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Fort Hays State University Tiger Weekly, December 13, 2019, University Relations

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Conceptualizing The Promise Of Life Skills Education For Adolescent Girls In The Global South: A Critical Discourse Analysis, Olivia Casey

Master's Theses

In recent years, international development organizations have increasingly championed life skills education as a crucial tool for empowering girls in the global South. However, while life skills education continues to gain momentum and popularity within the international development landscape, the heterogeneity of life skills interventions remains significant. In this study, I aimed to uncover how key global actors differently conceptualize life skills and the promises they are understood to hold for adolescent girls in the global South at the current moment. Utilizing the methodology of critical discourse analysis, I examined key documents on girls’ life skills education published by central …

Disaggregated Hispanic Groups And Cancer: Importance, Methodology, And Current Knowledge, Paulo S. Pinheiro, Karen E. Callahan, Erin N. Kobetz

Environmental & Global Health Faculty Research

Cancer is the leading cause of death among Latinos/Hispanics, the largest racial/ethnic minority group in the United States. Their cancer burden has nearly doubled in 15 years, with 129,000 new cancer cases nationwide in 2014. As this relatively young Hispanic population ages, this burden will inevitably increase; thus, accurate characterization of the Hispanic cancer experience is critical. In this chapter, we summarize the current knowledge on cancer in Hispanics, with a focus on the imperative of disaggregating by specific Hispanic group (Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Central Americans, South Americans, and Dominicans) and nativity. We also describe for the first time …

Knowledge Representation Method Of Joint Operation Situation Based On Knowledge Graph, Baokui Wang, Wu Lin, Xiaofeng Hu, Xiaoyuan He

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Lacking of common knowledge for understanding and judging complex situation of operation by machines is one of the difficulties in intelligent situation cognition. The knowledge representation methods based on knowledge graph are reviewed. The characteristics and difficulties of joint operation situation knowledge representation are analyzed. Moreover, the concept of scenario knowledge graph is presented, as well as the knowledge sources and basic content of scenario knowledge graph are described. This paper also points out that the joint knowledge representation method based on discrete symbols and continuous vectors in specific scenario is an effective way to express joint operation situation …

Exploration Of Soldier Morale Using Multi-Mode Simulation Approach, Yongsheng Zhang, Zhengxiang Xiong

Journal of System Simulation

Abstract: Soldier morale is a complex social construction influenced by factors at multiple levels and integrates many research domains. This research seeks to explore, model, and simulate soldier morale at multiple levels of analysis. Microcosmically Agent-Based Modeling method is used to reflect the interaction among fighters and the course of affecting morale,Macrocosmically SD method is used to reflect the influence of the tactical psychology on morale and the whole war in the counter-combat process. The developed sample case scenario pertained to US security efforts against insurgency in Afghanistan in 2007. The scenario includes representation of the patrol base operations serving …

Occupational Therapy's Role In Maternal Mental Health Within Transition From Nicu To Home, Victoria Briltz

Student Capstone Papers

The purpose of this capstone project is to identify OT’s role in maternal mental health following the transition home from a NICU setting. This capstone project focused on mothers’ roles, routines, and environment during the transition from the NICU to home. Mothers may feel unprepared for the discharge home when their babies are ready to leave the NICU (Boykova, 2016). Occupational therapists address occupational performance through skilled interventions for women during the perinatal period; however, there is a lack of evidence guiding occupational therapy for providing services for maternal wellness (Slootjes, 2016).

Data analysis for this capstone project consisted of …

A Focus Group Exploration: Looking Into The Female Veteran Service Experience, Raelisa Santiago

Master's Projects and Capstones

Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to analyze focus group data from the 2017 Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN) summit. Qualitative analysis focused on the barriers women veterans face with mental health issues from their service experience, with the goal to help better understand how to direct advocacy efforts for the population while identifying recommendations for process improvement.

Methods: Four focus groups with female service members were conducted. Group 1 consisted of Currently Serving (active duty and reserve) female service members; Group 2 consisted of women veterans 44 and under ; Group 3 comprised women veterans 45 and …

Changing Minds: Measuring The Impact Of A Student-Led Club To Reduce Mental Health Stigma Among Teenagers, Jennifer Anolin

Master's Projects and Capstones

Introduction: Stigma is a major barrier for teenagers to access mental health services. Additional barriers include low health literacy, and demographic factors, such as gender, socioeconomic status, and race/ethnicity. Studies show that successful solutions to decreasing stigma involve interventions inside of schools. The purpose of this project was to measure impact of the Bring Change 2 Mind (BC2M) program and recommend program improvement needs.

Methods: Four survey instruments were used to evaluate BC2M’s student-led club program and to determine the club’s impact on reducing stigma at each participating high school. Each survey consisted of both qualitative and quantitative questions fielded …

Visual Modulation Of Resting State Α Oscillations, Kelly Webster, Tony Ro

Publications and Research

Once thought to simply reflect passive cortical idling, recent studies have demonstrated that α oscillations play a causal role in cognition and perception. However, whether and how cognitive or sensory processes modulate various components of the α rhythm is poorly understood. Sensory input and resting states were manipulated in human subjects while electroencephalography (EEG) activity was recorded in three conditions: eyes-open fixating on a visual stimulus, eyes-open without visual input (darkness), and eyes-closed without visual input (darkness). We show that α power and peak frequency increase when visual input is reduced compared to the eyes open, fixating condition. These results …

A Second Language Task Based Learning Experience For Children, Sofia L. Alfieri

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The study was designed to investigate the implementation phase of a Task Based Learning approach for teaching English as a Second Language to an intact sample of 25 children, six to seven years of age and whose first language in Asuncion, Paraguay was Spanish. Most of the theory behind Task Based Learning (TBL) was accomplished with adolescents and adults. The present researcher found that many of the tasks researched were either not developmentally appropriate or likely needed significant adaptations. Therefore, tasks were developed and adapted to be likely appropriate for children 6 to7 years of age. Findings revealed that adaptations …

Behavior Skills Training To Improve Parent Treatment Fidelity And Generalization In A Feeding Program, Melissa Stiffler

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Feeding problems are five times more likely to occur in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) than in typically developing peers (Sharp, et al., 2013). Though behavior analytic protocols have demonstrated efficacy, less research has investigated methods to transfer technology to non–professional caregivers. This study utilized a behavioral skills training (BST) procedure to increase generalization of treatment methods from the clinic to the home environment for three parent-child dyads. Meal observations were conducted prior to treatment to determine baseline rates of behavior, specifics of the child’s food refusal, oral motor deficits, and nutritional needs. Baseline observations were used to develop …

Equivalence-Based Instruction To Teach Single-Subject Designs In Higher Education, Griffin Decuir Williams

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

With the increasing prevalence of online courses and instruction, advanced methods to teach technical concepts for students in higher education are of value. Equivalence-Based Instruction (EBI) is an effective, efficient, and empirically validated teaching methodology. This study developed a match-to-sample EBI protocol embedded in CANVAS to teach four common single-subject designs to graduate students. Results were compared between an equivalence group receiving a reduced-intensity EBI protocol and a group receiving a traditional video lecture to serve as the control. The ability of the participants to generalize the trained relations to novel stimuli was also evaluated. Results indicate that the EBI …

Examining The Experiences Of Chinese Multilingual Therapists In Training, Stephanie Li-Wei Lin

Doctoral Dissertations

According to the 2015 Census, 44% of people ages five and older in California speak a language other than English in their household, indicating the growth of multilingual persons in California. Among the top three languages spoken at home in California, Chinese takes third following English and Spanish. The demand for multilingual mental health services may continue to grow with the increase of multilingual individuals. Although there is an increase in need for multilingual mental health services, there remains a lack of formal training and clinical supervision for multilingual trainees. This study adopted a qualitative approach and utilized semi-structured interviews …

Entrée Précoce Sur Le Marché Du Travail À 13 Ans Et Répercussions Sur La Sst Des Jeunes Occupant Un Emploi À 15 Ans, Élise Ledoux, Marc-Antoine Busque, Julie Auclair, Luc Larberge

Rapports de recherche scientifique

Le travail rémunéré pendant les études fait partie du mode de vie d’une majorité d’étudiants au Québec. En effet, les récentes données de l’Enquête québécoise sur la santé des jeunes du secondaire 2016-2017 (EQSJS) rapportent que plus d’un élève du secondaire sur deux travaillait pendant l’année scolaire et que près de 12 % d’entre eux consacraient 16 heures ou plus par semaine à leur emploi. De plus, les deux tiers (67 %) des jeunes ayant subi une blessure au travail, alors qu’ils travaillaient pour un employeur ou pour l’entreprise familiale, ont dû soit recevoir des soins, soit consulter un …

Standardization Of Postoperative Care Guidelines For Pediatric Cleft Palate Patients, Amanda Dailor, Macy Therese G. Andrada, Julie C. Barragan, Samantha T. Gerber, Mercedes S. Greenberg, Tatyana Grib

Master's Projects and Capstones

At a large, community-based pediatric hospital in Southern California, a quality improvement project commenced with a goal to improve patient outcomes by decreasing length of stay and pain levels, while increasing toleration of feeds. Implementing a standardized guideline would ensure safe practice across the continuum and allow providers to use a systematic tool for postoperative care, including nursing care interventions and medications. The Root-Cause-Analysis tool was used to assess the microsystem and determine the contributing factors to the identified problem. A SWOT analysis was then performed, followed by a plan to collect data from all pediatric cleft palate procedures performed …

The Nurse’S Role In Prognosis-Related Communication In Pediatric Oncology Nursing Practice, Amy Rose Newman, Lauri Linder, Kristin Haglund

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

The experiences of pediatric oncology nurses with prognosis-related communication (PRC) remain largely unknown. The purpose of this article is to report results of focus groups wherein 15 pediatric oncology nurses from three Midwestern pediatric cancer programs provided descriptions of PRC and how they experience PRC within their daily practice. Data from focus groups were analyzed via an interpretive descriptive approach, which resulted in three themes: (1) nurses’ operational definition of PRC, (2) nurses’ roles in PRC, and (3) nurses’ preparation for engagement in PRC. From discussions within the focus groups, nurses recognized that PRC occurs across a continuum. Nurses distinguished …

Rural Multilingual Family Engagement, Maria Coady

The Rural Educator

Rural teachers and educators are increasingly called upon to build partnerships with families who use languages other than English in the home (US DOE, 2016). This is equally true for rural schools, where the number of multilingual families is small, and the language and cultural backgrounds of students differs from those of school. This article reviews the research on parental involvement and three common models of parental involvement. In this article, I propose a revised conceptual model for teachers and educators for rural multilingual family engagement. This article calls for increasingly refined research that addresses the sociohistorical backgrounds of families …

Leadership Challenges Of The Rural School Principal, Barbara Klocko, Riley J. Justis

The Rural Educator

As stress impacts the organization and operations of a school, leader stressors may be determined by the setting, years of experience of the leader and the greater educational landscape in which the principal must lead. The researchers sought to differentiate between the perceived stress and joy of urban and rural school principals. Findings derived from this time series design inquiry suggest that despite external influence, there is limited change in reported stress of rural school principals. Though the leadership in any setting is complex and multi-faceted, the researchers identified and assessed contributing factors.

From Sharks To "The Big Ugly", Kristin Rearden, Joy Bertling

The Rural Educator

This longitudinal case study explored one rural elementary art teacher’s praxis for two years after she participated in professional development sessions on place-based education (PBE). These sessions focused specifically on PBE within the discipline of art for K-12 art educators in a geographically-large southeastern school district. Through surveys, observations, interviews, and document analysis of curricular materials, the researchers investigated the teacher’s experiences with PBE as she taught art in a rural area of the district. Her curricular decisions transitioned from a focus on art reflecting her personal knowledge base to art that built on students’ expressions of, experiences in, and …

Multiliteracies In Rural Schools: The “Revuelto Y Mezclada” Of Home And Community Literacy Practices Of Midwestern Emergent Bilingual Families, Trish Morita-Mullaney, Haiyan Li, Jennifer Renn

The Rural Educator

Multiliteracies is a paradigm for language and literacy, in which all languages and literacies are valuable, meaningful, and serve a purpose in meeting the needs of the learner within their social contexts. Multiliteracies are enacted and negotiated through different languages, technologies, and modalities and are represented in homes and communities of English Learners (ELs) or emergent bilinguals (EBs), representing their bi- or multilingual identities. Within rural communities, these family multiliteracies differ from the predominantly English-monolingual contexts found within schools, but have the potential to reshape rural educators’ conceptions of literacies. Redefining literacy holds significance in rural communities where resources, including …

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy And Its Relevance In The Adult English As A Second Language Classroom, Helena Henkin

Master's Projects and Capstones

There is an increasing demand for adult English as a Second Language teachers who are qualified to meet the needs of culturally and ethnically diverse students. Cultural dissonance between the students’ cultures and instructional practices and curriculum leads to high drop-out rates and poor instructional outcomes. This Field Project proposes that Culturally Responsive Pedagogy is an important tool to improve the learning outcomes of culturally and ethnically diverse adult English as a Second Language students. This Field Project discusses the theoretical components of Culturally Responsive Teaching. The notion of Culturally Responsive Teaching is premised on the idea that using students’ …

Improving Identification Of Ssi In Snf, Jennifer Teng Yuan Yu

Master's Projects and Capstones

Educational deficit in basic wound assessment can lead to failure to recognize early signs of infection or wound deterioration. Despite many challenges towards wound care, there are potential opportunities to reduce patient injury and clinical outcomes through continuing education. The purpose of this paper is to review literature on current wound care knowledge in nurses and assess existing wound care knowledge in nurses at a skilled nursing facility. A 10-question pre-test wound assessment quiz based on the Bates-Jensen Wound Assessment Tool (BWAT) selected by the Wound Care Coordinator (WCC)/Wound Care Specialist (WCS) was given to 22 nurses: 5 Registered Nurses …

Virtual Reality As A Pedagogical Tool For Interdisciplinarity And Place-Based Education, Laureen Park

Publications and Research

Place-based education (PBE) has long been recognized as a high-impact educational practice. It embeds learning in a multi-sensory context that nurtures active, praxis-driven, interdisciplinary, and collaborative learning. More recently, educators have begun to utilize digital media and virtual reality technologies in ways that seem to parallel PBE. Using phenomenological concepts, especially following Edmund Husserl and Alfred Schütz, this chapter explores what the parallels and differences might be between physical and virtual places, ontologically as well as in its pedagogical role in PBE. It also attempts to interpret the other chapters of the book in light of the philosophical implications.

The Miss America Pageant Should Restore Prioritizing The Evening Gown Segment, Keishel Williams

Capstones

Evening gown in pageants, as in society, has always represented a woman's way of expressing her personality and femininity through fashion. Miss America's attempt to stop requiring evening gowns implies that wearing formal gowns does not equate to being a modern, empowered woman.

Instead of attempting to erase the evening gown as an outdated part of a modern woman’s wardrobe, the Miss America pageant should restore the original gown segment and use this opportunity to reshape America’s perspective on how modern women can choose to wear gowns and still be empowered.

https://keishelawilliams.wordpress.com/

Cultivating Hope, Weaving Peace: Colombian Educators Building Pathways To Teach About The Armed Conflict, Laura Vesga Villalba

Master's Theses

Communities affected by conflict require additional educational support in order to adequately reflect on their situation and learn peacebuilding skills. Research is needed to examine how peacebuilding education is being approached through an intergenerational lens, to address the trauma that is carried throughout generations and the healing and reconciliation that may be brought about through successful critical peacebuilding education programs. The purpose of this study is to analyze the formal and informal educational approaches to teaching about the armed conflict in Colombia. The research methodology for this study was phenomenological research conducted through semi-structured interviews. Results illustrated that educational approaches …

The Impact Of Utilizing Peer Mentoring Interactions, New Laboratory Experiments, And Writing-To-Learn Practices In Undergraduate Chemistry Education, Dulani Samarasekara

Theses and Dissertations

High attrition rates in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields are major challenges in undergraduate education. Many students enrolled in STEM fields end up switching their majors to non-STEM fields or leave college without earning any academic qualification. Due to these reasons, the United States is facing a critical shortage of future talented STEM personnel in the domestic workforce. Therefore, graduating a sufficient number of talented students in STEM fields has come to national attention. It is important to examine strategies for improving STEM-major retention and undergraduate education in STEM disciplines. The main purpose of this study was to …

Perceptions Of Food, Supportive Resistance Resources, And Nutrition Knowledge Of Bariatric Surgery Patients, Savannah K. Walker

Theses and Dissertations

Adult overweight and obesity is a life-threatening health concern worldwide. Bariatric surgery is a successful treatment for severely obese individuals however, there is a moderate risk for weight regain. This study evaluated perception of food, supportive resistance resources, and nutrition knowledge, which play important roles in successful weight loss post bariatric surgery. Participants completed a three-part questionnaire at three time intervals: prior to surgery, 2 months post-surgery, and 5 months post-surgery. Results show that bariatric patients’ eating behavior significantly changes post bariatric surgery, but a disordered perception of food remains. Bariatric surgery patients believe support from significant others and family …

Problem Solving And Suicide: A First Look, Caitlin E. Titus

Theses and Dissertations

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, with rates increasing over the past several decades. This study examined whether problem-solving performance differs in those with no suicide ideation or attempts compared to those with only suicide ideation and with those with a history of attempts. Results demonstrated that when accounting for depression, problem-solving accuracy was positively predictive for the suicidal ideation group. Furthermore, the suicidal ideation group solved more problems on average than both those with no history of suicidal thoughts and behaviors and the suicide attempt group. The current study was somewhat underpowered and …

Use Of Formative Research To Inform Family-Based Approaches To Prevent Prescription Opioid Misuse Among Mississippians, Mary Nelson Robertson

Theses and Dissertations

The United States is in the midst of an opioid epidemic, which is leading to approximately 130 deaths each day. While research on family-based approaches for substance misuse prevention, such as alcohol and tobacco prevention, has been conducted, few if any studies have focused on prescription opioid misuse prevention. Previous literature suggests that a comprehensive family-based approach can be effective in preventing substance misuse at the family-level. Considering the multiple age groups the sandwich generation cares for, the sandwich generation may have greater access to reaching multiple age groups to prevent prescription opioid misuse. Therefore, the purpose of this study …

Supporting Student Success In Chemistry Using Peer Mentoring, Laboratory Experiments, And Eye-Tracking Analysis, Viveka Lakruwani Perera

Theses and Dissertations

Active participation in the learning process enhance students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills. We implemented peerocused, active learning, recitation sessions with the large-enrollment sections for General Chemistry I courses at Mississippi State University (MSState) over a period of four semesters beginning in Spring 2016. The peerocused recitation program was a success improving student final (standardized ACS) exam scores, pass/fail rates for the course, and continuation on to General Chemistry II (CH 1223) courses. Peerocused collaborative learning and students possessing ownership over their learning significantly enhanced academic outcomes of our program. Worked-example effect is the best known and apparently the most …