Digital Commons Network^™

Teacher Training On Teaching Students With Dyslexia, Jeanné M. Colson

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Dyslexia is a central educational issue that teachers are facing today; it is important that teachers receive specific training on how to meet the educational needs of students with dyslexia in their classrooms. The purpose of this study was to determine the amount of training that teachers have received, if there was a correlation between grade level and training, and if teachers have a desire for additional training. The main focus of the literature review includes an overview of dyslexia including the history and sign and symptoms. There was also an emphases on the dyslexia in the classroom, including teacher …

The Effect Of The Love And Logic Program On Student Motivation, Courtney V. Coffin

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

This study evaluates the effect of implementing the classroom management program Love and Logic in small, middle and high school science classrooms. It focuses on science classrooms from seventh grade to twelfth grade in a small, rural district. The student population includes large percentages of white and Hispanic individuals, with a smaller percentage of Native American individuals as well as a large percentage, over 60%, of socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals. There were five cohorts, divided by type of science class and age, and the intervention was implemented by a multiple baseline across behaviors method. The cohorts were seventh grade life science, …

Symptoms In Early And Long-Term Breast Cancer Survivors Who Have Completed Primary Therapy, Faith Strunk

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Background

Many breast cancer survivors continue to have single or multiple symptoms after they have completed primary cancer therapy. The quantifiable, subjective experience of multiple symptoms and their impact is defined as symptom burden. Previous research has focused on symptoms during primary therapy or shortly after completion of treatment.

Objectives

Our study objectives were to determine whether symptom burden differed according to survivor status (early as opposed to long-term survival) and/or use of endocrine or hormonal adjuvant therapy. We hypothesized that there would be no difference in the symptoms expressed among early- and long-term survivors.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study, …

A Systems Approach To Countermeasures In Credibility Assessment Interviews, Nathan Twyman, Ryan M. Schuetzler, Jeffrey Gainer Proudfoot, Aaron Elkins

Information Systems and Quantitative Analysis Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

Countermeasures, or techniques for hiding guilt during a credibility assessment examination, have long been an important topic in cognitive psychology and criminal justice fields. With recent IS research on automated screening systems, understanding the potential for countermeasures in this new paradigm is of increasing importance. This paper reports on a large experiment examining countermeasures in an automated deception detection screening context. The effectiveness of traditional countermeasure types (mental and physical) are examined, as well as an exploratory approach of trying several countermeasures at once. The exploratory approach was tested to investigate a proposed novel systems-inspired solution to countermeasures—triangulating on deception …

Alumni Earning Doctorates, The Mcnair Team

McNair Scholars Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Reviews — The Color Of Christ: The Son Of God And The Saga Of Race In America, By Edward J. Blum And Paul Harvey; Christology And Whiteness: What Would Jesus Do? Edited By George Yancy, Diana L. Hayes

Journal of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium

No abstract provided.

Presidential Versus Vice Presidential Home State Advantage: A Comparative Analysis Of Electoral Significance, Causes, And Processes, 1884-2008, Christopher J. Devine, Kyle C. Kopko

Political Science Faculty Publications

This article compares the electoral significance, causes, and processes associated with presidential versus vice presidential home state advantages. Our analysis of presidential election returns from 1884 through 2008 demonstrates that presidential candidates generally receive a large, statistically significant home state advantage. However, vice presidential home state advantages are statistically negligible and conditioned on the interactive effect of political experience and state population. Furthermore, the results indicate that the mobilization of new voters primarily accounts for presidential home state advantage, while vice presidential home state advantage is mainly due to the conversion of existing voters. Although home state advantages do occur …

Development Of A Control Banding Method For Selecting Respiratory Protection Against Bioaerosols, Jacques Lavoie, Eve Neesham-Grenon, Maximilien Debia, Yves Cloutier, Geneviève Marchand

Rapports de recherche scientifique

La sélection d’un appareil de protection respiratoire contre les bioaérosols peut s’avérer une tâche complexe compte tenu de l’absence de valeurs limites d’exposition et de données toxicologiques, ainsi que des limites des techniques d’échantillonnage actuelles et de la grande diversité des bioaérosols. Dans ces circonstances, une méthode qualitative d’évaluation et de gestion du risque fournit une alternative aux méthodes quantitatives utilisées en hygiène du travail. Ce rapport propose un modèle de gestion graduée du risque pour le choix de la protection respiratoire contre les bioaérosols infectieux et non infectieux applicable à l’ensemble des milieux de travail et s’adressant aux hygiénistes …

A Qualitative Study Of Medical Student's Structured Narrative Reflection On An International Conference For An Incurable Genetic Disease, Jun-Yi Sim, Ching-Yuan Chang, Hwan-Wun Liu, Shao-Yin Chu

Journal of Medical Education

Background: Service learning offers medical students opportunities to develop social accountability and positive relationships; however, it remains underused in Taiwan. Purpose: This study explored student reflections on their experiences during the Third Asia Pacific Mucopolysaccharide Disorders Conference, a 2-day 1-night international conference, during which they served as interpreters and caregivers. Methods: Qualitative data analysis was conducted using structured open-ended questionnaires and student journals of ten fifth and sixth grade medical students who voluntarily participated in the study. Independent thematic analysis was performed using methods proposed by Cresswell and Miller. Results: Three themes emerged from qualitative data analysis: students learned social …

Implementation Of Explicit Scaffolding With Key Features Of Critical Thinking Changes Medical Students' Perceptions Of Pbl In A Hybrid Curriculum, Mei-Ling Tsai

Journal of Medical Education

Background: Coexistence of both lecture- and problem- based learning (PBL) in a hybrid curriculum can create confusion in learners' minds and lower learning effectiveness. Objective: To gauge whether or not implementing explicit scaffolding with critical thinking skills into a PBL course was an effective approach for better learning in the hybrid curriculum, we evaluated student perceptions of PBL in the hybrid curriculum and critical thinking skills in the PBL process after implementation. Methods: Fourth-year medical students taking Pathophysiology in 2009-2012 at National Cheng Kung University were included in this study. Critical thinking skills were embedded in the 6-step PBL discussion …

The Effect Of An Empathy Training Program In A Medical School In Taiwan, Molly Hsieh, Yi-Hsuan Wang

Journal of Medical Education

Background: Communication skills is one of the core competencies for medical education. Empathy is an important element for building up good doctor-patient communications. The purpose of this study was to understand the effect of an empathy training program on enhancing performing empathy in a medical school in northern Taiwan. Methods: Equivalent pre-post test design was applied to the study. One hundred eight freshmen participated in this study. Students were divided into four classes, which then assigned them into two groups, either an experimental or control group. Participants in the experimental group received eight weekly sessions of 100-minute communication skills trainings. …

Stressors Perceived By Physicians In Taiwan: A Focus Group Interview, Yen-Yuan Chen, Ming-Been Lee, Shih-Cheng Liao, Chia-Ming Chang

Journal of Medical Education

Purpose: The workload and working time of health care workers have become a critical issue in Taiwan, and attracted a lot of attention not only from health care workers, but also the general public as well as health care authority. Few studies investigated the stressors that physicians encounter in their daily clinical practice in Taiwan. This study aimed to investigate the stressors that physicians perceive. Methods: We conducted a qualitative study using focus group interviews to examine the stressors. Criteria sampling was used based on the following criteria: (1) having an experience of clinical practice for more than four years; …

Defying Binaries: A Critical Examination Of 'Old' Versus 'New' In The Art Of Pablita Velarde And Helen Hardin, Jenna M. Kloeppel

Art & Art History ETDs

Santa Clara painter Pablita Velarde and her artist daughter, Helen Hardin, are often discussed in both popular and academic literature as being representative, respectively, of two very different artistic traditions. Velardes art is commonly viewed as very much a product of her Dorothy Dunn-trained Santa Fe Studio background, and Hardin is seen as an avant-garde, wholly innovative artistic force representative of the generation of Native artists more aligned with the anti-Studio philosophies of the Institute of American Indian Arts, which was developing as Hardin was beginning her career in painting. This thesis will examine the modes of representation that have …

General Anesthesia And The Importance Of Smoking Cessation, Katie R. Pence

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the known consequences of cigarette smoking, one third of the population of industrialized countries continue to smoke (Rodrigo, 2000). Cigarette smoking alters nonnal physiologic function of the cardiac and respiratory systems and increases risks in the perioperative period for general anesthesia. Systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials have reached the following conclusion: smokers who stop smoking four to eight weeks prior to a scheduled surgery are less likely to develop complications post operatively. Eight weeks of smoking cessation prior to anesthesia is considered to be optimal. Smokers have been noted to possibly need increased analgesia, sedatives, and non-depolarizing muscle …

Anesthetic Considerations For Phantom Limb Pain, Robert B. Kari

Theses and Dissertations

Title: Anesthetic Considerations for Phantom Limb Pain

Background: Phantom limb pain (PLP) is a phenomenon where pain develops or is perceived in a body part that has been removed. With the prevalence of peripheral vascular disease secondary to diabetes, amputation rates are expected to increase in the next decade. Chronic pain syndromes such as phantom limb pain are difficult to manage and treat

Purpose: The purpose of this project is to detennine if preemptive analgesia for limb amputation is effective in the prevention of PLP

Process: A comprehensive review of the literature was perfonned using multiple …

Adjust Decision-Making Targets Based On Psychological Thresholds, Jian Liu, Shun Xiang Wu, Si Feng Liu, Qiao Wang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper study the impact of psychological thresholds (PTs) on the decision maker's (DM's) decision target when making decision. A new approach of decision making is proposed in this paper. First, we construct criterion expected functions according to three different types of criteria: profit type, cost-type and intermediate-type, respectively. Then, we calculate the local degree of satisfaction (LDS) of each object when PTs exists, in order to adjust the initial decision target to make up new decision table. Later, by weighting the criteria reaching the DM's degree of satisfaction (DS) along with information aggregation algorithm, we obtain the overall satisfaction …

Lexical Retrieval In Discourse: An Early Indicator Of Alzheimer’S Dementia, Seija Pekkala, Debra Wiener, Jayandra Himali, Alexa Beiser, Loraine Obler, Yulin Liu, Ann Mckee, Sanford Seshadri, Philip Wolf, Rhonda Au

Publications and Research

We examined the progression of lexical-retrieval deficits in individuals with neuropathologically determined Alzheimer’s disease (AD; n=23) and a comparison group without criteria for AD (n=24) to determine whether linguistic changes were a significant marker of the disease. Our participants underwent multiple administrations of a neuropsychological battery, with initial administration occurring on average 16 years prior to death. The battery included the Boston Naming Test (BNT), a letter fluency task (FAS) and written description of the Cookie Theft Picture (CTP). Repeated measures analysis revealed that the AD-group showed progressively greater decline in FAS and CTP lexical performance than the comparison group. …

A Solution Hiding In Plain Sight: Special Education And Better Outcomes For Students With Social, Emotional, And Behavioral Challenges, Yael Cannon, Michael J. Gregory, Julie Waterstone

Faculty Scholarship

This Article will contribute to the ongoing dialogue about special education and the IDEA in two ways. First, it will describe patterns that have emerged from our work with individual children and families that shed light on how common IDEA implementation failures increase the risk of poor outcomes for students with social, emotional and behavioral challenges. Critiques of the law and proposals to amend it should be grounded in an understanding of exactly how and why it is falling short of meeting its promise to these children. Our hope is that mapping the common implementation failures we have seen in …

Perceptions Of Student-Teacher Relationships And Ged Completion: A Correlational Study, Melissa Hairston

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study took an in depth look at student-teacher relationships as one institutional barrier affecting GED completion among adults. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of student-instructor relationships, specifically Instructor Connectedness and Instructor Anxiety, and its effects on adults seeking GED completion. Data from approximately 120 students who attended classes for at least 20 hours at the Regional Learning Center were surveyed using the Student-Instructor Relationship Survey in Portsmouth, Virginia. A quantitative design utilizing correlational statistics to produce Pearson's r was used to determine if correlations existed among Instructor Connectedness and Instructor Anxiety with the following …

Service V. Presence: Implementation Of The Ministry Of Service In The Military Chaplaincy - A Receptivity And Feasibility Study, Mark Tinsley

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In Spring 2012, a new ministerial paradigm for the military chaplaincy was proposed in a thesis entitled “The Ministry of Service: A Critical Practico-Theological Examination of the Ministry of Presence and its Reformulation for Military Chaplains.” Known as the “ministry of service,” this new paradigm was heralded as a potential replacement for the current presence-ministry model that has guided military chaplains for decades. The purpose of the current research project is to determine the receptivity of this proposed paradigmatic shift among Army service members, analyze strengths and weaknesses of implementing a new ministry model, and verify if procedures and administrative …

Instructor Interaction As It Relates To Facilitation Of Spiritual Development Within An Evangelical Institution: A Case Study, Joseph Butler

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to understand the impact of instructor interaction on the facilitation of spiritual development in an online environment for undergraduate non-religion majors attending a distinctively evangelical university. The qualitative case study shadows and evaluates three sections of a required introductory religion course. Over the period of one academic term, the following online interactions were observed in order to gauge potential facilitation of spiritual development: announcements, emails, forums, assignment feedback, and course content. An interview was conducted with the instructor following the course to understand how they engaged the course and their perspective in …

First Grade Teacher Perceptions Of A Character Education Program, Gina Skinner

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study will be to describe perceptions of first grade teachers at a north Georgia elementary school regarding a character education program. Although the debate continues as to who should instill our children with values, little documentation exists concerning how educators perceive their role as instructors of character. Many character education programs exist, and many schools have adopted their use. However, school systems are struggling with budget issues, and when deciding where funding may be cut, non-academic programs such as character education are often the first areas terminated. Yet, teachers appear to have little voice in …

Personality And Science Training As Predictors Of Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs, Holly Saint

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Various factors have been researched over the past decade related to teaching efficacy under NCLB. Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) guided this correlational study with 13 Alabama and 10 Tennessee public school districts to examine 114 K-4 teachers' personality measured by the Big Five Inventory (BFI) personality factors; science pre-service training and school-district professional development training measured by an unpublished Science Training Survey; and science teaching efficacy beliefs measured by the Science Teacher Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI). The BFI's personality factors and science training were examined in combination using a hierarchical linear regression in an eight-step model while controlling for …

Biblical Empowerment: The E3 Model Of Discipleship For Equipping Women For The World, Andrea Adams

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Young women spend years in the education system, but they often leave formal education without practical training that enables them to respond appropriately to life experiences. A biblically-based life-skills manual focused on practical training and holistic development will engage, equip, and empower women to honor God spiritually, physically, mentally, emotionally, relationally, and financially. Based on Proverbs 31 and supported by survey responses of women from various generations, the curriculum provides practical information that will benefit churches, universities, small groups, and/or mentoring relationships where women seek to follow a Titus 2 model of spiritual development.

“Someone’S Got To Do It” – Primary Care Providers (Pcps) Describe Caring For Rural Women With Mental Health Problems, Maria C. Colon-Gonzalez, Jennifer S. Mccall-Hosenfeld, Carol S. Weisman, Marianne M. Hillemeier, Amanda N. Perry, Cynthia H. Chuang

School of Medicine Publications

Objective: Little is known about how primary care providers (PCPs) approach mental health care for low-income rural women. We developed a qualitative research study to explore the attitudes and practices of PCPs regarding the care of mood and anxiety disorders in rural women.

Method: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 19 family physicians, internists, and obstetrician-gynecologists (OBGYNs) in office-based practices in rural central Pennsylvania. Using thematic analysis, investigators developed a coding scheme. Questions focused on 1) screening and diagnosis of mental health conditions, 2) barriers to treatment among rural women, 3) management of mental illnesses in rural women, and 4) ideas …

Gay, Lesbian, And Bisexual Students On Community College Campuses: Coming-Out And Self-Actualization, Adam L. Rockman

Education Doctoral

The purpose of this qualitative study was to provide an understanding of how gay, lesbian, and bisexual students on community college campuses come out regarding their sexual orientation and how their self-actualization is affected by coming out, using Maslow’s theory of human motivation as the main theoretical lens. This study was intended to provide best practices in serving these students to community college faculty, staff, and administrators, and was thus meant to benefit gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) community college students. In-depth interviews with nine self-identified GLB community college students were done to collect data. Findings from this study show …

The Case For Crimmigration Reform, Mary Fan

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Good Old Age: Experiencing A Satisfying Life, Kaitlin Thimann

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The definition of successful aging has been changing, however, there is a lack of current studies on existing aging trends and how to experience a good old age. The purpose of this study is to identify and describe themes and factors that can lead to an individual experiencing a good old age. This study is a qualitative, exploratory ethnography in which interviews were used to gather information on a good old age from adults aged sixty-five and older. The study revealed that there were several common factors throughout the interviews. Physical and mental health, social support, and financial stability are …

Clinical Research Challenges: Insight From A Pilot Study At An Academic Healthcare Center, Gretchen E. Maurer

PCOM Biomedical Studies Student Scholarship

An investigational clinical research study was conducted at an academic healthcare center evaluating memantine as an adjunct to opioid therapy for treatment of chronic low back pain. The N-Methyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA) receptor is located in pain signaling neuronal synapses of the central nervous system. The receptor binds the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate in addition to NMDA, to increase the magnitude of the perception of pain. Memantine (Namenda©) is a highly tolerated NMDA receptor antagonist which is currently prescribed in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The purpose of the non-randomized pilot study without placebo was to evaluate the use of adding memantine as …

Tick Toxic: The Failure To Clean Up Tsca Poisons Public Health And Threatens Chemical Innovation, Kristen Ekey

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.