Digital Commons Network^™

Understanding Noncompliance: A Qualitative Content Analysis Of Title Ix Sexual Misconduct Violations Using The Office For Civil Rights Investigative Findings, Lenore N. Schaffer Nee Malone

Dissertations

On April 4, 2011 the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) reminding higher education institutions (HEIs) of their obligations under Title IX to respond to complaints of sexual misconduct. The 2011 DCL was meant to be a guidance document to assist HEIs in complying with Title IX, but many higher education administrators expressed frustrations concerning some of OCR’s requirements. Since releasing the 2011 DCL, OCR has opened more than 200 Title IX investigations at HEIs across the nation. When OCR concludes that a HEI has failed to comply with Title IX, …

Applying Affective Engagement To Change Organizational Culture: A Secondary Analysis Of Sexual Assault Prevention And Reporting Curriculum Outcomes On U.S. Air Force Technical Training Campuses, Stephen Bryce Ellis

Dissertations

Sexual assault, sexual harassment, and unprofessional relationships are inconsistent with U.S. Air Force vision to foster a culture that promotes dignity and respect. These problems reduce military readiness and retention of talented personnel while increasing costs to taxpayers. To combat these problems, the U.S. Air Force revised its sexual assault prevention and reporting curriculum to employ affective engagement techniques at four technical training campuses. Curriculum developers employed plausible vignettes, storytelling, and classroom debate to create an emotional connection to the sexual assault prevention and reporting lessons. The objective of the revised curriculum was to change the organizational culture to one …

Optimizing Stadium Evacuation By Integrating Geo-Computation And Affordance Theory, Joslyn Jane Zale

Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to optimize football stadium evacuation time by integrating geo-computation with affordance theory from perceptual psychology to account for evacuee characteristics: age, gender, physical fitness, alcohol consumption, and prior experience attending football games at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM), evacuating from large, outdoor public places, and with hazard events.

According to the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act, football stadiums are part of the country’s critical infrastructure warranting special government protection. Evacuation modeling was identified as an important component of game day emergency …

Educational Technology And Visual Literacy: The Effect Of Using Doodling On Student Learning Performance, Alaa J A M Zeyab

Dissertations

Visual literacy is one of the facets of educational technology that has a significant role in the learning process. Meaningful doodling was a technique researched in this study as a form of visual literacy. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of meaningful doodling on the learning process and how this affected student learning performance. A mixed method design was used, which included the use of surveys of students in two classes that used doodling and by interviewing three teachers who regularly used doodling as a learning tool. The results suggested students enjoyed doodling and meaningful doodling …

Self-Identity And Community Through Social Media: The Experience Of Saudi Female International College Students In The United States, Tahani Obaid Alruwaili

Dissertations

This study examined the role of social media in the lives of Saudi female international college students as they faced issues related to adjusting to living and studying in a culture vastly different from their own. Social media is an increasingly important consideration in literature on self-identity, education, and community. This study employed qualitative interview methods to explore this topic. Fourteen Saudi female international college students living in the United States for three to nine years answered questions about their personal identities in Saudi Arabia and in the United States, their social media use in Saudi Arabia and in the …

Coaches’ Perceptions On The Sustainability Of Select Nonrevenue, Olympic Ncaa Sports As Viewed Through Stakeholder Theory, Dean M. Ekeren

Dissertations

In recent years, increasing revenues to the top NCAA athletic programs has accelerated an athletic “arms race” among universities, where coach salaries escalate, new facilities are built, existing facilities undergo massive renovations, and amenities and services are added for athletes, all to attract top recruits and new donors. Although sponsors and broadcast deals provide huge sources of revenue to these institutions, the majority of athletic departments rely on subsidies from the university to meet the increasing demands required to remain competitively relevant. Many stakeholder groups of intercollegiate athletics are becoming increasingly concerned that the financial pressures associated with sustaining the …

Click, Explore, And Learn: Graduate Students’ Experiences And Attitudes Toward Using E-Books For College-Level Courses, Rasha Abdulrahman Alhammad

Dissertations

The main purpose of this qualitative research was to explore graduate students’: (a) interpretations of their experiences with the use of e-books for learning; (b) reasons that influence their preference to use e-books or printed books when they learn; (c) perceptions toward e-books impact on learning; (d) perceptions toward the influence of prior technological experience, knowledge, and confidence on opinions and decisionmaking associated with e-books; (e) interpretations of their experiences with the use of a given e-book; and (f) recommendations of changes to e-books to better supporting their learning. Participants were 20 graduate students at one of the midsize universities …

An Analysis And Performance Guide Of Three Works By Brazilian Composers Featuring The Violin, João Paulo Machado

Dissertations

This is a study of a selection of works for violin composed in the twentieth century by Brazilian composers: Sonata for Violin and Piano by José Guerra Vicente (1906-1976); Chôro for Violin and Orchestra by Mozart Camargo Guarnieri (1907-1993), and Trio for Violin, Violoncello and Piano by César Guerra-Peixe (1914 -1993). These pieces contain strong identifiable nationalistic features of Brazilian music allied to twentieth-century compositional elements. The selected works will serve as examples for a study of compositions for violin incorporating the above-mentioned styles. These works have been selected to represent a variety of instrumental genres: a sonata for violin …

Biracial Multiracial Lesbian Gay Bisexual Queer Student Leaders Making Meaning Of Their Experiences, Robert Jason Kunstman

Dissertations

Five biracial multiracial lesbian gay bisexual queer student leaders shared stories about their undergraduate experiences at a prestigious southern university. Critical cultural and constructivist paradigm provided the framework for supporting this narrative inquiry. Through multiple interviews, participants shared stories of their background, educational journey, and the impact they hope to have in the future. Through those interviews, participants also shared stories of their journey to understanding their racial identity, sexual identity, leadership experiences, and experiences centered on the intersections of race, sexuality, and leadership. Stories explored participants’ sense of belonging, code switching, functioning in racial and sexual identity specific spaces, …

Influence Of Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes On Corrosion Performance And Water Hydrogen Bonding Of Epoxy-Amine Thin Films, Greg William Curtzwiler

Dissertations

This dissertation research sought to provide a fundamental basis of understanding to commence the systematic investigation of developing economically viable fully formulated epoxy-amine coating systems containing multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT). Namely, a facile and rapid method for multiwall carbon nanotube surface modification and molecular structure interpretation was developed to assist in designing MWCNT-polymer interactions and achieving high levels of dispersion. Additionally, a rapid and quantitative method was developed to investigate the dispersibility potential of MWCNTs possessing a given surface modification in combination with a dispersion protocol which can further be utilized as a quality control metric in commercial applications. It …

The Idiosyncratic Language Of Brazilian Music: Strategies For Performing Villa-Lobos Choros No. 10, Dennis Paz Leoni

Dissertations

Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Choros No. 10 is a composition with many cultural and symbolic inclusions. This work seeks to support a conductor’s informed performance of the piece by providing historical and technical context from the conductor’s life and influences. The first section examines the ethnographic and sociopolitical factors in Brazil during the conductor’s life, and then the personal influences on Villa-Lobos’ career, in order to establish the foundation for a section-by-section analysis of the work which illuminates the idiosyncratic nature of the composer’s masterpiece.

Exploring The Experiences And Insights Of A Twice-Exceptional Student Finishing A College Teacher Preparation Program: A Case Study, Hussain Abdullah Alamer

Dissertations

Twice-exceptionality is the phenomenon of a student with one or more disabilities who is also gifted and talented. Identification of twice-exceptionality is difficult and only recently has there been a greater awareness of the needs of twice-exceptional students. There is empirical research about twice-exceptionality but little research exists on how twice-exceptional individuals perceive and attribute meaning to their lived experiences. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the experiences of one university student identified as gifted and learning disabled to understand how personal experiences influenced his identity development, his perspectives on teaching and education, and, ultimately, his …

Fan Motives For Identifying With Professional Tennis Players, Alex Yakon Rondon-Azcarate

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine motivations used by tennis fans in identifying with professional tennis players and thereby developing fan loyalty and support. No prior work has focused on fan motivations toward individual players in an individual sport. This non-experimental study design used an online survey technique to solicit responses from adult tennis fans through a variety of tennis organizations, tennis clubs, tennis training facilities, and tennis websites and blogs. Surveys responses were solicited from January through February 2017. Of the original 460 total respondents, 28% (n = 101) reported having no favorite professional tennis player and …

Physical Education Teacher Education Student Teaching Placement Procedures, Leann Elizabeth Kesselring

Dissertations

The student teaching experience is widely regarded as the most formative aspect of a teacher preparation program. This practicum is the final opportunity to occupationally socialize a teacher candidate with the attitudes and values of the teacher preparation program. Knowing this, careful selection of student teaching placements is imperative. However, little research has been conducted regarding placement procedures in general teacher education, and even less in physical education teacher education (PETE). The purpose of this paper was to explore placement procedures of PETE teacher candidates in CAEP accredited programs at state classified universities/colleges within the United States. The research was …

Analyzing The Curricula Of Doctor Of Philosophy Programs In Educational Technology And Any Associated Specialty In The United States, Abdullah Almaden

Dissertations

The aim of this research study was to analysis on-campus and online Ph.D. programs in educational technology and any associated specialties in the United States. In particular, it sought to evaluate the most common titles; core, elective, and research courses; structured types of comprehensive examinations; and possible employment opportunities based on program mission statements. The research design for this study was quantitative content analysis. Data for this study were collected from six different sources. The current study found 43 institutions offered campus-based degree programs and four offered online degree programs in educational technology and any associated specialty. In addition, the …

Elucidating The Role Of Interleukin-17a In West Nile Virus Infection, Dhiraj Acharya

Dissertations

West Nile virus (WNV) is a neurotropic flavivirus of significant public health importance for which no therapeutics and vaccine are currently available. Interleukin-17A (IL-17A) is an inflammatory cytokine that regulates diverse immune functions, while its role is unclear in host’s immune response to WNV. Furthermore, CD8⁺ T cells are crucial components of immunity and play a vital role in recovery from WNV infection. Here, we report a previously unrecognized function of IL-17A in regulating CD8⁺ T cell cytotoxicity. We show that WNV induces the expression of IL-17A in both mouse splenocytes and human peripheral blood mononuclear cells cultured …

Bioinspired Design Of Wetting And Anti-Wetting Surfaces Via Thiol-Ene Photopolymerization, Li Xiong

Dissertations

Surface wettability is known to have a profound influence in both academic study and industrial application of materials. Superhydrophobic surfaces, with a static contact angle higher than 150° and a contact angle hysteresis lower than 10°, have received continued attention for their broad applications, such as self-cleaning, antifogging and frosting, and drag reduction. The continuous development of materials and approaches that used to create superhydrophobic surfaces has led to further exploration of coatings with other desirable properties such as superamphiphobicity, mechanical robustness and thermal stability.

In this work, coatings with super wetting and super anti-wetting properties were designed and fabricated …

Uncovering The Identity And Metabolism Of Bacterial Coa-Rna, Joseph R. Spangler

Dissertations

Coenzyme A is an indispensable molecule in all known life with roles in metabolism, gene regulation, and macromolecule synthesis. As CoA is derived from RNA itself, it’s incorporation into RNA by in vitro methods has proven useful in research probing the origin of life based on the RNA World theory. The discovery in contemporary bacteria of RNA modified with CoA, however, provided an unexpected twist to previously well-characterized bacterial systems. The identity of sequences associated with CoA-RNA has been elusive since their discovery in 2009 based on the difficulties in isolation while maintaining RNA quality. The aim of this study …

Educating Students With Visual Impairments In The General Education Setting, Kerri Janae Johnson-Jones

Dissertations

This research study was aimed at describing the experiences of visually impaired students and their teachers about their experiences within the general education setting. The purpose of this study was to collect and report interview data, corroborated with observational data in order to provide rich, descriptive data based on the participants’ experiences. A case study approach was used to gather the data in a naturalistic setting. In this case study, all student participants were individuals with visual impairments along the spectrum of being legally blind.

Findings of this study revealed four emerging themes that produced evidence of the unique participant’s …

Stretched But Not Broken: A Multiple-Case Study Analysis Of Risk And Resiliency, Heather Danielle Beam

Dissertations

This study was a multiple-case study analysis of two men’s journey through life. From a young age, the participants were faced with multiple risk factors: racial discrimination or injustice, poverty, disability, mental health diagnoses, conflict (personal or external), exposure to violence and drugs, living in a neighborhood with high crime rates, constant relocation of homes and schools, involvement within the judicial system, lack of parental support and family cohesion, physical abuse, teacher abuse and neglect, lack of academic support, and family secrecy. Despite the risk factors each participant faced, they were resilient individuals who combatted the odds and are considered …

Student Collaboration In Hybrid Classrooms Using Pbworks: A Study Of University Students In Najran, Saudi Arabia, Hadi Ali Almonuf

Dissertations

Modern classrooms are no longer always traditional, in face-to-face settings. Many students take part in online classes and hybrid classes. Education technology has made it possible for students to learn anytime and anyplace, which can be critical if attending class is difficult. This quantitative study explored the use of the wiki tool PBWorks for group collaboration in a hybrid setting. The participants were students from two classes, each studying the same course with the same professor at the University of Najran in Najran, Saudi Arabia. There were 21 students in the control group and 19 students in the experimental group …

Dating_Missrepresentation.Com: Black Women's Lived Love-Hate Relationship With Online Dating, James Henry Johnson

Dissertations

The increased use of online dating sites has further encouraged corporations’ attempts to capitalize on these mate-seeking trends. Match.com, eHarmony, and OkCupid are primary competitors in a growing market of individuals seeking out potential romantic partners. They offer several mainstream dating options as well as niche-dating sites. Similar to society at large where dating still occurs offline, scholars have revealed that racial hierarchies exist within various online platforms. As such, the roles of gender and ethnicity in online dating environments merit study. Specifically, the experiences of Black women who use Internet dating sites, a virtually unexplored demographic, form the basis …

In Pursuit Of A Black Identity In Contemporary South Africa: Culture, Class, And Gender In Wedding Reality Tv Shows, Tv Audience Comments, And Wedding Speeches, Lindani Memani

Dissertations

This research reveals the opaque social hierarchies which work to structure Black life in contemporary South Africa. Using a multi-modal critical discourse analysis, and four theories: hegemony, neoliberalism, post-feminism and African womanism, this study analyzes the representation of weddings in Our Perfect Wedding and Top Billing Weddings, two South African wedding reality television programs. In addition, the study examines the TV programs’ audience narratives in online spaces. Analyzing online conversations helps to show how audiences actively engage with and interpret messages disseminated by the TV shows as they talk back to the shows and among themselves. The study also examines …

Pedagogy Of Accomplice: Navigating Complicity In Pedagogies Aimed Toward Social Justice, Robyn Stout Sheridan

Dissertations

In this study, I introduce and analyze the role of complicity in discussions of social justice pedagogies to determine how teachers, who teach social justice oriented courses, navigate complicity. Through an in-depth review of social justice education literature, I show that teacher/scholars rely upon four context-dependent discourses of complicity: (1) responsibility, (2) consciousness-awareness, (3) relation to world, self and others, and (4) inevitability and implicature. In order to understand how these discourses impact pedagogies that seek to make connections between people and social systems, I selected teacher/scholars who are widely published, read, and assigned in social justice oriented fields. I …

Barack Obama’S Rhetoric Of Hope For Racial Reconciliation: An Examination Of American Mainstream Media’S Framing Of That Message, Zainul Abedin

Dissertations

This study explored Barack Obama’s rhetorical message for racial reconciliation and the framing of that message by the American mainstream news media. The study investigated Obama’s messages in texts and sound-bites of the news media—The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the New York Times, Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC. The research included Obama’s speeches on three major occasions from 2008 to 2014—(1) “a more perfect union” speech on March 18, 2008, in Philadelphia; (2) Washington speech on August 28, 2013, on the 50th anniversary of MLK’s “I have a dream” speech; and (3) LBJ Library speech on April …

Forward Myth: Military Public Relations And The Domestic Base Newspaper 1941-1981, Willie R. Tubbs

Dissertations

This dissertation explores the evolution of domestic military base newspapers from 1941-1981, a timeframe that encapsulates the Second World War, Korean War, and Vietnam War, as well as interwar and postwar years. While called “newspapers,” the United States military designed these publications to be a hybrid of traditional news and public relations. This dissertation focuses on three primary aspects of these newspapers: the evolution of the format, style, and function of these papers; the messages editors and writers crafted for and about the “common” soldier and American; and the messages for and about members of the non-majority group.

Sometimes printed …

Polyisobutylene Telechelic Prepolymers By In Situ End-Quenching And Post-Polymerization Modifications, Bin Yang

Dissertations

This volume focuses on the development of telechelic polyisobutylene (PIB) prepolymers by combining end-capping of living carbocationic polymerization of isobutylene (IB) with suitable reactants and post-polymerization modifications. Alkylation kinetics of PIB tert-chloride with alkoxybenzenes using either TiCl₄ or AlCl₃ were investigated. Quantitative para-position end-capped products were only achieved if the alkoxybenzene/AlCl₃ molar ratio was greater than unity; while no such molar ratio is required for TiCl₄, but the alkylation rate was slower than AlCl₃ under the same conditions. Photopolymerization kinetics analysis of PIB triphenol tri(meth)acrylates with low and high M_ns, …

Exploring The Rhizomatic Literacy Practices Of Uae High Schools, Mona Humaid Abdulrahim Aljanahi

Dissertations

New trends in literacy studies shifted their focus from looking at the consequences and gains of literacy to examining its uses by various cultural groups. These new trends try to situate literacy practices in different spheres and contexts as literacy varies across cultural, social, individuals, geographical, and historical timeframes. Wittingly, some scholars argue that the field of education seems to have downplayed the development of adolescents’ literacies since major literacy projects and initiatives seem to favor either child’s early and emergent literacy or remediated adults. This study tried to trace the myriad of literacy practices of high school students at …

The Role Of Human Resources In Organizational Restructuring: Perceptions Of Hrdepartment, Line Managers, And Employees, Mohamed Abdulla Mohamed Al Hammadi

Dissertations

The process of organizational restructuring is an integral and common aspect that has been integrated into the growth and development of organizations all around the globe. It is mainly undertaken to ensure that organizations are up to date with ever-changing external and internal business environments to improve organizational effectiveness and efficiency. The government of Abu Dhabi emirate has developed a long-term plan to guide the future growth of the emirate (Abu Dhabi 2030). As a result, all of its departments and entities need to align to this strategic plan, which involves change. In many cases, this has forced organizations/entities to …

Education From The "Bottom" Up: Black Women Navigating The Community College Transfer Experience, Kristin Dade

Dissertations

This study looks at the experiences of 11 Black women as they transfer from community colleges to four-year institutions. This study employs Black Feminist Thought to help analyze the experiences of Black women who transfer from community colleges to four-year institutions. This framework is particularly applicable to this study because Black Feminist Thought recognizes the varied experiences that women encounter based on their intersecting identities (such as race and gender). Although Black women share some common racial and gender experiences, Black Feminist Thought acknowledges the fact that each woman ultimately has her own narrative, which influences how she perceives and …