Digital Commons Network^™

Educators’ Perceptions Of Benefits And Barriers Of The Inclusion Of Coding In K-8 Curriculum: A Qualitative Study, Jennifer Lynn Dralle-Moreano,

Theses and Dissertations

The 21st century has seen a rapid growth in technological use in schools. Many schools now use computers and other digital devices in order to meet the academic needs of their students. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the benefits and barriers that K-8 educators experienced when integrating or teaching coding curriculum in their classrooms. This qualitative phenomenological study, informed by the Zais model of curriculum design (1976), Johnson (1977), and Beauchamp’s curriculum theory (1968), involved data collection through semi-structured interviews with six K-8 teachers, one instructional leader, one middle school principal, one assistant superintendent, and one …

The Influence Of College-Readiness Testing On High School Students’ And Educators’ Attitudes On Education, Bradley Krauz

Theses and Dissertations

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College-readiness testing has increased drastically over the last thirty years, with increases in the number of Scholastic Achievement Tests and American College Tests taken by students. The number of Advanced Placement tests has also reached an all-time high. With states using these college-readiness assessments as high-stakes exit tests and the socioeconomic benefits connected to college attendance and graduation, the focus on college-readiness assessment has impacted the classroom environment. With more time spent preparing for college-readiness assessments, the environment in which students interact and grow has evolved. This qualitative case study, informed by Freire’s (2000) “banking concept” of education and …

Design And Synthesis Of Non-Xanthone Structural Analogs Of Α-Mangostin, Maryam Foroozmehr

Theses and Dissertations

α-Mangostin belongs to a class of polyphenolic compounds called xanthones. The potential pharmacological effects such as anti-bacterial and anti-cancer effects of α-mangostin have made it an important natural product for medicinal chemistry evaluation. During this thesis research, we have designed and synthesized a series of non-xanthone analogs of α-mangostin for medicinal chemistry evaluation. A commercially available starting material, methyl-4-methoxysalicylate was used to synthesize these non-xanthone analogs. The analogs were designed as more flexible derivatives compared to the tricyclic motif within α-mangostin yet retain the hydroxybenzoate scaffold. Through a one-pot chemical synthesis, with relatively high yield (70%), we prepared eight different …

Investigating Whether The Flipped Classroom Instructional Approach In Conjunction With Gender, Satisfy Students’ Basic Psychological Needs And Influence Their Chemistry Achievements In High School, Jordan Salhoobi

Theses and Dissertations

The current study aims to investigate whether the instructional approach (flipped or traditional) and gender (male or female) influence students’ sense of autonomy, relatedness, and competence, or influence their achievements in high school chemistry. Merrill’s First Principles of Instruction theory was used to design the flipped classroom (FC) implemented in this study as recommended by Lo, Lie, and Hew in 2018. The theoretical framework for the study is the self-determination theory (SDT) which posits that satisfaction of individuals’ psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, enhance their intrinsic motivation and performance (Deci & Ryan, 2002). Ninety participating students who enrolled …

The Impact Of Graphing Calculators On The Mathematics Achievement Of Black Females, Tonya Bates

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the effect of the usage of graphing calculators on Black Females' mathematics achievement on the 12th grade National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). This non-experimental research study will analyze the 2015 NAEP publicly available data set, using the twelfth-grade sample, examining their overall math achievement compared to graphing calculator usage, race, gender, and socioeconomic status.

Four regressions will be used to analyze factors created from the twelfth-grade NAEP student surveys, with test results as the dependent variable. The regressions will use race, gender, socioeconomic status., and graphing calculator usage in the classroom as independent variables, and the …

Is Special Education A Life Sentence? Examining Disproportionality In The Declassification Rates Of Students Of Color In An Urban School District, Rasheed Bility

Theses and Dissertations

Federal law states that any student suspected of having a disability must meet initial eligibility requirements to qualify for special education services. Furthermore, an individual education program (IEP) team is required by federal law to re-evaluate each student with a qualified disability tri-annually to assess his or her ongoing need for such services. The pathway toward initial eligibility is explicitly outlined within federal legislation; however, the law does not explicate an avenue for declassification or exiting from special education. As a result, many students may remain in special education and are labeled as students with a disability when they may …

How Black Students Experience School In A Predominantly White Suburban High School: A Phenomenological Study To Examine Student Perceptions Of Self-Efficacy, Sense Of Belongingness, And Perceived Educational Opportunity, Kristen R. Andriaccio

Theses and Dissertations

This study used critical race theory to examine the lived experiences of Black students attending a predominantly White, high-performing, suburban high school. The researcher used a phenomenological approach to examine student perceptions of sense of belongingness, self-efficacy, and educational opportunity. Eight students participated in a focus study group, and seven students participated in semi-structured individual interviews. The data analysis showed the students did not experience a sense of belongingness in their schools, but they did exhibit high levels of self-efficacy and felt they were provided the same educational opportunities as other students. Six themes emerged from this study: (a) Social …

Evolution, Classification, And Biochemical Foundations Of Toll-Like Receptors (Tlrs) And Their Role In Chytridiomycosis Resistance, Joseph De Leon

Theses and Dissertations

Chytridiomycosis, a disease caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), is a major concern for Amphibian populations. Over the past thirty years, global declines related to Bd infection have been observed, particularly in neotropical amphibians. Although Bd is endemic to many amphibian species, a significant proportion of amphibian populations have shown evidence of resistance to the pathogen. The precise reasoning as to why there is resistance variation across amphibian taxa remains to be elucidated, but many hypotheses have been suggested. In particular, immunogenetic variations in the innate immune system among amphibians are potential indicators to this dilemma. Toll-Like Receptors (TLRs), …

An Analysis Of Education As A Moderator Of The Relationship Of Discrimination To Depression, Jeavonna M. Coble

Theses and Dissertations

Racism has been observed as a highly prevalent psychosocial stressor across minorities, and consistently associated with depression across racial/ethnic groups. However, existing evidence is unclear on effective buffers of discrimination to depression. Researchers have hypothesized that education may mitigate discrimination’s effects on negative mental health outcomes. Evidence evaluating education as a buffer on the relations of discrimination to depression is limited. The analysis is further complicated as the evidence linking education level to discrimination exposure is also mixed. Although some studies indicate lower education levels are associated with greater perceived racism, many studies indicate an association of higher education with …

Institutional Labels: A Language-Based Approach To Decreasing Stigma Associated With Schizophrenia And Psychiatric Hospitalization, Jaime Taylor Grabow

Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with schizophrenia that have experienced psychiatric hospitalization are one of the most stigmatized populations of the mental health field. The language that is utilized to describe this population is linked with the perpetuation of stigmatizing attitudes associated with schizophrenia and psychiatric hospitalization. Altering the type of language that is used to describe these individuals can decrease stigma. Participants (N=79) were asked to read a description of a character where the language used reflected either a strength-based approach or a deficit-based approach to schizophrenia and psychiatric hospitalization. The characters are individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia that have recently been discharged from …

Togetherness For Mission In Catholic Secondary Schools, Jonathan Mangar

Theses and Dissertations

Relationships are central to education, especially in Catholic schools, where love for others is espoused as a core value. Most studies of professional relationships among educators are focused on routines, processes, and classroom standards. The present study aims to expand this discussion into the human, social, and spiritual dynamics of working together toward mission fulfillment. The purpose of this qualitative work was to explore and describe the professional relationships among teachers and administrators in private Catholic high schools in a large metropolitan diocese and to investigate how these relationships led to mission fulfillment. The study incorporated the theoretical frameworks of …

Impact Of A Mindfulness-Based Intervention On Students In Grades 3–5, Cornelius P. Campbell

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the impact of the Mindful Schools curriculum on students’ academic performance, stress management, and academic and social self-perception. Comparisons of fall-spring academic growth measures and other data gathered over 2 years—before and after implementation of the curriculum—revealed academic, stress management, and self-perception impacts of the intervention. Student test scores from the reading (n = 322) and mathematics (n = 321) sections of the Northwest Evaluation Association were evaluated and found that the Mindfulness-Based Intervention led to significant growth from pre-intervention and post-intervention years. A repeated measures ANOVA found a …

A Timecourse Based Dermatotoxicity Evaluation Of Mechlorethamine On Damage And Repair Related Protein Expression In The Mouse Ear Vesicant Model, Ganming Mao

Theses and Dissertations

Mechlorethamine (HN2) is a type of nitrogen mustard alkylating agent that has been widely applied as an anticancer drug. HN2 is an analog of the corrosive reagent sulfur mustard, which is highly reactive with skin and organisms exposed to HN2 develop significant skin irritation, edema, erythema, and disruption of the dermal-epidermal junction (DEJ). These pathological affects lead to tissue damage, activate wound repair mechanisms and, if unresolved, result in necrosis. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the time-dependent effects of HN2 on the expression of three different proteins using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and previously prepared and preserved formalin-fixed …

Adaptation And Translation Of Autism Spectrum Disorder Rating Scales For School-Age Children: Evaluating Adherence To The International Test Commission Guidelines, Tamanna Chhabra

Theses and Dissertations

he current review examines adaptations and translations of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) rating scales for school-aged children around the world. ASD rating scales are a quick and efficient way to diagnosing ASD, and adaptations of ASD scales offer low-cost methods to make tools available around the world. The International Test Commission guidelines (ITC, 2017) provide a rigorous framework for researchers to adapt and translate psychological tests. This review used the X-CAGAM (Duke, 2019) a tool developed to operationalize the guidelines to examine how well the selected ASD measures adhere to the ITC guidelines. Fourteen adaptations and translations were included in …

Protective Role Of The Flanking Domains And Membrane Selectivity In The Alpha-Synuclein, Noriyo Onishi

Theses and Dissertations

Alpha-synuclein protein is associated with Parkinson's disease and is an intrinsically disordered protein (IDP) in solution. The protein consists of three domains: N-terminal domain, NAC domain, and C-terminal domain. In this research, I used the Gaussian accelerated Molecular Dynamics (GaMD) simulations to examine the role of the flanking domains of the protein. My data show that removing one or more flanking domains increases the exposed hydrophobic regions in the NAC domain, contributing to protein aggregation. From this, we are proposing a model of flanking domain protection. Within this model, the C-terminal domain imposes an elongated structure on the N-terminal domain, …

The Impact Of A Brief Gratitude Journaling Intervention On Third Grade Students Attending An Orthodox Jewish Elementary School In New York, Tamar Gassner

Theses and Dissertations

Research in the field of positive psychology has focused on the beneficial effects of gratitude on overall wellbeing. Recent studies have demonstrated that anxiety and depressive disorders are increasingly common among youth in the United States. Further, both anxiety and depression have been linked to other comorbid mental health conditions, such as dysthymia, disruptive disorder, and substance abuse disorder. Moreover, anxiety and depression are associated with negative social and academic outcomes. Considering the prevalence of anxiety and depressive disorders among youth and the associated comorbidities, it is vital to direct efforts towards prevention and early intervention. The literature supports a …

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy For Anxiety In Youth With Autism: Paving The Way To Evidence-Based Practice, Michelle M. Kirkland

Theses and Dissertations

Anxiety is one of the most common and debilitating conditions co-occurring with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as it occurs in up to 84% of individuals and can influence poor psychosocial adjustment, disruptions in individual, familial and school functioning, increased emotional and behavioral problems, self-injurious behavior(s), and an overall reduced quality of life (Meyer, Mundy, Van Hecke, & Durocher, 2006; Nadeau et al., 2011; Farrugia & Hudson, 2006; Kerns et al., 2015). To date, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), an evidence-based treatment for anxiety in neurotypical youth, has seen modest, yet limited, promise in treating anxiety in youth with ASD. With extant research …

Ophelia, The Monster: Representations Of Female Madness In The Western Horror Film, Alexandra Fitzpatrick

Theses and Dissertations

Horror, as a whole, is preoccupied with madness. How else can one characterize a genre largely based in ambiguity and potential hallucination? So it should come with no surprise that horror is also preoccupied with gender. Mental instability has been associated with femininity from the dawn of Western civilization. The Ancient Greeks coined the term hysteria from their word for uterus, subscribing to the theory that the womb could move about a woman’s body and cause her to behave irrationally. Up until the nineteenth century, hysteria was believed to be an exclusively feminine condition. With potential symptoms comprising a seventy-five …

Structure Based Optimization Of Benzimidazole 4-Carboxamide Scaffold Led To Picomolar Poly(Adp-Ribose) Polymerase Inhibitors, Griffin J. Coate

Theses and Dissertations

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1) is one of several proteins in the PARP superfamily consisting of 17 proteins with a conserved ART domain. Out of the 17 total proteins, 6 show clear evidence of catalytic activity. These 6 proteins are comprised of PARP1 through PARP4 as well as TNKS1 and TNKS2. PARP1 is thoroughly characterized and has been implicated for its role in various forms of cancer. Due to the role PARP1 plays in the DNA repair pathway, targeting PARP1 for inhibition has led to two distinct anticancer strategies. The first focusing on combinatorial drug therapy with a DNA damaging anticancer …

Estimation Of Direct Medical Expenditures And Health-Related Quality Of Life (Hrqol) Among Type-2 Diabetes (T2dm) Patients With Depression Using 2016-2018 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (Meps) Data, Uzma A. Pathan

Theses and Dissertations

Background: T2DM patients with depression symptoms (PHQ-2≥3) but without clinical diagnosis remain undiagnosed and untreated. Undiagnosed depression in T2DM patients can exacerbate the patient's health. However, no study has comprehensively evaluated the impact of undiagnosed depression on the direct medical expenditures and HRQoL in T2DM patients. Objective: To estimate the differences in the total expenditures, expenditures by service type, and HRQoL of T2DM patients with diagnosed, undiagnosed, and no depression. Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional study design was implemented using Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data (2016-2018). T2DM patients were stratified using the ICD-10-CM depression code ("F32") and PHQ-2 screener as : …

School Psychologist Perception Of Training For Transgender And Gender Diverse Student Advocacy, Eryka Sajek

Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to evaluate school psychologists’ perceptions of their graduate training experience in preparing them to work with transgender and other gender minority youth. The quality of graduate training was also examined through a compilation of syllabi. The participant s (N = 193) completed a questionnaire regarding their confidence in working with this population, their perceptions of what contributed to their competency, and information about their graduate programs. The resulting sample of respondents came from all geographic regions in the United States, 91% of whom were currently working in a school setting. A series of regressions found that graduate …

The Course Of Axis I And Axis Ii Disorders In Clinical High Risk (Chr) Adolescents, Christy Dabreo-Otero

Theses and Dissertations

The detrimental impact of psychosis on individuals and society has sparked interest in early detection and intervention strategies to improve outcomes for those who are high-risk for developing psychosis. This study used data collected by the Recognition and Prevention (RAP) program to explore the progression of Axis I and Axis II disorders, clinical and functional characteristics, and predictors of conversion in a Clinical High Risk (CHR) sample. Using the RAP Program’s classification system, participants were assigned to the following subgroups based on symptom presentation: Clinical High Risk Positive (CHR+) which is defined by the presence of attenuated positive symptoms and …

The Semantic And Acoustic Voice Features Differentiating Neutral And Traumatic Narratives, Yosef Shimon Amrami

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a quantitative and qualitative exploration of how one linguistically communicates emotions through an autobiographical narrative. Psycholinguistic research has affirmed that linguistic features of a narrative, including semantic and acoustic features, indicate a narrator’s emotions and physiological. This study investigated whether these linguistic features could help differentiate between trauma and neutral narratives and if they can predict autobiographical narratives’ subjective trauma ratings (STR). Qualitative analyses of the positive and negative evaluative statements were also conducted, which indicated the narrators’ thought processes during recall. Twenty-two Spanish-English college students participated in this study and narrated both traumatic and neutral narratives. …

The Roles Of Cardiovascular Disease And Depression In The Relationship Between Respiratory Disease And Neuropsychological Functioning In Older Adults, Alexander J. Gordon

Theses and Dissertations

The pathophysiology of severe respiratory diseases, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), supports the theory that oxygen deprivation to the brain may impact the brain’s execution of cognitive functions. Imaging studies also suggest that neuroanatomical changes in areas of the brain responsible for cognitive processes may be associated with respiratory diseases. Research in this area has failed to conclude definitively, especially in an older adult population, which is more likely to experience comorbid depression and cardiovascular disease, universally acknowledged predictors of poorer cognitive performance, the extent of the relationship between respiratory illness and cognitive functioning. The current …

Selective Toxicity Of Mx106-4c, A Survivin Inhibitor, To Abcb1 Positive Multidrug Resistant Colon Cancer, Zining Lei

Theses and Dissertations

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is a major challenge in colon cancer chemotherapy, which is typically mediated by the overexpression of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, particularly ABCB1 (P-gp, MDR1). The application of ABCB1 inhibitors to overcome ABCB1-mediated MDR has been disappointing in the clinical settings. As an alternative approach, a synthetic analog of survivin inhibitor MX106, MX106-4C, was identified as a potent collateral sensitivity (CS) agent that selectively exerted more than 10-fold cytotoxicity on ABCB1 positive MDR colon cancer cell lines compared to cell lines with low ABCB1 expression. Biochemical assays revealed that MX106-4C did not affect the ATPase activity or the …

Representations Of Nature And Ecological Collapse In The Novels Of Jane Austen, Lydia Maria Child, And Catharine Maria Sedgwick, Faten Hafez

Theses and Dissertations

Did Jane Austen precede Charles Dickens in pointing out air pollution in the big cities? Did she predate Elizabeth Gaskell in delineating the odd blending of rural and industrial towns? And did she surpass Mary Elizabeth Braddon in acknowledging the unusual cultivation of fruits in hothouses? Indeed, Austen antedated Victorian novelists in predicting early signs of environmental manipulation and identifying the attitudes and practices that led to the ecological collapse of early nineteenth century England. In Emma, Isabella’s health blooms in the fresh air of Highbury as opposed to London’s “bad air;” an indication of air pollution wreaking havoc on …

Academically Underprepared First Year Writing Students' Perceptions And Implementation Of Teacher And Peer Feedback, Jacqueline Marie Regan

Theses and Dissertations

When entering the university, students from under-resourced schools may not have the same educational experiences as their peers and are more likely to be held back by a lack of instruction in writing. Framed by sociocultural theory and viewing both peer and teacher feedback as dynamic conversations and literacy events, the purpose of this mixed methods action research study was to measure academically underprepared students’ perceptions of feedback and to understand how these perceptions of writing feedback align with the decisions they make about implementing changes to their essays. Focusing on first-year writing students (n=29) at a diverse state university, …

Mechanism Of Dna Damage Checkpoint (Ddc)- Mediated Repression Of Histone Mrnas And Role Of Acetyl-Coa In Histone Transcription, Madhura Bhagwat

Theses and Dissertations

My dissertation contains two projects. The first project is focused on the mechanism of DNA damage checkpoint (DDC)- mediated repression of histone mRNAs. The second project deals with the role of acetyl-CoA in histone transcription. Proliferating cells coordinate histone and DNA synthesis to maintain correct stoichiometric amounts for chromatin assembly. Histone mRNA levels must be repressed when DNA replication is inhibited to prevent toxicity and genome instability due to free non-chromatinized histone proteins. In the first project we show that, unlike in mammalian cells, DNA replication stress does not trigger decay of histone mRNAs in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. However, …

“I Have Gone Beyond My Sphere”: Network Analysis And Rhetorical Feminism In Women’S Writing 1650-1750, Donna P. Downing

Theses and Dissertations

The concept of a contrasting public sphere and private sphere is both enduring and contested. The model of the eighteenth century public sphere offered by Jürgen Habermas offers a rational-critical approach to public discourse, while bracketing difference. Interlocutors of Habermas see such exclusion as problematic, particularly from a feminist standpoint. In contrast to Habermas’ static model, this project offers a networked, motile vision of public and private spheres that allows for interconnections and relationships, and which not only incorporates conceptual differences, but in fact relies on them. In this flexible model, rhetorical feminism, where the ideology of feminism is brought …

Pharmacological Effects Of Ebselen And Other Novel Organoselenium Compounds In Vitro And In The Mouse Model Of Vulvovaginal Candidiasis, Suvidha M. Menon

Theses and Dissertations

The current era is witnessing the emergence of virulent and resistant Candida and other pathogenic strains that has led to high morbidity and mortality rates on a global scale. Drug resistance has rendered once proven potent and commonly used antifungal drugs ineffective, especially in immunocompromised patients. These reasons justify the need for identifying novel antifungal targets and thereby building the antifungal armamentarium.

Our lab has previously investigated and studied Ebselen (EB), an organoselenium compound for its antifungal mechanism and activity against Candida strains. In vitro studies have shown the growth inhibitory activity (IC50 ˜ 15 µM) for various C. albicans …