Digital Commons Network^™

Packet Delivery: An Investigation Of Educational Video Games For Computer Science Education, Robert Lafferty

School of Computing: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The field of educational video games has rapidly grown since the 1970s, mostly producing video games to teach core education concepts such as mathematics, natural science, and English. Recently, various research groups have developed educational games to address elective topics such as finance and health. Educational video games often target grade school audiences and rarely target high school students, college students, or adults. Computer science topics are not a common theme among educational video games; the games that address Computer Science topics teach computer fundamentals, such as typing or basic programming, to young audiences.

Packet Delivery, an educational video …

Effects Of Career Courses On Career Self-Efficacy And Outcome Expectations, Celeste Spier

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study was to examine two required career courses to determine if they produced an increase in career self-efficacy and outcome expectations, and which components of the learning theory from Social Cognitive Career Theory have the strongest influence. Participants were undergraduate business students at a midsized, Midwestern university enrolled in two required career courses and a comparison group of students not yet enrolled in the courses. Students took four measures (i.e., Career Exploration and Decisional Self-Efficacy Scale, Career Search Self-Efficacy Scale, Career Expectations Survey Scale, and Career Exploration and Decision Learning Experiences Scale) at two points in …

A Bicultural Service Member/Civilian Identity And Motivations-Based Assessment Of Moral Injury In U.S. Military And Veteran Populations From America’S Longest Wars, Jamie Allison Mcnally

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Experiences in war are often traumatic in nature. Over the past thirty years, research has resulted in increased understanding of these experiences and the unique trajectory that values-based, as opposed to fear-based, traumas can cause. This study investigates these values-based traumas and the mental health outcomes that may result in a syndrome known as moral injury. The current research examined the relationship between potentially morally injurious event exposure and mental health symptomology. Event exposure was conceptualized both as objective occurrences and as the subjective experience of events, with notable distinctions in significance of outcomes. After attempting to replicate previous research …

The Relationship Between Secondary Teachers' Grit And Self-Efficacy Beliefs On Classroom Management And Student Engagement, Laurie White Lee

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Teaching as a profession is becoming more and more difficult. School districts are facing a teacher shortage, creating greater focus on recruitment and retention efforts. The majority of these efforts focus on novice teachers (within the first five years) providing support and assistance to help keep them in the classroom. Less effort is placed upon assisting the veteran teacher in maintaining effort in the classroom and avoiding burnout. Those who experience burnout or become disheartened show a reduction in effort negatively impacting student achievement. The purpose of this correlational study was to explore the relationship between teacher passion and perseverance …

The Purpose Of This Study Is: With Adult Children Of Alcoholics (Acoa); Do Psychoeducational Group Sessions Have An Impact On Relationship Satisfaction?, Paula Marie Wheaton

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Objective: The research's emphasis is Adult Children of Alcoholics [ACOA] and psychoeducational group sessions. Can psychoeducational group sessions be an effective treatment to heal the psychological effects of ACOAs, with the focus on relationship satisfaction? Psychoeducation groups lead to healing for ACOAs and can be an element in facilitating ACOAs having low relationship satisfaction. There was a gap in the research regarding psychoeducational groups' use in improving relationship satisfaction in ACOAs. Method: A quantitative research study using a between and a within-group design applied with the psychoeducational group sessions. Participants will take the CAST survey and qualify with a score …

The Effect Of Solo-Masturbation And Moral Disapproval On The Relationship Between Internet Pornography Use, Religious Struggles, Sexual Shame, And Depression: A Moderated Mediation Model, Ken Derance Miller

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Recently, the topics of Internet pornography use and masturbation have received increased attention among researchers, even though there is a cultural reluctance to discuss the common sexual behavior. This reticence is particularly true for religious and moral communities that have stigmatized the behavior and have historically viewed masturbation as taboo and morally offensive. Similarly, many religious groups morally disapprove of sexually explicit media. Despite morally disapproving of viewing pornography, the nearly universal availability of Internet pornography has resulted in an unprecedented increase in religious individuals viewing Internet pornography. Researchers have found a connection between the moral incongruence associated with Internet …

Latino Pastors And Their Spouses' Marital Satisfaction And Its Predicting Factors, Tanya Paniagua

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The Latino population in the United States has been the primary driver of demographic growth in the country (Flores, 2017). With this increasing shift in America, it is important to investigate the unique strains on clergy families among Latino pastors as evidence suggests stress is a threat to marital satisfaction and its longevity (Randall & Bodenmann, 2009). Very little literature on marital dynamics has focused on Latino pastors; thus, a need exists for more research in examining how cultural values and acculturation impact marital satisfaction while considering the relationship between marital satisfaction and selected variables: affection, sexual satisfaction, communication, burnout, …

The Influence Of Emerging Adulthood On The Risky And Dangerous Behaviors Of Lgbt Populations, Christopher Salvatore, Tarika Daftary-Kapur

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

During emerging adulthood, traditional social bonds and turning points may be delayed, not present, or may not work in the same manner as they had for prior generations, leading many to engage in risky and dangerous behaviors. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered emerging adults may be at particular risk for engaging in risky and dangerous behavior during emerging adulthood due to the lack of social bonds, reaching of turning points, as well as the historic stigmatization of these populations. Focusing on LGBT populations in the United States, the influence of emerging adulthood on risky and dangerous behaviors is presented; a …

Examining The Role Of Spatial Skills And Mathematics Motivation On Middle School Mathematics Achievement, Kinnari Atit, Jason R. Power, Norma Veurink, David H. Uttal, Sheryl Sorby, Grace Panther, Camille Msall, Logan Fiorella, Martha Carr

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Background: Spatial skills and mathematical ability have been repeatedly identified as critical for achievement in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Previous studies have identified correlations between spatial skills and mathematical achievement; however, questions remain regarding improvements in non-spatial areas associated with STEM achievement. The current study examined whether competency in spatial skills could be related to individuals’ motivation for mathematics. Measures of spatial skills and mathematics motivation were completed by 1056 seventh grade students. Results: Using hierarchical linear modeling, spatial skills and math motivation were examined relative to students’ performance on a state standardized mathematics subtest. Results indicate that …

Pattern Recognition In Tyus V Urban Search Management, Lee Anne Fennell

University of Chicago Law Review

Making judgments requires recognizing patterns—paying attention and picking out recurrent features in a noisy environment. Judge Diane Wood’s opinion in Tyus v Urban Search Management¹ is a masterwork in pattern recognition at several levels. It speaks to the need for legal doctrines capable of reaching subtle and cumulative acts of discrimination that continue to limit opportunities and stand in the way of the “truly integrated and balanced living patterns”² that were part of the original vision of the federal Fair Housing Act³ (FHA).

Tyus involved advertising campaigns used to market The New York, an upscale Chicago apartment …

The Double Movement Of National Origin Discrimination, Aziz Huq

University of Chicago Law Review

Jose Figueroa’s case presented “little out of the ordinary” for the federal courts¹. His was a “multimillion-dollar” drug operation run out of Wisconsin that fell apart when a dealer and a partner flipped and gave testimony for the government.² Only in the closing moments of sentencing ³ did Figueroa’s case take an unusual turn, one that would in due course elicit an unusual opinion from Judge Diane Wood of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. In the process of assigning Figueroa to the “low end of Figueroa’s advisory guidelines range,” ⁴ District Court Judge Rudolph T. Randa …

Harassment And Capabilities: Discrimination And Liability In Wetzel V Glen St. Andrew Living Community, Llc, Martha Craven Nussbaum

University of Chicago Law Review

No abstract provided.

Data Security’S Unjust Enrichment Theory, Lior Jacob Strahilevitz

University of Chicago Law Review

Remijas v Neiman Marcus Group, LLC,¹ is Judge Diane Wood’s most famous data security opinion, and for good reason. The opinion is elegantly written and refreshingly pragmatic with respect to an issue that has prompted other courts to fall into the trap of empty formalism. Yet the opinion is not perfect, and this Essay celebrating Wood’s silver anniversary on the bench will argue that it missed an opportunity to solve a vexing and important problem that arises when data breach suits are brought in federal court.

Chinese Gardens: Solutions For Urban Nature Deficit, Zachary K. Warner

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Research shows that time spent in nature is good for human health and well-being. However, as the world’s population becomes more concentrated in urban areas regular time in nature, especially extended time, is becoming more difficult to have. On the other hand, Chinese gardens can provide one solution to this problem because they have a unique way of providing a naturalistic space within a small area. Despite this fact, there aren’t many Chinese style gardens outside of China. Therefore, the objective of this thesis was to identify possible barriers to using Chinese garden design principles and construction techniques, then address …

Nurses' Attitudes Toward Physician-Assisted Suicide, Cheyenne Star Lowrey-Lagrone

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Physician-assisted suicide, or PAS, is end-of-life option in which patients self-administer physician-prescribed lethal medication to end their life. Nurses' own interpretations and understandings of the legalities, ethical dilemmas, and factors that influence their attitudes can be analyzed to determine the nurses’ role in the support or opposition of the practice. Although nurses do not have an active role in PAS, they play a pivotal role in patient advocacy and education. This paper analyzes the factors that contribute to nurses’ attitudes toward the practice, along with the benefits of education of this topic going forth.

Improving Health Care Accessibility Among Geriatric Patients In Rural Communities, Capriana Calvachi

Honors Projects

The following literature review and analysis compiles information regarding ways to improve rural geriatric healthcare accessibility through the use of interprofessional care and outreach. I also wish to bring to light the various deficiencies often seen in this realm of care, and the reasons behind the inadequate rural physician retention rates. Using this background information, I compiled various collaborative approaches which seek to ease the strain faced by the healthcare system and its elderly patients.

Improving healthcare accessibility through the use of interprofessional care and outreach is an essential facet in geriatric medicine. By exploring the deficiencies of geriactric healthcare …

Teaching Materialism Through Storytelling: A Collection Of Short Stories And Learning Materials, Zoie Zvonar, Katherine Arnold

Honors Projects

This collaborative projects seeks to combine the disciplines of psychology and writing into a collection of short stories and learning materials dedicated to teaching young students the psychological concept of materialism. In order to accomplish this goal, Zoie Zvonar and Katherine Arnold have designed and created a set of materials that seek to inform, educate, and instill in those young students what materialism is, how to recognize it in our own lives, its consequences, and potential strategies to lower high materialistic tendencies. Zoie Zvonar created the companion guide, learning activities for both students and instructors, and an additional resources list …

Neural Correlates Of Social Pain In Psychological Disorders: Implications For Educational Settings, Skye E. Johnson

Honors Projects

Pain has long been defined as a multidimensional construct; in past research, not only have the physical and sensory aspects of pain been investigated, but also the cognitive and emotional aspects, which include the experience of social pain. This experience is generally accepted to be very distressing and can have adverse effects on one's mental health, especially for those with neurological disorders. In my paper, I examine the effects of social pain on brain activity in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD) as compared to those who are neurotypical. This research finds that while neurotypical …

Gender Expansive Students In The Choral Classroom: Awareness & Practices Of Secondary Music Educators, Emma E. Taranko

Honors Projects

In an age of growing diversity, it is essential for educators, both pre- and in-service, to seek out strategies that will assist them in creating a welcoming classroom environment for all learners. It is incumbent upon choral music teachers and community leaders to educate themselves in the diversity that presents itself in their classrooms in order to better service all students. In this study, twenty-five secondary music educators shared their awareness of gender expansive students in their choir classrooms and any strategies they have used to better service their singers. This study was conducted in order to assess which strategies …

Gender Differences In Communication With One's Mother And Father And Its Effects On Feelings Of Depression Among Young Adults, Ethan Nicolas Blanchard

All Theses

Depression among young adults is a growing concern that becomes more severe every year. Several factors can contribute to one’s feelings of depression including how much someone communicates their feelings to their parents. Communication with parent’s relationship to depression among young adults is a largely unexplored area of research that this study covers. The purpose of this study is to test gender differences in communication with one’s parents and how parental communication affects feelings of depression. Using the third wave of the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR), a nationally representative data set consisting of 1680 young adults living …

The Presence Of The Relative Age Effect In Professional Sports, Cece Jordan Hensley

All Theses

This paper adds to the literature on the relative age effect in athletic, academic, and professional pursuits. It estimates the effects of month of birth on professional athletes in the NHL, NBA, and MLB regarding their performance and “making it” to the professional level. I used data from each of the sports and compared their month of birth distributions to what we would expect from the general population and analyzed the relationship between player’s month of birth and their performance statistics.

A Reconsidering Of Place And Space, Megan Ashley Waller

All Theses

A Reconsidering of Place and Space is an autobiographical body of paintings that challenges the notion that the home is a place of familiarity, peace, connection, and comfort. I unmake the predictability of the spaces through either subtle or overt alterations of these once commonplace areas. While these spaces are grounded in observable reality, they are not entirely logical and operate as psychological environments that often enter the realm of the uncanny or melancholic.

This work operates within the context of the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020. Lockdowns, health conditions, and virus spikes have pushed people to stay home more. This …

Assessing The Markers Of Agency In Successful Recovery Journeys: A Constructionist Narrative Of Participants In An Assertive Community Engagement Modality, Sarah Elizabeth Goss

All Theses

The Faces and Voices of Recovery program in Greenville, South Carolina is part of a national recovery advocacy movement utilizing a harm-reduction framework. This study aims to identify how individual agency is accounted for in this harm reduction-based recovery group and by extension, the recovery process. Spanning a four-month discourse collection process, and incorporating partial and complete observations of participants this study identifies four tiers of participation and engagement (1) high engagement successful recovery (2) low engagement successful recovery (3) high engagement struggling recovery and (4) low engagement struggling recovery/disengaged.

Sex Differences In Self-Report Anxiety And Sleep Quality During Covid-19 Stay-At-Home Orders, Jeremy Bigalke, Ian Greenlund, Jason R. Carter

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Background: COVID-19 and home isolation has impacted quality of life, but the perceived impact on anxiety and sleep remains equivocal. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of COVID-19 and stay-at-home orders on self-report anxiety and sleep quality, with a focus on sex differences. We hypothesized that the COVID-19 pandemic would be associated with increased anxiety and decreased sleep quality, with stronger associations in women. Methods: One hundred three participants (61 female, 38 ± 1 years) reported perceived changes in anxiety and sleep quality due to stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic and were administered the Spielberger …

Exploring Uncertainties In Households’ Hurricane Evacuations, Jiayun Shen

All Theses

Hurricane Matthew was the most powerful hurricane during the Atlantic Hurricane Season in 2016. It caused tremendous damages to infrastructure and coastal areas of the United States. This thesis uses survey data collected in 2017 from residents in the Jacksonville Metropolitan Area after Hurricane Matthew. Survey questions were designed to capture evacuation-related decisions, information sources usage, socio-economic factors, perceived certainty and intra-familial interactions. The first part of the thesis modeled households’ perceived certainty to identify factors that affect different perceived certainty topics. Certainty topics included were: whether one lives in an evacuation zone, time of hurricane impact, evacuation preparation time …

Hormonal Responses To Seasonal Thermal And Ecological Stressors In Japanese Macaques (Macaca Fuscata), Lilianne Nelson

Masters Theses

Relative to most primate species, Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) experience extreme seasonal variation in thermal and ecological stressors that can impact energetic demands. To cope with these environmental changes, levels of metabolic hormones, such as cortisol and triiodothyronine, fluctuate to facilitate energetic adjustments. While previous research in primates has investigated thermal and ecological stressors individually, a combined assessment of these stressors alongside hormone levels can provide a more holistic understanding of the relationship between a primate’s thermoregulation, energetic balance, and stress. The goals of this study were to determine the effects of season, temperature and ecological stress on …

Meta-Analysis Of The Association Between Acute Particulate Matter Exposure And Cardiovascular Disease, Issa El-Kildani

Masters Theses

Cardiovascular disease, which involves a wide range of conditions, including narrowed or blocked coronary arteries, has remained the leading cause of death in the United States for over 50 years. The majority of cardiovascular conditions are preventable, which can be identified through risk factors. However, maintaining healthy life choices can be difficult for most Americans, as the vast majority live in populated urban cities. Urban life can pose hazardous conditions to individuals, especially air pollution. Air pollution includes gaseous pollutants, such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, ozone and sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter. Of these pollutants, particulate matter has become …

Predictors Of Student Success In An Upper Division Agriculture Chemistry Class, Maddison V. May

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

To attempt to find what made students successful within a higher division class at Missouri State University’s (MSU) Darr College of Agriculture, de-identified academic records of 172 students enrolled in AGR 300 - Food and Agriculture Chemistry were studied over four semesters. Deidentified data were collected and compared to final letter grade received at the end of the class using correlation coefficients, analysis of variance, and stepwise regression. Analysis of variance was used to evaluate the influence of semester on letter grade. Correlation coefficients were used to determine and evaluate relationships between the variables and final grade. Stepwise regression was …

Understanding Grief In Adults Whose Sibling Died During Childhood: A Qualitative Study, Amanda Marie Mccarthy

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This retrospective, phenomenological study investigated how bereaved siblings believe the death of their brother impacted their development. Through semi-structured interviews, five adults whose brother died during their adolescence discussed how their grief changed over time and the factors that influenced changes in grief. Participants experienced periods of lack of acceptance, independence and isolation, and finding contentment. Factors that influenced changes in grief include sibling’s cause of death, family reaction, establishment of a support network, remembering the deceased, and milestones and dates. These findings provide a glimpse into how grief changes over time in the context of development. Furthermore, the results …

The Impacts Of Race And Video Angle On Judgments Of Police Interactions, Shelby Gabrielle Wynn

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

With the invention of video recording on cell phones and the increased use of social media, the ability to record and distribute instances of police misconduct has become much easier. In recent years, such videos have captured White police officers using extreme force towards black citizens, many times leading to their deaths. Despite the increase in access to these videos, many of the officers involved are not convicted (or even indicted) of any crimes. Researchers have begun to examine variables that impact how people judge videotaped police/civilian interactions. For example, it has been found that when viewing interrogation videos, people …