Digital Commons Network^™

Paper People And Digital Memory: Recreating The Public And Private In Japan, Meghan Sarah Fidler

Dissertations

This research examines how reading and writing on digital platforms establishes public and private spheres in Tokyo, Japan. Based upon findings from a group of students at an international University, I develop new modes of thinking about people and their use of Internet capable devices by exploring the paradoxes present in contemporary literacies. Contextualizing reading and writing within the speech patterns and exchange rituals (aisatsu) which mark public spheres in Japan, writing practices are found to reflect multiple nuanced identity performances in which the varied use of the cultural principles uchi/soto (inside/outside) and ura/omote (back/front) create parallel publics. Constructed by …

"I Don't Want To Hurt Anyone's Feelings": Using Race As A Writing Prompt In First Year Writing, Dianna Shank

Dissertations

First Year Composition (FYC) is one of the most important courses for any incoming college student. This course (often designated as English 101) provides students the rhetorical tools to fully engage in critical thinking and writing on the college level. One of the most common methods of organizing FYC is to use a topic as the center of all the reading and writing prompts. The use of outside subject matter to teach FYC is a common practice that is rarely interrogated for its effectiveness. However, the Hairston debate in the early 1990s opened up a public discussion of how FYC …

From Teachers' Control Of Curricula To Curricula's Control Of Teachers: An Analysis Of Loss Of Autonomy In The Lnstructional Labor Process, Joseph Daniel Abbott Jr.

Dissertations

This dissertation explores how the labor process of public school teaching, a white-collar profession, is deskilled. In a content analysis of English/language arts teacher’s manuals and teacher’s editions of student textbooks, I examine public school teachers’ degree of autonomy from an objective, macro-analytical perspective. Applying Harry Braverman’s (1974) theory of the degradation of the modern worker under monopoly capitalism, I explain how teacher deskilling reflects structural factors in the work context that prevent teachers from accessing their professional and personal skill sets via the separation of conception and execution in the instructional labor process.

The formal curricula drive the teaching …

Three Essays On Gender Differences On Risk Preferences And Credit Market Constraints, Jyoti Rai

Dissertations

The disadvantages that women face in the financial market hamper their social and economic well-being. These disadvantages may arise from their own risk preferences or from financial market. The aim of this dissertation is to examine different aspects of the disadvantages that women face in the U.S Financial Market. In that light, I present three essays that analyze gender differences in risk preferences and credit market constraints. I use the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) data for all my empirical analysis.

In the first essay, I examine whether women exhibit greater financial risk aversion than men using attitudinal and behavioral …

The Relationship Between Racial Ambiguity And Self-Concept In Multiracial Lndividuals, James R. Jobe

Dissertations

The present study examined the relationship between racial ambiguity and self-concept in multiracial individuals. Research as to the experiences of multiracial people is limited both in frequency and in scope. As multiracial individuals continue to grow in number, understanding their unique experiences will become more important to social scientists (e.g., psychologists, anthropologists, sociologists) across disciplines. The current study examined two hypotheses and explored a series of additional relationships. The theoretical framework that was utilized for this study was Symbolic Interaction Theory. This theory provided an effective way to understand how people use and make meaning of their surrounding social contexts …

Into The Looking Glass: Undergraduate Students' Integrating And Illuminating Their Wisdom And Experiences As Global Citizens, Sarah Jean Wyscaver

Dissertations

Five undergraduate students shared stories about the wisdom they gained while working to integrate their global citizen identity into their every day lives. Using a postcolonial theoretical framework and portraiture methodology, this inquiry followed participants during a 13-day global service-learning experience in Yucatán, Mexico. Through on-site observations, creative representations, and two in-depth interviews, provide new understandings about the ways in which five diverse college students integrate and illuminate their global citizen identities emerged. Participant portraits revealed themes based on global citizen identity integration as it relates to personal history, ethnic legacy, and educational narratives among participations. Further analysis revealed participants’ …

Educational Resiliency In Teen Mothers, Linnea Lynne Watson

Dissertations

Teen pregnancy has been heralded as a social issue that affects families for generations. While recent research has shown the long-term effects are not as devastating as once predicted, more than 40 years after the passage of Title IX, legislation mandating equal educational opportunities for pregnant and parenting teens, only 50% of teen parents graduate high school, lagging far behind their non-parenting peers. Additionally, most of the research on this at-risk population comes from the social science field rather than the educational arena, leaving a research gap on the educational opportunities teen parents receive from within the field of education …

A Monte Carlo Study Of The Optimal Rank Order Relationship With Criterion Scores, Hongyan Cui

Dissertations

Appropriate scoring methods for tests should be based on theories of the construct domains of such tests (Messick, 1989). This is called structural fidelity (Loevinger, 1957), a necessary but not sufficient condition for construct validity (Keith & Kranzler, 1999). A situation reaction test (SRT) consists of items with alternatives to be ranked according to subjects’ best judgment. Traditional rank scoring methods assume unidimensionality, implying one scoring key for each item – a single external criterion. This is not appropriate when items elicit multidimensional responses determined by subjects’ best judgments based on possibly multiple internal criteria. The purpose of this study …

Comparing Mississippi's Public University Graduation Rates For Community College Completers And Non-Completers, Andrew Clark Dale

Dissertations

This study is based on the notion that in Mississippi, a large number of Mississippi community college academic students transfer to 4-year universities in-state, as is the case in Alabama (Sacksteder LaClair, 2010). Mississippi community colleges have had a hard time tracking students who leave the institution without graduating. This study sought to document the most accurate numbers in community college completers and discover how many of Mississippi’s community college students are successful at the university level. Data were collected on former community college students at five of the state’s eight public four-year universities. The study revealed that 82% of …

The Relationship Of Postsecondary Outcomes For Students With Disabilities In Kentucky Schools, Stephanie Dawn Cornwell

Dissertations

In order to compare the postsecondary success rates of students with disabilities in rural areas to those in urban areas in Kentucky, data were accessed from the Kentucky Postsecondary Outcome Study, a longitudinal study created to monitor the employment and education status of students with disabilities during their final year of high school and one year after exiting high school. U.S. Census data were also utilized to determine various demographic information and rural or urban classification of selected areas. Results show that the geographic classification as rural and suburban has a strong relationship with the postsecondary outcome for students with …

Symptom Burden And Healthcare Utilization In Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension, Catherina Anne Madani Phd

Dissertations

Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rapidly progressive disease. There is currently no cure; thus treatment is aimed at prolonging survival, improving functional status (FS), and symptom mitigation. Symptom burden (SB) can impact quality of life (QOL), and lead to increased healthcare utilization. Palliative care (PC) has been associated with higher QOL, decreased depression, aggressive care, and mortality. The Institute of Medicine's (IOM) recent report supports earlier integration of PC for people living with serious illness. Detection of patients at high risk for heavy SB may help to identify patients who could benefit from earlier integration of PC into …

Depressive Symptomatology And Perceived Social Support In Adolescents With Type 2 Diabetes, Kristiana Gay Huffman Cullum Phd, Cpnp

Dissertations

Type 2 diabetes has increased dramatically in the pediatric population in the last decade. One of the comorbidities of diabetes is depression. In the presence of depression, diabetes may be mismanaged by patients and lead to a decline in health. Diabetes with comorbid depression may have better disease management outcomes in the presence of higher levels of social support. Defining childhood depression, which encompasses adolescence, and the subtleties of this disorder compared to the adult counterpart, was needed to better delineate important variables for this research study. There are several instruments that evaluate adolescents' perceived social support, but a fairly …

Children’S Right To Be Heard: Exploring Children’S Perceptions Of Happiness And Factors Contributing To Happiness In The Pre-School Environment., Donna Tobin

Dissertations

There has been a growing recognition for children’s voices to be heard on matters which affect their lives. This has been encouraged by the ratification of the UNCRC in Ireland which has influenced numerous other policies. This study aims to provide an opportunity for young children to have their voices heard and demonstrate how children can be involved as active research participants in empirical research. An emphasis was placed on positive psychology. The aim was to explore the children’s perception of happiness and ascertain the factors which contributed to their happiness within the pre-school environment. Fifteen children attending a pre-school …

A Study Of Serious Violent And Sexual Offenders Released On Supervised Licence In Northern Ireland Between 2010 And 2013., Alexandra Delimata

Dissertations

Extended Custodial Sentences for serious offenders were introduced under the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2008. Recall rates for these offenders appear disproportionately high compared with other types of public protection sentenced offenders in Northern Ireland. Guided by life-course theories and using mixed methods of quantitative and qualitative research, the study investigates the outcomes for ECS offenders released into the community between 2010 and 2013. Content analysis developed profiles of all (N=57) ECS offenders released under supervised licence by 31 December 2013 and examined characteristics of recalled (N=31) and non-recalled (N=26) offenders to identify possible contributing factors to recall. The …

“If They Fail That First Year, It’S Very Hard For Them To Recover”: An Exploration Of Factors That Support And Hinder The Transition To Mainstream School For Children With Special Educational Needs And Their Families., Fiona Hassett

Dissertations

The transition to school is increasingly recognised as a significant life event for children, with a positive or negative transition impacting on their social and emotional wellbeing and academic achievements. Children with special educational needs are at an increased risk of a poor adjustment to school and their families are vulnerable to additional stresses due to the child’s special educational needs. The transition to school is therefore an important period for these families, and the supports available to them to make this transition as smooth as possible are essential to provide children with the best possible start to formal education. …

Using Psychosocial Development Theory And Personality Typology In Identifying At-Risk Characteristics Of College Honors Students, Dennis Lark Lancaster

Dissertations

While substantiating the effectiveness of honors programs to increase learning among the academically gifted, assessment and any associated outcomes should also be effectively used to understand the psychosocial development challenges of these students and, at the same time, increase their learning in and out of the honors environment. Robinson’s (1997) research showed that, saddled with the typical college student’s at-risk characteristics, e.g., first-generation status, low-income, financial limitations, etc., gifted students also face unique adjustment challenges in terms of their social development. These challenges include habits and attitudes associated with and/or resulting from not having to work at their studies in …

The Experience Of Reducing Environmental Risks In An Environmental Justice Community, Gabriela Dory

Dissertations

Research on Environmental Justice (EJ) communities has focused on quantitative assessment of environmental hazards and general physical health problems. Little is known about how individuals living in EJ communities perceive their environmental risks and how they reduce environmental risks. The purpose of the study is to explore and describe the perceived environmental risks and the experience of reducing environmental risk among individuals living in an EJ community.

A qualitative and longitudinal design with a descriptive phenomenological method is used to recruit 23 participants living in a known EJ community in the urban area of New Jersey. A total of 43 …

Stories Of African American Male Principals Following The Intra District Desegregation Plan, Candice Chere Carter-Oliver

Dissertations

Consequences of school desegregation on African American families, educators, and communities in the United States are well documented in education research today. The State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center-St. Louis located at the University of Missouri-St. Louis encompasses multiple records of school desegregation. The symbolic 1954 Brown v Board of Education decision which determined the dual education system of St. Louis City illegal had a lasting impact upon the students, teachers, and principals it served. The work of this dissertation is to tell of the stories in writing of specific African American men who served as principals during the …

Black Teachers And St. Louis Public School Teacher Strikes Of 1973 And 1979, Sharleta L-Shae Williams

Dissertations

Within St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS), Black teachers taught on the north side of the city, while the White teachers taught on the south side. Because of the divide within teaching locations, there followed a larger rift between teacher organizations. The National Education Association (NEA) before the Brown vs. Board of Education ruling (1954) did not affiliate themselves with Black teachers whereas the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) was supportive of the integration of civil rights from the beginning. In the years from the Brown ruling until 1980, St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS) had two teacher organizations the St. Louis …

Experiences And Perspectives Of Practitioners In Culturally Diverse Early Childhood Education And Care Centres In Ireland, Ana Janelidze

Dissertations

Early childhood care and education (ECCE) settings in Ireland have become increasingly multicultural. While policy documents and curricular guidelines for ECCE in Ireland emphasize the importance of addressing diversity and equality issues, implementation of culturally relevant practices may vary according to practitioners‟ skills, knowledge, perspectives and previous experiences with cultural diversity. The purpose of the study was to represent variety of perspectives that practitioners might hold regarding cultural diversity in ECCE. It represents an exploratory study of four practitioners‟ perspectives and experiences of cultural diversity in two multicultural ECCE settings in Dublin, Ireland. Phenomenological methodology was applied to the study …

The Standard Deviation: Attitude Transference And Perceptions Of Deviant Behavior, Candace Forbes Bright

Dissertations

This dissertation uses a three-article dissertation model to 1) compare how deviance is defined and what is considered deviant comparing the United States to South Korea using content analysis, 2) test socio-demographic and social network variables in the development of one’s approval of deviance using eleven ordinary least squared regression models, and 3) examine the association between social networks and approval of deviant behaviors using social network analysis. All three articles use data from a survey on perceptions of deviant behavior. The survey was conducted in English and Korean. The first article provides comparisons on how deviance is defined and …

The Long-Term Impact Of Preschool Education On Student Achievement, Amy L. Britt

Dissertations

While many studies have been published about the short-term effects of preschool on student achievement, few long-term studies have been completed. The focus of this study was to determine whether students who attended schools that offered preschool demonstrated improved student achievement in communication arts and math in fourth and eighth grades. Quantitative data, including MAP scores for 2010, 2011 and 2012 in communication arts and math, were reviewed. The participants included rural schools with similar demographics as evidenced by membership in Missouri Association of Rural Education. A survey was administered to superintendents of the same schools. The data revealed that …

Hardiness, Social Support, Parental Stress, And Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms In Recent Service Members, Victoria Jane Tomassetti-Long

Dissertations

Previous research has demonstrated a link between PTSD symptomatology (PTSS) and parenting stress in veterans. As the literature on veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is increasing, there has been a call to identify variables which may contribute to positive outcomes in these service members (e.g., Cornum, Matthews, & Seligman, 2011). Hardiness is a personality variable that describes an individual’s sense of commitment, control, and challenge in light of life stress and has been identified as a protective factor against the development of psychological symptoms and parenting stress in combat veterans. Social support also seems to have benefits …

The Role Of Chief Diversity Officers In Institutionalizing Diversity And Inclusion: A Multiple Case Study Of Three Exemplar Universities, Cynthia D. Dávalos Phd

Dissertations

Due to demographic shifts and the changing political and economic landscape, universities are experiencing increased demands to produce a culturally competent and well-trained globally minded workforce. To address these demands in a systematic manner, several universities have created a new senior level administrative position to direct campus diversity and inclusion efforts. This position known universally in academia as the Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) is responsible for institutionalizing diversity and inclusion so that diversity moves from the margins of the university to the center and becomes a standard way of thinking and doing business. Given this high-level executive leadership design, the …

Principal Emotional Intelligence And Teacher Perceptions Of School Climate In Middle Schools, Ashley Dawn Meadows Allred

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the correlational relationship of principals’ emotional intelligence on the perceptions that teachers have of a school’s climate. The Organizational Health Inventory for Middle Schools (OHI-M) served as the assessment for teachers’ perceptions of the school climate or the overall health of the organization. Principals’ emotional intelligence competencies were assessed using the Mayer Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test version 2, hereinafter referred to as the MSCEIT V.2.0. Participants of the study included 22 principals of public middle schools in Mississippi. There was an average of 45 teachers employed at each middle school.

A Pearson …

Conceptualizing Doctoral Student Mentoring, Flint L. Brent

Dissertations

In this study, there was a convenience sample of 145 doctoral students from 35 states and the District of Columbia. The demographic breakdown of the participants was 101 females and 44 males, with an age range of 22 through 68 years of age, and there were 98 Caucasian and 23 African American participants. The modal doctoral student was 36 years old, heterosexual, Caucasian, and female in the dissertation phase of pursuing a PhD. In this study, the modal doctoral student defined an ideal mentor as someone who functions as a role model, and demonstrated integrity, provided guidance, and developed a …

Influence Of Resources, Resource Loss, And Coping Response On Food Management Practices And Food Security, Simone Perette Camel

Dissertations

Food insecurity has been associated with compromised health and wellness. Current literature regarding coping strategies and practices employed by the food insecure often describes food management and acquisition practices, and/or the riskiness of these practices. Material and personal resources such as income, time, self-efficacy, and social support have been identified as predictors or influencers of food security status. In this study, the Conservation of Resources theory was used to conceptualize resources and resource loss as they relate to food practices and food security. It was hypothesized that the level of resources would influence food security status and the adaptive food …

Passports, Global Citizenship, And The Black Student: A Qualitative Study Uncovering The Dispositions Of Undergraduate African American Students Regarding Global Citizenship, Jenaya Lévon Perdue

Dissertations

Global citizenship is an elusive concept that spans a multitude of disciplines and is coming to the forefront of conversations at institutions of higher learning, as colleges and universities grapple with training and shaping their student body into scholars useful and sensitive to the needs of our society and world in the 21st century. Morais and Ogden (2011) captured the essence of global citizenship in three tenets, which are social responsibility, global competence, and global civic engagement. Using the three tenets of Morais and Ogden (2009), as well as a definition developed based on research, this researcher sought to discover …

An Analysis Of The Educational Experiences Of African American Male Prison Inmates Enrolled In A Voluntary College Vocational Program: Variables That Encourage Or Preclude Postsecondary Degree Attainment, Kenton Rondelle Mershon

Dissertations

There are approximately one-third more African American men who are incarcerated than those who are enrolled in postsecondary education. While in prison, African American male inmates are exposed to a variety of experiences such as mental illness and depression. Despite their impaired judgment and reasoning skills, there are some African American male prison inmates who have an avid interest in obtaining an education and completing a college program while incarcerated. Therefore, I documented their experiences in their college vocational programs. The value of a college education in prison is significant for inmate development. It affords inmates the opportunity and ability …

Privatization, State Militarization Through War, And Durable Social Exclusion In Post-Soviet Armenia, Anna Martirosyan

Dissertations

In the literature focusing on various aspects of the twin transitions from socialism, development and social well-being are mainly analyzed with respect to privatization process (Stark and Bruszt 1998, Applegate 1994); economic growth and institutional design (North 1990; Elster, Offe, and Preuss 1998; Kolodko 1999; Norgaard 2000); party and election politics, the development of social networks and deliberative associations (Stark and Bruszt 1998); and the bargaining power of labor (Bandelj and Mahutga 2005). While the importance of these factors is not underestimated, this study addresses a significantly understudied theme – social exclusion as a consequence of overweening state power. The …