Digital Commons Network^™

Paying For Performance: Public School Property Taxes And Public-School District Performance In Missouri, Keenan Daniela Kinder

Dissertations

An increase in the property tax rate of a school district creates an increase in local revenues for the district (Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. [MODESE], 2017). The overarching question becomes: Do increases in the local tax levy compare to improved student performance? The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the difference between property tax rates of Missouri public school districts to student performance as viewed through the lens of benefit tax theory (Duff, 2004). Secondary data were obtained via the MODESE which included property tax rates and information from the Annual Performance Reports for public …

Understanding The Experiences Of Students Re-Admitted After Academic Suspension As Part Of A University-Initiated Process: A Qualitative Study, Gary L. Versalle

Dissertations

Student persistence and retention continues to be a major issue facing most institutions of higher education. With ever more diverse student populations, researchers studied a multitude of groups and sub-groups of students based on ethnicity, sex, socioeconomic status, or age. These studies looked at how these various student groups can be supported and retained. Students who returned to school after having been academically dismissed are one group which has been consistently underreported. Reentry practices remained largely unchanged and still require the student to initiate the process. This phenomenological study examined the experiences of students accepted into the Reclaim the W …

Do Zebrafish Exhibit A Placebo Response? Fluoxetine Conditioning In Chronically Stressed Adult Zebrafish (Danio Rerio), Kanza M. Khan

Dissertations

Placebo responses are a widely observed phenomenon in humans and animals alike. In humans, placebo responses are largely attributed to expectancy processes, and conditioning (Stewart-Williams, & Podd, 2004). In the clinical setting, the placebo response is very useful as it has the power to improve physical and/or psychological states, without the need for treatment with a higher drug dose. In clinical trials however, researchers must control for potential placebo effects. Still, despite the experimental control, placebo responses are widely observed during phase 2 and phase 3 clinical trials, resulting in a weak drug effect. In the effort to improve the …

Predicted Deepwater Bathymetry From Satellite Altimetry: Non-Fourier Transform Alternatives, Maxsimo Salazar

Dissertations

Robert Parker (1972) demonstrated the effectiveness of Fourier Transforms (FT) to compute gravitational potential anomalies caused by uneven, non-uniform layers of material. This important calculation relates the gravitational potential anomaly to sea-floor topography. As outlined by Sandwell and Smith (1997), a six-step procedure, utilizing the FT, then demonstrated how satellite altimetry measurements of marine geoid height are inverted into seafloor topography. However, FTs are not local in space and produce Gibb’s phenomenon around discontinuities. Seafloor features exhibit spatial locality and features such as seamounts and ridges often have sharp inclines. Initial tests compared the windowed-FT to wavelets in reconstruction of …

Exploring Temperament In Beluga Whale Calves (Delphinapterus Leucas), Beri Brown

Dissertations

Studies of personality and temperament in humans span many disciplines, although animal research is still relatively undeveloped. Research investigating stable individual differences in marine mammals has been limited, and to date there have not been any studies with beluga whales. As an ongoing longitudinal study, seven beluga calves, housed at SeaWorld San Antonio, were videotaped throughout their first two years of life. Four videos were selected from archived video recordings for each calf from the following nine phases: newborn phase (month 1), Q1 (month 2-3), Q2 (month 4-6), Q3 (month 7-9), Q4 (month 10-12), Q5 (month 13-15), Q6 (month 16-18), …

A Study Of Advancement: Female Superintendents Breaking The Glass Ceiling, Tiffany Caywood Brunner

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the career progression of female superintendents located in southwest Missouri. The inequitable balance of women represented at the highest levels of district leadership is a national, state, and local concern (American Association of School Superintendents [AASA], 2015). Women who do ascend to the superintendent's positions, despite the odds, are in the minority (Brunner & Grogan, 2007). A qualitative, narrative research lens was used in this study to capture individual career accounts and interpretations of career advancement of the female superintendent. Data collection centered on personal, one-on-one interviews with female superintendents located throughout …

The Effects Of Within-School Consultation On General Education Teachers’ Use Of Behavior-Specific Praise With Students With Emotional Disabilities, Darrelanne M. Sundeen

Dissertations

Students identified with emotional disabilities (ED) are increasingly being included in the general education academic classrooms. Most general education academic teachers have little training or exposure to the characteristics and interventions associated with students with ED. Behavior-specific praise (BSP) has been shown to be an effective intervention for decreasing problem behaviors in the classroom. Unfortunately, studies have shown that teachers generally provide low rates of praise to secondary students and less so to secondary students with ED. This study used a multiple baseline single-subject design across participants to assess whether the use of within-school consultation intervention which involved regular structured …

An Analysis Of Prey Resistance And Long-Term Temporal Changes In Venom Composition Within Rattlesnake Populations, Thomas Michael Mccabe

Dissertations

Venoms are complex mixtures of toxic constituents used by venomous snakes to incapacitate prey, to defend against threats, and to aid in pre-digestion of prey items. Snake venoms vary based on a number of characteristics, including but not limited to individual identity, species, geographic range, and ontogeny. While much is understood about snake venom variability, relatively little is known as to how venom changes or is stable through time. This doctoral dissertation focuses on elucidating the nature and mechanism of compositional change in the venoms of two rattlesnake species, the Northern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus oreganus) and the Desert Massasauga …

Teacher Evaluation Practices That Promote Teacher Development In Two Middle Schools, Andrea M. Smith

Dissertations

Federal legislation and public awareness have pushed teacher evaluation into the spotlight as a strategy for improving schools (Marzano & Toth, 2013). Mounting evidence to support the importance of the classroom teacher, the shift in focus to accountability for student learning, and the dismal state of teacher evaluation at the turn of the 21st century created the foundation for a federal impetus for teacher evaluation reform (Hallinger, Heck, & Murphy, 2014; Marzano & Toth, 2013; Murphy, Hallinger, & Heck, 2013; Papay, 2012). Much of the policy debate focused on teacher evaluation as a method of assessing and measuring teacher performance …

Scaffolded Discourse Within A Comprehensive Literacy Model, Kimberlee Wagner

Dissertations

Research has shown that successful models of school change have several common features: a balance of teacher autonomy and accountability, high-quality professional development, quality leadership, and the support of an outside partner. One model that has these features is the comprehensive literacy model within the Partnership of Comprehensive Literacy model. This mixed methods study examined the language of scaffolding that occurred in three settings within the model: grade level meetings, coaching and mentoring, and small group instruction. Participants in this study included the literacy coaches, interventionists and first-grade teachers at two schools within the PCL network. Three levels of scaffolding …

Construction Of Efl Teacher Educators’ Knowledge Base In A Teacher Education Program In Nicaragua, Angel María Dávila

Dissertations

AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand and describe the sources of Nicaraguan EFL teacher educators’ knowledge base, the types of knowledge and skills that constructed their knowledge base, and the relationship of this knowledge base and classroom practices in a teacher education program at a Nicaraguan University. This study presents a literature review on the sources of knowledge and knowledge base of EFL teacher educators in the field of language teacher education. I used a purposeful sampling technique to select both the research site and the six EFL teacher educators who …

Documentary Production As A Site Of Struggle: State, Capital, And Precarity In The Contemporary Chinese Documentary, Jiachun Hong

Dissertations

Documentary filmmakers have been considered artists, authors, or intellectuals, but rarely as labor. This study investigates how the nature of work as well as life is changing for those who work in the expanding area of TV documentary in China, in the midst of China’s shift towards a market-based economy. How do documentary makers reconcile their passion for documentary making with the increasingly precarious conditions of work? And, how do they cope with and resist the pressures of neoliberalism to survive in increasingly competitive local and global markets? Based on data gathered through the interviews with 40 practitioners from January …

Are Experienced Principals More Likely To Implement The Attributes Of The Three-Minute Walkthrough Program Than Less-Experienced Principals?, Trent Mosley

Dissertations

Today, in this era of accountability, school improvement rests heavily on the shoulders of building principals. Apart from being managers of school operations, disciplinarians, and community leaders, these individuals are also expected to be strong instructional leaders (Crum & Sherman, 2008). Principals now must engage in strategies that will lead the cycle of continuous improvement. One such strategy that has emerged is classroom walkthroughs (Cervone & Martinez, 2007). Classroom walkthroughs serve as a vehicle through which principals can engage teachers in a process that can lead to positive effects on teaching strategies through instructional conferences (Blasé & Blasé, 1998; King, …

The Effect Of Item Stem And Response Option Length On The Item Analysis Outcomes Of A Career And Technical Education Multiple Choice Assessment, Tina M. Koepf

Dissertations

Critical decisions in Career and Technical Education (CTE) can be based on assessment outcomes, requiring an essential focus on continuous improvement initiatives to provide increased multiple choice (MC) assessment validity. Previous research has determined that the presence of flawed test items negatively impacts student success; therefore, an MC taxonomy has been established and used in the assessment industry. While rigorous and successful Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs that enroll high-level academic students exist, many CTE programs enroll students with a wide spectrum of academic ability. Because many CTE students often have inferior reading skills, it is necessary to take …

The Uses And Gratifications Of Streaming Live Linear Sports Networks Online, Benjamin Whittle

Dissertations

The streaming of live sports television channels online is changing how sports fans access live sports T.V. content. This new technology is becoming a greater challenge to traditional cable/satellite television services as Americans continue to cancel their cable services for new online streaming options. DirecTV Now, SlingTV, PlayStation Vue, YouTube TV, among others, are offering sports fans access to the most popular live national and regional sports T.V. networks online via live streaming, allowing them to bypass traditional cable. These new services provide subscribers’ access to their favorite channels anywhere and on any mobile, internet connected device.

The purpose of …

Becoming Malala: A Discourse Analysis Of Western And Middle Eastern Print And Broadcast Coverage Of Malala Yousafzai From 2012-2017, Tamar Meguerditchian Gregorian

Dissertations

Deutsch Wells’ Kyle McKinnon called her the “most famous teenager in the world” (McKinnon, 2013). Her name is Malala Yousafzai, and at the age of 14 she stood up to the Taliban for threatening her right to an education and was shot in the head. In less than a decade, she became one of the youngest and most influential activists, known to the world simply as Malala. As a Middle Easterner, Muslim and “media darling,” Malala is no doubt an interesting activist to study.

This discourse analysis examined the media coverage of Malala in Western and Pakistani media from 2012-2017; …

Structural Model Of Child Routines And Self-Regulation In Relation To Parenting And Externalizing Behavior Problems In Young Children, Lovina R. Bater

Dissertations

The relationship between parenting practices and externalizing behavior problems in preschool children is well established; however, the mechanisms that explain this relationship are less understood. It is suggested that the structure and predictability created by child routines allow children the opportunity to become aware of and learn to regulate their behaviors accordingly, yet only a couple of studies have examined this relationship. Therefore, this study examined competing models (i.e., direct, indirect, and serial mediation models) to help determine which model captures the relationship between the variables of interest. It was hypothesized that each model would have good model fit but …

23 Illinois Administrative Code 50: Redefining The Formal School Site Observation In Principal Evaluation (A Policy Advocacy Document), Noah Riley

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This document explores how the establishment of a Principal Evaluation Steering Committee (PESC) to implement and monitor U.S. District X’s Illinois Principal Evaluation Plan (IPEP) may ensure the effectiveness of its principals as capacity builders who facilitate meaningful and productive systems change. The PESC intervention helps ensure principals and their staff is engaging in purposeful reflective practice and collegial inquiry activities and exercises designed to increase their cognitive, emotional, interpersonal, and intrapersonal capacities (Drago-Severson, Blum-DeStefano, & Asghar, 2013). This document outlines the positive and effective impacts in the contexts of educational, economic, social, political and, moral and ethical …

The Relationship Between Emotional Competence And The Supervisory Working Alliance: A Study Of Doctoral Counselor Education Supervisors And Master’S-Level Counselors-In-Training, Elizabeth Gilchrist Tolliver

Dissertations

Emotional competence (EC) is an individual’s ability to skillfully embark into emotionally-laden interactions (Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso, 2008). Counselors rely on EC to build a therapeutic alliance with clients, while supervisors rely on EC to build a supervisory working alliance (SWA) with counselors-in-training. A strong SWA impacts counselor development (Ellis, 2001). Previous research suggests that SWA may be impacted by multicultural competency, supervision style, gender, and age (Bhat & Davis, 2007; Crockett & Hays, 2015; Doughty & Leddick, 2007). EC and SWA have been studied independently, but not in the context of the master’s level counselors-in-training (CITs) and doctoral education …

Labor And Social Identity In Ancient Peru: A Bioarchaeological Perspective, Sarah Katherine Muno

Dissertations

AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF Sarah K. Muno for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Anthropology, presented on September 26, 2018 at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: LABOR AND SOCIAL IDENTITY IN ANCIENT PERU: A BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Izumi Shimada This dissertation presents a bioarchaeological study of labor and social identity in coastal Peru during the Late Intermediate Period (900 – 1470 CE), using data from contemporaneous Middle Sicán (Sicán Precinct and El Brujo, north coast) and Ychsma (Pachacamac, central coast) mortuary contexts. I combine information about funerary treatment with skeletal evidence of trauma, degenerative joint disease, …

The Prologue To Management: The Effects Of Historical Anthropogenic Activities On Forest Ecosystems And Current Management Opportunities In Southwestern Illinois, John Timothy Lovseth

Dissertations

Forest disturbance occurs on a wide gradient of selectiveness and creates new growth opportunities for adapted species. Across the spectrum of disturbance, anthropogenic disturbance influences community assembly in the Midwest more than other mechanisms but is its role in shaping and maintaining ecosystems is inadequately considered in most discussions on the historic range of variability (HRV). Forest resiliency is threatened by unprecedented agents of ecosystem change such as invasive species and reduced regeneration potential of native species. Historic anthropogenic disturbance largely resulted in forest conditions which commonly contained high value attributes like heterogeneity across habitat types and landscape diversity, yet …

Teacher, Tutor, Scholar, Administrator: Preparation For And Perceptions Of Graduate Writing Center Work, Katrina Bell

Dissertations

This research uses a mixed methods approach to explore the both the preparation for and perceptions of graduate consultant writing center work. A review of literature shows a gap in both the knowledge surrounding graduate writing consultant education and the long-term outcomes or transfer of writing center training and work to post-graduate careers. The survey instruments in this study draw from two established studies, the Peer Writing Tutor Alumni Research Project and the National Census of Writing, while a request for curricular artifacts draws on case study research conducted by Jackson et al. Findings indicate that graduate consultants are being …

Analysis Of The Cis-Regulatory Element Lexicon In Upstream Gene Promoters Of Arabidopsis Thaliana And Oryza Sativa, Belan Khalil

Dissertations

AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF BELAN M. KHALIL, for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Plant Biology, presented July 11, 2018, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: ANALYSIS OF THE CIS-REGULATORY ELEMENT LEXICON IN UPSTREAM GENE PROMOTERS OF ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA AND ORYZA SATIVA. MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr Matt Geisler Gene expression in plants is partly regulated through an interaction of trans-acting factors with the promoter regions of the gene. Trans-acting factor binding sites consist of short nucleotide sequences most often present in the upstream promoter region. These binding sites, the cis-regulatory elements (CREs), vary in structure, complexity and function. In …

Bayesian Estimation Of Mixture Irt Models Using Nuts, Rahab Al Hakmani

Dissertations

The No-U-Turn Sampler (NUTS) is a relatively new Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm that avoids the random walk behavior that common MCMC algorithms such as Gibbs sampling or Metropolis Hastings usually exhibit. Given the fact that NUTS can efficiently explore the entire space of the target distribution, the sampler converges to high-dimensional target distributions more quickly than other MCMC algorithms and is hence less computational expensive. The focus of this study is on applying NUTS to one of the complex IRT models, specifically the two-parameter mixture IRT (Mix2PL) model, and further to examine its performance in estimating model parameters …

The Evaluation Of Attitudes Towards Individuals With Mental Illness Among Counselors In Training, Randall Boen

Dissertations

Negative attitudes and stigma associated with mental illness have a profound impact on individuals who experience them. Researchers have defined stigma as the attribution of a deviant characteristic to members of a particular group. Persons with severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI) face many difficulties that impact their full participation in social life. Although attitudinal reactions to individuals with SPMI have improved considerably over the last few decades, there are still areas for improvement. Limited research has been conducted to evaluate attitudes and stigma associated with individuals with SPMI among human service professionals-in-training (HSPs). For this study HSPs were defined …

Provider Perspectives: Examining The Transition From Ei To Ecse, Katherine Ancell

Dissertations

Children with disabilities might experience multiple transitions during their early years. One important transition that occurs for many children with disabilities or developmental delays and their families is the transition from Early Intervention (EI) to Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) services at three years of age. The stress of this transition may be exacerbated for families of young children with disabilities as the shifts between services involve many choices and decisions depending on the child’s level of need. Effective transition procedures for children with disabilities sets the stage for future positive or negative transition experiences and optimal learning experiences in …

A Change Plan For District Professional Learning And Teacher Collaboration In The Area Of Elementary English Language Arts Instruction, Scott Carlson

Dissertations

This change plan used Wagner et al.’s (2006) framework to assess the arenas of culture, context, conditions, and competencies of a small suburban school district to create a plan for professional learning and teacher collaboration in the area of English Language Arts instruction. However, a backmapping approach could be used to plan professional learning in any subject area. Building on the judgments and recommendations from my program evaluation, I hope to move the school district toward a more comprehensive model of transformational learning. A secondary goal of this change plan is to build the capacity of the district’s staff development …

A Program Evaluation Of District Professional Learning Practices Using The Standards Assessment Inventory, Scott Carlson

Dissertations

This paper details an evaluation of a school district's professional learning program for the purpose of understanding major patterns and important nuances that give shape to staff development. The perceptions of teaching staff were compared to Learning Forward’s Standards for Professional Learning (2011) using the Standards Assessment Inventory-2. The research design followed a single-case study approach with a combination of survey and focus group methodologies. The goal was to determine to what extent the teaching staff perceive the impact of district professional development on their professional learning community. Teachers were also asked how we might strengthen our current learning designs. …

Examining The Perceptions Of Principals To Improve Professional Development Opportunities And Support From Central Office: A Program Evaluation, Noah Riley

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

The work of Louis, Leithwood, Wahlstrom, and Anderson, (2010), Manna (2015), Leithwood and Azah (2016) validates that principals can have a powerful influence on instruction and learning in schools. Supporting principals’ growth with professional development, therefore, is critical to building principals’ competencies as instructional leaders. Although school districts are unique in internal and external conditions (e.g., educational, political, and financial); which may influence their approach to supporting principals, a useful place for all school districts to start is with an appraisal of principals’ perceptions of current support and professional development from central office; regardless of district internal and external …

Creating Conditions For A Collaborative Relationship Between Principals And Their Supervisors: A Change Initiative, Noah Riley

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Studies by Kelley and Peterson (2002), Drago-Severson, Blum-DeStefano & Asghar (2013) and other researchers, have shown that in order for principals and other building leaders to be able to demonstrate the required expectations of “new” principal standards, they must engage in ongoing supervision, evaluation, coaching, and continuous career-long professional development. These studies also suggest that school districts, in their support and development of principals’ growth in competency capacity building, are more effective when the principal supervisor works in collaboration with principals they supervise/evaluate in a trusting, mutually respectful relationship of shared accountability for improving instruction and learning. This change …