Industrialization And Immigration: Latino And Hispanic Immigrants In The South Carolina Upstate, Matthew D. Girardeau

All Theses

European investment in the South Carolina Upstate created favorable conditions for Latino immigration. French tire manufacturer Michelin came to the region in the 1970s, and the construction of the largest BMW plant in the world in the 1990s greatly impacted the local economy. The Upstate had a history of outside investment, beginning with Northern industrialists in the textile industry and later European companies that provided equipment for textile mills. The automotive industry did not necessarily employ Latinos, but the money generated by the sector created booming construction and service industries. Latinos built a community in western Greenville County and established …

Artificial Intelligence Through Young Eyes: A Study Of Students’ Perspectives And Experiences With Artificial Intelligence In Education, Chad Preston Salyer

Ed.D. Dissertations

Artificial intelligence was an emergent and powerful new force in education. The public release of ChatGPT 3.0 in 2022 transformed learning for many students. This phenomenological qualitative study sought to record and analyze student’s perspectives on the influence of artificial intelligence on their learning routines. This study collected data through surveys and interviews with undergraduate students, analyzing patterns of artificial intelligence usage, perceived benefits, and challenges. The findings revealed that most students used artificial intelligence as a primary learning tool and that those students viewed artificial intelligence as beneficial for personalized learning and skill development. However, concerns about over-reliance on …

Perceiving School Success: A Phenomenological Study Of Asian Indian Parents, Scott Nozik

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological qualitative study aimed to explore how Asian Indian parents at East Ridge Elementary School perceived student success. The research sought to understand their experiences, their views on student success, and the factors they perceived as supports or barriers to achieving that success. Interviews with 14 Asian Indian families revealed four major themes: Positive School Experiences, Academic Programming, Holistic View of Education, and Parental Engagement. While communication emerged as a central element, it was not categorized as a theme but rather as a supporting factor. The study found that parents expressed satisfaction with the school’s cultural inclusivity and sense …

Sensory Awareness In Architectural Design And Construction: A Guide To Inclusion And Hospitality For All, Morgan Harwell

Honors Theses

Modern approaches to architectural design and construction have gravitated toward elegance, glossiness, and over exaggeration of a bright environment through materials such as marble, glass, white paint, and fluorescent lighting. While these choices can be alluring, their impact on individuals with disabilities and sensory processing disorders is typically dismissed. This study explores the intersection of architectural elements — such as lighting, noise, scent, and spatial organization — and sensory overload in disabled individuals. Through a detailed literature review, education of architectural principles, and incorporation of building techniques, this study proposes a computer-generated three-dimensional model of a shopping center. The primary …

A Comprehensive Analysis Of Virtual Reality In Modern Healthcare Education, Adarsha Ganesan

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This thesis evaluates the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) in healthcare education through multiple facets of evaluation: educational outcomes, accessibility considerations, and financial viability. Drawing from an extensive literature review on existing research and a case study of the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) College of Nursing's "Journey Through the Kidney" VR experience, this analysis examines how technology can transform modern medical education. While research shows mixed results regarding virtual reality’s impact on assessment outcomes, studies demonstrate increased student motivation and engagement, which can have lasting downstream effects on the quality of learning. Accessibility analysis reveals both opportunities and …

Knot Alone: A 24/7 Live Chat App For Sewing Enthusiasts, Erica Frankenhoff

Theses

Knot Alone innovates support in the sewing industry by providing a 24/7 chat experience driven by community engagement. Unlike other forums or workshops with time limits, this platform guarantees interactive, personalized, and immediate guidance. Regardless of whether it’s a new beginner sewer learning how to thread a sewing machine, or a sewing enthusiast who is more advanced and is just figuring out issues with fabric tension, Knot Alone users can, at any hour, seek out professional advice. Professional advice will be provided by sewing educators and instructors, post graduate fashion students, and established sewing bloggers and influencers. By joining together …

Expanding The Narrative: Rural Educators' Perceptions Of The Achievement Gap, Erika N. Martin

College of Education

This dissertation explores the perceptions of rural educators in Alabama in relation to the achievement gap. It places a special emphasis on how these teachers understand, articulate, and address the challenges facing rural schools. This study is guided by three research questions: (1) How do rural teachers in the state of Alabama understand and describe the achievement gap, particularly in relation to rural schooling? (2) How do rural teachers in Alabama identify the variables that impede the closing of the achievement gap for rural students and schools? (3) What do rural teachers in Alabama receive as necessary for improving student …

James Baldwin's Classroom And What He Can Teach Educators About Queer Representation, Matthew Callahan

Honors College Theses

This is an extended analysis of James Baldwin's "A Talk to Teachers" about how to bring representation into the classroom. I use Baldwin's other essays and fiction along with educational research to look into the way Baldwin understands education and the importance of bringing healthy queer representation into the classroom. I provide both theoretical observations along with practical implications of what this means for educators in the classroom and what they can do to help all their students feel seen, represented, and welcome in the classroom.

Grossly Misunderstood: How Two Low Socioeconomic Black Parents In The Rural South Perceive Their Involvement In Their Children's Education, Diana Carver

All Dissertations

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of low-socioeconomic Black parents living in the rural South regarding education. The study was designed to amplify the voice a marginalized community that is misunderstood regarding their children’s education. Using a detailed narrative design, I interviewed two single-parent families living in a Section 8 apartment complex to capture their perceptions of their children’s education.

In this study, the participants were single mothers who expressed their desires and goals for their children. In addition, these mothers shared their backgrounds and experiences growing up and attending school, which shaped and molded …

"Integrative" Vs "Integration": Stem Skills And Concept Development In 6th Grade Students, Kathryn Chain

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

As a whole, interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in schools is on the rise at a national level, and it is widely recognized that the development of skills and concepts in science, technology, engineering, and math are not only beneficial to students, but are in fact necessities for future citizens of an increasingly global world (Kelley & Knowles, 2016.) Despite this increasing acceptance and awareness of the need for STEM literacy, there is a critical lack of guidelines on what STEM education actually entails and how to effectively integrate these concepts and skills into the educational …

Tennessee Education Glossary: 2025 Update, May 2025, Tennessee. Comptroller Of The Treasury.

Office of Research and Education Accountability

No abstract provided.

Research Recap: A Guide To Orea Publications Of Interest, Tennessee. Comptroller Of The Treasury.

Office of Research and Education Accountability

No abstract provided.

Research Recap: Informal Removals Of Students With Disabilities In Tennessee, Tennessee. Comptroller Of The Treasury.

Office of Research and Education Accountability

No abstract provided.

Analyzing The Imposition Of Colonial Culture: The Case Of French Colonial Education In Senegal, Harleigh M. Smith

International and Global Studies Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper analyzes the implications of the implementation of colonial education through a focus on French West Africa, specifically Senegal. Through analyzing works regarding to colonial and post-colonial era, this paper works to understand how French colonial education systems have impacted education in Senegal. It provides background on French colonialism and the Senegalese education system while exploring and comparing both Anglophone and Francophone works to identify how the literature can work together to further research in the field.

Insight And Illumination In Mathematical Learning: Exemplars Of Transitions To Understanding In The Classroom From Elementary To Graduate School, David Klanderman, Sarah Klanderman, James Turner

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Jacques Hadamard describes a four-stage epistemological process: preparation, incubation, illumination, and verification. Hadamard developed this scheme based upon Henri Poincaré’s reflections on the process that led to his discovery of Fuchsian functions (i.e., automorphic functions) which he described in his wonderful paper La Genese de la Creation Mathematique (Mathematical Discovery in English). Philosopher and theologian Bernard Lonergan builds on the writings of Aquinas to develop his theory of insight which elaborates the transition from incubation to illumination. Insight and illumination provide an analytical lens for transitional moments as students learn ever more abstract mathematical concepts. We offer exemplars of these …

A Pipeline To Prison Or A Pathway To Promise? The Inequities Fueling The School To Prison Pipeline, Ranishia Lachelle Bailey

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This systematic review proposal would investigate the school-to-prison pipeline and examine the role of pedagogical interventions in mitigating youth involvement in the justice system. By analyzing existing literature, this proposal would study and explore how school system biases, educational frameworks, and systemic factors contribute to the perpetuation of this pipeline, with a specific focus on how educational policies and disciplinary practices impact at-risk youth. The review aims to identify effective interventions that can disrupt this cycle, including restorative justice practices, trauma-informed education, positive behavioral interventions, and culturally responsive teaching. A comprehensive search strategy should be employed across various academic databases, …

Beyond Stereotypes: Exploring The Intersection Of Feminist Identity And Societal Expectations In Ama Ata Aidoo’S Changes: A Love Story (1991), Grace Adutwum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Changes: A Love Story by Ama Ata Aidoo explores the intersection of feminist identity and societal expectations of African women, specifically Ghanaian women. This work examines how Esi and other characters struggle for love, autonomy, and independence, and reveals how tradition often limits African women’s choices and agency. This research also highlights how Aidoo presents a distinct, context-specific approach to gender roles and pressure from society, rather than viewing feminism as a strict opposition to patriarchy. By using African feminism as a theoretical framework, this work analyzes how marriage, career, and independence shape Esi’s identity. The depiction of polygamy, independence, …

Building Bridges Across Papua New Guinea’S Digital Divide In Growing The Ict Industry, Marc Cheong, Sankwi Abuzo, Hideaki Hata, Priscilla Kevin, Winifred Kula, Benson Mirou, Christoph Treude, Dong Wang, Raula Gaikovina Kula

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is an emerging tech society with an opportunity to overcome geographic and social boundaries, in order to engage with the global market. However, the current tech landscape, dominated by Big Tech in Silicon Valley and other multinational companies in the Global North, tends to overlook the requirements of emerging economies such as PNG. This is becoming more obvious as issues such as algorithmic bias (in tech product deployments) and the digital divide (as in the case of non-affordable commercial software) are affecting PNG users. The Open Source Software (OSS) movement, based on extant research, is seen …

Designing Hmi And Scada Laboratory Work For Engineering Students, Julianne Barteck

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Human-machine interfaces are, essentially, the user interfaces used to monitor industrial facility machines and systems, which makes them a common industry tool in engineering. At East Tennessee State University, while human-machine interfaces are briefly covered in lecture and graduate students have set up some basic hands-on work, there exist no formal lab work for students on the topic. This thesis explores the literature surrounding the design of labs for a STEM or engineering-specific university class, and applies the recommendations and methods within that literature to design two laboratory guides on human-machine interfaces. These labs are intended to be implemented in …

Mapping Teacher And Librarian Perspectives Through A Qualitative Descriptive Study Of Book Bans In South Carolina, Jennifer Gallman

All Dissertations

This study analyzed findings from four data collection pieces with Critical Discourse Analysis, in which participants met in focus groups to discuss their experiences with book bans and curriculum censorship. The five focus groups included Upstate middle school English teachers, Upstate high school English teachers, Upstate middle school librarians, Upstate high school librarians, and participants from the Midlands and Lowcountry of South Carolina. There were two primary research questions and two sub-questions: (1) What do educators and librarians in grades 6-12 say about how power functions in engaging or challenging current curricula and book censorship trends?; (1a) How do middle …

A Phenomenological Look At Licensed Professionals' Perceptions And Lived Experiences Of Parental Alienation In The Family Court System, Jacqueline Ziebart

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Parental alienation (PA) frequently emerges in high-conflict child custody disputes and is commonly understood as one parent encouraging a child to unjustifiably reject the other parent. The behaviors associated with PA encompass a complex form of family violence, incorporating elements of both intimate partner violence and child psychological abuse. As a polarizing and multifaceted social issue, PA necessitates further dialogue and interdisciplinary collaboration among professionals. This qualitative research study explored licensed professionals’ perceptions and lived experiences of PA in the family court system. The research aimed to investigate the meaning professionals attributed to PA across individual, family, and institutional levels. …

A Systematic Review: Learning Emotion Regulation With Virtual Reality, David Boyd Bobo

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This systematic review explored how immersive virtual reality (IVR) can help people manage emotions like stress and anxiety by analyzing existing studies. It highlighted therapies such as mindfulness, compassion therapy, and exposure therapy, showing how IVR can teach effective emotion-regulation skills. Researchers also identified innovative tools, like biofeedback, which uses physical signals such as heart rate to help people understand and control their emotional responses.

Interactive and gamified approaches, like Stressjam and Deep, demonstrated practical uses of IVR for mental health support. While the review confirmed IVR's potential in therapy, it also revealed gaps in research, particularly in applying …

The Role Of Arkansas Rural Libraries In Cultural Capital Development, Callie Spear Embry

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the role of rural public libraries in Arkansas in fostering cultural capital development among youth. By employing a mixed-methods approach combining quantitative analysis from the 2022 Arkansas Public Library Survey and qualitative insights gathered from semi-structured interviews with rural librarians, the research investigates three core questions: (1) How do rural libraries impact youth cultural capital development? (2) In what ways can these libraries enhance their effectiveness in this area? (3) How do librarians perceive their roles in this developmental process?

Findings indicate that rural libraries serve as pivotal cultural coordinators and community hubs, positively affecting youth engagement …

Menstrual Justice After Dobbs, Margaret E. Johnson

All Faculty Scholarship

This Article identifies and analyzes the category of state and private regulation that is invisible and subordinates women and other menstruators in ways that impact their privacy, liberty, and equality. Because this category of regulation is pervasive, bringing it to light is critical for considering how best to curb its harm. This Article considers potential legal strategies to counter such menstruation regulation and argues that Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization offers some promise—but more cause for pessimism—regarding the U.S. Constitution’s power to do so. This Article therefore explains how subconstitutional law offers greater potential, while cautioning that political science …

Equity Vs. Excellence: Dichotomy Or Duo?, Nadjia I. Logans

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

In this thesis, I investigate recent changes in mathematics education and how these developments connect to the principles of equity and excellence. I place a special focus on “active learning” methods. My methodology primarily consisted of interviews with educators, along with analyzing literature from math education researchers. I first define and explain the motivations behind active learning instruction methods. Next, I explore not only how instructors define equity and excellence but how educators perceive the role of the two principles within education. Finally, I challenge the pervasive media portrayal of equity and excellence as being mutually exclusive. Instead, I find …

Non-Esl High School Teachers’ Instructional Training And Professional Development Needs And Their Emergent Bilingual Student Classrooms, Brynn Erin Caddell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. emergent bilingual student population continues to grow and is projected to increase nationwide. The growing population of students has specific academic and social needs that need to be addressed and provided for emergent bilingual students to be successful. This qualitative case study examined the instructional needs of high school non-English as a second language (ESL) teachers who serve emergent bilingual students and how the district can support the instructional practices of high school teachers in an urban school district in Texas. The problem addressed in this study was the lack of instructional training and professional development for secondary …

Recent And Future Trends In Osteopathic Orthopedic Surgery Residency Match Rates Following The Transition To A Single Accreditation System., Morgan Turnow, Minali Nemani, Nithin Gupta, Hayden Hartman, Taylor Manes, Tyler Williamson, Arianna Gianakos

Medical Education Articles

CONTEXT: Medical education in the United States has undergone significant changes, specifically within the osteopathic community. In 2020, a merger occurred between the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), forming a single accreditation system (SAS) for graduate medical education and residency placement, with the purpose to create consistency within graduate medical education and to provide equal opportunities for applicants pursuing all specialties in medicine. However, osteopathic medical students, especially students applying to competitive residencies including orthopedic surgery, have faced challenges, raising concerns about future implications within this field.

OBJECTIVES: The main objective of …

Generating Training Events For Building Cyber-Physical Security Skills, Avanthika Vineetha Harish, Kimberly Tam, Kevin Jones

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

As the threat of cyber attacks increases, the cyber security sector continues to train professionals as one form of mitigation. Gamification and infrastructure like cyber ranges have been proven useful in training cyber security specialists to detect and react to cyber-attacks in information technology. However, a subset of all digital threats target cyber-physical systems, not just information systems, and these threats have been growing rapidly in recent years. While those threats are increasing, training specific to cyber-physical threats is not growing as quickly as information technology training solutions. While cyber ranges are useful for training and supporting events like cyber …

Educational Empowerment: Building Connections Through Interventions, Melanie V. Partida

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This capstone project explores the intersection of substance use disorder (SUD) recovery and educational empowerment, focusing on the clients and peer supporters at Janus of Santa Cruz. The initiative developed an educational support model to enhance recovery through access to adult education, vocational training, and reliable study environments. Utilizing structured surveys, the project identified the educational barriers faced by peer supporters and clients, such as limited access to internet connectivity, mental health challenges, and a lack of awareness regarding local resources. In response, this project included the creation of a comprehensive educational resource directory and a Peer Mentorship Model, enabling …

Gonzales High School: An Effort To Educate Teens On Pedestrian And Bicycle Safety, Cesar Cisneros

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Monterey County has experienced an increase in pedestrian and bicycle safety accidents. The Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Program of Monterey County has been conducting outreach and community engagement to educate the community on pedestrian and bicycle safety through distribution of educational materials and safety supplies, and collaborating with local law enforcement. Teens are at a higher risk of being victims of pedestrian accidents, including bicycle accidents, as they tend to be distracted and unaware of their surroundings, unaware of distracted and impaired drivers, and incautious when crossing the roads. This project is aimed to increase engagement of teens by implementing …