Digital Commons Network^™

The Beliefs And Perceived Experiences Of Preservice And Early Service Teachers Who Use Facebook, Nathan Foss

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to identify commonly held beliefs and perceived experiences of preservice and early service teachers with regard to their use of the social networking site Facebook. This study included recorded and transcribed interviews of 14 participants as well as observations of their Facebook accounts. The participants in this study consisted of six males and eight females who were in various stages of their educational careers. All participants were either members, or recent graduates, of the same Midwestern university. Each was either pursuing a degree in education or had recently received their education degree. …

Workplace Characteristics, Work-To-Life Conflict, And Psychological Distress Among Medical Workers, Marissa S. Gravelle

Theses and Dissertations

The medical industry is the fastest growing job sector and is projected to be the largest job sector by 2018. This group of workers tends to experience heightened stressors in the workplace. The key purpose of this study was to address whether work-to-life conflict mediates the relationship between workplace characteristics and psychological distress for workers in the medical industry. Drawing on data from the 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce (N = 329), relationships were explored using stepwise OLS regression analysis. Findings from the first model (which excludes the mediating variable of work-to-life conflict) suggest that as both coworker …

Design And Testing Validation Of An Extendable Pressurized Tunnel For An Inflatable Lunar Habitat, Timothy Jani Holland

Theses and Dissertations

In the design of the UND inflatable lunar habitat (ILH), the need for an extendable pressurized tunnel to link the habitat to a wheeled terrestrial vehicle (rover), and secure the connection between both elements is one of the critical problems to be solved in order to test the validity of the ILH concept. The design of an extendable pressurized tunnel is required in order to allow access to and from the rover without the use of pressure suits. It is expected than using an extendable tunnel will allow simple docking procedures. An experimental process is required to determine the best …

Professional Mothers' Loyalty To Their Employers, Ashley Lynn Leschyshyn

Theses and Dissertations

One major social change that has transpired in the United States over recent decades is the increasing movement of women into the paid labor force. The changes surrounding work and family life have made finding balance between these two domains difficult for women. These difficulties become more problematic because of a stalled revolution, as many workplaces do not accommodate family needs and women remain primarily responsible for household labor. Qualitative research on the supposed "opt out revolution" has shown that one main reason why some women are leaving the workplace is because they do not have a work environment that …

Social Distance In The College Classroom, Chassity Paige Sanner

Theses and Dissertations

The importance of student learning outcomes is apparent. Past research has examined the relationship that students have with their instructors and the impact this has on student learning, yet the concept of social distance in student-instructor relationships has yet to be incorporated. This thesis was conducted to explore student perceptions of social distance. A scale based on the work of Emory Bogardus (1926) was developed and then administered to a sample of introductory level sociology students and upper level sociology students at the University of North Dakota during the Fall Semester of 2007. Based on the findings of this study, …

'Reel' Gangs Or 'Real' Gangs: A Qualitative Media Analysis Of Street Gangs Portrayed In Hollywood Films, 1960-2009, Christopher J. Przemieniecki

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the portrayals of street gangs as presented by a select sample of Hollywood films from 1960 to 2009. Using the theoretical framework of social constructionism and cinematic realism, a content analysis of 25 `street gang' films was conducted to (a) determine the comparability of depictions of street gangs in Hollywood films with those characteristics of defining a street gang in the law enforcement and academic literature, (b) identify emergent themes and patterns, including changes over time, and (c) address the representations of realism in the portrayal of street gangs as depicted …

Intimate Relationships Of Adults Raised In Same-Sex Families, Thomas Roskos

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the close relationship experiences of adults raised by sexual minority parents. The study used a Grounded Theory (GT) method. Seven individuals that were either born to sexual minority parents or found out their parents were sexual minorities later in life participated in this present study. Each participant completed an over the phone, semi-structured interview. Specifically, questions were asked regarding their family history, relationships with their parents, peers, romantic partners, and others, their experiences with heterosexism, their experiences coming out, and their perspectives on sexuality and gender.

In accordance with GT, the data …

Teacher Retention: What Motivates Highly Qualified Urban Teachers To Stay?, Orlando B. Milligan

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to provide insight into what motivates highly qualified teachers to remain in urban schools. Research has shown that the single most important factor in a child’s education is the teacher. Consequently, the issues related to teacher recruitment and retention rank as serious problems facing urban schools and the achievement of their children.

The purpose of this study was to examine what motivates highly qualified teachers to remain in urban schools and to identify factors that may contribute to the retention and recruitment of an urban teaching corps. This study also sought to determine if there …

Leadership And Management In Second Generation Medium-Size Family Businesses: A Comparative Study, Gonzalo Gonzalez-Serna

Theses and Dissertations

A research study was conducted among 10 second generation owners of medium-size family businesses in Mexico to gain a better understanding of how their firms were founded and of how these business owners have succeeded in growing their companies and keeping their business alive for more than 40 years. Literature from leadership, management, and family business was reviewed to analyze the existing research on the topic. The literature review revealed that many authors have addressed similar issues, but from different perspectives. This study presents the experiences of a group of second generation business owners in great detail, focusing on their …

Developing Situation Awareness Capacity To Improve Executive Judgment And Decision Making Under Stress, Martha M. Batorski

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined multiple factors that underlie a key component of leadership resilience, situation awareness (SA), and its role in executive judgment and decision making under stress. SA, researched for over 30 years in military and critical incident professions by researchers from the field of Naturalistic Decision Making (NDM), has increasing relevance to leaders in organizations, particularly those who are challenged by high uncertainty and accelerating change, traditionally addressed by the field of organization development (OD). The study specifically examines the Transcendental Meditation^TM technique within the context of a 10-week intervention for developing SA capacity in emerging leaders (N …

Response To Instruction And Intervention: Teachers' Perceptions Of The Implementation In The Beaumont Unified School District As Measured By The Concerned [Sic] Based Adoption Model, Rebecca M. Salato

Theses and Dissertations

A school district in southern California mandated the implementation of Response to Intervention (RtI) in order to better meet the needs of all district students. RtI is a proven approach to ameliorating academic and behavioral difficulties. It provides a logical structure for allocating instructional resources to utilize research-based effective instructional practices, identify students with learning disabilities, and collaborate between general and special education to benefit all students. In order to continue to provide effective professional development for teachers and thus improve the chances of successful implementation, district administrators needed feedback about the process of implementation and concerns of teachers. The …

African/Black Psychology: A Qualitative Investigation Of Distinguished Black Psychologists, Nichole J. Mckenzie

Theses and Dissertations

Over the past 40 years, researchers have made numerous attempts to document and expand upon the literature surrounding the development of African/Black psychology. Yet little is known about the contextual factors that might have influenced individual decisions to become involved in the movement. This study examined the early life experience of 13 Black psychologists whose autobiographies were published in Robert Williams (2008) book, History of the Association of Black Psychologists: Profiles of Outstanding Black Psychologists. Data for this study were analyzed utilizing a qualitative research approach. Themes that arose from the analysis included: (a) direct exposure/awareness of oppressive social, political, …

A Needs-Assessment For The Development Of Out-Of-School Time Program For A Middle School, Samir Elmoghrabi

Theses and Dissertations

Communities that fall in the category of middle to low class economics are in critical need for Out-of-School Time (OST) programs to supervise students while parents are working; however, these numerous communities do not qualify for OST government funding. The purpose of this study is a needs-assessment for a middle school that does not qualify for government funding. Of 974 parents, 325 participated in a comprehensive survey. Eleven school personnel--including top administrators, teachers, and staff--and 6 community members including the city mayor, director of an OST program, president of school board of education, a business leader, and 2 library administrators …

Rabbinical Exposure, Response And Training With Intimate Partner Violence In The Jewish Community, Alison J. Marks

Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to address the paucity and obsolete nature of current research on partner violence within the Jewish community by focusing on the experiences of rabbis as centers of Jewish life. The current study considered the attitudes of rabbis toward intimate partner violence and gender roles, the level and quality and of intimate partner violence training received both during and post rabbinical school, and the intimate partner violence prevention efforts provided by rabbis. Participants in the study completed an online survey created by authors of this study, which included The Inventory of Beliefs about Wife Beating and The Sex …

The Development Of A Standard Of Care For Competency To Stand Trial Evaluations, Alexis Bowles

Theses and Dissertations

Competency evaluations are the most widely completed forensic evaluation and concerns have been raised regarding inconsistency in the quality of forensic evaluations (Bow & Quinnell, 2001; Horvath, Logan, & Walker, 2002; Otto & Heilbrun, 2002). Currently, there is no enforceable standard of care in forensic psychological assessment (Heilbrun, DeMatteo, Marczyk, & Goldstein 2008). The research objective was to examine practice procedures and explore the development of a standard of care for competency evaluations. The study aimed to answer 2 research questions: (a) What are the current recommended practice procedures for psychologists conducting competency evaluations? (b) What would a standard of …

Facebook Usage And Academic Achievement Of High School Students: A Quantitative Analysis, Celeste Marie Alexander

Theses and Dissertations

Online social networking has become an integral part of the lives of America's teenagers with 73% of teens reporting that they use a social networking site such as Facebook daily (Lenhart, Purcell, Smith, & Zickuhr, 2010). Some recent studies have shown a negative relationship between Facebook use and academic achievement (Karpinski & Duberstein, 2009), while other studies have shown no relationship between Facebook use and academic achievement (Pasek, More, & Hargittaai, 2009). Thus, parents, teachers, and administrators remain uncertain of the effects, if any, of students using Facebook. This study examined Facebook usage and academic achievement of high school students …

An Exploratory Study Of Work-Related Imagined Interactions With Real-Life Coworkers, Paula Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

Communication between individuals in social systems includes not only interpersonal, external acts of discourse, but also intrapersonal communications within each person's interior cognitive space. One type of intrapersonal communication, imagined interactions, involves mentally imagining communication encounters with others in an internal dialogue symbolic of real-life conversations. This research project explored the phenomenon of imagined interactions with real-life coworkers as a component of the interior work lives of working adults. The research question was: How do supervisors utilize imagined interactions to make sense of and manage workplace relationships? An existing survey instrument, the Survey of Imagined Interactions, was modified to limit …

Incentives For Part-Time Faculty To Participate In The Shared Governance Process Within The Institution Of California Community Colleges (Ccc), Kristen J. Huyck

Theses and Dissertations

The involvement of part-time faculty tends to be even lower than the engagement level of full-time faculty who partake in the system of shared governance in the California Community Colleges (CCC). During a time when state funds are diminishing, there is a projection of retirement for many community college leaders (Fulton-Calkins & Milling, 2005), combined with a projected increase in the use of part-time faculty (Feldman & Turnley, 2004), the CCC system cannot afford to marginalize or discourage part-time faculty from serving in shared governance positions (Berret, 2007; Feldman & Turnley, 2004; Shinn, 2004). A void exists in the academic …

Initial Construct Validation Of The Color Figure Mazes Test, Kimberly Lee Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Measurement of cognitive abilities across diverse ethnocultural and racial groups has a contentious history, with broad politico-legal, economic, and ethical impact. There is an abundance of literature on attention, concentration, and executive functioning. However, specific literature pertaining to traditionally under-served populations, linguistic minorities and those with low education and literacy levels are limited. This study reports data gathered in an attempt to validate a Spanish language instrument of frontal lobe functioning, called the Color Figure Mazes Test, on monolingual Spanish speaking male day laborers. The instrument was originally developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the University of California, …

Psychology Internship Training In Evidence-Based Treatments For Youth With Disruptive Behavior Problems, Nathan J. Balfanz

Theses and Dissertations

The implementation of evidence-based treatments (EBTs) has become a topic of significant debate amongst researchers and mental health practitioners alike. While current research has indicated a shift in attitudes amongst treatment providers for what constitutes as "best practices" in treating clients, less is known regarding the dissemination and teaching of EBTs for early career, training clinicians. The focus of this study was to take a closer look at clinical training in EBT strategies, specifically those for children and adolescents with disruptive behavior problems (DBPs). Sixty-four internship training directors and program representatives from American Psychological Association (APA) accredited and Association of …

A Case Study Of The Effectiveness Of The Mexican Inea (National Institute For The Education Of Adults) Program: Trapped Between Text And Technology., Daniel Paquette

Theses and Dissertations

The level of success of the Mexican INEA (National Institute for the Education of Adults) academic program implemented in the U.S. has never been examined. INEA developed five goals for its students in the U.S. that supplement the general goals that the program has for all its students in Mexico. The 5 supplementary goals are to provide access to a basic education which will improve the quality of the students' lives, to improve their employment opportunity, to advance their proficiency of Spanish in order to assist them in learning English, to increase their involvement in their children's education and to …

Impact Of Indigenous Language On Achievement And Emotional Conditions: A Case Study Of East European Students In Utah, Natalya Georgiyeva

Theses and Dissertations

The importance of using an indigenous language as a medium of school instruction has been discussed in world education for a long time. This study focuses on the influence of the presence of a native language in the learning process of the students and the impact on their academic achievement, emotional conditions, and post-school lives. A qualitative method of research was used in the study, comprising 12 interviews among Ukrainian/Russian adopted and nonadopted students who attended Utah schools. Information obtained through interviews presented language levels of students (both native and English), academic achievement, and emotional conditions of students during the …

The Infant Orienting Response As It Relates To Mother-Infant Co-Regulation And Attachment, Sarah Ann Ahlander Stone

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between 6-month old infants' orienting response to maternal arm-restraint (as measured by bradycardia), the quality of mother-infant communication at 6 and 9 months (as measured by the Relational Coding System) and attachment at 12 months (as measured by the Strange Situation Procedure). As positive mother-infant communication increases, the chances the infant will experience bradycardia increases. As negative mother-infant communication increases, the chances that the infant will experience bradycardia decreases. For mothers and infants who have more positive communication patterns, orienting response to the maternal arm-restraint suggests that maternal disruption of infant activity was a novel …

The Relationship Of Adult Attachment Dimensions And Neuroticism To Relationship Self-Regulation, Garret Tyler Roundy

Theses and Dissertations

Self-regulation in the context of a relationship, described as relationship "work," is a powerful predictor of relationship satisfaction. Identifying individual characteristics that predict the practice of relationship self-regulation (RSR) can inform clinical and couple relationship education interventions. Anxious and avoidant attachment have been linked to shortcomings in self-regulation in various contexts, and were hypothesized to be negatively associated to individual practice of RSR; neuroticism, a personality trait characterized by negative emotionality, was also hypothesized to be negatively related to RSR. Neuroticism was also tested as a moderator of the relationship between attachment and RSR. Data from first-married men (589) and …

The Influence Of Social Determinants On Late Stage Breast Cancer And The Impact Of The National Breast And Cervical Cancer Program On Late Stage Breast Cancer Diagnosis, Melody L. Fortune

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation research focused on breast cancer and social determinants that have been shown to influence the outcomes of this devastating disease. Although heart disease is the leading cause of death for women, more women feel that they will die from breast cancer. Breast cancer is the most common diagnosed cancer in women exacting an emotional and economic hardship for many women. There are no known causes of breast cancer, but there are certain genetic and social factors that pre-dispose women to this disease. Also, diagnosis at later stages of disease has been shown to have adverse outcomes for many. …

State Business Climate Policies And The Economic Well-Being Of Children, John Stephen Mccown

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the economic indicator known as business climate in relation to the state level rates of child poverty. A theoretical framework is constructed which presents arguments that are opposed to and in favor of a robust business climate. Those in favor would contend that business climate is not associated with the variation in child poverty, whereas those opposed would claim that it has a negative association with the economic well-being of children. This research is cross-sectional (year 2000) and relies upon variables at the state level. Bivariate analysis indicates that there is a significant positive correlation between business …

Types Of Religiousness And Marital Relationships, Toshi Shichida

Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between two types of religiousness (progressive and orthodox) and marital relationships was investigated using qualitative data from a sample of 26 Christian couples (13 progressive and 39 orthodox individuals) from California and New England. The focus of the study was individuals' frameworks of values and goals (moral order) and the ontological views behind them. Text analysis, t-tests for between-group differences of coded results, and phenomenological analysis were used. Results indicated that couples in the progressive group had Non-transcendent Selfhood as a basic moral order and engaged in mutual loving-kindness to respect and care for each other …

The Development Of Two Units For Basic Training And Resources For Teaching English To Speakers Of Other Languages: "Teaching Styles And Cultural Differences" And "Understanding Students' Learning Styles", Kyle F. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

To create a much-needed program for training novice and volunteer English teachers, Dr. Lynn Henrichsen put together a team of interested TESOL graduate students who developed materials and resources for this purpose. Under his supervision and mentorship, each student helped with the development of units for a website and book titled, Basic Training and Resources for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (BTRTESOL). Recognizing the target audience as novice teachers with little or no training in teaching English as a second language, each graduate student approached the development of each unit for this BTRTESOL program with this in mind. …

Evaluating The Success Of Benefit Fraud And Compliance Act In Affecting Wages And Offers For Seven Common H1b Occupations In Virginia, 2002-2010, Khalafala Alsadig

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the role of the Benefits Fraud and Compliance Act (BFCA) in affecting H1B hiring policy in the state of Virginia, as it pertained to seven computer science-related occupations. By employing an independent samples t-test approach, it was discovered that there was a statistically significant difference in H1B actual wages, proposed wages, and per-employer offers before and after BFCA.

Organizational Capacity To Absorb External Knowledge: An Exploratory Study Of Public And Nonprofit Decision Makers' Perceptions Of Impediments And Facilitators, Linda S. Birtley

Theses and Dissertations

Research indicates that many youth-serving agencies do not adopt evidence-based innovations in the field of youth violence prevention. This qualitative study was designed to explore a sample of community-based decision makers’ perceptions of why innovative, evidence-based programs and practices for the prevention of violence by youth are, or are not, adopted at the local level. The rationale for this study was that knowledge of evidence-based innovations in youth violence prevention originates primarily from research scientists who are external to the organizations that are the intended recipients of the innovations. Prior research has not viewed the failure to adopt evidence-based innovations …