Digital Commons Network^™

Enhancing Staff Satisfaction: Exploring The Efficacy Of Peer Observation As An Improvement Science Approach To Professional Learning For Elementary Educators, Brian Wood

Doctor of Education (EdD)

This research aimed to determine if introducing a peer observation system for professional development within an elementary school improved staff satisfaction with accessing and implementing professional learning. The Implementation Science Dissertation in Practice (ISDiP) utilized a Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) throughout a 90-day improvement science cycle. A network improvement committee (NIC) met monthly to establish a shared understanding of the current problem of practice within educational professional learning models, reviewed participant data, and made real-time adjustments to the research.

The study focused on study participants engaging in peer observations to acquire and implement new professional learning. Data collection methods included pre-, mid-, …

Retention Of P-Chip Microtransponders And Post-Tagging Survival Of Small-Bodied Stream Fishes, J. Spooner, Jonathan J. Spurgeon

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Navigating Religious Attitudes Towards Assisted Reproductive Technology, Gretchen Ruschman

Gaines Fellow Senior Theses

As global infertility rates increase, the growing utilization of assisted reproductive technology (ART), specifically in vitro fertilization (IVF), has introduced a range of ethical concerns. Religious beliefs play a crucial role in shaping societal norms and guiding individual ethical deliberation, which is also true in navigating the ethical framework surrounding ART. Therefore, it is important to acknowledge the role of religion in shaping perspectives on ART and explore the role of religion in ethical decision-making on an individual and a community scale. This study explored different religious perspectives on ethical issues surrounding the current state and potential future advancements of …

Is The Virtual Therapy Experience A Sufficient Means For Person-Centered Therapy? A Systematic Review, Aaron Feibush

Social Work Theses - Archive

Background: American psychologist Carl Rogers is considered the main originator of person-centered therapy (PCT), a psychotherapeutic approach which focuses on self-actualizing abilities of the client which emerge when engaged in an environment of three core conditions established by the therapist: unconditional positive regard, empathy and congruence. Over the last several decades there have been thousands of studies that demonstrate support for these three core conditions as necessary features of effective therapy. However, with the emergence of psychotherapy being conducted via telehealth in the last several years, in particular since the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic, it remains unknown …

Content Moderation On Social Media: Social And Computational Standards And Implications, Mohit Singhal

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Social media has become a powerful tool that reflects human communication's best and worst aspects. They allow individuals to freely express opinions, communicate with others, and learn about new stories. On the other hand, they have become fertile grounds for several forms of abuse, harassment, and the dissemination of misinformation. Social media platforms have established and employed content moderation to counteract the spread of abuse and misinformation.

Some critical challenges hinder the understanding of the social media content moderation ecosystem. This dissertation investigates various aspects of content moderation, including their coverage, fairness, and effectiveness. Firstly, it investigates how, in practice, …

Integrating Artificial Intelligence In Public Relations And Media: A Bibliometric Analysis Of Emerging Trends And Influences, Akhmed Kaleel, Mohammed Shukri Alomari

Iraqi Journal for Computer Science and Mathematics

Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) techniques in public relations and media is an emerging interdisciplinary research domain warranting greater attention. This study presents the first bibliometric analysis of recent literature at the nexus of AI, public relations, and media. Publications from 2018-2023 were retrieved from Scopus and analyzed touncover productivity, impact, collaborations, and topics. Results showed rising annual outputs with over 2000 articles published in 2021, confirming intensifying research activity. Recent publications also demonstrated higher citation impact, indicating their contemporary influence. Prolific authors were predominantly China-based, while the US led overall production. China, Western nations, and India dominated but opportunities exist …

Holistic And Holy: An Inward Journey Toward Healing And Wholeness, Chad Mcswain

Doctor of Leadership

There are two ubiquitous challenges to the modern church in North America: declining church attendance and the mental health crisis. This is an opportunity for the modern church to take up the missional imperative by providing access to mental health resources to meet the mental and spiritual needs of those they serve, while creating a positive connection to those who do not currently attend church.

This doctoral project seeks to address both challenges by providing a podcast called, Holistic and Holy, Listener Guide, and website that creates conversations at the intersection of mental health and spirituality. This approach uses traditional …

Impact On Abortion Rates: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis Of Planned Parenthood’S Refusal Of Title X Family Planning Funding, Carrissa Griffing

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) decided to reject federal family planning funds when faced with a “gag rule” that would prevent PPFA from providing abortion services. The economic theory of scarcity and everyday human experience teach that a reduction in available resources or means will necessarily impact the ends to which those means are expended. This dissertation tests the prediction of economic theory that a reduction in available means results in a sacrifice in given ends, like a paycheck reduction might result in less food on a family dinner table. Planned Parenthood’s behavior is examined in light of this …

An Examination Of Types Of Trauma, Resiliency Factors, And Strengths-Based Approaches To Treatment Among Undocumented Mexican Immigrants, Rosa Marín

Theses and Dissertations

Undocumented immigration into the United States can be coupled with significant contextual sociopolitical challenges, particularly for Mexican-origin populations which represent the largest immigrant group in the U.S. Research examining the day-to-day nuances unique to this hard-to-reach population is limited and even more so for strengths-based treatment interventions. This systematic review sought to investigate the following questions: (1) What types of trauma do undocumented Mexican immigrants experience after immigrating to the U.S.? (2) What are resiliency factors among undocumented Mexican immigrants in the U.S.? (3) What are strengths-based approaches to working with undocumented Mexican immigrants in the U.S.? This integrative review …

Financial Autonomy And Happiness In College Students: Can They Coexist?, Jordyn Gerwig

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

Prior research and theory suggests that happiness is often associated with charitable expenses and associated with feelings of autonomy. The present research examined how autonomy influences the happiness experiences participants have when spending money either charitably or on themselves. Participants completed the research online in an hour setting. Participants were asked to imagine situations where they have the ability to spend money freely, or where they first must seek advice or consult before making spending decisions. For half of each of these participants, they were directed to consider spending money on themselves, whereas the other participants were directed to consider …

Student Employability-Building Activities: Participation And Contribution To Graduate Outcomes, Denise Jackson, Claire Lambert, Ruth Sibson, Ruth Bridgstock, Matalena Tofa

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Employability development has become a central concern of higher education, with many students attending university to enhance their employability and career development. Universities offer a range of curricular, co-curricular and extracurricular employability-building activities, including work-integrated learning, mentoring and career counselling. However, participation in these activities, barriers to engagement and their impact on employability are unclear. This paper examines student engagement in diverse employability-building activities, barriers impeding participation and their perspectives on how activities develop aspects of employability. The methodological approach encompassed an online survey of recent bachelor graduates (n = 324) from two Australian universities and focus groups to further …

Improving Inclusion With Universal Design In The Academic Library Hiring Process, Katelyn Quirin Manwiller, Heather Crozier, Samantha Peter

University Libraries Faculty Publications

To improve inclusion in academic library hiring practices, we must evaluate and prioritize addressing the barriers that currently exist in the process for LIS workers with marginalized identities. With the prevalence of disability in America, lack of representation in librarianship, and inherently intersectional nature of disability inclusion, it is essential that academic librarianship work to recruit and retain disabled librarians. Disability affects people in a variety of ways. Therefore, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. As a result, broader disability inclusion techniques based on the principles of Universal Design are needed to remove barriers for disabled librarians during the hiring process.

Links Between Perceived Mother-Adolescent And Father-Adolescent Conflict And Low Self-Control: A Cross-National Comparative Study, Tory Thomas

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

The influence of parent-adolescent relationships and adolescent adjustment have been well-documented. Self-control has emerged as a key probabilistic construct in understanding adjustment, well-being, and life success. The present study tests the links between adolescent perceptions of maternal and paternal conflict and self-control. In addition, to understand the extent to which cultural developmental context impacts these associations, the study will employ a cross-cultural comparative lens to test whether cultural context moderates these links. Self-report data were collected from N = 4,924 adolescents (Mage = 16.97 years, 54.08% female) across four countries (China, Czech Republic, Turkey, and the United States). In by …

Moving From Conventional To Adaptive Risk Stratification For Oropharyngeal Cancer, Vlad C Sandulache, R Parker Kirby, Stephen Y Lai

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) poses a complex therapeutic dilemma for patients and oncologists alike, made worse by the epidemic increase in new cases associated with the oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV). In a counterintuitive manner, the very thing which gives patients hope, the high response rate of HPV-associated OPC to conventional chemo-radiation strategies, has become one of the biggest challenges for the field as a whole. It has now become clear that for ~30-40% of patients, treatment intensity could be reduced without losing therapeutic efficacy, yet substantially diminishing the acute and lifelong morbidity resulting from conventional chemotherapy and radiation. At the same …

Board Demographic, Structural Diversity, And Eco-Innovation: International Evidence, Rashid Zaman, Kaveh Asiaei, Muhammad Nadeem, Ihtisham Malik, Muhammad Arif

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Research question/issue: We examine whether and how board diversity, measured by demographics (i.e., board gender, cultural diversity, tenure, social capital, expertise, and age) and structural diversity (i.e., board independence, size, board seat accumulation-chair, board compensation, and board meeting frequency), influence corporate eco-innovation. Research findings/insights: Utilizing a global sample of publicly listed companies for the period 2004–2019, we find that a one-standard deviation increase in demographic and structural diversity translates into 4.66% and 7.11% higher corporate eco-innovation, respectively. Furthermore, we discover that demographic and structural diversity promotes eco-innovation by offsetting the negative effects of political risk. In an additional analysis, we …

Workplace Bullying In Louisiana Academic Libraries: Exploring Worker Status And Demographics, Justin Savage, Andrea Hebert, Catherine Baird

University Libraries Scholarship and Creative Works

Bullying is a phenomenon that exists across cultures, societies, and even species. It can be found eveywhere, including the workplace. The present study investigates workplace bullying amongst an approximated census sample of Louisiana academic library workers. Using the Negative Acts Questionnaire—Revised (NAQ-R), the study explores the relationships between experiencing workplace bullying and librarian status, tenure status, years in the profession, age, gender, and race. Although no statistically significant relationships were found between variables, the findings add to a growing body of literature that explores the interrelations of demographic and environmental contexts and bullying experiences.

Variables Impacting First Time Pass Rates Of Msot Students, Amy L. Brzuz, Julia M. Hawkins-Pokabla, David Prier

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

To enter practice as an occupational therapist, one must complete an occupational therapy program at an accredited institution and then pass a national certification exam. This exam is called the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) Exam. Individuals can take the exam more than once to achieve a passing score but must pay a fee each time. Not passing the first time can lead to stress, increased costs, and delayed entrance into the profession. Thus, being a first-time passer is ideal. The purpose of this retrospective quantitative study was to identify variables impacting first time pass rates of …

Changing Fire Regimes And Nuanced Impacts On A Critically Imperiled Species, Jeremy T. Rockweit, Katie M. Dugger, Damon B. Lesmeister, Raymond J. Davis, Alan B. Franklin, J. Mark Higley

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wildfire activity throughout western North America is increasing which can have important consequences for species persistence. Native species have evolved disturbance-adapted traits that confer resilience to natural disturbance provided disturbances operate within their historical range of variability. This resilience can erode as disturbance regimes change and begin operating outside this range. We assessed wildfire impacts during 1987–2018 on the northern spotted owl, an imperiled species with complex relationships with late and early seral forest in the Pacific Northwest, USA. We analyzed population- and individual-level wildfire impacts across the frequent-fire portion of the owl’s geographic range at two spatial scales and …

A Systematic Review Of Preferred Practices To Reintegrate Male Opiate Addicts Into Family Relations While In An Evidence-Based Recovery Program, Arkaya Williams-Abbott

Theses and Dissertations

Active addiction strains family relationships. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review to determine preferred practices to help reintegrate male opiate addicts into family relations while in an evidence-based recovery program. Twenty-three articles of various methodologies were reviewed. Findings indicated three themes: stigma and men with opioid disorder, how men seek help, and family relationships and role in substance abuse treatment. Findings showed evidence-based programming should ensure training for treatment providers on men’s socialization and how it affects their approach to treatment and lack of willingness to seek help. Effective communication and de-stigmatized language is another …

Amyloid Beta Clearance In Alzheimer’S Disease: A Pet Imaging And Data Science Study, Rudolf Hall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

Amyloid beta (Aβ), a byproduct of amyloid precursor protein, is constantly cleared from the CNS. Aβ kinetics are visualized using 18F-florbetapir PET imaging, typically analyzed through 2D coregistration with MRI or CT followed by visual evaluation. Aβ was thought to coexist in the white matter of both Alzheimer’s disease (AD; Aβ+) patients and cognitively unimpaired (CU; Aβ-) individuals. However, this coexistence is likely a misperception of 2D imaging. In this study, data science techniques were used to evaluate PET images, transforming Aβ imaging into topographical pixel arrays for 3D reconstruction. Canal-like networks in the brain, skull, and neck were discovered …

An Extended Conceptualization Of Cultural Intelligence, Alexey V. Semenov

Funded Scholarship

Cultural Intelligence (CQ) has gained prominence as a vital attribute for organizational managers, encompassing their ability to navigate diverse cultural contexts effectively. However, despite its acknowledged significance, the relationships among its dimensions need to be better understood. This paper contributes to the existing CQ literature in two ways. First, we propose a model of CQ that integrates elements from previous conceptualizations, separating the motivational component. Our proposed framework retains the metacognitive, cognitive, and behavioral CQ dimensions but does not assume predefined relationships among them. Instead, we demonstrate that metacognitive CQ positively influences cognitive and behavioral CQ. Second, this paper explores …

Consumer Preference In Politics: Polarization In The Us Two-Party System, Jocelyne Y. Bisson

Honors Theses and Capstones

This paper uses marketing analytics to analyze the current segmentation and positioning of the US two-party political system. In the literature review, the political parties will be illustrated as they exist in 2024 after a brief historical outline beginning with party politics post WWII. The current 2024 platforms and most polarizing issues will also be outlined in this section. This research aims to answer the following questions. Can marketing segmentation and positioning reveal the most and least polarizing party issues in the United States today? How do current presidential front runners fit into the larger US two-party system? Do their …

Humanising Commercial Streets As A Tool For Social Sustainability, Mona Helmy, Nada El-Hama

Architectural Engineering

Commercial Streets are the beating heart of any city, the hubs of leisure, business, and social gatherings, in which they also reflect cultures and be used to assess the level of well-being of citizens. Recently, due to the world population increase and other various factors, such as excessive urbanism and the domination of vehicle movement over pedestrianization rights, some commercial streets suffer from dehumanisation causes and symptoms. Those vary between substandard planning and construction, inhospitable landscaping, and excessive visual pollution, among other causes and symptoms. Thus, this research investigates various Humanisation strategies adopted worldwide. It discusses the potential of applying …

Young Atmospheres Spiriting Away, Keighley Elizabeth Rockcliffe

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

The astronomy community has spectacularly achieved the first step in characterizing exoplanets: discovery. Over three decades of exoplanet detection have populated the Milky Way's exoplanet mosaic with thousands of planets, and more are on the way. Key trends within this mosaic reveal atmospheric escape as an underlying evolutionary process that has significantly shaped the population. While we are aware that atmospheric escape plays some role in exoplanet evolution, we do not know the extent of its influence, how it compares to other processes, and its specific physical mechanisms. Detailed studies of individual systems at known, young ages are direct tests …

Evaluating Deterministic Approaches To Forecast Population By Educational Attainment In The United States, Wei Gu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Forecasting population by educational attainment not only benefit government planning on allocating educational resources, labor market demand, and long-term human capital and overall well-being of society (Lutz et al. 2008), but also help predicting size and structure of future population (Lutz and KC 2011). To seek effective method to produce precise results with limited resources, this dissertation compared the Cohort Component Method (CCM) and Hamilton Perry (HP) method to forecast population that are 25 years and older with Associate’s degree and above, and evaluated how factors may impact the accuracy, and how factors interact with each other to influence the …

Sport Labor Migration And Collegiate Sport In The United States: A Typology Of Migrant Athletes, Adam Love, Seungmo Kim

Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics

The global migration of athletes has been increasing in a variety of sporting contexts around the globe. Notably, the past decade has seen a nearly threefold increase in the number of international athletes coming to the United States for the purposes of participating in collegiate sport. In accordance with such growing internationalization, a body of research in the area of sport labor migration has developed. The purposes of the current study were to improve our understanding of the forces that lead athletes to the U.S. in order to participate in collegiate sport and to explicitly connect research on international collegiate …

Cerulean Warbler Technical Group: Coordinating International Research And Conservation., Deanna K. Dawson, T. Bently Wigley, Patrick D. Keyser

Ornitología Neotropical

No abstract provided.

Breeding Season Concerns And Response To Forestmanagement: Can Forest Management Produce More Breeding Birds?, J. L. Larkin, P. B. Wood, T. J. Boves, J. Sheehan, D. A. Buehler, P. D. Keyser, A. D. Rodewald, T. A. Beachy, M. H. Bakermans, A. Evans, G. A. George, M. E. Mcdermott, F. L. Newell, K. A. Perkins, M. White, T. B. Wigley

Ornitología Neotropical

No abstract provided.

Using Molt And Plumage Cycles To Age Tropical : Updates And Recent Advances., Jared D. Wolfe, T. Brandt Ryder, Peter Pyle, E. I. Johnson

Ornitología Neotropical

No abstract provided.

Community Composition And Annual Survival Of Lowland Tropical Forest Birds On The Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica, Scott Wilson, Douglas M. Collister, Amy G. Wilson

Ornitología Neotropical

No abstract provided.