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Exploring Some Inattended Affective Factors In Performing Nonroutine Mathematical Tasks, John D. Butler
Exploring Some Inattended Affective Factors In Performing Nonroutine Mathematical Tasks, John D. Butler
Open Access Dissertations
The purpose of this study was to describe students' attempts to solve nonroutine math problems and to explore possible correlates of their performance. The focus of this study was on inattended (i.e., intentionally avoided) dimensions that have been underrepresented in the literature, including attitudes, interests, values, aesthetics, metacognition, and representation. Both objective and subjective data--drawn from 13 separate sources--using quantitative and qualitative procedures, were analyzed. Fine-grained rubrics were developed and used to score student work on six nonroutine math problems. These objective data were complemented with students' written "logs" of their work in real time, followed by semi-structured debriefing interviews …
Development And Validation Of A Weight-Related Behaviors Questionnaire, Susan M. Schembre
Development And Validation Of A Weight-Related Behaviors Questionnaire, Susan M. Schembre
Open Access Dissertations
Research shows the prevalence of obesity is increasing. The greatest increase occurs between 20 and 29 years of age. Obesity results from a long-term positive energy balance attributable to eating and exercise behaviors. Research shows effective behavior change interventions impact cognitive constructs which explain specific behaviors. Objectives were to develop and validate a weight-related behaviors questionnaire (WRBQ) for young adults with individual eating and exercise behavior scales and explore the impact of the scales to explain patterns of energy intake and exercise participation. The sample (N-721) consisted of 18 to 24 year old females (69.5%) and males (30.5%) with a …
A Study Of Selected Errors In Arab Students' English Compositions And An Investigation Of Arabic Rhetoric, Samaa Gamie
A Study Of Selected Errors In Arab Students' English Compositions And An Investigation Of Arabic Rhetoric, Samaa Gamie
Open Access Dissertations
The first half of this dissertation study proposes a revision and rethinking of the traditional methodology used in error studies in composition and presents a new approach to the research on error. The dissertation presents an analysis of the frequency of errors in a sample of 756 Arab student essays of Egyptian, Kuwaiti, Lebanese, and Syrian nationalities. The error study of Arab student writing also analyzes the ways in which these Arab students use the English language to present and affirm their individual, national, cultural, and religious discourses and the manifestations of cultural and ideological resistance in these students' written …
A Grounded Theory Analysis Of The Rhode Island Community Response To The Station Nightclub Fire Disaster, Dustin Brent Wielt
A Grounded Theory Analysis Of The Rhode Island Community Response To The Station Nightclub Fire Disaster, Dustin Brent Wielt
Open Access Dissertations
On February 20, 2003, 462 people were present at The Station nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island for a rock concert by the band Great White. A fire broke out which resulted in 100 deaths and 215 people injured. How do communities respond when disaster strikes? Much of what is known about community response to disaster is based on anecdotal accounts of first responders and retrospective research studies that begin weeks or months after the disaster event. In this study, all newspaper articles about The Station fire were collected from a local newspaper, The Providence Journal, on Days 1-120 postdisaster. …
The Influence Of Diagnostic Labels, Gender, And Ethnicity On Teacher Perceptions, Expectancies, And Attributions: A Consideration Of Closure, Acceptance, And Stigmatization, Deanna Rae Voisine
The Influence Of Diagnostic Labels, Gender, And Ethnicity On Teacher Perceptions, Expectancies, And Attributions: A Consideration Of Closure, Acceptance, And Stigmatization, Deanna Rae Voisine
Open Access Dissertations
The present study sought to determine the impact of diagnostic labels, gender, and ethnicity on teachers' perceptions, expectancies, and attributions. Following a pilot study to determine if the measure had adequate reliability, approximately 3630 instructional letters were distributed to 65 schools in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. The Teacher Attitude and Attribution Scale (TAAS; Voisine, 2008), a 42 item questionnaire, measured teachers' perceptions, expectancies, and attributions (for parent/family factors, student factors, and teacher/school factors) for a hypothetical student. Vignettes at the start of the questionnaire detailed the student's behavioral problems and had the student's gender (male/female), ethnicity (Hispanic/Caucasian), and diagnostic …
Interpersonal Dimensions Of Goal Pursuit: Goal Support, Shared Goals, Communal Strength, And Generativity In Relationship To Self-Determination Theory, Christine O. Mollica
Interpersonal Dimensions Of Goal Pursuit: Goal Support, Shared Goals, Communal Strength, And Generativity In Relationship To Self-Determination Theory, Christine O. Mollica
Open Access Dissertations
Self-Determination Theory (SDT) research on goal pursuit indicates that people with intrinsic goal pursuits experience greater well-being than those with extrinsic goal pursuits. Three nutriments have been suggested by SDT that facilitate intrinsic motivation: autonomy, competence and relatedness. These nutriments, considered social conditions by SDT, have been understudied. However, recent SDT research and the small literature on goal support in relationships suggest that social aspects of goal pursuit are quite relevant and warrant further investigation. This study examined interpersonal dimensions of goal pursuit including Goal Support, Shared Goals, Communal Strength and Generativity. This interpersonal cluster was examined in the context …
Effects Of Vibration On Spinal Circuitry Related To Spasticity And Walking, Lanitia L. Ness
Effects Of Vibration On Spinal Circuitry Related To Spasticity And Walking, Lanitia L. Ness
Open Access Dissertations
In individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) who have disrupted communication between the brain and spinal cord, vibration may mimic functions formerly served by the lost or impaired supraspinal inputs resulting in more normal reflex modulation and improved walking function. Three experiments assessed the effects of vibration on spinal locomotor-generating circuitry, spinal reflex activity, and walking function. In Experiment 1, localized leg vibration was used to elicit air-stepping responses in the lower extremities. We compared responses of individuals with SCI to those of non-disabled (ND) individuals and assessed the influence of severity injury and locomotor training on the air-stepping response …
Emotional Disturbance As An Educational Disability: Implications For Social Workers, Jean Michele Rippey
Emotional Disturbance As An Educational Disability: Implications For Social Workers, Jean Michele Rippey
Open Access Dissertations
This qualitative study addressed an intersection in which the application of the medical model to educational disabilities and its implications for educational labeling of students interacted with the professional enculturation of clinical social workers. Employed as clinicians in programs administered in a large south eastern school district in the United States, five social workers served elementary students labeled Emotionally/Behaviorally Disabled (EBD) through federally authorized provisions for special education related services. This study used grounded theory methods to discover and analyze the social workers' underlying assumptions, values, and patterns of practice with regard to ethical and guild issues, roles and responsibilities, …
The Epistemic Necessity And Ethical Permissibility Of Randomized Clinical Trials: A Minimalist Defense, Matthew A. Schuh, Sr.
The Epistemic Necessity And Ethical Permissibility Of Randomized Clinical Trials: A Minimalist Defense, Matthew A. Schuh, Sr.
Open Access Dissertations
I argue for two main theses that are at odds with the positions of many clinical researchers and philosophers who write on the ethics of clinical research. The first is that certain types of clinical trials, namely, randomized clinical trials with double or triple blinding and a placebo group are generally necessary to establish that a medical intervention is effective in treating a certain type of disease or disorder. The second main thesis is that such trials are generally not ethically impermissible. My minimalist defense of clinical trials differs from most defenses of clinical trials found in the literature. I …
Cultivating Innovation: The Role Of Mentoring In The Innovation Process, Susan Wills Amat
Cultivating Innovation: The Role Of Mentoring In The Innovation Process, Susan Wills Amat
Open Access Dissertations
Organizations are seeking ways to become more innovative as a response to increased global competitiveness. While innovation is clearly important, many strategies have been attempted with this goal but no clear method has proved successful. This study shows that firms who are considered to have innovation as one of their core competencies utilize mentoring to facilitate and cultivate innovation. Utilizing a qualitative, case study approach, interviews were conducted with key stakeholders at four major U.S. companies considered to be among the most innovative in the world. The transcripts, archival data, and popular magazine and newspaper articles were included in the …
Self-Reported And Observed Cultural Competence And Therapeutic Alliance In Family Therapy, Carla C. Mayorga
Self-Reported And Observed Cultural Competence And Therapeutic Alliance In Family Therapy, Carla C. Mayorga
Open Access Dissertations
Because of its political and philosophical launching ground (Arredondo & Perez, 2006), cultural competence did not begin as an empirical research program, and as a result, there remains disagreement about how to define and measure cultural competence. Although the application of cultural competence remains unclear to some psychologists (Fuertes et al., 2006), it is now common knowledge that the therapeutic alliance is a statistically and clinically significant contributor to effective therapy. This pilot study merges two prominent bodies of literature, cultural competence and therapeutic alliance, with the underlying assumption that a culturally competent counselor will be able to provide effective …
The Relationship Between Ethnic Identity And Psychological Health: A Meta-Analytic Review, Julie Hewatt Grant
The Relationship Between Ethnic Identity And Psychological Health: A Meta-Analytic Review, Julie Hewatt Grant
Open Access Dissertations
Ethnic identity, or one's feelings of belongingness and affirmation with one's ethnic group, has been postulated to be related to one's psychological health. Specifically, it is thought that stronger ethnic identity is related to better psychological health. In order to fully investigate this relationship, a meta-analytic review and analysis was conducted utilizing all previous research on the relationship between ethnic identity and psychological health. This study sought to examine this relationship in more detail by dividing psychological health into two areas: 1) psychological functioning, and 2) psychological dysfunction. Both of these categories were examined and analyzed separately utilizing a random …
An Exploration Of The Relationships Among Individual And Interpersonal Goal Pursuit And Hedonic And Eudaimonic Well-Being, Erin Nicole Procacci
An Exploration Of The Relationships Among Individual And Interpersonal Goal Pursuit And Hedonic And Eudaimonic Well-Being, Erin Nicole Procacci
Open Access Dissertations
Studies in the areas of goal pursuit and well-being suggest that the goals people work toward in their daily lives are important contributors of well-being. However, research to date has focused primarily on aspects of the individual in goal pursuit even though goals are not pursued in isolation. In fact, there is evidence that this emphasis on the individual, particularly salient in Western cultures, has negative consequences at both the individual and community levels. With regard to well-being, data have indicated that it is best represented as two dimensional, including hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. However, the research on personal goals …
Bullying Of Middle School Students With And Without Learning Disabilities: Prevalence And Relationship To Students' Social Skills, Silvana M. Spinelli-Casale
Bullying Of Middle School Students With And Without Learning Disabilities: Prevalence And Relationship To Students' Social Skills, Silvana M. Spinelli-Casale
Open Access Dissertations
Students who experience bullying have been shown to be at greater risk for forms of maladjustment including depression and loneliness (Hawker & Boulton, 2000), and social withdrawal (Olweus, 1993). Research indicates that bullying is especially severe in middle schools (Boulton & Underwood, 1992; NCES, 2002; Olweus 1993). Students with learning disabilities (LD) are considered to be particularly at risk due to the frequent co-occurrence of poor social skills with learning disabilities (Fox & Boulton, 2005). This study examined the percentage of victims, bullies, bully-victims and non-participants in bullying as reported by a sample of 255 students (144 with LD) attending …
Investigation Of The Inter-Correlations Among Standardized Written And Performance-Based Assessments Of Measurement Content Knowledge Among Third Grade English Language Learners, Marcella D. Elliott
Investigation Of The Inter-Correlations Among Standardized Written And Performance-Based Assessments Of Measurement Content Knowledge Among Third Grade English Language Learners, Marcella D. Elliott
Open Access Dissertations
The purpose of this study was to provide an empirical test of the widely held belief that performance-based assessment provides a fairer picture of English-language learners' mathematical skills and knowledge than does a standardized assessment. Specifically, I compared the performance of 94 third-graders on the measurement subscale of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) mathematics test to their performance on a set of measurement reasoning and applications that was drawn from their third-grade hands-on science curriculum. Then, I present examples within the non-standardized testing setting where students were provided with real-time language-based accommodations as recommended by the research literature. Finally, …
Reactions To Infidelity: Individual, Gender, And Situational Predictors Of Relationship Outcome And Forgiveness, Marcia B. Kimeldorf
Reactions To Infidelity: Individual, Gender, And Situational Predictors Of Relationship Outcome And Forgiveness, Marcia B. Kimeldorf
Open Access Dissertations
Infidelity in romantic relationships can be devastating, and can cause many complex emotional reactions. The Jealousy as a Specific Innate Module (JSIM) hypothesis posits that due to differing reproductive pressures over evolutionary history, men and women have evolved different mechanisms to respond to infidelity. JSIM proposes that men, due to fears of cuckoldry, will respond with intense jealousy to a partner's sexual infidelity. It proposes that women, who are certain of their maternity but may suffer severe consequences if their mate falls in love with another and diverts his resources elsewhere, will respond with intense jealousy to emotional infidelity. These …
Compliance Gaining Appeals And Sources Of Influence In Cognitive Behavioral Violence Prevention Fatherhood Groups, Maria Elena Villar
Compliance Gaining Appeals And Sources Of Influence In Cognitive Behavioral Violence Prevention Fatherhood Groups, Maria Elena Villar
Open Access Dissertations
Cognitive behavioral violence prevention (CB-VP) parenting groups are commonly used for the primary and secondary prevention of violence. These groups use persuasive messages that target violence-related attitudes and cognitions, with the expectation that this will result in behavior change. Despite their frequent use as family violence prevention strategies, little is known about the actual messages being exchanged in CB-VP groups and how participants perceive and recall these messages. This study analyzes messages aimed at changing behaviors as recalled by Hispanic participants in federally funded Fatherhood groups in Miami, Florida. Applying concepts from violence prevention, behavior change messages were classified by …
Psychological And Physical Adjustment To Breast Cancer Over 12 Months Following A Cognitive Behavioral Stress Management Intervention: Identifying Distinct Trajectories Of Change, Aisha Kazi
Open Access Dissertations
Breast cancer is a devastating disease that affects thousands of women every year influencing their psychological and physical well-being for many years after being diagnosed. The goal of the current study was to determine if there are distinct trajectories of functioning among breast cancer patients in the domains of negative psychological adjustment, positive psychological adjustment, and physical adjustment. This was accomplished using growth mixture modeling. Another goal of this study was to determine whether demographic, medical, and psychosocial variables were able to distinguish among the trajectories. The study combined women from two samples spanning 10 years providing a sample size …
Continuing Professional Education In Athletic Training: Is Knowledge Acquired And Retained?, Jennifer L. Doherty-Restrepo
Continuing Professional Education In Athletic Training: Is Knowledge Acquired And Retained?, Jennifer L. Doherty-Restrepo
Open Access Dissertations
Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess certified athletic trainers' knowledge acquisition, knowledge retention, and satisfaction, following a continuing professional education (CPE) program offered in either a traditional, lecture-oriented format or an interactive format addressing adult learning strategy preferences. Design: We used a pre-test, post-test experimental design with comparison groups utilizing stratified randomization. Setting: The CPE program was held in the University wellness center classrooms. Subjects: Forty-six certified athletic trainers participated. Measurements: After determination of learning strategy preferences, a 30 item multiple-choice exam was administered prior to, immediately after, and one-month following the CPE program to determine level …
Effects Of Variations Of Text Previews On The Oral Reading Of Second Grade Students, Susan R. Massey
Effects Of Variations Of Text Previews On The Oral Reading Of Second Grade Students, Susan R. Massey
Open Access Dissertations
The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that there is a reciprocal relationship between comprehension and fluency during reading. The notion that oral reading fluency can facilitate reading comprehension is well established in the research literature on the development of reading comprehension. However, more recent models have questioned the unidirectionality of this relationship and have suggested that reading comprehension may increase fluency through reading rate. This hypothesis was examined via analyses of second grade students' oral reading of connected texts. Four previewing conditions which isolated lexical effects, comprehension effects, and prosody effects on oral reading fluency were …
Elementary Teachers' Knowledge And Practices In Teaching Science To English Language Learners, Alexandra O. Santau
Elementary Teachers' Knowledge And Practices In Teaching Science To English Language Learners, Alexandra O. Santau
Open Access Dissertations
Efforts to improve education - more concretely science education - by creating fundamental shifts in standards for students and teachers have been launched by educators and policy makers in recent years. The new standards for science instruction address improvements in student learning, program development, assessment, and professional development for teachers, with the goal to prepare US students for the academic demands of the 21st century. The study examined teachers' knowledge and practices in science instruction with English language learning (ELL) students. It also examined relationships among key domains of science instruction with ELL students, as well as profiles of teaching …
Counter-Hegemonic Collective Action And The Politics Of Civil Society: The Case Of A Social Movement In Kerala, India, In The Context Of Neoliberal Globalization, Ajaykumar P. Panicker
Counter-Hegemonic Collective Action And The Politics Of Civil Society: The Case Of A Social Movement In Kerala, India, In The Context Of Neoliberal Globalization, Ajaykumar P. Panicker
Open Access Dissertations
Social movements in various parts of the world have been attempting to challenge the forces of neoliberal globalization and the social problems caused by this economic trend. Many such movements have been advancing the idea of global civil society in order to counter 'globalization from above'. Despite the efforts of these movements to democratize social relations, the domination of these powerful forces persist and result in further oppression of marginalized people. This study attempts to discover the reasons why these social movements and civil society, despite popular support, fail to challenge effectively the power of such social forces. In particular, …
The Experience Of Eye Movement Desensitization And Reprocessing As A Therapeutic Approach In Healing Trauma, Celia Naccarato
The Experience Of Eye Movement Desensitization And Reprocessing As A Therapeutic Approach In Healing Trauma, Celia Naccarato
Open Access Dissertations
Grounded theory method was used to explore the experiences of patients suffering the effects of psychological trauma who had received eye movement desensitization and reprocessing approach (EMDR) as treatment. Saturation of the categories was achieved with the analysis of 15 interviews. The basic social psychological process that emerged is transforming suffering and the core category is changes in perception. The three subcategories, relinquishing, presencing and emerging, form the conceptual framework for the stages of transforming suffering. The stages of relinquishing, presencing and emerging contain concepts and their properties to guide practice. The two dimensions of processing subsumed within each stage …
The Influence Of Composers Wilhelm Peterson-Berger And Wilhelm Stenhammar On Swedish National Romanticism, Armen Shaomian
The Influence Of Composers Wilhelm Peterson-Berger And Wilhelm Stenhammar On Swedish National Romanticism, Armen Shaomian
Open Access Dissertations
The objective of my lecture recital is to introduce the music of the National Romantic period in Swedish cultural history to a wider audience. The period of National Romanticism was in many ways the promotion of folk-influenced music, art, and architecture throughout the late 1800’s until the early 1900’s, the beginning of realism. Composers and painters honored the beautiful landscape and rural environments as well as portraying their patriotism through their art, mainly as a reaction against industrialism. Many museums and public parks were built as a result of the National Romantic movement in Sweden. My lecture recital will highlight …
Medication Treatment And Neuropsychological Functioning In Perinatal Hiv, Monica E. Bocanegra
Medication Treatment And Neuropsychological Functioning In Perinatal Hiv, Monica E. Bocanegra
Open Access Dissertations
This study confirmed whether children on the current treatment of choice for HIV infection, Highly Active Antiretroviral Treatment (HAART), exhibit better immune functioning than children on earlier forms of treatment, including sole exposure to Monotherapy/Combination Therapy (Mono-Combo) and "upgrading" from Mono-Combo to HAART (Conversion). It explored whether HAART protects areas of neuropsychological functioning previously found to be compromised in children perinatally infected with HIV more effectively than these earlier treatments. This study includes a unique population (i.e., predominantly minority, low SES status, and largely bilingual), and controls for a number of treatment variables that have not been previously considered. Using …
Substance Abuse, Intimate Partner Violence And Risk For Hiv Among A Community Sample Of Hispanic Women, Rosa Maria Gonzalez-Guarda
Substance Abuse, Intimate Partner Violence And Risk For Hiv Among A Community Sample Of Hispanic Women, Rosa Maria Gonzalez-Guarda
Open Access Dissertations
Among the health disparities affecting the U.S. Hispanic population today are those relating to risky behaviors such as substance abuse, intimate partner violence (IPV) and HIV/AIDS. However, few studies have examined how these conditions may impact this population. The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the experiences that Hispanic women in South Florida have with regard to substance abuse, IPV and risks for HIV/AIDS, to describe how these conditions may be related, and to develop a model that can be used to guide research and interventions targeting this population. This dissertation uses data collected in Project DYVA (Drogas y …
A Study And Performance Guide To Dennis Kam's Sonata Ibis For Clarinet, Violin, Cello And Piano And A Performance Comparison To Four Earlier Versions Of The Work, Biljana Milovanovic
A Study And Performance Guide To Dennis Kam's Sonata Ibis For Clarinet, Violin, Cello And Piano And A Performance Comparison To Four Earlier Versions Of The Work, Biljana Milovanovic
Open Access Dissertations
In 2005, Dennis Kam completed the Sonata Ibis which the ensemble Ibis Camerata premiered at the Festival Miami at the University of Miami that same year. The composition is the last of five versions of the same work, originally written for piano solo. The work was recorded by the Ibis Camerata, on their CD titled Glisten, and released in 2006 on the Albany Records music label. The composition presents an important addition to the existing repertoire for the ensemble of clarinet, violin, cello, and piano. Sonata Ibis is a single movement work not following traditional forms. The work reflects the …
Validation Of The Social Communication Questionnaire (Scq) In A Hispanic Sample: Understanding The Impact Of Expressed Emotion, Vanessa Gonzalez
Validation Of The Social Communication Questionnaire (Scq) In A Hispanic Sample: Understanding The Impact Of Expressed Emotion, Vanessa Gonzalez
Open Access Dissertations
The SCQ is a popular screener for ASDs derived from the gold-standard diagnostic interview. This study examined the validity of the SCQ in a Hispanic sample. Additionally, the mother's expressed emotion toward her child with ASD was examined. Participants included 217 Hispanic and non-Hispanic white mothers of children with and without ASDs ages 4-10. The actual diagnostic status of all children was determined using a historical review of records. ROC curve analysis yielded much lower sensitivity and specificity than the original validation study, with very little difference found between the 15 and 22 cutoffs. A cutoff score of 12 performed …
The Effects Of Family Race/Ethnicity And Socioeconomic Status On Quality Of Services And Family Outcomes For Families Participating In Part C Early Intervention Programs, Paula S. Lalinde
Open Access Dissertations
This study investigated the association between family socioeconomic status, family race/ethnicity, quality of services and the impact of those services on the family for families who had participated in a northeastern state's IDEA, Part C Early Intervention Program. Data for this study came from 1,108 families who responded to a survey distributed by the state's Early Intervention Program. The survey contained two Rasch-based measurement scales designed to yield measures of family perceptions of the quality of early intervention services they had received and the impact of those services on their family. Results of the study indicated that measures of quality …
Belly Laughs: Body Humor In Contemporary American Literature And Film, David Gillota
Belly Laughs: Body Humor In Contemporary American Literature And Film, David Gillota
Open Access Dissertations
Belly Laughs: Body Humor in Contemporary American Literature and Film Scholars are more than happy to laugh at but seem somewhat reluctant to discuss body humor, which is perhaps the most neglected form of comedy in recent criticism. In this dissertation, I examine the ways in which contemporary American writers and filmmakers use body humor in their works, not only in moments of so-called "comic relief" but also as a valid way of exploring many of the same issues that postmodern artists typically interrogate in their more somber moments. The writers discussed in this project-Philip Roth, Thomas Pynchon, Charles Johnson, …