Digital Commons Network^™

Team Performance And Project Success, Ijeoma Okoronkwo

Dissertations and Theses

Project Teamwork is a worthy objective aimed at accomplishing high level cooperation, productivity and success but often times this is not so. The level of performance applied towards a project work has a direct impact on the project success or failure.

Teams are the basic structure of how project activities and tasks are being organized and managed within companies and organizations. Therefore, the success or the failure of a project depends largely on the overall performance of the teams assigned to the project. This increased attention towards teams has forced many organizations to focus on improving the overall performance of …

Controlling Water Exchange Kinetics And Improving Paracest Imaging, Jacqueline R. Slack

Dissertations and Theses

Generating MR image contrast from exogenous contrast media through chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) offers several exciting new possibilities, such as multicolored imaging, the interleaving of pre- and post-contrast images, and the potential to perform ratiometric metabolic imaging. The major limitation of the deployment of CEST imaging is the comparatively high detection limits of exogenous agents and particularly at the low B_¹ power levels required to meet SAR requirements. The large chemical shifts afforded by paramagnetic (paraCEST) agents permit more rapid exchange kinetics and therefore potentially more effective contrast agents. Despite comparatively large chemical shifts, many Ln³⁺ DOTA-tetraamide …

Escalating Language At Traffic Stops: Two Case Studies, Jamalieh Haley

Dissertations and Theses

In recent years, the public has seen a rise in recorded footage of violent encounters between police and Black American citizens, partially due to technology such as cell phones, dash-cameras, and body-cameras. This linguistic study examines how these encounters get escalated to the point of violence by asking 1) what kind of directives were used, 2) how were they responded to, 3) how the directives contributed to escalation, and 4) how might power and authority have played a role. I use two case studies to analyze directives and their responses. Findings reveal that repetition of directives on the part of …

Intraminority Support For And Participation In Race-Based Collective Action Movements: An Intersectional Perspective, Jaboa Shawntaé Lake

Dissertations and Theses

Due to high profile police shootings, collective action movements addressing racial bias in policing, such as the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, have come to the forefront of societal concern. Though these movements and actions directly address police use of force against Black people, a number of non-Black racial minority individuals and organizations have declared solidarity and joined in protests with BLM. This study takes an intersectional approach to examine racial intraminority attitudes (i.e., racial minorities' attitudes toward other racial minority outgroups) toward support for and participation in protests against police excessive use of force and the BLM movement, through …

Gis Spatial Analysis Of Arctic Settlement Patterns: A Case Study In Northwest Alaska, Justin Andrew Junge

Dissertations and Theses

In northwest Alaska, archaeologists hypothesize that environmental variability was a major factor in both growing coastal population density, with large aggregated villages and large houses, between 1000 and 500 years ago (ya), and subsequent decreasing population density between 500 ya and the contact era. After 500 ya people are thought to have dispersed to smaller settlements with smaller house sizes in coastal areas, and perhaps, upriver. This settlement pattern was identified through research at four site locations over 30 years ago. The changing geographic distribution of sites, associated settlement size, and house size has not been examined in detail. A …

Holocaust, Memory, Second-Generation, And Conflict Resolution, Leslie O'Donoghue

Dissertations and Theses

Ten Jewish second-generation men and women from metro Portland, Oregon were interviewed regarding growing up in the aftermath of the Holocaust. The American-born participants ranged in age from fifty-one to sixty-four years of age at the time of the interviews. Though the parents were deceased at the time of this study the working definition of a Holocaust survivor parent included those individuals who had been refugees or interned in a ghetto, labor camp, concentration camp, or extermination camp as a direct result of the Nazi Regime in Europe from 1933 to 1945.

A descriptive phenomenological approach was utilized. Eight open-ended …

Analyzing The Online Environment: How Are More Effective Teachers Spending Their Time?, Scott Davis Barrentine

Dissertations and Theses

Teaching at an online school is so different from classroom teaching that traditional training includes few of the skills necessary to be a successful online teacher. New teachers to an online environment face a steep learning curve in how they'll use the instructional technology, prioritize their time, and establish relationships with their students. The literature has advice for these teachers about effective online practices, but there has been little research to establish which strategies are most effective in motivating students. This pre-experimental study, conducted at an online 6th-12th grade hybrid school, investigated the practices used more often by the most …

Trade-Offs: The Production Of Sustainability In Households, Kirstin Marie Elizabeth Munro

Dissertations and Theses

Over the past half-century, environmental problems have become increasingly serious and seemingly intractable, and a careless, clueless, or contemptuous consumer is often portrayed as the root cause of this environmental decline. This study takes a different approach to evaluating the demand for resources by households, assessing possible pro-environmental paths forward through a study of highly ecologically-conscious households. By modeling "green" households as producers of sustainability rather than consumers of environmental products, the sustainability work that takes place in households is brought into focus. An investigation of household sustainability production makes possible the evaluation of the trade-offs inherent in these pro-environmental …

Faculty Job Satisfaction And Morale In Biomedical Research, Richard John Goranflo Iii

Dissertations and Theses

High faculty morale and job satisfaction are vital for optimum performance and important to the quality and vitality of the academic enterprise. However, research on faculty morale and job satisfaction has historically been limited to faculty at traditional comprehensive institutions and specific professional programs. Faculty who conduct biomedical research at academic health centers experience substantial differences in employment expectations and how they are funded than other faculty. The purpose of this study was to explore how personal and professional factors contribute toward positive morale and job satisfaction for faculty in biomedical research programs at one academic health center. This qualitative …

What Is The Nature Of The Conflict Experienced By Japanese Workers In International Companies Based In Japan And What Type Of Conflict Management Do They Access?, Tomoko Shinohara Le

Dissertations and Theses

The aim of this thesis was to identify and analyze workplace conflict by enquiring into the nature of conflict, conflict management, and human resources (HR) strategies for conflict management in international companies based in Japan (ICBIJ). This study explores one part of a conflict system comprising cultural issues, HR strategies, conflict, and its effect on retention. The research question is "What is the nature of the conflict experienced by Japanese workers in international companies based in Japan and what type of conflict management do they access?" 16 Japanese workers were surveyed yielding qualitative and qualitative data. Findings indicate that workplace …

Humor Detection, Manan Jain

Dissertations and Theses

Humor is a very complex characteristic concept that defines us as human beings and social entities. Humor is an essential component in personal communication. How to create a method or model to discover the structures behind humor, recognize humor and even extraction of humor remains a challenge because of its subjective nature. Humor also provides valuable information related to linguistic, psychological, neurological and sociological phenomena. However, because of its complexity, humor is still an undefined phenomenon. Because the reaction that make people laugh can hardly be generalized or formalized. For instance, cognitive aspects as well as cultural knowledge, are some …

Culturally Responsive School Leadership For Latino/A Students Success, Victor H. Vergara

Dissertations and Theses

Historically, education in the United States has been tailored to fulfill the needs of White students. As the Latina/o population increases in the United States, we must prepare teachers and school administrators to provide opportunities for an equal education for minority students of all races, cultural backgrounds, or ethnicities. School leadership plays an important role in the effectiveness of educational access for minority students. Leaders must review and modify their practices to ensure that minority students have the opportunity to be productive citizens in our society. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the characteristics of effective high school …

Contexts Of Reception And Constructions Of Islam: Second Generation Muslim Immigrants In Post-9/11 America, Shahriyar Smith

Dissertations and Theses

The World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001 fundamentally transformed the context of reception for Muslim immigrants in the U.S., shifting it from neutral to negative while also brightening previously blurred boundaries between established residents and the Muslim minority. This study explores how second-generation Muslim immigrants have experienced and reacted to post-9/11 contexts of reception. It is based on an analysis of ten semi-structured in-depth interviews that were conducted throughout the Portland Metropolitan Area from January to April of 2016. It finds experiences of discrimination to be primarily affected by two factors: public institutions and gender. It also finds, …

Combat Experiences, Iso-Strain, And Sleep Quality Affect Symptoms Of Posttraumatic Stress Among Working Post-9/11 Veterans, Gilbert Patrick Brady Jr.

Dissertations and Theses

Despite the growing need, prior research on how the civilian work domain may affect posttraumatic stress is scarce. Moreover, few if any studies have investigated how perceptions of one's job and insomnia may shape traumatic stress symptoms, post-combat. Presently, about 4 million Americans have served in the "Global War on Terrorism," including nearly 1 million reservists. By contrast, 8.7 million Americans served in the Vietnam War: over twice the number of U.S. military personnel who have fought since 9/11. Surprisingly, combat experiences alone do not explain the majority of posttraumatic stress disorder cases, even after multiple deployments, suggesting the presence …

Music And Race In The American West, William Steven Schneider

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores the complexities of race relations in the nineteenth century American West. The groups considered here are African Americans, Anglo Americans, Chinese, Mexican Americans, and Native Americans. In recent decades historians of the West have begun to tell the narratives of racial minorities. This study adopts the aims of these scholars through a new lens--music. Ultimately, this thesis argues that historians can use music, both individual songs and broader conceptions about music, to understand the complex and contradictory race relations of the nineteenth century west.

Proceeding thematically, the first chapter explores the ways Anglo Americans used music to …

Stereotype Threat And Effects Of Students' Perception Of Their Math Teacher's Fairness On Their Math Self-Efficacy, Alexis Jocelyn Devigal

Dissertations and Theses

Gender inequalities perpetuated by educational and occupational segregation may be exacerbated in part by socialization processes that occur in the years leading up to when high school students typically begin considering postsecondary options. Students’ feelings of self-efficacy in certain subjects can be an important factor that informs their decisions to pursue coursework and programs. This study used stereotype theory to understand how students' perceptions of their 9th grade math teacher's fairness affected their 11th grade math efficacy and how this relationship was moderated by the gender of the student and their math teacher. Using the High School Longitudinal Study of …

The Influence Of Sense Of Community On The Relationship Between Community Participation And Recovery For Individuals With Serious Mental Illnesses, Rachel Elizabeth Terry

Dissertations and Theses

The Community Mental Health Act of 1963 launched the deinstitutionalization movement, whereby individuals with serious mental illnesses were released from psychiatric hospitals and began living and receiving mental health care in the community (Carling, 1995). However, these actions have not necessarily integrated those individuals into all aspects of community life (Dewees, Pulice, & McCormick, 1996). This is unfortunate because people with serious mental illnesses frequently report that community integration is not only important to them, but that it also aids in reducing symptoms and promoting recovery (Townley, 2015). Although past research suggests that receiving mental health care in the community …

Animals Coupling: Stories, Corey Robert Millard

Dissertations and Theses

We find ourselves at a unique place in American history: language is losing its value; decency--or "political correctness"--is becoming taboo; and our future is legislated by those who feel they have been left behind. The stories in Animals Coupling don't attempt to explain contemporary America, but they do attempt to demonstrate (through language, character, style, and circumstance) an expressive rendering of what it looks and feels like to live in the here and now. There is a sense of detachment threading through these works, along with absurdity, loneliness, humor and anomie. But though a minor key may ring loudest, Animals …

When You Aren't Who Your Friends Are: The Moderating Influence Of Racial Similarity On The Association Between Friendships And Mental Well-Being, Philip Tostado

Dissertations and Theses

Friendships are a mental health resource for adolescents. Their availability and strength have been shown to predict lower levels of depression, higher self-esteem, and higher life satisfaction. They can also alleviate the stress that often leads to negative mental health outcomes. However, studies examining the stress process rarely consider the fact that social networks like friendship groups are not a static resource that effects all people the same way. Rather, demographic characteristics of both the individual and their friends could change the role of friendship networks within the stress process.

In this thesis, I investigate the importance of one such …

Patients And Nurses And Doctors Oh My!: Nurse Retention From A Multi-Foci Aggression Perspective, Kevin Oliver Novak

Dissertations and Theses

Attrition is a serious issue in the nursing industry. One factor influencing rates of attrition in nursing is aggression victimization at work (Estryn-Behar et al., 2010). However, there is little research in the aggression literature that examines how aggression from different sources affects attrition (both job and career turnover) differently. This study attempts to better understand the linkages between aggression victimization and nursing attrition; specifically how aggression from different sources (i.e. patients/patients’ families, coworkers, and licensed independent practitioners) differentially affects retention factors (i.e. job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and career commitment). This study also attempts to understand the role that prosocial …

Exploring The Positive Utility Of Travel And Mode Choice, Patrick Allen Singleton

Dissertations and Theses

Why do people travel? Underlying most travel behavior research is the derived-demand paradigm of travel analysis, which assumes that travel demand is derived from the demand for spatially separated activities, traveling is a means to an end (reaching destinations), and travel time is a disutility to be minimized. In contrast, the "positive utility of travel" (PUT) concept suggests that travel may not be inherently disliked and could instead provide benefits or be motivated by desires for travel-based multitasking, positive emotions, or fulfillment. The PUT idea assembles several concepts relevant to travel behavior: utility maximization, motivation theory, multitasking, and subjective well-being. …

Capturing Peers', Teachers', And Parents' Joint Contributions To Students' Engagement: An Exploration Of Models, Justin William Vollet

Dissertations and Theses

Building on research that has focused on understanding how peers contribute to students' engagement, this dissertation explores the extent to which peer group influences on students' engagement may add to and be contextualized by qualities of the relationships they maintain with their teachers and their parents. To focus on how each of these adult contexts work in concert with peer groups to jointly contribute to changes in students' engagement, the two studies used data on 366 sixth graders which were collected at two time points during their first year of middle school: Peer groups were identified using socio-cognitive mapping; students …

Socioeconomic Determinants Of Health Disparities By Race And Ethnicity: The Mediating Role Of Social, Psychological And Behavioral Factors, Amanuel Zimam Melekin

Dissertations and Theses

Socioeconomic status (SES) is inversely related to health status. Disparities in health status among races and ethnic groups are partly attributable to differences in SES, but the indirect pathways by which SES may influence health status are not widely studied.

Using the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) data, this dissertation examined the pathways by which SES, via social, psychological, and behavioral factors predicted physical impairment and overnight hospitalization, and asked whether these indirect relationships differed by race/ethnicity. The HRS is a nationally representative multistage area probability sample administered biennially to respondents over the age of 51 and their spouses. Data …

"Neither Of The Boxes": Accounting For Non-Binary Gender Identities, Erin Patricia Savoia

Dissertations and Theses

This research examines the ways in which individuals who identify with nonbinary gender identities 1) understand and perform their gender identities and 2) navigate the workplace, intimate partner relationships, friendships, and the LGBTQ+ community. Prevailing understandings of gender rely on a gender binary; identification with a binary gender is compulsory. Individuals are assigned a gender at birth and are expected to identify fully with that gender for their entire lives. However, despite significant social pressures to identify as man or woman, there exist individuals whose identities bring into question the stability of the gender binary. Non-binary is sometimes used to …

Exploring The Health Effects Of Precarious Employment By Sex/Gender Using Mixed Methods, Kathleen Flandrick

Dissertations and Theses

Employment in the United States has changed dramatically since the mid-1970s. Labor market forces like globalization and diversification of the American workforce have led to a heavily segmented labor market where new types of flexible employment such as temporary, contingent, and nonstandard work arrangements are increasingly common. These newer types of work are often on the lower end of the precarious employment continuum, categorizing jobs by their degree of: 1) temporariness, 2) disempowerment, 3) vulnerability, 4) compensation (wages), 5) rights, and 6) ability to exercise worker rights. The increase in precarious employment likely disproportionately affects women when compared to men, …

The New York City Childcare Influenza Vaccine Mandate: A Case Study, Amy E. Metroka

Dissertations and Theses

Background. In 2014, New York City (NYC) became the third jurisdiction in the United States (US) to enact a childcare influenza vaccine mandate, after the states of New Jersey and Connecticut. The mandate was enacted by the NYC Board of Health by amending the NYC Health Code. The mandate’s goal was to increase vaccination rates among 6-59-month-olds attending city-regulated public and private childcare programs, including prekindergarten, to protect children, families, and the community against influenza. Children younger than 5 years are at high risk for severe illness and complications from influenza. Children are also known to be a major source …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Professional Development Providers' Epistemological And Nature Of Science Beliefs And Their Professional Development Programs, Alfonso Garcia Arriola

Dissertations and Theses

In the last twenty years in US science education, professional development has emphasized the need to change science instruction from a direct instruction model to a more participatory and constructivist learning model. The result of these reform efforts has seen an increase in science education professional development that is focused on providing teaching strategies that promote inquiry learning to learn science content. Given these reform efforts and teacher responses to professional development, research seems to indicate that whether teachers actually change their practice may depend on the teachers' basic epistemological beliefs about the nature of science. The person who builds …

The Voices Of Special Educators: How Do Special Educators Teach English Language Learners Who Are Receiving Special Education Services?, Elizabeth Ann Dubois

Dissertations and Theses

Disproportionality in special education has been examined from various perspectives over a 50-year period. English Language Learner (ELL) students have been included in the discussion among researchers in the past two decades as a disproportionate number of ELL students are referred to special education. Though the problem of disproportionality has been acknowledged, documented and discussed over a period of decades, there is a lack of research from the voices of special educators. The purpose of this study was to describe special education teachers' experiences teaching students currently or previously enrolled in an English language learner program who are receiving special …

Drivers' Attitudes And Behaviors Toward Bicyclists: Intermodal Interactions And Implications For Road Safety, Tara Beth Goddard

Dissertations and Theses

Road safety concerns are a legitimate concern when promoting increased bicycle use. Currently, the share of bicyclist traffic fatalities and injuries is not proportional to its mode share, and presents both a public health concern and a disincentive to people taking up or continuing to bicycle for transportation. Bicycling is not an inherently dangerous activity; automobile drivers pose the most risk of harm in crashes with bicyclists. Despite that, drivers' attitudes and behaviors toward bicyclists have not enjoyed much systematic study, particularly in the United States. This research explored the dimensions of drivers' attitudes toward bicyclists, including implicit bias and …

Middle School Teacher Beliefs About Classroom Diversity And Their Influence On Differentiated Instructional Practices, Marcus Fredrick-Lynn Wenzel

Dissertations and Theses

Diversity across U.S. classrooms is on the rise which is leading to renewed calls for teachers to meet individual learning needs. Studies indicate the failure to address individual learning needs can lead to higher rates of student disengagement, off-task behaviors, and diminished learning outcomes. Differentiated instruction is an approach to teaching that meets the growing diversity of individual learning needs by considering students' readiness, interest, and learning styles. Differentiated instructional approaches help teachers meet individual learning needs by allowing them to modify instruction as needed. However, despite the apparent benefits of differentiated instruction, teachers are hesitant to abandon other educational …