Digital Commons Network^™

Climate Change And Big Business: The Endless Cycle, Angela Steele

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Climate change, as it stands, is a large topic. As it relates to business, it grows exponentially, yet relates to every single one of us. Before the nineteenth century, climate cycles were mostly naturally occurring. Unfortunately, in recent years anthropogenic (human) causes have been introduced. The largest problem is carbon dioxide, which is produced from numerous human activities but largely from the burning of fossil fuels, and leads to massive warming effects on our planet. That’s where business comes in: companies, such as those within the agriculture, fossil fuel, and sunscreen industries, seek multi-million dollar profits off of the warming …

College And Career Awareness In Elementary Schools, Veronica Martinez Gracida

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Greenfield Union School District provides the educational needs of students, K-6, who are economically disadvantaged, English learners, and special education. Data shows that students in the Greenfield Union School District have low academic performance in English, Mathematics, and other subjects. One reason for low academic performance is the lack of student engagement in school. The capstone project attempted to encourage student engagement, by increasing students’ knowledge and awareness about college and careers. Three 5th grade classes participated in the college activities. The capstone project consisted of four college awareness sessions. The sessions included activities which expanded students’ knowledge about career …

Healthy Lives: Childhood Obesity In Monterey County, Norma Verduzco

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The rate of overweight children in Monterey county has continued to rise. At the rate we are going, by the year 2050, one in three people will have diabetes (American Diabetes Association, 2018). There are several contributing factors for obese children, for instance, socioeconomic status, environmental influences, and lack of physical activity. Children who are overweight or obese are at higher risk of facing serious health concerns, like heart disease and diabetes, which is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States (YMCA, 2019, Diabetes Statistics). They are also at a higher risk of suffering from emotional and …

Benefits Of Implementing Visual Arts For Elementary School Students, Desiree Conway

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Walking into an elementary classroom you might have observed that visual arts have been consistently disappearing from elementary school classrooms. Visual arts curriculum is especially important in elementary schools because it helps students to fully understand concepts in other areas of their academics. This senior capstone will focus and discuss the many benefits of implementing visual arts into an elementary school classroom. Through the use of a literature review and interviews with teachers. The findings reveal that when visual arts are implemented into elementary schools, they do indeed serve students well and have positive effects in all academic areas of …

Open Mind And Open Heart: You Matter And Together We Can Overcome Adolescent Mental Health, Susana Hernandez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The focus issue addressed in this Capstone Project is the importance of providing support that is easily accessible for all students who are faced with mental health challenges. This is an important issue for school districts because the number of students facing mental health challenges has been increasing and without adequate support students do not properly self care. It is argued that many students are currently challenged with mental health, but the support provided by schools is inadequate. Considerations of the issues, required obtaining the perspectives of stakeholders from local high schools, organizations, and families who are currently changed by …

Video Game Audio Techniques Applied To Board Game Companion Applications, Jaydon Osborn

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Video games have been one of the most popular forms of entertainment since the turn of the 20th century. Starting in pinball machines that developed into arcade games and now lovingly into virtual reality, console, and handheld gaming systems, video games have become a normal factor in people's lives. It is no mystery why they are so popular; games not only give us a sense of accomplishment beyond what our physical and mental limits could achieve, but also evoke our imaginations by drawing us into a new world that is magical or something we would never have seen before. Think …

Teaching High Schoolers About Colorism, Charenee Lachelle Brown

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Colorism has long been a major issue in the media and in communities. Colorism is a practice of discrimination in which those with lighter skin are treated more favorably than those with darker skin. It is the product of racism in the US, in that it upholds white standards of beauty and benefits lighter skin people in various US institutions. For my capstone project, I presented a workshop on colorism in a 9th grade class at Marina High School. The students learned the definition of colorism and how it relates to racism. They also learned about the effects of colorism …

Effects Of English Proficiency On Nursing Student Empowerment And Intent To Leave The Program, Nadja James

Dissertations

Individual (learner) empowerment plays an important role in the learning environment. A more empowered student is more likely to be academically successful and complete their program of study. The findings of this study showed nursing students who felt less empowered had a greater intent to leave their nursing program. Many prelicensure nursing programs struggle with high attrition rates, especially minority students, including students from a culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) background. Since effective communication is crucial in the learning environment, students with lower English proficiency tend to struggle in that area. Communication issues affect CALD students’ sense of empowerment and …

Assessing Concussion Recovery With Dynamic Stability Methodologies, Kurt Otto Buchholz

Dissertations

The overarching purpose of this dissertation was to investigate methods and measures of dynamic stability with the final application being assessment within a concussed population. Of the three studies presented, the focus of the first two studies was on development of a new measure of dynamic postural stability, comparing it to traditional methods, and determining how it performed relative to traditional methods. In the first study, participants performed a forward hop while kinematic and kinetic data were collected. Comparison of the kinetic estimation of the center of mass to the kinematic estimation showed moderate to strong agreement. This allowed the …

Phenomenological Curiosity, Ryan Russell Katz

Dissertations

This transcendental phenomenological study focused on the phenomenon of curiosity. The aim of this research was to explore the following research question with seven research participants: What does curiosity mean? Supported by semi-structured, one-on-one, in-depth phenomenological interviews as the research method, the findings revealed (a) curiosity as an energy for learning and (b) six Curiosity Archetypes defined by the way each gathers, connects, and/or utilizes data to expand consciousness and sense of meaning via creativity. Grappling with curiosity as an energy for learning presents at least three significant educational implications: (a) if curiosity is an energy for learning, then learning …

Elementary Special Education Teachers' Perceptions Of Using The Best Practices Of Video Modeling, Social Stories, And Peer Mediated Interventions To Teach Social Skills For Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Naif Ahmed Aldawood

Dissertations

Statistical data from the Centers for Disease Control (2018) indicated autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects 1 out of 59 children in American schools. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of special education teachers regarding teaching social skills for K-5 students with ASD; specifically, to see how teachers viewed the effective use of two promising practices (i.e., peer-mediated interventions and social stories) and one evidence-based intervention (i.e., video modeling). The experiences of special education teachers regarding teaching social skills to K-5 students with ASD were explored. Seven special education teachers from school districts in Colorado were interviewed …

Lived Experiences Of Counselors Providing Counseling To Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study, Jenna Annette Mack

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the lived experiences of counselors providing counseling to adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Eleven professional counselors participated in the study from various regions of the United States. Four themes and 10 subthemes were found. The resulting themes discuss the counselor reactions, previous experiences with ASD, approaches used in counseling, and counselor self-care. The findings exhibit new evidence in the literature such as counselors’ emotional reactions to working with adults with ASD, challenges in balancing adult clients with ASD and their family members, and professional emotional boundaries used as a self-care tool. …

Adapting The Ward Method For Use In The Private Voice Studio, Michael Patrick Kilcoyne

Dissertations

The Ward Method is a progressive approach to vocal music education designed for elementary and intermediate students in Catholic Schools. However, due to the solid foundation of vocal pedagogy inherent to the Method, as well as its philosophies of educational psychology that govern its structure and approach, the Ward Method has implications that go far beyond elementary parochial music education. The concepts of vocal and educational pedagogy that distinguish the Ward Method are presented and compared to historical and current sources. An description of the component elements of the method and how they are used in the context of a …

Model Selection For Longitudinal Data With Time-Dependent Covariates Using Generalized Method Of Moments, Maryann Nishimura Shane

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to establish measures that could be used to assess the relative fit of nested models with parameters estimated using the Generalized Method of Moments for longitudinal data with time-dependent covariates. A secondary data set collected from Filipino children was used as an example of model fitting to evaluate the quality of the assessment of fit of the Kullback-Leibler Information Criterion (KLIC) and a chi-squared statistic derived from the difference in the minimums of the quadratic forms of two candidate nested models. A simulation involving randomly-generated data sets was also used to evaluate the performance …

The Influence Of Asymmetry On The Metabolic Cost Of Locomotion, Shane Patrick Murphy

Dissertations

In this dissertation, the measurement and impact of asymmetrical locomotion were investigated. In the first study, ten able-bodied individuals were asked to run on a treadmill from which interlimb symmetries of joint level kinematics and kinetics were measured. To obtain a stable measure of interlimb symmetry, an average of 15 strides were needed. However, no differences were found between averages from bins of consecutive and inconsecutive strides. Further, no differences were noted between the average interlimb symmetry and interlimb symmetries calculated from the first, middle, or last, strides. Although there were differences between symmetry calculations, neither measure required a greater …

Social Structure Of The Spiny-Tailed Iguana, Ctenosaura Similis, Ann-Elizabeth Nash

Dissertations

Animal social structure, the social connections and patterns of interactions, its personality, and its genetic relatedness can affect a variety of ecological process within a species, including dispersal, predator evasion, disease transmission, and mate acquisition. While animal social structure has been examined in many mammals, birds, fish, and insects, they have not been widely examined in reptiles. There are few studies that have looked at the social structure of lizards, despite the widespread importance of these species. The Spiny-tailed Iguana (Ctenosaura similis) is a common species throughout it range, from southern Mexico through Panama. In Palo Verde National Park, C. …

Persuasive Narrative: Examining Policy Actor Influences On Accreditation Reform Legislation, Rebecca Lynn Woulfe

Dissertations

Accreditation is an integral component of the higher education landscape. Regional accreditors accredit approximately 7,000 institutions of higher education in the United States. In the decade from 2008 to 2018, these accrediting agencies have been the recipients of significant criticism and demands for change. This study explored federal public policy narrative related to accreditation reform through the lens of Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) theory. The research was bounded by an embedded case study of legislation from the 115th U.S. Congress. The subcomponents identified within the case were two pieces of legislation written to reauthorize the Higher Education Act (HEA). The …

Exploring School Employee Physical Activity Behaviors And Perceptions, Ann Pulling Kuhn

Dissertations

Employee involvement in physical activity (PA) while at school has been understudied and is relatively unknown (Chen & Gu, 2018; Hunt & Metzler, 2017). The purposes of this dissertation study were to (a) describe school employees’ PA behaviors while at school, and (b) explore school employees’ perceptions of the feasibility of school employee PA interventions found to be effective in published research. An explanatory sequential mixed methods design was used to collect school employee self-reported PA behaviors and district/school demographic information via an electronic survey from 488 school employees in northern Colorado. Data were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis H test, …

The Wounded Healer: A Phenomenological Study Of The Experiences Of Counselors-In-Training With Complex Trauma Histories, Jessica Leigh Manson

Dissertations

Thirty percent of the general population report one or more traumatic experiences (National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, 2019), and samples of mental health professionals report rates of traumatic experience as high as eighty percent (Pearlman & Mac Ian, 1995). Research on the neurobiological effects of trauma highlights the possibility of a trauma history uniquely impacting counselors-in-training (CITs) in their professional development and counseling work. This study focused on understanding the experiences of counselors-in-training (CITs) with complex trauma histories. Complex trauma is defined as a form of trauma that is chronic in nature and/or timing- specifically, an event perceived as …

Childhood Maltreatment And Working Memory: Considering The Influence Of Anxiety And Emotion Dysregulation, Mackenzie Ann Peake Pohja

Dissertations

This study investigated female college students with and without a history of childhood maltreatment and working memory ability on a traditional and an emotional working memory task. Individual difference variables of current anxiety and emotion dysregulation were also assessed. Some research reports a working memory deficit among individuals with a history of childhood maltreatment. However, some research has not found a relationship between maltreatment history and working memory. Both anxiety and emotion dysregulation are known to be associated with childhood maltreatment. Also, anxiety and emotion dysregulation are associated with poor working memory performance. Previous research has not considered the influence …

A Phenomenological Study Exploring The Experiences And Perceptions Of Counselor Education Students Who Have Completed An Intensive Social Justice Retreat, Aaron James Henderson

Dissertations

The intention of this phenomenology research study was to better understand the experiences and perceptions of counseling students who attend a weekend intensive social justice retreat. This examination may shed light on whether an intensive social justice experience is a valuable and worthy training modality to compliment the traditional classroom learning environment often found in counselor preparation programs. The data from two semi-structured interviews, a focus group, and research participant journals were utilized from 10 counseling students from CACREP accredited counseling programs in a mid-Western mountain state. Seven themes emerged from the data including: Increased Awareness, Desired for Prolonged Training, …

The Impacts Of Rock Climbing On The Selection Of Roosts By Bats And The Influence Of These Mammals On The Biodiversity And Nutrient Influx Of Cliff-Face Ecosystems, Ashley Kay Wilson

Dissertations

Humans have an un-matched ability to alter the environment, which often has detrimental effects on other species, from tiny microbes to enormous plants and animals. Bats are the second-largest order (Chiroptera) of mammals with ca. 1,300 described species, many of which have declining populations due to human disturbances of ecosystems. Being the only mammals capable of flight, bats exploit numerous ecosystems and are known to roost in various habitats including caves, trees, mines, bridges, barns, etc. Although the roosting ecology of bats in ecosystems such as caves and forests has been well documented, no study has yet examined the relationship …

The Words Of Comparative Law, Olivier Moréteau

Journal Articles

While the word "comparative" refers to a cognitive and intellectual activity supposing that there are several elements to compare, the word "law" is used in the singular, as if law was to be compared to itself The whole phrase indicates that comparison takes place within the study of the law, but the use of the singular does not point to a pluralistic approach: what do we mean by law? Should we not talk about "comparing the laws" or "legal comparison"? With a reflection on the words of the law as a starting point, this paper visits the corpus of comparative …

A Mixed Methods Investigation Of Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports In A Midwest Middle School, Thomas Dittrich Jr.

Dissertations

The researcher investigated the difference between the implementation of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and student achievement scores and the number of failing grades in a Midwest United States suburban public middle school through a mixed methods research study. The collected and analyzed secondary data to complete quantitative research included numbers of office discipline referrals and failing grades, average daily attendance percentages, and percentages of students scoring proficient or advanced on the Missouri Assessment Program tests. Staff members, during the specified timeframe of the study, completed a Google Form survey and provided qualitative data. The z-test for difference in …

Millennial Generation College Students: Observations And Experiences Of Counseling Faculty At Selected California Community College Districts, Antoine Thomas

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Higher education, specifically the California community colleges, is being inundated with a large new generation of students called millennials. They are the majority student group enrolled in record numbers at California Community Colleges. California community colleges continue to evolve in order to accommodate millennial generation college students. A phenomenological design was utilized, using face-to-face interviews. This research explores the phenomenon of “millennial college students (millennials)” through the lived experiences of California community college counseling faculty who interact with them. Their observations and experiences could prove to be informative and help advance the purpose of this research.

The following are the …

The Practice Of Self-Care Strategies Among Master Of Social Work Students, Gracie Romero

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study examined the different types of self-care strategies that Master of Social Work students practice. This study used the National Alliance on Mental Illness Self-Care Inventory, a survey which asks participants about commonly used methods of self-care. Engaging in self-care can bring better understanding and insights on how to prevent the signs of stress while also increasing an individual’s ability to regulate their emotional needs. All MSW students at the California university were invited to participate in the study. The surveys were administered via Qualtrics online survey software to the 68 part-time and o-time MSW students who agreed to …

Thinking Beyond The Führer: The Ideological And Structural Evolution Of National Socialism, 1919-1934, Athahn Steinback

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Much of the discussion of German National Socialism has historically focused on of Adolf Hitler as the architect of the Nazi state. While recognizing Hitler’s central role in the development of National Socialism, this thesis contends that he was not a lone actor. Much of the ideological and structural development National Socialism was driven by senior individuals within the party who were able to leverage their influence to institutionalize personal variants of National Socialism within broader party ideology. To explore the role of other ideologues in the development of Nazi ideology, this thesis examines how Hitler’s leadership style perpetuated factionalism, …

The Dark Side Of Family Supportive Supervisor Behaviors: Is Getting Help With Family Needs Detrimental To Women's Careers?, Gino Howard

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study focuses on the negative impact that family supportive supervisor behaviors may have on career advancement for women in addition to the positive impact of family supportive supervisor behaviors in reducing work-family conflict. Data was collected using an online questionnaire through a university research management system including student participants and snowball sampling through email and social media platforms for a combined sample of 154 participants. Our results showed that increases in family supportive supervisor behaviors is associated with decreases in work-family conflict in agreement with findings in the literature. More specifically, the study showed that family supportive supervisor behaviors …

The Effectiveness Of Dynamic Mathematical Software In The Instruction Of The Unit Circle, Edward Simons

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study is attempting to test the effectiveness of dynamic computer models such as GeoGebra and Desmos on high school students’ ability to understand key concepts with regards to the introduction of unit circle and the graphing of the sine and cosine functions.

Algebra two high school students of varying ages were chosen and randomly placed into two groups. Both groups were given the same pre-assessment and an identical lesson. The two groups’ only difference occurred with the individual student practice portion of the lesson where one group did ‘traditional’ paper and pencil practice for graphing and solving while the …

Growing Elementary Education With Curriculum Founded In Place, Sally A. Triant

Masters Projects

Public school education has become increasingly homogenized as teachers work to meet national and state standardized curriculum goals. What is at risk is students losing touch with the places where their learning occurs. By inviting our schoolyard habitats, neighborhoods, and communities back into the curriculum educators can reconnect their classrooms to place allowing the environment, both ecological and cultural, to serve as the foundation for meaningful learning. Through the development of a guidebook, that administrators and educators can use, this project serves as a tool to implement place-based education. The guidebook has been designed as a scaffold of seven core …