Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 2005. / On campus access only. Vita. Bibliography: 124-141.

Thesis (Ph.D. in Nursing) -- University of Colorado, 2005. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 225-249). Free to UCDHSC affiliates. Online version available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations;

Thesis--University of Oklahoma. / Bibliography: leaves 83-88.

Meditation, Tai Chi, and moderate aerobic exercise have been shown to positively affect executive attention. We compared the executive attention efficiency and aerobic capacity of long-term Tai Chi, meditation plus exercise, aerobic fitness, and sedentary participants. We hypothesized that because meditation and Tai Chi include moderate aerobic exertion and executive attention training, these groups would show significantly greater executive attention efficiency compared to aerobic exercisers or sedentary control groups. Our results support this. Tai Chi and meditation but not aerobic fitness practitioners significantly outperformed sedentary controls on key executive measures: percent switch costs and P3b ERP switch amplitude (Tai Chi, p = .001; p = .031, respectively; meditation, p = .006; p = .003, respectively). This suggests participation in chronic health practices requiring moderate aerobic exertion and attentional focus may offset declines in aerobic, neuromotor, and executive attention capacity often seen in normal aging.

The impact of Internet technology on critical thinking is of growing interest among researchers. However, there still remains much to explore in terms of how critical thinking can be fostered through online environments for higher education. Ten years ago, Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2000) published an article describing the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework which provided an outline of three core elements that were able to describe and measure a collaborative and positive educational experience in an online learning environment, namely teaching presence (design, facilitation, and direct instruction), social presence (the ability of learners to project themselves socially and emotionally), and cognitive presence (the extent to which learners are able to construct and confirm meaning through sustained reflection and discourse). This dissertation extends the body of research surrounding the CoI framework and also the literature on developing critical thinking in online environments by examining and exploring the extent to which teaching and social presence contribute to cognitive presence. The researcher was able to do this by offering 189 learners enrolled in 10 research methods courses and educational research courses an opportunity to use an innovative online resource (Research Design Learning Resource – RDLR) to assist them in learning about educational research and developing research proposals. By exploring how participants used this resource the researcher was able to gain insight into what factors contributed to a successful online learning experience and fostered cognitive presence. Quantitative and qualitative research approaches (mixed methods) were used in this study. The quantitative results indicated that both social and teaching presence had a strong positive relationship with cognitive presence and that learners generally perceived to have a positive learning experience using the RDLR. The qualitative findings helped elaborate the significant quantitative results and were organised into the following themes: making connections, multiple perspectives, resource design, being a self-directed learner, learning strategies, learning preferences, and barriers to cognitive presence. Future directions for critical thinking in online environments are discussed.

Significant research has investigated Jack Gibb’s model of defensive and supportive communication, but little has explored the influence of the type of talk -- defensive or supportive -- on perceptions of communication climate and the role that verbal aggressiveness may play in influencing both the types of talk and these perceptions. This thesis explored the relationship between defensive and supportive talk, verbal aggressiveness and communication climate using a mixed-method approach. Specifically, the Verbal Aggressiveness Scale was used to group participants for a dyadic problem solving exercise which generated conversational data that was analyzed qualitatively. Then, the Communication Climate Inventory was used to measure participants’ perceptions of the communication climate that emerged in their problem-solving dyad. The findings highlight factors that may influence the perception of communication climate. Examples of supportive talk that builds positive communication climates and limits the effects of verbal aggressiveness and examples of defensive talk that leads to negative communication climates are provided. This research demonstrates that language has an influence on communication climate through the words that shape the complex ways people perceive and understand each other and, interestingly, that the negative impact of defensive communication overrides the positive impact of supportive communication on the emergent communication climate.

The aim of the study was to explore non-compliance with T.B. treatment amongst T.B. patients at Moreteletsi Hospital. Due to the nature of the data that was needed the phenomenological strategy as a research strategy / design was used. Interviewing was used as a method of data collection and 20 T.B. patients at Moreteletsi Hospital were interviewed. The medical aspects of T.B. were discussed with emphasis on: what T.B. is, how it is diagnosed, T.B. treatment as well as social work intervention with patients. The patients indicated that members of the community are not supporting them. They further mentioned that western medicines have side effects on them and that the health centres are far from them. It was established that it is difficult for many T.B. patients to understand the causes of T.B. as they are explained from the western medical orientation because they associate T.B. with witchcraft. There are several factors that cause patients not to comply with medical treatment with the dominant one being the strong belief in traditional medicine. The community should be educated to emotionally support the patients. A holistic approach in the form of bio-psychosocial model can be of great benefit when used so that all the needs of the patients can be given attention. The research report was concluded by the conclusions and recommendations. / Dissertation (MA (SW) Health Care)--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted

This study examined the perceptions of principals, teachers, and support staff at 3 PREPS-identified value added and three PREPS-identified value subtracted elementary schools in Mississippi to determine if there were effective schools practices in the areas of instructional and organizational systems that were unique to either group. The Survey of Instructional and Organizational Effectiveness from the National Study of School Evaluation was used to measure strengths and limitations of the effectiveness of the instructional practices and organizational conditions of each school. Descriptive statistics and comparative analysis were used to analyze responses to the 24-item survey. Results showed there were statistically significant differences between the value added and value subtracted schools for the categories of curriculum, instructional design, assessment, and leadership for school improvement. There were no significant differences in the categories of educational agenda, community-building, and culture of continuous improvement and learning.

While enrolling in a college for a degree is still considered to be more of the expectation than the rule in households across the United States it is facing public criticism regarding its overall cost versus long-term benefits. This has prompted researchers to reevaluate practices in higher education to determine ways in which post-secondary institutions can improve their overall outcomes. In part, research indicates that this should include revisions to assessment, evaluation, and research (AER) practices. Currently, higher education faces many challenges associated with rigorous AER practices, which include an institutional focus on accountability measures, organizational challenges, and difficulties in operationally defining and measuring constantly changing definition for students, faculty, and higher education. These challenges have forced higher education to move away from rigorous quantitative designs that show causality. Additionally, higher education’s focus on large N research struggles to capture the unique identities and experiences of today’s college campus, which also poses challenges for the use of AER by practitioners across academic and student affairs. At present, new approaches to AER must be considered. The purpose of the current study was to propose and investigate one potential way to supplement large N AER with the use of single-subject research design (SSRD). Using visual analysis and the calculation of effect sizes with nonoverlap of all pairs (NAP), archival data from a unique behavioral program in a post-secondary transition program located at a land-grant institution in the southeastern United States was evaluated to determine if its implementation reduced student referrals at the program (N =25) and cohort level between Fall 2019 to Spring 2020. Results indicated that the behavioral program was most effective at the program level but had variable results at the cohort level. These results indicate that SSRD can be an effective approach to AER practices in higher education and would adequately supplement and potentially inform further large N research with its ability address to assess smaller populations.

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