Digital Commons Network^™

Dopamine Levels In The Brain Of Rat Models Of Human Rheumatoid Arthritis, Amelia Stinson

Theses & Dissertations

Research Focus. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, debilitating, autoimmune disease that causes the destruction of bone tissue and the articular structures of joints. At least 30% of RA patient populations have cognitive impairment. Acidic dopamine (DA) is the principal neuroimmunotransmitter that links the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system together. The aim of the present study was to determine the levels of DA and its two acidic metabolites: 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and homovanillic acid (HVA) in arthritic induced rats, and whether their levels vary across four different parts of the brain: amygdala (AMG), front cerebral cortex (CX), hippocampus …

Spirituality In A Faith-Based Institution: Faculty Experiences Of Facilitating The Spiritual Development Of Students, Darlene Carbajal

Theses & Dissertations

Practices of spirituality, particularly amongst faculty who teach at faith-based institutions of higher education, are underexplored in the current body of literature. This qualitative study uses an interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach to examine faculty members’ attitudes about the role of spirituality in higher education and the pedagogical and mentoring approaches that faculty members in a faith-based institution use to facilitate the spiritual development of students. Participants described spirituality as foundational to student wholeness and naturally emerging from scholarship, as an opportunity for students to increase self-awareness and to have respect, empathy, and compassion for others. Findings of this study …

A University And Middle School Mentor-Scholar Partnership, Denise Dirienzo, Scott Ball, Robyn Proud

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

The State University of New York at Oswego (SUNY Oswego) and the Oswego City School district have created a campus-community partnership through a college program that matches SUNY Oswego students as mentors with at-risk youth in grades 7 and 8 in a structured environment in the school district. The structure is academically based for college students to earn credit based on the tenets of mentoring, youth development, and relationship building. The middle school students, or “mentees” come from an at-risk background that is academic, socially, or behaviorally based. The school district recommends students for inclusion in the program. This innovative …

The Talking Texts: What Pop Culture Really Has To Say, Adrianne Clark, Madilynn Dewell, Thomas Harrison, Artasia Jackson, Tyler Jones, Matthew Murphy, Whittany Myers, Erica Pinkham, Heath Pyle, Kameron Rymer, Sara Salazar, Amanda Thornton, Lynessia Torunski, Nickolas Watkins, Karina Weathers, Logan Willhoite, Courtney Wooten

Student Publications

This newsletter is built upon work done in a Fall 2017 honors writing course based around the rhetorical analysis of pop culture. Students wrote several initial analyses before choosing one to research and write about further. They then chose a short excerpt from their researched projects to include in the newsletter.

A Motivational Climate Intervention And Exercise-Related Outcomes: A Longitudinal Perspective, Theresa C. Brown, Mary D. Fry, E. Whitney Moore

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

While researchers have suggested that the social context in exercise settings is linked to individuals’ physical activity motivation and potential exercise-related outcomes, few research designs have examined the nuance of those relationships. Moreover, interventions targeting the social context of exercise settings are sparse, so the potential impact of staff training on members’ motivation to exercise are not well known. Drawing from two major motivation theories, achievement goal perspective theory and self-determination theory, this study considered an intervention with fitness center staff from the members’ perspectives. Members completed a survey before and after an intervention designed to help staff create a …

Place, Experience, And Conversation: Understanding How To Most Effectively Talk About Climate Change Risks, Michaela Hefferman, Avery Wolfe, Nicole Friedman

Community Engaged Research Reports

The risks associated with sea level rise and climate change pose a major threat to coastal cities around the United States and the globe. Currently, the climate conversation is essentially a one way conversation based on power structures that fails to recognize the importance of how people approach the abstract nature of this problem. The overarching goals of this research project are 1) to understand the nuances of content framing and delivery approaches of climate change communication and 2) to discover if this reveals more effective ways to truly engage individuals in this difficult topic and to foster further discussions. …

Effect Of Lexical Retrieval Cascade Treatment On Naming And Discourse Of Individuals With Logopenic Variant Of Primary Progressive Aphasia(Lvppa), Mikyong Kim

Communicative Disorders Faculty Publications

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine whether the lexical retrieval cascade treatment was effective in improving single word naming and discourse of two individuals diagnosed with the logopenic variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia (lvPPA) when training was conducted using single word naming and discourse tasks, respectively. Methods: This study employed a single subject case design. In phase 1, one individual with lvPPA underwent naming treatment to re-learn three sets of words, using semantic, autobiographical, phonological, and orthographic cueing hierarchy. A daily CART-based copying of trained words was given as homework. In Phase 2, the cueing hierarchy was …

Using Classdojo® To Enhance School Age Students’ Prosocial Behavior In A Classroom Setting, Valerie R. Forte

Theses and Dissertations

Previous literature supports the use of a variety of classroom behavioral management programs to increase prosocial behaviors and decrease problem behaviors. For example, token economies, placement of classroom rules and guidelines, and providing the opportunity for students to choose the activity or subject to work on, have proven to be effective for many students; however, they can be expensive and cumbersome to manage. ClassDojo®, a classroom management system, is a type of digital token economy system that includes technology to track digital points for teacher-directed behavior. The program is free to download, simple to use, and is easily transferable between …

Fall Protection Training: A Case Study Using Cbt For Latino Construction Workers, David P. Gilkey, Carla Lopez Del Puerto, Megan R. Miller, Carlos Evia, Carla Lopez Del Puertoisnow

Safety Health & Industrial Hygiene

Latino construction workers are at an increased risk of worksite injuries and fatalities due to language, cultural barriers, and ineffective training. This case-study investigated computer-based video training (CBT) for scaffold safety. The CBT training was developed using a participatory approach involving direct input from Latino roofers and framers. This paper focuses on evaluation-improvement of training that combined workers’ ideas of a safe work environment with OSHA standards. Researchers investigated the appropriateness and effectiveness of a brief CBT presentation addressing fall protection and scaffold use among Latino roofers. The results indicated that Latino construction workers at a roofing company in Colorado …

Katherine Dunn’S Geek Love And The Question Of Being Human In Freak Form, Abigail Hess

Master’s Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Featured Bookshelf: 2017 Staff Favorite Reads, Megan M. Haught

Featured Bookshelf

For the month of December, the UCF Libraries Bookshelf celebrates the favorite books of employees of the UCF Libraries. These are the books we have (and will continue to) read many times over the course of our lives. The genre for our 2017 staff favorites is mystery novels. Keep reading to peruse our favorite mysteries and learn where to find them.

Spiritual Leadership, School Climate, And Teacher Collective Efficacy In Asian International Schools, Tobin E. Holden

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

This research explored whether spiritual leadership could predict teacher collective efficacy and school climate in Asian international schools. Fifteen international schools from nine countries elected to participate and 104 teachers completed an online survey. Linear regression and multiple regression were used to discover a prediction equation linking spiritual leadership to the outcomes of teacher collective efficacy and school climate. Findings from this study indicated that spiritual leadership significantly predicted teacher collective efficacy accounting for 28.3% of the variation, a small effect according to Cohen (1988). Further, spiritual leadership significantly predicted school climate accounting for 44.1.3% of the variation, a medium …

Depression Treatment And Healthcare Expenditures Among Elderly Medicare Beneficiaries With Newly Diagnosed Depression And Incident Breast, Colorectal, Or Prostate Cancer, Monira Alwhaibi, Usha Sambamoorthi, Suresh Madhavan, James T. Walkup

Clinical and Translational Science Institute

Objectives—Depression is associated with high healthcare expenditures, and depression treatment may reduce healthcare expenditures. However, to date, there have not been any studies on the effect of depression treatment on healthcare expenditures among cancer survivors. Therefore, this study examined the association between depression treatment and healthcare expenditures among elderly with depression and incident cancer. Methods—The current study used a retrospective longitudinal study design, the linked Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results–Medicare database. Elderly (≥66 years) fee-forservice Medicare beneficiaries with newly diagnosed depression and incident breast, colorectal, or prostate cancer (N = 1502) were followed for a period of 12 months after …

The Monoacylglycerol Lipase Inhibitor Kml29 With Gabapentin Synergistically Produces Analgesia In Mice, Molly S. Crowe, Catheryn D. Wilson, Emma Leishman, Paul L. Prather, Heather B. Bradshaw, Matthew L. Banks, Steven G. Kinsey

Clinical and Translational Science Institute

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Gabapentin is commonly prescribed for nerve pain but may also cause dizziness, sedation and gait disturbances. Similarly, inhibition of the endogenous cannabinoid enzyme monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) has antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory properties but also induces sedation in mice at high doses. To limit these side effects, the present study investigated the analgesic effects of coadministering a MAGL inhibitor with gabapentin. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH Mice subjected to the chronic constriction injury model of neuropathic pain were administered the MAGL inhibitor KML29 (1–40 mg·kg1 , i.p.), gabapentin (1–50 mg·kg1 , i.p.) or both compounds. Mice were tested for mechanical and cold …

A Scoping Review Of Health Outcomes Examined In Randomized Controlled Trials Using Guided Imagery, Peter R. Giacobbi Jr., Jonathan Stewart, Keeley Chaffee, Anna-Marie Jaeschke, Meagan Stabler, George A. Kelley

Clinical and Translational Science Institute

Introduction—Guided imagery involves the controlled visualization of detailed mental images. This integrative health technique is used for healing, health maintenance, or the treatment of specific conditions. Guided imagery is an integral part of mindfulness meditation, hypnosis, and various relaxation exercises. However, evidence to support the widespread use and dissemination of guided imagery interventions has been lacking. The purposes of this scoping review were to document the scope of health outcomes and disease processes examined by guided imagery researchers and the journal outlets where this work has been published. Secondary purposes were to review the efficacy of guided imagery, risk of …

The Psychological Significance Of Play With Imaginary Companions In Early Childhood, Tracy R. Gleason

Faculty Research and Scholarship

Although social play is common to many species, humans are unique in their ability to extract some of the benefits of social play through imagination. For example, in play with imaginary companions (ICs), children often practice skills that might be useful for later adaptive social, relational, and emotional functioning. While play with ICs does not provide the same immediate feedback that play with real others affords, this imagined, quasisocial context allows children to experiment with or rehearse events that might occur in real relationships. This symbolic enactment of social relationships might afford opportunities to experience not just social situations but …

The Rise And Fall Of Brick And Mortar Retail: The Impact Of Emerging Technologies And Executive Choices On Business Failure, Nikaela Jacko Redd, Lutisha S. Vickerie

Journal of International Business and Law

This paper examines business decline in relation to department stores and recent technological shifts in retail. Our perspective describes how management's failure to properly utilize technology and the resulting decline of international brick and mortar department stores was significantly influenced by emotional posturing disguised as strategic choices. To track the changes in the retail landscape based on new technological business models, we chronicle the shift from department store culture to online e-commerce by exploring a primary case, JCPenney, and the following exemplary cases: Macy's, H&M, Amazon, and Walmart. We also conduct a systematic research synthesis on a small sample of …

College-Bound Young Adults With Asd: Self-Reported Factors Promoting And Inhibiting Success, Amy L. Accardo

College of Education Departmental Research

This cross-sectional descriptive study captured the perspectives of 14 college-bound students with ASD at the critical period of transition from high school using an open-ended prompt. The aim was to capture (1) student definitions of success as a college student, (2) the factors they identify as most influential leading to becoming a college student, and (3) the factors they identify as obstacles to becoming a college student. Findings suggest that college-bound young adults with ASD define success in terms of both academic and non-academic factors, identify factors leading to their success that suggest a need for educators to collaborate with …

Graduate News, Graduate School, Old Dominion University

Graduate News

December 2017 issue of Graduate News from the ODU Graduate School.

The Motivational Factors That Influence Rugby Fandom In The United States, Mark Glieco

Sport Management Undergraduate

The purpose of this research was to understand the different factors that affect varying levels of rugby fandom. Rugby is currently very popular worldwide but faces extreme competition in the United States, especially from football. This research is important because it will help marketers and sport managers better understand fan motivation in rugby. This will allow them to better market and grow the sport in the United States to compete with American sports.

A sample of 111 participants from a small private college in New York was surveyed for this study. The survey contained primarily quantitative questions, with one open …

Identifying Problems And Solutions In Changing State Legislation Regarding Licensed Clinical Social Workers Providing Private Independent Mental Health Services, Dianna Cooper-Bolinskey

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

State regulated social work practice began in the 1960s; by the mid-1990s, all of the states within the United States regulated the profession through licensure. The purpose of licensure was ostensibly to protect the public and the profession; however, legislation defining social work practice varied vastly from state to state. The variation existed not only between states, but also within licensure categories with regard to the scope of practice of the social work profession. Licensed clinical social workers in some states could practice relatively independently, as they had the ability to diagnose, provide psychotherapy, and bill Medicaid, Medicare, and third …

An Exploratory Study Of The Five-Factor Personality Traits Model As Predictors Among Women In Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics Fields At Indiana State University, Sowmya Challa

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to identify any trends in personality traits of students at a mid-western university along with the influence of gender, choice of STEM or non-STEM academic major, and level of education on personality traits. The chosen mid-western university is Indiana State University (ISU) located in Terre Haute, Indiana. This study investigated the personality traits of student’s through administering Goldberg’s (1999) International Personality Item Pool of the Big Five Broad Domains of Personality. The personality profiles of students at ISU who have taken the questionnare are summarized. The personality profiles of female students were analyzed further …

Jmasm 48: The Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient And Adjustment Indices: The Fisher Approximate Unbiased Estimator And The Olkin-Pratt Adjustment (Spss), David A. Walker

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

This syntax program is intended to provide an application, not readily available, for users in SPSS who are interested in the Pearson product–moment correlation coefficient (r) and r biased adjustment indices such as the Fisher Approximate Unbiased estimator and the Olkin and Pratt adjustment.

Detection Of Outliers In Univariate Circular Data Using Robust Circular Distance, Ehab A. Mahmood, Sohel Rana, Habshah Midi, Abdul Ghapor Hussin

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

A robust statistic to detect single and multi-outliers in univariate circular data is proposed. The performance of the proposed statistic was tested by applying it to a simulation study and to three real data sets, and was demonstrated to be robust.

The Impact Of Predictor Variable(S) With Skewed Cell Probabilities On Wald Tests In Binary Logistic Regression, Arwa Alkhalaf, Bruno D. Zumbo

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

A series of simulation studies are reported that investigated the impact of a skewed predictor(s) on the Type I error rate and power of the Wald test in a logistic regression model. Five simulations were conducted for three different regression models. A detailed description of the impact of skewed cell predictor probabilities and sample size provide guidelines for practitioners wherein to expect the greatest problems.

Jmasm 50: A Web-Based Shiny Application For Conducting A Two Dependent Samples Maximum Test (R), Saverpierre Maggio, Gokul Bhandari, Shlomo S. Sawilowsky

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

A web-based Shiny application written in R statistical language was developed and deployed online to calculate a new two dependent samples maximum test as presented in Maggio and Sawilowsky (2014b). The maximum test allows researchers to conduct both the dependent samples t-test and Wilcoxon signed-ranks tests on same data without raising concerns associated with Type I error inflation and choice of statistical tests (Maggio and Sawilowsky, 2014a). The maximum test in R statistical language provides a friendly user interface.

Jmasm 47: Anova_Hov: A Sas Macro For Testing Homogeneity Of Variance In One-Factor Anova Models (Sas), Isaac Li, Yi-Hsin Chen, Yan Wang, Patricia RodríGuez De Gil, Thanh Pham, Diep Nguyen, Eun Sook Kim, Jeffrey D. Kromrey

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

Variance homogeneity (HOV) is a critical assumption for ANOVA whose violation may lead to perturbations in Type I error rates. Minimal consensus exists on selecting an appropriate test. This SAS macro implements 14 different HOV approaches in one-way ANOVA. Examples are given and practical issues discussed.

Front Matter, Jmasm Editors

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

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Vol. 16, No. 2 (Full Issue), Jmasm Editors

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

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'Parallel Universe' Or 'Proven Future'? The Language Of Dependent Means T-Test Interpretations, Anthony M. Gould, Jean-Etienne Joullié

Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods

Of the three kinds of two-mean comparisons which judge a test statistic against a critical value taken from a Student t-distribution, one – the repeated measures or dependent-means application – is distinctive because it is meant to assess the value of a parameter which is not part of the natural order. This absence forces a choice between two interpretations of a significant test result and the meaning of the test hypothesis. The parallel universe view advances a conditional, backward-looking conclusion. The more practical proven future interpretation is a non-conditional proposition about what will happen if an intervention is (now) applied …