Digital Commons Network^™

Summer Melt: The Transition Of Rural Students To Post-Secondary Schools, Niquan Alston

Dissertations

Rural high-achieving students face unique challenges as they prepare to transition to college. While many graduate with aspirations for higher education, a significant number fail to transition to college in the fall due to barriers that arise between high school graduation and college enrollment. Rural schools, particularly those serving low-income populations, frequently lack the resources, counseling, and exposure opportunities that help students navigate the transition from high school to postsecondary education. These circumstances leave students to manage financial barriers, incomplete paperwork, limited support, and the pressures of balancing family and community responsibilities. Their lived experiences shape the way they respond …

A Joint Mindfulness And Growth Mindset Intervention For Reducing Math Anxiety For Pre-Service Elementary Teachers, Evan Czysz

Dissertations

Pre-service elementary teachers (PSTs) have often exhibited high levels of math anxiety, which can negatively influence their confidence, learning, and future teaching in mathematical settings. The purpose of this phenomenological case study was to understand the influences an intervention focused on growth mindset and mindfulness-based practices has on preservice elementary school teachers’ perceptions of mathematics at a mid-sized university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States, and sought to answer the following questions: Q1 Does a joint mindfulness-based and growth mindset intervention impact pre-service teachers’ levels of math anxiety? Q2 What were pre-service elementary teachers’ experiences with a …

Making Meaning Of The Dissertation Process: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Study Exploring Counselor Education Students’ Experiences And Beliefs About The Traditional Dissertation Process, Brianne Dixon

Dissertations

The traditional dissertation is a cornerstone of doctoral education yet is a process that is surprisingly under-researched. The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study was to explore the lived experiences of doctoral students in counselor education and supervision (CES) programs with the dissertation process. More specifically, this study sought to understand the meaning seven doctoral students made of the process and this study explored counselor educator doctoral students’ beliefs about the traditional dissertation process after they completed the dissertation This study explored three research questions. Q1 What were the lived experiences of Counselor Education and Supervision (CES) doctoral …

Preschool-To-Kindergarten Transition For Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Kristin Claire Duncan

Dissertations

The transition from preschool to kindergarten leads to changes for students and their families regarding services, providers, and environments. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how primary caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) perceived the transition from preschool to inclusive kindergarten. This study focused on the concerns, barriers, and experiences caregivers encountered throughout the transition process. By understanding caregivers’ perspectives, the study aimed to identify ways to improve kindergarten transition practices for future families. Based on existing literature, areas in need of investigation included the following: (a) how success of preschool-to-kindergarten transition impacts changes to …

Culturally Responsive Functional Communication Training For Asian Families: A Single-Subject Design Study, Guofeng Shen

Dissertations

Children with disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID), frequently experience challenges related to social communication and are at increased risk of exhibiting challenging behaviors (CBs), particularly when they lack effective means to express their needs and desires. Functional communication training (FCT) is an evidence-based intervention shown to reduce CBs by teaching functional communication skills. However, limited research has explored the use of culturally responsive adaptations of FCT (CRFCT), particularly in the context of training parents from culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse backgrounds. This study addressed this gap by examining the effects of culturally responsive FCT …

Student Engagement In High School Mathematics Blended Learning Classrooms, Therese A. Rinehart

Dissertations

Engagement is a student’s interest, participation, and motivation in the learning process and is a cornerstone of success in the classroom. The COVID-19 Pandemic overturned the traditional classroom, making the task of fostering engagement nearly impossible. Although pandemic-related research has largely focused on mental health and academic achievement, less attention has been given to instructional models promoting engagement in remote learning environments. Self-directed learning (SDL) is one model offering students digital autonomy and access to teachers and peers. This study examined the longitudinal data of student perceptions of their engagement through the COVID-19 Pandemic at an alternative high school and …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Lived Experiences Of Administrators, Teachers, And School Personnel With Justice-Involved Students, Kandra Cosby

Dissertations

This hermeneutic phenomenological research study examined the experiences of six educational professionals, including administrators, teachers, and support staff, as they supported justice-involved students in their reintegration into traditional public schools. The study was based on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, Hirschi’s social control theory, and Glasser’s choice theory. Semistructured interviews were used and revealed six themes: (a) fighting systems while trying to serve students, (b) relationships as safety nets, (c) protecting students from the stigma of judgment, (d) fighting bureaucratic silos, (e) philosophy wars in action, and (f) seeing the whole child. The findings indicated successful reintegration was less connected to …

Civics Teachers’ Perceptions Of Disciplinary Literacy Strategies That Use Primary Sources: A Case Study, Whitney Williams

Dissertations

This study has been designed as a case study to examine teachers’ perceptions of document-based strategies when combined with primary sources as pedagogical tools. The participants were ninth grade civics teachers. Semi-structured interviews, focused observations, and artifact collection were the sources of collected data. As the researcher, my constructivism guided this study through the lens of Albert Bandura’s social cognitive theory (SCT). Therefore, the participants’ perception will be interpreted through SCT concepts such as personal influences, behavioral influences, and environmental influences. Findings show a handful of disciplinary literacy strategies that occurred most often across all participants. Teachers valued an emphasis …

(Wp 2025-06) Ramsey And Keynes...And Sraffa And Wittgenstein: Change In Interwar Cambridge Economics And Policy, John B. Davis

Economics Working Papers

The Ramsey-Keynes exchange regarding the nature of probability is investigated in connection with the development of interwar Cambridge economics and Ramsey and Sraffa’s influences on Keynes and Wittgenstein. First discussed are Ramsey’s criticisms of Keynes and Wittgenstein; then Sraffa’s criticisms of Marshall and Wittgenstein. Ramsey was influenced by Peirce and pragmatism and Sraffa by Gramsci and the theory of cultural hegemony. Ramsey died in 1930 but Sraffa continued to interact with both Keynes and Wittgenstein. After his critique of Marshall he participated in the ‘Cambridge circus’ and turned to recovering the Classical economics of Ricardo. Keynes’s General Theory statement of …

The Impact Of Social Media Use On Postpartum Depression, Jaila Randle

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a serious form of depression that affects one in eight women. Symptoms include feeling sad all the time, being anxious, and having trouble bonding with their child. As social media sites like Facebook and Twitter become more important for moms to find support and health information, it has become a public health concern to learn how they affect mental health after giving birth. This literature review explores the positive and negative impacts of social media use on postpartum depression among mothers. A systematic search identified peer-reviewed studies published between 2014 and 2025. Studies were selected using …

The Effectiveness Of Interventions In Reducing Sexually Transmitted Infections Among African American Adolescents: A Comprehensive Literature Review, Brandy M. Leaver

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

In the United States, an estimated 20 million new sexually transmitted infections occur annually, with half of the cases occurring in adolescents. The infection rate among African American adolescents is four times higher than that among white adolescents. Although many types of interventions exist, few are specifically designed for African American adolescents. In conducting this comprehensive literature review and synthesis, I examined the effectiveness of existing interventions in creating behavioral change among African American adolescents by applying the health belief model to interpret and organize the findings. The databases PubMed, Embase, and Google Scholar were searched on October 1, 2025. …

Silent Cries: Analyzing The Psychological Profiles Of High School Shooters, Kayla N. Martinez

Honors Program Theses and Research Projects

Over the past two decades, school shootings have increased in frequency and severity in the United States, leaving schools, families, and communities with long-lasting trauma. Despite experiencing school shootings for more than 20 years, protocols put in place regarding school shootings seem to only be reactive rather than proactively identifying and preventing the occurrence. The purpose of this thesis was to analyze behavioral patterns high school shooters tend to exhibit using multiple factors and propose potential preventative strategies to reduce the number of incidents. This study relies on secondary data analysis in which behavioral, mental, and environmental factors were examined …

Empower Yourself Through Self-Defense: Enhancing Personal Safety Through Self-Defense Education, Stephanie Carlson, Naomi Brower, Aaron Hunt

Outcomes and Impact Quarterly

The Empower Yourself Through Self-Defense program, developed by Utah State University faculty in 2024, builds participants’ confidence by equipping them with self-defense knowledge and skills. Participants reported reduced fear, increased preparedness, and strong interest in continued training. The program enhances personal safety by empowering individuals with practical skills for self-protection.

Collective Action Under Repressive Conditions: Integration Of Individual, Group, And Structural Level Research, Recommendations, And Reflections, Arin H. Ayanian, Aya Adra, Fouad Bou Zeineddine, Rim Saab, Johanna Vollhardt, Nicole Tausch

Psychology

Social scientific research from different traditions on collective action under repressive conditions is fragmented across different levels of analysis. The current paper takes a first step toward remedying this fragmentation by reviewing research findings on repression and collective action and organizing them into a multilevel framework. We describe the impact of repression on antecedents of collective action at the (a) individual level (including grievances, emotions, efficacy beliefs, politicized identity, and individual differences), (b) group level (including community cohesion and norms), and (c) structural level (including political opportunities and socioecological conditions). We then present an integrative summary reflecting on the broad …

Changing Perceptions: A Philosophical Exploration Of The Phenomenon Of Light In The Urban Environment, Robin S. Miller

Full-Text Theses & Dissertations

Phenomena are extraordinary (beyond ordinary), exceptional, remarkable, or unexplainable people, events, or things which elicit words such as “wow,” “that’s incredible,” and “oh my goodness.” Within the experience of everyday life, phenomena can produce joy or despair. In the field of philosophy, phenomenon (the singular form of phenomena) is identified as an immediate object of sensation or perception and something which appears, is perceived, or observed through the senses or known cognitively. Light is often the catalyst for phenomenal moments: a flash, a rainbow, the manner with which sun strikes an object at the perfect moment to catch the viewer’s …

Essays On The Economics Of Farmland Valuation And Investment In U.S. Agriculture, Colson Tester

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents three empirical essays that collectively advance the understanding of farmland valuation in key U.S. agricultural regions, emphasizing the critical advantages of comprehensive, transaction-based data over traditional survey methods. Farmland represents a significant portion of agricultural wealth, and its accurate valuation is crucial for farmers, investors, and policymakers, influencing everything from credit access to investment strategies. Historically, research has often relied on subjective survey data, which can suffer from biases, inaccuracies, and insufficient granularity. This dissertation addresses these limitations by leveraging extensive datasets of arm’s-length farmland transactions, offering a more precise and market-driven perspective on land values. The …

Performance Enhancement For Rufa: Rapid Urban Forest Assessment, Nicholas Tan

Master's Theses

Urban forests are crucial to the livability and resilience of cities, offering critical ecosystem benefits such as air quality enhancement, temperature regulation, and biodiversity. Managing said urban forests is essential to ensure their sustainability and adaptability to rapidly changing environmental and climate conditions. The Rapid Urban Forest Assessment (RUFA) tool was developed to address the need for a standardized approach to evaluating and comparing urban and community forestry programs. By analyzing and aggregating tree-specific data across California, such as canopy cover, tree counts, and diversity scores, RUFA assigns a comprehensive urban forestry score for each city. This score allows for …

Sleep-Disordered Breathing Subtypes And Future Diet Quality In The Multi-Ethnic Study Of Atherosclerosis, Kaitlin S Potts, Cecilia Castro-Diehl, Tianyi Huang, Alexis C Wood, Jerome I Rotter, Stephen S Rich, Tamar Sofer, Susan Redline, Heming Wang

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Objectives: Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and diet quality impact cardiometabolic disease, but few studies have examined if SDB influences diet quality. This study estimated the association between SDB subtypes (with and without sleepiness) and future diet quality in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Methods: Probable SDB was characterized by self-reported physician-diagnosed sleep apnea (PDSA) or habitual snoring and subtyped by presence or absence of sleepiness. A food frequency questionnaire measured diet 1.6 years before, and 7.8 years after SDB assessment. Diet quality was measured with the Alternate Healthy Eating Index-2010 (AHEI). Mean differences in AHEI at follow-up by SDB subtypes were …

Integration Of Oral Health Assessment In Medicare Visits: A Survey Of Primary Care Physicians In Montana And Their Role In Patients Aged 65+, Cheyenne R. Smith

Dental Hygiene ETDs

The integration of oral health assessments into primary care settings has been strongly advocated to enhance access to care for elderly individuals. Medical and dental professionals recognize the critical connection between oral health and systemic health. Physicians can play a key role in enhancing oral health care by incorporating an oral health assessment into routine general health appointments, such as the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit (AWV). Physicians in Montana were invited to participate in an anonymous study to gather their opinions on conducting oral health assessments in primary care settings, identify barriers to providing these assessments, and evaluate their knowledge …

From Crisis To Commitment: How Covid-19 Reshaped Motivation In Small Business Organizational Culture, Boone G. Depenbrock

Honors Theses

This study examines how the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped employee motivation and organizational culture in small businesses and explores the role of job characteristics in that process. Using an online survey administered to small business employees and owners, respondents reported their experiences before, during, and after the pandemic across validated measures of motivation, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, goal internalization, turnover intentions, and core job design factors. After data cleaning, 21 responses were analyzed. Results showed statistically significant increases in organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and goal internalization after COVID-19, along with a decrease in turnover intentions. Internal work motivation showed a small, …

The Impact Of Multiple Measure Placement In Determining College Readiness On Student Perceived Readiness, Steven A. Szeszko Ii

Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to propose a qualitative grounded theory study that explores the impact of multiple measures placement on determining college readiness as perceived by students, specifically within a community college located in South Central Texas. During the COVID-19 pandemic, colleges and universities found themselves needing an alternative method to the traditional college placement testing to determine student readiness for college courses. This change impacted not only the higher education sector but also students. Therefore, this study will collect data from approximately 20 students, through the use of open-ended electronic student questionnaires and interviews, filtered for patterns …

The Importance Of Leader-Member Exchange And Psychological Contracts In Highly Qualified Researchers, Robin L. Ingerick Dba

Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the significance of the relationship between leader-member exchange (LMX) and psychological contracts in United States-based research organizations. When the organization-manager-employee relationship deteriorates, psychological contract breaches can occur, negatively affecting employee outcomes and the organization's financial success and stability. Existing knowledge highlights several factors that influence relationships, including reciprocated treatment, work behaviors and reactions, trust, professional respect, affect, mutual interaction, work autonomy, communication, job satisfaction, and fulfillment. The study sought to determine to what extent is there a predictive relationship between LMX and psychological contracts (employee obligations, employer obligations, fulfillment, and contract transitions) of highly qualified United States-based …

Beyond The Price Tag: Unveiling The Hidden Impacts Of Tariffs On Businesses And Consumer Behavior, Jacob D. Haas

Honors Theses

In an era marked by global trade disruptions and rising protectionist policies, firms must navigate the complex interaction between tariffs, supply chain strategy, pricing decisions, and marketing communication. This thesis investigates how three multinational corporations Walmart, Nike, and Apple responded strategically to shifting tariff environments and trade restrictions between 2018 and 2025. Drawing on primary data from corporate 10-K filings and secondary analyses from recent economic and management literature, the study examines how each firm’s decisions regarding sourcing diversification, cost management, and consumer engagement contributed to long-term resilience.

Findings reveal that companies integrating supply chain adaptability with coherent pricing and …

A Closer Look At Your Closet: An Analysis Of Consumer Desires, Fast Fashion’S Negative Harms, And Sustainable Solutions For Change, Sarah Hallman

Honors Theses

This thesis serves as an in-depth analysis of the fast fashion industry as it relates to consumers and seeks to identify and promote changes to enhance sustainability with a focus on reusing and repurposing secondhand clothing. The fast fashion industry is unique in its business model, means of production, and harm associated with it. It thrives on the exploitation of consumer desires that silently influence what and how consumers purchase clothing. Through an analysis of consumer desires and the harms associated with the industry through a literary discussion of scholarly articles previously written on these topics, solutions for both businesses …

Look For Opportunities To Increase Continuity Of Care In Medical Education, Hannah Ward Md

Faculty Development Tips

No abstract provided.

Differences In Total Daily Energy Expenditure Across Field Sports: A Narrative Review, Brenen Skalitzky, Jennifer Fields, Margaret T. Jones, Chad Kerksick, Andrew Jagim

Faculty Scholarship

Background: Differences in total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) across sports, sex, and skill level support the need for sport- and athlete-specific energy intake recommendations. The purpose of the current review was to examine TDEE and related markers of energy expenditure across field-based team sports. A secondary aim was to evaluate physical activity levels (PAL), calculated as TDEE divided by resting metabolic rate (RMR), and their utility in estimating energy needs within team sports.

Methods: The review was limited to studies that included the field-based team sports of rugby or soccer and reported energy expenditure data using doubly labeled water …

Synthesis Of Antibody Functionalized Polyaniline/Polystyrene/N-Gqds Composite Fibermats For Sweat Based Cortisol Biosensing Applications, Ashwin James

Honors Theses

Noninvasive, wearable biosensors capable of detecting stress biomarkers in sweat require electrodes that are flexible, conductive, insoluble in water, and highly sensitive at low concentrations of analyte. In this work, bovine serum albumin blocked and anti-cmab immobilized nitrogen doped graphene quantum dots integrated polyaniline/polystyrene composite fibermat electrodes (BSA/Anti-Cmab/N-GQDs/PANI/PS electrodes) were synthesized and evaluated as a potential platform for an electrochemical cortisol biosensor in sweat based systems. Polyaniline was utilized in order to provide electrical conductivity, while polystyrene served as a carrying polymer for mechanical support and its hydrophobicity. Composite fibermats were manufactured through Forcespinning™, followed by a secondary polyaniline graft …

Implications Of Alarm Fatigue And Effectiveness Of Mitigation Strategies In Inpatient Units: A Literature Review, Kinley R. Wojick

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Background

Current technology in hospitals has allowed alarm notification systems to become faster and more sensitive than ever, enabling nurses to be immediately notified regarding changes in a patient’s condition. These notifications provide nurses with real time information necessary to prioritize interventions and provide the best care for their patients. Though notifications play a crucial role in the nursing process, the constant sounding of repetitive, non-actionable alarms can contribute to desensitization and a reduction in response times known as alarm fatigue.

Purpose

The purpose of this review was to compile reported research examining the effect that various interventions, including education …

The Persistence Of Homophobia In Men’S Friendship Norms, Sherrie Y. Xue, Stephanie C. Lin, Christilene Du Plessis

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Across five studies and one supplementary study (five preregistered; N = 3,215 adults), we found that men, more than women, avoided shared experiences (e.g., going to the movies, sharing food) with individuals of the same gender. Furthermore, persistent societal expectations that men should be unambiguously heterosexual underpinned this pattern: Men felt more apprehensive about signaling same-gender romance in platonic relationships than women did. In turn, romantic prototypicality drove the pattern of men (more than women) avoiding shared activities, above and beyond differences in how hedonic, enjoyable, and feminine the activities were; our findings further suggested that men’s reluctance to share …

The Essence Of Black Parenthood Amid Juvenile Justice Contact: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study Through Historical Trauma And Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome, Dana M. Wallace

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Traditional psychology was created by defining adaptive and maladaptive behaviors based on Eurocentric cultural norms. As a result, much of the research within the African American family utilizing Eurocentric ideologies and typologies has contributed to themes of inferiority and deficit-deficiency. This study attempts to move away from a deficit-deficiency model that assumes that because of the historical mistreatment of African American adults in this country, African American parents have developed competency deficits in areas necessary for the rearing/socialization process. In centering the African-ness of the Black family and utilizing Historical Trauma theory and Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome as contextual lenses, the …