Digital Commons Network^™

Collaboration For Athletic Training Coverage In High Schools - An Ongoing National Survey: The Prevalence Of Athletic Training Services In Private Secondary Schools, Alicia M. Pike

Master's Theses

Context: Athletic training (AT) services in secondary schools have recently been reported as high as 70%, but this only extends to the public sector. The extent of AT coverage in private secondary school settings has yet to be investigated. This may differ from the public secondary school setting for several reasons, including differences in funding sources. Objective: Determine level of AT services in private secondary schools. Design: Concurrent mixed-methods. Setting: Private secondary schools in the United States. Patients or Other Participants: 2,045 (38%) of all 5,414 private secondary schools responded to the survey. Intervention: …

A Pilot Study Investigating Comprehension Of Driving Vocabulary In Adolescents With Language Impairment, Jessica M. Pandolfe

Master's Theses

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate if adolescents with LI are at increased risk relative to unimpaired peers at struggling to comprehend driving-related vocabulary found in driving preparation material.

Method: This study included 11 adolescents with LI and 11 adolescent controls with typical language development. Participants completed a self-developed receptive vocabulary measure, the Driving-Related Picture Vocabulary Task, which consisted of simple noun, compound noun, and simple verb driving terminology.

Results: The Driving-Related Picture Vocabulary Task was found to have strong convergent validity with the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test—Fourth Edition (Dunn & Dunn, 2007). Strong positive correlation was …

Threats To The Therapeutic Alliance In First Sessions With High Conflict Couples, Kevin Charles Hynes

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Hidden Meanings: Troubadour Contrafacta In The Provencal Drama "Tragedia De Sancta Agnetis", Veronica Maria Da Rosa Guimaraes

Master's Theses

The drama Tragedia de Santa Agnetis (Rome, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Chigi C.V. 151) is a tantalizing medieval manuscript. It is a para-liturgical drama focused on the martyrdom of Saint Agnes, written in Provençal and Latin, and contains a total of sixteen musical melodies, all of which are contrafacta. Among these is the only extant melodic fragment of Pos de chantar, by Guillaume IX, Duke of Aquitaine. The drama has been the subject of few studies, none of which has appeared recently. It is dated to the mid-fourteenth century, a fact that seems never to have been questioned. However, …

Enabling Authority: Ellen Emmet Rand, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, And The Power Of Portraiture, Emily M. Mazzola

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Fatherhood And Food: Food Insecurity And Paternal Role Associations With Father And Child Diet Quality, Von Jessee

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of An Intensive Oral Reading Program On Discourse In Chronic Mild Aphasia, Marilyn Elizabeth Richard

Master's Theses

Background: There is limited research specific to deficits and interventions for people with mild aphasia (PWMA), although they have the greatest potential to return to work. Discourse and reading deficits for this population are well documented and negatively impact quality of life. Two treatment programs have used oral reading to target discourse with mixed success. Neither was designed specifically for PWMA.

Aims: The primary aim of the current study was to examine the effect of an intensive oral reading program on discourse in two participants with chronic mild aphasia. Outcome was also assessed on several other measures including oral reading, …

House Of Newsome: Remixing Masculinity, Betty Lou Starnes

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Analysis And Design Of A Frame-Membrane Habitat Subjected To Extreme Temperatures On The Lunar Surface, Kevin M. Brown

Master's Theses

During the era of the Apollo missions, there was been a great deal of interest among scientists, engineers, and the general population regarding the Moon and Outer Space. That interest has cycled through the years since but still burns strongly today as evidenced by the National Space Policy of President Barack Obama in 2010. Within this document, six goals were stated dealing with advanced study of the universe, which likely leads to the necessity of lunar colonization; the focus of this thesis.

The lunar environment provides several extreme challenges that may place any long term mission and its crewmembers in …

Domestic Violence In Low-Income Communities In Mumbai, India, Robyn M. Jennings

Master's Theses

Domestic violence is a public health problem globally and in India because of its physical and mental health consequences for victims and families. It has been shown to have an increased prevalence in populations with low socioeconomic status and strong patriarchal attitudes. This study examines qualitative (n=39) and quantitative data (n=1125) to find characteristics of women, men, and couples that are associated with violence in a low-income, patriarchal society on the outskirts of Mumbai, India. Associations were found between several variables and any violence, physical violence, sexual violence, emotional violence, and marital control. Risk factors include financial struggles, alcohol use, …

Identifying Predictors Of Treatment Outcomes In Substance-Abusing Parents In A Recovery Case Management Program In Connecticut, Staceyann Smith

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Assessing Knowledge And Attitudes Of The Human Papillomavirus Infection And Vaccine Among Adolescents In Hartford, Ct, Anita C. Chandrasekaran

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

On Sexual Violence: Indian Artists And Public Enagement, Hannah M. Kennedy

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

The Impacts Of Youth Conservation Corps On Participants: A Multi-Method Examination 2015, Nicholas Justin Prechel

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the benefits that participants receive from serving in youth conservation corps. The entire population of one youth conservation corps was selected to participate in the study during the summer of 2012 trail work season. The study utilized a mixed-method approach that included a one-time pre/posttest with a retrospective pretest adapted from the American Camp Association’s Youth Outcomes Battery (YOB) and an open ended interview session. Of the 109 participants in the field at the time, 101 chose to participate in the quantitative survey. The YOB tested four areas: independence, responsibility, teamwork, and …

The Relationship Between Motivation And Volunteer Satisfaction In Conservation Programs 2015., Raena Blumenthal

Master's Theses

Conservation leisure service organizations are relying more heavily on volunteers to sustain their services and protect natural resources (Strigas, 2006). However, research focusing on volunteer vacationers, those who spend money to volunteer, is still in its infancy. Drawing on functional theorizing (Bruyer & Rappe, 2007; Clary, Snyder, Ridge, Copeland, Stukas, Haugen, & Miene, 1998; Houle, Sagarin, & Kaplan, 2005; Katz, 1960; Smith, Bruner, & White, 1956), this study explored volunteer vacationers’ motivations and the relationships between motivations to volunteer, satisfaction with the volunteer vacation experience, and inclinations to volunteer in the future (in both local and nonlocal settings). The study …

National Collegiate Athletic Association Head Coaches' Satisfaction With Athletic Training Services 2015, Whitney Larson

Master's Theses

Athletic trainers and coaches have a significant amount of interaction regarding the care of an athlete. This communication and cooperation is necessary to providing effective care. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of satisfaction that head coaches have with those providing athletic training services across all three NCAA Divisions. Overall satisfaction and four satisfaction categories (professionalism, communication, knowledge/ability, and accessibility) were examined. A total of 40 head coaches from NCAA Division I, II, and III schools participated in the study. The instrument used was originally developed by Beer (2004) and was modified to fit the current …

Methodologies For Simplified Lifeline System Risk Assessments, Michael Germeraad

Master's Theses

Natural hazards are a growing risk across the globe. As regions have urbanized, single events impact greater proportions of the population, and the populations within those regions have become more dependent on infrastructure systems. Regional resilience has become closely tied to the performance of infrastructure. For a comprehensive risk assessment losses caused by lifeline outage must be considered alongside structural and nonstructural risks. Many well developed techniques quantify structural and nonstructural risk; however, there are insufficient procedures to determine the likelihood of lifeline outages. Including lifelines in seismic assessments will provide a comprehensive risk, improving a decision maker’s capacity to …

Prison-Based Animal Programs: A Descriptive Analysis, Alicia M. Loe

Master's Theses

There are many types of programs used in prisons. One such type is known as prison-based animal programs (PAPs). Prison-based animal programs bring animals into facilities in order to help offenders with emotional and behavioral problems. However promising these programs are, there is little empirical research. If these programs are to be continued, more research is needed. There has only been one national study looking at PAPs (Furst 2006). This current study will help fill the gap on PAP research. A national study was conducted using 302 randomly selected correctional facilities. Characteristics of PAPs were gathered through the use of …

Analysis Of Embryo Scoring And Comparison Of Clinic Performance In In-Vitro Fertilization, James W. Whistler

Master's Theses

Clinical Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) practices seek to make improvements in embryo quality and resultant procedural success rates. There is a significant variance in live birth rates among clinics nationwide. The goal of this thesis is make comparisons of embryo quality among clinics and understand these differences. This analysis focuses on the stage between egg retrieval and embryo transfer. Because the currently accepted embryo scoring methods are not directly proportional to performance, a new scoring methodology is proposed and applied. Data provided by the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) consisting of 36,836 patient cycles from 40 anonymous clinics nationwide …

Can Dolphins Cooperate To Solve A Novel Task?, Kelley Ann Winship

Master's Theses

Bottlenose dolphins cooperate in a variety of contexts, including foraging,acquiring mates, playing, and assisting distressed conspecifics. To better understand the capacity for cooperative behaviors, animals are often given tasks that require pairs of animals to coordinate their actions in order to receive a reward. This paper reports the results of an aquatic version of one such task: cooperative rope-pulling. Three groups of captive bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) were given an apparatus that could most easily be opened by the two animals working together. Two untrained adult males at one location were successful in opening the apparatus together, sharing …

Fixing The Failed: An Investigation Of Terrorist Organizations And State Building Capabilities, Joshua Adam Freeman

Master's Theses

This study examines the role of terrorist organizations in failed states. In particular, their ability to perform positive state-building activities that result in stability is investigated. Both terrorism and state failure present unique and serious threats to international security. However, there is very little literature concerning the positive effect terrorist organizations can have in failed states. Presented is not only an investigation of the linkages between state failure and terrorism, but also a new classification of terrorist organizations based upon their ability to state-build in failed states. These organizations are classified by their ability to provide goods and services within …

A Settlement Geography Of Three Ports On The Northern Gulf Of Mexico: The Role Of Rivers, Railroads, And Hurricanes: 1830-1930, Zachary Evan Kalina

Master's Theses

The settlement geography of the Gulf Coast of the United States possesses and shares unique cultural and historical characteristics. The thesis analyzes three selected towns along the coast: Indianola, Texas; Pascagoula, Mississippi; and Apalachicola, Florida. The thesis focuses on describing each town’s historical background and early efforts at permanent settlement, the expansion of the settlement using various modes of transportation such as shipping and railroads, the economic and agricultural base that was used to improve the settlement’s reputation, the characteristics of the settlement’s concept of folk housing, and the impact and recovery of the settlement from disasters such as fire …

Reducing Disruptive Behavior In High School: The Good Behavior Game, William Blake Ford

Master's Theses

Disruptive behavior in the classroom setting negatively impacts the learning process in various ways, interfering with the educational process of individual students, the teacher, and/or the class as a whole. Class-wide levels of disruptive behaviors worsen these impacts and are often related to problems with a teacher’s classroom management techniques and abilities. Group contingency interventions, such as the Good Behavior Game (GBG), are often used to provide teachers with evidence based management strategies while improving student behavior in the class. Furthermore, group contingency interventions, such as the GBG, can be conceptualized as Tier I or Tier II interventions within a …

Age And Iq As Potential Moderators In The Relation Among Endopheonotypes And Expressed Behaviors In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Elizabeth Clara Fair

Master's Theses

The current study examined how certain endophenotypes (i.e., local processing ability, mental flexibility, planning, and disinhibition /inhibition) are related to specific expressed behaviors (i.e., acting out behaviors, social insight deficits, social contact problems, anxious/rigid behaviors, and stereotypical behaviors) that are commonly found in children with ASD. In addition, this study examined whether these associations are modified by age or IQ. Participants consisted of 29 children (ages 7 to 16 years) with ASD and their parents. Parents completed the Children’s Social Behavior Questionnaire (CSBQ) to assess their child’s variety of expressed behaviors. The children were given the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test—Second …

Seasonal Variation In Corticosterone, Stress Responses, And Physiology In The Northern Cardinal Cardinalis Cardinalis, Benjamin Matthew Duckworth

Master's Theses

Seasonal regulation of the adrenocortical response (e.g., ‘stress response’) appears to be ubiquitous in mid- to high-latitude vertebrates. Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) are a Temperate dwelling passerine of Tropical-descent with a wide species range (tropics to Northern Temperate zones). This species encounters a wide variety of environmental conditions and strong seasonality, however corticosterone (CORT, the main adrenal stress hormone) has not been studied with regards to changes in seasonal levels. I initially analyzed samples from cardinals collected between 2007-2011 from the Lake Thoreau Environmental Research and Educational Center (Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA). The data suggested seasonal differences of CORT, with higher …

The Use Of Technology In Secondary Mathematics Classrooms: The Case Of One School District, Cononiah Latrece Watson

Master's Theses

Integration of technology into secondary education mathematics classes has been shown to increase student motivation and performance. In order for technology to be a component of students’ education, teachers must have training on various technologies available for their subjects of study. This research study surveys thirty-one 6-12^th grade teachers in the Lamar County School District in southern Mississippi regarding availability of technologies, use of technologies, and professional development needs concerning technology use.

Saving Sex Slaves: The A21 Campaign And The Mobilization Of Christian Affect, Nicole Elizabeth Magee

Master's Theses

In this thesis, I argue that the A21 Campaign’s discourse mobilizes Christian affect to produce relational proximity between audience members and human trafficking victims. My study intervenes in related literature surrounding Burke’s (1969) idea of identification by acknowledging that discourse can invite audiences to feel relationally close to or empathetic with others in the absence of consubstantiation. Relying on Gould’s (2009) notion of the mobilization of affect, I contend that unconscious, Christian affective investments are mobilized within A21’s rhetoric through the covert deployment of evangelical tropes that register with Christians’ affective desires and encourage believers to act as Christ or …

Humor Types: Replication Using Latent Profile Analysis And Associations With Maladaptive Personality Traits, Joseph Robert Finn

Master's Theses

Martin’s (2003) Humor Styles Questionnaire measures four distinct styles of humor usage. However, examining these humor styles individually fails to account for the combination with which they are used as well as how these combinations may affect the relationship between humor and personality. The present study examined relationships of the humor styles, both individually and in combination, with a broad array of maladaptive personality traits. The incremental validity of accounting for the combinations with which the humor styles are used was examined through the use of hierarchical multiple regressions. Results demonstrated that the humor styles, both individually and in combination, …

Challenges In Transitioning From Waterfall To Scrum, Rini Iyju

Master's Theses

In today's fast-paced, fiercely competitive world; speed and flexibility are essential. Companies are increasingly realizing that the sequential approach to developing new product simply will not get the job done.

The goal of this thesis is to investigate critical issues and challenges that occur during the transition from a traditional software development methodology such as Waterfall to Scrum. During the last decade, Scrum has gained a vast success in software development due to its lightweight character and efficient way of handling the challenges of increased market speed, change and product complexity.

This thesis is based on a sequential exploratory mixed …

Eight Degree Of Freedom Vehicle Model With Pitch, Yaw, Tire Control And Sensor Inputs, Sean T. Hirtle

Master's Theses

This research focuses on the development of an eight degree of freedom vehicle model in the MATLAB computing language. Its purpose is to provide flexibility in the modeling and implementation of signal inputs and crash avoidance logic while maintaining accuracy in the physics of the vehicle’s motion. Firstly, the equations of motion for the bodies involved under a reasonable set of assumptions were developed. Next the model was translated to computer code. By writing the model in SimuLink with *.m files, the modularity of the code is enhanced. To validate the model, several well defined tests were simulated.

To establish …