Digital Commons Network^™

I, Myself, And Me, The Human Being, David Manuel Cajias

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this project are advanced two ways of seeing the ordinary human being with the aim of understanding who he is: namely, from the perspective of his personal identity and from the point of view of his self-conception. The chapters included in the first part are meant to treat the issue of personal identity from a practical perspective, whereas the ones included in the second part intend to assess the utility of self-conception from a phenomenological standpoint. Ultimately, I bring together these two perspectives into a unitary understanding of the human being in the context of his everyday life.

From Policy To Practice: Exploring Principals’ Experiences In Facilitating The Implementation Of Cross Curricular Literacy Standards To Early Adolescents, Sherri Betton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research has shown that early adolescents continue to need literacy development in middle school. Furthermore, states that adopted the current comprehensive school reform policy must implement literacy instruction across content areas in grades six through twelve. This study will explore principals’ experiences as they facilitate the implementation of cross-curricular literacy standards. Qualitative case study methodology will be used to examine the perceptions of seven middle school principals as they act as change agents in the implementation process.

How Want Vs Need Self-Talk Facilitates Goal-Directed Behavior, Danielle Elyse Baker

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Exercising self-control can be a challenge, whether it involves avoiding temptations or striving toward long-term goals. When attempting to exert self-control, the way people address themselves (e.g., self-talk) is important. This study examined how self-talk strategies want and need affected behavioral self-control outcomes in a temptation situation using a 2 (self-talk strategy: want vs need) x 2 (goal emphasis: temptation vs long term goal) factorial design. Participants’ own cell phones served as the temptation and a computer task designed to portray a career-relevant emotional intelligence training served as the long-term goal. Participants were randomly assigned toward either the long-term goal …

The Attitudes Of Saudi Teachers Toward Teaching Physical Education For Girls At Public Schools In Jeddah, Turki H. Samargandi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes of Saudi teachers towards teaching PE for girls at public schools in Jeddah city and to explore the factors that may affect these attitudes. The researcher explored the reasons behind the PE ban for girls in these schools. The number of participants was Four hundred and sixty-two teachers who completed the survey (N = 462). T-Test and One-Way ANNOVA were the two methods to analyze the data collected.

The results indicated that about 95.1% of them agreed that regular practice of physical education can affect positively the appearance and the …

Community- Versus School-Based Mentoring Matches: Do Mentees’ Parents Differ In Family Risk, Perceived Support Or Reasons For A Mentor?, Meredith Sourk

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explores whether the parents or guardians of youth participating in community-based (CBM) and school-based (SBM) mentoring programs differ in their level of family stress, economic adversity and perceived social and community support. Participants were 131 parents of youth in either CBM (n = 79) or SBM (n = 52) programs sponsored by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada (BBBS-Canada). Parents completed an online survey that assessed demographic characteristics and involvement in BBBS-C programs. Additional measures assessed family stress, economic adversity, perceived support (interpersonal, community), and reasons for wanting a mentor. Parents of youth in CBM matches were less …

Offside, Maryamsadat Amirvaghefi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

OFFSIDE highlights the parallels between artists and athletes, as well as the professional communities in which both operate. Through the use of sports related imagery, the artwork explores notions of ethnicity, gender, and politics. While much of the work is autobiographical, OFFSIDE is able to consider the political and personal views surrounding a young Muslim woman while lives with constant uncertainty in the United States and trying to start a career in one of the most competitive cultural fields.

Assessing The Long-Term Effects Of Brief Behavioral Health Treatment In Primary Care Patients, Debbie Gomez

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although increasingly studies show brief behavioral health services are effective for primary care patients (Bridges et al., 2013; Bryan, Morrow, & Appolonio, 2009; Corso et al., 2012; Gomez et al., 2014), there is a paucity of research exploring the long-term effects of these interventions (e.g., Ray-Sannerud, 2012). The primary aim of the current study was to explore long-term effectiveness. Specifically, the current study 1) examined whether reductions in patient global distress following brief behavioral health care services were maintained long-term, 2) evaluated whether improvements were reliable and not due to regression to the mean effects, and 3) explored medical cost …

Liking, Craving, And Attentional Bias In Non-Dependent Drinkers, David Lovett

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to better understand alcohol use problems by examining the effect of alcohol liking on alcohol attentional bias among non-dependent drinkers. An adapted model of Robinson and Berridge’s (1993) incentive-sensitization theory of addiction was proposed which theorized that manipulation of alcohol liking would produce alcohol attentional bias (assessed via visual probe task) among non-dependent drinkers. To test this adapted model, alcohol liking was manipulated and the effect on alcohol attentional bias was examined. Participants were 53 legal-age, college drinkers (Mage = 23.49; 32.1% female; 67.9% White Non-Hispanic). Participants completed measures of alcohol drink preference, …

Native Advertising And Disclosure, Katherine Alexis Hunt

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper reviews the growing combination of advertising and editorial content in the converged paid media form of native advertisements. Because native advertisements have the potential to negatively impact the credibility of traditional news organizations by misleading consumers through hidden persuasion attempts, this text reviews native advertisements in five prominent online newspapers for disclosure and source credibility.

Through a content analysis of 130 online newspaper native ads, this paper reviews disclosure according to FTC guidelines for native advertising proximity and placement, prominence, reputation, and language. In addition, this text reviews source credibility by attribution and source status: executives, professionals, public …

The Perception Of The Freshman Transition: Taking A Closer Look At The Freshman Academy, Frankie Jo Lizar

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine teacher, student, and parent perceptions of the high school transition program within a Freshman Academy at one Midwest high school using a mixed-methods approach with a convergent design. Interviews were done with teachers that teach primarily freshman students, and perception surveys were used with teachers, students, and parents to answer the following research questions:

a) How do freshman teachers believe the Freshman Academy interventions influence students’ successful transition into high school?

b) What are staff’s perceptions of the Freshman Academy in preparing students for success in high school?

c) What are students’ …

Fall Risk In Sedentary, Recreationally Active, And Masters Athlete Older Adults, Felicia Elizabeth Squires

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine whether different habitual activity levels may affect balance ability in older adults. Balance must be studied as poor balance increases likelihood of falls. This study examined activity levels in older adults and effect on balance ability. Fifty-nine older adults aged 66.5 ± 9.5 participated. Three groups were separated by physical activity level. First group had 13 masters athletes, older adults performing least 150 minutes of aerobic activity a week and competing in nationally sanctioned event within the last six months. Twenty-seven older adults comprised recreationally active group performing at least 150 minutes …

Potential Relationships Of Community College Faculty Credentials And Measures Of Instructional Effectiveness: Student Survey Of Instruction And Grades, Marc Alan Willis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to determine what, if any, relationship existed when considering instructor credentials in relation to student surveys of instruction (SSOI), instructor credentials in relation to grade distribution, and the relationship between SSOI and grade distribution. The case study college is a two-year rural institution in Oklahoma employing 53 full-time faculty in Fall 2016. Eighteen of those faculty lack the adequate credentials as required by the Higher Learning Commission, the accrediting body for the college. Very little information was discovered verifying the impact of credentials on effectiveness, and what was located was anecdotal rather than data …

Behavioral Intervention Teams: An Exploration Of Team Member Perceptions At Oklahoma Regional Universities, Sheila J. Self

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this study was to examine Behavioral Intervention Teams from the perspective of twelve team members at four regional universities in Oklahoma. This study strengthened the knowledge base regarding team-member perceptions of Behavioral Intervention Team effectiveness, functioning, resources, needs, state factors, and campus impacts, and added qualitative data to the existing body of literature. Behavioral Intervention Teams were designed to be a tool for preventing campus violence and addressing behaviors of concern through information gathering, analysis, and intervention. While it may never be known how many acts of violence, suicides, or other student issues have been prevented or …

Student Voice Initiative: Exploring Implementation Strategies, Blaine G. Alexander

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Student voice is the process of allowing students to work collaboratively with adults to produce a learning culture that is conducive for optimum growth in every student. In a traditional setting, the adults make the decisions and the students are passive observers in the learning process. Data has shown that this traditional culture is not advantageous to student learning for all students. Research has shown that students are seven times more academically motivated when they have the opportunity to have a voice in their personal learning process (Quaglia, 2016). This case study centered on the Northeast Arkansas Regional Student Voice …

Promoting Biliteracy And Biculturalism In Bilingual-Maintenance Secondary Classes: A Key Measure In The Creation Of A Gateway To Post-Secondary Education For First And 1.5 Generation Latino Students In Northwest Arkansas Public Schools, Jeanette A. Arnhart

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the context of the Northwest Arkansas (NWA) regional setting, this study examines the effects of the Spanish for Heritage and Native Speakers (SHNS) model from multiple vantage points. Educational capital and biculturation approaches are employed to help theoretically frame post-secondary educational success and ethnic identity, respectively.

Study methods are briefly described and paired with a description of the NWA region as an ideal southern Latino emerging community in which to conduct research on educational outcomes. The manuscript then turns to an ethnographic examination of how and the extent to which curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular aspects of a Spanish for …

The Postmodern Novel In Saudi Arabia And America, Mohammed Lafi Alshammari

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the early twenty-first century, Saudi Arabia is a global economic power that stands as an equal among the other members of the most powerful economic organizations, including as the Group of Twenty and The World Trade Organization. As a result of this economic status and of Saudi Arabia never having been colonized, recent Saudi novels (especially those published after 2001) can usefully be read postmodern, rather than as postcolonial—the usual paradigm in readings of contemporary Arab novels. To establish a reference point, a comparative approach that engages Saudi and American postmodern novels is applied in this dissertation through the …

Implementation Fidelity And Outcomes Of School Discipline Policy: Three Studies From Arkansas, Kaitlin Anderson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, exclusionary discipline, including out-of-school suspension (OSS) and expulsion, is disproportionately administered to students of color and special education students. Exclusionary discipline is associated with lower academic achievement and higher risk of dropout, grade retention, and involvement in the juvenile justice system, but there is little causal evidence on this topic.

This dissertation reports on three analyses on school discipline, using administrative data from Arkansas public schools. The first study estimates racial disproportionalities in the use of exclusionary discipline. Controlling for reported behavior and student characteristics, my co-author and I find that Black students are 2.4 times …

Literary And Cinematic Representations Of Neoliberal Forms Of Contemporary Violence In Latin America With Special Interest In Mexico And Colombia, Ivan De Jesus Iglesias

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the last decades, with an increased rhythm and greater intensity, the so-called neoliberal violence has come to play a relevant role within the history of world societies. The Latin American institutional, political, social, and economic changes of the 1970’s and 1980’s, especially those produced under dictatorships, contributed to create the conditions for the implementation of the processes of economic liberalization and global market as part of the concept of institutional modernization and cultural globalization that gave rise to the neoliberal mentality. In this context, neoliberalism becomes hegemonic as a mode of discourse and is incorporated into the way individuals …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Online Education Experiences Of College Students With Learning Disabilities, Michael Murders

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The body of research concerning college students with learning disabilities is sparse relative to the percentage of college students with learning disabilities who attend college. Further, the majority of existing research fails to capture the student voice and the lived experiences of the students themselves. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of college students with learning disabilities who utilized online education at a public university centrally located in the United States, resembling numerous comprehensive regional universities. Using a qualitative, phenomenological research framework, this study uses in-depth individual interviews to collect data from eight participants. Interviews were …

Local Item Response Theory For Detection Of Spatially Varying Differential Item Functioning, Samantha Robinson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mappings of spatially-varying Item Response Theory (IRT) parameters are proposed, allowing for visual investigation of potential Differential Item Functioning (DIF) based upon geographical location without need for pre-specified groupings and before any confirmatory DIF testing. This proposed model is a localized approach to IRT modeling and DIF detection that provides a flexible framework, with current emphasis being on 1PL/Rasch and 2PL models. Applications to both simulated and empirical survey data, utilizing a box-car kernel weighting scheme with several fixed bandwidths on irregular spatial lattices, are presented both to demonstrate the methodology and to illustrate the benefit of localized IRT modeling. …

Airport Security Investment Model, Joshua Daniel Bolton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In an increasingly mobile and diverse world, it is difficult to quantify the risk, or danger, associated with traveling. Airports have suffered greatly for being unable to define potential risks and protect against them. Intelligent adversary risk is a complicated high-level issue for many airports. Airports are targeted because of the large amount of people in a confined space and the social, economic, and psychological impact of terrorist attacks on the American people. In the months following September 11th, 2001, the airline industry in the United States lost $1.1 billion in revenue. The American people stayed grounded, for fear of …

Exploring The Empirical Relationship Between Civic Agriculture And Community Resilience, Beth Joanna Person-Michener

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Smaller-scale, qualitative and mixed method studies indicate that civic agriculture generates positive, local-level social change, specifically by increasing social, human and economic capital. These social benefits are also identified as some of the crucial components needed for community resilience to disasters. However, literature directly linking civic agriculture to community resilience is sparse and there is little if any research explicitly examining a relationship between civic agriculture and community resilience. This study lends national scope and an empirical examination of evidence for a positive relationship between civic agriculture and community resilience along the applicable domains of social, human and economic capital …

Exploring The Organizational Effects Of Directors' Embeddedness In Board Networks, Hansin Bilgili

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I explore how top executives’ and directors’ embeddedness in corporate elite networks within and between organizations’ boards of directors influence organizational strategy and policy. In the first study, I conduct a comprehensive review of the governance literature using both a traditional narrative approach as well as a bibliometric main path analysis, which traces the development and diffusion of scholarly knowledge on corporate elite networks. In the second study, drawing from network theory and behavioral governance research, I introduce a methodology that allows researchers to model intraboard networks by measuring the strength of ties among members of boards …

Testing An Integrated Model Of Help Seeking With Ethnically Diverse Primary Care Patients, Bianca Teresa Villalobos

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Structural and attitudinal barriers prevent many individuals from accessing professional mental health services and often times lead to the premature termination of treatment. Although research findings suggest that the integration of mental health services in primary care can increase access to services and reduce stigma for typically underserved populations, dropout occurs at high rates. The current study aims to: (1) identify correlates of attitudinal and structural barriers in a primary care setting, and (2) test the ability of the Integrated Model of Seeking Help (IMoSH) to predict follow-up for behavioral health visits. In particular, it was hypothesized that attitudinal barriers …

Essays On Non-Cognitive Skills, Child Labor And Working Conditions, Andres Felipe Cuadros

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation uses two institutional datasets for two developing countries and examines several dimensions of economic development. Chapter 1 and 2 use an IV approach to identify the impact of international remittances on the welfare of individuals left behind in Colombia. In Chapter 1, I provide evidence that remittances reduce child labor participation, and the amount of hours worked, a margin ignored by the literature so far. In addition, Chapter 2 explores the impact that this remittance income has over the working conditions for informal workers, a type of job characterized by long working hours and lack of social benefits. …

The Role Of Attention And Memory In Prospective Person Memory, Kara Nicole Moore

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I examined the role of memory and attention in prospective person memory. Prospective person memory involves being on the lookout for a person with the goal of completing some task (i.e., contacting the authorities) upon encountering the person. Success at prospective person memory tasks in lab and field based studies is rather low (i.e., less than 10% of people report encountering the person). In the current study the prospective person memory task involved a simulated search for a missing person. I manipulated attention to the missing person and strategic monitoring, which involves being in retrieval mode and searching for cues. …

A Social Marketing Plan For The Children's Safety Center, Morganne Kaylyn Rhodes

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Children’s Safety Center (CSC) is a nonprofit organization in Springdale, Arkansas, that advocates for child abuse victims in Northwest Arkansas. This thesis project includes a social marketing plan that aims to increase the overall awareness of the CSC and its new prevention programs used to decrease the number of child abuse victims in Northwest Arkansas. The social marketing plan also aims to create behavioral changes that increase participation in prevention programs and social media engagement, in addition to volunteers and donors. The plan was developed based on research on effective nonprofit social marketing plans, research on efficient communication efforts …

Attitudes Of Students With And Without Disabilities Toward Physical Education And Their Sports And Activities Preferences In Saudi Arabia, Zuhair Abdaladeem Al Salim

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Saudi Arabia is one of the biggest countries in the Middle East, and it has paid particular attention to public education to prepare students to become good citizens. Physical education (PE) can have a vital influence on all children and adolescents’ lifestyles, including those with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to examine attitudes of Saudi Arabian students with and without disabilities toward PE as well as their sport and activities preferences. A second purpose was to investigate the effect of school levels and student participation in physical activity after school on students’ attitudes in PE. A final purpose …

Three Essays On The Effect Of Overconfidence On Economic Decision Making, Klajdi Bregu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation uses experimental evidence to explore the effects of overconfidence on economic decision making. In Chapter 1 I provide experimental evidence of the effects of alcohol on overconfidence and several other important tasks. I also explore the relationship between overconfidence and the behavior in the other tasks. The data from this experiment show that an alcohol level of 0.08 does not have a systemic effect on behavior and more importantly it does not affect one’s level of overconfidence. I also show that overconfidence is not significantly correlated with risk preferences, math, strategic behavior, anchoring, altruism, and food choices. In …

Persistence Of Memory: Revision, Nostalgia, And Resistance In Contemporary American Drama, Sinan Gul

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on the usages of memory in contemporary American drama. Analyzing selected mainstream and alternative dramatic texts, The Persistence of Memory is a study of personal and communal reflections of the past within contemporary plays. The introduction provides examples from modern plays, major terms, and vital concepts for memory studies and locates their merits in dramatic texts. The first chapter makes a critique of family plays, which uses historical elements to indicate a revisionist yearning for the past as well as the American Dream. Similarly, the second chapter contains business plays, which implement a heavy feeling of nostalgia …