Digital Commons Network^™

Using Native Ads In Public Relations Campaigns: A Study Of Instagram Influencers In Kuwait, Ahmad Alhaidar

Dissertations

Native advertising through online influencers is one of the fastest-growing online advertising formats that public relations practitioners use worldwide. However, there is a lack of research about how public relations practitioners utilize native advertising in social media in the Middle East. The current study focused on Kuwait, one of the areas with the most notable growth in Instagram usage in recent years.

This study examines the effects of persuasion knowledge, the congruence between influencer and product, and parasocial relationships on ad credibility, influencer credibility, sharing intention, brand interest, and purchase intention. The scholar utilized a 2 (persuasion knowledge: active vs. …

The Knowledge And Use Of Multi-Tiered System Of Supports Tier 1 Behavioral Management Strategies By Teachers In Saudi Arabia When Students With Behavioral Challenges Are Included In The Classroom, Jehad Abdullah Alnoaim

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the knowledge and use of Tier 1 interventions found in the MTSS literature by general education (GE) elementary school teachers when students with behavioral challenges are included in their classrooms. The researcher utilized a purposive sampling procedure and targeted teachers from the Hail Region School District in Saudi Arabia. A 98-question survey consisting of five sections was used to measure the variables as presented to obtain data from 95 Saudi Arabian general education elementary school teachers. It focused on four themes: (a) Teachers’ Perceptions of Inclusion of Students with Challenging Behaviors; (b) …

Facilitating Implementation Of In-Room Whiteboards In The Skilled Nursing Environment Using The Parihs Framework, Ashley Lubbers

Dissertations

The application of research to practice is a difficult task to successfully carry out for many healthcare professionals and organizations. The Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARIHS) framework is a tool that acts as an implementation guide for translating research evidence to practice. This study explored the use of an adapted version of the PARIHS framework as a guide to implementing in-room whiteboards in a skilled nursing facility (SNF) on their short-term rehabilitation wing. While the utility of in-room whiteboards has been demonstrated in the acute care setting, there are few studies of their use in SNFs. …

The Neuroanatomical, Neurochemical, And Phenomenological Correlates Of Social Bonding, Empathy, And Flow In Music Improvisation, Edward A. Roth

Dissertations

The three studies in this dissertation explore the biological and phenomenological under-pinnings of music improvisation related to bonding, empathy, and flow. Musical improvisation is a multi-dimensional behavior encompassing motor, cognitive, affective, and often social domains, and as such, it is reasonable to consider that music improvisation shares many characteristics with other forms of non-musical extemporaneous behavior, such as carrying on a verbal dialogue. The primary aims of this three-study dissertation were to (1) determine the feasibility of the study designs and interdisciplinary methods; (2) examine potential differences in the neuroanatomical and neurophysiological correlates of improvisation between non-musicians and musicians; and …

A Study Of Communication Practices Between Office And Field-Based Personnel In Home Healthcare Agencies, Ruth M. Bates-Hill

Dissertations

The population of developed countries is rapidly aging. People want to age in their residence, and as they advance in years, most people will need assistance with activities of daily living and perhaps medical assistance to remain at home. Home health aides provide a large portion of such care. However, the annual turnover rate of home health aides exceeds 60% due to factors such as low wages, poor benefits, and a challenging work environment. Many studies have been conducted to elucidate the factors contributing to job satisfaction in the home health aide population, yet despite decades of research, turnover among …

On Prediction Of Early Signs Of Alzheimer’S— A Machine Learning Framework, Abdalrahman Alsaedi

Dissertations

Dementia is a collective term used to indicate a loss of memory functions with the presence of at least one additional loss of a major cognitive ability that hinders a person’s previous level of functioning. Studies show that dementia is highly age- associated and that the most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease. Early recognition of Alzheimer’s disease, before irreversible damage to the brain has already occurred, is paramount to slowing or preventing the disease. Therefore, algorithms for the prediction of early signs of dementia are essential. Machine learning approach has been reported to use several data sources such …

The Effects Of Online Parent Training In The Teach- Model-Coach-Review Instructional Approach On Parents’ Use Of Language Expansion During Routine-Based Activities For Children With Cochlear Implants In Thailand, Rumpasri Sukonthaman

Dissertations

Early intervention is not officially implemented in Thailand. The shortage of practitioners, the inaccessibility of early intervention services, and the lack of parental involvement extremely deprive opportunities for children who are deaf and hard of hearing to develop language and communication within the critical period. This dissertation aimed to explore an intervention approach that practitioners can use to encourage and empower parents’ roles and responsibilities, as well as improve the children’s language outcomes. The objectives in this dissertation study were to explore (a) how online parent training in the modified Teach-Model-Coach-Review Instructional approach can be implemented to improve the parents’ …

Latent Growth Curve Modeling Of Child-Mother And Student-Teacher Relationships From Kindergarten To Fifth Grade, Karyn Leigh Steen

Dissertations

The relationships between children and their parents and the relationships between the home and school have been studied extensively over time as important factors contributing to the outcomes of children. Given that the best outcomes for children likely occur when the home and school collaborate regarding each child, it is important to examine these relationships across time and both environments. In this study latent growth curve modeling was used to examine closeness and conflict relationships within child-mother and student-teacher dyads over five time points using data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Childcare …

“Will You Scream With Me?”; The Experience Of Expressive Therapy For One Adult Survivor Of Childhood Sexual Abuse And Their Counselor: A Single-Case Study Giving Voice To Complex Trauma, Maegen Grace Horton

Dissertations

Due to the high prevalence of childhood sexual abuse (Finkelhor, 1994), most mental health counselors will likely provide treatment to adult survivors. However, many counselors lack specialty training in working with this vulnerable population (Priest & Nishiinura, 1995). Recent neurobiology research has illuminated the long-lasting effects of childhood sexual abuse on the brain and its implications for emotional expression and regulation (van der Kolk, 2014). Informed by this research, it stands to reason that expressive therapy, defined by Malchiodi (2005) as “the use of art, music, dance/movement, drama, poetry/creative writing, play, and sandtray within the context of psychotherapy, counseling, rehabilitation, …

Physical Education Teacher Education: Curriculum, Philosophies, And Readiness For Induction, Collin Chandler Brooks

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine preservice physical education teachers’ professional socialization experiences at one university and how these events prepared them for induction into the teaching profession. In study one, modifying curriculum mapping procedures provided by Britton et al. (2008), a curriculum map exercise was conducted using six sets of standards over 21 physical education teacher education (PETE) courses at PETE State University (PSU). Individual course maps and the program curriculum map were the primary data sources during this study. The data were analyzed using deductive content analysis (Sparkes & Smith, 2014). The number of times course …

Student And Teacher Relationships At Secondary Level, Christine Fisher

Dissertations

Interpersonal relationships between teachers and students built within a learning context have a significant influence on the development of learners’ social and emotional life. Higher levels of engagement, attachment, and motivation are common among students who strongly connect with their teachers. This study aimed to obtain a deeper understanding of care related to student-teacher connection from students’ experience. Noddings Theory of Care believes that caring associations are ontologically essential; thus, they play a great part in the development of student’s learning process. However, care can fail to realize the expected outcomes according to Noddings’ theory if it is misinterpreted as …

Online Instructors’ Gestures For Euclidean Transformations, Andrea Christine Alt

Dissertations

The purpose of this case study was to explore the nature of instructors’ gestures as they teach Euclidean transformations in a synchronous online setting, and to investigate how, if at all, the synchronous online setting impacted the instructors’ intentionality and usage of gestures. The participants in this case study were two collegiate instructors teaching Euclidean transformations to pre-service elementary teachers. The synchronous online instructors’ gestures were captured in detail via two video cameras; one through the screen-capture software built into the online conference platform used to conduct the class and another separate auxiliary camera to capture the gestures that the …

An Exploratory Factor Analysis Of The Humility In Counseling Scale, Jennifer Barker Santopietro

Dissertations

As clients’ needs grow in depth and complexity, it is imperative that counselor educators have a process for training counselors-in-training (CITs) to develop nuanced intrapersonal qualities and further prepare them for the challenges of the therapeutic relationship. Counseling skills are just one facet of clinical competence. Counselors-in-training must also develop their self-as-the therapist to gain competence in working with the client’s emotional turmoil, life stressors, intersectionality, unique perspectives, and autonomy (Aponte et al., 2009). The purposeful application of clinical humility could be a catalyst to both scaffold and deepen learning experiences to foster intra- and interpersonal development. The purpose of …

Program Evaluation Of Restorative Practices At One Elementary School, Nicholas X. Samuels

Dissertations

The rationale for this study was to evaluate the use of restorative practices at One Elementary School. During this evaluation process, I sought to discover the pros and cons of the Restorative Practices program being implemented at this school. Additionally, I sought out responses to my secondary/sub-questions to discover ways that the program’s effectiveness could be enhanced. Furthermore, my desire was to discern the effects that the program’s implementation had on the school's African American/At-Risk population. The data embedded within this study reflects the results of the Restorative Practices program implementation. My findings support the efficacy of Restorative Practices at …

Remote Neuropsychological Assessment: Does Mode Of Administration Matter?, Renee Dematteis

Dissertations

Neuropsychology relies heavily on standardization of administration to increase the validity, reliability, sensitivity, and specificity of an assessment instrument. The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly increased the need to be able to provide neuropsychological assessments remotely. Teleneuropsychology can be conducted through various avenues, including telephone, computerized, and televideo modalities. Given neuropsychology's reliance on standardization for proper use of normative data that accompanies individual assessments, the question arises how mode of administration impacts the validity, reliability, sensitivity, and specificity of an assessment instrument. The literature review summarizes the research conducted regarding the validity, reliability, sensitivity, and specificity of telephone neuropsychological assessments, computerized …

Academic Nurse Educator Attitudes Regarding Their Role Educating Ethnically And Racially Diverse Nursing Students: A Focused Ethnography, Melissa Lillian Weir

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to explore academic nurse educator attitudes, specifically beliefs and values, regarding their role educating ethnically and racially diverse students through the lens of culturally relevant pedagogy. Focused ethnography methodology was applied through all phases of this research. Interviews with 14 academic nurse educators provided insight into a subculture of nursing. Themes that emerged from data analysis included strengths perspective, teacher-student relationships, diversity as an asset, crucial or difficult conversations, and ethnicity and race setting the narrative. In addition, assimilation and white privilege were discussed due to compelling and varied responses from participants. The results …

Pride And Prejudice, An Operatic Work For Ensemble Based On Jane Austen’S Novel, With Comparisons To Mozart’S Ensemble Opera Works, Sondheim’S Ensemble Musicals, And Mark Adamo’S Little Women, Arlene Brenda Siagian

Dissertations

Pride and Prejudice is an original composition. It adapts the storyline and various characters from Jane’s Austen’s novel, Pride and Prejudice, into an operatic ensemble work for the stage and theatre. The project is the result of an exploration into the characteristics and qualities of an ensemble opera, a work that derives its synergy from the interactions and collaborative efforts of memorable and varied performers. In an operatic setting, when a performer is immersed in the portrayal of a character, that nature is amplified when communicating with another role just as intentional and skillful. The sense of personality and singleness …

The Lullaby As Art Song: Engaging Repertoire For Study And Performance, Carissa Scroggins

Dissertations

When selecting repertoire, teachers of singing do not often turn to lullabies. The consensus is they are too simple in melody, texture, and harmony to warrant attention. However, this commonly held view should be reconsidered because lullabies can offer dramatic text settings. Lullabies can be divided into two categories: those for practical use and those for performance. The latter are composed as art songs written from many perspectives. They can be nationalistic, violent, frustrated, funny, and can use sleep as a metaphor for the release of death. This wealth of subject matter and variety of styles and skill levels found …

The Lived Experiences Of African American Counselors: An Exploration Of Their Reactions To Trauma Survivors, Zanovia P. Tucker

Dissertations

Nearly 83% of Americans are exposed to a traumatic event (Benjet et al., 2016). Given this, every counselor will more than likely work with trauma survivors (Trippany et al., 2004). Because of the high percentage of exposure to trauma, mental health professions who service individuals who experience trauma are at risk for secondary trauma (Ivicic & Motta, 2016), vicarious traumatization (Culver et al., 2011), and shared trauma (Hope & Edward, 2013). African American counselors have not been recognized in the counseling literature; thus their work with trauma survivors and their training experiences remain relatively unknown. Most of the research pertaining …

Evaluation Of Telehealth Training To Teach The Stimulus Identification Questionnaire And Multiple Stimulus Without Replacement, Andrea Perez

Dissertations

The field of behavioral gerontology has seen a paucity in literature within the past 15 years focused on updating training technology and teaching best practice skills to staff. Specifically, there is a need to expand the breadth of training research focus areas could more broadly the elderly population (e.g., increasing engagement), to ensure that trainings are designed to equip caregivers with the skills to be independent, and finally, given the frequent staffing challenges experienced by aging settings (Harrington et al., 2020), to explore effective and efficient training techniques that are alternatives to lengthy, in-person training modalities. Given the personnel challenges, …

Advancing The Use Of Quality Control Tools For High-Density Data In Modern Manufacturing, Romina Dastoorian

Dissertations

In modern manufacturing, advanced metrology systems are continually being incorporated into quality control (QC) systems to provide high-density (HD) datasets. These datasets can contain millions of measurements that can be used to represent a part’s whole geometry. While integrating HD datasets into QC systems has brought several opportunities to enhance the performance of QC systems, it has resulted in new challenges in this area as well. While significant amounts of research have been performed in this area, the QC research community still strives to tackle these challenges. This study identifies key challenges regarding incorporating HD datasets into QC systems. Specifically, …

The Impact Of The Advisor-Advisee Relationship Among Black And Latino/A/X Stem Graduate Students At Predominantly White Institutions, Tasia C. Bryson

Dissertations

An advisor is often the most central and powerful person influencing a student’s trajectory through graduate school (Barnes & Austin, 2009). This dissertation consisted of three articles that focused on the impact of the advisor-advisee relationship among Black and Latino/a/x students in STEM graduate programs at predominantly White institutions (PWIs) from the student perspective. Two frameworks were used to analyze data and guide the research: Black Feminist Thought (BFT) and Critical Race Theory (CRT). BFT was used to explore Black women’s experiences at Predominately White institutions as it provides an in-depth understanding of Black women’s perspectives. CRT was used when …

Establishing Guidelines For The Clinical Post-Conference: A Delphi Study, Staci Lynn Warnert

Dissertations

The clinical post-conference is an established component of nursing education; however, little research exists related to the clinical post-conference. This study sough to develop guidelines for use by nursing faculty to facilitate clinical post-conference and to determine perceived outcomes of clinical post-conferences in the overall goal of student nurse development of clinical competence. The Delphi method was used to obtain consensus about clinical post-conferences from full-time nursing faculty with experience using clinical post-conferences. Full-time nursing faculty with experience facilitating clinical post-conferences were sent three rounds of questionnaires. The Round 1 questionnaire consisted of open-ended questions asking about recommendations for the …

Romantic Undertones In Revolutionary France: The Case For Tarare As Spark For The Revolution, Sean Robert Stephenson

Dissertations

Music is almost never cited among the causes of the French Revolution. Other arts are occasionally mentioned, such as painting and poetry, as are more obvious disciplines including philosophy and literature, which could directly disseminate the ideals of the Enlightenment. Despite this, music is only referenced insofar as how it was impacted by the Revolution, rather than how it may have played a part in the development of revolutionary sentiment. The purpose of this dissertation is to make a case for music as a cultural cause for the French Revolution by analyzing a relatively unknown opera, Tarare, by composer Antonio …

First-Generation Students, Belongingness, And Climate In An Academic Unit Of Study, Kelly Christine Scott Raisley

Dissertations

To capture the essence of the sense of belonging for first-generation students (FGS) within an academic unit of study in higher education, this qualitative inquiry used portraiture to provide answers to four research questions. Q1 How do FGS make meaning of belongingness in an academic unit? Q2 How do FGS describe the academic unit’s climate which contributes to their sense of belonging? Q3 According to participants, how do social interactions within the academic unit contribute to belongingness? Q4 How do FGS interpret symbols that create a sense of belongingness? Through the theoretical frame of symbolic interactionism, this research offered a …

The Lived Work Experiences Of Novice, Doctorally Prepared Nurse Educators, Misty Dawn Smith

Dissertations

Nursing literature reflects role confusion about the doctorally prepared nurse educator role. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived work experiences of novice, doctorally prepared nurse educators. An aim of this study was to shed light on the lived work experiences of novice, doctorally prepared nurse educators. This study was completed using a descriptive, phenomenological method using purposive sampling. Participants for this study included 12 nurse educators who had earned either a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree or a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree within the last 5 years. Semi-structured interviews using open-ended questions were conducted …

Metacognition In Undergraduate Chemistry Education: Instructor Perspectives And Students’ Use, Amber Nicole Heidbrink

Dissertations

My dissertation research has been a quest to understand how to improve metacognition development in undergraduate chemistry education. The first step I took in this investigation was to speak with those with the largest influence on an undergraduate chemistry student’s education: the instructors. I interviewed seventeen postsecondary chemistry instructors on their thoughts of metacognition, its importance, their current practices for developing their students’ metacognition, and their suggestions for how to improve metacognition development in undergraduate chemistry education. After conducting a qualitative reflexive thematic analysis of the interview transcripts, I found that many of these instructors valued metacognition and believed it …

Reconciling Religious And Scientific Epistomologies: Leveraging Mutuality To Enhance Acceptance Of Science And Respect For Religion, Mary Medlin

Dissertations

One prominent factor associated with accepting science as factual includes religiosity, with greater espoused religiosity often associated with less acceptance of scientific facts and greater secularism associated with greater acceptance of science as factual, but often reduced respect of religious beliefs. Such dichotomies exacerbate perceptions that science and religion are mutually exclusive, thereby fostering conflict between individuals with different perspectives and increasing ideological polarization. The current study sought to compare these mutually exclusive articulations of science and religion to a mutualist articulation of science and religion as complementary ways of knowing. Participants were randomly assigned to read one of four …

Analysis Of A Rough-Toothed Dolphin (Steno Bredanensis) Introduction In A Human Care Setting, Lindsey Johnson

Dissertations

Rough-toothed dolphins are a rarely studied species of cetaceans found in temperate and tropical waters throughout the world. These dolphins live in fission-fusion societies and are highly social, swimming in tightly-packed and highly synchronized subgroups consisting of 2-10 individuals. The current study documents the introduction of a stranded calf into an existing population of six rough-toothed dolphins living in a human care setting. Specifically, recordings of vocal and non-vocal behaviors were analyzed across the four phases of the study: baseline, day of introduction, post-introduction, and follow-up. Whistles, a vocal signal associated with social contexts, increased from baseline to post-introduction phases …

Experiences Of Urban School Counselors: An Interpretive Phenomenological Study, Jennifer A. Meador

Dissertations

Urban School Counselors (USC) are continuously making decisions, prioritizing responsibilities, and acting in ways that best serve the needs of students, while up against complex factors and challenges (Dye, 2014). Though research has explored critical factors and provided conceptual understanding of the school counselor role, few studies have offered specific ways USCs actually implement and navigate their role in its full context (Dye, 2014; Lee, 2005; Mitcham et al., 2009). Thus, this study differed from other empirical literature in that it aimed to understand USCs holistic experiences, rather than focusing solely on one aspect of their role (e.g., leadership activities). …