Digital Commons Network^™

Meeting Free Appropriate Public Education And Least Restrictive Environment Requirements For Students With Disabilities During The Coronavirus-19 Pandemic: Implications For Special Education Directors, Vanessa Lee Giddings

Dissertations

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004) addresses educational access in a brick-and-mortar setting but does not specifically address how to meet the parameters of free appropriate public education (FAPE) and least restrictive environment (LRE) in an online or virtual setting. An increased desire by students with disabilities and their parents to select online learning, coupled with the Coronavirus (COVID)-19 global pandemic, prompted many school districts to pivot to remote learning for an extended period and disrupted the traditional educational system (Molnar et al., 2021). This phenomenological research study elevated the lived experiences of special education directors during the …

Dan Forrest’S The Breath Of Life: A Podium Guide With A Study Of The Compositional Techniques And The Integration Of Texts Used To Mirror The Emotional Arc Of The Human Life Cycle, Brian Keith Dukeshier

Dissertations

Dan Forrest’s the breath of life is a contemporary composition the author believes will be performed numerous times in future years after the extensive physical and emotional effect the pandemic had on the world. Although composed prior to the pandemic, the breath of life could bring comfort and a salve to the hurt and pain of humankind caused by the pandemic but will also affect the emotional state of loss for years to come for all humanity. This work exhibits Forrest’s use of acousmatic electronics with choir and orchestra. Biblical texts as well as poetry written by three poets from …

Intelligent And Explainable Solution To Predict Infant Birthweight And Preterm Birth In The United Arab Emirates, Wasif Khan

Dissertations

Adverse pregnancy outcomes such as Low Birth Weight (LBW) and Preterm birth (PTB) are complex pregnancy challenges that can lead to high perinatal mortality and long-term morbidity for infants. Early prediction of such adverse outcomes can be useful for averting catastrophic outcomes for the mother and her baby. With advances in machine learning (ML)-based algorithms, several models have been proposed for both PTB and LBW predictions. However, the risk factors associated with these outcomes are still unknown, particularly in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Furthermore, existing ML-based prediction models work in a black-box manner and lack proper interpretations for clinicians, …

Inviting The Outside In: Nature's Contribution To Counselor Wellness, Naomi Medina

Dissertations

The positive influence of nature on client wellness and psychological health (BonhamCorcoran et al., 2022) is well reflected in the emergence of nature-based counseling interventions such as wilderness therapy, walk talk therapy, and horticulture therapy, among other counseling modalities that involve aspects of the natural world (Lewis et al., 2022). This suggests that the inclusion of nature within the counseling session could also contribute to the wellness of the counselor. The purpose of this research was to determine the extent to which presence of nature contributes to counselor wellness and which of the five senses may play a greater role …

Lived Experiences Of School Counselors Working In Conjoint Roles In A Multisystem Framework To Address The Mental Health Needs Of Students, Angela Cano Sampson

Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of school counselors working in conjoint roles as social–emotional leaders and mental health professionals (MHPs) to address the mental health needs of students through multisystem collaboratives (MSCs) and school-based systems of mental health care (SBSMHC).

The role of the school counselor has expanded into becoming a social–emotional leader and school MHP advocating for comprehensive social–emotional learning and the “school-linked” movement that coalesced their exclusive professional proficiency with both school-based and community resources working to enhance initiatives for student psychosocial development in ways that would increase student assets …

An Empirical Analysis Of Asylum-Seeking, Migration And International Trade, Olawale David Adisa

Dissertations

This paper aims to provide an empirical analysis of asylum seeking, migration, and international trade. These issues are among the most pressing challenges of our time and understanding the various factors that drive these phenomena and the relationships between them is crucial. Through rigorous analysis and examination of real-world data, this paper aims to contribute valuable insights into these topics. The paper is structured into three chapters, each focusing on a specific area of investigation. The first chapter explores the impact of asylum decisions on future asylum applications. Utilizing a panel data approach that covers 205 countries from 2000 to …

Deficiency Of Adipose Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Protects Against Diet-Induced Metabolic Dysfunction Through Sexually Dimorphic Mechanisms, Nazmul Haque

Dissertations

Calorie imbalance due to high energy intake vs. expenditure is considered a major cause of obesity. Molecular mechanisms underlying diet-induced obesity remain unclear due to the complexity of disease progression. The impact of environmental factors contributing to obesity also remains poorly understood. Activation of the xenobiotic sensor, aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), by obesogens may contribute to diet-induced obesity. AhR has the potential to influence lipid metabolism, insulin resistance, and the development of diabetes. Activation of AhR increases the risk of metabolic dysfunction by impairing adipose tissue function. Thus, the hypothesis was that conditional AhR depletion specifically from mature adipose tissue …

Security Research For Blockchain In Smart Grid, Lanqin Sang

Dissertations

Smart grid is a power supply system that uses digital communication technology to detect and react to local changes for power demand. Modern and future power supply system requires a distributed system for effective communication and management. Blockchain, a distributed technology, has been applied in many fields, e.g., cryptocurrency exchange, secure sharing of medical data, and personal identity security. Much research has been done on the application of blockchain to smart grid. While blockchain has many advantages, such as security and no interference from third parties, it also has inherent disadvantages, such as untrusted network environment, lacking data source privacy, …

A Leadership Laboratory: Exploring The Use Of Case-In-Point Pedagogy To Develop Complex Thinking In Leaders, Erica Corley Jackson

Dissertations

Leadership scholars have identified a growing gap between the complexity of 21^st century organizations and the capabilities of individuals in positions of leadership to adequately address these challenges. This gap has contributed to a so-called complexity crisis—a situation in which the demands placed on those in leadership positions increases “at a rate that significantly outstrips the rate at which” leaders are cognitively developing (Rich-Tolsma & Oliver, 2016, p. 1). One way to respond to this growing need for complex adult thinking is through metacognitive development initiatives. However, finding educational methods to promote metacognitive development has proven to be …

Factors That Affect The Motivation And Satisfaction Of Emiratis Workforce In Critical And Key Positions: The Case Of The Uae Media Sector, Afra Sulaiman Al Mheiri

Dissertations

With the economic boom of the UAE in recent years, the country has seen a major change in terms of employment of Emiratis and expatriates and influx of foreign job-seekers into UAE market. Despite the federal government's continued efforts to promote Emiratization and create a favourable business environment that attracts Emirati job-seekers, a slight improvement in the employment situation of Emirati workers, especially in key positions in private media sector. Although the UAE media sector plays a key role in reshaping the sociocultural landscape and is used as a soft tool of public diplomacy, it is slow in achieving Emiratization …

Upgrading The Performance Of Steel Beams Using Fastened Advanced Composite Materials, Omnia Ragab Abouelhamd

Dissertations

Bonding Fiber-Reinforced Polymers (FRP) is commonly used to enhance the structural performance of existing steel beams; however, the brittle failure at the adhesive risks the effectiveness of the bonded system. Fastening FRP is recently proposed to avoid the brittle failure of the adhesive. Promising outcomes of few studies on fastened FRPsteel system provoked the interest to investigate the effects of various fastening parameters on the performance of fastened FRP-steel beams.

This study investigates, experimentally and numerically, the impact of various fastening parameters on the performance of fastened FRP-steel beams. The proposed method involves fastening carbon-glass hybrid FRP (HFRP) strips to …

Electrodialysis Process For The Simultaneous Treatment Of Reject Brine And Capture Of Carbon Dioxide, Jawad Mustafa

Dissertations

Desalination plants are highly efficient in producing desalinated water for potable applications. However, the process also generates reject brine, which is highly concentrated saline water. In order to produce 1 liter of potable water using desalination, approximately 1.5 liters of reject brine is generated. The disposal of reject brine presents a significant challenge for the desalination industry. Typically, this waste product is discharged into the sea, causing environmental damage, and polluting marine life. Moreover, certain countries heavily rely on desalination to meet their potable water needs, which results in the emission of greenhouse gases. As desalination plants consume a significant …

How Exemplary California Community Colleges Vice Presidents Of Student Services Use Conflict Leadership Strategies To Establish Common Ground And Produce Breakthrough Results: A Phenomenological Study, Ieisha Smith

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological conceptual replication study was to discover and describe how exemplary California Community Colleges vice presidents of student services establish common ground and produce breakthrough results by using the six domains of conflict leadership strategies (ethical behavior, shared interests, emotional intelligence, problem-solving, collaboration, and communication).

Methodology: This qualitative phenomenological study explored and described the impact of using conflict leadership strategies to establish common ground and produce breakthrough results as perceived by California Community Colleges vice presidents of student services. I was part of a thematic team of six peer researchers and faculty advisors who developed …

Championing Equity: Culturally Responsive Leadership Strategies Of California Community College Eops Leaders, Cara Demyra Askew

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this ethnographic study was to identify and describe how CCC EOPS leaders are culturally responsive in their leadership strategies, based on Horsford et al.’s (2011) culturally relevant leadership framework.

Methodology: This qualitative ethnographic study identified and described culturally responsive leadership techniques among 16 CCC EOPS leaders. Participants were purposefully chosen based on a predetermined set of criteria for the study. The researcher collected two types of data to gain firsthand knowledge of CCC EOPS leaders’ lived experiences. Data was captured using web-based semi-structured interviews and artifacts, which were subsequently coded and analyzed to identify themes and …

A Quantitative Methods Examination Of The Relationship Between Student Academic Performance And The Race And Gender Of School Administrators, Tiffaney Whitt

Dissertations

This quantitative methods study identified and tested research-based constructs of school administrators’ race and gender compared to discipline, attendance, and academic achievement. This study aimed to address inequities in educational practices, policies, and systems that directly impact student academic success in schools. The quantitative analyses included statistical ANOVAs and t-tests that examined a convenience sample of 68 elementary school administrators' annual accountability data from 68 Missouri urban elementary schools. To determine differences between the gender and race of school administrators and discipline, attendance, and student proficiency, the researcher examined secondary data from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education …

Leading From The Middle: Culturally Responsive Strategies Utilized By Mid-Level Student Services Leaders Within California Community Colleges, Amandeep Kandola

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this ethnographic study is to identify and describe how California Community College Student Services mid-level leaders are culturally responsive in their leadership strategies, based on Horsford’s et al. (2011) Culturally Relevant Leadership Framework.

Methodology: This ethnographic study identified and described culturally responsive leadership strategies utilized by 16 mid-level Student Services leaders within the California community colleges using Horsford et al.’s (2011) Culturally Relevant Leadership Framework. Participants were identified and selected through purposeful criterion sampling. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews and the collection of artifacts. The data was then analyzed and coded to identify themes and …

Counter Narratives: A Phenomenological Study Of Inner-City Catholic School Teachers, Staci Wadlington

Dissertations

Educational experiences of children can have positive or negative impacts on their future. This study used a method, counter-narratives, identified by Critical Race theorists to document the shared experiences of inner-city Catholic school educators during one of the most important time periods of education in our country, post Brown v Board of Education (1954). Using a qualitative and phenomenological approach, the researcher interviewed educators from an inner-city Catholic school to investigate their experiences during the post-restructuring phase, which essentially segregated a select group of schools from the larger archdiocese school system. These targeted schools were renamed, provided an alternate governing …

Student Movements, Politics, And Policy In Chile, 2001 – 2012, Leesa Rasp

Dissertations

Chile has frequently been touted as an economic miracle, the “Jaguar of Latin America”. Boasting the strongest economy in South America, due to severe neoliberal economic structural adjustments made under the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet, it has long been held up as the perfect exemplar of economic growth and stability, as well as the poster child for the effectiveness of neoliberal economics. After the re-establishment of democracy in 1990, political conditions improved as well; the country enjoyed a decade of stability and peace under its first two democratically-elected governments.

Yet, beginning approximately ten years after the transition to democracy, …

The Influence Of Diamine Curing Additives On The Network Architecture Of Phthalonitrile Thermosetting Polymers, Tyler J. Richardson

Dissertations

Phthalonitrile monomers undergo diamine-promoted polymerization by a complex reaction mechanism involving two competitive cure pathways, forming two primary network architectures: linear polyisoindoline chains and branched triazine crosslinks. The influence of the diamine curing additive on the polymerization pathway, and the influence of the resulting network architectures on cured network properties, have not been adequately explored within the phthalonitrile field. Two structurally different diamine curing additives, bis[4-(3-aminophenoxy)phenyl] sulfone (mBAPS) and 1,3-phenylenebis((4-(4-aminophenoxy)phenyl)methanone) (AEK-134), were studied for the polymerization of resorcinol phenylphosphate phthalonitrile (RPPhPN), where the influence of diamine structure and concentration on the polymerization behavior, network architecture, and bulk thermal and thermomechanical …

Unleashing Your Power: Principal Support And Its Relation To Teacher Longevity In Hard-To-Staff Schools930, Tracy Smith

Dissertations

Teacher attrition, the percentage of teachers who leave the field of education, has been a critical issue for many years. From general education teachers to special education teachers, from elementary to secondary, from public to private schools, and from rural to urban schools, much human and monetary capital are being spent to recruit and retain quality teachers; however, with very little success. Some research reports that the turnover rate is much larger for teachers than in other professions in the United States (Ingersoll, 2001). Ingersoll exclaimed that the teacher attrition rate was “twice the rate of nurses and five times …

You Can Get There From Here: A Phenomenological Study Of Help-Seeking Behavior And Experiences Of Student Military Veterans In Community College, Donivan Foster

Dissertations

This phenomenological study described the experiences of student military veterans in a community college with physical and psychological health needs. Each participant enrolled in the community college by utilizing the benefits of the post-9/11 GI Bill and transitioned from active duty to civilian life. More than 40,000 programs in the United States are designed to assist veterans transitioning to civilian life (Carter, 2013). Further, the health needs and transition experiences of military veterans have been well-documented. Numerous programs seek to reduce barriers; however, many veterans experience challenges when using the programs or services (Perkins et al., 2019; Aronson et al., …

Attentive Presence: A Lived Experience Of Human Becoming, Karen A. Carroll

Dissertations

Attentive presence involves a vigorous rhythmical flow of relating to another, it makes explicit that the other is cherished, and it is inextricably related to the way people make choices about what is important. It is a universal lived experience that is important to health and quality of life. The purposes of this research were to identify the structure of the lived experience of being attentively present to another and to contribute to knowledge about human becoming, the nursing theory that guided this study. Participants included 11 families whose members ranged in age from 7 to 81 years. These family …

Faculty Perceptions Of Preparation Of Medical And Nursing Students For Interprofessional Collaboration, Jacqueline M. Loversidge

Dissertations

The effectiveness of teams comprised of physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and allied health care providers is critical to the safe and effective delivery of health care. Teamwork is necessary in the current health care environment because patient problems and health care needs have become so complex that no single practitioner can be expected to manage them effectively alone.

Do Allyship And Motivation Influence Women’S Cognitive Functioning And Self-Regulation After Witnessing Sexism?, Christina Garasky

Dissertations

Prior research shows the effects of sexism can accumulate over time, resulting in severe negative, cognitive, affective, motivational, and physiological consequences for women; however, most research focuses on the consequences of being a direct target of sexism, and the cognitive and motivational consequences of being a witness of sexism have not yet been fully explored. Additionally, while it is thought that allyship can help mitigate the consequences of sexism, minimal research has tested this relationship. It was proposed that shifts in reactive approach motivation (RAM); aimed to protect against anxiety and negative affect, may direct attention away from goal-oriented behaviors, …

Experiences Of Family Caregivers For Adults With Oxygen Dependent Copd, Virginia A. Warner

Dissertations

This study investigated the caregiving experiences of family members who care for oxygen dependent adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A grounded theory design was used with a sample of 13 English speaking primarily non-urban caregivers who provided uncompensated care for oxygen dependent family members. Interviews using a semi-structured open ended interview guide were audiotaped and analyzed using constant comparative analysis to develop the caregiving model.

The Motherhood Crusade: Rural Low-Income Mothers, Support, And Empowerment, Christina Castellano

Dissertations

Previous research has shown that postpartum women with untreated mental health conditions are more likely to fail to manage their own health, have inadequate nutrition, abuse substances, experience abuse, be less responsive to their baby’s needs, have fewer positive interactions with their baby, experience difficulties breastfeeding, and question their abilities as a mother. Rural culture plays a complex role in the transition to motherhood, influencing whether mothers seek out and use resources. While more is known about location and access issues, less is known about how rural culture and, more specifically, how empowerment and social support impact postpartum experience. The …

Homegrown: Pastor Advocacy For Victims Of Sex Trafficking, Julie Heifner

Dissertations

Human trafficking consists of both sex trafficking (ST) and labor trafficking (LT) and is a growing problem for the United States. The Federal Human Trafficking Report (2019), states that Missouri is ranked ninth in the country for active criminal human trafficking cases. This issue is particularly prevalent in our churches because churches serve vulnerable populations and predators may be drawn to churches. Religious academic literature about pastor advocacy for victims of ST is lacking, while popular news sources reference case after case where pastors are the predators. This study consisted of nine Christian pastors who currently served in a pastoral …

Effectiveness Of Follow Up Phone Calls On Postpartum Women After Discharge: A Program Evaluation, Camille Williams

Dissertations

After an expectant mother gives birth, they are closely monitored for 48 to 72 hours after delivery and then discharged from the hospital. They are then typically seen by their physician for a postpartum follow up appointment within six to eight weeks for their postpartum follow up visit. Although complications during this postpartum period can still arise, postpartum women are rarely assessed during this time. Follow-up phone calls have been known to improve patient outcomes and communication between patients and providers once patients are discharged from the hospital. In January of 2020, the Mother/Baby Unit at a midwestern metropolitan hospital …

Loss Scaling And Step Size In Deep Learning Optimizatio, Nora Alosily

Dissertations

Deep learning training consumes ever-increasing time and resources, and that is
due to the complexity of the model, the number of updates taken to reach good
results, and both the amount and dimensionality of the data. In this dissertation,
we will focus on making the process of training more efficient by focusing on the
step size to reduce the number of computations for parameters in each update.
We achieved our objective in two new ways: we use loss scaling as a proxy for
the learning rate, and we use learnable layer-wise optimizers. Although our work
is perhaps not the first …

Nurses' Experiences In Assessing Decision-Making Capacity Of Older Patients, Peggy N. Flannigan

Dissertations

A qualitative study was undertaken to explore and describe nurses' experiences in assessing decision-making capacity of patients over age 65 years. Their experiences with surrogate decision-makers were also described including specific health care decisions for which surrogate decision-makers were sought.