Digital Commons Network^™

Building A Better Teacher Evaluation System, Amanda Melsby

Theses and Dissertations

The teacher evaluation process has been an area of study for decades because of its complexity. Going back to one-room schoolhouses, teaching has always been an isolated profession—usually a room, a teacher, and students. Other colleagues or administrators are not participants in the classroom most of the time, which creates difficulties for effectively evaluating a teacher and providing feedback that will help a teacher grow and develop.This study explored the teacher evaluation process, how it can be more effective to teachers in building their capacity and improving their practice at the secondary level, and how the evaluation process can be …

Via-Is-M And Latinx Cultural Strengths: A Study Validation & Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Caroline Perez

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study, and its focus on Latinx adults is two-fold: to validate the VIA-IS-M in a US-Latinx sample, and to explore whether Latinx cultural values of personalismo, familismo, and religiosity converge conceptually with the virtues within the VIA-IS-M. The proposed survey uses positive psychology as the theoretical basis (Parks & Biswas-Diener, 2013). A pull within the positive psychological research is addressed, specifically the merits of cultural transcendence or cultural integration (Jeglic, Miranda, & Polanco-Roman, 2016). For many years now, a flagship survey tool by Peterson and Seligman (2004) called the Values-in-Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS) has been …

Teaching Professionalism To Undergraduate Medical Laboratory Science Students Using Virtually Simulated Case Studies, Samantha Peterson

Theses and Dissertations

Professionalism is a required curricular component in accredited medical laboratory science (MLS) programs in the United States and is a critical element for career success and optimal patient care. A standardized definition of professionalism in MLS, however, has yet to be established. This poses a challenge to MLS programs when pertaining to teaching professionalism to MLS students. To explore a novel method for teaching professionalism in MLS, interactive and virtually simulated case studies were designed and built to cover three professional behaviors required of MLS professionals. Before and after case study completion, students (n= 49) responded to a survey designed …

Assessing Neuropsychological Changes Post Covid-19 Infection Using The Global Neuropsychological Assessment, Jeremy M. Raines

Theses and Dissertations

COVID-19 is characterized by a respiratory syndrome with severity ranging from mild upper respiratory tract illness to severe interstitial pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Although physical symptoms are most common in those infected with COVID-19, patients may present with several neuropsychiatric sequelae caused by direct central nervous system infection, neuroinflammation, and/or prolonged hypoxia encephalitis. Though extent literature on COVID-19 related cognitive decline is still in its infancy, it has been suggested neurological impairment is most common in those with severe symptom presentation, requiring hospitalization and among those who have experienced hypoxic events. In the current study, sixty-two healthy controls …

Factors That Influence Decision-Making In Insanity Cases, Destinye Runions

Theses and Dissertations

The insanity defense has been one of the most hotly debated issues in criminal law for centuries. Jurors are generally hostile to the insanity defense and people with psychological disorders and often fail to find defendants insane even when an insanity verdict is warranted. The current study attempted to determine why jurors are hostile to the insanity defense and people with psychological disorders. Participants read one of two case vignettes depicting a defendant suffering from paranoid schizophrenia who committed murder. The vignettes differed in how sympathetic the defendant is in the vignettes, and how dangerous the defendant is to society. …

Buckling Behavior Of Metallic Thin-Walled Stiffened Cylindrical Shells Under Static Loading, Fnu Tabish

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis aims to estimate and improve the buckling strength of the cylindrical storage tanks under static loadings. Initially, for the verification of the overall performance of the numerical modeling approach; a computational analysis was conducted to calculate the linear buckling behaviour of empty cylindrical shells with different H/D and D/t ratios using ANSYS workbench 2021. Results revealed that the FE models accurately predict static critical buckling stress which is mainly depends on the D/t ratio. The solution of the buckling analysis provides multiple buckling mode shapes and critically buckling load values. Those mode shapes (eigenvectors) can indicate the expected …

Perinatal Mental Health For Indigenous Women And Birthing People, Amy Lynn Stiffarm

Theses and Dissertations

Before for the impacts of colonization, Indigenous women and birthing people were deeply cared for by their communities during pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period.There is a serious lack of literature on perinatal mental health (PMH) for Indigenous Peoples in the US. Based on what limited data does exist, high rates of PMH complications are consistently reported for Indigenous birthing people. Exploring the unique circumstances experienced by Indigenous birthing people is crucial to addressing the PMH disparity gap. A concept map illustrating the systematic, community, and individual levels of PMH complications for Indigenous Peoples was used to organize and guide …

Hmong Parent Engagement: The Need To Provide Basic Needs Services In Hmong Charter Schools To Increase Parent Engagement, Kevin Xiong

Theses and Dissertations

The Hmong diaspora and settlement in the United States have a direct impact on how Hmong parents engage in their children’s academic journey. With the viewpoint of traditional Westernized parent engagement, Hmong parents may be perceived as engaging too little. However, in order for Hmong parents to be involved in their children’s educational journey as part of this Westernized concept, it is imperative that the families’ basic needs are met. Otherwise, they will primarily focus on meeting their fundamental basic needs rather than being engaged in their children’s academic progress. This research explored two Hmong charter schools in the Twin …

Objective Response To Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy In Nras-Mutant Melanoma: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Zachary J Jaeger, Neel S Raval, Natalia K A Maverakis, David Y Chen, George Ansstas, Angela Hardi, Lynn A Cornelius

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION:

METHODS: We performed a comprehensive literature search across several large databases. Inclusion criteria were trials, cohorts, and large case series that analyzed the primary outcome of objective response rate by

RESULTS: Data on 1770 patients from ten articles were pooled for meta-analysis, and the objective response rate to ICIs was calculated to compare

DISCUSSION: In this meta-analysis evaluating the impact of

The Pace Of Biological Aging Helps Explain The Association Between Insomnia And Chronic Low Back Pain, Edwin N Aroke, Asia M Wiggins, Joanna M Hobson, Vinodh Srinivasasainagendra, Tammie L Quinn, Pooja Kottae, Hemant K Tiwari, Robert E Sorge, Burel R Goodin

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Chronic low back pain (cLBP) is associated with insomnia and advanced age. Emerging evidence suggests that the severity of both sleep disorders (like insomnia) and chronic pain are associated with a faster pace of biological aging. We aimed to determine whether the pace of biological age mediates the relationship between insomnia and the impact of cLBP in a sample of community-dwelling adults ages 19 to 85 years. Participants (49 with no pain, 32 with low-impact pain, and 37 with high-impact pain) completed sociodemographic, pain, insomnia, and short physical performance battery assessments. We calculated the pace of biological aging using DunedinPACE …

Recruitment Methods And Yield Rates For A Multisite Clinical Trial Exploring Risk Reduction For Alzheimer's Disease (Rrad), Amanda N Szabo-Reed, Monica Sewell, Ellen F Binder, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: The risk reduction for Alzheimer's disease (rrAD) trial was a multisite clinical trial to assess exercise and intensive vascular pharmacological treatment on cognitive function in community-dwelling older adults at increased risk for Alzheimer's disease.

METHODS: Eligibility, consent, and randomization rates across different referral sources were compared. Informal interviews conducted with each site's project team were conducted upon study completion.

RESULTS: Initially, 3290 individuals were screened, of whom 28% were eligible to consent, 805 consented to participate (87.2% of those eligible), and 513 (36.3% of those consented) were randomized. Emails sent from study site listservs/databases yielded the highest amount (20.9%) …

Critcom: Assessment Of Quality Of Interdisciplinary Communication Around Deterioration In Pediatric Oncologic Patients, Jocelyn Rivera, Sara Malone, Kim Prewitt, Lara Counts, Douglas A Luke, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: High-quality clinical care requires excellent interdisciplinary communication, especially during emergencies, and no tools exist to evaluate communication in critical care. We describe the development of a pragmatic tool focusing on interdisciplinary communication during patient deterioration (CritCom).

METHODS: The preliminary CritCom tool was developed after a literature review and consultation with a multidisciplinary panel of global experts in communication, pediatric oncology, and critical care to review the domains and establish content validity iteratively. Face and linguistic validity were established through cognitive interviews, translation, and linguistic synthesis. We conducted a pilot study among an international group of clinicians to establish reliability …

Down Syndrome And Alzheimer's Disease: A Scoping Review Of Functional Performance And Fall Risk, Selena E Washington, Emily Cler, Cameron Lowery, Susan L Stark

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Alzheimer's disease (AD) occurs in aging adults with Down syndrome (DS) at a higher prevalence and an earlier age than in typical aging adults. As with the general aging adult population, there is an urgent need to understand the preclinical and early phases of AD progression in the adult population with DS. The aim of this scoping review was to synthesize the current state of the evidence and identify gaps in the literature regarding functional activity performance and falls and their significance to disease staging (i.e., mild, moderate, and severe defined staging criteria) in relation to Alzheimer's disease and …

Feasibility And Acceptability Of Remote Smartphone Cognitive Testing In Frontotemporal Dementia Research, Jack Carson Taylor, Nupur Ghoshal, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Remote smartphone assessments of cognition, speech/language, and motor functioning in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) could enable decentralized clinical trials and improve access to research. We studied the feasibility and acceptability of remote smartphone data collection in FTD research using the ALLFTD Mobile App (ALLFTD-mApp).

METHODS: A diagnostically mixed sample of 214 participants with FTD or from familial FTD kindreds (asymptomatic: CDR®+NACC-FTLD = 0 [

RESULTS: It was feasible for participants to complete the ALLFTD-mApp on their own smartphones. Participants reported high smartphone familiarity, completed ∼ 70% of tasks, and considered the time commitment acceptable (98% of respondents). Greater disease severity …

Public Feminisms: From Academy To Community, Carrie N. Baker, Aviva Dove-Viebahn

Open Educational Resources: Textbooks

The field of feminist studies grew from the U.S. women’s movements of the 1960s and 1970s and has continued to be deeply connected to ongoing movements for social justice. As educational institutions are increasingly seeing public scholarship and community engagement as relevant and fruitful complements to traditional academic work, feminist scholars have much to offer in demonstrating different ways to inform and interact with various communities. In this collection, a diverse range of feminist scholar-activists write about the dynamic and varied methods they use to reach beyond traditional classrooms and scholarly journals to share their work with the public. Here …

Neurobridge: A Prototype Platform For Discovery Of The Long-Tail Neuroimaging Data, Lei Wang, Janine Bijsterbosch, Rick Herrick, Daniel Marcus, Stephen M Moore, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Open science initiatives have enabled sharing of large amounts of already collected data. However, significant gaps remain regarding how to find appropriate data, including underutilized data that exist in the long tail of science. We demonstrate the NeuroBridge prototype and its ability to search PubMed Central full-text papers for information relevant to neuroimaging data collected from schizophrenia and addiction studies.

METHODS: The NeuroBridge architecture contained the following components: (1) Extensible ontology for modeling study metadata: subject population, imaging techniques, and relevant behavioral, cognitive, or clinical data. Details are described in the companion paper in this special issue; (2) A …

Barriers To And Solutions For Representative Inclusion Across The Lifespan And In Life Course Research: The Need For Structural Competency Highlighted By The Covid-19 Pandemic, Madison N Lecroy, Ebony B Carter, Sarah S Farabi, Dominic N Reeds, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Exclusion of special populations (older adults; pregnant women, children, and adolescents; individuals of lower socioeconomic status and/or who live in rural communities; people from racial and ethnic minority groups; individuals from sexual or gender minority groups; and individuals with disabilities) in research is a pervasive problem, despite efforts and policy changes by the National Institutes of Health and other organizations. These populations are adversely impacted by social determinants of health (SDOH) that reduce access and ability to participate in biomedical research. In March 2020, the Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute hosted the "Lifespan and Life Course Research: integrating …

How Penalizing Substance Use In Pregnancy Affects Treatment And Research: A Qualitative Examination Of Researchers' Perspectives, Seema K Shah, Leishla Perez-Cardona, Khrystyna Helner, Suena H Massey, Ashish Premkumar, Renee Edwards, Elizabeth S Norton, Cynthia E Rogers, Emily S Miller, Christopher D Smyser, Matthew M Davis, Lauren S Wakschlag

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Laws regulating substance use in pregnancy are changing and may have unintended consequences on scientific efforts to address the opioid epidemic. Yet, how these laws affect care and research is poorly understood.

METHODS: We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews using purposive and snowball sampling of researchers who have engaged pregnant people experiencing substance use. We explored views on laws governing substance use in pregnancy and legal reform possibilities. Interviews were double coded. Data were examined using thematic analysis.

RESULTS: We interviewed 22 researchers (response rate: 71 per cent) and identified four themes: (i) harms of punitive laws, (ii) negative legal …

Study Protocol: A Cross-Sectional Survey Of Clinicians To Identify Barriers To Clinical Practice Guideline Implementation In The Assessment And Treatment Of Persistent Tic Disorders, Jaclyn M. Martindale, Harini Sarva, Davide Martino, Donald L. Gilbert, Christos Ganos, Tamara Pringsheim, Kevin J. Black, Irene A. Malaty

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Eight members of the International Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Society Tic and Tourette Syndrome Study Group formed a subcommittee to discuss further barriers to practice guideline implementation. Based on expert opinion and literature review, the consensus was that practice variations continue to be quite broad and that many barriers in different clinical settings might negatively influence the adoption of the American Academy of Neurology and the European Society for the Study of Tourette Syndrome published guidelines.

OBJECTIVES: 1) To identify how clinical practices diverge from the existing American Academy of Neurology and European Society for the Study of …

Factor Structure Of The International Trauma Questionnaire In Trauma Exposed Lgbtq Plus Adults: Role Of Cumulative Traumatic Events And Minority Stress Heterosexist Experiences, Ruby Charak, Ines Cano-Gonzalez, Roman Ronzón-Tirado, Julian D. Ford, Brianna M. Byllesby, Mark Shevlin, Thanos Karatzias, Philip Hyland, Marylene Cloitre

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

Exposure to prolonged and/or multiple types of psychological trauma and stressors has been shown to be more strongly associated with ICD-11 complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) than posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans- and queer adults (LGBTQ+) are at a heightened risk of exposure to traumatic events, and minority stressors including harassment, discrimination, rejection by family, and isolation. Objective: To examine the factor structure of the international trauma questionnaire (ITQ), a self-report measure of PTSD and CPTSD, and the associations of cumulative lifetime trauma exposure assessed via the life events checklist and minority stress assessed via the daily …

A Randomized Implementation Trial To Increase Adoption Of Evidence-Informed Consent Practices, Erin D Solomon, Jessica Mozersky, Melody Goodman, Meredith V Parsons, Kari A Baldwin, Annie B Friedrich, Jenine K Harris, James M Dubois

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Several evidence-informed consent practices (ECPs) have been shown to improve informed consent in clinical trials but are not routinely used. These include optimizing consent formatting, using plain language, using validated instruments to assess understanding, and involving legally authorized representatives when appropriate. We hypothesized that participants receiving an implementation science toolkit and a social media push would have increased adoption of ECPs and other outcomes.

METHODS: We conducted a 1-year trial with clinical research professionals in the USA (

RESULTS: Participants who engaged more with the toolkit were more likely to have tried to implement an ECP during the trial …

Community School Programming, Timothy D Gilbert

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Contemporary educational legislation is pushing a resurgence of historic educational program models to meet historic and contemporary barriers to student and school achievement. School districts, especially in urban centers are faced with increased challenges in meeting needs to ensure their achievement. These challenges include meeting the unique needs of students more frequently affected by barriers created by community poverty. School reform programs such as the Community Schools are being popularized to support underperforming schools, especially those serving high-poverty communities. This project reviewed comprehensive research regarding Community Schools including descriptions of their structures, their features and evidence of their effectiveness. The …

Misidentifying English Language Learners With Learning Disabilities, Suzan Cevheroglu

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the multifaceted issue of misidentifying English Language Learners (ELLs) with learning disabilities (LDs) in the educational system. The study begins by delving into the complicated reasons underlying such misidentifications, recognizing the significance of understanding the complex interplay between language acquisition challenges and learning disabilities. Utilizing empirical evidence and conducting an extensive literature review, the research uncovers the intricate factors contributing to the misidentification of ELLs, including linguistic diversity, cultural biases, and the limitations of assessment tools. Following this exploration of the problem's dimensions, the thesis outlines solutions designed to prevent the misidentification of ELLs with LDs. These …

Projecting Wheat Demand In China And India For 2030 And 2050: Implications For Food Security, Khondoker Abdul Mottaleb, Gideon Kruseman, Aymen Frija, Kai Sonder, Santiago Lopez-Ridaura

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Faculty Publications and Presentations

Introduction: The combined populations of China and India were 2.78 billion in 2020, representing 36% of the world population (7.75 billion). Wheat is the second most important staple grain in both China and India. In 2019, the aggregate wheat consumption in China was 96.4 million ton and in India it was 82.5 million ton, together it was more than 35% of the world's wheat that year. In China, in 2050, the projected population will be 1294–1515 million, and in India, it is projected to be 14.89–1793 million, under the low and high-fertility rate assumptions. A question arises as to, what …

Damages For Tortious Harm To Pets: Minnesota's Market Value Approach Severely Undercompensates Plaintiffs, Morgan Phelps

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.

Mis Dos Pueblos Fronterizos / My Two Border Towns (2021) By David Bowles, Amy Reed-Sandoval

Picture Books

When children talk about migration and displacement, they generally speak and inquire about people. Why are some people forced to leave their homes—or why was I forced to leave my home? Why won’t other countries let them in—or why won’t other countries let my family and me in? What does it feel like to live in a shelter, or in a refugee camp, or on a bridge between two countries—or why must my family live this way, while others do not? This picture book shows how philosophical questions about migration can be inspired by, and embedded in, communities and characters …

Empowering Educators: Enhancing Teacher Efficacy In Rural Schools Through Innovative Professional Development For Teachers Of English Language Learners, Jody Lynn Maanum

Theses and Dissertations

The National Center for Educational Statistics’ [NCES] 2021 annual report indicates that there are currently over five million English Language Learners (ELLs) in U.S. schools. Of additional importance to this statistic is that the growing wave of diversity is no longer primarily settling in the larger metropolitan areas, but ELLs and their families are more recently finding themselves in geographically rural areas. The school systems in these rural areas face unique challenges in meeting the needs of the growing diverse populations, with many teachers in these systems lacking best practice knowledge and the confidence and competence needed to meet the …

Community College Strategic Planning: An Examination Of Implementation, Assessment, And Evaluation Practices, Aaron Miller Prestwich

Theses and Dissertations

Strategic planning is the process in which organizations develop goals and objectives that drive actions for the purpose of fulfilling their institutional mission. This paper addresses how strategic planning can be utilized at community colleges. A review of relevant literature is also included. A qualitative case study research methodology was used to examine three main research questions. 1. How do community colleges evaluate their strategic planning processes in determining the achievement of their strategic plan’s desired results? 2. In what ways, if any, do community colleges assess and define the successful implementation of their strategic plan initiatives? 3. What, if …

An Exploration Of The Meaning Of The Phenomenon Of Hope, In The Context Of Hopelessness, For Rural Frontline Registered Nurses In South Dakota, North Dakota, And Minnesota During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Stephanie Jean Orth

Theses and Dissertations

Background & Purpose: This study’s purpose was to understand what the phenomenon of hope meant to rural critical access hospital RNs in three Midwest states, and what gave them hope during the COVID-19 pandemic. The full scope of the pandemic on the rural nursing workforce is unknown. Prior research has shown that hope can be a positive tool for sustaining psychological well-being, setting and achieving goals, and can facilitate coping (Collins, Bhathal, Field, Larlee, Paje, & Young, 2018; Hacimusalar, Kahve, & Aydin, 2020; Persell, 2016; Snyder, 1995). Methods: Ten participants were interviewed using a semi-structured, interpretive hermeneutic phenomenological approach. van …

Application Of Artificial Treatment Wetland Systems In The English Coulee, Michael Anthony Rosati

Theses and Dissertations

Artificial treatment wetlands are commonly used for treating urban stormwater runoffand surface waters affected by agricultural runoff. While this method is well-established, its effectiveness can vary based on environmental, design, and hydraulic factors. In Grand Forks, ND, the English Coulee, a hydraulically altered class III stream, is currently experiencing elevated nutrient pollution, specifically nitrates and phosphates. Implementing a floating treatment wetland (FTW) system in the English Coulee is a potential solution. This paper analyzes the feasibility and requirements for a 4.64 ha FTW to achieve a minimum of 50% nutrient removal, utilizing comprehensive modeling approaches. Through HEC-HMS and HECRAS simulations, …