Digital Commons Network^™

Predictors Of Motivation To Participate In Whitewater Kayaking, Jon Evans

All Theses

Whitewater kayaking has grown in popularity over the past two decades (NSRE, 1994; NSRE, 2000). Because of this growth a better understanding of participants motivations could assist vendors, programmers, and decision making bodies for the future of the sport. The intent of this study is to explore the differences between the demographic variables age, sex, and skill level on the motivations to participate in whitewater kayaking. A secondary purpose was to assess the differences between the basic psychological needs (i.e., autonomy, competence, and relatedness) and motivation to participate in the sport of whitewater kayaking.
Whitewater enthusiasts were recruited from across …

Procuring And Tracing Produce From Small- And Medium- Scale Farmers For Use In Institutional Foodservice Operations In Nc, Sc And Ga, Anita Nunnelley

All Theses

In response to concerns about an increasingly globalized food system in the United States, and increasing interest in the connections between small- and medium-scale (SMS) farms and institutional foodservice operations (IFO), the U.S. has recently developed legislation to link farmers to institutional markets (Joshi, Azuma, & Feenstra, 2008; Poulton, Dorward, & Kydd, 2010; USDA, 2010; Wootan, 2012). The purpose of this study is to determine if these connections are viable, sustainable and ultimately if the food is safe for consumption in the IFO. There are significant logistical, contractual and food safety concerns when sourcing food for IFOs from SMS farms. …

Examining Middle School String Students' Sight Reading Processes, Natalie J. Deen

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to document, analyze the strategies and techniques being used, and explore the feelings and perceptions often sixth-grade string students while individually sight-reading over the course of 11 weeks. The students were presented with a five lesson unit on sight-reading that focused on different musical elements and presented the students with strategies and techniques to be used as a class and during individual tests. Each student took the Watkins-Famum Performance Test, form A as a pretest and posttest to the unit. Between lessons, each student took an individual sight-reading test which reflected the musical element …

Women's Use Of Violence: An Ecological Systems Model, Sara Byczek

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Does Inconsistent-Handedness Lead To A Better Memory Or Does A Better Memory Lead To Inconsistent-Handedness?, Emily K. Carris

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

The purpose of the study is measure the effect of handedness and hand use on memory for how specific tasks were performed. The hypothesis of the present study is that inconsistent-handers will have better memory than consistent-handers for the hand or hands they used to perform tasks. Data analysis was preformed on 30 inconsistent-handers and 45 consistent-handers, as classified by the modified Edinburg Handedness Inventory. Tasks were performed in five different hand-use conditions: always left, usually left, no preference, usually right, and always right. The results were that both consistency of handedness and hand use had an effect on memory. …

The Effects Of The 2007-2009 Economic Crisis On Global Automobile Industry, Xue Bai

Applied Economics Theses

The automotive industry had been severely affected by the tightening of credit caused by a subprime-lending crisis in the United States starting in the mid 2000's. Demand for automobiles had fallen sharply all over the globe, and sales plummeted to a three-decade low in 2011. This caused serious repercussions, and the damage spread all over the world. It was only with government assistance that the automotive industry quickly recovered after the recession.

This paper, will study the relationship between the global financial crisis and the automotive industry. It will focus on US car manufacturers as they are affected the most. …

Why Are There So Many Diverse Holocaust Museums?: A Journey Through The Holocaust Museums Of Five Nations, Marjorie E. Carignan

History Theses

Holocaust museums around the world are unique in their respective missions, funding, architecture and exhibitions. Some of these distinctions are extreme, leaving museums seemingly opposites of each other. To better understand these diversities, this thesis analyzes Holocaust museums in France, Germany, Poland, Israel and the United States. Through analysis, unique facets in many basic areas of the museums can be found, with many of these being affected by which country the museum is in. By seeing what museums choose to include and leave out, we are able to see what parts of the Holocaust could use more attention and how …

Dating Violence Policy: Making The Grade, Richard Hoefer, Beverly Black, Mashooq Salehin

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Dating violence rates affect an unacceptably high percentage of youth. This paper tests a model to understand the considerable variation in state dating violence policy comprehensiveness. Independent variables in the model are state political culture, partisan control of political institutions, prevalence of dating violence, and median household income. Bivariate results show partial support for preliminary hypotheses. Regression analysis indicates that strength of Democratic Party control of governmental institutions is the only variable in the model that achieved statistical significance. Implications and recommendations for future research are provided.

Ghosts Of The Mind: The Supernatural And Madness In Victorian Gothic Literature, Stephanie F. Craig

Honors Theses

The Victorian era was arguably the most productive time for the Gothic genre. Laden with supernatural experiences and insanity around every corner, the Gothic created a distinct genre of eeriness and morbidity. The key to understanding the genre’s development lies in the culture that caused it to thrive. Victorian culture saw the emergence of supernatural experimentation, particularly in the Spiritualist movement, as well as the further development of psychology. These elements of Victorian culture are crucial in the development of the Gothic genre. Just as political or economic factors may influence the style, content, and format of a literary genre, …

A Systematic Literature Review Of Household Food Security And Overweight/Obese Status Among Low-Income Children, Meaghan A. Clark

Honors Theses

A systematic literature review approach was used to determine the extent of knowledge regarding low-income children’s BMI and household food insecurity. Recommendations were made for impending research, studies, and practices regarding the consensus of current knowledge in relation to low-income children with higher BMIs that come from a food insecure household. Current studies were analyzed, with special attention to methods and findings.

Implementation Challenges And Training Needs For Comprehensive School Counseling Programs In Wisconsin High Schools, Alan W. Burkard, Mark Gillen, Michael J. Martinez, Sarah L. Skytte

College of Education Faculty Research and Publications

The data from this study details the challenges to implementing comprehensive school counseling programs in Wisconsin high schools. Results suggest that current professional development training practices may be ineffective in assisting high school counselors to implement key components of the ASCA National Model in their schools. This article discusses obstacles to conducting more rigorous, statewide evaluations, and describes connections to markers of student success.

A Comparison Of Student Success By Faculty Qualifications, Kristine A. Garner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Providing the best qualified faculty to ensure the most successful student outcomes is a priority in higher education. The use of adjunct faculty in colleges and universities is continually increasing, especially for lower level courses. Previous research has come to conflicting conclusions regarding the quality of adjunct faculty. Indicators of student success were compared between part-time instructors with professional doctoral degrees and full-time instructors with academic doctoral degrees. Results of statistical analyses of both a comparison of final grade distributions and knowledge of course content determined that there were no significant differences between two comparable groups of students in a …

Investigating The Sensitivity Of Goodness-Of-Fit Indices To Detect Measurement Invariance In The Bifactor Model, Jam Khojasteh

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A Monte Carlo simulation study was conducted to evaluate the sensitivities of five commonly used goodness-of-fit indices to detect metric invariance properties of the bifactor model. The fit indices that performed the best in terms of power were Gamma and Mc. In addition, Gamma, Mc, CFI, and RMSEA all held Type I error to a minimum. However, only Gamma and CFI are recommended to use in the bifactor model because the other GOF indices have cutoff values that are too large. For Gamma and CFI values of -.026 to -.045 and -.004 to -.009, respectively indicate a lack of metric …

What Is The Participant Learning Experience Like Using Youtube To Study A Foreign Language?, Yuan-Hsiang Lo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research is to explore and understand participants' experience using YouTube to learn a foreign language. YouTube and learning has become more and more popular in the recent years. The finding of this research will be adding more understanding to the emerging body of knowledge of YouTube phenomenon. In this research, there are three interviews and two questionnaires. The interviews are conducted to find in-depth responses from participants; the questionnaires are used to inquire demographic and basic information about the participants. There are twelve themes found in this research. These themes reflect on the perceived experience using YouTube to learn …

The Lived Experience Of The Parents Of High School Dropouts: A Phenomenological Study, Christine Ann Silano

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to describe the experiences and perceptions of parents whose children did not receive a high school diploma. This subpopulation has been rarely studied. The central question is, "What are the perceptions and experiences of the parents of public high school dropouts as they pertain to schools, their children, and themselves?"

This phenomenological study examined the lived experience of the parents of high school dropouts. Five women and one man participated in the study by sitting for interviews. The collected interview data was transcribed and analyzed using qualitative methodology including open and axial coding as …

Preparedness To Implement Wellness Strategies: Perceptions Of School Counselors, Tena Burnett

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to survey school counselors to determine their knowledge and perceived preparedness to implement wellness strategies in school counseling programs. Wellness plans are a requirement for thousands of public school districts in the United States. There are no established standards for the training of school counselors in the area of wellness. School counselors are in a unique position to positively impact students through the use of wellness programs and strategies. School counselors from a mid-south state (N = 156) completed an electronic survey to measure how they implement wellness strategies and their perceived preparedness in …

Effects Of Computer Assisted Tier Ii Interventions By Gender On Math And Reading Achievement For Remediated Students, Kathi (Lutz) Sweere

College of Education Dissertations

Response to Intervention (RtI) is a current reform initiative being examined by educators, politicians, and proponents of differentiated education. RtI has tiers of intervention designed to meet the various academic needs of all students. RtI has been developed as an educational methodology to increase student achievement through various problem-solving techniques, through the implementation of specific interventions based on each student’s individual needs, and through data-based decision making regarding the interventions used. The implementation of RtI requires schools to shift current educational paradigms of how services are delivered to students.

This quantitative causal comparative study compared the effectiveness of PLATO alone, …

Best Practices To Make Online Learning An Advantageous Tool For Students With Specific Learning Disorder, Sanchi Kalra

Intersections Fall 2020

Online education has been prevalent for years, but with the spread of the Covid-19, it became the most viable option for students all over the world. Out of these students, an estimated 15-20% of them show signs of what the Fifth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders describes as Specific Learning Disorder (SLD). Students with SLD experience difficulties with learning and using academic skills such as reading, writing, and mathematics. These difficulties are independent of intelligence. Over the past two decades, SLD has also been referred to as dyslexia or a learning disability. While adapting to …

Self-Esteem And Suicide In Adolescents, Sidney Brannam

Intersections Fall 2020

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among the adolescent population worldwide. The period of adolescence is a critical time of change and growth, and is especially important in the development of self-esteem. Self-Esteem is defined as the individual's subjective evaluation of her or his worth as a person. Positive view of the self is generally associated with successful work, relationships, and health. Some factors that may lead to a negative view of the self are stressful life events and changes and relationships. Self-esteem becomes more stable and more difficult to change in adulthood; therefore, it is critical to …

The Deliberate Integration Of Creativity Into Strategic Planning, Laura A. Ryan

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

The Deliberate Integration of Creativity into Strategic Planning

The purpose of this project is to explore the deliberate use of creativity in strategic planning. A framework for strategic planning and metacognition tools aligned with each phase is posited. In addition, a bifurcation of the process is suggested in order to engage in strategic innovation where groundbreaking initiatives are warranted. Creative culture and the make-up of creative teams are also addressed.

The Social, Cultural, Psychological, Organizational And Physical Environments In The Workplace: A User Guide On Creativity., Deborah L. Schultz

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

The purpose of this project is a user guide for managers in any organization regarding the Social, Cultural, Psychological, Organizational and Physical Environments in the Workplace: A User Guide on Creativity. A workplace environment is a crucial part of the organizations success. Organizations who understand the role of emotions will significantly improve their ability to explain and predict their employee’s behavior. Mood has importance significances for a workplace environment. The social environment can stimulate creativity through offering a sense of positive challenge in the work; work teams that are collaborative, diversely skilled, and idea-focused; freedom in carrying out the work …

Human Centered Design Approach To Mentoring, Jennifer Lynn Potratz

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Design Thinking is quickly changing from a model of designing products to becoming known for human centered design. This change has occurred with the work of companies like IDEO, who strive to bring about change to non-profits in socially innovative ways. With this knowledge, more people are utilizing Design Thinking in new and challenging ways. This project serves to use Design Thinking and human centered design to assist in the ongoing challenge of youth who age out of the foster care system by creating a lesson plan to teach foster care and adoption agencies effective ways to recruit mentors and …

Directional Tonality In Schumann's Early Works, Benjamin K. Wadsworth

Faculty Articles

Beginning and ending a work in the same key, thereby suggesting a hierarchical structure, is a hallmark of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century practice. Occasionally, however, early nineteenth-century works begin and end in different, but equally plausible keys (directional tonality), thereby associating two or more keys in decentralized complexes. Franz Schubert’s works are sometimes interpreted as central to this practice, especially those that extend third relationships to larger, often chromatic cycles. Robert Schumann’s early directional-tonal works, however, have received less analytical scrutiny. In them, pairings are instead diatonic between two keys, which usually relate as relative major and minor, thereby allowing Schumann …

A Model Of Resilience In Children At Risk For The Development Of Anxiety., Matthew David Hartman Schrock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Anxiety is a common and debilitating disorder in children. Until recently, research in the field of child anxiety has focused on the identification of specific risk factors in the development of child anxiety. More recent studies have begun to explore more complex models of the etiology of child anxiety, but most still focus on the interplay of risk factors. Studies examining the development of child anxiety should focus on the confluence of vulnerability, risk, and protective factors to provide a more complete picture of the development of child anxiety. The current study reviews current conceptual and empirical research to propose …

Associations Between Self-Esteem And The Forms And Functions Of Aggression In A Community Sample Of Youth, Miklós Balázs Halmos

Senior Honors Theses

The purpose of the current study is to examine the association between self-esteem and the forms and functions of aggression. Research supports the existence of four aggressive subtypes (i.e., reactive overt, reactive relational, proactive overt, and proactive relational), and past research has found associations between aggression and self-esteem. However, past studies have not examined the relationships between all four subtypes of aggression and self-esteem together. 141 adolescents were recruited from the community with a mean age of 13.55. The sampled group was composed of 51% females and 52% Caucasians. Participants completed self-report questionnaires on self-esteem and aggression. The results provide …

Methods For Speculatively Bootstrapping Better Intrusion Detection System Performance, Sunny Fugate

Computer Science ETDs

During the last three decades, the designers of computer IDSs have been continuously challenged with performance bottlenecks and scalability issues. The number of threats is enormous. The performance of ID systems depends primarily on the quantity of input data and complexity of detected patterns. During noisy attacks, system load tends to increase proportional to increasing data rates, making ID systems vulnerable to flooding and denial-of-service attacks. Unfortunately, the number, type, and sophistication of threats is quickly increasing, outpacing our ability to detect them. The more we try to detect, the more computing and economic resources must be reserved solely for …

"Leadership Is Behaving And Acting Like A Leader": A Narrative Exploration Of The Life Stories Of Three Latino Leaders In Healthcare, Kevin L. Flores

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

There is a dearth of Latino leaders holding executive positions in healthcare. The purpose of this study was to provide a privileged platform for the voice of Latino leaders in healthcare who, by definition, emanated from a marginalized population. This study began with the assumption that the stories of Latino leaders were different than leaders of the majority population due to their ethnicity. Latino critical theory asserts that concepts like leadership need to be viewed through an ethnic lens. The overarching question that guided this study was: What do the stories of three Latino leaders reveal about their development as …

Effects Of Website Environmental Cues On Consumers’ Response And Outcome Behaviors, Eunju Yoon

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Mehrabian and Russell (1974) developed the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model in environmental psychology. This model is used to examine the effects of physical stimuli on human emotions and response behaviors. The development of the Internet and electronic commerce has spurred interest in online shopping research. The S-O-R model has been applied widely to examine consumers’ emotions and responses towards online website stimuli (Eroglu, Machleit, & Davis, 2001; Eroglu, Machleit, and Davis, 2003; Menon & Kahn, 2002; Richard, 2005).

The main objective of this study was to examine the effects of website environmental cues on the consumer’s affective (i.e., hedonic attitude) and …

Which Study Method Works Best? A Comparison Of Soar And Sq3r For Text Learning, Sarah C. Kasson

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

One hundred thirty-eight college students participated in a study comparing the SOAR (Select, Organize, Association, Regulate) and SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review) study systems to each other and to students’ preferred study methods. Though both systems have been researched independently, just one other study has compared these study systems to each other. College students were assigned randomly to one cell of a 2x2 factorial design (method: SOAR or SQ3R; material: supplement or no supplement) or to a preferred-study-method control group. Groups were trained in their respective system (SOAR, SQ3R, or control) and then given materials about educational measurement to …

Making Room For Formative Assessment Processes: A Multiple Case Study, Rob Mcentarffer

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This qualitative instrumental multiple case study (Stake, 2005) explored how teachers made room for formative assessment processes in their classrooms, and how thinking about assessment changed during those formative assessment experiences. Data were gathered from six teachers over three months and included teacher interviews, student interviews, participant-observation notes, videos of classroom experiences, and classroom artifacts. These data were analyzed using a category construction method (Merriam, 2009) that involved open coding, axial coding, and finally a cross-case analysis that grouped axial codes according to themes relating to the two research questions. Four case studies describe the process of co-created work with …