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Psychological And Economic Self-Sufficiency Among Low-Income Citizens Receiving Governmental Assistance, Vorricia Fechon Harvey

Dissertations

This dissertation study examines dynamics of psychological self-sufficiency (PSS) using a frame of reference that comes from perspectives of low-income citizens who receive some form of governmental assistance (i.e., public aid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and/or housing subsidies). It explores the validity of integrating PSS as a psychological capital into the holistic theory of change in workforce development. Because in the past, great emphasis has been placed on human capital development and fast track movement into the labor market, little has emerged on the influence of psychological capital properties. Subsequently, policy has guided the evolution of employment program …

The Relationship Between Neighborhood Characteristics And College Academic Outcomes Among An Ncaa Division I Student-Athlete Population: A Multilevel Approach, Ann Kearns Davoren

Dissertations

Over 170,000 students participate annually in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I sports. Approximately one-third of these student-athletes fail to graduate from their initial school of enrollment within six years. While some will go on to graduate from a transfer institution, roughly 15% will fail to earn a degree while competing for an NCAA Division I school. Using U.S. census block group data, this study adds the neighborhood characteristics of education, employment, income, and racial composition to prediction models of first-year GPA and six-year baccalaureate degree attainment among an NCAA Division I student-athlete sample. The use of multilevel modeling …

The Relationship Between Secondary Students' Mathematics Identities, Problem Solving, And Self-Regulation, Katie Laskasky

Dissertations

This mixed methods study explores secondary students' math identities. The primary purpose of this dissertation is to examine the relationships among students' math identities, their perceived problem solving practices, and their perceived self-regulated learning strategies. This study holds implications for teachers, school administrators, instructional coaches, teacher preparation professionals, policy makers, and educational researchers who influence the education of secondary math students.

This dissertation examines the following research questions: What is the relationship between secondary students' math identities, their perceived problem solving practices, and their perceived self-regulated learning strategies? What is the relationship between problem solving, self-regulation, and math identity given …

The Exemplary High School Principal: A Mixed Methods Study Of How Personal Motivation And Professional Core Values Influence The Practice, Priorities And Decisions Of Award-Winning School Leaders, Erin Luby

Dissertations

This study of award-winning high school principals was designed to distill lessons from highly effective school leaders. The research explored how personal motivation and professional core values influence the practice, priorities and decisions of exemplary principals. The research followed a sequential explanatory mixed methods design. Participants included school leaders across a 10-state region who won their State Principal of the Year award from 2007 to 2017. The first phase of data collection utilized a survey, and the second phase was comprised of semi-structured interviews.

Principals indicated they were motivated to become educators because of their desire to have a positive …

Are You A H.E.R.O.?: A Mixed Methods Study Of The Relationship Between Illinois Principals' Psychological Capital And School Culture, Karen Marie Ritter

Dissertations

Psychological Capital, developed by Fred Luthans as a byproduct of the positive psychology movement, involve the study of how applied positive states, attributes, and behaviors can improve performance in the workplace. An organization's leader needs a proactive, positive approach that emphasizes hope, self-efficacy, resilience, and optimism to improve an organization's effectiveness (Luthans, 2002a). This study explored how a school principal's Psychological Capital influenced the school's culture, and the psychological states that best supported the school to flourish. A school leader is key in building a positive school culture, where administrators, staff, and students share a sense of purpose and commitment …

Exploring Nurses' Perceptions Of Dignity During End-Of-Life Care, Barbara Crump

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory study was to understand nurses' perceptions of care that supports patients' dignity during hospitalization at the end of life, and to propose a theoretical foundation consistent with these perceptions as a guide to practice. The research involved analyzing perceptions about processes that can explain how nurses perceive care that supports patients' dignity at the end of life during hospitalization. The aim of the research in this study included a focus on the general problem that patients' dignity is not always respected by healthcare providers according to the review of the literature and the …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Two Teaching Strategies On Nursing Students Knowledge Skills And Attitudes Of Quality Improvement And Safety, Karen Maxwell

Dissertations

In 1999, the Institute of Medicine published a report To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System, which found that 44,000-98,000 people die as a result of preventable medical errors each year. Following this report in 2005, the Quality and Safety for Nurses (QSEN) project was established which defined a set of six core competencies that all nursing students should possess at graduation. Since the IOM report and the establishment of QSEN, nurse educators have been challenged with discovering effective teaching strategies to infuse the QSEN competencies into the nursing curricula. The purpose of the quantitative, pretest/post-test control group …

Talking About Patients: Nurses' Language Use During Hand-Offs, Yvonne Barthel Ford

Dissertations

Miscommunication during end of shift hand-offs between hospital nurses has been implicated as a source of errors in patient care, yet little research evaluates the structure of language during communication in an attempt to understand potential communication errors. Although the functions and meaning of hand-offs for nurses has previously been examined, there is little information about the current state of the structure and language of hand-offs. This research begins to fill that gap in by using genre analysis of transcripts of 43 end-of-shift hand-offs between nurses at four hospitals in the Midwestern United States.

Two analytic techniques common in linguistics …

A Grounded Theory Study Of Nurses Who Care For Patients Who Are Victims Of Sexual Violence, Dara M. Whalen

Dissertations

Sexual violence is a widespread traumatic event that has physical, psychological, financial, and spiritual implications for victims, their friends and family, and the community. The negative and long-term effects include poor health outcomes, depression, substance abuse disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Many nurses who treat these patients are inadequately trained.

The treatment of nurses towards patients who are victims of sexual violence can mitigate or contribute to perceived revictimization of patients. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify the processes and uncover the attitudes and behaviors of nurses without specialized training who care for patients who are victims …

Homicide And The World Religions, Allen Shamow

Dissertations

Cross-national studies seeking to explain the variation in rates of homicide have examined a multitude of factors including religion, but fewer studies have examined how religion may influence homicide through a society’s institutional structure. Social institutions include entities such as the economy, the family, the political structure, and educational system; and these institutions serve as guides for human action and behavior. Through its emphasis on values, religion may influence the interests and legitimize the functioning within societal institutions. In the present study, I examine how the major world religions of Protestantism, Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism may …

Validation Of The Multilayered Gender Identity Questionnaires, Philip Eiseman

Dissertations

Gender identity shapes the ways transgender adults experience themselves and relate to the world around them. Although research and theory suggest that gender identity is a multidimensional construct, most measures of gender identity have viewed gender as primarily a unitary construct tied to the gender binary. The aim of this study was to develop and validate the Multilayered Gender Identity Questionnaires (MGIQ), a set of measures of gender identity, in a sample of transgender adults. Qualitative data collected through focus groups with transgender adults (N = 7) helped refine and develop these measures. A series of analyses involving a …

Latino Male College Students' Identities, Psychological Stress, And Coping Mechanisms, Ana E. Ramirez

Dissertations

Latino male college students’ identities impact their personal experiences, academic achievement, and well-being. This qualitative study uses a narrative inquiry approach to research Latino male college students’ racial and ethnic, gender, and academic identities and to investigate how these identities impact their psychological stress and the coping mechanisms they implement to manage their stress. Latino males undergo an identity development in which they engage in negotiating their gender identities in order to prioritize higher education academic requirements. When Latino males are determined to achieve a college degree, they are able to adjust their familism gender role expectations and shift their …

Examining The Role Of Arts Education Partnerships In Sustaining Arts Programs In California Elementary Schools, Marie-Helene Bauguil

Dissertations

This study investigated three arts education partnerships in California elementary schools. The research questions that guided the inquiry were exploratory in nature and intended to reveal the day-to-day functioning of these partnerships, the challenges they faced, and the factors that contributed to their success, through the recounted experiences of the various institutional actors involved. The participants (n=21) comprised school principals and teachers, arts organizations administrative staff, and teaching artists. Qualitative inquiry methods (in-person interviews, classroom observations, and review of relevant documents) were used to analyze the data. The findings showed that the schools’ administrators and faculty appreciated the arts residencies, …

From War To Home: The Systematic Issues Operation Enduring And Iraqi Freedom Veterans Face Transitioning With Ptsd, Tiffany D. Ware

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the perceptions of Operation Enduring and Iraqi Freedom veterans with PTSD, who are transitioning from active duty to civilian life, regarding their participation in the Disabled Transition Assistance Program.

Methodology: The methodology for this research study will be qualitative from a phenomenological perspective. When thinking of research as it pertains to qualitative methods, it is appropriate to use when a researcher is trying to study the lived experiences of individuals (Flipp, 2014; Patton, 2015). This method will describe perceptions of Operation Enduring and Iraqi Freedom veterans with PTSD, who are …

"Hinabing Ugnayan": Nature Of Caring Among Filipino Nurses Working With Children, Rudolf Cymorr Kirby P. Martinez

Dissertations

This study, rooted on the phenomenological philosophy, explored the nature of caring among Filipino nurses working with children. Seven (7) participants were gathered as co-researchers and were carefully chosen based on the following present criteria: They are willing to articulate, share, participate, and describe their lived experiences, and they are registered nurses, currently working at a pediatric hospital for at least two years. The experiences of the co-researchers were subsequently gathered and enriched via the following methods: Interview, Storytelling, Participant Observation, Art, Group Discussion, Immersion and Reflective Resonance. Subsequently, three levels of reflective analysis was done following the process developed …

A Mixed-Methods Study: An Examination Of The Relationship Between Private Social Media Participation And Accountability, Adherence, And Social Connectedness In, Diana A. Cabori

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed-methods sequential explanatory study was to examine the influence of private social media usage on accountability, adherence, and social connectedness in weight loss and fitness program participants.

Methodology: This study utilized a mixed-methods sequential explanatory research design comprised of a multi-state quantitative survey of weight loss and fitness participants and subsequent qualitative interviews to elucidate the influence of private social media on weight loss and fitness program participants regarding program accountability and adherence, and social connectedness to others. The population included 3,000 participants of The Camp Transformation Center and 1,000 participants of Warrior Fitness and …

Alabama Classroom Teachers Who Participated In Arts Integration Workshops And Their Implementation Of Music Into The Core Curriculum, Laurie Martin

Dissertations

Effective teachers employ instructional strategies that enhance student engagement and can positively affect student learning. This qualitative study investigated the instructional practices and experiences of classroom teacher who implement music into the academic lesson to increase student engagement and enhance learning.

Mississippi Choices And The Influence Of Career And Technical Education, Charish Rene Pierce

Dissertations

Mississippi counselors serve in a variety of roles in order to meet the needs of all students. The role of the school counselor is to execute efforts to address each student’s academic, personal/social, and career development needs (ASCA, 2005). Middle and high school counselors are often tasked with activities that do not align with national and state standards for school counseling. Thus, these activities generate very little time for activities such as the Choices program and career development.

This study examined the middle and high school counselors’ usage of the Choices program. In addition, the research study explored middle and …

The Efficacy Of A Goal-Based Study Skills Course For Academically At-Risk, First-Generation, African American, Female Students, Sarah Beth Garrison

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to identify effective intervention strategies used in a goal-based study skills course for academically at-risk, first-generation, African-American, female students. Based on the theoretical framework from goal, motivation and achievement theories (Covington, 2000; Kuh, 2007; Nicholls, 1984), this study provided an analysis of research regarding the academic success and persistence of at-risk students. An explanatory mixed-method design was employed that consisted of two phases. The first phase of the study used quantitative data to test for difference in GPA and academic status between the control and treatment group. Quantitative data was also used to identify …

Examining The Perceived Influence Of A Comprehensive Youth Development Program For Promoting Black Male High School Persistence, Richard Gray Walker

Dissertations

Black male youth in the United States drop out of high school at a rate consistently higher than their White counterparts. A lack of academic persistence contributes to lower workforce participation rates among Black Americans, which leads to lower national productivity and unrealized personal prosperity. Youth development research has developed an extensive body of knowledge regarding possible causes and contributing factors of minority high school dropout. Literature shows youth experience higher dropout rates when they grow up in adversity. Adversity risks such as dysfunctional families, cultural discontinuity between home and school, dysfunctional neighborhoods, or low-expectations from teachers contribute to graduation …

Using Eye-Tracking And Molecular Modeling To Explore Students’ Strategies For Solving Organic Stereochemical Problems, Travis Howard Knowles

Dissertations

Stereochemistry concepts are often some of the most difficult topics for students to grasp in the organic chemistry curriculum. Several factors may influence students’ abilities to solve stereochemistry problems, including their spatial abilities, strategy choice, and ability to use various types of spatial representations. A mixed-method study was conducted to investigate the role that these factors play when novice organic chemistry students solve stereochemistry problems. Eye-tracking methods were used in an attempt to capture cognitive processes of students while solving these problems. Additionally, three-dimensional molecular models and spatial ability measures were used to further analyze and characterize their strategies for …

Interindividual Neuromuscular Characteristics And Their Relationships To Running Economy, Barbara Jean Schornstein

Dissertations

Running economy (RE) has previously been shown to be associated with endurance running performance. Neuromuscular characteristics, such as the activity of lower-extremity biarticular muscles during stance, have shown both positive and negative relationships with RE. That is, a positive relationship would indicate as there is more muscular excitation, more oxygen would be used for running, leading to a performance detriment. These conflicting relationships with neuromuscular activity have used two separate electromyographic (EMG) analyses, as there is no gold standard for the processing of EMG data. The first study was performed in order to compare the EMG analysis methods of each …

(Dis)Integrated Identities: Experiences Of Tenure- Track Engineering Faculty Who Identify As Sexual Minorities, Robyn Elisa Sandekian

Dissertations

This study was conducted to explore how full-time, tenure-track engineering faculty members who self-identify as sexual minorities have experienced working in Doctoral Universities. Literature reviewed for this study included the history of higher education and engineering education in the United States; a review of the differences between engineering and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields; and an overview of the history of discrimination against sexual minorities. Using a mixed-methods explanatory sequential methodology, the study included an anonymous web-based survey followed by semi-structured interviews of the participants who agreed to be contacted. During the interviews, participants shared photographs of their …

Critical Success Factors For Agile Project Management In Non-Software Related Product Development Teams, Jeff Totten

Dissertations

The use of agile project management methods in the software development industry is well established and researched. The purpose of this study is to understand whether agile project management methods (Scrum in particular) used successfully in the software industry are also being used in full, or in part, in non-software development industries when managing product development projects.

Using an online survey instrument, data was collected from 329 non-software/IT global practitioners to identify in what industries and work functions agile project management methods are used, to find the independent variables that have a significant relationship with project success, and to determine …

How Friendships Between Heterosexual And Sexual Minority Counseling Psychology Doctoral Students Affect Anti-Heterosexist Identity Development, Amber L. Sylvan

Dissertations

As the field of counseling psychology strives to embrace diversity and social justice issues, sexual minority issues have flourished into an active area of study among scholars and an area of focus for LGBT-affirming practitioners. One area of emphasis has been on how heterosexual people develop Anti-Heterosexist Identities. Some studies have noted the importance of friendship as it relates to Anti-Heterosexist Identity Development (Asta & Vacha- Haase, 2012; Duhigg, Rostosky, & Gray, 2010; DiStefano et al., 2000; Gelberg & Chojnacki, 1995; Larson, 2012), however, no known studies have more deeply explored the role of crosssexuality friendships. The purpose of this …

Bio-Socially Inspired Strategies In Support Of Dynamic Spectrum Access: An Evolutionary Game Theory Perspective, Mohammad Ali Marzoug Abu Shattal

Dissertations

Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) has been introduced to fulfill the expanded need for spectrum by different wireless networks and applications. Within the realm of spectrum access, the problem of "spectrum crunch" is present since some of the spectrum bands are overcrowded and others are underutilized. DSA aims to alleviate the problem of spectrum crunch. In DSA, Primary Users (PUs) allow Secondary Users (SUs) to access the spectrum as long as they do not interfere with PU transmissions beyond a pre-agreed acceptable level. In this work, a bio-socially inspired approach is proposed for SU interactions in support of better throughput for …

Race And Sexual Orientation Lssues In Graduate Classrooms: How Faculty In Psychology Experience Them Emerging Alongside One Another, Raymond L. Sheets Jr.

Dissertations

The inclusion of sexual orientation and race-related issues into mainstream psychology has gained much needed momentum in recent years. The field of counseling psychology, in particular, has helped fuel this momentum with its appreciation for, and commitment to, developing academic and applied psychologists who attend to an evolving multicultural society. Within the academic environment, faculty members have the responsibility of facilitating student learning in their respective classrooms; this facilitation becomes challenging in the face of emotionally charged topics such as race and sexual orientation. How then do graduate faculty who teach these courses experience race and sexual orientation comingling within …

An Examination Of Behavior Analysts' Treatment Selection Behavior For Escape-Maintained Problem Behavior, Rebecca Eldridge

Dissertations

The advent of functional analysis procedures has helped identify reinforcers for problem behavior; however, the behavior analyst is then faced with the task of selecting an appropriate treatment for problem behavior. When selecting treatments, in addition to behavioral function, behavior analysts also need to consider contextual variables, such as current client repertoires, setting conditions, time and resources of current caregivers, as well as client and caregiver goals (Benazzi, Horner, & Good, 2006). Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) must consider these factors when developing treatment according to their ethical code (Behavior Analyst Certification Board [BACB]’s Professional and Ethical Compliance Code [PECC], …

A Qualitative Investigation Of The Interpersonal Changes White Psychology Trainees Experience During Their Race-Based Learning And Development, Molly K. Beagle

Dissertations

The current study expands upon prior research that has explored how white psychology and counseling graduate trainees are impacted by their learning about racism. Prior to this study being conducted, research primarily addressed the psychological impact of learning about racism for white trainees. There was minimal acknowledgment and exploration of how learning about racism impacted the interpersonal aspects of trainees’ lives, such as their relationships and larger social networks. The current study addresses this gap within previous research, with it being the first to have an intentional, exclusive focus on the interpersonal impact of learning about racism. The primary purpose …

Assessing The Cultural Effects Of Neoliberalism On Empathy, Melissa May Racho

Dissertations

The current study examined the effect of neoliberalism on the expression of empathy among 40 undergraduate college students. Participants were divided across three groups: two treatment groups who were exposed to either a neoliberal or critical primer and a control group with no exposure to a primer. Individuals were randomly assigned to each condition prior to completing three empathy measures: The Empathic Concern and Perspective Taking subscales of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test. Mean scores were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and revealed no significant differences between groups, indicating the …