Digital Commons Network^™

Intergenerational Factors That Contribute To Millennial Church Engagement, Parker Sanderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Millennial church attendance has declined since the beginning of the new millennium. Intergenerational ambivalence has been known to contribute to this phenomenon. Through this action research, the researcher sought to determine what intergenerational factors have led to millennials’ continued or discontinued attendance within churches. A phenomenological qualitative approach centered around interviews for this study was used to determine these intergenerational factors. The sample was taken from a 1,100-member church in a major Texas metropolitan area. The goal was to help church leaders decrease relational distancing and reduce ambivalent factors to increase millennial engagement in this local congregation.

A History Of Complex Simple Lie Algebras, Avrila Frazier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 1869, prompted by his work in differential equations, Sophus Lie wondered about categorizing what he called “closed systems of commutative transformations,” while around the same time, Wilhelm Killing’s work on non-Euclidean geometry encountered related topics. As mathematicians recognized this as a division of abstract algebra, the area became known as “continuous transformation groups," but we now refer to them as Lie groups.

Patterns and structures emerged from their work, such as describing Lie groups in connection with their associated Lie algebras, which can be categorized in many important ways. In this paper, we focus on Lie algebras over the …

The Effects Of Covid-19 School Disruptions On Social, Emotional, And Behavioral Skills, Reggie N. Rios

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

School disruptions, closure of school buildings and online learning, in response to the coronavirus disease in 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic impacted students in unique ways (Azmat & Ahmad, 2022; Hosszu et al., 2022; Hussong et al., 2021; Patrick et al., 2020; Spitzer, 2020) and possibly had long-term effects on the social, emotional, and behavioral skills students normally establish and practice within the school setting (Steedly et al., 2008; Taylor & Larson, 1999; Zins et al., 2007). The lack of research related to the effects of school closures during the Covid-19 pandemic on social, emotional, and behavioral skills was addressed in this …

What Discrimination? Christian Microaggression Rhetoric Against Nontheists, Nicole Dolfi Hall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Theories of microaggressions have been used in the last decade as a framework for studying subtle forms of discrimination against racial minorities and other marginalized groups. However, there is a dearth of research on the scope and types of microaggressions nontheists face. This qualitative study examines microaggressions against nontheists by interviewing 16 religious Christians on their experiences and opinions of the discrimination Christians and nontheists face. The narratives were analyzed for thematic patterns between the rhetoric used and the type of microaggressions employed. The study revealed nine categories of microaggressions. The findings also showed how experiences of discrimination, political viewpoint, …

Childhood Trauma In Early Care And Education: Understanding School Administrators’ Perceptions, Olawale Olubowale

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This mixed-methods study explores childhood trauma with a primary focus on the beliefs and attitudes of elementary school administrators in their ability to offer trauma-informed leadership and assist their teachers in trauma-informed care (TIC) and education. Participants at various stages of their careers were recruited from elementary schools across 10 U.S. states (N = 240). Employing an explanatory sequential mixed method design, Phase I assessed school administrators’ attitudes using the attitudes related to trauma-informed care scale (ARTIC-45) (see Appendix A). Phase II employed semi-structured interviews to collect qualitative data to explain further and clarify the quantitative results. Findings suggest …

Educational Robotics And Computational Thinking In Elementary School Students, Sonia D. Jordan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the role of educational robotics in fostering computational thinking in elementary settings, both in classrooms and extracurricular programs. Among growing concerns over K–12 students’ computational thinking deficits, the research evaluated the impact of Lego EV3 and VEX IQ platforms. Data was sourced from lesson plans, student work surveys, and teacher interviews and then subjected to thematic analysis using a qualitative approach. The participants were Texas educators engaged in robotics instruction, even though specific robotics statistics are absent in the Texas Education Agency. Instructional strategies varied from hands-on experiences to translating mathematical concepts into robotic actions. A key …

A Qualitative Descriptive Study Of Teacher And Administrator Perceptions Of Professional Learning Communities In A Texas School District With A Predominance Of Hispanic Staff And Students, Corina C. Saenz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of conducting this qualitative descriptive study on professional learning communities in a South Texas public school district was to see if they are meaningful and structured to support the improvement of student success in the classroom as well as providing the support and steps outlined in an effective professional learning community. The study focused on the skill level implemented by the teachers, administrators, and other members of the committee to communicate, access the personal skills to collaborate with peers, and utilize the data for student achievement. This study sought to gain and understand the perceptions of department heads, …

Women Leaders In The Oil And Gas Industry: How They Lead With Authenticity And Deal With Underrepresentation And Gender Bias In The Macro, Meso, And Micro Levels Of Society, Michelle Ann Ballard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted between March 2023 and April 2023 and measured if women leaders in the oil and gas industry could lead authentically while dealing with gender biases. Women executives encounter macro-level challenges such as recruitment, retention, maintaining a career in oil and gas, feeling a sense of belonging, and gender prejudices. Women have faced organizational obstacles and challenges such as modifying their personalities, being underrepresented in their organization, unequal compensation, discriminatory stereotypes, and scarcity of resources. However, women in the industry also confront nonorganizational deterrents such as work-life conflict, harassment, and being regarded as poor advocates for their …

Competencies Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Agents Need To Manage Conflict In Master Gardener Programs, Jayla Brook Fry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension agents manage volunteer programs with vast efforts in public education. Volunteer programs such as the Texas Master Gardener program are significant to the public because they provide a service by educating people in horticulture and related topics. Extension agents oversee volunteer programs such as the Master Gardener program. The Texas Master Gardener program is comprised of more than 9,000 volunteers who give over 500,000 hours of service to their communities. When there are misaligned goals or personality conflicts, it may impact the program’s mission and educational efforts. Extension agents must manage those situations to retain the …

Transformational Leadership Training For Leaders, Kristie M. Gilliland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the impact of transformational leadership training on improving a leader’s skills and knowledge in performing daily operations and interacting with frontline staff, decreasing attrition. Ineffective leadership contributes to staff dissatisfaction, poor performance, and attrition. The literature supports transformational leadership is effective in leading teams of nurses and contributes to staff autonomy, staff satisfaction, decreased attrition, and improved patient outcomes. A quasi-experimental research study was completed on a leadership team in a managed care organization. Fourteen leaders with anywhere from 1 to more than 6 years of leadership experience were evaluated. Lewin’s change …

Project: Mhealth Applications For Educating Community Nurses, Nkemdilim Stacy Egbo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hypertension is a chronic health condition linked to high morbidity and mortality rates in America and around the world. Hypertension care in developing and underdeveloped countries requires quick intervention. The proliferation of smart technologies and mobile health applications offer some leverage for the alternative management of hypertension, but evidence related to effectiveness in Nigeria are limited. The purpose of the study was to assess the impact of m-Health apps on hypertension self-management through nurses’ education in Southern region of Nigeria, as well as their self-confidence or efficacy using the Hypertension Evaluation of Lifestyle Management assessment. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design was …

The Perceptions Of Second-Year, First-Generation Minority Students Regarding The Influence Of Avid Mentoring On Students’ Retention, Nisha Mary Mathews

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the increase in diversity, institutions continue to struggle to provide, retain, and graduate students of color to the same degree as their counterparts (Banks & Dohy, 2019). The purpose of this narrative qualitative research study was to examine the perceptions of second-year, first- generation minority college students regarding the influence of the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program on their persistence and academic achievement. The study was framed by Swail’s (2004) geometric model of student persistence and achievement, aimed to identify the cognitive, social, and institutional factors contributing to student retention. The following questions guided the study: (1) What …

A Case Study Of The Political Determinant Of Health On The Public Health Crisis Of Malaria In Nigeria, Bisola M. Olumegbon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Globally, there were about 229 million cases of malaria in 2022. The sub-Saharan African region accounted for 92% of the reported cases and 94% of deaths. Nigeria had the highest number of malaria cases and deaths, representing 27% of global cases. This scholarly project was a case study guided by the political determinants of health. Triangulation of data using thematic analysis was used to identify the political determinants of malaria in Nigeria and to understand how the concept of interaction contributes to the persistence of the disease. The analysis involved a deductive and inductive approach based on the literature …

Evaluation Of Cardiovascular Risk Compliance For Primary Prevention: A Quality Improvement Project, Rachelle S. Campbell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association clinical practice guidelines recommend a cardiovascular risk assessment every 4–6 years in ages 40–75 to prevent cardiovascular disease. This DNP project aimed to improve awareness, compliance with cardiac risk assessments, and stratification of high and low-risk patients. This quality improvement project utilized the Johns Hopkins nursing evidence-based model to create the inquiry question and foundational plan for implementing the clinical practice guideline, calculating the cardiac risk score, and creating a clinical workflow process. A retrospective chart audit was guided by the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) method to collect pre- and postintervention data on …

Alumni Giving From Online Learners: A Logistic Regression Study, Jaqlyne S. Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Alumni giving is increasingly important to the vitality of institutions of higher education. With governmental financial support of public institutions steadily declining, understanding philanthropic giving is more important than ever. Advancement offices that serve alumni populations benefit from analyzing predictors of the behavioral phenomenon of charitable giving. It is also known that enrollment in distance education programs is on the rise in the United States. For university administrators and advancement professionals to be proactive in cultivating relationships with alumni that attended through an online modality, more research was needed to understand what motivates philanthropic giving from this alumni constituency. Using …

Monitoring External Workloads And Countermovement Jump Performance Throughout A Preseason In Division 1 Collegiate Women’S Basketball Players, Michelle Van Dyke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Monitoring external workloads and countermovement jump performance may be useful for coaches. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of external load on player performance as measured by a CMJ and specific blood biomarkers throughout the preseason. METHODS:10 female division 1 basketball athletes had PlayerLoad^TM (PL) monitored for all mandatory basketball training during six weeks of the preseason and CMJs were performed weekly. Blood biomarkers were collected before preseason and at the end of preseason. Data were analyzed via the Catapult Sport software (Openfield, Catapult, Innovations, Melbourne, VIC, Australia) to quantify all participant …

Community College Students' Perceptions Of Sense Of Community And Instructor Presence In The Online Classroom, Marla Cartwright

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this non-experimental, comparative, quantitative study was to determine if there were significant differences between the perceptions of male and female community college students about the importance of sense of community (SoC) in online classes and sense of instructor presence (IP) at eight southern, public, community colleges using survey data. It was the intent of the study to determine if there were significant relationships of students’ perceptions of the presence of sense of community in online classes among factors of age, race, grade point average, cumulative credit hours, credential type, major area of study, and number of previous …

Professional Collaboration In Small Rural Schools: Teacher Perceptions Of The Role Of School Administrators, Brian A. Bettis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological, qualitative research study was to examine teachers’ perceptions of school administrators’ support of collaborative planning in small rural schools. Although there has been much research conducted on teacher collaboration through Professional Learning Communities, there has been little documentation of teacher collaboration in small rural schools (DuFour et al., 2020; Hansen, 2015; Moore, 2018). This research study examined teachers’ perceptions of collaboration and the role that school administrators play in the work to establish, support, and maintain collaborative teaming structures.

Data collection strategies included individual interviews of practicing teachers, serving in small rural schools. Analysis of …

Representing The Mixed Plate: Involving Descendant Communities And Kānaka Maoli In Hawai’I Plantation Museums, Amanda Ku’Ualohalanileimakamae Lane

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the ways that the involvement of diverse stakeholders at Hawai’i plantation museums affects representations of Hawai’i’s plantation history. Plantations in Hawai’i had a direct colonizing effect on Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians), displacing them from their lands, replacing them with immigrant laborers, and putting into motion the chain of events that led to Hawai’i’s annexation in 1898. The current-day population in Hawai’i continues to reflect these significant changes in the society and culture of the islands. Hawai’i’s plantation museums traverse topics of labor, immigration, indentured servitude, and colonization. Simultaneously, these museums advance stories of perseverance, celebration, and multiculturalism. …

Likeness In Utopia: Situation And Metaphor From Thomas More To Edward Bellamy, Sage Rachmiel Bard Gilbert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As a literary genre, utopia is notably didactic. It seeks to teach desire and to educate hope. As such, utopia provides a unique site to examine the way metaphor and imagination enable one to be convinced, and the way those same elements facilitate misunderstanding. Following the theorization of Ernst Bloch, the goal of critiquing these literary utopias is not to reject hope but, rather, to educate our own daydreams, to learn and move forward. These chapters examine didacticism and the development of colonial metonymy in Thomas More’s Utopia, the way metaphor operates through time in Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward: …

Frequency Stability Constrained Grid Operation With High Penetration Of Renewables, Ningchao Gao

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Achieving carbon neutrality necessitates a significant integration of renewable energy into power systems. However, the swift implementation of fluctuating renewable energy (VRE) sources such as solar photovoltaics (PV) exacerbates real time power imbalances due to the randomness and uncertainty associated with VRE power generation. Further, the declining reliance on conventional synchronous generators (SGs) for system inertia presents considerable challenges in maintaining frequency stability, especially following disturbances.

Two possible solutions are proposed to address the first issue. Firstly, a speedy real time generation dispatch can be scheduled to allocate generation resources within short time intervals to effectively respond to changes in …

Enhancing Search Engine Results: A Comparative Study Of Graph And Timeline Visualizations For Semantic And Temporal Relationship Discovery, Muhammad Shahiq Qureshi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In today’s digital age, search engines have become indispensable tools for finding information among the corpus of billions of webpages. The standard that most search engines follow is to display search results in a list-based format arranged according to a ranking algorithm. Although this format is good for presenting the most relevant results to users, it fails to represent the underlying relations between different results. These relations, among others, can generally be of either a temporal or semantic nature. A user who wants to explore the results that are connected by those relations would have to make a manual effort …

You Have To Play To Win: Value Capture In Open Innovation, John T. Pritchard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the extensive research on open innovation, debate remains on the relationship between open innovation and firm performance. No consensus exists on the measures of performance and the mechanisms that enable value capture remain largely unexplored. This dissertation addresses these issues in two parts. First, a theoretical model based on knowledge flows is introduced. Knowledge is at the heart of open innovation and this dissertation examines the role that external and internal knowledge play in firm performance outcomes. It integrates the dynamic capability view and open innovation literature to build a framework and set of arguments on how knowledge is …

Safest Kid (A Sexual Assault Framework In Education To Support Trauma In Kids With Intellectual Disability): Delphi Study Development Of A Model And Utilization, Ashley M. Hudson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is a grave need for additions to the school psychologist’s toolbox to support students with intellectual disability (ID) and sexual trauma. These children are especially vulnerable to adverse life experiences overall and are at a particularly high risk of experiencing sexual abuse and resulting trauma. Children with ID are less likely to have their trauma symptoms identified by those around them, as symptoms do not always present in the same way as their neurotypical peers and trauma symptoms are more likely to be grouped into the rest of their disability through diagnostic overshadowing. Additionally, individuals with ID are at …

Putting It Gently: The Other Side Of A Peace Corps Volunteer Experience, Nicole Jacobson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Peace Corps is a transformative experience for many young Americans. The majority of volunteers have worthwhile services they remember fondly; however, these experiences are not always positive. The Peace Corps is a Cold War initiative that uses soft power techniques to further American exceptionalism, capitalism, and the modernization theory of development. The goal of this project was to understand what factors led to the negative experiences of Peace Corps Volunteers. I conducted an ethnography that focused on online communities, semi-structured interviews, Peace Corps memoirs, and news articles to understand Peace Corps Volunteers’ experiences and the organizational culture where they …

Designing Secure Mental Healthcare Chatbots For Older Adults, Aishwarya Surani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The landscape of mental health support has evolved as a result of the rising demand for digital mental healthcare services. Users now have an opportunity to seek mental health support online due to the growth of digital platforms. For those looking for mental health treatments, chatbots have evolved as user-friendly, accessible platforms that provide remote access and convenience. However, for chatbots to be effective, users must divulge personal and sensitive information, such as demographics, insurance information, and a history of mental illness. While chatbots offer services to a variety of demographic users, older adults face unique challenges related to usability, …

Reevaluating The God-Human Relationship Through The Psychological Origin Of Sin: A Comparative Theology Of Schleiermacher And Kierkegaard On The Doctrine Of Sin, Brandon Tsark

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In his The Concept of Anxiety, Kierkegaard’s decision to have Haufniensis acknowledge Schleiermacher’s contribution to the doctrine of sin continues to raise questions regarding Schleiermacher’s influence on Kierkegaard’s intellectual development. These questions also serve to underscore the general need to locate Kierkegaard properly within the larger context of religious and theological studies in the nineteenth century. Our project here seeks to address these questions with a comparative theology of Schleiermacher and Kierkegaard on the Christian doctrine of sin. I argue that Kierkegaard is right to credit Schleiermacher as a source of inspiration in The Concept of Anxiety because of …

Optimizing E-Payment Applications For Older Adults: User-Centered Solutions To Improve Security, Privacy, Usability, And Accessibility, Urvashi Kishnani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In an increasingly digital world, older adults are rapidly becoming a vital demographic in the realm of electronic financial transactions. It is imperative to address their unique needs and challenges to ensure their financial well-being. Older adults can be more vulnerable to various online threats, making security and privacy paramount. As they adapt to the digital age, understanding their specific privacy concerns and preferences is crucial for creating trustworthy e-payment systems. Moreover, enhancing the usability of e-payment applications for older adults promotes financial independence and inclusion, contributing to their overall quality of life. By focusing on these critical dimensions, we …

An Empowerment Evaluation Of Colorado Mountain College’S Mountain Scholars Program Via Latino Alumni Aspirational Goals And Outcomes, Laura Anne Bruch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative inquiry evaluated Colorado Mountain College’s (CMC) in-house Mountain Scholars Program (MSP) via semi-structured interviews with five of its Latino alumni. This study’s assets-based social justice/transformative philosophical framework included David Fetterman’s methodological empowerment evaluation and Tara Yosso’s conceptual community cultural wealth (CCW) theory. This dissertation in practice examined the gap in literature with regards to an in-house student support services program evaluation that partners with the community and focuses on Latinos’ aspirations and aspirational outcomes. I wanted to be a worthy witness to the student demographic group at CMC, as well as at most American postsecondary institutions, considered the …

Seeking Sisterhood: An Exploratory Qualitative Inquiry Into The Sorority Rejection Experiences Of Black Women, Jasmine Michelle Pulce

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In response to a call to fill the gap left by previous studies on collegiate sorority rejection, this study explored the meaning Black women ascribe to experiences of rejection from historically Black sororities. Using Black feminist thought and sista circle methodology, this study introduced narratives from five Black women who came together to comprise a collective standpoint. To better understand this phenomenon, study participants completed individual interviews, two Sista Circles, and one reflection survey. Three main findings were the interconnectedness of Black Greek-letter organizations and Black subcommunities at predominantly white institutions, the nonlinear nature of the Black sorority rejection experience, …