Digital Commons Network^™

Assessing Word Recognition In Infants With A History Of Chronic Otitis Media, Sarah Wright

Dissertations, 2020-current

Otitis media (OM) is a common ear-related disorder diagnosed in children that can cause a temporary conductive hearing loss. The fluctuating hearing loss may alter auditory processing which may interfere with language development while impacting quality of life for infants and their caregivers (Homøe et al., 2019). In several languages, eleven-month-old infants have shown a preference for familiar words over unfamiliar words using the head-turn preference paradigm. This study examines the effect of chronic OM on the preference for familiar or unfamiliar words in eleven-month-old infants. Fourteen eleven-month-old infants (mean age 344 days) with three or more diagnosed ear infections …

A Novel Examination Of None-Of-The-Above As It Influences Examinee Item Responses, Kathryn N. Thompson

Dissertations, 2020-current

It is imperative to collect validity evidence prior to interpreting and using test scores. During the process of collecting validity evidence, test developers should consider whether test scores are contaminated by sources of extraneous information. This is referred to as construct irrelevant variance, or the “degree to which test scores are affected by processes that are extraneous to the test’s intended purpose” (AERA et al., 2014, p. 12). One possible source of construct irrelevant variance is violating item-writing guidelines, such as to “avoid the use of none-of-the-above” in multiple-choice items (Rodriguez, 2016, p. 268).

Numerous studies have been conducted with …

Role Of Emg Monitoring On Cvemp Testing In Preschool Age Children, Brenna Murray

Dissertations, 2020-current

While cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP) testing has largely been studied and practiced on the adult population, less is known about the best practices for performing cVEMPs on a pediatric population, especially in young children under the age of 5 years. Further, very young children (i.e., 2-3 years) often prefer to sit with their caregiver during the testing, yet there is very little data on how much electromyographic (EMG) activity a child generates if in a seated position as opposed to a supine position. The purpose of this study was to assess the role of EMG on cVEMP recordings …

Affectionately Attached: The Impact Of Attachment Styles On Sexual Self-Concept Among Adults Who Identify As Lgbtgeqiap+, Karli M. Fleitas

Dissertations, 2020-current

The aim of this quantitative research study was to investigate the interplay between attachment orientation and subscales of sexual self-concept among an exclusively LGBTGEQIAP+ adult sample. A Pearson’s correlation coefficient was computed to examine attachment anxiety and avoidance with four subscales of sexual self-concept including, sexual motivation, sexual satisfaction, sexual consciousness, and sexual monitoring. The purpose of this study was two-fold—to compare findings with non-LGBTGEQIAP+ samples and provide new data. The relationships between attachment insecurity (i.e., anxious and avoidant attachment) and sexual motivation and satisfaction were compared to prior findings in the literature. Each test was statistically significant and negatively …

Reevaluating Student Engagement: Exploring And Applying Alternative Assignments In Higher Education Undergraduate Applied Saxophone, Anthony S. Cincotta Ii

Dissertations, 2020-current

Undergraduate applied saxophone study revolves around the conservatory model. This inflexible model, often referred to as a master-apprentice relationship, can create an instructor-centric power dynamic which does not address the needs of the modern student. A classroom where the power lies so heavily with the instructor can stifle student engagement and can create a sense of disenfranchisement. In this setting, students have limited input on their assignment selections. While curricula have evolved with regards to being more culturally diverse, relevant, and inclusive, the approach that educators use to deliver the material has remained largely unchanged. There is limited research on …

Linguistically Responsive Practices Of Science Secondary School Teachers In Rwanda: A Qualitative Case Study, Clemence Mukabalisa Mbabazi

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This qualitative case study examined how science teachers in Rwandan secondary schools linguistically support their students. The study was conducted virtually on Zoom through two rounds of interviews with three science teachers at a secondary school in the East of Rwanda. The primary research question examined the strategies used by these teachers to linguistically support their students. Through individual interviews with the science teachers, the participants were able to share their perspectives and experiences on students' multilingual abilities, the use of English as an instructional language, especially after the transition from French, and the relationship between students' language proficiency and …

The Students’ Army Training Corps In Virginia, R. Matthew Luther

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The Students’ Army Training Corps (SATC) is an overlooked part of the United States’ military training system during World War I. In early 1918, the War Department realized that they would need more military officers due to the rapid expansion of the Army for the war, the high expected casualty rate of officers, and the planned spring 1919 offensive. To help fix this problem, the Committee on Education and Special Training, a subsidiary of the War Department, created the SATC. College campuses served as training locations and male students enrolled at the schools received military training in addition to their …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Para-Athletes: A Case Study On Motivation And Psychological Training For The 2020 Paralympic Games, Irina Perfilova

Masters Theses, 2020-current

In the 61-year history of the Paralympic Games, the Games have never been canceled for any public health reasons. In order to participate in the Paralympic Games, the preparation process for professional athletes is planned at least four years in advance. Interruptions to this schedule can present significant challenges for elite athletes. Such was the case in 2020 with widespread cancellations of many athletic events due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact of in-home isolation can potentially cause athletes to experience different psychological conditions, including depression and anxiety as well as losing motivation. The purpose of this study was to …

‘If They Laugh They Will Love The Learning’: Experiences Of The Use Of Humor By Adult Education Practitioners In Egypt And The United States, Mohamed Serry

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This qualitative research studied the experiences of adult education practitioners from Egypt and the United States with the usage of humor. The problem was that humor is a commonly used communication and education tool, yet it is not studied enough within adult education contexts. The sample included three participants from Egypt and three from the United States. All six had adult education experiences in different contexts, including educational interventions in nonprofits, manufacturing contexts, and corporate office settings. The study aimed to determine the positive and negative results of humor on adult learners, also the practitioners' needs for a better usage …

Spartan Daily, May 11, 2023, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2023

Volume 160, Issue 43

Grief Reimagined: A Comparative Analysis Of Vergil's Aeneid And St. Augustine’S Confessions, Catherine Parker

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

This essay intends to comparatively analyze Vergil’s Aeneid and Saint Augustine’s Confessions to examine the shifting perspectives of grief throughout the ancient Mediterranean as the official Roman religion transitioned from Roman Paganism to Christianity following the Edict of Milan in 313 AD. Funerary customs and traditions presented in both the Aeneid and the Confessions provide one mode of insight to explain how expressions of grief evolved over time. The other direction offered in these primary texts includes depictions of the afterlife itself. Vergil and Saint Augustine both served as heralds of their respective eras—the Augustan and Christian eras—and can therefore …

A Qualitative Analysis Of Nascent Scientists’ Understanding Of Communication And Identity, Mercy Oluwabukunmi Faleyimu

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Communication is a central bridge for societal applications of scientific discoveries. As such it is important to explore of how nascent scientists adopt attitudes toward communication and learn how to effectively communicate their science with non-scientific and scientific audiences. This qualitative thesis seeks to understand student scientists’ experiences of communication both among scientists and with external audiences, specifically focusing on how they understand communication as central to their work as scientists and explores their talk about communication as important to their disciplinary identities and belonging in their lives and work as student scientists. The study is centered on the socialization …

From One Tired Black Student To Another: The Understanding Of Blackness In Non-Formal Spaces, Kenique Brown

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Black students all over the world are at a disadvantage. They are misunderstood and oppressed. Black students do not receive an adequate intentional education in traditional educational spaces. Non-formal educational spaces have been supportive to Black students since slavery. Non-formal spaces have provided a space for Black people to feel seen and learn in a safe space. In this phenomenological qualitative study, four female Black Zambian gap-year students within a non-formal educational space were interviewed individually to describe the impact of a non-formal space on their understanding of Blackness. Through individual, semi- structured interviews, and additional data from the researcher’s …

A Survey Of Secondary Music Educators Regarding The Perceived Impact Of Integrating Non-Ensemble General Music Activities Within Secondary-Level Performing Ensembles, Brandon Morris

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The purpose of this study was to survey Commonwealth of Virginia middle and high school music educators concerning the impact of integrating non-ensemble general music activities within secondary ensembles. Specifically, the questions focused on integrating guitar/piano, composition, and music technology into (non-jazz) performance ensembles, as identified through the lens of the NAfME Performing Strand. For the purposes of this study, non-ensemble general music courses were defined as courses that are traditionally not viewed as performance classes. Throughout this study, the integration of general music activities in secondary performance ensembles was examined through the lens of the NAfME Performing Strand.

The …

Living Between Two Worlds: Learning About High School Immigrant Students’ Experiences In The United States: A Phenomenological Qualitative Study, Xixellonje Nebihu

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This phenomenological qualitative research study examined the experiences of two immigrant high school students in terms of adaptation, integration, academic performance, and challenges they encountered in U.S. schools. These participants have been in the United States for three years and come from Jordan and Honduras. Semi-structured interviews and the researcher’s journal served as the study’s primary data sources. Two interview sessions were conducted with the participants at their school. The findings revealed that a variety of elements, including school support, such as counselors and the option to select courses, teacher support, and a diverse student body had a positive impact …

American Vibe Check: Based, Mid, Or Cringe? Measuring Gen Z’S Attitudes And Perceptions About American Democracy, Bethany Perryman

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Democracy is a concept, process, and practice, and American democracy is a specific flavor of it. Public opinion is influenced and shaped by mass media, and messages about American democracy emerge in a web of powers and among power dynamics. These messages include the actions and relationships of the American civic system with its citizenry and the world. Generation Z is a socially, culturally, economically, and politically unique population in American life, who form their own perceptions and attitudes about American democracy based on their experiences and with the ecosystem of communication and interaction they have with mass media messages. …

The Effectiveness Of Using Behavior Specific Praise Versus General Praise For One Elementary-Aged Child With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Angie Slusar

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The purpose of this study was to look at the effectiveness of general praise (GP) versus behavior specific praise (BSP) on increasing on-task behavior and decreasing the behavior of hitting in an elementary-age child with autism spectrum disorder. The researcher conducted a single function functional analysis to confirm that hitting was maintained by access to adult attention. The researcher used an alternating treatment design to compare GP and BSP as behavior change interventions. The researcher observed an educator working one-on-one with an elementary-aged child with autism. In each condition, the educator gave the praise that corresponded with the condition, to …

The Sounds Of The Shore: An Afrofuturistic Double Record Performed Through Vernacular Technology, Collin Bright

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Predominately white institutions are socially exclusive hostile environments that uphold white heteronormative patriarchal systems (Harper, 2013; Holliday & Squires, 2021; Razzante, 2018). The everyday task of existing on campus is a struggle for students of color as they are asked to enter spaces/places that are not diverse, inclusive, equitable, or accepting. To address the oppressive and dismissive forces of campus, my thesis uses Afrofuturism to reimagine what it means to exist as a student of color at a PWI. Afrofuturism is a “counter-imaginative cultur[al]” aesthetic-based practice that uses creative postcolonial critiques to reimagine future possibilities (Asante & Pindi, 2020; Pirker …

Using Irtrees To Account For Response Style Effects Between Item Formats, Stephanie Leroy

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Response styles are consistent person-traits that are defined as the tendency to systematically select responses unrelated to the construct being measured (Paulhus, 1991). Response styles introduce construct-irrelevant variance that distorts observed scores on a measure and biases interpretation of the data. The current study looks at midpoint response style (MRS) and extreme response style (ERS). MRS is the tendency to select the midpoint of a rating scale, while ERS is the tendency to select the endpoints of a rating scale. Previous research sought to either account for response style effects or prevemt them – the current study does both. To …

The Daniel Harrison House Project: Heritage Education Programs At A Historic House Museum, Megan Schoeman

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This thesis project attempts to identify and address outdated interpretation and education programs of the Daniel Harrison House, a historic house museum commonly known as Fort Harrison, in Dayton, Virginia. The project consists of two parts, a written component and an online digital exhibit. The written component of the project evaluates the Daniel Harrison House’s current educational programs and provides updated suggestions to reflect current trends within the heritage education and public history fields. The Interpretation Plan identifies the organization’s existing interpretation methods, historical content, artifact collection, education programs, staff and volunteers, accessibility of information to the public, and development …

What’S The Difference: Evaluating The Validity Claims Of A General Education Program, Josiah Hunsberger

Masters Theses, 2020-current

General education is a foundational aspect of higher education. Experiences and exposure to different perspectives allow students to interact with problems in a variety of ways. Institutions market expected outcomes, skills, knowledge, and abilities students will have upon completing general education coursework. Higher educational institutions often allow students to select from various specified courses that fulfill the same outcomes. Accrediting bodies require the assessment of outcomes, including those stated for general education. Measuring the specified outcomes through direct measures to demonstrate student learning is critical for accreditation and marketing. This study investigated the claims that various courses similarly meet the …

Enabling Security Analysis And Education Of The Ethereum Platform: A Network Traffic Dissection Tool, Joshua Mason Kemp

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Ethereum, the decentralized global software platform powered by blockchain technology known for its native cryptocurrency, Ether (ETH), provides a technology stack for building apps, holding assets, transacting, and communicating without control by a central authority. At the core of Ethereum’s network is a suite of purpose-built protocols known as DEVP2P, which provides the underlying nodes in an Ethereum network the ability to discover, authenticate and communicate confidentiality. This document discusses the creation of a new Wireshark dissector for DEVP2P’s discovery protocols, DiscoveryV4 and DiscoveryV5, and a dissector for RLPx, an extensible TCP transport protocol for a range of Ethereum node …

Ladies Of Distinction: Examining Twentieth Century African American Socialites And Civil Rights, Mackenzie Mason

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Discontent post-war Philadelphians had a full list of problems which the city had been dealing with since the beginning of the Great Depression. Conditions in the city had deteriorated so badly that by the late 1930s, a group of young middle-to-upper-class professionals who called themselves “Young Turks” began advocating for postwar progressivism in the city. These wealthy white male lawyers, architects, and university professors frequently met and discussed their reformative ideas within intellectual associations and gentleman’s clubs. During this same time period and inside the same city, two African American women born into affluent families in Philadelphia desired to design …

Conversations With The “Queens Of Lez,” “Chapstick Lesbians,” And Fellow Femmes; A Qualitative Exploration Of Queer Femmeness, Femme Sex, And Femme Relationships, Megan Moore

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Plunging necklines on a tight, pink dress. Thick, black, winged eyeliner meticulously crafted in the mirror. Loud, thundering heels adorn my aching feet, announcing my presence as I glide down the hallway. Straddling my femme partner as she admires my fem(m)inine hourglass figure amidst the satin sheets. This is how I “do femme” - but not all femmes participate in the same performance of femme as I do. Through reflexive-dyadic interviews with eleven fellow queer femmes, I investigate the various ways that femmes conceptualize their own version of femmeness, the methods by which they resist patriarchal femininity, and how they …

Double Dosing: Investigating The Utility Of Multiple Priming Questions On Test-Taking Motivation, Mara Mcfadden

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Priming examinees with questions about intended effort prior to testing has been shown to significantly increase examinee expended effort via self-reported effort and response-time effort. However, this question-behavior effect seems to wear off later in a testing session, specifically when a test is given second in the session. I examined whether administering a second “dose” of the question-behavior effect could combat the decrease in examinee effort later in a testing session. To evaluate whether “double dosing” could increase examinee effort later in a testing session, I randomly assigned examinees to one of three question conditions prior to completing two low-stakes …

Using Free-Operant Preference Assessments And Reinforcer Evaluations To Measure The Stability Of Preferences Over Time In Individuals With Developmental Disabilities, Lindsey Histand

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The present study investigated the stability of preferences over time using an alternating treatment multielement design across participants. The participants were children between the ages of eight and twelve with developmental disabilities, who also displayed interfering behaviors. The study had a baseline condition and two experimental conditions. During the first condition, the therapist provided contingent reinforcement for correct responses during reinforcer evaluations using highest preferred items. During the second condition, the therapist provided contingent reinforcement for correct responses during reinforcer evaluations using least preferred items. Repeated measures of free-operant preference assessments produced participants’ preference rankings, thus identifying highest and least …

Microglia Refine Early Multisensory Circuits In The Lateral Cortex Of The Inferior Colliculus In A Complement-Dependent Manner, Shaida Hamidi

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Microglia cells (MGCs), the resident macrophage of the brain, play a pivotal role in synaptic pruning of newly established circuits during early critical periods. Classical complement cascade signaling enables MGCs to identify unnecessary or underutilized contacts and specifically target them for removal and subsequent degradation. Such recognition and engulfment behaviors require receptor-ligand interactions, whereby “eat me” tags (complement component 3, C3) bind their cognate receptor (complement receptor 3, CR3) expressed on MGCs. Compromised complement signaling in certain systems results in under-pruning or unrefined map configurations, and is thought perhaps to underlie certain autism-related behavioral phenotypes (e.g. sensory hypersensitivities, decreased social …

Temporal Relevance Of Parent Qualities And Behaviors For Predicting Young Adults’ Emotion Regulation And Romantic Relationships, Saleena Wilson

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The present study sought to compare the utility of adolescents’ parental relationship qualities and behaviors for predicting young adult emotion regulation as well as the mediating role of emotion regulation in the intergenerational transmission of relationship qualities and behaviors. Early adolescence is characterized by the emergence of new emotions, responsibilities, and budding romantic relationships. Parental relationships with positive qualities may provide a safe environment for teens to explore these unfamiliar experiences. In late adolescence, teens depend less on this secure base but benefit from the utilization of specific relationship behaviors, modeled to them by their parents, in increasingly important …

Implementing Cultural Competency Training Among Advanced Practice Providers At An Academic Medical Center: A Quality Improvement Project, Kierah Barnes

Doctors of Nursing Practice (DNP) Final Projects, 2020-current

Racial health disparities, inequities, and healthcare bias are long considered concerns for the healthcare community.Cultural competency training (CCT) is one solution that is gaining recognition as an effective intervention to address bias among healthcare providers, resulting in improved patient outcomes and assisting with reducing health disparities among minority populations. This quality improvement project was implemented at an academic medical center and designed for Advanced Practice Providers who completed the training to demonstrate an increase in their cultural competency post-test compared to the pre-test. The increase in CCT will hopefully impact the delivery of culturally conscious/competent healthcare and positive experiences to …

115th Affordable Housing Llc V. Walton

All Decisions

No abstract provided.