Digital Commons Network^™

High School Teacher’S Acceptance Of Technology And Privacy Concerns In The 1:1 Initiative Laptop Program, Ronald Gatewood Jr

Theses and Dissertations

Prior research has shown teachers’ attitudes, teachers’ preparation for using technology, and the availability of technology had significant positive associations with technology integration. However, research has shown that teachers do not fully utilize technology, they fail to implement it thoroughly due to a lack of time needed for planning the implementation of technology into the curriculum, and they do not have adequate training which contributes to underutilization of technology. Due to a lack of research from the teachers’ perspective of technology acceptance, the purpose of this study was to examine high school teachers’ acceptance and use of technology and determine …

Investigating The Use And Effectiveness Of The Istation Advanced Reading Program With Fourth-Grade At-Risk Struggling Readers, Andres Martinez

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of computer-based-instruction (CBI) and multimedia when used as an intervention with upper elementary students experiencing reading difficulties on the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) Reading Assessments. The researcher employed a quantitative, causal-comparative research design for this study. A Texas supplemental reading program, the Istation Advanced Reading Program, was used as a Response to Intervention (RTI) for those at-risk students of failing their Reading STAAR Test in the fourth grade and to sustain an effective reading program district-wide.

Archived data was collected from three South Texas Title I …

Agricultural Educators’ Personal Characteristics And Self-Efficacy Beliefs Regarding Stem Education, Rachel Hendrix

Theses and Dissertations

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education is becoming an integral part of modern agricultural education. If the integration of STEM into agricultural education is to succeed, it is vital that educators feel confident in their ability to teach such material. This study examines Tennessee and Mississippi agricultural educators’ personal teaching efficacy and outcome expectancy levels towards STEM subjects and identifies factors that may play a role in the development of STEM teaching efficacy. Analysis indicated that educators felt most confident in their ability to teach science, followed by technology, mathematics and then engineering. Factors that influenced STEM personal teaching …

We Can Go The Distance: Communicating Through Conflicts In Long-Distance Friendships, Lindsay Faith Kelpinski

Theses and Dissertations

When conflict arises in long-distance friendships (LDFs), the friends might use technology-based channels to communicate about these conflicts. Given the distance, when the friendship partners want to address challenges that arise, they must use channels available to them to discuss these problems. The goal of this study was to understand how these LDFs address and manage conflict when using technology as their primary means of communication and what common approaches they have when negotiating these conflicts. To gather perspectives of how individuals should communicate about their conflicts, focus groups were conducted. Four focus occurred which consisted of college students at …

A Pedagogy Of Techno-Social Relationality: Ethics And Digital Multimodality In The Composition Classroom, Kristin M. Ravel

Theses and Dissertations

I bring together the relational ethics of feminist critical theory with approaches of multimodal rhetoric to examine the ethical implications of composing on social media platforms. Most social media platforms are designed to value consumerism, efficiency, quantity of web traffic, and constant synchronous response over concerns of responsible and critical communication. I propose a rhetorical approach of techno-social relationality (TSR) as an intervention against such corporate-minded design. Through this approach, I argue that civil engagement is not limited to people’s social responsibilities but rather is entwined in complex, material-technical contexts. By considering the responsibility of our machines as much as …

Schizotypy As A Predictor For Social Media Use And Internet Addiction Behaviors In Emerging Adults, Devin Massaro

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the unique domains/symptom clusters within schizotypy as they relate to Facebook use and internet addiction behaviors, while controlling for co-morbid disorders such as depression and anxiety. Using an online survey, this study measured electronic media use, internet addiction behavior, and schizotypy in 270 undergraduate students (aged 18-30). We expected mood symptoms of anxiety and depression to predict both internet addiction and Facebook use in this sample, and controlled for these variables accordingly. We hypothesized that schizotypy would contribute significantly to the prediction of internet addiction and Facebook use above and beyond anxiety, depression, and demographic variables and …

Game On, Theresa Loong

Theses and Dissertations

Game On is a 25-minute documentary about game designer Brenda Romero, a successful woman in a male-dominated industry. Brenda, whose career spans over thirty-five pioneering years, has contributed to almost fifty game titles, developing innovative video and board games. How is her life a game space?

Evaluating The Effect Of Approach-Avoidance Training On Action Tendencies For Individuals With Skin Picking Disorder, Abel Steven Mathew

Theses and Dissertations

Pathological skin picking (PSP) or excoriation disorder is a destructive behavior that affects 1-2% of the general population. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the effect of a computerized behavior modification task on action tendencies (i.e., approach or avoidance) in adults with PSP. We aimed to reduce these action tendencies by having participants with PSP complete the Approach-Avoidance Training (AAT) task. Thirty-two participants with PSP were placed in one of three training conditions: (1) Avoidance Training (AvT) (2) Approach Training (ApT) (3) Placebo Training (PT). Using a joystick to simulate an approach (=pull) or avoidance (=push) response, …

Teachers' Attitudes And Perceptions On Bring Your Own Device Programs In The Secondary Classroom, Michelle Marie Cavazos

Theses and Dissertations

Cavazos, Michelle M., Teachers' Attitudes and Perceptions on Bring Your Own Device Programs in the Secondary Classroom. Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), March 2019, 105 pp., 3 tables, 4 figures. The purpose of this research is to investigate teacher attitudes and perceptions of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) on learning in the secondary classroom. The study was completed as a qualitative narrative inquiry. The study took place in a high school that has had BYOD policies in place since the beginning of the establishment of the campus. The manuscript brings forward the themes and reflections that represent teacher attitudes and perceptions …

Teachers' Perceptions And Practices On Using Educational Technology As An Instructional Tool In The Classroom, Amanda Lee Resendez

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the rapid expansion of educational technologies in primary schools, recent research has shown that many teachers are not taking full advantage of these new tools. This study was designed to address the problem of the lack of effective technology integration in the classroom, particularly in grades third thru fifth at two school districts in the Rio Grande Valley. The purpose of this study was to examine primary teachers' perceptions of implementing technology in the classroom. Framed by Koehler and Mishra's technological pedagogical content knowledge model (TPACK), the study was guided by research questions that involved teachers' perceptions of the …

Evaluating The Effect Of Approach-Avoidance Training On Action Tendencies For Individuals With Skin Picking Disorder, Abel Steven Mathew

Theses and Dissertations

Pathological skin picking (PSP) or excoriation disorder is a destructive behavior that affects 1-2% of the general population. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the effect of a computerized behavior modification task on action tendencies (i.e., approach or avoidance) in adults with PSP. We aimed to reduce these action tendencies by having participants with PSP complete the Approach-Avoidance Training (AAT) task. Thirty-two participants with PSP were placed in one of three training conditions: (1) Avoidance Training (AvT) (2) Approach Training (ApT) (3) Placebo Training (PT). Using a joystick to simulate an approach (=pull) or avoidance (=push) response, …

Fast Glass: Modernity, Technology, And The Cinematic Lens, Allain Daigle

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation tells a cultural history of how lenses became cinema lenses. While lenses are essential for film production, we know very little about the early history of cinema lenses. Rather than just focusing on which lenses were used on certain movies, I historicize how lens production became an industry. Between the 1880s and the 1920s, lens production shifted from an artisanal craft to a commercial industry. By looking at how companies created lenses for film production and projection, I expand early film history to account for the creative work of opticians, engineers, advertisers, and distributors. In more specifically focusing …

Mobile Technology Use As A Moderator For Understanding The Relationship Between Intrinsic Motivation And Grades, David Seckman

Theses and Dissertations

Mobile technology is a tool learners rely on. The purpose of this study was to determine if mobile technology use moderates the relationship between intrinsic motivation and grades. Findings show that students with higher intrinsic motivation will have higher grades regardless of whether or not they use technology frequently for their course and regardless of whether or not they perceive mobile technology as valuable for learning in their course. There were positive correlations between students’ intrinsic motivation, and multiple facets of their intrinsic motivation, with their current and expected grades. Furthermore, frequency and value of mobile technology use, individually, were …

Evaluation Of A Wearable Activity Schedule For Promoting Independent Play In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Basak Topcuoglu

Theses and Dissertations

Activity schedules are an antecedent intervention in which a series of visual cues, presented typically in booklets or binders, function as prompts for steps in a behavior chain (e.g., classroom routine, playing hide and seek). Although activity schedules are useful in getting individuals to manage their own behaviors, their typical presentation format can be cumbersome and stigmatizing for children placed in general education classrooms, placing additional barriers for independence and inclusion across environments for these children. Some researchers have used electronic devices such as tablets to display activity schedules, and although more socially acceptable, these are still cumbersome for young …

Gender And Organizational Citizenship Behavior In Library Technology: Mixed Methods Study, Sharon Whitfield

Theses and Dissertations

Academic librarianship continues to be a feminized profession, yet there are specializations within the profession that tend to be gender segregated, such as library technology. In this mixed methods study, women technology librarians' behaviors are examined through the gendered lens of organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs), which are discretionary, voluntary acts that are outside an employee's job description (Organ, 1988), but help shape the organizational culture and facilitate organizational functioning (Podsakoff & MacKenzie, 1997). This mixed methods study uses a survey to inform the extent of differences in organizational citizenship behaviors between men and women, and interviews to provide new insight …

Integrating Technology Into The Literacy Curriculum Within A First Grade Classroom, Christina M. Hargrove

Theses and Dissertations

Technology is ingrained in almost every part of our culture, affecting the way we live, work, play, and learn. Most careers in this day and age require professionals to be proficient in the new literacies of 21st-century technologies. Thus, it only makes sense that technology be used in classrooms with even our youngest learners to help prepare our students to be successful in their futures. This research explores what happens when technology is integrated into the literacy curriculum within a first grade classroom. To this end, technology was integrated into a multitude of literacy lessons and classroom routines. Results revealed …

Examining The Influence Of Technoference On Sexual Satisfaction And Relationship Satisfaction Using Actor-Partner Interdependence Modeling Among Young Adult Couples, Christopher J. Hipp

Theses and Dissertations

Young adult couples experience differing levels of relationship and sexual satisfaction throughout the development and duration of their relationship. The levels of relationship and sexual satisfaction depend on factors associated with expectations by the individual members of what constitutes acceptable rewards and costs for the continuance of the relationship. Technology use within a relationship is a relatively new concept in research shown to produce potential rewards and costs that influence relationship development and/or sustainment; however, the results of technology use in romantic relationships remains an understudied area. Even less is known about the effects of technoference on young adult couples’ …

North American Data, Joseph A. Burwell

Theses and Dissertations

North American Data fractures and reconfigures pre-existing narratives into new, unauthorized forms of storytelling. Core samples extracted from various narrative sources are reassigned new roles according to their proximity to each other. This paper functions as an introduction to the essential actors and their dramatic inclinations within fluctuating scenarios.

Implementing Technology Enhanced Mathematical Instruction In An Algebra I Course To Increase Students’ Academic Achievement In Mathematics, Carlos Marrero

Theses and Dissertations

In July 2015, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics established its position about the use of technology in teaching and learning mathematics. This important step forward opened a promise for many students and teachers that deserve the excellence of high-quality education in one of the most difficult educational subjects. In the 21st century, mathematics education can be one of the greatest recipients of all technological benefits reached by the most advanced societies of the earth.

The purpose of this applied dissertation was to measure the effects in mathematics academic achievement of implementing technology-enhanced mathematical instruction to a group of …

China Study: Emerging Challenges In Social Security, Health Care, And Leadership (Volume I), Patrick D. Huff

Theses and Dissertations

China is poised to introduce sweeping innovation and disruptive social change onto their national stage. As China’s leadership, economic power, and authority increase the country will be subject to increasing internal and external challenges. This study seeks to identify the significant internal social challenges China is most likely to confront along its path to global leadership. The purpose is to explore and discover the social challenges that are likely to face China and to predict the direction the country’s leadership will take over the next decade. The study approaches the problem by undertaking an initial 9-step process of investigating 6 …

China Study: Emerging Challenges In Social Security, Health Care, And Leadership (Volume Ii), Patrick D. Huff

Theses and Dissertations

China is poised to introduce sweeping innovation and disruptive social change onto their national stage. As China’s leadership, economic power, and authority increase the country will be subject to increasing internal and external challenges. This study seeks to identify the significant internal social challenges China is most likely to confront along its path to global leadership. The purpose is to explore and discover the social challenges that are likely to face China and to predict the direction the country’s leadership will take over the next decade. The study approaches the problem by undertaking an initial 9-step process of investigating 6 …