<p>Increasingly more service members are separating from the military as the United States draws down the force and moves towards a post-war era. Tens of thousands of these veterans will leverage their GI Bill tuition and housing benefits in an attempt to access Southern California community colleges and bolster their transition into mainstream society. Some of these men and women have served multiple tours in combat zones and carry with them the burden of physical and mental injuries. After 4 years of GI Bill benefits costing over $20 billion and supporting 750,000 veterans or their dependents, it is unclear whether these veterans have been successful in higher education. This study starts the dialogue for further quantitative research on this diverse population. </p><p> Using quantitative methodologies based on a nontraditional student attrition model, 261 student veterans at three Southern California community colleges were surveyed to determine how military service affects their persistence. Background variables, academic and social integration, psychological outcomes, and military service perspective as related to student veterans' intent to persist, college GPA, and rate of attendance formed the framework for research. Findings show that student veterans' intent to continue their educational goals is affected by their military service perspective. Military service is a significant intervening variable that distinguishes veterans from other nontraditional students at community colleges. Military GPA was found to have a stronger association with college GPA than high school GPA. Although academic integration was the strongest predictor of college GPA, the most successful student veterans balance their work, family, and academic lives. Although some findings relate closely to existing higher education literature, the experience and perspective of military service produces both advantages and disadvantages for veterans in college. Accounting for veterans' persistence and acknowledging their diversity are measures which will strengthen their chances for academic success. Recommendations for policy, practice, and future research are addressed in this study. </p>

<p> The purpose of this project was to design a program, identify a funding source, and write a grant to fund a prevention and intervention program for youth and parents in impoverished neighborhoods who are facing educational losses and barriers due to their socioeconomic class. An extensive literature review increased the writer's knowledge about the relationship between poverty and education. Information about evidence-based prevention programs was gathered and used by the grant writer to design a best practices program for impoverished neighborhoods in Los Angeles County, particularly the South Central area. A search for potential funding sources via Internet, library, and grant funding search engines resulted in the selection of the Weingart Foundation as the best funding source for this project.</p><p> The funds will be used to open "Pearl of Hope" in the South Central area of Los Angeles. The objectives of the program are to: (a) increase student's academic performance; (b) facilitate home environments that are conducive to their child's education; and (c) educate teachers of effective ways of working with children that come from poor backgrounds.</p>

<p> Registered nurses practice in an environment that involves complex healthcare issues requiring continuous learning and evaluation of cognitive and technical skills to ensure safe and quality patient care. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to gain a better understanding of the continuing educational needs of the expert nurse. This study focused on the use of simulation as a learning platform in the continuation of competency. The study was based on the theories of adult learning and novice to expert. A sample of 10 expert nurses was interviewed regarding their experiences in the use of simulation during continuing education endeavors. The finding indicated that the use of simulation in this study population was effective in the maintenance of competency or in the delivery of new information. The study finding also offered developmental ideas for nurse educators in the planning and delivery of simulation to this study population.</p>

<p> High-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can increase survival from a cardiac event and better quality of life post event (Whitcomb &amp; Schmied-Blackman, 2007). This can be made possible not only by an experienced team, but also by more frequent training and refreshers for health care providers (Hamilton, 2005). Rural and remote nurses may experience skill decay due to low-volume CPR use and location barriers that contribute to infrequent CPR recertification; two conditions that lead to low-quality CPR (Hamilton, 2005). Not available in Canada, online CPR training in the United States is accepted as a way to provide current, timely, and accessible recertification for health care professionals (ProCPR^&copy;, 2009). To assess the effectiveness of online CPR training in meeting Canadian rural and remote nurses' recertification needs, I used both pre- and post-training intervention constructs. A total of 32 nurses self-reported their competency prior to and following an online CPR recertification training course. I obtained data to answer five research questions regarding current CPR practices, barriers to recertification, the extent that the online CPR course affected nurses' competencies, nurses' satisfaction with online CPR training, and the potential cost versus benefit for employers. On average, participants used CPR once in the last year. Within the total group, 14 of the nurses (43.8%) had an expired CPR certificate that had been outdated, on average, for over 17 months. Nurses both with expired CPR certification (56.2%) and with current CPR certification (56.2%) improved significantly from pre-training scores (<i>M</i> = 19.25, <i> SD</i> = 6.201) to post-training scores (<i>M</i> = 22.88, <i> SD</i> = 5.369) with <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001; <i>t</i> (31) = -4.048. Cohen's <i>d</i> was .63. Nurses with expired CPR certification experienced a greater increase in competency post-training than nurses did with current CPR certification, confirming the implications of skill decay and lapses in training. Despite hesitation at refreshing a decidedly tactile skill online, the study participants voiced overwhelming satisfaction with the quality and impact on competency that they obtained through the online format. This study concludes with statistical, practical, clinical, and potentially substantial, economic significance for the implementation of online CPR recertification and online training in Canada.</p>

<p> Foreign-born residents face significant challenges accessing and receiving quality healthcare in the U.S. These obstacles include a lack of information on how to access care, fear, as well as communication and cultural barriers (Portes, Fernandez-Kelly &amp; Light, 2012). Increasing healthcare providers' knowledge regarding a patient's culture as well as endemic rare diseases can serve to reassure and assuage patient discomfort. However, studies focused on educating healthcare providers regarding rare diseases that are restricted to or predominantly found in culturally distinct populations are lacking in the published literature. This knowledge deficit is of concern, since healthcare providers will need to become familiar with these less common diseases as the U.S. population continues to become more culturally diverse (Purnell &amp; Paulanka, 2008). Previously published reports have demonstrated that e-learning, the use of internet technologies to improve knowledge and performance, is an effective method to educate healthcare providers (Caroll, Booth, Papaioannou, Sutton, &amp; Wong, 2008; Childs, S., Blenkinsopp, E., Hall, A., &amp; Walton, G., 2005). The present study explores the use of an e-learning intervention to educate oncology nurses about a specific rare disease, Adult T-Cell Leukemia/Lymphoma (ATLL) and the two cultures affected by this disease; Haitian and Japanese. A validated competency questionnaire was employed to assess Haitian and Japanese cultural awareness as well as ATLL disease-focused knowledge among oncology nurses completing the e-learning intervention versus oncology nurses who did not complete the e-learning intervention. A total of 28 oncology nurses were enrolled; 14 nurses were non-randomly assigned to the e-learning intervention and 14 nurses were not given the e-learning intervention. A change in mean scores (pretest vs. posttest), derived from specific components of the evaluation questionnaire, for oncology nurses who completed an e-learning intervention versus those who did not were as follows: 2.43 versus 0.07 (p = 0.002) for knowledge of ATLL; 2.71 versus -0.07 (p &lt;0.001) for questions related to Japanese Cultural Awareness; and 1.86 versus -0.36 (p = 0.008) for questions related to Haitian Cultural Awareness. These findings suggest that oncology nurses who completed an e-learning intervention demonstrated improved ATLL knowledge, and Japanese and Haitian cultural awareness than those who did not complete the e-learning intervention. This is the first study to assess the amount of knowledge nurses gain by completing an e-learning intervention focusing on a rare disease found in a culturally distinct population. </p>

<p>With the Internet, foreign language learners can interact more easily with native speakers from other countries than in previous generations. For learners to develop the ability to function in foreign environments, it is vital to understand their experiences in postsecondary online foreign language classes. If educators and educational theorists are not cognizant of the possible effects caused by using or not using technological tools, severe limitations will happen to relevant, cognitive connections. Because of the current lack of understanding, learners are at a sociological, cultural, cognitive, and psychological disadvantage. The purpose of this qualitative study using a classic grounded theory method was to discover a theory that described patterns of behaviors by 15 adult learners who took at least one post-secondary, online foreign language class from schools in the United States. This study revealed the concerns that learners had regarding their experiences and how they dealt with those issues. When learners struggled, they became frustrated thereby causing an imbalance that prevented them from accomplishing their desired objectives. Offsetting the affective filter, the theory developed in this study, is about (a) comprehending the causes for and consequences of learners' frustration and their elevated affective filters and (b) discovering various elements that helped learners restore balance and acquire the necessary knowledge. By taking online foreign language classes, learners stepped outside their comfort zones thus setting into motion an imbalance that needed to be offset. Because offsetting the affective filter has important ramifications with respect to cognition, more research is necessary to develop tools to help learners reduce their anxiety in online classes. By expanding the field of study to other online and hybrid subject areas, researchers could develop of a broader, formal grounded theory. Such research might lead to the redesigning of online classes to be more andragogic and more transformative while addressing the cognitive and affective needs of the learners. A redesigning of a course might be advanced due to the need for (a) increased synchronous interaction between course members, (b) increased humor to lower learners' anxiety levels, and (c) learning styles to be addressed via all four learning modalities. </p>

<p>Medical education helps ensure doctors acquire skills and knowledge needed to care for patients. However, resident duty hour restrictions have impacted time residents have for medical education, leaving resident educators searching for innovative options for effective medical education. Classroom situated e-learning, a blended learning delivery method, was created to find an effective option for medical education. Research has been conducted on the use of e-learning with residents. More limited research has been reported on the use of blended learning with residents. Research is needed regarding the use of classroom situated e-learning for resident education. Qualitative phenomenological research was used to understand residents' perceptions of the effectiveness of, and interactions in, classroom situated e-learning and traditional lectures. In-depth interviews were used for data collection. Research participants were nine residents who had participated in classroom situated e-learning and lecture based learning. Analysis of the data revealed all participants found classroom situated e-learning effective because it was problem based, provided access to an expert, was interactive, and conducted in a small group. Six of the nine participants provided an example of an effective lecture, which they found effective due to the inclusion of practical or applicable content and an engaging educator. Residents were asked to describe their interactions with the content, the educator, and other learners for classroom situated e-learning and traditional lectures. Their responses were analyzed and themes identified. The themes identified for interaction in classroom situated e-learning were, through the computer for interaction with the content; providing real world content, asking questions of the educator, and feedback for interaction with the educator; and discussion for interaction with other learners. The theme identified for traditional lectures was asking questions of the educator for interaction with the educator. The findings from this study demonstrated that participants' perceived classroom situated e-learning to be effective, and had a preference for interaction that included discussion with the educator and other learners. Recommendations for future research include a replication of this study with residents in other residency programs, and quantitative research comparing the learning outcomes of classroom situated e-learning with traditional lecture based learning. </p>

<p> The purpose for conducting the quantitative correlational study was to determine if international military education and training (IMET) courses affect the civil-military perceptions of foreign students. The secondary purpose for conducting the correlational study was to determine if there was a relationship between Africans and Western Hemispheric students&rsquo; perceptions of how civilian control of the military influenced their understanding of democracy in the United States, international human rights standards, and their professional development. The analyses of the data revealed there were statistically significant relationships between the dependent and independent variables to conclude foreign students value IMET. Because of the value foreign students placed on IMET training, the civil-military perceptions of foreign students were affected by IMET training. The significance of the outcome of the study to leadership filled the gap in the literature regarding measures of effectiveness for IMET programs. The conclusion of the quantitative correlational study contributed new information to the literature. Two new pieces of information involved African and Western Hemispheric students, primarily military, who conducted professional development with U.S. forces value IMET courses. From the findings of the correlational study, policymakers have clear evidence IMET courses influenced students. A significant correlation between value and influence as reported by African and Western Hemispheric students was noted in the findings. Because of the linking of the two indicators, policymakers can place IMET on a higher priority compared to government programs showing unclear results.</p>

<p> In learning to be a yoga teacher, the focus is largely on <i>what </i> is being taught, in other words, the physical techniques such as <i> asana</i> (posture) and <i>pranayama</i> (breath). There is substantially less focus on who teachers are as individuals despite research from neuroscience which suggests that <i>who</i> teachers are may be far more important to students' learning than what they are teaching. This thesis dives into the question of who yoga teachers are as individuals through the lens of authenticity. Drawing on transformative learning theory, Jung's theory of individuation, and the stories of eight teachers who have wrestled deeply with this question, this thesis explores the process of developing authenticity in the context of teaching yoga. This study finds that authenticity results from one's journey of individuation, which although personal in nature is supported by relationship to self, Self and other (mentor, teacher, therapist). </p>

<p> This study examined the relationship of Internet-Mediated Social Network, the formation of adult Christian community, and its affect on adult Christian growth. The researcher compared and analyzed three types of adult Christian learning communities: traditional, hybrid, and virtual. Each week over the course of six weeks, the three types of learning communities met weekly. Participants were pretested and posttested, utilizing instruments that evaluated spiritual maturity. Analysis of interactions on Internet-Mediated Social Networking was conducted. Findings were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Results indicated the usage of Internet-Mediated Social Network offers potential for adult Christian education and should be further explored. </p>