Digital Commons Network^™

The Art Therapy Technique Of ‘Life Review’: Its Impact On Existential Issues In Older Adults, Emily Victoria Willen

EVMS School of Health Professions Theses & Dissertations

For many older adults, the aging process brings many existential and end-of-life concerns. These concerns may be related to their experiences, their self-concept, and the choices they made throughout their lives. Older adults who are able to sufficiently address these issues are less vulnerable to feelings of depression and hopelessness. The geriatric population is in need of services that will help them resolve existential issues and integrate their experiences into a cohesive sense of self.

This qualitative case study explored the effectiveness of using the art therapy technique of the life review to help an older adult resolve existential questions …

Readiness For Reform In Middle Schools Adopting Powerteaching For Mathematics Instruction, Elizabeth Hoag Carhart, John Nunnery, Linda Bol, Pamela Arnold, Shanan Chappell,, The Center For Education Partners, Melva R. Grant, Gary R. Morrison

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Federal policy makers and school leaders increasingly recognize middle school math as a turning point in students’ academic success, especially in predicting high school graduation rates. New i3 scale-up grants allow large-scale implementation of proven reforms that increase student achievement. PowerTeaching (PT) is one such reform that centers on cooperative learning. A five year technologically-facilitated scale-up of PowerTeaching will bring the reform to 185 high-needs middle schools nationwide. In this pilot phase of the project, we will examine eight schools’ readiness for reform. Teacher questionnaires, interviews with school leaders, PT coaches and teachers, coaching feedback, and walk-through observation data will …

Proceedings, Msvscc 2013, Old Dominion University, Department Of Modeling, Simulation & Visualization Engineering, Old Dominion University, Virginia Modeling, Analysis & Simulation Center

Modeling, Simulation and Visualization Student Capstone Conference

Proceedings of the 7th Annual Modeling, Simulation & Visualization Student Capstone Conference held on April 11, 2013 at VMASC in Suffolk, Virginia.

Foreign Languages & Literatures Times, Department Of World Languages & Cultures, Old Dominion University

World Languages & Cultures Times

Spring 2013 issue of Foreign Languages & Literatures Times, newsletter of ODU's Department of World Languages & Cultures.

College Of Health Sciences Newsletter, April 2013, College Of Health Sciences

Ellmer College of Health Sciences Newsletters

April 2013 issue of Old Dominion University's College of Health Sciences Newsletter.

The Use Of Visual-Based Simulated Environments In Teacher Preparation, Sharon Judge, Jonna Bobzien, Ann Maydosz, Sabra Gear, Petros Katsioloudis

Communication Disorders & Special Education Faculty Publications

While virtual technology for training in the simulation field has a long history in medicine, aviation, and the military, the application of similar emerging and innovative technologies in teacher preparation and education has been limited. TLE TeachLive™ (Teaching Learning Environment, Teaching in a Virtual Environment) [TLE] is an inventive mixed-reality environment (the blending of real and synthetic content) where prospective teachers can interact with a group of virtual students. The purpose of the virtual teaching environment of TLE is to strengthen teacher recruitment, preparation, and retention in education by allowing teachers to improve their skills with virtual students, providing a …

Nobody Here Does Anything For Nothing: Reciprocity And Gender In The Wings Of The Dove, Marc A. Ouellette

English Faculty Publications

The article discusses the work of author Henry James in his novel "The Wings of the Dove." It discusses the comment of aristocrat Lord Mark on heroine of the novel Milly Theale who summarizes the central themes of the story, social exchange. It informs that social exchange is a perspective that motivates people that maximize benefits and minimize costs in their relationships with others.

Coffee ‘Tied With A Pink Ribbon’: Transgender Phenomena And Transnational Feminisms In Twenty-First Century Ethical Consumer Movements, Evangeline Heiliger

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

This essay engages the ways femininity has evolved through transnational economic relationships in the specialty coffee industry. What I call “fair trade femininities” are reproduced through specific business practices and media representations prompted by transnational feminisms and ethical consumer movements in the Americas. Here, I analyze Café Femenino, a successful brand of women’s organic, Fair Trade coffee first harvested in Peru in 2004. The organization’s women-only business model provides a unique window into the transnational production of American femininities, marking the brand as something that disrupts the category of “woman” by enacting and depending upon multiple femininities from women who …

Pushed To The Margins: The Advocate, Women, And Sexism In The Gay Press, Christianne Gadd

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

This essay focuses on The Advocate, the long-running newspaper (later magazine) that was founded by Dick Michaels and Bill Rau in the late 1960s as the newsletter for the homophile organization to which they both belonged (Personal Rights in Defense and Education, or PRIDE). This publication circulated throughout the United States, particularly after 1970, and quickly acquired a reputation as the “newspaper of record” for the lesbian and gay (and to a lesser extent bisexual and transgender) community. But The Advocate was also barraged with complaints about its politics (too conservative for gay radicals), the explicitly sexual …

(Re) Producing Gendered Knowledges: How Institutional Ecologies And ‘Supple’ Objects Influenced Academic Understandings Of Women, Gender, And Sexuality In The U.S., Christine Wood

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

This essay examines how researchers’ differing definitions of core categories of analysis in women’s and gender studies have yielded a wide variety of knowledge about gender, women, and sexuality across research institutions. The paper draws on historical records from five women’s and gender studies programs and departments in the U.S. and interviews with their faculty. In their formative years these programs defined their purpose similarly: to address the paucity of research on women and the social problems of sex inequality, where the working definition of “woman” was ontologically uncontested. Gradually scholars incorporated a broad range of analytic epistemologies into the …

Prisms And Refractions: Portrayals Of Domestic Laborers In Ann Petry’S The Street And Alice Childress’ Like One Of The Family: Conversations From A Domestic’S Life, Claudia May

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

When describing the process of refraction, scholar James Trefil offers the following explanation: “What happens to wavefronts of light when they cross a boundary between different media is the subject of Snell’s law, which is named for Willebrord Snell” (365). Trefil notes that in 1621 the “Dutch mathematician and physicist . . . discovered the simple law that governs the path of a refracted ray” (367, 365). He further asserts that this “[t]otal internal reflection . . . happens when the refracted ray strikes a surface at more than a critical angle to the perpendicular” (365). In summarizing …

Effects Of An Interprofessional Simulation Activity To Improve Students' Perceptions Of Other Healthcare Professions, Chase Raymond Poulsen

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Healthcare professionals have historically been educated and trained by members of their own profession within a curriculum that reinforces their individual discipline-specific strengths. This differentiation has contributed to students having little interaction with other professionals until after they have entered the workforce and consequently little formal education in collaboration or integration. The purpose of this mixed-method study was to evaluate the impact of an interprofessional (IP) collaborative activity on student's perceptions of the others discipline for the improvement in care of medical patients.

The sample population consisted of students from two programs, nursing (n=40) and respiratory therapy (n=33). Students were …

The Role Of Trust As A Mediator Between System Characteristics And Response Behaviors, Eric T. Chancey

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

There have been several theoretical frameworks that acknowledge trust as a prime mediator between system characteristics and automation reliance. Some researchers have operationally defined trust as the behavior exhibited. Other researchers have suggested that although trust may guide operator response behaviors, trust does not completely determine the behavior and advocate the use of subjective measures of trust. Recently, several studies accounting for temporal precedence failed to confirm that trust mediated the relationship between system characteristics and response behavior. The purpose of the current work was to clarify the roles that trust plays in response behavior when interacting with a signaling …

Investigating Similarities And Differences As Measured By The Durel And Gsq Between Three Subgroups Attending A Local Aa Meeting To Develop A Profile Of Long Term Attendees, Keesha Masean Kerns

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Alcoholics Anonymous groups are growing in popularity due to their cost effectiveness and history of dependability. Although the program clearly has the numbers to support its popularity, skeptics continually analyze its claims of effectiveness through research. While research pertaining to AA is diverse, very little is presented concerning factors that contribute to retention in the program. The primary purpose for this quantitative study was to investigate the similarities and differences in the various stages of participants of a sample attending a local AA program, identify variables that contribute to retention in the AA sample, and to use Grounded Theory to …

Reefer Madness To Marijuana And Legalization: Media Exposure And American Attitudes Towards Marijuana (1975-2010), Richard James Stringer

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

American attitudes toward marijuana have varied greatly from the time it was criminalized in the 1930's until 2010, and public opinion favoring the legalization of marijuana has steadily risen since 1990. Since the media is purported to have had an impact on the legislation rather than objective risk factors, it is possible that the marijuana epidemic could be the result of a socially constructed moral panic. As such, this study utilized General Social Survey data to examine the relationship between media exposure and attitudes toward the legalization of marijuana from 1975 through 2010, 1975 through 1990, and 1991 through 2010. …

There Are No "Innocent Victims": The Influence Of Just World Beliefs And Prior Victimization On Rape Myth Acceptance, Rebecca Lynne Vonderhaar

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Approximately 209,000 women report being raped every year. Of those 209,000 rapes, only 19,491 arrests were made (U.S. Department of Justice 2011). Furthermore, reports estimate that one out of every three women will be raped at some point in her life (Amir, 1971). The prominence of rape in the United States, as well as the disparity between documented rapes to the police and victim reports of rape, is problematic for researchers in fully understanding the breadth of the problem. Considering that rape occurs at such an overwhelmingly high rate and frequently goes unreported, it is important to understand the attitudes …

Teacher Leadership: Emergent Leadership In A Complex System Functioning As A Professional Learning Community, Andrea Lorene Voshell

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The extent to which organizational, social, cultural, and leadership contexts within schools support or impede the complexity of emergent leadership as it relates to professional learning communities was investigated in this study. Through in-depth interviews exploring ways in which teacher leadership manifests itself, the ability of teachers to understand their own leadership capacity, and how their emergent leadership influences others, data from this study reshape the notion that schools do not need to reform, but need to transform from traditional schools of teaching into contemporary schools of learning, providing the type of professional knowledge needed to foster 21st century skills …

A Consensual Qualitative Research Study Of The Transformation From High School Dropout To Second Chance Alumni, Jayne E. Smith

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

This study focused on understanding the perceived process of change, outcomes and influencing factors experienced by high school graduates of Urban Corps of San Diego County (UCO) from a bioecological theory of human development standpoint. UCO is a second chance high school diploma-job training program that offers students free mental health counseling and employment assistance. Limited research charted former high school dropouts' process of re-engagement with school and experiences after graduation. Using Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) and Critical Theory, a research team identified nine categories and 33 subcategories based on 15 semi-structured interviews with a homogenous sample of UCO alumni. …

Protective Behavioral Strategy Subtypes As Moderators Of The Relationship Between Alcohol Consumption And Alcohol-Related Problems, Benjamin A. Kite

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Protective behavioral strategy (or drinking control strategy) use is widely regarded as an effective tool for reducing negative consequences from consuming alcohol (Martens et al., 2005; Martens et al., 2008). Research has shown that frequent protective behavioral strategy use buffers the relationship between alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems (Borden et al., 2011), and that gender moderates this effect (Benton et al., 2004); however. The present research was used to expand on previous research showing that protective behavioral strategy use can buffer the relationship between alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems. Further, the assessment of protective behavioral strategy use across gender was …

Comparing Velscope Vx And Traditional Oral Exams In Shisha (Hookah) Smokers: A Pilot Study, Amanda E. Kimball

Dental Hygiene Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare oral findings using two exam types, the VELscope Vx® screening device versus a modified oral examination in detecting oral potentially malignant lesions in shisha smokers.

Methods: Thirty-one participants who reported currently smoking shisha and tobacco were recruited. Participants were identified for smoking habits to include two groups, to include those who reported smoking shisha exclusively and those who reported smoking shisha and tobacco. Each group received both exam types; examiners used a standardized protocol. A health history questionnaire was also collected to assess participant's oral cancer risk factors such as age, race, …

School Personnel Perceptions Of Professional School Counselor Role And Function, Caron N. Coles

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to examine the attitudes held by school-based administrators, teachers, and professional school counselors regarding ideal and actual roles of the professional school counselor. The survey instrument utilized in this research study, the PSCRFA, is grounded in the ASCA model and reflective of current school counseling ideology. This investigation determined if attitudes within and among the groups differed significantly along specific independent variables, such as age, gender, years of experience, school setting, student caseload, and educational level for school-based administrators, teachers, and professional school counselors working in an urban public school district in Hampton …

Factors That Influence Minority Student Enrollment At Various Levels Of Postsecondary Education, Lashauna Mychal's Dean

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Research indicates disparities in the enrollment of minorities in postsecondary education. However, the reasons for the lower enrollment rates of minorities are less clear. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between sex, income, GPA, racial/ethnic identity, academic self-concept, and sense of school belonging for African American and Latino/Latina students with level of enrollment at postsecondary schools (two-year community college or four-year university). Participants included 256 African American and Latino/Latina students at two-year community colleges and four-year universities in Virginia. GPA and academic self-concept were found to be predictors of enrollment. Specifically, students with higher GPAs are …

Worked Examples In Teaching Queries For Searching Academic Databases, Mary Kickham-Samy

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

The worked-example effect, an application of cognitive load theory, is a well-supported method of instruction for well-structured problems (Chandler and Sweller, 1991; Cooper and Sweller, 1987; Sweller and Cooper, 1985; Tuovinen & Sweller, 1999; Ward and Sweller, 1990). One limitation is expertise-reversal effect, where advanced students perform less well when exposed to worked examples than when exposed to traditional problem solving (Kalyuga, Ayres, Chandler, & Sweller, 2003; Kalyuga, Chandler, & Sweller, 1998; Kalyuga, Chandler, Tuovinen, & Sweller, 2001). A possible alternative to the worked-example approach is the fading example, designed to transition intermediate students to solving well-structured problems without assistance …

Baby Boomers, Generation X, And Millennials: The Attitudes Of Three Generations Toward Their Higher Education Objectives In Georgia Community Colleges, Jodi Fissel

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

In today's economy, students and professionals must acquire skills and continue to hone them throughout their lifetimes (Boothe, 1998). In particular, students must sharpen communication, information technology, and human relations skills and expect to have more than one career in their lifetimes. Because higher education is the key to those skills, community colleges are increasingly multi-generational learning institutions complete with students comprising three or more generations simultaneously. As such, it may be beneficial to recognize and examine the traits of Baby Boomers, Generation Xers, and Millennials so educators may adapt to varying learning styles and value systems (Robey-Graham, 2008).

For …

Initial Development And Validation Of The Rural Competency Scale, Cassandra Gail Pusateri

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Rurality is a term that can be used to describe rural residency and the cultural characteristics of rural individuals and areas. The counseling profession has increased its attention to culture with the development of the multicultural counseling competencies (Sue, Arredondo, & McDavis, 1992) and assessments designed to measure competency levels for providing services to diverse clientele (e.g., Kim, Cartwright, Asay, & D'Andrea, 2003; LaFromboise, Coleman, & Hernandez, 1991; Ponterotto, Gretchen, Utsey, Rieger, & Austin, 2002; Sodowsky, Taffe, Gutkin, & Wise, 1994). However, the commonly used definitions of culture as well as the instruments available to measure multicultural counseling competence do …

Patterns Of Gene Expression From Human Costal Cartilage In Relation To The Chest Wall Deformity Pectus Carinatum, Janna E. Grubbs

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Cartilage deformities within the human chest wall, specifically pectus excavatum (PE) and pectus carinatum (PC) are common (1/400-1/1000) and yet, despite their clinical significance, are some of the least studied disorders pertaining to cartilage [1]. The costal cartilage connecting "false ribs" 8-10 to the sternum is often abnormally grown and can lead to formation of a severely sunken "funnel" chest (PE) or push outwards to form a "pigeon" chest (PC). Both conditions can have impact on the diaphragm, heart, lungs, and psychological function. An established ratio of PE and PC in males to females is 4:1, indicating a sex-linked male …

American Exceptionalism And The Historical Fiction Of Chabon And Delillo: Media Identity Commodification And The Truth Of Lies, Samm Yeakel

English Theses & Dissertations

At the heart of any democratic nation lie the individuals that inhabit its borders, heed allegiance to its flag, comprise its political and economical bodies, and fight the very wars that disrupt its political ideals. Max Weber, who is revered not merely as a great sociologist, but the sociologist, contends that any sociological explanation regarding the w1derlying will and motives of these individuals must relate to their self-conscious actions. But, however self-conscious these actions may appear, they are decidedly influenced by external factors, and, as will be shown, a well-constructed novel captures the interplay between the individual, the nation, and …

Counselor Demographics, Client Aggression, Counselor Job Satisfaction, And Confidence In Coping In Residential Treatment Programs, Erik Braun

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Counselors at residential agencies are sometimes assaulted by physically aggressive clients (Flannery & Walker, 2001, 2008). As a possible result of this professional hazard, mental health professionals typically resign from residential counseling positions after approximately 14.6 weeks (Connis, 1979). Although job satisfaction and counselor confidence in coping with client aggression have been widely studied individually in the context of residential settings, researchers have examined these variables together. The overarching purpose of this study was to examine the association between counselor demographic characteristics, agency/environmental characteristics, and crisis intervention training and job satisfaction and confidence in coping with client aggression. Data were …

Art Therapy And Autism Spectrum Disorder: Building Sibling Connections, Melissa Scott Mariner

EVMS School of Health Professions Theses & Dissertations

Families of children with autism encounter unique challenges. This thesis is a report of the case material from providing clinical art therapy to one sibling dyad with the goal of assessing and strengthening the sibling relationship.

Three one-hour individual art therapy sessions with the sibling were alternated with three dyad art therapy sessions to address the sibling’s experience and promote increased communication, interaction, and reciprocity between the siblings. The case report was generated from a semi-structured interview with the parents, a family art therapy assessment, session observations, and artwork created in session. The art processes used provided participants with an …

Lowrider, Phil Quam

English Theses & Dissertations

Lowrider is a collection of interlinking short stories, adding up to a novelistic whole, which follows man in his late-20s, who is left paralyzed after a motorcycle accident. Set primarily in a Virginia Beach nursing home, but also in various locales around that city, the protagonist, nicknamed Youngblood by the members of his wheelchair gang, attempts to rehabilitate himself while confronted with the realities of age and isolation. Several themes are explored, including identity, love, permanence and transience, physical and emotional paralysis, and, ultimately, self-acceptance. The stories also aim to depict aspects of young adult life in America, when societal …