Digital Commons Network^™

A Comparison Of Two Different Types Of High Intensity Interval Training On Cardiometabolic Health In Overweight/Obese Women, Ozgur Alan

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to compare the effects of aerobic high intensity interval training (A-HIIT) and resistance-high intensity interval training (R-HIIT) to that of a control group (CON) on physical characteristics, cardiometabolic health, and self-reported well-being. A total of 48 overweight/obese women met the criteria for possessing one or more metabolic syndrome (MetS) risk factors and were randomly assigned to one of three groups. Following eight weeks of training, a total of 31 women completed the intervention and were included in the statistical analysis: A-HIIT (n=10), R-HIIT (n=10), and CON (n=11). Both experimental groups trained three times a …

Effects Of Cognitively Guided Instruction Professional Development On Teachers' Ability To Predict Student Success On Mathematical Tasks – Toward A Conceptual Framework On Teachers’ Knowledge Of Their Students, Naomi Iuhasz-Velez

Open Access Dissertations

Teachers’ knowledge of their individual students’ success is an essential component for fostering content-rich mathematical discussion – a central tenet of mathematics education reform. The existing research, however, focuses only on either teachers’ accuracy or teachers’ biased inaccurate expectations without considering how these concepts are related to each other. The conceptual framework presented in this study seeks to bridge the gap in the literature by considering both accurate and inaccurate teacher knowledge of their students in tandem and by using a finer grain of analysis for the concept of teachers’ inaccuracy: overestimation and underestimation. Cognitively guided instruction (CGI) is a …

The Impact Of A Professional Development Program In Popular Music On A Music Teacher's Beliefs And Practices, Donna Hewitt

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the process of music teacher change resulting from a long-term professional development program in popular music. Specifically, it sought to examine change in a general music teacher’s beliefs and practices over a three-year period. This study utilized a case study methodology informed by a pilot study with the same music teacher. Data were collected over four months in the form of observations, interviews, field notes, and artifacts. Analysis revealed five emergent themes: opportunity, ownership, teamwork, discipline, and bravery. The findings of this study provide support to extant research suggesting that meaningful and …

Enhancing User Experience: A Multifaceted Approach To Designing Better User Experiences Using Compassionate Design Thinking, Socially Conscious Design And Psychophysiological Measures, Priya Seshadri

Open Access Dissertations

The goal of this research is to help in creation of better user experience (UX) by enabling engineers and designers to get a deeper understanding of the users by focusing on the users’ needs, emotions, experiences and social issues. The main research question that guides this work is: How can engineers and designers better understand their users to create designs that aim at enhancing user experiences? Understanding the users and UX has many facets and dimensions. The users make decisions based on emotions and experiences, which also determine the value they associate with a design. Experiences are related to the …

A Comparative Study Of Three Interfering Women In Western And Chinese Tales, Luyang Wang

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes similar female characters from the medieval English Arthurian story Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the German opera Parsifal, and the Chinese supernatural tale “Nie Xiaoqian.” Although Morgan le Fay, Kundry, and Xiaoqian are products of different times and cultures, each of their stories offers a glimpse into a similar type of controversial woman often at variance with the expectations of a particular culture. These fictional characters are independent and influential women who drive the development of the entire plot and profoundly affect the protagonist’s destiny. Whether in England, Germany, or China, their status as aliens implies …

Understanding The Relation Between Sexual Objectification And Ostracism, Maayan Dvir

Open Access Dissertations

Ostracism – being ignored and excluded – and sexual objectification – when an individual is regarded only as an object that exists for the use and pleasure of others – are conceptually related, yet the connections between the two phenomena have yet to be examined empirically. Both involve aspects of the self being ignored by others. Sexual objectification involves attention that focuses on one’s appearance while other characteristics of the individuals are ignored. This fits within the parameters of the definition of “partial ostracism” – in which the individual is acknowledged and included in some ways (or times), but not …

The Intimate Partner Violence Experience Of Arab Immigrant Women In The U.S., Aieyat B. Zalzala

Open Access Dissertations

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant problem for immigrant women in the U.S. There are a number of unique risk factors and help-seeking barriers (e.g., patriarchal beliefs, lack of social support, immigration status, language as a barrier, limited knowledge about and access to resources) that contribute to the likelihood of immigrant women being in and remaining in violent relationships. As a result, immigrant women often feel isolated, alone, and silenced in their attempt to address their IPV. However, we know less about the IPV experience of Arab immigrant women in the U.S. as these women hold multiple marginalized identities …

Pathology Or Neurodiversity?: Cognitive Accessibility And The Rhetorical Construction Of Adhd In Higher Education, Samuel James Dunn

Open Access Dissertations

It is estimated that 2-8% of college students (approximately 1 in 20) report clinically significant diagnoses of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Typically, those with verifiable diagnoses of ADHD are eligible to receive certain accommodations through the university which, in theory, put them on even footing with their peers; however there has been very little research done to actively address the needs of these students in the context of the composition classroom itself. To address this gap, in this dissertation I discuss the rhetorical positioning and identity construction of ADHD in the contemporary American university and ways in which composition …

Graphic Design Students' Development Of Adaptive Expertise In Ideation Strategies, Shih-Ping Kuo

Open Access Dissertations

This exploratory study uses the convergent design of mixed methods to integrate adaptive expertise theory to study how individual student participant from graphic design or non-graphic-design majors to solve a novel ideation problem in graphic design. Adaptive expertise includes six dimensions: metacognition, flexibility, dynamic knowledge, ability to welcome challenges, efficiency and deep understanding of the domain knowledge, and multiple perspectives. Those are desired qualities for a learner to stand out in the global market that are constantly changing with complex challenges. Thirty undergraduate students participated in this study. This study aims to answer four questions: types of graphic design tool …

Village In The City: Collective Efficacy And Neighborhood Stability On Chicago’S Far Southwest Side, Joy L. Kadowaki

Open Access Dissertations

The theory of collective efficacy highlights the importance of community members’ shared expectations for social control and their trust and cohesion with one another for predicting neighborhood variation in crime and other social outcomes. Researchers have found that neighborhood collective efficacy is largely stable over time and predicts future variation in crime and other social outcomes, independently of neighborhood social composition. An expansive body of quantitative research has made a very compelling case for the durability of collective efficacy as an important neighborhood process, but a number of questions remain regarding the social mechanisms by which it operates. This dissertation …

Quantifying The Relations Among Neurophysiological Responses, Dimensional Psychopathology, And Personality Traits., Takakuni Suzuki

Open Access Dissertations

The Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) model, one of the transdiagnostic dimensional models of psychopathology proposed by the National Institute of Mental Health, emphasizes the integration of basic biological science into clinical research. The event-related negativity (ERN), a deflection in electroencephalogram after making an error, is a promising neurophysiological indicator for such endeavor. However, RDoC model posits that ERN is related to three of the five broad dimensions without any indication of how ERN relates differently across the dimensions. Recent research indicate that ERNs elicited from different tasks do not elicit the exact same ERNs. Therefore, constructing theoretically guided tasks and …

Interparental Conflict As A Context For Early Child-Parent Attachment Relationships, Laura Yanett Anaya

Open Access Dissertations

The present study explored the concurrent relations between interparental conflict strategies and early child-parent attachment relationships, while considering potential mediating (i.e., parental sensitivity) and moderating (i.e., involvement of child in conflict) variables in the relations. A nonclinical sample of mostly non-Hispanic Caucasian triads (i.e., mother, father, child) were recruited. Parental sensitivity and children's attachment security were observed across four visits: one visit was in the home with mother, one visit was in the home with father, one visit was in the park with mother, and one visit was in the park with father. In a fifth visit, in the research …

East Asian International Students' Interdependent Happiness: The Role Of Acculturative Stress, Dialectical Thinking, And Collectivistic Coping, Yaping Huang Anderson

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand the relationships among East Asian international students cultural construals of stress (i.e., acculturative stress), psychological wellbeing (i.e., interdependence happiness), cognitive appraisal (i.e., dialectical thinking), and coping skills (i.e., collectivistic coping: seeking social support and forbearance) using Chun, Moos, and Cronkite’s (2006) stress and coping model as the theoretical framework. This study was the first attempt to propose a theoretical framework elucidating the possible relationships among these variables through a cultural lens. A total of 313 self-identified East Asian international students participated in the online-based survey. Using a hierarchical regression, the results revealed …

An Overall Policy Decision-Support System For Educational Facilities Management: An Agent-Based Approach, Haya Bader Albader

Open Access Dissertations

Although K-12 public school facilities infrastructure investments are second only to highways, schools continue to suffer from an approximately $38 billion annual funding gap. Massive reductions in funding are forcing school districts to make tough decisions to optimize maintenance expenditures. Over the last three decades, a huge body of research has determined that the condition of school facilities do affect student health and performance, and some have further demonstrated that schools are overwhelmed by deteriorating facilities that threaten the health, safety, and learning opportunities of students. The currently available educational facility management approaches oversee the influence of the complex and …

The Human Dimensions Of Invasive Plant Management On Family Forestlands: A Case Study In Indiana, Mysha K. Clarke

Open Access Dissertations

Invasive plant management is an increasing concern in socio-ecological systems. Ecologically, invasive plants can displace native species, reduce forest health and productivity, and degrade recreational areas. From a socio-economic perspective, the United States spend approximately USD 137 annually in damage and control costs from invasive plants and animals. Despite these impacts, invasive plants continue to spread in forest ecosystems because of various anthropogenic factors like trade, transportation, climate change, and limited regulation in many states. It is pivotal to consider the role of family forest owners (FFOs) in invasive plant management in forest ecosystems because collectively they own 36% of …

Gender And Parental Support To Adult Children In Later Life, Gülçin Con

Open Access Dissertations

Background and Objectives: Past research has examined gender differences between mothers’ and fathers’ ties with their adult children; however, the interdependency between mothering and fathering for adult children was left unexamined. This study addresses this gap by examining the extent to and ways in which parental support to adult children in later life is initiated and negotiated among married couples, and whether these patterns reflect the gendered patterns and practices found in parental involvement earlier in the life course. Research Design and Methods: I conducted in-depth in-person interviews with 34 parents on their ties with each of their adult children. …

Hispanic Acculturation And Perceived Discrimination's Impact On Emerging Adult's Internalizing And Externalizing Symptoms Over Time: A Longitudinal Investigation., Hector F. De Los Santos

Open Access Dissertations

Perceived discrimination and acculturation are key minority status and cultural variables that impact Hispanic mental health. Despite discrimination being a chronic stressor and acculturation being a developmental process, the impact of these experiences have been primarily investigated cross-sectionally. This paper uses longitudinal analyses to explore how perceived discrimination and acculturation impact growth internalizing and externalizing symptoms over time, adding nuance to previous literature. Using the Pathways to Desistance Mexican American sample (N =332), this paper utilized latent growth curve analyses to evaluate acculturative theories on mental health and the immediate and longitudinal impact of discrimination on a broad spectrum of …

"Do I Even Remember The List?': Identity, Place, And Legal Consciousness Of Marriage Among Lgbtq Individuals.", D Ross Beall

Open Access Dissertations

The legalization of same-sex marriage in 2015 in the United States has been a milestone for LGBTQ rights. Popular campaigns pushing for the legalization argued that “love is love” and the idea that same-sex marriage is the same as heterosexual marriage. While there have been surveys investigating popular opinions around same-sex marriage, not much research has been done on LGBTQ communities themselves and what they have to say about marriage. This dissertation obtains a clearer understanding of how LGBTQ individuals consider marriage at a critical moment in history. Specifically, this dissertation investigates how identity, place, and legal consciousness interact within …

Social Brokerage, Psychology, And Innovation In Intra-Organizational Networks, Hongzhi Chen

Open Access Dissertations

As an important organizational phenomenon, brokerage is common in any group of three or more. A recent meta-analysis shows that brokerage is one of the most influential network properties to individual innovativeness (Baer, Evans, Oldham, & Boasso, 2015). This dissertation investigates the impacts of social brokerage on the micro-foundation of corporate innovation, i.e., generating new projects and getting new things done. In addressing the social psychological foundations of brokerage (Tasselli, Kilduff, & Menges, 2015), this dissertation investigates the influential contexts around the broker and revisits the “human agency” issue in brokerage phenomena in the setting of corporate innovation.

Chapter One …

Metaethical Mooreanism, Jonathan Fuqua

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation is an attempt to apply the Moorean response to radical skepticism to moral skepticism. In a nutshell, I argue as follows. Assume that the following Moorean response to, say, BIV skepticism (the worry that I don’t know I’m not a brain in a vat) is roughly correct: “I know I have hands, so I’m not a BIV; any argument to the contrary must have a flaw somewhere.” If so, then such a Moorean should respond as follows to moral skepticism: “I know that recreational genocide is wrong, so it’s false that there are no moral facts, and that …

Digital Badges And Student Motivation In The Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory, Sarah Hensiek

Open Access Dissertations

Laboratory courses have been the focus of much research and debate in the field of chemistry. One goal for the laboratory that is consistently cited by faculty is student learning of hands-on skills. Despite this, hands-on skills are rarely assessed in practice because to do so is resource intensive. Digital badges allow each individual student to demonstrate their proficiency in a hands-on lab skill while relieving the constraints associated with assessing individual students during a laboratory period. Previously at Purdue, digital badges were developed for the pipet, buret, and volumetric flask. These badges were shown to support student learning of …

Pathways To Persistence: A Study Of The Effects Of Neighborhood Stress And Family Communication Patterns On Community College Student Outcomes, Jill Marie Inderstrodt

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation draws upon literature from family communication, sociology, public health, and education to determine what neighborhood and family factors contribute to a community college student’s commitment to the goal of completing college. Community college students are more likely to come from low socioeconomic conditions, are more likely to have parents who did not earn a college degree, and are more likely to be ethnic or racial minorities than traditional four-year college students. Because of these demographics, community college students are also more likely to live in neighborhoods with high levels of neighborhood stress: noise and other pollution, crime, high …

The Alien Eye: Chinese Self-Images And The External Observer, 1874–1911, Yingying Huang

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation is a literary study of how and why late Qing Chinese self-image formation involved the “alien eye,” by which I mean the view of the foreigner observing and writing about China. I investigate writings and occasionally images produced within the period from 1874 to 1911, framed by the founding of the first Chinese-owned modern newspaper and the overthrow of the Qing empire. The literary genres I address include essays, short stories, novels, and plays. While effects of foreign views of China on the Chinese varied from positive stimulation to psychological damage, I argue that Chinese’ appropriation of the …

Essays On Labor Economics, Xuan Jiang

Open Access Dissertations

Quantum annealing (QA) uses the principles of quantum mechanics for solving unconstrained optimization problems. Since its initial proposal, there has been much interest in the search for practical problems for which QA has advantage over classical algorithms. Although it is believed that quantum computers cannot in general solve NP-complete problems effciently, there has been evidence suggesting that effects such as quantum tunneling can bring quantum speedup over classical computation for some problems in NP.

In this dissertation, we consider two problems that have both theoretical and practical importance. One is the Set Cover with Pairs problem. The other is the …

Early Social Origins Of Premature Aging: How Do Childhood Exposures Shape Aging And Mortality?, Blakelee R. Kemp

Open Access Dissertations

The early origins of health literature documents a distinct link between early life exposures and a range of pathologies in later life. However, it is still unclear if and which types of childhood events and experiences shape biological aging or increase mortality risk among older adults. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine (1) what types of early life exposures influence biological aging and mortality and for whom and (2) whether biological age acts as a marker of early life stress and a predictor of mortality. Drawing from cumulative inequality theory, this dissertation uses six waves of data (2004-2014) …

Refracting Gender: Experiences Of Transgender Students In Postsecondary Stem Education., Elizabeth Kersey

Open Access Dissertations

Transgender students are often an invisible minority in postsecondary education, particularly in STEM fields. I am addressing the lack of research in this area with an exploratory narrative study designed to answer two questions: (1) How have the experiences of postsecondary transgender students in STEM education varied with their gender presentation? (2) How do their experiences with mathematics compare with other STEM fields? I conducted a sequence of three interviews each with three participants to gather information about their life histories relating to gender and STEM. This information was then restoried utilizing the three-dimensional space of narrative inquiry proposed by …

Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder Through A Cultural Lens: Perspectives, Stigma, And Cultural Values Among Asians, Ankita Krishnan

Open Access Dissertations

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that has become increasingly prevalent in cross-cultural literature. Despite the well-supported finding that culture informs perceptions, belief patterns, values, there is little research illuminating this association or the fundamental role of culture for understanding ASD as a whole. The present study investigated the relationships among knowledge of ASD, stigma related to ASD, and cultural values among self-identified Asian individuals living in the United States (N= 373). Exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) was used to examine model fit of ASD knowledge assessment and cultural values in this sample, as well as to investigate …

The Effects Of Campaign Finance Law On Donations To State Legislative Campaigns, Christopher F. Kulesza

Open Access Dissertations

Donors influence state policy development through campaign contributions to legislative candidates. To curb this influence, states rely on disclosure requirements, campaign contribution limits, and public finance laws to restrain campaign contributions in elections. I argue that donors do not share the same motivations in providing campaign contributions to state legislators. For example, business interest groups seek to build long-term relationships, while ideologically leaning groups hope to elect like-minded candidates. I examine the effectiveness of campaign finance laws to regulate donations to state legislative candidates. I find that the success of campaign contribution law is dependent upon the motivations of the …

An Examination Of Marketing Factors That Influence Nontraditional Student Enrollment Decisions, Jianping Landrum

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine marketing factors that influence the decisions of working professionals to enroll as nontraditional students in the University of their Choice. Research has shown that factors such as affordability, access, and availability matter to nontraditional students. Marketing campaigns have often focused on these three factors, perhaps to the exclusion of other factors that may be equally important and compelling in helping working professionals decide to return to college for an advanced degree. This research explored seven marketing mix factors (Price, Promotion, Physical Evidence, People, Product, Process, and Place) and the extent to which …

Disciplinary Differences In A Community Of Inquiry, Jieun Lim

Open Access Dissertations

The Community of Inquiry framework has been used in numerous studies, with over 1800 citations to date (Google Scholar, January 2018). These studies mostly involve the study of a single discipline and rarely examine disciplinary differences as a potential factor in student outcomes. To address the research gap this study examined the differences in students’ social, cognitive, and teaching presence and the effects of those presences on the students’ learning outcomes according to their academic disciplines.

This study used an explanatory sequential mixed-method design in two phases. The data were collected from 25 undergraduate online courses at two large public …