Digital Commons Network^™

Student Achievement And Parental Involvement In A Private School: Grades K-8 Learning Outcomes, Darcy Brent Calvillo

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) To determine whether there is a relationship between parental involvement and test scores in a K-8 school; and (b) What parental methods and strategies surveyed show an effect on test scores based on research and parental surveys? Approximately 300 parents participated in a parental methods survey. Parents were surveyed and provided English and Math performance data. Data from this researcher’s survey adapted from the Ohio Department of Education (ODE; APPENDIX B) were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including the top 5 methods or strategies according to the parent survey that have an effect …

Understanding The Hybrid High School Student Experience, Riley Leary

Theses and Dissertations

Hybrid High School education is a disruptive innovation that has begun to replace traditional brick and mortar schools for many students world-wide. In addition to a traditional school model are the traditional metrics by which schools are compared. These metrics have been achievement data, success rates, and funding analyses. These metrics do not account for the lived experience of the high school students, in the same way that the traditional model of education does not account for the changing methods available for learning. This study is a phenomenological analysis of the lived experience of high school students who have attended …

Enhancing Career Choices And Opportunities For Saudi Women, Walaa Albahoth

Theses and Dissertations

Despite many efforts made by Saudi Arabian government aimed toward providing substantial opportunities to access higher education and the workforce for Saudi women, women's unemployment remains high. The purpose of this study was to explore the internal factors such as self-concept, personal skills, and career aspirations, and external factors such as social norms, education system, and work environment that affect career choice for Saudi women. In addition, the study sought to examine the most important strategies that support Saudi women in their career choices. A quantitative approach was employed for this study. The data was collected primary through online survey, …

Developmental Patterns Of Religiosity In Relation To Criminal Trajectories Among Serious Offenders Across Adolescence And Young Adulthood, Siying Guo

Theses and Dissertations

The knowledge about the relationship between changes in both religiosity and crime over time remains limited. This dissertation aims to add to the existing body of literature and fill the gaps in prior studies by examining the religiosity-crime relationship in a sample of adjudicated adolescents studied in the Pathways to Desistance Study, a seven-year longitudinal dataset. Using Group-Based Trajectory Models and Growth Curve Models, this dissertation identifies distinctive trajectories of religious attendance, religious importance, and spirituality and their dynamic relationships with changes in different types of substance use and criminal behavior. Given the initial level of substance use and criminal …

The Impact Of A Forest School Model And An Interdisciplinary Curriculum In A Third-Grade Classroom: An Action Research Study, Valerie Hoyt-Parrish

Theses and Dissertations

New policy at LHP (pseudonym) requires all teachers to implement the Danish Forest School approach and integrate the natural outdoor areas surrounding the campus in their curriculum and pedagogy. The purposes of the present study are to identify the cognitive, affective and psychomotor impact of the Danish Forest School approach on students and to design a professional development plan for teachers that enables them to combine this approach within an interdisciplinary framework that will include the State Standards that are required of all third-grade students in this southern, private, parochial school. Action research methods were used to collect observational data …

Exorcising Power, John Jarzemsky

Theses and Dissertations

This paper theorizes that authors, in an act I have termed “literary exorcism,” project and expunge parts of their identities that are in conflict with the overriding political agenda of their texts, into the figure of the villain. Drawing upon theories of power put forth by Judith Butler, I argue that this sort of projection arises in reaction to dominant ideas and institutions, but that authors find ways to manipulate this process over time. By examining a broad cross-section of English-language literature over several centuries, this phenomenon and its evolution can be observed, as well as the means by which …

Socially-Responsible Entrepreneurship Education: A Qualitative Study Among Egyptian Teachers, Mohamed Shabana

Theses and Dissertations

Raising citizens who can contribute to the betterment of the existing conditions has become a critical goal. Socially-responsible entrepreneurship can play an important role in attaining this, as it works towards social and economic contributions that do not ignore or violate the rights of the other, including the environment. The aim of this qualitative research is to explore to what extent the Egyptian faculties of education focus on socially-responsible entrepreneurship education as well as the obstacles and best practices for this socially-responsible entrepreneurship education in the Egyptian context. Seven fresh graduate females from a faculty of education in a public …

Educational Accountability Of Faculty And Students In Higher Education: A Prospective Policy Analysis, Marwa Khalil

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to examine the current quality assurance and accountability policies and practices in Egyptian public higher education institutions. It specifically examines the perceived effectiveness of pedagogical and assessment practices on students’ learning and institutional performance. The paper seeks to analyze the current challenges to propose a new policy to promote accountability of faculty and students. This qualitative research paper follows what Patton (2002) termed “prospective policy analysis”. Participants were selected using the purposive sampling technique. Fifty-one participants comprised the sample of the study. They were chosen from two accredited programs in two public universities in …

Designing For Divorce: New Rituls And Artifacts For An Evolving World, Yang Soon Ju Ms.

Theses and Dissertations

Our interactions with objects build cultural codes, reflecting lifestyles, values, and identities beyond functional expectations. With open connectivity in the contemporary consumer environments, we have access to homogenized material cultures not only for daily activities but also for ceremonies and rituals to mark important events, such as birth, marriage, and death. What will happen to our cultural codes and diverse traditions when various cultural norms meet, exchange, clash, hybridize, and evolve?

In this research, globalized material cultures were investigated to discover metaphoric comparisons, to formulate conceptual frameworks, and to develop informed design, which can address evolving cultural conditions appropriately, in …

Psychological Symptoms, Family Functioning, And Religious Coping In Second- And Third- Generation Holocaust Survivors, Melissa M. Wasserman

Theses and Dissertations

Research has examined psychological symptoms, communication patterns from parent to child, parenting style, and protective and resiliency factors in descendants of Holocaust survivors. The current study explored intergenerational trauma and resilience in second- and third-generation Holocaust survivors as compared to a matched comparison group. Four groups were studied based on the participants’ Holocaust background and demographics: second generation (2GH; n=47) and third generation survivors (3GH; n=45) who self-identified as having at least one parent or grandparent, respectively, who is/was a Holocaust survivor interned during the war, and a matched comparison group (2GM; n=22, 3GM; n=13) for each generation consisting of …

Contribution Of A Class Ii Ribonucleotide Reductase To The Manganese Dependence Of Streptococcus Sanguinis, John L. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Manganese-deficient Streptococcus sanguinis mutants exhibit a dramatic decrease in virulence for infective endocarditis and in aerobic growth in manganese-limited media. Loss of activity of a manganese-dependent, oxygen-dependent ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) could explain the decrease in virulence. When the genes encoding this RNR are deleted, there is no growth of the mutant in aerobic broth culture or in an animal model. Testing the contribution of the aerobic RNR to the phenotype of a manganese transporter mutant, a heterologous class II RNR from Lactobacillus leichmannii called NrdJ that requires B₁₂ rather than manganese as a cofactor was previously introduced into an …

(Re)Mediating The Spirit: Evangelical Christian Young Adult Media, Tamara Watkins

Theses and Dissertations

"We are in the world, but not of the world," a maxim frequently spoken in evangelical Christian culture, provides insight into how these individuals view their relationship with secular culture. They presume to share the same temporal plane with secular culture, but do not participate in it. In this dissertation, I explore whether the division between evangelical Christian culture and secular culture is as clear as this aphorism implies. To facilitate this investigation, I examine media Christian content creators created for an American evangelical Christian young adult audience in the early twenty-first century, specifically focusing on novel-length fiction, comics and …

Dogma And Dixie Roman Catholics And The Southern Confederacy During The American Civil War, Gracjan Anthony Kraszewski

Theses and Dissertations

My work—studying Roman Catholics in the South during the American Civil War— is a remedy to a two-directional historiographical neglect. Much of American Catholic scholarship focuses on the twentieth century (especially the Second Vatican Council and its aftermath), the North, and issues of race, class, urbanization, and gender giving sparse treatment to the nineteenth century South; when the nineteenth century is discussed the focus is once more usually on the North, immigration, and societal tensions between Catholics and Protestants. On the other hand, Civil War religious scholarship is largely Protestant in nature and while treating the nineteenth century South there …

Textile As Intercessor: Understanding Margery Kempe's Sartorial Body, Hannah Lynn Davis

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I will explore Margery Kempe’s late fourteenth, early fifteenth century mystical text. Previously, Margery Kempe has been discussed in reference to her highly erotized language with Christ and her maternal themes that appear throughout her Book. However, I urge other medieval scholars to also look at her usage of textiles and clothing as a means of gaining authority with both Christ and the medieval church. First, I discuss Margery’s gendered situation within the male-centered church and community. Margery uses her position as a woman to build her agency and, as such, uses gendered specific clothing to introduce …

Conversations About Sexuality On A Public University Campus: Exploring Perspectives From Campus Ministry Leaders And Students, Charis Rebecca Davidson

Theses and Dissertations

Since the 1800s, religious organizations have been a presence on public universities. However, there is limited research on the influence these organizations may have on student health communication and behaviors. Prior research on campus ministries has focused primarily on the culture of individual organizations. In this study, researchers explored the goals and experiences of USC leaders related to communication around sexuality with their students, as well as student perceptions of these messages, and how students incorporate religious messages about sexuality into their lives. The present study had four aims:

1. Assess whether students participating in campus ministries at USC differ …

Out Of The Best Books: Mormon Assimilation And Exceptionalism Through Secular Reading, Lauren Ann Fields

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis seeks to explore the relationship between Mormon assimilation, exceptionalism, and their endeavors in secular reading by analyzing Out of the Best Books (OOBB), a 1964–71 five-volume reading guide and reading program on secular reading established by the Mormon Church for its women’s organization, the Relief Society. Examining the approaches to secular literature in the OOBB program suggests that Mormons can respond to their competing desires to separate and assimilate by making efforts that fulfill both aspirations simultaneously rather than moving exclusively in one direction. Yet OOBB’s efforts to achieve both objectives did not amount to an entirely seamless …

Uncanny Bodies In Sacred Settings: Creating The Divine In Rodney Smith's Photography, Rebecca Leigh Langham

Theses and Dissertations

The photographer Rodney Smith shows us images of real things and people, but real things and people that aren’t positioned in real ways and places people would actually be. Instead, he uses something very familiar to each of us–the human body–and consistently puts it in very unfamiliar situations. By using something so intimately familiar to each of us as the body in weird ways, he automatically jars our own experienced sensations. And this jarring of familiar sensations, this defamiliarization of something so familiar to us, is what typically results in what literary critics term the feeling of the uncanny. What …

"A Fine Field": Rio De Janeiro's Journey To Become A Center Of Strength For The Lds Church, Garret S. Shields

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this work is to chronicle the growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from its earliest beginnings in the late 1930s to the events surrounding the revelation on the priesthood in 1978. This thesis will show that as the Church in Rio became less American and more Brazilian, Church growth accelerated. When missionaries first began working in the city, its membership, leadership, culture, and even language was based on North American society and practices, and the Church struggled to establish itself. Only as these aspects of the Church became …

Spirituality And Student Engagement At A Small, Church-Related Private College, Hal Henry Haynes

Theses and Dissertations

The undergraduate collegiate years are filled with growth and development for students. As students experience and progress through their collegiate years, they are often confronted with difficult life questions, such as what is the meaning of life or why am I here? Oftentimes, the question is why do bad things happen? The purpose of this study is to better understand relationship between student engagement and spirituality.

Undergraduate students at a small, church-related private college in the Upper Midwest were surveyed in the Spring 2015 semester using the College Students’ Beliefs and Values Survey (CSBVS).

Alexander Astin’s I-E-O model was utilized …

The Neurobiology Of Groupthink: A Qeeg Approach To The Study Of Followership, Angela A. Deulen

Theses and Dissertations

In recent decades, the study of leadership has focused on the qualities of leaders rather than on those of followers. However, it has been argued that there can be no meaningful construct of leadership without a coherent understanding of followership and group behavior. While the body of literature is replete with information on the study of groupthink and conformity as it relates to followership, the neurobiological drivers of such behavior remain under-investigated. The purpose of this work was to investigate the neurobiological basis of groupthink (conformity of thought) as a component of followership. Specifically, this work seeks to investigate six …

Healing From Historical Trauma For Persons Of African Ancestry In The United States: An African Centered Psychology Approach To Wellness, Elizabeth Burke-Maynard

Theses and Dissertations

This critical analysis of the literature explores the potential of African-centered psychology to address the sequelae of historical trauma in the 21st century persons of African ancestry in the United States. African American face significant health and wellness challenges including socioeconomic disparities, interpersonal violence, substance abuse, psycho-spiritual distress, and physical health issues. The literature questions the validity of mainstream psychological science to effectively conceptualize and treat persons of African ancestry, and calls for the identification of specific, culturally relevant interventions to increase physical and psychological wellness. The concept of historical trauma helps to explain the psycho-spiritual distress experienced by many …

A Qualitative Analysis Of The English Language Teaching Practices Of Latter-Day Saint Missionaries, Rachel Tui Smith

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the teaching practices of recently returned Latter-day Saint (LDS) missionaries who voluntarily taught the English language on their full-time missions' serving for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout various parts of the world. The analyses performed in this research offer an insider's perspective by looking at a large selection of qualitative data gathered directly from these missionaries to provide evidential insight into what those practices are, including the most effective and the most ineffective teaching practices as principally perceived by the missionaries themselves. Thus far, there has been no research reported or data gathered …

Kenneth Burke Meets The Apostle Paul On The Road To Damascus: Mysticism Through Rhetorical Identification, William S. Elkins

Theses and Dissertations

The term “in Christ” is widely recognized within the Christian Church as a signature term of the Apostle Paul. But while the term is recognized as fundamental to his theology, occurring 180 times specifically and 300 times generally, functional usage is minimal. However, when the origin of the term is seen in its original context of the Damascus Road Event Encounter, the unique mystical nature of the term begins to come into focus. At that event the Messiah introduces Paul to a concept that much later (twentieth century) Kenneth Burke labels “identification,” who explains at length identification’s operational dynamics. My …

The Impact Of Political Developments On Personal Status Law Reforms In Egypt, Mona Saleh

Theses and Dissertations

Personal status law reforms do not only manage relationships within the household, but they are also important political tools that the state has used to serve its interests. However, most of the covered studies on law and gender in Egypt deal with the state as if it is a clear term and a homogenous entity, which is not the matter as several theoretical studies on state show. Therefore, the main research question of this thesis grows out of this conceptual problematic, and it focuses on determining the main state actors that shaped personal status law reforms in Egypt, and the …

A Game Of Thrones Or A Crown Of Thorns: Louis I, Duke Of Anjou And Political And Messianic Implications In The Angers Tapestry, Michele Hernandez Barrows

Theses and Dissertations

The fourteenth century Angers Apocalypse Tapestry crafted in the tradition of the thirteenth century English Apocalypse manuscripts, is an enigma. This interdisciplinary thesis will address two interrelated questions: why did Louis I, Duke of Anjou and second son of Jean II, commission the tapestry and why were changes made to key aspects of the tapestry which do not reflect established iconographical models. I will suggest that a primary motivation for Louis I was the acquisition of a throne, particularly France and the Holy Roman Empire, and Louis may have suggested changes to key facets of the iconography associated with the …

Betende Hande: Albrecht Durer's Self-Portrait As A Gothic Church, Christine Heathcote

Theses and Dissertations

In 1508 Albrecht Dürer, famed German printmaker and Nürnberg citizen, was commission by Jakob Heller of Frankfurt to paint a large altarpiece for a new church. The Heller Altarpiece was the second commission of the printer since his training in Venice, Italy (1504-1507) to paint like an Italian master. In order to prepare for such a commission, Dürer spent over a year creating drawings of black ink and white chalk on blue Venetian paper to serve as inspiration for the large painting. However once the painting was complete, the artist held onto these ink and chalk drawings as part of …

Faith Based Education In Cairo: An Assessment Of The Role And Quality, Dalia Samir El-Gamal

Theses and Dissertations

Faith based education is not a new phenomena in Egypt since religious institutions and scholars have always played a role in providing education services to their community formally and informally. Formally, they provided education services to the members of their community through building and managing schools. The trend of faith based schools in Cairo has always been rising since the last decades. However, many faith based schools are facing many regulatory and social obstacles post 25th revolution and 30th June revolution in Egypt. This is due to the misunderstanding of faith based education and the underestimation of their role. Therefore, …

The Middle-Eastern Cold War: The Religious Struggle Between The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia And The Islamic Republic Of Iran, Omar Zein

Theses and Dissertations

The Middle East has witnessed in the past two decades an increase in the number of internal conflicts within many states. Many of those internal conflicts had developed into a religious strife between Sunnis and Shi’as. Today in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Bahrain there is an ongoing conflicts between representatives of both sects; whether it is a state or transnational actors. The Middle East has not witnessed a struggle between the two most popular sects of Islam since the Ottoman-Safavid war in 16th century. To analyze the cause behind the rise in conflicts between Sunnis and Shiites; there must be …

The Fancy Trade And The Commodification Of Rape In The Sexual Economy Of 19th Century U.S. Slavery, Tiye A. Gordon

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to examine the Fancy Trade—the buying and selling of mixed-race enslaved women for the primary purpose of prostitution and concubinage—through an intersectionality lens. Therefore, I will explore a culture of rape through the lived experiences of fancy maids, the women who were sold as sex commodities in the 19th century domestic slave trade. Who was she? Using an intersectionality framework to answer the proposed questions will achieve the following. First, it will highlight the social constructions of race, gender, and sexuality within the 19th century southern context. Secondly, an intersectional methodology will explore the …

Crabgrass Piety: The Rise Of Megachurches And The Suburban Social Religion, 1960-2000, Nathan Joseph Saunders

Theses and Dissertations

Although there were less than twenty megachurches (churches averaging over two thousand in weekly attendance) in the United States before 1960, by 2010 there were approximately fifteen hundred. Megachurches are not a homogenous group, but they exist in all parts of the country and they have enough in common to warrant their identification as part of a coherent trend in American evangelical culture. Specifically, most megachurches appeal to an ethos that emerged in the 1970s and 1980s known as the suburban social religion. The suburban social religion combined to differing degrees the American civil religion described by Robert Bellah, meritocratic …