Digital Commons Network^™

The Lived Experience Of Lebanese Oncology Patients Receiving Palliative Care, Myrna Doumit

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to uncover the lived experience of Lebanese oncology patients receiving palliative care. The study design was based on the Utrecht School of phenomenology based on the Dutch school of phenomenology. This study followed purposeful sampling in which ten participants six women and four men with a mean age of 54.4 years were selected. The proposed research was approved by the Institutional Review Boards at the American University of Beirut and Duquesne University. In-depth semi-structured interviews along with observation-field notes were used as the source for data collection. Data were analyzed using the hermeneutic phenomenological …

The Impact Of "Parents Feeling Capable" Treatment On The Self-Efficacy Of Low Socio-Economic Parents, L. Robert Furman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Parental involvement in a student's life has been a topic that has inspired much research in the past and continues to be a major research focus in the field of both psychology and education. Many studies exist confirming the lack of parental involvement of low socio-economic persons due to their low self-efficacy as it relates to their ability to help their children with schoolwork. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of parent workshops (Parents Feeling Capable) specifically designed to enhance the self-efficacy of parents of preadolescent children identified as being of low socio-economic status. To perform …

Teacher-School Board Member Trust Relationships And Their Perceived Influence On School Effectiveness, Pamela A. Lenz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the attention devoted to school reform in the past century, mandated initiatives enacted by policymakers have wrought few long lasting improvements in education. Throughout the last six decades of reform, federal and state lawmakers have exercised unparalleled sway on student learning, with political agendas taking precedence over breakthroughs in educational pedagogy. Taking a different approach, recent research suggests that systemic reform is more likely to occur at the local level, with schools whose culture fosters positive trust relationships being more effective than their lower trust counterparts. This collective instrumental case study expands upon extant research by examining the perceived …

How Mothers Orchestrate Their Engagement In An Early Intervention Program, Patricia Eileen Brennan

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

A family-centered approach was espoused in IDEA Part C as the context for service to families with young children experiencing developmental delays. A phenomenological inquiry was conducted to explore how mothers of young children with disabilities orchestrate their engagement in an early intervention program, and to identify factors that support their participation. In-depth interviews were conducted with five mothers of children enrolled in a community-based program located in an urban area. An over-arching theme addressing the need for service providers to be “In my reality” emerged. Sub-themes highlighted needs of the mothers to understand their child’s condition, promote their child’s …

Construction Of National Identity And National Pride Of Germans In The Intercultural Context, Nadja Koening

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

National identity and patriotism are very problematic and highly sensitive concepts in contemporary Germany. Many scholars agree that a positive national identity is crucial for a nation’s well-being. This research attempts to investigate the process of forming a national identity and the display of national pride in the intercultural communication context. One focus group was conducted to analyze how Germans construct and/or reinvent their national identity when communicating with individuals from other nations.

The results show that German national identity and national pride are strongly intertwined and poise a unique problem for every German. Germans have major difficulties in developing …

The Application Of Scenario Based Recurrent Training To Teach Single Pilot Resource Management (Srm) Under The Faa Industry Training Standards (Fits) Program, Francis H. Ayers

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

Research indicates that improving a pilot's capability to exercise sound judgment and make informed and timely decisions may significantly improve flight safety. One approach to this problem is the introduction of scenario-based training (SBT) into flight training curriculums. At the request of the Cirrus Owner's and Pilots Association (COPA), the author developed and conducted four 3-hour scenario based seminars embodying these concepts and collected initial data from the 54 participants. A longitudinal study of this initial group will form the basis for additional research.

Lyric Subjectivity, Ethics, Contemporary Poetics: Claudia Rankine, Fanny Howe, Elizabeth Robinson, Maureen Gallagher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates ethics and lyric subjectivity in the writings of three American women poets. I consider select poems and poetics of Claudia Rankine, Fanny Howe, and Elizabeth Robinson, in order to argue that their postlanguage lyric poetry retains lyric subjectivity and reformulates it as ethical insofar as it is "circumspective" or "other-oriented"; that is, the lyric "I" is depicted as constituted through its relations with alterity. I apply contemporary literary-ethical methodology, notably the ethical philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas, the poetics of Paul Celan, the hauntology of Jacques Derrida, and the poethics of Joan Retallack, in order to demonstrate how …

A Dyadic Composition To Foster Virtual Team Effectiveness: An Experimental Study, Gamze Karayaz

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The importance of effectiveness for virtual teamwork continues to gain momentum as technology and globalization of work accelerate. The implementation of virtual teams provides one approach to enhance competitiveness, overcoming the disadvantages of space and time differences through collaborative technologies. The influence of structure to virtual team performance has not been clearly established in the literature. The purpose of this research study was to investigate the effectiveness of a dyad structured approach for virtual teams using a quasi-experimental research design.

This research investigated four questions related to the influence of structure on virtual team effectiveness related to task performance, communication …

Assimilating Non-Probabilistic Assessments Of The Estimation Of Uncertainty Bias In Expert Judgment Elicitation Using An Evidence Based Approach In High Consequence Conceptual Designs, Colin K. S. Barrows

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

One of the major challenges in conceptual designs of complex systems is the identification of uncertainty embedded in the information due to lack of historic data. This becomes of increased concern especially in high-risk industries. This document reports a developed methodology that allows for the cognitive bias, estimation of uncertainty, to be elucidated to improve the quality of elicited data. It consists of a comprehensive literature review that begins by defining a 'High Consequence Conceptual Engineering Environment' and identifies the high-risk industries in which these environments are found. It proceeds with a discussion that differentiates risk and uncertainty in decision-making …

Differences In Motivation For Participation And Attitudes Toward Management Among Rock Climbing Sub Groups: Implications For The Benefits-Based Management Approach, Amy L. Ackerman

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to develop a scale that would measure the motivation for participation of rock climbing subgroups, determine what differences exist among rock climbing subgroups and confirm the Rock Climbers' Attitudes toward Management Scale. Respondents were given an on-site questionnaire at three rock climbing areas in the United States. Respondents identified themselves according to their preferred type of climbing (e.g., traditional climbing, sport climbing, and hybrid climbing) and their preferred mode of climbing (e.g., lead climbing, top roping, and both equally). Exploratory factor analysis identified five factors for the Rock Climbing Motivation Scale: competition, control, escape, …

An Examination Of Differences Between Occupational-Technical Student And Transfer Student Engagement At Small Community Colleges In Virginia, Janet T. Laughlin

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the differences in levels of student engagement between occupational-technical students and transfer students in an attempt to gain insight into why so many students fail to attain their educational goals. Students' engagement or involvement with their educational institution and program of study is considered a major contributor to persistence and graduation. Research on student engagement as it relates to persisters and leavers includes the five student engagement variables benchmarked by the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE): (a) active and collaborative learning, (b) student effort, (c) academic challenge, (d) student-faculty interaction, and (e) support for learners. …

Efficient Responses To Catastrophic Risk, Richard A. Posner

Chicago Journal of International Law

I will begin my analysis of the catastrophic risk problem with the recent tsunami. Suppose that a tsunami as destructive as the one that struck the Indian Ocean occurs, on average, once a century and kills 250,000 people. That is an average of twenty-five hundred deaths per year. Even without attempting a sophisticated estimate of the value of life to the people exposed to the risk, one can say with some confidence that if an annual death toll of twenty-five hundred could be substantially reduced at a moderate cost, the investment would be worthwhile. A combination of educating the residents …

A "Fair And Expeditious" Trial: A Reappraisal Of Slobodan Milosevic's Right To Self-Representation Before The International Criminal Tribunal For The Former Yugoslavia, Constantinos Hotis

Chicago Journal of International Law

This Development analyzes and critiques recent cases on Milosevic's in propria persona defense. Contrary to some arguments that the assignment of counsel will aid the trial process, it contends that the ICTY cannot impose counsel because all of the reasons that it used to justify its ruling are inadequate. This Development specifically argues that the "fair and expeditious" rationale, with its emphasis on judicial management, does not legitimize the Tribunal's decision to retract Milosevic's right to self-representation. In fact, it is a poor proxy for justice and may countervail any type of fairness that the ICTY wishes to achieve in …

Examining The Impact Of Crisis Assessment Training In The Triage Assessment Model, On The Self-Efficacy Of Residential Treatment Facility Staff, Chad Snyder

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The differences between residential treatment facility staffs' self-efficacy levels post-crisis assessment training are investigated in order to identify alternative means to restraints as the primary crisis intervention strategy. In order to assess the participants' level of self-efficacy to deal with crises, the self-efficacy assessment tool for crisis (SEAT-C) was developed utilizing a semantic differential design. Through pilot testing, the SEAT-C was determined to be a reliable and valid instrument. Training in the Triage Assessment Model for crisis intervention was provided to 79 residential treatment facility staff employed at a child and adolescent residential treatment facility in the southwestern part of …

College Choice And Persistence At A Small Private Catholic College: Why Do Students Leave?, James Theeuwes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In today's world a college education is very important in terms of both a person's cultural and human capital. A college education can increase a person's human capital and either replicate or enhance one's cultural capital. The purpose of this study was to focus on the variables of net college price, institutional grant aid, a family's adjusted gross income, if a student was a first generation college student and a student's high school preparedness and their relationship to persistence. Students are making decisions that impact their future each and every day, when they pick the "right" college to attend. Colleges …

On The Day You Were Born: A Phenomenological Study Of Fathers' Experience Of Being Present At Their Children's Birth, Nick Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a qualitative investigation into the lived experience of becoming a father through witnessing the event of childbirth. I analyze transcripts of conversations between five fathers and myself using a phenomenological method to distinguish meaningful and psychologically significant statements. I then weave these statements into a series of thematically and structurally consistent narratives that reflect the fathers' attitudes and experiences concerning becoming and being a father. From these narratives, I draw together themes that appeared across multiple fathers' stories. These themes consist of the father's relationship with the social world, including fathers in relation to other fathers and …

Assessing The Effect Of A Learning Organization On Change In Levels Of Developmentally Supportive Care In The Newborn Intensive Care Unit, Barbara Zapalo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study assessed the effect of a learning organization of clinical nurse leaders on an increase in levels of developmentally supportive, family-centered care (DSC). The intervention occurred in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Magee-Womens Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA. Clinical nurse leaders (N = 9) were encouraged to model research-based, developmentally supportive techniques. The "Checklist for Observing Developmentally Supportive Care in the NICU" was developed to assess the levels of DSC in 17 measurable techniques in three conceptual areas: environmental support, individualized support, and family-centered care. The checklist includes adaptations for infants with medical or familial issues. Infants and caregivers …

A Structural Model Of Relationships Between Employee Characteristics, Supervisory Mentoring Behaviors And Job Satisfaction, Florence R. Jinadu

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Organizational researchers have consistently found that developmental mentoring has a positive effect on employees professional and career success. Some of the benefits that have been cited include increased job satisfaction, increased organizational commitment, and increased self-esteem among mentored employees. In addition to these short-term benefits, developmental mentoring has also been found to positively impact long-term career outcomes in the form of increased compensation and career mobility for mentored employees as compared to non-mentored employees. Traditionally, mentors have been described as influential senior members of an organization who provide career support and developmental opportunities to less experienced employees, who are referred …

Examining Retention And Academic Success Among Community College Developmental Algebra I Students, Patricia B. Huber

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

An increasing number of community college matriculants enter college needing remediation in mathematics. This study examined factors that may affect student retention and academic success in a developmental Algebra I course at a community college, including demographic variables, life demand variables, pre-enrollment academic characteristic, self-regulated learning characteristics, and instructional methodology.

The study ran for two consecutive semesters and included 154 participants. Self-report measures were used to gain demographic information and information about students' beliefs about math and their self-regulated learning characteristics at the beginning of the semester. An elementary algebra pre-test was administered at the beginning of the semester with …

Horizontal Political Externalities The Supply And Demand Of Disaster Management, Ben Depoorter

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Classroom-Basedfunctional Analysis And Intervention For Students With Emotional/Behavioral Disorders, G. L. Wright-Gallo, Thomas S. Higbee, K. A. Reagon, B. J. Davey

Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling Faculty Publications

We conducted functional analyses of disruptive behavior in a classroom setting for two students of typical intelligence with emotional/behavioral disorders (E/BD) using the classroom teacher to implement functional analysis conditions. The functional analyses suggested that both participants' disruptive behavior was maintained by escape from task demands and access to attention. Based on this information, we implemented a DRA procedure in which participants could request either escape or attention while disruption was placed on extinction. DRA decreased the disruptive behavior of both participants and the schedule of reinforcement was successfully thinned to a level that was practical for the classroom teacher …

Teaching Pretend Play Skills Toa Student With Autism Using Video Modeling With A Sibling As Model And Play Partner, K. A. Reagon, Thomas S. Higbee, K. Endicott

Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling Faculty Publications

We taught a four-year-old boy diagnosed with autism and his older brother to engage in four pretend play scenarios using video modeling. The older brother acted in the video models with a typically developing peer. Both the participant and his sibling successfully engaged in the four scenarios during intervention as well as maintenance and generalization probes conducted in their home. This case study illustrated that siblings of children with autism can perform in video models as well as engage in pretend play with their sibling with autism. In addition, the child with autism may benefit from sibling-oriented interventions as indicated …

Polygraph In Trade Secret Litigation: Overcoming Misconceptions And Paving The Way For Admissibility, Elisabeth A. Wilson

Computer Law Review and Technology Journal

Ponder for a moment what you know about polygraph. Polygraph is sometimes referred to as a "lie detector" test. You may have seen a polygraph exam on television or a movie, but most people have a very limited understanding of what a polygraph examination really is. In fact, most depictions of polygraph seen in popular culture are overwhelmingly misleading and inaccurate. Likewise, the legal community's understanding of polygraph and how it can be utilized is scant, at best.

Courts have been divided for years over what role polygraph should play in litigation and have struggled with questions of admissibility. Confusion …

Comparison Of Three Computer Office Workstations Offering Forearm Support: Impact On Upper Limb Posture And Muscle Activation, Alain Delisle, Christian Larivière, André Plamondon, Daniel Imbeau

Études primaires

No abstract provided.

Judges As "Amateur Scientists", David L. Faigman

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Gooseberry Mound Park: Children's Sensory Garden, Erin M. Sauer

Landscape Architecture Theses

A Children’s Sensory Garden aimed to become a unique learning experience for the public’s enjoyment. Located in Moorhead, Minnesota, with the intention of becoming a place to learn as well as play, emphasis will be on learning about the immediate as well as the distant environments of the Sensory Garden and the Solar System at large.

The How And Why Of The New Public Corporation Tax Shelter Compliance Norm, Susan C. Morse

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Participation, Claire Bishop

Publications and Research

An anthology of key writings on the topic of participation in art, from the 1950s to the 2000s.

Is The United States Bound By The Customary International Law Of Torture? A Proposal For Ats Litigation In The War On Terror, Joshua A. Decker

Chicago Journal of International Law

This inquiry proceeds in three parts. First, I determine whether the United States tortured War on Terror detainees. I then consider whether a binding international norm against torture exists and if the United States violated it. Finally, I examine this issue from a policy standpoint, asking whether it is good policy to have the customary international law of torture bind the United States.

Field Perceptions Of The Vision Initiative For Children's Preschool Vision Screening Training Model, P. Kay Nottingham Chaplin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Because lay vision screeners rarely receive formal training in how to screen vision and because older children were seen in clinic with vision disorders that should have been detected earlier through vision screening, a pediatric ophthalmologist and the researcher created the Vision Initiative for Children (VIC) in 2001 as a statewide program of the West Virginia University Eye Institute. VIC has trained, equipped, and provided ongoing support to lay individuals who are mandated or want to screen preschoolers' vision. This program evaluation study explored, from the perspective of Head Start personnel, whether VIC prepares Head Start personnel to screen preschoolers' …