An analysis of student and instructor perceptions of students' writing skills at the university level

This study examined university students' writing skills as perceived by university students and their English instructors. The goal of the study was to provide English instructors with objective, quantified information about writing perceptions from both the students' and instructors' viewpoints. ^ A survey instrument was developed based on a survey instrument created by Newkirk, Cameron, and Selfe (1977) to identify instructors' perceived knowledge of student writing skills. The present study used a descriptive statistical design. It examined five writing skill areas: attitude, content, grammar and mechanics, literary considerations, and the writing process through a questionnaire completed by a convenience sample of summer and fall admitted freshmen who were enrolled in Essay Writing and Freshman Composition courses and English Department instructors at a large South Florida public university. ^ The study consisted of five phases. The first phase was modifying of the Newkirk, Cameron, and Selfe (1977) questionnaire. Two versions of the revised survey were developed - one for instructors and one for students. The second phase was pilot testing the questionnaire for evaluation of administration and scoring. The third phase was administering the questionnaire to 1,280 students and 48 instructors. The fourth phase was analyzing the data. The study found a significant difference in the perceptions of students and instructors in all areas of writing skills examined by the survey. Responses to 29 of 30 questions showed that students felt they had better attitudes toward writing and better writing skills than instructors thought. ^ The final phase was developing recommendations for practice. Based on findings and theory and empirical evidence drawn from the fields of adult education and composition research, learner-centered, self-directed curriculum guidelines are offered. ^ By objectively quantifying student and instructor perceptions of students' writing skills, this study contributes to a growing body of literature that: (a) encourages instructors to acknowledge the perception disparities between instructors and students; (b) gives instructors a better understanding of how to communicate with students; and (c) recommends the development of new curriculum, placement tests, and courses that meet the needs of students and enables English instructors to provide meaningful instruction. ^

Risk based post closure care analysis for Florida landfills

Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) requires a post closure period of 30 years for non hazardous wastes in landfills. Post closure care (PCC) activities under Subtitle D include leachate collection and treatment, groundwater monitoring, inspection and maintenance of the final cover, and monitoring to ensure that landfill gas does not migrate off site or into on site buildings. The decision to reduce PCC duration requires exploration of a performance based methodology to Florida landfills. PCC should be based on whether the landfill is a threat to human health or the environment. Historically no risk based procedure has been available to establish an early end to PCC. Landfill stability depends on a number of factors that include variables that relate to operations both before and after the closure of a landfill cell. Therefore, PCC decisions should be based on location specific factors, operational factors, design factors, post closure performance, end use, and risk analysis. The question of appropriate PCC period for Florida’s landfills requires in depth case studies focusing on the analysis of the performance data from closed landfills in Florida. Based on data availability, Davie Landfill was identified as case study site for a case by case analysis of landfill stability. The performance based PCC decision system developed by Geosyntec Consultants was used for the assessment of site conditions to project PCC needs. The available data for leachate and gas quantity and quality, ground water quality, and cap conditions were evaluated. The quality and quantity data for leachate and gas were analyzed to project the levels of pollutants in leachate and groundwater in reference to maximum contaminant level (MCL). In addition, the projected amount of gas quantity was estimated. A set of contaminants (including metals and organics) were identified as contaminants detected in groundwater for health risk assessment. These contaminants were selected based on their detection frequency and levels in leachate and ground water; and their historical and projected trends. During the evaluations a range of discrepancies and problems that related to the collection and documentation were encountered and possible solutions made. Based on the results of PCC performance integrated with risk assessment, projection of future PCC monitoring needs and sustainable waste management options were identified. According to these results, landfill gas monitoring can be terminated, leachate and groundwater monitoring for parameters above MCL and surveying of the cap integrity should be continued. The parameters which cause longer monitoring periods can be eliminated for the future sustainable landfills. As a conclusion, 30 year PCC period can be reduced for some of the landfill components based on their potential impacts to human health and environment (HH&E).

Analysis of Housing Partnerships using the Balanced Scorecard framework

Housing Partnerships (HPs) are collaborative arrangements that assist communities in the delivery of affordable housing by combining the strengths of the public and private sectors. They emerged in several states, counties, and cities in the eighties as innovative solutions to the challenges in affordable housing resulting from changing dynamics of delivery and production. ^ My study examines HPs with particular emphasis upon the identification of those factors associated with the successful performance of their mission of affordable housing. I will use the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) framework in this study. The identification of performance factors facilitates a better understanding of how HPs can be successful in achieving their mission. The identification of performance factors is significant in the context of the current economic environment because HPs can be viewed as innovative institutional mechanisms in the provision of affordable housing. ^ The present study uses a mixed methods research approach, drawing on data from the IRS Form 990 tax returns, a survey of the chief executives of HPs, and other secondary sources. The data analysis is framed according to the four perspectives of BSC: the financial, customer, internal business, and learning and growth. Financially, revenue diversification affects the financial health of HPs and overall performance. Although HPs depend on private and government funding, they also depend on service fees to carry out their mission. From a customer perspective, the HPs mainly serve low and moderate income households, although some serve specific groups such as seniors, homeless, veterans, and victims of domestic violence. From an internal business perspective, HPs’ programs are oriented toward affordable housing needs, undertaking not only traditional activities such as construction, loan provision, etc., but also advocacy and educational programs. From an employee and learning growth perspective, the HPs are small in staff size, but undertake a range of activities with the help of volunteers. Every part of the HP is developed to maximize resources, knowledge, and skills in order to assist communities in the delivery of affordable housing and related needs. Overall, housing partnerships have played a key role in affordable housing despite the housing market downturn since 2006. Their expenses on affordable housing activities increased despite the decrease in their revenues.^

A comprehensive assessment of self -report experiences of adoptive parents of special needs children in Florida

Adoption of special needs children is now seen as a life long event whereby the adoptive child and family have unique needs. The need for postplacement resources throughout the life cycle of the adoption process is evident. This exploratory-descriptive research employed a random stratified cross-sectional design. The purpose of the study was to describe, identify, examine, and assess the relative influence of identified empirically and conceptually relevant variables of self-report experiences of adoptive parents of special needs children. Primary areas of exploration included: (1) adoptive children and families' characteristics, (2) postplacement service needs, utilization and satisfaction, and (3) adoptive parents' perceptions of their adoption experiences. A proportionate stratified random mail survey was used to obtain 474 families who had adopted special needs children from the 15 geographic districts which make up the state adoption social service agency in Florida. A 144-item survey questionnaire was used to collect basic information on demographic data, service provision, and adoption experiences. Four research questions were analyzed to test the effect the predictor variables had on willingness to adopt another special needs child, successful adoption, satisfying experience, and realism about problems. All four research questions revealed that the full model and the child's antecedent and the adoptive parents' intervening variable blocks were significant in explaining the variance in the dependent variables. The child's intervening variables alone were only significant in explaining the variance for one of the dependent variables. The results of the statistical analysis on the fifth research question and the three hypotheses determined that (1) only one postplacement service, crisis intervention, had a statistically significant impact on the adoptive parents' perceived level of satisfaction with the adoption experience; (2) adoptive parents who rate their adoption as successful are more likely to express a desire to adopt another special needs child; (3) the more adequate information on the child the adoptive parents perceived that they had prior to placement, the more they perceived they were realistic about the problems they would encounter; and (4) six specific postplacement services were found to be significant in predicting successful adoptions--crisis intervention, outpatient drug/alcohol treatment, maintenance subsidy, physical therapy, special medical equipment, and family counseling. Implications for the social work field and future research are discussed. ^

*Postsecondary access for individuals with psychological disabilities: An analysis of federal rulings and institutional philosophies, *policies, and practices

This study was a qualitative investigation, with demographic quantitative features, of post-secondary educational access and legal guidelines for individuals with psychological disabilities. Although disability laws have positively influenced post-secondary educational attitudes and practices relative to accommodating many individuals with disabilities, prevailing stigmas regarding mental illness have discouraged the equal access to higher education for individuals with psychological disabilities. Little research concentrating on this area was found.^ Thirty-six relevant legal case decisions, focusing on a variety of realms of higher education, were scrutinized. The policies, procedures, and practices of six Southeastern United States universities were analyzed through official documents and participant responses from disability service providers and other university employees. Comparisons were made between legal cases, and within and between universities. Case findings also provided standards through which participating university practices could be studied.^ The legal analysis revealed that most institutions did not discriminate against individuals with psychological disabilities. Practices of a few of these institutions, however, suggested non-compliance despite favorable decisions on their behalf. Institutions found to have discriminatory practices were cited for inadequate procedures, or for presumptive assessments of the educational functioning levels of individuals with psychological disabilities.^ Participant university practices generally suggested disability law compliance; however, certain campus interventions were determined to be ineffective in identifying, addressing, and communicating about the educational needs of individuals with psychological disabilities. The most effective services for these individuals, who were described as rapidly increasing in number but lagging in self-advocacy and acceptance by others, went beyond legal requirements.^ Recommendations were made for institutional practices concerning disability-related documentation, written standards and operations, and student identification and referral. Directions for future research focused on study skills training for students; exposure of mental health professionals to client educational needs; and expansion of the current research, on a nationwide collegiate level, and a parallel analysis focusing on business and industry. ^

Hispanic -serving land -grant colleges: Analysis and plan for an educational policy initiative

Hispanics and other minority Americans are denied access to higher education by a system that needs structural reform. The purpose of the research was to determine whether creating Hispanic-serving land-grant colleges, similar to the Morrill land-grant colleges serving Black and Native Americans, might be an effective strategy to increase the access of Hispanic students to quality higher education. In addition to published materials, data was collected from a survey of Hispanic-serving institutions and extensive interviews with college presidents, government representatives, educational association leaders, and educational historians. ^ The research examined how existing land-grant college systems came into being and how they have evolved. A look at the functions of the land-grant systems serving Blacks and Native Americans revealed promising possibilities for a system that would include more Hispanics. Legal, fiscal, curricular, and organizational criteria were inferred from the existing systems. While none of the existing land-grant systems can be adapted to serve Hispanics or most other minorities outside their limited regions, each has elements that could be adapted by a new minority-serving system. A number of colleges already have features that could make them candidates for state designation as land-grant colleges. ^ The research suggests that a new federally funded system of Morrill land-grant colleges dedicated to serving all urban Americans, not just Hispanics, would do much to increase the numbers of Hispanic students and other racially and ethnically minority Americans in good quality higher educational institutions. An inclusive urban land-grant system would be politically feasible, whereas one meant to serve Hispanics alone would not. Because of their urban locations, these universities would serve large concentrations of minority citizens of all ethnic groups. ^ Finally, the basic elements of a strategic plan are presented for an educational organization to use for organizing leaders of minority educational associations, financing an initiative to lobby Congress, eliciting legislative and federal agency support, and securing the assistance of other educational, industrial, and special interest groups. The plan includes a suggested timetable for action. Recommendations are made for innovations that would make such a higher education system distinctive and would help meet important national needs. ^

Assessing an automated, information -sharing technology in the post "9 -11" era: Do local law enforcement officers think it meets their needs?

In the wake of the “9-11” terrorists' attacks, the U.S. Government has turned to information technology (IT) to address a lack of information sharing among law enforcement agencies. This research determined if and how information-sharing technology helps law enforcement by examining the differences in perception of the value of IT between law enforcement officers who have access to automated regional information sharing and those who do not. It also examined the effect of potential intervening variables such as user characteristics, training, and experience, on the officers' evaluation of IT. The sample was limited to 588 officers from two sheriff's offices; one of them (the study group) uses information sharing technology, the other (the comparison group) does not. Triangulated methodologies included surveys, interviews, direct observation, and a review of agency records. Data analysis involved the following statistical methods: descriptive statistics, Chi-Square, factor analysis, principal component analysis, Cronbach's Alpha, Mann-Whitney tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Scheffe' post hoc analysis. ^ Results indicated a significant difference between groups: the study group perceived information sharing technology as being a greater factor in solving crime and in increasing officer productivity. The study group was more satisfied with the data available to it. As to the number of arrests made, information sharing technology did not make a difference. Analysis of the potential intervening variables revealed several remarkable results. The presence of a strong performance management imperative (in the comparison sheriff's office) appeared to be a factor in case clearances and arrests, technology notwithstanding. As to the influence of user characteristics, level of education did not influence a user's satisfaction with technology, but user-satisfaction scores differed significantly among years of experience as a law enforcement officer and the amount of computer training, suggesting a significant but weak relationship. ^ Therefore, this study finds that information sharing technology assists law enforcement officers in doing their jobs. It also suggests that other variables such as computer training, experience, and management climate should be accounted for when assessing the impact of information technology. ^

A deontic analysis of inter -organizational control requirements

This research focuses on the design and verification of inter-organizational controls. Instead of looking at a documentary procedure, which is the flow of documents and data among the parties, the research examines the underlying deontic purpose of the procedure, the so-called deontic process, and identifies control requirements to secure this purpose. The vision of the research is a formal theory for streamlining bureaucracy in business and government procedures. ^ Underpinning most inter-organizational procedures are deontic relations, which are about rights and obligations of the parties. When all parties trust each other, they are willing to fulfill their obligations and honor the counter parties’ rights; thus controls may not be needed. The challenge is in cases where trust may not be assumed. In these cases, the parties need to rely on explicit controls to reduce their exposure to the risk of opportunism. However, at present there is no analytic approach or technique to determine which controls are needed for a given contracting or governance situation. ^ The research proposes a formal method for deriving inter-organizational control requirements based on static analysis of deontic relations and dynamic analysis of deontic changes. The formal method will take a deontic process model of an inter-organizational transaction and certain domain knowledge as inputs to automatically generate control requirements that a documentary procedure needs to satisfy in order to limit fraud potentials. The deliverables of the research include a formal representation namely Deontic Petri Nets that combine multiple modal logics and Petri nets for modeling deontic processes, a set of control principles that represent an initial formal theory on the relationships between deontic processes and documentary procedures, and a working prototype that uses model checking technique to identify fraud potentials in a deontic process and generate control requirements to limit them. Fourteen scenarios of two well-known international payment procedures—cash in advance and documentary credit—have been used to test the prototype. The results showed that all control requirements stipulated in these procedures could be derived automatically.^

Effects of sex, third grade reading achievement and motivation as predictors of fourth grade reading achievement of Hispanic students: A path analysis

This study explored the topic of motivation for intermediate students combining both an objective criterion measure (i.e., standardized test scores) and the self-report of students on self-concept and value of reading. The purpose of this study was to examine how third grade reading achievement correlated with the motivation of fourth grade boys and girls, and, in turn, how motivation related to fourth grade reading achievement. The participants were fourth grade students (n=207) attending two public, elementary schools in Miami-Dade County who were of primarily Hispanic origin or descent. Data were collected using the Reading Survey portion of the Motivation to Read Profile (1996) which measures self-concept and value of reading in order to measure motivation and the Third and Fourth Grade Reading Florida Comprehensive Assessment Tests 2.0 (FCAT 2.0) to assess achievement. First, a one way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was conducted to determine whether motivation differed significantly between fourth grade boys and girls. Second, a path analysis was used to determine whether motivation mediated or moderated the association between FCAT 2.0 third and fourth grade scores. Results of the ANOVA indicated that motivation, as measured by the Motivation to Read Profile did not differ significantly by sex. Results from the path analysis indicated that the model was significant and that third grade FCAT 2.0 scores accounted for a significant amount of the variance in fourth grade FCAT 2.0 scores once motivation was entered. Results of the study demonstrated that motivation partially mediates, but does not moderate the relationship between FCAT 2.0 third and fourth grade scores. In conclusion, it can be determined that past student achievement for fourth grade students plays a role in current student achievement when motivation is also considered. It is therefore important in order to improve the quality of fourth grade student's current performance to take into account a student's motivation and past achievement. An effort must be made to address students' motivational needs whether through school wide programs or at the classroom level in addition or in conjunction with cognition. Future research on the effect of self-concept in reading achievement is recommended.

Analysis of global compliance and implementation of the goals of international environmental treaties: A case study of the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD)

The Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) was created in 1992 to coordinate global governments to protect biological resources. The CBD has three goals: protection of biodiversity, achievement of sustainable use of biodiversity and facilitation of equitable sharing of the benefits of biological resources. The goal of protecting biological resources has remained both controversial and difficult to implement. This study focused more on the goal of biodiversity protection. The research was designed to examine how globally constructed environmental policies get adapted by national governments and then passed down to local levels where actual implementation takes place. Effectiveness of such policies depends on the extent of actual implementation at local levels. Therefore, compliance was divided and examined at three levels: global, national and local. The study then developed various criteria to measure compliance at these levels. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to analyze compliance and implementation. The study was guided by three questions broadly examining critical factors that most influence the implementation of biodiversity protection policies at the global, national and local levels. Findings show that despite an overall biodiversity deficit of 0.9 hectares per person, global compliance with the CBD goals is currently at 35%. Compliance is lowest at local levels at 14%, it is slightly better at national level at 50%, and much better at the international level 64%. Compliance appears higher at both national and international levels because compliance here is paper work based and policy formulation. If implementation at local levels continues to produce this low compliance, overall conservation outcomes can only get worse than what it is at present. There are numerous weaknesses and capacity challenges countries are yet to address in their plans. In order to increase local level compliance, the study recommends a set of robust policies that build local capacity, incentivize local resource owners, and implement biodiversity protection programs that are akin to local needs and aspirations.^

The relationship between socioeconomic status, course delivery method, and student success at a state college: A single institution analysis

In an effort to improve instruction and better accommodate the needs of students, community colleges are offering courses delivered in a variety of delivery formats that require students to have some level of technology fluency to be successful in the course. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between student socioeconomic status (SES), course delivery method, and course type on enrollment, final course grades, course completion status, and course passing status at a state college. ^ A dataset for 20,456 students of low and not low SES enrolled in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) course types delivered using traditional, online, blended, and web enhanced course delivery formats at Miami Dade College, a large open access 4-year state college located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, was analyzed. A factorial ANOVA using course type, course delivery method, and student SES found no significant differences in final course grades when used to determine if course delivery methods were equally effective for students of low and not low SES taking STEM course types. Additionally, three chi-square goodness-of-fit tests were used to investigate for differences in enrollment, course completion and course passing status by SES, course type, and course delivery method. The findings of the chi-square tests indicated that: (a) there were significant differences in enrollment by SES and course delivery methods for the Engineering/Technology, Math, and overall course types but not for the Natural Science course type and (b) there were no significant differences in course completion status and course passing status by SES and course types overall and SES and course delivery methods overall. However, there were statistically significant but weak relationships between course passing status, SES and the math course type as well as between course passing status, SES, and online and traditional course delivery methods. ^ The mixed findings in the study indicate that strides have been made in closing the theoretical gap in education and technology skills that may exist for students of different SES levels. MDC's course delivery and student support models may assist other institutions address student success in courses that necessitate students having some level of technology fluency. ^

A Deontic Analysis of Inter-Organizational Control Requirements

This research focuses on the design and verification of inter-organizational controls. Instead of looking at a documentary procedure, which is the flow of documents and data among the parties, the research examines the underlying deontic purpose of the procedure, the so-called deontic process, and identifies control requirements to secure this purpose. The vision of the research is a formal theory for streamlining bureaucracy in business and government procedures. Underpinning most inter-organizational procedures are deontic relations, which are about rights and obligations of the parties. When all parties trust each other, they are willing to fulfill their obligations and honor the counter parties’ rights; thus controls may not be needed. The challenge is in cases where trust may not be assumed. In these cases, the parties need to rely on explicit controls to reduce their exposure to the risk of opportunism. However, at present there is no analytic approach or technique to determine which controls are needed for a given contracting or governance situation. The research proposes a formal method for deriving inter-organizational control requirements based on static analysis of deontic relations and dynamic analysis of deontic changes. The formal method will take a deontic process model of an inter-organizational transaction and certain domain knowledge as inputs to automatically generate control requirements that a documentary procedure needs to satisfy in order to limit fraud potentials. The deliverables of the research include a formal representation namely Deontic Petri Nets that combine multiple modal logics and Petri nets for modeling deontic processes, a set of control principles that represent an initial formal theory on the relationships between deontic processes and documentary procedures, and a working prototype that uses model checking technique to identify fraud potentials in a deontic process and generate control requirements to limit them. Fourteen scenarios of two well-known international payment procedures -- cash in advance and documentary credit -- have been used to test the prototype. The results showed that all control requirements stipulated in these procedures could be derived automatically.

Text analytics of social media: Sentiment analysis, event detection and summarization

In the last decade, large numbers of social media services have emerged and been widely used in people's daily life as important information sharing and acquisition tools. With a substantial amount of user-contributed text data on social media, it becomes a necessity to develop methods and tools for text analysis for this emerging data, in order to better utilize it to deliver meaningful information to users. ^ Previous work on text analytics in last several decades is mainly focused on traditional types of text like emails, news and academic literatures, and several critical issues to text data on social media have not been well explored: 1) how to detect sentiment from text on social media; 2) how to make use of social media's real-time nature; 3) how to address information overload for flexible information needs. ^ In this dissertation, we focus on these three problems. First, to detect sentiment of text on social media, we propose a non-negative matrix tri-factorization (tri-NMF) based dual active supervision method to minimize human labeling efforts for the new type of data. Second, to make use of social media's real-time nature, we propose approaches to detect events from text streams on social media. Third, to address information overload for flexible information needs, we propose two summarization framework, dominating set based summarization framework and learning-to-rank based summarization framework. The dominating set based summarization framework can be applied for different types of summarization problems, while the learning-to-rank based summarization framework helps utilize the existing training data to guild the new summarization tasks. In addition, we integrate these techneques in an application study of event summarization for sports games as an example of how to better utilize social media data. ^

Risk Based Post Closure Care Analysis for Florida Landfills

Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) requires a post closure period of 30 years for non hazardous wastes in landfills. Post closure care (PCC) activities under Subtitle D include leachate collection and treatment, groundwater monitoring, inspection and maintenance of the final cover, and monitoring to ensure that landfill gas does not migrate off site or into on site buildings. The decision to reduce PCC duration requires exploration of a performance based methodology to Florida landfills. PCC should be based on whether the landfill is a threat to human health or the environment. Historically no risk based procedure has been available to establish an early end to PCC. Landfill stability depends on a number of factors that include variables that relate to operations both before and after the closure of a landfill cell. Therefore, PCC decisions should be based on location specific factors, operational factors, design factors, post closure performance, end use, and risk analysis. The question of appropriate PCC period for Florida’s landfills requires in depth case studies focusing on the analysis of the performance data from closed landfills in Florida. Based on data availability, Davie Landfill was identified as case study site for a case by case analysis of landfill stability. The performance based PCC decision system developed by Geosyntec Consultants was used for the assessment of site conditions to project PCC needs. The available data for leachate and gas quantity and quality, ground water quality, and cap conditions were evaluated. The quality and quantity data for leachate and gas were analyzed to project the levels of pollutants in leachate and groundwater in reference to maximum contaminant level (MCL). In addition, the projected amount of gas quantity was estimated. A set of contaminants (including metals and organics) were identified as contaminants detected in groundwater for health risk assessment. These contaminants were selected based on their detection frequency and levels in leachate and ground water; and their historical and projected trends. During the evaluations a range of discrepancies and problems that related to the collection and documentation were encountered and possible solutions made. Based on the results of PCC performance integrated with risk assessment, projection of future PCC monitoring needs and sustainable waste management options were identified. According to these results, landfill gas monitoring can be terminated, leachate and groundwater monitoring for parameters above MCL and surveying of the cap integrity should be continued. The parameters which cause longer monitoring periods can be eliminated for the future sustainable landfills. As a conclusion, 30 year PCC period can be reduced for some of the landfill components based on their potential impacts to human health and environment (HH&E).

Text Analytics of Social Media: Sentiment Analysis, Event Detection and Summarization

In the last decade, large numbers of social media services have emerged and been widely used in people's daily life as important information sharing and acquisition tools. With a substantial amount of user-contributed text data on social media, it becomes a necessity to develop methods and tools for text analysis for this emerging data, in order to better utilize it to deliver meaningful information to users. Previous work on text analytics in last several decades is mainly focused on traditional types of text like emails, news and academic literatures, and several critical issues to text data on social media have not been well explored: 1) how to detect sentiment from text on social media; 2) how to make use of social media's real-time nature; 3) how to address information overload for flexible information needs. In this dissertation, we focus on these three problems. First, to detect sentiment of text on social media, we propose a non-negative matrix tri-factorization (tri-NMF) based dual active supervision method to minimize human labeling efforts for the new type of data. Second, to make use of social media's real-time nature, we propose approaches to detect events from text streams on social media. Third, to address information overload for flexible information needs, we propose two summarization framework, dominating set based summarization framework and learning-to-rank based summarization framework. The dominating set based summarization framework can be applied for different types of summarization problems, while the learning-to-rank based summarization framework helps utilize the existing training data to guild the new summarization tasks. In addition, we integrate these techneques in an application study of event summarization for sports games as an example of how to better utilize social media data.