The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed methods study was fourfold: examine the pre-service science teachers' pedagogical orientations about science teaching; examine the pre-service science teachers' beliefs about science teaching; establish the extent to which the pre-service science teachers' pedagogical orientations correlate with their beliefs; and establish factors that shape the pedagogical orientations and beliefs of pre-service science teachers. A sample comprised 140 secondary school pre-service science teachers at three universities in Zambia. There were 102 males and 38 females. In the first phase, data were collected using the Pedagogy of Science Teaching Test (POSTT) that was adapted to suit the Zambian curriculum, and the Teacher Beliefs Interview (TBI) protocol. Whereas, in the second phase, a semi-structured interview was used to collect data. Twelve pre-service science teachers were interviewed to solicit in-depth information on the findings from the POSTT and TBI protocol.

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Texture evolution is a vital component of many computational tools that link structure, properties and processes of polycrystalline materials. By definition, this evolution process involves the manipulation, via rotation, of points in orientation space. The computational requirements of the current methods being used to rotate crystalline orientations are a significant limiting factor in the drive to merge the texture information of materials into the engineering design process. The goal of this research is to find and implement a practical rotation algorithm that can significantly decrease the computation time required to rotate macroscopic and microscopic crystallographic textures. Three possible algorithms are considered in an effort to improve the computational efficiency and speed of the rotation process. The first method, which will be referred to as the Gel'fand method, is based on a paper, [1], that suggests a practical application of some of Gel'fand's theories for rotations [2]. The second method, which will be known as the streamline method, is a variation on the Gel'fand method. The third method will be known as the principal orientation method. In this method, orientations in Fourier space are written as linear combinations of points on the convex surface of the microstructure hull to reduce the number of points that must be rotated during each step in the texture evolution process. This thesis will discuss each of these methods, their strengths and weaknesses, and the accuracy of the computational results obtained from their implementation.

The purpose of this study was to expand on goal orientation theory and its relationship with beliefs about the causes of sport success by differentiating by age group in youth USA Swimming registered swimmers, ages 11-18. 80 swimmers from six different USA Swimming clubs completed the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ) and the Beliefs About the Causes of Sport Success Questionnaire (BACSSQ) after providing parent consent and child assent to take part in the study. Similar to previous research, the ego orientation was found to have a significant positive relationship with ability and deception as beliefs about the causes of sport success and the task orientation was found to have a significant positive relationship with higher effort as well as a significant negative relationship with deception as a belief about the cause of sport success. New findings included the 13-14 year old and 15-18 year old age groups having a significantly higher ego orientation than the 11-12 age group, the 15-18 age group having a significantly lower task orientation than both the 11-12 and 13-14 age groups, and the 13-14 age group believed deception caused success in swimming significantly more than the 11-12 age group. It is concluded that older swimmers could develop a higher ego orientation and lower task orientation as they age due to more visible differences in ability and an increased focus on performance.

In Fall 2022, Auburn University Libraries faculty and staff hosted an orientation event for newly arrived international graduate students. Highlights of the event included tours of major library service points, a shared meal, and a meet and greet for graduate students and subject librarians. A key takeaway for both groups was an increased awareness of the differences that exist between U.S. academic libraries and those in other countries. The authors discuss elements of the library orientation that worked well, and address lessons learned that will be used to improve future events.

The aim of this research is to expand the framework of contemporary conflict resolution by constructing a complementary relationship between Western epistemologies and a Buddhist epistemology. Despite its evolution and development through self-reflexivity and self-critique, contemporary conflict resolution established upon Western epistemologies has confined the understanding of human mind to social/cultural orientations and left a comprehensive and qualitative analysis of the potential of individual human mind underdeveloped. Buddhist epistemology, the central theme of which is to address human suffering that is mainly psychological and subjective, makes a critical analysis of human subjectivity in terms of how it can be become a root cause of suffering including conflict and how it can be addressed by gaining an insight into the social/cultural construction of human subjectivity. The argument of the thesis is that when a socially/culturally-oriented view of human mind and a deeper and more profound view of human mind are combined together, we can engage in a qualitatively richer and deeper analysis of the psychological and subjective dynamics of conflict resolution.

For decades curriculum materials have been used as a means to reform the manner in which mathematics is taught. In an attempt to better understand what impact curriculum materials have on the teaching and learning of mathematics, researchers have begun to analyze the process in which teachers transform curriculum materials into instruction. Given that many of these studies have been broad in nature, I sought to study the specific decisions that three teachers made when planning lesson on geometric transformation and their reasoning for those decisions. In this study I found that while the participants in this study ignored the curriculum material I gave them as well as their district adopted materials in planning instruction, they made a wide variety of decisions with regards to other curriculum. In an attempt to describe this variety of decisions I expanded the previous methods of describing curriculum use decisions adding a self-create category as well as differentiating between the different types of adaptations teachers make. I also found that although teachers used different curriculum materials, they made similar decisions in how they planned the mathematics content of geometric transformations that seem problematic.

Research in mathematics education shows that new mathematics teachers struggle to implement reform teaching practices that they learned in their teacher preparation programs. In this study, the researcher observed and interviewed three new mathematics teachers (within five years of graduation) to further explore the question of why new teachers use or do not use what they learned in their teacher preparation program. The study uses an expanded version of Schoenfeld's decision-making theory of Orientations, Goals, and Resources. This theory proved useful in the analysis of the research data, providing a framework to incorporate and organize the numerous reasons suggested by the literature for why new teachers struggle to use what they learned in their teacher preparation programs. Results show that an orientation that reform teaching is the most effective way to teach mathematics, along with the resources of a reform curriculum, a team of teachers with similar reform orientations, and district support are all important factors in helping new teachers use what they learned in their teacher preparation program.

As an environment, the modern university setting is diverse and subject students to numerous challenges and opportunities that prepare them to enter careers, build families, and grow as an individual. Yet what a student experiences in college differs greatly and is shaped by internal and external factors in their environment, including campus participation, college self-efficacy, depression and stress. Prior research indicates the impact of family on how a student expresses each of these variables (Schmidtgall, King, Zarski & Cooper, 2000; Bradbury & Mather, 2009; Hannum & Dvorak, 2004; Kenny & Donaldson, 1991; Lopez et al, 2001; Shaver & Mikulincer, 2006). However, there is one area of the family that has been scarcely studied in terms of campus experience influence: family communication patterns (FCPs). The present study sought to investigate this connection. Utilizing a survey-based design, 253 student participants were asked questions to identify the amount of conversation and conformity orientation present in their family unit, as well as levels of campus participation, college self-efficacy, depression and stress. Results indicated that conversation and conformity orientation in families were positively correlated with campus participation. Conversation orientation led to higher feelings of college self-efficacy and lower feelings of stress and depression. Conformity orientation had no correlation with experiencing stress or depression. The current study suggests that family communication does indeed influence multiple areas of a student's college experience, though conversation-oriented communication has a greater positive influence. Having a positive and communicative family environment allows students to get involved, lowers their risk of experiencing mental issues, and equips them to feel confident in their environment. However, the obedience and uniformity found in conformity orientation families instills structure in a student, which may help them avoid distractions and stay focused on schoolwork (Koerner & Fitzpatrick, 1997).

My dissertation served two primary purposes: 1) assess the measurement and structural model properties of the Wildlife Value Orientations (WVO) scale in a unique geographical context, and across two historically underserved groups in wildlife conservation, namely African American and females; and 2) examine Mississippians’ value orientations, beliefs, attitudes, norms, and behavior towards wildlife that could be used by wildlife professionals to create more salient and effective wildlife conservation programs. I conducted a statewide survey of the general public in Mississippi resulting in 1,335 respondents. Using this data, I conducted confirmatory factor analysis on the 4-construct WVO model and found, after model respecification, a 3-construct model met acceptable model fit thresholds. I determined the scale was metrically invariant across race and gender subgroups which was critical for unbiased cross-group comparisons. Structural equation modeling analysis of the WVO cognitive model resulted in an alternative model where wildlife-related recreation subjective norms were found to be a mediator between wildlife-related beliefs and recreational attitudes. Multi-group analysis found that African Americans and Caucasians similarly conceptualized the WVO cognitive model with the exception of wildlife-related recreation attitudes not being as strong of a behavioral predictor for African Americans compared to Caucasians. Similarly, wildlife-related subjective norms were a stronger predictor of recreation behavioral intentions for males than females. Females demonstrated a significantly stronger negative relationship between mutualism and wildlife management attitudes towards lethal control of wildlife. Lastly, I found three WVO types existed in Mississippi: utilitarian, pluralist, and mutualist. African Americans were found to be more mutualistic, possess less favorable attitudes towards wildlife-related recreation, and participate less in those activities than Caucasians. Similarly, females demonstrated more mutualistic orientations and in turn expressed less favorable attitudes towards lethal control of wildlife and wildlife-related recreation, and participated less in recreation compared to males. In sum, I found the WVO scale and WVO cognitive model were reliable and valid predictors of behavioral intention. While further refinement of the scale and model are needed, the instruments presented in this study should prove to be valuable in developing wildlife conservation programs that reflect the values and attitudes of Mississippians.