Digital Commons Network^™

Private And Public University Students' Perceptions Of Cultural Adjustment Problems In Study Abroad Programs, Walter R. Heinecke Edd

Dissertations

In a world that is increasingly integrated by economics, communications, and politics, higher education is asked to deliver graduates who can function professionally in the international arena. One way to do this is through study abroad programs, which have skyrocketed in popularity among American students over the last 15 years, increasing by 83% to more than 205,000 students in 2007. Despite the obvious benefits associated with such programs, there are challenges to living abroad as well—especially for young adults. To get some sense of these challenges, during the 2005-2006 academic year 114 study abroad students from 2 Southern California universities …

E-Coaching In Organizations: A Study Of Features, Practices, And Determinants Of Use, Rebecca Vaughan Frazee Edd

Dissertations

Employee development in organizations is moving away from classroom instruction to more individualized, flexible forms of just-in-time learning and support, such as e-coaching. E-coaching, conducted partially or entirely at a distance, offers convenience, cost-savings, efficiency, and improved access to people and resources. However, research on e-coaching for work-related purposes is limited. This descriptive and exploratory study used mixed methods to examine e-coaching extent, technologies and practices, and factors that influence deployment and success in organizations. A web-based survey gathered opinions from over two hundred workforce learning and performance professionals. Semi-structured interviews gathered critical incidents from twenty e-coaches. The researcher used …

School Web Sites Within The Educational Marketplace: A Case Study Investigating The Parents As Engaged Consumer-Users, Claudia Jane Beeman Edd

Dissertations

Schools -- like their corporate counterparts -- recognize the many advantages that the Internet affords. Today's schools vie for students, and thus use the web to market their services and showcase their management team (administrators, teachers, staff) and academic accomplishments. In a sense, then, web sites are the public face of education; those that are well-designed and multi-featured can enhance a district's public image and create the perception of excellence and competence. This case study explores how one suburban, K-8 school district approaches web site development, specifically, the process by which decisions about design, development, and maintenance are made (and …

An Analytical Conductor's Guide To The Satb A Capella Works Of Arvo Part, Kimberly Anne Cargile

Dissertations

Arvo Part (b. 1935) is an Estonian composer whose works include film scores, piano and organ works, chamber music, choral/orchestral works, and unaccompanied choral works. This dissertation is limited to the composer's SATB a cappella works. During an eight-year "period of silence" from 1968 to 1976, Part ceased serious composition in order to find his true compositional "voice." During this hiatus, Part abandoned his Lutheran faith, converting to the Russian Orthodox Church, and discovered a fascination with sacred Medieval and Renaissance music, which had been denied him as a student in the USSR. These events, added to the lingering influence …

A Comparative Analysis Of Poetic Structure As The Primary Determinant Of Musical Form In Selected A Cappella Choral Works Of Gerald Finzi And Benjamin Britten, Andrew Malcolm Jensen

Dissertations

Numerous scholars have identified the relationship linking words and music as the prime factor in the success of both Gerald Finzi's and Benjamin Britten's vocal music. However, few authors provide a satisfactory discussion concerning the specific musical elements used to achieve that success. Those that do, typically focus upon textual/musical correspondences that highlight poetic meaning at the phrase or single word level. Additionally, no known source draws connections between the text-setting practices of these composers. This dissertation seeks to identify the association of text and music on a larger scale: specifically, the influence of poetic structure as the primary determinant …

Effects Of Nonfiction Guided Interactive Read-Alouds And Think-Alouds On Fourth Grader's Depth Of Content Area Science Vocabulary Knowledge And Comprehension, Tania Tamara Henderson Hanna

Dissertations

Effects of nonfiction guided interactive read-alouds and think-alouds as a supplement to basal science textbooks on three vocabulary measures, definitions, examples, and characteristics, and one multiple-choice comprehension measure were assessed for 127 fourth graders over three time periods: pretest, posttest, and a 2-week delayed posttest. Two of three fourth grade elementary science teachers implemented a series of 12 content enhanced guided interactive scripted lessons. Two of these teachers implemented two treatments each. The first condition employed basal science textbooks as the text for guided interactive read-alouds and think-alouds while the second treatment employed basal science textbooks in conjunction with nonfiction …

An Ethnography Study Of Hiv Positive Midlife Black Women, Charlotte Stoudmire Phd

Dissertations

Black women, ages 45 and older, are disproportionately affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In 2001, Black women comprised 11% of all older women in the United States; however, they accounted for more than 50% of AIDS cases and more than 65% of HIV cases (Winningham et al., 2004). The literature review reflected little research specifically looking at the reason(s) for the increase in HIV in Black women, ages 45 to 60. Furthermore, few research studies focused on HIV patient health beliefs and their experiences in living with HIV. This study was conducted with an ethnography research method coupled with the …

The Role Of Residential Learning Communities In The Faith Development Of First Year College Students, Dayanne Izmirian Phd

Dissertations

Although student development theories have recognized the complex processes of identity development, they have not adequately addressed the development of the spiritual self. Rather than given separate consideration, spiritual development is often discussed in the context of other aspects of development, such as the cognitive. Consequently, student affairs practitioners have not been adequately trained to address, facilitate, nor support the spiritual development of college students. One approach that has been proposed for facilitating the faith development of college students is Residential Learning Communities. Unfortunately, the assertion that Residential Learning Communities are a promising method of facilitating faith development in college …

A Study To Determine Factors That Inhibit Compliance With Engaging In Recommended Papanicoaou Smear Screenings In African American Women, Valecia Gail Carter-Vaughn

Dissertations

Papanicolaou (Pap) smear screenings help to detect abnormal cervical cells in the cervix. African American women are usually diagnosed in the later stages of cervical cancer. The purpose of this study was to determine factors that inhibit compliance with Pap smear screening in African American women.

Ninety-three African American women ages 18 or older, attending an urban health clinic participated in this descriptive design study to answer three research questions: 1) What factors inhibit compliance with recommended Pap smear screening in African American women age 18 or older? 2) Is there a difference between participants who attended the mobile clinic …

Future Psychologists' Perceptions Of Managed Care, Michele Renae Boyer Blood

Dissertations

This study was designed to examine future psychologists' perceptions of managed care, as well as their managed care related training and work experience. Data for this project were gathered electronically via a specially designed website. Participants were 119 future psychologists completing predoctoral internships in university counseling centers (n = 61) and hospitals (n = 58). Variables examined included predoctoral interns' attitudes towards managed care and their perceptions of the importance of knowledge in three critical domains relevant to service provision in the contemporary marketplace (i.e., general reimbursement, risk management, misdiagnosis). One measure, the Demographic and Practice Information Form (DAPIF), was …

Toward A Free Collegiate Press: An Analysis Of Influences That Can Lead To Censorship At College Newspapers, Shaniece Bell Bickham

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to explore the impact that influences at the individual, organizational and societal levels had on content in college and university student newspapers. Specifically, this research examined the ways that influences at the three levels could lead to censorship of the student press. A quantitative study was conducted through the use of online survey research. Student editors, faculty advisers, and academic affairs administrators of journalism and mass communication programs that are recognized as being accredited by the Accrediting Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (ACEJMC) were surveyed to gather information about the structure …

Use Of Monoclonal ∆-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Antibodies Chemically Bound To A Polystyrene Surface Using Glutaraldehyde For The Purpose Of Extracting ∆-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol And ∆-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Carboxylic Acid From Postmortem Whole Blood Samples For Analysis By Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry, Thomas Sidney Pittman

Dissertations

Quantitations of drugs and their respective metabolites in postmortem blood samples using gas chromatographic instrumentation is a primary analytical practice used to determine if drugs played a role in or were the cause of a victim's death. Postmortem blood samples often prove difficult to work with due to interfering substances formed during the putrefaction process. Attempts to eliminate interfering substances with present day extraction methods can be time-consuming, costly and often ineffective when dealing with drugs that exhibit toxicity or impairment at very low concentrations. This study was conducted using monoclonal antibodies chemically bound to a polystyrene surface to extract …

The Influence Of Species And Context On Human-Dolphin Interactions, Deirdre Breen Yeater

Dissertations

Anthropogenic activities pose a threat to marine mammals around the world. Cetaceans that use coastal waters are at particular risk for potential disturbances caused by vessel traffic and human swimmers. Although many cetacean species are found near the coast of Utila, Honduras, little is known about their behavior or the effects of anthropogenic activities on their behavior. Whether the presence of boats and human swimmers led to short-term changes in dolphin behavior was investigated for three commonly sighted species of dolphins; rough-toothed (Steno bredanensis), spinner (Stenalla longirostris), and bottlenose (Turslops truncatus). The dolphins' behavioral activities, with and without other boats …

The Constitutional Protection Of Children In Ireland - An Analysis Of The Status Quo And Proposals For Reform, Oliver Fitzgerald

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Systematic Professional Development On Selected Areas Of Student Performance In Selected Missouri School Buildings, Clifford J. Carver

Dissertations

With the constraints under the No Child Left Behind Act, schools face the challenges of meeting extremely high standards with students. Recent research generally focuses on the role of professional development in school reform. Although a great deal has been written on the topic of professional development, the empirical literature on the topic is much less extensive. Few studies have actually documented its impact on student achievement. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of systematic professional development on selected areas of student performance in selected Missouri school buildings. This research study was quantitative in nature and …

A Study Of Teacher Leadership And Its Relationship With School Climate In American Public Schools: Findings From Sass 2003-2004, Donghai Xie

Dissertations

This study made inquiry into teacher leadership and its relationship with school climate in American public schools by using the data from SASS 2003-04 by National Center for Education Statistics. The study was focused on the statistical assessment of public school teachers' perceptions of teacher leadership in the areas of school operation and classroom operation. Another aspect to be inquired was teachers' perceptions of school climate in the dimensions of school leadership and teacher collaboration.

The results of descriptive analyses in the study indicated that the majority of public school teachers did not consider they had much influence over the …

International Aid Evaluation: An Analysis And Policy Proposals, Thomaz Kauark Chianca

Dissertations

Evaluation has been intertwined with international aid work since its inception in the late 40's-early 50's, but it is still an area with considerable room for improvement. If, as is often alleged, evaluations of international development efforts are methodologically weak they are misleading international agencies about the real impact of the sizable amount of resources being spent. A recent study by Chianca, described in this thesis, with a sample of 50 US-based international non-profit organizations (INGOs) illustrates the serious situation of the structure and practice of evaluation in those agencies.

A number of efforts to improve this situation have been …

Legislative Program Evaluation Conducted By State Legislatures In The United States, John S. Risley

Dissertations

This study examines how U.S. state legislative staffs conduct evaluations. The study addresses the ubiquity of state legislative program evaluation (LPE) units, the standards those units follow, the recommendations that LPE reports proffer, and the quality of the reports on several criteria. The study also addresses the feasibility of using metaevaluation to evaluate a large number of reports using solely the information contained in the reports.

The study uses metaevaluation criteria developed by combining aspects of, primarily, the Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS) for performance audits, the Joint Committee's Program Evaluation Standards (PES), and, secondarily, Scriven's Key Evaluation Checklist. …

Supervision Experiences And Needs Of New-Entrant Professional School Counselors: A Qualitative Study, Shawn Allan Allan Bultsma

Dissertations

Although the field of professional school counseling has recognized the positive impact that supervision offers, discussion of its use with new-entrant school counseling professionals has been limited. This study responds to the limited discussion of supervision with new-entrant professional school counselors by describing the supervision experiences and perceived needs of 15 new-entrant professional school counselors.

Participants of this study described advantages and disadvantages of receiving supervision. When discussing supervision activities as new-entrant professionals, participants frequently confused the process of supervision with mentoring and evaluation. Supervision quality was described as deficient, and the structure of supervision varied among participants. Participants described …

A Proof Of Concept For Oppnets And Its Resource Utilization Techniques With Qos Constraints, Zill-E-Huma Kamal

Dissertations

The increased number of embedded devices/systems in our environment and the evolution of the internet as a service oriented network connote two things: the demand for ubiquitous computing, and, the abstraction of users as consumers and applications as services, as in Service Oriented Computing (SOC) and Web Service domains.

This Thesis studies Class 2 Opportunistic Networks, Oppnets--in short. Oppnets propagate dynamic interconnection of heterogeneous devices/networks/systems and the integration of their resources or services-such as computation, communication, sensing, actuation, and storage -irrespective of the discrepancies in hardware, software, protocols, or standards employed, to enable ubiquitous computing. The novelty of Oppnets …

You Will Come Safe From The Sea, Peter J. Geye

Dissertations

Set against the Minnesota North Shore of Lake Superior, "You Will Come Safe From the Sea" examines the lives of Olaf and Noah Torr, a father and son whose long estrangement began after Olaf survived a shipwreck on Lake Superior. Thirty years after the wreck, Olaf is dying of cancer and has asked his son home to help him die. Over the course of two weeks in November, the protagonists learn each other's lives and summon the courage to forgive. Multiple stories-within-the-story evolve, including the harrowing account of the wreck of the SSRagnarek (Olaf s ore boat), and Noah's own …

This Journey Is Not For The Faint Of Heart: An Investigation Of Challenges Facing Transgender Individuals And Their Significant Others, Emily Lenning

Dissertations

This study investigates the challenges imposed on transgender individuals and their significant others as a result of the deviant labels that have been used to stigmatize non-traditional expressions of gender. Using webbased surveys and an on-line focus group, the themes of language and its limitations, psychological trauma, and social challenges are explored and analyzed using discourse analysis. With a total of 311 subjects, 254 transgender individuals and 57 significant others, this research challenges the utility of gendered language as it is currently constituted, addresses the importance of significant others in understanding the transgender experience, and identifies the various social, psychological …

Missing Data Treatment Of A Level-2 Variable In A 3-Level Hierarchical Linear Model, Xiaofan Cai

Dissertations

Data used in educational research often come with a hierarchical structure such as students nested in classrooms and classrooms nested in schools. Hierarchical linear model (HLM) analysis allows applied researchers to incorporate the hierarchical structure of the data into data analysis to examine effects of variables at each level. However, problems such as missing data pose analytical challenges of biased estimation. With missing data occurring in level-2 variables in a 3-level HLM analysis, the choice of the missing data treatment may affect parameter estimation at all levels.

This Monte Carlo simulation study was designed to compare performance of six missing …

Critical Components To Improve Literacy Learning For All Students, Marcia Harriet Kaye

Dissertations

The purpose of this multiple case study was to understand the critical components to improve literacy learning for all students. The central focus of the study involved looking at principles for classroom instruction in reading and writing that are essential for students to become good readers and writers. According to Allington and Cunningham, the following principles are critical: (a) the amount of time students spend on reading and writing each day, (b) the explicit teaching of comprehension strategies, (c) modeling writing and reading daily, (d) student engagement in thoughtful literacy learning, and (e) literate rich classroom environments.

Six classrooms were …

Mortality Prognostication In Long-Term Care Residents: The Mds-Chess Scale, Caroline Etland Phd, Msn, Cns

Dissertations

Quality end of life (EOL) care for the elderly continues to be a challenge, in part due to late referral for palliative and/or hospice services. The purpose of this study was to determine the accuracy of the MDS-CHESS scale (Hirdes, Frijters & Teare, 2003) in predicting 6-month mortality in a stable American nursing home (NH) population. A secondary aim was to determine any differences in mortality between the 2 sites. A sample of 191 residents of two NHs was analyzed in a retrospective, correlational cohort study, using data collected from the federal MDS database. Correlational statistics and logistic regression were …

Transitioning Between The Requirements Of Accrediting Bodies In Athletic Training Education Programs: What Might It Take?, Jennifer O'Donoghue

Dissertations

Athletic training education accreditation recently transitioned from the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) to the newly established independent accrediting agency: the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE).

The purpose of this case study was to utilize Western Michigan University's Undergraduate Athletic Training Education Program (WMU-ATEP), as an illustrative case, to examine and evaluate the effort and structural, curricular, human, and financial resources necessary to satisfy the requirements of the 2005 CAATE Standards for the Accreditation of Entry-Level Athletic Training Education Programs and Comprehensive Review for Accreditation Process when it transitioned from the 2001 CAAHEP …

Predictors Of Re-Hospitalization For Home Healthcare Patients, Brenda Fischer Phd, Msn, Mba, Rn, Cphq

Dissertations

The overall purpose of this study was to examine the predictive capability of OASIS admission data for acute care re-hospitalization of home healthcare patients. Secondary data analysis using logistic regression was conducted on retrospective data from OASIS collected during the time period of July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2007. This study was conducted in a Medicare certified Home Health organization that is part of the largest public health system in California. The sample of 1802 patients with complete episodes of care was derived from a data set of 5,523 patients. All patients were included in the analysis and logistic …

A Quantitative And Qualitative Inquiry Into Moral Distress, Compassion Fatigue, Medication Error, And Critical Care Nursing, Jeanne Maiden Phd, Ms, Rn, Cns

Dissertations

A correlational embedded mixed method design was used for this study. A purposive sample of 205 critical care nurses (CCNs) provided quantitative data for the study. A focus group interview of five CCNs provided the qualitative data. The Moral Distress Scale (MDS), Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL), and Medication Administration Error (MAE) Scale and demographics form were used to measure quantitative data. Quantitative findings included the majority of participants were female (91.7%); mean age 47 (SD = 7.91) years; mean years worked as a nurse was 23 (SD = 8.48); mean years worked on respective unit was 13.6 (SD …

Dyspnea: Effect Of Auricular Acupressure In End Stage Lung Cancer Patients, A Pilot Feasibility Study, Roger Alan Strong Phd

Dissertations

Introduction: Dyspnea is a debilitating symptom, common in advanced lung cancer patients, and poorly controlled. The National Institutes of Health has promoted the need for research regarding end of life care symptom control. Purpose: Conduct a feasibility study evaluating auricular acupressure effects on dyspnea in hospice lung cancer patients. Theoretical framework: The UCSF School of Nursing Symptom Management Faculty Group's Model for Symptom Management was used for the conceptual framework. The model includes three dimensions: symptom experience, symptom management strategies, and symptom outcomes. The Human Energy Field Theory provided context for using auricular acupressure. Aim: Conduct a pilot study evaluating …

Obesity Risk Knowledge, Self-Efficacy, And Physical Activity In Families Of Adolescents, Elaine M. Rutkowski Phd, Msn, Rn, Cns

Dissertations

There were no significant relationships found between parental obesity risk knowledge and physical activity in their children. nor between parent's self efficacy and their children's physical activity. In addition there was no significant relationship between the adolescents' obesity risk knowledge and their physical activity. There was, however, a statistically significant relationship between adolescent's self efficacy and physical activity. The result of the correlation between parent's self-efficacy and their level of physical activity was not significant but approached significance (p = .07) and may be identified as a trend. There was a statistically significant negative correlation between parents who describe their …