The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of student-faculty interactions, student-staff interactions, and student-peer interactions of Latino students to their intent to persist toward graduation in community colleges in Texas. Parental educational level (for both mother and father), first generation status, gender, and English as a second language served as additional predictor variables. The existing data used for this investigation were collected by the Center for Community College Student Engagement and included longitudinal data from the years 2012, 2011, and 2010. Data from 12,488 randomly selected Latino students enrolled in Texas community colleges were obtained and used for the study. The research design method was non-experimental using extant data. To assess the relationships between student engagement variables and Latino student intent to persist, correlations and logistic regression were used. Though no relationship was found between intent to persist and student-faculty interactions (r = -.017, p = .066, n= 11,824) or student peer interactions, (r = -.012, p = .208, n = 11,766), a positive relationship was found between intent to persist and student-staff interaction (r = .048, p = .000, n = 10,794) with an extremely small effect size (r2 = .002). Among the variables of parental level of education, first generation college student status, gender, and English as a second language status, only mother's educational level emerged as a significant predictor for intent to persist, R2 = .048, ?2 (8, N = 7,862) = 62.606, p < .0001. The findings suggest the possibility that staff availability and accessibility is important for Latino student persistence. In order to retain Latino community college students, knowledgeable staff able to facilitate students' successful navigation of the educational system is recommended to be a part of the community college's student success strategies. In addition the findings regarding parental education indicate that community colleges would be well advised to offer programs that engage and include parents as students proceed toward achieving their academic goals.

Abstract The purpose of this bounded qualitative case study was to explore students' perceptions of factors that influenced their success or failure in an online English composition course at a community college located in the southeastern United States and to understand how these factors affected their persistence in coursework. Retention rates in online for online English composition courses are lower compared to face-to-face English composition courses. Rapid expansion of online learning has led to increased concern regarding student persistence in courses and degree or certification completion. Tinto's interactionalist theory and Kember's model of student success framed the course of inquiry for this study. Eight online student volunteers, who completed, failed, or withdrew from a required entry-level English composition course, were purposefully selected and individually interviewed using a semistructured format. Data were thematically analyzed using open and pattern coding strategies and related to the conceptual framework. Key results revealed student perceptions of factors that influenced their success or failure in an online English composition course and suggested a change in pedagogical practices to improve persistence as well as institutional and instructional practices. Based on findings from this study, a white paper was drafted to present stakeholders with a 2-pronged approach to improve student persistence featuring faculty student engagement and meaningful action and reflection on student learning experiences in an online English composition course. This study contributes to social change by presenting a pedagogical shift to address a persistence problem in online English composition courses. Persistence to course completion can build students' confidence and keep them on a path to achieving their academic goals.

While an abundance of literature addresses undergraduate students’ lack of success in engineering programs, fewer studies examine the persistence of minority females, especially of Latinas in such a male-dominated discipline. This study employed a qualitative method of inquiry to gain insight into the perceptions of social support networks and climate in the persistence of eleven Latinas pursuing an undergraduate engineering degree at two research-extensive universities. The study, ultimately, concluded that participants utilized various systems of support (e.g., fathers and family, peers, and student organizations) to aid in their sense of belonging, which essentially influenced their decision to persist. Additionally, the study found that Latinas encountered various levels of hostile climates (e.g., institutional, departmental, classroom, student organizations, and internships) throughout their undergraduate experience. Lastly, the study concluded that several participants had to grapple with the idea of gender and what that means within a male-dominated discipline. While the findings from this study added to the literature on the perceptions of social support networks and climate in the persistence of Latinas pursuing an undergraduate engineering degree, further qualitative studies that examine the role of fathers, the conceptualization of gender by female engineers, the coping mechanisms employed to mediate gender discrimination, and the reasons for the lack of entry to the STEM workforce are warranted.

After failure at a goal, people have a variety of options for what to do next, including persistence at the goal or substituting it for a different goal. This thesis introduces a model of goal fungibility, which addresses individual differences in people’s general tendencies to persist or substitute after goal failure. It hypothesizes that promotion-focused individuals, who construe goals as ideals, should be more willing to substitute goals after failure, whereas prevention-focused individuals, who construe goals as duties, should instead be more likely to persist at the same goal. After describing the model, several possible moderators are examined, and implications for other areas of research are explored.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 88 p. : ill. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 75-78).

Most Salmonella enterica serovars are believed to have a cyclical lifestyle involving both host-associated and environment-associated, persistent phases. Their ability to persist in the environment increases the probability that they will be transmitted. Our hypothesis is that the genetic factors required for cellular aggregation and biofilm formation are important for host-to-host transmission. A link between biofilm formation, environmental persistence and transmissibility has not been observed, due to the lack of an appropriate model. We developed a murine model of Salmonella transmission allowing us to study the genetic factors involved in the transmission process. To test the role of aggregation and biofilm formation we used the ∆csgD mutant, which is deficient in both processes. We also engineered luciferase reporter strains of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (Salmonella Typhimurium) to track infection within a mouse population before the onset of clinical signs using bioluminescent imaging. We determined that mice shed high levels of Salmonella Typhimurium in their feces when pre-treated with streptomycin. To observe the transmission efficiency of Salmonella, we tracked their spread from infected mice to naive mice, and determined that Salmonella could be transmitted only after pre-treatment with streptomycin. We compared the shedding potential and colonization levels of mice challenged with either wild-type Salmonella Typhimurium or the ∆csgD mutant and determined them to be statistically similar when challenged separately. We found that wild-type Salmonella Typhimurium persisted in fecal pellets at higher levels than the ∆csgD mutant. We compared both the short- and long- transmission potential of the ∆csgD mutant to wild type Salmonella Typhimurium, and found that the mutant did not have a defect in either process. Though not observed in our model, we believe that environmental persistence and biofilm formation are important for the transmission of Salmonella due to its cyclical lifestyle. The model we generated remains useful to test the role of other genes in transmission. It can be further refined to more accurately mimic environmental transmission of Salmonella. Further understanding of the transition of Salmonella from infected hosts to the environment and back into new hosts will aid in reducing its environmental persistence and transmission.

After failure at a goal, people have a variety of options for what to do next, including persistence at the goal or substituting it for a different goal. This thesis introduces a model of goal fungibility, which addresses individual differences in people’s general tendencies to persist or substitute after goal failure. It hypothesizes that promotion-focused individuals, who construe goals as ideals, should be more willing to substitute goals after failure, whereas prevention-focused individuals, who construe goals as duties, should instead be more likely to persist at the same goal. After describing the model, several possible moderators are examined, and implications for other areas of research are explored.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Commonwealth University, 2007. / Prepared for: School of Education. Bibliography: leaves 87-98.

Study 1 examined the usefulness of a BST package to teach conversation skills and job interview skills to young adults with developmental disabilities. Performance was scored in terms of percent of steps correct, according to task analyses. The BST package included instructions, modeling, rehearsal, feedback, and reinforcement. The skills were paired with either a high magnitude of reinforcement or a low magnitude of reinforcement. Study 2 assessed the effects of these different magnitudes of reinforcement on the persistence of the social skills. Results of Study 2 are described in terms of percent of steps correct and also proportion to baseline.

This study examined response persistence during extinction following the delivery of quantity- or time-based reinforcers. Three typically developing preschool students participated in the study. In Experiment 1, equally preferred quantity-based and time-based reinforcers were identified for each participant. In Experiment 2, response persistence was evaluated during extinction following a period of reinforcement using equivalent variable interval schedules assigned to each reinforcement type. The results of this research further support the finding that reinforcement rate is a predictor of persistence (Nevin, 1974). However, type of reinforcer (i.e., quantity-based or time-based) did not have a uniform effect on the persistence of responding once extinction was implemented.