The effectiveness of a pre-graduation animal assisted therapy internship site was investigated through an ethnographic, phenomenological methodology with mixed-methods components. A total of 12 participants who fit into either the category of supervisor, intern, or administrator involved in the animal assisted therapy practice, were interviewed. A research team analyzed the qualitative interview data and researcher participant field notes and came to a consensus of eight major themes: ranch environment, ranch modalities, community impact, counselor development, relationships, partnership, sense of purpose, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Past historical client data were analyzed (n = 47) to investigate effectiveness of the AAT internship cite through the lens of the clients. Historical client data was divided into three categories, dependent on the client's age and the assessment taken: Adult Self Report (ASR), Youth Self Report (YSR), and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). A paired t-test was run for each assessment group to compare the means of the pre-assessment scores and the means of the post assessment scores for the total problems scale and anxiety problems scale. There was a statistically significant decrease in anxiety problems for the CBCL group. There was a marginally statistically significant decrease in total problems for the CBCL group. There were …

This dissertation details the use of computational methods to understand the effect that cancer-related mutations have on proteins that complex with nucleic acids. Firstly, we perform molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of various mutations in DNA polymerase κ (pol κ). Through an experimental collaboration, we classify the mutations as more or less active than the wild type complex, depending upon the incoming nucleotide triphosphate. From these classifications we use quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) to explore the reaction mechanism. Preliminary analysis points to a novel method for nucleotide addition in pol κ. Secondly, we study the ten-eleven translocation 2 (TET2) enzyme in various contexts. We find that the identities of both the substrate and complementary strands (or lack thereof) are crucial for maintaining the complex structure. Separately, we find that point mutations within the protein can affect structural features throughout the complex, only at distal sites, or only within the active site. The mutation's position within the complex alone is not indicative of its impact. Thirdly, we share a new method that combines direct coupling analysis and MD to predict potential rescue mutations using poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 as a model enzyme. Fourthly, we perform MD simulations of mutations in the protection of …

The early modern English masque is a hybrid form of entertainment that included music, dance, poetry, and visual spectacle, and for which there is no modern equivalent. This dissertation looks at four incarnations of the Elizabethan and Jacobean masque: the court masque, the masque embedded in the progress entertainment, the masque embedded in the commercial play, and the masque embedded in the commercial play performed at court. This study treats masques as a form of elite theatre (that is, theatre for, by, and about elite figures like monarchs and aristocrats) and follows them from the court to the countryside, through the commercial playhouse, and back again to the court in pursuit of a more nuanced picture of the hybridity and flexibility of early modern English performance culture.

The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of using AR in the Computer Architecture unit for male 11th grade students in a school in the eastern area of Arar City in Saudi Arabia through monitoring its impact on student achievement and students' perceptions of the learning environment. Two research questions are explored: What is the effect of using AR on student achievement, and what are students' perceptions of the learning environment when they use AR? Two instruments were used to collect the data in this study: an achievement test taken from the official teacher book issued by the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia and the Technology-Rich Outcomes-Focused Learning Environment Inventory (TROFLEI) modified questionnaire "actual form." Statistical analyses employed to answer the first research question included an independent-samples t-test and descriptive statistics. To investigate the second research question, descriptive statistics and a paired t-test were used. These results from the first question indicate a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) between the two groups' mean values: the students who used AR achieved a higher level of learning compared to the students who learned in the traditional way. The study found that using AR helped the students to …

Work-based and employee-driven informal learning, training and development have been increasing in importance in the last few decades. Concurrently, organizations seek to measure the extent to which they develop a culture and structure that supports individual learning and organizational learning. This study develops and validates a scale that can measure the extent to which an organization is perceived to provide online learning that is personalized for its employees and perceived to recognize skills and competencies acquired through non-degree and other pathways. This research can provide organizations with the ability to measure and benchmark attributes of their learning culture that are important to work-based and lifelong learning as well as talent recruitment and management.

The purpose of this research was two-fold: (1) further validate the Virtual Reality Stroop Task HMMWV [VRST; Stroop stimuli embedded within a virtual high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle] via a comparison of the 3-dimensional VRST factor structure to that of a 2-dimensional computerized version of the Stroop task; and (2) model the performance of machine learning [ML] classifiers and hyper-parameters for an adaptive version of the VRST. Both the 3-D VRST and 2-D computerized Stroop tasks produced two-factor solutions: an accuracy factor and a reaction time factor. The factors had low correlations suggesting participants may be focusing on either responding to stimuli accurately or swiftly. In future studies researchers may want to consider throughput, a measure of correct responses per unit of time. The assessment of naive Bayes (NB), k-nearest neighbors (kNN), and support vector machines (SVM) machine learning classifiers found that SVM classifiers tended to have the highest accuracies and greatest areas under the curve when classifying users as high or low performers. NB also performed well but kNN algorithms did not. As such, SVM and NB may be the best candidates for creation of an adaptive version of the VRST.

In order to more fully inform moves toward equity in emergency management (EM), this research seeks to describe a general landscape of professional Tribal EM, and in particular, to examine how Tribal emergency managers and Tribal Nations are situated in relation to the EM enterprise (EME), and how they are doing resilience in their Tribal Nations. The findings presented in this dissertation reflect efforts to explore and document Tribal emergency managers' descriptions of their work and their perceptions about its context as they seek to do resilience in their Tribes. Specifically, qualitative interviews were conducted with Tribal emergency managers whose Tribal Nations span the United States. Findings indicate that there is significant variation among Tribal nations in terms of EM structures and capacities; Tribal emergency managers engage in a wide array of activities to promote resilience in their communities; and Tribal EM is becoming increasingly professionalized. Importantly, however, the research also uncovered a paradox in which Tribal emergency managers, both implicitly and explicitly excluded from the EME in many ways, find themselves doing resilience in the context of an increasingly popular disaster resilience paradigm that both increasingly shifts the burden of resilience to the local level, and expands the range …

I extended and adapted the current technology acceptance models and privacy research to the peculiar context of the COVID-19 pandemic to ascertain the effective "power" of IT in fighting such a pandemic. The research models developed for the purpose of this study contain peculiar modifications to the technological-personal-environmental (TPE) framework and privacy calculus model because of the unique technologies implemented and the peculiar pandemic scenario. I developed three studies that investigate the interaction between social, legal, and technical factors that affect the adoption of IoT devices and blockchain systems implemented to fight the spread of COVID-19. Essay 1 systematically reviews existing literature on the analysis of the social, legal, and technical components in addressing phenomena related to IoT architecture and blockchain technology. The employment of a comparable coding method allows finding which of the above components is prominent in relation to the study of IoT and blockchain. Essay 2 develops a technological acceptance model by integrating the TPE framework with new constructs, i.e., regulatory environment, epidemic ecosystem, pre-epidemic ecosystem, perceived social usefulness, and technical characteristics. Essay 3 further explores the interplay between social, legal, and technical factors toward the adoption of smart contracts in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. …

Dominant narratives in western historical museums often evoke a nostalgia for a Western Frontier that did not actually exist in the United States. Many Western historical museums, in particular, preserve nostalgia of an imagined Western Frontier through narratives of white masculine heroism, by featuring objects and artifacts symbolizing American exceptionalism and conquest, and by developing a sensory experience in exhibits to recreate an idealized time in history. As our understandings of history evolve, it is increasingly more evident that there is a significant need for Western historical museums as knowledge producers to shift narratives in exhibits from the dominant white-settler perspective. An integration of different value systems, cultures, practices, and beliefs in exhibits is possible by incorporating a diversity of thought in the frameworks used to interpret history, through the inclusion of diverse stories, and through creating accessible exhibits to reach a broader public audience.

This study sought to answer critical questions surrounding the impact that national culture has on specific parts of the employment experience of employees working for multinational organizations. As globalization expands and organizations are gaining larger footprints beyond regional operations, there has become a need to understand how cultural nuances could be playing a role in the employee experiences at these organizations. This study looks at two pieces of the employee experience in great detail, the psychological contract and job satisfaction. Understanding the process that builds psychological contracts between employee and employer is a critical piece to promoting a satisfied and productive workforce. The perception of a breach of the psychological contract has substantial negative implications. Understanding how the psychological contract and employee job satisfaction are linked is a key focus of this study. Binary logistic regression and path analysis were conducted on a sample of employees of multinational organizations which provided key findings and evidence that both nationality and job satisfaction play a statistically significant role in the perception of a psychological contract breach. The path analysis provided results that warrant further research, but was unable to substantiate the moderating effects of the dimensions of national culture on job satisfaction …

Many asylum seekers have experienced trauma that causes them to flee their home country. A large portion of asylum seekers are women and are fleeing gender-based violence or experiencing it while fleeing. Due to this trauma, the researcher and the Human Rights Initiative of North Texas, a non-profit legal and social services organization, developed a research project to examine how trauma-informed,the asylum-seeking system is in the United States, specifically for those who are fleeing gender-based violence. A trauma-informed care approach attempts to address trauma and retraumatization systematically for both traumatized persons and those who work with traumatized people. This research takes a qualitative approach because it would allow for more in-depth and detailed analysis through trauma-informed, governmentality, and necropolises lenses. I interviewed 18 experts who, either as a social or legal service, specialize in working with asylum seekers who have experienced gender-based violence. These interviews, ranging from thirty minutes to an hour and a half, were recorded, transcribed, and coded for themes such as gender, trauma, and social determinants of health. None of the participants found the United States asylum-seeking system to be trauma-informed. The asylum-seeking system in the United States is not set up to meet clients where they …

Institutions of higher education are a key pathway for supplying the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce. Military service members have been identified as STEM-ready and a potential pool for STEM as they transition into civilian careers. Furthermore, women are the fastest growing subpopulation of veterans and may decrease the gender gap within STEM. Higher education researchers are interested in understanding the characteristics and experiences of students who select STEM majors and then persist to graduation. Literature related to women veterans is limited and a qualitative case study approach was utilized to achieve an in-depth understanding of their college experiences. This study examined four women who were successfully navigating STEM majors at one institution and revealed their varying motivations for enrollment and persistence. Three themes generated from this study included: self-awareness, success is personal, and military experience matters. Subsidiary themes included starting over; strategy; salience of age; stage of life; self-advocacy; standards; personal attributes; past experiences; personal responsibility for learning; procuring resources; career path (STEM) reinforced or introduced; creditable and credible; and cultivated soft skills. Veteran critical theory, multiple dimensions of identity and intersectionality were useful frameworks to reference as participants expressed the influence of their identities on their …

This study explored the effects of cultural consequences identified through a ranking task on the selection of interlocking behavioral contingencies and aggregate products constituting ethically self-controlled responses when participants had pre-existing relationships. Two experiments were conducted to explore these effects. Experiment 1 had two triads of three participants each recruited from a university-based autism center. Experiment 2 had three triads of three participants each; participants in Triads 3 and 4 were recruited from a university-based rock-climbing club while participants in Triad 5 were recruited from the same university-based autism center as in Experiment 1. All participants were exposed to a task that involved choosing odd or even rows from a matrix displayed throughout the experimental session. Individual contingencies were programmed in all conditions while metacontingencies were programmed in some conditions. Participants selected the topography of the cultural consequence through a pre-experimental ranking task prior to the onset of the experimental session. A change was made to the experimenter's verbal behavior in all operant and metacontingency conditions for Experiment 2. The results of both experiments indicate that identification of the cultural consequence through a ranking task with participants having pre-existing relationships did have an effect on the continued selection of the …

Cobalt oxynitride films formed by magnetron sputter deposition of a Co target in N2 or NH3 plasma or, alternatively, by NH3 plasma nitridation of a Co film deposited on Si(100), show a divergence of properties arising from (a) N and O interactions for N and O atoms bonded to each other or through a common metal center and (b) the oxophilicity of the metal center itself. Core and valence band X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and plane wave density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been used to probe chemical and electronic interactions of nitrogen-rich cobalt oxynitride CoO1-xNx (x > 0.7) films. DFT-based calculations supervised by the Cundari group show the zinc blende (ZB) structure is found to be energetically favored over the rocksalt (RS) structure for x > ~ 0.2, with an energy minimum observed in the ZB structure for x ~ 0.8 - 0.9. There is also agreement with experiment for core level binding energies obtained for DFT calculations based on the ZB structure and this forms the basis of a predictive model for understanding how N and O interactions impact the electronic and catalytic properties of these materials. Vanadium oxynitride films were deposited in a mixture …

Polyamory is an identity that describes the ability to experience romantic love with more than one romantic partner at a time. Polyamory is often perceived as being perverse, amoral, and relationally broken or deficient; however, people who identify as polyamorous are found to be as mentally healthy and happy as people who are monogamous. Clients who identify as polyamorous may experience their counselor as lacking familiarity with and knowledge of polyamory or as actively working against their identity. This study was a phenomenological inquiry designed to illuminate the counseling experiences of polyamorous people. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with eight participants and analyzed with a modified van Kaam method with relational-cultural theory as the framework. The three major findings that constitute the essence of this inquiry were: (a) participants experienced disappointment and disrespect in the counselor's ignorance of their vital identities, (b) the necessities of trust and connection between participant and counselor for empowerment and growth, and (c) the complementary nature of relationality in polyamory and counseling. These findings indicated counselors should seek a baseline of education on polyamory. The implications for counselor educators were to strive to envelope counselors-in-training in a culture that supports developing multicultural competency and …

Plasmonic photothermal therapy (PPTT) has a rising promise for treating different cancer cells such as lymphoma or stomach cancer. Technique development of PPTT using metallic nanoparticles is developed upon a modification of the irradiation therapy using two major changes: using a less harmful visible amber light (excluding blue light) and using gold-loaded biocompatible nanoparticles. Acrylate nanoparticles were loaded with desired types of gold nanoparticles at different sizes. The gold-loaded gold nanoparticles were conjugated to cancer cells. By selectively delivering the gold nanoparticles into cancer cells, irradiating a harmless amber visible light will achieve thermal ablation of the cancer cells. Based on imaging spectroscopy, flow cytometry, and cell viability assays, results showed reduction of gold-loaded viable cancer cells upon irradiating with amber visible light, no change in the number of cancer cells with irradiating with light only. On the other hand, DNA intercalation of a trinuclear gold(I), [Au(3-CH3,5-COOH)Pz]3 (Au3) is contrasted with the standard organic intercalators ethidium and ellipticine, as investigated computationally. Frontier molecular orbital energies of intercalators and DNA base pairs were determined and found that all intercalators are good electron acceptors with Au3 being the best electron acceptor having the lowest LUMO. DNA base pairs are better electron donors …

This study was conducted as part of a parent grantwhich examined the relationship between components of sleep and antibody responses to the flu vaccine in a population of 392 nurses working at two large hospitals. During/after sleep data was collected, nurses had blood drawn at four time points: immediately pre-vaccination, 1-, 6-, and 11-months post vaccine to obtain serum for detection of anti-influenza antibodies measured with an HI (hemagglutination inhibition) assay. Additionally, the inflammatory biomarkers IL6, IL1-β, TNF-α and CRP were measured at the pre-vaccine time point only to determine any correlation between the markers and antibody response. Data was analyzed using a hierarchical regression. In the first step, analyses assessed whether each change/average in cytokines over the one-month period had an impact on vaccine response for each of the four viral strains in the flu vaccine. In a second step, analyses assessed whether variables such as insomnia, stress, age, smoking, BMI, and race had any impact on vaccine response beyond the effects exerted through inflammation. The change in association (β) between the primary independent variable and primary dependent variable were examined in order to determine whether there are any suppression effects caused by baseline covariates on the relationship between …

This dissertation uses property values to investigate the economic effect of public expenditures for operations and capital improvements on place value. Given the increasing role of nonprofit services in augmenting those of cities and school districts, the dissertation research investigates whether nonprofit expenditures join those of cities and school districts as Tiebout commodities, thereby contributing to place value. Furthermore, the research examines whether those expenditures contribute to reducing the inequities in the distribution of property wealth. The conceptual framework for the dissertation is the Tiebout model and its various extensions. The model proposes that individuals have different preferences for public goods and services, and there are many jurisdictions that vary in the services provided. Consequently, individuals shop around for the community that best matches their preferences and locate in the one that maximizes their utility. If the model correctly predicts households' behavior, then the quality of public goods and services provided by a community will affect its desirability. The more attractive a community, the higher the demand for its properties, which results in higher property values. The dissertation research finds that city public capital spending positively impacts property values in two ways. Property values respond positively to (1) the announcement …

The onset of COVID-19 and cancellation of collegiate sports may have exacerbated student-athletes' psychological distress. Within a national sample of collegiate student-athletes (N = 5755; 66.7% women; 72.3% White), I determined how gender, race, and sport season related to rates of depression, stress, and counseling use. I used a cross-sectional methodology and collected data in April/May 2020. Overall, 26.5% (n = 1526) and 10.6% (n = 612) of the collegiate student-athletes endorsed clinical and high levels for depression and stress, respectively; 25.1% (n = 1443) and 69.7% (n = 4014) reported subclinical and moderate levels of depression and stress, respectively. Few student-athletes reported counseling use before (17.1%) or after (2.3%) the onset of COVID-19; those who reportedly used services endorsed higher levels of depression and stress than those who did not. Female student-athletes reported higher rates of depression, stress, and counseling use than male student-athletes. There were no race or sport season effects. Student-athletes who competed in spring sports endorsed higher levels of counseling use than student-athletes who participated in a fall season sport. Athletic departments must address their student-athletes' psychological distress by facilitating a higher use of mental health services.

Therapeutic alliance has been consistently demonstrated as a robust predictor of treatment outcomes, though the time in psychotherapy at which therapeutic alliance best predicts outcomes is unclear. Unfortunately, evidence suggests that racial and ethnic minority clients typically form weaker therapeutic alliances in treatment. The weaker development in therapeutic alliance among racial and ethnic minority clients may mediate discrepancies in treatment outcomes, including higher dropout rates. The purpose of this study was to explore this possibility by (1) investigating the temporal relationship between therapeutic alliance and treatment outcomes and (2) examining differences in therapeutic alliance ratings and treatment outcome, including unilateral termination, among racial and ethnic minority clients. The findings of this study may be integral to identifying and addressing psychotherapy treatment disparities that are tied to racial or ethnic minority status.

The Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) has gained widespread favor since its publication. However, validation studies of its interpretive descriptors remained limited to date. As such, the primary goal of the current study aimed at validating the interpretive descriptors through the lens of empirical correlates using the PDSQ as the external criterion. It also served as a replication and extension to the 2018 study conducted by Rogers and colleagues. The final archival sample included 204 clients from the UNT Psychology Clinic who were administered PAI between May 2016 and December 2020. Overall, reliability and construct validity were strongly supported for PAI clinical scales. Further, the current study replicated large majority of the correlates identified by Rogers and colleagues, which boosted the confidence in reproducible interpretations based on empirical correlates. Importantly, investigation of item-level and gendered correlates provided crucial interpretive implications that were otherwise obscured. For example, item-level correlates refined interpretation by clarifying the nature of scale-level correlates, particularly those of moderate strength. On the other hand, notable gender differences were identified for certain scales, which led to drastic differences in patterns of gendered vs. non-gendered correlates. Finally, several important methodological considerations are proposed in hope to facilitate the empirical research concerning …

Affirmative action policies have been a popular topic in U.S. media since their inception in the Civil Rights Act 1964. Previous studies note that race, gender, and political identity are known influencers of support for affirmative action policies; however, this dissertation analyzes the mediating effects of perceived experiences of discrimination in the workplace on a person's level of support for the preferential hiring and promotion of Black Americans based on the intersection of the race, gender, and political identity. Through social dominance theory (SDT), this dissertation highlights the motivations people may have in support or opposition of affirmative action, especially for Black Americans. Due to the historical lineage of African Americans in the U.S., stereotypes about Black people's work ethic have continued to be mostly negative-which inform hiring, promotion, and admission procedures today. Using the General Social Survey (GSS) to conduct regression and mediation analysis, this dissertation found significant support for mediation of perceived experiences to increase support for affirmative action among white females, and Black people regardless of gender or political identity. While race and gender discrimination were thought to be the most influencing forms of discrimination experienced, age discrimination showed to transcend racial, gender, and political barriers. Accordingly, …

This manuscript-style dissertation consists of three publications interconnected in their focus on the dynamically evolving use of immersive virtual reality technologies for language education. The manuscripts included in this dissertation were adapted from three research papers published or submitted for publication in scientific journals and book chapters. The first manuscript provides an overview of immersive technologies of different levels of immersion, ranging from 2D displays on a flat screen to highly immersive interactive experiences rendered in virtual reality using head-mounted displays. The second manuscript is a systematic review, and it narrows down the scope of immersive technologies outlined in the previous publication by exploring existing research on the technologies related to the highest level of immersion for language learning, namely the high-immersion virtual reality technologies. The third manuscript continues to investigate the application of those technologies for language learning, but the focus is shifted from examining virtual reality applications to exploring language teachers' beliefs about using those technologies. This dissertation offers a comprehensive overview of high-immersion virtual reality use for language learning which may serve as an ideal starting point for researchers and educators interested in learning more about the current state of virtual reality integration in schools from the …

This study investigated personalized adaptive learning, teacher education, and self-efficacy to determine if personalized adaptive teacher education can increase self-efficacy. It is suggested that teachers with higher self-efficacy tend to stay in the teaching profession longer. Chapters 2 and 3 are literature reviews on personalizing adaptive learning to determine what common components are used in personalized adaptive learning systems to get a clear understanding of what previous literature suggests building this study on it. Chapter 4 investigates the data collected from 385 teachers to understand better what teachers report on factors that increase their self-efficacy. As a result, it was found that teachers' self-efficacy increases with more training, support, and resources. In chapter 5, a framework was developed based on previous findings, with components of personalized adaptive learning to provide support/help at the right time for teachers to increase their self-efficacy. An empirical study was conducted to validate this framework, where the framework was used as a guide to personalize and adapt summer teacher preservice training and survey teachers on their self-efficacy before and after the training to see its impact on teachers' self-efficacy. However, since summer preservice training was virtual, the framework could not be implemented fully, as we …