Digital Commons Network^™

Challenges And Opportunities Of Chinese Immigrant Students With Intellectual Disabilities In Transition Services, Xin Qing

Dissertations

The purpose of this ethnographic study is to understand the experiences of newly immigrated Chinese students with intellectual disabilities who are in transition programs. In depth interviews were conducted with four students and their families. Quality of life, sense of self, nature of relationships, beliefs about disability, and challenges and opportunities are examined. The study surfaces complex social, cultural, and economic factors that impact students’ experiences. Data indicates that participants’ sense of self are informed largely by negative experiences with others based on perceptions of disability combined with negative experiences of being a new immigrant. They expressed feeling lonely and …

A Case Study On The Experiences Of Black Men Participating In An African-American Male Initiative At A Post-Secondary Institution, Michael A. Gibson

Dissertations

In the United States, African-American men are dominant in the entertainment industry mainly in sports and music. However, their success in entertainment does not translate to education. Many Black men grow up not having a positive experience in education, thus they do not see its value. However, many see the value in striving after a false sense of masculinity comprised of sex, drugs, money, and crime. This research was conducted to see how effective Black male mentorship through an African-American Male Initiative could be for Black males in a post-secondary institution in providing the positive experience in education that they …

Analysing Online User Activity To Implicitly Infer The Mental Workload Of Web-Based Tasks Using Defeasible Reasoning, Paul Mara

Dissertations

Mental workload can be considered the amount of cognitive load or effort used over time to complete a task in a complex system. Determining the limits of mental workload can assist in optimising designs and identify if user performance is affected by that design. Mental workload has also been presented as a defeasible concept, where one reason can defeat another and a 5-layer schema to represent domain knowledge to infer mental workload using defeasible reasoning has compared favourably to state-of-the-art inference techniques. Other previous work investigated using records of user activity for measuring mental workload at scale using web-based tasks …

A Mixed Method Analysis Of Leveled Literacy Intervention With Second Grade Students In An Urban Midwest Public School, Angela Glass

Dissertations

Early identification and intervention for struggling readers increased the likelihood of students identified as proficient; ultimately leading to future success. The researcher sought to evaluate the Leveled Literacy Intervention (LLI) program in a Midwest urban school district, to help close the achievement gap between students’ reading levels and students reading on grade level. The purpose of the study was to investigate the difference in STAR reading scaled scores between struggling 2nd grade students who received LLI and peers who did not receive LLI. The researcher also examined the possible relationship between the increase in students’ literacy skills and fidelity of …

The United Arab Emirates Indigenous Essential Oil-Bearing Plants: Essential Oils Of Aerva Javanica And Cleome Amblyocarpa Grown In Sandy Soils Under Arid Conditions, Suzan Marwan Ramadan Shahin

Dissertations

Essential Oils (EOs) are expensive hydrocarbons produced exclusively by specific species in the plant’s kingdom. Nowadays, with the growing trends of a healthy lifestyle and enormous research-based discoveries, EOs became a popular, attractive topic, for both research and industry, with revenues reaching billions of dollars annually. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has rich traditional herbal medicine, associated with topical and EO-aromatherapy applications, that (in most cases) not scientifically justified nor clarified. This dissertation investigated the EO-bearing plants of the UAE, providing a databank with comprehensive knowledge for all indigenous and naturalized EO-bearing plant species of the UAE wildflowers. Also, this …

Urban Food Entrepreneurship, Governance, And Economic Development In The Post-Industrial Cities Of Newark, New Jersey And Dayton, Ohio, John C. Jones

Dissertations

The local governments of post-industrial cities in the US struggle to foster economic development and to find uses for underutilized or abandoned urban land and buildings. Partly in response to growing consumer interest in locally produced foods, food entrepreneurs are increasingly using these underutilized urban properties for farming or for producing value-added food products. However, sometimes intentionally and sometimes unintentionally, existing policies and regulatory regimes of local and state governments often restrict the ability of urban food entrepreneurs to grow. This dissertation documents urban food entrepreneurship in the post-industrial communities of greater Newark, New Jersey and greater Dayton, Ohio. The …

Temporal And Spatial Effects Of Shock Overpressure On Blood-Brain Barrier Permeability In Blast-Induced Traumatic Brain Injury, Matthew Joseph Kuriakose

Dissertations

Exposure to shock waves is the leading cause of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in military personnel and blast-induced TBI (bTBI) is considered the signature wound in recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many researchers attempt to replicate field-relevant shock waves in laboratory settings through the use of gas-driven shock tubes in order to investigate the generation and propagation of shock waves and also explore possible mechanisms of bTBI. Among several injury mechanisms of bTBI, damage to the blood-brain barrier (BBB) has been identified as a potential candidate and has been the focus of several clinical and experimental investigations aimed to …

Cellulose-Derived Glycosaminoglycan Mimetic For Use In Cartilage Tissue Engineering Strategies, Roseline Dominic Menezes

Dissertations

Articular cartilage has limited healing and self-repair capability due to the absence of vasculature, lymphatic vessels, and nerves. Damage to articular cartilage becomes irreversible leading to formation of osteoarthritis that could severely degrade a person's quality of life. Approximately, 5-10% of cartilage tissue is made up of glycosaminoglycans (GAG), which sequester growth factors as well as provide structural integrity to the native cartilage tissue. Transforming growth factor-beta3 (TGF-β3) is an important growth factor for inducing chondrogenesis in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Bioavailability of TGF-β3 plays a critical role in cartilage repair both in vitro and in vivo. This study evaluates …

Command Climate And Ethical Behavior: Perspectives From The Commandant's Of The Marine Corps, Brian Kerl

Dissertations

Marine Corps commanding officers today face challenges aggravated by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, strategic uncertainty, and societal changes that carry over to the military such as women serving in infantry roles and the use of social media. These challenges are exacerbated by the stressors unique to the military such as lengthy separations from loved ones and multiple relocation moves, which underscore the significance of command climate and its influence on ethical behavior. Importantly, the consequences of a command climate not focused on ethics may negatively affect combat readiness and warfighting effectiveness. To date, however, little scholarly work, if …

Crafting An Empire: The Hereke Factory Campus (1842-1914), Didem Yavuz

Dissertations

One of the starkest examples of the Ottoman Empire's new modernity was the fabrics and carpet model factory founded at Hereke in 1842. This dissertation focuses on the evolving conditions and social developments that took place over seventy-two years of production at Hereke, and discuss that the factory represented a microcosm of the Empire's wider industrial labor history. Hereke was used as a lens through which to explore a range of themes that, taken together, highlight the lifestyles of the early Ottoman workforce and its industrial relations: labor management, industrial action, child labor, class, gender, housing, education, clothing fashion, the …

Priority Registration For Well Prepared High School Seniors: A Mixed Method Study At A California Community College, Joel Ruble

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed methods sequential explanatory mixed methods study is to explain the association between priority registration and student success as measured by success in transfer level mathematics and English at Sierra College. In addition, it to explain student perceptions of priority registration and their success and whether students perceive a relationship between their success and priority registration.

Methodology: Success will be measured according to the rates at which Sierra College students that are low income and first generation are successful in transfer level math and English. Research questions one and two consider the quantitative …

A Case Study Of Strategic Governance In The Implementation Of Guided Pathways At Scale At California Community Colleges, Hayley Ashby

Dissertations

Purpose: Community colleges across the United States are implementing systemic change models such as guided pathways to increase student success. The purpose of this multiple case study was to describe the role of strategic governance in the implementation of guided pathways at scale at California community colleges.

Methodology: This phenomenological qualitative study used a multiple-case embedded case study methodology to collect data aligned with the four imperatives of strategic governance theory. Semistructured interviews were conducted with campus leaders involved in guided pathways implementation at three California community colleges. Archival records and documentation were used to triangulate the data.

Findings: Colleges …

Technology Integration: A Mixed Methods Study Of Best Practices Of Technology Integration As Perceived By Expert Middle School Teachers, Carliza Bataller

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed methods sequential explanatory study was to identify and describe best practices in technology integration in middle school classrooms as perceived by expert middle school teachers. Additionally, it was the purpose of the study to determine the most important best practices and perceived barriers to successful technology integration as perceived by expert middle school teachers.

Methodology: This study included a survey sent to 34 middle school teachers from five counties in northern California who were considered experts in technology integration. Data were gathered from the initial survey instrument and followed up by interviews with participant …

Self-Efficacy Of Early Childhood Teachers In Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics, Ariella Rachel Donnelley Smith

Dissertations

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to identify the self-efficacy of early childhood teachers toward STEM subjects as measured on the Teacher Efficacy and Attitudes toward STEM Survey (T-STEM) and to explore factors that influence this confidence.

Methodology. A quantitative approach with two open-ended items was selected for this study, seeking to elicit both quantitative and qualitative data from participants. This approach allowed for multiple viewpoints to be expressed, with the qualitative data collected simultaneously with the quantitative data, and the former designed to illuminate reasons influencing the latter in a complimentary approach. The population for the study included …

Experiences Of African American Women And Their Ascension To Senior Academic Leadership Positions In Higher Education Institutions, Jennifer Simms

Dissertations

Previous research has noted that African American women are absent in senior administrative positions in institutions of higher education. Few studies have provided detailed insight into the experiences of African American women during their transition to senior-level leadership roles in the academy. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to document the experiences of African American women during their ascension to senior academic leadership positions in higher education institutions. This research employed purposeful sampling and snowball sampling to recruit five African American women in Midwestern U.S. who ascended to a leadership role within the Office of Academic Affairs. This …

The Impact Of Emotional Intelligence And Affective Behavior On Paramedic Student Field Internship Success, Jim Lambert

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) scores, as defined by Bradberry and Greaves (2009) and paramedic student success during the field internship phase of their education as determined by the California Paramedic Field Internship Major Evaluation (FE) Rating Criteria.

Methodology: This quantitative, nonexperimental, correlational study utilized data collected from the Emotional Intelligence Appraisal—Me Edition and the California Paramedic FE reports provided by paramedic preceptors in the field. Data were collected from 30 paramedic interns from 3 paramedic programs in Southern California and analyzed using the Pearson product moment …

Toward An Emerging Theory Of Leadership Competencies For Early Care And Education Systems Leaders, Julianne Zvalo-Martyn

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this Delphi study was to identify the competencies that early care and education systems leaders should possess as perceived by a panel of early childhood systems leadership experts. This study also identified which leadership competencies experts perceive will have the most impact on transformation of the field into an organized system of practice.

Methodology: This study used a mixed-methods Delphi approach consisting of three electronic surveys to identify competencies needed by early care and education systems leaders as perceived by a panel of national experts. Round 1 consisted of open-ended questions. Round 2 asked the panelists …

Leader Impact On Vision/Mission, Patricia Davis

Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to identify and describe the lived experiences of how a subsequent human social services nonprofit leader navigates, negotiates, and/or modifies the original vision/mission of the founding leader. Subsequent leaders for this study included leaders in place after the founding leader moved on. In the world of nonprofit organizations, leadership changes are as common as in the for-profit field but hold additional challenges regarding what drives the organization. For profit businesses bottom line is profit, and nonprofit organizations have a bottom line of changed lives, two very different reasons for being in business. The …

“…But You Don’T Know Me Like The Sun; You’Ve Never Seen My Horizon” (Bennett, Cole, Segal, And Warner, 2015, Track 3): Exploring The Invisibility Of A Hyper-Visible Black Woman In Education, Janae' Alfred

Dissertations

As a Black woman in the field of education, I feel as if I am not valued or seen as an equal member of the institution. This has been extremely evident as I served as an Instructional Coach in a predominately Black public school district where the teachers and administrators were predominately White. Race has come to the forefront as a prominent barrier for effective Instructional Coaching across the color line. In this dissertation, I reflect on my experiences as an Instructional Coach and analyze them through the lens of Critical Race Theory using autoethnography as a research method. My …

Career Coaching: A Study Of Veterans Health Administration (Vha) Leaders', Jerelyn Dugas

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore and describe the impact of career coaching on the career performance growth and retention as perceived by healthcare’s emerging leaders who participated in selected coaching program institutes for a minimum of 1 year at VHA hospitals in Southern California.

Methodology: The researcher selected a qualitative multiple case study to explore and describe VHA leaders’ perceived impact of coaching on their career performance growth and retention. Further, the researcher conducted semi-structured, interviews with 15 participants to gain a better understanding of the lived experiences of the participants at the …

The Core Competencies For Chinese Language Teachers In Taiwan: A Multiple Criteria Decision Making Approach, Ying-Hua Lan

Dissertations

There were two research questions in this study: what are the most important competencies for Chinese language teachers; and what is the priority for the competencies? This study applied the DEMATEL to analyze competencies from 15 experts. The results showed that competencies were categorized into four dimensions. They were Culture, Instruction, Communication, and Professional Development. Each dimension had multiple criteria. There were three kinds of criteria under the dimension of Culture. They were ‘global awareness,’ ‘intercultural communication,’ and ‘Chinese culture.’ The dimension of Instruction had three kinds of criteria. They were ‘instructional perspective,’ ‘teaching method,’ and ‘assessment.’ There were three …

The Influence Of The Educational Environment On College Student Activity Behaviors, Helen M. Ziegler

Dissertations

Healthy Campus 2020, an initiative that provides a framework to support campuses in improving the health of their students, staff, and faculty, recognizes physical activity as one of the top eleven priorities for positively influencing health risk behaviors in college populations (American College Health Association, 2012). However, there is not much research to support the best way to influence physical activity behaviors and what types of programs and facilities can provide the greatest impact. The purpose of this study was to investigate which components or programs within the higher education environment have the greatest influence on college students’ intention to …

Employee Perceptions Of Marriage Enrichment Training Spillover Effects In The Workplace, Tonya Moore

Dissertations

As employees display a strong commitment to the work environment and experience high marital instability, the criticality of awareness regarding the potential spillover effects between work and marital roles increase (Rogers & May, 2003). Marriage enrichment training (MET) is designed to increase relationship skills and prevent marital distress and divorce. Communication skills, conflict management, stress management and emotional intelligence are techniques taught during MET that can potentially have an impact on the spillover effects within the work environment (Bowling, Hill, & Jencius, 2005). This qualitative study provides connections regarding the spillover effects of MET into the workplace. Semi-structured interviews with …

Consuming Victory: American Women And The Politics Of Food Rationing During World War Ii, Kelly Cantrell

Dissertations

Life on the home front formed the most ubiquitous American experience during World War II. Americans in the early 1940s found themselves caught in a rapidly evolving world, which wrought changes both great and small on their daily lives. This project explores women’s responses to some of that change. The federal government created wartime agencies to control and direct most elements of daily life from public opinion, to factory production, to employment practices, to family food procurement. The Office of Price Administration was charged with creating a food rationing program to insure steady availability of foodstuffs at home while suppling …

The Influence Of An Electronic Attendance Monitoring System On Undergraduate Academic Success, Charles Childress

Dissertations

Investing in human capital development increases education levels, workplace skills, and boost individual abilities. Undergraduate students who attend class and perform well are more likely to get jobs, due to their development of workplace skills. State governments, as the funding bodies for public universities, are finding it beneficial to increase the number of college graduates because a citizenry that is prepared for the job market is ultimately good for the state. States recognize that an increase in education can produce job opportunities for citizens. University administrators can employ tactics to increase graduation rates, one of which is monitoring students’ class …

The Moderating Effect Of Prior Principal Athletic Coaching Experience On The Relationship Between Transformational Leadership And Teacher Organizational Citizenship Behavior In Secondary Schools In Mississippi, Jeff White

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine transformational leadership practices of principals and the relationship of these practices and teacher organizational citizenship behavior. A secondary purpose of this study was to determine if prior athletic coaching experience served as a moderator between school leadership practices and teacher organizational citizenship behavior. Twenty-seven secondary schools participated in the study, while the head principal of each school served as the administrative representative being nested within the respective school. Secondary school teachers (n=908) completed the Leadership Practices Inventory and the Organizational Citizenship Behavior Scale. Secondary school principals (n=27) responded to the Athletic Coaching …

An Examination Of The Relationships Among Organizational Support, Self-Efficacy Beliefs, And Engagement In Data-Driven Decision-Making, Kristal Pollard

Dissertations

A culture of accountability in K-12 education has created demand for teachers and administrators to closely examine student performance on assessments. A number of schools have embraced data-driven decision-making as an approach to meeting this need. Data-driven decision-making refers to the systematic process of collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and making instructional decisions based on data (Schildkamp & Kuiper, 2009; Mandinach, 2012). Generally, educators analyze data collected on assessments at the classroom level and on benchmark or interim assessments at the school-wide level. However, teachers generally feel unprepared to engage in data-driven decision-making. Few studies have examined the psychological aspect of engagement …

Mitigating Risk: A Delphi Study Identifying Competencies In Sport And Event Security Management, Elizabeth Voorhees

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify core competencies for supervisory-level security management professionals working in the sports and entertainment industry. Qualified and trained sport and event security-management professionals are essential to support the U.S. homeland security objectives outlined in Presidential Policy Directive-21. Providing effective safety and security for sports and entertainment events requires specialized knowledge and skill on the behalf of security-management practitioners who detect, deter, prevent, and respond to potential risks and threats. This qualitative research study employed a Delphi research design to elicit expertise from a purposefully selected panel of experts (N = 36). The …

Geographic Variation In Rock Wren (Salpinctes Obsoletus) Song Complexity, Nadje Amal Najar

Dissertations

Birds sing to advertise for mates and repel rivals, but there is enormous variety in how they do this. One of the best-studied and most intriguing questions in the field is how song varies in complexity from one bird to the next, at all taxonomic levels. Several studies have found associations between migratory behavior or latitudinal gradients and song complexity, but it remains unclear how universal this pattern is or what factors may be driving it. This small body of literature suffers from several problems, perhaps the most glaring of which is the lack of systematic, population-level studies. The main …

Exploring The Moderating Effects Of Family Functioning And Child Grit On The Relation Between Adhd Endophenotypes And Adhd Symptoms, Karin Fisher

Dissertations

ADHD is a heritable condition, with unknown etiologies and different phenotypic expressions in affected individuals. Its genetic vulnerability may be expressed only when specific environmental conditions are present. Endophenotypes stand in the causal path between genes and disease and are found in children diagnosed with ADHD as well as unaffected relatives. This study investigated the link between ADHD endophenotypes and the heterogeneous expression of ADHD symptoms in 84 children aged 11 to 17 years and explored whether this relation depends on family functioning and resilience of the child (i.e., grit). It was hypothesized that (1) ADHD endophenotypes would be moderately …