Digital Commons Network^™

Overcoming Learning Anxiety In Workplace Learning: A Study Of Best Practices And Training Accommodations That Improve Workplace Learning, Ann-Marie Piscitelli

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S. and affect 40 million adults, or 18.1% of the population each year. Anxiety plays an essential role in encouraging productive learning outcomes; however, uncontrolled anxiety could result in heightened emotions that create barriers to learning. Employees who have anxiety disorders may experience these barriers to learning when in traditional training programs and may require support or accommodations to boost their unique learning needs for development in the workplace. Human Resource Development (HRD) professionals’ challenge is how best to intervene when an employee exhibits behaviors of learning anxiety to nurture …

Analyzing The Mediating Effects Of Social Capital And Sense Of Community Between International Student’S College Sports Fan Identification And Acculturation, Kibaek Kim

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

According to the number provided by the International Institute of Education (IIE), there are over one million international students enrolled in the United States. Although the number of international students is increasing, the incremental rate started to decrease after reaching its peak in the 2017-2018 academic year. While previous studies focused on the role of leisure activities, such as physical activity participation, to analyze how international students can receive social support from their communities to better acculturate in the U.S., this study focused on the role of spectator sports on providing social support and its effect on international student’s acculturation. …

Tale Of The Tape: A Study Of Two-Year College Student-Athletes, Dustin Grover

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Two-year athletic programs bring many unique elements to a college campus, many of which help to create a comprehensive student experience. Quantifying this experience is difficult as little data has been collected historically on two-year college athletes. The purpose of conducting this study was to create a profile of a rural two-year college student-athlete and to utilize the data to determine if participation in athletics had any effect on student success measures. This study will help college administrators build a better understanding of the two-year college student-athlete, aiding their decision-making regarding the prioritization of college athletics on their campuses. These …

Weather Permitting, Acadia Kandora

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Weather Permitting is an exhibition of objects and printed matter, primarily in the form of publicationsthat examine my relationship to nature and the idea of nature as both sanctuary and armor. At a young age, my parents would take my on a hike every Sunday instead of going to church. The hikes acted as a weekly pilgrimage deep into the woods and a ritual instilling the idea of nature being a place of spiritual refuge and retreat. A sanctuary - of course, weather permitting.

As I grew up and experienced hardship, my first instinct has always been to go hide …

Heartwork, Lance Taylor Loftin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Heartwork is a collection of paintings, drawings, and sculptures that explore the many ways identity is shaped by familial histories and personal memory. Focusing on my time growing up on a pine tree farm in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 90s, Heartwork explores gender, religion, regional traditions, family, and art. Through conversations and collaborations with my family, painting acts as an impetus for strengthening relationships. By reevaluating the past, I am able to create a web of interconnected narratives that inform and shift my understanding of the present.

Managing Climate Change And Weather Extremes For Nature-Based Tourism Organizations In The United States, Siyao Ma

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Weather and climate serve as profound motivators for tourism travels. Much of the United States (US) has experienced a warming trend as well as higher extreme weather frequency, and the trends are projected to be continued. Consequently, the changing climate is expected to have both direct and indirect impacts on tourism decision-making and travel patterns due to the complex relationship between climate, weather, and outdoor recreation. Climate resources capture the integrated effects of varied meteorological variables that interact with humans in different ways and can be categorized along a spectrum of quantifiable values. This dissertation proposed a Camping Climate Index …

Made Of Water, Covered In Mud, Nicole Norman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

My fixation on water as metaphor is a product of my cosmic design; Scorpio sun, Pisces moon, Pisces rising. I am made of water, begging to be held. Anything liquid has this same desire. I use my art practice to examine the fluidity of physical and digital spaces; how they transform almost constantly. This is only possible through the use of containers that give form to abstract ideas and make them easier to drink (read: digest). Containers can vary in size and shape, but their purpose remains the same. A drinking glass, a swimming pool, a creek bed. These are …

In-Between Spaces, Trinity Kai

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In-between Spaces is a paper based in personal narrative that uses Critical Race Theory and art to analyze the history of photography and systems of discrimination facilitated by hegemonic culture. Body is at the center as a symbol of the physical and psychological impacts systemic inequalities have on people that are classified as other and how one can be absent and present in institutional and public spaces.

An Eeg Source-Space Analysis Of The Neural Correlates Underlying Self-Regulation, Stephanie M. Long

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Self-regulation is the cognitive process of controlling our thoughts and behaviors to be aligned with our goals. This process is used in many different contexts and has been associated with contributions from several brain regions. This research aimed to investigate differences in four prefrontal areas of the brain while participants applied four different self-regulation strategies. We recorded EEG while participants (N = 132) performed three tasks which engaged each of the four self-regulation strategies: the AX-CPT task engaged proactive and reactive control, the Go/Nogo task engaged inhibitory control, and the hybrid Flanker Global/Local task engaged the resolution of response conflict. …

Economic Experiments On Conflict, Information Acquisition, And Public Goods, Jeffrey Braxton Gately

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation contains essays on economic experiments. The first chapter, “Well, at Least I Tried: Partial Willful Ignorance, Information Acquisition, and Social Preferences,” focuses on the effects of information acquisition on social decision-making. The second chapter, “Paved With Good Intentions: Partial Willful Ignorance and Group Identity in Public Goods Games,” focuses on the effect of information acquisition on contributions to public goods. I also explore human conflict in the third chapter, “Risk Preferences and Reform Paths: Experimental Evidence.”

In my first chapter, “Well, at Least I Tried: Partial Willful Ignorance, Information Acquisition, and Social Preferences”, I investigate whether remaining partially …

Consumer Motivations And Perceived Value In Online Second-Hand Luxury Fashion Shopping, Murphy Brianne Aycock

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The second-hand luxury fashion market is growing four times faster than the primary luxury fashion market and already represents a $24 billion market today (Beauloye, 2019; Siwak, 2020). Younger generations such as millennials and Gen Z are buying and selling preowned luxury products almost three times faster than any other age group (Beauloye, 2019). Digital selling platforms such as The RealReal and Vestiaire Collective are fueling the growth of the second-hand luxury fashion market (Beauloye, 2019). Despite the increased consumer interests and sales growth in the second-hand luxury fashion market, existing research has not concentrated on the underlying motivations of …

Geospatial Analysis Of Registered Sex Offenders: A Case Study From Pulaski County, Arkansas, Maggie Rose Bridges

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this case study was to analyze the spatial distribution patterns of the residences of registered sex offenders in Pulaski County, Arkansas to determine the impact of state enforced residence restrictions. Density and clustering factors were used to identify census tracts of the study area with high and low concentrations of offenders. These zones were then compared to identify which characteristics were similar and dissimilar between high and low concentration zones. The results indicate that there is a non-random distribution of registered sex offenders in the study area. The findings also indicate that the residence restrictions placed on …

A Descriptive Case Study Of The Challenges Of Drug And Alcohol Counselors, Ruben Herron

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Substance abuse is the number one public health problem in Oklahoma and nationally. Annual related expenses of substance abuse in Oklahoma are nearly $2 billion. This qualitative descriptive case study asks the question what are the challenges of substance-abuse counseling? The researcher will be describing in detail the history of drug and alcohol treatment and counseling in America. Using interviews, observations and document collection which will allow the interviews voices to be heard.

Values And Success In Collegiate Athletics, Nathan Shelby Hutchens

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The rapid commercialization of intercollegiate sports has changed the landscape of the hiring decisions and methodologies within university-associated athletic departments – especially within the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (DI-FBS) (Wong, 2017). Most notably and recently, the strategies used to hire athletic directors (ADs) have underwent considerable revision – yet successful hires are far from a sure thing. Many strategies include allusions to leadership style, yet leadership styles are as numerous as there are researchers who study them – and are rarely implemented holistically, thus making their assessment and associated outcomes tenuous at best (Peachey et al., 2015). Hambrick and …

Disgust Versus Anger-Relevant Trauma Analogues: Associations With Affect And Disclosure Behavior, Teah-Marie Bynion

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Due to high prevalence rates of sexual assault experienced by college-aged women, it remains important to consider factors associated with negative posttraumatic outcomes (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder). One factor consistently linked to negative outcomes following sexual assault is elevated peri- and posttraumatic disgust. Particularly, when such feelings are self-focused, peri- and posttraumatic disgust is linked with feelings of dirtiness (mental contamination). The current study extends this line of research to disclosure behavior. Disclosing a sexual assault to another person can be beneficial, however many survivors will never disclose. Theoretical accounts suggest that specific feelings associated with a sexual assault may …

Recovering From Substance Abuse In Arkansas: The Accessibility And Affordability Of Drug Treatment Programs, Whitney King

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is going to examine how people recover from drug addiction and see if there are any similarities due to their socioeconomic statuses at the time of recovery. This research addresses the following questions: How accessible and affordable are drug addiction recovery programs and rehabilitation facilities in Arkansas for mid- to low-income individuals? What are the social costs for people who can’t obtain drug rehabilitation services? The goal of this research is to explore whether there is a lack of affordable recovery programs in the state of Arkansas. This project utilizes survey responses as well as in-depth interviews with …

Distress Tolerance As A Potential Target For Change: The Relationship Between Distress Tolerance, Craving, And Alcohol Consumption In A Lab-Based Experiment, Isabel F. Augur

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Distress tolerance (DT) has recently been studied as a potential catalyst for the development ofalcohol use disorder (AUD). Research exploring the relationship between DT and craving is limited and has primarily focused on nicotine craving. Furthermore, there are no current studies examining the relationship between DT and alcohol consumption. This study was designed to fill this gap in the literature, which may shed light on a potentially important target for alcohol use treatment. Additionally, the role of mindfulness was explored in the context of the relationship between DT and alcohol craving and consumption, with the intention of expanding on the …

Impact Of Different Plant-Based Foods Consumption On The Composition And Diversity Of Gut Microbiota, Ayoub Al Othaim

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Plant-based diets are primarily derived from plant sources, including fruits and vegetables. Such patterns are associated with health benefits by promoting general health and preventing many diseases and metabolic disorders. Fruits and vegetables are key sources of high-quality nutrients such as dietary fibers and polyphenols. Since they are rich in dietary fibers and polyphenols, whole fruits and vegetables represent unique and somewhat understudied modulators of the gut microbiota and its associated functions. This study aims to (i) investigate the impact of varying dilutions of cherry juices concentrate on the composition of the murine gut microbiota, (ii) investigate the impact of …

Description Of Job Embeddedness In Arkansas County Extension Agents, Anika Parks

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Cooperative Extension System (CES) has had a long-standing problem with the retention of its county Extension agents (CEAs), who are in charge of running various programs in over 3,000 counties within the United States. When a CEA leaves a county, voluntarily or involuntarily, the community members are left without that leader, and their needs go unmet, which was proposed to increase voluntary turnover among CEAs even further. Arkansas CES has had its problems with turnover, and studying this issue through the lens of Job Embeddedness Theory was identified as a gap in the literature.

Job Embeddedness Theory is a …

Investigating The Role Of Social Capital And Everyday Communication In Campus Community Resilience During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Kaleb A. Turner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigated the role of social capital and everyday communication in campus community resilience capacities during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study conceptualized the university community as a micro-community that experienced sharp disruption as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the same way that traditionally conceptualized communities harness communication to build resilience, this study provides evidence that micro-communities, such as the university campus, have the same potential. Focus groups with students, faculty, and staff, as well as one-on-one semi-structured interviews with students, resulted in 557 pages of single-spaced transcripts that provided rich data to understand this community resilience context. …

Understanding Gender Gaps In Student Achievement And Stem Majors: The Role Of Student Effort, Test Structure, Self-Perceived Ability, And Parental Occupation, Lina Anaya Beltran

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Increasing women’s participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) has become a policy goal for many countries. This dissertation focuses on the origin and measurement of gender gaps in student achievement and self-perceived ability, as well as their potential role in predicting college career choices in STEM.

The first two chapters provide an international overview of gender achievement gaps and focus on issues around measurement using data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). These chapters study the role of student effort in predicting gender gaps in achievement and whether or not test structure, defined as question difficulty …

Climate Change Frames And Emotional Responses On Reddit, Isabel Iruani Villanueva

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Climate change remains a highly polarized topic in the United States. Research suggests that the divide in climate change beliefs is partly a result of news media’s representation of select aspects of the problem, or framing. Frames influence individuals’ attitudes, emotions, and behaviors towards climate change. Overwhelming representation of certain climate change frames has led to a lack of emotional connection to the issue, resulting in inaction or dismissal. Climate change researchers have investigated the presence and effects of frames on both news media and select social media sites, particularly Twitter. However, little research has investigated the climate change conversation …

Caring Against The Carceral: How Families Mediate The Social Death Of Incarceration, Jessica Claire

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Incarceration, especially in the United States, is deeply related to issues of racism, poverty, and citizenship. These particular experiences are the result of a history of biopolitical control affecting Black and brown communities and have a quintessential origin in enslavement. Those who are incarcerated are isolated, dishonored, and powerless as a result of the criminalization of race and poverty. These observations led to questions surrounding the particular impact families may have on the experiences of those who are incarcerated. Families of Incarcerated Loved ones, or FOILs, mediate incarceration through intentional socialization which has the potential to counteract the realities of …

Examining The Demographic And Situational Characteristics That Predict News-Media Coverage Of Bias Homicides:, Caitlin Tidwell

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recent trends indicate that incidents of hate crime have become increasingly more violent since 2017, resulting in an overall increase in incidents of bias homicide specifically. Knowledge of bias crime among the general public largely derives from news media sources and, unfortunately, research that illustrates how the media covers and/or portrays bias crime incidents remains underdeveloped. Using theories of strategic news making, the current study examines the types of bias homicide incidents that receive media coverage by constructing a unique database of newspaper articles from prominent, national papers for 216 bias homicides that occurred between 2000 and 2019 drawn from …

Alcohol Abuse And Misuse Amongst Homeless Persons In Northwest Arkansas, Reilly Gibson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol misuse and abuse has been found to be a detrimental risk to individuals having significant impact on their overall health and well-being. Any comprehensive attempt at examining the intersection of alcohol abuse history along with one’s risks and resources as it relates to abuse history among homeless individuals is missing. Using in-depth interviews among homeless adults in Northwest Arkansas (n=168), the current study examines the role of social vulnerabilities, individual risks, and social and psychological resources in explaining alcohol abuse history. Findings support the hypothesis that a person’s vulnerabilities and risks are associated with alcohol abuse histories. Persons who …

Integrating Systems, Processes, And Human Judgment: Three Essays On Value Creation With Supply Chain Analytics, Rebekah Inez Brau

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Big-data, analytics, automation, and machine learning are changing the role of managers in supply chain and operations functions. Extant research indicates that effective value creation by analytics is achieved through careful attention to three components: technology, people, and processes. As such, the purpose of my dissertation is to improve the integration of people in current supply chain and operations management systems with ever-changing technologies and processes. I focus on one critical function—demand planning—since it is increasingly influenced by predictive analytics yet can still require human judgment. My dissertation is comprised of three essays as follow.

In Essay 1, I implement …

Poems And Translations, Rome Hernández Morgan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This document is separated into two parts, a collection of original poems and a collection of translations of the crônicas of Rubem Braga. The collection of poems, titled, “Because I Never See You,” attempt to parse the complexities of familial and intimate relationships, addiction, and BIPOC experience. The collection of translations attempts to offer a small sample of the crônicas of Rubem Braga (1913-1990), a Brazilian journalist who is known throughout Brazil for “elevating” the form of the crônica from ephemera to the literary.

Immersive Systems And User Engagement Through Neurois Lens, Ali Balapour

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Immersive systems (e.g., Virtual Reality) are at the forefront of the next generation of innovative technologies. Recent technological advancements have made them viable for businesses and individuals to adopt. For example, some realtors now offer virtual house tours in the absence of walk-ins. The concept of “immersion” is at the heart of these technologies. However, despite the fact that this concept has been studied for almost three decades, our understanding remains weak and inconsistent. Specifically, there remains a lack of consensus on what it is, its antecedents, and how it should be measured.

This dissertation includes two essays. In Essay …

A Study Of Student Experiences In The Secondary Transition Program Through Student, Parent, And Teacher Perceptions, Kelley M. Sells

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to examine and analyze the perceptions of students with mild-moderate disabilities, teachers, and parents regarding the students’ experiences related to their secondary transition plan. More specifically, the qualitative single-case study sought to identify areas of alignment and divergence of these three key members’ perspectives since experiences and perceptions are unique to an individual based on the context and individual’s perspective of the event. These findings suggested that the district showed experiences of valuable student presence and input in their IEP meetings and trusting supportive student-teacher relationships. The study also revealed that significant barriers …

Artistry In Air: The Story Of The Younkins, Beth Lewis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For sixty years, a Northwest Arkansas family has dominated the world of general aviation by drawing upon its wealth of expertise, innovation and exceptional talent. Jim Younkin, an electrical engineer, invented an autopilot series that revolutionized the industry. His son, Bobby became one of the top aerobatic pilots in the world and Jim’s grandchildren, Matt and Amanda, also became critically acclaimed performers in the air show business. Like his father, Matt is ranked among the best of pilots in the industry. Jim also received national recognition for his stunning recreations of and restorations of historical aircraft. Bobby operated Younkin Airshows, …