Enhancement of an online content management system: CLCloud.com

The website under consideration for this project is http://www.clcloud.com.It represents the primary website of CL Cloud Computing Group, which provides consulting services to academic and business societies in the areas of web hosting, web designing, database management, computer networking, computer programming, enterprise resource planning, business intelligence, IT auditing etc. The website serves not only as the primary website for the company, but also hosts a number of other websites that manage content in order to accomplish the following: 1. Online submission of research papers 2. Access to published journals 3. Publications from other conferences 4. Websites from other organizations 5. Instructional resources However, the website suffers various drawbacks in critical areas of web design and development. There is absence of a user authentication system, lack of a professional visual design and layout, and an inadequate navigational structure. Due to these issues and others as discussed in the project scope, the website fails to appeal to its intended audience and fulfill its purpose, which is to serve as a sound system for the student and business community using its web applications. The aim of this project is to enhance clcloud.com while addressing the issues with the existing system. The gap between the existing system and the intended system provides an opportunity to study and implement various aspects of web design and development technologies

Croatian immigrants in the Keweenaw

In the years between 1890 and 1920, there was an influx of immigration to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Due to the copper mines, towns and villages, such as Red Jacket (now known as Calumet) flourished. Surrounding the mines were smaller villages, such as Ahmeek, located five miles northwest of Calumet. Among those that came for a new and “better” life were the Croatians. Most of the Croatians who made their way over were from the same area in Croatia, Ravna Gora. This immigration pattern is an example of chain-migration, people helping those from their country, from the area of the country that they are from, come over to the States. This also shows a trend in men who were hired into the mines and how they were hired. For instance, the employment application for Calumet and Hecla asked not only where the immigrant was from, but who they knew working in the copper mines. The employment applications also asked the relationship the applicant had to that person.

Entropy and related principles

This thesis is a formal presentation of entropy and related principles as they relate to probability theory. The central focus is on the mathematical definition of entropy, and on methods for obtaining maximum entropy distributions. Transformations which preserve the entropy of a probability density function are also developed. Entropy is a measure of uncertainty, and a maximum entropy distributions has the desirable property of maximizing uncertainty for all unknown information of a given phenomenon

Copy editing in the digital age: How technology has changed copy editing

This thesis examines coy editing before the Internet and software were introduced to the newsroom and compares it to what it is like now to be a copy editor in the digital age. It consists of a collection of interviews from 12 copy editors around the country with one year experience to over 30 years of experience and who are currently in the field of copy editing. Initially, the expectation was that copy editors struggled with software and the changes made in the newsroom, possibly preferring to go back the way thinks were (i.e. with a backshop), but after extensive research and a series of interviews, it was revealed that it was only one small and very temporary challenge to accomplish for copy editors and that they prefer having the software to aid them with their layout, design and publishing. Also, the expectation was that copy editors may feel a sense of nostalgia for the demise of print newspapers, but that was only one small thought by few copy editors. Most copy editors prefer digital journalism and copy editing over printed pages and red ink. They appreciate the software made available to their newsroom and it is now mandatory that a person pursuing the profession of copy editing have a thorough understanding of the necessary software in the newsroo

Opposition to the Mexican-American War: The soldiers, the politicians, Michigan, and the future Republican Party

On May 13, 1846, the United States of America declared war on the United Mexican States. In response to this declaration, the individual states mustered volunteer regiments and deployed the Regular Army to fight for the Stars and Stripes. Though the war was popular, it did have its detractors-political opposition, religious opposition, and the like, all of which will be thoroughly examined. Furthermore, what did the soldiers sent to war think of the fight in Mexico? This paper\u27s driving theses is threefold. First, what did the soldiers think of the war and why? Second why did the politicians that oppose the war do so? Thirdly, who in Michigan opposed the wary, why, and did those same people eventually joint the burgeoning Republican Party, a branch of which formed in the same state less than a decade after the end of the Mexican-American War

Process-oriented versus task-oriented treatment for children with autism

In today’s society, Autism has become quite prevalent. New research has indicated that the prevalence of diagnosed Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) has increased (Ouellette-Kuntz, 2007). Research hasn’t yet concluded what specifically causes ASD (Mankoski et al, 2006). However, new theories and information from research indicates that it may derive from genetic reasons (Mankoski et al, 2006). Although scientists haven’t discovered the specific origin of the disorder, research has clearly shown the benefits of therapy in helping children with ASD. Research indicates that children in early childhood education programs and children diagnosed early (pre-verbal or beginning verbal stages) are more likely to have language abilities. As a co-requisite to an early childhood program, many children with Autism are placed in a classroom where the learning environment is tailored to most effectively meet the needs of the child (Hume, Bellini, and Pratt, 2005). Research-based instruction, interaction, and structure are used to engage and teach children. Some of these programs include using guidelines from Applied Behavior Analysis (Prizant, Wetherby, and Rydell, 2000), Greenspan’s DIR/Floortime (Solomon, R.; Necheles, J.; Ferch, C.; Bruckman, D. 2007), Enhanced Milieu Teaching (Hancock, T. and Kaiser, A. 2006), and many others. In this review, the difference in using a Task Oriented Approach (TOA) versus a Process Oriented Approach (POA) will be assessed. Additionally, there will be a look into the origins of the two approaches to further understand the nature of each one. Finally, there will be reviews and dissections of a variety of lesson plans that were based off of the models presented in the Process Oriented Approaches and Task Oriented Approaches

The Map is Useless Unless You Know Where You Are: Information Literacy Pre-Assessment as a Tool for Understanding and Collaboration

The objective of this presentation is to provide librarians with a potential outline for beginning an information literacy assessment strategy, starting with pre-assessment. Librarians unsure about where to start when it comes to assessment will find that developing a pre-test can be a great way to start such a strategy collaborating with classroom faculty. Pre-assessment also is nonjudgmental pertaining to faculty’s teaching abilities and students’ learning making it an easier sell for collaboration or even initiating collaboration where none existed. If we can’t know where students end up after a class, at least we can get a sense of where they start and focus our instruction, likely a one-shot session, on the research skill areas that students may be lacking. But a good relationship with classroom faculty could lead to new methods of post-assessing, like bibliographic analysis, focus groups or search logs. It could also lead to more sessions with the librarian if a faculty member finds that some classes are extensively deficient in information literacy skills. This presentation will highlight the pilot study conducted by College of DuPage Library and a select group of Composition faculty members. It will include study objectives, methodology, and results. Reasons for focusing only on pre-assessment versus both pre and post-tests will also be discussed. The need for using course management systems or online survey tools will made due to the need for immediate results by faculty and students. Future items will be discussed as the study continues throughout subsequent semesters