Digital Commons Network^™

Perceptions Of Out-Of-School Reading Motivation For Female Middle School Students, Danielle Porch

Dissertations

Literacy engagement and motivation to read is lacking in middle school reading classrooms. Educators struggle with the challenge of motivating students to read and actively engage with text both inside and outside of school. Research indicates that female and male middle school students have unique characteristics and habits as readers. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the perspectives of female middle school students regarding their out-of-school recreational reading time, their attitudes towards reading, and their reading habits. The themes derived from this study indicated the students’ desires to have their reading instruction personalized and have their reading …

Mechanism Of Sila- And Germafluorenes For Biological Applications, Shelby Jarrett

Dissertations

2,7-disubstituted silafluorenes and germafluorenes, originally designed for OLED applications, are a class of fluorescent dyes that have gained recent interest as probes for bioimaging and as biosensors to monitor cellular dynamics and interactions. Desirable biological probes absorb in the visible region, have high extinction coefficients, high quantum yield and excellent photostability. Here, their spectral properties are investigated under aqueous conditions for relevant biological applications. These molecules display intense blue fluorescence in the solid state and in solution, have high extinction coefficients, and exhibit appreciable solubility in aqueous solution. To better understand potential applications, the mechanism of fluorescence was investigated. It …

No One Can Whistle A Symphony: Analyzing Growth In Proficiency For English Learners In Coteaching, Debra Ann Cole

Dissertations

K-12 ELs in the U.S. are increasing in number and diversity (Park, et al., 2018), requiring schools to establish and grow language instruction education programs (LIEPs) that facilitate language acquisition for a wide range of learners, while also providing equitable opportunities to learn. The study used a quantitative, pretest-posttest, research design to address gaps in the literature noted by Takanishi & Menestrel (2017), regarding which LIEPs are most effective for various EL subgroups, and to explore the effects of Coteaching for ELs (COTEL) on growth in proficiency. Data from 723 ELs in two Midwestern districts was disaggregated three ways to …

Using Contingent Praise To Increase Visual Engagement In An Asynchronous Online Learning Environment: An Eye Tracking Study, Andrew Rozsa

Dissertations

As more students move to online learning, this results in not only new barriers but new opportunities in academia. The purpose of this study was to examine how behavior-contingent praise affects visual engagement with an online video lecture when using WebGazer, a publicly available eye tracking software, with a user’s integrated webcam. A second aim of this study was to examine if using WebGazer with an integrated webcam was a valid alternative to hand scoring when collecting visual engagement data. Results of WebGazer measurement indicated a moderate effect size for three participants in the presence of contingent praise, and …

Fostering Teacher-Student Relationships: A Case Study Connecting Middle School Teachers, Authentic Local History, And Empathetic Competence, Richard A. Buschard Jr., Diane Clark, Lauren Cobb, Brian J. Esselman

Dissertations

TThis co-authored qualitative case study explores the challenge of teachers connecting with their students at the middle school level, especially when White teachers serve predominantly African-American students in large urban metropolitan areas like St. Louis, Missouri. While research has established the need for teachers to better understand the background experiences of their students, more research is needed to explore the value of place-based professional development in promoting more effective teacher-student relationships (TSRs). Using a psychological theory known as Relational-Cultural Theory (RCT), we sought to examine the following research questions while also applying this theory to the field of education: What …

Parent Distress, Parent-Child Interactions, Child Distress And Child Cooperation During Cancer Treatment-Related Port Starts: A Caring Perspective, Jinbing Bai

Dissertations

Children reported more suffering from cancer treatment-related painful procedures than cancer itself. Appropriate parent interaction behaviors can help children cope with these painful procedures. Swanson's Theory of Caring provides a framework to formulate parent interaction behaviors. This dissertation consisted of three separate papers to investigate parent-child interactions during cancer treatment-related port starts.

We Eat, We Live, We Repeat: Reimagining Food Heritage Through Foodways And Sustainable Food Practices, Caitlin L. Crain, Amy L. Roznos, Britt L. Tate Beaugard, Darius L. Williams

Dissertations

The purpose of this co-authored, mixed methods descriptive research study was to examine how the intersection of foodways and sustainable food practices helps define the food heritages of St. Louis area residents. While prior research examines these concepts separately, and even shows connections with other factors such as health and discrimination, none look at all of these concepts together—a gap this research fills. To that end, this dissertation describes the intersection of cultural foodways and connection to sustainability in seeking a definition of food heritage and a path towards sustainable food heritage for St. Louis residents. Purposeful sampling using the …

Effects Of Forest Restoration On The Recovery Of Dead Wood, Associated Arthropods, And Insect-Mediated Wood Decomposition, Estefania Fernandez Barrancos

Dissertations

Dead wood represents 8% of terrestrial carbon stocks and is an important source of habitat and food for decomposer and non-decomposer arthropods. However, anthropogenic disturbance reduces the amount of dead wood, putting at risk the presence of a habitat that is essential for many arthropods and other organisms that rely on it for food and shelter. Forest restoration aims to assist the recovery of ecosystems that have been damaged or destroyed and could be a means to recover both dead wood and its associated arthropod communities. This doctoral dissertation lies at the intersection of climate change, biodiversity loss and ecological …

Media Narrative Competition Between The U.S. And China During Covid-19, Zhenzhu Zhang

Dissertations

This study examines the narratives that were presented in Chinese and American media by using Dr. Li Wenliang (one of the first people who tried to raise the alarm about the outbreak of COVID-19), and the COVID-19 origin controversy as case studies to understand how these news stories conflicted and which tellings became dominant. The way these two cases have been depicted in the media has changed over time. Understanding how that depiction changed is important because it helps demonstrate how narratives function to frame crises. The current study uses narrative, and framing theories to support thematic analysis of news …

An Exploration Of Factors That Impact Role Strain Among Undergraduate Clinical Instructors Teaching In Wisconsin Nursing Programs, Julie A. Astrella

Dissertations

The United States is in the midst of a nursing faculty shortage, particularly those that provide clinical instruction. Clinical instructors play an integral role in undergraduate nursing education by bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and nursing practice; this position is also the most difficult to recruit for and retain. The factors negatively impacting faculty retention are complex, but research finds that role strain is a prominent reason for job dissatisfaction and a contributor to faculty attrition.

Provider Education And Routine Implementation Of The Scoff Questionnaire On The Detection Of Eating Disorders At The Primary Care Level: A Program Development Project, Emily Archer

Dissertations

The detection of eating disorders has been cited as a challenge at the primary care level. Literature has shown both a lack in provider knowledge on eating disorders, as well as the routine use of a single, all-inclusive tool to identify distorted eating behaviors and habits in the primary care setting. Early detection of eating disorders is vital as they are associated with long-term and potentially fatal ramifications.

Masculinity, Health Beliefs And Implications For Health Policy Among Men In Trinidad And Tobago, Oscar N. Ocho

Dissertations

Over the last three decades, men's health has emerged as an area of research interest. The relationship between male socialization, the performance of masculinity and health behaviour has been well established. Within the Caribbean, however, there is a gap in the literature on how masculinity affects health beliefs and behaviour.

This study explored men's accounts of "doing" masculinity and the implications for health beliefs and behaviours in order to make recommendations for developing male sensitive health services.

Compassion Satisfaction And Compassion Fatigue Among Pediatric Nurses And The Impact On Patient Satisfaction, Maribeth Thornton

Dissertations

Compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction are two inter-related concepts. Individuals in helping professions may occasionally face compassion fatigue from giving so much of themselves to others. Compassion fatigue has been studied in a variety of settings: medical, social work, nursing, law enforcement, and fire departments, to name a few. While some researchers have studied nurses, little published work has focused exclusively on nurses who care for specialty pediatric populations. Additionally, there is scant research on whether compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue are associated with patient satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of compassion satisfaction and …

Military Instructors' Perspectives Of Integrating Instructional Multimedia Into Military Classrooms, Keontra Campbell

Dissertations

The United States Army has made efforts to meet the demand for digital technology. There is a continued need to train Soldiers with integrated multimedia instruction products to ensure soldiers are combat-ready. The purpose of this study was to investigate military instructors' lived experiences and perspectives on interactive multimedia instructional (IMI) product integrations' influence on students learning experiences and knowledge transfer and to understand the challenges instructors face, the strategies, needs, barriers, and the resources they use when integrating IMI products at a U.S. Army School of Excellence. The study uses a qualitative research design using a phenomenological approach. The …

Use Of Early Specialty Hesi Exams As Predictors Of Hesi Exit Examination Performance In Baccalaureate Degree Nursing Program, Cathy E. Hansen

Dissertations

This study explored standardized testing outcomes used early in a baccalaureate nursing (BSN) education program in traditional and second-degree students in order to identify predictors of outcome on the program exit examination (HESI E²). Defining early predictors of student outcomes may more accurately identify student need for early intervention, offer timely remediation, optimize success, and minimize attrition in nursing education programs. The purpose of this correlational quantitative study was to determine if a relationship exists between student outcomes on four HESI specialty exams (fundamentals, health assessment, pathophysiology, and pharmacology) and the performance outcomes on the HESI E^{2 …}

Interview-Informed Synthesized Contingency Analyses On Challenging Problem Behavior: A Single-Case Meta-Analysis, Lauren Layman

Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to conduct a thorough review of the literature on the Interview Informed Synthesized Contingency Analysis (IISCA) developed by Hanley et al. (2014) and its subsequent treatments. A total of 39 articles were identified as including an IISCA to assess the function of participants’ destructive problem behavior. Twenty-nine articles also conducted function-based interventions designed from the results of the IISCAs. Within those 39 studies, 235 participants participated in 293 synthesized contingency analyses (SCA) and 111 treatment evaluations. Results indicated that 95.56% of SCAs in the included studies were reported to be differentiated. Likewise, Tau-U …

Programming Maintenance For The Mystery Student Intervention, Sarah Litten

Dissertations

The current study evaluated the effects of the Mystery Student Intervention (MSI) in university and community-based preschool settings on the appropriate and disruptive behaviors in the classroom utilizing a randomized independent group contingency. This study extended the literature base of the MSI, which was previously conducted in Head Start classrooms by Pasqua (2019), and Pasqua and colleagues (2021) which determined the MSI to be effective at reducing disruptive behaviors in the classroom setting. A nonconcurrent multiple baseline design across three classrooms was used. This study also sought to further extend the literature by evaluating programmed maintenance using a partial sequential …

Exploring Educational Issues: International Nursing Students Enrolled In Professional Nursing Programs In South Texas And Their Perceptions Of Educational Barriers, Wanda R. Sparks

Dissertations

This qualitative study explores educational challenges as manifested in the experiences of the English language learner (ELL) nursing students enrolled in a professional nursing program in San Antonio, Texas. Eleven participants were interviewed for this study using 7 open-ended questions. The research methodology applied in this study was interpretive, guided by phenomenology with the lived experiences of the ELL nursing students being the focus of the analysis.

Discourse analysis and thematic analysis revealed the following themes: (a) student study habits, (b) student distress, (c) student support system, and (d) student learning tasks. Each theme is discussed in depth and supported …

Clinical Nurse Faculty And The Lived Experience Of Clinical Grading, Bernadette Amicucci

Dissertations

Clinical grading is one approach to assure that future nurses have the knowledge and skills to provide safe patient care. The phenomenon being explored for this study was the experience of clinical grading for clinical nurse faculty. Through the use of a qualitative phenomenological method, the lived experience of grading nursing student clinical performance for experienced clinical nurse faculty in pre-licensure programs is described. Eleven full-time nursing faculty were recruited using a purposive technique to obtain a convenience sample. Each participant first underwent an initial in-depth personal interview followed by a brief follow-up interview a few weeks later. The van …

Meta-Analysis Of Daily Behavior Report Cards, Meleah Ackley

Dissertations

Daily Behavior Report Cards (DBRCs) have proven effective across a vast array of behaviors and students by provide a rating system for school staff to report students’ behavior progress. The current meta-analysis included eleven studies between 2007-2022, wherein participants ranged from preschool to sixth grade. The current study further investigated the evidence base by including the current What Works Clearinghouse standards (2020) to determine methodological rigor of single-case designs employing DBRCs. Standardized mean difference calculations for omnibus effect showed that DBRCs significantly improve student outcomes. Moderators of DBRC IOA, multiple baseline design type, and publication status explained some variability within …

Personal Digital Assistants: Their Influence On Clinical Decision-Making And The Utilization Of Evidence-Based Practice In A Baccalaureate Nursing Students, Carol S. Gorelick

Dissertations

During the last decade, the advent of the personal digital assistant (PDA) and the development of clinical software specific to nursing practice have changed the way that many nurses manage information and workload. More recently, PDAs have become a standard tool in undergraduate nursing education. Though there is substantial discussion in the literature on PDA technology, the emphasis there has been descriptive and anecdotal. Since 2002, nurse authors have reported that PDA use has reduced medication errors and streamlined data gathering. This has lead to speculation that use of the PDA is a clinical tool that supports evidence-based practice and …

Learning Transfer Evidence In Baccalaureate Senior Nursing Students Using A Disaster Emergency Preparedness Tabletop Exercise, Cathleen A. Evans

Dissertations

Little is known about learning transfer in senior baccalaureate nursing students, therefore, the primary purpose of this research was to describe senior nursing students' learning transfer evidence for basic disaster and medical-surgical nursing concepts during a tabletop exercise, an academic strategy used in disaster preparedness education. A second purpose was to document participants' attitudes regarding the tabletop exercise. The organizing framework for this descriptive quantitative research was Perkins and Salomon's Learning Transfer. Learning transfer is content, context, and time bound from the original learning circumstance.

The research questions were 1. What is the relationship between Disaster Knowledge and Tabletop-Matrix scores …

Patient Portal Use And Patient Education Materials Access Among Mississippi Adult Residents, Anna K. Swann

Dissertations

Patient education plays a vital role in improving the health outcomes of patients with chronic diseases and helps prevent illness in otherwise healthy individuals. Patient portals allow patients to access their EHRs, communicate with their healthcare providers, and access patient education materials. Despite the potential for patient portals and education materials to improve health outcomes, many barriers prevent patients from utilizing them. Uneducated patients are more likely to participate in risky health behaviors, which leads to poor health outcomes. Poor health outcomes lead to higher medical costs. Mississippi has a high rate of chronic diseases. Suppose the barriers to patient …

Latina Superintendents And The Role Cultural Intelligence Plays In Their Leadership: El Líderazgo Inteligente De Superintendente Latinas, Cristina Cortes

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative multicase study was to describe the culturally intelligent leadership practices used by Latina superintendents based on Earley and Ang’s (2003) cultural intelligence scale. The four dimensions of cultural intelligence (CQ) are metacognition, cognition, motivation, and behavior.

Methodology: This phenomenological multicase study was conducted through interviews of four Latina superintendents of California public schools. The researcher selected a qualitative method because it would describe the culturally intelligent leadership practices based on Earley and Ang’s (2003) dimensions of CQ.

Findings: Close examination of data from interviews and artifacts yielded 221 frequencies for the four domains of …

A Comparison Of Fixed Pay, Piece-Rate Pay, And Bonus Pay When Performers Receive Tiered Goals, Alejandro Ramos

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the performance of participants under three pay systems when all were given five tiered goals. Seventy-one undergraduate students were randomly assigned to receive either fixed pay, base pay with bonuses, or piece-rate pay. Over the course of six 45-minute sessions, one of which served as a covariate, participants engaged in a computerized simulated medical record data entry task. The primary dependent variable was the average number of correctly completed medical records per session. An increasing relationship was expected to be found between the three groups with respect to the number of correctly …

Three Essays In The Economics Of Education, Md Ohiul Islam

Dissertations

This dissertation explores three distinct topics in the economics of education. These topics explore the relationship between factors such as race, gender, national origin, and educational and labor market outcomes. Educational attainment in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) areas receives a major focus in this dissertation; a college-level specialization in STEM areas generally leads to high incomeyielding career tracks. Below I briefly explain the research objectives and findings of each chapter.

The first chapter focuses on the impact of teacher-student demographic mismatch on student success in classrooms at the high school level. When students, particularly those of disadvantaged …

Factors In Graduate Student Resilience And Intention To Persist During Doctoral Study, Amber Mosley

Dissertations

Attrition is a major problem for the doctoral education system and in particular for underrepresented groups. Research has proposed several reasons for students dropping out that include both personal and programmatic variables. A review of the literature identified several factors that overlap in the research on attrition, resilience, and intention to persist however, there have also been varied results across studies and very few studies focused specifically on doctoral students. Doctoral education can be considered in three phases of the education process, each with its own stresses and challenges. Factors and variables that could be the most helpful for universities …

Examining Digital Proficiency Perceptions And Differences In Achievement During The Covid-19 Pandemic In A Rural Mid-Western High School, Tiffany Rae James Young

Dissertations

In response to the Covid-19 Pandemic, schools worldwide were forced to react quickly to meet the needs of all students in an unprecedented time of change for all facets of society. Through a mixed-method approach, this study aimed to explore the effect of hybrid learning on student achievement, as well as the effect, if any, of teachers’ perceptions of their own digital abilities on student achievement. The research also examined the thoughts of students and teachers as it pertained to teaching and learning during the global pandemic. To analyze the effect of hybrid learning on student achievement, the researcher compared …

Teacher Evaluation In Saudi Arabia Relative To National And International Teacher Evaluation Standards And Best Practices, Suhayb Kattan

Dissertations

Teacher evaluation systems are essential in tracking the quality and effectiveness of teachers and education systems. This dissertation examines the teacher evaluation system in Saudi Arabia through multiple perspectives, including research-based frameworks for teacher evaluation, norms and best practices from OECD countries, and established Saudi Teaching Standards. An explanatory sequential mixed methods model was used. Data collection involved 643 responses to a teacher survey that covered working conditions, existence of professional learning communities, and teacher evaluation practices, methods, and uses. Following the survey, in-depth interviews were conducted with 11 teachers and 3 key informants.

Findings from this study indicate the …

Investigating Pedestrian Distraction By Phone At Intersection Crossings, Safety Implications And Potential Treatments, Lusanni Mercedes Acosta Rodriguez

Dissertations

Road user distraction is a major safety concern. The issue is not only for drivers, but also for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians. Every year people are involved in potential and real crashes due to being distracted while walking/crossing streets. Although there are several ways by which pedestrians are distracted, phone use while crossing streets is among the riskier and growing behaviors. Crossing an intersection, especially those with heavy traffic, requires full attention from the individual. Inattentiveness to traffic while on a phone call, texting, web-surfing, listening to music before crossing a street can lead to a fatal crash. …