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"We're In The Business Of A Good Education": Schooled To Profit Or Educated To Create?, Nicole Nolasco

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

In this inquiry, I ask the questions: What could my career, my life, and the world be like in the future? How could public education be impacted by the frenzy over accountability, standards, and the belief that competition and unrestricted capitalism will reform American schools, especially for students of color and from the working and lower classes? How can I, a high school English teacher, address pressing social and educational issues to affect change? I explore these questions through a work of fiction I have created. Theoretically drawing from critical pedagogy, I use arts based research and fiction as methodology …

Flight Of The White Feather: The Expansion Of The White Feather Movement Throughout The World War One British Commonwealth, Kimberly Elisa Stevens

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The historiography of the First World War in Great Britain has focused mainly on military matters, leaving home front experiences temporarily unexplored. While the soldier’s experience remains invaluable to historians, studies of women and the home front are significant. The White Feather Campaign, which called for women to give white feathers denoting cowardice to men in civilian dress, who allegedly had not enlisted, remains vivid in British historical memory, but few scholarly works have examined it thoroughly. Historians such as Nicoletta F. Gullace and Susan R. Grayzel have shed light on British women in the war, but there remains further …

“At-Risk” Rural Middle-School Students’ Perceptions Of Problem-Based Learning In Mathematics, Deborah A. Bowers

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Middle-grade students who fail math have at least a three-in-four chance of dropping out of high school (Neild & Balfanz, 2006). Furthermore, these students, especially female students, at risk of failure in mathematics and consequent dropout, may not be well served by traditional teaching methods because of their inequitable instructional practices (Lerner & Sadker, 1999). This case study of eight seventh-grade students from a rural school in Georgia sought to gain insight into whether PBL (problem-based learning) was perceived to be an effective teaching method for “at-risk” middle-school mathematics students and female students in particular. The goals of the study …

Creating Spaces Of Imaginative Engagement For Gifted High School Honors And Advanced Placement English Students, Patty T. Bradshaw

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Gifted students may have safety needs beyond the universal needs for security that all students have in order to learn. I investigated the needs of gifted students first hand through interviews with nine gifted students with diverse backgrounds. Interview questions and findings were organized around five major themes: characterization of self, characterization of classmates, characterization of teachers, characterization of classroom, and characterization of strategies and activities. Conclusions show that gifted students share commonalities in personality, needs, and characteristics as well as commonalities among the challenges they face, conditions in which they learn, and the environment in which they feel safe …

Do Placement And Repetition Of Information In Pictorials Affect Comprehension And Memory Of Medication Instructions?, Jessica Le

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine how text and picture pairings affected comprehension and memory for medication instructions. Participants viewed instructions on how to prepare a mock oral suspension drug. These instructions either had the picture repeat the information in the text, or complement information in the text. The text instructions were also either integrated into the pictures, or were separated from the pictures. Next, participants were assessed on their comprehension and memory including memory for the order of the steps and their belief in their ability to carry out this task effectively. The results indicated that participants …

Examining Cognitive Vulnerability Models To Borderline Personality Features In A Sample Of Emerging Adults, Danielle E. Seal

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a chronic condition that warrants further empirical investigation. Considering the potentially lethal consequences and therapeutic challenges associated with features of BPD, it is important for researchers to explore pathways that will advance theory, assessment, and interventions that target BPD symptoms. One interactive theory that may predict variation in BPD symptoms is the cognitive-vulnerability model. Examining the cognitive vulnerability model in the context of BPD symptoms is the overall goal of the dissertation project. Specifically, the current study examined the mediator effects of maladaptive schemas on the adverse event-BPD symptom relationship. Four hundred and fifteen undergraduate …

The Influence Of Normative Feedback And Expectancy Violation On Attitudes Related To Sexual Assault, Stephanie Chastang

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Sexual assault is a complex problem, and there is no set of best practices for sexual assault prevention and education programs. Social norms marketing and expectancy violations, however, have been proposed to be influential factors that may aid in increasing prosocial attitudes related to sexual assault. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential effect of social norm feedback and expectancy violations on attitudes related to sexual assault and bystander intervention. Participants in the study included 244 undergraduate and graduate students who completed an experiment embedded in an online survey. Results indicated that there were no significant …

The Effects Of Injunctive And Descriptive Normative Influence On Stigmatizing Attitudes Toward Individuals With Mental Illness, Erin E. Lawson

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

People often stigmatize individuals with mental illness (Corrigan, 2003; Weiss, 1994). The stigmatization of mental illness may be facilitated by socialization tools, such as the media, which send messages to the public that individuals with mental illness are fundamentally different and therefore should be excluded from the social majority (Klin & Lemish, 2008; Signorielli, 1989; Stout, Villegas, & Jennings, 2004). Understanding mental illness stigma as a social process may broaden theoretical understanding of how mental illness stigma develops and how it may be reduced. Theories regarding injunctive and descriptive norms may provide such insight. It is known that injunctive norms …

Exploring The Psychometric Properties Of The Acceptance Of Modern Myths About Sexual Aggression (Ammsa) Scale, Lisa C. Watson

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

College-aged women are within the highest risk group of women (18 to 25 years old) to experience sexual assault. Nineteen percent of college women report experiencing attempted or completed sexual assault during their four years of college (Krebs, Linquist, Warner, Fisher, & Martin, 2009). It is estimated that 20 to 25% of college women will experience an attempted or completed sexual assault during college (American College Health Association, 2008). The primary sexual assault prevention method on college campuses has been in the form of education (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2004) with an …

Colaboratory: Design Collaboration For The Greater Good, Lindsay B. Tyson

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Graphic design is a powerful tool, which has the power to shift perspective and create an impact. A recent shift in the design world has graphic designers using their skill sets to address complex social problems, to engage their audience in new ways that bring awareness to a social issue for the greater good of society. This thesis examines how graphic design collaboration ignites social change within a community and inspires transformation in human behavior. It explores how designing for the greater good impacts our society; and how these collaborative experiences improve the community and clients they serve. This thesis …

The Effects Of Construal Level On Stigmatizing Attitudes Toward An Individual With Mental Illness, Jeremy Glenn Gay

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

People with mental illness often face stigmatization by society. However, little research has examined cognitive factors that may activate or dissipate stigmatizing attitudes toward those with mental illness. Construal level, or the extent that people focus on abstract generalizations versus concrete details of events, may be one such cognitive factor. Two contradictory hypotheses emerged concerning how construal may affect stigmatizing attitudes. One hypothesis suggests that abstract construals will decrease stigmatization because abstract construals tend to increase the activation of similar goals, thus leading to a similarity focus. In contrast, another hypothesis suggests that abstract construals will increase stigmatization because abstract …

Daily Hassles Among College Students: The Role Of Spirituality On Risky Behaviors And Emotional Distress Indices, Kristen N. Campbell

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Stressful life events are correlated with a higher likelihood of engaging in maladaptive coping techniques (Boden et al., 2014; Kohn, Lafreniere, & Gurevich, 1990; Park, Armell, & Tennen, 2004). One type of maladaptive coping technique is engagement in risky behaviors (e.g., high-risk sports, risky sexual behaviors, illicit drug use; Fromme, Katz, & Rivet, 1997). College students are at an increased risk of engaging in these behaviors. Research demonstrates that stressful life events are also correlated with higher levels of depression and anxiety (Kohn, Lafreniere, & Gurevich, 1990). As college students are exposed to a more stressful environment, they are at …

Frames Of Military Veterans In Letters To The Editor In Us Newspapers, Matthew Kleinsorge

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This ethnographic content analysis of veterans in letters to the editor builds on the existing literature in two ways. First it examines the new time frame of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Second it deals with new data—letters to the Editor and Op-Eds. The new timeframe allows me to address the following questions. (1) What types of frames are currently associated with veterans after over eleven years of continuous combat? (2) Does the amount of sympathy in framings of veterans found by this research seem to differ from the amount of sympathy found in the framings of veterans in …

Guns, Gender, Geography: Exploring Reasons For Gun Ownership, Lauren N. Kadet

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study was aimed to depict patterns of gun ownership in the United States and to outline the reasons for gun ownership and the influential variables associated with people’s reasons for owning handguns and long guns. This study used data derived from the 2004 National Firearm Survey to examine how respondents’ geographic region of residency, gender, race, age, rural location and education level influenced the likelihood of, and reasons for owning a firearm. The findings from this study suggest that being a male, living in the south and participants’ age was significant in determining the likelihood of participants owning a …

Law Enforcements’ Perceptions And Preparedness To Address Child Exploitation Via Hacking, Jack W. Lightfoot

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Throughout recorded history, children have been subjected to sexual exploitation. Child predators and pedophiles often take great risk and go to extreme lengths to sexually exploit a child. With technological advancements many individuals became globalized and connected with the invention of the computer, the internet and its attributes. However, child predators quickly took note of the vulnerability of children as they begin to groom them online. The problem quickly evolved as the Deep (Dark) Web and encryption were created. This put great stress upon law enforcement entities as locating and combating these predators became exhausting tasks. It’s most often that …

The Influence Of Emotion On Memory For A Crime, Taylor Langley

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Researchers have reported errors in recall or recognition of witnessed events, accounting for the most common cause of false convictions of innocent people. Tiwari (2010) indicated that 25% of suspects who were identified in a line-up were actually innocent. Jurors are strongly influenced by eyewitness testimony and this can lead to false convictions. The validity of eyewitness identification is critical in cases in which it is used as evidence. In the current study we examined specific emotion states by inducing fear, surprise, and neutral moods. We hypothesized that participants in the Fear group would be least susceptible to the effects …

Court-Appointed Special Advocates In The Rural South: A Fidelity Assessment, Shanna N. Felix

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Children in the court system who are abused or neglected are mandated by the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) to have special legal representation in the form of a Guardian ad Litem (GAL). A GAL can be a staff attorney or he or she can be a volunteer layperson (known as a Court-Appointed Special Advocate, or CASA) who has undergone the GAL training. In some states, the CASA volunteer can be a substitute for the GAL, while in other states (like Georgia) the CASA is appointed by the judge as a complement to the staff attorney. To …

A Phenomenological Investigation Of Cheerleaders' Lived Experiences Of Mental Blocks, Erin M. Lawrence

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

A mental block is a phenomenon in which an athlete’s mind no longer allows them to perform a physical skill that was previously well-learned and automatic. This phenomenon has received attention in gymnastics and trampoline but the literature is lacking an investigation of this phenomenon in all-star cheerleading. The purpose of this study was to examine the phenomenon of mental blocks by obtaining it from the first-person perspective of cheerleaders themselves. A purposeful sample of 8 all-star cheerleader participants was interviewed and transcriptions were analyzed utilizing qualitative analysis. Four main themes were found: 1) specific to backwards moving skills, 2) …

The Relationship Between Traumatic Events And Psychological Symptomatology And The Moderating Role Of Mentalization, Sean Fowler

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Traumatic events can lead to a number of disparate psychological responses. Ranging from diagnosable psychological symptomatology to little or no distress, the outcomes of potentially traumatic events are difficult to narrow down. Research on individual differences has indicated the potential for a number of characteristics that influence the relationship between traumatic events and psychological well-being. Some researchers have proposed that one of these factors, an individual’s ability to mentalize, can influence the onset of psychological symptoms after a traumatic event. Mentalization is seen as one’s ability to maintain a sense of self, which enables understanding and differentiating between one’s own …

Colaboratory: Design Collaboration For The Greater Good, Stephanie Arends Neal

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

A university campus is comprised of countless students enrolled in an array of degree programs that logistically creates a diverse population that can and should culminate into a dynamic professional network for graduates. How can higher education capitalize on this melting pot to provide experiences for students and fuse this network? A place, where students collectively solve problems by applying knowledge from their degree-specific areas, will foster interdisciplinary collaboration. By requiring working-relationships between students that benefit their community, a design center will provide students with experiences across disciplines that mirror a real-world, collaborative work environment while they identify opportunities and …

A Phenomenological Study Of Teachers' Perceptions Of Kindergarten Retention: Are Standards To Be Blamed?, Ginger Delaigle

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Currently there are a number of Kindergarten students who are being retained for not mastering Common Core State Standards. One of the methods that teachers can use to support Kindergarten students in achieving these standards are Developmentally Appropriate Practices. The exploration of the perceptions of teachers who have experienced the phenomenon of retaining Kindergarten students served as the goal for this qualitative, phenomenological study. The results provided data for examination of the perceptions the teachers had with retaining Kindergarten students and their perceptions of the developmental appropriateness of the Common Core State Standards. Four Kindergarten teachers participated in three interviews …

Remedial Education Programs And Student Success: Perceptions Of Faculty And Administrators At Hbcus, Tenora J. Simonez

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to examine factors that contributed to student success in remedial education as perceived by faculty members and administrators at one public HBCU in the University System of Georgia. The five specific areas that contributed to student success and were identified for review were administrative factors, curricula and instructional models, academic support services, importance of placement tests, and the impact of financial issues. Each of these areas was represented in literature regarding the histories of remedial education programs and HBCUs, recent federal and state admissions and fiscal changes, and instructional best practices of remedial …

Characteristics Of Effective Alternative Schools In Georgia: Leaders’ Perceptions, Janet L. Poole

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Educational leaders and district decision makers are faced with the challenge of providing support for at-risk students who are failing in traditional schools and are in danger of not graduating. Alternative schools are considered options for learning for at-risk students. However, limited research is available describing the views and experiences of the administrators who lead them. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative study was to understand leaders’ perceptions of characteristics of effective alternative schools in Georgia, as well as challenges associated with leading them. Ten face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were conducted to investigate what eight male and two female alternative …

Perceived Believability Of Televised Green Advertising, Linda Jo Warren

AMTP Proceedings 2016

Consumers are typically skeptical and cynical of advertising claims for products and generally disbelieve most advertised information. Believability of advertisers’ claims is crucial for consumer adoption of products, but consumers’ environmental imagination should be assessed to enhance believability of green marketing claims. Consumer belief in an advertised product is nearly essential to prompt the consumer to purchase. This paper examines the perceptions of consumers and their believability of specifically green versus non-green televised advertisements. The FTC considers not only a product in its rulings, but also the packaging, formulations and disposal of the product. Consumer belief of advertising relating demographic, …

Online And In-Store Compulsive Buying Among Metrosexuals And Other Male Consumers, Michael Lee Thomas, Luther Trey Denton Iii, Lindsay R. Larson, Kathleen Gruben

AMTP Proceedings 2016

This paper presents an exploratory study of compulsive buying behavior among males, specifically metrosexual consumers. These men represent significant purchasing power, but to date they have not been studied in both online and in-store environments. The current research has significant importance for public policy, consumer behavior and marketing. The literature has largely ignored male compulsive shopping behavior, especially how this behavior manifests itself in different shopping environments and among different subsets of male consumers. For the current research, data was gathered via an online survey of 193 males. The study discusses both online and in-store compulsive buying by various product …

The Impact Of Shadowing Within A University Sales Program, Linda G. Mullen, Lindsay R.L. Larson

AMTP Proceedings 2016

Oftentimes sales faculty seek to build real-world opportunities into their coursework that will allow students to observe first-hand the material presented in the classroom. While these kinds of experiential learning projects are assumed to be beneficial to sales classes, research on the actual benefits derived from these opportunities is limited. The current paper describes a 7-step shadowing opportunity for students within a University Sales program, and reports findings with quantitative and qualitative assessment data. Over five academic semesters between 2012 through 2015, 131 students within an advanced sales course at a Southeastern University were each asked to locate and shadow …

How To Teach Entrepreneurship: Traditional Lectures Versus Experiential Learning, Ismet Anitsal, M. Meral Antisal

AMTP Proceedings 2016

Entrepreneurship has become an important part of public policy of many states in the US. Hence, how to incorporate entrepreneurial education into higher education curriculum has become a hot topic of discussion. Even though entrepreneurship courses have been included into marketing and management curriculum in multiple universities traditionally, the recent focus on developing entrepreneurship as a source of economic growth and vitality resulted in a debate about how to educate entrepreneurs.

Experiential learning is another trend in the higher education that gained momentum in recent years. This approach has also been called as problem-based learning, inquiry learning, or discovery learning. …

Reflections In The Mirror: Women’S Self Comparisons To Mannequins And Peers, Amanda Cohen, Deborah J.C. Brosdahl, K. Annette Burnsed, Joohyung Park

AMTP Proceedings 2016

The fashion industry has been under fire for years for using unrealistic body sizes in the form of stick-thin fashion models to promote the sale of clothing. Typical Western fashion models in today’s society are sized 0-2 and weigh approximately 23% less than the average U.S. woman, who weighs approximately 163 pounds and wears a size 14 (Vesilind, 2009). According to Vartanian (2009), many women suffer from body image self-discrepancies when they compare themselves with others, including fashion models. As such, social comparison has been documented to create negative emotions, such as body dissatisfaction and disappointment (Posavac & Posavac, 2002). …

Armstrong State University 2016 Fact Book, Armstrong State University

Armstrong Office of Institutional Research: Armstrong Fact Books (Archived)

No abstract provided.

Research Symposium Program [2016], Georgia Southern University

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

No abstract provided.