Digital Commons Network^™

Art Therapy And Quality Of Life In Older Adults: A Case Study, Ashton Sullivan

EVMS School of Health Professions Theses & Dissertations

This case report describes my exploration of quality of life by implementing art therapy techniques for life review with an elderly individual. The participant was a 72 year old Caucasian female who, at the time of this investigation, resided in a long term care facility. Together, the participant and I created an altered book incorporating phototherapy techniques in order to enhance the life review process. After seven sessions of art making, the participant answered questions in a semi-structured interview in which I asked about her experience in art therapy and about her quality of life. The results of the interview …

Art Therapy Assessment Of Adult Incarcerated Offenders: A Research Proposal For The Assessment Of Locus Of Control, Alecia Perreault

EVMS School of Health Professions Theses & Dissertations

There is a lack of research that combines both art therapy assessment and prison inmates as it relates to locus of control. This is a research proposal that attempts to highlight the need for research with art therapy assessments among the offender population. More specifically, it attempts to correlate art therapy assessments with the assessment of specific traits, like locus of control, as they are typically found in offenders. This thesis reviews literature that is related to the field of art therapy assessment, projective drawing assessment, and the offender population, as well as discusses implications for further study.

A Phenomenological Observation Of The Reductive Printmaking Experience: Implications For Art Therapy, Nicholas Alexander

EVMS School of Health Professions Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative study examined the phenomenological experience of four students in higher education relating to the involvement in a single reductive relief printmaking session. The indirect process of reductive relief printmaking is set apart from other methods due to the multiple steps and the use of various tools during the experience. It offers a reflective distance from the process, which allows the participant time to consider the meaning of an experience as it occurs. The production of multiple images during the process likewise lessens a participant’s resistance. The printed images are composed of layers; a metaphor for life’s process. Prior …

Section Abstracts: Structural Biology, Biochemisty, And Biophysics

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the Structural Biology, Biochemistry, and Biophysics Section for the 90th Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 23-25, 2012, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, Virginia.

Section Abstracts: Psychology

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the Psychology Section for the 90th Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 23-25, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, Virginia.

Table Of Contents

Virginia Journal of Science

Table of Contents for Virginia Journal of Science, Volume 63, No. 1 & 2, Spring/Summer 2012.

Section Abstracts: Natural History And Biodiversity

Virginia Journal of Science

Abstracts of the Natural History and Biodiversity Section for the 90th Annual Meeting of the Virginia Academy of Science, May 23-25, 2012, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, Virginia.

Monarch, Jim Raper (Editor)

Monarch Magazine

Spring 2012 issue of Monarch, the Old Dominion University Magazine.

Subtitled: Global Connect: International Outlook Expands Horizons for ODU Community

Future Critical Issues And Problems Facing Technology And Engineering Education In The Commonwealth Of Virginia, Petros Katsioloudis, Johnny J. Moye

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The purpose of this research was to determine the future critical issues and problems facing the K-12 technology and engineering education profession in the Commonwealth of Virginia. This study was based on the Wicklein nationwide studies (1993a, 2005). Even though this study did not exactly replicate the Wicklein studies--since it was limited to the Commonwealth of Virginia--the method and questions used were identical. The modified Delphi research design was used to draw consensus among technology and engineering education experts in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Seventy-five percent of the participants agreed with one another concerning the top five critical problems and …

Modes Of Resistance: A Critical Discussion Of Hey Baby, Derrais Carter, Holly Kearl, Jerrod Koon

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

In recent years, street harassment has garnered a significant amount of public and scholarly attention. Activist campaigns to spread awareness on this issue and promote women’s public safety have shaped laws along with cultural understandings of gender and power. In 2010, integrated media artist Suyin Looui offered her contribution to this discourse through a game titled Hey Baby. Designed as a first person shooter, Hey Baby allows the player to experience street harassment.

This roundtable places Hey Baby in conversation with two activist-scholars concerned with street harassment. Holly Kearl is the founder of StopStreetHarassment.org and author of Stop Street …

Editors’ Introduction: Games And/As Resistance, Marc Ouellette, Jason Thompson

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

This edition is as much about Game Studies as it is about the games being studied. At its heart there are really two impulses behind the collection of critical thought we have been fortunate enough to gather for this issue of Reconstruction. First, there is the sense that games can’t do anything. Second, there is the sense that games don’t do anything. Their origin (and the underlying biases) makes these sentiments particularly intriguing. In the simplest terms, these premises delineate competing camps, as well. Roger Ebert notoriously asserts that video games will never be art (Ebert). Similarly, and …

The Impact Of Sleepiness And Sleep Constructs On Driving Performance, Jennifer Freeman May

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Sleepiness causes performance decrements that lead to thousands of crashes and fatalities annually. Research supports the conclusions that sleep duration and circadian rhythms impact sleepiness and affect driving performance. Conflicting in the literature is whether severity of sleep disorders, sleep quality and subjective sleepiness affect driving performance. The correlation between a driver's perception of their sleepiness and their driving performance is also unclear. The primary goal of this study was to create an in-depth model demonstrating which measures of sleepiness influence driving performance. It was hypothesized that sleep quality, sleep apnea severity and subjective sleepiness add to a model of …

Effects That Previous Employment Experiences Had On Organizational Commitment Of An Hourly Workforce, Charles August Bartocci

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

A committed workforce is critical to the success of any organization. While there was a great deal of debate on how to best describe commitment, one model that attracted a significant following is the Three Component Model (TCM) developed by Meyer and Allen (1988). While it may be argued that the model is a mixed model combining attitudinal and behavioral measures, researchers have largely agreed that the scale that measures affective commitment is both valid and reliable. How commitment is developed in a workforce is of considerable interest. A minority of researchers have considered a variety of antecedents that contribute …

Examining Combat Effectiveness In Asymmetric Engagements With Balanced Forces Using The Information Age Combat Model, Nevan E. N. Shearer

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

With advances in networked communications, the capabilities of command and control (C2) have come to play an increasingly larger role in battlefield success. Within the past two decades a new military strategy has evolved, known as Network-Centric Operations (NCO), which puts information superiority on the frontline. Moreover, the information advantage that is gained through information superiority is translated into a tactical war-fighting advantage.

A research gap has been identified in the investigation of networked combat force configurations in the realm of asymmetric engagements. Specifically, the research question is, how should an information age combat force be networked in order to …

Risk Quadruplet: Integrating Assessments Of Threat, Vulnerability, Consequence, And Perception For Homeland Security And Homeland Defense, Kara Norman Hill

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Risk for homeland security and homeland defense is often considered to be a function of threat, vulnerability, and consequence. But what is that function? And are we defining and measuring these terms consistently? Threat, vulnerability, and consequence assessments are conducted, often separately, and data from one assessment could be drastically different from that of another due to inconsistent definitions of terms and measurements, differing data collection methods, or varying data sources. It has also long been a challenge to integrate these three disparate assessments to establish an overall picture of risk to a given asset. Further, many agencies conduct these …

Health Nexus: A Serious Game Prototype For Prevention And Treatment Of Obesity And Diabetes, Joseph C. Miller

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Electronic games are a prevalent phenomenon of American culture and entertainment. Serious games are video games that take advantage of games' intrinsic entertaining and challenging characteristics for serious purposes, such as education, training, advertisement, and political campaigns. A significant number of serious games have been developed for a variety of diverse purposes. The last few years have witnessed the inception and growth of motion sensing technologies for games, including Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation Move, and Microsoft Kinect. These motion sensing technologies usually require game players' physical body movement in order to perform and achieve in the games, such as playing …

The Impact Of Developmental Mathematics Courses And Age, Gender, And Race And Ethnicity On Persistence And Academic Performance In Virginia Community Colleges, James Dael Wolfle

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

This research study examined the 2006 cohort of First-Time-in-College students from all 23 community colleges in Virginia. The goal was to examine the persistence of these students to the fall 2007 semester and the success of these students in their first college-level mathematics course. The main predictor variable was whether the first mathematics course taken was a developmental or college-level course. Other main predictor variables examined were the age, gender, and race and ethnicity of the student. Race and ethnicity was broken into the categories White, Black, and Other. Interaction variables were created to determine if age, race and ethnicity, …

Motivational And Persistence Factors For Military Spouses Earning A College Degree, Lisa A. Keenan

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Projections estimated that nontraditional student enrollment in post-secondary education would increase by 19% as compared to traditional student enrollments of 10% from 2006 through 2017. Adult students were less likely to complete a college degree compared to traditional students, and drop-outs cost taxpayers billions of dollars in lost taxes. Military spouses were a sub-group of nontraditional students with unique challenges and stressors due to their military lifestyle. Limited research-based literature existed on military spouses enrolled in post-secondary education. Financial incentives such as My Career Advancement Account (MyCAA) and the transferability of the Post-9/11 GI Bill enabled military spouses to participate …

Evidence-Based Practice For The Athletic Training Profession, Cailee Elizabeth Welch

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

As evidence-based practice (EBP) becomes a necessity in athletic training, it is essential to recognize current barriers and modes of accessibility to information for enhancement of clinical decision-making. Furthermore, the effectiveness of educational interventions (EI) to enhance knowledge of EBP concepts must be investigated. The aim of Project I was to assess attitudes and beliefs, perceived barriers, and accessibility to resources of EBP among athletic trainers (AT). Project II was designed to investigate the effect of an EI on enhancing AT's knowledge of EBP concepts. Project III explored ATs' experiences of the EI and whether it elicited changes within their …

The Impact Of An Intensive Experience On Prospective Teachers' Perception Of The Uses Of Digital, Interactive Text Among K-12 Students, Francis W. Stonier

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to measure pre-service teacher perception, awareness, and potential use of digital literacies, media, and digital interactive text in their future classrooms. The study grew from the theoretical rationales of new literacies, technological pedagogical content knowledge, and constructivism. New literacies are essentially the skills teachers and students need to utilize and develop in order to interact with novel digital sources. Research was aimed not simply at exposing pre-service teachers to the possibilities, but to gauge their current knowledge, interest, and views of potential future application of said technologies and student learning needs before and after …

Digital Poetry From A Cyborg Perspective, Daniel James Hosmer

Institute for the Humanities Theses

This study analyzes digital poetry from a cyborg perspective, showing how its multiple material aspects are foregrounded to facilitate the reader's performance of poems. It explores the poetic functions, possibilities, and constraints of the medium of digital poetry through the application of Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed, comparisons with print methods of conveying meaning, and close readings of digital poems. The application of Theatre of the Oppressed as a framework also allows for the study of the power relationships involved in performing digital poetry and in using digital technology as a whole, while showing digital poetry to be …

The Association Of Cognitive Function With Autonomic-Cardiovascular Reactivity To And Recovery From Stress, Sanjay Mehta

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The contribution of stress in the development of chronic and terminal disease has garnered significant interest in contemporary research. The current study aims to look at how performance in domains of cognitive function may affect autonomic-cardiovascular reactivity and recovery to psychologically stressful tasks as such reactions, over time, may contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease.

The current study analyzed data from 209 healthy middle-age adults. This included four neuropsychological tests utilized here to represent abilities in four different cognitive domains: response inhibition, mental flexibility, verbal memory, and nonverbal memory. The participants were also introduced to three psychologically stressful tasks …

The Effects Of Personalized Boosters For A Computerized Intervention Targeting College Student Drinking, Abby L. Braitman

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Heavy episodic alcohol use within the college student population is both widespread and problematic (Benton et al., 2004; Core Institute, 2006; Hingson, Zha, & Weitzman, 2009; O'Malley & Johnston, 2002; Perkins, 2002; Singleton, 2007). More than 40% of college students report at least one symptom of alcohol abuse or dependence (Knight et al., 2002). Computerized interventions are widely used because of their advantages over in-person interventions. They are more cost-effective and can quickly deliver tailored individual feedback to more students. Computerized interventions can be administered to large groups of students (e.g., incoming students, athletes, fraternities/sororities). However, a (2007) meta-analysis by …

An Examination Of Alcohol Expectations And Social Desirability In Fraternity Members On American College Campuses, Pietro A. Sasso

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Males who are members of American college fraternal organizations remain one of the heaviest drinking populations among college students (Wall, 2006). Within fraternities, alcohol use is ceded to social status (Larimer et al., 1997). This culturally ingrained alcohol misuse has confounded interventions and programming to address this phenomenon and response to these attempts have been low or nonexistent by fraternity members. This study investigated alcohol expectations and social desirability among fraternity members. It was hypothesized that as members enter and remain in the fraternity culture, distorted expectations and socially desirable behaviors may occur as demonstrated by differences between pledges and …

General Education Requirements In A Community College Baccalaureate Rn-To-Bsn Program, Jason Bentley Krupp

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Increasing demand for nurses with bachelor degrees, the growing culture of accountability in higher education, and the community college baccalaureate phenomena provided the impetus for this study. This ex-post facto quantitative study examined the graduation rates and time to degree of 240 students who were enrolled in a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) program at a community college in Florida between Fall of 2002 and Spring of 2004. The general education course enrollment patterns of the students were analyzed to determine if they impacted student graduation rates and time to degree. Graduation rates and time to degree of students …

Yearn, Jennifer Lynn Graham

English Theses & Dissertations

Yearn is a collection of poems that contains mythical elements, many of which surround the fall from innocence. Often this fall is due to an unfulfilling relationship with a mother figure. Despite such trials, the author also includes dream poems, which show that through endurance, forgiveness, and unconditional love, one can rise back up to purity again.

A Comparative Analysis Of Preferred Learning And Teaching Styles For Engineering, Industrial, And Technology Education Students And Faculty, Petros Katsioloudis, Todd D. Fantz

STEMPS Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Old Dominion University Climate Change And Sea Level Rise Initiative, Spring 2012, Larry P. Atkinson (Editor)

CCSLRI Newsletters

Summer 2012 Newsletter of the Old Dominion University Climate Change and Sea Level Rise Initiative

The Use Of Art Therapy To Examine Self-Concept With A Breast Cancer Survivor, Melanie Gaskin

EVMS School of Health Professions Theses & Dissertations

Negative self-concept is one of the psychological effects for women diagnosed with breast cancer. Treatment modalities for improving self-concept and other psychological effects of breast cancer have focused on using psycho-educational and support groups. Art therapy may be an alternate treatment modality for examining and improving self-concept. This qualitative case report utilized an eight-week art therapy intervention, using Cognitive-Behavioral and Phenomenological art therapy approaches to improve the self-concept of a female breast cancer survivor. Results yielded overlapping themes from the content analysis of images produced and written data. The four themes that emerged were spirituality, social support, positivity, and creating …

The Development And Validation Of The Preference For Adherence To Theoretical Orientation Scale, Tiffinee S. Hamilton

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

One of the most common criticisms of undergraduate and master's level graduate programs is that students lack the ability to define their view of human nature. One effective means of assisting students in their desire to identify their preference in orientation is the use of a validated psychometric instrument developed for mental health trainees. Thus, the purpose of this study is to develop and initially validate a new assessment tool, the Preference for Adherence to Theoretical Orientation Scale (PATOS). PATOS provides a theoretically grounded method for assessing a counselor's preference for a particular orientation(s) as well as adherence to a …