bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Survey of Texas Secondary Transition and Employment Designees' Use of Evidence-Based Practices
Authors:   , Park Nicole M.
Published: February 2025

The role of transition providers' knowledge of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in secondary transition can only be understood in the context of the dismal post-secondary outcomes of students with disabilities (SWD) and the need for bridging the research-to-practice gap among secondary transition practitioners. A sample of 1,163 Texas Employment Designees (TEDs) were surveyed about their knowledge of secondary transition EBPs. The study examined the psychometric properties and theoretical factor structure fit of a modified version of the Mazzotti and Plotner's Use of Secondary Transition EBPs survey and identified significant effects of TEDs' characteristics on their capacity for implementing secondary transition EBPs (F(9, 110) = 2.16, p = 0.03). Psychometric validation of the instrument indicated overall reliability and internal consistency of the modified instrument in measuring both knowledge and use of EBPs in support and direct provision of transition services (Cronbach's alpha of 0.99). Principal components analysis (PCA) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) returned a simple one-factor structure. A composite score was developed for the single factor of "capacity", and a subsequent analysis was conducted to determine a relationship between the demographic factors and the overall capacity scores of respondents (n = 198). Study limitations and need for further research are discussed.
Synthesis and Studies of AzaBODIPY Derived Donor-Acceptor Systems for Light Induced Charge Separation
Authors:   , Collini Melissa A.
Published: February 2025

The efficiency and mechanism of electron- and energy transfer events occurring in both in natural and synthetic donor-acceptor systems depend on their distance, relative orientation, and the nature of the surrounding media. Fundamental knowledge gained from model studies is key in building efficient energy harvesting and optoelectronic devices. Faster charge separation and slower charge recombination in donor-acceptor systems is often sought out. In our continued effort to build donor-acceptor systems using near-IR sensitizers, in the present study, we report ground and excited state charge transfer in newly synthesized, directly linked, tetrads featuring bisdonor (donor = phenothiazine and ferrocene), BF2-chelated azadipyrromethane (azaBODIPY) and C60 entities. The tetrads synthesized using multi-step synthetic procedure revealed strong charge transfer interactions in the ground state involving the donor and azaBODIPY entities. The near-IR emitting azaBODIPY acted as a photosensitizing electron acceptor along with fullerene while the phenothiazine and ferrocene entities acted as electron donors. The triads (bisdonor-azaBODIPY) and tetrads revealed ultrafast photoinduced charge separation leading to D•+-azaBODIPY•–-C60 and D•+-azaBODIPY-C60•– (D = phenothiazine or ferrocene) charge separated states from the femtosecond transient absorption spectral studies in both polar and nonpolar solvent media. The charge separated states populated the triplet excited state of azaBODIPY prior returning to the ground state.
Isolation and Genomic Characterization of 45 Novel Bacteriophages Infecting the Soil Bacterium Streptomyces griseus
Authors:   , Hale Richard
Published: February 2025

Bacteriophages, or simply "phages," are the most abundant biological entities on the planet and are thought to be the largest untapped reservoir of available genetic information. They are also important contributors to both soil health and nutrient recycling and have significantly influenced our current understanding of molecular biology. Bacteria in the genus Streptomyces are also known to be important contributors to soil health, as well as producing a number of useful antibiotics. The genetic diversity of large (> 30) groups of other actinobacteriophages, i.e. phages infecting a few close relatives of the Streptomycetes, has been explored, but this is the first formal effort for Streptomyces-infecting phages. Described here are a group of 45 phages, isolated from soil using a single Streptomycete host, Streptomyces griseus ATCC 10137. All 45 phages are tailed phages with double-stranded DNA. Siphoviruses predominate, six of the phages are podoviruses, and no myoviruses were observed. Notably present are seven phages with prolate icosahedral capsids. Genome lengths and genome termini vary considerably, and the distributions of each are in line with findings among other groups of studied actinobacteriophages. Interestingly, the average G+C among the 45 phages is around 11% lower than that of the isolation host, a larger disparity than reported for other groups of actinobacteriophages. Eighteen of the phages carry between 17 and 45 tRNAs and 12 of those carry a single tmRNA. Forty-three phages were grouped into seven clusters and two subclusters based on dot plot analysis, average nucleotide identities, and gene content similarities. Two phages were not clustered with other phages in this dataset. A total of 5250 predicted genes were sorted into 1300 gene "phamilies," with about 8% of the total phamilies having only a single member. Analysis of gene content among the 45 phages indicates first that most clusters presented here appear to be relatively isolated from one another, with phages in any one cluster generally sharing < 10% of their genes with phages in other clusters described here. Secondly, most of the phages here are more than twice as likely to share genes with phages isolated on bacteria outside of the genus Streptomyces than they are other phages isolated using a Streptomycete as host. These observations suggest that (1) the phage clusters here have a distinct extended host range, (2) those host ranges share overlap, and (3) Streptomyces griseus is likely not the preferred natural host for all phages described.
Student Perceptions and Sense of Self-efficacy Regarding Interface Design and Consistency in an Online Learning Environment
Authors:   , Reeder Elaine M.
Published: February 2025

The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate student perceptions of the design and consistency of the online learning environment in relation to motivation, satisfaction, and self-efficacy. Through surveys, think-aloud observation sessions, and reflection interviews, data were collected concerning student perspectives of design and consistency in the online learning environment. SPSS was used to process the survey data and a multi-step process was used to code the observations and interviews. Nine categories emerged from the analysis: (1) frustration; (2) excitement; (3) feeling of being lost; (4) confusion; (5) disgust; (6) positivity; (7); anxiety; (8) understanding; (9) action. The findings are discussed and recommendations for future research are provided to inform future development of online courses.
The Effects of Graphic Organizers on Building Comprehension in Students on the Autism Spectrum
Authors:   , Kliemann Karen Karin Ruth
Published: February 2025

Many students on the autism spectrum display a strong ability to process and comprehend information at elevated levels when presented with it visually. Despite this, students who have autism are increasingly being educated in general education content classrooms that utilize lessons directed to whole groups of students and limit the use of visually presented material. For some students with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), this presentation introduces difficulties related to attention as well as comprehension and retention of material. Research indicates promising results associated with using a graphic organizer to increase comprehension accuracy in students who answer wh-questions following the reading of a short passage. The purpose of this study was to document the relationship between using a graphic organizer and increasing reading comprehension. The study employed a single-subject multiple baseline design across participants to evaluate if the use of a graphic organizer impacted the correctness of answering wh-questions for grade-level social studies content. Participants included four eighth grade students in an urban public school who had been diagnosed with ASD. Results supported research by showing an increase in comprehension skills with the use of a graphic organizer.
Producing a Film on Oil Spill Research for the Public
Authors:   , Barnes Emma Katherine
Published: February 2025

The Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig exploded on April 20, 2010, off the coast of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico. Following the spill, British Petroleum, leaser of the rig, set up a funding institution known as the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) to support research and understanding of the spill on the environments and peoples of the gulf. This outreach project was created alongside research of the RECOVER consortium, funded by GoMRI, to communicate what is happening within research labs around the country to understand the effect that the spill had on fish in pelagic and coastal regions of the gulf. The outreach project is composed of a short film (Deepwaters: The Science of a Spill, 18 min) and related outreach materials posted to Instagram (@FishandOilSpills).
Development and Integration of a Low-Cost Occupancy Monitoring System
Authors:   , Mahjoub Youssif
Published: February 2025

The world is getting busier and more crowded each year. Due to this fact resources such as public transport, available energy, and usable space are becoming congested and require vast amounts of logistical support. As of February 2018, nearly 95% of Americans own a mobile cell phone according to the Pew Research Center. These devices are consistently broadcasting their presents to other devices. By leveraging this data to provide occupational awareness of high traffic areas such as public transit stops, buildings, etc logistic efforts can be streamline to best suit the dynamics of the population. With the rise of The Internet of Things, a scalable low-cost occupancy monitoring system can be deployed to collect this broadcasted data and present it to logistics in real time. Simple IoT devices such as the Raspberry Pi, wireless cards capable of passive monitoring, and the utilization of specialized software can provide this capability. Additionally, this combination of hardware and software can be integrated in a way to be as simple as a typical plug and play set up making system deployment quick and easy. This effort details the development and integration work done to deliver a working product acting as a foundation to build upon. Machine learning algorithms such as k-Nearest-Neighbors were also developed to estimate a mobile device's approximate location inside a building.
Physical Boundary as a Source of Anomalies in Transport Processes in Acoustics and Electrodynamics
Authors:   , Bozhko Andrii
Published: February 2025

Various anomalous effects that emerge when the interfaces between media are involved in sound-matter or light-matter interactions are studied. The three specific systems examined are a fluid channel between elastic metal plates, a linear chain of metallic perforated cylindrical shells in air, and a metal-dielectric slab with the interfaces treated as finite regions of smoothly changing material properties. The scattering of acoustic signals on the first two is predicted to be accompanied by the effects of redirection and splitting of sound. In the third system, which supports the propagation of surface plasmons, it is discovered that the transition region introduces a nonradiative decay mechanism which adds to the plasmon dissipation. The analytical results are supported with numerical simulations. The outlined phenomena provide the ideas and implications for applications involving manipulation of sound or excitation of surface plasmons.
Mechanisms of Formation and Effects of Transition Metal Oxides in Silicon Nitride on Steel Dry Sliding Contacts
Authors:   , Harris Michael D.
Published: February 2025

Silicon nitride on steel sliding contacts may provide advantageous tribological properties over traditional self-mated pairs, however the friction and wear behavior at high sliding speeds (>1 m/s) is not well understood. Previous studies at low sliding speeds (< 1 m/s) have found that the wear mechanisms change as a function of the operating parameters, e.g. atmosphere, sliding speed, load, and temperature, due to the formation of transition metal oxides such as Fe2O3 and Fe3O4. This study detected transient effects of the dry silicon nitride on steel contact over a range of sliding speeds to understand their relation to tribochemical reactions and the resulting tribological behavior. Two sets of dry silicon nitride on steel experiments were conducted at 1.45 GPa maximum Hertzian pressure. The first set were low sliding speed reciprocating experiments, conducted at an average of 0.06 m/s, conducted at variable operating temperature, ranging from 23 °C to 1000 °C. In the low sliding speed experiments, transitions of the wear mechanism from adhesive wear, to abrasive wear, then to oxidative wear was observed when the operating temperature increased. The second set were high sliding speed experiments, conducted at variable sliding speeds, ranging from 1 m/s to 16 m/s. In the high sliding speed experiments, a transition from adhesive wear to oxidative wear was observed when the sliding speed surpassed 4.5 m/s. The high sliding speed experiments were accompanied by in-situ instrumentation which detected the presence of a tribofilm which correlated to a reduction in friction, and its formation was linked to tribochemical reactions induced by high flash temperatures. Both sets of experiments had a maximum estimated contact temperature of 1000 °C where oxidative wear was prevalent. Although, the low sliding speed experiments underwent severe bulk oxidation and thermal softening effects, while the high sliding speed experiments experienced localized flash heating events with temperatures sufficient to form a semi-coherent tribofilm that was lubricious and significantly improved wear resistance. Therefore, the effects of transition metal oxides in sliding contacts are determined to be significantly influenced on their mechanisms of formation and interrelated to the operating parameters as found for dry sliding silicon nitride on steel contacts.
Law Enforcement Training and Perceptions of Mental Illness
Authors:   , Brabham Sofia C
Published: February 2025

This thesis analyzes the training and perceptions on mental health of a particular population. Through the use of previous research and literature, a survey was generated and distributed to the population. The findings were used to generate policy implications for the specific population that was analyzed.
The Impact of American Conductors on the Development of Japanese Wind Band Repertoire as Evidenced in the Programming of Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra, Musashino Academia Musicae, Showa Academia Musicae, Senzoku Gakuen School of Music, and Tokyo University of the Arts
Authors:   , Lo Albert
Published: February 2025

The wind bands in Japan are considered by many scholars and wind band conductors to be among some of the finest ensembles in today's wind ensemble medium. The literature and repertoire of Japanese ensembles have evolved from orchestral transcriptions, patriotic music, and military marches to original compositions by European, American, and Japanese composers. British conductor Timothy Reynish states that Japanese wind band music has looked traditionally towards the United States and occasionally United Kingdom for inspiration and repertoire. This phenomenon can be attributed to the many collegiate American and the few English wind band conductors who traveled to Japan as guest conductors, and in some cases, became residents of Japan. The focus of this study is to closely examine this significant impact of American collegiate wind band conductors, their influence on Japanese programming and how that programming has affected the collegiate repertoire. This study includes surveys of repertoire, concert programs, discographies of recordings, and interviews with prominent American conductors currently conducting in Japan. This research documents the impact that American wind band conductors have had on the programming of Japanese wind bands and how their influence have altered the collegiate repertoire. Evidence of this impact is documented by Toshio Akiyama, who states that "The influence of visiting musicians from abroad must be measured as one of the most influential aspects affecting Japanese band growth. Although the effect of Japanese musicians traveling to the United States or Europe has been beneficial, the overall impact on large numbers of people has been more directly due to the visitors from abroad."
Teacher Perceptions of Student Engagement as Related to Technology Implementation in the Classroom
Authors:   , Mata Jodi Lane
Published: February 2025

The challenges of at-risk students are not new. Newspaper articles from the 1860s presented information about communities seeking to help students to complete school and find employment to provide a livable wage. Today's solutions focus on legislation intended to affect societal change and provide equitable opportunities for at-risk students. Much research regarding how to improve academic outcomes for at-risk students addresses high school level, identifying those factors that encourage secondary learners to remain in school. However, less work has been done investigating whether earlier intervention can obviate later retention efforts by improving students' learning outcomes in the elementary grades. In this vein, engagement is a factor found to positively influence learning, particularly when students are actively engaged with instructional content. Technology can facilitate such interactions between students and content; however, research is needed to better understand the relationship between student engagement and technology, particularly with at-risk students in elementary settings. Seeking to address the gap, this qualitative study examined the occasion of a fifth-grade school that recently implemented 1:1 technology. Using a case study approach, researchers explored the effects of the 1:1 Chromebook implementation on teacher-perceived student engagement at the elementary level. This study sought to better understand how this school technology application influenced student engagement including constructs such as relevance, novelty, and gamification. Teachers in the study expressed that their students' engagement levels increased with Chromebook use. They identified relevance, autonomy, and novelty as reasons for students' engagement with the technology.
High Temperature Water as an Etch and Clean for SiO2 and Si3N4
Authors:   , Barclay Joshua David
Published: February 2025

An environmentally friendly, and contamination free process for etching and cleaning semiconductors is critical to future of the IC industry. Under the right conditions, water has the ability to meet these requirements. Water becomes more reactive as a function of temperature in part because the number of hydronium and hydroxyl ions increase. As water approaches its boiling point, the concentration of these species increases over seven times their concentrations at room temperature. At 150 °C, when the liquid state is maintained, these concentrations increase 15 times over room temperature. Due to its enhanced reactivity, high temperature water (HTW) has been studied as an etch and clean of thermally grown SiO2, Si3N4, and low-k films. High temperature deuterium oxide (HT-D2O) behaves similarly to HTW; however, it dissociates an order of magnitude less than HTW resulting in an equivalent reduction in reactive species. This allowed for the effects of reactive specie concentration on etch rate to be studied, providing valuable insight into how HTW compares to other high temperature wet etching processes such as hot phosphoric acid (HPA). Characterization was conducted using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to determine chemical changes due to etching, spectroscopic ellipsometry to determine film thickness, profilometry to measure thickness change across the samples, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), contact angle to measure changes in wetting behavior, and UV-Vis spectroscopy to measure dissolved silica in post etch water. HTW has demonstrated the ability to effective etch both SiO2 and Si3N4, HT-D2O also showed similar etch rates of Si3N4 indicating that a threshold reactive specie concentration is needed to maximize etch rate at a given temperature and additional reactive species do not further increase the etch rate. Because HTW has no hazardous byproducts, high temperature water could become a more environmentally friendly etchant of SiO2 and Si3N4 thin films.
Influence of Social Media on Decision Making of the Kuwait National Assembly Members: Case Study
Authors:   , Alfarhoud Yousef T.
Published: February 2025

In Kuwait, an increase in the use of social media by the Kuwait National Assembly (KNA) has allowed it members to reach out to the public and so advance their political agenda. This study examines social media influences on the decision making process; addresses the lack of academic research in relation to KNA members; and seeks to understand the extent to which public political engagement using social media might affect the outcome of their decision making. The proposed social media influence model (SMIM) was used to explore the relationships and relative importance of variables influencing legislator decision making in a social media environment. The second decade of the twenty-first century saw a number of major issues emerging in Kuwait. A core mixed method design known as explanatory sequential was applied to multiple sets of data generated during KNA members' 14th (2013-2016) and 15th (2016-2018) terms. These data included Twitter messages (tweets), the KNA Information Center Parliamentary Information System legislation documents, and the news media articles. The sample was drawn from KNA membership, some of which used Twitter to comment on major events with specific hashtags and the Kuwaiti news media articles related to the same. Study results confirm and support the proposed SMIM. They also suggest that a single person or a group of individuals (in this case, legislators) can be influenced and motivated to use social media for self-promotion and/or advancing their political agenda. Consequently, they can be used to devise ways for improving the use of social media by KNA members in support of legislative work, which in turn will provide citizens with access to real-time information and enhanced political interaction.
A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Turkey's Technology Integration Initiative on Teachers' Attitudes
Authors:   , Gorunmek Fatih
Published: February 2025

The purpose of this study was to determine the overall effectiveness of Turkey's technology integration initiative on teachers' attitudes and examine the moderating effects of related study characteristics. The 22 studies in this meta-analysis, carried out between the years 2010 and 2017, investigated the effects of Turkey's technology integration initiative on teachers' attitudes and met the inclusion criteria. This study followed a traditional meta-analysis research approach utilizing Hedge's g effect size to combine studies. The effect size was calculated using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (CMA) software. The result (g = .31) indicates that Turkey's technology integration initiative had a moderate but significant influence on teacher attitudes. In addition to teacher attitudes, barriers that could contribute to some K–12 teachers' lack of integration training were identified. Based on the results it is recommended that future professional development and training for teachers include assessments of teacher technology usage by administrators, an increase in time for collaborative planning among teachers, and more just-in-time technology support for technology integration.
Adolescent Academic Adjustment during Chronic Illness: Online Training for Child Life Specialists
Authors:   , Koussa Michelle D
Published: February 2025

Frequent absences resulting from a chronic illness can disrupt adolescent school involvement, impacting academic achievement and psychosocial development as a result. This study explores whether certified child life specialists (CCLSs) could be a resource for parents as they address their adolescents' academic disruptions. Specifically, this study assesses an online training program designed to increase CCLSs' knowledge and self-efficacy as related to adolescents' academic adjustment following frequent absences. This knowledge and skill based training was designed as a three part module with sections including: academic considerations, psychosocial considerations, and availability of school resources in promoting successful adolescent academic adjustment. 62 CCLSs were recruited to participate and complete measures evaluating knowledge, in relation to content included in each module, and self-efficacy, involving communication with parents in regards to adolescent academic adjustment. T-tests were conducted to determine whether there were differences in reports of self-efficacy and knowledge following participation in the intervention between and within the treatment and control groups. Results indicate statistical significance for enhanced knowledge and self-efficacy for the treatment group at post-test. Therefore, the outcomes from this study support the effectiveness of brief online training in fostering knowledge and feelings of efficacy for CCLSs in a context not typically included in child life education or certification. As a result, findings from this study may be used to expand intervention programs in the clinical setting to provide more comprehensive psychosocial care to adolescents diagnosed with a chronic illness.
Increasing the Quantity and Quality of Caregivers' Use of Social Reinforcement in a Large Residential Facility
Authors:   , Brown Madison McMurray
Published: February 2025

Behavior-specific praise has been shown to increase rate of desired behaviors for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, though it is rarely used by caregivers in residential facilities for adults with disabilities. Prompting in the form of tactile stimulation has been demonstrated to increase rate of behavior-specific praise delivered by teachers and caregivers. The purpose of the current study was to increase the quantity and quality of behavior-specific praise statements that were delivered by caregivers to individuals at a large residential facility for adults with disabilities. A tactile prompting device (Gymboss Interval Timer and Stopwatch) was provided to the caregivers and set to vibrate for one second at intervals of five minutes, for a total of six intervals. Instructions were provided to the caregivers to deliver behavior-specific praise statements, for appropriate behaviors, to their assigned clients every time a vibration occurred. Examples of behavior-specific praise statements were provided to the caregivers before each session, but no feedback was delivered during the prompting phase. Results indicated that a tactile prompting device was effective at increasing rate of behavior-specific praise statements delivered by caregivers in as little as one session.
A Comparative Study of Piano Etudes by György Sandor Ligeti and Unsuk Chin: A Technical and Stylistic Guide to Mastering the Difficulties of Their Etudes
Authors:   , Jang Miyoun
Published: February 2025

Unsuk Chin (b.1961), a Korean-born woman composer, was a student of Gyorgy Sandor Ligeti (1923-2006). Chin's work reflects the influence of Ligeti but also undeniably has its own style. This study investigates the six piano etudes so far published from 12 Piano Etudes (1995-2003) by Unsuk Chin and compares them with Ligeti's piano etudes to highlight the influence of the teacher on the student and to aid pianists in facing the unique technical challenges posed by both sets of etudes. The practice guide provided in this study for each specific technical difficulty requires a degree of patience from a student which, if followed, will enhance the performance.
Peeling Back the Layers of Ambidexterity in Multi-Business Firms
Authors:   , Struckell Beth Maney
Published: February 2025

There is a dual accountability accepted by top executives of large multi-business firms (MBFs) to both consistently deliver performance in the short term and cultivate scalable opportunities for future growth, which requires that they be able to implement both evolutionary and revolutionary change. Researchers have defined this capability as organizational ambidexterity (OA) and deemed it a crucial requirement for every organization. Literature in the field of organizational ambidexterity (OA) describes the need to simultaneously orchestrate attention and activities along two dimensions of ambidexterity: exploitation and exploration. This dissertation peels back the layers in MBFs to generate a deeper understanding of OA in the MBF, by answering three research questions, using a mixed method approach-qualitative study followed by quantitative study: (1) What is an appropriate specification of OA in an MBF? (2) Are there differences in exploration and exploitation across the three levels within the MBF? and (3) Is there a relationship between exploration and exploitation and MBF performance at each of the three levels within the MBF? Qualitative Study 1 was conducted in December 2017, to investigate and confirm the appropriateness of the three-level operationalization of OA in MBFs. The data comprised eleven semi-structured interviews with senior executives that serve or have served as independent board directors (IBDs), chief executive officers (CEOs) or business unit general managers (BUGMs). The executives were able to articulate the existence of and differences in exploitation and exploration roles and activities at each of the three levels. Study 2 was conducted during June 2018, designed to test five sets of hypotheses. The study used a qualified panel of senior executives to generate a representative sample of respondents in each of three roles: IBDs, CEOs, and BUGMs. Data was collected through an online survey instrument, distributed to the panelists by Qualtrics and Centiment. Completed surveys resulted in a sample of 256 MBFs. Two separate one-way ANOVAs and Tukey post hoc means comparison tests were conducted; the results find significant differences in exploration at the board, corporate and business unit levels. Likewise, findings support statistically significant differences in exploitation at the board, corporate and business unit levels. For the third research question, exploration and exploitation were individually regressed against two measures of MBF performance, using IBM SPSS 25 software. At each of the three levels (board, corporate and business unit), statistically significant relationships were found between at least one of the ambidexterity dimensions and MBF performance, providing partial support of the hypotheses.
In Defense of Wilderness: A Documentation of the Social and Cultural Aspects of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA)
Authors:   , Brickle Tyler A.
Published: February 2025

My thesis research provides an alternative argument for the protection of the wilderness that extends far beyond that of the purely biological and instead looks at wilderness for the intrinsic value, focusing on the social and cultural aspects. Through an ethnographic approach, I uncovered the how, why, and in what context people connect with wilderness and how people lean on these experiences. Through analysis of the interviews and data that was collected, I was able to identify tangible and intangible values associated with wilderness exploration and understand how these social and cultural aspects manifest themselves in people's day-to-day lives.
Cardiovascular Response to a Behavioral Restraint Challenge: Urge Magnitude Influence in Men and Women
Authors:   , Mlynski Christopher
Published: February 2025

Agtarap, Wright, Mlynski, Hammad, and Blackledge took an initial step in providing support for the predictive validity of a new conceptual analysis concerned with behavioral restraint, defined as active resistance against a behavioral impulse or urge. The current study was designed to partially replicate and extend findings from their study, employing a common film protocol and a procedure for inducing low- and high levels of fatigue. Analyses on key data indicated that the fatigue manipulation was ineffective. On the other hand, they supported the suggestion that behavioral restraint should be proportional to the strength of an urge being resisted so long as success is perceived as possible and worthwhile. Analyses also provided evidence of gender differences for this behavioral restraint task. Women showed relatively enhanced CV responses to my manipulation of urge magnitude, performed less well, rated the behavioral restraint challenge as harder, and rated success on the more difficult behavioral restraint task as more important. A broad indication is that men and women can differ in the strength of impulses they experience in response to stimulus presentations as well as in the importance they place on resisting the impulses.
Multimodal Literacy Portfolios: Expressive and Receptive Opportunities for Children Labeled "At-Risk"
Authors:   , Young Whitney
Published: February 2025

Current literacy assessments are focused on a single mode of meaning-making (reading and writing, whether oral or written) and assume that literacy and language are "fixed systems"-- comprised of discrete skills that can be taught and measured in isolation. This validation and privileging of a single mode of assessment has resulted in children labeled "At-risk" falling significantly behind those without this label. This study investigates what a teacher can learn from a diverse range of assessment forms and modes. In a fourth-grade self-contained classroom, students engaged in multimodal assessments and created multimodal portfolios. Five students labeled "At-risk" were chosen for a deeper analysis. Students' artifacts, interviews, and observations served as the main data sources. Both narrative analysis and analysis of narrative were utilized to generate a more complete narrative of these five students as meaning makers and communicators. The general findings suggest that these children labeled "At-risk" were, in fact, able to engage in multimodal thinking and communication from a critical stance.
Using Posterior Predictive Checking of Item Response Theory Models to Study Invariance Violations
Authors:   , Xin Xin
Published: February 2025

The common practice for testing measurement invariance is to constrain parameters to be equal over groups, and then evaluate the model-data fit to reject or fail to reject the restrictive model. Posterior predictive checking (PPC) provides an alternative approach to evaluating model-data discrepancy. This paper explores the utility of PPC in estimating measurement invariance. The simulation results show that the posterior predictive p (PP p) values of item parameter estimates respond to various invariance violations, whereas the PP p values of item-fit index may fail to detect such violations. The current paper suggests comparing group estimates and restrictive model estimates with posterior predictive distributions in order to demonstrate the pattern of misfit graphically.
A Phenomenological Exploration of Counselors' Experiences in Personal Therapy
Authors:   , Bevly Cynthia M.
Published: February 2025

Professional counselors may choose to increase self-awareness and/or engage in self-care through the use of personal therapy. In particular, counselors may feel reluctant to pursue personal therapy due to stigma related to their professional identity. To date, researchers have paid limited attention to the unique concerns of counselors in personal therapy. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore counselors' experiences and decision-making in seeking personal therapy. I addressed the following questions: What contributes to counselors' decision to seek personal therapy? How do counselors make meaning of their experiences in utilizing personal therapy? Participants included 13 licensed professional counselors who had attended personal therapy with a licensed mental health professional in the past three years. I identified six emergent themes through adapted classic phenomenological analysis: presenting concerns, therapist attributes, intrapersonal growth, interpersonal growth, therapeutic factors, and challenges. Participants reported positive changes in personality and relationships, as well as several barriers specifically related to their counselor identity. Findings inform mental health professionals and the field of counselor education and supervision about the personal and professional needs of counselors. Limitations and future research directions are discussed.
School District Actions that Support the Development of Professional Learning Communities in High Schools
Authors:   , Axelson Gregory Carl
Published: February 2025

A gap exists in education research in the area of district support for campus-based professional learning communities (PLCs). The current study was an examination of practitioner perceptions of district structures and practices that support the development and sustainability of PLCs in public high schools. I examined the perceptions of 341 teachers, campus administrators, and district administrators in a suburban North Texas public school district with three comprehensive high schools. Using a sequential mixed-method design, quantitative data from an electronic survey and qualitative data from face-to-face interviews were collected and analyzed. The findings revealed a generally positive view of central office support among the participants, including consistent ratings from each high school, each campus-level position, each content area, and each level of experience in the district. There was some misalignment of perceptions between campus-level and district-level staff. The study also uncovered a set of best and worst district practices, the six PLC strengtheners and six PLC inhibitors, which were synthesized into a set of recommendations and guidelines for district support for high school PLCs. From participant feedback, I concluded district support is needed and desired by high school practitioners and there are specific district practices and structures that are most effective. While the study results provide a practical set of recommendations for school districts for supporting high school PLC efforts, expanded research is necessary to confirm transferability to school districts of diverse sizes, locations, and demographics.
Validation of an Observation and Evaluation Instrument for the Supervision of Middle and Secondary Pre-Service Teachers
Authors:   , Bush Brandon
Published: February 2025

The purpose of the study was to determine the validity and reliability of a revised observation and evaluation instrument of middle and secondary pre-service clinical teaching to be used as part of the clinical supervision cycle and for formative purposes. The North Texas Appraisal of Classroom Teaching (NTACT) serves as a performance assessment tool utilized by a south-central university-based educator preparation program for the evaluation and supervision of pre-service teachers during their last semester of their program. The researcher piloted and field-tested a redesigned observation and evaluation instrument (NTACT-V2) on observer participants with varying educational experiences in the south-central region. To accumulate evidence of validity and reliability, this study employed methods of factor analysis and generalizability study for developing a valid and reliable instrument to guide the refinement process of the NTACT observation and evaluation instrument. Some of the significant conclusions reached in this study were (a) the NTACT-V2 is a practical, user-friendly classroom observation and evaluation instrument; (b) the instrument refined and developed in this study exhibits appropriate content, face, and criterion validity as determined by a panel of experts and an extensive review of the literature; and, (c) a variety of observers can use the evaluation instrument with relative ease while achieving a high degree of reliability.
Creating Discussion: An Auteur Analysis of Films Directed by Adrian Lyne
Authors:   , Oliver Stephanie
Published: February 2025

This thesis examines the various "signature" threads that are present within the "oeuvre" of the Hollywood filmmaker Adrian Lyne. The goal of this thesis is to showcase both how and why Lyne can be thought of as an auteur and to open up his films to new and previously unexplored meanings. Lyne's eight feature films are analyzed in-depth individually and in comparison to one another from a variety of theoretical frameworks and points of focus in each of the body chapters.
Composer/Performer Collaboration as Seen in the Solo Piano Part of Percy Grainger's Edition of the Edvard Grieg Piano Concerto in A Minor Opus 16
Authors:   , Lee Sungyo
Published: February 2025

The purpose of this document is threefold. First, it demonstrates what Grieg contributes to the musical text compared with the original Peters edition, particularly, those additions that refer to expression, interpretation, and style. Second, this document focuses on presenting Grainger's changes that were approved by Grieg. Third, the document evaluates Grainger's own suggestions for pedaling, hand redistribution and fingering, addition of notes, tempo markings, and other performance guidelines.
"The Eviction"
Authors:   , Galloway Andrew Reynolds
Published: February 2025

The Eviction is a film about the forced eviction of a large homeless encampment in Dallas. In an effort to understand the gravity over a month of filming I will capture the stories of people, events, and the trials of those who are trying to offer a hand up.
Relations among Parental Responding to Offspring Emotion, Emotion Approach Coping, and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms among Trauma-Exposed College Students
Authors:   , Dziurzyński Kristan E.
Published: February 2025

The present investigation evaluated whether dispositional use of emotional approach coping partially accounts for the association between parental response to emotional expression and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in a sample of 252 trauma-exposed individuals drawn from a pool of college students and college-age members of the community at-large. An online survey assessed parental reactions to participants' negative emotions during childhood (i.e., offspring retrospective report), as well as participant trauma history, PTSS, and use of emotional approach coping. Findings complement literature illustrating the long-lasting implications of the parent-child relationship, such that both supportive and unsupportive parenting were related to PTSS. Supportive parental reactions also were related to emotional expression, but not emotional processing, and unsupportive reactions did not significantly relate to either aspect of emotional approach coping. Notably, emotional approach coping strategies were unrelated to PTSS in the full sample, and thus the indirect effects models were not supported. Post hoc analyses indicated preliminary support for the indirect effect of emotional expression on the relation between supportive parenting and PTSS in the local college student sample (n = 117). Limitations and implications for future research are discussed.
The Lived Experiences of African American Community College Achievers in Developmental Education
Authors:   , Hicks Janice Marie
Published: February 2025

Developmental education courses are typically defined as courses offered at postsecondary institutions below college level instruction. More than 60% of community college students are deemed non-college ready and required to enroll in non-credit bearing developmental education courses. Research shows that developmental education can be either a bridge or barrier to degree attainment for racial/ethnic minority students, particularly African Americans, who require developmental education more than any other racial/ethnic groups. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of African American community college achievers who were required to enroll in two or more developmental education courses. Achievers were defined as students who passed all developmental education courses and were enrolled in their final college gateway course at the time of the interviews. Utilizing a phenomenological approach and anti-deficit framework, 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted to capture the essence of how African American achievers described, interpreted, and understood their journeys from developmental education to becoming college ready to completing college level courses. Twelve participants were female and three were male, ranging from 20 to 52 years old. Results revealed seven major themes. The first research question addressed how achievers described their developmental education experience from pre-collegiate years through inside the classroom, and four themes emerged: (a) Achievers experienced difficulty from childhood through college matriculation; (b) achievers experienced support from familial and institutional agents; (c) achievers experienced chilly instructional environments; and (d) achievers experienced positive interactions with peer tutors. The second research question addressed factors that contributed to the persistence of achievers, and three themes emerged: (a) Achievers persisted because of clearly defined goals; (b) achievers persisted because of help seeking behaviors; and (c) achievers persisted because of intrinsic motivation that stemmed from difficult life experiences. Although the majority of participants were discouraged by the requirement to enroll in two or more non-college level courses, all stated that developmental education courses served as a bridge to their success in college level courses. Because developmental education is positioned at the intersection of secondary and postsecondary education, recommendations for policy, practice, and future research are presented for both educational levels.