Digital Commons Network^™

Best Practices For Counselors Working With Children Who Have Been Victims Of Sex Trafficking, Samantha Maier

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Commercial sexual exploitation of youth is an umbrella term that includes sex trafficking, and other crimes, as well as receiving an exchange for something of value because of sexual abuse or exploitation of a minor (Perry et al., 2022). Children can develop chronic mental and physical health issues as a result of commercial sexual exploitation (Hickle & Roe-Sepowitz, 2014). Given that these experiences can be traumatic for the child, often leading to trauma-related mental illnesses, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) would be best suited for working with this population. This literature review and training module explore the risk factors, impacts, …

A Trauma Informed Schools Training For High School Educators, Ashlyn Skolness

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

An increasing amount of research has emerged in the last decade emphasizing and imminent need to better meet the emotional needs of students, not only to be more successful in the classroom academically but to improve overall quality of life for their present and future selves. The average student spends approximately 1,080 hours at school in a 180-day school year, thus giving educators a primary role in recognizing and responding to students who appear to be struggling or showing signs of trauma (Nelson, 2022). Over half the US population has reported facing at least one adverse childhood experience, with a …

Most Likely To Succeed: Which Factors Influence College Students In Completing Their Two-Year Computer Degree And Graduating From College, Nathan Blommel

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

For many individuals, researching and finding a college to attend is a wonderful experience. Many students explore college and take multiple courses, but do not finish their intended degree. Past and current studies have identified factors and reasons to why students dropout from college. Two well-known theories include A.W. Astin’s student involvement theory (1984) and Tinto’s (1993) model of college student attrition. The purpose of this study was to identify factors amongst students who graduated and students who did not graduate from a two-year computer degree program. The data derived from the collective stories of those who had experienced it. …

Focus Groups: Perceived Stress And Stress Management Techniques Of Speech-Language Pathology Graduate Students, Emily Karevold

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This qualitative study examined the stress that occurred, and strategies used to alleviate stress during the first semester of Minnesota State University Moorhead Graduate Speech-Language Pathology Master program. Participants were assigned into focus groups of 3-4 individuals and asked open-ended questions and prompts regarding stress encountered during their time in the program but not exclusively related to course work and degree requirements. Students had the opportunity to share their thoughts and feelings about stress experienced during their first semester of graduate school as well as efforts they used to manage stress. Focus group sessions were recorded and transcribed into typed …

Contributing Factors To Special Education Teacher Burnout And Retention, Amy Schulz

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Teacher burnout is an increasing concern as Minnesota state data indicates more teachers leaving the profession in the first five years of their career and fewer individuals emerging from teacher preparation programs. The area of special education continues to be an area of need as the state continues to report special education licenses as areas of deficit to meet the need across the state. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a correlation between burnout and attrition in special education teachers and to analyze the factors contributing to these issues. A voluntary questionnaire was emailed to …

Understanding The Relationship Between Fidgeting, Academic Performance, And Peer Distractibility, Katlyn Watson

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Schools have dealt with an abundance of behavioral issues in the classroom. These behaviors are often off-task and are commonly judged as distracting, negatively impacting the class’s academic performance. The perception of teachers and staff commonly determines the connection between these off-task behaviors and distractibility. However, there is limited direct research into the notion fidgeting causes others to be distracted. The limited research found students self-reported feeling distracted by external stimuli, but did not directly affect academic performance (Massonnié et al., 2022; Phillips et al., 2016). This study was designed to determine the direct impact of fidgeting on peers’ distractibility …

The Relationship Between Mentorship, Career Pathways, And Success In The Superintendency: A Comparative Study Of Men And Women Educational Leaders In Minnesota, Kristin Dehmer

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The superintendent position is the most visible and influential in K-12 Education, responsible for regional, state, and sometimes national educational policy. Despite the majority of teaching positions being held by women, approximately 75% of superintendent positions are held by men (Glass, 2022). In Minnesota, only 22% of women hold superintendent positions (Men=77%) (MASA, 2023). This study examined career pathways and access to mentorship of men and women in Minnesota, analyzed through a theoretical framework of critical feminist theory and a secondary framework of social capital theory. All participants held a current Minnesota Superintendent license, and included current superintendents, retirees, aspiring …

Mastery Learning Approach With Formative Assessment Process To Encourage Student Success In Mathematics Classroom, Erin Kruckenberg

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

The mastery learning approach in education focuses on frequent check ins throughout learning to provide feedback. This feedback helps inform the teacher of how the students are doing and how to adjust lesson plans and activities. This feedback also informs the students of how they are doing in the class and provides the students with the opportunity to practice and learn from mistakes. This research study is an investigation of how the mastery learning approach in the mathematics classroom encourages students by utilizing frequent formative assessment and feedback. The purpose of this research was to determine whether mastery learning using …

The Effect Of Education Path And Nursing Specialty On Knowledge And Attitude Survey Regarding Pain Scores, Justin Cope

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Project

Pain is reported as the number one fear of patients, and has been shown to stop patients from seeking necessary medical treatment in a timely manner. Therefore, it is important that health care professionals be able to properly assess and treat pain. One area not previously studied is how degree path affects knowledge acquisition.

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of structured education and clinical experience on general pain knowledge between traditional and non-traditional Bachelors of Science in Nursing students. Participants of this study include RN-BSN students and pre-licensure BSN students who have completed the Adult …

Evaluating Nurse Comfort Levels Assessing For Depression In An Urban Hospital Setting, Jonathan Shafer, Riley R. Clubb

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Evidence shows that a fraction of nurses are uncomfortable assessing patients for depression. When depression assessments are uncomfortable for the clinician, there may be inconsistencies in practice which can negatively affect patient outcomes. An evidence-based survey was developed and distributed to nurses at an urban hospital in Missouri. The survey assessed nurse's confidence, frequency of assessment, and understanding in evaluating patients for depression. Seventy-three nurses took part in the confidential survey. Thirty percent of the participants reported that they sometimes ask about mood and twenty-one percent reported that they rarely ask about mood. Although results showed that nurses were not …

Temporal Order Memory In Naturalistic Events Is Influenced By Semantic Knowledge And Hierarchical Event Structure, Yining Ding

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

As people go through everyday life, they segment their continuous sensory experience into distinct events, and the event structure being perceived during encoding has important implication on how event dynamics is later reconstructed from long-term memory. Previous studies using discrete pictorial stimuli showed that people are sometimes better at remembering the temporal order of items occurring within the same perceptual context than items spanning across a perceptual boundary, but that the opposite can also occur if contextual cues are available during retrieval. However, given that these paradigms only tested the episodic memory of arbitrary temporal associations, it is unclear if …

Perception And Utilization Of Electronic Databases By Undergraduate Students In Universities In Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, Inemesit Udom Udoh, Glory E. Ekpenyong Mr., Mfon Etefia Ekanem Mrs.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study investigated the perception and utilization of electronic databases by undergraduate students in universities in Akwa-Ibom State, Nigeria. It adopted a descriptive survey design with a study population of 1,116 registered undergraduates-users of Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU) Library and Ritman University Library, out of which 224 undergraduates-users were sampled using the proportionate stratified sampling techniques. Data was collected using a combined instrument of observation checklist, structured questionnaire and unstructured interview. 224 copies of the questionnaire were distributed, but 186 (83%) were retrieved with valid information. Analysis of data was done using frequency count, simple percentage, mean scores and …

Assessment Management In Higher Education, Maytha Al-Ali

All Works

This paper presents key findings from a study conducted with several universities in the GCC region regarding their approach and use of e-Assessment within their learning environments. The study identifies key factors that could impact the use and quality of e-Assessment, and describe how those factors could influence forming a consistent and effective approach to employ a long-term e-Assessment approach. Data was collected from several higher education institutions in the GCC region, using an online survey, in-depth interviews with academic administrators, and direct observation. The study identifies six critical factors that may have a direct or indirect impact on forming …

The Need For A Chainsaw Safety Training Program For Female Forest Landowners, Patrick Hiesl, Janet Steele, Susan T. Guynn

Journal of Extension

Female forest landowners (FFLO) are increasing in numbers but have been marginalized in technical training programs in the past. We conducted chainsaw safety training programs geared towards FFLO and compared program evaluation results with results from male-dominated chainsaw training workshops. FFLO are limited in their technical knowledge at the beginning of a workshop, are more likely to own different types of chainsaws than male participants, and generally liked having a women-only workshop. The takeaway is that FFLO strive in a women-only environment and that more women-focused extension training programs are needed to provide with a safe and inclusive learning environment.

A Needs Assessment Of Extension Staff To Implement Inclusive Programming For Adults With Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities, E. Andrew Pitchford, Christine Hradek, Jody Gatewood, Debra M. Sellers

Journal of Extension

This study is a needs assessment of Extension staff in the state of Iowa to implement inclusive programming for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Electronic surveys were completed by Extension staff on their attitudes and beliefs toward people with IDD, inclusive programming, and training needs. Results showed that Extension staff had positive views, but that staff reporting personal experience with people with IDD had more positive attitudes and beliefs (p

Teachers' Perceptions Of Technology Professional Development And Implementation In An Urban Middle School: A Case Study, Valeria Williams

Dissertations

This qualitative case study focused on understanding teachers’ perceptions of technology-based professional development sessions and the impact of technology requirements on their decisions to remain in or exit the teaching profession. The study involved seven middle school teachers with varying teaching experience and technology backgrounds. Participants shared their insights through journals, interviews, and document notes, which were then organized into themes reflecting their responses to the research questions.

The findings revealed key themes such as the structure and availability of professional learning sessions, facilitators’ positive impact, teachers’ emotions during and after training, optional learning strategies, and how these factors influence …

School Leaders Supporting Undocumented Asian And Black Students, Lorena Tule-Romain

Education Policy and Leadership Theses and Dissertations

There are 5.6 million K-12 students who are either undocumented or living with at least one undocumented parent (Passel & Cohn, 2018). In 2021, FWD.us estimated that approximately 620,000 K-12 students are undocumented; 34% of these students migrated from countries in Asia, sub-Saharan African, and Caribbean countries. These students have unique needs in schools, such as support for lower frequency language services, wraparound supports, and classroom curricula that should account for their cultural heritages and traditions. While scholars have conducted research on the largest group of undocumented students, Latinx, existing knowledge of the students coming from Asian and African countries …

Charting The Evolution Of The Student Digital Champions At The University Of Plymouth, Vivian Hocking, Michaela Moclair, Christie Pritchard

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.

Full Issue

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

No abstract provided.

Bahrdt' S Psychological Portrait Of The Dogmatic Priest In Das Religions-Edikt And Herr Pastor Rindvigius, Timothy Wright

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

'What is enlightenment?' This question, posed to German reading audiences in the autumn of 1783 by the journal Berlinische Monatsschrift, ignited a debate that lasted a decade. While the famous answer, given by the philosopher Immanuel Kant, emphasized enlightenment as, above all else, self-emancipation, others stressed the role of external factors-education and institutions-in promoting the individual's ability to think for himself. Through correct upbringing, education, and laws, the individual and society can be brought to enlightenment, so the thinking went. This latter model accented the importance of human development (Bildung) and institutional reform as a means to facilitate this …

Lds Women And The Teton Dam Disaster Of 1976, Emily Willis

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

June 5, 1976, started like any other spring day in southeastern Idaho. After the cold winter, most of the residents of the numerous farming towns that lie throughout the Upper Snake River Valley found the beautiful Saturday ideal for farm work, gardening, or spring cleaning. About twenty miles northeast of Rexburg, the largest town in the area, the Teton Dam neared completion. A Bureau of Reclamation project, the dam promised to stop the annual flooding that so often decimated portions of farmers' fields along the Teton River. Around 11 o'clock that morning, however, came a terrifying report: the Teton Dam …

Spiritual Chemistry: The Theosophic Roots Of Newtonian Alchemy, Jeffery Tucker

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

The popularization of mathematics in the Modern Era and the subsequent proliferation of technologies have created a cultural environment in which the meaning of 'science' is often assumed to be self-evident. Philosophically, this presumptive consensus derives many of its arguments from Popperian criteria, which seek to delineate the critical differences between 'science' and 'non-science.' These demarcations imply that 'science' is an empiric reality, discoverable in both its methods and qualities. Although Kuhnian relativism has attenuated the robustness of these assertions, the fact remains that many individuals purport to have an intuitive ability to state definitively, "This is science." Such claims …

Satorial Manipulation Within Historical Politics, Heather Dew

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

Fashion's impact on the course of history largely unexplored. Herbert Blumer, a noted sociologist at UC Berkeley, accurately credits this oversight to

"a failure to observe and appreciate the wide range of operation of fashion; a false assumption that fashion has only nivial or peripheral significance; a mistaken idea that fashion falls in the area of the abnormal and irrational and thus is out of the mainsneam of human group life; and, finally, a misunderstanding of the nature of fashion."

Blumer was criticizing sociologists, but he may as well have been criticizing historians; scholarly works analyzing fashion's impact are rare …

Front Matter

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

No abstract provided.

Chinese University Students’ Growth In Critical Thinking: Accounting For School Transition And Selection Effects, Jinwen Luo, Minjeong Jeon, Hong Shen

Chinese/English Journal of Educational Measurement and Evaluation | 教育测量与评估双语期刊

Evaluating cognitive ability and skills development in higher education presents challenges because the focal outcome often serves as, or at least is reflected in, selection criteria for college admission decisions. Additionally, the baseline abilities and skills gained from earlier educational experiences impact students' further learning outcomes. To address these challenges, we propose an integrated framework for estimating students' growth that accounts for lasting transition effects and varying selection effects. Using a nationally representative longitudinal sample of Chinese university students, we found that students experienced medium-sized growth (0.67) in critical thinking skills, with a large effect size observed for evaluating the …

Full Issue, The Migrant

The Migrant - Tennessee Ornithological Society

No abstract provided.

Association Between Psychiatric Diagnosis And Academic Major In College Students, Maryam Ali, Ambika Menon, Amani Carson, Larry Tupler

Research Day

Introduction: Prior literature has highlighted the high prevalence of psychiatric diagnoses amongst college students. We propose that developmental influences that shape the emergence of psychiatric disorders amongst individuals are reflected in early intellectual pursuits. Furthermore, we propose that collegiate institutional stressors relating to these pursuits can further the declaration of a disorder in students with a psychiatric diathesis. Methods: We acquired data anonymously from 1,133 colleges via a Web-based survey of 17,425 students who were ≤ 22 years old. We report the association between psychiatric disorder and choice of academic major in the first collegiate year to illuminate early developmental …

Eating Disorders In Hispanic Females Living In The Us: A Review Of Literature, Yesenia P. Stephens, Natalia Miles

Research Day

INTRODUCTION: According to the United States Census, Hispanics make up 19.1% of the total population, making it the nation’s largest racial or ethnic minority. Of interest, nearly 22% of Hispanic adults report having a mental illness, yet only 36% receive mental health services compared to non-Hispanic Whites (52%).2

OBJECTIVES: There is limited research on diagnosing eating disorders in Hispanic females living in the US. To understand this disparity, the aims of this study are to 1) gain understanding of what psychological constructs are unique to the experience of Hispanic females living in the US and 2) determine the risk factors …

Effects Of Mechanism Of Injury And Socioeconomic Status On Behavioral And Clinical Sequelae In Pediatric Trauma Patients, Rebekah Fayard, Hannah Leblanc, Logan Gold, Rebecca Moreci, Lindsay Elliot, Jessica Zagory

Surgery Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Female Medical Students’ Lived Experiences Of Financial Stress And Coping, Untara Shaikh, Dr. Kimberlee Bonura

Georgia Public Health Association Annual Meeting & Conference

Financial stress is a pervasive concern among medical students, with documented associations with adverse physical health, psychological morbidity, and ineffective coping. This study focuses on understanding the financial stressors female medical students face and the coping strategies they employ. While financial stress and coping mechanisms have been explored in the literature, a notable gap exists in understanding these dynamics among female students.

The study employed a phenomenological research approach to obtain data from the respondents, where data collection involved face-to-face semi-structured interviews. The Adaptation Model of Nursing, complemented by Lazarus and Folkman's Coping Theory, was a comprehensive framework for analyzing …