Digital Commons Network^™

Sleep It Off? Exploring Sleep Duration And Bedtime Regularity As Potential Protective Moderators Of Early Adversity's Impact On Mental Health In Infancy, Childhood, And Adolescence, Sarah Lindsey Hipwell Kamhout

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are known to increase risk of mental health challenges throughout development, and sleep is known to decrease risk of mental health challenges. These have not been studied in tandem in younger cohorts. We investigated whether interactions between sleep duration and sleep regularity would moderate the impact of ACE exposure on risk for the development of mental health disorders. Methods: We conducted secondary cross-sectional analyses on the 2020-2021 waves of the National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) (n = 92,669). We used logistic and ordinal regression to replicate known main effects of ACEs (total, household, community, …

Type 2 Diabetes And Marital Quality Declines Moderated By Positive Health Behaviors, Rebekah Case Fankhauser

Theses and Dissertations

Type 2 diabetes affects more than one-quarter of older adults in the United States. Many older adults manage type 2 diabetes (T2D) in the context of marriage, although few studies have acknowledged the effect the illness has on marital quality. The current study examined how the presence of T2D in later life relates to marital quality, and how positive health behaviors--diet, physical activity, and sleep--can moderate the relationship between T2D and marital quality. Data from the 1,200 married older adults in the Life and Family Legacies study were used to estimate moderation models using structural equation modeling in Mplus. Results …

The Effects Of Adverse And Positive Childhood Experiences On Childhood Mental Health And Behavior Problems, Jane Grace Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are traumatic childhood events with enduring repercussions on child well-being, while positive childhood experiences (PCEs) have been identified in emerging research as capable of offsetting the effects of ACEs. However, little research investigates the combined impact of ACEs and PCEs on child outcomes, which can inform better aid for children exposed to ACEs. The purpose of this study is to address these important gaps in existing ACE literature. Using data from the National Survey of Child Health (NSCH) 2020-2021 (N = 60,809), I examine the individual and interactive effects of ACE, PCEs, and gender on childhood …

Lexical Entrenchment And Cross-Language Activation: A Look Inside The Bilingual Brain, Megan Myers

Theses and Dissertations

We used eye-movement measures to identify the extent to which lexical entrenchment and cross-language activation impact bilingual reading between languages with different alphabets. Specifically, we evaluated first fixation duration, first run dwell time, and total dwell time as predictors of lexical entrenchment and cross-language activation. Our data was collected from English-Russian bilinguals reading Russian material. We found that cross-orthographic neighborhood size has a statistically significant effect on eye movement, and phonetic neighborhood size has no significant effect on any of the eye behaviors analyzed.

“There’S A Term For That?”: Moral Injury In K-5 Teachers, Grace Ahn

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine how changes in the nature of teacher work due to factors such as high-stakes accountability systems and teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to teachers’ experiences of moral injury. Understanding moral injury is important because it is an issue for teachers who remain in the profession and for those who decide to leave. Moral injury has been examined in the context of American Public Education and scholars have contributed to the growing body of moral injury in teachers. However, a review of the literature reveals the need for more empirical data to …

Psychotherapy Outcomes Of Sexual Minority College Students: A Comparison Of Religiously-Affiliated And Non-Religiously Affiliated U.S. Universities, Elise Burton Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

This study compares U.S. university counseling center therapy outcomes of Sexual Minority (SM) students who attend religiously-affiliated compared to SM peers who attend non religiously-affiliated institutions. Using archival data from the Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CCMH), we examined psychotherapy outcomes of 4257 SM student clients.We analyzed pre-treatment symptoms and post-treatment outcomes based on differences in Distress Index (DI) scores. We used the reliable change index (RCI) to separate outcomes into four groups based on the change in distress index level: no change, deteriorating, reliably improved, recovered from pre-treatment to post-treatment. Our participants (n = 4257) attended 34 religiously and …

"A Ghostly Roll Of Drums Remorselessly Beat The Measure Of Life": Mrs. Ramsay's Mediation Of Time And Memory In Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse, Kirsten Walker Burningham

Theses and Dissertations

Virginia Woolf declares she was "obsessed" with her mother's presence. Though Julia Stephen died when Woolf was only thirteen, Woolf spent years negotiating her mother's astonishing influence, culminating in her novel To the Lighthouse. How does one square Woolf's obsession with her Victorian mother considering Woolf's progressive and feminist ideologies? I argue that Mrs. Ramsay--and by extension Julia Stephen--mediated time for their children as a byproduct of their role as maternal caregivers. This mediation is presented as an atmospheric quality or ambience as well as an intervention between subjective experiences and objective measures of time. The measurement and psychology of …

Student Driven Feedback: A Study In Self-Efficacy, Jennifer L. Dunn

Theses and Dissertations

In this mixed methods research study, I use student survey and interview data from English 11 students at a suburban, public high school to analyze the ways in which students' self-efficacy is impacted when a feedback intervention is introduced that creates the opportunity for students to ask questions about their writing. In this study, I found that as a result of the intervention students showed an increase in their writer-centered efficacy beliefs, reported an awareness of the control and autonomy the intervention provided, and expressed an appreciation for the ways in which teacher feedback can be useful in helping them …

Reverberation Of Ecocritical Concerns In The Novels Of Kazuo Ishiguro, Bavetra S

Theses and Dissertations

Kazuo Ishiguro, one of the most celebrated contemporary writers, has authored eight novels. As a Noble Laureate of 2017, his works are constantly under academic scrutiny. One of the best-explored themes in the works of Ishiguro is memories and emotions. No writer of meritable artistic integrity can ever stay away from the pressing issue of his age. Intriguingly, Ishiguro's works seem to lack engagement with environmental issues. The extensive study of Literature reiterates the point that Ishiguro's works are explored solely for a diminished ratio in terms of environmental challenges.

The researcher has identified the lack of critical attention on …

A Qualitative Case Study: Ncaa Division Iii First-Generation Student-Athletes And Transferable Skills, Eric Brennan

Theses and Dissertations

The development of transferable skills is seen as an important factor for higher education institutions to enhance the employability of their graduates (Holmes, 2013; Tymon, 2013). An overarching purpose of the higher education system is to prepare students for their professional careers and lives. This qualitative instrumental single case study explored how first-generation student-athletes develop transferable skills through intercollegiate athletics at a public, Division III university in New Jersey. Further, it sought to understand how the university validates these transferable skills for first-generation student-athletes. Data was collected using semi-structured in-depth open-ended interviews to capture rich details from the participants related …

The 1950s Davy Crockett Craze: Strengthening National Identity After The Korean War, Donna Marie Stapley

Theses and Dissertations

With the stalemate of the Korean War, the United States went through a dispirited time when the citizens tried to make sense of a war they felt had no meaning. With the new threat of the Cold War and Communism, Americans struggled to find security and a way to rebuild their demoralized nation. It was during this 1950s time that Walt Disney decided to produce a movie about a historical figure, Davy Crockett. Using the legends told during Crockett's lifetime, Disney adapted and enhanced these legends. The result was what is famously known as the 1950s Crockett Craze. Disney provided …

Is Dual Language Immersion Inclusive? Insights From Enrollment Data, Autistic Student Experiences, And Developmental Screening, Dakin Fjeldsted Stovall

Theses and Dissertations

The rapid expansion of Dual Language Immersion (DLI) programs, now offered in over 300 Utah schools, necessitates a detailed investigation into how these programs accommodate diverse student populations, particularly those with developmental differences. A comprehensive three-part approach was employed for this evaluation. The first study evaluated DLI enrollment patterns by surveying over 300 Utah parents. Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was used to uncover factors influencing enrollment decisions and characteristics of students participating in DLI programs. This study revealed that developmental ability, socioeconomic need, and parent value toward DLI immersion significantly predicted enrollment; practical recommendations are provided to improve the accessibility …

Poe’S Theory Of The Short Story And Hybridity In East Asian Short Fiction: Considering Mori Ogai’S “Maihime” And Su Manshu’S “Suizanji”, Anthony Michael Wood

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis considers how Mori Ōgai’s “Maihime” (1890) and Su Manshu’s “Suizanji” (1916) conform and differ from Edgar Allen Poe’s theory of the short story. It then considers Ōgai’s and Su’s reading of the short stories and East Asian short fiction as well as Ōgai’s definition of the short story to consider why these works of short fiction differ from Poe’s definition, concluding that they are hybrid works, which seek to combine the short story and East Asian short fiction.

Barriers To Contract Negotiation In Construction Projects And Strategies To Foster Trust, Luke Thomas Peterson

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the impact of contract negotiation within construction projects by utilizing a modified Delphi approach, which integrates interviews alongside the traditional Delphi surveys. This methodology combines the structured feedback loop of Delphi surveys with the qualitative depth provided by interviews. This offers a more comprehensive understanding of contract negotiation dynamics in construction projects. It identifies systemic challenges as primary barriers to negotiation, highlighting the need for a cultural shift towards prioritizing negotiation and flexibility within the industry. The study reveals that time and cost considerations are relatively minor compared to interpersonal skills and trust-building. It cautions against damaging …

The Relationship Of Self-Determination And Self-Construal On College Adjustment, Rayhane Baniardalan

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the interplay between self-construal (individualistic vs. collectivistic), basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness), and college adjustment among a diverse student population. Contrary to expectations, self-construal did not directly predict overall adjustment. However, horizontal individualism (valuing personal achievement over group success) was negatively associated with adjustment. Supporting self-determination theory (SDT), all three basic psychological needs were positively correlated with all three domains of college adjustment (academic, social, and psychological). The strongest correlations were between relatedness and social functioning, and competence and social functioning. Racial differences in adjustment could not be examined due to sample limitations. Interaction effects between …

Collaboration Of Board Certified Behavior Analysts And Special Education Teachers In Transition, Amelia Ruth Spencer

Theses and Dissertations

Transitions occur at many points in a child's educational journey. For children with disabilities, these changes in routine, service providers, and setting may be especially difficult and result in problem behavior. Special education teachers are expected to facilitate a smooth transition from one setting to another, teaching appropriate skills and addressing problem behavior as it arises. Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), who have an expertise in problem behavior and skill generalization, are currently under-utilized in schools and could work collaboratively with special education teachers and other stakeholders to make it easier for students with disabilities experiencing a school transition. As …

The Effects Of Class-Wide Function-Related Intervention Teams In A Self-Contained Elementary Classroom For Students With Emotional Or Behavioral Disorders, Peyton Ann Johnstone

Theses and Dissertations

Class-wide Function-related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT) is a classroom management intervention that incorporates positive behavior support (PBS) principles by teaching students specific classroom behavioral expectations during instructional time and providing students feedback on their behavior and use of social skills throughout the day. Students who are at risk for or are classified with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders (EBD) often struggle more both academically and socially than their peers. Because of the serious challenges that students with EBD face, it is important to find effective PBS interventions to help them be successful, both socially and academically. Researchers examined the effects of CW-FIT …

Resonance: A Methodology And Pedagogy For Socially Just Storytelling, Helen Plevka-Jones

Theses and Dissertations

Through a close analysis of Valeria Luiselli’s Lost Children Archive and a comparative analysis of the intertexts it references, this dissertation argues that literary scholars and literacy pedagogues can learn from sound studies and archival practices together to achieve more socially just reading, writing, and teaching. The novel narrates a family traveling across the United States, not only experiencing their own journey but also learning about past forced migrations upon the same land and present attempted migrations into the country. As they encounter and interact with different print, audio, and visual artifacts, the characters achieve a more inclusive and complex …

The Evaluation Of Non-Specific Risk Indicators In Improving Detection Of Psychosis-Spectrum Liability, Thomas W. O'Kane

Theses and Dissertations

Psychosis-spectrum disorders remain a leading cause of disability for both individuals and society, with early identification and prevention efforts representing a promising avenue of research for addressing these concerns. One potential impediment to improving early risk identification is the historical focus on indicators thought to be exclusive to the psychosis-spectrum. This focus often comes at the expense of non-specific risk factors (e.g., disrupted sleep, adverse childhood experiences) which contribute to the risk of developing psychosis as well as other mental illnesses. Research suggests the inclusion of these non-specific factors may improve our ability to identify those at risk. The present …

Perceptions Of Violent Content And Their Relationships On Aggressive Behavior: The Effects Of Implicit Beliefs On Aggression In Relation To Video Content, Logan Mccombs

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research shows that consuming violent media can lead to increased aggression in thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Several other factors also contribute to such behaviors but have not been thoroughly studied including implicit beliefs about aggression in relation to media content. This two-part study consists of (1) an exploratory iterated principal-factor method to create an implicit belief measure about consuming violent media in conjunction with correlational analyses and (2) between subjects hierarchical linear regression models to determine what effects implicit beliefs have on subsequent aggression after participants view either a violent of nonviolent video, while controlling for violent media consumption …

The Influence Of Religious And Political Discrepancies On Parent-Adolescent Social Cohesion, Emily De Schweinitz Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

American youth are leaving organized religion at historical levels. Given that religious and political similarity (consensual solidarity) tends to strengthen affectual solidarity (emotional connection) in parent-adolescent dyads, decreasing adolescent religiousness and increasing political disagreements may threaten family social cohesion. However, during adolescence, youth empathy skills tend to increase and adolescents’ conflict with their parents tends to eventually subside. Based on principles outlined in intergenerational family solidarity theory, I hypothesized that adolescent empathy skills and authoritative parenting style would buffer the negative relational effects of religious and political discrepancies within the parent-adolescent relationship. I used Waves 2-4 (referred to as Times …

The Role Of Instructors In Fostering A Sense Of Belonging For Native Hawaiian And Pacific Islander University Students, Kehaulani Oleole Malzl

Theses and Dissertations

An alarmingly high level of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) college students in the United States end up dropping out of secondary education institutions. One important predictor of academic success and retention at the secondary level is student sense of school belonging. This thesis explores NHPI college students' perceptions of how their university instructors foster or undermine their sense of school belonging. A snowball sample of 97 NHPI students participated in 18 focus groups that included students from various islands and ethnicities in Oceania who were attending one U.S. university in the Pacific Rim. Focus group data were transcribed …

Associations Between Young Children's Problematic Media Use And Physiological Regulation -- Does Temperament Act As A Mediator?, Noah Alexander Chojnacki

Theses and Dissertations

Given the ubiquity of media use, especially among young children, the current study examines the impact of problematic media use (PMU) on children's (N = 418, M age = 53.62 months, SD = 3.38 months, M and SD are taken from the full sample of 418 children) physiological functioning. With previous studies reporting relations between media use, temperament, and physiological regulation, it was hypothesized that children with greater levels of PMU would have lower levels of baseline respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA; a measure of physiological regulatory capacity). It is further hypothesized that, higher levels of negative affect, and lower levels …

Exploring How To Reduce Ethnocentrism Through Critical Analysis Of Foreign News Reports In Foreign Language Learning, Rosemarie Jensen Bybee

Theses and Dissertations

In today's globalized world, more interaction exists among people from diverse cultural backgrounds. It is essential to be open-minded about cultural diversity to prevent speculative assumptions about others and to be able to interact positively with various people--one approach to addressing this problem might be through language teaching and learning. This exploratory study focused on critically analyzing foreign news reports to improve students' understanding of other cultures and reduce possible ethnocentric views. Results from the revised Generalized Ethnocentrism (GENE) scale pre-post survey indicate a slight decrease in students' ethnocentrism scores from the beginning to the end of the semester. Also, …

Imperial Anarchy, Cultural Exchange And Cultural Sabotage In Amitav Ghosh’S Ibis Trilogy, Siva Vidhya M

Theses and Dissertations

The present study aims at analysing three sequential novels written by Amitav Ghosh. The novels are set in the backdrop of colonized India, so the research begins by examining the imperial anarchy that leads to cultural exchange and cultural sabotage. Amitav Ghosh is an Indian born writer, famous for both his fictions and non-fictions.

Most of his works are based on colonization and its aftermath. The major focus of the novels selected for the research is also colonization especially the opium production in India. The author portrays the opium production and its evil effects on people and environment. The three …

Exploring Factors That Influence Gen Z Consumers’ Adoption Of Metaverse And Brand Experience Through Metaverse, Xuan Nhat Linh Ho

Theses and Dissertations

Metaverse is an all-encompassing digital ecosystem that comprises numerous virtual worlds. Nowadays, Metaverse platforms are utilized globally for social interactions, work-related tasks, leisure activities, and online shopping. Furthermore, fashion brands now recognize immersive Metaverse technology's great potential and focus on reaching more consumers and expanding market share through Metaverse. However, it is unclear if other brands should invest in building a solid presence in Metaverse. Limited studies have investigated how these fashion-related factors influence brand experience, brand awareness, brand attitude, and purchase intention on Metaverse retail platforms. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and fashion-related …

The Embodied Experience Of Adult Educators, Heather Drew Francis

Theses and Dissertations

This interview study investigates the embodied experiences of adult educators, exploring how they perceive and utilize bodily knowledge in their instructional practice. Through interviews and observations with five adult educators, the study highlights challenges in articulating the role of physical experiences in teaching. The study reveals four major themes: (a) participants perceive or approach instruction as a performance, engaging with various performance tools like voice, sound, proximity, and posture to impact content delivery and classroom management; (b) bodily knowledge informs the educator's improvisational skills as they receive sensory input and adapt to student and environmental cues during teaching; (c) while …

Efficacy Of An Online Mindfulness Training To Improve Well-Being In K-12 Teachers: A Randomized Waitlist Controlled Trial, Katelyn Naomi Jackman

Theses and Dissertations

Concerns about the mental health and well-being of K-12 schoolteachers have never been more urgent, with stress levels, burnout, and rates of attrition reaching historically high levels. Mindfulness-based interventions may be a professional development option for teachers to better meet the demands of their career with skills such as mental flexibility, emotion regulation, resilience, empathy, compassion, and interpersonal skills. This study examines the efficacy of the Mindfulness for Humans (MfH) course, an online, self-directed mindfulness curriculum that is grounded in evidence-based practices, is easily accessible and scalable, relatively brief, and requires little or no work on the part of the …

Trauma-Informed Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction To Increase Family Quality Of Life For Mothers Of Children With Autism: A Pilot Study, Carol May Vaughn

Theses and Dissertations

Mothers of children with autism have a higher rate of stress than mothers of neurotypical children and mothers of children with other disabilities. This impacts their family quality of life. This study aimed to show that by teaching mothers trauma-informed mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques they were able to switch their perspectives and feel that they had increased the relationships with their child with autism and increased the rating they give their family quality of life. The participants were recruited using word of mouth and through distribution of posters to autism communities following approval of the experiment through the institutional review …

Distinguishing Between Symptom Presence And Severity Using A Two-Part Sequential Model, Luiza Ferreira Pradera

Theses and Dissertations

Most symptom measures either implicitly or explicitly distinguish between symptom presence and symptom severity. For example, item 2 on the PHQ-9, a commonly used measure of depressive symptoms, asks respondents to rate how much they have been 'feeling down, depressed, or hopeless.' The response options are 0 (Not at all), 1 (Several Days), 2 (More than half the days), and 3 (Nearly every day). Answering 0 indicates that the symptom is not present, and any response greater than 0 suggests the symptom is present. Higher values indicate higher severity of the symptom. Although the response options distinguish between symptom presence …