Digital Commons Network^™

Cultural Trauma, History Making, And The Politics Of Ethnic Identity Among Afghan Hazaras, Melissa S. Kerr Chiovenda

Doctoral Dissertations

Based on 18 months of fieldwork in Bamyan and West Kabul, Afghanistan among ethnic Hazara civil society activists, I examine civil society groups’ protests and memorialization activities as social and political acts of collective and cultural trauma generation and dissemination. The activists’ protests seek to secure greater rights, security and infrastructural development in Hazara populated areas, and memorialize past rights violations and atrocities against Hazaras. Through protests, literature and social media, the retelling of traumatic events inculcates and spreads collective trauma. And the framing of these past events as a present existential threat merges with a widespread sense that Hazara …

The Role Of Prospective And Retrospective Cognition In Adolescent Mental Health, Gabriel F. Byer-Alcorace

Doctoral Dissertations

This study attempted to replicate the methods of Miles, MacLeod, and Pote (2004) who attempted to extend the application of a theory proposed by Andrew MacLeod and colleagues in the late 1990s. Only the aforementioned study has examined this theory with adolescents ages 14 to 19 year olds enrolled in public schools and 18 to 19 year olds enrolled universities. In the present study 169 students were asked to complete an assessment battery containing measures of depression, anxiety, stress, hope, and demographic information, as well as completing a positive and negative cognition task. It was hypothesized that a strong negative …

Self Hypnosis For School Success: Empowering Adolescents With Anxiety And Stress, Nilani Shankar

Doctoral Dissertations

Self-hypnosis is a treatment that has been utilized to address the social-emotional concerns of adolescents with high levels of anxiety and stress. In this study, a multiple baseline design across three high school-aged participants was implemented to examine whether self-hypnosis could decrease symptoms of anxiety and stress and help to improve health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The results of the study indicated that the treatment resulted in decreases in trait and state anxiety for two out of three participants, improvements in stress levels for two out of three participants, and improvements in HRQoL for all three participants. Participants reported that …

The Development Of An Online Divergent Thinking Test, Jiajun Guo

Doctoral Dissertations

Divergent thinking (DT) tests are the most frequently used types of creativity assessment and have been administered in traditional paper and pencil format for more than a half century. With the prevalence of computer-based testing and increasing demands for large-scale, faster, and more flexible testing procedures, it is necessary to explore and test the usability of computer-based divergent thinking tests. Yet few studies have focused on the use of technologies in the assessment of creativity, including divergent thinking tests.

The purpose of the present study was to design and test the feasibility of an online divergent thinking (DT) test. The …

Predicting Ultimate Targets With Time-Dependent Predictors, Wei Fu

Doctoral Dissertations

The task of predicting the ultimate payment while a claim is open is critical to insurance claim reserving. It faces three main challenges: (a) right censoring in generalized linear models (GLM), (b) predicting an ultimate fixed target with time-dependent predictors, (c) correlated observations in the same subject. We present three methods in addressing these challenges: (1) a series of GLM and accelerated failure time (AFT) models, (2) a series of Bayesian models, (3) the cumulative longitudinal models (CLM) and generalized linear mixed models (GLMM). For each method, I explore the theoretical foundation, apply it on real claim data, and compare …

To Participate Or Not To Participate, That Is The Question: A Critical Phenomenological Study Of Clinical Social Workers And Their Political Participation, Jason A. Ostrander

Doctoral Dissertations

The social work profession is rooted in aiding vulnerable populations to overcome individual problems and the socio-political structures negatively impacting their lives. Firmly embedded in the NASW’s Code of Ethics (2008) are the concepts of social justice, social change, and political engagement, which should transpire in every form of professional practice. This is further evidenced by the CSWE’s (2015) dictum that social work students should engage in collaborative action within the profession and in tandem with clients to usher in equitable policies and forge social reform. Yet, macro-oriented scholars have accused the profession of neglecting its obligation to social change …

“Hey, Nice Run!” Exploring Motives For Smartphone Exercise App Use, Michael S. Fuller

Doctoral Dissertations

The rapid pace at which smartphone applications are currently diffusing through society have made them a very popular form of media. Smartphone applications (commonly referred to as apps) allow users the ability to complete a variety of media functions such as receive news updates, sport scores, view television programs, and listen to the radio. Exercise apps are a sub category of smartphone apps which allow users to monitor their exercise progress through the Global Positioning System included in most smartphones. To date, the motives for exercise apps have not been examined within the framework of Uses and Gratifications. This essay …

Language Learning Strategies Among Saudi Efl College Students And Their Relationship To Students’ Perceptual Learning Style, Gender, Academic Major And Proficiency Level, Saeed Saleh Alkahtani

Doctoral Dissertations

This study investigated the type and the frequency of language learning strategies and perceptual learning style preferences among Saudi EFL college students. It was conducted to examine the relationship between the students’ perceptual learning style preferences and their use of various types of language strategies. The study also examined the influence of genders, academic disciplines and language proficiency levels on the students’ preferences to employ different language learning strategies.

Participants in the study were 667 EFL college students studying at Yanbu English Language Institute (YELI). Participants included 440 male and 227 female students who enrolled in the preparatory English program. …

Factors Influencing Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Land Use, Land-Use Change, And Forest Activities, Pattarawan Watcharaanantapong

Doctoral Dissertations

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are a major global issue because of their effects on climate and the resulting environmental and human impacts. The primary greenhouse gases (GHGs), carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), and nitrous oxide (N₂O), are emitted into the atmosphere from a myriad of human activities such as energy supply, manufacturing, transportation, commercial and residential buildings, and waste. Additionally, management activities on agricultural and forest lands can influence GHG emissions substantially. Even though GHGs can be released into the air via the sectors mentioned, GHGs, especially CO₂, can be removed from …

Young Children’S Social Connections: Characteristics Of Social Networks And Types Of Support, Daniela Andrea Salinas Maturana

Doctoral Dissertations

Most researchers agree about the importance of having a rich network of relationships and adequate support system. However, a limited number of studies have focused on young children’s social support networks or have examined the role that culture plays in shaping these relationships. This dissertation includes three manuscripts that address distinct aspects of children’s social support networks, guided by Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological perspective. The objectives of the first manuscript are twofold. First, a systematic literature review was conducted to determine the current state of knowledge related to children’s social support networks. The results from this review revealed that further examination of …

Stories Of Success: A Phenomenological Study Of Positive Transformative Learning Experiences Of Low-Socioeconomic Status Community College Mathematics Students, John Thomas Smith

Doctoral Dissertations

All too often education research focuses on academic disparities with under-served student populations. Frequently, both remedial and introductory college-level mathematics courses are cited as gatekeepers or insurmountable barriers for adult low-socioeconomic status (LSES) students. There has been a call from within the mathematics education community for less gap-gazing at disparities and more studies of success within marginalized groups. Many previously unsuccessful, under-prepared, under-served, and under-supported students persist and eventually succeed. In addition, there is a lack of research through the lens of the community college as a unique educational context, distinct from both K-12 and the four year colleges and …

Family Experiences With Standardized Assessments Leading To Participation In The Opt Out Movement, Christy Lee Evans

Doctoral Dissertations

With the hope of giving voice to individuals who are usually left out of conversations regarding standardized assessments—the families who live with the effects of those tests on their children—this study was designed to answer the following research questions:

1) Who are some of the individuals who are participating in the opt out movement?

2) How are some individuals making the decision to participate in the opt out movement?

a) What knowledge do these individuals who are participating in the opt out movement have regarding the standardized assessments that their children are being given in public schools?

b) How have …

Treatment Preferences And Outcome In A Randomized Controlled Trial For Depression Comparing Supportive-Expressive Therapy To Medication And Pill Placebo, Sophia Elsie Winter

Doctoral Dissertations

Previous research regarding the relationship between patient treatment preferences on outcome has been equivocal, with some studies finding a significant relationship between preference match and outcome, and others finding no such evidence. This study examines the effect of patient treatment preference match on outcome using data from a previously published randomized controlled trial comparing supportive-expressive therapy (SET), to antidepressant medication plus clinical management, and to pill-placebo plus clinical management. The original study included 156 participants receiving treatment at the Center for Psychotherapy research at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. This study is the first to examine the relationship …

How Do People In Animal Welfare Fields Respond To Family Violence Situations?, Bethanie Allison Poe

Doctoral Dissertations

Cross-reporting refers to the idea that people working in human welfare and people in animal welfare fields who observe or have suspicions of abuse or neglect of children, domestic violence, elderly or disabled people, or animals, respectively, are obligated to report their observations to the appropriate agencies. This exploratory study investigates the types of maltreatment witnessed or observed while at work by people in animal related fields; what responses these workers are making to what they are seeing; and the factors influencing their responses. Using an open online survey, this study found that 21% to 29% of the participants indicated …

Academic Work Ethic In Middle School Students: Extending Scale Research And Investigating Construct Validity, Emily Pendergrast Taylor

Doctoral Dissertations

This three-study dissertation was designed to: 1) extend the research on Parkhurst’s (2013) Academic Work Ethic-Student (AWE-S) scale, 2) develop and analyze reliability of the Academic Work Ethic-Teacher (AWE-T) scale, and 3) expound on the construct validity of academic work ethic by comparing AWE-S and AWE-T scores to external factors (i.e., grades, perceived support, and parental work ethic) and Grit (Duckworth, 2007), a similar construct. Research was conducted in both rural and urban middle schools in Tennessee and included student, teacher, and parent participants.

Both scales were found to have high reliability coefficients and stable factor structures. Student scale (AWE-S) …

The Impact Of Stability Ball Seating On Behavior And Academic Achievement Among Elementary School Students In Grades 1 Through 4., Sheila R. Borders

Doctoral Dissertations

This study was designed to answer three questions: 1) What is the impact of stability ball seating on the behavior of students in grades 1 through 4? 2) What is the impact of stability ball seating on the mathematics scores of students in grades 1 through 4? and 3) What is the impact of stability ball seating on the reading scores of students in grades 1 through 4? Research has shown that stability ball seating is linked to behavior and academic achievement among students diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and/or autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study examines the …

Development And Validation Of The Statistics Assessment Of Graduate Students, Dammika Lakmal Walpitage

Doctoral Dissertations

This study developed the Statistics Assessment of Graduate Students (SAGS) instrument, and established its preliminary item characteristics, reliability, and validity evidence. Even though there are limited number of assessments available for measuring different aspects of statistical cognition, these previously available assessments have numerous limitations. The SAGS instrument was developed using Rasch modeling approach to create a new measure of statistical research methodology knowledge of graduate students in education and other behavioral and social sciences. Thirty-five multiple-choice questions were written with stems representing applied research situations and response options distinguishing between appropriate use of various statistical tests or procedures. A focus …

Learning To Teach Online: An Investigation Of The Impacts Of Faculty Development Training On Teaching Effectiveness And Attitudes Toward Online Instruction, Karen Elizabeth Brinkley

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between one approach to training for online faculty and the ways in which the program influenced the participants’ teaching effectiveness and attitudes toward online instruction. Two research questions guided this study: (1) how did participating in an intensive course redesign intervention influence instructors’ teaching effectiveness in the online environment? and (2) how did participating in the training influence instructors’ beliefs or attitudes about online teaching? The theoretical framework guiding this study was the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) model, developed by Mishra and Koehler (2005). Using a concurrent, mixed-methods design, …

Self-Care Behaviors Of Women Living With Heart Failure: A Mixed Methods Study, Susan Bartos

Doctoral Dissertations

Self-care is paramount to the successful management of heart failure. Although recent trends in heart failure have shown a decline in hospitalizations and emergency room visits, observational unit admissions related to heart failure exacerbations continue to rise (Albert, 2016). Although nearly half (47%) of the heart failure population is female women are historically under-represented in heart failure research that guide best practice recommendations (Pressler, 2016). Therefore, the primary aim of this mixed methods study was to identify differences in women who demonstrate an adequate heart failure self-care maintenance (score >70) behaviors as compared to women who score inadequately (score < 69) as measured by the Self-Care of Heart Failure Index (SCHFI) version 6.2. Quantitative data revealed a significant, parabolic relationship between heart failure self-care maintenance and self-care confidence scores. Qualitative analysis suggested that assuming an active or passive role in heart failure self-care plays an important role in women’s heart failure self-care maintenance. Mixed methods analysis revealed high heart failure self-care confidence levels may not reflect an adequate level of heart failure self-care maintenance behaviors. Further research is required to expand on the factors that were found to both facilitate and impede heart failure self-care and to continue to improve health outcomes for women with heart failure.

Enhancing Developing Relationships With Skin-To-Skin Contact, Dorothy J. Vittner

Doctoral Dissertations

Over 15 million premature infants are born annually around the world. It has been optimistically yet incorrectly proposed that healthy preterm infants without major complications eventually catch-up developmentally to full-term infants. Maternal touch, especially during skin to-skin contact (SSC) has the potential to reduce adverse consequences of prematurity. The aim of this dissertation is to increase understanding of mechanisms that link parent infant contact to bio-behavioral responses for parents and their healthy preterm infants. This study is an important step in exploring oxytocin as a potential moderator to improve infant developmental outcomes and the effects of SSC on the mother, …

Detecting Conceptual Change With Latent Transition Analysis, Glen Davenport

Doctoral Dissertations

To uphold the core premise of cognitive diagnostic assessment, it is necessary to align different aspects of assessment design. The structure of the test, the measurement model, and the score reporting must align with each other and with the construct being targeted. Conceptual knowledge, as targeted by the Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation (FMCE), can be modeled as a set of overlapping categorical states. As such, latent class analysis (LCA) is the most appropriate measurement model—where students have a probabilistic membership within classes that tend to match with observed mental models.

This dissertation focuses on one particular application of conceptual …

The Influence Of Consumer Freeloading Behavior On An Observer's And Perpetrator's Affective Commitment, Mohamad A. Darrat

Doctoral Dissertations

The dissertation explores the relationship between customer affective commitment and freeloading behavior. Consumer freeloading results when a consumer takes advantage of a system or market procedures in a way that allows him or her to obtain benefits from a value proposition with no or reduced monetary costs. Thus, the freeloading consumer works the value equation in his/her favor at the expense of the marketer and/or other consumers. In addition to examining the point of view of the consumer performing the unethical behavior, the dissertation also examines the impact of such behavior on a third party observer. How do loyal consumers …

The Relationship Between Executive Functioning And Substance Abuse, John M. Tracy

Doctoral Dissertations

Substance use disorders are a widespread issue in society today with approximately 20 million people in the U.S. alone experiencing drug-related problems (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2012). However, treatment is often ineffectual with approximately 50% of addicted individuals returning to substance use. One factor found to impact individuals' treatment response is their neuropsychological functioning. Drug-abusers frequently exhibit severe executive functioning impairments across a number of domains, and there is evidence that these deficits may be time and substance-dependent. Executive functions are mental processes critical in motivation, planning, and goal-directed behaviors. With extended abstinence, research suggests cognitive improvements …

Perceived Patient Control Over Personal Health Information In The Presence Of Context-Specific Concerns, Prabhashi A. Nanayakkara

Doctoral Dissertations

Information privacy issues have plagued the world of electronic media since its inception. This research focused mainly on factors that increase or decrease perceived patient control over personal health information (CTL) in the presence of context-specific concerns. Control agency theory was used for the paper's theoretical contributions. Personal and proxy control agencies acted as the independent variables, and context-specific concerns for information privacy (CFIP) were used as the moderator between proxy control agency, healthcare provider, and CTL. Demographic data and three control variables— the desire for information control, privacy experience, and trust propensity—were also included in the model to gauge …

Paths To Leadership Of Ncaa Division I Female Athletic Directors, Haley Blount Taitano

Doctoral Dissertations

The focus of this study was to examine the paths to leadership of NCAA Division I female athletic directors. Over forty years after passing Title IX of the Education Amendments Act, female athletic directors still make up less than 10% of NCAA Division I athletic directors. This stagnant statistic along with a limited amount of existing research on the subject were the main catalysts for this investigation.

This study examined the career paths of eight NCAA Division I female athletic directors, paying particular attention to their personal and professional experiences that led to becoming a Division I athletic director. Critical …

The Impact Of Infant Sleep On Maternal Health Behaviors, Megan M. Clarke

Doctoral Dissertations

Obesity continues to impact the majority of American adults. Women are especially vulnerable during their childbearing years; while weight gain is appropriate during pregnancy, the postpartum period is a potential teachable moment to prevent excess weight retention long term. This study sought to explore the relationships between infant sleep training, maternal physical activity levels, and weight loss during the first postpartum year by comparing mothers who successfully sleep trained their infants with those who did not. Researchers sought to evaluate the presence of between group differences in 1) quality and quantity of maternal sleep, 2) quality and quantity of infant …

The Role Of Autonomy, Attachment, And Co-Construction In Early Adolescent Meaning Making, Amanda J. Letard

Doctoral Dissertations

The primary goal of this study was to examine the impact of autonomy, maternal co-construction, and attachment representations on early adolescents’ meaning making. Meaning making is important for positive coping and developing a sense of self. Among 51 low-risk early adolescents, a high rate of unresolved (38%) and a low rate of secure (4%) attachment representations occurred. In the present sample, the amount of new information that a mother contributed to the conversation (i.e., elaborations) was found to significantly differentiate those adolescents who were judged to have made meaning from those who did not make meaning. Otherwise, autonomy and both …

An Investigation Of Lexical Coherence In Novel Word Learning, Ashlee Shaw

Doctoral Dissertations

The Lexical Quality Hypothesis suggests that the difficulties exhibited by poor readers cascade from deficient representations of phonological, semantic, and orthographic dimensions in lexical memory. This invites questions of what kinds of individual differences in cognitive abilities might lead to differences in lexical quality. In this dissertation, I used artificial lexicon learning studies and individual differences measures of language- and memory-related skills in an effort to understand how differences in component abilities assumed to be important for novel word learning might lead to differences in lexical quality.

I manipulated relationships between phonological, orthographic, and/or semantic features of the artificial lexicon …

Individual Differences In Evaluating The Credibility Of Online Information In Science: Contributions Of Prior Knowledge, Gender, Socioeconomic Status, And Offline Reading Ability, Elena Forzani

Doctoral Dissertations

This study investigated how seventh grade students performed on a measure of online critical evaluation in science (the ORCA). The analysis included evaluating the extent to which critical evaluation also appeared to be an aspect of other elements of online research and comprehension, including reading to locate information, reading to synthesize information, and reading and writing to communicate information. Additionally, this study examined the extent to which several important individual difference variables affected students’ ability to critically evaluate information during online reading in science. The individual difference variables evaluated in this study included prior knowledge, gender, socioeconomic status, and offline …

Exploration Of Advances In Statistical Methodologies For Crash Count And Severity Prediction Models, Kai Wang

Doctoral Dissertations

This report first describes the use of different copula based models to simultaneously estimate the two crash indicators: injury severity and vehicle damage. The Gaussian copula model outperforms the other copula based model specifications (i.e. Gaussian, Farlie-Gumbel-Morgenstern (FGM), Frank, Clayton, Joe and Gumbel copula models), and the results indicate that injury severity and vehicle damage are highly correlated, and the correlations between injury severity and vehicle damage varied with different crash characteristics including manners of collision and collision types. This study indicates that the copula-based model can be considered to get a more accurate model structure when simultaneously estimating …