Digital Commons Network^™

Factors That Influence Student-Athlete Academic Major Selection, Priya Sen

All Theses And Dissertations

This secondary research study explored four identified factors that influence student-athlete academic major selection. The purpose of this study was to explore how each identified factor influenced student-athlete academic major selection, including athletic coaches, student-athlete identity, academic advising, and career exploration (Amran, 2013; Andrews, et al., 2017; Henrion, 2009; Kelly, 2009). There were no participants in this study and data collection was based on a content analysis of 20 peer-reviewed studies. Several themes were identified in relation to attributes directly and indirectly influencing the academic major selection for each of the four factors (Amran, 2013; Andrews et al., 2017; Henrion, …

The Relationships Between School Burnout And Perceived Teacher Support In High School Male Students, Travis S. Moots

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative correlational research study is to determine if perceived teacher support predicts school burnout in male high school students. High school males from four private high schools in eastern North Carolina and southeast Virginia participated in the study. The predictor variables were overall perceived teacher support, as well as four subcategories (i.e., invested, positive regard, expectations, and accessible) of perceived teacher support. Data was collected by utilizing student surveys to measure each of the variables. The Teacher Support Scale measured perceived teacher support, and the School Burnout Inventory measured school burnout among the high school males. …

Academic Self-Concept Of Dual Credit Secondary Career Technical Education Students, Scott D. Griggs

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Dual credit continues to expand in approach, including a single course, multiple courses, up to associate degree offerings embedded in high schools, career technical education (CTE) programs, and located in a range of secondary and postsecondary locations. As of the 2010–2011 school year, 82% of all public secondary schools had students enrolled in dual credit courses (U. S. Department of Education, 2013). In the 2016–2017 school year, 73% of CTE courses of study included both high school and postsecondary credit (U.S. Department of Education, 2018). Existing dual credit research focuses heavily on academic impact, college credit, and continuation, along with …

The Effectiveness Of Christian Accommodative Mindfulness In The Treatment Of Shame, Tracy Lynn Jones

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Shame is a destructive moral emotion experienced by a vast majority of the population and is found at the core of numerous mental illnesses and spiritual crises. Unfortunately, Christians seeking help for these conditions are often left with unmet cultural needs in the process of treatment, potentially hindering full healing or even entrance into needed treatment. The current small N time series case study research addresses this dilemma utilizing a culturally accommodated form of mindfulness, which is an existing treatment known to promote healing in the physical and mental health realms. Mindfulness has been demonstrated to be useful in the …

Developing An At Risk Youth Prevention Model In Local Church, Norman Dwight Vick

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Congregations must be spiritually positioned to receive and pass on the Gospel baton to all believers. This work will concentrate on those that are at risk for emotional disorders, particularly at the stage of adolescence. This effort will point to the young with emotive challenges that will assist them in being able to pass on the faith constructively and wholesomely. This dissertation will utilize an analytic approach that consists of multi-components related to mental health classifications and disorder, therefore, Christian leaders should be looking beyond secularism to provide support for adolescents who are at risk. Given the presence of millions …

A Phenomenological Exploration Of Women’S Attitudes Towards Women Mentoring Other Women In The Church, Natasha Amy Pettigrew

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative phenomenological study explores the attitudes and views of women towards mentoring other women in the church for discipleship purposes. Although there are many benefits to women entering into a mentoring relationship for discipleship purposes, including spiritual growth, increase in the practice of spiritual disciplines, staying grounded in the Christian faith, and experiencing deeper intimacy with Christ, there is still a significant percentage of women who are not doing so. The researcher surveyed 37 Christian women between the ages of 18 and 65 to explore their attitudes and views towards women mentoring one another in the church for discipleship …

High School Language Students' And Teachers' Perceptions Of Effective Teaching Practices: A Collective Case Study, Janet Lynn Lainé

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The influence of globalization on today’s society has propagated an increasing need for individuals who are able to communicate in languages other than English. However, while a large percentage of high school students recognize the importance of a second language (L2) for future jobs, only a very small percentage of students pursue advanced language study at universities, an aspect that may be due to disparate notions about effective foreign language teaching practices. The purpose of this collective instrumental case study was to understand the perceptions of effective language teaching practices for high school language students and teachers at two independent …

Perceptual Differences In School Climate Between Administrators And Teachers Within Christian Schools, Cheryl Turner Cavanaugh

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

School climate has been researched for the past 100 years. However, there is a lack of school climate research focused on perceptual differences between school leaders and teachers. It is important to evaluate stakeholder differences, as principals are tasked with forming the climate of the school and teachers are responsible for relaying that climate to students. Furthermore, there is a lack of school climate studies conducted in private Christian schools. Christian school leaders need school climate data to help sustain and improve Christian education. The purpose of this causal comparative study is to evaluate perceptual differences between administrators and teachers …

Uncommon Corps: A Transcendental Phenomenology Of The Academic Experiences Of Military-Connected High School Students Transitioning Between States, Norman Eugene Solomon

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Although nearly 1.1 million military-connected students attend public schools throughout the United States, few research studies have examined how transitions related to military mobility requirements affect this unique group of students from the perspective of the students. More often than not, researchers have examined phenomena related to military-connected students and their transitional experiences from the perspectives of parents, teachers, school administrators, or stakeholders other than the military-connected student. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study is to describe, from the perspective of the students, the academic experiences of military-connected high school students who transition to different states. Working closely with …

Compassionate Divorce Recovery For Christian Women, Alice Drusilla Hoag

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Depression, anxiety, anger, and guilt causes significant distress for 70% of divorcees, typically lasting upwards of two years, while 15-30% report more devastating and life-altering distress for the rest of their lives. Christians divorcees have the added shame of spiritual failure, leading to an increased sense of judgment and isolation from their worship communities. Self-compassion is an attitude toward oneself comprised of self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness, and has been shown to reduce depression, anxiety, shame, stress, and social isolation. To date, there are no published divorce recovery programs specifically tailored for Christians utilizing self-compassion techniques. This quasi-experimental study analyzed …

A Phenomenological Study Of Early Resignation Among Southern Territory Salvation Army Officers, Everette F. Platt

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand early resignation of Salvation Army officers in the Southern Territory by investigating their lived experiences with the phenomenon. The theories guiding this study were role identity, as it explains the differences in perceptions and actions that accompany a role and emotional intelligence (EI), which refers to a generic competence in perceiving emotions, both in oneself and in others. The central research question addressed how former Salvation Army officers in the Southern Territory perceive that their officership experiences impacted their decision to resign early. The subquestions for this study addressed (a) …

Sustainable African American Marriages: Evaluating The Impact Of Closeness To God And Religiosity On Marital Satisfaction And Longevity, Kimberly Anissa Gregory

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Religion and religious involvement extend beyond individual satisfaction to also include influencing marital and family relationships. In spite of the research supporting the perceived benefits of marriage, including overall emotional and physical health, decrease in stress, alcohol and drug use, and increase in lifespan, African Americans marriage rates are lower compared to White Americans. Consequently, African Americans have the highest divorce rate and the highest incidences of single-parent homes. Religiosity is often overlooked as an important component that contributes to satisfaction and enduring relationships. There is also a perceived relationship between closeness to God and romantic attachment that leads to …

The Use Of Patient Diaries In The Cvicu To Prevent Post-Intensive Care Syndrome And Improve Family Satisfaction With Care, Denise M. Goodberlet

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Patients in the ICU are at risk for adverse physiological and psychological symptoms including anxiety, depression and confusion common with post intensive care syndrome. The presence of these symptoms is correlated with poor satisfaction with care and decreased quality of life. This creates stress for patients as well as the families of these patients. This evidence-based practice (EBP) project sought to answer the clinical question: For patients and families in the cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU), can participating in an intensive care diary program, when compared to standard of care, decrease the symptoms and incidence of post-intensive care syndrome in …

A Christ-Centered, Attachment Based, Church Program For The Healing Of Father Wounds, Stephen J. Madosky I

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Father wounds have devastated the hearts of men as to make impotent their effectiveness as fathers, leaders, and ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This dissertation used Christ- centered attachment-based theories to develop a church-driven program that includes discipleship disciplines along with counseling techniques to help develop a more secure relational attachment to God and therefore producing psychospiritual benefits, such as a greater love of self, others, and God. This research evaluated the efficacy of the development of this Christ-centered, attachment-based church program for the Healing of Father wounds. This program development looks to secure the participants’ attachment to …

Learning Strategies Of Secondary School Technology Education Teachers And Their Students, Michael Ray Craft

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The United States has long been known as a nation of innovators and doers, supported by an educational system based on these concepts; however, our school systems have had problems producing students prepared to retain the United States as a global leader. Technology Education is an exception. Technology Education provides the opportunity to apply knowledge, theory, and concepts to real-world applications through the use of activities that encourage innovation and creativity. This study used a quantitative causal comparative design to investigate the learning strategies of secondary school Technology Education teachers and their students, distribution of learning strategies in the Technology …

The American Unreformation: The Undoing Of American Evangelical Prominence And The Rise Of The Religiously Unaffiliated Nones, H G. Walker

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

With over sixty percent of Protestant churches in America experiencing either plateaued or declining numbers, the ineffectiveness or outright inattention to evangelistic efforts is magnified by the aggressive growth of the Nones population; therefore, this dissertation project seeks to answer one central question related to the current increase in the number of Americans identifying as religiously unaffiliated: Are there identifiable religious resurgence mechanisms in American religious history that address the current rise of the Nones and if initiated would facilitate future religious resurgence? Lower levels of religious affiliation reveal a weakening of the heart of the Evangelical position on evangelization …

Toward Critical Counseling: A Content Analysis Of Critical Race Theory And Culturally Relevant Pedagogy In Community College Counselor Education, Lyman A. Insley

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Background: Prior to the early 1990s, most counselor preparation programs did not have multicultural competencies. Therefore, a call was made for the use of multicultural competencies in counselor preparation programs. Yet, the popularization of multicultural competencies of this time in education had a Eurocentric bent, a kind of colorblindness

More recently, scholars confirmed that these Eurocentric multicultural competencies had become the primary template from which counselor preparation programs taught culturally responsive and relevant pedagogy. Therefore, a call was made for the use of critical race theory (CRT) in counselor preparation programs to challenge and change Eurocentric cultural competence.

Purpose: This …

Ecology And Conservation Of Shrubland Bird Communities In The Eastern Ghats Of Indi, Anant Deshwal

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Anthropogenic disturbance, in its multiple facets represents a major threat to biodiversity and habitat quality. Consequently, extensive research is guided towards understanding anthropogenic disturbance and their effects on wildlife for development of wildlife management plans. However, for development of effective wildlife management plans it is imperative that we understand the habitat use and preference by local fauna along with effects of anthropogenic presence. In this dissertation, I studied the habitat usage and preferences of Shrubland birds in the Eastern Ghats of India during the pre-monsoon and post monsoon seasons. Eastern Ghats show a marked difference from pre-monsoon season to post-monsoon …

The Cognition Of Controversy: Examining Policy Elites’ Narrative Cognition And Communication Around Hydraulic Fracturing Practices In The U.S., Rachael M. Moyer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The use of hydraulic fracturing (HF) technologies to extract oil and gas in the United States has sparked contentious policy debates, producing inconsistent and inefficient policies that have done little to address the impacts of HF in any comprehensive way. Debates are accompanied by competing policy narratives that position HF as either an environmental threat or an economic opportunity, but little is known about how policy narratives around HF are used by individuals. This dissertation systematically examines how individuals cognitively internalize elements of competing HF policy narratives. Organized into three empirical chapters, this dissertation analyzes narrative cognition (Jones, Shanahan, and …

Curing Consumption: Blood Drinkers Of The Nineteenth Century, Rachel Erin Catlett Widmer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

During the nineteenth century burgeoning cities in the United States saw the spread of disease. Most common among all parts of society was tuberculosis or as it was commonly known at the time, consumption. The most terrifying aspect of consumption was that it could attack anyone at any time and no cure existed. The poetic image of a red stained handkerchief was a death sentence. The common cure was to seek fresh air in a warmer climate. However, for some Americans an experimental cure seemed hopeful and easily accessible, drinking blood. According to many newspaper accounts consumptive victims were not …

Machismo And Consequential Aphrodisiac Consumption In Oaxaca, Mexico, Brianna M. Harguth

Honors Thesis

Aphrodisiacs have been used in many cultures around the world, including, but not limited to those of Greece, Egypt, Rome, and pre-Columbian societies. Aphrodisiacs are substances consumed to increase sex drive, sexual desire, and sexual performance. In Oaxaca, Mexico males are the primary people who consume aphrodisiacs, particularly Olive ridley sea turtles eggs, which are on the brink of extinction. One of the main reasons males consume these so-called aphrodisiacs is to combat erectile dysfunction, which impedes sexual performance. Many of the men who consume the Olive ridley sea turtle eggs possess traits associated with machismo, a form of masculinity …

Ideological Misalignment In The Discourse(S) Of Higher Education: Comparing University Mission Statements With Texts From Commercial Learning Analytics Providers, Leif A. Nelson

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzes, interprets, and compares texts from different educational discourses. Using the Critical Discourse Analysis method, I reveal how texts from university mission statements and from commercial learning analytics providers communicate and construct different ideologies. To support this analysis, I explore literature strands related to public higher education in America and the emerging field of study and practice called learning analytics. Learning analytics is the administrative, research, and instructional use of large sets of digital data that are associated with and generated by students. The data in question may be generated by incidental online activity, and it may be …

Mindfulness Intervention To Support School Engagement With At-Risk Students At An Urban Charter High School, Sarah Groark

Dissertations

Every year, more than 500,000 students drop out of school, often after years of growing disinterest and disengagement. As a result, models of school engagement are commonly used as a framework to guide interventions. Unfortunately, some students may experience high levels of dysregulation and poor executive functioning which interfere with their ability to engage in school. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a school-based mindfulness intervention would support school engagement behaviors with adolescents at an urban charter school. It was hypothesized that mindfulness would support students’ executive functioning in the areas of attention, cognitive flexibility, and emotion …

Increasing Undergraduate Student Engagement In Academics: An Ecological Momentary Intervention, Kerry Douglas Duck

Dissertations

As students enter the university environment, they are presented with various commitments that may or may not impede academic performance. With the issues of student attrition and retention, there is a need to provide further tools for students to use to monitor their performance. As students’ progress to higher level coursework, expectations and time commitments increase, and self-regulation of learning becomes even more important. Researchers may be able to deliver information to help students with self-regulation of learning by leveraging new affordances in technology in students’ daily lives. The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the feasibility and associated …

Liminal Space In Higher Education: Lived Experiences In The Space Between At-Risk Academics And Big-Time Athletics In Division I Power Five, Lainey J. Brottem

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative, interpretivist phenomenological study was to understand and provide a transferable, informed, and learned perspective of the daily experience of working in the liminal space between two powerful, ostensibly cooperative but often competing interests: major university undergraduate academics and big-time Division I athletics. Nine learning specialists from Division I Power Five institutions participated in phenomenological interviews. Findings indicated that the phenomenon constituted a liminal space between the opposing forces of academics and athletics, with student-athletes, faculty, colleagues, and coaches having influence on the liminality. Unit directors diminished the sense of liminality while faculty contributed very little …

Monocyte Phenotype And Whole Blood Immune Response In Physically Active Chronic Cannabis Users And Non-Users, Jonathon K. Lisano

Dissertations

Some physically active individuals are now advocating for the use of cannabis with exercise for its potential to optimize the immune response. Yet, it remains to be seen whether the chronic use of cannabis products is linked to alterations in immune characteristics, such as monocyte phenotype and function in physically active individuals. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to assess resting concentrations of c-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), monocyte phenotype and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulated production of Interleukin-6 (IL-6) following pre-treated with synthetic cannabinoid 2 (CB2) receptor agonist and antagonist in physically active individuals using cannabis products at least …

A Comparison Between A Modified And A Traditional Expressive Writing Intervention And Their Effect On Alexithymia And Emotional Expressivity, John Tzanos

Dissertations

The current study examined the effect of a modified expressive writing intervention compared to a traditional intervention and their effect on alexithymia and emotional expressivity while controlling for attachment style and social desirability among 150 undergraduate and graduate college students. The survey was administered online using a Qualtrics online survey tool. Participants were randomly divided into six groups: (a) low alexithymia/traditional intervention, (b) moderate alexithymia/traditional invention, (c) high alexithymia/traditional intervention, (d) low alexithymia/modified intervention, (e) moderate alexithymia/ modified intervention, and (f) high alexithymia/ modified intervention. The three groupings of levels of alexithymia—low (61) alexithymia—were based on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 …

Attempts To Reduce Elopement Using Blocking, A Time-Out Procedure, And Differential Reinforcement, Sydney M. Harbaugh

Dissertations

The current study was designed to replicate and extend the results of Harbaugh, Kohler & Malott, 2016, to decrease elopement and flopping by a child diagnosed with autism. The intervention in the present study consisted of a package combining differential reinforcement, response blocking, and a time-out procedure. Following successful reduction in the rate of elopement, a Behavioral Skills Training program was implemented with the child’s family to ensure generalization and maintenance of appropriate walking.

College Students With Physical Disabilities: An Exploratory Investigation Within Counselor Education, Adam Tolbert Wall

Dissertations

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, 2017a), there are over 19 million students who are currently enrolled in institutions of higher education. For the past 40 years, the number of students with disabilities attending colleges and universities has grown exponentially (NCES, 2017b). There is an abundance of research regarding many aspects of the experience of college students with a physical disability across social science, medical, and education literature; however, research targeted specifically at general counseling practitioners, counselor educators, and college counselors is relatively limited.

The purpose of this investigation was to study the inner lives of a …

The Effects Of Self-Observation On Implementation Of Direct Instruction Reading Curricula, Katherine Mahaffy

Dissertations

The current study evaluated the effects of structured self-observations on the rate and accuracy of learn unit presentations by graduate student tutors in a reading program. Four graduate students were trained to implement reading curricula using instructions, modeling, and the training manuals for reading curricula. Dependent variables were accuracy of antecedents, accuracy of consequences, and rate of learn units for the lesson. A secondary dependent variable was the rate of contingent social praise and token delivery during the lesson. During the intervention, tutors learned how to record learn units using the Teacher Performance Rate and Accuracy Scale (TPRA) and then …