Digital Commons Network^™

Constructivist Learning Environments In Digital Storytelling Workshops: An Interview With Joseph Lambert, Elizabeth Shin

Theses and Dissertations

Storytelling is an effective means of imparting knowledge, beliefs, and traditions. In its multimedia form, digital storytelling has been made popular by the digital storytelling movement led by the Center for Digital Storytelling established in 1998. While digital storytelling has existed for a few decades, its use in education has been researched relatively recently over the past fifteen years (Holtzblatt & Tschakert, 2011). As a result, it is important that continued research is done in order to understand how students are learning through digital storytelling. The constructivist environments created through digital storytelling classes and workshops need to be researched in …

The Fragmentation Of Self And Others: The Role Of The Default Mode Network In Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Aldrich Chan

Theses and Dissertations

In Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), social and emotional dysfunction has been interpreted as a secondary consequence of the broad impact of amygdala and fear circuitry dysregulation. However, research in social neuroscience has uncovered a number of neural systems involved in attachment and emotional regulation that may be impacted by trauma. One example is the Default Mode Network (DMN), which is implicated in human beings’ sense of self and ability to connect with others. This qualitative study explored the impact of physical and emotional traumata on the structures and functions of the DMN. The goal was to determine if dysregulation of …

A Phenomenological Investigation Of Small-Business Closure In California: An Examination Of The Leadership Process, Theresa Robinson Harris

Theses and Dissertations

Small businesses are important to the United States economy, and yet the majority struggle to remain relevant and close prior to their fifth year. This qualitative phenomenological study explored small business closure in California by comparing the experiences of successful and unsuccessful small-business leaders, to understand their involvement with leadership during the early stages of the business, and the impact of this on the firms’ ability to survive. Participants’ experiences from two groups, successful and unsuccessful, were compared to glean an understanding of the leadership process, how leadership differs between the groups, and to see what themes or constructs emerged …

The First Year: The Role Of A Modern Lender Of Last Resort, Kathryn Judge

Faculty Scholarship

Insufficient liquidity can trigger fire sales and wreak havoc on a financial system. To address these challenges, the Federal Reserve (the Fed) and other central banks have long had the authority to provide financial institutions liquidity when market-based sources run dry. Yet, liquidity injections sometimes fail to quell market dysfunction. When liquidity shortages persist, they are often symptoms of deeper problems plaguing the financial system.

This Essay shows that continually pumping new liquidity into a financial system in the midst of a persistent liquidity shortage may increase the fragility of the system and, on its own, is unlikely to resolve …

Od Practitioner Values And The Impact On Environmental Behavior, Arielle Threlkeld-Sullivan

Theses and Dissertations

Organization Development has the potential to play an active role in supporting environmental change initiatives. This study explores the values of a group of OD practitioners who are working with environmental concerns as a consideration in their practice. Nine qualitative interviews were conducted to explore values and surface factors that have influenced those values. The Schwartz Value Questionnaire (SVQ) and the Nature Relatedness Scale were administered to better understand practitioner values. Elements of self-transcendent values were revealed amongst practitioners through both quantitative and qualitative methods. In addition, these practitioners scored higher than the average population on Nature Relatedness. This study …

Best Storytelling Practices In Education, Calvin Bonds

Theses and Dissertations

Effective teaching strategies can be defined as utilizing the higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy, which include understanding, application and analysis (Flynn, Mesibov, Vermette & Smith, 2004). Teachers that use effective teaching strategies can significantly impact the future earnings of their students. Students that are recipients of these strategies receive a higher quality of K-12 education, which leads to a higher caliber of colleges and universities chosen. As a result of the higher education institutions attended, students become more competitive when entering an evolving workforce, earning higher salaries. This study explores the effective teaching strategy of storytelling. It identifies best practices …

Leaders' Roles In Creating And Sustaining Collective Genius, Tanya L. Jones

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined leaders’ roles in fostering collective genius innovation within one private elementary school, including managing the paradoxes of innovation. Based on content analysis of eleven participants, this study found that teamwork, clear student learning outcomes emphasizing individualized learning, design thinking, and a growth mindset, all impacted willingness to innovate. To develop conditions for collective genius, leaders again focus on teamwork as well as being relational. In terms of their management of the six innovative paradoxes, the school leaders tend to balance their affirmation of the individual and the group, support staff and parents, focus on experimentation and learning, …

Cross-Sector Social Partnerships: A Qualitative Research Study Of Partnership Governance, Lizbeth Landon

Theses and Dissertations

Globalization has had a tremendous impact on society. While creating opportunity for corporations to expand into new markets, globalization has also created significant negative repercussions to the environment, human rights, health, and education (Reece, 2001). In the past twenty-five years Cross-Sector Social Partnerships (CSSPs) have emerged as a possible solution to the negative impacts from globalization with mixed results (Nidumolu, Ellison, Whalen, & Billman, 2014) Although there are inherent challenges, the case for corporations and the public sector to continue to work together is compelling. By contributing their technical expertise and financial resources, companies can leverage the public sector’s experience, …

Addressing Stress And Well-Being Among Women Of Arab Descent Living In The United States: Development Of A Training Workshop For Mental Health Professionals, Hoda Abou-Ziab

Theses and Dissertations

Due to the increasing number of persons of Arab descent living in the United States, estimated at over 3.5 million in 2012, there has been a recognized need for a deeper understanding of acculturative, gender, and immigration-related stressors that Arab American women face. In response to this need, a one-day workshop for mental health professionals interested in or currently working with women of Arab descent living in the United States was developed. The workshop focuses on increasing knowledge of the various types of stress (e.g., acculturation, discrimination, gender role strain, parent-child relationships, care giver, familial, cultural expectations, work, school, etc.) …

Modification Of The "Gold Standard"? Leadership Selection From An Attachment Lens: A Critical Analysis., Rebecca Pearlstein

Theses and Dissertations

The demands of corporate America are placing increased pressures on supervisors and executives to create and manage optimal organizational cultures. Relational capabilities and emotional intelligence have come to the fore as an essential component of effective and successful business leadership. When leaders are unable to create positive relationships with their working teams and navigate the day-to-day stressors of the workplace, the costs can be significant. In addition to losses in productivity, absenteeism, stress, burnout, and demoralization all take a heavy toll. From the perspective of attachment theory, the ability to connect with others, cope with stress, and engage in productive …

Change Management For Small Business Leaders, Lora Elizabeth Higdon

Theses and Dissertations

Small business owners face challenges associated with leading change, and many times lack the necessary resources to manage it properly. The purpose of this descriptive qualitative study was to determine what challenges leaders of small businesses face in managing change, what strategies and practices those leaders employ, and how the leaders of small businesses measure success in managing change. This study also determined what advice leaders of small businesses would suggest for managing change. Four research questions were created to assist with this process, and 13 semi-structured interviews were conducted in various cities throughout the state of Michigan. The participants …

A Qualitative Study Of General Education Teachers' Perceptions Of Special Education Students' Attendance At Post-Secondary Education Institutions, Abraham B. De Villiers

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative, phenomenological study will cross-sectionally examine the perceptions of general education teachers through in-person interviews to analyze their personal beliefs for special education students’ attendance at post-secondary education institutions. Data was collected from general education teachers working at different urban high schools in a Southern California charter management organization. Each of the interviewed teachers are currently responsible, or have been responsible, for the instruction of special education students in their classroom. A total of 6 general education teachers participated in semi-structured interviews that consisted of 10 open-ended questions. Three conclusions were extracted from the findings related to the data …

Critical Considerations On Interpersonal Impact For Next Generation Professional Services Leaders: A Case Study, John L. Evans Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

With all the discussion surrounding the significance of culture within the realms of professional services organizations, this researcher was curious as to how to improve the quality of a culture. A higher quality culture, evidenced by a more positively energized work force, serves to improve competitive advantage for a concern, in a commoditized world. The following qualitative case study, a thirty-five day intervention in the months of May and June, 2016, with nine participants, that happened at Think Creative, Inc., of Orlando, Florida, intends on shedding light on how and why professional services organizational leaders should consider instituting a regimen …

Leadership Styles And Psychological Capital In A Home Improvement Organization, Mark C. Leonard

Theses and Dissertations

The academic and corporate pursuit of many programs is to understand the implications of leadership styles on organizations. Countless research hours have been spent examining the leadership construct in the hope of developing programs that impact performance. Furthermore, there has been a recent surge in the study of Psychological Capital and the potential implications for human performance and development. The purpose of this quantitative study was to understand the intersection of leadership styles, Psychological Capital, and productivity. The study examined two research questions. The first research question examined what correlation exists between the styles of leadership as measured by the …

Planning, Implementing, And Evaluating Manager-As-Coach Programs In Business: A Delphi Study, Katie Lea Frazier

Theses and Dissertations

The evolution of workplace coaching has been primarily driven by coach practitioners as empirical literature did not noticeably emerge until the 1990s. As a result, coaching in business has relied on a variety of theories about how people learn rather than grounding the practice in social science research. This research study used the Delphi method to reach expert agreement on the guiding principles of coaching and the planning, implementation, and evaluation of manger-as-coach programs in business. Expert participants in this study were solicited through LinkedIn coaching-related groups and from the International Coaching Federation’s open, online credential holder’s directory. Twenty-four expert …

Stem-Themed Schools: A Case Study Of Its Effect On Student Educational Pathways, Monika R. Mcknight

Theses and Dissertations

As the country looks to increase the STEM workforce it is important to examine the effect of the programs in place, specifically the effect on the students choices in education. The Mathematics & Science Academy (MSA), is a STEM-themed, public magnet school in Southern California whose mission is to increase the nation’s pool of graduates in mathematics and science. It is 1 of the many schools and programs in place to increase the United States (U.S.) Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce. This study, designed as a qualitative case study investigated how MSA has influenced female, African American students …

Enhancing Employment Opportunities In The Saudi Arabian Private Sector, Ahmad Alghamedi

Theses and Dissertations

The history of unemployment in Saudi Arabia has been a decades-long struggle, and is considered among the biggest challenges facing the Saudi Arabian government. The youth and women, unfortunately, have been the most affected groups of the high unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia. In an effort to decrease the number of unemployed, the government of Saudi Arabia introduced the Saudization program in an attempt to create jobs for Saudi job seekers. The Saudization policy was created by the government and implemented through the Ministry of Labor. The main objective of this program was to maximize efforts in decreasing labor opportunities …

Using A Grounded Theory Approach: Capturing The History And Culture Of The Charism Of The Sisters Of St. Joseph Of Carondelet In Sponsored Secondary Schools, Lauren Lek

Theses and Dissertations

This grounded theory study explored the experiences of lay faculty, administration and Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet (CSJ) to capture how the spirit of the CSJ continues in the organizational culture of their sponsored secondary schools. Since 1950, CSJ in the Los Angeles Province, have experienced a very similar decline as other orders of religious across the United States. In order to preserve the culture and history of the CSJ in their sponsored secondary schools, the researcher conducted twenty semi-structured interviews to capture the lived experiences of those currently serving, and those who have served, on the four secondary …

Trade, Social Preferences, And Regulatory Cooperation: The New Wto-Think, Thomas J. Bollyky, Petros C. Mavroidis

Faculty Scholarship

This paper advocates changes in the corporate governance of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to reflect the decline in tariffs and other border restraints to commerce and the emerging challenges of advancing freer trade and better regulation cooperation in a world economy dominated by global value chains. Together, these changes form an integration strategy that we refer to as the new WTO Think. This strategy remains rooted in the original rationale of the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) of reducing the negative externalities of unilateral action and solving important international coordination challenges, but is more inclusive of regulators …

Pointing A Way Toward A Brighter Future For Public Education: A Comment On Lynch V. Alabama, William R. Weaver

Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc

No abstract provided.

Comparing Offline Decoding Performance In Physiologically Defined Neuronal Classes, Matthew D. Best, Kazutaka Takahashi, Aaron J. Suminski, Christian Ethier, Lee E. Miller, Nicholas G. Hatsopoulos

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Objective: Recently, several studies have documented the presence of a bimodal distribution of spike waveform widths in primary motor cortex. Although narrow and wide spiking neurons, corresponding to the two modes of the distribution, exhibit different response properties, it remains unknown if these differences give rise to differential decoding performance between these two classes of cells. Approach: We used a Gaussian mixture model to classify neurons into narrow and wide physiological classes. Using similar-size, random samples of neurons from these two physiological classes, we trained offline decoding models to predict a variety of movement features. We compared offline …

Opinion Of Justice Katherine Franke In Obergefell V. Hodges, Katherine M. Franke

Faculty Scholarship

Professor Jack Balkin has assembled a group of 9 scholars and advocates to write opinions in the Obergefell v. Hodges case for a forthcoming volume, What Obergefell Should Have Said (Yale University Press 2017). Balkin writes for the majority of the Court and I provide a concurrence along with a short commentary explaining my approach and reasoning. In summary, I conclude that: Laws barring same-sex couples from eligibility for licensure as civil marriages violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because they find their origin in and perpetuate notions of heterosexual supremacy, and have the aim and effect …

Contents, Discovery Editors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Discovery: The Student Journal Of Dale Bumpers College Of Agricultural, Food And Life Sciences - Volume 17 2016, Several Authors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Message From The Faculty Editor, Mary Savin

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Calcium And Magnesium Absorption And Retention By Growing Goats Offered Diets With Different Calcium Sources, Jennifer E. Long, Kenneth P. Coffey, James D. Caldwell, Dirk Philipp, Robert T. Rhein, Ashley N. Young

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Calcium addition is necessary in order to balance the high phosphorus concentrations that are characteristic of high-concentrate ruminant diets. However, calcium sources differ in their bioavailability. Our objective was to determine apparent calcium and magnesium absorption and retention in goats offered diets containing different sources of calcium. Spanish-Boer goats (n = 18; 19.6 ± 1.88 kg) were stratified by body weight (BW) and sex and randomized to dietary treatments consisting of Purina Antlermax 16 containing either calcium carbonate (CC), Calmin (CM) or Milk Cal (MC). Goats were adapted to a control, corn-based high-concentrate diet on pasture and then moved to …

Current Status Of The Northern Saw-Whet Owl (Aegolius Acadicus) In Arkansas, Mitchell L. Pruitt, Kimberly G. Smith

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

The secretive Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus) is believed to be much more widespread during fall and winter than previously thought. Of the few places in the southern United States conducting research on this species, all have been successful at capturing birds. A total of 12 historic records existed for Arkansas until our work began in fall of 2014. The first confirmed record was in 1959 and the most recent, prior to this research, was in 2010. Over the course of two field seasons, we captured and banded 24 Northern Saw-whet Owls in rural Madison County. All birds were mist-netted …

Instructions For Authors, Discovery Editors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Gun Control Debates: Our Social Madness And A Spiritual Response, Marykate Morse

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

I was deeply saddened by the horrific murders at the Orlando night club, but then I watched with cynicism the gun debates happening again in Congress.

I’m thinking, “noble but useless.”

If Sandy Hook – the murder of 20 little children at their school desks with 6 of their teachers and staff – wasn’t enough to shock us into sensible gun control, then this won’t either.

Dietary Intake Of Vitamin D Is Related To Blood Levels Of Advanced Glycation End Products During A Weight Loss Program In Obese Women, Shin Sukino, Kazuhiko Kotani, Shinsuke Nirengi, Alejandro Gugliucci, Russell Caccavello, Kokoro Tsuzaki, Naoki Sakane

Faculty Publications & Research of the TUC College of Osteopathic Medicine

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) contribute to the pathophysiology of lifestyle-related diseases. To identify nutrients associated with AGEs, this study explored the factors by investigating the relationship between nutrients changes and changes of blood AGEs during a weight loss program in obese women.

SUBJECTS/METHODS: Twenty-five obese women (age: 50 ± 8 years, body mass index: 28.7 ± 3.4 kg/m2 ) underwent a weight loss program with energy-restricted meal replacement for 2 months. Three-day weighted dietary records and blood tests including blood AGEs were performed at the baseline and after the 2-month intervention. Their correlation was examined during …