Digital Commons Network^™

School Psychologist Leadership In Rti Implementation: Administrators' View Of School Psychologists As A Resource In Rti, Allison Rice

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the leadership role of school psychologists in Response to Intervention (RTI) implementation, as well as school psychologists' usefulness to principals in successful implementation of RTI. The researcher asserts, that through the fulfillment of certain roles, school leaders recognize the benefit of involving school psychologists in RTI implementation. The study asks the following questions: 1) To what extent are the specific leadership characteristics associated with school psychologists' roles related to the level of RTI implementation being exemplified? 2) To what extent are the specified school leadership characteristics present in school psychologists in Dorchester …

Recuperando La Memoria De La Guerra Civil Española En Luna Lunera Y La Higuera, Whitney Anne Waites

Theses and Dissertations

Desde el comienzo de la Guerra Civil española en 1936 hasta la Transición a

democracia en los años 1980, España ha sufrido un proceso de "historical and social amnesia" (Cardus i Ros 18). Como resultado surgió una cultura de silencio: no había que hablar de la Guerra Civil española o los años de miedo y de violencia durante la dictadura. Con eso, hoy en día, varios autores españoles intentan combatir dicha amnesia y la cultura del silencio en la forma de la novel de la memoria. Esta investigación analizará como dos novelas de la memoria, Luna Lunera y La higuera, …

Deconstructing Books, Reconstructing Women, Summers Esther Morris

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of my thesis project is to examine the notion of choice encountered by females with respect to gender roles. I intend to underscore the turmoil which often comes from choices that leave many classic feminine roles left unattended by either sex. I have created three altered books that address these struggles, as I have personally experienced these, regarding marriage, motherhood, and domesticity. Each book analyzes the conflicting nature of choice and, according to my own decisions as a modern feminist, concludes accordingly. This in-depth look at the struggle for women to not only choose gender roles to adopt, …

Examining The Relationships Between Religiosity, Spirituality, Internalized Homonegativity, And Sexual Risk Behaviors Among African-American Men Who Have Sex With Men: The Sexual Health In Faith Traditions (Shift) Study, Stacy Whichard Smallwood

Theses and Dissertations

Background: African-American men who have sex with men (AAMSM) are at disproportionate risk for HIV infection. Although the disparities in infection rates between AAMSM and MSM of other groups have been well-documented, little is known about the factors that contribute to the disparity, particularly psychosocial factors. One such factor, internalized homonegativity (IH), has been identified as a potential predictor of AAMSM engagement in risky sexual behaviors. However, little has been known about the ways in which IH manifests itself in the lives of AAMSM, or the role that sociocultural institutions, such as African-American faith communities, play in the development of …

One Too Many: An Exploration Of The Roots Of Literacy Of Older African Americans In South Carolina Before Brown Versus The Board Of Education, Barbara Johnson Montgomery

Theses and Dissertations

Drawing from 1992 data, The National Adult Literacy Survey recently indicated that a large portion of the US population lacks the literacy skills typically required to complete complex tasks and take advantage of a wide range of employment opportunities. This report also indicated that the reading proficiency of African Americans was substantially lower than that of the White population, particularly within the elder population. A similar picture emerges in the more recent report, Literacy in Everyday Life: Results from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy. As a group, African American adults ages 65 and older had the lowest average …

Variability Across Repeat Assessment Of Working Memory And Processing Speed In Referred Populations, Dawn Baker

Theses and Dissertations

Developmentally, it is expected that the processes of working memory and processing speed will improve throughout childhood as a child's brain develops. However, students with learning, attention, and other childhood disorders often display difficulties in these areas. This study investigated the use of repeated measures to ascertain variability over time of two important cognitive processes: Working Memory and Processing Speed in a clinically referred population as measured by the WISC-IV to determine if a significant discrepancy exists between administrations. The study also investigated whether differences in Working Memory and Processing Speed from administration to administration would be greater in children …

The Use Of Applets For Developing Understanding In Mathematics: A Case Study Using Maplets For Calculus With Continuity Concepts., Raymond Ellis Patenaude

Theses and Dissertations

The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) are founded on a long history of mathematics education research emphasizing the importance of teaching mathematics for understanding. The CCSSM along with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) recommend the use of technology in the teaching of mathematics. New mobile technologies in society facilitate use in mathematics classrooms, and these technologies rely on software applications called applets. Certain applets have been developed for use in teaching mathematics.

This study investigated the questions: Is it possible to determine the characteristics of applets that lead students toward greater understanding of mathematical concepts? …

Toward A Better Understanding Of Ripeness And Free Speech Claims, Wm. Grayson Lambert

South Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Prospective Study Of Differential Sources Of School-Related Social Support And Adolescents' Global Life Satisfaction, James D. Siddall

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the cross-sectional and prospective relationships between three sources of school-related social support (parent involvement, peer support for learning, and teacher-student relationships) and early adolescents’ global life satisfaction. The participants were 597 middle school students from one large school in the Southeastern United States who completed measures of school social climate and life satisfaction on two occasions, five months apart. The results revealed that school-related experiences in terms of social support for learning contributed substantial amounts of variance to individual differences in adolescents’ satisfaction with their lives as a whole. Cross-sectional multiple regression analyses of the differential contributions …

The Impact Of Age And Executive Function On Susceptibility To Misinformation, Michelle Phillips-Meek

Theses and Dissertations

The current study examined the impact of age and executive function on susceptibility to misinformation. A total of 41 healthy young (19-31) and older (59-77) adults were presented with visual misinformation in a paradigm originally used by Okado and Stark (2005). Participants then completed a recognition memory task while undergoing a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan. Participants also completed a series of cognitive measures used to assess executive function. Results showed that age and executive function were both significant predictors of recognition memory accuracy. Activity in brain regions associated with conflict processing was greater for accurate versus false memory …

Longitudinal Effects Of Depression And Sexual Dysfunction On Glycemic Control In Veterans With Diabetes, Adrian Laseter

Theses and Dissertations

Diabetes rates are on the rise, particularly among members of racial and ethnic minority groups. Individuals with diabetes are more vulnerable to developing depressive symptoms when compared to those without diabetes. While there appear to be no racial and ethnic differences in depression prevalence estimates among individuals with diabetes, members of racial and ethnic minority groups are less likely to achieve glycemic control over time, and may be at greater risk for diabetes related health issues. One such health issue is sexual dysfunction, with individuals with diabetes being more vulnerable to sexual dysfunction than those without diabetes. Sexual dysfunction may …

Family-Focused Physical Activity, Diet, And Obesity Interventions In African-American Girls: A Systematic Review, Daheia J. Barr-Anderson, Alexis W. Adams-Wynn, Katherine I. Disantis, Shiriki Kumanyika

Faculty Publications

Obesity interventions that involve family members may be effective with racial/ethnic minority youth. This review assessed the nature and effectiveness of family involvement in obesity interventions among African-American girls aged 5-18 years, a population group with high rates of obesity. Twenty-six databases were searched between January 2011 and March 2012, yielding 27 obesity pilot or full-length prevention or treatment studies with some degree of family involvement and data specific to African-American girls. Interventions varied in type and level of family involvement, cultural adaptation, delivery format, and behavior change intervention strategies; most targeted parent-child dyads. Some similarities in approach based on …

Examining The Direct And Interactive Effects Of Positive Coping On Depressive Symptomology In African American Women, Heather Andrea Eaddy

Theses and Dissertations

In the larger stress and coping literature, several studies have examined ethnic differences in stress experiences and coping behaviors (Plummer and Slane, 1996; Slavin et al., 1991; Brantley et al., 2002). However, these studies are often comparative in nature and fail to examine within group variation (Plummer & Slane, 1996; Slavin et al., 1991; Smith, 1985). Similarly, studies have also neglected to examine how African American women cope when confronted with certain stressors and the associated mental health outcomes. With this in mind, the goal of the current study is to close existing gaps by examining the relationship between routine …

Protracted Social Conflict: A Reconceptualization And Case Analysis, Melissa M. C. Beaudoin

Theses and Dissertations

What are the necessary components of protracted social conflict (PSC)? The works of Edward Azar have laid the foundation as to how PSC is approached in modern scholarship by identifying four necessary components: effective participation, security, distinctive identity, and social recognition of identity. However, do these components account for all of the descriptive and sustaining aspects of PSC? How are these components measured? Furthermore, testing and verification of these components has been limited. Of specific interest to this dissertation, then, is how the theory of PSC is organized and what its theoretically necessary components truly are. This dissertation reconceputalizes and …

Race, Class, Gender, And Linked Fate: A Cross-Sectional Analysis Of African American Political Partisanship, 1996 And 2004, Sherral Yolanda Brown-Guinyard

Theses and Dissertations

OBJECTIVE: To determine the predominance of linked fate and socio-demographic predictors race, class, and gender in the political partisanship of African Americans, and in the political partisanship of comparison racial and ethnic group populations.

METHODS: Data obtained from the 1996 National Black Election Study panel series were used to examine the political attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs of 824 adult African Americans. In addition, data collected for the 2004 National Politics Study examined 3,087 American adults from comparison racial and ethnic population groups. These groups included 706 African Americans, 868 White Non-Hispanics, 676 Hispanics, 466 Asians, and 371 Black Caribbeans. Multinomial …

Interviews On Main, Amanda Rose Forstrom

Theses and Dissertations

Interviews On Main is the script of a one woman performance piece. It was conceived as an exploration and process of how to develop and write a working script, and later, see the piece come to fruition by producing, acting, and directing it. This solo show process has allowed me to delve into discovering my personal aesthetic in order to make a strong, individual artistic statement. Additionally, this process has helped me to learn how to be a solo creative artist, and to have cultivated individual material to perform when I am not cast professionally.

This thesis includes a table …

From Idea To Screen, The Making Of Residiuum, Christopher Fowler

Theses and Dissertations

This project is designed to give an inside look at taking an idea and turning it into a film. In this project I combine research with practical experience to give an in depth look, at the process I undertook while making my film Residiuum. Part one of this project lays out research, knowledge, and thought process behind my decision making. Part two of this project is a finished short film that shows the culmination, and combination of skills required to combine my artistic and scholarly side. These two parts allow an in depth view of my project from a kernel …

The Teaching Of Reading, Writing And Language In A Clinical Speech And Language Setting: A Blended Therapy Intervention Approach, Kerrie Allen Ammons

Theses and Dissertations

With a growing body of research that supports a link between language and literacy, governing bodies in the field of speech and language pathology have recognized the need to reconsider the role of speech-language pathologists in addressing the emergent literacy needs of preschoolers who struggle with literacy and language concepts. This study contributes to the research on speech and language pathology's clinical approaches by researching a blended approach to therapy using individualized language needs with embedded emergent literacy practices to expand not only the expressive and receptive language repertoire but also the emergent literacy learning of language-delayed preschool children receiving …

Building Resiliency: Supporting Elementary School Students Through Parental Bereavement, Sandra Kerr Ray

Theses and Dissertations

This study employed qualitative methods to learn what understandings, practices, and interventions were used by educators from one elementary school to support bereaved children in the classroom and as members of a school community. Educators reported uncertainty about how children grieve, how to talk with children about a deceased parent, how to talk with the bereaved child’s peers about parental death, and how to balance the bereaved child’s emotional and academic needs. Educators were also uncertain about how to recognize and intervene when a parental death was remote in time and the child’s grief response was attenuated (e.g., anxiety, disengagement, …

When Less Is More: The Effect Of Reducing Auditor Liability On Auditor Judgments In Principles-Based And Rules-Based Environments, Linda Quick

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the joint effects of accounting guidance type (principles-based versus rules-based) and legal liability regime (unlimited versus limited) on auditor decisions. Both the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) believe that moving to more principles-based standards in the United States will allow companies and auditors to more appropriately reflect the economic substance of transactions in the financial statements. However, very little attention has been paid to the possibility that principles-based standards will be applied differently in the United States than in other countries due to a different …

Unintended Consequences Of Regulated Contract Structure, Bryan W. Stewart

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the effect of contract structure (fixed versus contingent) and a contextual factor (positive versus negative benefit surprise) on tax professionals' behavior. Regulatory restrictions on contract structure are based on the belief that contingent fee contracts "encourage tax return preparers to take unsupported positions on the taxpayers' returns" (Murphy 1989, p. 2). Experienced tax professionals participated in an experiment investigating the effect of contract structure and benefit surprise on their judgments and decisions. Contrary to regulators' beliefs about the effect of contingent fee structures, I do not find a main effect of contract structure. Rather, results show that …

Optimal Cooperation In Joint Action Tasks, Scott Michael Blanchette

Theses and Dissertations

Joint action can be succinctly defined as an action in which two or more individuals work together for a common outcome. There have been numerous studies on the mechanisms behind joint action, but none have focused on the existence of optimal cooperators. The present study investigated if optimal cooperators, individuals who are better partners in joint action tasks, exist in the population. Individuals completed a virtual bar balancing task in dyads in which four hands were used to control the bar. Based on success rate, significant differences in performance variables were found. This study provides empirical evidence that some individuals …

Measuring Organizational Member Involvement In Physical Activity Coalitions Across The United States, Daniel Benjamin Bornstein

Theses and Dissertations

Physical inactivity has been labeled a global pandemic with enormous economic, social, environmental, and public health consequences. The vast majority of American adults and youth are insufficiently physically active. Increasing population-levels of physical activity (PA) requires broad social and environmental change. PA coalitions provide the structure through which such broad change can be achieved. An extensive literature on health-based coalitions suggests that coalition success is impacted by coalition members. Coalitions are generally comprised of member organizations. Little is known about the characteristics of PA coalitions and less is known about organizational member involvement in PA coalitions. The purpose of this …

Exploring The Role Of Culture And Race In Stroke Rehabilitation Disparities, Jennifaye Verdina Greene

Theses and Dissertations

A study found that racial differences exist in stroke rehabilitation care and outcomes between African Americans (AAs) and Caucasian Americans (CAs). In addition to health status, the rehabilitation care of AAs with stroke (AAwS) may be influenced by cultural and or racial similarities or differences that exist between themselves and their physical therapists (PTs). Distorted perceptions of culture and race in the patient-PT relationship may contribute to disparities in stroke rehabilitation care and outcomes for AAwS. Current stroke rehabilitation literature lacks qualitative research that examines racialized differences in treatment. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory research study was to investigate …

Complexity And Salience: Evaluating The Inter-Scene Variability Of Animated Choropleth Maps, Michael Dubois

Theses and Dissertations

Animated choropleth maps allow for the compilation of potentially massive time-series datasets which can portray space-time change in a congruent manner. They are also becoming increasingly common for data visualization. When users view and interact with these maps, however, there is the likelihood that the human cognitive-perceptual system may be overwhelmed by a large number of simultaneous changes in each scene: this so-called `change blindness' is a common malady when viewing successive scenes, unless scene-to-scene graphical changes are salient enough to attract the fixation of the user. Even then, there may be a limit to the number of simultaneous changes …

Understanding Online And Offline Sex Seeking Behavior Among Young Men Who Have Sex With Men: Implications For Hiv/Aids Interventions, Winston Eromosele Abara

Theses and Dissertations

Men who have sex with men (MSM), especially in the southeastern US are disproportionately impacted by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Young MSM and African American MSM are particularly burdened accounting for a greater proportion of HIV/AIDS diagnoses. Factors such as risky sexual behavior, perception of sexual risk, ignorance about HIV sero-status, internalized homonegativity/homophobia (IH), stigma, and alcohol and illegal drug use have been advanced as reasons for this disproportionate burden. HIV/AIDS prevention efforts aimed at stemming the epidemic among MSM have focused on locations where MSM meet other men for sex such as parks, beaches, bathhouses, adult book stores, clubs, and …

Investigating Developmental Patterns Of Symptom And Impairment Change Among Youth With Adhd, Subthreshold Adhdand Youth Without Adhd, Lorie Love Geryk

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction. Despite a substantial prevalence of subthreshold Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and research indicating that many youth with this disorder have impaired functioning and negative outcomes, few studies have considered patterns of symptom and functioning change for youth with probable ADHD, subthreshold ADHD and youth without ADHD transitioning from childhood to adolescence. Additionally, we are not aware of any studies examining predictors of impairment severity among youth with subthreshold ADHD, and few studies have examined predictors of treatment utilization and patterns of symptom and functioning change based on medication status for youth with subthreshold ADHD compared to youth with ADHD. Methods. …

Generational Differences In Motivation To Attend College, John Michael Cote

Theses and Dissertations

The National Center for Education Statistics recently released a report indicating that the amount of full-time students attending college has increased by 45 percent over the past ten years. While many reasons assist in explaining this increase in college attendance, this study explored the differences in motivations for attending college amongst generations. This quantitative study used secondary data collected by the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) Freshman survey to explore the differences in reasons for attending college amongst the Baby Boomer, Generation X, and Millennial generations and predict reasons that may be important to future generations of college students. These …

Responding To Tripadvisor: How Hotel Responses To Negative Online Reviews Effect Hotel Image, Intent To Stay, And Intent To Return, Tiffany Avant

Theses and Dissertations

Online guest reviews have become an important facet of consideration when guests decide on a hotel. Similarly, research has been done that shows a correlation between guest satisfaction and hotel responses to online reviews. However, little research has been done to show specifically how hotel management responses to comments posted on online review sites such as Tripadvisor influence guest intent to stay. This study will investigate how guest perception of hotel image, guest intent to stay, and guest intent to return are impacted by hotel responses to negative online feedback. The data reveals that providing a service recovery response to …

Determining The Differences In Hurricane Perception And Evacuation Behavior In The Elderly Of South Carolina, Gregg C. Bowser

Theses and Dissertations

The United States is becoming a "grayer" nation. U.S. Administration of Aging projections indicate that by 2030 nearly 20 percent of the national population will be aged 65 or older, with a significant portion of this growth occurring along the hurricane-prone Atlantic and Gulf coasts. This demographic shift creates new challenges for emergency management. Previous research shows that the elderly do not perceive risks and warnings the same way as other groups, and as a result may react differently to risk. Disproportionately high fatality rates for the elderly in recent disasters indicate that these differences are a key determinant of …