Modernizing Legacy Business Practices And Maintaining Backwards Compatibility When Replacing Legacy Software, Thomas Hillebrandt

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

As technology advances and hardware as well as user expectations becomes more advanced, software systems must change alongside or go obsolete. When software is no longer developed, decisions must be made regarding its future. Through various methods, legacy software may continue to see usage far past its obsolescence, however legacy software will sooner or later face replacement by new applications, built for state-of-the-art machines, to comply with modern requirements. When writing new software to replace older programs, the added challenge for developers is to help the client also modernize their workflow. When a program has been in long time use …

The H.E.R.O. Within: An Examination Of Psychological Capital And Intent To Graduate Among Doctoral Students, Tiffany Stange

Theses & Dissertations

Understanding the factors contributing to a student’s ability to persist toward graduation is paramount to the success of an institution’s doctoral program. This study explored specific psychological factors (psychological capital) as they relate to persistence factors for doctoral students. Additionally, this study expands upon the research and literature on psychological capital using an established instrument, Compound Psychological Capital scale (CPC-12), in a new context. Finally, this study expands the research and literature on doctoral student persistence by applying the College Persistence Questionnaire (CPQ), designed for undergraduate students, to the doctoral student population. A quantitative, cross-sectional research design was used to …

Swosu One Hundred And Seventeenth Annual Spring Convocation, Southwestern Oklahoma State University

Graduation Programs

This is the program for the SWOSU One Hundred and Seventeenth Annual Spring Convocation Exercises, held at the Pioneer Cellular Events Center on Saturday, May 1, 2021, at 10:00 am and 4:00 pm. Opening Remarks were presented by President Randy L. Beutler.

Higher Education Business And Technology Leaders’ Behaviors That Drive Outcome Alignment, Katherine Lynch-Holmes

Dissertations

Higher education institutions (HEIs) face unprecedented challenges, including capacity alignment, financial sustainability, and even public confidence (Grajeck & Brooks, 2020; Grawe, 2019; Oblinger, 2019; Simone, 2020, Wheeler, 2020, Witt & Coyne, 2019). Financial challenges force HEIs to reduce costs by making decisions like cutting programs, laying off staff or merging institutions to reduce operating costs (Chen et al., 2019; Sellingo, 2017; Witt & Coyne, 2019). Higher education leaders (HELs) must act as trusted partners and broker technology to align processes, support, and outcomes (Luftman 2000; Petkovics, 2018; Reinitz, 2019). Unfortunately, higher education’s business-technology (BITA) alignment remains lower than other national …

Identifying Schools As Caring Communities: Teacher Perceptions About Character Education, Jasmine Johnson

Faculty Works

This study quantified teacher perceptions and their observations of school community interactive attachments. Observed attachments through teacher perceptions classified school communities as caring. Elementary school teachers in the southern United States districts volunteered, in order to determine the significance of school-based taught or learned character education principles in comparison with caring attachments. Data were collected using the Caring Community Profile – II questionnaire, which measures the participants’ attitudes by the extent to which they agree or disagree with a statement. The results clarified the significance of character education programs that identify school communities as caring.

Additionally, the findings answered the …

Nebline, May 2021

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Building Health Equity in Lincoln: Extension Launches Health Equity Coalition

Recipe of the Month

Intensive Gardening Techniques

Garden Guide Things to Do This Month

Naturally Occurring Elements in Groundwater--Part 3 of a Series — Fluoride

Cash Rent Survey

Preparing for the Inevitable: Japanese Beetles

Challenge Accepted! Children Thrive Outside

Heart of 4-H Volunteer Award: Rusty & Heidi Hanley

4-H Announcements for 4-H'ers and Volunteers

Clover College: June 15–18, 2021

EXTENSION CALENDAR

4-H’ers Qualify for State Speech & PSA Contest

4-H Horse Stampede Results

The Administrator, Iss. 8, May 2021, Illinois State University College Student Personnel Administration

The Administrator

Newsletter of the Illinois State University College Student Personnel Administration

Arbor Day Foundation Programs: Analysis And Recommendations, Justin Myers, Emily Alston, Cameron Claborn, Charles Erker, Braelyn Isernhagen, Jonathan Jameson

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

We are proposing the enhancement of the current Tree City USA program to include a special recognition program for high-achieving communities. These “Golden Oak” tree cities will be recognized each year based on a variety of metrics detailed in a new and more comprehensive program application. Recommendations:

● Updated application to include more information about both quantitative and qualitative insights

● Special recognition program awarding “Golden Oak” status to communities in village, town, city, and metropolis categories based on either percentile or benchmarking system

● A cumulative “Golden Oak” award given to the State that achieves the highest percentage of …

Sororities Surviving Covid-19: A Phenomenological Study Of Panhellenic Virtual Sorority Recruitment, Margaret Darden

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study addressed perceptions of virtual sorority recruitment and was conducted at a large, public university in the Midwestern United States. Data was gathered through interviews using a criterion sampling method in place for this study. Study participants fell into one of the following categories: new members, general members, chapter recruitment chairs, chapter presidents, chapter advisors, chapter recruitment advisors, or the fraternity/sorority advisor. Emerging themes and categories were identified by coding and analyzing the interview data. The themes that were identified were: the convenience of online meetings, reduced emphasis on appearance reduced emotional, financial and time strain, increased accessibility …

Relationship Of Early Life Maltreatment To Self Regulation During An Affective Stroop Task, Sophie Tonjes

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Background: Previous research has found that childhood maltreatment is associated with emotional regulation difficulties, as well associations with brain structures, such as the amygdala and hippocampus. However, there are individual differences in the effect of maltreatment on emotional regulation, and this relationship may be dependent upon amygdala or hippocampal volume. The present study hypothesized that amygdala or hippocampal volume would moderate the relationship between maltreatment and emotional regulation. Method: Forty-nine college students were assessed for their history of parenting and participated in the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study. Moreover, to measure emotional regulation skills, participants completed the Affective Stroop task, …

Organizational Supports And School Climate, Wendy Kemling-Horner

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

School climate is the perceptions and attitudes that are evoked by a school’s environment and affects every aspect of the school surroundings. Therefore, it is essential that principals have the resources they need to positively affect the climate in their buildings. In fact, a positive school climate has been linked to not only the achievement of students, but also the satisfaction and retention of the school staff. A positive school climate does not come easily; instead, it is the result of significant devotion to the school’s safety, disciplinary environment, and the relationships between constituents.

District leaders have a strong desire …

Power, Privilege, And Fraternity Men's Perceptions Of Sex And Sexual Violence: A Phenomenological Study, Justine Diener O'Leary

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Sexual violence is a prevalent concern on college campuses (see Washington Post & Kaiser Family Foundation, 2015; Cantor et al., 2015). Men are the primary perpetrators of sexual violence (Black et al., 2011), with particular groups, such as fraternity men, particularly prone to perpetrating sexual violence (Foubert et al., 2007). The CDC (2014, 2021) recommends utilizing a social-ecological model of prevention that address risk factors at four levels: individual, relational, community, and societal. The purpose of the present transcendental phenomenological pilot study was to explore fraternity men’s perceptions of systemic influences on sex, consent, and sexual violence. Utilizing a modified …

Keeping The Child In Mind: A Mixed Methods Study Of Reflections On Parenting Among Families In Shelter, Ann Matthews

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Homelessness among families is a growing problem across the United States (Beard, 2020). Homelessness is associated with stressful and impoverished caregiving environments that contribute to problematic parent-child relationships and increase children’s risks for poor health and academic outcomes (e.g., Perlman et al., 2012).

Responsive caregiving may protect children from adverse outcomes and foster resilience during periods of homelessness (Labella et al., 2019; Miliotis et al., 1999; Perlman et al., 2012). A parent’s capacity to understand their own and their child’s behavior as a function of internal mental states supports such responsive caregiving (e.g., Fonagy & Target, 1997; Slade, 2005) and …

Exploring Supervisor Experiences Of Hope In Clinical Supervision: A Phenomenological Approach, Robert Byrom Jr.

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Supervisory experiences have been identified as one of the primary resources for the clinical training of psychotherapists with respect to both the development of necessary skills and the ability to cope with encountered difficulties. This phenomenological study explored the experiences of clinical supervisors in a current supervisory relationship with one or more supervisees. Specifically, this study explored how supervisors experience their supervisory relationships, how supervisors conceptualize hope as it relates to supervision, how supervisors express hope for their supervisees, and how supervisors promote hope within supervision. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with between 3 to 15 individuals recruited from counseling psychology …

Honorable Firsts: The Experience Of First-Generation Students In Honors Programs, Kali S. Lenhoff Sloup

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This constructivist, qualitative research study explored the experiences of first-generation students in honors programs and colleges. This study seeks to fill a gap in the literature regarding students who are both first-generation students and enrolled in honors programs. First-generation students are estimated to be 56% of the college student population (RTI International, 2019), but only 28.6% of the honors student population (National Collegiate Honors Council’s Admissions, Retention, and Completion Survey as cited by Mead, 2018). Two, semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant. The participants in this study included one current student and four recent alumni who were first-generation students …

Attachment Injury-Related Responses From The Offending Partner And Forgiveness In Romantic Relationships, Shruti Pillai

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Attachment injuries in romantic relationships carry the potential for several negative outcomes for the injured partner, the offending partner, and the relationship. Forgiveness can serve to repair the damage caused by such an injury. The concept of forgiveness, however, has predominantly only been studied as the responsibility of and of primary interest to the injured partner. There is a growing need for closer examination of what the offending partner can do to promote forgiveness. The Attachment Injury Resolution Model (AIRM) proposes eight distinct steps including actions for each partner that can lead a couple towards recovery. This study examined the …

Pennsylvania Principals’ Describe Their Work, Examined Through The Theory Of Transformational Leadership, Shannon O'Donnell

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Being raised in a district composed of rural and suburban communities and later spending years teaching in urban and suburban school districts, I was able to define one key factor: successful students had one or more significant adult who provided them with meaningful guidance and support. For many, a classroom teacher and the experiences, mentorship, and compassion they provided happen to be that significant factor that changed the lives. I observed that as a classroom teacher, individuals are only responsible for designing instruction and activities, and regularly interacting with 20-30 students on a consistent basis. I felt that as an …

Metacognitive Function In Moderate To Severe Traumatic Brain Injury, Grace Amadon

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an injury to the brain caused by a bump, blow, jolt to the head. Individuals with TBI demonstrate decreased awareness of their own potential deficits and functional abilities. These deficits have critical implications for recovery as self-awareness is important for those recovering from TBI in the implementation and engagement of rehabilitative processes after TBI. The following study analyzed 18 individuals with TBI approximately 11 years post injury to document metacognitive functioning after injury. Participants completed a metacognitive working-memory paradigm where they made judgements of their future and past performance on identifying a target shape and …

Arbor Day Foundation Tree Programs Recommendations Report, Lane Knott, Mary Morton, Peyton Walker, Haley Faust, Kyler Caverzagie, Alex Sanchez

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Executive Summary

Project Description

We explored ways for the Arbor Day Foundation (ADF) to increase the value proposition for Tree Cities and Tree Campuses through application addendums and existing organizations.

Recommendation

We propose including an addition to the Tree City application for a grant awarded to Tree Cities that plant trees in underserved areas of the community.

We also recommend inviting Tree Campus to join the Alliance for Community Trees (ACT). Through membership, they will attend and participate in the Partners in Community Forestry Conference.

Rationale

The Tree City program is being under-utilized in connecting resources with communities. ADF can …

Care For Our Common Home In Jesuit Higher Education: A Study Of The School Of Environmental Sustainability At Loyola University Chicago, Michael Polito

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

Environmental sustainability has become a critical issue for Catholic commitment to the common good in the twenty-first century. Both the Vatican and the Society of Jesus have spoken with urgency concerning the great educational challenges of forming new convictions and lifestyles in this regard. This paper chronicles the development of environmental sustainability initiatives at Loyola University Chicago within the context of institutional reforms from 2001 to the present. A consideration of these initiatives and environmental sustainability as both a set of operational and academic practices is undertaken with respect to social ethics in Catholic Jesuit higher education from the perspective …