Digital Commons Network^™

The Role Of Instructor Presence And Class Size In Promoting Engagement Among Adults Pursuing Undergraduate Degrees Online: A Preregistered Study., Ken S. Muessig

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adult learners who pursue undergraduate degrees online are an understudied group who have characteristics that separate them from traditional younger students or graduate students who might be the same age. These characteristics could give them a different experience in online courses. Do adult learners experience instructor presence in a way that makes them engage in their courses more? Is that measurable by a validated measurement of student engagement? This preregistered study seeks to answer how the student engagement of adult learners seeking an undergraduate degree in a 100% online environment is effected by the presence of the instructor. The data …

A Case Study Examining Women In Leadership At A College Of Osteopathic Medicine, Sloane Gibson Kelley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Dr. Andrew Taylor Still, the founder of osteopathic medicine, actively promoted gender parity in the field from its inception, at a time when few medical schools accepted women into their programs, and even fewer all-female medical schools existed (Quinn, 2017; Simpson & Weiser, 1996). Although an almost equal number of male and female students are enrolled in osteopathic medical schools, men far outnumber women in positions of leadership. While the data for the number of women deans and department chairs at osteopathic medical schools does not exist, research by the Association of American Medical Colleges (2021) showed that 24% of …

Improving Math Placement Of Non-Traditional Students In Arkansas Community Colleges Using Multiple Measures Assessments, Johnathon Edward Paape

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For decades, community colleges have relied on standardized placement tests to determine student readiness for college-level coursework. COVID-19 exposed the flaws of relying on a single measure to assess student readiness as many test sites shut down during the pandemic. Previous research has also pointed out the high rate of misplacement when using placement tests as a single factor. This is particularly important for non-traditional students as they often lack the guidance needed to successfully navigate and prepare for such tests. The result of this situation is often that non-traditional students are placed into remedial courses despite having the potential …

Inland Flyway Review Spring 2022 Report, Vernon Kleen

North American Bird Bander

No abstract provided.

Creating Nutrition Education For Lactating Parents, Audrey Fohey

Honors Capstones

Lactation is an important life stage that requires a unique emphasis on nutritional intake; existing educational materials on this topic do a poor job of meeting the needs of lactating parents. The purpose of this project was to work with a community partner, the DeKalb County WIC, to create educational materials that will address this issue. The creation of the educational materials was a multi-step process, involving exploration of the relationship between nutrition and lactation and collaboration with the established community partner. A written paper was synthesized, and three handouts were created. Each handout focused on a specific nutrient of …

Authigenic Clay Mineral Evidence For Restricted, Evaporitic Conditions During The Emergence Of The Ediacaran Doushantuo Biota, Shujun Han, Stefan C. Lӧhr, April N. Abbott, Andre Baldermann, Martin Voigt, Bingsong Yu

Marine Science

The Ediacaran Period witnessed major environmental change and an expansion of eukaryotic life following the Marinoan glaciation. The Doushantuo Formation of south China has furnished much of our understanding of Earth System and biosphere evolution during this period, but its depositional setting–marine or non-marine–is still debated. Here we conduct mineralogical, petrographic and geochemical analyses of samples from the lower Doushantuo Formation in order to determine the origin of saponite clay minerals which are abundant in this interval. We find that the morphology and distribution of the saponite clays suggest they are of pre-compaction, authigenic origin. We infer that the lower …

A Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (Cure) In Soccer Analytics, Russell E. Goodman, Katelin Valster

The Mathematics Enthusiast

The authors designed an honors seminar course entitled Sports Analytics: Soccer to provide students with a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) using cutting-edge GPS/accelerometer athlete-tracking devices. This paper offers details of the design and structure of the course, where a goal was for students to contribute to a longitudinal research project of performing a comprehensive performance and load analysis on Division III women's soccer athletes.

Perceptions Of Orthopaedic Medicine Students And Their Supervisors About Practice-Based Learning: An Exploratory Qualitative Study, Muhamed Nsubuga, Robert Opoka, Moses Galukande, Ian G. Munabi, Aloysius . Mubuuke, Sarah Kiguli

Paediatrics and Child Health, East Africa

Background: Practice-based learning is crucial in forming appropriate strategies for improving learning among the medical students that support the country’s understaffed health sector. Unsatisfactory learning consequently results in poor performance of students and poor quality of health care workforce in the long run. Exploring the perceptions about the current practice-based learning system and how to improve is thus vital. This study set out to explore the perceptions of Orthopaedic medicine students and their supervisors about practice-based learning at a tertiary training hospital.

Methods: This was an exploratory phenomenological qualitative study that involved in-depth interviews among 10 Orthopedic students during their …

Predictive Effects Of Poverty, Gender, Native Language Spoken, And Elpa21 Proficiency On Reading Performance, Carrie Bradow

College of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to determine the predictive effects of poverty, gender, native language spoken, and English Language Proficiency Assessment for the 21st Century (ELPA21) proficiency on reading performance measured by the ACT Aspire Summative Reading Assessment for Grades 4, 7, and 10 English language learners in a Northwest Arkansas school district. Through Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, the influence of poverty, gender, native language spoken, and ELPA21 proficiency were studied for influences on reading performance. Through a multiple regression analysis I examined the Spring 2019 state assessment and demographic data collected from over 20,000 student records. The findings …

Factors Affecting Teacher Satisfaction And Retention In Small Rural School Districts In Arkansas, Toni Hopkins

College of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to determine by teacher certification level the effects of 0-9 years of experience versus 10 years or more of experience on the perceptions of pay, supervision, colleagues, and working conditions as measured by the Lester Teacher Job Satisfaction Questionnaire. Understanding teachers’ perceptions of job satisfaction may increase teacher retention. The theoretical framework was Maslow’s theory of motivation and the hierarchy of needs. A stratified random sample of 144 teachers from five small rural school districts in West-Central Arkansas was used for the study. Data analysis involved the use of 2 x 2 factorial ANOVAs. …

2022-12-01 Faculty Senate Newsletter, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

Faculty Senate newsletter from December 1, 2022.

2022-12-01 Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

Faculty Senate meeting minutes from December 1, 2022.

Who Leads The Emergency Department Debrief?, Allison D. Lane, Ethan Bryce, Marcy R. Milbrandt, Lisa R. Stoneking

Journal of Wellness

No abstract provided.

Delegation At The Founding: A Response To Critics, Julian Davis Mortenson, Nicholas Bagley

Articles

This essay responds to the wide range of commentary on Delegation at the Founding, published previously in the Columbia Law Review. The critics’ arguments deserve thoughtful consideration and a careful response. We’re happy to supply both. As a matter of eighteenth-century legal and political theory, “rulemaking” could not be neatly described as either legislative or executive based on analysis of its scope, subject, or substantive effect. To the contrary: Depending on the relationships you chose to emphasize, a given act could properly be classified as both legislative (from the perspective of the immediate actor) and also executive (from the perspective …

Faith-Based Counseling Versus Traditional Psychotherapy: A Phenomenological Evaluation Of African American Protestant Experiences, Shannon Gray

Dissertations

This phenomenological study was designed to evaluate the experiences of African American Christian adult clients within traditional psychotherapy and faith-based counseling settings. Research has shown various therapist/counselor identities affect Christian African American clients, and that Christians as well as African Americans have historically been less likely to pursue traditional psychotherapy for a variety of reasons. Participants were six African American Christian adult participants (three traditional psychotherapy participants and three faith-based counseling participants). All participants were asked open-ended questions about their experiences in traditional psychotherapy or faith-based counseling. In addition, they were asked to evaluate several aspects of their therapy/counseling experience …

Building On The Lasting Benefits Of Attending A Voluntary Prekindergarten Program, Ashley Swickle

Dissertations

The expectations of kindergarten students have drastically changed over the years. Kindergarten students who have not attended a voluntary pre-kindergarten (VPK) program may be at a disadvantage in behavior and academics. The purpose of this study is to show the benefits of a VPK program. My study includes kindergarten students at the school under study whose progress monitoring scores in the beginning of the year are compared to student’s scores who have never attended a VPK program, the amount of behavior referrals is also compared. The anticipated results are that kindergarten students who attended VPK will out-perform their peers who …

The Impact Workplace Microaggressions Have On Those Who Identify As Lesbian, Gay And Bisexual., Andres Medina

Dissertations

Progress has occurred in recent years for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender equal rights. However, there are still areas where discrimination is evident such as the workplace. Some lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender employees may not share their identity at work due to discrimination concerns. Such forms of discrimination may be passive acts such as microaggressions. These microaggressions can make work-life stressful; furthermore, the stress experienced at work may impact other areas such as home life. This study explored two areas. The first area investigated was whether identity disclosure at work affected workplace microaggressions. The sample size was 88 working adults who …

Mythos, Mattea R. Guldy

Theses

Mythos is an animated TV series pitch created by Mattea Guldy and Selma Peña. The pitch consists of a pitch deck, a set of 3 scripts, and an animated proof of concept. I worked on the art for the pitch deck as well as the animated proof of concept, while Selma worked on the writing of the pitch deck and the set of 3 scripts. The ultimate goal of our series is to explore the themes of self-love and appreciation through the lens of friendship and comedy. Utilizing mythical creatures as a vessel for a universal appeal to any demographic …

Policy Recommendations For Concussion Recovery: Using Evidence Based Data For A Safe Return To Learn In Student-Athletes, Maya Vanderhorst

Theses

The return of concussed students and student-athletes to the classroom is commonly referred to as return-to-learn (RTL). RTL, however, is often overshadowed by returning a student-athlete back to athletic competition (return-to-play), with few recommendations and studies evaluating the effect of improper management of recovery from a concussion in an academic setting. Therefore, the research proposed here aims to track how symptom severity, student behaviors, and oculomotor performance formulate our ability to prognosticate how a student will respond to academic stimuli post-injury. This will be achieved by longitudinally tracking student-athletes as they recover from concussion, using a repeated measures design to …

Predicting Failure Rate Of Oil & Gas Equipment Using Ml, Shaima Alblooshi

Theses

Value of time has become an important perspective in business application ranging from day to day working to big businesses. The value of time is more important in the case of refinery business which has become of paramount importance with increasing energy needs. The main point of contention in refinery operations is the periodic maintenance of the pipelines which consumes of valuable time and resources. With a proper solution which can cater the time requirements of the lead time. The fact is that time consumption is extremely critical for the operations of refinery. Therefore, the application of machine learning is …

Effective Academic Advising Strategy In Higher Education Using Machine Learning, Reem Abuzayeda

Theses

Covid-19 pandemic has caused many obstacles to higher education students, especially students with academic, financial, and family disadvantages. Moreover, Covid-19 has caused negative impacts on enrollment of junior students and students’ academic goals, which has led to a higher rate of dropouts worldwide.

University enrollment is a complex process for students and families, and the decision to drop out is overwhelming to both. Many factors might cause the dropout, but the most important factors that might affect this decision are financial factors and academic standing. Higher education institutions can boost their academic advising plans, through the use of their strategic …

Debunking The Stigma: Solution Focused Brief Therapy With African American Couples: A Case Study, Deneen Holmes, Eman Tadros

Journal of Solution Focused Practices

Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) allows both therapist and clients to place emphasis on future goals and changing the stigmatic perception for seeking mental help without attention to the conflict. SFBT is a culturally appropriate model that can be used with African American couples. This paper provides a case study of working with an African American couple and the important considerations taken.

No Theory Solution Focused Practices Is A Way Of Life: A Further Step To An Ecology Of Mind, Nick Drury

Journal of Solution Focused Practices

No abstract provided.

2022-December-01-Etsu Predicts Above-Normal Temperatures This Winter, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY – Like it or not, the official start to winter is only a few days away.

And for the third straight season, winter will be characterized by the La Niña pattern. That likely means higher-than-normal temperatures for much of the Appalachian Highlands and above average precipitation, according to East Tennessee State University.

“Seasonal forecasts can be pretty tricky and the federal government through the NOAA along with the Farmer’s Almanac and Punxsutawney Phil, don’t always get it right,” said Dr. Andrew Joyner and Wil Tollefson, both members of the Department of Geosciences.

Housed in Ross Hall on …

How Does Social Media Use Affect Creativity?, Fardina S. Rahman

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Social media is a parasitic relationship that is more beneficial for data companies and the platforms than it is the user. However, users still reap many unexpected benefits from engaging with different socials. Through observing how users interact with the platforms and each other using a Creativity focused framework, it is quite observable social media can be an effective tool to improve one’s creativity if used properly. Social media facilitates a combination of humor and community in a way that is difficult for traditional media and community to replicate. While humor inspires positive emotion and novelty and laughter binds a …

Facilitators And Inhibitors To First Adult Care Visits In The Transition From Paediatric To Adult Orientated Inflammatory Bowel Disease Healthcare, Joanna Rea

Theses

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can be a very debilitating disease and it is found to be more extensive in children with rapid early progression (Van Limbergen et al., 2008). As adolescents, these children transition from paediatric to adult oriented care. The first adult care visits are a pivotal phase of a successful transition process, where adolescents potentially begin to actively take control of their disease. The aim of this study is to explore the inhibitors and facilitators to first adult care visits in the transition process from paediatric to adult oriented IBD healthcare.

Methods: An exploratory, descriptive, qualitative approach …

Introduction: 14(5) 2022: Independent And Special Issue, Rosalind Latiner Raby

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

No abstract provided.

Acculturation And Social Media: How Do International Students Engage With Facebook While Abroad?

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

No abstract provided.

A Discourse Analysis Of Cheers, Paul Wiesenborn

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This paper analyzes the pragmatics features of the language in an episode of the sitcom Cheers to find out what second language learners need to know about the language of the sitcom and about the background knowledge informing it for that episode to be understandable to them and for it thus to be an effective as an instruction tool. To answer this question, the researcher transcribed the speech in the episode and used a speech act theory-based approach to identify and categorize deixis, locutionary forms, illocutionary types, and instances of reduction and types of indirect speech. Categories in these areas …

The Development Of Cultural Intelligence (Cq) In The Secondary Social Studies Classroom, Asha Gillette

Senior Honors Theses

Cultural competence is an important skill in our globalized world. Cultural Intelligence (CQ) is a good metric for cultural competence. CQ is used by businesses to improve cultural competence of their employees. There has been a lot of research on the development of CQ in undergraduate business students. Experiential teaching methods are the most effective in improving students’ CQ. CQ is a valuable skill for high school students to learn. The subject most appropriate to include training in CQ is social studies, and specifically World Geography. Pedagogical methods such as cultural interviews used in undergraduate business courses can also be …