Digital Commons Network^™

Issues Of Online Distance Education: Learning Motivation Of Current And Prospective School Teachers, Anna Toom

Graduate School of Education Publications and Research

In this work, LM in three categories of students – motivated, unmotivated and overmotivated – was explored. Fifty graduate students, which were current and prospective school teachers and took the author’s online psychology courses in 2012-2013, participated in the study. The research methodology included developing the rules of coding students’ course work, designing the 100-scale of LM for representing their individual as well as collective data, and collecting info about students’ academic achievement in this course. According to the results, students’ LM has two co-existing components – pragmatic (grade-oriented) and cognitive (knowledge-oriented). Three mentioned categories of students differ in quantity …

A Study Of Students’ Orientation In The Virtual Classroom, Anna Toom

Graduate School of Education Publications and Research

One of the most important features determining successful adjustment and learning in the virtual classroom (VCR) is an individual’s ability to quickly, independently, and flexibly orient oneself in the new learning environment. It means grasping the idea of information-technological resources as well as the course organization with its academic, administrative, technical, and communicational requirements. In our pilot study, we investigated this ability of twenty five students enrolled in the author’s online psychology class in 2015. The research methodology included an analysis of the students’ preparation for their study and an evaluation of correlations of these data with students' previous online …

A Qualitative Analysis Of Graduate Sport Administration/Management Curricula Offered At Private And Public Institutions In Comparison To Cosma Requirements, Kristin E. Brown

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The evolution of sport and the factors that are influencing it, such as industry standards and external conditions, have challenged curricula in the area of sport. The number of sport administration/management programs has increased over the years to over 500 (North American Society for Sport Management, n.d.), which, in turn, has contributed to variation among higherEducation programs (Eagleman & McNary, 2010). Sport administration/management programs vary in core content, specializations,Educational philosophies, and ideologies (Eagleman & McNary, 2010; Jones, Brooks, & Mak, 2008). Ideologies underpinning the curricular structure are uncertain among graduate programs in sport administration/management. The information in this study was …

A Snapshot Of Successful Female Participants In A Drug Court Program With A Sub-Focus On Prescription Drug Abusers, Mallory E. Pugh

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study will identify characteristics associated with successful female participants in one of Indianas drug court programs. It will also provide a snapshot of the female prescription drug abusers within the program. Data was reviewed for participants in the VCDC program during a three year period (n=259) with a sub-focus on female participants (n=76) and a further look at the female prescription drug abusers (n=34). This study examined a wide range of self-reported and staff-reported variables including health insurance, prior attempts at treatments, criminal history, history of drug abuse, victimization, family history of substance abuse,Education level, and employment in order …

A Traves De La Experiencia: Son-Father Relationships In Mexican Migrant Farmworker Families As Seen By Sons, And Gatekeepers' Perspectives On The Families, Luis Romero

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this qualitative study, I focus mainly on the perspectives of sons, regarding their interactions and relationships with their fathers. The participants were 10 adolescents of Mexican descent, ranging in age from 12 to 17 years and belonging to migrant/seasonal farmworker families in the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas and the Panhandle of North Florida. In addition, five gatekeepers who worked with this population added their perspectives on the lives of these migrant/seasonal farmworker families. Using the paradigm of constructivism and a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data. Interviews were audio taped and transcribed verbatim. Data …

Clinician's Negative Attitudes Toward Borderline Personality Disorder: Implications For Diagnosis And Treatment Recommendations, Sarah Aldridge

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is a significant amount of stigma associated with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) among mental health professionals (Aviram, Brodsky & Stanley, 2006). Although gender has been found to influence attitudes towards psychological disorders (Wirth & Bodenhausen, 2009), findings concerning the effects of gender on the diagnosis of BPD have been inconsistent. Moreover, BPD is a heterogeneous disorder (Lewis et al., 2012), but little is known about the impact of BPD symptom presentation on diagnosis, treatment, or clinician attitudes. This study used a vignette methodology to examine the effect of clinician attitudes toward BPD, client gender, and BPD symptom presentation on …

Effect Of High Frequency And Low Frequency Tens On Pain Threshold And Pain Tolerance In Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis, Robert Vallandingham

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Effect of High Frequency and Low Frequency TENS on Pain Threshold and Pain Tolerance in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis Vallandingham RA, Valencia C, Demchak TJ, Idlewine T, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) is a portable modality that is currently used to reduce the pain from orthopedic injuries and other conditions. There is limited available literature that compares high-frequency TENS (HF-TENS) and low-frequency TENS (LF-TENS) to determine hypoalgesic effects. The aim of this study was to investigate whether HF-TENS and LF-TENS had a differential effect on pain threshold and pain tolerance in patients with knee …

Factors Influencing Parent Help-Seeking, Stephanie J. Murphy

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There exists a large disparity between children in need of mental health services and those that actually receive assistance. Previous research has identified many sociodemographic variables thought to contribute to this disparity (e.g., family income, marital status, child difficulty, parenting stress, parenting efficacy). More recent research suggests that cognitive factors may not only predict parent willingness to seek help, but may also predict which types of treatment interventions that parents prefer. Help-seeking research often focuses on perceived barriers/interest in receiving therapy services, and largely ignores assessment. The present study examined the extent to which parent attributions predict parent willingness to …

Emotional Intelligence And Its Effect On Juvenile Delinquency, Rex E. Hammond

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the role that emotional intelligence plays in the life of an adolescent is paramount in trying to ascertain success in life. As outlined by Salovey and Mayer (1990), emotional intelligence is broken into four subscales: perceiving, facilitating, understanding, and managing emotions. This study examines the impact that overall emotional intelligence, and each subscale of emotional intelligence, has on juvenile deviant behavior in one Utah school district. Using secondary data received from Lance (2003), 152 high school students, ages 14 to 18, were surveyed using three different questionnaires: a demographic survey, the Emotional Intelligence Inventory, and the Normative Deviancy Scale.

Examination Of Pre-Kindergarten Programming And Kindergarten Success In The State Of Indiana, Scott Allen Deetz

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. government appropriates billions of dollars each year to all states and territories in America through Head Start and Title I programs (Hurley, 2014). These monies are either solely dedicated to school readiness or can be used to narrow the readiness gap by the time the child is of school age. Even with this financial support, Indiana was still one of 10 states that did not contribute its own monies or provide guidance for implementing a statewide pre-kindergarten program (National Institute for EarlyEducation Research, 2014). Without governance at the state level, no certification requirements for program administrators or curricular …

Religious Fundamentalism, Problem Solving Style, And Psychological Well-Being, Joseph A. Creedon

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Religious belief serves an important role in the lives of many individuals. Religious affiliation has been associated with a number of benefits, including social support, a sense of purpose, and it may increase self-esteem and act as a protective factor against depression. Particularly when faced with adversity or in times of crisis, religious belief provides meaning and support for many people. However, some variations of religiousness have been suggested to be detrimental mental and physical health. For example, certain aspects of religious fundamentalism, such as the rigid, authoritarian structure and strict behavioral requirements, have been negatively associated with facets of …

Religious Social Support, Helping Behavior, And Negative Outcomes Following A Natural Disaster, Sadie Bindl

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Natural disasters have a widespread and enduring impact and are associated with a variety of negative consequences for individuals and families. The extensive impact of natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, pose a significant threat to the physical and psychological well-being of those experiencing loss of resources associated with the disaster. Protective factors, such as religious social support and helping behaviors, have been shown to guard against negative outcomes of extreme traumatic stressors. However, existing theories, such as the Conservation of Resources Theory, suggest that individuals will attempt to conserve resources to avoid further losses, reducing the likelihood of helping …

Predictors Of Vulnerability To Body Image Disturbance, Jyoti A. Kolodziej

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

More than 100 years of psychological research has demonstrated the importance of body esteem and the relationship between low body esteem and undesirable physical and mental health outcomes. Women and adolescent girls are more vulnerable than men and adolescent boys (Huenemann, Shapiro, Hampton, & Mitchell, 1966). In addition, Caucasians have been more prone to body image disorders (Brylinsky, 1990; Huenemann et al., 1966). Lastly, people with high exposure to Western medias thin ideals are more susceptible to low body esteem (Bell & Dittmar, 2011; Ferguson, Muñoz, Contreras, & Velasquez, 2011). For the purpose of this study, predictors of body esteem …

Teacher Involvement In Implementing State Personal Finance Mandates, Deanna Franklin

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined strategies teachers are implementing for personal finance instruction in answer to the state financial-literacy mandates in Central Texas. One-on-one interviews, focus groups, and document analysis found that teachers are relying on personal experience, community resources, and Internet resources to instruct in personal finance in absence of personal finance curricula. No data emerged that school districts were providing resources; however, administrators are willing to provide resources if they were available. Teachers are using a variety of creative methods to enhance personal financial literacy in the classroom. Sporadic in-service/professional-development opportunities were available to train teachers in personal financial-literacy instruction; …

An Examination Of Social Desirability Confounds In A New Ipsative Measure Of Murray's Psychogenic Needs, Lisa Harris

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

A reliable and valid instrument for the direct measurement of the relative strength of psychological needs is currently lacking. In response to this shortcoming, a new ipsative instrument, the Psychogenic Need Scale (PNS), is currently being developed; this is a 190-item forced-choice self-report measure that is based upon Murray’s psychogenic needs. For the development of a valid forced-choice instrument, it is critical to minimise the confounding effects of social desirability (the tendency for respondents to describe oneself in the most favourable light). Whilst other measures typically use specifically designed scales to detect social desirability confounds, this approach is unsuitable for …

Music In Site: Integrating Elements Of Site-Specificity Into Composition, Mace Francis

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Architectural spaces and their acoustic characteristics offer unique musical material for the compositional process. Acoustic and physical design features of unorthodox performance spaces can become part of works and their performances. This thesis examines ways to integrate acoustic characteristics of an architectural space into the compositional process, and discusses how different levels of site-specificity may be engaged in this process.

This research grew from an interest in composing music for the acoustic problems of performance spaces rather than trying to resist them, after a jazz ensemble performance in a large reverberant space. This led to exploring built environments that offered …

Training Load Quantification In Professional Australian Basketball And The Use Of The Reactive Strength Index As A Monitoring Tool, William Markwick

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Study 1: The intraday reliability of the reactive strength index (RSI) calculated from a drop jump in professional men’s basketball.

Purpose: To evaluate the reliability of the reactive strength index (RSI) and jump height (JH) performance from multiple drop heights with elite basketball players. Methods: Thirteen professional basketball players (mean ±SD: age 25.8 ± 3.5 y, height 1.96 ± 0.07 m, mass 94.8 ± 8.2 kg) completed 3 maximal drop jump attempts on to a jump mat at 4 randomly assigned box heights and 3 counter movement jump (CMJ) trials. Results: No statistical difference was observed between …

Towards An Online Ethnography Of Children's Virtual Worlds: A Review Of Current Literature And Research Methods, Ashley Donkin, Donell Holloway, Lelia Green

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The research around children’s use of the Internet has focused on some of the benefits and risks of online play, as well as the digital skills children require to use the Internet safely, particularly virtual worlds. These benefits, risks and digital skills have been examined in European studies, but minimal research attention has been given to young Australian children’s use of virtual worlds. Virtual worlds are simulated environments embedded with social network functions, which allow young children to explore and experiment with identity formation, interactive play and social networking. These Web sites for young children have become increasingly popular. Young …

Digitods: Toddlers, Touch Screens And Australian Family Life, Donell J. Holloway, Lelia Green, Kylie J. Stevenson

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Children are beginning to use digital technologies at younger and younger ages. The emerging trend of very young children (babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers) using Internet connected devices, especially touch screen tablets and smartphones, has elicited polarising opinions from early childhood experts.At present there is little actual research about the risks or benefits of tablet and smartphone use by very young children. Current usage recommendations, based on research into passive television watching which claims that screen time is detrimental, is in conflict with advice from education experts and app developers who commend interactive screen time as engaging and educational.

Editorial: Neural Implementation Of Expertise, Merim Bilalic, Robert Langner, Guillermo J. Campitelli, Luca Turella, Wolfgang Grodd

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

How the brain enables humans to reach an outstanding level of performance typical of expertise is of great interest to cognitive neuroscience, as demonstrated by the number and diversity of the articles in this Research Topic (RT). The RT presents a collection of 23 articles written by 80 authors on traditional expertise topics such as sport, board games, and music, but also on the expertise aspects of everyday skills, such as language and the perception of faces and objects. Just as the topics in the RT are diverse, so are the neuroimaging techniques employed and the article formats. Here we …

Development And Validation Of Australian Aphasia Rehabilitation Best Practice Statements Using The Rand/Ucla Appropriateness Method, Emma Power, Emma Thomas, Linda Worrall, Miranda Rose, Leanne Togher, Lyndsey Nickels, Deborah J. Hersh, Erin Godecke, Robyn O'Halloran, Sue Lamont, Claire O'Connor, Kim Clarke

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Objectives: To develop and validate a national set of best practice statements for use in post-stroke aphasia rehabilitation.

Design: Literature review and statement validation using the RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method (RAM).

Participants: A national Community of Practice of over 250 speech pathologists, researchers, consumers and policymakers developed a framework consisting of eight areas of care in aphasia rehabilitation. This framework provided the structure for the development of a care pathway containing aphasia rehabilitation best practice statements. Nine speech pathologists with expertise in aphasia rehabilitation participated in two rounds of RAND/UCLA appropriateness ratings of the statements. Panellists consisted of researchers, service managers, …

Cognitive Fatigue: Exploring The Relationship Between The Fatigue Effect And Action Video-Game Experience, James Brooks

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

the effects of cognitive fatigue. Despite this, there remain advantages to regularly playing action video games. In Study 1, VGPs were significantly better at multitasking on the MATB-II compared to the NVGPs. Further, VGPs also demonstrated superior multitasking when driving, as they made significantly fewer traffic violations compared to NVGPs when not fatigued. VGPs demonstrated eye-movements similar to those of expert drivers; however, this did not result in any difference in performance between the two groups. There was also some evidence of a positive effect of video game training, although there was no advantage of one training technique over the …

Effects Of Stress On 9-1-1 Call-Takers And Police Dispatchers: A Study At The San Jose Police Department, Kimberly D. Turner

Master's Theses

This research addresses the significant gap in literature related to stress among 9-1-1 call-takers and dispatchers. The relationship between perceived stress and work-life balance, fairness at work, support at home, and work control as well as physiological and psychological outcomes is examined. Survey responses were collected during the summer of 2012 from 89 police 9-1-1 call-takers and radio dispatchers of the San José Police Department Communications Division in San José, California. Using hierarchical multiple regression analysis, I found those who enjoy a balance between work and personal life experience less stress. Also, greater stress is associated with more psychological and …

Location Gathering: An Evaluation Of Smartphone-Based Geographic Mobile Field Data Collection Hardware And Applications, Joel Clark

Master's Theses

Mobile field spatial data collection is the act of gathering attribute data, including spatial position, about features in a study area. A common method of field data collection is to use a handheld computing device attached to a global navigation satellite system in which attribute data are directly inputted into a database table. The market for mobile data collection systems was formerly dominated by bulky positioning systems and highly specialized software. However, recent years have seen the emergence and widespread adoption of highly customizable and user-friendly mobile smartphones and tablets. In this research, smartphone devices and smartphone data collection applications …

Effects Of Acute Exercise, Mindfulness Meditation, And Mindfulness Meditation Neurofeedback On Stroop Performance, Claire Evelyn Balgemann

Master's Theses

Empirical research has demonstrated that acute aerobic physical exercise, neurofeedback, and mindfulness meditation independently have positive effects on executive performance. Technology has enabled a new intervention that combines neurofeedback and mindfulness meditation; however its effects on executive function are unknown. The aim in the present study was to understand how executive function may be enhanced in healthy individuals. Forty-two participants were randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups: acute physical exercise, mindfulness meditation, or mindfulness meditation neurofeedback delivered via the Muse brain-sensing headband. Participants completed 50 trials of the Stroop task, a well-established measure of executive function. A statistically …

Assessing Lesbian Gay Bisexual Resistance In Core Team Sports, Kevin Edward Lynch

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine how sport and lesbian-gay-bisexual resistance intersect with economy, media, religion, politics, education, and race and whether those institutions reinforce the hegemonic masculinity gender construction embedded in sport. Through a review of literature, I explore whether the aforementioned institutions are incorporating sociologist Eric Anderson’s inclusive masculinity or whether they are stuck in the hegemonic form mainly in the core team sport of basketball, baseball, football and hockey. Also, I investigate if Allport’s contact hypothesis has played any role in the movement from hegemonic masculinity to inclusive masculinity. Religion, education, and economy all seem …

Walt Kuhn: From Spotlight To Studio, The Art Of Show Business, Emily May Mcewan-Upright

Master's Theses

Walt Kuhn, an American artist born in New York, is often overlooked for his contribution to Modern American Art. Kuhn is typically recognized for his organizational and curatorial role in the 1913 Armory Show, but he was also internationally known in his time for his paintings of show people and as a creative director for several vaudeville and circus acts over his lifetime. During his career as a creative director, Kuhn’s artwork evolved from superficial renderings of theatre scenes to psychologically intense tronies of performers. Kuhn and other American artists, including the Ashcan group and Edward Hopper, examined the relationship …

Identity And User Preference In The Presentation And Content Of Digital Archives: A Study Of The Plumas County Museum’S Haun Collection, Lindsay Morton

Master's Theses

This thesis explores user preference in the presentation and content of online archives in small, local institutions. To obtain data for this study, a collection from the Plumas County Museum in northern California was digitized, and three versions were presented on a custom-built test website: 1) a straightforward reproduction of documents in the collection; 2) a pairing of reproductions and typed transcripts; and 3) a selective, interpretive reproduction with supporting secondary material. Users with a variety of research backgrounds viewed the website and provided feedback through an anonymous, online survey. Google Analytics was also used to measure site traffic.

During …

Microsoft After Fifteen Years, Keith N. Hylton

Faculty Scholarship

United States v. Microsoft Corp. (Microsoft III) is now fifteen years old, and that I would write such a long introduction to a reprint of significant portions from the opinion is a sign its significance has not died out. Just the opposite, I think it will become more significant in the near future, and not only because of its impact on U.S. antitrust law. The decision lays the groundwork for international enforcement of antitrust in high technology markets, at least as we have come to know them, and this is likely to continue to be significant for the foreseeable future.

A Critique Of Hobby Lobby And The Supreme Court's Hands-Off Approach To Religion, Samuel J. Levine

Scholarly Works

Over the past several decades, the United States Supreme Court has demonstrated an increasing refusal to engage in a close evaluation of the religious nature of Free Exercise and Establishment Clause claims, instead deferring to adherents’ characterizations of the substance and significance of a religious practice or belief. The Supreme Court’s hands-off approach, which it has justified on both constitutional and practical grounds, has attracted considerable scholarly attention, producing a substantial and growing body of literature assessing and, at times, critiquing the Court’s approach.

Part I of this Essay provides a brief overview for analyzing the Supreme Court’s hands-off approach …