The Pivot To Online Learning: A Case Study Of Efl Student Teachers’ Learning Experiences And Perceptions In China, Jingxin Cheng

Dissertations

Teaching and learning online was extensively adopted in English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher education program, as well in education of all levels in China with the advancement of the internet, multimedia information processing, cloud computing, and other information technologies since 1994. However, online education has remained more of a supplement to classroom education, and large-scale normal online education lacks cases and research in China. The COVID-19 pandemic caused profound change in higher education, with closures of campuses globally and migration of learning and teaching practices to online formats. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted traditional teaching and learning activities, meanwhile, …

Exploring Strategies For Placement Stability Among Foster Care Children, Gabrielle Sewester

Dissertations

Children in foster care are considered a vulnerable population because of the maltreatment and abuse that previously occurred. In addition to the trauma resulting from previous abuse or neglect, children in foster care face ongoing exposure to trauma due to the lack of stability within the system. Instability in the foster care system is displayed by frequent changes in placement providers, multiple school changes, inconsistent mental and physical health treatment, prolonged permanency, and loss of connections with biological family members. The aim for this study is to fill the gap in the literature on foster parent’s experiences with successful placement …

Immigration, Moral Panics, And Punishment: The Impact Of Media Coverage And Public Interest On Jail Incarceration, Faraneh Shamserad

Dissertations

Despite extensive empirical evidence showing that immigration does not lead to increases in crime, the purported immigration and crime link has been used to buttress increasingly punitive immigration policies over the past few decades. While previous studies have explored the role of enforcement practices for punishment, this dissertation delves into the mechanisms through which immigrants are transformed into “criminal subjects” and the consequences for punishment at the local level. By integrating moral panic theory with research on immigration, crime, and punishment, I propose that the inflammatory language surrounding immigration in media and public discourse has punitive consequences for immigrants. Moreover, …

Simulation In Interprofessional Education: A Case Study With Baccalaureate Nursing Faculty, Sherleena Ann Buchman

Dissertations

Nursing programs across the country are facing the challenge of providing students with optimal clinical skill learning experiences. Faculty members are rising to this challenge in a variety of ways, and current research in nursing education advocates the addition of interprofessional education to the nursing curriculum. History and governing bodies explain how nursing education can achieve this goal but faculty have to implement required and suggested changes. Further research is needed to gain insight into perceptions of the baccalaureate nursing faculty of interprofessional education and how the simulation in interprofessional experience contributes to overall patient safety. Patient safety is a …

Nontraditional Community College Students In Nursing: Perceptions Personified, Helene P. Seibert

Dissertations

Nontraditional students in nursing have been the topic of multiple research studies to gain insight into their perceptions regarding retention. This mixed methods study, using Jeffreys' Student Perception Appraisal-Revised (SPA-R, 2007a) takes the quantitative findings a step further by using a qualitative approach to generate findings that extend the value of that instrument by exploring the details pertaining to each of the environmental items using focus groups and individual interviews with community college nursing students, just prior to graduation. One hundred seven associate degree nursing students in their last semester at three Midwestern community colleges were surveyed with the SPA-R …

Work Engagement, Burnout, And Well-Being In Nursing Professional Development Practitioners, Marlene T. Porter

Dissertations

This article-based manuscript dissertation will follow a two-manuscript process. The two manuscripts are related to work engagement, burnout, and well-being in the nursing professional development (NPD) practitioner. The first completed manuscript is a literature review that examines personal resources that affect work engagement, uncovers strategies to improve work engagement, and discusses the implications for the NPD practitioner. Fourteen studies met the inclusion criteria for the literature review identifying self-efficacy, resilience, optimism, meaning, mattering, hardiness, and grit as personal resources influencing work engagement. Strategies identified to improve work engagement included policy development, implementing self-awareness programs, and providing resilience, strengths, and gratitude …

Transitional Care Medical House Call: A Pilot Project, Ron Billano Ordona

Dissertations

Vulnerable, homebound older adults are highly susceptible to unplanned 30-day hospital readmissions, which is costly for the healthcare system. As a result, health care expenditures for this population continue to rise. Studies have shown that transition of care programs, when complemented with home-based primary care delivery, may improve health care outcomes for this population.

The purpose of this quality improvement pilot project was to implement medical house calls as a component of transitional care management (TCM) and measure patient outcomes such as unplanned 30-day readmission rates and correlate predictors of readmission. As a secondary outcome, the project explored, tracked, and …

Improving Breastfeeding Outcomes: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial Of A Self-Efficacy Intervention With Primiparous Mothers, Karen A. Mcqueen

Dissertations

Breastfeeding is recommended as the optimal source of nutrition for newborns for the first 6 months of life and beyond with the addition of complementary foods. While breastfeeding initiation rates have been increasing, duration rates remain a concern as many women prematurely discontinue due to difficulties encountered rather than maternal choice. In addition, there is a sizable gap between rates of exclusive breastfeeding and current recommendations. Targeting modifiable variables that may be amenable to intervention is one strategy to improve breastfeeding outcomes. One such modifiable variable is breastfeeding self-efficacy. Although research has clearly shown that breastfeeding self-efficacy is predictive of …

Dream-Seekers (Ladson-Billings, 2009): An Analysis Of Culturally Relevant Pedagogical Development Through The Perspective Of Black Novice Teachers, Christina Grove, Nana Becoat, Michelle Cooley, Pablo Ramos Jr

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Using critical race theory and Gloria Ladson-Billings' culturally relevant pedagogy as theoretical frameworks, this thematic narrative analysis study explored the epistemology and ontology of culturally relevant pedagogy by investigating the research question: How do Black novice teachers (years 1-5) become culturally relevant practitioners? The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with Black K-12 public school teachers in which the participants reflected on how their upbringing, cultural identities, K-12 experiences, and teacher preparation program/process impacts their readiness to practice culturally relevant pedagogy. Five themes emerged from the narrative analysis: 1) K-12 racialized trauma; 2) racialized awakening and awareness; 3) the sanctuary of …

Some Wounds Don’T Heal: Spirit Assassination Attempts: Tools Of White Supremacy, Karen Louise Douglas

Dissertations

ABSTRACT The purpose of this research was to study the effects of spirit assassination attempts and whether their influence is enduring throughout life and can be linked to my emotional, mental, and physical health. In 1987, the term spirit murdering was coined by Williams to describe the everyday encounters with racism and discrimination, which can evoke a profound sense of powerlessness, hopelessness, and sadness in Black people. I use the term spirit assassination attempts to describe the repeated, intentional words, body language, looks, and actions intended to remind Black people of their societal position intended to destroy hope, joy, and …

A Qualitative Case Study Of An Ultra-Brief Trait Emotional Intelligence Intervention For University Student Leaders, Britne K. Bacca-Haupt, Melinda R. Dilley, Fletcher J. Ferguson, Lisa C. Gillis-Davis, Jacqueline M. Schneller

Dissertations

Emotional intelligence gained interest in the early 1990s from researchers in hopes of assessing how understanding and developing emotions can help individuals be “healthy, rich, successful, loved, and happy” (Mayer et al., 2001, p. xi). Because of the expanded interest, increasing implications began occurring at the postsecondary level of education (Petrides et al., 2018). Trait emotional intelligence focuses on perceptions of oneself and others, illustrating how we regulate our emotions and recognize them in others. This qualitative study aimed to explore the impact of an ultra-brief intervention on the trait emotional intelligence development of university student leaders and how they …

Ennobling Each Other Through Collaborative Inquiry: Exploring Music As A Provocation For Leadership Development, Ihan Ip

Dissertations

Amid the challenges in a global village, leadership education needs to surpass traditional methods, nurturing creativity, flexibility, and adaptability. This study is a collaborative action inquiry that considers music as an arts-based method in service of leadership development. The study unfolded over five cycles, in which 14 coinquirers collaborated in a process of exploration. The study illuminates the strong potential of music as a provocation for leadership development and reveals crucial realizations in the area of facilitation in collective processes.

This dissertation tells the story of the inquiry with the voices of its coinquirers and offers insights on facilitation through …

Career Technical And Agricultural Education Teachers In Rural Schools: Perceptions Of Leadership Abilities, Professional Support, And Overall Job Satisfaction Following Participation In A Teacher Leadership Professional Learning Community, Tasia Ellis

Dissertations

Career Technical Education (CTE), including Career Technical Agricultural Education (CTAE) in Georgia, are experiencing difficulty retaining quality teachers. This problem is exacerbated in rural communities, which have a smaller workforce pool and fewer nearby colleges to certify CTE/CTAE teachers (Morton, 2021). A potential solution to offset teacher retention concerns is teacher leadership. When teachers are given opportunities to take on leadership roles, they are likely to feel more valued and experience increased self-efficacy and perceptions of ability (Katzenmeyer & Moller, 2009). The purpose of this phenomenographic study was to examine whether a teacher leadership Professional Learning Community (PLC) enhanced teachers' …

Using Therapeutic Writing To Deconstruct Recovery From Postraumatic Stress Disorder (Ptsd), Pamela Phillips

Dissertations

Exposure to physical and psychological trauma has produced a post-millennial epoch of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a debilitating anxiety disorder that occurs after exposure to an extreme stressor or prolonged victimization. After an extensive review of treatment protocols in 2008, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) exhorted clinicians to focus on defining the concept of recovery, concentrating on symptom reduction, removal of the PTSD diagnosis, and end-state function. Although the IOM report mobilized large-scale efforts to quantify treatments and standardize delivery of treatment protocols, PTSD recovery remains a concept that has been largely unexplored. The primary aim of this study was …

Improving The Experience Of Culturally Diverse Nursing Students: A Qualitative Study, Miriam L. Griffin

Dissertations

Current literature reflects a need for an overall increase in the number of nurses and an increase in ethnic and racial diversity in the nursing profession. The lack of diversity is a global nursing concern, and nursing programs and educators are tasked with attempting to recruit, retain, and graduate culturally diverse students. The literature and research discuss the need for nursing programs and educators to design early intervention success programs and pre-nursing preparation that focus on critical factors that contribute to student success and assist with decreasing attrition rates. In this basic qualitative research study, eight semi-structured interviews were conducted …

Inclusive Education In Early Childhood: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study Of The Successes And Barriers Impacting Successful Early Childhood Inclusive Education, Cynthia Hartshorn

Dissertations

Purpose: This qualitative phenomenological study aimed to explore early childhood teacher experiences regarding the successes and barriers of implementing inclusive education with general education and special education students based on the three dimensions of Booth and Ainscow’s (2016) Index for Inclusion. This study sought to identify what preschool teachers perceive to be the greatest barriers to implementing inclusive education and the most effective strategies for overcoming these barriers. Finally, this study sought to identify the preservice and in-service experiences that teachers perceive as most effective in supporting the successful implementation of inclusive education.

Methodology: The study methodology was conducted using …

Is It More State Than Trait? Within-Person Variability And Inter-Rater Agreement Of Feedback Orientation, Timothy J. Bartkoski

Dissertations

Feedback is a critical component of almost all performance management systems (Aguinis, 2009), and is often positively associated with individual and organizational effectiveness (e.g., Kluger & DeNisi, 1996; Kim et al., 2016). Given this, researchers and practitioners have long sought to understand how and when feedback is likely to be most effective. Some promising new work has explored feedback orientation (FO), which describes a person’s overall receptivity to performance feedback (Linderbaum & Levy, 2010; London & Smither, 2002). Initial research has shown that FO is positively associated with feedback seeking (Dahling et al., 2012; Whitaker et al., 2012) and feedback …

Enhancing Rotating Machinery Fault Diagnosis: A Dual-Head Attention Mechanism In Deep Learning Neural Networks, Qing Snyder

Dissertations

Rotating machinery is crucial to production efficiency and safety in manufacturing industries for an extended time. Ensuring machinery reliability necessitates effective diagnostic systems, particularly for rotating bearings, the key components of such equipment. Fault diagnosis in rotating machinery is essential to prevent failures and minimize downtime, thereby playing an important role in industrial operations. The application of advanced neural network techniques in industry has risen recently. Among these, attention-based neural networks, especially the Transformer models, are originally noteworthy for their sequential data handling capability. This research delves into attention-based algorithms for rotating machinery fault diagnosis, signifying a substantial advancement in …

Development Of Enzyme-Based Biotechnology For Removing Stickies And Regaining Fiber Quality In Paper Recycling, Yun Wang

Dissertations

Producing paper with recycled paper consumes about 30-70% less energy and emits less GHG than using virgin wood. However, with current recycling practices, more foreign matters are commingled with the recycled paper including hot-melt adhesives, food residues, inks, resins/sizing agents, and coating adhesives, which result in stickies issues in the paper remanufacturing process. On the other hand, recycled fibers inherently have lower quality due to mechanical treatment, heating, chemical processing, and aging in various types of application/use of paper products, limiting the production of high-quality paper grades from recycled fibers. The goal of this dissertation research is to address both …

Current To Best Practice: An Approach To Establishing A Clearinghouse, Alycia Sterenberg Mahon

Dissertations

Clearinghouses provide a central location for evaluating and synthesizing studies to inform practice and policy. Many stakeholders rely on these clearinghouses to make evidence-based decisions for practice and research. This investigation aims to develop and evaluate a sequence of methods that fields/disciplines can use to establish a clearinghouse. Specifically, this research provides a roadmap to form a clearinghouse for music therapy (MT) intervention-based research. This work consists of three individual research studies. Each study addresses a component of how the field of MT, through a clearinghouse, can provide a solution for disseminating evidence-based practices. Study 1 provides a framework to …

New Alternative Methods Developed For The Measurement Of Active And Total Clay In Foundry Green Sands, Piao Jian Tan

Dissertations

Precise measurement of active clay content in molding sand is essential in the metal casting foundry to produce high quality end products with no defects. The historical methylene blue (MB) test was considered qualitative, subjective and prone to operator bias in regard to the reading of the halo. A new spectrophotometric or digital clay technique has been developed. The test utilizes the cation exchange capabilities of the Cu(II)-triethylenetetramine dye and the absorbance reading of the sequestered solution through a UV-Vis spectrophotometer. Working with multiple laboratories (Decher, MTI, EJ, and JD) on actual foundry green sand samples, the method was optimized …

Unlocking Potential: Analyzing The Impact Of Special Education Services On The Assessment Outcomes Of Students With Learning Disabilities, Kaitlyn Billops

Dissertations

Since the enactment of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 2004, there has been a notable increase in the enrollment of students receiving special education services (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2022). However, despite advancements in special education programming and service delivery, academic performance for students with disabilities still falls behind their general education peers, particularly on state summative assessments (Aron & Loprest, 2012). Disparities in academic achievement on these assessments can be attributed to various factors, including assessment practices, students' comfort levels during testing, and the severity of their disabilities. Assessing the efficacy of special education …

The Effects Of Combined Evaluative And Memo, Matrix, And Graphic Objective Feedback On Performance When Receiving Fixed Pay, Amber L. Derthick

Dissertations

The purpose of this current study was to examine the relative effectiveness of written feedback in the form of a memo that displays the performer’s current performance (memo feedback), written feedback in the form of a matrix that displays the performer’s current performance along with past performance (matrix feedback), and graphic feedback that displays the performer’s current performance along with past performance on a line graph (graphic feedback) when individuals receive fixed pay. The memo, matrix, and graphic feedback displayed “objective” feedback. Participants were 70 undergraduate students who were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions. Participants attended a …

Say Her Name: A Phenomenological Study On Black Women’S Experiences With Fearful Encounters With The Police, Marilyn Shantey Buford

Dissertations

Police violence is a historical, systemic issue that continues to plague the Black community to this day. Research discussing the systemic oppression of police violence on Black people has seen an increase over the past decade. However, little has been discussed on the effects of police violence on Black people’s health and wellness, particularly their mental health. The research that exists surrounding police violence and mental health is largely concentrated on the experiences of Black men. Little is known about how Black women personally experience police violence or how these experiences impact their mental, emotional, and physical health. Not exploring …

Three Essays On Fertility Rates In China, Lichun Cai

Dissertations

China is currently facing the issue of low fertility rates. In three chapters, I discuss the reasons for the low fertility rate in China from three different microeconomics perspectives, by using econometric methods including machine learning tools.

Chapter One considers the effects of income on fertility rate. There is a widely accepted view that the improvement of the education level has led to a decline in fertility. I critique this view and propose a new perspective: the childbirth choice of a family member is not only related to the education level, but also to the differences in education level between …

Pathways To Leadership In A Professional Association, Cheryl Lynn Endres

Dissertations

This purpose of this exploratory qualitative study was to explore the experiences of former volunteer leaders who served in the role of president for a professional association. A qualitative design framed by phenomenology is appropriate when seeking to understand individual reflections on a common experience (Brinkmann, 2008, Patton, 2018, Creswell & Poth, 2018). The research was framed as exploratory due to the limited qualitative studies on leadership in professional associations, and more information to understand this experience can be gained by using the qualitative phenomenological method. The phenomenon of focus in this study is motivations related to volunteer leadership, in …

An Examination Of Specific Learning Disability Identification Post Participation In The Michigan Department Of Education Transformation Zone, Erin E. Senkowski

Dissertations

The identification of students with specific learning disabilities has evolved since the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) in 2004. This reauthorization gave state agencies parameters that disallowed using the severe discrepancy model for identification as a stand-alone method. In response to this change, Michigan provided Intermediate and local school districts with further guidance that disallowed the use of the severe discrepancy model for identifying children with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLDs) and instead required Intermediate School Districts, on behalf of their local districts, to choose one of three models, including Patterns of Strengths and Weakness (PSW), …

A Design Thinking Mixed Methods Study On Empathy In A Midwest University Writing Center, Sue Sinclair Edele

Dissertations

The scholar practitioner explored the problem of practice in the role of empathy in writing center services, focusing on tutoring training. The research aimed to determine if empathy training and mindfulness could enhance the empathetic practices of writing center staff, and if such enhancements would make students using writing center services feel more included, seen, and heard during tutoring sessions. The problem of practice was examined through three lenses: tutor training, understanding empathy in the context of a writing center environment, and the perceptions of empathy from the students using writing center services. A mixed-methods approach, incorporating both qualitative and …

Understanding Chemistry Concepts Through Analogies And The Frayer Model, Ashley A. Walls

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate how high school Honors chemistry students create and learn from analogies that were created using the Frayer Model. Pragmatism, analogies in science, and Reality Pedagogy served as the theoretical foundation of this study. A phenomenography method was used to answer the following research questions: What connections do high school honors chemistry students make when using analogies relating chemistry concepts to their prior knowledge, interest, or hobbies? What are high school honors chemistry students’ perceptions of the use of the Frayer Model for analogy creation? How do high school honors chemistry students of …

The Causes Of Teacher Burnout And Its Impact On The Personal Lives Of Teachers, Neisha Williams

Dissertations

Abstract

This qualitative study focused on the experiences of high school teachers in the state of Georgia, United States. The purpose of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the reasons why high school teachers experience burnout and how the occupational burnout impacts their personal life. This study was also conducted to fill the gap in the literature and gain insight on the burnout teacher perspective on what causes burnout and what actions need to be made at various (local, district, and state) levels to help manage or eliminate burnout entirely. The theoretical framework used for this study …