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Oberlin College Commencement 2025, Oberlin College

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Seeing Resilience Through Experience: Teachers' Resilience Experiences Post Covid-19 Pandemic, Yashica Dudley

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological was to describe the post-COVID-19 resilience experiences of 6th to 12th grade schoolteachers at Hope County Public School (HCPS). The theory that guided this study is the differing pathways to resiliency theory, as it was used to describe teachers’ resilience experiences regarding the outlook on work, self-efficacy, and coping responses. The central research question was, “What are the post-COVID-19 resilience experiences of 6th to 12th grade schoolteachers at the HCPS in the classroom?” Participants included 10-15 6th to 12th grade schoolteachers who taught before, during, and post the COVID-19 pandemic. The data was collected through …

Leading Through Crisis: San Diego County Schools' Response To The Social Emotional Needs Of All Students, Johana Bielma

Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic led to unprecedented school closures, forcing administrators to take decisive action to radically change the educational system. The imperative to switch to remote learning transformed the dynamics of teaching and learning, leading to both immediate and long-term academic and social emotional consequences for all stakeholders. When schools reopened, administrators faced the challenge of reintegrating students into in-person learning while addressing the pandemic’s lasting effects on academics, mental health, and school safety. While academic regression was evident, the extent of students’ emotional struggles was less anticipated. Many students exhibited increased irritability and mental health issues such as depression …

Negotiating Migration In The Mediterranean: A Comparative Study Of Morocco And Italy’S Border Policies And Their Humanitarian Impact On Irregular Migrants, Shennel Ep Henries

Master's Theses

Serving as both a barrier and a bridge that connects Africa and Europe, the Mediterranean is today the focal point of global controversies around migration, where humanitarian interests balance against border policing and meet securitization policies. This thesis examines the questions: How do irregular migrants adapt, interpret, and maneuver around securitized Moroccan and Italian migration policies, and what do their strategies tell us about the relationship between humanitarianism and securitization in Mediterranean bordering processes? Drawing on qualitative evidence, including expert interviews with organization employees and volunteers in Morocco and Italy (Fondazione Solidarietà Caritas, Nosotras Onlus, and Caritas Maroc), field observation, …

A Comparative Evaluation Of Local And Imported Ciprofloxacin Tablets Marketed In Yemen, Tareq Maqlam, Abdullah H Maad

Al-Ameed Journal for Medical Research and Health Sciences

Ciprofloxacin is one of the most common antibacterial drugs used mainly for gastrointestinal and urinary tract infections. This study aimed to compare the quality specifications of two Yemeni ciprofloxacin hydrochloride tablet products with two non-Yemeni brands. Samples were randomly selected from different batch numbers and subjected to physicochemical testing in accordance with pharmacopeial monographs. Additionally, microbiological susceptibility testing was performed against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. All tested products complied with pharmacopoeial standards for weight uniformity (Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, with brand D demonstrating the highest activity. These findings suggest that Yemeni ciprofloxacin tablets meet quality standards …

Fifty-Ninth Commencement (Graduate), Sacred Heart University

Commencement Programs

Program for graduate ceremonies, May 6 & 7,  2025.

Investigating Fatty Acid Influence On West Nile Virus In Mosquitoes And Birds, Hayley Moree

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Vector-borne diseases, including Zika virus (ZIKV), Dengue virus (DENV), and West Nile virus (WNV), pose considerable global health threats, accounting for over 400 million infections and more than 700,000 deaths annually. Many vector-borne diseases are within the Flaviviridae family. Despite this, effective treatments have not been found for some flaviviruses. Flaviviruses exploit host cellular machinery to facilitate their replication and survival, reprogramming metabolic pathways, including lipid metabolism. Lipids play essential roles in the viral life cycle, providing structural components for the viral envelope, enabling membrane rearrangements for replication complexes, and supplying energy resources necessary for particle assembly.

Targeting lipid metabolism …

Tennessee Science Teachers’ Views, Challenges, And Practices Addressing Scientific Misinformation In The Science Classroom, Lauren Wilmoth

Ed.D. Dissertations

Scientific misinformation was a major threat to society in the 2020s because individuals often made ill-informed decisions impacting their well-being and the well-being of others. Because of the unique nature of scientific misinformation, key stakeholders advocated for science education to incorporate skills associated with identifying scientific misinformation into science curricula. Despite the call for action, there was little extant research about how high school science teachers addressed and felt about addressing scientific misinformation. Therefore, the purpose of my interpretive qualitative study was to determine Tennessee high school science teachers’ views, challenges, and practices addressing scientific misinformation in the science classroom. …

Expanding The Narrative: Rural Educators' Perceptions Of The Achievement Gap, Erika N. Martin

College of Education

This dissertation explores the perceptions of rural educators in Alabama in relation to the achievement gap. It places a special emphasis on how these teachers understand, articulate, and address the challenges facing rural schools. This study is guided by three research questions: (1) How do rural teachers in the state of Alabama understand and describe the achievement gap, particularly in relation to rural schooling? (2) How do rural teachers in Alabama identify the variables that impede the closing of the achievement gap for rural students and schools? (3) What do rural teachers in Alabama receive as necessary for improving student …

A Theoretical Model Of Participatory Team Science Training, Angela E. Jordan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

BACKGROUND: Teams have long been used to address major scientific and societal problems, and interdisciplinary teams are understood to be the best approach to complex systems-based problems like climate change. Engaged research collaborations incorporating community members as equal partners in research projects are recognized as both a means of advancing equity and justice in research, and also of improving the success of research translation by developing solutions with community use-value. The science of team science (TS) and community-engaged research (CEnR) have emerged as scholarly disciplines, with attempts to define competencies, skills, functioning, and success. A growing body of literature in …

School Counselors’ Lived Experiences During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Katie M. Guzman Dunn

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how school counselor perceptions of their roles may have been permanently impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) Ecological Systems Theory, which relates to the interactions of an individual and the environment around them, guided the study. The study’s central research was: What are public school counselors’ lived experiences regarding their role perception during the COVID-19 pandemic? Data was collected through virtual semi-structured interviews and photo elicitation with 10 school counselors who were members of the Kentucky School Counselor Association. The data collected from the interviews was analyzed using bracketing to …

Parasitic Effects Of Amoebidium Appalachense On Daphnia Magna Heart Rate, Hopping Frequency, And Metabolic Rate, Vanessa Wise

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Daphnia magna are a crustacean that inhabits multiple different types of freshwater ecosystems and thus is plays a part in many different types of interspecies interactions, one of which is parasitism. Amoebidium appalachense is a Mesomycetozoean parasite of aquatic arthropods that colonizes the antenna of D. magna. Previous research has shown that A. appalachense infection will reduce the fecundity and increase mortality rate of D. magna but how it causes these effects is unknown. To determine if A. appalachense causes these effects on D. magna by either stealing nutrients inside the D. magna like a tick or by compromising …

Effective Professional Education And Training Program In A Long-Term Acute Care Hospital, Matthew Hamilton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The determinants contributing to successful professional development programs in long-term acute care (LTAC) facilities, which enhance clinical staff performance and healthcare outcomes, remain unclear. Guided by Bandura’s social learning theory, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore clinicians’ perspectives on the key determinants of an effective professional education and training program in an LTAC hospital in a Northeast U.S. metro area. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 11 clinicians who were recruited from an LTAC facility. Thematic analysis, following Saldaña’s framework, identified institutional barriers, financial constraints, time limitations, and unmet training needs as major challenges. Participants emphasized the …

The Perceived Impact Of Covid-19 On The Grief Process Of African American Adults, Tondra Crumpler Mclaurin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected African Americans in the areas of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths. Research studies have historically focused primarily on the grief experiences of European Americans. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study is to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the bereavement experience of African American adults. The theoretical frameworks used to guide this study were attachment theory, individual differences model, and meaning reconstruction model. Three research questions were the focus of the qualitative study: what are the lived grief experiences of African American adults who experienced the death of a loved one during the …

The Potential Impact Of Overusing Isolation Precautions, Laci Johnson

2025 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

While Isolation Precautions (IP) help prevent infections, excessive use can harm patients' mental and physical health. Research shows that prolonged IP increases anxiety, depression, and social isolation, leading to worsened outcomes and longer hospital stays. Overuse may also create stigma and communication barriers, reducing care quality. This poster highlights the need for a balanced approach to IP to protect both patient well-being and infection control.

Detection Of Antimicrobial Resistance Genes In Bacteria Collected From The Triplett Creek Watershed, Heavenly Mays, Emily Morgan, Geoffrey W. Gearner

2025 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

Ongoing research in the Triplett Creek Watershed (TCW) focuses on assessing water quality and monitoring bacterial contamination. The spring 2024 sampling efforts aimed to evaluate bacterial density and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) across multiple sites. To screen for AMR in bacteria, the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method was used. A total of 35 bacterial isolates were tested against multiple antibiotics. This revealed 26 isolates were resistant to Erythromycin, 32 isolates were resistant to Clindamycin, 2 isolates were resistant to Colistin, 7 isolates were resistant to Ampicillin, 4 isolates were resistant to Amoxicillin with Clavulanic acid, 2 isolates were resistant to tetracycline, 3 …

Comparative Analysis Of R-Cards And Idexx Quanti-Tray/2000 For The Detection And Enumeration Of Bacteria In Environmental Water Samples, Heavenly Mays, Emily Morgan, Geoffrey W. Gearner

2025 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations

The Kentucky Watershed Watch program, a non-profit that relies on the help of volunteers, trains Kentucky residents on proper analytical procedures needed to assess waterways near their homes. Volunteers can deliver samples to established labs for bacterial analysis or independently test sample sites’ pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, temperature, and Escherichia coli levels. One of the ways the Watershed Watch program analyzes water quality is by using R-Cards, sample cards that contain a chromogenic medium useful for detecting and enumerating E. coli. These cards cost $1 each and are quite simple to set up, whereby one mL of sample site water …

2025 Soars Conference Program, Unf Office Of Undergraduate Research

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

Program for the 2025 Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

Higher Education Leaders’ Perspectives About Communication Challenges During Crises, Carey-Ann Marie Balkwill

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem was that while impact and problems of crisis communication have been identified in the literature, little is known about the perspectives of leaders in higher education when facing communication issues in times of crisis. Guided by crisis communication theory and leadership theory, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore higher education leadership team members’ perspectives of communication challenges in times of crisis. Four research questions guided the study on the perspectives of higher education leadership team members about (a) how their own leadership and communication changed during a crisis, (b) how internal communications evolved during …

Intersectional Experiences Of Stem Students With Disabilities, Sandy Heath, Jade Metzger, Tarah Loy-Ashe

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities experience barriers to accessing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers during academic preparation for these careers. This pilot project explored the experiences of postsecondary STEM students who have a disability. The six students interviewed gave their insights into the need to further diversify who has access to STEM careers by describing that cultural and structural barriers posed more of a barrier than the course content during their STEM education. Academic preparation often starts in early childhood education with exposure to STEM topics and continues through postsecondary education. The implications impact both the individual student and society. …

Illuminated Magazine - Spring 2025, School Of Graduate Studies, East Tennessee State University

Illuminated: Graduate Student Research Magazine

• 2: Editorial Staff
• 6: Betting on Appalachia: How Appalachian Identity Correlates to Gambling Disorder; Noah Anderson, Psychology, PhD
• 9: Where Are They Now? Featuring Maria Jose Araujo Dias
• 10: Inner Bonds: An Exploration of Emotions through Character Creation, Story, and Design; Cait Maltbie, Studio Art, MFA
• 13: Where Are They Now? Featuring Cynthia Milhorn
• 14: Characterizing the Polymicrobial Interactions of Alcaligenes faecalis; Aly Hargrave, Biology, MS
• 18: Grant Award Recipients
• 20: Discovering a Potentially Novel Bacteriocin from Klebsiella Bacteria; Jasmal Cruz Perez, Biology, MS
• 23: Where Are They Now? Featuring Julianne Hensley
• 24: Assessing How Different Training Programs Affect High-Intensity …

The Impact Of Long Covid On Language Proficiency Across Different School Levels In Hong Kong, Shebe S. Xu, Yixun Li, Wanyi Li, Catherine M. Capio, Winnie W.Y. Tso, Derwin K.C. Chan

Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Long COVID, where symptoms persist after recovering from COVID-19, can affect cognitive functions like language. However, little is known about its impact on children’s language skills, especially across different school levels. This study investigated the impact of long COVID on language proficiency among 1244 children (Asian; 53.5% boys) from kindergartens (N = 408, Mage = 4.42 ± 1.26 years), primary schools (N = 547, Mage = 9.69 ± 1.96 years), and secondary schools (N = 289, Mage = 14.97 ± 1.85 years) in Hong Kong. Language proficiency was assessed using the Language Experience and Proficiency Questionnaire (LEAP-Q), which measured speaking, …

Tutoring And Its Impact On Mitigating Covid-19 Reading Learning Loss In A Rural Title I School District For 3rd Grade Students, Julie Nicole Goodin

Student Theses and Dissertations

This mixed-methods study evaluated the impact of a tutoring program on third-grade students' reading achievement, focusing on rural Title I schools. The research used the Kellogg Logic Model to assess the program's short-term outcomes. It analyzed universal reading data for one hundred and three third-grade students and gathered the perspectives from nineteen stakeholders, including teachers, parents, and administrators. The researcher assessed the long-term outcomes by analyzing data on third-grade students' overall academic reading growth and by examining the stakeholders' perceptions of the program's effectiveness. The themes for the study from the participants included the benefits of tutoring, bus transportation, use …

Institutionalizing Normality: Disability, Productivity, And Higher Education, Ashley Dirzis

Student Theses

This thesis examines how capitalism and neuronormative domination shape the structures and values of academic institutions, affecting faculty, students, and research subjects alike. By privileging productivity, conformity, and efficiency in the pursuit of income, universities often marginalize those who diverge from normative standards of thinking, behavior, and embodiment, particularly disabled individuals. Drawing on Marta Russell’s Disability and Capitalism and the shaping of disability by capitalist systems, Robert Chapman’s notion of the "Empire of Normality" and Jay Dolmage’s concept of the retrofit from Academic Ableism, this paper analyzes how academia reinforces ableist norms. It explores the realities and barriers that …

Lived Experiences Of High School Teachers' Professional Development Post-Covid-19 Pandemic In Rural Georgia: A Transcendental Phenomenology Study, Jesse Regalado

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to describe the lived experiences of high school teachers' professional development post-COVID-19 pandemic in rural Georgia, U.S.A. The theories guiding the research are Piaget's theory of disequilibration, addressing how one accommodates and assimilates to adapt to change, and Festinger's (1957) theory of cognitive dissonance, explaining how one adapts, assimilates, and accommodates to avoid disharmony. The study's central question is, what are high school teachers' perceptions on the practical or academic professional development they received post-COVID-19 pandemic in rural Georgia, United States, used to promote leadership, teaching mastery, or pedagogical practices? This study utilized …

The Importance Of Public Health In College Populations: Why Vaccines Are Important, Kashish Poore

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This paper examines the importance of vaccines in college populations, where high-density living environments create unique vulnerabilities to infectious disease outbreaks. Despite vaccine mandates at most institutions, research indicates that many college students possess incomplete understanding of vaccine mechanisms and importance. The paper addresses three interconnected aspects: the biological foundations of vaccine-induced immunity, the significance of vaccination in collegiate settings, and the current state of vaccine literacy among students. Historical outbreaks on campuses, including meningitis at Princeton and mumps across several institutions, highlight the consequences of undervaccination. Social media misinformation has contributed significantly to vaccine hesitancy, particularly since COVID-19. The …

2025 February 21 - Academic, Research, And Student Success Committee Agenda And Minutes, Board Of Trustees, East Tennessee State University

Board of Trustees Agendas and Minutes

No abstract provided.

February 21, 2025 Ereporter, University Of Alabama At Birmingham

eReporter (campus newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Innovative Instruction To Cultivate Young Adolescents’ Creativity In A Virtual Environment, Stacie K. Pettit, Christi L. Pace, Dawn Jeffers, Emily Harrison

Current Issues in Middle Level Education

The unique needs of high-ability young adolescents should be met just as those students with other diverse needs even when instruction becomes virtual. This paper highlights the work of two teachers who overcame the challenges of remote and hybrid learning to provide quality lessons on creativity, logic, and problem solving. They are accomplishing this for 4th and 5th grade students in their gifted program through project-based learning and other lessons situated around creativity. The strategies presented that encourage students to exercise creativity would be beneficial for all students.

Course Portfolio: Bios 443/843 Immunology, Nicole Sexton

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This course portfolio relates to the Fall 2025 delivery of BIOS 443/843: Immunology, cross listed as MBIO 443 and VMBS 843 and was prepared as part of the Faculty-led Inquiry into Reflective and Scholarly Teaching (FIRST) project. BIOS 443/843 is an upper division course that introduces Immunological concepts but also connects them to up to date literature in the field of Immunology with the intent of preparing students for careers in medicine and biomedical research. In Fall of 2025 this course was restructured to incorporate additional peer-to-peer learning opportunities and more distributed assessment styles, therefore was peer-reviewed to assess the …