Digital Commons Network^™

Developing A Typology Of Stress Reaction Patterns Among Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asd), Heather Ann Mcgee

Open Access Dissertations

Technological advances in both data acquisition and analytics have increased the usefulness and feasibility of employing idiographic methods in behavioral science research. While there are many advantages to employing an idiographic approach, one major criticism has been the lack of generalizability from single subject research to a larger population of interest. Developing a Typology of Temporal Patterns (TTP) is a novel method that can help address the issue of generalizability in idiographic research. TTP combines time series analysis and dynamic cluster analysis to form subgroups of individuals who share similar longitudinal trajectories. The present study demonstrates the usefulness of TTP …

Engaging Students In Authentic Discussion In The Secondary English Classroom, Lisa Ann Carpenter

Open Access Dissertations

Using the social constructivist lens, I frame a call for action that advocates for the use of critical literacy and a protocol for discussion in the English language arts classroom. Salon authentic discussion will present teachers with a powerful new pedagogy for critical literacy instruction in the secondary ELA classroom especially in this critical time when standards and accountability for both students and teachers is being redefined.

As a teacher-researcher, I am in the best position to investigate how students can become equipped to meet proficiency in speaking and listening a standards based era. Using grounded theory methodology, I examine …

Psychiatric Hospitalization To School Transitions: Examining Professional Perceptions Of Effectiveness And Fidelity, Jacqueline Michele Tisdale

Open Access Dissertations

The present study examined the effectiveness of adolescent psychiatric hospitalization-to-school transitions from the perspective of hospital and school-based mental health providers. Twenty-four school-based mental health professionals were surveyed to gain a better understanding of their experiences of reintegrating students to school following brief psychiatric hospitalization, including collaborations with hospital-based providers and contact with students’ parents during and after hospitalization. Fourteen hospital and school mental health providers completed written narrative responses based upon a case vignette to identify ideal transition processes, and also participated in a semi-structured interview to identify barriers to successful transition plan implementation. Data was gathered and examined …

A Grounded Theory Analysis Of Seclusion Of Students With Disabilities In Schools, Jennifer F. Connolly

Open Access Dissertations

In the last several years there has been growing concern about the use of restraint and seclusion in school. Little is known about the use of seclusion in schools, particularly with students with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to discover: under what conditions are students with disabilities subject to seclusion in schools?

A grounded theory analysis was done of 26 due process hearings containing a complaint about the use of seclusion. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act provided the framework and the relation between IDEA and seclusion was included in the analysis. For the purpose of this study, …

An Investigation Of The Relationship Between School Leadership, Teacher Job Satisfaction, And Student Achievement, Beth-Ann Tek

Open Access Dissertations

This correlational cross-sectional study identifies and tests research-based constructs of school leadership and teacher job satisfaction on the 2012 Tell MASS survey using exploratory factor analyses, confirmatory factor analyses, and reliability analyses. Hierarchical linear modeling is used to examine the relationship between the survey’s school leadership and teacher job satisfaction scales. Multiple regression analyses are used to investigate the hypothesis that school leadership and student achievement on standardized tests in English Language Arts and Mathematics are also related, though this relationship is mediated by teacher job satisfaction.

Analyses revealed four major findings. First, EFA, CFA, and reliability analyses determined that …

Historically Marginalized Groups In Psychological Science, Celeste Caviness

Open Access Dissertations

Over the past thirty years there has been a concerted effort to evaluate the inclusion of historically marginalized groups (HMG) – women, racial, ethnic, and sexual minorities, and low-income individuals – in research. This has been done through content analyses of research literature published in top-tier psychological journals. The purpose of this study was to examine the research literature to assess the degree to which the current literature includes ethnic, racial, and sexual minorities, women, and those of varying socioeconomic status and whether research questions focusing on historically marginalized groups are being examined within mainstream journals. Six issues from 2012 …

Validation Of A Social Skills Construct Using Multitrait Multimethod And Generalizability Approaches, Monica Mabe

Open Access Dissertations

Social skills are important components of social‐emotional functioning that allow children to be successful in school, both socially and academically. A single, agreed‐upon definition of social skills has not been identified in the literature, however, which has led to variations in the measurement and assessment of social skills. Issues of measurement may be linked to the ineffectiveness of school‐based social‐skills interventions. Commonly used conceptualizations and operationalizations of social skills are presented, as well as a review of issues surrounding social‐skills interventions. The use of a multitrait‐multimethod approach is presented for the use of establishing a unified set of social skills …

Firefighters’ Multimodal Literacy Practices, Timothy R. Amidon

Open Access Dissertations

This study explores the ways that firefighters’ utilize multimodal literacy practices to construct and communicate knowledge in environments where risk is present. Specifically, this dissertation sketches the interrelationships between alphabetic, aural, cognitive, gestural, kinesthetic, oral, tactile, spatial, and visual genres which evolve and circulate within embodied, analog, and digital media on firegrounds. A heuristic research methodology was constructed by borrowing and adapting components from extant multimodal and digital ethnography, community-based research, and writing activity and genre research. Using a range of emergent digital research methods, data was captured during six observational periods wherein 75 participants engaged in live-fire training activities; …

Intrapartum Nurses’ Beliefs About Childbirth: A Descriptive Qualitative Study In Nurses That Provide Care To Women In Labor And Birth, Sylvia P. Ross

Open Access Dissertations

In the United States, a large gap exists between what is known as best evidence in maternal-newborn health and the routine practices at the frontline of maternity care. Intrapartum nurses are uniquely positioned to promote practices that are evidencebased and support the normal physiologic process of birth. This qualitative study explored intrapartum nurses’ beliefs about childbirth and the influence of their beliefs on their clinical practice, particularly practices that promoted normal physiologic birth. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 10 intrapartum registered nurses using Rubin and Rubin’s (2012) responsive interview model. All participants practiced on a labor and delivery unit …

A Case Study Of Student And Teacher Relationships And The Effect On Student Learning, Patricia Brady Gablinske

Open Access Dissertations

This research study explored the affective domain of teacher-student relationships using a single case study design. This single case study produced a synthesis of information that guides a classroom teacher in the development and maintenance of her relationships with her students. The resulting analysis and interpretation provided a description of major themes that developed regarding strong teacher student relationships, as well as, specific components to the interactions considered essential for the student’s learning environment.

The outcome of this study is an account of experiences and procedures that guide the development and maintenance of relationships between a teacher and her students. …

The Effects Of Alcohol And Attention On Eye Movements, And Choice Reaction Time, Rouba A. Youssef

Open Access Dissertations

This study examined the time course of alcohol's effect on two tasks performed concurrently, and on the tradeoff between them. It was hypothesized that alcohol impairs attentional focus, as well as the accuracy and reaction time to make directional choices, and so would induce a more severe tradeoff between tasks performed concurrently.

Equipment used in the study consisted of a device used to monitor eye movements, left and right light stimuli and a breathalyzer to measure blood alcohol levels. The sample for this project consisted of 46 men and women, between the ages of 21 and 30 years old. All …

Spatio-Temporal Visual Information Analysis For Moving Object Detection And Retrieval In Video Sequences, Dianting Liu

Open Access Dissertations

The development of the Internet makes the number of online videos increase dramatically, which brings new demands to the video search engines for automatic retrieval and classification. We propose an unsupervised moving object detection and retrieval framework by exploiting and analyzing spatio-temporal visual information in the video sequences. The motivation is to use visual content information to estimate the locations of the moving objects in the spatio-temporal domain. Compared with the existing approaches, our proposed detection algorithm is unsupervised. It does not need to train models for specific objects. Furthermore, it is suitable for the detection of unknown objects. Therefore, …

Haitian Parents' Experiences With The Iep Process And Their Involvement With The Special Education Program, Margarette Mahotiere

Open Access Dissertations

Current literature and recent legislation advocate parental involvement in education as ‘best subsequent reauthorizations practice.’ The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Amendment of 1997 and its promote parental participation in the special education process by requiring schools to consider parents as equal partners in the development of the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for students with disabilities. However, parents have reported the process as stressful and confusing. Prior research revealed barriers that marginalize culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) parents to passive roles in the process. Using qualitative methods, this study focused on Haitian parents’ participation in both the IEP process …

Openness And Closure In Modernist Cinema: Antonioni/Resnais/Haneke/Martel, Oscar Jubis

Open Access Dissertations

Narrative exposition evokes questions about characters and events. A narrative opens gaps when information necessary to interpret the plot has yet to be offered. Some questions perform what Barthes calls primary or “hinge” functions. Narratives revolve around these presiding questions or gaps while secondary questions serve complementary purposes. The opening of gaps and the timing of their closing are the means by which narratives incite our curiosity, foment our interest, and hold our attention. Most narratives aim to achieve resolution and grant a sense of closure by filling the gaps with sufficient certitude. A degree of ambiguity is present in …

Lightweight Moral Realism: Objectivity And Reasoning Without Heavyweight Facts, Mark Douglas Warren

Open Access Dissertations

In this dissertation, I develop a non-representational approach to metaethics that avoids the ontological and epistemic problems that traditional realist views face: accounting for the nature of moral facts and our knowledge of these facts in a way that comports with naturalism. According to expressivism—the most popular non-representational account in contemporary metaethics—moral claims don’t aim to represent moral facts or properties, but instead function to express our non-cognitive attitudes like approval or disapproval. This is a promising approach, but the view has substantial difficulties accounting for important features of moral discourse, like objectivity and complicated moral reasoning. I develop an …

The Effect Of 10-S Maximal Sprints Performed Prior To And Immediately Following Moderate Intensity Exercise On Glucoregulation Of Individuals With Type 1 Diabetes, Jennifer Maher Raeburn

Open Access Dissertations

Objective: To examine the efficacy of a 10-s maximal sprint performed immediately prior to and following a 40-min, moderate-intensity bout of exercise, as a means of maintaining plasma glucose concentration during both exercise and 120 min of recovery in those with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Research Design and Methods: Seven moderately active males with T1DM performed a continuous graded exercise test on a cycle ergometer to determine peak power output (Wpeak). Subjects then reported to the laboratory on two separate occasions after an overnight 8-h fast and either rested (CON) or performed a 10-s maximal effort sprint (150% Wpeak) …

An Experimental Test Of Culturally Specific Versus Standard Smoking Cessation Messages Targeting Hispanics, Denise Rodríguez Esquivel

Open Access Dissertations

Culturally specific smoking cessation interventions have been recommended for racial/ethnic minority smokers in the U.S., though few cessation trials have focused on Hispanics. As a result, little is known about effective intervention delivery or factors that should be considered. The aims of this study were to test the acceptability and efficacy of a smoking cessation intervention varying in cultural specificity and language. Participants (N = 222) were English-Spanish bilingual Hispanic smokers recruited from the community. A 2 (Language: preferred vs. less preferred) X 2 (Intervention type: standard vs. culturally specific) between-subjects experiment was conducted. Language preference was assessed, and participants …

Ethics And Fiction: Imaginary Evil And Aesthetic Value, David Michael Hurlburt

Open Access Dissertations

Many fictional works aim to amuse audiences with accounts of immoral characters engaging in evil deeds. A number of positions have emerged to determine to what degree, if any, a work’s treatment of unethical events shapes its aesthetic value. In this dissertation I will evaluate four existing positions and advance my own for consideration, empathic autonomism. I argue that it is not unethical for audience members to enjoy imaginary immoral acts and I will show how this affects various stances. I will present objections to rival views and argue that a fictional work’s ability to allow audiences to empathize with …

Maternal Sensitivity, Maternal Mind-Mindedness, And Infant Socioemotional Functioning: An Examination Of Concurrent Associations, Nancy Ignacia Longoria

Open Access Dissertations

Associations between maternal sensitivity, maternal mind-mindedness, and infant socioemotional (SE) functioning were examined in a sample of 40 mother-infant dyads. Semi-structured home observations were conducted to assess maternal sensitivity and collect maternal ratings of maternal depression and infant SE functioning. Mind-mindedness was assessed during free play and teaching interactions during the home visit. Sensitivity at home was positively associated with mind-mindedness during a free play interaction, but not during a teaching interaction. Neither sensitivity nor mind-mindedness was significantly associated with total infant SE scores, or scores on 3 SE subscales (adaptive functioning, self-regulation, and interaction with people). A trend between …

Development Of A Field-Portable Miniature Mass Spectrometer Designed For In-Situ Analysis And Ion Trap Miniaturization, Paul Isaac Hendricks

Open Access Dissertations

Chemical analysis by mass spectrometry has become the gold standard due to the sensitivity, selectivity, and short analysis times that are afforded by the method. Advances in miniaturized vacuum systems, mass analyzers, electronics, and ionization sources have allowed for the development of field-portable mass spectrometers. The performance of portable instruments has received much attention for their utility in the detection of illicit drugs, explosives, environmental contaminants, therapeutic drugs, and more recently, biological tissues. Furthermore, detection of the aforementioned compounds can be completed at atmospheric pressures and in the presence of complex matrices and sample surfaces when used in conjunction with …

Estimation Of Variation For High-Throughput Molecular Biological Experiments With Small Sample Size, Danni Yu

Open Access Dissertations

Motivation: In the quantification of molecular components, a large variation can affect and even potentially mislead the biological conclusions. Meanwhile, the high-throughput experiments often involve a small number of samples due to the limitation of cost and time. In such cases, the stochastic information may dominate the outcome of an experiment because there may not be enough samples to present the true biological information. It is challenging to distinguish the changes in phenotype from the stochastic variation.

Methods: Since the biological molecules have been quantified with different technologies, different statistical methods are required. Focusing on three types of important high-throughput …

An Eriksonian Approach To Consumer Identity, Sandra Rathod

Open Access Dissertations

Rathod, Sandra R. Ph.D., Purdue University, December 2013. An Eriksonian Approach to Consumer Identity. Major Professor: Richard A. Feinberg.

Ego development is the fifth stage in Erikson's Lifecycle Development theory (1959) and is a major psychosocial stage beginning in adolescence and lasting into emerging adulthood. Past research based upon Marcia's Ego Identity Status Paradigm (1996) has investigated a number of ideological and interpersonal domains relevant to one's ego identity, however in today's consumer societies, where what you have is at least as important is who you are or what you do, an Eriksonian approach to consumer ego identity (CEI) has …

Development And Validation Of Pre-Service Teachers' Personal Epistemologies Of Teaching Scale (Pt-Pets), Ji Hyun Yu

Open Access Dissertations

The Internet has changed not only how we conceptualize knowledge, but also how we learn in classroom. Knowledge is not any longer transmitted from experts to non-experts, but is constructed through communication, collaboration, and integration among a network of people. In this context, teachers are expected to facilitate student-centered learning by helping students to construct knowledge through higher-order thinking rather than reproduce a series of facts. Although a growing body of research suggests that teachers' beliefs about the nature of knowledge and the process of knowing, that is personal epistemology, are related to their teaching and their students' learning, little …

Patient Perceptions Of Physicians And Medication Adherence Among Medicare Part D Beneficiaries, Lori Marquinne Ward

Open Access Dissertations

Ward, Lori Marquinne. Ph.D., Purdue University, December, 2013. Patient Perceptions of Physicians and Medication Adherence Among Medicare Part D Beneficiaries. Major Professor: Joseph Thomas III.

An observational database analysis using Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey data was conducted to examine patient perceptions of physicians and associations with adherence to antihypertensive medication among Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Part D. The study sample included beneficiaries if they were 65 years or older, dwelling in the community, had a diagnosis of hypertension in 2007, were enrolled in Medicare Part D all 12 months in 2008, and had Medicare Part D claims for antihypertensive …

The City In Mind: Environmental Literacy And Adaptation In Nineteenth-Century British Literature, Adam Edward Watkins

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation argues that a new paradigm of selfhood emerged in nineteenth-century British literature, one that recognized the individual will and environmental influence not as antithetical but as dialectical forces in the formation of the self. The concept of an externally negotiated subject challenges both the inward and socially determined conceptions of self that have dominated the relevant criticism. Informed by empiricist, associationist, and evolutionary theories of the mind, the portrayals of subject-formation in this study highlight the radical changes occurring in the human environment in nineteenth-century, which catalyzed the conception of a malleable yet self-forming subject. Along with the …

The Role Of Traditionalism In Patterns Of Support From Adult Children To Fathers In The Later Years, Michael William Steinhour

Open Access Dissertations

This study explores the effects of fathers' gender role attitudes on the receipt of instrumental and expressive support from their adult children. Using data on 1159 fathers aged 50-94 from the National Survey of Families and Households (W-1), I sought to determine if fathers' traditional gender role attitudes would predict receipt of support in two domains: help with instrumental tasks (e.g., help around the house and help with repairs), and expressive support (e.g., expressive support, encouragement, moral or emotional support). : My research question was: what are the effects of fathers' traditional gender role attitudes on receipt of support from …

Investigating The Learning To Teach Process: Pedagogy, Innovation Adoption, Expertise Development, And Technology Integration, Sun Yan

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation reported three studies whose overarching purpose is to enhance our understanding about how teachers learn to teach by revealing the learning to teach process. Each of three studies revealed the learning to teach process from different perspectives. Guided by the Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) framework, the first study revealed the learning process of elementary teachers' development of engineering PCK through engineering teaching practices. Approaching elementary teachers' learning to teach engineering from the perspectives of innovation adoption and expertise development, the second study revealed the learning to teach engineering process by constructing a framework depicting the stages and dimensions …

The Relationship Between Teachers' Perceptions Of The Feedback They Receive And Their Teaching Efficacy In High-Performing Schools, Joshua D. St. John

Open Access Dissertations

As reform efforts are prescribed in every state through mandates and regulations in an effort to better prepare students to compete in a global economy, and as states like Indiana implement new evaluation plans for teachers based on a rigorous rubric and objective measures of student achievement, close attention to the ripple effects must be involved. While efforts such as professional learning communities and instructional coaches are aimed at building teacher capacity, maximum results can only be achieved when school leaders balance how they leverage their evaluative power while promoting these formative experiences. Absent in the drive for heightened accountability, …

Design, Development, And Testing Of A Conformal Power Control Interface For Thrust Vectoring Aircraft, David Rozovski

Open Access Dissertations

Over the last five years, a new power control inceptor for tiltrotor aircraft, known as the Rotational Throttle Interface (RTI) was designed and built. Prior to the RTI, no tiltrotor inceptor had been able to simultaneously indicate both the direction and magnitude of thrust conformally. The purpose of the RTI is to provide an interface that maps to the intended vehicle response throughout ALL ranges of operation. Doing so is expected to reduce confusion that may have contributed to several tiltrotor accidents

Two tests were conducted with the RTI, one at the NASA Vertical Motion Simulator, and one at Canada's …

Degree Program Changes And Curricular Flexibility: Addressing Long Held Beliefs About Student Progression, George Dante Ricco

Open Access Dissertations

In higher education and in engineering education in particular, changing majors is generally considered a negative event - or at least an event with negative consequences. An emergent field of study within engineering education revolves around understanding the factors and processes driving student changes of major. Of key importance to further the field of change of major research is a grasp of large scale phenomena occurring throughout multiple systems, knowledge of previous attempts at describing such issues, and the adoption of metrics to probe them effectively. The problem posed is exacerbated by the drive in higher education institutions and among …