Nutrition researchers, clinicians, and communication scholars have assumed that contradictory health and nutrition messages exist in the news media, and that exposure to these messages negatively influences public understanding and health behavior. This dissertation does not take issue with these claims, but rather with the evidence base that…

Because Black males are significantly underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors at predominantly White institutions (PWIs), this study sought to answer what the relationships are between racial identity, self-efficacy, institutional integration, and academic experience of successful Black, male STEM majors…

"Stereotype threat is being at risk of confirming, as a self-characteristic, a negative stereotype about one's group" (C. M. Steele & Aronson, 1995, p. 797). A stereotype threat effect then is described as the detrimental impact on a person's performance or achievement measurements when they are placed in a stereotype threat environment. For…

The purpose of this research was to design and evaluate a web-based self-learning environment for historical inquiry embedded with different types of instructional support featuring story-based pedagogical agents. This research focused on designing a learning environment by integrating story-based instruction and pedagogical agents as a means to…

As the nonprofit sector continues to grow in size and importance in American society, successful organizations proactively initiate strategic planning so they can be more responsive to changing circumstances, underlying trends, and shifting demands. At times, however, organizations develop elaborate plans that are never implemented. Unfortunately,…

This study is concerned with the fact that many colleges and universities have adopted strategic diversity plans, but many still fall short of reaping the benefits that diversity brings to the college environment (Milem, Chang, & Antonio, 2005). Today, several colleges and universities have developed a chief diversity officer (CDO) position to…

The current work offers a comprehensive examination of stress and tone in ten Indo-Aryan languages, providing novel analyses within Optimality Theory. The languages are divided into three categories: those in which tone is attracted to stress; those in which stress is attracted to tone; and those in which no interaction between stress and tone…

Graduate preparatory programs in student affairs usually include a graduate-assistantship experience. This experience is intended to expose students to valuable work experiences that will afford them the opportunity to apply theory to practice, as well as build professional competence. The underlying assumption is that this is primarily an…

This qualitative case study reports on a three-year writing enrichment program among second, third, and fourth graders at a public urban elementary school in a medium-sized midwestern city. Designed as teacher research, the inquiry is a phenomenological examination of the experience of the workshop for its participants, including more than one…

The Calling and Vocation Questionnaire (CVQ) is a measure based on Dik and Duffy's (2009) theoretical conceptualization of calling, which includes three dimensions: (1) a transcendent summons, (2) deriving or expressing meaning or purpose through work, and (3) a prosocial orientation in work. Additionally, this definition posits two overarching…

This quantitative study examined the perceptions of Alabama community college students and faculty toward Web-enhanced courses and the impact of these courses on the educational experience as defined by Chickering and Gamson's "Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education," an empirically based model. Secondarily, the study sought…

Educational institutions of all levels invest large amounts of time and resources into instructional technology, with the goal of enhancing the educational effectiveness of the learning environment. The decisions made by instructors and institutions regarding the implementation of technology are guided by perceptions of usefulness held by those…

The level of inquiry in science education has been the subject of a great deal of research by organizations such as The National Resource Council, The National Science Teachers Association, and The National Science Resources Center. Although inquiry has been promulgated as best practice, most colleges have not included inquiry science instruction…

Oral communication in mathematics classroom plays an essential role in the mathematics learning process, because it allows students to share ideas, refine their thoughts, reflect on their methods, and clarify their understanding (NCTM, 2000). Knowledge about teacher oral communication behaviors allows researchers and policy makers to identify and…

Through classroom observation, digital videos, and face-to face-interviews, this study investigated the phenomenon of student engagement within one inquiry-oriented secondary science classroom. The data suggests that students engage in very different ways and these individual approaches often do not match with the narrow vision of engagement held…