Digital Commons Network^™

Multiclass Classification Of Risk Factors For Cervical Cancer Using Artificial Neural Networks, Abdullah Al Mamun

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

World Health Organization statistics show that cervical cancer is the fourth most frequent cancer in women with an estimated 530,000 new cases in 2012. Cervical cancer diagnosis typically involves liquid-based cytology (LBC) followed by a pathologist review. The accuracy of decision is therefore highly influenced by the expert’s skills and experience, resulting in relatively high false positive and/or false negative rates. Moreover, given the fact that the data being analyzed is highly dimensional, same reviewer’s decision is inherently affected by inconsistencies in interpreting the data. In this study, we use an Artificial Neural Network based model that aims to considerably …

Examining The Issue Of Compliance With Personal Protective Equipment Among Wastewater Workers Across The Southeast Region Of The United States, Tamara L. Wright

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Wastewater workers are exposed to different occupational hazards such as chemicals, gases, viruses, and bacteria. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is a significant factor that can reduce or increase the probability of an accident from hazardous exposures to chemicals and microbial contaminants. The purpose of this study was to identify wastewater worker’s beliefs and practices on wearing PPE and protections offered by PPE through the integration of the Health Belief Model (HBM). Participants were workers in the wastewater industry, which included wastewater operators, laboratory analysts, maintenance workers, wastewater collection workers, equipment operators, managers, and supervisors (n=272). The instrument was a self-administered …

Examining The Collegiate Experiences Of African American Males With Same Race Mentors, Crystal L. Locke

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

African American males have a more meaningful college experience when they are mentored with people with whom they can culturally relate (Brown, 2013; Moore & Tolliver, 2010). Although studies indicate African American males who had same race mentors display higher self-efficacy (Stefon, 2011), improved graduation rates (U.S. Department of Education, 2017), and a more positive college experience (Chen, Ingram & Davis, 2014), additional research in this area is needed.

Using a phenomenological approach, this qualitative study sought to determine the impact having a same race mentor had on the collegiate experiences of five African American males who successfully graduated from …

Characteristics Associated With Local Health Departments’ Completion Of Community Health Assessment, Community Health Improvement Plan, And Strategic Planning, Abraham Deng Ater

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Local health departments engage in community health assessment, community health improvement plan, strategic planning to systematically monitor health, identify risk factors, and to set strategic priorities to improve population health outcomes. Successful completion of these three processes within the last five years is also paramount as they are required for accreditation by the Public Health Accreditation Board. The main purpose of this study was to analyze characteristics of local health departments that are associated with completion of community health assessment, community health improvement plan, strategic planning, and accreditation processes. This cross-sectional study drew data from the 2016 NACCHO profile of …

Anti-Muslim Prejudice When Exposed To News About Terrorism: The Roles Of Negative Affect And Psychological Inflexibility, Arthur T. Hatton Sr.

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

In the United States, some proposed law enforcement policies intended to prevent terrorism may violate the civil rights of American minorities. These policies include random searches by law enforcement, banning Muslims from entering the country, and refusing to grant asylum to Syrian refugees. Additionally, the rise of ISIS has heightened the salience of terrorism across the world and in the United States. The goal of the high-production videos produced by ISIS may be partially intended to create inter-religious conflict in the West. My study examines the effect of news about ISIS propaganda videos on Americans’ opinions about policies that limit …

The Effect Of Religious Dress On Perceived Attractiveness And Trustworthiness, Courtney Swank

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The hijab, a symbol of modesty and privacy in the Islamic faith, negatively affects ratings of perceived attractiveness. Although postcolonial feminism strives to portray women as not one universal group, but as an incorporation of different races, ethnicities, social classes, and other cultures, the Western world may not be where it endeavors to be. In this study the impact of the hijab on people’s perceptions of attractiveness was examined. Participants rated four target photos of the same woman with and without a hijab, and with or without cosmetics. Attractiveness and trustworthiness was then assessed in each condition, between genders, in …

Pareidolia, Rick Hoffman

Wraparound South (Archived)

No abstract provided.

Augmented Reality Chemistry: Transforming 2-D Molecular Representations Into Interactive 3-D Structures, Derek Behmke, David Kerven, Robert Lutz, Julia Paredes, Richard Pennington, Evelyn Brannock, Michael Deiters, John Rose, Kevin Stevens

Proceedings of the Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (Archived)

Spatial reasoning is defined as the ability to generate, retain, and manipulate abstract visual images. In chemistry, spatial reasoning skills are typically taught using 2-D paper-based models, 3-D handheld models, and computerized models. These models are designed to aid student learning by integrating information from the macroscopic, microscopic, and symbolic domains of chemistry. Research has shown that increased spatial reasoning abilities translate directly to improved content knowledge. The recent explosion in the popularity of smartphones and the development of augmented reality apps for them provide, a yet to be explored, way of teaching spatial reasoning skills to chemistry students. Augmented …

From Worldviews To Classrooms: Framing Evolution Acceptance In Pre-Service Science Teachers In The Southeastern United States, Amanda Glaze

Georgia Educational Researcher

Research demonstrates that teachers' acceptance or rejection of evolution impacts whether they teach evolution in their classrooms. Furthermore, factors such as religiosity and nature of science understanding impact acceptance or rejection. What is absent from the literature is an exploration of experiences that inform choices made regarding acceptance or rejection, experiences that illuminate the counter-intuitive relationships demonstrated in quantitative studies. For this reason, we explore the lived experiences that inform the worldviews of Pre-Service Secondary Science Teachers (PSSTs) and how those worldviews might inform their acceptance or rejection of evolution. Coding and pattern analysis informed themes within the data explaining …

The Miseducation Of Irie Jones In Zadie Smith's White Teeth, Amanda S. Medlock

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

In this essay, I will discuss Carter G. Woodson’s notion of the “mis-education” black Americans face and its applicability in British novelist, Zadie Smith’s, debut novel, White Teeth. This novel shows how mis-education affects four generations of female Caribbean migrants. My analysis emphasizes how this mis-education shapes the life of Smith’s character, Irie Jones. Throughout the text, Irie suffers from low self-esteem due to her cultural rootlessness. I attribute this rootlessness to the mis-education inherited from her female predecessors. Ultimately, I explore how instead of defeating this familial baggage, she falls victim to it.

The Real Winner Of The Second World War: Patriotic Consumption And The Formation Of A Society Of Spin, Jordan T. Thomas

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The unique circumstances in the United States during the Second World War allowed for business to continue as usual on the home front. Advertisers, public relations experts, and big business all worked for the government to promote the war effort. For a period of time major companies in the United States were producing advertisements that persuaded citizens to support rationing, buy war bonds, hate the enemy, and keep their brand names in mind in the post-war years. Companies who supported the war effort had their brands connected with ideas of patriotism and enjoyed the success of brand loyal consumers in …

A Study On Science Achievement And Motivation Using Computer-Based Simulations Compared To Traditional Hands-On Manipulation, Stacey L. Hannel, Joshua Cuevas

Georgia Educational Researcher

This study was conducted to investigate whether or not computer-based simulations had a greater impact on science achievement compared to traditional hands-on methods for middle school students in an on-level science course. The study also sought to determine if either method had an impact on retention as well as motivation. The participants in the study were 6^th grade students attending a public middle school in suburban metro-Atlanta. A variety of statistical analyses were utilized to measure science achievement, retention, and motivation. Results indicated that there was no significant difference on science achievement between the traditional hands-on method and the …

Toward A Better Understanding Of Organic Products Consumption: The Key Role Of Consumers’ Involvement, Nataly Levesque, Frank Pons, Mahshid Omid

AMTP Proceedings 2018

Food consumption is at the base of human needs and represents an important part of our everyday life (Gottschalk & Leistner, 2013). Furthermore, the organic food market is probably the most promising sector of the global food industry (Tarkiainen & Sundqvist, 2009). However, the gap, often mentioned in the literature, between positive attitude towards organic products and actual behavior regarding these products still represents a major issue. Thus, in this paper, we propose to address this issue using an extended version of the Theory of Planned Behavior to explain parts of this gap and to highlight the crucial role played …

Teaching About Prejudice With A Bogardus Social Distance Scale Activity: Replication And Extension, Trent W. Maurer, Cassidy Keim

Human Ecology: Faculty Publications

This study presents a three-year replication and extension of Maurer’s (2013) evaluation of a classroom activity to reduce prejudice and discrimination. Students in six sections of an introductory family science course were assigned to one of three conditions and one of two target marginalized groups for a 3x2 design. Results differed significantly from those reported by Maurer (2013), and suggested that all three methods tested were equally effective in reducing prejudice and discrimination and that such changes were lasting. Additionally, a student participant served as a co-inquirer on this project, and her reflections on the process are included.

An Objective Measure Of Sleep In Division I College Soccer Players Compared To The General College Population, Natalie Brown

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Introduction: Sleep is necessary for proper recovery from daily life for both college athletes and students.

Purpose: To objectively evaluate the sleep quality of college athletes across gender, comparing them to a normal college student population.

Methods: A convenience sample of 104 subjects (19.39 ± 1.28 years), 42 Division college athletes and 62 comparison college students completed one week of data collection using the ActiGraph GT3X device. Wear time, sleep time, and wake time were recorded by each participant. Independent variables were athlete status and gender. Dependent variables were Total Sleep Time (TST), Wake After Sleep Onset (WASO), Latency, and …

Utilizing The Icf-Cy As A Conceptual Framework To Examine Physical Activity And Dietary Behaviors Among Adolescents With Down Syndrome, Anne O. Odusanya

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Introduction: Research has shown that obesity among children and adolescents is disconcerting in the Southeast United States. Additionally, children and adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities especially those with DS have an exacerbated risk of obesity. Despite the elevated risk of obesity for this population, very few studies have investigated factors that influence healthy eating and engagement in physical activity among children and adolescents with DS. The purpose of this study was to identify facilitators and barriers concerning healthy eating and physical activity for adolescents with DS. Methods: Adolescents with DS along with their parents were recruited from a local …

The Role Of Psychosocial Factors In The Non-Medical Use Of Prescription Stimulants Among Undergraduate Greek-Life Members, Kathleen May

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The non-medical use of prescription stimulants (NMUPS) is a growing concern across U.S. college campuses. Amphetamine misuse increased from 7.7% to 11.1% among undergraduate students over the past decade. Research has identified Greek-life members are twice as likely to report NMUPS in comparison to non-Greek-life members; however, little is known about social and psychological factors contributing to this discrepancy. While researchers have identified specific personality characteristics significantly correlated with higher levels of reported NMUPS, including sensation seeking and internal restlessness, currently little is known about social factors related to NMUPS. It is important to examine psychosocial variables motivating NMUPS in …

Does Observational Learning Influence Spatial Pattern Learning?, Matthew Bruster

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Previous studies have indicated both human and non-human animals come under control of a hidden spatial pattern when engaged in an open field search task, and rats appear to exhibit social learning in such tasks through the influence of a conspecific on their search behavior. Although human participants appear to perform similarly in both real-world and virtual environment versions of a spatial pattern search task, evidence from human participants for social learning in such a task remains lacking. The current experiments tested the influence of social learning (observational learning) on human performance in a spatial pattern learning task within a …

Collegiate Recreation Participation And Student Retention, Progression, And Graduation, Gabriela Mccollum

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between collegiate recreation participation and students’ retention, progression, and graduation (RPG) rates. This study employed a quantitative, ex post facto research design along with descriptive analyses of two research questions. Archival data were gathered for an incoming first-year cohort of 3,516 students at a research-intensive university in the Southeast United States. The present study found that participants within the cohort who were classified as high participation in collegiate recreation were more likely to be retained from the first to the second year. Evidence of this finding was presented with statistical …

Eagle Educator, Georgia Southern University

College of Education: News & Publications (2003-2023)

• Changes in the College of Education
• Join Bruce Field ...
• Synovus Lends EAGLE Academy More Than Just Financial Assistance
• Institute hosts several opportunities for regional involvement
• School Psychology Program Receives NASP Approval
• Year-Long Field Placement Offers New Benefits To Student Teachers
• Educator Brings Federal-Level Training to Statesboro-Bulloch County Law Enforcement
• Faculty Awards, Honors and Promotions
• Fox Receives 2017 COE Staff Award
• Two COE Faculty Named University Excellence Award Recipients
• Four Faculty Members Recognized for Jack Miller Awards
• Georgia Southern and Synovus recognize educators during football season
• Cartee Honored as College of Education Alumna of the Year
• Student Veteran Finds Second …

A Multicultural Education Praxis: Integrating Past And Present, Living Theories, And Practice, Peggy A. Shannon-Baker

Curriculum, Foundations & Reading: Faculty Publications

In our current climate of heightened conservatism and criticism, multicultural education is as important as ever. This article argues for the need to reframe multicultural education as a praxis based on its social justice- oriented principles, values, and practices. Using practitioner action research, I examine my implementation of such a praxis in a college course. I discuss critical reflections on demonstrating the interconnections between current and historical social movements, theory and lived experiences, and the students’ and my learning. I conclude by arguing that reframing multicultural education as a praxis could encourage more coalitions within and beyond schools.

2018 Georgia Southern University Men's Soccer Roster, Georgia Southern University

Men's Soccer Records

• Georgia Southern University Athletics 2018 Men's Soccer Roster

2018 Georgia Southern University Women's Soccer Roster, Georgia Southern University

Women's Soccer Records

• 2018 Women's Soccer Roster

2018 Georgia Southern University Softball Roster, Georgia Southern University

Women's Softball Records

• 2018 Softball Roster

2018 Georgia Southern University Softball Media Guide, Georgia Southern University

Women's Softball Records

• Georgia Southern 2018 Softball Media Guide

2017-2018 Georgia Southern University Women's Swimming And Diving Roster, Georgia Southern University

Women's Swimming Records

• 2017-18 Swimming and Diving Roster

Reflector Magazine, Georgia Southern University, Student Media

Reflector Magazine

• Cuisine and Culture
• Pads, Paper, and Nancey Price
• Best Cities for Post-Grads Brunch in the 'Boro
• Health & Fitness
• Spiritual, but not Religious
• Trend Report: Skincare 101
• Features
• #MeToo
• Pantone's "Feel-Good" Spring 2018 Colors
• Life & Style
• Most Instagrammable Sports in Statesboro and Savannah
• From Ice Pick to Tattoo Needle
• The Minimalist Life
• Entertainment
• Statesboro's Music Scene
• Southern Limelights

Honors @ Georgia Southern, University Honors Program Students And Staff, Georgia Southern University

Honors College: News & Publications (2008-2020)

• Bob Mikell and Darin Van Tassell
• Honors Students ‘Fight Dirty’
• Honors Travels to D.C.
• 2017-2018 Graduates

Contextualized Writing: Promoting Audience-Centered Writing Through Scenario Based Learning, Paullett Golden

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Scenario-based learning is an approach for student-centered learning used in the medical and legal fields, but is little used in liberal arts. In this study, I examine students’ understanding and application of audience-centered writing techniques after a semester of formal scenario-based essays and problem-based activities. Comparing the grades of two experimental groups and one control group showed consistently higher class averages in the two experimental groups exposed to the problem-based scenarios, averages one to two letter grades higher than that of the control group. The findings also revealed increased critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making. The summative assessment was …

Teaching About Prejudice With A Bogardus Social Distance Scale Activity: Replication And Extension, Trent W. Maurer, Cassidy Keim

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

This study presents a three-year replication and extension of Maurer’s (2013) evaluation of a classroom activity to reduce prejudice and discrimination. Students in six sections of an introductory family science course were assigned to one of three conditions and one of two target marginalized groups for a 3x2 design. Results differed significantly from those reported by Maurer (2013), and suggested that all three methods tested were equally effective in reducing prejudice and discrimination and that such changes were lasting. Additionally, a student participant served as a co-inquirer on this project, and her reflections on the process are included.