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Examining The Influence Of The Classroom Environment On Motivation, Belonging, And Academic Confidence In Engineering Education: A Relational Developmental Systems Approach, Robert O'Hara Aug 2023

Examining The Influence Of The Classroom Environment On Motivation, Belonging, And Academic Confidence In Engineering Education: A Relational Developmental Systems Approach, Robert O'Hara

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This dissertation explores the impact of the classroom environment on undergraduate engineering students by integrating three manuscripts using the process-person-context-time (PPCT) model within Bioecological Systems Theory. Each manuscript focused on students’ sense of belonging, motivation, and academic confidence. The study confirms prior research suggesting a link between students' perceptions of the environment and their sense of belonging, motivation, and academic confidence. The findings highlight the complex nature of student and classroom environment relationships throughout their college experience. Moreover, the results are demonstrated across different engineering majors. Overall, this dissertation highlights the significance of understanding the complex interactions between students and …


Measures Taken At The Institutional Level To Prepare And Motivate Students To Perform Well On The Associate Constructor Exam, Abhya Anjan Sinha Aug 2017

Measures Taken At The Institutional Level To Prepare And Motivate Students To Perform Well On The Associate Constructor Exam, Abhya Anjan Sinha

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Construction education is relatively young as a discipline in academia. Due to the combination of the diverse curriculum offered by different construction programs and the unique nature of every construction project, it is very challenging to standardize the skill set demands of industry. A certification exam has the potential of acting as a bridge between the requirements of both industry and formal college education. As observed, the student AC exam pass rate varies for every construction program by a relatively large margin. The objective of this research was to identify the factors responsible for this variation in results and make …


A Comparison Of Adolescents' Digital And Print Reading Experiences: Does Mode Matter?, Heather J. Mccrea-Andrews Aug 2014

A Comparison Of Adolescents' Digital And Print Reading Experiences: Does Mode Matter?, Heather J. Mccrea-Andrews

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The purpose of this mixed-methods research study was to investigate the comprehension and motivation of 36, sixth-grade students reading moderately challenging text under two conditions: Nook or book. Using a Sequential Explanatory Design model, quantitative data were collected prior to qualitative data collection (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011). A Matched Pairs Design model (Hinkle, Wiersma, & Jurs, 2003) was employed for the quantitative portion of the study with 18 participants randomly assigned to the Nook group and 18 participants randomly assigned to the book group. Nook group participants were instructed to use the following electronic features during reading: highlighting, note …


Using Self-Concept Theory To Understand Event Volunteer Motivation, Satisfaction And Intent, Jarrett Bachman May 2014

Using Self-Concept Theory To Understand Event Volunteer Motivation, Satisfaction And Intent, Jarrett Bachman

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The growth and increased popularity of festivals and events has led to a need for examination of many aspects of festival production. One area that is vital to festival success is an efficiently run volunteer program that can contribute to the financial, social, and cultural impacts of a festival or event. One of the fastest growing niches in the event marketplace is large-scale music festivals. As the majority of income in the music industry has shifted from recorded to live music, a steep increase in the quantity and size of music festivals has occurred in the United States. As a …


An Exploratory Study On The Effects Of Goal Alignment, Interventions, And Motivational Factors On Innovative Engineering Design Projects, Blake Linnerud Dec 2013

An Exploratory Study On The Effects Of Goal Alignment, Interventions, And Motivational Factors On Innovative Engineering Design Projects, Blake Linnerud

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Innovation has become an important facet of engineering design, both in industry and the academy. Many senior-level engineering design courses encourage students to develop innovative solutions to open design projects from industry sponsors. Like industry, these academic problems are tackled by teams of students. Student teams that function at the highest level are more likely to reach the innovative solutions for which they are searching. The research presented in this work focuses on two main areas: (1) understanding what motivates engineers when working on innovative design projects and (2) determining the effects of goal alignment interventions on design teams working …


Influencing Factors On Creative Tourists' Revisiting Intentions: The Roles Of Motivation, Experience And Perceived Value, Lan-Lan Chang May 2013

Influencing Factors On Creative Tourists' Revisiting Intentions: The Roles Of Motivation, Experience And Perceived Value, Lan-Lan Chang

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As Richards (2008) asserted, creative tourism is a new form of tourism that has the potential to change tourism development and make a significant contribution in differentiating and changing the tourism experience. Reviewing current literature, despite increased attention being given to the conception of creative tourism, there has been little empirical work focused on the tourists' consumption psychology of creative tourism. Thus, this study attempts to reveal tourists' intention to revisit creative tourism attractions by applying the theory of planned behavior, to explore the role of tourists' motivation, experience and perceived value on the influence of their intention to revisit …


Need-Based Moderators Of Relational And Resource Concerns And Their Relationship To Procedural Justice, Jonas Johnson Dec 2010

Need-Based Moderators Of Relational And Resource Concerns And Their Relationship To Procedural Justice, Jonas Johnson

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The current study assesses how needs influence the relationship between resource and relational concerns and procedural justice. Previous research has examined antecedents of procedural justice but often omits a consideration of individual needs in this analysis. Tyler (1994) found that the variables trust, neutrality, and status recognition were related to procedural justice because they contained variance related to relational concerns. Further research by Heuer, Penrod, Lafer, & Cohn (2002) also found that trust, neutrality, and status recognition were related to procedural justice based on resource concerns as well as relational concerns. However, no studies have examined the extent to which …


Expectancy Theory As A Predictor Of Faculty Motivation To Use A Course Management System, Marian Turcan Aug 2010

Expectancy Theory As A Predictor Of Faculty Motivation To Use A Course Management System, Marian Turcan

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The aim of this study was to explore the relationships between the elements of the Expectancy theory and faculty motivation to use a course management system. Specifically it analyzed if the elements of the Expectancy theory (Valence, Instrumentality and Expectancy) were useful in predicting faculty motivation when using Blackboard tools in teaching their courses.
A self-administered survey questionnaire was developed and used as the research instrument for this study. Four hundred and forty eight faculty members were randomly selected from eleven schools from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to analyze the data for the …


The Interaction Of Motivational Climate And Self-Determination In Examining Commitment Level In Female Youth Sport, Kyle Player Aug 2010

The Interaction Of Motivational Climate And Self-Determination In Examining Commitment Level In Female Youth Sport, Kyle Player

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Research has shown that many benefits can be derived from youth sports. Practitioners need to be equipped with the skills to provide the best youth sport experience and retain participants. This is of particular importance for females because of their tendency to dropout at higher rates than males. The purpose of this research is to describe the effect that coach-created motivational climate has on female youth athletes' self-determination and goal orientation and how these variables affect their commitment level pre to post season. Research has shown that a coach initiated mastery climate will have a positive effect on girls' self …


Autonomy As A Moderator Of The Relationship Between Situational Constraints And Task Performance, Kalifa Oliver Dec 2009

Autonomy As A Moderator Of The Relationship Between Situational Constraints And Task Performance, Kalifa Oliver

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This study examined the effects of budget constraints on task performance, and the moderating effect of autonomous motivation on the constraint-performance relationship in a simulated work situation. Level of budget constraints (none, low, high) and motivation (external versus identified) were manipulated to examine their effects on performance, frustration, and self efficacy. Study participants were randomly assigned to either one of six experimental groups (no constraint X identified motivation, low constraint X identified motivation, high constraint X identified motivation, no constraint X external motivation, low constraint X external motivation, high constraint X external motivation) and instructed to complete an assigned budgeting …


Examining Client Motivation And Counseling Outcome, Guy Ilagan Dec 2009

Examining Client Motivation And Counseling Outcome, Guy Ilagan

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University mental health clinics have experienced a marked increase in demand for services without an increase in resources to meet the rising demand. Consequently, university mental health centers need strategies to determine the best allocation of their limited resources. Transtheoretical Model, based on client motivation, may offer valuable insight into whether a university student is likely to benefit from campus mental health counseling.
The subjects included 331 university students at a liberal arts, public university in the Southeastern part of the United States. The subjects consisted of all students over age 18 who visited the research site campus mental health …


Exploring Teacher Perceptions Of Influential Facilitators Of Elementary Mathematics Professional Development: A Mixed Methods Investigation, Sandra Linder Aug 2009

Exploring Teacher Perceptions Of Influential Facilitators Of Elementary Mathematics Professional Development: A Mixed Methods Investigation, Sandra Linder

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This dissertation examines the role of the facilitator in elementary mathematics professional development. An exploratory sequential mixed methods design was utilized to answer the central research question: How do United States elementary school teachers perceive an influential facilitator of elementary mathematics professional development (EMPD)? Phase one of this study explored teacher perceptions through a phenomenological design, which informed the second phase of the study, the implementation of a survey instrument to elementary school mathematics teachers on a larger scale. This dissertation is divided into six chapters. Chapter One presents a rationale for examining the role of the facilitator in professional …


Increasing Student Motivation To Become A Successful Industrial Engineer, Danielle Lanigan Aug 2009

Increasing Student Motivation To Become A Successful Industrial Engineer, Danielle Lanigan

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This paper explores the use of the VIE theory of Motivation in the field of Industrial Engineering Education. This work focuses on two different populations of students, college students who have chosen Industrial Engineering as a major and middle school students with a predisposition toward engineering. To start, we used a mixed methods sequential explanatory study to learn more about Clemson University department of Industrial Engineering students. Quantitatively, the study found that differences exist among different subsets of Industrial Engineering students. Female students have a higher motivation than male students do, and students with university sponsored project experience have a …


Student Perceptions Of Reading Motivation In A Voluntary Summer Reading Program: A Mixed Methods Dissertation, Julie Mcgaha Aug 2009

Student Perceptions Of Reading Motivation In A Voluntary Summer Reading Program: A Mixed Methods Dissertation, Julie Mcgaha

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How might a voluntary, high school summer reading program affect students' literacy motivation? A sequential exploratory mixed methods line of research attempted to answer this question. In study 1, after completing a summer reading program, 900 students from the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades provided written responses to the open-ended question, 'What was the best thing about the summer reading program?' The researchers analyzed their responses with a phenomenological technique adapted from Moustakas (1994), yielding 11 motivational themes. In study 2, those themes guided the creation of a survey instrument, which then was administered to a different sample of 1600 …