Digital Commons Network^™

Predictors Of Academic Success Between On-Track And Off-Track Students In A Mexican University, Jesus Francisco Hinojos

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The main purpose of this study was to assess how predictors of quality of academic effort relate to academic success and student persistence of on-track and off-track students in a higher education institution in Northern Mexico; to investigate the relationship of pre-entry attributes,

family background and academic success as expressed by GPA among on-track, off-track and dropout students. And to examine the relationship between participants quality of effort invested in their own learning and development in six academic areas and four areas of college students' social activities.

This study utilized the College Student Experience Questionnaire (CSEQ) to determine the quality …

The Effect Of Co-Witness Information And Individual Differences In Cognitive Abilities On The Suggestibility Of Pre-School Children, Rachell Leanne Jones

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Despite nearly 25 years of research, psychologists are still learning new ways in which various demographic, psychological, social, and cognitive factors contribute to child suggestibility. Numerous facets of each area have been studied independently, but as a field, it is becoming apparent that suggestibility is also affected by complex interactions between these various components (Scullin, Kanaya, & Ceci, 2002). The current study investigated several forensic interviewing techniques and psychosocial and cognitive factors that were hypothesized to influence child suggestibility. One hundred children were randomly assigned to five interview conditions after viewing a live event. The supposed statements of a co-witness …

Motivations For A Source To Resist An Interrogation: Consequences To The Self Versus Consequences To An Other, Julia Labianca

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The current research investigated the effect of situational and dispositional factors on a source's decision to confess guilty knowledge of another's actions to an interrogator. The extant literature suggests that potential consequences to the self are a major motivator for decisions to confess or resist an interrogation. Previous research also suggests that the potential consequences to the other person may also influence a source's motivations to confess guilty knowledge. Additionally, personality measures related to interdependence versus personal independence (collectivism and individualism) and individual loyalty may also influence a source's motivations to cooperate with or resist an interrogation. However, few experiments …

Method Development For A Chemical And Biological Analysis Of Glucocorticoids In Wastewater, Maria Carmen Lozano

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Glucocorticoids are a class of steroid hormones that can either be produced synthetically or naturally by the adrenal glands. The synthetic glucocorticoids are highly prescribed in the United States for their anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive properties to treat a variety of ailments and diseases; however, these have been implicated in a number of adverse human conditions such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, immune-suppression, delayed puberty, adrenal insufficiency and Cushing Syndrome, among others. Ongoing research has shown that synthetic and natural hormones are transported to aquatic environments via mammalian excretion or wastewater effluent, and as a result, the release of glucocorticoids into the …

Complexity Of Affective Disposition And Reflective Transphenomenality: An Exploratory Study Of Middle School Mathematics Teacher And Student Self-Positioning And Positioning-By-Others Toward Mathematics, Mathematics Teaching, And Learning, Ruby Lorilee Lynch-Arroyo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the mixed methods study was to examine the phenomenon of transphenomenal simultaneity between teacher and student disposition that contributed to the phenomenological conflict of teacher self-positioning and positioning-by-others toward mathematics, mathematics teaching and learning. The intent was to provide a view of self-reported and observed middle school teacher and student experiences in mathematics, based on the analysis of affective dispositional characteristics within the context of its complexity.

There is evidence that documents a relationship between teacher and student disposition, but to what extent and encompassing what characteristics and factors has not been sufficiently substantiated. Beyers (2011) identified …

In-Situ, Integrated U-Pb, Hf And O Isotopic Study Of Igneous, Metamorphic And Detrital Zircons. Implications To Crustal Evolution And Geodynamics, Munazzam Ali Mahar

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Zircon data from South Karakoram gneiss dome provide evidence for Proterozoic inherited cores (1.8-1.9 Ga and 2.3-.2.5 Ga) surrounded by migmatitic overgrowth with ages ranging from ~6 to ~20Ma. Oxygen isotopic data of Neogene migmatite and inherited core is similar and indistinguishable ranging from 7.5 to 9.5 /. However, Neogene overgrowth is significantly less evolved than the inherited core in terms of Hf composition. This implies that the Hf composition of the migmatitic zircons is not controlled exclusively by the dissolution of the inherited cores and that contamination by external melts is likely. Isotopic data from the Baltoro plutonic unit …

Endocrine Disrupting Compound 4-Nonylphenol And Neurodegeneration, Jessica Martinez Jurado

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Neurodegeneration, a progressive loss of nerve cells (neurons), occurs in many neurological disorders including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Schizophrenia, and drug addiction. Cytoskeletal disruption in neurons and aggregation of proteins associated with these disorders is the hallmark of neurodegeneration. However, the cause of neurodegenerative disorders is unknown and currently there are no effective drug treatments. Aging is the most consistent risk factor for developing a neurodegenerative disorder, and recent evidence suggests that environmental factors, which act as endocrine disruptors, pose a risk in the disease process. 4- nonylphenol (4-NP), an endocrine-disrupting compound (EDC), has been shown to affect brain development …

Microstructure And Mechanical Properties Of Titanium Nitride Optical Coatings Made By Dc Magnetron Sputtering, Gustavo Martinez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Titanium nitride (TiNx) thin films were grown by DC (Direct Current) magnetron sputtering method onto Si(100) substrates by varying time of deposition to produce films with variable thickness (dTiN) in the range of 20-120 nm. The grown TiNx films were characterized by studying their structure, composition, and mechanical properties. Nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) combined with Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) analyses indicate that the grown films were stoichiometric TiN. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) measurements indicate that the texturing of the TiN films changes as a function of dTiN. The (111) and (002) peaks appear initially; with increasing dTiN, (111) becomes …

Cross-Border Mobility, Access To Healthcare Through Health Coverage, And Other Correlates For Utilization Of Healthcare Services Along The U.S.-Mexico Border, Krystal Martinez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

BACKGROUND: At the national level, Hispanics suffer from poor health coverage. This is amplified in Texas, which has the highest percent (26.3%) of uninsured individuals in the U.S., and further augmented in El Paso, TX. In some border states and counties, barriers to healthcare include medically underserved areas, low-income, and the recent immigration among the Hispanic population. Cross-border mobility has facilitated access to health services in Mexico. Despite this, there remain gaps in understanding utilization of healthcare services among Hispanics in El Paso, TX. AIMS & OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study are to: (1) describe access to healthcare through …

The Eolian-Sabkha Transition In The Permian Cedar Mesa Sandstone, Se Utah, Alexandra Massad

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study focuses on the depositional transition between the Permian Cedar Mesa sand dune sea and the adjoining fluvial, lacustrine, playa and a sabkha facies. This transition provides insights into how climate and environment interacted in this unique setting where up to 300 m of eolian sands transition into evaporites. The evaporites are less common as tongues within the eolianites than previously thought and there were several environments that were observed that haven't been previously described or observed in the Cedar Mesa. The arrangement of the various units within the study area support the climate control on stratigraphy.

The intertonguing …

Investigating The Validity Of A Survey Intended To Gauge Mathematics Problem-Solving Disposition Along The Impulsive-Analytic Dimension, Miguel Mendoza

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study investigates the validity of the Likelihood-to-Act (LtA) survey developed to assess respondents' problem-solving disposition along the impulsive-analytic dimension. Sixteen pre-service teachers were strategically selected from a pool of 495 LtA survey respondents to participate in a semi-structured task-based interview approximately one hour in length. The interview consisted of three main parts: a problem solving section, a consistency section, and a classification section.

* Part 1 of the interview was developed to get interviewees to solve five open-response problems meant to elicit an impulsive response. Interviewees were also asked to verbalize their thought process in order for the researchers …

The Effect Of A Barefoot Running Training Program On Running Economy And Performance, Neil James Baroody

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

The Personal, Political, And The Virtual? Redefining Female Success And Empowerment In A Post-Feminist Landscape, Linda Elizabeth Chardon

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

A History Of Peer-Led Team Learning, 1990-2012, A.E. Dreyfuss

Publications and Research

From Workshop Chemistry in 1991 at the City College of New York, CUNY, to implementation in other disciplines and development of Peer-Led Team Learning and its Six Critical Components, this paper reviews the contributions of faculty at a variety of higher education institutions to the dissemination and growth of PLTL as a successful model of student engagement with the position of the student Peer Leader.

A Systematic Approach For Human Communication, James Wilmot Jensen

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Family Factors And Perceived Coworker Support And Supervisor Support, Sara Narveson

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines how aspects of family formation relate to coworker support and supervisor support. Studying both coworker support and supervisor support is valuable because they can give us a glimpse of how different people feel about the workplace. Using the theoretical perspective of homophily, which focuses on how people prefer to interact with others who are similar to themselves, it was hypothesized that people who are married or who have children will perceive more coworker support and supervisor support than others. The data set of the 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce was used. It contained 3,368 cases …

An Investigation Of Gender's Role In Three- And Four-Year-Old Children's Musical Play, Kari Jo O'Keefe

Theses and Dissertations

Young children engage in many activities, with play being the most prominent. Musical play occurs when children freely investigate sound through vocal, instrumental, or other means. Identifying the extent of musical play - and the role that gender plays in musical play - may provide important information about children's natural tendencies.

The purpose of this study was to investigate gender's role in three- and four-year-old children's musical play, and to investigate further the general nature of musical play. A grounded theory methodology was used, and data was gathered from field and individual child observations, and parent and preschool teacher surveys. …

Effects Of The Seed Bank And Interseeding In Reconstructed Tallgrass Prairies, Stephen C. Rossiter

Theses and Dissertations

Disturbances such as fire and mowing temporarily increase available resources for plants, opening a window of opportunity for establishment. During the recovery of vegetation after disturbance in remnant prairies, seedling establishment is often negligible compared to vegetative regrowth. It is unclear if this is the case in reconstructions. I tested the contribution of seedlings to diversity after disturbance in two, 25-year-old, low diversity reconstructed prairies by removing seedlings, allowing seedlings, and adding seed in 1 m2 plots. Disturbance frequency effects were tested by clipping each treatment zero, one, or multiple times. After two growing seasons, in the wetter field site, …

Mennonite Music Education In Southern Manitoba: A Descriptive Study Of Mennonite Collegiate Institute And Steinbach Christian High School, Troy Landon Toavs

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe and compare the music programs at Mennonite Collegiate Institute (MCI) founded in 1889 and Steinbach Christian High School (SCHS) which has its origins in Steinbach Bible College founded in 1936. The Kanadier, Mennonites who came to Manitoba in 1874 (e.g., Kleine Gemeinde and Bergthaler), had previously rejected part-singing in Russia. However, they became more open to part-singing after they came to Manitoba. The Bergthaler in Gretna helped establish MCI. The Mennonite Brethren (MB) and Evangelical Mennonite Brethren (EMB) were influential in promoting choral music among the Kleine Gemeinde in Steinbach. Steinbach Bible …

Pregnancy, Sexism, And The Greek System, Taylor Marie Walkky

Theses and Dissertations

Both hostile and benevolent sexism have been found to correlate with attitudes related to pregnancy (Terrell et al, in prep). Benevolent and hostile sexism have both been shown to correlate with attitudes towards sorority members as well (Walkky, unpublished). The goal of the present study was to expand on the knowledge of how sexism relates to pregnancy attitudes, especially how it relates to sorority membership. Participants read a scenario about a college woman, who was either in a sorority or not, who had just discovered that she was pregnant. In the scenario, she chose to either end the pregnancy, continue …

Carbon Farming In Wa, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia, Department Of Regional Development And Lands, Western Australia

Natural resources published reports

Fact sheets:

1. Applying biochar to improve soil quality and crop productivity

2. Reducing methane emissions from cattle using feed additives

3. Cattle breeding for lower greenhouse gas emissions

4. Managing genetic codes to reduce methane emissions from cattle

5. Managing pastures and stocking rate to reduce methane emissions from cattle

6. Claying as a method of increasing soil carbon content

7. Green and brown manuring as part of carbon farming

8. Permanent environmental plantings to earn carbon credits

9. Nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural soils

10. Sheep genetics in methane reduction

11. Managing sheep pastures to reduce methane production …

Tbi And Long-Term Competitive Employment As A Function Of Services Provided By Vocational Rehabilitation, Natasha Dawn Adamson

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: Research has demonstrated the importance of vocational rehabilitation (VR) for individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) who seek competitive long-term employment. Unfortunately, there has been minimal research on the provision of services provided by VR as a moderating factor, and almost non-existent research for individuals in rural regions. Research in this area is crucial given that the services are provided as a way to increase the individual's likelihood of overcoming barriers to gaining employment. Therefore, this study focused on individual's diagnosed with TBI who are clients of North Dakota's Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) and the connection between services …

The Effect Of Birth Order On Age At First Sex And Total Number Of Lifetime Sexual Partners, Lacey Christine Clark Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

Research in the field of birth order is expansive and has been used to explain many social processes, including the sexual behavior of young adults. However, results regarding the influence of birth order on risky sexual behavior are somewhat limited, sometimes contradictory, and often lack generalizability to larger populations. In this thesis, using

data from the National Health and Social Life Survey (1992) and multiple regression techniques, I investigate the influence of ordinal position on two measures of sexual behavior,age at first sex and total number of lifetime partners, among young adults age 18 to 30. Results show that birth …

Josephson Currents In Two-Gap Superconductor-Insulator- Superconductor Junctions, Ladan Bahrainirad

Theses and Dissertations

As a way to investigate the transport property of superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) junction with two-gap superconductors such as MgB2 and iron superconductors, we study the microscopic structure of the Josephson current in a tunnel junction with a very narrow quasi-classical barrier. Also, the possibility of mid-gap states in two-gap superconductor is investigated, and their effects on the current-phase relation as well as the current density characteristics are studied. In the SIS break junction, mid-gap states appear at the Superconductor-Insulator interfaces due to an abrupt change in the superconducting order parameter, indicating that the two-gap superconductor SIS junction can yield a rich …

The Impact Of The Perceptions Of Fathering On Adult Children's Emotional Well-Being And Satisfaction With Life, Abraham John Bilyeu

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to examine how perceptions of one's father figure impacted reported levels of depression, anxiety, stress, alexithymia, and satisfaction with life. Participants reported that as negative perceptions of their father figure increased so did reported levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. Further, negative perceptions of one's father figure were negatively correlated with life satisfaction, such that as negative perceptions of father increased ones reported satisfaction with life decreased. Participant age was also positively correlated with perceptions of their father, whereas age increased, so did a positive view of one's father figure. When the Attitude …

Lovegods And Other Short Stories, Therese Borkenhagen

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a collection of four stories, which are all rooted in my Norwegian heritage. Two of the stories are historical narratives based on the German occupation of Norway, and the other two take place in an unspecified presence. The stories deal largely with familial relationship and abandonment, but also include themes such as illness, war, and sexuality. I employ a variety of writing styles, inspired by, but not limited to, authors such as Franz Kafka, Erlend Loe, Ernest Hemingway, and Miranda July. I also experiment with time, language, and cultural references. Along with my stories, I am including …

Experimental Investigation Of The Effect Of Turbulence On Slot-Fed Film Cooling Adiabatic Effectiveness And Downstream Heat Transfer, Mitch Busche

Theses and Dissertations

Modern turbine designers are greatly concerned with power out and the efficiency of their engines. One way to increase the power output and effectiveness of the engine is to increase the hot gas temperature inside the combustion chamber. The hot gas can reach a temperature that exceeds the physical limitations of parts inside the engine, causing the parts to fail prematurely. One possible method to cool the parts is with the use film cooling. Film cooling takes cool air from the compressor, bypasses the combustor, and ducts the air to internal chambers of parts, and then ejects the cool air …

It's In Minnesota's Nature: An Exploration Into Building Social Capital Through Place Branding, Alyssa Michelle Chandler

Theses and Dissertations

Place branding is a growing practice in communities worldwide. While much academic research has been conducted on the subject, the majority is directed toward the study of tourist perceptions. Research on those living in a branded community is limited. Therefore, this study seeks to explore how a place brand could build or strengthen social capital among residents of a location through a shared representation of a community's identity. A case study was conducted in Grand Rapids, Minnesota where 30 residents were interviewed from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. Through the lens of the seven community capitals, discussed in Flora and Flora (2009), …

A Country Of Giants, Benjamin Mace Greenlee

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis, A Country of Giants, consists of four short stories which explore the borderland between youthful innocence and adult understanding. This borderland is often considered in "coming of age" tales, a literary genre that investigates the growth of youthful characters. Through my four stories I examine themes including a loss of innocence, claiming one's identity, independence, and sexual understanding. In addition to those themes I present situations where adults lose their experiential understanding, digressing into a more innocent and uninformed state. I tend to write realistic stories, and it is my hope this use of realism develops well-rounded characters …

The Influence Of Television And Film On Interest In Space And Science, Katrina Marie Jackson

Theses and Dissertations

Entertainment media has the great potential to inspire interest in the topics it presents. The purpose of this study is to better understand how entertainment media contributes to people's interests in space and science. There is a huge variety of science communication topics in previous literature, some of which deals with television and film, but very little that specifically study how television and film can inspire interest. A historical review of pioneers in the space industry shows that many were inspired by entertainment media, which at the time consisted of science fiction novels and magazines. In order to explore the …