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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Understanding The Experiences And Perceptions Of Specialty Mental Health Probation Officers, Brice Terpstra Apr 2018

Understanding The Experiences And Perceptions Of Specialty Mental Health Probation Officers, Brice Terpstra

Theses and Dissertations

Over the last two decades, specialty mental health probation caseloads have become increasingly common – focusing on offenders with serious mental illness (SMI). Scholars have examined overall effectiveness, the organization and design of these programs, and the differences between standard probation and specialty probation. Less attention, however, has been placed on examining how the officers supervising these SMI caseloads perceive their roles as specialty mental health probation officers and how discretion impacts their caseload management. In the current study semi-structured interviews were conducted with a complete census of 24 SMI caseload probation officers and supervisors in Maricopa County, Arizona over …

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The Effects Of Instructors Discussing Alcohol In The Classroom On Student Perceptions Of Their Instructor, Nathaniel Swiech Brophy Apr 2018

The Effects Of Instructors Discussing Alcohol In The Classroom On Student Perceptions Of Their Instructor, Nathaniel Swiech Brophy

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is comprised of two studies. Study I is a qualitative exploratory analysis which attempts to uncover students’ experiences with instructors discussing alcohol in the university classroom and how the appropriateness of this behavior is determined. How this mention of alcohol affects the students’ perception of the instructor, as well as the relationship between perceived appropriateness of the behavior and change in perception, are also investigated. Study I found that students have experienced their instructors mentioning alcohol in the classroom as normative student behavior, part of the formal curriculum, and their instructor disclosing personal alcohol use. Participants determined appropriateness …

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Attentional Bias To Food Words In Restrained Eaters, Brandon James Hodge Apr 2018

Attentional Bias To Food Words In Restrained Eaters, Brandon James Hodge

Theses and Dissertations

Attentional bias has been examined as one of the cognitive vulnerability factors for various psychopathology such as disordered eating. Attentional biases are important to examine as potential targets of interventions. Past research has demonstrated mixed findings on whether or not restrained eaters show cognitive biases (e.g., attentional sensitivity) toward words related to foods (Brooks et al., 2011; Dobson & Dozois, 2004; Francis, Stewart, & Hounsell, 1997). This study examined attentional bias to foods among restrained eaters using a computer based program, Mousetracker (Freeman & Ambady, 2010), that provided various indicators (i.e., reaction time, maximum deviations, and area under the curves) …

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Preparing For College: The Effects Of High School Speech Experience On Critical Thinking, Information Literacy, Communication Apprehension, And College Preparedness, Brian M. Rohman Apr 2018

Preparing For College: The Effects Of High School Speech Experience On Critical Thinking, Information Literacy, Communication Apprehension, And College Preparedness, Brian M. Rohman

Theses and Dissertations

The effects of the college-level basic communication course are well documented. However, a stand-alone, high school communication course is becoming a rare sight across the United States. This study seeks to examine educational outcomes of learning communication skills at the high school level on college freshman. Students enrolled in a college-level basic communication course were surveyed on factors such as critical thinking, information literacy, fake news identification, communication apprehension, and preparedness for college through speech preparation as well as grit. While few significant findings were found, implications for the study of communication at the high school level are examined.

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A Generational Study Of Collectivism In The United States, Tyler Carter Apr 2018

A Generational Study Of Collectivism In The United States, Tyler Carter

Theses and Dissertations

A number of past sociopolitical studies have attempted to highlight the ways in which generational identity, which develops when people come of age in different times, affects political attitudes. In this study, I investigate generational influence on the degree to which individuals embrace collectivist values, as considered by examinations of social policy attitudes and trust in government. A measure of attitudes towards social policies arguably represent collectivist values because social policy is designed to prioritize the group over the individual. A subsequent measure of trust in government augments the discussion of collectivist values because the formation of democratic political institutions …

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Getting In Each Other’S Way: Enlarging The Possibilities Of Sustainable Community Development Through Communication, Cecelia M. Long Apr 2018

Getting In Each Other’S Way: Enlarging The Possibilities Of Sustainable Community Development Through Communication, Cecelia M. Long

Theses and Dissertations

The ultimate aim of sustainable community development is to produce, promote, and preserve community well-being. When community developers are unable to effectively articulate and actualize this aim, the individuals and communities they serve needlessly suffer, especially those in poverty circumstances, homelessness, and other forms of destitution. In this thesis, I explore the communication between organizational leaders, their collaborative partners, and participatory community members as a vital component of sustainable community development. This study addresses the lack of a comprehensive set of communicative strategies for community developers to produce sustainable change and well-being for all. I conducted twenty-five in-depth interviews with …

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Creating Sustainable Workplace Environments: An Exploratory Study Of Social Energy Expenditure In Cross-Sex, Heterosexual Organizational Friendships, Kathryn Cordelia Green Apr 2018

Creating Sustainable Workplace Environments: An Exploratory Study Of Social Energy Expenditure In Cross-Sex, Heterosexual Organizational Friendships, Kathryn Cordelia Green

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis outlines the reasoning and methods used to investigate the concept of social energy expenditure from Hall and Davis’ (2017) communicate bond belong (CBB) theory as a lens for understanding how individuals invest social energy into forming and maintaining cross-sex, heterosexual friendships in organizations. Informed by previous literature, this study explores the intersect between interpersonal communication and organizational communication. Apart from Hall (2018), no other scholars have tested the 2017 CBB theory. Therefore, the present study’s goal is to provide a foundational inquiry into the usability of the theory by utilizing the core concept of social energy expenditure and …

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Physical Abuse Tendencies Among Males: Initial Development And Validation Of The Likelihood To Physically Abuse, Christina Elisabeth Riley Apr 2018

Physical Abuse Tendencies Among Males: Initial Development And Validation Of The Likelihood To Physically Abuse, Christina Elisabeth Riley

Theses and Dissertations

Male-perpetrated intimate partner violence (IPV) against women remains as a pervasive and detrimental issue both in the United States and globally. Researchers, counselors, and others often develop psychological measures to help understand the causes of IPV in an effort to prevent this issue from occurring. Debate still persists within IPV research as to the definitive factors that contribute to the perpetration of IPV. The socio-feminist perspective remains as the predominant theoretical basis that drives IPV research and understanding. Despite this, no psychological measure grounded in this theory that predicts IPV perpetration proclivities has been developed and validated to date. The …

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Pun Strategies Across Joke Schemata: A Corpus-Based Study, Robert Nishan Crapo Apr 2018

Pun Strategies Across Joke Schemata: A Corpus-Based Study, Robert Nishan Crapo

Theses and Dissertations

In the linguistic study of humor, research has largely been centered around the formulation of models and theories or the dissecting and categorization of jokes. Because of the often difficult-to-categorize aspects of verbal jokes, much time has been spent trying to create taxonomies for humor types and mechanisms. Linguists such as Raskin and Attardo have sought to categorize all verbal humor according to various functional elements (Attardo & Raskin, 1991). Such elements include, but are not limited to, the logical mechanism that drives the humor in the joke or the situation where the joke takes place. These categorizations are helpful …

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Pasqyrimi I Masakrës Së Reçakut Në Mediat Ndërkombëtare, Xhejlane Sopa Apr 2018

Pasqyrimi I Masakrës Së Reçakut Në Mediat Ndërkombëtare, Xhejlane Sopa

Theses and Dissertations

Objekt i këtij punimi është pasqyrimi i Masakrës së Reçakut si një nga ngjarjet që ka tronditur opinionin e brendshëm dhe atë ndërkombëtar gjatë luftës në Kosovë. Tema shtjellon aspekte të raportimit të medieve me ndikim global për njërën nga ngjarjet më të rëndësishme në historinë e re të Kosovës. Përveç pasqyrimit të kësaj ngjarjeje në mediat me ndikim global, punimi shtjellon rolin që ka pasur raportimi në marrjen e vendimeve politike të faktorëve ndërkombëtarë për të ndërhyrë në Kosovë. Punimi analizon shkrime të veçanta tëmediave të njohura si BBC, CNN etj., për të analizuar në mënyrë të detajuar ndikimin …

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Rubric Rating With Mfrm Vs. Randomly Distributed Comparative Judgment: A Comparison Of Two Approaches To Second-Language Writing Assessment, Maureen Estelle Sims Apr 2018

Rubric Rating With Mfrm Vs. Randomly Distributed Comparative Judgment: A Comparison Of Two Approaches To Second-Language Writing Assessment, Maureen Estelle Sims

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore a potentially more practical approach to direct writing assessment using computer algorithms. Traditional rubric rating (RR) is a common yet highly resource-intensive evaluation practice when performed reliably. This study compared the traditional rubric model of ESL writing assessment and many-facet Rasch modeling (MFRM) to comparative judgment (CJ), the new approach, which shows promising results in terms of reliability and validity. We employed two groups of raters”novice and experienced”and used essays that had been previously double-rated, analyzed with MFRM, and selected with fit statistics. We compared the results of the novice and experienced …

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An Analysis Of Rehearsed Speech Characteristics On The Oral Proficiency Interview—Computer (Opic), Gwyneth Elaine Gates Apr 2018

An Analysis Of Rehearsed Speech Characteristics On The Oral Proficiency Interview—Computer (Opic), Gwyneth Elaine Gates

Theses and Dissertations

The ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines identify memorized words and phrases as a hallmark of novice-level speech. For this reason, research by Cox (2017) found rehearsed content to be a major hindrance to interviewees being rated at higher sublevels on the Oral Proficiency Interview-computer (OPIc). To further investigate, an analysis of these memorized segments to determine patterns of lexico-grammatical and discursive features was conducted. In this study, researchers utilized a Praat analysis to compare prosodic features (specifically, mean length of utterance, number of silent pauses, and articulation rate) of speech segments marked as memorized and those which were not. A qualitative analysis …

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Evaluating The Effectiveness Of A Korean Heritage-Speaking Interpreter, Yoonjoo Lee Apr 2018

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of A Korean Heritage-Speaking Interpreter, Yoonjoo Lee

Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. is a country of immigrants who are non-native speakers of English (NNS), yet its legal system is not always in the favor of them. One of the issues for the NNSs is not being provided with proficient interpreters in legal settings such as police interrogations or courtrooms. There are times when some NNSs are offered qualified interpreters or translators, but others are provided with heritages speakers of needed languages in the local area. The heritages speakers are often thought to have good proficiency in languages, but unfortunately thats not always the case. To investigate the need for qualified …

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Psychiatric Symptom Severity Following Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury: A Meta-Analysis, Benjamin Douglas Eschler Apr 2018

Psychiatric Symptom Severity Following Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury: A Meta-Analysis, Benjamin Douglas Eschler

Theses and Dissertations

Objectives: A meta-analysis was conducted to determine the average effect size of internalizing and externalizing symptoms after pediatric traumatic brain injury across a range of severity (mild, moderate, and severe). Two-meta-regressions were also conducted to determine the role of age at injury at time since injury on these effect sizes.Participants and Methods: 9725 titles and abstracts were collected from PubMed, PsycInfo, and Web of Science. Of these, 63 full-text articles were examined for inclusion criteria to determine eligibility for the study. To be included, the studies needed to be published prior to March 2017 in English, needed to have a …

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The Socialization Of Financial Giving: A Multigenerational Exploration, Ashley Brooks Lebaron Apr 2018

The Socialization Of Financial Giving: A Multigenerational Exploration, Ashley Brooks Lebaron

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has found that family socialization influences financial giving behaviors and that financial giving predicts personal wellbeing. However, little research since the early 1980s has explored this phenomenon, and virtually none of the research has been qualitative in nature. As part of the Whats and Hows of Family Financial $ocialization project, this study employs a diverse, multi-site, multigenerational sample (N = 115) to qualitatively explore the following research question: how do children learn about financial giving from their parents? In other words, how is financial giving transmitted across generations? From interviews of emerging adults and their parents and grandparents, …

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Cultural Differences In Russian And English Magazine Advertising: A Pragmatic Approach, Emily Kay Furner Apr 2018

Cultural Differences In Russian And English Magazine Advertising: A Pragmatic Approach, Emily Kay Furner

Theses and Dissertations

Many American companies looking to increase sales and achieve growth targets consider expanding the reach of their product lines to other countries. However, expansion on a global scale often requires much trial and error as English-speaking companies try to market their goods to a foreign audience. In order to ease this process, localization experts are often hired to "localize" or change advertisements in order to make them more culturally relevant to consumers. Because the field of localization is relatively new, there is little research done on the degree and extent to which advertisements are localized. The purpose of this study …

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Switch-Reference In Pastaza Kichwa, Alexander Harrison Rice Apr 2018

Switch-Reference In Pastaza Kichwa, Alexander Harrison Rice

Theses and Dissertations

Pastaza Kichwa is a Quechuan language spoken in eastern Ecuador. This thesis describes its use of switch-reference which is traditionally understood to be an interclausal cross-referencing feature. Switch-reference is manifested by one of two morphemes that mark a subordinate clause as having either the same or different subject as another clause. Switch-reference has been described for other Quechuan languages and some of these studies present challenges to the theoretical underpinnings of switch reference (Stewart 1988, Dreidemie 2007) others present associated functions of switch-reference morphemes (Cole 1982). This study tests some of the propositions made about switch-reference in other Quechuan languages …

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Increasing Employee-Guest Interactions Using A Guest-Delivered Token Economy At A Zoological Facility, Cassie Maureen Vergason Apr 2018

Increasing Employee-Guest Interactions Using A Guest-Delivered Token Economy At A Zoological Facility, Cassie Maureen Vergason

Theses and Dissertations

Token economies have been used for many years to improve a multitude of behaviors in a variety of settings. However, research on token economies as an intervention to improve customer service-related behaviors of employees in organizations is limited. The current study assessed this issue by evaluating a guest-delivered token economy to improve employee-guest interactions at a zoological facility. Results showed increases of 35.3% and 45.0% in correct employee-guest interactions in each intervention phase compared to baseline, thus suggesting that a guest-delivered token economy is an effective way to improve customer service (guest interactions)-related behaviors. Limitations of the current study and …

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Effect Of Political Branding On Electoral Success, Audrey Anne Gangloff Apr 2018

Effect Of Political Branding On Electoral Success, Audrey Anne Gangloff

Theses and Dissertations

It is assumed that a valuable political brand directly translates into the ability of a party to gain or sustain electoral votes. However, very little empirical research has been done that investigates whether that is true. The purpose of this study is to further explore the composition of politicians’ brands and the relationship between political brands and electoral votes. The following study uses quantitative content analysis to test the relationship between the components of Speed, Butler and Collins’ (2015) political human brand model and electoral success for 2016 U.S. Senate candidates. This research is the first to systematically explore the …

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Combatting Negative Stigma And Communication Obstacles For A University Community: Strategies And Recommendations For Caps At Florida Institute Of Technology, Kiayna Symone O'Neal Apr 2018

Combatting Negative Stigma And Communication Obstacles For A University Community: Strategies And Recommendations For Caps At Florida Institute Of Technology, Kiayna Symone O'Neal

Theses and Dissertations

Counseling centers were established on university campuses to assist in student mental health wellness. The increased need for these services is evident with the steady rise in mental health conditions in college-aged students. However, research shows that despite the existence of counseling services on campus, a variety of factors still inhibit students from seeking the help they need. Researchers and universities have had to work to find the most effective ways to combat mental health stigma, lack of knowledge of resources and increase mental health awareness for the entire university community. This project examines these factors on the campus of …

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Day-Of-Injury Computed Tomography (Ct) And Longitudinal Rehabilitation Outcomes: A Comparison Of The Marshall And Rotterdam Ct Scoring Methods, Kayla Michelle Alder Apr 2018

Day-Of-Injury Computed Tomography (Ct) And Longitudinal Rehabilitation Outcomes: A Comparison Of The Marshall And Rotterdam Ct Scoring Methods, Kayla Michelle Alder

Theses and Dissertations

Both individual patient-related and injury-related factors predict functional outcomes following moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (M/S TBI). Other than binary outcomes such as death, little is known about the role of day-of-injury neuroimaging in predicting long- term outcomes. Classification systems for assessing the severity of injury using computerized tomography (CT) scans, such as the Marshall Classification System (MCS) or Rotterdam scale, have not been systematically studied to see how they relate to long-term rehabilitation and functional outcomes following M/S TBI. The MCS consists of six categories based on information about midline shift, basal cistern compression, surgery evacuation, and lesion size. The …

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Performance Self-Appraisal Calibration Of Esl Students On A Proficiency Reading Test, Jodi Mikolajcik Petersen Apr 2018

Performance Self-Appraisal Calibration Of Esl Students On A Proficiency Reading Test, Jodi Mikolajcik Petersen

Theses and Dissertations

Self-assessment as a placement measure or accurate assessment of skill has been scrutinized in previous research. Findings have shown a general human tendency towards overconfidence in performance (Kruger & Dunning, 1999). This study looks at performance self-appraisals in an ESL population, with participants from varying cultural backgrounds. Performance self-appraisal calibration is a measure of the relationship between an examinee's perceived skill (or confidence) and their actual skill (or ability) on a given exam item (Phakiti, 2016). Being well-calibrated is an indication that test takers know their strengths and weaknesses and thus the difference between confidence and ability is minimal, whereas …

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Neuroimmune-Mediated Alcohol Effects On Ventral Tegmental Area Neurons, Stephanie Bair Williams Apr 2018

Neuroimmune-Mediated Alcohol Effects On Ventral Tegmental Area Neurons, Stephanie Bair Williams

Theses and Dissertations

Dopamine (DA) transmission is a key player in the rewarding aspects of ethanol as well as ethanol dependence. The current dogma is that DA transmission is increased during ethanol via the inhibition of ventral tegmental area (VTA) GABA neurons and that excitation of VTA GABA neurons during withdrawal results in decreased DA transmission. Microglia, the major neuroimmune effector in the brain, may be a key mediator in this process by releasing cytokines following activation. We evaluated the effect of ethanol on cytokine concentrations in the VTA and NAc using a cytometric bead array, and found that low dose ethanol (1.0 …

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A Content-Analytic Meta-Analysis Of Gender Stereotyping In Screen Media, Lee Whitney Essig Apr 2018

A Content-Analytic Meta-Analysis Of Gender Stereotyping In Screen Media, Lee Whitney Essig

Theses and Dissertations

Thousands of studies have investigated the gendered portrayals in various forms of media. Researchers believe that considering gendered media content is important, as gender stereotypes have been found to influence development, often with adverse outcomes. Although a vast body of research on gender stereotypes has accumulated, little effort has been made to synthesize this literature. The purpose of this paper is to collect and analyze the results of content-analytic studies of gender portrayals across several forms of media including television, television commercials, movies, video games, music videos, and various forms of print media into a comprehensive paper on gender stereotypes …

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Investigating The Perception Of Identity Shift In Trilingual Speakers: A Case Study, Elena Vasilachi Apr 2018

Investigating The Perception Of Identity Shift In Trilingual Speakers: A Case Study, Elena Vasilachi

Theses and Dissertations

This is a case study that examines the perception of identity shift in trilingual speakers. The participants were three females from Moldova, a country in Eastern Europe, that have moved to the U.S. Participants responded to open-ended questions during an individual interview and self-report. The questions were about (1) the way they think in their native language, (2) the way they feel in different situations while switching languages, and (3) their interactions with others, depending on their relationships with the participants, the situation, and the language they use at that moment. Primary findings suggest that trilingual speakers perceive a shift …

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Can Attachment Behaviors Moderate The Influence Of Conflict Styles On Relationship Quality?, Cameron W. Hee Apr 2018

Can Attachment Behaviors Moderate The Influence Of Conflict Styles On Relationship Quality?, Cameron W. Hee

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT Can Attachment Behaviors Moderate the Influence of Conflict Styles on Relationship Quality? Cameron W. H. Hee School of Family Life, BYU Master of ScienceThe purpose of this study was to explore how conflict styles influence relationship quality and how that association is moderated by attachment behaviors in the relationship. The current study uses a sample of married couples (n =1718) who completed the Relationship Evaluation Survey (RELATE). Data was analyzed using an Actor-Partner Independence Model that allows for the testing of moderation. Results indicated that husbands and wives conflict style is significantly and positively associated with their own perception …

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Stress And Anxiety Interventions For Classical Musicians, Tara Ashley Austin Apr 2018

Stress And Anxiety Interventions For Classical Musicians, Tara Ashley Austin

Theses and Dissertations

This meta analysis looks at the results of performance anxiety related interventions with musicians. This meta analysis results from all found studies on computerized databases including National Library of Medicine's PubMed, Dissertations and Theses (ProQuest), PsycINFO, and Oxford Journals Database. They range from cognitive interventions, behavioral interventions, mediation, and biofeedback. The results are primarily drawn from participants self report before and after the intervention. They were coded for length of intervention, number of participants, level of participant (students or professionals), type of intervention, self report measures used, and the effect size of the intervention. The overall effect of all 17 …

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"Love On The Brain":? Exploring The Influence Of Lyrics On Sexting And Risky Sexual Behavior, Savannah Leigh Kroff Apr 2018

"Love On The Brain":? Exploring The Influence Of Lyrics On Sexting And Risky Sexual Behavior, Savannah Leigh Kroff

Theses and Dissertations

While some research has been done on the influence of music lyrics on sexual behaviors in general, none has explored the lyrical influence on sexting. The goal of the current study is to explore the longitudinal influence of sexual and sexually objectifying lyrics on adolescent sexting behaviors. Participants were 125 14-year-old adolescents who were recruited from high schools in Texas. Participants completed questionnaires on music preferences, sexual behaviors and impulsivity and were given BlackBerry devices through which frequency of sexual text message utterances was obtained. Music preferences were then quantitatively analyzed using the Linguistic Inquiry Word Count (LIWC) software. Logistic …

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Academic Persistence Among Native American High School Students, Tianna Jeanne Buckley Apr 2018

Academic Persistence Among Native American High School Students, Tianna Jeanne Buckley

Theses and Dissertations

Qualitative interviews with 12 Native American high school junior and senior students who grew up on reservations identified the following themes related to their persistence in college: (a) faculty support, (b) structured social support, (c) family support or the lack thereof, (d) motivation to be better, and (e) encountering racism. The results indicated a need for clear academic expectations between the school district and the tribal liaisons, multicultural training to foster positive relationships from the primary to secondary level, and structured college preparatory instruction designed for Native American students. Results also indicated a need for further research into the educational …

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Prompting Procedure Skill Acquisition: The Role Of Performance Feedback, Ellen C. Wing Mar 2018

Prompting Procedure Skill Acquisition: The Role Of Performance Feedback, Ellen C. Wing

Theses and Dissertations

There is a need for educators to implement evidence-based treatments for children with autism. Effective training of professionals is essential in ensuring treatment is implemented with integrity. Behavioral Skills Training (BST), an efficacious staff training method, identifies feedback as a critical component of training; however, the role of feedback in this process has not been systematically examined. This research evaluates the efficiency at which prompting skills are acquired, the accuracy at which prompting skills are maintained one-week post acquisition, and the acceptability of training experience across individuals who received either performance feedback or general feedback following brief, video BST.

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