Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of Personalized Learning Strategies On Educational Growth And Achievement Of Low Socioeconomic Elementary Students, Michele L. Trevino

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Mindfulness And Contemplative Inquiry Coursefor Pre-Service Art Educators, Rebecca Sue Lewis

Theses and Dissertations

This research project incorporates a series of mindfulness and contemplative workshops withinthe established curriculum of an advanced art studio methods course for pre-service arteducators. Educational research studies suggest that individuals who complete a mindfulnesscourse of study experience increased mental and physical stamina; enhanced memory retention;and decreased irritability, anxiety, depression, and chronic stress. Research also indicates thatindividuals who practice mindfulness have improved relationships and bolstered immunesystems (Williams & Penman, 2012. These studies suggest that mindfulness training can makepositive contributions to teaching and learning, enabling teachers and students to perform at theirbest capacity in their respective roles. Many studies hypothesized that mindfulness …

An Examination Between Neighborhood Characteristics And Alzheimer’S Disease And Related Dementias And Caregiver Mental Health In South Carolina, Dana Mahmoud Alhasan

Theses and Dissertations

Research has examined the relationship between neighborhood environments and cognitive decline, yet few have investigated the role of neighborhood characteristics specifically on incident Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD), on severity of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) including neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS), and on caregiver mental health including depressive symptoms. This dissertation aimed to 1) ecologically examine the geographic distribution of ADRD and investigate ecologic associations between census-tract neighborhood characteristics and diagnosed ADRD case incidence from 2010-2014 in the South Carolina (SC) Alzheimer’s Disease Registry; 2) estimate the cross-sectional association between neighborhood characteristics and NPS among those with AD in 2010 in SC; …

The Impact Of Financial Incentives On Urban-Rural Disparities In Dental Supply: Evidence From Thailand, Rakchanok Noochpoung

Theses and Dissertations

Financial incentive is one of the common strategies used to attract healthcare workers in rural and remote areas. Both high-income and low-income countries extensively use financial strategy to tackle the disparity distribution of healthcare workers. However, most studies were conducted in developed countries and assessed positive incentives programs. Previous studies showed the effectiveness of financial incentives on recruitment and retention of healthcare workers. Current studies show that most of the financial incentives supported for education such as scholarships and loan repayment programs are effective. A few studies assessed the effectiveness of direct payment incentive programs, especially in low-middle income countries. …

Might Could, Cody Donovan Hosek

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis uses poetry to draw attention to the means in which we communicate ourselves and our experience, namely in the aftermath of loss—loss of loved ones, of a sense of home, loss of trust in the veracity of one’s own senses. While exploring these affective spaces, attention was drawn especially to the eye and the translation implicit in the mind’s work of perception. The writing process involved returning to the sites of home—the Outer Banks, the Blue Ridge mountains, Oconee county, the southern stretch of Appalachia—and it is in this dynamic geography that the images, more often natural than …

The Utility Of Using Virtue Locales To Explain Criminogenic Environments, Hunter Max Boehme

Theses and Dissertations

Place-based criminology has a long history of examining the potential causes and correlates of criminogenic environments. This line of scholarship has been able to establish that crime, levels of social guardianship, and racial/ethnic groups are unevenly distributed throughout space. Routine activity theory and environmental criminology are two prominent explanations of the causes of criminogenic environments. Specifically, the crime generator and crime attractor scholarship (Brantingham & Brantingham, 1995) has found recent success uncovering which certain land uses that may be “risky facilities” (e.g., pawn shops, payday lenders, bars). However, these paradigms have yet to discover which businesses are crime-reducing and an …

The Chasquis Of Liberty: Revolutionary Messengers In The Bolivian Independence Era, 1808-1825, Caleb Garret Wittum

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on a group of South American revolutionaries and the ways they shaped and challenged the precepts of the Age of Revolutions that rocked Latin America, Europe, and the Atlantic World in the early nineteenth century. Specifically, it investigates revolutionaries like Vicente Pazos Kanki, an indigenous journalist and diplomat, who traveled throughout South America, the United States, and Europe in an effort to form republican governments that brought together indigenous, African, and European citizens into multiethnic republics. I call these revolutionaries the chasquis of liberty. A chasqui was the rapid-traveling foot messenger of the Andean preconquest and colonial …

Freedom And Food: Transformations And Continuities In Foodways Among The People Who Labored At Stono Plantation, James Island, South Carolina During The Eighteenth, Nineteenth, And Twentieth Centuries, Brandy Kristin Joy

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation compares archaeological assemblages from the Stono Plantation/Dill Farm, James Island, South Carolina between the periods of enslavement and Emancipation. Further comparisons are made with the neighboring Ferguson Road archaeological site and the Smith Plantation archaeological site, Port Royal, South Carolina. These comparisons are made in order to understand how Emancipation impacted the foodways including diet, vessel type and use, and cuisine of Lowcountry residents. Results suggest that while technological innovation and increased globalization enabled a shift in material culture, the overall foodways of the region remained relatively unchanged through time.

The Role Of Floating Gardens To Alter The Water Quality Of The Chicago River: Chicago, Il, Emmett Andrew Spooner

Theses and Dissertations

The pollution of heavy metals within surface water is a rising global concern. As heavy metals are transported through rivers, they can bioaccumulate through the food web, leading to harmful concentrations within waterways. In urban areas such as the city of Chicago, Illinois, the use of road salts is a concern as elevated concentrations of chloride (Cl–) can reduce surface water quality. Since surface waters can carry heavy metals and Cl– salts over a large distance, methods of in-situ phytoremediation are of growing importance. Through a pilot project, a floating garden system has been installed along a portion of the …

Wildfire In The West: How Megafires And Storm Events Affect Stream Chemistry And Nutrient Dynamics In Semi-Arid Watersheds, Trevor William Crandall

Theses and Dissertations

Climate change is causing larger wildfires and more extreme precipitation events throughout the world. As these ecological disturbances increasingly coincide, they are altering lateral fluxes of sediment, organic matter, and nutrients. Increased lateral flux of nutrients could exacerbate eutrophication and associated harmful algal blooms, and increased sediment and organic matter flux could degrade the water supply. Here, we report the immediate stream chemistry response of watersheds in central Utah (USA) that were affected by a megafire followed by an extreme precipitation event in 2018. The wildfires burned throughout the summer of 2018 until the remnants of Hurricane Rosa released torrential …

Heuristic Approaches For Near-Optimal Placement Of Gps-Based Multi-Static Radar Receivers In American Coastal Waters, Brandon J. Hufstetler

Theses and Dissertations

Narcotics smuggling across the Caribbean Sea is a growing concern for the United States Coast Guard. One vector for this illicit trafficking is via small aircraft. This thesis proposes a multi-static radar architecture using the Global Positioning System (GPS) constellation as a transmission source to detect these aircraft as they transit a detection fence. The system developed in this thesis relies on the forward-scatter phenomenon in which a radar shadow is cast by a target as it crosses in front of a transmitter, creating a measurable difference in the signal amplitude at the receiver. This thesis first develops a mathematical …

Analysis And Forecasting Of The 360th Air Force Recruiting Group Goal Distribution, Tyler Spangler

Theses and Dissertations

This research utilizes monthly data from 2012-2017 to determine economic or demographic factors that significantly contribute to increased goaling and production potential in areas of the 360th Recruiting Groups. Using regression analysis, a model of recruiting goals and production is built to identify squadrons within the 360 RCGs zone that are capable of producing more or fewer recruits and the factors that contribute to this increased or decreased capability. This research identifies that a zones high school graduation rate, the number of recruiters, and the number of JROTC detachments in a zone are positively correlated with recruiting goals and that …

Spacecraft Position Estimation And Attitude Determination Using Terrestrial Illumination Matching, Liberty M. Shockley

Theses and Dissertations

An algorithm to conduct spacecraft position estimation and attitude determination via terrestrial illumination matching (TIM) is presented consisting of a novel method that uses terrestrial lights as a surrogate for star fields. Although star sensors represent a highly accurate means of attitude determination with considerable spaceflight heritage, with Global Positioning System (GPS) providing position, TIM provides a potentially viable alternative in the event of star sensor or GPS malfunction or performance degradation. The research defines a catalog of terrestrial light constellations, which are then implemented within the TIM algorithm for position acquisition of a generic spacecraft bus. With the algorithm …

Mult-Spectral Imaging Of Vegetation With A Diffractive Plenoptic Camera, Tristan R. Naranjo

Theses and Dissertations

Snapshot multi-spectral sensors allow for object detection based on its spectrum for remote sensing applications in air or space. By making these types of sensors more compact and lightweight, it allows drones to dwell longer on targets or the reduction of transport costs for satellites. To address this need, I designed and built a diffractive plenoptic camera (DPC) which utilized a Fresnel zone plate and a light field camera in order to detect vegetation via a normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). This thesis derives design equations by relating DPC system parameters to its expected performance and evaluates its multi-spectral performance. …

Productivity Of Kale (Brassica Oleracea Var. Acephala) And Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis Niloticus) Culture In Aquaponic Systems, Kazir Adewale Afolabi

Theses and Dissertations

Crop production and aquaculture play important roles in food security and water withdrawals and contribute to over 70% of global water consumption. The aquaponic system is a sustainable way of integrating soilless crop farming and freshwater fish farming in a single system to reduce water consumption and pollution, increase food production per unit area, thereby rendering economic benefits to the farmer. In this study, an attempt was made to assess the productivity of aquaponic systems by measuring the biomass output of fish and crop, water requirement, as well as net-financial gain of the production unit. Two aquaponic systems types were …

An Analysis Of Campus Services For International Students At Institutions In The Midwest, Sylvia Miriyam Findlay

Theses and Dissertations

Higher education campuses are becoming ethnoculturally diverse with the influx of international students from various parts of the world and must modify their international student recruitment and enrollment strategies in response to this trend. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of student affairs personnel to campus services for international students by comparing what should be provided to what is being offered. The study also attempts to identify the gap in their perceptions. Services identified in the literature were examined using the Briggs and Ammigan (2017) collaborative programming and outreach model, which combined concepts of student engagement …

Overcoming The Conflict Of Jurisdiction In Cybercrime, Abdelmonem Mohamed Magdy Khalifa

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the different approaches to managing the conflict of criminal jurisdiction over cybercrime with the aim of comparing the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. It argues that the most effective solution to this dilemma is to determine certain factors to be considered and evaluated by a body established for such a purpose or by the concerned states themselves in order to decide which country will take the exclusive competence over the cybercrime in accordance with the facts of each individual case and taking into account the characteristics of cybercrime. Establishment of these factors should reflect the interests …

Mustaqillat: Navigating Women's Mobilities In Post-2011 Egypt, Ghadeer Ahmed Eldamaty

Theses and Dissertations

Following the Egyptian revolution of January, the 25th, 2011, the term women's independence, istiqlal ijtma'ay, has been widely used by young Egyptian women. A mustaqilla (independent woman) identifies herself as a woman who is socio-economically independent from her family, lives on her own, and works to support herself. This thesis is concerned with the emergence of independent women, mustaqillat, as a social phenomenon, and questions how the phenomenon of istiqlal is constructed. What are its socio-economic dimensions, and associated meanings? Based on an ethnographic fieldwork with a group of Egyptian women who identify themselves as mustaqillat, this thesis focuses on …

Projected Impacts Of Climate Change On Risk Of Spring Frost And Fire Blight For Malus Domestica, Paul J. Racco

Theses and Dissertations

The impact of climate change is projected for apple phenology, frost attrition, and fire blight risk under the highest emissions scenario through the 21st century.

Western Influence In The Cover-Up Of The Holodomor, Michael Galka-Giaquinto

Theses and Dissertations

This paper discusses how the Holodomor (Ukrainian Genocide of 1932-1933) was effectively covered up by Stalin with the help of compliant actors in the West. A confluence of media, political, and economic interests in the West was critical in successfully covering up Stalin's crimes against the Ukrainian people.

The Influence Of Homelife On Student Achievement Levels In Their Global History And Geography Class, Bryan Adam Jonathan Frank

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to discover: (a) parents’ perception of the support they provided at home and how it impacted their child’s academic success in a Global History and Geography course and (b) the child’s perception of how their homelife impacted their success in their Global History and Geography class. The study participants were three parents and nine children who had completed the 10th grade Global History and Geography Regents class, which culminated in the administration of the New York State’s Global History and Geography Regents exams.

Prior studies have considered the influence of homelife on student …

Perceptions Of Implementation Of Civic Education Curriculum In A Suburban School District, Sheena Jacob

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore and develop an understanding of teachers and coordinator perceptions of a civic education and to analyze how the program was implemented in a suburban school district. This qualitative case study explored the experiences of one school district’s civic education program. and was informed by interviews, observations and documents. The researcher interviewed a K-12 social studies coordinator and two teachers. The researcher also observed four civic education classes within the school district. Finally, the researcher analyzed documents that comprised the syllabus for the 12th grade Civic courses, student work from 12th …

Teacher Perceptions Of Standards-Based Reforms In Social Studies Education, William E. Murphy

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the perceptions of secondary social studies teachers regarding the influence of standards-based education reforms in social studies education. This qualitative inquiry utilized document analysis, focus groups and one-on-one interviews of secondary social studies teachers from a suburban high school in Long Island, New York. Participants possessed between one and twenty-five years of teaching experience and were currently teaching social studies classes in the 7th through 12th grades. Due to an existing lack of research on the topic, this study collected and analyzed data according to the grounded theory framework. Following a grounded theory model, this study identified …

The Influence Of Teacher Expectations On The Academic Achievement Of 11th Grade Hispanic Female Students, Erica Denice Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to examine the effects that teacher expectations have on the academic achievement of Hispanic female students in the eleventh grade. The goal was to shed light on the importance of teacher expectations for these students. Teacher expectations have been, and continue to be, a critical issue in education when addressing student achievement or lack thereof. Many educators feel that expectations give students a blueprint to success. Expectations allow students to formulate an idea of where they should be academically, while working on a pathway to get there. This study provides research that identifies the …

Impact Of Pro-Based Learning On Student Performance In Elementary Mathematics, Emmanuela Remy

Theses and Dissertations

Elementary school students have been underperforming in mathematics at the city, state, and national level. The National Education Goals, adopted by the United States Congress in 1989, did not achieve the two math goals (Goal #3 and Goal #5) by the year 2000 as outlined in the Goals 2000 Legislation. The 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results indicated that grade 4 students were not proficient in mathematics. This exploratory study, not only sought to address the two National Education math goals, but also investigated whether Pro-Based Learning (ProBL) was an effective pedagogical practice for elementary school students of …

The Impact Of Peer Mentors In Physical Education On Students With Severe Cognitive Disabilities, Jessica A. Lukas

Theses and Dissertations

This research used a convenience sampling of five classes of special education students receiving adaptive physical education. Nineteen of the special education students were paired with peer mentors during adaptive physical education, nineteen special education students remained in a segregated adaptive physical education class. Through the analysis of statistical data there was a higher mean for the students in the peer mentor adaptive physical education. Although both groups made growth, there was a statistical significance on the post test for the students in the peer mentor adaptive physical education. Additionally, qualitative interviews and observational data yielded data indicating students’ social …

Implementing Reform: A Case Study Of Secondary Social Studies Teachers’ Perceptions Of Mandated Curriculum Changes, Ricky Vincent Papandrea

Theses and Dissertations

Since the mid-1990s there have been several attempts at wide-scale educational reform in the United States. The majority of educational research that has been conducted has focused on the impact of these reform movements on student achievement outcomes, the development of 21st century skills for students to compete in the global economy, the financial impacts on schools and school districts for implementing mandated curriculum changes, or the evaluation of specific programs (Polleck & Jeffery, 2017; Lee & Wu, 2017). Several gaps in the existing literature have led to an incomplete picture of reform efforts, including the impact of teacher perceptions …

The Effect Of The Read-Aloud And Extended Time Accommodations On Naep Fourth And Eighth Grade Reading And Mathematics For Students With Disabilities, Ida Tam

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the read-aloud and extended time testing accommodations on the fourth and eighth grade National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in reading and math for students with disabilities. This non-experimental study used the 2013 reading and math NAEP, restricted data set, to examine the fourth and eighth grade students with disabilities with test accommodations compared to the students with disabilities who did not receive testing accommodations. This study had a large sample size and is considered to be representative of the performance of the student population within the nation. The …

The Business Of Fashion: Fashion Group International, 1928-1997, Larissa Marie Knopp

Theses and Dissertations

In 1931 a group of women formed an organization that would serve as a clearing house for American fashion and as a support group for women professionals in the fashion industry. Members included Dorothy Shaver, Edith Head, and Eleanor Roosevelt, as well as other well-known professionals. Fashion Group soon grew into an international organization that helped launch careers in every area of the industry. Fashion Group International helped women create space for themselves in the upper echelons of the fashion world. Through a careful examination of archival documents, including letters, meeting minutes, newsletters, and speeches, this thesis shows how Fashion …

Acculturation Through English Acquisition Among Catholic Chinese-Indonesians In Philadelphia, Paulus Dwintarto

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe Indonesian language maintenance and English acquisition among Catholic Chinese-Indonesian immigrants in Philadelphia in the context of their acculturation. The research was conducted through a qualitative approach that included multiple interviews and observations of twenty participants within the theoretical framework of John Berry’s acculturation strategy, Ying’s domains of acculturation model and “human capital” model of English acquisition of Barry R. Chiswick and Paul W. Miller. Observations and interviews suggested that all of the participants have maintained Indonesian language by using it for communication with their family and their Indonesian fellows. Indonesian Catholic Community …