Digital Commons Network^™

An Inquiry Into How Principals Make Decisions In Secondary Schools, Stacy L. Mason

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Principals are decision makers (Hoy & Miskel, 2001; Lunenburg, 2010). Daily decisions are made along a wide spectrum of issues all of which impact students in some way, shape, or form (Wiseman, 2005). Principals must consider all stakeholders in all decisions made and bear in mind what is in the best interest of students (Queen & Queen, 2005). The purpose of this study was to ascertain if leadership style, mindset, and self-efficacy impacted principal decision making. A quantitative study was conducted to determine if relationships existed between the predictor variables of leadership style, mindset, self-efficacy, gender, years of experience, or …

The Development And Implementation Of Hospital-Based Clinical Guidelines To Enhance Nursing Staff Efficacy In Glycemic Management At A Large Psychiatric Teaching Hospital, Cherno Bah

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: This quality improvement project was conducted at the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo (CMHIP) in order to improve glycemic management. In psychiatric inpatient settings, proper glycemic management is inadequate which increases metabolic risk and poor patient outcomes. One way to address this problem is by using practice guidelines and education, which enhances nurses’ efficacy.

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to develop and implement a glycemic management guideline to enhance clinical nursing staff knowledge and confidence.

Method: Fifty-five clinical nursing staff attended an in-service and were asked to fill out a survey before and after the in-service …

Predicting Student Success: Factors Influencing Nclex-Rn® Rates In An Urban University's Pre-Licensure Programs, David M. Foley

ETD Archive

As the US population becomes more diverse, schools of nursing are faced with the formidable challenge of graduating diverse groups of competent students who will pass the NCLEX-RN® and serve an equally diverse public in the safest manner possible. Although institutions of higher learning have adopted plans to enhance diversity among nursing graduates, tension is created between these initiatives and the academic rigor required by nursing education. In particular, schools of nursing in diverse urban metropolitan areas face unique challenges educating increasing number of men, minorities, and students for whom English is a second language (ESL). Stanton-Salazar’s (2011) Social Capital …

Exploring The Coping Strategies Of Female Urban High School Seniors On Academic Successes As It Relates To Bullying, Brenda Elaine Brooks-Turner

ETD Archive

Bullying has become a worldwide problem of pandemic proportion and degree. (Thomas, Bolen, Heister & Hyde, 2010). In the United States over thirty-five percent of school-aged students were directly involved in bullying incidents. Tragic news stories about suicides and school violence raised awareness about the importance of addressing this global issue (Van Der Zande, 2010). To date reports further indicate that more females are involved in indirect relational bullying than males. Unfortunately, as technology becomes more and more accessible, relational bullying has become one of the fastest growing epidemics (Brinson, 2005; Rigby & Smith, 2011).

Current research explanations were limited …

Impact Of An Occupation-Based Practice (Obp) Learning Module On Perceptions Of Obp And Selection Of Occupation-Based Interventions By Occupational Therapy Assistant Students, Allen S. Keener

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstone Projects

The purpose of this Capstone project was to immerse OTA students in classroom experiences designed to increase their knowledge of key concepts of occupation, OBP, and ability to select occupation-based interventions. The hypothesis of the researcher was that engagement in the module would create an increase in OTA student knowledge in the areas of occupation and OBP, as well as the ability to select occupation-based interventions based on client scenarios.

Prior to engagement in module class sessions, students engaged in pretesting activities, consisting of demographic information, a short essay, and an intervention selection task. Once completed, students participated in a …

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love: A Duoethnographic Exploration Of The Dissertation Relationship, Robert J. Helfenbein, Susan R. Adams

Scholarship and Professional Work – Education

In the aftermath and mop-up following a successful dissertation defense, an unintended and unexpected data source remained unexplored and unanalyzed: 32 audio-recorded discussions and work sessions documenting the processes, approaches, and decisions made by a dissertation director and his doctoral candidate. What might those conversations reveal about the dissertation relationship? Taking a page from Raymond Carver’s short story, “What We Talk about When We Talk about Love,” we wondered what we might have been talking about when we were talking about dissertation writing. Inspired and shaped by Norris, Sawyer, and Lund’s (2012. Duoethnography: Dialogic methods for social, health, and educational …

What Is The Relationship Between Environmental Experiences And New Ecological Paradigm Scale Of Purdue University Undergraduate Students?, Mi Yen Kim

Open Access Theses

Kim, Mi Yen. Master of Science in Education., Purdue University, December 2016. What is the Relationship Between Environmental Experiences and New Ecological Paradigm Scale of Purdue University Undergraduate Students? Major Professor: Daniel Shepardson.

Impression Management Strategies Of College Professors With Disabilities, Chelsie Gaspar

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This qualitative study examined how college instructors with disabilities utilize impression management strategies in order to enhance their ability to teach more effectively in the classroom. Eight instructors from mid-size universities and community colleges across the United States were interviewed. A thematic analysis approach was used to identify emergent themes pertaining to the ways in which college instructors with disabilities use impression management in the classroom. Results showed that instructors in this study use a wide variety of impression management strategies in order to influence how they are perceived in the classroom and to improve their teaching effectiveness. These strategies …

Assesement Of An Occupation-Based Practice Module For An Occupational Therapy Assistant Curriculum, Mary Kim Qualls

Occupational Therapy Doctorate Capstone Projects

Background: Occupational therapy practitioners who also serve as fieldwork educators are not utilizing the profession's historically distinctive qualities and purpose of occupation-based practice, and that the occupational therapy assistant student needs to be prepared with these skills upon beginning fieldwork.

Purpose: The primary purpose of this capstone is to improve the understanding of occupation-based practice by occupational therapy assistant students through an additional educational module focused on occupation-based principles by their ability to implement an occupation-based practice intervention.

Theoretical Framework: The occupation-based practice module has a knowledge component (look), an activity component (think), and evaluation/simulation component (act) (Skinner, …

Predicting Mathematics Teachers' Acceptance Of Reflective Blogging To Improve Instruction, Diana Sue Fesmire

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An internal district audit identified that a rural, socioeconomically disadvantaged Southwestern school district has a lack of congruent and consistent implementation of the Common Core State Standards in mathematics. Innovative and cost-saving avenues for professional development (PD), such as reflective blogging, foster teacher learning to reconcile the enacted curriculum with the intended curriculum. This correlational study investigated the predictive power of technology acceptance and motivation constructs on reflective mathematics teachers' social media use intention and participation in informal, virtual Communities of Practice (vCoP). The framework that guided this study is the unified acceptance and use of technology and self-determination theory. …

Liberation Through Listening: Learning From Student Veterans In The Composition Classroom, Sarah Beth Franco

Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, I employ a qualitative study to explore experiences of student veterans in introductory writing classrooms. Drawing on the theories of feminist standpoint (Harding, 1986) and rhetorical listening (Ratcliffe, 2005), I describe the current cultural divide between members of the military and civilians (Pew Research Center, 2011) and identify several ways teachers of college level introductory writing classes can bridge this gap to more effectively connect with student veterans at the classroom level and raise awareness about the unique situations of student veterans at the institutional level. Survey data inquiring into student veterans’ experiences in writing classrooms was …

My Independent Streak May Get In The Way': How Older Adults Respond To Falls Prevention Education In Hospital, Anne-Marie Hill, Jacqui Francis-Coad, Terry P. Haines, Nicholas Waldron, Christopher Etherton-Beer, Leon Ricker, Katharine Ingram, Steven Mcphail

Physiotherapy Papers and Journal Articles

Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine how providing individualised falls prevention education facilitated behaviour change from the perspective of older hospital patients on rehabilitation wards and what barriers they identified to engaging in preventive strategies.

Design: A prospective qualitative survey.

Methods: Older patients (n=757) who were eligible (mini-mental state examination score>23/30) received falls prevention education while admitted to eight rehabilitation hospital wards in Western Australia. Subsequently, 610 participants were surveyed using a semistructured questionnaire to gain their response to the in-hospital education and their identified barriers to engaging in falls prevention strategies. Deductive content analysis …

Examining Doctoral Attrition: A Self-Determination Theory Approach, Mark F. Beck

The Nebraska Educator: A Student-Led Journal

Doctoral student attrition is a troubling and costly phenomenon. Alarmingly, 40-60% of doctoral students will not complete their Ph.D. Several explanations for this high and persistent attrition rate have been discussed in the extant literature, including questioning the quality, mental health, and motivation of doctoral students. However, stricter admission standards and empirical evidence provide little support that any one of these current explanations is adequate on its own. Empirical clues suggest that Self-Determination Theory may be useful in trying to understand the doctoral attrition phenomenon. Self- Determination Theory is presented and used as a framework to identify potential causes and …

A Complete Clarinet Recital, Sara N. Dedona

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

A senior recital performance was given as a culmination of my musical studies through my undergraduate program. Many of the research hours arc in the form of practice hours dedicated to the performance. This written portion of the thesis documents research about selected literature and performance implications.

The methodology includes extensive research about the music that is included in the clarinet recital, as well as discussion about repertoire selection and interpretation. The historical aspects of the pieces and composers are other important factors that define the practice and performance of the pieces.

Assistive Technology Provision By Occupational Therapists : A Process And Tools For Managing Clients With Spinal Cord Injury, Ikechukwu Anthony Igbo

Occupational Therapy Program Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Occupational therapy focuses on complex dynamic relationships between people, occupations and environments. For clients with spinal cord injuries (SCI), a way of improving the connection between these three aspects is by providing assistive technology (AT). A fundamental issue identified by consumers regarding AT provision was abandonment, which is caused by a mismatch between aspects of the person, the assistive product, and characteristics of the environment. One solution is engaging collaboratively with clients and recognizing individual needs, thereby allowing therapists to meet clients’ occupational expectations and provide clients with increased functional independence. During this capstone project, barriers to AT provision were …

Alcohol Analysis Of Breath And Urine To Support Drink Driving Awareness In Students, Megan Haverty

Students Learning with Communities

No abstract provided.

An Exploration Of Teacher Candidate Perceptions Concerning Their Political Role In Social Studies Education, Brian Zagrocki

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study argued that the purpose of social studies education is intimately connected with civic engagement. The function of civic engagement shifts in accordance with the political roles a teacher plays in the classroom (Westhaimer & Kahne, 2004). The literature review defined the possible parameters of these political roles. The research then explored how secondary social science and elementary teacher candidates, if at all, planned to address the political issue of civic engagement in education and their self-awareness as political actors. This research study aimed to expand the available body of research on this topic by exploring the perceptions of …

International Athletic Training Student Clinical Performance Analysis: A Descriptive Study, Jerrod J. Harrison

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Context: Even before the onset of Educational reform, clinical experience, whether through formal clinical Education or internship experiences, shaped the academic preparation of future athletic training professionals. As Education has evolved, emphasis has shifted to more formal classroom instruction enhanced with clinical experiences. The Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) between the United States and Canada allows athletic trainers and athletic therapists, respectively, to qualify for certification in the other country. Objective: To evaluate student perceptions in the United States and Canada about the importance of clinical Education in their academic preparation and to evaluate students perceived frequency of tasks described in …

Outpatient Clinic Experiences In A Family Medicine Residency, Nicole Mcguire

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The nation is facing a primary care physician shortage, estimated to exceed 50,000 by the year 2025. It is imperative that family medicine residency programs are training competent, confident physicians to overcome an unprecedented shortage. To do this effectively, family medicine educators must have a thorough understanding of the factors that affect resident Education in the outpatient clinic. There is currently little qualitative or context-specific research on resident Education in which family medicine residents tell of their experiences and perceptions of Education in the outpatient clinic. Little is known of the relationship between family medicine Education in the outpatient clinic …

The Illinois Teacher Pension Crisis Impact On Illinois Teacher Attrition, Zakry Standerfer

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the impact of the financial position of the Teachers Retirement System (TRS) of the State of Illinois, the Illinois budget condition, pension reform proposals in Illinois and the likelihood of teachers leaving their Illinois teaching positions. Teachers in the state of Illinois were surveyed over their levels of concern over TRS, the Illinois budget, and pension reform efforts. A literature review was completed that looked at pension plans, teacher pension plans, Illinois teacher pension plans, and the shortage of teachers in the United States. The research design involved a three-part survey …

President's Report, 2015-2016, University Of Montana (Missoula, Mont.). Office Of The President

University of Montana President’s Report, 1993-2016

The President’s Report of the University of Montana, produced by University Relations on behalf of the President’s Office.

Kentucky's Educational Performance & Points Of Leverage, Michael T. Childress

Issue Brief on Topics Affecting Kentucky’s Economy

This issue brief explores the links between obstacles students face and educational outcomes.

Utilizing Social Media To Educate School Nutrition Professionals, Ashley Seybold

Master of Public Health Program Student Publications

Background: Schools enrolled in United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Team Nutrition (TN) projects often have positive outcomes and develop useful resources. The challenge was to find an accessible mean to share outcomes and resources with schools across Ohio.

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to design a blog to educate school nutrition professionals and build awareness of positive activities related to Ohio school meals. This project also aimed to identify indicators of engagement, make recommendations for research and practice, and identify a set of best practices for future blog site use. Methods: The foundation of the blog ( …

The Notion And Practice Of Reputation And Professional Identity In Social Networking: From K-12 Through Law School, Roberta Bobbie Studwell

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Influence Of Immunology Knowledge On Healthcare And Healthy Lifestyle, N.L. Abu Kassim, A. Saleh Huddin, J.I. Daoud, M.T. Rahman

Research Publications (2016 to 2020)

Completing a course in Immunology is expected to improve health care knowledge (HCK), which in turn is anticipated to influence a healthy lifestyle (HLS), controlled use of health care services (HCS) and an awareness of emerging health care concerns (HCC). This cross-sectional study was designed to determine whether these interrelationships are empirically supported. Participants involved in this study were government servants from two ministries in Malaysia (n = 356) and university students from a local university (n = 147). Participants were selected using the non-random purposive sampling method. Data were collected using a self-developed questionnaire, which had been validated in …

Online Learning And The Effects On Functional Health: A Pilot Study, Jessica Mangis

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

"Online learning presents a major risk on our emotional and physical health, otherwise known as functional health which results in a trend away from active leisure pursuits and recreational sports and leading us towards a sedentary lifestyle (Wang, Luo, Gao, & Kong, 2012). Sedentary behavior leads to many health risks and conditions such as cardiovascular disease, one of the leading causes of death. A sedentary lifestyle is defined as someone who does not meet the minimum suggested levels of physical activity: 150 minutes of endurance training and two days of strength training a week (American College of Sports Medicine, 2011; …

Education Through Violence In Modern American Literature, Adam Griffey

Theses and Dissertations

“Education through Violence in Modern American Literature” examines how violence is employed as a pedagogical tool in overseeing the transition of young people into adulthood in twentieth and twenty-first century American literature. Examining texts by Robert Cormier, John Knowles, Suzanne Collins, Orson Scott Card, Flannery O’Connor, James Baldwin, and Cormac McCarthy, this study demonstrates that a pedagogy of violence may be used as a coercive method to further the goals of the powerful, but it is equally interested in the ways that young people are able to rebel against structural systems of power that demand conformity and adherence to social, …

Sexual Education: Abstinence-Only Vs. Comprehensive Education, Alex C. Filippini

Honors Capstones

This paper aims to discuss the differences between abstinence-only sexual education and comprehensive sexual education. Both are methods of teaching children, generally from middle school age through high school, about sex and development; however, one focuses on saving sex for marriage (abstinence), while the other teaches this concept along with methods for contraception and sexually transmitted infection prevention (comprehensive). By discussing the background of sexual education in the United States (US), the curriculum in both the United States (US) and European countries (the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, and France), and methods for improving US sexual education, this paper will discuss the …

The Medicalization Of End-Of-Life Care: The Role Of Health Professions Education, Philip Fung, Miguel Paniagua

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

In the past 100 years, the advances in medical science and technology have shaped the health care delivery system in remarkable ways. The side effect of these advances has been a tendency to dehumanize the dying process, and consequently it has led to the rise of a specialty focused merely on bridging this gap in care. The public’s expectations of our legal, licensing, and medical education systems have also reflected this evolution in health care.

Salman, Salman, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Salman and his family are from Afghanistan, where he worked as a doctor. He worked for fifteen years for a mining institute, and before that he worked in various hospitals with Americans and Germans for another combined 15 years. The family ran into problems with the Taliban, who threatened violence if he didn’t close his drugstore. During that same time, his son witnessed a suicide bombing at his school. Their daughter was forced to abandon her education when the Taliban poisoned the water at her school. They fled in attempts to live a normal life again and escape the threats …