Digital Commons Network^™

Effects Of Training On Intent, Ease, Self-Efficacy, Frequency, And Usefulness In Multimedia-Based Feedback For University-Level Instructors Using Canvas® Lms, Christopher Kent O'Leary

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate how training and professional development effected university-level instructors’ perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, behavioral intent to use, perception of self-efficacy, and frequency of use of audio-, video-, and speech-to-text-recognition-based technologies associated with the feedback and assessment process in college-level teaching. Except for usefulness, each dependent variable was divided into two based on whether the item was multimedia or not: (a) use of technology with multimedia and (b) use of technology without multimedia. The convenience sample included 52 university-level instructors who had enrolled in either the Canvas® Essentials (a basics course) or …

Implementation And Strategies To Address Sensory Regulation Of Students With And Without Disabilities In Two Kindergarten Classrooms, Yvette Rosil Mere-Cook

Doctoral Dissertations

Results from previous research studies suggest that inclusive settings benefit all learners. However, general education teachers often do not have built in supports within the classroom to meet the needs of students with disabilities. Implementing a sensory diet curriculum (SDC) is one instructional practice that addresses needs of students with disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorder, and could be applied widely for students without disabilities. Sensory regulation is defined as the body’s physiological process of adapting arousal or alertness levels to cope with sensory events and situational demands that occur throughout the day. The purpose of this study was to …

Building Communicative Competence: An Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of An Intensive Japanese-Language Program, Yukiko Konishi

Doctoral Dissertations

Even though language-program evaluations provide educators with various types of information on teaching practices and the programs in which they work, insufficient literature discusses issues related to language-program evaluation. This mixed-methods study examined the effectiveness of a Japanese-language program offered at a government-sponsored Institute located in northern California on language-program evaluation and developing communicative competence at postsecondary schools.

Data comprised two sets of surveys, six individual interviews, and one group interview. Survey respondents were 35 former students of the institute and 12 Japanese instructors who are currently teaching Japanese or have taught Japanese at the Institute. Of the 35 students, …

Workplace Violence, Organizational Culture, And Registered Nurses' Incident Reporting Patterns In Acute Hospitals In California, Feodora Jacobsen

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to increase understanding of the reporting patterns of WPV Type II in acute hospital settings. Although some patients are abusive toward nurses, that the abuse is underreported to hospital administrators. Qualitative studies identified common themes for underreporting including fear of being blamed, abuse considered part of the job, and not having sufficient time to fill out a formal report. This study is the first quantitative study to explore the changes in mean scores of organizational-culture factors under two mutually exclusive conditions: registered nurses (RNs) who do not report hospital incidents and RNs who do …

War Torts: Accountability For Autonomous Weapons, Rebecca Crootof

Law Faculty Publications

Unlike conventional weapons or remotely operated drones, autonomous weapon systems can independently select and engage targets. As a result, they may take actions that look like war crimes—the sinking of a cruise ship, the destruction of a village, the downing of a passenger jet—without any individual acting intentionally or recklessly. Absent such willful action, no one can be held criminally liable under existing international law.

Criminal law aims to prohibit certain actions, and individual criminal liability allows for the evaluation of whether someone is guilty of a moral wrong. Given that a successful ban on autonomous weapon systems is unlikely …

Midi Electronic Wind Instrument: A Study Of The Instrument And Selected Works, Matthew J. Swallow

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The development of the MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) electronic wind instrument (EWI) stemmed from earlier electronic instruments including analog/digital synthesizers, earlier control devices (Lyricon), and electronic instruments using a "blow tube trigger generator" (Yamaha WX) or breath controllers (Yamaha BC). Developing such devices began as early as the 1940s and were originally intended for compositional use instead of performance. However, the technology of electro-acoustic sounds continued to expand commercially from the 1950s through the 1970s, including more general access to sound synthesis and live performance. Various companies including Yamaha, Akai, Moog, Korg, and others would establish lines of synthesizers …

Situational Awareness Enhancement For Connected And Automated Vehicle Systems, Amin Tahmasbi Sarvestani

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Recent developments in the area of Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs) have boosted the interest in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSs). While ITS is intended to resolve and mitigate serious traffic issues such as passenger and pedestrian fatalities, accidents, and traffic congestion; these goals are only achievable by vehicles that are fully aware of their situation and surroundings in real-time. Therefore, connected and automated vehicle systems heavily rely on communication technologies to create a real-time map of their surrounding environment and extend their range of situational awareness. In this dissertation, we propose novel approaches to enhance situational awareness, its applications, and …

Brook Trout (Salvelinus Fontinalis) Preference Of Aquatic Versus Terrestrial Prey In Appalachian Headwater Streams, Erin E. Thayer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis aims to investigate the foraging behavior of Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), specially focusing on prey preference. Brook Trout are mainly restricted to head-water streams in Appalachia, which is a portion of their native range. These environments generally have low autochthonous materials. Therefore, resident aquatic organisms rely heavily on terrestrial inputs, i.e. leaf litter and terrestrial invertebrates (TI's), to subsidize individual energy requirements at critical times of the year. There is mixed evidence demonstrating stream dwelling trout show either a feeding preference towards aquatic invertebrates (AI's) or towards TI's. Chapter one is an in depth literature review of headwater …

Gender-Specific Motivators And Barriers To Adopting Healthful Diets And Losing Weight Among Middle-Aged West Virginians, Stephanie K. Thompson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Gender-specific motivators and barriers to adopting healthful diets and losing weight among middle-aged West Virginians Stephanie K. Thompson Background: About 70% of West Virginia adults are overweight and obese. Diet is a modifiable determinant of weight-related conditions. Innovative interventions are needed to help overcome the barriers to prevent and delay chronic conditions. In order to implement an intervention that is needed, learning the motivators and barriers to healthful eating and weight loss is the first step.;Objective: To learn what helps or hinders healthful eating and weight loss among middle-aged adults in West Virginia.;Methods: Gender-specific focus groups were conducted among 45 …

Distribution And Habitat Use Of The Western Sand Darter (Ammocrypta Clara) And The Eastern Sand Darter (Ammocrypta Pellucida) In The Elk River, West Virginia, Patricia A. Thompson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis examines the distribution and habitat use of two sympatric sand darter species, the western sand darter (Ammocrypta clara) and the eastern sand darter (A. pellucida). This thesis includes three chapters: (1) an introduction and literature review on the western and eastern sand darters, habitat use, and species distribution models; (2) a substrate selection laboratory experiment; and, (3) an evaluation of sympatric sand darter habitat use at multiple scales in the Elk River. Sand darters are slender, sand-dwelling fishes that were once broadly distributed, but have since undergone range-wide population declines, presumably owing to habitat loss. Habitat use studies …

Using The Instructional Beliefs Model To Examine Instructional Feedback In The Classroom, Melissa F. Tindage

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the role that instructional feedback plays in student engagement using Weber, Martin, and Myers's (2001) Instructional Beliefs Model (IBM). The proposed IBM for this dissertation included first-order constructs (i.e., instructional feedback, course workload, course difficulty, and students' feedback orientation), a second-order construct (i.e., feedback self-efficacy), and a third-order construct (i.e., student engagement). As hypothesized, instructional feedback (i.e., developmental, fairness) is positively associated with feedback self-efficacy, while course workload and course difficulty are negatively associated with feedback self- efficacy. However, only two dimensions of students' feedback orientation (i.e., utility, retention) were positively associated …

The Effects Of Overprotective Parenting On Academic Self-Esteem: The Moderating Role Of Teachers, Brittany R. Valdez

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Overprotective parenting, or "helicopter parenting" as it is known in the media, is characterized by high levels of behavioral and psychological control, and has been found by previous empirical studies to be linked to several maladaptive child outcomes (Wood, McLeod, Sigman, Hwang, & Chu, 2003). These outcomes include increased levels of anxiety, depression (Bayer, Sanson, & Hemphill, 2006; LeMoyne & Buchanan, 2011; Schiffrin, Liss, Miles-McLean, Geary, & Erchull 2013), and shyness (Bayer, et al., 2006; Rubin, Coplan, & Bowker, 2009) as well as decreased academic outcomes (Bernstein & Triger, 2010; Padilla-Walker & Nelson, 2012). However, much of the research regarding …

Autism Spectrum Disorders Among Adults: Burden Of Healthcare Services' Utilization And Expenditures, Rini Vohra

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Study 1.;Background: Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have extensive comorbidities. The current literature lacks documentation of prevalence of different types of comorbidities and their association with healthcare utilization and expenditures among adults with ASD as compared to adults without ASD.;Aim: To determine: 1) the differences in prevalence of psychiatric, non-psychiatric comorbidities, other health conditions, healthcare utilization, and expenditures among adults with and without ASD; and 2) the association of type of comorbidity with healthcare utilization and expenditures of adults with ASD.;Method: A retrospective cohort study using claims data from three state Medicaid Analytic eXtract was conducted. Adults aged 22--64 …

Identification And Functional Predication Of Long Non-Coding Rnas In Rainbow Trout And Cattle, Jian Wang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The simplest definition of a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) is an RNA transcript larger than 200 nucleotides that does not encode for a functional protein product. This definition distinguishes lncRNAs from small regulatory RNAs such as microRNAs (miRNAs), short interfering RNAs (siRNAs), Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) and other short RNAs. They have emerged as a new class of regulatory transcripts in recent years. Recent advances in sequencing technologies have opened a new horizon for the identification and annotation of this class of RNAs in many species. With the increasing evidence supporting important roles of lincRNAs in diverse processes, a systematic catalog …

Effects Of Parent And Peer Behaviors On Adolescent Sexual Behavior: Are Positive And Negative Peer Behaviors Moderators?, S. Michelle Watson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Adolescents and young adults account for a significantly high proportion of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection cases in the United States. According to Jessor's Problem Behavior Theory, combined protective factors, such as exposure to positive parenting and peer behaviors, create an environment that is supportive of conventional behaviors and discouraging of problem behaviors. There is an extensive amount of literature on parent and peer influences on adolescent sexual behavior but few studies address the interactive influence of both parent and peer behaviors on adolescent sexual risk-taking. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between maternal supportiveness …

Board Out Of Your Mind: Mapping Players' Mental Models Of Game Systems And Potentials For Systems-Thinking Instruction, Joe A. Wasserman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Despite evidence that game-based instruction is effective, and suggestive evidence that they are specifically effective for teaching systems thinking---the ability to think about complex systems---the mechanisms behind this learning are not well understood. One promising perspective on game-based learning is rooted in the development of mental models of game systems. Mental models are cognitive representations of the perceived entities and relationships between entities in a system. This study explores the entities and entity relationships in novice players' mental models of an analog game. Grounded, interpretive analysis of mental models externalized through cognitive mapping identified five categories of entities: formal game …

Measuring And Changing Preschool Children's Stuttering Attitudes, Mary E. Weidner

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Background: Negative or uninformed stuttering attitudes proliferate among the general public, and burgeoning research has shown that such attitudes might emerge as early as the preschool years. Despite decades of research on the topic, much remains unknown about the origin of stuttering attitudes and the factors that bear on their development. Moreover, conclusive recommendations to improve attitudes toward stuttering have yet to be advanced.;Purpose: This study sought (a) to objectively measure stuttering attitudes among preschool children, (b) to examine predictive factors that might account for those attitudes, and (c) to determine the effect of a new educational program on improving …

Instructional Coaches In West Virginia: Who They Are And What They Do, Mary Lynn Westfall

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Implementing practices and programs into a school and making sure they are successful requires a collaborative effort among all involved in the school. With the expectations of what a school is to provide for students and faculty, school principals have been charged with serving as the building manager and instructional leader of the school. Teacher leadership has flourished as principals seek assistance from other education professionals. Instructional, or academic, coaches are formal teacher leaders who may work with teachers and principals. They can work closely with teachers to improve teaching practices and work to overcome the isolationism that traditionally exists …

Migratory Genomics Of Lake Sturgeon, Justine Whitaker

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Lake sturgeon are large, freshwater fish and the only species of sturgeon native to the Great Lakes. Their historic range extends from the Hudson Bay, down through the Great Lakes and into the Mississippi River basin. In the early 1900's, sturgeon became a valuable fishery and were soon overfished for both meat and caviar. This, in combination with damming, pollution, and habitat degradation, caused a drastic decline in their population. Some populations were extirpated, while others have been reduced to 1% of their historic population size (Auer, 1996). The St. Clair-Detroit River System (SCDRS) hosts one of the largest lake …

Nursing Knowledge Of Heart Failure, Beth Ann White

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Heart failure is a constellation of signs and symptoms reflecting a physiologic change in the hearts ability to keep up with demand. Heart failure is considered a global pandemic and is a complex disease that oftentimes is progressive. Heart failure is often associated with underlying coronary atherosclerosis, and its associated risks, including hypertension, diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome and dyslipidemia. To slow the progression and improve quality of life patients should be educated about the disease and in most health care settings nurses provide this education. However, nurses may lack sufficient knowledge of the processes that lead to heart failure. The …

Multidimensional Coherent Spectroscopy Of Gaas Excitons And Quantum Microcavity Polaritons, Brian L. Wilmer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Light-matter interactions associated with excitons and exciton related complexes are explored in bulk GaAs and semiconductor microcavities using multidimensional coherent spectroscopy (MDCS). This approach provides rich spectra determining quantum excitation pathways, structural influences on the excitons, and coherence times.;Polarization, excitation density, and temperature-dependent MDCS is performed on excitons in strained bulk GaAs layers, probing the coherent response for differing amounts of strain. Biaxial tensile strain lifts the degeneracy of heavy-hole and light-hole valence states, leading to an observed splitting of the associated excitons at low temperature. Increasing the strain increases the magnitude of the heavy-/light- hole exciton peak splitting, induces …

Framing 2014 Hong Kong Protest, Liying Ye

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Numerous newspapers have documented the stories of the 2014 Hong Kong protest, but there was a void of systematic analysis of the protest coverage. To partially fill this gap, this study utilized the most five common news frames- conflict, human interest, responsibility attribution, morality, economic consequence- to probe how they were used in different newspapers within their media systems. The attitudes, or tone, towards the Hong Kong protest was also examined to gain an in-depth understanding in relation to different framing strategies. A total of 105 news article from China Daily (Mainland China), South China Morning Post (Hong Kong) and …

Using A Duration-Based Schedule Performance Index To Monitor The Performance Of Projects Including Estimating The Final Cost, Nooshin Yousefi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

One of the main concerns of project managers is monitoring the schedule performance of construction projects. A project manager needs tools to not only understand the status of project schedule performance, but also to find the causes of delays and the corresponding corrective actions. Hence, discovering time deviations from the project plan provides more reliable project schedule control. Applying statistical quality control charts on the project schedule performance index is suggested in this study. The use of quality control charts in this research monitors the process plan and provides first alarms for applying changes by detecting the time deviations over …

Enhancing The Ionic Conductivity Of Solid State Electrolytes By Oxide Glass Doping, Yue Zhou

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

As the increasing use of lithium ion secondary batteries in practical application, solid state electrolyte attracted lots of attention since it's a crucial part for the lithium ion secondary batteries. Compare with liquid electrolyte, the advantage of solid state electrolyte covering no electron leakage, safety, chemical and thermal stability, high energy density and so on. However, one disadvantage of inorganic solid state electrolyte is the low ionic conductivity which is primarily due to its low grain boundary conductivity. Among all of the solid state electrolyte candidates for lithium battery applications, the perovskite structure lanthanum lithium titanate (La2/3-x □1/3-2xLi3xTiO3) has the …

Withdrawn: Why Students Of Color Leave Wvu, Ahnieyah Porter

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study conceptualizes Vincent Tinto's theory of Individual Departure of college students and expands it to examine how it applies to the experiences of students of color, African Americans, who attend a predominately white institution that is West Virginia University. Tinto's theory measures individual departure in three stages; Separation, Transition and Incorporation. Using qualitative interviews, both former and current African American undergraduate students from West Virginia University were interviewed to discuss their experiences as students of color at a predominately white institution. The interview questions were designed to touch on each stage of Tinto's theory of Individual departure in order …

Investigation Of Relationships Among Consumer Perceptions And Brand Preference In Photoshopped And Non-Photoshopped Fashion Advertisements, Kristina A. Smith

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The use of digital alteration software on fashion models in advertising photographs has been used to promote an ideal standard of beauty for women. In an attempt to differentiate the thin ideal, fashion brand Aerie has vowed to not use digital alteration software to alter the physical characteristics of the models in their advertisements, while other companies such as Victoria's Secret continues to utilize digital alteration techniques on their advertisements. This research examined consumer brand preference using Photoshopped Victoria's Secret and non-Photoshopped Aerie fashion advertisements found from an online source. The purpose of this study was to examine college aged …

Two-Arm Randomized Pilot Intervention Trial To Decrease Sitting Time And Increase Sit-To-Stand Transitions In Working And Non-Working Older Adults., Jacqueline Kerr, Michelle Takemoto, Khalisa Bolling, Andrew Atkin, Jordan A. Carlson, Dori Rosenberg, Katie Crist, Suneeta Godbole, Brittany Lewars, Claudia Pena, Gina Merchant

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND: Excessive sitting has been linked to poor health. It is unknown whether reducing total sitting time or increasing brief sit-to-stand transitions is more beneficial. We conducted a randomized pilot study to assess whether it is feasible for working and non-working older adults to reduce these two different behavioral targets.

METHODS: Thirty adults (15 workers and 15 non-workers) age 50-70 years were randomized to one of two conditions (a 2-hour reduction in daily sitting or accumulating 30 additional brief sit-to-stand transitions per day). Sitting time, standing time, sit-to-stand transitions and stepping were assessed by a thigh worn inclinometer (activPAL). Participants …

Comparison Of Affect And Cardiorespiratory Training Responses Between Structured Gym Activities And Traditional Aerobic Exercise In Children., David A. White, S D. Rothenberger, L A. Hunt, F L. Goss

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Physical activities (PA) that are pleasurable are likely to be repeated. Structured gym activities (SGA) are defined as dodging, chasing, and fleeing games. Traditional aerobic exercises (TAE) are defined as treadmill, cycle ergometer, and elliptical exercise. The purpose of this investigation was to compare affect and cardiorespiratory training responses between SGA and TAE in children. Thirty-two participants (9.3±0.2) were randomized to either the SGA or TAE group. Exercise training was seven weeks, with two sessions per week, for 35 minutes per session. Affect was measured by the (+5 (pleasurable) to -5 (displeasurable)) feelings scale. Affect was recorded at the mid-point …

Reducing Overutilization Of Testing For Clostridium Difficile Infection In A Pediatric Hospital System: A Quality Improvement Initiative., J Michael Klatte, Rangaraj Selvarangan, Mary Anne Jackson, Angela Myers

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

OBJECTIVES: Study objectives included addressing overuse of Clostridium difficile laboratory testing by decreasing submission rates of nondiarrheal stool specimens and specimens from children ≤12 months of age and determining resultant patient and laboratory cost savings associated with decreased testing.

METHODS: A multifaceted initiative was developed, and components included multiple provider education methods, computerized order entry modifications, and automatic declination from laboratory on testing stool specimens of nondiarrheal consistency and from children ≤12 months old. A run chart, demonstrating numbers of nondiarrheal plus infant stool specimens submitted over time, was developed to analyze the initiative's impact on clinicians' test-ordering practices. A …

Contraceptive Provision To Adolescent Females Prescribed Teratogenic Medications., Stephani L. Stancil, Melissa K. Miller, Holley Briggs, Daryl Lynch, Kathy Goggin, Gregory Kearns

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Rates of adult women receiving contraceptive provision when simultaneously prescribed a known teratogen are alarmingly low. The prevalence of this behavior among pediatric providers and their adolescent patients is unknown. The objective of this study was to describe pediatric provider behaviors for prescribing teratogens concurrently with counseling, referral, and/or prescribing of contraception (collectively called contraceptive provision) in the adolescent population.

METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted examining visits in 2008-2012 by adolescents aged 14 to 25 years in which a known teratogen (US Food and Drug Administration pregnancy risk category D or X) was prescribed. The electronic …