Digital Commons Network^™

Comparing The Violent Crime Trends In Select States To The National Trends To Determine Differences Between Crimes, States, And Regions, Alexandra N. Kremer

The Downtown Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal Written and Peer-Reviewed by Mandel Honors College Students at Cleveland State University

Violent crimes include crimes such as murder, rape, robbery, and assault. The FBI in the UCR breaks these down into Type I, crimes against the person, and Type II, property crimes, offenses. The FBI also divides the country into four regions: West, South, Northeast, and Midwest. Each of these regions are examined, through the use of two states from each, here. Their overall violent crime rates and trends, and their specific Type I offensive rates and trends, are examined against the national data and against each other. Several theories are used to explain the potential causes of the differences in …

Brief Literature Review On Conscientiousness And Responsivity To Cbi Programming, Ernest M. Oleksy

The Downtown Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal Written and Peer-Reviewed by Mandel Honors College Students at Cleveland State University

This article reviews the literature of how individual differences (specifically trait conscientiousness) may contribute to ex-offender responsivity to reentry programming. By studying if individual differences (e.g. personality traits) contribute to specific responsivity, programming can be determined to be ineffective for the general population and redesigned in a manner that is beneficial for the largest number of clients. To that end, this literature review provides a conceptual foundation for potential future studies, based on what previous researchers have found in their own studies. With this knowledge, future researchers will be better equipped to make sense of findings once they analyze their …

Physiological Responses To Music, Shauna Cox

The Downtown Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal Written and Peer-Reviewed by Mandel Honors College Students at Cleveland State University

There are numerous ways that people react physically to music, whether it be by choice (like dancing, swaying, etc.) or something that the body carries out on its own, with no intentional or conscious command. These automatic responses from the body could be as basic as heart-rate or respiration, or as complex as biochemical reactions involving hormones and neurotransmitters. In this essay, I will be focusing on those automatic responses.

Perceptions Of Rural Superintendents On Factors Influencing Employment Decisions, Heather P. Williams, Kathleen Shoup, Lisa Colon Durham, Ben A. Johnson, Shannon Dunstan, Brittany A. Brady, Carl F. Siebert

School Leadership Review

School districts struggle to attract and maintain a sufficient supply of highly capable superintendents. High-needs within rural districts, in particular, often are not able to attract and retain effective leaders. The issue of short superintendent tenure has drawn speculation and concern that revolving leadership may have negative consequences for schools and student achievement. A variety of factors contribute to superintendent turnover including: school board relations, job satisfaction, school district characteristics, and the personal characteristics of superintendents (Grissom & Anderson, 2012; Kamrath & Brunner, 2014; Wood, Finch & Mirecki, 2013). This study provides insight into perceptions of rural superintendents (n=10) and …

Professional Learning In Trauma Informed Positive Education: Moving School Communities From Trauma Affected To Trauma Aware, Helen Stokes, Tom Brunzell

School Leadership Review

In order to assess and then to identify promising approaches for school leadership within rural communities, it can be helpful to reframe struggling schools as trauma-affected schools. Acknowledging the impacts of childhood trauma on students and their learning allows school leaders to undertake professional learning both with and for their schools to become trauma-aware. Embedded within a rural community located in a region contending with intergenerational disadvantage, the findings reported in this study suggest that when school leaders deliberately implemented trauma-aware practice as a whole-school approach for all staff members, there was growth in student academic outcomes. In addition to …

Genetic Variations In The Dopamine Reward System Influence Exercise Reinforcement And Tolerance For Exercise Intensity, Kyle D. Flack, Christopher Pankey, Kelsey Elise Ufholz, Luann Johnson, James N. Roemmich

Dietetics and Human Nutrition Faculty Publications

Background: Exercise is a reinforcing behavior and finding exercise highly reinforcing is characteristic of habitual exercisers. Genotypes related to dopamine metabolism moderate the reinforcing value of behaviors, but genetic moderators of exercise reinforcement have not been established.

Purpose: Determine whether singular nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that moderate central reward pathways and pain neurotransmission are associated with exercise reinforcement, tolerance for exercise intensity, and usual physical activity.

Methods: Adults (n = 178) were measured for the reinforcing value of exercise relative to sedentary activities (RRV_exercise), minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and completed the Preference for and Tolerance …

Psychology Major Given President's Award For Academic Excellence, Winthrop University

Winthrop News 2019

HIGHLIGHTS

• The Great Falls, South Carolina, resident received a psychology degree.

• A member of Tau Sigma, Phi Kappa Phi and Psi Chi honors society, Crosby has accepted a position with the J. Marion Sims Foundation working with youth programs in Lancaster, South Carolina.

Fall 2019 Commencement Program, University Of Alabama In Huntsville

Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Teacher Hiring: The Disconnect Between Research Based Best Practice And Processes Used By School Principals, Laurie Kimbrel

Administrative Issues Journal

Student success is dependent on teacher quality; therefore, it is imperative that principals hire the teachers most likely to experience success as measured by the impact on student outcomes. This study investigated teacher hiring processes to determine the extent to which practices that are supported by selection science and teacher quality research are utilized by school principals. Data were gathered using a survey e-mailed to principals in ten states in the southern and western regions of the United States. Analysis indicated that principals do not use consistent processes and vary the hiring approach based on their opinion of conditions. Principals …

Childless, You Are Nothing: The Dilemma Of Ivf In Developing Countries, Alli Roshni

Alison Scott Ricker Research Award

No abstract provided.

Mental Illness Stigma’S Impact On Perceptions Of Intimate Partner Violence Victims: A Mock Juror Study, Madeline K. Butters

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a widespread issue that disproportionately affects women with mental illness. Yet, there is a lack of research on the effects of mental illness stigma on legal perceptions of women with mental illness in IPV cases. The present study experimentally investigated mock jurors’ perceptions of IPV cases where the victim has a mental illness and examined the role stigmatization of mental illness played in these perceptions. MTurk participants (N = 191) first completed attitude questionnaires that measured their attitudes towards mental illness and their beliefs about domestic violence. In the second part of the study, participants …

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Agenda, December 16, 2019, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• EPC Monthly Report - December 5, 2019
• Interim Day Expectations for Faculty
• Student Analytics Report
• Council on Teacher Education (One Pager) - Annual Report
• Scholarship Advisory Board Annual Report
• 401.3.3 Tenured and Tenure-Eligible Faculty (first reading)
• 405.3.1 Tenure and Promotion: Criteria for Librarians (first reading)
• 407.2 | 407.4 Procedures for Sanctions and other Reprimands (first reading)

An Exploratory Case Study On The Perceived Effectiveness Of Co-Teaching And A Need For Professional Development, Jaquelyn M. Joas-Foy

Theses and Dissertations

Co-teaching is an instructional method used to educate many special education and at-risk youth. This study explored the perceived knowledge of and effectiveness with co-teaching through the perceptions of co-teachers and administrators at a large suburban high school. This study also explored the perceived effectiveness of co-teachers in Gately & Gately's eight components of effective co-teaching (2001). Four dyads completed the Co-teaching Rating Scale and a questionnaire. They also engaged in classroom observations and a focus group. Data from these data sources along with a focus group that included administrators from the high school generated a picture of co-teaching and …

The Case For Grammar: What Preservice Teachers Need To Know About Metalinguistic Awareness, Aimee Schoonmaker, Kerry L. Purmensky

Journal of English Learner Education

The present study focused on preservice teachers’ grammar knowledge and its importance for their future students’ understanding and use of language, particularly English Learners. This quasi-experimental one-group pretest-posttest study investigated the grammar knowledge of preservice teachers who were enrolled in an undergraduate applied linguistics course at an urban university in the southern United States. The results confirmed prior research which found that preservice teachers are not knowledgeable enough about English grammar when explaining sentence level errors. This study demonstrated that preservice teachers’ basic understanding of English grammar can be increased in a short time, particularly in the recognition of simple …

Ell Families: Myths, Truths And Strategies For Engagement, Stephanie Knight, Marjaneh Gilpatrick

Journal of English Learner Education

This article is the first in our new category, Teaching Tips. These are practitioner articles designed to enhance existing in-service teacher's classroom strategies with ELs.

Parental involvement may be the strongest predictor of a child receiving a solid education. This means it is vital that teachers and administrators understand the students’ families’ culture and the way they view education. We also must be proactive with them so that we can empower them with literacy strategies to ensure academic success. Also, many English Language Learner (ELL) families are not familiar with the school system in the United States and may …

Hero Baby, Elizabeth J. Harney

Theses and Dissertations

With fiction and theory, the following pages give context to my most recent body of work called Hero Baby. The work in Hero Baby embodies an aesthetic of cuteness, as highlights the relationship between: aggression and protection, power and submission, war and commodity, nationalism and desire for love.

A Shot At Freedom: The Story Of Lance Sessoms, Trone L. Dowd, Rosemary Misdary

Capstones

Lance Sessoms has served 32 years in prison for a crime he committed. He has spent the entirety of his long term sentence turning his life around and helping any and everyone that he's crossed paths with. Now, Sessoms is hoping a life of servitude and being a model incarcerated person will afford him a second chance at life and with his family.


https://medium.com/@tljdowd/a-shot-at-freedom-the-story-of-lance-sessoms-d3f190e0b81a

Getting Out: Bruce Bryant’S Climb To Redemption Inside Prison, Rachel M. Rippetoe, Sean Sanders-Mills

Capstones

Bruce Bryant, 50, was convicted of the murder of 11-year-old Travis Lilley in June 1996. Bryant maintains he never fired a weapon that day in 1993. But he recognizes that his lifestyle as a young person — he started dealing drugs when he was 14 — contributed to an environment in which a stray bullet could take a young life. And for that reason, he’s spent most of his 25 years in prison working to help young people.

With at least 12 more years on his sentence, Bryant is now asking the governor for early release, with the hope that …

A Comprehensive Analysis Of The Roles, Responsibilities, And Impact Of The Chief Data Officer At Institutions Of Higher Learning, Kevin Michael Casey

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation proposes to analyze the role of chief data officer within institutions of higher education. The role of chief data officer is relatively new in the higher education industry and is appropriate to be studied. This dissertation seeks to discover personal, educational, and career demographics of the current chief data officers in higher education, as well as begin to understand their roles, responsibilities, and impact to the institution. Finally the study analyzes current institutions with chief data officers in order to identify factors for other universities to consider when considering the appointment. The research was conducted using survey methodology …

Maintaining Scholarly Integrity In The Age Of Bibliometrics, Andrew T. Hayashi, Gregory Mitchell

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of An Unusual Name On Individual And Cultural Identity, Taisha A. Deaza

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

This thesis is devoted to personal names and depicts how names both establish and destabilize identity. The collection of research gathered in this thesis demonstrates that names play an intriguing role in the construction of our lives, selves, and placement in society. It also considers names in childhood, and how names are one of the earliest signifiers of self-recognition and gender identification. Further, this thesis shows the impact social constructs have on names and the power of names to persuade people into making certain choices. This thesis concludes by demonstrating how unusual names can exclude, stereotype, or disadvantage people.

The Guardian, Week Of December 16, 2019, Wright State Student Body

The Guardian Student Newspaper

News articles from The Guardian for the week of December 16, 2019. The Guardian is the official student-run newspaper for Wright State University. It has been published regularly since March of 1965.

The Body. The Art. The Psyche, Anushtha Agrawal

Capstones

The Body. The Art. The Psyche is a series that delves into the psyche behind doing body art. What drives an artist to manipulate another's body whether permanently or impermanently. What drives them? What they gain out of it? What are they seeking? The series has two artists; A tattoo artist who is driven by the demons of the human mind and macabre things around him; another is a henna artist who is driven by the mystical properties of henna and is inspired by the celebration of life. I have tried to draw a contrast between permanence and impermanence in …

Pain And Postoperative Health-Related Quality Of Life In Inguinal Hernia Patients, Cheryl B. Rowder

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between selected variables (i.e., pain issues, hernia characteristics, and personal attributes) and postoperative health-related quality of life in inguinal hernia patients. This study identified preoperative variables predictive of lower postoperative health-related quality of life. The study entailed non-experimental retrospective analyses of variables generated during an ongoing longitudinal cooperative clinical study to examine patient outcomes after inguinal hernia repair. Fourteen Veterans Affairs Medical Centers in the continental United States participated in the study. Data were collected from eligible participants upon entry into the project and at 3 months post-surgery. The sample …

Nurses' Negotiation Processes In Facilitating Ethical Decision-Making In Patient Care, Teresa A. Savage

Dissertations

The literature on ethical decision-making by nurses presents both prescriptive and descriptive decision-making models. The processes nurses use to move through the step-wise models has not been described. An atheoretical approach was taken using naturalistic inquiry methodology to explore the processes further. Eighteen nurses working in a Midwest, urban academic medical center were interviewed. The major themes focused on the moral agency of nurses and the processes by which nurses accomplish their objectives for their patients. Physician-nurse relationships and their interactions were critical in the expression of moral agency of the nurses. The main finding in the study was that …

Marital Reciprocal Support In The Context Of Cancer, Lillian G. Douglass

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between mutual spouse support and the psychological status of spouses whose mates were being treated for cancer. The conceptual framework was developed from a literature review in which empirical studies and interpersonal theories suggested the importance of social support to health promotion and maintenance in stressful life situations. A descriptive cross-sectional correlational design was used.

Insured And In Debt, Virginia Jeffries

Capstones

Many Americans with employer-sponsored health insurance are still going into debt to pay medical bills.

http://virginia-jeffries.com/cap/

How Actresses Jessica Chastain, Octavia Spencer And Reese Witherspoon Are Fighting Pay Disparity One Project At A Time, Abbey M. White

Capstones

While working on Steven Spielberg's 2005 miniseries "Into the West," Indigenous-Latina actress Tonantzin Carmelo achieved pay parity with her white male co-stars thanks to a contract clause called "favored nations. Now 15 years later, and in the height of Hollywood's gender parity movement, Hollywood actresses are strategically using the very same clause to chip away at the pay gap. This 7000-word narrative feature explains the historical use of this clause, identifies how actresses are leveraging its power to achieve pay parity on their projects and answers why it's not a one-size-fits-all fix for Hollywood pay inequity.

http://abbeymwhite.com/capstone/how-actresses-like-jennifer-aniston-jessica-chastain-and-lupita-nyongo-are-fighting-pay-disparity-one-project-at-a-time/

Informal Learning About Teaching Among Novice University Professors, Laia Encinar-Prat, Joaquín Gairín Sallán

The Qualitative Report

In this article, we present results of a study on informal learning about teaching among novice university professors at one university in Spain. The study identified teaching competencies developed through informal learning, strategies of informal learning used, and organizational factors that might foster or hinder the acquisition of teaching competencies. We gathered data through 18 individual interviews with novice university faculty, two focus groups with university professors, a document analysis and a focus group of experts. We conducted content analysis of the transcripts of the interviews and focus groups, as well as the documents obtained. The results showed that the …

Skype In Qualitative Interviews: Participant And Researcher Perspectives, Rebecca G. Mirick, Stephanie P. Wladkowski

The Qualitative Report

As Internet usage has increased, web-based technologies such as Skype and Face Time have become more common alternatives for qualitative interviewing, especially for research participants who are geographically distant from the researchers. Challenges to the use of these tools have been identified, but as technology is currently changing at a rapid pace, more recent research is needed to provide up-to-date information on the feasibility of web and video conferencing technologies for qualitative interviewing. This paper reflects on the experience of using Skype for qualitative research interviews (n=14) in a study of pregnancy and parenting in doctoral programs, including feedback from …