Digital Commons Network^™

The Congruence Of Parent-Teacher Relationships For Students With Autism: The Role Of Teacher Efficacy And School Climate, Morgan Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Ecological Systems Theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) can be used as a framework to examine the importance of communication and collaboration among parents and teachers as both are important stakeholders in the field of education. Parent-teacher relationships are critical for autistic students particularly due to individualized education plans and the provision of special education services (IDEA, 2004). The current study examined relationships between parent-teacher dyads in terms of congruence, the degree to which both parties are in agreement about their relationship. This study was unique in its mixed methods design, combining quantitative and qualitative data, as well as its use of dyadic …

Standards-Aligned Math Curriculum, Student Demographics, And School Improvement: An Investigation Of Illinois’ Lowest-Performing K-8 Schools, Christine Paxson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to provide a greater understanding of the broader characteristics of the lowest performing elementary and middle schools in Illinois, as little analysis of this data had been conducted. Furthermore, little to no research has explored the vertical and horizontal alignment of math curricula and its correlation to achievement scores. The results of the study suggest that the impact of Covid-19 has taken a toll on our K-12 students and teachers, as well as leaders. There is a higher percentage of principal turnover in the last six years, in schools summatively designated comprehensive, that have …

Applying The Seven Principles Of Learning To Development Communication, Lina Abd El Ghaffar

Theses and Dissertations

Development communication originated as a post-war term meaning “the application of communication strategies and principles in the developing world.”. As time went by, various definitions of development communication emerged, each reflecting its political agenda and interests. A more recent definition states that development communication aims to remove constraints for an increasingly participatory and equal society.

Sustainability and inclusivity are at the heart of effective development. The current development communication paradigms are the top down Dominant paradigm which is criticized for not being inclusive and the bottom up Participatory paradigm which is criticized for not being sustainable.

Based on the Seven …

Neuroticism And Relationship Quality: A Meta-Analytic Review, Charlotte R. Esplin

Theses and Dissertations

Of each of the Big-Five personality traits, neuroticism is most strongly associated with poor relationship outcomes. Prior research has established a robust negative association between neuroticism and relationship quality, regardless of participant age, length of relationship, and country of origin. As so much has already been studied on the topic of neuroticism and relationship quality, the current study explores the association between neuroticism and relationship using meta-analytic methodology, and details whether Hill's seven criteria for causation have been met in the current literature thus far. After searching through databases and the references of included studies, I used 151 published studies …

Analysis Of The Cytopathogenic Effect Of Different Hiv-1 Vpr Isoforms On Primary Human Cd4+ T Cells And A Model Cell Line, Jonatan Josue Fierro Nieves

Theses and Dissertations

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is the causal agent of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a disease characterized by the depletion of CD4+ T cells which impairs immune response. Analysis of HIV-1 infected patients has identified two distinctive phenotypes that differ in length of time towards the development of AIDS, Rapid Progressor (RP) and Long-Term Non-Progressor (LTNP) patients. The cause of the differences between these two groups is a process that is still under investigation. Hints about a possible cause have been attributed to the discovery of mutations in the viral protein R (Vpr) that have been associated with these phenotypes: mutations …

Finding Biomarkers From Long-Non-Coding Rnas In Serum Of Patients With Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Nouran Yonis

Theses and Dissertations

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is becoming a serious global public health problem as it is a highly prevalent condition, that begins as simple liver steatosis and develops into an inflammatory steatosis form known as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). NAFLD has been linked with multiple comorbidities, which in certain cases predisposes to mortality secondary to extrahepatic neoplasms and coronary diseases. On the other hand, NASH leaves patients at risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The incidence of NAFLD- based HCC is steadily increasing and is projected to surpass the incidence of HCC from viral origins. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been …

Electrocatalysis By Design: Low Dissolution Counter Electrode And Highly Efficient Nanostructured Electrocatalysts, Menna Hasan

Theses and Dissertations

Water Electrolysis is one of the most promising techniques to generate H2 gas, which is an alternative clean source of energy. Hydrogen provides almost three times the energy provided by gasoline, helping to solve the global warming problem caused by the currently used fossil fuels. As any electrochemical reaction is composed of two half reactions, a setup of working and counter electrodes is used to study the catalytic activity towards the targeted reaction, where each electrode carries one of the two-half reactions. In this dissertation, the stability of a number of the commonly used counter electrodes was examined to identify …

Combat On And Off The Battlefield: A Mixed Methods Study Exploring How New Jersey Air And Army National Guard Undergraduates Persist Academically Through Crisis, Ariel J. Gilbert

Theses and Dissertations

New Jersey Air and Army National Guard (NJAANG) undergraduate students endure multiple transitions throughout their academic career. In 2020, for example, the COVID-19 pandemic caused numerous activations and manning demands for the NJAANG population, further stressing coping methods. Using the follow-up, explanatory sequential mixed methods research design and Schlossberg's Transition Theory, I explored the academic persistence of the NJAANG undergraduate student population to better understand how and why NJAANG undergraduate students were able to persist through the heightened number of transitions during the COVID-19 health crisis. As an often-invisible group on campus, this study uncovered that NJANNG students were best …

Multichannel Blind Deconvolution Of Circularly Polarized Imagery, Patrick B. Cunningham

Theses and Dissertations

Current methods can be used to recreate an expected Stokes polarization vector from measured light for characterization purposes. However, this only applies to three of the Stokes parameters, that is, the linear polarization components. Circular polarization is not currently being utilized for object characterization because the mathematical complexity is greater than for that of linear polarization. This research will analyze a way to expand existing algorithms to include circular polarization and enable the complete reconstruction of the Stokes vector from the measured light into a blind deconvolution algorithm for Stokes estimation and image reconstruction.

Retention Prediction And Policy Optimization For United States Air Force Personnel Management, Joseph C. Hoecherl

Theses and Dissertations

Effective personnel management policies in the United States Air Force (USAF) require methods to predict the number of personnel who will remain in the USAF as well as to replenish personnel with different skillsets over time as they depart. To improve retention predictions, we develop and test traditional random forest models and feedforward neural networks as well as partially autoregressive forms of both, outperforming the benchmark on a test dataset by 62.8% and 34.8% for the neural network and the partially autoregressive neural network, respectively. We formulate the workforce replenishment problem as a Markov decision process for active duty enlisted …

Improving Country Conflict And Peace Modeling: Datasets, Imputations, And Hierarchical Clustering, Benjamin D. Leiby

Theses and Dissertations

Many disparate datasets exist that provide country attributes covering political, economic, and social aspects. Unfortunately, this data often does not include all countries nor is the data complete for those countries included, as measured by the dataset’s missingness. This research addresses these dataset shortfalls in predicting country instability by considering country attributes in all aspects as well as in greater thresholds of missingness. First, a structured summary of past research is presented framed by a developed casual taxonomy and functional ontology. Additionally, a novel imputation technique for very large datasets is presented to account for moderate missingness in the expanded …

Optimizing Optical Switching Of Non-Linear Hyperbolic Metamaterials, James A. Ethridge

Theses and Dissertations

Modern optical materials are engineered to be used as optical devices in specific applications, such as optical computing. For optical computing, efficient forms of a particular device, the optical switch, still have not been successfully demonstrated. This problem is addressed in this research through the use of designed optical metamaterials, specifically, hyperbolic metamaterials, which offer the possibility of large non-linear properties with a low switching intensity. One-dimensional layered hyperbolic metamaterials composed of alternating layers of metal and dielectric were used here, with ITO as the metal and SiO₂ as the dielectric. The non-linear behavior of the ITO/SiO₂ layered …

Analytic Case Study Using Unsupervised Event Detection In Multivariate Time Series Data, Jeremy M. Wightman

Theses and Dissertations

Analysis of cyber-physical systems (CPS) has emerged as a critical domain for providing US Air Force and Space Force leadership decision advantage in air, space, and cyberspace. Legacy methods have been outpaced by evolving battlespaces and global peer-level challengers. Automation provides one way to decrease the time that analysis currently takes. This thesis presents an event detection automation system (EDAS) which utilizes deep learning models, distance metrics, and static thresholding to detect events. The EDAS automation is evaluated with case study of CPS domain experts in two parts. Part 1 uses the current methods for CPS analysis with a qualitative …

Root-Cause Analysis Of Rsaf Maintenance-Related Flight Safety Mishaps, Heaf H. Alqahtani

Theses and Dissertations

Poor maintenance is a major factor in many aviation mishaps. This is due to the fact that some maintenance activities are carried out improperly or overlooked as a result of human error. It is important to acknowledge that maintenance mistakes are a visible sign of deeper organizational issues. Therefore, adequate solutions to maintenance issues must consider organizational influences. Despite efforts to reduce the accident rate within the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF), the RSAF suffers from an increasing trend in mishaps attributed to maintenance. Therefore, safety data was analyzed to examine trends. Additionally, the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System …

Value Focused Thinking Analysis Of C-Band Australia Radar Operations, Samuel Ray Grothman

Theses and Dissertations

The radars used for Space Domain Awareness (SDA) are inherently all-weather, day/night sensors capable of around the clock operations. Despite this fact, some radars are operated for fewer than their maximum operating capabilities. The decision-making process for selecting the operating hours of a sensor has historically been based on only a few factors or just one. This research uses the techniques in Value Focused Thinking to develop an evaluation process to score possible alternatives and find the alternative with the most value for the decision maker. By investigating the value that is added by operating an SDA radar, it is …

A Methodological Framework For Parametric Combat Analysis, Dustin L. Hayhurst Sr.

Theses and Dissertations

This work presents a taxonomic structure for understanding the tension between certain factors of stability for game-theoretic outcomes such as Nash optimality, Pareto optimality, and balance optimality and then applies such game-theoretic concepts to the advancement of strategic thought on spacepower. This work successfully adapts and applies combat modeling theory to the evaluation of cislunar space conflict. This work provides evidence that the reliability characteristics of small spacecraft share similarities to the reliability characteristics of large spacecraft. Using these novel foundational concepts, this dissertation develops and presents a parametric methodological framework capable of analyzing the efficacy of heterogeneous force compositions …

High Power Microwave Operational Exposure Detection Using Thermoacoustic Wave Generation In Lossy Dielectric Polymers, James J. Frey

Theses and Dissertations

A feasibility analysis for the use of microwave-induced thermoacoustic (TA) wave generation in lossy dielectric media to detect pulsed high power microwave directed energy weapons in force health protection applications was conducted based on a series of empirical and computational investigations. A potential target volume material, carbon-loaded polytetrafluoroethylene, was identified for further study based on anticipated complex dielectric properties, with laboratory measurements of select electromagnetic (EM), thermal, and elastic material properties of relevance to the TA effect conducted to determine parameter values. A planar geometry TA-based signal chain model using thin film piezoelectric sensors was developed for both finite element …

Policy Evaluation Of The Role Of Extracurricular Activities On Students' Character Building And Academic Excellence: A Case Study Of Cairo's Schools, Nanis Yousry

Theses and Dissertations

The Education policies have usually been given the highest priority globally. This research reflects that the Egyptian educational system currently faces a bottleneck in applying its policies due to significant budgetary constraints. This is seen in public schools, unlike international ones. The research compares and contrasts three educational systems (public, community and international) with the purpose of examining the impact of policy processes on education. This thesis aims to explore how far the existence of extracurricular activities, as a component that complements academic education, is capable of supporting students to acquire the 21st century life skills and fulfill some of …

An Applied Dissertation Submitted To The Abraham S. Fischler College Of Education And School Of Criminal Justice In Partial Fulfillment Of The Requirements For The Degree Of Doctor Of Education, Harpinder K. Chima

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to follow the role that vendors of academic, instructional, educational, and communications technologies play in exchanges with their purchasing partners to promote the sale of educational technologies for medical academics. This study used a qualitative methodology through an Interpretative phenomenological (IP) approach. An IP approach explores vendor knowledge, background, and experiences related to the commercial exchanges of telehealth and telemedicine technology sellers in the United States. Interviews were conducted with sixteen vendors involved in telemedicine\telehealth sales throughout the United States. Data obtained from interviews provided the findings for this study.

Case Study: Exploring College Students’ Transformative Learning Experience Through Co-Creation Of A Pilot Compassionate Parenting Module In A Humanities Class, Maria Silvia Casabianca

Theses and Dissertations

A case study was conducted with 14 students who took a 16-week college humanities course at a regional university in the state of Florida. The core subjects of the course were kindness, compassion, and empathy. The instructor’s approach to teaching included methods akin to those of transformational learning. Data were collected from 14 weeks of reflective journals, semi-structured interviews, and compassionate parenting modules written by the participants as final assignments. Findings indicated that transformative learning practices supported participants’ reflection and identification of acquired beliefs and new learning about kindness, empathy, and compassion. Participants also described perceived benefits of kindness for …

Socioeconomic Status And Physical Attractiveness In Partner Selection 32 Years Later: An Empirical Replication And Extension Of Townsend And Levy (1990), Elena Kelsey Henderson

Theses and Dissertations

Partnership is a universal part of human existence. Human partner selection has been long studied within evolutionary and sociocultural frameworks. One study by Townsend and Levy (1990) found that physical attractiveness and socioeconomic status influence male and female partner selection in distinct ways. The present study replicated and extended the work of Townsend and Levy, investigating how physical attractiveness, socioeconomic status, and race and ethnicity influence relationship willingness at various levels of involvement. A repeated measures ANOVA was conducted, and planned post hoc pairwise comparisons and parameter estimates were analyzed. We analyzed responses from 503 single American adults of four …

Parent And Child Acculturation Differences: Sleep And Weight Outcomes In Latinx Pre-Adolescents, Kelsey K. Zaugg

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: The present study aimed to evaluate associations between parent-child acculturation differences and sleep and weight outcomes in Latinx pre-adolescents aged 10-12 years. Parent and child stress were considered as possible mediators through which parent-child discordance in acculturation may negatively impact sleep quality and body fatness. Pre-adolescent resilience and ethnic pride were explored as possible personal strengths that may ameliorate the impact of this association. Method: Data from mothers, fathers, and pre-adolescents were collected on two occasions separated by one year. In our sample, only language-specific acculturation was significantly different between parents and children. Thus, parent-child language difference was a …

Relationships Between And Student Perceptions Of Self-Efficacy, Growth Mindset, And Mathematics Identity Of Adolescents In A Rural South Georgia Charter School, Carrie Cooper Pierce

Theses and Dissertations

This mixed methods study investigated the relationships between the constructs of self-efficacy, growth mindset, and mathematics identity among middle school students at a South Georgia charter school. Constructivist grounded theory was used to investigate the strength of these constructs along with student perceptions of what factors make one a math person. The study was an explanatory sequential design consisting of an online survey followed by student interviews. Ninety-one students participated in the survey. Multiple linear regression was used to determine whether a correlation existed between the variables as well as among student subgroups. Self-efficacy was found to be a predictor …

A Case Study Exploring The Motivating Factors And Needs That Influence Older Adult Learners’ Decisions To Enroll And Persist In One University System Of Georgia Emajor Collaborative Program, Jennifer Angela Hayes

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study seeks to examine older adult learners' views toward technology use and their motivation, needs, and experiences while enrolled in the eMajor online Organizational Leadership bachelor's degree program offered by the University System of Georgia (USG). The research will investigate what motivates students to enroll in and advance through a degree program and their present technological competencies in relation to online learning management systems. The case study will also strive to identify the demands of older adult learners and the influence online learning has on their drive for program completion. Qualitative data were collected from twelve older …

A Case Study Of The Retention-Supporting Needs Of Beginning Teachers In A West Central Georgia School System, Vicki Thrailkill Pheil

Theses and Dissertations

Even though the State of Georgia has issued suggested guidance for new teacher induction programs, not all school systems follow that guidance and varying induction practices have been implemented. Because replacing exiting teachers in the first 5 years of their career has become costly to school systems—both financially and academically regarding student achievement—it is in all stakeholders’ best interest to support new teachers to increase retention rates. The purpose of this case study was to describe 1st-year teachers’ experiences in a West Central Georgia school system induction program and to identify the retention-supporting needs these new teachers reported as part …

Surveillance Culture And Potential Resistance Of Social Media In Egypt, Dina Refaei

Theses and Dissertations

Social media companies have become dominant over their users. With digital capabilities that enable them to monitor, analyze and process users’ data, they are able to restrict users’ activities in accordance with their own policies. The present study examines the potential for users to encounter social media policies – specifically, privacy and content moderation policies imposed over activities on these platforms. The surveillance culture model is proposed to highlight surveillance perceptions among users and determine the factors that might affect users' intention to resist social media policies. A sample of 547 Egyptian social media users were surveyed. The findings showed …

Bioengineered Scaffolds To Induce Alignment And Promote Axon Regeneration Following Spinal Cord Injury, Kiet Anh Tran

Theses and Dissertations

Scaffolds delivered to injured spinal cords to stimulate axon connectivity often act as a bridge to stimulate regeneration at the injured area, but current approaches lack the permissiveness, topology and mechanics to mimic host tissue properties. This dissertation focuses on bioengineering scaffolds through the means of altering topology in injectables and tuning mechanics in 3D-printed constructs as potential therapies for spinal cord injury repair. A self-assembling peptide scaffold, RADA-16I, is used due to its established permissiveness to axon growth and ability to support vascularization. Immunohistochemistry assays verify that vascularized peptide scaffolds promote axon infiltration, attenuate inflammation and reduce astrogliosis. Furthermore, …

Examining The Feasibility Of Implementing A Mindfulness-Based Cancer Recovery Bibliotherapy For The Treatment Of Psychosocial Distress In Women With Breast Cancer, Juliana A. D'Onofrio

Theses and Dissertations

Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosis and the second leading cause of cancer-related death for women in the United States. Clinical depression and anxiety occur frequently within this population. Subclinical symptoms are also common and include increased sense of vulnerability, agitation, and grief as well as fears related to pain, creating a burden for one's family, and death. Due to the variety of negative implications women experience from psychosocial distress, improving quality of life and reducing symptomatology becomes imperative. A plethora of research supports the use of Mindfulness-Based Cancer Recovery (MBCR). Considering the challenges present within traditional psycho-oncological …

Facing The Matter: An Eye-Tracking Assessment Of Social Media Beauty Filter's Impact On Cosmetic Surgery Normative Beliefs, Camilla Marie Owens

Theses and Dissertations

Communication research has begun to assess the unique relationship between social comparison, social media, and body image (Lewallen & Behm-Morawitz, 2016), yet little research has been done to assess the unique connection between body dissatisfaction, social media filters, and cosmetic surgery (Beos et al., 2021). Studies have found that viewing edited body images on Instagram positively correlates with decreased body satisfaction and behaviors of body objectification (Tiggemann, & Barbato, 2018). This study used a series of scales to measure individuals' media exposure (MTUAS: Rosen et al., 2013) body area satisfaction (BASS; Brown et al., 1990), facial region satisfaction (FRSS; Guthrie …

Effectiveness Of Group Interventions For Weight Loss For Youth: A Meta-Analytic Review, Monica Carolina Martinez

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Nearly 19.3% of children in the United States have obesity. There are several behavioral weight loss (BWL) programs available for children and adolescents that have proven effective in managing weight. Many of these treatments are delivered to groups of children rather than to individual youth. However, previous reviews of the literature have not explored the unique effects of group treatment modalities. Research has shown that social ties, particularly with peers, have an impact on adolescents' physical activity engagement and dietary habits. Therefore, it is important to explore how the interaction component of group delivered BWL treatments contributes to their …