Digital Commons Network^™

Embedded Gold Nanoparticles For Metal Enhanced Photoluminescence, Hasna Alali

Dissertations

Noble metal nanoparticles (MNPs) have attracted great attention in electronics, solar cells and catalysis. Their unique optical properties and biocompatibility makes them useful in biological applications like imaging, drug delivery, therapy and diagnostic. At the surface of MNPs the collective oscillation of free electrons resonates with a particular wavelength of incident light, generating the Localized Surface Plasmons Resonance (LSPR). LSPR results in absorption and scattering of incident light. Scattering results in reflecting photons and absorption leads to enhanced photoluminescence and quenching of fluorophores, if the fluorophore is in the vicinity of MNPs.

Most of the studies in this regard have …

How Prepared Are Principals To Evaluate Teachers? A Look At Principals’ Professional Development And High Stakes Educator Evaluation, Angie Katherine Lackey

Dissertations

Lackey, Angie Katherine. How Prepared Are Principals to Evaluate Teachers? A Look at Principals’ Professional Development and High Stakes Educator Evaluation. Published Doctor of Education dissertation, University of Northern Colorado, 2020. A primary goal of Race to the Top was to increase states’ capacities to help school districts have a common means of evaluating teachers and school principals. With funding, states developed a rubric that could be used by districts to evaluate and improve teacher practice. As a result of this change to state systems, research has also begun to focus on the knowledge and practice of school principals who …

An Empirical Study Of The Determinants Of Consumer Price Sensitivity For The Health And Fitness Club Industry, Lei Ouyang

Dissertations

Ouyang, Lei. An Empirical Study of the Determinants of Consumer Price Sensitivity forthe Health and Fitness Club Industry. Published Doctor of Philosophydissertation, University of Northern Colorado, 2020. The primary purpose of this study was to propose and test a general model todescribe the extent to which customer price sensitivity is influenced by perceived value, service quality, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and switching costs. Additionally, the study also sought to examine if there is a significant difference in consumer price sensitivity among gender and household income groups. Finally, the study was designed to examine the congruency of the hypothesized model and …

Consequential Saints: A Preliminary Study Of Jazz And Religion In New Orleans, David Baker

Dissertations

The moral ecosystem of New Orleans at the beginning of the twentieth century offers a unique opportunity for jazz to function and be observed beyond positivist definitions of music. The common narrative often cites religion and morality as peripherally influencing factors in the development of jazz but frequently disregards the impact of New Orleans’ atypical religious milieu and its influence on local culture. While recent research exists that studies the nuanced role of identity, phenomenology, and culture in shaping early jazz, the influence of New Orleans’ unusual form of morality and religion is subsequently ignored. Understanding the birth of jazz …

Experiences Of Middle School Principals With Accountability-Related Stress And Coping Skills, Gus T. Calbert

Dissertations

This exploratory qualitative study was focused on the impact of state and federal mandates on the role of middle school principals, specifically what increased responsibilities and major areas of stress middle school principals are experiencing; how any enhanced stress impacts these middle school principals, both professionally and personally; and what coping mechanisms principals use to handle the stress of any increased responsibilities.

The experiences and perceptions of 12 principals from one Midwestern state were captured through semi-structured interviews, and by having them complete Allison’s Coping Preference Scale. Their answers provide a deeper understanding of what it is like leading a …

Application Of Artificial Intelligence And Geographic Information System For Developing Automated Walkability Score, Md Mehedi Hasan

Dissertations

Walking is considered as one of the major modes of active transportation, which contributes to the livability of cities. It is highly important to ensure walk friendly sidewalks to promote human physical activities along roads. Over the last two decades, different walk scores were estimated in respect to walkability measures by applying different methods and approaches. However, in the era of big data and machine learning revolution, there is still a gap to measure the composite walkability score in an automated way by applying and quantifying the activityfriendliness of walkable streets. In this study, a street-level automated walkability score was …

Brief Intervention With Holland’S Theory And Vocational Calling: Three Conditions With Pre-Existing Calling Status As A Covariate, Nathan Ross

Dissertations

In a series of workshops, Holland’s RIASEC Theory and elements of Cognitive Information Processing Theory were infused with vocational calling language. Participants were largely college freshman in a community learning group and students participating in an extra credit opportunity in the School of Psychology. An in-person quasi-experimental design compared outcomes between three career workshops (i.e., Holland, Calling, and Control) on career decision-making self-efficacy, cognitive and emotional career decision-making difficulties, and vocational identity. The Calling workshop outperformed Holland and Control for all measured career variables (i.e., career decision-making self-efficacy, cognitive career decision-making difficulties, emotional and personality career decision-making difficulty, and vocational …

Comparison Of Retention Rates Between Traditional On-Ground And Online Biology Laboratory Courses In The Community College Setting, Megan Davis Winborne

Dissertations

Community colleges provide vital educational resources to students across the nation. Online learning has become an integral part of the course offerings for community colleges. With regards to online learning, there is a lack of empirical evidence and research focused on community college offered biology laboratories, particularly concerning retention rates of these students. Means, Toyama, Murphy, and Bakia. (2013) found that even though there are copious amounts of studies dedicated to evaluation of evidence-based practices in online learning formats, many of them neglected to review retention rates associated with online educational courses.

The purpose of this study was to determine …

Development Of An Instrument Measuring Existential Authenticity, Misty M. Richmond

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to measure existential authenticity in adults. Existential authenticity was defined as awareness of the existential givens in the human experience as defined by Irvin Yalom. This construct is theorized as the goal of existential psychotherapy, which is a meaning-centered psychotherapy aligned with the purpose of providing clients with the tools to cope with life's negativities and live a meaningful life. Many diagnostic conditions, including depression, psychological trauma, and anxiety, are conceptualized as amenable to the benefits of existential psychotherapy and the journey towards existential authenticity.

A Comparative Study Of Student Achievement And Teacher Perceptions Between Differently Structured Special Education School Districts, Leigha Wetter

Dissertations

In order to provide recommendations for special education service organization practices, the researcher investigated student achievement and teacher perceptions of differently structured special education school districts that collaborated with a special school district to provide special education services and schools that provided their own special education services. Through evaluating the varying school districts, this study aimed to address possible best practices within the structuring of the organizations to increase student achievement for students with special needs. In order to evaluate the organization of the school districts, the researcher analyzed the student achievement of special education students at the elementary and …

A Qualitative Study Of The Preparedness Of Novice Teachers To Teach Effectively In A Blended Learning Environment, Rachelle R. Lafave

Dissertations

Proponents of the effective use of blended learning argue that without technologyenhanced instruction, students graduate from high school missing the digital skills they need to be successful competitors in the labor market (Dickinson, 2018). Yet, authors of supporting work have established technology-enhanced instruction can have a negative effect on student achievement (Newman & Dickinson, 2017). Examined in this qualitative study was the preparedness of novice teachers to provide effective instruction in a blended learning environment, as researchers have found teacher self-efficacy is the number one predictor of instructional quality (Belanger, 2018; Conant, 2016; Künsting, Neuber, & Lipowsky, 2016). Self-efficacy is, …

Midwestern “Grow Your Own” Programs: A Viable Means To Teacher Recruitment And Retention?, Sandra Jean Humbyrd

Dissertations

In this study, an analysis of the perceptions of Career and Technical Education Pathways for the Teaching Profession teachers (pseudonym) and Homegrown Educators sponsors (pseudonym) in a Midwestern state on the success of grow your own programs regarding recruitment and retention rates of alumni teachers was conducted. This research resulted from reports throughout the nation concerning the shortage of teachers. An open-ended survey was utilized to gather perceptual data surrounding recruitment and retention, with a specific interest in high-needs areas and geographical location. Survey results showed there were no significant perceived differences between rural and urban districts in regard to …

Personality Type, Self-Efficacy, And Learning Style Preference: A Quantitative Study Of Ninth-Grade Students In Missouri, Katie Lee Mock

Dissertations

Personality types, learning style preferences, and self-efficacy domains of ninth-grade students in southwest Missouri were explored in this study. The study was conducted to shed light on needs assessments used to identify learner differences due to the rise of mixed-ability classrooms. Five selected schools participated in the study during the 2019-2020 school year. The Big Five Personality survey was used to identify the dominant personality type of each participant: openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, or neuroticism. The Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children (SEQ-C) was used to identify the dominant self-efficacy domain for each participant: academic, social, or emotional. The Thinking and Learning …

Engaging Middle School Emergent Bilinguals In Language Awareness: A Practitioner Researcher Study, Carol Lickenbrock

Dissertations

This practitioner research study (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2009) traced the journey toward critical literacy of a group of seven emergent bilinguals and me, their teacher, over the course of a four-month unit on argument as part of our English for Speakers of Other Languages 3 (ESOL3) class. Many of these students, like many emergent bilinguals in the United States, had been disempowered because they had not had access to the academic texts of school. As part of this research, students worked with tools of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) to analyze the interpersonal, ideational and textual metafunctions of argumentation in lessons …

Measuring The Impact Of Cognitive Behavioral Coaching With Nonverbal Immediacy On The Self-Efficacy Of Undergraduate Students In Stem Courses, Christopher Miller, Melissa Joy Benton

Dissertations

A quasi-experimental study explored whether the practice of cognitive behavioral coaching with an intentional focus on nonverbal immediacy has an impact on the self-efficacy of undergraduate students taking college-level STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) courses. A positive impact to self-efficacy for students who receive the coaching intervention was anticipated. The research took place at a public research university located in the Midwest. Subjects included students who were required to work with a success coach as a condition of their enrollment and/or financial aid eligibility. Information obtained included perception of nonverbal immediacy of the coaches and self-efficacy of the student, …

Take 10 Program Effects On Fifth Grade Academic Achievement, Emily Janes

Dissertations

Problem Less than one-fourth of children reach their recommended 60-minutes of daily physical activity. Inactivity can result in poor academic performance; whereas physical activity stimulates brain functions responsible for regulating comprehension and attention, release of brain chemicals to improve learning, and enhances neurogenesis resulting in better cognition. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to evaluate the Take 10 exercise program in a rural, Midwestern elementary school fifth grade classroom.

Methods An observational, descriptive design with a purposeful sample of fifth-grade students in a rural elementary school. Grades in math, science, and reading were examined the semester before (quarter …

The Development Of Science Identity In Undergraduate Stem Majors: A Case Study Of Urban High School Students, Charles Mcwilliams, Benjamin Nims, Kathleen Dwyer

Dissertations

The STEM fields, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, face a significant challenge: the underrepresentation of women and minority racial groups entering STEM degree programs and careers. Addressing this STEM gap requires more than quality curriculum and educational supports; there is a need to understand the social psychological processes that influence students’ perceptions, motivation, and interest in STEM. The concept of science identity has been posed as a research perspective to understand participation and persistence in STEM. Enacting a science identity may include describing oneself as a scientist, having a high sense of self-efficacy to do scientific work, displaying an interest …

Degree Completion Of Underrepresented Minorities Majoring In Mathematics As A Function Of Undergraduate Student Programs, Marnice Anthony

Dissertations

Abstract

Students with disabilities, minorities, and women are underrepresented in the critical demand courses of study in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) undergraduate college enrollment. Institutions of higher education in the United States of America are challenged with a continuous need for undergraduate students to choose and earn a STEM degree. The 2019 annual report of Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering indicated these groups continue to be disproportionately underrepresented relative to the U.S. population. In 2014, the U.S. Department of Education reported that upon graduation students studying mathematics in college have higher employment rates …

Title I Schools And Strategies That Work, Michelle Manriquez

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the strategies principals of Title I schools perceived as most effective in improving English language arts (ELA) scores by at least 10 points, through the lens of WestEd’s Four Domains of Rapid School Improvement.

Methodology: This study utilized a qualitative methodology to gather data via the California Dashboard and semi-structured interviews of 11 principals from 11 different sites in northern California that showed at least 10-point growth on the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) standardized test. The interview questions were based on the Four Domains for Rapid School Improvement: …

The Russian Research Center At Harvard Versus Cambridge Analytica: Influencing The Public In A Cold War, Robert Joshua Howard

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Mixed-Method Study Analyzing The Impact Of Continuing Education On K-12 Educators, Jennifer Sue Edler

Dissertations

Teachers are consistently developing learners that independently seek to gain knowledge and skills throughout life (Blaschke, 2012). Educators must desire to learn new and improved skills to gain knowledge. The new regulations and qualifications, and standards surrounding a career in education require teachers to become continual learners. Professional development is the practice of teachers continuing to grow in their fields and varies depending on personal preference, personal interests, and professional history, as well as addresses issues present in their district or school (Day, 1999). Educational policies and laws outline the need for high-quality professional development for teachers. However, little evidence …

Study Of Preservice Teachers’ Preparation For Di: Investigating Data For Secondary Teacher Candidates In One Research University, Matthew Trp Dittrich

Dissertations

This dissertation, A Study of Preservice Teachers’ Preparation for DI: Investigating Data for Secondary Teacher Candidates in One Research University, was a mixed methods study of secondary data that analyzed the results of undergraduate and graduate teacher candidate scores on the three different instruments, which were used by a midwestern university in their teacher preparation program for state teacher certification. The purpose of this study was to examine if graduate preservice teacher candidates and undergraduate preservice teacher candidates were equally prepared in the area of differentiated instruction. The study also included an examination of preservice training among these teacher candidates. …

Participation In Sporting Activities As A Mechanism For Enhancing Science Instruction, Erin Roades

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

After students have taken years of science classes, they still believe science content is disconnected to the “real” world or to their lives. Teaching without attention to relevance results in decreased motivation for learning and negative attitudes toward science. An instructional method incorporating physical, sport-related activities was used to develop relevance and enhance achievement in science compared to typical/traditional science instructional methods. In the typical method, science lessons consisted of front-loading science content through direct instruction followed by a laboratory activity to confirm lesson content. The experimental teaching strategy used was “Relevance Integration for Teaching Science using Sports Exploration” …

Statistical Modeling Approaches And User-Centered Design For Nursing Decision Support Tools Predicting In-Hospital Cardiopulmonary Arrest, Alvin Dean Jeffery

Dissertations

This doctoral research explored strategies for the design and statistical development of probability-based nursing decision support tools within the clinical context of in-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest (IHCPA). IHCPA remains a harmful and costly event, and recent attempts to assist with early recognition via probability-based clinical decision support (PBCDS) tools have fallen short of improving patient outcomes. These shortcomings are due, in part, to the complex nature of PB-CDS tools with inadequate attention paid to important design elements during the early stages of the tools' construction.1 Failure to improve patient outcomes may also be a condition of the PB-CDS tools' underlying statistical …

Investigation Of Finite Temperature And Continuum Effects On Nuclear Excitations, Herlik Wibowo

Dissertations

The low-energy nuclear response at finite-temperature significantly affects the radiative neutron capture reaction rates of the r-process nucleosynthesis. In order to address this topic, the first part of this study focuses on the response of compound nuclei or nuclei at finite temperature. The thermal nuclear response satisfies the Bethe-Salpeter equation (BSE) with the static and dynamical kernels of different origins. While the origin of the static kernel is the nearly instantaneous nucleon-meson interaction, the dynamical kernel is induced by the coupling between nucleons and phonons. The presence of singularities in the dynamical kernel makes the BSE unsolvable, however, a time …

Integrating Detailed Petrography, Geochemistry, And Mineralogy To Elucidate Extensive Early Diagenesis In The Eocene Carbonates Of Qatar, Brooks H. Ryan

Dissertations

Eocene carbonates comprising the Umm er Radhuma (UER), Rus, and Dammam Formations, cover 80% of the surface and extend >300 m into the subsurface of Qatar. These rocks record marine sedimentation in shallow sub-tidal to restricted settings. Despite undergoing only shallow burial (<1000 m), extensive diagenetic alteration has occurred. Given that little work on this topic has been published previously, the objectives of this work are to document diagenesis in the Eocene, and to integrate petrography, mineralogy, and geochemistry to delineate the timing and environments of diagenesis of these Eocene carbonates. Detailed petrographic data show that dolomitization occurred early in the UER, before the formation of diagenetic chert, palygorskite, pyrite, calcite, and gypsum cements. Bulk dolomite δ¹⁸O values, coupled with clumped isotope-derived (Δ47) temperatures and dolomitizing fluid δ¹⁸O values, suggest dolomitization took place in near-normal marine fluids, perhaps during shallow burial. These data challenge the current paradigm of large-scale, top-down hypersaline reflux dolomitization in the UER. Associated depth trends of increasing crystal size and with increasing stoichiometry and cation ordering …

Experimental Study Of Collecting Running Water From Moderately Heated Water Vapors Using Turbulence-Induced Particles Collision (Tipc) Device, Hassan Ali Ghazwani

Dissertations

This dissertation describes the development of an alternative technique to collect water vapors or changing any vapor state to liquid state using a device called the turbulence-induced particles collision generator (TIPC). The experiment of collecting water vapors using the TIPC device is conducted at different values of temperature. The spatial patterns of droplets deposited on a wall due to the TIPC are measured at different values of pressure using luminescent oil technique, and the integrated intensity of deposited droplets is calculated. Also, the luminescent oil technique has been used to visualize the deposited particles on a pipe wall. ANSYS FLUENT …

Program Testing And Synthesis By Program Semantics, Lin Cheng

Dissertations

GUIs are event-driven applications where the flow of the program is determined by user actions such as mouse clicks and key presses. GUI testing is a challenging task not only because of the combinatorial explosion in the number of event sequences, but also because of the difficulty to cover the large number of data values. To tackle this problem, we propose two algorithms: GUICat and GUICat2.

GUICat is a white-box GUI testing tool that augments traditional sequence generation techniques with concolic execution. It also has a cloud-based parallel algorithm for mitigating both event sequence explosion and data value explosion, by …

Examining District Administrators’ Professional Development Decision-Making Processes Concerning New Special Education Teachers, Sarah J. Bacalia

Dissertations

New special education teachers face an abundance of challenges from day one that directly correlate to student outcomes (i.e. classroom management, instruction, curriculum, school culture and operations, test preparation and administration, state standards, parent relations, and interactions with other teachers). District administrators, (i.e. superintendents, assistant superintendents, curriculum and instruction directors, directors of student services, special education directors, and special education supervisors) play an important role in determining how to best use their districts' professional development time and resources to support new special education teachers as they work to continually improve student outcomes. Therefore, professional development should be a purposeful endeavor. …

Statistical Properties And Applications Of Press Statistic, Ida Marie Alcantara

Dissertations

The most popularly used statistic R^₂ has a fundamental weakness in model building: it favors adding more predictors to the model because R² can only increase. In effect, the additional predictors start fitting the noise in data. Other criterion in selecting a regression model such as R² _adj , AIC, SBC, and Mallow’s C_p does not guarantee the model selected will also make better prediction of future values. To avoid this, data scientists withhold a percentage of the data for validation purposes. The PRESS statistic does something similar by withholding each observation in calculating its own …