Digital Commons Network^™

The Story In The Standards: Creating Counter-Narratives In The Common Core State Standards, Jarret Alexander Smith

Dissertations

The research question guiding this study is: How might educators create counter-narratives, particularly related to the diversity of texts, experiences and knowledge bases represented in the CCSS? The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy on the engagement in literacy acquisition of African American students in middle and high school. The basic framework for this study is situated within and informed by Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP). The study focuses on creating counter-narratives for African American students in spite of the silence of the Common Core State Standards on cultural …

Experimental Study Of Simulated Geophysical Buoyancy-Driven Vortical Flow, Mohammad Hady Makhmalbaf

Dissertations

This paper describes an experimental study on the flow within a rotating cylinder with a counter-rotating disk located below to mimic certain aspects of the unique flow structures of the Great Red Spot (GRS) in Jupiter using a simple laboratory setup. The special design of this setup makes it capable of spinning the side wall of a vertical cylinder in both directions as well as rotating the bottom of the cylinder independently, where both can rotate in wide ranges of spin rates. Also, different thermal conditions can be applied on the bottom of the disk. All of these conditions provide …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Amphiphiles For Mammalian Cell Transfection And Antimicrobial Activity, Joseph William Meisel

Dissertations

Amphiphiles are molecules that contain both water-soluble and water-insoluble components. The dual nature of these molecules engenders remarkable properties including the ability to self-assemble into ordered structures. Cell membranes are composed of amphiphilic phospholipids that organize into a bilayer motif. Synthetic amphiphiles can interact with natural membranes and influence the transport of molecules across the cell membrane. The work elaborated in this report employs amphiphiles to co-assemble with DNA and transport the genetic material across cell membranes. First, a simplified method for interacting DNA with amphiphiles was developed. Second, a series of known ion-transporting compounds were assayed for their interaction …

Study Of Vaporization Enthalpies And Vapor Pressures Of Potential Environmental Pollutants By Correlation-Gas Chromatography, Chase Patrick Gobble

Dissertations

The focus of this dissertation is on the measurement and analysis of thermodynamic data, including vaporization, fusion, and sublimation enthalpies and vapor pressures of dialkyl phthalates, as well as aliphatic and aromatic primary and tertiary amines by correlation gas chromatography (CGC). These compounds are important industrial and pharmaceutical substances whose prolonged use and sometimes misuse with regards to their disposal has created an environmental concern. Thermodynamic properties, such as vaporization enthalpy and vapor pressure provide crucial information to numerous industries and fields of study that include the chemical and petrochemical industry, chemical engineering and environmental science. Dialkyl phthalates are essential …

Taking The “Squeeze” Off Of Social Studies: A Phenomenological Study Of Teacher “Curricular” Autonomy And Its Effects On Social Studies Instructional Time, Jerri Antoinette Johnson

Dissertations

The state of social studies instruction in US schools has become dismal. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to gain an understanding of the impact of high stakes testing on social studies teaching when it is not tested by the state. I examined the elementary teacher’s “curricular” autonomy (curricular/instructional decision making) within the context of social studies teaching in a suburban low performing, urban demographic, school. Participants were asked to describe the experience of making instructional decisions regarding social studies education. The specific aims of this study were to: 1. reveal the meaning of teacher autonomy for teachers in …

Health-Risk Behaviors And Bmi Percentiles, Timothy Mikando Makubuya

Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) percentile and health risk behaviors of physical activity, dietary behaviors and sleep among high school students from the Youth Risk Behavioral Survey. The study used the 2013 National Youth Risk Behavioral Survey data from the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The researcher used data for 9th to 12th graders to examine the associations between physical activity, dietary behavior, sleep and BMI percentiles among those participants using a measure of Spearman’s Rho correlation and Multiple Linear Regression analysis. There were significant indirect associations between physical activity, dietary behavior …

An Evaluation Of The Implementation Process Of A Response To Intervention (Rti) Model Among Grade Three Students And Their Study Of One Topic Of Mathematics In An Elementary School, Leola Lawrence

Dissertations

Implementing a Response to Intervention (RTI) system in a third grade mathematics classroom includes several variables, among them the process utilized to identify students who may benefit from RTI, the professionals involved with implementation, and differentiated practices particular to RTI at Tier 2 or 3. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the implementation process of the Response to Intervention (RTI) system on a group of third grade students in an elementary school during their study of one mathematics topic. The study evaluated how the RTI practices of the responsible parties, (i.e., the teacher, district instructional facilitator, and campus …

Templated Oligosaccharide Synthesis, Jia Guang Xiao

Dissertations

Glycosyl transfer within the active site of an enzyme involves the arrangement of the gly-cosyl donor and glycosyl acceptor in close proximity to each other. To mimic this pro-cess, intramolecular glycosylations are carried out where the donor and acceptor are linked together via a spacer. Correct orientation, rigidity and position of the spacer play a vital role in the selectivity and yield of reactions in this “molecular clamp method”. Though current methodologies show promising results in terms of yield and selectivity, the need to synthesize different complexes to ensure selectivities in all types of glycosidic linkages is a large deterrent …

Addressing The Tension Between Open Access Admission And Improving Retention Rates At Crowder College, Earl Ray Macam, Brittany Lynn Neunuebel

Dissertations

Most community colleges embrace an open-access admission policy. At the same time, community colleges are pressured to improve retention rates. This project sought to address the tension between open-access and improved retention rates by determining which markers of academic preparedness predicted fall-to-fall retention in past admission cohorts of a community college. Data for three incoming classes of new students were analyzed using two separate logistical regressions, one on Pre-Admission/Enrollment variables and one on Post-Matriculation variables. The analysis of Pre-Admission/Enrollment variables, suggested that students who were male, 23 years or older and who had a low ACT Math Sub Score, and/or …

Classroom Communities Of Practice, Angela Marie Muse

Dissertations

Are classrooms preparing students with the literacy skills they need for school, work, and life? When students don't meet expectations, educators tend to seek answers in innovative programs or research-based practices that promise success. The practices teachers use, however, are neither selected nor enacted in a vacuum. To fully understand what is happening in a classroom, one needs to consider not only the instructional practices teachers use but also the context in which teachers select and enact these practices and the effect these practices have on our students. The impetus for this study came from a broader desire to dig …

Characteristics Of Early Non-Persisting Developmental Education Students In The Community College: A Nested Analysis, Joseph George Grailer

Dissertations

Many first-year, first-semester community college students take multiple developmental education courses, expending significant time, money and opportunity costs, but do not return for a second semester. Students who do not persist past their first semester are unlikely to ever return to post-secondary education, so it is critical to identify and assist these students as early in their postsecondary career as possible. To assist colleges with this effort, this study employed chi-square and logistic regression analyses on data collected during students' application and enrollment processes, as well as students’ first semester course performance, to create several nested models of characteristics correlated …

Synthesis Of Cyclic Enolphosphonates And Enolphosphates As Inhibitors Of Serine Hydrolases, Benjamin Patrick Martin

Dissertations

Cyclophostin is a potent naturally occurring inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase with a novel bicyclic enolphosphate structure. The cyclipostins are a family of potent hormone-sensitive lipase inhibitors which share the same bicyclic enolphosphate core structure with cyclophostin which but differ primarily in that they are long-chain alkyl phosphate esters whereas cyclophostin is a methyl phosphate ester. Due to the novelty of the inhibitor structure, potency, and ability to select between two serine hydrolase enzymes with a simple change in the ester substituent, the ongoing structure activity relationship investigation of this family of inhibitors was continued. Methods of transesterification were investigated in order …

The Role Of Technology In Personalized Learning And The Effect On Student Achievement, Allison Jean Pilley

Dissertations

Personalized learning is not a new concept and can be traced back to the 1700s, but it has become increasingly popular in today’s schools (Bray & McClaskey, 2015). With the high rate of technology introduction into classrooms, the implementation of personalized learning has become easier as instruction shifts from teacher-led to student-centered (Grant & Bayse, 2014). The purpose of this study was to identify the role of technology in personalized learning and to determine if the implementation of the pedagogy had an effect on student achievement scores. Elementary classroom teachers and elementary principals served as the participants for this study, …

The Lived Experiences Of Conditionally Admitted College Students, Ashley J. Wildman

Dissertations

College students vary in their preparedness for higher education. While low high school grades and standardized test scores are associated with poor college performance, many colleges and universities admit at least a few academically underprepared students in order to maintain a certain student body size, meet goals for ethnic or socioeconomic diversity, or recruit students with certain artistic or athletic skills (Hossler & Kalsbeek, 2009; Mapes, 2011; Parisi 2012; Zwick, 2007). In order to help academically underprepared students such as these, some institutions admit students who do not meet regular admissions standards “conditionally” and offer them specialized programs to provide …

An R-Matrix, Quantum Defect Theory Approach To The Photoionization Of Molecular Nitrogen, Gaetan L. Vangyseghem

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Stakeholders’ Perceptions And Practice Of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy In A Private School, Elizabeth Maria Franklin

Dissertations

Many culturally responsive theorists support culturally responsive pedagogy for closing the achievement gap in the rapidly changing demographics of America’s education system. The purpose of this case study was to examine stakeholders’ perceptions and practice of culturally responsive pedagogy in St. Andrew Academy (pseudonym), a Catholic NativityMiguel school located in a Midwest metropolitan area. The goals were: (a) to examine middle school teachers’ and the principal’s perceptions of culturally responsive pedagogy and extent of culturally responsive teaching implemented in the school, (b) to examine how parents perceived culturally responsive caring relationships with teachers and the principal, and (c) to examine …

A Mixed-Method Investigation Of Teacher Fidelity, Implementation Of Cooperative Learning, And Academic Achievement In A Midwest Public Elementary School Setting, Elizabeth C. Dubray-Allen

Dissertations

In this mixed-methods study, the researcher investigated teacher fidelity of implementation with cooperative learning structures, according to the Kagan Framework, related to students’ academic achievement and perceptions of cooperative learning. An analysis of the variations in teacher implementation of cooperative learning structures utilizing the Kagan Framework, based on the fidelity checklists, was completed during the study. In addition, the researcher examined the differences in mean achievement scores during baseline (i.e., traditional teaching practices) and intervention (i.e., cooperative learning structures) weeks, a correlation of relevant data points, and a discussion of teacher interviews, surveys, checklists, observations, and student surveys. To investigate …

The Perceived Impact On Bullying Of The Second Step Program At A Kindergarten-8th Grade School: A Program Evaluation, Adam J. Thorns

Dissertations

This program evaluation examines the Second Step program at Baker School, a Kindergarten through 8^th grade building located in Hillsborough, Illinois. The purpose of this evaluation is to determine the perceptions of impact the Second Step program has had on bullying at the school. The study employs a mixed-methods approach involving surveys and interviews with students, educators, and parents. This researcher determined that although bullying does not appear to be prevalent at Baker School, there is inconclusive evidence regarding the impact of the Second Step program. Major themes that emerged from this evaluation were a wide range of student …

The Lived Experience Of Individuals With Chronic Back And Neck Pain, Depression, And/Or Anxiety, Tara L. Palmeri

Dissertations

More than 1.5 billion people worldwide suffer from chronic pain (CP). People who experience chronic pain are 20 to 40% more likely to meet criteria for an anxiety disorder, and three to four times more likely to be clinically depressed than their pain-free counterparts. The relationship between CP and mental health has been studied quantitatively; however, few researchers have investigated co-morbid CP and mental health through a phenomenological lens. The subjective nature of the relationship is not comprehensively addressed within the literature.

This qualitative phenomenological study explored (a) how individuals with chronic back and/or neck pain (CBNP) experience, understand, and …

Some Nonparametric Ordered Restricted Inference Problems In The Context Of A Statistical Education Study, Bradford M. Dykes

Dissertations

Over the past 10 years, the Department of Statistics at Western Michigan University has developed a question generating system that can be used for creating multiple forms of exams, quizzes and homework for online and face-to-face use. This system can also be used to provide students with a form of instantaneous feedback. With the goal of analyzing how different levels of feedback in an online learning environment impacts students' performance on assignments, this study presents data collected on two semesters of students enrolled in three different meeting types (strictly online, typical face-to-face, and honors face-to-face) of an introductory Statistics course. …

The Influence Of The Electric Supply Industry On Economic Growth In Less Developed Countries, Edward Richard Bee

Dissertations

This study measures the impact that electrical outages have on manufacturing production in 135 less developed countries using stochastic frontier analysis and data from World Bank’s Investment Climate surveys. Outages of electricity, for firms with and without backup power sources, are the most frequently cited constraint on manufacturing growth in these surveys.

Outages are shown to reduce output below the production frontier by almost five percent in Africa and by a lower percentage in South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East and North Africa. Production response to outages is quadratic in form. Outages also increase labor cost, reduce exports …

The Synthesis Of Chemosensors For Toxic Analytes, Johnathan Hugh Broome

Dissertations

A number of chemosensors have been designed and synthesized to target cations (Zn²⁺ions), neutral molecules (cathinones), charged molecules (aminoindanes), and anions. The Zn²⁺ ion sensor featured bistriazole designed binding unit and ferrocene signaling units. Characterization of Zn²⁺ ion binding was carried out with electrochemical techniques (CV and DPV), ¹H-NMR, mass spectrometry, and molecular modelling. It exhibited a 1:1 binding stoichiometry with Zn²⁺ and had an affinity for ZnCl₂ (Log K_1:1 = 4.1 ± 0.02) over other Zn²⁺ salts.

The cathinone probe was designed to selectively bind mephedrone over common street drugs …

Hybrid Chebyshev Polynomial Scheme For The Numerical Solution Of Partial Differential Equations, Balaram Khatri Ghimire

Dissertations

In the numerical solution of partial differential equations (PDEs), it is common to find situations where the best choice is to use more than one method to arrive at an accurate solution. In this dissertation, hybrid Chebyshev polynomial scheme (HCPS) is proposed which is applied in two-step approach and one-step approach. In the two-step approach, first, Chebyshev polynomials are used to approximate a particular solution of a PDE. Chebyshev nodes which are the roots of Chebyshev polynomials are used in the polynomial interpolation due to its spectral convergence. Then, the resulting homogeneous equation is solved by boundary type methods including …

Preparation And Characterization Of Singlet-Oxygen Generating Thiol-Ene Networks Containing Fullerene And Metallofullerene Derivatives, Emily Matthews Barker

Dissertations

This work explores the derivatization of C₆₀ and Sc₃N@C₈₀ with S-, P-, and C- centered radicals, and is the first exploration into the functionalization of Sc₃N@C₈₀ with sulfur and phosphorous. The number of addends bound to C₆₀, as a function of reaction time and molar ratios, as well as, structure-property relationships including thermal stability, solubility, and singlet oxygen generation were explored. Fullerene derivatives exhibiting enhanced solubility were incorporated into two different thiol-ene polymer matrices at varying thiol-ene monomer concentrations (1:1 or 1:0.75 molar equivalents) and at different C₆₀ loadings (0, …

A Statistically Significant Determination From Pretest To Posttest In Knowledge Of Electrophoresis Concepts, Parker Megehee Nelson

Dissertations

The statistical significance from pretest to posttest of 109 high students constructing an electrophoresis chamber or not was explored. The students tested were from six intact biology classrooms. Three classes were treatment groups and three were control groups. The three biology teachers each taught a control and treatment group classroom. Except for building the electrophoresis chamber, students in both groups received identical instruction and testing. Pre- and posttest data was examined by means of a content valid test constructed by the researcher and biology teachers. In order to examine the statistical significance from pretest to posttest in knowledge of electrophoresis …

The Tootling Intervention With Classdojo: Effects On Classwide Disruptive Behavior And Academically Engaged Behavior In An Upper Elementary School Setting, Melissa Mchugh Dillon

Dissertations

The current study was designed to replicate and extend the literature on the effectiveness of a classroom intervention known as Tootling (Skinner, Skinner, & Cashwell, 1998) to include an interactive technological component, ClassDojo, to decrease disruptive classroom behavior as well as increase academically engaged behavior. Tootling is a peer-monitoring intervention that encourages students to report instances of appropriate behaviors they have seen their peers perform. Thus far, studies utilizing direct observation data to measure disruptive behavior during Tootling (Cihak, Kirk, & Boon, 2009; Lambert, 2014, Lambert el al., 2015, Lum et al., 2015; McHugh et al., 2014) have shown reductions …

A Quantitative Analysis Of Whether Elementary Teachers’ Science Kit Usage And Beliefs Can Predict State Science Assessment Scores, Tony E. Rice

Dissertations

The purpose of this survey was to describe and analyze the perceptions of elementary school teachers’ in a Midwestern state concerning their use of a science kit program, including to what extent a school’s state science assessment scores can be predicated from the level of science kit usage.

Prior research indicates that elementary school teachers lack the confidence in teaching science primarily because of their weak undergraduate training in inquiry-based instruction and the lack of a strong science background. Authors such as Dickerson et al. (2006) and Riggs and Enochs (2006) argued that science kits and the materials included in …

A Library Of Coumarin-Enaminone Chemodosimeters For The Detection Of Analytes, Aaron Berrell Davis

Dissertations

Many anions and metal ions are of biological and environmental importance. This work describes our attempts to synthesize molecular probes to specifically target cyanide, zinc, cadmium and mercury as these species can often result in negative effects to the environment and the human body.

The work in this dissertation, describes the synthesis of a family of coumarin-enamine chemodosimeters, in a straightforward synthetic procedure, the reaction between 7-(diethylamino)-4-hydroxycoumarin and a primary amine. The work presented in this dissertation demonstrates that these molecules can play dual roles and therefore the work is split into two distinct parts: Part 1 describes one role …

Administrators', Counselors', And Teachers' Opinions Regarding The Impact Of Freshman Academies, Schools-Within-Schools, And Ninth Grade Schools As It Relates To Effective Transitioning, Robyn Suzanne Killebrew

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether administrators, counselors, and teachers believe that implementing freshman academies, schools-within-schools, and ninth grade schools is an effective way to transition ninth graders into high school. This study included an introduction and a review of literature that discussed the following: adolescent years, transition from 8^th to 9^th grade, drop-out prevention, school reform in secondary education, professional learning communities, the freshman academy, and a conclusion. This study was also comprised with a methodology section, research results, conclusions, recommendations for policy makers and practitioners, and recommendations for future research.

The questionnaire for …

Math Emporium Model: Preparing Developmental Students For College Algebra, Stephanie Patton Williams

Dissertations

This study examined the effectiveness of the Emporium Model in reducing math anxiety and in preparing developmental math students at a community college to be successful in College Algebra. The study involved 59 students enrolled in Intermediate Algebra at a community college and compared those in the Emporium class format to those in the Traditional class format. Participants completed a pre-post math anxiety rating scale questionnaire and a pre-post algebra readiness test to address the research questions of the study. Two mixed model ANOVAs were done and the findings showed that there was a significant difference in math anxiety level …