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Preparing Doctoral Students For The Professoriate Through A Formal Preparatory Course, Mohammed Saleh Alkathiri, Myrna R. Olson

Teaching, Leadership & Professional Practice Faculty Publications

Aim/Purpose: This study aimed to investigate doctoral student preparation for the professoriate through a formal course entitled “The Professoriate.”

Background: Many studies addressed the need for improved graduate preparation, however, the study of doctoral student experiences in preparation courses, designed as part of the doctoral academic programs, has received less attention.

Methodology: Eleven doctoral students (one withdrew from the study) were enrolled in a formal course that was designed to prepare them for the professoriate. The study was conducted using an ethnographic case study approach with multiple data collection methods that included observation, interviews, member checking, and examination of related …

The Impact Of Flipped Learning On Student Academic Performance And Perceptions, Mark J. Dusenbury, Myrna R. Olson

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to explore if flipped learning has an impact on aviation students perceptions and academic performance in a human factors course. A total of 81 students from a large Midwestern university participated. The Course Evaluation Survey (CES) was used to measure student perceptions, while course exams were used to measure academic performance. To analyze the data, the researchers use paired sample t-tests, independent sample t-tests, and a MANCOVA. Findings show students in the flipped classroom did not perform better than the lecture classroom. In addition, students in the lecture group had significantly higher overall course …

Associations Between Parental Alcoholism And Adult Internalized And Externalized Indicators Of Maladjustment, Stephanie Brezinski

Theses and Dissertations

Associations between parental alcoholism and internalized and externalized indicators of maladjustment in adult children of alcoholics were examined. College students (N = 2,531) and respondents from the general population (N = 703) provided self-reports of various internalized and externalized indicators of maladjustment. Several hypotheses were tested: (1) CAST scores will be positively associated with symptom severity; (2) Combined maternal and paternal alcoholism will be associated with the most severe maladjustment compared to ACAs from a single parent and/or non-ACAs; (3) Male ACAs will exhibit relatively more externalized symptoms than internalized symptoms and female ACAs will exhibit relatively more internalized symptoms …

The Relationship Of Physical Activity And Perceived Fatigue In Men Receiving External Beam Radiation Therapy For Non-Metastatic Prostate Cancer, Timothy Charles Flory Fuss

Theses and Dissertations

Nature of the Problem/Study

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men in the United States, with 2.9 million men diagnosed with prostate cancer alive today (American Cancer Society, 2017). Given the rate of survival and substantial number of men living with prostate cancer, addressing symptoms and quality of life in these men is increasingly important.

Fatigue is reported to be the most distressing side effect of radiation therapy (RT), negatively effecting physical function and quality of life (Minton et al., 2013). Finding measures to predict, treat and help prevent fatigue can improve long term outcomes in cancer …

Photography Methods To Understand Rural Resilience And Environmental Literacy: The Example Of Fracking In The Bakken, Bruce Evan Farnsworth

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the social and environmental impacts of fracking through deep ethnographic interviews and observations with farmers and ranchers living and leasing on the Bakken and Three Forks shale oil formations of western North Dakota, currently the second largest oil-producing region in the United States. This study investigates how photographic methods such as photo elicitation, repeat photography, and aerial photographs/maps elicit local knowledge and testify to the resilience of ranchers and farmers challenged by oil development and the alteration of their environment. Motivated by heritage, political marginalization and the pervasive loss of ruralness, the participants express several roles, among …

A Consensual Qualitative Review Exploring Mental Health Stigma And Its Impact On Psychological Help-Seeking Among Fundamentally Religious Individuals, Teresa Huff-Pomstra

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the wide range and availability of mental health (MH) treatment and resources, individuals with MH concerns often do not seek out treatment, with stigma presenting as a significant barrier to help-seeking. Various multicultural factors may interact with stigma, such as race or gender, and together may impact the HS process. One factor in particular, one’s religious beliefs, may be influential in how someone goes about addressing their MH. Religious faith holds an important place for many Americans, with 77% professing identification with some religion (Pew Research Center, 2014). The goal of this Consensual Qualitative Research project was to explore …

Thermal Performance Analysis Of The Liquid Cooling And Ventilation Garment (Lcvg) With Respect To Tubing Geometry, Kayla Marie Daniels

Theses and Dissertations

The technology of a liquid-cooled garment allows astronauts to complete extravehicular activities while maintaining a degree of thermal comfort. The garment has gone largely unchanged despite advancements in technology, materials, and knowledge. This research examines possible advancements in thermal efficiency with an alternate tubing geometry through heat transfer rate calculations. A semi-circle cross-section was selected and compared against the current circular cross-section tubing. Each tubing cross-section was 3-D printed and integrated into forearm sleeves. For comparison, the assembly of each sleeve resembled the current Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment used with the Extravehicular Mobility Unit. Subjects wore the forearm sleeves …

Narrative Portraiture Of American Indian Men Who Persist To Completion Of Doctoral Degrees, Shawn F. Holz

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examines the lived experiences of American Indian men who have completed their doctoral degrees through the positive exploration of portraiture methodology. Semi-structured interviews are conducted with subject-actors being asked to share stories from their earliest childhood memories and educational experiences through high school and through to completion of their doctoral degrees. Using narrative analysis and transculturation theory as the framework, subject-actors stories are examined to identify emergent themes of common experiences and characteristics. These create a composite portrait of a male American Indian student who persists to completion of their doctoral degree.

United States Coast Guard Aviation Safety: Relationship Between The Safety Survey And The Extent Of Hazard Reporting, James Cooley

Theses and Dissertations

Aviation safety outcomes, such as mishaps, are a product of an aviation organization’s safety culture (Reason, 2008; Reiman & Pietikäinen, 2012). Safety cultures should be assessed in order to improve an organization’s state of safety (Adjekum et al., 2015; Cooper, Collins, Bernard, Schwann, & Knox, 2019; Wiegmann, Zhang, von Thaden, Sharma, & Gibbons, 2004). Questionnaires are one of the best ways of obtaining information about an organization’s safety culture (Wiegmann et al., 2004; Wald, Gray, & Eatough, 2018). Additionally, the extent to which aviation hazards are reported (hazreps) serve as an indicator of the health of an aviation Safety Management …

The Relationship Between Cell Phone Use And Motivation To Exercise In College Students, Ryan Eric Doree

Theses and Dissertations

Past research suggests that high cell phone usage is related to sedentary behavior, poor physical fitness, and poor mental health. College students cell phone usage has increased over previous years while physical activity levels have declined, but due to little research, this relationship is still unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between college student's smartphone usage, exercise motivation, and physical activity. College students completed an electronic survey (n=157; female = 135; age = 20.01±1.49; BMI = 24.39) that assessed exercise motivation, physical activity, smartphone usage, height and weight (to calculate BMI), depression, anxiety, stress and …

Examining Self-Regulation Of Learning Among Community College Students In Developmental Mathematics Courses, Katrina M. Eberhart

Theses and Dissertations

The ability to self-regulate one’s learning is crucial to the success of all college students, but is particularly important to those who are considered to be underprepared; it puts students on a path towards successful course completion, subsequent course enrollment, and eventual graduation from a postsecondary institution. Those enrolled in remedial coursework are a large portion of students labeled as underprepared. Remedial education is a contentious topic in higher education. Thus, it is critical to investigate the use of classroom strategies to foster a self-regulated environment to support student success in these early classes and move onto the classes needed …

A Neoclassical Realist’S Analysis Of Sino-U.S. Space Policy, Christopher David Fabian

Theses and Dissertations

During the Cold War, the United States focused its collective policy acumen on forming a competitive, actor-specific strategy to gain advantage over the Soviet Union. The fragmentation of the Soviet Union resulted in a multi-polar geopolitical environment lacking a near-peer rival for the United States. Overwhelming soft and hard power advantages allowed American policy makers to peruse a general, non-actor specific strategy to maintain its hegemonic position. However, the meteoric rise of China as a near-peer competitor in East Asia has challenged this paradigm. In order to maintain its competitive advantage, or at the very least ensure the safety of …

Principals' Perceptions Of Implementation Levels Of Innovative Education In North Dakota Schools, Timothy Godfrey

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to bring awareness to education policy makers and educators in North Dakota (ND) regarding the process of implementing innovative education after the enactment of North Dakota’s Senate Bill 2186 (SB 2186) in 2017. For the purpose of this study, innovative education is defined as instruction that incorporates any or all of the 4Cs: communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking. This study analyzed ND principals’ perceived levels of implementation of 4Cs instruction, perceived roadblocks and supports to 4Cs implementation, differences in implementation of 4Cs instruction dependent on enrollment, and differences in implementation of 4Cs …

The Time Of Imagery Use And Its' Effect On Performance And Self-Efficacy In College Baseball Players: An Intervention Study, Colton Jeffrey Haight

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examined the interaction between the time of imagery use and performance and self-efficacy in college baseball players during a hitting task. Participants (n=24) were randomly assigned to one of 3 conditions: (a) before practice imagery group, (b) during practice imagery group, (c) after practice imagery group. A 3 (imagery group) × 2 (pretest and posttest) repeated measures ANOVA with performance and self-efficacy as the dependent variables was used. Results for performance main effects and interactions were not significant (p > .05); means were lower during posttest than pretest but weren’t considered significant changes. For self-efficacy, there was a significant …

Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy As A Mechanism For Observing And Measuring Neurological Effects Of Experienced Child Abuse And Alcohol Abuse, Christopher Anton Mark

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Previous research has shown cognitive and neurological dysfunction in adults with a history of child abuse. The purpose of the present study was to measure differences that exist in executive functioning skills, both cognitively and neurologically, between individuals who have been abused as children versus those who were not abused as children. Methods: The present study recruited 84 students from the University of North Dakota (Females = 71) with an age range of 18-55 years of age (M = 21.04 years, SD = 6.87). The participants were administered several prescreening measures, including a measure of physical child abuse, emotional …

The Detection Of Adhd Malingering Among College Students: A New Look At Figure Drawings, Heather Lynn Mcconnell

Theses and Dissertations

There has been a significant increase in the number of college students feigning symptoms of ADHD. Students can receive a variety of accommodations when diagnosed with ADHD, along with the possibility of medication. These perceived benefits can make a diagnosis of ADHD desirable for college students. Research has found that college students can successfully feign ADHD with minimal detection, leading to improper diagnosis and potential misuse of accommodations and prescription medication. The research indicates a need for new approaches to the detection of ADHD malingering among college students.

The present study was exploratory in nature, seeking to identify drawing features …

Coping Styles As Mediators Between American Indian Cultural Identification And Life Satisfaction, Micah Louis Prairie Chicken

Theses and Dissertations

The current study is a cross-sectional examination of the relationships between American Indian cultural identification, individualistic coping, collectivistic coping, and life satisfaction. Specifically, the purpose of this study was to examine whether collectivistic and individualistic coping styles mediated the relationship between American Indian cultural identification (high cultural identification vs. low cultural identification) and life satisfaction. In other words, this study sought to understand if traditional American Indian culture provides any unique buffering effects against stress via coping styles. Several regressions were run on the mediation model which suggested no significant relationship between American Indian cultural identification and life satisfaction. These …

The Influence Of Media Bias Perception On Space Publications, Benjamin Robert Raback-Schink

Theses and Dissertations

In an ideal world, scientific research and news would be published and reported through non-bias outlets and readers would view those sources favorably. However, that is an unrealistic expectation of our current society in which many believe that any publication will contain some bias. This thesis aimed to discover three factors on the topic. One was to see whether members of the space community view various news sources as biased, and to what degree they do if so. The second factor was to see how the general public viewed those same sources. These data were then used to compare the …

Measuring Friendship Maintenance In Gay Men, Eliah Reding

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the existing friendship maintenance literature to develop a psychometrically sound scale for the measurement of friendship maintenance among gay men. Existing friendship maintenance research does not adequately capture the uniqueness of gay male friendship. Utilizing DeVellis’s (2016) steps of scale development, this dissertation constructs a new scale, the GayFABS, to assess the unique aspects of friendship maintenance in gay men. Unique in this dissertation is the use of a focus group to establish content validity rather than the traditional approach of expert review. An exploratory factor analysis is conducted to structure the scale and its component subscales. …

Hunting And Fishing Attitudes, Behaviors And Ethics Related To Gender And Aggression, Victoria Williams

Theses and Dissertations

To date, no empirical studies have investigated the relationship between psychopathology (or other constructs) pertaining to hunting and fishing attitudes, behaviors and ethics relating to gender and aggression. Although experienced outdoorspeople assumedly adhere to, or are at least aware of, general hunting and fishing codes of ethics, many disregard them. This study investigates the differences between men and women on these variables by utilizing a newly developed measure of hunting and fishing attitudes and beliefs, the Sportsperson Attitude Scale (SAS) (McDonald, Williams, Sargent & McDonald 2017). This measure was created in order to better understand the potential motivators and reinforcers …

Preventing Internet-Based Juror Misconduct: Investigating The Efficacy Of Prohibitive Jury Instructions, Emily Marie Carstens Namie

Theses and Dissertations

To prevent the biasing influence of information obtained outside of the courtroom courts often issue instructions to jurors that limit or prohibit certain activities and the use of information during the trial and when making verdict decisions. (i.e., prohibitive instructions). However, research indicates that mock jurors tend to ignore such instructions. Additionally, advances in mobile technology give today’s jurors easier access to potentially biasing information obtained through the internet and digital communication (e.g., social media, blogs, email, and texting). This raises the question not yet addressed by extant research, whether jurors access this information during a case, even when judges …

Unpacking Childhood Sexual Abuse And Eating Psychopathology Over Time: Impulsive Mechanisms And Deleterious Outcomes, Nicole M. Della Longa

Theses and Dissertations

The present investigation incorporated two independent studies to examine childhood sexual abuse (CSA) as a risk factor for eating psychopathology and to identify a potential conceptual model illustrating these constructs. Study 1 sought to investigate the associations between CSA, binge eating, and other variables over time. In a cross-sectional design, Study 2 aimed to examine these associations and additional risk-taking behaviors within a larger sample of young adults. Study 1 participants included adolescent girls, half of whom reported a history of CSA, and Study 2 participants were young adult men and women from a nationally representative community sample. In the …

Predicting Mental Health Court Program Outcomes Based On Individual Characteristics In Participant Profiles, Melissa M. De La Luz

Theses and Dissertations

Mentally ill offenders are overrepresented in the criminal justice system and experience increased risks of cyclic incarceration and recidivism following release. Mental health court programs were introduced to offer court ordered treatment regimens and a team of legal and behavioral health professionals as an alternative to incarceration. The goal of mental health court research is to improve graduation rates and decrease post-program recidivism by identifying participant characteristics that significantly contribute to successful program completion. This study proposed an examination of the association between characteristics of mental health court program participants and their influence on the likelihood of graduation, termination, and …

Experiencing Foundational Literacy: A Phenomenological Study Of Preservice Teachers' Preparation To Teach Literacy, Allison Izzo

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the lived experience of nine elementary preservice teachers who took an early foundational literacy course. This qualitative phenomenological study was conducted at a teacher education program at a mid-sized Midwestern university. The results of this study indicate that the long-term impact the foundational literacy course had on preservice teachers’ subsequent literacy methods coursework and student teaching was minimal. Interviews, course reflection papers, and teaching artifacts support the implication that without opportunities for preservice teachers to integrate foundational literacy in their literacy methods courses and to observe teachers explicitly using foundational literacy knowledge …

The Impact Of Historical Trauma On Alcohol Use And Academic Outcomes In American Indian College Students, Elizabeth Luger

Theses and Dissertations

Issues regarding substance use, particularly alcohol use, and academic outcomes are two factors that are vital to examine when researching the quality of life and academic success of American Indian (AI) college students. Because AI college students comprise a relatively small percentage of the general college population, the majority of research conducted using college student samples tends to focus on Caucasian (CA) subjects or all ethnicities combined – neither of which directly pertain to furthering understanding surrounding issues specific to AI college students. One factor that has been shown to predict alcohol use among AIs is historical trauma, which is …

Ethnic Bias Within The Nesarc Personality Disorders Using Item Response Theory, Susan Tara Scoullar

Theses and Dissertations

Racial bias within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5th Edition, or DSM5, has been recognized in studies of personality disorder diagnoses. Item Response Theory Differential Functioning of Items and Tests (IRT DIF and DTF) was used to examine the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism’s (NIAAA) National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) Wave 1 and 2 data. A review of prevalence information by gender and ethnicity was undertaken. Hypotheses included that bias would be present in the items and total scores of personality diagnostic scales. In particular, items and scales which rely on cultural comparisons, and …

Characterization Of Dopamine Transporter Amino Terminal Palmitoylation And Neurotoxic Substrate Activity, Daniel Jacob Stanislowski

Theses and Dissertations

The projects described in this dissertation revolve around the functional consequences experienced by the transport protein for the neurotransmitter dopamine resulting from alterations to its palmitoylation condition or exposure to Parkinson disease-inducing transport substrates. This membrane-resident transport protein, pragmatically termed the dopamine transporter, relocates dopamine from extracellular areas of receptor sites of action to intracellular sequestration; the dopamine transporter is a powerful mediator of dopamine signaling. As such, genetic, toxicant, or chronic breakdown of dopamine transporter function is associated with multiple psychological abnormalities. Biomedical research has produced several pharmacotherapies for maladies like depression, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and addiction, some of …

The Impact Of Defendant Weight On Mock Jurors’ Evaluations And Case Judgments, Stephanie Henley Weigel

Theses and Dissertations

The main objective of the current study was to extend current knowledge of extralegal factors, weight discrimination, and the culpable control model (CCM) by examining the impact of defendant weight and mock jurors’ sex on negative spontaneous evaluations (NSEs) and courtroom judgments. Explicit and implicit measures of anti-fat attitudes were investigated as mediators. The current study utilized a 3 (defendant weight: overweight, lean, control/no image) x 2 (mock jurors’ sex) between-subjects factorial design. To reduce potential bias and order effects, the study was conducted in two parts. During part one, mock jurors were randomly assigned to one of three conditions …

Temporal Trends In The Grip Strength Of Children And Adolescents, Faith Lavoy Dooley

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: To estimate national and international temporal trends in the handgrip strength of children and adolescents, and to examine relationships between trends in handgrip strength and trends in health-related and sociodemographic indicators.

Methods: Data were obtained in two ways: (a) through a systematic electronic database search for studies reporting on temporal trends in the handgrip strength of apparently healthy 9–17-year-olds, (b) pearling reference lists, topical systematic reviews and personal libraries, and (c) by examining large national fitness datasets suitable to temporal trends analysis. Sample-weighted temporal trends were estimated using best-fitting regression models relating the year of testing to mean handgrip …

The Relationship Between Trauma History, Ptsd Symptomology, And Intimate Partner Abuse Threat Perception, Alexandra Rehovsky

Theses and Dissertations

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a prevalent issue for women worldwide. Commonly, women who experience IPV will develop symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Given the high rates of reabuse experienced by the population of women who develop PTSD, this study aimed to explore how PTSD symptomology may contribute to women’s vulnerability to reabuse. The current study investigated whether PTSD and IPV history predicted threat perception hindrance—theorizing that dampened threat perception may contribute to reabuse vulnerability. Participants each read five vignettes representing five levels of threat severity within a relationship interaction to create a within-subjects design to test their threat …