Digital Commons Network^™

Education Interest Groups: The Influence Of Networks On Rulemaking And Policy In Public School Reform, Brian Curtis Myli

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A problem for educators and scholars is that there is little understanding of how the agendas of particular interest groups reflect the intent of federal agencies or lawmakers as education policies take shape during the rulemaking process. As a result, it is difficult to determine whether federal education policy is influenced by outside interest groups. The purpose of this study was to provide an understanding of the influence of interest groups during the informal stage of federal rulemaking in education policy. The research questions being examined include: 1) In what ways do different influence the rulemaking process in the development …

An Exploration Of Contextual Factors That May Influence The Expulsion Rates Of Middle School Students, Tracy Schroeder

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

On March 6, 2012, the New York Times released an article in the education section describing a study by the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights. The study showed that the education system continues to create inequities for minority students. In particular, according to the Office of Civil Rights, Black students made up 18% of the sample size, yet 35% were suspended once and 39% were expelled (U.S. Department of Education, 2012). In a review of the literature, the statistics of the discipline inequities that minorities face became a recurring theme. However, very little research explored other factors that …

Attitudes Of Preservice Teachers Towards Teaching Deaf And Esl Students, Claire Ting, Linda Gilmore

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study explored preservice teacher attitudes towards teaching a deaf student who uses Australian Sign Language (Auslan) compared to a student who is new to Australia and speaks Polish. The participants were 200 preservice teachers in their third or fourth year of university education. A questionnaire was created to measure attitudes, and participants were also asked to list teaching strategies they would use with the two students. A factor analysis yielded two subscales: Teacher Expectations and Teacher Confidence. Results showed that teachers had higher expectations of the Auslan student than the Polish student, and were more confident about teaching the …

Transition To College: Nonacademic Factors That Influence Persistence For Underprepared Community College Students, Ann M. Paulson

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Community colleges provide access to higher education for a broad range of students. The majority require ‘remedial’ coursework in reading, writing and, especially, math. Most students who begin with this remedial coursework do not go on to earn a certificate or degree. Low levels of college graduation have high direct cost, adversely affect the U.S. economy and contribute to socioeconomic inequity.

The literature review shows that both academic and nonacademic factors influence both completion of remedial coursework and completion of first year in college. It introduces research on a variety of strategies for increasing completion and persistence for underprepared students. …

Being There: A Grounded-Theory Study Of Student Perceptions Of Instructor Presence In Online Classes, William G. Feeler

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of experienced individual online students at a community college in Texas in order to generate a substantive theory of community college student perceptions of online instructor presence. This qualitative study used Active Interviewing and followed a Straussian grounded-theory design to guide the collecting and coding of interview data in order to identify emerging categories and generate substantive theory. The researcher collected data through interviews with 16 online students, all of whom had taken at least four online courses at a community college.

A constant comparative analysis of the data generated …

The Road To Pomp And Circumstance For Ell Students: The Perceived Ambivalent Schooling Experience Of Ell Students With Mexican Ancestry In An Urban Midwestern High School, Kristine M. Sudbeck

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Perceptions of high school faculty and staff members about the graduation outcomes of English language learners of Mexican ancestry were explored. Throughout the course of one semester, observations were made and field notes taken in classrooms and other school locations. Interviews were conducted with 25 faculty/ staff members and 7 students, all of whom were former or current English language learners of Mexican ancestry. The author used a mixed methods strategy; interviews were coded for themes to assess qualitative data, and SPSS was used to analyze quantitative data. Faculty/staff perceived the top three indicators of whether or not an ELL …

Incorporating Environmental Stimuli Into The Service Profit Chain In A Retail Grocery Context: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach., Treasa Kearney

Doctoral

Several theoretical contributions are highlighted; firstly that employee environmental stimuli construct contained five sub-factors, these were termed, E-design, E-music, E-lighting, E-olfaction and E-layout. This highlights the complexities of the environmental stimuli for employees. Furthermore this research found a significant direct link between employee environmental stimuli and employee satisfaction. Considering the literature examining the effects of environmental stimuli on employee behaviour is astonishingly scant (Skandrani et al., 2011), this is an important contribution to several literature streams. Secondly, examining a global configuration of the environmental stimuli can provide a fuller framework for understanding and exploring customer and employee behavioural responses. In …

Aesthetic Qualities Of Websites And Their Effects On Public Perceptions Of Agricultural Issues And Organizations, Chase Tyler Hundley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to evaluate perceptions of agricultural issues and organizations based on how information is presented visually in websites. Researchers intended the results to be used to help the agricultural industry more effectively communicate information through better website design and increased persuasiveness. The study was conducted through the use of three focus group sessions as mapped out by Krueger (1998a, 1998b, 1998c) and Morgan (1998a, 1998b). The study used non-agriculture students purposively selected from a class in the University of Arkansas School of Human Environmental Sciences as participants in the study. The subject demographics closely resembled the primary demographics …

Beyond Neighborhood Play: Factors That Predict Child Civic Engagement, Tracy Waters

All Dissertations

This study utilized a unique mixed methodology to examine perceptions of neighborhood characteristics, independent mobility, and child civic engagement among 101 child-caregiver dyads. Children between the ages of 7 and 13 years completed a neighborhood walk with a member of the research team, identifying neighborhood boundaries, taking pictures of important places, and explaining their day-to-day activities. Responses from a written survey and neighborhood observations complimented the neighborhood walk data. Results revealed that spatial neighborhood and independent mobility did not vary significantly by age or gender. However, spatial neighborhood and independent mobility were positively related to several child and caregiver measures …

Factors That Predict Hispanic/Latino Entrepreneurs' Intentions To Use Thirteen Entrepreneurial Behaviors, Rosanna Saladin-Subero

All Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine what attitudinal, normative, and control beliefs most significantly predicted Hispanic business owners' intentions to engage in 13 entrepreneurial behaviors. In 2011, Hispanic business owners from five cities in Greenville Country, South Carolina were invited to participate. Only owners of for-profit business that had been in operation for a year or more participated. Seventy four Hispanic business owners were interviewed or completed an online survey.
Aizen's Theory of Planned Behavior (1980, 1991, 2002a, 2002b, 2006) was used as the framework for constructing a survey to examine stated intentions, and concomitant attitudes, norms, and …

Effects Of Red Raspberry On Doxorubicin Chemotherapy Induced Neurotoxicity, Ran He

All Dissertations

Chemotherapy is a widely used treatment for cancer, with significant side effects including cognitive impairments that affect patients' quality of life. Red raspberries are known to inhibit growth of cancer cells with recent research suggesting the ability to also protect neurons. If this protective ability can be confirmed, red raspberry may emerge as a promising natural intervention for cognitive impairments associated with chemotherapy. In addition, many studies have linked cognitive functions to epigenetic mechanisms postulating that transient reprogramming of epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, is required for some basic neuronal/cognitive functions.
The objective of this dissertation is to study …

Exploring Group Cohesion In A Higher Education Field Experience, Brian Malcarne

All Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to gain understanding into the experience of group cohesion for university students participating in an academic field experience. A mixed methods approach was used following a two-phase, sequential research design to help provide a more complete explanation of how group cohesion was impacted by the field experience. The sample consisted of 112 undergraduate students involved in a 3-day academic field experience. The initial quantitative phase gathered pre- and post-test data on group cohesion using the Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ) modified for an academic context. Findings demonstrated significant positive change in the domain of social …

The Effects Of The Environmental Design Instruction On The Students' Gymnastics Skill Refinement, Han Chen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The study compared the effects of Direct Instruction (DI) with DI+Environmental Design Instruction (EDI) on the refinement of both simple and difficult gymnastics skills refinement. Four boys aged six to eight with two years of gymnastics training experiences participated in the simple skill experiment (running tuck jump on the springboard). Four boys aged 11 to 13 with more than three years of gymnastics training experiences participated in the difficult skill experiment (mushroom circles). Three dependent variables were measured in the experiment of running tuck jump and they were: (1) the participant's hip angle while they jumped at the highest point, …

Evaluation Of A Practice Change To Improve Screening, Identification, And Management Of Patients With Prediabetes, Murrita C. Bolinger

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Background: The prevalence rate of type 2 diabetes among adults in West Virginia (WV) is 10.85, which ranks fourth in the United States in 2007. Furthermore, WV ranks as second highest state for diabetes related deaths in the nation. Prediabetes increases the risks for development of type 2 diabetes. Studies have supported lifestyle modification education for prediabetic adults in an effort to reduce progression to type 2 diabetes.;Objective: To evaluate the use of an EMR reminder to improve the screening, identifying, and documentation of treatment plans for patient at risk for prediabetes.;Methods: A provider focused education session was offered to …

Mindfully Teaching In The Classroom: A Literature Review, Nicole J. Albrecht, Patricia M. Albrecht, Marc Cohen

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The practice of mindfulness is being used with increased frequency in schools around the world. In the current literature review we outline some of the core concepts and practices associated with mindfulness and discuss studies analysing the process of mindfulness teacher training. Preliminary research in this emerging field suggests that mindfulness has the potential to improve classroom management, teacher-student relationships and instructional strategies. Mindfulness instructors recommend that before teachers can feel comfortable and effectively teach mindfulness in the classroom they need to embody and practice mindfulness in their own lives. It is proposed that in order to improve our knowledge …

Prospective Teachers' Comprehension Levels Of Special Relativity Theory And The Effect Of Writing For Learning On Achievement, Ali Yildiz

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In the present study, the comprehension levels of special relativity theory in prospective teachers who take the Introduction to Modern Physics lesson in the faculty of education science teaching department and the effect of writing for learning on their achievement is researched. In the research, a control group pre-test post-test quasi-experimental research model was used. Research data were obtained by using open-ended questions prepared by the researcher. The lesson was conducted in the beginning by using the verbal-written explanation method. Then each student in the experimental group wrote a summary which clearly explains the special relativity theory for a high …

How Do Early Childhood Students Conceptualize Play-Based Curriculum?, Avis Ridgway, Gloria Quinones

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The study’s purpose was to discover student understanding of play-based curriculum. Traditionally, play has been misunderstood in pedagogical terms, and was widely interpreted in our study. The Early Years Learning Framework suggests educator guidance in sustaining play is essential for learning and development. As teacher educators, we wanted to reflect on Play and Pedagogy (A new fourth year unit) that expected students to create a conceptual play model for use in practice. Twenty-six students volunteered de-identified assignments. From these, common conceptual elements were identified. We selected quotes from student’s work to support identified concepts and entered a methodology of dialogue …

A Professional Experience Learning Community For Pre-Service Secondary Mathematics Teachers, Michael S. Cavanagh, Thomas Garvey

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper reports the development and implementation of a collaborative professional experience learning community for a group of nine pre-service secondary mathematics teachers. The pre-service teachers and their methods lecturer made 12 school visits over one academic year to a local secondary school. The pre-service teachers observed and co-taught problem-solving lessons in two Year 8 classes. They discussed the lessons with the teacher and the university lecturer, and later posted reflective comments to an online forum. Data from questionnaires, interviews, and reflections indicate that participation in the learning community helped pre-service teachers make stronger links between theory and practice, learn …

Ambient Intelligence With Wireless Grid Enabled Applications: A Case Study Of The Launch And First Use Experience Of Wejay Social Radio In Education, Helen Patricia Mckenna

School of Information Studies - Dissertations

Wireless grid and ambient intelligent (AmI) environments are characterized as supportive of collaboration, interaction, and sharing. The conceptual framework advanced for this study incorporated the constructs of innovation, creativity and context awareness while offering emergence theory -- emergent properties, structures, patterns and behaviors -- to frame and investigate a wireless grid enabled social radio application which was theorized to be potentially transformative and disruptive. The unintended consequences and unexpected possibilities of wireless grid and smart environments were also addressed.

Using a single case study, drawing upon multiple data collection methods, this research investigated the deployment and use experience of …

Exploring Healthcare Simulation As A Platform For Interprofessional Education, Janice Christine Palaganas

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Interprofessional education (IPE) is gradually recognized as essential to patient safety and implemented as a standard for healthcare education through professional organization recommendations and accrediting bodies. Given the increasing adoption of experiential and team-based learning, healthcare simulation (HCS) has become a preferred vehicle for IPE. As healthcare professional educators explore simulation as a platform for IPE, a need to better understand the state of the science has become apparent. This descriptive comparative study examines how the most commonly used simulation modalities and IPE teaching methods (low-technology versus high-technology; multiprofessional versus collaborative team-based activities; observational versus active methods; standardized patients versus …

A Paradigm For Surviving Severe Macro Economic Disruption: The Promethean Life Engagement Practices Framework, Larry G. Straub

Student Scholarship

Unemployment is rapidly becoming an American epidemic of social, political and economic crisis, even more so for “at risk” groups such as older workers. This study focuses on issues and factors surrounding chronic under-employment, unemployment and even un- employability of our older workforce in America. As the American “social contract” i.e. Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security are under enormous strain; much will be at stake as America deals with how social, societal, political, educational, legal and economic institutions handle this very complicated and multi-facetted issue... answering the question... “Will Americans over 50 be our next lost generation?” This study analyzed …

Developing Leadership Talent In Family Businesses: Embracing Risk Or Playing It Safe, Stephen P. Miller

Student Scholarship

On-the-job experiences are emphasized as powerful developers of leadership talent in leadership and family business literature. Our qualitative study of 37 family business leaders from mid-market privately held family firms found that it is not just having experiences but the nature of those experiences that determines whether or not authentic leadership talent is actually developed, particularly in next-generation family enterprise leaders. The "family effect," the extent to which actors in a family firm embrace risk in the development of nextgeneration leaders, is identified as central to the development of leadership competencies. We propose a conceptual framework with four factors that …

The Power Of Systemic Fraud: Implications For The Fraud Triangle From The Professional Investing Community, Joseph Wall

Student Scholarship

Fraud is a powerful tool for profit in organizations and for individuals. Professional investors control more than half the world's GDP and continue to commit fraud at an increasing scale which threatens entire countries and regions. Auditors utilize the framework of the fraud triangle for detection and deterrence. However, when fraud is systematic, both become challenging. Literature is silent concerning the lived experiences of the professional trading community, and there is a paucity of knowledge regarding fraud within it. Semi-structured interviews with 31 professional investors yielded insights into how fraud functions. Our analysis suggests that while opportunity and capability hold …

Adversary To Ally: A Relational Approach To Shifting Buyer Paradigms, Donald P. Addison Ii

Student Scholarship

Scholarly literature supports the notion that businesses benefit from long term collaborative relationships with trading partners, yet arm's length, adversarial relationships between buyers and sellers persist. Although scholarly research provides insights regarding conceptual and operational aspects of buyer-seller collaborations, very little has been published concerning the preparation or activities that lead into collaborative relationships. To address this gap this study conducted research involving semi structured interviews with buyers and sellers to understand how collaboration evolves in buyer seller relationships. Of specific interest is how buyer seller relationships, characterized by fear of opportunism and guarded behavior, transition to collaboration characterized by …

The Use Of Two Indicators Of Market Value-Added And Return On Capital Invested In Measuring The Performance Of The Iraqi Banking Sector, Shihab Aldin Hamad Alnuaimi

Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences

For a long time, the intensification of profit represented a major goal for the company management ,but this goal confirmed a series of restrictions such the constriction on short period, the time rather than on long and medium strategic goal, the relationships with customers ,the supplies, employees , This goal is replaced by another one (intensification of the company's value) ,and the fortune of the share holders itself ,for the purpose of creating value, the company must generate great outcomes to cover the operating expense and to insure the a suitable compensation to the invested capital (the market value added) …

The Effect Of Emotional Intelligence Competences And Transformational Leadership On Organizational Performance An Investigation Study At Al-Rafidain Bank, Ghani Dahham Alzubaidi, Bilal Kamel Awda

Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences

The research deal with three variables of exceptional importance to organization business firms. These variables are emotional intelligence, transformational leadership, and organizational performance. The aim of this research is to determine the effect of emotional intelligence and transformational leadership on organizational performance at the banking sector, which is represented by Al-Rafidain Bank. The problem of the research is expressed by many questions related with the nature of the interrelationships and effects among research’s variables. The researcher has depended upon the descriptions - analytical approach. on a random sample of (80 ) managers working at more than sixteen branches of Al-Rafidain …

The Impact Of The Dominions Of Mindfulness On The Organizational Innovation “Descriptive Analytical Study In Some Faculties Of The University Of Baghdad”, Asmaa Taha Nouri

Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences

Research seeks to test the impact of the dimensions of mindfulness on organizational Innovation, proposed in the light of the review literature on two variables of the research, which referred in General to the dynamic relationship between them, as result of weakness of mindfulness as one important factor driving the diversity of innovation and time, ways to sustain and preserve and then support innovations made by creators, weakness in the overall level of organizational Innovation, this represents the problem research, data collection over designing identification, distributed to sample Formed from (30) head Department at a number of colleges of the …

The Effect Of Transformational Leadership In The Employee’S Motivation In The Organizations, Alia Jawad Mohammed

Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences

The transformational leaderships in all organizations considerMotivations policies which isone of the main and basic policies adapted by the successful leadershipsin all organizations, in order to be able to achieve essential goals, such as enhancing loyalty of employees towards their organizations and also developing and empowering their capacities and abilities in work, leading to development and increasing productivity and reducing production costs to the minimum, then reaching immense profits and benefits, in addition to development of excellence inthe market of competition. The research was performed in the (General Company of Leather Industries/ in Baghdad,in alkarada) the study reached to many …

Hopeful Measures: Characteristics Of Hope At A Community College, Thomas C. Priester

Education Doctoral

Snyder’s Hope Theory defines the construct of hope as the “sum of perceived capabilities to produce routes to desired goals, along with the perceived motivation to use those routes” (Snyder, 2000, p. 8). Hope is a tenant of positive psychology that can be used to measure personal as well as academic potential (Seligman, 2002). In fact, Lopez (2009) claims that “hope predicts GPA and retention in college, and hope scores are more robust than high school GPA, SAT, and ACT scores.” Researchers have measured the relationship between hope and academic performance in college students at four-year, baccalaureate degree granting institutions …

The Critical Elements In The Development, Implementation, And Evaluation Of An Anti-Bullying Policy For School Districts, Dwight Bonk

Education Doctoral

The issue of bullying has become prominent in public schools and leads to an unsafe environment for learning. Due to the increased public concern regarding bullying and its impact on student safety and learning, states have been forced to develop legislation to address bullying behaviors. This study determined the necessary components in the development, implementation, and evaluation of anti-bullying policies in schools based on input from key stakeholders. Surveys were distributed to school superintendents and elementary and secondary principals in Dutchess County, New York to determine their rankings of the most important components or processes for inclusion in an effective …