Digital Commons Network^™

Is Conflict A Factor In A Population's Quality Of Life? A Comparative Study Of University Students In The Palestinian Territories And Jordan, Yara Asi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As nearly one third of the world's population lives in an area that is in some way touched by war, researchers have long been interested in the varied impacts of conflict on civilians. Many indicators, measuring both physical and mental constructs, have been assessed in war-torn populations from around the world, one of which is health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The occupied Palestinian Territories (oPt) are one region in which copious research on health indicators has been undertaken in an effort to understand how long-term conflict manifests itself in noncombatant populations. However, existing studies focus primarily on indicators within the …

An Investigation Of The Information Practices Of Education Doctoral Students, Corinne Bishop

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Academic libraries are increasingly re-envisioning their services to provide expanded outreach and segmented programming for specific user groups. Many academic libraries offer segmented services and programming for undergraduate groups such as first-year experience programs and general education programs. Currently, academic libraries are also identifying and expanding their services and programming to meet the unique needs of graduate groups. In conjunction with this focus, the roles of academic librarians are also expanding in the area of outreach. In essence, academic librarians are becoming more directly involved in aligning library services and programming with academic programs and promoting change within their institutions. …

Real People Acting Out Interpersonal Issues With Paper Representations, Gary Dufner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis body of work, I have interacted and collaborated with five friends to create images exploring human relationships. The subject matter illustrates my friends and myself acting out interpersonal issues with paper representations of one another. It has been my aim to represent my imagery in a campy thematic way. I include a discussion of the images in my body of work from both my perspective and the perspective of my models. The figurative paper images "stand in" as representatives of the genders of their subjects. I have explored multiple points of view, constructing, reconstructing and deconstructing complex …

The Influence Of Trait Anxiety On Information Processing: An Elaboration Likelihood Study, Michael Appelbaum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the influence of trait anxiety on information processing in persuasive situations, and investigated cognitive load as a mediator of this relationship. The research presented was based off DeBono and McDermott's (1994) framework for exploring trait anxiety and persuasion. The theoretical lens used to explore information processing, the elaboration likelihood model (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986) posits that motivation and ability are necessary components to elaborate on a message. However, very little research has addressed ability variables like trait anxiety. I predicted that students high in trait anxiety would be persuaded by the attractiveness of the source (peripherally) whereas …

The Class Appeal Of Marcus Garvey's Propaganda And His Relationship With The Black American Left Through August 1920, Geoffrey Cravero

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the class appeal of Marcus Garvey's propaganda and his relationship with the black American left through the end of his movement's formative years to reveal aspects of his political thought that are not entirely represented in the historiography. Although several historians have addressed Garvey's affiliation with the black American left there has not yet been a consummate study on the nature of that relationship. This study examines the class element of Garvey's propaganda from his formative years through his radical phase, tracing the evolution of his ideas and attributing factors to those changes. Garvey influenced and was …

#Isis: The Largest Threat To World Peace Trending Now, Annalise Lekas

Emory International Law Review

In this comment, Annalise Lekas urges that the international legal system must evolve to solve the largest threat to world peace, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The current system imposes strict territorial boundaries, inhibiting the armed intervention required to successfully combat terrorist organizations like ISIS. The United Nations Charter permits armed intervention in self-defense or collective self-defense and armed intervention sanctioned by the security counsel. However, Annalise Lekas argues neither mode allows States to defeat ISIS and instead, recommends that the Security Council, under its duty to maintain international peace and security, sets clear standards that allow …

Accreditation As An Organizational Response: Exploring The Influence Of Leadership And Institutional And Task Environments On The Accreditation Process In Communication Sciences And Disorders Programs, Jeffrey Charles Adams

Theses and Dissertations

Influences on the accreditation process in communication sciences and disorder (CSD) programs were examined using a cross case comparative qualitative analysis among four successfully accredited academic departments in the southern United States. Program chairs, CSD administrators, clinic directors and faculty were interviewed. Four institutional sites were selected for the case studies based upon the outcome of the program’s most recent accreditation site visit, the date of the accreditation site visit, number of available faculty, and institutional type. The four institutions included one master’s granting private institution, one master’s granting (larger) program, one doctoral/research medical university, and one doctoral/research university (very …

Isncc Palliative Care Position Statement, International Society Of Nurses In Cancer Care

General Submissions: Organizations - Position Statements, White and Resource Papers

The International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care (ISNCC) published a position statement on palliative care in October 2015. The purpose of this position statement is to (1) integrate a palliative approach into the comprehensive care of cancer patients, in accordance with need, (2) acknowledge and recognize the unique and critical role of the cancer nurse in assessing and addressing cancer patients' and their caregivers' palliative care needs, and (3) support cancer nurses to adopt an evidence-based, palliative approach to support cancer patients and their caregivers across the entire trajectory of illness.

2015, Camp Research Forum Book Of Abstracts, American Camp Association

ACA National Camp Research Forum Abstracts

This book includes 16 abstracts that will be presented at the 2015 American Camp Association (ACA) Research Forum to be held during the ACA annual conference in New Orleans, LA from February 3-6. Twelve of these abstracts have been grouped into logical areas and will be verbally presented in four sessions.

Perceptions Of Spiritual Formation Among Nontraditional Seminary Students, Jacob Dunlow

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Theological higher education is going through massive changes as a result of the technological changes in education. Many seminaries have gone from a strictly on campus option for students seeking a master's degree, to a variety of options available to students. Given this recent shift, research is needed to study the impact of these nontraditional means of education on the training of future pastors and church leaders.

This research was conducted with the purpose of studying students who choose to attend seminary through a nontraditional means of online, hybrid, and extension centers. Specifically, exploring the relationship between mentoring and the …

Using Robots As Therapeutic Agents To Teach Children With Autism Recognize Facial Expression, Seyedmohammad Mavadati, Huanghao Feng, Peyten B. Sanger, S. Silver, Anibal Gutierrez, Mohammad H. Mahoor

Electrical and Computer Engineering: Graduate Student Scholarship

Background: Recognizing and mimicking facial expressions are important cues for building great rapport and relationship in human-human communication. Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have often deficits in recognizing and mimicking social cues, such as facial expressions. In the last decade several studies have shown that individuals with ASD have superior engagement toward objects and particularly robots (i.e. humanoid and non-humanoid). However, majority of the studies have focused on investigating robot’s appearances and the engineering design concepts and very few research have been done on the effectiveness of robots in therapeutic and treatment applications. In fact, the critical question that …

Leisure And Life Satisfaction Among Tai Chi And Public Square Dance Participants In Hong Kong, Yechen Yao

Lingnan Theses

Public Square Dance, or Guang Chang Wu (GCW) is a form of group dance that originated from Mainland China and has emerged gradually in Hong Kong. Like the more traditional Tai Chi, GCW is popular among the middle-aged and older adults, and is carried out in public spaces. However, the two activities seem to be treated quite differently by both government authorities and the general public. The study aims to compare the physiological, social and psychological benefits of the two forms of exercise. It also seeks to explore whether and how social determinants affect people’s choice to participate in either …

2015 Nyar (Savannah) Program, Nyar (Savannah)

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

N/A

Differential Parenting And Parents' Perceptions Of Their Children: Can Attachment Help Explain This Relationship?, Meagan Mcswiggan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research has suggested that the differential experiences of children in the same family were often greater than those of children across different families. Although studies identified potential moderators (e.g., age, gender) associated with differential parenting, there has been less investigation of mediators. The current study examined attachment as a mediator in the relationship between differential parenting and parents' perceptions of their children. As part of this study, 132 culturally diverse mothers with children who ranged in age from 2- to 10-years rated how differently they treat their own children, their children's attachment, their parenting characteristics, and their children's functioning (i.e., …

Temperament, Emotion Regulation, And Distress Tolerance As Related Correlates Of Psychological Symptoms, Catherine Pearte

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have postulated that those with difficult temperament are at risk for difficulties with regulating emotions, are less tolerant of distressing stimuli, have characteristic difficulty coping with distress, and are (at some periods of development) more apt to experience clinically significant psychological symptoms. This study used exploratory factor analyses and structural equation modeling to compose and test a model that explained how emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and coping skills interact to explain how certain temperament features translate into psychological symptoms. Because those with difficult temperament were thought to be at a unique risk for psychological maladjustment, mean-based criterion were used …

Watch Me Disappear: Gendered Bodies, Pro-Anorexia, And Self-Injury In Virtual Communities, Leandra Preston-Sidler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project examines the relationship between gendered identities, virtual communities, and material bodies, with an emphasis on eating disorders and self-injury practices. The use of the internet to represent and foster particular categories of material bodies, such as the anorexic, the fitness buff, and the self-injurer, has gained substantial visibility due in part to the proliferation of visual imagery presented through social networks. I analyze written and visual texts within specific social networks to assess their function and potential impact on individuals and larger communities. Drawing from Donna Haraway's cyborg theory, N. Kathryn Hayles' posthuman, Judith Butler's performativity, feminist poststructural …

Social Media Responsiveness In The Public Sector: A Study Of Social Media Adoption In Three Functional Departments Of U.S. Cities, Daniel Seigler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Public administration research strongly supports the argument for administrator-citizen collaborations and shows that Web 2.0 social media tools have the potential to increase these collaborations. Some public managers have fully embraced the adoption of social media tools to their fullest collaborative potential while other managers have chosen to limit their full collaborative potential. This study examines four environmental influences to determine if they are the cause of the diverse levels of social media adoption among public administrators. A survey of 157 department managers from 261 large cities across the U.S. shows that 82% of the respondents are currently using some …

The Influence Of Stigma On Quality Of Life And Relationship Satisfaction For Prostate Cancer Survivors And Their Partners, Andrew Wood

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between stigma, quality of life (QoL), and relationships satisfaction for prostate cancer (PCa) survivors and their intimate and/or romantic partners. The investigator tested a theoretical model that stigma (as measured by the Social Impact Scale [SIS; Fife & Wright, 2000]) influenced QoL (as measured by the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy – Prostate [FACT-P; Esper et al., 1997] and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy – General Population [FACT-GP; Cella et al., 1993]) and relationship satisfaction (as measured by the Couples Satisfaction Index [CSI; Funk & Rogge, 2007]) for both …

Using Technology In The Treatment Of Selective Mutism: The Incorporation Of Mobile Applications, Brian Bunnell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Selective mutism (SM) is a diagnosis marked by withdrawal of speech in certain social situations. The treatment of SM is often a difficult and lengthy process and there are many barriers to successful intervention. Behavioral therapy is most effective in the treatment of SM and the addition of therapeutic activities such as games and mobile devices may provide distinct advantages to this treatment (i.e., decreased patient anxiety levels and more active engagement). The current investigation examined the utility of mobile applications during the behavioral treatment of SM as well as the effect of using mobile applications on child-reported and physiological …

Impact Of Interruption Frequency On Nurses' Performance, Satisfaction, And Cognition During Patient-Controlled Analgesia Use In The Simulated Setting, Kristi Campoe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Problem: Interruption during medication administration is a significant patient safety concern within health care, especially during the administration of high risk medications in nursing. Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) devices are frequently associated with adverse events and have a four-fold increased risk of patient injury compared to non-PCA related adverse events. While the nature and frequency of interruptions have been established for nurses* medication processes, the impact of interruption frequency on nurses* PCA interaction has not been fully measured or described. Purpose: The purposes of this study were to quantify the impact of interruption frequency on registered nurses* (RN) performance, satisfaction, and …

Examining The Social Interactions Of Young Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorders In A Virtual Environment, Jennifer Gallup

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study examined the social interactions during online game play in a virtual environment for five young adults with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who attended a large metropolitan university, enrolled in the first 60 credits of a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) field of study. Given the evolution of technology and opportunities to socialize in virtual communities, it is becoming increasingly important to understand how young adults with ASD assimilate into new social opportunities that provide supports for extraneous variables such as face-to-face situations. As research begins to emerge on virtual environments there is little research addressed …

A Formative Evaluation Of A Technology-Mediated Alternative To Traditional Study Abroad, Wendy Howard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if a proposed technology-mediated intervention is a viable alternative to traditional study abroad for those who are unable to travel. While technology cannot reproduce the same experience of traveling abroad, the primary objective of this study was to determine if there is value in using Web conferencing technology to provide students with access to the same opportunity to interact with international experts in the field as their counterparts who were able to travel. This formative evaluation is the first in a series of iterative studies aimed at developing a viable, sustainable, …

Essays On Marketing Strategies In The Context Of Interdependent Consumption, Minoo Talebi Ashoori

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of two essays in which I study the impact of two interdependent consumer behaviors, fairness concerns and exclusivity seeking, on a companys marketing strategies and profits specifically in a context where it tries to expand its clientele with the objective of generating repeat purchases, for example by running deals on daily deal platforms. In the first essay, I examine the impact of customers fairness concerns on the profitability of a company running promotions on daily deal platforms. With the prevalence of social media and the internet, information about such targeted promotions can become available to all consumers …

The Effect Of Virtual Simulation On The Development Of Basic Counseling Skills, Self-Reported Immersion Experience, Self-Reported Counselor Self-Efficacy, And Self-Reported Anxiety Of Counselors-In-Training, Olivia Uwamahoro

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is a high need for competent professional counselors because of the increasing number of children and adults presenting mental health concerns each year in the United States (National Institute of Mental Health, 2012). Counselor educators are tasked with the duty of preparing counselors-in-training (CITs) to be competent clinicians. In order for counseling professionals to be considered competent clinicians, they must demonstrate competence in three domains: (a) knowledge, (b) skills, and (c) behavior (ACA, 2014; CACREP, 2009). The goal of this study was to contribute to further understanding the most effective instructional approach to facilitating role play while instructing pre-practicum …

Five School District Mentor Models For Secondary Mathematics And Science Teachers In A Job Embedded University Teacher Preparation Program, Lisa Karcinski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mentoring was a component of the Resident Teacher Professional Preparation Program (RTP3), a Race to the Top (RTTT) program funded project. RTTT funded efforts reward states that have demonstrated success in raising student achievement and have the best plans to accelerate learning in the future (U.S. Department of Education, 2014). Five Florida school districts implemented different variations of the RTP3 mentor model and due to the unique needs of each school district, context differences in effectiveness may have emerged. The purpose of the study was to determine the differences among the five mentor models, the extent to which these differences …

Thinking Fast And Missing The Opportunity: An Investigation Into Cognitive Processing Style And Opportunity Recognition, Chaim Letwin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research on opportunity recognition and entrepreneurial cognition suggests that entrepreneurs are likely to use and potentially benefit from heuristics (Baron, 1998, 2004; Busenitz & Barney, 1997). Some heuristics, particularly well-refined and accurate prototypes, may be valuable to entrepreneurs in recognizing opportunities (Baron, 2004). I seek, however, to consider how other types of heuristics that lead to irrational, biased, and inaccurate judgments (e.g., the betrayal heuristic) relate to opportunity recognition (Baron, 2004; Kahneman & Lovallo, 1993). I specifically consider the underlying causal process through which the use of these types of heuristics diminishes the ability to recognize opportunities. I posit that …

The Effect Of Training Volume And Intensity On Improvements In Muscular Strength And Size In Resistance-Trained Men, Gerald Mangine

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The magnitude of improvements in muscular strength and size are influenced by the volume and intensity of a resistance training program. While it is clearly advantageous for resistance-trained individuals to utilize programming specific to these goals, it not clear which is more important. Therefore the purpose of the present investigation was to determine the effect of focusing on training volume versus intensity on changes in muscle size and strength. Changes in muscular strength and size were examined in 29 resistance-trained men following 8 weeks of resistance training. Participants were randomly assigned to either a high volume (VOL, n = 14, …

Compassion In Organizations, Regina Taylor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research on compassion in organizations has grown over the last decade, however, there is still a need for empirical work on the topic before we truly understand compassion and the various factors that influence it in everyday organizational life (Atkins & Parker, 2012; Dutton, Workman & Hardin, 2014). The purpose of this dissertation is to review the current literature on compassion in organizations and extend research on compassion by exploring potential moderators of the relationship between compassionate feelings and compassionate responses from potential compassion givers. The moderators under investigation are in the form of individual (i.e., moral identity, moral disengagement), …

Math Remediation For High School Freshmen, Kambiz Borhon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study is an attempt to address the problem associated with a high percentage of freshman students, at a private Christian high school in Florida, who either fail Algebra 1 or pass with a low percentage rate. As a result, these students either retake Algebra 1 or continue on—being inadequately prepared to successfully pass Geometry and Algebra 2. This study concentrates on the student background knowledge of mathematics, which is among the causes associated with this problem, and proposes remediation. As such, a mathematics remediation course is designed and implemented for a select number of incoming freshmen. This study includes …

Hmong Americans In Higher Education: Exploring Their Sense Of Belongingness And The Concept Of The American Dream., Janet Daugherty

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I conducted this study to examine Hmong American college students' perspectives on sense of belongingness and their idea on the American Dream. The college experience can serve as a precursor to improving the social and economic situation of the Hmong students when aligned with the personal desire to gain upward mobility and motivation to circumvent social and academic inconsistencies. The methodology of the study was designed for one-on-one phenomenological informal interviews with Hmong American college upper-classmen using a two-part interview protocol to elicit demographic and experiential information. Moustakas' approach to the analysis of data provided guidelines to review individual transcripts …