Digital Commons Network^™

Children's Recognition Of Pride: An Experimental Approach, Darren Jason Garcia

Theses and Dissertations

Pride is elicited when a child takes credit for an achievement or exceeds a socially valued standard or expectation. Evidence suggests that pride has a distinct nonverbal expression that is recognized by adults across cultures (Tracy & Robins, 2004). Research examining when children recognize pride has yielded age discrepancies between studies that use forced-choice response formats and those that use spontaneous-response formats. Differences in children's ability to use and comprehend language may account for some of these differences. The purpose of this thesis was to examine the age at which children reliably recognize pride, while minimizing the need for children …

Optimizing Hand Crank Configuration For Therapeutic Use Of Amtrykes® For Children With Upper Extremity Motor Deficits, Jennifer Hardy

Theses and Dissertations

Objective

The purpose of this research study was to create a model to assist therapists, that determines the optimal positioning of the hand cranks when fitting a child for an AmTryke® with a disability that limits upper body strength, such as a brachial plexus injury.

Method

A fitting model was developed by testing the amount of force required to start moving the hand cranks on the AmTryke® when various amounts of weight were applied to the seat of the device. The data collected inserted into a table. A questionnaire developed and emailed to a convenient sample of pediatric physical and …

Raising Children With Type 1 Diabetes And Celiac Disease: Parental Experiences, Kerri Louise Erickson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to examine parental experiences and challenges raising children with both T1DM and CD. Twenty-six families, including 30 parents (25 mothers, 4 fathers, and one custodial grandmother), participated in a 30-60 minute audio-recorded interview designed to explore parental experiences raising children with both T1DM and CD. Participants were asked IRB approved open-ended questions about their experiences raising a child with both diseases. Direct quotations best representing categories/sub-categories were identified through selective coding. Analysis revealed seven main themes: Six themes parents are concerned about, including (a) their child's health complications, b) the challenges of …

All Animals Will Get Along In Heaven, Camila Nagata

Theses and Dissertations

My final thesis exhibition is directed towards children and parents. My goal is to create a connection between parent and child, and their past, present, and future through memory. Such a connection is accomplished through the implementation of these three different ideas in the artwork: 1) creating different layers of understanding, 2) producing everlasting memories, 3) connecting adult viewers to their past. In addition, I use principles as the foundation for each piece, such as the principles of kindness and learning. These principles are presented to the viewer through parables of current social and political issues, illustrated through my own …

Relations Between Fine Motor Skill And Parental Report Of Attention In Young Children With Neurofibromatosis Type 1, Christy Casnar

Theses and Dissertations

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is one of the most common genetic disorders presenting in approximately 1 in 3,000 live births. NF1 is a highly variable condition with a large number of complications. A common complication is neuropsychological problems, including developmental delays and learning difficulties that affect as many as 60% of patients. Research has suggested the children with NF1 often have poorer fine motor skills and are at greater risk for attention difficulties than the general population. Furthermore, recent research is beginning to demonstrate a relationship between fine motor skills and attention in older children; however, very little research has …

Analysis Of Contributing Factors To Obesity In Children And Adolescents In Southwest Georgia, Sydney L. Worthy

Theses and Dissertations

Today more than 23 million U.S. children and adolescents are either obese or overweight. Hospital costs from obesity-related diseases in youth have increased from $35 million (0.43% of total hospital costs) during 1979 to 1981 to $127 million (1.79% of total costs) during 1997 to 1999. During the Pathway to Med School program, I collaborated with three other students to develop a research project on childhood and adolescent obesity. We conducted surveys at nine different primary care clinics in the southwest Georgia area. Approval was sought by the Institutional Review Board of Phoebe Putney Memorial Health System and Albany Area …

The Impact Of Medicaid Reform On Dental Practice Setting, Barrett W. R. Peters

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: To assess the impact of dental Medicaid reform in Virginia on dental practice settings (private practice, corporate practice and safety net clinics). Methods: This retrospective cohort study of 16.2 million dental claims is from the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services, which included claims for providers participating in Virginia’s Medicaid program during a 10-year period (2002-2012). The dividing date for the reform was July 1, 2005. The outcome measure was mean claims per participating provider. A Poisson regression model was used to predict the mean number of claims per provider with the following predictors: reform period, practice setting, provider …

The Impact Of Perpetrator Gender On Child Protective Services Sexual Abuse Cases: A National Picture, David Axlyn Mcleod

Theses and Dissertations

Child sexual assault is a problem of epidemic proportions in the United States with some research suggesting up to one fifth of our nations children being victimized before reaching adulthood. Research has suggested females could be responsible for up to 20% of child sexual abuse cases, and at the same time only represent only 1% of sexual offenders incarcerated the US. This creates a situation where a large group of relatively under-researched offenders are evading detection. Numerous calls for further research have been made, but relatively few studies have had the ability to shed significant light on this phenomenon on …

The Effects Of Attentional Focus Cues And Feedback On Motor Skill Learning In Children, Melanie Elizabeth Perreault

Theses and Dissertations

Considerable research over the past decade has produced overwhelming evidence to support the motor learning advantage associated with an external focus of attention. Despite this robust finding, very few studies have investigated attentional focus effects with children. This is surprising given that considerable information processing differences exist between children and adults that have the potential to influence motor performance and learning. Therefore, two studies were conducted to determine the effect of attentional focus cues and feedback on motor learning in children. In the first study, 42 children ages 9 to 11 were recruited from an afterschool program and randomly assigned …

Clinician Conceptualizations Of Post-Migration Refugee Youth Previously Exposed To Political Violence, Sara Michele Mehrabani

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have examined the experience of distress with refugee children and adolescents who have been exposed to political violence. Recognition has also been given to migration stress and traumatic grief as additional stressors in the lives of refugee youth. Studies in this area have established the fact that development appears to influence the expression of distress in youth who have experienced adverse experiences such as political violence. Reaction to political violence and the refugee experience also appear mediated by culture as well as other contextual factors such as the nature of the violence. The purpose of this study was to …

Classroom Exercise Breaks And Educational Outcomes In Elementary School Students, Erin Kaye Howie

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has shown that physical activity may have beneficial effects on cognitive performance and academic achievement in children, but the optimal type and dose are unknown. Classroom exercise breaks are one type of physical activity opportunity in schools, with the potential to reach a large number of children. The purpose of this dissertation was to describe the prevalence and characteristics of classroom exercise breaks in central South Carolina, and to determine the acute effects of classroom exercise breaks on executive functions, math performance, on-task behavior and affective responses in 9 to 12 year-old children. Additionally, the dissertation examined the …

Arabic Typography Play, Sarah Alfalah

Theses and Dissertations

I believe that spoken and written languages are verbal and visual expressions of cultures. Language is used to convey and sustain values and the belief system of people. Arabic is a language of complexity and formal beauty that is being disregarded and pushed away by its own native speakers. It is losing its value in the Arab world. In other words it is dying. Both the written and spoken language is being affected. As the world is interchanging, integrating, and becoming closer, there has been a strong impact on many societies, threatening their original culture. Arab cultures are abandoning the …