Digital Commons Network^™

Understanding Why Women Stay: Examining Persistence Factors Of Women Majoring In Science And Technology Programs In Public Ethiopian Universities Using A Mixed Methods Design, Meseret Hailu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Amongst African nations, Ethiopia is a unique case in many respects. The country has the second largest population on the continent, is currently experiencing an economic boom, and is a relatively stable nation in the geopolitically volatile "Horn of Africa" region. In the past two decades, the higher education sector in Ethiopia has experienced rapid growth, as evidenced by an increase in both student enrollment and the number of universities. Amongst the various types of higher education institutions, public universities are especially important because they receive the greatest financial support from the Ministry of Education. Moreover, science and technology programs …

Commencement 2018 (Program And Video), Illinois Wesleyan University

Commencement Ceremonies

The recording embedded here was posted to YouTube by University Communications without the remarks of Kirk S. Schroeder '84, honorary doctorate recipient. A recording of that portion of the ceremony is available in the University Archives.

Do Early Childhood Body Mass Index Trajectories Affect School Readiness, Socioemotional Development, Or Cognition? Findings From The Candle Study., Lauren Michelle Sims Taylor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Sims Taylor, Lauren M., PhD. The University of Memphis. December 2018. Early childhood weight status and its effects on socioemotional development, school readiness, and cognition.Major Professor: Vikki Nolan, DSc, MPHChildhood obesity is associated with negative health and social outcomes in school-age children. These effects range from absenteeism and poor self-esteem to worse test scores, and fewer completed grades. Although previous studies have found these associations in school-age children and adolescents, less is known about this association in young children, who are just beginning school. Additionally, many studies of the outcomes of obesity are limited by cross-sectional study designs. These projects …

Urban School Leadership Preparation Programs' Key Factors For Developing School Leaders: What Are The Key Factors Urban School Leadership Preparation Programs Use To Develop School Leaders?, Leviticus Se'cret Pointer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

AbstractPointer, Leviticus SeCret. Ed.D. The University of Memphis. December, 2018. Urban School Leadership Preparation Programs Key Factors for Developing School Leaders: What are the key factors Urban School Leadership Preparation Programs use to develop school leaders? Major Professor: Dr. Beverly Cross.This research was designed to identify key factors that are essential for urban school leadership preparation by conducting research, developing proven urban school leadership competencies, and for improving urban school leadership practices which enhance student learning, development and achievement. There was a secondary purpose for this research in determining if culturally relevant leadership practices were utilized as components for the …

Self-Concept Orientation And Organizational Identification: A Mediated Relationship, Chun Guo, Jane K. Miller, Melissa S. Woodard, Daniel J. Miller, Kirk D. Silvernail, Mehmet Devrim Aydin, Ana Heloisa Da Costa Lemos, Vilmante Kumpikaite-Valiuniene, Sundhir Nair, Paul Donnelly, Robert D. Marx, Linda M. Peters

Articles

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to test a mediated model of the relationship between self-concept orientation (individualist and collectivist) and organizational identification (OrgID, Cooper and Thatcher, 2010), with proposed mediators including the need for organizational identification (nOID, Glynn, 1998) as well as self-presentation concerns of social adjustment (SA) and value expression (VE, Highhouse et al., 2007).

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 509 participants in seven countries. Direct and mediation effects were tested using structural equation modeling (AMOS 25.0).

Findings

Individualist self-concept orientation was positively related to VE and collectivist self-concept orientation was positively related to nOID, VE …

Analysis Of The Relationship Between Religion And Forgiveness, Desislava S. Stoycheva

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Forgiveness has been found important for human social functioning within and across cultures. Empirical findings from the last four decades pointed to the role of forgiveness in improving physical, mental, and spiritual health. As a result, forgiveness practices have been extended into the fields of counseling psychology, education, and peace-making. Other studies suggest that religious commitment increases a person’s likelihood to forgive and that practicing forgiveness mediates the effect of religion on health. Schema Theory was used to interpret religious background or lack of religion as factors shaping specific mental structures. These mental structures could lead to different forgiveness schemata, …

Resilience In Undergraduate Students: The Relation Between Personality, Social Support, And Cortisol Levels, Elisheva Joy Havlik

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of the current study was to investigate resilience in relation to personality, social support, and cortisol levels in response to a stress induction in a sample of 174 undergraduate students. It was hypothesized that resilience would be positively related to personality traits and perceived social support, and also would predict cortisol levels at baseline, reactivity to stress induction, and recovery after stress induction. Additionally, exploratory analyses investigated the moderating effects between variables to explain the process of resilience further. Participants completed self-report questionnaires (i.e. the CD-RISC, BFI, and the MPSS), provided saliva samples via a passive drool collection …

Pedagogical Contraband: A Phenomenological Approach To Understanding Student Engagement During Simulations, Stephen Austin Henderson

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study is to explore the lived experiences of students who are taught using simulations in survey history courses. Although simulations have been studied in a variety of domains, few studies have examined the use of simulations to teach history. Further, most of the previous research on simulations has been quantitative in nature, and one goal of the proposed study is to go into greater depth than typically allowed for by quantitative methodologies and examine the lived experiences of students in a college-level history class who are participating in simulations. Results suggest that the five phases of …

Exploring The Academic, Social, And Cultural Experiences Of English Language Learners From Saudi Arabia At A Midwest University In The U.S., Sukainah A. Al Subia

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The world is experiencing an increasing number of international students who leave their countries to study abroad. The value and benefit of studying abroad influences many students to go on this educational journey. Research conducted over the past 20 years indicates that studying abroad provides both rewarding and challenging experiences. For example, studying abroad exposes students to exciting new cultures and places, developing academic/language skills and gaining social and cultural exposures which in turn enrich their global experience (Geeraert et al., 2014; Lillyman & Bennett, 2014; Wu et al., 2015). However, studying abroad can also pose certain challenges, including loneliness, …

Informing Quality In Emergency Care: Understanding Patient Experiences, Esmat Swallmeh, Vivienne Byers, Amr Arisha

Articles

Purpose: Assessing performance and quality in healthcare organisations is moving from focussing solely on clinical care measurement to considering the patient experience as critical. Much patient experience research is quantitative and survey based. The purpose of this paper is to report a qualitative study gathering in-depth data in an emergency department (ED).

Design/methodology/approach: The authors used empirical data from seven focus groups to understand patient experience as participants progressed through a major teaching hospital in an Ireland ED. A convenience sampling technique was used, and 42 participants were invited to share their perceptions and outline key factors affecting their journey. …

Introduction To Neuroscience, Steelman Library, Aimee Franklin Dr.

Syllabus Repository

No abstract provided.

Chinese Outbound Travel: Understanding The Socioeconomic Drivers, Songshan (Sam) Huang, Xiang Wei

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This study used a national sample (N = 36,490) of Chinese urban residents to examine the relationship between outbound travel intention and some key demographic, economic, and geographic variables. Findings indicate that education, income, and paid vacation days significantly predicted outbound travel intention. Compared to residents in Tier-4 cities in China, those in Tier-1, -2, and -3 cities had higher probability of choosing outbound travel by 13.1%, 30.9%, and 15.3%, respectively. This study draws meaningful connections between Chinese outbound tourism and the social and economic realities in China and offers an alternative approach to understanding Chinese outbound tourism.

Using Traditional Rituals In Hospitality To Gain Value: A Study On The Impact Of Feng Shui, Madeleine Ogilvie, Danny Ng, David Xiang, Maria M. Ryan, Jaime L.P. Yong

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Superstition and the rituals used to support such beliefs remain an important part of Chinese business society. With the advance of globalisation and the normalisation of many business practices this study explores the importance these rituals continue to play in the contemporary hospitality setting. The paper examines the prominence of Feng Shui in business today in a qualitative study using Chinese restaurants to explore associated business behaviours and perceived value of use. Findings from 20 phenomenological interviews from across four different Asian communities are discussed highlighting the core elements of this ritualistic practice. Results indicate that these practices continue to …

In The Shadow Of The Ivory Tower: Experiences Of Midwives And Nurses Undertaking Phds, Sadie Geraghty, Kim Oliver

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Aims: The aims of this study were to gain an understanding of the experiences of nurses and midwives enrolled in a PhD, explore any barriers that PhD students encounter whilst completing the degree, and develop recommendations for consideration in formulating support strategies to encourage completion for nurses and midwives enrolled on a PhD degree. Background: It is important to understand what is happening at doctoral level education for nurses and midwives, and how those enrolled on PhD courses can successfully complete their studies, transition learning, and acquire the ability to undertake research into the clinical environments. Design: The criteria for …

The Impact Of Targeted Educational Programmes On Academic Outcomes For African Students In Western Australia, Kwadwo Adusei-Asante

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Over the past two decades, people with African backgrounds have become part of Australian society. There have been extensive discussions of the various academic challenges African students experience at all educational levels in Australia. The academic challenges identified range from low academic achievement to unemployment and are particularly prevalent among African students who are refugees or those who have low socio-economic status. This paper argues that targeted educational programmes need to be implemented to support African students who are struggling in their academic pursuits. The positive outcomes and lessons learned from our implementation of the Top-Up Programme, a peer-mentoring educational …

Deconstructing The Corporate Psychopath: An Examination Of Deceptive Behavior, Corey A. Shank

School of Economics and Finance Faculty Publications

This paper examines whether business students deceive others more often than non-business students. A cheap talk experiment and an ethics questionnaire are employed to examine the subject’s behavior. Fundamental differences, such as psychopathic personality, are used to examine their role in deceptive and unethical behavior. The results show that business students deceive others for personal gain more often than non-business students when there is the most to gain; however, business students find deception committed by others as unethical. Business students exhibit more psychopathic tendencies compared to non-business students, including being more likely to fit the prototypical psychopath profile. This fundamental …

Contract Interpretation 2.0: Not Winner-Take-All But Best-Tool-For-The-Job, Lawrence A. Cunningham

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

In a centuries-old debate among contracts scholars, one group supports a presumption favoring a text-centered approach to the interpretation of a writ-ten agreement—the plain meaning taken from the four corners—while oppo-nents urge a broader understanding of context—what the parties intended and the circumstances of their negotiation. The contending positions have so hard-ened that, in a jarring juxtaposition this Essay will reveal, recent academic classifications of the same state laws are exactly opposite to each other: contex-tualists classify certain states as contextualist that textualists say are textualist!

Yet despite the persistence of acute polarization, the author also docu-ments—and applauds—promising trends in …

A Theory Of Civil Problem-Solving Courts, Jessica K. Steinberg

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This article is the first to develop a problem-solving theory for the civil justice system. Drug courts pioneered the problem-solving model in the 1990s to pursue therapeutic goals as an alternative to “assembly line” sentencing. This Article explores the potential for migration of the drug court framework into the two most commonly adjudicated civil cases: rental housing and consumer debt.

Three structural conditions in the civil courts—high-volume dockets, systemic lack of counsel, and corporate capture of the small claims process—routinely position vulnerable classes of individuals on the losing end of litigation. In the aggregate, these conditions have rendered the civil …

§4.35 Evidence Of Similar Offenses In Sexual Assault And Child Molestation Cases, Christopher B. Mueller, Laird Kirkpatrick, Liesa Richter

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This article addresses the admissibility of evidence of prior similar offenses in sexual assault and child molestation cases under FRE 413 and 414. It discusses the purposes for which such evidence may be offered, the balancing required under FRE 403, and the roles of judge and jury.

§1.7 Evidence Errors—Harmless, Christopher B. Mueller, Laird Kirkpatrick, Lisea Richter

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This article discusses when evidentiary error is harmless. It addresses the Kotteakos guidelines and the competing standards set forth by courts. It also addresses the several ways by which evidentiary error may be cured at trial.

Unbundling Populism, David Fontana

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Populism is having its moment on our constitutional center stage, but the way we are treating this moment is adding to the risks that populism poses to our liberal democratic constitutional order. Populism has primarily been defined in our public discussions by the loudest self-identifying populists active in democratic politics at the moment. Populism has therefore often been treated as a bundled-together concept, merging not just anti-establishment sentiments, but also authoritarian and xenophobic ones as well. Populism is an eight-letter word that is then treated like a pejorative four-letter one. Populism, though, is a they, and not an it. The …

Global Legal Pluralism As A Normative Project, Paul Schiff Berman

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Legal pluralists have long recognized that societies consist of such multiple overlapping normativecommunities. These communities are sometimes state based but sometimes not, and they are sometimes formal, official, and governmental, but again sometimes they are not. Scholars studying interactions among these multiple communities have often used the term “legal pluralism” to describe the inevitable intermingling of these normative systems.

In recent decades, a new application of pluralist insights has emerged in the international and transnational realm. This new legal pluralism research was born in the decades following the collapse of the bipolar Cold War order in 1989. During this period, …

Bifurcating Settlements, Michael B. Abramowicz, Sarah Abramowicz

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

In settling a lawsuit, parties agree on their obligations to one another, but they need not separately address each issue, claim, or remedy that a trial court would have confronted. The legal system, however, can bifurcate the settle-ment process, requiring separate resolution of components of a settlement. Bi-furcation can protect third parties, for example, by preventing divorcing parents from trading child custody for money. In addition to identifying a wide range of contexts in which preventing trade-offs may be desirable, this Article shows that bifurcation will generally have only modest (and sometimes beneficial) effects on settlement rates.

The Golden Years, Gray Divorce, Pink Caretaking, And Green Money, Naomi R. Cahn

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This Article considers the impact of changing family structures on aging in contemporary America. It looks at two critical and interrelated aspects of aging—economic security and caretaking—and offers policy suggestions on how to improve the financial stability of and caretaking possibilities for elders. The core thesis is that our current social, legal, and economic structure for growing old is organized around the nuclear family with respect to both caretaking and financial security. As family structures change in terms of partnering (and re-partnering and non-partnering) and number of children, and with the increase in economic inequality, support for old age needs …

Scholarly Communication Via Institutional Repositories: A Ghanaian Perspective, Ebenezer Martin-Yeboah Mr., Anankyela Anaba Alemna Prof., Emannuel Adjei Dr

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

ABSTRACT

Institutional repositories have emerged as a reliable platform for showcasing intellectual outputs of academic institutions due to their inherent benefits. Despite the embrace of this concept, issues of their sustainability have come up as a result of the attrition of some repositories, especially in developing countries giving rise to the call to ascertain the significant issues regarding how repositories are set up and managed in the Ghanaian context. This study, using the comparative case study design, guided by the Diffusion of Innovations Theory, assesses how institutional repositories are created and sustainably managed for use by the academic communities of …

An Investigation Of Mobile Phone Use While Driving: An Application Of The Theory Of Planned Behavior, Sokunthea Kruy

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Mobile phone use while driving has been an emerging issue for road safety in recent years. The development of new technology has meant that users are more connected to their devices than ever before. This has led to use while driving despite the illegality of this behaviour. In this research, three mobile phone use behaviours were investigated: making/receiving calls; creating/sending text messages, and accessing social media. Through application of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), an online survey was developed. Five hundred and fifty-nine university students including 193 young respondents (aged 17 – 25) responded to investigate attitudes, subjective norms, …

Comparative Pairs Judgements For High-Stakes Practical Assessments, Hendrati Nastiti

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Assessment of practical tasks, as opposed to that of theoretical tasks, has been considered to be problematic, mainly because it is usually resource intensive and the scoring is subjective. Most practical tasks need to be assessed on site or involve products that need to be collected, stored, or transported. Moreover, because practical tasks are generally open-ended, and therefore subjective, there is concern over the reliability of the scores. In high-stakes assessment, these problems are even more challenging. There is a need for an assessment method that could overcome these problems. In this study, such a method that will be referred …

Holistic Health: Shaping Women’S Experiences Of Positive Body Image, Helen Elizabeth Monks

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This PhD thesis seeks to contribute to a nuanced understanding of positive body image and how it is expressed among a group of women participating in holistic health culture in a modern Western society. Qualitative data were collected from in-depth ethnographic interviews with 25 women in Perth, Western Australia, to illuminate an understanding of their holistic health beliefs and practices, perceptions of appearance and health ideals, as well as their understandings of positive body image. Thematic analysis of the data through Nvivo revealed several overarching themes, demonstrating how certain aspects of holistic health culture may encourage or dissuade the development …

Ghanaian Parents’ Experiences Of Caring For Their Preterm Infants After Discharge From The Neonatal Unit - A Narrative Inquiry Study, Esther Abena Adama

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The care of preterm infants is associated with stress. In the busy neonatal unit where highly skilled healthcare workers are always present, parents have reported being stressed when caring for their preterm infants in the neonatal unit. In Ghana, preterm birth is the highest cause of neonatal mortality with 70% of these morbidities and mortalities occurring in the community. Yet to date, no study in Ghana has explored how parents experience their care giving role after discharge from the neonatal unit into the community.

This study explored the experiences of caring for preterm infants in the neonatal unit and after …

An Investigation Into Trust And Security In The Mandatory And Imposed Use Of Financial Icts Upon Older People, David Michael Cook

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Care needs to be taken to reduce the number of people who are fearful and mistrustful of using ICT where that usage is forced upon them without choice or alternative. The growing incidence of mandatory and imposed online systems can result in confusion, misuse, fear, and rejection by people with only rudimentary ICT skills. A cohort where a high percentage of such people occur is older people, defined in this study as people over the age of 60 Examples of compulsory ICT interactions include some banks limiting bank statement access through online rather than paper-based options. Other examples include the …