Education Commons^™

Gretchen's Family, Barbara A. Soard

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the Caudill College of Humanities at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by Barbara A. Soard in December of 2008.

The Impact Of A Community Leadership Academy In A Midwestern County On Graduates' Attitudes And Behavior Toward Community Trusteeship, Robert Harrison

Dissertations

This qualitative case study was designed to investigate how graduates of a community leadership academy changed their attitudes and behaviors toward community trusteeship and changed their level of community involvement. The research was intended to determine whether participation in a community leadership academy builds in graduates an awareness of community issues, develops leadership skills and creates an understanding of the value of community trusteeship resulting in an increase in community involvement.

The findings of the study were based on a sample of graduates who did or did not perceive any change following participation. Data collection techniques included a participant information …

Factors Associated With Attitudes Toward Learning In An Online Environment: Transactional Distance, Technical Efficacy, And Physical Surroundings, Jodi Elizabeth Pettazzoni

Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between a student's environment in an online course and their academic achievement. This study surveyed students who completed world literature classes in an online format that were part of their universities' general education curricula. Students responded to items assessing several constructs and personal demographic variables that together defined their learning environments: content, delivery, assessment and feedback, technical support, learner experience with technology, learner experience with distance learning, interaction, physical space, support network, characteristics of adult learners, and major. Academic achievement was the dependent variable and was defined as anticipated grade in the course. Using Spearman …

Post-Disaster Effects Of Hurricane Katrina On Significantly Affected College Students Compared To Moderately Affected College Students, Charles Thomas Coleman

Dissertations

This quantitative study used independent t tests to explore the level of significance with four dependent variables of educational effects (grades), financial impact (monetary hardship), physiological effects (aches, pains, or injury), and psychological effects (mental stability or illness) related to significantly affected students and moderately affected students of post- Hurricane Katrina. To determine if there was a significant difference between moderately affected students compared to significantly affected students, a questionnaire specific to the dependent variables was administered to The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) students.

Data gathered in this study suggested the greatest significant difference among significantly affected students and …

First-First Year Academically Underprepared Students' Judgments Of Their Perceived Academic Advising Needs And Preferences And Their Level Of Satisfaction And Intention To Persist At The University Of Southern Mississippi, Jennifer Lorean Ducksworth

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine which of the two dominant advising approaches, prescriptive (advisor focused) or developmental (relational focused), academically underprepared students preferred and to determine if this student population's advising relationships, experiences, and activities contribute to their level of satisfaction and their intent to persist at the participating university the following semester.

To read the full abstract of this dissertation, please click on "download" in the upper right-hand corner of this page.

Knowledge Of Pain Management In Older Adults As A Content Area For Continuing Professional Education For Licensed Nurses, Wanda Cleveland Dubuisson

Dissertations

The research of the last 30 years has revealed the inadequacy of pain management in the older adult. Although evidenced-based clinical practice guidelines exist to direct the management of pain in the older adult, health care providers are either unaware or lack the proper understanding of the guidelines. This study investigated the differences in knowledge of pain management in older adults when examining licensed acute care nurses and extended care nurses. It sampled 118 acute care nurses working in two hospitals in Mississippi and 78 extended care nurses working in six extended care facilities (ECF) in Mississippi.

Based upon the …

Factors Related To Nonacademic Adjustment Of Freshmen Students, Nykela Horne Jackson

Dissertations

Student retention remains a major concern of higher education institutions. With decreasing state funding, higher education institutions have implemented creative strategies and methods to recruit students. Once students are recruited it is critical that they be retained. Research has confirmed that student withdrawals can be attributed to the lack of successful transition and adjustment to the college environment. Numerous studies have focused on how demographic factors (socioeconomic status, race, employment, and parental education level) affect retention with the major focus on academic adjustment. Current research has shown that nonacademic adjustment (social adjustment, personal/emotional adjustment, and institutional attachment) plays a significant …

The Influence Of Verbal Aggressiveness And Verbal Argumentativeness On College Student Leadership Styles, Jane Anne Mattina

Dissertations

The behaviors and styles of leaders have been studied for many years yet, the study of college study leaders has not been as prevalent. This study examined the possible relationships between the levels of verbal aggressiveness and verbal argumentativeness and college student leadership styles as described by the Student Leadership Practices Inventory (Kouzes & Posner 1995).

Using quantitative and qualitative approaches with multiple college student leadership groups at three different universities and community colleges, this study found that college student leaders are less verbally aggressive than student non-leaders, and are more verbally argumentative than student non-leaders. Furthermore, positive and negative …

The Influence Of Career-Technical Student Organizations On Non-Traditional And Traditional Community College Students, Suzanne Lee Johnson

Dissertations

Student organizations have been contributing to adult education for years. The need to recruit non-traditional students and retain them is very important to the financial support of the career and technical program. If a career-technical student organization (CTSO) can encourage retention and completion of traditional and non-traditional students in a field of study, the state might realize the need to increase the funding provided to the advisers/instructors of the CTSO and the financial support of the CTSO. This study investigated what motivates a student to become an active member in a CTSO and to what extent the CTSO contributed to …

Online Delivery At Traditional Institutions: Faculty Concerns And Knowledge About Intellectual Property Rights, La Toya Monique Hart

Dissertations

This study was designed to provide information to administrators about concerns faculty might have with online delivery and to assess their overall knowledge about intellectual property rights at traditional institutions. Faculty from the eight institutions under the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning were invited to participate in the study regardless of whether they participate in online delivery or not. The results of this study will allow administrators and faculty an opportunity to address concerns and explore putting written policies.

Faculty reported low levels of concerns about legal issues and rewards. Of greatest concern were those issues regarding workload/effort where there …

The Perceptions Of Superintendents Regarding The Need For Graduate Business Classes In Educational Leadership, Howard Leland Smith

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the comprehensiveness of educational leadership programs regarding the extent of appropriate business knowledge attained by public school administrators. Portions of the study included a discussion of current licensing practices, academic governance, basic business requirements for leadership and management, and basic financial literacy. A further purpose was to measure the perception of how the inclusion of specific business-oriented graduate education in the certification process might increase the initial success of administrators.

The literature review supported the concept that superintendents understand change management and fiscal responsibility. Survey respondents supported these concepts by indicating the …

Ncaa Division I Head Softball Coaches' Confidence, Openness And Stigma Tolerance Toward Sport Psychology Consultants, Laurie Ann Neelis

Dissertations

This study used a mixed-method to look at NCAA division I head softball coaches confidence, openness, and stigma tolerance about sport psychology principles and consultants, as well as what sport psychology principles, time of year used, and what a Sport Psychology Consultant (SPC) can do to help division I head softball coaches have more success with their teams. These variables were measured through the use of the Sport Psychology Attitudes - Revised Coaches instrument developed by Zakrajsek and Zizzi (2007). For the qualitative component, the researcher developed five inquiries that allowed for a more in-depth response from the coaches concerning …

Motivation, Language Learning Strategies, And Course Performance Among English Speaking College Students Learning A Romance Language, Kathia Flemens

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Only 8% of American college students study a foreign language (Christian, Johnson, Malone & Rifkin, 2003). Part of the reason stems from a decrease in foreign language requirements from four to two years at many secondary schools, thus reducing the number of students exposed to foreign language learning (Brecht & Rivers, 2000; Congressional Hearing Document, 2001). This creates a shortage of qualified human resources proficient in a second language at a time when an influx of immigration and globalization have created an increasing need to learn a foreign language (General Accounting Office, 2002). Meeting the human capital foreign language deficit …

The Creation Of Real Magazine, Fallon Wilburn

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the Caudill College of Humanities at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by Fallon Wilburn in December of 2008.

Student Persistence At A Small, Private, Religiously-Affiliated College: An Examination Of Retention Theory, Benjamin Arendt

Dissertations

This study seeks to understand how one small, private, religiously-affiliated institution can maintain a high persistence rate while not seeming to exhibit several necessary retention factors as described in the literature and prescribed in theory. This study incorporates a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods within a two-phased research structure. The first portion of the research examined a national dataset (NSSE) while the second phase included student interviews based on the quantitative findings.

Key findings suggest that students are satisfied with the level and quality of their interactions with faculty at this institution. Students reported high satisfaction with peers and …

A Comparative Study Of Extended Meta-Ethnography And Meta-Analysis Based On The Fundamental Micro-Purposes Of A Literature Review, Rhae-Ann Richardson Booker

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the results of literature review methods operating out of interpretivist and positivist paradigms. Using existingstudies on racial and ethnic matching of African American and Caucasian American clients and clinicians as data, my investigation included an examination of the research processes and results of an extended meta-ethnography (EME) and a published meta-analysis (PMA). The premise of my investigation was that both review methods include and, furthermore, require some level of interpretation, as answers are sought by researchers for their questions or areas ofinterest. Furthermore, my exploration included comparing the EME and PMA results …

First-Generation, Income-Eligible Peer Mentor Study, Charlotte L. Giscombe

Dissertations

This study was designed to determine how mentoring affects the peer mentor. Despite the proliferation of peer mentoring programs, little research has been conducted to consider how mentoring affects the peer mentor's attitudes, leadership ability, and academic accomplishments when engaging in a mentoring relationship.

The focus of this study is on the at-risk peer mentors who are part of the federally funded Student Support Services (SSS) located on a midwestern university campus, and seeks to ascertain whether their grade point average, retention, graduation rates, self-confidence, self-esteem, self-worth, and leadership abilities are changed by serving in a mentoring relationship. Since these …

Content Analysis Of University Alcohol Policies: "Party Schools" Compared To Non-Party Schools, Sarah E. Pernie

Dissertations

Universities across the United States are dealing with an alarming number of underage students drinking on or near campus. One prevention tool is having a comprehensive alcohol usage policy for students, which includes content as recommended by a number of national organizations focused on decreasing underage drinking on campuses. Yet little is known about the content actually contained in current university alcohol policies.

To this end, my research involved a content analysis of the alcohol policies from 71 purposefully selected universities across the country. These included institutions identified as "party schools" by the Princeton Review , and a similar sample …

Contextual Learning For A Global Economy: A Comparative Case Study Of Two Career Technical Centers And Two Machine-Tool Manufacturing Businesses, Jennifer L. Harrison

Dissertations

This qualitative method research dissertation explored the reactions, insights, and current business practices as they pertained to effectively training workers in areas such as problem-solving, higher order thinking and customer service. This body of work examined both changing economic shifts and global paradigms as well as how a systems thinking approach can help educators prepare students for the 21st century and beyond by implementing action research-based methodologies through effective professional learning communities. The problems to which this study addressed were namely (1) to what extent and in what way are there disparities and similarities between career and technical education settings …

Research Self-Efficacy And Research Mentoring Experiences As Predictors Of Occupational Commitment In Counselor Education Doctoral Students, Glinda Jeanette Rawls

Dissertations

The demands of research and pressure to publish have been identified as reasons doctoral graduates in counselor education infrequently choose faculty careers (Maples, Altekruse, & Testa, 1993; Swickert, 1997). Despite this finding, the counselor education literature provides very little information on doctoral students' research self-efficacy or perceived ability to complete research-related tasks (Bieschke, Bishop, & Herbert, 1995). In addition, research mentoring can enhance research self-efficacy (Hollingsworth & Fassinger, 2002), yet it too remains understudied. Research mentoring involves someone more experienced promoting research skill, awareness, and productivity to someone less experienced (Dohm & Cummings, 2002). Few studies have explored research self-efficacy, …

Assessing Treatment Access For Adult Sex Offenders Under Community Supervision In Kentucky: An Exploratory Study, Lincoln Bradley Sloas

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the Caudill College of Humanities at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by Lincoln Bradley Sloas on November 24, 2008.

A Balanced Scorecard Approach To Evaluate Enterprise Resource Planning Of Morehead State University, Milind Patil

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science and Technology at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Milind Patil on November 10, 2008.

Competency-Based Curriculum For A Master's Program In Service Science, Management And Engineering (Ssme): An Online Delphi Study, Rahul Choudaha

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The overarching purpose of this research was to provide theoretical and conceptual foundations for developing a competency-based curriculum for an interdisciplinary master's program in Service Science, Management and Engineering (SSME). Specifically, the objective was to ascertain the competencies and courses that are relevant for developing a competency model for a service scientist and a curriculum blueprint for SSME. The study employed three rounds of the online Delphi survey to achieve the research objectives. The three rounds were used to identify, prioritize, and define competencies and courses. A panel of industry professionals and university faculty were invited to participate as experts. …

Developing Students: An Examination Of Skills Practiced And Acquired By Student Employee Of The Year Nominees Through Their Student Employment Experiences, Erin J. Truhler

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

This study examines the life skills practiced and acquired by student employees who were nominated for the Student Employee of the Year award at the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University between the 2001-2002 and 2007- 2008 academic years. A quantitative and qualitative analysis of the contents of the nomination forms submitted by both supervisors and students reveals that the students represented in the sample did practice and acquire a great number of life skills- such as time management, decision making, supervisory skills, and computer and technology skills-through their student employment positions. The study then relates these findings …

Analysis And Evaluation Of Existing C-Band Feed Horns For Applicability To The 21 Meter Morehead Space Tracking Antenna, Prabhakara Rao Eluru

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science & Technology at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Prabhakara Rao Eluru on October 8, 2008.

The Relationship Of Mymathlab To The Achievement Of Mathematics I Students At Marion Technical College, Teressa Plummer

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Performance Analysis Of Multicarrier Code Division Multiple Access (Mc-Cdma) Systems, Pravinkumar Patil

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science and Technology at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Pravinkumar Patil on August 11, 2008.

Performance And Analysis Of Transfer Control Protocol Over Voice Over Wireless Local Area Network, Rajendra Patil

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science and Technology at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree Master of Science by Rajendra Patil in August of 2008.

Social Work Field Instructors' Perceptions Of On-Line Training, Denise E. Dedman

Dissertations

Social work has recently identified the field placement as the signature pedagogy of the profession, yet little has been done to identify the best means of training field instructors to supervise students in their field placements. This study addressed attitudes and perceptions of social work field instructors regarding on-line training in their roles. While previous studies of university social work program field placement directors had been conducted, there exist no broad studies of the field instructors' perceptions. Some earlier qualitative studies of field instructors identified time constraints as a significant issue in their willingness to continue accepting interns. This, along …

Perceived Attitude Towards Feedback In Athletic Training Clinical Education, Jessica Lynn Emlich

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to measure and compare the perceived mean attitudinal score towards clinical instructor feedback, of Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) accredited athletic training education programs (ATEP) program directors/clinical coordinators and affiliated clinical instructors. Additionally, the investigator was interested to see if relationships between attitudes towards feedback and the respondent's age, sex, employment setting and years of professional experience existed.

There were a total of one hundred and fifty eight participants in this study that comprised the two groups. Program directors and clinical coordinators (PD/CC) comprised 59 of the responses and 99 were …