Digital Commons Network^™

The Ethnic Identity Journey Of 1.5 Generation Asian American College Students, Nadia Anisa Benyamin

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological research study is to explore the ethnic identity journey of 1.5 generation Asian American college students. The study seeks to answer how the ethnic identity perception of the 1.5 generation Asian American college students has transformed from arrival in the United States to present and how native and English language engagement as well as acculturation experiences have impacted the 1.5 generation Asian American college students’ perceptions of ethnic identity. The data for this study were collected via in-depth semi-structured interviews with five Asian American college students who self-identify as 1.5 generation individuals or having …

Teachers And Practitioners’ Perceptions Of Transition Services For Females With Intellectual Disability In Saudi Arabia, Reem Abdullah Almutairi

Dissertations

This experiential study was an in-depth examination of the current experiences and perceptions of five special education teachers and six vocational rehabilitation practitioners who provide training for transition-aged females with intellectual disability in Saudi Arabia. The research questions addressed participants’ perspectives about the overall value of transition services for students with intellectual disability and the feasibility of using the Taxonomy of Transition Programming 2.0 as a framework for transition programs to increase desirable postschool outcomes. Participants viewed an instructional video about intellectual disability, transition services, and the Taxonomy for Transition Programming. Following systematic qualitative methodology, the researcher used a questionnaire, …

Shame, Aggression, And Self-Compassion In At-Risk Adolescents, Sara Ashline Hofmann

Dissertations

Prior research has identified a strong link between experiences of shame and aggressive behavior in at-risk and offender populations but the mechanisms of this relationship are unclear. One potential interrupter of this relationship is self-compassion, a teachable emotional regulation skill. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether nonoffender at-risk youth differed significantly in levels of self-compassion, shame, and aggression from nonviolent offender and violent offender youth with the goal of evaluating these relationships to aid in the future development of more tailored and effective interventions for court-involved youth. One hundred and six at-risk adolescents in the Rocky Mountain …

Perceived Belongingness, Self-Esteem, And Outness Level On Psychological Distress Among Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Individuals, Rachel Mary Haug

Dissertations

Perceived belongingness has demonstrated significant positive effects on psychological distress levels. Various other demographic and psychological constructs including sexual orientation, ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES), self-esteem, and outness level also have been found in past literature to have significant relationships with psychological distress levels. Because sexual minority individuals are at increased risk for psychological distress, the purpose of this study was to assess the role belongingness played in psychological distress among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) university students after already accounting for these other variables through a hierarchical regression analysis. Due to the nature of hierarchical regression analysis, the effects of …

Teacher Perspectives On Implementation And Outcomes Of A Character Education Program: A Comparative Case Study At Three Public Middle Schools, Grace A. Tennant

Dissertations

In the United States, character education employs a lengthy history in the public school system. As a result of recent legislation, accountability measures for schools in the United States and Colorado have changed. Teachers are now being evaluated on the climate and culture in their classrooms and schools. Academic growth among students in United States schools is slow, and an achievement gap continues to exist. One possible solution to these problems is character education. This comparative case study examined teacher perceptions about implementation and outcomes regarding a newly implemented character education program delivered through a class structure called Crew. Data …

Principals’ Perceptions Of Their Own Evaluation Process: How Feedback Using The Colorado Model Evaluation System Alters Principals’ Practice, Timothy Kevin Ridder

Dissertations

Background: The Colorado General Assembly created the Educator Effectiveness Act in 2011. This legislation established the State Council for Educator Effectiveness (The Council). The Council was tasked with developing the purpose behind and structure for a new evaluation system for the state of Colorado. The purpose of the Colorado Model Evaluation System (CMES) established by the Council was “to provide meaningful and credible feedback that improves performance” (State Council for Educator Effectiveness, 2011). With the purpose of and outline for the new evaluation system created by the Council, the Colorado Department of Education developed the Colorado Model Evaluation System (CMES). …

A Study Of Prominent African-American Orchestral Trumpet Players From 1970 To 2018, Demarr Ray Woods

Dissertations

Classically-trained African-American musicians often experience the world of professional music differently from their peers in American orchestras. This dissertation explores the African-American experience through case studies based on interviews with five prominent orchestral trumpet players, all performers at the peak of their careers between 1970 and 2018. Subjects discussed not only the racial issues affecting their education, employment, and professional lives, but also offered insights regarding music preparation, stress management, and their place in a world where they are overwhelmingly outnumbered. While the primary goal of this study is to shine a light on racism within classical music, it also …

The Effects Of Decoding Instruction On Oral Reading Fluency For Older Students With Reading Delays, Gaige J. Johnson

Dissertations

Struggling older readers often have difficulty with early decoding skills (Tolman, 2005; Toste, Williams, & Capin, 2017). If they are unable to master decoding, they may have difficulty with more complex skills, such as passage reading fluency. The current study extends research on reading fluency for older students by evaluating the combined effects of a phonics procedure and a fluency-building strategy on their reading fluency. Participants were older students with below grade level reading performance who had deficits in oral reading fluency and decoding. Dependent variables were the number of correctly sorted word patterns and the number of correct words …

Adult Attachment In Close Relationships And Trait Emotional Intelligence: The Moderating Role Of Mindfulness, Laura Kimberly Chang

Dissertations

The moderating role of mindfulness on the relationships between trait emotional intelligence (TEI) and both attachment-related anxiety and avoidance among college students (N = 510) was explored in the present study. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlations aligned with the extant body of literature, suggesting strong relationships between attachment-related anxiety, avoidance, and TEI. As expected, results suggested a strong relationship between levels of mindfulness and TEI. In the interest of assessing the degree to which mindfulness explained variance in participants’ TEI levels (while accounting for attachment levels), a hierarchical multiple regression was conducted. Data analysis indicated that the variables college classification …

Exporing The Influence Of Parenting Styles On Development Of Perfectionism In A Reward And Punishment Computer-Based Learning Task Among College Students, Akiko Watabe

Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between perfectionism, anxiety (i.e., emotional state anxiety, personality trait anxiety, inhibitory anxiety, prospective anxiety, sensitivity to reward, sensitivity to punishment), parenting styles (i.e., authoritative, authoritarian, permissive), GPA (measured by self-report responses), and SES (measured as parents’ income) as well as a difference in the effect of high or low perfectionism, parenting styles, and levels of GPA and SES on a reward and punishment computer-based learning task among college students. One hundred forty undergraduates completed measures of Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS), Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ), Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS), Sensitivity to Punishment Sensitivity to Reward …

Differences In The Dual Credit Experience Between High School And Institutions Of Higher Education, Micheala A. Steinmetz-Benton

Dissertations

Dual credit courses are college-level courses offered to high school students which are accepted for both high school and college credit (Hughes, 2016). Dual credit positively impacts students by reducing the time to complete a degree, enhancing the high school curriculum, increasing college accessibility, and lessening educational financial burdens (Hughes, 2016). The intention of this study was to survey adjunct instructors who have taught in both high school and college environments to determine their opinions of differences that exist between secondary and postsecondary dual credit experiences. College administrators were also interviewed to obtain insight into any variability of dual credit …

Divergent Rnai Biology In Mites And Development Of Pest Control Strategies, Md Mosharrof Hossain Mondal

Dissertations

RNA interference (RNAi) has transformed genetics research by revolutionizing reverse genetics in the nearly three decades that have passed since its discovery. ~19-31 nt small non-coding RNAs play a central role in RNAi biology, and are found in all multicellular eukaryotes. In these animals, three major classes of small RNAs have been described: microRNA (miRNA), small interfering RNA (siRNA), and Piwi interacting RNA (piRNA), which are produced in distinct yet occasionally overlapping pathways. While miRNAs are involved in tuning endogenous gene expression, piRNAs and siRNAs are essential for defense against viruses and transposons. Argonaute proteins are the main effectors in …

A Study On The Compositional Style Of The Flute Chamber Works Of Mel Bonis, Geraldine Margaret Padilla

Dissertations

Mélanie Hélène Bonis (1858-1937) was a female French composer born at a time when musical trends started shifting away from Romanticism. Amidst the various styles that emerged towards the end of the nineteenth century, Bonis remained faithful to the practices of the Late-Romantic period. Her style, characterized by its adherence to tonality and classical forms, was considered outdated by the Parisian public and proved to be detrimental in her career. This document focuses on the four chamber works originally written for flute. Bonis’ chamber works demonstrated a composer who was willing to experiment with the modern techniques of the twentieth …

The Effect Of An Historical Geology Course On Students’ Attitudes Towards Science And Their Knowledge Of Deep Time As A Threshold To Their Knowledge Of Evolution, Allan Nolan

Dissertations

In America there exists a conflict between a small group of its citizens and the concept of evolution. Researchers have studied this conflict and the ways in which teachers might approach educational methodologies that not only address evolution in a sensitive manner, but also remain legally acceptable.

This research was designed to address teaching evolution in the context of deep time – the concept that time is vast and that geology and biology operate in a timescale of hundreds of millions to billions of years. In previous peer-reviewed works, it has been stated that deep time acts as a threshold …

Tangible Teaching: The Effect Of Physical Modeling On Community College Students’ Understanding Of Conservation Of Matter, Erick T. Moffett

Dissertations

Students’ weak understanding of conservation of matter is well documented; however, there is a paucity of research that provides science educators with actual examples of empirically proven curricula employing physical modeling that can be used in the chemistry classroom to teach this fundamental concept. An intervention (three sequential physical modeling activities) was developed and evaluated. The intervention was administered to two sections of a General Chemistry I course at a community college in the southeastern United States, and pre-test/post-test data using a published instrument were collected to evaluate the physical model’s effectiveness in developing students’ understanding of conservation of matter …

It’S In The Way You Move: The Effects Of Surface Luminance And Texture Discontinuities On Object-Reachability Revealed By Head-Motion In Virtual Reality, Jonathan K. Doyon

Dissertations

Perceiving distance is at the heart of everyday actions like reaching for a cup of coffee. This action may depend on the biomechanical restrictions of the actor (arm-length), the physical distance of the cup, and environmental variables such as surface luminance and texture. Four experiments were conducted to investigate the roles of two environmental variables (surface luminance and surface texture discontinuities) and two movement variables (average magnitude head displacement and the multifractal structure of head motion) in the perception of object reachability in virtual reality. Results suggest that surface texture discontinuities and overall surface luminance affect reaching judgments in different …

Using Digital Performance Feedback To Increase Teacher Integrity Of A Repeated Reading Intervention, Heather M. Whipple

Dissertations

The National Assessment of Educational Progress reports 64% of 4^th grade students and 66% of 8^th grade students are less than proficient in reading despite the availability of evidence-based interventions in school settings (NAEP, 2015). It is important to implement reading interventions with struggling readers and because the role of the school psychologist has shifted from providing direct intervention services to students to providing consultative services to teachers, it is important to find various methods to promote teachers’ adherence to these interventions. Treatment integrity has been defined as the degree to which an intervention is implemented as planned …

The Feasibility Of Using Inherent Optical Properties And The Apparent Optical Property Remote Sensing Reflectance To Estimate Suspended Particulate Matter, Particularly For Use In Airborne Hydrographic Surveys, Sarah Epps

Dissertations

Airborne hydrographic surveys are routinely used to create and update nautical charts around the world. This research is intended to assist in maximizing the utility of the data products made available from those surveys in accordance with the current survey–once, use–many–times initiatives. Specifically, this project evaluates the feasibility of using the data available airborne hydrographic systems that utilize bathymetric lasers and hyperspectral sensors to estimate the concentration of suspended particulate matter (SPM). SPM is sometimes also called suspended sediment. The ability to chart spatial distributions of SPM utilizing hydrographic survey systems already in operation will assist researchers, managers, and stakeholders …

Technical And Performance Analysis Of Scott Mcallister's Devil Sticks, Uncle Sam's Songbag Vol. I, Freebirds, And Funk, James Gruetzner

Dissertations

Four of composer Scott McAllister’s works, Devil Sticks, Uncle Sam’s Songbag Vol. I, Freebirds, and Funk feature the clarinet within a variety of ensembles. The purpose of my dissertation is to analyze the music in three ways: the background and outside influences found within each work, what happens in the pieces in terms of clarinet interaction with the ensemble(s), and finally relate it to McAllister’s other works. Through an interview with the composer, insight was gained into the background and history of each work, including who commissioned and first performed each one, any themes running throughout each …

The Role Of Career Optimism And Perceived Barriers In College Students’ Academic Persistence: A Social Cognitive Career Theory Approach, Ben H. Wu

Dissertations

Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) suggests that one’s self-efficacy beliefs, one’s outcome expectations, and salient contextual influences impact the development of interests, goals, and goal-oriented behaviors. Additionally, initial support has been found in the SCCT literature to indicate that outcome expectations may mediate the relationship between self-efficacy and goals while contextual influences may moderate the relationship between self-efficacy and goals. By examining conditional indirect effects between academic self-efficacy, career optimism (an outcome expectation), perceived carrier barriers (a contextual influence), and intention to persist toward graduation (a goal) in a college student sample, this project aimed to further understand how these …

Geotraces And Beyond: Studies Of Trace Elements In Coastal And Open Ocean Waters With An Emphasis On The Effects Of Oxygen Depletion And Hydrothermal Plumes, Peng Ho

Dissertations

We investigated various dissolved trace element (dTE) distributions in two distinct areas: the coastal northern Gulf of Mexico and the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.

A multi-year (2007‒2011) chemical time series of eight stations in the western Mississippi Sound (MS) and northwestern Mississippi Bight (MB) was undertaken to examine the factors affecting chemical distributions in this dynamic region. Key findings include the frequent development of bottom water hypoxia in MB during late spring-summer, the likely contribution of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) to the material flows, and observation of effects of episodic events including tropical storms and the opening of the Bonnet …

Secular Song Of The Spanish Renaissance: Portrayals Of Moors And Christians During The Reign Of Isabel And Fernando, The Reconquest, And The First Morisco Rebellion, Katharyn Reishus Benessa

Dissertations

Spanish secular songs from the 1460s to 1550s, represented by the forms of romances, villancicos, and cancíones, are found in cancióneros, or songbooks, and published collections for vihuela and solo voice. Organized according to narrative categories and chronology, the songs reflect events before, during, and after the reconquista and portray Moors and Christians from the reign of Isabel and Fernando to beyond the First Morisco Rebellion. Many songs in the cancióneros are anonymous or by little known composers, although seven pieces by Juan del Encina are included. Works in the vihuela publications are represented by the composers, Luis Milán, Alonso …

Power Comparisons Of The Rician And Gaussian Random Fields Tests For Detecting Signal From Functional Magnetic Resonance Images, Hasni Idayu Binti Saidi

Dissertations

The functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data are known to be complex valued. The real and imaginary components are assumed to be independently and normally distributed. After image reconstructions, these components are separated into two components, namely magnitude and phase. Usually, only the magnitude component is used in the analysis and it is assumed to be normally, or Gaussian, distributed. The statistical analysis of fMRI data using random field theory also assumed that the data are Gaussian distributed. However, the magnitude component is actually Rician distributed and no work has been found on the Rician random field. In this dissertation, …

The Lived Experience Of Nurse Practitioner Role Transition: A Phenomenology Study, Anthony Michael Angelow

Dissertations

This qualitative, descriptive phenomenology study sought to answer the following question: What experiences do nurse practitioners identify as being associated with their transition to the nurse practitioner (NP) role? Using purposive sampling and snowball techniques, eight nurse practitioners participated in this study. The study included participants from across the United States. Data from this study were developed from unstructured interviews with participants using audio-recorded open-ended questions, which were then transcribed by the principal investigator. The data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s (cited in Creswell, 2013) method for qualitative data analysis to identify common themes. Four central themes were generated from these …

Expressions Of Emancipatory Knowing In Undergraduate Nursing Service- Learning, Heather Corinn Voss

Dissertations

Emancipatory nurses recognize social and political problems of injustice or inequity and participate in social and political change to improve people’s lives. The recent spotlight on relationships among health, health inequity, social determinants of health, and structural institutional barriers, has led to demands that nurse educators integrate innovative curricular and pedagogical strategies to analyze and address social justice issues in today’s healthcare system. A mixed-method, qualitative study was conducted to elicit expressions of emancipatory knowing during and after a service- learning experience. Interpretive description was used to analyze data from 15 written reflections and eight semi-structured interviews. Nine expressions of …

Examining Relationships Of Social Media To Customer Equity Of The National Basketball Association, Jiyoung Park

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role Facebook plays in the sport management context, and to understand the relationship that exists between customer equity and social media, in a professional sport league in the U.S. While it is only one of many social media platforms, Facebook has over one billion users (Facebook, 2018) and it connects people with communities and similar interest groups such that it can enhance social relationships. Sport organizations should understand how social media can influence sport fans, and this can be examined by looking at the Facebook page of the National Basketball Association …

Shifting Patterns Of Limb Strength Among Plains Village Horticulturalists: A Critical Examination Of The Use Of Cross-Sectional Geometry To Understand Cultural Change, Ryan Michael Campbell

Dissertations

This dissertation presents the results of a comparison of human skeletons from two historic villages (the Larson site, 39WW2, and the Leavenworth site, 39CO9), which were inhabited by Great Plains Village Horticulturalists following the arrival of Europeans and Americans. The people living at these villages are suspected to have experienced changes to their cultural practices, with Larson occupied during the beginning of the Post-Contact period and Leavenworth occupied just before the complete abandonment of the Plains Village lifeway. This study examines whether observed differences in the strength of the bones of their limbs resulted from different activities performed at each …

Knowledge, Intentions, And Beliefs About Fertility And Assisted Reproductive Technology Among Illinois College Students, Akilah Morris

Dissertations

AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF AKILAH MORRIS SMITH, for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Public Health, presented on April 11th 2018, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: KNOWLEDGE, INTENTIONS, AND BELIEFS ABOUT FERTILITY AND ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY AMONG ILLINOIS COLLEGE STUDENTS MAJOR PROFESSOR: Roberta Ogletree H.S.D and Juliane P. Wallace PhD The purpose of this quantitative cross sectional study was to examine knowledge, beliefs, and intentions about fertility and assisted reproductive technology among college students. This study differs from previous studies in that it examines knowledge, beliefs, and intentions about fertility and assisted reproductive technology among Illinois college …

A Derivation Of The Percentile Based Tukey Distributions And A Comparison Of Monotonic Versus Nonmonotonic And Rank Transformations, Yevgeniy Ptukhin

Dissertations

The Method of Moments (MOM) has been extensively used in statistics for obtaining conventional moment-based estimators of various parameters. However, the disadvantage of this method is that the estimates “can be substantially biased, have high variance, or can be influenced by outliers” (Headrick & Pant, 2012). The Method of Percentiles (MOP) provides a useful alternative to the MOM when the distributions are non-normal, specifically being more computationally efficient in terms of estimating population parameters. Examples include the generalized lambda distribution (Karian & Dudewicz, 1999), third order power method (Koran, Headrick & Kuo, 2015) and fifth order power method (Kuo & …

Tasting What You See: Using The Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure To Measure The Effects Of The Word Repetition Technique, Travis Sain

Dissertations

The current study tested the effects of a cognitive defusion intervention on implicit attitudes toward milk and lemon as measured by the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP). One-hundred and eleven participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: control math, control defusion, half defusion, or full defusion. Participants filled out a series of self-report measures at the beginning of the study on psychological functioning, as well as attitudes toward milk and lemon. Participants then completed a task specific to their condition, with control math participants completing a simple math task while defusion conditions completed a defusion intervention – word …