Digital Commons Network^™

Student Athlete Retention And Performance In Agriculture: An Analysis Of A Mentorship Program, Nick Cates

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative research study focuses on the effectiveness of the athletic academic mentoring and advising program at Stephen F. Austin State University and its potential to replicate a similar program in the agriculture program. With emphasis on increasing the effectiveness of the current mentoring program, increasing student retention in agriculture, and improving the transition for high school students going into college, this study utilizes a questionnaire comprised of seven questions to determine how 14 former and current student-athletes that were enrolled in agriculture felt about the mentoring program and agriculture department. Many of the challenges faced by students, such as …

The Effect Of Compound L19 On Human Colorectal Cells (Dld-1), Sepideh Mohammadhosseinpour

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Colorectal cancer is the third most common type of cancer in the world and the second leading cause of death among humans. Extracts of water soluble compounds from the roots and leaves of Rumex crispus were screened for compounds that induced apoptosis in DLD-1 cells. A compound referred to as L19 was isolated using Accelerated Solvent Extraction (ASE) followed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry was used to identify the L19 as a tetrahydrofuran with a molecular weight of 72.11 g/mole. Each HPLC fraction resulted in 94.4% purity. In the present research, specific genes …

The Effects Of Mindful Meditation On Stress, Resilience, And Work-Family-School Conflict, James Kunz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Previous research on mindful meditation (MM) has not sufficiently examined the efficacy of guided MM on perceived stress, role conflict, and other constructs using a cell phone mobile application. Stress and role conflict are experienced by a significant proportion of the public and have substantial negative consequences on mental and physical health (Lupien, McEwen, Gunnar, & Heir, 2009; Byron, 2005).Stress and role conflict can be lessened through mindful meditation (Spijkerman, Pots, & Bohlmeijer, 2016; Michel, Bosch, & Rexroth, 2014). The current research examined the effectiveness of guided mindful meditation compared to a music-listening control group on four stress-related variables: mindfulness, …

Effect Of Pinching And Spacing On The Growth And Development Of Sunflowers (Helianthus Annuus) In East Texas, Bilawal Irshad Cheema

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Helianthus annuus cultivars were grown in East Texas to evaluate the effect of pinching and spacing on their growth and development. The first experiment was conducted twice (Trial 1A, 28 April 2017 and Trial 1B, 3 August 2017) to evaluate the effect of pinching at nodes 1, 2, 3, and 4 on sunflower cultivars ‘Superior Gold’, ‘Pro Cut Gold’, ‘Sun Bright Supreme’, ‘Vincent’s Choice’, and ‘Sunrich Lemon’. For trial 1A, all the non-pinched treatments for the five cultivars produced marketable stem lengths, stem diameters, flower diameters, and disk diameters. For the cultivar ‘Superior Gold’ all the treatments produced marketable stems. …

A Sexual Assault Prevention Program Proposal For Abilene Christian University, Ammie Brooks, Ammie Kae Brooks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to develop the most effective sexual assault prevention

program for Abilene Christian University. The program will meet the federal regulation requiring Universities to participate in sexual assault prevention and education. Additionally, the program will be made to fit the audience at Abilene Christian University. The proposed program is designed to encompass all undergraduate students at Abilene Christian University and use a pretest and posttest to measure the effectives of the program to meet its eight predetermined goals. The following paper presents the program proposal, methodology and evaluation tools needed for its future implementation.

Prevention Of Child Maltreatment In U.S. Air Force Families, Amber Ester Coody

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Department of Defense created the Family Advocacy Program (FAP) to provide primary and secondary intervention and prevention services to military families to decrease the risks of family maltreatment. This review synthesized literature to reveal how deployment, domestic abuse, mental health, and substance abuse relate to adult and child maltreatment in the armed forces. Systematic review procedures are used to evaluate nine studies meeting inclusion criteria to correlate factors significant in the increased risk of child maltreatment. Based on results, this paper discusses how FAP can effectively provide primary and secondary services by transitioning from a traditional medical model to …

Environmental Assessment Of Road Brining And Injection Wells For Disposal Of Oil And Gas Liquid Waste, Marissa Madia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The dramatic increase in oil and gas drilling operations in Pennsylvania over the last decade has presented a challenge for their wastewater disposal (e.g., flowback, produced water). Currently, these fluids are treated in permitted brine treatment plants or exported out of state to deep injection well facilities. In Pennsylvania, road brining for dust control is permitted for conventional well brines, and permits for three injection wells for unconventional brines are pending. This study focused on water quality impacts due to road brining in Farmington Township (45 samples) and ground and surface water in Grant Township (41 samples) prior to the …

The Effects Of One Neurofeedback Session On Eye-Tracking Distractibility When Completing Verbal And Visuospatial Search Tasks, Rebecca C. Recio-Swift

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common and prevalent condition seen in all ages and throughout the world. School-aged and college-aged students seem to have the most difficulty in terms of academic performance, social functioning, and adaptive functioning. Visual attention and visual search are important aspects of attention. Visual attention drives what and how the brain processes and interprets information from the environment. Visual search is the ability to find a visual target within a set of distractors. Electroencephalography (EEG) Neurofeedback is the process of re-training brainwaves through operant conditioning. Neurofeedback (NF) has been suggested to be a non-invasive …

Safe Haven, Korey Burns

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Safe Haven is a body of work that reflects my interest in different cultures that have similarities to my personal background. Recreating familiar symbols, colors, textures, and finishes, I create wearable sculptures that communicate memories based upon historic imagery from areas that have impacted my life. By being able to clasp a necklace or pin a brooch on, the viewer physically engages with the work. This interaction resembles my own experiences within the areas I traveled and artists that I have met. With the combination of different metalworking techniques and personal experiences, I am able to developed work that adorns …

Initial Assessment Of Canopy Fuel Factors In Forested Areas Of The Netherlands, Alan Hibler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The changing climate in the Netherlands has created the need to better understand how the forested communities and their structures will be affected by fire and to better estimate the impact of those fires. This study is part of a continuing collaboration between the Stephen F. Austin State University’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture and the Instittut Fysieke Veiligheid to assess fuel loads in the Netherlands to develop and improve models to estimate fire behavior. Data to estimate canopy bulk density for modelling canopy fire behavior were collected in the Netherlands for Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco), …

The Influence Of Intimate Partner Violence Public Service Announcements On Help Seeking, Attitudes, And Bystanders, Rebecca Collins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current study used the IPVAS-R, CTS2S, Bystander Efficacy Scale, Bystander Intentions to Help Scale, Bystander Behaviors Scale, and the MHSS to test the hypothesis that the IPV PSA would produce greater intentions to seek help in the event of victimization, lower minimization scores, and increased confidence and intentions to help. The current study also examined the influence of victimization on intentions to seek help, as well as the influence of previous bystander experience on bystander efficacy and intentions to help. Two MANOVAs indicated support for the two latter hypotheses and only partial support for the influence of the IPV …

A Quantitative Study Of The Relationship Between Athletic Spending And Institutional Enrollment Measures In Fcs Athletic Institutions, Rob Mcdermand, Robert D. Mcdermand

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As university budgets face fiscal challenges, it is important that university leaders make smart fiduciary choices. University leaders are quick to argue that athletics act as a front porch for universities, are a fundamental part of collegiate life, and that increased athletic funding will lead to enrollment increases and higher quality applicant pools. Critics of athletic spending, on the other hand, argue that money spent on college sports could be spent in other areas of the university.

Using a regression analysis similar to previous research, the purpose of this panel data regression analysis was to examine the relationship between intercollegiate …

Effects Of One Neurofeedback Session On Relationship Between Fear-Of-Pain And Visual Avoidance Of Pain, Timothy Swift

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Chronic pain is increasingly prevalent and costly and will continue to be with the increasing mean age of America’s population. It is important to identify interventions addressing pain-related biopsychosocial aspects. The purpose of the current study was to examine if a single session of specific neurofeedback (NF) protocols had an effect on subjective fear and physiological fear-avoidance behaviors in relation to pain-related stimuli. Correlational analyses revealed that FPQ-III minor pain scores were negatively associated with total fixation duration while looking at pain-related pictures. One-way ANOVAs revealed differences approaching significance for those trained on Left-Hemisphere NF protocols compared to those in …

The Challenges Of Newly Adopted Mathematics Curriculum In Title I Schools: A Mixed Methods Study, Carmen Cruz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the early impacts of the newly adopted mathematics TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge Skills) introduced in 2014 by TEA (Texas Education Agency) that detail the curriculum standards for all students across schools in Texas schools, for grades K-12. The study examined the challenges that teachers and administrators have had to overcome to meet federal legislation educational compliance. Additionally the study examined how schools and districts were professionally developing their teachers on new curricular standards. Five Title 1 schools in four school districts were used in the study. Schools were selected from …

The Impact Of Media On The Public's Perception Of Texas Foster Care, Hannah Sims

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores if valid information can mitigate stereotypes of foster care as reflected in popular media, specifically in the context of the State of Texas. A quasiexperimental, post-test only design assessed the role that media plays in the public’s perception of foster care in the state of Texas. Results indicate that media, in the form of a professional presentation, made statistically significant differences between treatment and control groups in regard to the overall perception and general attitudes towards the foster care system in the State of Texas. Results indicate the need for further research in the area of media’s …

Spirituality And Recovery, Sara Turner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT On many college and university campuses, offering services to care for the psychological needs of students is vital. High amounts of stress and involvement can lead

them to engage in behaviors that are detrimental to academic success. Stress reactions may lead to drug or alcohol use, absences, failing to complete assignments, and social isolation. Stress reactions may also result in more serious forms of mental disturbances. Research shows that, among college students, aspects of spirituality and religiosity can facilitate recovery from such stress reactions and mental disturbances. Celebrate Recovery (CR), an intervention method, is a faith-based recovery program designed …

An Exploration Of Cis Interventions And Their Impact On Homeless Middle School Students, Kaitlyn Tudor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Homeless youth face many barriers during their education that have an impact on their overall success in completing school. This study attempts to identify an evidence-based practice to support homeless students in the school setting. Literature suggests that basic need services are more frequently implemented in schools rather than interventions aimed to address academic, attendance, and behavioral concerns. Communities In Schools (CIS) is a dropout prevention program instilled in all of the Abilene Independent School District (AISD) middle schools and high schools. This program utilizes interventions to target students in areas of academics, attendance, and behavior. A gap in the …

A Shift In Silence, Bailey Idom

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A Shift in Silence is a body of work that emerged because of a key shift in my life. Using the formal components of line, shape, and value, I create a space representing an intimate moment in time. Physically, the medium can be any material, but I process all of this as an expression of line. Each piece shares the commonality of lines and lineage, while the layering embodies the record of my relationships from the past that directly affect the present. The abstraction and unpredictability within my own relationships require openness and vulnerability. This honest dialogue sustains and informs …

Factors Impacting Teacher Turnover In Texas Public School Districts With Fewer Than 500 Students: A Mixed Methods Study, Paige N. Benoy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Rural Texas districts experience higher rates in teacher turnover compared to other districts. This explanatory sequential mixed methods study was designed to explore the relationships among district size and the factors that contributed to teacher turnover. Data was collected from Texas public school districts with fewer than 500 students. A simple correlation determined that no relationship existed between district size and teacher turnover rate during the 2016-2017 school year in the 313 districts that had fewer than 500 students. Participating districts came from two different regions. Four superintendents were interviewed about the factors surrounding turnover regarding the teacher turnover in …

Speleogenetic Evolution And Geological Remote Sensing Of The Gypsum Plain, Eddy County, New Mexico, Jessica Shields

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Permian evaporites of the Gypsum Plain region of the Delaware Basin host extensive karst phenomena, as well as unique diagenetic alterations of host strata. Because of the complex, poorly understood hydrogeologic system, little has been established concerning the relation and evolution of the overprinted, modern and ancient karst manifestations within the Gypsum Plain, as a whole. Through a combination of traditional field studies and the development of improved remote sensing methodologies, this study established the speleogenetic evolution of the Gypsum Plain in relation to the greater tectonic, stratigraphic, hydrogeologic and climatic history of the Delaware Basin. Emphasis was focused on …

A Geophysical Delineation Of A Normal Fault Within The Gulf Coastal Plain, Montgomery County, Texas, Danielle Minteer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Gulf Coast of Texas has been a known hydrocarbon basin for many years with various structural trapping mechanisms such as anticlines, faults and salt domes. While most large salt domes have been extensively studied in the Gulf Coastal Plain, many smaller normal faults have not been studied in detail. This research study employs an integrated geophysical approach to mapping the Big Barn fault in Montgomery County, Texas. This fault is located on the Gulf Coastal Plain and is approximately 20 miles north of Houston, Texas. Most normal faults in the Gulf Coastal Plain formed as a result of the …

Developmental Mathematics: A Quantitative Investigation Of Instructor Classification As Related To Student Success, Brittany A. Fish

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine what type of predictive power exists between an instructor’s employment classification, student gender, student race, and first-generation status on a student’s academic success in developmental mathematics, as measured by final semester grades at a regionally comprehensive state university in Texas between fall 2013 and spring 2017. Data were collected from the institution under study and the sample population included 1932 unique student observations. The data collected in this study were analyzed through a binary logistic regression model to determine whether an instructor’s employment classification, student gender, student race, and first-generation status …

A Biographical Study Of A Female Karen Refugee Who Experienced Academic Success In A Texas High School, Katherine P. Whitbeck

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative biographical study explored the life experiences of a female Karen youth who moved to the United States as a pre-teenager, entering a medium-sized Texas rural public high school as a freshman. Perceptions of English Learners are that they are ill-prepared for achieving success in rigorous academic subjects taught in United States public schools. Refugees are considered to have more difficulties because of the trauma associated with their pre-immigration violent environments, which often involve little or no organized education in the native country or in refugee camps. The biographical design allowed the Karen student who achieved academic success at …

Challenges And Solutions For National Park Service Civil War Sites Working With African American Communities, Rolonda Teal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objectives of this project were to determine the ways in which National Park Service (NPS) sites with a Civil War component are connecting or not with African American visitors and non-visitors. In order to meet the overarching objectives, two approaches were used which consisted of direct contact with the NPS sites and administering a site-specific questionnaire. Multiple attempts were made to contact 81 national parks, monuments, battlefields, historic sites, and other type park designations. Of the 81 sites, 55 national park units responded to an eight plus two sub-question questionnaire. Interpreters at each site were asked about interpretive programming …

Explaining The Obvious: Privileged Hermeneutics And The Irony Of Explicitly Literal Interpretation, Joshua Alkire

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to examine why so many uses of the word literal (whether taken from everyday contemporary speech or the works of well-respected ancient writers) seem at odds with the word’s theoretical definition and to explore the implications of this disparity for those who privilege a literal interpretation of Scripture. The examples will show that the meaning of literal was not altered at a particular point in time, nor is it altered on an ongoing basis by a small subset of particularly idiosyncratic individuals. Rather, the word is predisposed to behave strangely the moment it is …

What Are The Leadership Behaviors Of Winning Basketball Coaches?, Joshua Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problem this study addressed was the lack of designation of a leadership style to help coaches perform at their highest level in order to be a positive factor in the lives of their athletes and. The purpose of this study was to identify leadership styles and behaviors of the Texas high school varsity boys’ basketball coaches whose teams reached regional tournament play. This mixed method research study was conducted through quantitative closed response surveys utilizing the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and through qualitative interviews to address the leadership styles and behaviors of high school basketball coaches. The sample population was …

Factors Of Enrollment For K-12 Christian Schools, Scott Harsh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Enrollment in independent schools in the U.S. has been in decline for 15 years. Faith-based schools have experienced more significant decline than non-religious schools. School leaders have been struggling to find solutions to prevent further enrollment loss and to promote future growth. The purpose of this study was to explore the reasons parents decide to enroll their children in a faith-based schools. According to the literature, factors associated with national enrollment decline include economic challenges, declining religiosity, increased competition, maturing of business cycle, rising tuition, poor marketing, and generational changes in parental values related to schooling. To explore these and …

Overcoming Barriers: Factors Of Resiliency In Refugee Students Pursuing Higher Education, Tamika Braye

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research looks at the significant barriers that exist in the United States that hinder African refugee youth from being able to pursue their educational goals. According to the literature, language, social, and economic barriers during this pivotal point in their lives are often reasons that refugee students may have a difficult time going to college. Refugee families enter the United States in hopes of a prosperous life. The following research will discuss ways that current or former refugees have overcome these barriers through forms of intervention and acts of resiliency to reach their educational goals. The findings of this …

An Evaluation Of The Impact Of Financial Coaching As A Social Work Intervention In A Church-Based Setting In Texas, Chelsea Fordham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although strides have been made to reduce the negative effects of poverty, the

implementation of effective programs and policies is essential in the fight to end poverty. Literatures suggests that churches and faith-based programs offer clients a unique type of service due to the affiliation of religion that can be used as a strength and sense of support for clients. This study attempts to offer empirical data regarding the effectiveness of a program of this type by exploring the impact of a church-based financial coaching program for participants who received financial assistance and those who did not receive financial assistance. …

The Church As A Eucharistic And Prophetic Community In India: A Theological Exploration Into The Challenges And Implications Of A Eucharistic Ecclesiology Based On The Early Church And The Statements Of The Indian Theological Association (Ita), Shibi Devasia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Theological trends change from time to time to make the faith more meaningful and relevant to the contemporary context. To an extent, the Second Vatican Council, by its commitment to two concepts, “ressourcement” and “aggiornamento,” succeeded in this mission in the last century. The communion ecclesiology of the Council, which has its foundation in the sacrament of Eucharist, shows that the centrality of the Eucharist in the Church cannot be overlooked, because the ecclesial body of the Church is built up by the Eucharistic body of Christ. Any Eucharist-centered ecclesiology is prophetic and eschatological by nature. The “Eucharistic” and …