Digital Commons Network^™

Increasing Provider Awareness To Detect, Treat, And Reduce Sexually Transmitted Infections In Male Service Members, Vincent E. Krause

Dissertations

The incidence of sexually transmitted infections within the military continues to rise at rates higher than that of the civilian population. The project was developed to improve provider perception related to the male patient's sexual history, practices, and attitudes and focus on adherence to the recommended guidelines related to screening for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), specifically Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Education was provided regarding recommended screening criteria, screening protocols, interview techniques, screening options available, and statistical data. The goal was to increase provider awareness and laboratory diagnosis of STI screenings among the male population, reducing chlamydia and gonorrhea infections …

The Lived Experiences Of African American Male Students: An Exploration Of African American Male Student Athletes And African American Male Student Nonathletes At California Community Colleges, Marie Harris

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences and differences between African American male student athletes and African American male student nonathletes at California community colleges. Methodology: The methodology of this study is a qualitative phenomenological design to explore the lived experiences of African American males who are student athletes and those who are student nonathletes enrolled at three California community colleges. In depth and semistructured interviewing techniques were utilized to capture their stories. Findings: There were 9 major findings that emerged through the data collection and analysis. The findings showed that African American …

Exploring Relationships Of Positive Reading Attitudes In Secondary English Classrooms, Lorin Blackburn Thierfelder

Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative research study was to explore teacher perceptions of secondary student reading attitudes across Missouri. The study was conducted to examine the variables of student engagement, Young Adult Literature, and reading attitude. A conceptual framework was established based upon the work of Layne (2009) and Schoenbach (2012). Secondary English teachers face the daunting task of teaching students not only reading comprehension but also reading engagement (Gallagher, 2009; Layne, 2009). Demographic information and survey responses were collected to determine teachers’ perspectives on student engagement, Young Adult Literature, and reading attitudes in high school English classrooms. Some of …

Principal And Teacher Perceptions Of Classroom Walkthroughs In Middle School Settings, Ethel Shanklin

Dissertations

There is no question that education is paramount to student success. The goal of No Child Left Behind (NCLB, 2001), did not work. The last revision of this act, the Every Students Succeeds Act of 2016 is now being implemented, Educators are yet struggling for the panacea that is effective for all students’ competencies in the world. Students from low socio-economic areas are at a greater risk of their educational needs not being met for various reasons. There is the opportunity to reach students in schools in spite of their home situations. Instruction begins and ends with instructional leaders in …

Si Me Preguntas, Te Lo Contaré Todo: If You Ask Me, I'Ll Tell You Everything. Battered Latina Women's Experiences Of Health Care, Ursula A. Kelly

Dissertations

Intimate partner abuse (IPA) is a significant health problem for women around the globe, and a challenge for health care providers (HCPs). Identifying and appropriately responding to victims of IPA is the standard of care for HCPs. There is a lack of understanding of this problem, as well as the needs of victims of IPA, from patients' perspectives, particularly Latina women. The purpose of this interpretive phenomenology was to improve health care providers' understanding of the health care experiences of battered Latina women. Feminism was the orienting philosophical framework of the study. Hermeneutic interviews were conducted with 17 Latina women …

Factors Affecting The Relocation And Transition Of Internationally Educated Nurses Migrating To The United States Of America, Kristina S. Ibitayo

Dissertations

A paucity of research studies and systematic reviews have been conducted on IEN nurse migration experiences in the US. The number of IENs in the US RN workforce is projected to continue growing. Therefore, studies on nurse migration and IEN relocation and transition experiences are essential. This exploratory descriptive study on the transition conditions and professional satisfaction of nurses migrating to the US provides information on the complex pull and push factors affecting nurse migration. This study described the push factors, pull factors, personal characteristics, motivation to migrate, transition conditions, family/social environment, work environment, and professional satisfaction of IENs in …

An Investigation Of The Learning Perspectives Of Non-Native English Speakers In An Esl / Epp Writing Program, Susan L. Lundry Ph.D.

Dissertations

Understanding the needs of international learners seeking English writing skills has been an ongoing challenge for educators working in the field as support systems to this group of learners (Carlson, 2005; Hayes & Lin, 1994). In addition, the research (Halic, Greenberg, & Paulus, 2009; Hayes & Lin, 1994) reveals that when international learners move to another country, for the first time to learn, they may initially experience a profound sense of loss. Therefore, providing a sense of support and balance for this group of learners is an important part of the educational process. This qualitative study looked at nine undergraduate …

Deverne Calloway: “I Am A Teacher---I Will Teach”, Holly Hick

Dissertations

In 1962, DeVerne Calloway was the first Black woman elected to the Missouri General Assembly and the first Black woman elected to any public office in the state of Missouri. A political activist and educator by nature, a legislator by trade, DeVerne has decades of historically documented critical work within the intersections of race, gender, and class. Her work, though well documented, remains undertheorized. This study seeks to explore DeVerne’s life and work through Black feminist theory and Critical Race Theory’s tenets of intersectionality and interest convergence, ultimately tracing her actions as a public intellectual. Written as an educational biography, …

The Impact Of Direct Instruction At English Learner Instructional Sites Compared To Indirect Instruction At English Learner Support Sites, Lauren Shim

Dissertations

Approximately one in every ten public school students in the United States is considered an English learner (Sanchez, 2017). It has also been determined that the English learner population is one of the fastest-growing populations in the United States (Gibson, 2016). This study focused on a school district in the Midwest region of the United States, where approximately 4% of the student population was classified as English learners, and the population had been steadily growing since 2014 (School District Manual, 2019). This Midwestern school district offered a unique English learner program by transporting students to specific Instructional Sites for English …

The Effect Of The Missouri Preschool Program On School Readiness, Madeline June Allin

Dissertations

National policymakers, practitioners, and researchers have consistently questioned how to develop the necessary skills for the nation’s youth to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The answer points directly to the provision of highquality early childhood programs to prepare children for entrance to kindergarten and put them on a trajectory toward lifelong positive outcomes (Ferrarello, 2017; Phillips et al., 2017). The Missouri Preschool Program is a high-quality, state grant-funded program, with grant priority given to schools serving a large number of disadvantaged children (MODESE, 2018a). The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative study was to compare the school readiness skills …

Disparities In Health Care For The Transgender Population, Shannon Crowe

Dissertations

Individuals identifying as transgender, gender nonconforming, or those born with differences of sex development from societal norms have specific healthcare needs. These individuals experience disparities in healthcare treatment as a result of a lack of cultural competence, stereotypes, and personal bias among healthcare professionals. Despite being inclusive of all patients and acceptance of cultural beliefs, many organizations fall short of being inclusive when caring for transgender or gender nonconforming patients. Front line healthcare workers can have a positive impact on the psychological and physical care delivered to transgender patients; thus, setting the stage for a patient of a minority having …

Microcelebrity Endorsement Of Public Relations Campaigns For Nonprofit Organizations: A Study Of Snapchat In Saudi Arabia, Sami Altuwayjiri

Dissertations

This research investigates the influence of Snapchat microcelebrity endorsement for nonprofit organizations’ PR campaigns through testing the self-disclosure model, source attractiveness model, and congruence or fit model in relation to individuals’ donation intentions and attitudes toward the endorsement. This paper has highlighted the effectiveness of the three models through testing each model three times via three endorsements featuring three different microcelebrities. The result of the survey suggests that self-disclosure practiced by the endorsing microcelebrity has a weak influence on peoples’ donation intention and attitude towards the endorsement. However, physical attractiveness of the endorsing microcelebrity has an influence on people’s donation …

Core Subject Integration In The K-6 Music Classroom, Rose Bowe

Dissertations

Federal legislation through No Child Left Behind (NCLB) (2002) and Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) (2015) held schools accountable for improved test scores and academic achievement. The heightened scrutiny in performance and expectations placed enormous pressure on students, teachers, and administrators to reach the lofty goals of the accountability model and put emphasis on state-mandated tests for several subjects. Non-tested subjects often encountered a shift in funds and their programs became diminished or even eliminated. Subjects that were not tested, such as music education, were considered non-essential. Nonetheless, the value of music used for instruction to stimulate knowledge retention was …

Globalization, Immigration, And Cultural Change: Conditions That Predict Shifts In Nationalistic Attitudes, Kelly Trail

Dissertations

Globalization is on the rise across the globe. In many instances, nationalism appears to be, too, as evidenced by the anti-immigrant and “nation first” rhetoric and success of presidential candidates, such as Donald Trump in the United States and Sebastian Pinera in Chile. However, the author questioned whether nationalistic attitudes are truly on the rise across the globe and what conditions cause some countries to shift toward nationalistic attitudes in the face of rising globalization, while others to shift away from it. She utilizes descriptive statistics, case studies, and fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis to analyze the conditions that influence …

Examining Preservice Teachers’ Attitudes, Self-Efficacy, And Differentiating Instruction For Educating Gifted Learners, Marla Freitag

Dissertations

This study examined preservice teachers’ attitudes, self-efficacy, and use of differentiation for gifted learners during the various stages of a teacher education program. The theoretical framework of this study was based on the premise that implicit personality theories held by preservice teachers influence both attitudes towards gifted learners and instructional practices in the general education, elementary classroom. The research design utilized quantitative methods to gather data from undergraduate general education preservice teachers from two regional universities within Mississippi. A total of 204 preservice teachers completed the Survey of Practices with Students of Varying Needs. Data gathered during this study was …

Can A Brief Online Intervention Change Low-Income Caregivers’ Reported Use Of Spanking? A Randomized Controlled Trial, Hilary L. Richardson

Dissertations

Spanking is commonly used by parents (64-94%) in the United States as a strategy for managing undesirable child behaviors. Research has found that the use of spanking is particularly high among young mothers, low-income parents, and African American families. Decades of literature on the use of spanking has identified abundant detrimental outcomes for children such as increased externalizing behaviors, decreased long-term compliance, and less guilt following misbehavior, as well as serious outcomes in adulthood such as depressed mood and alcohol/drug use. There is also a risk for spanking to escalate to physical abuse. Thus, safer, more effective discipline strategies are …

Establishing Auditory Discrimination And Echoic Stimulus Control With An Auditory Matching Procedure, Clare Christe

Dissertations

A generalized auditory matching repertoire is considered an early milestone in the development of verbal behavior (Greer & Keohane, 2006). Previous literature has demonstrated that the auditory matching (AM) protocol can improve echoics in individuals with developmental delays (Brown, 2005; Choi, Greer & Keohane, 2015; Du, Speckman, Medina, & Cole-Hatchard, 2017). However, some children experience difficulties with the match-to-sample (MTS) format of the AM protocol, if they are unable to perform delayed MTS tasks.

One alternative to MTS is the go/no-go procedure (Serna, Dube, & McIlvane, 1997), which requires the student to make a simple discrimination (i.e., same/different) between two …

Ethnic Identity, Stress, And Anxiety In Latinx University Students At Predominantly White Institutions, Anel Arias

Dissertations

Research indicates that ethnic minority-related stressors contribute to poor mental health outcomes in Latinx university students. There are inconsistent results of the moderating role of ethnic identity in ethnic minority stress and mental health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine whether ethnic identity moderates the relationship between ethnic minority stress and trait anxiety in Latinx university students attending predominantly White institutions (PWI). The secondary purpose of this study was to explore the effects of ethnic minority stress on trait anxiety symptoms.

Participants were 256 Latinx (67.6% women, n = 173; 31.3% men, n = 80) undergraduate and …

Risk And Protective Factors For Psychological Distress Following A Morally Injurious Event In Combat Veterans, Aaron Keating

Dissertations

Morally injurious events have been shown to increase the likelihood of experiencing anxiety, depressive, and posttraumatic stress symptoms of combat veterans. Research has found that guilt and shame are associated with higher levels of symptomology following morally injurious events. Similarly, individuals who are high in trait proneness to guilt and shame may be at higher risk for developing symptoms following a morally injurious event; however, no research to date has examined this possibility. In addition, acts that go against what one considers morally right bring about cognitive dissonance which then leads to anxiety. In order to reduce anxiety caused by …

Chronic Pain, Sleep Disruption, And Work Performance In The Military, Jeffrey Ransom

Dissertations

Abstract

Background and Significance: Managing pain is a challenge for many organizations, including the U.S. military. The added complication of managing sleep disruption compounds the issue. Examining pain and sleep disruption in the context of work performance within the military is critical to understanding the impact of these conditions on our nation’s fighting forces.

Purpose: Examine the associations of chronic pain and sleep disruption in the context of work performance among active duty military service members.

Research Aims: 1) Describe sociodemographic characteristics, military service characteristics, clinical characteristics, and work performance of active duty service members, 2) Examine relationships between these …

A Parametric Analysis Of Opportunities To Respond On Academically Engaged Behavior, Morgan G. Mccargo

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the adequate rate of opportunities to respond (OTR) to provide to students that would result in the highest rates of Academically Engaged Behavior. This study utilized a parametric analysis to evaluate and assess the effects of altering the number of OTR provided per minute (i.e., 1, 3, 5) on academically engaged behavior, disruptive behavior, and passive off-task, as an antecedent intervention in a general education elementary school setting. An alternating treatments design was utilized with three treatment conditions. All treatment conditions were implemented in a predetermined pattern, meeting the standards of Kratochwill …

Social Deprivation And Solitary Confinement, Mallory Mccoy

Dissertations

Solitary confinement is one of the most enduring, severe, and restrictive prison practices that has been widely debated since its inception in the early 19th century. Across the United States, the development of supermaximum prison facilities and the use of solitary confinement have become foundational aspects of corrections. Despite the controversy surrounding solitary confinement, there has been a lack of empirical research in this area. This literature review attempted to further explore and advance the understanding of the potential harmful effects of solitary confinement on incarcerated individuals. Specifically, this review summarized what is currently know regarding the effects of social …

Relationships Between Kindergarten Entrance Age And Attendance Rates In Kindergarten Through Second Grade, Julie A. Mcdonald

Dissertations

Education research over the last 50 years has found a significant relationship between academic achievement and kindergarten entrance age, with kindergarten students who enter school at the earliest ages tending to have lower academic achievement than their counterparts. Other studies have found that student achievement depends on factors such as class attendance rates and socioeconomic factors. Indeed, one issue consistently identified in education research as having a strong correlation to student achievement is student attendance, which makes intuitive sense because students must be present and engaged in school to learn. National research confirms that not only do attendance rates negatively …

Reasons For Choosing A Study Abroad Destination: A United States Student Perspective, Kristy Sue Berg

Dissertations

Berg, Kristy Sue. Reasons for Choosing a Study Abroad Destination: A United States Student Perspective. Published Doctor of Philosophy dissertation, University of Northern Colorado, 2020. The number of U.S. students who study abroad has been rising for the past 60 years (Institute of International Education [IIE], 2010). Since the 2017/2018 academic year, U.S. college study abroad rose 2.7% over the 2016/17 academic year with approximately 341,751 students participating in a study abroad program (IIE, 2020e). One in 10 undergraduate students participates in a study abroad program before graduation (IIE, 2020e). Perceptions U.S. students have of other countries impact their choice …

Inverse Problems For Polynomial And Rational Matrices, Richard Allen Hollister

Dissertations

Inverse problems have long been studied in mathematics not only because there are many applications in science and engineering, but also because they yield new insight into the beauty of mathematics. Central to the subject of linear algebra is the eigenvalue problem: given a matrix, and its eigenvalues (numerical invariants). Eigenvalue problems play a key role in almost every field of scientific endeavor from calculating the vibrational modes of a molecule to modeling the spread of an infectious disease, and so have been studied extensively since the time of Euler in the 18th century.

If a typical matrix eigenvalue problem …

Mindfulness And Technology: Evaluating An Online Mindfulness Intervention For Symptoms Related To Sexual Assault, Erica Catherine Johnson

Dissertations

Sexual assault has been found to increase the risk of distressing psychological symptoms including PTSD, depression, somatization, drug and substance use, lower quality of life and experiential avoidance. As such, interventions for reducing the distress and negative impacts of sexual assault are of importance. Mindfulness is of particular interest as it addresses one of the prominent factors known to maintain psychological distress after trauma, experiential avoidance (Polusny et al., 2004; Merwin et al., 2009). Furthermore, an online mindfulness-based intervention can increase the accessibility and reduce the barriers to treatment. A within subjects repeated measures open clinical trial design was used …

The Relationship Between Adult Attachment, Perceived Social Support, And Depression In Chinese College Students With Different Life Experiences, Yuge Guo

Dissertations

Guo, Yuge. The Relationship between Adult Attachment, Perceived Social Support and Depression in Chinese College Students with Different Life Experiences. Published Dissertation, University of Northern Colorado, August 2020. The population of left-behind children in China face great challenges in daily life and serious concern has been raised over their physical and psychological health. The current study examines whether childhood left-behind experiences have a long-term impact on the mental health of college students in comparison to their peers without such experiences. The current study explored if there were difference in the level of insecure attachment to a parent figure, perceived social …

Beyond The Hundredth Meridian: Student Success On The High Plains Of Western Kansas, Matthew Alan Clay

Dissertations

Clay, Matthew A. Beyond the Hundredth Meridian: Student Success on the High Plains of Western Kansas. Published Doctor of Education dissertation, University of Northern Colorado, 2020. In 2017 the Kansas State Department of Education unveiled the new Kansans Can policy. The initiative carried the vision of “Kansas leads the world in the success of each student.” From this idealistic vision, an operational definition of success was created from a listening tour that traveled throughout the state. However, condensing a plurality of people and communities’ perspectives into a single, placeless definition of success provides an opportunity to compare that definition to …

What Kind Of Support Do New Special Education Teachers In The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia Need?, Abdulhakeem M. Almoneef

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to explore the challenges faced by new special education teachers of hearing impaired students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the support they identified that they would like to receive during the first years of their teaching experience. Exploring the concerns of special education teachers of hearing impaired students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an important step in determining how these concerns may be addressed in order to improve instruction for deaf and hearing impaired students. The identification of the challenges and desires of new special education teachers of deaf and …

An Examination Of Parental Locus Of Control, Stress, Social Support, And Depression Among Parents Of Children And Adolescents With Intellectual Disabilities, Brandi Ellis

Dissertations

Caregivers (i.e., mothers and fathers) of youths with ID seem to be at a much higher risk of having symptoms of depression than caregivers of typically developing youths (Cantwell, Muldoon, & Gallagher, 2015; Giallo et al., 2015; Hu et al., 2010; Lee, 2013). A concurrent link has been found between parental locus of control (PLOC) and depression; however, there is a lack of support for a longitudinal association between these constructs among caregivers of youths with ID (Campis, Lyman, & Prentice-Dunn, 1986; Coyne & Thompson, 2011; Freed & Tompson, 2011; Lloyd & Hastings, 2009). Researchers have hypothesized that the lack …