Digital Commons Network^™

Components Of Successful Distance Learning Programs For Adult English Language Learners, Trisha Mcintyre

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many Adult Basic Education (ABE) programs in the United States to quickly pivot from traditional in-person classes to Distance Learning (DL). After the end of the pandemic, many ABE programs continue to provide flexible and accessible DL options to meet their learners’ needs. This project sought to research different components of DL programming for adult English Language Learners (ELLs) and to look at the indicators of success of those components. Important programmatic considerations are looked at such as technology, instruction, learner onboarding and orientation, and teacher and staff support. This project consists of web pages and …

How Do We Expand Current Notions Of Technology In Science Classrooms, Emanuel Calderon

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question addressed in this study was: How do we expand current notions of technology in science classrooms? The topics reviewed in the literature include the history of technology in secondary education, the use of technology in classrooms, the use of technology in science pedagogy, technology standards in education, technology training for teachers, use of technology during and post-pandemic, job-related stress during covid, technology use of adolescence before and post COVID, and student behavior and mental health. The website created for the project focuses on defining the purpose of technology, providing a training resource that assists teachers in incorporating …

Can You See Yourself In My Classroom? Programming Folk Traditions Into The Elementary Music Setting, Danielle Trebesch

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Can you see yourself in my classroom? Do you hear the songs of your culture being sung, the stories being told, or the dances being danced? How can I help you see yourself? How can I help you feel like you belong? This capstone project was completed to incorporate culturally responsive teaching in the elementary music classroom. I noticed that my student body was becoming more diverse and felt I needed to explore past the norm of teaching Western Music. I wanted all of my students to be able to see and hear the music from their culture. The conclusions …

The History Of The Philosophy Of Science And Its Impacts On Modern Science Education, Rebecca Steele

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This capstone project explores the question of the philosophical ideas that have given rise to modern conventions of teaching and learning science, and what alternatives exist to these methods. By exploring the philosophies that underpin our modern methods of science teaching and learning, and how have they come to dominate the space of scientific thought, the author has created a website resource for teachers to use for professional development, to learn about the philosophical history of science, in order to fully understand the reasons why science operates within specifically empirical and mechanistic paradigms. The project includes an interactive historical timeline …

Second Language Acquisition For General Educators: An Accessible Professional Development Course, Angela Cabreana

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This capstone project was built in response to the research question “How can general education educators learn the process of language acquisition in an accessible way?” With the population of multilingual learners (MLs) in public schools steadily increasing and teacher preparation programs often not preparing teachers for these students, many general education teachers are looking for professional development (PD) on best practices for teaching MLs. Thus the idea for developing a free, asynchronous website professional development course that instructs general educators on the process of second language acquisition (SLA) was born. The literature review explores the theories and processes that …

How Can Educators Develop Relationships With Students That Positively Impact A Student’S Academic And Social Well Being?, Adam Arnst

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This capstone project explores how a well-structured and supportive school environment can impact students socially, emotionally and academically. I want to shed light on the importance of inclusion, connection, and community within a school, and the positive ripple effects it has on students as individuals. The literature review provides more information about student relationships, benefits of positive relationships, students' sense of belonging, and positive reinforcement systems. Chapter three provides a description of the project and how I plan to share and implement my project with my colleagues. The focus of my project is to provide teachers with ways to develop …

Trauma And Executive Function: Discovering And Developing Academic Motivation Interventions For Adolescents In Residential Mental Health Treatment, Jamie Jensen

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This capstone project is a curriculum for adolescents in mental health treatment to address the impact of trauma on academic performance and determine interventions for the development of executive function (EF) skills, including metacognition, perseverance, planning, and organization. The project's central question explored how teaching these skills alongside academic standards can impact self-efficacy and academic performance. The project examined trauma's impact on EF and academics, emphasizing EF's role in academic success. Trauma can hinder EF development, affecting working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility critical for goal-oriented tasks. The project explored how academic motivation, influenced by mindset and resilience, drives …

The Psychosocial Effects Of Chronic Illness And Their Impact On Well-Being And Quality Of Life, Emma Castaldi, Pengshen Li, Sarah Summitt, Michele Shaw

NURS 404/406 Research & Info Management

Research Question: What are the psychosocial effects experienced by individuals coping with chronic illnesses, and how do these effects impact their overall well-being and quality of life?

Mindful Interventions For Ace Exposed Children, Anna Westlund, Sara Curran, Kiki Orozco, Michele Shaw

NURS 404/406 Research & Info Management

Research Question: How do psychological interventions impact health outcomes among children who have experienced ACEs?

The Benefits Of Physical Activity On Recovery Times, Emma Steinhart, Sarah Sarlatte, Elise Cziesla, Michele Shaw

NURS 404/406 Research & Info Management

Research Question: Does physical activity and exercise help with recovering from illness and/or surgery in the adult population?

Electric Vehicle Adoption Behavior And Vehicle Transaction Decision: Estimating An Integrated Choice Model With Latent Variables On A Retrospective Vehicle Survey, Fatemeh Nazari, Mohamadhossein Noruzoliaee, Abolfazl (Kouros) Mohammadian

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Electric vehicles (EVs) promise a sustainable solution to mitigating negative emission externalities of transportation systems caused by fossil-fueled conventional vehicles (CVs). While recent developments in battery technology and charging infrastructure can help evolve the niche market of EVs into the mass market, EVs are yet to be widely adopted by the public. This calls for an in-depth understanding of public adoption behavior of EVs as one dimension of vehicle decision making, which itself may be intertwined with other vehicle decision-making dimensions, especially vehicle transaction. This study presents an integrated choice model with latent variables (ICLV) to investigate households’—as a decision-making …

The Relationship Between Situated Reading Motivation And Perception Of The Learning Environment For Adolescent Students, Travis Vandervelden

Doctoral Dissertations

Reading proficiency is particularly crucial for adolescent students who are expected to adopt and approximate a multitude of authentic literacy practices in several different content areas within the span of a single school day. A large number of adolescent students are failing to master basic levels of reading, and are thus uniquely disadvantaged in secondary schools, where reading is not only more complex, but teachers also spend less time teaching students how to read. Reading motivation has been a focus of research to address the lack of reading proficiency in classrooms. An understudied area within this field of research is …

The Effects Of Ict On Higher Education In Mexico, Wietse De Vries, Germán Álvarez-Mendiola

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

Special Issue

International Student Crisis Management To Covid-19: A Comparative Analysis Between The United States And South Korea, Jeong Youn Lee, Bawool Hong, Jenny J. Lee

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

No abstract provided.

Acculturative Stress, Chinese Proactive Coping, Future Time Perspective, And Subjective Well-Being Among Chinese International Students In The U.S.: A Moderation Model, Siming Xie, Charles R. Ridley

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

No abstract provided.

What Factors Within The Context Of A Romantic Relationship And The Couple’S Finances Are Related To The Level Of Religiosity Among Contemporary Emerging Adults?, Brandan E. Wheeler, Joe D. Wilmoth, Tommy M. Phillips, Cecilia Brooks

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

Research has identified the beneficial nature of spirituality/religiosity towards people’s general, psychological, and relational well-being despite a decline in religiosity among Americans, particularly among the younger generations. Research also suggests religiosity influences important relational factors, such as entering cohabiting relationships, but that these relational factors may also influence participants’ level of religiosity in a reciprocal effect. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to explore how demographic, relational, and financial factors influence young adults’ level of religiosity within the context of a romantic relationship and the couples’ finances. Results from the current study suggest the length of the relationship …

Youth Sparks Via 4-H: Relations With Program Quality, Dosage, And Involvement, Alexandra Skrocki, Gary Ellis, Andrea Ettekal, Darlene Locke

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

Using a statewide sample of participants in 4-H programs, we tested associations among youth sparks, program quality, program dosage, and four types of involvement (breadth of participation in out-of-school-time beyond 4-H, scope of learning strategies, degree of specialization, and cumulative program immersion). Participants were 180 Texas 4-H alumni who graduated from high school in 2013 and 2014 and had two or more years of involvement in Texas 4-H programs. Data were collected via an electronic questionnaire based on a database of former Texas 4-H members. Twelve hypotheses were tested, linking program quality to sparks through indirect and direct relations. Eleven …

Voices Of The Future: A Healing Ethno-Racial Trauma Approach To Financial Education Within African American Communities, Tonia Brinston, Chalandra M. Bryant, Sharon E. Powell, Joyce Serido

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

In this article, we describe the process we adopted in designing a financial education intervention situated within the cultural and systemic realities of structural racism in Black communities and offer new insights on conducting financial education that addresses healing from ethno-racial trauma. We adopted a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach and assembled a Community Led Advisory (CLA) group to discuss how to address social and economic inequalities in teaching financial education. Specifically, we sought to address the psychological consequences of racism, income scarcity, and other forms of economic distress and what it means for people’s lives and their everyday ability …

Dean, Chairs And Program Directors List 2023-2024 (Spring), Saint Mary's College Of California

Chairs and Program Directors lists

No abstract provided.

Six Months To Live, Jessica Bloom

Yalobusha Review

No abstract provided.

The (Dis)Advantages Of Device Free Time: A Mixed -Methods Digital Detox Study, Sandrah Burrill

Longwood Senior Theses

Digital detox practices are periods of device restriction, reduction, or abstinence aimed to seek improvements in the negative outcomes associated with frequent device use. There are numerous gaps in digital detox literature including unsustainable periods of detox, imprecise definitions of digital detox, a lack of investigation into mediating mental health constructs, no collection of participant-driven qualitative data, and a failure to control for compensatory behaviors. Gaps like these could account for continued mixed findings in areas like anxiety, depression, and life satisfaction, salient to mental well-being. The present study aims to further parse the role that device-free time plays in …

Diachronic Demographic Patterns Of Enslaved People At Mulberry Hill, Quincey Urban

Longwood Senior Theses

The Atlantic Slave Trade was responsible for forcibly importing captive Africans to North and South America as enslaved laborers for white plantation owners. This process acted as a catalyst for the creolization of enslaved African communities inside plantations across the Americas. This research thesis discusses the diachronic demographics of one such plantation community, Mulberry Hill, located in Charlotte County, Virginia. The goal is to determine which of the enslaved Africans were brought to the planation directly from Africa, and which ones were acquired from existing plantations in the Americas. The specific combination of these sources for Mulberry Hill’s enslaved community …

Multigenerational Consequences Of Environment And Loss On Maternal Behavior, Anxiety, Boldness, And Memory In Rats, Alayna Palamar

Longwood Senior Theses

Maternal behavior has long been studied for the implications it presents for offspring outcomes. In the present study, we examined the interplay between the positive effects of environmental enrichment and the negative consequences of loss – defined as a 50% litter cull – on both mothers and their offspring. In this multigenerational study, maternal Sprague Dawley rats were separated into one of four of the following conditions: enriched/control, enriched/loss, standard/control, and standard/loss. Maternal rats (P generation) were assessed using the following behavioral assays: Elevated Plus Maze (EPM) for anxiety-like behavior and boldness, Object Location Maze (OLM) for spatial memory, and …

Everyone Deserves A Dental Home, Loren C. Baim Dds

The New York State Dental Journal

With knowledge and preparation, dental practices should be able to accommodate the growing population of people on the autism spectrum.

Does A Reduction In Receiving Assistance With Daily Activities Among Older Adults In Mexico Indicate An Increase In Unmet Needs Or A Decrease In Needs For Care?, Brian Downer, Rafael Samper-Ternent, Philip Cantu, Matthew Miller, Rebeca Wong

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVES: The percentage of older adults in Mexico with difficulty completing activities of daily living (ADL) who receive assistance from family appears to be decreasing. We compared 2 birth cohorts of older adults in Mexico to investigate whether this trend reflects an increase in unmet caregiving needs or a decrease in the need for care.

METHODS: We selected Mexican Health and Aging Study participants aged 60-76 in 2001 (n = 4,805) and 2018 (n = 6,494). ADL tasks were dressing, walking, bathing, getting in and out of bed, and toileting. Participants who reported difficulty with an ADL were asked if …

The Dementia Care Study (D-Care): Recruitment Strategies And Demographic Characteristics Of Participants In A Pragmatic Randomized Trial Of Dementia Care, Mia Yang, Rafael Samper-Ternent, Elena Volpi, Aval-Na'ree Green, Maya Lichtenstein, Katy Araujo, Pamela Borek, Peter Charpentier, James Dziura, Thomas M Gill, Rebecca Galloway, Erich J Greene, Kristin Lenoir, Peter Peduzzi, Can Meng, Jordan Reese, Amy Shelton, Eleni A Skokos, Jenny Summapund, Erin Unger, David B Reuben, Jeff D Williamson, Alan B Stevens

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: Pragmatic research studies that include diverse dyads of persons living with dementia (PLWD) and their family caregivers are rare.

METHODS: Community-dwelling dyads were recruited for a pragmatic clinical trial evaluating three approaches to dementia care. Four clinical trial sites used shared and site-specific recruitment strategies to enroll health system patients.

RESULTS: Electronic health record (EHR) queries of patients with a diagnosis of dementia and engagement of their clinicians were the main recruitment strategies. A total of 2176 dyads were enrolled, with 80% recruited after the onset of the pandemic. PLWD had a mean age of 80.6 years (SD 8.5), …

Differential Effects Of Type 2 Diabetes Treatment Regimens On Diabetes Distress And Depressive Symptoms In The Glycemia Reduction Approaches In Diabetes: A Comparative Effectiveness Study (Grade), Jeffrey S Gonzalez, Ionut Bebu, Heidi Krause-Steinrauf, Claire J Hoogendoorn, Gladys Crespo-Ramos, Caroline Presley, Aanand D Naik, Shihchen Kuo, Mary L Johnson, Deborah Wexler, Jill P Crandall, Anne E Bantle, Valerie Arends, Andrea L Cherrington

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: We evaluated whether adding basal insulin to metformin in adults with early type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) would increase emotional distress relative to other treatments.

Research design and methods: The Glycemia Reduction Approaches in Diabetes: A Comparative Effectiveness Study (GRADE) of adults with T2DM of < 10 years' duration, HbA1c 6.8-8.5%, and taking metformin monotherapy randomly assigned participants to add insulin glargine U-100, sulfonylurea glimepiride, the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist liraglutide, or the dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitor sitagliptin. The Emotional Distress Substudy enrolled 1,739 GRADE participants (mean [SD] age 58.0 [10.2] years, 32% female, 56% non-Hispanic White, 18% non-Hispanic Black, 17% Hispanic) and assessed diabetes distress and depressive symptoms every 6 months. Analyses examined differences at 1 year and over the 3-year follow-up.

Results: Across treatments, diabetes distress (-0.24, P < 0.0001) and depressive symptoms (-0.67, P < 0.0001) decreased over 1 year. Diabetes distress was lower at 1 year for the glargine group than for the other groups combined (-0.10, P = 0.002). Diabetes distress was also lower for liraglutide than for glimepiride or sitagliptin (-0.10, P = 0.008). Over the 3-year follow-up, there were no significant group differences in total diabetes distress; interpersonal diabetes distress remained lower for those assigned to liraglutide. No significant differences were observed for depressive symptoms.

Conclusions: Contrary to expectations, this randomized trial found no evidence for a deleterious effect of basal insulin on emotional distress. Glargine lowered diabetes distress modestly at 1 year rather than increasing it. Liraglutide also reduced diabetes distress at 1 year. Results can inform treatment decisions for adults …

Does Emotional Distress Predict Worse Glycemic Control Over Time? Results From The Glycemia Reduction Approaches In Diabetes: A Comparative Effectiveness Study (Grade), Andrea L Cherrington, Ionut Bebu, Heidi Krause-Steinrauf, Claire J Hoogendoorn, Gladys Crespo-Ramos, Caroline Presley, Aanand D Naik, Ashok Balasubramanyam, Michaela R Gramzinski, Tina Killean, Valerie L Arends, Jeffrey S Gonzalez

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: To evaluate whether baseline levels of depressive symptoms and diabetes-specific distress are associated with glycemic control in Glycemia Reduction Approaches in Diabetes: A Comparative Effectiveness Study (GRADE), a large randomized controlled trial comparing the metabolic effects of four common glucose-lowering medications when combined with metformin in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Research design and methods: The primary and secondary outcomes were defined as an HbA1c value ≥7%, subsequently confirmed, and an HbA1c value >7.5%, subsequently confirmed, respectively. Separate Cox proportional hazards models assessed the association between baseline levels of each exposure of interest (depressive symptoms measured with …

Emotional Distress Predicts Reduced Type 2 Diabetes Treatment Adherence In The Glycemia Reduction Approaches In Diabetes: A Comparative Effectiveness Study (Grade), Claire J Hoogendoorn, Heidi Krause-Steinrauf, Diane Uschner, Hui Wen, Caroline A Presley, Elizabeth A Legowski, Aanand D Naik, Sherita Hill Golden, Valerie L Arends, Janet Brown-Friday, Jonathan A Krakoff, Colleen E Suratt, Andrea H Waltje, Andrea L Cherrington, Jeffrey S Gonzalez

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: We examined longitudinal associations between emotional distress (specifically, depressive symptoms and diabetes distress) and medication adherence in Glycemia Reduction Approaches in Diabetes: A Comparative Effectiveness Study (GRADE), a large randomized controlled trial comparing four glucose-lowering medications added to metformin in adults with relatively recent-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Research design and methods: The Emotional Distress Substudy assessed medication adherence, depressive symptoms, and diabetes distress in 1,739 GRADE participants via self-completed questionnaires administered biannually up to 3 years. We examined baseline depressive symptoms and diabetes distress as predictors of medication adherence over 36 months. Bidirectional visit-to-visit relationships were also …

Transitioning From An In-Person Intervention To Augmented Text Messaging During Covid-19 In Mexican Americans With Prediabetes: The Starr County Diabetes Prevention Randomized Clinical Trial, Sharon A Brown, Mary A Winter, Heather A Becker, Alexandra A García, Mary M Velasquez, Hirofumi Tanaka, William B Perkison, Eric L Brown, David Aguilar, Craig L Hanis

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to explore the feasibility of using commonly available technology, such as text messaging, for diabetes prevention in rural Mexican American communities during COVID-19.

METHODS: Participants were selected from a diabetes prevention study funded by the National Institutes of Health that, prior to COVID-19, involved in-person group intervention sessions. Participants were predominantly female adults born in Mexico and Spanish-speaking. A subsample (n = 140) was divided into 3 cohorts: (1) 50 who completed the initial in-person intervention prior to the COVID-19 research pause, (2) 60 who needed additional support sessions to complete the intervention …