Digital Commons Network^™

Equitable Access In Education: Access To Joy, Choice Options, And Strong Neighborhood Schools, Noah Hollenkamp, Albert J. Sanders Jr., Lindsay Schuessler

Dissertations

The purpose of this co-authored dissertation was to understand equitable access of quality educational opportunities in St. Louis, Missouri. Through the following research, we present a better understanding of equity and access in education from a classroom level, on a school level, and finally, on a regional level. This collection of research is the effort of a group of committed and concerned educators seeking to understand the ways of making quality education accessible for all families, specifically in the areas of school choice, quality neighborhood schools, and play in the classroom. By equitable access, we mean all families being able …

Student Perceptions Of Dual Enrollment Participation, Susan Hochstrat

Dissertations

Purpose: It was the purpose of this study to explore students’ perceptions of the impact of dual enrollment participation on academic preparation and college knowledge prior to their first year of college.

Methodology: This was a qualitative research study that utilized a phenomenological approach to explore the impact of dual enrollment participation. Twelve previous dual enrollment students participated in semi-structure interviews.

Findings: The findings from this research study illustrate the impact of dual enrollment participation. Based on the findings students’ state that dual enrollment participation exposes them to rigorous coursework. Students expressed that they were prepared for college because dual …

Environmental Science And Culture: Exploring The Factors Contributing To The Pro-Environmental Behavior Of Rural Youth, Michelle Donlan, Elizabeth Flotte, Patricia Silovsky

Dissertations

This mixed methods study contributes to the pro-environmental behavior literature by introducing the concept of environmental science capital to explore the factors influencing pro-environmental behavior in rural youth. This study’s proposed theory of change attempts to build upon the Kollmus and Agyeman model of pro-environmental behavior by theorizing that environmental science capital is the “missing middle” needed to overcome the barriers to pro-environmental behavior. We hypothesized that meaningful nature experiences, role models, connectedness to nature, STEM interest and environmental identity would help rural youth increase their environmental science capital in order to “bridge the gap” and overcome barriers to pro-environmental …

Investigation Of The Effect Of Ivi With Three Modes Of Instruction On Learning And Attitude Towards The Instructional Media, Antoinette B. Calderone

Dissertations

Social Cognitive Theory proposes educational perspectives believed to facilitate the learning process. Social learning focuses on the interactive function of person, behavior, and environment. The mechanism for learning and attitude development is claimed to be influenced by modeling and reinforcement. Computer instruction is a technology that has the capability of incorporating both modeling and reinforcement. Interactive Video Instruction (IVI) is a branch of computer instruction comprised of video and computer components. A traditional mode for computer instruction is on an individual basis. An alternative mode of instruction through group presentation is sometimes employed in the educational arena, however, limited research …

Diffusion Of Inclusion: Measuring Willingness To Adopt Inclusive Teaching Strategies In Nursing Educational Environments, Janet A. Levey

Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to: (1) examine psychometric properties of the Willingness to Adopt Inclusive Teaching Strategies (ITSinNE) instrument and (2) measure factors influencing a nurse educator's willingness to adopt inclusive teaching strategies based in universal design for instruction (UDI). Universal design for instruction (UDI) is one approach to facilitate multiple ways of learning and evaluation in various learning environments for all learners; however, it is not well known or researched in nursing education. Diffusion of innovation theory (Rogers, 2003) and universal design for instruction (McGuire & Scott, 2006) provided the theoretical framework for the study. A cross-sectional …

Sensitivity Of The Theoretical Electron Capture Shape And Comparisons To Experiment, Katrina E. Koehler

Dissertations

The direct neutrino mass is a fundamental physics quantity with far-reaching implications for the physics community. Current experimental limits put the direct neutrino mass at less than 2 eV. The neutrino mass can be explored through an end-point measurement of tritium beta decay, which is currently underway in the KArlsruhe TRItium Neutrino experiment (KATRIN). KATRIN has a lower limit of 0.2 eV, at which point there will be either a mass measurement or another upper bound. In either case, an alternative experiment with different systematics is needed to verify the results and/or push the upper bound lower. The end point …

Governance And Economic Growth In The Arab World: Evidence From Panel Data Analysis, Adel H. Aladlani

Dissertations

Economic growth has been volatile and slow in the Arab World during the last two decades. Arguing that good governance is a precondition to vibrant economic systems and growth, comparative researchers and development policy practitioners view such a slowdown in growth in the Arab World to be triggered by weak governance performance. This cross-national study examines the relationship between governance and economic growth in the Arab World, which includes 22 member-states of the League of Arab States, over the period 1996-2017. By using World Bank data, governance is operationalized through voice and accountability (VA), political stability and absence of violence …

Essays In The Application Of Machine Learning In Development Economics, Dweepobotee Brahma

Dissertations

This dissertation comprises four essays which apply Machine Learning (ML) techniques to examine India’s progress towards meeting several child-health targets under United Nation’s “Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030”. The application of novel ML techniques unmasks certain detailed empirical aspects of the road to meeting specific indicators of SDG - child mortality, malnutrition, immunization coverage and health-expenses.

The first essay employs multiple parametric and non-parametric Machine Learning (ML) techniques (LASSO, Classification Random Forest, Boosted Logistic Regression, Boosted Classification Trees) to build predictive models for the incidences of neonatal and infant mortality. A large national level household survey dataset is used. All …

Exploring The Dynamics Of Scientific Research, Shilpa Lakhanpal

Dissertations

Scientific research papers present the research endeavors of numerous scientists around the world, and are documented across multitudes of technical conference proceedings, and other such publications. Given the plethora of such research data, if we could automate the extraction of key interesting areas of research, and provide access to this new information, it would make literature searches incredibly easier for researchers. This in turn could be very useful for them in furthering their research agenda. With this goal in mind, we have endeavored to provide such solutions through our research. Specifically, the focus of our research is to design, analyze …

One-To-One Learning - Success Factors For Meaningful Technology Integration, Andrew Kohl

Dissertations

This paper explores an evaluation of the Grove School District’s one-to-one iPad program, for the purpose of understanding the relationship between teacher support for the program and classroom use. The evaluation also explores the various factors that impact a successful one-to-one program, including leadership attitudes and professional development. The attitudes of the teaching staff were compared to classroom observation data and focus group input. The research design followed a case study approach with a combination of survey, focus group, and observation methodologies. The goal was to determine to what extent the attitudes of teaching staff towards the one-to-one program impact …

Saudi Arabian Female English Language Teachers’ Perspectives On Instructional Supervisors And Supervision, Afaf Mohammed Albalawi

Dissertations

This study investigates the effectiveness of educational supervision in improving the performance of Saudi female English language teachers from the teachers’ perspectives. Finding and supporting professional English language teachers and supervisors is one of the greatest obstacles facing Saudi Arabia (Alrabai, 2016; Sywelem & Witte, 2013). In Saudi Arabia and other countries, a lack of skills, training, and resources, such as time, money, and meeting spaces, seems to be a common problem for many supervisors and schools (Badah et al., 2013; Tawfiq & Almajali, 2012). Examining the perceptions of English teachers in Saudi Arabia contributes to a deeper understanding that …

Artist As Academic Leader, George H. Brown

Dissertations

The American College President Study (ACE, 2017) revealed that 78% of university presidents are planning to retire within the next nine years. With the increasing complexity of higher education, the demand for innovative leadership will grow as a result of the departure of these leaders. This demand will create opportunities for artist practitioners interested in higher education leadership. However, if artist practitioners doubt an administrative role will give voice to their imagination, will they accept the challenge and opportunity of leadership?

Currently, only 0.33% of university presidents serving four-year degree-granting institutions of higher education in the U.S. come from the …

High-Performance Quasi-Monte Carlo Integration And Applications, Ahmed Hassan H. Almulihi

Dissertations

While adaptive integration by region partitioning is generally effective in low dimensions, quasi-Monte Carlo methods can be used for integral approximations in moderate to high dimensions. Important application areas include high-energy physics, statistics, computational finance and stochastic geometry with applications in robotics, tessellations and imaging from medical data using tetrahedral meshes.

Lattice rule integration is a class of quasi-Monte Carlo methods, implemented by an equal-weight cubature formula and suited for fairly smooth functions. Successful methods to construct these rules are the component-by-component (CBC) algorithm by Sloan and Restsov (2001) and the fast algorithm for CBC by Nuyens and Cools (2006). …

Approximate Algorithms For Regulatory Motif Discovery In Dna, Hasnaa Imad Al-Shaikhli

Dissertations

Motif discovery is the problem of finding common substrings within a set of biological strings. Therefore it can be applied to finding Transcription Factor Binding Sites (TFBS) that have common patterns (motifs). A transcription factor molecule can bind to multiple binding sites in the promoter region of different genes to make these genes co-regulating. The Planted (l, d) Motif Problem (PMP) is a classic version of motif discovery where l is the motif length and d represents the maximum allowed mutation distance. The quorum Planted (l, d, q) Motif Problem (qPMP) is a version of PMP …

Improving Protein Analysis By Desorption Electrospray Ionization (Desi-Ms), Elahe Honarvar

Dissertations

Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) is one of the most well-known and versatile techniques for analyzing a broad range of molecules and it has become one of the leading techniques to study biomolecules, such as proteins. ESI-MS can accurately determine the molecular weight of proteins and provide information about their peptide sequence, post-translational modifications as well as their interaction with other molecules.

During ESI-MS analysis, by spraying a sample of proteins, prepared in form of a solution, charged droplets are produced using an electric field. As the solvent molecules gradually evaporate from these droplets, freely hovering bare protein ions remain. …

Assessing Infrastructure Elements Using Automated Object Detection Technique In Smart City Applications, Majid Mastali

Dissertations

Nowadays, road features are becoming more complex leading to more complicated complaints regarding urban environments. Point Cloud Data (PCD) processing is an essential element for detecting objects and analysing human driving behavior to identify the variables defining challenging objects and maneuvers in smart cities. PCDs include a range of processing, including indirect processing (e.g., data converting, cleaning process) and direct process (e.g., pass through elevation filter, statistical outlier removal, normal estimation as well as classification). Static and dynamic object detection and analysis are typically considered the most sophisticated options subsumed under PCDs. They involve direct evaluation of both static and …

Superintendent Practices And Initiatives For Building Principal Instructional And Collaborative Leadership Capacity In A High-Performing High-Poverty School, Fatemah Ali Al Ramel

Dissertations

This study explores how superintendents build school principal leadership capacity by developing (a) principal capacity to function as instructional leaders and (b) a culture of shared and collaborative leadership. A particular focus for this study is the ways in which superintendents work with principals to build instructional and shared leadership capacity in order to turn low-performing schools that educate high-poverty student populations into schools that outperform their demographic peers. This study describes the activities and strategies that characterize the ways in which superintendents build a strong collaborative leadership team with their school principals, then use that collaborative team to develop …

An Evaluation Of An I-Ready Math Program For 5th Graders In One School District, Tashanda Brown-Cannon

Dissertations

This study evaluated the impact of i-Ready Math instruction on 5^th grade students identified as performing below grade level in mathematics. The participants in this study, administrators and teachers from three Title I schools, answered survey and interview questions to provide their perception on the program’s effectiveness. Equally important, I analyzed student assessment data and online program usage data to ascertain the program’s impact on student achievement. The results of this study revealed a lack of fidelity of implementation of the i-Ready Math program. Based on these findings, I proposed an extension to the teacher contract and a revision …

Creating A Systemic Approach To Technology Integration Through Job-Embedded Professional Growth, Andrew Kohl

Dissertations

This change plan employs Wagner’s (2008) change leadership model to assess culture, context, conditions, and competencies of a small suburban school district and to develop a systemic plan for implementing job-embedded professional development in the area of technology integration. However, this plan is meant to be applicable to all content areas. This plan is informed by data that I collected as part of my program evaluation of a one-to-one technology program and also applies additional survey data and interviews with building principals, to examine staff attitudes towards professional development and understanding of instructional coaching models. Using this plan, I hope …

Establishing A Program For Teacher Micro-Credentials To Support Individual Professional Learning, Andrew Kohl

Dissertations

This policy advocacy document discusses a change in local board of education policy in a school district to require the annual approval of a professional learning program which includes options for a micro-credentialing, a self-directed, job-embedded professional learning practice which allows teachers more freedom to choose a focus and pacing for their learning experiences. Currently, board policy directs the creation of a staff development committee to plan professional learning activities but does not require an approved formal plan or the establishment of a credentialing system to evidence teacher learning. A local policy that requires the annual approval of a professional …

Narrowing Attainment And Achievement Gaps Of High School African American And Hispanic Students: Policy Advocacy Document, Limaris Pueyo

Dissertations

School districts have focused reform efforts on increasing the participation of African American, Hispanic, and low-income students in advanced courses to narrow achievement and attainment gaps. Suburban School District adopted these areas in its strategic plan and invested significant resources to address patterns of achievement and course enrollment of these students. This study examined the district’s policy and practices that impact these students’ participation in Advanced Placement courses. Based on its findings, this study recommends revisions to school board policy regarding gifted programs and includes disaggregated metrics for the reporting of board goals based on race and socioeconomic status. The …

Advocating For One-Way Dual Language Programs In High School, Academia Bilingue, Anthony Grazzini

Dissertations

To reduce the achievement gap and stem the increasing dropout rate of English Learners (ELs), a one-way dual language program, Academia Bilingue, was introduced at Sterling High School. ELs then and now account for approximately 20% of the students in the district. A significant academic achievement gap had existed between ELs and their English-proficient counterparts. An alarmingly disproportionate number of ELs were dropping out. The purpose and moral imperative of this policy advocacy document was to actualize the stated mission and vision of the district, that all students have an education which meets or exceeds accepted standards of learning, through …

Teacher Professional Development And The Seven 21st Century Survival Skills: A Program Evaluation, Nykowanna Sloan

Dissertations

This evaluation examined the extent to which one 6-12 school in an urban school district used professional development to support teachers’ inclusion of 21st century survival skills (Wagner et al., 2008) in classroom instruction. Through collecting quantitative and qualitative data from stakeholders using surveys and interviews, this study revealed how effectively teachers are or are not being instructed to teach the post-graduate survival skills necessary for student success. This study included commentary on the needed changes in leadership determined by the evaluation of the program. Outcomes of this study outline an essential new program and a change in policy that …

A Suburban Case Of Community Mobilization For Music Education: Lessons For Arts Education In A Cash-Strapped World, Karen Sarasin

Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to examine the organization and management of a community-driven string music program under the direction of a parent-run board. This descriptive single-case study focused on an elementary public school, kindergarten through eighth grade, located in a middle-to-upper-class suburb in a metropolitan area in the Midwest. The research question focused on how the collaborative efforts among the adult contributors (school district administrators, parent-run board members, music teachers, and parents) influenced the organization and management of the program. While music programs continue to face elimination from a school’s curriculum, the findings revealed that as a result …

Model-Based Deep Autoencoders For Characterizing Discrete Data With Application To Genomic Data Analysis, Tian Tian

Dissertations

Deep learning techniques have achieved tremendous successes in a wide range of real applications in recent years. For dimension reduction, deep neural networks (DNNs) provide a natural choice to parameterize a non-linear transforming function that maps the original high dimensional data to a lower dimensional latent space. Autoencoder is a kind of DNNs used to learn efficient feature representation in an unsupervised manner. Deep autoencoder has been widely explored and applied to analysis of continuous data, while it is understudied for characterizing discrete data. This dissertation focuses on developing model-based deep autoencoders for modeling discrete data. A motivating example of …

Blind Separation For Intermittent Sources Via Sparse Dictionary Learning, Annan Dong

Dissertations

Radio frequency sources are observed at a fusion center via sensor measurements made over slow flat-fading channels. The number of sources may be larger than the number of sensors, but their activity is sparse and intermittent with bursty transmission patterns. To account for this, sources are modeled as hidden Markov models with known or unknown parameters. The problem of blind source estimation in the absence of channel state information is tackled via a novel algorithm, consisting of a dictionary learning (DL) stage and a per-source stochastic filtering (PSF) stage. The two stages work in tandem, with the latter operating on …

Probabilistic Spiking Neural Networks : Supervised, Unsupervised And Adversarial Trainings, Alireza Bagheri

Dissertations

Spiking Neural Networks (SNNs), or third-generation neural networks, are networks of computation units, called neurons, in which each neuron with internal analogue dynamics receives as input and produces as output spiking, that is, binary sparse, signals. In contrast, second-generation neural networks, termed as Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), rely on simple static non-linear neurons that are known to be energy-intensive, hindering their implementations on energy-limited processors such as mobile devices. The sparse event-based characteristics of SNNs for information transmission and encoding have made them more feasible for highly energy-efficient neuromorphic computing architectures. The most existing training algorithms for SNNs are based …

Supercapacitors With Gate Electrodes, Tazima Selim Chowdhury

Dissertations

A new approach to improve the capacitance of supercapacitors (SC) is proposed in this study. A typical SC is composed of an anode and a cathode; a separator in between them assures an unintentional discharge of the capacitor. The study focuses on a family of structured separators, either electronically active or passive which are called gates. An active structured separator layer has been fabricated and analyzed. The structured separator has characteristics of electrical diode and is fabricated out of functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNT). Improvement of the overall capacitance of SC, equipped with either active or passive structured separators demonstrated a …

Multi-Wavelength Investigation Of Energy Release And Chromospheric Evaporation In Solar Flares, Viacheslav M. Sadykov

Dissertations

For a comprehensive understanding of the energy release and chromospheric evaporation processes in solar flares it is necessary to perform a combined multi-wavelength analysis using observations from space-based and ground-based observatories, and compare the results with predictions of the radiative hydrodynamic (RHD) flare models. Initially, the case study of spatially-resolved chromospheric evaporation properties for an M 1.0-class solar flare (SOL2014-06-12T21:12) using data form IRIS (Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph), HMI/SDO (Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager onboard Solar Dynamics Observatory), and VIS/GST (Visible Imaging Spectrometer at Goode Solar Telescope), demonstrate a complicated nature of evaporation and its connection to the magnetic field topology. …

Rare Event Sampling In Applied Stochastic Dynamical Systems, Yiming Yu

Dissertations

Predicting rare events is a challenging problem in many complex systems arising in physics, chemistry, biology, and materials science. Simulating rare events is often prohibitive in such systems due to their high dimensionality and the numerical cost of their simulation, yet analytical expressions for rare event probabilities are usually not available. This dissertation tackles the problem of approximation of the probability of rare catastrophic events in optical communication systems and spin-torque magnetic nanodevices. With the application of the geometric minimum action method, the probability of pulse position shifts or other parameter changes in a model of an actively mode-locked laser …