Digital Commons Network^™

Sound Reversals, Susan Thorpe

Word Ways

A word is divided into letter groups, the letter groups are then read in reverse order, and their sounds make another word.

Crosswords For Each Chapter In Annotated Alice, Ashley Post

Word Ways

A series of crossword puzzles.

Instructions To Authors

Word Ways

Instructions to authors for submitting articles to future issues of Word Ways.

Word Ways V.53 No.3 Complete Issue

Word Ways

The complete issue in one file.

Integrating The Mission And Identity Of Catholic Universities: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Of Academic Lay Leaders, Thomas Varkey Thennadiyil

Theses & Dissertations

This interpretative phenomenological study explored the mission and identity integration experiences of nine academic lay leaders of diverse religious affiliations across the three Catholic universities of San Antonio, Texas, United States: Our Lady of the Lake University, St. Mary’s University, and the University of the Incarnate Word. I employed a purposive sampling strategy to select the participants and collected data through two semi-structured in-depth interviews with each participant. In analyzing the findings, I applied an integrated theoretical framework consisting of theories on virtue ethics (Aristotle, trans. 1980; MacIntyre, 1981), organizational assimilation (Jablin, 1982; 2001), reflective practice (Dewey, 1933; Kolb, 1984; …

Murmurs Of Revolution: Mythical Subversion In Dostoevsky, Connor Guetersloh

English (MA) Theses

Throughout history, revolutions have been plagued by unpredictability; it is all but impossible to know when cultural systems will be turned on their heads. Is there a common motivator, to predict social unrest bubbling beneath the surface of society? I suggest the development of this motivator is detectable by deconstructing Ferdinand de Saussure’s semiotic patterns within the field of rhetorical mythology. “Mythology,” in the rhetorical and linguistic sense developed by Roland Barthes, is the study of a collective system of thinking we subconsciously subscribe to when interpreting meaning, perpetuated by greater society. The struggle for meaning is split into the …

Lessons From Hybridity: A Look Into The Coupling Of Image And Text In Karen Tei Yamashita’S Letters To Memory, Claudia Rankine’S Citizen: An American Lyric, And Ilya Kaminsky’S Deaf Republic, Elizabeth Chen

English (MA) Theses

The spoken and written word has always been a platform for voices to be heard, but being heard is not always enough. This thesis focuses on the use of hybrid forms in recent publications that address this issue, placing images alongside the written word, letting readers also personally visualize and interpret a perspective different from their own. Specifically, it will look into three examples of hybrid literary works: the placement of photographs beside epistolary writing in Karen Tei Yamashita‘s Letters to Memory (2017), the blend of visual art and lyric prose poetryfound in Citizen: An American Lyric(2014) by Claudia Rankine, …

Giving And Receiving: A Study Of Barriers And Enablers In Asian Philanthropy, Dalvin Sidhu, Jinwen Chen

Lien Centre for Social Innovation: Research

This report provides an insight into Asian philanthropy through engaging with philanthropic entities (PEs) in Greater China, India and Indonesia. Issues pertinent to this research include (1) challenges and opportunities for philanthropy in the region, (2) the interest and readiness of PEs to address common regional problems, (3) identifying support and platforms that would effectively help translate giving strategies into impact, (4) the interest and readiness of PEs to explore and engage in innovative ways, and (5) identifying the major areas in which these PEs are involved.

Language Learning In Diverse Children, Connie Summers

BYU Research Development Office Research Networking Conference

No abstract provided.

The Experiences Of Latino Adolescent Mentees Growing-Up With A Single Mother And Mentoring Program Development: A Narrative Analysis Study, Christine Marie Bishop

Faculty Publications

Latinos comprise the largest minority population in the United States. Research underscores the many positive effects that mentors can have on Latino adolescents who lack a male role model living in the home. Mentors can provide support and teach helpful skills that can be applied to multiple life domains needed throughout a person’s lifespan. There are many different types of mentoring services and styles available to adolescents. Yet, there are specific gaps and room for growth within the scholarly literature regarding Latino adolescents that need to be addressed. Shining light and allowing their narratives to be heard and understood in …

A Study Of Information Bots And Knowledge Bots, Amartya Hatua

Dissertations

In this dissertation, a study of different aspects of information bots and knowledge bots is done. The research contributes to a better understanding of the various characteristics of information bots as well as the different patterns and factors responsible for the information diffusion in a social network. This research also shows how these factors can be used to predict information diffusion for a particular topic in a social network. The second part of the research is focused on strategies for improving the knowledge base of knowledge bots, where two different approaches are studied. In the first approach, knowledge is transferred …

Core Subject Integration In The K-6 Music Classroom, Rose Bowe

Dissertations

Federal legislation through No Child Left Behind (NCLB) (2002) and Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) (2015) held schools accountable for improved test scores and academic achievement. The heightened scrutiny in performance and expectations placed enormous pressure on students, teachers, and administrators to reach the lofty goals of the accountability model and put emphasis on state-mandated tests for several subjects. Non-tested subjects often encountered a shift in funds and their programs became diminished or even eliminated. Subjects that were not tested, such as music education, were considered non-essential. Nonetheless, the value of music used for instruction to stimulate knowledge retention was …

Watching Disability: A Discourse Analysis Of Representations Of Disabled Characters In Scripted Television Programs, Wilbur Martin

Dissertations

This dissertation is a discourse analysis of three television series, Speechless, Atypical, and Breaking Bad. A close reading of those series was performed to analyze the representations of disability in those television series and whether those representations enforced classic stereotypes or differed from those classic stereotypes for disabilities. The representations were also analyzed to see if those representations enforced the medical or social model of disability.

All three series had instances of stereotypical representations as well as representations that were not stereotypical. All three series representations identified with the medical and social model of disabilities. Series that …

Teacher Beliefs And The Intent And Current Use Of Movement As It Influences Students With And Without Adhd, Kimberly Mcquagge

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to add to the knowledge base regarding utilizing movement in the classroom as it influences reading and mathematics achievement for students with and without Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Mississippi public school teachers (n= 379) responded to an online questionnaire that gathered demographic data and collected ratings based on teacher beliefs and both their current use of movement and intent to use movement in the classroom based on a 5-point Likert scale.

In order to predict if a relationship existed between teacher beliefs of utilizing movement in the classroom and both their current use of movement …

Examining Preservice Teachers’ Attitudes, Self-Efficacy, And Differentiating Instruction For Educating Gifted Learners, Marla Freitag

Dissertations

This study examined preservice teachers’ attitudes, self-efficacy, and use of differentiation for gifted learners during the various stages of a teacher education program. The theoretical framework of this study was based on the premise that implicit personality theories held by preservice teachers influence both attitudes towards gifted learners and instructional practices in the general education, elementary classroom. The research design utilized quantitative methods to gather data from undergraduate general education preservice teachers from two regional universities within Mississippi. A total of 204 preservice teachers completed the Survey of Practices with Students of Varying Needs. Data gathered during this study was …

Current Practices, Perceptions And Challenges Of Telehealth In The Treatment Of Mental Health In The U.S. Department Of Veterans Affairs, James E. Plummer

Full-Text Theses & Dissertations

Currently there are 17,964,242 million Veterans living in the U.S. Around 50% of these Veterans are over 65 years of age. Many U.S. service members – both active and retired, experience trauma and dysfunction in restructuring their lives. Mental health problems are reported in over 50% of Veterans both in active service and retired. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), ten times more suicides are reported among Veterans who did not register with the VA compared to those who do register. Longer deployments, shorter times at home between the deployments and combat exposure are the greatest contributors …

The Effect Of Positive Self-Talk On Self-Efficacy And Memory Recall, Colton Hunter, Jeremiah Sullins

McNair Scholars Research

Research has been conducted that has found a link between self-efficacy and performance, as well as connections between self-efficacy and self-talk. However, a gap exists in the literature in regard to the relationship between self-talk, self-efficacy, and performance, particularly in regard to cognitive performance. To address this gap, 42 students at a private liberal arts university practiced self-talk; and we assessed both their memory self-efficacy levels and their ability to recall information. The results of the experiment concluded that individuals with high self-efficacy that are exposed to positive self-talk experience significantly worse memory recall than individuals with low self-efficacy that …

Dual Immersion Programs And Their Implications: Focused Analyses On The Educational History, Francisco Reynoso Barron

International Studies (MA) Theses

As a social construct, education fulfills the necessary elements, ideologies, and rituals required to construct social norms for society. What a society deems as a norm determines the sentiments and direction that a nation will take. These normative tendencies lead to national identity and national security through policies and legislation within the nations' utilization of sovereignty. National interest being influenced by global events and ethnocentric ideologies has seen cycles leading to different immigration, educational, and economic policies. This paper analyzes dual immersion programs, which have been treated as a controversial topic due to its implications on national security and identity. …

Climate Policy & Environmental Justice Recommendations For Colorado: Environmental Justice And The Climate Action Plan To Reduce Pollution, Kevin J. Lynch, Edwin Lamair, Evan Healey

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

This report was primarily drafted in the Spring of 2019, as the Colorado Legislature considered, and ultimately enacted, HB 19-1261. Since that time, developments have only highlighted the critical importance of considering the justice impacts of any public health and environmental responses to the threat of climate change. In particular, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the stark racial and class disparities that environmental conditions have on the health of a community. The same facilities and mobile sources that emit climate pollution also typically emit particulate matter and smogforming pollution that cause respiratory illness in many communities. These underlying conditions are …

Pueblo Pequeño, Infierno Grande: Shifting The Burden Of Latinx Spanish Teacher Retention In The Rural South, Cornelia V. Okraski, Stephanie M. Madison

Publications

This study explored the experiences of five Latinx Spanish teachers who worked in schools in rural North Carolina and South Carolina. Using data from 25 semistructured interviews and publicly available school/community demographic information, this qualitative multiple‐case study sought to answer the following questions: (a) How do Latinx Spanish teachers in the rural South perceive experiences that help or hinder retention? (b) In what ways are Latinx Spanish teachers navigating their role as advocates for linguistic and cultural diversity in their rural schools and communities? Findings showed that participants were constantly balancing the benefits and challenges of their work in a …

Analysis Of Homeownership Outcomes In The Dallas-Fort Worth Region And Growing Disparities An African American Perspective, Gwendolyn Isokpan

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

Since the housing bust and Great Recession, in the United States, the homeownership gap between black and white households has widened to its largest levels in 50 years (Choi, McCargo, Neal, Goodman & Young, 2019). With overall inequality continuing to grow, policy decisions must be implemented to begin to mitigate the decreasing levels of homeownership. I argue decreased levels of homeownership are one contributing factor to inequality. More specifically, for African Americans, the homeownership rates have decreased back to the levels during the Civil Rights Era. Within the United States, owning a home is considered an important social and economic …

Predictors Of Organizational Decoupling In The Context Of Corporate Sustainability, Ajith Venugopal

Management Dissertations - Archive

The gap between what firms say and what they do is referred to as organizational decoupling. Despite the fact that decoupling is a widespread phenomenon, there is a paucity of empirical studies that have examined individual level predictors of organizational decoupling, especially in the context of corporate sustainability. In this dissertation, utilizing upper echelon theory, I examine how CEO psychological charactersitics predict policy-practice decoupling in the environmental and social dimensions of corporate sustainability. Using a sample of U.S.manufacturing companies from S&P 1500 during the period 2009-2018, I test the relationship between CEO personality (FFM traits), CEO value (self-transcendence), and CEO …

On The Syntax Of West Kalimantan: Asymmetries And A'-Movement In Malayic And Land Dayak Languages, Carly Joann Sommerlot

Linguistics & TESOL Dissertations - Archive

This dissertation focuses on five Malayic and five Land Dayak languages of West Kalimantan, Indonesia, exploring voice, A’-movement, and extraction asymmetries through a Minimalist framework. The main goal of this dissertation is to bridge the gap between documentation and syntactic analysis in a few ways: a) by using data from all underdocumented, and several undocumented languages; b) by providing syntactically motivated description of ten different languages; and c) by using contemporary syntactic principles, Case licensing and Phase Theory, to explain microvariation found in the voice system of these ten languages. Specifically, I offer an analysis of voice in West Kalimantan …

Do The Verb. Become The Noun: Writing Towards A New Identity, Mary K. Tedrow

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

Abstract

The initial composition course in the community college has the potential to be a transformative space for the identity formation of adult learners towards the linguistic signifier of scholar. Freshman students of variable ages enter a new culture which demands the negotiation of an alternative academic language, an adaptation to the post-secondary culture, and the development of the critical thinking required for academic work. All of these factors can destabilize identity as students confront long-held beliefs and biases in their studies (Bartholomae, 1985; Tingle, 2004; Bracher, 2006). Students who are unable to adapt to the new environment are …

Towards Unifying Grounded And Distributional Semantics Using The Words-As-Classifiers Model Of Lexical Semantics, Stacy Black

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Automated systems that make use of language, such as personal assistants, need some means of representing words such that 1) the representation is computable and 2) captures form and meaning. Recent advancements in the field of natural language processing have resulted in useful approaches to representing computable word meanings. In this thesis, I consider two such approaches: distributional embeddings and grounded models. Distributional embeddings are represented as high-dimensional vectors; words with similar meanings tend to cluster together in embedding space. Embeddings are easily learned using large amounts of text data. However, embeddings suffer from a lack of "real world" knowledge; …

No Dogs Allowed: A Qualitative Study About Invisible Barriers Faced By Those With Disability, Kory Gaona

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Service Animals (S.As.) are becoming more common throughout the United States and are seen more frequently on college campuses. This study uncovers the lived experiences of S.A. handlers on college campuses nationwide, to further understand the exclusion or inclusion that S.A. handlers experience throughout their everyday life. Utilizing Critical Disability Theory and Organizational Communication lenses through a series of open-ended questions, this study analyzes a handler’s experience with their S.A. Adopting a qualitative lens, I conducted one on one interviews. It filled a need for academia as present research on S.As. typically focuses on quantitative research. I was able to …

Redeeming The Monster: The God Of War Subreddit's Narrative Of Rebirth For Hegemonic Masculinity, Mario Sanders

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

In a 2019 documentary on the development of the video game God of War (2018) for the Playstation 4, Cory Barlog, the game’s creative director, openly discusses his desire to give the toxic, hypermasculine protagonist, Kratos, a “second chance” after nearly a decade since the franchise’s previous installment. In giving Kratos his second chance, Barlog decided to make him a father, claiming that becoming a father changes one’s perspective on everything. Video games scholars have argued that games are a noteworthy element of players’ identities and interactions due to their promotion of the manufacture of player narratives. The following research …

Detecting Undisclosed Paid Editing In Wikipedia, Nikesh Joshi

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Wikipedia is a free and open-collaboration based online encyclopedia. The website has millions of pages that are maintained by thousands of volunteer editors. It is part of Wikipedia’s fundamental principles that pages are written with a neutral point of view and are maintained by volunteer editors for free with well-defined guidelines in order to avoid or disclose any conflict of interest. However, there have been several known incidents where editors intentionally violate such guidelines in order to get paid (or even extort money) for maintaining promotional spam articles without disclosing such information.

This thesis addresses for the first time the …

Satisfaction With Life Scale In American Sign Language: Validation And Normative Data, Josephine F. Wilson, Jared Embree, Deb Guthmann, Steven R. Sligar, Janet C. Titus, Kathryn C. Taylor

JADARA

The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) is a brief instrument that assesses a person’s global life satisfaction. Using state-of-the-science techniques, the SWLS was translated into American Sign Language (ASL). A national sample of 350 deaf and hard of hearing individuals who preferentially use ASL completed the ASL version of the SWLS (SWLS-ASL) online. The individuals in this sample had a mean SWLS score of 23.4, well within the range of mean scores reported for samples from general populations of hearing individuals. No significant differences were identified in SWLS-ASL scores due to gender, cultural identification (identified as culturally Deaf or not), …

Establishing Auditory Discrimination And Echoic Stimulus Control With An Auditory Matching Procedure, Clare Christe

Dissertations

A generalized auditory matching repertoire is considered an early milestone in the development of verbal behavior (Greer & Keohane, 2006). Previous literature has demonstrated that the auditory matching (AM) protocol can improve echoics in individuals with developmental delays (Brown, 2005; Choi, Greer & Keohane, 2015; Du, Speckman, Medina, & Cole-Hatchard, 2017). However, some children experience difficulties with the match-to-sample (MTS) format of the AM protocol, if they are unable to perform delayed MTS tasks.

One alternative to MTS is the go/no-go procedure (Serna, Dube, & McIlvane, 1997), which requires the student to make a simple discrimination (i.e., same/different) between two …