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Loss, Hope, And Redemption: The Consequences Of Methamphetamine Use In A Sample Of Incarcerated Women, Mikhial Vincent Gunderman

Dissertations

This dissertation examines the consequences of methamphetamine use in a sample of 40 incarcerated women who were court-ordered to participate in a correctional drug and alcohol treatment program in Missouri. Using interview data from this sample, I examine their perceptions of the consequences of their methamphetamine use. The negative consequences I focus on include experiences of violence, damage to interpersonal relationships, and more personal consequences related to health, employment, housing, and the criminal justice system. In this pursuit, I explore the following research questions: 1) What is the relationship between the accumulation of negative consequences and continued and/or increased involvement …

The Arts: Building A Foundation To Increase Science Literacy Skills For Urban Youth, Mildred Zimmerlyn Wigfall

Dissertations

This study examined issues related to the development of science literacy skills for urban youth, which affected school performance and achievement in science. Examined were historical and societal educational issues, identity and perception of place in society, perceived individual cultural advantages, self-efficacy, and future career interests in science. Strategies used to addrress these issues included culturally responsive approaches using hip-hop art forms, as an infusion into the urban middle school classroom. Middle school teachers and youth in large Midwest urban districts were surveyed to discover their attitudes about science education and to determine the students' level of science literacy. A …

Screening The Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver For Sleep Apnea, Dianna Ohlman

Dissertations

Abstract The transportation industry has the third highest occupational risk for death and disability (BLS, 2010) with 7% of Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers (CMVD) falling asleep while driving (NHTSA, 2006). One contributing factor may be undiagnosed Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) (Tregear et al, 2009). In 2006, a Joint Task Force (JTF) published screening recommendations for OSA, which led to a change in the Department of Transportation screening practices within a local Occupational Medicine clinic. The purpose of this study was to: (a) determine what percentage of drivers having had a positive clinical screening examination (met two of three objective measures) …

Nontraditional Community College Students In Nursing: Perceptions Personified

Dissertations

Nontraditional students in nursing have been the topic of multiple research studies to gain insight into their perceptions regarding retention. This mixed methods study, using Jeffreys’ Student Perception Appraisal-Revised (SPA-R, 2007a) takes the quantitative findings a step further by using a qualitative approach to generate findings that extend the value of that instrument by exploring the details pertaining to each of the environmental items using focus groups and individual interviews with community college nursing students, just prior to graduation. One hundred seven associate degree nursing students in their last semester at three Midwestern community colleges were surveyed with the SPA-R …

Korean Migrant Youth Identity Work In The Transnational Social Field: A Link Between Identity, Transnationalism, And New Media Literacy, Sujin Kim

Dissertations

Informed by the new understandings of space, culture, and identity in the fast-changing world where communication technology connects and compresses multiple spaces, this qualitative study examines how Korean migrant youth understand, negotiate, and articulate their complex identities across and beyond various borders. The research questions were: (1) What are the contexts in which migrant youth negotiate their identities? (2) How do youth understand and negotiate their sense of belonging? (3) How do youth’s cultural and literacy practices, particularly in new media, inform and shape their identities? Using an ethnographic case study design, I collected data from 32 survey participants and …

Documentation Within The Anti-­‐Bias Approach: A Case Study Exploring Family And Practitioners’ Perceptions And Experiences, Stephanie Nicole Sagmoen Siqueira

Dissertations

Early childhood settings are diverse and challenging and building strong relationships between practitioners and families is vital. This research was framed around the aim to identify the factors influencing the perspectives and experiences of early childhood practitioners and families in relation to the use of pedagogical documentation within the Anti-Bias Approach. Additionally, the research aims to identify the benefits of using pedagogical documentation as a tool in the Anti-Bias Approach for building relationships. Nine semi-structured interviews with early childhood practitioners and parents/family members as well as a qualitative analysis of pedagogical documentation was conducted. Data analysis suggests five key factors …

The Relationship Between University Employees’ Work Engagement And The Perception Of Their Influence On Student Integration And Retention, Janea Sims Mcdonald

Dissertations

The retention of college students is an issue that affects the student, the university, and the workforce. When a student does not graduate, they often either earn less over the period of their lifetime, or are unable to find a job. The workforce is affected because this means fewer qualified applicants to fill positions. Universities are impacted in many ways, including financially. Lower retention rates lead to less income from tuition and decreased funding from state and federal sources which base funding formulas on performance outcomes (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2014).

One way to increase the likelihood of student …

Protecting Dixie: Southern Girlhood In Children's Literature, 1852-1920, Laura Anne Hakala

Dissertations

Most scholarship about girlhood in children’s literature tends to rely on national models of girlhood. My project complicates those models by demonstrating how region shapes distinct forms of American girlhood. In particular, I examine representations of southern girlhood in children’s literature published between 1852 and 1920, drawing on the four types of literature that most featured southern girls during this time period: abolitionist literature, Confederate literature, postbellum plantation fiction, and family stories. Using a historicist methodology and spatial analysis, I place these texts in relation to information about the spatial arrangements and protocols of southern domestic sites. By viewing girlhood …

Public Relations In Government-Based Public Health: Testing Contingency Theory During H1n1 Response, 2009-2010, Terri Lea Sasser

Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study is to describe public relations programs in state and local government-based health departments nationwide. Using the H1N1 communications and public relations activities as a frame, or basis of comparison, this study will further seek to identify if Contingency Theory of public relations may be an apt descriptor of public relations activities during this particular response effort. This study uses Contingency Theory as a theoretical perspective to explain the strategic management of the organization-public relationships and add to the body of knowledge about Contingency Theory of public relations in the field of health communications. Contingency …

My Confidant, My Coworker: The Interpersonal Relationship Of Work Spouses, Shaunda Marie French

Dissertations

In the present study, participants described their relationship with their perceived work spouse. After completing a pre-qualifying survey to substantiate the assumed relationship, qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted. The thirty individuals answered questions relating to how they identify a work spouse relationship, the effects this relationship has on both inside and outside additional relationships and the reasons the relationship developed. After analyzing and transcribing the data, the qualitative software program Nvivo was utilized to discover themes and subthemes.

Work spouses were found to be an additional type of intimate relationship, which is both unique and yet relatable to other types …

Philosopher's Stone: The Faustian Geist Of Development, Salikyu Sangtam

Dissertations

The present study juxtaposes scientific rationality with polyphonic rationality in respect to societal development. This is done to illuminate how scientific rationality provides a narrow and truncated view of development. In order to explicate the exclusion of polyphonic rationalities/knowledges in favor of scientific rationality, several development scholarships are examined along with an episode of developmental scheme and two episodes of development programs. This is done to expound (note: ‘→’ = influences) how scientific rationality → scholarships → organizational/institutional schemes, such as the MDGs → actual applications of development schemes, such as transmigration and compulsory villagization. The present inquest, …

Overcoming The Loss Of Nonverbal Cues Encountered By The Adventitiously Blind: Reconstructing Relationships And Identity, Vernon Floyd Humphrey

Dissertations

In this study, couples shared their experiences adjusting to one of the members loss of sight. Through interviews, their narratives expressed their values, actions, inactions, successes, failures, needs, obstacles, and feelings. Participants explained their standpoint/perspective about vision loss, when it happened, how it affected them, how they reacted and responded, through hindsight how they thought they should have responded, and how they reconstructed a shared interpersonal relationship. Narratives about situations and events after the loss of sight revealed descriptions of their relationships and interactions with each other and other people in their circle. Through constant comparative analysis the individual narratives …

Quarry: Poems, Christina Ann Rothenbeck

Dissertations

A book-length poetry manuscript including poems about hunting, illness, domesticity, illness, girlhood, and the body.

The Relationship Between Toxic Leadership, Organizational Citizenship, And Turnover Behaviors Among San Diego Nonprofit Paid Staff, Melanie J. Hitchcock

Dissertations

Toxic leadership is associated with a number of negative consequences to the long-term health and welfare of people in organizations. Destructive leader styles redirect employee efforts from mission accomplishment to self-protection and survival behaviors, undermining the organization. Increased demand and decreased funding are characteristic of the nonprofit sector. Therefore, successful nonprofit organizations tend to rely on creativity and innovation to ensure their communities are appropriately and sufficiently sustained. Supportive, not toxic, leadership helps foster organizational environments that encourage prudent risk-taking and innovation.

This concurrent mixed methods study explored the relationship between toxic leadership and organizational citizenship and turnover behaviors among …

A Study Of Novice Instructors’ Questioning Techniques And Classroom Discourse Surrounding Those Questions, Kitty Lane Roach

Dissertations

The goals of this dissertation were to examine how novice calculus teachers used questions in their classrooms, how those questions and their use might change after video case-based course coordination, and what evidence of influence on student learning might be seen in undergraduate student achievement. This research focused on one way to elicit student ideas--by asking questions--and how professional development might facilitate asking questions as a way to learn about student thinking in calculus. This dissertation defined question depth (in terms of cognitive demand), question category (comprehension check, content check, elicit thinking, probe thinking), and discourse neighborhood as aspects of …

Mathematicians' Evolving Personal Arguments: Ideas That Move Proof Constructions Forward, Melissa Louise Troudt

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Simulation Anxiety And Learning Styles, Karyl Lujean Yockey

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Stress, Anxiety, And Coping In A Live Supervised Individual Counseling Practicum: A Grounded Theory, Ernest George Zullo Iii

Dissertations

This study represents the initial attempt to create an emergent theory of how counseling students cope with the stress and anxiety inherent in a live supervised individual practicum from CACREP accredited training programs. This research followed the qualitative research traditions surrounding emergent theory creation and involved nine participant masters’ students throughout the entire practicum semester. This study found 16 themes separated into three categories. Sources of anxiety: (a) anticipatory anxiety and fear, (b) meeting obligations outside of practicum, (c) interpersonal conflicts, (d) the live supervision environment, and (e) feedback. Modifiers and influencers of stress and anxiety: (a) practicum social environment, …

One Academic Year Study Of Experiences Of One Cohort Of Graduates From A Midwestern University’S Teacher Education Program, Chris Albers

Dissertations

Teacher attrition is a growing problem within the education system in the United States. A study that tracked the experiences of graduates of a particular program was designed to gauge the program’s success. There were three research questions. The first asked, What are the first year teaching experiences of Midwestern University educator preparation program graduates? The second question was in two parts and asked, What do graduates of Midwestern University educator preparation program perceive as the strengths and weaknesses of their ability to carry out their duties as a first-year teacher? How does this change from August to May? The …

Study Of The Theory Of Mattering And Marginality In Relation To Nontraditional College Students In A Private, Midwestern, Single-Purpose College, Sonya M. Hayter

Dissertations

The demand for individuals holding a college degree is expected to increase by 16% by the year 2018 with approximately 66% of all jobs requiring some form of posthigh school training (Kelly & Strawn, 2011). Also increasing in numbers is the number of nontraditional college students seeking a degree. Nontraditional students returning to school often have outside barriers that can challenge degree attainment, placing them at risk for dropping out. Using Schlossberg’s (1989) theories of mattering and marginality as a guide and through a qualitative approach to research, data were collected from a private, Midwestern, single-purpose college to explore what …

A Comparative Study Of The Population Dynamics Of Four Amaranthaceae Species, Lauren Michele Schwartz

Dissertations

Some of the most problematic agricultural weeds found in the Midwest United States are found in the Amaranthaceae family, such as Amaranthus palmeri and A. tuberculatus. These summer annual weeds are troublesome due to their competitive ability, high seed production, and resistance to herbicides from several modes of action which complicates management in field crops and has led to significant yield loss. Achyranthes japonica and Iresine rhizomatosa are two perennial species in the same family as A. palmeri and A. tuberculatus that occur in similar habitats as one another, but differ in invasiveness. Achyranthes japonica is a non-native, invasive species …

Restoration And Water Management In The Atchafalaya River Basin, Louisiana, Justin Peter Kozak

Dissertations

Environmental restoration in aquatic systems requires innovative approaches that combine scientific understanding, socioeconomic demands, and local stakeholder values into decisions. However, changing approaches to water management to address these requirements is difficult because of scientific and socioeconomic uncertainty and institutional barriers that can prevent implementation of alternative water management approaches. Current restoration efforts in the Atchafalaya River Basin (ARB) of Louisiana are faced with this challenge. Water management in the ARB has evolved from strong federal control to establish the ARB as a primary floodway of the Mississippi River and Tributaries Project to a state and federal collaboration to accommodate …

Diet, Exercise, And Smartphones - A Content Analysis Of Mobile Health Applications For Weight Loss, Rajvee Subramanian

Dissertations

The recent proliferation and adoption of smartphones has resulted in the widespread use of mobile applications. Mobile applications, or apps, are small programs that are designed to run on smartphones and mobile devices for providing information on a wide range of topics addressing the varied needs of an individual. Health apps are one of the more popular categories of apps that are used extensively among people who are interested in health and fitness. Apps in this category focus on topics such as diet, nutrition, fitness, and weight loss. This study examined popular, free weight loss health applications available in Apple …

The Interrelationships Among Perceived Parenting Styles, Psychological Entitlement, And Subjective Well-Being, Emily A. Dreiling

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Examining The Impact Of Information Communication Technology On Social Skills And Total Likability, Aaron Lee Wallis

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Literacy Practices Among Migrant Teachers: Educator Perspectives And Critical Observations, Briana Asmus

Dissertations

This research builds upon scholarship that explores the unique needs of Latina/o migrant students and the teachers who serve them. Situated within the overlapping fields of migrant education, critical literacy, and Latina/o critical theory, this narrative examines the practices and perspectives of three teachers, each with more than a decade of experience teaching migrant students in a summer migrant education program (SMEP) in Michigan. The purpose of this study is to give educators, administrators, and community members who work with migrant students additional insight into the literacy acquisition process and unique challenges of working with this population.

Despite the aim …

Saliva Cotinine As A Measure Of Abstinence In A Lottery-Based Contingency Management Treatment For Smoking Cessation, Catherine M. Gayman

Dissertations

Contingency management decreases smoking by delivering monetary incentives contingent upon objective verification of abstinence. The present study investigated the effectiveness of monitoring saliva cotinine twice weekly in a contingency-management treatment for cigarette smoking using a cash prize-based payment system. Participants were randomly assigned to either a contingent reinforcement group or a non-contingent reinforcement group. The study began with five consecutive Baseline days during which participants smoked as usual, and was followed by four consecutive Shaping days, during which participants were asked to gradually decrease smoking. During the subsequent three-week Abstinence phase, participants submitted saliva cotinine and breath carbon monoxide samples …

Recycling In A Lean Environment, Marylin N. Glass-Hedges

Dissertations

Lean Manufacturing and Green Manufacturing systems co-occur in many manufacturing facilities. This dissertation investigated the relationship between materials recycling—as an important green waste-reduction technique—and lean techniques, and their influence on lean outcomes, specifically 1) if a correlation exists between lean techniques and material recycling, as these two variables also influence lean outcomes; and 2) the mediating effect of materials recycling between lean techniques and lean outcomes. Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling were the chosen statistical analysis methods utilized to explore and confirm the lean techniques and lean outcomes constructs, test the models’ hypotheses and answer …

Evaluating Sexual Assault Prevention Training Programs For College Women, Eliza S. Mcmanus

Dissertations

Sexual victimization is a frequent and concerning problem for college women. It is estimated that college women are three times more likely to experience sexual assault than women in the general population. Additionally, women with a history of unwanted sexual experiences are at greater risk for future sexual victimization than women without such histories. For these reasons, the examination of college-based sexual assault prevention programs is important given the high rates of unwanted sexual experiences and subsequent negative mental health consequences. Furthermore, the lack of effective skills-based sexual assault prevention programs on college campuses is an important issue to address. …

Predictors Of College Attendance And Persistence Among Blind And Visually Impaired Students, Lydia Schuck

Dissertations

Completion of a college degree is a positive outcome for any young adult. The purpose of this three-paper dissertation was to explore the latent constructs and other variables that may be associated with postsecondary education outcomes of youth who are blind or visually impaired. The samples were drawn from a 10-year longitudinal study of youth with disabilities, the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2. The sample of the first study comprised 420 youth (all Ns rounded to nearest 10 to meet data restrictions) who had taken the direct assessment recorded in the dataset. Exploratory factor analysis of 17 variables reported by …