. 1406 A. D.). Modern writers are inclined to consider him as a pioneer or a precursor in the science of society and the philosophy of history. Some of them consider him as the first sociologist in the history of mankind and even the founder of modern sociology. His Prolegomena, which is the primary subject of study in the present work, is regarded by one authority as one of the six important monographic works in general sociology. The aim of this dissertation is not to study either Ibn Khaldun or his theory in minute detail. In fact, other modern students have successfully achieved that task. The aim of this work is, rather, a different one. Our aim here is to see Ibn Khaldun in a different light, or, to use Mannheim's term, through a perspective which is greatly different from the customary one. Ibn Khaldun lived in a culture quite different from our present culture, and was accustomed to view the world within a frame of reference with which we are perhaps completely unfamiliar. The first duty that lies, therefore, before us, in order to be able to understand Ibn Khaldun, is to reconstruct his perspective or his frame of reference anew, and to try to look at the social phenomena through it. In this work, the space which is devoted to the discussion of Ibn Khaldun's theory per se is small in comparison to that devoted to the reconstruction of the perspective and the categories of thought according to which Ibn Khaldun and his fellow writers viewed their world. This work is, as its subtitle shows, a study in the sociology of knowledge. Ibn Khaldun is then taken as a point in case. He is studied primarily to show how his theory and the theories produced in his culture can fit into the general scheme of the sociology of knowledge as recently developed by modern sociologists.Item Sociological relativism: its nature, development and directions(Texas Tech University, 1973-08) Webb, Jimmie MNot available