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Families In The Civil War, James Marten

History Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

There You Enjoy Life Here You Work- Brazilian And Dominican Immigrant Views On Work And Health In The Us, Cristina Brinkerhoff, Carlos Eduardo Siqueira, Rosalyn Negrón, Natalicia Tracy

Gastón Institute Publications

Abstract: Structural inequalities in the U.S. work environment place most immigrants in low paying, high-risk jobs. Understanding how work experiences and influence the health of different immigrant populations is essential to address disparities. This article explores how Brazilian and Dominican immigrants feel about their experiences working in the U.S. and how the relationship between work and culture might impact their health. In partnership with the Dominican Development Center and the Brazilian Worker Center, we held five cultural conversations (CCs) with Brazilians (n = 48) and five with Dominicans (n = 40). CCs are participatory, unstructured groups facilitated by representatives from …

"I Don't Know If I Have The Courage" Reproductive Choices In Times Of Zika, Ana Rosa Linde, Grace Furtado, Elisa Tristán-Cheever, Carlos Eduardo Siqueira

Gastón Institute Publications

In this transnational study, we aimed at providing insights into women's views and attitudes towards their reproductive rights during the Zika epidemic. Women of distinct nationalities and ethnicities were recruited from various locations in Brazil, Puerto Rico, and the United States. We conducted semistructured interviews that suggest that participants reproductive decisions were intimately related to personal convictions and cultural beliefs, and their actions and thoughts were embedded in their sociocultural norms. The majority of women interviewed communicated that it takes courage to make the extreme, emotional, and overwhelming decision to have an abortion. The findings of this study suggest that …

The Effect Of Training And Institutional Support On Title Ix Coordinators' Responses To Sexual Violence On College Campuses, Mercedes M. Pino

Theses and Dissertations

One out of five women in college are victims of sexual assault. The uptick in cases being brought before the US Department of Education for the mishandling of sexual assault cases on college campuses raises a question about the adequacy of the training and support being received by Title IX Coordinators. This study was designed to determine whether Title IX Coordinators are receiving adequate support and sufficient training necessary to adhere to the federal mandates regarding sexual assault on campus, as well as how the Title IX Coordinators’ years of experience relate to the challenges they face.

Using SurveyMonkey, a …

Bergson’S Philosophy Of Self-Overcoming, Messay Kebede

Books and Book Chapters by University of Dayton Faculty

This book proposes a new reading of Bergsonism based on the admission that time, conceived as duration, stretches instead of passes. This swelling time is full and so excludes the negative. Yet, swelling requires some resistance, but such that it is more of a stimulant than a contrariety. The notion of élan vital fulfills this requirement: it states the immanence of life to matter, thereby deriving the swelling from an internal effort and allowing its conceptualization as self-overcoming. With self-overcoming as the inner dynamics of reality, Bergson dismisses all forms of dualism and reductionist monism because both the absence of …

Beauty In Disability: An Aesthetics For Dance And For Life, Aili W. Bresnahan, Michael Deckard

Books and Book Chapters by University of Dayton Faculty

To what extent does dance contribute to an ideal of beauty that can enrich human quality of life? To what extent are standards of beauty predicated on an ideal human body that has no disability? In this chapter, we show how conceptions of proportionality, perfection, and ethereality from the Ancient Greeks through the 19th century can still be seen today in some kinds of dance, particularly in ballet. Disability studies and disability-inclusive dance companies, however, have started to change this. The disabled person can be beautiful, we will show, in dance and in life, under a disability aesthetics that follows …

The Association Between Increase In Maternal Education And Child Behavioral And Academic Outcomes: The Mediating Role Of The Home Learning Environment And Positive Parenting, Samantha R. Awada

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Research on maternal educational attainment has shown associations between higher levels of maternal education and positive child outcomes, such as greater academic proficiency and fewer externalizing problems. Most studies examine maternal education as a stable construct, measuring it at one point in time; however, a sizeable minority of mothers pursue education after the birth of a child. As such, it is important to investigate whether an increase in maternal education is a protective or a risk factor for child outcomes. Further, few have explored the processes through which the association between increases in maternal education and child outcomes exist. The …

Psychological Reactance Applied To Instruction To Disregard, Jessica Louise Bozeman

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study applies theory of psychological reactance to instructions to disregard (ITD). When inadmissible testimony is made in front of jurors, a judge may issue an ITD that orders jurors to not consider the inadmissible evidence when making their verdicts. The theory of psychological reactance proposes that when a person’s choices are limited or their freedom is threatened, there will be a resulting attempt to regain or prioritize their freedom. Using a jury transcript study, the experiment has both a control condition including the evidence but without an ITD and a condition where the ITD is included. Results showed that …

From Tony Soprano To Donald Trump: Situating The Rhetoric Of The 2016 Trump Presidential Campaign In The Antihero Genre, Harry Bodell

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

In the wake of Donald Trump’s stunning victory over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, scholars and political pundits alike were left scrambling to understand what had occurred. While there is no single explanation for this unexpected turn of events, the present study argues that an overlooked and central aspect of Trump’s appeal was foreshadowed by the increased prominence of antihero protagonists in American media, particularly exemplified by the recent “Golden Age” of television wherein television series like The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Mad Men and Dexter found critical and popular success by building compelling narratives around morally flawed …

Impact Of Agreeableness On Virtual Team Performance Through Team Identification And Shared Mental Models, Alexandria Brown

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Virtual teams help organizations efficiently utilize their employees for a task without the requirement of co-location. The literature on team performance suggests that teamwork is integral to a team’s success; however, in virtual teams this is often a challenge. Certain personality characteristics on virtual teams may be particularly important to the development of effective teamwork. An under-investigated factor is the role agreeableness in virtual team processes and how it affects the overall team performance. The main research question of this study is how the degree of agreeableness on a virtual team affects the overall team performance through predicted associations with …

Providing Counseling In A Rural Setting: A New Multicultural Perspective, Danessa Ann Carter

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Counseling research shows a lack of information regarding training counselors to work in rural communities. However, more than 80% of the United States land is considered rural. This appears to be an extremely desperate combination of lack of information and training for a large portion of the country’s population. An additional complication to this dynamic is that neither CACREP standards nor the ACA Code of Ethics mandate any specific trainings or address any specific needs of rural communities.

To improve the understanding of rural community dynamics, this qualitative study explored the phenomenological experiences of counselors working in rural communities. This …

Validation Of A Low-Cost Sensor For Development Of Wearable And Handheld Spectrometers, Justin Leslie Cathey

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the possibility of creating a quantitative radiometric spectrometer from a low-cost relative radiometric spectrometer sensor through the use of statistical analysis and development of a correction factor (p > 0.05). Radiometric spectrometers are able to measure and fully characterize the radiometric and photometric characteristics of light, while relative spectrometers are not able to fully, quantitatively characterize the radiometric response from a light source, thus they are less expensive. The spectrometer created in this research is able to measure and produce comparative lighting parameters as well as an actual radiometer spectrometer.

The photoreceptors cells within the human eye allow …

Conservation Agriculture In The Heartland: Farmer Perceptions Of Soil Health And The Adoption Of Cover Crops, Lillian Clarissa Cobo

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The benefits of cover crops are widely recognized by those interested in conservation agriculture and soil health. These benefits include soil erosion control, nutrient loss reduction, and overall improvement of soil health. However, while these benefits are well-documented, the adoption rate of cover crops in the American Heartland remains astoundingly low. While some studies have attempted to determine the reasons for this low adoption rate, the information relating to how farmer perceptions of soil health impact cover crop adoption is almost nonexistent. Furthermore, there is a clear absence of mixed method studies in the literature relating to this subject. This …

Educational Experiences Of 1.5 Generation Cambodian Americans, Kassandra A. Chhay

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

During the 1980s, an influx of Cambodian Americans resettled in the United States due to the Cambodian genocide. Those Cambodian refugees who came to the United States as either infants, children or adolescents due to warfare, are members of the 1.5 generation. This thesis examines the educational trajectory of 1.5 generation Cambodian Americans in the context of family, school, and community from their resettlement in the United States to adulthood. Using a narrative approach, I examine how the eighteen participants in the study overcame certain challenges to attain success and how they negotiated their cultural and ethnic identity in relation …

How Fitting In To The Social Context Influences Work-Life Balance Effectiveness And Work Performance, Amanda Lynn Conlin

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study examines the notion that what may matter most in achieving an authentic feeling of work-life balance is fit within the immediate social context among work teams. Both work-life balance effectiveness and work performance depend on managing and meeting others’ expectations. Thus, the extent to which an individual shares work-life balance values and preferences with others on their team (i.e., a form of person-team fit influences the amount of resources expended or gained from navigating and negotiating others’ expectations. In a field study, 106 full time employees at a commercial real estate company were surveyed measuring the extent to …

An Assessment Of The Effectiveness Of Positive Self-Talk On Engagement With Feared Stimuli And Control Related Beliefs, Sara Louise Conley

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a disorder characterized by obsessions and compulsions that causes noticeable impairment across multiple life domains. Various mechanisms have been implicated in the development of OCD, including maladaptive control-related beliefs related to: (1) individuals’ sense of control over any given situation, and (2) trait motivation for desire of control. Specifically, low levels of perceived control and/or an elevated desire for control have been linked to obsessive-compulsive symptoms across a variety of OCD subtypes, including contamination concerns. The current gold-standard treatment for OCD is exposure and response prevention (ERP), which requires individuals to yield control and confront a …

Reactions To Daily Abusive Supervision: Exploring Day-To-Day Fluctuations With A Justice Perspective, Rushika Nadia De Bruin

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Abusive supervision is a widely-studied phenomenon experienced by a multitude of workers across organizations. While abusive supervision is typically studied in terms of negative outcomes (i.e., supervisor-directed retaliation), there is some preliminary evidence that not all consequences of abusive supervision are negative. While there have been several studies exploring employee reactions to abusive supervision, they predominantly take a cross-sectional design perspective. The current study utilized 102 full-time employees from the U.S. who responded to 932 daily surveys assessing personality, workplace behaviors, and justice perceptions. The current study explored how perceptions of abusive supervision changed on a day-to-day basis and how …

Assessment Of “Meaning Made”: An Empirical Examination Of Factorial Structure And Measure Validity, Andrea M. Despotes

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Meaning-making theory posits that appraisal of a stressful event leads to distress if it is discrepant with one’s sense of “global meaning,” and such distress stimulates meaning-making processes aimed at eliminating the discrepancy. If meaning making leads to new meaning (i.e., “meaning made”), the stress-induced discrepancy is reduced, which generally is expected to result in positive adjustment. This study investigated the factorial structure of the meaning made construct using a sample (N = 372) of Amazon Mechanical Turk workers in the United States having “Masters” status and a minimum approval rating of 95%. Participants reported an average age of about …

Elementary Principals' Support Of Beginning Teachers And Their Use Of Transformational Leadership In A State-Approved Induction Program, Patrick Enright

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This case study investigated how elementary principals use transformational leadership and the Illinois Induction Program Continuum (IIPC) when supporting beginning teachers. The elementary principals who participated in the study (n=6) worked in the same school district that used a state approved new teacher induction program. Data collection methods included pre-written reflection questions, three formal interviews and a review of all induction program documents. The data analysis was initial and focused coding.

The most important finding from this study was how principals provided support for beginning teachers through dialogue, collaborative school context, professional development, and student behavior. The research findings also …

Talented High School Students' Perceptions On How Their Parents Influence Their Achievement, Michael Fitzgerald

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Talented students are an underserved population in American schools today. Despite being identified as talented in a certain domain, many of these students are not developing their potential into outcomes of advanced achievement and skill. Research shows that parents play a critical role in developing their children’s talent. To change the cycle of underachievement, we need to start working with the talented students to get their perspective on what helps them. This is a qualitative case study of four talented high school students to discover their perspective on how their parents influence their achievement and motivation to learn. Multiple interviews …

Newcomer Educational Programming: In Response To Increasing Social-Emotional Needs Of Adolescent Newcomer Refugee Students, Rachel Louise Wixson Gilbertson

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This research study sought to understand how newcomer teachers address the social-emotional needs of their students in conjunction with English language and academic needs by using a qualitative approach. Literature thus far about newcomer education has focused on the language and academic needs of newcomer students, omitting the need to also address social-emotional learning. The study included interviews with four newcomer teachers from across the United States and found that for every teacher, social-emotional learning was the foundation for how they approached their students and made decisions about curriculum in their classroom. Despite the variation of program structure and level …

A Study Of Progression In Science Process Skills During A Midwestern Public Research University’S Stem Summer Camps, Anila Fiaz Gill

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study explored the impact of STEM summer camps (held at a Midwestern university) on campers’ science process skills (SPS). Upon analysis statistically significant positive growth in SPS was observed, evidenced by the increase from presurvey to postsurvey SPS scores, over the period of these short duration camps. There were no statistically significant differences in growth (presurvey to postsurvey) by gender, grade level, or ethnicity. While there were no significant main effects for gender (male vs. female) and grade level (middle vs. high school) on science process skill scores, there was a significant main effect of ethnicity (white vs. nonwhite) …

Exploring The Use Of Podcasts On Students’ Language Learning And Change Of Students’ Self-Efficacy About The Use Of Podcasts, Silvia Rehulina Ginting

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Similar to other types of mobile technologies, podcasts are believed to provide many advantages for language instruction, including English as a second language (ESL) learners’ listening skills and pronunciation and changes in their self-efficacy from using the podcasts for learning ESL. The convergent parallel mixed methods design used Mayer’s cognitive theory of multimedia learning and Bandura’s self-efficacy as foundations. It used 11 different instruments to collect quantitative data and qualitative data from two sections of an upper-intermediate ESL class at one university in Midwest United States. Quantitative data were collected using a pre-test, a post-test, and the note taking quizzes …

The Downfall Of Colonial And Dark Romantic Masculinity In The Witch: A New England Folktale, David Miles Harrington

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This thesis discusses the film The Witch (2015), directed by Robert Eggers, specifically, the character of William and his failures as a Puritan man. Puritan masculinity is a surprisingly understudied area of American literature and, to enter into the field, I use William and The Witch as a portal into various historical and literary interpretations of seventeenth-century Puritan maleness. The project takes a palimpsestic approach to these layers of influence on Eggers’s film. From Hawthorne’s Reverend Hooper in “The Minister’s Black Veil” and Young Goodman Brown in “Young Goodman Brown” to real-world Puritans Roger Williams and Samuel Sewall. This thesis …

Examining The Utility Of A Brief Self-Compassion Intervention For Emotion Regulation In Individuals With Exposure To Trauma, Sara Jean Himmerich

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Research suggests that abilities to moderate and process trauma-related emotions may predict symptoms of posttraumatic stress, with the overuse of maladaptive emotion regulation strategies presenting a potential vulnerability to experiencing difficulties following trauma exposure. Self-compassion has been associated with the acceptance of negative emotions, with research finding evidence for positive associations between self-compassion and adaptive emotion regulation. Additionally, research suggests an inverse relationship between self-compassion and symptoms of posttraumatic stress. Self-compassion has been conceptualized and studied as a skill that can be learned, with studies finding support for improved abilities following targeted interventions. However, more research is needed to establish …

Cultural Models Of Democracy Among Burmese Residents In Chicago, Illinois, And Fort Wayne, Indiana, John Hillory Hood

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines implicit assumptions about democracy among Burmese residents in Chicago, Illinois and Fort Wayne, Indiana. A major focus of the research is the durability of foundational cultural models – basic, simple, widely-shared modes of thought – that may or may not change over time, measured in this study through length-of-residency. As such, I examined three distinct sample groups: temporary residents, immigrants, and adult offspring of immigrants. This research comprised methods of ethnography, semi-structured interviews, as well as a free-listing memory task. A key point of inquiry is intracultural variation occurring between sample groups. Particular attention was paid to …

Evaluation Of Epilepsy Surgery Using Bayesian Multinomial Regression, Kacy Danielle Kane

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

We are exploring the effectiveness of brain surgeries that are supposed to eliminate or reduce the frequency of seizures in young Epilepsy patients. The long-term effectiveness of brain surgeries is evaluated by ordinal categories and brings longitudinal categorical responses.

Using a Bayesian multinomial regression model we examine the responses by the lobe of brain and other covariates as well as time. To overcome computational difficulties we utilize latent variables for multinomial responses and compare the results with frequentists methods.

Temporal Dynamics Of Human Emotional Response To Aversive Stimuli, Joseph Lawence Kempel

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Emotions are an integral part of human expression and are often communicated nonverbally through behavioral actions. With advancements in electroencephalography (EEG) technology it is now possible to measure the dynamics of emotion generation in an individual on the basis of patterns in their brain activity. This thesis aims to model the temporal dynamics of human emotion generation upon exposure to aversive stimuli and measure the effect of external distractions as a viable emotion regulation strategy.

This research builds on previous work in the literature that has shown that the ability of humans to regulate their emotions intrinsically (based on their …

The Association Of Victimization And Depression: An Investigation Of The Implicated Factors Of Social Anxiety, Body Esteem, And Social Support, Jacqueline Jo Klossing

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Victimization is an experience that affects a substantial portion of the adolescent population, and it is well established that it is associated with a host of negative outcomes, including depression. While the relations between victimization and depression have been researched extensively, there are a number of factors that may contribute to this association. Furthermore, both internal and external factors can play a role. Internally, the unique attribute of being socially anxious as well as the perceptions one carries regarding their appearance (i.e., body esteem) are implicated as potential mediators between victimization and depression. Externally, the social support an adolescent perceives …

The Role Of Administrative Observation, Evaluative Evidence And Procedural Due Process In Illinois, Before And After The Passage Of The Performance Evaluation Reform Act (Pera) And Senate Bill 7 (Sb7)., Christopher J. Adkins

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study examines the impact of the Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA) and Senate Bill 7 (SB7) on evaluative practices utilized with tenured educators within Illinois. Given the sense of urgency brought to bear on teacher quality from laws such as No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Race To The Top (RTTT), revisions to the law that include streamlined processes, uniform evidence gathering and interpretation, and student growth measures are mainstays of legislation like PERA and SB7. Akin to many states, Illinois schools are working to institutionalize these concepts into everyday practices.

In reviewing the changes made to the Illinois …