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Sixty premenopausal women (age 25-50) finished a 16 week randomized controlled trial looking at the effects of different jump programs on hip and spine bone mineral density (BMD). Subjects were randomly assigned to a control group or one of two jumping groups. The Jump 10 group performed 10 jumps with 30 seconds of rest between jumps, twice daily, while the Jump 20 group performed the same protocol but with 20 jumps. At 8 weeks, BMD percent change (%Δ) at the hip was significantly different among groups when age, weight change, and subject compliance were simultaneously adjusted. In particular, the Jump 20 group had a greater %Δ in hip BMD compared to controls. However, %Δ in BMD for the neck of the hip (NOH), trochanter, or spine was not different among groups at 8 weeks. Following 16 weeks of jumping, BMD %Δ at the total hip and trochanter were significantly different among groups after adjusting for all covariates. Specifically, at the hip and trochanter, the Jump 10 and Jump 20 groups showed significantly greater %Δ in BMD compared to controls. There were no significant differences among groups for the BMD %Δ at NOH or spine at 16 weeks. Within-group analyses revealed no significant changes from baseline to 16 weeks for the jumping groups, but controls lost significant BMD. In conclusion, after 16 weeks of high-impact jump training, BMD at the hip and trochanter can be improved by jumping 10 or 20 times, twice daily, with 30 seconds of rest between each jump, compared to controls.

Demand for the skill of critical thinking is extensive in both higher education and in the workforce. The purpose of the current research is to examine the relationship between critical thinking educational efforts (e.g., programs incorporating high impact practices) and higher education student outcomes. For this study, student outcomes were defined as cumulative grade point average and student program retention. The study used existing data which were obtained from a large public research university in the southwest United States. The study found that higher critical thinking was significantly associated with higher overall GPA, and this relationship was stronger in males as compared to females. However, students' critical thinking was not significantly related to program retention. Findings from this study appear to confirm previous studies indicating a positive relationship between students' ability to think critically and GPA. The study also suggests that elements promoting critical thinking can be successfully embedded into undergraduate curricula through various means, including the use of high impact practices.

This study investigates the relationship of student engagement with the design of structured group learning experiences (SGLEs) implemented by increasing numbers of community colleges. Using data from the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) and the Community College Institutional Survey (CCIS), I employ Vygotsky's activity systems theory as a framework for interpreting the results of hierarchical linear models where student engagement measures are outcome variables, and the several covariates selected in terms of SGLEs as a social activity system. The results provide evidence that, among 24 different curricular elements of SGLEs, engagement is positively related to only a few of them, in particular co-curricular and community activities (campus or community service project(s), participation in campus activities/events outside the classroom, and service learning). There was limited evidence that engagement is related to duration and intensity of the programs; instead the evidence suggests that the people involved, both the personnel that teach and facilitate the programs, and the characteristics of the student participants, matter most to engagement. Even as this study provides the first views of the contours of student engagement within high-impact practices on a national scale, it also suggests that what may be important for engagement is that the programs bring people together for a purposeful experience at all. The results suggest the need for increased attention to co-curricular and community activities and professional development by practitioners; and for research, they propose hypotheses for further research such as the relative import of participation vis-à-vis program design, and they suggest new conceptual approaches to the study of high-impact practices generally. / text

Thesis advisor: Karen Arnold / U.S. Jesuit Catholic universities are called not only to be excellent academic institutions but also to carry out a mission to educate and form “students in such a way and in order that they may become men and women of faith and of service to their communities” (Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, 2012, p. 3). This formative goal calls Jesuit institutions to engage in practices that provide students with experiences that support the continued growth of a strong and engaged religious faith. Based on the American Association of Colleges & Universities’ nine high impact practices and seven additional Jesuit Catholic high impact practices, this study investigated the relationship between individuals’ engagement in these specific high impact practices and their middle adult religiosity or strength of religious faith. In this research, 483 alumni from 16 Jesuit colleges and universities reported high levels of religiosity in middle adulthood, as measured by the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire (Plante & Boccaccini, 1997b). Descriptive statistics and OLS multiple regression analysis showed a statistically significant, positive relationship between adult religiosity and participants’ engagement in Jesuit Catholic high impact practices as undergraduates, both across practices and specifically associated with participation in the Jesuit practice of the Examen of Conscience. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

A numerical analysis based on the finite element method is developed to simulate the mechanical response of a typical sixteen-ounce plastic drink cup subjected to a lateral compressive load. The aim of the analysis is to simulate a test in which the cup is supported horizontally in a fixture on a testing machine platen, and a loading nose attached to the actuator is displaced downward into the cup. The numerical model is developed using the software packages MSC.Patran, ABAQUS/CAE, and ABAQUS/Standard. The high impact polystyrene material of the cup is modeled as linear elastic, considering isotropic and orthotropic material behavior. The structural model of the cup is a truncated conical shell including a ring at the open end of the cup and circumferential stiffening ribs. The analysis is based on small strain, large rotation shell kinematics, and the loading apparatus of the test is simulated with a rigid, circular cylinder contacting the cup. Coupons cut from the wall of a cup are subjected to tension to determine the ranges of the meridional and circumferential moduli of elasticity. Rings cut from the open end of the cup were tested in diametrical tension to aid in validating the finite element modeling. Reasonable correlation of the simulation to available cup compression test data is achieved. Parametric studies are conducted for several meridional thickness distributions of the cup wall, and for a range of orthotropic material properties. / Master of Science

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs / Christy Craft / Colleges and universities across the United States seek new, creative, and impactful ways to enhance student engagement. The study of student engagement has led to the identification of several “high-impact” educational practices that appear to generate higher levels of student performance, learning, and development than the traditional classroom experience (Brownell & Swaner, 2010). Internships – when done well – are among the recommended high-impact educational practices (Kuh, 2008). This qualitative study investigated internships to address the following research questions: What is the essence of internships that are done well? What are the student learning outcomes of internships that are done well? Utilizing interviews and a phenomenological approach, this study reconstructed internship experiences of 19 undergraduate students. For the triangulation of data collection, 5 faculty members and 5 employer representatives were also interviewed about their observations regarding student internships. After open coding and analyzing interview transcripts, four essence themes and four outcome themes emerged from the data. According to study participants, internships that are done well require commitment, connect the classroom to career, facilitate good communication, and provide a sense of community. In regards to resulting outcomes, internships that are done well develop the competencies of students, produce career-related crystallization, build self-confidence, and generate capital. The results suggest that when internships are done well, they can embody Kuh’s (2008) six elements of high impact practices as they are effortful, include feedback, apply learning, prompt reflection, build relationships, and engage across differences. The findings of this study have the potential to assist the campus community – faculty, advisors, and career development professionals – as they help students fulfill their learning and career development goals (O’Neill, 2010). First, this study’s findings essentially point to the need for students to demonstrate initiative and fundamental skills during internships. Second, employers must continue to be informed about what constitutes a meaningful internship experience for students. Third, universities should “scale up” high-impact educational practices like internships (Brownell & Swaner, 2010) by creating a developmental approach for program implementation. Furthermore, everyone in the campus community must work together to effectively facilitate internships and other high-impact educational practices.

The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between the 3-year completion rates of first-time, full-time, transfer degree-seeking community college students, participation in activities that may encourage persistence and retention, and the demographic variables of ethnicity, Pell grant recipiency, gender, and ACT or Compass subscores in English/writing, reading, and math/algebra. The researcher used a snapshot of students’ degree completion three academic years after initial enrollment to determine 3-year completion. The study focused on first-time, full-time students who were pursuing associate of arts or associate of science degrees at a nine-campus community college in eastern Tennessee. Students who were pursuing applied science degrees, workforce certificates, or other credentials were excluded from the population. Students first enrolled in Fall 2010, 2011, and 2012, and their 3-year completion windows ended in Spring 2013, 2014, and 2015, respectively. The population consisted of 398 degree completers and 964 non-completers. The dependent variable in this study was 3-year completion. The independent variables in this study were participation in service learning courses, participation in courses that involved study abroad, and participation in student athletics, as well as ethnicity, Pell grant recipiency, gender, and ACT or Compass subscores in English/writing, reading, and math/algebra. Two-way contingency tables and Chi square were used to examine the associations between each independent variable and the dependent variable. Multiple logistic regression models were used to examine the associations between all variables. The quantitative findings indicated students who participated in service learning, study abroad, and student athletics were more likely to complete their degrees within three years. Additionally, findings revealed Pell grant recipiency, gender, and ACT or Compass subscores in English/writing, reading, and math/algebra predicted students’ 3-year degree completion. Ethnicity was found to have no significant effect on the 3-year completion rate.