Digital Commons Network^™

Effects Of Early Adolescent Exposure To D-Amphetamine In A Rodent Model Of Nicotine Reward, Eric Louis Harvey

Dissertations

Previous studies with rodents have found that adolescent exposure to psychoactive drugs can alter neurophysiology and produce behavioral effects that persist into adulthood. While several studies have examined the effects of adolescent exposure to nicotine on the subsequent rewarding value of various drugs of abuse in adulthood, to date, no known studies have examined the converse of this relationship. d-Amphetamine (i.e., dextroamphetamine, ProCentra®) is a potent psychostimulant that is commonly used in the treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in adolescents. The present study assessed the effects of adolescent exposure to d-amphetamine on the rewarding value of nicotine in …

A Qualitative Study Investigating Facility Managers’ Perceptions Of The Classroom Learning Environment, Eric Shannon Parr

Dissertations

Facility managers have the challenge of adhering to community college policies and procedures while fulfilling requirements of administration, students, and teachers concerning specific needs of classroom aesthetics. The role of facility manager and how specific entities affect perceptions of the design and implementation of classroom aesthetics were presented in this study in an attempt to further clarify present classroom design practices and future aesthetic possibilities. The purpose of this study was to explore and compare a facility manager’s perceptions of classroom learning environments, and a student’s learning environment aesthetic needs. A qualitative research design was utilized within the theoretical framework …

Students' Social Adaptation To Mathematics Tasks, Jeffrey J. King

Dissertations

This qualitative study describes mathematics majors socially adapting to perform mathematical tasks. An advanced undergraduate geometry class was observed for social and socio-mathematical norms. Three pairs of two students engaged in three task-based, semi-structured interviews: paired, individually, then paired again, solving the Seven Bridges of Königsberg and related tasks. A fourth stimulated-recall interview was performed using episodes from the last paired interview. Interview discourses were coded for structure and function to analyze the mathematical practices performed by each pair as shaped by their social interactions. These codes were then inductively analyzed for themes. Findings include: 1) the emergent norms of …

The Effects Of Interrelated Goals, Anxiety, And Mindfulness On Somatic Symptoms, Liesel Christoe-Frazier

Dissertations

The present study investigated the interrelationships between interrelated goals, anxiety, somatic symptoms, and mindfulness among a sample of undergraduate college students (n = 454). Structural equation modeling was used to develop a well-fitting model based on collected data. Results showed that goal conflict was positively associated with higher levels of anxiety and somatic symptoms. Anxiety was found to mediate the relationship between goal conflict and somatic symptoms. Goal facilitation was found to be unrelated to anxiety and somatic symptoms. Mindfulness was not found to moderate the relationship between anxiety and somatic symptoms, but was found to be negatively related to …

"Love Is Gender Blind": The Lived Experiences Of Transgender Couples Who Navigate One Partner's Gender Transition, Barry Lynn Motter

Dissertations

This study investigated the experiences of romantic couples who maintained their relationship when one partner transitioned gender. For this phenomenology, 13 couples were interviewed as a dyad and individually from within systemic, feminist, and queer research theories. Couples were interviewed together to best encapsulate their couple narrative and honor their experiences. Themes that emerged from the interviews appeared overall consistent with research regarding transgender couple experiences. Couples discussed how much they loved each other and cared about their relationship above and beyond a partner’s gender identity, sharing they felt committed to their partners as people. Several common relationship changes were …

The Effects Of Self-Compassion And Shame On The Relationship Between Perfectionism And Depression, Julie Ann Barritt

Dissertations

The following study examined how self-compassion and shame effect the relationship between adaptive/maladaptive perfectionism and depression. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to examine the predictive role of adaptive/maladaptive perfectionism, shame, and self-compassion on depression. This study included a sample size of 226 undergraduate and graduate students from a university in the Rocky Mountain region. Results from the multiple regression analysis found maladaptive perfectionism was a significant predictor of depression (β = .540, p < .01), which supported findings from previous research. When shame and self-compassion were included, results indicated self-compassion (β = -.257, p < .01) and shame (β = .382, p < .01) were full mediators in the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism (β = .035, p = .707) and depression. The change in significance for maladaptive perfectionism from β = .540 to β = .035 was statistically significant (p < .01) showing important mediating effects of self-compassion and shame. Interestingly, adaptive perfectionism was found to act as a suppressor variable in this study; which provided important theoretical and methodological implications for future research. Overall, results emphasized the importance of targeting decreasing shame and increasing self-compassion for those with depression and maladaptive perfectionistic behaviors and beliefs.

Experiences Of Students Utilizing A Campus Food Pantry, Jamie Daugherty

Dissertations

Food insecurity is a phenomenon with far-reaching impacts on the social, economic, health, and well-being of college students’ lives impacting how they procure food, food choices, and food experiences. A qualitative narrative inquiry explored experiences of three students facing food insecurity and using a campus food pantry. Data collection methods included in-depth semi-structured interviews, journaling, and photo elicitation. Data analysis illustrated five themes: a) financial challenge identification; b) strategizing budget priorities; c) prioritizing health; d) food pantry uses and strategies; and e) having enough. Students’ experiences were impacted by social and physical implications due to their financial challenges. The food …

Potential Environmental Impacts Of Oil And Natural Gas Production On A Shortgrass Steppe, Randi Corrine Lupardus

Dissertations

Federal lands of the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland (PNG) lie on the Niobrara play and bring high profits to the State of Colorado. Natural gas development, production, and associated processing activities; however, can be a substantial source of air pollution. Common fugitive emissions on typical PNG Oil and Natural Gas (O&NG) production sites include volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and the xylenes (BTEX). These VOCs can then deposit (wet or dry) onto or transfer (via soil or water) into surrounding vegetation. Minerals, including heavy metals, are also released during the production …

The Impact Of Faculty Academic Mentoring On First-Generation Undergraduate Students : A Mixed Method Design, Gustavo Salazar Ii

Dissertations

The quality of the relationship between mentors and mentees has gained considerable research interest in business-related fields but little ground in the academic sphere. This study examined the effectiveness of an existing faculty mentoring program that had been underway for several years at a small, private, religiously affiliated university. A convergent, parallel, mixed methods design was used to collect quantitative and qualitative data. Current and former undergraduate participants of the mentoring program were invited to volunteer for online surveys assessing the quality of their mentoring relationship in the program. That same pool was also invited to volunteer for group interviews. …

International Student Enrollment Trends From 2008-2014: Country Case Studies And Comparison To A Midwest Liberal Arts Institution, Emin Hajiyev

Dissertations

The international student recruitment and overall cross-border education have constantly been evolving. In the past two decades, higher education institutions were developing and implementing their plan of campus internationalization. Various universities and colleges have different approaches to the internationalization. However, through the implementation of the process, most of the institutions realized that the cornerstone of the internationalization is the international student recruitment. Despite providing the financial health to the institutions and overall to the process of internationalization, international student recruitment is the provider of the campus multiculturalism and diversity. This research is concentrated on the external factors of the cross-border …

Hypermasculine, Antifeminine: The Role Of Masculine Identity In Relational Aggression Among Gay Men, Daniel Locke Deason

Dissertations

Relational aggression is a form of aggression that targets a victim’s relationships or sense of inclusion. Depression, social ostracism, anxiety, and poor psychological adjustment are some of the negative correlates that have been identified in child and adolescent victims of relational aggression. For older adolescents and emerging adults, similar negative correlates have been found. Despite the efforts to identify these correlates, little research has been conducted on relational aggression among minority groups. The present study addressed relational aggression among college-aged gay-identifying men through the lens of Exclusively Masculine Identity Theory (EMIT), which was developed to account for anti-gay attitudes among …

The Perceived Community Engagement Survey: Further Exploration Of Its Reliability And Validity, Rafael Rivera

Dissertations

Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) have become the source of delivery for a number of social and health-related services in many communities. CBOs provide needed services in some of the most resource-poor communities. The moniker of community-based implies that these organizations are located within specific communities in order to provide services to community members. As organizations that have bloomed within communities to respond to particular community needs continue to grow and receive government funding, a primary funding source for many CBOs, questions arise about how responsive they remain to their surrounding communities. Funder mandates and foci may become more critical to CBOs …

Implementing The Primary Care Behavioral Health Model In A Pediatric Setting: Description, Satisfaction, And Potential Economic Outcomes, Rachel A. Petts

Dissertations

There is growing support for the value of integrating behavioral health consultants (BHCs) into primary care medical offices to address mental and behavioral health concerns; however, the actual practice of BHCs in pediatrics and associated patient and provider experience is largely unknown. Descriptive data from patient contacts with three BHCs in a large pediatric primary care practice examined the nature of, and patient and provider satisfaction with, the integrated behavioral health services provided. Over the course of 6 months of data collection, 109 patient contacts were recorded. The mean age of the patients served was 9.51 (SD = 4.38, …

Education And Nutrition Problems In Rural China, Rong Shi

Dissertations

The increasing inequality between rural and urban China has raised many concerns for Chinese scholars. A large gap exists not only in income but in health and education. The rural-urban disparities in health and education may contribute to greater income inequality in the future, thus leading to a vicious cycle. This study explores the factors that contribute to the increasing inequality in health and education between rural and urban China.

Using a randomized controlled trial in Shaanxi province, the first chapter studies the effectiveness of a supplemental meal program in improving students’ development outcomes. This study also compares the impact …

Dangerous Deals: A Case Study Of Nafta As A Criminogenic Policy, Daniel J. Patten

Dissertations

This study examines the creation of a criminogenic policy, NAFTA, and its subsequent social harms that primarily impacted poor rural farmers and indigenous people in Mexico. Previous research into state-corporate crime has focused on crimes committed by one state and one corporation, while little research has investigated the commission of crimes by more than one state operating in collusion. Previous research on human rights violations has emphasized genocide and physical integrity rights, while this study raises attention to “lesser” human rights violations such as abusive working conditions, lack of political participation in policy formation, and limited access to clean air …

Investigation Of A Mindfulness-Based Intervention With Survivors Of Interpersonal Violence, Laura Elise Stayton

Dissertations

Interpersonal violence is a widespread problem that includes intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and stalking. The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control in 2010 reported that approximately 1 in 5 women and 1 in 59 men have suffered sexual assault in their lifetime (Breiding et al., 2014). In addition, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men have been a victim of physical violence perpetrated by an intimate partner (Breiding et al., 2014). A number of potential negative consequences of interpersonal violence exposure include the development of posttraumatic stress disorder, substance …

From The Arab World To The American World: Transition And Adjustment Experiences Of Muslim Women, Nancy Hammoudah

Dissertations

This qualitative study explored the experiences of Muslim women from the Arab world who came to live and study in the U.S. This study gave voice to their daily lived experiences of transitioning to and adjusting to life and study in the American world. Nine bilingual women provided in depth responses to interviews and follow up phone calls. Women were raised in predominantly Muslim countries and attended institutions of higher education for the first time in the U.S. as international or domestic students, including refugees. Interviews were in English. Any spontaneous Arabic that was used by participants was immediately translated …

Sex Differences In Serotonergic And Dopaminergic Mediation Of Lsd Discrimination In Rats, Keli A. Herr

Dissertations

After decades of opposition, a resurgence of interest in the psychotherapeutic potential of LSD is gaining acceptance in the medical community. Future acceptance of LSD as a psychotherapeutic adjuvant may be predicated on knowledge about its neural mechanisms of action. Preclinical drug discrimination assay offers an invaluable model to determine the neural mechanisms underlying LSD’s interoceptive stimulus effects. Unfortunately, current preclinical literature on LSD discrimination is based on results obtained exclusively in male subjects. The present study represents the first known preclinical assessment of possible sex differences in the discriminative stimulus effects of LSD.

Adult female (n=8) and male (n=8) …

Lived Experience Of College Students Who Reduced Their Alcohol Consumption, Devin L. Jordan

Dissertations

Research has indicated that college students who experience alcohol-related problems may reduce their alcohol consumption without treatment (Alexander & Bowen, 2004; Barnett, Goldstein, Murphy, Colby, & Monti, 2006; Blume, Marlatt, & Schmaling, 2000; McNally & Palfai, 2001). However, the literature regarding their overall experience before, during, and after this self-initiated change process is limited. This qualitative study investigated the lived experience of eight college students between the ages of 18 and 25 who reduced their alcohol consumption for a period of at least 30 days after experiencing alcohol-related problems. Participants had never met the diagnostic criteria for a “severe” substance …

Bicultural Identity Integration And Individual Resilience As Moderators Of Acculturation Stress And Psychological Wellbeing Of Asian Bicultural Immigrants, Hartini Abdul Rahman

Dissertations

This research builds upon scholarship that explores the unique immigration-related experiences of self-identified Asian bicultural immigrants born in and outside of the United States of America (USA), complementing other research on immigrants in the country. Previous research suggests immigrants experience multiple challenges that contribute to acculturation stress, which in turn takes a toll on their psychological wellbeing. This study aims to examine the impact of personal and socio-cultural factors on the psychological wellbeing of Asian and Asian American bicultural individuals. Based on the existing biculturalism literature, it was hypothesized that the strength of identification with both cultures (heritage/origin and mainstream/host …

Employing Multivariate Logistic Regression Analysis To Better Understand The Relationship Between Individuals’ Anthropogenic Climate Change Acceptance And Belief In Anti-Climate Change Dissenter Messages, Andrew Phillip Keller Bentley

Dissertations

Organized climate change dissention groups spend a considerable amount of time and energy developing messages designed to convince the public that anthropogenic climate change is neither a reality nor a threat. These messages work against the efforts of climate educators and can be divided into two categories; messages that provide alternative explanations for warming, or messages that attack the work of scientists studying anthropogenic climate change. There has been a lack of research regarding any correlation between individuals’ agreement with these messages and their rejection of anthropogenic climate change. Establishing a correlation would be an indication that educators should take …

A Double Exponentially Weighted Moving Average Control Chart For The Individual Based On A Linear Prediction, Rafael Alberto Perez Abreu Carrion

Dissertations

Industrial process quality control frequently uses the Exponentially Weighted Moving Average control chart (EWMA CC) and the double EWMA CC (DEWMA CC) to detect small shifts in a process when the sample size ��=1. The EWMA CC was initially developed and evaluated in 1959. In 2005, the EWMA technique was extended to the DEWMA. Continued research into DEWMA has developed and assessed several alternatives, including multivariate control charts. These studies focus on detecting small shifts in process. In practice, however, we occasionally wish to detect small trends instead of shifts in the process. The effectiveness of these methods to determine …

Did Not Finish: Doctoral Attrition In Higher Education And Student Affairs, Sarah Maddox

Dissertations

Most students begin doctoral programs fully intending on completing the terminal degree. However, nearly half of the students who begin a doctoral program do not complete their degree. Attrition, or a decline in the number of students enrolled from the beginning to the end of a doctoral program, occurs throughout the degree. Some attrition is to be expected, and can be healthy. However, students may also choose to depart for negative reasons. Doctoral attrition is a relatively recent consideration in the literature, and previous literature had not considered the unique nature of higher education and student affairs programs. This dissertation …

Power Analysis Of Longitudinal Data With Time-Dependent Covariates Using Generalized Method Of Moments, Niloofar Ramezani

Dissertations

Longitudinal data occur in different fields such as biomedical and health studies, education, engineering, and social studies. Planning advantageous research projects with both high power and minimum sample size is an important step in any study. The extensive use of longitudinal data in different fields and the importance of their power estimation, yet the limited resources about their respective power estimation tools, made it worthwhile to study their power estimation techniques. The presence of time-dependent covariates triggers the need to use more efficient models such as generalized method of moments than the existing models which are based on generalized estimating …

Saudi Parents’ Needs In Deaf Education In The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz Alqahtani

Dissertations

This dissertation was conducted in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to investigate the needs and perceptions of parents of children who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) in regard to the support and services provided in Saudi Arabia. Fiftyeight parents of children who are DHH were surveyed. Participants were asked to complete the survey considering the support and services provided to their children who are DHH in KSA. The survey questions were related to parent perception in five areas of services: early identification services, hearing technology services, communication services, educational services, and social support services. In the course …

Creating And Implementing Professional Development With Self-Selected Literacy Content For Teachers In A Developing Country, Tiffany Arnett Regan

Dissertations

The purpose of this descriptive case study was to identify teacher strengths and needs to create a site-specific professional development program for literacy. I was interested in studying how to identify teacher needs and strengths and explore the compatibility between teacher beliefs, current practice, and best practices in literacy. This study was guided by the following research questions: Q1 In a developing country, what process is the best fit for creating and implementing a professional development program based on an asset-driven model and self-selected literacy content? Q2 How is a balance attained among current practice, self-selected content, and known best …

Examination Of The Effects Of Computer Assisted Mindfulness Strategies With Adolescents In An Alternative High School Setting, Justin A. Moore

Dissertations

Based on growing evidence that suggests mindfulness practices may improve psychological functioning, recent decades have seen a surge in mindfulness interventions and the use of technology as a means for teaching them. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the effects of four weeks of (twice weekly) training sessions using two computer-based strategies for teaching mindfulness-related skills to adolescents. The strategies included Breath Counting Training (BCT; Levinson et al., 2014) and Self-Compassion Training (SCT; Weng et al., 2013; Alberston, Neff, and Dill-Shackleford, 2014). Twenty adolescents (M age = 17.30; 40% male, 55% female, 5% gender neutral; 60% …

Coping And Africultural Adolescents, Britne R. Amos

Dissertations

The present study explored approaches to coping among Africultural, college students between the ages of 18 and 22 years. Coping strategies applied to Africultural adolescents and young adults have been studied from a majority culture, adult lens. In this context, Africultural is used to refer to people of self-identified African descent including and not limited to people who identify as African American (e.g., parent(s) were born in America, individual was born in America), of African descent and living in America (e.g., parents were born in Africa, individual was born in Africa), mixed African American and another ethnic group including Latino/a, …

Lgbt Microaggressions In Counselor Education Programs, Sarah Bryan

Dissertations

Many lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people report they experience microaggressions, small daily insults and indignities that affect their well-being. For LGBT students, microaggressions have been shown to affect well-being and academic engagement. In order to serve LGBT students and model affirming behaviors, counselor educators must be able to recognize and address LGBT microaggressions when they occur; however, there is currently a paucity of research on LGBT microaggressions in counselor education programs. Most studies on attitudes toward LGBT people in such programs neglect the experiences of LGBT students. Moreover, the few existing studies of the experiences of LGBT …

Counselor-Trainees' Readiness For Multicultural Competency And Social Justice Advocacy, Thomas Steven Killian

Dissertations

With the growth of multicultural populations in the United States, counselors-intraining are called to provide multiculturally competent counseling services (Estrada, Poulsen, Cannon, & Wiggins, 2013). In 2015, the Multicultural Social Justice and Counseling Competencies (MSJCC) was formed in response to a call to revise the dated Multicultural Counseling Competencies (MCC) developed in 1982 (Ratts, Singh, NassarMcMillan, Butler, & McCullough, 2016). The MSJCC now addresses the roles of advocacy, social justice, and privileged and oppressed identities and their impact on the multicultural counseling relationship (Ratts et al.), and coverage of these important topics is expected in counselor preparation programs. For this …