Digital Commons Network^™

The Great Outdoors, Indoors: An Evaluation Of Green Spaces And Housing Prices In Pittsburgh, Pa, Will Mccullough

Senior Independent Study Theses

Green spaces, or public parks, playgrounds, and athletic fields, are a community hub. Many studies have highlighted the benefits of green space on surrounding neighborhoods. However, comparatively little research has assessed the relationship between park proximity and housing sales price. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, city officials have shown a renewed interest in increasing park access and quality, although no economic literature has examined role of green space in the housing consumption decision in the city. I develop a theory of green space preference in a consumer maximization framework to hypothesize that home prices will increase with proximity to green space. I …

Breaking News: Sustainable Fashion Is In And Fast Fashion Is Out; Constructions Of Sustainable Consumption In Fast Fashion Advertising, Camryn Eve Rosenstein

Senior Independent Study Theses

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the pivotal role advertising plays in fast fashion consumption and shaping young consumers ideas and values about the fashion industry, fast fashion, sustainable consumption, and sustainability. This study contributes to limited research into greenwashing and consumer perceptions and attitudes towards sustainable consumption. Moreover, this study highlights the increased relevance of the sustainable fashion movement in mainstream society. The researcher recruited 30 college students to participants in focus group sessions and individual interviews. An H&M advertisement and a video clip from a documentary, The True Cost, were shown to participants, so …

Market Structure And Quality Of Service: Investigating Oligopolies And The Quality Of Nursing Home Care In California During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Tessa Ireton

Senior Independent Study Theses

Quality-of-service outcomes in nursing homes are of great social and human importance. However, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, consistently maintaining markets with high quality care has been a pervading issue in the American nursing home industry. Furthermore, the industry is strongly characterized by oligopolies, a market structure that literature indicates may be less compatible with quality service than competitive markets. With this paper, I aim to investigate the possible intersection of oligopolist market structures and the quality of nursing home care during the COVID-19 pandemic. I start by describing quality of care in nursing homes, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, …

Mapping Out Learning: How Aerobic Exercise, Sex And Alzheimer's Disease Impact Learning, Grace G. Bouker

Senior Independent Study Theses

Exercise has the power to ameliorate the outward symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) by rescuing hippocampal-dependent learning and memory. The goal of this research was to map out how exercise and sex impact behavioral learning in AD mouse models by looking outside of the traditional measurements in the Morris water maze (MWM), as they fail to describe the process of learning itself. I calculated heading error at maximum velocity, manually categorized search strategy in the MWM across trials, and determined flexibility in the probe trial for transgenic and wild-type mice who were exposed to exercise or control housing. Mice significantly …

Climate Change Impacts Go Beyond The Surface: Groundwater Recharge Rates And Aquifer Resources Across The Contiguous United States, Kendra R. Devereux

Senior Independent Study Theses

Groundwater is a primary source of potable water for millions and a major source for crop irrigation in the United States. Thus, it is vital to understand current and future rates of recharge to predict and manage groundwater availability. In this study, current groundwater recharge rates across the Contiguous US at 800m resolution are estimated by following methods presented by Reitz et al. (2017), and the reproducibility of the methods are assessed. A water budget approach is implemented where quick flow runoff and evapotranspiration rates are subtracted from precipitation rates. Precipitation was found to be the most reproducible water budget …

The Development Of A Procedure For The Pxrf Analysis Of Soil Cation Exchange Capacity In Collaboration With Colorado Farmers, Claire E. Wineman

Senior Independent Study Theses

Discrepancies between farmers’ and scientists’ knowledge systems and experiences have long prevented the success and mutual beneficiality of collaborative research efforts between these two groups. The development of agricultural technologies, such as portable X-ray fluorescence (PXRF) for the analysis of soil cation exchange capacity in the field, creates a promising overlap point for farmers and scientists to cooperatively study issues within their sociocultural context and with access to institutional resources. In this study, the generation of an in-field PXRF method in collaboration with Colorado farmers helps to provide a prospective model for scientists and farmers looking to use collaborative research …

Is There An Association Between Drug Use And Oral Health Conditions?, Martha Paisi, Robert Witton, Anastasios Plessas

School of Nursing and Midwifery

No abstract provided.

An Exploratory Analysis Of Conflict In African Immigrant And African American Marriages, Cornelius Ayodeji Osuntade

Dissertations

Problem

There has been a high level of marital conflict in immigrant families from patriarchal cultures. There are negative attitudes toward women that contribute to couple conflict. Coupled with this are issues relating to immigration challenges that confront marriage stability among immigrant couples in North America. In the same vein, African American couples experience conflicts that militate against the stability of their marriages. Most of these marital upheavals stem from historical antecedents relating to this ethnic group, as well as the societal dialectics confronting them. By and large, regarding couple conflict, a better understanding of the challenges facing African immigrant …

Stress Inoculation Training (Sit-Norcal), Part 2: A Pilot Study Among Explosive Ordnance Disposal Special Warfare Enablers, Sarah E Jackson, Matthew R Baity, Patrick R Thomas, Mark Walker, Madeleine Goodkind, Diane Swick, Douglas Barba, Daniel Jacobson, Eric Byrd, A Sarah Ivey

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Despite being a well-supported strategy, Stress Inoculation Training (SIT) has not been fully incorporated in the advancement of human performance among most military personnel. The RAND Study recommendations for maximizing SIT's potential within high-risk/ high-intensity occupational groups were used in designing the Core Training protocol targeting psychological performance, SIT-NORCAL (Part 1).

Purpose: The current project (Part 2) sought to further develop the protocol as a health and human performance hybrid through quality improvement analysis of the content, process, and measurement elements for use in the human performance context.

Methods: Evidence-based/evidence-driven methodologies were used in collaborative design tailored to the …

Deep Learning For Automated Analysis Of Cellular And Extracellular Components Of The Foreign Body Response In Multiphoton Microscopy Images, Mattia Sarti, Maria Parlani, Luis Diaz-Gomez, Antonios G Mikos, Pietro Cerveri, Stefano Casarin, Eleonora Dondossola

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The Foreign body response (FBR) is a major unresolved challenge that compromises medical implant integration and function by inflammation and fibrotic encapsulation. Mice implanted with polymeric scaffolds coupled to intravital non-linear multiphoton microscopy acquisition enable multiparametric, longitudinal investigation of the FBR evolution and interference strategies. However, follow-up analyses based on visual localization and manual segmentation are extremely time-consuming, subject to human error, and do not allow for automated parameter extraction. We developed an integrated computational pipeline based on an innovative and versatile variant of the U-Net neural network to segment and quantify cellular and extracellular structures of interest, which is …

Recent Advances Of Integrative Bio-Omics Technologies To Improve Type 1 Diabetes (T1d) Care, Nisha Karwal, Megan Rodrigues, David D. Williams, Ryan Mcdonough, Diana Ferro

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a complex autoimmune disease that currently cannot be cured, only managed. Optimal treatment the of T1D symptoms, requires a multidisciplinary care team, including endocrinologists, educators, primary care providers, health care specialists, genetic counselors, and data scientists. This review summarizes how an integrative approach to T1D drives innovation and quality improvements in health care. Specifically, we highlight how “-omics” technologies facilitate the understanding of different aspects of the disease, including prevention, pathogenesis, diagnostics, and treatment. Furthermore, we explore how biological data can be combined with personal and electronic health records to tailor medical interventions to the …

Tribal Opposition To Enbridge Line 5: Rights And Interests, John Minode’E Petoskey

Tribal Law Journal

This paper will examine the tribal interests at stake in the controversy surrounding Enbridge Oil Pipeline 5 (“Line 5”), and will explore why it is consistent with Michigan’s treaty obligations and public trust principles to remove the pipeline from the Straits of Mackinac. The Line runs beneath the Straits of Mackinac, the convergence of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, and is nearly 70 years old. Should the pipeline burst, the resulting spill would irreparably harm fisheries in the Straits and impair tribal treaty rights to fish in the Great Lakes. Part I will provide a roadmap overview. Part II will …

Assessing How Understory Plant And Pollinator Interactions Are Affected By Differing Canopy Phenologies, Jack Everatt

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Advancements in springtime phenologies of plants and their pollinators have been widely observed within the northern hemisphere due to climate change. The observed advancements have led to concern over potential mismatching occurring between plant-pollinator interactions. The effect of forest canopies on understory phenological interactions has scarcely been investigated. We studied the effect of differing canopy closure parameters on understory phenological interactions within Plymbridge woods, Devon, UK, over a 6-month study period. The temporal overlap between canopy, understory flower and pollinators were investigated using Pianka overlap indices. Canopy phenology was modelled using NLSTIMEDIST package of R, giving three canopy parameters, canopy …

Why Become A Teacher? Exploring Motivations For Becoming Science And Mathematics Teachers In Australia, Chrystal Whiteford, Nick Kelly, Les Dawes

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

There is an identified shortage of mathematics and science teachers across Australia and many of these teachers leave the profession within 3 to 5 years of graduating. This paper provides important insights on what motivates people to become science and mathematics teachers in Australia. Data drawn from two surveys, one investigating why students might become a teacher and the other examining why teachers joined the profession, are explored to provide unique insight into an area of need. Using descriptive statistics and Spearman’s rho, results suggest contribution to society and love of subject area to be among the top motivators for …

The Influence Of Emotion On Preservice Teachers As They Learn To Assess Student Learning, Frances Edwards

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

_{This paper explores the experience of emotion for eight preservice teachers as they learn to assess their students while concurrently being assessed. This qualitative study utilised semi-structured interviews and assessment-related artefacts. Findings indicate that emotional engagement influenced preservice teachers’ assessment decision making. The teachers also experienced emotional reactions as in turn they were assessed. This paper argues for the need of preservice teachers to be cognisant of the influence of emotion on themselves and their work, to allow them to better rationalise their assessment decision making and reflect on their practice.}

Collaboratively Designing A National, Mandated Teaching Performance Assessment In A Multi-University Consortium: Leadership, Dispositions And Tensions, Amanda Mcgraw, Ron “Kim” Keamy, Jeana A. Kriewaldt, Robyn Brandenburg, Rebecca Walker, Nadine Crane

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

It is a requirement for pre-service students in Initial Teacher Education programs in Australia to successfully complete a teaching performance assessment (TPA) before they graduate. This follows similar requirements in other international contexts, particularly the United States, where standard-based assessment is also a focus. As members of the design team of a TPA, which was affirmed by a nationally appointed Expert Advisory Group in Australia, we examine the social processes contributing to the development of a high-stakes assessment task. Significant challenges emerged through the nature of the task and the responsibility developers had for ensuring validity and fairness, but also …

Trauma-Informed Teacher Wellbeing: Teacher Reflections Within Trauma-Informed Positive Education, Tom Brunzell, Lea Waters, Helen Stokes

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

For the last 15 years, teacher wellbeing has been a priority area of exploration within education and positive psychology literatures. However, increasing teacher wellbeing for those who educate students impacted by trauma has yet to be comprehensively explored despite repeated exposure of teachers to child trauma and their experiences of associated negative effects such as secondary traumatic stress, vicarious traumatisation, compassion fatigue and burnout. This study follows teachers’ understandings and reflections upon their own wellbeing after learning the literatures supporting trauma-informed positive education. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used as the methodological approach to represent teachers (N = 18) in order …

Visual Culture As A Teaching Practice In Visual Arts Education In Turkey: Practitioner Inquiry, Ebru Güler

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The present research investigates the experiences of pre-service visual arts teachers in the planning and application phase of a course focusing on visual culture in the special teaching methods course. This course in Turkey provides information about how and with what type of methodologies arts-related topics should be taught in visual arts education. During the first semester, the course was conducted theoretically, and in the second semester the researcher focused on the application of these theories. In this research, visual culture is discussed as one of the special teaching methods of visual arts education. A total of five visual arts …

Conversations With Australian Teachers And School Leaders About Using Differentiated Instruction In A Mainstream Secondary School, Kathryn Gibbs, Wendi Beamish

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Circumstances in today’s schools are requiring a rethinking of pedagogical approaches so that equitable learning opportunities are provided to all students. This small-scale, qualitative Australian study reports how some teachers and school leaders viewed differentiated instruction (DI) being applied in their secondary campus to address diverse abilities and needs. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted using Zoom. The analysis of data identified three themes related to DI: understandings, practices, and concerns. Findings showed that all participants understood many of the important elements of DI. Teachers reported using several well-known DI strategies, with experienced teachers applying a more considered approach. Teachers raised …

Creating Greater Awareness Of The Australian Professional Standards For Teachers In Initial Teacher Education, Melissa Cain, Chris Campbell

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Throughout their initial teacher education training in Australia, students are informed about the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) and the necessity of gathering evidence to achieve these for teacher registration. Whilst the use of digital technologies as tools for reflection has become increasingly popular, there remains a paucity of research around the types of digital technologies that students use to document their ability to achieve accreditation requirements. This study presents details of how PebblePad, a specialised ePortfolio platform, can assist teacher education students to gain increased awareness about the 37 APST descriptors through the use of tagging. Results demonstrate …

Aboriginal Community-Led Preservice Teacher Education: Learning From Country In The City, Katrina Thorpe, Cathie Burgess, Suzanne Egan

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In Australia it is well documented that teachers continue to struggle with implementing Aboriginal content, pedagogies and engaging with Aboriginal communities. This paper describes a research project analysing place-based learning for preservice teachers at an urban university led by Aboriginal community members. We argue that place-based learning is critical in developing preservice teacher’s knowledge and confidence in Aboriginal education. Surveys, individual and group yarns provided in-depth data from 64 participants completing elective courses including place-based ‘Learning from Country’ (LFC) experiences. Three key findings emerge from the data. Firstly, the utility of an experiential ‘learning by doing’ approach, secondly, the profound …

How Do Pre-Service Male Primary Teachers Cope With Gender Related Challenges?, Vaughan Cruickshank, Martin Kerby, Margaret Baguley

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Male teachers are a minority in both primary teacher training courses and in primary schools around the world. Education research has identified numerous gender-related challenges faced by male primary teachers during their initial teacher training and later when teaching in schools. Despite noting that many males leave teacher training because of these challenges, researchers have spent much less time investigating strategies to assist men cope with them and persist in the profession. This paper aims to help address this gap through an investigation of the challenges pre-service male primary teachers face during their teacher training and identifying practical coping strategies. …

Reflective Thinking Practices Among Pre-Service Teachers: Comparison Between Malaysia And Australia, Siew Chee Choy, Judith Dinham, Joanne Sau-Ching Yim, Paul Williams

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Reflective practices are considered an important part of a pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) professional learning experiences. However, there has been much criticisms on its efficacy as a learning tool for teacher professional development. This paper will relate a study that was designed to compare reflective teaching practices in two culturally different countries, namely Malaysia and Australia. These two countries were chosen as they offered an opportunity to study differences in reflective thinking practices from an Asian and a Western cultural perspective among PSTs. The study used a framework using five constructs: lifelong learning skills, self-assessment, self-belief, teaching awareness, and reflective thinking. …

The Implementation Of The Coaching Approach To Professional Experience (Cape) Model In Indonesian Initial Teacher Education: The Participants’ Perspectives, Urip Sulistiyo, Muhammad Rusdi, Jennifer Clifton, Heather Fehring, Kathy Jordan

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Professional experience is considered essential to enable pre-service teachers (PSTs) to implement what they have learned during their initial teacher education (ITE) program to school environments. There are multiple models of professional experience that address the issue of integrating theory and practice. This article reports on findings of the implementation of the Coaching Approach to Professional Experience (CAPE) model in an ITE program in Jambi University, Indonesia. Using qualitative focus groups, this research focuses on the perceptions of PSTs, a school principal, mentor teachers, teacher educators (lecturer) and a coach regarding the implementation of the CAPE model. The research findings …

Teacher Quality And Teacher Education: A Critical Policy Analysis Of International And Australian Policies., Parlo Singh, Frances Hoyte, Stephen Heimans, Beryl Exley

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This article examines how the ‘teacher quality’ agenda, evident in the globalised discourse on education policy, constructs changes to teachers’ work and teacher education. We undertake a critical policy analysis of two reports from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), addressing three issues. First, we discuss the global and national context in which ‘teacher quality’ policies have emerged. We examine implications of policy enactment in Australia and analyse how the OECD documents construct understandings of teacher quality. We link our analysis to a recent government inquiry into the teaching profession in Australia, looking specifically at the impact of …

Exploring ‘Next Practice’: Principals’ Perceptions Of Graduate Skills And Attributes For Future Classrooms, Angela Fitzgerald

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The phrase ‘next practice’ was coined to indicate a shift from the notion of best practice to thinking more broadly about the needs of future learners and the ways in which teaching practice might align to support these needs. In understanding what next practice means for the classroom, this study was particularly interested in examining how initial teacher education (ITE) could respond through their graduate preparation. The presented data presented is derived from an Australian small-scale qualitative study that sought to explore principals’ perceptions of graduate skills and attributes for future classrooms which captured the perspectives of six primary and …

Do Preservice Teachers Believe They Use The Australian Professional Standards For Teachers To Inform Their Professional Learning?, Kairen Call, Michael Christie, Sue E. Simon

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Professional standards for teachers are being used around the globe to educate, certify, promote and regulate the ongoing professional practice and learning of teachers. In Australia, the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST), in part, aim to support the professional learning of teachers from the Graduate to Lead Teacher career stages. Preservice teachers have been identified as being positive about the APST, and their uptake with the standards at the Graduate level appears to be increasing over time. However, our research shows that preservice teachers are not making the connection between the APST and their professional learning. This paper will …

How Teachers Use Formative Assessment Strategies During Teaching: Evidence From The Classroom, Hem Chand Dayal

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Using lesson observations, the study reported in this article explores how two practising secondary mathematics teachers implemented formative assessment actions in their classroom teaching. The study also investigated whether teachers’ beliefs about teaching and assessment could be mapped onto their classroom practices. In particular, while the two teachers were implementing student portfolio assessment in their own Year 9 mathematics lessons, the classroom observations focused on how they utilised formative assessment actions such as clarifying and sharing learning criteria intentions and criteria for success; activating students as instructional resources; and, providing feedback that moves learners forward. The findings suggest that one …

Learning To Teach In Place: Transforming Pre-Service Teacher Perceptions Of Science Teaching Through Place Pedagogies, Hongming Ma, Monica M. Green

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Although teaching science outdoors is well established in global circles, its pedagogical value in Australia is less understood. This paper addresses this gap through its investigation of outdoor science teaching in a science method course in a teacher education program at an Australian regional university. As part of their coursework, pre-service teachers designed and delivered science lessons to primary school-aged children in small teaching groups in a wetland setting and wrote reflective essays about the experience. Data collection methods included document analysis of the essays as well as follow-up semi-structured interviews with pre-service teachers. Findings suggest that the outdoor science …

Teachers’ Experiences Of Educating Eal Students In Mainstream Primary And Secondary Classrooms, Jessica Premier

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Many schools in Victoria, Australia, are multicultural, with students coming from a variety of cultures and backgrounds. Content area teachers often educate EAL students in their classrooms, even though they may not have specialised EAL teaching qualifications. This paper presents the experiences of primary and secondary teachers working in multicultural schools in Victoria. It explores the way in which teachers meet the needs of EAL students in their classrooms, and the support that is available to assist them to do so. This paper reports that teaching practice, school leadership, professional learning, and identity, influence the way in which teachers educate …