Digital Commons Network^™

Acceptability Of Social Media Incentives To Increase Physical Activity, Amanda Devoto, Anthony Defulio

The Hilltop Review

Background: Contingency management can be effective in promoting physical activity, but the change frequently does not sustain after the intervention is withdrawn. A feasible and sustainable physical activity intervention is needed. Social media may meet the criteria for a sustainable intervention, as it is free to use and enormously popular.

Introduction: The goal of the current study was to assess acceptability of using social media as an incentive for a physical activity intervention.

Materials and Methods: The current study surveyed 102 Mechanical Turk users on their social media use, physical activity habits, and interest in a proposed physical activity intervention. …

What Does It Mean To Be Prepared For College-Level Writing?: Examining How College-Bound Students Are Influenced By Institutional Representations Of Preparedness And College-Level Writing, Ann Burke

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

This article explores how institutional representations of college readiness (e.g. teacher talk and standardized assessment) and writing expectations influence high school students' perceptions of their preparedness to write at the college level. Findings presented are from an IRB-approved research study. This work offers important implications for how educators and educational institutions represent college-level writing to students and the ways in which those representations influence students’ perceived preparedness and expectations for college-level writing through peer comparison, teacher talk, curriculum, and assessment.

Writing Across Campus: Using Authentic Writing Experiences To Help Pre-Service Teachers Learn To Teach Writing, Jennifer A. Knight, Meghan K. Block

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

This study demonstrates the impact asynchronous discussion boards had on cross-college preservice teachers writing and writing instruction understanding. Participants from two universities in writing methods courses participated in discussion boards to learn about writing instruction. Students in the groups not only asked higher-level depth of knowledge questions to each other, but they also began to focus their responses and comments about their future teaching and instructional practices. Students built a stronger community of writers than students in previous courses that read, responded, and replied to peers.

Mentor Teachers Speak: Valuing Teacher Voices In English Education, Lindsay J. Jeffers

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

This narrative inquiry case study brings the voices of mentor teachers into the discourse of English language arts teacher preparation. In a series of interviews, mentor teachers discuss the challenges faced by student teachers, the pedagogical content knowledge needed to teach secondary ELA, and the relationship between secondary schools and universities. At the heart of this project is a desire to empower mentor teachers, whose voices are often missing from scholarship about teacher preparation. This study can give English educators and mentor teachers common ground, fostering connections between the colleges who prepare new teachers and the schools in which they …

Cards: A Collaborative Community Model For Faculty Development Or An Institutional Case Study Of Writing Program Administration, R. Nichole Rougeau-Vanderford Phd, Rebecca Day Babcock Phd, Aliethia Dean Ma, Victoria Hinesly Ba

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

The structure of writing programs evolves to account for the transformation of composition studies. Online and dual credit programs necessitate a need to adjust prior practices initially geared towards face-to-face pedagogy; however, several challenges surface in online and dual credit writing programs. The most prevalent is that these online courses are primarily staffed by non-tenured faculty, including adjuncts who do not have a physical presence on campus. The faculty dynamic presents many challenges when attempting to garner participation in collaborations. In recent years, the Writing Program Administrator (WPA) at a regional public university noticed a need to improve faculty morale, …

The Motivation To Write Profile-College: A Tool To Assess The Writing Motivation Of Teacher Candidates, Ernest Solar, Angela Marie Mucci-Guido Ph.D., Carolyn Cook, Barbara Marinak

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

Writing is an important aspect of literacy regardless of the grade or discipline. State standards have defined the writing genres, crafts, and skills that are to be taught by teachers in PK-12 classrooms. However, in addition to standards, research indicates that a teacher’s own conception of writing is crucial to establishing classroom conditions necessary for young writers to grow, explore and take risks. If this is the job of PK-12 educators, then it is essential for higher education instructors to understand and explore the writing conceptions of teacher candidates. One of these critical conceptions is the motivation to write. The …

Politicians, Policy, And Anxiety, Charlie Kurth

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

First two paragraphs, references in actual text:

Do we want our politicians to be anxious? The answer may seem obvious: no. Consider, for instance, what it would have been like to see John F. Kennedy in the grip of anxiety during the Cuban missile crisis. Clearly, that’s not what we want—not only does anxiety signal weakness in a leader, but it also tends to bring vicious cycles of worry, disengagement, and motivated reasoning that undermine one’s decision making. Instead, what it seems we want in our politicians is strength and resoluteness—the “Iron Lady,” Margaret Thatcher, not a Woody Allen-like hapless …

Values In Evaluations Of Maternal And Child Health Programs, Erica Lynn Dodds

Dissertations

Values are a central component in evaluation and are prominently discussed in evaluation theory, but relatively little is known about how they are used in practice. The theory-practice gap in evaluation may cause unsound evaluation practice or irrelevant or impractical evaluation theory. However, little is known about this gap as it relates to values and valuing. Failing to take certain values into account in an evaluation risks reinforcing the status quo to the detriment of vulnerable populations, so identifying how the theory-practice gap plays out in the use of values is important.

This study focuses on the maternal and child …

A Phenomenological Investigation Of Women’S Infertility And Miscarriage Grief Experiences, Tristan Mcbain

Dissertations

Infertility and miscarriage are reproductive losses that often produce grief reactions in affected women. This phenomenological study investigated the grief experiences of infertility and miscarriage through the ambiguous loss and disenfranchised grief frameworks in order to better understand both the obscurity of reproductive loss and how the resulting grief may be invalidated.

Sixteen women volunteered to participate in this study and each fell into one of the following three categories: women affected by infertility without miscarriage (4); women affected by miscarriage without infertility (4); and women affected by infertility and miscarriage (8). A phenomenological hermeneutic approach was utilized to uncover …

Deliberation For Devolution In The Public Sphere: A Case Study From Pakistan, Beenish Kulsoom

Dissertations

Genuine democratic deliberation on design of institutional rules is possible only when the state apparatus and political and civil society are engaged in communicative interexchange, exchanging ideas, and speaking in a language understood and accepted by all others. Moreover, in such an exchange the interlocutors do not hold back their thoughts to achieve strategic control in order to subvert the communicative engagement. The deliberative theory of democracy advocates communicative engagement between state and society actors that results in institutional rules that are accepted by all.

The advocates of the theory of deliberative democracy argue that while the state is the …

An Exploratory Investigation Into The Role Of Evaluation Theory In Evaluative Thinking, Lyssa Wilson Becho

Dissertations

The field of evaluation generally agrees that evaluation theory is important. Evaluation theorists and scholars have written prolifically about the role of evaluation theory in practice. However, the empirical literature associated with how and why evaluation theory is important is still emerging. In particular, how evaluation theory fosters high quality evaluation practice through transparent logical reasoning, attention to values and valuing, and contextual responsiveness, and how these inform evaluative thinking are understudied phenomena in the field.

This study intends to provide insights into the relationship between evaluation theory and evaluation practice to answer two major research questions. The first research …

From The Boots On The Ground: A Comparison Of The Attitudes And Beliefs Of Military Members And Mental Health Professionals Regarding The Moral Injury Construct, Karis L. Callaway

Dissertations

An increasing amount of research conducted in recent years indicates that, in addition to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, moral injury is a key concept to recognize when considering the deployment experiences of service members. Although related to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, which is a fear-based mental health diagnosis, moral injury is a distinct concept. It acknowledges the possible prolonged negative psychological, social, and spiritual consequences that may occur after experiences that challenge and transgress one’s deeply held moral beliefs. Events such as perpetration of harm, failing to protect or prevent harm, and witnessing or learning about distressing acts committed by influential others …

Banking Supervisory And Regulatory Policy In Developing Countries: An Analysis Of Determinants And Impacts, Nanda Ayu Wijayanti

Dissertations

A decade after the Great Recession in 2007/2008, many developing countries are still struggling to devise appropriate policy actions that enhance banking supervision and regulation and help mitigate large-scale crises in the future. This uncertainty has also left lingering impacts on economic growth, especially in developing countries that have weak institutional mechanisms. This study examines how banking supervision and regulatory reforms are determined in the cross-national context of advanced and developing countries. Using time series, cross-sectional data on 180 countries over a period of 12 years (1999-2011), the purpose is to explore the roles of exposure of financial crisis, trade …

Measuring Contextual Factors Associated With Experiential Avoidance Using A Behavior Analogue Paradigm, Meaghan M. Lewis

Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between levels of state and trait experiential avoidance across two different contexts using behavior analogue methodology. Performance on the cold pressor task (threshold, tolerance, endurance, and intensity; Zettle et al., 2012) was compared to performance on a modified version of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST; Kirschbaum et al., 1993) to obtain a behavioral measure of experiential avoidance that was standardized across these four behavioral indices. Data were collected from a convenience sample of undergraduate students (N = 133) from college classrooms on the campus of Western Michigan University. …

Comorbid Symptom Treatment In Parkinson’S Disease Using Neurofeedback, Joanne Mcfarland O'Rourke

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to determine the impact of neurofeedback (NFB) on Parkinson’s symptoms that patients identify as priorities. First, a focus group of patients helped identify priority symptoms, then a pilot study tested protocols resulting from the focus group, and finally, an intervention study using a single subject design was conducted.

In the focus group, tremor and activity planning were identified as issues affecting every group member. The pilot study was conducted with three mid-stage Parkinson’s patients, who received a sensory motor (SM) protocol to address tremor, a SM plus cognition protocol (SM+Cog) for tremor and planning …

A Comparison Of The Effects Of Sustained Silent Reading And Reciprocal Reading On Reading Motivation For Middle School Students With Reading Delays, Margaret Uwayo

Dissertations

Research suggests that secondary students with reading delays may lack reading motivation, which can be defined as the temporal reinforcement value of texts for an individual. However, reading motivation may be a critical component of their acquisition of reading proficiency. The purpose of the current study was to compare the effects of two research-based reading interventions - sustained silent reading and modified reciprocal reading - on the reading motivation of middle school students with reading delays. Participants were four 6th-grade students who were grouped into dyads in a reading intervention classroom. The primary dependent variable was book engagement under pairing …

The Use Of Principal Feedback From Teachers To Create Effective Leadership, Kevin Richard Macina

Dissertations

In the past decade, K-12 education has undergone many changes, often brought about by national and state policymakers putting a higher emphasis on student outcomes. There are enhanced accountability expectations for all levels of education that have added to the responsibilities of principals. Research can be found on many different areas regarding effective educational leadership. Studies abound to reinforce the need for principals to lead their schools through decisions and actions that are evidence based and data informed. In that body of work, there is a growing attention to the importance of staff, student, and even parent feedback as an …

Aristocratic Women’S Kinship Ties In Twelfth- And Thirteenth-Century Flanders And Champagne, Sydne Reid Johnson

Masters Theses

Georges Duby pioneered the study of family and marriage in medieval France, but his models for family and marriage have since either been accepted or rejected. I take a middle approach in that some models still are applicable to describing marriage and family, while others require reevaluation. Duby argued that during this period women were treated with suspicion in their husband’s households, marriage was essential for the future of both families, and that family connections were deteriorating. In this thesis, I will explore family ties within the kinship network of the aristocracy of Flanders and Champagne in the twelfth and …

Relationship Between One Repetition Maximum Parallel Squat And Jump Squat Peak Power, Corey Klitzke

Masters Theses

Jump squats are a simple exercise that can be used to train lower body power. Unlike many other methods of power training, jump squats do not require any specialized equipment (platforms, bumper plates, etc.). Jump squats can be used when other forms of power training are not available or are not allowed. In order to most efficiently train power, the intensity must balance force and velocity. The purpose of this study was to find the intensity that yields the peak power output of a jump squat. 12 participants (9 males, 3 female) participated in the study. Each participant completed a …

The Relationship Between Student Math Achievement And Teachers Utilizing A Process Involving Interim Instructional Assessments, Douglas B. Greer

Dissertations

According to recent national and state level assessments, only about one-third of Michigan students are proficient in secondary math. Previous studies have been inconsistent in demonstrating the impact of an interim assessment process on student achievement, especially with high school mathematics. Moreover, previous studies were not found to utilize Hierarchical Linear Models (HLM) to test such a relationship, especially a three level HLM that links secondary students to a primary math teacher. Therefore, the purpose of my study was to ascertain the extent to which math teachers utilized an interim instructional assessment (IIA) process within middle and high schools, and …

Challenging The Status Quo: Infusing Non-Western Ideas Into Occupational Therapy Education And Practice, Wanda J. Mahoney, Anne F. Kiraly-Alvarez

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

The authors of this Topics in Education article, who are both occupational therapy educators, reflect on challenging concepts related to decolonizing occupational therapy education, an idea they first encountered at the 2018 World Federation of Occupational Therapists Congress. They acknowledge that Western views heavily influence the occupational therapy concepts they teach to their students. The downside of approaching occupational therapy education and practice primarily from a Western worldview is that occupational therapy students and practitioners may perpetuate societal inequities through their practices and are not well-prepared to address the occupational needs of individuals and communities around the world. This article …

The Use Of Cognitive Strategies Among People With Schizophrenia: A Randomized Comparative Study, Alona Kaizerman-Dinerman, Naomi Josman, David Roe

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

No abstract provided.

Establishing Similarities And Differences Among The Self-Reported Academic Integrity Of Australian Occupational Therapy Undergraduate And Graduate-Entry Master’S Students, Ted Brown, Helen Bourke-Taylor, Stephen Isbel, Louise Gustafsson, Carol Mckinstry, Alexandra Logan, Jamie Etherington

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: Research into the prevalence of dishonest academic behaviors suggests that such behaviors may be extensive in higher education. This study investigated the academic integrity of Australian occupational therapy students and compared the perspectives of undergraduate (UG) and graduate-entry master’s (GEMs) students.

Method: Students from five Australian universities (701; response rate 35%; 72.5% female) completed five standardized scales: (a) Academic Dishonesty Scale; (b) Academic Dishonesty in the Classroom Setting Scale; (c) Academic Dishonesty in the Clinical/Practice Education Setting Scale; (d) Academic Dishonesty Tendency Scale; and (e) Perceived Academic Sources of Stress. One-way analyses of variance were conducted to …

Effect Of Oil Price Shock On Monetary Policy In Nigeria: A Vector Autoregressive Analysis, Ama Agyeiwaa Abokwah

International Journal of African Development

This paper examines the effects of oil price shocks on interest rate, real GDP and real effective exchange rate in Nigeria using a vector autoregressive (VAR) model. The results from the impulse response function suggests that positive oil price shocks have no effect on the interest rate (monetary policy), real exchange rate and real GDP. This result suggests that monetary policy in Nigeria does not respond to oil price shocks. Both the impulse response functions and variance decomposition analysis to a large extent confirmed that oil price shocks are only able to explain a small proportion of the forecast error …

Nutrition And Trade Liberalization In Africa, Ismaelline Eba Nguema

International Journal of African Development

Trade openness and nutrition are concepts that are closely related. Openness could contribute to an improvement in nutrition under only certain conditions. These include improved export earnings, ultimately the import capacity of the countries participating in the exchange, and maintaining a sufficient level of agricultural production. The objective of this article is to analyze the link between trade liberalization and nutrition in Africa.

Trade openness and nutrition are concepts that are closely related. Openness could contribute to an improvement in nutrition under only certain conditions. These include improved export earnings, ultimately the import capacity of the countries participating in the …

Western Michigan University Magazine, Summer 2019, Western Michigan University

Western Michigan University Magazine (1997-present)

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Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Isolated From Michigan Birds - A High School Learning Experience, Cody Benfant

Honors Theses

Bacteria, extremely small prokaryotic cells, are everywhere throughout the world. One striking thing about bacteria is their size: comparing a 2-micrometer bacterial cell to a 6-foot-tall human is similar in scale to comparing a 6-foot-tall human to the distance between Chicago, IL and Denver, CO! Despite their small size, bacteria are found in almost every ecosystem and environment imaginable. From deep sea hydrothermal vents to the clouds miles in the sky, there are trillions of bacteria flourishing in all of Earth’s ecosystems, performing many important functions in global nutrient cycles. While the majority of bacteria are beneficial to humans, …

Sensitivity Of The Theoretical Electron Capture Shape And Comparisons To Experiment, Katrina E. Koehler

Dissertations

The direct neutrino mass is a fundamental physics quantity with far-reaching implications for the physics community. Current experimental limits put the direct neutrino mass at less than 2 eV. The neutrino mass can be explored through an end-point measurement of tritium beta decay, which is currently underway in the KArlsruhe TRItium Neutrino experiment (KATRIN). KATRIN has a lower limit of 0.2 eV, at which point there will be either a mass measurement or another upper bound. In either case, an alternative experiment with different systematics is needed to verify the results and/or push the upper bound lower. The end point …

Essays In The Application Of Machine Learning In Development Economics, Dweepobotee Brahma

Dissertations

This dissertation comprises four essays which apply Machine Learning (ML) techniques to examine India’s progress towards meeting several child-health targets under United Nation’s “Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030”. The application of novel ML techniques unmasks certain detailed empirical aspects of the road to meeting specific indicators of SDG - child mortality, malnutrition, immunization coverage and health-expenses.

The first essay employs multiple parametric and non-parametric Machine Learning (ML) techniques (LASSO, Classification Random Forest, Boosted Logistic Regression, Boosted Classification Trees) to build predictive models for the incidences of neonatal and infant mortality. A large national level household survey dataset is used. All …

Exploring The Dynamics Of Scientific Research, Shilpa Lakhanpal

Dissertations

Scientific research papers present the research endeavors of numerous scientists around the world, and are documented across multitudes of technical conference proceedings, and other such publications. Given the plethora of such research data, if we could automate the extraction of key interesting areas of research, and provide access to this new information, it would make literature searches incredibly easier for researchers. This in turn could be very useful for them in furthering their research agenda. With this goal in mind, we have endeavored to provide such solutions through our research. Specifically, the focus of our research is to design, analyze …