Digital Commons Network^™

The Economy-Crime Relationship Revisited: The Significance Of Recent Macroeconomic Conditions And Social Policy Changes For Child Poverty And Youth Violence Trends, White Nicole

Dissertations

The relationship between economic deprivation and violent crime has been one of the most widely studied in the field of criminology, yet little is known about the impact of recent macroeconomic conditions and welfare reform policies on the poverty-youth violence relationship. Therefore, the current study utilizes data from the 1993-2004 National Crime Victimization Survey to assess the association between poverty and youth violent victimization trends variously disaggregated by race, ethnicity, and family structure, and the impact of welfare reform and macroeconomic conditions on this relationship. In addition, the potential impact of welfare reform on the individual-level relationship between poverty and …

Crisis In Education: A Call To Act, Debra Walker Emery

Dissertations

The current education system in the United States is riddled with difficulties which include an increasing demand for qualified teachers and persistently high attrition rates. Teachers are prone to low job satisfaction, low self-efficacy, as well as increased stress and burnout. Although these problems are widely discussed in the literature, scant intervention research is available. Additionally, existing interventions miss two key elements that may be especially relevant to the challenges faced by educators: acceptance and values. The current study examined the efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for reducing teacher burnout through a day-long professional development workshop. Thirty-five teachers …

Quality Of Life In Patients With Non-Cardiac Chest Pain: The Impact Of Psychiatric Disorder Severity, Fear Of Pain, And Pain Catastrophizing, Katherine Elizabeth Hadlandsmyth

Dissertations

Patients who present in medical settings with persistent chest pain in the absence of identifiable cardiac cause (Fleet & Beitman, 1997) may be diagnosed with non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP). NCCP is a common, costly condition that may result in impaired quality of life (e.g., Eslick et al. 2003; Wong et al., 2002). Theories of NCCP (Mayou, 1998; White & Raffa, 2004) suggest that patients who react to NCCP with fear and thoughts of catastrophic consequences may avoid activities that elicit cardiac sensations. The daily behavioral impact of avoiding cardiorespiratory cues may limit quality of life due to activity avoidance. The …

An Investigation Of Data Protection And Computer Security In Small Irish Medical Practices, Sean Mcgrath

Dissertations

Small medical practices store and process the health information of their patients in order to aid in providing care to them. Because of this a level of trust exists between the patients and the practice to ensure the sensitive medical data is kept private and secure. There was no formalised way to test if this trust was well deserved and what level of protection was applied to such sensitive health records. A security model that is applicable to small medical practices for the purpose of protecting and securing the personal health information they store was constructed and validated by a …

A Study Of The Effect Of Positive Behavior Interventions And Support On Student Behaviors And Academic Achievement In High-Poverty Schools, Daniel Joseph Tripp

Dissertations

Closing the academic achievement gap is a national epidemic. Schools across the world struggle to meet the needs of all students, especially students in poverty. Educators look for many solutions to close the gap, but student behaviors are often overlooked. Research has shown that implementing a Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) system can decrease office disciplinary referrals and increase academic achievement. The purpose of this study was to add to the body of literature on PBIS, poverty, and academic achievement. This study was relevant because high-poverty schools across the world struggle to increase student academic achievement. This study analyzed …

The Impact Of Community College Developmental Education Programs On Student Success, Melissa A. Batchelor

Dissertations

With more people enrolling in college today, community colleges face a higher percentage of students who do not have college-level skills. To meet the needs of the underprepared student, colleges established developmental education programs. This study examined the success of developmental programs through examination of secondary data using a z-Test for difference in means, Chi-Square test for Independence, Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient, and ANOVA. Through use of these statistical tests, the researcher analyzed the differences between the data and compared the variables from each institution to determine areas of strength and weakness in student outcomes to link with use …

Lived Experience: East African Somali Speaking Women Accessing The U.S. Healthcare System, Shukri Adam Phd

Dissertations

Access to prenatal healthcare for East African Somali Speaking Women (EASSW) who are immigrants to the U.S. has been dependent on the availability of a systematic healthcare treatment model. The purpose of this study was to explore EASSW's lived experiences in accessing prenatal healthcare services in the U.S. A descriptive, qualitative phenomenological approach informed by the work of Husserl was used to explore EASSW's experiences, views, and problems encountered while attempting to access prenatal healthcare services in the U.S. Fifteen EASSW of childbearing age (ages 18–45) were recruited for this study. All participants interviewed privately, beginning with a semi-structured, open-ended …

A Retrospective Analysis Of Maternal And Child Outcomes Following An Obesity Intervention Program, Melinda S. Bender Phd

Dissertations

Background: One of the highest risk groups for childhood obesity and associated co-morbidities in the United States are low-income Hispanic preschool children. To reduce obesity, effective interventions are being sought to improve health behaviors among high risks groups. Objectives: To evaluate a subset of data from a larger 9-month promotora facilitated obesity intervention study. The aims were to determine: 1) pre- to post-program differences in health behaviors including: (a) children's consumption of high carbohydrate beverages (HCB); and (b) maternal walking, beliefs, knowledge, self-efficacy, and relationship building regarding nutrition and physical activity; and 2) which covariates were significant for change in …

Maternal Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Parenting, Family Functioning, And Child Outcome, Desiree Alana Sutherland

Dissertations

Although a good deal of research has been conducted examining the effects of parental psychopathology of various types (i.e. maternal and paternal depression and schizophrenia, paternal PTSD), very few studies have investigated the influence of maternal PTSD on mothers’ parenting and their children’s behavioral and psychological functioning. This paucity of research is in spite of the fact that women exhibit higher lifetime PTSD prevalence rates than men. The current study examined the influence of maternal PTSD and trauma on mothers’ parenting, family functioning, and children’s psychological well-being in a sample of 125 mothers and 34 mother-child dyads. Mothers provided self-report …

Interoceptive Fear And Pain Anxiety In Non-Cardiac Chest Pain: Is Fear Associated With Reduced Physical Activity?, Jennifer Marie Craft

Dissertations

Non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP) describes angina-like pain suffered by patients who lack a cardiac diagnosis (Fleet & Beitman, 1997). Despite a benign diagnosis, some NCCP patients continue to experience persistent pain, cardiac worry, impaired quality of life (Eifert, Hodson, Tracey, Seville, & Gunawardane, 1996), elevated rates of psychiatric disorders (Bass & Wade, 1984; White, et al., 2008), and negative health consequences (Eslick & Talley, 2008). Consistent with theory, research indicates that NCCP patients differentially fear cardiac sensations (Aikens, Zvolensky, & Eifert, 2001; White, Craft, & Gervino, 2010). It may be that NCCP patients avoid physical activity, which elicits feared cardiorespiratory …

Legal Capacity In A Mental Health Context In Ireland A Critical Review And A Case For Reform, Andrew Guy

Dissertations

This thesis examines the issue of legal capacity in the context of existing and proposed mental health legislation in Ireland from a human rights perspective. Its primary focus is to access whether certain recent proposed reforms to Ireland’s existing mental health legislation will meet the relevant prevailing international human rights standards, namely the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (the “CRPD”).

In particular, it includes a critical review of the proposed legislative reforms in the area of legal capacity in a mental health context. In summary, the main reforms are contained within the Scheme of Mental …

Two Paths, One Goal: Student Success Examining Student Affairs In Community Colleges And For-Profit Post-Secondary Institutions, De'reese L. Reid-Hart

Dissertations

In the 21^st century, the potential for opportunities to obtain an education has become a reality and as a result, many students are embarking on a journey of social mobility and are assimilating into the milieu of higher learning. Affordability, accessibility, and program types are factors that have historically made public community colleges the primary option for students as they aspired to obtain higher education. However, with the rapid growth of for-profit post-secondary institutions offering similar programs, flexible hours, and accelerated degree options, students who would have traditionally enrolled at a public community college are now choosing to attend …

Examining The Motivating Factors That Influence Students With An Associate's Degree To Complete A Bachelor's Degree At A Private University, Rudolph D, Smith

Dissertations

The intent of this study was to shed light on the reasons and factors that influence the decision for community college graduates to complete a bachelor’s degree at a private, not-for-profit university. In addition, this study sought to identify and describe why students persist during degree completion programs, as well as the inhibitors and facilitators found throughout such programs.

This research was built on the qualitative research paradigm employing semi-structured interviews and focus groups to investigate how the elements of motivation theory influenced students to complete a bachelor’s degree program. The findings from the study validate that students are motivated …

An Exploration Of How Disability Support Services Are Evaluated In Select Community Colleges, Donna Anita Walker

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative multi-site study was to explore how disability support service programs are evaluated in select Illinois community colleges through the use of the CIPP (context, input, process, and product) program evaluation framework. Stufflebeam’s (1969) CIPP model of program evaluation was adapted for this study. The study was undertaken to determine the following: (a) the fundamental elements of these programs; (b) why and in what ways the programs are implemented; (c) the evaluation process and impact on services; and (d) the influence of the knowledge base and skills of the director.

Based on the study findings, while …

A Study Of The Impact Of The Workplace Learning Function On Organizational Excellence By Examining The Workplace Learning Practices Of Six Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Recipients, Cynthia J. Lewis Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role the learning function plays in the pursuit of organizational excellence with the goal of identifying key factors, models and descriptions of successful workplace learning practices. A total of six Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Recipients, one from each Baldrige sector participated in this study. Data was collected through in depth, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with the person responsible for workplace learning or their representative in each organization. The findings indicated that workplace learning professionals should be part of the strategic planning process within an organization and that workplace learning benefits strongly …

Enhanced Membrane Distillation : Analytical And Deionization Applications, Ken Gethard

Dissertations

Membrane distillation (MD) is a newer technology that is being investigated for applications such as seawater desalination and concentration of fruit and sucrose solutions. The major advantage of MD over traditional thermal distillation is that it requires a substantially lower thermal energy requirement to power the process. This allows low grade energy sources such as waste heat or solar energy to be used with MD. Compared to concentration processes such as reversed osmosis or ion-exchange, MD does not require specialized equipment, high electrical consumption, the use of strong acids and bases nor does it generate hazardous waste as a by-product. …

Magnetic Seeding Aggregation To Enhance The Removal Efficiency Of Tio2 Nanoparticles From Water, Ashish Dhananjay Borgaonkar

Dissertations

Engineered nanoparticles, such as titanium dioxide (TiO₂), are important building blocks for the evolution of nanotechnology in industries and commercial products. Ever so increasing use of the engineered nanoparticles is bound to result in a substantial fraction of these nanoparticles ending up in wastewater; or surface water and groundwater, which are sources of intake for drinking water treatment. Removal of these engineered nanoparticles in wastewater and drinking water treatment processes is a very important step towards the protection of environmental and public health as well as protecting water treatment units from fouling and other issues.

Experimental studies showed …

Development Of Advanced Algorithms To Detect, Characterize And Forecast Solar Activities, Yuan Yuan

Dissertations

Study of the solar activity is an important part of space weather research. It is facing serious challenges because of large data volume, which requires application of state-of-the-art machine learning and computer vision techniques. This dissertation targets at two essential aspects in space weather research: automatic feature detection and forecasting of eruptive events.

Feature detection includes solar filament detection and solar fibril tracing. A solar filament consists of a mass of gas suspended over the chromosphere by magnetic fields and seen as a dark, ribbon-shaped feature on the bright solar disk in Hα (Hydrogen-alpha) full-disk solar images. In this dissertation, …

A Study Of The New York / New Jersey Coastal Water : Bio-Optical Characteristics Of The Harbor Estuary And The Effects Of Heavy Metals On Brown Tide Alga Of The Bight, Bin Wang

Dissertations

The New York / New Jersey (NY/NJ) coastal area is one of the most productive regions around the world and a major natural and scenic resource for New York and New Jersey. As a result of excessive nutrient loading in the water, algal blooms have been observed since 1950’s. The NY/NJ coastal area includes the NY/NJ Bight and the NY/NJ Harbor Estuary, and in the former, brown tides (Aureococcus anophagefferens) were first observed in 1985 becoming a more serious water quality problem over the last 25 years. The influence of micronutrients, namely trace metals, on A. anophagefferens that are widespread …

Markovian And Stochastic Differential Equation Based Approaches To Computer Virus Propagation Dynamics And Some Models For Survival Distributions, Lianzhe Xu

Dissertations

This dissertation is divided in two Parts. The first Part explores probabilistic modeling of propagation of computer 'malware' (generally referred to as 'virus') across a network of computers, and investigates modeling improvements achieved by introducing a random latency period during which an infected computer in the network is unable to infect others. In the second Part, two approaches for modeling life distributions in univariate and bivariate setups are developed.

In Part I, homogeneous and non-homogeneous stochastic susceptible-exposed-infectious- recovered (SEIR) models are specifically explored for the propagation of computer virus over the Internet by borrowing ideas from mathematical epidemiology. Large computer …

Experiences Of International Students Using Information Communication Technology In College In The United States, Olena Zhadko

Dissertations

This study surveyed 262 international students at two four-year institutions of higher education regarding their experiences with technology while in college in the United States. The study evaluated frequency of trends of Information Communication Technology usage by means of descriptive statistics. A sequential mixed methods design (Creswell, 2003) was utilized. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine which demographics of international students predict their comfort level with technology. The study further explores the experiences of international students using technology by means of face-to-face interviews to investigate those results in more depth. The researcher used a basic or generic qualitative study …

Cord Blood Collection In Pregnant Women For Stem Cell Research, Irene Carr Phd

Dissertations

Umbilical cord blood (UCB) stem cells form commonly banked types of human tissue. Confusion remains about sources of stem cells and their use. Birth is a once in a lifetime opportunity with 74 million births per year in the world and four million occur in the United States. Cord blood contains hematopoietic stem cells and pluripotent mesenchymal cells (Moise, 2005). There is a surge of interest in the clinical use and research investigation of umbilical cord blood for transplantation and regenerative medicine. Clinicians need increased awareness and education of options for private versus public donation and banking of cord blood …

Outsiders Within: A Framing Analysis Of Eight Black And White U.S. Newspapers' Coverage Of The Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1964, Yolanda Denise Campbell

Dissertations

This study offers an important contribution to communication research about how Black and White Newspapers covered one of the most significant periods of racial unrest in the history of the U.S. besides slavery—the Civil Rights Movement. Specifically, this paper examined the unique combination of eight U.S. newspapers—The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Pittsburgh Courier, The Birmingham News, The Birmingham World, The Clarion Ledger, The Jackson Advocate, The Chicago Tribune, and The Chicago Defender from 1954-1964, the beginning and end of the Civil Rights Movement. Through a qualitative framing analysis of the eight newspapers exploring the …

Pre-Kindergarten And Kindergarten Teachers' Perceptions Of Kindergarten Readiness, Joshua Aaron Bressler

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a difference in perception between pre-kindergarten and kindergarten teachers on kindergarten readiness. In addition, this study sought to find out if there was any difference in PEAK assessment scores between those students who attended pre-kindergarten versus those students who did not attend pre-kindergarten.

The instruments used for this research were the Pascagoula Early Assessment for Kindergarten (PEAK) scores and the Kindergarten Readiness Questionnaire. The PEAK scores measured students‟ readiness by assessing their knowledge on language, writing communication, math, and fine motor development from the onset upon entering kindergarten. The …

An Analysis Of Peer Leadership Competencies And Skills, John P. Baker

Dissertations

A significant leadership challenge exists while leading others without legitimate or formal authority. Leading without legitimate authority may require different and limited leadership skills and competencies, especially when leading peers. This quantitative study analyzed the leader competencies and skills needed for effective peer leadership.
A literature review identified four competencies cited frequently as important: (a) communication; (b) support; (c) mental/hard work ethic; and (d) reflection/feedback. Analysis of an ROTC leadership assessment database provided convergent validity for the literature review while adding one additional competency, physical. The lack of existing instruments measuring peer leadership competencies and skills necessitated the development of …

Motivation For High School Students To Read:Differences Among Student Perceptions And Differences Between Student And Teacher Perceptions, Angela Dawn Gunter

Dissertations

Many high school teachers are unaware of, or mistaken about, specific strategies and practices that actually motivate their students to read, and that what motivates one group of students may not motivate another. Although content-area instructors may not have been trained in teaching reading strategy and may feel as though teaching reading is not their job, it is an expectation that could largely be met by the implementation of motivational strategies.

This exploratory study utilized the expectancy theory of motivation and wasconducted to determine which strategies and practices would be most motivational for high school students to read. In a …

Running In Absentia, Jeffrey David Tucker

Dissertations

Running in Absentia is a collection of short fiction, short-short fiction (also known as flash fiction), and poetry, with a critical introduction.

Counselor Perception Of Effective Components Of Suicide Prevention Programs In Four-Year Colleges And Universities, Melanie A. Schicker

Dissertations

More than 34,000 Americans take their lives each year. Twelve percent of those suicides are in the 15-24-year-old age group. Although, overall for this age group, suicide is the number three cause of death, across college campuses it is quickly becoming the second leading cause, with accidents being number one. There are multiple contributing factors for suicide and suicidal ideation among the college population and many campuses have suicide prevention information; however, fewer have actual suicide prevention programs in place. Several areas that contribute to suicide risk for college-aged students were reviewed including: (a) depression, suicidal history, and hopelessness; (b) …

Saturday Academy: Student, Parent, And Teacher Perceptions Of An Intervention For At-Risk Middle School African American Students In A High Poverty School, Meoldy Latrice Witherspoon

Dissertations

I examined the perceptions of parents, students, and teachers of Saturday Academy, an intervention for students who are at risk of failing academically. The problem is that nearly half of students who attend high school may be at risk of dropping out before they graduate. The purpose of this study was to describe, evaluate, and analyze the perceptions of students, parents, and teachers of Saturday Academy. This study is significant because at-risk students are in need of an intervention that helps them to be successful at school. The study was conducted in a small middle school within a large school …

Mourning, Melancholia, And Masculinity In Medieval Literature, Rebekah Mary Fowler

Dissertations

This dissertation examines male bereavement in medieval literature, expanding the current understanding of masculinity in the Middle Ages by investigating both the authenticity and affective nature of grief among aristocratic males. My focus is on the pattern of bereavement that surfaces across genres and that has most often been absorbed into studies of lovesickness, madness, the wilderness, or more formalist concerns with genre, form, and literary convention, but has seldom been discussed in its own right. This pattern consists of love, loss, grief madness and/or melancholy, wilderness lament/consolation, and synthesis and application of information gleaned from the grieving process, which …