Digital Commons Network^™

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 …

Prenatal Opioid Use And Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome: A Review Of The Neurophysiological, Neuropsychological, And Behavioral/Emotional/Social Impacts In The Pediatric Population, Candice Gore

Dissertations

The opioid epidemic over the past two decades has raised concerns regarding the developmental fetal impact of prenatal opioid use. Research in this area continues to grow, but largely has focused on treatment for neonates experiencing withdrawal symptoms postnatally. Long term clinical implications for this at-risk population have not been studied extensively leaving many gaps in research and highlighting the need for future empirical studies. This literature review will examine the neurophysiological, neuropsychological, and the behavioral/social/emotional impacts on infants, toddlers, and school aged children who were prenatally exposed to opioids with or without the diagnosis of neonatal abstinence syndrome. Providing …

Mission Possible: Collaborative Practice Promoting Student Success, Danita Smith

Dissertations

Educators working with underserved populations of students seek strategies that promote student engagement and success. Relationship-focused, collaborative practices can provide a framework to promote student success. In this study, I evaluated the program Individualized Student Success Plans used in five charter high schools whose focus was working with underserved students. I surveyed and interviewed administrators, teachers, and support personnel about the implementation practices of the program. This research study yielded recommendations for the effective implementation of a schoolwide initiative to promote active student engagement through positive adult-to-student mentorship.

Lifestyle Choices Related To Food Consumption And Their Relationship To Depression, Steven L. Jennings Jr.

Dissertations

Dieting, or the act of restricting oneself to small amounts or particular kinds of foods on the basis of health, spirituality, lifestyle, and moral decisions, is a practice that dates to 1066 A.D. However, with social media being as influential as it is, one might believe dieting is a new obsession or at least an obsession to which popular culture is returning. Despite this, it is only in recent years that researchers have begun to focus on the health benefits of such behaviors. The present study was designed to take this focus a step further by exploring the potential risks …

Identifying Motivations Of New Counselors For Continuing Professional Development Of Multicultural Competencies: A Qualitative Study, Larry English

Dissertations

The need to increase multicultural counseling skills is a crucial area of focus in the continued evolution of the counseling profession. This necessity is due to a number of factors, including the ongoing demographic and societal changes in the United States. The research has helped to bring awareness of the need for increased and continued professional development in the area of cultural literacy and multicultural competencies skills for beginning counselors and others in counseling-related programs. At the micro level, the research investigated new clinicians’ self-awareness of their own biases, assumptions, internalized/externalized actions, and beliefs toward other cultures. The purpose of …

Examining The Integrative Impacts Of Trust And Distrust Sub-Dimensions On Employee Discretionary Behavior, Alexandra Silverman

Theses and Dissertations

While trust and distrust in subordinate-supervisor relationships have been studied and linked to numerous positive and negative discretionary workplace outcomes, research has largely overlooked the impact of their sub-dimensions, competence and intent, in these relationships. Furthermore, although there has been research noting the impact of emotional exhaustion on discretionary behaviors such as OCB and CWB, limited research has examined its impact on the relationship between trust/distrust in supervisors and the discretionary behaviors, as well as those pertaining to the sub-dimensions of trust and distrust and the behavioral outcomes. The current study analyzed a sample of 301 employees in the United …

Franchising: A Microfoundational View Of Personality Relationships Towards Franchisee Financial Performance, Christopher Heath Rehkop

Theses and Dissertations

The franchisor-franchisee relationship is unique; it provides a blend of entrepreneurial spirit with the structure of an established corporation. Franchisees operate with a degree of independence, taking certain risks and managing the details of day-to-day business, yet are also obligated to follow prescribed systems and processes of the franchisor. Both parties have a vested interest in the success of this relationship. While many macro-level factors (economy, technology, and demographics) come into play for a franchise’s success, one micro-level variable that may be identified early during recruitment is the personality characteristic of the franchisee candidate. A micro-level or “microfoundations” approach addresses …

Call The Doctor! A Study Of Parental Medical Nonadherence Within Child Custody Proceedings, Karissa Lynn Cummons

Theses and Dissertations

Medical nonadherence is a common and formidable problem that many pediatric healthcare providers face when treating children with acute and chronic medical conditions because adhering to a physicians’ treatment recommendations is beneficial for successful treatment, disease prevention, and healthy promotion (Dawood et al., 2010). It was estimated that at least one third of patients are unable to complete or adhere to relatively short treatment regimens (Dawood et al., 2010). Reasons for nonadherence to a physicians’ recommendations range from extended duration of treatment, multiple prescribed medications, and periods of symptom remission (Dawood et al., 2010). Despite a parent’s or family’s reason …

Intersections Of Gender And Age: Identification And Attributional Processes On Leadership Effectiveness, Kayla Lynne Bigerton

Theses and Dissertations

As more women enter leadership roles and the ages of leaders becomes more diverse, there is a need for more intersectional research. An intersectional approach was used to assess the impact of leader gender and age on leadership effectiveness through identification and attributional processes. In doing so, different age conceptualizations were also examined. Gender did not have an impact on identification and attributional processes and age had mixed results. Age similarity was not significantly related to leader identification, but perceived leader age had a negative relationship with idiosyncratic fit. Further, social age was examined with different age ranges representing "young”, …

The Effect Of Video Model Dosage And Self-Monitoring On Parent's Use Of Language-Promoting Behavior, Kacie Marie Mcgarry

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has found a disparity between the language trajectories of children within a high, medium, or low-economic-status family. A relationship is reliably found between the language trajectory of toddlers and success throughout school. This study will evaluate a training package to teach parents to engage in behaviors that promote language and assess the training's short-term effect on the trajectories of children (i.e., growing language) within low-socioeconomic backgrounds. Specifically, experimenters will evaluate the impact of the dosage of video modeling, self-evaluation, and self-monitoring on the acquisition of the targeted skills. Data may suggest that the more accurate the individual is …

The Relationship Between Hallucinations And Visuospatial Impairment Among Individuals With Dementia, Ruta Sohoni

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: This study examines the neuropsychological functioning, specifically using the Hooper Visual Organization Test (VOT), to understand the impact of hallucinations on the level of impairment in the visuospatial domain.

Method: Archival data obtained over three years from a total of 73 patients from the Health First Memory Disorder Clinic was used in this study. Participants were included in the study if they endorsed experiencing hallucinations, were given the VOT during their brief neuropsychological evaluation, and were diagnosed with dementia or unspecified neurocognitive disorder. The patient’s electronic medical record was used to retrospectively gather additional details regarding their hallucinations and …

Brief And Extended Effects Of Modified Competing Stimulus Assessments, Soray Nicole Castro

Theses and Dissertations

Competing stimulus assessments (CSA) are pre-assessment tools that systematically identify stimuli associated with reduced problem behavior. The current study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of an augmented CSA containing components of prompted engagement and response blocking. Results indicated the augmented CSA effectively identified two additional competing items for two of the three participants following prompted engagement. We also evaluated the extended effects of the competing stimuli on item engagement and stereotypy for two participants. Stereotypy reductive effects are maintained for one of the four competing stimuli for Participant 2 and two of the six items for Participant 3.

Employment Transitions From Active-Duty Army Officer To Civilian: An Exploration Of The Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities Possessed By Combat-Experienced, Army Field-Grade Officers, James Daniel Crook

Theses and Dissertations

Two decades of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have concluded, bringing an end to the longest military conflicts in the history of the United States of America. Following the example of post-war history, the military’s posture is to reduce personnel end-strength. The post-war military requires fewer soldiers, and a significant number of transitioning officers make the journey from military to civilian employment. This quantitative study discovered the knowledge, skills, and abilities of combat-experienced, active-duty, Army field-grade officers and explored the change from military to civilian employment. This study addressed the gap in the literature regarding this specific group of transitioning …

The Effects Of Neuroticism And Treatment Delivery Modality On Therapeutic Outcomes In A Community Mental Health Training Clinic, Michelle Elizabeth Sibol

Theses and Dissertations

The onset of the novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) two and a half years prior to this writing resulted in shifts in everyday life, as individuals worldwide were required to shelter-in-place and abide by social distancing guidelines to slow the spread of the disease. This resulted in a marked increase in the utilization of virtual platforms (“teletherapy”) by mental health care providers, including training clinics, to continue providing therapy services to the community at large. Although the pandemic restrictions have lifted, adaptations made during shelter-in-place mandates remain, including provision of services via teletherapy platforms. The pandemic shed light on the …

Headache Disorders And Neurocognitive Performance Pre- And Post-Concussive Injury, Kaci Gorres

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between pre-existing headache disorders, such as headache or migraine, and neurocognitive testing obtained before and after college-athletes sustain a concussion. Method: A total of 1129 NCAA Division II college athletes from Florida Tech were included in the present study. Participants were included in this study if they completed baseline and/or post-trauma neuropsychological evaluations that included the Sports Concussion Assessment Tool – Fifth Edition (SCAT-5) and Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Tool (ImPACT). Athletes’ headache and/or migraine history was self-reported at baseline and indicated their position in headache history or …

How Well Do Your Family Members Know You? The Relationship Between Informant Report And Cognitive Performance Of Older Adults, Mairy Yousif

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Given the clear impact and prevalence of dementia on the aging population, there is a need for greater research and understanding in this area. As the dementia progresses, medical providers rely heavily on caregiver and family member reports of the patient’s functioning and other aspects of their care. Therefore, it is important to know how accurate caregivers and family members are in judging their loved ones’ cognitive and physical strengths and weaknesses. This study aims to expand upon these previous studies by comparing caregiver/collateral reports of cognitive and functional status on the DSRS to neuropsychological tests and an objective …

Essential Property, Timothy M. Mulvaney, Joseph William Singer

Faculty Scholarship

For a sizable swath of the U.S. population, incomes and wealth are insufficient to cover life’s most basic necessities even in the most ordinary of times. A disturbingly resilient explanation for this state of affairs rests on the view that resource inequities are avoidable through self-reliance, a stance that invites observers to see people in poverty as morally suspect. This Article advances a counterview in contending that the widespread lack of essential resources did not simply arise naturally via individuals’ life choices but instead has been, in very meaningful part, created and perpetuated by our system of property laws.

The …

Galla Placidia And The “Daughter Of The Queen Of The South”: The Historical Consequences Of A Late Roman Interpretation Of Daniel 11, Kenneth Atkinson

Faculty Publications

The tragic story of the Roman Empire’s decline and fall has captivated the imaginations of countless artists, scholars, and filmmakers, among others. The many rulers of the Roman Empire—regardless of whether they were competent or not to hold office—dealt with insurmountable problems such as frequent invasions, numerous civil wars, attempted coups, unchecked immigration, racism, economic downturns, inept government officials, political corruption, changing values, religious violence, and sexism. Yet, despite overwhelming odds, the Roman Empire managed to survive these and other threats until September of 476 A.D. when a Roman of Gothic origin, Odoacer, forced the emperor Romulus Augustulus, to abdicate. …

The Relationship Between Physical Activity, Sleep Quality, And Stress: A Study Of Teachers During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Fabio Fontana, Kelsey Bourbeau, Terence Moriarty, Michael Pereira Da Silva

Faculty Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted chaotic changes in the daily lives of K-12 teachers, resulting in increased stress and other mental health problems. Limited evidence regarding the relationship between physical activity, sleep, and perceived stress among teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic exists. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the association between physical activity, sleep quality, and perceived psychological stress among teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online survey measuring physical activity, sleep quality, and perceived psychological stress was distributed across 47 US states between September and October of 2020. Data provided by 635 teachers (mean age: 42 ± …

Academic Work As Factory Work: A Former Blue-Collar Worker’S Observations On Class And Caste In The Academy, Kenneth Atkinson

Faculty Publications

What was it like to have come of age after the Glorious Thirty (1945-1975), an era Jack Metzger (2016; 2021a) describes as a time when the working-class bettered their lives? I had the misfortune to have worked in several Metropolitan Detroit factories during the period of decline after the Glorious Thirty. During that time, I witnessed what the journalist George Packer (2013) has called ‘the Unwinding,’ the unraveling of the social contract that has left the working class to their own devices to find success and salvation. In keeping with the tradition in working-class studies of sharing lived experienced of …

Objective Evaluation Of The Somatogravic Illusion From Flight Data Of An Airplane Accident, Eric L. Groen, Torin K. Clark, Mark M.J. Houben, Jelte E. Bos, Randall J. Mumaw

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

(1) Background: It is difficult for accident investigators to objectively determine whether spatial disorientation may have contributed to a fatal airplane accident. In this paper, we evaluate three methods to reconstruct the possible occurrence of the somatogravic illusion based on flight data recordings from an airplane accident. (2) Methods: The outputs of two vestibular models were compared with the “standard” method, which uses the unprocessed gravito-inertial acceleration (GIA). (3) Results: All three methods predicted that the changing orientation of the GIA would lead to a somatogravic illusion when no visual references were available. However, the methods were not able to …

Qualitatively Exploring The Impact Of A Relationship-Centered Communication Skills Training Program In Improving Patient Perceptions Of Care, Marie C. Haverfield, Robert Victor, Brenda Flores, Jonathan Altamirano, Magali Fassiotto, Merisa Kline, Barbette Weimer-Elder

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Objective: To explore qualitative patient experience comments before and after a relationship-centered communication skills training to understand patient experience, program impact, and opportunities for improvement. Methods: Qualitative patient experience evaluation data was captured from January 2016 to December 2018 for 483 health care clinicians who participated in the skills training. A random sampling of available open-ended patient comments (N = 33,223) were selected pre-training (n = 668) and post-training (n = 566). Comments were coded for valence (negative/neutral/positive), generality versus specificity, and based on 12 communication behaviors reflective of training objectives. Results: No significant difference was found in the valence …

Supporting Inclusive Learning Using Chatbots? A Chatbot-Led Interview Study, Sambhav Gupta, Yu Chen

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Supporting student academic success has been one of the major goals for higher education. However, low teacher-to-student ratio makes it difficult for students to receive sufficient and personalized support that they might want to. The advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) and conversational agents, such as chatbots, has provided opportunities for assisting learning for different types of students. This research aims at investigating the opportunities and requirements of chatbots as an intelligent helper to facilitate equity in learning. We developed a chatbot as an experimental platform to investigate the design opportunities of using chatbots to support inclusive learning. Through a chatbot-led …

Liminal Beings Are We, John Kenneth Froozan Ii

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis establishes a foundation for liminality in political theory. Liminality, a concept mostly developed in anthropology, is used by them to describe middle periods in rites of passage. Unlike the anthropologists, I argue that liminality should be theorized phenomenologically. Utilizing the history of political philosophy, liminality is defined as a dialectical phenomenon that acts between and beyond the limits of things, Self, and Other. I describe liminality as an ontological-epistemological or existential condition that acts as a connecting tissue to both define what is and the space between things. This requires that notions of power, politics, and their ends …

The Impacts Of Supporting Productive Struggle Teaching Practice On Students’ Conceptual Understanding, Procedural Fluency, And Strategic Competence: The Case Of Quadratic Functions, Sumeyra Karatas

Theses and Dissertations

This quasi-experimental design study aimed to examine how exposure to supporting productive struggle teaching practice impacts students’ conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and strategic competence when solving high-demanding quadratic functions problem solving tasks. Results suggested that students in the supporting productive struggle teaching practice group performed significantly better than students who received facilitated instruction in every three strands of mathematical proficiency (i.e., conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and strategic competence). By examining the effectiveness of supporting productive struggle teaching practice, this study offers insight into the conceptions and strategies teachers can implement in their classrooms to improve students’ mathematical proficiency.

Exploring The Interpersonal, Leadership, And Organizational Factors Related To The Burnout Of Bilingual, Latinx Professional School Counselors [Explorando Los Factores Interpersonales, De Liderazgo Y Organizacionales Relacionados Con El Agotamiento De Los Consejeros Escolares Profesionales Bilingües Y Latine], Crystal Marie Prado

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the relationship between interpersonal competencies, educational leadership styles of campus principals, organizational practices, and the burnout of professional school counselors (PSCs). A mixed-methods research design was utilized to examine the correlation between identified predictor variables and the level of burnout as measured by the five dimensions of the Counselor Burnout Inventory (CBI; Lee et al., 2007), the three subscales of the Maslach Burnout Inventory: Educators Survey (MBI-ES, Maslach et al., 1986), and personal narratives documenting the participating PSC's most significant professional experiences. The investigation included 100 bilingual, Latinx PSCs from four urban/suburban school districts of border towns …

Is It Undervalued? A Qualitative And Quantitative Review Of The Work Values-Job Performance Relationship, Sherif Al-Qallawi

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have been calling for greater exploration of the relationship between work values and job performance for about five decades (Goodale, 1973; J.-I. C. Hansen & Wiernik, 2017). The current study integrates research on the relationship between work values and job performance over the course of those five decades to better understand this connection. First, a thorough review of work values is presented, including a discussion of their nature, antecedences, construct clarification (how they differ from other individual differences), construct specification (how they differ from other value-based constructs), operationalization, taxonomy, measurement, group differences, stability, and outcomes. This review also includes …

Methods For Teaching Mindfulness Within The Workplace, Gerrel March

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Over the past few years, the world has been shaken by the COVID-19 pandemic and technological advancements that have contributed towards work-life imbalances. Now more than ever, organizations are focusing on improving mental health and well-being. This understanding holds value towards the hospitality industry as employee wellbeing has a direct link towards consumer experience. Considering the nature of the business, employees endure distress resulting from emotional labor, long work hours, etc, understanding how organizations can improve well-being is critical. This paper attempts to make significant contribution towards understanding both individual and organizational outcomes of mindfulness, best practices, and potential limitations …

The Emergence Of Serviced Apartments/Apart-Hotels And Opportunities Post Covid-19, Ding Jie Ang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Serviced apartments are becoming more mainstream as people become more aware of this asset class. Since the onset of Covid-19, people have opted for serviced apartments instead of a hotel for self-contained, typically with more space with a living area, kitchen and access to laundry facilities throughout the pandemic. Combined with lower operating costs, higher profit margin, and lower cost per key at development revealed the financial resilience of this asset class as most serviced apartments operated at a higher occupancy than hotels. With renewed interest from developers and owners keen to build or convert their existing properties to serviced …

Beyond The Numbers: A Deeper Dive Into The Dearth Of Girls And Women In Stem, Jennifer John Buck

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Despite decades of research attempting to better understand the dearth of girls and women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), gender imbalances persist in many STEM fields. This is particularly the case in math-intensive STEM fields. The current program of research used mixed-methods research to better understand these inequities. The first paper identified gender and ethnic variation in how undergraduates reason about STEM inequities. The second paper found that how emerging adults narrate “turning points” in their relationship with math was associated with their current math outcomes and future plans to pursue math. The final paper demonstrated that how …