Digital Commons Network^™

Cancer Risk Prediction With Whole Exome Sequencing And Machine Learning, Abdulrhman Fahad M Aljouie

Dissertations

Accurate cancer risk and survival time prediction are important problems in personalized medicine, where disease diagnosis and prognosis are tuned to individuals based on their genetic material. Cancer risk prediction provides an informed decision about making regular screening that helps to detect disease at the early stage and therefore increases the probability of successful treatments. Cancer risk prediction is a challenging problem. Lifestyle, environment, family history, and genetic predisposition are some factors that influence the disease onset. Cancer risk prediction based on predisposing genetic variants has been studied extensively. Most studies have examined the predictive ability of variants in known …

Strategies Exemplary Female Superintendents Use To Work With The Political Styles Of School Board Members, Leisa Winston

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this explanatory mixed-methods study was to identify the political styles of female superintendents and their school board members as perceived by superintendents. In addition, it was the purpose of this study to identify and explain the political strategies female superintendents use to work with the different political styles of board members.

Methodology: This study employed a sequential, explanatory mixed-methods design. The quantitative data were collected through surveys to identify the political styles of superintendents and their board members. The qualitative interview data explored the political strategies used by each superintendent with the different political styles of …

Exemplary Chief Nurse Executives Leading Through Storytelling, Tricia Kassab

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand and describe how exemplary human resources administrators use storytelling to lead organizations using Denning’s (2011) model. In addition, it was the purpose to understand how they use storytelling to create transformational change. Denning’s The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling highlights eight storytelling narrative patterns: to ignite action, to communicate who you are, to build your brand, to transmit values, to foster collaboration, to share knowledge, to tame the grapevine, and to share vision.

Methodology: This phenomenological qualitative study described the lived experiences of exemplary elementary chief nurse executives in California. The …

Exploring Student And Faculty Perceptions Regarding The Availability Of On-Campus Counseling Services, Stephen Wade Baker

Dissertations

This study sought to explore undergraduate and faculty perceptions about oncampus counseling services. On-campus counseling services for clarification purposes, could be understood as a behavioral health service used by undergraduate students to discuss and address identified personal issues during a semester-based academic school year. The data was collected via a written response survey and it was administered at a private Midwestern university throughout the spring, summer, and fall traditional undergraduate semesters of 2018. The study looked to understand students’ perceptions on the overall need and functionality of the current counseling services promoted at their university. Furthermore, faculty interviews were conducted …

Using Lifestyle Educational Intervention To Decrease Blood Pressure Reading Amongst African American Adults, Catherine Madu

Dissertations

Hypertension or high blood pressure is a global epidemic and a major public health challenge in the United States. Hypertension increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and renal failure. The disease disproportionately affects African Americans (AAs) and is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in this ethnic group. Effective management of hypertension decreases complications from the disease. The purpose of the clinical scholarly project (CSP) was to decrease blood pressure readings amongst AA adults, ages 18 to 65 years old using educational intervention on lifestyle modifications. A convenience sampling of 20 AA (n = 20) adult participants was …

Exploring How Philippine American Nonprofit Leaders Build Trust With Their Staff And Volunteers, Dominic Fernando Laureano

Dissertations

Purpose: Although a considerable amount of literature exists regarding leadership and trust, little research focuses on Philippine American nonprofit organizations and their leadership. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how Philippine American nonprofit leaders build trust with staff and volunteers using the five domains of competency, consistency, concern, candor, and connection.

Methodology: This phenomenological qualitative study collected data via semi-structured interviews, participant observations, and review of artifacts. The study sample was comprised of 10 Philippine American nonprofit leaders from Southern California. Weisman’s Trust Model served at the theoretical framework of the study and guided data collection and …

Effects Of Traditional Scheduling Versus Flexible Modular Scheduling On Academic Achievement, Kenny Val Holland

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to determine the effects of gender and traditional or flexible modular scheduling participation on academic performance as measured by ACT Aspire Summative Assessment scores. Scores chosen for this study were from the 2018 10th-grade students in four Arkansas high schools. The samples were chosen from two schools participating in traditional scheduling and two schools participating in flexible modular scheduling. ACT Aspire Summative Assessment scores were used to provide the academic performance data for the dependent variable used in each hypothesis. During the spring semesters of 2018, the ACT Aspire Summative Assessment was administered to …

Gender And Participating In Capturing Kids’ Hearts On Social Emotional Learning Of Ninth-Grade Students In Arkansas, Angela S. Dischinger

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand gender differences in the Social Emotional Learning of students participating in the Capturing Kids’ Hearts program at a high school in Central Arkansas. In this quantitative, causal-comparative strategy study, there were 271 ninth-grade students who participated in a presurvey of social emotional learning outcomes and 476 ninth-grade students who participated in a postsurvey of the same outcomes a year after implementation of the Capturing Kids’ Hearts program. Both samples were drawn using a convenience sampling technique. The Hanover Social Emotional Learning Student Survey instrument was used to obtain data on students’ perception …

Synthetic Cannabinoids: Characterizing Their Use And Cessation, Richard Vernon Turner

Dissertations

Since their introduction to the United States in 2008, synthetic cannabinoids became the most widely used recreational drug behind marijuana, then regressed to an estimated prevalence of less than 1%. Contrary to expectations for a drug declining in use, emergency department presentations and acute poisonings related to the use of synthetic cannabinoids are increasing. Alongside this phenomenon, a growing body of literature is beginning to uncover a relationship between psychosis and synthetic cannabinoid use. A current gap in the literature exists surrounding harm prevention methods and targeted intervention strategies for users of synthetic cannabinoids. To date, no known studies have …

An Evaluation Of School Culture And Its Impact On Student Achievement, Jeremy Johns-Klein

Dissertations

The purpose of this evaluation was to examine if a school’s culture impacts student academic achievement due to initial low attainment on state assessments and low graduation rates. The data collected provides both quantitative and qualitative information using a teacher survey, a teacher focus group, administrator interviews, and school achievement data. The results of the study indicate a need for stronger trust between teachers and administrators, increased professional development to support teaching and learning, and improved partnerships with the parents/guardians of the students. An additional result is that the school’s culture for learning can impact the achievement levels of the …

Exploring School Employee Physical Activity Behaviors And Perceptions, Ann Pulling Kuhn

Dissertations

Employee involvement in physical activity (PA) while at school has been understudied and is relatively unknown (Chen & Gu, 2018; Hunt & Metzler, 2017). The purposes of this dissertation study were to (a) describe school employees’ PA behaviors while at school, and (b) explore school employees’ perceptions of the feasibility of school employee PA interventions found to be effective in published research. An explanatory sequential mixed methods design was used to collect school employee self-reported PA behaviors and district/school demographic information via an electronic survey from 488 school employees in northern Colorado. Data were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis H test, …

“Called Forth By Imminent Dangers”: The American Gothic In Mysteries Of Detection And Detective Fiction (1799-1929), Keli Masten

Dissertations

The period from 1799 through 1929 marks a remarkable era of development for gothic themes in American mystery and investigative fiction. From early “mysteries of detection” through more structurally formalized detective stories, this project examines the differences in the gothic modes and devices employed by Charles Brockden Brown, Edgar Allan Poe, Anna Katharine Green, Mark Twain, and Dashiell Hammett, and their significant contributions to the progression of the popular gothic detective genre. Through the study of each author’s specific style and focus, there is much to learn about literary development and cultural influence. All of the authors mentioned here address …

The Effects Of Kefir And Exercise On Immune Function And Gut Health, Peter Royal Smoak

Dissertations

Cancer is one of the most prevalent diseases affecting society today, and the number of newly diagnosed cases increases every year. Unresolved inflammation is an important underlying cause of cancer and chronically elevated concentrations of inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), and C-reactive protein (CRP) are positively related to cancer incidence and progression. Cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation therapy can impair beneficial gut microbes that help to protect against pathogens and modulate immunity. Physical activity and exercise regimens improve chronic inflammation and gut microbes in cancer survivors but relatively few studies have explored the potential …

Mindfulness Intervention To Support School Engagement With At-Risk Students At An Urban Charter High School, Sarah Groark

Dissertations

Every year, more than 500,000 students drop out of school, often after years of growing disinterest and disengagement. As a result, models of school engagement are commonly used as a framework to guide interventions. Unfortunately, some students may experience high levels of dysregulation and poor executive functioning which interfere with their ability to engage in school. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a school-based mindfulness intervention would support school engagement behaviors with adolescents at an urban charter school. It was hypothesized that mindfulness would support students’ executive functioning in the areas of attention, cognitive flexibility, and emotion …

Elementary Special Education Teachers' Perceptions Of Using The Best Practices Of Video Modeling, Social Stories, And Peer Mediated Interventions To Teach Social Skills For Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Naif Ahmed Aldawood

Dissertations

Statistical data from the Centers for Disease Control (2018) indicated autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects 1 out of 59 children in American schools. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of special education teachers regarding teaching social skills for K-5 students with ASD; specifically, to see how teachers viewed the effective use of two promising practices (i.e., peer-mediated interventions and social stories) and one evidence-based intervention (i.e., video modeling). The experiences of special education teachers regarding teaching social skills to K-5 students with ASD were explored. Seven special education teachers from school districts in Colorado were interviewed …

An Assessment Of Conceptual Understanding Of Metabolic Pathways, Amani Atiyalla Abdugadar

Dissertations

Researchers have previously studied misconceptions of biochemistry topics such as photosynthesis, protein structure, and ATP-production. However, no studies have reported on students’ misconceptions regarding major metabolic pathways. Since learning metabolism builds on students’ prior knowledge, new material being learned will be affected by the presence of any misconceptions. Some of these misconceptions will be robust and thus hard to be replaced by the correct concepts. Thus, if students are to learn new material, these misconceptions must be diminished. This dissertation focused on the origins of these misconceptions, investigated what misconceptions students had on metabolism, and why students developed misconceptions instead …

The Wounded Healer: A Phenomenological Study Of The Experiences Of Counselors-In-Training With Complex Trauma Histories, Jessica Leigh Manson

Dissertations

Thirty percent of the general population report one or more traumatic experiences (National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, 2019), and samples of mental health professionals report rates of traumatic experience as high as eighty percent (Pearlman & Mac Ian, 1995). Research on the neurobiological effects of trauma highlights the possibility of a trauma history uniquely impacting counselors-in-training (CITs) in their professional development and counseling work. This study focused on understanding the experiences of counselors-in-training (CITs) with complex trauma histories. Complex trauma is defined as a form of trauma that is chronic in nature and/or timing- specifically, an event perceived as …

Phenomenological Curiosity, Ryan Russell Katz

Dissertations

This transcendental phenomenological study focused on the phenomenon of curiosity. The aim of this research was to explore the following research question with seven research participants: What does curiosity mean? Supported by semi-structured, one-on-one, in-depth phenomenological interviews as the research method, the findings revealed (a) curiosity as an energy for learning and (b) six Curiosity Archetypes defined by the way each gathers, connects, and/or utilizes data to expand consciousness and sense of meaning via creativity. Grappling with curiosity as an energy for learning presents at least three significant educational implications: (a) if curiosity is an energy for learning, then learning …

Childhood Maltreatment And Working Memory: Considering The Influence Of Anxiety And Emotion Dysregulation, Mackenzie Ann Peake Pohja

Dissertations

This study investigated female college students with and without a history of childhood maltreatment and working memory ability on a traditional and an emotional working memory task. Individual difference variables of current anxiety and emotion dysregulation were also assessed. Some research reports a working memory deficit among individuals with a history of childhood maltreatment. However, some research has not found a relationship between maltreatment history and working memory. Both anxiety and emotion dysregulation are known to be associated with childhood maltreatment. Also, anxiety and emotion dysregulation are associated with poor working memory performance. Previous research has not considered the influence …

The Impact Of Social And Cultural Factors On Minority Students’ Participation In An International Baccalaureate Diploma Program, Elizabeth Scott-Janda

Dissertations

Although concern about mathematical achievement inequities has become widespread, even in well-funded, high-performing high schools, unequal outcomes for minority and disadvantaged students can seem persistent and difficult to change despite strong efforts. This project reports on an ethnographic study that examined how social environments within schools can affect students’ choices of whether or not to attempt advanced coursework in mathematics, especially among marginalized groups like Hispanic minorities, low socio-economic status (SES) and rural populations. It considered how social and peer environments affect students’ approaches to schooling, and decisions they make that will have long-term implications for their futures. In particular, …

Model Selection For Longitudinal Data With Time-Dependent Covariates Using Generalized Method Of Moments, Maryann Nishimura Shane

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to establish measures that could be used to assess the relative fit of nested models with parameters estimated using the Generalized Method of Moments for longitudinal data with time-dependent covariates. A secondary data set collected from Filipino children was used as an example of model fitting to evaluate the quality of the assessment of fit of the Kullback-Leibler Information Criterion (KLIC) and a chi-squared statistic derived from the difference in the minimums of the quadratic forms of two candidate nested models. A simulation involving randomly-generated data sets was also used to evaluate the performance …

University President Discourse After An On-Campus Crisis, Andrea Decosmo

Dissertations

The presidents of higher education institutions (HEIs) may, at some point during their tenure, be faced with managing a crisis such as a natural disaster, an individual or group intending to harm the campus community, or a large-scale accident or student protest. While leadership can take on many forms in daily life, leadership after crisis requires communication with stakeholders and the media, and may help or hinder crisis recovery (Hincker, 2014). Understanding the elements included in HEI president post-crisis discourse may help presidents and crisis managers formulate a comprehensive crisis communication strategy, moreover, it provides the higher education community the …

Increasing Undergraduate Student Engagement In Academics: An Ecological Momentary Intervention, Kerry Douglas Duck

Dissertations

As students enter the university environment, they are presented with various commitments that may or may not impede academic performance. With the issues of student attrition and retention, there is a need to provide further tools for students to use to monitor their performance. As students’ progress to higher level coursework, expectations and time commitments increase, and self-regulation of learning becomes even more important. Researchers may be able to deliver information to help students with self-regulation of learning by leveraging new affordances in technology in students’ daily lives. The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the feasibility and associated …

Analyzing Impacts Of Transportation And Non-Transportation Activities On Human Health With An Advanced Platform For Collecting Travel And Physical Activity Data, Raed Abdullah Hasan

Dissertations

Recently much attention is paid to the lack of physical activities that may cause the health problems in many counties. Travel activities provide a certain amount of physical activities, and the active transportation, such as walking and cycling, becomes more important as an essential element of transportation. The active transportation is expected to contribute to improving human health by reducing cardiovascular disease, obesity, and premature death. However, detailed relationship between the transportation choices and human health has not been well understood. Therefore, there is a need for investigating traveler behaviors and how their choices affect physical activities and public health. …

Female Senior Student Affairs Officers’ Experiences In Decision Making Across Their Careers, Somaia Hamza Mustafa

Dissertations

This study explores the experiences of female Senior Student Affairs Officers (SSAOs) in decision-making across their careers in colleges and universities. This study focuses on female SSAOs who work in public and private institutions in the Midwest region of the United States. The experiences and perspectives of female SSAOs focused on the changes in decision-making styles while making small or large-scale decisions over time, the skillsets utilized, the challenges that they faced and the strategies that they employed. This study also explores female SSAOs’ experiences and perspectives regarding decision making when handling crises on campus.

The research design for this …

Perceptions And Experiences Of Online Learning And Synchronous Communication, Michelle Fry

Dissertations

Abstract

High-quality and effective online education is essential to the continuous growth of higher education. As online higher education grows in professional programs, it is especially pertinent to investigate learning designs for their effectiveness in supporting the acquisition of professional skills. Drawing upon the Community of Inquiry (CoI) and the Practice-Based Teaching (PBT) frameworks, this research investigated the effectiveness of one online graduate program designed for practicing teachers to learn new skills (i.e., diagnostic assessment and differentiated instruction) in teaching reading to elementary students. The learning design introduced a new component of virtual presence (i.e., synchronous communication) at strategic points …

Person-Level Sources Of Continued Influence Effect: The Roles Of Attention Control, Intolerance Of Ambiguity And Conservatism, Jinhao Chi

Dissertations

People continually rely on disinformation to make judgments after it is corrected or discredited. This phenomenon is termed the continued influence effect (CIE). Using a sample of 152 participants, the current study examined whether the CIE can be explained by a person’s political orientation, attention control (AC) levels, intolerance of ambiguity (IA) and need for specific closure (NSC). It was found that when political orientation was based on self-reports, the overall political conservatism did not predict the CIE (r = .13, p = .09) but economic conservatism did (r = .19, p < .05), suggesting that those with higher self-reported fiscally conservative attitudes may show more prolonged influence of disinformation. In addition, the overall AC levels did not predict the CIE (r = .08, p = .30), but the antisaccade scores reflecting the ability to inhibit automatic responses were a significant positive predictor of the CIE (r = .18, p < .05). Lastly, neither IA nor NSC significantly predicted the CIE (ps > .05). These findings were obtained with only one …

Assessing The Effects Of Psychopathy, Sadism, Aggression, And Boredom Proneness On Cyber Aggression Perpetration In Emerging Adults: Is Moral Disengagement To Blame?, Taylor Nocera

Dissertations

Prior research indicates that a number of dark personality traits (e.g., psychopathy and sadism) positively predict the perpetration of cyber aggression among emerging adults (e.g., Goodboy & Martin, 2015; Craker & March, 2016; Nocera & Dahlen, 2018); however, few studies have utilized psychometrically sound measures of cyber aggression developed for use with this population. Additionally, some traits that are theoretically relevant to cyber aggression (Koban, Stein, Eckhardt, & Ohler, 2018; Slonje & Smith, 2008; Varjas, Talley, Meyers, Parris, & Cutts, 2010) and have been useful predictors of other forms of aggression have received insufficient attention in the cyber aggression literature …

Digital Literacy Among Teachers: Identifying Digital Divide Among Interactive Whiteboard Users In Public High Schools, Tammy R. Oatis

Dissertations

Since No Child Left Behind Act pressure has been placed on teachers for higher achievements and accountability. Teachers are required to balance learning and integrating new technology into their curriculum, but not all teachers are. In order for teachers’ to learn how to successfully integrate new technology, they must be motivated to use new technology. This study examines the roles of digital literacy in high schools in order to identify digital divides among Digital Immigrant and Digital Native teachers who teach grades 9^th through 12^th that adopt or choose not to adopt the use IWB. This study investigates …

Social Media, Journalism And Crisis: Twitter Representation Of #Syrianrefugees In Western News Media, Ahmad Khaled Alshallal

Dissertations

Generally, there have been conflicts in the world regarding media coverage especially on #SyrianRefugees in Western media. It is undebatable that the Western states have political stability and peace; thus, they remain better hosts for asylum seekers and other refugees who come in search of greener pastures. However, current trends have hindered such countries from being ideal hubs because citizens have basic fears including those related to national security. Refugee situations have attracted lots of controversies over the years to the point that the concern is evident in the media. This dissertation explores the crisis of Syrian refugees and the …