Autism spectrum disorders can result in developmental disabilities that cause communication and behavioral problems (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). The frequency of Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnoses has increased significantly which has led to investigations to determine if environmental triggers are responsible for the disorder (Trousdale, 2010). This sequential mixed methods study focuses on mercury, which is known to cause neurotoxicity in children. More specificall...
Erica Anita Wisniewski.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Includes supplementary digital materials.
Advisors: Twiest, Mark G. Committee members: George Bieger; Joann Migyanka.
D.Ed. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2015.
English

Student development and identity formation have long been considered an important outcome of attending college. However, the introduction of web-based social networking technologies has played a significant role in fundamentally altering many aspects of campus life. The most popular social networking site, Facebook.com was initially developed on a college campus, specifically for use by other students. Despite Facebook's prevalence on campus and beyond, little is known about the impact that F...
Christopher J Selena.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Rotigel, Jennifer V.; Lare, Douglas Committee members: Richard Wesp.
D.Ed. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2015.
English

The purpose of this study explores the motivations of community college faculty, adjuncts, and administrators who seek and obtain doctoral degrees. There were three categories of volunteers, all employed by a community college. These were volunteers who had recently completed a doctoral degree in the last five years, were currently enrolled in a doctoral program, or were seriously considering enrolling in a doctoral program in the near future. The research questions for this study sought to d...
Tomi Waters.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Jalongo, Mary R. Committee members: George Bieger; Kelli Kerry-Moran.
D.Ed. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2015.
English

Poetry is often characterized by sensorial and descriptive density, strengths ideal for sensory analysis in literature, yet sensory analysis in poetry has been limited to ekphrasis and synaesthesia, both of which entail transfer, across art forms and across senses, respectively. Despite expanded modern definitions of sense, these approaches have been limited to addressing the traditional five "external" senses, and limited further by emphasis on the two "higher" external senses: sight and hea...
Tino George Wilfong.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Sherwood, Kenneth Committee members: Christopher Orchard; Michael Williamson.
Ph.D. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2015.
English

Analyses of the self-dubbed literary group, "The Inklings," which C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien attended, tend to decry a unified worldview of its authors. Although true of the entire Inklings group, few scholars have sought to recognize the shared Weltanschauungen of select Inklings and their predecessors. The purpose of my research is to overturn the misapplication of a divided worldview among two Inklings, Tolkien and Lewis, and their forerunners, G. K. Chesterton and George MacDonald. ...
Zachary Andrew Rhone.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Orchard, Christopher Committee members: Charles Bressler; David Downing; Don King; Todd Thompson.
Ph.D. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2014.
English

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) is a statute that contains a data-rich history rested upon a very controversial policy issue - that is, has the NLRA's primary policy directive fundamentally changed? The crux of this controversy is predicated upon a divergent policy interpretation that has manifested ever since the original law was amended in 1947 (Morris, 2012). While scholars, such as Gross (1985), have affirmed that policy directives have altered throughout the law's history, little...
Paul L Rainey.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Heasley, Robert Committee members: Valerie Gunter; Michael Korns.
Ph.D. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2015.
English

This research aims to improve scholarly understandings of doctoral feedback practices, thereby exploring how doctoral students develop their academic writing abilities. Specifically, I was interested in how individual writers incorporate all the information available to them and how each source of feedback interacts with the others in the writing process. Unlike previous studies, feedback in this study also includes various forms of advice that can influence an understanding of a task as well...
Kyung Min Kim.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Hanauer, David I. Committee members: Gloria Park; Bennett Rafoth.
Ph.D. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2015.
English

Currently, adaptation studies privileges obvious text pairings (source text > adaptation; the classic pairing being novel > film). Although this basic approach appears to be intertextual, it is an impoverished and limited version of intertextuality, which is elsewhere a rich and multifaceted paradigm in literary studies. No one ever has a single textual model in mind when reading. Texts are always multiple in every act of reading, and the purpose of this dissertation is to present the text...
Sarah Elizabeth Davis.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Kuipers, Christopher Committee members: Tanya Heflin; Thomas Slater.
Ph.D. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2015.
English

Local television news has played an important role in creating informed and in-volved citizens. In such a technology-driven society, televised news stations face in-creased competition from online, on-demand media. In response, stations seek to provide more information using added production elements. A significant concern in the litera-ture is whether information overload occurs when viewers are inundated with an abun-dance of information and if this impacts long-term retention (LC4MP). T...
Brittany L Pavolik.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Piwinsky, Mark J. Committee members: Jim Lenze; Jay Start.
Ph.D. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2015.
English

Healthcare safety is a major focus for all members of the healthcare team. Registered nurses serve as the one member of the healthcare team that cares for the hospitalized patients throughout their entire stay. Nurses also comprise the largest collective member of the healthcare team. Their combined numbers and hours create the highest level of influence for navigating patients safely through their hospitalization. A higher level of mindfulness leads to a Highly Reliable Organization, improvi...
Sheri A Matter.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Anderson, John Committee members: Valarie Gunter; J. Mabry; Louann Zinsmeister.
Ph.D. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2015.
English

This mixed-methods study explored the perspectives of nursing students and educators on the use of educational gaming as an experiential learning strategy. The study investigated if educational games are being used in the classroom, the purpose for which they are used, whether or not educational games are beneficial to students in motivating them to learn content material, and students' and nursing educators' overall experience with and attitude towards educational games. The sample include...
Johanna E Boothby.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Creany, Anne Committee members: George Bieger; Theresa Gropelli.
D.Ed. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2014.
English

This qualitative phenomenological study describes the "lived experiences" of ten junior and senior baccalaureate nursing students after learning nursing communication practices in a theater course taught by theater faculty. Researcher observation of the students during the interviews, the students' reported experiences, and journal writings were used to determine if the methods used in the theater course were beneficial to their overall abilities in practicing effective communication in the ...
Pamela S O'Harra.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Paquette, Kelli R. Committee members: Anne Creany; Theresa Gropelli; DeAnna Laverick.
D.Ed. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2014.
English

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to determine special education teachers' perceptions of music teachers' involvement in the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) process. The study also examined types of collaborations that exist between music and special education teachers when working with students with special needs and the factors that may or may not support collaboration. Data were collected through a researcher-constructed survey. The survey asked participants (N = 181) to rate...
Melissa A Douglas-Kline.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Laverick, DeAnna M. Committee members: Laura Ferguson; Kelli Paquette.
Ed.D. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2015.
English

Sports act as a social institution in the United States and athlete lives encompass much of network headlines. Resulting from the popularization of sports entertainment has been an enhanced insight into the lives of professional athletes. Namely, this coverage has become increasingly focused on deviant and criminal behavior committed by these individuals. Given the crucial role the media plays in perceptions of offenders, the question arises as to how professional athletes are perceived when...
Robert P Stallings.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Roberts, Jennifer J. Committee members: Jonathon Cooper; Erika Frenzel; John Lewis.
Ph.D. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2015.
English

Improving education continues to be at the forefront in the minds of policymakers, administrators, teachers, and parents (Glickman, Gordon, & Ross-Gordon, 2004; Franklin, 2014; Manigiante, 2011). Most states are in the process of implementing policies that base teacher ratings on student learning. Sweeping changes have impacted school districts with the signing of House Bill 1901 (Act 82 of 2012), which required the Secretary of Education to establish a new rating system for evaluating teache...
James P Prager.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Marcoline, Joseph Committee members: Cathy Kaufman; Robert Millward.
D.Ed. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2015.
English

In recent years, there has been an ongoing, polarizing debate within the field of school psychology over the use of Response-to-Intervention (RTI) methods versus cognitive processing/neuropsychological assessment methods for the identification of learning disabilities (LDs). Although this debate has been conceptualized in a number of ways, personality-which has been shown to yield an influence on school psychologists' preferred role and job satisfaction-has not yet been explored as a potentia...
Bridget L O'Connell.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: McGowan, Mark R. Committee members: Lynanne Black; Timothy Runge; Mark Staszkiewicz.
D.Ed. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2015.
English

With the increasing number of children being diagnosed with autism and the influx of these students in the public school system, the percentage of students receiving services will continue to multiply over the next several years. As a result, public education must be prepared to properly execute intervention strategies by using effective inclusion models to incorporate appropriate accommodations and placements for elementary-aged children with autism. The purpose of this qualitative stu...
Kristie L Shulsky.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Paquette, Kelli Committee members: Joseph Marcoline; Susan Sibert.
D.Ed. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2015.
English

The purpose of this qualitative dissertation was to capture the lived experiences of six female undergraduate students majoring in communications media when constructing a 2D game interface. This study provides real world accounts of the students' experiences designing and developing a game interface in a social constructionist environment without the presence of an instructor. This research study asked three main questions, which where: What are the lived experiences of female students as th...
Christopher W Juengel.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Almeida, Luis Committee members: Jeffery Ritchey; B. Wilson.
Ph.D. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2014.
English

Changes in healthcare delivery, that are due in part to increased patient acuity and advances in technology, challenge nurse educators to prepare graduates that can practice in this complex environment. The use of simulation is one way nurse educators can meet this challenge. Although, simulation is not new in nursing education, it too has undergone changes due to technological advances making it more valuable than ever as a teaching tool for nurse educators. This has caused a rapid growth in...
Susan Lanzara.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Chunta, Kristy Committee members: Elizabeth Palmer; Teresa Shellenbarger.
Ph.D. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2014.
English

This study examines the effect of media on voting practices for the 2012 presidential election through analysis of individual activities within traditional media and social media platforms. Data were gathered using the published New Jersey Board of Elections data for registered voters, including whether they voted in the 2012 presidential election, and survey responses from a sample of registered voters within one county in a Northeastern State. Previous research predicted social media would ...
Susan Jane McManimon.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Stiegler, Zachary J. Committee members: Mary Beth Leidman; Mark Piwinsky.
Ph.D. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2014.
English

This dissertation studies postmodernist tendencies in the narrative style and thematic structure of the novels of three contemporary Arab American novelists: Laila Halaby, Diana Abu-Jaber, and Rabih Alameddine. Reading these texts from postmodernist perspectives shows that while many readers of the Arab American novel are tempted to see this tradition in terms of postcoloniality and otherness, Arab American novelists employ urgent postmodern tendencies which, while maintaining their distinct...
Ibrahim Azizi.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Yang, Lingyan Committee members: Christopher Orchard; Thomas Slater.
Ph.D. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2015.
English

The researcher investigated the predictive strength of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills, Next Edition (DIBELS Next) Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) assessment to the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Third Edition (WIAT-III) ORF and Reading Comprehension subtests. The sample consisted of 75 second through fifth grade students who participated in a special education eligibility evaluation. Archival data included teacher-collected DIBELS Next ORF Words Correct (WC) and Acc...
Jaclyn R Pollard.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Runge, Timothy J. Committee members: Lynanne Black; Joseph Kovaleski; Mark Staszkiewicz.
D.Ed. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2015.
English

This qualitative case study examined the perceptions of primary teachers and parents regarding the physical, verbal, and indirect bullying by identifying the individual teacher characteristics that influenced teacher responses to bullying and parents' understanding and responses to bullying. The research was designed to (a) identify how primary teachers and parents defined bullying, (b) understand how personal and professional experiences and other factors impacted primary teacher and parent...
Sharon Weber.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Kaufman, Cathy C. Committee members: J. Thomas Frantz; Kelli Paquette.
D.Ed. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2015.
English

This qualitative case study explores the implementation of ePortfolios by writing teachers in Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) schools. A constructivist approach is used as a theoretical framework for designing the study and for understanding the function of ePortfolios in writing classes. This exploration of the use of ePortfolios for teaching and assessing writing examines the emerging benefits and challenges of its use in writing classes. The study further explores th...
Maha Alawdat.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Pagnucci, Gian S. Committee members: Bryna Finer; Gloria Park.
Ph.D. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2015.
English