Digital Commons Network^™

Helping Willing Hands: Educating Single Mothers To Create Skills-Based Resumes, Kiel Willmore, Dr. Maureen Rice

Journal of Undergraduate Research

I had two main objectives for my creative project when I received an ORCA grant earlier this year. First, the project was aimed towards helping local single mothers, who not having the chance to obtain a secondary education, create skills-based resumes rather than education or experience-based resumes in order to help them obtain greater career options. I was hoping that by providing such service, it would not only help lift the community around us, but that it would bless the lives of single mothers’ families and help bolster them towards more fruitful careers.

Hope Comes To Watts: An Educational May Term Experience In Los Angeles, Nancy L. Cook, Madeline Kukla, John Yelding

Faculty Presentations

The "Hope Comes to Watts" program is designed to provide a 3-week May Term experience in Los Angeles, California. Students study the cultural, historical and geographical setting as well as complete pertinent readings to prepare for full-day placements in the Watts Learning Center, a public, charter school setting with elementary and middle school campuses. The Hope College students are paired one-on-one with classroom teachers and/or administrators and are fully immersed the day-to-day life of the school. They also participate in a variety of cultural and service opportunities during this experience.

Sex As A Moderator Of The Association Between Childhood Trauma, Impulsivity, And Primary Psychopathy In A Hispanic Undergraduate Sample, Judy D. Sifonte

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The current study investigates the effect that sex as a moderator has on the association between childhood trauma and impulsivity on primary psychopathy in a Hispanic college sample. The online survey obtained 443 responses from undergraduates; however after incomplete responses were removed and the data was cleaned, a sample size of 367 remained for use in primary analysis. The study utilized a hierarchical moderation regression analysis to determine the effect of sex on the association of predictor variables—childhood trauma and impulsivity, to the dependent variable, primary psychopathy. Researchers hypothesized that sex will enhance the association between childhood trauma and psychopathy, …

The Predictors Of Success Of Palestinian Tawjihi Students In East Jerusalem : A Multilevel Analysis., Rhonda G. Amer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed-method research study was to identify the predictors of success of Palestinian Arab Tawjihi students in East Jerusalem schools. Three theories guided this research study and assisted in developing the conceptual framework; social disorganization theory, ecological theory, and achievement motivation theory. Methods: The sample consisted of 20 schools and 522 students from 19 different neighborhoods. This study was based on existing data and observational data as well as some qualitative data to provide context for the model results. The existing data were gathered from the different schools, the Ministry of Education, local organizations, neighborhood representatives, and …

The Lived Experience Of The Novice Nursing Dean: Exploring The Meaning And Significance, Melissa Rae Bouws

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Deans of nursing hold a unique position for the future of the profession. Few others have the potential to bring about change within the academic setting, or hold such a strong influence on the future of nursing and on our students. Current statistics reveal multiple vacancies in nursing dean positions. Further understanding of how nursing deans begin their role, attain their identity as dean, and successfully execute this important position is needed to recruit and retain strong leaders who have the methods and skills to develop and support the advancement of the nursing profession. Understanding the process of becoming nursing …

Fostering Presence In Online Discussion, Julie A. Delello, Kathleen M. Everling, Rochell Mcwhorter, Heshium Lawrence

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

With increased demands for online courses, instructors are challenged to facilitate discussions that promote critical thinking and mastery of content. Synchronous and asynchronous discussion forums are used to create a Community of Inquiry (COI) across four respective disciplines and areas: English as a Second Language (ESL), Teacher Education, Industrial Technology, and Human Resource Development (HRD). Understanding the benefits and limitations of each forum and their applications allows instructors to facilitate quality online discussions that foster development of social, cognitive and teaching presence.

Profiles Of Productive Educational Psychologists, Melissa M. Patterson Hazley

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The present study aims to answer the questions: Who are presently the most productive educational psychologists? How do they accomplish so much? And what advice might they give to young scholars? To identify the most productive educational psychologists, a survey was sent to Division 15 members (educational psychology) of the American Psychological Association. The top four educational psychologists were Patricia Alexander, Richard Mayer, Dale Schunk, and Barry Zimmerman. Using instrumental case study methodology, three broad themes were identified that allow these scholars to be so productive. These included professional influences, time management, research and writing techniques, and time management. The …

"I'M Afraid [Of] My Future.": Secrecy, Biopower, And Korean High School Girls, Noelle Easterday

Anthropology ETDs

This paper analyzes the secrets revealed by Korean high school girls. Despite their struggles being known to the Korean public-at-large, the majority of these secrets express the students dismay at not meeting the high standards expected of teenage girls in successfully preparing for the future. In this case study, the public airing of the otherwise silenced acknowledgement of the authors' perceived deficiencies and failures illuminates processes of biopower (the subject-based regulation and disciplining of bodies) embedded within the Korean nation-state building project. I explore how the Neo-Confucian principles of reverence, obedience, and self-cultivation work together with the neoliberal, post-industrial consumerist …

Using Balanced Learning Course Design To Reduce Resistance To Diversity Curricula, Misty L. Wall

Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Diversity content is often met with covert and overt resistance in the classroom. Utilisation of a balanced learning model may address classroom resistance. Balanced learning models require ‘backwards’ course planning, equal attention to course content and class process, and a strategic use of cyclical course design to include introduction of new materiel, experience, followed by personal reflection. Using a balanced learning model moves classroom instruction beyond active learning strategies in the classroom, but can present unique challenges for instructors. While not without challenges, utilising a balanced learning model proves useful during course design and delivery of a graduate course on …

Practicum Projects, Michael P. Johnson

Public Policy and Public Affairs Faculty Publication Series

Executive Summary LIFT-Boston, a local non-profit organization, entered into a collaborative partnership in September 2012 with McCormack Graduate School Public Policy Ph.D. students and faculty to develop and execute a research project. The goals of this endeavor were to assist LIFT-Boston in understanding the outcomes associated with its services and enable the organization to further pursue service goals. The primary research questions respond to the organization’s most fundamental questions. These include how the organization’s unique service model impacts clients across several objective and subjective dimensions of well-being. Secondary questions focus on how these impacts may translate into increases or decreases …

Education Debt And Racial Disparity In College Success, Min Zhan

Center for Social Development Research

Education Debt and Racial Disparity in College Success

Reclaiming Subjecthood : Education And The Art Of Quality Experience, Emily Joy Sullivan

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This essay draws on writings in education, philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, and social work to articulate values for educational practice. It looks at individual development, relationship, and art as three fundamental areas of quality experience and education. Within and across these arenas, three themes repeatedly surface: attention, critical mindedness, and the balance of process and product.

Friends With Benefits Or “Friends” With Deficits? The Meaning And Contexts Of Uncommitted Sexual Relationships Among Mexican American And European American Adolescents, Lela Rankin Williams, Heidi Adams Rueda

Social Work Faculty Publications

Using focus groups, this study sought to understand and compare how Mexican American (n = 41, M = 16.0 years old, SD = .96) and European American (n = 34, M = 16.1 years old, SD = .64) youths conceptualize and experience “friends with benefits” relationships (FWBRs). Contrary to the implied nature of friendship, partners did not show caring and viewed FWBRs as a means to meet sexual needs. The “benefits” of this arrangement included guilt-free pleasure, little responsibility, the freedom to date others, or to remain available for a more desirable partner. The inherent deficits of FWBRs, …

The Lived Experience Of African American Nurses Who Attended Predominantly White University Baccalaureate Programs: Characteristics Of Success And Resilience, Carmen A. Stokes

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative dissertation explores the lived experiences of successful African-American nurses who attended baccalaureate programs at predominantly White universities (PWUs). Only 5.4% of the national registered nurse workforce is identified as African American; yet African-American citizens account for approximately 12.9% of the United States' population, and 24% of all enrollments in nursing programs nationwide is composed of African-American students. Past nursing education research has almost exclusively focused on the deficits of African-American students. This dissertation study focuses on a gap in the literature because it addresses the strengths and attributes of those African-American students who succeed, thereby contributing to an …

Game Change: What Have We Learned? Pt. 1, William J. Antholis, Robert E. Lang, William E. Brown, David F. Damore, Helen R. Neill, Bradley S. Wimmer

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Who We Are, What We Do, Where Are We Going

Brookings Mountain West is a partnership between UNLV and the Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution.

Goals and Objectives

Create high-quality, independent, impactful programs, publications, and activities that address issues of critical importance to greater Las Vegas and the Intermountain West region.

Serve as a platform to bring ideas and expertise together and facilitate local, metropolitan, and state discussions about the West’s future.

Enhance local, regional, and state research and public policy discussions.

Game Change: What Have We Learned? Pt. 2, Robert E. Lang, Sonya D. Horsford, Marya L. Shegog, Ramona Denby-Brinson, Fatma Nasoz

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

Share Knowledge. Change Lives. Transform our Community.

Our Mission: The Lincy Institute at UNLV conducts and supports research that focuses on improving Nevada's health, education, and social services.

Our Research Areas: Education, Health, Social Services, Information Technology

Liberal Arts Colleges During The Great Recession: Examining Organizational Adaptation And Institutional Change, Ashlie Junot Hilbun

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Liberal arts colleges strived to adapt to environmental shifts at the turn of the twenty-first century and remain relevant in American society while the Great Recession of 2007 compounded their challenges and created new fiscal and enrollment burdens, which forced these institutions to confront paradigm-changing circumstances. In an effort to advance the historical perspective of liberal arts colleges and expand the organizational adaptation research base, the current study aimed to understand how private liberal arts colleges adapted during the Great Recession of 2007 by examining institutional changes at three private liberal arts colleges and their effects on the institutions' operations. …

Educational Experiences Of Emancipated Foster Youth: An Exploratory Study, Cynthia Joyce Stunkard

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The data obtained in this qualitative study focused on the educational experiences of youth formerly in foster care after graduation from high school from the viewpoint of the youth. Data were gathered from interviews from 10 participants. Themes included: (a) How do youth emancipated from foster care perceive their educational experiences? (b) What could teachers have done differently to assist the foster youth when he/she first arrived in the classroom or when he/she was moving to another placement? (c) What did teacher do to help the foster youth feel welcomed and part of the classroom community?

Interviews were conducted and …

Social Media Strategy For The Hank Greenspun School Of Journalism And Media Studies, Irene Williams

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Within the past 10 years, communication online has evolved tremendously toward social media. This rapid change has been difficult for higher education institutions (HEI) to adapt to, leaving this important area underexplored. This strategic social media plan was developed to improve internal and external communication for the Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies (JMS). By initiating social media platforms, relationships are cultivated with present and future students on Facebook and Twitter. This strategic social media plan develops and maintains Facebook and Twitter pages for JMS and interprets social media site visitation data. These data provide information on users, …

Developing Social Capital: The Effect Of An Academic Service-Learning Component On The Civic Attitudes Of College Students, Joshua Paul Duplantis

Dissertations

Service-learning courses are credit-bearing educational experiences that deepen course content, meet identified community needs and use reflection to help students connect their service with the learning. These experiences give students an increased level of civic attitude and increased networks, which increases social and human capital. Research shows that the increase in capital developed through service-learning plays an important role in students’ job search success (D’Agostino, 2010). This heightened social capital is critical as the United States, specifically Mississippi, will deal with a projected increase in the need for college graduates who are prepared to navigate a job search and enter …

The Measurement Of Self-Directed Learning Among Postsecondary Disability Services Administrators, Lakeshia Marche Alexander

Dissertations

With increasing budget cuts, decreasing funds for training opportunities, and increasing demands for services for students with disabilities, there is a need for researchers to identify how DSAs prepare for and operate in their positions in disability services (Madaus, 1998). The researcher proposes that like many adults, DSAs may be engaging in self-directed study to gain the necessary knowledge and skills needed in order to perform their jobs effectively.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether a relationship existed between self-directed learner readiness and the number of learning projects completed by disability services administrators (DSAs) in the postsecondary …

Student Motivation For Pursuing A Minor In Environmental Sustainability, Luanne Woods Lewis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Environmental sustainability dominates the global conversation seeking to increase awareness and change the culture of thinking concerning the relationship between humans and the Earth. Because many universities offer programs relative to environmental sustainability, a need exists to understand why students pursue these programs. This study examined student motivation for pursuing an environmental sustainability minor in one institution of higher education. Career, learning, monetary, and Social responsibility were the motivational factors considered in this study. The results of this study indicated significant differences among the motivational factors for pursuing a minor in sustainability among those students surveyed. Significant differences existed for …

Highlighting The Importance Of Researching Family Homelessness, Ronald E. Hallett, William G. Tierney

Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk

This invited commentary responds to and builds upon Tobin and Murphy's article, “Addressing the Challenges of Child and Family Homelessness.” In affirming the ideas emerging from this article, Hallett and Tierney provide three points of extension: (1) more research needs to be conducted with doubled-up families; (2) the role of shame needs further exploration; and, (3) additional work needs to be done to increase access to postsecondary institutions.

Awareness And Beliefs Regarding Intimate Partner Violence Among First-Year Dental Students, Rhonda J. Everett, Karl Kingsley, Christina A. Demopoulos, Edward E. Herschaft, Christine Lamun, Sheniz Moonie, Timothy J. Bungum, Michelle Chino

Environmental & Global Health Faculty Research

Intimate partner violence (IPV) may affect one to four million individuals per year in the United States, with women accounting for the majority of both reported and unreported cases. Dental professionals are in a unique position to identify many types of IPV because injuries to the head and neck may be indicators or predictors of IPV abuse. Fewer than half of dental programs surveyed have reported having IPV-specific curricula, and most dental students surveyed have reported having little experience or training to recognize IPV. Based on this information, this pilot study sought to assess the awareness and beliefs regarding IPV …

Small-Dollar Children's Savings Accounts, Income, And College Outcomes, William Elliott, Hyun-A Song, Ilsung Nam

Center for Social Development Research

In this paper, we examine the relationship between children’s small-dollar savings accounts and college enrollment and graduation by asking three important research questions: (a) are children with savings of their own more likely to attend or graduate from college, (b) does dosage (having no account; having basic savings only; or having savings designated for school of less than $1, $1 to $499, or $500 or more) matter, and (c) is designating savings for school more predictive than having basic savings alone? We use propensity score weighted data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and its supplements to create …

Reducing Student Loan Debt Through Parents’ College Savings, William Elliott, Ilsung Nam

Center for Social Development Research

One policy rationale for promoting Child Development Accounts (CDAs) is that they may help reduce college debt, but no research provides evidence of this. Research does suggest that high-dollar student loans ($10,000 or more) can reduce the probability that lower income students in particular persist in and graduate from college. In this study, we find evidence to suggest that parents’ college savings may reduce the probability that students accrue high-dollar student loan debt across all income levels with the exception of high-income students. Based on this and evidence from separate research on small-dollar children’s savings accounts, we suggest that it …

Access Patterns Of Adhd Students Utilizing Campus Disability Services Supports, Meribeth L. Jackson

Student Work

Source of initial access to disability services, accommodations received as supports on campus, and the rate of continuous enrollment data was measured and compared for students diagnosed with ADHD prior to age eighteen and those diagnosed with ADHD after age eighteen. These two groups were compared to analyze the assumption that students who were already immersed in a special services environment would be more capable of accessing services in the postsecondary setting more readily than those who had been newly diagnosed just prior to or after entering postsecondary education. Students with a diagnosis prior to age eighteen (n = 34) …

Surviving Broken Dreams : A Qualitative Study On The Resilience Of Undocumented Students, Kiam Parker

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative research study is to explore undocumented students perspectives of their experiences on their pathways to accessing higher education-the many obstacles they encounter and their resilience in facing these obstacles to pursue their educations. The complexities of these students experiences—living in the United States undocumented, their process of navigating the American education system and how this shapes how they perceive themselves and their life path--were examined through the narratives of six students who were enrolled in higher education, or planning to attend. The findings of this research showed that the unique psychosocial stressors undocumented students face--poverty, …

Parental Involvement And Academic Performance In Ghana, Gina Chowa, David Ansong, Issac Osei-Akoto

Center for Social Development Research

Parental Involvement and Academic Performance in Ghana

A Promise Fulfilled - Syracuse University Graduates Its First Class Of Say Yes Scholars, Christine Yackel

Syracuse University Magazine

Highlights the role that Say Yes to Education has had on local Syracuse city high school students who have graduated through this program at Syracuse University by making the college dream affordable them.