Education Commons^™

School Climate: A Comparison Of Teachers, Students, And Parents, James A. Jacobs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to examine the benefits of positive school climate and to measure the perceptions of school climate for intermediate grades in a Northeast Tennessee School district. An online school climate survey was used to collect responses from participants in intermediate grades and focused on the 3 major components of school climate: school engagement, school environment, and school safety. Data were collected for 2 consecutive years in 2016-2017 and 2017-2018. Response totals included 1,955 student responses, 116 teacher responses, and 210 parent responses that were analyzed and used for this study. Of the student totals, some students that …

Myths, Risks, And Ignorance: Western Media And Health Experts’ Representations Of Cultures In Ebola-Affected West African Communities, Samson Wonnah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The 2014 Ebola outbreak, mostly affecting Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea, is the largest ever recorded. The Ebola response encountered resistance in some affected communities, where some residents accused relief agencies from the Global North of denigrating local cultures. This thesis examines mainstream Western media and health experts’ representation of culture in the Ebola-affected region and employed Foucauldian analysis of discursive power to discuss the impact of such a representation on the concerned communities. Through a content analysis of selected journal and news articles by Western scholars and media and official reports by some relief agencies involved with the Ebola …

On Growing Up Finnish In The Midwest: A Family Oral History Project, Ingrid Ruth Nixon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores what oral history interviews with my mother reveal about the familial and community dynamics that influenced Finnish-American children growing up on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula between 1930 and 1950. Close to four hours of oral history interviews were conducted with Viola Nixon, who is second and third-generation Finnish-American on her father’s and mother’s sides, respectively. After conducting a narrative analysis of the interviews, five themes emerged as significant to community function: family, language, education, work and church. I grouped some of these themes together to create three stories informed by materials drawn from the interviews, a cookbook, and …

Move, Interact, And Connect Personally Barter Theatre’S Project Real Gets Implicit In Order To Learn, Megan E. Atkinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Body movement, hands-on activity, embodiment, social interaction, emotions, and self-reflection allow teaching artists of Barter’s Theatre’s Project REAL to conduct a lesson with an implicit learning experience as the focus. Barter Theatre’s Project REAL exists as a theatre for education program that collaborates with regular classroom teachers on delivering the curriculum through specific theatre exercises in order to connect the material personally to the students’ lives. Theatre tools provide a human experience that enhances learning for the student by use of kinesthetic movement, social learning, emotions and interpersonal skills. To understand the effects of Barter Theatre’s Project REAL, the director …

Stop The Presses: Representations Of Women's Progress In Corporate America Reported Through Popular News Media., Suzanne Marie Cloyd

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the following key areas: women in the public sphere, women in the private sphere, and how media portrayals in these areas portray women's progress in obtaining executive positions in corporate America.

Topics of interest include wage differences between genders, executive placement, and attainment in board positions throughout Corporate America.

A Study Of Attrition In A Respiratory Care Associate Degree Program In A Northeast Tennessee Community College., Donna D. Lilly

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Walters State Community College's Respiratory Care (WSCC RC) Program had a 33% attrition rate during a five-year period from 1999 through 2003. This study analyzed demographic, pre-admission, and academic variables to identify reasons for attrition within the WSCC RC program. The population size was 90 students; this was the entire population of five consecutive classes graduating during a five-year period from 1999 through 2003. The criterion variables included high school attended, gender, age, college-level GPA, college-level credit hours, and developmental requirements.

Statistical tests revealed that college-level GPA, college-level credit hours, and developmental requirements influenced persistence within the population. The …

To See Her Face, To Hear Her Voice: Profiling The Place Of Women In Early Upper East Tennessee, 1773-1810., Sσndra Lee Allen Henson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Following the Proclamation Act of 1763 growing numbers of colonists arrived in upper East Tennessee to settle and build wherever they could make arrangements with local groups of Cherokee. While these first families were occupied with survival, the British colonies continued to thrive. Concurrent with growing prosperity was the increasing determination of colonists to exercise control over their property and economic interests. Frontier exigencies affected family strategies for dividing labor and creating economic endeavors. A commonly held view asserts that where women were scarce and needed, rigid sex-role distinctions could not prevail. This thesis will present research of the earliest …

The Experiential Art And Crafts Preferences Of Senior Adults: A Preparatory Assessment For The Implementation Of The Project Senior Art Model., Charlynn Watson Campbell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Project Senior Art was conceived in answer to the growing need for worthwhile directed activities in our community senior centers and to provide valuable community-based learning experiences for university art students. This intergenerational program recognizes the unique intellectual abilities of older adults and meets the educational needs of senior participants and college art students, providing both creative opportunities for personal growth. Fundamental to the successful development and implementation of the program, and the focus of this study, is ascertaining the experiential art and crafts preferences of the targeted senior adult population. Personal interviews, focus group discussions, and a survey instrument …

A Study Of The Southern Appalachian Granny-Woman Related To Childbirth Prevention Measures., Harriet P. Masters

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Documented as serving in the midwife capacity from the 1880s to the 1930s, the “granny-woman,” often was the only line of defense regarding childbirth support practices for many childbearing age women living in the region during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The early twentieth century saw the granny-women discredited and subject to elimination as a result of a purposeful campaign conducted by the male-dominated medical profession. Using knowledge of herbal remedies, the granny-woman played an integral part in the survival of the inhabitants of the region, especially related to childbirth. These centuries-old, herbal-based ministrations have been explored to …

Positive Self-Talk Statements As A Self-Esteem Building Technique Among Female Survivors Of Abuse., Fred Jackson Teaster Iii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this integrated review of literature was to explore the relationship between and among females in abusive relationships, self-esteem, and positive self-talk. Various models are discussed that provide possible explanations in the understanding of the complex social and psychological nature of cyclic abuse. These models are: learned helplessness, psychological entrapment, self-verification theory, and feminist theory. It is suggested that positive self-talk statements used by the female survivor as a basis for cognitive restructuring can act as a self-esteem building technique, thus promoting healthier cognitions over time. Furthermore, it is argued that self-esteem enhancement can assist females in developing …

Troubled Trinity: Love, Religion And Patriotism In Liam O'Flaherty's First Novel, Thy Neighbour's Wife., Robin Heavner Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this research is a detailed analysis of Liam O'Flaherty's first published novel, Thy Neighbour's Wife, as an underlying autobiographical portrait depicted in the main character, Fr. Hugh McMahon. Although never touted as an autobiography, this study shows O'Flaherty drew upon his early cultural, historical, religious, and political influences in creating his main character. Primary and secondary sources, an ethnographic trip to Ireland, and a content analysis of the novel determined the findings.

The fictional McMahon faced difficult personal choices, subsequently coming to terms with past decisions. McMahon's foibles reflect O'Flaherty's early years. O'Flaherty wrote two acclaimed …

A Historical Overview Of The Bumpass Cove Landfill Controversy, 1972-2002., Robert Clinton Marsh Iii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With the assistance of information collected by residents of Bumpass Cove, Tennessee Department of Public Health records, and interviews with residents and local health officials, this study provides a historical overview of the inception of Bumpass Cove Landfill, the resulting problems stemming from its misuse, and the reaction of a persistent community during the 1970s and early 1980s. In its early days, Bumpass Cove was an active and productive mining site; however, the area would become a threat to the local residents’ safety with the opening of Bumpass Cove Sanitary Landfill. Years of illegal hazardous waste land filling wreaked havoc …

Synesthetic Sensor Fusion Via A Cross-Wired Artificial Neural Network., Stephen Samuel Seneker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this interdisciplinary study was to examine the behavior of two artificial neural networks cross-wired based on the synesthesia cross-wiring hypothesis. Motivation for the study was derived from the study of psychology, robotics, and artificial neural networks, with perceivable application in the domain of mobile autonomous robotics where sensor fusion is a current research topic. This model of synesthetic sensor fusion does not exhibit synesthetic responses. However, it was observed that cross-wiring two independent networks does not change the functionality of the individual networks, but allows the inputs to one network to partially determine the outputs of the …

Why Volunteer And Is Volunteering Worth The Effort?, Patricia Avery Bellamy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes why people volunteer in two counties of East Tennessee. The study describes the concept of volunteering and its positive impact upon society on a regional and national level. The characteristics of people who volunteer, why people choose to volunteer, and the significance of their volunteering were assessed through a survey questionnaire. The survey questionnaire was administered in Carter County (Elizabethton) and Washington County (Johnson City) Tennessee to 13 charitable and non-charitable agencies that utilize volunteers aged 18 years and over. Out of 243 survey questionnaires distributed in Elizabethton and Johnson City, Tennessee, 124 individuals responded. Data collected …

Playboys, Single Girls, And Sexual Rebels: Sexual Politics 1950-1965: A Trilogy Of Significant Developments., Amy Denise Dolinger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the years between 1950 and 1965, three significant developments in American culture left women struggling to merge the housewife archetype of the Cold War era with changing attitudes toward sexuality. Because of these cultural shifts, the developments that dominate the research presented here are; first, the changing elements in the lives of the women who pass through the halls of academia during this time of societal flux; second, the impact of the development of the birth control pill; and third, the impact of the publications of Playboy magazine and Sex and the Single Girl. These developments mark a …

The Cyclical Nature Of Moral Entrepreneurship., Yvonne L. Wolf

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The primary focus of this study was to determine how "moral entrepreneurs" were able to convince the American public to support their anti-drug crusades.

The methodology section consisted of information gathered from primary and secondary sources, and described why these sources were used.

Harry Anslinger and Richard Nixon were used as models to demonstrate how a cycle of moral entrepreneurship existed throughout the twentieth century.

By testing for a cycle of moral entrepreneurship through content analysis of various sources, including descriptive statistics, the same pattern was identified as dominating Reagan's and Bush's anti-drug rhetoric.

Lastly, possible limitations of the study …

Adult Student Satisfaction With Overall Learning Experiences At East Tennessee State University., Linda Gale Wyatt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined adult students' perceptions of satisifaction levels within specific areas of the ETSU campus. The population surveyed included 106 undergraduate adult learners aged 25 years and older. The Noel Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory, 4-year College and University Version was the survey instrument used to share feedback about the adult learners' collegiate experiences thus far. Responses received would give campus leadership feedback about the satisfaction levels of adult learners at ETSU.

The purpose of this study was to determine if the adult learner at ETSU is satisfied with his/her overall learning experience. Adult students were asked to rank programs …